Five hundred and ninetieth chapters into the mountain thief
Wang Liang has more than 20,000 soldiers under his command. Liu Xiu's side, even including county soldiers, only has 4,000 soldiers. Taken together, the Han army has 25,000 soldiers and horses.
As for the Red Eyebrow Army, conservative estimates put it at more than 20,000 people. The total strength of both sides was almost evenly matched.
But the problem is that the Han army wants to enter the Taihang Mountains to fight, while the Red Eyebrow Army is waiting for work and fights in the Taihang Mountains, which has an absolute geographical advantage. Liu Xiu thought about it and asked: "How many percent does Jun Yan have for this battle?"
grasp?"
Wang Liang thought for a while and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I am about 60% sure."
For a battle initiated proactively, there is only about a 60% chance of winning, which is actually quite low.
Seeing that Liu Xiu was silent, Wang Liang said: "The Red Eyebrow Army has just suffered a defeat in Xiuwu, suffering heavy casualties and low morale. However, the morale of our soldiers is high. Weichen thinks that now is the time for our army to take the initiative.
Great opportunity!”
After a pause, he said meaningfully: "If you miss the opportunity now and sit back and watch the Red Eyebrow Army recuperate and regain its strength in the Taihang Mountains, this Red Eyebrow Army will definitely become Hanoi's innermost trouble in the future!"
Wang Liang's words touched Liu Xiu's heart. He nodded and said, "Jun Yan's words are reasonable. This time, Jun Yan and I will fight together!"
"This..." Wang Liang quickly stopped him and said: "Your Majesty, this time we went deep into the Taihang Mountains. After all, our army is not very familiar with the terrain in the mountains. There are many dangers and it is too dangerous. I hope your Majesty can take back his life and Yu Xiuwu is weak.
I will just take care of you."
Liu Xiu smiled and said: "Xiu Wu is so far away from Taihang Mountain, how can we support him?"
"His Majesty!"
Liu Xiu waved his hand and said with a smile: "Jun Yan doesn't think that after being the emperor for a few days, I have forgotten the ability to lead troops in war?!"
His throne did not fall from the sky, nor was it given to him by others, but he led his soldiers to capture it city by city.
Liu Xiu said this, and Wang Liang could not say anything else. He raised his hand to Liu Xiu and said: "If your Majesty insists on marching in person, I think you should send troops from Luoyang!"
"It is not appropriate to mobilize the troops and horses in Luoyang now." Liu Xiu said with a solemn expression.
Liu Yong is ready to move and may send troops north to attack Henan at any time. If Luoyang has no troops and Henan is empty, the situation will be dangerous. Deng Yu's western expedition has been unable to capture Chang'an. The morale of the entire army is low and they are gradually falling into trouble.
, Luoyang may need to send troops to assist at any time; although Cen Peng regained more than ten cities in Jingzhou, it was only a drop in the bucket. Qin Feng, Dong Xin, Xu Han and other separatist forces in Jingzhou were recruiting troops intensively and refused to surrender to the imperial court.
Down here, there is also a fierce battle to be fought.
All three fronts require Luoyang to be ready to send troops for reinforcements at any time. Regarding Luoyang's troops and horses, Liu Xiu really does not dare to use them easily now.
After hearing Liu Xiu's concerns, Wang Liang also fell silent.
Indeed, our own side is now surrounded by enemies from the outside. The Red Eyebrow Army in Chang'an, Yanzhou, Liu Yong in Qingzhou, and the old ministers of Gengshi in Jingzhou. The local separatist regimes, no matter which side is in trouble, need Luoyang to send reinforcements as soon as possible.
Liu Xiu smiled at Wang Liang, who was frowning, and said in a brisk tone: "Jun Yan, you just said that the morale of the traitor army is weak now, while the morale of our soldiers is high. We are strong and weak. This battle
You deserve a fight!"
Wang Liang took a deep breath and said seriously: "Your Majesty, I will go back today to rectify the three armies and prepare for war!"
Liu Xiu said: "It won't be too late to leave tomorrow. Then, I will go to the military camp with you!"
"Yes! Your Majesty!"
