"The grass needs to be cut shorter. Find someone smarter to come and make trouble for me."
"Will you wash the horses? Who recruited you?"
Wherever the black army passed by, every county was extremely busy.
There are four prefectures in Hezhong, a large area and a large population, so they have different perceptions of Xia Jun.
Because Shanxi and Jiangxi have been under infiltration control for many years, and the proportion of military personnel among the people is very high, they are regarded as basic areas.
Hezhong Prefecture is much worse, but with the current situation, people with insight understand that it is inevitable that this place will be annexed.
Ordinary people are not that knowledgeable and know little. But after being so frightened by the military chaos, they have become a lot more honest. Especially those people who are related to the Hezhong Yamen soldiers, their mentality has changed a lot compared to a few years ago. Simple
In other words, my expectations have become lower and I am more accepting of reality.
This lowering of expectations is obviously the product of going through a painful process. This process is unbearable for them, including heavy taxes, heavy labor, frequent military service, military robbery and even the cost of their lives.
But if they don't go through such a process, it's impossible for them to accept reality and accept the rule of outsiders. It's simply an unsolvable knot.
A "big eater" like the Heiyi Army crossing the border is a big burden to every place. In the past, the cooperation would definitely not be so smooth, but this time they endured it silently and took the initiative to provide convenience.
It can be seen that after several years, the vassal town in the river has been fully matured, and it is a matter of course that it will be included in the direct territory.
"We have another town." Xia Sanmu washed his mount with his own hands, threw the reins to the soldiers, and said with a smile: "The three towns of Hezhong, Shaanxi, Guo, and Heyang are securely surrounding Hedong, Luo, and Bian.
That’s it.”
The generals and commanders around him were also very happy after hearing this.
Damn it, why hasn't His Highness proclaimed himself emperor yet? We've been waiting for a long time.
"We still have to fight back the Jin people." Du Yuhou Ma Sixun came over with a smile and handed over a military report.
Xia Sanmu looked at the seal and seal, made sure they were correct, and then opened it for reading.
Ma Sixun stepped aside and waited quietly.
"The vanguard of the Jin army has arrived in Jiangzhou. With orders from everyone, our troops will immediately go north to Futu Town." General Xia Sanmu reported and said.
Futu Town is a common name among the people, but it is actually Daning County in Xizhou. It was renamed in the second year of Wude.
In the fourth year of Renshou in the Sui Dynasty, Yang Liang rebelled and sent his general Wu Zitong to build a city here, cutting off the Puzhou Road.
Everyone had already had a premonition, and Gein and Lu Huaizhong were giving orders one after another, telling them to go up quickly, go west, and join the main force. At this time, it is not unthinkable for them to go north alone. The Feilong Army often does this kind of detour behind enemy lines.
How can things, golden swords, and black armies be exempted from vulgarity?
"Military envoy, how many traitors have come?" Ma Sixun couldn't help but ask.
The two states of Cixi are not wealthy, and they have just been raided by the Jin army. If they are heavily besieged behind enemy lines, big trouble will happen.
"The four armies of Kuang Ba, Feiteng, Wan Sheng, Yin Hu and Yao have a total of ten thousand soldiers, and there may be some temporarily recruited Cixi Xiangyong, there must be about twenty thousand."
The army, the thieves and the main force are commanded by Kang Junli. There are no less than 40,000 people. It is still difficult to say where they are. According to the news from the torture, the main force of the thieves is between Lan and Shi, and the vanguard has arrived in Shizhou."
"Is this news accurate? Are you walking so slowly?" Ding Wei asked in disbelief.
"It's almost the same." Xia Sanmu waved his hand impatiently and said.
In fact, he was also a little worried, but Lu Du had orders and had to carry them out.
This time, we want to seize the advantageous opportunity when the enemy's front and rear armies are somewhat disconnected, and strive to capture one part of the enemy's army first. Otherwise, tens of thousands of Jin army hedgehogs will be gathered together, and it will be really hard to chew.
