Chapter five hundred and fiftieth IX only eight days away from the new year's expedition
"Ms. sir, the checkpoints, the government officials at the door, and the soldiers are so kind..."
"Ms. sir, there are fewer refugees and beggars here than in Peking..."
Walking north along the official road from Pipatan, Shan Yuping said in surprise to the first county town.
"Ms. sir, the checkpoints, the government officials at the door, and the soldiers are so kind..."
"Ms. sir, there are fewer refugees and beggars here than in Peking..."
From the first county seat, we continued walking northward along the official road. When we passed the second county seat, Shan Yuping said in surprise.
…………from the second county seat…………
…………
.........The seventh county seat goes west along the official road...
Shan Yuping finally stopped repeating what he said, and even the dullest person could sense that something was wrong. Although Hezhou has basically enjoyed peace of mind this year, when it comes to the overall environment and government control, it is far behind Anzhou.
The reason why we see such a scene repeated again and again can only be said to be someone who did it deliberately.
"Ms. sir, is this done by the government?"
"Of course. It was not done by the government. Who has the ability to create such a big scene?"
"Then why?" Shan Yuping frowned lightly, her eyes full of confusion. Aren't my husband and the king unwilling to deal with each other? Why would the government do such a seemingly childish... move?
A beautiful woman's eyebrows are more attractive, and her wife is beautiful. Especially when she seeks knowledge from her husband's ignorance when he has a difficult problem to solve, it can satisfy Zhu Biao's inner 'hunger' of masculinity that he has unconsciously contracted.
.
"Of course it's to avoid trouble. If there are too many homeless and beggars, we will inevitably encounter some unfair and dark things. If the soldiers and government servants don't say hello to them, these uncles will get into even more trouble.
Do you think our current team looks like a big family returning home?" Although there are only a few cases of this phenomenon in several counties in northern Hezhou.
"The king of hell is easy to meet, but the devil is difficult to deal with. Many of the low-level officials and subordinates are people who are obsessed with profit, and they do things regardless of the consequences."
Zhu Biao's identity must not be revealed. Matters in the court should be limited to the court. It would not be good for the Northern Han Dynasty to spread the news.
Because Zhu Biao's reputation is too high now.
If the local officials didn't give a special order, God couldn't guarantee that there wouldn't be any trouble if the carriage and horses traveled all the way to Hedong.
Although even if something goes wrong, Zhu Biao will not be the unlucky one. However, the court and the county officials in Hezhou are also willing to look for trouble, deepening the relationship between Zhu Biao and Zhu Biao?
At present, the Northern Han Dynasty is still in a state of war. Because the Zhou army and the joint guards are taking action in Chendi, there are almost no major problems in the three states of Yan, Luo and He in the Northern Han Dynasty this year. Even if the old Wang died and the new king ascended the throne. Wang
There are a series of problems such as uncle's rebellion, allies' rebellion, etc., but the three states in the north are really more peaceful than the three states in the south.
But this did not change the basic strategic form of the Northern Han Dynasty. The strategic center of the Northern Han Dynasty was still in the three northern states, Yanzhou, Luozhou and Hezhou.
More than ten years of war have left a deep mark on the three states, and this mark has not changed with the improvement of the situation this year. In the three states, the military power is still greater than the political power, and the important frontier generals are still in the state.
County officials and above.
Yandong, Yanxi, and Luozhou are the main battlefields. Hedong and Hexi are the five independent border regions. There are five important border generals who are above the governors of the three states. They are five mountains that press on the heads of the three governors. In the middle
Of course, the main battlefield is the first. Needless to say, among the others, Yandong and Hedong rank second, and Hexi ranks third. The last is Yanxi.
Now that the general of the Northern Han army has changed, the elites of the border troops are also different from before. Zhu Biao was placed in Hedong, so there is no doubt that the importance of the Han army in Hedong surpassed that of Yandong.
Because Zhu Biao's weight exceeds that of the current Yandong general Xiao Zhongming.
No matter the governor of Hezhou or the county officials, no one wants to provoke Zhu Biao's displeasure at this time. It has been half a year since Zhu Biao's army took control of Hedong, and the commander and commander have not been in the army for a day. This news is common to ordinary people.
I don’t know, why haven’t the officials heard of it? The water inside is deep and muddy, and you might not be able to top it if you dip in it.
As for the imperial court, even a group of big shots have not yet gotten together with the new king and the Yun family. How can Ji Yun and the Yun family cause more trouble when it is not necessary? To tell the truth, it is not a matter of momentum, they
Why did you ever want to have trouble with Zhu Biao to this point?
