Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 437 Cherish each other
The gate of Yongqiu City is wide open.

Xue Bai rode his horse through the city cave and soon saw an official wearing a green robe coming to greet him. Before they even greeted each other, he knew that this was Zhang Xun.

Because Xue Bai has never seen this kind of almost stubborn determination in the eyes of others, Zhang Xun is obviously a person who is very independent in his heart and is not easily disturbed by the outside world.

But on the other hand, he is not rigid. On the contrary, he is even a little free and informal. For example, when receiving a gift, he did not cross his hands to salute rigidly, but only bowed slightly, and then looked at Xue Bai with eager and sincere eyes, without any concealment. He was delighted to recapture Yongqiu and receive reinforcements.

Unlike other officials who liked to show off, the first thing Zhang Xun did after meeting Xue Bai, the prefect, was to introduce the generals behind him.

They are called generals, but in fact most of them are just patrolmen and soldiers in some counties. The one with the highest official position is Lei Wanchun, the general of the Huaiyang Army, who was also the hero of the capture of Yongqiu this time.

Xue Bai listened patiently and did not look down upon them because of their low official status. Finally, he looked at the two men behind Zhang Xun who were wearing armor and had extraordinary momentum, and asked their names.

"They are not generals. This is Nan Jiyun. When I raised an army to fight against rebellion, he was the first to respond to me in front of the shrine of Emperor Zhenyuan Xuanyuan. I commend him for his bravery and want to recommend him as a general." Zhang Youyou introduced him. The tall man on the left raised his hand to lead the one on the right and said, "This is Yao Bin..."

Xue Bai looked them up and down and praised: "They are all good warriors and talented generals."

"I am a boatman on the canal. I didn't even have a name originally, so I was called Nan Ba. It was the name given to me by the county magistrate." Nan Jiyun said matter-of-factly, "I can't be a general."

"Yan Gong, the prefect of Pingyuan, is tabooing Gao Qing. My father-in-law, this is Zhang Xun, the commander of Zhenyuan."

"Since the rebels are composed of various tribes, our army can divide the troops to attack, so that each of them is concerned about self-preservation and does not dare to support each other, so that they can retreat in one piece."

Zhang Xun had a different view, saying: "It is good to hold on, but it is better to 'defend with attack, and use attack to replace defense.' Although the rebel army is five times larger than our army, it must be a joint force of generals, not subordinate to each other, and giving orders." If they are not aligned, if they take advantage of their unstable footing and attack them unexpectedly, they will be frightened and the enemy force will be reduced, making it easier to defend the city."

What's even more rare is that Zhang Xun has always been a civilian and has never fought in a war, yet he has such unique insights.

Seeing this scene, Xue Bai couldn't help but think of a poem "For Zhang Suiyang's teeth, for Yan Changshan's tongue", which said that Zhang was patrolling Suiyang and was captured after it fell. The enemy general found that he only had four or five teeth left, but because of the guard, The country's heart was so eager that it broke its teeth; after Yan Gaoqing was captured, he cursed An Lushan and had his tongue cut off.

Following these words, a rebel cavalry stepped forward and shot a sharp arrow at the top of the city. Regardless of the reason, the defenders on the city immediately shot at him with their bows, and he fled in panic.

"This is the will of the sage. The emperor raised his troops because of Xue Bai's persecution! Now the sage ordered Helan Jinming, the envoy to Hebei, to arrest Xue Bai. If you obey his orders, aren't you violating the order?! "

"This is a rare thing for Brother Wang, the envoy of the Yunzhong Army. He is our vanguard general. He once killed the Tubo prince with one shot among the thousands of troops..."

Xue Bai then saw that Zhang Xun's use of troops was not only tactically flexible, but more importantly, he always remembered what the overall situation needed. It was not about one person's gains and contributions, but about seizing every opportunity to obtain logistical supplies and making early preparations.

