Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 390 0385 [Splitting Troops and Quickly Fighting]
"General, urgent report from Chengdu!"

Just when Zhu Ming was besieging Mei County, a so-called [-]-mile urgent letter was sent from Chengdu.

Ju Ming opened it and read it, and soon his face turned cold.

Dali has sent troops!

Abduman and Baozhaiman were originally closer to the Dali Kingdom. Although they accepted the canonization of the Song Dynasty on the surface, they actually listened to the orders of the Dali Kingdom. (If given a choice, none of them would want to listen to orders.)
Now that the Dali Kingdom sent troops, it was invited by the Song court, and the two suzerain countries spoke together, and these tribes naturally had to follow.

The Qiongbu Chuanman was beaten badly by Zhu Ming. There should be no suspense at this time, but an accident happened.

Half a year ago, I heard that the Great Song Dynasty asked Dali for help. Ju Meng, who lived in Tokyo, begged to see Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty: "The official family, I have been the great ghost master of Baimandu for 20 years, and I have great prestige in the south of the Dadu River. If you let me go back, I will You can persuade the hundred barbarians to raise troops and help the imperial court take back the land in central Shu!"

Song Huizong was overjoyed and praised: "Qing Zhen is a loyal minister!"

Therefore, Jumeng and his son were sent to Dali to lead the barbarians as the great ghost master of the capital of all the barbarians.

I heard that Jumeng is back, and he is the ghost master of Baimandu. Qumang, Li Shunen, and Miwang who planned to attack Sichuan immediately joined forces to resist Dali's invasion.

These three brothers are the leaders of the Qiongbu Chuanman, the Lianglinman, and the indigenous Baiman, and they are also the great ghost masters of the Baiman Capital that Zhu Ming asked the court to confer on!

Now Ju Meng came back to reset, where to put them?
If Song Huizong didn't mess around, most of the barbarians south of the Dadu River would jump back, posing a huge threat to Lizhou and Yazhou.

However, Song Huizong released Ju Meng back, forcing the leaders of the three major tribes to stand in the opposite direction.

Because they couldn't beat the army of Dali, the native Baiman first moved north.

The Qiongbu Chuanman and the Lianglinman were divided, some tribes took refuge in Jumeng, who had returned from the king, and some tribes were led by Qumang to Beifu Lizhou.

The Han Chinese ruling tribes and Henan barbarians placed by Zhu Ming also hurriedly escaped across the Dadu River.

Tens of thousands of barbarians who supported Zhu Ming, under the leadership of Hanyuan County Magistrate, stationed at various ferry crossings on the north bank of the Dadu River.

The five tribes also mobilized collectively, in the western mountainous area of ​​Lizhou, to prevent Baozhai Man from crossing Hebei.There was no choice for these tribes. They had already sent many of their children to join Ju Ming's rebel team and were incorporated into the Tengxiang Army as a cavalry unit.

Gao Jingshan and Bai Qi had a meeting in front of Zhang Jinping and had established a plan to defend against the enemy.

Gao Jingshan was in charge of raising and transporting grain and grass, and Bai Qi ordered the Tengxiang army to attack, and brought all the barbarians from Yazhou with him.

In addition, Shi Shu, the magistrate of Jiazhou, was the commander-in-chief, and he united the soldiers and horses of all states and counties, and went to Lizhou to fight a decisive battle together.

After reading the urgent report, Shi Yuangong handed it to Zhang Tong: "Why didn't it say how many soldiers and horses have come from Dali Kingdom?"

Zhu Ming has already guessed what is going on: "The commander of the Dali Kingdom wanted to come to eat meat but was afraid of being beaten. He kept driving the barbarians to fight, but he didn't use his full strength. It is estimated that if he can beat them, he will plunder them. If he can't beat them, he will rob them." The idea of ​​​​withdrawing the army is to let the barbarians fight among themselves. The more barbarians die, the more stable the northern border of Dali Kingdom will be. Anyway, they will not suffer. If they successfully plunder Lizhou, they will make money, and they can plunder the vicinity of Chengdu. The prefectures and counties make a lot of money. How can they figure out their military strength with such a shrinking head and tail?"

