"Uncle, are we voting for someone named Wang?"
As soon as Wang Daiji left and on his way back, his nephew Guo Zhu came to ask questions.
"First of all, of the so-called six counties in Huaixi, only Yiyang is in the south of Huaihe River. The reason why Yiyang County can exist in Huainan is because there are mountains to the west and us to the east... In other words, the Huaiyou League has only one on the south side of Huaihe River. Our family is powerful, we are fighting alone, this is our situation." Wen Renxunan lowered his head and clasped his hands behind his back, carefully analyzing his nephew as he walked. "Secondly, if Du Po Zhen chooses to invade Huainan, I will definitely serve as his vanguard, but Du Po Zhen obviously wants to stabilize the surroundings of his Xuanpao City first, and then clean up Huaibei. Huainan is a wasteland, but on the contrary What Wang Daiji said here is absolutely correct. We are his henchmen, and if we don’t reconcile, we will immediately fall into conflict. So if we take refuge at this time, we will be the top of his subordinates. This is called time..."
"But can Wang Daiji succeed?" Guo Zhu interrupted impatiently. "He is a grammar official who only knows a few articles about the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment. He hastily obtained four counties. All the soldiers and horses were recruited temporarily. In comparison, Leader Du has such a large and well-organized Deposed Dragon Gang behind him. ! What will we do if Chief Zhang takes over the world?"
"First of all, we did not join the Deposed Dragon Gang." Wen Renxun'an continued to answer seriously. "We are members of the Huaiyou League who had a good relationship with the Huaiyou League before joining the Deposed Dragon Gang and separated... Therefore, the Deposed Dragon Gang will not care about us, let alone regard us as traitors; secondly, based on Wang Dai's accumulation of Judging from today's behavior and his past interactions with Zhang Sanlang, I'm afraid he is not a mortal, and it may not be easy to say what will happen in the future. Finally, Huainan has always been the core of the conflict between the north and the south, so don't talk about Wang Daiji and Du Pozhen. , I'm afraid there will be Zhang Xing, Xiao Hui, and Bai Hengyuan in the future, and as long as we have the foundation of Huainan, we will be confident in facing anyone."
Guo Zhu thought for a while and continued to ask: "But how can we do big things like this? Isn't it just a guaranteed business? It also depends on people's looks."
"Do you think it's easy to maintain business in troubled times?" Wenren Xun'an was speechless and finally stopped outside the gate of the inner city.
Guo Zhu thought for a while and did not argue: "Don't all the wealthy families place their bets separately? Then uncle, come and look after the house, and I'll go to Huaibei?"
Wenren Xunan was startled, but did not reply to his nephew. Instead, without saying a word, he lowered his head and entered the inner city.
Guo Zhu understood and didn't say much. He gathered 300 companions that day, opened the treasury, got enough weapons, dry food, dozens of horses and donkeys, and left the north of the city early the next morning. On the way, we found a wild harbor and headed to the other side.
And arrived at Xuanpao City on September 14th.
Then, he met Fu Boshi, who almost became his godfather, here.
Fu Boshi, who looked a little depressed, was not surprised when he heard the other party's words, nor was he angry at having his love taken away by a sword. He just nodded, comforted him for a while, and sent the other party along the Ru River to the upstream front line of Yancheng. .
On September 17, Guo Zhu saw Du Po Formation, Kan Leng, Yue Qi, Fan Shiyong, Ma Sheng, Slender King Kong, and even Mang King Kong on the river embankment here... In the past, almost all the members of the Huaiyou League came out, and they also recruited Mang Kingang, a non-internal and non-external foreign aid. The warships and grain ships almost blocked the Ru River.
Obviously, Du Pozhen was determined to capture Yancheng.
"I don't blame him." On the river embankment, Du Pozhen's face tightened, he rubbed a handful of moist loess with calluses in his hands, and his words were dull. "He has worked hard in Huainan for the past two years. When I asked him to leave that day, I knew what would happen today. What's more, Xiao Guo, you are still here. You are loyal enough. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will try my best to be considerate. ...However, with Wang Daiji’s ability, I have to guard against him...Lao Yue!"
The veteran Yue Qi immediately cheered up and handed over his hand: "Alliance leader."
"You can call me leader or commander in chief, don't always call me alliance leader." Du Pozhen reminded, giving an order by the way. "No matter what, we have to be on guard on the other side. You go back to Xuanpao and discuss it with Lao Fu. Don't worry about Huaishang for now. We just need to lock Rushuikou to ensure the stability of Xuanpao City."
Yue Qi was old and already lacked energy, so he naturally agreed after hearing the words.
