At the end of October, the weather quickly turned cold, and Hebei began to freeze at night.
On the 26th, early in the morning, it was very cold. Zhang Shiyu, the governor of Bohai who was stationed in the south of Leling City, got up early, put on his leather armor, and then put on a big cloak, and went there in person with Xue Wanbi, the general of the Hejian camp. In the north of the city, I saw the generals of the Beiying Hejian and the leader of the Hejian camp, the commander-in-chief of the Hebei march, General Zuo Weiwei, and the Hejian prefect Xue Changxiong who had arrived in a hurry last night.
Let's say that Leling City was not completely surrounded... Sixty-seven thousand people and such a big city, with only thirty or forty thousand people, couldn't be completely surrounded...but they were set up by taking advantage of the two southwest-northeast rivers in the south of the city and the north of the city. Two large camps were built, which was just a rough blockade.
Among them, there are more than 10,000 Bohai County soldiers led by Zhang Shiyu, and 10,000 Hejian soldiers led by the three lieutenant generals Xue Wanbi, Wang Changhe, and Guo Shiping. They are listed on the south side. Xue Wannian, Xue Wanquan, Zhang Shirang, and Wang Fubei Generals Wang Changxie, Chen Bin and Wang Yu led 25,000 Hejian troops to the north.
Of course, Xue Changxiong arrived in a hurry last night, and Beiying and even the entire battlefield had a new coach.
In this way, Commander Zhang came to Beiying, but he did not enter any camp, but moved into a mansion - Leling is surrounded by the essence of the Bohai Sea, and there are settlements everywhere outside the city, and both the officers and soldiers from the north and the south , or the rebels under the city, they all built camps directly on other people's houses.
Xue Changxiong, who was not wearing armor, personally led the generals of Beiying to greet him. He wanted to let him go to the hall, but Zhang Shiyu declined. He only said that he was an elder and wanted to bask in the sun, but he stopped in the courtyard and sat down randomly.
Of course, Zhang Shiyu is still second only to Xue Changxiong.
There is no way, there is really no way. Don't look at someone who is shouting all day about Hebei being carved up by warlords, but the specific situation must be treated concretely. For example, with Zhang Shiyu's age, identity, qualifications, and origin, Xue Changxiong must also respect Even if Xue Changxiong doesn't come, it's hard to say who is in charge here in Leling.
Or to be more direct, among the generals, supervisor Sima, and internal historians who besieged the city, the brothers Wang Changhe and Wang Changxie were basically fellow countrymen of Zhang Shiyu from Jin, and Zhang Shirang was a fellow clan member who was assigned to a room... even in Hejian Daying, a military town, had divided up half of Hebei. Zhang Shiyu could learn from the gang on the other side of the river and become a big leader or even leader among the forces in Hejian.
In fact, Zhang Shiyu led and promoted the siege of Leling.
From this point of view, the Pingyuan Tongshou next door, who could not even suppress several lieutenant generals and dared to hide letters from a retired emperor's secretary, should not be too shameful.
Everyone sat down in a chaotic but orderly manner. Xue Changxiong, who had lost his son and was dressed in casual clothes, was the first to speak, but his tone was calm: "Everyone, the military situation is urgent. We should have made a decision as soon as possible, but I arrived in a hurry last night, and the situation has been going on for more than a day. Changes have occurred, but I still need to ask more questions... Who can tell me, what is the outcome of my second son and the West Road partial army now? Where are General Zhuge and General Wang? "
"All three generals were killed and the entire army was wiped out. They were immediately massacred, but after the massacre there were still five or six thousand people left, and the wounded were released together." Zhang Shiyu blurted out and repeated the information.
"Is it true?" Xue Changxiong asked with a dark face.
"Sure enough." Zhang Shiyu sighed. "Qian Tongshou has been in Pingyuan for a while, and his character is trustworthy. He will not lie about such a big matter. Moreover, if the West Route Army had not been completely wiped out, where would the deposed Long Army come from and attack Ban County again? Are the troops on the east side of the road scared back?"
Xue Wanbi, the former commander of the East Road Division and Xue Changxiong's fourth son, stood up quickly. His face turned red and he seemed to be preparing to explain.
