Malan turned his horse back, and the officers and soldiers came like a tide. There were countless torches moving in the north. It seemed that it was Chen Hansan's team, reining in the horse's head, shouting and leading people to break out in the direction of east Huaiyang.
Five days ago, Malan wanted to lead two thousand elites to break out of the encirclement and go to Woyang and Zhoudian areas to mobilize a group of people to support the increasingly difficult situation in Huaiyang.
Unexpectedly, Chen Zhihu's soldiers and horses were hiding in Laohuaigou to ambush, and they could not escape when they encountered them, and a melee broke out.
The two thousand old soldiers who had followed the South and North wars since the Hongzepu uprising were defeated in just one night. Many people died in the battle, and more were scattered at that time. Chen Zhihu had cavalry under his command, and in the miserable snow
At night, they chased him on horseback.
Fortunately, Lieutenant General He Zongliang and dozens of people protected him, and Malantou had the opportunity to break out of the encirclement to the north in the melee and was not wiped out by the entire army. After struggling with the pursuers for a day in the hilly area north of Laohuaigou, they arrived.
At night, he turned south again and saw corpses with their heads cut off along the way. Malan suppressed the grief and anger in his heart and turned his horse eastward.
Walking into a ditch, he encountered another ambush. Only then did Malantou realize that the number of officers and soldiers in the west of Huaiyang far exceeded his previous estimate.
At first, Malanlong wanted to use the terrain and night cover to pass through the encirclement. But when he saw that there were so many officers and soldiers on the west side, he could only force his way out of the gap in the encirclement that had not yet been completely closed.
Almost all the villages and forts on the left and right were cleaned by Chen Zhihu. Malantou and his group hid in hiding. After eating all the rations they brought with them, they could only rely on digging grass roots from the snow to satisfy their hunger--although it was only more than a hundred years away from Huaiyang.
There is a lot of land, but it is so difficult to pass through the encirclement of officers and soldiers.
Chen Zhihu implemented a policy of prohibition between the Hehuai River and the Huaihe River, especially within the hundreds of miles surrounding area north of Sizhou, south of Yanling, west of Bianshui River, and east of Guoshui River. He asked his soldiers to capture what they saw.
Any man taller than a horse's head was treated as a traitor and killed on the spot.
Chen Zhihu's cruelty and cruelty made the refugee army hate him to the core, but he had to admit that his prohibitive policy brought great difficulties and crises to the red coat army in the encirclement.
Chen Zhihu's elite troops only have more than 10,000 people. Together with the local civilian warriors under his control, the total force is about 20,000.
The total strength of the Hehuailiu People's Army with the Huaiyang Red Coat Army as the core once numbered more than 200,000; even now, after being compressed to the inner lines of Huaiyang, the total strength is as many as 100,000.
Counting the officers and soldiers around Huaiyang, the total strength is almost 70,000 to 80,000.
Only by transferring all these soldiers and horses to Chen Zhihu's command can he completely surround Huaiyang City - but the officers and soldiers around Huaiyang have their own agendas, and Chen Zhihu can only mobilize 10,000 elites and 10,000 miscellaneous soldiers.
, it is extremely difficult to completely besiege Huaiyang.
By prohibiting tyranny, Chen Zhihu formed an uninhabited land between the Hehuai River and the Huaihe River that was two to three hundred miles deep and almost twelve counties wide. Local soldiers bravely guarded the outer cities and walled cities, and he led his elite troops to the inner walled cities.
The garrison, with only 20,000 soldiers and horses, actually trapped hundreds of thousands of refugee troops in the inner lines of Huaiyang.
Moreover, because of the ban, the people in the countryside between Biangui had no time to flee, so they had to hide in Huaiyang City to avoid the massacre. As a result, the population of Huaiyang City, plus the refugee army and their families, surged to
Nearly 400,000 people...
No one would doubt that Chen Zhihu would kill all 400,000 men, women, and children as rebels.
Defending Huaiyang City is of course not a problem. The key point is that Chen Zhihu did not attack, but only besieged the city. How can he fill the 400,000 bellies in the city?
