Two hundred and sixtieth chapters mountains and seas (7)
The Twelve King Kong's raid on Liyangcang, combined with the gang's decisive actions after the adjustment was completed, and the news that was naturally transmitted from Henan, produced unexpected information fluctuations in Hebei, and had a huge impact on the coalition forces in Hebei.
psychological impact.
But things don't always fall in one direction.
It was as if almost on the same day that the incident happened, Xue Changxiong, the commander-in-chief of the Hebei March Army, arrived here with an army of 30,000 from Hejian.
Not only that, it was probably because of the stimulation of these messages that the coalition forces quickly launched chaotic and rapid military operations in response.
First of all, they urgently but on time and in accordance with the quantity, built forts, piled trenches, and physically surrounded Zhang Xing's more than 10,000 elite gangs. This huge simple project started in the morning and was quickly blocked.
The last external communication gap on the north side of the Meihua Camp was completely isolated from the outside world.
The siege that started today is completely different from the previous siege. Before, Zhang Xing and others were able to exchange information with the outside world. They just needed to take a detour and needed excellent riders and practitioners. On behalf of Chief Zhang, plus the Chief Military Officer,
The clerical department is in charge, and the military personnel are in charge. The instructions of the several military leaders can still be effectively conveyed, and their effectiveness is beyond doubt.
And after that?
Perhaps it is still possible to send information, but it is ten times more difficult? And in this case, who can guarantee the integrity, reliability and safety of the instructions sent by the messenger... So, from now on, it is very possible that, inside and outside the encirclement,
You have to really do your own thing.
And once you really take matters into your own hands, many things will change... Xu Shiying's worries, Li Shu's thoughts, Bai Hengqiu's expectations, including the initial chaos and out-of-control of the Gangda Corps, are not the same, because before
In hundreds of years of chaos, this kind of thing is too common. If the leader of a military group is injured, defeated, separated from the main force, and isolated by the military, the rest of the group will immediately elect a new leader, and the original leader will
When we meet again, we often have to calculate things again.
It is more appropriate for the weak to admit defeat honestly and change their identities. The so-called ability to move up or down. When the Guanlong Group, the predecessor of the Wei Dynasty, was first established, there was actually such a successful example, but there were more cases of mergers, coups, imprisonment and civil war.
.
There is no way around this, and the principle is obvious: an isolated leader cannot fulfill his duties, and his political commitments to the outside world will also become illusory.
If the leader of a political group is unable to fulfill his political responsibilities and make effective political commitments, his status will naturally become in jeopardy.
In addition to improving the encirclement, the coalition forces also divided their forces on a large scale.
After the Hejian Army took over the defense on the west and north side of Qingzhang River, Dongdu Army General Ji Zeng led his troops across the river and turned back to the other side. Then he and General Zheng Shanye divided their troops into two groups, each leading 7,000 troops into the southeast of Qingzhang River in Qinghe County.
The hinterland; the Taiyuan Army also divided its troops into three groups of 9,000. Under the unified command of General Bai Liben, they headed towards Wuyang and Jijun behind them, as if to guard the grain road; in the end, the besieged gang was not large.
What you may know is that after Xue Changxiong's troops took over the cities to the west and north of the Qingzhang River, the Cui rebels, led by Shi Huaiming, would also participate in sweeping the Qinghe hinterland on the other side of the Qingzhang River.
Not to mention this, in the afternoon of this day, everyone could see clearly that another mighty army of troops and horses came from the northwest of the battlefield and merged into the coalition camp.
Judging from the flags, they should be the vanguard of soldiers and horses from Zhaojun, Xiangguojun, Hengshan and other counties in northwest Hebei.
In other words, Feng Wuyi is here too.
But when they saw the soldiers and horses arriving and standing on the watchtower, the generals who had just watched the other side encircle the camp were confused for a while.
Only one person suddenly burst into laughter.
