Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1039 Enter Xu
A troop of sergeants appeared on the field to the west.

The sky had just cleared up for two days, and they couldn't wait to rush over.

Yes, Xiao County has surrendered.Hundreds of warriors brought two thousand soil regiments, and originally wanted to defend for a while, but when the news of Xuzhou's retreat was deliberately spread, all thoughts were lost, and they didn't even have the energy to lift their knives, so they surrendered neatly up.

Zhu Zhen led his troops into the city, all the peasants in the Tutuan were dismissed, and the soldiers from the Yamen and prefectures and counties handed over their weapons and waited in the barracks for disposal.

The envoy of the Yi Cong Army, Wu Zang Jieming, couldn't wait any longer. After the rain had subsided, he personally brought up three thousand elite soldiers, drove horses and mules, and took seven days of dry food, all the way eastward—the besieging army, they turned out to be the most active .

Of course, the Longxiang and Gongchen armies were also very active.

After the Huai people withdrew for two or three days, they no longer sent sailors north.In addition, Zhang Chao contacted some old acquaintances, and he directly let go of the road, half-pushed and half-resigned.He Delun, the deputy envoy of the Longxiang Army, led a thousand sergeants to the hill in the north of the city.

However, there are also stupid people who try to negotiate the price and deliberately block it.This is pure stupidity. If you still can't see the situation clearly and try to maintain a semi-independent status, you will inevitably settle accounts after the fall.

At noon on the 24th, the volunteer army farthest from Xuzhou arrived first.

Three thousand soldiers, regardless of the exhaustion of marching for days, first attacked Shifo Mountain Village.The defenders did not resist and surrendered after shouting.

Subsequently, more than a thousand defenders of Ximatai also sent envoys to contact them, expressing their willingness to surrender.

After sweeping away these two worries, Wuzang Jieming entered the city with his troops under his arm.

Xuzhou, who was still retreating chaotically, suddenly became chaotic.They didn't expect that after the main force of the Huai Army's navy left, the morale of Xuzhou warriors would also drop day by day, and they fell without a shot.In the panic, he couldn't care about anything, left his belongings, and ran away with his family.

Zhou Ben's ship was still on the Sishui River.

In fact, all the important people left on the first day, and now most of the people who are evacuating are wealth and people who are willing to go to Nantou.Their value was very low, and Zhou Ben didn't want to take them away at all.But no one can threaten them anyway, so it doesn't matter.

But he didn't expect that Xia Bing would dare to leave the supply convoy and chase after him bravely.

I have only brought dry food for a few days, no armor, incomplete weapons, covered in mud, panting, and physically weak. Can I fight like this?

The facts surprised him. The Xuzhou soldiers who could have easily defeated them chose to surrender.

In desperation, Zhou Ben disembarked some of the soldiers of the Huai army, marched in line behind the armored wall, and defeated the fastest chasing group of Xia soldiers.Then—run away!
"General Zhou, take me away! I have tortured several Xia army scouts, and they will not let me go."

"General Zhou, someone surrendered to Feng County last year. I killed two Xia army envoys. Take me away."

Zhou Ben punched a prisoner who was rushing towards the boat in the face, spat, and immediately ignored him, and boarded the boat in three steps at a time.

Soldiers of the Huai Army also boarded the ship one by one.The last member of the boat retracted the cable and removed the steps.

The sailors chanted and paddled together, and the ship slowly left the pier, entered Surabaya, which was more than a hundred paces wide, and slowly headed south.

Qiqi lamented on the river bank.

Then there was more confusion.Some people fled in haste, some began to loot the property discarded by the Huai people, some turned west and returned to the city, resigned to fate.

Thick smoke also rose everywhere, as if someone was arsonizing the fire. It was not until a heavy rain fell after nightfall that it returned to calm.

Xuzhou, in such a chaotic situation, changed hands in a jaw-dropping way.

******
Shao Shude arrived in the southeast of Xuzhou at the end of May.

The journey was less than three hundred miles, and it took 20 days to walk in a daze, and it took more than ten miles a day.This is still cavalry, and the speed is ridiculously slow.

But they've gone fast.

The rain continued, the roads were muddy, and supply transportation was difficult. After going north, it even stopped completely. Even when the messenger delivered the news, it seemed to be in slow motion, and the timeliness was greatly reduced.

These post roads have to be rebuilt, they are rotten!
When heading north along the way, he could even see the Huai army ships hurrying southward.

Surabaya is really a golden waterway.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in later generations, its effectiveness has been greatly reduced. In the Shandong section, it is still 70 meters wide, and the widest part is 300 meters.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, most river sections were more than 300 meters wide.Guochao, "more than two hundred steps", this is more than [-] meters.

The gradual silting and waste of Surabaya is inseparable from the diversion of the Yellow River.Taking the Huaihe River into the sea is truly the biggest ecological disaster on the Huanghuai Plain, bar none.

"If we want to march south in the future, we have to find a way to prevent the Huai army's boat division from entering Surabaya." Shao Shude asked when he arrived at the wharf where Zhou Ben had stood before, pointing his horsewhip at the wide river.

Ge Congzhou, Meizang Jieming and other generals lined up not far away to greet him, but Shao Shude was not in a hurry to enter the city at all, instead he was admitted to the school of Yin'anzhi.

"It's better to build a city in Qingkou. It took a few months to collect craftsmen and build a crossbow platform on the spot." Chen Zhang said directly.

Shao Shude shook his head and said, "This strategy is not appropriate."

From the perspective of logistics and transportation, it is reasonable to build a city at Qingkou, and there is no reason not to use Surabaya, the main traffic artery.In later generations, when he read history books, he saw that Pang Shigu stupidly insisted on going south along Surabaya, and finally camped in Qingkou, which made him very puzzled.But after leading the army for so many years, he knew that if it was him, he would most likely leave in the same way.

