Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 434 Crossing the River
A group of rebels were waiting to explore the horseshoes and ruts on the ground as they headed south. They heard the roar of the river again in front of them, and the Yellow River, which was even more turbulent than the Tuhai River, appeared in front of them.

All traces of the Tang army finally gathered at the Yellow River ferry. Broken tents, earthen stoves dug out from the ground, remnants of campfires, and cauldrons that were too heavy to be taken away. The shore was muddy, proving that this was where the Tang army crossed. Of the Yellow River.

Out of caution, the rebel Houqi searched both sides again, but found no other traces. Then he immediately reported it to Shi Siming.

"The Tang army has crossed the Yellow River!"

"how is this possible?"

Shi Siming didn't believe it. He frowned and thought. It would take at least an hour for a small boat to cross the Yellow River back and forth. It could carry 20 people and could only ferry 240 people a day. If the Tang army wanted to ferry more than 10,000 people, they would need 50 boats. But this was the most extreme case. In fact, there were also horses, baggage, and all kinds of troubles. How could they disappear so quickly?

Before the matter was figured out, the army came to report again, but it was Cai Xide who sent an envoy.

The person who came was Geng Renzhi, the judge of Fan Yang Jiedu, a handsome middle-aged man, but what he said was not good news.

"Now the counties in Hebei have been instigated to rebel, and only the general has regained one plain county, but time is running out. Li Guangbi is recruiting troops in the east of Hedong, preparing to send troops to Jingxing. In addition, the emperor has ordered Guo Ziyi to be the deputy envoy of the Shuofang Army, and the northwest armies are ready. , will make a big move eastwards at any time.”

After that, Geng Renzhi relayed Cai Xide's intention to give up the attack on Taiyuan and return to Feihukou to keep troops to hold on. Then he and Shi Siming concentrated their forces to attack Changshan County. They would first block the main roads for officers and soldiers to enter Hebei, and then recover the Hebei provinces that were instigated to rebel one by one. county.

"Looking at the armor and horses, they are far inferior to Shi Siming's troops..."

Regardless of the official positions in the imperial court, there is indeed a very clear hierarchy. Xue Bai is the leader, Yan Gaoqing is the deputy, Wang Nan is the vanguard general, and the troops and horses under the generals are reorganized for easy deployment.

That night, Yan San came back from hunting. He opened the door and saw a table of wine and food on the table. His brother was eating with a few people.

Geng Renzhi then asked: "General Cai is here to cooperate with the general. What concerns does the general have? You might as well speak up."

"Guess what? Boping and Qinghe counties also responded to the uprising, but Shi Siming returned to Hebei and did not capture the two county offices. Instead, he had people surround them, and directly led his troops to attack Pingyuan County, charging first Let's."

Occasionally, some who were not very obedient were inevitably killed and sacrificed to the flag.

He planned to go to Wei County, a distance of three hundred miles and five days of marching at full speed.

Jiang Hai said: "I captured a group of rebels waiting to ride in Wacun, fifty miles ahead, and interrogated several of them separately. When I learned that the leader of the rebel army stationed in Wei County was Yuan Zhitai, with more than 30,000 troops, he sent his generals Bai Sishen and Yi Shumeng besieged Boping and Qinghe counties respectively. "

Xue Bai nodded. Li E, the prefect of Qinghe County, even sent Chief Shi Wang Huaizhong to lead troops to Changshan for support. The reason for this was because there was Jingxing in Changshan County, and the imperial army had to leave Jingxing first before reinforcements could be sent to Qinghe County.

"General, with all due respect."

But he was too hungry to think clearly.

"How is the combat strength?" Xue Bai said: "The rebels are in a hurry to attack Tongguan now. Those who can be arranged to guard the rear must not be elites?"

"We come from Yunzhong, Changshan, Pingyuan, and Beihai. If we continue to be independent of each other, how can we survive and make contributions in such a changing situation? I have discussed with Governor Yan and General Wang. From now on, we will unite into one army, and we will be called ' Guangwu Army', at this time when Hebei fell, took the restoration of the imperial court as its own duty..."

