The Western Army's campaign to suppress bandits this time was also divided into three armies: east, west and central.
Liu Yanqing, the commander of the East Route, went to Fengxiang for a meeting, and his deputy Yang Weizhong led the army south.
Wang Yuan and Han Shizhong were also in the army. Wang Yuan commanded 3,000 troops, and Han Shizhong commanded 500 troops. They were directly subordinate to each other.
Han Shizhong had made many achievements during the conquest of Fangla and the Liao Dynasty. Now he was only Chengjie Lang, a military attache of the ninth rank, and he was the penultimate rank among the ninth rank.
This official rank belongs to Yang Weizhong, and Wang Yuan helped him get it. It is not a normal promotion based on merit.
Comparatively speaking, the fledgling Wu Jie was different. He captured a leader during the expedition to Fangla and defeated a group of Hebei bandits during the expedition to Liao. Wu Jie was promoted to Zhongxunlang due to his meritorious service, and his official salary was four times higher than that of Han Shizhong.
He was already the eleventh general in Jingyuan (commanding three thousand troops).
In fact, there is not much difference between the two people's backgrounds. Wu Jie even had a harder time (losing his father when he was young and living in a foreign land).
But the fate of life cannot be judged by common sense. Many times it depends on luck.
The Eastern Route troops of the Western Army camped in Yuxi (Zhouzhi). Han Shizhong went to find Wang Yuan: "We have already arrived in Zhouzhi, why do we have to go south from the Tangluo Road? Give me a thousand men to make a surprise attack from Ziwu Valley to attack Yangzhou.
You can also go to Jinzhou."
Wang Yuan shook his head: "The Ziwu Valley is too difficult to get through, so we can only make a surprise attack with a small number of soldiers and horses. If the bandits are stationed at strategic points, it will be difficult for this group of soldiers to make an advance."
Han Shizhong said: "You have to take the risk and try it."
Wang Yuan sighed: "Well, since you insist, just go and talk to Yang Dutong."
Wang Yuan took him to see Yang Weizhong, and Han Shizhong explained the purpose of his visit: "Du Tong, no matter which road it is, it is difficult to go. Ziwu Valley may be able to successfully attack by surprise."
Yang Weizhong asked: "So what if the surprise attack is successful? If one or two thousand elites are killed, even if they can capture Zhenfu or Shiquan County, what will it do to the overall war situation? By then, you will be trapped in two counties and lose your elite soldiers in vain.
!”
Han Shizhong was full of confidence: "As long as I succeed in a surprise attack on a county town, I can shake up the Red Thieves' rear!"
"Don't say any more, go back and lead the troops." Yang Weizhong ended the conversation.
Han Shizhong had no choice but to leave in anger, not daring to express any resentment in his heart. If it weren't for Yang Weizhong's guidance, he wouldn't even be a Chengjie Lang, let alone a commander. He would probably still be the chief commander today.
Although Yang Weizhong is a Han, he was born in the Liao Kingdom and is half "Fan".
His mother is the daughter of Xiao from Liao Kingdom!
With such a sensitive identity, being able to manage military affairs and control the capital is a testament to his brilliance.
Yang Weizhong once led thousands of people to defend the city against the hundreds of thousands of troops of Empress Dowager Liang. He held on for fourteen days and waited for reinforcements to come, and defeated the Xixia army and fled.
Seeing Han Shizhong leave, Yang Weizhong sighed.
The Western Army suffered heavy losses in the expedition against Liao. Although the Eastern Route Army currently has 30,000 soldiers, nearly 70% of them are temporary recruits.
Although they have been trained for several months, their combat effectiveness is only better than that of the rural soldiers. Moreover, their armor is seriously insufficient, and their weapons and equipment are far inferior to those of the regular Western army.
If you want to make a surprise attack on Ziwu Valley, you have to send an elite army to carry it out.
Yang Weizhong only had a few thousand elite soldiers left, and every one of them had to be used on the edge of the sword. How could he dare to leave them to Han Shizhong to take risks?
After stationing troops in Yufu for more than half a month, the imperial court finally issued an order that the Third Route Western Army could advance.
