As the sun was setting, Hengshui City in the northernmost part of Jizhou was about to close its gates, and the city towers were preparing to hang red lanterns. Behind the face, he raised his voice to raise the half-fallen city gate again, and the scout with two arrows stuck in his back rushed in, shouting with all his strength: "Urgent enemy situation, Beimang army is attacking!"
Not long after, beacon smoke was lit in Hengshui City to warn the neighboring Yinharrier City. Soon the beacon towers south of the two cities of Hengshuiyinyao were lit up one after another. In less than half an hour, the entire northern part of Jizhou knew the astonishing news of the 50,000 enemy cavalry invasion from Beimang!
The new guard of Hengshui City is a bloated middle-aged fat man. His surname is Gao and his name is Ying. Nan Gao clan and Gao Ying didn't have time to put on their armor, so they rushed to the head of Hengshui City surrounded by their personal guards, their faces pale. It wasn't that Gao Ying didn't want to run away, but according to the military information passed on by the scouts, the Northern Mang Vanguard Cavalry Army was close at hand, and there were a large number of horse fences going south around the city to block the way first.
Gao Ying's teeth chattered, she really regretted it! I thought that after Wei Jingtang died in the battle, General Yuan Tingshan of Jizhou, who had seven or eight thousand private cavalry troops from Yanbao of the Li family as his direct lineage, won several battles here one after another, and Gu Jiantang of the Dazhu Kingdom on the Liaodong border also reported frequent victories. Gao Ying reckoned that the barbarians from Beimang would not send troops to Jizhou to fight the autumn wind since it was difficult for them to fight against Beiliang, so they spent 300,000 taels of silver successively to open up joints between General Yuan and the capital. It was because of his love for the old general Yang Shenxing that he snatched the fat post of the guard of Hengshui with a son of a family in the capital. Now there are 5,000 defenders in the city nominally, but it is harder to find a general in Jizhou who does not eat empty wages than a three-legged toad, but now that Yuan Tingshan is watching, the food looks much better, most of them only dare to eat One or two percent is empty, at most thirty percent, but Gao Ying is not the eldest son of the family, he spent 300,000 taels of private money from his second house to become this official, so the real strength of Hengshui City is less than three thousand! And all of them are oil soldiers drawn from Jinan, but can this be blamed on Gao Ying? Although the archers abundant in the border of Jibei are more familiar with bows and horses, they are also more expensive. A Jibei archer can beat them. Two Jinan infantry who were known as "unique in the world" a few years ago are gone. Yang Shenxing took away all of Jizhou's old foundations. As a result, he suffered a big defeat in Guangling Road. Now the second-class elite Jinan The pawns were all put in prison by Yuan Tingshan, and Gao Ying wanted to get back her capital within three years, so what else could she do other than just put on a show in Hengshui City
Gao Ying turned her head to look at Yinyao City. Wei Kuanxiao, the guard over there, was also of similar character to her. She had just bought an official hat that hadn't been warmed up yet. Here comes the fourth son of Jizhou. The one surnamed Wei is worse than myself. I still dare not tamper with the equipment in the warehouse in the city. It is said that Wei Kuanxiao's Silver Harrier City is almost evacuated, and it was sold privately at a low price to several powerful soldiers in Jibei. Invite yourself to Yinyaocheng to drink flowers and wine, Wei Kuanxiao, a bastard who is blinded by lard and money, actually spent a lot of money to invite two popular oirans from Zhoucheng to accompany the wine, and the two of them galloped on a big bed and two rouge horses During the "fight", Wei Kuanxiao also suggested this matter to him, saying that the money is too fast, fifty carriages full of bows, crossbows, armor and guns can go back and forth, and a small hundred thousand taels of silver can be credited to the account, and it is guaranteed to be unimpeded Gao Ying wondered at the time, although Yuan Tingshan, the general of Jizhou, was not lenient in border affairs, he had always been strict. Wei Kuanxiao laughed and called him a pig's brain, and wrote two customers' notes on the back of the oiran Bai Nen with his thick fingers. Surname, Li, Han.
