Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

After repeated discussions, the three guards in Xi County decided to take the risk to find out the truth first.

There are now more than 8,000 Western troops in the city, and more than 3,000 young men from Xi County have been temporarily recruited. If thieves really attack the city, the old, weak, women and children will also have to help transport supplies, and all the buildings will have to organize and train protective troops.

In addition, hundreds of broken troops who were stopped by them were camped independently on the north bank of the Wei River. Ju Ming's army fled as soon as they arrived.

Zhong Shizhong pointed to the map and said: "There must be a bandit army stationed at Xieguguan Pass. It is the bandit's general food and grass station. Most of the generals and officers of the Zhongjia Army are also imprisoned in Xieguguan Pass. From Xieguguan Pass to Xi County, every day Every two or three miles, beacon towers are set up on the west bank of Xieshui..."

The so-called beacon towers are all riverside alarm towers.

There were no regular soldiers stationed there, only a small number of civilians stationed across the river. If the officers and soldiers come to rob the grain transport team, the civilians will immediately light the beacon fire, then run away, leaving the rest of the rescue work alone.

Zhong Shizhong said: "The bandit camp is set up in a camp. The south side has to meet the grain transport team. If there is an empty camp, it will definitely not be in the south. It will not be in the east, because the east is opposite the city of Yi County. The camp is adjacent to the Wei River to the north and the Weishui River to the west. Along the water, most of the empty camps are in these two directions.”

The camp is a military camp in the shape of "Hui". The large camp is nested in the middle camp, and the middle camp is nested in the small camp. It has several layers from the inside to the outside, and each layer has defensive fortifications.

If the fortification is a wooden fence, it is called a camp.

If the fortification is a low earthen wall, it is called a fort.

It is impossible for the defenders of Xi County to risk going out of the city for a decisive battle. If only one unit is sent to fight, it will be impossible to find out the strength of the rebel army.

Then we can only send a small group of troops to raid, and it is best to kill them at night.

Listening to the expert's analysis, Liu Qi felt more and more deceitful: "The layout of the bandit camp is so easy to understand, why did the bandits deliberately send Magistrate Yang back to report the news? Isn't it good to continue to hide it? We have to let us know in advance. The thieves and bandits divided their forces."

Liu Xi said: "Even if the west and north sides of the bandits' camp are empty, there must be an ambush tonight. The bandits intend to lure us to attack!"

"It's very possible." Master Zhong nodded.

Ju Ming's troops were indeed empty, but the defenders did not have many soldiers, and they did not dare to pull them all out of the city to fight.

The current situation is that four thousand rebel troops are stationed at Luogu Pass, blocking Liu Yanqing's army.

One thousand rebels and four thousand civilians were stationed at Xieguguan to guard the grain and grass and the generals of the Zhongjia Army. They were also responsible for transporting grain to Ju Ming.

Zhang Bor, with 18,000 rebels and 3,000 civilians, has occupied Guo County.

Zhu Ming led more than 6,000 rebels (of which 3,000 were recruits who had only been trained for half a year) and more than 3,000 civilians, and camped at the intersection of the Wei River and the Xie River.

The total strength of the rebel army originally numbered 30,000. However, after a surprise attack on Dashan Pass and an ambush, there are now more than 28,000 left. There are more than 10,000 civilians on the front line, and there are even more civilians transporting grain on Baoxie Road.

"The thieves are shooting books into the city!"

The three of them had not decided on the day when they would send out troops to test the truth, so they immediately looked outside the city after hearing the news.

But I saw a dozen rebel crossbowmen, holding the captured divine arm bows, shooting outside the moat and then leaving.

Zhong Shizhong said: "Don't open and read the letters of thieves and bandits. If you find them, burn them immediately."

"I'm afraid it's not easy to search." Liu Xi said.

The divine arm bow had an extremely long range, and the arrows, carrying the letter, landed directly in the residential areas of the city.

You don't need to think about it to know what it says. It's just that the rebels don't kill indiscriminately, General Zhu loves the people, Guoxian County and Luogu Pass have been captured by the rebels, etc.

After the common people picked it up, the literate people must open it and read it, and panic and war weariness quickly spread in the city.

