Chapter 104 Qingshui River (I)

The two men in the tent fought twice in a blink of an eye, both of whom felt that the other party's sword skills were fierce. When they heard Hou Dayong's voice, their third sword had already been cut out, and no one dared to take it back. They could only hear a "ding bell" and the two swords slashed together again.

At this time, Guo Jiong had already guessed who the person in the tent was. Only the generals above the deputy commander were qualified to live in a tent alone. This person's voice was sharp and he should have been Bai Shuanghua, so he stopped his knife.

Bai Shuanghua heard the person who reported his identity, and the fourth knife did not cut it out again. He used a defensive move. He hurriedly picked up his clothes and put them on his body with his other hand. When Guo Jiong broke the door and entered, she was taking off her clothes and wiping her body. Since she set out in Jingzhou, Bai Shuanghua had never taken a bath. The sour smell on her body could be killed by mosquitoes and flies. However, when the army was marching in a hurry, she really had no chance to wash it well. Today, when she arrived in Lingzhou, she asked her personal guards to prepare a bucket of water. When it was late at night, Bai Shuanghua started.

When she tried to wipe her body, she originally planned to wipe her body, but when she touched her hair, it was already tied up in a stream. It was so uncomfortable that she untied her hair and poured water on her head with a small scoop. She was washing it comfortably, but she didn't want anyone to break into the door. Bai Shuanghua disguised herself as a man and was in the military camp. She was careful everywhere. When she wiped her body, she put her waist knife in a place that was easy to take. She was not wearing clothes, and in desperation, she waved the knife at the visitor and slashed the swordsman. The visitor was skillful in the swordsmanship. The two of them fought three times in a blink of an eye, but no one got a chance.

Hou Dayong guessed the general reason and knew that Bai Shuanghua would be embarrassed when she continued to say more. Before Guo Jiong could speak, he said first: "Guo Lang, Bai Lang, what do you mean tomorrow, let's go out first."

Bai Shuanghua held a knife in one hand and put the clothes on her body with the other hand, anxiously. She was always wearing clothes that were not well, so she had to wrap them around her body. Although the darkness in the tent could not be seen, Bai Shuanghua vaguely heard footsteps coming from her guards outside the tent, and was extremely embarrassed. Only when she heard Hou Dayong say this, she felt relieved.

Hou Dayong and Guo Jiong withdrew from Bai Shuanghua's camp. Guo Jiong saw several soldiers blocked outside the tent by their own personal guards. He whispered: "It's okay, check the law, go back." These soldiers were all Bai Shuanghua's personal guards. In the past ten days, they followed Bai Shuanghua and heard Guo Jiong's voice familiar. Seeing that it was indeed the commander of Guo Jiong. Although the sound of the knife was a bit strange, he followed the orders and returned to their respective tents in confusion.

After leaving Bai Shuanghua's camp, Hou Dayong asked two guards to follow him from afar. They walked side by side into the camp with stars in the sky, there were mud and the fishy smell of wild grass in the sky. Crickets chirped in the corner.

Because of this unexpected incident, Guo Jiong felt a little uneasy and said with shame: "The subordinates are not strict in control of their subordinates, please punish the governor."

Before he finished speaking, Hou Dayong interrupted with a smile: "Guo Lang, there is no need to talk about this matter. Unexpectedly, Bai Shuanghua looked so weak, but his sword skills were very cruel. Guo Lang did not take advantage of it and was worthy of being a child of the Bai family. Also, when there were no outsiders, he would not be called an official position. Just like when he was in Cangzhou, he should call him Hou Lang."

When Guo Jiong was in Cangzhou and Zhengzhou, he and Hou Dayong were also called each other in private, but after arriving in Fengzhou, as Hou Dayong became more and more powerful, his every move became more and more steady, and he was unconscious. This sound of "Hou Lang" was not easy to shout.

Shi Hu, Guo Jiong, He Wulang and others are all old people from the Black Eagle Army. They are deeply trusted by Hou Dayong. Hou Dayong wants to send troops to the Dangxiangfang as a territory. They also want to hear the opinions of these people, so they asked casually: "Guo Lang, everything has been busy for a while and I haven't talked to you for a long time. Let's go to Shilang's tent to sit down."

