How fast can ten thousand recruits advance? More than twenty miles a day.
This speed is actually not slow.
The terrain of Huoqiu County is very complicated, with many swamps, dense woods, and low hills, making walking not so comfortable.
After arriving at the west bank of Peishui River, Shao Shude ordered to set up camp.
Zheng Yong seized the time and began to train his troops. The main thing was to learn the golden drum flag and some common formation drills.
The sergeants dare to fight and fight hard, but they are still lacking in commanding the military formation and need to make up for their mistakes.
Two thousand cavalry led by Zhe Conggu had already crossed the Peishui River.
They set up some signs in the shallow water and had special personnel to guard them. Once the battle was unfavorable and they needed to retreat, the army would ford the crossing.
As for why people were sent to guard it, the reason is very simple. They were afraid that someone would move these benchmarks and put them in deep water, which would be a disaster that would lead to their own death.
After the cavalry crossed the river, they rushed all the way. When they approached Anfeng County, they dismounted and walked to regain their power.
On February 28, they raided a stronghold near Anfengtang.
The surging cavalry killed the county soldiers who were transporting grain and grass and scattered them.
In order to make it easier for these Zhejia cavalry to fight deep into enemy territory, they carry different weapons than usual. The long-range weapon is a riding bow, which is indispensable. There are three melee weapons, a sword, a blunt weapon, and a light weapon.
Spear.
The lightweight cavalry spear is the style of the Silver Spear of the Flying Bear Army. It is also the spear commonly used by cavalry in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The advantage of this is that the spear can be hung on the bird's wing ring on the arm or shoulder, freeing up the hand to use a bow and arrow.
This trend is so popular that many old-school cavalrymen are secretly worried: Will the Ma Cha, which has been popular on the battlefield for hundreds of years since the Northern Dynasties, finally disappear?
Yes, judging from the results of historical development, Ma Shu will indeed be gradually eliminated in the next few decades, because the cavalry places more emphasis on mobility, rather than the rough and direct attack on the infantry square formations of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
But those who love this kind of weapon that dominates for a while love it to the core. Even if they can't use it as a bow and arrow, they still want to fight with it.
It's a pity that they couldn't defeat the times, and the armored cavalry disappeared before they did, so Ma Chang had no reason to be alone.
However, there may be opportunities for revival in the future, who knows?
"They should suffer a big loss if they lose their vigilance like this!" Zhe Conggu watched the cavalry wantonly chasing and killing the unorganized infantry, and said with a smile: "We all know that there is a large army coming from the west, but they are still so loose. I really think this is the rear.
What? Even if we don't come to fight, they will suffer heavy losses if Yang Xingmi attacks them in the future."
After that, he put his horse under his belly and galloped near the temporary granary of the Shouzhou soldiers.
There should be more than 50,000 grains here and tens of thousands of bales of hay, but I don’t know where they will be transferred.
With An Feng Tang here, you are indeed wealthy!
"Bring the map!" Zhe Conggu Yi stretched out his hand, and the soldier immediately spread out a map drawn on silk.
The mountains, rivers, and cities were clearly marked on the map, and his eyes were fixed on Shouzhou.
"Can't beat it!" After looking at it for a long time, he sighed.
In Shouzhou, "the land is bounded by the eastern pass, which is wet with beards and choked by rocks", and "the most important thing is the difficulty of the Pi River", which is the most dangerous.
To put it simply, there are passes on the land, as well as Shaopi, Feishui, Feishui, Erxi Shicheng, Bagong Mountain, etc. or natural obstacles, or artificial pass cities, which cannot deploy too many troops and are difficult to fight.
The dense water network can also transport supplies and soldiers. There is no fear of blockade. We can only surround it and slowly wait for changes.
"What a pity!" Zhe Conggu sighed and focused his gaze on Yingkou again.
This is where the Yingshui River enters the Huaihe River, and is a water and land transportation hub. It has a similar status to Wukou, Sikou and Qingkou. It is suitable for garrisoning troops and being used as a grain platform to transfer materials.
However, according to the intelligence obtained by the scouts, the Liang people were heavily guarded at Wukou. Although they were not necessarily elite government soldiers, they had a stronghold, but it was not something that the cavalry could seize. Moreover, the location of the stronghold was rather particular, being located on a high ground.
