Chapter 5 Iron and Blood Journey

Wen Renyu defended Puyang, but he couldn't resist the tide of the fifth village, so he had to abandon the city and flee. Cao Shixiong led his army to catch up with Wen Renyu's soldiers and horses and beat them. Wen Renyu was seriously injured in the melee and was unconscious. Fortunately, Cao Xin's reinforcements arrived, and Wen Renyu fled to Zhuji under the rescue of his own soldiers.

Zhuji Tang general Huang Jie was shocked to hear that Renyu was seriously injured and came to visit him with Yu Meng. Wen Renyu just woke up and saw Huang Jie. He burst into tears and gasped and said, "Brother Huang Jiexian, I am injured this time and it is difficult to recover. Please tell Dong Shuai that Cao Shixiong is too powerful, and his combat power is beyond my imagination. The first defense line in eastern Zhejiang has been lost, and the thief will definitely take advantage of the victory to advance eastward. Our army must defend the base and not fight with the thief bandits in the field. Remember! Remember!"

Huang Jie nodded with tears: "Brother Wen, I will definitely tell Dong Shuai what you said. You can recover from your wounds at ease!"

Wen Renyu's eyes suddenly shined, tried his best to support his body, stretched out second-hand, grabbed Huang Jie's arms, and shouted, "Kill the thief! Big...Tang will win! The Eighth Metropolitan Army... must, must..." Before he finished speaking, Wen Renyu's head tilted, fell into Huang Jie's arms, and died with his eyes closed.

Huang Jie stroked the corpse and cried: "Brother Wen, why did you leave like this? My brother-in-law has something to say to you!"

Yu Meng comforted and said, "General Huang, please be sorry. People can't come back to life after death. What we are going to do now is to strengthen the city defense and prepare to fight against the attack of Cao Shixiong's thieves!"

Huang Jie listened to Yu Meng's words and stopped crying. Huang Jie ordered his soldiers to bury Wen Renyu's body on the bank of the Yuan River, and then discussed with Yu Meng and other generals how to defend Zhuji City, and recruited migrant workers and Tang Bing to carry out urban defense works together.

Since Cao Shixiong led the fifth village soldiers to attack eastern Zhejiang, he has won three times in a row, and the whole army is full of joy. Some soldiers can't help but be a little fluttering, and Cao Shixiong is also among them.

Cao Shixiong ordered a banquet in Puyang to reward the soldiers. Many soldiers were drunk and full of nonsense. Some volunteers saw that eastern Zhejiang was rich and greedy. They were in groups, harassed the people inside and outside the city, and even looted property, which had an extremely bad impact. Wang Mei and other generals reported these problems to Cao Shixiong. Cao Shixiong didn't believe it and said drunkly, "I brought out the fifth village soldiers. The military-civilian relations have always been harmonious, and there will be no problem. I think this is a normal dispute. The soldiers have been fighting for many days, which is very hard. I think these chicken, duck, fish and property are The people took the initiative to give it to the soldiers. The bully deliberately spread rumors and framed the generals of Daqi. If he catches them, he must be severely punished!"

Gai Hong's exhalation: "Brother Shixiong, now the number of soldiers on the expedition has dropped from 50,000 horses at the time of departure to more than 30,000, and many of them are injured. Our army has won three times in a row. I think it's not too late for the first division to go back to Qianligang to rest and wait for the strong horse to attack eastern Zhejiang.

"Dong Chang's soldiers have broken their courage, and our army's eastward advance has shown a broken bamboo trend. Now it is just right to take the opportunity to take the iron, take Zhuji and Yuezhou, then attack Hangzhou, control the whole Zhejiang, and cooperate with Brother Huang Chao's Jiangnan strategy. Our army has developed and strengthened in the south of the Yangtze River, and it can dominate the Central Plains and unify the world!" Cao Shixiong is in high spirit and his voice is loud.

Gai Hong shook his head gently and looked helpless.

