Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 254 North Deployment
Under the city of Youzhou, flags and camps are everywhere.

There were two moderate rains in autumn, making the yellow mud road in the camp muddy and difficult to walk on. If you stepped on it, you could not pass through the shoes. Guo Ting said that he wore a sheepskin cloak and rode a horse to inspect the camp. I thought about the situation in the south and didn't know what to do, but the situation in the north was settled.

Without the commander in chief, it is impossible to attack a fortified city like Youzhou.

Fighting a war is not an easy task, especially attacking a fortified city. Leaving aside those morale-boosting words, you can even just say that you are sending people to die
This is completely different from a field battle. The prestige of the commander is very important, otherwise no one would want to take on such a job. If the official or the commander is there, as long as the order is given, the generals will definitely work hard. It is impossible.

Even if the commander-in-chief let him temporarily lead the entire army to forcibly order the siege, there must be discord among the people. No one wants to contribute, and it may cause disagreements among the generals.

Guo Ting said that he was very self-aware, so from the beginning he only planned to siege, but never thought of a strong attack.

The people of the Liao Kingdom were already terrified of being killed, and their emperor was also trapped in the city of Youzhou. The Liao people guarded Youzhou and dared not leave the city at all. Build city barriers and build fortresses at Kouguan and other places to stabilize the situation in the north, allowing the Zhou army to completely control these lands and gain a firm foothold.

As for the orders of the generals, Guo Tingwei never thought about it, because he knew that he could not command, as long as the current status quo was maintained, everything would be fine.

He also followed the command of the commander in a hurry before he left, and was going to propose to the Liao State that Xiao Siwen, who stayed behind in Nanjing, would be exchanged for Dong Zunhui's mother and her daughter.

Guo Ting said that he was a descendant of Guo Ziyi, but their family had already moved to Huainan, and many things in the north were unknown. It was Luqiu Zhongqing who told him the matter and explained the reason to everyone at a military meeting.

Luqiu Zhongqing was from Qi. Later, he spent most of his life in Hebei and Hedong, and he knew more about the affairs in the north. When he said it, he probably considered that he was afraid that the generals would not accept him. Why should he use a Nanjing left-behind to replace him.

Dong Zunhui, a native of Fanyang, Zhuozhou. His father, Dong Zongben, was originally the governor of Suizhou. Later, when the Liao people went south, his family was ruined. Dong Zunhui's father was killed. The dignitaries of the Liao Kingdom occupied and became slaves.

But things quickly progressed, and it turned out that Xiao Siwen was the one who occupied Dong Zunhui's mother.

Dong Zunhui's mother was the governor's wife, and she was pretty. After the Liao people occupied the sixteen prefectures, because of Dong's good looks, Xiao Siwen occupied her and took her as his concubine.

It's just that the rest of the commander-in-chief's explanation puzzled him a little. In exchange for Dong's daughter?Did Mrs. Dong give birth to Xiao Siwen's daughter in Youzhou?
After interrogating Xiao Siwen, Guo Tingwei found out that there was no such thing. Although he took over the Dong family as his concubine, he did not give birth to any children. He was even more puzzled for a while, what did the commander-in-chief's hasty explanation mean?
Does it mean that if the Dong family is occupied by the Khitan people and has children, they should also be rescued.

However, the commander-in-chief had already gone south, so he couldn't ask clearly.

This move moved the lieutenant general quite a bit. The commander-in-chief redeemed his family members for his confidant general, and he was willing to exchange people like Nanjing Liushou of the Liao Kingdom. You must know that the Liushou of Nanjing is a high-ranking official of the Liao Kingdom. How great is man.

And a few days later, Tao Gu, the servant of the Ministry of War with the imperial decree, also slowly came to the army, bringing the imperial decree requesting the withdrawal of the army.

People who knew the inside story of this decree were not shocked, such as Guo Tingwei and Luqiu Zhongqing, but other generals, such as Zhao Kuangyin and Wang Quanbin, were shocked when they heard that the officials were seriously ill and asked the army to withdraw, and their attitudes immediately changed. changed.

No matter how unintelligent they are, they should have realized why the commander-in-chief disappeared early at this time. The commander-in-chief went south on the grounds that he retreated to the south to take care of the aftermath. Wise men in the army.

The situation has changed significantly in the past few days. Guo Tingwei found that every morning and evening, more and more generals began to report to him the situation of their troops, and no one yelled when discussing matters.

Veterans like Zhao Kuangyin and Wang Quanbin also listened to his orders more. This feeling made him very happy and proud, and all this was because he was the person next to the commander-in-chief. The choice is right, my heart is full of hope for the future, I have more ambitions and aspirations, and sometimes I even think about the beautiful future that I didn't think about before.

Guo Tingwei doesn't know how far the commander-in-chief will go to the south, but he thinks the commander-in-chief is a person who will go step by step and will not go to the last step. The biggest reason is that Li Chongjin, Zhang Yongde also led the army in north.

If Li Chongjin was still in Huainan and did not lead the imperial army outside, things would be more favorable without any suspense.