Unexpectedly, General Xue just waved his hand for his son to sit down, and then continued to ask Zhang Shiyu, "Defeat is inevitable, and it seems that the whole army is annihilated. Is it just that the camp was broken and defeated within an hour? And it was still The formation of Zhenqi was broken through in one fell swoop? Three generals, including an elixir master, are all dead?"
Zhang Shiyu frowned slightly, not knowing what he was thinking of, but he still nodded seriously: "That's indeed what he said."
Xue Changxiong sighed on the spot.
Everyone just thought that the general's son was dead, and it was difficult to accept the reality. But with his identity here, except for Zhang Shiyu, no one else could say anything proactively.
However, Prefect Zhang unexpectedly remained silent at this time, and just tightened his cloak.
After a while, Xue Changxiong followed
Xu Lai asked: "What is the strength of the deposed dragon thief? Who knows?"
"Report to Commander-in-Chief Father." Xue Wanbi quickly stood up again, raised his armor and saluted. "There are approximately more than 30,000 troops in our army, of which more than 20,000 are from the plains to the west, and seven to eight thousand are coming directly from Douzigang. The rest of the Hebei vassal bandits also number 30,000, with all horse, foot, baggage and weapons. , the rules and regulations for marching to the stronghold and entering and exiting the city are also very strict, but this was only the strength of our troops when we retreated from the south..."
"Are there no other follow-up reinforcements?"
"It's hard to say." Zhang Shiyu finally spoke again. "The deposed dragon thief himself occupies the land of eight counties. Back then, there were no less than 30,000 people in the battle at Calendar Mountain. Now, the main force should be 60,000, 70,000 or 70,000 or 80,000, but that's all in Hebei right now... Those seven or eight thousand should be the Pu**, and there should be two or three thousand from Qijun."
"So, there must be reinforcements later." Xue Changxiong sighed immediately and asked again. "Then were these 30,000 soldiers carefully selected, or were they sent out hastily?"
Everyone was silent, and Xue Wanbi who was standing there was also a little embarrassed. They all lacked intelligence about the Deposed Dragon Army.
After a while, Zhang Shiyu still had no choice but to answer, "It should be both hastily sent troops and carefully selected troops... Previously, there were rumors from Pingyuan Qian Fujun and Qinghe that the deposed dragon thief was coming to Hebei. , so the thieves should have been preparing to cross the river a long time ago. The reason why we launched so quickly was to cut off Gao Shitong before it froze and prevent the Dragon Deposed Thieves from coming to help in large numbers... Unexpectedly, they knew that we had launched the attack and followed suit. Everything has been launched, and we have killed Gao Shizhan, and we have sent troops to attack Guxuan's partial division in the west, and now we have come to rescue Gao Shitong, one after another, the target is too clear."
"Indeed." Xue Changxiong thought again and again and replied seriously. "Judging from the timing and accuracy of these launches, the deposed dragon thief is very deliberate about Hebei. I'm afraid that there are already spies and internal agents everywhere. Hejian camp, Pingyuan and Bohai county, including Gaoshi Everyone there should have an explanation, but we don’t know anything about them, and that’s why we suffered such a big loss.”
Zhang Shiyu nodded sincerely, he also felt so, otherwise how could Gao Shizhan die so coincidentally? Otherwise, how could the West Route Army pounce on them so quickly and accurately? Why did Gao Shitong come to the rescue just when he was about to die?
only……
At this moment, the person below could not hold back and spoke suddenly, but cautiously. It was Supervisor Sima Chen Bin: "General... are there rumors that deposing the dragon thief was Bai's method?"
Xue Changxiong was slightly startled, but he immediately scolded him sternly: "Absurd, the Bai family is the pillar of the country, but there are only three dukes, two stewards, and one minister. How can it be your turn to make random guesses here?!"
Chen Bin shut up immediately, but the people around him already had different expressions.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Shiyu sighed and reluctantly interrupted, "Don't you really believe this kind of words?"
"Bai Sanniang has become the general manager of Dengzhou." Xue Wannian immediately answered with a smile. "Even if you don't believe it, you still have to be prepared."
Obviously, many people really believe it.
