The caravan arrived at the outskirts of Hanoi County.
Along with them, there were many livestock, mainly sheep, mixed with some beef cattle, camels, and horses.
In order to bring livestock that are crucial for agricultural production to the people of Heyang, Shao Shudel even used caravans to attract them to buy livestock from the Tibetan people through tax-free means, and then transport them all the way to Heyang.
In fact, there are not many livestock, just a few hundred. But if you add up a small amount, each caravan will bring some of them over, and in the long run, it will not be a small number.
Zhao Cheng was not young anymore. He walked into the post station and chatted with the familiar post generals. The people below were busy sending livestock samples to the sheepfold behind the post station. The livestock that he finally brought along along the way could not be
Something went wrong.
"There's going to be a flood." The post general had a broken hand, but he was in good spirits. While instructing his two sons to chop meat, he took the time to chat with Zhao Cheng: "You'd better not cross the river recently. Just stay in Hanoi.
, it can’t be flooded here.
Zhao Cheng sighed regretfully and said, "I still want to go to Luoyang.
"Don't think about it. The pontoon bridge is full of carriages traveling from north to south, and the transportation of grain and grass equipment is almost crazy." The post general said: "There is nothing left in Luoyang. I heard from the military commander Pao Ze that there is a ruins. But there are also people
He said that Henan Prefecture has cleared out a large area, and may need to build some small palaces later, one in the style of the Ganzhou Huijuan Palace and one in the Tubo style. I don’t know if the Dangxiang style will be built.
"How do you even know this?" Zhao Cheng asked with a smile.
"It's all what the officers and generals who are on official business said." The post general said sheepishly.
The inn is definitely a good place to find out information, because the identities of the people coming and going are all extraordinary. While the two were talking, it started pouring rain again, and there was lightning and thunder.
The post general stood up, looked outside worriedly, and said, "Don't rain until June, otherwise the summer harvest will be in trouble. The degree of "urbanization" in Huaizhou is very low, and there are large fields and pastures behind the post station.
The water in the irrigation canal was rushing and flowing, and the sound was frighteningly loud.
The farmers wore Yuan clothes and stepped on the ground with their feet high. They opened up the field ridges and let the accumulated water flow into the canal, and then gathered it all the way into the Pichi. The water level in the pond was very high, very turbid, and rushed into the canal.
into the roaring Qinshui.
On the bank of Qinshui, two small boats were tied to the pier, floating back and forth in the raging flood, looking so small and helpless.
"The power of God is unpredictable." Zhao Cheng sighed: "The Qinshui River is a trivial matter. If the river bursts its banks, all life will be ruined. The river is indeed going to burst its banks, but not in Heyang, not in Muzhou, but in Huazhou.
Jiang Xuanhui rushed to the river embankment in person, with a solemn look on his face. Wang Yin, the governor of Huazhou, followed behind him, his face gloomy.
The floods have been rising for more than half a month, and the dikes are under the water. They are overwhelmed and have been damaged in many places, and the rivers are overflowing. People from all over Huazhou have sent out soldiers to block them desperately, so that there is no large-scale breach of the embankments. But now it can no longer be blocked.
If we stay here, if we delay it any longer, I'm afraid the state and city will not be protected.
In fact, as early as the beginning of April, due to continuous heavy rains, the river water surged. Someone in the shogunate suggested that either break the embankments and let the river water discharge through several small rivers in the southwest of Huazhou, or let Weizhou release the ancient Yellow River that was dredged during the Yuanhe period.
river course.
The king of Liang hesitated and delayed until now.
But now a decision must be made after all. Jiang Xuanhui received the order from King Liang and rushed to Huazhou to dig a river embankment to let the river water flow away. The embankment here was built when Xiao Ao was appointed governor in the fourth year of Xiantong (863).
To be honest, it has been neglected over the years and is no longer strong.
