Chapter 87: The storm rises again (10)

On the city of Weizhou, the governor Gu Chun and the observer Zhao Pu closely watched the movements of the Dangxiang Army outside the city. The city of Weizhou was high and few soldiers, and defending and waiting for assistance was the best choice for the Weizhou Army.

Seeing the Dangxiang Army forcing the people to dig trenches, the governor Gu Chun was quite panicked. He said to the observer Zhao Pu, who was beside him: "It seems that the Dangxiang people want to trap us to death. I don't know when the various troops will attack and rescue the siege. The army in the city has enough food. I'm afraid many ordinary people will have to short of food."

Since the Dangxiang Army came, Zhao Pu has been sticking to the city wall. His clothes are messy and fluffy, which is a little different from Zhuge Liang's image. Zhao Pu patted his clothes with his hand, and a burst of dust rose from the clothes. He said slowly: "Fortunately, the granary in the city is sufficient. From now on, the daily quantities of the soldiers will be reduced, and there will be no problem to support for another month. As long as you stick to it for a month, the people from all towns gather in Jingzhou. If the Dangxiang people do not want to be annihilated in the northwest, they can only retreat to Guyuan."

Gu Chun complained: "The army of each town came too slowly. Fengxiang army, Qingzhou army, and Yongxing army should have arrived. We were surrounded in the city. I lost contact outside and didn't know what the situation was."

Zhao Pu was not in a hurry. He said confidently: "According to the officials' speculation, the biggest problem in the war in the northwest is that the troops in the towns are in chaos and there is no unified command. When fighting such a large-scale war, Your Majesty will definitely appoint a recruiting envoy to command the northwest army. In terms of time, the military information in the northwest will take as long as eight to nine days from the procuratorate to Daliang. The imperial edict will come out from Daliang, and the speed will be slightly slower. It may be possible to reach the northwest from ten to twelve days. In this way, for more than twenty days to one month, the northwest army will not have unified command, and only each fights on its own during this period. It is difficult to defeat the Dangxiang people."

The governor Gu Chun was deeply impressed by Zhao Pu's magical tricks. Zhao Pu did not arrive in Weizhou for a long time. As soon as he arrived in Weizhou, he walked around the border. After he came back, he proposed to increase the grain in the city. At that time, Gu Chun disagreed with Zhao Pu's proposal. After Zhao Pu's argument, Gu Chun reluctantly agreed to increase the grain in the city. Gu Chun still felt a little scared when he thought about it. If there was no increase in grain at that time, Weizhou City would have been trapped to death by the Dangxiang people.

Gu Chun is a child of a noble family. He went to the border to serve as the governor to increase his bargaining chips for future promotions. He never stopped talking. Seeing that his personal guards were all far away, he said to Zhao Pu: "The food in the city can be supported for one month. I hope the imperial edict will arrive early to fight back these hateful Dangxiang people. Alas. The Guantas here are really not done by people. Dangxiang people, Uighurs, and Tubo people are all like wolves and tigers, and they may fight at any time. It makes people worried. Maybe their lives will be left here that day. When the battle is over, I will go back to Daliang to go somewhere. Try to transfer back to Daliang. Although I have less money, my life will be stable. Don't worry about waking up and there are Hu cavalry outside the city to attack the city."

When Zhao Pu heard Gu Chun say this, he couldn't help laughing and said, "As long as you defend Weizhou, it will be a great achievement. At that time, it is very likely to be promoted to Jiedushi. Jiedushi should not forget Zhao Pu who killed the enemy together in Weizhou City."

The Zhao Pu family has been officials for generations, but they are all small officials of the sixth and seventh rank. Zhao Pu's great-grandfather was the magistrate of Sanhe County in the late Tang Dynasty. His grandfather served as Sima of Chanzhou, and his father served as Sima of Xiangzhou. Zhao Pu also studied in his youth. However, he did not achieve anything, so he followed his grandfather and father's footsteps. He first joined Chongzhou as a staff member, then served as an inspector of Longzhou, and then joined Liu Ci, the governor of Yongxing Army, and was appointed as an entrusted person. Liu Ci admired Zhao Pu very much. Before Liu Ci died, he recommended Zhao Pu to Fan Zhi. Zhao Pu was appointed as an observer by Fan Zhi and participated in the battle of Huainan. After the southern expedition was temporarily over, Weizhou was transferred to Weizhou as an observer.

