Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1049
"There is an order to line up, our army has many soldiers, don't be afraid, go deeper and deeper!" On the bank of the Zhuozhang River, the messenger read out Lu Huaizhong's latest order.

Feng Yin, the deputy envoy of the Economic Strategy Army, and Lu Ming, the envoy of the Left Wing, respectfully took orders.

"Shua!" Feng Yin drew out the sword at his waist, and ordered: "Whoever arrives in Mingzhou first will be the first to remember!"

When everyone heard this, they shouted in unison: "Go to Mingzhou! Go to Mingzhou!"

There is a post road from Cheng'an to Mingzhou.

Departing from Xiangzhou, one line goes straight north, passing through Ye County, Fuyang (Cizhou), Handan, Linming (now Yongnian) to Xingzhou. This is the first post road.

Starting from Xiangzhou, going northeast, passing through Linzhang, Cheng'an, Yongnian (now east of Yongnian), Nanhe to Xingzhou, this is the second post road.

The main force of the Xia army took the first post road, and the Jinglue army took the second post road.

The method of using troops with the combination of positive and odd is really very popular in the imperial court, from Taizong to this meeting, it is still enduring.

Entering troops in two ways is to bully you with few soldiers and insufficient strength, what can you do to me.

After Feng Yin gave the order, the army set off immediately.They only carried [-] days of food and grass with the army. They set off from the station and arrived at the city of Mingzhou in two days.If you can't attack for a long time and the back road is cut off, then grab it!For the sake of winning the war, it doesn't matter so much.

Thousands of soldiers and horses in the left side of the Jinglue Army after the rest were full of fighting spirit. Along the way, they kept encountering armor and weapons discarded by Jin soldiers, and even groups of broken soldiers paralyzed by the roadside panting for breath.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" Facing the rout of soldiers who stood up and wanted to flee, the officers and men of the Jinglue Army were not polite at all, they raised their bows and shot, and there were screams from the side of the post road.

Feng Yin also dispatched a team of sergeants to search both sides of the post road, beheading and driving out the rout of the Jin army as much as possible.

Two thousand cavalry led their horses on foot, they were useless in this kind of battle.In terms of marching ability, they are not as good as infantry.The only strong point is explosive power, which has been exhausted in the previous pursuit.

But after the horse herding is over, they can still get on their horses and give chase.It is also because of this that the guards Jin Qianzhi and his group were really unlucky. In a short distance of 3000 miles from Cheng'an County to Mingzhou City, more than [-] cavalry were routed, some were killed, some were captured, Some people hid in the mountains or villages halfway, and when the dawn dawned on July [-]th, Murong Teng led the last few hundred people and was surrounded in a village.

The battle lasted only half an hour.Most of the rebel soldiers were captured, and more than [-] people under Murong Teng were killed.The guard's golden gun is straight, and he has been removed from the Jin army sequence.

In the end, Murong Teng did not get a chance to sue, but there were more than [-] guards with golden guns, and the combat mission was not clear and changed. Li Junqing, who served as Fushui Youyi's strike envoy, could not figure out the specific deployment of the Xia army. And military strength, it is hard to absolve oneself of the blame.

Of course, if you dig a little deeper.The root of this failure actually lies with Li Keyong.

There are more than [-] soldiers in Xing Mingci's three prefectures, plus less than [-] government troops. It is a strategic mistake to fight against Xia's army, which is several times their strength, on a flat plain.

If the strategy is wrong, no matter how good the tactics are, it cannot make up for it.Li Keyong, take this pot seriously.

The vanguard of the Economic Strategy Army who arrived at the city of Mingzhou immediately arrested the people, felled trees, and made siege equipment.

On July [-]th, they couldn't wait any longer, and tried to attack the city once with simple wooden ladders, but were repelled by Mingzhou soldiers defending the city.

Afterwards, they gave up their attempt to go down to Mingzhou quickly, and began to set up camp. At the same time, they sent cavalry to detour northward, all the way to the direction of Shahe, and returned after encountering the cavalry of the Jin army.