Xue Bai has met some famous generals so far, and they are all different. Wang Zhongsi coordinates the overall situation with troops and is good at controlling his subordinates; Wang Rao is unparalleled in bravery and unstoppable; Zhang Xun is different from them. Although his mind is firm, his tactics are very flexible.

Before dawn, Xue Bai was awakened again by the enemy's siege trumpet.

The plan was settled, and Xue Bai began to make arrangements. Wang Nannan, Jiang Hai, Li Zejiao, Ma Xiangru, and Diao Wansui each led a thousand men out of the city for a surprise attack. Zhang Xun volunteered to lead Zhenyuan County troops out of the city, so that Wang Nannan could respond in the city at any time. .

At this time, most of the Guangwu army had entered the city, and Xue Bai led Zhang Xun over to meet everyone.

If, as Gao Xianzhi said, Hanjiacang did not reserve grain, this would be an extremely disadvantageous thing for the rebels. But if Gao Xianzhi just made an excuse, then the rebels would not be in danger of food and grass for at least a year, and Yongqiu would definitely not be able to hold on for a year.

"Okay, the military affairs are complicated and I am worried that I don't have any help. Magistrate Zhang came at the right time."

Xue Bai summoned everyone to discuss, and they all agreed that we should strengthen the wall and clear the country, and defend and counterattack.

"I will definitely live up to the high expectations of the prefect!"

He urgently needs to get information, and there are only two ways. One is to raise the flag and wait for his people to send the news, but this will inevitably attract the rebels and the court's arrest documents; the other is to kill Shouyang Mountain as soon as possible, See for yourself what the situation is like. But no matter which method is used, the road is blocked by the rebels from Yangyang, Kaifeng, and Chenliu, and they must be defeated.

"I just wanted to ask Mr. Yan for advice."

"Jia Bi and Zhang Xun, we used to be officials in neighboring counties, but now we have something good to say to you! Let's read the arrow letter!"

The rebels had no choice but to temporarily withdraw a few miles, and their morale was reduced.

When the rebels approached, it turned out that the generals and banners were mixed. They were led by the rebel Li Tingwang, and the troops were composed of Linghu Chao, Li Huaixian, Yang Chaozong, Xie Yuantong, Yang Wanshi and other troops. On the day they arrived, they were still encamped, so the Tang army split up to kill them. Go out and attack the formation directly.

An incident revealed the Zhenyuan County Magistrate's extraordinary talents and military skills...

The Guangwu Army had not yet rested and recuperated in Yongqiu City, and the wounds on the wounded had not yet had time to scab. Waiting cavalry returned from outside the city and said that they had discovered a large number of rebel troops coming from the west. Judging from the formation, there may be more than 50,000 soldiers and horses. .

At the moment, none of this has happened yet, and Xue Bai doesn't want to let them happen.

From a distance, several riders rushed to the city. Under the cover of shields, Linghu Chao shouted towards the city.

Zhang Xun went over and picked up the arrow without looking at it. He handed it to Nan Jiyun and asked him to shoot it back.

Yan Gaoqing even made a joke, saying that Xue Bai was his adopted son-in-law, so he could not become his close friend regardless of age difference, but Zhang Xun had to be friends with him.

The generals of the Tang army returned to the city one after another and reported their gains. Among them, the county soldiers led by Zhang Xun captured the fewest heads, but they actually drove back more than a hundred cattle and sheep.

He walked up to Xue Bai and said, "Prefect, the thief wants to destabilize the morale of our army through alienation. Can you allow me to suppress his momentum?"

"How to do?"

"That's right." Xue Bai patted Nan Jiyun on the shoulder, "A man is not afraid of being of low origin. When things happen, it's the time to step forward and make contributions."

Before Xue Bai could figure out a way to attack Chen Liu, the rebels had already taken the lead and attacked Yongqiu.

This year, Yan Gaoqing was over sixty years old, and Zhang Xunze was forty-five years old. Their official positions were also high and low, but as soon as they met, they were inexplicably very speculative. They chatted for a few words, but because of their concerns about the situation in Henan They have the same views and cherish each other.

