Chapter 877 Going South
Although he didn't want to admit it, Xu Huang was indeed very curious about this issue.
Because to be honest, from a common sense point of view, Ding Yao had only joined the Taishan Army for a few months, and he had even been a water bandit on the Huaihe River before.
As Taishan's army becomes stronger and stronger, it is no longer a problem to swallow the world. Therefore, people keep trying to get on the big ship of Taishan Army, hoping to have a full meal in this last meal.
Of course Xu Huang is aware of this mentality. Even Mei Gan and others in the army think this way.
Everyone joins the Taishan Army for their own reasons. In the past, Xu Huang didn't care much because these were too private, and Xu Huang didn't bother to understand.
But when it comes to Ding Yao, Xu Huang has huge doubts and curiosity, that is, others want to join the Taishan Army for fame and wealth, but what does Ding Yao want?
Is there anything you would risk your life for?
At this moment, Xu Huang particularly wanted to know the answer.
Ding Yao smiled and was about to speak when suddenly a mouthful of blood spurted onto Xu Huang's chest.
Both of them were stunned.
Xu Huang, in particular, was like a child who had made a mistake, hurriedly calling for the doctor outside to come in.
But he was stopped by Ding Yao. This tyrannical man actually cried at this moment.
He cried and said to Xu Huang:
"Xu... Shuai, no need to shout anymore..., let... I finish, finish... these words, otherwise I will die... unwillingly."
After hearing this, Xu Huang stopped moving and froze there, waiting for Ding Yao to speak.
But after a while, Ding Yao didn't speak. It seemed that what he just said had exhausted all his strength.
But Xu Huang still stood still. He knew that for a strong man like Ding Yao, he would definitely not go down unwillingly.
Sure enough, when he spoke again, Ding Yao seemed to have regained his life and said clearly:
"I, Ding Yao, am not considered a poor person, nor have I lived a hard life. I, Ding Yao, am not a good person either. When I was in Zongheng Huai River, who didn't I kill? But do you understand that feeling, Commander? It's just like this life. One more day or one less day doesn’t seem to matter to me, Ding Yao.”
"Later I understood a little bit. I, Ding Yao, don't take other people's lives seriously because I don't take my own life seriously, so I don't understand."
"But during these days in the Taishan Army, I always look forward to living a slower life and staying with everyone longer."
"I always heard some big principles in the army. To be honest, I, Old Ding, got tired of hearing them. But if you think about it for yourself, it seems that what the Xuanwei people said is right. Commander, Do you think I am awkward or not?”
Xu Huang didn't respond, just grabbed Ding Yao's hand and felt the last strength in his hand.
After that, Ding Yao's words became faster and faster and more confusing. He seemed to have understood that his life was coming to an end.
Suddenly, Ding Yao squeezed Xu Huang's hand, with fear and longing in his eyes, and asked Xu Huang:
"Commander, do you think a villain like me can enter Huangtian?"
Xu Huang was stunned and nodded subconsciously.
Seeing Xu Huang's look, Ding Yao smiled miserably, then shook his head and said:
"Actually, we also know that it's impossible. But if we can do this for our brothers, it can help our Taishan Army regain the world as soon as possible, so that everyone in the world can live a clear life. If you can't get up to Huangtian, you can't get up."
Xu Huang wanted to explain, but Ding Yao didn't give Xu Huang a chance to speak at all and continued to speak:
"Our life this month has really been in vain."
After saying that, Ding Yao stopped talking again.
Xu Huang was still standing and waiting, but this time he waited for a long time without waiting for the Pei warrior to say another word.
After a long time, Xu Huang sighed and carried it away.
Gradually, his shoulders were shaking slightly, and sobs came from Xu Huang's mouth.
In the end, Xu Huang couldn't hold it back and cried.
He rarely has such emotions, and he doesn't understand what Ding Yao's words touched him. He just feels that this world is really difficult.
Xu Huang wiped away his tears, covered Ding Yao's face with a cloth, and then walked out of the tent.
Generals such as Gao Ao, Xu Shang, and Huang Gai were all outside. They all heard the sobbing inside, but no one mentioned it.
After seeing Xu Huang come out, several people sighed with serious faces.
This war has gone on for too long.
Counting from Xu Huangnan, it was two months of fighting.
Counting from the time Zhang Chong left Mount Tai, he fought for six years.
And counting from the first person who resisted the oppressor and fought for dignity and freedom, it took another thousand years.
Finally, the dawn of victory is right in front of us.
This time, they won't lose!
……
It will take some time for the good news from Huainan to reach the Chinese army camp.
At this moment, Zhang Chong's main army has marched to the vicinity of Wuyan in the Dongping Kingdom, and has successively accepted administrative and personnel appointments in the central and southern regions of the original Shandong Province.
