Chapter 437 Cherish each other

The gate of Yongqiu City is wide open.

Xue Bai rode his horse through the city cave, and soon saw an official wearing a green robe coming to greet him. Before they even greeted each other, he knew that this was Zhang Xun.

Because Xue Bai has never seen such an almost stubborn determination in the eyes of others, Zhang Xun is obviously a person who is very independent in his heart and is not easily disturbed by the outside world.

But on the other hand, he is not rigid. On the contrary, he is even a little free and easy, and informal. For example, when receiving a gift, he did not cross his hands to salute rigidly, but only bowed slightly, and then looked at Xue Bai with eager and sincere eyes, without any concealment.

He was delighted to recapture Yongqiu and receive reinforcements.

Unlike the other officials who liked to show off, the first thing Zhang Xun did after meeting Xue Bai, the governor of one side, was to introduce a few generals behind him.

They are said to be generals, but in fact most of them are just patrolmen and soldiers in some counties. The one with the highest official position is Lei Wanchun, the general of the Huaiyang Army, who was also the hero of the capture of Yongqiu this time.

Xue Bai listened patiently and did not look down upon them because of their low official status. Finally, he looked at the two men behind Zhang Xun who were wearing armor and had an extraordinary momentum, and asked their names.

"They are not generals. This is Nan Jiyun. When I launched an army to fight against the rebellion, he was the first to respond to me in front of the shrine of Emperor Zhenyuan Xuanyuan. I commended him for his bravery and wanted to recommend him as a general." Zhang Youyou introduced him.

The tall man on the left raised his hand to lead the one on the right and said: "This is Yao Bin..."

Xue Bai looked them up and down and praised: "They are all good warriors and talented generals."

"The villain is a boatman on the canal. I didn't even have a name originally, so I was called Nan Ba. It was the name given to me by the county magistrate." Nan Jiyun said seriously, "I can't be a general."

He spoke with a strong country accent, but his conversational skills were quite good. He must be a man of poor background but eager to learn.

"That's right." Xue Bai patted Nan Jiyun on the shoulder, "A man is not afraid of being of low origin. When things happen, it's the time to step forward and make contributions."

"I will definitely live up to the high expectations of the prefect!"

At this time, most of the Guangwu army had entered the city, and Xue Bai led Zhang Xun over to meet everyone.

"This is a rare thing for Brother Wang, the envoy of the Yunzhong Army. He is our vanguard general. He once killed the Tubo prince with one shot among the thousands of troops..."

While speaking, Xue Bai suddenly paused for a moment, and then solemnly pulled Zhang Xun to another person.

"Yan Gong, the prefect of Pingyuan, taboos Gao Qing. My father-in-law, this is Zhang Xun, the commander of Zhenyuan."

"Okay, the military affairs are complicated and I am worried that I don't have any help. Magistrate Zhang came at the right time."

"I just wanted to ask Mr. Yan for more advice."

This year, Yan Gaoqing was over sixty years old, and Zhang Xunze was forty-five years old. Their official positions were also high and low, but as soon as they met, they were inexplicably very attracted to each other.

We have the same views and feel sympathy for each other.

Yan Gaoqing even made a joke, saying that Xue Bai was his adopted son-in-law, so he did not become his lifelong friend, but Zhang Xun had to be his friend.

Seeing this scene, Xue Bai couldn't help but think of a poem "For Zhang Suiyang's teeth, for Yan Changshan's tongue", which said that Zhang was patrolling Suiyang and was captured when it fell. The enemy general found that he only had four or five teeth left, but because of the guard,

The country's heart was so eager that it broke its teeth; after Yan Gaoqing was captured, he cursed An Lushan and had his tongue cut off.

At the moment, none of this has happened yet, and Xue Bai doesn't want to let it happen.

~~

Xue Bai temporarily stationed in Yongqiu, which can be regarded as achieving the first strategic goal he and Yan Gaoqing discussed before going south - to prevent the rebels from getting involved in the Jianghuai grain.

If, as Gao Xianzhi said, Hanjiacang did not reserve grain, then this would be an extremely disadvantageous thing for the rebels. But if Gao Xianzhi just made an excuse, then the rebels would have no grain for at least a year.

There is a real danger, and Yongqiu will definitely not be able to hold it for a year.

On the other hand, Xue Bai still doesn't know what the situation is like in Shouyang Mountain. Has it been defended?

He urgently needs to get information, and there are only two ways. One is to raise the flag and wait for his people to send the news, but this will inevitably attract the rebels and the court's arrest documents; the other is to kill Shouyang Mountain as soon as possible,

Let's see with our own eyes what the situation is like. But no matter which method we use, the rebels from Yangyang, Kaifeng, and Chenliu are blocking the road, and they must be defeated.

Before Xue Bai could think of a way to attack Chen Liu, the rebels had already taken the lead and attacked Yongqiu.

The Guangwu Army had not yet rested and recuperated in Yongqiu City, and the wounds on the wounded had not yet had time to scab. Waiting cavalry returned from outside the city and said that they had discovered a large number of rebel troops coming from the west. Judging from the formation, there may be more than 50,000 soldiers and horses.

.

Xue Bai called everyone to discuss, and they all agreed that we should strengthen the wall and clear the country, and defend and counterattack.

Zhang Xun had a different view, saying: "It is good to hold on, but it is better to 'defend while attacking, and use offense to replace defense.' Although the rebel army is five times as large as our army, it must be a joint force of generals who are not subordinate to each other and give orders."

If they are not aligned, if they take advantage of their unstable footing and attack them unexpectedly, they will surely be frightened, and the thieves' power will be reduced, making it easier to defend the city."

