The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 207 Dutiful Son
From the end of September to the beginning of November, the "rescue Pingyang" campaign was in full swing.

On September 27, Pang Shigu sent Zhang Guihou and Huang Wenjing to Huaizhou first. Hebei was already Li's courtyard, and Zhao Fu and Li Renmei built a large number of simple stockades to station troops and store supplies. The largest had 10,000 cavalry, the middle had 3,000 to 4,000, and the smallest had hundreds. In order to prevent the Bian army from attacking head-on, the sage also assigned 5,000 Hengshan infantrymen from Wang Chuzhi's and Ye Lichan's troops and the fire-sharp commander Gao Hanhong to Zhao and Li to command to strengthen the infantry.

As soon as Zhang and Huang passed Mengjin, they set up a pursuit and encirclement. This was a disgusting way of fighting, but it was a commonplace and had been cracked by predecessors. As the marshal of the western route, Pang Shigu made full preparations.

The vanguard troops were equipped with crossbows and given mounts to strengthen their cavalry and infantry, and 1,500 archers were squeezed out to mix with them.

Following the example of Ma Long, Liu Yu, and Geshu Han, they made carriages, covered them with the furs of tigers, leopards, and fierce animals and painted them with bright colors. They trained their carriage camps, and in the fields they would stop, look, and then pass. When the enemy came, they would set up their formation on the spot. They would march as close to the bank and gullies as possible, so that they could counterattack.

I also got a batch of copper sheets and candle leaves that were polished to a reflective finish.

A lot. It's so strict, but the actual effect is better than nothing. You know the things on the table, but others don't know? These are the basis for winning. Only with these prerequisites can you win, not just having them and thinking that the other party can't do anything to you.

How can it be?

Infantrymen who may be attacked at any time and anywhere need to keep their weapons and armor in hand when they are active. In the Tang Dynasty, infantrymen mainly used "shooting and stabbing" as the mainstream, which was not so fancy and required courage and physical strength. If one side is generally short and weak, what's the point of fighting! The opponent can stab you 20 or 30 times, but you will be weak after 10 or so. If you don't become rotten flesh, who will?

Carrying a heavy load and traveling is tiring, even if you crawl like a turtle.

Of course, you could throw your equipment on your chariots and horses, and upon receiving the warning, you could complete your equipment and deployment before the enemy arrived. This was also a common practice at this time. But the theory is simple, the situation is complex. When moving behind enemy lines, can "warning" be accurate, fast, and timely?

With Zhao Fu's deployment, except for the deep mountains and old forests, the Bian army's eyes and ears were swept away in a carpet-like manner. There were mobile teams and lone wolves everywhere. If one of your ten scouts could come back, it would be considered a capable person. It had nothing to do with the scout's ability. It was because the war zone was suppressed and there was too little room for maneuvering. With reconnaissance blocked, the intelligence was almost one-way transparent to Li. There was no better solution except to learn from Ma Long and let the soldiers wear armor and "squirm" to sacrifice physical strength and mobility for safety.

The loss of physical strength and the complete blackness of the map are the two biggest obstacles to saving Pingyang.

What to do? Use the cavalry to attack and drive Zhao and Li away. But the Daliang knights had just been wiped out... Or lead at least an equal number of infantry to cross the river together, but with so many people, it would take three to five days to cross the river.

Annoyed!

Not surprisingly, Zhang Guihou and Huang Wenjing, who led the charge, were left with only 3,000 of their 8,000 troops after several skirmishes.

On the fifth day of October, Pang Shigu crossed the river in a big way. Zhao and Li also sent out their entire armies to block the attack. Li Duo, Chen Lingxun and other troops stationed in Beibian fought desperately to support them. Over the next few days, more than 100,000 people from both sides fought bloody battles on the north bank.