Guan Yu's latest appointment has quietly changed. He has changed from the original duty to be a commander-in-chief, and no longer has the authority to control local areas.
In addition, the base areas originally affiliated to Taishan, Heji, Lu and other places also began to operate directly after the camp was stationed in Wuyan.
It was precisely after Zhang Chong's camp arrived in Wuyan that the entire Qingxu battlefield situation was revealed in front of Zhang Chong.
Zhang Chong had been sitting in Kyoto before, and he could only rely on military reports and documents to understand the war in the East. Many things were separated by one layer.
That is to say, after returning to Dongping Kingdom, Zhang Chong successively met with local officials to understand the reasons for Guan Yu's defeat.
Speaking of which, Guan Yu's defeat in Jinan had something to do with Zhang Chong.
It turned out that when Zhang Chong wanted to conquer Pingzhou, Liaodong and other places, the Privy Council mobilized a group of soldiers and horses from various base areas to go north to support.
After that, these soldiers and horses were not sent back again.
At that time, Guan Yu's army, which occupied the advantage of Qingxu's battlefield, sent one of its elite troops, totaling 10,000 people, to the north for support.
His son Guan Ping and Youyi general Tai Shici went northward during this period.
The ten thousand troops who came up from Qingxu were later reorganized into two armies, still led by Zhang Nan and Guo Mo, and were subordinate to Zhang Chong's camp.
These two people were originally generals under Guan Yu. Guan Yu had written to the Privy Council several times before and wanted to get these two people back, but the Privy Council refused to let them go.
In fact, the reason behind this is quite simple. No matter how the nature of the Taishan Army changes, as subordinates and ministers, they are generally concerned about the superiors.
At that time, the king was about to attack Kyoto. Both Zhang Nan and Guo Mo were talented generals. How could they be given back to Guan Yu?
In the end, Guan Yu had no choice but to order to shrink the defense line in order to fill the vacancy in troops.
Previously, relying on the management of the old area of Zhongnan Shandong and Guan Yu's attacks in all directions, the power of the Taishan Army had expanded to the Langya and Pengcheng areas, and even had a small base in Xiapi downstream of Surabaya.
But now Guan Yu can only mobilize all the troops from the base areas in these areas. After all, the old areas are the core.
But with Guan Yu's deployment, the forces originally deployed by the Taishan Army behind Qingxu were in vain. With these small bases, Guan Yu could always outnumber the enemy. But now that the troops have been withdrawn, the originally established base area has been taken back by the local tycoons. Not only has Guan Yu lost his eye, but the entire external strategy has shifted from aggressiveness to internal defense.
Otherwise, even if Cao Cao designs Guan Yu in a targeted manner, Guan Yu may not necessarily fall into the trap.
After understanding these situations, Zhang Chong understood Guan Yu's difficulties.
Another incident happened that relieved Zhang Chong's wariness against Guan Yu.
That is, not long after Zhang Chong's camp arrived in Wuyan, Guan Yu, who was still in Fenggao, flew to Wuyan at night and asked to see Zhang Chong.
Sometimes some misunderstandings are not based on principle, and they just need to be resolved.
Zhang Chong trusted Guan Yu's loyalty. The reason why he was dissatisfied with Guan Yu was mainly due to Guan Yu's secondary land distribution in the central and southern regions of Shandong.
Because Guan Yu directly promoted this matter at the local level without reporting it to his subordinates, it not only traumatized the emotions of the old district but also caused local chaos.
Guan Yu must bear the main responsibility for this responsibility.
However, this matter was focused on civil affairs. After Zhang Chong deprived Guan Yu of all his civil rights, the contradiction in this aspect disappeared.
Therefore, after Zhang Chong chatted with Guan Yu all night, he gave him his first task, which was to lead his troops to the Beihai area, where he wanted to intercept Cao Cao's troops that might retreat.
It turned out that just this spring, the Northland Army, led by Ding Sheng and Dong Fang, with a total of 40,000 soldiers, had crossed the river and penetrated deep into the southern part of the plain.
The Northland Legion of Ding and Dong's armies was very powerful. The legions were composed of elite battalions mainly composed of You, Ping, and Liao. With the strength of the Qingzhou Army in the plains, it was impossible to stop them.
Therefore, in order to prevent the Qingzhou Army from abandoning northern Qingzhou and retreating to the Beihai area to establish a defense line with the Xuzhou Army, Zhang Chong needs Guan Yu to move his Central Plains Army to Beihai to block Cao Cao's return.
This is Zhang Chong's plan for the entire current strategy.
Why did Zhang Chong regard Shouchun as a thread? Because it was after realizing the importance of Shouchun that he changed his original thinking.
Previously, he planned to go straight to Pengcheng and decide the outcome in one battle.
