Chapter seven hundred and seventy-two just around the corner and eager to try
The scenery of the North, thousands of miles of ice, thousands of miles of snow drifting, looking at the outside and inside of the Great Wall, there is nothing but vastness...
The poems written by Taizu in his previous life described the northern land in winter, and the vast expanse of white was like a huge auspicious snow.
In Hedong County, after the New Year, the temperature gradually thawed out from the cold climate. The light green sprouting from the tree branches on both sides of the streets indicates the arrival of spring.
In the blink of an eye, it was March. During this period of time, spring plowing was busy, and the whole Northern Han Dynasty seemed to have reached a peaceful scene again. However, in the eyes of caring people, this was the last peace.
In the early spring morning, there was still a thin layer of white frost.
"It's rare to have a peaceful day, I'm afraid there won't be many anymore!" A new house is only a few blocks away from the general's mansion. Li Yan looked up at the cute morning sun in the white mist. Last year, he wasted a year. This year, whether it is Hedong
Or somewhere else, a major counterattack is imperative!
…
…
Twenty thousand miles away to the south of the empire, there is a place south of the Yangtze River where fireworks and willows dance. A faint atmosphere of tension also pervades here. Ten days ago, the land division of King Zheng's army was defeated. Zheng's army had completely withdrawn from all areas north of the river except Fancheng County.
, that’s Banzhou’s territory.
Now, the focus of Jiangnan is on Xiangyang City.
The iron-clad Xiangyang City is one of the most fortified cities in the entire Central Plains. It is twelve feet high. It is located at the intersection of the Dajiang River and the E River. With a population of one million, it is the first famous city in the middle section of the Dajiang River.
It is also the first important place for King Zheng’s navy.
The E River, which originates in the mountainous areas of Jingnan and flows from the southeast to the northwest, is the first tributary in the middle section of the river. The Han River, which also originates in the mountainous areas of Jingnan but flows from the southwest to the northeast, still meets the other major rivers, forming a large river in the hinterland of the river.
It is an obvious triangle, which encompasses one state of Jingzhou and one-third of Ezhou.
This is King Zheng's absolute territory. Xiangyang, Nanjun, and Jiangxia are also firmly nailed to the three points of the triangle like an iron triangle. If they are not broken, King Zheng will have nothing to worry about.
To defeat Xiangyang, Nanjun, and Jiangxia, the navy is the top priority. The Jingzhou navy is the best in the world. As soon as King Zheng dared to raise the flag for rebellion, he sent 500,000 land troops to expand outward.
It is also a decision that can be made only when the foundation of self-reliance is solid and there is no danger of overturning.
Nowadays, most of the land army has been lost in Ezhou, and the Zheng army's power north of Xiangyang has completely shrunk. Only Fancheng County is left to guard the other side of the river. King Zheng still did not stop. The main force in Xiangyang was defeated along the way. He and Jiangxia
Where are the soldiers?
Jiangxia Army sent troops——
On the other side of Jiangxia County is Xunyang County, which King Zheng must capture. The Zheng Army there must have a bridgehead in the north of the Yangtze River. Otherwise, although the Zheng Army in Jiangxia is in danger of the river, it is not absolutely safe.
After all, the power of the imperial court completely defeated King Zheng, and the river was so long. If the imperial court wanted to force King Zheng to fight and mobilize the land and water armies from the east and west of the river to fight attrition, King Zheng might not be able to withstand it. And he captured Xunyang County and Dajiang County.
The danger is shared by both the enemy and ourselves. If it becomes exclusive to our own army, not only can we control the waterway, it will also be of great benefit in a water war.
Xunyang County Sheriff's Mansion.
There was silence outside the large hall, and the soldiers walked slowly back and forth in the corridor. Their eyes scanned the surroundings.
There are a total of five hundred of them. Five hundred soldiers are well-armored and vigilant. The entire county governor's mansion is under tight protection.
I don’t know how many times this has happened, but King Zheng’s messenger has arrived again.
The soldiers outside the hall all had serious faces, but their ears were listening to what was going on inside. Sure enough, it didn't take long for a man to be pushed out in a state of embarrassment.
His clothes were a little crooked and he looked a little embarrassed, but even so, the messenger was still roaring: "Please tell Mr. Du that if you don't agree to my lord's permission, it will definitely bring disaster to Xunyang. Please don't
I think I'm just being alarmist, and what I said is all good advice. If Du Shijun still insists on going his own way, think about the people in his hometown in Jingxiang, the consequences will be disastrous."
