On the twenty-second day of the first month of the fifth year of the Northern Han Dynasty, he went south to meet the reinforcements of the South Tang West Road, and successively annihilated Xu Wenzhen and Chen Jun after the two divisions, the Han Emperor Liu Chengyou led the division to return to the Shouchun camp. The generals of the Han army who stayed behind, under the leadership of Xiang Xun, worshiped Feishui Fuliang.

"The last general, welcome Your Majesty, and return to the camp in victory!" In front of the floating beam, bow to the training.

"Excuse me!" Liu Chengyou sat on the royal horse, his face was calm, without arrogance, and the results achieved by leading his division to meet the reinforcements of the Southern Tang Dynasty did not seem to make many waves in his heart.

A large number of boats, under the escort of the navy, came from the south and north of the river, and each ship had a very deep draft, almost exhausting its load. In response to the annihilation of the two armies of Chen and Xu, on the side of the Han army, the ability to capture can be described as rich.

In addition to killing and wounding 20,000 people before and after, and capturing more than 40,000 prisoners, it was the baggage that transported grain, ordnance, pack horses, and other baggage to the north with his army. Even if more than 30% of the loss and damage were due to the war, the rest of the capture still allowed Liu Chengyou to mobilize a full 150 ships before they were loaded. According to rough estimates, if you save a little, the proceeds of this seizure can be used for at least one month for more than 200,000 soldiers and civilians of the Northern Han Dynasty.

Therefore, Liu Chengyou almost gave the captive Chen Jue the official position of "Huainan Traveling Grain and Weapons Envoy" to raise his merit. Of course, this is just Liu Chengyou's only remaining bad taste, and he did not deliberately humiliate Chen Jue, but released him, wrote a letter to him, and asked him to be a messenger and return to Jinling to hand it over to Li Jing.

With the return of the victorious division, the Son of Heaven returned to the camp, and among several Han army villages, there was a fierce "long live" cheers, and the sound was rolling, like thunder in the sky, shaking the sky and the earth, and it lasted for a long time.

And the most affected by the cheers of the Han army, of course, belongs to the besieged Shouchun Tang Army, listening to its cries like a tide, the soldiers and civilians in the city are all terrified. Because after the call for long live, there was a burst of announcements of "the destruction of the reinforcements".

Hearing that, the main generals of the Shouchun garrison, He Jingzhu, Zhang Quanyue, Xu Xiang and others, came to Beichengtou together. On the ground outside the city, which had been plowed by the Han army, there were a large number of captured Tang army flags, armor battles, and uniforms, which clearly proved something.

"He Gong, are the reinforcements really gone?" Zhang Quanyue looked frightened and looked at He Jingzhu: "Emperor Han didn't lead many people to the south!" How many days has it been? ”

He Jingzhu's body is wooden, the wound on his left hand is far from healing, fortunately it is early spring, the weather is not so hot, at this time he is a little trembling, and his old face is faintly sick. In fact, not only Shouchun City is on the verge of collapse, but He Jingzhu, as the main general, is also about to run out of oil. The long-term army and siege of the city are not easy for this veteran who has passed the age of sixties.

When Liu Chengyou went south to meet the two armies of Chen and Xu, He Jingzhu, who was holding the city firmly and waiting to move, did not sit and watch. Instead, he led the army to attack decisively, wanting to take advantage of the lack of Han troops outside the city to launch a wave of counteroffensive against the Han army, not to mention completely breaking the predicament, but also to stop and delay the pace of the Han army's cantonment and siege, give Shouchun a respite, and give the Southern Tang court more time to prepare.

His goal was also very clear, he didn't want to cause much damage to the Han army, but pointed directly at the logistics battalion in the northeast of the Han army, which he made clear early on. For this reason, He Jingzhu also played a scheming first, with Zhang Quanyue leading the army to attack the Han army's Xizhai, Xu Xiang leading the army to attack the north village, attracting attention, and then selecting the most elite 5,000 troops in Shouchun City, preparing the things that ignited the fire, and went straight to the northeast camp.

He Jingzhu's operation still caused a lot of trouble to the Han army, after all, the weakening of elite troops was inevitable in the defense of the Han army's more risky siege wall, and it was impossible to cover all aspects as before.

If the Tang army really succeeds and destroys the grain and grass camp, then the Han army of Shouchun will collapse directly, but the siege will inevitably break, and even have to retreat to rest. After all, when marching and fighting, food supplies are the lifeblood.

It's a pity that He Jingzhu's opponent is Xiang Xun, who was ordered to guard the village, feels a great responsibility, and also knows the importance of the camp. When He Jingzhu showed his fangs, he decisively increased his troops, strengthened protection, and personally took charge. For this reason, he did not hesitate to draw troops from other camps.

He Jingzhu wants to fight the Han army for seven inches, and Xiang Xun also knows the severity, and he has a very clear understanding in his mind, even if the other four villages are broken, as long as the food is still there, it can be restored sooner or later. Moreover, the Tang army has not yet broken the strength of Hanzhai.

Under Xiang Xun's calm command and dispatch, He Jingzhu's abacus finally failed, and then Sun Li, Li Chongjin, Wang Yansheng, Gao Huaide and other generals led the army to fight, and the Tang army was defeated and returned to the city.

