In the valley, dozens of large pots were emitting the enticing aroma of meat, causing Li Shan, who had been chewing dry food for many days, to twitch his nose frequently.
"They are all fat sheep that have just been slaughtered." Fan Laosan swallowed, "The Zhang family is really rich."
Li Shan glanced at Zhang Wenguan, who was exchanging greetings with Zhang Xuansu, "A life-saving grace, dozens of fat sheep are nothing."
Zhang Wenguan was a cheerful man. After escaping from danger, he told Su Dingfang and Guo Pu exactly what had happened. He also had dozens of fat sheep slaughtered and personally followed the Tang army south to the valley.
"Okay, okay, don't worry, we have everything. There will be another pot later!"
No one had any bowls or chopsticks, and even the big pot was brought by Zhang Wenguan, so he could only use two branches as chopsticks to fish the meat directly from the pot.
Li Shan had already prepared it, and Zhu Ba squeezed out of the crowd holding a branch with peeled bark and clean water, and skewered a few pieces of mutton on it.
These days are really tough. Although Li Shan is not a pampered child, eating dry food that is so hard that it can chip children's teeth in winter is really... It's really not an adjective. Li Shan saw with his own eyes several seven or eight-year-old children with sad faces and front teeth.
They were all eaten up by dry food.
After devouring it for a while, Li Shan finished three skewers in one breath before taking a breath and glanced at Fan Shiyi who was beside him and said, "You have just been injured, just take a few mouthfuls of soup."
Fan Shiyi suffered serious injuries in prison, but they were mainly to his upper body and his left arm was broken, which did not affect his riding.
Just as he was about to take a break before continuing, Zhang Xuansu came over with Zhang Wenguan and introduced: "Li Langjun, this is Zhang Wenguan of the Zhang family in Qinghe, and his father is the magistrate of Yangcheng County in Zezhou."
Zhang Wenguan bowed deeply and said, "He planned at his feet, defeated the enemy army with three hundred cavalry, burned all the food and grass, and rushed to Wucheng all night long. He is truly a hero."
Zhang Xuansu also nodded frequently. He joined the army as a Jingcheng official and was no stranger to military affairs. He saw with his own eyes that Li Shu rose up from a desperate situation and made a sudden plan to attack the camp at night and avert danger.
Now in Beizhou, not counting the soldiers from various counties and villages, Liu Heitai's troops were already very few. The two thousand soldiers and horses were almost completely wiped out.
If the troops were not too small, Li Shan could have captured Beizhou again, raised his troops to the west, and relieved the siege of Luozhou.
"I can't take it seriously." Li Shan suddenly burped and laughed a few times, "It's a helpless move, just trying to survive."
Zhang Xuansu smiled and said: "Zhigui is fifteen years old this year, so he can be called Brother Li."
"Brother Li."
Li Shan picked up Zhang Wenguan and said, "I have to thank Zhigui for sending me meat. I haven't been full for many days."
"It's a matter of duty." Zhang Wenguan straightened up and said softly: "Just now I heard what Uncle Shi said, Brother Li wants to go south to Weizhou?"
The fathers of Zhang Xuansu and Zhang Wenguan were old friends. Although the two families were not from the same clan, they were from the same clan.
"Hiccup...well, that's true." Li Shan bowed and said, "I would also like to thank Zhigui for taking him in."
As soon as Guo Pu came back, he told Li Shan that Zhang Wenguan promised the Zhang family to take in those injured soldiers who were unable to move. In this way, the speed of moving south could be greatly accelerated.
Zhang Wenguan hesitated for a while, then turned to look at Zhang Xuansu.
"Zhigui wants to go south to Weizhou with the army." Zhang Xuansu whispered: "If Su Dingfang hadn't happened to break the city this time, Zhigui would have been killed by Fan Yuan."
"Fan Yuan?" Li Shan said in surprise: "He dares to kill the children of the Zhang family in Qinghe?"
