Chapter 1065 Xi Family Pond

Chapter 1065 Xi Family Pond

Chapter 1065 Xi Family Pond

It was several days later when Yang Jiongzhi arrived in Xiangyang.

I don’t know if it was good luck or what, but on the day we arrived, we encountered an attack from the defenders of Fancheng.

There is a lake to the north of the city, a mudflat to the east, and a river to the south. The two sides only fought in the west of the city.

The scale this time is quite large.

The Huangtou Army fought with the enemy troops in formation, which shook the position of Mao Bao's infantry and made their formation loose. The Shangdang cavalry rushed in and annihilated more than a thousand enemies.

Yang Jiongzhi watched it from beginning to end. Although it is best not to defend a city to death, you must go out of the city to attack from time to time to scare the enemy and prevent them from attacking the city with all their strength, but the Jin people still made some mistakes in this way.

Especially those barbarians with cut hair and tattoos, who only have a lot of courage and bravery.

They were indeed barbaric, ignorant and fearless, but they were the first to reveal their flaws, which were exploited by the Shangdang cavalry who rushed in.

At this time, Yang Jiongzhi finally understood.

The most capable soldiers of Jingzhou in Jin State were at the level of the Yellow Head Army. They were qualified and capable infantry, but they were not strong enough and needed further improvement. At the same time, they were seriously lacking in cavalry support, which put them at a disadvantage in combat.

He now understood why Tao Kan did not dare to fight a decisive battle.

If he was facing an army like Shi Le and Liu Cong, which were composed mainly of cavalry and infantry, it would actually be easy to defeat them. But when facing an army like Daliang, which was mainly composed of elite infantry and supplemented by cavalry, he really could not defeat them.

When crossing the pontoon bridge, Yang Jiongzhi saw a large group of infantry and cavalry heading south.

After a little inquiry, I learned that Shao Shen had dispatched a group of troops to Jiangling, and it seemed that he was going to attack that area.

As for Xiangyang, the focus was probably still on siege and surveillance.

Look, the army besieging the city has already begun digging trenches and building earth walls.

Building these things can reduce the number of troops besieging the city, which indirectly proves that Shao Shen has begun to adjust the combat deployment.

Carriages drove across the pontoon bridge one after another, right under the noses of the Xiangyang defenders.

When Yang Jiongzhi followed the last car to the south bank of the Mian River, he happened to see Shao Shen who was patrolling there.

"General."

"Prince of Julu."

The two of them greeted each other.

Yang Jiongzhi looked at the commander of the army.

Overall, he looks much more haggard than before, and his neat beard has not been groomed for a long time and looks a little messy.

The same was true for his staff, guests, and personal soldiers behind him. This battle was not only a test for the enemy, but also for the entire Liang army.

"Your Majesty has sent the Grand Marshal to comfort the troops?" Shao Shen asked as he glanced at the silk and even wine and meat on the carriage.

"That's right." After saying that, he pulled Shao Shen away from the crowd and whispered, "His Majesty has said that the tribes that have suffered more damage can be withdrawn. The dead will be compensated, and the survivors will be rewarded."

"Your Majesty is kind-hearted." Shao Shen nodded and said, "The tribes from Helong have suffered heavy losses. I think it would be better to drive them to continue attacking Xianshan and Fancheng and kill them all. Even if we let them go, they will still bear a grudge. It is better to deal with them all."

Yang Jiongzhi just looked at Shao Shen quietly.

Shao Shen was helpless and said, "Let's do as your majesty wishes."

Yang Jiongzhi nodded slightly and asked, "Is the Jin navy still there?"

"They retreated." Shao Shen said, "Four ships and more than a thousand people were sunk. The rest retreated southwards. I don't know where they went back to."

"They must have returned to Yangkou." Yang Jiongzhi said, "Have the thieves entered Xiangyang?"

"The bandits sent two shallow-draft boats to break into Xiangyang at night. There were only dozens of people, so it's no big deal." Shao Shen said.

"Just now on the road I saw the Fancheng bandits fighting..." Yang Jiongzhi said again.

"I'm sure the commander has also known that the enemy army was badly defeated, with a thousand casualties." Shao Shen said, "The enemy army on Xianshan should be less than 1,500. I have already sent people to persuade them to surrender. This is an isolated army, and there is no point in wasting time. Maybe we can persuade them to surrender."

Yang Jiongzhi felt comforted after hearing this.

