Chapter 376 0371 [Your opportunity to make a contribution has come] (For the leader
More updates from Wangyunshan people)
It wasn't until the next day that Liu Yanqing finally came back.
All the generals looked at him with resentment in their eyes. This man had escaped from battle more than once.
But since he had connections in the court, it didn’t matter if he attacked Liao and killed nearly a hundred thousand troops, how could he be rewarded when he returned to Tokyo!
The generals were reconvened for a meeting, and Liu Yanqing first praised Wang Yuan and noted his great contribution in guarding the camp.
Wang Yuan said: "I have a fierce general under my command named Han Shizhong. He once led troops to capture Fang La, and also made meritorious service during the expedition against Liao. He also contributed a lot to defending the camp this time."
"Well, I've made a note of this person." Liu Yanqing said perfunctorily and stopped mentioning Han Shizhong.
In fact, after Han Shizhong beheaded Fangla, his military merits were misappropriated by Xin Xingzong, and his reputation had already spread throughout the Western Army. Firstly, the military merits were too great, and secondly, he was robbed of merits and received sympathy. This kind of news spread very quickly.
However, Xin Xingzong was Tong Guan's absolute confidant, and the generals of the Western Army did not dare to mention this matter publicly for fear of being jealous of Tong Guan.
Yang Weizhong, who had a broken calf, was sitting crookedly in the tent at this time: "The thieves definitely don't know any magic or magic. From my perspective, they must be a kind of artillery cart, and they can shoot as far as three or four miles."
In fact, the maximum range of the four artillery pieces in the main camp is less than three miles.
The reason why it can hit so far is because the village is located on a mountain. From a high position, and if it is fired upward at a 45-degree angle, the impact point of the cannonball is far beyond the normal range.
Liu Yanqing's face looked a little ugly. He would rather the thieves knew magic. It would be too embarrassing if they were artillery vehicles.
Liu Guangshi took over the conversation: "The thieves have such a sharp weapon, how can they break into the thieves' stronghold?"
Yang Weizhong said: "It is not easy to make such a sharp weapon. It took almost a year since the Zhu Tie army started, and they only built a few. But we can tell all the soldiers that although the Tie Tie artillery carriage is powerful, it takes a long time to launch it once, and it only takes a long time to launch it." It can hit only a few people. Let them not be afraid of any magic or magic, so as to avoid panic among the whole army."
Liu Yanqing became even more angry instantly. If this matter spread throughout the army, where would he put his face?
The dignified general along the way was so frightened by several artillery carriages that he abandoned his army and ran away.
Yang Weizhong said: "Now the morale of our army is low, there are not many foot soldiers left, and most of the divine arm crossbows have been lost. We must boost morale and encourage the warriors to attack the traitor stronghold with heavy rewards."
That being said, how many people are willing to sacrifice their lives?
The terrain is so disgusting that none of the passages from Shaanxi to Hanzhong is easy to get through.
The degree of difficulty of the Tangluo Road is second only to the Ziwu Road in the east!
In the next half month, Liu Yanqing set up the Chinese army's position further away, so that the bandit's "artillery carriage" could not attack.
However, the Western Army organized many attacks and would be attacked by artillery. Although there were not many direct casualties, it greatly affected morale. Each attack did not even come close to the mountain stronghold, and was defeated halfway up the mountain by falling rocks, rolling logs, and bows and arrows.
Liu Yanqing had no choice but to reassure the soldiers: "Don't be discouraged. Before I sent out troops, I asked scholars who knew history. In all dynasties, no one could win quickly from Hanzhong and go south along the Tangluo Road. At least it would take a lot of fighting. Months, if more, we will have to fight for another year or two. We are less than a month away, we have just begun, there is always a chance to break through the bandit stronghold."
The generals were even more speechless after hearing this. How could anyone inspire the soldiers like this?
Liu Yanqing suddenly said: "I know that there is an old road on the Tangluo Road. It has been in disrepair and is more difficult to walk. We didn't take the old road when we came here, but when we got here, we could also go along the mountain. Maybe the bandits' stronghold there would be better to attack."
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Yang Weizhong said: "The army cannot be temporarily transferred, otherwise our army's food routes will not be guaranteed. Even if we want to go west, we can only send two to three thousand elites for a surprise attack."
