"These thieves are just like crazy wild dogs!" Putting down the secret report sent by Zhao Deming, the magistrate of Yanshan County, Yang Yichen, the imperial servant, shook his head and commented with a sneer.
At the same time as the secret report of Yang Gongqing's movements, there was also an unconfirmed news, or a real lie. The bandits in Bohai County spread the rumor that on the night of separation from Yang Gongqing, Tianwei General Ge Qian came
He fell into a trap set by Sui general Yang Yichen. Ge Qian was killed on the spot. Zhang Jinshu and other remnant soldiers took advantage of the darkness and fled into the dense forest to escape. They were finally rescued by Prince Chishiro Wang Bo who came after hearing the news.
In fact, Yang Yichen and Li Xu did not send a single soldier to Bohai County at all. After using the tactics of surrounding three ques and attacking from the east and attacking the west to regain Wuluo County, the two teamed up to block Gao Shida in Caiju Valley in the south of the county.
Gao Shida was seriously injured and knew that he could not save himself. That night, he ordered his confidants to stab him to death. He used his head as a token to ask the army to let the rest of the prisoners live. Yang Yichen advocated beheading all the prisoners, and Li Xu advocated pardon. The two of them
After repeated arguments, a compromise was adopted, in which all the captive leaders, big and small, were beheaded, and the remaining ordinary minions were escorted to Zhuo County, where they, together with Sun Xuanya's tribe who had been captured earlier, were stationed in the army under the supervision of local county soldiers.
Later, the two generals followed the retreat of the rogue bandits and recaptured Raoyang and Leshou, and pursued them across Zhangshui River. At the junction of Hejian and Pingyuan counties, a county town named Gonggao repaired and supplied supplies.
Regarding Ge Qian and Yang Gongqing's troops who were retreating in panic from Lucheng, Yang Yichen, the Grand Servant, suggested that the officers and soldiers should calm down in Gonggao County and wait for work. With many years of experience, the old general believed that the bandits were all ruthless.
Beasts can cooperate with each other when there is something to be gained, but once they return empty-handed, someone will definitely spoil their ideas from their companions.
The fact was as expected, Yang Gongqing annexed several other bandits, and Ge Qian was killed by the joint efforts of Wang Bo and Yang Gongqing. The only thing that disappointed the old general was that Yang Gongqing, whose troops under his command had doubled, did not
He was willing to fight back to the plains directly along the Yongji Canal, but instead made a long circle and took the southeast route of Bohai County to Pingchang.
"This thief, when I saw how aggressive he was, I thought he was really a character!" Thinking of Yang Gongqing's arrogance before crossing the Tonghui River, Deng Youjian scolded him with a sneer.
"Wild dogs, of course they bark loudly, but in fact they are very timid!" Hou Qiao listened to everyone's scolding and agreed with a smile. "Those things will bite themselves when they don't have food. We need to make them bigger.
You have the guts to fight the tiger, but you absolutely cannot!"
This analogy caused the soldiers to burst into laughter, and all of them praised Old General Yang for his appropriate use of the word "wild dog." After enough laughter, someone added in a low voice, "That's fine now, Zhong Jian."
At least I won’t think that the bandits are innocent anymore. How can you deserve mercy when you are a beast who plots against your own comrades!"
"It's not pity, but the local area needs labor. Military settlements are no better than civilian settlements, and more than 70% of their income must be supplied to the army!" Li Xu saw that the robes under Yang Yichen's command turned the topic to him, shook his head, and explained to everyone with a smile.
"Anyway, they came to kill you, but in the end you gave them a bowl of rice to eat. Only you, General Li, can do such a good thing! In ancient times, the Buddha gave up his meat to feed eagles, and today, General Li sacrifices his life to feed dogs. It makes sense.
Same, but different results!" Deng Youjian smiled and scolded Li Xuhao.
"Kill them all and see who will farm the land for you! Does General Deng only eat minced meat?" Li Xu retorted.
Since the Boling Army returned to normal, Li Xu's kind-heartedness has become the object of ridicule. The generals of the army, led by Yang Yichen, laughed at him as Mr. Dongguo, who risked the world to save a group of wolf cubs. But Li Xu
Based on my experience of raising wolves, I countered: In fact, wolves are very understanding of human nature and seldom react against us after being adopted. Moreover, the reason why the bandits rebelled was probably because they had no choice. If there is a way to survive without robbing, no matter what
No matter how difficult it is, they will definitely not be willing to become thieves again.
Due to their different experiences, there are many similar disputes between everyone. But they are all controlled within the scope of verbal disputes and do not hurt the harmony between each other. Sometimes, due to different viewing angles, Li Xu and General Yang
On the contrary, one feels that the other party's point of view also has merit, at least he thinks of an aspect that he had not paid attention to before.