Cao Shixiong led more than 30,000 soldiers and horses to continue to march east and attack Zhuji. Huang Jie and Yu Meng commanded the Tang army to resist to the death, and the battle was extremely fierce. Although the rebels used a variety of siege methods, one of the Tang army has already been ready and fully prepared; the other is Huang Jie and Yu Meng took out a sharp weapon to kill the Rebels, such as Tang, Golden Fire Can, Yecha, Wolf Tooth Rally, But Wood, Ground Listening, Zhupan, Pi Man, Door Knife Carve, Iron Thistle, Rejection, etc. Tang Bing used it flexibly. The rebels attacked for several days, with more than 10,000 casualties, and Zhuji City was still firmly in the hands of the Tang army.

Cao Shixiong's eyes were angry and he couldn't wait to fly to the top of the city and fight with the Tang army. However, in the face of Jiancheng, it would be futile to continue to consume like this. Cao Shixiong had to order to stop the siege and return to the camp.

At this time, the rebels were less than 20,000 horses, and more than half of the wounded were injured. Chang Hong, Wang Mei and other generals suggested to Cao Shixiong to withdraw their troops and retreat to Qianligang for rest and replenishment.

Cao Shixiong thought for a long time and resolutely said, "This mountain is dangerous, and it is not easy to send troops to attack eastern Zhejiang. Although we have encountered some difficulties at present, the Tang army in eastern Zhejiang is also not easy to live. In this attack on Zhuji, thousands of elite casualties of the Tang army also suffered. I consider bypassing Zhuji and starting directly in the direction of Yuezhou. Along the way, we can replenish soldiers and collect supplies to support the war. Even if we can't take Yuezhou, it can expand the influence of our army and deter the enemy. I have decided that if you are willing to continue eastward with me, you can stay and follow me; if you don't want to continue eastward, you can go back to thousands of miles. If the injury is serious, you can go back to Qianligang now.

Chang Hong shouted, "I am willing to follow Cao Zhai, continue to march east, and compete with the Eighth Metropolitan Army in eastern Zhejiang!"

Duan fiercely raised his arm and shouted: "Resolutely go east to Vietnam and destroy the Eighth Metropolitan Army!"

When Cao Shixiong saw that Gaihong, Wang Mei and Ye Xiang were silent, he asked, "What are you going to do?"

Ye Xiang smiled bitterly: "Since you have fought east with the owner of Cao Zhai, of course, you will not spare your life, but now there are fewer and fewer soldiers, and your combat effectiveness is significantly reduced. Under such circumstances, if you enter Yuezhou alone, you are afraid that the logistics line of the volunteers will be cut off by the Tang army, and there is a risk of the destruction of the whole army!"

Wang Mei said in a low voice, "Brother Shixiong, at this juncture of the survival of the fifth village, I suggest that the current soldiers and horses should be divided into two roads and move in the direction of Yuezhou. The soldiers and horses on the second road will cooperate with each other. In case of any one is attacked by the Tang army and the other way is rescued in time, there can be a help, at least to ensure that the main force of our army will break out."

"Brother Wang Mei is very good at this, I agree!" Gaihong opened his mouth.

"Well, that's the arrangement. I, Chang Hong and Duan Meng led 15,000 people as the main force to directly attack Yuezhou from the South Road. Gaihong, Wang Mei and Ye Xiang led the remaining thousands of people to the north of Yuezhou to stop the Tang army in Hangzhou to reinforce Yuezhou."

The Rebels bypassed Zhuji, divided their troops into two routes, and advanced in the direction of Yuezhou. Although some soldiers were added along the road, the number was small and the quality was not high. Because the eastern part of Zhejiang has been operated by Dong Chang for many years, the tax is not too heavy. Ordinary people still have a mouthful of food to eat, and many people take a wait-and-see attitude towards the Daqi Rebels.

After learning that Wen Renyu and Cao Xin defeated Puyang and Cao Shixiong led the "thief bandits" east into Yuezhou in Huiji Mountain, Qian Qian urgently summoned Liu Meng'an, Ruan Jie, Xu He and other generals to the Chinese military accounts to discuss countermeasures.

"I heard that Renyu's soldiers retreated to Zhuji and died of serious injuries. Cao Xin died in Puyang. Fortunately, Huang Jie and Yu Meng defended Zhuji, which greatly damped Cao Shixiong's spirit of the thief bandits. The thief continues to move east to Yuezhou, which is the end of a strong crossbow. No matter how strong Cao Shixiong's fighting power is, he will definitely be defeated by the eight capitals this time. Qian Yong analyzed the situation of the war slowly.