11. Pang Shigu, who had gained a foothold on the north bank, took a short rest and immediately attacked the camp.

As a cavalry, their stockades were crude, and the knights weren't meant to defend the land. Zhao Fu decisively burned some of the nests and retreated to Yuan County. Yuan County was adjacent to the Yellow River, where the centrifugal force of its rotation had bent. The rapids constantly cut through the right bank, depositing sediment on the left, forming an alluvial floodplain dozens of miles long north of the Yuan County section. The wetlands were lush with aquatic plants, and ducks and cranes roamed freely. Zhao Fu and his men fattened their horses while awaiting a new opportunity for battle.

Pang Shigu was so angry that his teeth itched, but he had no choice but to turn a blind eye and camp at the foot of Wangwu Mountain, thinking hard about how to get to Jincheng. Every step forward had to be paid with blood, and he was taken advantage of every time, which made him very angry!

Seventeen, to cooperate with him, Niu Cunjie attacked Tongguan and wanted to force Li Ni to return for help. Obviously, he thought too much. Zhazhu brought 6,000 elite soldiers and more than 20,000 militiamen recruited nearby, which made him want to die, not to mention the 30,000 Liang Han soldiers under Yang Shouliang.

Seeing that Wei Tong's rescue of Jing was purely wishful thinking, Niu Cunjie left immediately. He had originally planned to attack Fenglingdu instead, but unfortunately the Pu people, who had been fooled before, took the initiative to block this line without waiting for explanation, which made people speechless. The master's reputation was as stinky as the yellow rust in the manure pit, how difficult it was to get the subordinates to do something! He had no choice but to cross the river to join Pang Shigu.

On the 22nd, Pang Shigu officially set out to rescue Jing. He still selected generals to lead the charge, and then he crossed the river with his generals. Cheng Ben, Zhao Hongli, and Liu Ru, who received the mission, led 5,000 troops to search Jincheng. Pang was indeed a cunning man, but he also tried his best to protect his subordinates - he specially gave each of these warriors two mules, donkeys, pack horses and other mounts to increase their speed, so that they could escape if they were attacked by a horse-riding boy halfway.

It was snowing heavily, and the army was alone deep in enemy territory. The soldiers, full of resentment, started to make noises and requested to riot within ten miles. Cheng Ben tried to persuade them, but was taken back to the camp to ask for money. Pang Shigu wanted to suppress the rebellion, but other troops also showed signs of rebellion, and they shouted to return to the camp and fight the rebellion in the spring. Pang Shigu had no choice but to give each soldier three pieces of silk, and the five thousand soldiers reluctantly set off again.

The people of Bian had been spoiled young masters since Liu Xuanzuo, but now they were sent away with just three pieces of silk, which showed that Zhu the thief's training had some effect.

Cheng Ben did not encounter any attack from Li Jun along the way.

When they arrived at Quwo smoothly, the more than 3,000 defenders in the city were like orphans without a mother. As soon as they met, they cried and complained about the cruelty of Li's army, saying that Li the thief did not attack Quwo, but the horsemen were wandering outside. If they were caught, they would be directly locked up by the collarbone and taken to fill the trenches. Therefore, they did not dare to go out at all. At this time, they had been out of food for a long time, and the army was cannibalistic.

Who can I blame?

Li Moyun ate tens of thousands of people in Jiangzhou. When Zhu Wen attacked Pu, he was rampant again. Now, except for Zhengping and Wenxi to the west of Jingshan, which are still normal, the east is a den of evil. After the supply line was cut off, the defenders of Quwo soon had to eat minced meat. But this time there were no mud legs for them to slaughter, and they were afraid of being arrested for being deserters. Surrendering to Li the thief was a life worse than death, so they had to attack their own people, and the big fish ate the small fish and wait for help.

Terrified! This was Cheng Ben's first impression of the defenders.

This group of skinny, messy hair, dirty faces, some of them were the first to attack Xu. Some of them were descendants of the emperor. Some of them attacked Tongguan three times on a snowy night without getting hurt. Some of them shot down Li Ni's helmet with one arrow on Shouyang Mountain... In the end, they were tortured by Li Ni and became like this.

Without attacking or besieging the city, I will leave you without food to eat and women to play with. When you can no longer bear it and want to return to Bianzhou or escape the city, I will capture and kill you, forcing you to not dare to go out, and keep you hungry, cold, and in deepest fear for 12 hours. Now my legs tremble when I hear the word "Li Ni". I am useless!

