Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 294: War (The last day of the lucky draw, please give me a monthly ticket)
"Uuuuuu——"

In late March of the second year of Xiantong, the spring chill gradually subsided, and the drums of war sounded again in the mountains and valleys of southern Sichuan.

Emperor You Shilong of the Dali Dynasty assembled an army of 70,000 outside the city of Qiongbu in Lizhou, and appointed Fan Cuoxie and Zhao Nuomei as generals, and attacked Qingxi Pass where Xiahou Zi of the Tang army in Xichuan was stationed.

Dali's troops swept in like a raging fire, and the situation in Shuzhong suddenly became tense.

The war that had been quelled by the winter snow intensified again, and the land of Shu seemed to be shrouded in a layer of dark clouds.

"kill!!"

"Woooo..."

Outside Qingxi Pass, the great army surged towards Qingxi Pass like a tide.

Qingping official Fan Cuixie rode on a tall warhorse, holding a long sword in his hand, and ordered in a cold voice: "Attack the city!"

The Dali soldiers pushed the cloud chariot, braving the rain of arrows from the Tang army on the city gate, crossed the moat filled with sand, and crashed the cloud chariot into the wall of Qingxi Pass.

As the ladder of the cloud car was lowered and hooked onto the parapet, the morale of the soldiers of Dali instantly rose and they struggled to climb the city wall.

"Don't panic, we have 15,000 soldiers and 80,000 civilians. Why should we fear the southern barbarians?"

At Qingxi Pass, Yang Fugong, wearing heavy armor and holding a sword, personally commanded the defense of the city.

As the governor, Xiahou Zi was not on the horse road on the city wall, but hid in the temporary government office inside Qingxi Pass.

"Shoot arrows! Prepare rolling stones!" Yang Fugong's voice echoed on the city wall like thunder.

The Tang army's infantry switched to bows and crossbows, and fired volleys of arrows that poured down like rain, suppressing the Dali soldiers and making it impossible for them to move.

Rolling stones and wooden beams fell from the top of the city wall, and screams rang out one after another.

However, Dali's offensive did not weaken. Fan Cuixie, the general of the front army, sneered and ordered: "Continue the attack! We must break through Qingxi Pass today!"

Several miles away from the front army, You Shilong, who was sitting in the tent, showed a calmness that was not in line with his age.

Even though the shouts of killing from a few miles away shook the world, he still calmly looked at the map and pointed with his finger:

"Qingxi Pass is certainly important, but the fifteen cities of Rongzhou under Gao Pian are more important."

"Tell General Duan that I hope to celebrate the Little New Year in Bodao City!"

The Big Gift and the Small New Year are in June, and it is already late March, only two and a half months away from the Small New Year. This shows how much pressure Youshilong has put on us.

In response, Duan Zongbang outside Hujin City had no way to refute it. He could only accept the order from the Light Cavalry General after it arrived. He then led 60,000 fierce and barbarian soldiers to attack the city where Wang Zhongren was stationed.

Zongzhou City was just one of the fifteen cities in Rongzhou still in Gao Pian's hands. The city was small and high, and not easy to attack.

Especially after Wang Zhongren's reinforcement in the winter, this small town seems to be as solid as a rock.

On the fifth day of April, when the barbarian army of Dali approached the city, Wang Zhongren stood on the top of the city wall, his eyes were like torches, and he gave a cold order: "Prepare to throw stones!"

At his military command, thirty-two small counterweight catapults on the horse road on the top of the city wall were operated by armored soldiers, and soon launched an attack.

"put!"

"Bang bang bang-"

Thirty-two small counterweight catapults threw thirty-jin stones over a hundred steps before they fell heavily, scaring countless barbarians.

If a big city launched such a long and heavy trebuchet, the barbarians would not be scared.

After all, the horse paths in the big city are wide enough to build larger catapults.

But the problem is that Zongzhou is just a small city, and the horse path on the top of the city is not even two meters wide.

