Chapter 344: After all, we still have to rely on strength to speak
How does it feel to watch your enemy sneak away from you?
This feeling was very complicated. At least when Zhang Zhao saw thousands of Fengxiang troops gradually retreating to the mountains in the east under the cover of night, he didn't know what to say.
The strength of the Guiyi Army is still too weak. If we must keep all the Fengxiang Army, I am afraid the price will be very high!
Zhang Zhao looked at the cheering soldiers around him, whether they were tough generals like Barbarian Bear or Party Rangers being used as targets.
Everyone's face showed an expression of being extremely lucky to be alive.
Four hours of tug-of-war has reached their limit.
Seeing this, Zhang Zhao understood that eating the four thousand most elite men of Fengxiang Army was already the best result he could achieve. Going too far was not enough. If he continued to be greedy, he would probably suffer backlash.
Zhang Zhao received a letter from Pei Yuan at the end of April, asking him to prepare to enter Guanzhong to quell the rebellion. At the beginning of May, he led more than 6,000 troops, thousands of civilians and six rangers to go on the expedition. It has been more than three months since then.
In the past three months, the soldiers of the Guiyi Army followed him for more than 1,500 miles, and they had to walk the same distance to go back, which is 3,000 miles back and forth.
moon.
When the soldiers set off, some of the aunts were pregnant with babies. Maybe they would have given birth now, and those who had not given birth would have given birth when they returned home.
Some of Gaotang's parents were sick when they left, and they didn't know how sick they were? Or even whether they were still there?
Some people had already arranged a marriage when they left. They didn't even remember their mother-in-law's appearance, so they followed Zhang Zhao to Guanzhong.
Some took the money and went back to buy land for their families, while others wanted to go back quickly and marry a beautiful wife.
When some of them left, the sound of Ye Niang crying and shouting that she must come back alive was still vivid in my mind.
Some have made an agreement with their childhood sweethearts to get married when they return home.
Some relatives and friends died in the war, and they were afraid that they would also die in the war, and in the end they were unable to send their ashes and rewards home.
They are all living people, not tireless NPCs who do not need psychological comfort.
Since the war started, the Guiyi Army has set out from Liangzhou and successively surrendered to Dangxiang in Huizhou, Qingzhou, and Yuanzhou.
Then he fought a bloody battle with tens of thousands of rebels, beat Li Congzhao severely at the foot of Mawei slope, and now he has defeated Li Congzhao.
The horse will not stop, the horse will not turn around, but people’s thoughts will return!
They want to go home happily with the rewards they have received to share with their wife Ye Niang. The so-called military morale is not good enough to fight. This is probably what it means!
"Surround the Xiongwu Army and don't let them escape! I'm going to ask the court for a reward right away. A big reward must be given to my sons and I must let them return home with a full load!"
Zhang Zhao galloped back and forth on the battlefield, and his personal guards followed him, shouting all over the battlefield.
"Wan Victory! Sikong Wan Victory! Wan Victory for the Guiyi Army!"
Sure enough, after Zhang Zhao made the decision to give up, the cheers on the battlefield were louder than ever. They were really happy that they no longer had to fight so hard.
....
Thousands of cavalry roared and chased after the powerful army who was left behind by the Wei River before they had time to escape.
The reason why Zhang Zhao pursued the Qinzhou Xiongwu Army instead of mainly pursuing the Fengxiang Army was a matter of careful consideration.
Because Qinzhou (Tianshui) was the jurisdiction of Longyou Jiedushi during the Tang Dynasty.
Qinzhou and Lanzhou controlled by Zhang Zhao were separated by Weizhou (Longxi) in the Tang Dynasty, so Zhang Zhao and the Guiyi Army naturally regarded it as their own territory.
Moreover, Qinzhou's Xiongwu Army Jiedushi Kang Fu was old and asked several times to return to Kaifeng to retire, but none of the Xiongwu Army could hold the situation in check. This was simply a territory tailor-made for Zhang Zhao!
Even if he defeated Fengxiang's army, he still couldn't take over Fengxiang's territory, but the Qinzhou Xiongwu army's territory could.
Moreover, Zhang Zhao also had some thoughts, and he did not want to let Li Congsuo go, both emotionally and rationally.
However, after several days of fierce fighting, the Guiyi Army was no longer able to fight any more. However, it might be okay to supervise the troops at the back and escort the 3,500 men of the Xiongwu Army to attack the thousands of frightened birds that Li Congyu had taken away.
Seeing that they were surrounded, the Xiongwu army panicked and fought with cold weapons, only to lose their hearts.
Although their Xiongwu army is not soft-footed, they did not dare to fight just now. Now that they are discouraged, they will not dare to fight anymore.
Song Zhong, the commander of Mabudu in Jieduyanei of the Xiongwu Army, was also helpless!
I originally thought that I was following King Li Qi to pinch the soft persimmon, but I never expected that it turned out to be a fierce battle that made people feel calf cramps.
It is understandable that Song Zhong is not a subordinate of Li Congyu and is unwilling to fight such a fierce battle.
The only mistake was that he did not expect the Fengxiang Army to retreat so resolutely and quickly, causing him to be intercepted by the Guiyi Army.
....
In Chang'an City, An Shenqi felt like he was struck by five thunders. He still had to endure Zhang Zhao and Li Congsuo.