But after realizing Shouchun's existence, Zhang Chong understood that this idea of seeking success was wrong.
Therefore, Zhang Chong decided to lead his own main force to deploy troops on the Surabaya front line to continue to put pressure on Xuzhou. Then he attacked Shouchun with a partial force and surrounded Cao Cao with three legions: Guan Yu, Ding Sheng, and Dong Fang.
Just like how the Zhou people attacked the Shang Dynasty, they first cut off their wings and then conquered them in a single battle.
So after Zhang Chong met Guan Yu, he gave Guan Yu the task of blocking Cao Cao's return.
He believed that Guan Yu would never let go of the opportunity for revenge.
Sure enough, after Guan Yu received the order, he rushed back to Fenggao that night.
In just one day, Guan Yu gathered more than 20,000 troops from the Central Plains Army and headed straight for Beihai.
……
When Zhang Chong's main force was stationed in Dongping State, and Guan Yu led the Central Plains Army and Heifu's Heji Army, a total of 20,000 people, approached Beihai, the war had already begun in the northernmost plain of Qingzhou.
Last winter, Dong Fang led 20,000 people from the Daibei Army southward to the Pingyuanjin area and joined Ding Sheng's Yanliao Army there.
Throughout the winter, the two legions worked with each other in Pingyuanjin to gain experience in large legion operations.
Therefore, despite Ding Sheng's vigorous resistance in Pingyuanjin, the Qingzhou Army had never been able to capture the ferry, so the Taishan Army had the basis to directly cross the river.
Finally, in February of the fourth year of Taiwu, the two armies swore to arms on the north bank, and an army of 40,000 troops pressed directly against Qingzhou like a tide.
But when the two armies arrived at the south bank, they did not encounter any resistance from the Qingzhou Army. It was obvious that the enemy had carried out a strong effort to clear the country.
Even in order to block the Taishan Army's southward march, the Qingzhou Army dug straight roads and burned bridges in the Luoshui and Jishui areas.
The person responsible for strengthening the walls and clearing the country was Xia Houyuan, the general of the Qingzhou Army.
Cao Cao’s previous military order to Xia Houyuan was this:
"Strengthen the walls and clear the fields, resist every step of the way."
Xia Houyuan completed this task very thoroughly.
Not only were all the pavilions and dock walls along the march of Taishan's army demolished, but even the straight roads were dug out.
If an army of the size of the Taishan Army marches southward without a smooth road, logistical supply will become very difficult.
A normal wheel can travel five hundred miles on a flat road, but on a bumpy wild road, it may break after fifty miles.
Moreover, people like Xia Houyuan have been fighting against the Taishan Army on the opposite side for a long time, and they have also learned some basics of human sea tactics.
He made great efforts to distribute money and grain to the people of the three counties of Pingyuan, Jinan and Le'an.
Let them destroy the road, and not only can they take away the earth and rocks obtained by destroying them, but they can also collect a share of money and food from Cao's army.
For Xia Houyuan, the three counties could not be saved anyway, and the money and food could not be taken away, so it was better to use it on this.
It can be said that this method is very effective.
After the two armies of Ding Sheng and Dong Fang moved south to Qingzhou, it can be said that they were unable to move forward.
The road was difficult to travel and supplies could not be obtained. They had no choice but to gather in one place and wait for supplies from the rear.
Ding and Dong did not dare to separate their large armies and attack separately, so they could only carry their cavalry with dry food for daily cruising.
But the problem is that these cavalry troops are all northerners, and they have almost no idea of the hinterland of Qingzhou. They will get lost after walking for a long time, and in the end they can only return the same way.
There was no other way, so Ding and Dong discussed it and decided that Dong Fang would stay in the plain area to establish a grain station, and then Ding Sheng would lead the army south to Jinan.
As long as it goes south to Jinan first, the Taishan Army can establish contact with the old Taishan area, and then it can directly obtain supplies from the central and southern Shandong area.
So, the two armies agreed to do this.
After that, Ding Sheng led 20,000 Yan and Liao legions towards Dongping Mausoleum in Jinan.
Because there were many Zhang clan members in the army, they certainly knew how to go back to their hometown, so they headed south under the guidance of the locals.
After years of tempering and polishing, Ding Sheng has become very cautious in using his troops.
In terms of bravery, Ding Sheng may not be the bravest, but in terms of caution and stability, he, Ding Sheng, can be said to be unrivaled.
In order to prevent the Qingzhou Army from attacking, Ding Sheng's marching team was very tight.
Each battalion head is a sequence, walking along both sides of the road, and the middle road is filled with logistics personnel.
I don’t walk much every day, and I will set up camp on the spot after only thirty miles.
In this way, relying on excessive caution, Ding Sheng's troops worked step by step and finally arrived at Dongping Tomb.
(End of chapter)