On May 29th of the second year of Zhonghe, the imperial court ordered Zhuge Shuang and Zhongshu to make peace with their disciples, inspect Situ, and ordered him to go south as quickly as possible to fight against the traitors in the nest.
As expected, Zhuge Shuang led his army south, but stopped when they reached Sanyuan. Li Xiaochang of Yofang was obviously the commander of the camp in the northeast, but he had to camp in the north and followed Marshal Zhuge closely, but he was quickly driven away
When they arrived at Yueyang County in the south, they set up camp. The Tielin Army also went south to Gaoling County and set up camp, less than twenty miles away from the Yifang Army.
Meng Kai's 20,000 troops were stationed in various places in the two counties, with the main force in Gaoling County, numbering about 10,000 people. Shao Shude set up camp and after inquiring about the surrounding military situation, he invited war all day long.
He gained a resounding reputation by fighting stupidly in Jie Jiaozhai, so why not continue to carry it forward? My soldiers are all veterans. They are rewarded on time, well fed and clothed, trained once every three days, and trained frequently.
After several victories, morale is at its peak, and it would be a pity to fight in the field without a unified formation.
On the third day of the sixth lunar month, Meng Kai sent 3,000 men to fight, and Shao Shude sent more than 3,000 infantry and cavalry men to fight. Chao's army was not successful in the field and retreated to Gaoling. They simply stopped sending out and stayed in the city to think of other solutions.
Li Xiaochang's one thousand cavalrymen from Yofang were borrowed again. Zhu Shuzong and Zhe Siyu took these two thousand cavalry and wandered around Gaoling, Jingyang, Yueyang and other places all day long, driving away scouts, hunting down messengers, and intercepting grain routes.
This exposed a very fatal problem of the Chao army, that is, the cavalry was too poor. The Chao army penetrated all the way from Guangzhou to Chang'an. They had not encountered towns such as Hebei and Hedong where there were more cavalry. Although Henan also
There are some cavalry, but the vassal army basically allows you to cross the border, and the Chao army has not been severely beaten by a large-scale field cavalry group along the way.
The few cavalry they had were all trained by infantry after snatching horses. Compared with professional cavalry, the gap was very obvious. Later, after Zhu Wen witnessed the tragic scene of Li Ke using cavalry to kill Huang Chao's infantry, he arrived at Xuanwu Town for the first time.
One thing is to form a professional cavalry force.
Meng Kai's 20,000-strong army also had more than 2,000 cavalry, but they could not defeat Zhu Shuzong, and Zhe Siyu's less than 2,000 cavalry. Without the protection of the cavalry brigade, Chao's scouts and messengers were in trouble.
They were rounded up with nets, resulting in many casualties. Some important letters were even intercepted by the Tielin Army and sent to Shao Shude's desk.
"Zhu Wen's letter asking for help was unexpectedly blocked by Meng Kai. Shang Rang also refused to help him. Huang Chao sat in the palace all day long. How could he know Tong Hua's predicament? How old are these two people?
Hatred!" Shao Shude threw the intercepted letter to Chen Cheng and said with a smile: "Zhu Wen won't be able to hold out for long, he will surrender!"
"After we stay, why not give these letters to Wang Chongrong so that he can know Zhu Wen's situation and take advantage of the situation to increase the intensity of the attack. Zhu Wen will have to surrender even if he does not surrender." Chen Cheng suggested.
“Is it possible for Zhu Wen to surrender to us?” Shao Shude asked.
"I'm afraid it will be difficult. Wang Chongrong is the commander of the east camp, and Yang Fuguang has just been transferred from the south camp to the east camp commander. His status is no worse than ours. Moreover, the river is already rich, and Chongrong's brother Chongying is the observation envoy of Shaanxi and Guo.
We serve as military envoys to the east, and Wang Chongrong has another 30,000 troops. They have repeatedly defeated Zhu Wen. If Zhu Wen surrenders to us, it will be of no benefit and may anger Wang Chongrong. The most important thing is that they are close to Wang Chongrong." Chen Cheng shook his head and said: "That's right.
There is a slight possibility that Li Xiang will surrender to us, but the greater possibility is to surrender Wang Chongrong."
"Wang Chongrong is a slippery man. I didn't expect that he could achieve two great achievements in a row. Alas." Shao Shude punched the table with hatred and said, "Li Xiang will fight for it as soon as possible. If he surrenders, immediately let him quietly march westward.
, cover up the attack on Weiqiao Town and cut off Meng Kai’s retreat."
******
Autumn July, Tongzhou.
Zhu Wen once again returned from the front line irritably, and Xie Tong, Zhu Zhen, Hu Zhen and other close generals rushed over immediately.
“Commander.” Everyone saluted.
"Don't call him a commander. We have less than 10,000 soldiers and can't govern five counties. There's no point in being a commander at this time." Zhu Wen sighed, his mood waning.
“General, Li Xiang sent an envoy here yesterday.” Xie Tong, Hu and Zhu looked at each other, then stood up and said.
"Oh?" Zhu Wen glanced at the three people in the room and knew what he meant, but he still said deliberately: "Are you asking for food and salary again? No. He has two counties in Huazhou, and a certain person only has three counties. How can he have extra food and salary?
?”
“General.” Xie Tong whispered: “Li Zhenshi intends to invite the general to return to the Tang Dynasty.”
"Crash..." Zhu Wen stood up in shock, glared at Xie Tong, Hu Zhen, and Zhu Zhen, and said: "I have been greatly favored by King Huang and got the title of Zhang Jingjie. Now it's just a small setback, and I have to bear Huang's back."
It’s inappropriate for the king to leave!”