Xue Bai has seen some famous generals so far, and they are all different. Wang Zhongsi coordinates the overall situation with troops and is good at controlling his subordinates; Wang Rao is unparalleled in bravery and unstoppable; Zhang Xun is different from them. Although his mind is firm, his tactics are very flexible.

What's even more rare is that Zhang Xun has always been a civilian and has never fought in a war, yet he has such unique insights.

"Since the rebels are composed of various tribes, our army can divide the troops to attack, so that each of them is concerned about self-preservation and does not dare to support each other, so that they can retreat in one piece."

The plan was settled, and Xue Bai began to make arrangements. Wang Nannan, Jiang Hai, Li Zejiao, Ma Xiangru, and Diao Wansui each led a thousand men out of the city for a surprise attack. Zhang Xun volunteered to lead Zhenyuan County troops out of the city, so that Wang Nannan could respond in the city at any time.

.

When the rebels approached, it turned out that the generals and banners were mixed, led by the rebel Li Tingwang, and the troops were composed of Linghu Chao, Li Huaixian, Yang Chaozong, Xie Yuantong, Yang Wanshi and other troops. On the day they arrived, they were still encamped, so the Tang army split up to kill them.

Go out and attack the formation directly.

The rebels had no choice but to temporarily withdraw a few miles, and their morale was reduced.

The generals of the Tang army returned to the city one after another and reported their gains. Among them, the county soldiers led by Zhang Xun captured the fewest heads, but they actually drove back more than a hundred cattle and sheep.

"There were very few enemies killed on patrol, which made the prefect laugh. I guess the rebels must besiege Yongqiu and cut off traffic, so they drove some cattle and sheep to add food."

Xue Bai then saw that Zhang Xun's use of troops was not only tactically flexible, but more importantly, he always remembered what the overall situation needed. It was not about one person's gains and contributions, but about seizing every opportunity to obtain logistical supplies and making early preparations.

An incident revealed the Zhenyuan County Magistrate's extraordinary talent as a general and his military skills...

"Woo——"

Before dawn, Xue Bai was awakened again by the enemy's siege trumpet.

He put on his armor and climbed to the top of the city. Looking at the dark cloud-like formation in the distance, he realized that the rebel forces were replenishing their troops very quickly. The rebels were never afraid of forcibly recruiting the people.

From a distance, several riders rushed to the city. Under the cover of shields, Linghu Chao shouted towards the city.

"Jia Bi, Zhang Xun, we used to be officials in neighboring counties, but now we have something good to say to you! Let's read the arrow letter!"

Following these words, a rebel cavalry stepped forward and shot a sharp arrow at the top of the city. Regardless of the reason, the defenders on the city immediately opened their bows and shot at him, and he fled in panic.

"This is the sage's decree. The prince raised his troops because of Xue Bai's persecution! Now the sage ordered Helan Jinming, the envoy to Hebei, to arrest Xue Bai. If you obey his orders, aren't you violating the order?"

"

Zhang Xun went over and picked up the arrow without reading it. He handed it to Nan Jiyun and asked him to shoot it back.

He walked up to Xue Bai and said, "Prefect, the thief wants to disrupt our army's morale through alienation. Can you allow me to suppress his momentum?"

"How?"

"Linghu Chao's wife and son are still in custody in the city and can be executed in public."

Xue Bai turned his head, glanced at Zhang Xun's eyes, and found that he was not unkind, his eyes were calm, but he also had compassion, but the compassion was far away, and he was pitying all the people in the world and the country of the Tang Dynasty, not just a few.

Moved by people.

"If Linghu Chao is allowed to talk nonsense, he may hurt the morale of the army, so it is better to hurt his heart first." Zhang Xun knew what to do and spoke again.

Xue Bai didn't know what he was thinking. Only then did he come back to his senses and nodded.

Soon, Linghu Chao's wife and children were brought to the top of the city. After they stood still, the people on the city shouted to Ling Huchao to take a closer look. Then, the swordsman raised his knife and chopped them off neatly.

The heads rolled down the city, silently describing the cruelty of war.

Linghu Chao's eyes were about to burst and he was furious. He ordered his soldiers to attack and vowed to raze Yongqiu City to the ground.

The rebels then set up a catapult outside Yongqiu City and threw stones at the top of Yongqiu City.

However, Xue Bai had already ordered two huge stone cannons to be built in the city. By the time the rebels set up their catapults, the huge rocks thrown out from the city gate had already slammed into them.

"Bang!"

Along with the loud noise, the rebels' catapults shattered, and at the same time their confidence in attacking the city was shattered...

In this way, after more than a month of siege, the two sides went through more than 200 large and small battles, and there was a Mid-Autumn Festival in between. Li Tingwang saw that the attack could not be held for a long time, and the Yongqiu defenders had caused a lot of casualties to the rebels, so he decided to withdraw.

After all, for the rebels, the most critical thing right now is to capture Tongguan. All the elites are gathered at Tongguan and have no time to go east.

~~

Zhang Xun wiped the telescope in his hand with great care and looked at the rebel camp outside the city for a long time.

At the end, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "What a sharp weapon."

With the help of his telescope, he just observed something strange, and then he strode up to the city tower, arrived in front of Xue Bai, and said: "Prefect, I guess the rebels are about to withdraw."

Xue Bai was discussing something in a low voice with Jiang Hai in front of the map. Hearing this, he turned around, his eyes flashed, and asked: "Does County Magistrate Zhang want to go out of town to pursue?"

He has recently learned a lot of military tactics from Zhang Xun, and has become much more flexible in the use of tactics.

"Exactly."

Zhang Xundao: "Now that the rebels have retreated, if our army takes advantage of the victory and pursues it, we will definitely gain something."

Xue Bai asked: "What if we pretend to retreat but actually set up an ambush?"

"The rebels are unable to attack the city, their morale is low, and they have no desire to fight. How can we fear an ambush?"
To be continued...