"What is the fighting power of the soldiers left behind in Chengdu?" Zhang Tong asked.

Zhu Ming said: "Except for the [-] Tengxiang Army and the [-] Hanzhong soldiers, the rest are temporary local troops. The [-] Hanzhong soldiers must stay in Chengdu, not to guard against the barbarians, but to guard against the chaos of the big clans in central Shu!"

Zhang Tong pondered and said: "To put it bluntly, if the Dali army is allowed to plunder Lizhou and Yazhou, and all the Dali soldiers and other barbarians are allowed to enter, the big clans in central Shu will return to their hearts instead. In order to defend their hometown, they must Self-recruitment of local soldiers, always on the side of the rebels. Even if the Dali soldiers were invited by the emperor, the gentry and powerful will resist resolutely, and they will resist to the end even if they are bandits."

"Exactly!" Shi Yuangong quickly agreed.

He always felt that his thinking was half a beat slower. Gao Jingshan before, now Zhang Tong, always stealing the limelight from himself.

Zhu Ming said: "With the gentry and powerful gentry, there is no problem in Sichuan, but Yazhou and Lizhou must be kept as much as possible. There can be no delay here, and the war must end as soon as possible."

The situation in the south is very delicate. No matter how Dali soldiers burn, kill and loot, as long as they don't enter the Chengdu Plain, they have nothing to do with the big clans in central Shu, and they may even take the opportunity to make trouble.Therefore, the soldiers of the three thousand Hanzhong cannot move and must always be stationed in Chengdu.

Once the Dali soldiers entered the Chengdu Plain, the big clans in central Shu would immediately change their minds and automatically recruit soldiers to help the rebels fight desperately.

"Luogu Pass has been taken by surprise," Zhang Tong said, pointing to the map. "At this time, we can divide the troops. The Cao people will confuse the defenders of Mei County, and the main force of the rebel army will go west and take Guo County!"

Zhu Ming also had the same idea: "I will stay in Mei County, and you lead troops to attack Guo County."

"I promise to fulfill my mission!" Zhang Tong bowed his hands and accepted the order.

Shi Yuangong is a little envious, he can only be a military adviser, but Zhang Tong can lead the army at a critical moment.

That night, Zhang Ting left quietly with the main force, away from the Wei River and along the mountain, advancing at full speed to kill Guo County.

The other 2000 soldiers were divided to support Luogu Pass. There were only [-] people who took the pass and stood firm. We had to increase our troops to prevent Liu Yanqing from jumping over the wall in a hurry.

However, Zhu Ming continued to besiege Mei County with miscellaneous troops and civilian husbands, with only [-] elite soldiers around him.

Many of the camps of the rebel army that stretched for several miles were empty, and the bundled straw men put on clothes to pretend to be soldiers.

The more empty the camp is, the more bluffing is necessary.

The day after Zhang Tong left with his troops, Zhu Ming took the initiative to go out of the camp to provoke, scaring the defenders of Mei County so much that they could not defend themselves.

In order to prevent the defenders from going out of the city to attack at night, Zhu Ming took the initiative to make noise at night, sending miscellaneous troops and civilian men with torches to beat drums and shouts in the west and south of Mei County.

"This is the strategy of the Zhu thief to exhaust the soldiers," Zhong Shizhong analyzed. "The constant clamor and provocation day and night kept our army nervous and fearful. When our army got used to it and the soldiers were exhausted, they suddenly attacked at night unexpectedly. city."

Liu Xi nodded in agreement: "It must be so."

Liu Kai said: "The bandit soldiers beat drums at night, and most of them can't sleep by themselves. In a few days, when the bandit soldiers can fall asleep, I will take my own soldiers to attack the camp, and I will always let the bandits try it." taste."

They still don't know that Luogu Pass has fallen.

Because the rebels raided and seized the pass, the guards had no choice but to flee to the south, and the valleys to the north were all blocked, so it was impossible for a broken soldier to pass on the message.

On the third day after the troops were divided, Liu Guangzu, the guard of Luogu Gate, was escorted here. This old man is Liu Yanqing's nephew.

