Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 344: This guy can do it?

Lujiang.

The wind became stronger and stronger, blowing up sand and dust and blowing it towards the soldiers on the flat ground.

Huang Fachu was riding a war horse, wearing armor and holding a sharp sword. He stared fearlessly at the Qi army that was forming a battle array on the high slope in the distance.

He chose a flat ground to form his array, dug a ditch in front, and set up tall chevaux de frise on both sides.

The infantrymen holding large shields stood at the front. Rows of large shields were placed on the ground, forming a shield wall. Countless spikes poked out from the wall, waiting for the enemy to pounce on them.

Huang Fate looked at the city in the distance again.

Lujiang City.

The flags of the Chen people were fluttering above the city walls.

Obviously, the actual war situation was not as bad as described by the pseudo-Zhou spies. Huang Fachu was not chased all the way to the vicinity of Luozhou. The war was still carried out around several important cities such as Liyang, Dongguan, Lujiang, and Hefei.

A hint of joy flashed in Huang Fatic's eyes, he knew Liu Taozi would come!
Xu Du took over the Qi territory in the west, and then quickly moved closer to Huang Fachu and stationed in Lujiang and other places.

Wherever they went, the people of Qi surrendered one after another and they took the city without any attack.

Huang Fachi had realized that Liu Taozi would not confront him head-on. He would attack Xu Du during his march, or wait for his main force to pass and then attack the troops left behind.

Therefore, Huang Fachi quickly led his troops to the vicinity of Lujiang to escort Xu Du.
His prediction was correct. After Huang Fachi arrived, he quickly formed his battle formation, and Liu Taozi then appeared from the north with the intention of attacking Lujiang.

He did not enter the city, but chose a flat place outside the city that was suitable for cavalry to charge, and lined up to welcome them.

He really hoped that Liu Taozi would pay attention to this favorable terrain and launch a fierce attack on him.

It is difficult to defeat cavalry with infantry unless there are huge terrain restrictions, especially when facing such elite and professional cavalry generals.

Huang Fachi stared at the enemy in the distance. After Wu Mingche's death, he fought with Liu Taozi many times. He only gained the upper hand twice, but he only repelled Liu Taozi and killed some of his men. It didn't have much impact and he couldn't catch up with him.

But it seems impossible to wear Liu Taozi down bit by bit.

Liu Taozi's army is getting bigger and bigger now?

On the high slope in the distance, Liu Taozi, riding on Heifeng, wearing heavy armor and holding a lance, was also observing Huang Fachi's formation.

Lou Rui, with a big belly, rode on horseback and stayed beside him with a silly smile on her face.

King Lou is uneducated and even less knowledgeable when it comes to governing a country, but at least he won't send someone off like the Yangzhou Daoxingtai did.

He did not get entangled with Xu Du, but took the initiative to give up the city in the west and led his troops to meet Liu Taozi.

Also coming to surrender was Wei Pohu, who had survived the disaster. After being defeated along with Lu Qian, he managed to escape. He then gathered the defeated soldiers and found Liu Taozi.

At this moment, the army lined up around Liu Taozi had become very large.

However, on one side were the elite troops of Yecheng who had become corrupt due to excessive eating and drinking with King Lou, and their fighting capacity was greatly reduced. They were beaten by the Chen people.

One side was forcibly mobilized and was defeated again and again by the Chen people. The Yangzhou Road army was reduced from more than 100,000 to only more than 20,000 people.

It is Liu Taozi's blessing to have these two armies on both sides.

Lou Rui narrowed his eyes, "This guy is trying to provoke you. You know it, but don't be fooled. He is lining up on the plain to provoke you to charge. Once you take the initiative to attack, he will hold on to the army. When the army in the city rushes out, it will be disadvantageous to us."

Lou Rui knew that Liu Taozi would definitely see through this, but he was still a little worried. After all, he was young once, and young people are full of vigor, especially a guy like Liu Taozi who has won every battle. He was afraid that he would not be able to withstand the other party's naked provocation and directly lead his troops to fight.

Wei Pohu on the other side also nodded wildly, "Yes, yes, we have come from afar"

Listening to the two people singing the same tune, Shi Wansui, who was following Liu Taozi, had a dark face and wanted to curse.

