Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 351 0346 [The brilliant Kuizhou Road officers and soldiers]

The economic envoy is in charge of civil affairs, and the appeasement envoy is responsible for fighting.

The two can be placed alone, but they are often combined, that is, they are slightly appeased.Then there are the Economic Strategy Division and the Appeasement Division, each responsible for civil and military affairs, and together they are responsible to the Economic Strategy Appeasement Envoy.

If a place is particularly chaotic, then send a recruiter.

It can be placed alone or superimposed, such as economically pacifying and recruiting envoys.This position is often held by military ministers. In case of war, they can act cheaply and have great autonomy in deploying troops.

In the southern region, there is no need to frequently mobilize troops, horses, money and food on a large scale, so various positions are often assigned separately and concurrently.

For example, Cai Yi, who was lying flat, was the magistrate of Guizhou, concurrently served as the Guangxi transport judge, and then concurrently served as the Guangxi pacifier.

Another example is the one who stirred up the Lunan Yi rebellion. He was the governor of Luzhou and concurrently served as the appeasement envoy of Lunan.

If there is a war, the most official is often the coach.For example, the appeasement envoy of Lunan could not deal with the barbarians. As the transfer envoy of Zizhou Road, Zhao Xun quickly summoned troops to unify the command.

For more advanced positions, there is also the commander-in-chief of wealth, money and food for soldiers, horses, and food, similar to the governors of several provinces in the Ming Dynasty.

This thing arose during the Jingkang period and became normalized during the Anti-Golden War.

Due to the bad situation in the Southwest, Zhao Yu was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Southwest soldiers, horses, money and food, and all the roads in the Southwest should be under his unified command.It can be understood as the governor of the Southwest Region.

However, Zhao Yu did not have the power to open the mansion!
If you evaluate a commander-in-chief, military commander, money and grain, or an envoy to appease the economy, you can see how much power he actually has by seeing whether he can open a government alone.

Zhao Yu first understood Huang Gai's defense, and the total force here was close to [-].

There are 15000 defenders in Zitong City.

A fort was set up on the hill in the northwest of the city (across the Zijiang River), with 5000 troops stationed, which could prevent the rebels from crossing the river and circumventing it.It is also possible to go down the mountain to harass the flank of the rebel army when the rebel army is attacking the city, and cooperate with the Zitong defenders to attack from both sides at critical times.

A fort was set up on the hill in the northeast of the city, with 8000 troops stationed. It was the forward position of officers and soldiers, which could prevent the rebels from attacking the city with all their strength, and could also cooperate with friendly forces to attack from several sides.

A fort was set up on the hill in the east of the city, and 6000 troops were stationed to prevent the rebels from going around the open area in the east of Zitong City.Once the rebels follow this path, they will be attacked from three sides.

Zhao Xun had to admit that Huang Gai's arrangement was very appropriate, taking all aspects into consideration.

"The thieves haven't moved?" Zhao Xun asked.

Huang Gai said: "I only sent some scouts to inquire about the army situation, but there is no other movement from the Zhu thief. He has been stationed in Qiqu Mountain for more than 20 days. It is just right for him not to move, so I have time to train the village soldiers."

Like Li Bao, Zhu Ming is purge the army.

He has reorganized once in Lizhou, and received surrendered troops at Jianmenguan. The size of the army has reached 8000 (there are [-] civilian husbands).

Seeing that Zitong County is not easy to fight, he cut down trees to build siege equipment, and at the same time used the time to reorganize.

The most capable elite was named "Chang Jie Army", with a strength of 3000 people, led by Deng Chun.

Ju Ming's pro-military force has also expanded to 3000 people, named "Successful Army" and led by Li Jinyi.

Form another five armies, named Xiaoguo, Longxiang, Huyi, Langben, Yingyang, with a total strength of 15000.

The rest were all eliminated as auxiliary soldiers and civilian husbands, that is to say, there were only 21000 soldiers.

Well, the firearms unit is another count. It is organized into a firearms battalion separately, and there are only a few hundred people including the auxiliary.

After reorganization, military discipline was reaffirmed and discipline was strengthened through drills.

