Shao Shude doesn’t know why it has been raining continuously since March.
The weather at this time of year is really a bit chaotic, which may not be a good sign.
However, for agricultural production, it may not be a bad thing. Crops require a lot of water during the growing season. If you are not affected by the war and the fields are not abandoned, you should be very happy.
It’s hard to tell how much the water level in Peishui has risen. The originally clear river water has become very turbid, which is a sign that a lot of sediment has washed down from the upper reaches.
There are also many dead branches and leaves on the river, and occasionally the carcasses of some animals are seen.
In the past few days, human corpses have become more common, floating downstream one after another into the Huai River.
Most of them are the corpses of Liang Jun who died in battle. After the battle three days ago, Liang Jun tried to cross the river again in the past two days. One of them was a night adventure, but they were all defeated. They lost nearly two thousand people.
people.
By this time, they had given up the idea of crossing the river by boat, because the transport capacity was small and the efficiency was low. Even if they got ashore, the number of people would be seriously insufficient and they would easily be driven down the river.
Liang Jun's latest move is to collect the ships and go upstream to find a place to build a pontoon bridge.
But their every move was closely watched by Zhu Jing's "guerrillas". Building the pontoon bridge required a lot of manpower, and there was no way to hide it. They were only half-built when Xia Jun sent people to burn it with fire ships.
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The tens of thousands of Cai people recruits on the west bank of the river became more confident as they became more confident. They had lost a lot of their original fear. They finally calmed down and found that it was not too difficult to stop the enemy by relying on the Feishui River. Liang Bing could come here in one go.
If there are too few, there is often no backup. They can completely rely on their numerical advantage and take advantage of the chaos of the enemy's formation just after crossing the river to win.
Of course, everything is easier said than done.
Marshal Shao fought tooth and nail to prevent the Liang army from crossing the river. He went into battle several times and brought 500 cavalry soldiers to the rescue many times. Otherwise, the Liang people would probably have succeeded.
For example, when crossing the river for the first time, the three hundred Liang soldiers almost defeated the more than a thousand Cai soldiers. If Shao Shude hadn't personally arrived with the cavalry at the critical moment, there would have been no chance, and the Liang soldiers had successfully crossed.
"It rained continuously. I didn't like it at first, but now it seems that it has helped a lot." Shao Shude rode his horse and walked along the river bank.
The river surface is much wider and the water is much deeper. There is no longer a section of the river that can be directly crossed during the dry season in winter.
"Commander, be careful of the Liang people taking a detour to sneak across. In the past when he was conquering Lingzhou, Lu Huaizhong crossed the river from dozens of miles upstream, attacked the bandit camp on a stormy night, and destroyed it." Chen Cheng subconsciously walked outside Shao Shude and reminded him.
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"Zhu Jing made several sneak attacks on the Liang people, building momentum and expanding his tribe to three thousand. With their troops and horses who are familiar with the geography, it is not that simple for the Liang people to detour from the south." Shao Shude said: "Again,
In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the Huoshan area was full of swamps, mountains and forests, and the terrain was complex. I think the Liang people had given up on crossing the river in a roundabout way from the south. This was different from the time when Hanlang and Kang Yuancheng were conquering Hanlang. The terrain in Lingzhou was flat and you couldn't see the end at a glance.
, there are roads everywhere, which is completely different from Shouzhou.”
"It's just that the south side doesn't work, but what about the north side?" Chen Cheng asked again: "Zhe has encountered bandits in Huaibei since ancient times. There are more than five thousand people, but they may not be able to stop them."
Two thousand cavalrymen from Zhe Conggu encountered more than 5,000 men from Shi Shucong's command near Yingshang County.
After some testing, they found that this force, which was mainly infantry, was difficult to deal with. After two days of harassment, they did not look like they were about to collapse due to exhaustion. Instead, they continued to move forward despite the harassment.
Zhe was also a smart man in ancient times. He immediately sent out a thousand cavalry and rushed into the villages along the Huaihe River, destroying and burning all the ships, large and small.
Liang Jun then stopped and returned to Yingshang County to rest. At the same time, the cavalry detected that many ships had been stockpiled near the Yingkou Camp. It was still possible for them to use these ships to continue advancing upstream, so they had to be on guard.
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"A day counts as a day." Shao Shude's thinking was very clear and he immediately said: "Feishui is not my bottom line. It is also acceptable for the entire army to retreat. The essence of this battle is delay. Zhu Quanzhong does not have as much time as I do.
Every time he waits for an extra day, his rear will be turned upside down. I want to see what is the point of him spending time with me on the line of Peishui River in Caizhou? "
The fighting in White Dog City is fierce.
Pang Shigu actually didn't have many soldiers, only 18,000 infantry and cavalry who could fight, and the rest were all state and county soldiers or local men. This strength was quickly exposed after besieging Baigou City for several days.
The problem is solved and cannot be conquered.
Other strategies were also used.
Yang Shihou divided his troops and marched westward. As a result, the people in the city were too lazy to take action and turned a blind eye. The plan to lure the enemy out of the city ultimately failed.