Gao Ying understood in an instant, the Yanbao Li family who share the same spirit as Yuan Tingshan! And the loyal Han family, who was once copied and beheaded by all the families, and now makes a comeback! One has the Dazhu Kingdom, which is in charge of the military administration of the Liao Dynasty, as the biggest backer, and the other is Han Fang, the deputy general of Jizhou, whom His Majesty the Emperor wantonly pursued and promoted! Gao Ying and Wei Kuanxiao didn't know anything about leading the army, but they were deeply influenced by their families. No matter how bad they were as officials, Yuan Tingshan's military exploits continued, but being a general of Jizhou on the border was almost the pinnacle. Otherwise, the father-in-law has already ruled the entire Liangliao. If the son-in-law is in charge of Jizhou, it is not enough to come to the whole Hezhou, is that okay? ! So this needs to be checked and balanced by the single seedling of the Han family in Jizhou. No matter how much the emperor rewards and grants military power, the foundation is still shallow. Deputy General Han Fang will be a border military general worthy of the court's trust and reliance within five years.
Hear his voice before seeing him.
Gao Ying seemed to feel that the whole city was shaking.
With the last afterglow, at the end of Gao Ying's vision, a black line suddenly appeared from the horizon.
Gao Ying's heart was ashamed, Jibei's defense line was completely over.
This fat man who only came to Hengshui City to eat empty wages, seems to have not had time to make any money from border smuggling.
Gao Ying looked around in a daze, except for the personal servants brought from the Gao family, those guards at the top of the city were all young and immature faces. I heard that in the northern part of Jizhou, you only need to wear armor and hold a spear in the city to get a good job. Military pay, and then they all came to Hengshui City. They didn't even know that the previous guard Wei Jingtang, a student of Zhang Julu, the old chief assistant, was once forced out of the city to fight the Beimang cavalry army. Eight hundred horizontal water cavalry and four thousand fine infantry all died in the first battle. What's more, they didn't know that 10,000 Youzhou cavalry troops who quietly crossed the border and rushed for thousands of miles broke through Beimang earlier. This Hengshui City is actually not peaceful at all.
Many soldiers in Hengshui City are still lucky until now, naively thinking that the mighty Beimang cavalry army is just here to show off their power, or that General Yuan Tingshan of Jizhou will soon lead his army to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, or it is Dazhu Kingdom Gu Jiantang is leading troops from Liaodong.
…
Wang Sui assembled 50,000 fine horsemen from the northernmost frontier army in Beimang in one breath, 10,000 horsemen each from Qiu Nabo as big as Zhe Shiwei and Dong Nabo Wang Jingchong, and three others who bit the bullet and ignored the two Beimang soldiers. The general's "tactful persuasion" by the young and strong ten thousand commander, 50,000 horses, compared with the total number of troops on the eastern front of Beimang, which gradually increased from the Beiting grassland to nearly 300,000, does not seem to hurt the bones, but the decision In the trend of a large-scale war, the number of heads is very important, but it is not absolute. Beimang's new Eastern Front coach Wang Sui abducted these 50,000 elite soldiers, which was almost equivalent to taking away half of the Eastern Front's energy.
The two generals on the eastern frontier who had the same seniority as Liu Gui and Yang Yuanzan had lower authority than Wang Sui, and they couldn't control the three commanders who were born in the grassland, let alone Da Ru. The sons of wealthy families like Shi Wei and Wang Jingchong can only watch these 50,000 people go to Jizhou, which is unimaginable in the Liyang Dynasty.
Shi Wei, who was as big as Zhe Shiwei, rode a prairie horse with a whole body like ink, looked up at the outline of Hengshui City, smiled ferociously and said, "We can still have dinner when we enter the city!"
There was still some distance before the charge, Wang Jingchong did not drive his horse to his ten-thousand-person army, and stood beside Wang Sui with Qiu Nabo on the left and right, frowning: "The intelligence reports say that the guards of the two cities, Gao Ying and Wei Kuanxiao are both Wine bag and rice bag, but if the opponent is desperately defending, our night battle is at a disadvantage. In addition, 50,000 horses are cavalry. Although it is no problem to dismount and fight, but there is no siege equipment at all. Really can take these two easily. Jibei important town?"
Wang Sui sneered and said, "For things like leading troops to fight, in addition to paying attention to the ever-changing changes on the battlefield, you also have to pay attention to the situation outside the battlefield. When you have the opportunity to go to the Central Plains, you should do so. Wang Jingchong, why do you think Yuan Tingshan will let you go?" Two idiots guarding the Hengshuiyin Harrier, does he really have no spare troops in his hands? Take 10,000 steps back and say, the Li family's Yanbao who has a grasshopper on the line with him has 8,000 private horses. The cavalry battle is not weak, and the city can defend the city. What's the problem? It's not clear that he is making way for us. Otherwise, if he wins and fights all the way, do you think he, the general of Jizhou, will wait for a few days? The battle in Guangling Road was so unbearable. An imperial decree was sent to the mansion of the general of Jizhou, and the court asked him to go How dare he, Yuan Tingshan, say no to the Nanzheng coach Lu Shengxiang's subordinates? Even if he dares, that kid's old father-in-law will be the first to clean him up!"
