On September 25, after the Feilong Army had rested and reorganized, it appeared in the southwest of Qingzhou and cooperated with the Dingnan Army to defeat Li Renyu's tribe, killing more than 700 thieves.
On the 26th, he appeared east of Linqu and attacked a grain transport team.
On the 27th, they rushed back to Qingzhou to round up enemy scouts and rangers, making a lot of noise. In the next two days, they even fought back to Zizhou. After making an appearance, they disappeared again at night.
In the camp in the western suburbs of Lisuoye County, Laizhou, Zhu Quanzhong was hosting a banquet for a group of Qingzhou generals.
"General Zhang's visit this time must be for the Qingzhou war." Zhu Quanzhong's face looked even more haggard. It was obvious that he had spent a lot of effort training new recruits in the past few months.
Of course, the unoptimistic battle situation also made him very melancholy.
He "parasitized" two feudal towns one after another, was driven away in Weibo, and lost most of his capital. He finally established a foothold in Qingzhou and gained Wang Shifan's trust. In the end, Wang Shifan was also doomed.
Losing Dizhou and losing most of Zizhou are very fatal. Now the only place that can really provide help is Qingzhou. The two states of Denglai are vast and sparsely populated, and are only suitable for ranching, so the help they can provide is limited.
The war has been going on for more than half a year, and the wealth of Ziqing Town, which was originally very wealthy, has been greatly depleted, and Zhu Quanzhong doubts how long it can last.
If Wang Shifan is destroyed, then he will not end well.
"The war is very fierce. There is no shortage of food now, and we can barely support it, but the shortage of goods is severe." Zhang Juhou drank half a bowl of wine and sighed: "The commander-in-chief sent me to ask if these soldiers can make it."
can not fight?"
"Wang Shuai means..." Zhu Quanzhong asked.
"It's not an option to continue like this." Zhang Juhou said: "You also know the situation of the Bohai Pavilion and the Silla Pavilion. This year there are still people coming to do business. What about next year? We know that there is a war here and it is difficult to sell goods. They still have
Are you coming? The Dizhou Salt Pond is gone, and it’s the end of the year in two months, and Wang Shuai is still worried about the rewards."
"Is this a counterattack?" Zhu Quanzhong asked in surprise.
The soldiers he trained can be used to defend cities and strongholds, and they can also be used to fight against bandits or so-called peasant rebels in rebellion. But fighting with the Xia soldiers who have experienced many battles, isn't this a gift? Unless the opposite general is stupid enough,
Committing suicide.
"It has not yet been decided whether to counterattack or not. The military government is also divided into two groups and they are arguing." Zhang Juhou said.
"What are the two factions?"
"One faction thinks that we can hold on for now and wait for changes. It's not impossible to raise the military rewards for the New Year, but the big players are going to bleed. If we wait until next year, the situation may change."
Zhu Quanzhong was thoughtful.
If Li Keyong mobilizes the main force to go down the mountain, then with the current dispersed deployment of the Xia army, he will inevitably mobilize troops from various battlefields to fight the Jin people - most likely in Hebei.
In this way, the several Henan feudal towns that have not yet surrendered will have a chance to breathe, and they can even take the opportunity to negotiate terms and strive for better treatment.
The decisive battle cannot be fought in a month or two, nor can it start immediately. Before the war begins, various interests are blended and the promises are made. The value of the wallflower has greatly increased, and there is much to be done.
"One faction thought it would be better to mobilize Pinghai and unite the two armies to come up. The Xia people have been besieged for a long time and are exhausted. They may win a big victory. This is a gamble. Whether you win or lose, it depends on this." Zhang Juhou said again.
Zhu Quanzhong was deep in thought.
The strategy was correct, but he still felt that the odds of winning were not high enough, but it was indeed time to take a gamble.
The combat effectiveness of an army is not constant. If you win a certain battle for the first time, you may lose if you fight it again under the same conditions.
It is not uncommon in history books for strong armies that have been rampant for many years to be defeated by new recruits. Wars are fought by people, and people make mistakes. As long as you catch the enemy's mistakes, you can defeat the strong with the weak.
Moreover, the current combat effectiveness of the Xia Army is definitely far inferior to that of a few months ago. Why is the title "tired division" often seen in history books? It is because this is really a very dangerous state. Using fresh troops to deal with them may be possible.
Chances of winning?
"What's Wang Shuai's plan?" Zhu Quanzhong asked.
"Wang Shuai is hesitant." Zhang Juhou drank another bowl of wine and sighed.
Zhu Quanzhong was also speechless.
This will lead to hesitation. In fact, they choose the first strategy, delaying changes, hoping that the Jin army will reduce the pressure on them. I heard that there are envoys from the Xia army in Qingzhou, so the two sides must be negotiating terms, which is better understood.
Already.
"What strategy does General Zhang think is better?" Zhu Quanzhong suddenly asked.
"I took a look at the sergeants in the camps today, and they all looked pretty decent," Zhang Juhou said.
This means leaning towards the second strategy, counterattack.
"Li Keyong is going to send troops, I don't know when. How long can we hold on now?" Zhu Quanzhong gestured. Zhu Youjie stood up and poured a bowl of wine for Zhang Juhou. He continued: "I heard that Wang Maozhang is in Haizhou.
, there are more than ten thousand people, and Zhu Jin still has many soldiers and horses, and he is extremely brave, so why not ask him to send troops together to fight to the death with the Xia thieves."
"The King of Liang knows the heart of my warriors." When Zhang Juhou heard this, he felt like a close friend and complained: "In my opinion, it is better to bring all the horses of the shepherd supervisors in Denglai, select warriors who can ride, and rush to the rear of the thieves.
