Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 409 A Mighty March Forward (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"Everyone, put in some effort, set up camp, and get some rest!"

"Oh!"

On October 20th, amidst the bleak and cold wind, Liu Jilong's troops marched south from Wuzhou into Longzhou and camped outside Jiangyou County.

Longzhou has two counties under its jurisdiction: Jiangyou and Qingchuan. Although it is a river valley, the area is not very large.

Before Shang Moyan plundered the people of Xichuan, Longzhou had a population of only over four thousand.

Later, the people captured by Shang Moyan were exchanged by Liu Jilong. Although the people were resettled, due to the limited terrain of Longzhou, only Pingwu Township and Kuzhu Township were added.

The population of Longzhou has barely increased to 20,000. Most of the people cultivate the land along the river valleys of the Fujiang and Qingshuijiang rivers. The total cultivated land in the prefecture has barely reached 60,000 mu, but there is still a lot of space that can be cultivated.

At least in the river valleys and plains that Liu Jilong saw on his way south, it would not be difficult to cultivate 200,000 to 300,000 mu of irrigated land.

"Everyone says that the climate in Jiannan is different from that in Longnan, but I don't think the difference is that great."

Amidst the rustling sounds, Liu Jilong and his group walked up to the top of Jiangyou County. Behind him, Husiguang talked about the climate of Jiangyou and Longyou, and Zhang Chang and Chen Ying smiled upon hearing this.

“Jiangyou is still in the mountains, and its climate is no different from that of Longnan. Once you conquer Jiangyou Pass and enter Chengdu, you will know how it is different.”

Zhang Chang explained, while Husiguang smiled and looked at Liu Jilong walking ahead.

Liu Jilong surveyed Jiangyou County, glancing occasionally at the not-so-wide flat land outside the city, which was mostly used by the soldiers of the Longyou Army for encampment.

"This place is only suitable for building a pass, not for establishing a county."

"If we want to develop in the future, we still have to move to Pingwu Township."

Looking at Jiangyou County, nestled between the Fu River and mountains, Liu Jilong shook his head and pointed out Jiangyou's shortcomings. Zhang Chang and Chen Ying nodded in agreement.
"General, you are absolutely right. Jiangyou is indeed only suitable as a strategic pass."

"Although Pingwu is also long and narrow, it has more plains carved out by the Fu River."

As the two were talking, Liu Jilong stopped and turned to look at them.

Zhang Chang, Hu Siguang, Chen Ying, Zhang Wu...

Liu Jilong looked at them, then finally fixed his gaze on Chen Ying, and couldn't help but ask, "I heard that Huang Chao was using our name because you gave him the identity of a broker?"

"This humble general did not grant the broker an official title, but I did send him a letter."

Chen Ying was already prepared, so he recounted how he and Yang Xin met Huang Chao, how they helped Huang Chao when he was targeted by the wronged magistrate of Ju County, and why Huang Chao rebelled under the banner of Longyou.

Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong felt that life was unpredictable, but Hu Siguang said:

"Your friend is short-sighted. If he had joined us earlier, he wouldn't have been forced to become an outlaw."

"This..." Chen Ying smiled wryly. Although he felt the same way, he still respected Huang Chao's choice.

"Alright," Liu Jilong interrupted their conversation, laughing as he said, "We're not gold, how can we expect everyone to like us?"

"Furthermore, people generally think that Longyou is poor and destitute. If it weren't for our efforts, how could Longyou be as prosperous as it is today?"

"However, with this connection, if Huang Chao achieves something in the future, you might be able to try to recruit him."

Liu Jilong said with a smile, but Chen Ying took it as a joke.

After all, with Longyou's current strength, as long as it completely takes over Sanchuan and then focuses on development for another year or two, it can quickly pull out an army of over 100,000 to advance eastward.

However, taking over Sanchuan and focusing on its development will not be so easy.

"General, Li Fu is incompetent. He has failed to besiege us several times. Of the six thousand brothers in the Dongchuan Governor's Office, one hundred and fifty-two have been killed, but they have all been replaced by troops stationed in the prefecture."

"There are still 5,000 garrison troops and 6,000 combat troops in the prefecture. When will our army attack Jiangyou Pass and enter the Three Rivers region?"

Zhang Chang bowed and asked. After listening, Liu Jilong thought for a moment. If he took away 6,000 soldiers, leaving 5,000 garrison troops would be enough to defend the city, and he would have 20,000 troops at his disposal.

The current difficulty lies in the laborers, since he only brought 30,000 laborers with him when he went south, and the grain in Longzhou is only enough to feed 70,000 soldiers and civilians for four months.

"From Jiangyou to Jiangyou Pass, it is about seventy miles. Once Jiangyou Pass is captured, we can enter Mianzhou, which used to have more than 200,000 people and a million acres of fertile land."

"Although it has experienced turmoil, it still has at least a few hundred thousand people."

"However, our army must first take Xichuan, which has flat terrain, so of the eight counties in Mianzhou, only Changming, Baxi, Long'an and Shenquan are our main targets."

