Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 136 Battle in Youzhou ([-])
In Youzhou City, the atmosphere is solemn.

A big defeat last night spread throughout the city almost before dawn.3000 people were mobilized, all of them were elite soldiers, but when they encountered a hard stubble, hundreds of them died on the spot.On the way back, I heard the sound of war drums a few more times. In desperation, hundreds of people lost their way. In the end, only seventeen or eight hundred people managed to escape back to the city.

Such a fiasco cannot be concealed.Morale in the city is now low, rumors are spreading everywhere, and the big and small leaders are desperately suppressing, which suppressed the restlessness.

Tuoba Sigong looked at his younger brother's guilt-ridden face, and didn't blame him, but said: "The elites of the Dingnan army are not easy to fight. Although this night attack was your idea, a certain person didn't object. What if the idea succeeds? But in the world, it is really hard to be lucky, and the thief Shao will not give us this chance. You are not wrong in this battle."

"Brother." Tuoba Sizhong said with a gloomy face, "Since that's the case, we'll go out of the city in a few days and fight the Shao bandits. If this continues, the tribes outside will almost be looted by them."

Tuoba Sigong nodded.He had carefully considered that the food, cattle and sheep in the city would still be enough for several months, enough to last until the snow fell heavily in the twelfth lunar month of winter, and Shao thief would have to leave if he didn't.

But it doesn't make sense.Before leaving, the Shao bandits had plenty of time to plunder cattle, sheep, Dingkou, recruit troops, and even move them away.What will I get then?A city that only consumes food, an empty pasture without a single cow or sheep, and nearly ten thousand unsteady soldiers to support. At this time, Thief Shao only needs to secretly surrender, maybe his head will be "borrowed" by others to claim credit up.

It's pointless to keep on guarding.

"In the past few days, more cattle and sheep will be killed, and more wine will be dispensed, so that everyone can eat and drink happily. First raise the morale, and when it is almost raised, go out of the city and fight the Shao thief to the death." Tuoba Sigong said: "Whether it is life or death depends on this battle."

As long as the field battle is won, there will still be a chance to regain everything that was lost, even capture and kill Shao thief, and it is unknown to counterattack Xiazhou.The strength of the Youzhou army is certainly not as good as that of the Dingnan army, and it will definitely be defeated in a normal fight, but isn't there also an element of luck?In the past few days, a ceremony to sacrifice to heaven will be held, hoping that the god of heaven will bless his people.

"Sizhong, you and Siyao get ready to hold a sacrifice to the heavens in a few days, and let the gods bless the Tuoba clan." Tuoba Sigong said.

"This is a major event. I'm afraid it's useless to kill cattle and sheep. You have to kill your servant girl." Tuoba Sizhong said.

Tuoba Sigong nodded, according to the customs of the party, the highest level of offering sacrifices to heaven or oaths is not to kill cattle and sheep, but to kill maidservants to sacrifice to heaven, so he quickly ordered: "Choose more than ten women in the city and wait for sacrifices." They were killed together on that day."

Tuoba Sizhong went to do it with a solemn expression.

Tuoba Sigong sat in the room in a daze for a long time, he thought about surrendering, but he felt that he was not very willing.The foundation of several generations has finally improved a bit. If you give up now, when will you have a chance to start again?Luck, sometimes just once, fleeting, how can you be reconciled if you don't work hard?
Different from the gloom and gloom in Youzhou City, in the camp of the Dingnan Army in the north of the city, the generals were beaming and their morale was high.

"The head of the Wuzang clan, please get up." Shao Shude helped Wuzang Qingxiang who was kneeling on the ground with his own hands, and said, "It's not too late to turn back after being lost. Hengshan is vast and has tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land. From now on, we will rely on Wuzang Qingxiang." Tibetan chief."

Wuzang Qingxiang settled down a bit, stood up and stood aside.

What Shao Shude said was not polite.The terrain of Hengshan is complex and vast, with hundreds of fortifications in the mountains, all of which are built in dangerous places, controlling tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land, and all ministries united, drawing 2 to [-] soldiers is not a problem.With the addition of their home ground, with the strength of more than [-] people in the Dingnan Army and the cooperation of the Baosai Army Li Xiaochang, of course they can win, but the search for mountains and villages will take a long time, and it will inevitably consume a lot of time and resources. .

Once it is not wiped out once, it will be repeated later, and a large army will have to be mobilized, spending countless time and energy.What's more, wouldn't it be disgusting for these people to go down the mountain to loot while he was away?
Now that the trend of the world is obvious, I don't have so much time to play hide-and-seek with the party members in the mountains.During the Three Kingdoms meeting, Shanyue has troubled Soochow for many years and consumed a lot of their resources. It can even be said to seriously affect the national strategy. Can we learn from it?
I am not afraid of the miscellaneous captives on the grassland, and I can calm down in a short time, because there is no shelter on the grassland, and it is enough to send out an army to fight.But Hengshan Dangxiang, you can't play like this!After playing with them for ten or eight years, Li Keyong may have already entered Guanzhong.

The Wuzang family and the Yeli family are both big clans in the Nanshan Dangxiang family, and if they stabilize the two clans, it is tantamount to stabilizing the Nanshan Dangxiang clan.If the relationship is deepened, not only will they not become their enemies, but they can even become their helpers, and they will be their trump cards in the fight against Li Keyong.

Nori Keiko should have no doubts about himself now.This time when they attacked Youzhou, Ye Liyu's Yi Congjun army would be able to share a lot of spoils, which can be said to have further consolidated the relationship.If the Wuzang clan can be subdued again, Nanshan Dangxiang will have no worries.

