Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 72 Expedition
On the sixth day of the [-]th lunar month in the first year of Guangming, Shao Shude took his bride, Zhe Fangmi, and set foot on the road back to Suizhou.And a few days ago, Zhuge Shuang finally received the will of the imperial court, ordering him to go south quickly and split the army and horses of Hedong with Zhu Mei to conquer Huang Chao.

If, as Shao, Song, and Chen analyzed, Zhuge Shuang decided to follow the edict to go south, and at the same time appointed Zhuge Zhongfang as Xia Suiyinyoujie to stay after the army and horses, and led [-] pro-armies to stay in Xiazhou, while Tielin's army followed the leader. Handsome go together.

At Shao Shude's suggestion, Zhuge Shuang agreed to go to the court and asked Tuobas Sigong, the governor of Youzhou, to lead the party's Xiangfan army to the south with [-] troops.

"Madam, this is Suizhou City." Outside Longquan County, Shao Shude pointed to the city surrounded by cliffs and introduced.

"Is this the foundation of Lang Jun?" It was difficult for the ancients to travel far, and it was almost impossible for women.Zhe Fang Ai grew up so big, and has been living in Xinqin County.This time, I got married with Shao Shude. I passed by Yinzhou and lived in Xiazhou for a while. Today, I came to Suizhou again, which is full of freshness.

"Suizhou is too small, so he will definitely seal his wife and son in the future." Men are naturally born and love to speak eloquently in front of women, and Shao Shude is no exception: "It is not impossible for a lady to be a noble lady in the future."

Zhe Fang Ai smiled but said nothing.

Suizhou City is now full of tension with the coming of war.The warriors who were often seen in the past returned to the camp as many as possible, and the prices of grain, beans, forage, and firewood rose three times during the ten-day period.The newly arrived Kunfang craftsmen have opened more than ten shops, and have been rushing to make various military equipment day and night. The business is very good.

Suizhou is still too far behind.In order to attract craftsmen from other towns, they had to be allowed or even subsidized to open their own shops, and then Tie Linjun spent money to purchase them.In other Fang towns, Jieshuai has his own craftsman camp or government-run workshop. The craftsman is a wage worker, so the purchase cost is lower.Suizhou can only allow these people to set up their own shops. The military purchases from the best and costs a little more, but the quality is good and the output is higher. It can only be said that each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

"General, ma'am." A bunch of officials and generals saluted in front of the prefecture.

Although the ancients were mentally mature and could be in charge at the age of twelve or thirteen, Zhe Fangmai was still a little nervous in the face of such a scene.But in the end, he came from a big family. After barely calming down, he returned the salute one by one and said, "You are the concubine's husbands who have worked hard and worked hard, and the concubine thanked you all. In the future, we still need to help each other and share wealth and honor."

Song Le and Chen Cheng looked at each other and were quite satisfied.On the big side, this is enough, and the lord's mind can be put more on military strategy.

"Call the generals." Shao Shude ordered directly after the prefectural government was seated.

Soon, Li Yanling, the deputy envoy, Lu Huaizhong, Marquis of Yu, Zhu Shuzong, the envoy of You Yi, deputy generals of the fourth battalion, deputy generals of the personal soldiers, generals of the prefecture army, and two civilian military officers, Chen Cheng and Guo Chu, came in droves. There were more than ten people in total, crowding the small hall. Full to the brim.

"In a few days, General Zhuge will come to Suizhou to review the sergeants of the battalions." Seeing the respectful generals and officers in front of him, Shao Shude did not dare to relax: "In the near future, a reward will be given out to help the army. Heart. On the day of the review, you tightened it up for me. Our Tielin Army is an elite division, so we can't let people look down on it."

"Follow the orders of the military envoy." The generals replied one after another.

"Let's go down to rectify the troops. After being lazy for so many days, it's good to take care of yourself. Li Yanling stayed, and someone has something to say." Shao Shude ordered.

"Deputy Ambassador Li, how long will the money and food be enough?" Shao Shude asked after the generals dispersed.

"At present, the soldiers of Tielin's army operate every three days, which consumes a lot of money, and they can only last until the spring sowing next year. According to the old rules, the food and salaries of the imperial court will be delivered to Xiazhou in the beginning of spring, and will be distributed to the various armies in summer, but next year It should be that there is no such payment." Li Yanling replied satisfactorily.

"Enough." Shao Shude waved his hand and said, "Today's reward, people will give two quills of money, two silks, and two husks of millet. Before the expedition, it should be enough to go to Guanzhong to eat. The account should be read out to the sergeants, everyone knows how much there is in the account, and the generals did not drink the blood of soldiers, so it is not easy to think wildly and be incited."

In fact, because they were about to set off soon, the Tielin Army had a lot of money and food to spare, which could have been used for local construction.But Shao Shude really didn't dare. Once he embezzled the money of the big boss, he might have his whole family killed.

On the [-]th of December, the front of the Chao army arrived at Tongguan, and the flags and flags were all over the mountains and fields, boundless.Zhang Chengfan guarded the gate with more than [-] people, and Qi Ke asked [-] people to settle down outside the gate.The soldiers had no food, were hungry and tired, and there were no reinforcements in the rear, so the nest army attacked and descended in one day.

The envoy Wang Shihui committed suicide, and Zhao Ke, the envoy of Zhaizha, disappeared, and Zhang Chengfan, the envoy of the Jietong Pass, changed into civilian clothes and ran away. When he reached Yehu Spring, he met two thousand reinforcements and cried, "It's too late for you to come. ." The reinforcements disintegrated.

