Jijun is currently the first and most critical battle in the northern expedition to Hebei. If the Wagang rebels can be annihilated here, it will have a clearing effect on the entire situation in Hebei.
Therefore, Yang Ming would never dare to be careless.
To the west of Ji County is Hanoi County, which later belonged to Henan. In the Sui Dynasty, it belonged to Shanxi, that is, the area around Jiaozuo City, Henan.
To the north of it is Changping County, which is Jincheng in later generations where the soil and water support the people.
Jincheng people eat leftover rice, instant noodles with meatballs and poached eggs. This instant noodles is produced in Jiaozuo City, Hanoi County. This shows how deep the connection between the two places is.
People in Jincheng only recognize this brand. Master Kong could not sell Henan Yuzhu in Jincheng and was hung up and beaten. This factory is also the only state-owned instant noodle factory in China.
After Yang Ming stationed in Luoyang, he immediately sent a message to Shanxi, transferred a big shot from Li Yuan, and ordered him to recruit troops in Hanoi County, Changping County, and be ready to go east to Ji County at any time.
There are also rebellions in Shanxi, but they are not large in scale. They can be regarded as minor disturbances. This has always been the case in this place. If there is a rebellion, it is either the smallest or the largest. It is inseparable from its unique geographical conditions.
After Zhang Dinghe, the prefect of Hanoi, rushed back to Hanoi County, he had been recruiting troops intensively and was always paying attention to the movements in Ji County.
Why didn't Hanoi County belong to Shanxi in later generations? Because this place was south of the Taihang Mountains and was already in the plains. The two thousand people recruited from Changping County had to walk the eight white paths of Taihang County before they could enter Hanoi County.
In Shanxi, it is difficult to do anything, and it is also difficult to recruit soldiers. Zhang Dinghe only recruited less than 5,000 people in total.
But the Shanxi soldiers' fighting qualities are very powerful. After all, they can fight their neighbors, but they can't fight, and they can't be neighbors to those three. What's more, they have been fighting against the northern nomads since ancient times, and they are a mixture of Han and Hu.
In serious places, its toughness can be seen.
After learning that the rebels were attacking Wei County, Zhang Dinghe took these five thousand people and rushed to the main battlefield.
At this point, an encirclement network on three sides, west, south and east, is slowly compressing the Wagang Army, leaving them with only one way to retreat: north.
Zhang Xutuo's troops, stationed in Qingchi County of Bohai County, could not pass because to the north was Hejian County, the base camp of the Geqian rebels.
He and Lai Hu'er, in effect, surrounded Geqian from one side to the south and one from the north.
But the word "surround" is not appropriate to use here, because Zhang Xutuo gathered a total of 15,000 people, Laihu'er had a mixed number of 43,000 people, and Geqian had a total of 150,000.
These 150,000 people are from Hebei, half of them are deserters, and their combat effectiveness is quite impressive. Li Deyi's group is not on the same level as them.
"The gang from Gaojibo in Qinghe County went north, presumably to join forces with Ge Qian," General Fan Hu frowned and said, "The disparity in strength is too great. Fortunately, Rong Gong didn't move. Otherwise, if he was defeated, we would have no choice but to
Withdraw south, there is no other way."
General Tang Wanren also said: "But our rations are about to run out. We have also killed a lot of local landowners named Gao, some of whom were from Dugu Gong's branch. For the sake of his old man's face, we can't do it."
Almost all the moving ones have been killed, and there is nowhere to find food."
Cheng Yaojin gritted his teeth: "Why don't we fight into the river? Whether it's a mule or a horse, we have to see the truth on the battlefield."
"How can it be that easy?" Qin Shubao said: "Changlu County, which is across a canal from us, has a stockpile of 20,000 bandits, and its general Xie Leng is in charge. Further west in Jingcheng County, Liu Heitai is in charge.
They are both strong men, we can't defeat them."
In this life, Liu Heitai originally followed the traitor Hao Xiaode, one of Wang Bo's group of Shandong bandits. After Hao Xiaode was killed, he fled back to Hebei to live in seclusion, and now he is attached to Gao Kaidao's command.
Zhang Xutuo said solemnly: "If we wait a little longer, the prince is already in Luoyang. As long as we capture Wagang, we can go north along the canal. After meeting me at that time, we will be able to fight against the bandits. Now our first priority
The main task is to find food."
Xiong Baodao: "The general manager has sent people to Qinghe to borrow food, but according to the Cui family's habits, this food may not be borrowed."
"Gao Shida left Qinghe and went north, and the water transportation was temporarily stable. They couldn't deliver it before, but at this time, it can still be done, right?" Luo Shixin said: "If they don't provide food at this time, aren't they afraid that the prince will blame them?"
Zhang Xutuo said: "Be careful and don't say nonsense. It's good to know some things well. Everyone has his own calculations. We just have to do our part."
At this time, someone under his command came to report that more than 60 watercrafts had landed fifty miles south of Qingchi County, and asked Zhang Xutuo to send someone to receive the food immediately.
Zhang Xutuo was immediately overjoyed.
Luo Shixin curled his lips: "Pretend I didn't say anything just now."
The reason why they were unloading goods at such a distance was because they did not dare to go further north, otherwise they would be discovered by Xie Leng, who was confronting Zhang Xutuo across the river.
Once this batch of food arrives, Zhang Xutuo can survive for a while longer. He really can't play now because the cards in his hand are limited.
