Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 479
"The summer thief is coming!" Yiqi hurried back to the west of Zaoyang County, Suizhou, shouting.

"What the hell is that!" Zhao Cen scolded, then got off his horse, stood on the left side of the road, and silently greeted him.

He specially rushed to Zaoyang from Lisuosui County, and met Xia Jun who was bound for Suizhou in the westernmost county of his jurisdiction.

Many state and county officials and a thousand state soldiers followed.

In the Battle of Xiaojiangkou, the main force of Suizhou was almost wiped out, but now there are no soldiers in the state, and they cannot resist, so it is better to surrender and protect the environment and the people.

The accompanying generals were somewhat uneasy.

There are not a few martial artists in this era who turn their faces and be ruthless.After seizing the city, what if they were all killed?

They are also outsiders, with no roots or roots in the local area.

Although these years of marriage with local big clans have gained some support, but after all, it has only been five years, and the pattern of interests has not yet been fully stabilized, and the rule is still somewhat weak after all.

There was a rhythmic sound of hoofbeats in the distance.

Everyone looked solemn, straightened their robes, and waited quietly.

The first thing to appear on the eyelids is a group of silver cavalry.

There were about a hundred riders, all wearing heavy armor, which caused a commotion without accident.

The reputation of the iron kite has already gained fame in Shannan Dongdao, and many people regard it as a fierce god.

After this battle, I believe that military leaders will pay more and more attention to the role of armored cavalry and follow suit.

If it is turned into an armored cavalry arms race during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it would be really funny.

Renaissance!
"The scorching sun is scorching hot, and it is a sin to labor Zhaodu for a long time." Pei Yuan, the appeasement envoy of Shannan Road, dismounted from his horse and walked towards Zhao Cen.

He approached him, held his arm, and said: "Before I came, the king of Lingwu County gave me the right to recruit, and said that those who surrendered their land would be meritorious and innocent. Zhao Dutou, you really have made great achievements, so don't worry about it." .”

Zhao Cen was relieved, but he still couldn't help asking: "Father is still in Xiaojiangkou, I don't know when he will return home."

Pei Yuan was a little surprised. Zhao Kuanglin and Zhao Cen's father and son seemed to be really kind and filial, which made him feel more fond of Zhao Cen.

"The Zun's mansion is in Xiaojiangkou, drinking tea and playing chess all day long, so uncomfortable, Zhao Dutou needn't worry." Pei Yuan laughed.

Zhao Cen was helpless.

Since ancient times, nephews and brothers have been hostages, but I never thought that my father would be a hostage.

"Zheshuai and Zunfu hit it off right away. The two narrated the battles when they were young. They got along very well. They are close friends." Seeing his frowning face, Pei Yuan couldn't help comforting him, and then looked at the officials of Suizhou , smiled and said: "Suizhou talents, Zhao Dutou won't introduce them?"

Zhao Cen calmed down and introduced Pei Yuan one by one.

The armored cavalry team also caught up and stopped more than a hundred steps away.It was silent, and the troops were pruned. It looked like a strong team that could conquer battles.

After introducing the Suizhou officials, Zhao Cen couldn't help but look back.

Immediately the knight was wearing a veil, leaving only the orifice outside, so his expression could not be seen clearly.But judging by their purge appearance, the Battle of Xiaojiangkou cast a huge shadow on the leading soldiers of the Loyalty Army.

"I don't know this army..." Zhao Cen was a warrior after all, so he was really curious and couldn't help asking Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan's heart flashed, and he immediately found a follower, whispered a few words, and the follower immediately ran back.

Soon, more than ten armored cavalry left the team and came at a slow pace.

The Suizhou officials were a little panicked, and the timid ones even took a step back.

Zhao Cen stood still.

He took off the curtain first and said: "Zhao Dutou, I heard that you want to see me?"

"But the leopard riders are all generals?" Zhao Cen saluted.

"Zhe Congyun has resigned. I am Wang Chong." Wang Chong corrected Zhao Cen's outdated information.

"Since the battle of Shancheng in the Wei and Song Dynasties, although armored cavalry is still in full swing, tiger-spotted cavalry has gradually begun to emerge." Zhao Cen looked at the iron kite in the distance and said: "The Kingdom has been in power for 200 years, and it has become a well-organized cavalry. Armored cavalry are hard to find, but the king of Lingwu County rebuilt this army, and the towns may follow suit and form one after another."

History, may be such a continuous cycle.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, they used armored cavalry to fight each other, and they were majestic and majestic on the battlefield.Both the north and the south maintain a large number of armored cavalry as the final arms.