After Liu Jilong determined the main attack direction, Zhang Wu listened to Liu Jilong begin to discuss how to fight before he spoke up:

"General, our army still has a considerable number of troops in the Western Sichuan Governor's Office, especially the barbarian soldiers and cavalry from Duokang. Should we first send troops here and then cross the Jiangyou Pass to head south?"

As soon as Zhang Wu finished speaking, Zhang Chang's expression changed slightly, and he quickly bowed and said, "General, this morning the Xichuan Governor's Office sent news that Gutao Pass has been lost, but the population of Duanyuan County has been transferred to Wenshan."

Upon hearing Zhang Chang's words, Zhang Wu and Hu Siguang's expressions changed drastically. Both of them knew what Gu Tao Pass represented to the Xichuan Governor's Office.

Therefore, Taoguan is the gateway to Xichuan and also the gateway to the Xichuan Governor's Office. If Gao Pian were to seize Maozhou and Weizhou after losing three prefectures, then the tens of thousands of people in Xichuan that had been acquired earlier would be taken back by Gao Pian.

Thinking of this, the two immediately looked at Liu Jilong, who calmly said, "Although Taoguan is strong, it is not impregnable."

"Gao Pian obtained the catapult blueprints of the Guiyi Army through Suo Xun back then. It's enough that Shang Moyan and his men were able to hold out for more than four months by relying on Gutao Pass."

"Gao Pian probably already knows about the situation in Shannan West Circuit, so it's even less likely that he'll attack Maozhou."

Liu Jilong pondered for a moment, recalling the terrain of Sichuan and Chongqing, before finally saying:

"Gao Pian should be gathering troops right now, waiting for our army to take the initiative to attack Jiangyou, fight Li Fu to the death, and then gather a large force to fight our army between the Fu River and the Luo River, using the water network to restrict our army."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wu immediately offered a suggestion: "General, since Gao Pian thinks this way, why don't you order me to lead troops to attack Jiangyou Pass and take Jiangyou Pass and the four counties west of the Fujiang River first?"

"As long as we obtain these four counties in Mianzhou and Changming County in the north, our army can rely on the river and terrain to confront the troops of Sanchuan."

"Our cavalry is numerous. When the grain is harvested next summer and autumn, the entire Sanchuan region can become a source of food for our cavalry, so we don't need to directly confront Gao Pian."

Zhang Wu's proposed solution prompted Zhang Chang and Hu Siguang to nod in agreement.

The Three Rivers region is wealthy, and the Longyou cavalry is numerous. They can easily use speed to attack the slow and continuously plunder the Three Rivers region to supply themselves and weaken the entire region.

If this continues, Gao Pian will inevitably become restless and will have no choice but to take the initiative.

How and where to fight will be decided by Longyou.

However, Liu Jilong resolutely shook his head and rejected the suggestion.

"No, let him fight if he wants to. We must finish this quickly!"

Although doing so was voluntarily walking into Gao Pian's trap, he had no choice but to do it.

According to Zhang Wu's plan, the Three Rivers region would be exhausted, and Gao Pian's main force would be easily defeated. However, Gao Pian also had an elite cavalry force. At that time, the two armies would fight continuously. Even if Gao Pian was defeated, the production of the entire Three Rivers region would be almost completely destroyed.

Zhang Wu's proposal had no problems militarily, but it had significant problems economically and politically.

What Liu Jilong wanted was a well-developed Sanchuan that could be managed without much effort, not a Sanchuan in dire need of rebuilding.

Moreover, with the two armies constantly at war, what will happen to the people whose grain has been looted?
The population of Xichuan not only determined the logistical supply for Liu Jilong's eastward military campaign, but also the policies for his later attack on Dali and the stabilization of Yunnan and Guizhou.

The larger the population of Xichuan, the easier it will be for Yunnan and Guizhou to achieve stability in the future.

Although Gao Pian was resourceful, Liu Jilong was not afraid of him.

He wanted to occupy Sanchuan, and so did Liu Jilong. Let's see whose methods are superior and whose army is stronger.

"Send an order to the Western Sichuan Governor's Office, instructing Molu Danzeng to lead the barbarian troops to Jiangyou, and ordering Shang Duoluo and Xin Dang to await the victory report and seize the opportunity to retake Gutao Pass!"

"The last general takes command!"

Liu Jilong issued the military order, and Zhang Chang decisively accepted and carried it out. Then, Liu Jilong looked at Zhang Wu:

"The army should rest well. Today we will slaughter pigs and sheep to reward the troops. We will set off at noon tomorrow and arrive at Jiangyou Pass at dusk the day after tomorrow."

"This subordinate obeys!" Zhang Wu bowed and replied.

As Liu Jilong finished making arrangements, the Longyou army outside the city set up camp and began to rest.

At the same time, Liu Jilong also dismounted from the horse path and rode his horse toward the prefectural government office.

It has been quite some time since Longyou recaptured Jiangyou. The city walls, streets, and houses of Jiangyou County have been renovated, and the people have taken on a completely new look.

When they were in Xichuan, they had to endure the exploitation and oppression of cruel officials. When they came to Longyou, although the taxes were not light, they were fair and there were no cruel officials to exploit them.