Daru Shiwei said impatiently: "I don't believe that Gao Ying and Wei Kuanxiao really have the courage of Wei Jingtang, let alone Wei Jingtang's ability. If we take down the two cities, whether we go south to Jizhou or west to Hehe Whether Zhouzhou finally retreats to the east, there is a lot to do! Commander, you can directly order the attack on the city, Wang Jingchong, don’t rob me of Hengshui City’s first achievement!"
Wang Sui sneered and said, "Siege the city? Attack a city! If you want to die in battle, you can die in Youzhou."
As big as Zhe Shi Wei was stunned, "What should I do?"
Wang Sui looked at the border city shrouded in twilight, and said, "Tell them, surrender without killing or massacre the city. Just give them half an hour to think about it, and add another sentence, we only need food and armor in the city, as for the people. , as long as you are willing to take off your armor and get out of Hengshui City empty-handed, we will let you go."
Da Ru Zhe Shi Wei muttered, "It's boring."
Wang Sui turned his head and said to Wang Jingchong: "Go and tell those three big bosses that Hengshui City belongs to you and Daru Zhe Shiwei, and Yinyao City belongs to the three of them."
Wang Jingchong nodded, and was about to ride away when he heard Wang Sui say calmly: "When the soldiers of the two cities leave the city and retreat to the south, it will be up to the five of you to make military exploits. Well, remember , leave a little bit of life to pass on a message to Yuan Tingshan, so that Jizhou will know that we are going all the way south. After that, according to the established arrangement, each of the two cities of Hengshuiyinying will leave 3,000 soldiers to defend the city, and everyone else will go with me Hezhou."
After Wang Jing Chongyuan left, Wang Sui asked with a smile: "Master Qiu Nabo, I heard that you are thinking of Cheng Cheng for dinner?"
Shi Wei, who had fiery eyes, said, "The two or three thousand people in Hengshui City are barely enough for my children and I to have a meal. We won't be full, but at least we can satisfy our hunger for a while."
Wang Sui was expressionless, looking up silently at Hengshui City, which had resisted countless times of prairie cavalry since it was built.
At the end of the summer of the first year of Xiangfu, the two cities of Hengshuiyinyao in Jizhou fell and fell into the hands of Beimang. It was rumored that the main force on the eastern front of Beimang was going to bypass the defense lines of the Liangliao and Liao, and use Jizhou as a breakthrough point to move southward.
Liyang shook the court and the public.
Han Lin, the new envoy of Huainan Road Economic Strategy, was urgently conferred the title of Grand Master of Guange by the imperial court not long after he took office.
Cai Nan, the governor of Huainan Road, was named the second-rank general of Zhenxi.
General Yuan Tingshan of Jizhou was granted the title of General Pingxi of the third rank.
Han Fang, deputy general of Jizhou, was granted the right to temporarily expand the military by 10,000 troops.
Entering Jizhou together with this imperial decree, there is also an oral secret decree personally delivered by the eunuch Song Tanglu, who was in charge of the ceremony supervisor.
The war in Jizhou must be limited to Jibei!
…
The sound of the horn resounded throughout the vast land around Qingcang City.
Liuzhou finally ushered in the first grand battle that swept almost all the troops on both sides of the western front.
The 30,000 infantry of the Longguan nobles acted as the main force to attack the city, and slowly spread out the formation front, launching an offensive against Qingcang City.
The cavalry troops in the four towns inside the Wazhu Gentleman's Pavilion closely guarded the southern part of the infantry, and confronted the Dragon Elephant Army far away.
The commander-in-chief of the western front, General Liu Gui, sat on horseback and personally supervised the siege of the city. Behind him were the 30,000 Liu Family Army who stood still, and the 10,000 personal guard cavalry brought by the King Tuoba Bodhisattva of the North Courtyard.
An aristocratic general from Longguan with the surname Jia didn't care about the success of the siege at all, and turned his head from time to time to look at the large area of Beiliang black armor arrayed three miles away.
