Lord of the House

On the night of the seventh day of the sixth month in the fifth year of Yongxing, dozens of cavalrymen on the road at the foot of Mt. Funiu and Ruyang, waving their whips, drove the refugees who were blocking the road to the side of the road.

Liang Chengyi took advantage of the fact that the main force of Yan and Hu troops and horses were on the north bank of the Yellow River.

Last year, he led his troops to cross the river to support the Cao family. In the reeds on the north bank of the Yellow River, he was defeated by Chen Zhihu. Liang Chengyi had less than 30,000 soldiers and horses left in Hezhongfu, connecting the relatives of officials and generals and the city of Luoyang. The wealthy family, about 60,000 or 70,000 people, fled south with their families and their families.

In order to increase the military pressure on Guanzhong, Yanhu dispatched Chen Zhihu to cross the river to fight in western Shanxi last year. Yanhu's troops in Henan were mainly concentrated in Daliang and other places, and between Hezhong and Nanyang in Ruzhou, Ruyang, Xuchang, Yuzhou and other places were all disabled, and there was no large-scale garrison. However, the troops and civilians in the south fleeing team were mixed, and the chariots and horses were chaotic, which greatly delayed the speed of the southward retreat. Especially the people of the counties in the south of Hezhong, after hearing the news of Liang Chengyi's withdrawal from the Hezhong, they also frantically dragged their families and fled south, crowding in front of the southward retreating team, filling the roads that had not been repaired for many years, plus the time When it rains, it is sunny, making it even more difficult for the military and civilians to flee south.

Although there were no large groups of enemy soldiers that could pose a deadly threat for the time being, Liang Chengyi couldn't feel at ease.

Riding his horse up an unnamed hill at the eastern foot of Funiu Mountain, watching the slowly wriggling flow of people under the moonlit night, Liang Chengyi no longer had the high spirits he had when he first met Lin Fu in the East China Sea.

In front of it is the Beiru River, the main tributary of the Ying River, which exits the Huangbai Valley of Dayu Mountain. Since the beginning of summer, the water has risen sharply, and the north and south banks are one or two miles apart. Although it is far from being compared with the Huai River and the Yangtze River, it is also the biggest natural obstacle on the north-south avenue at the foothills of Funiu Mountain.

In the early years, there were pontoon bridges and ferry crossings on the Beiru River. Over the years, the war has been chaotic, the pontoon bridge has long been burned down by the war, and the ferry is also broken. Since the retreat to the south was a secret plan, although Nanyang was notified, preparations were made less than ten days in advance.

Within the territory of Ruzhou, people's livelihood is degraded, there are not one out of ten, and the sound of **** is not heard for thousands of miles. Even if it can be prepared ten days and a half months in advance, how many ferries can be prepared at the upstream ferry of the Beiru River?

Although it is said that after summer, it is possible to cross the river, but a large amount of luggage, mules and horses, as well as the women and children of their relatives, still have to be carried by boat. The speed suddenly slowed down. A large number of soldiers and civilians were crowded on the north bank, unable to cross the river for a while.

Liang Chengyi, who was only thirty-five years old at the time, had thin cheeks, deeply sunken eye sockets, and a messy beard on his chin, which he had not bothered to clean for several days.

It took only three days to walk to Ruyang, and to the north bank of Beiru River, less than a hundred miles away, made Liang Chengyi burn with anxiety.

Although it was only more than 200 miles away from the periphery of Nanyang at this time, at this speed, even if the Beiru River was successfully crossed, it would take eight or nine days to withdraw into Nanyang.

However, in the current situation, how can they cross the Beiru River as quickly as possible?

In three days, Chen Zhihu gathered his troops and horses on the north bank of Mengjin. Once Chen Zhihu was told to cross the Yellow River smoothly, his troops interspersed very fast, I am afraid that it would not take four or five days to catch up.

Although Chen Zhihu led his troops to cross the south bank, it is more likely to go west along Hanguguan Road to attack Tongguan, where the troops are empty. Chase over.

"Tell Gao Fangyi to command a hundred cavalry and drive the refugees who are blocking the road in the upper reaches of Huangbai Valley; ask Fang Keshan to lead his troops to go three miles in the direction of Neibu, and camp on the north bank in case a small group of enemies attack." Liang Chengyi's face was gloomy.

