Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1054 Armed March
On July 25th of the first year of Tianyou, it was sunny.

The main force of the Wuwei and Tujiang armies rested in Handan for a day, and then continued northward, heading straight for Mingzhou.

A total of more than 3 people went north, both on foot and on horseback, mighty and full of fighting spirit.

An Jinquan rode a horse and followed behind Lu Huaizhong.

Yes, he was cheated.Mingzhou is still there, and he has not surrendered at all. Now he is required to persuade him to surrender.

Why did you believe it?In fact, it is very simple, because An Jinquan believes that the possibility of Mingzhou surrendering is quite high.

First of all, it has been attacked by the Jinglu Army for many days, and the casualties on both sides are not small.But the Xia army is the offensive side, and they have won successive victories in various battlefields, and their morale is in full swing.As for the defenders, the coach An Jinquan is not there, and the combat effectiveness of the more than 3000 state soldiers is much lower than that of the Yamen, so they may not be able to withstand it.

Secondly, with the news that the King of Jin was going to Hedong, the defenders of Mingzhou would think that they had been abandoned, and there was no way to win this battle.Frustrated, the chances of surrender gradually increased over time.

Failure is certain, the only suspense is how long it can last.

Therefore, An Jinquan didn't feel the humiliation of being deceived. This time he was asked to go north with the army to persuade Mingzhou to surrender, and he agreed.

On the 27th, the army arrived in Linming, and then part of it went eastward to Mingzhou, and the other part crossed the Ming River and arrived at Shahe on the 28th.The river bridge has been destroyed, there are thieves riding on the other side, and there seems to be an enemy camp in the distance, so they set up camp and garrisoned, and looked for a site to repair the bridge, preparing to cross to the north.

It was also on the same night that An Jinquan arrived outside the city of Mingzhou.

An Jinquan volunteered to enter the city, and Lu Huaizhong agreed.

One more An Jinquan, one less An Jinquan, in fact, it doesn't matter, he even took the time to study the route of entry.

Starting from Mingzhou, head straight for Nanhe County, fifty miles to the northwest.In the north of the county, there is the Lishui Stone Bridge built by Emperor Kaihuang of the Sui Dynasty. It is similar in structure to the Zhaozhou Dashi Bridge, but it was built earlier.After crossing this stone bridge, you can reach Xingzhou for another forty miles.This is the Eastern Front.

The west line starts from Linming, after crossing the Shahe River, five miles north is Shahe County, and 35 miles further north, it is Longgang County (now southwest of Xingtai) in Xingzhou.

Actually not far.And there are not many soldiers left. If there is no accident, the culprits are very likely to surrender, provided they have no reinforcements.

After Lu Huaizhong finished his research, he discussed the details with several generals.The main reason is to guard against unexpected enemy raids during the march, such as Wei Bowufu, Chengde soldiers, or the Hedong soldiers who suddenly came back.In fact, there is nothing else in other aspects. The bandit army is no longer to be feared. If they don't surrender, they can just kill them.

At three o'clock in Haishi, when some people had guessed that An Jinquan would never return, the south gate of Mingzhou opened in the middle of the night.

An Jinquan took the main officials of Mingzhou out of the city.

"The sin will be late, please make amends." An Jinquan said first.

Lu Huaizhong returned the salute, and then said: "General An can order the soldiers to live in the camp with peace of mind, not to make noise, not to walk around at will. After dawn, someone will go forward to deliver the order."

"Follow the orders of General Lu Du." An Jinquan replied.

Generally speaking, in terms of military principles, it is necessary to avoid surrendering at night as much as possible.After all, fraudulent surrender must be guarded against.If there is a wave of anti-killing, the establishment is in chaos, and the officers are not fully recruited in a hurry, then it will be a big joke.

Lu Huaizhong is also an old soldier, so naturally he would not give Jin people this opportunity.

In this way, they waited until sunrise the next day. Under Lu Huaizhong's order, the remaining defenders left the city in batches to surrender.

Xia Jun is facing a big enemy.

The sergeants who were sitting on the ground got up one after another and lined up.The officers shouted their passwords, and even cavalry gathered in the rear, ready to charge at any time.

