"Xiaosan...Zhao Xiaosan, come down quickly! I beg you..."
"Immortal... Immortal?! Come down quickly. If you die on the mountain, what will your wife and I do?"
"Liu Qi from Linhe! The one who is the captain! Did you hear that? Your parents, wife and children are all waiting for you here! Get out of here immediately!"
Late at night on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, the entire Bowang Mountain Camp was in chaos. It was only then that Xu Shiying realized that he had underestimated his serial plan... After falling into the city in the evening, the news spread, and the military documents in the city had not yet been collected. When they got up, a group of sentinels went directly into the city and surrendered.
But when he organized a night advance and took the family papers to the foot of Bowang Mountain, everything got out of control.
Bowang Mountain is not a big mountain, but because it stands out on the Hebei plain and has a clever location, it was regarded as the main camp by Qu Tuda. When the Dragon Gang approached at night, Jiajuan let out a cry in the cold wind, and it soon evolved into There were cries and pleas, and it was combined with the restlessness and yelling on the mountain. Coupled with the severe cold in winter, there were fire pits and braziers everywhere, plus gusts of cold wind, making it a chaotic mess.
The situation outside was so bad that Qu Tuda, who had been promoted to General of the First Guard after the fall, could only sit in the main hall of Dazhai on the mountain. The lights in the main hall were brightly lit, and the reflection was clear, but only his expressionless face was illuminated. expression.
Moreover, Qu Tuda knew from the beginning that he could survive in Hebei not because he was good at fighting, how elite his troops were, and how many high-end combat capabilities he had, but because he and his subordinates were part of the Dongdu system. elements. As one of the last two core strategic points of the Wei Dynasty, Dongdu has both a great master and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses recruited and armed in the past few years, as well as sufficient warehouses to deal with surrounding threats. However, the weakness of this system is also obvious, that is, it relies too much on the intimidating power of the great master himself within a certain range.
So on the other hand, as the Wu clan moved south, everyone realized that once Emperor Cao, who was the pillar of the Eastern Capital, moved west, the system would become an empty tower without its main pillar. As long as someone came to push it, it would It collapsed.
As for the elite of the Eastern Capital in Ji County, it was even worse, because they were hanging alone in Hebei, much like a high wall without any support.
The wall is genuine, and the bricks inside are very strong. However, if the structure is not good, it may be blown by a strong wind.
Qutuda had expected such a strong wind, but he really didn't expect that the strong wind would come so quickly and urgently, and that he would be so vulnerable... As soon as he came, the Deposed Dragon Gang was a little bit unprepared. There was no hesitation. Cao Zhongcheng had just left, and he came over here, as if he had planned it; secondly, there were rumors a few days ago that troops were going to be launched, but they came to the front two days later; thirdly, the bandit army was in full swing With one click, the running attacks, internal responses, and heart attacks continued one after another, making him unable to parry.
Of course, the last thing he expected was that this scheming was so powerful. Qu Tuda had nothing to do except let his trusted troops light bonfires, guard the gates of the camp, patrol the camp, prevent troops from escaping, and survive until dawn.
Because he couldn't control the main force at all.
Still shooting arrows? !
Now he is only afraid that a fire will suddenly break out inside the camp and the army will disperse in a hurry!
"I heard from General Qian Lang that General Qutu has nothing to do now and can only wait for dawn?"
In the middle of the night, a person suddenly walked into the hall from outside. It was Qin Bao who had just been here the day before yesterday. His expression was gloomy and he seemed a little tired, and his black armor and stomach inexplicably emitted a white gas under the firelight.
"He is telling the truth." When Qu Tuda saw the visitor, although he took the initiative to summon him, he was not at all happy.
After all, the situation is like this, so what if a master comes?
"So what if we stay until dawn?" Qin Bao was silent for a moment and continued to ask.
"What?" Qu Tuda was confused for a moment.