Huangbai Valley is in the upper reaches of Beiru River, where the water is shallow and easy to cross. Since Liang Chengyi was reluctant to leave these refugees behind, he had no way to take them across the river together, so he could only drive them upstream.

When the enemy soldiers came, they would not hold on to the refugees, leaving relatively sufficient time for the refugees to travel from the upper reaches of the road.

60,000 or 70,000 horses crossed the river in a mess, and it might take four or five days. In the current situation, the time of four or five days is very predictable. Liang Chengyi must send troops and horses to build a few more temporary camps on the side of the ferry to prevent the enemy from chasing from behind.

At this time, a group of people came north from the direction of the ferry, against the flow of people fleeing south, which was very clear under the moonlight.

Soon someone led the team to gallop here to meet. When he got close, he shouted and announced his name. The person who came was not someone else, but Yuan Jinsheng, the second son of Yuan Guizheng.

Yuan Jinsheng, Liang Chengchong and Liang Chengyi are cousins ​​and they stayed in Nanyang to help Liang Chengchong before.

Looking at the moonlit night, Yuan Jinsheng led the horse on the mountain, Liang Chengyi greeted him, held his hand and asked, "How is the situation in Nanyang?"

"There is no change in Luo Xiancheng. Even if the She family wants to go north, they must ensure that Hu Wenmu will not send troops from Jingzhou to cross the Han River to attack it, and will not be able to go north to attack Nanyang for a while," Yuan Jinsheng said, "Yue Lengqiu has already gone to Yuzhang to see Chong. Prince, but Hezhong Yishou did not communicate with Yue Lengqiu in advance, it is hard to predict how Yuzhang will react..."

"Yuzhang doesn't care about his reaction," Liang Chengyi said. "Once the Cao family is told to withdraw from Guanzhong first, and Hezhong wants to withdraw, it will be difficult to get rid of the pursuers."

Now Yan Hu invaded Guanzhong's troops and horses, mainly to block the Cao family on the north bank of the Wei River and could not cross the river. Even if the Cao family did not abandon the pass, once the Yan and Hu troops were sent to cross the Wei River and go east to Tong Pass to attack the Hangu Pass, Liang Chengyi's attempt to completely withdraw from the river would become a delusion.

The only plan for now is to resolutely give up the river when the main force of Yanhu gathers on the north bank of the Weishui River, in order to win the crucial seven or eight days for the southward withdrawal.

However, after Liang Chengyi abandoned Hezhong, whether the Cao family could successfully withdraw from Guanzhong was not something Liang Chengyi could consider.

Hezhong and Guanzhong are horns of each other. Because the river can protect the flanks, the Cao family has very few troops stationed in Tongguan, only one or two thousand people.

Now Liang Chengyi will give up the Hezhong Mansion without notifying the Cao family. If he gives Yan Hu a channel to directly attack Tongguan, if this is the reason, Tongguan will fall, which will threaten the east wing of Caojia's southern retreat. If he wants to come to the Cao family, he will hate Liang Chengyi. into the bone.

However, Liang Chengyi didn't care so much, neither the Cao family nor Jiang Ning would agree with him to give up the Hezhong Mansion so easily. Informing the Cao family in advance, it is very likely that the Cao family will be asked to retreat south first, but the tail of the Hezhong army may be bitten by the pursuers.

In these days, things that harm others and benefit oneself are not worth doing, but things that harm others and benefit oneself must be done.

"Where is the traitor Chen Zhihu leading his troops?" Yuan Jinsheng asked.

Yanhu used Chen Zhihu as the head of Henan, but after the autumn of last year, the main force of Chen Zhihu's troops was transferred to the north bank of the Yellow River.

Although there are tens of thousands of new attached troops under Yuan Lishan between Henan and Shandong, Yuan Lishan has to face Taochun of Guoyang and Liu Miaozhen of Xuzhou to the south, and his troops can't easily move west to attack Liang Chengyi, and the threat is not big.

Therefore, if Liang Chengyi wanted to withdraw from the river safe and sound, the biggest threat was still Chen Zhihu.