Guo Jiong was stunned and said to himself: "I will never just sit in Shi Hu's military tent so late." But his expression was not revealed, and said: "Okay, although I meet Shi Lang every day, I have to talk to you, but I have almost never chatted. When I meet, I always fight, marches, enemy situations, etc."

Shi Hu opened the tent door and looked surprised when he saw Hou Dayong and Guo Jiong.

Hou Dayong whispered: "Shi Lang, a cup of Baishui, let's talk at will." Although Shi Hu was so powerful that the military governor was the same as ordinary military tents. This was specially requested by Hou Dayong. The gorgeous military tent would become an assassin to attack the target.

After the three of them sat down, Hou Dayong asked bluntly: "Shilang, Guolang, do you think, how can we completely solve the problem of the Dangxiang people attacking the border?"

Shi Hu and Guo Jiong did not expect Hou Dayong to suddenly ask such a big question. He didn't know where to start. The two looked at each other and understood that this was the topic Hou Dayong really wanted to talk about.

Shi Hu gently patted the dust on his legs with his hands. His official position was higher than Guo Jiong and his qualifications were deeper than Guo Jiong. Therefore, only when he said Guo Jiong could say that this was also a hidden rule in the officialdom, although he was a good brother. Shi Hu discussed the matter and said: "Dangxiang people are divided into eight divisions, with Dangxiang Fang and Dangxiang Tuoba people the most powerful. Dangxiang Tuoba people have surrendered to the Great Zhou, so Dangxiang Fang and Dangxiang Tuoba people are the biggest enemy at present. The Hu people are cunning and mainly cavalry. It is almost impossible to completely solve the border problems."

Guo Jiong's family was well-educated. After hearing Shi Hu's words, he said: "In my memory, the Hu cavalry has never stopped attacking the border since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The Huns, Turks, Tubos, Uighurs, Khitans and Dangxiang people cannot count them. As long as these Hu people are strong to a certain extent, the prosperity of the Central Plains will have infinite attraction to them. Especially when the Central Plains is in civil strife, Hu cavalry will flock to them. Invasions like the current situation are even more common. Shi Lang and I have the same opinions. It is impossible to completely solve the border problems."

Hou Dayong made up his mind to send troops to attack the territory of Dangxiangfang, so he induced Shi Hu and Guo Jiong in this regard, "Since the Anshi Incident, the people of the Central Plains were busy with civil wars and were unable to fight the Hu people with all their might. The strategies of using military land have become more conservative. They just wanted to defend themselves, but did not expect to take the initiative to attack and lead the war to the territory of the Hu people. Every time the Hu people invaded the border, there would always be a large number of casualties. You know how many people died in the people this time the Dangxiang people entered the northwest. It was scary to say that, and a total of more than 24,000 people died."

The two of them only knew that the people in Jingzhou and Weizhou suffered heavy casualties, but they did not expect that there were so many people. Shi Hu said in surprise: "More than 24,000 people have died so many."

"Yes, I was also shocked when I got this number. However, compared with the battle of Xiangzhou, it is still a big witch. In the battle of Xiangzhou, the Khitans killed more than 100,000 Xiangzhou people. This is actually the consequence of pure defense and fighting. The battlefield is there, and the killing will come there. The general I admire most is Huo Qubing. Every time I fight, they go deep into the territory of the Huns, seal the wolf and the silence of the vast sea. This is probably the farthest place where the Central Plains army penetrated into the desert." Hou Dayong said of Huo Qubing, and his face showed a fascination.

When Guo Jiong heard this, he gradually understood the intention of the Jiedushi. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "The Jiedushi wants to send troops to Qingshuihe?" When Guo Jiong said this, he still did not call him Hou Lang, and Hou Dayong did not pay attention to this detail, saying, "It's just that I have this idea. After all, the Northwest Alliance is composed of three armies. Going abroad to fight requires the opinions of Wang Yanchao and Li Hui." The Guo Jiong family is a branch of the Taizu Guo Wei. Guo Jiong was influenced by his father Guo Xingjian and was very politically wise. He said, "I am the commander of the Black Eagle Army and the horse army. Going abroad to fight is something that the officials cannot ask for. However, without His Majesty's order, the Jiedushi Wang Yanchao and the Jiedushi Li Hui may not send troops to Qingshuihe easily."

