Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 472 Lucky General
Zhang Zhaoda stood on the city wall and watched Xiao Mohe lead more than 4,000 elite troops away.

It sounded good, but when it came to actually sending troops, they still did not dare to give him too many people and only sent more than 4,000 people. Most of the officers among these 4,000 people were from Zhang Zhaoda's old subordinates, which clearly showed that they were worried.

Zhang Zhaoda looked into the distance dimly with a solemn expression.

His staff stood by, looking quite anxious.

"General, I must write to His Majesty again. Your situation cannot be delayed."

"Besides, the Han and Zhou are now at war. The Zhou has suffered such a blow that it is definitely no match for the Han. We cannot just sit back and watch. We must intervene!"

"But your situation"

The staff was in a panic.

Zhang Zhaoda's physical condition was getting worse day by day.

The military doctors were all helpless about his condition and thought that they had to return to Jiankang and find a famous doctor to see him.

Zhang Zhaoda trembled and said: "I have written to His Majesty again to let him know."

"no need to worry."

"But I don't know how I can intervene in this war between Han and Zhou."

"It is impossible for our troops in Lianghuai to attack Henan Province of Han. Because of the incident with Huang and Chunyu, the morale of the troops here is low. Moreover, fighting the Han people on land is very disadvantageous to us."

"If you want to intervene, you can only fight in the south, in an environment we are familiar with."

"But we don't have enough troops. The brothers Gao Changgong and Gao Yanzong are to our northeast and southwest, respectively."

"These two are related to Zhang Zhiyong, and no one can stop them! His elder brother Gao Changgong claims to have an army of 100,000. Even if he doesn't have 50,000, he must have 30,000 or 40,000. Gao Changgong defeated the Zhou Kingdom in the north many times and was called the Five Tigers of the Han Kingdom. He also has tens of thousands of elite soldiers at his disposal. His younger brother Gao Yanzong, although he does not have many troops under his command, charged fiercely at Yuwen Yong's army. Who among the soldiers in the city didn't know how brave he was? Moreover, he has Chunyu Liang by his side. If he leads Chunyu Liang here, the morale of our soldiers will be completely lost when they see them."

"Given the current situation, we can't intervene even if we want to. The enemy is advancing from three directions, the main one is the army led by Liu Taozi himself, and the other two are auxiliary. If we push too hard, Gao Changgong will turn around and attack us. If that happens, can we stop the two brothers?"

The staff looked worried and asked, "Why did the general let Xiao Mohe lead the troops to the battle?"

"Do your best. Things change. Maybe there will be a turnaround."

Han, Yiyang County.

Inside the office, the generals sat in two rows.

Chunyu Liang was among them, while Gao Yanzong sat at the top. He held a document in his hand and showed it to everyone as if to show off.

"My brother is here!"

"Brother, lead an army of 100,000 to capture Xinling!"

"He asked me to lead people to keep an eye on Chen Bing from Nanyang to Jiangling to prevent these bastards from causing trouble!"

"These southerners have always been..."

Gao Yanzong was about to curse, but suddenly remembered something and changed his words: "Their king has no morals and is capricious! We must be on guard."

The other generals also nodded silently at this moment, secretly looking at Chunyu Liang. If it were not for Chunyu Liang's face, they would have jumped up and insulted the southerners long ago.

Chunyu Liang was a little surprised.

He knew that after Chang'an was captured, the situation in the world would undergo great changes, but he did not expect that the changes would be so rapid. The Han Kingdom directly sent troops to destroy the Zhou Kingdom, which was aimed at rapid unification.

Although he had not asked about the details of the battle and did not know much about this expedition, but based on his instinctive judgment as a veteran, he felt that the Great Zhou was doomed.

If Yuwen Yong was still alive, he could still organize officials from all over the country to fight back, establish his own territory, and continue to hold on. This would not be a big problem. But if he died, the situation would be serious. With the Zhou Kingdom now in a fragmented state, facing the Han Kingdom, whose national strength is several times stronger than its own, it would basically only be beaten.

To judge the national strength of countries, it is not enough to look at how vast their territories are, but also whether their territories are good or bad.

Just like the State of Chen, which had vast territories in the south, the population of several remote states combined might not be as large as that of Cheng'an County in the Han Dynasty.
As for arable land, the same principle applies. Not all land can be used for cultivation. Some states and counties may look small, but their actual grain production may be several times or even dozens of times that of some desolate large states.