"So what?" Seeing this, Xue Changxiong had no choice but to refute the rumors. "The situation has reached this stage. The territory of the eight counties of the deposed dragon thief has been occupied. Not to mention it is just a rumor in the countryside, but to take a step back, Zhang Sanlang and Bai Sanniang are indeed arranged by the British Duke. Count, now there is naturally a new explanation... They just want to give the Bai family the territory with both hands, but how can they be willing to depose dozens of leaders of the Dragon Gang and tens of thousands of troops? Moreover, Zhang Sanlang himself How could he not be thoughtful when his power is here? Not to mention Weng’s son-in-law, I’m afraid it’s the real father and daughter who have real differences at this time!”
Everyone nodded, but there was no doubt that even General Xue himself seemed to believe something. What does it mean to take ten thousand steps back?
However, at this moment, Supervisor Sima Chen Bin simply twisted his beard and sneered: "The general has misunderstood. Why don't I understand this truth? Today, the courtyard is full of generals, Sima, and prefects who have entered the palace, so I will not cover it up." Oh... I mean, isn't Pingyuan Tongshou Qiantang the former subordinate of Bai Sanniang and Zhang Sanlang? And was he recommended by the British Duke? This person can naturally contact Taiyuan and the Eastern Territory. What's more terrible Yes, the second general died in the plain this time, and Prefect Qian was also aware of the relevant plans..."
Xue Changxiong narrowed his eyes, thoughtfully. The other generals also looked at each other. Some looked as if they were suddenly enlightened, while others
They were simply filled with indignation, while others were dumbfounded.
"But if we follow what General Xue said before." Zhang Shiyu couldn't listen anymore and refuted it with a sneer on the spot. "Qian Tongshou is also the governor of a county, or a large county like Pingyuan. How can he be a spy for others?"
Xue Changxiong was slightly startled, and Chen Bin was also silent.
"If you really want to be so cruel..." Zhang Shi saw this and knew that these people really had no vision and magnanimity, so he continued speaking angrily. "Can I, Zhang Shiyu, recruit a few prefects, find some of my kin and old friends, and try to figure out the future of the Zhang family? That Zhang San, it seems, also has the surname Zhang. I can't say he is the Zhang family in Hedong. The marriage with Guanlong Bai family and Hejian Daying are all said that Hejian Daying’s surname is not Cao, but Xue..."
"Mr. Zhang is overthinking." At this point, Xue Changxiong could no longer pretend to be dead and quickly waved his hand. "Chen Sima is young after all. It's just a random guess. We make up our minds and we won't take it seriously."
"That's good." Zhang Shiyu responded seriously. "But I still want to say something... Qian Tongshou and Cao Tongshou of Qinghe, although they are not of high origin, they are rare talents. They are the kind of people who dare not say that they have both talent and virtue, but they are worthy of appointment and willing to People who do things. The current situation is chaotic, and no one dares to say what will happen, but if this kind of person really hooks up with the deposed dragon thief, it will not be because of any personal relationship, but because the current situation is difficult, Pingyuan , Qinghe can’t hold it anymore, that’s all.”
Xue Changxiong stood up and held his hands in the courtyard: "I already understand what Mr. Zhang means. I will never look down on these two people or cast doubt on them for no reason."
Zhang Shiyu nodded.
Xue Changxiong sat down and turned around, glared at his confidant Chen Sima, then glanced around, and asked the next and most critical question: "Don't say too much about irrelevant things, just talk about deposing the dragon thief two or three times." The day is coming, how should we deal with the war situation?"
However, as soon as these words were spoken, there was silence below.
Obviously, everyone has concerns, but the objects of concern may not be the same.
"I'm asking a question, how do you say fourth child!" Xue Changxiong directly called his name.
"What the commander-in-chief said! I just rush forward to avenge my second brother!" Xue Wanbi immediately jumped up and bowed to the ground again.
"A brave husband!" Xue Changxiong scolded him angrily, but he did not embarrass the other person anymore and looked at the other son again. "What did the third child say?"
Xue Wannian hesitated for a moment, then also bowed down in the courtyard: "Return to my father, handsome, it is necessary to avenge the second brother, but after deposing the dragon thief and killing the second brother, they are by no means easy to deal with. Be fully prepared.”
"Nonsense" Xue Changxiong continued to look at the youngest son. "Lao Qi, tell me."
