The battle line moved forward, and Anren became the rear. Soon the traffic between the north and the south was restored, and some bold businessmen even ventured to Yingtan and Guixi further south.
When it was discovered that there were not many rebels in Guixi, the merchants became bolder, and some people began to try the route to Geyang.
At this time, some news from the south came one after another, indirectly proving the intelligence obtained by the Military Intelligence Section: Yin Tuo and Lou Shiming were indeed fighting.
Some people say that Lou Shiming deceived Yin Tuo into Guangxin City and chopped him with a knife. Some people say that he assassinated him under the city gate when he entered the city, but in any case it was unsuccessful, and Yin Tuo might have escaped with his life.
However, the conflict between the Yintuo tribe and Lou Shiming was certain, because sporadic refugees from Guangxin arrived in Geyang, bringing news that the Yintuo tribe was attacking Guangxin.
Is it true or false? Zhao Jingzi couldn't tell. He was so anxious that he couldn't sleep or eat well every day, and he looked forward to the scout's return.
The major personnel adjustment was basically completed. The main force of the Qingshirt team gathered around Yingtan Fort and conducted two joint training exercises. The purpose was to test the combat effectiveness and enhance the unity within the army.
Since a large number of veterans from the Geyang Civilian Corps changed their jobs and returned home for vacation, and are waiting for notification from the business corps to assign new jobs, the current main force of the Qingshirt Corps is mainly personnel from the Yugan Defense War.
These people are looking forward to participating in one or two more battles to obtain more meritorious deeds, so they are eager to try and are full of yearning for the upcoming battle to regain Guangxin Mansion.
These two exercises did expose many problems of the novices who joined before Dongxiang Raiders at first, but by the second exercise, with the guidance and help of the veterans, the cooperation and rhythm of all teams had been significantly improved.
The third drill was a long-distance rapid march, from Yingtan to Jinxi, and back and forth to see how the troops performed.
This is a test of internal cooperation, as well as the coordination between people and vehicles, and people and mules and horses. It is also a test of the dispatch, command, and logistics capabilities of the entire army.
Zhao Chongbi took Zhu Zhanji, Jiao Conghu and Guerrilla Cai Gangquan to watch the first two drills. The first time Cai Guerbi showed disdain, the second time he was surprised and thoughtful, and Li Dan wanted to see what he was like the third time. expression.
Just the night before the exercise started, Anren's inspection envoy Ge Sibao suddenly came. Li Dan was surprised to hear his request for an audience and immediately asked Lu Jiu to bring him in.
There were two people behind Ge Sibao when he came in. After they saluted, Ge Sibao said, "Sir, these two people are outside Anren City this afternoon and they are clamoring to see you!"
"Oh?" Li Dan looked at the man: "Who are you waiting for? What do you want from me?"
The person taking the lead looked around but didn't answer.
Li Dan smiled and said, "Don't worry, these are all my brothers. You can tell me what you have to say."
The man knelt down on one knee and raised his hands: "The grassman's surname is Gui, and I have met you. The grassman comes from Shangrao and worships at the Suotiangang Gate."
"Are you the one who judges the heroes?" Li Dan narrowed his eyes: "How to prove it?"
The man didn't say anything after hearing this. He pressed his hand on his heart and then gestured with five numbers with one hand.
"I understand. So who is he? Is he with you?"
"My lord, this...I don't know his name yet. He came with me from Geyang on the way. He is a subordinate of the flower-waisted scholar." The spy said with some embarrassment.
"Oh?" Li Dan heard from Yi Yi Yi Shi (Shi Dajun's nickname) that Guard General Ge Yang was interested in being recruited, but why did he get entangled with Shen Jie's spies?
But it's not clear what story there should be behind it. He then turned around and nodded to Ge Sibao with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, I asked you to go there yourself."
"I feel that the matter is important, so I personally sent them here overnight, as long as there is no delay." Ge Sibao quickly replied with his hands crossed respectfully.
"There is nothing wrong and you did the right thing. Do you want to go back to Anren tonight?"
"Don't dare to leave your humble position for too long without permission."
"Very good. Please go back first. I'll chat slowly with the two of you here."
After Ge Sibao resigned and left, Li Dan asked the two people on the ground to stand up and sit down, and then asked curiously: "What's going on? How did you two get together?"
The spy surnamed Gui then reported sheepishly that he had become careless when he walked to Xing'an without incident. Unexpectedly, when he met the leader surnamed Duan on the streets of Geyang, he could tell at a glance that he knew martial arts.
