Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 274
"Han Baozheng is trash!"

Wang Zhaoyuan dropped the cup in his hand to the ground with a bang.

The staff next to him were also a little anxious, and even said: "The prince's deployment is very decent, guarding Xingzhou, Xixian, Guangyuan, Sanquan, Lizhou, these are all important places, and there is nothing wrong with them.

To blame can only be blamed on Han Baozheng who couldn't fight too much, and gave him 1 people to hold on to the key points, but he was defeated one after another.

There are more than 20 camps of our army between Xingzhou and Xixian County, all of which are located in important places. He couldn't hold it so quickly. "

The staff pointed the disaster at Han Baozheng one after another, because he was also afraid in his heart that he was inseparable from the cause of the great war. It was he who persuaded Wang Zhaoyuan, saying that he was in a high position and had no merit, so it was difficult to discuss at the right time. Take advantage of the Great Zhou Dynasty to send troops to make some military achievements.

He said this just to please Wang Zhaoyuan, and he knew that Wang Zhaoyuan also had such thoughts.

Unexpectedly, Wang Zhaoyuan really persuaded His Majesty not to surrender, but to fight Zhou Jun to the death instead.

As a result, the battle had just started, and the Zhou army was completely destroyed, and they all went all the way to Hanzhong and Lizhou. Now he was completely panicked. What should I do if I involve him?

So he had no choice but to blame Han Baozheng for all his mistakes, so that the prince could have a step down.

Hearing what he said, Wang Zhaoyuan's complexion improved a lot.

"Your Majesty and I misunderstood him. This old man will write a letter and ask someone to explain to Chengdu that Han Baozheng was too incompetent for losing the first battle." Wang Zhaoyuan found the steps and was finally able to release the responsibility for the defeat.

"It's best to have Zhao Chongtao, the military supervising envoy, issue a letter together to explain this matter."

Wang Zhaoyuan nodded: "That makes sense."

At the head of the city of Lizhou, Zhao Chongtao, dressed in military uniform, was patrolling the city defenses. Unfortunately, he was not the commander in chief, but only supervised the army, and had no right to mobilize the army.

Unlike Wang Zhaoyuan, Zhao Chongtao was born as a general.

His father, Zhao Tingyin, was from Daliang, Henan, which is the current capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Later, he entered Shu with the late emperor Meng Zhixiang and made many military exploits. He defended Jianzhou in the battle of attacking Liangchuan in the later Tang Dynasty and repelled the imperial army led by Shi Jingtang;
Capture Lizhou Zhaowu Army;
Then he attacked and killed Dong Zhang in the battle of the annexation of the two Sichuans, and captured Dongchuan.

He is also one of the auxiliary ministers left by the first emperor to His Majesty today. When he resigned from the military post in his later years, he was appointed as Taishi and Zhongshuling. He was also named King of Song because he was born in Kaifeng.

Lizhou, an important city under his feet, was captured by his father back then. Now that soldiers are coming to the city, Zhao Chongtao is in a different mood.

At the beginning, the fathers threw their heads and blood to resist the army of the later Tang Dynasty and took down this important town. If it is thrown into his hands now, what face would they have to go to see their father under Jiuquan?

He has also fought in battles. Six years ago, he participated in the last Shi Congyun's attack on Shu. The forward Li Jin was killed, and after Li Yangui was defeated, he followed Gao Yanchou and others to increase troops.

He defeated a southward Zhou army of more than 200 people in the north of the Xingzhou River Valley and killed more than 20 enemies. After the Zhou army retreated, he never went south.

The Zhou army did not counterattack or retaliate, so it became one of the few complete victories achieved by the court after the entire battle.

Therefore, the court and the central government boasted about this, and people who talk about the world also talked about his deeds, saying that he did not kill many enemies, but it was of great significance, and it was a matter of life and death. Zhou Jun did not dare to go deep, and did not dare to look south in Shuzhong. His Majesty is very happy , Add him as the commander of the left and right guard holy infantry in the history.

