At the same time that Xi Wanli led an army to raid Wang Zhongsheng's troops, Gao Xiuyan also led an army of 20,000 people to march quickly from Pujing Pass. They rushed to Fenzhou within three days and stationed in Lingshi and Jiexiu counties, blocking the southward passage of Tian Shenyu's army.
At the same time, Lei Wanchun's troops in the north also captured Shuozhou and occupied Chitang Pass and Loufan Pass, cutting off the connection between Taiyuan Prefecture and the northern part of Hedong Road.
At the same time, Boyu, the guard left in Luoyang, led an army of 20,000 people out of Sishui Pass and attacked Puyang County in Puzhou in a mighty manner. Ma Lin of Caozhou also received Li Ye's military order and immediately led an army of 30,000 people to attack Puyang County.
Puyang County, located on the bank of the Yellow River, was covered with clouds and war.
Puyang County is the seat of the capital of Puzhou, a famous ferry on the Yellow River, and the base camp of Li Lingyao, the envoy of the Huapu Festival.
Li Lingyao was Tian Shenyu's general and was ordered to station in Puzhou. After Tian Shenyu was defeated by Li Zhengji, he fled to Hedong Road with 16,000 remnant troops. Li Lingyao, who had only 5,000 troops in hand, was left in Puzhou. Li Lingyao immediately He killed Meng Jian, the governor of Puzhou, and surrendered to Tian Chengsi of Hebei Province.
Tian Chengsi gave him 10,000 troops and a large amount of money and food, and ordered him to capture Puzhou and Huazhou. He also bribed Li Fuguo and Yu Chao'en, and was appointed by the court as the military governor of Huapu. On the surface, Li Lingyao was He is a member of the eunuch party, but in fact he is the southern extension of Tian Chengsi's power.
At present, Li Lingyao only has fifteen thousand men under his command, making him the smallest among all the warlords. Of course, Li Lingyao also knows very well that he is not worthy of his name as a warlord and is just a dog of Tian Chengsi.
That morning, a passenger ship sailed from the north bank of the Yellow River and arrived at the Puyang County pier. A scribe stepped out of the ship. His name was Tang Huai'en. He was Tian Chengsi's staff and was instructed by Tian Chengsi to guide Li Lingyao.
Tian Chengsi had spies in Luoyang and Caozhou. As soon as the troops in the two places moved, he would know immediately.
Tang Enhuai rode a carriage and arrived at the Jiedushi Mansion under the escort of cavalry. Li Lingyao did not dare to neglect and went out to greet him personally.
Li Lingyao had to show a low profile. Among his 15,000-strong army, 10,000 were controlled by Tian Chengsi and controlled by Tian Chengsi's two trusted generals. He himself only had 5,000 troops.
Moreover, of his 5,000 men, 3,000 more were suspected to be under the control of Tian Chengsi, and there were only 2,000 men in the army directly under his command.
He dared to disobey Tian Chengsi's orders, and Tian Chengsi would just pinch him and he would be wiped out.
Tang Huaien was welcomed into the back hall, and the two of them took their seats respectively. Tang Huaien took out a gold medal, put it on the table, and said calmly: "Pass on the prince's gold medal order!"
Li Lingyao quickly stood up and saluted, "Listen to the prince's order!"
Tang Huaien said calmly: "The imperial army is about to attack, and Li Lingyao is specifically ordered to speed up the army to cross the Yellow River and go north to preserve its strength."
Li Lingyao was startled and asked anxiously: "The imperial court is sending troops to attack me?"
Tang Huaien nodded, "Wei Boyu from Luoyang sent 20,000 troops, and Ma Lin from Caozhou sent 30,000 troops. A total of 50,000 troops are coming towards you from the left and right. You don't know yet?"
"I know nothing about my humble position!"
"Your information is terrible!"
Tang Huaien was really dissatisfied and said: "Caozhou's 30,000 troops will attack Puyang tomorrow, Luoyang's 20,000 troops have already entered Huazhou, and will reach Puyang the day after tomorrow at the latest. How can you resist the 50,000 troops?"
Li Lingyao turned pale in an instant and said quickly: "I will start crossing the river tonight!"
"Don't wait until tonight, gather the ships now, cross the river as soon as possible, and move all the money, food and materials from the warehouse. Do it quickly, otherwise it will be too late."
