Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 381 0376 [It’s tied up]

"The lingering fence, the endless dangers."

"Thousands of cliffs are entangled, and the path is so winding... The deep forest is faint, and the plank road is empty."

These sentences are all used to describe Tangluo Road.

Before the ruined plank road was completely repaired, Han Shizhong led his troops and ran away. Such an obvious collapse of morale made Yang Zhi no longer so cautious.

Yang Zhi led a thousand paper armor soldiers to pursue at full speed, because paper armor is the lightest, the rest of the troops also accelerated forward.

During the escape process, Han Shizhong tried to turn back several times, but his soldiers refused to do so.

There are still several plank roads ahead, and Han Shizhong can only simply remove some planks.Because the tighter Yang Zhi pursued, the soldiers of the Western Army fled more urgently, and Han Shizhong was never given a chance to calmly arrange it.

The pursuit stopped and stopped, and when the food brought by the Western Army was almost eaten, those soldiers no longer ignored any military orders.It’s just that I frantically fled north every day, digging up some plant roots by the way, and cooking them with the few remaining grains.

Yang Zhi also had to stop, waiting for the large army from the rear to bring food.

Han Shizhong was surrounded by soldiers and fled quickly, it was impossible for him to be caught by Yang Zhi.

However, the morale of Han Shizhong's troops had fallen to the bottom during the escape, and they would collapse if they encountered any disturbance.

When crossing Shibapan Ridge, a group of bandits in the mountains suddenly shot arrows in the dense forest.

These thieves are few in number and can be defeated easily.However, the soldiers of the Western Army were already shadows of snakes, no matter how Han Shizhong tried to restrain them, they didn't want to stay and resist.

When only passing Shibapan Ridge, because of excessive panic, they stepped on the ground or pushed each other, killing and injuring hundreds of people.

The reason why it has not collapsed is purely the only way to escape.

After finally arriving at the banks of the Heishui River and at the foot of the Laojun Ridge, the soldiers became more emotionally stable.The terrain here is no longer so complicated. You can even go back to Shaanxi by sailing on the Heishui River and passing Luogu Pass to the north.

Only then did Han Shizhong have the opportunity to count the number of soldiers, leaving him with 1000 soldiers left behind, and at this time there were only more than 600 soldiers left.

Han Shizhong boosted his morale and said: "Luogu Pass is ahead, and there will be something to eat when you go there. Work harder, stand up, and you will be able to go home soon!"

The soldiers got up their spirits, followed Han Shizhong and marched forward. After walking for half a day, they finally saw their own troops.

"It's here, it's here!"

The soldiers cheered, and Liu Yanqing's banner was standing on the top of the mountain.

Han Shizhong stood there for a long time as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Liu Yanqing shouldn't be here, if everything went well, he would have rushed to Fengxiang to rescue Gao Qiu.

There is only one possibility, Liu Yanqing's army was blocked by bandits in the Tangluo Road!
Han Shizhong rushed to join the main force, and found that all the troops were listless, and all the soldiers were terrified and desperate.

Asking Ming Wang Yuan where his camp was, Han Shizhong rushed to ask, "But the bandits have occupied Luogu Pass?"

Wang Yuan nodded silently.

"What's going on?" Han Shizhong asked.

Wang Yuan said dryly: "The bandits in Hanzhong chased and killed Zhong Shidao's remnant soldiers. After chasing the Baoxie Road, they did not go to Fengxiang where Gao Taiwei was, but turned to the east to surprise Luogu Pass. The guards of Luogu Pass did not Unprepared, we will be defeated in one battle, and the main force of our army will be blocked in Luogu."

Han Shizhong asked, "Aren't the thieves afraid of being blocked at Luogu Pass and being attacked from the north and the south?"

Wang Yuan said: "Of course the thieves are not afraid, because Gao Taiwei didn't send troops to rescue them, let alone attack the bandits from the north and the south! At this moment, Gao Taiwei is probably still guarding Fengxiang mansion, and he dare not leave those fortified cities at all. .”

Han Shizhong was stunned and sat down on the ground.

Wang Yuan asked his soldiers to bring some food, and said to Han Shizhong, "Let's eat some first. How far are the bandits' pursuers?"