The leader invited him to a restaurant for a drink in the name of admiring a hero. He secretly used anesthetic to numb him and had his soldiers carry him to the Yamen. He went out and chopped with knives.
The spy then shouted, saying that he was from the Qing Shirt Team and someone would come to avenge him. ap.
Unexpectedly, the leader was overjoyed and immediately asked his subordinates to loosen their bonds and comfort him with good words. He claimed that he was one of his own, saying that their brothers had long wanted to accept the recruitment, and expressed the hope to go to Anren with him.
The spy surnamed Gui was doubtful and thought about going out to get out of trouble.
Unexpectedly, it seemed that the man with the surname Duan was walking with him and made no move. However, when they were told at the checkpoint of the Shigang Inspection Department that this man was from Ge Yang, the people at the checkpoint immediately handed over their weapons and tied them up.
Fortunately, they did not act without authorization and sent people to the city to notify Ge Sibaolai.
Li Dan couldn't laugh or cry after hearing this, and he couldn't blame him. He looked at the young man and asked with a smile: "Your surname is Duan? But Duan Yan?"
The young man was stunned for a moment and hurriedly raised his hands: "I didn't expect you to know my name, I'm really scared!"
"Your brother once took the martial arts examination, so you must be good at martial arts as well?"
Duan Yan puffed up his chest and said, "To tell you what my lord, my brother is both literary and martial arts, but I have been practicing martial arts since childhood and learning writing at the same time."
Li Dan understood what he meant, smiled and nodded, saying that was fine, and then waved to Lu Jiu to take him down to eat something first, and then invite him over to talk in detail after the conversation was over.
After Duan Yan followed Lu Jiu out, Li Dan turned to the spy surnamed Gui: "So, is there any news that Master Shen asked you to leave the city to bring me?"
"My lord, my master asked me to come out mainly to report on all the situations that happened there after you left Shangrao," the spy said. It turned out that on the third day after Li Dan and the others left, more rebels gathered in Shangrao.
The city observed that most of these new arrivals moved north, apparently falling under Lou Shiming's jurisdiction. Then on the fifth day, the enemy troops on the east route were mainly engaged, and the northern route cooperated, launching a fierce attack on Shangrao for five consecutive days.
Lieutenant General Yu ordered all the general's guns and fire guns to be concentrated on the east city, inflicting a large number of casualties on the rebels. He also placed the catapults left by the Qingshirt Team on the North Gate Barbican and moved them back and forth to assist the defenders in their counterattack.
On the fourth day, the enemy camp in the north of the city suddenly moved, and thousands of troops were transferred to the direction of Guangxin.
Later, I heard that there was a fight between Lou Shiming and the Yin Tuo tribe in Guangxin. The two tribes fought with each other all night. In the end, the Yin Tuo tribe finally broke out and retreated westward when Lou's troops continued to arrive.
"Yin Tuo ran away?" Li Dan asked quickly. He didn't want this guy to give up so easily.
"They didn't go too far. They first retreated to Bijia Mountain, but Lou's army pursued them fiercely, so they retreated to Magu Ridge. Then the two armies attacked each other back and forth between the two mountains." The spy replied:
"The good thing is that Lou Shiming only left 5,000 people outside the north gate, so the army's scouts could sneak out of the city to find out the news. I heard that Lou Shiming left at least tens of thousands of people around Beacon Hill, and there were thousands more in Guangxin City. Both sides refuse to give in to each other."
"Is it because Lou Shiming attacked Yin Tuo?"
"You can say that, but not entirely." The spy told Li Dan that after Lou Shiming received Yin Tuo's request for Guangxin, he immediately agreed and invited Yin Tuo to the city.
Unexpectedly, Yin Tuo noticed something strange outside the county government office and wanted to turn around and return. Lou Shiming's generals were killed in the way, but Yin Tuo stirred up a hornet's nest. A large number of hidden Lou troops came out to take revenge. Yin Tuo hacked and killed all the way and rushed out of the door.
"But Yin Tuo was hit by an arrow in the back!" the spy reported.
Yin Tuo, who was hit by an arrow, became more and more convinced that the matter was not simple, but he fell into a coma after escaping back to his own military camp. His subordinates were not angry and immediately mobilized their troops to capture Guangxin City overnight, but Lou Shiming had anticipated this.
The reinforcements mobilized by Lou Shiming counterattacked in the name of clearing out the rebellion, and defeated the Yintuo tribe until they finally gained a firm foothold at Maguling.
"Lou Shiming's brain is better than Yin Tuo's." Li Dan sneered: "What happened next?" he asked.
