Chapter 4 Defending the West and Attacking the East
The countryside of Wei County is full of wheat waiting to be harvested.
When the sergeants passed by, they couldn't help but take a second look. There were many soldiers fighting in Heluo, but food had always been in short supply.
After the establishment of Dawu City, the defense line was pushed eastward for thirty or forty miles. Xiaoxian County suddenly became the rear area. Five thousand households of Huazhou Confucians and Hengshan Dangxiang lived here and had already harvested two crops of grain.
At the end of last year, five main officials and a number of miscellaneous officials in Wei County were in place one after another. There was also an agricultural doctor from Lingzhou who came with his students to guide the people in farming.
This county that was created out of thin air has become an important resting place for the Heluo Li Tangbin Group and a place where various government offices gather together.
I heard that there is another Mianchi County, and the county magistrate is in Dawu City, but that is the front line, and there are Tibetan soldiers and Yamen soldiers everywhere, but no one is farming and grazing. There is also Mianchi County on the Bianjun side, and the county magistrate is at the old site.
Under the rule of the Tang Dynasty, there were two Mianchi counties and two sets of official teams, which were not subordinate to each other. The competition between the two sides in this mountainous area had become fierce, similar to that of the Later Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty.
Three thousand people and horses walked eastward along the post road.
The farmers who were harvesting wheat on both sides of the road stood up and beat their waists, looking at these high-spirited warriors with mixed emotions.
After working all day long, most of the surplus was taken away to support these warriors. But were the warriors happy? Almost every month, coffins were brought back from the east.
Those who can be included in the coffin must at least be at the level of deputy general in the army or a small-headed person in the Tibetan tribe. Ordinary big-headed soldiers can just dig a hole and bury it, so why bother? Their family members in the rear may not even know
Where did your father, husband, and son die?
There is nothing to say about working hard and doing fair business.
The farmer carefully bent down and continued to cut the wheat. Sweat dripped into the soil, drop by drop. It may be hard, but at least he can be reunited with his family, which seems good.
On the 29th, the army camped at the foot of Mount Laoshan, and Fu Cunshen, who was guarding Huguo City, came personally to talk to Wang Jian and reminisce about the past.
"Yang Shihou went to Caizhou, and I don't know what's going on." Fu Cunchen looked at Wang Jianji heading east, feeling a little envious.
He has been guarding Huguo City for a long time.
At first, he had only a few veterans from the Tianzhu Army, mainly from Hengshan Party Xiangshan people. After guarding the city for a year, this army had been trained by him to the point where it could not only repel attacks from the south, but also attempts to
The Bian army that circled around to the north of Erxiao Mountain could occasionally rush down the mountain to retaliate.
But Li Tangbin has not transferred him to other places for a long time. There is no chance, so what can I do?
"Yang Shihou can still jump around now. In two years' time, there will be wars all over Caizhou. What can he do with the few soldiers he has on hand? He might as well surrender." Wang Jianji recalled the journey from Heyang that year.
Thinking of the old story of going to Lingxia, he looked at Fu Cunshen and smiled.
What a ridiculous thing that year!
Each man was given a sharpened wooden spear, and with four hundred Heyang soldiers as the backbone, he led tens of thousands of people through the state and counties in a mighty manner.
"Please take care when traveling eastward."
"Don't worry, the Bian thieves will defend from the west and attack from the east. It's nothing."
On the first day of August, three thousand people arrived at Dawu City.
There was a huge buzz of people inside and outside the city, and the Tibetan soldiers speaking various languages talked to each other, creating a chaotic atmosphere.
Starting from here, the cavalry's range of activities is greatly increased. Generally, they have to go to Xiashi Fort, a hundred miles away to the east, to encounter the Bian Army cavalry.
It is not accurate to say that they are cavalry. They are mule troops. When encountering Xia army cavalry, they often dismount and fight.
The most important job of the mule army now is probably to guard both sides of the infantry and drive away the harassing Xia army's rangers at a distance.
They once tried to attack Xiaoxian, but after the construction of Dawu City, it was destined that large groups of people could not pass. It would be meaningless if a small group of people passed by, and they would be drowned in the vast sea of 5,000 Tuan villagers.
The Xia army also sent cavalry from Dawu City to attack the rear of the Bian army. The difficulties they faced were the same. There were many forts, which divided your forces. The most embarrassing thing was that there was a white field to the west of Xin'an.
The cavalry and mounted infantry on both sides became completely auxiliary units subordinate to the infantry in this mountainous area. In the end, they had to steadily attack the fortress and advance layer by layer.
On the third day of August, Wang Jianji and his troops arrived southwest of Mianchi City.
At that time, there was a loud exclamation on the battlefield, and a large part of the southern city wall of Mianchi, which was riddled with holes, collapsed. Thousands of Tibetan soldiers, each with a battalion of 500 people, took turns rushing in along the gap.
