Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The wound on the abdomen continued to ooze blood, which was caused by the boring palladium.

Han Shizhong sat down on the ground, with only two soldiers left beside him, one of whom was not yet his soldier.

He didn't know how long he had been running away, but he had detoured around several hills, then passed through four or five villages, and finally he no longer heard the shouts of his pursuers.

Han Shizhong was used to this kind of thing.

After taking off his armor with difficulty, he tore his clothes with his teeth, picked up an herb and chewed it, and then asked the soldiers to bandage his wounds.

Han Shizhong has a strong sense of direction and quickly determines where to go.

After traveling for several miles, they encountered a group of defeated soldiers. There were more than a dozen of them, lying in various directions at the foot of the mountain, breathing like bellows in their throats.

After gathering the soldiers and returning to the team, they continued walking eastward and saw smoke.

Han Shizhong rushed over to take a look, and he was so angry that he saw more than a hundred archers gathered at the entrance of the village to roast tender corn and eat it.

These guys were the first to escape. They shot at the rebel reserve team twice and were frightened away as soon as the rebels charged.

The rebel reserves did not pursue them at all, but instead attacked the right wing of the Western Army. These archers were still on the run. He neither stopped to shoot arrows nor raised his sword to attack the enemy from both sides. He just knew how to escape from the battlefield anyway.

Han Shizhong hates it. If the archers don't escape so simply, or if Feng Chong's troops hold on a few more times, he can defeat the rebels like a knife.

Even though only one Yuanyang squad was defeated, those deserters would attack friendly forces.

Moreover, Han Shizhong killed from the side, and the long weapons of the adjacent Yuanyang team would have difficulty turning around quickly due to the interference of the rout. You only need to defeat one team, and you can defeat a large area with points!

It's useless to scold them anymore. Han Shizhong didn't even bother to scold them for starting a fire.

Han Shizhong went to the cornfield, broke off a few tender corn cobs, and took a nap while grilling.

If the thieves saw the smoke and came after him, he would probably just keep running.

"Fortunately, I can run fast. These thieves fight really hard."

"My father is also an archer. He came home after breaking his arm. When I went out, he told me to run away if something went wrong. If you are injured to death, you will not get any pension. Only your life is yours."

"The officers and soldiers will definitely not be able to defeat the bandits and soldiers, so the Zhu bandits will most likely become the emperor."

"Don't talk nonsense. The Emperor of the Song Dynasty is blessed by God. How can ordinary rebellion be possible?"

"Hey, if the emperor is blessed by God, will there be so many disasters in the world?"

"..."

When Han Shizhong heard these comments, he opened his eyes and stared at the corn above the flames in a daze.

You just gave those few military pay, but you still had to withhold it. How can you blame the archers for fleeing?

If the food and salary were paid in full, the daily salary of a medium-sized imperial guard in the Northern Song Dynasty would be more than 130 Wen, plus 2 shi and 5 buckets of food per month.

The Xiang army is divided into three grades, with a monthly salary of 300 to 500 Wen, which translates to more than 10 Wen per day. In addition, monthly food is provided, which is about 2 shi per month, which is 236 catties (modern catties). The fabrics are also used to make clothes when the seasons change.

The treatment of rural soldiers in the Western Army is similar to that of the middle-level army. When you join the army, you can receive a sum of money, basically ten guan.

This was okay in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, but in the past few decades, prices have skyrocketed, but military salaries have not increased!

Especially in the past two years, there is no need to be greedy for deducting food and salary. By converting the monthly food into money at the official price, you can make a big difference. With that little money, the soldiers couldn't buy enough food, so they could only suffer from hunger every day.

It wasn't until Zhao Gou moved south that the court thought of increasing the wages of soldiers, a one-third increase at one time.

After several decades, the military pay increased year by year, and the military salary was four times that of Song Huizong. At that time, the soldiers could finally have enough to eat.

