In the fourth year of the Taiping and Rejuvenation of the Northern Song Dynasty, just after the first lunar month, Zhao Jiong personally led 100,000 elite imperial troops to leave Bianliang and conquer Taiyuan in person. Chen De and three hundred Anxi elites joined the expedition. For the Anxi Army, who is accustomed to trekking, this march was as relaxing and enjoyable as a hiking outing.
In February, the main force of the Forbidden Army arrived at Chanzhou from Kaifeng, crossed the Yellow River to Damingfu, and then turned west to march to Mingzhou. This march was the biggest event after Zhao Jiong came to the throne. In order to ensure the supply of military food, the imperial camp set out The grain and grass stored in the eleven military prefectures including Caozhou, Shanzhou, and Huazhou, as well as in Jingzhao, Henan, and Damingfu were specially requisitioned and transported along the way. It was completely different from the days when generals went on expeditions and the Ministry of War worried about food and grass. Regardless of whether they harassed the common people or not, the officials and imperial camps would always give out large rewards to the common people's villages they passed. Since the expedition, the money was scattered like water, and in exchange, the people along the way paid tribute to the officials. It was widely praised that it was the first time since the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties that a hundred thousand troops were sent out without the people being displaced along the way.
During the march, the command of the 30,000 elite troops in the imperial camp was actually in the hands of Gao Qiong, the direct commander of Yulong, who was directly under the command of Zhao Jiong. Chen Deze, Zhang Mei, Liu Yanrang and other high-ranking military generals were around the officials, but they were just decorations. . The 300 personal guards of the Anxi Army marched together with the Dianqian Ban Zhi. During the march, Zhang Zhongyao looked left and right, and felt that all the soldiers around him were brave and agile. He couldn't help but secretly admired it. If the Bianliang Forbidden Army was composed of the best from all over the world, the Dianqian Ban Zhi Zhi Ze is the essence of the Forbidden Army. The flags flying in front of the palace are as arrogant as the soldiers in the palace.
"Captain Zhang, don't look at the good looks of the front class. If we really fight and see blood, you may not be the opponent of our Anxi soldiers." Seeing that Zhang Zhongyao seemed to be appreciative, Director Zhu, the Centurion of the Ya Army, said with jealousy. , His words seemed a bit untrue. In terms of martial arts, the front class is a selection of hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops, and there are experts to teach them. In terms of physical strength, not to mention bravery and daring to fight, they are no more frightened than the border troops. , The armor is strong and the weapons are sharp. What the Anxi Army relies on is nothing more than unity and passion.
Zhang Zhongyao looked at Director Zhu's unconvinced face, and looked around at the sergeants of the Ya Army Camp. These elites selected from the Anxi Army were walking among the Ban Zhi in front of the palace, and they actually felt a little depressed. He smiled. , said in a deep voice: "The soldiers in front of the palace are just working for the officials. They are rewarded by the superiors. The generals take the big heads, and the soldiers share some leftover soup and water, and take the city. They just rob it. If they win, they will take the city." If they swarm, they will be scattered when defeated. My Anxi brothers, from the lord to the sergeant, are one body. We fight for ourselves, the distribution is fair, and we are united. If we fight to the end, no matter whether he is the commander in front of the palace or the imperial camp of the Liao Emperor, no matter what No one is afraid of it.¡±
"Exactly!" "The captain's words are reasonable." Following Zhang Zhongyao's words, there was a sound of agreement in the Ya Army Camp. After holding back for a long time in the imperial camp of the Song Dynasty official family, the sergeants of the Anxi Army Ya Army Camp became even more Realizing that the difference between himself and the surrounding Forbidden Army is not a problem of the feudal faction, but due to the influence of various systems implemented by Chen De in the Anxi Army. The sergeants of the Anxi Army and the soldiers of the Forbidden Army are completely different. , the officers of the Forbidden Army regarded the Anxi Army as the tough soldiers of the vassal town who were no different from bandits, while the Anxi Army regarded the Forbidden Army as self-made Han who worked for the imperial court in exchange for money.
When the Anxi Junya barracks were casting provocative glances at the surrounding palace troops, Anxi Jiedu envoy Chen Dezheng and a group of distinguished generals mounted their horses to guard Zhao Jiong. The official's personal expedition this time actually abandoned his sedan chair for a horse. Although he had studied literature since he was a child, his riding and archery skills had not been neglected. It should be said that the genetics of the old Zhao family were still more towards generals. At this moment, Zhao Jiong was dressed in a military uniform, with a slightly thin fish scale armor and a yellow robe. Although it could not completely defend against arrows, it made the originally dark and fat Zhao Jiong look much more heroic.
