Chapter 1229: Race against time

Chapter 1229: Race against time

Chapter 1229: Race against time (Part )
The battle of Shicheng severely defeated the Jiangzhou troops, which made Wang Bin, who was stationed in Pengkou, somewhat angry.

However, after learning about the course of the battle, the nobles in Poyang and Yuzhang counties became worried.

Even if they were isolated from the news, they knew the reputation of the Six Battalions of the Silver Spear and Black Jade Imperial Guards, which was the basis of Emperor Liang Shao Xun's success. If he had participated in the battles in Jingzhou and had close contact with the Liang Dynasty Imperial Guards, he would be even more terrified.

They destroyed the enemy head-on without using any tricks to weaken their own fighting effectiveness, such as cutting off food supplies, setting ambushes, spreading rumors, etc. They just charged forward and attacked fiercely, and defeated the enemy in one blow. The difference in the quality of the soldiers on both sides was obvious at a glance, and there was nothing much to say.

As a result, more and more people started to wait and see.

Of course, the main reason for their waiting and watching was not the failure of the encounter, but more importantly, they saw that the Liang people had established a foothold in Xuancheng and could not be driven out in a short time. From now on, more and more people will sneak across the river, and it is not surprising that more than 10,000 elite soldiers will gather in Xuancheng. Once the scale rises to this level, it will be basically difficult to fight.

Yang Qin had no idea what the scholars in Jiangzhou were thinking. At this moment, he was sitting in the Shicheng County Government Office, lecturing the "bossmen" of the wealthy families who had arrived one after another.

"You can't even be called poor people, why are you working for Sima? Ridiculous!" Yang Qin sat on a table with a big horse and a golden sword, pointing at everyone and said: "The positions of prefectures and counties should be given to overseas Chinese. Even the positions of magistrates should be divided equally between overseas Chinese and scholars. You will never be able to get the title of magistrate in your life. You will be bullied to the end. Do you want to be submissive?"

After saying that, he waved.

"General, I'm here." Shicheng Wei Liu Xiaoshu, wearing his official robe, trotted over.

To be honest, I really can't praise this guy's appearance and demeanor.

Not only does he look ugly, but he also has a bad demeanor!
He trotted along with a fawning manner, without the feeling of "walking leisurely and calmly, like an official in a temple".

When running, people are in a hurry to straighten the cage crown, which violates the principle of "slow but not stagnant" hand movements.

The voice is too rough and lacks the "notes of palace and business".

As the saying goes, "A person whose voice is like the sound of a bell has a great mind, and a person whose words are like the sound of a flowing spring has deep wisdom." Without a deep and upright voice, how can one "control the crowd without losing harmony"?
Finally, the way he stood, with his back bent and his knees bent, did not have the air of a scholar who was as lonesome as a pine tree.

In short, it's all awkward. If the Ministry of Personnel really sends someone to conduct an assessment, I will definitely be rejected.

But then again, the Daliang Dynasty today is full of officials who started from humble beginnings. If they really follow the standards of appearance and demeanor set by the Ministry of Personnel, few of them can become officials. After all, they have not received strict training in etiquette and demeanor since childhood.

Even the emperor Shao Xun is a "rustic figure", what else can you say? His good sons are good, no matter how they look, but their every move, every word and every action are very standard, obviously they have been trained by their mother since childhood.

After Liu Xiaoshu stood still, he faced everyone with a hint of pride.

Everyone looked at Liu Xiaoshu, also somewhat surprised. This guy actually became an official?
"When our army first crossed the river, Liu Xiaoshu brought cattle and wine to entertain the troops and was extremely respectful, so he was given the position of Shicheng Wei. From today on, you must obey his orders and be willing to donate military supplies. If you can establish meritorious services, it is not impossible to bring honor to your family." Yang Qin said.

"General, I am willing to donate 3,000 hu of grain and send 500 soldiers. Can I exchange it for an official position?" Someone couldn't help it and said eagerly.

The accent was a bit strange, obviously he hadn't studied the rhyme book carefully, but he could still understand it roughly. Yang Qin pretended to be silent for a while and said, "Not enough."

