Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 621 Temptation and Complexity

How fast can [-] recruits advance?More than twenty miles a day.

This speed is actually not slow.

The terrain of Huoqiu County is very complicated. There are many swamps, dense forests, and low hills. It is not so comfortable to walk.

After arriving at the west bank of Pishui, Shao Shude ordered to set up camp.

Zheng Yong seized the time and began to practice soldiers and horses.The main thing is to learn the Golden Drum Banner and practice some commonly used formations.

The sergeants dare to fight and fight hard, but they are still lacking in the command of the army and need to make up for their homework.

The two thousand cavalry led by Zhe Conggu had already crossed the Pi River.

They set up some signs in the shallow water, and they were guarded by special personnel.Once the war is unfavorable and needs to retreat, the army will cross from here.

As for why people were sent to guard them, the reason is also very simple. They are afraid that these benchmarks will be moved and placed in deep water, which would be a disaster of death.

After crossing the river, the cavalry rushed all the way, and when they approached Anfeng County, they dismounted and walked again to recover their horsepower.

On February 28, they raided a stronghold near Anfengtang.

The surging cavalry killed the county and town soldiers who were transferring grain and grass, and fled in all directions.

These Zhejia cavalry, for the convenience of going deep into the enemy's territory to fight, carried different weapons than usual.The long-range weapon is a riding bow, which is indispensable.There are three melee weapons, a sword, a blunt weapon, and a light spear.

The lightweight riding spear is the style of the silver spear of the Flying Bear Army, and it is also the spear commonly used by the cavalry in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The advantage of this is that the spear can be hung on the bird's wing ring on the arm or shoulder, freeing up the hand to use the bow and arrow.

This trend is so popular that many old-fashioned cavalrymen are secretly worried: Will the horse lance, which has been popular on the battlefield for hundreds of years since the Northern Dynasties, finally disappear?

Yes, judging from the results of historical development, Ma Chan will indeed be gradually eliminated in the next few decades, because the cavalry puts more emphasis on mobility, rather than the brutal way of directly attacking the infantry phalanx in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

But this kind of weapon that dominates for a while, people who love it to the bottom of their hearts, even if they can't use bows and arrows at the same time, they still want to wield it to fight.

It's a pity that after all, it can't stand the times, and the armored cavalry disappeared before them, so Ma Qian has no reason to be alone.

However, there may be a chance for revival in the future, who knows?
"If they lose their vigilance, they should suffer a great loss!" Zhe Conggu watched the cavalry wantonly chasing and killing the infantry who had lost their organization, and said with a smile: "We all know that there is a large army coming from the west, but they are so loose, I really think this is the rear. What? Even if we don't come to fight, they will suffer a lot if Yang Xingmi attacks in the future."

After all, he clamped his horse's belly and galloped to the temporary granary of the Shouzhou soldiers.

There should be more than [-] hu grains here, and tens of thousands of bales of hay, and I don't know where to transfer them.

With Anfengtang here, it is indeed rich!
"Bring me the map!" Zhe Conggu stretched out his hand, and the soldiers immediately spread out a map drawn on silk.

The mountains, rivers, and cities are clearly marked on the map, and his eyes are fixed on Shouzhou.

"I can't beat it!" After watching for a long time, he sighed.

Shouzhou "has the grips of Dongguan, Ruxu, and Xiashi on the land", and "emphasizes the difficulty of the water", which is the most dangerous.

To put it simply, there are passes on land, and there are also natural obstacles such as Shaobei, Feishui, Feishui, Erxieshicheng, Bagongshan, or artificial pass cities. It is difficult to deploy too many troops and it is difficult to fight.

The dense water network can also transport supplies and soldiers, and they are not afraid of blockade at all, so they can only besieged and wait for changes.

"It's a pity!" Zhe Conggu sighed, and focused his gaze on Yingkou again.

This is where the Yingshui River enters the Huaihe River, a water and land transportation hub, and is similar in status to Wokou, Sikou, and Qingkou.

However, according to the information obtained by the scouts, the Liang people were heavily guarded at Wokou. Although they might not be elite government soldiers, they had a fortress, which could not be captured by cavalry.Moreover, the location of the Lizhai is also more particular. It is located at a high place and is not afraid of flooding.