The family tradition of being an official for generations made Zhao Pu very well understand the way of being an official, and the situation of being a small official for generations made Zhao Pu deeply understand the hardships of the official career. The experience of moving to the north and south to become an aide made Zhao Pu broaden his horizons. These factors combined have created Zhao Pu's vicious vision and superb skills in doing business. After Zhao Pu came to Weizhou, he pondered the character of the governor Guchun and the situation in Weizhou for a few days. He did a few targeted things and quickly gained Guchun's trust.

Gu Chun became the governor all because of his ancestors' accumulation, but he had an advantage that his aristocratic family usually did not have, that is, he had self-knowledge and was quite capable of using people. When he saw Zhao Pu's ability, he let Zhao Pu act as the governor's responsibility, and he was happy to be free and leisurely. When he heard Zhao Pu's half flattery and half joking words, he said with a smile: "If there is such a day, I will definitely recommend you to the court."

When Gu Chun was not an official, he ate, drank and had fun with a group of friends every day. He liked to hunt on the mountains, so his archery skills were pretty good. He saw that several Dangxiang Army were closer to the city wall, so he measured it with his eyes, took out a longbow, and shot it at the Dangxiang Army soldiers who were supervising the work of the city. The iron arrow was cast very fast, but the Dangxiang Army soldiers who were urging to dig the trenches were actually farther away than the target side. The arrows fell weakly to a place several meters away from the Dangxiang Army. The arrows on the ground looked like grass on the city wall. Gu Chun said regretfully: "If there were no these ordinary people, we would use bed crossbows to shoot these hateful Dangxiang Army."

A young Dangxiang Army saw the defenders on the city shooting an arrow downward. He was an active man. He had been digging the trench for a long time. He was already impatient and wanted to do something. Seeing that the city was shooting arrows downwards, he also took a longbow, walked forward for more than ten steps, and shot an arrow on the city wall. The Dangxiang Soldier had the strength, and this arrow almost climbed up the city wall, which scared Gu Chun.

Gu Chun laughed and scolded: "This Dangxiang man has such a great deal of strength. He grew up eating meat, which scared me. Unfortunately, I didn't see the riding competition between the Black Diao Army and the Dangxiang Army that day. Are the riders of the Black Diao Army so terrible? Even the Hu people who ride on horseback every day can't catch up with them?"

Zhao Pu saw the pursuit of the Dangxiang Cavalry and the Black Eagle Army's vanguard battalion with his own eyes, and was deeply impressed by the combat effectiveness of the Black Eagle Army, the vanguard battalion. He said: "The cavalry that appeared outside Weizhou City that day should be the Black Eagle Army's vanguard battalion. The Black Eagle Army has been famous in recent years, and it is indeed not a false reputation. No wonder it can defeat the Tubo people and the Uighurs in a row." He said thoughtfully: "Maybe Hou Dayong, the governor of Xiongsheng Army, will become the commander-in-chief of the Northwest War."

Gu Chun pulled out the longbow and shot an arrow downward, saying: "This is very likely. The Black Eagle Army is the strongest among the northwest armies. Moreover, the wife of the governor of Xiongsheng Army, Hou Dayong, is the fifth sister of Queen Fu, and the governor of Hou Jie is also considered a relative of the royal family."

While Gu Chun and Zhao Pu were discussing Hou Dayong, Hou Dayong was rushing on the road anxiously. He wished he could grow a pair of wings and fly to the Jingzhou front line.

Although Hou Dayong led his personal guards from Zhengzhou to Shanzhou, there was no delay. The speed was also very fast. However, they were rushing at the normal marching speed. They marched when they should marching and rest when they should rest. In Hou Dayong's mind, although the military situation in Jingzhou was urgent, it did not reach an emergency of 100,000. He studied the strength and deployment of the Dangxiang Army and the army of the towns in the northwest. The Fengxiang Army and Yongxing Army were waiting for several towns. The strength of the army was quite strong. The Dangxiang Army could not take much advantage in the heavy siege, even if they won a battle, the overall strategic situation was not good for the Dangxiang Army.