"I mean, so what if you stay until dawn?" Qin Bao raised his voice slightly. "When I came here, I received news that Chanyuan was also besieged. The river has frozen even more solidly in the past two days. It should be Dongjun who directly sent reinforcements... Heavy troops are pressing down on the border, and Niu Da has been stationed in Chanyuan for a long time. Huang Yiyi has already responded internally... In this case, if Chanyuan City is broken until tomorrow, or has already been broken, there is no doubt that more soldiers will come to the foot of the mountain to call for these soldiers and auxiliary soldiers. It is dark now, and they don't know that they are personally responsible for it. Wherever it is, and the road is blocked by you, it may be possible to maintain it, but when dawn comes and we see the situation clearly, the troops will collapse, and may even flee in an organized manner, or even mutiny."
Qu Tuda raised his head and asked seriously: "Then what can I do? Surrender? Not to mention that I am from Guanlong and the opposite is the Hebei rebels. The key is that for this reason, no one in the world seems to surrender. A serious general of the First Guard, right?"
"This is why the imperial court promoted you." Qin Er smiled.
Qutuda also laughed.
After the two of them finished laughing, they fell silent together, but during this period, the movement outside did not stop at all, whether it was the sound of the winter wind, the shouts and begging from the mountains, or the scolding and crying in the surrounding military camps, including the brazier. The sound of "bibo" did not stop.
In fact, the two of them were highly cultivated and could hear things more clearly than others.
"How can General Qutu bear this sound?" Qin Er was the first to break the silence. "I received the message and had actually been here a long time ago, but I was frightened by the movement and stood there on the field ridge for a long time without daring to come over."
"I am older and have more experience..." Qu Tuda blurted out, but stopped and corrected it immediately. "Is it because you thought about your mother and wife that you felt this situation?"
Qin Bao did not deny it, but instead suggested: "General Qu Tu is neither easy to surrender nor has a chance of winning. Prolonging it will only make things worse, but why not leave early?"
"Is leaving better than surrendering?" Qu Tuda said with a wry smile. "The general of a guard, with twenty thousand men, and three or four generals, soldiers, and captains, was suddenly attacked by thousands of people, and then left alone... If he wants to be treated as a joke by the people of the world, he might as well When the army surrounds you tomorrow or tomorrow, it's best that Zhang San comes as well, as does the Heavenly King Grandmaster, and is surrounded by more than a dozen big leaders. Even if he dies, he can still get a good reputation."
"If you leave now, you can still take some of your tribe with you, so you don't count as leaving alone." Qin Bao reminded. "Abandon Dazhai, return to Liyang overnight, pack up Liyang's soldiers and horses and local family documents, go west across Zhangshui, and then cross the river to the east capital while the river is frozen... There are few people in the east capital, and General Qu Tu's qualifications and cultivation With his career, origin, and official position all listed here, he will definitely come back to life... On the other hand, if he leaves too late, he may be outflanked and no one can escape."
Qutuda hesitated for a moment and then asked: "Is it too late?"
"How will you know if you don't try?" Qin Bao said calmly. "I have to say, I think Xu Shiying came too fast, and the main force of the deposed dragon army may not be able to follow properly... There should be a gap of one or two days. This is the last chance."
"If that's the case." Qu Tuda asked seriously. "Can we sneak out secretly, take soldiers and horses from Liyang and Linhe at night, and counterattack here or Chanyuan?"
"No!" Qin Bao thought for a moment and gave the answer.
"Why?" Qu Tuda narrowed his eyes.
"Because the soldiers have no fighting spirit, they will have no fighting spirit." Qin Bao answered proudly. "General Qu Tu... Even if you win this round, what's the use? Kill a few more people who deposed the Dragon Army, and then waste time and get surrounded? The whole army will double the killing?" In this situation, it would be great if you could escape, but how can you commit murder again for nothing? And it was the murder of your own son?"
Qutuda was silent for a moment, nodded, and asked again: "If this is the case, how will you deal with it?"
