Chapter 580 Lobbyist
Xiapi (now north of Suining and south of Pizhou) has been a chokepoint between the north and south and an important hub between the east and west since ancient times.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, it was the state of Pi.
Zhang Liang once met Huang Shigong here.
When Han Xin was the king of Chu, he all went to Pi.
This city is located at the intersection of Yi and Si rivers, surrounded by water on all sides, like an island.
Due to the gradual rise of water transportation, Xiapi's status gradually increased, and in the imperial dynasty it became the governor-general of Xuzhou.
However, Xiapi has been an important town since the Han Dynasty, because it had a triple city wall, which was extremely rare at that time.
The small city is located at the innermost side. The city is about two miles long, small but strong, and the city wall is taller and thicker than the middle city and the outer city.
The middle city is guarded by Lu Bu on Thursday.
Twelve and a half miles around the outer city, Wei Wu captured Lu Bu at the White Gate, which was the gate of the outer city.
There is a small city not far to the south and west of Xiapi. It is about 170 steps away and was built by Shi Chong.
There is Yiyang Mountain (also known as Geyi Mountain, today's Qishan Mountain) six miles west of the city, and there are forts built on the mountain.
From a military perspective, even without naval assistance, Xiapi's defense facilities are very complete and difficult to attack.
Of course, wars are fought by people after all. No matter how strong a city is, it must be defended by people. The fighting will of the defenders is also very crucial.
The fighting quality of the more than 10,000 soldiers and horses led by Zu Ti was average and could only be described as so-so.
So he wisely chose to defend and rely on the terrain advantage to consume the offensive side's energy. This is a more pragmatic approach.
His hometown is in Huaiyin, the first stop when he went north. He gained the support of the powerful local scholars, and gathered the refugees and bandits, built furnaces to smelt weapons, and reclaimed wasteland for military needs.
Now that all the main forces are heading north, Huaiyin has been taken over by others.
After losing the first battle in Xiapibei, Zu Tifei reported to Jianye for help. Sima Rui and Wang Dao came forward, and Dai Yuan and others from Yangzhou moved around. They also raised a thousand troops from the five counties of Wu, Wuxing, Kuaiji, Dongyang, and Linhai, and they were led by Ruan Fu as backup.
But these five thousand soldiers and horses did not come to support Zu Ti.
They were soldiers from a wealthy clan and could not completely obey the Jianye shogunate. In the end, they made a compromise and stationed themselves in Huaiyin to guard the Huaihe River defense line. To defend the river, you must defend the Huaihe River. This was what the wealthy families in Jiangdong were happy with.
The Jiangdong Navy also went to Huaiyin and Xiapi from time to time to transport supplies.
This is the situation that Sima Rui, Director Wang and others achieved through their best efforts.
Shao Xun always feels that he is constrained internally, and others are actually the same, or even more serious.
This is the style of the times and there is nothing we can do about it.
In the afternoon, the sound of war drums in the north and west of the city became more intense, and the sound of killing was loud.
Zu Ti came to the city in person and had a panoramic view of the whole situation.
About three thousand Shao soldiers set out from the north of the city, built a pontoon bridge on the other side of the river north of the city, and tried to wade into the water to attack.
During the process of building the bridge, the defenders on the south bank of the river fired crossbows from behind the earthen wall, shooting the Shao soldiers who were only protected by shields to pieces. Countless people screamed and fell to the river.
Groups of sergeants went out from Shao Jun's camp in Hebei to constantly replenish battle losses.
They even fought back with bows and arrows on the pontoon, but were quickly suppressed. How big is the pontoon and how many people can stand on it? In just one round of fighting, all the archers brought in were killed.
The battle lasted for more than an hour. For the city defenders, this was almost a one-sided massacre. They had few casualties, while Shao Bing suffered hundreds of casualties.
Zu Ti didn't put much energy into the north of the city. He was looking at the west of the city.
At the foot of Yiyang Mountain, there are many flags and drums and horns.
One battalion after another, Shao soldiers climbed up the mountain path and bravely charged into their own camp standing on the mountainside.
They feigned an attack from the bottom of the mountain and attacked a well-defended fortress. Of course, the casualties were huge. But Commander Shao Jun did not care about human life at all and launched wave after wave of offensives.
