Nu Yalang of Tang Dynasty

Zhang Xun and An Shouzhong were both famous generals during the Anshi Rebellion.

Zhang Xun used thousands of remaining soldiers to hold off the 100,000 Yan army for more than a year. His ability in defending the city will not be described in detail.

As for An Shouzhong, he does not appear many times in history books, at best only in a few strokes.

But An Shouzhong was one of the top three men under An Lushan in terms of his ability to lead troops in combat.

"Zizhi Tongjian" records the Anshi Rebellion and once wrote, "The brave generals of thieves are only Shi Siming, An Shouzhong, Tian Qianzhen, Zhang Zhongzhi, Ashina Chengqing and others."

In the history books, An Shouzhong defeated Yan Zhenqing, Wang Sili, and Fang Guan. Pugu Huai'en was so beaten by him that he had to abandon his armor and jump into the river to escape. Even Guo Ziyi was defeated by him several times.

In the current battle of Xuzhou, two generals like the Yan Army and the Southern Tang Army happened to collide...

Xiao County, Yan Army Camp.

An Shouzhong stood in front of the map of Xuzhou, looked at the outline of the city, frowned and said: "Xuzhou is a strong city in the world, with deep water on all sides, strong city walls, mountains of grain, and the guard is that old man Zhang Xun... I’m afraid this battle will be difficult to fight.”

After saying this, An Shouzhong raised his head and looked around, and then asked: "Who is leading the inspection today?"

Someone in the tent replied: "Coming back to the general, I am thanking the partial general."

An Shouzhong: "Why hasn't Xie Guiwen come back yet?"

A general replied: "Maybe we have gone a little further."

An Shouzhong was unhappy when he heard this. He patted the desk with his hand and said, "What do you mean by going too far?! Don't you know that everyone talks about military affairs, but in fact they are all out to catch slaves!"

The generals in the tent looked at each other.

An Shouzhong: "This is a critical period for the confrontation between the two armies. How can we go deep into the enemy's territory at will? If we encounter the enemy and are isolated and helpless, wouldn't we be making a big mistake?!"

A general replied: "General, Xuzhou garrison general Zhang Xun gathered the Tang troops in nearby counties and closed the city gate tightly. He already appeared to be defending the city..."

An Shouzhong: "Zhang patrolled Suiyang and blocked hundreds of thousands of Yan troops with thousands of soldiers. How can such a person be easy to deal with if he knows the army and is good at fighting? It is false to predict that this person will stick to the city. He must have descendants. The trick is real."

At the same time, scouts in Xuzhou City came to report to Zhang Xun, saying that they had discovered a small group of Yan troops plundering Weishan County. The people in the county were driven together and all were taken captive.

Nan Jiyun heard this and said to Zhang Xun: "Captain, why don't you let the last general lead a partial army to ambush on the official road in the north of the city. If the Yan army passes by, you can surprise them and attack them unprepared."

After Zhang Xun thought about it for a while, he rejected Nan Jiyun's suggestion: "Now is not the time to attack...Liu Zhan rebelled. The available troops in the north of the country were less than 50,000, and Xuzhou City could only keep 20,000. The rebel army There are 80,000 elite soldiers, all of whom are Hebei's frontier troops. If we fight in the field outside the city, our army's combat effectiveness will definitely be inferior. Only by introducing the enemy's troops into the city's attack and defense can we still have a chance of victory."

"Moreover, the enemy general An Shouzhong had previously defeated the 150,000 Tang army led by Fang Xiang with a small number. This man is a leader in the bandit army in terms of leadership and intelligence. He should not be underestimated. He should be It’s better to be careful.”

When Nan Jiyun heard this, although he felt a little depressed, he still agreed.

In this way, the two generals of the Yan Army and the Southern Tang Army were wary of each other, and they both thought that the other had plans for later attacks.

The siege of Xuzhou was like this. It remained at the stage of testing each other and never officially started.