Using peace to suppress rebellion and using the big to attack the small, Chunyu Liang saw no hope for the Zhou Kingdom to survive.

The only possibility is that the Han army was too arrogant and did not take the enemy seriously at all. They penetrated deep into the hinterland and were defeated once, which might have allowed them to delay the battle for some more time.

Gao Yanzong informed everyone of the matter, and then looked at Chunyu Liang with a smile.

"General Chunyu, you are familiar with the armies in these places. In your opinion, how should we defend ourselves?"

"This matter is extremely important. My brother wants to achieve the feat of destroying a country today. This is the first time he has asked me for a favor. Whether it is for the public or for private reasons, I should do my best. I hope the general can teach me."

Gao Yanzong bowed to Chunyu Liang very seriously again.

Chunyu Liang hurriedly returned the gift.

Chunyu Liang was also an important general in the State of Chen. His official position was much higher than Gao Yanzong's. After he surrendered, because the war was not over yet and the emperor had not rewarded him yet, he stayed with Gao Yanzong temporarily. However, Gao Yanzong was very polite to him and did not do anything rude to him.

Chunyu Liang thought for a moment, and then said: "General, you must guard against Zhang Zhaoda. In my opinion, the best way is to take over Nanyang, Anzhou, Jiangling and other places to prevent future troubles."

"what??"

Gao Yanzong's eyes widened, and so did most of the other generals.

Is this defense or offense? ?
Gao Yanzong hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Can you take it down?"

The chief clerk who had been standing beside them could not help himself and said, "General, General Wei wants us to be on guard against the Chen people."

Chun Yuliang explained: "If the Chen army wants to rescue, their infantry and cavalry don't have to worry about it. Although the infantry and cavalry in the city have experienced great battles, if they encounter General Wei's tens of thousands of elite troops, I'm afraid they will be wiped out immediately, and no one will be spared."

"The only thing we are worried about is the navy, and it is very difficult to guard against the navy. The only way is to turn defense into offense, capture the city, and then occupy the port and ferry, so that the navy cannot go ashore for supplies. As long as we can occupy Jiangling, the Chen army will not dare to look west, and General Wei can face the enemy with peace of mind."

"well said!"

Gao Yanzong agreed with this idea very much. He didn't like to defend, he liked to attack.

Gao Yanzong asked the rest of the generals to leave temporarily, leaving only Chunyu Liang to discuss the matter of sending troops.

"Although the Chen army is weak, they occupy the high walls. Our soldiers are elite, but they are few in number. Nanyang and Jiangling are both strong cities. How can we conquer them?"

Chunyu Liang had been waiting for this day for a long time.

He took a deep breath and excitedly began his explanation.

"General, you may not know that when we attacked Hua Jiao, the commander of the Chen army, Xu Du, was defeated by the Zhou people and lost many soldiers and generals. Then when we attacked Nanyang, we were defeated by Yuwen Yong again. The army was greatly depleted, so Lord Chen temporarily sent new soldiers from Lianghuai to fight in Jiangling."

"Among the more than 30,000 soldiers currently stationed in northern Jing, more than half are soldiers from Lianghuai."

"These people were just recruited and did not have much recognition of the State of Chen. After Zhang Zhaoda arrived, he did not dare to use the generals in the army because most of them were old acquaintances of mine. He used his confidants to control these soldiers. His confidants were all from Jiangdong and were not familiar with the people from Jiangbei."

"General, just lead the elite troops outside the city and order the soldiers to speak in Jiangbei dialect, shouting that Lianghuai has returned to Han, and then let me come forward. The soldiers in the city will definitely have no desire to fight, and perhaps I can even make them kill the general and open the city."

"The only place we need to be vigilant about is Jiangling. However, Jiangling City was severely damaged in the previous war, and the city walls are in ruins. I have many old friends in the city. If the general goes there, we can ask them to help from the inside and open the city gates from the inside."

When Gao Yanzong heard Chunyu Liang's words, his eyes lit up instantly.

"Can you really open the city gate?"

"I heard that Zhang Zhaoda is a capable general in the Southern Kingdom and is good at pacifying his subordinates. Can the people you left behind be trusted by him?"

"I have private connections with many people, but outsiders don't know about them."

"it is good!"

Gao Yanzong stood up and began to pace in the courtyard. If what Chunyu Liang said was true, then Jingbei was simply delivered to him for free and he could take it as he pleased.

