Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 19 Shuozhou
The German army rested for two days by the Zhongling River.On August 24, the whole army set off and headed for Shuozhou City, two hundred miles away.

Hao Zhenwei won the field battle with Xue Zhiqin, his confidence was boosted, and he planned to kill him in one go to make a contribution.

The imperial court's rewards to the generals for suppressing the rebellion are still relatively generous. If Shuozhou is won, it is very likely that he will take over the Tiande army in the future.If the credit is more solid, it is not impossible to lead the northern states or Zhenwu army.

So, he was a little moved.

The army is out of camp, and there are many trivial matters.Although it is impossible to recycle all the materials for camping, some items still have to be taken away, such as refusal of horses, caltrops, gate flags and so on.

The equipment, food, herbs, medicinal materials and other military supplies stored in the camp should also be brought. This is the work of the baggage battalion. They were recruited a lot of people to join the soldiers. Fortunately, they also captured a wave of prisoners, and four more. Thousands of people are busy enough.

If you can't take it with you, just throw it away, such as ordinary wood.The residents of the village had run a lot before, and they should still be able to use it when they return.The Tiande army was also more conscientious, and they filled the pit before leaving, saving them a lot of effort.In this way, after finishing everything, the army set off, and they went straight to Shuozhou.

You Yi made the spies under Tian Xing go ahead.In the previous battle, although the Shuozhou army was defeated and lost, the main force of the cavalry was not damaged. It should not be careless. The horses must be sent far away to detect the movement ahead, and make sure that the safe rear can march in columns.

The next part of the journey was relatively uneventful.The Shuozhou army was defeated and could not stop the Tiande army from advancing.And the Shatuo cavalry under the command of Xue Zhiqin also disappeared, perhaps withdrew to Shuozhou City, or simply went to other battlefields, who can say for sure.

Shao Shude quite likes this, he is not the kind of "slut" Lao Lu is, and he has to fight with people desperately.Marching during the day, after arranging everything at night, either wandering around the military envoy, brushing his face, or studying with an oil lamp in his tent.

There is really so much to learn since this time.Shao Shude wrote it all down on paper, using simplified Chinese characters and Arabic numerals that others looked a little strange.

To be honest, as a team, of course you don’t have to learn so many things. Anyway, you just follow the golden drum flag on the battlefield. If you are lucky, you won’t die.

.But Shao Shude didn't want to pin his fate on illusory luck. He wanted to try his best to see if he could control it, or at least part of it, in his own hands.Low-level officers, the possibility of casualties is too great!

For example, in the just-concluded war with the Shuozhou army, both Sun Ba and Li Renjun really died too many people, many of whom were old brothers who had been in the army for many years, and Shao Shude could be named.

How is the result?Not falling down like weeds on the battlefield!A wave of arrows can knock you down, you have nowhere to hide when spears stab you, and the five-meter-long lance can make you despair when the enemy cavalry rushes in. The middle and lower level warriors are so cheap.

Shao Shude didn't want his life to be so humble, so he could only strengthen his studies, follow his boss, and struggle to find a way out in the troubled times.

When Qiu Weidao saw these things, he felt a little strange, and at the same time, he felt a little favored.A martial artist who loves learning, but is not a descendant of a noble family, isn't he an excellent target to win over?
In the future, I have to observe carefully. If it is a material that can be made, it can also be brought by my side when I move to town, and I can rely on it as a confidant.Even after returning to Beijing, you can introduce it to your grandfather. Thousands of troops are easy to get, but one general is hard to find. Now, what the hell are the generals of the Shence Army!

Taiping's march continued until three miles west of Shuozhou City, which was already the fifth day of September.

In a short distance of [-] miles, the Tiande army actually walked for [-] days, an average of less than [-] miles a day.There is no way, there are too many pots and jars, and we have to "collect food" along the way, which wastes a lot of time - in fact, there is no collection.

Shuozhou City is Shanyang County. It is not big, but it is quite solid.Thirty miles east of the city, there is Mayi County, the former Datong Military City, which is also very strong.In fact, this is nothing, the most important thing is that Tian Dejun has a black eye on this piece, and he doesn't know anything about it.

How many enemies are there?Where?Are there any horses?How is the morale?Are there any friendly activities nearby?Where can I raise grain?Almost none of these crucial questions could be answered by the Tiande Army, so things would be very difficult to handle.

Hao Zhenwei is still the old way, staying in the camp and spying on the enemy.This sounds a bit like fighting a deadly battle, but it is actually a very prudent coping strategy. Shao Shude silently wrote down: When you suddenly come to a place, the situation is unknown, and when your foothold is not stable, you should protect yourself first and remain invincible. The land will be pictured elsewhere.

Although Shanyang County is governed by the state, it is not as important as the Datong Military City in the east, that is, Mayi County.

The county is the intersection of the two avenues leading to Zhenwu Army from Taiyuan, otherwise the Datong Military City would not have been located here in the first place.Although the Datong Army has moved to Yunzhou City further north, Mayi County has always been an important military area. In theory, there are many garrisoned troops, but I don't know how much was taken away by Li Guochang and his son, and how much was lost by Xue Zhiqin.

