A surging wave of cavalry appeared in the wilderness outside the camp gate.
In fact, it’s not all wilderness anymore. The terrain of Zhengzhou is flat and there are many rivers and swamps. For example, Guancheng County has Futianze, Lishipi, etc. The agriculture is developed and there is a lot of arable land. But obviously, these farmlands are now deserted because of people.
There were few people, the corvee was heavy, the people were too exhausted to cultivate more than a few acres of land, and a large number of fields were in a state of neglect.
The barren farmland turned into grassland and was used as a horse station. After the guards and soldiers dismounted, the soldiers immediately entered the Weigou camp. The auxiliary soldiers gathered the horses and took care of them on the spot. They would return later.
Leave and return to Guancheng, carrying food and supplies.
No one can say clearly how long we need to stay in Weigou, so it's always a good idea to stock up on supplies.
Meng Zhixiang, Murong Fu, He Lianjin, Zhao Ye and other thousands of households led nearly 6,000 soldiers to guard the camp. Meng Zhixiang was appointed deputy ten thousand households to temporarily control the troops.
The remaining generals and auxiliary troops transported grain and grass supplies.
The cavalry envoy Oritsugu Yu took a closer look at the military appearance of the bodyguards, then smiled at the people around him and said: "The armor and equipment are good, but I don't know how it will be used in fighting."
Everyone laughed loudly.
Meng Zhixiang heard it from a distance and probably understood what they were laughing at. He shook his head and said nothing.
The combat effectiveness of the cavalry army is relatively poor among the Xia army's cavalry units. Any cavalry unit can easily defeat them, although the cavalry army always laughs at them because they usually lead their horses on foot and have no mobility at all.
But their frontal impact is stronger than yours. The cavalry army is suitable for attacking nomads. It is better to fight nomads than the army cavalry, but the tough battle depends on others.
"We are going to have to work hard this time." Meng Zhixiang said to the remaining Qianhu households: "We are all members of the Supreme Khan's private army, and we must not embarrass him. Once a fight breaks out, Zhu Youyu may go eastward and Bajiao
The town may also send people to march westward. The worst case scenario is that the two sides will attack and besiege our army. Therefore, the fortress must be built stronger to avoid any problems."
"Yes." Several thousand households accepted the order one after another.
They are the slaves of the Khan, a completely different system. They are most taboo about having too many contacts with people in the Yamen system. This is a major event that will affect their future.
The highest pinnacle of the slave tribe is to obtain a grassland with rich water and grass, build a city, farm and herd, and live forever. This is equivalent to the real power of the Central Plains, is it not better than anything else?
Furthermore, if a slave chief is promoted by a khan, he can also serve as an official in the Central Plains. There are actually more choices, so why should he care about other people's opinions?
After settling down, the guards and soldiers began the intense work of strengthening the camp.
The nearby woods have been cut down. It doesn't matter. Send more people to cut down the trees in the distance.
There is not enough hay, it doesn't matter, send people around to look for it. There are so many wastelands, and there is enough grass to feed the draft horses who are not picky eaters. Although it is impossible to feed only grass, at least it reduces the consumption of food.
There are not enough coolies, well, there seems to be no way to do this. Where the two armies are at war, the people have to die or leave. If you really can't get anyone, you can only use your own auxiliary troops.
And while the guards and troops were preparing for the blockade in an orderly manner, the cavalry army had already fought against the Liang people in advance.
******
The area outside Bajiao Town became a racecourse for the Xia army’s cavalry.
It's not that Liang Jun didn't have any cavalry. After all, Wei Bo sent a lot of horses over, and King Shifan of Qingzhou also said he would donate horses. But the number was too small, and they were often scattered around as wandering cavalry, and they couldn't bear to use them to fight with others.
.
The game between people is actually very intuitive. If you don't dare to stop me, then I won't be polite.
The cavalry army even boldly divided into multiple groups, each with no more than 200 riders, and harassed them everywhere. They stared at the post road between Bajiao Town and Banqiao Store, and when they saw a team transporting food, they went up to attack them.
But this time they didn't succeed. They were not disappointed, it was normal that they couldn't succeed.
