Ma Ke led his army to the south bank of the river.
The Xia people's defense was too loose. I don't know if there were even 10,000 people at a distance of hundreds of miles. Excluding those who defended the city, they probably only had a few thousand mobile troops.
Thousands of people, stay safe! Ma Ke only used a little trick, sending people to cut trees downstream and pretending to build a bridge, which attracted the attention of the Xia people. Then he secretly concealed Chen Cang, successfully broke through from the upper reaches to the south bank, and gained a foothold.
A camp has been set up at the ferry, and six thousand soldiers are busy chopping wood and herding horses.
On the other side of the river, grain and grass supplies were still being transported, and a large group of cavalry was waiting slowly, not in any hurry.
The vanguard army envoy Li Siben crossed the river in advance with a small number of soldiers.
"General Ma, where is Thief Shao?" Li Siben got off his horse lightly and asked.
"If the news is correct, he should still be in Qizhou. Why, General Li wants to attack Qizhou?" Ma Ke asked with a smile.
Li Siben thought about it seriously and said: "Your Majesty has not given an order. If there is a military order, what about an attack? It is better for a man to be wrapped in horse leather than to remain sick on his bed."
Ma Ke choked.
I wanted to ridicule Li Siben, but I didn't expect that he was a stupid young man. It was so boring.
Li Siben also secretly thought that it was impossible for these Hebei killing talents to submit to anyone. At this time, he did not forget to ask for some advantages in words. Their military commander Wang Rong was probably about the same.
"General Li." Beside the ferry, An Chongjie had just come from the north bank of the river. When he saw Li Siben, he immediately saluted respectfully.
He is a junior and came here with his father An Fuqian to see the world.
Fighting with the Khitans and Hebei people is nothing. The large-scale war with the Xia army is the most thrilling and the most training one.
"Where is He Dutou?" Li Siben asked.
"Still at Yangliudu, looking for an opportunity to cross the river." An Chongjie replied.
"Why is it so slow?" Li Siben asked curiously: "There are not many Xia soldiers in Lu County, so they can come over easily. The Zhao people are unreliable, and we still have to rely on our own people to fight the war."
An Zhongjie agreed.
Wang Rong, the governor of Chengde, resisted the idea of sending troops. One time he said that the sergeants were making noise, and another time he said that the equipment was not ready yet. In the end, he only sent one scissor bandit.
Compared with Chengde, Yi Ding is slightly more reliable, but this time they only dispatched 3,000 people, and the main force stayed in their hometown to help Youzhou defend.
"Although Chengde was defeated, he has always been unconvinced in his heart. He wants to get rid of us whenever he gets the chance. The general must be careful to prevent them from defecting before the battle." An Zhongjie reminded.
Li Siben sneered and said: "Zhao people are all cheap, they should be beaten up by the Xia thieves to know how powerful they are."
"If the Shao thieves attack Hebei, it will be fun. I have seen Wei Bo and Cheng De, and the scenery is not pleasing to the eye." An Zhongjie said with a smile: "But then again, if we don't interfere, we will give it to you.
Even in ten years, Shao would not be able to conquer Hebei."
Li Siben said: "It is impossible for Wang Rong and Luo Hongxin to give in if they don't hurt Wang Rong and Luo Hongxin. To conquer the world with one man, it is not done once or twice."
Li and An are chatting here, while Ma Ke has sent people out to scout over there.
The morale of the six thousand soldiers is not bad, not bad. Since Jian Koudu can be sent out to fight in other towns, and there is no trouble when he is dispatched, it shows a lot of things. Besides, the sergeants are not stupid, and they know the current situation.
One big difference between the sergeants in the vassal era and other dynasties in ancient times is that they understood the external situation better, which may be related to their in-depth participation in politics. The big-headed soldiers knew less, the junior officers knew a little more, and the mid-level and above officers were very
You see, this is both a good thing and a bad thing.