Along the way, the Lue army marched more than a hundred miles within a few days, captured a city, killed a bandit general, and captured more than [-] Jin soldiers.The striker went straight to Shahe, and everyone in Xingzhou was shocked by it, and it was considered a turnaround.

******
Under the city of Cizhou, the siege battle has been going on for a whole day.

Li Junqing stood on the top of the wall with a confused look on his face.

On the north bank of Fushui, the camp stretched far as far as the eye could see.

On the field, the cavalry criss-crossed, bringing up a large cloud of dust and smoke.

Under the city wall, corpses were densely packed, and damaged vehicles were scattered here and there.

Those who attacked the city were Tutuan peasants from the two prefectures of Xiangwei, occasionally mixed with a wave of Zhen Xia soldiers.

The offensive was extremely fierce and the rhythm was very fast. One wave collapsed and another wave rose again. The defenders of the city were shaken, and the attackers were still bravely filling the city with people.

No, maybe not Daredevil.

On the wall of Xia Jun's camp, there were densely packed heads of people, most of them were soldiers who fled, most of them were Xiangyong who defended the two prefectures.They have lived a good life for too long, and there has been peace for more than a hundred years after the Anshi Rebellion. Ordinary battles may be tolerable, but when the two sides enter the stage of close hand-to-hand combat where bayonets are popular, when they see their father, brother, and the township party... It's easy to have a nervous breakdown when you fall down in front of yourself.

Lu Huaizhong was willing to fight for the best treatment for the sergeants. Under his rule, anyone who dared to embezzle the ink's military salary would be killed immediately, without discussion.Pensions are also given adequately, and they often visit the homes of those who died in battle, and sometimes even use some of their personal belongings to make up for the martyrs.

But he is also unscrupulous in order to win.Everyone said that Li Tangbin was cruel, but Li Tangbin was only cruel to miscellaneous troops, not so bad to his own people. Lu Huaizhong almost treated them equally. Even his son and nephew were forced to fight on the front line, which shows his will.

After a day of onslaught, there were many damages on the south side of the city wall—this was another pot used by Li Ke, the evil result of poor local governance.

After a day of onslaught, the men and horses who went out of the city to burn down the Xia army's siege equipment suffered heavy losses, and were almost captured by someone from the city gate.

After a day of fierce attack, eight generals and schools of the Cizhou State Army were killed, and the morale of the army has been shaken.

Seeing the battalion on the opposite side for more than ten miles, drums and horns contending, and banners covering the field, everyone is suspicious, can Cizhou still hold it?
The sun is gradually setting, and the sunset glow makes the river red, like blood.

A fight in the north of the city ended again.

"Rebel General" An Xiuxiu led a large group of cavalry to charge repeatedly, repelling the reinforcements coming from the direction of Fuguchi.

Li Junqing slammed his fist on the parapet wall, and went down to the top of the wall in resentment.

Most of Zhaoyi County has already been captured, and there will be no reinforcements from Fukou Town.There are only more than 6000 Huangjia troops in front of the hall, which is not enough to fit between the teeth of Xia's army with a number of as many as [-].

Handan still has more than [-] soldiers from the Fifth Academy Army, and An Jinquan, the governor of Mingzhou, personally led the army to guard it.They're the only allies that can save Magnetic State, but are they willing to come?

When the King of Jin was in Xingzhou to meet the generals, Li Junqing thought that 4 horses were actually quite a lot, enough to defend.But when it was time to fight, it was discovered that there were not enough people.

There are too many places to defend, the state army occupies more than [-], and the mobile force is only about [-]. Moreover, the relatively elite Yier Army and Hengchong Army are in the hands of the King of Jin. In fact, only the guards can be used on the front line There are three troops: Golden Spear Straight, Tingqian Huangjia Army, and Fifth Academy Army.

The king of Jin holds the four towns of Hedong, Zhaoyi, Datong, and Youzhou in his hands, with more than [-] soldiers, which seems to be many.But in times of crisis, the mobile forces that can be mobilized are so pitiful.Normally he couldn't tell, but when the fight started, Li Junqing suddenly felt chills.

Shao thief can mobilize more than [-] mobile troops, how big is the gap between the two sides!

There was another overwhelming sound of killing outside the city, and Li Junqing lost his mind and remained silent for a long time.

