Chapter 280 List of people
When Lu Zhi, the general of Beizhonglang, led his army eastward, the evil spirit was permeating the Yellow Turban Army in Hebei.
Since the death of General Zhang Liang in battle, the morale of Taiping Road has been visibly declining.
General Tiangong has always been in poor health. In the past, Zhang Liang was responsible for military affairs. Now that Zhang Liang has died in battle, the burden of the entire Taiping Road falls on Zhang Bao, the general of Tiangong.
However, Zhang Bao, the general of the land, was only a middle-aged man. He was already overwhelmed with the complicated war and could not spare the energy to care about the spiritual morale of the Taoist disciples. Therefore, the morale of the Taiping Road was extremely high.
The defeat in the Battle of Julu not only caused the Hebei Yellow Turban Army to lose a leader and tens of thousands of Taoist disciples, but what was even more frightening was that the belief that the Han army was invincible pervaded the army. With the help of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans, who were "proficient in fighting", their army of more than 100,000 people could not defeat the Han army. Can the Han army still defeat it?
This defeat also had a direct consequence, that is, there were still many powerful forces in the cities originally conquered by Taiping Dao. When Taiping Dao had successive victories, they still cautiously expressed their allegiance to Taiping Dao. We dare not slack off in our support of human and material resources.
But what now? Their courage began to grow, and some cities far away from Guangzong had even re-hanged the Han military flag anyway. Even at a relatively short distance, some powerful tribes began to move at night, attacking the Yellow Turban Army and plundering their military supplies.
Faced with this tense situation, Zhang Bao had no choice but to strengthen monitoring of powerful people in various places. It's not like he never thought about doing anything to these powerful people, like the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans, they would confiscate their homes and fields, but the Hebei Yellow Turbans really didn't have the cohesion to accomplish such a thing.
The Zhang brothers of Julu are powerful men in Hebei and their family is extremely wealthy. Therefore, Hebei Taiping Road has had close relations with local powerful people from the beginning. Because the powerful people in Hebei lacked a way to rise, they were also willing to use the religiously-heavy Taiping Road to form associations and expand their influence. Taipingdao also needed the support and missionary support of these powerful people, so the two became closer and closer.
Back then, when Zhang Liang and Zhang Chong were discussing the development direction of Taiping Road under the peach trees in Lushoupo, Jinan, Zhang Liang recognized his strategy of breaking the power of the powerful and dividing the land. So as soon as he returned to Hebei, he started operating near Julu. At first, Zhang Liang attacked some local tycoons, all of whom had obvious evil deeds. But even so, Zhang Liang's actions still encountered strong backlash. Not only was the action stopped, the person was also given a warning by Zhang Jiao. In short, in the end, Hebei's campaign to break the power and divide the land was cancelled.
Now that the Battle of Julu was defeated, the Han army came again from Handan. The powerful people in Hebei became even more arrogant and did not care about Taiping Road's so-called surveillance. Some local tycoons have a gambling bent and have begun to get in touch with the Han army.
Lu Zhi was originally a celebrity in Hebei and was familiar with the powerful people in Hebei. Therefore, when he came into contact with people over there, Lu Zhi immediately said that he would forget all the blame, and he also made a wish and directly appointed several local tycoons as school captains, allowing them to return to their hometowns with the Han army's talismans and recruit troops to prepare for the arrival of the Han army in Hebei. .
The powerful people in Hebei always favored each other. As soon as they got the guarantee from the Han army, they contacted the leading family in Hebei, the Cui family of Dongwucheng, also known as Qinghe Cui. They gathered around Cui of Qinghe and took the lead in planting flags behind the Yellow Turbans of Hebei.
The local tycoons in Julu County also used oxcarts to deliver baggage to the Han army. Some local tycoons also used their familiarity with the geography to serve as spies for the Han army. Even some local thieves brandished swords and halberds, and joined the thieves to attack the Yellow Turban Army at each barrier.
It can be said that the Hebei Yellow Turbans at this time are quite precarious.
And what about Qingzhou Yellow Turban? They also have no time to worry about friendly forces. After being appointed to stay in Lecheng, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans stationed themselves in this fortress on the bank of the Zhangshui River.
As we all know, the most important geographical form in North China is the Taihang Mountains. It is like a giant dragon dividing Bingzhou and Jizhou. On the left side of Taihang Mountain is the Shangdang Plateau. The so-called Shangdang people are as high as the sky, which shows how high the terrain is. Precisely because Shangdang is high and Jizhou is low, most rivers from Jizhou have their sources in Shangdang.
Just like this Zhangshui. Zhangshui can be divided into two branches: Zhangshui and Zhuozhangshui. They both originate from the Shangdang Plateau. The mountain streams in the northern part of the Shangdang Plateau converge and go down the mountain. This is the Qingzhang River. In the southern area of Shangdang, the mountain streams converge and go down the mountain. This is the Zhuozhang River. The two waters merge together and go around Yecheng to Liren.
