Outside Xiazhou City, the offensive and defensive battle continued, but it was not fierce.
The attacking side is waiting for the Hongliu River to be diverted and for the construction of large trebuchets and other equipment to be completed.
The defenders had sufficient experience, and although the inner west city of Xiazhou was small, it had solid city defenses and a complete defense system, which gave the soldiers and civilians in the city great confidence.
What's more important is that the people in Xiazhou City are basically members of the Li family of the Pingxia tribe. Therefore, they are relatively united and it is not difficult to deal with such a low-intensity siege by the rebels.
When Luo Yu'er had people take Zhe De to the gate of Xiazhou City, Zhang Zhao couldn't help but look at him a few more times. Who said his son-in-law, daughter, and grandson were so famous in history?
Yang Ye, Mrs. She, and Yang Yanzhao were all continuously processed by opera novels, and finally became iconic figures of Chinese civilization.
Zhe Deku was also looking at Zhang Zhao. He didn't expect that Zhang Zhao was about the same age as him.
In fact, they are almost the same age. Zhang Zhao was born in the second year of Qianhua (912) of Houliang Dynasty, and Zhe Deku was born in the third year of Zhenming (917) of Houliang Dynasty. Zhang Zhao was five years older than Zhe Deku.
And Zhang Zhao’s first impression on Zhe Deqi was ‘the true master!’
It must be said that appearance always plays a very important role in a person's first impression.
Although Zhang Zhao was only about 1.76 meters at this time, his height was not considered short even in later republics, let alone at this time.
In terms of appearance, Zhang Zhaozhen is not a handsome guy, but his face is very good-looking. He has the kind of Zhu Shimao's face that makes him look like a gentleman at first glance.
With this kind of face shape, as long as the facial features do not change, you can at least have thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a righteous look.
At this time, Zhang Zhao was giving a lecture on ancient times to a group of officers such as generals, captains, lieutenants, and fire chiefs.
The so-called telling about ancient times is actually telling stories. After King Zhang plagiarized The Legend of Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, he now plagiarized The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
For men, for the howling warriors, there is no more suitable story than the Three Kingdoms. When the so-called human-like stars shine, the martial virtues of the Three Kingdoms are abundant, which is no less than that of the warriors at this time.
Moreover, it was popular in the Three Kingdoms to challenge generals to one-on-one battles, and it was also popular at this time. Li Cunxiao, Wang Yanzhang, and Zhou Huaide all had famous moments.
During the Liang-Jin war, there was an extreme case where the generals were challenged to a duel, and soldiers from both sides took off their armor and went to watch.
Except that most of the monarchs of the Five Dynasties were extremely miserable, the Three Kingdoms and the Five Dynasties were still very similar in some places.
Talking about ancient times with soldiers is not because I, King Zhang, have this addiction, but it is his best way to win over junior officers.
You see, I, the King of Han, never tell these things to officers above the commander level, because Zhang Zhao often sees middle- and high-level officers.
The generals in front of him, the captain, the deputy, and the fire chief are all junior officers in the army. The highest ranking general can only oversee a hundred people, that is, he is a company commander.
They don't have the opportunity to see Zhang Zhao often, and they are more likely to be deceived. In this era where subordinates and superiors are commonplace, they are capable of causing trouble, so Zhang Zhao attaches great importance to establishing a sense of presence among low-level officers.
Of course, there were also some minor incidents. A veteran of the Guiyi Army thought that Zhang Zhao was doing a good job and wanted to learn from him, so he was sent by Zhang Zhao to herd sheep in the ancient city of Loulan.
At this moment, Zhang Zhao happened to talk about the excitement of Xu Chu's naked battle with Ma Chao. He couldn't stop, so he could only look at Guo Tiance and ask him to ask Zhe De to sit down and wait for a while.
One advantage of Zhang Zhao's version of the Three Kingdoms is that he has good military knowledge and is much more reliable than the Ming Dynasty authors who relied entirely on imagination.
But even so, readers still expressed their toxic points.
These rough guys thought it should be designed so that after a fierce fight between the two, Ma Chao defeated Xu Chu.
Because Jin Ma Chao is from Xiliang! He is from his hometown, and he is so popular when he appears. He is known as Jin Lu Bu and Silver Ma Chao. The force value should be designed to be higher.
