The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 273: Battle of Sekigahara (I)

On April 16, the saint arrived at Luojiao County, now Fu County in Shaanxi Province.

Very good, Yang Kezheng’s mother’s tribe did not send a guide and were also watching.

Of course, this is normal.

The powerful families in Guanbei, such as the Gao family in Yan'an and the Liang family in Xiazhou, had fields stretching across the country and had their own troops, just like the local tyrants in the Wei and Jin dynasties. Although the Yang family had women in the palace and had always been submissive, it did not mean that they would give up their local interests for this.

If Guanbei is conquered, no matter they are loyal or treacherous, they will definitely be dismembered. How can you compare to being the king of a mountain by looking at people's faces?

However, the saint doesn't care much.

It is aimed at solving these problems.

If you don't go to Liangshan, you will die.

After resting for two days in Luojiao, the troops packed up and set out on the morning of the 19th. Li Renmei was the first to leave with 10,000 cavalry and horsemen.

Xiao Wang and Liu Xianyuan also parted ways here, leading 20,000 people to Yanchuan to defend against Li Keyong. They did not join Li Zan who attacked Qingyang and Beidi, and they parted ways in the capital.

This is my first time commanding a multi-point battle, and I feel a little psychologically stressed. It's easy to lose without it. But it's not good to not divide the troops. If you divide them, it will be hard to control.

Planning is often bullshit. You are there but I am not. It is normal to have a bloodbath here while the other side is on vacation. It all depends on the level of the commander on the road.

Without radio, information transmission was slow and the space for micromanagement was limited.

As for the machine gun moving five centimeters to the left, that was even more impossible.

Li Zan and Sima Qian were investigating the military affairs of the army, and the sage was not too worried. The generals were from aristocratic families and were also veteran military leaders. They had also been investigated, and there was no problem recruiting them along the way.

Li Renmei was able to make Zhang Chengfeng call him daddy in later generations, and he ruled the country for decades, so he could control Yin and Sui. However, he was still a little anxious, after all, he was only given 10,000 soldiers.

But there is nothing I can do.

It seems that there are more than 100,000 soldiers and horses. Henan sent 30,000 people to prepare for Bian, and Tongguan deployed 5,000 people to defend Yang Shouliang. The capital city needs to defend the home... so it is stretched and full of concerns.

Fortunately, the Queen is by my side, which can finally comfort me.

After having lunch with Zhang Hui and Shi Yuan with great concern, the Saint slowly set off towards Tongwan City with the baggage.

This time, this damn "Baichengzi" must be demolished!
In an era without high explosives, airplanes, and artillery, and when the enemy was not in internal strife, what would you do when faced with such a fortress?
The Later Tang Dynasty’s 50,000 elite soldiers besieged the city for three months, and tried every possible means during that time, but the city was as solid as iron and stone, and sparks flew everywhere when a hoe was used. The same was true for digging holes in the ground—“the government troops dug holes under the city, and they could not get in with shovels or digs.”

He had no choice but to withdraw his troops in disgrace.

This should be the reason why Zhao Er destroyed the city. Great minds think alike. There is no need for such a terrifying fortress next to my bed. Of course, before that, I should think about how to break the city.

If it really doesn't work, just be brutal and throw the rat demon? Unfortunately, he is trapped by his reputation. If you wear the mask of benevolence and righteousness for a long time, it will grow on your face. If you want to tear it off, it will be completely unrecognizable. Today, the world is still rotten, and the name of benevolence and righteousness is more important. It cannot be abandoned because of the Dangxiang.

Of course, if all else fails, you'll have to do the most difficult thing.

"Supreme." A soft voice called out in my ear.

Zhang Hui seemed to be in a good mood. Since leaving Beijing, the curtains had never been lowered. She had been leaning against the window, quietly watching the fresh pastoral scenery and the rushing river outside the car. In the noisy and silent horse team, only on this car, a pair of clear eyes, a beautiful face, half of the body in white clothes and a white scarf were exposed by the window.

