Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1038 Farewell
The weather in Xuzhou is actually not that bad. The climate here is closer to the north and drier.

Of course this is also relative.In fact, Xuzhou also had some rain, but on the whole, the rainfall did gradually decrease from the Yangtze River to the north.

After Yang Xingmi retreated, Shao Shude's cavalry camped on the west bank of Surabaya, unable to go anywhere.

Zhou Ben led the navy to the north, and the half-built pontoon bridge in Suqian was destroyed again. Wang Jingluo was so angry that he scolded his mother and put it to pieces, leaving it alone.

Li Tangbin's main force also withdrew north to Suqian.But the speed of the march was horribly slow, the vehicles kept getting stuck in mud pits one after another, and the damage rate skyrocketed.The sergeants were covered in mud, their morale was low, and no one wanted to fight anymore.

Zhu Zhen led his troops to Xiao County first. After attacking for a day, it rained heavily.With this ready reason, he stopped moving and began to dig a trench.

Longxiang, Gongchen and more than [-] people from the left side of the Yicong army approached Xuzhou and set up camp.With their soldiers and horses, Xuzhou must not be defeated, or even encircled, but this battle does not have to be hard.

In such a situation of silence across the board, Zhou Ben led more than a hundred naval ships to the outside of Xuzhou City.

"It's a pity to give up such a magnificent city." Zhou Ben looked at the towering horse stage from a distance and said with emotion.

The Ximatai is located on the Nanshan Mountain in Lixu, south of Xuzhou City. Xiang Yu built it for watching horses, so it got its name.

Ximatai is now a military town, with a city wall built, a large amount of military resources hoarded, and soldiers left behind.

There is also Shifo Mountain (Yunlong Mountain) nearby, and there is Shifo Village on the mountain. A military town was also set up and troops were sent to guard it.

In fact, Xuzhou (now Tongshan) has mountains on all sides, and the middle is like a small basin. As Su Dongpo said, "The mountains of Pengcheng are surrounded by hills and ridges, hidden like a big ring."

Surrounded by mountains as a barrier, at the same time, the ancient Bian River and Surabaya River flowed through. While irrigation is convenient, the city is surrounded by water on the east, west and north sides. It is not easy for the attacking party to deploy troops. , the frontal attack is more difficult.

Back then, Zhu Quanzhong fought with Shi Pu, and spent some time near Xuzhou, changing generals again and again. In the end, Shi Pu was exhausted, not captured by force.

After this city fell into Shao's hands, it was absolutely impossible for it to be taken back.

Zhou Ben wiped the rainwater off his face and sighed.

"General Zhou." Zhang Tingfan, the Probation Army Jiedu Envoy and Xuzhou Inspector, came to the south pier of the city to meet Zhou Ben.

"Zhang Shuai." Zhou Ben replied.

Although Xia Jun was close to Xuzhou, it was quite difficult to launch an attack from the north of the city.If they really want to attack by force, they still have to go around to the south of the city to avoid the ancient Bianshui River.

But when they got to the south of the city, they had to take down the Ximatai and Shifo Village first.Especially the former, which is only a few miles away from Xuzhou City.With a distance of one mile, there is not much space after setting up the camp, almost clinging to Nanshan.If you don't take this place, you won't be able to attack the city with peace of mind.Right now, Ximatai and Shifoshanzhai are very quiet, so Xuzhou is safe inside and outside the city, and there is nothing wrong with going out of the city.

"Your Majesty asked me to pick you up." Zhou Ben didn't hesitate, just heard him say: "I am the first batch of ships, there are still others behind, let's go with peace of mind. I don't think Xia Bandit has any intention of attacking by force, don't worry. .”

Zhang Tingfan sighed again and again.Why doesn't he know the current situation?The Xia people are just waiting to take over Xuzhou peacefully.