The fight was going well, when suddenly Lou Rui came with his men.

They were said to be the elite troops of Yecheng, but when we looked at them, we found that the things on their horses were not weapons, but all looted things. They did not forget to plunder during their march, and their military discipline was ruined!

In fact, these days, everyone is looting, and the armies that do not bully the people are the minority.

It still depends on the combat effectiveness. Just like the old Xianbei in Jinyang, they are indifferent to human life and are good at looting. But the problem is that they only loot after winning a victory. At ordinary times, they have strict military discipline and it is absolutely impossible for them to sneak out to rob on the march.

They have poor combat effectiveness, no military discipline, and are better at harming their own people than harming others. Are they still the elite troops of Yecheng?

Damn elite!

And Wei Pohu on the other side is an even more heavyweight.

The soldiers under his command were not even as good as Lou Rui's soldiers. At first glance, they were all county soldiers who were forcibly conscripted. They were starving and skin and bones. They began to tremble when they saw the Chen people. Their military discipline was also very bad. They were the type who would rob wherever they went.

Shi Wansui couldn't understand why the general would accept the two of them and these butcher bastards under their command!

It really seriously affects our own combat effectiveness.

Liu Taozi stared coldly into the distance, with no obvious emotion on her face.

He looked at the two generals on his left and right and asked, "Most of Huang Fachu's men are infantrymen, and they are outsiders. How could they appear outside Lujiang so quickly and set up defenses in advance?"

Lou Rui didn't care much, "This must be an advance prediction of your marching route."

Wei Po Hu said: "I heard that many villains surrendered to him. It was these villains who did it."

Liu Taozi nodded and said calmly: "Huang Fachu was defeated by me before, and his army was less than 30,000, but now his army has reached 40,000 to 50,000."

“Many of them are from Qi.”

"After he defeated Lu Qian, he pardoned the captives and gave them food to take back home. Immediately, many people volunteered to stay and fight for him."

"He enforced strict military discipline while on the march, not allowing his men to infringe upon the people, and he did not harm anyone along the way."

"Therefore, people along the way showed him the way. When he passed Dongguan and headed for Lujiang, people from several villages even gathered together to cut wood and build a road for him."

Lou Rui's expression suddenly turned awkward.

Of course he understood what Liu Taozi meant.

Wei Po Hu did not react at this moment, and continued to curse: "These villains are really despicable. They actually dared to help the enemy country to fight against us!"

"I think the Han people in the Huai River area are all traitors and should not be trusted. No."

"Cough, cough, cough."

Lou Rui interrupted Wei Pohu's nonsense with a loud cough.

Wei Po Hu finally reacted, and quickly smiled, saying flatteringly: "General, I am talking about the Han people in Huaibei and Huainan. It is not like that in Hebei."

Liu Taozi raised his lance and pointed at Huang Fachu in the distance.

"Our troops looted and massacred people everywhere during the march, causing panic among the people, who fled everywhere."

"But the enemy was able to release food and keep the people safe, without harming a single hair."

"That's why Huang Fachu can become stronger and stronger with each battle, and his elite troops increase in number. However, our King Lou had tens of thousands of elite troops, but now only a few thousand bandits are left who can't stand a fight. As for General Wei, you had more than 100,000 bandits, but now only tens of thousands are left."

"According to this strategy, we will gradually lose the advantage of fighting on our home ground. The people of the whole Huai River region will all go to Huang Fachu, give him information, pave the way for him, and fight for him. Sooner or later, we will die in his hands."

Wei Pohu glanced at Lou Rui quietly, his eyes filled with confusion.

Wei Pohu fought many battles in his life, but rarely won.

Lou Rui lowered his head slightly, "Zhizhi is right."

Liu Taozi then said, "Since I am the commander, you should fight according to my method. If there is no military discipline, Huang Fachu will attack us like a bandit. At that time, we may not be able to escape."

"From now on, my people will be responsible for the military discipline of the three armies. From me down, anyone who dares to violate military law will be severely punished and will not be pardoned."

"What do you two generals think?"

Wei Po Hu looked at Liu Taozi in fear. Wei Po Hu was not very courageous to begin with, and when faced with the notorious Liu Taozi, he could not help but shrink back three points. How could he dare to resist? He immediately said, "I will definitely obey the order of the general!"