"Conquer Mianchi County, this is your home, everyone will be given land." Dozens of cavalrymen surrounded the many Tibetan people who were waiting to attack and shouted loudly.
Land is what Marshal Shao rewards the Tibetan people. It can be said to be military pay, or it can be said to be a reward or pension. Anyway, according to Li Tangbin's strategy of constantly sending cannon fodder to die, if it is fully supported by regular government pensions, financial support will be
Unable to live.
"His grandma is late!" Wang Jianji slapped his thigh and said angrily.
"It's not too late!" Dozens of riders suddenly rushed over, and the leader was Li Tangbin with a straight face.
"Immediately travel twenty miles eastward to Qianqiu Pavilion and set up camp on the road. It will be under the command of An Xiuxiu, the envoy of the Shunyi Army, and there must be no mistake!" Li Tangbin ordered.
Wang Jianji was stunned, are you still going east? However, he reacted quickly and immediately responded: "I will obey your orders."
Before leaving, I took one last look at the fierce fighting in Mianchi City.
As humble as ants, the Tibetan soldiers rushed in along the gap, and were constantly shot down by arrows, and people kept coming up. One team after another, one battalion after another, the Bian army did not even have time to repair the city wall, so they could only
Watching them squeeze in little by little.
Purely relying on human lives to fill the gap! Wang Jianji sighed and left.
…
In Xin'an County, Hu Zhen was restless and sweaty on his forehead.
Zhu Quanzhong was lying on his side on the bed with a sinister look and a fierce expression: "Defend from the west and attack from the east, how can you defend like this? In the twelfth month of the second year of Dashun, I personally led an army of 100,000 and drove Shao Shude back to Shaanzhou. But what about now?
In the third year of Dashun, the Xia thieves returned, broke several villages, established Xiao County, built Huguo and Dawu cities. They had left Shaanzhou and gained a foothold in Henan Prefecture. This year, the thieves returned
Come, now that the troops are surrounding Mianchi, do you expect them to run out of food and retreat?"
"Commander, I am incompetent, please punish me." Hu Zhen stood up and said sincerely.
There is really nothing he can do about this mess in Henan Mansion. What can he do with just sending troops like this?
Moreover, the offensive of the Xia thieves was so fierce that those Tibetan soldiers were simply not considered human beings. One group died and another came again. In the battle of Shuangqiao Village, the village was actually well prepared, but the Tibetan soldiers took turns to besiege them, resulting in more than 3,000 casualties.
Man, he just destroyed this stronghold. He doesn’t care about human life, what else can you say?
The reinforcements sent out were often blocked, not to mention that he didn't have many reinforcements to send. From the first time the Xia thieves left Shaanxi and Guozhou, they were constantly approaching Luoyang. If they continued to ignore the Western Front, Hu Zhen doubted that they would be pushed back sooner or later.
Go to Xin'an City.
Zhu Quanzhong stared at Hu Zhen for a long time, and almost smashed a stone inkstone on his hand, but he still held back.
"That's all." Zhu Quanzhong sat upright and said, "After Xuzhou is recovered, the army will return and I will send you additional troops."
Luoyang is the barrier to the west of Bianzhou. It doesn't matter if it is turned into a white field, because there are not many people in it, but it must not be lost.
Once lost, the Xia army left the mountainous area and could use Heluo as a base to attack Zhengzhou. This would mean they had reached the core hinterland.
Henan Prefecture can fortify its walls and clear the country, but what about Zhengzhou? Failure to fortify its walls and clear the country means that the Xia thieves' cavalry has an expanded range of activities, making it difficult to restrict them and making them very passive strategically.
"Commander, Xuzhou is going to be destroyed?" Hu Zhen asked with some surprise.
"We haven't succeeded yet, but we will soon." Speaking of this, Zhu Quanzhong also had a smile on his face: "The soldiers in Xu Zhen are hungry and tired, and some people keep crossing the city walls and surrendering. Shi Pu can't hold on much longer."
After destroying Shi Pu's power, brothers Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin were like turtles in a jar, and would be destroyed sooner or later.
These three bastards understand the principle of losing teeth and losing teeth. They have rescued each other for so many years, which is equivalent to attacking three vassals at the same time. After Shi Pu died, Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin should go down together to accompany him.
"After defeating Shi Pu, the next step is to attack Erzhu. To the west, hold on to me." Zhu Quanzhong said seriously.
The two towns of Tianping and Taining have been fighting for so many years and are just about to breathe their last breath. Perhaps we just need to work harder to destroy Erzhu and formally annex these two towns.
At this time, if we send troops to the west to give Erzhu a chance to breathe, I really won't be willing to do so!
However, after Er Zhu was eliminated, the problem in the west could no longer be delayed.
