Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 366 Two places
On the post road, the army meanders.

The sergeants took off their armor, lowered their bowstrings, put their spears and rifles on the donkey cart, their expressions relaxed and extremely happy.

Although they didn't do their best in this expedition, they plundered a lot of property, and the soldiers were very happy.

Territory and power, those are the generals' considerations, so what have we got to do with them?
Pengcheng is not easy to attack, and Xuzhou's soldiers are also very fierce. How many people will die?

It's better to be surrounded instead of fighting like now, and grab some goods and food to go back, so that the life of the family can be relaxed.

There was a burst of screams from the side of the road, and the expressions of all the soldiers were terrified.

The leader of the team is dead, but the subordinates are still alive, and they should be executed according to military law.

Pushing others and themselves, the passing sergeants all looked at those former comrades with sympathy.

It's better to fight to the death on the battlefield!
Or, look for opportunities to run far away!In the mountains and jungles of Henan, there are countless defeated soldiers hiding, go and join them!

A ride came quickly.When he arrived at a roadside wild shop, the knight reined in his horse and jumped off his horse lightly.

"Father, why are there so many idlers here?" Xie Yanzhang asked as he handed over the whip to the soldiers.

"They are all businessmen who come here for profit." A middle-aged general sitting on a chair said, "I can't move."

Xie Yanzhang understood.Don't have a background, dare to do the business of big soldiers?

"After class teacher, are you going to Hedong?" Xie Yanzhang asked.

"Who can guess what the commander-in-chief is thinking? Jing Sima knows it very well." Ge Cong Zhou smiled and said: "I feel that if he can conquer Hedong, the commander-in-chief will definitely be willing, but if there is no chance, he will They won't fight recklessly. Huainan, Wuning Army, Taining Army, Tianping Army, Weibo, etc. have a lot of territory waiting to be captured, why fight Li Keyong to the death? It's not yet time."

In all fairness, although Li Keyong has various problems, he is considered to have a relatively deep control over the troops among the generals in the world today.

For those other feudal towns, the fighting power is not bad when they keep their old nests, but when they go out to fight, they must either have imperial orders or increase rewards, otherwise it will be very difficult.And even if it was dispatched, the combat effectiveness and morale were average, and Gein's sergeants responded passively.

There are only two self-made commanders in the north who can really control the army, namely Shao Shude and Zhu Quanzhong.

This is no surprise.

How can an inherited army compare with a single-handed army?
Li Ke has been working hard to digest the original Hedong local forces in the past seven years.He has the capital, acting on behalf of the Beiwu people group, and directly led an army of [-] when he took office, and later dismissed half of the Tibetans, but he still has the capital.

The other feudal commanders, how should I put it, have varying degrees of control over the Yajun, and cannot exert their true combat effectiveness.

"This time, four towns have joined forces to challenge Li Keyong. The chances are still great. The new king will probably not obstruct it. The Youzhou army will go out of Weizhou and join the Datong army to attack Xin and Dai in the south. The Chengde army will attack Xing Zhouzhou, our army attacked Ze and Lu, even if Li Keyong has three heads and six arms, he can't stand it." Xie Yanzhang was a little excited.

Hedong is the life and death enemy of Xuanwu. If it can be wiped out, the three towns of Hebei, Tianping Taining, Wuning Huainan, Shannan Dongdao, and Shanguohe Zhongzhen will be much easier to fight.

Most of them will sweep the snow in front of the door, and they are easy to break one by one.That is to say, Li Kuangwei in Youzhou has a bit of strength and ambition, and can drive the big soldiers under him, but there is no need to worry too much.

These old feudal towns are sluggish. Even though the Jiedushi was changed, the people below have not changed, and they don't have the vigor and vitality of the Xuanwu Army at all.

"I'm afraid the four towns are not enough." Ge Congzhou looked at the adopted son who was excited. After all, he was young, and his thinking was too simple.

"If you were Chengdejie commander in chief, what would you do at this time?" Ge Congzhou decided to pass on some "jianghu experience" to his adopted son, and asked.

"It's natural to send troops to attack Xingzhou. Li Ya'er threatens the town of Hebei based on these three states, and he must seize them quickly." Xie Yanzhang replied.

Ge Congzhou shook his head.

This son's military strategy is not bad, and he is also a very good person, not arrogant, not domineering, and does not discriminate against scholars, and even treats them with courtesy.But he is not very good at dealing with people, and his grasp of people's hearts is also lacking, so he needs to be taught well.

