Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 716 The fish in the Yellow River are full
It was a pitch-black night, with no sight of one’s hand in front of one’s face. The moon and stars had all hidden in the dark clouds.

On the bank of the Yellow River, a fishy wind blew across my face, mixed with the pungent smell of kerosene.

In the distance, a huge fire had already ignited on the temporary floating bridge in the middle of the river. The sounds of crying, cursing, and fighting were mixed together and difficult to distinguish.

Fang Chongyong stood on the high platform, looking at everything happening not far away with a stern face, like a sculpture, without saying a word.

Today, he is already a commander, so naturally he doesn't have to personally participate in the battles. Perhaps because of this, his heart has become particularly cold and hard.

Wang Nan used the "fire boat" to clear the way, directly breaking the Yan army's pontoon bridge and splitting the Yan army crossing the river into two. In fact, he appeared a little earlier.

According to Fang Zhongyong's idea, if Wang Nan had arrived half an hour later, there would not be many enemy troops left on the north bank.

Although a lot of people on our side would die, the casualties are acceptable for victory.

Fang Chongyong just wants to win.

When there is no war, he loves his soldiers like his sons; when there is war, he uses his soldiers like sand.

"General, the bandits who have crossed the river and landed can't escape! Not a single one can escape!"

Che Guangqian hurried over, and the other party saluted with a fist, looking excited.

If we win this battle, we will be able to completely control the initiative of the war. From now on, even if the Bianzhou army goes to Hebei to fight, Shi Siming will have to defend it by all means!
If he can survive this dangerous battle!

Offense and defense are easy, nothing more than this! How can people not be excited!

"All troops should be sent out, and all the reserves should be sent out. As quickly as possible, push Shi Siming's troops into the Yellow River to feed the fish! To prevent any more trouble!"

Fang Zhongyong didn't have a smile on his face, and he stretched out his hand and made a chopping motion. In this battle, he wanted to break the backbone of Shi Siming and these Youzhou border troops!

"Order!"

Che Guangqian roared and turned away. The officers on the platform also followed him, leaving only a few personal soldiers to guard Fang Zhongyong's safety.

The time to achieve success is now. Any general who does not seize military merit at this time is a complete fool.

The Silver Spear Xiaojie Army began to exert its strength. The Yan Army's front line on the river bank was not yet stable. When these soldiers saw the raging fire on the pontoon bridge behind them, their morale was already in chaos!
"Run! You can still survive if you rush back to the north!"

Someone shouted, and the morale of the Yan army instantly jumped. He Changqi led the elite soldiers of the Silver Spear Filial Piety and tore a hole in the Yan army's line. In the darkness, he chopped down anyone he saw. In the time it took to stick an incense stick, he had chopped off several swords.

When He Changqi's sword broke, the personal soldiers beside him immediately replaced it, like a killing god possessed, unstoppable.

The Bianzhou army had already used all its strength, so naturally Shi Siming could not stop them. The place where Wang Nandai rushed to the floating bridge had become a hell on earth, with burning wooden boats, floating corpses, disgusting meat smells, and the fleeing Yan army who were not afraid of being drowned.

The soldiers who fell into the water also became a "floating bridge", and more people ignored the flames and mud, and stepped on each other to go north.

Accompanied by the deafening howling of ghosts and wolves!
It’s hard to say how many people were burned to death, but there must have been many who were trampled to death!
Wang Nandi and others on the boat were frightened by this scene. He knew that there must be a gap when surrounding an army, so he had no choice but to move the wooden boats out of the range of the pontoon bridge and shoot arrows at the fleeing Yan army.

At this time, a small boat came from the south bank. Zhang Guangsheng stood on the bow and shouted to Wang Nan, "General Wang, what are you still doing here? Lead your troops to the north bank to raid Shi Siming's camp! Now you are the only one who has not pursued the enemy!"

Yes!

Wang Nandai slapped his forehead suddenly, suddenly realizing what had happened, and secretly cursed himself for being an idiot.

The Yan army under Shi Siming had just been defeated, and they must have been like a frightened bird. If they didn't launch a surprise attack at this time, would they have to wait for the other side to stabilize their position before launching a surprise attack? The battlefield was changing rapidly, and such a one-sided situation was something that Wang Nan had not considered, and Fang Zhongyong had not expected.

It is not too late to mend the situation now.

"Hurry, hurry, beat the drums, wave the flags, row the boats, go north, hurry!

Go! Go! Go!"

Wang Nandi hurriedly shouted to the flag-bearing officer beside him, feeling extremely anxious. This battle must be won, and because of this, the military merit is right in front of us, it would be a waste if we don't take it!

In the past, it was not easy to get military merits, but now you can get them just by bending down. When luck comes, it is really unstoppable. Now they are the troops closest to Shi Siming's camp.

Seeing that the soldier rowing the boat was slow, Wang Nan was so angry that he stepped forward and slapped him in the face. He grabbed the oars with both hands and rowed desperately towards the north.

