Overlord!

Chapter 356 Marching Eight Thousand Miles (Happy New Year to Everyone)

Ma Chao's side is constantly fighting, and there are mountains and rivers of flesh and blood, but Han Sui's side is calm, and the years are quiet.

It's not that he didn't realize that there was something wrong with this, but he built a camp here and was always happy to sit back and enjoy the gains, watching the fierce battle between Ma Chao and Song Ting, and reaping the benefits for himself.

It would be best if both parties suffered heavy losses, and he could still dominate Xiliang.

In this case, not only him, but even his generals were unwilling to take the initiative to get involved in the war.

People are short-sighted, and no one is willing to harm their own interests for the sake of a long-term alliance.

But this unfair situation soon aroused uncontrollable resentment and anger on Ma Chao's side.

Han Sui's son-in-law Yan Xing was the first to discover this problem and admonished Han Sui: "Father, the war has been going on for nearly three months, and Ma Chao and others have been defending Lantian for nearly a hundred days. But we are waiting for the calm here, and the alliance is like this. It’s a rift.”

"The Song army's tens of thousands of troops have been guarding the camp, spending only food and grass here. It has been more than three months, and their behavior is extremely abnormal. I am worried that Ma Chao is suspicious of us making peace with the imperial court."

As long as he puts himself in Ma Chao's shoes, it's impossible for him not to be afraid.

There were constant bloody battles, and the troops suffered heavy losses, but the Song army's offensive never stopped.

He could see clearly that the Song army had an irresistible advantage over the Kansai army.

Even in terms of the most basic army size, the Song Army has a crushing advantage.

Yes, Yan Xing has contacted Song Jun privately.

There are five thousand households, and among them there may not even be five thousand young and strong people.

He must not let Han Sui see that he had contacted Song Jun privately.

If Han Sui, Ma Chao and others did not have the strength, Liang Xing would probably be defeated by a county magistrate.

What could this purpose be?

No matter how you look at it, the most likely reason is that Han Sui and the imperial court were negotiating peace, so the two sides stopped fighting.

Han Sui was a rebellious person and was accustomed to rebellion. Naturally, it was inevitable that he would suspect Yan Xing, even if he was his son-in-law.

Before the war started, he urged himself not to join forces with Ma Chao.

At this moment, Yan Xing's determination was absolutely decisive.

The generals in Guanzhong claimed to have an army of 100,000, but Han Sui, the strongest, only had more than 30,000 elite troops. Others like Liang Xing only forced 5,000 households to follow him in rebellion.

For princes of this level, the Song army only dispatched 500 cavalry, not to mention more than 10,000 men, commanded by fierce generals. A single surprise attack was enough to defeat Liang Xing and kill him on the battlefield.

This is why the Song army killed more than ten generals such as Cheng Yi and Li Kan in one battle, and defeated more than 10,000 troops.

He knew his son-in-law very well. Although he was very brave and good at fighting, when he was young, he almost killed Ma Chao by inserting a broken spear into his neck.

On another battlefield a hundred miles away, the Song army had a completely opposite attitude and did not make any offensive against Han Sui's troops. Tens of thousands of troops were allowed to be stationed there every day, wasting food and grass.

So Yan Xing quickly replied: "Father, Song Ting treats us like grass bandits. How can I, a man, beg for surrender?"

But in fact, he is the general who most loves Song Ting among the Kansai generals.

Facing Han Sui's questioning gaze, Yan Xing suddenly stiffened. His father-in-law was cruel and ruthless, and if he suspected him, his life would definitely be in danger.

The deployment of the Song Army really confused Han Sui. He knew very well that he had no intention of negotiating peace with the court, so what was the Song Army waiting for here?

He couldn't help but look at Yan Xing suspiciously and asked, "Have you contacted the Song Army generals privately?"

And there may not even be a thousand loyal direct descendants and dead soldiers.

After the war started, he persuaded himself several times to surrender to the imperial court.