The two of them were talking about a surprise attack on Huaishu Pass and the old Tangluo Road that led directly to Huaishu Pass, which even the smugglers disliked.
From the end of the Tang Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty, Huaishu Pass had not been repaired. When Zhu Guoxiang took over, only the foundation of the wall remained. It took several months to rebuild it by ramming earth, and now only 3,000 rebel troops are stationed.
If the Western Army captures Huaishu Pass, they can follow the river and penetrate directly into Zhenfu County.
After occupying Zhenfu County, you can threaten Yangzhou City to the west, and cut off Yang Zhi's food routes to the east.
However, when fighting in a foreign land, unless absolutely necessary, we generally do not take risks by surprise.
Because success or failure is not in your own hands, but depends on whether the enemy is negligent. Even if you can capture Huaishuguan by surprise, you still have to capture Zhenfu County by surprise.
Zhenfu County is now a material transfer station for the Yangzhou Rebels. Not only is a large amount of military rations stored here, but there is also a reserve force on standby. If Yang Zhi is in danger, he will support Yang Zhi, and if he encounters officers and soldiers at Huaishu Pass, he will go there.
Save Huaishu Pass.
On the contrary, Yangzhou City's military strength was very empty, with only some government officials maintaining law and order.
Liu Yanqing could not make up his mind and planned to take another look at the situation.
…
The pursuit battle that day further strengthened Yang Zhi's determination to persevere.
A large number of broken troops attacked the camp, but the Western Army was still able to hold on. This shows that there are capable people among the enemy generals and the morale of the Western Army is pretty good.
Yang Zhihe's generals were naturally afraid of the Western Army and had no confidence in winning the field battle.
So I couldn't get out.
This move disgusted Liu Yanqing. He even sent his elite to feign attack and set up ambushes in the hilly areas, but it had no effect at all.
Because Yang Zhi is too cautious, or too cowardly.
If the main stronghold pursues and defeats the defeated troops but cannot reach the river, the rebels from the two sub-strongholds who pursue them down the mountain will also be recalled by Yang Zhi's order with gold medals.
The confrontation continued like this for another month. If we start counting from Yuxi, it has been more than two months since Liu Yanqing led his troops south.
Not a single step has been accomplished, and everything is stuck here.
A messenger came from Fengxiang, but it was sent by the eunuchs and supervisors, asking why there was no news about Liu Yanqing.
Liu Yanqing could only answer that the terrain of the Thieves' Stronghold was difficult to conquer, but he had already achieved several small victories, and it was only a matter of time to capture the Thieves' Stronghold.
After finally sending away the envoy, Liu Yanqing summoned the generals for a meeting again.
Yang Weizhong said: "We can only attack by force regardless of casualties."
In a word, use human lives to pile up.
And whether it will work or not, we can only leave it to fate. This is even more difficult than attacking a city.
When attacking a city, you can at least use a variety of equipment. You can also dig tunnels, pile mountains of earth, or use giant flat cannons to smash rocks.
But this place is full of imitations, no equipment can be used, and the leveling cannon is ineffective.
Liu Yanqing murmured in a low voice: "Can the Western Army in our hands still be able to attack by force?"
Yang Weizhong was momentarily speechless.
The Western Army is a collective term consisting of the Forbidden Army, the Xiang Army, the Fan Bing, and the Rural Army.
The Forbidden Army and the Xiang Army are regular troops, but their numbers are relatively small.
Fan soldiers and rural soldiers are both temporarily recruited, among which fan soldiers are ethnic minority armies.
There are a large number of ethnic minorities in the Shaanxi-Gansu region. They probably belonged to the Han ethnic group in the Tang Dynasty, but they have gradually become tribal since the end of the Tang Dynasty. Either out of force or out of livelihood, they served as soldiers in the Song Dynasty and Xixia.
The Fan soldiers here in the Song Dynasty were often beheaded by friendly forces for taking credit.
So the imperial court specially set a rule that the soldiers must have their faces tattooed, so that those who kill friendly troops and take credit cannot succeed.