Well, among the captives last time, there were town soldiers from Mayi County. According to them, there should be about a thousand soldiers in the county.Now that Xue Zhiqin has been defeated, the defender of Mayi wonders if he has recruited strong men to join the army, there should be some.Coupled with some retreating defeated soldiers, there are still two to 3000 people, relying on the strong city, the German army is really helpless.

So Mayi can't take it, but Shanyang can?Probably not.

There are only a few thousand Tiande troops, and it is definitely impossible to attack the fortress, unless Xue Zhiqin abandons the city, but is this possible?The main force of Li Guochang's father and son is in a decisive battle with the troops and horses of the towns led by Cao Xiang.

Alas, I don't know what the imperial court is thinking, the way of play is really a bit messy, and the various princes are also different in their minds, so the idea of ​​preserving their strength and profiting is very heavy.

Just like Qi Bizhang and Helian Duo in Yunzhou in the north, they are completely paddling. There are women who annex tribes and loot wealth, but they cannot see Yunzhou City by force.The Tiande army is now unable to patrol, and is unwilling to bite hard bones. It is no different from Qi Bianzhang and Helian Duo.

This is the warlord, the army is the capital, the lifeblood, and the rest are external things.

The work of setting up the camp is quite annoying. The auxiliary soldiers are busy with their feet in the sky. They only made a rough camp in the evening. It seems that they will have to continue to strengthen them tomorrow.

Lu Huaizhong was in charge of the security protection of the military envoy today. Before departure, Shao Shude warned him again and again, afraid that something might go wrong with this rough man.The remaining two teams stayed in the camp to maintain equipment.Shao Shude had nothing to do, taking advantage of the gap before night to go to Sun Ba's place to visit.

"Captain, I'm here. Hey, Li Shi is also here?" Entering Sun Ba's camp, he saw Li Renjun, the former guard of Zhenwu's army in the city, sitting there. It seemed that he was very familiar with Sun Ba. The two were smiling and saying something.

"What are you doing here again? I don't have anything to spare for you." Seeing Shao Shude, Sun Ba suddenly became angry.At the end of the last battle, this fellow took time to visit him. Before leaving, he took a few captured horses and sent one to Song Le, the superintendent of the Military Academy, two to the military envoy Qiu Weidao, and a few bad horses to stay. Carrying things on the pack is really "thieves don't get away".

"The commander has been wronged. The staff department is here today to discuss something important." Shao Shude said with a smile.Talking to old acquaintances is relaxed and comfortable, unlike following the guards carefully, as expected, people still like to live in their comfort zone.

"It's a big deal! Thousands of soldiers and horses are here, but they dare not fight, and they are unwilling to leave. Hao Zhenwei opens his eyes every morning, and he has to worry about the food, drink and Lhasa of these thousands of soldiers. I see here. If you can't wait, it's better to change places." Sun Ba said angrily, it seemed that he had a bad impression of Hao Zhenwei.

"Yes, Duwei Sun's words are reasonable. If they stay here, will the gentry in Shanyang and Mayi counties still rush over to deliver food? It's a joke." Li Renjun's subordinates suffered heavy losses in the last battle, so he said When he spoke, he was not very polite, and only listened to him continue: "Helian Duo, he brought so many people into Yunzhou, and as a result, he pretended to attack several times. Then they withdrew, recruiting and annexing the Tuhun tribe in Daibei, and enriching their military strength. This person, I think, is another Li Guochang!"

Li Renjun's words are a bit heavy, and Shao Shude is cautious by nature and is not easy to follow.

But what he said should be right. Helian Duo, as the chief of Tuyuhun, was named the governor of Yinshan Mountain, and he has always lived on the grassland north of Yinshan Mountain.

However, in the Daibei area, there are also a large number of Tuyuhun tribes living, which is one of the five tribes in the north.Because of the Tang court's strategy of divide and rule, these Tuyuhun people have been under the jurisdiction of the defense history of the Datong Army for many years, and have nothing to do with the Yinshan Dudufu.

As the most powerful chief of Tuyuhun, if Helianduo did not have the intention of annexing the Daibei people, even a three-year-old child would not believe it.Helian Duo took the initiative to ask Ying for this expedition against Li Guochang, the purpose is not pure!

"Hmph, Helianduo annexed his troops and expanded his army. Qi Bizhang is not a fool, and he must have stopped his troops. The court supervisors probably had no choice, so they rushed to attack the city a few times, and then died down. Yunzhou City The wall is thick, how can we easily succeed?" Sun Ba was really complaining about Helianduo and Qi Bizhang, and he was not polite at all when he spoke. The two pig teammates are really pitiful.

Shao Shude had nothing to say.Li Guochang and his son have a total of more than 20,000 soldiers, at least half of which are newly recruited, and there are only more than [-] elite soldiers who can really fight. Now most of them have gathered in Xinzhou and Daizhou in the south, and they are camping with Daibei to recruit envoys. Several towns led by Cao Xiang confronted each other.

If Qi Bizhang, He Lianduo, and Hao Zhenwei work together, and there are more than 10,000 elite soldiers, wouldn't it be easy to do something in the rear of Li Guochang and his son?
It's a pity that this can't become a reality. Many things in the world are probably like this.The situation in Hedong is complicated and confusing, and there is still something to play.

(End of this chapter)