"General." Xie Tong saw that although Zhu Wennu was angry, but his voice was not loud, he immediately knew what was going on, so he struck while the railway was hot: "The Yellow King has 600,000 people, and he fought in the north and south, conquering the two capitals. This Huang
Is the king brave? Who is destined by destiny? No. It should be that the Tang Dynasty has been in peace for a long time, and people are not accustomed to fighting, so they just take advantage of it. Today, they have stolen false names, kissed villains, and far away the virtuous, and their appointment has lost its purpose. Generals are crowned with bravery.
The three armies fought vigorously outside, but the villain Meng Kai was dedicated to blocking the way, so that the memorial was not delivered. King Huang is controlled by mediocrity and has no arbitrary ideas, which is a sure sign of destruction."
Zhu Wen gently sat on the bed and remained silent.
"General, the native virtues of the Tang Dynasty have not been exhausted, foreign troops have gathered four times, and canal transport has been carried out." Xie Tong knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice: "General Guandong, the troops in Guanzhong are increasing day and night. Yesterday, two thousand Xuzhou soldiers arrived, and today three thousand Xuchang soldiers
Tomorrow four thousand Heyang troops will arrive, and in a few months there will be two hundred thousand Tang troops in Guanzhong. How can King Huang defeat them? Only the general will observe them."
Zhu Wen fell into a long silence. Xie Tong glanced at him quietly and saw that although he was silent, his face was calm and did not look like he was struggling or hesitating, so he winked secretly.
Hu Zhen understood and stepped forward and said: "General, you are a villain from Meng Kai. I hate that the general is awarded a banner. Why should I accept this man's anger again? I heard that he commanded 20,000 troops and fought with Shao Shude in Gaoling. They were defeated. This shows that the great
The power of Qi is declining day by day, and its rivers are sinking."
Zhu Wen remained silent.
Seeing this, Zhu Zhen also stepped forward and said: "General, how to do this, but it is decided in one word, and we will all obey your orders."
Zhu Wen then took a look at everyone and said, "Is this all a general idea?"
“General, please make a decision early.” The three of them said in unison.
"That's fine." Zhu Wen slapped the bed hard and said, "Tonight we will invite the supervisors to a banquet. You will lay an ambush and listen to a certain order."
“As ordered.” The three of them responded immediately.
"Also, there is no need to inform Li Xiang. This person is not in harmony with me, and he may not be willing to surrender to Wang Chongrong, so let him go." Zhu Wen said, "Yang Fuguang needs to be sorted out."
******
On July 12, a piece of news shocked the entire Guanzhong.
Zhu Wen, the puppet envoy of Tonghua in Qi Dynasty, led an army of ten thousand people and surrendered to Wang Chongrong, the commander of the camp in the east, and recognized him as his uncle. Wang Chongrong and Yang Fuguang were overjoyed when they heard the news. On the same day, they sent envoys to Jiandao to report the good news to the saint.
Shao Shude felt a little regretful when he found out. Linghu Jing once sent an envoy to persuade Zhu Wen to surrender. The envoy was received secretly and sent back secretly. Apparently, he had no intention of surrendering and camped in the north.
That's all, forceful melons are not sweet. Now that Zhu Wen has surrendered Wang Chongrong, Li Xiang should work harder.
On July 13th, Shao Shude ordered Zhou Rong to lead the Zuoxiang Yamen Army southward to Pan County. Six thousand elite soldiers from Xia Sui were stationed in Weibei, and Zhu Wen had already returned to his position. Li Xiangying felt the pressure and made a decision early.
On July 15th, more than 18,000 Tielin and Yifang troops joined forces and went south to invite Meng Kai to fight, but Kai defended the city and refused.
“Judge Chen, you still have to go to Xiagui.” In the camp, Shao Shude said in a serious tone.
“Is it because of Li Xiang’s affairs that you stay behind?” Chen Cheng asked.
"Of course!" Shao Shude looked at Chen Cheng and said: "Meng Kai's 20,000 troops are stationed in Gaoling and Jingyang. This is a big fish. I don't want to release it. This summer, Sui and Yifang will have more than 20,000 troops. Later,
Commander Zhuge will also come with his troops. Our army has a total strength of 26,000. Can’t we leave Meng Kai’s 20,000 troops behind?"
"I know after I stay here." Chen Cheng took a deep breath and said, "I am willing to go to Huazhou as an envoy, and I have promised Li Xiang to come and join us."
“Confused!” Shao Shude scolded: “You are someone’s confidant, how can you go to a dangerous place lightly? I asked you to go to Xiagui to give you the power to make an emergency decision and get the matter done quickly.”
Chen Cheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I know, so I'll set off now."
Shao Shude nodded and said: "Go quickly, the sooner the better. Find a eloquent lobbyist. If the matter is successful, I will protect him as the Sima of the state."
Chen Cheng was shocked. His current official was just the Sima of Suizhou. But he quickly thought that Liu Hou had already taken charge of a town. In the future, old people like them would be promoted sooner or later.
After Chen Cheng left, Shao Shude immediately went to see Li Xiaochang and said: "Li Dutong, Zhu Wen has surrendered, and the nest of thieves is in decline. Meng Kai led 20,000 troops to garrison in Jingyang and Gaoling. Now the morale of the army has fluctuated. Isn't it God's gift to us?"
Credit? Since the commander-in-chief has ten thousand people, we might as well attack his fortress. It doesn’t require too much effort. All we need to do is entangle the rebels and prevent them from crossing the river and returning south."
Li Xiaochang also knew that the time had come to make a contribution, so he said: "Where to attack?"
"Divide an army to Jingyang to monitor the bandits. As soon as they see them crossing the river, they will launch a fierce attack." Shao Shude said: "If the thieves want to go back, they will have no fighting spirit. We will win a great victory."
“Okay, I’ll go and deliver the order right now,” Li Xiaochang said enthusiastically.