Chapter One Thousand and Twenty Night Banquet Merit
The Han army was short of food and grass, and now they had a lot of supplies by picking up food and grass abandoned by Wei Xiao's army.
Kaixiao's army fled from Yinpan to Niaoshi. As soon as the defeated generals led by Zhou Zong entered the city, the Han army followed them like a shadow and came to the city.
The Western Expeditionary Army did not carry any large siege weapons, but only ladders. Under Feng Yi's order, the Western Expeditionary Army set up ladders outside the city and launched a strong attack on the city.
The defeat at Yinpan and the escape along the way have deprived the Kaixiao army of any fighting spirit. Now even if they hold on to the city, they cannot stop the Western Expedition Army's strong offensive.
The battle only lasted for more than two hours. In just half a day, the Western Expeditionary Army tore through the city defenses and invaded the city. Zhou Zong had no choice but to escape from Toushi with his remaining troops and retreat toward Hanyang.
Originally, there were 40,000 remnants of Kaixiao's army. After the battle of Toushi, only more than 20,000 people followed Zhou Zong to escape from the city. The remnants of Kaixiao's army fled all the way to the west. The next day, they finally escaped to
Chicken Head Valley.
After passing through the Chicken Head Valley, they could retreat to Hanyang. They were planning to pass through the Chicken Head Valley. As soon as the soldiers and horses entered the Chicken Head Valley, they saw arrows raining down from the tops of the mountains on both sides of the valley, and rolling trees and rocks roaring down.
Zhou Zong raised his eyes and discovered that the tops of the mountains on both sides of the valley were all occupied by Han troops.
This Han army was the former army of the Western Expeditionary Army that retreated into Sanfu. After entering Sanfu, they did not stay where they were. Instead, under the leadership of Han Xin, they quietly returned to Anding and bypassed Yinpan.
On the battlefield, all the way north, the remnants of Kaixiao's army arrived at Jitou Valley and Boluo Valley first. Then, the 30,000 troops from the Western Expedition were divided into two groups, 15,000 of whom were in ambush here in Jitou Valley, and another 15,000.
People are lying in ambush in Boluo Valley.
After all, Anding County was not Kui Xiao's territory, and Kai Xiao's army had no intelligence network in Anding County. They knew nothing about the movements of the front troops of the Western Expedition Army.
Now that Kaixiao's army was beaten to a pulp and had to withdraw from Anding County, they suddenly discovered that their retreat had been cut off by the Western Expeditionary Army.
The main force of the Western Expeditionary Army was pursuing them from behind, and the Western Expeditionary Army was intercepting them from the front. More than 20,000 soldiers of Kaixiao's army were trapped at the mountain pass of Jitou Valley, with no way to the sky and no way to the ground.
In the end, Zhou Zong could only bite the bullet and ordered the whole army to rush into Jitou Valley.
Under Zhou Zong's order, the helpless Kui Xiao's army ran forward like crazy in the Chicken Head Valley despite the falling arrows, rolling logs and rocks.
People who were running were hit by arrows from time to time, and knocked to the ground by rolling logs and stones.
There were countless bodies lying on the ground, and there were countless injured people lying on the ground. People's shouts, screams, and the roar of rolling wood and rocks resounded in the valley.
In the battle of Jitou Valley, Wei Xiao's army was miserable. More than 20,000 people came in. In the end, only about 2,000 people followed Zhou Zong to escape from the valley. After the battle, looking at Jitou Valley, corpses were everywhere, it was too horrible to see.
.
Kaixiao's army of 100,000 troops invaded Anding, trying to conquer Anding County in one fell swoop, and then conquer Beidi County, bringing the entire Liangzhou into his hands.
But the reality was completely opposite to Wei Xiao's expectation.
After the 100,000-strong army entered An'ing, they only fought one decisive battle at Yinpan and were completely defeated by the Western Expeditionary Army. Then they ran and were defeated all the way. They finally reached Chicken Head Valley and suffered the final blow of the Western Expeditionary Army.
one strike.
The remaining two thousand from one hundred thousand was equivalent to the annihilation of the entire army. Only one battle was enough to calm down Kaixiao, who was dazzled by the victory.
The defeat of Kaixiao's army in Anding made Wang Jie and Wang Meng lose the courage to fight the Han army. They led 50,000 Kaixiao's army and retreated hastily to Hanyang County.
The Western Expeditionary Army severely defeated Kaixiao's army in Anding, resulting in the annihilation of one hundred thousand soldiers of Kaixiao's army. For the Han army, this was a rare opportunity. They could take advantage of the victory to pursue and invade Hanyang in one fell swoop.