The expressionless Zhang Xing turned around and laughed too: "Ma Wei, it's true that the army is short of wine, but I'm afraid Feng Wuyi won't give you wine. Why are you so happy?"
"No." Ma Wei hugged his arms and smiled. "I just personally feel that if Xue Changxiong arrives, it will be helpless, but if more people come, it will be beneficial to us, so I can't help but laugh."
The people around him were not fools, and even up to this point, they were considered elites who had emerged from the troubled times. However, they quickly realized that Manager Ma was not simply trying to relieve everyone's mood. This Chiping wine student was indeed better than everyone else.
Be more sensitive.
After all, Xue Changxiong has been a general for many years. Although he failed in the battle with the gang, he was not discouraged by the defeat. The arrangement of troops and horses and the quality of the officers and soldiers below were also good. He himself came with 30,000 troops from the Hejian Camp.
It enriched the strength of the coalition forces, completed the siege, and balanced the troops of Taiyuan and Dongdu, and Wu'an, allowing the army to calmly send troops everywhere in an attempt to stabilize the situation.
But if more people come, what's the use?
Is the encirclement wrapped a little thicker?
To put it bluntly, everyone has military experience. It is good to have more people, but too many people will make it difficult to command and leave gaps for others.
More powerful?
This may be true. By now, everyone can see that Bai Hengqiu's trip to Hebei is not only to defeat the gang, but also to take advantage of the opportunity to form alliances and establish his own political advantage, thereby ensuring that Hebei will not lose control.
From this perspective, the people who come here are somewhat submissive and bow their heads. Of course, the more the better.
And then, what’s the use?
Maybe I just need to eat more food.
"It's indeed gratifying." Xu Shiying took the lead in nodding and expressed his approval. This one who was originally the most depressed among the generals is now in a stable mood. "The people in Hebei are mixed, and even the officers and soldiers have their own needs.
Maybe it’s because the upper and lower parties are integrated into one alliance at a time, so the more people come, the more flaws there will be, and our chances will be there.”
Others nodded a lot, but none of them looked as calm as Xu Dalang.
"According to my humble opinion, the biggest problem with Bai Hengqiu's trip to Hebei is that he is too greedy." Cui Suchen also spoke seriously at this time. "He not only wants to defeat our gang, but also wants to establish his position among the heroes of the Hebei army.
He wanted to settle the situation in Hebei in one fell swoop, but we ended up losing him at the most important place... He didn't win the battle on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. Naturally, it will only be more difficult in the future, as the chief said before.
stand up."
Everyone nodded again, but still not calm enough.
Again, the situation seems to be a little better than the battle four or five days ago, but it is still at a huge disadvantage, because after all, they are encircled, and you are after all surrounded.
Especially the huge siege project in front of us and the number of soldiers and horses from all directions are really shocking.
While the trapped military cores were looking at the spectacular situation of the coalition forces, the big shots from the coalition forces, including Bai Hengqiu and below, were also climbing up to watch the encirclement fortifications and discuss the war.
"In such a situation, do you really not want to attack once?" Duan Wei's expression was obviously no longer as calm as before, let alone the sense of joking, but he was still the most energetic among the generals. "Bai Gong took the lead, Xue
The general divided his troops to attack his side and ended it in one battle. How could there be so much trouble?!"
Bai Hengqiu did not say a word, but looked at Xue Changxiong along with many generals.
General Xue was also very straightforward, and actually replied in public: "No, the Fulong Seal is there, and Mr. Bai can't do anything about it. I'm simply afraid of death! There are 30,000 men in the Hejian camp, and hundreds of generals are tied to me."
, I still have a few stupid sons... Without me, they will probably die without a burial place in the future. I personally raised an army today to participate in the siege. I have lived up to the conscience of the world and even promised a thousand pieces of gold! This is the book from the future.
You can't even say there's anything wrong with me."