Moreover, Longyou has a good policy towards the six prefectures of Jiannan, and they are currently in the stage of land reclamation where the government provides grain and the people provide labor.

Unfortunately, due to the inconvenient transportation in Longzhou, grain from Longyou could not be quickly transported there.

However, once Liu Jilong captures Sanchuan, Longzhou will no longer need to wait for grain to be transported from Longyou, which is a long way away. The land tax from Mianzhou alone will be enough to drive the continuous progress of land reclamation in Longzhou.

Looking at the people on both sides of the road whose cheeks were gradually becoming fuller and whose clothes were cleaner, Liu Jilong felt a little more at ease.

He was looking at the people, and the people were looking at him.

"Is this the General Jie?"

"He is so handsome, no wonder the monks say that the general is a Bodhisattva reincarnated."

"Father, is he the one who distributed food and clothing to us?"

"You must address the General as such; you must not be disrespectful to him."

The people dared not make a sound, but simply watched intently as Liu Jilong departed under the escort of cavalry, discussing among themselves.

"Haha, Qie Biao, look at these people's eyes, they're just like the people of Longyou back then!"

On horseback, Ma Yi, who had been promoted to colonel but still commanded a brigade of soldiers, laughed heartily as he discussed with Li Yangchun, Gao Shu, and others the respectful looks the people of Jiangyou gave them.

With Ma Cheng taking care of him, Ma Yi seemed to have only experienced two or three years of hardship since he could remember; the rest of his life was smooth sailing.

For him, being watched by the people in such a way was more comforting than receiving a reward of tens or hundreds of strings of cash.

"Keep your voice down, lest you tarnish the reputation of the army."

Gao Shu couldn't help but remind him, but Ma Yi still couldn't help but laugh.

As the two chatted and laughed, Li Yangchun said, "That may be true, but have you forgotten what the people of Shuofang and Qinzhou are like?"

"I think what the general said back then was right. There are still many people in this world suffering, and we can only help and take care of a small portion of them."

"Leaving aside the distant future, the more than four million people in Sanchuan are living in dire straits. Only by following the commander and defeating Gao Pian, Li Fu, and Wang Duo can we save the more than four million people in Sanchuan."

As Li Yangchun finished speaking, Gao Shu and Ma Yi paused, giving him strange looks, and finally couldn't help but say, "We have already joined the army, so we don't need to take any ideological tests anymore."

"Haha..." Li Yangchun chuckled, shook his head and said nothing more, but changed the subject and discussed the previous Battle of Jicao Ridge with everyone.

When the topic of war came up, the three of them became more animated, and Liu Jilong walked into the government office under the watchful eyes of the people of Jiangyou.

The following day, Liu Jilong led 20,000 troops to break camp, leaving Chen Ying and 2,000 garrison troops to guard Jiangyou.

The army marched south along the Fu River, covering the seventy-mile distance in just a day and a half.

On October 22, Liu Jilong led his troops to a river valley plain north of Jiangyou Pass.

This plain was not large, only two or three hundred acres, and could only accommodate 20,000 troops. The 30,000 civilians who followed were stationed in several plains along a road more than ten miles behind the army.

The plains carved out by the Fu River are quite numerous, ranging from seven or eight hundred acres to several dozen acres.

If these plains could be utilized, thousands of acres of paddy fields could be reclaimed.

The plains where the Longyou Army was stationed were only two miles away from Jiangyou Pass, and the pass, which stood between the mountains and the Fu River, could be seen directly from the straight line.

Jiangyou Pass is only a few dozen feet long and wide. It was built by the Dongchuan soldiers after Jiangyou was captured, by piling up stones.

To its west are mountains with drops of tens of meters, and to its east is the surging Fu River, with undetectable undercurrents and jagged rocks, making it impossible for boats to cross.

However, after passing Jiangyou Pass, the Fu River gradually calms down, and a floating island of several tens of acres is formed on the river.

"The boatmen on the dike were right after all. It is indeed possible to build large ships with a capacity of over a thousand liang here, which can sail straight down to Yuzhou!"

When the three armies set up camp, Liu Jilong looked at the vast plain outside the gorge and the gently flowing Fu River, and couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.

Seeing this, Zhang Wu, who was standing behind him, said, "What the general said is very true. If our army can occupy Mianzhou and take Brazil, we can build ships directly and rely on water transport to attack Yuzhou from the south."

"Currently, nearly half of Dongchuan's troops are at Jiangyou Pass. Once we capture this place, Dongchuan will be ours for the taking. But will Gao Pian take advantage of our attack on Jiangyou Pass to seize Dongchuan directly?"

Zhang Wu worried that Gao Pian would use his control over Dongchuan and Xichuan to seize control of Bashu. Liu Jilong nodded in agreement.

“Gao Pian will definitely do that, but whether he can take it over depends on whether he has the ability to do so.”

"Moreover, even if he occupies Dongchuan, he will still have to fight us in Xichuan in the end. Dongchuan is just a way out for him."