Now Pang Shigu is also sitting on the wax. Shao Shude guessed that he might want to capture Baigou City and make an explanation to Zhu Quanzhong before retreating. Otherwise, if he went south with 30,000 horses, could he be here for a spring outing?
"From a local perspective, our army is in danger." Shao Shude said: "For example, Hengshan who defends White Dog City will definitely suffer heavy casualties. For example, our Feishui defense line is not very reliable. But overall, our army's war situation is as stable as Mount Tai.
Unless Zhu Quanzhong doesn’t want to live anymore.”
…
"It's impossible to survive this day." In the north of Yangwu County, Zhengzhou, the county magistrate fled in panic, abandoning his helmet and armor.
The magistrate was also a warrior, but he was defeated, just like his men.
A few days ago, the Xia thieves crossed the river in Yangwu County and left quickly. Unexpectedly, a few days later, they killed another bandit with carbine and came back to plunder.
Food, mules, horses, etc., everything needed was taken away. It is said that they were much more ruthless than the first wave of Qibizhang tribe who crossed the river.
Weizhou in Weibo Town now seems to be a huge loophole in Liang Jun's Yellow River defense line.
The Xia army crossed the river twice, but first they broke into Weibo territory, and then crossed the river and headed south.
Wei Bo was fighting fiercely with Li Keyong. Xinxiang and Ji County, remote counties on the north bank of the Yellow River, were completely unattended and their soldiers had been taken away. If the Xia army was willing, they could even occupy one or two counties without any difficulty.
Two waves of 10,000 mounted infantrymen crossed the river, making the Liang people very uncomfortable.
I don't know how many people chased Qi Binzhang to Huazhou a while ago. Now you are sending me a second batch?
The magistrate of Yangwu County was responsible. He was worried that the ferry would be lost, so he personally led hundreds of strong men to guard it. Unexpectedly, he was defeated. Five thousand riders flooded to various counties and villages in Zhengzhou like a torrent, searching like crazy.
Food, hay, and then swimming and fighting make people exhausted.
Some people were more courageous and stayed in the village to farm. Some people could not bear to be robbed, so they packed up their belongings and ran to the city, or took refuge elsewhere where they seemed safer.
But are there any safe places along the Yellow River today?
The Yangwu County Magistrate didn't know, he didn't think...
The news quickly spread back to Bianzhou, and Zhu Quanzhong, who had just returned from the Song and Bo areas, immediately summoned his generals to discuss the matter.
In fact, there are still the same old faces as Jingxiang, but there is also a new person: Deng Jijun.
The former general of the Liang Army was later captured alive by Li Cunxiao and surrendered to Li Keyong.
Although Li Keyong rewarded Deng Jijun with a mansion, property, and a new wife, he did not trust him deep down in his heart.
He was given an official position, but not real power, so he could only go out with him. For example, when he attacked Li Kuangchou in Youzhou, Deng Jiyun went with the army and even fought in the battle.
But those soldiers were not under his control. In fact, they were temporarily allocated to him by Li Keyong. After the battle, they returned to the army and Deng Jijun became the bare commander again.
During this campaign against Wei Bo, Zhang Cunjing and Ge Congzhou led 30,000 Liang troops to help.
In the Battle of Weizhou, Ge Congzhou led 3,000 infantry troops to defeat Li Luoluo, Li Keyong's son, and killed Tielin's army in pieces. Deng Jijun took advantage of the chaos and rushed back to the Liang army's formation. Zhu Quanzhong was overjoyed when he heard the news and immediately ordered
He recalled Bianzhou and gave him more rewards.
Well, Deng Jijun's wife and children are still there, and Zhu Quanzhong did not kill them. On the contrary, he gave some rewards from time to time over the years. The Deng family lived well, which made Deng Jijun even more grateful.
As for what to do with his wife and children in Jinyang, well, that's out of the question.
"Your Majesty, Yang Xingmi has said that he wants to seize the three states of Chu, Hao and Shou and cede them to Huainan." Jingxiang made a trip to Yangzhou and was expected to be delayed for a long time, but Yang Xingmi was quick to talk and had a huge appetite.
Jingxiang couldn't make the decision, so he hurried back to Bianzhou.
"This is taking advantage of the situation." Zhu Quanzhong's face was not angry. It was obvious that this was what he expected.
Yang Xingmi was not very powerful but very ambitious. To be honest, Zhu Quanzhong despised him very much.
Zhang Jian, the governor of Sizhou, took refuge with Yang Xingmi, which made him very angry, but he couldn't bear to say anything.
Now he is asking for Chu, Shou and Haozhou, which is a bit embarrassing. If he had a choice, Zhu Quanzhong would like to send troops to destroy him.
But what should I say? After Sun Ru was destroyed by him, Yang Xingmi recruited at least tens of thousands of people, and his strength is not what it used to be. If he raises troops to go north, with the current situation, Zhu Quanzhong doesn't know where to draw the troops.
"Your Majesty, Yang Xingmi is not that foolish person." Jingxiang glanced at Zhu Quanzhong's face, relieved, and said: "Although he has corruptly occupied the four states of Chu and Shou, at this juncture, he will not go north in a big way."