One of the reasons why Lao Cui's family was so righteous this time was that the rebels in Gaojibo moved northward, and there was no one to rob the river. Furthermore, the fighting in Jijun had already started, which meant that the prince was about to move northward.
Between Yang Ming and Wagang, no one is optimistic about Wagang.
As for Lai Huer, he has now established a firm foothold in Zhuo County. He is worthy of being a general at the level of commander. He knows that these people under his command can only fight once.
In other words, he did not have a second chance to fight, and the outcome was decided in one battle.
The Turks in the north are ready to move, and Geqian in the south has stationed 150,000 troops. He is now much more difficult than Wei Xuan, that is, he can remain motionless. If it had been anyone else, Geqian would have killed him long ago.
Since the beginning of the conquest of Goguryeo, he has never used elite soldiers, and the pain in his heart is really not enough to explain to outsiders.
"Although Bolingcui all fled into Shanxi, their people who stayed in Boling County have been trying to find ways to secretly inform us." General Fei Qingnu said: "The enemy's defense is in line with the military strategy.
There are two defensive barriers in the north and south, which just separate our troops from Zhang Xutuo. The rebels in Qinghe County have also moved north, leaving us little time."
Deng Hao smiled and said: "Actually, we have a retreat. The worst we can do is retreat from the Liaoxi Corridor to Liaodong. This way we can hold on and prevent thieves from entering."
Lai Huer smiled and waved his hand: "If I leave, the defense line in the north of Hebei will be completely opened, and the Turks will inevitably move south. If they form an alliance with the rebels, the prince in Luoyang will not be able to withstand it."
Wei Baoluan said: "The Turks have always had a large army, eyeing them outside the Great Wall. If I attack Geqian from the south in the future, and they bring troops to attack, how should I defend myself?"
Lai Hu'er said calmly: "Our lone army in Zhuojun is more effective if we don't move than if we move. Now Ge Qian also thinks that I will join forces with Zhang Xutuo to attack him. In fact, I have no such idea.
The main role of our department at the moment is to block the Turks from going south to prevent them from intervening in our civil strife. That is a big deal. As for the Geqian thief, we still have to leave it to the prince."
"The outside is more important than the inside," said the eldest son Lai Kai: "The Turks and I are mortal enemies. Once they have the opportunity, they will definitely go south to invade our mountains and rivers. Although Geqian and his like are rebels, they will always harm the people less than the Turks."
There are a lot of them, so you have to know which ones are more important than others."
What he said is correct.
Geqian himself is from Hebei, can he kill Hebei people? If he can't do it, the disaster will definitely be disaster, but there is a limit.
The Turks are different. They are foreigners. Once they enter the Central Plains, they will burn, kill, and loot in all kinds of ways. Just like when the Sui Dynasty entered the Turks, they would leave no one alive if they could.
At present, the military intelligence of protecting children depends on the canal line. With such a long river, there will always be a way to send military intelligence.
But at the moment, he only knows that the Shandong rebels were defeated in Xingyang.
But this news is undoubtedly very encouraging.
"If what I predict is true, the Wagang bandits will not survive March, and the prince will enter Qinghe County to take charge of the overall situation. Then the Luoyang army can go north along the river to meet Zhang Xutuo," Lai Hu'er said solemnly:
"Counting the days, it will be April or May soon. As soon as the prince arrives, the thieves will be in chaos. At that time, I will block his way north. Then he can only choose to fight the prince. At that time, we can participate, because when the prince arrives, the north
The Turks would not dare to act rashly."
Lai Kai said: "The Wagang bandits are not so easy to deal with, otherwise they would not have moved to Henan, Shandong, and Hebei. So far, there is nothing we can do against them."
"The key to victory or defeat lies in Liyangcang," Lai Hu'er said: "As long as they cannot defeat Liyangcang, they will run out of food and collapse."
Without food, there is no hope, so the Battle of Liyangcang was the most brutal offensive and defensive battle in the last ten years of the Sui Dynasty.
Liyangcang has 84 warehouses alone, covering an area of 310 acres, with a total storage capacity of 13 million stones. There are city walls, moats, and 21 fortresses outside.
At present, Liyangcang's inventory is less than two million stones.
This number may not sound like much, but it can feed 100,000 people for three months.
This is why Zhai Rang fought tooth and nail to attack here. An army of 120,000 soldiers surrounded it on three sides and attacked Liyangcang day and night. The moat had already been filled in.
At this time, no one would set fire to burn food, because everyone depends on this to survive.
Hand-to-hand combat on the city wall is happening all the time, and this place has become a purgatory on earth.
In just three days, Zhai Rang's troops died in excess of 10,000 people. Even so, their rebel army still did not show any signs of decline, because everyone knew that if they could not take this place, they would die.
Yang Xuanting's reinforcements had already crossed the river. After a temporary rest, they bypassed Liyangcang and formed a formation on the left wing of the rebel army. Wang Bodang personally led the army and fought Yang Xuanting head-on.
At the same time, two Xiaoguo troops, Xu Xuanche and Wan Zan, were attacking Guixiang County, the capital of Wuyang County.
The leader of the rebels here is called Zhai Mohou, the son of Zhai Hong and the nephew of Zhai Rang.
The main force of Wagang is all in Jijun, and he cannot hold it.
After Li Jing captured Guancheng, he went directly to Ji County. As for Xu Xuanche, he didn't care whether Wan Zan could capture Guixiang, as long as the other party dragged Zhai Mohou with him.
He was not afraid that the two of them would betray him. Xuanzang was still there on the other side of the river, and they had no courage to betray him.