Fenzhou Post Station, three horses came galloping from a distance. When they arrived in front of the post house, they dismounted. The horse was sweating profusely in the cold winter weather, and its four strong and powerful legs were trembling. The knight on the horse jumped off the horse and staggered at first.
, and was hurriedly supported by the people at the inn.
The people in the posthouse were well-trained, and immediately someone brought them warm salt water, and someone helped them take off the robes from their shoulders. They returned to the room and hurriedly loaded up easy-to-carry food such as dried meat and steamed buns, and someone took away the war horses.
, and brought three new horses with complete saddles and harnesses. Three military envoys with small flags on their backs and mailboxes slanted on their backs took the gourds and drank heavily. At this time, the people in the post house were already busy holding the bags.
After tying it on their shoulders, the three of them threw the ladle into the arms of the postman, turned around, took the reins of the horses, jumped on the horses, whipped them hard, and galloped away again.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Could it be that Xiazhou City has already been captured?" A post soldier said doubtfully as he looked at the backs of the three messengers as they left.
With a "snap", he was slapped on the back of the head by an old postmaster. The postmaster ouched and touched the back of his head and said, "Uncle Zhou, why did you hit me?"
"Who told you that you don't have a brain?" Lao Yi Cheng cursed and muttered: "If Xiazhou City is really captured, such a big victory, no matter how tired they are, they will shout loudly to report their victory along the way. How can they be like this?
Withered head and droopy brain? According to me, I’m afraid you’ve suffered a defeat..."
"Is it possible?" The post soldier said with some disbelief: "The imperial court has an army of 100,000 people. How can the Xia Kingdom in Hexi defeat our General Pan?"
"It is difficult for an earthen pot to be broken from the wellhead, and a general will inevitably die on the battlefield," the old postmaster murmured: "I, Zhou Tong, have been a postman all my life, and my old eyes are not yet blooming. Looking at this situation, we have not only suffered a defeat.
, I’m afraid it’s still... a big defeat.”
"Crack!"
A high-grade torture kiln tea cup that was as round as the moon and as light as a cloud was smashed to pieces by Zhao Guangyi, and an angry voice roared in the entire hall: "One hundred thousand forbidden troops, one hundred thousand forbidden troops, I am well-equipped and well-trained
Pan Zhongxun's army of 100,000 was just destroyed in the hands of Pan Zhongxun! The remaining defeated soldiers who returned to Fuzhou were only more than 20,000. The Song Dynasty has never suffered such a defeat, and the generals of the Song Dynasty have never suffered such a defeat.
What a defeat! A disastrous defeat! This is a disastrous defeat! Who allowed him to retreat without permission? He made arbitrary decisions and lost troops and generals, and deserves death!"
All the civil and military officials bowed their heads and remained as silent as cicadas, no one dared to speak.
Zhao Guangyi angrily slapped the imperial case, pointed at Cao Bin, and shouted: "Cao Guohua, you are the Privy Councilor, what do you think Pan Mei should be guilty of?"
When the emperor asked about it, Cao Bin had to say something. He held the scepter and left the class, saying in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, Pan Mei's report to Chen Jun has arrived. I have read it carefully. Although Pan Mei was defeated, it was not because he was good at making opinions.
The reason for retreating is actually because our army advanced rashly and the battle line was extended. From Hengshan to Xiazhou for hundreds of miles in the wilderness, there was no fortress or fortress. The enemy's cavalry traveled across the vast snowy plains, coming and going as they pleased, cutting off our food routes and robbing our supplies.
, the 100,000 troops in front can no longer hold out for long, Pan Mei makes a decisive decision and retreats decisively, it is really a last resort!"
He only said half of what he said, and Zhao Guangyi's face turned red. Why did the Song army advance rashly? He once issued three imperial edicts for three days in a row urging Pan Mei to advance quickly. Cao Bin said this, could it be that Pan Mei lost her troops and lost her generals?
His responsibility?
Zhao Guangyi became angry and said: "It's sophistry. It's just sophistry. I'm just asking you, what is Pan Mei's crime if she retreats without permission without obeying the imperial edict, leading to an ambush by the enemy and losing her troops and generals?"
Cao Bin had fine beads of sweat on his nose and said: "The army must be run strictly, with clear rewards and punishments. Pan Mei lost the battle and should be severely punished."
