On the tenth day of the army's departure, the imperial envoy arrived at Yongzhou after many obstacles. Along the way, local officials were unbearably enthusiastic and blocked the team. If they didn't stay for a meal and a glass of wine, it would be hard for anyone at the doorstep. Not only that, when you cross the bridge, the bridge breaks. Crossing the river, there is no boat. As a result, we arrived nearly a month later than scheduled, and as expected, we didn't see Luo Yao.
The imperial edict to mobilize 100,000 troops could not just be left in hand. The imperial envoy thought for a while and simply did not stop at Yongzhou, leading the team to chase northward in one breath.
At this moment, he just wanted to pass on the decree.
There is only a river between Huangyang Road and the southernmost Shandong Road of the three northwest roads occupied by the rebels. Although this river is a branch of Yishui River, it is extremely wide. Local people call it Huangniu River, and the official name in the Sui Dynasty Chronicle is Huishui. The origin of the name Huangniu River is a mythical story. It is said that a yellow bull became a spirit and harmed someone. A swordsman descended to the mortal world and had a battle with the yellow bull spirit by this river.
The sword fairy wounded the ox, and the ox jumped into the river in desperation and refused to come out again. The sword fairy set up a magic talisman to seal the scalper spirit in the river.
Then there was a severe drought one year, and the water level dropped a lot. Many people swear that they saw the ox turning into a big stone.
Luo Yao's vanguard army was not moving slowly. The three armies headed by Xiong Weilang General Wen Xiaodao traveled all day and night to clear the way for the main army. It only took a month to get from Yongzhou to the south bank of Huangniu River. The governor of Huang Yangdao personally welcomed him and hosted a banquet, but Wen Xiaodao declined. Although Huangyang Road is far away from Yongzhou, it does not belong to the four southwest roads. However, Yang Yanye, the governor of Huangyang Road, was also very familiar with the style of the left avant-garde and knew that they were a group of military masters with over-the-top vision.
After Wen Xiaodao arrived at the south bank of Huangniu River, he sent people to select a location to build a barracks. The camp of nearly 400,000 troops cannot be built in a short time. Wen Xiaodao asked Yang Yanye for help and recruited a group of craftsmen to assist. Of course, don't expect the left avant-garde to pay for it.
Not only that, the first thing Wen Xiaodao did when he arrived here was to inform Yang Yanye to prepare a month's supply of food and fodder for an army of 400,000 people. His attitude was taken as a matter of course.
With an army of 400,000, plus war horses and livestock, the amount of food and grass spent in one day is staggering. But Yang Yanye could only cooperate. After all, the left avant-garde was here to suppress the rebellion. If someone told him that he would not provide food and grass for the army, the emperor would probably not even want to hear the explanation.
On the north bank of Huangniu River is the rebel camp, which can be seen with clairvoyance. It seems that the rebels have long known the news of the left vanguard heading north. I heard that the number of troops on the north bank has continued to increase recently, and the number of troops has exceeded 200,000. The rebels took control of the granary in the Northwest Third Road, and the people had no choice but to join the rebels if they could not survive. In just one year, the rebel army's strength snowballed.
According to Yang Yanye¡¯s analysis, the total strength of the rebels may now exceed 1.5 million.
But Wen Xiaodao scoffed at this.
"You don't just give people a knife and you can call them soldiers." What about 1.5 million people? In his opinion, most of them are just chickens and dogs waiting to be sold.
Luo Yao¡¯s army arrived on the third day after Wen Xiaodao established the camp, and had been on the road for more than two months. After the imperial envoy who announced the decree caught up with the team, he promulgated the decree and returned to Chang'an without staying for more than a day. After completing this errand, he knew that he would never have the chance to deliver the message again in his life. If you're lucky, the emperor will just reprimand you, but if you're not lucky, losing your official position will be a trivial matter, and your head may have to be moved.