Fang Zhongyong, who was standing on the high platform, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the fleet led by Wang Nandai leave.

Wang Nandai has only 500 men under his command, which is insignificant in terms of military size.

However, after these 500 men landed on the north bank at the critical moment, the panic they caused to the Yan army under Shi Siming would be unimaginable. In particular, there should be a lot of horses in Shi Siming's camp. As long as these horses were snatched, they could build another cavalry.

Of course, Fang Zhongyong's deployment before the war was also conservative, and he did not expect Shi Siming to be so tough. If he had known that Shi Siming was not a man of tricks, he should have prepared a reserve force to attack the enemy camp from the west.

He did not dare to divide his troops before the decisive battle, for fear that the pocket he had set up would be penetrated by the opponent and all his previous efforts would be wasted.

Fang Chongyong felt that he was too timid. If he were braver, not a single soldier under Shi Siming would be able to escape from this battle!
Of course, this is all reasoning done in hindsight, just like someone who wins money at gambling regrets not having bet more.

"It's not bad, I finally won..."

Seeing the mess on the shore, with fleeing soldiers everywhere and Yin Qiang Xiaojie holding torches chasing them, Fang Zhongyong sighed softly and talked to himself.

An indescribable fatigue surged up, making him feel a little weak.

Fang Chongyong found a big rock on the platform and sat down, then folded his arms and looked at the fighting on the river beach. Suddenly, he felt that all this had nothing to do with him.

The commanders were responsible for planning strategies and commanding the troops. The rest was up to the officers and soldiers.

The commander-in-chief's mission has been completed, and even if he wants to make adjustments, he cannot do so.

Although Fang Zhongyong did not kill anyone in this battle, he seemed to smell the blood emanating from his hands, which could not be washed away even if he soaked them in water for a year.

All deployments before the war are for better killing!
"Marshal, the military orders have been delivered, and our troops are chasing the enemy."

Zhang Guangsheng came over, and the other party Chongyong clasped his fists and reported.

From the moment Wang Nan used the fireboat to hit the pontoon bridge and burned it, the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt. The only thing left was the difference between a landslide victory or a complete sweep.

Although looking back, this move is nothing special. Not only did many people use it during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, but even Gao Huan and Yuwen Tai used it during the Three Kingdoms period. But the battlefield changes rapidly, and apart from other things, the timing of Wang's rare appearance may determine success or failure.

In other words, there are too many factors that affect success or failure. The ability of a commander who can make the final decision is beyond doubt. There is no need to talk about so many reasons in war. If you win, you win. This is an extremely simple game where heroes are judged by success or failure.

Two armies face off, and then gamble their lives! If you win, you get everything, and if you lose, you die, that's all.

"Pass the order down. For the next year, no one in the army is allowed to eat fish caught in the Yellow River."

Fang Zhongyong waved his hands at Zhang Guangsheng in a bored manner.

"Why?" Zhang Guangsheng was stunned, then he remembered something, his stomach churned, and he felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.

"Understood. I will notify you when the troops return to the camp."

Zhang Guangsheng nodded.

This wave of fishing probably provided a lot of "food" to the fish in the Yellow River. In the near future, it will be normal for fishermen along the Yellow River to find human fingernails in the stomachs of fish.

"Take your guards and go capture the fleeing soldiers. You don't have to stay here to guard me."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand at Zhang Guangsheng and said, he could see what the other person was thinking at a glance.

Fang Zhongyong's good point is that he has been dealing with soldiers all the time and knows what they want and don't want. Zhang Guangsheng touched his head embarrassedly, clasped his fists and saluted, then strode away.

"If there is no war to fight one day, will you approve the dragon robe for me?"

Fang Chongyong looked at Zhang Guangsheng's departing back and muttered to himself.

……

In early summer of that year, Shi Siming led his troops to confront Fang Chongyong's Silver Spear Filial Piety Army at Baima Ferry. Late one night when the tide was high, Shi Siming ordered Geng Renzhi to be the vanguard, build a pontoon bridge and quickly cross the river to fight with the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army at Baima Ferry.

The Yan army was fearless and the Bianzhou army was brave and good at fighting. When the two armies were fighting fiercely, Fang Chongyong ordered Wang Nan to lead 500 elite soldiers who had been ambushed in the west, with fireboats as the vanguard, to go downstream and burn the pontoon bridge in one fell swoop, thus dividing the Yan army under Shi Siming into two.

The vanguard and part of the central army of the Yan army that had already crossed the river were annihilated on the river bank by the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army. Many people drowned, and the surrounding people did not dare to fish in the Yellow River for several months.

The Yan army, which had not yet crossed the river, did not even dare to return to the main camp and fled directly to the north. Wang Nande led his troops to raid the Yan army camp and almost captured Shi Siming alive. That's right, the treacherous Shi Siming let Geng Renzhi take full charge of the battle, and he himself was the rear guard. When he saw the front army collapse, he immediately returned to the main camp!
Then he fled quietly with his few cavalrymen.