"In all these years of fighting, I have never seen anyone like King Xia who likes to outflank the enemy. Lu Dutou is an expert." Ma Sixun was still frightened.
Since ancient times, there have been many cases of detouring behind enemy lines, but no one has ever used it so frequently as King Xia.
In the battle of Luoyang that year, didn't the Xia army stand out with a surprise force and bypass Bai Sima Ban to cut off the connection between Heyang and the Liang army in Luoyang?
This tactic is not typical of the Central Plains. Once the detour fails, the consequences will be disastrous.
"Don't think too much. Let's set off tonight, get out of the way and take the western route." Xia Sanmu said again.
The western route detours around Futu Town, that is, instead of taking the main post road, it goes through the trails between the mountain plateaus to Madou Pass, and then goes east to capture Daning County and cut off the two large and small roads leading to Xizhou and Shizhou.
.
"Deputy Ambassador Ding, you stay." Xia Sanmu added.
"Envoy, why do you keep me here?" Ding Wei asked, somewhat dissatisfied.
"This time I will only take ten thousand people in the left compartment to go north. You can lead the right compartment and wait for orders from the capital." Xia Sanmu said, "I will take all the mules and horses with me, leaving no one behind."
Ding Wei was stunned and speechless. This turned the right wing into an infantryman.
Ten thousand people set off with 40,000 horses and mules. This was definitely to carry as much food as possible so that they could last longer while detouring behind enemy lines. If that didn't work, the extra horses and mules could be slaughtered to satisfy their hunger.
So cruel!
"As ordered." He responded reluctantly. The cost of this move is too high, I hope it will succeed.
****
After packing up their luggage and putting arrows, wound medicine, and grain and beans on their mules and horses one by one, they headed north, facing the slightly cold evening wind, the Heiji army embarked on their journey westward and then northward.
On March 16, the army arrived in Baoding County, received a large amount of supplies, and then continued northward along the foothills and plains on the east bank of the Yellow River.
On the night of the 18th, they passed through the western border of Longmen County and entered the mountainous area. At that time, the Jin soldiers had already moved south in large numbers and entered the eastern territory of Longmen County. They built strongholds and garrisoned them, intending to spy on Longmen County and Longmen Cang, and had several encounters with the Jinglue Army.
Conflict - The nearly 7,000 soldiers of the Jinglue Army were divided into two groups, one stationed in the county town and the other stationed in a stronghold outside Cangcheng.
After entering the Cizhou mountainous area, the speed gradually slowed down and the queue became very long.
Ten thousand people and tens of thousands of riders stretched out for dozens of miles in front and back. One team was rushing forward, another team was grazing the mules, one team was resting, one team was sleeping, and one team was washing the horses...
Large-scale cavalry groups charging long distances often look like this in a chaotic manner. It's better on the plains and not so dispersed, but in hilly areas, it's hard to say.
Xia Sanmu can no longer control every command, and it takes a long time to transmit information.
The food received from Baoding County continues to be consumed, and so far it is only enough for twenty days. Fortunately, there are many mules accompanying the army. They are not picky eaters and search for everything they can swallow in the lush mountains. But they graze every day.
The time was short, and it was not enough for them to eat enough. In desperation, the officers in each command could only feed them with food, in order to shorten the grazing time as much as possible and speed up the march.
On the 20th, they encountered a group of Jin army cavalry.
The Jin people were on the mountain plateau, and the Xia people were in the valley. Both sides were stunned. Soon, both sides reacted. The Jin people disappeared in a flash, and Ma Sixun personally led more than a hundred riders to chase them, but in the end they found nothing.
On the 22nd, they encountered another group of Jin people who were looting in the countryside. Unexpectedly, they suddenly attacked and captured all of these dozens of people. Then, under the eager eyes of the people, Xia Bing took away half of them.
The looted food whizzed away.
On the 23rd, Ma Sixun, who was leading the team, rushed into the deserted Ma Douguan City.