On the day Luo Yao arrived, Yang Yanye invited him to the Governor's Mansion and treated him warmly. Luo Yao praised Yang Yanye's achievements in governing Huangyang Road in the past few years. It was like two old friends meeting each other, and the atmosphere at the banquet was particularly harmonious. Yang Yanye didn't feel at ease after sending Luo Yao away, so Luo Yao sent someone to urge him the next day.
In this regard, Yang Yanye could only swallow his anger.
In a rage, he withdrew most of the county soldiers and civilians Yongquan who had been stationed on the south bank of Huangniu River by Huangyang Dao in the name of giving up camp to the left vanguard. During these days, the rebels often crossed the river to harass them. If it were not for the sharp and brave counterattack by the county soldiers and civilians of Huangyang Road, the rebels might rush into Huangyang Road and wreak havoc.
In this regard, the soldiers of Huangyang Road naturally had resentment.
Over the past two years, they have fought against the rebels almost every day. They even organized a raid to the other side of the Huangniu River. How many people were killed and injured. The reward from the court has not been received yet, which makes people feel unconvinced. The county soldiers are better off. After all, they are part of the local army, and their pay can still be managed. Those civilian warriors all joined the battle with enthusiasm, and now they withdraw at any time without any explanation or comfort.
Huangyang Road can be regarded as the transition between the northwest and southwest regions.This region is not as rich as the land of plenty like the Southwest. Close to the northwest, food was allocated every year to support the people north of the Ox River. In the past two years, the Governor's Office has almost emptied its treasury in order to build Minyong. Yang Yanye would submit a memorial asking for a reduction or exemption of money and food almost once a month, but for some unknown reason, there was no official announcement.
Later, he felt helpless and took the lead in contacting some officials and squires of Huangyang Road. He collected a large sum of money and sent it to the capital, and secretly sent it to Pei Yan, the minister of Huangmen. On the third day, His Majesty's approval for Huang Yangdao's reduction of money and food came down. They even allocated a batch of weapons and armor from the Ministry of War treasury. After they arrived, everyone could do nothing but smile bitterly when they looked at the materials from the imperial court.
Yang Yanye withdrew all the county soldiers and civilian soldiers in anger. In fact, he wanted to give these men who had served the country for two years a rest. The rebels on the north bank could unscrupulously occupy granaries and rob the treasury, but Yang Yanye couldn't. If he wanted to keep Huangyang Road, he had to raise troops. Without the decree of the court, he would tighten his belt and still have to hand over the money and grain every year. Sometimes he even thought about opening Xinkou Cang, but unfortunately, he did not have the courage in the end.
He knew that the civilian heroes were angry, but what could be done?
In desperation, he had no choice but to borrow food from the rich local gentry again.
This governor who does not seek merit but seeks no fault has obviously aged in the past two years. People say that sitting in the position of governor is already a very popular minister, and many people are envious of the robe of a second-rank official. But only I know the pain, and there is nowhere to vent it.
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Standing on the south bank of Huangniu River, Luo Yao looked across the way with his clairvoyance. The rebels on the other side were placing wooden stakes along the river to prevent ships from the south bank from approaching. On the high slope, the wooden village of arrow tower has been built. Soldiers patrolling the village could be seen passing by. There were quite a few of them.
Those people who were driven by the rebels stood in the river and struggled to drive down the wooden piles one by one. They had ropes tied around their waists to prevent them from being washed away by the river. But even so, it is the summer flood season, and the rain this year is more abundant than in previous years. The river has become wider and the water has risen. Every day, people are swept away and no trace is seen again.
After standing in the water for a long time, many people¡¯s legs begin to rot and get maggots.
Many small boats were patrolling back and forth in the river. The rebel soldiers on the boats were holding whips and staring at the civilians eagerly. If anyone moved a little slower, they would be whipped immediately without mercy.
"It is said that thousands of people on the north coast have been tortured to death in the past month."
Wen Xiaodao stood beside Luo Yao and whispered: "The rebels have been forcing people to work since a few months ago, treating human life as nothing."
"Who will be the general of the rebels?"