"As for Xiao Guo, you stay here and work with Kan Leng. You are all familiar with it." Du Pozhen continued to make arrangements. "From now on, I will treat you no differently than I treat Kan Leng and the others... Just rest."
In the end, he became his godson, but Guo Zhu could only nod.
But after Guo Zhu left, the few people on the river embankment did not move. Without him, there was no explanation for how Yancheng was destroyed. They had gathered here to discuss this matter.
Let us say that Yancheng has a very distinctive feature, that is, the two tributaries of the Huaihe River, Rushui and Yingshui, as well as many upstream tributaries of the two tributaries, meet here. There are natural factors and man-made factors, and Yancheng is At this intersection, a city was built next to the river on the north bank of the river, with a warehouse city inside and a port city outside. This feature allowed Du Po Formation's troops to successfully move upstream and force themselves in front of the city. At the same time, official and military reinforcements, grain and grass, and other support could easily reach Yancheng continuously along other tributaries.
In fact, when the Huaixi Army first arrived, it faced only 4,000 Yingchuan County soldiers, plus a Ningdan Captain. They could directly use their force, attack by land and water, and try to seize the city defense with superior force. But it was obvious that the Huaixi Army seemed a little careless (or perhaps cautious), and actually waited for two or three days until Mang Kingang, the most advanced man, arrived with his troops before trying to attack the city.
As a result, at this time, not only did the 3,000 official and military reinforcements from Xiangcheng County upstream arrive, but the Eastern Capital also sent a veteran General Ying Yanglang to arrive with 3,000 elite troops. Moreover, this man will be called Song Changsheng, and he is the beloved disciple of Grandmaster General Yu Jiuluo. He is a veteran Chengdan master. He was originally stationed in the east of Hedong, but now he is directly under the east capital, so he was sent to be the commander-in-chief at this time. command.
Yesterday, Mang Kingang called for formation on the narrow ground in the east of the city. The opponent did not panic at all. He dressed up in person and went out to fight. The two sides fought from day to sunset, and there was no sign of victory or defeat.
At this time, everyone couldn't help but feel depressed.
Because I can't see the way to win and defeat the enemy.
"Besieging the city is not possible." The Huaiyou League, which was suppressed by Zuo Youxian alone, now has many masters of condensing pills. Fan Shiyong, who was still young, was one of them. He said this with his fingers at this time. "Because it is difficult to pass through the fortress at Fukou in the south of the city, and there is a steady stream of reinforcements from the army upstream; it is also difficult to attack the city, because the army and soldiers are enough to fill all parts of the city, and there is no water leakage, and they can also worry about several water fortresses. Today I saw them again Set up a stronghold in the north of the city, and there will obviously be reinforcements in the next few days. We need to be like horns and build a multi-layered defense line; we hope that the masters will crush us and force a breakthrough. Needless to say, Song Changsheng is really powerful!"
"I have a plan." Kan Leng waited for a while, and when he saw that the others were silent, he spoke seriously. "Isn't Zhao Tuo from Huaiyang insisting on calling himself an official army? Can the troops be disguised as soldiers and horses from Huaiyang, secretly sail into the downstream Yingshui Channel at night, and then come back through that road during the day, just to lie to the other party that they are soldiers? Zhao Tuo reinforces the army and enters the city in order to flourish both internally and externally?"
"There is a problem." Ma Sheng, who was in charge of ship deployment, answered seriously. "We control the entire downstream, so how can we explain that the government's reinforcements easily passed through our water defense line? Are we going to put on a show in front of us? If we are putting on a show, to what extent can we not be discovered? Are we going to burn our own boats?"
Kan Leng immediately shook his head: "What I want to do is to pretend to be relaxed or withdraw the troops and let go of the river. How can I be willing to damage my own ships?"
Fan Shiyong and Shou Jingang also shook their heads and said no.
"In that case." Mang Kingang frowned. "Then how about really letting go? Retreat along the Ru River, and then send people to pretend. Or just wait until Li Longtou really forces Huaiyang to rebel, and let the Huaiyang people really do the internal response?"
"What year and month is that?" Kan Leng immediately shook his head. "Don't you want to wait until winter comes?"
"How about fire?" Mang Kingang continued to try. "Their water stronghold is so thick, they still want to go out of the city to build a stronghold? Use fire to attack!"
Everyone was lost in thought and quite interested.
Mang Jingang continued to come up with ideas: "Why don't you ask Liangjun to see if they can invite Wu Dalang and Wu Erlang to come over? Suddenly..."
"I have a plan." At this moment, Du Pozhen, who had been looking at the dirt on his hands, suddenly spoke. "How about we flood Yancheng?"
