A carriage drove leisurely to Sancang. The groom was Song Keli's handsome book boy. Yuan Benxi, who was sitting in the carriage, hung up the curtain all the time, looking at the herringbone formation of swan geese going south in the sky, dazed. Be the first bird to carry the strong wind. However, whether it is a family or a family, or a family or a country, someone must come forward.
After Song Keli left Weize County, there was no imperial palace newspaper to read, but Mr. Yuan would talk to him every once in a while, "leaking the secret" intentionally or unintentionally, and Song Keli was convinced of it. The Battle of Sancang was the first major defeat suffered by Tianzi on the territory south of Tai'an City after he ascended the throne. During the reign of Yonghui, he went on two expeditions to Nanzhao. However, in the first year of Xiangfu's Sancang riding battle, the general Yan Zhenchun died in battle, and the entire army of 30,000 fine cavalry was wiped out. It is doomed to be unable to cover the fig leaf. The embarrassment can also be understood as the result of underestimating the enemy, so the Yan family's cavalry army and the Western Chu rebels head-to-head without deceit, the result was still a complete defeat, and the court's important minister Mingqing had to re-evaluate the strength of Western Chu. Song Keli, who was dedicated to serving the country, was even more worried. It wasn't until Mr. Yuan opened the skylight to him and had a bright talk, that the young Feng of the Song family really saw the treacherous clouds and waves in the temple.
"Did you see one thing? Yang Shenxing's 40,000 Jinan old soldiers, as well as the newly created 5,000 or 6,000 cavalry, and Yan Zhenchun's original 30,000 fine cavalry guarding the capital, are all a certain person's 'family army'?"
Song Keli exclaimed, "But isn't the price too high?"
Yuan Benxi smiled and said indifferently: "The imperial court, mainly Gulu's military department, and the 'study office' where the living man is, these places do not think that the two meritorious veterans, Yang Shenxing and Yan Zhenchun, will be defeated. They should have lost in Western Chu After Cao Changqing, the backbone, showed up. But in this way, since the military strength in Gyeonggi 'seems' to be severely damaged, why does Guangling King Zhao Yi have any reason to stay still?"
Song Keli said with emotion: "Suppress the martial arts first, and cut down the vassals will be a matter of course. This is a conspiracy."
Yuan Benxi was noncommittal, hesitated for a moment, and laughed at himself: "I have read some military books, but I have never dared to say that I am familiar with military affairs, so I have always been able to not intervene in the layout of wars. People value self-knowledge, make use of strengths and avoid weaknesses. , many times as long as you don’t make mistakes, opportunities will come. Yang Shenxing lost in the temple. Otherwise, with the strength of the first-line troops, the two sides will balance the power. If Yang Shenxing fights steadily, he can still take advantage. But Yang Shenxing fought for most of his life It is reasonable to think of yourself as a "courier" instead of being an official of the frontier when you get older, and it is reasonable to lose outside the battlefield in the end. Song Keli, you must learn from it."
Song Keli nodded vigorously.
Yuan Benxi continued: "Yan Zhenchun was burdened by Yang Shenxing, so he had to go south in a hurry to disband his warehouse. He was waited for by the Western Chu cavalry, and the unexpected three thousand heavy cavalry disrupted the situation at a critical moment. The army has the law, the more the soldiers under his command are willing to fight to the end, the more they will fall into the trap of Western Chu. Based on Yan Zhenchun's experience, he must have guessed that there were ambushes behind the 20,000 Qingqi in Western Chu, but he did not expect that 20,000 of them would let them 30,000 The cavalry is at the end of the crossbow. The imperial court made a wrong step, and Xichu took the lead. It seems that Xichu has someone to succeed. The Ministry of War has a file that records more than a dozen young people, and four of them are the best. Two of the four appeared. Pei Sui, a son of the Pei Clan, was in charge of Kui Xiao's government affairs. , full of vigor, but absolutely unable to grasp the timing of the heavy cavalry's attack. From this point of view, the matter on the northern line should be written by Kou Jianghuai or Xie Xizhen among the four."