"It is said that he is Yin Poshan, one of Li Yuanshan's generals. He was named a champion and a general by Li Yuanshan. He is very famous. Most of the soldiers under this man are young and strong people who were captured. The specific number is unknown. It¡¯s unclear how many soldiers there are, but the total number of troops should not be less than 200,000.¡±
"Um"
Luo Yao snorted: "Are there not many ships nearby?"
"yes"
Wen Xiaodao leaned over and said: "A few months ago, the rebels continued to move south, targeting the fishing boats on the south bank. There were no soldiers stationed in Huangyang Road. They relied on the county soldiers and civilians to resist bravely. Although they fought bravely, they still lost most of the boats. . Yang Yanye later ordered that all the remaining fishing boats be towed ashore, but the number was limited and it was impossible to support the army across the river. "
¡°There¡¯s no need to rush across the river.¡±
Luo Yao looked at the enslaved people on the other side, his face still as calm as usual.
"The embankment on the north bank is higher than that on the south bank, and the rebels have been planning it for several months. Even a ragtag group cannot be underestimated. Recently, more people have been sent to survey the terrain along both sides of the river."
"Here"
Wen Xiaodao responded.
"Forty miles to the west is the camp of the county soldiers and civilian warriors on Huangyang Road. Now that everyone has withdrawn, the camp is empty General, are you going to send people to garrison it? My subordinates think that the village is fairly well built. It is strong, and the rebels may not dare to cross the river rashly, so there is no need to send heavy troops. "
"Let Liu Kuo lead an army to station"
Luo Yao paused for a moment and then ordered: "Let Fang Jie's Shanzi Camp pass by as well."
Wen Xiaodao was startled and didn't understand what Luo Yao meant.
Luo Yao didn't mention it again after giving his instructions, but looked at the north bank and said: "Although the battle is not in a hurry, we can't understand the enemy at all. Select elite scouts and cross the river to inquire about the rebels' troop deployment. Everything about It is best to bring back a few tongues to find out all the information about the rebels. You can arrange for someone to do this "
¡°Not as good as?¡±
Wen Xiaodao suddenly understood the meaning of Luo Yao's previous words: "Why don't you send General Xiaofang to do this? His soldiers from the Shanzi Camp are well-trained, and Master Xiaofang also has a team of people from the Ouchi Guards. Best for gathering information.¡±
"good"
Luo Yao responded lightly and did not continue.
Wen Xiaodao sighed in his heart and couldn't help but think, could that Fang Jie really be the son of the general? Otherwise, why would the general be so partial?
First, he was allowed to lead his troops to stay in the former camp of Huangyang Daojun soldiers because the camp had been run by Huangyang Dao soldiers and civilians for two years. It was very solid and the terrain was well chosen. The river embankment was very steep, and even if the rebels crossed the river, they could not directly cross it. attack. There are ready-made things, and the soldiers of the provincial Shanzi camp built them themselves. Liu Kuo is a prudent and mature man, so if Fang Jie and he can station troops at the same time, there will never be any conflicts. The general then mentioned the matter of crossing the river to explore for news. This matter was not difficult to handle. Most of the rebels were civilians. It was a simple matter to just grab a few people and select elite soldiers to go over. But, this is the credit, the first credit for the left midfielder going north!
General, this is where the credit goes to Fang Jie.
He glanced at Luo Yao secretly, and the turmoil in his heart could not be calmed down.
At this time, Fang Jie was taking Shanziying to find a place to rest. All the way north, Mr. Fang Jie was worried that Shi Yuan would come looking for him. But when he got here, Shi Yuan still didn't come. He really couldn't figure out what the old monk's purpose was.
"General!"
An orderly soldier came quickly on horseback, pointed to the west and said: "The general's military order orders the Shanzi Camp to garrison the camp forty miles to the west! In addition, General Wen asked the general to send someone to cross the river to investigate the enemy's situation."
Fang Jie raised his eyebrows slightly, clasped his fists and said, "I have the order!"