"Woo——"

"There were very few enemies killed on patrol, which made the prefect laugh. I guess the rebels must have surrounded Yongqiu and cut off traffic, so they drove some cattle and sheep to add food."

While speaking, Xue Bai suddenly paused for a moment, and more solemnly pulled Zhang Xun to another person.

He spoke with a strong country accent, but his conversational skills were pretty good. He must have been a man of poor background but eager to learn.

He put on his armor and climbed to the top of the city. Looking at the dark cloud-like formation in the distance, he realized that the rebel forces were replenishing their troops very quickly. The rebels were never afraid of forcibly recruiting the people.

On the other hand, Xue Bai still doesn't know what the situation is like at Shouyang Mountain and whether it can be defended?

~~
Xue Bai temporarily stationed in Yongqiu, which can be regarded as achieving the first strategic goal he and Yan Gaoqing discussed before going south - to prevent the rebels from getting involved in the Jianghuai grain.

"Linghu Chao's wife and son are still in custody in the city. They can be executed in public."

Xue Bai turned his head, glanced at Zhang Xun's eyes, and found that he was not unkind. His eyes were calm, but there was also compassion, but the compassion was far away. He was pitying all the people in the world and the country of the Tang Dynasty, not just a few. Moved by people.

"If Linghu Chao is allowed to talk nonsense, he may hurt the morale of the army, so it is better to hurt his heart first." Zhang Xun knew what to do and spoke again.

Xue Bai didn't know what he was thinking. Only then did he come back to his senses and nodded.

Soon, Linghu Chao's wife and children were brought to the top of the city. After they stood still, the people on the city shouted to Ling Huchao to take a closer look. Then, the axe-hand raised his knife and chopped them off neatly.

The heads rolled down the city, silently describing the cruelty of war.

Linghu Chao's eyes were about to burst and he was furious. He ordered his soldiers to attack and vowed to raze Yongqiu City to the ground.

The rebels then set up a catapult outside Yongqiu City and threw stones at the top of Yongqiu City.

But Xue Bai had already ordered two huge stone cannons to be built in the city. When the rebels set up their catapults, the huge rocks thrown out of the city gate had already slammed into them.

"Oh!"

With a loud noise, the rebels' catapults shattered, and at the same time their confidence in attacking the city was shattered...

In this way, after more than a month of siege, the two sides experienced more than 200 large and small battles, and there was a Mid-Autumn Festival in between. Li Tingwang saw that the attack could not be held for a long time, and the Yongqiu defenders had caused a lot of casualties to the rebels, so he decided to withdraw.

After all, for the rebels, the most critical thing right now is to capture Tongguan. All the elites are gathered at Tongguan and have no time to go east.

~~
Zhang Xun wiped the telescope in his hand with great care and looked at the rebel camp outside the city for a long time.

At the end, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "What a sharp weapon."

With the help of his telescope, he just observed something strange, and then he strode up to the tower, arrived in front of Xue Bai, and said, "Prefect, I guess the rebels are about to withdraw."

Xue Bai and Jiang Hai were discussing something in a low voice over the map. Hearing this, he turned around, his eyes flashed, and asked, "Did County Magistrate Zhang want to go out to pursue him?"

He has recently learned a lot of military tactics from Zhang Xun, and has become much more flexible in the use of tactics.

"Exactly."

Zhang Xundao: "Now that the rebels have retreated, if our army takes advantage of the victory and pursues it, we will definitely gain something."

Xue Bai asked: "What if we pretend to retreat but actually set up an ambush?"

"The rebels are unable to attack the city. Their morale is low and they have no desire to fight. How can we fear an ambush?"

Zhang Xun was very confident in his own judgment. Strangely, Xue Bai always had confidence in Zhang Xun. Whenever he proposed strategies, Xue Bai always dispatched troops and generals according to his words.