"I will return to Linhe and deal with it the same way as you." Qin Bao said seriously. "It's just that Linhe is a little to the east, and the soldiers and horses there may not be able to escape in time... If we can get out, we will join forces in Dongdu; if we can't get out, please remember General Qu Tu's words the day before, that is, we will see you in Dongdu in the future If you meet me, just pretend you don’t know me.”
"Okay." Qu Tuda was not a mother-in-law. After realizing that Qin Erlang had left only one way for himself, he stopped pestering him, responded immediately, and then stood up. "You go first. I'll call General Qian. After setting up the situation, we'll leave. Let's try to take as many people out as possible."
Qin Bao also stopped talking and went straight out.
In this way, relying on his cultivation, under the cover of night, wind and chaos, Qin Er calmly crossed the Bowang Mountain camp and came to the southwest field ridge. He found his tumor-spotted leopard beast, then got on his horse, Then he wanted to return to his place of residence, Linhe.
However, for some reason, he, who had just hit the horse and was wearing black armor and a black helmet, suddenly reined in the horse and stopped, then turned around and looked at Bowang Mountain.
Qin Erlang looked at the fire there and listened to the sounds there. He paused for a while and then turned back.
Returning to Linhe County, Qin Bao ignored the surrounding military situation and immediately purged the military camp next to the city wall. At dawn, he ordered the sergeants from Dongdu to find their home papers and retreat to Liyang together. At the same time, he did not forget to release the civilian husbands. , and then asked the county soldiers to stay behind until the dragon army was deposed and surrendered on their own.
After the one-hour time limit ended, almost one-third of the soldiers did not turn back.
Or to put it another way, after Qin Bao explained the situation, two-thirds of the sergeants turned back with their family papers, and there were even some county soldiers who did not have family papers who were willing to follow. It can only be said that Qin Erlang usually Li's rigorous military management has won the hearts of the troops.
Although there was no heavy baggage, the troops dragged their families with them, and it was not until the evening of that day that they arrived at Liyang City, which was only twenty or thirty miles away.
Here, Qin Bao got two pieces of news, one good and one bad. The good news was that Qu Tuda was a veteran. Having made up his mind, he arrived early in the day and told Qian who had abandoned his wife. General Lang led some of the organic troops and family members to the west across the Qingzhang River in advance; the bad news was that at this time, military information was gathered one by one, and it was confirmed that the Bowang Mountain camp was gone, Chanyuan was gone, and Linhe was gone No more... Just as he guessed, after Shan Tonghai and Niu Da besieged Chanyuan City, at dawn, some internal forces opened the city, and Shan Niu and others followed Xu Shiying's strategy and sent their families to Bowang Mountain. During the camp, they did not expect that the Bowang Mountain camp had already collapsed due to the general's sudden departure at night.
The pursuit of the deposed dragon army was simply delayed by the mess of thousands of official and military family records and their recognition, surrender, and preparation.
Therefore, they did not take down Linhe until the afternoon.
However, this also means that Li Yang's troops are unlikely to continue westward to escape pursuit - they do not have the ability to continue marching at night in winter with their family papers, and the distance of twenty or thirty miles means that they will be easily overtaken tomorrow.
"The Deposed Dragon Army came too fast, and we really have no other choice. You guys divide the land to occupy the city, control the situation, wait until the Deposed Dragon Army arrives tomorrow, and surrender directly... Surrender without fighting or destruction. They won't be beaten to death." Qin Bao tried his best to arrange it. "No need to be afraid."
Several team generals below looked at each other in confusion. After hesitating for a moment, one of them couldn't help but ask: "Do you want to leave, Lieutenant?"
"Yes." Qin Bao answered honestly. "My mother and wife are both in Dongdu, so I always have to go there."
The person who spoke nodded, but was obviously a little disappointed, and surrendered. Whether he relied on him or not was not the same thing at all, but they also knew the situation of the other party, and they were really speechless.
In desperation, another general from another team hurriedly came to ask: "Captain, the Deposed Dragon Gang is obviously coming for Li Yangcang. If the city surrenders but Cangcheng does not surrender, will we be affected?"