Han Shizhong said: "If it is slow, it will take a day, and if it is fast, it will take half a day. There are not many pursuers, and it may take two days for the main force of the bandits to come. The most urgent task is to return to the division to kill the vanguard of the bandits, and send troops to occupy Shibapanling. Such a dangerous place , why don't you send troops to garrison?"

Wang Yuan explained: "The army's morale is weak, and they dare not divide the troops. Even if they divide the troops to garrison Shibapan Ridge, they will definitely collapse at the first touch."

The more than 2 Western troops have actually collapsed, and they can continue to gather together purely because there is no place to escape.

There are lofty mountains on the left and right sides, with Luogu Pass blocking in front, and the dangerous Shibapanling and chasing soldiers behind.

Where can I go?
Even with Liu Yanqing's ability to escape, he really couldn't grow wings to fly away.

Half a day later, the chasing soldiers of the rebel army came. They saw countless banners of the Western Army from a distance and immediately retreated to Shibapanling and other large troops.

There were bandit soldiers at the front and back, Liu Yanqing called the generals to a meeting: "Surrender."

Yang Weizhong remained silent, neither objecting nor agreeing.

Yang Weizhong claimed that his father was Han, but many people speculated that his father was a Fan from the border between Song and Xia, and at most belonged to the Han nationality in the Tang Dynasty.

His father once surrendered to the Liao Kingdom and married the daughter of the Xiao family from the Liao Kingdom.

In any case, Yang Weizhong joined the army as a fan soldier.Not only changed his surname, but also changed his name to "Weizhong" to show his loyalty to Song Dynasty.

He has always been more loyal than many generals!

"Everyone talk." Liu Yanqing said angrily.

This guy was already furious, and a few days ago he killed more than [-] generals to vent his anger, all of them escaped from Luogu Pass.

In order to prevent the bandits from going north, the Shaanxi Transit Envoy recruited local soldiers last year and stationed heavy troops at various checkpoints.

There are 3500 people stationed here at Luogu Pass.

When Liu Yanqing passed by, another 800 people were separated to stay behind.

Liu Yanqing felt that there was no danger of garrisoning 4300 soldiers before and after, so he decided to withdraw the troops slowly, taking time to bring back all the food and grass.

However, the thieves had only 2000 elite raiders, spliced ​​together the simplest flying ladders, and even took Luogu Pass overnight.The beacon towers to the north of Guancheng were all used as decorations, but no enemy was found coming.

In a word, the guards didn't take it seriously!
Because Luogu Pass belongs to the rear, and Liu Yanqing's [-] troops are blocking the front, who would have expected the bandits to come from behind?
"Jinglue, Guancheng was replaced with a flag with the character 'Zhu', and they shot letters to persuade them to surrender."

A soldier came in with a letter of persuasion.

"Zhu character flag? It seems that Zhu thief came personally, and I don't know if it is old Zhu or young Zhu." Yang Weizhong guessed.

Liu Yanqing opened the letter and read it, his eyes lit up instantly, and he said to the generals: "This time the surrender letter is different, as long as we surrender and keep all our belongings, all the generals and soldiers can be released, and each of them will be given a bucket of rice back. Township."

As soon as this remark came out, the generals looked at each other in blank dismay.

Wang Yuan sneered: "This Zhu thief has a good trick. If he doesn't reorganize the surrendered troops into a new army, it must be because there is not enough food and grass to support so many troops. The killing of prisoners is bad luck and bad reputation, so let them all go home. The released surrendered soldiers Without the soldiers, they are no different from ordinary people, and they will spread the benevolence and righteousness of the bandits after returning home. From now on, when the bandits attack Shaanxi, the officers and soldiers know that they will not die if they surrender, and they will surrender one by one."

"That is to say, Zhu thief is really willing to let us go?" Liu Guangshi's focus was different.

All the generals are full of desire to survive.

Liu Yanqing said: "There are only two people who can't leave, they must stay and follow the thieves."

"Who is it?" All the generals looked at Yang Weizhong.

Liu Yanqing is a well-known escaped general, and the Zhu thief must have looked down on him, so he probably wanted Yang Weizhong.

