Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 461 Conservative to the extreme

On the banks of the Ru River, boatman Song Erlang is resting.

He carefully took out a piece of dry and hard coarse-grain pancake, wolfed down half of it, and finally put it away reluctantly.

The remaining half has to be kept, and when you are really hungry, take it out and top it off.

"This barley grows well." Wang San walked over, stared at Song Er's half of the cake, and licked his lips.

Song Er hid the cakes more tightly, and said: "Everyone in this village can take care of the crops, not only in this area, but also in the future."

"Marshal Zhang is good at farming." Wang San sat down on the bow of the boat resentfully, looked at the master who was busy unloading and unloading goods on the pier, and said, "It's just that the battle is not good."

Song Er smiled, but it was a bit forced.

He has three sons, the eldest son runs the boat, and should still be in Caizhou at this time; the second son was a state soldier in Ruzhou, and has been taken away by Ge Congzhou;

There are only more than [-] households in Ruzhou, and if one household is expropriated for one person, there will be more than [-] masters, which is not enough.Ge Congzhou, Yang Shihou and others are really frenzied. They conscripted so many dings. After a while, the autumn harvest will be harvested. Can they be released?
"If you don't farm again, it's only a farm shepherd!" Song Er became angrier as he thought about it, and angrily said, knocking on the boat gang.

There was more than one person who scolded Zhang Quanyi as Tian Shefu, and the most famous one should be his brother Li Hanzhi who has always been an ally.

Wang San listened and looked around, but luckily no one noticed.

Ruzhou is a subordinate state of the Youguo Army, and it is Zhang Quanyi's territory, so don't talk nonsense.

This person persuaded Nong Sang to be a good player, but he was not very broad-minded. Although it was unlikely that he would pay attention to such small people as them, he was not sure.

"I just went around the pier. There is a military academy in Ruzhou State Army in my village. According to him, the Henan government has been defeated several times in just a few days, and lost hundreds of miles of land." Wang San said Looking at the cake Song Er hid in his arms, he said mysteriously.

"Nonsense!" Song Er trembled in his heart, and said, "It's already past Luoyang for a few hundred miles, even if you lose a hundred miles, it will be a disaster."

Wang San was tongue-tied, he didn't know where Luoyang was, but he still argued strongly: "My fellow villager said that some soldiers had already fled to Yongning, and the prefecture and county sent people to take them in, deliberately suppressing the news, for fear of shaking Cai Bing and Zhongwu Bing. morale."

Wang San didn't know where Luoyang was, and Yongning only knew a general direction, but Song Er knew that he had traveled to too many places.If it was nonsense to say that "throwing the land for hundreds of miles" just now, he would be skeptical of what he said.

If there are rout soldiers running to Yongning, it means that Xiaoshan has been lost!

The narrow road is dangerous, once it is cut off, the hundreds of miles of land in Shanxi will be gone.

I heard from the elders in the family that in the early years, the land actually belonged to Shanzhou.The management office in Xiashi County was always there, but later it was moved to another place, and this area belonged to Yongning and Mianchi counties in Henan Province.

"Wang San, don't spread these rumors in the future, it will cause trouble to the upper body." Song Er took out the half cake from his bosom, handed it to Wang San, and said, "But you can talk to me in private, I'm serious, It will not be spread indiscriminately."

Wang San's eyes lit up, he took the cake, chewed it, and began to eat it, he said vaguely: "Last summer, the bandits and cavalry came to Ruzhou, so it can be seen that the north side is full of sieves. Zhang Quanyi really can't do it. In this world, the fist is not hard." , nothing works!"

Song Er sneered in his heart.

How many soldiers does Zhang Quanyi have?Henan Prefecture and Ruzhou have been relatively stable in the past few years, and they seem to be in a peaceful scene, but they all know that there are not many people in the countryside, and they are not comparable to Bian, Song, Hua, Bo, and Ying Zhuzhous.

With so few people, how many soldiers can they support?

