17. Officials and Bandits I

Before the car came out, marching and fighting basically depended on walking, and the role of horses was still very limited. However, if more than 90% of an army was equipped with horses, his mobility was unparalleled, especially in the Song Dynasty.

On October 28 of the third year of the lunar calendar, Mr. Han Qi, who was sitting on Qinfeng Road in Shaanxi Province, returned to Beijing and began to plan the battle to encircle and suppress Guo Mioshan, a horse thief in Quzhou, and Li Tieqiang, a bamboo forest thief in Fangzhou.

Han Qi, courtesy name Zhigui, is a native of Anyang, Xiangzhou (now Henan). He is thirty-five years old this year. He is in his prime. He is tall and majestic, and his voice is like a bell. He is usually silent. Once he has something to say, he is generous and powerful as a rainbow.

This means that Han Qi is a person. In terms of talent and strategy, even Fan Zhongyan admires it.

In response to the riots on Jingxi Road, Han Qi's method is to suppress the appeasement at the same time. The suppression refers to the encirclement and suppression, and the appeasement are the meaning of appeasement and appeasement. These two moves are the usual methods of the court, but they are very effective. Han Qi intends to calm down the matter within three months.

The specific steps are as follows:

Cao Yuanji, the Sima army in front of the left hall, continued to garrison in Shangzhou, leading his troops to prevent the enemy from advancing westward and forcing him to go south.

Shi Caoxi, the deputy commander of the Ma Bu Military Department of the bodyguard, led 6,000 soldiers west into Shaanxi Prefecture, and then went south to Gaozhou to suppress the place, forcing the thieves to go south, or waiting for the opportunity to encircle and annihilate them.

Shi Zhaoze, the deputy commander of the bodyguard's own army, led 5,000 people into Dengzhou, surrounded Guzhou from the south, west of Henan Prefecture, and blocked the horse thief Guo Mishan to prevent him from going south.

The Chinese army was personally led by Han Qi and entered Henan Province in the west, with a total strength of 10,000. Li Shunju, the envoy of the army, went with him.

The vanguard officer called Yan Shouyong (the history of the command of the bodyguard's own army) and led 8,000 people to the waterway to sweep the area west of Henan Province.

These five people are mainly involved in this campaign. As for the accompanying staff, craftsmen, soldiers, Langzhong, etc., there are also countless. The preliminary statistics are more than 30,000, of which the most soldiers are transported by them, and the food and fodder and ammunition used for the march are transported by them.

To make a long story short, half a month later, that is, the third year of the lunar calendar, on November 16, the army from the west of the capital and went to Henan Province.

After a long journey of a week, people from all walks of life basically arrived at the designated place.

In November, the river is silent, the wind is strong in the evening, and the snow is very strong.

It began to snow in a large area west of Bianliang. For a while, the ground was freezing and the road was difficult. Many soldiers fell on the way because of the lack of cotton-padded clothes, and more of them frostbite their hands and feet, and even the weapons were difficult to grasp. It can be seen how bad the situation is.

The five people and horses stopped the search operation almost at the same time, and turned to stand by the order, logging into camps, digging and shoveling snow, building camps for heating, and preventing the situation from deteriorating further. Only until enough cotton-padded clothes are allocated in place can further military action be taken.

A few days ago, Han Qi, the envoy of Shaanxi Road, had written a letter overnight and asked the messenger to send the leader of the four-way men and horses who were looking for the enemy. At the same time, he also reminded them not to take it lightly and prevent the thief from taking the opportunity to destroy it.

In fact, Guo Yaoshan's group of people were also in trouble at this time. For several months, they have been rushing east and west. Although the continuous combat team is getting stronger and stronger, the total number of troops has reached 30,000. His direct team alone has as many as 15,000 people, led by his adopted son Zhang Hai, Sanmei and A Han, and he controls it. There are 3,200 cavalrymen.

Now there is Zhang Luan, a Taoist priest from Shangzhou, and Guo Yaoshan did not treat him badly and gave him 3,000 people.

The rest of the people and horses are the team of marble monks, Miao Ren Buji, Ren Qian and others.

More than 30,000 people eat and drink for fun. Before the siege and suppressing army of the imperial court is killed, they can also use the stolen gold, silver, jewelry and other valuable things to buy some grain in the surrounding towns or villages, and buy cold-proof things for winter, cotton-padded clothes, cotton-padded trousers, cotton hats and other necessary items.