In terms of military affairs, there is a huge gap in combat power between the rebels such as the Guanzhong generals and the elite imperial guards of the Song Dynasty.

But what is disappointing is that such a huge gap in military strength is the smallest gap between the Kansai army and the Song Dynasty.

In terms of other people's support, logistical supplies, civil and military talents, etc., the gap between the two sides has reached a measurable level.

When Han Sui raised troops to fight against the imperial court, it was expected that many counties including Hongnong and Fengyi would respond, and at least tens of thousands of Kansai people would flee the war and flee to foreign lands.

However, when the war broke out, there were very few people who responded. Instead, a large number of counties and counties defended themselves. Except for the Qiang and Hu people who came one by one with additional troops, the cities and forts in Guanxi were all defensive.

At this time, Yan Xing had already concluded that his rebellion could not shake the rule of the imperial court at all.

This is also the view of most powerful people in Kansai, so they stick to Wubao.

As Song Ting continued to consume like this, the Guanzhong army was unable to hold on, and its food and grass were in danger.

Because the powerful people did not cooperate with him, they had nowhere to go to levy and plunder.

Therefore, Yan Xing had secretly contacted the Song Army a long time ago, hoping to provide internal support for the Song Army.

When the decisive battle between the two sides came, he led his troops to rebel in the rear, cutting off the connection between the rebel cavalry and infantry.

At that time, the Song army can decide Guanzhong Sheji in one battle.

But what made him uneasy was that Song Ting had no response at all to the two letters of loyalty he sent in succession.

Song Ting seemed to be deliberately avoiding contact with them to avoid any mishaps.

It was as if this situation of doing nothing and wasting food and grass was what Song Ting was looking forward to.

Now that Ma Chao was under heavy pressure, he was furious and even more irritable. Messengers asking Han Sui to increase his troops were coming day and night.

However, Han Sui kept delaying here. How could the two sides not create discord?

Seeing that Yan Xing was so resolute in contacting Song Ting, Han Sui said no more. He was considered a hero. Even if he had doubts, he would not test him again, otherwise he would force Yan Xing to take risks.

So Han Sui changed the subject and asked: "Song Ting's reaction is indeed strange now. What deployments has its army made recently? Can Sun Ce tolerate the frontline generals being so hesitant and wasting food and grass?"

Yan Xing immediately replied: "Your Majesty is talented in martial arts and knows how to use troops. Naturally, he will not interfere with the frontline command, and the war has only lasted for more than a hundred days. Song Ting can fully support it. According to the spies, Song Ting is east of Tongguan, Carts transporting grain are constantly on the road. The grain stockpiles are enough for several months. On the other hand, we can't collect the Guanzhong taxes, so I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on for a long time."

Han Sui was very dissatisfied with the humility in Yan Xing's words and said angrily: "Sun Ce was just lucky enough to be able to rule the roost in troubled times. However, he was not ambitious enough. He had both won Guandong and plotted against Guanxi. His officers and soldiers had long been tired of it, so he was registered as a member of the three armies. Don't go forward. We will gather the masses and defeat the enemy in one battle, and then we can secure Guanxi."

Han Sui's anger was also filled with sincere helplessness. This time Song Ting was determined to solve Guanxi in one fell swoop. He would not even allow them to surrender, let alone cede territory for peace.

Han Sui had no way to retreat, so he could only increase his troops and fight to the death.

Just when Han Sui thought that the war would continue like this stalemate, the Song army suddenly changed its normal behavior in June. After crossing the Wei River, the Song army general Xu Huang took the initiative to break the peace that had lasted for nearly half a year on the northern front and launched a fierce attack on Hua from the rear. Han Sui's army under Yin City. The Song army's 30,000 elite infantry and cavalry launched a fierce attack on the more than 40,000 rebels.

This sudden and violent attack left Han Sui defenseless. He never expected that the Song army would go against the norm and launch a fierce attack from the north. The soldiers in the rear were unprepared and were directly beaten by the Song army, abandoning the camp for more than ten miles. .