Gao Pian had many advantages in occupying Xichuan, one of which was that he could both attack and defend.

As long as the war goes against him, Gao Pian can rely on the Yangtze River (Minjiang River) next to Chengdu to transport most of the supplies by boat, and lead his army to retreat calmly along the river to Dongchuan, Shannan West Road and Shannan East Road, and even into Huainan.

If possible, Liu Jilong would naturally want to annihilate Gao Pian's forces and preferably subjugate them for his own use.

However, Gao Pian has too many options, so this idea is probably difficult to realize.

But as long as we can capture Sanchuan, whether or not we can encircle and annihilate Gao Pian is not so important.

Thinking this, Liu Jilong turned around and walked back to the tent that had already been set up. At this time, Li Fu, the military governor of Dongchuan at Jiangyou Pass, was also observing the movements of the Longyou army.

"Father, the rebel army numbers no less than 20,000. Our army will surely be able to hold Jiangyou Pass!"

The young man standing behind Li Fu then discussed the results with him, but Li Fu shook his head and said:

"The rebels are skilled in using magic and have even breached the four passes of Longshan. This small Jiangyou Pass will probably not be so easy to defend."

Li Fu served as the military governor of Yicheng Army before being transferred to Dongchuan.

He did not perform well when he was besieging Pang Xun and Wang Xianzhi in the Central Plains, and this was his first time fighting against a rebel army with equipment comparable to that of the Tang army.

He led 10,000 troops to besiege Jiangyou, but after several months he failed and instead suffered more than 2,000 casualties.

From that moment on, he realized that Longyou was probably not so easy to deal with.

Especially after Liu Jilong defeated 100,000 government troops in the north, Li Fu hurriedly retreated south to Jiangyou Pass, and reinforced his troops from the rear, dividing them to guard Songling Pass and Jiangyou Pass.

At present, there are 5,000 Dongchuan soldiers at Songling Pass, 12,000 Dongchuan soldiers at Jiangyou Pass, and 3,000 reinforcements in Mianzhou in the rear.

The remaining 10,000 troops were scattered and stationed in various prefectures and counties of Dongchuan, but they were of little use.

The capable troops in Dongchuan had already been taken away by Gao Pian when he took up his post. After Li Fu arrived in Dongchuan, he could only hastily train a few months' worth of troops to guard the pass.

Fortunately, Liu Jilong did not launch the first attack on Xichuan, and gave him several more months to train his troops.

In Li Fu's view, the Dongchuan Army today is no different from the Yicheng Army he previously led.

However, the reinforcements sent by Yicheng Army, Xuanwu Army and other towns were all annihilated by Liu Jilong in Qinzhou, so Li Fu was naturally aware of the gap between the two sides, hence his unease.

His anxiety could not stop Liu Jilong from heading south, so he could only place his hopes on Gao Pian.

"Has General Gao replied? When will he send reinforcements?"

Li Fu questioned his eldest son, Li Xun, who replied, "Commander Gao is already assembling troops and has ordered our army to hold out for a month."

"A month?" Li Fu's brows relaxed slightly. "A month shouldn't be a problem."

Jiangyou Pass was constructed of stacked stones, and was three zhang thick, making it difficult to breach.

"Brother, you stay here to garrison the troops, do not slack off. I'm going back to rest now."

As it grew dark, Li Fu gave a few instructions and then went down to the horse track to rest.

The night passed quickly, and the next morning, Liu Jilong dispatched three thousand laborers from the rear to drive the supply wagons to camp one mile outside Jiangyou Pass.

The straight-line distance between Jiangyou Pass and Pingchuan is only two li, but it is three li away by official road.

The Jiuhuang Mountain to the west is very steep, but it has abundant vegetation and is full of trees.

Three thousand laborers drove the supply wagons to a mile outside Jiangyou Pass, and then began to set up siege equipment.

Thirty catapults were set up, followed by twenty shield carts and ten cloud carts, well carts, and Lu Gong carts.

The official road in front of the pass was thirty feet wide, so the catapults could only be placed in a staggered manner.

Once the position was built, the laborers began to use local materials, digging up stones and cutting down trees.

In a single day, dozens of acres of forest disappeared, even tree stumps were dug up, and many stones were piled up in one place.

This continued for three consecutive days until enough stones and firewood were gathered for the army. Only then did Liu Jilong order Zhang Chang to be the commander-in-chief, with Zhang Wu and Husiguang in the center and Geng Ming in the rear.

Zhang Chang led 5,000 infantrymen and 3,000 laborers to take over the position and immediately began a strong attack on Jiangyou Pass with catapults.

"boom--"

The stone, weighing several tens of kilograms, was thrown out and crashed into the Jiangyou Pass area after passing through the air.

Of the thirty catapults that launched the stones, only four or five hit Jiangyou Pass.

Knowing early on that the catapults in Longyou were formidable, Li Fu had arranged for his troops to hide at the base of the city wall.

After the first round of slinging was over, he led Li Xun and the others to inspect the city wall.

The wall was smashed and left with several white marks, but otherwise there were no other changes.

