The Bingdai army had almost been divided into two parts at this time.
One of them was stationed in Queshu Valley, occupying the chokepoint between southern Shanxi and northern Shanxi.
One group was stationed in Jiexiu, controlling the entire Xihe County from a distance, and also became the rearguard of the army.
After the siege, the army rested for a few days.
The whole army is exhausted, full of morale and high in fighting spirit.
After the first battle, Jiexiu captured more than 20,000 Tang troops. Not only did the infantry's self-confidence increase, but also the cohesion of the various units was obviously different from before.
If war is the best whetstone, then victory is the best catalyst to create a strong military force.
After a great victory, the soldiers will naturally develop a sense of honor, and then their recognition will increase. This is almost a series of chain reactions.
Of course, they still have a long way to go before they want to become a strong army that can win without being arrogant or discouraged by defeat, and such armies are rare in today's world.
Moreover, the damage to the army in this battle was not too great. Both the cavalry and the infantry had a strong desire to fight at this time.
Needless to say, the cavalry generals hoped that Li Po would loosen his grip on them and give them more and greater combat space and autonomy.
Because the role of cavalry always lies in field battles, for large-scale mobile operations, the cavalry generals who followed Li Po and repeatedly defeated the Turks already understood the essence of this.
In other words, the old classic tactics of frontal attack and breakthrough are fading in the minds of cavalry generals, and the light cavalry combat method of cruising in a large area and finding the right fighter plane to hit the target is gradually becoming clear.
Especially when fighting in Hebei, Yu Chigong, Luo Shixin and others fought against Dou Jiande's army, which was the most direct manifestation of this tactical concept.
Thousands of cavalry can make an army of hundreds of thousands stand on either side and not dare to advance lightly.
In other words, the Bingdai cavalry led by Li Po was quietly changing the cavalry combat model of this era. The trend of light cavalry replacing heavy cavalry as the main force in war is irreversible.
Now heading south to attack the Tang Dynasty, the reins of the cavalry army have actually been firmly held in Li Po's hands. Before Jiexiu's siege, he loosened it slightly, then tightened it again, ordering Yuchi Gong to shrink his troops and not move rashly.
As a result, the cavalry generals were naturally more motivated to perform meritorious deeds, especially when compared with the infantry.
Compared with the cavalry, the infantry generals who almost won in one battle were more eager to fight. They wanted to strike while the iron was hot and establish the status of the infantry in this battle, because they were too suppressed by the cavalry.
long time.
They need military exploits to prove their worth more than the cavalry. Of course, after the success of this battle, it was natural for Chen Yuan to open his own palace.
Once a military government office is established, it will not be a single branch. The permanent military government offices on the left and right are opposite to each other. In addition to mutual constraints, they must also compete with each other.
In other words, it is very likely that there will be someone who will follow in Chen Yuan's footsteps and set up a Wei Mansion. This is what they want to fight for.
Therefore, after a few days, the generals began to make more calls for war. The battle between officers and soldiers was a disguised external manifestation of morale. This could only mean that the army was ready to move.
The generals in the army thought very simply. After this victory, the morale of the soldiers was high. They should take advantage of the situation and move south to capture the city. Not to mention reaching Chang'an in one fell swoop, Linfen County was right in front of them.
But this time, they were suppressed by Li Po. Li Po's eyes seemed to have been hovering over the desolate Xihe County, and he had no intention of leading his army to continue southward.
The infantry soldiers marched into Xicheng without bloodshed. In the eyes of Yuchi Gong and others, this was another advantage.
Undoubtedly, this guy had good luck after the war started. He first captured Li Zhongwen and then captured Xicheng. His military exploits were no less than those of Yu Chixin, Yu Wenhuo and others.
But Buqun's good luck ended here. Li Po ordered him to eliminate the banditry. The Luliang bandits have been making trouble near Xicheng, and Xicheng County is the most prosperous area in Xihe County now. It is definitely necessary to eliminate the banditry.
First things first.
It is conceivable that there is a huge gap between the army from the Tonglu Army and the one that went to local areas to suppress bandits. Yuchi Gong and others were quite happy at the misfortune. The only pity was that they could not sarcastically say a few words to that guy in person.
How does the person look?
At this time, Li Po was suppressing the restless generals while working hard to restore the hierarchy of Xihe County.
The officials could be easily recruited from nearby Jinyang, but there was not much they could do about the population. The Tang army had done a thorough job of strengthening the walls and clearing the country, even places like Pingyao were depopulated.
And this time, the matter of immigrating from the two states was not within the scope of Li Po's consideration.
The two states have just settled down, and the population is not large. If the population moves south, it will definitely cause a lot of trouble.
