After the Spring Society Festival on February 2, Zhu Xuan left Yunzhou and headed west with two thousand horses.
Yunzhou is not far from Puzhou. Starting from Lisuochang County, passing through Shouzhang County and Fan County, it only takes 170 miles to reach Lisuojuan City in Puzhou.
"Commander, there are only three thousand soldiers in Pu, and there are only more than five thousand in General He's army. Is it too risky for us to go?" Liu Cun, the general of the Yamen, chased after him on horseback and asked with some worry.
"What's the point of having few soldiers?" Zhu Xuan laughed and said, "The people of Puzhou have resisted thieves for ten years and have practiced martial arts. If I go to the city and raise my arms, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses will be at my fingertips, so why worry?"
Liu Cun felt relieved.
The war between Bian and Yun towns lasted for many years. Yunzhou was the one under attack. The war was almost fought on the boundaries of Pu, Cao, and Yunzhous. The people were indeed expropriated from time to time, but their fighting qualities were still good.
They are weak people who just flee from the enemy. On the contrary, there are many people practicing martial arts among the people and many people defecting to the army. With such a trend, there is really no need to worry too much.
Zhu Xuan glanced at Liu Cun and saw that he was still a little worried. He asked with a smile: "Is it because he thinks Shaolun has no ability? Yes, he is indeed not very courageous and has average martial arts skills. But when the Wei people came to kill me, I led the army to fight. Afterwards, the troops elected
Jieshuai, Shao Lun, was one of the first few to support him. Over the years, he has also tried his best to raise food and grass, and has continued to pay tribute. With this ability, it is enough. He is not missing when fighting in battle. These days, there are many loyal people.
It’s so easy to find.”
Liu Cun nodded in agreement.
Since the difficult times, the vassal towns have been divided and the warriors are unruly. Shao Lun is very submissive, especially in the past year. He is also very good at doing things. Many people have accepted gifts from him. Liu Cun also accepted a dancing girl. This man is indeed
He has an exquisite appearance, somewhat similar to Zhang Quanyi from Henan.
"Commander, I have heard that the Liang people are besieging Yingzhou and the fighting is extremely fierce. The Xia soldiers are advancing very quickly and they have reached the hinterland of Bianliang." Liu Cun said: "I received news yesterday that Qi Banzhang is in Bozhou.
, even the two counties of Chengdu and Yongcheng were defeated with great momentum. The general did not expect that they fought so fast, and the land of Liang was really too empty. "
"This is something we should consider sincerely." Zhu Xuan said: "It seems that Zhu Quanzhong has nothing to do. If we continue to fight like this, let alone turn defeat into victory, it will be better if we don't die quickly."
Liu Cunshen thought so. Since the Chao Rebellion, the world has been in chaos, and towns have invaded each other. In the competition to this day, Shao Shude, who quickly integrated the Kansai region, has gained a great advantage. Originally, Zhu Quanzhong, the strongest man in the Central Plains, launched a fierce offensive and defensive battle with him.
After six or seven years, I could no longer hold on.
Liu Cun couldn't understand why Guanxi, which had been prosperous in singing and dancing since the Mu Zong Dynasty and gradually weakened in military armament, could suddenly be defeated? It's not that he looked down on them. They wanted money but no money, no people, no craftsmen, and no craftsmen. But the Central Plains was rich.
You have been training in wars all the time, so how come you were beaten like this?
It should be absolutely impossible for Kansai to rise in these troubled times. This is not the early years of the Kingdom. Times have changed. Kanto far exceeds Kansai, both in terms of wealth and military combat effectiveness. How could this happen?
"Wei Boluo Hongxin provided a lot of money and food last year. Maybe we will increase our efforts this year. Will we send troops to help?" Liu Cun asked again.
"It's unlikely. It wasn't decades ago." Zhu Xuan said: "The towns in Hebei have been resisting the imperial court for many years, and it has become instinctive. Now Shao Shude is the imperial court, and during the Yuanhe period of Emperor Xianzong, there were 186,000 soldiers.