They can only allow Lu Bu to be a little taller than Ma Chao, but no one else can, not even Guan Erye.
In particular, Li Cunhui felt that it made sense. Murong Nobunaga had already stolen the image of Zhao Zilong with his white horse and silver spear, so this Jin Ma Chao must have been tailor-made for him by his adoptive father!
Hearing that Ma Chao could only compete with Xu Chu, Li Cunhui felt extremely panicked. He wished he could jump into the book and transform into Ma Chao, and kill Xu Chu with three strikes, five divisions and two.
Zhang Zhao was also speechless. You idiots, you guys are talking about the level of Ma Chao's military strength! The Three Kingdoms are clearly talking about Liu Huangshu's faith and benevolence, and he is the real master!
If you don't hurry up and call me the king, you are Uncle Liu Huang, saying that Ma Chao's force value is too low.
Really! I said it would be cut from Nantianmen to Penglai East Road. Why are you asking me if my eyes are dry?
Zhe Deku listened for a while and found out that the king's voice was very recognizable, the cadences could control the rhythm, the tone, and the expression were just right. Even if he was not a king, he could live a good life with just this mouth!
As he listened, Zhe Deqing suddenly thought of something, and then he was horrified.
He looked at dozens or hundreds of low-level officers gathered around Zhang Zhao to listen to ancient stories, and suddenly thought of how his father also liked to talk about ancient times to his brothers and clan members when he was a child. At that time, they were all like this, watching with admiration and admiration.
Holding father.
If a general regards his soldiers as his sons, his military conduct will be like that of his father. If his generals regard his soldiers as his brothers, then his military conduct will be like his brothers. With such a united mind, what city cannot be conquered?
"Okay! Okay! It's almost noon. Hurry up and organize the soldiers to have a meal. Those who are going to dig river channels in the afternoon have completed their tasks. I will add mutton for you in the evening!"
After another cup of tea, Zhang Zhao finally finished telling today's story. He immediately sent away his idiot officers and came specifically to meet with Zhe De.
And this opened Zhe De's eyes wide. The Zhe family's military discipline was very strict. If the Zhe family fought a battle like the siege of Xiazhou, they would definitely follow the rules and have strict military laws.
However, like now, everyone from the outermost to Zhang Zhao showed a sense of relaxation, eh! Saying relaxed may not be too accurate, it should be a normal feeling.
It seems that the 60,000-strong rebel army did not realize how difficult and painful it was to besiege Xiazhou in winter.
However, this feeling is not bad!
Zhang Zhao felt good about the fifty bodyguards brought by Zhe Deku who were proficient in Dangxiang dialect and Chinese. Zhe Congyuan really knew how to fight and knew what Zhang Zhao lacked.
At this time, Dangxiang people were widely distributed. Although Zhang Zhao also had Dangxiang people from Hui, Yuan, Qing and other prefectures, there was a big gap between the Dangxiang people in Hui, Yuan and Xiazhou.
Those in Gyeongju are slightly better, but their level of Chinese is too low and they can only barely communicate.
The fifty people brought by Zhe Deqing were no different from Dang Xiang of the Pingxia Department, and their Chinese proficiency was also good, so they were a moderate help.
"This time I came to Xiazhou, in addition to thanking the king for the gift, I can also recruit some party tribes for the king.
Your Majesty can send more than a hundred fine cavalry to someone, and if someone takes them with him, you can persuade the tribes such as Luo Li and Gui Ren in the northeast of Xiazhou to come and seek refuge with you."
The Zhe family and the Li family both belong to the Dangxiang people, but the Zhe family came earlier. They arrived here during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and they belong to the combined tribes of Xianbei and Dangxiang.
Compared with the Li family of the Pingxia tribe who came between Gaozong and Wu Niannian, they are the local snakes of this generation.
Historically, the Zhe family refused to join the Li family of the Dingnan army even if they were beaten to death. This was probably due to the disdain and dissatisfaction of old money towards new money.
But just because Zhejia came early, others couldn't poach the Dingnan Army's Li family, but Zhejia could.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhe Yuqing, the son of Zhe Deyi, recruited the Khitans inside and outside the Great Wall. Dozens of party chiefs and more than 100,000 Dingkou were relocated to the south of Fuzhou.
The Northern Song Dynasty court recruited nearly 10,000 elite cavalry from them, which made Li Jiqian so angry that he vomited blood.
