Among the high mountains and ridges, there are waves of pines and waves.
Towering trees that had grown for who knows how many years rose from the ground, supporting the blue sky above.
There are many low shrubs and grasses between the big trees, and birds and animals are lurking among them. When they encounter people at first sight, they will fly away in fear.
Only those who have been walking in the mountains and forests all year round can truly understand the magnificence and danger involved.
"Ah -" The extremely painful scream was interrupted as soon as it came out. The cruel opponent did not give him a chance to make a second sound, and quickly and decisively ended his life.
You can never be too cautious!
Elite warriors who had spied on important information about the enemy, attacked, killed, and captured many enemy scouts also died in the mountains, forests and river valleys inexplicably. Scouts are probably the most frequently updated unit, and no one can guarantee that they will be the next one.
No one can come back alive from a mission!
After hurriedly burying the corpse of the enemy scout, several people in the group hid day and night, cautiously approached Taigu Pass, and observed carefully.
Guancheng is located at the entrance of Taigu Valley, with steep mountains on both sides. In the late Han Dynasty, Sun Jian once stationed troops here.
Soldiers can pass through the mountains, but similar to Luyang Pass and Huoyi, they can only pass a small group of people and horses, and carriages cannot be passed. Even mules and horses have a hard time crossing the border, and countless people have been killed and injured.
Generally speaking, the location of Guancheng in ancient times was very particular. Even if one or two thousand people went around the pass, they would not carry a few pieces of armor, and they might only have enough food for a few days. They would be tired from the long journey, in enemy territory, and panic.
Anxiety, it is difficult to win a war under such circumstances.
Generally speaking, this kind of risk-taking involves taking the enemy by surprise and hoping that the enemy will panic. If the enemy does not panic and responds calmly, then you will be the one panicking, and the probability of the entire army being annihilated is very high.
The scouts lurked near Guancheng for many days and observed that there were about 3,000 soldiers in the city. These extra people should be rural warriors transferred from the rear. Under the elite organization of the Changzhi Army, they carried out defense operations.
It's quite suitable.
On the post road in the valley, there are still horse-drawn carriages that are constantly transporting materials. It has just rained and the roads are muddy, making transportation very difficult. Judging from the heavy weight of the horse-drawn carriages, most of them are transporting materials such as equipment. Cars transporting grain
There were quite a few, and they were piled in bags in the carriage, covered with raincloths, and they were struggling to move forward.
They are determined to block the entrance of this valley.
After the observation was almost complete, the scouts changed places, and some of them left and returned to Luoyang to report.
Lu Huaizhong, the Marquis of Yu at the camp, had not yet arrived, so the intelligence was reported directly to Li Tangbin. Li Tangbin listened casually, but he didn't really care. Anyway, the attack on Taigu Pass was just a fake attack.
Today is different from the past. Back then, when you were fighting with the Liang people on the Xiaohan Valley Road, you had no choice but to go around the rear and attack hard along the way. But the King of Xia made a big strategic detour, that is, he captured Heyang.
This suddenly changed the entire war situation. Now that the Liang people have flaws everywhere, if the defenders of Taigu Pass want to defend, they must be prepared to become the turtle in the urn.
There are thousands of people in Huo Cun's tribe, but they can't leave even if they want to.
"An order was sent to recruit 5,000 people from the Luoyang Tuan Tuan, and put them under the leadership of Ma Sixun, and together with his headquarters, they went to attack Taigu Pass."
"Send the order and the Shunyi army will be dispatched to attack Taigu Pass alternately with Ma Sixun's troops."
"Written to the shogunate of the Eastern Capital. The spring sowing has been completed. I have recruited my master to transfer grain and grass."
"Urge Shaanzhou to speed up the transfer of grain, grass and equipment. If it delays the king's offensive, can you afford it?"
After saying that, he paused again and said: "The last order is to modify the wording and tone."
The staff understands. Ren Yuji, the governor of Shaanxi Province, is an old man from Yuancong of the Xia King. The two deputy envoys of Jiedu, Sun Ba and Huang Tao, are also well-connected. It is better to be polite when talking to them, so as not to offend others unintentionally.
Looking for trouble.
After the order was issued, Ma Sixun immediately organized his army and set off. Duan Ning, as the grain envoy, would also escort the first batch of supplies south. Later, he would go back and forth between Luoyang and Taigu to supervise the transfer.
Ma Sixun's face was gloomy, he looked at Duan Ning and hesitated to speak.