Zhong Shizhong said: "We ordered all the houses to protect the armor and strictly prohibit the people from going out. Even if they go out to buy things, they must ask the chief of the armor for instructions. Who dares to secretly hide or spread the letters of the bandits will be considered guilty of collaborating with the thieves!"

How can it be forbidden?

In the afternoon of that day, news of the fall of Guoxian County and Luogu Pass spread in some streets and alleys, and even reached the ears of the defenders.

This kind of information spreads the fastest!

The three guard generals did not care much and rewarded five hundred strong men. They carried small boats around the upper reaches of the Wei River during the day and went down the river at night to attack the northwest side of the rebel camp.

The analysis among the seed masters was correct. It was indeed an empty camp.

Liu Qi's guess was correct. There was indeed an ambush there, just to lure the Western Army to fight.

As soon as the five hundred warriors landed, they were discovered by a sentry. The sharp whistle broke the tranquility of the night. The rebels who had been lying in wait for a long time immediately killed them.

Five hundred warriors were defeated and only about a hundred escaped.

The next day, Ju Ming was too lazy to pretend.

Using the captured grain transport ships, they swaggered to transport grain from Xieguguan, entered the Wei River through Xieshui, and transported it to Zhang Boring's army in Guo County.

(Xiegu Pass has the largest official shipyard in the northwest. It was already declining. Last year, a large number of craftsmen were mobilized to build ships, mainly to transport grain from Guanzhong. Ju Ming occupied Xieguguan and the shipyard by the way, and captured many ships that had been built. or a ship nearing completion.)

Looking at those grain transport ships, any fool would know that the main force of the rebel army is in Guoxian County.

The only doubt is how many thieves are left in front of me?

"Da da da da..."

Several fast horses came from the west, which were messengers sent by Yaogu's army.

In order to deliver the military information, he came far away from Guoxian County and sent several people to deliver the message at the same time.

After reading the information, Liu Xi handed it to the commander and said: "Yaogu's army has rushed back to Dashanguan at night. Baoji City is also in the hands of the Western Army, but it is blocked by the bandits in Guo County and cannot come to rescue Yi County. In Guo County Or in Baoji, there may be a big battle between Yao Gu and the main force of thieves."

The plan formulated by Zhu Ming and Zhang Bor was not to confront Yao Gu head-on.

The established strategy is as follows: capture Guoxian County as quickly as possible. If Baoji's defenses are empty, capture Baoji immediately. If Baoji is tightly defended, then defend Guo County to stop Yao Gu's army and prevent it from joining the Western Army in Xi County. At the same time, the main force of the rebel army does not need to be gathered in Guoxian County, but can be divided into other areas.

For example, a surprise attack on Fengxiang Mansion!

For example, they could kill someone and send an elite force to march back to Xi County day and night.

Zhang Bor did both of these things at the same time. He divided six thousand troops to attack Fengxiang Mansion, and divided three thousand troops to return to support Ju Ming's camp. As for Zhang Bor himself, he led nine thousand rebels and several thousand civilians to defend the city against Yao Gu's more than 20,000 troops.

The real shortage of troops is actually the Western Army.

More than 30,000 people were trapped in Luogu Pass, and more than 20,000 people were trapped in Guoxian County. Although the total strength of the troops on various battlefields was more than twice that of the rebels, it was difficult to exert a sufficient effect.

…

Fengxiang Mansion is less than forty miles away from Guoxian County, and it's a flat river.

Taking advantage of the time when Yaogu's army was still leaving the Pass and had not yet returned to Baoji, six thousand rebels set out at night and headed straight for Fengxiang under the stars.

Without heavy armor, he could gallop forty miles in one night!

The generals responsible for leading the troops were all little-known figures.

One is Zhong Mai, a prodigal from Xixiang County, whose family owns a food shop. He once followed Ju Ming to fight Heifeng Village, and helped Zhang Guangdao and Bai Sheng recruit immigrants to Daming Village. His home almost became the immigration registration point in Xixiang County.

One is named Fangtian, who fled the mountains with his family in Daming Village.

Every time they marched a certain distance at night, the six thousand soldiers would stop. The fast runner can rest for a while, and the slow runner can catch up with the large group.