On the 25th, Cheng Ben sneaked to the vicinity of Jincheng. He saw deep trenches dug outside the city, and dozens of earthen mounds more than ten feet high, overlooking the city. The outer stone forts, bamboo forts, and earthen forts were scattered in an orderly manner. Layer upon layer, not a drop of water could leak out. How could this be saved...

After that, you pulling me in suddenly became intense.

On the 27th, Pang Shigu led 40,000 men to attack Puzhou. The emperor selected 12,000 vanguard troops to meet them. With the support of Zhao Fu and Li Renmei, they engaged in battle at Meiliang River in Xia County. That morning, the fog was so thick that visibility was limited to a few feet. The two armies clashed in the mist. The royal cavalry scurried about in the fog, surrounded by ghostly figures, giving them the eerie appearance of ghostly troops passing through. Three battles a day, each one unsuccessful for the Bian army.

On the 29th, Wang Chuzhi, who was stationed in Yuan County, attacked the Wangwu Mountain camp at night but was repelled.

Thirty, taking advantage of the hard-won opportunity that the emperor was stranded in Meiliang River, Niu Cunjie left only a few thousand people to protect the wounded, and mobilized an army of 50,000, brought dry food, and marched to Jincheng overnight.

On the fourth day of the eleventh month, upon learning that reinforcements had arrived, Zhang Cunjing's troops shouted "Long live the enemy" and rushed out. Unfortunately, there were many trenches, fortresses, and traps, so they could not even form a battle array. They tried to break out thirteen times in one day, but were all killed. General Guo Xu was shot dead by seventy arrows, and Zhang Cunjing was blinded in the right eye by a stray arrow.

On the fifth day, Niu and Zhang tried again to "cooperate with the outside forces", and it was also a miserable day. Zhang Cunjing did live up to Wen and Hui's evaluation of him - "upright, courageous, and forgetful of difficulties in times of danger." He had a high fever and his right eye was rotten, but he still managed to rush to the front line. The Bian army was inspired and cheered up, but courage lost its meaning under the large-scale fortifications and the overwhelming rain of flint, boiling water and arrows. They were like the Zhao army in Changping. By the afternoon, the few passages that were deliberately left were blocked by the frozen remains of the Bian people. Zhang Ze was so angry that he vomited blood and fainted. Murong Zhang carried him back to Jincheng.

The defenders must have been completely desperate and no longer attacked.

On the seventh day, Niu Cunjie, who had nearly 10,000 dead and wounded outside but only managed to capture two villages, had eyes that almost spit fire. He disheveled his hair, took off his clothes and armor, and wanted to fight himself, but was held tightly by the officers.

Why are you so crazy?
Jincheng is a desperate situation. Either invite Zhu Wen to siege with a superior force. Or leave and seek out Pang Shigu. Simply defeat Li Ni himself at Meiliangchuan, winning a decisive battle and then returning to relieve the siege would be far better.

But this is a dream.

In the past, Pang and Niu teamed up to lead an army of 100,000 to attack Shi Pu. They were unable to fight a decisive battle when the Xu people were starving and had the advantage of going out of the city to fight in the field. How could they do that now when facing the powerful Wang army of more than 100,000?

Things have come to this point. The siege of Jincheng is beyond our control. We need to make a decision on what to do next.

On the ninth day of the eleventh month, snow fell again in Lan, Shi, Ci, Xi and other states. Pang and Niu returned to Wangwu one after another. Seeing the withdrawal of the reinforcements, the people of Jincheng cried loudly. The situation was deadlocked again. Pang Shigu sent a letter back to the country to ask for the emperor. If Zhu Wen was willing to come, the situation would change. Otherwise, it would be impossible to survive the New Year's Day. If they starved for a while, Wang Shi would launch a thunderous offensive to cut off the roots of the Bian people from the river. The bad news that Chengde sent Wang Zimei and Xiao Xiu to lead 30,000 troops to attack and enter Zezhou made the Western Route Army speechless.

The situation is unprecedentedly unfavorable for Zhu Wen!