The name of the official's war horse is Biyunxia. It is a good horse for thousands of miles. It was given as a gift from Fuzhou Zhe Yuqing. It is not very tall. There are green lines like clouds beside its mouth, which means Yun Conglong. Zhao Jiong had studied both civil and military arts since he was a child, and he admired his predecessor Ban Chao for his dedication to the army. After that, his eldest brother fought in the north and south, conquering the world with one stick, and he was even more envious. This time he finally had someone to lead the army in the expedition to Youbin. He was also extremely excited about the opportunity. From time to time he looked around, high-spirited and pointing out the country. Gao Qiong, the Yulongzhi commander and Wang Chao, the deputy commander, and Fu Qian, the commander of the East and West squads in front of the palace, who were promoted from the Jin Dynasty's vassal residence, were all around the officials all day long, taking the opportunity to show their hospitality. Gao Qiong, who originally had the responsibility of commanding the imperial camp, ignored most of the arrangements for the march and stayed with the officials all day long.
However, as far as Chen De is concerned, even if it is not in order at all, the safety of the imperial camp, which has many eunuchs, concubines, and royal things, should be as stable as Mount Tai. According to military reports, the famous general Pan Mei set up envoys to coordinate the advance of the Forbidden Army and approached Taiyuan step by step. Former army pioneer Li Jilong's troops had already arrived at Taiyuan City in advance to monitor the movements of the main force of the Northern Han Army. Founding veteran, Xijing Shi Shouxin, who stayed behind, was even ordered to urge and contact the former army. From this point of view, the front of the imperial camp, which is most vulnerable to attack, can be said to be heavily obscured.??Foolproof.
What's more, the route from Kaifeng to Taiyuan had been cleared of all enemy forces before the imperial camp arrived. Yunzhou observation envoy Guo Jin deployed for Shiling Pass, steadily blocking the Liao people from going south to rescue. route. Mixin, the capital of the horse army, and Yuhoutian, the infantry capital, were all commanders of the camp. They led tens of thousands of horse infantry troops to march in front, rear, left, and right of the imperial camp. Qian Shoujun, the deputy chief of the horse infantry army, was in charge of the rear army and protected them. Towards the rear of the imperial camp. Along the march, the imperial camp where Zhao Jiong was located was full of friendly troops, front, rear, left and right. Therefore, maintaining the marching line of the imperial camp seemed dispensable. Along the way, apart from paying attention to the orderliness of the ranks and not allowing officials to scold them, there was nothing else to do. thing.
At this time, there was nothing going on in the northwest. Therefore, there was no shortage of horses in the Song Dynasty's imperial army. There were also many good horses donated by Uighurs, Tubo and Xiazhou. This was especially true for the imperial camp led by Zhao Jiong. According to Chen De's observation, the surrounding There are tens of thousands of cavalry on the left and right of the imperial camp. Compared with the iron hoof of Liao, the only shortcomings are that the cavalry and shooting are not exquisite enough and the use is not grand enough.
The senior generals who were guarding Zhao Jiong were all on horseback. All the way to the north, there were fierce cavalry everywhere. The hoofs of the horses were heard, and the sound of neighing was endless. It almost made Chen De want to curse loudly. Who said that the Song Dynasty Lacking cavalry, the Forbidden Army at this time only used large infantry formations as a means of killing the enemy, just as later generations attached great importance to artillery.
When we reached a place, the imperial camp was blocked by a shallow river. The generals gathered around Zhao Jiong and stood in front of the river bank, waiting for a bridge to be built. At this time, the sky was clear and the sky was blue. Zhao Jiong immediately stood on a high slope. The view from here was excellent, but within a radius of dozens of miles, groups of forbidden troops were marching towards the north. Advancing, the baggage convoy loaded with crossbows, arrows, swords and guns, surrounded by the infantry marching columns, moved forward slowly, like a crawling red dragon. On the side of the infantry ranks, countless cavalry columns lined up to watch. The fast speed surpassed the slow infantry. The cavalry were impatient and urged their horses to wade through the water and move forward. Looking north, the marching column stretches to the sky, with no end in sight. Looking around, you can see the army of the imperial court, boundless, like a surging river, which makes the shallow and clear river under your feet seem particularly small.