As soon as Zhao Guangyi's expression softened, Cao Bin changed his tone and said again: "But I believe that rewards and punishments must be clear, and there must be a measure. Rewards without scale will breed arrogance and indulgence, and unreasonable punishments will lead to failure."
Being rude, biased, and losing the original intention of rewards and punishments is not advisable. Rewards and punishments must be clearly differentiated and reasonable, so that people can be convinced and can also serve as a warning to others."
Zhao Guangyi's face turned cold and he said solemnly: "Cao Guohua, are you trying to teach me a lesson?"
"I don't dare!" Cao Bin bent his waist again, and his voice became more respectful, but still stubbornly said: "I read the military report carefully and asked myself, if I had been Pan Mei instead, the situation at that time, the only choice would have been
Only a strong man can help himself and retreat immediately, even if he knows there are traps on the retreat path."
Zhao Guangyi sneered: "Retreating like this? Sending a hundred thousand troops into the tiger's mouth and only 20,000 people escaping. This is also called a strong man trying to escape. What a joke! What a big joke! This is throwing your whole body to others and only escaping."
Use a hand!"
Cao Bin's body yawned again, almost at a ninety-degree angle: "Your Majesty, I thought that it was not the whole body that was severed, but one hand."
Lu Duoxun, Zhang Ji, Xue Juzheng, Lu Yuqing, Luo Kedi, Dang Jin and others were all sweating for Cao Bin. Zhao Guangyi laughed angrily after hearing this. He did not get angry immediately, but slowly sat back
The dragon chair said in a cold voice: "Eighty thousand people can only be counted as one hand, but twenty thousand people can be considered as safe and sound? Okay, please tell me so that I can understand clearly."
"Yes!" Cao Bin straightened up slowly, struggling to keep saying this: "Your Majesty, General Pan's army of 100,000 people gathered at the foot of Xiazhou City to trap Yang Hao, and his military camp stretches hundreds of miles away from Hengshan.
It was a vast snowfield, and it was the battlefield of Xia's cavalry. If General Pan had not made a decisive decision and retreated immediately, then the rear would have to continuously transport grain, grass and baggage to supply the needs of the front army.
As a result, food, grass, weapons, armor and military uniforms can only fall into the hands of the Xia army one after another. The Xia army borrows the property of the Song Dynasty to support the war, and continues to grow.
, cannot withstand such constant consumption. And the front army cannot be replenished, is cold, hungry and weak, and the heavy wind and snow are enough to trap the 100,000 troops alive under the Xiazhou City. By then, not even 20,000 people will be able to survive.
Already.
Alternatively, General Pan could report the situation of the former enemy to the emperor immediately, and the imperial court could order the Linfu garrison to respond, or send more troops to ensure a calm retreat. However, it would take a long time to get back and forth from the capital, and it would take more than ten months to mobilize the large army for an expedition.
By the time the army arrived, it was already the spring and snowy season. How could the remaining food in the army last for so long?
It is not advisable to use the garrison of the two prefectures of Linfu to come to the rescue. The garrison of the two prefectures of Linfu is limited. With limited troops to defend the fortified city, it can resist ten times the enemy. The enemy will have no chance to take advantage of it.
Abandoning the city and leaving the city would be a drop in the bucket and would not be of much help to General Pan. As soon as the Linfu defenders came out, the enemy's cavalry was everywhere. They left Zhuolunchuan in the north and Amituo Cave in the south. They could rush to Linfu within a day.
Easily seize the city. By then, the retreat will be dead, and the Baili Snowfield will be left to the enemy's cavalry to wreak havoc. Not only will Pan Mei's 100,000-strong army be lost in Hexi, but the two prefectures of Linfu will also fall into the hands of the enemy again.
This is just the situation in Hexi, and I have not yet considered the actions of the Liao Kingdom. The Liao Kingdom suddenly moved 40,000 cavalry to Datong, far away from Yanmen. They arrived at dawn and dusk, watching with ulterior motives. If we send another large army to guard Hexi
They are not allowed to escape, or the two states of Lin Prefecture are completely destroyed, and the flanks of Yanmen Pass are exposed to the Xia army. It is unpredictable what the Liao will do, but what can be expected is that they will not move. Once they are dispatched, our Song Dynasty will
Falling into total passivity, due to the battle in a corner of Hexi, the whole country has fallen into a quagmire. Your Majesty, this is a dead end set by Yang Hao, and it will not end until death."