Shi Siming's escape caused the Yan army soldiers who were left in the camp to suffer a loss. When Wang Nan led his troops to attack the camp, the remaining Yan army soldiers in the camp did not know that the troops coming were from Bianzhou!

The next day, the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army at Baimadu crossed the river in full force and pursued the defeated Yan army.

Wang Nande led his troops to attack Xiangzhou, Che Guangqian led his troops to attack Weizhou, and He Changqi led his troops to attack Bozhou. Fang Chongyong also ordered Zhang Guangsheng to lead the remaining Tuanjie troops in Bianzhou to cross the river and take over the city.

Its momentum is like a prairie fire, unstoppable!

However, no one caught Shi Siming, and no one knew where he went.

Many of Shi Siming's confidants were captured along the way, and they all said that Shi Siming went to Youzhou, but no one knew his exact whereabouts. Shi Siming was very cruel and had no intention of taking his troops back to Youzhou. He only cared about escaping.

The fewer people there are, the harder it is to catch them. This is a very simple yet irrefutable truth.

One day several days after the decisive battle, on the north bank of the Fu River north of Xiangzhou, Liu Longxian was leading his troops on a patrol, checking passing travelers and beggars.

The war in the north, coupled with the heavy taxes imposed by Shi Siming, led to a large number of people fleeing from the north to Bianzhou to seek a living. These people were generally ragged, and even those who were quite wealthy when they set out, after paying along the way, became beggars by the time they arrived in Bianzhou.

"stop!"

Liu Longxian stopped one of the beggars, who was tall but deliberately bent over and wearing tattered clothes.

"Everyone else is walking from north to south, but you are walking from south to north. Where are you going?"

Liu Longxian narrowed his eyes and stared at the man. The more he looked, the more familiar he looked.

"Woooooooooooo..."

This man seemed unable to speak and could only make bursts of whimpering sounds. He gestured to Liu Longxian for a long time, but no one else could tell what he was gesturing.

"General Liu, this beggar is not a big deal. You can't squeeze much money out of him. Let's see if there are any wealthy businessmen who can make some money from him."

The deputy general leaned close to Liu Longxian's ear and whispered.

Bianzhou had issued a military order that Liu Longxian and his troops must accept reorganization and their families must move to Bianzhou. They could no longer follow orders and ignore announcements as before. Liu Longxian did not reject the order, but said that he needed some buffer time.

In fact, after defeating Shi Siming, no military leader dared to disobey Fang Chongyong's words.

Whoever disobeys will suffer the same fate as Shi Siming.

Liu Longxian was no exception, and Fang Chongyong had already promised that his eldest son would pass the imperial examination this year. Therefore, before the reorganization, it became a consensus for Liu Longxian and his soldiers to make a quick buck.

They have now set up a checkpoint at a ferry crossing on the Fushui River to collect a head tax from travelers passing through. The head tax will be collected from the time the reform begins.

"Do you think he looks like Shi Siming?"

Liu Longxian asked the deputy general.

"Shi Siming?"

The deputy general's hair is standing up!

"Yes, he is Shi Siming. I didn't expect him to fall into Liu's hands!"

Liu Longxian sneered, walked over and grabbed the beggar by the collar, grinning grimly, "Shi Siming, Shi Siming, I never thought you would end up like this. It turns out that I was destined to be unlucky with you. Hahahaha! I didn't expect that I could make a big profit by making money!"

He laughed wildly, not caring at all about the surprised looks of his soldiers.

Many people say that Liu Longxian is Shi Siming's nemesis. Today, it seems that this is absolutely true.

"Mr. Liu, if you know what's good for you, just let me go. Haven't you heard that when the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked?"

Shi Siming stopped pretending. He stared at Liu Longxian fiercely and threatened him, refusing to admit defeat or beg for mercy.

"Go to Shanyuan Villa and fulfill your dream!
In the future, when a dynasty changes, Liu will also be a founding hero, enjoying endless glory and wealth and sharing the prosperity with the country.

That's all you can do! If you have anything to say, go and tell the government!"

Liu Longxian couldn't help but ridicule Shi Siming.

It's already this late, and you're still thinking about keeping your troops to yourself. You won't know how you'll die when the time comes! Didn't you see that the Bianzhou army has already gone to Hebei to plunder the land?
Just based on the achievement of capturing Shi Siming, Liu Longxian knew that he would not have to worry about the rest of his life.

What benefit can be gained by releasing Shi Siming at this time?
Liu Longxian knew exactly how Li Guiren died.

"Come here, tie this guy up. I will personally escort him to Bianzhou to claim his reward! This Great Yan Emperor is very valuable!"

Liu Longxian put his hands on his hips and laughed, then kicked Shi Siming to the ground.

(End of this chapter)