Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 499
"The general's brochure, order the public law to drive, decorate the coffin and jade pass, and return the soul to the kingdom..."

"Su mantle Zhumen, in Mingjing Lane, Enlong ordered the funeral, and the rituals and decorations are over..."

"The envoy of the state guards the funeral, the historian praises the stone, the chariots and apprentices line up, and the majesty and majesty..."

"Cheng Che Jieshi, preaching back and forth, the viewers are honored, and the cowards are invigorated..."

In the early morning, more than a thousand cavalry escorted the hearse to leave the palace, and after leaving the city, it meandered towards the southwest.

The chariots, halogen books, and drums stretch for more than ten miles, with hundreds of flags and thousands of chariots.

Officials of Hezhong Town, elders of aristocratic families, and generals in the army each followed the funeral procession with their feathers, guides, and uniforms. There were also countless people watching this rare and grand funeral ceremony, and almost all the streets were empty.

On the other side of the city in the river, there were still many people silently watching the funeral.

"There are two thousand Jin soldiers in the city, right?" Qi Bizhang, who was dressed as a merchant, looked at the majestic Hezhong City, as if his eyes could penetrate the city wall and see the Hedong soldiers hiding in it, secretly preparing their horses and fighting hard.

"Yes. It was brought back by Wang Ke when he went to Taiyuan to greet his relatives." Gao Renhou was dressed like a rich man, and he couldn't help laughing because his style was so out of place.

"Li Keyong is good to this son-in-law." Qi Bizhang laughed.

"Not bad! It's just staring at this piece of fat in the river, just like our handsome man." Gao Renhou said disdainfully.

"Uh..." Qi Bizhang glanced at Gao Renhou. The old man Gao was still carefully observing the funeral procession, and at the same time secretly paying attention to the nearby mountains and rivers. I don't know if he realized that he was "slandering" the general.

"Has Wang Yao made up her mind?" Qi Bizhang didn't want to talk about dangerous topics with this silly old man Gao Renhou anymore. Damn it, people from the Central Plains are not as sensible as us grassland people.

"I should have made up my mind. After his old father died, he didn't cry at home, but sent people around to visit, making people despise him." Gao Renhou said: "Of course, even if the appearance is enough, those generals in the river will not Listen to him. Wang Chongying must have made arrangements before his death. What Wang Yao can give, Wang Ke can also give, and even more. Why does Wang Yao let them betray? No way, we still have to fight in the end, Tielin Army, Jinglue The Army and the Zhenwu Army should be ready to stop, this time I will give him a vote!"

Unexpectedly, the old man was so bold and aggressive, Qi Bizhang looked at him twice more.

I heard that when Gao Renhou was in Sichuan, when he was recruiting the rebels, in order to win their trust, he once walked into the rebel army alone, and spoke nicely to appease them.Marching and fighting likes to take the initiative to attack and set up ambushes. This is an old man who just likes to fight.

There is also an old man in the Shuofang army, and that is Yang Yue, the envoy of the Xinquan army stationed in Shuozhou.In essence, he and Gao Renhou are the same kind of people, relatively pure, not a good military leader or a good military governor, but a good warrior, if they are thrown into the commander's camp, they will be regarded as smoke from their ancestral graves, otherwise they will run into walls everywhere. Sooner or later buried in the grass.

"Let's go, don't look at it, go back and prepare." Gao Renhou spat out the grass stem in his mouth, clapped his hands and prepared to mount the horse.

"How to prepare?" Qi Bizhang asked.

"Enter the army, go to Jiangzhou. Wang Yao just recognized the commander-in-chief as his uncle, so let's go eat at Wang Yao's house, and urge him to hurry up." Gao Renhou said as a matter of course: "Hurry up and fight, there are so many things!"

"We must be able to win?"

"Let's talk if we can't win the fight!" Gao Renhou said nonchalantly, "Anyway, let's fight first, and do what you want, just like a woman."

When Qi Bizhang said this, his belligerent factor was also activated, and he said, "You are the envoy, you have the final say."

