Chapter Seventeen: Fleas on the Drum and Sparks Returning to the Mountain II
"Brother, don't be happy yet, this is not the worst," Shi Qian said.
After hearing this, everyone was stunned for a moment. Shi Jin looked at Shi Qian seriously and said, "This is not enough... Could there be something worse than this?"
"The situation is forced, no wonder we brothers. After Liu Tang captured Weinan and Chishui Town, most of Huazhou was within our sphere of influence. Then the lone officials in Xiagui and Pucheng looked at us Frightened by the momentum of conquering the city, they packed up their belongings and fled with their families. The two cities were left empty, and even the garrison was gone. At that time, the officers and soldiers in the north had not yet dispatched troops according to the instructions of the court. Chen Da met Liu Tang performed his meritorious service, and he did his part. After leaving the city on an excuse, he flew on horseback to capture these two cities and the attached Jinyao Town, Laihua Town, and Changle Town."
"What," Shi Jin couldn't believe his ears when he heard it, and lost his voice: "Doesn't this mean that the entire Huazhou has been taken down? It's nonsense, it's just nonsense,"
This Huazhou area looks like a boot. On the toe of the shoe is Fenglingdu, and on the shoe border are Guanxi Town, Huayin County, and Aoshui Town. These two towns are only fifty or sixty miles away from Huayin County. To the northwest of Shuizhen is Zheng County, and to the southwest is Shaohua Mountain. The two places are about sixty miles apart. To the west of Huazhou, right next to this place are Chishui Town and Weinan, which is only thirty miles away. Seventy or eighty miles further up, conveniently to the northeast is Laihua Town, due north is Xiagui, and more than eighty miles upward from Xiagui is Pucheng. Between Pucheng and Xiagui, there is a town called Jingyao Town, thirty or forty miles east of Pucheng, is Changle Town, but this town has fallen at the junction of Huazhou and Tongzhou. Although it is under the jurisdiction of Huazhou, it is actually nothing more than a third-party town. zone.
When Shi Jin started his army from Shaohua Mountain, he first conquered Huayin County from the inside out. Then, after defeating the Huazhou soldiers, he occupied Aoshui Town and Guanxi Town. He originally wanted to gain a firm foothold and consolidate the current In some base areas, with sufficient military pay and equipment, they recruited troops and horses to expand their power. When the troops and horses were strong, they would then expand outwards. But just when Shi Jin came out to rob the birth plan for my use, everyone in my hometown was competing for military exploits. In order to be the first to do such a ridiculous thing, Zhu Wu took advantage of the situation and occupied Zheng County, the government office of Huazhou. Liu Tang, the red-haired ghost, took the opportunity to seize Chishui Town and Weinan. This step had already made Zhu, who was short of major generals, Wu Feng was overwhelmed, but Chen Da advanced all the way at an untimely time and captured Laihua Town, Xiagui, Pucheng and Changle Town. This further stretched the front line of Huazhou and stretched his own manpower shortage. The weakness is exposed to the enemy's sword.
Alas, Shi Jin sighed heavily and said: "Such nonsense is just like bulging your belly to take someone's knife. How can there be so much ability and care at the moment? If I were the Song Army, I would definitely divide the army." Encirclement and suppression, defeating each one,"
Wu Yong said: "Why bother to break it? In my opinion, the soldiers and horses of the Song Dynasty were more willing to sit back and enjoy the gains. Seeing the flaws in the city, they set up camp around the city, isolated and besieged the city. The people inside were not very stable to begin with. If there were If there is chaos within the imperial court, I'm afraid that rumors will spread and be debunked."
"Zhi Duo Xing, it is indeed Zhi Duo Xing. You guessed it even if I didn't tell you," Shi Qian said with very complicated feelings in his heart: "The imperial court sent out an official document on Pegasus, requesting all the surrounding states and counties in Huazhou to send troops to join forces for encirclement and suppression. Tongzhou was the first to send 5,000 troops to capture Changle Town; Yaozhou then sent 3,000 troops to capture Jingyao Town. Now, Tongzhou and Yaozhou divided their troops to the west and east, and surrounded Pucheng completely. We When I went there, brother Chen Da had been trapped inside for seven or eight days. According to the report from the detective, the officers and soldiers called the city every day and cursed, but Chen Da just stayed behind closed doors and didn't know what was going on inside."
"Staying behind closed doors," Lu Zhishen said, "I thought he was a man attacking cities and territories, but he did it like this."
"Brother, this is wrong. Chen Da is right to stay behind closed doors. If he accepts the challenge, I am afraid that not only his own life will be difficult to save, but even Pucheng will not be able to defend it," Chao Gai said, and Wu Yong nodded. Agree.
Shi Jin frowned slightly and said nothing. Shi Qian continued: "Yaozhou and Tongzhou won the first battle, which greatly boosted the morale of the officers and soldiers. The other states and counties changed their stingy attitude and sent troops one after another. Shaanzhou sent 5,000 troops to cross Tongguan directly. Liu Quantian, who was guarding Guanxi Town, struggled for two days and finally broke through the siege and returned to Huayin County. At that time, Shangzhou also sent 6,000 troops to attack Aoshui Town, hoping to gain the first victory. , but was ruthlessly plotted by military advisor Zhu Wu, who lured the enemy deep, retreated with real attacks, struck the snake seven inches away, and defeated the vigor of the Shangzhou soldiers and horses in front of Aoshui Town. The battle easily killed more than 3,000 people in Shangzhou, and the remaining injured soldiers and remnants were camped fifty miles back, blocking all roads to the south."
