Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1047 The Keeper Dog and Cheng An
In the farmyard outside Guixiang County, Weizhou, Luo Shaowei rarely had time to be quiet.

The guards of the farm are Luo's private soldiers.This is the result of mutual compromise between the Jiedushi and the yamen soldiers.Luo Shaowei can't trust the rebellious government soldiers at all, but his own people are reliable.However, one of the reasons for the downfall of the Le family was the establishment of the Jiedu Envoy's pro-army. This matter is very sensitive. If it were not for changes in the external situation, it would be difficult for Luo Shaowei to achieve this goal.

The size of the private soldiers was finally limited to 500, which is really nothing compared to the yamen soldiers who have swelled to 1.But Luo Shaowei is still very satisfied, because he can sleep a little better.

Some people may say that it is better not to be a Jiedushi if you look like a bird.

This is true, but also incorrect.

Although the risks of being a military governor are huge, there are also many benefits.

The biggest benefit is the huge increase in family status and influence.The benefits brought by the promotion are all-round, local power, business interests, etc. come rolling in, and can lay the foundation of a family in a short period of time.

The Luo family is not a big family, and the benefits brought by Jiedushi are immediate.

From the point of view of the Luo family, they do not want the ongoing war to continue. This is true.

After Xiangwei Erzhou took it back, the Luo family got limited benefits, but a lot of disadvantages.

It hasn't been long since the family wealth was distributed and the military reward was given out. I finally got a sum of money and returned a big mouthful of blood, and now I have to give out a reward...

If the expenses increase sharply, you will need to borrow money if you don’t have enough insurance, or even use your family’s wealth.For Luo Shaowei, attacking Xiangwei was a loss-making business.

However, he also understands the sergeant's insistence on taking back the second state of Xiangwei.

Wei Bo has been able to stand for more than 140 years. He has been changing from time to time as an envoy. Chang'an's sons and officials have risen and fallen, but the government soldiers have remained the same, relying on unity.

Shao Shude can cut away Xiangwei this time, next time he can cut away Chanzhou and Bozhou, and next time he can completely wipe out Weibo Town.

The yamen soldiers saw it very clearly, and they didn't want to be played to death step by step, so they rose up to resist.

Luo Shaowei understood the anxiety and fear of the yamen soldiers, but he did not support them in doing so. There was nothing they could do about it.

"Marshal. Generals Zhao and Li are already on their way." Yang Li hurried into the back garden and reported.

"That's good, that's good." Luo Shaowei's eyes fell on the flowers in the courtyard, and he said casually.

Zhao Qianman and Li Daonu are old Yamen generals, and they don't need to teach them how to fight.

The four thousand yamen soldiers in the two capitals of infantry and rampage are also elite soldiers, and the rest of the ministries are not good at it, so they can naturally stabilize the situation in Bozhou.

"Commander, Wang Dutou sent someone to report back. The Xia people are using this strategy to attack the west and criticize the vain. Twenty thousand Xia soldiers still can't take Bozhou. The commander only needs to stabilize the eastern front, and he will have the confidence to hold the western front. .” Yang Li said.

Luo Shaowei finally stopped being in a daze.

He stood up, sighed softly, and said: "It is said that the yamen soldiers are domineering, but when disaster strikes, we still have to rely on the yamen soldiers to fight to the death."

What happened in the past one or two years told him that the yamen and generals had a symbiotic relationship.Although there are contradictions between the two sides, there are also areas of common interests.When facing a powerful foreign enemy, internal conflicts can be put aside temporarily, and protecting the common interests is the top priority.

It is a very clear fact that Xia Jun attacked Wei in two ways.

Leading the way along the Yongji Canal led by Thief Shao himself, it is the main force, with a strength of more than [-].

All the way, under the command of Wuzang Jieming, went northward in batches from Pu and Yun. It was a partial division, with a strength of no less than [-].

The army of more than one hundred thousand, divided into two groups, pressed down aggressively, and it was impossible to say no to panic.Therefore, after urgently discussing countermeasures, the shogunate decided on a strategy of comprehensively shrinking the defense, and at the same time asked Li Keyong, Wang Rong, and Lu Yanwei for help.

The Jin army must cross the Fu River and go south to attack Xiangzhou.

Wang Rong needs to send additional reinforcements to help defend Weizhou.

It would be better for Lu Yanwei to go south to attack Dizhou, or even attack the Xia army crossing the river from the direction of Dezhou.

As long as several towns unite, this crisis can be overcome safely, but the question is, can Li Keyong, Wang Rong, and Lu Yanwei be trusted?Will reinforcements arrive in time?

Luo Shaowei didn't know, and no one in Wei Bo could guarantee it.For now, I can only do my own thing first.Yajun, town soldiers, and state soldiers gathered together to actively respond, and at the same time conscripted a large number of local peasants to fight the bandits to the death.The longer the delay, the greater the turnaround.

"Master Yang, Ke Yong sent envoys to say that the main force of the Xia bandits is heading north, how credible are these words?" Luo Shaowei asked again.

Many people in the shogunate judged that Xia Bandit's main attack target was Wei Bo, but Li Keyong firmly believed that they were going north to attack Xing Mingci, and sent envoys to inquire. This made Luo Shaowei subconsciously wonder if his previous judgment was wrong—— Li Ke's vision and military skills are good, and Luo Shaowei thinks that he is much better than the idiots in the shogunate.

"Commander." After thinking for a while, Yang Li said, "Actually, it's okay. If the thief Xia attacks Weibo with all his strength, we will be prepared. Of course, it is right. It may not be possible to win if you use it restraintly. If the commander-in-chief is sorry, but after the situation is clear, he can help Wang Dutou to move westward and attack Weizhou."