It happened that the reinforcements from Hebei Boye and Guanzhong Fengxiang were stationed in Weiqiao. It was cold and hungry. Seeing that Tian Lingzi's new army composed of people from Chang'an was wearing fur and had surplus food.So he was furious, looted the new army, and then sent people to contact Huang Chao eastward, wanting to be the leader.

Under such a precarious situation, Xia Suiyin You Jiedushi Zhuge Shuang arrived in Suizhou with [-] personal soldiers, and Shao Shude personally led several officials out of the city to greet him.After staying in the city for one night, the next day, he reviewed more than [-] Tielin troops and state soldiers.

"Commander, this time, Shao is willing to be the leader, and he will live up to the great kindness of the commander." At the head of Suizhou City, Shao Shude knelt down on one knee and said loudly.

"Why is Shude like this?" Zhuge Shuang personally helped Shao Shude up, and said warmly: "Hedong's arrogant soldiers still need to be controlled by the iron forest army, how can they be used as a vanguard?"

"The commander loves him so much, I am so grateful. Tie Linjun is the courage of the commander. The commander has a destiny, and he can't help it."

"If you have said this, you can rest assured." Zhuge Shuang laughed and said: "Shu De is newly married, and he is going to go on an expedition. It is really regrettable. However, the king's life is hard to violate, and this time south, we can share wealth and honor."

The two chatted and laughed again.Li Yanling in the city was already giving out rewards, and the army cheered loudly, shouting "Shao Jun makes Wansheng".

After returning to the city, it is natural to have a feast.In the meantime, gongs and chips are staggered, and the guests and hosts are happy.

On the 22nd, three days before the army set off, suddenly hundreds of riders came from the north. The leader was Zhe Siyu, who claimed to be ordered by Zhe Zongben to come to help his sister-in-law.Shao Shude was overjoyed, now that there is a shortage of cavalry, Zhe Siyu brought more than [-] people here, all of them are skilled in bowing and horses, his daughter-in-law is really married to the right one!

I didn't say anything, let's have another feast!
Zhuge Shuang was very happy when he heard that there were cavalry soldiers to help him.If there are few cavalry in this marching army, it will really be bullied to death.People can mobilize a large number of skilled bow horses, draw nets to round up your scouts, and constantly squeeze their activity space.It’s okay to say that the complex terrain has to be hidden, but if it is a flat terrain like Henan and Hebei, even if you don’t become blind, the battlefield information you get will be greatly reduced, which is too passive.

Shao Shude has been in the army for more than seven years, so he naturally understands this truth.Later generations of the Song Dynasty expedition northward to Youzhou, and the army was not without elites, but they could not grasp the movements of the Khitan cavalry.Is it the general of the Song Dynasty who does not know soldiers?Not also.Scouts are not as elite as others, cavalry are not as elite as others, and they are inherently disadvantaged.There is a reason for the Jin State to attack Song. Song Jun has become blind, but others have opened up an omniscient map, waited for work at ease, and gathered around to help. What else do you do?
This time to challenge Huang Chao, I just don't know if their cavalry is strong or not, so it should still be possible.Zhufang towns in Henan and Hebei have raised a large number of war horses, taking good care of their own cavalry, relying on the elite, and their combat effectiveness should not be bad.Zhe Siyu brought more than 400 riders, alas, it is still less, and he has to find a way to expand in the future.

On December 25, the forward of the Chao army approached Chang'an, and the disintegrated Tang army rushed into the city to loot.The emperor took only four princes and a few concubines, and fled in a hurry under the escort of five hundred Shence Army soldiers, and the officials did not know where they were going.When the citizens of Chang'an saw the saint fleeing and the soldiers broke up, they poured into the treasury to steal property. All the officials either hid or fled on the spot. In short, there was chaos.

It was on this day that the entire Tielin army left Suizhou, headed south along the Wuding River Valley, then turned southwest, and arrived at Suide County ([-] miles north of today's Qingjian County) three days later.The county is north of the Tuyan River (now the Qingjian River), and there is a battalion of state soldiers stationed nearby.Shao Shude summoned his general and warned him carefully, ordering him to strictly guard against party affairs.

The army continued to move forward and arrived at the northern border of Yanchuan County two days later, officially entering the border of Yanzhou.

The marching speed of the Iron Forest Army is actually relatively fast.With a large number of horses and chariots, draft animals, and 150 sergeants, they traveled [-] miles in five days, and some of the roads were even difficult to walk in mountain valleys.Shao Shude's level of self-awareness is much higher than before, and now he is very familiar with marching with thousands of troops. The people under him have also learned a lot from the military academy and put them into practice.

Facts have proved that there are no stupid people in the world. As long as they are willing to learn and study, they can progress.After all, there are only a few people who are born to know, and most people have to be down-to-earth.

"Commander, military envoy, there is a group of rangers in front, which should be the men and horses of Li Xiaochang, the military commander of Kunfang, asking where our army came from and where it is going." At noon, the army was resting, replenishing water, and traveling Yi envoy Zhu Shuzong brought several horses to report.

"Don't do more entanglement, just say that our army is under the order of King Diligent, and we will go to Chang'an by road, and we will camp in the city tonight." Zhuge Shuang, who was sitting on the horse, said: "Shu De, it is New Year's Eve, so let the sergeants be in Yanan. Chuan resting for a few days?"

"Follow the commander's orders!"

(End of this chapter)