The only thing that made Hou Dayong a little worried was the 30,000 Dangxiang Army led by Fang Dangming, the leader of the Dangxiang Fang tribe. These 30,000 Dangxiang Army disappeared on the banks of the Qingshui River. The whereabouts of unknown origin were the real major concerns.

When Hou Dayong came to Shanzhou, the military camp sent Fang Dangming and the whereabouts of the 30,000 Dangxiang Army - these 30,000 Dangxiang Army appeared in Xihuizhou.

Xihuizhou is located on the bank of the Yellow River, and is still a region controlled by the Dangxiang people. It is only a day away from Lingzhou. This information was discovered by soldiers of the military intelligence camp pretending to be Shu Shang. After obtaining this information, he keenly realized the seriousness of the problem. He ordered his subordinate Gao Dongshan to sneak into Zhou from Xihuizhou, and then flow down the Luo River. Five days later, he came to Tongzhou where the Luo River flowed into the Yellow River. Before Hou Dayong had arrived in Tongzhou, the soldiers who delivered the letter from the military intelligence camp walked eastward along the bank of the Yellow River. Finally, he met Hou Dayong and his party in Shanzhou.

This route is very simple, but it is hard for anyone who has not experienced it personally. When Hou Dayong saw this sergeant, the originally strong sergeant had deformed. His weight had dropped by nearly 40 kilograms. After handing over the information to Hou Dayong, he collapsed to the ground. At this time, the size of the military intelligence camp was far less than that of Feiying Hall. There was no corresponding organization in Shaanxi Province. Hou Dayong handed the brave sergeant to the Shanzhou branch of the rich shop. Hou Dayong remembered this military intelligence camp soldier who was not afraid of hardships: Gao Dongshan.

The information sent by the military information camp confirmed that Hou Dayong's concerns were not overwhelming. The military situation in the northwest seemed much more serious than on the surface. Hou Dayong looked solemnly at Qian Xiangnan: "Xihuizhou is less than a day away from Lingzhou. Lingzhou has always been a major border defense center. Fang Dangming Chen Bing was next to Lingzhou. His intention was very obvious. Fang Dang Bai Ge's men were just a trick."

Lingzhou was under the jurisdiction of Jingji Province during the Tang Dynasty. At that time, the Tang court established the Grand Governor's Office in Lingzhou and commanded seven military offices. The scope of the jurisdiction ranged from west of Yunneizhou, the current Liao Dynasty to north of Lanzhou. It was the most powerful, most soldiers and the vast land in the country. More importantly, there was also a minority autonomous local government in the territory called "Liu Huzhou". Later, during the "Anshi Rebellion", Emperor Suzong of Tang succeeded to the throne and completed the great cause of restoring the two capitals, making Lingzhou the central birthplace of the rebuilding of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty general Guo Ziyi also served as the governor of Shuofang here. Because of the existence of the biggest enemy, the Turks, Lingzhou was always an extremely important military center during the Tang Dynasty. After the demise of the Turks, the strategic status of Lingzhou gradually declined.

As an official from a scholar, Qian Xiangnan is very familiar with this history. With the information from the military intelligence camp, the situation is naturally clear at a glance. He said nervously: "We are still far away from Jingzhou. When we arrive in Jingzhou, Lingzhou may have been lost. We must find a way to transmit this information to Lingzhou so that the Lingzhou army can prepare for the response in advance. There will definitely be a big battle in Lingzhou."

"Yes, Lingzhou is the focus of the Dangxiang Army. If Lingzhou is captured by the Dangxiang Army, cities like Yanzhou must be guaranteed. If so, Lingzhou, Yanzhou, Yin, Xia, Sui and You will all fall into the Dangxiang people. The Dangxiang Tuoba tribe and Fangdang tribe will be connected into one, relying on the grassland in the north and connecting Gan and Liang in the west. The Dangxiang people will become the enemy of the Central Plains like the Khitan. We must take advantage of the fact that the Dangxiang people are not yet full of wings to eliminate the potential danger." In the history known to Hou Dayong, the Dangxiang tribe established the Western Xia, which confronted the Song Dynasty for hundreds of years, and repeatedly defeated the Song army and became a powerful enemy in the northwest of the Song Dynasty. Even the Song Dynasty did not relieve the threat of the Western Xia.

When Qian Xiangnan first heard this, he felt that Hou Dayong was a little alarmist, but he looked at the map for a while and became more and more afraid of it. Seeing Hou Dayong's eyes, he was a little impressed and respected.