.If the main force launches an attack from the front in Qingzhou, the chance of winning is actually very high."
Even during the Tianbao period, Denglai Prefecture only had more than 200,000 people. The Denglai Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty was similar in geographical scope to the Denglai Prefecture of the Tang Dynasty, but it had a population of 1.6 million people. Therefore, Denglai at this time had a population of 1.6 million.
The degree of development is extremely low, and the wilderness is full of wastelands and low hills. It has almost become the exclusive horse breeding land of Ziqing Town.
The Pinglu Army has a tradition of cavalry and has a large number of horses. It also imports Mohe horses. It is still possible for thousands of sergeants to maneuver with two horses and move through Mizhou and Yizhou to the rear of the Xia people.
.
"Dutou, General Zhang." Zhu Youliang suddenly broke in and said with a pale face: "There is news from the south that the Xia soldiers have broken through Jimo. The army is heading north with a fierce force."
"What?" Zhang Juhou was a little surprised, and his head, which had just been a little drunk, immediately sobered up.
Zhu Quanzhong's heart tightened slightly but his expression didn't change much.
After half a lifetime of fighting, what storms and waves have he not seen? What things have he not experienced? He was not familiar with Xia Thief's methods before and was not used to them, but now he has basically understood them.
"The Xia thieves must have come from Mizhou on this way." Zhu Quanzhong stood up and said: "Give me the order to stock up on grain, grass, firewood, and equipment, and gather the sergeants of each battalion. Those who spread random news in the army and make loud noises will be executed immediately.
.Send another person to Zhoucheng to inform you."
Zhu Quanzhong was the capital's envoy and could not interfere in local government affairs, so he could only fulfill his obligation to inform, but most people already knew about it.
"General Zhang, are you staying, or..." Zhu Quanzhong turned to Zhang Juhou and asked.
"I will return to Qingzhou immediately." Zhang Juhou said without hesitation.
"Okay! Please tell Wang Shuai. I admire your kindness to this day. The thieves are far away from Denglai and Pinghai. Although the two armies have only been united for a short time, they will definitely fight to the death with the thieves. The two states of Denglai are handed over to me.
I'm fine." Zhu Quanzhong said with determination.
Zhang Juhou nodded heavily, and left in a hurry without thinking carefully about the meaning behind Zhu Quanzhong's words.
Zhu Quanzhong and his two nephews looked at each other and saw the understanding look in each other's eyes.
The two states and eight counties in Denglai are indeed inconspicuous, but every piece of land is hard-won and worth cherishing.
****
The army did not stop at Jimo. After hurriedly gathering supplies, mules and horses, they went directly north, rushed into the Gushui Basin, and reached the foot of Changyang City.
Changyang was Laiyang in later generations. It was not big, the city was very dilapidated, and the garrison was pitifully few.
After the army stopped here, the soldiers hurriedly made simple ladders and attacked the city directly, regardless of the fatigue of the long march.
It should be said that the will of the defenders was still very tenacious, and Changyang made a lot of preparations in a hurry. However, after a day of attacking, they still captured it on the sixth day of October.
Everyone in the county, from the county magistrate to the county captain, as well as a few wealthy households who had contributed money and food to help recruit young men to the city, were beheaded.
Du Guangyi just pretended not to see it.
He knew that this would give him a bad reputation in the army, so it was better to keep his tail between his legs. Besides, the person he killed was the one who deserved to be killed, so there was nothing much to say.
“After half a day of horse racing and not seeing a few people, is this still Henan?”
"The Anshi Rebellion did not spread here. When Ziqing Town was besieged and suppressed, it was peaceful here. It is strange that there are still so few people."
"A lot of flat land is covered with grass and has not been cultivated into farmland. It's a pity."
"It's none of my business, I just want to see how many rewards you get."
The sergeants took control of the county government office and the treasury, and were talking all over the place. When they saw Du Guangyi coming, they all shut up.
Someone wanted to scare him with a knife, but a pair of big hands stretched out from beside him and pushed the knife back into its sheath.
"Du Guangyi's father was the governor of Hexi Province, and his younger brother Du Xiao served as the Lingbao Order and the field inspector of Shaozhou. Later he worked for the King of Xia and became the governor of Bozhou a few months ago."
People said: "If you don't want to die, don't mess around."
"Mao Zhuizi is hateful. Now I am just angry with them. If I am manipulated by them one day in the future, I would rather die."
"You won't want to die by then. After the world is at peace, these measures will definitely gain momentum."
"Then the world will not be peaceful."
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Du Guangyi couldn't hear what the warriors were talking about behind his back. He quickly walked into the county government office. When he saw Qi Bizhang waving to him from a distance, he immediately took three steps at a time and then trotted over.
"I want to give Zhu Quanzhong a hard blow, and Du will help me to counsel him." Qibizhang said with a smile.
"Under Li Dutou's order, he increased his momentum and forced Wang Shifan to surrender..." Du Guangyi hesitated and said: "Military envoy, this is probably the intention of King Xia, just to get rid of Dutou."
"How can we build momentum without defeating the bandit army?" Qi Banzhang asked, "Don't always think of taking shortcuts and defeating the enemy without fighting. Sometimes you just have to fight. Only when the bandit is hurt by the beating will they surrender."
"Then we can go northwest and attack Laizhou. After taking this place, we can go west along the post road and intercept the side of Qingzhou." Du Guangyi said.
Qi Bizhang thought for a while, this could indeed create panic in the enemy and speed up the war process.
"Then we will kill him, capture Zhu Quanzhong, and present him to the king." Qi Banzhang made up his mind: "The whole army will rest for two days to restore their power. Set off after nightfall on the eighth day!"