Zhao Guangyi was furious. What he hated most was that Pan Mei made decisions without asking for orders. If he really brought back all the 100,000 troops safely, he would end up with a heavy defeat. If he had been informed in advance, it would have been easier here.
Arrangements, deployment of troops, and generals would avoid a disastrous defeat for Ruosi. After hearing Cao Bin's analysis, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
However, after seeing Cao Bin's face clearly, he felt longing in his heart, and suddenly realized another question: "Cao Bin spoke so hard for Pan Mei, is it purely out of public interest? Hum, it seems that there is no relationship between them.
Not so harmonious, right? These veterans of the former dynasty, regardless of their personal relationship, are now in a group..."
No wonder Zhao Guangyi thinks so. Pan Mei has the merit of following the dragon. When the late emperor was there, he was a close confidant. Cao Bin was received from the army of the Later Zhou Dynasty after Zhao Kuangyin took over the world. He did not participate in the Chenqiao mutiny, and Cao Bin's mother (
Auntie) was the noble concubine of Taizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty. She had such a two-level relationship. Although she was versatile in both civil and military affairs and had noble moral character, she was not valued by Zhao Kuangyin at first.
Later, Zhao Kuangyin had firmly established himself in the country and gradually reused Cao Bin. Cao Bin never integrated into Zhao Kuangyin's group of heroes. The formation of factions in the army was very complicated. They didn't just fight side by side or drink together, even if they were in the same faction.
Therefore, although Cao Bin's position became higher and higher, and he later even came to sit on Pan Mei's head, the arrogant and powerful generals who Zhao Kuangyin once had the merit of following the dragon only respected him and did not obey him.
Cao Bin also knew this very well, so he and the group of heroes of the late emperor's dynasty were just gentlemen's friends. Fortunately, the reckless man from the Dang Jin Dynasty has not jumped out to express his dissatisfaction. Cao Bin has tried his best to excuse Pan Mei. These
The old general was clearly wary of his rampant appointment of newcomers and the exclusion of veterans from the previous dynasty.
Thinking of this, Zhao Guangyi suddenly became uneasy. It was equivalent to the defeat in Hexi. What he paid more attention to was the movement of the forces in the DPRK. The Song Dynasty had a great cause and the loss of 100,000 troops could be restored in one year. But if the DPRK and Zhongguo
The veteran generals who hold military power have different ideas. Once something goes wrong, it will be a civil strife. The civil strife not only affects the time, but the clean-up and investigation afterwards may last for several years, which is the most damaging to the vitality. Moreover, most of the emperors in the past five generations did not die at the hands of outsiders.
, ten out of ten were killed and replaced by his own generals. This is just what happened in the first few years. How could Zhao Guangyi not be afraid?
When Lu Duoxun saw that Zhao Guangyi did not get angry after hearing Cao Bin's words, he began to think deeply, with a gloomy expression on his face. He didn't know what he was thinking.
After hearing the pulse of the family, he came out and said: "Your Majesty, what Mr. Cao said has a certain truth. General Pan is a famous general in our dynasty. In the past, a hundred thousand soldiers swept across the 300,000 Han troops in southern Fujian and captured the monarch. He also made great military achievements.
.
This time the army was defeated in Hexi. General Cao Cao's military deployment was inherently wrong. However, our country has never had any precedent of fighting in winter in the north, so lack of experience and being burdened by natural disasters were the main reasons. The battle in Hexi can be regarded as the beginning of our northward expedition to the west. After the performance, we summarized the lessons learned. If we send out the heavenly troops in the future to attack the Northern Liao Dynasty and conquer the Western Xia Dynasty, we will definitely be unable to achieve success. However, Pan Mei was defeated, so this punishment is still necessary. I thought that I could demote Pan Mei to the third level of the army and listen in front of the army. Use it to make him guilty..."
"Hahahaha..." Zhao Guangyi laughed loudly, shook his head and said: "After listening to Guohua's words, I suddenly realized why Pan Mei was guilty? It was because I misheard Wang Jien's greedy words, and almost sinned against the hero. I am happy to hear this. I still have the magnanimity and magnanimity, Pan Zhongxun should not be punished, but rewarded!"
