"Is there any news from Jinyang?" Shao Shude suddenly asked during the march.
Xie Tong was riding on the horse, but his buttocks were a little painful. Hearing this, he was excited and immediately replied: "Your Highness, a secret report came last month, but there is no movement."
Shao Shude was noncommittal. I didn't launch it last month. I only started to gather troops. Jinyang probably hadn't had time to get the news yet. How could there be any movement?
However, this news is not without value. It illustrates one thing: at least in February and March, Li Keyong had no intention of taking the initiative.
Are you waiting for the opportunity? Or are you really afraid?
I thought carefully about the deployment of troops, and found that a large number of main troops were guarding the towns in Hedong and Hebei. The only weak points were probably Yunzhou and Ziqing, with the prefecture troops as the main force. But Heng Haijun only wanted to rob, not fight.
It's a tough fight and can be maintained for the time being, so there's not much of a problem.
Over in Guanxi, Chengjie is still busy taking over the Jingzhao Mansion and straightening out the relationship, which will take time. Once completed, he can lead his army to Qizhou, disperse to the Guan area, and wait and see the situation.
The cost of transporting materials from Helong and Guanxi to Henan is huge, and most of them can only be stored locally. It would be a pity not to use them.
"Li Ke came here as soon as possible. What could he do if he was afraid?" Shao Shude smiled and ordered a rest.
This place is Songcheng County, the county seat of Songzhou. Shi Yanci, the governor of the state, has stood by the road and is waiting respectfully.
Some of Yin'anzhi's generals greeted Shi Yanci and had a harmonious relationship.
Lao Shi recommended many people to serve as soldiers next to Shao Shude. They were all local generals in Henan and powerful children. Because of the need for united front, these people were all recruited into Yin'anzhi. They were from good backgrounds, so they were very polite to Shi Yanci.
, accept this favor from him.
"Greetings to Your Highness." Seeing Shao Shude dismounting, Shi Yanci immediately stepped forward and said, "Everything is ready. Please send someone to deliver the goods."
In fact, it was some beans to feed the war horses, grain and hay to feed the pack horses and riding horses, as well as coarse cakes and dried meats that the soldiers carried with them.
"When the war horses cross the border, they consume a lot of money, and all the savings in the treasury are wiped out." Shao Shude joked: "After I leave, don't impose excessive taxes. Don't start collecting taxes until you agree on the summer harvest. Don't ruin my reputation."
"How dare you, how dare you!" Shi Yan said with a smile.
Shao Shude turned his eyes and looked at the fields in the distance.
It is impossible for war not to destroy the economy. Especially with so many cavalry heading south in large numbers, sometimes they have to cross the wilderness and trample farmland in a hurry.
The infantry march is slightly better, generally just following the post road, but it is inevitable to cause damage occasionally.
Generally speaking, the Xia army had good military discipline and the damage was not very violent.
The countryside of Songzhou is very attractive.
There are many villages and densely populated areas. Huang Chao just passed by quietly, and Qin Zongquan only came with a small force, so the population loss was not too serious. If you really want to calculate it carefully, Qi Banzhang's Feilong Army repeatedly went deep into the enemy's rear to harass Liang Jun. They
The damage caused may not be much lighter than that of Huang Chao and Qin Zongquan. After all, the torment took too long.
Of course, the greatest damage caused to the people of Songzhou was the Xia-Liang War. A large number of people were drafted into battle, and they were tossed in the ravines, neglecting their farm work, but taxes were indispensable, and there were many people who fled - one year, two years can still be tolerated
, but the brutal tug-of-war lasted for seven years, and many people couldn't stand it anymore.
"The people of Henan are suffering." Shao Shude sighed with emotion: "It has only been two years of peace, and they are about to be drafted into battle again. It is said that the soldiers of Henan can endure the hardships, but since the difficult times, countless wars, large and small, have occurred in Henan. I am afraid that Henan
The common people don't want to be so good at fighting, they are all forced to do so."
"Now that your highness is here, the weather in Henan will become clearer." Shi Yanci said with a flattering smile.
Shao Shude was ready to whip Shi Yanci with his riding whip, but he put it down gently and said: "The armies from all directions are besieging Xuzhou. Don't worry about the rest of Songzhou. The army must be ready for recruitment."
News from Xuzhou is coming one after another.
After Zhu Zhen's troops of the Holy Army conquered Feng County, deputy envoy Yan Bao attacked Pei County at night. The enemy troops were well prepared and retreated.
The thief general Zhang Chao led his army out of the city to pursue him. He was ambushed by the Yi Cong army and returned in defeat. After torture and interrogation, the prisoners learned that there were originally 3,000 Xuzhou soldiers in Peixian County and 3,000 newly arrived Huai soldiers. After this battle, they returned
There are four thousand people, their morale has been reduced, and it seems that they can attack by force.
