Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 696
On the school field in the west of Biyang County, Tangzhou, a large army gathered.

After inspecting the troops on horseback, Zhe Zongben was slightly out of breath.

Time is not forgiving, people in their 50s feel the loss of energy and physical strength every day, and the energy of riding a horse for a day and a night when they were young is gone forever.

Zhe Conggu, the governor of Dengzhou, and Zhao Kuanglin, the governor of Suizhou, also came, each with [-] state soldiers, and went out together.

"I will give you a piece of silk." Zhe Zongben passed down the order, and all the troops were elated and shouted for victory.

Zhe Zongben laughed out loud.

The Zhejia army is indeed easier to serve and support than those martial arts masters in other towns.At least in the past two generations, as for the future, it is estimated that it will converge with the warriors from other towns, and Zhe Zongben is not very sure.

Zhe has a lot of worries from ancient times.

Zhe Zongben's aging state can be seen by anyone.After a hundred years of being handsome, what should Tang Zhen do?After receiving the letter from King Xia yesterday, the elders of the Zhe clan, the young leaders of the family, as well as the staff and generals who have served the Zhe family for many years spoke freely.

Tang Town, there is no yamen up to now, which is not very good.

Of course Zhe Zongben had more than one son, but the most outstanding Zhe Silun had already served as the governor of Huaixi, and the rest of the sons were mediocre.This is also the reason why Tang Zhen has not established a real successor until now.

It might be a way to let Zhe Silun serve as the Jiedushi of two towns alone, and some people really suggested doing so.But Zhe Zongben never said a word and did not acknowledge it.

He knew that his son-in-law would most likely agree to this request at a critical moment when he was fighting for the world, but it was hard to say what he would think in his heart.This may be a way to bring disaster, not very wise.

Zhe Zong didn't express his position at all, and the people below couldn't say anything more.Talking too much, it seems to be provoking their relationship with Weng and his son-in-law. In the future, if King Xia finds out, why not settle them one by one?

Zhao Kuanglin glanced at Zhe Conggu, vaguely knew what he was thinking in his heart, quietly moved to his side, and said in a low voice: "Mr. Zhe, what do you think of this Northern Expedition?"

"It turned out to be Zhao Shijun." Zhe Conggu cupped his hands and said: "I don't have any opinion, just kill it. Although Liang Bing is sharp, Wei Shengjun has been stagnant with him for so many years, and the situation is getting better every year, so there is no need to go too far Worry."

To be honest, the strength of the Weisheng Army still cannot be compared with Liang Bing. There are more than 2 people, and the backbone is the [-] Fengxiang Army. How capable is the Fengxiang Army?Of the [-] Fengxiang troops, less than half were the real Linzhou Zhejia troops.

Zhe Zongben went to Guanbei to recruit soldiers last year. He originally wanted to recruit more than 1 people. In the end, he was a little disappointed.

The quality of Guanbei soldiers is also declining year by year!It's no wonder that the coach of the Lingzhou capital now likes to go to Longyou and Hexi to recruit soldiers, and only half of the recruits from Guanbei are left.

Such soldiers have more than enough defense but not enough offense. Is it really as optimistic as they thought in ancient times?
"That's right." Zhao Kuanglin laughed and said, "With King Xia's army here, Ding Hui should be in a state of distress. Hitting him by surprise may have a good result."

Zhe Zonggu nodded.

Xia Jun went all the way out of Zhiyuan Pass and Taigu Pass all the way to attack the Youguo Army.If the Weisheng army goes northward, whether it is the Three Crows Valley Road or the Wanye Corridor, they will not encounter the main force of the Youguo Army. If they can seize the opportunity, they may get a lot of horses, equipment, and soldiers. can also be greatly enhanced.

These years of training and fighting have been effective. Although the overall situation is still not as good as that of Liang Jun, the improvement in strength is obvious to all. Now there is an opportunity to further improve the strength in front of him. It would be a pity not to seize it.