Zhu Quanzhong understood this. Yang Xingmi actually provided a lot of convenience for sending troops this time. Obviously, he was also worried that Shao Shu's moral power would be difficult to control.
"Today we still need to solve the problem of Xia thieves looting Zheng and slipping to various states." Jingxiang continued: "Qibi Zhang's tribe should have rushed to Puzhou. We should order He Delun, Wang Chongshi, and Liu Zhijun to adjust their deployment and intercept the thieves. The road south to Bianzhou. The other is the road to Songzhou..."
"Songzhou is fine." Zhu Quanzhong stretched out his hand to stop him and said, "If Thief Xia dares to do something that would be outraged by both gods and men, just do it."
Everyone focused their attention on it. The king was indeed able to endure things that ordinary people could not endure.
"Your Majesty, if the Xia thieves break into Songzhou, even if they don't do such evil things and just rob the people, it will be a big trouble." Jingxiang said: "Hua, in the Zheng area, tens of thousands of people have fled in the past ten days, and farm work Abandoned, the villages are in ruins. If things continue like this, I’m afraid that’s not an option.”
Zhu Quanzhong frowned and clenched his right hand into a fist. After a long time, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Does Jing Sima have any strategy?"
"Your Majesty, it's time to make up your mind." Jingxiang raised his voice and said: "The king's foundation is in Bianzhou. If thieves break in and the farm work is abandoned, what will the people and scholars think? What will the generals think? Now please mobilize your troops to return north."
Zhu Quanzhong was noncommittal.
In fact, the defense is too passive. The best way is to take the initiative once and for all to attack the Xia people and overthrow their nests, then the crisis will be solved. To be more precise, launch the second Heyang War and send 30,000 troops to Weibo. After the army was brought back, Shishu Cong and Zhu Zhen's troops were gathered together, and soldiers from prefectures and counties were mobilized as well as local men from Tuan Tuan. It would not be a problem to gather more than 100,000 people.
But last year's Heyang War failed. The reasons were complicated and related to the inability to conquer the enemy, Er Zhu's reactivation and other factors.
Will we succeed if we attack again this year? Zhu Quanzhong is not sure.
What's more, with the current situation, it may be difficult to gather troops for a while.
Shao Thief's tactics are really disgusting. If you want to concentrate your forces, you must give up some directions. Shao Thief will definitely take advantage of the situation and use it as a breakthrough, forcing you to be in a dilemma.
You forced the soldiers of Song Dynasty and Zheng Zheng to go south to aid Cai and Shou, but Wei Bo opened a big hole, allowing the Xia thieves' mounted infantry to slip in.
If you move Xu Su and Cai Ru's troops to the north, the two Huaihe Rivers will be in danger.
When Luoyang's troops were mobilized to advance eastward, they were suddenly rushed to Hulao Pass, joined together with Heyang, and attacked Bianzhou directly.
What should you do? A single move can affect the whole body.
"Shishu Cong, how long will it take for Pang Shigu to defeat the Xia thieves?" Zhu Quanzhong asked.
No one can answer this.
Can Pang Shigu conquer Baigou City and Xinxi County where the Xia thieves are guarding? Difficult.
During the Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, Pang Shi did not have many ancient soldiers in the strongholds built across the Huaihe River from the north. What confidence could he have in conquering the city?
In comparison, the direction of Shouzhou taken by Shi Shucong is the most likely to achieve a breakthrough, but now it seems that the movement is too slow and has not yet crossed the Peishui River. How long will it take to continue the fight?
"I have ordered Zhang Cunjing and Ge Congzhou to lead their troops back south." Seeing that everyone was silent, Zhu Quanzhong made his own decision: "Let's wait until these 30,000 people arrive in Huazhou to see the situation."
Jingxiang sighed secretly.
However, this response cannot be said to be wrong, and of course it cannot be said to be right. In fact, it is difficult to have a correct response method nowadays.
But he felt that his master was obviously hesitant in doing things, and he was not as resolute and decisive as before.
If the delay continues, Bian, Song, Bo, Ying, Cao, Xu, and all the states may be corrupted, and then the trouble will be big.
On the other hand, what if we win the battle on the southern front? The Xia thieves retreated to Tang and Deng Sui, and after licking their wounds, they would come back at any time, and they would not be able to wipe them all out.
It is better to concentrate our forces and annihilate or drive away the intruding Xia bandit cavalry, and then ask Wei Bo to guard his own yard and prevent others from crossing the river at will, and then improve the defense line of the river on his own side. This is actually what the Later Liang did during the Liang-Jin struggle for hegemony.
, the two sides faced each other across the river, staring at their opponents' every move. Hundreds of battles were fought within a year, but the Jin people were still unable to break through the frontal defense line. As for the Jin people who later detoured to Yunzhou and broke into the south bank of the Yellow River, that is another matter.
Unfortunately, this plan also has a fatal problem, that is, too many troops will be occupied, which will leave the south empty. If the Shao bandits deploy a large cavalry force on the southern front and cross the Huai River to go north, it will also be troublesome.