How could a large catapult be built on such a long and narrow path?
"It seems that the Tang army's catapults are better than ours..."

Outside the Zongzhou City, Duan Zongbang, who was in charge of the central army, kicked the huge stone brought by the barbarians.

The generals heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this. They thought the army was going to surround and attack them, but they didn't expect that Duan Zongbang snorted coldly in between breaths:

"The trebuchet can hit far but not near. Five hundred people can't attack the city of Zongzhou, so let's use five thousand people... fifty thousand people!"

"In short, according to the emperor's order, we must capture the entire Rongzhou before the New Year, especially Baidao City!"

"kill!!!"

As Duan Zongbang's military order was issued, the barbarian soldiers outside Zongzhou City began to attack, and each attack was like a general offensive.

Except for the 3,000 elite cavalrymen around Duan Zongbang, the rest of the infantrymen participated in the battle to attack Zongzhou.

The barbarians carried rattan shields and charged forward bravely, braving stones and arrows.

Wang Zhongren personally commanded the defense of the city. Rocks and wooden beams fell from the top of the city walls, and the screams of the barbarians rang out one after another.

"General, the Nanman's attack is too fierce!"

Each general spoke anxiously, but Wang Zhongren sneered, "We have to hold on no matter how fierce we are!"

"Pass the order down, anyone who dares to take a step back will be punished by military law!"

"Yes……"

The general would immediately send someone to convey the general's order to the entire army, but there were only two thousand infantrymen in Zongzhou City, and they were the infantrymen that Gao Pian had trained last year.

Because of this, the generals who fought with Gao Pian in the south and the north were all unsure at this moment.

"Your Majesty!"

In Fengzhou City, seventy miles away from Zongzhou, Liang Zun, the Du Yu Hou, walked into the county government office, while Gao Pian sat in the main seat with a map in front of him.

Although Fengzhou County is very close to Zongzhou County, it is actually under the jurisdiction of Luzhou.

However, Luzhou was under the jurisdiction of Dongchuan, so Gao Pian could place the central army in Fengzhou County.

"Duan Zongbang has begun his assault?"

Gao Pian asked without even raising his head, and Liang Zan nodded quickly: "Reporting to the envoy, Duan Zongbang has indeed begun a strong attack."

"Hmm..." Gao Pian responded slowly, and then said:

"He is so anxious, I think it is because the chieftain of the Southern Barbarians is trying to cause chaos in Rongzhou."

"But with me in Rongzhou, even if Chief Long leads his army here, he can't do anything to Rongzhou..."

He is very confident, and this confidence comes from his strength.

He had already received news that Liu Jilong was willing to sell him more than three thousand mules and horses.

With these three thousand mules and horses, plus the mules, draft horses and oxen he collected in Dongchuan, he had at least seven thousand infantrymen under his command who could quickly support Zongzhou.

However, Liu Jilong's more than 3,000 draft horses had just moved south, and it would take at least two months to reach the front line.

Before that, he still needs to remain calm and consume Duan Zongbang, waiting for an opportunity to achieve a great victory.

Thinking of this, Gao Pian sat in the center of the army and calmly grasped the situation of the battle based on the military situation at the front.

At the same time, the battle in Zongzhou City on the front line became increasingly intense.

"kill!"

On the horse trail, Wang Zhongren led a hundred soldiers to form a fire brigade. He personally swung his sword to chop off most of a barbarian's neck, and ran around in the other's incredulous gaze.

The horse road in Zongzhou City was only three meters wide. As the barbarians attacked the city, the catapults became useless and the road became a meat-crushing ground.

Barbarians were constantly knocked down by wooden stakes, rolling stones, and boiling water during their feint attacks, but the subsequent barbarians continued to charge forward by stepping on the corpses of their comrades.

"Han dog!"

"Nanbarbarian!!"

A sturdy barbarian general climbed onto the top of the city wall, holding two iron maces and waving them in the formation, attacking left and right.

Seeing that the Tang army's position was unstable, Wang Zhongren hurried over from a distance and led his troops to charge into the Nanman army that had finally gained a foothold.

