Chapter 40: Soy Sauce

Among the army led by Murong Ding, in addition to the left and right generals with more than 30,000 people each, there were more than 50,000 brave soldiers. The actual number of combat soldiers reached 110,000.

The left and right armies each had 5,000 cavalry, and the Xiaoguo Army had 20,000 cavalry, so the total cavalry alone was more than 30,000.

In addition to the 100,000 troops directly under Murong Ding, he could also mobilize all the garrisons in Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Xuzhou. This deployment of troops was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito to wipe out the tens of thousands of Wagang troops.

The army set out from Dongdu in batches on October 10, with General Zhao Yi, the Left Army Commander, leading his troops as the vanguard.

Murong Ding led the Xiaoguo Army as the central army, and the right general Murong Sizong led his own troops as the rear army.

The 5,000 men under Li Yuanhui's command were all cavalry, of which 600 were heavily armored cavalry. All of them were from Youzhou Tuqi, and were selected directly by the emperor's order from the Youzhou Zhenrong Army. Each man had three horses, and both the man and the horse were armored.

Thanks to the canal's powerful transportation capacity, the military equipment and food for the 100,000-strong army could be transported to the battlefields of Xingyang and Liangjun by canal ships, greatly saving manpower, material resources and time.

This also allowed Li Yuanhui to intuitively understand why most wars in ancient times were fought along rivers.

On the 15th, the vanguard army had already left Hulao Pass.

On the 17th, we arrived in Xingyang.

At this time, General Murong Ding's central army had just passed Hulao Pass. Zhao Yi led the left general as the vanguard and recaptured the important town of Xingyang half a day after arriving in Xingyang.

Although the Wagang Army stationed in Xingyang was not very strong, Zhao Yi's use of troops was indeed admirable.

On the 12th, Murong Ding led the central army to Xingyang, and prepared to use Xingyang as the location for the rear army and the storage of grain and fodder.

He then immediately dispatched troops and led the army to advance city by city to recapture the cities captured by the Wagang Army. He ordered General Zhao Yi of the Left to be the main general, and Generals Duan Wuchen and Li Cang of the Huben to be deputy generals. He led 10,000 cavalrymen with only a few days of dry food to attack the Wagang Army that was surrounding Suiyang.

Li Yuanhui's 5,000 cavalry were ordered to go to Yingchuan and Chenjun to block the Wagang Army's westward advance. Because he was worried about Li Yuanhui leading the troops alone, he also sent his military officer Jiang Yi as his deputy general to act with Li Yuanhui.

It was the first time that Li Yuanhui led an army into battle independently as a commander. Even though he had some experience, he was still busy and sweating all day long.

He personally took care of every detail, including marching, setting up camp, water sources, food, and scouting. Although some of his arrangements seemed a little immature, the army of 5,000 people still arrived in Xuchang in an orderly manner.

"I originally thought that Lord Li was from an aristocratic family and didn't care about mundane affairs. Now that I've seen Lord Li's method of marching, I know that heroes emerge from youth. Even if I lead the army independently, I can't do better than Lord Li."

After seeing Xuchang from afar on horseback, Jiang Yi said to Li Yuanhui with great admiration.

Li Yuanhui breathed a sigh of relief and felt at ease. Once he arrived in Xuchang, he would have the city walls to rely on and would not have to worry about night attacks, ambushes or other emergencies.

Li Yuanhui, who was much more relaxed, smiled and replied: "When I was suppressing the Yang Xun Rebellion, I was a secretary in the Gaoyang Prince's court. I was taught by Pang Zhenxi and was able to master the key points of marching. Now it is useful. Fortunately, Jiang Canjun was here to give me advice along the way, so there were no mistakes."

"You are too polite, Lord Li."

Most of the military commanders who became famous at a young age were brave and valiant. Jiang Yi had seen many of them. They were all from high-ranking families and were often overbearing. However, a military commander who was not even fifteen years old was able to be patient and handle the military affairs in an orderly manner. He also maintained strict military discipline and was orderly. This alone was superior to many generals in the army.

