Last night there was a snow pellet and the temperature plummeted. The next night, Zhao Ying was ready and withdrew from Dayu Mountain one after another.

Liu Weiming's department is familiar with geography, as the vanguard, Hou Dagui and Hao Shaoqi's department followed, the rear camp and Xu Hui's department were in the center, Ma Junsi was supported on both wings, and Bai Jiaolong volunteered to stay behind the Dahu Mountain for the time being.

The troops marched very fast, and before dawn they reached Yilong, and then crossed the big and small Peng Mountains and entered the ground of Yingshan County.

According to the Baijiaolong Daily, Luo Wenyuan on the west side of the Jialing River had learned the news of Zhao Ying's withdrawal and sent more than 100 pioneers to visit. There are many people in the white camp, many banners, and bluffs, and the other party can't figure out the details and dare not move lightly. For Luo Wenyuan, he would never act alone without Luo Wanxiang's support.

Yingshan County is not far from Boryeong Province. During this period of time, the north road was not quiet, and the magistrate had already made preparations in advance, and concentrated the money, grain, materials and villagers in the mountains and wilderness under his jurisdiction into the city. The large and small forts in the county are also fortified and ready to be defended.

Zhao Ying is not short of food and clothes at the moment, and spending time here is not worth the loss. It seems that this kind of small county town can protect itself, and Zhao Dangshi is not worried that it will take the initiative to attack at all. Send someone to the county seat to show off his might, and then calmly go around the city.

Another day later, I arrived in Qu County. At this time, the White Jiaolong Department had also chased to Yingshan County.

The Qujiang River is not a main stream in the northern section of Qu County, and the flood season has passed early, coupled with the dry and cold temperature, the water level is very low, and it can completely cross people. Zhao Dangshi was originally worried that the officials and troops would be chasing him, but he heard that most of the officers and troops in various departments had not yet arrived - Zhu Tingyi was greedy for life and afraid of death, so he did not move a single step in Mianyang; Hou Liangzhu is entangled with Hu Jiusi and other departments in Ba County; Zhang Shiyu's various departments were not well coordinated, and they were fighting for the garrison area in the Fujiang area, and there were many chaos-there were many problems, so his mood was a little relaxed.

After crossing the Qujiang River, you will arrive at the Danqu Mountain. Zhao Dangshi was slightly prepared at the foot of the mountain, met the white dragon department, and entered the mountain together. After the rendezvous, it was discovered that the original 2,000 soldiers of the White Battalion were now only 1,500 at most, which was nearly a quarter less.

When asked about the reason, Bai Jiaolong didn't care. Most of these lost soldiers were miscellaneous soldiers who got lost or fled on the march, and there was no loss of his main backbone. Without these people, there is less mouth to eat, but the pressure is reduced. If you need to fight in the future, you can plunder the population. Similarly, Liu Weiming's department has also suffered serious attrition.

Zhao Dangshi suddenly realized. The reason why Bai and Liu didn't worry about the winter of the soldiers below was that they didn't treat those miscellaneous soldiers as human beings at all. As long as their henchmen are neatly dressed, eat and drink, those miscellaneous lives and deaths are insignificant.

In contrast, Zhao Ying's situation is much better. Except for a few people who were lost due to illness, there were very few lost soldiers who traveled hundreds of miles all the way. On the one hand, this benefited from Zhao Dangshi's strict discipline, and on the other hand, it also benefited from Zhao Ying's ordinary training.

Different concepts of military management create different troops. Although Zhao Dangshi did not dare to say that Zhao Ying was already a strong army, compared with Bai and Liu Erying, who regarded human life as a mustard, the cohesion of the army was clear. The reason why the stick thieves are stick thieves is not only because of their poor equipment, but also because of the backwardness of their thinking about administering the army. Zhao Dangshi felt that if Bai and Liu Erying were not reorganized as soon as possible, they would definitely become a great burden in the future.

Danqu Mountain, "Extended and connected, the mountains are long and narrow, there are like ditches", because of the name. During the Three Kingdoms, Zhang Fei, the general of Shu Han, once defeated Zhang He, the general of Cao Wei, here. There are also some monuments on the mountain.

Zhao Dangshi heard that there was still a stone tablet left by Zhang Fei, so he ignored the cold weather and touched the mountainside with a few guards. When the stele was found, it was already broken, the stele was severely cracked and worn, and the handwriting on it was almost unrecognizable. Zhao Dangshi left in a hurry, and arrested two people hiding in the Wujie mangbush from the middle of the road, and when asked, it was a woodcutter from nearby Dazhu County, who often collected and sold them in the county seat. At that time, the sky was drifting with light snow, mixed with rain, and the soldiers in front of the Zhao camp, left, and right, as well as the soldiers of the Ma Army Division, were still able to support because of their strong bodies, but the rear camp and the people and horses of the Bai and Liu divisions seemed to be a little unbearable under the invasion of the cold wind and cold rain. Combined with the sentinel cavalry returning to the official army to pursue all walks of life, even before Shunqing Mansion entered, Zhao Dangshi decided to temporarily find a resettlement point and arrange the old and weak baggage.