This will be fighting with the Xia bandits. I am afraid that there are not many soldiers from the Henan government, and most of them are foreign visitors.

Since they couldn't beat Xia Bandit, the Duke of Dongping might not be able to beat Xia Bandit either.

Henan, troublesome from now on!

A group of sergeants came up the post road by the Rushui River.

Song Er and Wang San lowered their heads, not daring to look more.

The warriors these days may run over and ask you what you are looking at just because you have looked at them a few more times.If you are in a bad mood, it is light to be beaten hard.

"It's going to be a big battle..." Wang San's body trembled slightly, and he spoke nonsense in a low voice.

Song Er grabbed his arm, made him steady, and said: "War is inevitable, the most important thing is to live. If the Xia bandits win and the army comes, don't they have to ask people to plant the land for them and give them Sailing? Are you afraid? Even Qin Zongquan did not kill everyone."

Wang San squeezed out a smile, and said: "That's right, the big deal is to surrender. But I heard people say that the Xia bandits came from afar, and the army was short of food. Last year, they captured more than [-] people in Henan Province and transported them all to Shaanxi. In the mountains, they were killed and made into jerky, just like Qin Zongquan and Sun Ru. If this is really the way to die, then you have to fight Xia Bandit!"

"Who did you hear that from?" Song Eryi frowned and asked.

"Many people say that. Even some scholars in the village say that Xia Bandit is 'utterly devoid of conscience'. Isn't it true?"

Song Er was also a little uncertain.

Maybe it's true, otherwise why did those people disappear?No news at all.

There was a burst of crying and shouting in the distance.

Song and Wang looked for their reputation, and then turned their heads away, poor man!

With the war, the business road was interrupted.

Many businessmen who originally planned to go to Chang'an through Xiaohangu Road and Tongguan stayed in Ruzhou.As for why they didn't go to Lantian Wuguan, that's a good question, but it's impossible for the two of them to know, and even people like Song Er, who "traveled all over the world and had a lot of experience", didn't know why the merchants sharpened their heads and went to Shaanxi. Guo and Wang San didn't know the existence of Shangshan Road at all.

Could it be that there is also a war over there?Or not let go?
The merchant's cries and pleadings had no effect. His guards held knives and bows, but under the "surroundings" of many Cai soldiers, they were all too honest and dared not say a word of nonsense.

Looting the caravan!Song Er sighed, bad luck for you!

But Song Er soon became surprised, because as soon as he galloped over, he swung his whip and beat him down.Cai Bing, who had plundered the goods of the merchant traveler, was furious, and was about to pull the boy off his horse, but saw a large group of soldiers behind him, and his hands froze. .

"That's General Xie Yanzhang Xie, I've seen him from afar." Wang San said in a low voice, "Most of the people who were beaten were members of the Zhongwu Army. Those who came here recently were all Sergeants Chen, Xu, and Master Yang."

"You know a lot." Song Er glanced at him.

Xie Yanzhang is still somewhat famous in Chen, Xu, Ru, and Cai. One is because he is brave, riding and shooting, but the most important thing is that he is modest and polite, respects filial piety and keeps promises. Wearing Confucian clothes and mixing with scholars is simply a different kind among martial arts.

But that's the reputation.

Xie Yanzhang hadn't grown up to the point where he led cavalry to challenge in front of the battle, and the soldiers and horses from Hedong didn't dare to call him by his name.

"When Yanzhang led the cavalry army to challenge him, the Jin people might hope that our army will march and purge them, so they said: 'The Taifu of the two capitals must be here.' Don't dare to call him by name, because the enemy is afraid of it."

Huaiyi has talents!

"Xie Yanzhang's style, if he hadn't had his adoptive father Ge Congzhou as a backer, he would have killed people already. He shouldn't be a martial artist." Wang Sandao.

"Stop talking, it's time to unload the cargo!" Song Er said irritably.

The army marched north, and the war broke out again. Is it possible for my son to return safely?

If he could work under General Xie, his situation might be better.