Zhang Wenguan said frankly, "A few days ago, a Turkic cavalry passed through Wucheng. My younger brother recognized Fan Yuan's eldest son and urged the general to lead his army to attack..."
Li Shan narrowed his eyes and suddenly interrupted: "Is your beard and hair yellow?"
"That's right." Zhang Wenguan was startled, "How does Brother Li know?"
It was the yellow-haired young man whose throat was cut by himself. Li Shan licked his lips and took the skewer of mutton handed over by Shi Shi. No wonder Su Dingfang killed Fan Yuan with his own hands.
Zhou Zhao, who had been drinking next to him, suddenly turned around and asked: "How was the battle that day?"
"How many people are there on the Turkic Ride?"
"Where did Fan Yuan's eldest son flee in the end?"
Li Shan's strange look and Zhou Zhao's continuous questions made Zhang Wenguan aware of something strange. He thought carefully for a while before he said: "There were about two hundred horses. The Tang army set up an ambush and won a great victory that day. The leader was Wucheng Bingcao.
More than seventy people were beheaded and more than ten people were captured. The remaining soldiers were divided into two groups. Those who fled westward were chased and killed. The remaining dozens fled northward, and Fan Yuan's eldest son was among them."
Li Shan and Zhou Zhao looked at each other and asked in a low voice: "Is Fan Yuan asking about the whereabouts of his eldest son?"
"That's right." Zhang Wenguan paused and added: "I also asked about the whereabouts of the prisoners, and this time Fan Yuan came to Wucheng and brought a few Turks with him."
"Turks?!" Li Shan smacked his lips, "Are you sure?"
Zhou Zhao scratched the bun on his head and said, "It makes sense...Fan Yuan is the number one person under Liu Heitai..."
As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, and the person mixed with Fan Yuan's eldest son is naturally not an ordinary person... This was within Li Shan's expectation, so he kept the Turkic youth with him without killing him with a single blow.
But Fan Yuan brought the Turks to Wucheng to investigate, which shows that the status of the Turkic young man may be very high...
"Brother Su!" Li Shan shouted at the top of his lungs, "Send the wounded soldiers to Zhangjiazhuangzi. We will set off south immediately."
Just as Su Dingfang was about to ask a question, Li Shan pointed at Zhou Zhao and said, "Go and explain."
"Zhigui, you have to go south to avoid us just because of this matter." Li Shan patted Zhang Wenguan on the shoulder, "But if you follow us... it may not be a good thing."
Zhang Wenguan said softly: "My younger brother led hundreds of soldiers to follow him, and he was able to rush into the formation with his horse."
Li Shan said no more and hurriedly went to make arrangements for departure.
Seeing the busy Li Shan shouting loudly and comforting the wounded soldiers who would be left behind, Zhang Wenguan whispered: "This brother Li is indeed extraordinary and kind. I saw him binding the wounds of the wounded soldiers with his own hands before."
Zhang Xuansu snorted, nodded randomly, and then said after a while: "He is good at medical skills..."
Zhang Xuansu did not continue, but he could see clearly that Li Shan's benevolence was targeted. He was rescued by Li Shan that day, and Li Shan ordered that all those who were captured by his pursuers be executed.
Zhang Wenguan followed him with great interest, only to see Li Shan holding a dagger and methodically cutting several cuts on a Turkic man's arm, while still comforting him, "It's good to put some blood, how many times is this the first time?"
"
Zhu Ba thought for a while and said, "This is the sixth time."
When everyone set off from the valley and headed south, Li Shan couldn't help but look back and saw that the target was getting bigger and bigger.
At first there were only thirty or forty people, but after meeting Su Dingfang, the number became more than a hundred. After rescuing Liu Jun, the number became more than 300. Adding in the soldiers led by Zhang Wenguan, the number was almost 500.
The group quickly passed through Liting, turned to the southwest, and tried to enter Weizhou as quickly as possible. Although there were many people, the horses were enough. There was only Su Mu's carriage. If they arrived at Weizhou smoothly, they would have nothing to fear.
