After Zhu Tao was attacked by the Jin army halfway across the Hutuo River, he headed north in panic. Two days later, the army crossed the Juma River and entered the territory of Youzhou. Zhu Tao was frightened and calmed down. It was already dusk, and he
He ordered the troops to camp and rest on the spot.
Zhu Tao also ordered his eldest son Zhu Ling to go to Huichang County, fifty miles away, to look for some food.
When Zhu Tao goes on an expedition, his eldest son usually stays behind in Youzhou, but this time he took his eldest son on the expedition, mainly because this battle was the Zhu family's war to unify Hebei. Zhu Tao hoped that in this battle, the eldest son would officially become his heir apparent.
Laying the foundation for becoming the future Lord of Hebei.
Unfortunately, he was not strong enough and was severely defeated by the Jin army.
In fact, Zhu Tao didn't care much about the loss of tens of thousands of troops. The number of troops could be restored slowly. There was plenty of gold and silver in Youzhou, so Zhu Tao was not worried about this problem.
Zhu Tao was even more worried about Youzhou City. He rushed back all the way but didn't get any news, which really made him feel extremely uneasy.
He hoped that Youzhou was safe and sound and nothing happened, but he also knew that this was impossible. Li Wanquan's army had been completely destroyed. How could Youzhou still be safe and sound?
Before Hai hour, the eldest son Zhu Ling came back. He and the magistrate of Huichang County brought back more than a hundred carts of grain and hundreds of fat pigs. They also brought back news that shocked Zhu Tao. King Guo Song of Jin personally led the Six Seventh Army
Ten thousand troops marched toward Youzhou City.
"When...when did this happen?" Zhu Tao asked with a trembling voice.
The magistrate of Huichang County said tremblingly: "I heard this from a businessman who came from Fanyang County three days ago. It took him two days to come from Fanyang County. It should have happened five days ago."
It takes about a day to walk from Fanyang County to Youzhou City. The Guo and Song army had already arrived at Youzhou City at least four days ago.
For a moment, Zhu Tao was so anxious that he walked back and forth in the tent, as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.
Military advisor Li Bochang advised: "Your Majesty has sent spies before, and there will be news soon. I feel that Youzhou City is tall and solid, and the moat is wide. Even ordinary siege ladders cannot get close to it. The city is not that easy."
It has been breached, Your Majesty, don’t worry too much.”
Zhu Tao sighed: "You don't know how powerful the iron fire thunder is. When I attacked Taiyuan, I encountered an iron fire thunder explosion. It sounded like a huge thunder and the city wall exploded into powder. They only had to row a small boat and transport an iron fire thunder over.
, you can blow the city gate open, I really doubt that Youzhou City has fallen."
"My lord, please don't think too much. It's better to wait for the definite news!"
Zhu Tao had no choice but to order his men to kill pigs and cook rice to reward the soldiers.
........
At the third watch, Li Bochang was woken up by soldiers while he was sleeping. He asked in a daze: "What's going on?"
"Your Majesty, please ask the military advisor to come over. It seems like something big has happened."
Li Bochang was startled and lost all sleep. He quickly put on his shoes and asked, "What happened?"
"I don't know. The prince's personal soldiers just said that the spies are back."
Li Bochang immediately guessed that it must be about Youzhou.
He quickly put on his shoes, put on a coat and hurried to Zhu Tao's tent. As soon as he entered the tent, he saw Zhu Tao slumped on the soft couch like a dead fish, his whole person seemed to be demented.
Already.
His eldest son Zhu Ling said with a tearful voice: "Military advisor, there is definite news from Youzhou City. The night before yesterday, Youzhou City was captured by Guo Song's army, and Lu Jinsuo led the remaining army to retreat eastward."
"Is the source reliable?" Li Bochang asked again.
Zhu Ling nodded, "Our spies met a general and a dozen deserters under Lu Jinsuo. We heard that the general Zhang Yong betrayed them and opened the city in the middle of the night to let the enemy troops into the city."
The news should be reliable. Li Bochang glanced at Zhu Tao and asked, "What's wrong with the prince?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Tao burst into tears, "My foundation! Twenty years of hard work! It's all gone."
Li Bochang stepped forward to persuade: "Your Majesty, the matter has come to this, and there is really nothing we can do. As long as we keep Qingshan, we are not afraid that we will have no chance to come back in the future. Your Majesty, now is not the time to be sad. Guo Song will not let us go.
If we don’t leave, the whole army will be destroyed.”
"Walk?"
Zhu Tao wiped away his tears and asked, "Where else can I go now?"
"The prince now has two choices. One is to turn around and go south, cross the Yellow River to join the Emperor of Luoyang, and the second option is to go to Liaodong. The young prince is still there!"
"If I go south, can Tian Yue let me go?"
Li Bochang shook his head, "I guess it's unlikely."
Zhu Tao jumped up and shouted: "Then go to Liaodong!"
That night, 16,000 Yan troops set off after a good meal. They did not dare to go to Youzhou City, but marched quickly east towards Pingzhou.
Three days later, Zhu Tao's army arrived at Lulong City, and Lu Jinsuo came out crying to greet him. Pingzhou is east of today's Tangshan. There was an army of 3,000 troops stationed here, plus Lu Jinsuo's more than 1,000 remnant troops, a total of more than 4,000 people.
After the army gathered together, Zhu Tao's army reached 20,000.