Hard attack is indeed more difficult. The Huai Army naval warships sailed directly into the Sishui River and the ancient Bianshui River. Even though this is not the downstream and not so wide, there is no need to maneuver on the river, and it can be directly used as a mobile ballista launch platform. That's it.Right now, it is raining continuously, and the fire attack is also difficult to be effective. The Xia people probably don't want to kill or injure lives, and the two sides have reached a tacit understanding without words.

"Xue Huzi, the governor of Xuzhou in the Later Wei Dynasty, once said, 'Around Xuzhou, there is fertile land and water, and the Qing and Bian flows through it, which is full of irrigation. Among them, there are more than [-] hectares of fertile land.' Today's Xuzhou has more than [-] hectares of fertile land." Zhang Tingfan said with a sad face: "Xuzhou grows mulberry and hemp, people are good at weaving, and the grain is suitable for Shumai, which can last for several years. There are also several iron smelting buildings, and the benefits of armored soldiers are well-known far and near. Alas! This battle is so muddled!"

Regarding Zhang Tingfan's complaint, Zhou Ben pretended not to hear it, and he would not make a small report in front of King Wu, which was meaningless.

It is a fact that the war was not fought well, and everyone is responsible, so what's the matter with complaining twice?It's just human nature.

Xuzhou has convenient transportation, and business travel converges, so collecting business tax is a big income.The surrounding river network is vertical and horizontal, irrigation is convenient, and there are many fertile fields, which are rich in mulberry, hemp, grain and beans.There are dangerous mountains and rivers around the city, and there are armored soldiers made by iron smelters inside. The folk customs are vigorous, martial arts are popular, and there are many qualified soldiers.When Li Guangbi was in Xuzhou, he brought over his veteran soldiers who quelled the Anshi Rebellion. Xuzhou has a very strong military tradition, which has been passed down by the school's family for more than a hundred years and has many talents.With such a place, who is willing to give up?

"Don't talk about it." Zhou Ben frowned, and said, "Time is running out, let's evacuate quickly. After the yellow plum season is over, the navy will not be able to come over like this. If the water is shallow in winter At that time, it is even more troublesome.”

Zhang Tingfan calmed down and said, "That's right. This trip south, I have to thank General Zhou."

"Not to mention." Zhou Ben said: "I also made my head look ashamed this time. Qin Shiqiu retreated with me to the south, and almost the entire army was wiped out. Only three or four hundred people from the four thousand army escaped through Surabaya. It was unspeakable. Your Majesty There is an order, take away all you can take away this time. If you don’t want to go, don’t force it, let’s get together and leave.”

"Your Highness really has the style of a gentleman." Zhang Tingfan sighed: "Then there is no delay, I will go back to the city to gather people to move the goods, supplies, and equipment."

"Okay." Zhou Ben said: "Later, I will sail the warship into the ancient Bian River to deter the Xia bandits. Hurry up."

Zhang Tingfan left in a hurry.

He didn't want to surrender very much, and he didn't dare to surrender.There are also soldiers and horses led by Huai general Li Tao in the city. He is not sure if he will be killed directly if he expresses his intention to surrender.The king of Wu also has to face. The incident in Pei County has already happened. It is rare for the king of Wu not to pursue it. Some things should not be taken risks.

Furthermore, his nephew Zhang Chao had already descended to summer, and he went south to Guangling. There were officials on both sides of the Zhang family. From the perspective of family continuity, it was not a bad thing - he had already secretly sent Zhang Chao's wife and children out of the city.

Xuzhou, goodbye!
******
From May 21st, there was a lot of traffic inside and outside Xuzhou city.The movement of the evacuation was so loud that it could be clearly heard even from far away on the other side of Surabaya.

Ge Congzhou, He Delun, and Li Gongquan climbed the mountains north of Xuzhou City.

The continuous rain and fog under the mountain almost covered the majestic Xuzhou City Wall.

After Zhu Quanzhong seized Xuzhou, he made great efforts to reorganize the farmland and water conservancy facilities in various counties. At the same time, he sent troops to repair the city walls and surrounding fortresses, and repaired the city defense facilities that had been severely damaged during several years of battle.