The reason why the Western Army had so many rural soldiers was because the border areas were barren and it was very difficult to supply military food, making it impossible to support a large number of troops for a long time. So when there was a war, they drafted soldiers in Shaanxi. In principle, one out of every three strong men would be selected.
Therefore, regardless of whether the Shaanxi men in the Northern Song Dynasty were farmers, they were most likely to have been on the battlefield.
When fighting against Xixia, they often used the Fan soldiers as cannon fodder first, then the rural soldiers as cannon fodder, and the Forbidden Army and the Xiang Army were thrown in at critical moments.
This combat system gradually developed a strong army after hundreds of years of war between Song and Xia.
At its peak, the Shaanxi rural soldiers who were temporarily recruited did not need any training at all. They could put down their hoes, pick up their weapons, and go to the battlefield to fight against Xixia.
However, after Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty came to the throne, he frequently used troops against Xixia and was in arrears with food and salary for a long time, resulting in fewer and fewer elite Western troops.
The defeat of the Liao Dynasty resulted in countless deaths.
Many of the rural soldiers from Shaanxi being recruited now have never fought in a war. They were recruited after their fathers and brothers died. As for the regular armies such as the Forbidden Army and the Xiang Army, there are also very few left. Many of the rural soldiers who fled back from the Liao Kingdom directly joined the regular army.
Filled up.
No energy left!
We can no longer fight a tough battle!
Once they encounter a setback, even regular troops will flee.
In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Western Army was still able to hold on, thanks in fact to Zhang Jun.
At that time, a large number of Shaanxi people fled south. Zhang Jun used money and food from Sichuan to organize and train Shaanxi rural soldiers to rebuild the Western Army. Although the name of the army changed and was no longer called the Western Army, in fact, the composition of the generals and soldiers did not change significantly.
And in this time and space, how can there be money and food from Sichuan to use for military training?
"Straight bitch!"
Liu Yanqing was so depressed that he smacked his thigh: "These thieves and their son, who are so good at serving as officials, must rebel. The thieves have a good location, and our army has to go on an expedition. How can it be easy to defeat them? The eggless supervisor army came again to urge,
This is putting you and me on the fire!"
Yang Weizhong said: "It's better to delay it a little longer. Hanzhong may be in chaos. Or the rebels may be out of food and grass. Then it won't be too late to attack by force."
Liu Yanqing smiled bitterly and said: "Our grain road is hundreds of miles long, and it is all supported by new wheat. We will be the only ones who are short of food and grass."
Without the urging of the eunuchs and supervisors, Liu Yanqing would have continued the confrontation, but now he had to make a decision.
Liu Yanqing said: "Select three thousand elite troops to surprise Huaishu Pass. If we can defeat it, the situation of the war will turn around. If the surprise attack fails, let the whole army attack the stronghold. Sooner or later, we will have to attack by force, otherwise we will not be able to report to the officials."
.Rather than delaying and lowering morale, it is better to attack early and have a two-point chance of winning. Who is willing to lead troops in a surprise attack?"
No one spoke.
Wang Yuan said: "I have a fierce general named Han Shizhong."
Liu Yanqing immediately remembered this man: "Let him go and give him three thousand soldiers!"
Han Shizhong was robbed of credit by Xin Xingzong. Xin Xingzong was afraid that the matter would be "exposed", so he refused to be promoted. This man died, and he gave Tong Guan an explanation.
If Han Shizhong was lucky enough to make a great contribution, he would just take the credit when the time comes.
Wang Yuan went back to talk to Han Shizhong: "You have always wanted to make a great contribution, and now the opportunity has come. But the danger is unpredictable. If something goes wrong, just run away. Don't try your best to show off your strength. If you make a great contribution, Yang Dutong and I will try our best to protect it for you."
Some."
"There's no way to fight without fighting tooth and nail!" Han Shizhong held the knife and smiled.
He seemed very impatient before, but now that the opportunity to make meritorious deeds came, he became calm and relaxed.
(PS: The thunder cannons of the Song Dynasty were not artillery, but catapults that dropped incendiary bombs.)
(Lao Wang was brainwashed by "Future Negatives". He feels uncomfortable if he doesn't listen to it for a day. He has a new understanding of the lyrics every day. Highly recommended!)