In the last years of Guangzheng, his beloved son Zhao Wenliang married the princess, joined Wuding Army (ruling today's Yangxian County, Shaanxi Province) as the Jiedu envoy, and commanded deputy envoys for all the villages on the edge of Wuding in Shannan.

In fact, Zhao Chongtao knew in his heart that his original victory was because Zhou Jun didn't want to fight anymore and had no intention of going south. They occupied Malingzhai and they didn't want to fight south again, let alone repel Zhou Jun.

The next year, Zhou Jun turned around and aggressively attacked Huainan, which also confirmed his idea. Zhou Jun just wanted to block them in the mountains of Qinling, unable to enter Guanzhong, so that he could spare his hands to fight Huainan.

In his heart, he really admired and envied the Zhou Dynasty's foresight and execution ability of the monarchs and ministers. When they attacked Qinling, they actually wanted to clean up Huainan in order to plan Jiangnan.

That kind of grandeur, great strategy and determination to do great things is exactly what they lack.

The court is still blowing up a little insignificant victory, saying that he defeated the Zhou army, but dare not say how much Shi Congyun caused them to lose. Why did the Zhou army retreat when they hit Malingzhai? Think about it Why do people beat them? There is a bigger plan hidden behind it.

He talked a lot, but didn't actually do anything. The trend of comfort and pleasure prevailed, and this was what he was most worried about.

Up to now, a little monk back then, because he did a good job serving His Majesty, actually became the commander of the North Army, and let them, the generals who have fought wars, serve as supervisors of the army.
Zhao Chongtao is deeply worried about this war.

Looking up, the Tianling Mountains in the north are lush and verdant, you can’t see the edge, and you can see their flags from time to time. The Jialing River in the west is sparkling, and their army is still stationed on the flat valley outside the city where the two rivers meet. If you want to rush, you are stuck at two ferries. If you want to go south, you must get through this important town.

At this time, Zhou Jun had already reached ten miles to the north, and many soldiers seemed worried.

While patrolling the city defense, he comforted the soldiers.

After a while, he saw the staff of the coach Wang Zhaoyuan coming over, and he cupped his hands casually, "Do you have any orders from the coach?"

"The commander-in-chief is planning to write a battle report, and I want to ask the military supervisor to review it. If there is no problem, please ask the military supervisor to sign it and send it back to Chengdu."

Zhao Chongtao took it over and looked at it for a while, then frowned slightly: "Han Baozheng isn't so unbearable, is he? Although he is indeed no match for Zhou Jun, he fought Zhou Jun one after another, and he didn't flinch in fear of the battle."

Zhou's army was strong, Han Baozheng was defeated one after another, but kept gathering remnants to resist until Lizhan was captured. He did not surrender or escape. This has surpassed many generals he has seen.

The outcome of the battlefield is not determined by one or a few people. If the majority of the Shu army is not the opponent of the Zhou army who has experienced many battles, it will be useless no matter how powerful Han Baozheng is.

Even if he wasn't very good, he still did his duty and was captured at the end of the battle. He was a man.

Why is it so unbearable as written in Wang Zhaoyuan's battle report? If Han Baozheng is so unbearable, what are the main forces and coaches who stop three hundred miles away from the front line and dare not go north?
Zhao Chongtao didn't dare to say these words, but he still expressed his opinion: "This is inappropriate, Han Baozheng is not entirely responsible for this defeat."

The staff member glanced at him, snorted and said: "Jun Zhao, you should think about it carefully, losing tens of thousands of soldiers in successive defeats, losing Xingzhou, Xixian, and Sanquan; Who will bear the heavy responsibility?

Zhao Jianjun, is it possible that you are responsible to Chengdu for this matter?Can you afford this big event!
Now that Han Baozheng was captured by Zhou Jun, and he couldn't go to Chengdu to talk, it would be a wise choice to push him all the way. "

Zhao Chongtao's face turned red when he heard this, and he couldn't speak.

"Military Superintendent, it's one thing to think for yourself. This is also what the commander-in-chief means. You have to be careful."

Zhao Chongtao looked at him, and grabbed the letter: "Leave it, I will present it to the commander after I think about it."