Should we fight fiercely in Hezhong, or retreat to Heyang and Hanoi?
Urgent! Urgent!
******
The triumphant Zhu Shenggang returned to Kaifeng from the Qingzhou front.

He defeated Wei Bo, pacified Yan and Yun, subdued Wang Shifan and Zuo Jie, and his campaign in the east went smoothly beyond his expectations. The next year, he marched south, destroyed Yang Xingmi and Zhao Kuangming, and fought a protracted war with Li Shu. When he was in a good mood, he called Wang Yu and Liu Le to join him, and had some fun first.

"Father is so heartless. He didn't even write back. He wants to kill me. Does he only have eyes for the Queen?"

"That heartless bitch, I have long treated her as a prostitute. After I kill the thief Li, I will throw her into the torture chamber."

"Then why not abolish the Queen?"

"Why didn't Youwen divorce the beauty?"

"Father, please don't say anything about Prince Bo. Although Prince Bo is unhappy with my behavior of not fulfilling his filial duty as a daughter-in-law, he is still loyal and filial to you. He only complains about me. But a daughter-in-law serving her father-in-law is in line with filial piety and is the greatest filial piety. Prince Bo will always understand."

"My beauty is right." Zhu Wen smiled evilly and did not refute: "I have seen that Youwen's words and deeds have changed a lot this year. And with my virtuous wife, if she can be filial and wait for me for a hundred years, she will be the second empress."

"That may not be the case. During the days when Zhu Youyu was regent, many subjects praised him for his excellence, but scolded Prince Bo for being a coward who dared not say a word when his wife was toyed with." Wang Yu said with a dark face and sighed softly.

"You bastards!" Zhu Wen's smiling face suddenly turned cloudy: "Prince Bo, my filial son, has been humiliated by the court and the people."

He committed adultery with his daughter-in-law, how can outsiders make comments?
"Oh... Even I am accused of being a vixen and a whore... The saint suffered on the battlefield, and I just wanted to do my best to show my filial piety and let the saint live happily... What crime have I committed... Oh... Just let me die in a car accident!" Wang Yujing cried as soon as she said she would cry and stood up as soon as she said she would stand up. She rushed towards the head of the bed naked like a cannonball.

"Beauty!" Zhu Wen quickly hugged Wang Yu's buttocks, wiped Wang Yu's tears, and said angrily: "Who has so many heads? Tell me your name, and I will send someone to kill the long-tongued dog tonight."

"The peddlers and commoners are all laughing at me. Can a saint really kill them all?"

"I hate you!" Zhu Wen could only pretend to be angry and cursed a few words, then comforted him: "Don't worry, as long as I am a saint, I will never let you and your wife be bullied."

"Damn it!" Wang Yu adjusted his posture, tears still on his face, but he was very happy in his heart. When he was happy, he had more motivation to seduce Rotten Yellow Teeth.

Old dog, haven’t you eaten?
Come on, come on! Die soon!
"So fast again?"

"Well, I'm tired, tired, go to sleep."

"No, get up. I have been keeping my virginity for half a year for my father, not letting Prince Bo touch me. I have finally waited for such a night of love, but my father is happy, and I am still not satisfied."

This sentence made Zhu Sheng's head swell with blood. He flipped over and stood up, slapping Wang Yu's buttocks twice, leaving bright red five-finger marks: "Little slut! You still say you are not a slut!"

"Stop talking!"

That night, Princess Bo pestered Zhu Sheng to play five full games in a row, until Zhu Sheng held his eyebrows and said he felt dizzy, then she let him go.

At three o'clock the next day, Zhu Shengcai, feeling heavy all over, finally climbed up with difficulty.

The first thing he did after getting up was to call his eldest son to the palace and scold him, telling him to stay away from those damned hair awls or he would be locked up. Zhu Youyu was confused and scared to death. He had been caught by Zhu Wen once before and ordered to be beheaded. If it weren't for his cold and beautiful stepmother who "robbed the execution ground" in slippers, the grass on his grave would have been a foot high. How could he not be afraid?