Li Lingyao said helplessly: "I will obey Sir's arrangements!"
Li Lingyao immediately ordered that all ships at Puyang Ferry be requisitioned. The army packed up and prepared to cross the river. He also opened warehouses and ordered the army to transport all money, grain and materials to the dock and prepare to transport them to the north bank of the Yellow River.
At noon, the first batch of fifty large ships loaded with three thousand soldiers began to cross the river and head north.
At noon the next day, Ma Lin led 30,000 troops to Puyang County and found that Puyang County was already an empty city. Zhang Qiushi, the governor, opened the city to greet him. He stepped forward to report: "Li Lingyao began to evacuate at noon yesterday. I heard that Tian Chengsi's
A staff member came and asked Li Lingyao to withdraw his troops quickly. They had all withdrawn before dawn today and the warehouses were emptied."
Ma Lin nodded, "It is rumored that Li Lingyao is Tian Chengsi's man. It seems that the rumor is true!"
Li Qiushi smiled bitterly and said, "It should be!"
Ma Lin immediately ordered the army to enter the city to rest and wait for Wei Boyu's army.
Wei Boyu's army arrived in Puyang that night. Wei Boyu and Ma Lin were both from the Anxi Army, and they had a close friendship.
Ma Lin specially set up wine in her tent to chat with Wei Boyu about old times.
When Wei Boyu heard that Li Lingyao had gone to Tian Chengsi's place, he was filled with hatred. He gritted his teeth and said, "This guy turns out to be Tian Chengsi's man, and he is actually pretending to be the governor of Pu Hua Jiedushi."
"Don't be angry, sooner or later we will deal with him. Next time we attack Hebei, maybe we will have a chance to go out!"
Ma Lin poured another glass of wine for Wei Boyu and asked, "If I return to the court, will I also have to enter the martial arts hall for a year?"
Wei Boyu shook his head, "You are a general of the Anxi Army, so you don't need to enter the martial arts hall."
"Is the general of the Anxi Army special?" Ma Lin asked in confusion.
Wei Boyu laughed, "There is only one thing to do when entering the martial arts hall. Go to Anxi and Suiye, and also visit Juzhanti and Talas. Let's learn about the vast world outside and inspire the generals to open up new territories for the country.
If the generals of the Anxi Army are ambitious, they will no longer be around."
"I see, will there be other projects added in the future?"
"meeting!"
Wei Boyu said: "The next step is to increase overseas travel and take a boat overseas to learn about those uninhabited lands. It is said that the territory is as large as the Tang Dynasty."
Ma Lin listened leisurely and longingly, "I really want to go and see it!"
"You can apply to His Highness, he will definitely approve it!"
"Great, I'll apply for a try when I return to Beijing to report on my work."
Speaking of this, Ma Lin smiled and asked: "After this mission is over, will Boyu go back to Luoyang?"
Wei Boyu nodded, "Xi Wanli will send 30,000 prisoners of war to be reorganized in Luoyang."
"Wang Zhongsheng's army! Do we need to use it again?"
Wei Boyu shook his head, "His Royal Highness Jian Guo wanted to select some children from good families to join the army, and release others to return to their hometowns to work in the countryside. Like the Shence Army, the Longwu Army, and the Meihua Guard, only the nearly 200,000 soldiers were left in the end. Twenty thousand people were sent home, and the rest were sent home."
Ma Lin nodded and said: "I will go to Qiao County, Bozhou next, to join Xi Wanli's army to participate in the encirclement and suppression of Li Xilie. It is said that there are four armies participating in the encirclement and suppression of Li Xilie this time. Does Boyu know which four armies they are?"
Wei Boyu smiled slightly and said: "To be precise, there are six armies, Xi Wanli's 30,000 cavalry, Zhang Boyi's 20,000 army, Nan Jiyun's 30,000 Yangzhou army, Laiyi's 30,000 Jingxiang army, and Li Cheng The naval force of the style, and finally the 30,000-strong army of my brother, and the hundreds of thousands of troops surrounded and suppressed Li Xilie. This bastard has made all life in Huaixi miserable, and his end has come."
"Six armies, who is the leader?"
"I guess the Overwatch will go out in person."
"ah!"
When she heard that Supervisor Li Ye was coming, Ma Lin was filled with expectations.