Mang Kingang immediately stroked his head and laughed: "Commander Du, please don't attack with water just because I say fire."
"I'm not joking." Du Pozhen answered seriously. "We moved down the camp a little, crossed the river to the highland diagonally opposite Yancheng, and then built dams upstream and downstream across the city at the same time. This would not only prevent enemy reinforcements from continuously coming from upstream, but also store water for use as a source of water. Water attack.”
"It's easy to build a dam, but with Song Changsheng as the enemy, it's also easy to destroy the dam, right?" Thin King Kong analyzed carefully. "Moreover, there has been a drought for most of the year, and there is very little water upstream. Our big ships have difficulty moving. After hastily building a dam, can we really store enough water to destroy Yancheng?"
"Destroying the dam is not easy. It depends on whether you guys can try your best, Chief Mang. Besides, Song Changsheng has a fierce personality. He gets into a fight and may not get entangled." Du Pozhen answered immediately, his voice But suddenly he lowered his head and spread the wet loess in his hand for everyone to see. "As for the issue of water storage, I hope they think so, because as I expected, there will be heavy autumn rain within a few days, and this place is where many tributaries gather. The so-called heavy rain suddenly occurs under a long drought. It is very likely that the water will suddenly rise overnight...so we do not need to support it for long."
Everyone was awe-inspiring.
On the other hand, Mang Kingang frowned slightly: "The idea is good, but what if the other party also notices the weather? What if he comes out to destroy the dam regardless of risk? If Song Changsheng desperately wants to destroy the river embankment, I will try my best to stop it, and How effective is it?”
"This is a bet! There are only two dams. If you lose the bet, you will lose. But if you win the bet..." When Du Po Zhen said this, he also glanced around, his eyes and words sharp. "A real man is born in this world. If he wants fame and territory, he must get it for himself. What's the point of looking up to others every day?! Don't you want to win a big one with your own abilities?"
No one answered, and everyone knew that Leader Du, Du Longtou, and Commander Du had been wanting to say this for more than a year and a half.
"Start moving the camp now." Upon seeing this, Du Pozhen stood up directly. "Starting tomorrow, I will personally be responsible for building the dam upstream, and Ma Sheng will be responsible for the downstream...Song Changsheng will be handed over to leader Mang Da, and Kan Leng and Lao Fan will be responsible for both the troops and horses on the shore to block the dam, and the two captains in the city."
Upon hearing this, the generals stood up solemnly on the river embankment.
In this way, the Huaixi Army's large-scale actions naturally triggered a reaction in the city. Song Changsheng left the city that day and headed west, trying to lead troops from the north bank to block the dam construction. As a result, the Huaixi Army was well prepared and divided its troops to fight to the death. Mang Kingang even used He tried his best to fight against Song Changsheng, which was an earth-shaking battle.
It was like this for two or three days in a row.
Seeing that the dam was gradually being built, and on September 20th, it suddenly rained. The rain was not heavy and just muddy the ground. However, the local magistrate in the city became completely uneasy because he was repeatedly reminded by the locals. In the evening, I came to find Song Changsheng and told him about the risks in detail.
Who would have expected that Song Changsheng was from the north, so how could he know the power behind the hydrological conditions in the Jianghuai region? In addition, after fighting for days and fighting Namang King, I was already impatient, so I immediately yelled: "Do you think I don't want to demolish those two dams?! Or do you think I am just going out to show off my power these days?! If it is true? If you are willing, come with me tomorrow and personally lead the troops to seize the river embankment. If you don't dare, what's the point of just urging me? Isn't it just shaking the morale of the army?!"
The county magistrate was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he could only obey, but he was still worried, so he came to see the county captain again. He was an experienced man named Hu Yan. But okay, here’s a detailed report:
"Captain Hu, I feel that what these locals said is absolutely right. I have been here for several years and have seen dangerous situations when the water rose too high. What they said is also correct. After the severe drought, There are too many debris in rivers and ditches, which makes them prone to siltation and flooding. This can be seen in the city. As for the Huaixi thieves, they specially stationed their army on the opposite slope, and then built dams up and down at the same time. With so many ships, the idea of a water attack was too obvious. As for us, although we had a city, we were unprepared. We attacked for days, just wanting to break the dam, but we didn't even prepare a wooden fence or a high platform to store military supplies or prevent flooding. , once flooding occurs, it will be too dangerous, so you should make plans in advance.”
Hu Yan hesitated for a moment, how could he not know that what the other party said was absolutely right, and how could he not know that the other party only thought that he was an official from Jingan Station in the Eastern Capital and could speak in front of Song Changsheng? But in fact, because he is Bai Yousi's old subordinate and Zhang Xing's old boss, he usually only works in a low profile and is not willing to show any prestige.