Lu Duoxun slapped the horse's hooves with his flattery, and just when he didn't know how to turn around, a young eunuch tiptoed up the imperial steps and handed something to the standing guard. Everyone knew that Gu Ruoli was treating him. After whispering a few words, Gu Ruoli was taken aback and shouted, "What did you say?"
He shouted a little too loudly. Although Zhao Guangyi spoke with a smile, he was actually very angry in his heart. He was just aware that the veterans of the previous dynasty were united as never before, and did not dare to express their joy and anger. Suddenly, he heard Gu Ruoli scream With one word, all the suppressed anger could not help but be vented on his head. Zhao Guangyi slapped the imperial case and cursed in front of his face: "You are such a bold dog castrate. Only people like you can make such a loud noise in the Golden Palace." !”
Gu Ruoli was shocked, and quickly knelt down on the steps, and said tremblingly: "This servant suddenly heard the urgent report from Xichuan, so he lost his voice, disturbed the Holy One, and made a noise in the palace. You are guilty, you are guilty."
"Huh? Urgent report from Xichuan, what's the matter?"
Gu Ruoli quickly raised a memorial with both hands high in the air. The little chamberlain holding a whisk next to the imperial case quickly took it and handed it to Zhao Guangyi. Zhao Guangyi opened it and looked at it, and couldn't help but burst into anger: "...the bandits broke through Qionglai Pass. , marched straight into Chengdu and sent troops to Chengdu. The ministers and others fought hard and were unable to defeat the enemy. In order to protect their base, they were forced to withdraw from Chengdu and retreat north to Hanzhou.
Chengdu fell and Xichuan was shaken. The bandits had all the supplies from Chengdu's treasury and became more powerful. They also confiscated wealthy merchants and wealthy households. The wealth of the gentry and officials was scattered among the people, so that the officials and gentry were frightened and had no place to die. Those who relied on the rebel bandits Like a snow-rolling group, a hundred people respond to one call. Their current strength is probably 800,000. The rebel bandits all have tattoos on their cheeks, saying, "The heroes should be transported". They are united and united, and they are not afraid of death.
The bandits want to gain strength, and they are causing trouble in Xichuan. Today they capture a certain state, and tomorrow they fall into a certain county. If the wind blows, they will be swept away. It is easy to sweep them away. In the hands of the minister, only the Huai'an army is left. It is insufficient to protect itself and unable to suppress the bandits. I invite your majesty, Send out heavenly troops again. Wan Songling, the pacifying envoy of Xichuan, and Zhou Wei, the magistrate of Chengdu, die for a hundred worships!"
Poor Mr. Wan, the pacifier of Xichuan, and Mr. Zhou, the governor of Chengdu, really have no choice. They say that the enemy is too weak. Then they will be punished with death if they lose Chengdu. They have to exaggerate the rebel army infinitely. In fact, they are invincible. The solution is that the imperial court's excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes on Xichuan have always been too heavy. In recent years, there have been either droughts or floods, and the harvests have been small. The rebel rebellion has a huge mass base. No matter where it is fought, there will always be people who cannot survive.
Moreover, after the Song army conquered the Shu Kingdom, they looted everywhere and killed captured soldiers. Their reputation was so bad. Not to mention, the Bashu region had a dangerous terrain. In order to prevent rebellion, after the Song Dynasty conquered the Shu Kingdom, they destroyed the city walls of various states and counties. Most of the city and moat were razed to the ground. There were 29 prefectures and counties in Xichuan, leaving only four cities: Yizhou (Chengdu), Zizhou, Meizhou, and Suizhou. The city defense measures were also dismantled to pieces. , a city doesn’t even have walls, how can it resist the enemy?
At the beginning of the fall of Chengdu, the two local governors, civil and military, wanted to hide it, because in the past, no matter where the rebels captured, they would loot and then leave immediately, and then flee back to the mountains, so they hoped that the rebels would rob and leave.
When we return to Chengdu, it would be nicer to say that we sent our troops to fight back, Chengdu was lost and recovered, and we reported to the officials.
