Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Standing on the hillside, Shi Congyun could see clearly the situation under Xingzhou city in the distance, and the people around him were also watching the battle situation in the distance intently.

The two sides were deadlocked for a while, and it seemed that the persuasion was ineffective. The people in the army returned to the big formation, the flags in the rear were waved, the drums were thundering, and the fight began...

At this time, it was noon.

The battle situation below was not unexpected. When the army moved, the battlefield was full of dust and dust. As soon as the two sides came into contact, Zhou Jun's central army showed "weakness" and moved much slower than the two wings. The soldiers on both sides were extremely fierce. Advance forward like a sharp knife.

Because the most elite soldiers of the Yanyue formation are placed on the two wings.

Outside the city of Xingzhou, on the mile-long battle line, the Shu army in the middle didn't know the situation on the two wings, nor did they have rich experience in warfare. If you win, move on.

Little did they know that the central army of the Zhou army was not moving, and the elite of the two wings were piercing through their two wings.

Almost half an hour after the battle, the general of the Shu Kingdom saw the way and even sent reinforcements to save the two wings, but it was too late.

Zhou Jun's cavalry on the two wings quickly attacked, and the Shu army of about a thousand who came to support from the rear was rushed to pieces, fled in all directions, and then cooperated with the two wings to completely surround the middle army of the Shu army.

More than half an hour later, the two wings of the Shu army were either defeated and killed, or they broke up and ran into the city, throwing away their helmets and armor, and the banner soldiers were thrown all over the place. outside.

After a while, with the peripheral oppression and strangulation, after hundreds of people died, the two or three thousand Shu soldiers in the encirclement understood the situation, and began to kneel down and surrender, and never fought again.

The soldiers of the Shu army in the rear retreated into the city one after another, closing the city gates and dared not come out again. The Zhou army quickly flattened the many trenches outside the city to resist horses, deer villages, etc., and pushed down the city.

The battle lasted almost an hour from the beginning to the end, which was very different from the scene where tens of thousands of people fought fiercely for a whole day like the Liao army, and it was also different from the siege battle fought with Liu Renshan in Huainan for more than a year.

The Shu army is too inexperienced. Their central army didn't know the danger of going deep alone, so they thought they had a chance of winning and they took advantage of it; Well, that's not giving the Chinese army their backs to the enemy and sending them to die.

Everyone was also a little surprised, but when they came back to their senses, they congratulated him excitedly.

It took Wang Quanbin half an hour to knock on the north gate of the Kingdom of Shu.

Shi Congyun laughed happily, and understood why it took only 66 days for the Northern Song Dynasty to destroy Shu. They really didn't know how to fight, and the war experience was an irreparable gap.

Immediately called the soldiers to reward Wang Quanbing, and at the same time ordered, "I think the Shu army in the city will either run away tonight, or surrender. After taking it, let Pan Mei know about Xingzhou affairs, be responsible for appeasing the people, and arrange for the troops to surrender."

Chapter 272, Hanzhong Gateway

The city wall of Xingzhou is not high, especially the outer wall of the eastern section is less than one zhang. It is surrounded by mountains, the roads are narrow, the mountains are high and the roads are far away. It is very difficult to build the city wall. Not surprising anymore.

If it wasn't for the sudden attack in the north, and this place became the frontier of the northern border, I am afraid that few people in Shu would remember that there is such a place among the mountains in the north.

There were not many people in this small town.

In the evening, Shi Congyun walked down from Majialing, led his troops into the Xingzhou River Valley, passed through many peripheral camps of the Zhou army, and immediately attracted many soldiers to watch and greet him with cheers. Shi Congyun responded on horseback, and the news soon followed. Quickly pass to the front line.

When the besieging troops heard that the commander had arrived, their morale was greatly shaken when they saw the commander-in-chief's flag behind them. Many soldiers spontaneously asked for orders, and piled sand and soil at the foot of the city wall, preparing to climb in directly from the low wall to the east.

More than 2000 Shu troops surrendered after being besieged, put down their weapons, and were being escorted to the rear after taking off their armor. In the hands of the army, some were frightened and cried.

However, because of Shi Congyun's continuous indoctrination and pre-war explanations, the soldiers have gradually become accustomed to Shi Congyun's style. Liu Qingchuan, who escorted the prisoners of war by the roadside, was dissatisfied and shouted: "Why cry, as long as you don't cause trouble, you are all fine." .”

As soon as these words were spoken, many dejected and frightened prisoners of war looked over one after another, and asked eagerly, "Master, you didn't lie to us?"

"Why did you lie to you? The commander-in-chief said that the land of Shu has been part of China since ancient times. You can't kill prisoners of war randomly, and you can't disturb the people. You just need to be obedient and keep you safe."

Seeing Shi Congyun coming over, Liu Qingchuan even came to see him.