Seeing that Song Changsheng had a typical Guanlong Juntou temper, he was even more unwilling to get involved.
However, the matter was very important, and he knew the stakes, so he hesitated again and again, and finally nodded with gritted teeth: "Your Excellency is absolutely right, but General Song is angry. We can't offend him for the moment. I will only use the soldiers of this county tomorrow." First, he erected a wooden fence and a high platform, moved the military supplies there, and then raised the military positions... He built the dam like this, and it only took a day or two for the floods to come out. It was impossible for the city wall to be damaged. It’s done.”
The county magistrate thought for a while and felt that this was the most appropriate way. He breathed a sigh of relief and made an appointment to bring the remaining strong men in the city to help him tomorrow.
However, the plan was just being finalized in the evening of that day. In the middle of the night, the autumn wind suddenly picked up and it rained heavily.
Hu Yan and the county magistrate first managed to sit quietly, but neither could fall asleep. Then, seeing the water gradually rising in the city, they couldn't bear it any longer. They only gathered at one of the city wall towers, lit up lamps and stood guard, and just watched the rain in fear. As a result, the rain kept coming, but after the second watch, it actually became smaller, which made the two of them feel relieved for a while, and even fell asleep. But when the fourth watch came, it suddenly started pouring down like a supreme being angry, It woke the two of them up.
Now, the two of them were completely uneasy and wanted to go to see Song Changsheng together.
As a result, a foot of water had accumulated in the city at this time, and it was rising faster and faster. The county magistrate was okay at first, but halfway there he found it difficult to walk. Hu Yan was a master of extraordinary skills in his early years, and now he is even more powerful. On the way, he wanted to help, and he was ready to pick the other person up regardless of his propriety.
But just when the two of them were standing in the water in the city, they suddenly heard a loud noise from the southwest, as if there were thousands of horses vying for the lead, and thousands of drums were beating in unison. There was also a clear vibration under their feet, which caused everyone to change their expressions, and the whole city was also shocked. Wake up with a start.
However, how could the two of them not know that this was the strategic point on the north bank of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River? Where could all the horses and drums come from? Such movement must be the result of a heavy rain overnight. And since the power of God is moving, how can manpower stop it?
They also looked at each other with ashen faces.
Sure enough, after a moment, the port city on the south side could be heard thundering like the wind howling, and countless soldiers began to cry. It was seen that the water stronghold deep into the river was washed away first, but this was not counted. As the harbor The city collapsed, the water underfoot kept rising, and there were cries in all directions and even the slightest depression.
It seems that the Huaixi Army's water attack worked. The water was released upstream and blocked downstream, and the water rushed towards Yancheng.
The two of them did not dare to neglect, and immediately fled up the city wall, hugging each other. They hesitated for a moment whether to abandon the army and flee, but they were both honest people and did not have the courage.
While he was hesitating, the sky was already getting brighter, and he saw water gushing all over the city, and countless people drowned. The city walls were densely packed with fleeing officers and soldiers, almost all of whom had no armor or weapons. Then I saw countless Huaixi troops, each coming in large and small boats. The big boats sailed around the city, beating drums and waving flags, and only fired arrows at the city wall full of officers and soldiers, demonstrating and calling for surrender. The small boats went straight into the city from the collapsed port city. They were all lightly armored and long soldiers, and they walked through the streets as if they were on the ground. When they saw the surviving officers and soldiers on the rooftops, they used their long soldiers to poke them to force them to stop making noise.
The two men were visible to the naked eye, and the entire army quickly collapsed.
Suddenly, a stream of light flew up and hurried northward, but no one stopped it. After a while, another stream of light flew straight to the west without stopping it. It was as if Song Changsheng and the reinforcement general from Xiangcheng County ran away separately, and Seeing this scene, the whole army was completely powerless. For a while, people were everywhere kneeling and begging for surrender.
"Captain Hu... you should leave too!" The county magistrate was helpless. "If you leave, it will be easier for me to surrender."
Hu Yan was soaked all over. He smiled bitterly and held his hands towards the other party: "I can't help you this time. Your family is in the county. I will do my best to protect you. You just need to survive."
As he said that, he also tried his best to create a ray of light, lighting up the protruding structures on the water, and jumped to the north to escape.
In the afternoon of the same day, he arrived at Yingchuan County alone, only to find that Song Changsheng had not come at all. Knowing that he had gone directly back to Dongdu, he went to find the county guard and made a report, regardless of the mess he was in.