But later, with the increasing improvement of infantry equipment and tactics on both sides, armored cavalry suffered heavy casualties when attacking heavy infantry, and they could not win at all.The cavalry who rushed into the formation were hooked by the hook and sickle gun to the horse's leg, greeted by the long-handled ax and other blunt weapons above, and were beaten dizzy-for details, refer to the time when Jin Wushu was violently beaten by Yue Fei. There are too many. By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, it is estimated that the sergeants did not have much experience in dealing with armored cavalry.

The armored cavalry was repeatedly frustrated in the battle, causing both sides to continuously reduce the weight of the armored cavalry to improve its mobility, and finally slowly disappeared on the battlefield.

In the Sui generation, adhering to the legacy of the Northern Dynasties, the whole country only retained [-] armored cavalry, and the number was greatly reduced.

There are even fewer dynasties, and up to now, they have almost disappeared.

However, with the gradual dissipation of the legacy of the brave infantry who chopped off horse legs and smashed armored cavalry in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the gradual loss of experience, it may be time for the revival of armored cavalry.

But when everyone gets used to it, it is estimated that it will disappear again.After all, the infantry of the Guochao was equipped with hooked sickle guns and long-handled axes as standard. What do these two weapons that have been passed down from the Northern Dynasty all the way do, you can understand after a little thought.

Pei Yuan listened quietly at the side, and then interjected: "I'll talk about things on the battlefield later, why don't I go to the city first, and I have something important to discuss with Zhao Dutou."

"Alright." Zhao Cen took one last look at Tie Yaozi, and then led the crowd into Zaoyang County.

"Zhao Dutou, Tangzhou Inspector Zhao Fan, Dengzhou Inspector Zhao Fan (qiú), may it be said that he is coming to surrender?" After the two sat down, they dismissed the idlers and began to discuss secretly.

"Zhao Fan is the adopted son of my uncle (Zhao Dejiao). He was originally a beggar, but he was taken in by my uncle. He passed on martial arts and entrusted him with important tasks. The land of Tang and Deng is very important in Xiangzhen, and people who are close to him can't hold it. Uncle When Weng was alive, Uncle Kuang Ning served as governor of Tangzhou and Marquis of Mabu in Qizhou. Uncle passed away, uncle succeeded, and Tangzhou soldiers and horses were handed over to Zhao Fan. This man will not surrender, even if he himself Surrender, the subordinates may not surrender, so don't waste your efforts." Zhao Cen said bluntly.

"Zhao Dutou is saying that even if Zhao Fan wants to surrender, he might be blocked by Tangzhou soldiers, so he dare not surrender?" Pei Yuan asked in surprise.

Zhao Cen nodded and said, "Dengzhou Zhao Yan is about the same. His military strength is not damaged, even if he is afraid in his heart, most of them are unwilling to surrender. Xia Jun is determined and good at fighting. It is better to start with easy and then difficult. Yingzhou is empty, but once The drum came down. Fangzhou was hanging alone, saying that it would not be difficult to surrender. Now the two states are in hand. Xiangzhou is an important place, and I don’t know what to do. Mr. Pei may have a plan in his heart, and I will listen."

"I'm asking Zhao Dutou to take a closer look." Pei Yuan laughed.

To formulate a war strategy, insiders must be used as a reference, otherwise, if the medicine is not right, why not suffer?
"A certain man wanted to make a statement, so he raised a large army to surround Xiangyang." Pei Yuan said.

Zhao Cen frowned in thought.

Xiangyang Xiongcheng, before the expedition, Zhao Kuangming led 9000 yamen troops to stay behind, and now thousands of them have fled back. There are a total of 5000 yamen soldiers, a few prefectural and county soldiers, and Tutuan villagers. It is no problem to gather [-] people Down.

Moreover, there is sufficient food and grass, the city defense is complete, and there is no shortage of equipment. As long as Zhao Kuangning doesn't run away, the attack cannot be defeated.

Can Zhao Kuangning run away?Unlikely.

In the east, Yang Xingmi had just defeated Sun Ru by chance, and his strength was just that, so it seemed that he was not worth going to.

Du Hong, the Wuchang Army, has a mediocre relationship, and most of them have been loyal to him for a long time, so it is not suitable for him to defect.

Li Kan in Jiangling has a bad relationship, let alone defect.

Then only Zhu Quanzhong is left, dare to defect?That might as well be surrendering Shao Shude.

