It takes time to mobilize troops and change defenses. It will be at least twenty days before Tianxiong's army moves south to Zhengzhou. Before that, from Zhongmou to Bianzhou, the two sides had only had small-scale contacts and continued to maintain low-intensity warfare.
Illusion.
On August 29, Zhu Quanzhong returned to Bianzhou from Huazhou: Thousands of people from Yangwu direction rushed toward the southeast. He personally led the Xiongwei, Longxiang, and Longhu armies to repel them, killing more than a thousand enemies.
The Tianwu Eighth Army has more than 50,000 soldiers and has suffered heavy losses in the past three months.
The Longxiang and Longhu armies originally numbered 13,000 to 4,000 people. After fighting for a period of time, they suffered too many losses and only had 10,000 men left. Now they have become almost majestic, flying over the vassals of the two armies and following them.
When fighting at the rear, they also serve as supplementary troops.
There are still 3,000 Tianwei troops left, with more than half of the casualties. They are no longer fighting in the field. They have supplemented the 2,000 Tutuan countrymen Zhu Quanzhong brought back from Yingbo. After being fully established, they were sent to Jujube to serve as city defense troops.
There are still 3,000 Shenwu troops in Xiangyi.
The Tianwu army in Weishi is less than three thousand.
Guangsheng, Shenjie, and Tianxing each had about 7,000 men. They had suffered some losses in the previous battles, so they added 3,000 men from Ying and Boxiangyong. The establishment was still complete.
The Guangsheng Army has just been transferred to Huazhou. The governor Wang Yin also has 3,000 state soldiers and 500 county soldiers, all of whom are under the command of Zhu Youwen, the commander of the Guangsheng Army.
The Shenjie and Tianxing armies used to go to war frequently, but as the situation became tense, they were now stationed in Yongqiu and Weicheng as garrison troops.
The five armies of Changzhi, Xiongwei, Feisheng, Longxiang, and Longhu are mobile field forces with nearly 40,000 people, and their scale is still very large. But to be honest, in the long run, Zhu Quanzhong cannot afford to support them, and it is not necessarily a bad thing to consume them appropriately.
.But if it consumes too much, it will be a big blow to the morale of the military. It is really a dilemma.
Another day of safe return!
Princess Liang Zhang Hui took off Zhu Quanzhong's shirt with her own hands and kept talking softly to try to ease her husband's nervousness and anxiety.
Zhu Quanzhong smiled gently. Marrying Mrs. Zhang in this life will really make a lot of money!
He is smart and virtuous, and when he is angry, he goes around the corner to intercede for others, and solves countless potential troubles for him. Decisions influenced by anger are not necessarily correct.
The officers and soldiers of the Liang army all knew that the princess was a good person, and she fought for many benefits for them and saved many lives. When the king of Liang went on an expedition, the princess personally led the women in the palace to make steamed cakes and sew military uniforms. She had a good image and stabilized the morale of some of the soldiers.
.
Zhu Quanzhong knew this very well, but he didn't mind. Husband and wife were one, and it was good for him that his wife was loved by the soldiers.
"Husband, it's the Double Ninth Festival soon. It's time to give some rewards to the soldiers. If the situation is like this, doing something is better than doing nothing." Zhang Hui took Zhu Quanzhong's hand and suggested.
Seeing the last step on his wife's head disappearing, Zhu Quanzhong suddenly felt a little ashamed. He should not think of so many messy things for such a good wife!
"I'm sorry, Madam." Zhu Quanzhong sighed and said, "Seven or eight years ago, we had great glory, but now we are in this state. If the war is like this, what can I say?"
"Husband, don't keep saying depressing words, things will get better." Mrs. Zhang said softly.
Zhu Quanzhong shook his head: "Now every time I go on an expedition, I am not sure that I can come back alive. If unfortunately I am defeated and die, I will be separated from my wife. Every time I think about this, it is like a heartache."
