On the bank of Ru River, the boatman Song Erlang was taking a rest.
He carefully took out a piece of dry and hard whole-grain pancake, devoured half of it, and finally put it away reluctantly.
Keep the remaining half and take it out when you're really hungry.
"This wheat looks good." Wang San came over, looked longingly at the half piece of cake that Song Er had put away, and licked his lips.
Song Er hid the cake even more tightly and said: "Everyone in Zhuangzi knows how to serve the dealer, not only this piece, but also the front one."
"Dashuai Zhang is quite good at farming." Wang San sat down on the bow angrily, looking at the master who was busy unloading goods on the dock, and said, "It's just that he's not that good in battle."
Song Er smiled, but it was a little forced.
He has three sons. The eldest son is running a boat and should be still in Caizhou at this time; the second son is serving as a state soldier in Ruzhou and has been taken away by Ge Congzhou; the third son was drafted to become a master, but now he is no longer known where.
There are only over ten thousand households in Ruzhou. If one household is levied for one ding, it will be more than 10,000 wives, which is not enough. Ge Congzhou, Yang Shihou and others are really crazy. They levied so many ding. After the autumn harvest, can they be released?
?
"Farming again will be nothing more than a farm work!" Song Er became angrier as he thought about it. He knocked on the side of the boat bitterly and said angrily.
There was more than one person who called Zhang Quanyi a Tianshefu, and the most famous one was probably his brother Li Hanzhi, who was a sworn ally.
Wang San looked around after hearing this, but fortunately no one paid attention.
Ruzhou is a state affiliated with the Youguo Army, and it is Zhang Quanyi's territory. There is no need to make trouble.
This person advised Nong Sang to be a good player, but he was not very broad-minded. Although it was unlikely that he would pay attention to small people like them, there was no chance that someone would make a fuss out of a molehill just to curry favor.
"I just went to the dock for a walk. There is a military academy in Ruzhou Prefecture from my same village. According to what he said, Henan Prefecture was defeated several times and lost hundreds of miles in just a few days." Wang San said on one side.
Looking at the cake hidden in Song Er's arms, he said mysteriously.
"Nonsense!" Song Er trembled in his heart and said, "Hundreds of miles have already passed Luoyang, and even a hundred miles will be lost."
Wang San was speechless. He didn't know where Luoyang was, but he still argued: "My fellow countryman said that some defeated troops had already fled to Yongning, and the prefecture and county sent people to take them in. They deliberately suppressed the news for fear of shaking Cai Bing and Zhongwu Bing.
morale.”
Wang San didn't know where Luoyang was, and Yongning only knew the general direction, but Song Er knew clearly. He had traveled to too many places. If it was nonsense to say that he had "lost hundreds of miles" just now, he would say this
That left him doubtful.
If there are broken troops running to Yongning, it means that Xiaoshan has been lost!
The Gudao Road is dangerous. Once it is cut off, hundreds of miles of land in Shanxi will be lost.
I heard from the elders in the family that in the early years, that land actually belonged to Shaanxi Province. The management of Xiashi County was always there. Later, it was moved to another place, and this land belonged to Yongning and Mianchi counties in Henan Prefecture.
"Wang San, don't spread these rumors in the future, it will get you into trouble." Song Er took out the half piece of cake from his arms, handed it to Wang San, and said: "But you can talk to me in private, I keep my mouth shut.
It will not be spread randomly.”
Wang San's eyes lit up, he took the cake and started to eat it, and said vaguely: "Last summer, the thieves and cavalry came to Ruzhou. It can be seen that the north is full of sieves. Zhang Quanyi is really not good at it. In this world, the fist is not strong."
, nothing is of use!”
Song Er sneered in his heart.
How many soldiers does Zhang Quanyi have? Henan Prefecture and Ruzhou have been relatively stable in recent years. It seems to be a peaceful scene, but those who run boats know that in fact there are not many people in the countryside. Compared with Bian, Song, Hua, Bo, and Yingzhu
There is no comparison between states.
With so few people, how many soldiers can we raise?