These Xiang soldiers and rural soldiers are actually looking forward to the war, because in the war they can take care of the food, and usually they can only take care of the food when they are training.

But only for food, a fool would fight hard!

There was the sound of footsteps from the west, but some broken soldiers came running to join them after seeing the smoke.

Han Shizhong gathered more than 300 people along the way and returned, first reporting the situation to Wang Yuan.

Wang Yuan whispered: "Feng Chong came back earlier than you and accused you of improper command, which resulted in a huge defeat."

Han Shizhong said angrily: "Did I give the wrong command? If they were willing to listen to the command, if they dared to fight tooth and nail, there would be no need for me to take the risk of taking my headquarters to attack and break the formation!"

Wang Yuan asked: "How did you lose?"

Han Shizhong said: "Find some paper and pen, and I will draw it for you to see."

Wang Yuan asked someone to bring paper and pen, and Han Shizhong quickly drew various weapons.

Then, Han Shizhong drew the Mandarin Duck Formation, pointed at the formation and said: "This formation is suitable for recruits who have been practicing for a long time. As long as they are disciplined and practiced skillfully, recruits who have never seen blood can fight tough battles. The weapons are very long and the coordination is exquisite. It is difficult for the enemy to get close, and they can attack together when they get close. The two armies fought for nearly a quarter of an hour, and the Western Army's soldiers suffered more and more casualties, and the melee weapons rarely encountered the traitor soldiers. The more the Western Army fought, the lower their morale became, and the thieves The morale of the soldiers is getting stronger and stronger. Seeing this situation, I have to take the risk to break the formation myself, otherwise I will lose sooner or later if I fight."

Wang Yuan looked at the formation arrangement carefully and felt that he understood it a little bit, but he didn't understand it deeply without personal experience.

Han Shizhong continued to explain: "This kind of long bamboo is difficult to break through. A small number of Western troops rushed in and were blocked by such forks, and were attacked by spears. The thieves were in a team of twelve, with a captain in the middle commanding them. I also heard that The captain shouted: If the captain dies in battle, the whole team will be killed!"

"Kill the whole team?" Wang Yuan was shocked.

The Western Army has become increasingly bad in recent years. Not to mention during the war, even normal border guards had countless deserters.

Too many deserters caused the court to change the law and not dare to punish the generals. If military law was strictly followed, there would be no generals leading troops on the front line.

The thieves actually kill the whole team when their captain dies in battle?

Han Shizhong guessed: "The thieves' food and salary should not be deducted, otherwise such strict military laws would not be accepted by the soldiers. Only with clear rewards and punishments and sufficient food and salary can the captain die and kill the whole team. Zhu Thief When military law is formulated in this way, it is expected that the captain is the core of the formation. Officers and soldiers cannot learn it. The formation can be practiced according to the same pattern, but at most it can get its shape, but not its spirit. No matter how well you practice in peacetime, you will not be able to get it in battle. It must collapse when it should collapse."

"That's the truth." Wang Yuan sighed.

Taking the drawings drawn by Han Shizhong, Wang Yuan went to talk to Yang Weizhong and asked for help from Han Shizhong.

While looking at the pictures, Yang Weizhong listened to Wang Yuan's explanation, and clarified the matter: "Finding out the true identity of the bandits is also a meritorious service. Although this was a huge defeat, the merits and demerits are offset by the merits."

Yang Weizhong went to Liu Yanqing again with the drawings, and Liu Yanqing also agreed with this explanation.

Liu Yanqing also summoned the military secretary: "Draw this picture more carefully and write a battle report. Let's just say that I have fought hard for a few times here and figured out the formation of the thieves. This formation is extremely mysterious. , was obtained by the Zhu Thief from overseas, and is the lost formation of Li Jing in the Tang Dynasty. Now it is presented to the court, and it can train countless heroes."

This is Liu Yanqing's brilliance, a big defeat can turn into a great success.