According to the confessions of two woodcutters, the county seat of Dazhu County is located in Mumen Town, a stone city built during the Chenghua period, there are four on Tuesday, and the highest part of the wall is five. However, because the county is located in the hinterland of Sichuan, and it is not a strategic risk, in the past 150 years, the successive governors of the county have not paid attention to repair, so the walls are still damaged, and several places have even collapsed, only guarded by Yu Ding. This is not counting, recently the magistrate died of illness, the new magistrate has not arrived, several officials in the city are intriguing, competing for the sphere of influence, and the upper and lower factions are chaotic, and even the villagers like them can hear a thing or two when they rest in the tea shop.

If God doesn't take it, he will be blamed. Zhao Dangshi immediately convened a temporary combat meeting, and the target was Dazhu County. Bai and Liu have not been attached for a long time, although they have helped in the previous battle, but they always feel untenable, so they took the initiative to ask Ying as the main force to attack the city. Zhao Dangshi seized the county seat in order to be a transit station for power, and stability was the mainstay. Not to mention whether they can take the city alone, even if they do take it, with the military discipline of the second battalion, you can imagine what kind of chickens and dogs will be jumping and bloody in the city at that time, which is contrary to his original intention.

However, the rejection of the two was afraid that it would dampen their enthusiasm, so Zhao Dangshi thought of a compromise and asked Xu Hui to bring people to help, and once again clarified his intention to seize Dazhu County.

Xu Hui is old and serious, and he has always said that he is the same, Bai and Liu understand in their hearts, saying that they are helping, but they are actually supervising the battle. Zhao Dangshi did not trust the combat effectiveness of the two of them, and did not trust the strength of their military orders. The two of them took this opportunity, and raised their palms in front of Zhao Dangshi and swore that they would never set up for anything wrong, and secretly gritted their teeth in their hearts: this time there must be no mistakes in this action, and then let other generals underestimate it.

The mountain road is extremely dangerous and difficult to walk, and only plank roads can be passed in several places. There were still a few fortresses in the mountains, but at this time they were all empty, which shows the slackness of the official and military garrisons.

Bai, Liu and Xu Hui went first, and it was only after the afternoon, and after counting the team preparation points on the bank of Dongliu River, they rushed south. Zhao Ying's other divisions followed. Among them, the rear battalion was extremely slow because of the large number of baggage and the female dependents of the wounded. Especially Ma Zhang's family, she was sitting in the carriage, the carriage transformed from an ox cart was too wide, and the plank road was really difficult to pass, and the soldiers asked her to come down and walk several times, but she sternly refused. She was stuck on the road for half an hour, unable to move back and forth. In the end, Zhao Dangshi could only go out in person, persuaded him warmly, and after a few soft words, Ma Zhang's face turned slightly pale, and he pouted and reluctantly got out of the car. As soon as he got outside, he screamed that it was too cold and he was about to freeze to death. Zhao Dangshi was helpless, hugged her on the horse, put on two robes, and led the horse for her in front. The soldiers dismantled the wagon with all their hands, and the procession was able to continue its march.

In winter, it gets dark early, especially on snowy days. By the time Zhao Ying had all crossed the mountain, the sky had darkened. This was followed by heavier and heavier blizzards – the sleet had been completely transformed into goose feather snow by this time.

Zhao Dangshi looked up at the sky, and thin snowflakes spun around from the top of the faint sky, falling on his forehead and neck, causing a burst of coldness. He was very glad in his heart to leave Dahou City one step earlier, looking at the situation in front of him, as long as it was a few days slower, once the heavy snow closed the mountain, then Zhao Ying was trapped in a corner of Shunqing Mansion, but it was really going to become a turtle in the urn.

On the other hand, the snow came at the right time. Zhao Dangshi is sure that as long as there is no master among the generals of the Sichuan army who will not stop like Cao Wenzhao, then with his consistent urine, it is unlikely that he will brave the wind and snow and cross mountains and rivers to pursue him. In other words, he will have more time to open up the situation in Kuizhou.

Good news continued to come from the south, and when the night finally closed, the news came that the county seat of Dazhu had been broken.

Dazhu County is sandwiched between the east and west mountain ranges, and the mountains extend to the south to the territory of Linshui County, and then to the south, is the territory of Chongqing. Hezhou and Changshou are also far from Kuizhou. There is only one Linshui county, which does not pose a threat to the remaining troops in Dazhu. It's safe to arrange logistics here.

And from Dazhu County to the north, is Dazhou. Dazhou is the gateway to Kuixi, and it is also an important agricultural town, and taking it will be beneficial and harmless to the current winter and the further development in Kuizhou.