Liu Qingchuan is Shi Congyun's personal soldier, and he is quite clever and eloquent. Letting him follow Wang Quanbin is to give him some military merit.

Many prisoners of war came to see him when they heard his name, and many of them were so frightened that they knelt down and kowtowed, begging for his life.

Shi Congyun felt that the opportunity had come, and took the opportunity to raise his hand to silence the crowd. Then he looked at the many prisoners of war around him, and saw many young faces, who looked about seventeen or eighteen.

Then he said, "Are you all from Shu?"

Some people nodded, while others said timidly, "I'm from the north." There are quite a few people like this.

This is not surprising, as long as the world is in chaos, everyone wants to go to Shu, especially the people in Guanzhong and Qin in the north.

The common people just want to live in peace, facing the northern nomads in the north, they hope that after passing the Qinling Mountains, they can live in peace when they arrive in Shu, with the protection of mountains and valleys.

Everyone looked uneasy and waited for the next article.

"General, are you asking if this person wants to kill the people in Sichuan separately, or the people in the north..." someone asked.

Shi Congyun laughed loudly: "I don't kill people anywhere. Shu has been an important place in China since ancient times. It has been since Qin, Han, and Tang since thousands of years ago. Naturally, Shu should be brought under the rule of the imperial court. Shu All the people in the land are subjects of the imperial court.

Since you are our people, why would the imperial army kill you at will? If you hadn't resisted, there would have been no war. "

His words stunned many prisoners of war.

"The so-called lord of your country, Meng Chang, is just a wealthy landowner from Hebei. He brought people to the land of Shu to occupy the mountains and become king, and oppressed the people. There are tens of thousands of women here, and they are all your wives and daughters.

Master Wang came here to crusade against Meng Chang and rescue all the people in Shu. Ordinary soldiers, common people, and courtiers, as long as they surrender, they will forget the past. If they can open the city gates for the army and lead the way for the army, there will be other rewards.

Besides, the world is one family, just like the Han and Tang before, and the land of Shu is also a part of the world. In the future, everyone will be Chinese citizens and should not fight in the same room. "

He spoke slowly because there were so many people, he wanted everyone to hear clearly and remember clearly.

"Get up, I won't kill you, I killed the Khitan people, not my own people; I will distribute some food to you later, let you go back, and explain the truth to your brothers, sisters, parents and officials when you go back."

After hearing this, many prisoners looked at each other in dismay, but soon kowtowed to him again. Shi Congyun asked someone to make arrangements, distribute some dry food to each of them, and let them go back.

The release of prisoners of war out of humanitarianism is a good start. This is an important reason why Dazhou is different from other Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and it is also one of the important reasons why officials are called Mingzhu.

It is true that the officials will massacre prisoners because of the need for the battlefield, and they will also massacre the city because of anger, but generally after the victory is secured, he will release the prisoners of war and give them money.

This is a beacon of civilization in the brutal and bloody Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. For example, in Shanxi, he released many prisoners of war in Hedong, and gave them none of them a piece of cloth as a wrap.

Later, Li Yun captured more than 500 Northern Han prisoners of war and sent them to the capital to claim credit. The officials realized that some of them were indeed soldiers, and some were ordinary people who had been captured to pretend to be meritorious. Leave them alone and let them choose to stay or not.

Compared with the previous Huangchao, Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, etc., this kind of behavior is a huge improvement, and it also makes Dazhou more popular.

This also proves that the official family really has the ambition to swallow the world, and treats all the people in the world as their own people, which is why they have such unusual actions.

Shi Congyun has also learned this. Since he started fighting, except for the Liao Kingdom, he has released prisoners of war from other countries as soon as he can. He will kill the killer when he has a new force.

In Shu, in Huainan, and in Jingchu, he released a large number of prisoners of war. These prisoners of war will spread his benevolence and righteousness when they go back, and make people love him. Slowly, over time, it will inevitably form a potentially huge force.

.......

In the afternoon of the same day, Zhou Jun's move to pile up soil and climb the city frightened the defenders in the city. In the evening, the general of Xingzhou and the vanguard of the Shu army commanded Han Baozheng, leading his troops to flee from the north gate.

Then the defenders in the city immediately surrendered, and the defenders all ran away, so why did they guard.

Then Pan Mei led troops into the city and took full control of Xingzhou.

Xingzhou City is located in the mountains, so it is not big at all. If Shi Congyun hadn't seized Fengzhou in the north six years ago, pushed Zhou's army forward to Malingzhai, making Xingzhou the forefront of the battlefield, I'm afraid there would be nothing here. People will care.

More troops camped in the outer valley without entering the city.

There were more than 3000 Shu troops who surrendered in the city. Shi Congyun summoned them again and gave a "justice speech", but he did not release them immediately, but asked them to help Zhou Jun deliver food.