Song Keli said slowly: "I've heard of Kou Jianghuai. His ancestors are all generals of the Western Chu. He himself studied the art of war. He has the courage to fight in person, and he is a rare all-rounder in both civil and military affairs. As for who Xie Xizhen is, I have never heard of it in my late life. Mr. Yuan, the plan for the northern line of Western Chu is really not the established strategy of the Confucian sage Cao Changqing?"
Yuan Benxi shook his head and said, "Without these outstanding young people, how dare Cao Changqing return to the country?"
Yuan Benxi laughed suddenly, and it was the kind of laughter that couldn't stop laughing. Song Keli was stunned for a moment. In his impression, Mr. Yuan was calm in everything, with great wisdom and close to monsters, but deep in the city, and rarely showed his true feelings. After Yuan Benxi laughed heartily, he picked up the flagon and took a sip of the wine, and said: "I have been living in the Imperial Academy all my life, and I have listened to too many romantic talks of celebrities. A small group of people, there is no lack of merit. Either dealing with a group of shady behind-the-scenes characters, these characters are even more knowledgeable, each with their own outstanding talents, or there are flaws in small details, or superior foresight, one step at a time As a result, this trip out of Beijing, staying in those town inns, and listening to the boastful talk of poor scholars and rural peasants, I realized that there is something special about it.”
Song Keli didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and didn't dare to make rash comments. During this trip to the south, I did listen to a lot of funny remarks made by frogs at the bottom of the well. Song Keli often went into his left ear and out of his right ear, but Mr. Yuan relished it every time, and he became more and more happy when drinking and eating. For example, some rough people in the market said that Cao Changqing, who was nicknamed an official, was too stupid, so why didn't he hide in the capital to assassinate the current emperor, anyway, he had already been assassinated three times, so why not do it a few more times? It was better than doing nothing on Guangling Road. Some people have more "pragmatic" opinions, saying that if he were Cao Changqing, he would lead the masters of the rivers and lakes to sit on the northern line, kill thousands of people at a time, once every few days, and kill all the way to the foot of Tai'an City, without compromising the whole of Western Chu. One soldier. It's not that there are some original opinions and objections. Since this is the case, why doesn't our court pay a lot of money to hire experts who are among the martial arts critics, and they gather together to kill Beimang. What do you want General Gu Jiantang's frontier army to do? Beiliang iron cavalry do what? It is clear that there are rules hidden between heaven and earth that we ordinary people do not understand. It's just that these people were questioned to the bottom, and they couldn't tell why. In the market, following the uprising of Western Chu and the erection of the Jiang character flag, there was no such a good situation as Liyang Wangshi's victory in the first battle. The battle was stalemate and very lively.
Yuan Benxi asked with a soft smile: "Do you think that those people who are far away from the center have poor knowledge and shallow knowledge?"
Song Keli didn't deliberately hide his thoughts, nodded and said: "Wan Sheng really thinks so."
Yuan Benxi shook his head and said: "It's not that I haven't thought about rectifying the forces in the Jianghu. It's just that the first emperor ordered Xu Xiaoma to step into the Jianghu, which made a bad start. Afterwards, although the imperial court left a lot of reckless in the Jianghu among the guards with the golden sword in front of the imperial court. For minor officials, the Ministry of Justice and Zhao Gou also distributed a lot of amulets, sending out a considerable number of copper and yellow embroidered carp bags, but compared with the courage of the Northern Mang Empress, it still pales in comparison. Although the top warriors who are arrogant and arrogant, do not hesitate to join forces Assassinating someone is wishful thinking, but it is not difficult to reduce the death of soldiers in a battle. There are only two things that completely dissuade me from thinking about it. and Liu Haoshi’s self-contained mentality in Tai’an City. The second thing is Xu Xiao’s confiscation of the world’s secret books into the warehouse, and the establishment of the rules of passing on the first rivers and lakes. The tone cannot create the atmosphere of the Beimang stream blending into the river."