"This catapult is truly amazing; it can launch such heavy stones from such a distance."

"However, their catapults are sharp, and the Jiangyou Pass they built is no pushover either."

After calming himself down, Li Fufu then addressed Li Xun and the two military commanders from Dongchuan, saying:

"Let them attack. As long as we don't use Lü Gongche, we don't need to go up to the city to defend. Let's see how long they can hold out."

"Yes!!"

The three men bowed in agreement, and in the following days, Zhang Chang continuously directed catapults to launch a fierce attack on the pass. Although it was effective, the progress was too slow.

Liu Jilong did not urge him, because he knew Zhang Chang's abilities and how difficult it was to conquer such a fortified pass.

He wasn't in a hurry; in fact, he was somewhat looking forward to Gao Pian assembling a large army.

Compared to fighting Gao Pian several times in a row, he preferred to settle things in one decisive battle.

"There's no rush in attacking a city. Let's continue." In the central command, Liu Jilong, Zhang Wu, and Husi Guang continued playing chess in their tent, while Zhang Chang in the vanguard relentlessly attacked Jiangyou Pass.

While Zhang Chang launched a fierce attack on Jiangyou Pass, Chen Jingchong also led his army to capture Xingzhou and then divided his forces to attack Xingyuan Prefecture and Fengzhou.

On the 25th, Chen Jingchong led 4,000 troops to defeat Wang Fuyan in Xixian, and the western gate of Xingyuan Prefecture was lost. Chen Jingchong then successively captured Baocheng and Nanzheng, and Chenggu County surrendered.

On the 27th, Chen Jingchong captured Xingdao County. Wang Duo and Wang Fuyan led 3,000 remaining soldiers to retreat to Huangjin County. Chen Jingchong then sent 3,000 troops to besiege Huangjin County.

Shortly after Chen Jingchong besieged Huangjin County, news also came from the Eastern Route Army.

Zheng Tian led 3,000 cavalrymen ahead and occupied Huanghua County in northern Fengzhou via Sanguan Pass. Fortunately, Liangquan County, the seat of Fengzhou, was captured by the Eastern Route Army, and the two sides were locked in a stalemate.

On the second day of the eleventh month, Chen Jingchong led his army to capture Huangjin County. Wang Duo and Wang Fuyan fled to Zhenfu and led several hundred remnants of their army through the Tangluo Road to Luogu Pass.

Xixiang and Zhenfu counties surrendered, and Xingyuan Prefecture and the entire territory of Yangzhou were occupied by Chen Jingchong. Chen Jingchong sent a fast horse south to request the establishment of Xingyuan Town.

The news reached Jiangyou Pass on the sixth day of the eleventh month.

"put!"

"Bang bang bang-"

Outside Jiangyou Pass, after ten days of fierce attack, the once smooth pass wall has now become pitted and uneven.

Three or four tenths of the parapet was destroyed, and thousands of stones were scattered at the base of the wall.

Zhang Chang gradually became somewhat anxious, but Liu Jilong remained calm and composed, slowly playing chess with Zhang Wu and Husi Guang inside the tent.

Chen Jingchong's report of victory broke the tranquility. After reading it, Zhang Wu said, "General, it's not a big deal that Huanghua was not captured. After all, it is relatively close to Sanguan, which is controlled by the government army, and its population is not large."

"With one prefecture, three states, and seventeen counties, capturing sixteen counties would be enough. I suggest setting up four garrisons to guard this place, and then capturing Jinzhou, which is controlled by Shannan East Circuit, in the east, after the spring."

The four garrisons totaled 18,000 troops, which may not sound like a lot, but considering the local situation, it was enough.

However, Liu Jilong shook his head at Zhang Wu's suggestion, saying, "Four towns are too few, let's set up six."

"In addition to the three prefectures of Xingyuan, Xingfengyang, and Jinzhou and Hanzhong, a total of six prefectures and 27,000 troops were set up."

"Send an order to Gao Jinda, instructing him to recruit soldiers from Longyou and at the same time dispatch officials to take over the local area, register the land as soon as possible, measure the fields, and not delay next year's spring planting."

The treasury in Longyou was not wealthy, and the sudden expansion of the army by 27,000 would inevitably put a lot of pressure on them.

However, Liu Jilong was not worried, because Sanchuan would last until the Longyou treasury was exhausted.

Moreover, Liu Jilong believed that Chen Jingchong would not disappoint him. There were many powerful families and military generals in the prefecture and three states, but Chen Jingchong's forces were insufficient, so he had not yet broken ties with these people.

Once the 27,000 newly armored soldiers arrive in Xingyuan Prefecture, Chen Jingchong will surely know what to do.

Thinking this, Liu Jilong placed a chess piece down and continued, "With the loss of Xingyuan Prefecture, the connection between Guanzhong and Sanchuan has been completely severed. We can only obtain information about Sanchuan through Shannan East Road."

"The most important place facing the imperial court now is not Qin Prefecture, but Xingyuan Prefecture."

"Tell Gao Jinda and Chen Jingchong to provide manpower and food as needed, but they must defend Xingyuan Prefecture!"