It would have been great if Liang Jun's Yingkou camp was located in a low-lying place, and they could try the water attack strategy of building dams to block water and flushing with floods. Unfortunately, they should not be so stupid and would not give this opportunity.

"Go to Anfeng and Shouchun first, and then go to Yingkou, first find out the background of the Liang thieves, how many soldiers and horses have come." Zhe Conggu made up his mind and made a decision on the spot.

We are so courageous and brave.

For a moment, Zhe Zhe from ancient times thought of Zhe Siyu who was far away in Qingtang.If his iron cavalry army is transferred, a total of 1 soldiers, [-] soldiers, and [-] horses will rush northward from the Huai River, it seems that it can play a greater role?

It's a pity that I can't afford it.However, if you can occupy such a fast and fertile land in Shouzhou, and then search for grain and beans in Shenzhou, Guangzhou, and Anzhou, clear the weeds in the open space, and sow pasture seeds instead, maybe you can try.

I can only suggest it after I go back. For now, it is better to go to Shouzhou to see what is important.

……

Zhu Yanshou has toured the five cities of Lujiang.

The five cities are Hefei, Shen, Chao, Lujiang, and Shucheng.

It was a rich place, with more than 20 people in Tianbao years.After the Anshi Rebellion, this place was not affected too much. Before the Sun Ru Rebellion, the number of household registrations in Tianbao had already exceeded.

But that goddamn Sun Ru is really capable of tossing around.Although the core area of ​​his scourge is Yangzhou, in fact, the entire Huainan has been drastically reduced by him.Pang Shigu also led his army to the south and plundered endlessly. After Sun Ru was pacified, there was another rebellion in Luzhou. The attack and killing lasted for several months, which made the five counties greatly depressed.

But no matter what, the foundation is still there.There are five counties in Luzhou with a household registration of more than [-]. Zhu Yanshou was very satisfied when King Wu rewarded him with this piece of land.

In the current Huainan army system, he, Tian Kai, and An Renyi should be second only to King Wu.

Tian Kai got Xuanzhou, where King Wu started his family.

When he served as the Jiedu envoy of Xuanshe, he led the three prefectures of Xuan, She and Chi, surrounded by Sun Ru, and almost lost.Tian Kai was awarded the Jiedu envoy of Ningguo and the governor of Xuanzhou, which shows that he attaches great importance to it.

However, recently I heard that Tian Kai begged She and Chi again, because he was not worthy of the name of Ningguo Jiedu, and two subordinate states were still under the control of King Wu. He always wanted to ask for it, but King Wu never allowed it.

An Renyi was appointed governor of Runzhou.

Runzhou is theoretically Qian Liu's ideal, but like Changzhou, it is controlled by the Huai army.

An Renyi is quite arrogant, he claims to be unparalleled in shooting, Zhu Yanshou doesn't like it.

But how should I put it, the three of them are quite eye-catching now, and they are envied by many people, so they have to hug each other to keep warm.There is no need to worry about minor conflicts.

After controlling the two towns of Xuanshe and Huainan, the king of Wu looked at the situation in the world and wanted to separate the southeast.But at the same time, there is growing wariness of the older brothers.

Tian Kai was not allowed to take She and Chi prefectures, but he also suggested attacking Feng Hongduo in Shengzhou (now Nanjing), which was also not allowed.

Feng Hongduo and Zhang Xiong were both former Shi Pu's subordinates.Nine years ago, the two wanted to rebel, but were discovered by Shi Pu, so he led [-] Xuzhou soldiers to escape, crossed the south of the Yangtze River to Suzhou, and captured it.Later, Zhou Bao led the army to break through, and fled to Shengzhou, where he proclaimed himself the governor of Shengzhou.

After Zhang Xiong died of illness, Feng Hongduo took over as Governor of Shengzhou, and now he is the smallest independent force in the south of the Yangtze River. No wonder he was favored by Tian Kai.

Runzhou, where An Renyi was based, was often attacked by troops from western Zhejiang. He repeatedly wanted to send troops to capture Suzhou and other places under Qian Liu's rule, but the king of Wu did not allow it.