Yuan Benxi sighed, shook the jug, looked at the young Song Keli, and said in a deep voice: "Smart people do great things, and the means are not necessarily complicated, and often even very simple, but there is only one thing that can't go wrong, that is, the eyes. The distance you see and the path you walk must be correct. What is really difficult is the difficult word that is easier said than done. Your grandparents and fathers have joined hands to dominate the literary world and suppress others. You may not be unaware of this move It hinders the morality of scholars, why? I still can't let go of the honor and disgrace of the family. Today's failure to adopt Li Beangxin's new calendar is not necessarily a lack of pity for the people of the world. Benxi was also convinced, this high official entered the palace twice, as long as he was not serious about killing, the old friend and I would not stop him, but we turned a blind eye to it twice, why? Cao Changqing couldn't let anyone go That's all, the old man and I are reluctant to part with our generation of Confucian scholars, being scattered by the early wind and rain."
Yuan Benxi said with deep emotion: "If a person is obsessed with something, he will be ignorant, but he will be true. How can a few words express the meaning of good and bad among them."
Song Keli was about to continue to ask for advice, but Yuan Benxi had no intention of speaking, and just said to himself: "The situation in the world has probably been concluded by people. The situation in the temple will also be resolved in this dynasty. Counselors like Yuan Benxi and Li Yishan Nalan Youci have also become famous. As for the emperor's teacher, it is even more hopeful."
Afterwards, the whole journey south was calm and calm. General Yan Zhenchun and his 30,000 Yan family cavalry were a thing of the past, and the imperial court was still dispatching troops. There was no fighting in a short period of time, and those horse thieves disappeared overnight. No, the carriage went without any surprises, and even arrived at the battlefield of Sancang unimpeded.
Yuan Benxi stepped out of the carriage, and instead of walking immediately to the battlefield where fifty thousand cavalry were deployed, he came to the place where the Western Chu heavy cavalry stayed. Only Beiliang, Jizhou, and Liangliao have horses from Liyang. The horses of Western Chu are inherently inferior to these three places, and the heavy cavalry rushing to the battlefield cannot be the momentum that ordinary people imagine, galloping all the way like a rainbow, but A large number of mules and horses and auxiliary soldiers are required. Before the heavy cavalry enters the battlefield, the cavalry does not wear armor or mount a horse. They only choose to hide in places not far or near the battlefield, and wait quietly for the opportunity. Once the demanding heavy cavalry completes the charged charge, the huge impact force gathered together is unparalleled! It can be said that the heavy cavalry army is like the woman that every cavalry commander tries to hide in a golden house, and it is also a terrible "rival in love" that the enemy commander does not want to encounter.
Yuan Benxi walked slowly according to the marching route of this heavy cavalry army participating in the war, until he reached the final battlefield, Yuan Benxi squatted down and closed his eyes.
It seems to be able to see the tragic and tragic scenes in the cavalry battle.
The light cavalry fought to the end, and the Xichu heavy cavalry came out.
Yan Zhenchun, who had already changed several horses, was covered in blood, and looked at death as home, and took the few remaining bodyguard cavalry who had been escorting him, and took the lead to meet the heavy cavalry.
Those with horses continue to ride and fight, making a final charge and collision.
The Yan family's cavalry, who had no more horses to ride, formed a formation and faced the unstoppable torrent of iron armor together.
After the overall situation was settled, Xichu Qingqi, who was also extremely tired, continued to grit his teeth and chase after him.
Yan Zhenchun was the first to die in battle without even leaving his body.
The general then died.
Many cavalrymen of the Yan family who were unable to fight any more watched dumbly as the spears on the enemy's horses stabbed at them, or watched in a daze as the swords of the "pawns" of Western Chu slashed down.
Numerous blood-soaked banners fell on the battlefield.
Some cavalry pawns tried their best to reach out and hold the corner of the flag before they died.
After the war, the young commander of Xichu, who did not personally enter the battlefield, orderly ordered the assistant general to deal with the funeral. The young man did not have the joy of becoming famous in the first battle. I just sat on the ground alone, looked around, silently lowered my head, raised my arms, and wiped away my tears.
Not only for Xi Chuerlang, but also for the Yan family's cavalry of those hostile camps.