The road to the south is getting longer and longer. The road they took is the famous Chencang Road. Compared with Jinniu Road, Meridian Road, and Mi Cang Road, this road is already the best, but it is still difficult. The greater the logistical pressure.

That night, the battlefield quieted down. The scale of the battle was not small. According to the confession of the prisoners of the Shu army, the Shu Kingdom sent [-] troops to the north this time, all of them were the forbidden troops from Chengdu.

With Wang Zhaoyuan as the commander-in-chief, Zhao Chongtao as the supervising army, and Han Baozheng as the vanguard of the army, this time he led [-] troops to the north to guard the northern gate of Xingzhou. Unexpectedly, the army arrived in Xingzhou one day later, and the Zhou army also arrived. The two armies entered confrontation.

As a result, the scale of the battle was large, but the casualties were not large. The Shu army killed 170 people and injured more than 500 people. The Zhou army killed 83 people, and most of them surrendered or fled.

And Wang Zhaoyuan, Zhao Chongtao and others led the main force to defend Lizhou.

Shi Congyun nodded. He might be very happy with this kind of information on other battlefields, but it is useless here.

Because the avenue through the Qinling Mountains was right there, there was no choice, just like Han Baozheng knew they would go to Xingzhou without even thinking about it, because Xingzhou was on the Chencang Road, so there was no choice but to go.

The same is true for Lizhou in the south, that is, Guangyuan in later generations. After Lizhou is Jianmen Pass, after passing Jianmen Pass, you enter the Chengdu Plain. After entering the Chengdu Plain, the Kingdom of Shu is [-]% complete, so don’t even think about it. I thought, Lizhou, near Jianmen Pass, there must be a big battle.

The generals of the Shu Kingdom also knew that they would definitely station troops in these places.

That night, Shi Congyun set an example by not entering the city, and only asked Pan Mei to appease the people and check the treasury of Lizhou, while the army camped outside the city to avoid chaos.

Shi Congyun's soldiers requisitioned a thatched hut in an outlying village and let Shi Congyun spend the night. The owner of the hut was an old man whose son had died. He was living alone with his grandson and was very scared.

The soldiers wanted to "invite" the old man to live in a tent outside, but Shi Congyun stopped him. He asked the soldiers to build a few planks and make a bed on the floor to sleep in the outer room, and let the old man and his grandson sleep in the inner room.

I saw that there was only a boat of tattered quilts in the old man's house, and the grandpa and grandson used them together. It was still early spring and the nights were very cold. I don't know how they got here all winter.

From my own salute, I got a rare and precious quilt in this era and gave it to my grandpa and grandson.

Most of the cotton in this era came from the Western Regions, that is, from the direction of Xinjiang. However, the cotton species are different from the later ones, and they are relatively rare, but the warmth retention effect is beyond doubt.

When he was leaving, the three daughters-in-law wished they could pack dozens of trucks for him as a salute, fearing that he would be cold at night and stuffed with piles of things, and in the end he still pulled six trucks after being downsized under pressure.

But many of them were left in Guanzhong by him. The soldiers are so fast, how can they fight with a few large carts to salute.

However, before dark, Wang Quanbin came to him in a hurry, with a anxious expression on his face, and when he saw him, he knelt down on one knee and asked for instructions: "The commander-in-chief is here, do you have any instructions?"

As soon as he opened his mouth, Shi Congyun understood what was going on by looking at his expression.

"Hahaha, General Wang, get up, I just came to see, and I have to settle the prisoners and civilians, no instructions, the army is still in your command, you can fight as you want." Shi Congyun continued to laugh.

Wang Quanbin breathed a sigh of relief, and said repeatedly: "Thank you King Qin, thank you King Qin!"

"Come on, General Wang, don't forget, a certain person is also a fighter, I understand the war, you can fight at ease, you can fight as you want.

I am here to appease the hearts of the people and the army. Since you are a vanguard, the army is still under your command. "

What Shi Congyun said made Wang Quanbin happy and a little emotional, then he got up and said: "Commander, at this time the Shu army is newly defeated, and the army's morale is not stable. From now on, we will not follow the river valley, continue walking, and follow the southeast mountain road to the west. County, within a hundred miles, you can reach the Hanzhong Plain.

Along the way, the Shu army deployed more than 20 camps, including Shiqi and Yuguan, with thousands of troops. If they come back to their senses and stick to it, it will be difficult to fight.

A certain man felt that the speed of soldiers was precious, so he should immediately follow Han Baozheng's rout and kill them overnight, taking advantage of the chaos and directly rushing into Hanzhong. "

"Go ahead and do it, but I'll let Pan Mei follow you, let him come to capture soldiers and appease the people, and don't care about anything else. When Xi County is conquered, you can make your own decision on how to fight, and you don't need to report back immediately. "Shi Congyun said.