Bai Hengqiu laughed when he heard this, Duan Wei sighed slightly, and many generals behind him were also silent.
Just like that, Bai Hengqiu finished laughing and twisted his beard into silence. The situation was awkward for a moment. Dou Qi, the general of the Chinese army, looked away from the Qingzhang water and suddenly said: "I have an idea. I don't know whether it is feasible or not. I don't know.
If it is beneficial, please ask Ying Gong, Xue Gong, Duan Gong, and Li Fujun to help you with the details."
The people in front turned back together.
Bai Hengqiu nodded and said, "Come on."
"I'm taking the liberty of my subordinates." Dou Qi took a few steps forward and pointed to the opponent's camp. "Guys, please take a look. Now the bases are built on three sides, connected to the river embankment. Does it look like a pond? The spring rains were quite heavy in the past few days.
Is it feasible to dig out the Zhang River to flood the enemy camp? After all, if the army has no intention of taking the initiative to attack and waits for the enemy to run out of food and grass, morale is low, and the camp cannot stand, wouldn't a water attack be just right?"
The generals behind him were talking a lot when they heard what was said, but the commanders of the armies in front who were in charge were mostly silent when they heard what was said.
"It's not impossible, but it has both advantages and disadvantages." After a while, Xue Changxiong frowned. "It should be possible to release the water itself if you work harder, and it will definitely cause damage to the other side, but the amount of water in spring is probably not enough. Once the water is released,
The most we can do is turn the enemy camp and surrounding areas into a quagmire. If this happens, not only will the army be trapped, but we will also be unable to take action when necessary. Moreover, once the water is released from the Qingzhang River, the lower reaches of the river will also be empty... It’s really the end.
, they gathered their elite troops, put on straw sandals in the middle of the night, ran away from the river in the dark, and we didn’t know how to chase him!”
"It's not impossible." Duan Wei touched his chin and retorted. "The worst we can do is occupy the river embankment. Just be careful to protect it... The main thing is that once the water is released, the other party will inevitably be damaged, and our difficulties are all possible.
, it’s not impossible to avoid it if you work harder.”
Xue Changxiong shook his head repeatedly: "You underestimate Zhang Xing, you can't bet on this kind of thing."
Bai Hengqiu was about to speak, but suddenly he shut up again, and Xue Changxiong and others also shut up.
And sure enough, after a moment, everyone could see clearly that several cavalry from the vanguard of the three northwest counties that had just arrived were galloping along the road in the camp. They arrived in front of them in a moment. Following the flag, it was the Xiangguo County under Li Ding's command.
Duwei Gaoshi Province.
Gao Shisheng came to the front, bowed respectfully, and after completing the greetings, he took out a letter from his arms: "Feng Gong, the prince and the king, General Qi is behind, and will arrive tomorrow. Feng Gong wrote a special letter
Let me forward the letter to Mr. Bai."
Feng Gong is Feng Wuyi, the Feng family in Changle was born in the imperial court and made a fortune, and is currently the prefect of Zhao County jointly appointed by Zhang Xing and others; the prince is Wang Huaitong, the master of Jin who was sent by Bai Hengqiu to contact all parties in Hebei, a model for literary cultivation, and a disciple.
All over Hebei and Jin; Wang, General Qi refers to Wang Chenkuo and Qize, the captain of Zhaojun, who occupied Hengshan County. Among them, Wang Chenkuo is also the clan brother of Wang Chenxing, the general under Li Ding... Just like the Gaoshi Province and Gao Shitong in front of us,
Gao Shizhan was a relative of the same family, while Qi Ze was a local powerful man who had rebelled.
This is the complicated situation in Hebei.
There is me among you, and you among me. Countless characters, based on their own positions, experiences, ambitions, likes and dislikes, are entangled with each other along the two main lines of the official army and the rebel army.
Of course, these are all idle talk, and people like Bai, Duan, Xue, and Li would not think about them at this time.