However, this Dazhou can be taken without saying that it can be taken . Similar to Dazhu County, its city was also built with brick walls on the basis of the old site of the earth city during the Chenghua period. But in comparison, the imperial court undoubtedly attaches a lot of importance to the preparation of Dazhou, and it is repaired again when it is Zhengde, and then it is repaired endlessly.

When Zhang Xianzhong and others entered Sichuan last year, they swept most of Kuizhou, and attacked Dazhou with 2,000 horses, but they were repelled by Zhang Lianxiang of Zhizhou, losing more than 700 people, and the well-known old Kou Shun Tianwang was also killed in that battle.

Zhao Ying settled in Dazhu County for a night, and the situation in the city gradually settled down. According to the plan, Hou Si Tun was stationed in the city, the Ma Jun Division assisted in guarding, and the Zuo Division was guarding various strongholds outside the city. Zhao Dangshi personally led the front and right second divisions, as well as the second battalion of Bai and Liu, to enter Dazhou.

The snow continued unabated all night, and in the early morning, the wind was fierce and the snow had accumulated to the Achilles tendon. Hou Dagui wrapped his coat tightly and walked outside, and a cool breeze instantly penetrated into his arms, making him so excited that he couldn't help but sneeze twice.

He muttered, wiped off the serum under his nose with his fingers, and saw Zhao Dangshi standing in the wind, and walked up two steps quickly: "Mr. Qian, do you really want to hit Dazhou?" In this situation, the artillery is difficult to use, and even the ladder is difficult to climb. It's better to survive the heavy snow and then make a plan. ”

In the distance, several soldiers were clearing the snow from the road, and one of them slipped and almost fell on his horse.

Zhao Dangshi looked into the distance: "What you said is reasonable, but the time is not for me, and the pursuers can also move when I can move." The enemy is strong and we are weak, and if we want to take the initiative, we must use movement to control the static. ”

Hou Dagui knew his temperament, so he no longer persuaded him, but said: "I have heard that the governor of Nada Prefecture is a hard stubble, and I am afraid that it is difficult to deal with." ”

Zhao Dangshi nodded slightly, but said no more. What Hou Dagui said was the concern of most of the generals in the battalion. In fact, not only them, but even Zhao Dangshi himself did not think that they could easily capture Jiancheng in such a harsh environment. If you can lure the Dazhou soldiers and horses out of the city and fight with them in the field, the chances of victory will undoubtedly be much greater.

But that Lianxiang can protect a state, and he is certainly not a frivolous and impetuous person, and it is very unlikely that he can be provoked out of the city in a few words. Zhao Dangshi thought about it for a long time, but he didn't come up with a proper way.

Since it can't be attacked, then find another way. He's not a rigid person, and there's still some flexibility to do that. The Dazhou guards are mostly recruited by the state, although they have the enthusiasm to protect their families and defend their land, after all, they lack training. Leaning on the city is more than enough to hold on, and there is no need to worry about going out of the city to fight in the field. He understands this, and Zhang Lianxiang must also understand it. Now is the right time to take advantage of this and turn the attack into a circle.

In this way, old problems are solved, and new questions arise: how to get around?

Zhao Dangshi's goal is to take Xinning County.

Xinning County is in the southeast corner of Dazhou, and if it is taken down first, the rear division and others can be transferred from Dazhu County. Zhang Lianxiang watched from the wall and had nothing to do, once he sent troops, he couldn't say it, it was not impossible to take the opportunity to take Dazhou together.

If you want to attack the enemy, you must come up with a surprise. Zhao Dangshi had not mentioned this idea to anyone before, until the soldiers had eaten early, gathered and waited, and then quickly summoned the generals and notified them that the plan had changed.

There is no spectrum to attack Dazhou, and attacking a county seat is still competent for Zhao Ying. Hou Dagui immediately came to the momentum, and asked for the main force of the siege.

In the previous battles, the former boss was all auxiliary, and his performance was not angry, he kept holding his breath and was unwilling to play a supporting role again. The generals knew that he was anxious, and he also valued his status in the army, and no one dared to compete with him. He couldn't help but be overjoyed, and even jumped on his feet like a child when he left the camp.

Bai and Liu went to Dazhou first. Half a circle outside the city, loud noise. Zhang Lianxiang successfully resisted the invasion of the rogue last year, so this time he had a countermeasure and did not panic. The defenders and residents of the city also arranged defenses in an orderly manner under his command.

Zhao Dangshi stood in the distance, looked at the city wall from afar, saw the city head of the city crowded, people flowing, and heavily defended, and sighed: "If you insist on attacking, I don't know how many brothers will be killed or injured." ”

The wind howled, and the snow flakes falling with the wind were like white floc shaking off, connecting the sky and the earth, obscuring the vision. And Hou Dagui and Hao Shaoqi were in this wind and snow, with people and horses, quietly turned away.