Qi Fang was really happy about this expedition.
Although he needs to send troops to fight according to the Privy Council's plan, wouldn't it be nice to be able to pass the blame to the Privy Council even if the battle situation is unfavorable, without having to bear all the responsibility?
As the saying goes, the older you get in the world, the less courageous you become. Qi Fang has been running rampant in the world for decades, and it's time for him to become more timid and conservative.
Faced with those ups and downs, his first thought was no longer to meet a man and fuck his mother, but how to skillfully pass the blame without taking responsibility.
As long as you don't take responsibility, you can do anything. In other words, you should determine the ownership of the responsibility before doing things. This will also make it easier to pass the blame later.
Since the Privy Council was so stubborn that everyone dreamed of returning to the early Northern Song Dynasty to play with formations and take the main responsibility, Qi Fang was happy not to take responsibility and follow the Privy Council's plan step by step.
In his opinion, although the Privy Council's plan was a bit pedantic, it was more reliable and step-by-step, and there would be no major problems no matter what.
More importantly, although he was captured, lost his army, and almost lost his life, he survived in the end, and not only that, he also gained a more powerful position.
Not to mention that the two people he hated the most were dead.
Shao Hongyuan is dead.
Zhang Jun is dead.
He was simply winning.
Now that he has nothing to do, he can still lead the troops to continue fighting. After winning the battle, he may have a future and a higher status of his own.
It seems that the most important thing in a person's life is not to make achievements, but to stand in line and succeed.
Qi Fang triumphantly led the troops and set off from Lin'an to the Xinzhou front line. The whole journey was relaxed, happy, and free and easy.
Of course, he wouldn't care what the army did when they passed by.
He didn't care whether the soldiers stole something or robbed something when they passed by the farm, molested a woman or beat a man.
As long as the soldiers listen to the order and follow him to the destination at a certain speed, then some of the episodes that occur during the process can be used as stress-relieving games for the soldiers to play. There is nothing in military regulations that prohibits them from doing this. content.
After the army arrived in Quzhou and Xinzhou in mid-October, local officials had already handed over 20,000 strong men to him, and also provided him with enough food and relatively sturdy military camps.
Local officials did not have high demands on him. They just hoped that he would restrain the troops and not enter the city or damage their political achievements.
They can do whatever they want in the countryside, but here they are poor. Two months of grain have already drained the poor people dry. Taxes have been levied for six years, and they can't get much out of them.
Then just resolve the battle as quickly as possible.
It is not easy for them to provide two months of food here. Of course, if Lin'an can still requisition food and grass, just pretend that we didn't say anything, but we really can only provide two months.
Qi Fang laughed.
"Don't worry, the rebels are just a mob. They were defeated because Shao Hongyuan was too incompetent. Now that the Privy Council has directly designated the plan, it doesn't take much effort to get rid of all the rebels! Why two months? One month. enough!"
Qi Fang seemed to have completely forgotten the failure of the two attacks launched by Shao Hongyuan alone. He also did not know how many troops the Peasant Army currently had. He only sent people to investigate the front lines of the Jianchang Army and learned that in addition to strengthening the walls and clearing the country, the Peasant Army seemed to have There is no other action.
The Sentinel Cavalry marched all the way south, and what they saw were deserted villages, empty mountains, and river valleys. There were no traces of human life, so they judged that the peasant army had implemented the tactic of fortifying walls and clearing fields.
And when they moved further towards Nancheng, they finally encountered an obstacle.
It's just that what's holding them back is not the main force of the peasant army, but a group of "unruly people" who look like ordinary people.
These "tricksters" were so numerous that they surrounded and beat them when they saw them. They were caught off guard and several of them were killed on the spot.
Only a small number of sentry riders, because of good luck or high strength, killed the "diao people" and successfully escaped. They came here to report the news and told Qi Fang.
Qi Fang was very angry. He felt that these unruly people were so audacious that they did not care about life and death. Not only did they not think of repaying the Song Dynasty when they fell into the enemy's hands, they resisted to the death. They actually became thieves and killed the Song Dynasty army?
Could it be that these unscrupulous people want to go to heaven?