Shao Shude actually marched into the river, looming as a threat to Heyang. Looking at his actions in the past two years, Zhu Quanzhong had only one feeling: he came for himself.
They marched out of Shaanzhou to the east, built forts and advanced; their troops marched into the river, leaving Yuanxian County and entering Wangwu Mountain; Tang and Deng established towns accordingly, and Zhe Zong himself served as the Jiedu envoy.
Which of these three major events was not directed at his Xuanwu Army?
Such people, with clear minds and clear goals, are the most scary.
If it were like Li Keyong's, hitting this now and that now, it wouldn't be so cause for concern.
By the way, Li Keyong is in Youzhou. Is it possible to drive a wedge between these two brothers?
Zhu Quanzhong secretly thought that if Hedong could contain tens of thousands of Xia troops, there would be nothing to worry about. He would have enough time to conquer Wang Shifan and capture Ziqing Town after wiping out Er Zhu.
You have to think about this carefully!
Vertical and horizontal, it's nothing more than that. In this world, how can a few people be at war? There are vassal towns everywhere, a paradise for those who join vertically and horizontally. Today's enemies can become allies tomorrow, and vice versa.
Shao Shude brazenly invaded and occupied the river, but he didn't believe that the knowledgeable people in the world could not see the threat.
Before there was Hezhong in the Later Zhou Dynasty, it was easy for the Northern Qi army to break into Guanzhong. However, after the city was built and garrisoned in Hezhong, the situation began to reverse. Guanzhong became the rear area, and the city built in the river became the forward base.
The Later Zhou Dynasty has appeared, and the Northern Qi Dynasty has not yet been seen. Aren't the princes in the world shocked?
Zhu Quanzhong felt that perhaps it was time to adjust the strategy. In addition to maintaining the established goal of attacking Erzhu, some adjustments should be made to the attitude of other vassals and towns, and they should be informed of their interests as much as possible to unite against the Shao thieves.
Having the Shao thieves in the river and not having the Shao thieves in the river are completely different things.
…
In Bianzhou City, Jingxiang was handling official business.
As Zhu Quanzhong's de facto chief aide, he basically had to intervene in everything.
Fuzhou was besieged, and Du Hong of the Wuchang Army sent an envoy to ask for help. There were no troops to mobilize, so he could only provide more comfort.
Ge Congzhou said that Tang and Deng followed many newly attached people, and the people's hearts were not yet solid, so he asked for more troops to attack. There were no troops to mobilize, so he could only give him thousands of state and county soldiers. The general promised him to recruit Cai people into the army as a way of appeasement.
Zhang Shensi and Gao Renhou fought in the Wangwushan area. After the renovation of the pass was completed, they requested to lead their troops back. Commander Xu Zhi recruited some state and county soldiers and Tutuan villagers to guard the newly built pass.
We have lost contact with Mianchi County. We will report from Xia Shibao Town that the Xia bandits have set up a stronghold in Qianqiu Pavilion, and a large number of civilians are moving in here, seemingly to build a city.
Here we go again!
Jingxiang sighed, Li Tangbin was born in the year of turtle, why did he like building cities so much?
After the Qianqiu Pavilion was built, Mianchi County, located 20 miles to the west, had an additional barrier. Will we have to play the trick of resettling people in Wei County, farming and fighting at the same time?
The four things I asked about today are all related to Xia Thief.
It’s really getting more and more rampant!
Jingxiang thought about it carefully and felt that it was related to the current strategy of Xuanwu Army.
Er Zhu and Shi Pu look like they are barely alive. Can you bear not to fight? Maybe if we attack for a few more months, we can annex these three vassal towns and greatly increase our strength.
Based on this consideration, blindly appeasing the Xia thieves on the Western Front resulted in the current predicament.
Jingxiang thought for a while, then sat back and wrote a letter to Zhu Quanzhong. What he meant was that he suggested that his lord improve the relationship with Li Keyong. How could Li Keyong not be shocked when Shao Shude seized Hezhong? Even if the two
If families cannot unite, they can at least express an attitude, so as not to become tense and waste each other's energy.
When the commander-in-chief attacked the Xia thieves, Li Keyong only had to wait and see tacitly and not take advantage of the situation. If he could cooperate on the northern front and attack Shuofang, then the Shao thieves would be in big trouble, although Li Keyong would probably
Won't do that.
The letter was quickly delivered to Zhu Quanzhong, who was still patrolling the Xin'an County area to reward the sergeants. He was noncommittal, but he followed the good advice.
Face, which was regarded as a treasure by Li Keyong, was not worth much to Zhu Quanzhong. He even dared to make a secret appointment with Yang Xing in advance to his children's in-laws, but he was not upset when others refused and continued to write letters to praise him. With such a kindhearted character, face is worth it.
What.
Zhu Quanzhong called for officials and wrote a letter on the spot, which he sent to Hedong by envoys.