Before that, Zhu Biao was a treasure in their hands, a powerful weapon that could withstand, hold on, carry, and suppress at critical moments.
Even if there were no irreconcilable reasons between the two parties, Ji Yun and the Yun family would have sought opportunities to heal the rift long ago.
When Zhu Biao left Peiping, the people from Liumen and Tingwei's Mansion followed behind. Along the way, they 'took care' of the front and 'swept the tail' of the rear, in order to ensure that there would be no 'accidents'.
But this does not mean that everything will be fine after Zhu Biao arrives in the army, and the two sides will live in peace from now on.
Do you still remember the news Dou Bing reported to Zhu Biao in the old Meng family store in Pipatan? It was the military information that Hedong had just sent.
The Zhou army, which had received 500,000 new reinforcements, was preparing to launch a winter offensive, hoping to drive the Hu and Di coalition forces back to the north of Yinshan while the reinforcements arrived and their morale was at its peak.
If the commander-in-chief of the Zhou army was not mentally ill, he would definitely order the Han army in the east of Hedong to threaten those outside the fortress from afar...
December, the 20th year of Taiping in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The battle situation in Chendi is still in a stalemate. Under the Mingshan City, the corpses of the Hu and Di coalition forces pile up like mountains. The Hu and Di coalition forces that took the lead moved southward to Yinshan Mountain for 500 miles in three days, but Mingshan City is really indestructible. Since it was recaptured by the Zhou army
After that, not only did 50,000 heavy troops be deployed inside, but the city's defenses were also thickened. Compared with when the Di people invaded the south, the city only had 2,000 troops, and it was also poorly equipped and lacked food and grass. Today, the Mingshan City is heavily guarded.
Not only did the military strength increase greatly, but the equipment and food supplies were also sufficient.
The attack by Hu and Di's coalition forces did not have the effect of a surprise attack at all. Heavy troops were stationed under the city, and they often launched a large-scale siege every one or two hours. All available tactics were used, and Mingshan City still stood firm.
On the eighth day of December, the Chinese army in the city sent elite troops to rob the enemy camp at night when the Di-Hu coalition forces had lost their vigor. Although they only killed more than a thousand soldiers, they greatly shocked the hearts of the Hulu troops. For a time, the Hu-Di coalition forces
The important generals all asked for another long-term siege using the "Lock the City" method. They only said that if they besieged him for a few months, even the copper and iron walls would turn into soup!
Mo Yuan Khan, a native of Di, was furious. He severely reprimanded his generals for slacking off and cowardly fighting, and mobilized the three armies to attack the city with all their strength. This time they went south, they had already planned to break through Mingshan Mountain, firstly to prevent the Zhou army's imminent counterattack, and secondly.
Come and take the lead. If Mingshan cannot be conquered, everything will be empty talk!
Because compared with Mingshan City, the castles to the north and south of Yinshan Mountain are too small.
In comparison, the situation in Jiaohe is much worse than that in Mingshan. Its military strength is very insufficient, with only 20,000 people. After all, Mingshan City is in front, so there are not many troops deployed. But this is not a problem.
What's really worse is that when he learned that Mingshan was attacked by the Hu Di coalition, the general who defended the city rashly went out to rescue the city without knowing the enemy's situation, and all 15,000 soldiers were wiped out.
The city's defenders suffered heavy losses, and were now besieged by Wuji Chanyu himself. The defenders in the city were already distraught, and their morale was scattered. However, the Zhou army had strong capital after all, and after reacting, they immediately selected two troops to go quickly.
Rescue.
If Jiaohe City is lost, the waterway will be blocked. This will cause great trouble for the Zhou army's upcoming winter operations.
For a million-strong army to fight, it would be too strenuous if it was just about transporting grain and grass supplies over land.
Jiaohe City was struggling to hold on, and reinforcements arrived. The morale of the officers and soldiers defending the city was naturally boosted. But Wuji was even happier.
They have been at war with Yan, Chen, Northern Han, Zhao and other countries for so many years, and every time they hit a wall or suffered heavy losses, it was during sieges and large armies fighting in the field. They really have no one to fear.
Even if the elite infantry or cavalry of the Northern Han Dynasty collided with Hu Qi when Zhu Biao was not born, they would only gain a small upper hand, and if they were not careful, both sides would suffer losses.
Now, someone actually took the initiative to come to the knife's edge. How could he not like it?
The first support force consisted of nearly 40,000 troops, 30,000 infantry, and 10,000 cavalry, and was a coalition of the Chen and Wei armies. When they marched more than 70 miles to Henan, they were completely defeated by more than 100,000 Hu cavalry who were waiting for work.
