"Huh!" The heavy sword struck down hard, and wood chips flew everywhere.
Wang Pu cowered and hid aside.
It was freezing cold, but King Xia was still interested in practicing swordsmanship. Every martial artist has the potential to be a little crazy, and Wang Pu finally understood it.
"It's the twelfth lunar month." Shao Shude sighed softly and handed the epee into the hands of his third son, Mianren.
Thirteen-year-old Shao Mianren is tall and strong, and he holds the epee firmly.
"One year was spent in battle again." Shao Shude wiped his sweat with a towel and said, "Fortunately, half of the country is still peaceful."
The towel was a bit prickly. It's a pity that no better soft-coated sheep have been bred since the Dongzhang sheep.
"The people of Longyou and Guan Nei have enjoyed peace for more than ten years." Wang Pu said with a smile: "In the past when I was in Chang'an, I heard people say that the people of Longyou have accumulated savings in one year after farming for three years. So.
Three years after three years, it has been more than ten years since there was any war, and everyone is aware of Xia Shaosheng's virtues.
Another flatterer! Shao Shude secretly laughed in his heart, it was much more comfortable for a scholar to lick it than for a rough guy like a martial artist.
"The inner road is just fine, but the Longyou Road is still a little unstable." Shao Shude said: "In the north, there are Uighurs plundering merchants and plundering sand melons, and in the south, there are Tubo barbarians attacking Kuozhou. The local state army cannot control it, which is very annoying.
"
There is actually a garrison in Qingtang City, about 10,000 people, but like Bailaoguan of Xingyuan Prefecture, they are all recruits from Lingzhou Academy and Shaanxi Academy.
With the long-term peace in Kansai, the Kansai garrison that once reached 30,000 to 40,000 people in its heyday has been reduced to almost the same size, and has changed from the original Yamen army to recruits in training, which undoubtedly reduces the deterrent effect.
The students all cared about food rather than fighting. As time went by, they forgot the fear of being dominated by Shao Sheng. It seemed that the formation of the border army was speeding up.
"When will Mr. Wang return to Luoyang?" Shao Shude asked.
"Your Highness, when I left the capital, the sage asked when the master could return to the capital..." Wang Pu said in a low voice.
"Is the saint so eager to kill me?" A sarcastic smile appeared on Shao Shude's lips.
In fact, the Li Tang royal family still had the last bit of popular support. At least he discovered that there were a few middle- and lower-level officials in Dongdu Town. Through various connections, they got in touch with the saint and were loyal to the court.
However, the army has not seen anyone emerge yet, which means that the saint is destined to be unable to make a comeback.
"Your Highness is sure of victory. Some things should be settled. Otherwise, the morale of the military and the people will be uneasy." Wang Pu replied.
The reason why the military is uneasy is because of uncertainty, that is, how will King Xia reward merit? Everyone should get something after working hard with their heads raised, right? Either continue the old system and give official positions, then the phenomenon of martial men occupying the palace will inevitably continue, and the occupied
The highest official position is Jiedushi
But now there is no official position.
The people's uneasiness is also due to uncertainty. So many loyalists of King Xia have come to Zhili Road, and the atmosphere has been heightened. Do you want to proclaim yourself emperor? If you don't proclaim yourself emperor, it will be difficult to end. We are still worried about being beaten by others.
What about retaliation? For example, if the king of Xia had been a minister of the Tang Dynasty all his life, and after his death, someone from another power took over the world, the old officials, old generals and even the people who came with their families would have a hard time.
In addition, the vested interest groups that have emerged because of some of King Xia's new policies are also a little uneasy. This uncertainty is too torturous and makes people afraid to invest heavily in the future - for example, those who study mathematics, King Xia likes it very much.
These people are willing to reward and promote, but what if they change people?…
Therefore, he proclaimed himself emperor quickly to calm the hearts of the people.
"On the official day, I will attend the court meeting." Shao Shude gave a clear answer.
Zhengdan is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the court meeting on this day can be said to be the grandest and most important of the year. Shao Shude's personal participation must be very eye-catching.
Wang Pu was overjoyed.
The brothers Mianren and Shao Guancheng also looked at each other secretly, feeling happy in their hearts.
If their father becomes emperor, they can also become king. Who wouldn't like that?
"But before you leave, you must grab something. Don't go back empty-handed." Shao Shude said.
*****
The pressure soon came to Lu Huaizhong in the west of Beizhou City.
Beizhou is a large city with a circumference of nearly 30 miles. It is considered the first-class city in the state. It is divided into two parts: the outer city and the inner city (yacheng).
The army in the city
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There are a lot of resources in reserve, and it is reasonable to say that it is very suitable for holding on. Unfortunately, the Xia army came too quickly and surrounded the city in almost the blink of an eye. It has been three months now.
Within three months, the Wei army tried various methods, but still failed to establish contact with Beizhou City. The closest force to them was Shi Renyu's troops in Linqing County, dozens of miles away, but
They can't get in.
It is precisely because of this that Beizhou has no serious troops. Except for less than 4,000 state soldiers, most of them are local peasants recruited temporarily. After fighting for so long, the casualties were quite large, and various troops were added.
He was only about 5,000 years old, and it was quite difficult to defend such a large city. Therefore, in addition to transporting a lot of supplies, the defenders abandoned the outer city and retreated to the Yacheng to make a final stand.
After Lu Huaizhong received Shao Shude's personal letter, he did not dare to neglect, and immediately put the troops who had just retired to rest into the battle, and continued to storm Yacheng. After twenty years of fighting, the thing that impressed Lu Huaizhong the most was probably the endless siege.
It almost became his fate to break out of the stronghold.