A passing courier on horseback would catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye and would often take a closer look before missing it.

The saint who was riding three feet behind the carriage heard it, took a few steps forward, and appeared at the window: "The Queen of Heaven."

"The road under my feet is so ancient and desolate, does it have a name?"

"It is the Cantian Khan Road." The saint explained, "Later, the Western Tartars rose up and the Western Long was in turmoil. The Silk Road had to go through the Uighurs who were friendly to us, then cross the river from Shoujiang City and enter the pass, and go straight to Chang'an along Lin, Yin, Yan, and Fu. Many people have walked this road for a long time, so it is inevitable that they will have this feeling."

"Shantian Khan Road..." What a strong orthodox atmosphere, Zhang Hui savored this term: "The Luojiao where we stopped yesterday was one of the nodes?"

"Yes."

"Do you know anything about Fuzhou?"

"Not much." The saint shook his head and hesitated, "Did Du Fu live in Fuzhou?"

"Yeah." Zhang Hui blinked her big eyes, her eyes sparkling as she spoke word by word: "Tonight the moon is shining over Fuzhou, I am alone in my boudoir watching it~ I pity my children, who do not know how to remember Chang'an. The fragrant mist wets my hair, the clear light chills my jade arms. When will I lean against the empty window? The sunlight dries my tears... This is his work."

"It is well written, but - I don't understand its meaning." The saint said vaguely.

"Translated into vernacular, it means..." Her red lips were about to shed tears, and she said softly, "Tonight, you are the only one watching the moonlight in Fuzhou in your boudoir. Thinking of you and your son, I feel so sad. Are you thinking of me too? I guess the mist has wet your hair, and the starry night has made your arms feel a little cold. How long will it take before we can sit side by side under the moon, letting the bright moon watch us wipe each other's tears..."

"Faithful, fluent and elegant." The saint applauded.

A woman's interpretation of poetry has a special meaning. I was immediately stunned. How come the homesickness poem was translated by the Queen of Heaven like this? Why is it a bit - ambiguous?
Are you teasing me?
Or is it my illusion that "she likes me"?
But no matter what, this explains a lot of things, and it expresses a lot of things in a very implicit way. Is it worrying about your children, or doubting your own feelings? Is it planning for the future? Is it understanding, or even showing love?
Hard to bear.

If it weren't for the march -

The sound of horse hooves clattered, the two looked at each other, and then looked away.

"Are you going to take me all the way to Tongwan City?" Zhang Hui asked after a long silence.

"right."

"If there are women in the army, the morale of the soldiers may be low." Zhang Hui lifted her hair beside her ear and said, "You can drop us off at a post station in a certain county along the way. The soldiers are domineering but not stupid, and they may not dare to do anything to us. I am not afraid-"

"I'm afraid." The saint said without question, "You are not guilty. Your only sin is your unparalleled beauty, which is intolerable. I don't know if you have ever loved someone carefully. Someone who was pure and incomparable, but you didn't end up together... I don't want to have that."

Zhang Hui felt goose bumps on the white swan's neck and her heart was disturbed.

You are so promiscuous... After we parted at the Horse Drinking Gate that day, why do I feel that every woman is incomparable to you?

If I had still been a young girl when I met you, that would have been great. I have gained your most precious thing, but I have lost the best thing to give you.

"Do you still remember the Battle of Hezhong and the incident of tying a pig to break into the city of Bianliang?" Zhang Hui asked again, his mind jumping.

"Ah."

“When Zhazhu left, he left a letter in the camp, saying that he was following the emperor’s orders to withdraw his troops for the Queen Mother.

"Is this happening?"

Zhang Hui nodded and lowered the curtains.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, that day, our story began.

With a clear and long cry, the eagle soared into the sky. Zhang Hui stretched out his right hand, and the golden eagle slowly swooped down and landed steadily. Then, it flapped its wings and flew out again, circling over the saint's head, and finally landed on his shoulder.