As a result, the rebels retreated. The gates of Yongqiu City immediately opened wide, and the Tang army rushed out, chasing the rebels and killing them.

Facts proved that Zhang Xun's judgment was correct. The rebels had no intention of fighting, but they did not expect that the Tang army would pursue them relentlessly. After chasing for more than ten miles, the rebels were finally defeated.

The battlefield was filled with blood, and Nan Jiyun was staring at Li Tingwang's Shuai Qi from a distance to pursue him.

Although he was a boatman by background, he had good riding and archery skills. They were taught to him by an exiled general a few years ago. He never mentioned his name, only that he was under the command of Huangfugong, the military governor of Longyou.

This time, Nan Jiyun saw Wang Rao, who had taken the enemy general's head from the crowd of thousands of troops, and he was determined to follow Li Ting's example, and he has been chasing Li Ting today.

Suddenly, another shaky flag fell into his sight, it was Linghu Chao.

"Linghu Chao is there!"

Nan Jiyun slapped his horse and gave chase. At the same time, he raised his bow and arrows, deliberately lowering the arrows, and fired several arrows in succession.

He was very talented in archery, but he had few opportunities to practice and was still a bit rusty. Fortunately, he finally hit Linghu Chao's horse. He couldn't help but smile. Before the rebel soldiers could react, he stepped forward and stretched his arms lightly. , mentioned Linghu Chao.

In this battle, the Tang army beheaded more than 2,000 soldiers and killed more than 2,000 soldiers, killing more than 4,000 rebels.

~~
"Where's Linghu Chao?"

"They were not held together with other prisoners of war. They were held alone in the county jail."

"take me."

The loot was still being counted in the city, and cheers were heard from time to time, but Xue Bai had already entered the dark cell. He could hear Linghu Chao cursing inside.

"Xue Bai, Zhang Xun, I want you to die badly."

"You can only do it while you are alive." Xue Bai said casually, walked into the prison, threw a wine bag in, and said: "I have something to ask you. Are you confessing while being executed, or are you eating and drinking? Chat with me on the side.”

Linghu Chao looked at him with hatred, gritted his teeth and said, "I won't tell you."

"Think clearly." Xue Bai said: "We all know that you are a weakling, otherwise you would not be rebellious. Don't wait until you are punished to start regretting it."

"You killed my wife and children!"

Xue Bai shook his head, turned around and walked out, while waving to Jiang Hai.

He has seen through these power-hungry people. As long as they have power, they will never lack wives and children. Therefore, they are selfish and cannot withstand torture.

Seeing him walking away, Linghu Chao suddenly asked, "If I answer your question, what will you give me?"

"Let you go back to the rebels, and you can continue to be your high-ranking official." Xue Bai stopped and started talking about the topic that Linghu Chao was most interested in, "Didn't An Lushan promise to give you a purple robe?"

"When the Yan Kingdom is established, I will be the founding hero."

"Dayan? Has the country been established?"

"The first day of the first lunar month."

Xue Bai said: "Can An Lushan wait?"

"The first day of the first lunar month is his birthday." Linghu Chao said, "The Mingtang needs to be slightly renovated so that the five gods worshiped by Emperor Zetian in the Mingtang are willing to accept the Zoroastrian God and help him rule the world."

"Ok?"

Linghu Chao then gave a brief explanation.

The third floor of Mingtang is the place where the emperor worships. It once enshrined the tablets of the ancestors of the Wu family and the ancestors of the Li family. The tablets of the ancestors of the Wu family have long been removed. Now the ancestors of the Li family will naturally be invited elsewhere, but there are five heavenly emperors. The divine positions cannot be moved randomly, namely the Green Emperor, the Red Emperor, the White Emperor, the Xuan Emperor and the Yellow Emperor. An Lushan also had his own beliefs. He was reminded by others that he had to rebuild the Mingtang in order to move the Zoroastrian God he believed in into the Mingtang.