At present, the alliance between Han and Chen has been broken, so there is no question of whether to fight or not.

The more Gao Yanzong thought about it, the more excited he became. He suddenly reached out and grabbed Chunyu Liang's hand, his eyes particularly bright.

"If we can take over Jingbei, you will be the first to achieve the credit!! I will ask my brother to share the credit with me!!"

Chunyu Liang also took the opportunity to grab Gao Yanzong's hand and said, "I will definitely work with the general to take over Jingbei and not ruin the great cause of destroying Zhou!" The two men agreed on sending troops and then began to reorganize the army.

Logically speaking, Gao Yanzong did not have the power to send troops on his own.

Although he is a general with a high title, he has to be in charge of one side in the Four Expeditions before he has the power to send troops independently. In the south, only Wang Lin can send troops directly without waiting for orders from the court. This is his own right. However, he still has to report to the emperor and bear the consequences if something goes wrong.

However, Gao Yanzong sent troops on the orders of General Wei.

General Wei is a general of the Three Dukes rank and one of the main commanders in the current campaign against the State of Zhou. He is qualified to mobilize the rest of the army. This is not because of their brotherly relationship but because of their superior-subordinate relationship.

Even if he gave the order to Yao Xiong now, Yao Xiong would have to run over obediently.

Gao Changgong's military order ordered Gao Yanzong to send troops to contain the Chen people.

The scope of this military order is quite broad. What is considered as containment? After all, attacking a city can be considered as containment, right?

Three days later, Gao Yanzong led his troops out of the city and headed straight for Nanyang next door.

There are two Nanyangs now. The most orthodox Nanyang is already in the hands of the Han army, but the small Nanyang is still in the hands of Chen Bing.

It was taken down by Huang Fachu during his counterattack.

Gao Yanzong led more than 5,000 soldiers, many of whom were new recruits. Although they were new recruits, they were quite good in terms of military equipment and morale.

This time, Gao Yanzong brought out all his wealth in a grand procession. He rode a tall horse and walked at the front with Chunyu Liang.

The two places were very close, and Gao Yanzong was in a hurry.

Soon, his army appeared outside the city.

The Chen defenders in the city were indeed horrified and hurriedly began to set up defenses, not daring to go out.

Gao Yanzong followed Chunyu Liang's instructions and selected soldiers from Jiangbei, went to the outside of the city, and shouted in their own dialect that their hometown had been conquered by the Han Kingdom.

Everyone shouted loudly.

There were indeed many soldiers from Jiangbei in the city. These soldiers had just been recruited and were sent to this strange place to fight. They had no sense of belonging to the State of Chen. Moreover, they were originally brought out by Huang Fachu and Chunyu Liang. After Zhang Zhaoda arrived, he forcibly replaced their officers, which further increased the soldiers' sense of insecurity.

Hearing the noise outside, the defenders were in chaos.

At this moment, Chunyu Liang suddenly rushed out on his horse, shouting loudly: "Chunyu Liang is here! Quickly open the city gates, and those who surrender will not be killed! !"

The messengers shouted together.

At this moment, seeing their former commander suddenly appear outside and remembering what they had just said, the chaos on the city wall became even more obvious.

The generals on the city wall were holding swords and trying various methods to appease the soldiers.

I don't know who got angry first and drew his sword to start slashing, but then he was stabbed to death by the other soldiers. The officers were horrified and fled, and the city was suddenly in chaos.

Chunyu Liang saw the right opportunity and shouted three times again. Sure enough, someone opened the city gate and Gao Yanzong led the knights to rush directly into the city.

Most of the soldiers chose to surrender, but some of Zhang Zhaoda's confidants were unwilling to surrender and continued to fight, but they were soon put down. There were not many troops stationed, most of them were in Jiangling, and the military strength in other places was quite limited.

Gao Yanzong himself did not expect things to go so smoothly.

When he walked into the government office, his face was extremely excited. He left someone to guard the city and set off again with the rest of the people.

Chunyu Liang rode a fast horse and followed Gao Yanzong.

He has been waiting for this day for a long time.

Joining the Han Kingdom is just the beginning; building achievements is the most important thing.

He left people in various places in Jingbei, waiting for the right opportunity.