"Its name is Cang Jun, you will like it."

The operation to Tongwan City went smoothly.

We received several urgent reports on the way.

Yang Xingmi and Qian Liu fought for the control of Suzhou and the outcome was decided. Qian Liu was defeated and returned to Hangzhou. Wu Jun's An Renyi and others pursued him relentlessly, Hangzhou Luocheng was closed, and it was rumored that Qian Liu had been killed by the rebels.

Hedong and Youzhou became enemies.

After Li Keyong supported Liu Rengong, he left thousands of soldiers to garrison Yan. After a long time, they had conflicts with the local yamen soldiers. This time, many of them were killed. Li Keyong was furious and scolded Liu Rengong, and killed Gao Siji and other generals. After the incident, the Youzhou army was outraged.

Neither side is a good match, and the fight will probably start soon.

The saint is happy to see this happen. The Youzhou army is second only to Zhu Wen in strength, so let my uncle go and have a try to see who has the harder head.

The Bian bandits Xu Huaiyu and Liu Chongba invaded Henan. It is not known whether they came out to start a business or Zhu Dalang received the news of his Northern Expedition and took advantage of the situation to rob.

Apart from calculating various information, the rest is just the boring marching life.

Walk, ride a horse, ride a car. Ride a horse, walk, ride a car. Soldiers are like this, civilians are like this, saints and Zhang Hui are like this. No one can stand walking the whole way, and riding a horse and riding a car the whole way, your crotch and buttocks can't stand it either.

On April 25, the entire army had passed Xingzishui and entered the Loess Plateau between Zhidan County and Yan'an City in Shaanxi Province. The terrain here was broken, with gullies crisscrossing and potholes on the road, making it difficult to walk. When the wind blew on a sunny day, the sky was full of wind and sand. When it rained, the army was often paralyzed and blocked for miles.

Thanks to the chariots and cavalry, the army only traveled about 20 miles a day on average, and often had to stop and wait for cavalry and baggage trains, which made them physically and mentally exhausted.

Are cavalry faster than infantry? Their mobility, mobility, and assault range are far superior to infantry, but they are far inferior in terms of speed.

It's because horses have poor endurance, and the continuous long-distance travel, hiding at night and walking during the day, will make them tired more and more.

One time in my later life, I went to a village with a friend. We set out in the early morning and arrived at the place around 8pm. We talked and walked with torches on the road without stopping. We rented two horses from the villagers and rode back. As a result, we kept feeding grass and looking for places to feed water. If the horses didn't want to go, they had to stop. We walked step by step on the path, and all kinds of shit happened. We didn't get back until dawn.

On the evening of April 28, the army arrived at the town of Saimen.

"Ansai County Chronicles" states: "Saimen Town was originally located in Ningshuo County, Xiazhou. In the first year of Kaiyuan, it was moved to Jinming Town in Luzi Pass. In the second year of Xining, the Xia people requested to take over Saimen and other towns in order to beg for Suizhou, and the emperor granted their request."

At this point, we have entered the high-incidence area of the Dangxiang. In the Northern Song Dynasty, this line was the front line of the confrontation between the Song and Xia dynasties.

The scouts reported that the military city was empty. The soldiers were furious when they heard the news, complaining that there were no women to receive them, but the saint was very happy. You don't have women, but I do. The soldiers didn't expect to see smoke from cooking here when they passed through. If there were a city and houses, there would be no need to set up camp.

Cool!
What is the most tiring thing in war? Fighting with a spear? Traveling? Bullshit! Camping is the most tiring!
The cycle of felling trees, setting up camp, digging holes, filling in soil, breaking up camp, felling trees again, and setting up camp again... It's boring.

After settling down in Saimen City, the army rested while sending out elite troops to divide into several routes.