The good thing is that the sergeants know why they are fighting, and their combat effectiveness is relatively strong.
The bad thing is that the sergeants are no longer ignorant, are not easily fooled, and have strong subjective initiative, which provides a good foundation for collusion and making noises and troubles, giving the generals a headache.
Sometimes Ma Ke thought that it might be more troublesome to command a group of honest, ignorant sergeants, but these people were too weak in combat and could easily be defeated by the enemy. What could be done.
In the afternoon, Wang Chuzhi also led people across the river, and three thousand Yi Ding soldiers began to cut wood and set up camp.
So far, soldiers and horses from Chengde, Yiding, and Hedong towns have appeared along the way. The total number of troops crossing the river has exceeded 10,000, and they can carry out many combat missions.
****
Li Keyong has arrived in Bozhou.
Luo Hongxin sent his confidant Yang Li to go there in person and presented a batch of grain and grass.
"Why doesn't Commander Luo want to send troops?" Li Keyong wiped his sword and asked in a cold voice.
"Back to the King of Jin, Commander Luo is ill and it is really inconvenient for him to go on an expedition." Yang Li said after saluting.
"How can I trust you if we don't send troops?" Li Keyong said angrily.
Yang Li was not afraid at all, and replied: "The army in Henan is booming, and all the towns in Hebei want to use the east of the river as a screen. Why does the King of Jin doubt it?"
Li Ke blinked with his one eye and snorted coldly.
Forget it, Wei Bo sent troops, but he was still worried.
When the Xia and Jin armies were in formation, even if Wei Bo's army did not defect before the battle, he might flee first, or break up and run away after being beaten even slightly. He really didn't dare to ask for such a virtuous friendly army.
No one in this world can make them truly surrender.
Even if his sworn brother Shao Shude subdues these vassal towns, once Hedong shows signs of decline, they will immediately rebel, fight back, and strike hard from behind the Xia army.
In the same way, if Hedong occupies Henan, they will contact Shao Shude, secretly take refuge in Hedong, and attack Hedong. Even if they are defeated and temporarily surrender, they will secretly observe the situation and look for opportunities to fight back at all times.
"Why didn't Zhu Quanzhong stop him when he passed through Beizhou?" Li Keyong asked again.
"Quan Zhong is a cavalry and cannot be stopped." Yang Li said: "His troops have fled to Dezhou. The King of Jin might as well go to Cangzhou and let Lu Yanwei expel Zhu Quanzhong."
"That's Lu Yanwei's business." Li Keyong said angrily: "Beizhou people sit back and watch Zhu Quanzhong escape. I want to attack him, what will happen to Luo Shuai?"
"This..." Yang Li didn't expect Li Keyong to have such an unpredictable temper, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.
"King Jin, calm down." Yang Li thought for a while and said: "Wei Bo used Hedong as a screen to fight against Shao's thieves. It's not an empty lie. We are all members of our own family, why do we do such things that make our relatives angry and our enemies happy?
?Well, Luo Shuai is willing to give 3,000 horses to enhance the reputation of the King of Jin."
Gai Yu quietly stepped on Li Keyong's foot under the table.
Li Keyong's expression remained unchanged and he said: "Send me a thousand collars of armor and fifty thousand bundles of arrows, and this matter will be over."
Yang Li's face turned pale, but he was relieved in his heart.
Things that can be solved with money are nothing. Just treat them as beggars. Anyway, the Jin soldiers are going to work for their lives, which is also a good thing for Wei Bo.
"This matter should be reported to Luo Shuai." Yang Li said.
"Then what are you waiting for? Go back and report." Li Keyong waved his hand as if he was swatting away a fly.
Yang Li shook his head and walked away with a gloomy look on his face.
"Your Majesty, Lu Yanwei sent an envoy to say that Zhu Quanzhong did not stay in Dezhou and went to Dizhou, but they failed to catch up." Gai Yu said.
