When Wang Yan drove to Liang County, what he saw was a tense atmosphere of war everywhere.
In the village, the Silver Spear soldiers who had finished their separation left home in twos and threes and hit the road.
The father silently pushed the stone mill, put away the "white flour" mixed with a lot of bran, and occasionally glanced at his son who was getting ready to go.
Mother absentmindedly picked at the cabbage, but stopped talking.
The wife stuffed the prepared dry food into the package and said softly: "The Hu biscuits have been soaked in vinegar according to the military method and put away carefully. If the food runs out, it can still last for a few days. The steamed biscuits are newly made. This Eat it in two days. This is salted soy sauce, which is more delicious than the pickles in the army. My husband has been working hard in battle, and when he is tired, he will eat it with cakes. Don't be frugal."
"Why are you cramming so much food?" The sergeant had a gentle smile on his face, but he said reproachfully: "I can just take two vinegar cakes with me on the road. The army has its own cakes and rice, so we won't be hungry. This year's wheat field has a bad harvest, and our family It’s not rich either, so I won’t bring the steamed cakes.”
After that, he put a few steamed cakes that were still warm into his wife's hands and said, "When I return from Jingzhou, I will bring back some pieces of silk for you to make new clothes."
The wife's face was a little red, and she secretly glanced at the old woman who was working, and looked at her husband with an angry look.
The husband understood, turned around, and said, "Master, grandma, the army is urging me, so I'm leaving now."
"Go." My father replied in a muffled voice: "In the past, your brother was stretching on the river and fell ill. He died at a young age and had no wife or children. You are better than him and became Chen Hou's soldier. With so much money and food a year, life at home is getting better day by day. With me at home, you don’t have to worry about me. Your third and fourth brothers have grown up and can work in the fields, so there’s nothing wrong with them. Go ahead and fight hard."
"Don't be brave in battle." The mother wiped away her tears and said, "Zhang Ba in the west of the village was not enough to kill one thief, but he had to kill two or three. In the end, he was shot to death by an arrow for some reason. , you have to be careful. Grandma has marinated a fish and will eat it when you come back during the Chinese New Year."
"The more you fear death, the easier it is to die." My father muttered in a low voice.
The sergeant nodded, took the bundle from his wife, waved to his son and daughter, and strode away.
Outside the Shiqiao defense, the soldiers were chatting and laughing loudly, leading their horses and leaving the village.
The government soldiers are generally called the "Long Sword Army".
But up to now, this is just a bugle call.
Most people use heavy swords and crossbows, but there are also many people who use other weapons.
Some people even practiced cavalry combat for several years and began to develop in the direction of close combat cavalry.
They have 150 acres of good farmland, have tribes to help with the work, eat well, and have plenty of time to hone their skills. Many of them are all-rounders.
Shao Xun has never set up a special cavalry force because the expenditure is so huge.
Some of the soldiers' cavalry training was also the result of his special guidance. To put it bluntly, he just moved the training cost down and let the soldiers bear it themselves.
Correspondingly, the soldiers who are familiar with cavalry warfare will be grouped together separately to serve as a melee assault force. They will receive more rewards and better treatment when they go on an expedition.
Of course, there are also poorer soldiers.
Some people lost two horses in a row after going on an expedition, and some of them died. In the two consecutive years of disasters, they suffered more losses than others, and were unable to spend money to buy new horses.
They are now infantry.
A military system becomes like this over time.
The construction of the stone bridge defense only took a few years. If it develops over a long period of decades or even more than a hundred years, the imperial army will gradually decompose.
Some people are wearing bright armor and riding tall horses, looking majestic.
Some people were defeated, lost their iron armor, and had no money to buy new ones, so they could only serve as light-armored infantrymen.
Things in the world are nothing more than this.
During this expedition, Shiqiao and the Li family's second defense, among the three defenses in Liang County, were mobilized, with 300 people dispatched.
Lushan Defense, one of Luyang's second defenses, dispatched 150 men.
Ruyang and Nanshan's second defense each had a hundred men.
Yangzhai, Yangcheng...
Except for the newly established two defenses in Yangxia County, which were not mobilized, a total of 1,000 people from the other ten defenses were recruited as an army to trap the enemy.
Frequent wars are not a good thing for the soldiers, because they will consume their wealth. But so far, everything seems to be okay, and there is still a little left over from the rewards received from the expedition after paying for the expenses.
