Xia Jun's left wing and Liang Jun's right wing moved from Luokou to Biankou and then to Zhengzhou. Both sides frequently mobilized troops and generals, and continued to gather troops.
Generally speaking, Liang Jun's superiority seems to want to use this momentum to launch a counterattack, at least hold the front line of Heyin, and then kill Xia Jun Xiangyong who has penetrated deep into Zhengzhou to boost morale and deter the thieves.
On December 21st, Quanzhong's eldest son Zhu Youyu led his army to the right wing and marched westward. Zhu Quanzhong personally climbed to the city tower to see him off.
A total of ten thousand elite troops, with bright armor, high morale and murderous intent, marched towards Guancheng.
At the same time, Ge Congzhou also aggressively recruited Tu Tuan villagers in Zhengzhou and obtained more than 30,000 people. Therefore, Ge Congzhou's group, which will reach 60,000 when gathered together, officially set out to launch a counterattack in Zhengzhou and annihilate some Xia people.
After the army, they then advanced to the Xuanmenguan area to pursue and kill the remaining enemies.
On the northern front, it seems that Liang Jun's situation is not bad, at least there is no fear of collapse.
Compared with them, Liang Jun on the southern front was at a disadvantage as a whole.
Yang Shihou finally led the Zhongwu Army southward and marched towards Caizhou. Kang Yanxiao, who acted as the de facto supervising army, followed closely with a bad look on his face.
These Zhongwu troops are really wild!
Since the beginning of Shao Shude's eastward invasion, Yang Shihou has been in charge of this part of the army. At the beginning, the number of troops was very small, only more than 2,000 people. Later, because he showed good ability and made some achievements, he commanded more and more troops. At present,
There are already six to seven thousand people, and he can be considered a small to medium-sized warlord.
Leading troops in Ru and Cai for many years, Yang Shihou managed the troops like an iron barrel. To be honest, Zhu Quanzhong had nothing to do with this situation.
The Zhao brothers in Xuzhou served as military envoys for three consecutive terms. They were very respectful to Zhu Quanzhong, providing soldiers, equipment, money, food, war horses and other resources, and even directly sent troops to fight. But even so, Zhu Quanzhong was still worried.
They, Yang Shihou, are the product of this kind of worry.
As a so-called confidant promoted by Zhu Quanzhong, it is in Zhu Quanzhong's interest to take charge of part of the Zhongwu Yamen Army, divide the power of the Zhao family, and "establish a separate central committee" within the Zhongwu Army. However, the side effects are also very obvious.
The prestige is too high, and the warlord tendency is very obvious.
Kang Yanxiao felt it as soon as he arrived at Shangcai.
The barracks were cleaned up, all kinds of supplies and equipment were arranged in an orderly manner, and the sergeants went out for training, and the sound of killing was loud. There is no doubt that this is a powerful force with combat effectiveness, and it is also in line with the status of loyal and elite soldiers. But the problem is that they
Only Yang Shihou obeyed, and everyone looked at him with malicious eyes. The hundreds of guards he brought with him seemed to be of no help at all. As long as Yang Shihou gave an order, they could be chopped into pulp.
Kang Yanxiao immediately sighed. The long war between Xia and Liang gave careerists a chance to take the lead. Moreover, because of the consecutive defeats, he had to deliberately win over, appease, and accommodate generals at all levels, which gave them further opportunities.
Chances are that people like Zhu Zhen who have been hidden in the snow can be reactivated, so what does Yang Shihou mean?
He felt that the Xia army might have the same problem. It was just because they had won consecutive battles and the lord's prestige was high enough that they covered up the problem. Sooner or later, they would have to pay it back.
"Kang Dutou, when will the Feilong Army arrive?" On the post road going south, Yang Shihou pursed his lips and spoke very little. Then he suddenly said something, which almost startled Kang Yanxiao.
"The Feilong Army should have left Yancheng and will arrive soon." Kang Yanxiao replied.
"Should?" Yang Shihou raised his eyebrows, his tone not very polite.
