Shao Shude personally led the team, including Yin'anzhi, General Tutu and a portion of the Yameni Army, a total of nearly 15,000 people who stayed behind in Shouzhang. General Tutu had returned to Yunzhou to rebuild.
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the army arrived at the Dai Guesthouse in the northeast of Junye County and set up camp.
Shao Shude, accompanied by the Silver Saddle Knight, inspected the enemy city.
This is a small, square city with a circumference of only a few miles. There is a stockade about four miles east of the city, located on the bank of Onozawa, far across from the city.
Onezawa is located five miles east of Juye County, three hundred miles north and south, and more than a hundred miles east and west. It is one of the ten shoals in Erya.
"The village is very well built, but the Great Noze is frozen, so all the efforts are in vain." Shao Shude said with a smile.
Dayezawa is a good place. The water surface is extremely vast and was collected by the ancient Jishui River. Now the Jishui channel also passes through this lake. In the Song Dynasty, due to the breach of the Yellow River, the torrent surged down and "joined forces" with Dayezawa and was submerged.
Large areas of farmland, towns, and floods have overflowed to the foot of Liangshan Mountain between Yuncheng and Shouzhang, forming the larger Liangshan Lake.
Onozawa is rich in aquatic products, and there are irrigation canals built by the imperial court nearby. It is a very good agricultural area, and Yunzhou benefits greatly from it.
This is a fertile land with great potential, at least in the agricultural era.
"It's been three days, and the bandits in the field have almost been wiped out. Send an order to Ge Congzhou. If you don't break the stronghold before noon tomorrow, come and see him." Shao Shude whipped his whip and rode back to the camp.
Ge Congzhou was temporarily appointed as the capital commander. He commanded the Longxiang, Guangsheng, and Shenjie armies of about 30,000 people, stationed in the west, south, and east directions of Juye, leaving only the north of the city, with a standard encirclement of three towers and one tower.
After Shao Shude led more than 10,000 people southward, the space for the Juye defenders to escape became even smaller.
According to the information provided by Ge Congzhou, there are about 4,000 Juye defenders. Excluding some who failed to return in time, there are still about 3,000 people in the city. The defender is Liu Cun. He may have recruited some of the strong men in the city, and the number should be more than 3,000.
Three thousand, but not too much, five thousand is as high as the sky.
This number of sergeants was obviously unable to withstand the siege of tens of thousands of Xia troops. What's more, the news that Zhu Wei was killed and Yunzhou was occupied spread. People in the city were panicked and their morale was greatly weakened. No one wanted to die. In fact, Shao Shude went south.
Part of the reason was Liu Cun's request to see him.
But I don't know what happened. During the few days he went south, the envoys sent to Juye were kicked out again. It seemed that the defenders in the city had different opinions. It was hard to say who had the upper hand.
After the order to attack the stronghold was given, Ge Congzhou did not dare to neglect and immediately ordered Wang Tan, the Shenjie Army stationed in the east of the city, to lead his troops to attack.
The Shenjie Army now has about 8,000 people, the smallest number among the three armies of Guangsheng. Wang Tan and Hua Wenqi have good reasons to suspect that Ge Congzhou is consuming dissidents, but in the current situation, they dare not say anything nonsense:
King Xia is watching.
The battle started in the afternoon. Hua Wenqi, the deputy commander of the Shenjie Army, personally led the team and charged and fought fiercely.
Shao Shude was sitting in the camp, not very interested in the battle process. He had experienced hundreds of thousands of people fighting, and it was really difficult for him to pay attention to this kind of offensive and defensive battle involving tens of thousands of people.
"Your Majesty, the National Guard Army captured Pingyin. The Jianrui and Zhongwu armies captured Yanggu and Dong'a, captured Jishui Pass, and surrounded Lu County." Du Guangyi now acted as a staff officer.
After staying in Puzhou for such a long time, he now has a very deep understanding of the war. After analyzing it, he said clearly: "The Feilong Army has abandoned Changqing County and moved south into Yanzhou. The frontline is directed at Laiwu. This place is critical, and the Yan soldiers
There are many of them, and Zhu Jin does not dare to let the Feilong Army conquer them, and will definitely send troops to rescue them."