"General Ma, just obey the order and don't think too much." Duan Ning knew what he was thinking and advised: "Xu Huaiyu has gone to be the governor of Danzhou. What do you think of this arrangement?"
"Not bad." Ma Sixun had to admit.
Danzhou was called Shangzhou when the country was at its peak, but later it was downgraded. After the Xia Palace took over, it was designated as Zhongzhou. The governor's annual salary was more than 800 yuan, and there were big houses provided by the state, and some other benefits.
The status can be said to be good wealth.
"What can the general's two thousand soldiers do in this situation?" Duan Ning asked again.
Ma Sixun hesitated for a moment and sighed: "I am a fugitive from Haozhou, I am a guest general in Bianzhou, and I am also a guest general in Xiazhou. If I want to do something good, it is even more difficult. That's all!"
After saying that, Ma Sixun gave Duan Ning a big gift and said sincerely: "There are some things that I know clearly in my heart, but I am always unwilling to do so. After hearing what you said, I suddenly became enlightened."
"Today, I have to fight for my future." Ma Sixun laughed and said, "Let's go."
The army marched southward and arrived outside Taigu Pass on March 21. They immediately set up camp, felled trees, and made equipment.
One day later, seven thousand Shunyi troops also arrived.
Three days later, Duan Ning arrived with thousands of local peasants escorting grain and grass.
On the 25th, Ma Sixun selected the elite troops and handed them over to his eldest son to lead them, and launched the first exploratory attack on Taigu Pass.
The news soon spread to Ruzhou and Dengfeng.
"Why did the Xia thieves attack Taigu?" Zhao Lin first raised the question in Dengfeng County.
"What's so difficult to guess?" Zhu Hanbin said: "After leaving Taigu, to Yingyang County, the road divides into two roads. Go eastward for seventy miles to Dengfeng, pick up Sheyuan Road, and go southeast for more than fifty miles to Ru.
Liang County, the prefecture, is connected to Yique Road. The Xia thieves want to occupy Yingyang and support the army to go out. Then they can go south or north, and they can move freely. "
"Nonsense! From Ruzhou to Yingyang, there are endless mountains. It is not easy to get over." Zhao Lin said: "We must attack Dengfeng."
Zhu Hanbin glanced sideways at Zhao Lin and joked: "If we attack Dengfeng, we will go to Xuzhou to cause trouble."
Zhao Lin's face looked very ugly.
"Shut up!" Zhang Guihou couldn't listen anymore.
Zhao Lin and Zhu Hanbin immediately shut up.
"Taigu Pass came to report that there were thieves crossing the mountains and plundering Yingyang County. There are few soldiers in Yingyang, so Yingcheng can only defend itself. If we want to expel the thieves, we have to find a way here." Zhang Guihou stood up.
Said: "I want to take the hall horses to go to Yingyang to fight quickly and eliminate this bandit army. You must guard Dengfeng and don't let the thieves capture it. As long as Dengfeng is not lost, the bandit army will
There is no way to get through. Even if you get through, you can cut off the way back."
"As ordered." The two of them responded in unison.
…
The Xia army's offensive against Heyang Nancheng suddenly became intensive again.
A section of Tielin's army fought fiercely with the rebels at the ferry in the north of the city. Within ten days, they had killed hundreds of rebels and their position was as stable as Mount Tai.
Under Shao Shude's order, the Tielin Army also dispatched its main force and launched a fierce attack on Heyang from the south.
Under the brutal siege battle, the mental outlook of the troops was changed to a certain extent. Tens of thousands of new recruits lost a little of their greenness and experienced the cruelty of the killing fields. The veterans who were a little slack due to less fighting also cheered up and slowly found their way to the battlefield.
It brings back the feeling of the past, and my hands are very nimble.
The army still has to go into battle frequently, otherwise it will be difficult to maintain its combat effectiveness over a long period of time.
The pontoon bridge has been built. Under the five blockades of fire ships, crossbows, artillery carts, long poles, and iron chains, the Liang Navy has never been able to get close.
They did not dare to attack with heavy losses. As time went by, the Mengzhou soldiers in Zhongli City became more confident and had high morale as they fought.
Opposite them was the Liang Army in Nancheng, Heyang. After witnessing the navy's failure to approach three times, its morale became even lower, so much so that some people secretly crossed the city at night and surrendered to the Xia Army.