Zhu Yanshou wanted to attack Shouzhou and Haozhou, but the king of Wu still refused.

The three meritorious generals all wanted to expand abroad, but King Wu did not allow them all.

What is King Wu doing? !

Zhu Yanshou returned to the city sullenly. He also knew what King Wu was thinking, so he was on guard against his old brother!I was afraid that they would not be able to control their territory when it became too large, so they were only given the land of one state and no expansion was allowed.

With such a little heart, I still want to do great things, alas!If you push it any further, the old brothers will turn against each other.

Just don't rebel, in the next hundred years, if someone rebels and usurps the throne, will the old brothers help you Yang?I'm afraid not all of them are watching from the sidelines, smiling all over their faces, waiting quietly for the new owner to win over.

"My lord, the scouts are here to report that the Xia thief has occupied Huoqiu County, Shouzhou." The general had been waiting in the hall for a long time, and when he saw Zhu Yanshou came back, he immediately reported.

"Oh? Seriously?" Zhu Yanshou was a little surprised. A while ago, he said that Xia Bandit was attacking Caizhou. Why did he come to Shouzhou now? What is Shao Shude doing?Block Shi Shucong?So brave?
"It's absolutely true." The general replied, "Huoqiu County surrendered without a fight. Somehow, the local tyrant Zhu Jing went south to the Tang and Huoshan areas."

"Zhu Jing, you are a slippery head!" Zhu Yanshou slapped the table and said angrily: "At the beginning when he was adopted as a adopted son, he pushed back three times and four times. Now that he is retreating without a fight, he must be connected with the Xia thief. Not good, Shouzhou If it is lost, wouldn’t the multi-day plan be in vain?”

If Tian Kai's ambition is to actually control the three prefectures of Xuan, She, and Chi, and An Renyi wants to grasp the two prefectures of Run and Chang, then his ultimate goal of Zhu Yanshou is to control the three prefectures of Lu, Shou, and Hao, and achieve At that time, the three prefectures of Haoshoulu practiced the status of observation envoys.

Shouzhou is the food in his bowl, how can I give it to others?

Zhu Yanshou got up and walked around the room like a headless chicken.

He is not a very smart person, nor is he a tough person who can control his desires and ambitions, he is just a warrior who focuses on expanding his territory.

Mrs. Wang came in with tea, sighed when she saw this, and said: "My husband, if you want to achieve great ambitions, you must first hold your breath."

When Zhu Yanshou heard it, as if a switch had been pressed, he stopped immediately, turned around and sat back on the bed, and said, "Ma'am, I don't know. The Xia thief is very cruel. If I let him win Shouzhou, my plan for many years will be in vain." carry on."

"Husband." Wang put the teacup on the case, and comforted in a soft voice: "Uncle Cong has arrived in Shouzhou, even if the army has not yet arrived, there will be no shortage of troops at hand. The Xia people will not be able to break through Shouzhou. For such a big event, the king of Wu must be aware of it soon, if it is really necessary to mobilize troops, why does the husband need to force himself to come forward?"

"The king of Wu is afraid that I will become bigger." Zhu Yanshou said bitterly: "every day, he said that Huainan was broken, and he wanted to recuperate and make a name for himself among the people and scholars. However, he still sent troops to attack Du Hong, saying one thing and doing another. , too ruthless towards old brothers."

In fact, Yang Xingmi gave Tian Kai his hometown Xuanzhou, let Zhu Yanshou guard his hometown Luzhou, and gave An Renyi the rich and prosperous Runzhou in western Zhejiang.

Don't you see, Li Shenfu and the others don't have a seat yet.

Moreover, it is also a fact that Huainan is dilapidated.Yang Xingmi is relatively simple, he does not do extravagant things, and is willing to rest with the people. Regardless of whether it is true or not, it is not easy for others to say that he has done something wrong.

"No, I have to go to Guangling." Zhu Yanshou got up suddenly again, and said: "The people of Xia and Liang are fighting fiercely. This is a golden opportunity. If you want to fight Du Hong at this time, it's better to fish in troubled waters and take Hao and Shou. Forgive Zhu Quanzhong for not daring to turn his back on him."

(End of this chapter)