Thousands of people are still capable of fighting. Shude now has more than 200,000 soldiers, which is no worse than the Shence Army back then, or even stronger. It is normal for Wei Bo to be wary of them. But Wei Bo is not what he used to be when he fought against Kansai
It is true that the imperial court is instinctive, but over the past few decades, the sergeants have become more and more unruly, and the Jiedushi can no longer decide everything. The Weibo warriors may be happy to provide money, food, war horses, and equipment to support Bianzhou, but sending troops is another matter.
It's over, unless Zhu Quanzhong is about to be defeated."
In fact, the feudal towns in Hebei were not the only ones resisting the imperial court. Since the difficult times, it has become the instinct of the towns in the north to bargain with the imperial court and maintain their independent or semi-independent status. The imperial court has sent troops several times to conquer the proud vassals and rebel against the vassals. Every time I see these vassal towns
They were about to be beaten to death. The other vassal towns that sent troops with the imperial court were unable to do their work. They even defected directly to the other side, making the counter-insurgency a waste of time and even unable to continue the fight. The imperial court pinched its nose and tried to find peace.
Basically, all the vassals and towns were of the same spirit and had a tacit understanding with each other. Whoever was stronger would fight. In the past, if the imperial court was the strongest, they would unite to fight against the imperial court. When Zhu Quanzhong was strong, he had no time to attack the Tianping Army and the Taining Army.
If something happens to Pu, people will jump out to rescue these two towns.
Li Keyong had plans for Hebei, so Youzhou, Chengde, Cangjing and other towns united to put aside their previous grievances and unite to deal with Li Keyong. After more than a hundred years, this method of combining vertical and horizontal lines has also been
It has become instinctive.
The three towns of Wei Bo, Xuanwu and Huainan now treat Shao Shude as a court, but Zhu Xuan feels that the effect may not be as good as it was decades ago. Wei Bo's warriors are too unruly and it is difficult to be a military commander.
On the evening of the fourth day of February, Zhu Xuan arrived in Puzhou with two thousand cavalry, and the governor Shao Lun personally went out of the city three miles to greet him.
After entering the city together, Shao Lun prepared a banquet at Yongdingyi. Zhu Xuan happily went there, and there was naturally a lot of drinking, singing and dancing during the banquet.
The two thousand sergeants who came with Zhu Xuan were also entertained with food and drinks, but they were at the military camp.
"Tomorrow I will review the state soldiers, so be prepared." In Yongding Post, Zhu Xuan was slightly drunk and said with a smile: "Also, call Liang Hanyong to Juancheng, I want to ask him when he will leave. Wait and see.
If you don't leave now, you must have some agenda."
"With the might of a handsome man, what dare Liang Hanyong do?" Shao Lun laughed and ordered another drink.
Zhu Xuan also laughed, picked up the wine bottle and drank it all in one gulp, saying: "It can't be compared to the past. Alas, it would be a real fight."
During the Zhonghe period, Han Jian, the governor of Wei Bo, led his troops across the Yellow River and attacked Yunzhou. At that time, the Wei army was outnumbered and well-equipped. However, Cao Cunshi, the governor of the Tianping Army, still did not bother to defend the city and led his army in a field battle. As a result, he was defeated.
He died and Yunzhou was besieged.
At this critical moment when all the troops were without a leader, Zhu Xuan stepped forward and led his troops to defend the city. The Wei army failed to attack the city for half a year, and then rescued the siege. Zhu Xuan's reputation greatly increased and he became the military governor.
At that time, Zhu Xuan was heroic and brave, which was completely different from that of this meeting.
But Zhu Xuan did not learn Cao Cunshi's lesson. Later, when he fought with Liang Jun, he also did not defend the city. He repeatedly led his troops into battle, trying to defeat the strong with the weak and defeat the enemy in the field, but the results always disappointed him.