The last time, Yan San told Jiang Hai the location of the rebels' waiting horses and got two strings of money. He was happy and scared. He thought the matter was over, but he didn't expect that before he spent the money, business came again.

Zhou Zhi was very upset after hearing this. He secretly thought that he had spoken for Geng Renzhi and persuaded the general to cooperate with Cai Xide, but this person from Cai Xide actually came to cause trouble?
If Shi Siming were to attack the Shandong area, Cai Xide would have to bear more pressure from Hedong and Shuofang.

"General, why are you back again?" Yan San quickly closed the door, bent forward and said, "Didn't we already agree that if the villain gives you news, you will let the villain go?"

Zhou Zhi's words can be regarded as helping Geng Renzhi. In his opinion, Xue Bai is cunning and it is useless to chase Xue Bai, but Hebei is the root, and it is obvious which one is more important.

On the afternoon of the third day, they had entered the junction of Boping and Qinghe counties. Xue Bai didn't know the details ahead, so he had to stop and wait for Jiang Hai to return from inquiring about the news. Since Pingyuan County was besieged, many of his news channels were cut off, so he could only inquire again.

"In the battle of Pingyuan County, I captured He Lan, the Tang Dynasty's Hebei envoy to the Ming Dynasty." Shi Siming recounted his achievements first, and then said: "It's a pity that Xue Bai, Yan Gaoqing, Wang Nan and others fled to the south bank of the Yellow River."

Jiang Hai was waiting for him when he was in Longyou, and he was good at gathering information. Sure enough, he came back as promised and brought some food to the generals.

After all, officers and soldiers may not necessarily abide by military discipline.

Xue Bai sat on the stone at the foot of the mountain and waited for Jiang Hai to come back from inquiring about the news. He opened the letter from Shouyang Mountain and frowned as he read it. Compared to Hanjiacang, there was not enough food. To supply military supplies, he preferred to believe that Gao Xianzhi found a reason that was difficult to verify and abandoned Luoyang.

He asked: "According to Judge Geng's wishes, cross the river to pursue?"

The person who suddenly spoke was a secretary in charge of Shi Siming's account, named Zhou Zhi, and said: "Henan and Nanhuai have many soldiers and horses from the imperial court. There is no shortage of only 10,000 people like Xue Bai. The general should recover it as soon as possible." Changshan, it’s better to attack Liu Kenu.”

~~
There is a large swamp located more than 20 miles south of Yongji Canal. The village to the east of the swamp is called Wacun.

Diao Wansui, Ma Xiangru and others in the army were still worried. They thought that it was nothing if the imperial court did not grant the imperial edict and the rebels did not recognize it. But soon, they were all promoted. Although their powers did not change much, they sounded completely different.

Orion hunter Yan San's home is located deep in the swamp. There is an old woman, two brothers and two sisters-in-law at home.

"Don't worry, I won't pass through your village." Jiang Hai said, "Sit down, I won't lose you."

So he ordered to camp and rest while reorganizing the army. After more than a month of siege and several days of breakout marches, he has basically been able to control this army, and now he is clarifying some matters.

Yan San quickly ran to the window and looked towards the foot of the mountain, fearing that the last time he informed the officers and soldiers would be known, or that he would lead the officers and soldiers to plunder the village.

Geng Renzhi thought that Cai Xide was arrogant and stupid, and had long wanted to switch to Shi Siming. He quickly stood up and saluted, saying with deep meaning: "I am willing to serve the general as hard as a dog or horse."

~~
Xue Bai did not cross the Yellow River, but pretended to cross the river and turned westward.

But unexpectedly, Geng Renzhi pondered and said: "Xue Bai is like a stick, inserted from the mouth of the bottle in Jingxing into the urn in Hebei, causing great chaos and making it impossible for him to live in peace. If he is allowed to wander near the river, it will indeed be a disaster. Like a lump in the throat."