"Or is it a plan to promote surrender?" Zhao Cen tentatively asked.

"Of course, Zhao Dutou really has great wisdom." Pei Yuan said with a smile: "When a certain person went south, the king of Lingwu County gave me full power. Now that he wants to recruit Zhao Kuangning, maybe Zhao Dutou will have to make a trip to make an excuse. guest."

"How to recruit and surrender?" Zhao Cen asked.

At this juncture, being a lobbyist is risky.Even my own family members might have been chopped off with a knife, but the matter has come to this, what can I do?
"Shannan Dongdao originally had eight prefectures, Jun and Fang prefectures have been transferred to the Zhaoxin Army. Li Yanling served as Jiedu envoy, and received Jin, Shang, Jun, and Fang prefectures to govern Jinzhou. Tang and Deng may be re-established as Jiedu envoys , led Tang, Deng, and Sui prefectures, and governed Tang prefecture. The Loyalty Army is still retained, leading the thirteen counties of Xiang, Ying, and Fu prefectures, and governing Xiang prefecture." Pei Yuan said.

Tang and Deng Suidu envoys, Guochao once appeared.When the Huaixi rebel generals were crusaded, Li Yan held this position.

In Fuzhou, there are three counties of Mianyang, Jingling and Jianli, with a population of tens of thousands, which are currently occupied by Du Hong in Ezhou.

"The land of eight states has been torn apart." Zhao Cen said with a wry smile.

If this happens, the Zhongyi Army has Jiangling Li Kan on the left, who has a bad relationship, and Du Hong, Ezhou, who has a bad relationship on the right.

Li Kan actually controls the five prefectures of Kuixia, plus one Jiangling Mansion. Du Hong owns the six prefectures of Hubei, Yue, Qi, Huang, An, and Shen, and Xiangyang only has three prefectures. Can't rely on the two towns of Tang, Deng and Zhaoxin?
Moreover, it is not easy to send troops to attack the three counties of Fuzhou.

"Pei Shijun is trying to take advantage of the big victory and persuade Uncle Kuang Ning to exchange the land of Tang and Deng for Xiangyang. It's a trick out of nothing." Zhao Cen cupped his hands to express his admiration, and then said: "Tangzhou Zhao Fan's troops were greatly damaged, and the people in the state were unstable. If he was given the post of governor of Yingzhou, he might be willing to hand over the seven counties of Tangzhou. But how to arrange for Zhao Yan in Dengzhou? Fuzhou is still in Du Hong's hands. If you need to send troops I'm afraid I don't want to attack. This matter needs to be cut quickly, if it is delayed for a long time, it will not be so easy for Zhu Quanzhong to intervene. The north of Dengzhou is Ruzhou, and the Bian army can arrive in a short time."

Cutting the mess quickly is indeed the most important thing now.

It cannot be delayed, as it will cause changes and complications, and greatly reduce the results of this battle.

Tang and Deng Zhou, if forced by the situation to surrender Zhu Quanzhong, the fight would be in vain, or even worse than no fight.

There is still a shortage of troops!If there are [-] to [-] soldiers and horses who can surround Xiangyang, attack Tang and Deng, and stop Zhu Quanzhong all the way, why bother!
Bianzhou soldiers and horses, [-] are in Puzhou, [-] are in Suzhou, there are estimated to be [-] in Henan Province, and [-] in Ruzhou.There are still mobile troops, and like the Shuofang Army, these are field troops.Marshal Shao has state soldiers and Fan soldiers, and Zhu Quanzhong also has state soldiers, county and town soldiers, and Tutuan villagers, so he can still draw a lot of troops.

If Tang Deng is pushed to Zhu Quanzhong's side, he will have an extra 2 to [-] horses out of thin air, and he has a dangerous walled city and can supply supplies on the spot, which is almost a local battle. This is something that needs to be avoided as much as possible.

"The army led by Zhe Shuai is about to come to Xiangyang, and Zhao Dutou is invited to go to the city to persuade Zhao Kuangning. Don't worry, the position of governor of Suizhou is still your father's. Even if Zhe Shuai takes the post of Tang Deng Sui Jiedu in the future, he will not move." Pei Yuan said.

"Forget it, whether it succeeds or not, let's go." Zhao Cen also risked it, Xu suddenly thought of something, and said in a low voice: "The four counties of Suizhou, only the king of Lingwu County obeys."

"Zhao Dutou really has great wisdom, and deserves to be rich." Pei Yuan praised.

(End of this chapter)