What a thief! Kang Yanxiao cursed in his heart, I am the head of the army, you can only defeat a military envoy, how dare you speak to me in such a tone?
"Zhe Zong's troops are not strong and his horses are not strong. They say there are more than 40,000 troops, but in fact there are only more than 20,000 people to fight. Why should we be afraid?" Kang Yanxiao said: "Xu, there are more than 10,000 Yamen soldiers in Cai'er Town, plus
The Feilong Army's powerful soldiers are no less powerful than Zhe Zongben, and with the support of the three cities of Caizhou, they have a great chance of winning. This eliminates the threat to Zhe Zongben all the way..."
"Okay, I understand." Yang Shihou waved his hand, interrupting Kang Yanxiao's words.
Kang Yanxiao couldn't bear it anymore and glared at him.
Yang Shihou seemed not to notice, and said to himself: "It's not that difficult to be in an invincible position. But as for winning, I don't think it will be easy. If nothing else, Dai Siyuan knows how to fight? Why appoint him as the commander of the capital?
It's better to let Kangdu go to you, then the soldiers will be more convinced."
However, your group of arrogant and powerful generals are not convinced by me! Kang Yanxiao secretly cursed.
In today's era, it is really desperate to have no soldiers. It is useless no matter how big the official is, as long as he can actually control the army. He is waiting for every camp, and he is not as effective as an army envoy or even a deputy envoy.
"There is still a lot to be done in the war." Kang Yanxiao said: "With all the ministries working together and relying on the army and people of Caizhou, it is not difficult to repel Zhe Zong. After defeating the thieves, we can take advantage of the situation to attack Tang and Deng, and in turn threaten the Xia people's rear.
. Or march east to Yingzhou, cooperate with the headquarters of the clan, and attack the Xia thieves guarding Yingzhou. As long as the thieves of Tang, Deng, and Huaixi are dealt with, the entire southern front will be refreshed, and the possibility of winning this battle will be greatly increased.
"
"How can Tangzhou be so easy to fight?" For some reason, Yang Shihou suddenly sighed.
Maybe he was remembering the past few years when he was constantly fighting with Zhe Zongben, Li Yanling, and Zhao Kuangning under Ding Hui's tent. Zhe Zongben led 7,000 soldiers south to Xiangyang, and later expanded the army to more than 20,000, and his combat effectiveness suddenly increased.
It has hit rock bottom, but the soldiers who have fought on the front lines over the years have all reported that the combat effectiveness of the Wei Sheng Army has increased year by year or even month by month. It is now very difficult to deal with and is no longer an easy target to defeat.
The two scouts, one behind the other, galloped over. Yang Shihou reined in his horse and waited quietly.
Soon, Marquis Yu led the scouts over and reported: "General, the northern city of Caizhou has been captured by thieves."
"Oh? So fast?" Yang Shihou was a little surprised.
Kang Yanxiao was also surprised, and even more annoyed. What did Zhang Quanyi do?
Beicheng, also called Beiguan City, is one of the three cities in Caizhou. It was captured by the Weisheng Army?
Caizhou, or Ruyang, is two miles northeast of Ru River. If Beiguan City is captured by bandits, it means that the bandits have obtained a stable stronghold on the other side of Ru River, which is much stronger than the fortress they set up randomly.
I can't save my wife and children, nor my city, so what's the use of this piece of Quanyi?
"Send the order, Yang Junfang will lead a thousand elite troops to clear the way first. The front scouts should be placed thirty miles away, the left and right scouts should be placed twenty miles away, and the rear scouts should be placed fifteen miles away. Follow the instructions immediately." Yang Shihou ordered.
"As ordered." The generals who rushed to Yang Shihou's horse responded one after another.
Kang Yanxiao watched silently. This army should be very united. With Yang Shihou as the core, it has formed its own system and outsiders cannot get in.
When the order was given, the army did not stop, but continued to advance. It can be seen that Yang Shihou was really not afraid of breaking Zongben. In his heart, perhaps he only had the worry of whether it was worth fighting.
