Early on the next morning, while Wang Xiaolie was reorganizing his army, soldiers came to report that Yang Jin fled south with the main force. In the military camp ahead, only the old, weak, women and children who had been recruited these days were left.
After hearing the military report, Wang Xiaolie couldn't help but frown and didn't speak for a long time. This Yang Jin is really slippery, it seems not easy to catch him. Knowing that Tan Yan had escaped from Dengzhou, Yang Jin immediately escaped at night and fought elsewhere.
From Dengzhou to the south, first is the Guanghua Army, and then to the south is Xiangyang Prefecture. There is not much in the Guanghua Army County, but Xiangyang Mansion in the south is a prosperous place. If Yang Jin were allowed to occupy Xiangyang Prefecture, with his changing ability to expand the army, he would become a serious harm in a few months.
After thinking for a long time, Wang Xiaolian said: "We can't let Yang Jin resurrect! If we don't get rid of him now, it will be a big trouble in the future! Shao Ling, Niu Gao, you two each bring a thousand people and chase after Yang Jin!" I don’t care what method you use or where you hit them, you must get rid of them!”
Shao Ling and Niu Gao obeyed. He knew in his heart that Wang Xiaolie had been angered by Yang Jin. From Ruzhou to Dengzhou for hundreds of miles, Wang Xiaolie led his troops to pursue him, but Yang Jin still managed to escape.
Anyone familiar with Chinese history knows how important Xiangyang is. This is an important place connecting the north and the south. Ships from the south and horses from the north all gather here. The Southern Song Dynasty defended the north, and many wars took place here.
At this time, Xiangyang Prefecture was the capital of Jingnan Road, with a large population and developed agriculture, industry and commerce. Although it was defeated by Jin Bing last year, it was only for a short time and no vitality was seriously damaged. If Yang Jin takes over Xiangyang, there will be more trouble in the future.
If the north attacks the south, once Xiangyang is captured, the Han River and the Yangtze River will be wide open, making it difficult to defend the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. When the south enters the north and crosses the Han River, if Dengzhou is captured in battle, the gateway to attack the Central Plains will be opened. This area is a battleground for military strategists in the true sense.
However, at this time, the Song Dynasty did not have the energy to take care of this area. All states and counties have few garrisons, and many states and counties even have no officials. In a sense, this is a blank space now. If you want, you can occupy many state troops.
Wang Xiaolie was also tempted by this situation. Sometimes, he really wished that he had 30,000 troops instead of 3,000. That way you can occupy a large piece of territory, and everything is possible in the future. However, Wang Xiaolie was still very conscious. Know that the hardest thing is not to occupy, but to hold on.
Before the sun rose, Shao Ling and Niu Gao ordered their troops and horses to pursue them all the way south. After getting rid of the old and weak, Yang Jin still had three to four thousand troops. However, most of them were forced into the army after Yang entered and exited Lushanguan, and their combat effectiveness was not strong.
Back in the yamen office, Wang Xiaolie sat alone behind the case in a daze. The current situation around us is very complicated and can be said to be a mess. I can't figure out what I should do.
Last year, the Jin army came south and captured Xiangyang Prefecture along the way, resulting in the current situation. When the Jin army came, most of the Song Dynasty officials fled, and this year the Song Dynasty has not made up for it. In many places, similar to Dengzhou, officials such as magistrates were not officially appointed by the court. Many places can be occupied with only a few hundred soldiers and horses. And at this time, there are no major threats from forces within one or two thousand miles.
This situation is really a very big temptation. If Shao Ling and Niu Gao went south and occupied Xiangyang Mansion, the territory would be far beyond what Wang Xiaolie had previously imagined. The surrounding Suizhou and Yingzhou are within easy reach. If you are ambitious enough, you can continue to go south. Including Jiangling and other places, there are no heavy troops, and the radius of thousands of miles is under control.
After thinking for a long time, Wang Xiaolie shook his head gently and sighed. One bite cannot make you fat, people still have to control their ambitions. In the final analysis, it is still the same sentence. Wang Xiaolie does not have enough officers and cadres, and he cannot effectively control the territory he wants. Moreover, when the territory is large, a lot of energy will be wasted, which is detrimental to initial development.