But it was still an old problem. The Han army was short of food and grass, making it difficult to send troops to fight.
The Western Expeditionary Army performed bravely and achieved brilliant results. This was naturally due to Feng Yi. Liu Xiu once again awarded Feng Yi and even the officers and soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army. In addition, he also named Geng Shu the Marquis of Mouping.
From the Battle of Daijun, to the Battle of Bingzhou, and then to the Battle of Anding, Geng Shu led the Youzhou Cavalry to assist the Western Expedition. They were sure to win every battle and conquer every attack. Moreover, Geng Shu also killed King Auri Zhu.
What a great achievement.
Geng Shu was overjoyed when he received the imperial edict of canonization. He took more than a dozen followers and rushed to Chang'an from Qixian County overnight to meet Liu Xiu and thank the emperor. Geng Shu was granted the title of Marquis, and Geng Yan was also very happy and looked at his
Brother, I feel very honored.
Liu Xiu sat in the center of the hall, looking at Geng Shu who was kneeling and kowtowing below. He smiled slightly, stood up, walked down from the throne, came to Geng Shu, helped him up, and said: "Now, Geng
The three princes of the same clan should work even harder for the imperial court from now on!"
Geng Kuang is the Marquis of Yu Mi, his eldest son Geng Yan is the Marquis of Hao Jie, and his second son Geng Shuxian is the Marquis of Mu Ping. They are truly the three marquises of the Geng family. The most commendable thing is that the three marquises of the Geng family are not hereditary, but rely on merit.
Really won.
Upon hearing this, Geng Yan and Geng Shu both bowed their hands and saluted, and said in unison: "I am willing to serve your Majesty and the Han Dynasty with all my heart, even if I die!"
Liu Xiu nodded cheerfully and patted their arms heavily.
Geng Yan and Geng Shu were both young people. Geng Yan was only twenty years old when he first took refuge with Liu Xiu. Geng Shu was even younger. The future of the Han Dynasty needed the help of young people like them.
Liu Xiu smiled and said, "Tonight, we will go to Yuhua Pavilion for a drink."
Yuhua Pavilion is a winery in Chang'an. It has a good location, a large scale, a wide variety of fine wines, and unique dishes. It is considered the leading luxury winery in Chang'an.
Liu Xiu also accidentally heard about a place like Yuhua Pavilion. After visiting it once in disguise, he liked it very much and went there several times in disguise.
Speaking of which, Liu Xiu's stay in Chang'an felt like he was on vacation.
During this period, due to the problem of food and grass, the Han army was temporarily unable to use troops against Kaixiao, and could only wait until the autumn harvest before making plans. Liu Xiu also rarely relaxed and lived very leisurely in Chang'an.
Geng Shu didn't know where Yuhua Pavilion was, but Geng Yan knew it. He frowned secretly and whispered: "Is it not appropriate for Your Majesty to leave the palace?"
Liu Xiu waved his hand disapprovingly and said with a smile: "I have been there several times myself, and now I am considered a frequent visitor to Yuhua Pavilion."
Geng Shu couldn't help but look happy when he heard this. He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you so much, Your Majesty!"
After another conversation, Geng Yan and Geng Shu retired. After leaving the hall and outside, Geng Yan frowned and glanced at his brother displeased.
Seeing that his eldest brother looked unkind, Geng Shu asked in a low voice: "Brother doesn't seem to want me to follow Your Majesty to Yuhua Pavilion."
"It's not that I don't want you to follow Your Majesty, but Your Majesty shouldn't go to that kind of place at all." Geng Yan said with a frown.
"Isn't Yuhua Pavilion a wine house?"
"It's true that it's a wine house, but there are so many people and so many eyes. If something happens to His Majesty, who can afford it? You?" Geng Yan glared at Geng Shu again.
Geng Shu shrank his neck and did not dare to say anything. Geng Yan pondered for a moment and said: "I have to go to the military camp immediately to find more elite men."
Yuhua Pavilion is located to the west of Changle Palace, to the east of Beigong, and to the north of Weiyang Palace. In front of the door is the main street that runs from north to south of Chang'an. It is bustling with traffic. Yuhua Pavilion not only has good grounding, but also covers an area of It is also large, and it is said that it was transformed from the Hou Mansion.
The financial sponsor who financed the construction of Yuhua Pavilion was no stranger to Liu Xiu. He was Liu Kai. He was from the same clan as Liu Xiu and was also from Chung Ling. He was eight or nine years older than Liu Xiu.