Hou Dayong did not talk too much about this issue. The most urgent task was to come up with specific countermeasures as soon as possible. He told Qian Xiangnan: "Quickly ask the Privy Council to receive the imperial edict, Shi Ying came to the tent." Shi Ying was the envoy who promulgated the edict personally. Before Shi Ying announced the edict, although Hou Dayong had military talismans, he could not order other towns. Therefore, such major events must be reported to Shi Ying.

After Qian Xiangnan left, Hou Dayong sat at the desk, thinking carefully about how to report this to Chai Rong. Hou Dayong's calligraphy was extremely poor, and he did not want to hide his extremely poor calligraphy in front of His Majesty. This kind of clumsiness sometimes makes people feel more honest and trustworthy. A general, a military general, has suffered from both civil and military achievements, which is not a truly pleasant thing for imperial power.

When the Privy Council received the order from Shi Ying, Hou Dayong had not finished writing the text message yet, he raised his head and said, "Shiro sat for a while."

Soon, Hou Dayong wrote the memorial and reported everything to Chai Rong in its original form. However, Hou Dayong lied about the source of the information. He said that the Black Eagle Army Lion Camp captured a leader of the Dangxiang Army. The leader of the Dangxiang Army could not withstand the heavy punishment of the Lion Camp and accidentally told Fang Dangming that tens of thousands of soldiers were held in Xihuizhou. After writing the letter, Hou Dayong thought about this panic again, and there should be no big problem.

Although the Privy Council was a small official, the Privy Council was in charge of military affairs across the country. Shi Ying was not unfamiliar with military affairs. After hearing this, he also saw the sinister situation.

Seeing that Shi Ying had understood the situation, Hou Dayong said, "I have reported this to Your Majesty. The key now is to notify all the governors of this situation, especially Lingzhou, Yanzhou and Yanzhou. The troops of the three states must not be transferred south at this time. We must be fully prepared to respond."

Shi Ying was extremely smart. He knew what Hou Dayong asked him to come. It was just that this judgment of the enemy situation had a great impact on the overall situation. If the judgment was wrong, it was very likely to make a strategic mistake. So he stared at Hou Dayong and asked solemnly: "Is the information of the Dangxiang Army's military camp in Xihuizhou accurate? Will it definitely attack Lingzhou?"

Hou Dayong said clearly: "Fang Dangming led 30,000 Dangxiang Army in Xihuizhou, and this source of information is reliable." He also said: "If we don't attack Lingzhou, why do we need to mobilize the army on a large scale? I dare to say responsibly that the Dangxiang Army must attack Lingzhou. Perhaps, we have started to take action now."

Shi Ying was a thin and handsome young man. He had two thick eyebrows. After hearing Hou Dayong's answer, the thick eyebrows raised up and said, "Since that's the case, I will immediately write a letter to the towns in the northwest of Jiedushi in the name of Jiedushi and me to inform the emergency military information, and ask the Lingzhou army, Yanzhou army and Yanzhou army to prepare for the enemy. If the army has gone south, they will return immediately. Although the official position of the Privy Council is despicable, it is also considered an imperial envoy who is ordered to pass the imperial edict. I will boldly become the master."

The gate of Shanzhou was opened, and more than a dozen fast horses came out of the city, carrying 800-mile high-speed waist signs, one headed towards Daliang. He carried Hou Dayong's memorial to His Majesty, and the others rushed to the northwest. They all carried letters signed by Hou Dayong and Shi Ying.

Hou Dayong and his party started a marching in a hurry. The governor of Baoyi, the land of Shanzhou, gave Hou Dayong and his party a fast horse. In this way, two horses rode in rotation during the march, ensuring strong horsepower. On the evening of the third day, they arrived in Huazhou. When everyone dismounted, their thighs were all worn out. Especially Shi Ying had never experienced such a long-distance marching. When they got off the horse, their feet became weak and they sat on the ground. Although the guards of the Black Eagle Army were exhausted, the rules were not chaotic during walking, they checked the post station in an orderly manner and arranged the posts, and the soldiers sat on the ground to rest. After Hou Dayong had some rest, he asked the guards to hang up the map, moved a chair, and sat on the side of the map without moving.