"Yes." Li Keyong nodded and did not continue talking about the matter.
On that day, Zhu Quanzhong led more than 2,000 cavalry to flee. Li Keyong personally led the pursuit. Along the way, some Liang people fell behind and were killed by the Jin soldiers. In the end, Zhu Quanzhong led more than 1,000 people into Dezhou and escaped.
One life.
Although he failed to completely kill this beast, most of Zhu Quanzhong's final capital has been wiped out, and it is difficult for him to make a comeback. What if he went to Dizhou? Without soldiers or generals, relying on him alone, Wang Shifan could give him
Does he look good?
"Your Majesty..." Gai Yu said, "He Huaibao and Li Siben reported that they had already crossed the river with more than 10,000 infantrymen. The Xia soldiers were small, and they only had a brief engagement, and they defeated the Xia soldiers and beheaded more than two hundred of them. They
They are all asking for instructions on their next move. Shao Shude should still be in Qizhou. If we can occupy all the land in Yunbei, we can intercept him in the east. By then, Pinglu, Taining and other armies will also assist, so we will be much more confident.
"
"There is no rush to attack Yunzhou. Let them occupy Yangliu Ferry first and build cities at both ends. If possible, take out Lu County as well." Li Keyong said: "In addition, send people to Desheng Ferry to cut wood and build ships.
, build a pontoon bridge, and make a posture to cross the river."
"As ordered." Gai Yu responded.
Deshengdu connects Puzhou and Chanzhou and is also an important crossing. Once the army breaks through here, if the Puzhou direction fails to stop them, the Jin army can break into the empty hinterland of Bian and Song Dynasties.
"Also, as you ride out to search and suppress the Xia Army spies crossing the river, you must not let the Shao thieves know where my main force is." Li Keyong said again.
****
In the Luokou area, warehouses were wide open, and bags of grain and grass were loaded onto ships.
These are all supplies transferred from Lingxia last year, mainly corn and wheat, as well as soybeans, black beans that horses love to eat, and even 200,000 bunches of dry pasture.
After the river thaws, the fleet can set off again.
A battle involving a hundred thousand troops would cost a lot of money. It would be foolish not to use waterways if they exist.
The bells on the pier kept ringing.
Each sound means that a ship laden with cargo has left the port and drifted downstream.
The former Bianzhou Navy was also dispatched.
More than a hundred ships, large and small, carrying three thousand navy soldiers, escorted the grain transport fleet, and headed down the river towards Yun.
"Has the fleet at Biankou set off?" Feng Wei, the deputy envoy of Rujiedu in the eastern capital, asked, standing in the wind.
"Let's set off." the staff replied: "It carried 250,000 grains and beans, and almost wiped out the warehouse."
"It doesn't matter if it's empty. In May, food and grass will be shipped from Lingxia again." Feng Wei said, "I didn't expect that until now, we would rely on the Guanbei prefectures to provide millets, beans, dried meat, and milk powder.
, hay is supplied to the front line, but the losses on the road are a bit heavy and there are many shipwrecks.”
"Let's go to Biankou and have a look." Feng Wei got on his horse and said.
Biankou is in Zhengzhou, and Zhengzhou is now also a prefecture of Dongdu Town. From Biankou, follow the Bianshui River to Bianzhou, and then you can go east, along the Jishui River, to Yunzhou.
Previously, the Yi Congjun marched along the Jishui River, but they took the land route and transported their equipment and equipment by ship, which greatly accelerated their march.
The King of Xia attached great importance to water transportation and naval forces. He had no chance before, but now he has taken over part of the strength of Bianzhou Navy, and seems to be planning to make a fuss about it.
His fighting style is really unpredictable. He likes to use cavalry, which is a standard northerner, but he also attaches great importance to the boat division, which seems to be the style of southerners.
It's unconstrained, eclectic, and very open-minded. I hope it will be helpful in the next war.