In less than two hours, the tens of thousands of troops were completely defeated. The Hu people's fine cavalry were behind them all the way, and the Chen-Wei coalition troops lay dead for more than ten miles. The infantry and cavalry suffered extremely heavy losses. After the war, 40,000 troops were counted.
Only a little over 30% of the troops were left.
The fighting power of the soldiers and horses of Chen and Wei was so poor that Wuji was shocked and tried his best to encourage Mo Yuan Khan of Mingshan not to be entangled in Mingshan, not to care about one city or one place, but to go straight south and march towards Fengshan.
County, the only way to catch the Zhou army by surprise is to catch them off guard.
Otherwise, the information they finally obtained will be in vain.
But before Moyuan Khan could reply, a basin of cold water was poured over his head.
On December 12, the second line of reinforcements from Jiaohe City arrived. This was a team composed of 50,000 elite Zhou troops. It was originally one of the three vanguards of the army heading north.
The Zhou army arrived at Qinbao Ridge, which is more than 50 miles southeast of Mingshan Mountain. Hu Qi, who was facing the enemy, was inspired by the great victory in the previous battle and took the initiative to fight. At the foot of Qinbao Ridge, he was defeated by three elite formations of the Zhou army and was killed.
Escape. The Zhou army's lineup was rigorous and they charged without breaking up. They mostly had strong bows and giant crossbows, but their power was incomparable. The Hu cavalry cavalry's horses were shot to death in five or six cases, so they were defeated.
Wuji was furious and sent King Wushi of Yougu Li with 50,000 elite troops to defeat it. The Zhou army was neatly arrayed, solemn and well-organized. It was as majestic as a mountain. Wuji did not dare to attack rashly.
Then he retreated to capture Baoling and asked Wuji to send more troops to help in the battle.
Wuji listened to his words and sent an additional 30,000 cavalry to assist in the battle.
On December 15, the two armies started a bloody battle thirty miles southeast of Jiaohe [Waterway]. On the second day, there was still no winner. The two armies fought fiercely, with corpses strewn across the fields and the river turning red.
This shocked Wuji, who had just won a great victory. At noon on the 17th, Wuji personally led an army of 10,000 wolves to come and seize a gap in the operation of Zhou's army's battle formation. The 10,000 wolves directly defeated the Zhou army.
The final resistance. After the victory, Wu Shi led his army to pursue them with all their strength. The 50,000 Zhou army suffered casualties of more than 40,000. In the end, only less than 20% of the troops escaped.
Misfortunes never come singly. Less than two days after the second line of reinforcements was wiped out, Jiaohe City, an important official in the northern region of Chen State, fell to the enemy. Hu Qi entered the city and washed the whole city with blood!
It was not until this time that all the arrangements of the Zhou army were completed. But half a month had passed since the Hu and Di coalition launched their attack.
…
…
"This is mature and prudent, not cowardly." Zhu Biaoshuai's Mansion in Hedong County.
On a large sand table, small flags were placed on the plains, mountains, rivers, and cities.
The black and gray Hu Di, the purple Zhou army, the khaki Chen soldiers, the guards and the red Han army make the situation clear at a glance.
"It is the twelfth lunar month of winter. The movement of the army, food, tents, cotton wool, charcoal, everything must not be taken lightly, otherwise we will not drive away tigers and leopards. Instead, we will send sheep into the tiger's mouth."
After being suppressed for half a month, the Zhou army's comprehensive counterattack officially began. Is it really because they were slow to react and the generals were timid and afraid of fighting?
Zhu Biao didn't think so. Just think about the long deployment time when the Han army made several major counterattacks, and you can see that the Zhou army's response was not slow at all.
After all, this era is not an era of mobility. The most responsive cavalry is not prepared to feed the war horses. Why don't you try to fight in this snowy day?
In less than half a month, seven or eight days, or at most ten days, none of the war horses that only scratched the snow and grazed grass roots could run anymore.
"Is the sledge ready?"
"Come back to the Marshal. Thousands of sledges of each size, large, medium and small have been prepared." Liang Jin came out of the queue and reported to Zhu Biao with his hands raised.
Fu Shaoxue left, and the position of Chang Shi was taken over by Qi Pingxuan. A new person named Xie Lian came to the position of director, who was under Cai Jueshen.
If it was in the past, this would of course be no problem. But now, Zhu Biao has to be careful. Moreover, he is now on his own and is the one who wants to open a government and build a government office, and he also needs some talents under his command.
But without the "support" of the Yibei Marquis, Zhu Biao, who was self-reliant, found that he really did not have the connections and friendships to recruit people. He rose too fast. And because of the conflict with the new king, the people he hired needed absolute loyalty.
