Chapter 177: Lonely Ghost
On the third day of July, it started to drizzle.
Last night the whole army had a great feast, had enough food and wine, and received a large amount of supplies.
Leaving out today, the morale is quite high.
In addition to the Yamen Army and private soldiers brought by Shao Xun, the vanguard was also equipped with 500 light cavalry and 5,000 Sizhou men, driving thousands of carts and carrying With enough food, grass, and equipment to last for more than a month, we marched toward the northeast.
On the Qixi Festival, the army camped in Chaoge County.
This county town changed hands repeatedly between the rebels and the government army, and the hundreds of remaining households in the city were trembling like quails.
Shao Xun did not embarrass them, he stayed outside the city and paid to recruit more than 20 craftsmen and guides to accompany the army.
At this time, he received a military report from Ji County: Gou Xi attacked Dongwuyang and won the first battle, but he did not say whether he had conquered the city or how many enemy troops he had killed.
Tang Jianze handed Shao Xun a letter from Green Willow Garden.
After delivering the letter, he arranged for his own troops to be deployed.
This man was originally the owner of the building. After being captured, he simply regarded himself as a guest of the Shao Mansion. He worked in an orderly manner and arranged the defense meticulously. He never looked at what he shouldn't see and never listened to what he shouldn't hear. , it can be seen that he has his own set of values and is relatively measured.
After Shao Xun opened the letter, he knew it was written by Lan Ji.
The letter mentioned that her eldest brother Le Kai (also known as Hongxu) had resigned and returned to his hometown to run his family business. After hearing that his sister was pregnant, he went north from Nanyang to visit Luliu Garden.
Following his previous instructions, Wu Qian discussed horse sales with Leshi and settled on five hundred horses, which would be delivered after the autumn harvest in August.
Lan Ji’s mother knew that her daughter was pregnant without a name and no status. She cried all day long and sent her eldest son to bring dozens of servants, a large amount of gold and silverware, household items, money and silk - she didn’t say why, Shao Xun guessed that he probably hoped that Huang Mao would be nicer to his daughter.
After staying in Chaoge for one day, we continued northward, passed Dangyin, and arrived in Anyang County without any enemy troops on July 12th.
That afternoon, we camped near Anyang Bridge in the north of the city. At this time, the "elusive" Lu Zhi appeared again.
“I heard that the Grand Tutor wanted to offer Mr. Lu as a sacrificial wine, why not?” Shao Xun introduced Lu Zhi into the camp with a smile and asked with a smile.
Actually, he knew that the wine ceremony was not a position of real power, and Lu Zhi could go or not.
If there hadn't been that meeting at Jinmenwu, Lu Zhi might have gone there after hesitation - as he was also a member of Sima Ying's staff, wouldn't Hu Wufu have been appointed as the chief lieutenant?
Now Lu Zhi is like a lonely ghost, running around, mysterious and mysterious, but he doesn’t know what he is thinking.
"Shao Jun, don't go any further." Lu Zhi said directly without answering.
"Why?" Shao Xun asked curiously: "The sentinel came to report that there are a few bandits in Yecheng. I am the vanguard, so naturally I have to defeat them."
"That is not a bandit army." Lu Zhi He shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Jisang did leave hundreds of thieves in Yecheng, but they have escaped. A few days ago, General Shi sent people to occupy Yecheng."
"Shi Chao?"
"Exactly."
"He can really mess around!" Shao Xun slapped the table and said, "Let him go, I don't care where he goes, let him out of Yecheng."
Lu Zhi Shake his head and sigh.
"Gong Lu." Shao Xun looked at him and said earnestly: "The matter has come to this, can't you make up your mind yet? Generals Shi Chao, Lou Bao, Lou Quan, Hao Chang, Wang Chan, Shao The number of soldiers is less than a thousand, and the number is only a few thousand. The morale of the army is low, and there is a shortage of food and weapons. How can we fight? Ten thousand troops are stationed in Guandu and can cross the river to the north at any time. If the hundreds of thousands of people press over, I am afraid that all the generals will be crushed. "
Lu Zhi remained silent.
Shao Xun snorted coldly and said nothing. If someone wants to die, he can't stop him.
Shi Chao and others are former generals of the King of Chengdu, and Ji Sang also uses the banner of the King of Chengdu. If these people are unwilling to surrender, he will kill them as enemies. After all, Shi Chao and Ji Sang are nominal allies.
"If you are willing to marry the imperial concubine, I will go out of my way to win over Shi Chao and others." After a moment, Lu Zhi looked at Shao Xun with burning eyes and said.
Shao Xun shook his head and refused.
Lu Zhi and his gang are still thinking about causing trouble in Hebei. But after five or six years of hard work, the foundation he finally built up was in Henan. If he went to Hebei, the soldiers would not agree.
Furthermore, he also wants to marry the Yu family, and through the Yu family and the Chen family who is wooing him, he hopes to open a gap in Yingchuan County and stabilize this direction. How can he marry the Le family?
A bunch of lonely ghosts in Hebei are not of enough weight and he is not interested.
“Alas!” Lu Zhi sighed.
