Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

The road was muddy and difficult, and the soldiers of the Zhou army were exhausted and unable to form a strong offensive pressure. The two sides clashed with bows and arrows dozens of steps away, and a large number of Zhou army soldiers on the hillside gradually retreated.

Xiang Gong looked at the thick smoke from the fortification above and the soldiers crawling around chaotically, unable to reprimand the soldiers. Everyone is not a god, and he can't blame people for their ineffective combat in such a road condition.

The fighting gradually eased and tended to cease. Only a few people left on the hillside to help and carry the wounded soldiers back slowly. Xiang Gong turned his head and said to Zhe Dejian, the envoy of the Jingnan Army Jiedu: "Today's trial, it can't be done overnight. Who is the general of the Shu army here? He is quite capable."

Zhe Dejian said: "How can there be a famous general in Shu?"

Xiang Gong said: "There are no famous generals, but there are still talents. This man digs ditches and sets up fences to defend cautiously and is not greedy for merit. His tactics are dull, but he is very pragmatic. The soldiers under his command can't see anything unusual, but the military discipline is strict and well-organized. If we meet someone who is ostentatious today, we will seize the opportunity and take the Qingniling with all our might. We don't know how to do it, but the Shu army is so rigid in defense."

Zhe Dejian bowed and said, "It's reasonable to speak to the public."

...Xiang Gong had no choice but to lead the army down the mountain, set up a camp in the north of Qingniling, and waited for the rest of the army to come from two routes one after another. Not long after, Li Gu, the former battalion supervisor who had just arrived in Qingniling, was seen in the Chinese army. Li Gu supervised the transportation of the first batch of grain and grass materials from the states and counties.

So Xiang Gong and his generals received Li Gu, and they talked in the big tent of the Chinese army.

Xiang Gong looked at a grey-haired general. His name was Wang Tingyi, Wang Jing's eldest son... He was older than Xiang Gong, and looked at least in his fifties, but speaking of Xiang Gong, he knew Wang Jing first and fought side by side with Wang Jing.

It was a bit embarrassing to say such words, Xiang Gong was only forty-five years old and looked young, so he called out: "General Wang, how is Wang Shizhong (Wang Jing)?"

"My father is sixty-eight years old, and he is still in good health, but the long journey is too much for him, so he sent the last general to lead the Qinzhou army to serve." Wang Tingyi bowed.

Xiang Gong nodded and said: "Wang Lao Jie was old and strong. Now that I mention it, I realize that Lao Jie is already a very old man." He pondered for a moment and said, "The Wang family has lived in Fengxiang for many years, and guarded the Qinfeng Zhuzhou for three years. There should be many people here. I have to ask General Wang to find some people who are familiar with the Shu Road, and reorganize the reason for going to Hanzhong."

Wang Tingyi got up and said: "The last general takes orders."

After hearing this, Li Gu asked, "Will General Xiang not attack Qingniling?"

Xiang Gong said: "Take Chencang Road and cross Qingniling is the best way, of course we have to try; I just want to prepare other ways in advance."

"How long does General Xiang expect to take Qingniling?" Li Gu asked again.

"This..." Xiang Gong frowned, "My current plan is to send people to carry stones and cinders to pave a road on the ridge; build fortifications and camps near the enemy's fortifications. Then we can attack one by one.

Otherwise, if you are eager for success like the day before yesterday, the soldiers will be exhausted and unable to break through the front line of the Shu army. "

Li Gu was not very happy, and said: "Although the road in Qingniling is difficult, the Shu army has no big city to rely on. If we attack a mountain so slowly, when will we be able to go down to Hanzhong? General Xiang should know that we have to transport grain and goods from the Shu road. The mountain is high and the road is far away. If the 20,000 army stays in this wilderness for too long, it will cost a lot, and I can't explain it to the court."

Li Gu was the prime minister and also the supervisor of the army; Xiang Gong looked worried, but he didn't show any signs of attack either. He said in a deep voice: "Qingniling has a large amount of supplies for the Shu army, and the nearest place can only rely on Xingzhou; the cost of the Shu army is no less than ours. If the Shu army relies on the weather and momentum to defend layer by layer, no one can do anything, then they can only fight for national strength."

"If that's the case, it's best for General Xiang to write to the imperial court in person, describing the situation here." Li Gu reminded.

…At this time, on Qingni Ridge, a black and short man was standing behind the fence with his sword pressed, pointing to the front and saying: "Send someone to the front to pick up all the arrows on the slope, wash and dry them. Rebuild the grass shed for people in the back, away from the fortifications."

The general took the order to go.

The general of the Shu army who gave orders was called Hou Mao, but people usually called him "monkey" behind his back, because his short stature was easy to be teased by others, and unfortunately his surname was Hou. Houzi originally planned to study for the imperial examination, but the essays he wrote were scolded as nonsense, so he had to inherit his father's mantle as a military general, and got into the position of Xingzhou defense envoy by virtue of his seniority. It's completely incompetent to become a monk halfway through martial arts. It's just that if you can't learn martial arts, you can't do martial arts... Naturally, you are not a famous general.

Hou Mao trekked and inspected the front, and returned to the camp on the mountain. He saw more people transporting materials to build simple houses and tents. On the backside of the mountain, countless folk men bent over and slowly pulled the carts, and there were people behind them pushing them. A four-wheeled scooter was full of wood, and unfortunately got stuck in a mud pit. A peasant man covered in mud in front was pulling and crawling to try his best. The hemp rope was deeply pulled into the clothes on his shoulders.

"One two, get up! One two, get up..." the person with a Hanzhong accent yelled. People living in the mountains are still very able to endure hardships and stand hard work.

