Wang Wu's disastrous defeat was one of those situations where even a true defeat would not be surprising.
Because no matter how sincere, submissive, and reasonable Wang Shuyong is on weekdays, it is impossible for him to change his nature of being a powerful person in just half a year.
This kind of person suddenly gains a county and tens of thousands of people. Even though he probably knows in his heart that he is no match for the opponent, and probably knows that the two leaders behind him are right to remind him, he will still be reluctant to let go of the bottle, so that he will be beaten by others. A battle is like a landslide.
Of course, Zhang Xing also had to learn a lesson from this, that is, even if he insists, he must put people first and land second. As the saying goes, we must not rely on military force until it is a last resort. decisive battle.
However, it is not surprising at all. Because of this defeat, it is natural that the military situation of the Deposed Dragon Gang has become extremely difficult.
In fact, after sweeping through the three counties in the past three months, the unstoppable eastward army was in a panic after barely catching up with the defeated army in Jibei County. It almost fled and abandoned the Pinglu and Xu areas between Lu County and Jibei County. Chang, Sucheng and other fertile areas, directly choose to withdraw westward.
It's impossible if we don't retreat. If we don't leave, we'll be completely surrounded.
During the retreat, the situation of the troops became worse and worse. Morale was low. It was common for them to lose their armor and recruits to flee. Quarrels between leaders and fights between troops were also common. And an even worse incident happened. The incident - the two newly surrendered leaders of Dongping County, a county magistrate and a local powerful man, directly coerced a small number of troops to surrender to the official army.
Before leaving, he even attacked friendly forces.
In this case, people are naturally panicked.
So soon, there were old leaders from Jiyin and Dongjun, specifically the Zhai brothers and Shang Huaizhi. These two sub-level powerful and powerful factions, because they saw the miserable situation of Wang and Shan, He was obviously frightened by the loss, so he gathered a group of people and proposed to return to his hometown.
Several big leaders who suffered a tragic defeat were also a little moved.
When you win, you can't wait to seize territory, but when you lose, you can't help but want to preserve your strength... This is the most troublesome problem for a feudal army built with powerful men as the main force.
Because this behavior is not even intentional, but an instinct, and even a sense of mutually recognized rules.
These guys, Zhang Xing and Li Shu, are the most powerful and capable anti-thief backbones they can find. No one thinks there is anything wrong with this behavior... This is precisely the biggest problem.
However, it was at this time that the leader of the left wing, Li Shu, stood up. With the prestige he had gained from successfully defending Pinglu, coupled with the strong support of Xiong Bonan and some scribe-type leaders, he forcibly suppressed all the noise, and then He led the remaining soldiers and defeated the generals and retreated to Yuncheng, the capital of Dongping County, where he began to defend and prepare to face the enemy.
Yuncheng is considered a famous and large city in the east, and it is also a crucial city.
This is because when Jishui came here, it spread into Juye Ze with a radius of a hundred miles. Not only did Yuncheng have Juye Ze on its back, the water and land were unobstructed, making it easy to defend. More importantly, because of the existence of Juye Ze, Yuncheng The area between Jishui Waters and Dahe becomes narrow here, and the straight-line distance is only fifty or sixty miles... This means that this city can easily monitor Dahe and Juyeze, as well as the land passage between the two.
Practitioners are stronger and can fly when condensing pills, but one person cannot be worth 10,000 mules and transport logistics independently... In other words, as long as large troops are required to operate, it is impossible in this era. Some people are stupid enough to expose their logistics lines to this big city.
From this perspective, Li Shu's retreat and choice were undoubtedly the right choice.
Relying on this strong city, a large city, and a key city, they can hold on while resting and recuperating. Coupled with the parity in the high-level combat power of both sides, the officers and soldiers will never be able to break the city in a short time, and they will not dare to rely on victory. The momentum can be overcome easily.
Sure enough, after the chaotic battle, the officers and soldiers hurriedly gathered from the east and tried to pursue the victory, but when facing Yuncheng, they fell into an embarrassing siege.
And they quickly withdrew the siege, because they found that the waterway in Juye Ze was open, but for them, if the city was not broken, how could they go west to raid it?