…
Zhe Zongben left Beiguan City surrounded by his own soldiers.
Thousands of horsemen lined up in the wilderness.
The north wind is howling, flags and flags are flying, and people are shouting and horses are neighing. Looking from a distance, it looks like a picture of a well-fed horse riding high!
The Weisheng Army feels that its strength is steadily improving every year. Looking at their current state, the thousands of surrendered soldiers of the Youguo Army that were eaten in Ruzhou half a year ago should have been digested to a great extent.
The Weisheng Army, which swelled to more than 28,000 people, with the children of the Zhe family as the core and the Fengxiang Army as the backbone, gathered Xiangyang surrender troops, Jin Shang Manxi, Tang Dengzhou County warriors, and Liang Jun surrender troops. After several years
After time's training and integration, it has become a self-contained entity and has a certain combat effectiveness.
Compared with his son's Huaining Army, Zhe Zongben's Wei Sheng Army is indeed much stronger. This is the foundation on which the Zhe family relies to maintain wealth, and it may also be the cause of disaster, depending on how you deal with it.
"Let's get started." Ori Munemoto waved his hand.
Hundreds of prisoners were led to the front of the battle line. They thought they were going to be killed, and they cried and cried.
The top of Caizhou Zhongcheng was crowded with people, staring intently at the bottom of the city.
After a while, brothers Zhang Quanyi and Zhang Quanen also came to the city, with serious faces.
They did not expect that the bandit army would be so arrogant.
Zhang Quanyi still has more than 7,000 soldiers. Except for a small number of sergeants who are more experienced and have strong combat effectiveness, most of them are average. Among them are "new recruits" recruited this year and "sub-recruits" recruited and trained last year. In short, they are fighting in the field.
It definitely won't work, so we can defend the city.
Nancheng and Zhongcheng are integrated into one, and there are 5,500 heavy troops stationed there. Beiguan City has nearly 2,000 soldiers. Logically speaking, it can be defended for a long time, but after the Wei Sheng army arrived, they only besieged more than ten
On the same day, they completely captured the city, leaving brothers Zhang Quanyi and Zhang Quan'en dumbfounded.
Maybe the defeat outside the city was too heavy, and thousands of soldiers and horses were lost all at once, which made the new soldiers feel frightened, lacked fighting spirit, and had low morale. After more than ten days of siege, the veterans suffered too many losses, and the city was finally broken.
Zhang Quan'en is a little ashamed of this. If there hadn't been that big defeat, would the situation have been better?
"Why do your princes need to press each other so hard?" Zhang Quanyi, protected by a large shield, shouted loudly: "The King of Liang has sent envoys to Lingzhou and is willing to stop the army after repairing. We are all vassals of the Tang Dynasty, why do we need to invade each other?"
Wouldn't it be nice if we retreated and each defended our borders?"
After Zhe Zongben heard this, he laughed loudly. After saying a few words to a soldier, the man rode his horse forward and said loudly: "The good teacher Zhang Shizhong knows that the king of Xia defeated the Tatars of Yinshan Mountain and the Uighurs of Gaochang.
Court, captured and killed hundreds of thousands, which shocked the desert. Now the Tibetan and Han troops have sent 500,000 infantry and cavalry south, and will arrive in Henan in a few days. How many soldiers and horses does Zhang Shizhong have, can I resist?"
"If you surrender to the city at this time, you will not lose your wealth and honor."
"When the army breaks the city, all jade and stone will be burned, and it will be too late to regret it."
There was silence at the top of the city for a while, and then Zhang Quanyi drew his sword and said loudly: "No more words! Thief Shao and I are incompatible and will fight until death."
These words were encouraging, and the sergeants' views on Zhang Quanyi changed.
Hearing this, Zhe Zongben smiled coldly. He had already received news that Liang Jun was heading south from Shangcai and Yancheng. Zhang Quanyi must have known about it for a long time. With reinforcements from outside, he naturally spoke forcefully.
You have reinforcements, but I don’t have any reinforcements?