"Chen Zhihu and his troops have arrived at the north bank of Mengjin, ready to cross the river," Liang Chengyi said. "It was not easy for Chen Zhihu to cross the river as the river rose, but we must not be sloppy. Besides, there were a few enemy horses approaching from Changge. I have asked Ju Tao and Fang Dai to lead the army to fight to cover our flanks."

The water potential of the Yellow River is much larger than that of the Beiru River, but the north bank of the Yellow River has always been under the control of Yanhu, and the boats used to cross the river are well prepared. Liang Chengyi only left a small number of interceptors on the south bank. Chen Zhihu led his troops to cross the Yellow River. slower than their side.

Yuan Jinsheng nodded and said: "Big brother is also most worried about Chen Zhihu in Nanyang. As long as he is still on the north bank of the Yellow River, it will be difficult for him to chase after him; Yuan Lishan is just your old Liang family, since he doesn't miss the old love, he can I don't have the guts to send troops to the west."

Liang Chengyi nodded, Yuan Liang had been a general for several generations, and the Empress Dowager Liang assisted in the inner court, overwhelming other generals. Even if Yuan Lishan did not defect to Yanhu, the relationship between the Liang family and them would not be good.

However, Yuan Lishan used his troops cautiously and would not easily take risks and divide his troops to attack, so Liang Chengyi was not too worried.

However, Chen Zhihu was good at taking a sideline with his troops, and when he was fighting in the Central Plains, he was called together with Lin Fu, and his troops marched fast and disappeared. Once Chen Zhihu was asked to cross the Yellow River, Liang Chengyi would not be able to avoid Nanyang for a day, and he would not be at ease for a day.

Yuan Jinsheng looked at the flow of people under the moonlit night, and the Beiru River in front of him with sparkling waves under the moon, and his heart was also anxious.

The cavalry drove the crowded refugees on the road ahead, and the troops retreating south were mixed with military and civilian chariots and horses.

On both sides of the avenue, on both sides of the ferry, there are refugees who have retreated south with the army, and there are probably hundreds of thousands of people.

If Nanyang Mansion wants to restore its livelihood and grow stronger, it is inseparable from Dingkou. In the past two years, Liang Chengchong has worked hard to manage Nanyang, and there are less than 200,000 people in Nanyang Dingkou. If these refugees can go south with the army, it is naturally the best, but who knows when the enemy soldiers will catch up from behind?

Rather than being too greedy, Yuan Jinsheng hoped that Liang Chengyi would lead the elite of the headquarters to avoid Nanyang first.

"Big brother has sent messengers to Huaixi to persuade Huaixi to send troops into Luohe and Dancheng," Yuan Jinsheng said again, "Nanyang and Huaixi are dependent on each other, which is humiliating, and Dong Yuan should not refuse to send troops! It’s hard to walk too slowly.”

Liang Chengyi said: "The relatives of the generals and soldiers are marching with the army. Along the way, there are constantly refugees joining the team, and there is a big river in front of them. How can the marching speed be fast?"

Dancheng is in the northwest of Guoyang, and it protects the east wing of Ruzhou Road. As long as Tao Chun sends troops into Dancheng in Guoyang, he can isolate Yuan Lishan's troops in eastern Henan, so that Liang Chengyi does not have to worry about the threat of the east wing.

Nanyang Fangcheng was only more than 300 kilometers away from the river. If Liang Chengyi led his troops and horses to rush, they would be able to withdraw to Nanyang in two or three days. However, it is not enough to pull the soldiers out, and the soldiers and their relatives cannot be abandoned in the river. Otherwise, it will be difficult to restrain the generals and soldiers, and there will be the worry of the collapse of the entire army.

Nanyang is also broken, Liang Chengchong has worked hard for two years, and still relies on the supply of grain and grass from Huaidong and Huaixi, so that he can barely stand. If it is not possible to transfer as much of the baggage and materials from the Hezhong Mansion to Nanyang as possible, and 60,000 to 70,000 horses plus a large number of refugees pour into Nanyang, how can Nanyang bear it?