Alas! In this Song Dynasty, as long as it was normal and did not engage in frivolous operations, ten Li Jiqian would be gone.
Just as he was about to instruct Guo Tiance to select elite cavalry for Zhe De, someone came from outside to report.
"Your Majesty, Taifu Liu from Hedong has sent someone to return the favor and is asking for an audience outside the camp!"
"It just so happens, let's go meet him together!" Zhang Zhao affectionately took Zhe De's arm, and they walked towards the door.
Zhang Zhao was still a little worried about the Zhe family, because historically they had been too obedient to the court's orders.
This will make Zhe Deyi go to see Liu Zhiyuan's envoys to express his goodwill, and let them know that after Liu Zhiyuan's name is not involved, the Zhe family will not be ignorant of the importance.
Still far away from the camp gate, Zhang Zhao saw at a glance a young general wearing a green uniform, as tall as jade, and with a very clear voice, talking to the officer on duty at the camp gate.
Just by looking at him from a distance, he felt that this person was not vulgar, neither humble nor arrogant. When he stood there, he felt an inexplicable sense of calmness.
Taking a closer look, wow! He is such a good-natured athlete. He is almost seventeen or eighteen years old. In terms of appearance, only Murong Nobunaga can compare with him. A simple bun on his head makes him so handsome.
It adds a bit of heroic and unrestrained feeling.
"Are you the envoy of Taifu Liu? Are you from the east of Hedong?" Seeing that this young general was indeed good, Zhang Zhao did not show any pretense and silenced the guards who were about to roll his name, and walked to the gate of the camp and asked.
The young general looked at Zhang Zhao and took a quick look. He was kind and had a good temperament. He was also accompanied by several generals with the same good temperament.
Just as he was about to ask, the officer saw Zhang Zhao, bowed quickly, and then said, "This is the arrival of the king himself!"
The young general was shocked and quickly bowed down, "Hedong Jiedushi, who stayed behind in Beijing, inspected Chai Rong, the infantry commander of Liu Taifu's command, to pay homage to the King of Han. Taifu sent the young general to come with 20 jars of Hedong fine wine and 40 jars of balsamic vinegar.
Thanks!"
Damn it!
Zhang Zhao shook violently. He didn't even hear what wine or balsamic vinegar he was talking about, but he heard a name - Chai Rong!
"What did you say your name was?" Zhang Zhao even forgot to wake up.
"Report to Your Majesty! The young general Chai Rong is from the Mabu Military Academy in Hedong. He has been sent by Taifu Liu to come to the Majesty to express his gratitude."
Chai Rong was a little confused, but his face didn't show anything. He still knelt on one knee and respectfully raised his hands and said.
"Is Guo Wenzhong your uncle?" Zhang Zhao was afraid of making a mistake, so he confirmed it.
"It's indeed the young general's uncle!" Chai Rong replied quickly.
"Hahahaha! Get up quickly!" Zhang Zhao laughed wildly three times, ran over and pulled Chai Rong up from the ground.
"I've heard about it for a long time! Guo Que'er and your adoptive mother, Mrs. Chai, are a match made in heaven. I've heard about it for a long time.
People say it’s fitting that Guo Que’er got such a good wife. I think he not only got a good wife, but also a filial nephew who travels all over the country to support his family. What a blessing!”
Zhang Zhao's eyes were filled with jealousy. It would be great if Chai Rong was his adopted son, but he didn't care that Chai Rong was nine years younger than him.
Chai Rong was a little confused. Even though he had traveled all over the country at a young age and was well-informed, he had never seen such a scene.
A prince of a country held his hand and was affectionate, which reminded Chai Rong of some bad aspects and made him feel a little cold behind him.
"Today is such a good day, two talented people are here together!" Zhang Zhao smiled and then looked at Guo Tiance.
"Go and call Murong Nobunaga and Li Cunhui over. Today I will show you my skills and let you have a taste of the craftsmanship of a great king."
As soon as Guo Tiance heard this, he knew that the king had used the ultimate tactic to win over, and that was to cook the food himself. However, the king's meals were indeed well cooked!
However, given the identities of Murong Nobunaga and Li Cunhui, if they are allowed to come, is it possible that the king is going to adopt an adopted son again? (To be continued)