The barbarian general stepped forward, but was hit on the shoulder by Wang Zhongren's heavy sword, and even the armor on his shoulder was broken.

"General, be careful!" When the guards saw other barbarians trying to launch a sneak attack on Wang Zhongren, they quickly kicked them away, formed a formation to restrain the barbarians, and killed them all here.

The barbarian general was restricted by the king's important mission, and his guards were so brave that he had his head chopped off by the guards before he could ask for help.

"Change the knife!"

Wang Zhongren, who had taken a few breaths, roared and yelled, and everyone then noticed that the knife in his hand was full of nicks and had become blunt.

"Uuuuuu——"

Suddenly, the horn sounded again outside the city. The faces of the Tang army on the horse road changed and they all looked outside.

But the barbarian soldiers continued to pour in like a tide, and they had not yet destroyed several of Lu Gong's chariots and cloud chariots.

"I will defend you till death!!"

Wang Zhongren changed his sword and raised his arms to shout.

The faces of the Dongchuan soldiers around him changed, but they finally chose to do as Wang Zhongren did, shouting and clearing the corpses on the road.

Outside the city, more than a dozen Lu Gong carriages and Yun carriages were pressed against the city walls like giant beasts, and the raw cowhide covering the roofs had a greasy luster in the sun.

Corpses were piled up like mountains at the foot of the wall, the smell of decay filled the air, and the soil at the base of the wall was dyed scarlet, emitting a disgusting stench.

Dali's attack continued round after round until it was getting dark, when Duan Zongbang sounded the horn to call back his troops.

Many exhausted Tang soldiers leaned against the parapet, surrounded by corpses.

The Dongchuan soldiers who still had the strength to fight stripped off the barbarians' armor and threw their bodies out of the city.

"Today we will slaughter ten cows and two hundred sheep to reward the troops!"

"Brothers who still have strength, clear the horse path, pour the asphalt on the wall outside the city, and set fire to the bodies!" "I will personally boil water for you to wash, don't let the barbarians outside the city look down on our Dongchuan soldiers!"

Wang Zhongren has been a general for many years, so he naturally knows how to boost morale.

After a big battle, nothing can boost morale better than a delicious meat meal.

Hot water can wash away many people's fatigue, and also let the barbarians outside the city see their confidence in defending the city.

Because of this, the surviving Dongchuan soldiers cleaned up the horse paths and took turns going to the foot of the city to wash.

Hot water was precious, and each person only had one bucket of hot water, but combined with two buckets of cold water, it was enough to wash away the blood stains on their bodies.

Clean battle jackets were ready, and the armor and blood-stained clothes were taken away and washed by the strong women in the city.

There were countless supplies in the Zongzhou warehouse. Before the war, Gao Pian told Wang Zhongren that as long as he could defend Zongzhou, he could squander the warehouse as he pleased.

Soon, the washed soldiers saw large portions of meat and food.

Everyone wolfed down the food in their bowls. Even though some people kept vomiting, the hunger in their stomachs had already made them forget the blood on the battlefield.

"Commander of the Army, there are still 2,546 brothers."

At the city wall, a general hurriedly walked in and told Wang Zhongren the number of soldiers after counting.

Wang Zhongren nodded when he heard this, and after swallowing the food in his mouth, he said, "Today, the number of casualties among the barbarians was no less than 3,000."

"If we continue to fight like this, Duan Zongbang will definitely not end up well."

"As the Art of War says, the first attack is powerful, the second is weak, and the third is exhausted."

"As long as we hold on for the first three days, the morale of the barbarians behind us will not be high."

As he spoke, Wang Zhongren said to the general, "Send a message to Fengzhou, asking for 500 reinforcements to make up the quota!"

"Yes!" The general bowed in response, and then sent light cavalry north overnight, arriving outside Fengzhou city before dawn the next day.

Gao Pian got up very early, so Qingqi didn't have time to eat a hot meal before he was brought to Gao Pian.