Zhonglang Jiang Fu Cunshen, Cui Wuci and seven others led 300 cavalrymen each and rushed to Ningshuo. This was a section of the Qin Great Wall. Beyond the gap was the radiation range of Tongwan City, and the risk of battle increased sharply. In order to prevent a hasty encounter with the enemy's main force, they had to conduct high-intensity reconnaissance.

Ashina Yingchen and Zhao Chong led several thousand lightly armed infantrymen and civilians to plunder the areas of Yanchang County and Bajiaogu, which were adjacent to the southeast of Saimen City.

The news was so intense that the people of Yanchang also fled. Seeing this, considering that the food, drink, defecation and urination of tens of thousands of troops was not a small amount, in order to reduce the burden, the generals all suggested opening the treasure chest to see if the people had left any food and goods for the king's army.

Fortunately, all the people had run away, otherwise the saint who was being roasted on the fire would have committed another sin.

A bunch of lunatics!

We should be thankful that our army has eliminated many unstable factors and declared the bottom line through the evil army, so that the killers can have some sense and will not go too far. In later generations, when the Zhao Song army attacked Shu, the Song army robbed and raped along the way, ate people and drank blood, and even "cut off the breasts of women and ate them." After the war, the commander Wang Quanbin and others were directly sentenced to death. "All officials made a proposal and Quanbin and others should be executed."

They demanded that the top brass of the camp be torn into pieces! You can imagine what the army did.

Headache.

I felt better after returning to the courtyard and talking to Zhang Hui.

Today, Tianxian Yuanjun changed into a pink long-sleeved Taoist robe and a jade crown. She painted her cheeks with slightly red rouge and had a mole between her eyebrows.

He just sat cross-legged on the cushion with his palms spread on his knees, closing his eyes and meditating. Once he saw it, he couldn't take his eyes off it.

So magical!
When I came to think of it, I realized that the queen had put on full makeup.

Why did you start dressing up? Just abducted - bah, the days when you first brought your daughter home were very simple.

But in comparison, I prefer the long white dress and white scarf with golden flowers that Tianxian Yuanjun wore before.

Other women don't look that good when they wear it.

Only the Queen is so appropriate.

On the third day of May, the army left Saimen City one after another. At this time of year, the peach blossoms in Chang'an had already faded, but the mornings and evenings in the northern part of the border were still chilly. The soldiers carried the flags and trudged through the lonely yellow plains covered with gymnosperms and ferns under the hazy sky, looking even smaller and colder. The sun set over the long river, and the oblique shadows were stretched very long, and the war horses were steaming with sweat.

The sage and Zhang Hui, Shi Yuan, and Zhang Yueyi wore hats and veils and rode camels slowly at the end of the team.

When combined together, it is a unique scenery under the lonely sunset.

I just wonder how many of these people will die in the northern border after crossing the Great Wall.

As the saying goes, the moon shines brightly in the Qin Dynasty and the fortresses stand in the Han Dynasty, but the people who marched thousands of miles have not returned. I pray that under my command, it will not come to this.

The army protected the baggage while keeping an eye on all directions, moving northwards at intervals. On May 11, the last batch of rear guard troops rushed out of the pass, joined the saint who was waiting to meet them, and continued to move forward.

The boring life continued until May 17, when the entire army arrived at the eastern bank of the upper reaches of the Wuding River southwest of Tongwan City, which is the Hongliu River in later generations.

From Chang'an to here, it's 900 li. From April 11th to today, it's been 41 days. It's impossible. There are so many things to do, I'm not familiar with the geography, and I have to do this and that along the way.

"Is this the Wuding River?" Zhang Hui lifted her veil, took off her shoes and sat down by the river, paddling in the water with her feet, squinting her eyes slightly, looking at the oasis and forest in the distance. She took off her bamboo hat, let her hair down, and let the strong wind blow her face, blowing her black silk wildly: "It's so beautiful... It's completely different from the Central Plains."

My mood has improved and I feel relaxed.