At this moment, spies came with news that King Guo Song of Jin personally led an army of 50,000 people and was heading towards Pingzhou.
Zhu Tao was so frightened that he did not dare to stay in Pingzhou any longer. He hurriedly led 20,000 troops to withdraw to Yingzhou, Liaodong, and ordered Lu Jinsuo to lead 5,000 troops to guard Yuguan.
One day later, Guo Song led 50,000 troops to Pingzhou.
Pingzhou has a small population. Since it is the throat to Liaodong, a large number of military facilities have been built here since the Sui Dynasty. In addition, it is also the location of the largest iron mine in the Youyan region. The pig iron of the Yan army is
Supplied from here.
At this time, Zhu Tao's army was no longer in Pingzhou. Guo Song led the army to Lulong County. The governor Zhang Jian, the chief minister Sima Lin, the county magistrate, the county magistrate and other officials all went out of the city to surrender to the Jin army.
Guo Song did not embarrass them and comforted them with good words, so that they could continue to perform their duties. He immediately ordered the army to be stationed outside the city, and he led 3,000 soldiers into Lulong County.
Lulong County is also a large and solid city. The city's population is only about 30,000, and most of them are concentrated in the south. The north of the city is full of warehouses, military camps and other military facilities. There are two large military camps alone, and each military camp can accommodate at least 1,000 people.
There were 30,000 people, and densely packed barracks were built in the military camp.
It can be seen that Zhu Tao's army withdrew in a hurry. The military camp was in a mess, and there were still many weapons and food left in the small warehouse of the military camp.
Guo Song was not very interested in the military camp, so he immediately came to the warehouse.
"How much food and grass is left in the warehouse?" Guo Song asked.
The governor Zhang Jian hurriedly said: "Reporting to your highness, there is not much food and grass. Originally there were 100,000 shi of grain and 80,000 dans of fodder, but Zhu Tao took away most of it when he withdrew. Now there are only 20,000 shi of grain and 30,000 dans of fodder left.
?”
Guo Song frowned and asked in confusion: "He only has a total of 20,000 troops. How can he carry so much food and grass?"
"Your Highness doesn't know that Zhu Tao was transported northward by ship, using twenty three-thousand-stone cargo ships to fully load him."
"There are still ships in Pingzhou?" Guo Song was surprised.
"Originally there were none, but Zhu Si brought a lot of money, food and materials from Yangzhou. Twenty ships worth three thousand dan were seized by the King of Yan. A dock was built at the mouth of the Ruhe River and the ships were parked there."
"What now?" Guo Song asked.
Zhang Jian shook his head, "There are only a few fishing boats left, and the cargo ships have all gone to Liaodong, and I'm afraid they won't come back."
"Is there any pig iron in the warehouse?"
"The pig iron was transported to Liaodong before. Now the mines have stopped production and the miners have gone home. There are only 500,000 kilograms of blister copper left in the warehouse, which is ready to be sent to Youzhou to mint coins."
"What else is in the warehouse?"
Zhang Jian thought for a while and said: "There is also salt. The largest salt field in Youyan area is also in Pingzhou. On the southern coast, there are 200,000 acres of salt fields. There are also more than a dozen salt warehouses at the Ruhe estuary dock. It is said that there are
There are hundreds of thousands of stones of sea salt, and I have heard about the humble position, but the specifics are not under our jurisdiction."
Guo Song suddenly realized that they were still a little passive. The other party could actually come by sea, but he couldn't come by sea.
...........
Guo Song only stayed in Pinglu County for one day. Early the next morning, he led 10,000 cavalry to inspect Yuguan.
Yuguan is the entrance to the Western Liaoning Corridor. It is adjacent to Yanshan Mountain in the north and the sea in the east. It is a gate city built with large bluestones, blocking the road to Liaodong from the north. Yuguan is built on the mountainside, with a higher terrain, occupying a condescending position.
Advantages.
However, Guo Song has no plans to go north to Liaodong for the time being. The situation in Liaodong is very complicated, and it is not just as simple as Zhu Tao's 20,000 remnant troops.
Liaodong also involves the four major forces of Khitan, Xi, Silla and Bohai, especially the Khitan and Silla. The Khitan has begun to rise and gradually controls the Xi people. It is Zhu Tao's biggest supporter.
There is also Silla. The Tang Dynasty was expelled from the Korean Peninsula by Silla shortly after the Anshi Rebellion broke out. Although the area north of the Datong River was still the territory of the Tang Dynasty in name, it was actually controlled by the Goguryeo and Silla people. However,
The Goguryeo people did not regain their country.
The Bohai Kingdom was also very powerful, and it cooperated with the Goguryeo people to contain the ambitions of the Khitan people.
Zhu Tao led 20,000 troops north to Liaodong this time, which will undoubtedly become a catfish that stirs up the situation in Liaodong. In particular, he has deep conflicts with the remnants of the Goguryeo people and the Khitan people, with constant conflicts of interest. Zhu Tao's territory in Liaodong also has conflicts of interest with the Goguryeo people.
, Zhu Tao relies on the Khitan, and he will definitely become the Khitan's thug against the Goguryeo and Silla people.
Guo Song currently has no energy to take care of Liaodong. As long as he holds Pingzhou and prevents Zhu Tao from going south to Youyan again, this eastern expedition will be considered a success.