In response to Wang Zhongren's analysis of the situation, Gao Pian nodded in approval. At the same time, he dispatched 500 infantrymen from Tangchuan, Lianzhou and other cities behind Zongzhou to support Zongzhou.

In the next few days, Duan Zongbang continued to command the barbarians to attack, and the number of barbarian soldiers who died in Zongzhou City was no less than ten thousand.

Naturally, Gao Pian reported his military achievements in great detail to the court.

Compared with his outstanding performance on the Eastern Front, Xiahou Zi on the Western Front was not so outstanding.

Although the two sides fought a tug of war at Qingxi Pass, the number of casualties among the Tang army in West Sichuan was far greater than that among the troops in East Sichuan.

"Gao Qianli led more than 20,000 soldiers from Dongchuan to defend the fifteen cities of Rongzhou, losing 1,600 soldiers and killing more than 10,000 barbarians. This is a great achievement of the new dynasty in the war against the southern barbarians!"

In mid-April, in an area surrounded by mountains and rivers, tens of thousands of troops set up camp more than ten miles away from the palace at the foot of the mountain.

After learning about Gao Pian's outstanding performance in Dongchuan, Wang Zongshi hurried here from Chang'an in order to deliver the good news as soon as possible.

In the main hall of the palace, Li Yu listened to Wang Zongshi's report with a smile on his face:
"Great! Gao Qianli was able to defend against the enemy in Zongzhou, all thanks to the recommendation of the Minister of Internal Affairs. I will reward the Minister of Internal Affairs with thirty gold and silver items each!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty..."

Wang Zongshi bowed respectfully and expressed his gratitude, but he was not in need of more gold and silver items. Instead, he was planning to use Gao Pian's abilities to recommend others.

"Your Majesty, Gao Qianli only has 20,000 soldiers, but he was able to resist 60,000 barbarians."

"On the contrary, Xichuan Xiahou, the envoy, had 50,000 soldiers under his command, including 5,000 cavalry and 10,000 mule soldiers. However, he was beaten by Chief Long and had to stay indoors. This is really against the dignity of our Celestial Empire."

"I suggest replacing Xiahou Shixiang and temporarily appointing Yang Fugong as the military supervisor!"

"This..." After hearing Wang Zongshi's words, Li Yi also reacted. After understanding Wang Zongshi's intention, he pretended to hesitate.

"I'm afraid I need to discuss this matter with Mr. Bai and the others."

"Of course." Wang Zongshi knew that he couldn't get what he wanted in a hurry, so he agreed with a smile.

"In that case, let's discuss this after I have finished paying homage to the Tai Mausoleum and returned to Chang'an. Please remember this matter and remind me when the time comes."

When Li Yi said this, Wang Zongshi quickly agreed.

The emperor and his ministers exchanged a few pleasantries, and only after Wang Zongshi left the palace did Li Yi show a look of disdain on his face.

He knew very well what Wang Zongshi was thinking.

If he had not had enough strength to knock him down, he would have dealt with him long ago.

He learned nothing from his father except forbearance and provocation.

When dealing with the eunuchs in the Northern Department, he must never confront them head-on. If they become desperate, he would probably end up like Emperor Wenzong.

Only by stirring up trouble among the eunuchs in the Northern Court and then utilizing the power of the Southern Court could he possibly overthrow Wang Zongshi.

Thinking of this, Li Yi gradually calmed down, and the victory news from the south also arrived at the Southern Court at this time.

"Gao Qianli is indeed a good general. He was able to contain Duan Zongbang, who had three times the number of troops as himself."

“That’s right, this Duan Zongbang is also considered a famous general of the Southern Barbarians, but he doesn’t want to suffer twice at the hands of Qianli.”

"It seems that even if they lose Zongzhou, it won't matter. If the Nanman have to pay such a heavy price in casualties every time they take a city, then they won't even be able to take Rongzhou, and all the men will be lost."