When the army arrived in Xuchang, Xuchang County Magistrate Zheng Shi'an saw the dust raised by the large group of cavalry and initially thought that it was an invading army. Later, when he saw that the troops were all cavalry and their formations were neat and orderly, and he saw the flags, he realized that it was the official army of Dayan that had arrived.

When the troops arrived at the city, Li Yuanhui attached the certificate and military order to the hanging basket for verification, and only then did Zheng Shi'an open the gate and go out of the city to welcome them.

"I don't know if General Li Lang is here to see you. I hope you will forgive me for any offense I have caused. I am responsible for defending the territory and dare not slack off." Zheng Shi'an bowed after leaving the city.

Li Yuanhui also knew that the other party was doing things according to the procedure, so he did not have any dissatisfaction. He clasped his fists and returned the greeting, saying: "Your Excellency Zheng, there is no need to be so polite. I came to Xuchang on the order of King Wei to station there to prevent the Wagang Army from escaping. Your Excellency Zheng is also diligent in the king's affairs. How can I say that I am offended?"

Li Yuanhui led his army into the city and talked about his family background at the welcoming banquet. It turned out that he and the county magistrate Zheng were relatives.

Zheng Shi'an was born into the Zheng family of Xingyang. He was the cousin of Li Yuanhui's eldest sister-in-law, and the two were of the same generation.

Therefore, the names became "Brother Zheng" and "Dear Brother".

This is the aristocratic family, with complicated connections. Once you tell your background, there are no connections that you cannot establish.

After understanding the topography and terrain around Xuchang, Li Yuanhui felt basically relieved.

From Xuchang to Suiyang, except for Wohe River, Yinghe River and Caihe River, it is almost a flat plain. Fighting in this terrain can maximize the mobility and impact of the Yan cavalry. He only needs to prevent the Wagang Army from Suiyang from advancing westward to Yingchuan County and Chen County, and the mission will be accomplished.

Even if the main force of the Wagang Army came, they could rely on the advantage of cavalry to slow down their escape, thus creating time for the main army to pursue.

After Li Yuanhui arrived in Xuchang, apart from arranging cavalry to patrol the vast plains between Xuchang and Chenjun as usual every day, he basically had nothing specific to do.

So he began to make friends with several of the captains under his command.

His camp had more than 5,000 people and was divided into seven groups. The captains were Ma Baozong from Fufeng, Guo Xiaoke from Fufeng, Dou Jian from Fufeng, Liu Tong from Fufeng, Zhang Junmo from Nanyang, Murong Bao from Chang'an, and Lao Liu from Zhuo County in Youzhou.

Among the seven colonels, four were from Fufeng.

This is also because most of these soldiers originally came from Fufeng County in Guanzhong, and the court also selected the strongest ones when appointing officers.

Although these people were somewhat united, they still carried out Li Yuanhui's military orders without any hesitation.

After all, he is the future imperial consort and the legitimate son of the Longxi Li family, and his future is limitless.

Moreover, although this superior is young, he is not the kind of fool who comes here to gain experience but has no knowledge of military affairs.

He is fair, strict in military discipline, and can lead by example. If you quarrel with such a superior, no one will defend you even if you get chopped off.

I wandered around Xuchang and Chenjun for nearly a month, and spent the whole day chatting with Lao Liu and other captains who didn't have to go out on field work, and occasionally drinking a little wine together.

The relationship slowly developed. Originally, I thought that if I stayed in Xuchang and Chenjun for a month or two, the war there would be almost over, and I would probably get the credit for assisting them.

But now in the Central Plains, Li Si's peaceful days of fishing were finally broken.

A man named Zhou Menglong in Runan County started an uprising. No, he rebelled. In just a few days, he gathered thousands of people, looted Shangcai and Pingyu, and then went west to Chen County, threatening to join forces with Wagang.

Chenjun happened to be his defense zone, so he couldn't just sit there and do nothing.

Come live.

(End of this chapter)