There were a total of 24,000 cavalry on this route, and the Yi Congjun envoy Wu Zangjieming was sent to Xuzhou to camp in the west to recruit envoys.
Ge Congzhou recruited envoys to the north and led Longxiang and Gongchen's second army of 16,000 to 16,000 troops, which were stationed in the north of Peixian County.
Liu Zhijun camped in Xuzhou to the east to recruit envoys, with a dragon and tiger army of ten thousand people.
Li Tangbin, the commander of Xuzhou's camp capital, led the Yi Cong Army in the right wing and also stationed here, giving unified command to the Yi Cong and Longhu armies.
This way, there are about 25,000 horsemen.
If Pei County does not receive further reinforcements from the Huai Army, it will only be a matter of time before it falls. Shao Shude has no doubt about it.
"Your Highness, there is a military report from Hebei." Li Yixian came over in a hurry and handed over the wooden box.
After Shao Shude opened it, he saw that it was Wei Bo who was gathering people again and seemed to have a plan.
"The dog's nose is quite sharp." General Shao Shude reported to Li Yixian and said, "You should also take a look."
Li Yixian read it in a hurry and said: "The Jinglue Army fought in Cixi last year and added a lot of subordinates and new soldiers. The Wuxing and Guzhen armies that were reorganized were not very capable of fighting. Your Highness, if the Jin army intervenes in Hebei
War, is it possible to fight?"
"You guys should also take a look." Shao Shude motioned to General Li Yixian to pass the report to Yin Anzhi and other generals.
Yang Hongyin, Chu Shenping, Chen Zhang and others finished reading it one after another.
"The right side of the army is unreliable." Yang Hongyin said loudly.
Shao Shude smiled and said: "I can't tell, but you have a very strong sense of family."
"Your Highness." Yang Hongyin saluted and said: "The warriors in the river have not joined for a long time, and their minds are wandering. They are not defending Sangzi. They have no reason to fight to the death, so they must be on guard."
"It's okay to defend the city." Chu Shenping said: "With the strategy, we can save the 40,000 soldiers of the second army and defend the strongholds and the city. No big trouble will happen."
"Your Highness, give me five hundred horses, and I will fight back to Bianzhou immediately. No matter whether he is Li Cunxiao or Zhou Dewei, I will capture him." Chen Zhang asked for his order.
"Chen Yaksha has such a loud tone." Shao Shude said helplessly: "You should change your temper. Courage means courage, but you can't just fight and kill. You, Chen Yaksha, can do it.
But sometimes you have to use your brain when fighting."
Chen Zhangnai is a brave general, even among the silver-backed men, he is ranked high. He likes to wear red armor and ride a white horse. He is very conspicuous on the battlefield and attracts hatred, but he doesn't care. He is invincible when riding horses.
, often clamoring to capture the enemy generals alive, dragging them as if they were twenty-five to eighty thousand men, and not taking the enemy seriously at all.
With such a bearlike appearance, sooner or later he will be tricked by someone, and he will suffer a big loss. Shao Shude loves talents, and has always wanted to temper his temper and let him learn how Xu Hao plays, but with little success-Xu Hao, the first brave general of the Xia Army
Hao, only rush when you are sure, don't rush if you are not sure, the winning rate is frighteningly high, this is the understanding person.
"What His Highness said is true." Upon hearing this, Chen Zhang subconsciously replied.
Shao Shude shook his head and dismissed the matter, saying: "Feng Yin has always been stable before the closure, and the defense is in their hands. I can rest assured that Luo Shaowei and Li Keyong cannot make a big splash. Let's talk about going south.
"
"How can your Highness, who has a body of thousands of gold, risk his life lightly?" Li Yixian said, "I would also like to ask Your Highness to stay in Suzhou and send a general to go south to Haozhou. If the battle is unfavorable, you can either cross the river and return, or go west to Shouzhou. This can be done.
, if the Huai people's flanks are threatened, they will definitely mobilize their troops. If they don't move, there will be no flaws. If they move, they will all have flaws."
"Those who are good at fighting can cause harm to others without killing them. Those who can make the enemy come to him will benefit him; those who can prevent the enemy from coming will harm him. You have understood the essence of mobile warfare." Shao Shude praised: "This
The target of the battle is Xuzhou, but the battlefield is not in Xuzhou. I think so, but I don’t know what Yang Xingmi thinks. Is there any other strategy?"
"Your Highness, it would be more direct to go to Sizhou." Chen Zhang said: "After arriving in Sizhou, we will look for opportunities to cross the river and attack Cao Canal to destroy the Huai people's savings and shake their military morale."