Xue Wanquan also prostrated himself in the courtyard and answered seriously: "I think the key is to make a choice... The dragon thief came too quickly and too resolutely, but there are still 60,000 to 70,000 people here in Gao Shitong. A city…”
"Yes, that's where the trouble lies." Xue Changxiong patted his thigh and sighed immediately. "We prepared a table of dishes, and then two tables of guests came. The second one and the partial master are so confused!"
The generals below had different expressions. It was obvious that some of them had understood, but just understanding General Xue didn't seem to be the final word.
Sure enough, after thinking about it, the three Xue brothers, Chen Bin, and Wang Yu gradually focused on General Xue Changxiong, while Zhang Shirang and Wang Changxie looked at Bohai Prefect Zhang Shiyu.
Zhang Shiyu looked ugly. He glanced around and saw a person who seemed to be eager to try. He immediately called his name: "General Wang, do you have any ideas?"
This king is not Wang Yu or Wang Changxie, but the third person named Wang here, who is called Wang Fubei.
This man was a local powerful man from Hebei, and had served as a "rebel". Later, he was besieged by the clan's Weizi during the Hejian Army's raids, and surrendered on his own initiative... At that time, he was already a talented person with both the Ren and Governor lines. , and the Hejian Army also needed an example, so they accepted this person's surrender.
This year Ning Dan was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Logically speaking, he has no place to speak here.
"What the general means..." Wang Fubei stood up and raised his hands, saluting Zhang Shiyu and Xue Changxiong in turn. "At this time, there is no need to worry about the food and people at the table, because Gao Shitong has been suppressed, leave him alone, and unite the entire army to go south.
, directly confront the deposed dragon thief. "
Xue Changxiong frowned slightly.
But Wang Fubei didn't notice it at all, or instead thought that the other party was thinking seriously, and kept talking more and more:
"On paper, there are more than 30,000 elites, which is good, but they have just finished a battle and have been marching across the river non-stop. They must be tired. Moreover, we have a general sitting in charge. From the perspective of the masters of cultivation, they have taken advantage of it. They will definitely be able to Victory! In addition, there is another thing, that is, Gao Shitong's army of 60,000 to 70,000 thieves is too numerous. It is one thing to talk about combat power, but it is another thing to pack them up, but it is to depose the dragon thieves. Once defeated, they will inevitably escape to the other side, but it will not delay our return to deal with Gao Shitong."
Xue Changxiong listened patiently, but slowly shook his head: "Too anxious! According to your statement, it means that Gao Shitong and these 60 to 70 thousand people are all useless, but they didn't move when they saw us heading south?"
"It's not that I can't move, it's that I don't have time to move!" Wang Fubei quickly explained. "As long as we fight fast enough, it will be fine, just like when the deposed dragon thief attacked the western division..."
Xue Changxiong's face turned dark.
When Xue Wanbi saw this, he also became angry, and then immediately scolded: "Wang Fubei, what do you mean? My second brother died for the country, and he died in the battle, and I still want to be ridiculed by you?"
Wang Fubei was shocked, then his face turned red and he said he didn't dare.
But Xue Wannian also reacted and scolded: "Wang Fubei, military and state affairs are decided by my father and Duke Zhang."
Wang Fubei was even more embarrassed and could only lower his head and remain silent.
Xue Changxiong, on the other hand, quickly waved his hand when he saw this: "We are discussing something, don't argue..."
"Since General Xue and I make the decision, you all should get out!" At this moment, Zhang Shiyu suddenly had an inexplicable attack.
Everyone was stunned, but Governor Zhang seemed angry and kept urging him. Seeing this, Xue Changxiong had no choice but to chase them away... After a while, these people left one after another, and only Xue Changxiong and Xue Changxiong in casual clothes were left in the yard. I met Zhang Shiyu wearing a big cloak.
"General Xue, tell me the truth." Zhang Shiyu asked with a dark face. "Is your grandmaster real or fake?"
Xue Changxiong sighed: "I can't hide anything from Mr. Zhang... I actually just found out a little bit of knowledge after cleaning up Hebei this year, and the people below can't wait to spread the word... I can't say that this grandmaster is fake, but I want to think about it with you. I don’t know how far behind I am at the level of Duke Niu.”