Alas, it's rare to meet a martial artist who doesn't harm the people to succeed, loves the people, and is relatively good at fighting, so don't die.

……

Hu Zhen couldn't sit still in Xin'an County.

Liu Kangyi was defeated, and Li Qianqiu was also besieged in Qianhaozhai, and his life and death were unknown.It's only been a few days, how did the situation get so bad?
How could he not understand, tens of thousands of people!Even if it was [-] pigs, it wouldn't be so ignorant, right?

Last year, Liu Han led [-] Baosheng troops to the west for reinforcements, but Xia General Zhe Siyu sifted the dust into dust. The dust took advantage of the wind, the livestock were disturbed, and the soldiers could not breathe through their mouths and noses, resulting in a great defeat.

In addition to Feng Ba and others, tens of thousands of people were lost, especially the loss of Baosheng Army is the most heartbreaking.

The victorious troops, the victorious divisions that defeated the towns of Tianping, Taining, Wuning, Weibo, etc., were unable to use all their strength when they encountered the Xia bandits.It is very speechless to always be defeated without showing your true strength.

"Send an order to Yang Yanhong that Mianchi County and Shuangqiao Village are each other's horns, which is very important. The city village has enough food and grass, and complete equipment. As long as they don't make mistakes, the Xia bandits will have to attack hard. How much blood do they have to shed?" Hu Zhen Standing up suddenly, all the staff and generals in the room turned their attention to him.

Mianchi County is on the north bank of Gushui, [-] steps away from the river, as a road.If the Xia bandits wanted to go east, they would not be able to bypass this city, unless they gave up their supplies and rushed forward with light troops, but that would lose at least half of their combat effectiveness.

"The ministries are not allowed to attack without authorization, and guard the city. Even if one replaces three of them, the Xia bandits can't afford it." Hu Zhen continued: "Send an order to Dai Siyuan, and station them in Xiashibao, Baichaolei, and Quemen. On the front line, respond at any time."

These three locations are all along the valley water.

Gushui is the only place on the northern road that can provide drinking water and woodcutters for the army, and it is also close to the big post road. It is the only way to pass.

It’s okay not to go here, but you have to bear the price of having no water to drink, no firewood to use, and you have to dig mountains to pave the road yourself.

Valley water running from east to west runs through these three locations. "The two sides of the strait face each other and compete for heights, and the valleys and waters are connected." It is also said that "the two mountains on the left and right stand between each other, more than a hundred steps away from each other, and the avenue emerges from it, so it is the key to the military road."

There is no detour, only a strong attack, unless you don't take this route.

I have already lost the danger of Xiaoshan, it doesn't matter, I still have the solid barriers of Mianchi and Shuangqiao.

It doesn't matter if you lose here, I still have three ghost gates: Xiashibao, Quemen, and Baichaolei.

Even losing these three places is not fatal, I still have the strong city of Xin'an County.

If Xin'an County is lost again, I still have the natural danger of Badou Mountain.

Badou Mountain lost again, uh, arrived in Luoyang.

Xia Bandit, prepare to lose [-] lives along the way, let you eat it.

"Give Huo Cun an order to lead the Baosheng Army to Tuhaozhai, and cooperate with the army from Ruzhou to attack Xiaozhai. If it fails, then retreat, there is no need to force it." Hu Zhen finally issued another order.

The staff members looked at each other in blank dismay, this is extremely conservative!

Dai Siyuan's mule army quickly reinforced the forts on the inside, and Huo Cun's army could also rush to help the cities.

As long as he guards well and doesn't move blindly, the thief Xia will indeed suffer a great loss.

Siege of cities and villages, death and injury are inevitable, and it is still huge, can they afford the price?

The cost of logistics and transportation is also high. Even if the military rations and equipment are transported to Shanzhou by ship, and then transferred by land, the mountain road of more than [-] miles will suffer a lot.However, the Bian army can transport grain by water, and the cost is extremely low.

But in this way, isn't it too weak?

Only Hu Zhen dared to issue this order!

(End of this chapter)