"Shut up. You traitor and shameless person, if you keep chattering here, I don't know what the consequences will be, but you will definitely not be able to save your head." The general who followed behind said impatiently, with murderous intent in his eyes!
The messenger paused, turned to look at the general, and said coldly: "Could it be that you still want to kill the messenger?"
"We are the army of Zhengshuo of the imperial court. How can we do such dirty things as killing the messenger? But if you leave the city, I can't guarantee that you will not be attacked by bandits and strongmen." The general sneered and approached him,
He whispered in his ear.
This move was indeed more effective than anything else. Soon the messenger walked out quickly with a gloomy face and said no more.
The carriage was parked outside and was guarded by a group of Zheng's soldiers. In fact, it was just a show. Du Yu was a famous minister. Although his position was only that of the Xunyang Prefect, he was fully responsible for commanding the Xunyang land and water armies.
.In the territory of Xunyang, what do you really want to do to the messenger? What use can a few sergeants of Zheng do?
After the messenger got on the carriage, the carriage started to move quickly and disappeared around the corner.
"Bah!" The general spat fiercely in the direction the carriage left, and turned around to return to the hall.
In the hall, Du Yu was lying on a big-backed chair, with a gloomy expression and obviously in a very bad mood. King Zheng moved so fast that he could not bring his relatives to Jiangbei... And before that,
Because of concerns...
"He's gone?" Seeing his close friend Ai walking in from the outside, Du Yu asked calmly.
"Yes, sir, let's go." The general replied respectfully.
"Hmph, even a mere messenger dares to be so arrogant. This is bullying me, no one in Xunyang!" This feeling was really unpleasant, Du Yu said through gritted teeth.
The smile on Du Yu's face looked very ferocious at this time. Within half a month, King Zheng sent five messengers to persuade him to surrender. His tone became more and more fierce, and Du Yu, a Confucian general, finally couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.
"If Zheng Shun wants to fight, he will fight!" Family...
Looking at his beloved general standing in front of him with a respectful expression, Du Yu's heart was bleeding, but he gave a simple order: "Next time there are messengers from Jiangnan, kill them directly without bringing them to me."
"I will obey your orders!" The general responded immediately, feeling very happy in his heart. Finally, he no longer had to look at the face of such a messenger.
Of course, there is also sadness hidden in this joy. Du Yu's relatives... are afraid that they are about to suffer. It depends on how many of them can be clever and escape this disaster...
After coming out of the hall, he walked into the courtyard and took a few breaths of fresh air. The general's face, which had always been stern, showed a complicated expression.
"That's all, that's not something I should worry about. Just obey your orders."
"That's fine. If you want to hit, hit. If not, stop. It's that simple!"
It's not a complicated matter, so why think too much about it? Looking at the gray sky outside, the general said very optimistically, feeling slightly happy.
For a young and arrogant general with little knowledge, such entanglement really confused and annoyed him. On one side was the court, and on the other was his benefactor who regarded him as a confidant. After taking a few steps, this typical general
Suddenly I hit my head.
"Ah, now that you have made up your mind, wouldn't it be too cheap to just put this guy back like this? The appearance of these thieves makes me angry just thinking about it!"
Talking to himself, he has arrived at the hall in front. Not far away, there are the personal guards guarding the county governor's mansion. These soldiers are all his subordinates. Although they have not actually been on the battlefield, but for training purposes, they are definitely all.
Elite soldiers.
However, these soldiers are whispering at this moment:
"These people came all the way just to persuade you to surrender?"
"No, five batches have already come. My mother is getting more and more proud every time!"
"There must be some reason for this."
"Don't talk nonsense. Rumors will cost you your head. We can't control these things!"
"Tell me about it. You don't know that our ambassador's relatives are still in the south..."
"My mother, no wonder there are so many messengers..."
These words were heard by the general who had just walked out, and his expression immediately changed. He said, "Come here, you guys, you have time to chat here. Why don't you go out with me and kill these guys."
A group of guards looked at each other and responded: "Yes!"
He is a soldier, and a soldier must obey the officer. In front of him is his immediate superior.
After a while, everyone got on their horses and galloped towards the city gate in a group.