In fact, there are two important rivers in Hebei, which can be divided into three important regions. These two rivers are the Hutuo River and the Zhangshui River. The Hutuo River can divide Jizhou into the northern part of Jizhou, mainly the Changshan and Zhongshan areas. In the early Warring States period, this river was also the dividing line between the Zhongshan Kingdom and the Zhao Kingdom. Next is Zhangshui, which divides the central and southern regions of Jizhou. The central area of Jizhou consists of the three places of Zhao, Julu and Qinghe. To the south of the Zhang River is the State of Wei and the southern region of Jizhou. Historically, this was the dividing line between Zhao and Wei during the Warring States Period.
In the case of limited transportation capacity in ancient times, the route from Shanxi to Hebei relied on Baxing. The internal transportation in Hebei relies on the Hutuo River, Zhangshui River, and other clear water systems. Therefore, at this time, the Lecheng City where the Yellow Turbans were stationed in Qingzhou, this important fortress on the Zhang River was the one that the Han army had to capture.
As long as the Han army defeats the following people, they can continue to rely on the Zhangshui waterway and go all the way north to attack the Anping State area where the Yellow Turban Army of Hebei is entrenched.
But the people are obviously not easy to fight, because this place was the eastern gateway of Handan, Zhao State, and it was for military purposes from the beginning. Everything here, including the pier and the ferry, exudes the simplicity of classical militarism. Watchtowers, deer villages, beacons and other garrison facilities are all available.
Moreover, there were 50,000 Qingzhou Yellow Turbans stationed here at this time. In order to supply these 50,000 Yellow Turbans, Hebei Taiping Road continuously recruited ships to transport supplies, so there were boats everywhere on the Zhangshui River. Since the Zhang River passes directly through the city, these supply ships can deliver supplies into the city by stopping directly at the ferry.
Lieren City was not big. After being crossed by the Zhang River, it was divided into the North City and the South City, with the ferry of Zhang River in the middle. Both cities had city walls on one side of the Zhang River, so the two cities were like two triangular cities.
Because Lieren's main protection was to protect Handan in the west, Lieren's North City, that is, the half of the city on the north bank of the Zhang River, was the most protective, with numerous military fortresses and flags fluttering. The half of the rows on the south bank of Zhangshui River are mainly civilian houses, where the logistics and troops of the Qingzhou Yellow Turban are located.
Compared to the solemnity of the North City, the South City is much more casual, just like a Dali community. Vegetable fields opened up everywhere in the city raise some pigs, sheep and chickens. Some of the female relatives accompanying the army washed their men's clothes and then hung them to dry on the city wall.
When Dong Zhuo appeared outside Liren City with four thousand Hedong soldiers and Liangzhou soldiers, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans in the city were still enjoying the peaceful afternoon.
If the Han army saw the situation in the city, they might really lament that these Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were more like a group of vagrants than an army.
The weapons of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans are not inferior to those of the Han army. The sophisticated armor produced from the Qingzhou arsenal is not inferior to that of the Han army. But that doesn't mean that if they take these armors, they belong to an army. The Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou are not without warriors. There must be warriors within ten men, let alone more than 50,000 young men? But this does not allow the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans to become an army, because they lack the discipline that an army must have.
When Dong Zhuo's army appeared, Jinan Qushuai Sun Zheng was discussing something with several of his heroes.
That is how the Ren Gong General Zhang Liang died.
During the Battle of Julu, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans attacked the main force of the Han army from the flanks, and Renggong General Zhang Liang commanded the Hebei Han army as the first attack. Later, when Dong Zhuo's reinforcements arrived, the Hebei Yellow Turbans collapsed first and evacuated the battlefield, while the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were able to retreat slowly because of the distance.
After the sacrifice to Sun was withdrawn, he heard that his teacher Zhang Liang had died. When he arrived in a hurry, his teacher had already been put into clean clothes, and he barely dragged him to the memorial ceremony for his grandson before he died.
At that time, Jisun was still immersed in sadness and didn't think much about it. Later, he continued to take care of his teacher's funeral. But then when the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were assigned to the garrison, Ji Sun felt something was wrong no matter how he thought about it.
Logically speaking, as General Renggong was the substantive leader at that time, how could he have less protection? But the other generals didn't die much. On the contrary, General Renggong, who was slightly behind the battlefield, died.
And why were the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans assigned to Lieren? This was the front line of contact with the Han army. Even if the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans did come to support Hebei, they were there to support, not to block the sword.
If these are still doubtful, the rise of a rumor in the army will make Ji Sun extremely uncomfortable. The rumor said that General Renggong's fatal wound was an arrow in the back.
Jisun, who knew his teacher well, knew that if the army was defeated, the division's character would definitely meet the enemy head-on and stabilize the morale of the army. Then the arrow behind him must have been fired by a friendly force behind him. If this rumor is true, then the murderer turns out to be one of our own.
This made Ji Sun, who knew the details of the strife among the upper echelons of Taiping Road, shudder.
So Jisun discussed this matter with his relatives and generals, asking them to be more open-minded and pay attention. This attention did reveal many problems.
