Outside Xingluo Cang, the sound of killing shook the sky.
The Yamen army in Hezhong was divided into five groups, with a group of 2,000 men, taking turns to attack Cangcheng.
When one group collapsed, another group would be replaced, never stopping and never giving the enemies in the city time to breathe.
The bloody heads were thrown on the ground, and the blood flowed everywhere, which was shocking.
Three thousand infantrymen of Chishui Army were waiting in tight formation. They would kill the defeated troops when they saw them, forcing the sergeants in Hezhong to confront the defenders head-on.
The battle ended in the evening, when the last batch of Hezhong troops collapsed.
Fan He waved his big hand and fired arrows in front of the formation, shooting down the dozens of fastest runners to the ground.
"Don't treat us as human beings, let's fight with them!"
"Brothers, Wang Yao is ruthless and doesn't care about the lives of our sons in the river. Kill Wang Yao and Shao Shude!"
"When will this day come to an end? Why not fight to the death!"
"Go home! Go home!"
The rumble of horse hoofs sounded, and a thousand cavalrymen rushed into the crowd of defeated soldiers, slashing with swords and axes, killing more than a hundred people in an instant.
The remaining people were so shocked that they became somewhat sober and did not dare to make any more noise and trouble.
An officer came forward, kicked and cursed, and pulled these people down to rectify them.
Fan He glanced at the Hezhong Yamen Army with more than 7,000 people left, snorted coldly, and said: "Yumen Army, enter!"
"Yes!" Long Run responded loudly.
After witnessing the Xia army's cruel methods against the Hezhong sergeants, the first batch of more than a thousand Yumen sergeants who set out were worried and did not dare to be brave.
"The red-haired army has arrived!" A cry came from the top of Xingluocang City, and the two sides soon exchanged hands.
At the same time, outside Gongxian City in the northwest corner, Liang Jun went out of the city and charged for a while, but was quickly driven back by the Chishui Army infantry.
They were too timid at the beginning and did not dare to go out of the city to fight the Xia army, which had a huge force of tens of thousands. After the trenches were dug and the trench walls were erected, it would be a bit difficult to get out of the city to attack.
Three thousand Chishui Army infantry and tens of thousands of local peasants, with the assistance of cavalry, repelled two tentative attacks by the Gongxian defenders. However, it seemed that they were not very anxious, and might still be on solid defense.
The idea of waiting for the main army to come for reinforcements.
"The military strength is still insufficient." Fan He sighed.
Of course, he also knew that his complaints were unreasonable. With more than 100,000 people, he still complained about the lack of troops. Isn't this nonsense? The real shortage may be the Yamen army with stronger combat effectiveness. He really doesn't have much on hand. Fu Cun
There aren't many people on the trial side, only twenty to thirty thousand people in total.
Tianxiong's army, ten thousand strong, had just crossed the river. They were commanding the peasants of the Tuan Tuan to transfer supplies and distribute food, grass and equipment. They had not yet officially entered the battle.
As for whether there are any reserves, there are indeed. There are still 2,000 Tibetan soldiers in Huaizhou, and more than 1,400 armored cavalry from the Leopard Cavalry have also arrived in Mengzhou. That's all.
I heard that Wuwei Army envoy Lu Huaizhong has led his troops eastward, and Heyuan Army Li Ren's military headquarters has also set off to advance towards Shaanzhou, and should join in the direction of Heyang.
In the two prefectures of Jin and Jiang, only Wuxing and Guzhen's second army plus more than 3,000 bodyguards are left. Wangwu County also has 2,000 bodyguards and Tongguan, and there are 10,000 Zhenguo troops with poor combat effectiveness. This is
Riding more than 30,000 steps in total, it should be impossible to move.
Basically, all the troops that can be invested have been invested, the lion is fighting the rabbit, and the attack is all out. If it still doesn't work, Fan He doesn't know how to fight this battle.
Take time!
Thinking of this section, he turned his attention to the fellows from Heyang Tuan who were resting.
Is the land so easy to get? Go up and attack the city in a short while.
"General, there are bandit troops appearing outside Poppy Valley." The scouts kept coming forward, reporting news from all sides.