"Who presided over this?"

"A Taoist priest."

Those who built the Mingtang believed in Buddhism, those who renovated the Mingtang believed in Zoroastrianism, and the one who got involved in this matter was a Taoist priest, which inevitably seemed a bit out of place.

Xue Bai frowned slightly when he heard this and asked, "What Taoist priest?"

"Let me think about it." Linghu Chao didn't remember it. He recalled the "edict" he received and murmured: "The true king who should be enlightened and protect the country should be named... Li Xia... …Li Xia…”

"Li Xiazhou?"

"Correct."

Linghu Chao came back to his senses, his eyes showed doubts, and he murmured: "How do you know?"

"I'm asking you something." Xue Bai said, "How did An Lushan find Li Yazhou?"

"It is said that he was introduced by Da Xixun, a famous man in Luoyang and a demoted official in Henan Prefecture. It is said that Li Xiazhou once worshiped in front of the emperor, but when he was about to die, he left a poem on the wall of Chang'an and left in search of the real dragon emperor."

These words are almost supported by evidence. Even Linghu Chao believed them and cited several rumors with noses and eyes.

"The King of Dongping County believed that the True Dragon Emperor that Li Xiazhou said was him, so he was very happy and made him the True Lord Protector of the Country."

Xue Bai asked a few more questions, and that was all Linghu Chao knew about Luoyang.

"If I remember correctly, Gao Shang is your son-in-law, right?" He then changed the subject.

Linghu Chao's eyes were a little averted, fearing that he would be killed by Xue Bai, but he still pretended to be tough and responded: "Yes, Gao Shang abducted my daughter in the early years."

"Where is he now?"

"I was originally in Luoyang. I learned a few days ago that you were in Yongqiu, so I came here." Linghu Chao said in a threatening tone: "He is leading Fan Yang's elite cavalry, which is different from the temporarily recruited soldiers and horses under my command. "

The greater the noble threat, the greater his value.

Xue Bai didn't care at all and asked: "Where is Shouyang Mountain? Can he win it?"

"I don't know, if you're busy with big things, who cares about your other career?"

Xue Bai looked at Linghu Chao's expression and saw that he really didn't know anything about it. He smiled casually and treated it as a casual question.

"One more thing you heard? Hanjia Cang is actually empty."

"What?" Linghu Chao was surprised, and his first reaction was: "Impossible."

"How is it impossible?"

"I am the Yongqiu Order. Every year, Jianghuai grain passes through the canal and is transported to Luoyang. Half of the grain reserves are concentrated in Hanjiacang. How can it be empty? Unless..."

Linghu Chao didn't say the rest. Everyone knew that there was either something wrong with the court's accounts, or the grain reserves in the warehouse had been transported away.

Apart from anything else, Xue Bai had been in Yongqiu for a while. He had read the official accounts and Linghu Chao's private accounts, and knew that he only diverted several grain ships from the canal every year.

"It can't be empty." Linghu Chao thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "The Prince of Dongping County, who is based in Luoyang, has never said that there is no food in Hanjiacang."

"It is impossible for An Lushan to say anything to stabilize the morale of the army." Xue Bai asked the last question: "How is the war at Tongguan?"

Linghu Chao didn't want to answer at first, but knowing that there was no need to hide the matter, he still answered honestly.

"The imperial court appointed the prince as the marshal of the army, and Ge Shuhan was his deputy. He led 200,000 troops to guard Tongguan. The king of Dongping County appointed An Qingxu as the marshal and led the army to attack, but Ge Shuhan repelled it..."

~~
After leaving the county jail, Xue Bai was pacing and thinking.

Li Xiazhou ran to An Lushan, and this incident strengthened his determination.

"Prefect, since we have won a great victory, how about we reward the soldiers tonight?"

"can."

Xue Bai nodded, then called Zhang Xun and Jia Bi, and said, "I have something else to discuss with you two."

"The governor said it doesn't matter."