"The significance of this battle is of great importance. Zhu Wu is really a talent. Brother Shi will introduce me to him someday," Wu Yong said, "The momentum of this battle is determined. It's not a problem to last for half a month. The rest I dare not say anything about the city, but Huayin, Zhengzhou, will definitely not be lost. With this one person here, even if there are twice as many officers and soldiers, it will still be safe."
"We will meet again one day, and I would like to ask the military advisor for your good wishes. I hope this is a false alarm and everything goes well," Shi Jin simply said a few words and then turned his attention to Shi Qian.
Shi Qian could see the anxiety in Shi Jin's eyes, and immediately continued to describe the battle situation in Huazhou: "The soldiers and horses from these states are not the main force yet. The really powerful ones are the two soldiers sent by Jingzhao Prefecture. Tens of thousands of imperial troops entered the territory of Huazhou and rushed straight to Weinan without stopping. They wanted to catch us off guard, but we didn't expect that Brother Liu Tang was also a strange general. Before the group of people arrived at the city, he had already brought the new recruits from the city. Two thousand men and horses were lying in ambush on the way, and they came to seize the advantage first. Brother Liu Tang not only had solid skills, but also had amazing courage. With those two thousand men, he dared to go head-to-head with the vanguard army. In the end, Brother Liu Tang even beheaded a marching vanguard with his sword,"
"Don't just say nice things, just say it. What has happened has happened, and there is nothing I can do about it. The important thing now is to see the situation clearly so that there is a chance to make amends." Shi Jin knew that Shi Qian I was afraid that he would be angry, so I talked about the good things first and then the bad things. At that moment, he said: "Liu Tang's kung fu is indeed solid and powerful, but he dared to attack his vanguard army with only two thousand newly recruited troops." , it’s really not a wise move,”
Shi Qian paused for a moment, nodded, and then continued: "Brother is right. Compared with the officers and soldiers, those forbidden troops are simply reborn. Although Liu Tang tried his best to kill the marching vanguard, he really couldn't stop him. Thanks to the counterattack and siege of the Forbidden Army, the military advisor had previously arranged for Dong Xi to lead a thousand troops in Chishui Town. Dong Xi desperately rescued Liu Tang. Now both of them were trapped in Weinan City, and the Jingzhao Mansion The Forbidden Army divided into three groups. One group besieged Weinan, all the way to Zheng County, and the other group went north to attack Xiagui. When I left, according to the report from the scouts, there were no generals to defend Xiagui, and all the small bosses who occupied the city were dead. The surrender is coming, Xiagui has been controlled by the imperial army, cutting off the connection between Pucheng and Weinan, and in the past few days since I came, I am afraid that the town of Laihua in the southeast of Xiagui has also been lost, and Pucheng... relying solely on Chen With one person's strength, I'm afraid I won't be able to defend it for much longer. Even if Brother Chen Da can still hold on, he'll be... an isolated city."
Shi Jin was heartbroken when he heard this. Speaking of which, Chen Da was the first person he met in Shaohua Mountain and the first person he fought against. He knew Chen Da's temperament. When Shi Jin left, Chen Da's The injury has just recovered, but now he is besieged by troops from Tongzhou and Yaozhou, and the imperial army's pressure on the border is just making things worse. In addition, Pucheng Chenda has just captured it, and the internal situation is not very stable... Thinking of this, how can Shi let Shi Don’t worry about progressing.
"This is quite a difficult problem..." Wu Yong said: "Brother Shi Jin, if it can be put to good use, Mr. Wu is willing to go and solve the problem."
"This..." Shi Jin was overjoyed. If Wu Yong went there, he would have more confidence in his heart.
Chao Gai said: "That's right. This village has just repelled the officers and soldiers encircled by the imperial court. There is no bigger trouble. Just leave it to Brother Lin Chong to take care of it. I and other brothers will go and help you."
"No way," Lin Chong, who was sitting aside, stood up and said, "I know that brother Chao Gai prefers brother Shi Jin, but after all, he is also the master of the village now. If you leave, how can I, Lin Chong, shoulder this important responsibility?" "It's better for you, brother, to stay and guard the stronghold while I, Lin Chong, go to help my brother Shi kill the enemy."
"Brother Lin's help is really like a tiger's wings." Shi Jin thanked Chao Gai and persuaded him: "Brother is the backbone of the village. How can he leave so easily? There are too many variables along the way. If there are any flaws, wouldn't it be wrong? You want me to hate myself for three lifetimes,"
After Shi Jin finished speaking, Chao Gai still refused. After everyone took turns to persuade him, he finally changed Chao Gai's mind.
At this moment, a man walked in like a wind from outside, and said to everyone: "If you count with your fingers, you will know how lively it will be today." When he got closer and asked what the excitement was about, General Shi Jin After just speaking briefly, Gongsun Sheng looked happy and said, "I am destined to have this fate. If I go there, I will go with you and it will be useful."
Shi Jin heard this and quickly thanked him: "Thank you, Taoist Master Gongsun."
"That's putting it mildly," Gongsun Sheng said with a smile.
"Hey, good fellow, when we get to Huazhou, those officers and soldiers will suffer a lot," Lu Zhishen said here, rubbing his two thick palms and said: "There is a good fight, and I can't wait. Okay, how about leaving today?"
"Wait for me for a moment," Wu Yong said, quickly walked out of the Juyi Hall, stepped onto the seven-star platform, blocked the sun with a feather fan, stared at it for a moment, turned back and said, "I won't fight for this day. , If the city was broken when we moved here, it would be useless to go back this time. If we stick to it, there is no need to stay for one more day. We will take a good rest for a day, and we will set off at three o'clock tomorrow,"