At this time, a close general said:
"Qu Shuai, most of the millet sent here is old. A small part is rotten and cannot be eaten."
Ji Sun frowned and asked:
"How many times has this happened?"
"The third time."
People here reported that the quality of the supplies was poor, and people there said that the winter clothes they requested several times never arrived. Seeing that the cold winter was coming, it was still summer when they set off from Qingzhou Yellow Turban, so they came to Hebei wearing a single coat. How could they survive the severe cold in Hebei without winter clothes?
These generals are all Ji Sun's confidants, and many of them are among the Ten Warriors who competed with Zhang Chong. So they all understood what Ji Sun was suspicious of.
One of them simply said:
"Qu Shuai, why don't we go back to Qingzhou. We are really young people in Hebei. Not only does it depend on people's looks, but there is no guarantee. The brothers below are a little disappointed and want to go back to Qingzhou."
In fact, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were not only cold-hearted, but also a bit frightened by being killed by the Han army. They had never fought against the main force of the Han army before. They had always fought against some local powerful soldiers or soldiers from counties and counties. Suddenly encountering the main Han soldiers from Hebei led by Lu Zhi, especially the fifth school of the Northern Army, they were killed directly and were a little panicked.
In the army, we often encounter Taoist disciples kneeling to Qingzhou in the east. They pray that they can return to their hometown alive, and do not want to be a lonely ghost who died in a foreign land.
Ji Sun often walked in the army, and he knew clearly the morale of the army. It was not that he had not thought about evacuating from Lecheng, and even returned to Qingzhou regardless of it. But if he doesn't figure out his master's death, he won't be able to get over his own hurdle.
While Ji Sun and others were continuing their discussion, two other commanders of the Qingzhou Army, Zhang Rao and Xu He, came hand in hand. As soon as they arrived, they announced that Han soldiers had appeared outside the city.
Ji Sun was startled and hurriedly led his generals to the top of the city and took a first look to the west.
……
When Dong Zhuo's army arrived to the west of Liren, they did not plan to attack, but began to build fortifications. Because the 40-mile stretch from Handan to Lieren was completely flat and undefeable, the fortifications built by Dong Zhuo were located in a wilderness. Not far behind is Jize, where water is easily accessible.
Originally, Dong Zhuo planned to cut off the water supply in the city based on his experience in fighting in Liangzhou. But once you see the Zhang River, which is so vast that a giant boat can run parallel to it, passing through Liren City, you know that there is no danger of water shortage in the city.
Since the water supply could not be cut off, Dong Zhuo established his camp honestly. He asked the Qin and Hu soldiers to supervise the local tycoons who had surrendered along the road and asked them to dig trenches and build strongholds. This was also his experience in Liangzhou. The means of driving the people into slavery and filling the gap are readily available.
Dong Zhuo captured another group from the surrounding areas and gathered nearly a thousand people to dig trenches, build earthen walls, and camps for him. Dong Zhuo considered that Lu Zhi would arrive with the main force later and would need a camp wall, so he drove the wealthy people from the countryside to continue building it.
The local tycoons were a little dumbfounded. Originally they thought they were coming to seek refuge with Master Wang, but they were treated like cattle and horses. In fact, these people are just dumbfounded now. When Dong Zhuo drives them to fill the gully later, they may not be able to cry.
No matter what, under the supervision of the Qiang and Hu Yi Cong behind them, these people can only do the work of slaves honestly. These foreigners don't understand the words of the Hebei people. As long as they see someone stop, they will be whipped, regardless of who you are or who you know.
Anyway, these barbarians made these Hebei village tycoons complain endlessly.
After working for most of the day, when these local tycoons and people dragged their exhausted bodies and prepared to return to the camp for food, they were told that they had no food at all.
So they quit and started to cause trouble. Then he was beheaded directly by the rough Qin Hu soldiers. When several bloody heads were hung up, everyone knew that these Han soldiers did not care whether they lived or died.
While Dong Zhuo was building fortifications outside the city, Jisun, Zhang Rao, and Xu He inside the city were also inspecting the city. They are all the first-generation Qushuai from all parties. Most of the believers in the army know them, and some of them were personally preached and converted to Christianity by these three people. Therefore, the prestige of Sanqushuai in the army goes without saying.
The three of them patrolled the city head and the fortifications outside the city with calm expressions, constantly boosting the morale of the army. Especially since he was originally a Taoist priest, he knew how to win people.
Every time he met someone he knew, he would shout out his name, pat the person on the shoulder, and ask him if he was afraid.
Qingzhou people are nice, but they are really scared. In this situation, they all turned red and shouted:
"Not afraid."
Then Ji Sun shouted:
"Heaven is dead, and Huang Tian must stand. For Huang Tian's great cause, let's kill him in these cities."
So all the soldiers shouted:
"Not bad!"
I have been really tired recently. When I think about Xiao Chen’s wedding at the end of next month, I feel even more anxious. I don’t know why I am anxious. Anyone who has been married understand why this is?
(End of chapter)