"In addition, let Gao Jinda recruit another 30,000 soldiers and march south to Mianzhou after the spring."

"Yes!" Zhang Wu nodded in agreement. Seeing this, Hu Siguang went out and talked with the captain at the door. They then quickly rode north.

It has snowed in Taozhou, Minzhou, and Diezhou, but the official roads to the east, including Chengzhou, Wuzhou, and Qinzhou, remain open, allowing people and horses to continue south.

"General, we have recruited 57,000 soldiers. Even if we have enough armor, the treasury is always short of money and food. Why don't you let me lead the troops to capture Jiangyou Pass and enter Mianzhou as soon as possible?"

Zhang Wu tentatively spoke, knowing that leading troops in a strong attack was bound to result in heavy casualties.

Liu Jilong paused for a moment, put away the chess pieces in his hand, and looked at Husi Guang: "Go and summon Zhang Chang."

"Yes!" Husiguang knew that his commander had something to say, so he immediately stepped out of the tent.

After he left, Liu Jilong pondered for a moment before saying to Zhang Wu, "You are still young, it's not good to accumulate too much merit."

"With your current achievements, you are qualified to serve as governor, but your relationship with the governor is somewhat lacking."

"You should know that not every general in the army is as easy to talk to as Chen Jingchong and Geng Ming."

“Yes…” Zhang Wu understood that Liu Jilong was helping him. Having suffered hardships since childhood, he immediately listened attentively to Liu’s advice.

Seeing that he was calm and composed, Liu Jilong felt a sense of relief. He thought to himself that if Shang Duoluo and Li Ji could be like him, there wouldn't be so many problems.

Lost in thought, he regained his composure and said to Zhang Wu, "Jiangyou Pass is already in ruins, and it wouldn't be difficult to take it. But replacing you with the commander-in-chief now would undoubtedly be taking credit for Zhang Chang's work."

"In that case, I will arrange for you to be Zhang Chang's deputy general later. You will command the troops on the battlefield, and the credit for being the first to charge will also be attributed to you."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wu immediately understood the benefits of Liu Jilong's arrangement.

The three armies captured Jiangyou Pass. Zhang Chang gained credit for breaking through the pass, and Zhang Wu gained credit for being the first to scale the walls. All three sides benefited.

However, this benefit is contingent on Zhang Chang being willing to let Zhang Wu command the troops.

"General, what about Commander Zhang..."

"You don't have to worry about that."

Zhang Wu was about to say something when Liu Jilong interrupted him: "Just go and make the preparations. Go ahead."

"Yes." Zhang Wu bowed in response, then stood up and walked out of the tent under Liu Jilong's watchful gaze.

Half an incense stick later, the sound of horses' hooves rang out. Zhang Chang reined in his horse and entered the tent, while Husi Guang waited outside.

"General, I will definitely capture Jiangyou Pass within five days!"

Zhang Chang was full of confidence, simply because he had already ravaged Jiangyou Pass with his catapults.

However, he had already spent ten days, and now he was going to spend another five days, so he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

He also knew the principle that speed is of the essence in war.

"I have already ordered Zhang Wu to serve as your deputy general. After you and Zhang Wu go to the front line, the front line will be under Zhang Wu's command. The credit for breaking through the pass will still be yours."

Liu Jilong spoke calmly, and Zhang Chang became anxious upon hearing this, quickly bowing and saying, "General, I will definitely capture Jiangyou Pass within three days."

Seeing his anxiety, Liu Jilong frowned slightly: "I made it very clear that the credit for breaking through the barrier belongs to you."

"But I..." Zhang Chang wanted to say something more, but Liu Jilong could only look towards the door and lower his voice, saying, "What else do you want me to say to make it clear?"

"There are still 12,000 Dongchuan soldiers inside Jiangyou Pass. You are leading 5,000 vanguard troops to launch a strong attack on Jiangyou Pass. Can you guarantee that the casualties will not be too small? Can you guarantee that you will achieve a great victory in one fell swoop?"

Liu Jilong knew Zhang Chang's skill level better than anyone else.

Although he was one of the earliest followers, he had little experience in battle and was at most at the level of a junior general.

He was able to become the governor-general purely through his seniority and his own merits.

Fortunately, he was more obedient than Li Ji and did not form cliques. Among the few survivors of the third group, he was the one who made Liu Jilong feel the least worried.

Although he was three years older than Liu Jilong, Liu Jilong actually regarded him as a younger brother.

If he were to lead an army to attack the pass, he would inevitably suffer heavy casualties, while attacking the pass with catapults would result in virtually no casualties.

That is why Liu Jilong first ordered him to lead his troops to attack Jiangyou Pass with stones for ten days. Now that he has appointed Zhang Wu as his deputy, the casualties after he takes Jiangyou Pass will not be many.

In this way, Zhang Chang can also accumulate military merits and prestige through this battle, and his position will be more secure.

Liu Jilong thought he had explained things clearly enough, but Zhang Chang kept asking questions, which annoyed him.