Huaiyang City's originally relatively sufficient grain reserves soon hit the bottom. Ordinary people had no other income every day except a bowl of porridge mixed with wild vegetables and weeds that could shine in front of people. Even if it was
The 20,000 elite soldiers in Liu Miaozhen's hands only had 4 or 2 meters of rice to satisfy their hunger every day. A large number of people starved to death in Huaiyang City every day, and the death ditch outside the city was almost filled with corpses, and they were all frozen.
It's true - some people in the city even began to exchange their children for food.
There was a precedent of the Yanling Massacre, but some people still led their troops to go out and surrender.
Liu Miaozhen and Malan did not stop them; Chen Zhihu only said that there was no government to support the thieves, and they slaughtered two groups of people mercilessly, so that no one dared to go out and surrender.
Thinking of this, Ma Lantou almost fell into despair. Chen Zhihu was a crazy tiger that would eat people when it was extremely hungry. Maybe he would wait until all the generals of the refugee army offered their heads before he could give it to the hundreds of thousands of people trapped in Huaiyang City.
A way out.
Maybe there is no way out at all. Even if the gates of Huaiyang City are opened, how many people will have the strength to climb dozens of miles away?
************
Malantou and his deputy He Zongliang, with dozens of soldiers, did not approach the outskirts of Huaiyang City until the third day. With the support of soldiers and horses in the city, they entered the city. They were almost the only two thousand soldiers who broke through this time.
These dozens of people survived, and Malan was heartbroken.
Liu Miaozhen stood at the top of Huaiyang City, looking out at the snow-covered wilderness.
After her delicate mask was cut off by Lin Fu, she replaced it with a bronze mask and put it on her face.
Liu Miaozhen is taller than an ordinary woman, about the same as an ordinary man, just a little shorter. In the past, she used to wear several layers of armor to cover her figure, but now she only wears a red armor. She has a bronze mask with big eyes, a broken nose and fangs.
The bloody tongue spitting out, contrasting with the red armor on her body, looked very majestic.
Malan climbed up to the top of the city, walked to Liu Miaozhen's side, and said in a low voice: "Miss, if we don't break through, we won't be able to break out. The blockade on the west is more than twice as dense as it was half a month ago. It seems that
The Changhuai Army is coming north from Luzhou again, you have to keep the fire for the Huangjue Rebel Army..."
Liu Miaozhen already knew that Tao Chun led the main force of the Huai army to move north from Luzhou.
Due to Chen Zhihu's strict blockade, it was difficult for Huaiyang's scouts to sneak into Huaixi. She knew that this information was sent by Sun Zhuang secretly, so at least it would not completely block her eyes and ears.
Of course, the news from Sun Zhuang is also true and false. It's not that Liu Miaozhen doesn't trust Sun Zhuang, but that Huaidong is very wary of Sun Zhuang. The transcripts that Sun Zhuang has access to are likely to be adulterated with false information.
, in short, they do not have the ability to verify the authenticity.
"It's easy to lead 20,000 people out, but what about their children?" Liu Miaozhen asked, "Should I tell the brothers that we left our children in Huaiyang City, and one day I will bring you back?"
A bloody revenge?"
After the Huaisi War, Liu Miaozhen led his troops to cross Bianxi and march west, mainly operating in the area west of Huaiyang. He reorganized his troops and had more than 20,000 elite troops. In the past two years, the 20,000 elite troops led by Liu Miaozhen have always been river troops.
The core combat strength of the Huailiu People's Army.
It was not difficult for her to lead 20,000 elite troops to break out from Chen Zhihu's encirclement. However, regardless of the life and death of other people in Huaiyang City, the 30,000 to 50,000 small families behind her 20,000 elite troops were not something Liu Miaozhen could give up if she wanted to.
of.
The refugee army has no foundation or stronghold, and it is their biggest weakness to take their families with them to fight all over the world, and even Liu Miaozhen cannot overcome this.
"I'll stay," Malantou said resolutely. "Only if the eldest lady leads her troops to go out, there will be a way to survive. Even if it doesn't work, I and my whole family will die in Huaiyang City, so I'll give everyone an explanation!"