Liu Yanqing came in a hurry, and with Wang Yuan as the vanguard general, he attacked Yangzhou from the Tangluo Road.
Wang Yuan and Han Shizhong led three thousand troops ahead. There were no rebels to block the way, but bandits were everywhere in the mountains and forests.
Those bandits were all Shaanxi people who fled into the mountains, and many of them were from the Western Army.
Wang Yuan and Han Shizhong wiped out the bandits' stronghold close to the main road along the way, and countless bandits fled deeper into the mountains and forests. They did not dare to take the lead for the time being, but as soon as the main force of the official army passed by, the bandits would come out to rob the grain transport team.
Going south from the Tangluo Road, there are old roads and new roads, and they are all defended by rebels anyway.
Huaishuguan on the west side had long been dilapidated, so Zhu Guoxiang sent people to re-reinforce it. In Jinshui Town on the east side, several temporary forts were also built.
Wang Yuan and Han Shizhong led their troops close to Jinshui Town, still more than ten miles away, when suddenly billowing smoke billowed from the top of the mountain.
Smoke was rising one after another.
The guard here is Wang Xiong, the prototype of Yang Xiong in "Water Margin".
Wang Xiong has three thousand soldiers under his command, all of whom are recruited locally. The sources of the soldiers are gold miners, mountain farmers, hunters, bandits and runaways. They have been practicing for eight months, and the soldiers are fully equipped and are waiting for the officers and soldiers to come.
Wang Yuan climbed to the top of a nearby hill to observe, and then returned to the camp and said: "There are three strongholds here. One main stronghold is built on the mountain and river, and two secondary strongholds are built on the top of the mountain. They are all terrains that are easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is difficult for our vanguard to attack.
Next, we have to wait until the main force of the army arrives."
Han Shizhong said: "Capture a few people in the mountains and see if you can find out where there is a trail, or you can go around behind and attack and seize the stronghold by surprise."
"You can try, but don't force yourself." Wang Yuan reminded.
Han Shizhong's mental state was very wrong. He was crazy about being promoted through meritorious service.
The more he was praised for military merit, the more he wanted to prove himself, so he was eager to fight and lost his sense of normalcy long ago.
Han Shizhong led his men to search the mountain and found that the nearby villages were deserted.
"Commander," a soldier came out of the hut and reported, "there is still residual heat in the ashes in the stove. Maybe they saw the smoke, and all the nearby mountain people fled. They fled in a hurry. Although they took away the food, they only took away their clothes and
I don’t even care about farm tools.”
Unable to catch mountain people as guides, Han Shizhong had no choice but to conduct reconnaissance himself.
The valley to the north of Jinshui Town is slightly flatter, but the southeast and west sides of the fortress are all surrounded by high mountains.
Han Shizhong wandered around the mountains for two days, but he could not find a path around him. Instead, he was discovered by the rebels who were sentrying on the top of the mountain. They threw more than ten rolling stones and injured one person.
Another day later, Yang Zhi arrived with reinforcements.
Zhang Guangdao commanded the Jinzhou troops and horses, Yang Zhi commanded the Yangzhou troops and horses, and Ju Ming himself was stationed in the direction of Hanzhong.
"How many are here?" Yang Zhi asked.
Wang Xiong said: "Two or three thousand officers and soldiers are probably the pioneers. They are stationed in a mountain nest a few miles ahead. I sent people to investigate. The camp is very secure and there are people on guard day and night."
Yang Zhi went to investigate the situation in person, but couldn't find any loopholes in the enemy's stronghold, so he simply led his troops to kill them.
Han Shizhong, who was eager to fight, stood on the top of the mountain and carefully observed the situation of the rebels. He actually ran back and said to Wang Yuan: "There are at least five or six thousand rebels, and their troops are in order, marching without disorder, and their armor is well prepared. We, the three thousand vanguards,
Without heavy armor and coming from a long distance, I'm afraid it won't be easy to win, so we'll have to abandon the camp and retreat to the mountains."
"Then withdraw." Wang Yuan's expression was serious.
The two of them did not bring many civilians with them and naturally had little food, so they quickly retreated to a dangerous place in the mountains to defend themselves.