Therefore, we can only occupy the Shouzhang and Pinglu lines, and enter Liangshan to the north of Juyeze to monitor Yuncheng, forming a military confrontation.
Thanks to this, Zhang Dalong's head was at the rear, and he acted as if nothing had happened for a while.
"Li Gong has arranged for Cheng Dalang to leave Juluze?" Facing the messenger in the lobby of Jiyin County Mansion, Zhang Xing was surprised for a moment, but he soon came to his senses. "Are you asking him to contact those in Dengzhou and ask them to attack Qi County?"
The messenger, Du Caiqian, who was Li Shu's confidant and who was squeezed out by Zhang Xing in a sense, was obviously startled by Zhang Xing's quick reaction, but he nodded immediately and verified: "Yes. this means."
Zhang Xing thought for a while and nodded heavily: "There is nothing wrong with Mr. Li's arrangement. In addition, his behavior of sticking to Yuncheng can even be called a divine force... Does he have any other explanations?"
"He still wants to ask about the trends of the Huaiyou League and Xuzhou." There was nothing surprising about the questions Du Caigan brought. "Especially Xuzhou, because if Xuzhou's elite go directly north, cross Jishui, and then pass west of Juye Ze, Yuncheng will lose the significance of defending the city..."
"I specially invited Leader Du of the Huaiyou League to come back because I temporarily knew a piece of information at that time, and it was related to Xuzhou..." Zhang Xing was silent for a while, and then chose to partially reveal himself in front of some leaders. "As far as I know, the Xuzhou direction may choose Sima Zheng as the leader to march to the east, so I made some arrangements... Leader Du and Leader Zhou went to deal with this matter, mainly hoping to promote a change of generals in front of the formation. .”
There was a moment of silence in the lobby of Jiyin County Mansion.
After a while, Du Caigan, who was born on the edge of Guanlong, struggled to speak: "Sima is the second son of the Sima family? The one who ranks first on the list of talents?"
"Yes." Zhang Xing replied simply.
"Are Leader Zhou and Leader Du sure?" Du Caigan asked with difficulty.
"Do your best and obey the destiny." Zhang Xingyi said. "But this is the most effective method I can think of... and it also coincides with Mr. Li."
"That's true." Du Caiqian thought for a long time and could only nod. "Then what happens next..."
"Prepare for war and defend the city!"
Zhang Xing simply responded.
“Whether it’s the east side or this side, we have to endure it, accumulate strength…and then make a decision with the camera!
“Things are ebbing and flowing. Before, the general trend was with us, so everything went smoothly. Now, the general trend is with the enemy, and it’s our turn to persevere...
"I will tell you nothing from Chief Du, or I am about to ask Chief Du to go back and inform Mr. Li. No matter whether Sima Erlang can be replaced or not, and no matter where he comes from, I will mobilize my troops to renovate Jiyin County and prepare for it." When necessary, abandon half of Jiyin County and guard Jiyin.
"As for it, if it is really necessary, for example, if the Xuzhou Army inserts itself into the Heze and Leize areas among us, then we will retreat to Puyang together, and prepare to move to Hebei if necessary, taking advantage of the division between the north and south of the army to try to survive."
Du Caiqian was sweating profusely, but he could only nod.
Several people in the hall, whether it was Zhang Jinshu, the so-called leader of the central wing who was in charge of military law, who had been obviously moving closer to Zhang Xing in the past six months, Yan Qing, who had always been Zhang Xing's confidant, or Jia Yue, an old friend from the countryside and the innocent leader, who was confused. All looked pale.
You know, Jiyin County and Dongjun have always been regarded as the rear areas of the Deposed Dragon Gang. Now according to the words of the big leader, not only are they ready to abandon half of Jiyin County at the beginning, but they are even ready to abandon the entire East Territory. Preparations to escape to Hebei. This is in stark contrast to the situation a few months ago when they once occupied the land of five counties and were about to complete the great cause of Fu Dahe, Jishui and the eastern border.
After all, Zhang Dalongtou talks about the ebb and flow of the tide every day. He shouted it every day when he was in power. How could these people not know? Even Du Caiqian, who had experienced Yang Shen's rebellion and was Li Shu's confidant, how could he not know this truth?