She wanted to scream.

"Be careful." The saint stood beside Zhang Hui, holding onto a willow tree, looking at her lovingly, and pointed with his whip: "Ten miles upstream is Shuofang County, also known as Shiben City, the ancient city of Emperor Wu of Han. Outside the city are two salt ponds, green and white in quality, with large grains, like gems. Upstream are Woye Lake, Heishui River, Dejing County, Mihun River..."

"There..." The saint pointed to the northeast again: "There is Qiwu Mountain in the invisible sky, and there is a city on the mountain. Helian Chang built a city on the mountain, called Qiwu City, also called White City, and there is a Bobo Temple in the city."

Zhang Hui nodded as she looked into the distance.

"Qi Wu is handsome, facing the vast lake and with clear streams. When we conquer the Dangxiang, we will build a palace here." Before the fight started, the saint made a bold statement in front of her: "You like bathing, so in summer we can wander in the streams and waterfalls in the forest. In winter, when thousands of miles of ice are frozen, I will hold hands with you on the top of Wuling Mountain and overlook the snow-covered mountains and rivers... I have already thought of the name of the palace, it will be called Tianxian Palace, Ahui Palace."

"I want future generations to remember you forever."

Zhang Hui couldn't help but laugh and felt a little moved.

But - after all, the one standing shoulder to shoulder with you and smiling will not be me.

How lucky I am to meet you, but I have lost the right to shed tears for you or laugh for you.

"Ahem!" Zhao Jia glanced at his brother-in-law.

Almost got it!
The saint was so thick-skinned that he talked for a while before going over to discuss official business with the generals. What he had just said to Zhang Hui was actually nothing. From the perspective of military intelligence, the army was now completely in the dark about this area.

How many rebels are there? Where are they distributed? What is the mix of infantry and cavalry? What is the armor rate? What clans and tribes are they? What is their relationship with each other? Is there a reliable water source? Is there any plague in the area? Where are the friendly troops? Almost nothing is known.

The saints still follow the old routine: choose a site, cut wood, set up camp, and then search the surroundings.

"You..." The sage thought for a moment and assigned the King of De to Liu Bo, the Marquis of Du Yu: "Take Dalang to see how the military camp is built in the field."

Because Wu Xiong had already received news that the enemy was following and spying, and had detected barbarians gathering north of the Black Water River, the rebels might be looking for an opportunity to fight a field battle. The saint did not dare to delay, and took advantage of the time when the large army was camping to lead 2,000 cavalry out and run along the Wuding River, personally confirming the ten miles upstream and downstream of the river.

It was midnight when the camp was completed.

It is inconvenient to collect firewood in Xiazhou. It is not that there are no trees, but that they are not dense enough. The ecology of the northern part of the Saibei basically meets the phenological forest belt. But it is still fragile compared to the south. If there are more wars and more logging, it will easily become paralyzed.

Because they were ready to go into battle at any time, the soldiers' dinner was wheat soup noodles, with extra meat, preserved fruits, pickled vegetables, fried beans and other snacks. The saints also ate these, but considering the presence of female relatives and the pregnancy of Zhang Hui, they added some dairy products and steamed rice, steamed eggs, tofu soup, venison, and fresh fruits and vegetables.

The queen's first child cannot have any problems.

After the meal, he patrolled the area with torches. The atmosphere was in place, and the soldiers were all nervous. It was rare for them to go to bed right after dinner. The Du Yuhou were elusive with axes. At this time, if you ran around and shouted without a legitimate reason, you would be beheaded if you were caught at the intersection. Seeing that everything was in order, the saint went back to his room to rest.

Zhang Yueyi and Shi Yuan had already fallen asleep. Zhang Hui, who had just finished a shower, sat shirtless beside the bed combing her hair. With the battle imminent, the saint was in no mood to do anything else. He hugged Zhang Hui, exchanged saliva, and then fell asleep with her in his arms.

(End of this chapter)