But the enthusiasm of the generals in the Yan army for the slave trade became stronger day by day.

He Tan Chong opened the slave market near the camp of Xiao County.

As long as any Yan army comes with a slave label, He Tanchong can pay with one hand and pick up the goods with the other.

Moreover, He Tanchong was quick to pay and never delayed. The Yan army, who was used to living a hard life, regarded him as a living Bodhisattva, whether he was a general or a soldier. He was afraid that if he did not serve him well, the God of Wealth would

Just like running away.

As for the people in Xuzhou, the Yan army was able to capture many at first.

But after the news spread, the people of Xuzhou fled their homes one after another. Yan's army often returned with nothing.

Later, some bold generals of the Yan army took their men and bypassed Xuzhou City and sneaked directly to the rear.

Those southern Tangzhou counties that were originally far away from the front line suffered bad luck.

Yan army slave-catching teams appeared in Xiapi, Fuli, and even Si County.

In small counties with weak defenses, the Yan army often blocked the entrances and exits late at night, and then searched the people from house to house, and finally all were tied up and transported to the Xiaoxian camp.

As a result, Emperor Li Heng of Jiankang City was stunned by the snowflake-like memorials from all over the country.

Many places behind Xuzhou were attacked by the Yan army, and a large number of people were kidnapped in their sleep.

Often after a night passes, villages and counties that were originally lively and prosperous turn into a dead city at sunrise.

Li Heng quickly sent people to Xuzhou to ask why the Yan army appeared in the south. Could it be that the city had fallen?

Faced with the emperor's questioning, Zhang Xun also felt miserable and could not express his feelings at this time.

The Yan army attacked Xuzhou this time. The main force was in the Xiao County area, but they were not in a hurry to attack the city. Instead, they only sent forwards every day to tentatively attack the city to attract the attention of the Southern Tang army.

However, a large number of the Yan army's light cavalry bypassed Xuzhou City, divided into dozens of groups, and burned, killed, and looted in the rear of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Zhang Xun fought against the Yan army before, but he had never encountered such a situation.

Many officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty began to complain to the court, saying that Zhang Xun was timid and did not dare to meet the enemy, causing enemy troops to invade everywhere.

The eunuchs in the court took this opportunity to slander Zhang Xun to the emperor, believing that the latter's moral character was not worthy of his position.

Li Heng was also dissatisfied with Zhang Xun at this time and issued an imperial edict, ordering Zhang Xun to intercept the Yan army so that it could not invade the south.

Zhang Xun deliberately wanted to tell Li Heng that compared with the Yan army, the Southern Tang army was far inferior to the Yan army in both cavalry and infantry combat capabilities. Only water battles and city defenses still had a chance of victory.

But Zhang Xun also knew in his heart that the Jiankang court was full of cliques, and both Empress Zhang and Li Fuguo regarded him as a thorn in their side.

After such a memorial is submitted, it will not only fail to convince the emperor, but will also attract criticism from the enemy.

If Li Heng listened to others' slander, temporarily changed his commander, replaced himself, and asked other generals to defend Xuzhou, then the current situation would really lead to a crisis.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xun no longer pinned his hope on persuading Li Heng, but instead called together all the guards in Xuzhou City to discuss how to fight out of the city next.

Since we are determined to fight against the Yan army outside the city, rashly leaving the city and confronting the two armies on the plain is tantamount to throwing an egg against a stone and seeking death.

Zhang Xun planned to send a troop to pretend to be civilians fleeing to the south, deliberately attracting the enemy's attention.

Then, several ambushes were arranged on the only way to escape. Once the Yan army's cavalry appeared, they would use the sound of arrows as a signal, and the troops would press forward and fight quickly.

As long as a Yan army ranger can be defeated, the enemy's heads can be sent to Jiankang, exaggerating the results, pretending to be a great victory, and completely blocking the mouths of those in the court.