Lou Rui was not displeased, just a little embarrassed, "Just do as Zhizhi said."

Liu Taozi looked at the enemy troops in the distance and signaled the army to retreat.

Huang Fatic watched Liu Taozi's army gradually retreat, but did not dare to pursue them.

Although there were many useless people in the enemy's camp, the elite cavalry was still there. If he lined up and waited, he still had the confidence to stop the enemy cavalry. But if he took the initiative to pursue them uphill, that would be sheer wishful thinking.

Neither side attacked and they just left.

Huang Fachi led his troops into Lujiang, and Xu Du appeared here only an hour later.

Xu Du brought the latest rewards from the imperial court. General Huang Fachu was promoted to General Zhengxi, while Xu Du's General of Chariots and Cavalry remained unchanged. He also appointed General Chunyu Liang as General Zhengbei and led reinforcements to participate in this northern expedition.

In fact, in terms of official position, General Xu Du had the highest position, General of Chariots and Cavalry.

General of Cavalry, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and General of Guards are the three major general titles under the general-in-chief, and often represent the three people with the most experience, the greatest power, or the strongest combat power in the country.

Huang Fachu and Chunyu Liang were both among the Four Expeditions. The difference was that Huang Fachu was originally a general of the Four Garrisons, on the same list as Wu Mingche, while Chunyu Liang was previously the general of the central army. His official position was not high but his status was extremely high.

The two of them sat in the study, both having countless things to say.

Xu Du frowned, his face full of disbelief.

"I really didn't expect Wu Mingche to be defeated miserably by Liu Taozi. Wu Mingche has performed extremely well over the past few years and has had many victories against Qi people. How could he be defeated so ridiculously by Liu Taozi?"

Huang Fate shook his head slightly. He didn't want to talk about this issue anymore.

Wu Mingche has already been defeated, and it is too late to say anything now.

All he was thinking about now was what to do next.

He took the initiative to change the subject and asked, "The government wants General Chunyu to send troops? Not stop the Northern Expedition?"

Huang Fatic thought that after such a disastrous defeat, there would be an uproar in the country and no one would support the Northern Expedition anymore, so he was ready to withdraw his troops.

Xu Du said: "There were people in the country who wanted to start a rebellion in the name of opposing the Northern Expedition. They have all been killed."

"Your Majesty has decided to continue the war. General Chunyu will lead the reinforcements and many supplies to replace Wu Mingche and continue the attack."

Huang Fate finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ever since Wu Mingche died in battle, although he did not say it explicitly, he was always in a tense state and was ready to retreat at any time.

Upon hearing that the villains in the country had been killed and that the emperor still fully supported the Northern Expedition, Huang Fatic's face became firm again.

"Your Majesty is wise."

"We have already failed His Majesty once, and we must not fail him a second time."

"This time, even if it costs me my life, I will drive these barbarians out and take back the Lianghuai area for Your Majesty!"

Huang Fachi's eyes were extremely solemn.

Xu Du looked at him and just sighed.

He was no longer as confident as before. "Liu Taozi is a famous general of the Hu people. He is very difficult to deal with. The current situation is very different from before. However, now is still the best time to send troops. If we can't take it back now, when Liu Taozi officially goes south, we will have no chance."

Huang Fachu asked, "When did General Chunyu arrive, and where did he land?"

"It's not clear yet, it should be from Qinzhou, right?"

Huang Fate narrowed his eyes and pondered for a long time, "Maybe not."

"General Chunyu always managed to catch the enemy by surprise and seize the most dangerous positions. Every time he went on an expedition, he was able to strike directly at the enemy's vital points."

"I think, this time, there might be hope of defeating Liu Taozi."

Liu Taozi was leading the army towards Dongguan.

The army was so huge that they stretched out a long distance between the front and the back.

At this moment, as long as an army came to attack, Liu Taozi would surely be defeated, because the gap between the front and the back was too large, the formation was chaotic, and it was completely different from the past.

Shi Wansui was riding a fast horse, running back and forth in this long team.

When he returned to Liu Taozi again, his whole body had turned red and black. His horse, his armor, and even his face were all covered in blood.