But if they experience a disastrous defeat with the level of annihilation of the entire army, it will be difficult for them to recover for a while.
Newcomers have not yet been trained, their combat effectiveness is not as good as that of the old people, and they may not have the money to buy suitable armor and sophisticated weapons.
Such government soldiers are infinitely stronger than the farmers who were temporarily raised in the fields - they are stronger because they have received more military training since childhood, and may have mastered limited basic martial arts.
In addition to the government troops and the Silver Spear Army, a large number of auxiliary troops were also mobilized, mainly from the captives in Guangchengze.
This year's locust plague has made life difficult for the campers. Currently, there are only about 29,000 people left, divided into six groups.
During this expedition, 3,000 people with relatively good performance were selected and transferred to the Luyang field army.
It is a great thing to be out of the sea of ​​suffering.
The campers would rather go into battle and risk injury or even death than continue to bear heavy and dangerous labor day after day in Guangchengze, acting as humanoid beasts.
In recent months, a large number of refugees have moved south from Luoyang.
To be honest, Shao Xun can't afford it either.
He is not a god and cannot produce so much food.
There was a severe drought in the first year and a locust plague in the second year. Even if most risks were avoided by relying on winter wheat, a reduction in production was inevitable.
Today, there is not much food left, and he does not dare to recruit people on a large scale.
In the end, after picking and choosing, we got three thousand families. To the other refugees, we gave them a few meals of porridge, and gave each of them two biscuits before sending them away.
These three thousand families were also incorporated into the Luyang Tuntian Army.
So far, this army has 11,000 households, with more than 20,000 men, women, old and children.
The auxiliary soldiers even gathered before the fighting soldiers.
Peng Ling, a refugee in Hanoi, looked at the set of leather armor, a long spear, and a ring-headed sword at his feet in silence.
I accidentally became the commander of the auxiliary army and was actually assigned these things.
Others looked at him with envy.
Swords and guns are nothing, but leather armor is still very useful. You may rely on this to save your life at critical moments.
Peng Ling looked at these people, with a disregard for life in his eyes.
His mother-in-law was dead, his wife was dead, and his son was trampled to death outside Daxia Gate. He had nothing to lose.
He only lives by instinct.
Instinctively wander, instinctively eat, instinctively be incorporated into Luyang's field army, instinctively prepare to go to the battlefield and die...
The autumn wind blows suddenly, bringing with it a chill.
Peng Ling still had the same expression on his face: indifference.
He seemed to have lost all his joy, anger, sorrow, pain, and laughter, and became a walking zombie and a wild beast.
There was only one thing that kept him going: the hatred buried deep in his heart.
He remembered the day he was enlisted into the army.
The famous Marquis Chen, surrounded by his own soldiers, inspected their troops.
He and Chen Hou looked at each other.
That look lasted for a long time, and he could no longer remember what it looked like at that time.
Later, Chen Hou's personal general Tang Jian came over and promoted him to the chief of the auxiliary army, in charge of nine other people.
Most of these people are refugees, but there are also two camp residents who are farming in Guangchengze.
Tunding is the tribe of Ji Sang and Wang Mi.
Penngling had heard of Wang Mi but had never heard of Ji Sang, but it didn't matter. After all, they were defeated by Chen Hou.
The campers knew better and mysteriously mentioned that they were going south to fight a handsome thief named Wang Ru.
If the king occupies the city, he may attack the city and the people who will die will be unlucky.
Pen Ling didn't care very much.
Just die, so what? What he cares more about is whether he can kill a few more dog officials before dying.
It's a pity that Wang Ru is also a rebel, so he may not be able to achieve his wish.
A large convoy passed by, attracting the attention of the auxiliary soldiers who were resting on the roadside.
Peng Ling looked over.
Wang Yan happened to lift the curtain of the bullock cart, looked at each other with Pen Ling, and immediately frowned.
This man has a death wish, but his eyes are still filled with anger, which is really strange.
Moreover, when he saw himself, his eyes that had always been indifferent actually became a little brighter, as if he was staring at a prey.
How ridiculous!
Wang Yan lowered the car curtain and stopped looking at this person.
After traveling for half a day, the convoy soon arrived at Green Willow Garden.
A large group of soldiers stood outside the garden, full of murderous intent.
The Ru River is full of ships, laden with food and military supplies.
When the convoy stopped, someone quickly came to contact them and unload the goods on the car.