But there is no way to do this, the official family fell ill too unexpectedly, but when the official family fell ill, all the army was out.

The most difficult thing for the imperial army is how to move troops out of the city. Only the official edict and the order of the Privy Council have the right to lead troops. The Privy Council can transfer troops but cannot lead troops.

So if there is no war, the forbidden army is in Daliang, and the generals are not so threatening, but this time the army has already set off, and the military power is already in the hands of the leading generals.

If Li Chongjin is still in Huainan, there is no need to worry at all, but now he is leading an army outside, and the military power is still in his hands.

This was not a perfect timing. If Li Chongjin handed over his military power and returned to Huainan after the war was all over, then many scruples would completely disappear.

However, he also knew that it was just an assumption, and time would not wait. It would be even more troublesome if Li Chongjin and others led the army back to Beijing with the commander in chief. Li Chongjin and Zhang Yongde were relatives of the emperor.

The most important thing about whether the identity of the royal relatives is effective is whether they have military power in their hands. The royal relatives and relatives without military power are the targets of the court's precautions.

After making a round of inspection, the scouts from the north also hurriedly came to the big tent to report to him: "General Guo, the reinforcements from the Liao tribe in the north have arrived in Tanzhou, but they dare not go south for the time being, and they seem to be waiting for someone."

"How many people are there?" Guo Tingwei asked.

The scout said: "Yesterday it looked like there were only three or four thousand soldiers, but today there are more than five thousand. The reinforcements in the north are still gathering."

Guo Tingwei nodded. Tanzhou is more than 120 miles north of Youzhou. Xiao Siwen did explain that the tribal armies of the Liao Kingdom were ordered to gather towards Youzhou. A wave was killed and defeated.

The tribal army of the Liao Kingdom is a large army assembled from various ministries. It is definitely not as good as being defeated by them. The main force of the Liao Kingdom has no courage to confront them head-on, but it is still daring to rescue Youzhou.

It was time to withdraw from this battle, and the government's imperial decree had also arrived, but Guo Ting said that Tao Gu was temporarily settled down, because the withdrawal of the army would take time to prepare, so he did not withdraw immediately.

In fact, he was waiting for the commander's order.

Until two days later, the messenger from the south rushed to deliver the latest order from Commander Shi Congyun and the Privy Council, ordering the army to withdraw to the south.

There are also arrangements for newly occupied land.

Waqiaoguan is Xiongzhou, and the two counties of Rongcheng and Guiyi belong to it. Chen Sirang, the governor of the Yicheng Army, is deployed as the capital of Xiongzhou.

Chen Sirang is also a veteran, and this time he led more than a thousand people with the army. He has served in the Later Tang, Later Jin, and Later Han, and has been a courtier of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Afterwards, it was ordered to take Yijinguan as Bazhou, cut Wen'an, and the three counties of Dacheng and Gu'an belonged to it.

At the same time, the commander-in-chief specifically explained that Zhao Kuangyin was deployed for the three states of Bazhou, Yizhou, and Zhuozhou, and led the army to station at Yijin Pass as the forefront of resisting the Khitans.

At the same time, Ding Fu was conscripted from Binzhou and Dizhou in Shandong Province to build Bazhou and Gu'an city defense fortresses to stabilize the defense against the north.

In this way, in this battle, the main force of the Liao State was severely damaged, and Yizhou, Zhuozhou, Bazhou, Xiongzhou, Mozhou, Yingzhou, Ningzhou and other places were taken back from the Liao State, and at the same time, Gu'an, Yijin Pass, and Waqiao Pass were built. , Yukou Pass, and Duliukou are the first-line defense system to the north.

Guo Ting said that he summoned all the generals to announce the matter. At the same time, according to the content of the commander's letter, he said at the end: "General Zhao Kuangyin, the commander said in the letter that you are outstanding and skilled in warfare. Leave such a major event to others. He is worried.

That's why I entrust you with the task of frontier defense in the north. I hope you can shoulder this heavy responsibility and do a good job in frontier defense for the country and the people. "

Zhao Kuangyin hesitated to speak, then knelt down on one knee, thanking the Marshal for his trust, and at the same time expressing that he would be able to do well.

Guo Ting said that he didn't know if the commander-in-chief's arrangement had any deep meaning, but he could feel that Zhao Kuangyin was bold and powerful in battle, but he was different from ordinary generals, very ambitious and ambitious.

Such people probably don't want to stay away from the capital. Leaving the capital is tantamount to staying away from the political center, not to mention that the Zhao family is all in Daliang.

However, I also feel that there is nothing wrong with the commander-in-chief's arrangement. The Khitan people were indeed defeated, but the northern frontier defense is still the most important. Most of the southern countries are not to be feared. Only the Liao Kingdom is still a threat. At this time, the northern frontier defense needs a capable person I will serve as the big future.

Thinking of this, Guo Ting said he could only comfort him with his hands: "General Zhao, there is no need to worry. I also know that your family is in Daliang, but at this critical time, the commander-in-chief has nothing to do. There are not many people with the ability of a general.