The situation was still very good. Once Xianshan surrendered, only Fancheng and Xiangyang were left.

"Is there any news from Jiangling?" Yang Jiongzhi asked again.

Shao Shen pondered for a moment and said, "The enemy is well prepared, so we can't take it easily. The vanguard was ambushed at the bend of Zhangshui River, and hundreds of soldiers were killed. We need to send a large army to cover the retreat. The local tyrants don't know the power of heaven, so we should kill them."

Yang Jiong did not make any comment.

In his opinion, those noble families and soldiers who were fighting against the king's army at the moment under the command of the Tao family could all be won over, and at least an attempt should be made. Even if all of them could not be won over, it would be good to win over some of them.

With the help of local people, at least the army would not have to take the wrong road and be ambushed. It could even shake the enemy's morale and make more people give up resistance, so that the two sides would not help each other.

But this is his business, and he still needs to spend time finding people and talking to each family one by one.

As for the Prince of Julu, he only considered how to use his troops. In his deployment of troops, he should assume that everyone is an enemy, otherwise he will easily suffer a great loss.

******
Huan Wen arrived one day later than Yang Jiongzhi.

As the commander of the Duzhi Department in Xiangyang, he wanted to move the government office to Xiangyang instead of ruling it in Nanyang.

But there is no way now.

When they arrived at Fancheng, it was already evening. Teams of miscellaneous Hu soldiers withdrew from the south bank and set up camp in the farmland far to the west.

Huan Wen watched carefully.

Many people had no horses! I don't know if they didn't bring them with them when they went to war, or if they lost them on the way, or if they were consumed after arriving at the battlefield.

In this war, the loss of life is one thing, but it seems that there is also a great loss in invisible places. Huan Wen's men are more alert.

After taking office as the Commandant of Duzhi, he pleaded with the emperor to transfer the 1,500 men originally integrated in Hezhou to serve as troop transports.

These people were born in a cold and harsh land and were ignorant and barbaric. But after a good training, escorting supplies was no problem for them. It was even a bit too "luxurious" - after all, they had been on the battlefield and seen blood, so it was a bit of a shame for them to have to transport soldiers.

"Most of them are from Hezhou." Xin Mao, the Duzhi Commander of Xiangyang, pointed at the Hu soldiers who were turning off the road and heading into the distance, and said, "I just asked around, and most of them are tribes affiliated with the Qifu clan, and there are also a few Tuoba Xianbei."

"What did they say?" Huan Wen asked.

Xin Mao knew why his superior asked this question, and immediately said, "They complained, but after receiving the reward, the herdsmen were much happier, and only the headman had a sullen face. However, they are about to go to Yuyang, and the emperor may give them more rewards."

Upon hearing this, Huan Wen stopped and looked at these people silently.

In fact, the ones who suffered the most were those who attacked Danshan. They really didn't use any tricks and relied entirely on fierce attacks and brute force. Naturally, the casualties were not small. If they really fought a field battle, the casualties were not that heavy.

In addition, there is a factor that cannot be ignored, and that is the epidemic.

Even with the reference to "Endemic Diseases" and early prevention, even in winter, it can only reduce the possibility of getting sick, but cannot completely eliminate it. Not to mention that some people are not actually sick, but after coming to Xiangyang from the northwest, they feel inexplicably uncomfortable and depressed. Even after repeated morale-boosting, they still feel very uncomfortable.

Some people recovered and gradually became full of energy.

Some people have been sick all the time, and quite a few have died from the illness.

I really don't know what will happen when summer comes. It will rain heavily, the river will rise sharply, and everything will be wet. Most of these people will not be able to withstand it.

"Adding up the deaths on various battlefields, tens of thousands of Hu soldiers must have died, right?" Huan Wen suddenly asked.

"There should be some." Xin Mao said, "There were five or six thousand people in Xianshan alone, and there were also those who died in the field battles, those who died of disease, and those who were slaughtered for making noises, no less than ten thousand."

Huan Wen took a few last glances and then rode his horse forward, crossed the floating bridge, and headed straight for Gaoyang Pool as agreed beforehand.

"Huan Yuanzi is here." Yang Jiongzhi sat by the pool and waved with a smile.

There were several officials from Daliang present, but Huan Wen did not know most of them. Only Yu Mie, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, had some impression of him - but almost everyone knew him.