Malantou's words were tragic and generous, and Liu Miaozhen was moved. She frowned and thought, but did not agree to Malantou immediately. The bronze mask shone with a cold light in the sunset.
At this moment, a female guard in red armor came up to the city. Seeing Ma Lantou present, she saluted and greeted: "Ma Lantou!" Then she reported back to Liu Miaozhen with uncontrollable excitement, "The Bianshui River in the east is frozen.
Yes, the ice layer is more than a foot thick!"
"Fight east?" Malantou asked in shock.
If the refugee army in the Hehuai area can still breathe a sigh of relief in the past two years, it is mainly because the Huaidong Army guarded Siyang and did not expand northward and did not put military pressure on them. Huaidong even deliberately attacked Sun Zhuang and these people.
Turn a blind eye to the contacts on the side.
It's just that Huaidong was also very wary of Sun Zhuang. No matter how lively the fighting was elsewhere, the elite ten battalions of Fengli Buying were always on the front line in Siyang and Shanyang.
After Chen Zhihu led his troops to the south, Lin Fu once led his elite cavalry across the Huaihe River and inspected Suyu, Suining and other places. The meaning was also very obvious. He warned Sun Zhuang not to collude secretly with this side, and even warned him not to cross the Huaihe River rashly.
Bianshui.
Nowadays, it is very difficult to deal with Chen Zhihu, a tiger and wolf army. The eldest lady actually wants to go east to provoke the Huaidong Army. How can Ma Lantou not be surprised?
For Malantou, the Huaisi War happened just yesterday. Lin Fu led his troops to defeat two villages and one city in a row, like a river - the so-called elite of the refugee army was almost vulnerable to the Huaidong Army.
Although there are 20,000 to 30,000 elites in Huaiyang City who can be used at this time, they have been short of food and clothing for many days. It is not easy to stand out from under Chen Zhihu's nose. Is it necessary to gnaw at the hard bone of the Huaidong Army?
Even if Sun Zhuang could raise the flag of righteousness again and Huaidong cut off the supply of grain and grass to Suining and Suyu, they would still be caught in the pincer attack between Huaidong and Chen Hansan's Xuzhou army. It would just be in vain to drag Sun Zhuang into trouble again.
It will do nothing to improve the situation of the refugee army.
Huaidong supplies grain and grass to Suining and Suyu once every half month. Once the supply to Huaidong is cut off, Sun Zhuang's more than 12,000 men will almost immediately fall into a food shortage.
"I know that there is less room for maneuver when advancing eastward, but now the officers and soldiers are preparing for us to break through to the west. Whether it is Chen Zhihu's troops or Tao Chun's Changhuai Army, their forces are concentrated on the western front. If we delay any longer, the city will be full of people
They will all starve to death," Liu Miaozhen said. "Besides, going west all the way to Nanyang, this thousand-mile journey is in ruins, and supplies are difficult. Without sufficient supplies, if we break out to the west and want to get rid of Chen Zhihu, the pursuit of Tao Chun and his two men will be a big problem.
question……"
Even if Dongjin could just take a breath, Malantou lamented in his heart.
*******************
The lights in Prince Ning's Mansion were brightly lit, illuminating the snow in the courtyard. The servants in the mansion were full of fear. They were probably afraid that they would be punished if they accidentally did something wrong tonight. Yue Lengqiu came in a hurry, turned around the flower hall, and walked in
In the bright hall in the inner room, I went to see Prince Ning who was sitting in the hall. Zhang Yan, Zhang Xitong, Liu Zhi, as well as Jiangning's Minister of Civil Affairs and Zuo Shilang were all invited.
"Does Governor Yue know about those books?" Prince Ning Yuan Jianwu asked Yue Lengqiu to sit down and asked impatiently.
"I know a thing or two," Yue Lengqiu said.
"What do you think Huaidong wants?" Yuan Jianwu asked.
In order to strengthen Jiangning's centralized rule over the southeastern region, Ning Wang Yuanjianwu, as the minister of governance in the southeast, controlled the six departments of Jiangning. The Ningwang Palace Guards Camp also expanded to ten battalions. Except for one title, Yuanjianwu almost had a prince and supervisor.
the authority of the country.