Qin Bao nodded: "It doesn't matter, I've arranged it..."
Everyone was surprised for a moment.
"I was just afraid that General Qu Tu and the others would cause trouble, so I told Li Canjun, who was in charge of Cangcheng, in advance... to tell him that if General Qu Tu made any difficult arrangements before he left, ask him to agree to it and wait until I arrive to deal with it." Qin Bao has something to say. "After you settle down here, I'll go to Cangcheng to have a look. I won't miss anything."
Everyone was relieved.
Facts have proved that Qin Bao's precautionary measures worked - Qu Tuda's arrangement before leaving was to let Li Canjun, who was stationed in Cangcheng, withdraw immediately.
To be fair, this is not good advice.
First of all, this will put the troops who are unable to escape into trouble, and may even be suspected of betraying the follow-up troops; secondly, regardless of the fact that the follow-up troops are destined to be surrounded, we have to admit that burning warehouses is a kind of behavior no matter which dynasty or generation It is very unacceptable behavior; finally, it is quite difficult to burn Liyangcang.
This is no joke. You must know that, on the one hand, in order to prevent fires, there are not many fire starters and fuels around Liyangcang. Trees and other things are routinely cleared, otherwise the mountains next to them would not be called Tongshan, and this place The location is relatively sheltered from the wind; on the other hand, there are too many warehouses, and they are divided into warehouses. The warehouses are often isolated by rammed earth, so you can't burn much even if you want to.
Of course, even if it doesn't burn much, it would be a pity and definitely not a good thing to burn. Therefore, Qin Bao's advance arrangements still played an obvious role.
On the morning of the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, Shan Tonghai arrived in Liyang, and Liyang City immediately surrendered. Regardless of the stability of the city, Shan Dalang immediately went to Liyangcang behind Liyang City, and then accepted the surrender of the defenders here and took control of Cangcheng. , took over the surrounding warehouse area.
At this time, the combat goal of deposing the Dragon Army has actually been achieved.
But it was too fast. No one expected that under Xu Dalang’s attack and a series of offensive strategies, Jijun’s army would fall apart so easily. Up to this day, because of the smoothness of the battle and the speed of the troops, the rear troops They just entered the territory of Jijun.
It was not that there was no war. On the 27th, Yecheng's reinforcements, who knew nothing about the situation, tried to go south, but were easily defeated outside the city by Xiong Bonan's three battalions of cavalry, Zhou Xingfan, Fan Wang, and Liu Heifu. Thousands of troops were lost. No reaction.
At this time, it is necessary to praise the Deposed Dragon Gang for setting up their own plans in advance: the field soldiers had already been mobilized on the day of dispatch, that is, the 24th, and had followed the Chinese army to Jijun, ready to participate After receiving the news that all Liyangcang had to be acquired, the local officials in various counties of the Deposed Dragon Gang also followed the plan and began to mobilize or notify the people to go to Liyangcang to collect grain.
On the 28th, Zhang Xing, chief of the Deposed Dragon Gang, who learned about the war on the front line, led Xie Minghe, Ma Wei, Cao Xi, Jia Yue, Zhai Qian, Dou Lide, Li Zida, Wang Xiongdan and other ten battalion soldiers to advance to the field with tens of thousands of people. The army arrived at Liyang.
"How is the situation?" Outside Liyang City, Xie Minghe saw Xu Shiying, Xu Shiren and others coming to pick him up, and asked from a distance.
"Excellent." Xu Shiying blurted out. "The storage is properly sealed and nothing has been damaged. It is awaiting inspection by the chief."
Zhang Xingxing was stunned, and many of the leaders accompanying him, including Xie Minghe, were also stunned.
Because this statement is too self-contradictory.
It should be noted that according to the plan, Xu Shiying and others should open the warehouse at this time and let the surrounding people come to help themselves and collect food. In fact, when they came here, they saw with their own eyes that countless people from around them had come to carry food.