The place is not afraid of flooding.
It would have been nice if Liang Jun's Yingkou camp was located in a low-lying area. They could also try the water attack strategy of building a dam to block the water and flooding it with floods. Unfortunately, they were not so stupid and would not have given this opportunity.
"Go to Anfeng first, have a look around in Shouchun, and then go to Yingkou. First, we will find out clearly about the Liang thieves and how many soldiers and horses they have come." Zhe made up his mind from ancient times and made a decision on the spot.
We are so courageous and brave.
For a moment, Zhe Conggu thought of Zhe Siyu who was far away in the Qingtang Dynasty. If his cavalry army were transferred, a total of five thousand soldiers, ten thousand soldiers, and twenty thousand horses, and broke into the north from the Huai River, it seemed that they could exert their power.
A bigger role?
It's a pity that I can't raise it. But if I can occupy such fertile land in Shouzhou, and then search for grains and beans in Shenzhou, Guangzhou, and Anzhou, clear the weeds in the open space, and sow grass seeds instead, maybe I can try it.
I can only wait until I get back before making any suggestions. For now, it’s better to go to Shouzhou to have a look.
…
Zhu Yanshou has visited the five cities of Lujiang.
The five cities are Hefei, Shen, Chao, Lujiang and Shucheng.
This is a prosperous place, with more than 200,000 people in Tianbao's reign. After the An-Shi Rebellion, this place was not affected much. Before the Sun-Ru Rebellion, the number of registered households in Tianbao had already exceeded.
"Yi".
But Sun Ru, that goddamn man, was really capable of causing trouble. Although the core area of his disaster was Yangzhou, in fact, the entire Huainan province was decimated by him. Pang Shigu once led his army southward and plundered endlessly.
After Confucianism was pacified, there was another rebellion in Luzhou. The attacks lasted for several months, causing great depression in the five counties.
But no matter what, the foundation is still there. Luzhou is unlimited, with a household registration of more than 100,000. King Wu rewarded him with this land, and Zhu Yanshou was still very satisfied.
In the current Huainan military system, he, Tian Kai, and An Renyi should be second only to the King of Wu.
Tian Wei got Xuanzhou where King Wu started his career.
When he was appointed as the military governor of Xuanshe, he led the three prefectures of Xuan, She, and Chi. They were surrounded by Sun Confucianism and were almost defeated. Tian Kai was awarded the title of military governor of Ningguo and the governor of Xuanzhou, which shows that he valued him highly.
However, recently I heard that Tian Kai asked for help from Chi Erzhou again, because he was not worthy of his reputation as the governor of Ning State. Two of the subordinate states were still under the control of the King of Wu. He had always wanted to ask for it, but the King of Wu never allowed it.
An Renyi was appointed governor of Runzhou.
Runzhou was theoretically Qian Liu's property, but like Changzhou, it was controlled by the Huai army.
An Renyi was quite arrogant and claimed to be an unparalleled shot, which Zhu Yanshou didn't like.
But how can I put it, now the three of them are quite eye-catching and are jealous of many people, so they have to stick together for warmth. There is no need to take it to heart about some minor conflicts.
After taking control of the towns of Xuanshe and Huainan, King Wu looked at the situation in the world and began to think of separatizing the southeast. But at the same time, he became increasingly wary of his old brothers.
Tian Kai asked for She, but the two states of Chi were not allowed to retreat. He also suggested attacking Feng Hongduo of Shengzhou (now Nanjing), but he was also refused.
Feng Hongduo and Zhang Xiong were both former subordinates of Shi Pu. Nine years ago, the two wanted to rebel, but were discovered by Shi Pu. They fled with 300 Xuzhou soldiers, crossed the Yangtze River and went south to Suzhou, captured it, and Zhang Xiong named himself the governor. He recruited troops and horses and was arrogant. Later, he was defeated by Zhou Bao's army and fled to Shengzhou, where he named himself the governor of Shengzhou.
After Zhang Xiong died of illness, Feng Hongduo took over as the governor of Shengzhou. Now he is the smallest independent force in the south of the Yangtze River. No wonder he is favored by Tian Kai.