It can be seen that the Tang army was surrounded on all sides, and the situation faced by the rebels was not good. Fortunately, the main force had unexpectedly captured Luoyang, otherwise it would have been a different situation now.

After two days of camping, the army was reorganized, but the food and fodder they carried had run out.

In short, the cities of Boping and Qinghe counties are still there, but they are besieged by the rebels.

"Pursuable."

Jiang Hai grinned and said, "Let's do another business."

Seeing this scene, Zhou Zhi realized that Geng Renzhi was not thinking about the overall situation, but was trying to seduce Shi Siming.

Shi Siming frowned and said nothing while listening.

Shi Siming's eyes showed admiration and he said with a rare smile: "Then, how about I ask Judge Geng to stay in my tent for a few days until I can kill Xue Bai and then go north together?"

Not allowing him to refuse, he sat down with his butt next to the broken stool. He glanced into the room from the corner of his eye and saw his mother-in-law and sisters-in-law peeking out. It could be seen that the officers and soldiers did not make things difficult for them, so he felt relieved.

"You brothers often go to Yongji Canal Pier to steal things, right?"

"No, no."

"Pah!" Jiang Hai slapped the case and cursed: "How dare you deny it?! I have already heard what the salesman in the village said."

Yan San's expression changed in shock, and he quickly knelt on the ground and asked the officers and soldiers to spare him.

Jiang Hai then expressed his intention and said: "The salesman said that you know a wild road that can lead to Yongji Canal and a boat, right?"

"Yes Yes."

Jiang Hai took out a piece of gold from his arms and said, "This is today's meal money, please help me lead the way."

"General, that wild road is not easy to walk, it is very desolate." Yan San said: "General, I'm afraid he won't be used to it."

"Eating dog intestines, if you can live with it, your grandpa can live with it..."

The wild road Yan San mentioned does not pass through the village, but is to the west of the swamp. He waited in the reed swamp for half a day, and then Jiang Hai came with his officers and soldiers, more than 10,000 men and horses, and the team was extremely long.

"Well, General, horses can't get through it, and they can't wear heavy armor."

Jiang Hai was worried about removing his armor and told Yan San not to talk nonsense.

Xue Bai chose to trust this guide and let Yan Gaoqing, Ma Xiangru, and Diao Wansui lead their troops to station in the woods, watching the horses and the wounded, waiting for orders.

"Here!" Ma Xiangru responded and thought to himself: "Let me wait for orders again."

After that, half of the soldiers of the Guangwu Army took off their heavy armor, and a few put on a small amount of light leather armor. Following the guide through the swamp, he actually made a passable path through the reeds.

Walking to the back of this road, Xue Bai's legs were so sore and he was sweating profusely.

He had been thinking about the battle situation, but gradually, something else came to mind... The last time his legs were so sore, he was in the west wing with the Du sisters.

From this, he thought of that night when the spring breeze caressed the threshold, when he entered the fragrant and prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty in fatigue; he thought of Yang Yuyao's face as red as drunkenness, accompanied by her tender breathing.

I thought of the lotus that emerges from the mud but remains unstained, and also thought of the agreement with Yan Yan.

In the depths of the hot and humid swamp in summer, Xue Bai began to miss his confidante extremely.

Out of the swamp, we entered a dense forest.

It was already dark at this time, and they continued through the forest, splitting thorns along the way, and finally arrived at Yongji Canal in the night.

Under the moonlight, across the canal, one can see the outline of the rebel camp, and a row of bonfires actually brings the warmth of home.

"Where's the boat?"

"pull out."

"So small? Can it carry ten people?"

Yan San whispered: "It can carry twelve people."

"The Yongji Canal is not deep, so you can swim across it. After crossing the river, quickly line up and attack in the direction of the bonfire."

"Here."

"Tell the soldiers to defeat the rebels and have a feast tonight..."

When the arrangements were in place, they began to cross the river.

