met free Page 1441
Page 1441
After Lü Shinang led his troops south and successfully captured Wuzhou and Quzhou,
He then led his troops to attack Taizhou, but suffered a defeat there.
There are many reasons, one of which is that Lü Shinang's army captured two cities in succession.
They underestimated the enemy, and their troops were somewhat exhausted.
Secondly, after the Manichaeans captured the city,
All captured officials, regardless of their loyalty or treachery,
They were all brutally murdered.
Song Dynasty officials could only desperately defend their positions.
Thirdly, there are relatively few Manichaean believers in Taizhou.
Without the support of believers,
The army could only make the siege difficult.
After Lü Shinang's initial attack on Taizhou failed,
Just as they were about to reorganize the troops,
When they built siege weapons to attack Taizhou again...
However, they learned that the Northern Route Army had suffered a major defeat.
The Western Army besieged Muzhou.
Only then did he hurriedly lead his troops to prepare to return and reinforce Muzhou.
However, they were blocked in Wuzhou by the Western Army generals Zhe Kecun and Liu Guang.
The rebel army had just suffered heavy losses in defeating Zhe Kecun and Liu Guang's forces.
General Yao Pingzhong of the Western Army came to provide support again.
The rebels had religious beliefs.
The Western Army, however, offered a high reward as an incentive.
Neither side was willing to back down.
Although the rebel army had a large number of troops,
However, the Western Army was a seasoned veteran.
For a time, the battle became so fierce that neither side could gain the upper hand.
Lü Shinang's army was blocked in Wuzhou.
While Lü Shinang was racking his brains to defeat the Western Army,
The Western Army suddenly broke camp and retreated to the northwest.
Lü Shinang had no time to pursue the enemy.
He hurriedly led his troops into Muzhou.
The once fertile land of fish and rice is now deserted.
Not even the chickens and dogs could be heard.
The villages and towns were deserted.
There were just a few more large mounds of earth.
The rebels were initially somewhat skeptical.
But after digging one out...
They were shocked.
Hundreds, even thousands, of corpses were buried in the mound.
It turned out that Tong Guan was afraid of a plague.
The Western Army was instructed to bury the decapitated body.
The Western army, already bloodthirsty, naturally wouldn't bother burying them.
Often, an entire village would be slaughtered.
Dig a big pit,
Throw everyone in, then bury them.
As a result, huge tombs appeared in Muzhou.
Chapter 1739 Advocating War and Advocating Peace
Many of the rebels were Manichaeans from Muzhou.
After witnessing the massacre of his entire family and friends in his hometown,
They immediately went berserk, eager to fight the Western Army to the death.
Lü Shinang led his army to Muzhou first.
After discovering that Muzhou had become a ghost town...
Following the trail left by the army,
They rushed to Bangyuan Cave, only to find it empty again.
Only then did Lü Shinang send out scouts to gather information.
Upon learning that the Western Army had all returned,
Fang La and his men were taken to Hangzhou by Tong Guan.
He then led his troops to Hangzhou.
Fang Baihua and Fang Jie's southward journey coincided with Lü Shinang's army marching north.
He immediately led his troops to Hangzhou with Lü Shinang.
Little did they know that before they even arrived in Hangzhou,
Then he heard that Tong Guan had arrived in Huzhou again.
The group had no choice but to lead their troops back to Huzhou.
Fang La had previously burned Hangzhou.
After Tong Guan arrived in Hangzhou,
It was discovered that rebuilding Hangzhou would not be a task that could be completed in a short period of time.
Then they led their troops to Huzhou.
Tong Guan had just arrived in Huzhou.
They then learned that Lü Shinang had led an army of 100,000 into the Hangzhou area.
In a panic, he asked someone to fetch Dong Yun to discuss countermeasures.
Dong Yun thought for a moment, then smiled and said,
"Lu Shi Nang is nothing but a clown, what is there to fear?"
"The Grand Chancellor can publicly execute Fang La and Wang Fu's henchmen tomorrow,"
"Send this message to all prefectures and counties, demonstrating the military might of the Grand Chancellor,"
"At the same time, it was announced that the descendants of the founding emperor would be recognized as emperor in order to consolidate the power of the various states."
After the fall of Tokyo,
Many descendants of Emperor Taizu of Song have already fled to Jiangnan.
Tong Guan has also found two candidates to be his backups.
Tong Guan said worriedly, "There are more than 100,000 rebels."
"My personal guard numbers no more than 20,000,"
"The garrison in the city numbers no more than three thousand,"
"How can we withstand the rebels? We should avoid their sharp edge for now."
Dong Yun shook his head and said, "If the Grand Chancellor wants to establish a new dynasty, he must let all the prefectures see hope in resisting the Liangshan rebels."
"That's why they defied the late emperor's decree and supported the new dynasty."
"Now, most of Fang La's rebels have been wiped out,"
"If we have to retreat even if there are only a few remaining bandits,"
"I'm afraid the Grand Chancellor's prestige will be greatly diminished,"
"It will be very difficult to establish a new dynasty by then."
Tong Guan held military power for many years.
You could say they win more than they lose.
Although those victories were mostly planned and orchestrated by renowned generals like Zhong Shidao.
He was only the nominal commander.
But there is no doubt that
He still gained great fame from this.
Tong Guan also knew that once he lost his military prestige,
He only had 20,000 personal guards left.
We'll decide what to do then.
It's also difficult to get a large following when you call for help.
Tong Guan, having considered the pros and cons, gritted his teeth and said...
"Sir, you're right. It seems we have no choice but to fight this battle with our backs against the wall."
"What do you think our chances of winning are?"
Dong Yun followed Tong Guan for many years.
However, he knew Tong Guan's character very well.
On the surface, he appears to be very brave and tough.
They are the pro-war faction in the court.
In reality, he was just like any other eunuch, afraid of death.
Every time they fought against the Western Xia,
They all commanded from the rear.
The frontline operations were entirely under the command of the Western Army general.
If he cannot reassure Tong Guan,
It is likely that Tong Guan may lead his troops to flee at any time.
Dong Yun, however, felt that the current situation might present a great opportunity.
Therefore, they wanted to take advantage of Tong Guan's influence to make a comeback.
"In my opinion, the Prime Minister is confident of victory in this battle."
"Now the rebels have lost all the cities and are unable to obtain food supplies."
Chapter 1740 Attacking Taizhou
"As long as the Chancellor collects all the grain and fodder from all the counties of Huzhou,"
"Even if the rebels reach Huzhou, they won't get any supplies,"