The county guard heard about the fighting on the front line and knew that the 10,000-strong army had been wiped out. He was stunned on the spot.
It was better for Hu Yan to speak carefully and tell the other party that the Huaixi Army relied heavily on the navy and could not go deeper into the north. After taking Yancheng, they could at most take advantage of the rising water in autumn and follow the tributaries of the Ru River to capture several counties in the south of the county. That’s all.
But the county guard was still uneasy. After confirming that Song Changsheng and Na Heishou had all escaped, he asked Hu Yan to quickly organize the military equipment, recruit strong men and officers, and then strengthen the city defense and absorb the defeated troops.
For several days, the result was just as Hu Yan had expected. Du Po Formation took advantage of the power of heaven and earth to defeat 7,000 soldiers from Yingchuan and Xiangcheng counties and 3,000 elite troops from Dongdu in one battle. It was indeed a powerful force in the Central Plains, but fortunately in Huaihe The Western Army had limited strength and relied mostly on the navy. It only took advantage of the situation to force the surrender of a few cities in Beiwu and Ye County in the south.
This can be regarded as ensuring the upstream fulcrum of Xuanpao City.
Just when Hu Yan thought the matter was over and was waiting for Dongdu to deal with it, the county guard suddenly found him again.
"Captain Hu, I know you are an old man from Jing'antai." The governor's face was pale and his hair was sticky. It was obvious that he had been working hard for many days. "So no matter how hard it is to defend the city here, there is something that you must personally go and explain clearly to Zhong Cheng..."
Hu Yan's scalp was numb, but he could only hand over his hand: "Master Fu, even the lower officials are afraid of Zhongcheng."
"Afraid or not." The county guard was helpless. "It's a very important matter. Someone has to go there, and they have to go there quickly, and they have to meet with Zhongcheng. It can't be me, the county governor, right?"
Hu Yan had no choice but to answer with all his strength: "May I ask Mr. Fu, what kind of bad news is it?"
"Two bad news." The county guard said helplessly. "You should know that Liang County Cao Wang and Huaiyang County Zhao Tuo have been flirting with the deposed dragon thief, right?"
"I know." Lieutenant Hu answered bravely. "But doesn't it mean that everyone is considerate?"
"Being considerate was in the past, but now that the situation is like this, no one is willing to be considerate. At least the Deposed Dragon Gang is not willing to be considerate... The first news is that Li Shu from the Deposed Dragon Thieves sent troops to Liang with the Wu brothers as the vanguard. The county directly and easily defeated Gushu, who was only twenty or thirty miles south of Song City, where the county was governed, and then used a large army to suppress the border, mobilized internal responses, and forced Liangjun to change its banner." The county guard said with all his strength. "I just don't know if it was promised by Grand Administrator Cao himself, or if he was put under house arrest by his subordinates."
Hu Yan was not surprised, and just sighed: "Half of Liang County has been taken away by the Deposed Dragon Gang, and the local officials have been taken away a long time ago. Songcheng is too far east, so it's not surprising. Governor Cao."
"It's not our place to say whether it's blame or not." The prefect of Yingchuan continued to sigh. "Then Liangjun changed his banner at about the same time as Yancheng was flooded. As a result, Zhao Tuo from Huaiyang County probably knew that the 10,000-strong imperial army in the northwest had been wiped out at almost the same time, and the Wu family of the Dragon Gang was deposed. The brothers led their troops to Zhe City to the northeast of him. In panic, they directly followed Li Shu's advice to surrender and changed their banner... Not only did they change their banner, they also accepted the position of general manager with the signature of the third thief Zhang."
Hu Yan originally wanted to say that there was no other reason for Zhao Tuo's situation, but when he thought of the embarrassment of the Li Qingchen brothers and sisters being driven out by the other party, he couldn't say anything sympathetic. Especially since he was about to be responsible for telling the bad news about these two top leaders personally to his home minister.
"That day in Luoxia, Dongdu, when Zhang San was my subordinate Bai Shou, how did he know that he would stir up such a storm in just three or four years?" Hu Yan has never told anyone about his relationship with Zhang Xing in the past. , it was the kind of thing that one could not avoid, but at this moment, after digesting the news, especially thinking about the big defeat that his family had experienced, he couldn't help but feel a sense of fear and confusion. "That day in the capital, even if I saw that the other party was extraordinary, I just thought that this guy wanted to marry Mr. Nanya. How could he have become a thief, and now he has reached this point?"
Lord Yingchuan was startled for a moment and thought about it in the pattering autumn rain, but he just waved his hand and urged the other party to go to Dongdu as soon as possible.
ps: Happy Women’s Day everyone!