The mountain road is full of corpses, and the tree trunks are full of twisted arrows.
Today is the fifth day of the attack on Yiyang Mountain.
The earthen walls on the mountain road were breached, the condescending arrow towers were demolished, and the trenches were filled.
By this time, the two sides were fighting below the camp. Everyone can see that Yiyang Mountain cannot be defended for much longer.
Zu Ti looked at the area between Yiyang Mountain and Xiapi.
The more than three thousand defenders' infantry had just moved forward a mile when they encountered the overwhelming Shao Army cavalry rushing towards them.
The infantry retreated hastily and in some confusion.
The cavalry was divided into several groups and took advantage of the panic of the infantry to get close and shoot, further exacerbating the chaos.
Three thousand infantrymen rushed to the bank of Yishui River crying.
The boats parked on the river fired their crossbows and thunder, killing a group of cavalry who ventured close to them, making them frightened and afraid to approach, and then they sent people to collect the broken troops.
More than 3,000 people went west to try to reinforce the Yiyang Mountain camp, which was more than four miles west of Yishui River. However, they were blocked by Shao Jun’s cavalry. In just a moment, nearly a thousand people were killed or wounded, and only two people managed to escape. Just a thousand years old.
Zu Ti sighed.
Now that the war has started, we can basically see the direction.
The more than 10,000 soldiers and horses under his command vary in combat strength. Those who are stronger may be able to fight Shao Bing head-on, but most of them do not have this ability.
They can only hold on and take advantage of the rivers, lakes and numerous cities to slowly wear down Shao Bing's morale.
When morale goes down, so does combat effectiveness.
As of now, Shao's army does not dare to cross the river and go south, and attack in a roundabout way on the south side of Xiapi - they are worried about being cut off from their retreat.
If you can only attack from one direction, you will have much more troops, and it will be very convenient to defend across the river, which can maximize the damage to Shao Jun soldiers and weaken their morale.
The only pity is that Yiyang Mountain in the west of the city cannot be defended. He was inexperienced, overestimated the strength of his own soldiers, and underestimated the combat effectiveness of Shao's soldiers. After suffering this loss, we will learn lessons later.
The sun gradually sets in the west.
After nightfall, Zu Yue led hundreds of defeated soldiers with the help of the navy and withdrew, and Yiyang Mountain was declared lost.
Shao Jun also stopped attacking, and the battlefield became quiet for a while.
******
More than a dozen thatched huts dot the valley.
The bright moon reflects on the river, sparkling.
The scholars led by Eguan Bo staggered along the river bank with wooden clogs in their hands and fine wine in their hands.
There were several people lying in a mess on the grass, looking cool and unrestrained, chanting constantly.
On the big bluestone, someone is leaning against a pine tree, playing the piano under the bright moon.
"Jingheng is here." Someone saw him and greeted him with a smile.
Hua Ji sighed, these people!
At this moment, he suddenly realized that the world seemed to be in a state of decline.
Most of the people in front of me are descendants of Xuzhou officials. They have official duties, but they often disappear for several days, ignoring government affairs and wandering outside.
How can you survive in troubled times by doing things like this?
"There is a raging war outside. Xi Daohui and Zu Shizhi were killed in rivers of blood. I really admire you, Tai Zhang, for still having the time to play the moon and the piano." Hua Ji said angrily.
Xun Zu stopped what he was doing, stood up from the bluestone, and looked up at the bright moon.
Hua Ji stood not far from him, waiting for him to speak.
"Jingheng is here to be a lobbyist?" Xun Zu asked.
"Of course." Hua Ji didn't hide anything from him, and said bluntly: "Shao Cheqi was killing all directions in Hebei, and it was unstoppable. For the sake of family planning, I defected to him. The war in Xuzhou is fierce, Taizhang you But he stayed behind closed doors and refused to help anyone. Fan Yang and Lu Zidao couldn't sit still, so they went to Pingyuan to visit. They had no choice but to send me to the south at night to persuade them. "
Xun Zu was silent after hearing this. After a moment, he chuckled and said, "What does Pingyuan Hua's troubles have to do with me?" Brother-in-law, you have to help me.” Hua Ji looked at him doubtfully and asked.