The purpose of Zhu Quanzhong's order is very simple, to protect the city of Huazhou, but not Huazhou. Because Huazhou is an important town and has always been rich and common people. There are a large number of wealthy households in the city, as well as sergeants and officials' family records, so they have to protect it. As for Huazhou, it has to be protected.
The people outside the city can't be taken care of.
"Your Majesty, the river is overflowing and the dike is about to break. It's better to dig it out." Jiang Xuanhui said: "Move the river farther away to protect Huazhou, but after the water recedes, build dikes to strengthen them."
Wang Yin swallowed.
Digging the Yellow River, if you do such a thing, it will be infamy for thousands of years. Moreover, the King of Liang did not come in person. Instead, he sent his confidant Jiang Xuanhui to come in person and dictated the order in private. Why is this? Let him, Wang Yin, stand up and do this.
Evil person? Reviled and cursed by others?
Wang Yin suddenly felt regretful.
At that time, he wanted to escape from the river, but his wife and daughter fell into the hands of Wang Yao and were humiliated by him. After arriving in Muzhou, he worked diligently and loyally to his duties. When Yuan Xiang got into trouble first, he managed to get the position of governor of Huazhou. Now he wants to let him
Come to dig the Yellow River?
Jiang Xuanhui looked at Wang Yin with some sympathy, but still said: "Wang Shijun, I can't hesitate anymore. I'm going to find someone to take action today.
Wang Yin nodded numbly, then sighed and walked down the river embankment.
In the afternoon, a large group of sergeants and servants appeared at the river embankment southwest of Huazhou.
Huazhou faces a large river to the west, and the dikes are divided into old dikes and new dikes. The old dikes have long been damaged and have become part of the Yellow River channel.
In the fourth year of Xiantong, because the old embankment was often soaked by water and easily damaged, a new embankment was built four miles to the east. In other words, these four miles of land were abandoned and became part of the Yellow River channel. What needs to be dug now is
This new embankment.
Jiang Xuanhui didn't want to see it anymore, so he went back to Huazhou City directly.
We passed several villages on the road. The floods in the villages overflowed, all the houses were submerged, and the people lived in boats. Many people dragged their families and families and headed for the city, panicking as if it was the end of the world.
After dinner at dusk, a follower hurried in and whispered in Jiang Xuanhui's ear for a long time. Jiang Xuanhui sighed. The dike was finally dug open, and the raging flood broke through the barrier and headed eastward.
He could imagine that the Yellow River is divided into three here. The ancient Yellow River flood discharge channel on the boundary of Weizhou is one, but the terrain on both sides of the river is high, so it is not a big problem; the main river is one, and the water is already extremely turbulent; now there are many states in Huazhou
The county is also considered a temporary river channel.
When the flood overflowed, all the crops were damaged and no harvest was harvested. Many people drowned, and tens of thousands of people were probably killed!
In the 18th year of Kaihuang's reign and the 13th year of Daye in the former Sui Dynasty, the Yellow River flooded twice, killing tens of thousands of people each time. From the 18th year of Kaihuang to the 13th year of Daye, in just 19 years, the Yellow River in Henan and Shandong
The dike broke five times, which is incredible. These two father and son really don't care much about the people of Guandong.
The most serious flood on the Yellow River during the reign of Emperor Dezong was probably in the eighth year of Emperor Zhenyuan (792), when more than 40 states in Henan, Hebei, and Jianghuai were flooded, killing more than 20,000 people.
How many people will die this time? Jiang Xuanhui cannot imagine.
He could only comfort himself, at least there would be fewer deaths than the military disaster. Li Keyong had been tossing in Hebei for so long, and the people fled, with hundreds of thousands of casualties, maybe even 200,000 or 300,000. Isn't it much more terrible than the flood?
Huazhou is doomed this year! Pu, Yun, Chong and other states to the east are probably going to have a hard time too, and they will jump up and curse at their mothers.
No matter what! What do the Tianping Army and Taining Army do to me?
Zhu Quanzhong was ignoring the raging flood, while Shao Shude was stepping up his offensive.