"In the next few days, silver
Tuobu couldn't hold on any longer and retreated towards Geyang. Lou Shiming pursued him between Fanxing Temple and Xianren Rock and was accidentally ambushed by the opponent. It is said that he lost more than 2,000 people and had to stop. "
"Huh? Lou Shiming is too proud! Has he stopped chasing?"
"No, just slowing down and becoming more cautious."
But new troubles soon appeared. A Lou army of 3,000 people took a small road from the north and arrived at Zhangyan Temple first, blocking the Yintuo army's road back to Geyang along the coast.
After learning about it, the Yintuo army had to cross the river at Luoxi, attack and defeat the Lou defenders in Ehu, and then the main force went to the mouth of the river to station.
"When I left, I followed the Lou army, and finally I learned that they were confronting the Yintuo tribe on the north bank and the south bank." The spy told Li Dan: "In addition, I heard that Yintuo was seriously injured by an arrow and was bedridden. .”
Two tigers were fighting each other, and now one of them had been injured. Li Dan thought that his efforts were finally in vain. He arranged for the spies to go down to rest and invited Duan Yan over.
"Brother Duan, please sit down!" Li Dan sat across from him kindly and asked, "Last time, your brother told me that he wanted to be recruited. I have sent people to Geyang. Didn't you see him?"
"I and Brother Gui were traveling on the same trail. Maybe they crossed the path. Indeed, I didn't see it." Duanyan replied, "Because Yin Tuo was defeated and his troops were retreating to Ge Yang, my brother was very anxious because he was short of troops. .
Although Yin Tuo was defeated, he still had thousands of soldiers to fight, and my two brothers were no match for him.
So my brother sent me here to ask you to send troops to Geyang quickly. If Geyang is occupied by them first, they will definitely rely on the city to fight against the Lou family, and the whole city of Geyang will inevitably suffer! "
"Will they attack the city?" Li Dan wondered: "Yin Tuo is seriously injured, so it shouldn't happen, right?"
Duan Yan was stunned for a moment: "Sir, Yin Tuo is dead!"
"What did you say?" Li Dan stood up suddenly: "Are you serious?"
"If he hadn't died, how could my brother dare to act so boldly?" Duan Yan also stood up, cupped his hands and said:
"Three days before I came out, we rushed to Geyang, and Yan Yinshuai was killed. Now the whole army is retreating to Geyang, and we are required to be prepared to defend the city."
"But, but he is dead... spies came to report that Lou's army was ambushed on the way back. If he is dead, who is in control of the entire army now?"
Li Dan originally thought that these were arranged by Yin Tuo, but now he was shocked to hear that it was not the case, because this shows that there is a person who is still firmly in control of the entire army after Yin Tuo's death, and he still has the ability to bite back! who is he?
"Hu Guangen, nicknamed Calabash Head." Duan Yan replied, "This man follows Yin Tuo loyally and is his most trusted general."
"I've heard of it," Li Dan nodded: "But isn't this person guarding Qianshan?"
"In the past, yes, but later Yin Tuo called him to come for reinforcements, so he led more than 2,000 men to the north."
"So there are still a thousand people left in Qianshan?"
"This should be."
Li Dan touched the soft whiskers growing on his lower jaw and thought for a moment, then said, "You go to rest first and recover your physical strength. I will call everyone to discuss this matter."
That night, Feng Shen rode a fast horse into Zhao Chongbi's residence in Yujiang County.
Governor Zhao knew that this man was Li Dan's scout leader, so he hurriedly put on his clothes and came to see him.
"What, you said Yin Tuo is dead?" He was shocked. Although he knew that Li Dan was instigating the relationship between Yin Tuo and Lou Shiming, he didn't expect it to have such an effect. It was really surprising!
"Exactly! My master ordered me to tell you that Ge Yang wants to fight anyway, but the enemy in Qianshan is only a thousand people. The rest of Yin Tuo's troops are still panting by the river, and Lou Shiming's pursuers are scattered within a hundred miles on both sides of the river. This is This is an excellent opportunity to attack, I hope you will make a decision!"
"Hiss!" Governor Zhao was a little embarrassed.
The officers and soldiers were not prepared. It is still unknown whether Luxi will be recovered. Zhu Zhanji and Cai Shuangwu were ordered to move from Dongxiang to Yingtan and will not arrive until tomorrow. This... "What about your drill tonight...?" Governor Zhao was still thinking about this matter.
"Back to my lord, Sir Li means that if you agree, he will lead his team to Yujiang tonight and then turn back to the south.