Xun Zu clasped his hands behind his back and stood solemnly among the pines under the moonlight, sighing in silence.
"It seems that Jianye has approached you, but you refused." Hua Ji nodded and said, "Since you have refused King Langya's recruitment, it is better to surrender to Shao."
Xun Zu still didn't answer, but his brows furrowed, revealing the entanglement in his heart.
At this moment, Hua Ji finally understood that his brother-in-law was really hesitant.
Perhaps at the beginning, he stood on the side of the imperial court and stayed behind closed doors to protect Xuzhou for the emperor and prevent it from falling into the hands of any party.
But after Mi Huang, Zu Ti, and Xi Jian used the Xuzhou prefectures as battlefields and engaged in large-scale wars, he found that it was difficult to maintain neutrality.
The north and the south continued to exert pressure, trying to influence his decision-making and make Pengcheng fall to their side.
Right now both sides are engaged in fighting and have no time to take care of him. But once the winner is determined, it will be difficult to keep Pengcheng, and it will inevitably be taken away.
"Jingheng, do you know why I haven't made up my mind to surrender to Shao?" Xun Zu lowered his head, looked at Hua Ji and said.
“Why?”
Xun Zu did not answer directly, but said to himself: "Pengcheng and Xiapi are both important towns in Xuzhou, but in comparison, Pengcheng is not as easy to defend as Xiapi. If Xi Jianruo raises his troops to besiege Pengcheng, I may not be able to defend it for long, it will only last for a month or two. "
"Shao Xun is from Xuzhou. When I got married in the past, there were even powerful men in Xuzhou who sent gifts from afar. Since the war, I have been constantly hinted that I can surrender to Shao."
"Xi Jian's soldiers are numerous and sharp, while Zu Ti's soldiers are few and weak, and they can only retreat in Xiapi. Jianye's support for Zu Ti is intermittent, and if the stalemate continues for a long time, Zu Ti will probably not get any favors, and Xi Jian will win. It may be bigger."
"In addition, Xi Jian has captured Yiyang Mountain to the west of Xiapi City. The next step is to advance from the west of the city to attack Xiapi."
Hua Ji stared. He rolled his eyes and said, "With these points, why doesn't Tai Zhang surrender to Shao?" He was extremely domineering, threatened the civil and military forces of the court with grain, and was very ambitious and good at attacking Gou Xi, which was tantamount to rebellion. He is not a good minister. I am forced by the situation and want to surrender to him, but I always feel uncomfortable and can't make up my mind."
The mentality of people like Xun Zu is quite typical. .
In terms of his personal values, life experience, personality, etc., he is more inclined to maintain the authority of the emperor and be loyal to the court.
But he is not as loyal to the end as those pure ministers - there is some loyalty, but not a lot.
In addition, the rapid rise of an upstart like Shao Xun made him very uncomfortable.
In particular, Xun Zu couldn't stand the fact that he vigorously promoted and appointed poor scholars and even local powerful children, and at the same time cultivated a martial arts group, because it impacted his cognition for most of his life and shattered the beauty he took for granted. something.
This subtle psychology prevented Xun Zu from making a prompt decision and immediately surrendering Pengcheng to Shao. Although he knew very well that Shao Xun had a greater chance of winning, he just couldn't pass the test in his heart.
To put it bluntly, the old gentry are resentful and even jealous of the rise of the mud-legged upstarts.
"Taizhang." After hearing what Xun Zu said, Hua Ji couldn't help but ask: "Do you think it is necessary for the Sima family to protect the world with death? Furthermore, if you lose your integrity, your wife, children, and children will be safe. You are in trouble. Could it be that you have made up your mind to cross south?"
Xun Zu was silent for a long time.
"That's it. Think about it carefully. I'll visit my sister in a few days. Let's talk about it then." Hua Ji cupped his hands and turned to leave.
Not long after returning to the oxcart, he immediately started writing letters.
A letter was sent to Yecheng and handed over to Lu Zidao.
A letter was sent to Xuchang and handed over to Chen Gong for review.
At this time, a new group of lobbyists had traveled east from Peiguo and were about to arrive in Xuzhou.
(End of this chapter)