But he never expected that it only took six days for Zhang Zhao to defeat Li Congzhao first and then Li Congzhao. In six days, he defeated Fengxiang's 20,000-strong army until they were cornered.
We must not let Zhang Zhao swallow up the Fengxiang Army!
This was the only thought in An Shenqi's mind. He was done with chasing the tiger and devouring the wolf. Now as long as he could get Zhang Zhao back to Hexi, it would be worth any cost.
At this time, Li Congzhao from Xingping County sent a fast horse to contact An Shenqi.
The Fengxiang Army in Xingping County also showed its last bravery and organized thousands of people to leave the city and rush to Maweipo.
Although the 800 men led by Huchile and Guo Guangcheng had already provided 12% of their combat strength, the gap in numbers between the two sides was too great, and Li Congzhao kept pushing them westward.
....
By the Wei River, Song Zhong, who was surrounded, was considering whether to send someone to ask Zhang Sikong of the Hexi Army to surrender? Or to break out of the encirclement in Xuxi County? Or... he could simply lead his men and run away with him personally?
But soon, he no longer had to think about it because someone had already made the decision for him.
As soon as the sun set, the Xiongwu Army was under great pressure and a military rebellion broke out. At first, dozens of soldiers shouted that they had been deceived by Song Zhong and asked Song Zhong to come out and explain.
Fortunately, Song Zhong's tooth soldiers were still loyal, so they went out to suppress them and even killed two of the shouting soldiers.
But unexpectedly, it aroused even greater anger. Hundreds of soldiers rushed out, shouting, "Commander, please find another place to eat," and rushed towards Song Zhong's camp.
What does "find another place to eat" mean? Song Zhong knows the meaning very clearly. This is a fucking slang, which means to move his head and find another place to go.
As a fifth-generation military leader with rich experience in rebelling against others, Song Zhong also has the same rich experience in how to deal with rebellions from below, that is, run away!
As long as you run fast enough and are not caught when the soldiers are in chaos, you will have the capital to move forward and retreat freely later.
Because the rebellious tooth soldiers do not have the ability to rule a place, they have to elect a famous person to stabilize the place in the end. That is how they, the tooth generals, can settle down.
However, Song Zhong, who got on his horse and ran very fast today, was immediately blocked and came back.
He saw hundreds of familiar figures, which were the unique cotton armor stomachs of the Hexi Army.
Song Zhong instantly understood that the one who wanted to kill him was not the rebel soldiers of the Xiongwu Army, but Zhang Zhao.
That night, the Xiongwu army was in chaos and killed more than 20 generals below Song Zhong, the commander of Mabudu in Jiedu Yanei. The rest of the generals led their armies and surrendered to Zhang Zhao.
The next day, Zhang Zhao regretted that his personal guards in Shandu were supervising the battle, ordered the Xiongwu Army to surrender, and began to besiege Li Congyu on the mountain from three sides.
It was a pity that the attack lasted only half a day and had already trapped Li Congyao and others in a temple on the mountain. When it only took one day at most to succeed, Guo Guangcheng personally arrived with one person.
Coming with him was a brave general named An, who was a member of An Shenqi's tribe and came specifically to intercede with Zhang Zhao.
In an era when warriors were in power, they liked to put everything on the bright side, unlike later literati in the Song and Ming dynasties who kept everything under wraps.
An Shenqi's conditions were simple, but enough to make Zhang Zhao's heart.
General Xiao ran down from his horse and knelt down on one knee directly in front of Zhang Zhao, "The Grand Tutor of the Inspection School, the Military Envoy of Jinchang Army, and the Duke of Yin An sent the last general to report to Zhang Sikong on his way to the capital.
Although King Li Qi made a big mistake, he is still a king conferred by the emperor and must not harm his life!
The army in Hexi has made great achievements in quelling the rebellion. Taifu is willing to honor Zhang Sikong as the Duke of the State and grant him the title of Military Envoy of Longyou. In the land of Longyou in Hexi, all positions below the governor will be appointed by Sikong."
Zhang Zhao secretly nodded. With a duke and the military governor of Longyou, his large military governor of the Guiyi Army finally took shape.
The appointment of him to the following positions as governor was equivalent to a disguised recognition that Zhang Zhao had the same power as Li Congyu in the vassal state.
However, this is not enough. The superficial benefits are not enough. There must be actual benefits!
The general is also very wise. It seems that An Shenqi had already given instructions when he sent him here.
"As for the reward for the army to quell the rebellion and the grudges between the Zhang and Li families, Taifu is willing to be the middleman, and we will discuss it in Mawei Station!"
Mawei Post City is in Zhang Zhao's hands, but An Shenqi will definitely not come alone. He must have brought the Jinchang Army and the Zhenguo Army. But choosing Mawei Post City can be regarded as giving Zhang Zhao enough face.
After thinking over and over again, Zhang Zhao finally nodded.
With just a few thousand of his troops, including one-third of the party members, the current treatment is already the best.
Because he could no longer withstand the double attack between the Jinchang Army and the Zhenguo Army. Even the current Fengxiang Army's victory was narrow and narrow, and it was still difficult to swallow.
How dare An Shenqi do this if he has an army of 50,000? In the end, strength will speak for itself.