For example, Yang Yichen was very disdainful of Li Xu's policy of privately reopening the imperial examination in the six counties. He believed that the experience of the late emperor and his Majesty had proved that the imperial examination could not really select useful talents. On the contrary, this policy was incompatible with the current situation of the imperial court.
The material selection policy is inconsistent, making it easy for people to misunderstand that Li Xu is ready to cede territory to himself.
However, Li Xu believes that the role of the imperial examination is not only to select talents for the country, but also to prevent the obstruction of speech. If the civil and military personnel of the Manchu Dynasty came from aristocratic families, the government and government orders will inevitably give priority to the interests of the aristocratic families. Only people of different origins can
Having the opportunity to speak can prevent the children of aristocratic families from living a more prosperous life, while the common people have to live a more difficult life, and in the end they have to rise up. And with the imperial examination as a way out, many talents from poor families will follow the proper path.
Seeking opportunities. There are many true heroes among thieves now. If they had had the opportunity to show off their talents, they would not have joined the bandits.
"Doesn't this mean that the meaner the person, the smarter he is, and the meat-eater must be mean?" Yang Yichen said angrily during an argument.
"Meat-eaters are exposed to many things, and they usually have more foresight than the nephews from ordinary families!" Based on his own experience, Li Xu admitted frankly, "But meat-eaters mostly seek for their own interests. Once they put the interests of the family before the interests of the country,
, then the disaster will be great!”
After hearing these words, Yang Yichen didn't say anything for a long time. After that, whenever he discussed important matters with his subordinates, he would definitely invite Li Xu to participate as an elder in the army. Although Xu Zi's official position was not lower than that of Yang Yichen at this time, in the spirit of loyalty
He was usually willing to accompany his seniors when they were trying to learn. Over time, he became very familiar with the officers and soldiers of the Yang Department, and they were able to communicate with each other on a personal note, and he could also humbly accept some of the other's different opinions.
None of the parties concerned paid much attention to these arguments and passed them off with a smile. No one realized that in those war-torn times, how many people were able to survive because of a few arguments and a change of thought. Although the land in the military camps will not be distributed to the farmers,
Although most of the income from the military camp must be used as supplies for the Boling Army!
"Let's not mention this, let's talk about how to fight Yang Gongqing!" Yang Yichen saw that everyone accidentally took the topic further and further, waved his hand and ordered with a smile.
"Of course I'll kill them directly and scatter those wild dogs!" Hou Qiao jumped up and made a worthless suggestion.
"You'd better look good in front of General Li!" Yang Yichen scolded with a smile and drove Hou Qiao back to his seat.
"Is General Li one of our own?" Hou Qiao whispered aggrievedly. Yang Yichen did not put on airs in front of his brothers, so Hou Qiao and others rarely worried about anything. He always said what he said directly, including some harmless jokes.
"General Li will definitely fight side by side with us!" Yang Yichen turned his gaze to Li Xu and found the answer he needed from his eyes. "But if we enter Pingyuan County, we may have to face more than just Yang Gongqing!"
"Gao Kaidao and Dou Jiande originally wanted to rescue Gao Shida, but when they got halfway, they heard the news of Gao Shida's defeat and retreated back to Douzigang!" Deng You saw that he was calmer than Hou Qiao and thought.
After thinking about it, he said solemnly.
Since the war between everyone and Zhao Wanhai two months ago, the counties in Hebei have become a mess. Not only are the trade routes blocked, but it is also difficult to send news between various places in time. According to what was collected during the repairs in Gonggao County in the past few days
According to the intelligence, Deng Youjian described an extremely complicated situation, "The Wagang Army has taken advantage of the opportunity to cross the Yellow River, and now both Wuyang and Jijun are threatened by it. In order to protect Liyangcang, Hebei Ambassador Taichang Shaoqing Wei Ji,
Henan Ambassador Hu Yalang, General Wang Bian, had already led his troops to evacuate Douzigang and rushed to the Yellow River to intercept the Wagang army. Dou Jiande and Gao Kaidao gathered the remnants of the other village leaders and formed an army each.
, the power cannot be ignored. Zhang Jincheng also took the opportunity to stand up, and has now killed Ping'en in Wu'an County. Yang Shanhui, the governor of Qinghe County, was threatened behind him and had to retreat to this county to protect the territory!"
"Gao Shida used to be the boss of Hebei Green Forest. After his death, many thieves were ready to take over this position in order to command the heroes. If we intercept Yang Gongqing on the only way to Pingchang now, we must always beware of Dou Jiande
He and Gao Kaidao came from behind to gain fame and reputation!" He thought for a moment and continued to add.
"Hiss!" After listening to Deng Youjian's analysis, many generals couldn't help but gasp. They are not afraid of fighting any bandit, but they are not willing to be swarmed and beaten by others. "We are not familiar with the terrain near Douzigang.