Fu Cunshen was keenly aware of the changes in the morale of the enemy and ourselves, so he decisively slowed down his offensive and instead focused on persuading them to surrender.
"Brothers Liang Jun, you have also seen that the navy is gone and no one will come to rescue you."
"Why are you still holding on? No one will come to save you until the Dragon Boat Festival, and no one will come to save you until the Double Ninth Festival. If you save food, can you hold on until the Double Ninth Festival?"
"Have you almost used the arrows? Do you have any medicine for the wounded soldiers? How long has it been since you received the reward?"
"The king of Xia is kind and generous. Xu Huaiyu of Xin'an has surrendered, and he has been given the position of Dezhou County. Those who have surrendered and strong soldiers can also join the army. Everyone is working hard, who can't fight for him?"
"It's important to save your life. If your life is gone, everything will be gone."
The cavalry with loud voices shouted in unison outside, causing chaos in the city. In anger, Huo Cun climbed up the tower and fired three arrows in a row, killing two people, and then they dispersed in a rush.
That night, Huo Yanwei personally patrolled the night and captured dozens of people who wanted to lower the city. They beheaded all of them and hung them outside the gate of the military camp to intimidate the troops.
During the day, another wave of people were driven out of the city and attacked the Xia army's trenches. The result was obvious, with more than a thousand people killed and injured.
Shao Shude was a little annoyed when he received the news.
This Huo Cun is really smelly and hard. He's already at this level. Why don't you surrender?
"How many soldiers are there in the city?" He called Zhao Guangfeng, who was in charge of this aspect, and asked.
"According to what the defenders said, there should be less than four thousand cavalry." Zhao Guangfeng replied.
Of the seven or eight thousand soldiers and horses, some were lost in Cangcheng, part in the attack on North Ferry, part in the defense of the city, and part in the attack and killing outside the city. The number of four thousand men should be about the same.
This guy has been blocking me in Heyang for almost three months. He is really a stone in the pit.
Shao Shude thought about it again, and there was no big problem with Fu Cunxen's strategy. Continuing to attack fiercely at this time would only make the defenders have no time to think too much and fight to the death under external pressure. But if they relax a little and focus on persuading surrender, they
Chaos may occur internally.
This is different from a general siege, because everyone knows that the Xia army has no possibility of breaking out of the siege. A large area around it has been occupied by the Xia army, and local officials are already in place. Looking from a distance from the city, Heyang
The people in the county are even plowing in the spring. Does this look like they are about to leave?
The reward has been announced a long time ago. Let's see when Liang Jun can no longer bear it and takes the heads of Huo Cun and his son. Well, if Huo Yanwei takes Huo Cun's head, that would be a joy.
"What do you think of the formation of the Black Army?" Leaving aside Heyang Nancheng, Shao Shude asked about another matter.
The Heiji Army has so far recruited more than 5,000 people, of which more than 3,000 are prisoners of the Changzhi Army. There are also 1,000 recruits of the continuation army with excellent training results, and thousands of newly recruited frontier warriors. Waiting for the next batch of surrendered troops
After arriving in Lingzhou, they will continue to recruit the best and strongest soldiers, and recruits and Tibetan people will also contribute some. They will be broken up and reorganized. After rough training, they will be taken to the grassland to fight with the thieves.
"No objection." Zhao Guangfeng said: "In the land of Guanbei, we are not afraid of them making trouble. Even after they were disbanded and reorganized, they couldn't make trouble. After a few rewards were distributed, no one had the intention to make trouble. Liang Bing
, there were already many Qin Zongquan who surrendered and just changed their families."
Shao Shude nodded and said, "Does Shi Renyu have anything to say?"
"Shi Renyu seemed to be righteous and unwilling to agree with others, but he sent the envoy back with courtesy and did not harm him. This shows that he is not an absolutely loyal person." Zhao Guangfeng said: "Recently, he even restrained his troops from collaborating with others.
If there is a conflict between our armies, your Majesty will know who he is."
"That's right." Shao Shude smiled and said: "Wei Bo is a slippery man from top to bottom, a capricious person, and cannot be trusted. However, we still have to continue to send envoys, mess around, and make the matter of borrowing the road bigger, and finally
It makes a big fuss and lets everyone know.”
"As ordered." Zhao Guangfeng responded.
That night, the envoy quietly left Mengzhou and headed east. At the same time, something that seemed accidental but inevitable happened in the south city of Heyang, causing an uproar.