Luoyang could no longer produce food, but the various ordnances crafted by craftsmen in a hurry were also very valuable. Especially consumables such as bow tips, bow strings, arrows, etc., which Chen Hou could not replenish in the short term.
And this seems to be one of the few things the court can bargain with.
Shao Xun was practicing martial arts in the yard. When he saw Wang Yan, he immediately smiled and said: "The expedition is about to go out. Why should the Taiwei come personally to urge you? Don't you trust me?"
Wang Yan also laughed when he heard this and said: "I came to see you with good intentions, but you got ridiculed. This is not the way to treat guests."
"Come here, Taiwei, may you have something to teach me?" Shao Xun inserted the long sword back into the instrument rack and asked.
Wang Yan nodded and said: "The Huns may be going south, so I came here to tell you."
"Why does the captain need to come personally for this kind of thing? Just send a messenger to carry the message." Shao Xun said.
Wang Yan looked at the tall and vigorous soldier in front of him, sighed, and said: "I haven't seen you for a long time. In this critical autumn, I don't know why, but I just wanted to come and have a look."
"It sounds like I've never come back." Shao Xun was not shy at all and joked: "Wang Ru, Hou Tuo, Yan Yi and others may be harder to beat than Ji Sang and Wang Mi, but so what? These years
, I don’t know how many bandits have been suppressed, just beat them all together.”
"The Lord is so heroic, I can't say anything." Wang Yan said: "Earlier, I was worried that the Lord would delay sending troops, and we have been traveling all the way, but seeing the army gathering in sequence, it seems that they will set off soon."
"There is no need for the Taiwei to test, we will leave tomorrow." Shao Xun said: "Countless people fight for territory and power, but there are always exceptions. Regardless of whether the Taiwei believes it or not, even if no one comes to urge me, I want to send troops as soon as possible to put down the chaos.
The situation will save the people from hanging upside down."
These words made Wang Yan a little silent.
Shao Xun is a person who sometimes cares about everything and tries his best to get benefits. Sometimes he is very "naive". For the sake of the humble common people in Guizhou, he draws his sword and fights without turning his heels, even if he pokes a big trap.
.
Such a contradictory person is really surprising.
"It is inevitable that the Xiongnu will go south to Luoyang. Can the princes make suggestions?" Wang Yan asked after calming down.
"I only have one sentence."
"Young Lord, it's okay to say it."
"There are deep ditches and high fortifications, so don't fight in vain." Shao Xun said: "At most, set up camps outside the gates to echo the defenders inside the gates and hold on to resist the enemy."
"That's all?"
"That's all." Shao Xun nodded and added: "Don't pursue it no matter what. There are many Huns cavalry, and if you rush out of the city, you may fall into their treacherous plot. The Huns are better than the cavalry, and the forbidden army is better than the infantry, and they have a big city at their back.
, As long as I don’t make any mistakes, I can’t defeat Luoyang even if all my troops are dead with Shi Le, Wang Mi, Zhao Gu and others.”
"Xun Taijian suggested to defend at the outer pass, and the emperor quite agreed." Wang Yan added: "I remember that in the past, when Wang Mi invaded Luoyang, the monarch advocated facing the enemy at the three passes in the south of Luon..."
"This moment is the same as that moment." Shao Xun waved his hand and said: "Wang Mi two years ago had many soldiers, but they were a mob and there were not many cavalry. Defending the enemy beyond the eight passes can reduce the losses of the people of Luoyang.
Today's King Mi is no longer what he was two years ago. The Xiongnu also has many well-organized troops and good combat power. If they go far to defend the enemy, they may be intercepted by the bandit army. If they panic, the end will probably be bad.
"
"Then let's fight against the city?"
"Fight against the city."
Wang Yan nodded slightly.
Regarding the strategy to defend against the enemy, there was a lot of discussion between the DPRK and the Central Government.
Wang Yan advocated that the entire army should retreat and rely on the newly shipped grain this year to wait for the Xiongnu to retreat. As a result, many people opposed it.
The emperor did not agree very much, thinking that the Xiongnu would divide their troops and plunder the surrounding counties, making the situation even more corrupt.
Wang Yan didn't know much about military affairs. When they said this, he felt a little shaken. He secretly thought that defending Luoyang was a bit too conservative. When the Huns ran out of food and retreated, they didn't even dare to pursue them. Wasn't it too cowardly?
After listening to Shao Xun's talk today, he strengthened his thoughts.
When it comes to fighting, he only trusts Shao Xun.
Chapter completed!