"If Li Keyong is defeated and Hedong is occupied by the Bian army, what do you think?" Ge Congzhou asked.

Xie Yanzhang tried his best to put himself in Wang Rong's position, and said after a long while, "We are facing enemies on both sides. The Bian army went out of Hedong all the way, broke through Weibo all the way, and then went north. The situation is awkward."

Ge Congzhou just smiled.

"As far as the towns in Hebei are concerned, Hedong is certainly an enemy, but it is also a barrier. Warriors in troubled times seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and their calculations are clear. What is the benefit of letting the Bian army destroy Hedong?" Ge Congzhou said: "If It’s not that Li Keyong’s momentum is in full swing now, and it’s clear that they want to eat Hebei, so they wouldn’t even have the idea of ​​a joint crusade against Hedong. Ten thousand steps back, even if the four towns really sent troops together, when Li Keyong’s defeat appeared , Wang Rong and others will also take the initiative to retreat, and even turn against us, and join Li Ke to attack us."

Xie Yanzhang suddenly realized that this is the truly profound art of war.The face-to-face thing on the battlefield pales in comparison with this art of war.

"Then you are going to return without success this time?" Xie Yanzhang couldn't accept this fact.

Chengde, Youzhou, Datong, and Xuanwu can theoretically send out 40 troops, but this is a real 40 soldiers, not counting the civilian husbands and strong men, and not bragging, how can they not destroy Hedong?

The deceitfulness and changeability of people's hearts, and the complexity of interests involved are too troublesome.

"The commander-in-chief still can't see it, and wants to take a chance." Ge Congzhou sighed: "But it's true, let's get some benefits. It's also good to weaken the strength of Hedong. If you can occupy Ze, Lu Erzhou, then Jinyang has the potential to build a strategic position. Is this word correct? Grandpa doesn’t study much, and you hang out with a bunch of Confucian scholars all day long, so you should be more knowledgeable than me.”

"That's right." Xie Yanzhang smiled.

"My son also forgot one person." Ge Congzhou suddenly said again.

"Shao Shude!" Xie Yanzhang blurted out.

"It's this person." Ge Congzhou said: "A few months ago, he led an army of 20, went east to Zhenwu Army, entered Yunzhou, and forced Li Keyong to retreat. If this person is willing to send troops from Shuozhou, go deep into Lan, Shi, then turned our troops to the east, and headed straight for Taiyuan. Youzhou and Datong attacked Daizhou again, and our army went north to Zhanze and Lu, so that we could destroy Li Keyong. Li Keyong had only a few people, and he had to guard against Xing He still needs to guard Yuxin, Dai, Ze, and Lu, and he can't support it. But he may not be willing to do so. Lan and Shizhou have rugged terrain, many pass cities, and it is not easy to supply them. They are also poor and remote, and there is nothing Effect. On the contrary, it will allow us to seize Taiyuan Mansion, which is something that wise men would not do."

"Shuofang's cavalry army is quite elite." For some reason, the first thing Xie Yanzhang thought of was the three thousand cavalry soldiers of Zhongyongdu he saw in Guanzhong.

To put it frustratingly, it is much more decent than the cavalry of the Xuanwu Army!
"Don't think about it, prepare well when you go back, the commander should be going to enter the army." Ge Cong said thoughtfully.

******
"...Restriction will eventually become a national disaster. Now because of its defeat, I invite the three armies of Shuai Bian, Hua, and Meng to eliminate it together with the three towns in Hebei."

"Crack!" Li Ke angrily slapped a copy on the table.

Gai Yu looked at him silently.

Today's imperial court is like a broken house with air leaks everywhere, as long as they are willing to spend money, they can always get all kinds of news.

For example, Shao Shude, the king of Lingwu County, made a performance to build two palaces in Yulin and Woyang for the new emperor.

For example, Prime Minister Wei Zhaodu designated Ximen Wentong as the defense envoy of Qiongnan.

For example, Xuan and She (shè) were given the title of Ning Guojun, and Yang Xingmi was appointed as the envoy.

For example, Zhu Quanzhong resigned from the post of Jiedushi in Huainan, and presented Sun Ru as his commander.

There are too many, there is no news that cannot be obtained, as long as you are willing to spend your thoughts and money.

Of course, all of the above are insignificant matters, and it was Zhu Quanzhong's memorial that made Hedong most angry.

Full of malice and evil intentions, the plot of Hedong is clearly revealed.