Xue Bai personally led the team to swim across the Yongji Canal. The cold river water dissipated a lot of his distracting thoughts. When he reached the other side, he was still gathering troops and horses, but he heard the sound of horse hooves heading this way.

"The rebels are waiting to be alerted," Jiang Hai said.

Xue Bai estimated that there were less than 3,000 people crossing the river, and decisively ordered: "Inform the King of Rare and attack."

In front of the team, Wang Rao heard the sound of horse hooves and said: "Bow."

He took the bow, hunched over and walked forward for more than ten steps, squinting at the horsemen running towards him in the night, and suddenly shot out an arrow with a "whoosh", and an enemy soldier fell off his horse immediately.

The horse neighed and continued to run forward. Wang Nannan had already stepped forward in two steps, pulled the reins, and got on the horse.

His soldiers followed suit one after another and began to seize horses.

"gun!"

A silver gun was handed to Wang Ranran's hand. He turned around and ran towards the barracks illuminated by the bonfire.

"Blow the trumpet!"

"Woo——"

The banner of the rebel general stood in the middle of the camp, with the character "Y" written on it, which was an unusual surname.

Yi Shumeng has led his troops to besiege Qinghe County for a long time. However, Qinghe Zhi's city wall is high and the river is deep. The county guard Li E is determined to defend the city. In addition, Yi Shumeng's troops are insufficient, so he has not been able to capture it.

Of course, he only needed to surround the city to ensure that Shi Siming could go north to conquer Changshan County. After all, he was not leading an elite division of the rebels.

Yeyi Shumeng went to bed early, but was awakened by the earth-shattering killing cry in the middle of the night. He opened the curtain and looked outside, and saw that the camp was already in chaos and irreversible.

"go!"

Yi Shumeng hurriedly put on his armor and left the tent before he could fasten it. He got on his horse and led his soldiers to retreat to Wei County. After passing through the camp, they saw a general charging across the camp with a gun on horseback. He quickly led his men to turn east and run towards the east.

When they arrived at the granary, they saw a group of Tang troops occupying the granary. The leading general turned around and looked very young and tall. Looking again, there are soldiers behind the opponent holding a flag. This is actually the commander of the Tang Army.

"Xue?!" "Stop him!"

"kill!"

Yishumeng shouted loudly, drove his horse forward, and deceived the opponent's general because he was young and did not ride a horse, so he wanted to kill the opponent.

"Hey!"

He was still gathering strength when suddenly a horse neighed and a tripping rope appeared on the ground. His heavy body flew up and hit the opponent's general. Under the severe pain, he did not forget to thrust out the long knife.

"Ding!"

With a sound, the young Tang Army general swung his sword to block, his physical strength was quite terrifying. Immediately afterwards, a knife struck Yi Shumeng's wrist, breaking his wrist and causing bleeding.

Xue Bai stepped on Yi Shumeng's left hand and shouted: "Take it off!"

~~
The camp was brightly lit, and the newly reorganized Guangwu Army won its first battle.

Xue Bai was taking inventory of the granary while listening to the sergeant's report.

"This is by the canal. After Changshan County cut off the canal, the rebels' supplies are stranded here. There are also women they kidnapped. Are they distributed to the soldiers?"

"This case cannot be opened. Once military discipline is disrupted, it will not be restrained in the future." Xue Bai said: "Send it to Qinghe County tomorrow morning and hand it over to Governor Li for disposal."

After that, he looked in the direction pointed by the sergeant and saw rows of ragged women in the firelight.

Among them, three figures with intact clothes suddenly caught his attention. Judging from their figure, they were still young girls.

"Bring them here."

"come over!"

"Oh, what are you doing? Let me go."

Xue Bai walked to the bonfire and waited for them to be brought out. He quickly recognized one of them and the other two were her maids.

She was stroking her hair to cover her face. When she finally couldn't avoid it, she raised her head and showed a reluctant but friendly smile.

"Xue Lang, long time no see."