"The one who knows whether he can fight or cannot fight will win." Shao Shude patiently dialed the fool Chen Zhang and said, "Do you know the deployment of the Huai army? There are many ships in Qingkou, but who has gone on board to count the heads?
Are you sure that the main force of the Huai Army is clearing its mouth?"
Chen Zhang stopped talking. In fact, he just wanted to be reckless.
"Your Highness, the general also thinks it is better to go to Sizhou." Chu Shenping said: "But don't rush to cross the river. First, feel the enemy's deployment. There are Huai people boat divisions in Xiapi and Qingkou, and they are huge. If we can
The western part of Sizhou will put huge pressure on them, and the Huai people may divide their forces. If they start to move, they will be able to see what is real and what is not true."
"Plan before taking action, know what to stop and gain. You are a master of learning." Shao Shude praised him and said: "We will set off in half an hour to collect supplies from Suzhou, and then rush to Sizhou to mobilize the enemy troops."
******
Sizhou has jurisdiction over four counties, namely Linhuai, Xucheng, Lianshui, and Xuyi. It governs Linhuai, on the north bank of the Huaihe River in the southeast of present-day Sihong County.
Among the four counties, Linhuai and Xuyi are facing each other across the Huai River, and they have a bit of the flavor of the Twin Cities.
In fact, these two cities are indeed important towns on Huaishang.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Xuyi was a place of fierce competition between the two sides, and countless wars broke out here.
On this day, Zhang Jian, the governor of Sizhou, crossed the river and returned to Linhuai City, bringing back a large amount of supplies.
Zhang Jian was a subordinate of Sun Ru. He had served as governor for many years and had already taken root in the local area.
He is actually a real person.
At that time, the army was short of food, and out of desperation, with the mentality of giving it a try, he asked his theoretical enemy Yang Xingmi for food and grass. Yang Xingmi actually agreed, which made Zhang Jian's impression of Yang Xingmi soar.
Zhang Shijun was very moved and chose to join Zhu Quanzhong. It was so damn realistic.
But Zhu Quanzhong messed up. The envoy sent to Sizhou was arrogant and did not keep his mouth shut. His words were ridiculing everyone in Sizhou.
Zhang Jian was also a warrior and a fierce Cai thief. How did he get such a bird-like attitude? So he directly rebelled and took refuge with Yang Xingmi.
Zhu Quanzhong was restrained by Shao Shude and was unable to pursue the case, so he pinched his nose and confessed.
Yang Xingmi thought highly of Zhang Jian. In fact, he was very polite to those who had territory and soldiers. Those who did not have territory or soldiers, well, were generally optimized away.
Zhang Jian's son married Yang Xingmi's niece, and the relationship between the two parties was very close.
Zhang Jian didn't have any big ambitions. He just wanted to guard the three-thirds of the land in Sizhou. This time the Xia army moved south in a big way, and he was quite panicked. After all, Sizhou only had 6,000 state soldiers. Although he had been training for many years, he had quite a few soldiers.
Although their combat effectiveness is still too small, they are not enough to defend themselves against the enemy.
However, King Wu paid more attention to Sizhou and specially sent several generals with more than ten thousand troops to help. Moreover, many of them were old acquaintances from the local party: Feng Jingzhang and Jia Gongduo.
Yes, the former Qizhou governor Feng Jingzhang and the state general Jia Gongduo were both from Cai. They were known to be brave and good at fighting, but they were killed under the city of Ezhou and were killed all the way. Even Qizhou was lost.
The King of Wu was merciful. Not only did he not execute them, but he also comforted them. The two were so grateful that they each sent thousands of troops to garrison in Hong County, Suzhou, and in Linhuai.
There was also Chen Hanbin, a general from Haizhou, with four thousand troops stationed in Xucheng.
The total number of soldiers and horses in each department is 20,000, which sounds like a lot, but the quality is uneven, which makes Zhang Jian a little worried. However, Xuyi City on the other side is guarded by Zhang Xun, a powerful general of the Huai Army. He is more or less a backup. If it is not possible, he will go to Xuyi City.
If he asks for help, he should be fine.
After returning to the mansion, Zhang Jian was preparing to have tea and rest when he heard his subordinates reporting: Chen Hanbin from Xucheng came to report that more than ten soldiers who went out to collect firewood from the city yesterday have not returned. They sent people to look for them, but they have not returned either.
"Xia Bing must have found something nearby." Zhang Jian put down the tea bowl with a very ugly look on his face.
He killed them so quickly. Was he the main force? Was he a partial master?
Should he gather his troops for a meeting? Zhang Jian was undecided.