Bai Hengqiu was the first to read the letter, his expression remained unchanged, and he only handed the letter to Duan Wei. Duan Shangshu, after reading the letter, did not give it to Xue Changxiong or Li Ding at all. Instead, he tore it into pieces on the spot, threw it in the wind, and then scolded him sternly.
, or complain:
"Old Feng actually persuaded us to stop the army? Is he crazy? He can't tell where he is sitting? Even someone like Cui Suan, who has not received the slightest favor from the Wei Dynasty, knows that he wants to follow us. He will make a fortune in front of the emperor.
Yes, why are you so careless?!"
The generals and staff officers below were stunned for a moment, but they didn't dare to interrupt.
"That's right." Xue Changxiong also frowned and said after hearing this. "It's not that we can't talk, but as the saying goes, the arrow has to be fired when it is on the string. Now the first arrow has been shot. In any case, it is time to wait for the quiver to be empty.
Let’s speak after seeing the results clearly.”
"So just ignore it." Bai Hengqiu was calm and composed. "Besides, Old Feng Jiu is a person who knows the pros and cons in front of the emperor. Such words are just because he has his own character. To make a statement, it is not necessary to do so.
How, otherwise why would it be just a letter, just not come at all...and there is nothing he can do."
At the end of the sentence, he was a bit domineering.
"Then Feng Gong can arrive with the main force early tomorrow morning. Do you want him to attach a annex camp or participate in the siege?" After listening carefully to the three words, Li Ding just raised his sword and spoke. It was also the first time he took the initiative to speak this afternoon.
"Indeed." Xue Changxiong frowned when he heard this. "It's not just about Lao Feng's personal attitude. He and the soldiers from the three northwest counties who came this time also came from mixed sources and were weak in combat strength... If you ask me, just don't let him.
When he comes, he only allows them to stay in the Jingcheng area, which can be regarded as taking care of his face."
Jingcheng, not even Zongcheng, was forty or fifty miles away from the battlefield.
"What did Li Silang think?" Bai Hengqiu was thoughtful, but then looked at Li Ding.
"Participate in the siege, and give him a corner of the position... If he comes from the northwest, just give him the northwest part of the position." Li Ding did not think about it, as if he had already thought about it. "It's like Mr. Xue came from the northeast, and the north and the
The defense in the northeast belongs to Duke Xue, so don't do anything."
Not to mention others, only the few generals who climbed onto the civil platform to build a watchtower to observe the situation, including Dou Qi who had just come up, all woke up instantly.
"Okay." Duan Wei came to his senses and smiled first. "Then let Lao Feng do it step by step... Young people are quick to respond."
Xue Changxiong also nodded.
Bai Hengqiu glanced at Li Ding, whose expression remained unchanged, and couldn't help but laugh: "It is true that Li Silang has thought carefully, which is better than flooding."
The reason is very simple. The first is political unity, and the second is to set up a trap... The so-called knowing Feng Wuyi's political stance and knowing that this army is the weakest will make you enlightened and you can take advantage of Feng Wuyi's plan.
Place a pocket behind the defense area, or use the shelter of the barracks to make preparations for placing the pocket. If the army really wants to break through and escape from here, it will be a dead end.
However, if it is designed in this way, it seems that there is no need to implement the previous flooding strategy, because flooding is really time-consuming and labor-intensive.
"Can Feng Wuyi make some arrangements?" Returning to the observation deck of the military camp, Zhou Xingfan looked at the enemy camp in the distance, and he really asked this question.
"If we really need to dredge things up, we have to do it before he leaves. Now that he's here, what's the point of dredging it among the army?" Xu Shiying said disapprovingly.
"What Xiao Zhou means is that if it is cleared, it can be a place to go when necessary." Niu Da said seriously.
"Even if he agrees, do you dare to go?" Wang Shuyong also disagreed. "With so many soldiers and generals, once we have evil intentions, we will fall into a trap."