Poppy Valley is 20 miles east of Gong County. The road is dangerous and narrow. The stockade has been built and the city is being built. The people guarding the stockade are Tutuan folk from Heqing and Wangwu counties. They have all experienced the Great Shun Five.
During the brutal offensive and defensive battles in the spring and summer of 2011, besides farming and herding animals on weekdays, military training was also carried out. He was considered a "fighter" among the Tuan villagers.
Twenty miles east of Poppy Valley is Sishui County, which was Chenggao County in the Han Dynasty. Ten miles southwest of the county is Xuanmen Pass. On Xuanmen Slope, one of the eight passes in Luoyang in the late Han Dynasty, it is the south of Hulao Pass.
Xiakou - the location of the pass in each dynasty is different, and the name is different. Xuanmen Pass, Chenggao Pass, Hulao Pass, and Sishui Pass are basically the same place.
In Sishui County, Xuanmen Pass is guarded by Liang soldiers. They will not give up on such an important place.
"Ignore those stragglers and continue building the city." Fan He ordered without hesitation.
"There are bandits in Yanshi County. They came out and then retreated." Another scout reported.
"It must be an attack on the back road, continue to monitor." Fan He did not dare to go deeper without taking Gongxian and Xingluocang, but if the Luoyang bandit army attacked at this time, he would also feel very troublesome.
"The Tianxiong Army did not send any envoys to inquire about the battle situation..."
"Ask him to help Fu Cunjian."
"The Leopard Riders are about to cross the river..."
"Let them go to Baimapo."
Guzao
News like this came one after another. Fan He quickly processed it and turned his attention to Xingluocang.
The red-haired barbarians from the Yumen Army have already attacked the city.
After all, Xingluocang is Cangcheng, a non-professional military town, and it is located on the Nanyuan in the southeast of Gong County. The terrain is flat, so it is not too difficult to capture. But again, it takes time, and what we are fighting for now is time.
…
Qibifan brought a thousand Uighurs, and the Tuyuhun cavalry circled to the northwest suburbs of Luoyang.
Hundreds of Tutuan peasants who had gathered in a hurry were on the march, but they were dashed to pieces, leaving more than a hundred dead and injured.
When they arrived at Chanjian Station in the west of Luoyang City, they encountered a team of more than 200 Tuan villagers and killed them again, beheading dozens of them.
After interrogating the prisoners, Qi Banfan and others soon learned Hu Zhen's plan: It turned out that there were not enough troops in the city, and this guy wanted to recruit troops!
So the question is, what is he recruiting soldiers for?
Defend Luoyang? Can that shabby little city be defended? If we go out for an expedition, where should we fight? From common sense, the most likely possibility is Baimapo, where the Tiande army established a stronghold and built a city, trying to communicate with Liang Bing in the southern city of Heyang.
.
The news quickly spread back, and Qi Bifan even included his personal opinion: It is advisable to mobilize Tianxiong's army and all the Leopard Cavalry to go south, defeat the bandit army, and take advantage of the victory to attack Luoyang.
After the messenger was dispatched, he did not waste time and continued to wander around Henan County in the western suburbs of Luoyang with a thousand cavalry. While collecting food and grass, he attacked the small groups of peasants with weak combat effectiveness. He even sent a small number of people
, entered the Weihan Valley Road to the west, threatening the rear of the defenders of Xin'an County - from a purely military perspective, these cavalry could not threaten the rear of the Liang Army stationed in Xin'an County, but in terms of morale, the damage was huge.
The atmosphere in Luoyang City was very solemn at this time.
Hu Zhen was neatly dressed and determined to go to war.
Luoyang is in such a dilapidated state that it is difficult to defend it. Now the only chance is to go north to Mang Mountain, fight the thieves, and contact Huo Cun who is trapped in the southern city of Heyang.
After careful calculation, they found that their troops in Luoyang were actually not large, but they were divided. Each unit had its own difficulties and could not fight as a whole, so it was extremely passive.
I have no other options, so I can only use my strength to break the situation and hope for the best.
In addition, I hope Kou Yanqing can repel the bandits heading south from the Luokou area, otherwise he will still die.