"It is said that unruly people come out of poor mountains and poor waters. It seems that this is true. It seems that these unruly people will not be used by me. Send an order to the places where the army passes along the way. Once they encounter unruly people, they will be killed. To survive, people need to change their species!"
"Here!"
The subordinates immediately went to deliver the order.
As soon as the news came, his soldiers became happy.
Qi Fang himself had no talent in military training, but this forbidden army was organized and trained by Yang Cunzhong.
As a direct confidant of Zhao Gou, Yang Cunzhong has certain military talents. His military training skills are not inferior to those of Wu's generals. He is also quite familiar with the cycle of fear, so he also uses this method when organizing and training the Forbidden Army.
Although this group of forbidden troops had not experienced many wars and the results were not good, they were full of animalistic nature. They were not very convinced by Qi Fang's commander at first. However, when they heard that Qi Fang allowed them to fight, they were collectively ecstatic and shouted "Thank you". General.
Apparently their steel knives were thirsty.
He actually dared to attack and kill the officers and soldiers, he simply didn’t know how to live or die!
Qi Fang was only responsible for countering the rebellion. As for how many people died during the counter-insurgency process, it was not within his scope of consideration, nor was it his scope of consideration who died.
The court only wants results, not process.
Based on the news brought back by the sentries, Qi Fang confirmed that the peasant army had given up the vast area north of Nancheng County, and gathered the main force on the front line of Nancheng to set up defenses, so the north of Nancheng could march safely.
Qi Fang then occupied Jinxi County in Fuzhou on October 16, set up a logistics base in Jinxi County, and then led 40,000 cavalry further south towards Nancheng County.
One branch of Ru River is Jinxi River. The Song army in Jinxi County entered Ru River through Jinxi River. Following Ru River all the way south, they could reach Nancheng directly. There were no obstacles in the middle, and ships could transport heavy baggage and some troops. Smooth traffic, unstoppable.
Unless the peasant army sends out its main force to confront him.
That's great, he couldn't ask for it. He really hopes to start a face-to-face strength contest with the peasant army.
He felt that he could study his post-war development from a position of strength.
On the way of the army heading south, he found that the situation was indeed similar to what the sentries had detected.
I didn't encounter any unruly people or any villages with people, but I did encounter many empty villages.
It would be fine if it was just empty. There were actually special mechanisms left in these villages. Many swaggering Song soldiers fell into the traps and either died or were injured.
There is not a grain of food in the empty villages, the wells are blocked by stones, and there is no usable material in the low and dilapidated houses.
It is obviously the autumn harvest season, but the grain in the fields has been harvested completely, and there are not even a few broken grains on the ground.
The marching road was damaged and it was difficult for people to walk, but it was very difficult for vehicles and horses to move forward.
Some of the bridges over the rivers were also damaged and the ferries were damaged, making it difficult to move forward without repairs.
All these greatly affected the marching speed of Qi Fang's troops.
While Qi Fang felt unhappy, he also felt that this group of rebels was very unusual. It was not easy to be able to carry out such a thorough plan to clear the country.
This reminded him of Shao Hongyuan's two previous defeats, so he secretly felt some vigilance in his heart and became more careful during the march.
As a result, when he arrived at Nancheng County, he was surprised to find that it was also an empty city.
Everything that was edible, drinkable, and usable was moved away, leaving only houses made of wood, stone, and mud that had no purpose other than shelter from wind and rain.
No one, not even the animals, both the two-legged ones and the four-legged ones were missing.
Is this the point where the strong walls and the clear wilderness have reached this point?
Qi Fang was a little surprised, but after thinking about it, he had no other choice but to order the entire army to rest in the county for a day, and then continue to send people south to spy on the military situation.
He didn't think the rebels could hold on to this level.
But this is the fact. The sentry he sent to spy on the news did not encounter any obstacles on the way to Nanfeng County. However, they encountered obstacles when they were approaching Nanfeng County. They were discovered and attacked by the armed peasant army. Several people died. Individually, the rest ran away.
There is no doubt that the rebels have gathered in Nanfeng County!