Han Sui hurriedly gathered his troops to launch a counterattack, and at the same time sent a messenger to Ma Chao overnight to ask for help.

When Ma Chao received the letter, he was shocked and confused, and quickly summoned the generals on the southern front.

When the generals on the southern front heard that Han Sui was asking for help, they were also suspicious. Someone asked: "Han Sui suddenly asked for help in a hurry? Could it be that he has colluded with the Song army and led our army to rush forward in a hurry to ambush us?"

The suspicion between the two sides reached an extreme during the nearly 200-day siege. Generals such as Ma Chao and Kuhou Han Sui failed to arrive with reinforcements, but Han Sui suddenly sent a messenger to ask for help.

Even if he had not colluded with Song Ting, the angry southern generals would not have sent troops.

Ma Chao was also worried that if he led his army to rush for rescue, he would fall into Han Sui's ambush.

So Ma Chao quickly responded: "We have been guarding Lantian for nearly two hundred days, and we have been fighting to the death with the Song army. Why can't Han Sui hold on for a day? General Han please hold on to the fortress and weaken his spirit until I reinforce him. Defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.”

Ma Chao planned to take a look at the situation and then judge whether Han Sui's request for help was a trap.

But he really didn't expect that the Song Army's offensive would be so fierce.

Han Sui fought hard for a day and night, and could not wait for reinforcements. When he was about to collapse, his son-in-law Han Sui finally launched a rebellion. He wanted to kill Han Sui and surrendered. He gathered his troops and attacked Han Sui's army.

Troubled internally and externally, Han Sui panicked and abandoned the camp.

After escaping for hundreds of miles, he sighed angrily and said, "My husband is in trouble, and this will bring trouble to our marriage!"

The Song army's alienation plan was undoubtedly a great success. The rebels were not united, allowing the Song army to complete the preparations for the attack and defeat Han Sui's troops with all their strength, and captured Tongguan in one fell swoop.

By the time Ma Chao came to his senses and saw that Han Sui had really been defeated and was about to send troops to support him, the main force of Song Army Taishi Ci's unit had already crossed Tongguan and joined Xu Huang's unit. They combined nearly 60,000 troops to outflank him from the northeast. .

At this time, most of Ma Chao's generals had fled overnight and did not dare to hold on any longer.

If the Song army's more than 100,000 people successfully encircled them, the tens of thousands of rebels might not be able to escape.

The Qiang and Hu among them were especially fearful, because after Xu Huang's troops defeated Han Sui, they slaughtered tens of thousands of Qiang and Hu in the army and built a Jingguan to intimidate Guanzhong.

If these people stay in Lantian, they will definitely die.

After persisting for less than two days, Ma Chao was forced to burn Lantian's first-line camp and supplies and fled to Kansai overnight.

But the time the Song army chose to launch the attack was obviously carefully calculated.

In addition to waiting for the Kansai bandits to gather together, they are also waiting for the autumn period when the horses are fat, so they can pursue the enemy over long distances.

More than 100,000 horses supported the Song army to gallop across Kansai. After more than 50,000 cavalry defeated the enemy, they immediately launched a fierce pursuit.

The rebels also wanted to escape to Chang'an City to continue resisting, but the Song army's light cavalry chased them without waiting for the infantry.

The rebels were all from Longxi. Once they were defeated, they retreated without a chance to look back. They scattered back to the outside of Longxi, and then they were defeated. The Song army followed them and forced them, so they all surrendered in fear.

The rebels were afraid that the Song army would be strong, so they fled westward, burning weeds along the way to starve the Song army's horses.

The generals of the Song army all headed west with Han Sui in mind, not knowing his whereabouts. Fang Ma Kui was short of food and it was difficult to enter from a distance. It was better to rely on the military power and ask Ma Zhuang to plan for it.