"General, I have also taken in a few Daliang heavenly soldiers. I heard that they are all from Luoyang. They can be returned now." The man said anxiously.

"Oh?" Yang Qin was a little surprised and asked, "Are they at your village?"

"Yes." The man nodded repeatedly and said, "I treated you with courtesy."

"I thought you would capture them and make them your slaves." Yang Qin looked at him playfully and said.

The man was startled and tried to make amends by saying, "I told them to have a good rest, but they refused and insisted on feeding the horses on the farm."

"Forget it, send the person back." Yang Qin said.

After saying this, he asked someone to bring him his official uniform and seal, and said, "You can be a general of the scattered troops. Check the farmhands as soon as possible, distribute the weapons, and obey my orders."

"Yes, sir." The man said happily.

"General, my family also has Daliang Heavenly Soldiers..." In an instant, another seven people stood up and spoke.

"Shut up!" Yang Qin slapped his thigh and said angrily, "Send everyone back and I will pardon you. Food must not be lacking and must be sent to Shicheng as soon as possible. Vehicles, drivers, and militiamen must also be prepared. Liu Xiaoshu will be in charge of this matter."

"As you command." Liu Xiaoshu straightened his back and looked at everyone. His demeanor miraculously became stronger. He said, "Although we are from the same village, military law is ruthless and I cannot be partial. Please follow me and discuss the military funds."

After saying that, he waved his hand and walked away first.

Everyone looked at each other, then looked at the soldiers in the yard, and left reluctantly.

"Rat!" Yang Qin sneered and said after everyone had left.

Tang Xiang smiled and said, "When the governor's family moves south to buy property in the future, they can ask these people for money."

"What kind of benefits can they have?" Yang Qin laughed and said, "The Wanling Tao family has land and houses all over the counties of Xuancheng. They are the fat sheep."

"General, you are wise." Tang Xiang praised. "Do you look like a warrior?" Yang Qin stood up and said, "Send someone to the riverside to see if we can contact Jiangbei and ferry another group of people over."

******
The fighting on both sides of Lujiang River has been going on for many days.

Shanxia's large ships could not get in, but they mobilized many small boats to carry soldiers to the other side of the river, where they fought repeatedly.

Their main rival is the Ji family.

At the beginning, because of the presence of Liang cavalry, they suffered a little loss in the fierce battle with Ji. However, as the Liang army gradually moved eastward, Ji suffered a series of defeats, so that Shanxia attacked Xuancheng and besieged it for many days until the Liang cavalry was forced to return, and Shanxia suffered a defeat.

If someone hadn't fought to the death to cover the retreat, the siege army would never have been able to retreat safely to the west bank of the Lu River. But in this case, they would not have been able to capture Xuancheng easily.

Shan Xia refused to give up and looked for places to cross the river from upstream to downstream. He won and lost against the Liang army alternately, and the battle was always in a stalemate, with neither side finding it difficult to completely defeat the other.

The stalemate was not a completely bad thing. At least it delayed the relatively strong part of the Liang army, preventing it from advancing eastward or northward, giving Yu Tan, Liu Chao and others the opportunity to build camps, organize defenses and even wait for reinforcements. However, after news came from the west on the tenth day of April that the Liang army had landed in a large number and occupied Shicheng, Shan Xia felt a little anxious.

"There is no news from Hefei, the situation in Liyang is critical, and even Wuhu has seen many bandits..." Shan Xia walked along the reeds and lakeside on the west bank of the Lu River, his mind somewhat distracted, and said, "The army is clamoring and they all want to return to Wuhu, what should we do?"

"General." Xu Chao's eyes widened with anger, and he said, "The army is not defeated yet, why are you retreating? My Xu family has sacrificed our family to help the country, and we are fighting for the court. No less than ten of our sons and daughters have died or been injured. We have not retreated yet, so why are you retreating, General? Are you going to give Xuancheng to the Liang bandits?"

As he spoke, his snow-white beard fluttered in the wind, exuding an aura of his own.