The courage to dare to fight in the field is commendable, but one should be clearly aware of the gap in strength. Zhu Xuan later realized it, but the main force had been annihilated and could only do nothing.
This time I came to Puzhou, did my old habit relapse? These warriors are not afraid of death!
"Why are you debasing yourself, Marshal?" Shao Lun poured another full glass for Zhu Xuan and said with a smile: "Now the whole town is counting on the Marshal to hold up the sky of Yunzhou. Please have another drink."
"You!" Zhu Xuan felt happy and said with a smile: "If you don't have two brushes in the war, you will pick up nice things to say. If Quanzhong was not in great embarrassment and was unable to move eastward, I wouldn't trust you to leave Puzhou to you.
.”
Shao Lun laughed twice and said: "My servant has no other skills, so he leads the commander's horse and holds the stirrup. He is willing to do so."
"Okay!" Zhu Xuan drank it all in one gulp, his face flushed, and said: "Don't worry, the wealth of your descendants will be on me. As long as Zhu Quanzhong can withstand it, the world will remain the same, even if the emperor changes.
Same."
Although this was Zhu Xuan's drunken talk, it really made him talk about it.
In the Five Dynasties Dynasty in history, the emperor was just the largest warlord, and there were a bunch of small warlords underneath, but they were not truly unified. Even in the Later Tang Dynasty, which had the largest territory, the territory actually controlled by the emperor was not as large as imagined. It's not that they didn't want to
, in fact, starting from Zhu Wen of the Later Liang Dynasty, the elimination of vassal vassals has been the emperor's top priority.
Zhu Wen killed so many veterans, not because he was crazy, but more likely because he felt that his time was running out, his health was not good, and his son was not very capable, so he did it as a last resort. As a result, internal disunity and morale were low.
The combat effectiveness of the army plummeted, allowing the resurgent Hedong to take advantage.
In the five dynasties of the imperial court, each generation was trying to cut down the vassals, each generation was trying to find ways to eliminate the warlords' separatist base, and each generation was trying to change the people's hearts. For this reason, not too many emperors played themselves to death. Finally, in the Northern Song Dynasty, the last
He reduced his military power once and finally succeeded.
Zhu Xuan also saw that Li Tang's world was not going well, and would probably be replaced by Shao Shude. But his ideal world was for Shao to become emperor and become a saint. However, there were still many vassal towns in the area, and everyone paid for them with land.
Children and grandchildren, continue to live happily.
It's not just Zhu Xuan who thinks this way, maybe this is the mainstream thinking of Wu Fu. They are all ruthless people who won't shed tears until they see the coffin. No one tries to hand over the power they enjoy before they are afraid of being killed.
What they pursue is not only wealth, but also things that guarantee their wealth, such as force. Without the guarantee of force, wealth is just a matter of the emperor's word, and he can take it back as soon as he says it. There is no way.
After the banquet was over, Zhu Xuan, who was already drunk and unseemly, took a rest in Yongdingyi.
Shao Lun was also a little dizzy, and left with the help of his soldiers. Halfway through, he saw He Gui, who was also attending the banquet.
He Gui's eyes were clear and he didn't seem to be drunk at all. He nodded to Shao Lun imperceptibly and left.
Shao Lun understood. After returning to the mansion, he immediately asked someone to give him a basin of cold water. After washing his face, he felt much more awake. He found his trusted servant and whispered a few words in a low voice. The servant quickly left the mansion and disappeared into the vastness.
In the night.
Time passed minute by minute, Shao Lun was not sleepy and waited quietly.
At the first moment of the ugly moment, the north gate of Puzhou slowly opened, and a large group of sergeants, holding weapons wrapped in black cloth, quietly entered the city and went straight towards Yongdingyi.
The traditional drama, which has been performed frequently in various towns for more than a hundred years and is loved by the lower-level warriors, has begun again in Puzhou.