There was nothing to say that day. The next day, Liu Xiu, Jia Fu, Wang Liang, Li Tong, Fu An, Zong Guang and others got up and went to the camp of Wang Liang's army.
Accompanying Liu Xiu were not only the Beijing garrison army, the imperial army, and the Yulin army, but also some soldiers from Xiuwu County and Zhuolucheng County.
The camp of Wang Liang's army was located near Taihang County. Shortly after they arrived at the camp, Wang Liang's subordinates brought a dozen people into the camp. These people all lived in the Taihang Mountains. Among them were hunters and farmers. In short, they were all familiar.
People who live in the Taihang Mountains.
Liu Xiu personally met these dozen people. When he learned that the person in front of him was the emperor, the faces of the dozen or so people changed drastically. They hurriedly knelt down, kowtowed forward, and said tremblingly: "The common people pay homage to your majesty!"
"Everyone, please stand up." Liu Xiu waved his hands to them and said softly.
These people didn't dare to stand up at all. They knelt on the ground one by one with their heads lowered. They didn't even dare to look at Liu Xiu. Liu Xiu asked: "Are you all hunters and medicine farmers in the Taihang Mountains?" wavv
"Yes, Your Majesty!" A more courageous hunter raised his head and replied.
Liu Xiu asked: "Did you go into the mountains during this period?"
Everyone looked at each other, and it was the hunter who replied: "Five days ago, the grassroots people entered the Taihang Mountains, and the grassroots people also discovered the Red Eyebrow Army in the forest at the foot of Wangwu Mountain!"
Liu Xiuxiao asked: "How do you know they are the Red Eyebrow Army?"
"Their eyebrows are all red and they look scary!"
"How many people did you see at that time?" "A lot, more than one or two hundred people!" "What were they doing?"
"Hunting!" the hunter said angrily: "Since the Red Eyebrow Army arrived in the Wangwu Mountain area, they have almost wiped out all the wild animals nearby!"
Another medicine farmer said timidly: "Many medicinal materials have also been collected by them."
The people living near the Taihang Mountains all depend on the mountains for their livelihood. The hunters make a living by hunting, and the farmers make a living by collecting herbs. The arrival of the Red Eyebrow Army has directly affected their livelihoods. Inwardly, they
They were resentful towards the Red Eyebrow Army. In addition, they also felt disgusted by the actions of the Red Eyebrow Army. After the Red Eyebrow Army arrived in Hanoi, they did nothing good. They burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil.
Liu Xiu said quietly: "The Red Eyebrow Army has tens of thousands of people, but you only saw one or two hundred people."
The hunter hurriedly explained: "The grass people were afraid of being discovered by the Red Eyebrow Army. After seeing the Red Eyebrow Army with one or two hundred people, the grass people ran away quickly and did not stay there for long."
"Oh!" Liu Xiu responded and nodded to Wang Liang on the side. Wang Liang asked someone to fetch a small box and opened it. Inside were dozens of third-grade platinum turtle coins.
Turtle coins are not made of turtle shells, but are made of silver-tin alloy. They weigh four taels. Because they are oval in shape and have tortoise patterns on them, they are called turtle coins. One coin is worth three hundred coins.
There were dozens of turtle coins in this small box, estimated to be tens of thousands of dollars. Wang Liang pushed the small box forward so that more than a dozen people could see clearly.
He said slowly: "This time, our army is going into the mountains to suppress bandits, and we need guides who are familiar with the terrain of the mountains. If any of you is willing to be a guide for our army, you can receive three thousand coins."
In the area under Liu Xiu's rule, prices have tended to fall. Three thousand dollars is not a small sum. A dozen people looked at the turtle coins in the small box and swallowed their saliva.
It was the hunter who was the first to say: "Your Majesty, the common people are willing to be our guides."
As soon as he finished speaking, two other hunters and a medicine farmer said in unison: "Grassmen are also willing to be guides."
Wang Liang waited for a while and saw that the other people were just looking at the turtle coins and swallowing their saliva, but they were reluctant to speak. Apparently they were afraid of the Red Eyebrow Army and did not dare to serve as their guide. He nodded and said: "Just
You four are ready!"