Shan Xia sighed secretly.

In fact, he didn't know what he was thinking. He was probably frustrated and didn't know what to do.

When the Liang army launched a massive attack on Jiangbei, he ordered all places to defend their cities and wait for spring to come. Then he would send out a large-scale navy to contact the cities and lift the siege.

Unexpectedly, the situation in the south of the Yangtze River took a sharp turn for the worse, and he was forced to draw elite troops from the north of the Yangtze River, assembled more than 15,000 people, and transported them by the Ruxuwu navy to cross the river to the south to reinforce Xuancheng. Now he is stuck here, and the cities in the north of the Yangtze River have fallen one after another, and he is unable to provide rescue.

This is not his fault, it is caused by the overall decline, but the resentment and frustration in his heart will only increase.

Xu Chao was the commander of the Ruxu Navy, commanding hundreds of ships of all sizes and more than 10,000 soldiers. He did not participate in the land battle, but he was very concerned about Xuancheng and had been urging Shanxia to stay here in recent days.

"Commander-in-chief, our army already has a stronghold on the east bank, which the Liang bandits cannot conquer. We should now make a concerted effort to capture Xuancheng, and send troops to Wanling, and attack from both sides with General Liu and Lord Yu to destroy this stubborn enemy, and then turn back to fight the new enemy." Xu Chao said, "The bandits in Xuancheng have less than 400 cavalry, and only a few hundred elite infantrymen who dare to fight. The Ji family and others are like pigs and dogs. If we hold on for another ten days, we will surely win a great victory."

"What should we do with Xin'an?" Shan Xia asked.

"You can persuade the King of Langya to lead his troops to attack and take care of Dongyang County along the way." Xu Chao said, "If he doesn't want to, I will go and persuade him myself."

"It's not that the King of Langya is unwilling, but he is incapable of commanding the army." Shan Xia said, "Forget it, I will send Sima away to suppress the generals. At this moment, we can't care about the face of the King of Langya."

Langya King Sima Chong is not completely useless.

Seeing that Anwu was keeping his troops inactive, Ji Cheng thought that this was an opportunity for him to take advantage of, so he led 2,000 soldiers to attack Anwu. However, he was defeated by several thousand soldiers under Sima Chong's command. He did not dare to stay in Jing County, and fled back to Xuancheng with more than a thousand defeated soldiers.

After Xin'an County rebelled, Sima Chong wanted to attack it, but the officers were either imperial guards or elite soldiers from Wuhu. When they heard that the rear was unstable, they all wanted to return north, and Sima Chong was unable to control them.

As for Dongyang County, that happened just in the last two days.

The governor surrendered to Liang, but failed to coordinate internal affairs, and was killed by the county commander, and returned to Jin. However, Dongyang County was in chaos, with the two factions attacking each other, and it was difficult to determine the winner for a while, and the local area was in ruins.

"General, you are wise." Seeing Shan Xia willing to stay here, Xu Chao was overjoyed and said, "Now we should dig deep trenches and build high fortifications to stop the enemy troops. When the summer heat comes, the Liang army will not be able to hold out for long and will be defeated soon."

Shan Xia didn't want to say more, and only said: "Send someone to urge for food and grass. It may not be easy to get food from Jiangzhou."

One characteristic of Jiangzhou is that there are many counties. The fiefs of meritorious officials of the Jin Dynasty are densely distributed in the counties of Jiangzhou, which makes the collection and allocation of taxes very difficult. If they are not urged, it will take a long time.

After Xu Chao left, Shan Xia still stood there, thinking quietly.

The imperial court was actually patient and never gave blind orders, fully trusting him, even though Jiangbei had lost cities one after another.

Now the situation is clear.

The people of Liang wanted to break through the defense lines in Xuancheng and Wuxing as much as possible before the summer heat came and advance to Jianye.

Xu Chao suggested that he hold on to this place, cooperate with Liu Chao, Yu Tan and others in the east, try to delay the enemy as much as possible, and drag it out until summer to see if he can survive this crisis.

Both sides are racing against time.

(End of this chapter)