Presumably, when the situation in the court stabilizes and many things in the south are settled, the court will call General Zhao back. "

Zhao Kuangyin nodded and clapped his hands together: "Then please ask General Guo to speak kindly for me in front of the commander-in-chief."

"Definitely." Guo Ting said with a smile and cupped his hands.

Outside Youzhou City, the Zhou army showed signs of retreating, and the soldiers at the head of Youzhou City could naturally see it. Many people cheered happily, and they were already frightened to guard heavily in the Youzhou government yamen, shutting their doors and panicking All day long, when he heard about Zhou Jun, Shi Congyun and other news, the Liao Emperor Yelujing, who was panicked when he heard the news, excitedly pulled the hand of the soldier who reported the news and questioned him again and again.

It frightened the soldiers of the Liao Kingdom. It is well known that Yelujing loves to kill people. How long ago have they seen their tyrannical and cruel emperor get so close to his subordinates?

Afterwards, Yelujing boarded the top of Youzhou City to confirm the situation under heavy guards, and laughed excitedly when he saw that Zhou Jun had indeed packed up the luggage in the camp and showed signs of retreating.

At the same time, he ordered the defenders at the head of the city not to fight back, and sent people to fall out of the wall at night, and went to the north to warn the tribal troops near Tanzhou, which were assembled more than 100 miles northeast of Youzhou, not to go south for the time being. Thoughts of retreat.

After experiencing the disastrous defeat at Yijin Pass, Yelujing's expression changed when talking about history, and when talking about Zhou Jun, he felt chills all over his body.

Of the [-] main forces of the Liao army he led, only a few hundred followed him into the city, and most of the rest either got separated or were killed.

Afterwards, Shi Congyun released more than a hundred captives, and described to them that the Zhou army captured Yelu Talie, the king of the Southern Academy, captured Xiao Siwen who stayed behind in Nanjing, executed more than 200 generals and school officials, and massacred tens of thousands of elite soldiers. , The river was blocked, and the land for several miles was dyed red.

Fear spread everywhere in Youzhou City for a while, and people called Shi Congyun the "Decapitated Demon King" of the Zhou Kingdom. For a while, his reputation was so good that it could frighten children so much that they dare not cry.

And Yelvjing was even more panic-stricken all day long, hiding in the heavily guarded Yamen of Youzhou Mansion, not daring to come out, drinking all day long to soothe his worries, not daring to face the army of Youzhou City, for fear of hearing Shi Congyun's name again.

In this atmosphere, it was suddenly discovered that the Zhou army might be about to retreat. For everyone, it was like the rest of their lives. They wished they could beat the gongs and drums to send Zhou Jun away as soon as possible, and send away Shi Congyun, the murderous god.

Yelvjing and even the generals around him never thought about relying on the tribal army to launch a counterattack. Not to mention the loss of the main force that led the south this time, the previous fiasco and the fear of death are still like nightmares, waving in the mind. If they don't go, they don't even have the courage to face Zhou Jun now.

From the trapped emperor to the common people in the city, there was no doubt that they were not overjoyed by the signs of the Zhou army withdrawing. Many people even began to burn incense and worship Buddha, begging the Bodhisattva to bless Zhou to withdraw the army quickly.

Buddhism was introduced into China from the Han Dynasty, and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. By the Five Dynasties, it had developed to the extent of flooding. The emperor of Zhou State had rectified it, but Buddhism was the state religion in the Liao Kingdom. The officials in the Liao Kingdom were selected to learn from the Central Plains. Buddhism and the official belief are all, and Taoism does not have such a position in the Central Plains.

Everyone in the city was happy, but only one family was not happy, and that was Xiao Siwen's family.

Although Zhou Jun wanted to withdraw, Xiao Siwen was still a prisoner in Zhou Jun's hands. The Xiao family mansion was full of grief and panic. The Patriarch was captured by Zhou people, and the family was extremely uneasy.

The wife of Xiao Siwen, the eldest princess of the Yan Kingdom who is temporarily in charge of the family affairs, has a noble status and can still maintain the Xiao mansion, but she was ill at first. After hearing about this incident, she fell ill again. Several daughters stayed with her all day long. Washing their faces with tears, they hated Zhou Jun and Shi Congyun to the point of gnashing their teeth, but there was nothing they could do.

They were in Nanjing, which was the closest to the Central Plains, and they had the most news about the South. They had heard more or less about the prestige of General Zhou Shi Congyun. He fought wars everywhere in the past few years, and his reputation spread all over the world, but he didn't take it to heart.

They didn't expect that this first meeting of fate would end in such a tragic way, which left a deep impression on them.

The smartest youngest daughter, Xiao Zhuo, shed tears of fright when she heard that her father was captured by Shi Congyun's army. Later, when she heard that Shi Congyun was cruel and inhuman, and massacred the Liao army, she was even more frightened. Bloodless, everyone felt that the Patriarch was doomed if he fell into the hands of the vicious Shi Congyun.

Unexpectedly, two days later, the emperor sent soldiers to tell them the news in a hurry, saying that Zhou Jun was willing to exchange Xiao Siwen for hostages
(End of this chapter)