Next to them, there is an endless stream of food. Although these local people are not short of food because they rely on the garrison to support the economy, they still remain silent with a hint of disbelief and are unable to transport food... After all, no one knows. When did these great men who deposed the Dragon Army stop being kind?
Of course, this is going too far. Turning back to the present, the surroundings are already like this. Why is it still called "storage and sealed, waiting for inspection by the chief"?
"Chief, you'll know at a glance when you get to Cangcheng." Xu Shiying seemed to have anticipated the visitor's reaction and responded calmly.
Zhang Xing and others became more and more curious, so they parked the army around Liyang City, and together with more than a dozen big leaders, leaders, and a team, almost all of them were preparing to move the gang elites and guards on horseback to the inner area and were surrounded by two mountains and two rivers. Go to Liyangcang, which is sandwiched by the city (Dagong Mountain, Tongshan, Dahe, Qingzhangshui Extension Canal, Liyangcang).
Following a wide and clean rammed earth road, we arrived at Cangcheng within a few miles.
Cangcheng is not in this avenue, but on one side of the foothills of Dagong Mountain, which has been specially leveled.
After arriving in Cangcheng and having a high-level view, everyone immediately realized the problem... It turned out that the huge storage area at the end of the official road between two mountains and two rivers had not been opened, and the endless flow of food was simply Transported from Cangcheng.
As a result, everyone immediately shifted their doubts.
"How much food can there be in Cangcheng?" Xie Minghe still couldn't bear it and asked out of curiosity as he walked into the city.
"I don't know the exact amount. Anyway, the warehouse officials from Dongdu ran away early. But if we guessed correctly, the food in the warehouse alone is enough to feed 80,000 people for a year." Another person who led the way The big leader Xu Shiren spoke with some caution.
"How much?" Dou Lide questioned for everyone.
Xu Shiren and Xu Shiying surprisingly did not say a word, but took three steps and entered Cangcheng, which was not large in area. The elites of the Deposed Dragon Gang also filed in behind them.
Entering Cangcheng, turning up the city wall, ignoring the motionless Dan Tonghai sitting on the wall, what you see is an ordinary small city with a radius of several hundred steps, which is the same as most Cangcheng, Yingcheng and Kucheng. There is not much difference... a simple rammed earth city wall and two simple rows of barracks. The only thing that attracts everyone is that there are no redundant buildings in the city, only densely packed rammed earth "tables" about a hundred and a half people high.
These rammed earth "tables" are so dense, neat, and uniform in size, and there is a small brick building on top of them, so that people first think that they are permanent barracks.
Of course, they are definitely not, because everyone has seen with their own eyes that these "small rammed earth platforms" are the source of the transshipment of grain. Some civilians, shirtless in the winter, keep pushing carts and loads of grain out of small buildings. of grain, and then dumped it directly on the ground, and the ground was full of golden grain. The surrounding people who came to get the grain came in cautiously, but after seeing the grain, they almost went crazy to load it. Only after loading the grain , but when he carried it out, he became cautious again.
There is no doubt that these things are granaries.
"That's a big urn made of rammed earth." Shan Tonghai, who had been sitting on the city wall without moving and didn't get up when he saw Zhang Xing coming up, suddenly looked away from the grains and introduced them seriously. "A few of us went down to take a look. It was a large circular cellar made of rammed earth. It was narrow at the bottom and wide at the top. It was like a large urn made of rammed earth set in the ground. Mats were spread inside, filled with grain, and supported by wood on top. , seal it with soil, leaving only an opening, build a house, and leave a door...I asked, such a rammed earth urn is based on the military rations for a thousand people for a year."
Zhang Xing remained silent. The leaders who came around him, whether they were from Hebei or Henan, whether they were leading troops or those directly in charge, all felt a little shaky for a moment, and several of them even raised their hands. , somewhat clumsily, but impatiently, counted the number of large rammed earth urns in this small little warehouse.