The Tianxiong Army and Tu Tuan Xiangfu took turns to attack the city, and the fighting was extremely fierce until the heavy rain came. At this time, the Dingyuan Army on the South Road had already set up camp in the Longmenyi area behind Yique Pass, and the Shunyi Army directly
To the south, they captured the empty-defense Yique County two days later. This was considered as a double insurance and tightly surrounded the thousands of Wei Rong troops.
Regarding this Guancheng, Li Tangbin's opinion was to maintain a certain military pressure, continue the attack, and at the same time send people to persuade them to surrender. Shao Shude had no objection, because he could not think of any reason for the defenders of Yique Pass to persist.
From the beginning, this was a dead end for them.
Guancheng cannot retreat. Once it retreats, it will be suppressed by the Tianxiong army and chased and beaten. If it does not retreat, it will only watch as its retreat is cut off and it becomes an isolated city.
Of course, this is not the fault of Wei Rongjun or Zhang Guiba. In fact, it was caused by the overall defeat of Liang Jun. If we really want to follow the trend, the defeat in Luoyang is destined to end today. To put it bluntly, Luo Ru will not
You should keep it—but what if you don’t? The situation seems to be even worse.
The situation is over!
Hu Zhen appeared again. He volunteered to enter Yique Pass and was brought to Zhang Guiba.
It was raining heavily and the atmosphere was quite harmonious. At least Zhang Guiba didn't kill him immediately and even invited him to drink. This was a good start.
"The wars fought by King Xia are different from those more than ten years ago." Zhang Guiba's eyes were wandering, as if he was recalling something: In the east of Chang'an, Huang You's army fell into his hands. Alas, it's just that...
At that time, the king of Xia fought bravely and vigorously. He fought against Meng Kai at Shenggao Station, defeated Zhang Quanyi in Gaoling County, and defeated Li Tangbin in Sanyuan County. They all fought in array, defeating the enemy in one fell swoop and winning people's hearts. How come the more troops and horses he had under his command, the more he defeated him?
You have to be more cautious, why?"
Hu Zhen recalled it carefully and felt a little sad.
In the battle of Tongzhou, Zhu Quanzhong had only ten thousand men under his command. Shao Shude, Zhuge Shuang, Zhu Mei, and Yi Zhao combined forces of twenty to thirty thousand men, either Hedong soldiers or Xia Sui border troops. They used the many to bully the few and beat them until they could not find their way to the north.
The battle Zhang Guiba mentioned should be the Battle of Dongwei Bridge. Zhuge Shuang, Shao Shude, Li Xiaochang, and Li Xiang broke out of the nest army and took Huang You's head. Zhang Guiba's three brothers should be in the army.
In the middle of the night, he escaped.
"The King of Liang has always wanted to have a decisive battle with the King of Xia." Zhang Guiba smiled and said: "If this battle can be successful, I will definitely lead the army to charge and destroy the front and break the sharp edge. I will meet Tianxiong, Wuwei, and Tielin who will be famous in Dahe.
Army, even if you die, you have no regrets, but if you lose, you will be convinced.
"The more soldiers there are, the more cautious we need to be." Hu Zhen subconsciously defended Shao Shude, saying: "In the battle of Luoyang in the early years of the Chinese dynasty, Dou Jiande was captured in one battle, which made the world laugh. If he was not in a hurry for success, there would be deep trenches and high fortresses.
, focusing on defense, and then using the strategies of his staff to take advantage of the opportunity to attack Puzhou and enter Guanzhong. If Taizong wants to win, it will not happen overnight.
In the early years of Li Tang, Hedong was really empty. His aides advised Dou Jiande not to rush into a decisive battle, but to capture Hedong and then detour into Guanzhong to contact the Turks and move southward in a large scale, so that Li and Tang could not care about each other. However, he sent 100,000 soldiers and horses in one battle.
So later, with the support of the Turks, Liu Heitai fought in Shandong and Hebei, defeated famous generals in a row, and killed countless Tang troops, but his strength was actually greatly insufficient.