Can the cavalry troops of the four towns in Gusai Prefecture really be able to withstand the charge of the Dragon Elephant Army? If the Dragon Elephant Army cut through their cavalry formation, and even the siege infantry broke through, it only needed two round trips, and this battle would be unnecessary! Do you want to offer Beiliang the greatest victory since the Great War? Didn't General Liu understand that the battle in Liuzhou was not the gain or loss of a small Qingcang city at all? In order to take down Qingcang City, is it worth taking such a risk on the entire western front
He finally couldn't hold back anymore, rode his horse to Liu Gui's side, and was about to speak, Liu Gui said coldly: "I've made up my mind, don't need to say more!"
The Chief Wan, who was born in Beimang, was also annoyed, but he still tried his best to suppress his anger, and tried his best to calmly advise this old man who is highly regarded by His Majesty: "General, such a directly separated cavalry The risk is really too great. It is not difficult to win the Little Qingcang City. Even if we hide 20,000 in the 30,000 infantry... no, even 10,000 heavily armored infantry are waiting for the opportunity of the Dragon Elephant Army. It's okay. It's not appropriate to be so desperate and underestimate the strength of Beiliang's cavalry for charging, General!"
Liu Gui didn't speak.
The general finally said angrily: "General, you are playing with the lives of 30,000 Longguan sons for your own official status!"
Now that there is an undercurrent in the temples of Xijing in the Southern Dynasties, the generals from the Western Front who originally came from the Southern Dynasties have heard of it. It would be considered polite to say that Liu Gui is not worthy of his name. If you are not polite, you will directly ask His Majesty to change the commander. Even the candidate is very clear. , in addition to Tuoba Bodhisattva who is already on the border of Liuzhou, and even Zhongtan who shines on the east line of Hulukou has been brought out. It's as simple as slapping Liu Gui's old face. How long has it been since Chong Tan joined the army? How long was the general Liu Gui's military career? Huang Songpu, the king of the former Southern Academy, came back after leaving office to replace Liu Gui, who had done nothing, as the head coach of the Western Front. He was undoubtedly the most popular in the Southern Dynasty. Therefore, the Eastern Front Army that has been stationed in Liuzhou for a long time has various rumors circulating.
At this moment, the general's face changed drastically, and the horse came slowly, and the man in light armor on the horse said in a deep voice, "Go back to the battle."
The general swallowed, turned his horse's head and returned to the infantry formation without saying a word.
Liu Gui glanced at the person who came, and asked with a smile: "King of the North Courtyard, do you think the Dragon Elephant Army dares to swallow the bait? The 30,000 infantry at the mercy of others, and the weak cavalry of the four towns, have enough bait." big."
The person who came was Tuoba Bodhisattva, who glanced at Qingcang City, "Wang Lingbao may not be able to see through the general's intentions, but Li Mofan, who is also the deputy general of the Dragon Elephant Army, can probably see it, but there are Yang Guangdou and others in that city. Chen Xiliang, if Li Mofan is smart enough, he will follow the trend, otherwise he will not be able to get promoted in the Beiliang frontier army in the future. Even if Li Mofan is deserted enough, as long as the Dragon Elephant Army launches a charge and comes to a stalemate, Li Mofan will never see death If you don’t save him, I believe he doesn’t have that kind of heart.”
Liu Gui chuckled and said, "On the surface, I, an old guy whose handsome position is in jeopardy, needs to go to the doctor in a hurry. They are fighting on the two fronts of Hutou City and Xiaguang City in Beiliang, and Liuzhou also needs a big victory to inspire people. , so both sides are ready."
Liu Gui restrained her smile, "Speaking of which, if it weren't for the other 20,000 relatives of the Great King of the North Courtyard, who were on their way quickly, even if I, Liu Gui, lost my position as commander, I still wouldn't be able to fight this battle. This Liuzhou can't eat all the Dragon Elephant Army in one go. It's meaningless to make small fights. The battle between Liangmang and Liuzhou was originally intended to be won by Liuzhou, but now it's just a big circle, finally return."
Tuoba Bodhisattva hesitated for a moment, and said in a deep voice, "After this battle is over, you will most likely be recalled to the Southern Dynasty, General."
Liu Gui smiled, "It's okay, just make room for Fatty Dong on the center line."
Tuoba Bodhisattva smiled softly: "General Liu, don't worry, you and I will enter the Central Plains hand in hand in the future."
Liu Gui nodded.
The old man said with emotion: "I'm sorry for these Nanchao sons who fought bravely. They came from the yellow sand of the desert, but in the end they just died in the yellow sand of the desert. They didn't even see the prosperity of the Central Plains. Even a single glance is fine."