Chapter 4: Subversion (Part 4) Although the scale of Guancheng Cangli is not as large as Liyangcang and Luokou Cang, it took the Sui Dynasty several years to accumulate it. The total amount is enough to feed 100,000 soldiers and horses. The "hungry sticks" who have been stationed near Guancheng for two years have long had the idea of building a granary, but they have always suffered from the fact that no one has dared to take the lead in opening a granary. Now that they see Li Xu swindling the key from the county guard, how can they do it again? You're welcome? The generals gave the order, and the soldiers carried it on their shoulders. In less than two days, they replenished their respective camps with enough food for three months.
The military generals were very smart in their calculations, and the civil servants under Yu Shihui were not stupid either. No matter how much food each team moved away, they would add 10% "consumption" to their accounts. As for where these consumptions ended up, Li Xu didn't ask much. , as long as the staff of the county magistrate's office handed over the bill, he would stamp it without even looking at it.
Seeing that the new ambassador was so considerate, the civil servants naturally reciprocated by recruiting civilians and repairing equipment. The chief secretary of Yu Shihui, Yuan Feng, even opened the government treasury and transferred money that was originally allocated to the imperial court. The meat was good and more than 100,000 yuan were allocated to Li Xu as a reward for meritorious soldiers. Of course, Master Yu took this matter as a major crime and wrote it in the memorial to impeach Li Xu. Anyway, the road to the south is blocked at the moment, Jiangdu. He couldn't receive his memorial for a while. When the imperial court received the memorial, the war near Xingyang must have ended. It didn't matter whether the imperial court blamed Li Xu or not.
After another three or five days of tossing, under the dual stimulation of nostalgia and a full meal, the county soldiers who usually had drooped heads were really stimulated to some degree of morale. Seeing that the military morale was available, Li Xu pulled out the team with a fierce momentum. Throwing towards Tongji Canal
There are four cities stuck on the river in the northern section of Tongji Canal. Among them, Yongqiu and Chenliu have been recovered by Li Xu. The Wagang army is still unable to recapture the other two cities. One is called Junyi, located in Tongji. The east bank of the canal is currently guarded by the Wagang bandits Zhou Dian, Li Deren and Zhou Beitao. There are about 100,000 remaining soldiers in the city. Another city is Xingze. The people guarding this city are Li Mi's favorite generals Yang Defang and Zheng Detao. There are only 20,000 soldiers and horses, but their combat effectiveness is far more powerful than that of the group in Junyi City. In the battle of Dahai Temple that surrounded and killed old general Zhang Xutuo, this unit was one of the main forces.
The county soldiers had just started to fight together. As usual, they should have trained the weaker ones first. However, Li Xu resisted all opinions. After leaving Guancheng, he went straight to kill the generals in Xingze along the official road. Unable to persuade him, he was defeated by Bo. The Ling Army's previous achievements were so daring that they bravely followed the Boling Army regardless of their unwillingness.
Seeing the large army of soldiers and horses rushing to the outside of Xingze City, Li Xu suddenly changed his attention, made a half circle around the south of the city, crossed the Tongji Canal, and ordered everyone to camp in the triangle between Jishui and the canal to stand by.
The county soldiers did not have war horses to travel with them, so how could they withstand his troubles, so they cut corners when setting up camp and set up more than forty company camps in disarray. After Li Xu learned about it from Zhou Daniu and others, he did not interfere. He just ordered Zhang Jiang and Wang Xu Ba and others worked hard to set an example for the county soldiers. As a result, the contrast between the two sides became more and more obvious. Even the fishermen on the river and the woodcutter in the village could tell at a glance which camp was Boling. Which camp was built by the army? Which camp was built by the county soldiers?
"Does the general want to lure Yang Defang out of the city for a decisive battle?" Wang Junkuo was puzzled, secretly walked into the Chinese army, and asked Li Xu
"Junkuo thinks that if our general camp is set up like this, it will give Yang Defang more confidence?" Li Xu did not answer Wang Junkuo's words and asked with a smile.
"To be honest, if the Yingze garrison is led by a humble position, they will definitely come and fight. Even if they can't defeat the Boling Jingqi, as long as they kill the county soldiers, they can at least be invincible!" Wang Junkuo smiled.
Laughing, he replied that in the past ten months in the Boling Army, he had learned a lot from Li Xu about how to use troops, especially the art of cavalry to defeat the enemy. He had basically gotten a glimpse of the secrets. So when he saw the unattractive appearance of the county soldiers, naturally
This reminds me of the classic cavalry tactic of "reverse bead curtain"
"With Junkuo's current status, he can already take charge of his own business." Li Xu nodded, very satisfied with the answer given by Wang Junkuo. He had a shallow foundation, and few celebrities and children of aristocratic families were willing to take the initiative to join him, so he paid great attention to the selection of junior and middle-level officers under his command.
Therefore, Wang Junkuo, Guo Fang and other former bandit leaders who were recruited into the army were promoted very quickly, rising to one or two levels almost every few months.
"Thank you for your patronage, sir!" Wang Junkuo knew that Li Xu didn't like red tape, so he didn't pretend to be self-effacing. He held his fists forward and clasped them to the ground.
"But Yang Defang probably won't come out!" Before Wang Junkuo's mood calmed down from the excitement, Li Xu shook his head and whispered, "Your military position has been promoted, but you still need to work more on judging the enemy's situation?"
"Why?" Wang Junkuo was stunned by what Li Xu said and asked without hesitation.
"You only saw the mess here, but you don't understand Yang Defang's temperament. He is not a risk-taker. Moreover, he once suffered a loss from me, so even if he wanted to get the place back, he would add a few more
Be careful!" Li Xu smiled and explained in a language that Wang Junkuo could understand.
