Faced with the unexpected situation, it was not only Li Dao who was confused, but also Zhang Xiaohu from Taihe County.
Zhang Xiaohu and others, who were on the verge of despair, also didn't know what was going on.
Was it their escort troops going south to meet them?
No, you know best the level of your own army.
It's okay to fight against the wind, but this kind of tactical level of silent night attack is obviously not something that our own army can achieve——
As a hunter, Zhang Xiaohu was very confident that the troops under his command did not have such professional standards.
And there are no generals under his command who can command such a battle, including himself.
The subsequent facts indeed proved his suspicion. It was not the escort army he sent out to protect the people going south, but the peasant army that was the first to rebel.
The peasant army swept through four counties and then disappeared.
It happened quickly and disappeared quickly, catching everyone off guard.
Zhao Yucheng led his troops to kill Zhang Xiaohu, and then attacked the Song army's camp at night. He beat them defenseless and defeated the main force of the Song army of 20,000 people with less.
After daybreak, the peasant soldiers who had received formal military training for several months went to chase the Song army in several directions. Zhao Yucheng stayed in the Song army camp outside the city and welcomed Zhang who opened the city gate and went out to thank him. Little tiger.
"I didn't expect that you would actually help me. Thank you very much. You saved the lives of Zhang and the brothers. Your kindness will never be forgotten by Zhang and the brothers."
Zhang Xiaohu sincerely expressed his gratitude to Zhao Yucheng.
Zhao Yucheng smiled.
"Your Majesty spared no effort in protecting the people from dangerous places even at the cost of his own life. Zhao admires your heroism very much. If you don't help, wouldn't there be a hero missing in the world?"
Zhang Xiaohu was ashamed and smiled awkwardly.
"Don't dare to be a hero. How can a hero be beaten and unable to fight back? Without your help, Zhang would have died long ago..."
"The so-called heroes are those who stand up to fight in desperate situations, or stand up for justice when the strong bully the weak. No matter the result, just this kind of behavior is enough to be called a hero."
Zhao Yucheng bowed to Zhang Xiaohu.
Zhang Xiaohu returned the bow awkwardly, feeling somewhat moved in his heart, and his eyes couldn't help but become moist.
Zhao Yucheng treated Zhang Xiaohu and his men to a meal in the Song Army's camp with captured Song Army rations. While the two parties ate, they talked about what had happened before.
"So you have been paying attention to the battle situation?"
Zhang Xiaohu couldn't help but be very surprised when he heard that Zhao Yucheng had been sending people outside to collect intelligence since he led his army into the mountains.
"Speaking of which, your Excellency and others fled into the mountains without a trace after the uprising. Many people didn't know what happened, and Zhang was also very confused."
"This matter is easy to talk about."
Zhao Yucheng sighed and said: "It is our established strategy to escape into the mountains after the uprising. We had already decided to escape into the mountains before preparing for the uprising. For this reason, we are still looking for a suitable location in Luoxiao Mountain. , ready to hide in the mountains for long-term development.”
"Why in the mountains?"
Zhang Xiaohu looked puzzled: "Since everyone has turned against his mother, why not just go to Lin'an to fight and ask Zhao Guan's family for justice? What's the use of hiding in the mountains? Besides, eating and drinking are both problems. Sooner or later, the mountain will be empty. If we don’t fight out and occupy the place, how can we develop and fight against Zhao Guan’s family?”
Zhang Xiaohu does have some knowledge, Zhao Yucheng feels this way, he is indeed different from other uprising leaders.
Therefore, Zhao Yucheng is also willing to talk more with Zhang Xiaohu.
"It's not that I don't want to fight, but can I fight?"
Zhao Yucheng looked at Zhang Xiaohu.
Zhang Xiaohu opened his mouth, but a word was stuck in his throat and no words came out.
He had never fought and lost. If Zhao Yucheng hadn't brought troops to help, he might have died on the battlefield.
"When the uprising first started, the most important thing was not to capture the city or go to Lin'an to seek justice from Zhao Guan's family, but to survive. You must survive first before you can talk about anything else. If you can't even survive, what else can you talk about? Woolen cloth?"
This makes sense. Zhang Xiaohu thought about it and did not deny it.
"What you said is true, but if you don't fight, how can you survive? Didn't you attack four counties in a row after your uprising?"
"Of course we have to fight, but we have to clearly distinguish what can and cannot be fought."
Zhao Yucheng said: "Before the uprising, I had a thorough understanding of the situation in these four counties. I knew that these four counties themselves did not have formal armed forces. They were all roving archers or police officers. They could not wait with me after the uprising. of military confrontation.
Defeating them is a matter of course, so of course I have to fight, but at the same time I also know that the Song State's Ezhou army is not far away, I also know that the Song State's Jiujiang army is not far away, and I know Ganzhou even more There is also a Song army.
I may be able to defeat one of them. If I attack the city and increase my strength before they arrive, defeating one is possible, but it will be more difficult to defeat them all. Those regular armies have firearms, armor, crossbows, and equipment. Far better than me, I have no chance of winning. "
Zhang Xiaohu listened, thought for a while, and then asked: "So your Excellency decided to escape into the mountains?"
Zhao Yucheng nodded.
"Yes, it's not nice to escape into the mountains, and the life is not easy, but relying on the rugged mountains, the Song army's advantages of having many soldiers, horses, and good equipment cannot be used. However, I can make full use of the mountains and block the Song army's attack with a small number of soldiers and horses. He came several times , I will lose a few times, then I can survive."
"Then what? It can be said that the mountains are barren and difficult to survive. Nothing can be done in the mountains. After all, we have to capture the city and the territory."
"Yeah, so we didn't start an uprising right now. Our plan is to slowly win over the people around us by constantly gaining the trust of the people around us. When enough people gather, we can start uprising together. Well, that way there would be enough manpower.
We still have many supporting preparations. For example, after escaping into the mountains, we will continue to send people down the mountains to mix with the people, urging the people to follow us, and win the support of more people. Within a year or two, the situation will change, which will be very beneficial to us.
The reason why we are starting an uprising now is purely because I couldn't stand it anymore when those corrupt officials were imposing taxes, so I led some villagers to kill those tax collectors. . "
Zhao Yucheng smiled helplessly; "So the reason why this happened so early was because I was too impatient. I have already reviewed it at the meeting."
"Meeting? Review?"
Zhang Xiaohu looked confused: "There are some things you said that I don't quite understand..."
"Oh, this, this..."
Zhao Yucheng thought for a while and said slowly: "Actually, we were prepared for the uprising. We have been preparing for a long time. We belong to an organization called the Fuxinghui. Through this organization, we recruited people and prepared for the uprising. We made full preparations. "
Sure enough, Zhang Xiaohu was very interested.
"Revival meeting? Has your rebellion been planned for a long time?"
"It's not impossible to say it this way. It has indeed been planned for a long time. But if it hadn't been planned for a long time, we wouldn't have the meeting today, right?"
Zhao Yucheng smiled: "For a life-threatening event like an incident, you must prepare carefully no matter what. You must do a full investigation beforehand and have reliable manpower. You cannot just do it at once. In that case, It’s destined not to last long.”