Zhao Jiong took a deep breath of the air that was filled with the smell of horse manure and hay. In front of him was the vast northern wilderness. The melting snow had just melted away, revealing the yellow and black mottled soil, which looked particularly desolate and magnificent. It looked like the Forbidden Army cavalry waded into the water without hesitation. Moving forward, many people carefully pulled up the brocade hanging on both sides of the horses to prevent the mud curtains from being soaked by the river water. Most of them just urged the horses forward regardless, showing their eagerness to move forward and make achievements.
All the military generals gathered around the official's house to watch the cavalry crossing the river. They heard Zhao Jiong mutter: "There are bitter leaves in the grass, and there are deep ones to help. The deep is the harshest." There was a pause in his tone, as if there was unfinished meaning, and he seemed to be thinking. All the generals from Zhang Mei, Liu Yanrang, and Cao Han onwards were not familiar with poetry and literature. Most of the civil servants stayed in Bianliang and did not follow him. Even those who did were in the baggage convoy. Therefore, the generals around Zhao Jiong were all They looked at each other in shock, and some even didn't understand the meaning of these three lines of Zhao Jiong's poem.
Zhao Jiong turned around and saw that it was Chen De, the military commander of the Anxi Army. Chen De bowed his hand to Zhao Jiong with a smile on his face. Zhao Jiong smiled and said: "General Chen is really an interesting person." He urged his horse to go downhill slowly, Without waiting for the soldiers to build the bridge, they just waded through the knee-deep river like other cavalry troops. Chen De took the lead, and the generals followed closely behind Zhao Jiong. They actually abandoned the infantry brigade and went to the preset camp with the imperial cavalry. Zhao Jiong was in a very good mood that day. He held a banquet in the evening to entertain the generals and gave Chen Deyu, the envoy of Anxi Festival, two liters of wine.
The whole army marched twice and set up camp in Zhenzhou in March. Along the way, news of the Song army's repeated successful attacks on Hanlong Prefecture, Mengxian County, Qinzhou and Fenzhou in the north continued to spread, and Zhe Yuqing broke through. Kelan's army and Xie Hui defeated Longzhou.
That night, Chen De had not yet gone to bed, and three hundred tooth soldiers were gathering to study political and military strategies. Suddenly, they heard a shocking cry from outside. All the soldiers felt strange. Chen De casually picked up the horizontal knife placed next to the table, with a confused look on his face. Suddenly, Zhang Zhongyao ordered Zhang Zhongyao in a deep voice: "Go out and find out what happened. But the soldiers mutinied? But the enemy attacked by surprise?" Zhang Zhongyao took the order and left. Chen De took the Yajun camp and put on armor in the camp and stood quietly. Hou, if the Anxi army camped at night, they would never be allowed to make such noise no matter what. According to daily observations, the military discipline in the imperial camp is also very strict. I don't know why this is so?
After a long while, Zhang Zhongyao returned, with a look of ecstasy on his face, and loudly said: "A great victory at Shiling Pass. The Khitan reinforcements were spearheaded by Ji Wang Yelu dilie and his son, Yelu Mo, Yelusha led the middle army, and Yelu Xiezhen was the rear army. , with a total of 60,000 horses, were defeated by Guo Jin at Shiling Pass. The enemy chiefs Yelu Dilie, his father and son, and Yelu Sha were both killed in the battle. General Guo has presented his head to the emperor." Although there are conflicts between Anxi and the imperial court, they are still the same It was the Han army that defeated the aliens. Even Zhang Zhongyao couldn't help but smile with joy. After all, the people of the late Tang and Five DynastiesIn recent years, the Han people in the Central Plains have suffered too much bullying from foreigners.
In the early morning of the next day after the victory at Shilingguan, the imperial camp set up camp and headed from Zhenzhou to Taiyuan.
Note: The Book of Songs¡¤Guofeng¡¤Beifeng¡¤Bitter Leaves
There are bitter leaves, and Ji is involved. Deep is severe, shallow is exposed.
There is a lot of money to be made. There are pheasants singing. Ji Ying does not wet the track. The pheasant cries for its male.
The geese are singing and the sun is rising. If a scholar returns to his wife, the ice has not yet melted.
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