Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 884 Detour
On the ninth day of February in the fifth year of Qianning, there was a loud noise of killings outside Pingyin County, and the offensive was like a tide.

Wang Shike's soldiers and horses were unprecedentedly strong: there were more than [-] soldiers from the Ziqingya Army, the Outer Town Army, and the Zhizhou Army, including [-] infantry troops and [-] cavalry troops.

There are also [-] cavalry troops from the Tuoba Renfu Department of Fan soldiers—in fact, they are not all Fan soldiers. A large number of Ziqing locals have been recruited into the army in recent years, and the personnel structure has undergone great changes.

There are also more than [-] mobilized Tutuan villagers in Ziqing Town.

In Qizhou, Zhu Qiong, the governor of Qizhou, has [-] people, and there are more than [-] Tutuan villagers, with a total force of [-].

The two sides add up to [-] troops and about [-] cavalry, which is quite a huge force.

Of course, those were pre-war figures.

After several field battles and city walled attack and defense battles, the Qi people lost thousands of people, and there were only more than [-] people.

This guy Zhu Xuan couldn't get along in Yunzhou anymore, and recently he ran back in despair.

This world, after all, depends on strength.If you don't have strength, you don't have the confidence to speak, and you will be underestimated and manipulated by others.

No, Zhu Xuan just came back from the charge, his robe was stained with blood, and his face was ugly.

Another batch of the old capital brought back from Qingzhou was lost. After careful calculation, the loss has already exceeded half.Look at the more than 2000 soldiers lined up in the distance, both from Yun and Qi, but—ah, the newly recruited soldiers can't compare with the old brothers.

"Marshal!" Zhu Yu and Zhu Han walked over to salute.

Zhu Xuan handed over the horse to the soldiers.There was a row of heads hanging under the saddle, all of them were Pubing who Zhu Xuan had beheaded just now.

Pu Ren and Xu Ren defended Pingyin, and were beaten so hard that they dared not show their heads. They only went out of the city occasionally to fight for a while, but they were quickly defeated.

According to the information received, the morale of the Pu people in the city was low, and some people joined forces everywhere to kill Yu Hou, the capital of Mabu in the river, and then return to Puzhou.

Zhu Xuan was not surprised by the clamor to kill the general.

Soldiers and horses in feudal towns who are on expeditions will more or less encounter this problem, and this is not uncommon in the country.The soldiers acted as soon as their brains became hot, even if they regretted it after the move, it was too late.

It's just that "return to Puzhou" is a bit whimsical, but "return to Puzhou" is almost the same.

"Zhu Qiong is not a thing." Zhu Xuan gritted his teeth in a low voice.

Zhu Yu and Zhu Han were also a little bit aggrieved.

Isn't it?Zhu Qiong, governor of Qizhou, deliberately flattered Wang Shike and suppressed Zhu Xuanming secretly.Even, the person who deliberately pulled him up was sent out to consume.

How could Zhu Xuan not understand Zhu Qiong's thoughts?Seeing that Yunzhen was destroyed and there was no hope of recovery, he decided to seek refuge with Wang Shifan.Anyway, Qizhou originally belonged to Ziqing Town, so it was only natural to vote there.Moreover, he is now worried that the position of governor of Qizhou will be robbed, so he uses all kinds of small tricks, which is very shameless.

But whether it is ungrateful or wolf-hearted, now that the balance of strength between the two sides has undergone a profound change, Zhu Xuan has nothing to do with Zhu Qiong.

"Marshal, why don't we run?" Zhu Yu suggested.

"Run? Where are you going?" Zhu Xuan shook his head and said, "There's nowhere to go. Hold on first, look for opportunities to recruit more young men into the army, and save more capital. The Xia people can't hold on any longer. If we lose again, Pingyin will not be able to defend, then the army will go straight to Yunzhou, maybe there is still a chance."

The chances are definitely slim.

Wang Shike is working so hard now, regardless of casualties, to fight Pu Bing and Xu Bing, what is he planning?Maybe he wants to swallow Yunzhou together.

Zhu Xuan also wanted to regain his status as Jiedushi of the Tianping Army, but it can only be said that he only appeared in a dream.

But—until the hope is completely shattered, Zhu Xuan will work hard for it and will not give up.

The drums and horns sounded again.

The three Zhu brothers looked together, only to see a new round of offensive launched again.

This time, there were many more masters from Yunzhou who were forcibly conscripted. They were forced to charge forward by the bows and arrows of the Qi army in the rear, and then shot to death by the bows and arrows of the Xia army in front.After the arrows were exhausted, a large-scale attack was launched again.

Qi people and Xia people will always die.

******
General Tu has left Wushui County.

Kang Yanxiao was appointed as the commander of the capital, commanding more than [-] soldiers from Tujiang, Yanei, and the Tianxing Army who came across the river, and marched towards Bozhou.

The army is well-equipped, well-trained, and has high morale. Wei people are terrified when they hear about it.

Shao Shude also left Wushui County.