I just know that I know, now that I have gone through all that turmoil and all this progress, how can I let it go so easily?
From this perspective, it is not easy to laugh at Shan Dalang and Wang Wulang.
Just like that, Du Caiqian came and left in a hurry. Zhang Xing did not hesitate to issue a mobilization order, which required strengthening border patrols and dispatching sentries to monitor the border. At the same time, he began to consciously concentrate the left-behind troops in Jiyin close to the Jishui front line, and mobilized manpower in the form of recruiting workers to attack Jiyin. Yinjun City is undergoing city defense repairs and ordnance reorganization.
This action cannot be hidden from anyone.
Coupled with the unavoidable defeat on the Eastern Front and the "rumors" that the imperial army was about to suppress it, people's hearts began to waver.
At the beginning, it was businessmen and wealthy people who had come to invest in Jianghu. They were the best at seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, and they were also the group of people with the most abundant information channels. They soon chose to evacuate... Those from Hebei returned to Hebei, those from Jianghuai went to Jianghuai, and those from Jianghuai went to Jianghuai. back to the Central Plains.
These two counties, which have always been known for their prosperous commerce, have seen an almost visible shrinkage in their commercial activities.
The most direct impact was that Zhang Xing's attempt to use Ziwei Palace's wealth to buy horses failed.
Immediately afterwards, some large local households were forced to burn their debts and release their private slaves under the rule of the Deposed Dragon Gang. They had accumulated a certain amount of dissatisfaction, and now they were even more wavering and conservative... Many wealthy households were recruiting people. , hoarding supplies, and even trying to flee as a family.
Frankly speaking, these people have the right to be dissatisfied, because Zhang's policies are obviously perfunctory and have not penetrated deeply into the families of the three big leaders, Xu Shiying, Shan Tonghai and Wang Shuyong, and they cannot be punished.
But now, Zhang Xing can't get used to these people. He can only strengthen border patrols and internal inspections, while giving targeted warnings. For a small number of people who react strangely, he directly forcibly relocates their residences and splits the manpower.
Of course, these actions have some effect, but at the same time, they also further solidify certain opinions, causing this wavering to spread further, and it spreads in both directions - firstly, some people from middle-class families are hesitant. , also tried to escape with him; secondly, some soldiers and gang members who had no permanent property within the Deposed Dragon Gang, as well as surrendered people, also began to waver.
Rumors are spreading, production and cultural activities are shrinking, and people's hearts are in turmoil.
Even Zhang Xing was caught off guard by the development of this situation, and even found it difficult to deal with it. But soon, after a night of suffering, he gritted his teeth and issued an additional order - that is, to intensify patrols on the border to search for escapees, and among the escapees, anyone carrying standard ordnance or armor will be arrested and then brought back to Jiji. Those suspected of being members of the Deposed Dragon Gang were brought back to Jiyin City and put to death in public.
On the other hand, if ordinary people leave with their families, they don’t have anything to worry about.
However, even so, Zhang Xing is still a little worried. In turn, he is afraid that Zhang Jinshu's department, whose power and responsibilities have been greatly increased, will expand in the process, causing damage to innocent people.
But he only knows how to talk, so what can he do?
All he could do was give Zhang Jinshu some hasty instructions and ask Jia Yue to lead his personal bodyguards to supervise Zhang Jinshu's department like matryoshka dolls.
It can only be said that throughout early and mid-March, the weather suddenly warmed up, and the millet seedlings in the fields grew taller and taller, but the suffering of the people in the three counties of Zhang Xing and Qilongbang was no different. The millet seedlings in the field are moving slowly.
This situation reached its peak on March 18, when news came that the Xuzhou camp had officially dispatched troops.
When the news came, Zhang Xing was as steady as an old dog on the surface, giving constant orders to gather the troops as planned, and publicly declared that Jiyin City and Yuncheng were both indestructible, but in his heart he was completely panicked... because Xiao Zhou did not Reply with exact information.
At this moment, according to the information from the sentry cavalry and Du Po Formation, the official general of Xuzhou is still Sima Zheng, and the logistics is still directed to Jiyin, but the first one to move west is a mere general Zhonglang. , called Ma Hu, led four to five thousand soldiers and acted as the vanguard.