The two personal guards helped Shi Ying, who was sitting on the ground, into the house. Qian Xiangnan took a skin bag and walked into the house. Looking at Shi Ying's sore teeth, he said, "This is a bit old medicinal wine. I drank it and covered my head to sleep. There is nothing to do tomorrow."

Shi Ying looked at Qian Xiangnan and moved freely, saying a little enviously: "I heard that Qian Zhan had been a county magistrate, and I think he was also a scholar. When did he get such a good muscle?"

Qian Xiangnan smiled and said, "Last year, the Jiedushi went to Fengzhou to fight against the Shu army, so I went to the Black Eagle Army. The Black Eagle Army was very hard to train. All of us staff members had to participate in the morning exercises. After the first day, we followed the soldiers to practice, and several staff members cried and called their parents. After a long time, they would get used to it. Now they don't get up one morning to practice morning exercises, and they are still uncomfortable. The Jiedushi often says a saying, "Sweat more often in daily life and bleed less during wartime. Judging from my experience this year, it is indeed a famous saying."

Shi Ying sighed: "When I read the war reports, my colleagues from the Privy Council always felt a little incredible about the results of the Black Eagle Army. Today, after running with the Black Eagle Army for a day, I realized that the famous Wuxu Soldiers, the Palace Front Office and the Guards Soldiers were selected from the Great Zhou army. However, according to the following, the training level of the Imperial Army is not as good as that of the Black Eagle Army."

Qian Xiangnan put down his skin and said to Shi Ying, "Get a good rest." After saying that, he turned around and went out. Qian Xiangnan heard Shi Ying compare the imperial guards and the Black Eagle Army together. Although he knew that he was an unintentional word, he always felt something was wrong in his heart. As for why it was not right, he couldn't say it. This emotion has been around for a long time. When he walked out of Shi Ying's door, he fell silent and walked through Hou Dayong's room. Through the lights in the door, he saw Hou Dayong still sitting motionless by the map.

Qian Xiangnan took a few steps and felt that his thighs and the broken skin were so painful. "Why did the military intelligence camp do so hidden, even His Majesty must hide it? Alas, I don't want to sleep anymore, go to bed." Qian Xiangnan knew in his heart that since he took over the military intelligence camp, his destiny had been closely linked to Hou Dayong.

After drinking old wine and resting for a night, Shi Ying felt that his energy had recovered the next morning. After leaving Daliang, they continued to move west along the Yellow River. After arriving in Huazhou, they left the Yellow River and headed north along the Malingshui, a tributary of the Yellow River. There were no post stations in this section. At night, they camped on the banks of the Malingshui River. After two days and one night of rapid march, the next afternoon after coming out of Huazhou, the city of Fengzhou appeared in front of everyone.

Shi Ying usually sits comfortably in the Privy Council every day and works in the Privy Council. When he is bored, he yearns for the artistic conception of "the desert is lonely smoke straight, the long river is round", and from time to time fantasizes about leading an iron-blooded army, crossing the sand grassland and the desert, and establishing unparalleled merits. This is a heroic dream for every passionate man. However, the urgent march these few days has made Shi Ying truly realize the gap between dreams and reality, remembering that he had drunk hot tea before and guided the country with a few young people who had never brought soldiers in the Privy Council. It was really funny.

Before entering the city of Fengzhou, by a small river, Hou Dayong ordered a rest for a fragrant time, wash his face, comb his hair, tidy up his clothes, and wipe his weapons. When the soldiers got on the horse again, the Black Eagle Army guards became distinctly dressed again.

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Behind Hou Dayong were two civilian officials, then four-person sergeants, and finally some war horses. Although the team was not large, it was like a team that had just come out of the barracks to review. It was in a strict formation, high morale and energetic manner, not at all like a long journey.

Hou Dayong jumped off the horse, exchanged greetings with Sun Yanjin, introduced the Privy Councilor Shi Ying to Sun Yanjin, and then said straight to the point: "The military situation is extremely urgent, hurry up and go to the yamen." After receiving the joint letter from Hou Dayong and the Privy Councilor Shi Ying, Sun Yanjin understood that Hou Dayong would be the commander-in-chief of the Northwest War. He said: "I understand." He stepped on the war horse quickly, and when he turned his head, the group went straight to the yamen of the State Administration.
Chapter completed!