.
Even if Liu Heitai captured Luozhou and marched southward, at worst he could cross the river to reach Shaanxi Province, would Liu Heitai still have wings and fly across the Yellow River?
…
In Xingzhou, which had already fallen, the tall Liu Heitai stood beside a piece of scorched earth, gritting his teeth and severly waving the riding crop in his hand.
In the battle of Xiabo, Liu Heitai showed weakness three times and lured out the main force of the Tang army. He was destroyed in one fell swoop and captured Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang. Then he immediately set off southward and led a partial army led by Liu Shishan to defeat Xu Shanhu, the general manager of Beizhou. He personally led the main force and the Turkic cavalry to rush.
Attack Xingzhou.
For Liu Heitai, at least for Liu Heitai now, Xingzhou is no less important than Luozhou.
The reason is very simple. Liu Heitai himself is from Hebei. He knows very well that after many years of war, the fields are barren, Hebei Province has insufficient food reserves, and the Turks are looting everywhere... There is no food left among the people.
Liu Heita had made preparations in advance, and sent his cronies to go around Beizhou, and summoned his old troops in Zhangnan, Wucheng, Liting, and Qingyang to prepare food and grass.
But after the Battle of Xiabo, Liu Heitai interrogated the prisoners and learned that Shaanxi Province had just transported a batch of grain and grass to Xingzhou... He was so thirsty that he saw the big river!
That's why Liu Heita personally led the main force to attack Xingzhou, and also tried to persuade Qi Shanxing, the general manager of Xingzhou, to surrender... After all, we were all buddies back then, but now that I, Old Liu, have come back, I still don't surrender obediently!
But in the end, Liu Heitai discovered that he was indeed thirsty, but what was in front of him was not a river, but a plum forest.
After Qi Shanxing, the general manager of Xingzhou, learned about the battle report of the Battle of Xiabo, he immediately summoned more than a thousand Tang soldiers under his command and decisively withdrew south to Luozhou.
That's all. The key point is that before leaving, Qi Shanxing set a fire and burned all the food and grass that had just been delivered for half a month, leaving not even the residue behind for his old comrades.
How could this not make Liu Heitai furious... When you Qi Shanxing entered Prince Qin's palace, you were so determined that you were weighed down by the weight!
"Your Majesty, the Turks are making trouble again." Wang Xiaohu, a trusted general, whispered to Liu Heitai, "I'm afraid they can't suppress them anymore."
"Suppress?" Liu Heita sneered: "Who will suppress those Turkic soldiers?"
"That……"
Liu Heitai was silent for a moment, and waved his hand helplessly to express his acquiescence... The Turks are not stupid either. A large amount of food and grass were burned, how could they not know?
Nowadays, the climate is getting colder and colder. The Turks are not going south to fight for Liu Heita, but to rob things. Since the food and grass have been burned, the unlucky people can only be the common people, as well as those counties and villages.
A wealthy family.
Slowly riding back to the government office, Liu Heita quickly regained his composure. Fortunately, he had already sent someone to contact the old Beizhou department and asked Fan Yuan and Dong Kang to supervise the food and grass management.
Today's Hebei Road has no hope at all in the north. There are only two places in the middle and east and west that still have a large amount of grain and grass. One is Beizhou, which has always been rich, and the other is Luozhou, where Qi Shanxing has just retreated south.
During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, three large granaries were built in Hebei Province, one in Beizhou, one in Xingzhou, and one in Liyang in Weizhou.
In other words, the Xingzhou Granary was burned down by Qi Shanxing, and the Liyang Granary in Weizhou...Liu Heitai couldn't count on it either.
Weizhou is the southernmost of all the prefectures in Hebei Province. It borders Huazhou on Shaanxi Province and is on the bank of the Yellow River... If Liu Heitai can kill Weizhou, can Shaanxi Province be able to sit still?
Because Luozhou has convenient waterways and was once the capital of Dou Jiande and Liu Heitai, it reserves a large amount of grain and grass... However, Liu Heitai no longer has much hope for Luozhou.