Subsequently, the authority of the six departments in Jiangning also expanded sharply, especially the official department in Jiangning. South of Henan, including Lianghu, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Jiangdong and other counties, the transfer and appointment of chief seal officers at the prefecture and county level, Jiangning
The Ministry of Personnel and local county officials have the right to decide the matter, and it can no longer be approved by Yanjing.
In addition to Zhang Yan, Zhang Xitong, and Liu Zhi, when he saw Jiangning's Minister of Civil Affairs and Zuo Shilang here, Yue Lengqiu thought that King Ning should know what Lin Fu wanted, so he still replied respectfully: "Lin Fu wants Hailing."
The position of prefect..."
"He is too arrogant and domineering. How can he ask for a fifth-grade seal official?" Prince Ning said angrily, "I don't believe he has the guts to encourage grain merchants to cause trouble behind his back!"
These days, there are more people reaching out to seek official positions, and there is no such thing as being domineering or not. Chen Xiyan, Chen Xinbo, Zhang Xie and others are vying for position. Are they too secretive and embarrassed to speak?
However, as a military officer in the eleven counties of Huaidong Prefecture, Lin Fu's power was too shocking to capture the political affairs officer of Hailing Prefecture. At this time, Lin Fu asked for the title of a county uncle or a rural prince.
, or ascending to the Sanshi rank, it’s not too much, but directly reaching out for the official position of Hailing Prefecture, it is inevitable that people think that he has the thoughts of independence and separatism——Lin Fu’s arrogance is here, even if he is ambitious, he should
Cover it up in every possible way.
"Perhaps he knows that after the imperial court resolves the border troubles in the Liao region, he will no longer have the qualifications to bargain," Zhang Xitong guessed from the side, "So he is asking for a harsh blow this time?"
"I think that's probably the case," Liu Zhi said. "Otherwise, why would he publish so many alarmist articles about the war in western Liaoning?"
Yuan Jianwu's expression was gloomy and uncertain, and Zhang Yan also touched the fake beard under his chin, somewhat elusive of Huaidong's intentions.
"Your Highness, now is not the time to fight for this position, so what if this position is given to him?" Yue Lengqiu looked at Prince Ning's face and said slowly, "Besides, Lin Fu has worked hard to govern Huaidong.
It would be appropriate to give him another position as the prefect of Hailing... This was not said by Wei Chen, but by Wei Chen's subordinates who heard what the Marquis of Yongchang was talking about in the vassal building. After hearing this, I felt that it made some sense.
, I specially tell His Highness to know."
"Is the person over at Wanshou Palace talking to Huaidong?" Yuan Jianwu asked in surprise.
"Oh!" Zhang Yan was also slightly surprised.
He didn't know that it was not just a matter of the Dongyang family secretly instigating several officials to hand over documents. It seemed to explain why Lin Fu was so bold and bold and directly asked for the seat of Hailing prefect. If Huaidong and the Liang family advance and retreat together,
It's really too big to fall off.
There has never been any morality in politics. The Liang family initially united with this party to force Tang Haoxin to death. However, after the imperial court resolved the border troubles in the Liao area, the Liang family wanted to keep the existing territory and not seize power. They would fight with Huaidong and Qin
Advancing and retreating together as a family is the most likely choice. In Zhang Yan's view, it is impossible for Huaidong to resent the Liang family for the rest of his life because of Tang Haoxin's death. The key lies in the size of the benefit.
"Now it seems that it is time for Meng Yishan to lead his troops to Weiyang for rest and recuperation..." Yue Lengqiu said, "After all, the three prefectures in northern Zhejiang are severely short of food. Meng Yishan and his troops to Weiyang for military food can also alleviate the food pressure in northern Zhejiang.
.”
Yuan Jianwu looked at Zhang Yan and Zhang Xitong. When he saw them nodding slightly, he nodded in agreement and said, "It's just as you said, you go and take care of it!" He was very upset. He thought that he had the power in the southeast, so he would not
I need to be as careful as I used to be when I was the King of Jin. I didn't expect that none of the powerful officials and generals in the southeast would make me worry.