"Miss Shi, why are you here?"

Shi Chaoying smoothed her hair again. The bonfire illuminated her, and you could clearly see sweat flowing down her face and neck, soaking her tube top.

"Mr. "

"There is no personal relationship between right and wrong." Xue Bai said: "Or, for the sake of being a friend, Mrs. Shi can persuade your grandpa to surrender?"

"Okay."

Shi Chaoying combed her hair with both hands and said, "I can advise grandpa..."

The next moment, she suddenly took out a letter from her bra and was about to throw it into the fire. Xue Bai suddenly stepped forward and grabbed her hand.

The letter fell to the ground.

Shi Chaoying immediately raised her foot to kick it into the fire. Xue Bai then knocked her away and leaned down to pick up the letter. However, she pounced on him like a she-wolf, grabbed Xue Bai's hand and went to Press in the campfire.

Xue Bai knocked her to the ground with an elbow.

"Humph."

Shi Chaoying was still struggling, trying to bite his hand, hooking his legs with her feet to trip him up, and clinging to him to prevent him from getting up with the letter, until Xue Bai grabbed his throat and pinned him down. Finally became honest.

"You... don't even think about it."

She was panting, unable to move her whole body, and her toes were still moving between Xue Bai's legs.

In the midst of the war, she still had the unique fragrance of a woman, and her body was soft. Xue Bai had been rubbing against her for a long time, and he became angry.

"What... do you want to do?" Shi Chaoying raised his eyebrows and scolded angrily.

Xue Bai hadn't been close to a woman for a long time, so he stared at her hard for a while, then scolded her: "Be honest!"

Shi Chaoying was frightened.

However, Xue Bai still stood up and shouted: "Tied!"

It's not his mother-in-law, but it's just that if you don't lead by example when running an army, it will be difficult to convince the public. Today's plan is quick, but tomorrow another general commits a crime, or even misdirects the military situation due to selfish desires. How to deal with it?

After the rebellion is over, he will have his own gentle hometown, and then he will be able to enjoy himself to the fullest.

Xue Bai took a few deep breaths, made a promise to himself in his heart, and tore open the letter Shi Chaoying brought.

It was actually An Sishun who wrote it to An Lushan.

The content is that when An Lushan raised troops, he had been summoned to the court as Minister of War, blaming An Lushan for betraying Shen En and wanting to kill him.

If such a letter was said to be a reminder to let An Lushan know that An Sishun could not raise troops to respond, it would make sense; if it was said that An Sishun was on the side of the court and scolded An Lushan in accordance with righteousness, it would also make sense.

Xue Bai then looked at Shi Chaoying and asked: "Why is it in your hands?!"

Shi Chaoying glanced at his crotch with cold eyes, snorted, and said: "Kill or behead him, it's up to you."

"You escaped from Chang'an, and An Sishun asked you to take it with you? Can you show it to An Lushan?"

After asking a few more questions, Shi Chaoying never answered. Xue Bai said: "There is no need to be so hostile. The imperial court has sent troops from all directions, and the rebels are almost at their end. You have me as a friend, which may be an important connection to protect your father and daughter." "

"what you up to?"

"answer my question."

Shi Chaoying said: "An Sishun secretly helped me leave the city and asked me to persuade An Lushan to surrender. I will bring the letter to my grandpa and let him know."

"How can he help you get out of the city?"

"Of course he used his signal to let me out of the city."

"Have you met him?"

"No, it was arranged by his close men."

Xue Bai asked a few more questions and said, "Take her away and hand her over to Magistrate Li for custody tomorrow. Her grandfather is Shi Siming, so keeping her as a hostage will definitely be useful."

"You!" Shi Chaoying didn't expect to be detained again, and angrily said: "You don't mean what you say..."

Xue Bai was too lazy to pay attention to her and put the letter in his arms.

~~
After Shi Siming crossed the Yellow River, he chased southward for more than 20 miles, but the waiting cavalry never found any trace of the Tang army.