The latter sentence is bullshit.With Wei Bowufu's virtue, even if he is willing to support the Jin army and attack Weizhou, he will not fight to the death. Only God knows how effective this containment will be.

"Alright, let's do it like this." Luo Shaowei said: "In this crisis of life and death, helping others is helping yourself. Li Keyong, we still have to unite with sincerity."

******
On the sixth day of July in the first year of Tianyou, Shao Shude personally led the three armies of Feixiong, Yinqiang, and Yinanzhi to go northward and stationed in Anyang County, Lisuo, Xiangzhou.

The ministries were almost assembled, and began to divide the troops northward in three routes according to the plan.

On the eighth day of July, Guan Kairun, envoy of the Economic Strategy Army, led two complete infantry commanding 4000 people, crossed the Zhuozhang River to the north, attacked suddenly, and captured Cheng'an County, Weizhou.

This is the use of the dead angle between the so-called alliances.

The location of Cheng'an is actually very important. It is in the north of the Zhuozhang River, wedged between the Ci and Ming prefectures, so it should be heavily defended.However, the county originally belonged to Xiangzhou administratively, and was later assigned to Weizhou.Wei Bozhen also felt that it was very close to Ci and Ming prefectures, so there was no need to garrison large troops.

In this way, Cheng'an has become the legendary three-way zone.The Jinglue Army was originally far south of Linzhang. After marching day and night, they only paid the price of hundreds of casualties and conquered this weakly defended city.

After taking it, the Jinglue Army immediately took the risk of being raided and dispersed the troops to various places, urging the Cheng'an people to cut down trees and expand the pontoon bridge, so that the follow-up main force can quickly catch up.

For the Battle of Xing Mingci in Hedong, the first shot has already been fired.

On the tenth day of the seventh month, Feng Yin, the deputy envoy of the Economic Strategy Army, led three infantrymen and commanded 5000 people across the Zhuozhang River and arrived in Cheng'an County. The forward base was considered stable.

In the evening of the same day, Wang Tan, envoy of the right wing of the Economic Strategy Army, led his troops to camp on the other side of the pontoon bridge.

So far, more than [-] soldiers of the Jinglu Army have gathered on both sides of the Zhuozhang River, and it is basically difficult to shake them.

"General Feng, if I break in alone, the thieves will panic. If one fails, Cheng'an will be attacked by Weibo and Hedong armies. In this battle, we need to work hard, otherwise we may not be able to explain it." On the top of the city, The sunset was brilliant, Guan Kairun, an envoy of the Economic Strategy Army, called Feng Yin, his deputy, and said.

Feng Yin's ability to be a deputy envoy was not because of his ability, but because of the need for factional balance within the Economic Strategy Army.After all, the proportion of Wuxing and Guzhen Second Army is quite high, and a spokesperson is needed, and he is the one who named him.

The problem of factions in the army has always existed, and this is also an objective fact, and there is no need to cover it up.

There are 4000 Jinglue troops. Although they are named "Jinglue", when they were first reorganized, they only rode more than [-] steps.

There are [-] people in the two towns of Wuxing and Guzhen, which are the largest factions.

There are 500 soldiers who surrendered, which is the second largest faction, and it is divided into [-] soldiers from Yanzhou, [-] soldiers from Longxiang, and [-] soldiers from Xiangyang, Ezhou, and Xingyuan, which is very complicated.

The rest are recruits.

Factions are not scary, it would be strange to have no factions.There is always such a thing as a secret rivalry, as long as you don't overtly disrupt the situation, then the matter is within the tolerable range.

"Military envoy, don't worry, I will go to the east of the city to go down to the village tomorrow." Feng Yin expressed his opinion directly without talking nonsense.

The Jinglue Army didn't fight well a while ago, and you can see it.Although King Xia only asked a few words lightly, it was as if the pressure was heavy, and no one dared to imagine what would happen if the show continued.

The Zhuozhang River turns a bend in the east of Cheng'an County and flows northeastward.Cheng'an has a post road leading to Weizhou. In the east of the city, he went to the village to defend against Wei soldiers coming from the west to attack Xia's army.

You can judge that the possibility of Wei Bing coming over is low, but if you don't take any precautions, it is completely irresponsible, and you will be court-martialed—if there is one.

"Okay, Lu Ming will take people to the west of the city to go to the stronghold to guard against Jin soldiers." Guan Kairun said, "It is our task to keep Cheng'an and cooperate with the main force to attack Cizhou. You encourage each other."

The Zhuozhang water flows from the direction of Fuyang County in Cizhou in the west. If the Jin army attacked, it must come from the west.

"Together." Feng Yin said loudly.

After their rights and responsibilities were clarified, Guan Kairun, Feng Yin and the others split up.

The sergeants brought equipment and tools and drove the people to cut down trees, dig trenches, and build trench walls.

The master who was responsible for the logistics and transportation task also stayed up all night.

Looking from the head of Cheng'an City, the north and south banks of the Zhuozhang River are full of chariots and horses like dragons, flowing continuously.

Tutuan villagers from Bian, Hua, and Wei prefectures drove their carts and carefully passed the pontoon bridge to the north.After nightfall, they even lit up torches, which was spectacular from a distance.

On both sides of this pontoon bridge, there are two pontoon bridges under construction.In order to ensure the logistical supplies of the army crossing the river, three pontoon bridges are necessary.

After the previous build-up period, the war, marked by the rapid northward advance of the strategic army, accelerated suddenly and entered a new stage.

(End of this chapter)