"It's not as conspicuous as the state soldiers..." Lao Lu looked angrily at the defeated soldiers who were forced back by the enemy's arrows, and said angrily.
The four state soldiers of Ye Li Kecheng, Wang Jiao, Zhang Wen and Dong Zhang attacked again and defeated the enemy again near Boping, capturing and killing more than 2,000 people.
The enemy army was Lu Yanwei's troops in Cangjing. General Zhou Sheng defeated and killed these state soldiers, and the rest of them collapsed into Qingping County, and they were in panic all day long.
Upon hearing of this defeat, Chengde Yamen general Zheng Shoujing immediately retreated his troops to Chanzhou, as if he did not want to fight. Unexpectedly, on the way back, he was attacked by a section of the Yi Cong Army and lost more than a thousand troops.
In theory, these soldiers are also soldiers under Lu Huaizhong's account. Their achievements are undoubtedly counted in Lao Lu's name, but he will not lie to himself: the siege battles he personally commanded have not yet come to an end, but the juniors have repeatedly won.
How could he be embarrassed?
"From today on, you all will come to the front line in person to supervise the siege of the city." Lu Huaizhong ordered: "After all the local warriors have been defeated, go up to the camp. After all the camp soldiers have been defeated, go up to the pro-army. After all the pro-troops have been defeated, I will climb up the ladder to attack the city in person."
.No one should be slack and fearful of war, and anyone who disobeys orders will be executed without mercy."
The generals knew that this time they were serious about it, and they all responded: "I will obey the order of the captain."
Lu Huaizhong took another look at the already somewhat dilapidated Beizhou Yacheng. His usually gentle and calm heart actually had the sinful idea of massacring all the guards...
This is how war tortures people.
The battlefield is so boring and bloody.
*****
In Jinyang City, Li Keyong walked into He's house by accident.
Yes, that's right, this is the house that He Gongya, the general of Hedong Yamen, spent huge sums of money to build. It was later awarded to Shao Shude by Li Kan. However, he didn't live there for even a few days, but he left behind an unforgettable legacy in his life.
Forgotten happy memories.
After Shao Shude left, the place became empty.
Princess Liu of Jin Dynasty was "good at making decisions" and hired some maids for the house to clean it regularly, so it looked quite tidy.
It was already the middle of winter, and the vegetation in the garden was withering. Li Keyong sat behind the stone table for a long time, silent.
Gai Yu winked at Li Xiji. Li Huiyi immediately said: "Your Majesty, I just came back from Xindai and saw the drill of the sergeants of the fifth battalion. The left and right battalions are already in some shape. The middle battalion is already in shape.
We are on the right track. The front camp and the back camp are a little bit worse, but given time, we will definitely be able to practice them."
"How are the people of Xingluoci?" Li Keyong suddenly asked.
Well, when he asked, Gai Yu and Li Xiji almost didn't react. Why did King Jin care about the livelihood of the people? This is so new.
Of course they also understand that when people are hit hard, they will seek change.
"Most of them have settled down and there are no troublemakers." Li Xiji said: "Some tenant farmers are very grateful because they got a lot of land for nothing and can pass it on as a family business.
"That's good." Li Keyong nodded and stopped talking.
After setting up their apartment, Li Xiji looked at each other. It was the King of Jin who invited them here today, but they didn't say anything when they arrived. What's the point?
But they can understand it. Ever since the defeat of Xing Luoci, King Jin's mood has never been better. The battle was so miserable that in one month, the entire army was defeated and three states fell. It was shockingly fast.
To put it bluntly, his performance is not as good as that of Wei Bo. He is passive and passive, but he persists until now and a major building
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The state and city were not lost, and the Jin army was not thrown away in eight streets?
"The Khitan Khan has left a message and is willing to join hands with me to attack the Xia thieves, what do you think?" Li Keyong suddenly stood up and asked.
The Khitan envoy entered the country via Youzhou. Gai Yu knew about this and was responsible for even answering the paperwork and receiving the envoy.
The Khitan people have only one appeal, that the two families "forever form a happy alliance and unswervingly swear by it". As for who the alliance is aimed at, no need to say more, everyone understands.
"Your Majesty, this is a matter of course." Gai Yu said without hesitation: "The Xia people have repeatedly attacked Khitan. This is a serious mistake on their part. We must take care of it."
In Gai Yu's view, Shao Shude was too arrogant and arrogant. They fought on multiple fronts and did not take the heroes of the world seriously. This was their opportunity.
"Okay, you can write the reply." Li Keyong nodded and said.
His changes have indeed been huge, and he is even willing to reconcile with the Khitan who had just fought a few years ago. However, this awakening seems to have come too late. If he had started to be so pragmatic and so clear fifteen years ago, how could the world situation have changed?
At this point? Maybe the Jin army will occupy Henan.
"As ordered." Gai Yu responded.
After forming an alliance with the Khitan, a lot of troops can be freed up. A large number of Youzhou elite soldiers can be transferred to other battlefields, which is a timely blessing.
"Wang Rong of Zhenzhou and Luo Shaowei of Weizhou sent envoys to ask for help. How should we respond?" Li Keyong asked again.
"Your Majesty, if you don't have enough troops, you won't be able to do the job. If you have too many troops, you won't be able to mobilize them all. Let's wait until we have made an alliance with the Khitan and Yanzhen's troops and horses can be freed up." Gai Yu suggested.
"How many people can Li Cunzhang recruit?"
"There are always twenty or thirty thousand people," Gai Yu said.
"Then let's reject them first and wait until Youyan's elite soldiers arrive." Li Keyong let out a long sigh of relief.
The lean period was finally over. Now he missed the glorious days of leading an army of 50,000 men across Guanzhong and Henan. It was so difficult.