The group retreated quickly and returned to Yucheng within a few days, each of them prepared not to mention it.

……

In Bianzhou City, Zhu Quanzhong has been paying attention to the Xuzhou war.

The eldest son Youyu led an army of [-], and Ding Hui had [-] soldiers, making a total of [-] troops.In addition, there were more than [-] soldiers from Su, Hao, and Shou, who surrounded Xuzhou tightly.

Next came the classic siege and aid. Zhu Jin from Yanzhou led an army of [-] to the south to rescue Shi Pu, but was defeated by Zhu Youyu and fled in embarrassment.

Zhu Quanzhong was not surprised to defeat Zhu Jin, who had long been out of control.The Bian Song Dynasty's elite soldiers ran rampant in the Central Plains, and they rarely met opponents. Is it worth being happy to defeat Zhu Jin in a frontal field battle?so so.

Zhu Yougong sued Youyu again.The last time Jishui defeated Zhu Jin, he didn't pursue him. This time he won again, but he still didn't pursue him and continued to besiege Xuzhou.Zhu Yougong secretly told him that he had a different ambition. Although Quan Zhong didn't believe him, he was still very unhappy.

Trouble of the suspicious!
Zhu Quanzhong was restless, thinking that he had no relationship with his eldest son, and even more worried that he and Ding would collude to take down Xuzhou and stand on his own.

Zhu Quanzhong read it quickly and slapped it on the table heavily, causing the servants to bow their heads in shock.

"General Jing Sima and Vice Envoy Li are invited." Zhu Quanzhong sat back on the bed, thinking silently.

The current situation of the Xuanwu Army is still very good, but its strength is a little tight.

Hu Zhen of Xin'an tried his best to strengthen the city's defenses and guard against death. He spent 2 soldiers and horses, of which [-] were the main Yamen.

Ge Congzhou of Ruzhou has more than [-] soldiers on hand, half of them are Zhongwu Yajun, and the rest are Ru and Cai Zabing. Tang Deng was short of troops, so he asked for reinforcements.

Zhu Quanzhong also knew that it would be embarrassing to bring only more than [-] soldiers to the south. Even with the addition of Caizhou Yajun, Zhongwuzhou County soldiers, and Tutuan soldiers, they were still more than defensive and not aggressive enough.

But I entrust you with the job of making the impossible possible, so what's the point of always asking for more troops?

In the area of ​​Xu and Su, 7 yamen troops from Bianzhou were assembled at this time, which can be described as the elite main force.Zhu Jin was defeated, Shi Pu had no reinforcements outside, and the morale was even lower. These [-] people must not withdraw, they must strike while the iron is hot, and strive to win Xuzhou in one go.

After removing the troops used to guard against Er Zhu and Li Ke, as well as the necessary left behind troops, Zhu Quanzhong found that the main force he could call at the moment was only more than [-] people.

Can more than 3 government troops interfere in the war in the river?It may be possible to make trouble, but it is difficult to swallow it in the river!
Back then, Zhu Quanzhong recognized Wang Chongrong as his uncle on the grounds that his mother's surname was Wang. Wasn't the reason why he was so straightforward because he was always defeated by Wang Chongrong that he really couldn't beat Pu Jun?Later, in the decisive battle with Huang Chao, the scene of the bloody battle of Hezhong's army deeply shocked him, and it still lingers in his mind.

It's only been ten years, have the soldiers and horses in the river become depraved and unable to fight?Zhu Quanzhong didn't believe it.

"Marshal!" Jing Xiang and Li Zhen hurriedly left the government office and came to pay their respects.

"There is a report in Puzhou that Wang Chongying is dead, and the army wants to push Wang Ke as the leader, but the situation is delicate, and there may be changes." Zhu Quanzhong said: "In the past, I had a nephew and uncle friendship with the old Langya County King. If you intervene, How do you two feel?"

Jing Xiang thought slowly, but did not answer immediately.