In a confrontation, the Han army suffered nearly 3,000 casualties among the soldiers and civilians, while the Tang army that went out of the city suffered more than half of the casualties. After this battle, the Shouchun defenders were injured again and no longer had the strength to take the initiative to attack.

At this time, He Jingzhu felt the breeze of early spring for the first time, and it was so bleak, and his body and mind were cold. I can feel the suspicion of the generals around me.

did not answer Zhang Quanyue's question directly, He Jingzhu just said unusually calmly: "Get ready, the last battle is coming, and the time has come to be loyal to the country......"

With that, he turned and walked slowly, step by step, down the walls. He Jingzhu obviously knew very well in his heart that Shouchun City could not be defended, and with the current situation in the city, it was impossible to hold on until the arrival of the next wave of reinforcements.

Even, he didn't talk to his subordinate generals about guarding the city or anything like that. is old and not stupid, and the military envoys and generals below, how many people are with him are debatable, and He Jingzhu himself doesn't care. But no matter what,

Personally, he is mentally prepared to face everything, and he is just martyred to the death. surrendered, He Jingzhu didn't have that idea in his mind at all, not that he was stupid and loyal to the Southern Tang Dynasty, at least before the Southern Han Dynasty invaded the south, the Southern Tang Dynasty court did not treat him very favorably. It's just that after going through troubled times, it has been in the year of the sixtieth year, and it has its own persistence, burying bones in the green mountains and shrouding the body in horse leather, which is also a good ending.

Looking at He Jingzhu's bleak and clear back, several generals looked at each other, but they were speechless, each with their own thoughts, and dispersed.

The commander of the Zuo Shen Guard Army made Xu Xiang return to the camp in the north city with a heavy heart, frowning deeply. There was a sound of footsteps, and when I looked up, it was the next battalion of the Divine Guard, and my heart was bent.

"Will, the reinforcements are dead, and Shouchun has no one to rely on. The general attack of the Han army is imminent, and now the hearts of the people in the city are fluctuating, and it is difficult to defend it, do we really want to be buried with this city? Xiao Xiaoxiao's low voice was a little excited.

Xu Xiang stared and asked him, "What do you think, what should I do?" ”

Hearing this, the little colonel moved closer to Xu Xiang and said, "With the strength and attack power of the Han army, once a general attack is launched, the city will be broken. Since the Northern Han Dynasty's southern expedition, the imperial court has not used people well, the decision is not clear, the emperor only sits on the dragon bed, and controls the soldiers, so that our army has been defeated in successive battles. In this situation, the Huainan states will not be able to defend it, and even the national will not be protected.

In the opinion of his subordinates, it is better to take refuge in the city and save his life. After several battles, our Divine Guard Army is less than 3,000, and if it can be dedicated to the Han Emperor and seek official glory, it is not known! ”

"You're trying to make me betray the king and commit treason!" Xu Xiang said angrily, his sharp gaze on Xiao Xiaoxiao.

"Which king, which country?" Seeing this, the little colonel also let go: "The Xu family was originally also a courtier of King Wu, and he replaced the king with a minister, and he did things of usurpation and rebellion, and he was called Li Tang. Stealing from Jianghuai, in fact, it is just a division of the princes, if you talk about Zhengshuo, you have to belong to the Central Plains strong man! The strength of the Han army, we have also seen it this time, it is by no means comparable to the Southern Tang Dynasty, we are sincere, and we are also surrendering to the orthodoxy of the dynasty, how can we talk about betrayal? ”

If Liu Chengyou knew that a small commander in the Tang army who was not literate had such insight and eloquence, perhaps he would have loved talents.

Hearing his words, Xu Xiang's eyes flickered, and he said: "You and I, and even the soldiers of the Divine Guard, are all people from Jiangdong, if you defect before the battle, how can you harm your family?" ”

Noticing Xu Xiang's eyes, Xiao Xiao knew that this Xu Du commander was actually moved, and said: "Lord Tang has always shown people with benevolence and virtue, how can he use three thousand soldiers to do the things of Zhulian. ”

"Again!" As he spoke, Xiao Xiaoxiao's eyes also showed a touch of ruthlessness: "If the Tang master is even smaller, then we can rest assured to defect, and the Han Emperor can also rest assured." A big husband, why don't you have a wife, as long as you are famous. At that time, the Northern Han Dynasty destroyed the Tang Dynasty, and we could counterattack with it, break Jinling, and avenge our family to comfort them under Jiuquan! ”

Xu Xiang couldn't help but look at this part that had followed him for many years, and he had never found that there was such a "measure", which made him feel a chill in his heart.

However, when I think about it, I can't help but be moved. Xu Xiang is only in his thirties now, and he is in the prime of life, but he doesn't want to really live and die with Shouchun, so he will explain it here. As for the betrayal of the Southern Tang Dynasty, there really will be no psychological pressure, the monarch and the ministers are righteous, it is the long-term situation of this era, and there will be no moral condemnation. At most, if the family is harmed because of this, there will be some guilt in the heart.

"Hey, I'm in a dilemma!" After thinking for a moment, Xu Xiang couldn't help but sigh, and then suddenly turned his head to look at the trilogy: "Are you willing to act for me, go to contact Hanying, and show my sincerity?" ”

The little school responded directly: "My subordinates are willing to go!" ”

"Tonight, I will arrange for you to descend from the north gate to the city. The lives of the soldiers of the Divine Guard are entrusted to you! ”