Laiwu is a county under Yanzhou. Although it has been repeatedly built and abandoned, the city is not small in size and relatively new.
This city is mainly engaged in the metal smelting industry, with iron smelting 13, copper smelting 18, copper pit 4, and tin production. There is Puji Canal more than ten miles northwest of the county, and agriculture is not bad. This is actually an industrial and agricultural area.
Zhu Jin found a treasure in a county with a very good foundation.
"Let's do it like this. First mobilize the Yan soldiers so that they don't want to interfere in other places, and then deal with them later." Shao Shude said: "Yanzhou is the essence of Yanzhen. The battle between me and Zhu Jin will definitely happen there."
The Taining Army Jiedushi governed the four prefectures of Yanzhou, Hai, Yi, and Mi, but the combined population of the latter three prefectures was not as large as that of Yanzhou, and the agriculture, commerce, and handicraft industries were even more incomparable. If Zhu Jinruo lost this place, the situation would be gone.
"The King's Normal Conference of Ziqing Town should also be gathering sergeants to prepare the supplies needed for the expedition." Du Guangyi added: "Qizhou is the key to my battle with the enemy."
To be more precise, Qizhou is the most suitable battlefield for both sides due to factors such as terrain and transportation.
"Of the three vassal towns, Ziqing Town is the strongest, richest, and has the most soldiers, but Yun and Yaner Town are the most stubborn. If Zhu Jin can be defeated, Pinglu Army alone will be easy to deal with." Shao Shude commented: "
Sergeant Qingzhen has not seen blood for a long time, so he must fight them quickly. If they can annihilate their main force in a few battles, they will quickly lose confidence. But if the delay is too long, Sergeant Ziqing will gradually adapt to the battlefield.
Then it will be more difficult to deal with than Yun and Yaner Town."
"Your Majesty is so confident, and I admire you so much." Du Guangyi said sincerely.
The King of Xia has been in the military for twenty years, and now he has a very sophisticated vision. When he first arrives at a place, he can judge many things through various details, which a fledgling general cannot do.
"Your Majesty." Yang Hongyin, commander of Yin'anzhi, came in and reported: "The village has been captured."
"Oh? So fast?" Shao Shude was a little surprised.
"Now that the king is here, no one will dare to cheat or cheat anymore," Du Guangyi said.
Yang Hongyin glanced at him and frowned secretly.
Shao Shude didn't look very good. Du Guangyi's meaning was obvious. Before he came, everyone was cheating.
He would not easily believe Du Guangyi's words, but he felt that this phenomenon existed to some extent.
"Come with me out of the camp and take a look." He immediately stood up and left the tent.
Wang Tan's general's flag had been planted in the camp, and soon a sergeant came to report: The Shenjie Army had killed a thousand people, captured six hundred, and hundreds of thieves were scattered, and they had sent people to pursue them.
"Have the defenders in the city ever attacked?" Shao Shude asked.
"Never."
Shao Shude knew it well. He glanced at Du Guangyi, who saw beads of sweat on his forehead.
There was a faint noise of drumming coming from the top of the city.
Kang Yanxiao stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the bandit army may leave the city, or they can take shelter for a while."
"What should I be afraid of when General Tu's son is here?" Shao Shude looked at the sergeants waiting behind him and said loudly.
Ahem, asking for military support has almost become his instinct.
"Your Highness, King Xia, is here, a certain Liu Cun, please tell me in person." A high-pitched voice suddenly sounded from the top of the city.
Shao Shude signaled, and Yang Hongyin understood what he meant. He rode his horse forward and said, "Your Highness is here. Does General Liu want to surrender?"
There was silence at the top of the city for a long time. After a while, the high-pitched voice sounded again: "If Your Highness can treat Sergeant Yunchen kindly, it will be a good idea for us to surrender."
"How to treat the Fa kindly?" Yang Hongyin continued to ask.
"I know that His Highness is true to his word. If Your Highness promises not to lay off Yunchen's sergeants and disrupt everyone's livelihood, we will immediately march to the city and ask for surrender." Liu Cun replied: "If you can't, even though you know you will die,
I will also be determined and stick to the end.”