"Should the second brother lead his troops to Wuyang first?" Yuan Jinsheng said, "Once the Cao family abandons Guanzhong and retreats to the south, the Yanhu army will pour in, so it is planned that Wuyang will be attacked soon, and the second brother will go to Wuyang to rectify the defense first and prepare for Fight."

Wuyang is located in the north of Nanyang Fangcheng, at the northern foot of Tongbai Mountain, which used to belong to Yingchuan. Henan was broken, and Wuyang City had long since been destroyed by the war. In order to strengthen the defense in the northern part of Nanyang, Liang Chengchong built a fortress at the northern foot of Tongbai Mountain, thinking that it was the periphery of Nanyang.

After the Cao family retreated to the south and Yan Hu captured Guanzhong, there were two channels for sending troops to attack Nanyang directly. One is from north to south, attacking Fangcheng and Wuyang in the north of Nanyang Mansion, and the other is to attack the west wing of Nanyang from Guanzhong via Wuguan.

In addition to Yanhu, Luo Xiancheng or Shewenzhuang may also send troops north from Xiangyang to attack the south of Nanyang at any time.

Now, the small Nanyang Mansion is about to face three enemies. Liang Chengchong has only 30,000 troops in Nanyang, so he hopes that after Liang Chengyi withdraws to Nanyang, he will be able to work together as brothers to defend Wuyang and Fangcheng in the north of Nanyang, so as to relieve the pressure on Nanyang.

"If I go first, others will only think that I abandon them and leave, and the military will be in chaos," Liang Chengyi shook his head, rejecting Yuan Jinsheng's suggestion to abandon the army and go first, "Jinsheng, you go back to Wuyang first, and your name is Yanshun. Lead a group of troops to follow you first, and strengthen Wuyang's defense first..."

"If the child doesn't leave, he has to follow his father's side." said a young general next to Liang Chengyi.

"Stop talking nonsense, Yanshun, you are also 17 this year. Your uncle and I both led the army when we were 17 years old~www.wuxiaspot.com~, you still want to stay by my side now, what will it look like?" Liang Chengyi said with a flat face training.

Liang Yanshun, the eldest son of Liang Chengyi, has been in the army for three years, but has not yet had the opportunity to lead the army independently.

Liang Yanshun stayed behind to advance and retreat with the main force, because he was worried that the main force would be too slow to cross the river and would be pulled behind by the enemy soldiers to catch up. Go to Wuyang.

Liang Chengyi also had no intention of coexisting with the military and civilians. He stayed behind to reassure people, hoping that if one more person could cross Henan and escape into Nanyang, Nanyang's strength would be enhanced by a point.

When the sky was bright, Liang Chengyi ordered 3,000 soldiers and horses, and asked two cronies, along with the eldest son, to accompany Yuan Jinsheng to cross Beiru Henan to take over Wuyang's defense. The Beiru River is traversed by long ropes, and more than 40 fishing boats carry it back and forth. It can only cross a thousand people at a time. The pioneers who went south with Yuan Jinsheng and Liang Yanshun did not finish the crossing until almost noon.

On the contrary, there were quite a few refugees who knew how to use water. They threw away heavy objects and crossed the river directly. Two or three thousand people passed by in a long time.

Not long after Yuan Jinsheng and the others left, when the sun was about to set, a scout horse rushed over from behind and told Liang Chengyi, "There are enemy soldiers who have been chasing after them day and night, and they have reached the north of Jinshan Mountain."

Jinshan and Dayushan stand opposite each other from east to west, leaving a gap of seven or eight li in the middle. Unfortunately, Ruzhou is already disabled and cannot be defended. Otherwise, building a fortress at Jinshankou will be able to block the Yanhu soldiers and horses. . Jinshankou was less than thirty miles away from the Beiru River. In order to prevent it from being too late to cross the river, Liang Chengyi had already ordered his troops to temporarily camp there to stop the chasing troops.

Liang Chengyi was urging soldiers and horses to cross the river at the ferry crossing. He heard enemy soldiers chasing after him, and he was already very close to Jinshan Pass. He asked, "How many men and horses are chasing the enemy? How many cavalry?" My QT room is open! More vulgar official QT room number [9167] Click to enter