He ordered the Buqun to suppress the bandits on the spot, and also used bandits to replenish the population of Xihe County. Half-suppression, half-pacification, take your time, the land is here, and anyone who wants to live a stable life can come here to farm.
Well.
If that doesn't work, it's not unusual for a large army to be stationed in the fields. It's just a matter of setting up some military camps.
Of course, that is all a thing for later. Now that the army is on the battlefield, other things will naturally be put behind.
At this time, some guests were sent to Jiexiu by Yuchi Gong one after another.
Li Po has no impression of the name Pei Xu at all. He is the son of Pei from Hedong...
Li Po could use his butt to figure out that this wealthy Hedong family was playing the old trick of playing both sides of the mouse again.
Pei Xu himself is not valued by Li Po. Even if he is implicated in the Pei family in Hedong, it is just that. Can he still get Pei to help him now?
This is just a fallback path left by others. If you win, it will be easy to say. If you lose, you will still be Tang Chen. Everyone in the world knows it, but there is nothing they can do about it.
Of course, Pei Xu did not come empty-handed. He also brought the news that the Tang army was stationed in Jiangzhou.
In fact, Pei Xu was definitely the one who was more surprised. Thirty thousand Tang troops were stationed in Jiexiu. By the time he arrived, Jiexiu had already changed its master.
Thinking of the Tang army that was still under Shiran's reorganization in Jiangzhou, Pei Xu also broke out in a cold sweat for them. At the same time, he was also thankful that his uncle had predicted events as expected.
Happiness may be a matter of time.
It's just that as the old saying goes, just as it rises, it will also fall. I wonder how far Li Ding'an can go?
After meeting Li Po, he also clearly felt that the Hedong Pei family, who was well-known in Jin, did not have much weight in Li Po's mind.
The first impression Li Po gave him was that he was an unpredictable person.
The etiquette is considerate, and he is not like the rude martial artist who is ungrateful in the south. He sounds very approachable when joking, but it is inevitably perfunctory.
Pei Xu tried to contradict him a few times, but he laughed it off without getting angry. He was quite broad-minded.
Of course, he didn't know that Li Po only regarded him as an envoy of the Pei family in Hedong. Otherwise, he might have an official position as the only one with the surname Pei, but it would not be so easy to meet Li Po.
As for what this big boss of Jin Dynasty thinks, it actually doesn't matter at all to Li Po.
In his opinion, as soon as the soldiers arrive, there will be no surprises in the performance of these powerful families. They will always quickly find a suitable position for themselves under your rule.
If you keep moving forward steadily, it goes without saying that if you encounter a setback, don't expect them to tide over the difficulties with you.
After all, most of the powerful families are the icing on the cake. It is really difficult for them to help them when they need it.
Pei Xu was sent away lukewarmly and asked to go to Jinyang to talk to Wen Yanbo. The first guest was dealt with.
Such a process can be said to be both within Pei Shiqing's expectations and beyond his expectations.
He could think that no one of the Pei family would dare to humiliate him, so if he came to serve, he would be treated politely. He was right about this.
What he guessed wrong was that he overestimated the reputation of the Pei family in Hedong, so Pei Xu was not reused by Li Po as soon as he arrived.
Such a deviation may be corrected by Pei Xu's talent, but it will take a lot of time. If the children of the Pei family come to invest in large numbers at this time, it may not be the same. If there are only one or two people, the Pei family has obviously made a wrong calculation.
As for the impact on the Pei family in the future, we can only wait and see in the future.
The second wave of guests arrived a few days later. They were much miserable than Pei Xu. Their faces were dusty and their clothes were ragged. They were similar to the refugees Li Po had seen in the Mayi refugee camp.
Needless to say, Guan Xi Xiaoguo escorted He Chou and others to arrive.
The old man was treated differently, because Li Po recognized He Chou and was extremely impressed.
Not only was this man's ability to build pontoon bridges in Liaodong impressive, he also showed great success under Liaodong City. Not to mention all kinds of weird siege equipment, he also built a square city.
Of course, for Li Po, this was not a wonderful memory.
It's just that what He Chou thought before was indeed good. He is a useful person and will not be ignored wherever he goes. This is the importance of skills.
When He Chou arrived at Jiexiu, he was already half-dead. He fell ill on the way. It wasn't a serious problem, it was just that his body couldn't hold on and he contracted the cold.
But these days, people who die on the road usually don't suffer from serious illnesses, and the old man's age is there. When they arrived in Jiexiu, the group of people received warm hospitality from Li Po, and also found ten people.
Several doctors accompanying the army examined and treated the old man.
The old man couldn't say how grateful he was, but he was not indifferent. When he took the first sip of the hot soup, the old man cried again. This time he suffered really badly.
The old man was in really good health. After all the hard work, he was almost recovered from his illness in a few days, so he came to see Li Po with his limping son.