It is quite normal for the generals of the Song Army to have this idea. In this battle, the Song Army defeated Han Sui and Ma Chao in one fell swoop. They also captured important military towns such as Chang'an, Hanyang, Wuwei, and Longxi, beheading more than 20,000 people, and captured 200 Qiang and Hu nobles. Forty thousand people. Han Sui rushed south to the land of Qiang and Huang. His hometown was four thousand miles from east to west and two thousand miles from north to south, all of which were occupied by the Song court.

After leaving Huangzhong, we reached the West Sea (Qinghai), which was a land that the Han Dynasty had not occupied in ancient times.

However, Lu Xun firmly opposed stopping the troops at this time and admonished Zhou Yu: "Now the captives are defeated, the scouts are gone, and the monarch and his ministers are at a loss. I can take advantage of their difficulties to achieve success. Under Han Sui's troops, the rats fled and the birds dispersed, and the scouts were also gone. , the king and his ministers are separated, the father and the son are lost, it is as easy to pick up as mustard, if you do not take advantage of it, you will regret it later."

So Zhou Yu said that he was good and took Lu Xun as the vanguard. He personally led the army to the north and marched out to his right.

Taishi Ci and Xu Huang led an army to the south and moved out to the left.

The army marched along the Huangshui River and penetrated deep into Jincheng.

Lu Xundeng showed off his beauty and fought fiercely with the Di king Yang Wanwan who had taken Han Sui into custody. He beheaded his famous king and achieved level 500. Xu Huang, Tai Shici and others fought with Han Sui and Ma Chao's remaining troops in the Luodu Valley, and captured more than ten thieves including Pang De and Ma Dai, as well as tens of thousands of miscellaneous animals.

Han Sui went to Shaodang Qiang and entrusted him to Jiuquan. Lu Xun, the commander of the army, chased them with sharp cavalry for hundreds of miles and defeated them again.

The soldiers were short of water and spurred the horses to drink blood.

Zhou Yu personally led Xiao to ride two thousand miles in the desert. There was frost in midsummer, there was no water and grass, the soldiers were covered with ice, and the horses were covered with snow.

The two armies met at the foot of the Qilian Mountains, and finally caught up with Han Sui, who was fleeing, in the autumn and July of the fifth year of Kaiyuan. His followers only had more than a thousand riders.

The Song army fought hard and finally defeated Han Sui outside Han territory.

In this battle, the Song army traveled a long distance, with a cumulative march distance of more than 8,000 miles, and a march of more than two months a year.

Finally, Han Sui, the prince who harmed Xiliang, was completely eradicated. After decades of raising his army, he was finally killed by the Central Plains court. In one day, he became powerful among the Qiang and Hu.

Ma Chao only escaped with his body, and fled into the Qianghu territory of Longxi with more than ten cavalrymen.

Without the tens of thousands of princes like Han Sui, the remaining people in Liangzhou would not be a threat at all.

The Song army regained the entire territory of Liangzhou in one fell swoop and expanded its territory by more than 4,000 miles.

From Jincheng to Beidi, from Jiuquan to Dunhuang, they are all in the Song Dynasty.

Without the gathering of heroes, the scattered Qiang and Hu tribes were unable to fight against the imperial army. Even the officials of the imperial court could decide the life and death of a tribe.

And Ma Chao is far less threatening than Han Sui. Even if he colludes with the Qiang and Hu, he may not be able to defeat the heroes and governors in Longxi County.

In particular, the Song army launched a bloody suppression in Liangzhou, and a total of 160,000 to 70,000 Qiang and Hu people were slaughtered by the Song army.

At this time, the Qiang and Hu did not dare to resist at all, let alone follow Ma Chao and rebel again.

The Song army took the opportunity to build military towns in Longxi, Jincheng, and Dunhuang. They set up hundreds of military barriers such as Guiyi City, Jianwei City, Longsang City, and Xiaoshi City. More than 20,000 troops were stationed to guard Longxi and Jincheng.

Taishi Ci, the general of the Song Army, commanded 20,000 troops and was stationed here permanently.

(End of this chapter)