"When it's really a last resort, why not give it a try?" Xu Shiren discussed seriously.
"Instead of counting on Feng Wuyi, it is better to count on reinforcements from the north." Jia Yue rarely spoke. "Why are these people coming? The original intention is to talk about the internal disputes in Hebei, which have a real enemy-enemy relationship with us. Although it is with Bai Hengqiu
They are not of the same mind, but they are of the same mind as us? Only in Beidi, there are only benefits and no harm to us, so we can count on..."
"Can the Northland make it in time?" Xu Shiying raised his eyebrows slightly.
"If Manager Xie is clear about it, Feng Wuyi, Luo Shu, and Xue Changxiong can just click and go to Beidi immediately, plus the people Bai Peixiong sent there before, it will be enough." Jia Yue replied seriously.
"How many days does it take to calculate enough?" Xu Shiying asked seriously. "There are still ten days until the food is exhausted. Is this the date?"
"almost."
"How many soldiers can come?"
"How many soldiers can come at this time?" Jia Yue asked rhetorically. "The key is to have a supporting force, the White Wolf Guard and the Tieshan Guard concentrate their elite troops. A thousand men each will be enough..."
"If we talk about support, it's not like we don't have any. There are dozens of battalions outside! There are also many elites!" Wang Shuyong said angrily.
"But the officers and soldiers all know that, and they are keeping a close eye on it, but they don't know about Beidi's support."
"That makes some sense." Xu Shiying nodded and looked at Zhang Xing again. "Chief, when are we planning to break out?"
"Of course it depends on the situation." Zhang Xing also glanced at the other party. "When the other party's situation is the most difficult, or when we have good conditions, we can leave as soon as possible. For example, when reinforcements from the North are coming, it will naturally be a
Conditions, it would be better if the other side withdraws its troops...Are you really prepared to starve to death here?"
Xu Shiying nodded, relieved for a moment, and answered again: "They obviously want to build a strong camp and block the water, and if we want to break out at any time, we don't have to hold on... Look at how hard they worked during the day,
How about I lead my troops to dig camp tonight?"
Digging a camp is a very common tactic. When one party travels a long way to attack, or lacks followers and auxiliaries, or lacks time, the camp will be perfunctory, which in turn makes attacking the camp at night an advantage.
This kind of thing was particularly prominent in the previous hundreds of years of confrontation between the north and the south, because it was a rare and effective way for the south to deal with the northern cavalry attack tactics.
Of course, Xu Shiying's digging camp here is literally digging a camp, which means to interrupt the opponent's project and exhaust the opponent.
Of course there is nothing to say.
"Be careful," Zhang Xing warned. "Arrange your retreat. If you don't succeed, retreat immediately. Troops are precious. If your battalion is destroyed, we may not be able to raise the main formation."
"I know." Xu Shiying nodded immediately. "I worked so hard in the past few days just to protect this. If I die, there will be Wu Dalang to replace me, but if the soldiers and horses are gone, they will be gone... Otherwise, use as few practitioners as possible.
?Come back after digging."
"It's not impossible, but in this case, you still have to direct it yourself?" Zhang Xing continued to ask.
Xu Shiying was speechless, but after a moment, he retreated inexplicably: "Why don't we just go? I'm afraid it would be inappropriate not to give instructions."
"Why don't you go?!" At this moment, Xiong Bonan, who had not intervened to discuss the situation before, suddenly spoke. "Yesterday I made it clear that we had won before, and now we cannot lose momentum and take the initiative to attack.
, it’s a shock! Just go, I’ll back you up! I can bring you back no matter what!”
"I'm going to raid the formation too." Wu Jingfeng, who was also speechless, also expressed his stance.
Xu Shiying was stunned for a moment, and forced herself not to look at Zhang Xing, but nodded immediately.
The matter was settled.