The people who are fighting against the Xia thieves are probably not many Henan soldiers, but mostly foreign troops.
Since they can't defeat the Xia thieves, it's possible that Prince Dongping won't be able to defeat the Xia thieves either.
Henan has been troubled ever since!
A large group of sergeants came up the post road by Ru River.
Song Er and Wang San lowered their heads, not daring to look more.
The warriors these days may come over and ask you what you are looking at just because you look at them a few times. If you are in a bad mood, a beating will be considered a minor matter.
"There's going to be a big battle..." Wang San's body was trembling slightly and he was talking nonsense in a low voice.
Song Er grabbed his arm, steadied him, and said: "War is inevitable, the most important thing is to live. If the Xia thieves win and the army comes over, they will have to ask people to farm the land for them.
Sailing? What are you afraid of? Even Qin Zongquan didn't kill everyone."
Wang San squeezed out a smile and said: "That's right, the worst is to surrender. But I heard from people that the Xia thieves came from afar and the army was short of food. Last year, they captured more than 100,000 people in Henan Prefecture and transported them all to Shaanxi and Guo.
In the mountains, they are killed to make preserved meat, just like Qin Zongquan and Sun Ru. If this is really the way to die, then you will have to fight with the Xia thieves!"
"Who did you listen to?" Song Eryi frowned and asked.
"Many people say so. Even some scholars in the countryside say that Xia Thief is 'unconscionable'. Isn't it true?"
Song Er was also a little unsure.
Maybe it's true, otherwise why would those people disappear? There's no news at all.
There was a burst of crying and shouting in the distance.
Song and Wang both looked for fame, but then they both turned away, poor people!
The war broke out and business routes were interrupted.
Many businessmen who originally planned to go to Chang'an via the Xiaohan Valley Road and Tongguan were stranded in Ruzhou. As for why they didn't go through Lantian Wuguan, this is a good question, but they cannot know it. Even Song Er, who "traveled south and north,"
People who are "well-informed" wonder why businessmen are so smart and go to Shaanxi and Guo, but Wang San doesn't know the existence of Shangshan Road at all.
Could it be that there's a war going on over there too? Or maybe they're not allowed to leave?
The merchant's cries and pleas had no effect. His guards were armed with swords and bows, but under the "watching" of many Cai soldiers, they were all extremely honest and did not dare to say any nonsense.
Robbery of merchants! Song Er sighed, you are in bad luck!
But Song Er soon became surprised, because a general galloped up on his horse, waving his whip and beating him down. The Cai soldiers who looted the merchants' goods were furious, and when they were about to pull the boy off his horse, they saw him behind him.
There was still a large group of soldiers lined up, but his hands suddenly stopped, and finally he didn't dare to make a fuss, so he left after suffering a hidden loss.
"That's General Xie Yanzhang. I've met him from a distance." Wang San whispered: "Most of the people who were beaten were people from the Zhongwu Army. Those who came recently were all people from Chen, Sergeant Xu, and Yang Shihou."
"You know quite a lot." Song Er glanced at him.
Xie Yanzhang is still somewhat famous in the Chen, Xu, Ru, and Cai areas. Firstly, he is brave and capable of riding and shooting. But most importantly, he is modest and polite, respects filial piety and keeps promises. He has many books at home, and he usually likes
Wearing Confucian clothes and mixing with scholars is simply an alien among martial artists.
But that's all it's famous for.
Xie Yanzhang had not yet grown up to the point where he would lead his cavalry to challenge him in battle, and the soldiers and horses from Hedong would not dare to call him by his first name.
"When Yanzhang led his cavalry to challenge him, the Jin people might look at our army to march and clean up, so they would say to each other: 'The two capital masters must be here.' They did not dare to call him by his name, because the enemy was afraid of this."
Huaiyi produces talents!
"Xie Yanzhang's behavior, if he hadn't had his adoptive father Ge Congzhou as his backer, he would have been tortured to death long ago. He shouldn't be a martial artist," Wang Sand said.
"Stop talking, it's time to unload the goods!" Song Er said irritably.
The army is marching north, and fighting is starting again. Is it possible for my son to return safely?