At this time, outside the city, the messenger's face was also full of anger: "This common man dares to be ignorant of the current affairs and insist on refusing to surrender. When you go back, you must speak well to the lord." But I always have to eat something to gossip about, thinking of this.
, could not help but gritted his teeth even more.
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from far behind, and he frowned: "What's going on... Du Yu has changed his mind?"
Then the sound of horse hoofbeats became clearer and louder, the faces of Zheng Bing who accompanied him changed, and the messenger's brows became more and more furrowed: "Send someone to see what's going on?"
Before he finished speaking, he saw sixty or seventy cavalry rushing in front of him. The leader was the unruly young general from the Sheriff's Mansion, who was looking at him with a sneer on his face.
The messenger felt a sense of nausea in his chest, but he was a smart man and smelled something bad, so he said, "What are you doing? Are you not afraid of Du Shijun's blame?"
The general smiled ferociously, tightened his legs, and made the horse move faster. Hearing a "crack" sound, the sword was unsheathed, and the white blade shone with a dazzling cold light in the sun, which immediately made the messenger feel frightened and heartbroken.
He shouted loudly: "What do you want to do? The two armies are fighting each other..."
Before he could finish his words, the general had already galloped through Zheng Bing's blockage, came to the carriage, and thrust his sword down fiercely. With a "pop" sound, the blade was thrust into the courier's belly.
, passed through from behind.
He skillfully pulled out his saber, and blood splattered. At this time, the twenty or thirty Zheng soldiers who were guarding him realized what they were doing. They clenched their weapons and cowered in a ball. But the general did not feel bad about them. He only heard this man say: "
What a thief, I have endured it for a long time and let you know what it means to feel cold!"
The messenger rolled on the ground and tried his best to raise his hand, but was unable to speak. A mouthful of blood spurted out and he died.
A few days later. Xunyang County.
The crackling sounds of fire, killing sounds, shouts, people shouting and horses neighing, soared into the sky, but it was a brief confrontation that had just ended outside the city.
After the news that General Du Yu killed King Zheng's envoy was sent back to the Zheng army, the Zheng army, which had previously only sent troops to capture Xunyangkou and Bianjiang counties, rushed towards the county and city like a flying swoop.
At this time, on the city, the garrison soldiers were lined up neatly and waiting for orders, and they were silent.
On a city wall, Du Yu stood in the middle, with the surrounding generals standing on his left and right, looking attentively at Zheng Jun's battle formation.
Du Yu's eyes flashed and his expression was calm. As he continued to look, he saw that the city gate opened and his army had already entered the city, and Zheng's army was not chasing him.
In the distance, war drums beat.
The sun was rising high in the sky, illuminating the earth. On the horizon, armies appeared one after another and entered the open space in front of the city.
The army is in great glory, and the flags are like a sea. According to the latest intelligence, plus the strong men accompanying the army, the number of Zheng's army has reached 150,000, which is simply a sea of people.
The horn sounded loudly.
Hundreds of siege engines were seen. They began to move towards the county town. This siege engine was actually a large wooden pillar with a wooden roof, covered with animal skins and straw mats, and could defend against boiling water and even ordinary bows and arrows.
Covering the siege engines were the siege engines and the tower carts. These two machines began to advance, with the towers moving forward as well, and groups of infantry following around them.
Each of the wells and carriages is seven to eight feet high, which is at least as high as the city head. Not only can the entire city head be covered by arrows, but soldiers can also push it forward when necessary and pat the city wall.
Straight up the city wall and storm into the city is equivalent to an enhanced version of the ladder truck.
Behind them, there are hundreds of Thunderbolt vehicles. Most of them are large and medium-sized, and there are almost no small ones. Pushed by the soldiers, they advance slowly.
As soon as these siege weapons appeared, Du Yu's expression changed drastically, and he was also very angry. Looking at these siege weapons, he knew that Zheng Fan's preparations were not day and night, and he was so close to Xunyang without any awareness.
, and no one heard of it was reported. Does the imperial court still have loyal ministers and good generals in Jingzhou?
Since Zheng Jun failed to persuade him to surrender several times and his envoy was killed, he did not waste any time. After a while, the war drums shook the sky.
"kill!"
With an order, tens of thousands of people shouted together and launched a fierce attack like a tide.
Suddenly, a rain of arrows covered the sky and the earth, and fell down.
Ezhou Governor's Office.