"Who does the commander want to support?" Li Zhen asked first.

"Wang Ke is me—cousin..." Zhu Quanzhong paused for a moment, then without changing his expression, he said, "If you can use it as a wife, or you can't win him over, why don't you support Wang Yao? Or Wang Yin?"

"Commander!" Jing Xiang raised his head, looked at Zhu Quanzhong, and said, "It doesn't matter who the commander supports, what matters is who owns one prefecture and four prefectures in Hezhong. How can Shao Shude of Lingzhou not intervene in this matter? Hezhong is what he gets, and millions of people use it for them. When we transship goods, food, grass, and equipment, the pressure on our Luoyang and Mengzhou frontlines has increased greatly, and we are very passive. Commander, with all due respect, Hezhong fell into the hands of the right people. It's better than falling into Shude's hands."

"Can it fall into my hands?" Zhu Quanzhong smiled and asked greedily.

"It is necessary to raise a large army!" Jing Xiang said: "The river is rich and rich, and there are no less than [-] sergeants. They have excellent armor and equipment. They have been practicing battles for a long time, so they can't be taken lightly."

His opinion is similar to Zhu Quanzhong's. Pu Jun's previous achievements were too dazzling, and Wang's family's three quarters were not picked, but hard work.

Whether the Hezhong Army can fight, ask Huang Ye, ask Huang Chao, ask—Marshal Zhu himself.

"Then ignore it? I really don't want to be reconciled." Zhu Quanzhong said angrily, "After my uncle passed away, Chongying took over, but his health was ill, or he didn't have much energy to take care of these warriors. The generals of the military government. A few years ago, Li Han attacked Jin and Jiang, and Wang Chongying couldn't stop it, so it may be false or true."

Jing Xiang and Li Zhen were silent.This is the truth, Li Hanzhi has so many soldiers, but Hezhong can't stop him, could it be that he can't fight anymore?The army loses its commander and loses its spirit. The new commander can't convince the crowd and can only buy more. The generals become more and more despised, and then become disorganized and depraved. This is not uncommon in history.

"I intend to increase the number of troops in Mengzhou, so that there will be no danger." Zhu Quanzhong made up his mind and decided with one word.

……

Li Keyong entered Yizhou.

Fifty thousand soldiers and horses from the east of the river, marched eastward from Yunzhou, and occupied the Qingsai Army (now Yanggaonan), Niupiguan (now under Niupiling in Datong), and Tiancheng Army (today's town), which were abandoned by the Datong Army. Huai’an County, Xinzhou, under the rule of Zhouzhen—Benna surrendered to Zhucheng, and Emperor Xizong set up the prefecture and county.

Li Cunxiao, who served as the vanguard, attacked the city of Yizhou. The Yan army had few soldiers, so they abandoned the city and fled, so they fell without a fight.

Yizhou governed only one county, called Wende County (now Xuanhua).Originally known as Wuzhou in the Northern Wei Dynasty, it was changed to Yizhou by the first emperor during the Wende period.

After hearing the news, Li Ke led thousands of cavalry to come.Sixty miles to the east from Yizhou is Yongxing County (now north of Zhuolu) in Xinzhou - Xinzhou governs Yongxing and Huai'an counties.

The main force of the Youzhou army has already moved inside and outside the city of Guizhou, and the Xiren, Shiwei, and Khitan tribes attached to Youzhou also gathered [-] to [-] horsemen to help in the battle. Guizhou governs a county, namely Huairong County (now Huailai).

This road is the main force of the Hedong Army, and it is a matter of success or failure.

During the reign of Suzong Zhide, Li Mi made a plan to take advantage of the main force of Anshi's rebel army in the Central Plains, so that King Jianning led his army to the north to go out of the fortress, "to take Fanyang and cover his lair." It was not adopted.

In the middle of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Suzong ordered Guo Ziyi to lead all the troops out of Gaoque Pass in Fengzhou, to the north of Yinshan Mountain, and then marched eastward, "receive Datong, Hengye, Qingyi (Guizhou), and Fanyang." resistance.