Qi Shanxing can completely burn down the Xingzhou granary with a single fire. If he wants to stick to Luozhou, that's it. If he retreats south again, he will definitely burn down the Luozhou granary with a single fire.
Therefore, Liu Heitai's only hope in the short term is Beizhou.
Without food and grass, Liu Heitai's troops will inevitably be unstable, and even the Turkic soldiers may cause big troubles.
Although there were grain and grass seized from Jizhou, they could not last long.
Hearing the report from the guards outside, Liu Heitai rubbed his temples and shouted, "Come in and talk."
Behind the bodyguard was a middle-aged general with his head hanging down. After entering the door, he knelt on one knee and said inarticulately: "Liting was attacked..."
"Liting was attacked?" Liu Heitai repeated, suddenly reacting, "What did you say?!"
"Where's Dong Kang?!"
"Is the food and grass damaged?"
The middle-aged general raised his head, his face was dark, not because his skin was dark, but because of the smoke from the fire, and even the corners of his hair were curled up by the fire.
"The Tang army attacked the camp at night and set fire to the food. General Dong was killed in battle. Two thousand soldiers and horses were wiped out. The last general had a chance to escape by jumping into the Qinghe River."
"How many soldiers and horses does the Tang army have?"
The middle-aged general was so ashamed that he hesitated for a while before saying: "About several hundred cavalry."
Liu Heitai was dizzy, his body swayed, and he held his hand on the desk to keep calm, "Where is Fan Yuan?"
"Yesterday Fan Yuan sent someone to report back. Nothing happened in Beizhou, and the food and grass collection went smoothly..."
The middle-aged general moved his lips and whispered: "On the way, I learned that the Tang army made a sneak attack overnight and Wucheng was breached..."
Liu Heitai finally couldn't hold on anymore and sat down on the bench. His only hope was in vain, the grain and grass he raised were in vain, general Dong Kang was killed in battle, and his servant Fan Yuan was probably captured and killed.
Just three days ago, it seemed inevitable to defeat the main force of the Tang army and sweep across Hebei.
Now, it seems that the situation is strong, but there is a shortage of food and grass, and we have lost important ministers and generals.
Liu Heita gritted his teeth and shouted loudly: "Gather all the generals and set off immediately to send troops to Luozhou!"
At this time, it is meaningless to think about the grain and grass in Beizhou. The only solution for now is to capture Luozhou, and a large amount of grain and grass must be captured.
Without that food and grass, let alone the Turkic soldiers who would be mothers if they had milk, Liu Heita was not even sure he could control his direct descendants.
But before Liu Heitai could lead his troops out of the city, he heard news that made him furious.
Thousands of Turkic soldiers suddenly broke camp and headed eastward. The Turkic general gathered the scattered troops and horses and prepared to go eastward as well.
"Machete?"
"What scimitar?"
Liu Heita gritted his teeth and cursed, these Turks are really messing around!
To the east of Xingzhou is Beizhou. Liu Heitai insisted on letting Liu Shishan lead a partial army to attack Beizhou because he was afraid that the Turks would cause harm to Beizhou.
On the one hand, Beizhou is the hometown of Liu Heita and Dou Jiande. A considerable number of people in the army are from Beizhou, so they naturally do not want the Turks to invade Beizhou.
On the other hand, there are many aristocratic families in Beizhou. They are not the kind of aristocratic families that are famous in the county, but are famous families throughout the country, such as the Cui family of Qinghe and the Zhang family of Qinghe.
If the Cui family in Qinghe was robbed by the Turks... Liu Heita could not imagine it. The Turks could be indifferent, but could he be indifferent?
But Qinghe County is located in the middle of Beizhou. With the speed of the Turks, they can quickly reach the city. Will they let Cui go?
Resisting the urge to drown the Turkic coach in the toilet, Liu Heita accelerated his horse and shouted: "Go to Luozhou, go to Luozhou!"