Fortunately, after his questioning, Zhang Chang understood Liu Jilong's intention in making this arrangement, and immediately bowed and replied, "This subordinate obeys the order."

Seeing that he agreed, Liu Jilong reminded him again: "Zhang Wu is almost ten years younger than you, but he is quite capable. Don't interfere with him on the battlefield. Learn from him; it will benefit you."

"Yes!" Zhang Chang nodded in agreement, and then Liu Jilong waved his hand: "Go."

Zhang Chang slowly withdrew from the tent, and Husi Guang also entered: "General, should I go and help Commander Zhang?"

"No need, I've already appointed Zhang Wu as his deputy." Liu Jilong arranged the chess pieces and beckoned to him, "Come and play chess."

"Yes!" Husiguang understood immediately and realized that Liu Jilong was helping Zhang Chang accumulate military merits.

However, Husi Guang was neither angry nor jealous, after all, Chen Jingchong, Ma Cheng, and Zhang Chang had helped him the most in his ability to quickly integrate into the core.

After Li Ji was confined to his quarters, Husi Guang dared not get too close to Shang Duoluo and Ma Cheng anymore.

However, he had no reservations about Zhang Chang and Chen Jingchong.

He sat down and started playing chess with Liu Jilong, while Zhang Wu had already followed Zhang Chang to the front lines.

The two dismounted and boarded the drum cart.

During this time, Zhang Chang carefully examined Zhang Wu and found that he was not only young, but also in excellent physical condition.

Recalling Liu Jilong's words, he felt somewhat aggrieved, but he had no choice but to accept reality. He said in a deep voice, "I've heard that you are skilled in command. Do you dare to lead the army to launch a strong attack on Jiangyou?"

He spoke in front of the vanguard captain and several other generals to make his stance clear and to ensure that the captain and other generals would obey his orders.

"I dare!" Zhang Wu bowed respectfully.

Seeing this, Zhang Chang took out the five-colored command flag and handed it to him: "Break through Jiangyou Pass within three days."

Zhang Chang felt that three days was already very short, but Zhang Wu said, "The pass has already been attacked by the Governor and everyone else, how can I have the face to ask for three days?"

"This humble general is willing to pledge his military command to break through today!"

Zhang Wu's words not only pleased Zhang Chang, who was directing the attack, and the other generals, but also made them nervous.

Seeing that Zhang Wu's expression remained normal, Zhang Chang then said, "There's no need for a pledge; just show us what you're capable of."

"Yes!" Zhang Wu nodded in response, then turned around and began waving the five-colored command flag.

"Catapult, advance two hundred paces!"

"Beep--"

At the sound of the whistle, the catapult began to move forward, propelled by the laborers.

Over the past ten days, Zhang Chang has ordered the catapults to move forward one hundred paces.

Now, moving forward another two hundred paces means that the catapult is about to enter the firing range of the Jiangyou Pass winch crossbow.

The laborers were very nervous, but they still slowly pushed the catapult forward.

At the same time, the soldiers on the Jiangyou Pass also noticed something was wrong and hurriedly told Li Fu about the rebels moving their catapults forward.

Upon learning the news, Li Fu immediately went up to the city wall to confirm its authenticity.

After witnessing the rebels' catapults move forward, he immediately looked at Li Xun and said, "Eldest son, lead the troops to take out the winch crossbows, set them up on the horse path, and give these rebels a heavy blow!"

"Yes!" Li Xun immediately accepted the order, and then led his troops to push the thirty winch crossbows inside the pass onto the horse path in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

As the chisel-shaped arrow pressed down, thousands of laborers pulled hard on the ropes, finally cocking the winch crossbow.

"put!"

"Bam—"

In the blink of an eye, the chisel arrow detached and shot towards the rebels.

"Beep--"

The urgent whistle blew, but many laborers reacted too slowly, and three chisel-shaped arrows pierced through them in an instant, pinning them to the ground.

In addition, two catapults had their main beams pierced by projectiles, and one had its secondary beam pierced by projectiles.

"Keep moving forward, fifty paces to go. They can only fire two rounds at most!"

The general in charge of directing the laborers immediately gave the order, and the laborers, not daring to delay, pushed the catapults forward.

"The drum cart moves forward one hundred steps."

Zhang Wu waved his command flag, and soon the drum cart carried them forward a hundred paces. During this time, the catapult and the laborers were once again shot at by two rounds of winch crossbows.

In addition, they also entered the range of the government troops' catapults.

"Replace the catapults with anti-tank weapons, prepare the rest of the siege equipment, and launch the attack at the sound of the bugle. We will surely take this pass today!"

While giving instructions to his subordinates, Zhang Wu waved his command flag and directed the movement of the three armies.

Zhang Chang was watching from behind, but he hadn't yet seen anything commendable about it.

"put!"

"Bam—"

As time went on, the government troops fired five rounds of crossbows, causing the deaths and injuries of hundreds of civilians and destroying seven catapults.

The two sides were only fifty paces apart, and at this time the shield carts behind them continued to advance, escorting cartloads of soldiers to the front line.

A specially made siege weapon, containing 100 kilograms of gunpowder and iron pellets, was placed before them, specifically designed to attack enemy troops on the cavalry route.