In other words, Du Po Zhen had no news from Xiao Zhou.
The situation was extremely bad, but Zhang Xing had no other choice but to continue to wait passively for the information to become clear... There really was no other way. He asked Zhang Shizhao once, but the latter only emphasized "the document of one county". Then he really went to deal with the general affairs of Jiyin City.
But soon, as time came to late March, a piece of good news suddenly came, which eased the suffering.
But it was not in the direction of Xuzhou, but in the direction of Yuncheng - Zhang Xuguo on the other side of Yuncheng withdrew his troops, and more than 20,000 Qilu soldiers and horses abandoned Yuncheng and returned to Qijun.
The news was very clear. Li Shu's strategy worked again. Cheng Zhili persuaded the two leaders Sun Xunzhi and Gao Shitong without much effort at all.
This was because the officers and soldiers from the Hejian and Youzhou camps in the north of Hebei Province were also dispatched. Sun Gao and his two men did not dare to cross the river back and could only try to open up the situation in the south. At the same time, Zhishilang Wang Hou, who had been defeated by Zhang Xuguo twice in a row, also found these two Hebei leaders. With the joint efforts of Wang Hou and Cheng Zhili to persuade, Sun Gao and Sun Gao divided their troops into 50,000 troops, plus Wang Hou The remaining defeated troops, totaling 80,000 people, once again joined forces to advance westward and pressed into Qi County.
There was a fire in the backyard, and Zhang Xuguo lost his temper and immediately turned around and withdrew his troops.
Withdrawn cleanly.
When things have developed to this point, the atmosphere has changed slightly. It seems that Zhang Xuguo's destiny has been revealed. It seems that as long as he keeps tickling him, he will have difficulty making progress.
Things were complicated, and news and visitors came from all directions.
On the second day when the good news from the direction of Yuncheng arrived in Jiyin City, Wei Xuanding, the chief of the Deposed Dragon Gang, also went south under the escort of Guan Xu, the deputy helmsman of the Puyang branch, turned back from Hebei, and came to Jiyin City.
What he brought to Zhang Xing was definitely not good news.
"Youzhou and Hejian are moving together." Taoist Wei was so busy that he went straight to the backyard of the county where Zhang Xing lived. After seeing the latter, he got straight to the point. "The Youzhou camp dispatched no less than 40,000 troops, divided into eight generals, and carried out raids in separate routes. Xue Shixiong dispatched more than 20,000 troops from Hejian to support and dispatch in the center, obviously preparing to sweep the entire Hebei."
"How many rebel forces are there in Hebei now?" Zhang Xing had a headache and asked quickly.
"Seventeen or eight families, large and small." Taoist Wei thought for a moment and gave an incredible number. "But it's strange to say that there are not many that have a strong climate. The strong ones have half a county, and the weak ones don't even have a city. They can only occupy the valleys and forests... Even Sun Xunzhi and Gao Shitong didn't have any before crossing the river. We defeated Guojunzhi, but we only gained momentum after we crossed the river... I don’t know what’s going on?”
What could happen? The reactionary forces are too powerful!
Zhang Xing was speechless, but he explained patiently: "Although people in Hebei are the most anti-Wei, on the other hand, Wei has never relaxed the control of Hebei. Not to mention the permanent Youzhou Camp and Hejian Camp, as well as Ye Capital, as well as Jijun, Hanoi, Taiyuan, and Shangdang were condescending to Hebei. Even the emperor went south to Jiangdu, and he did not forget to send Xue Changxiong northward..."
At this point, Zhang Xing paused for a moment and then continued:
"As for other counties and counties, there are often some top famous families in Hebei, such as Qinghe Cui, Bohai Gao, and Fan Yanglu. Unless they make up their minds to rebel, the counties and counties cannot be shaken...and these people can't even be shaken by us..." Even the Deposed Dragon Gang looks down upon him, let alone others."
Taoist Wei thought for a moment and nodded seriously: "That's the truth."
"How long can it last?" Zhang Xing continued to ask.