"If such a day comes, I should escape into Buddhism and pray for my husband."
Zhu Quanzhong was very moved after hearing this, but also a little disappointed. Zhang Hui had no desire to die and refused to die for him, so he felt awkward no matter what he thought.
Zhu Quanzhong suddenly felt a little uninterested, but he didn't show it. After having dinner under Zhang's service, he came to Jingxiang to discuss the matter.
"The thieves have thinned out Bajiao Town, causing people in Bianzhou to panic." Zhu Quanzhong pointed to the map on the desk and said, "Ten days ago, they even robbed us of our millet and wheat."
Food is not in short supply now.
Luo Hongxin did live up to Zhu Quanzhong's call of "Sixth Brother". Although he was not in good health, he still sent someone to send 600,000 dendrobium grains. Although compared with last year's one million dendrobium grains, the sudden reduction was a bit unacceptable.
, but at this time, it’s really nice that someone can still send you money and food.
If Luo Hongxin dies and Wei Bo makes some trouble again, he won't be able to give away the money and food if he can't keep it all, even if it is used as life money.
But there is no shortage of food, but there is a huge shortage of goods. The inventory in the treasury can cope with it this year, but at the latest in the summer and autumn of next year, once the two taxes are not collected, it will be difficult to persist unless most of the troops are demobilized.
In addition, what is lacking is not physical objects, but something invisible and intangible, that is, a sense of security.
Everyone knows that the King of Liang has suffered continuous defeats in recent years, and his territory has become smaller and smaller, but now it seems that he can still survive. This view of the general public is the human heart and morale, because soldiers are also human beings and they will also come into contact with the outside world.
, will be affected more or less partially.
But if people repeatedly harass the outskirts of the government, people will wonder what happened. Ordinary people have limited channels to obtain information. They may not have heard of the Xuzhou War, and can only speculate from what happened around them.
, Judgment. Since Bianzhou is so dangerous, people have reason to believe that all the outside territory has been lost and that the Liang King will be destroyed soon.
Therefore, both emotions and reasons must be used to prevent Xia Bing from getting closer to Bianzhou.
"Your Majesty, Zhongmu County and Wansheng Town are critical places. But in Xiangyi and the Wei family, the war is fierce. Is it appropriate to send troops at this time?" Jingxiang asked.
"We must take advantage of this moment." Zhu Quanzhong said: "In Zhongmou, if you win one of the ten thousand victories, the thieves will not dare to advance eastward so arrogantly. If you win the second, the situation on the western front will become stable. If you wait until the thieves capture Xiangyi
, it will be too late if Wei takes action again."
The army in Bianzhou City was always there to put out fires. Wherever the fighting was fierce, they would rush to the rescue and kill the enemy troops. In the past two or three months, Zhu Quanzhong could not remember how many times he had personally attacked.
Since defeating Qin Zongquan, killing Zhu Xuan, and Zhu Jin's army was defeated, he no longer did everything personally, and instead devoted most of his energy to internal affairs, power balance, and strategy formulation.
The Shao thief opposite is actually the same. After the group is stable, it will have its own rules for operating. You don't need to do everything yourself, and you can't control it.
But recently, he has often led his troops on expeditions, and the frequency is comparable to when he was still in the Chao Army. Controlling the troops and boosting morale have been very effective, and they can be maintained to this day.
If Zhongmou or Wansheng Town were to be attacked this time, Zhu Quanzhong still planned to lead the army himself.
"Does the king want to conquer in person?" Jingxiang asked.
Zhu Quanzhong nodded.
"I beg you, your Majesty, not to fall into danger." Jingxiang said: "The Xia thieves are attacking Jujube. It seems that they plan to capture Huazhou first and isolate Biancheng. If something happens in Huazhou, and your Majesty goes to fight in Zhongmou, he will be really passive."
Zhu Quanzhong thought about it seriously and sighed.