Then there was a very strange situation, the armies of the two sides confronted each other for more than 20 days, and they each held their camps to practice troops.They all feel that their troops are not well trained, and they all feel that their troops are difficult to command and cannot be pulled out immediately for high-intensity battles.

There is also a side division, Lin Chong is the main general, Bai Qi is the deputy general, and there are only 5000 people including civilian husbands.

They went down the Jialing River and captured Cangxi, Langzhong, Nanbu, Xinzheng, Xinjing, Xishui, Fengguo, Xiangru along the way... Most of them were small counties in the mountains, and many counties became market towns in later generations.

The officers and soldiers retreated all the way and gathered in Nanchong to stand firm. The remnants of the defeated generals and the newly recruited soldiers from the countryside added up to 8000 troops.

Lin Chong and Bai Qi surrendered along the way, expanding their army to [-] (including civilian husbands).It's not that they can't increase their troops, but that they don't have enough food and grass. The areas they conquered are too poor, and they can't get much food even if they ask rich households to donate food.

Stuck under the city of Nanchong, I can't move.

"How about a strong attack?" Lin Chong asked.

Bai Qi came here to gain experience. He has experienced many battles along the way. Although the intensity is not very high, he has finally seen blood and learned how to march, set up camp and arrange troops.

Bai Qi said: "There is no elite in our army, and they are all composed of surrendered troops. Once the strong attack fails, I am afraid that the army will lose its morale immediately."

Lin Chong said: "We have been winning battles, and the officers and soldiers have been losing battles. Our army's morale is high, and the enemy's morale is low. You can try to attack."

"I'm afraid it's not enough to be able to attack the city in the field," Bai Qi said, "First build the Pingyi cannon, and then continue to shoot letters and appeals to the city."

Letters of persuasion and calls for surrender were sent out, and the defenders had already gained experience, and the soldiers automatically collected them and burned them.

In Nanchong City, there are several civil and military officials.

Chen Rujia, the prefect of Guozhou, was the main one, Xue Yuanjian, the prefect of Langzhou, was the deputy, and the commanders of several Xiangjun soldiers and horses were the generals.

A fast ship came, and the messenger rushed into the city.

After reading the military newspaper, Chen Rujia handed it to Xue Yuanjian and said, "The thief from Hezhou has gone north to Xinming (Wu Sheng)."

Xue Yuanjian frowned and said, "How did you fight over there? Hezhou's dangerous fortress can't be defended. Why don't the soldiers and horses on the Kuizhou Road cut off the thieves' retreat?"

"How do I know?" Chen Rujia said angrily.

In fact, he really wanted to say, how can you not defend the great city of Langzhong?Let the thieves and bandits kill me here!

Li Bao's army has already reached Xinming. If they take Xinming County and Hanchu County, they can encircle Nanchong with Lin Chong and Bai Qi.

Xue Yuanjian said: "We must ask Kuizhou Road to send troops quickly!"

……

In fact, Kuizhou Road has already dispatched troops.

Yun judged Zhang Shen as the commander-in-chief, and led [-] land and water troops to fight from Jiajiangkou in Dazhou to Quzhou.Taking this city will cut off Li Bao's rear.

At the beginning, Zhang Shen was cautious, but soon found that there were no bandits defending here!

After leading the troops into the city, Zhang Shen felt like he was dreaming, regaining the lost ground so easily?
"President Zhang, the bandits have been cut off from retreating, and Hezhou and Guang'an are not easy to attack," Wei Shouxin, the commander of Kuizhou Road, said excitedly, "But if you march north to Bazhou, you will be able to easily recover the counties of Bazhou, and you will be able to return to the city." Threatening the thief's nest Hanzhong!"

Zhang Shen knew what this general was thinking. Li Bao's main force was in the southwest, and Wei Shouxin didn't dare to go head-to-head.When going north to Bazhou, the bandits are empty, not only is there no danger, but they can also regain lost ground, and make a posture of crossing Micang Mountain to attack Hanzhong!

Regardless of whether they can cross Micang Mountain or not, their officers and soldiers along the way are the most eye-catching troops in Sichuan.