During the rest period, Zhong Mai and Fang Tian would personally boost morale: "As long as we arrive at Fengxiang Mansion, regardless of victory or defeat, each person will be rewarded with an acre of land. After capturing the city, each person will be rewarded with another acre of land. Officers at all levels will be rewarded with an additional acre of land." Those who have made great contributions will be rewarded heavily! If someone dies in battle, they will be rewarded to his family!"

Do the Zhu family and his son have so many fields to reward them?

Yes, there are deserted fields all over Beijing South Road!

One after another, the rebels recited this passage repeatedly, not only to tell their colleagues around them, but also to give themselves hope and strength.

After resting for a few minutes, I seemed to feel energetic again, so I continued jogging while carrying the bamboo flying ladder.

While running, I was still thinking silently in my mind: "When you get to Fengxiang, you will conquer an acre of land in Fengxiang. If you have made great achievements, you will still have land!"

Since the rebel army captured Guoxian County, Gao Qiu and his son recruited young men to defend the city in Fengxiang Mansion, and also demolished private houses to make defensive equipment.

There were officers and soldiers on the east side of Guo County, and there were also officers and soldiers on the west side. Gao Qiu was not too worried about the rebels actually coming.

The entire city is under martial law and the city gates are not opened during the day.

All the money Gao Qiu and Li Xun have caught has been transported away, and they can escape at any time.

At dawn, the young man responsible for guarding the city was taking a nap.

Gao Qiu also had some personal soldiers, and the eunuch Li Xun also had dozens of forbidden troops to protect him.

In order to show his determination to defend the city, Gao Qiu even moved to the top of the city tower and pretended to eat the same food as the young defenders.

The bridge across the moat had been demolished, and the rebels rushed here and swam across the river holding bamboo flying ladders.

The sound of water splashing from time to time did not alarm the young men guarding the city.

Everyone feels that there is a large army on the front line, forming a pincer attack on the rebels from east to west, and it is impossible for the rebels to kill them. How could a young man recruited temporarily be so vigilant?

The southern city wall of Fengxiang Prefecture was built one after another with flying ladders, while another group of rebels went around the eastern city wall.

The city wall is quite high, but the flying ladder is a little short.

Zhong Mai held the horizontal knife in his mouth, grabbed the wall with both hands, and climbed up on the soldier's shoulders.

He rolled over and rolled into the city wall, making some noise, which immediately woke up the two young men who were taking a nap.

"kill!"

Before the two young men could stand up, Zhong Mai roared and brandished his sword.

The soldiers who were still climbing the flying ladder also shouted after them.

In an instant, all the young men guarding the city wall woke up and subconsciously ran away towards the horse path leading to the city.

Gao Qiu also had two thousand personal soldiers beside him, and they were the forbidden troops he brought from Tokyo. Have a full set of foot armor!

I was too tired to sleep in my armor, so I took it off and put it next to me.

In the darkness, there were shouts of killing and cries of running for life everywhere.

Even if Gao Qiu's skills are not clear, they are all fabricated by "Water Margin". Anyway, he has a very high level of calligraphy and has practiced gun and stick for a long time. He was still very good at shooting when he was young.

"Lieutenant, leave quickly!"

The soldiers did not care about the infantry, and dragged Gao Qiu with them and retreated into the city.

Gao Qiu was so frightened that he even forgot that he had two sons. Under the escort of his own soldiers, he fled to the north where there was no cry of killing.

The two thousand heavily armored imperial troops simply fled without even asking for human armor.

Gao Qiu ran out of the north gate without stopping for a moment. When he was far away, he turned to the southeast and headed straight for Qishan County.

Lieutenant Gao was unable to fight with the Forbidden Army soldiers, but his escape was faster than the rebels' surprise attack. They arrived at Qishan at noon, then took a boat through Fufeng, Wugong (this city will not be located in later generations), Yuxi, and went straight to Chang'an!

When boarding the ship at Qishan, he did not forget to send someone to pass the news to Xi County, asking Zhong Shizhong, Liu Xi, and Liu Qi to continue to hold on. Gao Qiu claimed that he was going to Guanzhong to recruit troops.