The current site is like a dilapidated house with air leakage everywhere. The autumn harvest has been completed, and the Xia bandit brigade is almost rested. Some people should be sent to attack one after another, and I am afraid it will be more difficult to attack by then.
"Maybe you can let the prince lead the troops to attack. If it really doesn't go well, you can withdraw and just save Bajiao Town." Jingxiang said: "Elite soldiers and fierce generals should not be thrown away lightly."
Zhu Quanzhong hesitated and fell into deep thought.
The eldest son Zhu Youyu commanded Changzhi's army of ten thousand people and was responsible for the war in the direction of Zhengzhou for a long time. However, Zhu Quanzhong was not satisfied with his performance because he was still unable to eliminate the threat to the west. Later, when the Xia people increased their troops, Zhu Youyu was even more unable to open the war.
The situation was over. Although Zhu Quanzhong knew that it would be the result no matter who he was, he was still disappointed.
When life is at stake, if you don't achieve some inspiring victory or achieve miraculous results, what if you can turn the situation around?
"Your Majesty..." Jingxiang called softly.
Zhu Quanzhong came to his senses and said: "Let Youyu go, I will lead the army to station in Bajiao as backup."
"Your Majesty is wise." Jingxiang cupped his hands and said.
"Why is there still no movement in Hedong?" After solving one thing, Zhu Quanzhong thought of another thing.
Wang Shifan left the army with great enthusiasm. Zhu Wei, Zhu Jin, and Yang Xingmi were all fighting against the Xia people. Could Li Keyong just sit back and watch?
It is true that when he was in power before, he looked down on Li Keyong a little, thinking that he could not govern the place and would be finished sooner or later. Even if he was not finished, after he had taken care of Shi Pu, Zhu Xuan, and Zhu Jin, he would personally conquer Hedong.
This Shatuozi was wiped out. But now, he is extremely looking forward to Li Keyong sending troops, even if he goes to Bianzhou to question him, at least the Jin army must occupy Heyang first, and then Luoyang can do this.
Why didn't he move? There was no movement at all. This guy is really short-sighted.
"Wei Bo has news that Li Keyong is in Youzhou and is afraid of fighting with the Xia bandits." Jingxiang replied: "I heard that Shao Shude sent Yang Yue, the Yamen general, with 100,000 horses to go east to attack Li Keyong's vassal tribe.
Ke Yong was so angry that he gathered a large army and stationed it in Youzhou, and will march in soon."
Shao Thief has so many soldiers! Zhu Quanzhong did not show it on the face, but he sighed secretly in his heart. At the same time, he was also a little lucky that these soldiers could not be used in the Central Plains due to logistical supply reasons, otherwise the pressure on Bianzhou would be even greater.
"As long as Li Keyong launches an attack, everything will be fine." Zhu Quanzhong suddenly laughed and said: "When I defeated Shi Pu, the towns were frightened and united to deal with me. It seems that the Shao thieves will also have a taste of this.
.”
The surrounding net will make you breathless. If you are not careful, you will spit out everything you have eaten. Even if you survive it, don't even think about making progress.
Shao Thief, don't ever try to unify the north in this life! Zhu Quanzhong thought darkly.
Once you die, there will be fun to watch. Whether it's the rebellion of veteran generals, the usurpation of power by relatives, or the vying for the throne, the dramas come one after another, making people dizzy.
If you were unlucky, it would be impossible for the Shaw Brothers to die. Your wife and daughter would be separated and subjected to all kinds of humiliation. A generation of traitors, you too will be here today.
For some reason, Zhu Quanzhong thought of his sister who had fallen into the hands of Shao Thief, and suddenly felt very boring.
"Commander, now we can only wait." Jingxiang agreed: "When the situation changes, everything is possible."
He still had nothing to say, and he had to preserve his own strength while waiting. But thinking about his current situation, his options seemed very limited.
Difficult! Difficult! Difficult! It takes one day at a time.