Shi Hu is a more pure soldier. He said: "I support sending troops to Qingshuihe. From the perspective of fighting, taking the initiative in attacks can always take the initiative strategically. The Jiedushi Wang Yanchao and the Jiedushi Li Hui are both long-time generals on the battlefield, so they should be able to understand this truth."

The three of them discussed for a while, and Hou Dayong stood up and said, "Both of them agreed to send troops to Qingshuihe. I have the final say. I was happy today. It was rare to have the opportunity to talk about the world like today in the past year. It was too late, so let's take a break soon."

If you want to send troops to Qingshuihe, you must organize the army to attack as soon as possible. The next morning, Hou Dayong invited the three military governors, Feng Jiye, Wang Yanchao and Li Hui, to the military account.

After hearing Hou Dayong's plan to attack the territory of Dangxiangfang as a human, the three Jiedu governors looked at each other and took the initiative to go abroad to fight. It has been very rare since the late Tang Dynasty to Liang, Tang, Jin and Han Dynasty.

Everyone was silent for a while, and Li Hui first asked: "Your Majesty is using all his strength to fight in Huainan. Going abroad is not a trivial matter. If a minor battle against border troubles becomes a big battle in a big situation, it will affect the overall situation. I wonder if this matter is Your Majesty's will?"

Hou Dayong shook his head and said, "Your Majesty appointed me as the Northwest Camp to recruit soldiers, mainly to deal with Dangxiang people. There is no specific scope of combat. Although we have now lifted the siege of Lingzhou, as long as my Northwest Alliance retreats, Dangxiangfang can make a comeback at any time. Xihuizhou is only one day away from Lingzhou, and Jingzhou is only ten days away from Lingzhou. Therefore, I advocate taking the initiative to attack when the Northwest Alliance gathers in Lingzhou and eliminate Dangxiangfang as the main force of the army. In this way, the threat of Dangxiangfang as the person can be finally solved."

From a strategic and tactical perspective, Hou Dayong proposed a land plan feasible. As the governor of Lingzhou, Feng Jiye was the direct beneficiary of this plan. Moreover, Hou Dayong had this power as a recruiting envoy in the northwest camp. Therefore, Feng Jiye first expressed his support, "The west side of Lingzhou is Dangxiangfang as a person, and the east side is Dangxiang Tuoba people. The Dangxiang Tuoba people are nominally a town in the Dazhou area. In fact, they only followed the orders of Li Yiyin. Therefore, Lingzhou can also be said to be the enemy of East and West, and defeated Dangxiangfang as a person, which can relieve the danger of one side. I support the recruiting envoy. There are 13,000 troops in Lingzhou, and I am willing to fully support going abroad for battle."

Wang Yanchao was quite concerned about sending troops and said, "The Northwest Alliance advances westward rashly, and I don't know if it can capture the main force of the Dangxiang Army. If the main force of the Dangxiang Army avoids war and the supply of food and grass in the coalition forces is not enough, it will be extremely difficult for the entire army to retreat. This is also the main reason why it is difficult for the Central Plains army to penetrate deep into the desert grasslands. Please ask for advice and think twice."

Hou Dayong took out a note, which was the casualties counted by Qian Xiangnan. Hou Dayong slowly recited: "There are six villages in Weizhou slaughtered by Dangxiang people, 1,452 households, 6,789 people, three villages in Wuliuguan slaughtered by villages, 620 households, 2,577 people, and 13,02 people died in Jingzhou City. According to incomplete cleaning, the total number of people died 24,775 people." Hou Dayong handed the note to Li Hui around him and added: "This is not the ordinary people who died in Lingzhou and Yanzhou."

The three governors have read the notes. Although all three of them are veterans who have been through the battlefield and are used to blood and death, the death of such a large-scale people still stunned them.