"It's hard to say." Taoist Wei came back to his senses and smiled. "It depends on how far Xue Changxiong and Li Cheng want to suppress them... If they must capture eighteen bandit leaders, they may not be able to suppress them for two years; but if they only need to wipe out the prefectures and counties as much as possible, I'm afraid they will be able to end it before autumn."
"After the sweep, will you go south?" Zhang Xing asked seriously.
"Nine times out of ten, no." Taoist Wei shook his head repeatedly. "Xue Changxiong has an imperial decree to take charge of the suppression of bandits in Hebei. Li Cheng and his son in Youzhou are naturally dissatisfied. It is said that they have some contact with your father-in-law in Taiyuan; and the locals among Li Cheng's subordinates, led by a man named Luo, have voted for Xue Changxiong. ...There is one of you in the two families, and there is you in me. They are messing around and fighting with each other, and they have the intention of demarcating Hebei as private land... In this case, don't say that they will not cross Henan. If the Xuzhou Army goes north, they will probably be captured by fire."
Zhang Xing breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately realized something was wrong.
Sure enough, Chief Wei smiled coldly during the break: "So, can we still hope to avoid the danger by entering Hebei? In my opinion, instead of counting on Hebei, it is better to be prepared to let Niuda and Pu Tai in Chanyuan It’s best for those of you to withdraw earlier!”
Zhang Xing was silent for a moment and responded seriously: "The original intention was to find a way out by taking advantage of the fact that Hebei and Henan are not under each other's control and float the river."
Taoist Wei also felt that his behavior was too boring, so he restrained himself slightly: "I heard that the siege of Yuncheng was relieved?"
"Mr. Li is quite capable," Zhang Xing said sincerely. "The soldiers and horses he captured Zhang Xuguo were all recruited by the county. He could not let go of the safety of the whole county. This was the second time he succeeded in igniting the fire in the backyard. However, Zhang Xuguo only had a strong army and generals, but he could only Can be led by the nose."
"Of course Mr. Li is capable, but I'm afraid he will be too capable." After all, Taoist Wei was a man who kept a pickle jar in his heart, and he really couldn't hold it back. "Two times he saved the crisis on the front line and defeated the enemy without fighting. Aren't you afraid that his prestige will be too great and he will completely control the front line troops and several leaders who are actually in charge of the troops?"
As soon as he said this, Guan Xu, who had been silent and pretending to be dead, finally raised his head and looked at Yan Qing, who was sitting opposite and listening blindly.
"What am I afraid of?" Zhang Xing didn't care at all. "Not to mention that the situation is getting tough and everyone needs to work together in the same boat, but he really relies on his prestige to control the Eastern Front. It's as if I haven't done anything on the Western Front and can control people's hearts... I don't believe it. What I have done in the past six months has not had any effect."
Taoist Wei and the other two people in the backyard were startled, and each of them was silent.
After a while, Wei Xuanding lowered his voice and continued to ask:
"So what's going on with the enemy coming from Xuzhou?"
"I don't know." Zhang Xing told the truth. "I can only say that I tried my best, but now I can only wait for the news and then adapt accordingly."
Taoist Wei nodded, without pursuing it further, and stood up.
Zhang Xing also quickly stood up to see him off. Guan Xu and Yan Qing were so surprised that they also stood up.
"No matter how……"
Taoist Wei stood up, but stood still. Instead, he slowly spoke. "Zhang Sanlang, as you just said, you have also done things on the Western Front in the past six months. I don't know about others, but I naturally see it, and our views on the Hebei family are naturally opposite. ...So, even though I'm a little unhappy and I can't say I'm being manipulated by you, I'm still willing to respect you three points...If it really reaches a certain level, I will definitely support you no matter what decision you make."
Zhang Xing was startled for a rare moment, then nodded slowly.
Hearing this, Guan Xu seemed to want to speak, but he himself probably knew that he was a subordinate after all, and his status was much inferior, so it was appropriate for Xu Niuda to take the lead... More importantly, taking a stand at this time would be a bit like following the trend. I didn't want to, so I just bowed silently and left.
After Taoist Wei left, Zhang Xing felt a little relieved.
After all, in this most difficult psychological time, it is always a little heartening to have a mean-mouthed but undoubtedly wise man come to you to express support.