So the geographical advantage does not lie with me!" Shi Weiqing, the head of Yang Yichen's department, whispered, "When the army presses the border, the enemy must form a group, and the people and people will not lose to me. As for the weather..."
"I don't think murderers will be blessed by God!" Yang Yichen frowned and interrupted Wei Qing's scholarly words. "I need everyone to discuss how we should fight this battle in the worst case scenario!"
"The worst-case scenario is that we will be attacked on three sides, and only the north side can be retreated!" Hou Qiao said with a smile. This reminded him of the siege a few days ago, when the Boling army gave way to the south gate.
, the minions who had been shouting to fight the officers and soldiers before actually took the road and fled, without even thinking about whether the cavalry would pursue them from behind.
"But I don't think the bandits are so united. If they want to fight side by side, they need to choose at least one more big leader. Whether we attack Yang Gongqing, Gao Kaidao or Dou Jiande first, for the other two, it is equivalent to
Eliminate a potential opponent for them!" He analyzed optimistically, overturning the most critical situation previously described.
"Zitong makes sense!" Yang Yichen lightly brushed his beard, "But we have to be careful about someone who takes a longer view! As far as I know, Dou Jiande is a very scheming person!"
"We can use one army to intercept and kill Yang Gongqing, and the other army to intimidate Dou Jiande and Gao Kaidao!" Li Xu thought for a while and suggested.
"I also think this is safer!" Yang Yichen gave Li Xu a knowing smile. It is comfortable to deal with young people. They can always make you forget your age. "Let me know which way Zhongjian is going to fight."
!”
"Yang Gongqing had most of the cavalry under his command, so he was traveling very fast. Judging from the time this secret report was delayed on the road, Yang Gongqing had already bypassed Wudi and Leling in Bohai County. If he wanted to run back to Douzi as quickly as possible,
We will definitely walk along the bank of the Majia River." Li Xu hesitated for a moment and then gave the answer with certainty. "So, I am going to intercept him with light cavalry and leave at least half of his troops behind.
!”
"That's fine. Most of my men are infantry. It's not easy to chase him. Why not just go south and threaten Dou Jiande!" Yang Yichen nodded and responded.
Now that the two generals have made a plan, all the other generals can do is to complete the details of the plan. In order to prevent Luo Yi from taking the opportunity to cause trouble, Yang Yichen ordered Deng Youjian to lead some troops and horses to return to Lucheng first.
He was recovering from his injuries while strengthening his alert. In order to make up for the shortage of soldiers and horses under Yang Yichen, Xuzi also offered to let Guo Xuan, the governor of Zhuo County under his jurisdiction, lead his soldiers to assist Yang Yichen.
"You also have to be careful that Luo Yi killed Sangganhe. The cavalry under his command consumes a lot of money. The few counties he currently occupies can't even support him!" Yang Yichen reminded privately when sending Li Xu out of the camp.
An armored cavalry usually requires two to three war horses, and a large number of grooms and veterinarians to accompany the army. Therefore, with the tax from the six counties and the supply from the court, Li Xu could only scrape together a thousand armored cavalry. And Luo Yizhi
The land is vast and sparsely populated, and it is indeed difficult for him to be self-sufficient just by collecting money and food from the people.
In order to protect himself, Luo Yi will definitely target the southern areas of Shanggu and Zhuojun. And in order to protect the various places under his rule from war, Li Xu must also leave a large part of his strength to defend against the Huben cavalry. He is the comfort ambassador of the six counties.
It is an unavoidable responsibility to protect the country and the people. "I am going to let the military commander Zhao Ziming and the strong military general Lu Qin take the rest of the infantry to return to Boling first, and be ready to respond at any time. As for the complete annihilation of Dou Jiande and others, please ask the old man
General, please take more trouble." He thought for a moment and solemnly requested.
"Well, it's not urgent!" Yang Yichen frowned, doubts flashing across his eyes. He really liked fighting side by side with the young man in front of him, but his words today obviously had a hint of an imminent separation. "
Where are you going after defeating Yang Gongqing? Have you received any orders from the imperial court?"
"There is a rumor that an appointment for me was blocked by bandits on the bank of the Yellow River!" Li Xu nodded, with a very calm expression on his face. "Whether the rumor is true or false, I will cross the river from Bohai County to the south bank of the Yellow River to request the imperial edict.
!”
"The south bank of the Yellow River?" Yang Yichen heard Li Xu's solemn words and couldn't help but asked in surprise, "Isn't that Qi County? Why did you go around so far?"
"That's General Zhang's home!" Li Xu nodded and answered.
Note: 1. Douzigang (original word: Chikang), straddling the Bohai and Plain counties in the Sui Dynasty. Due to the complex terrain, it became a refuge for the Hebei rebels. Dou Jiande, Gao Shida, and Gao Kaidao all developed here. They were influenced by
After Yang Yichen's severe attack, Dou Jiande and Gao Kaidao also regrouped. (To be continued)