Shao Shude vaguely remembered that the later Li Jiqian started his career with the Grassland Dangxiang, but the Hengshan Dangxiang had nothing to do with them, and he might vote for the Song Dynasty or the Xia Dynasty.Li Jiqian later obtained the support of this grassroots by marrying the Yeli family. After all, it was impossible for the emperor of the Song Dynasty to marry any Yeli family.

Li Deming successively married his hard-core Grassland Dangxiang Weimu clan and Hengshan Dangxiang Meizang clan. His son Li Yuanhao also seems to have married a woman from the Yeli clan, and the Yeli Wangrong brothers are also generals of Xixia.From then on, the possibility of the Hengshan Party Xiang voting for the Song Dynasty was cut off, and the population of several hundred thousand was used by Xixia, which became the frontier base for attacking the Song Dynasty.

It is impossible for me to get the unreserved support of the Hengshan party like Li Jiqian and Li Deming. After all, it seems difficult for the women of the Yeli family to compete with the Linzhou Zhejue family, but as long as they lean towards themselves, it will be fine.

Send out some soldiers, pay tribute to some goods, and help yourself conquer the world. When the country is unified in the future, an imperial decree will come down and let your whole family move to the capital. Can Yeli Jingchen and his son resist?At that time, my basic base will already be three hundred states in Han, and the mere Hengshan party item will be insignificant.

"The commander-in-chief is so tolerant, and the Wuzang clan is extremely grateful. Now that I heard that the Dongshan party members wanted to come to Yuzhou, so I sent my son Jieming to call the leaders of each department to meet the commander. Tuoba clan If you go against the law and bring about your own destruction, the commander-in-chief just needs to show his righteousness to these people, and thousands of people can be used by the commander-in-chief immediately." Mozang Qingxiang was anxious to make a contribution, and said immediately.

"Oh? No Tibetan patriarch can call him here?" Shao Shude said happily: "If you are willing to come, you will be innocent, and there will be a reward."

"Your Majesty's army is so powerful, as long as you are not completely ignorant, you should not wait and see and hesitate." Mei Zang Qingxiang said: "Since Your Majesty agrees, so I will do it."

"Okay! Okay! Once Dongshan Dangxiang fell, Yanzhou Wuyi's four tribes were also defeated. I want to see what else the Tuoba clan can expect?"

After Wuzang Jieming took people to recruit Dongshan Dangxiang, the Dingnan Army continued to stare at Youzhou.The cavalry pawns were still looking for tribes to plunder. Pingxia's party items were tossed by them like this, which can be said to be a serious injury, and Dingkou suffered serious losses. It is estimated that more than [-] people died before and after, and [-] to [-] women and children were also taken away.

The rest are basically reduced, because if the action is not fast enough, it will inevitably end up being robbed.

Shao Shude asked Li Yanling to make a count, and the confiscated and tribute totaled more than [-] heads of various miscellaneous animals, and even [-] dendrobium of corn.

Youzhou, there are still farmers!

Hengshan Dangxiang, Pingxia Dangxiang, and Hexi Dangxiang are the three foundations of the early founding of Xixia in later generations.In the early days of Xixia, there were about 150 million people, and these three major party items together accounted for more than one million people.Pingxia's party is mainly nomadic, and he has been tossed several times by himself, and he doesn't know how much strength he has left.

Well done to me, the party envoy to appease Pingxia!

On September 23, Li Yixian came to report suddenly: Youzhou City sent troops!

Waiting until today is finally yours!I have already arranged a big show, I have been waiting for a long time!
At three o'clock, amidst the fierce sound of war drums, the armies of both sides stood in formation on the field.

The Tuoba Clan dispatched more than [-] men, and the Dingnan Army had more than [-] Wuwei Army to fight.

Shao Shude climbed up to the high platform as usual, and after a short look, he saw Tuoba clan forming a square formation.This is to defend and wait for oneself to attack.

"Li Yixian, bring those people forward and shake the enemy's mind." Shao Shude ordered

"The last will obey."

After a while, more than a thousand riders came forward from the rear, escorting two to three thousand old and weak women and children.As soon as these people arrived at the front of the formation, there was a lot of noise from Tuoba's side, and the formation was in chaos.

"Tuoba Sigong, finally got rid of you old thief!" Shao Shude laughed loudly on the high platform.

These old and weak women and children in front of the battle are mainly from the Tuoba tribe, they are all screened out from the population of the tribe that was looted, and generally have family members in Youzhou City.

If the Tuoba clan was in the state of defending the city, when they escorted these old and weak women and children to the city, it might not have much effect.After all, it was in the city, and the officers and leaders could still suppress them, and it was impossible for him to really kill these women and children.But this will be before the battle, and things will be very different!

When Tuoba Sigongfu saw these captives of his own tribe, his face changed drastically. As the noise behind him grew louder, his hairs stood up subconsciously. No one wanted to tie him up, right?
"Dong dong dong..." The drums of the Wuwei Army sounded, and the sergeants shouted "Kill" three times, and then raised their long spears and lined up.They have won many battles, their morale is high, and the last thing they are afraid of is fighting the enemy.

"Let's go!" Tuoba Sigong turned his horse's head and jumped directly to the back of the formation.

As soon as he left, the brothers, nephews and nephews who followed in the battle no longer hesitated, turned their horses around one after another, and fled southward with their own soldiers and generals, not even daring to return to the city.

(End of this chapter)