The opportunity now is obviously very good. These brothers of the Gao family are definitely worth making friends with. Gao Changgong has already been promoted to General of the Guard. After the war of annihilation of the country, I am afraid he will be promoted to General of the Cavalry. At his age, it is possible for him to be promoted to General in the future. After the unification of the country, this person will definitely be the number one in the world. Although Gao Yanzong is a little inferior to his brother, he has become a general with a high title at his current age. In time, he may become one of the Three Dukes and a general. It may be very noble for a family to have two nobles.

I am already very old. If I can get to know these two brothers and let them take care of their son a little, my family will have many opportunities and wealth in the future.

The two men moved forward, and almost all the cities they encountered on the way fell on their own, and they headed straight for Jiangling.

When the news reached Jiangling, Zhang Zhaoda's condition had become very serious.

All of a sudden, the injuries he had suffered over the years flared up at once, causing him unbearable pain. He lay in bed, turning sideways repeatedly, and crying out in pain.

After the military doctor examined him, he could only say helplessly: the time has come and there is nothing we can do.

At this critical moment, news came from the rear that the Han army was sending troops to attack their city fiercely.

Zhang Zhaoda suppressed the pain, sat up and looked at the document in his hand.

At this moment, Zhang Zhaoda couldn't help but shed tears.

Is this destiny? ?
Why come at this time instead of earlier or later?
He wanted to stand up and fight, but his body was too weak. Not to mention putting on armor to fight, it was even difficult for him to get up and go out.

He could only send his men to call Xiao Mohe over to resist the foreign enemies.

He also sent people to search for doctors everywhere, and he was willing to try any prescription.

Before Xiao Mohe arrived, Chunyu Liang's army had already arrived.

Suddenly, shouts and screams were heard outside the city.

Zhang Zhaoda on the bed struggled to get up, but failed after trying several times.

He lay on the couch like this, tears glistening in his eyes.

He had no choice but to call all the generals in and told them earnestly: "Your Majesty entrusted me with important matters, but unfortunately I am seriously ill and cannot repay Your Majesty. Without you, the city will be hard to defend. Jiangling is an important city and must not fall into the hands of the thieves. I have sent people to inform Xiao Mohe and to ask for help from the surrounding areas. You must hold on and wait for the arrival of reinforcements. Jiangling was captured by us with great efforts. If we lose Jiangling, the situation will be critical."

"Absolutely not! Surrender the Hu!"

Before Zhang Zhaoda could finish his words, he became speechless again due to illness.

The generals had no choice but to go out and hold their ground.

It was not until Gao Yanzong arrived in Jiangling that he encountered real resistance. Almost all the troops of the State of Chen were gathered here. These soldiers had fought bloody battles with the Zhou people and could not be considered weak. On the contrary, most of the soldiers under Gao Yanzong were new recruits and were not as good as the soldiers of Chen. They could only surpass the enemy in morale and equipment.

Gao Yanzong tried to attack the city, but was beaten back before he even touched the city wall.

Gao Yanzong tried several times but failed.

At this time, he learned from the scouts that Xiao Mohe was leading his troops back. The generals all felt that they could temporarily withdraw and defend the cities they had previously captured to avoid being defeated in one battle and losing all their achievements.

But Gao Yanzong refused them and stayed outside the city.

This situation continued until night, and at night, torches suddenly flashed on the top of the city.

Gao Yanzong led the elite knights and waited patiently.

Not long after, the west gate was suddenly opened, and dozens of people holding flames called Gao Yanzong into the city. Gao Yanzong did not hesitate at all and led the knights to charge into the city.

The city gate was breached and the soldiers in the city were terrified. Without a commander in charge, everyone was terrified and could no longer fight, so they were defeated by Gao Yanzong.

Some generals fled hastily with their defeated soldiers through the remaining city gates, and the city changed hands.

However, they failed to catch Zhang Zhaoda.

Before Gao Yanzong captured the city, he had already died of illness on his bed.

ps: (Zhang Zhaoda) followed Hou Andu and others to resist Wang Lin at Zhakou, and fought in Wuhu. Zhaoda rode on Pinglu's large ship, advanced in the middle of the river, and the vanguard fired a shot at the pirate ship. Wang Lin was defeated, and Zhaoda was ranked first in the list of meritorious service.

In the third year, (Zhang Zhaoda) fell ill and died at the age of fifty-four. He was given the title of general, an additional five hundred households, and twenty military officers. ——"Book of Chen·Biography 5·Biography of Huang Fachu, Chunyu Liang, and Zhang Zhaoda"

(End of this chapter)