If I could work under General Xie, my situation might be better.
Alas, it's rare to meet a warrior who doesn't kill the people to get his own way, loves the people, and is relatively capable of fighting. Don't die.
…
Hu Zhen could no longer sit still in Xin'an County.
Liu Kangyi was defeated, and Li Qianqiu was also surrounded in Qianhao Village, with no idea of his life or death. How could the situation deteriorate to this point in just a few days?
He couldn't understand why there were tens of thousands of people! Even if there were ten thousand pigs, they wouldn't be so confused, right?
Last year, Liu Han led his 3,000-strong army to the west for reinforcements, but was defeated by Xia General Siyu. The dust took advantage of the wind, caused the cattle to stir, and the sergeants could no longer breathe, resulting in a huge defeat.
In addition, Feng Ba and others lost tens of thousands of people, especially the loss of the victory army, which was the most heartbreaking.
The troops that have been victorious in every battle, and the victorious troops that have defeated Taining, Wuning, Weibo and other towns that cannot hold their heads up, are unable to use all their strength when encountering the Xia thieves. They always fail to show their true nature.
He was defeated despite his strength, which left people speechless.
"Send an order to Yang Yanhong. Mianchi County and Shuangqiao Village are the horns of each other and are very important. The city has sufficient food and grass and complete equipment. As long as you don't make mistakes, the Xia thieves will have to attack hard. How much blood can they shed?" Hu Zhen
He stood up suddenly, and all the staff and generals in the room turned their attention to him.
Mianchi County is on the north bank of Gushui, 200 steps away from the river, and serves as the main road. If the Xia thieves want to advance eastward, they cannot avoid this city or village unless they abandon their baggage and advance with light troops, but in this case at least half of their combat effectiveness will be lost.
.
"The ministries are not allowed to attack without authorization and guard the city wall. Even if one is replaced by three others, the Xia thieves cannot afford it." Hu Zhen continued: "Give Dai Siyuan another order to station in Xiashi Fort, Bai Chao Base, and there is a missing gate.
Front line, ready to respond."
These three locations are all along the Gushui coast.
Gushui is the only place on the northern route that can provide drinking water and firewood collection for the army, and it is close to the Great Post Road, so it is a must-pass route.
It's okay not to go here, but you have to bear the cost of having no water to drink, no firewood, and having to dig mountains and pave roads yourself.
The east-west direction of the valley runs through these three locations. "The towers on both sides of the bank compete for height, and the valley and water are connected." It is also said that "two mountains stand on the left and right, more than a hundred steps apart, and the main road leads out of it, so it is the key to the military road."
There is no way around it, you can only attack by force, unless you don't take this route.
It doesn't matter that we have lost the danger of Mount Wei, I still have the solid barrier of Mianchi and Shuangqiao.
It doesn't matter if I lose this place. I still have three ghost gates: Xiashi Castle, Qianmen and Bai Chao'er.
Even if these three places are lost, it will not be fatal. I still have the strong city of Xin'an County.
If Xin'an County is lost again, I will still have the natural danger of Badou Mountain.
Badou Mountain was lost again, uh, to Luoyang.
Xia Thief, prepare to throw away 100,000 lives along the way for you to chew on.
"Send an order to Huo Cun and ask him to lead the victory army to Tuhao Village and cooperate with the army from the direction of Ruzhou to attack Xiaozhai. If that fails, then retreat back. No need to force it." Hu Zhen gave another final order.
The staff looked at each other, this is extremely conservative!
Dai Siyuan's mule army quickly reinforced the forts on the inside, and Huo Cun's army could also rush to reinforce the cities.
As long as you guard it well and don't act blindly, the Xia thieves will indeed suffer a huge loss.
Attacking a city will inevitably lead to heavy casualties. Can they afford this price?
Logistics and transportation costs are also high. Even if military supplies and equipment are shipped to Shaanzhou and then transported by land, the more than 100 miles of mountain roads will cause great losses. But the Bian Army can transport food through waterways, and the cost is extremely low.
But in this way, isn't it too much of a sign of weakness?