As soon as Hou Mao reached the top of the mountain, a group of people bowed down and said: "General Hou..."

"General He Xihou won the first battle, and he will return to 'Rongcheng' honorably in the future, only to be praised by Feng Chi." A civil official said politely. Everyone looks at "monkey" differently today.

Hou Mao didn't respond enthusiastically, so he snorted and left. When he reached the Chinese army, he said to a relative who was his aide: "Write me a letter to Hanzhong for emergency, and ask for a large number of people and things to reinforce Qingniling!"

The relative was a whole head taller than the "monkey", and wondered: "We have won the battle, and we are in a hurry without asking for credit?"

Hou Maodao: "The Shu army was able to block the Zhou army's first battle only because of the favorable location; the road here is not easy, but there is more than one road, and the battle line is too long. Once the Zhou army rushes to the four directions, we will soon be unable to carry it."

Hou Mao has a Chengdu accent, while Xichuan has a softer tone; Dongchuan (the area around Chongqing) has a harder accent. He is a native of western Sichuan, not the group of migrants who followed the Meng family into Shu during the later Tang Dynasty.

"Why doesn't the general guard Xingzhou City?" A junior relative reminded.

Hou Mao snorted: "You want to be like others scolded, the people of Shu are surrounded by mountains and do not have much knowledge? How is the city of Hanzhong compared to Hebei and Hedong towns? How is it compared to the city of Shouzhou in the Southern Tang Dynasty? It depends on the generals of the Zhou army who will "establish a military order and go to Xingzhou in January"?"

He turned his head and said to his staff: "I wrote down our situation clearly. The Shu army is not as powerful as the Zhou army at all, and we will lose in a decisive battle!"

The staff said: "I'm afraid that the Shannan West Road Army Mansion will not be happy."

"Will you be happy when the Zhou army captures Hanzhong?" Hou Mao's dark and rough face was very ugly. "The terrain around Qingniling is difficult to walk and sparsely populated, and it is very inconvenient to supply and fight; but the Zhou army is no better than us. If you defend the danger but not the city, you will try to consume it, and see who can consume it. The country is rich and the consumption is no worse than that of the Zhou Dynasty.

However, if a decisive battle is based on the city, it depends on the strength of the soldiers. Facing the Zhou army who has been fighting north and south all year round, the Shu army is using its own strength to attack the enemy's strength. "

Several people had to say together: "But it's up to General Hou to make the decision." Hou Mao didn't have much prestige in the army, and this time he won a game, and the generals recognized it for a while.

There is still mud on the Qingni Ridge, and everyone seems to be rolling in the mud and struggling to survive.

...

But Chengdu is a different scene. The capital of Huarong, Rongcheng, is not a name for nothing.

The fertile and moist plains, the paddy fields that have been harvested are shining white, even in winter, there are many green vegetables growing on the fields. After decades of peace, abundant materials from the vast western plains and hills and mountainous areas were transported to Chengdu, making the capital of the Shu Kingdom very prosperous and prosperous. The sound of silk and bamboo orchestras is endless day and night, and the quaint streets and alleys are densely populated, where traffickers cook all kinds of snacks. The fragrance wafts on the streets in winter, making people salivate.

The palace is even more decorated with carved railings and jade buildings, and the painted buildings are bright and clean. In the south, there are many flowers, plants and trees that will not wither even in winter. At this time, they are also embellished with greenery, which is very lively. Compared with the northern Tokyo, it is a completely different scene.

But the atmosphere is not good these days.

The northwestern Zhou army marched southward in two directions, and there was too much movement, and Meng Chang had already learned about it. It wasn't once or twice that Zhou Chao threatened him, but this time it seemed to be serious, and the army was mobilized. Meng Chang was terrified, so he wanted to respond positively...but he didn't know what to do when he was arguing all the time. We had no choice but to adopt the most conventional method and send a large number of troops to the north for reinforcements; but the selection of generals everywhere is very confusing, many people recommend them, and some self-recommended.

Meng Chang finally got out of the group of women these days, Mrs. Huarui Fei seized the opportunity and persuaded him again: "Your Majesty should select talents and appoint talents, and reward the officers and men heavily, so that it can be a long-term solution."

Now that Meng Chang was worried, he could still listen to Mrs. Huarui's words, and for a while his attitude became more modest, and he asked, "How do I choose the best and appoint the best? How do I know who is loyal and who is evil?"

Fei's soft Chengdu Shu accent is not clear, but it has a bit of alto charm: "Your Majesty spends less time with those women and alchemists, and more with ministers of civil and military affairs. After a long time, you can see who is what kind of person."

"It makes sense." Meng Chang nodded solemnly, "How can I reward the soldiers?"

Fei said: "All the countries in the world are fighting endlessly. All the monarchs put military affairs first, and they keep increasing taxes to support the army. Your Majesty does not need to pay more. You just need to deflect the taxes you have already received from civil officials and jesters to military officers and soldiers. The officers and men will observe His Majesty's heart and use their orders naturally. The ministers and concubines dare to speak. Magi."

Meng Chang accepted everything and kept nodding. But Mrs. Huarui knew that she was born as a singing girl. It would be strange for an emperor to take the singing girl's comments on military affairs seriously, so she sighed quietly.

Meng Chang was very enthusiastic at this time, and he said confidently: "Tomorrow I will go to court, govern the country with my heart, and work hard to govern the country!"

...

...

(I went on a blind date in the last two days, because the girl I met was very nice, so I was a little concerned, and it took a lot of time. I will find time to make up for what I owe. There are 18 chapters in total. Please forgive me.)