While Wang Liang was talking, Fu An walked over, approached a hunter, and said, "Stretch out your hand."
Orion didn't know why, so he cautiously stretched out his hands.
Fu An first looked at it carefully and then touched it carefully. Orions often used bows and arrows, so one hand must be covered with calluses, while the other hand had calluses on the fingertips and no calluses on the palm.
The actual situation is indeed like this. The three hunters all have a layer of calluses on the hand holding the bow, and only the fingertips of the other hand have thick calluses. At first glance, they are people who often use bows and arrows.
As for the medicine farmer, his hands have calluses, but they are thinner than those of the Orion.
After the inspection, Fu An returned to his original position and nodded slightly to Liu Xiu, indicating that the identities of the people were correct. Liu Xiu asked, "How about going to the mountain tomorrow?"
Three hunters and one medicine farmer kowtowed to Liu Xiu and said, "Everyone in the community will listen to your Majesty's arrangements!"
Liu Xiu felt relieved after finding four guides who were familiar with the Taihang Mountains. After that, Wang Liang arranged for the four guides to rest. As for the other common people, Wang Liang did not let them leave the camp for the time being in order to block the news.
Early the next day, the main force of the Han army, led by Liu Xiu, left the military camp and entered the Taihang Mountains along Taihangxing.
This section of the road in Taihangxing is relatively easy to walk. At least, the ground is flat and can be passed by cars and horses. However, there are mostly mountains on both sides of the road and the terrain is steep.
In order to prevent an ambush in the mountains on both sides of the road, Wang Liang sent a large number of scouts to investigate first. In this way, the team moved much slower.
Liu Xiu and Xu Xiling were riding in the same car. There was a parchment map spread in the car. Liu Xiu spent most of the time with his head down studying the map. This map was much more detailed than the one Wang Liang gave him.
As guides, hunters and medicine farmers re-marked the map, such as adding the names of various peaks. In addition, they also corrected some incorrectly drawn places.
"Your Majesty, drink tea!" Xu Xiling handed a cup of tea to Liu Xiu.
Liu Xiu casually took the teacup and took a sip. The tea was at room temperature, and it didn't taste astringent, but very sweet. He looked away, looked at Xu Xiling, then looked at the tea in his hand, and asked, "What kind of tea is this?"
"
Xu Xiling smiled and said: "Your Majesty, this is called partridge tea, and it comes from southern Xinjiang. It is not common in Sili and Jizhou."
After a pause, she explained: "Partridge tea does not need to be cooked, it is very convenient to drink, and it also has the effect of clearing away heat and detoxifying."
After hearing this, Liu Xiu's mouth curled up and he was happy. He lowered his head and smelled it carefully. There was indeed a faint medicinal fragrance. He smiled and said: "Xiling has such a treasure, you should take it out earlier!"
Xu Xiling rolled her eyes at Liu Xiu and said, "When Xiling was serving as the Ye Ting Ling, he accidentally heard about partridge tea and asked people to search for it outside the palace. Unexpectedly, he actually found it."
Her eye roll is not only not annoying to look at, but also charming and charming to the very core.
Liu Xiu was used to it. He looked up and smiled and said: "It seems that letting Xi Ling be the Ye Tingling has gained something!"
After a pause, he asked with concern: "Is Xi Ling still satisfied with the position of Ye Tingling? If not, it can be replaced. The position of Changqiu in the palace is still vacant for the time being..."
As he was talking, the carriage's wheels seemed to be bumped by a stone on the road. There was a sudden shock. Xu Xiling couldn't help but scream out, and fell forward involuntarily, falling on Liu Xiu.
The tea in the teacup was knocked out and spilled all over them.
"Your Majesty," Xu Xiling sat upright in panic. She looked shocked when she saw that Liu Xiu's clothes on her chest were wet. She had soiled the emperor's crown clothes. It could be a big deal or a small matter.
.
Liu Xiu didn't think so. She looked at her and Xu Xiling's clothes, laughed loudly, and said, "Fortunately, Xiling made me partridge tea, otherwise, both of us would have been burned!"