Liu Kai and Liu Yan have a particularly good relationship. After all, they are similar in age. They were friends who played together in the village. Liu Kai and Liu Xiu's relationship is average, and they are not very familiar with each other.
After Liu Xiu became emperor, although Liu Kai was not granted the title of king or marquis, he still received a lot of care. He did business in various places, traveled all over the country and made a lot of money. Later he moved to Luoyang and settled in Chang'an. This is Yuhua Pavilion.
That night, Liu Xiu, in disguise, took Luo You, Xu Ying, Xu Ting, Xu Fei, the four of them, and Geng Yan and Geng Shu to Yuhua Pavilion.
In the Battle of Hanyang, Liu Xiu, Long Yuan, Long Zhun, and Long Bo were all injured. Now Liu Xiu's injury has recovered, and Long Yuan and the other three are still recovering from their injuries.
Seeing Liu Xiu coming, the waiter in the store immediately came out to welcome him, with a smile on his face, nodding and bowing and saying: "Mr. Jin, please come inside, please come inside!"
It could be seen that this was indeed not the first time Liu Xiu came to Yuhua Pavilion, and even the clerk in the store remembered him. Liu Xiu smiled, handed the horse's reins to the clerk, and walked inside.
The clerk quickly called over a few boys and asked them to lead Liu Xiu and others' horses to the stables and serve them with good grass and good food. Then he quickly caught up with Liu Xiu and asked with a smile: "Mr. Jin, what's going on here?" Or do you want a private room this time?”
"Yeah! I want a bigger room."
"Okay, okay, please come inside, please come inside!" The waiter led Liu Xiu and his party through the lobby of the wine house and to the back of the wine house. Here is a large courtyard surrounded by corridors and an artificial small lake in the middle. There are flowers and plants planted on the side, the environment is elegant and the atmosphere is quiet.
Passing through the small courtyard, what came into view was a garden. On one side of the garden, the waiter opened a door, then turned sideways and made an invitation gesture.
Liu Xiu walked in and looked around. This private room was long and spacious. It was more than enough to seat twenty or thirty people, let alone just a few of them.
The waiter followed and asked with a smile: "Master Jin, are you satisfied with this box?"
Liu Xiuda nodded and asked puzzledly: "Since there is such an elegant box, why didn't you bring me here before?"
The waiter smiled apologetically and said: "In the past, Mr. Jin didn't bring many people, so it was difficult to introduce such a large box. Moreover, these boxes are not open to all guests. Only regular customers of the store are eligible to enter."
Liu Xiu nodded happily and walked towards the end of the box.
The tables in the private room are arranged in the shape of "冂", with a table in the middle and other tables on both sides. In the center of the table, there is a large open space where singers and dancers can be invited to perform.
The windows were open, and the fragrance of flowers from the garden outside naturally drifted in, filling the box with a light fragrance.
Liu Xiu was very satisfied with this private room. He nodded to the waiter and said, "Okay, I've reserved it for tonight."
As he spoke, he looked back at Luo You. Luo You, who was dressed as a bookboy, took out his wallet, grabbed a handful of coins, and handed it to the clerk.
The waiter was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. After accepting the offer, his attitude became even more enthusiastic. He helped Liu Xiu order the food and drinks and walked out quickly.
Liu Xiu waved to Geng Yan and Geng Shu, indicating that they should sit down. Liu Xiu sat in the middle, Geng Yan sat on Liu Xiu's right side, and Geng Shu sat on Liu Xiu's left side.
It didn't take long before waiters filed in and brought out the food and drinks they ordered one by one.
After the waiter left, Xu Ying, Xu Ting and Xu Fei also followed him out of the box and stood at the door of the box, looking around. Luo You knelt down next to Liu Xiu, helping him pour wine and pick up food.
Liu Xiu looked at Geng Yan and asked with a smile: "Since Bo Zhao arrived in Chang'an, he hasn't had a good stroll in Chang'an, has he?"
Geng Yan said: "Wei Chen... there are so many affairs in the army that it's really hard for me to get a chance to enter the city."
Liu Xiu nodded. With generals like Geng Yan around, he didn't need to worry about military matters at all. After Wu Han arrived in Chang'an, he became even more relaxed.
He said: "If Ziyan hadn't been working in the fields and Zizhang was recovering from his injuries, they would have come to have a drink together tonight!"
Wu Han and Ma Wu were both good drinkers. If they were free and heard that there was wine to drink, it would be strange if they didn't come. Hearing Liu Xiu's words, Geng Yan and Geng Shu also laughed.
Geng Shu said: "Your Majesty...this time I was granted the title of Hou Ping, and I really feel guilty."