Perhaps, it is time for Ye Zhen to fulfill his filial duty and put an eye on the old dog.

Ye Zhen is more beautiful than Wang Yu, and her temperament is more reserved and cold, revealing a heavenly temperament that cannot be offended or blasphemed. She is very similar to the Queen of Heaven, and Zhu Sheng has been jealous of her for a long time. Zhu Youyu is not unaware of this, but his heart aches when he thinks of the scene of Ye Zhen being beaten to death by Zhu Sheng by her hair. But now it seems that he has to let her go even if he is reluctant.

"You--" Zhu Sheng yawned slowly, tears in his eyes. Just as he was about to chase Zhu Youyu away to take a nap, Xiang and Zhen arrived together.

"It's urgent!"

"What's the hurry? Take your time." Seeing that it was Jing Xiang's darling, who had just ravaged his wife last night, Zhu Sheng patiently sat down again.

"Pang Dutong reported that he had tried to rescue Zhang Cunjing several times but failed. He requested another 50,000 reinforcements, but no cavalry, saying that it was useless."

Zhu Sheng suddenly became alert, his face downcast, grim and gloomy: "I and Shi Gu have 100,000 troops, how can we not save and protect Pingyang? Do you want me to fight the bandits in Heyang, Hanoi, and Henan Prefecture..."

Li Zhen immediately stepped forward, raised his eyebrows and said: "Li Ni built countless fortresses outside the city, dug trenches in the opposite direction, piled up earth mounds, and set countless traps. The army also connected the camps, so although the soldiers fought desperately...

"Zhang Cunjing, that idiot from Pei County! He just sat back in the city and watched the Chang'an kid pull all these tricks. Isn't it shameful to let a scoundrel force him to this point? The ability he used to defeat Qin Zongquan has been thrown away."

"How many men and horses were lost? Shi Gu asked for help so quickly."

"Nearly 40,000 people were wounded or killed. Half of them were attacked by tens of thousands of cavalrymen when they crossed the Yellow River. The rest died of illness, freezing, frostbite, or desertion in battles with bandits in Meiliangchuan, Jincheng, Quwo, and other places."

"What?" Zhu Sheng slammed the table and stood up, holding up four fingers: "Forty thousand? Forty thousand! An incompetent dog! An incompetent dog like Shigu! He failed to save people and instead compensated me with forty thousand soldiers. Shigu betrayed me! Zhang Si misled me!" Zhu Wen was so angry that he beat his chest with his fists.

"A wise man should not get angry, for anger hurts the internal organs."

"Humph." Zhu Wen stamped his feet and cursed, then calmed down and said through gritted teeth: "Send the reinforcements to call him back and demote him to the post of Chenliu Wei. Niu Cunjie will return to Songzhou and continue to serve as his Du Yu Hou."

"only."

"I thought that once Zong Quan died, there would be no rivals in the world... Compared to him, my son is nothing but a loser." He pointed at Zhu Youyu and said, "Think about yourself. Apart from being good at archery, arranging battle formations, and charging, what else can you do? Thief Li is only in his twenties, about the same age as you, but he can control an entire country and compete with me. Get lost!"

After being scolded so many times, Zhu Youyu remained calm and walked away.

Zhu Wen became even more angry and pointed at the figure's back.

"Also, Chengde sent 30,000 troops to support the king. They had already passed through Zezhou before the report came. They should have joined forces with Li the bandit by now. Chengde's manifesto was also recorded."

When Zhu Sheng saw the most eye-catching sentence "A tree on Dangshan Mountain, a grass in the village, born as a disloyal animal, dead as a disloyal ghost", he rolled his eyes and his fat body was like noodles in a pot, and he fainted on the spot.

Jing Xiang and Li Zhen rushed forward in a hurry, hugged him in their arms, pinched his philtrum, and shouted, "Saint, Saint!"

"Come to the doctor, come to the doctor!"

"He fainted! The Saint has fainted from anger!" The palace servants ran around in panic, and the hall was in chaos.

　I am old and approaching the age of seventy. I am really exhausted and although I am willing to work diligently, I will not be able to do so.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)