From Shuofang to Youzhou, the distance is actually very close, there is a Datong in the middle, even closer than Chang'an.If the two proposals to send troops outside the Great Wall come to fruition, the situation may really be different.

Li Keyong still had another way to go: Li Cunzhang led more than [-] cavalry, set off from the Hengye Army in Weizhou (now Yuxian County), walked through Xieyang Pass, and stopped at Kongling Pass, preparing to cooperate with the main force of the North Road.

The battle with the Youzhou Army will, if nothing else, start in Guizhou.

Once the victory is won, the army can march straight into Juyongguan and approach Youzhou.

Li Keyong is a person who likes decisive battles.

His good brother Shude likes to lead a lot of soldiers and save a lot of money, food and supplies when fighting. He must weaken the enemy's morale to the extreme before looking for a decisive battle.

The righteous brother is much more heroic in battle, and he will attack fiercely when he comes up.There are also a bunch of fierce generals under the tent, who often "piggy" the enemy, victory is victory, and defeat is defeat, very simply - if he loses, he still has the ancestral retreat in front of the enemy, which is amazing.

Li Keyong decided to send Li Kuangchou and his grassland friends to the west on the grassland of Guizhou, but a little accident happened.

"Marshal, Wang Chongying is dead." Gai Yu hurried into the Wende county government office and reported to Li Keyong and the Liu family behind him.

Well, Shude's sister-in-law, Liu Shi, is another military adviser used by Li Ke. Her words may be more effective than Gai Yu's, because she can advise during the day and offer advice at night.

Li Ke nodded slowly, indicating that he understood.

For him, this matter was both reasonable and unexpected.

"Is there any news from Liu Xun?"

"Back to Commander, General Liu thinks that there is an undercurrent in the river, and many descendants of the Wang family are not convinced by Wang Ke, and there may be a big change." Gai Yu replied: "Wang Yao, the governor of Jiangzhou, openly declared that '(Wang) Ke was originally my family Cang. The head, the small-character worm, should not be an heir', or an army should be raised to attack it."

"Boom!" Li Ke patted the case table heavily, bursting into anger.

This is Wang Yao!Don't even look at whose son-in-law Wang Ke is. If you're so revealing, don't you take me seriously?

Gai Yu was also very speechless towards this person.

Wang Yao's words sounded like Yuan Shu scolding Yuan Shao.

"Changtou" is the synonym for servants.Wang Ke is the concubine son of Wang Chongjian, and he was adopted by Wang Chongrong. Because Chongrong has no children, he suddenly became the heir of the first son. It is actually quite normal to be jealous of his cousins.

But it's a bit too much for you to scold so openly.Passers-by who don't help each other see it in their eyes, and most of them have a bad impression of Wang Yao.

"Husband!" Mrs. Liu took Li Keyong's arm.

Li Ke used to restrain his anger, thought for a while, and said: "Let Kang Junli look for an opportunity to retreat and return to Jinyang. If something goes wrong, he will cooperate with Liu Xun and kill Wang Yao. No, let Liu Xun pay attention to Wang Yao. If there is something wrong No, let’s do it first. Lord Kang will set up a large army to follow, and deter people who have different ideas. After I finish conquering Youzhou, I will make further calculations."

"Commander, Tuoba Renfu was sent by Shude..." Gai Yu reminded.

"Kang Junli knows what to do! Just let Tuoba Renfu die." Li Ke said impatiently: "Youzhou has just experienced chaos, and morale has plummeted. If you don't attack now, it will be difficult if you fight again later. .This is a big deal, don't bother me."

"The general will pass on the order." Gai Yu replied.

"Wait a minute." Mrs. Liu called Gai Yu, and turned to Li Keyong: "Husband, the river is very important. General Kang has less than [-] troops. If my uncle intervenes, is there any chance of winning?"

Li Keyong's face was cloudy and uncertain.

(End of this chapter)