"I should have thought of it earlier." Zhang Shiyu sighed. "You are worried that you have just reached the status of a master, and there are too many masters of the deposed dragon thief, right? At the beginning, you asked how long it took the thief army to break the camp, and then asked about the life and death of the three lieutenant generals, and then asked the deposed dragon The thief reinforcements are all guessing how many masters will gather to depose the dragon thief... Really or not? They thought you were thinking of your second son."
"Of course I care about the second child, but I joined the army when I was young, my family has been in the army for generations, and all my sons have practiced martial arts and joined the army. How can I shake my military morale just because one of my sons died?" Xue Changxiong said seriously. "Mr. Zhang, this time, I'm afraid the deposed dragon thief has plotted against us intentionally or unintentionally. It's not that we don't have enough experts, but some are in Changshan, some in Xindu, some in Hejian, and one The alchemy masters crossed the sea to the Bohai Territory in the north. Now I am the only half-grandmaster and half-alchemy master here, and seven or eight alchemy masters. The rebel army has at least four or five famous alchemy masters and a dozen or so alchemy masters. Masters... They are so determined and so quick. I'm afraid they are really planning. They may even have a plan to lure me over and get rid of me... You don't know, I have seen Bai Sanniang's tricks. He is a real master, so he cannot be judged by ordinary Chengdan, I am afraid she has secretly followed him."
Zhang Shiyu's face turned dark: "So, you want to withdraw the troops?"
Xue Changxiong nodded: "The real overall situation cannot be ruined just because of a moment of anger... Zhang Gong, if I die, or if these tens of thousands of soldiers are defeated, the Hejian Camp will be abandoned, and the Dragon Thief will really succeed." By then, not only the Bohai Sea and the plains, but also the entire Hebei will fall into the hands of thieves... As long as we go back, prepare our troops and horses and come back, everything will be fine."
Zhang Shiyu took a long breath, calmed down, and immediately asked: "Then what should we do? I just ask you, what will we do in Bohai County if you leave?"
"It won't delay things." Xue Changxiong explained seriously. "The deposed dragon thief has just crossed the river, with a fierce momentum, but his goal is clear. He didn't even look at the big cities like Ande and Pingyuan. It seems that he just came for our Hejian army.
At most, they can take the opportunity to completely surrender Gao Shitong. I'm afraid they really don't have the plan or material preparation to quickly sweep the Bohai Sea and the plains... Bohai County is so big, you only need to retreat a little, and if they really dare to enter the north, then On the contrary, they are looking for death, and we will take the opportunity to gather our troops and come back to eat them. "
"General Xue!" Zhang Shiyu sneered, "Since you are a half-master, and the deposed dragon thief is so decisive and resolute this time, I am also suspicious, not to mention that you also lost a son in my plan. , and lost 10,000 soldiers... In fact, I can only admit it. But there is something I must tell you. If you still have such a military mentality, you only care about soldiers and horses, and do not consider people's hearts. I don't know. If you know the truth about the place and the military formation, don’t expect to compete with Taiyuan, that is, I am old, otherwise, in the territory of the Hejian camp, I can boast of my skills and compete with you!"
Xue Changxiong's expression remained as usual: "If Mr. Zhang is willing to shoulder this mess, I am willing to be his deputy."
Zhang Shiyu was speechless when the other party was so single.
After a moment, the two of them finished their discussion, but they called everyone back and announced their decision to withdraw... Just as Xue Wannian said, Xue Changxiong and Zhang Shiyu made the decision, and the others were not qualified to say anything and could only mutter. Acknowledged.
The specific plan is to move the camp tonight, from the south camp to the north camp, and then tomorrow Wang Fubei will lead troops to protect Zhang Shiyu and move to the Wudi area.
In this way, when the deposed dragon thief arrives the next day, there will be nothing he can do.
The shocking decisive battle that was originally expected disappeared because of the overly determined attitude of the Dragon Army and the successful attack on the west route division.
Not to mention anything else, Zhang Shiyu ended the military discussion and returned to the south camp. Of course, he still felt uncomfortable.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at the South Camp, his captain came to greet him early and reported an unexpected situation to him.