However, nothing unexpected happened.

Six thousand Jin soldiers dropped their weapons and armor on the designated open space, and then ran to the opposite side to line up.

After a while, an officer of the Xia army walked over to count the number of people.

Accompanied by everyone, Lu Huaizhong walked into the second state city he won since going north.

******
On the banks of the Shahe River, Xia Junbing divided his way, successfully crossed and entered the north bank.

The Jin soldiers fought in formation and were broken by one blow.Afterwards, the army marched quickly to the foot of Shahe County without stopping, and defeated them in half a day.

In fact, there is nothing to say about these two victories. In total, only [-] Xingzhou County soldiers were eliminated, and the rest were Tutuan peasants, who had already dispersed.

What really surprised Han Xun, who was leading the Wuwei army left wing, was that the Jin army dared to resist.

Don't you know that Li Keyong has run away?What kind of life would you give him?

On the first day of August, Han Xun rode nearly [-] paces to the south of Xingzhou City, two miles away, and set up camp.

On the third day of August, Lu Huaizhong led more than [-] people to the east of Xingzhou City.

At this time, the siege equipment was almost ready, and Han Xun sent people to attack the city.There was no hope at first, but it was destroyed in one blow, and the casualties were very slight.

When the captives were captured and questioned, it turned out that An Jinjun, the training envoy of the Xing Ming Cidu regiment, had searched the horse mules in the city long ago, and fled at night with 2000 people, the direction is unknown.There are less than a thousand guards left in the city, and their morale is low, and they have no intention of fighting.

"When you enter the bandit territory, you must find out the enemy's situation. For two whole days, you haven't figured out the actual situation in Xingzhou. How did you become a pioneer?" Lu Huaizhong taught Han Xun mercilessly, only listening to him say : "It's not enough to just know how to fight and kill. That's a reckless man, and nothing can be done."

The famous "reckless man" Lu Huaizhong taught Han Xun 20 years ago, and Han Xun could only nod repeatedly.

"Xingzhou, it was taken so easily." After letting Han Xun go, Lu Huaizhong sighed and said, "When I crossed Fushui in the north last month, I didn't expect it to go so smoothly."

All the generals laughed when they heard this.

In this battle, the guards were wiped out with golden guns and most of the Army of the Fifth Academy. More than [-] soldiers from the three prefectures and counties of Xingmingci died or surrendered or fled. .

Of course, it is a little exaggerated to say that it has changed hands now.Because of the rapid progress all the way, only the key nodes on the transportation line were taken down.Of the three prefectures and eighteen counties, only the four counties of Cizhou, Yongnian and Linming in the six counties of Mingzhou, and the nine counties of Shahe, Longgang, and Nanhe in the eight counties of Xingzhou have been clearly captured so far.

For the remaining nine counties, troops had to be sent to receive them one by one.At least you have to go around and let people know that Xing Mingci has changed masters.

In addition, there are still some broken soldiers and ulterior motives in the countryside, which need to be suppressed one by one.

As for the appointment of officials, this is not under Lu Huaizhong's control, it is up to King Xia to decide.

The three provinces of Xingmingci were not taken over peacefully, but seized by force. Naturally, they had to be cleaned up from top to bottom, and it was impossible not to replace them.Moreover, these three prefectures are also important bases for attacking Hedong. At least they can contain a lot of troops in Hedong.

"Send envoys to the counties of Ming and Xing prefectures to receive them. Each envoy will send five hundred soldiers to escort them." Lu Huaizhong ordered.

"At each pass in the Taihang Mountains, send troops to search and move forward. Military envoy Kang, you will handle this matter. Don't force yourself when you encounter the enemy, just retreat. It's not yet time to deal with them."

"Send an order to Li Yixian to lead his troops north to Mount Yao for defense."

"On the other hand, send envoys to King Xia to report victory."

From this series of orders, it can be seen that Lao Lu has not let go of his strings.

It can be seen from the map that Xingmingci Sanzhou is actually surrounded by enemies.To the west are Luzhou and Liaozhou in Hedong, to the east are Weizhou and Beizhou in Weibo, and to the north are Zhaozhou and Jizhou in Chengde Town.