As for the soldiers, hehe, with soldiers, are you afraid that you will run out of money?King Xia wants to conquer the world, no matter how uncomfortable he feels, he has to hold his nose to provide goods, what is he afraid of?

Zhao Kuanglin is not very interested in improving his strength.

His requirements are not high, just keep the Zhao family rich.The eldest son, Zhao Cen, served as the governor of Yuanzhou in Guanzhong, the second son served as the magistrate of Zaoyang County in Suizhou, and the third son was elected to the military capital of King Xia. If there is no accident, the future of the Zhao family is quite promising. What about tossing?

And when it comes to Zaoyang County, Chen Changshi from Xia Palace is really watching closely.Every few months, people are sent to inspect.

The 5500 households in Ganzhou in Guanzhong and most of the Tuyuhun tribe who surrendered to King Xia were resettled here. Zaoyang County currently has more than 24000 households with more than [-] people, and has become the place with the largest number of households among the four counties in Suizhou.

The second son was the county magistrate there, and the county magistrate, chief secretary, and county lieutenant were all sent from Kansai, and even the township chief, township assistant, and Lizheng below placed a large number of retired veterans from the army.To put it bluntly, Zaoyang and Dengcheng and Gucheng in Xiangzhou are counties directly under the Xia Palace in the south.

In name, it is farming, herding and raising the army, but in fact it is mixed with sand to expand its influence.At present, all resources are invested in the resettlement of new immigrants, the construction of water conservancy ditches, the development of farmland and pastures, etc. For this reason, they did not hesitate to transfer grain, farm tools, and cattle from Guanzhong. effect.

When the county and town soldiers were established, who do you think they listened to?
After the review of the army, Zhe Zongben ordered a two-day feast.

This is rare for Tang Deng Sui who is so poor, so everyone is excited.

The sixth day of April is the day when the army set off.However, because of the heavy rain, they had to wait for three days until the ninth day of April. Zhezong himself led more than [-] people on foot to march westward and northward along the muddy Wanye Corridor to attack Ruzhou.

……

In Bianzhou Prince Liang's Mansion, Zhu Quanzhong dismounted from Mrs. Liu's body, left the mansion refreshed, and went to the government office of the Shogunate.

Jing Xiang hasn't been home for two days. He was in the Duyu Housi for a while, and the Shogunate for a while.

"After all, Yang Xingmi is still the top man. He attacked Eyue and Huaixi again, and Du Hong and Zhe Silun were devastated. He helped us share a lot of pressure."

"It would be great if we could defeat Anzhou and Qizhou. The thieves were beaten so hard that they dare not leave the city. It is time to work harder. Why retreat?"

"It should be due to the lack of food and grass. After the summer harvest, the Huai army may go on the offensive again. Then the situation will be very different."

"Luo Hongxin is really hateful. What's the use of just sending some money and silk? You have to send troops."

"In these years, it's good to be able to send money and food, don't ask too much."

"But then again, Shi Renyu stationed troops to guard each other, Li Hanzhi did not dare to invade, and Shao Shude had to gather a large army for defense, which played a lot of roles."

"How many troops did Xia thief contain? Thirty thousand?"

"Just more or less."

Jing Xiang walked in and coughed lightly.Everyone shut up and got down to work.Some people who went to chat with other people's desks bowed their heads in embarrassment and returned to their seats, pretending to deal with official documents.

"Jing Sima, Zhu Xuan, do you have an explanation?" Pei Di approached and asked in a low voice.

"Zhu Xuan is still hesitating, but I think he will agree in the end." As soon as this matter was mentioned, Jing Xiang became energetic.

The negotiation with Zhu Xuan, the governor of the Tianping Army, can be regarded as the biggest gain in recent times.