"Anyone with a conscience will not remain indifferent when seeing such casualties. This is also the reason why I decided to go abroad to fight. Only by taking the initiative to attack, leading the battlefield to the territory of the Dangxiang people, and destroying the Dangxiang Fang as the main force, can the Dangxiang people be solved once and for all the time, not to mention that Qingshui River was under the jurisdiction of Lingzhou in the Tang Dynasty and was also considered the homeland of the Great Zhou. If this battle is successful, a large piece of land of Qingshui River will be controlled by the Great Zhou army, which is also a success." Seeing that the three governors' expressions were still a little solemn, Hou Dayong added a fire and said, "I am the commander-in-chief of the northwest camp. If something happens, I will take full responsibility. All governors don't have to hesitate."

Wang Yanchao stood up and said, "It's me too, there are 5,000 Yongxing troops. They are willing to go abroad to fight."

Among the several governors, Li Hui was the most stern. He stroked his short beard and said, "Can you get your Majesty's consent to send troops?"

Hou Dayong was extremely determined and said, "Lingzhou is thousands of miles away from Daliang. If you have to wait for His Majesty's order, there will be no fighter. The orders of the king will not be accepted. It is still the same old saying. If there is any problem, I will be fully responsible."

In ancient times, because the important border towns were far away from the imperial court, they had considerable autonomy in using military forces. In the Tang Dynasty, a protectorate could fight against a middle country or nation. Therefore, it was reasonable for Hou Dayong to be the leader of the northwest military affairs under the order to preside over the northwest military affairs and send troops to war with a tribe that invaded the border.

Seeing that Hou Dayong had made up his mind, Li Hui said, "Since the decision to recruit envoys has been made, it is better to hurry up and not delay. Taking advantage of the Northwest Alliance, we will send troops to the northwest quickly and accidentally attack the Dangxiang people."

Hou Dayong waved to the personal guards, and the personal guards were prepared to take a map immediately. This map was different from ordinary maps. It marked in detail the settlement area of ​​Dangxiang Fangdang and the location of the main force of the main force of the Fangdang and the Dangxiang people. All of this information came from the military camp led by Qian Xiangnan, which was very accurate.

Hou Dayong pointed to the map and said, "Dangxiang Fangdangren mainly lived along the Qingshui River, and made a living by grazing. Because Fangdangren and the Central Plains lived together for a long time, they also learned the method of building a city. Now, there are three cities in the Qingshui River basin, namely Xihuizhou, Tongxin and Guyuan. In addition, Dangxiang Fangdangren also seized Jingyuan from the Uighurs. Fangdangming's large army was in Xihuizhou, and the relatives of the leaders were all in Tongxin. My plan was to go straight to Tongxin, and if you attack the enemy, you would rescue them. Another team surrounded the points and attacked the main force of Fangdangming between Tongxin and Xihuizhou."

Feng Jiye calculated the forces of both sides in his mind and said: "Dangxiangfang has a man-land force of about 30,000 people, and the Northwest Alliance has a total of less than 20,000, and 30,000 to 20,000 people. The coalition forces are at a disadvantage. How can we annihilate the Dangxiang Army?"

Hou Dayong explained: "This battle was a matter of intentionality for unintentionality. The Dangxiang people would not have thought that the Northwest Alliance would change its defensive force for decades and take the initiative to attack the Qingshui River. Moreover, the Black Eagle Army in Yizhou wiped out nearly 10,000 main troops of Fang Dangbai Ge with 5,000 troops. The Dangxiang Army's combat effectiveness was not as strong as imagined. Therefore, as long as the command was properly, it is not an impossible task to wipe out the Dangxiang Army."

As he spoke, Hou Dayong's vision became tax and profitable. He glanced at the three Jiedushi and said, "In order to complete the combat mission of the aid area, the Northwest Alliance was divided into two parts. The eight thousand infantrymen were led by the Jiedushi Wang Yanchao, and they brought enough siege equipment to the Maling Water, and went south to the Daniu Valley to surround Tongxin City. There were 10,000 cavalrymen and 2,000 infantrymen were commanded by me. They were set up in Xiaoniu Valley on the north side of Tongxin City. Xiaoniu Valley was a dangerous place on the banks of Qingshui River.

In the land, we set up an ambush here to encircle and annihilate the Dangxiang Army that went south to rescue. Li Hui led 3,000 troops and was responsible for transporting the army's food and grass. There are two other things to note. One is that after the Northwest Alliance entered the Qingshui River, there were only more than 5,000 troops in Lingzhou. Feng Jiye Jieshi had to concentrate his troops to defend Lingzhou just in case; the other is that Wang Jingdu Supervisor organized the troops from Jingzhou, Qingzhou and Weizhou to force Guyuan to force the Dangxiang Army in Guyuan to return to the north."