The visitors continued one after another, and just one day later, Ma Ping'er and Wang Xiongdan appeared in front of Zhang Xing and informed him of the most important new information in the direction of Xuzhou.
The news is generally good, but it cannot be said to be completely good. Just as Zhou Xingfan's trip to Xuzhou-Jiangdu was generally successful, but it did not give full play to it - General Xuzhou was still Sima Zheng in name, but in fact he became Sima Zheng. Became Han Yingong.
The latter, who was famous for his rough and bravery, officially dispatched more than 15,000 troops from Xuzhou in the name of deputy general. Together with the 5,000 vanguard troops, the total strength and movement were completely in line with previous knowledge.
This made Zhang Xing feel a little bit relieved.
But it's not enough, because Sima Zheng is still in Xuzhou, which means that he will regain trust at any time, lead troops out at any time, and even directly exert his subjective initiative to change the overall situation; and Han Yingong is obviously not a good person, after all, he is Li In the end, Xiao Zhou was also caught, but Lai Zhan'er discovered his traces and arrested him protectively. But an arrest is still an arrest, and it is not the same as him voluntarily escaping into Lai Zhan'er's house. .
The situation is getting increasingly chaotic.
It can only be said that the worst situation has been avoided for now.
And just when Zhang Xing's mood was unclear whether it was getting more tormented or slightly relieved, because of the dispatch of Xuzhou's army and Jiyin's formal gathering of tribesmen, the outside world became even more nervous... Mengshan Gong and Wang The father-in-law couldn't help but visit one after another to reiterate the previous covenant.
At the same time, as the force officially shrinks, there are more and more escapes and the level of involvement is getting higher and higher.
"I really didn't expect it, but I'm really not surprised either..." In the Baimadu military camp in the north of Baima City, Xu Shiying looked at the person in front of him with a complicated expression. "Just a routine question, Leader Zhou, Commander Zhou, why are you running away?"
Zhou Weishi, the former Prime Minister of Dongjun County, shivered in the tent for a moment, and then carefully said: "Actually, I feel that the Deposed Dragon Gang has never regarded me as one of their own, and who doesn't know the virtues of the imperial court? So when it comes to Now, we can only try to escape before the imperial army presses on the border, in order to have a chance of survival."
"Your chance of survival is with me!" Xu Shiying sighed. "At least it's with me right now."
Zhou Weishi was silent for a moment, then he leaned down and bowed down, and said sincerely: "Please give me a chance to survive, Chief Xu! From today on, I, Zhou Weishi, will do my best to repay you."
Xu Shiying nodded, stood up, and raised his hand after the military case: "Now, go back to the city immediately to do official business. I just pretend that it's not you who I caught today..."
Zhou Weishi took a long breath and went out, then immediately turned around and walked out.
Unexpectedly, Xu Shiying followed closely behind.
This made Zhou Weishi very nervous.
"I'm not following you." Xu Shiying explained calmly when he came out. "I was going to Jiyin to find Zhang Longtou to entrust my family and life... Originally, I was planning to wait for Niuda to go to Zhang Longtou to pat his chest before going. After all, he is a confidant, so it's not good for me to go first. , but Niu Da is not up to the mark, so I have no choice but to do my duty... Lao Zhou, not everyone is as accustomed to surrendering without a fight as you are, and I am not a hero, but if you want me to run away, I have to do it. Let me be convinced before I lose. Besides, if we unite as one, there may not be a good outcome, right?!"
Zhou Weishi could only nod, but his heart felt like a mess.
Who can say clearly about life and death, success or failure?
ps: Thank you to the new alliance leaders Mr. fffstop, Mr. Yan Yaoshan, Mr. Xiaoyu, Mr. Iron Armor, Mr. Buxiang Wan Lao, Mr. Li Hua, Mr. Gaolengniao, Mr. Rice Ball Watermelon, Mr. Cabbage, Mr. timothyj, Ping Mr. Zong Xia Yin, Mr. Huo Huo, and Wang Lu’s allies... thank you all for your contribution.
Ashamed.
Then he sacrificed a new book as a routine, "At the beginning of the Civil War, the Ming God of War was a little panicked"... The counterattack of Zhu Qizhen, the Ming God of War!
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