Zhu Ming immediately became happy, and said very generously: "Put this guy back to Mei County."

Liu Guangzu thought he was going to die, but when he heard that he was alive, he jumped for joy, spread his legs and ran down the city. When he got close, he shouted: "Don't shoot arrows, I am Liu Guangzu, the guard of Luogu Pass!"

The planter was taken aback, hung him up in a hanging basket, and asked, "Why were you caught by bandits?"

Liu Guangzu said: "Tens of thousands of bandits stormed Luogu Pass. I couldn't defend myself and was arrested."

"Nonsense, the main force of bandits is right in front of us, where are tens of thousands of people going to attack Luogu Pass?" Zhong Zhong angrily scolded.

Liu Guangzu said: "There are not tens of thousands, but there are also ten thousand."

The teacher ignored this fellow and discussed with the Liu brothers: "Luogu Pass was probably captured by a surprise attack by bandits."

Liu Xi had lost his energy: "Liu Yanqing and Yang Weizhong's tens of thousands of troops were blocked in Luogu and could not get out. Only Yao Gu's troops remained in the Shaanxi Third Route Army, and the battle situation cannot be reversed."

The reason why they stick to Mei County is to wait for help.

When Liu Yanqing and Yao Gu's soldiers and horses all come back, there will be [-] to [-] troops in total, and they can still fight Zhu Ming in a decisive battle in Mei County.

Once Luogu Pass is lost, there is basically no chance.

Zhong Shizhong, Liu Xi, and Liu Kai are all cautious people. It is difficult for them to understand that the main force of the bandits was pinned in Mei County, so how could Luogu Pass be taken by surprise?

Leash a dog there, and you won't lose Guancheng!
While the three were discussing countermeasures, a boat came from the upper reaches of the Weishui River and sailed straight to the north pier of Mei County.

A blood-stained civil servant came and called the door: "I am Yang Tong, the county magistrate of Guo County, let me enter the city quickly!"

Liu Xi quickly brought this person in, and asked nervously, "Guo county is gone?"

Yang Tong replied: "I defended the city according to the method given by you. I blocked all the gates of the city. I also told the people in the city that the bandits and soldiers were bloodthirsty. I recruited thousands of young and strong people in the city to defend the city. To carry supplies. But... But it was useless. Countless bandits suddenly appeared on the south bank of the Wei River. They crossed the river on rafts, and then besieged from three sides. The young man in my hand had no bow and arrow, so I could only watch them Cross the moat."

"Rolling logs, falling stones, and golden juice are useless?" Liu Kai asked.

Yang Tong panicked and said: "It's used, but the bandits are not afraid, and these things are not enough. When a wave of bandits climbed up the city wall, all the young men recruited temporarily collapsed. They are all the people in the city, and they don't even have decent weapons. Where can I stop them?" Can you hold those thugs?"

The teacher asked, "How many bandits attacked the city?"

Yang Tong replied: "I don't know, I can't even count them."

"Are you released by the thieves?" Liu Kai asked.

"Yes, the bandits returned a boat." Yang Tong said.

The three guards looked at each other, unable to figure out what Ju Ming was really like.

Yang Tong is only a civil servant and doesn't know how to fight at all. He said that there are countless thieves, which is probably an exaggeration.Even if there were so many rebels attacking Guo County, there might be many civilians mixed in to make up for it, and Ju Ming's real elite was in Mei County.

Deliberately sending the county magistrate back to report the letter was actually to lure the defenders of Mei County out of the city.

"You can't go out of the city to fight!" Zhong Zhong said.

Liu Kai muttered: "What if the Zhu bandits really divide up their troops and send elites to fight Baoji? Then the bandit camp in front of us will be empty."

The Zhongshi said: "If the elite bandits attack Baoji, their target is Yao Gu. If they only feint to the west, their target is Mei County. Both situations are possible, and a choice must be made."

Liu Xi said: "If Mei County is lost, Fengxiang Mansion will not be protected, and there is no way for Taiwei Gao to explain it."

The three of them were all silent, there was no way to make a decision with this thing, it was purely guesswork and luck.

(End of this chapter)