Recover lost ground, go straight to the thief's nest, and the victory report can be written beautifully.

Zhang Shen shook his head: "The key to Sichuan lies in the great battle in central Sichuan. No matter how many states and counties we recover, if we let the bandits go west, it will not help the situation. Listen to my order, and the whole army will attack Guang'an!"

Wei Shouxin bowed his hand to listen to the order, but he actually harbored resentment.

If Bazhou is empty, don't fight, and if you don't want to recover the whole territory of Bazhou, you have to go to Guang'an to face the bandits head-on.Isn't this a fool?
Wei Shouxin bowed and retreated, called the generals under his command, and announced the order to attack Guang'an.

The states commanded the instant fryer, and you said something to me, blaming Zhang Shen for not knowing military affairs, and being a big turban who can only read rote books.

But the civil servants and coaches have orders, and the generals have to listen.

A few soldiers were left to garrison Quzhou, and the main force went straight to Guang'an.

There were not many bandits in Guang'an. Seeing the officers and soldiers fleeing, Zhang Shen took the Kuizhou Road soldiers and horses to regain the lost ground again.

The whole army is excited and morale is high.

But Zhang Shen got more and more headaches, he knew what the thieves wanted to do.

Li Bao completely gave up the back road, don't want Guang'an, don't want Quzhou, don't want Bazhou, let the officers and soldiers occupy it casually, and even expose Hanzhong to the soldiers of the officers and soldiers.His real purpose is to open up important routes and connect several rebel armies into one!
Facing the evacuated official warehouse, Zhang Shen knew that there was a tough battle waiting for him.

He led the land and water soldiers and horses, rushed to Hezhou, and was hit head-on by the rebel navy.

Qi Gongkui, Pang Dingzi, Qiu Shanshui, and Li Jiang are all patrolmen and salt lords.There is also Xu Mengde, the son of a salt merchant, who led his family's salt fleet as a thief.

When he was an official soldier, Qi Gongkui was terribly cowardly, and his combat effectiveness doubled after becoming a thief.

This guy led the old department, took the lead in charging the boat, and boarded the boat braved the arrows.He had two arrow wounds on his body, and was shot again when he was on board, but he was wounded and killed on the ship, beheading several officers and soldiers one after another, scaring the enemies in front of him to retreat.

Qi Gongkui's navy charged bravely and directly cut the officers and soldiers into two pieces.

Xu Mengde, the son of a salt merchant, cooperated with Pang Tingzi, a salt lord, to attack the left wing of the officers and soldiers, and quickly formed a partial encirclement with Qi Gongkui.

Qiu Shanshui and Li Jiang, two salt lords, suddenly rushed out from the tributary, cutting off the retreat of the officers, soldiers and sailors.

The officers, soldiers and navy were defeated, and the food transport ships ran ahead of time, but were also intercepted by the rebel navy.

Zhang Shen led the land army to retreat, and did not stop until Guang'an.

He really couldn't figure it out, how did the bandits who turned over from Micang Mountain conjure up such an elite naval force out of thin air?

It's very simple, whether it's inspectors, salt lords, or salt merchants, Li Bao treats them all equally.No deduction of food and salaries, no robbing of military merits, and the rebel army has been winning battles. Even these new recruits have become more energetic.

They are all fighting for their own future, so of course they can risk their lives!
In particular, Li Bao reorganized in Hechuan, unified the military order system, improved the command system, and cleaned up the discipline of the entire army. These miscellaneous troops have become more and more regular.

The navy was completely wiped out, and several ships of food were robbed. Zhang Shen no longer had the strength to attack Hechuan.

Coupled with the poor performance of the generals under his command, Zhang Shen became disheartened, and simply followed the generals' wishes and went north to regain the lost ground.

The soldiers and horses of the entire Kuizhou Road, except for the part guarding Chongqing, were not involved in the war in Central Shu.They went north all the way, fought and won victoriously, and crazily regained the empty city. Judging from the military newspaper, it can be said that the results are brilliant.

But this way of avoiding battle can drive the coach Zhao Yu to death!

(End of this chapter)