"Then you can hurry up." The staff member turned around and left after speaking, Zhao Chongtao looked at his back, feeling annoyed.

"The war is imminent, and I don't want to retreat from the enemy, but I want to do this!"

The Jiedu envoy judge next to him also sighed and whispered to him: "The general's affairs are annoying, Wang Shuai is different from you, you are a general, and wealth and power depend on military merit.

Wang Zhaoyuan is a jester, his power and wealth are all in His Majesty's pleasure.

The general leads the army, thinking about winning the battle.

The jester leads the army, thinking of how to please His Majesty, fighting the war is secondary, he is rich and powerful by pleasing His Majesty, what else can he expect.

Although it is a critical juncture now, his first thought is to get rid of the relationship and not lose His Majesty's favor. It is normal for the general to not understand. "

"The priority now is to retreat."

"For the general, but not necessarily for Wang Shuai." The scribe-dressed judge said, Zhao Chongtao stopped talking, and there was an indescribable helplessness in the city. How could a jester be the commander, and the battle would be easy.

"Soldiers are approaching the city, and they are still fighting each other. If the first emperor didn't value my family, I really want to let go of it." This kind of thing is more chilling than foreign enemies.

Unknowingly, it was the end of February, and Shi Congyun didn't know what happened in Lizhou City, but he once led troops all the way south along the west bank of the Jialing River, to the important town of Lizhou across the river.

Lizhou is also known as Guangyuan in later generations. From here to the southwest, you will soon reach the famous Jianmen Pass.

This is the place where two rivers meet. On the west side of Lizhou is the Jialing River, and on the east side there is a small mountain. The locals call it Dongshan, and some people call it Fenghuang Mountain.

To the north is Mantianling, with high mountains and dense forests.

The name of Phoenix Mountain in Dongshan has a lot of origin, and it is also related to Wu Zetian.

According to legend, in the early Tang Dynasty, Yuan Tiangang went south to Shu and arrived in Lizhou City on the day of the Duanyang Festival. He encountered a dragon boat race being held on the Jialing River, and the Lizhou governor and warrior Xun's family happened to sit on the official boat to watch the race.

At this time, an oolong sprang out from the depths of the river and flew towards the west mountain; at the same time, a phoenix also flew over with the colorful clouds, made a long cry on the top of the east mountain, and then flew north.

This actually symbolizes the meaning of Wu Zetian entering the Tang Palace from the north.

This was obviously made up to prove the legitimacy of Wu Zetian's succession to the throne. The local people happily talked about it to him, and Shi Congyun laughed it off.

I have a deep impression on this big city, because it is surrounded by water on three sides, and one side is surrounded by mountains. It's not dangerous enough, and the troops from the east can cross it casually.

However, it is considered a big city. After seeing this situation, Shi Congyun was actually quite relieved. He was afraid that Lizhou would be like Shouzhou.

Shouzhou is the situation that all Zhou Dynasty generals are most unwilling to face. They fought there for more than a year and suffered many casualties.

Where is Wang Quanbin's devious army?

They were not idle here either. The craftsmen of the Shenhuo Army rushed to build 36 ships, plus the previous ones, a total of 300 ships, and there were still some that were still being built, which could guarantee that more than [-] troops could be transported across the river at one time.

More than 300 people are enough to stand on the beach and wait for the next group of people to go back and forth.

On March [-]st, the spring weather warmed up. Everyone had just finished their meal in the afternoon. As usual, there were four battalions in armor and horses. banner.

Shi Congyun immediately got on his horse and rushed to the riverside to check, but he couldn't see what was happening on the other side. Shao Ji, Murong Yanzhao and others also came over.

However, he did not give the order immediately, fearing that there would be deceit on the other side, until the shouts of killing on the other side became louder and louder, and the Shu army on the riverside hurried to the east to support, and after seeing the Zhou army's flag on the other side from a distance, Shi Congyun Know that Wang Quanbin is here!

Immediately ordered to forcibly cross the Jialing River.