To put it simply, King Liang asked Zhu Xuan not to allow Xia's army to pass through the border, not to provide them with supplies, and said that he would attack Yunzhou once Xuanwu's power weakened.Xuanwu Army, this will act as a shield for the towns including Weibo, Tianping, Taining, and Huainan.With Xuanwu alive, the towns can still survive, and even bargain for benefits; when Xuanwu is dead, the towns will have no room to bargain, and even have no power to fight back. They will be defeated one by one and killed.

It should be said that these words are still very reasonable and true.The towns have existed for 140 years, and it is not difficult to understand these things, and they accept them quickly.

But acceptance is acceptance, and policy shift is not achieved overnight.Taking the Tianping Army as an example, there are still many opponents in the town.The reasons for the opposition were complex. Some were out of personal enmity, that is, relatives were killed or injured in the battle with Liang Jun; some simply did not trust Zhu Quanzhong, thinking that he might fight again; Weak, if you lose tens of thousands of horses, you can almost repair or even form an alliance with them.

Fortunately, Zhu Xuan knew the general situation. If he worked harder, he might be able to pull him over and cut off the threat of Xia Bandit on the east side.

"It would be great if Zhu Xuan didn't make excuses anymore." Pei Dixi said, "The bandit general Liang Hanyong haunted Shan, Cao, Song and other places. The people panicked and Tian Sang was greatly affected. It's really abominable."

Jing Xiang smiled and nodded.

Suddenly an envoy walked up to him and whispered a few words.

Jing Xiang got up, cupped his hands to Pei Di, left the Yamen hall, and went straight to a tea room opposite.

"Your Majesty." Jing Xiang bowed and saluted.

"Sit down." Only in front of Jing Xiang, Zhu Quanzhong would show a little sadness, perhaps because Jing Xiang is extremely talented and loyal, so he can let go of his disguise.

Jing Xiang sat down, and a servant served him tea.

"Respect Sima, the thief general Qi Bizhang has arrived in Xuzhou, what do you mean?" Zhu Quanzhong leaned on Hu's bed, looking a little tired, and asked.

Jingxiang thought for a while, and said: "There are four possibilities. One, go north to Zhengzhou, and outflank Pangdutou's back road; second, go to Bianzhou; The troops headed northward, pinching Zhang Quanyi and Yang Shihou; the fourth, marched westward to Xiangcheng, outflanking the rear of the Youguo Army."

Zhu Quanzhong's eyelids twitched.These may also be what he thought of, which made him very upset.

People have so many choices, how do you block them?If all the defenses are taken, there will not be so many troops at all.

What Pang Shigu said is correct, relying on defense is a dead end, only active attack can break a way out.But Wei Bo didn't want to make excuses, and he didn't want to send troops, so there was nothing he could do.

"Jing Sima thinks, which possibility is the greatest?" Zhu Quanzhong asked.

"It's too dangerous to go north to Zhengzhou, and the revolving door is dangerous and difficult to conquer, so it's unlikely." Jing Xiang said: "If you enter Bobianzhou, there will still be tens of thousands of long and straight troops in the city, as well as state and county soldiers. If you can conscript the Tutuan villagers, the thieves will return without success. If you go south to Caizhou, the Huaining Army will be restrained by the Huai people, and it has not been formed for a long time. It is most reasonable for Shao Shude and Zhe Zongben to attack Ruzhou from three sides."

"It's the same as I thought." Zhu Quanzhong said with a smile: "How should I deal with it?"

"Your Majesty, for the current plan, we should transfer elite troops from Pangdutou to go south, and we should also dispatch elite troops to go west from Zhudutou in Caozhou."

"What's the use of drawing these soldiers?" Zhu Quanzhong asked.

Jing Xiang was silent for a long time, and said: "I dare not say."

Zhu Quanzhong was also silent for a long time, and said: "But it's okay to say."

"To cover the retreat of the Youguo army. Ruzhou's food supply is not enough, and it is already dead." Jing Xiang said with a long sigh.

Zhu Quanzhong also sighed.I got up and walked to the window, looking at the continuous heavy rain outside, feeling gloomy.

(End of this chapter)