******
When Li Keyong received the news, he was meeting with Li Xiji in Wu'an.

Wu'an is a county under Cizhou and an important town at the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain.

During the Warring States period, the Qin army "armed Wu Anxi", "cracked up and reined in troops, and Wu'an house tiles were all shaken" to force Handan.

During the Pingzelu rebellion in the Guochao Dynasty, Li Deyu also suggested to "cut off Wu'an" and cut off the military grain of Lushan Mountain-Zelu Wuzhou. The three Xingmingci prefectures located on the Hebei Plain are obviously the main grain production bases.

Travel more than a hundred li from the northeast of Shexian County, and go out of Taihang Mountain to Wu'an and then to Handan.

Li Xiji sent a batch of equipment to Wu'an, and then brought a group of newly recruited soldiers' families back to Hedong.

Obviously, neither master nor servant expected Xia Jun to launch an offensive so quickly, and the progress was rapid, and they panicked all of a sudden.

Li Xiji couldn't blame the lord.

In fact, he proposed the strategy of strengthening the wall and clearing the wilderness very early, thinking that the three prefectures of Xing Ming and Ci were isolated in Shandong, and the transportation and communication with Ze Lu were inconvenient. If they still linger, they will suffer big losses sooner or later.

Although King Jin recognized this from the bottom of his heart, he couldn't give up on the surface.To this day, more than [-] households of Xing Mingci people have been relocated to Hedong by means of recruiting soldiers, and the land has been distributed and cultivated.

The group of more than [-] households in Xing Mingci who moved out yesterday was actually the final result of the three prefectures in Shandong.

What else can Li Xiji say about this?Can't say it!

"The fifth battalion of new troops, it's good practice. I'll take them back to Xingzhou sooner or later." Li Ke said with a forced smile.

Li Xiji let out a long sigh.

Jin Wang has already acquiesced, will Xing Mingci be unable to defend sooner or later?If I knew this earlier, why did I do it in the first place?
The five battalions of the new army, left, middle and right, are still practicing in Xindai.Last year, there were more than 4 people. One year later, there will be more than [-] people.Including this batch of new recruits, there are almost [-] people.

These soldiers were mainly the people of the three prefectures of Xingmingci, supplemented by Ding Zhuang, who moved inward.The purpose of formation is to supplement the consumption of fierce wars.Now it seems that the consumption is getting faster and faster, but the [-] new troops have not had time to be used. The earliest batch of training is only one year and three months.

"Your Majesty, if you can't do anything, just withdraw." Li Xiji persuaded: "Wei Bo is unreliable, expecting them to send troops to reverse the situation is purely..."

Li Xiji didn't want to say some ugly words, but the meaning was very clear.So many Xia soldiers poured into Cizhou, and even Mingzhou drove thousands of cavalry. If you continue to hesitate, the Fifth Academy Army in Handan will definitely not be able to escape, and the Huangjia Army in front of the hall in Fukou Town is also in danger.As for the guard Golden Spear Straight, he has lost news and is probably not optimistic.

"I have transferred Khitan to the south, and now I have reached Dingzhou. Yi'er, Hengchong, and Khitan are all cavalry, and they still have the strength to fight." Li Keyong said.

"Your Majesty!" Li Xiji got up immediately, and said anxiously: "Xingzhou is dead! No matter how many soldiers are added to it, they will never return."

Li Keyong was furious when he heard the words, and stared at Li Xiji fiercely with one eye.

Li Xiji looked at him without fear.

"You go back to Luzhou first, I have my own opinion here." Li Keyong turned his head and said.

"Your Majesty, since you have sent troops to guard the Cilu Pass, it means—"

"Enough, enough!" Li Ke said angrily.

Li Xiji sighed, bowed his hands in salute, and left silently.

Just now, he was also unscrupulous, exposing Li Ke's shady fears and worries in his heart, which made his lord furious.He understood that it would be inappropriate to say anything.For King Jin, it is not a good choice to follow his hair and speak out when he is angry.

Perhaps, one or two more defeats are required before King Jin can fully wake up and give up those unrealistic thoughts.

(End of this chapter)