In this way, on the evening of that day, Xu Shiying carefully arranged and waited until late at night. Zhang Xing also led a group of Chinese army confidants to inspect the entire camp and returned to the Chinese army's tent... Theoretically, in order to start the battle at any time, he would not
He should leave the Chinese Army.
As soon as he returned to the Chinese army's tent, he had just brought the bowls and had not eaten yet, when a man came to visit him.
"What is this?" Zhang Xing looked at the things on the bed in surprise.
"Is this the first time that Third Brother has seen this thing?" Zhou Xingfan was equally surprised. "I have it. I don't believe that others don't have it."
"That's not what I meant." Zhang Xing also laughed. "Others have it, but I didn't expect you to have it too..."
"Duan Weixin said in his letter that he was also anti-Wei. There was no fundamental opposition between us, including Cao Lin, who was also dealt with by Bai Hengqiu. Instead, we were all on the same side. Bai Hengqiu said in his letter that when Ping Chen was still with my father,
We have a close relationship with Lai Gong. We are all ministers of the same palace, and we are familiar with each other. They regard me as their nephew..." Xiao Zhou said thoughtfully. "The principles seem to be correct, and there is nothing to refute... But I don't know.
Why, even if I put aside my loyalty and morality, I still feel like something is wrong."
"There could be something wrong. It's just that private grudges gradually merged into public grudges. Looking back for a moment, I couldn't tell the difference between public and private, and I was a little confused." Zhang Xing still didn't accept the envelope, but just lowered his head to eat sorghum rice. "After all, everything is the same.
It started out as a personal feud from the beginning."
Under the swaying lights, Zhou Xingfan remained silent. He was only in his early twenties this year and already had several scars on his face. His skin was dark and he looked completely different from the aristocratic young man who followed Zhang Xing in Jing'an Taichung.
.
After pausing for a moment, he put aside all his thoughts and asked seriously: "Who else, besides me, has sent a letter of persuasion to surrender to Third Brother?"
Besides you, there are Wu Dalang, Xu Shiren, Niu Da, Wang Wulang and Cui Erlang." Zhang Xingyi said.
Xiao Zhou nodded: "That means King Xiongtian doesn't expect it, and Wang Xiongdan and Ma Wei don't know each other, right?"
Zhang Xing thought for a while and added: "Xu Dalang doesn't have it either, so he shouldn't expect it."
Zhou Xingfan narrowed his eyes: "Why?"
"It was only when we met that day that we realized that Xu Shiying was a talented person, but also powerful and cunning. Based on the past, we knew that this person was loyal and loyal. In addition, his brother-in-law, Xiong Bonan, was mighty and imposing. The two of them were actually Zhang Xing.
I'm so brave, and I really don't want to humiliate myself." In the Chinese army's tent, the lights were brightly lit, and during the banquet, Bai Hengqiu raised his glass and explained to the generals, "I didn't expect this.
That's just the two of them. The rest of us, Wu Dalang and Zhou Xiaozi, were also obsessed and didn't respond at all... Zhang Xing has the skills to control people and has heroes to help him. It seems that we have lost our grace. Fortunately, we are now completely
It’s better to put your mind outside the siege.”
Except for Li Ding, who looked a little strange unconsciously, the rest of the people, from Xue Changxiong to Duan Wei below, all nodded in disbelief.
After the banquet, more than an hour later, around midnight, Xu Shiying and Xu Dalang, wearing only leather armor and a short sword, finally walked out of the camp. He looked at the crescent moons above his head, and then looked around: "Everything is ready.
?"
The leader of the close personal guard came forward to report: "Five hundred people, all wearing the official and military uniforms collected from the last war, and carrying hoes..."
"No need for a hoe." Xu Dalang was startled for a moment and then gave the order seriously. "There must be no shortage of tools in the enemy's camp. We just pretend to be the enemy's soldiers and horses and go there. Of course there are tools... But if we don't, we go in, walk around, and shout before leaving.