Madou Pass is actually a ferry, where Pushui River enters the Yellow River. From there, cross the river to the west bank, follow the Yanshui River Valley up the river, thirty-five miles to Yanchang County. From there, go east along the Pushui River Valley, sixty-eight miles to Da
Ning County, also known as Futu Town. Walk eighty miles northeast to Xichuan County, Lisuo, Xizhou.
Ma Sixun suddenly laughed nervously.
Looking at the soldiers with tired faces and the cavalry sparsely scattered in the valley, I feel extremely happy. On this trip to the north, if there is any obstacle on the way, it will not be so fast.
In order to march in a hurry, many people, including horses and mules, were killed and injured in falls.
In order to march quickly, many people fell behind and had to settle in the countryside. This was a very dangerous thing.
In order to march in a hurry, many people worked day and night, especially the auxiliary soldiers in the army, who were very tired.
"Send people to Hexi to report the news and ask Yanzhou to send a batch of grain and grass." Ma Sixun immediately ordered. At the end, he said: "I don't bother to ask for those state soldiers. It's not necessary, so don't come here to join in the fun."
.”
The words were hurtful, but they were also true. What's more, they were divided into two camps, and he couldn't command the troops in Hexi - the problem of command hierarchy cannot be completely solved even in later generations, and it is even more important at this time.
Subjective initiative.
"Leave a hundred men to guard Guancheng, and the rest of the soldiers will follow me eastward." Ma Sixun waved his hand, calling for everyone to follow.
The soldiers were in a high mood and shouted to follow. The auxiliary soldiers mustered up their courage, led the pack horses, rode on the horses, and followed slowly.
On the evening of the 24th, hundreds of cavalry troops appeared outside Daning County. The Jin soldiers guarding the county were dumbfounded.
"Kill!" The knights dismounted outside the city, helped each other put on their armor, and then quickly rallied.
"Dang, Dang, Dang..." The warning bell rang quickly, and the city was filled with shouts and chaos.
An officer hurriedly came to the city, but his face turned pale after just one glance. The defenders only had a thousand people, and most of them were out looting food and grass. How could this be law-abiding?
In the narrow Pushui Valley, nearly two thousand soldiers had already gathered at this time. The first batch of armored soldiers had already rushed up carrying simple wooden ladders. Behind them, the unarmored auxiliary soldiers also rushed up. He drew his weapon and followed with murderous intent - I used to be a soldier in the Changzhi Army, but now I am an auxiliary in the Heiji Army. Are you feeling aggrieved or not? I will vent my anger on the Jin thieves today!
The turbulent wave rushed to the bottom of the city. As soon as the wooden ladder was set up, the tiger and wolf warriors climbed up.
Just as the Jin army officer was about to say something, an arrow came straight to the front door, and he screamed and fell down the city wall.
The first batch of soldiers boarded the city, and a fierce fight began instantly. Both sides tried their best, exchanging lives for lives.
One group after another died, without any concern for the casualties. After paying a heavy price, they finally defeated the defenders at the top of the city and extended the war to the bottom of the city.
At two o'clock in the morning, it was completely dark, and the battle was finally over.
At the cost of killing 400 people, the Heijian army beheaded 300 people and completely captured the city of Daning.
"Don't lie down, don't sleep. Collect wood immediately and set up a fence on the post road outside the city." Ma Sixun gasped for breath and kicked the soldiers who were almost paralyzed on the ground.
The road to Xiazhai and Daning City are at the horns of each other. Cutting off this main post road connecting the north and the south was originally planned.
It was the hard-working auxiliary soldiers who moved.
They arrested people from house to house in the city, demolished houses, transported materials to the outside of the city overnight, and wasted no time in building camps.
Ma Sixun climbed to the top of the city and looked from a distance. He saw brightly lit lights on the construction site, indicating that construction had started all night.
"What a bunch of beasts, King Liang didn't lose unjustly." Ma Sixun spat and laughed again.