"Inspector Duan, why are you back? What did Xu Huaiyu say?" Before setting off, Hu Zhen met Duan Ning again and asked.
Duan Ning was sent to Xin'an County in the west by him to contact the guard Xu Huaiyu to see what kind of charter he had.
Xu Huaiyu was also an old man from Yuancong of the Liang Dynasty. His seniority was no less than that of Hu Zhen, but he had fewer meritorious services and was braver and less resourceful. In addition, the Liang Wang liked to use newcomers and did not like veterans very much, so he walked a little slower than him.
.
"General Xu said that the traitor commander Li Tangbin had stepped up his offensive and he could not withdraw. Once he withdrew, his morale was shaken and he was afraid of a repeat of the old incident at Zhiguan." Duan Ning replied: "On the way back, I saw the Xia traitor cavalry heading west in the distance.
And go."
"how many?"
"Two or three hundred riders."
Hu Zhen relaxed a little and sighed: "If the situation is like this, we are all guilty. Now there is no other way but to die to repay the king."
Duan Ning was a little touched when he heard the words and sighed inaudibly.
"I wonder what's going on over there in Shazha City..." Hu Zhen was a little worried again.
The envoys sent to Shazha City have not returned yet. There are the Wudu Infantry of the Youguo Army there, plus thousands of local peasants. The strength of the troops is about the same as that of Xin'an County. The identity of the guard is rather special. He is the son of Zhu Cun, the second brother of King Liang.
Zhu Youning.
Zhu Cun and Liang Wang followed Huang Chao in the uprising, and they all knew each other. Later, when he attacked Guangzhou, Zhu Cun died in battle. Liang Wang held Bian and brought his family back from Xiao County. The two nephews of his second brother, You Lun,
, You Ning all went to the army to gain experience.
Zhu Youning had made some achievements. He fought against Qin Zongquan with King Liang. He was sent to Luoyang the year before last for both training and surveillance. Hu Zhen knew what he was doing.
"That's it! The battle situation is complicated and confusing, and there are dark clouds of thieves pressing down on the city. I won't be able to control too much." Hu Zhen stamped his feet, shook his head and said, "I will lead these 7,000 people to the north. Whether we succeed or not, this is the only one. Xu Huaiyu and Zhu Youning will return.
If there is Huo Cun, let everyone accept their destiny."
To be honest, the recruitment of 10,000 troops from nearby counties did not go well. The main reason was that the Xia cavalry harassed the army, and the people fled one after another. So many people could not be found for a while, and only 4,000 were gathered.
Hu Zhen mobilized elite soldiers from the three capitals of the Youguo Army, and took these 4,000 local peasants to the north tragically.
Seven thousand people, each with a few days of dry food, had no plan to fight for a long time, so it turned out to be a one-time deal.
"Alas!" Duan Ning sighed again and walked home.
He was not very optimistic about the prospect of Hu Zhen going north. Since the Xia thieves dared to go out of Baimapo, which is between Luoyang and Heyang Nancheng, they must have made all-out plans. Besides, it has been a long time, and their camp should have been very strong.
The 7,000 soldiers, who are strong and a mixture of old and new, will most likely be beaten to death.
On the way home, I met Ma Sixun, the governor of Duya.
This gentleman is from Haozhou, and his family has been a clerk in the state army for generations, handling various paperwork. He is no exception. He inherited his father's business, and he was familiar with the classics. He was very eloquent and eloquent, and even won the favor of the governor Zhang Sui.
Appreciate.
Of course he also practiced martial arts, and was good at using Modao, heavy swords and spears. After Haozhou was captured by Yang Xingmi, Ma Sixun fled back to Bianzhou with hundreds of people. The King of Liang took pity on him and appointed him as the escort of the Bianzhou military government. Later, he was sent to
Luoyang served as the governor of the shogunate of the Youguo Army, and together with his hundreds of old subordinates, they were also incorporated into the Youguo Army.
Now there are two infantry troops left in the city, and they are temporarily led by Ma Sixun.
Duan Ning thought for a moment, took a deep breath, and stepped forward to greet him.