, there are only a handful of people who can be absorbed into the 'Shangjun General's Mansion'.
Liang Jin is one of them, and the few interactions between him and Zhu Biao became an opportunity. And he did not refuse the olive branch offered by Zhu Biao. He is now the chief secretary of the General's Mansion, the actual general manager.
A small sledge can carry a group of people, a medium-sized sledge can carry ten people, and a large sledge can hold twenty people in a squeeze. If it is looser, it can hold fifteen people.
Three thousand large, medium and small sledges can not only carry 15,000 troops at a time, but also carry 15,000 sergeants and thousands of pack horses pulling the sledges, as well as half a month's worth of military supplies.
"That's good! Beat the drum and raise the tent."
The banging of war drums immediately resounded throughout Hedong County.
"Brother Six, are you really not going to take our riding camp with you this time?" Zhu Zhong said depressedly. He came to the city today because he knew that the sledge had been prepared, and he knew that Zhu Biao should send out his troops, so he came here to work hard.
The last push.
But Zhu Biao ignored him at all.
Because although the vacancies in the fifth cavalry battalion have now been replenished and their combat strength has recovered greatly, they still cannot meet the elite standard. After only a few months of training, the quality and combat strength of the recruits are far from reaching Zhu Biao's.
Require.
It was freezing and snowy, and Zhu Biao wanted to take them out. A nervous person might freeze to death and suffer more frostbite than casualties.
Moreover, the snow on the grassland outside the Great Wall is up to one's knees, so making a sledge is lighter and faster than riding a horse.
"What's so good about a sledge? People fly away when it turns a corner..."
Zhu Zhong was obviously talking nonsense. After seeing the sledge sample, if it weren't for the fact that the butt determines the head, and the head determines the action, he would have wanted to play with it by himself.
There is really nothing more suitable for army operations than this thing in the middle of winter.
When turning, people are thrown out, which only happens when the driver is unskilled. What's more, Zhu Biao invented the 'seat belt' after seeing this situation.
If possible, even if the sledge that was turning turned upside down on its own, the people on it would not be able to fly away.
Hu Yanqing, Li Panlong, Gao Xie, and Zhu Biao counted 13,000 troops in their three armies. Adding in the personal camp, the total number was 15,000 troops.
The defense of Hedong County was left to Yang Yanzhang. The combined cavalry battalion of 25,600 troops and the local rural and county soldiers had nearly 40,000 infantry and cavalry. Therefore, Zhu Biao was not worried about taking away the troops.
After 15,000 people, the Hedong area was extremely empty, and the foundation of our rear was unstable.
The army left the city, and the roads were lined with people seeing them off.
For the soldiers and civilians in Hedong, this year is lucky. Hedong has not experienced a major war for a whole year. There were only a few sporadic battles, and even Hedong County, the forefront of Hedong, suffered small losses.
At the turn of summer and autumn, they were even more surprised to see the arrival of Zhu Biao, the first general of the Northern Han Dynasty. Sure enough, General Zhu's reputation could greatly intimidate Hu Gou. In the second half of the year, Hedong County even defeated some scattered troops in the first half of the year.
There were no more broken battles, and a rare period of true peace had passed for half a year and more than ten years.
For the soldiers and civilians of Hedong County, it was a pity that they had not been able to see Zhu Biao's face before. Occasionally, they only saw Zhu Biao's tall figure wearing armor from the back or from the side.
There have been rumors in the city for a long time, saying that when Zhu Biao went south to fight in the Zhongshan Kingdom, he was assassinated by a group of martial arts masters from the Zhongshan Kingdom. He suffered serious internal injuries and has been recovering in recent months.
Now that their beloved General Zhu has finally recovered, he has appeared frequently in the past half month. He is indeed resolute, courageous, majestic, easy-going to the people, and amiable.
On December 22, the 20th year of Taiping in the Great Zhou Dynasty, there were only eight days before the Chinese New Year. Fifteen thousand soldiers and horses from Hedong County embarked on the journey north.
The weather is cold, and snowflakes fall from the sky from time to time. The streets and alleys in the city are covered with snow, and people often make a creaking sound when they step on the road.
The cheers were deafening, and as the common people watched the soldiers with resolute faces marching out of the city in neat steps, their emotional eyes were soaked with tears.
Eight days, and the Chinese New Year will be over in eight more days. But these young soldiers have to go to the battlefield and die on the days when their families are reunited.
They had no doubt that Zhu Biao would win the final victory of the war, but they all knew that victory would be won by the soldiers with their lives and blood.
In a few days, I will celebrate the New Year together. But the homes of these soldiers are becoming dilapidated and sad...