Zhang Guiba smiled and said: "That's right. The king of Xia is very stable in his military use. Judging from today's momentum, as long as he doesn't suffer a disastrous defeat like Dou Jiande and fights steadily, he will have no problem becoming the emperor like the later Zhou Dynasty.
There is a great possibility in the world. The old man Yuan Cong who followed King Xia can rest assured. Their lord is not the kind of person who wastes money in wars.
"The King of Xia is benevolent and generous. As long as he surrenders talents, he can also gain wealth and honor." Hu Zhen said: "General Zhang is brave enough to win the title of Mu Liang. If you can join the King of Xia, you will not have to worry about wealth and honor."
Zhang Guihou sighed and said, "It's too late. I wish I hadn't met King Xia earlier." Hu Zhen thought about it, then smiled and said, "Actually, there is still a chance."
Zhang Guiba glanced at him, half-smiling.
"Xian Kunzhong and the other three are all famous generals. I heard that Zhu Quanzhong was recruiting troops in Mu Song Dynasty and asked his younger brother Gui Bian to train them, which shows their trust. Gui Hou also commanded all the elite soldiers in the hall, who were brave and good at fighting." Hu Zhen paused and said: "If
If all three brothers join the King of Xia, wouldn't it be a good news for a while? Is there any need to worry about being rich?"
Hu Zhen's words would have been a big problem six or seven years ago. This is because Zhu Quanzhong had a high prestige at that time and had strong control over his subordinates. He enforced orders and prohibitions, and no one dared to talk nonsense. It was not easy to rebel and surrender.
But now, the signs of warlordism in the army have slowly emerged. When the army is damaged in battle, the generals often recruit troops to replenish the establishment, and even form pro-armies. For example, in the towns of Caozhou, Shu Cong of the Suzhou clan has formed at least one capital.
Zhu Quanzhong could only open his eyes and close his eyes.
Among the four of Ding Hui, Pang Shigu, Shi Shucong, and Zhu Zhen, Pang Shigu is probably the most honest, and Shi Shucong may be more obedient, but Ding Hui, Zhu Zhen, and Hu Zhen are the most honest.
Their understanding means they have a lot of little thoughts now.
It can also be seen from this that the strength and weakness between the monarch and his ministers is not static, but is dynamically changing. To put it bluntly, it is still a matter of prestige. There is always a game between people. If the lord is always victorious and the situation is good, then the prestige is higher.
If it is high, it will have an advantage in the game between monarch and ministers, but if it is not high, it will be at a disadvantage and have to give up part of its power.
"The King of Xia has such a big appetite." Zhang Guiba sighed: "The Wei Rong Army has 6,500 infantry and cavalry. The people I brought are no problem, as are the soldiers from Ruzhou and the sergeants from Tu Tuanxiang Yong. The rest of the sergeants are also no problem. , surrounded on all sides, it is not difficult to convince them to surrender. However, the hall is not so easy to surrender, and my brother is afraid that it will be difficult to control. As for the new army, let's see..."
When Zhang Guiba talked about the difficulty of surrender, he did not mention his family from beginning to end, but only talked about the attitude of the sergeants.
In fact, his eldest son Zhang Handing is a hostage in Muzhou, and his family is in Ruzhou. In his eyes, these are not obstacles to surrender. So what if the whole family dies? At the worst, he can just marry and have children. It is really impossible to adopt an adopted son to continue. Incense is fine, that's not a problem. The problem is how to convince the big soldiers to surrender with you.
"It all depends on people." Hu Zhen said with a smile: "Let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart. With so many soldiers and horses and so many officers and generals in Muzhou, can King Xia replace them all? Doesn't he have to retain a large number of them? If you surrender early, you will gain early, but if you surrender late, you will suffer losses. If the king of Xia wants to buy horse bones with a large sum of money, isn't that an opportunity?
"In the battle of Luoyang, King Xia's biggest achievement was to win over you, Hu Dalang." Zhang Guiba shook his head and said.