Who knew that the leader of the rebel army, Tong Yu, listened to Wang Xiaobo's suggestion, opened a large granary to provide relief to the victims, recruited soldiers and horses to attack and plunder everywhere, and his reputation suddenly increased. In the past, they robbed and left, and the people just felt that they had given them a bad breath. This time
The move to open warehouses to provide food relief has won the hearts of the people, and countless people have joined their families to seek refuge. Although there are not currently 800,000 people, there are always three to four hundred thousand people, but these are all people who have joined their families.
Get up, not many can fight.
Wan Songling and Zhou Weiyong didn't care about so many people. Not only did they count these people as soldiers, but they also doubled their number, which made people urgently report to Beijing.
After hearing this, Zhao Guangyi felt angry in his heart, and turned evil to his side. He reached out and grabbed an ancient Duanxi inkstone with "purple flowers spitting out rainbow colors in the middle of the night", and slammed it onto the golden brick imperial steps: "Wansongling, Zhou Weiyong, abandoned
Fleeing from the city, avoiding bandits is like fearing a tiger, a crime worthy of death!"
While Uncle Zhao was smashing pots and bowls in the Golden Palace, Yang Hao had already arrived at Hengshan to inspect the three armies.
Accompanied by Yang Jiye and Zhang Chongwei, Yang Hao inspected various forts along the Hengshan line, and met with the leaders of the Qiang tribes in Hengshan. He praised and commended them for not vassaling the Song army. It was inevitable that they would be given official appointments, made wishes, and were given money and silk.
.
A few days later, Yang Hao arrived at Fengtai Valley, the northernmost point of the Hengshan defense line. This is the junction of Xia, Liao and Fuzhou. Fuzhou is now under the control of the Song army. The Song army can be seen three arrows away from the mountain.
The fortress built by the Xia army was also built on the mountain and was heavily guarded.
Standing in the mountain village and looking to the north, a snowfield is the territory of the Liao Kingdom. A river winds from the snowfield into the Xia Kingdom. This river is the Zhuolun River, which reaches directly to the Zhuolun River in the Xia Kingdom. At this time, the river has already
It froze and turned into a huge ice dragon.
Yang Jiye pointed out: "Your Majesty, that was originally the Fengtai Village fortress of the Zhe family. Now there are three battalions of the Song Army stationed there. Our troops deployed here are roughly the same. The guard is Quanzi Yanxun. Going north is the territory of the Liao Kingdom.
, this land is relatively fertile, and at the turn of spring and summer, tribes from the Liao people will come here to graze their cattle, but at this time it is cold and freezing, and there is no one there."
Yang Hao nodded and said: "The Song Kingdom will never stop after suffering such a big loss. Even if it is just a pretense, it will inevitably have to send troops again. However, this battle has been fought so far. If we continue to dance with guns,
If we get a stick, they can't afford it, and we can't even afford it. If we really risk everything, it will be an advantage to the Khitans. I'm afraid it's the only option for everyone to sit down and start a quarrel. You are a military commander, just defend Hengshan for me.
I will do the talking and spitting myself."
Yang Jiye laughed when he heard this. At this moment, the soldiers standing on the high tower suddenly raised their horns and whistled. The well-trained soldiers immediately ran out of the barracks and rushed to the fortifications wearing armor.
Yang Jiye's face tightened and he hurriedly said: "Protector Saint, please retreat to the back village!"
Zhang Chongwei nervously dragged Yang Hao away, but Yang Hao held down his hand. Yang Hao narrowed his eyes and looked towards the Song camp. There was no movement of troops from the Song camp, but when the horn sounded, the
The soldiers on the border also rushed to the outpost fortifications, preparing to defend against the enemy.
At this time, the soldiers on the watchtower used flags to send semaphores down again. When Yang Jiye saw it, he couldn't help but said in surprise: "The enemies are coming from the north?"
Yang Hao stood and looked around. In a moment, he saw a tidal wave of troops swarming from the snowy fields in the north. In a moment, they arrived at this triangular area. For a while, flags were fluttering in the valley, people were shouting and horses were neighing, and there was a big flag in the middle.
There are two lines of large characters written in Khitan and Chinese: "Brother Yelvxiu, King of the North Campus!"
Yang Hao's jaw suddenly felt a little sore, and the feeling that Brother Yelvxiu had when he greeted him with a pair of huge iron fists seemed to have returned.