He is a smart man. Of course he knows that Shao Xun is unlikely to leave Henan, but it is a pity.
Such a young general who can fight is quite useful in Hebei. He is still so young, so it is not impossible to give up his foundation in Henan, lead the old army of the King of Chengdu, and start a new struggle in Hebei.
Naihe, it is indeed a bit overwhelming. Not everyone can make the decision to give up the foundation they have worked for for many years and start from scratch, unless they really can’t stay in Henan.
"Gong Lu, don't get involved with Shi Chao and the others. There will be no consequences. If you come to help me, all government affairs will be decided by the prince, how about it?" Shao Xun said sincerely. said.
When Lu Zhi heard this, he smiled bitterly and said, "How much government affairs do you have with your little family fortune?"
"Gong Lu, my family fortune is not big, but it is different from ordinary people." Shao Xun said: "I am walking a difficult road, but it is also a stable road. After the last meeting, Liangxian and Guangchengze areas have been very different. Come and take a look when you have time."
Lu Zhi’s curiosity was aroused.
His information was not very clear, and he really didn’t know what Shao Xun had done, so he nodded and said: "Master Wang has entered Hebei. He really can’t stay in this place anymore. Maybe he can go south to Liang County to see Shao Jun’s family business. "
"It's not urgent." Shao Xun took his hand again and said with a smile: "There are wars everywhere, bandits are rampant, and there are many obstacles on the road. It is better for Lu Gong to stay in our army. How about we go back to Luoyang together after the victory?"
After thinking for a moment, Lu Zhi nodded slightly and said, "That's fine, but I have to go to Yecheng first. ”
"This is business, leave early and come back early." Shao Xun said.
******
Lu Zhi left that day.
Shao Xun waited until the next day and ordered the entire army to cross the Huán River and attack Yecheng, which was forty miles away.
From a tactical point of view, if you want to attack and destroy the 50,000 to 60,000 rebels scattered in Yangping and Plains, there is no need to go to Yecheng.
But to put it bluntly, in all wars at home and abroad, no one can escape the word "viewing".
During the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, Li Mi suggested detaching a force of troops from the north of Hetao, passing through Datong, and attacking Youzhou in a roundabout way to "cover its nest." However, Suzong could not resist the political significance of regaining Luoyang. He refused and continued to grind meat in the Central Plains.
Sima Yue also couldn't resist the political significance of regaining Yecheng, so he went in such a big circle, but gave Ji Sang enough time to adjust, and there was no one else.
At this time, Liu Yucai Shi Shiran led his army out of Jijun. The speed was very slow, less than twenty miles a day.
He maintained close correspondence with Sima Yue of Guandu, and messengers came and went almost every day, bringing the latest instructions from the Taifu.
"Tian Zhen, Tian Lan, Li Yun and others wanted to surrender to the Taifu, but the Taifu was pleased and ordered them to lead their troops south." After reading the letter, Liu Yu said to Wang Jun, Shen Ling and others.
"Can the beggar army fight?" Shen Ling was a little confused.
"There is still some fighting strength. If he couldn't fight, he would have been devoured by others." Liu Yu said: "Even if the fighting strength is not good, there will always be a chance when Shao Xun's energy is seriously injured."< br>
Shen Ling nodded slightly.
The Begging Army is an organization that is half official and half civilian.
Sima Teng brought them from Bingzhou. The leaders at all levels were Bingzhou generals, and there were also a large number of Bingzhou soldiers in the beggar army.
But their previous official positions were no longer counted. After Sima Teng died, they were even more motherless children, like lonely ghosts with no idea of where to live.
With his status as Taifu, subduing him is a piece of cake.
Now there is just a place where they can be found. If they perform extraordinary feats, they can be officially included.
Tian Zhen, Tian Lan, Li Yun and others may be able to regain their official positions - they are officials to begin with, so it is not difficult to regain their official status, and maybe they can go one step further and get promoted.
If they can't make a contribution, then no one will care about them, and the Taifu will lose interest. He will try his best to recruit some of the most active people to join him and serve as new knives and thugs to suppress Hebei for the Taifu.
It would be perfect if Shao Xun and the beggar army could eliminate Ji Sang for the Taifu and then fight each other.
In short, judging from the current situation, the opportunity is still quite good.
It is wonderful to kill Ji Sang to eliminate internal troubles and to kill Shao Xun to eliminate internal troubles.
Shao Xun is really clueless. No matter your background, you are jumping up and down, Jin Guyuan dares to hold it in his hands, you simply don’t know what to say.
Liu Yu would like to see, if Shao Xun's Yamen Army and private soldiers are consumed in the war, how can he keep the three manors around Luoyang?
How could he hold the thousands of Xianbei horses he had stolen?
When the time comes to see Leshi, will he dare to refuse?
By the way, there is also the Jing family. Alas, I feel pity for her. How could such a beautiful woman commit herself to Wang Yan?
On July 15th, Liu Yu, who had not yet arrived at Chaoge, received news: Shao Xun had recaptured Yecheng.
Without any hesitation, he immediately sent an envoy with military orders to march eastward quickly and attack Jisang.
(End of this chapter)