The three governors looked at the map silently and thought nervously. Feng Jiye first raised his head and said, "The biggest advantage of our army in this battle is to attack the enemy without preparation and annihilate the enemy in a dangerous place." Wang Yanchao said, "This battle is a bit dangerous. If you win, Dangxiangfang will no longer be able to pose a threat to the Great Zhou. This battle will become a classic battle and will also be recorded in history books. However, if the war fails, more than 20,000 Northwest Alliance troops are in danger."

Seeing that the three governors did not clearly object, Hou Dayong said, "There is not much time to prepare. Let's set off on time tonight. Before departure, the Lingzhou army will come forward to control all the Dangxiang people around Lingzhou City and on the road to the south. Those who dare to resist will be killed."

After receiving the order, the three governors discussed the details of military allocation, food and grass supply, and then bowed their farewell with a heavy expression.

After this brief meeting, the Northwest Alliance and the Lingzhou Army mobilized nervously and orderly. The cavalry units of the Banzhou Army, Lingzhou Army and Yongxing Army were all concentrated in the Black Eagle Army camp, and the 10,000 infantrymen went south to the Shitouguan Army camp outside the city. Because several armies were all in combat readiness, the mobilization was very smooth. The most tiring thing was Li Hui. He had to prepare food and grass for the two armies. Fortunately, Lingzhou City had a lot of food and grass, and it was not a very difficult task to prepare 20,000 people for five days. The most difficult thing was to prepare necessary siege equipment for the siege infantry. Lingzhou City had a strong defense, and the siege weapons were relatively weak. Li Hui ran all over the armory in Lingzhou City and found only four artillery vehicles, two temporary vehicles, some rockets, fifteen bed crossbows and more than sixty long and short ladders. However, these weapons had exceeded all the siege weapons of the Dangxiangfang Dian.

In the afternoon, Zhou Qing and Wu Jiaqiang led 200 lion camps to form the vanguard battalion, and first set out from Lingzhou City and headed south. After Tiechuanyuan was transferred to the Northwest Alliance Independence Army, Zhou Qing and Wu Jiaqiang became the commander of the vanguard camp. These three people were all attracted by Qian Xiangnan, but the military situation was urgent. After the war in the Northwest was completely over, the three people officially went to the military information camp.

The Forward Battalion was full of experienced veterans, and all of them were young and strong horses. After setting off from Lingzhou City, the speed of traveling was extremely fast. In the middle of the night, they arrived at the upper reaches of the Maling River. After resting on the east bank of the Maling River in the middle of the night, it was just dawn and then set off again. The next afternoon, the Forward Battalion passed through the Daniu Valley.

After passing Daniu Valley, the Forward Battalion, holding Dangxiang Army weapons, changed into the Dangxiang people's uniforms. All of these uniforms were seized in the Battle of Yizhou. After changing clothes, from a distance, the Forward Battalion was not much different from the Dangxiang Army. After walking for more than ten miles, when night fell, the Forward Battalion stepped on the Dangxiang people's territory.

When Zhou Qing and Wu Jiaqiang set off, Shi Hu specifically told the two that the battle against Dangxiang was extremely secretive. If they met Dangxiang people on the road, they could hide if they could, and if they could, they would kill them all. They would definitely not reveal the whereabouts of the vanguard battalion. Therefore, after leaving Zhou realm, the vanguard battalion sent ten detective cavalry who were proficient in Dangxiang's words to inquire about the news as the vanguard battalion's forward.

Along the way, the tents of the Dangxiang herdsmen gradually appeared. The Forward Battalion tried to avoid contact with these Dangxiang herdsmen. When they saw someone moving, they would bypass them from afar. However, when they passed by a small valley, they still met two Dangxiang herdsmen, a man and a woman. Zhou Qing waved his hand and more than a dozen soldiers behind him opened their bows and shot. The two Dangxiang herdsmen were preparing to welcome the Dangxiang team, but they did not expect to be suddenly attacked. After being hit by several arrows, they died inexplicably.
Chapter completed!