"Come this way."

Xue Bai led them into the county government hall and walked to the map.

"The reason why we have such a great victory is that in addition to the fact that the rebels are unable to attack the city and their morale is low, we have to admit that the ones currently attacking Yongqiu are not all Fan Yang's elite soldiers, but only the rebels expanded with a small number of border troops. , where are the elite rebels? "

As he spoke, he clicked on Tongguan on the map.

He is not as good as Zhang Xun in the art of war, but thanks to more information channels, he can grasp the overall situation more accurately.

"I'm thinking that in order to attack Yongqiu this time, Li Tingwang has mobilized troops from all over the surrounding areas, including Kaifeng and Xingyang. In other words, the Luoyang area is relatively empty. Maybe I can send troops to Luoyang to explore the reality."

"what?"

Zhang Xun was very surprised and said: "That's not right. The prefect said that the rebel army is empty. However, our army has fewer troops, and Yongqiu is an important place on the canal. If we guard this place, Wang Shi will have no worries about the thieves, so there is no need to take risks."

Xue Bai's reason for taking the risk had already been told to Wang Nan, so there was no need to tell Zhang Xun again.

As long as they, the loyal ministers of the Tang Dynasty, persisted until the rebellion was put down, they would be heroes, and he would only be liquidated. He must gain greater prestige and power as soon as possible. In addition, Li Cong was finally named Marshal of the Army, and Xue Bai hoped to contact Ge Shuhan as soon as possible.

"I have my own thoughts on this matter, so there is no need to talk more." Xue Bai said, "I need your cooperation, is that okay?"

This was a small test for the two of them. He wanted to see if Zhang Xun and Jia Bi were willing to help him after fighting side by side for this period of time.

"The prefect just gives orders."

"Okay." Xue Bai said: "Now that we have defeated Li Tingwang, we can send a message to the counties in Henan and Huainan to jointly defend the rebels. To create a reputation, at the same time, I will use the banner to pretend to attack Chenliu and Kaifeng..."

As he spoke, he looked at the map.

There are roughly two roads to Yanshi County. One is along the Yellow River through Chenliu, Kaifeng, Yingyang and Gongxian, which is a flat road; the other is from around Fuxi Mountain and Songshan Mountain, via Dengfeng, to Yishui, further north, the road is rugged and difficult to navigate, but fortunately it is not within the rebels' sphere of influence.

He needed Zhang Xun and others to assist Yan Gaoqing to continue to defend Yongqiu and pretend to attack Chenliu under his banner, while he and Wang Nan led a fine cavalry through the small road and headed straight for Yanshi.

At that time, as long as Shouyang Mountain is still holding on, Xue Bai may be able to advance eastward with Yan Gaoqing and Zhang Xun to attack the counties in Henan; or he may make a sneak attack on Luoyang, contact Ge Shuhan, and attack Shaanxi County.

~~
"Let's go and celebrate."

The plan was finalized. As they walked out of the county office, they could already hear the laughter of the soldiers in the distance.

"Alang."

A soft voice suddenly sounded behind him. Xue Bai turned around and saw a woman in Jingchai cloth standing there holding a basket. After that, Zhang Xun turned around and walked over, answering her gently. A few words.

"Why are you here?"

"I heard that we won a big victory today, so I dared to come to disturb Alang and brought some food and wine..."

They walked a little farther, and the conversation that followed was inaudible.

"That is Magistrate Zhang's concubine, her name is Yingniang." Jia Ben said, "Since guarding the city in recent months, she has often been sewing in the army. The prefect may have seen her a few times."

"Remember, I often follow County Magistrate Zhang's sister Lu's aunt. I didn't know she was Magistrate Zhang's concubine."

"His wife died young. He took this concubine two years ago and loved her very much."

"Ah."

Xue Bai turned back and glanced at the woman's figure under the moonlight again, thinking that he would definitely see her again the next time he saw Zhang Xun.

(End of this chapter)