"How many Yun soldiers have been eliminated?" Shao Shude asked.
"There are always more than 6,000 people," Du Guangyi replied.
Shao Shude calculated that there were probably three thousand serious soldiers in Juye, less than three thousand in Lu County, and excluding the men and horses in Qizhou, it was estimated that there were only two to three thousand scattered in the wild.
There were more than 20,000 soldiers in Yuncheng, but they were in a desperate situation after being attacked by him in such a surprise attack.
"Let Liu Cun come out to see me. I will not harm his life. Even if the negotiation fails, I will let him return to the city and keep his word." Shao Shude said.
Yang Hongyin quickly conveyed his meaning.
There was another silence at the top of the city, and there was no movement for a long time. Just when everyone was getting a little impatient, the city gate suddenly opened, and dozens of riders filed out.
Du Guangyi, Kang Yanxiao, Zhe Butai, and Yang Hongyin all looked at Shao Shude in amazement.
Shao Shude smiled. You have been true to your word for more than twenty years and have never broken your promises. Even your enemies believe in you. This is indeed a good reputation.
Liu Cun waved his hand to stop the knight who was about to come forward with him, got off his horse, handed over his bow tip, sword, and horse harness to his soldiers, and walked forward.
As they approached, the Yin Anzhi soldiers took a few steps forward. After some inspection, Liu was stored away.
"I have met Your Highness." Liu Cun bowed and saluted.
"General Liu is well." Shao Shude returned the greeting and asked: "General Liu, does he know how many troops and horses are outside the city?"
"There are always 40,000 to 50,000 people." Liu Cun replied after thinking for a while.
Du Guangyi glanced at him and thought to himself: Knowing that there are tens of thousands of troops surrounding the city and still defending it, what a bunch of cheap people!
"Why don't you surrender? I heard that He Gui is friendly to you. He is a general in Puzhou. His family has a high house, more than ten wives and concubines, and a house full of children. If you continue to defend, you will only die. Why bother?" Shao Shude asked.
.
Liu Cun sighed and said, "If I don't want to defend to the death, I really can't bear to have the soldiers lose their livelihood."
Shao Shude snorted, but he still wasn't beaten enough!
Historically, he was beaten by Zhu Quanzhong for ten years, and finally he ran out of energy and became honest. In this time and space, from the fall of Sanzhu to the departure of Xia Jundong in the second year of Dashun, he was beaten to death for five years. In the past seven years, they have not fought many wars. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief, but he still needed a beating.
"What do you want?" Shao Shude asked.
"If Your Highness allows us to continue to serve in the army, I would like to serve as the governor of the Tianping Army." Liu Cun said.
"Still serving as a soldier in Yunzhou?"
"Exactly."
Shao Shude thought secretly.
This should not only be the idea of the sergeant in Yuncheng, but the collective idea of the warriors in the three towns of Yun, Yan and Qing. By extension, the warriors in the towns in Hebei also have this appeal, but their demands are even higher. Can only accept vassalage.
Still got less beatings!
Historically, in the fourth year of Qianning (897), the two towns of Yun and Yan were defeated miserably, and the rest surrendered to Zhu Quanzhong. Lao Zhu already had a lot of soldiers at that time, but he did not abolish the sergeants of these two towns. Instead, he began to reorganize them in 898. More than 200,000 horses were reduced to less than 200,000.
Yun, the sergeants of Yan'er Town probably didn't get the favor either. They were driven south by Lao Zhu to attack Yang Xingmi. They suffered heavy losses in the battle of Qingkou. After reorganizing after returning, there probably weren't many left.
"I want to attack Hedong and recruit soldiers from Yuncheng. Are you willing to accompany me?" Shao Shude asked.
Liu Cun choked.
"Go away!" Shao Shude said angrily: "You dare to negotiate terms with me. Go back. I will order an attack on the city. When the city was broken, the soldiers of Yuncheng did not leave a blade of grass behind."
"Get lost!" Kang Yanxiao and others shouted angrily.
"Get out!" The soldiers of the tug-of-war army hit the ground with their poles and shouted in unison.
The roar of nine thousand people was so spectacular that it soared into the sky, causing the whole country to be silent for a moment.