Today's Xuzhou city does have a somewhat majestic atmosphere.

Outside the city walls, there are criss-crossing rivers and ports.There is a forest of masts on the river, full of ships of all sizes.Occasionally, a few warships used both sails and oars, slowly sailing to the north of the city, and after showing off their might, they adjusted their sails and returned downstream.

This is a warning, what an arrogant thief!

As the recruitment envoy to the north of the Xuzhou camp, Ge Congzhou did not wait for the Huai people to evacuate as Zhou Ben and Zhang Tingfan thought.In fact, he tried his best, but in this terrible weather, the fire attack was ineffective, and there were no craftsmen who made cannons around him, so it was difficult to deal with the Huai army navy.

Besides, what if the navy doesn't come to stop them?When the pontoon bridge was built, every move was under the watchful eyes of the defenders. If someone attacked while crossing the river, the loss would be great.Take another [-] steps back, so what if you successfully cross the river?It was impossible to run on that muddy ground, and when the sergeants hesitated with difficulty, they would only become living targets for the arrows on the other side.

Large-scale outflanking is useless.At this marching speed, it is considered fast to walk more than ten miles a day. With that time, they would have withdrawn long ago.

In a word, I can only watch others run away.At the end of the retreat, grasp the Huai people's eagerness to retreat, see if they can be frightened to make them lose their feet, and grab a little tail.

"Let's go to Xuzhou, and we probably won't be able to leave for a while." Ge Congzhou said: "Xuzhou will definitely send people to stay behind and suppress the place. Huaibei may still have a city that has not been conquered, so our army must go south."

"It's not our turn to stay in Xuzhou." He Delun said with a smile: "It must be that the Yi Cong Army is stationed in the important towns of Xusi. The five armies of Longxiang, Longhu, Gongchen, Pengri, and Pengsheng are still working hard. At the latest in autumn, most of the troops will have to go south. If Yang Xingmi hadn’t withdrawn from Sizhou, he would have to gather all the troops to besiege, how difficult it is!”

A motley crew is a motley crew, and that is their fate.

After this battle, some "meritorious soldiers" might have to be dispatched to supplement the battle losses of King Xia's troops.And these meritorious people are generally brave and good at fighting.Last time in Yanzhou, a batch has already been drawn out. Not to mention the injury, the strength of the army has also been greatly damaged, and it has not recovered yet.

After a few more repetitions, Long Xiang's army may be tossed and torn apart-the backbone is gone, what's the use of relying on those stupid ordinary sergeants, don't they have to spend effort to re-train?
But everyone was tired and didn't have the spirit to cultivate.

"Will Zhu Zhen make a detour to the south of Xuzhou to get some credit?" Li Gongquan asked suddenly.

A trace of sarcasm appeared on the corner of Ge Congzhou's mouth.

Forget it, Zhu Zhen is now the abacus bead, she doesn't move it, only moves it when she moves it.

The envoy of Yi Congjun, Wu Zang Jieming, had the intention of doing meritorious service, and he might try to bypass Xiao County and try to advance eastward to Xuzhou, causing chaos.But most of the heavy vehicles can't keep up, and they can't carry food and grass for a few days, so he may not choose to take risks.

But Li Gongquan is quite an interesting person, and he is so eager to do meritorious service!Gongchen's army is only about [-] strong, and the possibility of being merged after the war is quite high. He may also be making the final struggle.In fact, why bother, what about playing well, and what about playing poorly?It is very boring to make an extraordinary achievement, but only provoke the hostility of Xia Wang Guanxi Yuancong.

Li Gongquan, I can't think about it.Don't you know that the warriors in Weizhou are the least favored by King Xia?
"Let's go, there's nothing to see." Ge Congzhou said: "Look for a hidden wading point in the past few days. A large group of troops can't cross the river, and a small group of elite soldiers is still possible. Call that Zhang Chao again , ask him if there is any way to contact the sergeants in the city, it seems like it’s not a problem to always do this.”

(End of this chapter)