"Marshal, this matter must be treated with caution." Seeing that Li Keyong had lost his temper, Gai Yu reckoned that it was almost time, so he said.

Li Keyong also knew that now was a more dangerous time. The three Hebei towns plus Xuanwu and Datong had more soldiers than few. The most troublesome thing was that they were coming from all directions, making Hedong unable to concentrate on responding to the enemy.

"Send an order to my brother Ke Gong that Zhaoyi Town select elite and brave men to enter Jinyang." Li Keyong ordered.

Gai Yu gave a signal, and the staff began to write.

Now the situation is critical, Zhaoyi Zhuzhou is newly acquired, people's hearts are unstable, and it is indeed a good way to deal with it by recruiting its elite soldiers to Hedong.

"When the envoy was sent to Zhenzhou (now Zhengding, Hebei), he told Wang Rong that I have an enmity with Li Kuangwei, and no other people are involved." Li Keyong said again.

The staff continued to record.

"Wait, the envoy will bring some more gifts. I heard that Wang Rong was young, so he sent some gold and silverware." Li Keyong added.

Gai Yu smiled gratifiedly.

Although the past few years have not been going well, the commander-in-chief's temper seems to have changed, and it doesn't look like a bad thing.In the past, it was only the matter of others giving gold and silk to the commander in chief, how could the commander in chief give gifts to others?

This is an extremely embarrassing thing for the commander-in-chief.

You can lose your life, but you must save face.

Now it seems that Hedong's temporary adversity may not be a bad thing.As long as the commander-in-chief's temper changes, with his ability to govern the army, there is still great hope.

"Send another envoy to Lingzhou..." Li Keyong stopped after speaking halfway.

Gai Yu was stunned, how could Shuofang Town not appease him?

Shao Shude, he really couldn't figure it out, he felt that he was a thick-faced and dark-hearted person.If he had the chance, and a hundred thousand troops came to kill him, wouldn't Hedong be overwhelmed?
"Marshal..." Gai Yu reminded.

"Forget it, I will also send an envoy to bring another letter." Li Ke said with a sigh of relief.

Originally, he wanted his wife Liu to send someone to Lingzhou to find Shao Shude's wife, Zheshi, and to use these relationships to tactfully repair the relationship between the two towns, so that he would not have to come forward directly and look better.

But now that I think about it, is it shameful for a man to shrink back and let a woman come forward to make things right?
If the foster brother doesn't want to fix it, just hit him!The big deal is to die on the battlefield, what a big deal it can be!

"The key to this battle is Youzhou and Datong." Li Keyong said: "I am not afraid to fight back this way, Xuanwu Army!"

Gai Yu agrees with this statement.

It should be impossible for the imperial court to send troops here, although Zhang Jun has heard that Zhang Jun is urging this matter.

But don't be afraid if you come, even if you come with 5000 soldiers, send a strong general and lead [-] people to deal with it.

The Shence Army is not made for war, and it can be dealt with in two or three strokes.

In fact, it may be a good thing to come. After repelling the Shence army, it will shake the morale of the other enemy troops. It may not be a bad thing for Hedong.

But those people in Shuofang Town cannot be underestimated.

Shao Shude is a man of military prowess, almost as good as—er, the King of Longxi County.Fighting every year, employing troops so viciously, they are truly formidable enemies.

Given the current situation that Hedong is facing, the most feared is not the kind of brave and diligent general.This kind of general uses troops very simply, either wins or loses, and the winner will be decided soon.

But Shao Shude's use of troops is really hard to describe.Fighting with him is very likely to be invincible and undefeated, just disgusting you there, when you can't bear it anymore, get irritable, and show your flaws, he will pounce on you.

How can I spend so much time with him?
In Hedong today, every ounce of troops is very precious.If tens of thousands of people are restrained in the direction of Shuozhou, this battle will be impossible to fight.

"In this way, let's prepare our troops for battle." Li Keyong said: "The enemy's advantage lies in the number of soldiers, and our army's advantage lies in the unity of heart. If we can repel all soldiers and horses, the thieves will be terrified, and our army can take advantage of the situation to attack. Come today The towns that committed the crime, one counts as one, and all of them must be brought back. Especially Zhu Quanzhong, the thief..."

Li Keyong remembered the words in Zhu Quanzhong's memorial that "restriction will eventually be a national disaster", and he was so angry that he almost couldn't suppress his temper.

It hurts the liver!

Li Ke took a deep breath and stared at the map expressionlessly.

(End of this chapter)