Runzhou, where An Renyi was based, was often attacked by soldiers and horses from western Zhejiang. He repeatedly wanted to send troops to capture Suzhou and other places under Qian Liu's rule, but King Wu did not allow it.
Zhu Yanshou wanted to attack Shouzhou and Haozhou, but King Wu still refused.
The three meritorious generals all wanted to expand, but the King of Wu did not allow them.
What is King Wu doing?!
Zhu Yanshou returned to the city gloomily. He knew very well what the King of Wu was thinking. He was on guard against his old brothers! He was afraid that they would be unable to control their territory after it became too big, so he only gave him one state and was not allowed to expand.
With this little ambition, he still wants to do big things, but if he continues to push, the old brothers will become disloyal and all turn against him.
Even if you don't rebel, in the next hundred years, if someone rebels and usurps the throne, will your old brothers help you, the Yang family? I'm afraid they won't all just sit back and watch, with smiles on their faces, waiting for the new master to win over you.
"Your Majesty, the scouts have come to report that the Xia thieves have settled in Huoqiu County, Shouzhou." The general had been waiting in the hall for a long time. When he saw Zhu Yanshou coming back, he immediately reported it.
"Oh? Seriously?" Zhu Yanshou was a little surprised. He said a while ago that the Xia thieves were attacking Caizhou. Why did they arrive in Shouzhou now? What was Shao Shude doing? Blocking Uncle Cong? How brave is he?
"It's absolutely true." The general replied: "Huoqiu County surrendered without a fight. The local tyrant Zhu Jing didn't know what happened, but he jumped south to the Huoshan area in the prosperous Tang Dynasty."
"Zhu Jing is so cunning!" Zhu Yanshou slapped the table and said angrily: "When he accepted him as his adopted son, he still resisted. But now he retreats without a fight. He must have something to do with the Xia thieves. No good, Shouzhou If it is lost, won’t the many days of planning be in vain?”
If Tian Kai's ambition is to actually control the three prefectures of Xuan, She, and Chi, and An Renyi wants to capture both Run and Chang prefectures, then Zhu Yanshou's ultimate goal is to control the three prefectures of Lu, Shou, and Hao.
At that time, the three states of Haoshoulu were trained to observe the status of envoys.
Shouzhou is the food in his bowl, how can he give it to others?
Zhu Yanshou got up and walked around the room like a headless fly.
He is not a very smart person, nor is he a tough person who can control his desires and ambitions. He is just a warrior who only wants to expand his territory.
Mrs. Wang came in with tea. Seeing this, she sighed and said, "If you want to achieve your great ambitions, you must first calm down."
When Zhu Yanshou heard this, he felt as if a switch had been pressed. He immediately stopped, turned around and sat back on the bed, saying: "Madam, you don't know something. The Xia thieves are very cruel. If they are allowed to capture Shouzhou, all my years of planning will be in vain."
That’s it.”
"Husband." Wang put the tea cup on the table and comforted her softly: "Uncle Cong has arrived in Shouzhou. Even if the army has not yet arrived, there will be no shortage of troops on hand. The Xia people cannot attack Shouzhou.
"Well, the King of Wu must soon know about such a big event. If we really want to launch an army, why would I need my husband to take the initiative?"
"The King of Wu is afraid that we will grow bigger." Zhu Yanshou said bitterly: "Every day he says that Huainan is in ruins and needs to recuperate and gain fame among the common people and scholars. However, he still sends troops to attack Du Hong, saying one thing and doing another.
, I am too ruthless to my old brother."
In fact, it was quite interesting for Yang Xingmi to give Xuanzhou, where he started, to Tian Kai, let Zhu Yanshou guard his hometown Luzhou, and give the prosperous Runzhou in western Zhejiang to An Renyi.
Don't you see, Li Shenfu and others don't have a seat yet.
Moreover, it is a fact that Huainan is dilapidated. Yang Xingmi is relatively simple, does not engage in extravagance, and is willing to rest with the people. Regardless of whether it is true or false, it is difficult for others to say that he did something wrong to his face.
"No, I have to go to Guangling." Zhu Yanshou suddenly stood up again and said: "The Xia people and the Liang people are fighting fiercely. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Why fight Du Hong at this time? It is better to fish in troubled waters and take Hao, Shou,
I forgive Zhu Quanzhong for not daring to fall out."