In the left wing of the Iron Forest Army, two infantry commanded 4000 men, six cavalry commanded 3000 men, the Dingnan Army had [-] cavalry, and the Silver Saddle Army had hundreds of cavalry, totaling more than [-] men with tens of thousands of horses. The wind generally goes eastward.

On the ninth day of the lunar new year, the army passed by Bozhou.

At that time, Weibo reinforcements from all walks of life gathered in Bozhou one after another.The [-] cavalrymen who came south from Beizhou were surrounded by the field and disappeared without a trace before they could enter the city.

The tenth day, to Gaotang.

Gao Tangling personally led [-] county town soldiers and [-] Tutuan villagers to the west, intending to join them in Bozhou.Confused on the road, he was overwhelmed by the cavalry, and Gao Tang ordered the single rider to escape and fled back to the city.

And just when he had just dissipated his wealth, recruited soldiers, and planned to fight the enemy to the end, the overwhelming cavalry left Gaotang County and disappeared behind the woods to the east.

This is going to the ferry!

Gao Tangling figured it out all of a sudden, but at the same time he was a little speechless, being bumped into by someone halfway, it was really a disaster for no reason.

People at the ferry neighed, and the chaos was abnormal.

Dozens of Wei soldiers fell face up in a pool of blood.Under the surprise attack, almost no time to react, the entire army was wiped out by the overwhelming arrows.

The pontoon bridge is very narrow, and the passing efficiency of people and horses is very low.

Shao Shude sat under the stone pavilion beside the ferry, quietly waiting for the news.

From where he was, he could already faintly hear the fighting on the other side of the river.Lieutenant General Zhang Wen of Yin'anzhi led 500 people off their horses, rushed straight along the pontoon bridge, and fought with the defenders.

"Your Majesty, the thieves are defeated." Yang Hongyin, the deputy envoy of Yin'an Zhi, came over excitedly and reported.

Shao Shude looked at the sky, and immediately said: "Go, set off immediately!"

Although the big river has not completely thawed, the surface of the river is no longer safe, and it is impossible for you to cross the river by stepping on the ice.Then, the choice of marching route is very limited, and the ferry and pontoon bridge have become places of contention.

Fortunately, all the way from Wushui County, they moved very quickly, and unexpectedly, the ferry was easily taken, and now they can cross the river in a big way.

Shao Shude crossed the river in the afternoon, when a lot of people gathered on the other side of the river.Wei Boqiu and Fu Yanchao came to say goodbye together.

They will lead an army of [-] troops to go south, and drive to a pre-determined place to ambush.

As for why they were not allowed to go straight to the vicinity of the Pingyin battlefield and replicate the results of the Sishui battle that crushed Ge Congzhou, the reason is also very simple: the possibility of success is too low.

The fighting power of the Dingnan army is too low, and the cavalry charge head-on, they may not be able to beat all the people.But the Qi people have quite a lot of cavalry, eight thousand cavalry, and he wants to surprise you with cavalry.

After the Dingnan Army left, Shao Shude led more than [-] horsemen to Lisuo Licheng County in Qizhou to try his luck.

If you can't take the state city, clean up the surrounding counties, raise food and grass, and create a big commotion to mobilize the enemy.

In addition, the Qibizhang Department of the Flying Dragon Army has not yet been contacted. If possible, it will be transferred to the northern line.But how they came here is also a problem. Now the Ziqing cavalry is biting hard, and the efficiency of the Feilong army in raising food and grass has been greatly reduced, and they have already gone to Mizhou to eat.

"Your Majesty, the messenger has returned." Yang Hongyin reported.

"Okay, tell General Tu to speed up, it's up to them whether they can win a big victory this time." Shao Shude said happily.

The infantry group composed of the three armies of Tujiang, Yanei, and Tianxing had already passed Bozhou, and the Wei people basically watched the whole process without making any obstructions.Perhaps in the eyes of Wei people, it is a good thing that these plague gods can take the initiative to leave.

Shao Shude didn't know what the people of Qi were thinking.

Maybe they think that the Yellow River is gradually thawing, and Bozhou and Dezhou on the north bank of the river are all the prefectures of Hebei's old feudal towns, so there will be no problems.On the south side, there are continuous mountains, and the march is difficult, and people have been sent to watch.Therefore, they can mobilize the main force to move westward and clear this road first.

It was right to think so.But when they met Shao Shude, a severe cancer patient, and Wei Bowufu was more timid than they imagined, a problem arose.

Thousands of riders roared and left the ferry, crossed the creek, passed through the farmland, and headed towards Licheng.

There is actually a city near the ferry, that is, Yucheng County, but Shao Shude has no interest in fighting it.

Most of Zhu Qiong's troops are in the Pingyin area.That being the case, let's dig out his old den, Licheng.It doesn't matter if you don't succeed, just find another place to stay - most of the six counties in Qizhou are empty.

The sky was getting gloomy, and thousands of riders were galloping across the fields, they wanted to catch the last ray of light before dark and hurry on their way.

(I’m too busy at work, so I’ll update the short chapter before I come back without eating. Chapter 2 may be very late.)
(End of this chapter)