In his eyes, only by knowing oneself and the enemy can one win a hundred battles. Wang Junkuo is still at the stage of knowing oneself but not knowing the enemy, so looking at the battle situation is a bit wishful thinking. However, through the analysis and summary of the enemy's situation, Xuzi believes that Yang Defang will not go to war easily. One of the reasons is because of this humanistic
He came from an official background and had limited courage. The second reason was because the Wagang Army regarded Jishui, which spans most of Henan, as an important channel and allocated it to Jiyang. The materials in Jiyin, Dingtao and other places had to be locked on the two waterways.
The city was transferred to Xingze, so there was a lot of grain, grass and silk in the city. If the city was lost, Yang Defang could not bear the loss.
"Then the general is stuck here again, isn't it a waste of effort?" Wang Junkuo pondered for a long time, but still couldn't be completely convinced, so he muttered and asked
"So I want you to take people out!" Li Xu pointed with his hand, "Twenty miles east of Jishui is Yuanwu. This city is very small, and it just surrendered to Wagang a few months ago and took advantage of the enemy.
They all thought that when we plotted against Xingze, I would give you a thousand cavalry, and you would cross Jishui at midnight today to capture the county magistrate for me! After taking the city, we would quickly lead the army back. As for the defense, I will arrange it.
Someone else does it!”
"I will obey your orders!" Wang Junkuo responded loudly with a beaming smile.
Li Xu currently has less than 4,000 cavalry under his command, so anyone who can lead a thousand cavalry to fight alone is at least a general. When he reaches this position, he calls himself the last general, which is justifiable. Wang Junkuo is very happy, and after receiving the order arrow, he becomes very popular.
He went out to order troops and vowed to live up to the general's trust.
Li Xu watched him leave, then grabbed an arrow from the commander's desk and handed it to Wang Xuba, who had been promoted to General Yingyang by the imperial court, "General Wang, you also order a thousand cavalry to set off at night.
Go to attack Yangwu overnight. I will send Zheng Bo to follow you closely. You must try to capture the Yangwu County magistrate before sunset tomorrow. I will leave it to Zheng Bo to defend the city. He has many soldiers under his command and just settled in the city.
!”
"Yes!" Wang Xuba agreed and accepted the order.
Immediately afterwards, Li Xuyou fired a series of arrows, and ordered Zhou Daniu to lead his soldiers to patrol the camp to prevent Yang Defang from really having the courage to attack. He also ordered Guo Fang to lead people to check the food and baggage, lest someone accidentally walked into the water at night, causing the army to attack before the battle.
After everything was settled and the sky was dark, Xuzi breathed a sigh of relief and ordered his soldiers to bring Xiao Ye, and discussed the next specific move with his cronies while eating.
"General, do you want to lure Wang Bo, Wang Dangren and other thieves down the mountain?" When there were no outsiders around, Zhang Jiang sat down opposite Li Xu and asked in a low voice.
"Wang Dangren and the Wagang Army may not be of the same mind, so when the overall situation is still unclear, he may not be willing to come. Wang Bodang, who has always been close to Li Mi, will definitely not look at me outside Yingze City.
After a lot of hard work, I guess it won't take a few days for him to lead his troops to fight. As for Zhou Dian, Li Deren and Zhou Beitao, it doesn't matter whether the three of them come or not. At most, they will give the Wagang army a boost. If they don't come, they will wait.
If Yingze is lost, we can follow Jiqu to kill them, and they won't dare to defend Junyi!" Based on his understanding of the Wagang Army, Li Xu made a preliminary judgment
"I'm afraid that before you can capture Xingze, Li Mi will gather his army and come to kill you!" Zhang Jiang thought for a while and said with concern.
At present, Li Xu has a large number of officers and soldiers, but their combat effectiveness is very worrying. Especially after Huyalang General Wang Bian was sent to Xingyang, the remaining soldiers fighting alongside the Boling Army are all county soldiers. If they can be dispersed again,
Reorganization may also increase the combat effectiveness a bit, but the Boling Army does not have enough generals under its command. Therefore, even if the command power of the county soldiers is hastily centralized, it will only bring together a group of rabble, and it may not be possible to disperse them safely as they are now.
"I'm just afraid that he won't come and will slowly delay time with me! If Li Mi comes, this battle will be easier to fight." Li Xu nodded and responded.
Seeing that the expression on Li Xu's face was not relaxed, Zhang Jiang smiled and said: "So you sent people to capture the county magistrates of Yangwu and Yuanwu. No, they are all county magistrates now."
In order to encourage the officials of the Sui Dynasty to surrender to him, Li Mi was always willing to appoint officials and make a wish. The county magistrates of Yangwu and Yuanwu cities had neither fame nor political achievements. They surrendered before the Wagang army could attack the city, so now they are all
The prince of the county, Li Xubing, the Guanglu doctor, went out to manage the city and caught these two unlucky guys first. For the Wagang army, it was like a big slap in the face. If Li Mi turned a blind eye, those in the counties of Henan
Local officials who are planning to comply with their destiny will definitely reconsider the ability of their new master and doubt whether the Wagang Army can provide them with protection.
"We have caught two marquises in our hands, and we should be able to exchange for General Zhang's head!" At this moment, what Li Xu was thinking was not exactly the same as what Zhang Jiang guessed. He sighed, and added in a low voice: "That day, I told you
Pei Renji discussed military affairs, and I realized that we are really pressed for time. If we can end the war one day earlier, we will have one more day to prepare."