Take Guixi and Geyang directly. Your Excellency can lead the army and march forward afterwards. "
It was tempting, but Lao Zhao was hesitant this time. The Blueshirts have never lost a game, which is both enviable and worrying day by day. They worry that such a record may one day be wiped out by one defeat.
Zhao Chongbi knew in his heart that although he was a "yellow belt", he could not do whatever he wanted. First of all, if you suddenly go south, what should you do with the emptiness that appears here? Where can Shi Shuai find a team to fill in the blanks?
Even if another team is deployed, what if Yang He is sure to get out of this loophole, all his efforts are in vain, and the money in the court's bamboo basket is in vain, what should he do? He understood that if that was the case, no matter how many yellow belts he tied around his waist, it would be useless!
When Feng Shen returned to Li Dan dejectedly, the exercise team had already begun to set off.
"Why, you didn't agree?" Zhao Jingzi asked.
"I guessed it." Li Dan nodded and sighed: "The situation on the battlefield is constantly changing. It may be an opportunity, or it may not be at all."
"Sir, how about we go together and see if we can convince him?"
Zhao Jingzi was still thinking about using his family ties, but Li Dan smiled and said, "It's useless. It's not that the opportunity is bad, it's that you can't do it like this! The officers and soldiers are not ready, the troops are not in place, and the supplies have not arrived. Now it is really difficult to force them to go south. It doesn't make sense.
Once there is a stalemate and the rear cannot be transported, the morale of the troops will soon become unstable, and defeat is imminent. "Li Dan tapped the leather armor with his riding crop:
"It's a good opportunity, but it's useless if you don't take advantage of it. Tell Duan Yan that the army is not ready and can't go out at the moment. Either his brother withdraws or leads the team to surrender. Anyway, I will send someone to take over, or they will continue to lurk and wait for the team to arrive next spring. .”
Li Dan looked at Zhao Jingzi and said, "Please tell him that if it is not a last resort, I hope his brother will not withdraw yet. Instead, he will support Hu Guangen to block Lou Shiming's attack as much as possible so that the Lou family's power cannot continue to develop westward."
"Yes!" Zhao Jingzi felt deeply regretful. What a great opportunity. But as Li Dan said, an opportunity that cannot be taken advantage of is not an opportunity.
It is not impossible for the Blueshirts to join the force now, but it is very risky. Moreover, if the official army does not appear, it will lead to a situation where the lone army goes deep. Once the besieged Qingshirts can only rely on their own mobility to quickly evacuate, then this leap forward will become a meaningless advance.
Duan Yan was helpless when he heard about this decision, so he could only hand it over and said, "Then I'll go back and discuss it with my brother first, and then we'll make a decision after taking a look at the situation."
"Let's do this," Zhao Jingzi pointed to Feng Shen behind him: "Feng Shenjun will arrange a boat to take you back to Geyang, so that the journey will be faster.
Then the boatman will stay at the place you agreed on near Geyang. If he makes any decisions or hears news, you can ask him to bring him back and let us know. "
"Understood!" Even if a communication channel between Ge Yang and Yingtan was established in this way, Duan Yan's trip would not be in vain. He breathed a sigh of relief and left with Feng Shen.
Because of the arrival of these two people, the situation around Shangrao seemed to have lifted a layer of fog and suddenly became clear.
Li Dan believed that Duan Yan was the leader within Yin Tuo, and generally would not easily spread news about the leader's casualties that would affect morale and stability internally. Therefore, after analysis, Li Dan and others tended to believe that Yin Tuo's death was true.
Then there is a big question before us: What will happen after Yin Tuo dies?
"Sir, I think there are two possibilities." Li Dan said to Governor Zhao: "One is that Yin Tuo's remaining tribe and Lou Shiming's tribe continue to fight in melee, which will weaken the Lou family's attack on Shangrao.
Another possibility is that they are unable to stop or even be eaten by Lou Shiming. Then the Lou family's forces, led by Lou Shiming, may have been heading west to directly border us. "
"Will Lou Shiming not return to support his father in conquering Shangrao after eating this?" Zhao Chongbi asked with a frown.
"Sir, that Lou Shiming is not happy for the Lou family to be king. He also doesn't like his eldest brother's instigation of his father. This is an internal conflict between them."
"He doesn't want his father and brother to be king?" Governor Zhao became interested: "Is there any way to recruit him?"
"It's not time yet."
Li Dan shook his head: "The Lou family is now powerful and has never suffered a big loss like Yang He. If we can annihilate its main force or defeat most of it, then we can talk about recruiting. After all, peace is based on victory. !」
Governor Zhao nodded frequently after hearing this, but the topic of recruiting Lou Shiming still remained in his mind.