Contributing lost formations to the imperial court instantly made the situation bigger.

Of course, this credit belongs to Liu Yanqing, who got it after many tests.

Yang Weizhong said: "Han Shizhong heard clearly that the bandits shouted, 'The captain will die in battle, and the entire team will be killed.' If he heard correctly, then the bandits would be difficult to deal with. Especially when we stormed the stronghold and the bandits took advantage of the danger, it was even more If you fight to the death and refuse to retreat, how can you possibly win?"

"Then...just wait." Liu Yanqing didn't dare to fight.

The three thief strongholds were too dangerous, and now that Han Shizhong had found out the truth, if he tried to attack the stronghold again, he would be doomed.

Liu Yanqing planned to stall for time. No matter how urged the eunuchs and supervisors were, he would still keep his army intact.

If you have soldiers, you have power!

After the other two armies were defeated, Gao Qiu would naturally order a retreat, and then he would have the opportunity to take his soldiers back.

The Liu family's life-saving military techniques were already quite sophisticated during Liu Yanqing's time, and his son Liu Guangshi later practiced them to great perfection.

In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, Liu Guangshi was not only able to run away with his soldiers, but also ran with the soldiers' families. No matter how dangerous the situation is, everyone will have to run away, even the soldiers and their families will move to Jiangnan.

It just caused terrible harm to the friendly forces...

After thinking for a long time, Liu Yanqing ordered: "Consolidate the camp day and night, and don't let the thieves find any loopholes!"

This guy is here to suppress thieves, but his suppression actually turns into defense.

After another half month of confrontation, even Gao Qiu couldn't bear it anymore and sent someone to inquire about the progress of Tangluo Road.

Liu Yanqing just responded: "We have fought many times here, and the bandits have lost troops and generals. We only need a few more battles to win a big victory."

Liu Yanqing pretended, dividing his troops out of camp every day, taking turns to send out a group of troops, standing outside the artillery range to provoke.

It's a provocation from such a long distance, but it looks pretty good.

Yang Zhi stayed at the fort and watched the Western Army's performance with a telescope. In late September, he waited for Ju Ming's messenger.

"Yang Duzhi said that the officers and soldiers of Baoxie Road were defeated and fled. The general has personally led the troops to Shaanxi. The officers and soldiers on your side are likely to retreat. Yang Duzhi decides how to do it. If the officers and soldiers retreat without any According to the rules, we will pursue them with all our strength. If the officers and soldiers retreat steadily, just follow them from a distance, so as not to allow the officers and soldiers to easily return to Shaanxi."

"I understand."

Yang Zhi was overjoyed when he heard that he had won the main battlefield.

The rebel army has been stabilized, and there is no need to worry about it in the future. I am in charge of this all. After this battle, I can be promoted to commander due to my merits.

Although he didn't have any decent stick, it was a great achievement to keep the Tangluo Road intact!

However, the news from Liu Yanqing lagged very far behind. It took more than half a month before he learned that the friendly forces at Baoxie Road were defeated.

He was not disappointed, but was ecstatic that he could finally withdraw with his troops.

And he was ordered to retreat, because Ju Ming was heading towards Shaanxi, and Gao Qiu asked him to return to the army quickly for rescue!

"Don't worry, the food transport team will leave first."

Liu Yanqing took his time and continued to hold on to the camp. He still had time to transport food and grass back.

As for Gao Qiu's side, they are protected by the troops of Liu Xi and Liu Qi, and they should be able to hold on to the city for a long time.

At this time, Liu Yanqing's grain and grass were no longer new wheat, but this year's rice.

There wasn't much left, so the grain transport team took some away and asked the entire army to carry some.

Finally, Liu Yanqing ordered: "After defeating Han Shizhong with a thousand troops, look for opportunities to ambush the bandits and pursuers!"

He finally understood that Han Shizhong was very good at fighting.

If it's available, use it to your death!