He immediately became suspicious, so he ordered a halt to the march and sent his son Shi Chaoyi to lead some troops to Jinan to recruit troops and horses. He personally turned the horses' heads and recruited several elite cavalry generals under his command.

"The Tang army has not crossed the Yellow River and must go west. Follow me!"

I ran back to the bank of the Yellow River and looked around. The waves were rolling and crossing the river was another big move.

But Shi Siming was an extremely determined man and waved his hand without hesitation and ordered: "Cross the river!"

It took two days for the rebels to cross the 10,000 cavalry back to the north bank of the Yellow River.

"Xue Bai must be in Boping and Qinghe counties to pursue him!"

Running wildly all the way, riding in four directions at the same time, on the seventh day after the Tang army broke through, Shi Siming finally got the news from Xue Bai.

"Report!"

"Report!"

The excitement in Hou Qi's voice could not be concealed. He ran to Shi Siming, got off his horse, and shouted: "Wei County is reporting urgently! Yuan Zhitai is asking for help!"

"What's the matter?"

"The Tang army attacked Yishumeng's camp outside Qinghe County at night. Yishumeng sent people to ask for help from Bai Sishen. Bai Sishen led his troops from Boping to Qinghe County for support. They were ambushed on the road and died from arrows. Ten thousand people were beheaded by both armies. At the remaining level, the Tang army gathered strength from the three counties to attack Wei County. Yuan Zhitai asked the general to support him immediately! "

Shi Siming angrily scolded: "Trash."

At this juncture, the general should not be anxious. Instead, he ordered the entire army to rest and continue to send out scouting horses to obtain more detailed information.

In this way, it was not until the next morning that more accurate news came back.

"Report!"

"Yuan Zhitai had already abandoned Wei County and fled to Ye County. The news of his request for help was released by the Tang Army, intending to ambush the general!"

Before Shi Siming could speak, the riders under his command were already sweating profusely with fear. For fear of being held accountable, they quickly flattered him and said, "Fortunately, the general is wise and did not fall into the Tang army's treacherous plan."

"Send the order to summon Shi Chaoyi to return to the army!"

"Here."

"Bring camp and attack!"

The rebels wanted to fight in the field, but the Tang army only waited at the ambush site for one day. Seeing that Shi Siming did not arrive, they retreated to Qinghe and Boping counties that night.

As for Wei County, the Tang army did not divide its troops to defend it, but only took away the rebels' baggage and food.

When Shi Siming arrived at the city of Qinghe County, before he could attack the city, he heard constant noise from the city. Then, Li E, the governor of Qinghe County, personally escorted a woman to the top of the city.

Shi Siming squinted his eyes and rode forward, his face immediately turned cold.

"Shi Siming!"

Li E yelled and asked: "You are a bastard from Yingzhou. You made military exploits by chance, came to court, and received a name from the emperor. You are not unkind, so why are you treason?!"

Shi Siming didn't answer, just stared at his daughter's figure.

He thought about how when he had nothing, it was Xin, the daughter of a prominent family in Youzhou, who insisted on marrying him and changed his fate. And his wife Xin loved this daughter the most.

"The rebels are now at the end of their rope. If you have any intention of repenting, it is not too late to surrender!" Li E continued to shout.

"Let me think about it!"

Shi Siming shouted, reined in his horse and left.

When he returned to the camp, he was furious and kept sending troops to urge Shi Chaoyi to bring the main force.

Finally, two days later, Shi Chaoyi crossed the Yellow River again and arrived.

"Grandpa, but Xue Bai fled to Qinghe County?"

"Xue Bai..."

Before Shi Siming finished speaking, he rode back in a hurry.

"Report! Report! We have found traces of the Tang army. Xue Bai's troops are chasing Yuan Zhitai and crossing the Yellow River from Ye County!"

Shi Chaoyi, who had just returned from crossing the south bank of the Yellow River, couldn't help being surprised and asked: "What?"

(End of this chapter)