Without a navy, you have to go to a place with dense water networks. It seems that there are various reasons behind the seemingly thoughtless decision-making.

Of course, he may go multiple ways.However, Zhu Quanzhong also tried. Ge Congzhou led thousands of people from Shouzhou to march as a partial division, but was defeated by Zhu Yanshou.When Guo Rong attacked the Southern Tang Dynasty, he also went south from Shouzhou as his teacher, but in the Southern Tang Dynasty, there was no "Zhu Yanshou" who could defeat "Ge Congzhou", and his field combat ability was greatly degraded.

"Your Highness, maybe we can build a pontoon bridge in Surabaya, like the huge pontoon bridge in the three cities of Heyang. The thieves are eager to destroy it, so I can release fire boats and install artillery vehicles." Yang Hongyin suggested.

"Too much affects shipping. But it's a good idea." Shao Shude nodded slightly.

"Your Highness, those who block the Huai people's navy are not in Surabaya, but in Jiangnan." Chu Shenping said loudly.

"Tell me carefully." Shao Shude said with some surprise.

"Send envoys to Hongzhou and Hangzhou, form an alliance with Zhong Chuan and Qian Liu, and order them to attack Yang Xingmi. When fighting in the south of the Yangtze River, the navy must be called in. In this way, the pressure on Surabaya will be greatly reduced." Chu Shenping explained.

"Okay, well said!" Shao Shude praised.

The thinking is so open, not just sticking to the military point of view, it is very good, and has the potential of being a handsome man.

"After returning to the teacher this time, I will send envoys to Zhong Chuan and Qian Liu to make more contact." Shao Shude said with a smile: "It might not be that easy before, but it might be later."

After Yang Xingmi gave up his idea of ​​going north, he couldn't beat the people in Jiangnan with all his might?This is opportunity.Conditions that were previously unacceptable can now be agreed.He remembered that Qian Liu was almost defeated in history. If Yang Xingmi hadn't been worried that Tian Hu would grow bigger and ordered his troops to withdraw, the Wuyue Qian family would have disappeared, and their strengths were far apart.

"See Your Highness." Meizang Jueming, Ge Congzhou and the others saw that Shao Shude had been talking to his trusted general, and couldn't wait any longer, and they all came forward to salute.

"Xuzhou played very well." Shao Shude said.

Everyone's heart trembled.His Highness is becoming more and more powerful, and now everyone is not sure whether what he said is the truth or irony.

Shao Shude keenly sensed their emotions, and scolded with a smile, "What are you all thinking about? In this damn weather, I travel more than ten miles a day. You wait for the brigade to go south, and you can go faster than me. When you arrive, you don't care about life and death." , With a hungry and exhausted army, attacking the thieves who are recharging their energy is commendable. After a while, draw up a list of meritorious deeds, and those who deserve rewards will be rewarded, and those who should be promoted will be promoted."

Only then did everyone smile.

Shao Shude smiled without saying a word, and entered the city surrounded by all the generals.

He looks like a rough martial artist on the surface, but he is actually rich in heart, but he seldom shows it.With his current status, a casual word may make people think wildly and fidget. After he noticed it, he immediately comforted him.

He didn't want to frighten the old brother, it was boring.

It is always a pity that those who fight together cannot make it to the end.Unless he feels that his body is not right now, and his life is not long, it is really difficult to use a knife on the old brother, which will shake the foundation of this group.

"How many prisoners in Xuzhou?" The sky was still drizzling, and Shao Shude was amazed at the history of this ancient city of Xuzhou as he walked on the bluestone streets full of ruts.

"It is estimated that more than [-] soldiers surrendered." Ge Congzhou did not speak, and Mei Zang Jieming said directly: "According to the king's order, all the Tutuan villagers have been released, and the only ones left are Xuzhou government soldiers and prefectures and counties. Soldiers."

"Five thousand elites will be sent to the Yunzhou Academy for training." Shao Shude said, "The rest—"

Everyone pricked up their ears to listen.

"Send them all to Luoyang to build the palace city." Shao Shude said.

The eyes of Ge Congzhou, Zhu Zhen and others met subconsciously, and then quickly moved away.

"The five armies of Longxiang, Gongchen, Pengsheng, Pengri, and Dragon and Tiger have made great achievements after a long battle. I don't hesitate to reward them generously." Having said this, Shao Shude paused for a moment, and then said: "Dragon The two armies of Xiang and Dragon and Tiger each dispatched [-] elite soldiers, the two armies of Pengri and Pengsheng each dispatched [-] soldiers, and the army of Gongchen dispatched [-] soldiers, a total of [-] brave men were dispatched to Luoyang."

"Don't fool me with Lei Bing." Shao Shude joked.

"How dare! How dare!" The generals had different expressions, but they all responded quickly.

"Don't be such a sad face." Shao Shude said with a smile: "The generals captured in Xuzhou will be checked for bad deeds and sent to Qingtang. The wives and daughters will be counted and rewarded to the lords. Wait for the things needed by the Luoyang mansion. I'll take care of it. That guy Wang Bian, who has just been transferred to be the Shaoyin of the Jingzhao Mansion, bought a lot of good things. I don't like to use these treasures, such as jewels, so I put them in your home."

Everyone was overjoyed and thanked one after another.Can the things from Chang'an be worse?Some of them might be things in the palace, so it would be great if King Xia could reward them.

Shao Shude also laughed.

It doesn't matter whether they are happy from the heart or pretending, as long as they have this statement.

(End of this chapter)