Liu Yanqing said: "One is Wang Yuan. The Zhu thief praised him for his lightness of wealth and righteousness, and his family has no place to store. He is a good general in the world. If he is a thief, he will be reused."

Wang Yuan couldn't laugh or cry when he heard that, should he be happy or distressed to be praised by Zhu thief?
The generals of the Western Army in the Northern Song Dynasty are very different from the military leaders in the late Ming Dynasty, because the court can transfer them from the army at will.

If you want to become a military leader who holds military power firmly, you have to deeply cultivate the grassroots society in the countryside.

This is because the number of regular troops in the Western Army is small, and most of them belong to the township soldiers and fan soldiers.

At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, it was difficult for the government to recruit soldiers. When recruiting local soldiers and Fan soldiers, they had to adopt the system of offering rewards and contracting.

That is to say, the state and county governments issued a reward order, and the country's tyrants were responsible for recruiting troops, and rewards were given according to the number of recruits.If the tycoons responsible for recruiting soldiers also join the army, they can directly serve as generals of the township soldiers.

The generals who have been running a certain place for a long time are inextricably linked to the local tycoons, and they can control the recruitment process to a limited extent.

If these generals are transferred away from their lairs for a long time, it will be very difficult for the government to recruit soldiers.

Zhu Ming promised to release all surrendered soldiers, why is Liu Yanqing so ecstatic?Because after these surrendered soldiers returned to their hometowns, they were still his soldiers who were recruited again, and his Liu family could still keep their military power!
And Wang Yuan is also a powerful party, he brought many local soldiers into the army, and became an officer when he first joined the army.

Wang Yuan is a local hero, and he is used to making friends with all kinds of religions and all kinds of people, and everyone from all over the world respects him very much.After becoming a general, he didn't deduct much food and salary, so all the troops under his command were willing to work hard, which was very rare in the late Northern Song Dynasty.

In Wang Yuan's original words: "The salary of the imperial court is far better than farming at home. I don't have to worry about food and clothing. Since I choose to be a soldier, it is not for money, nor is it for becoming a rich man."

Because of this, Han Shizhong and Wang Yuan hit it off.

Before raising troops, Zhu Ming often paid attention to the movements of the Western Army.Now, based on the location where the general sent troops, it can be deduced that Wang Yuan and Han Shizhong are under Liu Yanqing's command.

Liu Yanqing continued: "The other person is Han Shizhong. Zhu thief knew that he captured and killed Fang La, and praised him as a great hero in the world. If he is a thief, he should be reused."

Fang La in this time and space died in the rebellious army, but it is said that Han Shizhong captured and killed him. After all, it was indeed Han Shizhong who led the troops to defeat him.

Liu Guangguo cupped his hands towards Wang Yuan: "Brothers, I have wronged you!"

The rest of the generals also bowed their hands one after another, bidding farewell to Wang Yuan who was about to become a thief.

Wang Yuan said angrily: "I have always been loyal to the emperor and served the country, how could I be a bandit?"

Liu Yanqing said: "For the lives of more than 2 Western soldiers, I ask General Wang not to refuse."

"No!" Wang Yuan stood up angrily.

"Take it!"

Liu Yanqing shouted: "Take Han Shizhong too, and send them to Luogu Pass! General Wang, don't worry, Zhu thief said that he is willing to negotiate peace with the imperial court. If the peace talks are successful, the government will send your family members to Hanzhong."

Wang Yuan struggled and was tied up, and soon Han Shizhong was also tied up.

Han Shizhong didn't even know what was going on, and kept swearing crazily.

After the two brothers met, Han Shizhong asked, "Why is brother tied up?"

Wang Yuan was already tired of scolding, and he said in a bad mood: "The Zhu thief heard that you captured and killed Fang La, and praised you as a great hero, so I want to use you well."

"Didn't you catch me and behead me?" Han Shizhong felt relieved instantly, and laughed bitterly, "That Zhu thief has eyesight, and he knows that I, Han Wu, is a great hero."

Han Shizhong, who escaped hunting many times, was tied up by his own people and sent to Zhu Ming.

(End of this chapter)