All of a sudden, many officers and soldiers who had been prepared for a long time boarded the boat, and with the help of the local boatman, they rowed to the opposite bank. Shao Ji and Murong Yanzhao took the lead in armor and rushed to direct.

Because of the attack in the rear, many of the Shu army on the riverside were transferred away. At this time, the Zhou army suddenly launched a forced crossing. The defense of the Shu army on the riverside was not tight. Most of the densely packed arrows were shot into the river, and most of them were blocked by shields. The boatmen also had special personnel. protect.

Bows and crossbows are not lethal, but a few of them fell into the river after being unsteady on the boat. They were covered in heavy armor, like a big rock. They plopped and became silent, and there was no room for struggle. They were basically hopeless. After a while , one of the hands and feet quickly untied some armor and floated up, and the rest of them didn't float up again.

Shao Ji and Murong Yanzhao led the team and quickly rushed to the beach, all armored. After the fierce and combative Zhou army rushed to the beach in a large scale, the Shu army was no match at all.

Zhou Jun immediately built a line of defense with shields, overthrew the Juma on the beach, set fire to Luzhai, and then did not rush to open up a deep front, but covered the follow-up troops to cross the river.

The follow-up ships were transported back and forth. Two quarters of an hour later, there were several round trips, and a team of nearly a thousand people transported there.

During the period, more than 100 war horses were sent to the river. The war horses did not need to take a boat to cross the river. The horses could swim by themselves. Only the soldiers sitting at the stern held the reins, and they could swim smartly behind the boat by themselves.

After the number of troops was almost the same, Shao Ji and Murong Yanzhao immediately organized troops on the opposite bank, released scouts, charged in depth, and flanked Wang Quanbin on both sides.

The beachhead was full of flames and smog, the Shu army couldn't stand it, all the people below ran away, only a few poor bastards on the sentry tower were surrounded and killed, and then the army rushed to the shore and entered the Xiaomantian village.

Later, Shi Congyun couldn't see the specific situation inside because of the smoke and the wooden wall of the camp, but by the afternoon, the killing noise had completely subsided, and Shao Ji sent someone to report the victory, saying that Xiaomantian Village had been completely occupied, and another 41 people had been seized on the other side. With only one boat, the army can cross the river.

While everyone was cheering, the craftsmen of the Shenhuo Army proposed another plan for crossing the river. They gathered all the boats in the river, connected them with iron cables, laid wooden boards on them, and built a pontoon bridge.

Shi Congyun agreed, and immediately asked Feng Jisheng to take the craftsmen and soldiers to work.

Because the water flow at the ferry is not urgent, this matter progressed faster than Shi Congyun thought. After a day of continuous work, by the afternoon of the next day, the army would be able to cross the pontoon bridge of Xiaomantianzhai to the opposite bank, and with Shao Ji, Murong Yanzhao, Meet Wang Quanbin.

Seeing him crossing the river, Wang Quanbin, Murong Yanzhao, Shao Ji, Liu Qingchuan, Gao Huaide and other generals came to see him one after another. Shi Congyun was overjoyed and said together: "Remember all of you's achievements, and you will be rewarded together after the battle. General Wang Yiyi used his troops like a god, which is really eye-opening."

Everyone laughed, and Wang Quanbin's old face turned into a flower. His face was filthy, his whole body was stained with blood, his hair and beard were messy, and his body smelled bad.

This is also difficult for him, the rugged mountain roads of more than 300 miles are circuitous, and the living conditions can be imagined after ten days of non-stop driving.

Shi Congyun then ordered Wang Quanbin to take a good rest, and specially sent him and his soldiers a lot of high-quality rice and meat seized in Xixian County, so that the soldiers he led could also take a good rest.

Later, Shi Congyun took back the command of each army, and he unified the command, because the south is the last main force of the Shu army in the north.

Except for the 5000 people led by Pan Mei who were in Xixian County to take over Xingyuan Mansion, more than 2 troops joined forces at Xiaomantianzhai in the north of Lizhou and crossed the Jialing River.

To the south is the avenue leading to Lizhou, and Lizhou City is only ten miles to the south
(End of this chapter)