This blood does not belong to the enemy, but to our own family.

There were human heads hung on both sides of his warhorse, fluttering in the wind, and there were also many heads hung on the lance in his hand. It looked so terrifying.

He returned to Liu Taozi with gritted teeth and threw the head in his hand aside.

Liu Taozi was walking in the middle of the team, looking ahead and behind.

"My Lord, no, I really can't do this job anymore!"

Shi Wansui wiped his face, revealing his original skin color, "I can't kill them all. I can't kill them all."

"I have killed nearly a hundred people myself, and my soldiers are almost going crazy."

"The officers have no control over their soldiers. The soldiers ignore orders. When I come, they kneel down and beg for mercy. When I leave, they continue to behave the same way."

"If we keep killing like this, we will have to fight them sooner or later."

Shi Wansui led the cavalry as a military discipline team, patrolling back and forth to ensure that these people could march safely and would not do anything bad.

At first he thought this was a good thing, but now, Shi Wansui is really exhausted both physically and mentally.

The beasts kept getting killed in greater and greater numbers, batch after batch. The team became increasingly chaotic, with no sign of improvement.

"My Lord, why on earth are we bringing these people to fight?"

"These people are useless except for reducing our combat effectiveness. I suspect they will run away when they see the enemy, and then they will become a threat to us."

Hearing Shi Wansui's words, Liu Taozi glanced at him and asked, "Then what do you think we should do?"

"Let them go, let them go somewhere else, let them go back to where they came from, just don't stay around us!"

Liu Taozi said calmly: "Do you mean to let them go to other places to burn, kill and plunder?"

"I"

Shi Wansui was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook his head, "That's not what I meant. We can..."

"Kill them all?"

Shi Wansui shuddered and slowly lowered his head, "I understand."

Liu Taozi looked at the young man next to him, Shi Wansui, who was only seventeen years old. His beard had not yet grown fully, and there was a sparse amount of hair on his face. He always looked menacing.

Although he was not yet twenty years old, his bravery was already evident.

He always charged to the front in every battle and was unstoppable. No one around Liu Taozi dared to look down on this young boy. Through battles one after another, he rose from an ordinary knight in the Mandrill Camp to the rank of captain.

Despite his extraordinary bravery, he was not a purely reckless warrior. Shi Wansui also loved reading. He was quite well-behaved and polite in his daily life and had his own judgment on many things.

Liu Taozi also attached great importance to him.

"If you only rely on killing, you can only scare them, but you can't change them."

"You have to change your strategy and think about whether you can ask the generals and officers to help you restrain the other soldiers and put yourself in the position of commander and think carefully."

Shi Wansui frowned, "My lord, do you want me to change them?"

"It'll be fine if we can get them to restrain themselves."

"Think about it more."

Liu Taozi slightly increased the speed and continued driving towards the distance.

Shi Wansui stood there in a daze and began to think about ways to enforce military discipline. He decided to honestly adopt the method suggested by his lord and let the officers help him.

He set his target on those military officers. After something happened, he would hold them accountable first and replace them with people who were brave, able to command the people and obey orders.

Then give them the power to deal with their subordinates, let them discipline the soldiers under their command, and if anything goes wrong, they will be held accountable.

Start with the most junior officers and then work your way up.

Liu Taozi did not interfere from beginning to end, but he did hand over the power of appointment to this young boy.

Shi Wansui found that there were too many officers who did not meet the standards and he could not find anyone to replace them. He asked Liu Taozi to make a temporary reorganization. Anyway, the situation was already so bad, and there was no need to worry that the temporary reorganization would affect the combat effectiveness. He changed the ten-man team to a twenty-man team, strengthened the power of the lower-level officers, and reduced the number of multi-level officers.

The people in Yecheng were actually fine. They were just spoiled by Lou Rui. They still had some abilities. Under the strong orders, they were gradually reorganized, and the marching speed increased most significantly. As for Wei Pohu's subordinates, they could only move forward step by step.

When everyone arrived at Dongguan, Wang Lin was waiting for them there.

He brought some terrible news.

The Chen people's ships appeared again in large numbers and began to transport food and weapons again, showing that they had no intention of retreating.

(End of this chapter)