Don't take it lightly!

******
Shao Shude is inspecting Ye County.

Yecheng and Yedu are famous cities since the Northern Dynasties.

In fact, it was not only the Northern Dynasty. A little earlier, Cao Gong used Yecheng as his old nest.To put it bluntly, Yecheng has been the capital of partial hegemonic regimes many times, which shows its background.

However, since the Sui Dynasty, although the population and economy of Hebei have been greatly developed, ranking first in the country, but the famous cities in Hebei that were once famous at that time have gradually declined.

Handan has become a small county, and Ye County is not as good as before, and it is infinitely stronger than the county.

"The plains of Yecheng are thousands of miles away, and water is transported in all directions. Guests travel from south to north, and there are many guests. It is very close to Henan and Hedong. If the Northern Dynasty regime is established, it is indeed a good choice for the capital." Shao Shude looked at the flat, fertile and rich land. The Great Plains of Hebei, I admire from the bottom of my heart.

Crossing the Taihang Xing Road, you will reach the east of the river, and not far to the south is the Yellow River. It is located in the most prosperous area of ​​Hebei, where many post roads and canals meet, which has unique advantages.

Shao Shude believes that this is the Hebei version of Bianliang.If there was no Khitan threat in history, Yecheng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, would actually be a good choice.

It's a pity that others can determine the capital of Yecheng, but he can't, because it has something to do with birth and roots.And with Luoyang, Yecheng can't even be one of the capitals. There will be a northern capital in Hebei, but it won't be Yecheng.

"If Your Highness wants to subdue Hebei's hearts..." Xie Tong said.

"Things are not that simple." Shao Shude waved his hand, but did not continue to explain.

"Lu Huaizhong played very well. The three provinces of Xing Mingci have basically been won, and the rest is to mop up." Shao Shude turned to talk about another matter: "The war in Hebei, how to fight next? Do you have a strategy?"

"Your Highness can hit and pull." Xie Tong suggested.

"Why?" Shao Shude asked.

"Wang Rong of Zhenzhou must be in a panic right now, if His Highness grants him the position of feudal town..." Xie Tong said.

"No! This matter is absolutely impossible." Shao Shude scolded: "Xie Suishi has been here for a long time, why are you so confused?"

Xie Tong repeatedly pleaded guilty.

Shao Shude's face remained unchanged, but he was thinking in his heart, did Xie Tong represent someone, and he was probing again?Why are all of them obsessed with being Jiedushi?Haven't given up yet?
"Your Highness, since you can't appease Wang Rong, then you have to send troops to take precautions." Xie Tong said: "Although Hebei warriors are mostly housekeeper dogs, they have already hit the door of the house now, so we must be careful of dogs jumping over the wall in a hurry."

"Well, I will consider this matter." Shao Shude said.

"The roads of the Taihang Mountains need to be more prepared. The bandit army is condescending, with the danger of mountains and rivers, and the convenience of cities, food and grass. It is also a troublesome thing to protrude suddenly." Xie Tong said again.

Shao Shude nodded, motioning for him to continue.

To some extent, Xing Mingci is very similar to Jinjiang and Jinzhou in the river. They are both located under the overlooking of the Shanxi Plateau, and both have defiles leading to the east of the river.

"After taking care of these things, it's time for Your Highness to send troops to Weibo." Xie Tong said: "It's best to gather food, grass, and army, and plan for a long-term siege."

"Wei Bo, and then attack Cangjing, and then pull out Chengde and Youzhou, and the world will be settled." Xie Tong said: "In this process, Li Keyong will definitely not sit idly by, and most likely will send troops. And this, It is also a good opportunity to weaken Hedong. With the current morale of the Jin people, His Highness can use the strategy of fighting and pulling. Li Keyong, the king of Jin, thinks very highly of himself and is aloof. In the past, when someone was under the tent of King Liang, he knew This person's nature. King Liang has a grudge against Ke Yong, and he will never stop dying. Your Highness and Ke Yong are both enemies and friends, and there is brotherhood, some things are not as difficult as they seem."

"Invite An Jinquan to Yecheng." Shao Shude ordered.

(End of this chapter)