Twenty-three catapults were simultaneously set up with ten thousand bullets. As the torches lit the fuses, the mechanisms of the catapults were released, and the twenty-three ten-thousand-bullet bullets were launched.

Fifty paces passed in the blink of an eye. Just as Wan Rendi approached Jiangyou Pass and was about to land, a muffled thunderous roar suddenly came from the sky.

"Boom——"

The ten-thousand-person enemy exploded in the air, sending thousands of pounds of iron pellets flying, almost engulfing the entire pass.

As long as they weren't hit on their faces, hands, legs, or other exposed areas, there weren't many problems. However, after the iron pellets finished firing, many Dongchuan soldiers suddenly felt short of breath and staggered, clinging to the parapet.

"Ugh..."

"Cough cough cough..."

The fact that hundreds of soldiers were all doing this immediately alerted and prompted the commanders to take action.

"Put on your masks! The rebels' magic uses poisonous smoke!!"

The method of releasing poisonous smoke by mixing wolf fire, mugwort meat, arsenic, realgar, orpiment, soapberry, ginger powder, knotweed shavings, pepper, sand oil, and other medicinal substances into a fire had already appeared during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.

However, due to its limited ignition method, it is usually used for ambushes or to deal with tunnel attacks when defending a city; no one has ever used it for siege warfare.

Caught off guard, the Dongchuan army could only cut off a corner of their battle jackets, wet them with water, and use the soaked jackets to cover their mouths and noses in order to block out the poisonous smoke.

"put!"

"Boom——"

"Lower your head and cover your mouth and nose!!"

The Dongchuan army was too slow. By the time they had made their preparations, the second round of slinging had already begun.

The enemy of ten thousand men exploded above the city gate, sending iron pellets flying and poisonous smoke enveloping the entire gate.

The Dongchuan army was only concerned with dodging, and only after waiting for the poisonous smoke to be dispersed by the wind surging out of the gorge did they resume using the winch crossbows to fight back.

However, when the iron balls were fired, many of the winch crossbows had their bowstrings or ropes damaged, leaving only about twenty usable ones.

"Bam—"

The chisel-shaped arrows were fired at the catapults outside the city. The three catapults suddenly exploded, and the flying wood chips injured many laborers, but the third volley of catapults was still fired.

"Damn it, shoot them with crossbows!"

They all shouted and cursed as they gave orders, while simultaneously running into the city walls to take cover.

Countless booming sounds echoed across the battlefield, followed by cries of agony.

Li Fu, who was inside the pass, kept listening to the news brought by the soldiers from Tang, and felt his heart pounding with fear.

Before he could make any arrangements, the melodious sound of horns rang in his ears.

"Uuuuuu——"

Unbeknownst to them, the siege equipment was pushed forward by the laborers, with the vanguard infantry following closely behind, less than a hundred paces from Jiangyou Pass.

The fastest to move was the moat bridge pulled by horse-drawn carriages. Taking advantage of the explosion of the enemy's ten thousand men, they quickly drove the carriages forward and built the moat bridge over the two-zhang-wide moat, and then quickly retreated.

The toxic smoke is just smoke, which is easy to detect and doesn't last long; it will be dispersed by the wind in just a few breaths.

In addition, the Longyou army was upwind, so there was no need to worry about being poisoned by inhaling toxic fumes.

After the trench bridge was completed, Zhang Wu calmly waved his command flag, and all the laborers began to push the catapults backward, while the government troops on the city gate began to use crossbows to attack the laborers.

Many people were shot, but were then dragged away from the battlefield.

The laborers pushed the siege equipment across the moat bridge, and as Lu Gongche crashed into the city gate, countless infantrymen began to climb onto Lu Gongche and the siege tower.

The soldiers of the chariot used crossbows to suppress the government troops, while the soldiers of the Lü Gong chariot quickly lowered the hanging planks.

"kill!!"

As the planks were lowered, countless Longyou infantrymen jumped onto the horse path of Jiangyou Pass, formed ranks on the spot, and launched an attack.

At the same time, the shield cart crashed into the wall, and the soldiers inside immediately began digging at the base of the city wall.

Inside the city, the soldiers crouching in the Temple of Earth also heard the sound of digging in the soil and immediately stood up, shouting, "The rebels are attacking from the tunnels!!"

"Let those bastards in Longyou taste the poisonous smoke too! Where are they digging their holes?!"

Upon learning that the rebels had begun their tunnel attack, the Dongchuan soldiers, who had just experienced the effects of poison smoke, immediately rallied and prepared to use poison smoke to deal with the rebels who were attempting a tunnel attack.

Jiangyou Pass was in an uproar at this time, with fighting taking place on the horse path and digging taking place inside and outside the pass walls.

Despite the chaotic situation, Zhang Wu calmly waved his command flag and directed his troops to use different methods to capture Jiangyou Pass.

Seeing his calm demeanor, Zhang Chang finally understood his commander's good intentions and kept a close eye on Zhang Wu's every move.

"kill……"

(End of this chapter)