"Is there anyone who wants to surrender?" Zhang Shiyu was slightly surprised. "Is the bandit army inside the city still outside the city? Didn't they all escape on their own outside the city before?"
"It's outside the city, but that's because it hadn't frozen before. The water in the Maface River was still bearable at noon, and they were all small groups. There weren't as many people as this wave." The captain's words seemed to be mumbling something.
Zhang Shiyu nodded, expressing his understanding, and asked again: "How many people? What is their origin? How do you explain it?"
"Three thousand people, from the Gaojibo side. The leader is named Dou, who is from Qinghe. Most of his subordinates are from the Qinghe and Xindu areas. He himself has been a county official, so his origins are clear. Many of his subordinate leaders are similar. ...Said that if it is accurate, he will directly lead 3,000 people into our designated camp, just to survive." The captain explained quickly. "After the news came, everyone was quite controversial. They just waited for the Lord to make the decision."
Zhang Shiyu nodded again, and then stopped in the camp.
He knew very well what the so-called "quite controversial" meant, including what the captain in front of him meant. In fact, everyone wanted to surrender.
The reason is also self-evident.
To put it bluntly, the local prefectures and counties are naturally at odds with the Hejian camp. No one is willing to pay the county’s money and food to those military towns, and they are not willing to see local powerful households directly related to the military towns and Refusing to obey the local government through the protection of the military town, and no one likes the manner in which the military town "cleans up" the local area.
This is a natural contradiction and opposition.
But there is no way. The power of the prefectures and counties is limited. Facing a large number of rebels like Gao Shitong, there is nothing they can do, let alone such a ruthless deposed dragon thief, so they can only count on the military town.
Under such circumstances, it is natural for local governments to pursue some of their own military power. But this time, the conditions for the man named Dou were surprisingly good.
Three thousand people are neither more nor less. It is easy to control the so-called newly attached Hebei local bandit army. They can't even enter the city. Faced with this situation, they have reasonable thoughts and have survived the previous two years of raids. They should also He was somewhat capable and had even served as a county official, and everyone in his tribe regarded him as having "innocent origins" in the eyes of Hebei locals.
Zhang Shiyu hesitated for a moment. He would have probably refused yesterday, but he had just left Xue Changxiong and was dissatisfied with the Xue family and his son. He also felt that his family should maintain sufficient strength...perhaps in the face of being deposed. A ruthless character like the dragon thief is still not enough, but when he is at a disadvantage and on the defensive, it is better than nothing.
Especially since we are about to evacuate to the north, we need to have a firm stand.
The determined people resisted the deposed dragon thieves and Gao Shitong's thieves... After passing this village, there will be no such store. When the camp is moved tomorrow, they may not be willing to surrender.
"Let him come to see me alone without weapons." Zhang Shiyu glanced at the sun. "Meet before noon, otherwise we won't talk."
After saying that, Prefect Zhang took off his cloak again and moved into the small courtyard where he lived in the camp.
Almost at the same moment, hundreds of miles away, directly to the west, in Ande City, Pingyuan County, Qian Tang, who couldn't tell whether he was relieved or disappointed that Zhang Xing led the deposed dragon army, also received unexpected news.
"Who is coming?" Mr. Qianfu, who was still powerless because of the army's defeat in the city, was extremely surprised.
"My Lord Cao Mansion, with five thousand soldiers from the county, should have crossed the border by now." The Qinghe County official who came to report solemnly presented a piece of letter, and then spoke proudly to the audience. "He said that the deposed dragon thief is unusual and has a very big plan. This time he seems to want to fight decisively in the Bohai Sea to seize the Bohai Sea once and for all. And if there is a decisive battle, every bit of strength can determine the outcome. At this time At that time, he also asked Mr. Qianfu not to be limited by the gains and losses of one city, one place, or the interests of one county and one state... Therefore, he asked Mr. Qianfu to gather the county soldiers as much as possible, then throw down the city defense and follow him to the city. East support!”
Qian Tang was stunned for a long time and was speechless for a moment.
On the other hand, Lu Changheng, who was on the sidelines, was the first to sigh: "They say there are many heroes in Hebei, but today I know that what they say is true."
PS: Good night everyone, I miss this chapter.