However, a few months later, the situation suddenly changed, and the army of the imperial court forced to the door, and the wanted documents flew like snowflakes, threatening and persuading them.

For this reason, Guo Yaoshan gathered all the main brothers in the Guzhou cottage in Xiong'er Mountain and discussed it to see what everyone thought.

On that day, it was November 20, and all the brothers who went out to hunt returned to the stockade.

The lights that have been extinguished for a few days have burned again, illuminating the whole cottage. If you look down from the air, it is like a huge stove. The gate was closed, and there were 5,000 people and horses in charge of vigilance within a radius of ten miles.

The big village of Guo Mio Mountain is built on the mountain. More than 20 miles to the west is the old irrigation river, and there is a dense forest in the middle, so it is rarely visited. As early as a month ago, Guo Mio Mountain ordered Sanmei to lead people to dig here to build a city. Therefore, today, everyone can gather in this huge cave and not suffer from the wind and cold.

The hall of the cave is semicircular, and there are still traces of knives and axes on the wall. In the reflection of more than a dozen torches, there is a faint light.

The layout of the cave is very simple. More than a dozen chairs are placed on both sides, and the middle is decorated with rough wooden tables. Even the teapot for drinking water is smoky. As for serving tea and water, it is not a beautiful maidservant, but just an ordinary soldier.

Guo Mioshan said bluntly, "Guys, if the soldiers of the court are pressing the border today, our good days are over. The old man, I don't want to go around the circle. If you have anything in your heart, or what fart, let it go here immediately. Otherwise, if you go on the road and go back or shake the army's heart, don't say that our brothers didn't say ugly words. In the front, when the white knife enters the red knife, it can only be solved in this way. I hope you don't blame the old man and me. There is no way. Well, you can speak freely!"

As soon as Guo Mishan finished speaking, Zhang Hai stood up and gave a big teapot to the leaders present. Each of them poured a bowl of tea, and then bowed and said, "My godfather is straightforward. Please don't be surprised. Now the limelight is tight, and we need everyone to work together. Therefore, I suggest that we go south to Dengzhou as soon as possible."

After listening to Zhang Hai's proposal, the people here were silent about the time when they could have a ray of incense, because they were still thinking about it.

After half a sound, the third sister stood up from Guo Mioshan's side and said with a fist, "Lead leaders, it's not too late. I hope everyone can make up their minds as soon as possible. Now is a good time."

Outside the cave, the wind is tight and snowy, and you can hear the terrible roar when you sit inside, not to mention the people who stay outside, which is simply suffering.

"I think the weather will not be good for a while. Why don't you rest for a few more days and then go on the road?" The marble monk touched his bare head and said.

Everyone nodded and felt that the marble monk was thick and thin, and his words were reasonable.

"Unremeasurable Heavenly Lord!" Zhang Luan then stood up, made a check, and then shook the dust in his palm and said, "The marble monk's words are reasonable, but the poor road thinks that the land is waiting for me today, so it's better to plan as soon as possible."

Everyone fell into meditation again. After a while, the marble monk opened his mouth again

"I said, you stinky Taoist priest, what does it mean to plan as soon as possible? Don't think that if you haven't read a book, just say something in a roundabout way. If you fart, don't dodge."

Zhang Luan shook his head and was a little angry. He said back, "Why are you monk full of dirty words? It's really a shame on Buddhism. The meaning of planning as soon as possible is to leave here as possible. I didn't see that the army of the court has arrived in Yongning County. Once the weather clears up, it only takes a day to enter Guzhou. At that time, we How to deal with the enemy on all sides, what do you think?

"This?" The marble monk was speechless for a moment, saying that the Buddha blocked and killed the Buddha, and his mother's imperial army was nothing.

"Zhang Luan, are you afraid of being beaten by the army of the court?" Miao Ren Buji, who sat next to the marble monk, laughed and said something.

When everyone heard this, it was saying that Zhang Luan was defeated by the officers and soldiers in Shangzhou and went here alone. They couldn't help smiling.

As the saying goes: beating people doesn't hit people in the face, but Buji hit Zhang Luan's pain. Zhang Luan suddenly jumped up from the chair, stretched out his hand and scolded angrily, "Well, who do you think is afraid of being beaten by the imperial army? Grandpa, I am also an upright man."