If the side with more cavalry can cut off the infantry's food path at will, how will the Central Plains infantry and the Khitan play in the future? They can pull out hundreds of thousands of cavalry, and it is not impossible to mobilize two to three hundred thousand cavalry at the maximum limit. If you only have a few
Tens of thousands of infantry and thousands of cavalry, facing the Khitan's 300,000 cavalry, wouldn't it mean that they dare not fight? Let alone take the initiative to attack, use less to hit more, use foot to defeat the cavalry, and defeat the enemy in the field.
However, the huge pressure caused by the cavalry was real. The defenders of Bajiao Town quickly sent the news back to Bianzhou and reported it to Zhu Quanzhong.
But Zhu Quanzhong was very worried and was dealing with the battle situation on the front line of Xiangyi and Weishi.
Wei Sheng's army launched a fierce offensive, regardless of the cost. They recruited soldiers on the spot, and as many as 20,000 Songzhou Confucians were gathered to forcibly attack Xiangyi City.
The Tutuan peasants paid a huge price in casualties, breached the defenders' outer fortifications, filled up the city, tore down the sheep and horse wall, and cleared all obstacles to the attack.
Xiang Yong rebelled several times and was suppressed. Then he deserted and escaped with many people. By the time Zhe Zongben let them go and the main force of the Wei Sheng Army attacked the city, there were only about 10,000 Songzhou native soldiers left.
.
More than 20,000 Wei Sheng troops launched successive waves of offensives. Feeling the pressure, the defenders sent messengers to break out and ask for help from Bianzhou.
It was similar on Wei's side, and the casualties of the defenders began to increase sharply. The messenger complained to Zhu Quanzhong, saying that the city lacked arrows, wound medicine, and materials to repair the city walls. If no reinforcements came, they could hold on for at most ten days and a half.
Xiangyi and Weishi have been fighting for a long time. If the Xia army had not rescued the siege several times in the middle, the city would have been broken. It is not an exaggeration to only hold on for half a month. In fact, it is already worthy of Bianliang. The situation
If it continues to deteriorate, failure is inevitable.
"Don't you all agree to lift the siege of Xiangyi and Weishi?" Looking at several staff members who unanimously opposed this, Zhu Quanzhong was not in a good mood.
"Your Majesty, the prince has more than ten thousand soldiers stationed in Zhongmou. However, the Xia bandit cavalry army is very thin in Bajiao and Banqiao. This matter is very strange." Li Zhen replied: "I thought that the bandit army has increased its troops and the prince may be in danger.
We might as well order them to withdraw their troops, and at the same time march westward to Bajiao to receive the return of Changzhi's army."
"Jing Sima, what do you think?" Zhu Quanzhong looked at the much older Jing Xiang and asked.
"The Changzhi Army is brave and good at fighting, but even if the bandits increase their troops, they won't be able to capture them for a while. Your Majesty may go south along the Bian River, first relieve the siege of Xiangyi, and then return to Bajiao to meet the Crown Prince." Jingxiang said: "Your Majesty.
, at this extraordinary moment, we have to make some extraordinary moves to possibly reverse the decline."
What Jingxiang means is that if Xiangyi is lost, then the Xia army can march straight in and go straight to Bianzhou along the Bian River. The same is true for the Wei family. Once it is lost, the thieves will have no worries. By then the army will reach the city of Bianzhou, and it will be very difficult.
It's dangerous.
"Your Majesty, you may wish to imagine that if the main force marches westward to Bajiao and ignores Xiangyi and the Wei family, can they really hold on for half a month? If the Xia thieves really increase their troops, can they end the war in the west and rescue the prince within half a month?"
Xiang continued: "If my prediction is correct, Shao Shude must have personally led an army to Zhengzhou. I am afraid that there are about 100,000 Xia soldiers gathered there."
In the final analysis, Jingxiang was still greedy. He not only wanted to keep the stronghold in the south, but also wanted the Changzhi Army, which was likely to be trapped in a tight siege, to come back so that he could continue to maintain the mess of Bianzhou and wait for change.
In his opinion, the crown prince Zhu Youyu was actually not that dangerous, and the entire army would not be wiped out within ten days and a half. The army had enough food and grass for more than a month, and if he insisted on holding on, there was a high possibility of waiting for reinforcements from Bianzhou.