Seeing this, Yang Zhi was helpless and ordered: "Burn the enemy's camp and burn the vegetation on the nearby mountains. Cut down all the trees that can be cut on the hills north of Jinshui Town and leave nothing to the enemy to build equipment."
Yang Zhi led his troops to guard the valley, sent some soldiers to burn down the officers' and soldiers' camps, and asked the civilians to hide behind and go up the mountain to cut down trees.
It is estimated that after this battle, the mountains for several miles to the north will all become bare.
"Withdraw." Wang Yuan sighed.
The officers and soldiers retreated from the other side of the mountain to several miles away, and then chose a dangerous location to set up camp again.
Han Shizhong said: "The Zhu thieves are not Fangla and his ilk. I don't know how many elite thieves they have trained. If there are 10,000 thieves like this, plus some auxiliary troops, it will be difficult for the 30,000 Western Army to break through Jinshui Town."
Wang Yuan said: "Maybe it's just the few thousand. It's only been more than half a year. Even if the soldiers can be trained, the red thieves don't have that many armors."
Han Shizhong said depressedly: "If we hadn't lost our troops in the Liao Kingdom, with the original strength of the Western Army, I would have fought against the enemy just now! More than half of our three thousand vanguards are new soldiers, who were brought to fight before they were fully trained."
The rebel army can continue to practice, but the new recruits of the Western Army cannot.
The winter was too cold and there was a shortage of food. After spring, there was still a shortage of food.
Including the veterans, they could only eat half-full meals every day, and occasionally gathered to practice military formations on an empty stomach. Physical training was impossible, and the soldiers would definitely fall down from exhaustion if they didn't even have enough to eat.
It wasn't until the new wheat was harvested that the soldiers of the Western Army began to eat enough.
Moreover, they did not have enough food for a few days, so the various generals ordered to save military rations, because even if no one was withholding and corrupting, the newly harvested wheat would not last for a few months.
How is it possible that no one is corrupt?
Ten days later, Liu Yanqing arrived in person with his army. When he learned of the situation, he scolded Wang Yuan, thinking that the vanguard troops had lost their morale.
Yang Weizhong helped to smooth things over and after easing the atmosphere, he asked: "Do the thieves really have thousands of elite soldiers?"
Wang Yuan replied: "Just watching their march, they will not lose to the Western Army."
"How about the armor?" Yang Weizhong asked again.
Wang Yuan said: "I sent some soldiers to observe closely. There are few heavy armors and most are light armors. In addition to leather armors, there are also some chain armors and many rattan armors. There may also be paper armors and cloth armors, but they are far away.
It’s too far to see clearly.”
Han Shizhong said: "The bandits' weapons are also very strange, with many long bamboos."
Liu Yanqing said: "According to the officials who escaped, that kind of bamboo is called wolf millet, but I don't know what its specific use is."
Han Shizhong said: "The wolf mill is very long and has many branches. It can disturb the soldiers in the front row, but it will definitely be of no use when encountering elites."
Yang Weizhong said: "All the trees on the hills near Jinshui Town were burned down and chopped down. The army first set up camp here to build siege equipment, and then the whole army moved closer to set up camp to attack the stronghold."
The walls of the village are not high and the terrain is rugged, so large siege equipment cannot be used, and only simple flying ladders can be made.
Some cannons were also built, and Liu Yanqing also brought special shells that could burn violently or emit poisonous smoke when thrown.
After a delay of nearly twenty days, the Western Army's east-route army slowly moved towards Jinshui Town.
At the same time, news came from the rear that the grain transport team often encountered bandits in the mountains.
Liu Yanqing could only send four thousand troops back, and set up transfer stations at various places along the Tangluo Road. Each grain transport team sent at least two to three hundred soldiers to escort them.
By the time the Western Army arrived at Jinshui Town, the three forts were stronger.
Many pits were dug around the fort and filled with sharpened bamboo trees.
The heightened and thickened main wall has four cast-iron cannons!
This place is not far from the Han River and can be transported via tributaries, making it very convenient to transport troops, grain and artillery.
However, half of the food and fodder of the Western Army had to be consumed during transportation through the difficult and dangerous Tangluo Road.