The most important thing now is to have a stable territory and train enough cadres as soon as possible. With sufficient manpower, nothing else is a problem.
The real generals of the Southern Song Dynasty, such as Yue Fei, Han Shizhong and others, had not grown up at this time. It can be said that I am on the same starting line as them. The next five or six years will determine the general trend of the world in the future.
"There is a shortage of people -" Wang Xiaolie stood up, looked at the bleak winter outside the window, and sighed helplessly.
Putting aside his distracted thoughts, Wang Xiaolie took off his military uniform and inspected Dengzhou's treasury with Yu Huan and Zhang Jun. Tan Yan fled in a hurry, leaving behind all the military supplies and so on. For Wang Xiaolie, these are priceless treasures.
After many wars, Dengzhou's officials had long since fled, and all the treasury accounts were lost. When I opened the armor storehouse, I saw that there were piles of swords, guns, bows and crossbows inside. I don’t know how many there were. There were even nearly a hundred pairs of armors in the corner. There are countless other various supplies.
After checking it out, Wang Xiaolian said: "When the Jin army came south, some ministers in the court said that they would move the capital to Xiangdeng, where a lot of supplies were stored. Although they were attacked by the Jin army, these armor staffs were not robbed. Now we are in the midst of war. These things will be of great use in the future."
Zhang Junxi said: "Many of the newly recruited soldiers and horses in Ruzhou this year do not have weapons and equipment. With the weapons and weapons in this storehouse, there is no need to worry anymore! I see there are countless piles here. I'm afraid it won't be possible to use them all." Can arm tens of thousands of people!”
Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "These things may seem like a lot, but after a real inventory, they are not so amazing. From what I see here, it is very impressive to be able to arm ten thousand people. It is very likely that it is only enough for a few thousand people." However, in order to defend the city at that time, there were a lot of arrows stored here. Our current army is short of crossbowmen. With arrows, it will be much more convenient in the future."
Zhang Jun said: "Zhizhou, look at the armored battles here. They are piled up like mountains. How can they only arm a few thousand people?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "You are also the one who leads the army. Don't you know the military equipment? At that time, someone in the court only proposed to move the capital here. How much supplies can be accumulated? We are lucky to be able to seize these!"
After saying that, he said to Yu Huan: "Shao Ling and Niu Gao are chasing Yang in. Choose ten or twenty people from your army to make a clear count here. It's best to finish it within three to five days, don't delay for too long. Anyway, I am the magistrate of Ruzhou, so be careful in other places."
Zhang Jun said: "Zhizhou means giving up Dengzhou? This is a big state with a large population, but it is much better than Ruzhou! If you ask me, it is just like the former Zhai Taiwei was the envoy of the Northwest Road of Beijing. Zhizhou is a Wouldn’t it be great to establish an envoy on the southwestern road of Beijing?”
Wang Xiaolie turned around and glanced at Zhang Jun. Said: "We are the subjects of the imperial court, how can we think about this! I think you are young, so I won't hold you accountable! Be careful what you say in the future, and don't let others take advantage of you!"
Zhang Jun said yes. But I didn't think so in my heart. Looking at Wang Xiaolie's behavior, he doesn't look like someone loyal to the court. Everything in Ruzhou is different from that of the imperial court. The laws followed are also very different from those at this time.
Seeing Zhang Jun's expression, Wang Xiaolie shook his head helplessly. Although this person is smart, he is still young and cannot understand many things. Wang Xiaolie was not disloyal to the court, but because he knew Zhao Gou's actions in history and knew that he could not obey his orders at this time. Even if he is not loyal to the court, he cannot say it out. Wang Xiaolie wanted to become a powerful local faction, but he didn't want to become a group of thieves.
At this time in the Song Dynasty, there were many bandits in various places. Although it has not yet formed a climate, it is everywhere like sparks of fire starting a prairie fire. Are there any of these people who are willing to serve the imperial court? But apart from Yue Fei's army, how many others have truly become famous generals? This is the attitude of the court. When there is no other way, they use false names to win over them. When the imperial court gained strength, it was determined to eliminate them.
At least at this time, Wang Xiaolie didn't have the confidence to fight against the imperial court, so he had to be someone the imperial court could trust.