"No! Commander, please don't worry, your subordinates will never let him down!" Wang Quanbin was both excited and grateful for such a decentralization of power, and immediately went out to collect elite soldiers at night, and pursued southward overnight.

In the night, in the mountains and river valleys, dots of torches converge into a long dragon that winds towards the south.

Generals in foreign countries do not accept military orders, and the most feared thing in war is to leapfrog command and command from a distance.

Just like the combat effectiveness of the German army in the early days of World War II, it was because its predecessor, the Prussian army, summed up an important experience in the battle, that is, to fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the grassroots soldiers in battle, let those who can hear the artillery fire command, and the high-level officers only give command in the general direction.

As a result, as soon as the head of state started micromanaging, the trouble became serious. Zhao Guangyi and a certain juncture in the East expressed their approval for this.

The generals are most afraid that their superiors will use the same tactics to engage in politics. Politics emphasizes balance and control, but military affairs cannot. The army must delegate power to let the generals dare to fight.

This is also why some people argue that people like Zhao Guangyi, the bald head, and the head of state seem to have the ability, why they are bad when they engage in military affairs, they just use politics to engage in military affairs, and they don't understand the difference between military affairs and politics at all;

They are experts in politics, seizing power, and concentrating power; in war, power must be delegated, strategy must be focused, and balance cannot be achieved, mobilizing the enthusiasm of grassroots soldiers, and they are in a mess.

It is very simple for Shi Congyun to learn these things. He has very few mediocre men, such as Wang Shenqi, Si Chao, Shao Ji, Wang Zhong, Dong Zunhui, Murong Yanzhao, Gao Huaide, Zhao Kuangyin, father Shi Yanchao and so on.

Every time he fights, he just needs to make a strategically appropriate deployment, and then let them fight, how to fight without forcing himself too much, these veterans who have experienced many battles naturally know, and they also know how to respond quickly.

Over time, as a person who has fought wars all year round, Shi Congyun understands the meaning of the phrase "I will not accept the orders of the emperor abroad". The way to win is to let the generals give full play.

Of course, you can't let it go completely, you can let go of war, but you can't do other things. Shi Congyun also arranged his old friend Pan Mei and his own soldier Liu Qingchuan beside Wang Quanbin.

This is the method he has fumbled for all these years.

That night, before going to bed, Shi Congyun asked the old man about the harvest and the situation nearby. The old man and his grandson were not as afraid of him as before. They told him about the situation here. There has been no war for decades, and it is not a problem to have enough food, but the meat is still very Eat less.

This old man is from the area of ​​Shaanxi. When he was young, he was killed in the north, and his blood flowed like a river. He ran from the north to avoid disaster, and then settled down here.

.........

At noon the next day, the Chinese army arrived in Xingzhou, and then Shi Congyun led the army to continue south.

On the way to the south, leave the Jialing River, turn southeast, and take the road to Hanzhong. There are still high mountains on both sides, and the fog in the mountains has not yet cleared.

There were many broken flags, armor and weapons lying on the side of the road. From time to time, piles of prisoners of the Shu army could be seen tied behind their backs with hemp ropes and held on the side of the road.Afterwards, soldiers were sent to report to him one after another. As Wang Quanbin said, they followed Han Baozheng's rout army all night, taking advantage of the night and the opportunity of the rout troops entering the camp, and successively broke through the Shu army all over the valley by surprise. There are more than [-] camps in Shiqi, Yuguan, Qilidian, Guanyintang, and Xiakou post in the avenue.

In one night and one day, more than [-] people from the Shu army were defeated and captured, and the forward had arrived in Xixian County.

Han Baozheng assembled the defeated army and the Xixian defenders, and stood firm in Xixian.

Shi Congyun was overjoyed upon hearing this, and immediately ordered the whole army to march southward in a hurry.

At the same time, Shao Ji was ordered to lead two thousand elite cavalry to support Wang Quanbin before the brigade.

Xi County, which was later to be near Mian County, is the northwest gateway of the Hanzhong Plain. As long as Xi County is taken, the army can enter the Hanzhong Plain unimpeded!

Chapter 273, Veteran Wang Quanbin

Xixian County faces the Han River in the south and mountains in the north. As the gateway to the northwest of Hanzhong, the defense of this place is obviously more important than Xingzhou.

Han Baozheng fled here and did not escape again, because his army was bitten by the Zhou army. The Han River blocked the southern passage, and the crossing was too slow.

Along the way, Wang Quanbin just chased and fought fiercely, and he didn't even pay attention to any defeated soldiers. He didn't send anyone to chase them down, and he didn't care whether they would come back.

The former army headed south non-stop, passing through valleys and ravines nearly a hundred miles away, and directly blocked Han Baozheng and his remnants in Xi County.