On the other hand, Xiangyi and the Wei family are already in a state of doom or death, and the situation is even more urgent. What's more, if the Wei Sheng army can be defeated under Xiangyi City, the situation can even be greatly improved.
Jingxiang hated gambling before, but now he thinks it's worth taking a gamble.
"Your Majesty, I think we cannot go south." Wei Zhao took a step forward and said loudly: "There is no room for extreme risks at this time, and the top priority is to support the Crown Prince."
Jingxiang was anxious when he heard this. He who had always had a low temper got angry and said: "It's not risky to do this, it's not risky to do that. Let Shao thief use his power to suppress others, pressing every step of the way, just for the sake of living a little more."
Time, is it useful?"
"Jing Sima also mentioned in the past that we should wait for change. How come you have changed your mind now?" Wei Zhao asked back without showing any signs of weakness.
"If the Wei family falls in Xiangyi, and the Xia thieves besiege Bianzhou and Bajiao Town, Zhongmou will also be ruined. How can we delay?" Jingxiang sneered and said.
"Jing Sima, you are so greedy that you actually ignored the king's safety..."
"There is nothing more than a plan!"
"That's enough!" Zhu Quanzhong shouted decisively, with an angry look on his face.
"I have made up my mind." He looked at his staff and said, "Gather the army and march westward to the Bajiao."
Jingxiang looked up to the sky and sighed. King Liang had lost the vigor and courage he had ten years ago, and his defeat was imminent.
******
At the foot of Zhongmu City, Zhu Youyu found that he could not retreat at all.
The defenders of Zhongmou actually went out of the city to attack at night. Although they were defeated, they were obviously capable of fighting and had a lot of troops. This completely overturned their previous judgments.
In the second half of the night, the cavalry gathered outside the camp shouted loudly and the momentum was so shocking that Zhu Youyu could only order to guard the camp and wait until dawn.
But what happened after dawn?
Zhu Youyu climbed up to the high platform in the camp and looked to the west, only to see a large number of troops advancing this way. Their vanguard seemed to have entered Zhongmu County last night, and at this time, flags had been hoisted at the top of the city.
"Tianxiong Army..." Zhu Youyu sighed softly and muttered to himself.
This is an army that is well-known even in the Liang region. It is skilled in skills, brave in battle, and has frequent success stories. The Changzhi Army, which was trapped in Luoyang before, is inseparable from them.
"You really think highly of me." Zhu Youyu laughed at himself: "This is to eat ten thousand of us together. The Xia thieves must have planned it for a long time. If my prediction is correct, Bajiao Town may have been attacked by thieves.
The army is under siege."
"Yameni, it's time to make a decision whether to fight or to leave."
"It's better to break through to the south. Go to Weishi County, cooperate with the defenders inside and outside to defeat the rebel army, and then return north to Bianzhou."
"It's probably not easy to go to the south. It might be a trap."
"We can't move now. If we move, we will be attacked by multiple parties. It will be easy for us to collapse."
"Is it possible to stay in this death place?"
The generals argued endlessly and could not come up with an idea.
"Okay, okay, no need to say any more." Zhu Youyu stopped the argument among his close friends and generals and said: "Even if you want to retreat, you must first defeat the enemy in front of you, otherwise you will be chased behind and bitten hard.
,How many people can go back?"
"I have made up my mind to defend first." Zhu Youyu said: "Waiting for the news from my father. There is a large army in Bajiao Town, very close at hand. In a moment, they can march westward and kill at the gate of Zhongmou City. By then, the armies will join together and the Xia thieves can take it.
No less than us."
He counted the flags and saw that the Iron Cavalry, Tiande, Tianxiong and Zhenguo armies all appeared. There were tens of thousands of warriors who could fight. A hasty retreat was not a good option, as it might be destroyed in the middle. It was still necessary.
Give it a try first and then talk.
On the evening of September 18, the main force of Tianxiong's army arrived at Zhongmou. After nightfall, Shao Shude led his troops to the front line.
The offensive against Zhu Youyu will begin tomorrow.