There were many local nobles in Xiangyang, but Huan Wen did not know anyone except Kuai Heng and Li Chong who had returned from Yuyang.

"Yuanzi, sit next to me." The host Xi Gu stood up and said with a smile.

Huan Wen glanced at Yang Jiongzhi, and seeing him nod slightly, he sat down.

The Xi family's pond is not small, covering an area of ​​about ten acres. Various pavilions and towers have been built around it, and lush bamboo forests, precious flowers and trees have been transplanted. At the same time, various rockery and strange stones have been brought from somewhere, which looks quite interesting.

The group sat in the pavilions and waterside terraces, and they immediately relaxed, hardly feeling that they were in a war zone.

And this Xi Gu Xi Yanwen is already over 60 years old and looks like a slightly plump and wealthy old man.

He started his career as the magistrate of Linxiang, and later served as Gongcao and Jishicanjun of the Shanjian Shogunate. After that, he retired and returned to his hometown. It has been more than ten years.

The Xi family pond is very famous and a huge amount of money was invested in it. Even people like Shan Jian, who have seen the world, praise it highly. They come to visit from time to time and stay for a long time. The pond is named "Gaoyang" and is commonly known as "Xi Family Pond" by the locals.

Behind Xi Gu was a young man, who was introduced as Xi Zaochi, thirteen years old. He had been well-read since childhood and was a rising star in the Xi family of Xiangyang.

Xi Gu's subordinates also included the wealthy families of Xiangyang, such as his in-laws, the Luo family, and his neighbors, the Yang family.

Huan Wen simply made eye contact with them, smiled, and then looked away. He was really not familiar with them.

"Yuan Zi is indeed a young and promising man. He is only 18 years old, but he has already become the Imperial Concubine and the Imperial Revenue. The emperor loves talents, regardless of north or south." Xi Gu smiled and said, "I have to write a letter to Jiangling, calling all the nephews and nieces back, so that they don't waste time any more."

Everyone laughed after hearing this.

"I have to send a letter to summon you, too." Kuai Heng said with a smile, "But wouldn't it be better if you could establish meritorious service?"

"That's right." Pang Huan stroked his beard and smiled, "It would be a pity if such a famous city in Jiangling was destroyed in war."

When saying these words, everyone's eyes unconsciously looked at Yang Jiongzhi.

Yang Jiongzhi smiled faintly and said, "I have been here for only a month, but I already feel quite uncomfortable. It is still winter, I don't know what it would be like in summer or autumn. Jiangling and Xiangyang should be a little different, right?"

"Mr. Yang is right." Xi Gu said, "I have lived in Jiangling for two years. It is hotter and wetter than Xiangyang. It is really uncomfortable for northerners who have just arrived. However, you will get used to it after living there for ten or eight years."

When Yang Jiong heard this, he waved his hands and said with a smile: "At my age, I just want to go back to my hometown to retire. Jiangling still needs the help of the lords of Jingxiang to take care of it, and your majesty also wants this."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked as if to say, "I'm not sleepy anymore now that you've said that."

Nanjun was the most prosperous place in the entire Jingzhou, and Jiangling was an important commercial town, where merchants from all over the country gathered, with mountains of wealth and countless money.

There are enough registered permanent residents, a lot of developed farmland, and huge commercial benefits. Who wouldn't want to go to this place?
To put it bluntly, even if the emperor gave up the position of prefect of Nanyang, it would probably not be as attractive as the position of prefect of Nanjun.

What Yang Jiongzhi said was actually telling everyone implicitly: some of the official positions in Nanjun could be given away, including the prefect.

Everyone present here is smart. Every word just said was not in vain. They were all tests and promises.

Huan Wen watched quietly, feeling quite helpless.

He was pulled here by Yang Jiongzhi to be a role model.

Not to mention the governor of Nanjun, as long as he was talented and meritorious, he could be the emperor's son-in-law! After all, he was half southerner, having been born in Jianye.

But it doesn’t matter.

He was willing to do anything to facilitate the war and enable the emperor to pacify Jingxiang earlier.

If it ends sooner, not only will there be fewer deaths and less consumption of food and equipment, but he can also return to Luoyang earlier.

Before I went out, I felt that the princess gave me too much pressure. After being away for two months, I missed her a little.

As he was thinking, Huan Wen actually began to lose focus. While others were discussing military and national affairs, he was thinking about his wife...

(End of this chapter)