"Hahaha……"

There was constant laughter in the Southern Court.

The laughter came from Bai Minzhong, Pei Xiu and Jiang Shen.

Faced with Gao Pian's new success, the three people's suppressed emotions in recent days were released.

The source of the three people's depression was not the war in the south, but the emperor's tour.

In the tour scheduled at the beginning of the year, the emperor’s tour should have no more than 30,000 people and last no longer than one month.

Now, not only has the duration exceeded more than half a month, but the size of the parade team has far exceeded the previously mentioned 30,000 people, and it can even be said to have doubled.

With so many troops on tour, the daily expenditure of money and food was as high as thousands of strings of cash, not to mention that the emperor also liked to reward actors and musicians.

The tour of one and a half months had not yet ended, but the Ministry of Revenue had already spent 300,000 strings of cash.

If this money was used for the war in the south, it would be enough for Gao Pian to recruit another 10,000 soldiers.

In such a situation, how could the three of them not feel depressed and have a headache?

Fortunately, Gao Pian's good news made the three of them breathe a sigh of relief, but this relief did not last long.

"Ms. sir..."

A servant walked into the hall from outside and whispered in Bai Minzhong's ear that Wang Zongshi was trying to replace Xiahou Zi.

Hearing this, Bai Minzhong frowned slightly.

Although he also wanted to replace Xiahou Zi, that was when there was no war.

Now the battle of Qingxi Pass is in full swing. At this time, replacing Xiahou Zi with Yang Fugong, not to mention whether Yang Fugong can convince the people, just the fact that changing generals in the middle of a battle is a big taboo.

"It's ridiculous..."

Bai Minzhong frowned and immediately told Pei Xiu and Jiang Shen about Wang Zongshi's affairs.

After hearing this, the two men looked unhappy, but due to Wang Zongshi's strength, they could only frown and think about how to stop this.

"Although Xiahou Shixiang made mistakes, he should not be replaced on the battlefield."

"At this point, I will make things clear with the Supreme."

Seeing that the two dared not to step forward, Bai Minzhong immediately stood up, and Pei Xiu and Jiang Shen also supported him after hearing this:

"Prince Bai, your words really hit the nail on the head for the two of us. The three of us will advance and retreat together at that time."

"It's extremely..."

Bai Minzhong was also very satisfied with Pei Xiu and Jiang Shen's attitudes.

Compared with Linghu Tao, Cui Xuan and others, Pei Xiu and Jiang Shen are easier to get along with and easier to get things done with.

"By the way, Gao Qianli mentioned in his memorial that he wanted to buy horses from Longyou, and hoped that the court would allocate funds to continue buying horses. What do you think of Prime Minister Bai?"

Jiang Shen picked up the memorial and wanted to see Bai Minzhong's attitude.

In response to this, Bai Minzhong frowned at first, then relaxed and said: "If Longyou is strong, the imperial court will be weak."

"Logically, we should curb the development of Longyou, but now there is war in the south, so we should not create unnecessary trouble."

"If we buy horses from Guannei Road and Hedong, the price will be much higher than Longyou. It is better to give him a discount to appease him."

"That's right..." Pei Xiu and Jiang Shen nodded in agreement. They also thought that they shouldn't create unnecessary trouble.

With the money and grain from the imperial court, after three tax increases and the addition of miscellaneous items such as salt, iron, tea, and wine, the imperial court was able to barely balance its budget.

The war in the south is currently costing a lot of money. It would not be wise to ignite another war in Longyou.

"In that case, let's allocate 200,000 coins and silk for Dongchuan to purchase horses."

Pei Xiu made the decision, and Bai Minzhong and Jiang Shen nodded in agreement.

Soon, the imperial edict decided by the three provinces was sent to Fengxian County in the north.

Gao Pian is Wang Zongshi's man. It is believed that after seeing this edict, Wang Zongshi will not only not oppose it, but will strongly support it.

With this batch of money and grain, Gao Pian should be able to defend Rongzhou...

(End of this chapter)