Ruan Jie said, "General Qian, Xiang Yu led 30,000 troops and broke through Zhang Han's 200,000 Qin troops. The military strength was so different, but Xiang Yu won the battle. At present, Cao Shixiong has at least 20,000 to 30,000 thieves, which is not at a disadvantage compared with our 20,000 troops in Huiji Mountain. Besides, the thief is a division of a hundred battles and has rich combat experience, and the Eighth Metropolitan Army may not be able to win.

Liu Meng'an stood up and patted his chest and asked for war: "The resistance of Huiji is imperative. I think the two sides must have suffered heavy casualties this time. I am willing to be the front vanguard to fight against Cao Shixiong and bandits!"

Qian Qian pondered for a while, punched on the table, and said firmly: "We have no way out now. We can only fight to the death with Cao Shixiong and the thief on the front line of Huiji Mountain!" Only then can we ensure the safety of the state. I ordered Liu Meng'an, Xu and He to lead 10,000 troops as the main force of the front team to fight against the bandits; Ruan Jie and I led 10,000 troops, as the commandos of the Eighth Metropolitan Army, to attack at a critical time. Without my general order, no one could use a commando soldier!"

Cao Shixiong, Chang Hong and Duan Meng led their troops all the way east to the area of Huiji Mountain, but they saw the lush vegetation and thousands of rocks, reflecting Huiji Mountain and exuding charming charm everywhere. The spring breeze brushed my face, and the sound of birds along the way was endless, and the spirit of the Rebel soldiers was refreshed.

Cao Shixiong said to the generals: "Huiji Mountain is the place where Dayu married and sealed Zen. Xia Yu once held the princes of all countries here and established China's first dynasty "Xia". In this way, Huiji Mountain has become a famous town for the emperors of the past Chinese dynasties. Now it seems that it really lives up to its reputation!"

Hearing this, the generals couldn't help praising Huiji Mountain. They were chatting vigorously and reported: "Generals, there is a brigade of Tang in front of about 10,000, blocking the way of our army."

"Good luck! I'm about to find them. It seems that it's the Eighth Army. It's said that I'll order to stop and prepare for battle!" Cao Shixiong ordered loudly.

The generals quickly organized their subordinates to fight against the Tang army. Cao Shixiong took the lead and shouted angrily before the battle, like a Thunderbolt in the sky: "Which soldier and horse are you Dong Chang? Dare to block the fifth village of Daqi?"

The Tang soldiers on this road are the eight-du army led by Liu Meng'an and Xu He. Liu Meng'an raised a whip and scolded: "I am Liu Meng'an and Cao Shixiong in eastern Zhejiang. Our eight-du army in eastern Zhejiang and you have no injustice in the past. There is no hatred today. Why did you raise an army against our eastern Zhejiang and kill my eight-du army soldiers?"

Cao Shixiong looked up to the sky and laughed: "Liu Meng'an, I also heard your name a long time ago. I know that you are a brave general and a hero in eastern Zhejiang. It is not that the generals of Daqi want to fight against your Eighth Capital Army in eastern Zhejiang. It is because of Daqi's policy to achieve peace and equality, so that the people of the world can live a peaceful, happy, equal and harmonious life, so they sent troops to fight in all directions, overthrow Li Tang, and eradicate human inequality. Those who know the current affairs are handsome. I hope that General Liu will conform to the hearts of the people, wake up, and lead his subordinates to Daqi. I promise that General Liu will do his best in Daqi and will not live his life!"

"A school of nonsense, I am a general of the Tang Dynasty. How can I be with you? Which general is willing to go out and capture Cao Shixiong? Liu Meng'an shouted.

"I would like to fight against Cao Shixiong, behead his head, and dedicate it to Dong Shuai!" Xu Zhi shouted loudly, waved the serrated flying sickle of the three pavilions, and galloped out into the array.

Cao Shixiong was furious and urged the mounts to hold high a familiar bronze stick to fight against Xu Zhi and defeat the Eighth Army.