Li Boliang hurriedly entered the side hall, which was empty. There were only a few clerks sorting out documents. They all bowed when he came in. Li Boliang asked: "Where is Zhao Yushi?"
.
"Sir, I have been summoned by the Governor. I have already gone to the study. When I entered, I said that if you are here, please come in. The Governor will summon you together..." Before he finished speaking, Li Boliang nodded, turned around and walked out quickly.
There were only a few steps to the study. Li Boliang hurried over. Cao, a thief from the guard, saw him and hurriedly saluted: "Master Li, the governor Wang is here. We have already said that if you are coming, please come in immediately."
Li Boliang nodded briefly in greeting, then went up and knocked on the door. He heard Wang Rui's voice coming from inside: "Li Boliang? Come in quickly!"
"Here!" Li Boliang agreed loudly and stepped in. The study was still darker than outside. After a moment of composure, he looked up.
I saw Wang Rui sitting on the desk against the wall. The desk in front of him was piled with official documents and there were pens and inkstones.
There are more than one person in this room, including Zhao Zhen, the chief official, Li Gang, the chief official, Wang Yanxu, the chief official, Bo Yu Zizhao, and Li Xian, the subordinate Cao official. These are the main civil servants of the governor's office.
Li Boliang was a meritorious official in charge of government affairs in the governor's office. He was under Li Gang, Wang Yanxu, Yu Zizhao and others. He quickly saluted.
"Li Boliang, please get up and sit down first." Wang Rui was reading a document. After a while, he raised his head and said: "Pigeons carry messages thousands of miles away. Zheng Nijiang and the Xia Army sent 150,000 troops to attack Xunyang. They are unstoppable. Now
It has already reached the county town.
Commander Du has come to ask for help from us."
"According to the information we have seen, Zheng Ni had hundreds of siege engines, such as chariots, chariots, and thunder chariots. Unexpectedly, Jing Xiang was so corrupted, which is really shocking."
At this time, Li Boliang took a closer look and saw that Wang Rui's eyes were bright and his face was solemn. He did not sigh with regret. Then he listened to his words: "Gentlemen, how should we deal with it now? Let us all share our opinions."
It is certain to send troops, but how many and whom to send is a question.
The imperial court was extremely vigilant against King Zheng. Wang Rui, the governor, was one of the most famous generals in the court. That’s why he was able to defeat the Zheng army with 300,000 soldiers and 500,000 soldiers. Du Yu, the prefect of Xunyang, was not an unknown person either.
, although Fei Ge reported an emergency to the state government, it is still not a problem to defend Xunyang in the short term.
It's only a thousand miles away. If the cavalry hurries up, it can be reached in five days; if the infantry marches normally, it can be reached in 12 days; if it is a forced march, it can be reached two or three days earlier.
Defending the foundation of Xunyang is not difficult for Wang Rui and others to solve. The problem is that the Ezhou army has been fighting for several months since last year. After defeating 500,000 Zheng troops, they themselves suffered a lot of losses and were exhausted.
Sending more troops to attack is not conducive to the recovery of combat power. Even if the troops are exhausted and defeated in one battle, it is not impossible.
The imperial court is now focusing its main energy on the north and east. Wang Rui's strength is limited, and the task issued by the capital is only to keep an eye on Zheng Jun. If troops are sent eastward and Zheng Jun in Xiangfan area sees an opportunity, it will be another
It’s not pretty. Therefore, Wang Rui needs to discuss how many troops to deploy and how to deploy them...
"Commander, look, there are a thousand strong men, all of them are good men. If you put on your armor and mount your horse, you will be able to kill a wild dog with great ease——"
Li Yan showed off his soldiers to Zhu Biao. Each of the elite soldiers selected from a thousand were stained with unknown amounts of blood, and they were all full of murderous intent.
"Okay, that's right. You should have killing power. This is like an army. This is the elite."
"But your camp can't go into this battle." Looking at Li Yan, who was blushing, Zhu Biao said angrily: "It's too slow."
The four eyes stared at each other for a long time, and Li Yan finally lost his temper. His energy was exhausted!
He is a veteran of heavy armored cavalry. How could he not know where the real bravery of prop armored cavalry lies? He kept shouting to go to the battlefield, mostly because of the Han army's counterattack. Where the sword is pointed has obvious meaning.
Extraordinary…
"Don't worry. When it's time for your Xuanjia Cavalry Battalion to make its debut, I will never hide you..."