"No need to count, eighty-seven, seven of which are already empty, and the remaining eighty are almost enough to save all fifty battalions of our Deposed Dragon Gang for a year." Shan Tonghai interrupted these people again. Actions.
But soon, those who stopped counting, led by Dou Lide, clumsily rolled down from the city wall, and went to verify with their own eyes, while the others simply stood motionless on top.
Zhang Xing seemed to be the only one who didn't react too much. He turned his head and looked at the huge storage area at the end of the official road in front of Cangcheng.
"Chief, this is what I mean by 'sealing it completely'." Xu Shiying also turned around and tried to tell her seriously. "The grain here in Cangcheng was originally just for storing new grain for the army to use. It was the new grain that was sent here after being transshipped and lost in Hebei... And over there, there are two large old grain areas and a warehouse for storing money. area, a warehouse area for storing linen, a warehouse area for storing silk, and a warehouse area for storing groceries... It’s hard to say anything else, but if the new grains every season include these, then the food here alone should be enough to feed our entire army of the Deposed Dragon Gang. In thirty years, I suspect that the food alone will be worth millions of dan, but it’s just destined to be unclear.”
"No." Ma Wei suddenly reminded him. "It won't be enough for us to eat for thirty years...Have Chief Xu forgotten the three expeditions to Dongyi and Hebei? And in the past few years, they have only been able to go in and out...Besides, even if it is corn, it can be After more than ten years, or indeed more than twenty years, it is basically broken and broken, and can only be fed to pigs."
Xu Shiying opened his mouth but said nothing, just nodded slightly.
Ma Wei also suddenly shut up and said no more.
Let's say that the leaders in Liyangcang City at this time seemed to be quite calm, but they seemed to have mixed reactions.
But in fact, a pragmatic and smart person like Xu Shiying came up to make a fuss; Shan Tonghai sat there, seemingly indifferent and seemed to have everything under control, but his hands kept shaking when he spoke; a talkative person like Xie Minghe, He was speechless midway; Ma Wei, who had always been open-minded, suddenly raised his voice... In contrast, Dou Lide and Zhai Qian ignored them and went directly to do the test. Xu Shiren's cautiousness was more obvious.
To put it bluntly, everyone was shocked, and they were shocked beyond measure, so they were all losing their composure and covering up their own loss. This made it appear that everyone was too calm.
As for Zhang Xing, Zhang Xing was of course shocked and lost his composure, otherwise he wouldn't have said a word from the time he met people like Xu Shiying until now.
However, what others don't know is that Zhang Xing's intense shock was accompanied by equally intense anger.
It is a kind of primitive anger that awakens the time traveler from the mixed quagmire of difficult gang politics, confused personal goals, and the complex strategic situation of the entire world. It is the original anger that makes him want to kill people, set fires, and rebel at the beginning. Such anger!
Inexplicably, when facing the huge warehouses accumulated in Hebei for 20 to 30 years, and after the Deposed Dragon Gang had just completed a classic and outstanding small-scale attack, they were about to face the turbulent and uncertain world. When the situation was complicated, Zhang Xing thought of a person, an inexplicable person - Yuan Da, the rogue who insisted on grabbing even the shoes.
All he wanted now was to remain silent, gather the last bit of energy in his body, and stamp down hard.
Of course, Zhang Xing still maintained a trace of reason - he remembered the dream he had, and then suddenly realized that no matter what the conditions were, he would come to take Li Yangcang.
Because this is what he wanted.
"The people of Hebei for thirty years have gathered here." Zhang Xing suddenly spoke in a calm tone. "It's time to go back!"
Xu Shiying nodded and asked for words.
But the next moment, Chief Zhang continued: "However, the Yecheng warehouse is still there. If we can't take it, we will not be able to do our best in Hebei. And the blood of the people in Hebei has to be returned, so what about Henan? The Luokou warehouse in Xingyang will also be taken down!" We want everyone in the world to take back their anointed blood."
Xu Shiying opened his mouth, but surprisingly did not refute.
