Where did Curimo go?

Zhang Zhifang glanced at Zhang Wei, and then shook his head, "Father, Shanxi's lair has been destroyed, although Kulimo is said to be the king of Shanxi, the king without the people is actually no different from ordinary people. Where can he go? It's nothing more than wandering the world. ”

According to the past practice, the kings encountered the destruction of their tribes, and it seemed that there was no other way to go except to wander the world. This is the thinking of ordinary people, and it is also the thinking of ordinary people, and it is also a conventional mindset.

But the king of Shanxi, Kulimo, is not an ordinary person, in the case of the collapse of the country, he did not play cards according to the routine, but made a strange move, a strange move, and suddenly made Zhang Zhongwu stunned.

"Hmph, you're thinking too simply, Curimo isn't wandering the world, they're having crazy ambitions for me at this time. It is reported that in the three days since you returned, the king of Shanxi, Kulimo, led tens of thousands of cavalry to attack Dingzhou, Hengzhou, Cangzhou and other prefectures and counties, killing as many as tens of thousands of people, and now they are still slaughtering people all the way west. ”

Yes?

There is such a thing.

Zhang Zhifang's eyes were straight, and he thought that after he led the troops to attack, Shan Xi would collapse from now on and disappear into the sky of history like a cloud of smoke.

I didn't expect this crazy guy to stick to Youzhou like stinky shit, he couldn't shake it off, he couldn't throw it away, and he was constantly disgusting Datang Youzhou, creating one difficulty after another for Youzhou.

"How so?" Zhang Zhifang, who was full of confidence and complacency just now, was stunned at the moment and stopped talking.

At this point, what else could he say?

He led his troops to burn tens of thousands of people in the upper reaches of the Daling River and Qilaotu Mountain, and achieved a phased victory; At the same time, Kulimo, the king of Shanxi, also conquered Danzhou with his own soldiers and horses, killing many people and officials in the city; Subsequently, they successively attacked and killed tens of thousands of people in Dingzhou, Hengzhou and other prefectures and counties.

As they came and went, the casualties on both sides were almost equal. With such a result, can it still be said that Datang won in the process of attacking Shanxi?

"How could this be?" Zhang Zhifang asked Zhang Zhongwu: "The matter has come to this, what should my father do?" ”

"What should I do?" Zhang Zhongwu said without thinking about it: "What can I do now, I can only lead the troops to continue to pursue and suppress the remnants of Curimo." ”

Chasing?

Things have come to this field today, and it will not work if you don't chase them. Everyone knows that as long as the Shanxi army led by Kulimo is still there, the people of Youzhou will not want to live a stable life. The only way to solve this problem is to continue to lead the army to pursue the enemy until they are all killed.

But where is this enemy?

Curimo's gang is really weird, today in the mountains, tomorrow in the plains, today under Youzhou City, tomorrow to the outskirts of Dingzhou.

After chasing for such a long time, Zhang Zhifang was also tired.

Chased from Liaodong to the Daling River, then from the Daling River to Nurur Tiger Mountain, from Nurur Tiger Mountain to Qilaotu Mountain, and from Qilaotu Mountain back to Youzhou boundary. The people killed a lot, but they didn't encounter a regular war, or they didn't encounter the main force of the Shanxi army.

Since we haven't encountered it, forget it, let's strike on both sides. But the army of Shanxi didn't want to save trouble for Youzhou, and from time to time they would cause some trouble for this important town in the northeast of the Tang Dynasty.

If it goes on like this, will it still be able to live?

After so many years of fighting, this time Zhang Zhifang was really tired, he had run thousands of miles, and he had not yet encountered a regular battle, and he no longer wanted to take on heavy responsibilities.

Everything has been explained to Zhang Zhifang, but he is not seen to take the initiative to take on the responsibility.

Why doesn't this kid have a sense of responsibility?

Zhang Zhongwu had something to say, "Zhifang, the enemy has not been completely wiped out, and you still need to lead your troops to the battle." And without further ado, immediately lead the troops to chase and suppress, otherwise I don't know how many people have been killed in the nine prefectures and counties under my Youzhou. ”

After listening to his father's words, Zhang Zhifang, who has always been very active in fighting, did not show a positive side. The expedition has been too long, and my heart is tired, and I don't want to continue to hide and seek with the mountain thieves.

Besides, as a man who has been on the expedition for such a long time, he has gathered a lot of energy, and he finally returned to the city, and before he could go home to release his energy, you want me to lead the troops to the expedition, and whether there is a little humanity, do you understand that a man has physical needs in addition to spiritual pursuits.

You must know that Lao Zhang's family is a first-class family in Youzhou, with high status, strong power, and constant good food and drink, whose little daughter-in-law and eldest girl don't want to marry into their family?

At this time, Zhang Zhifang was in the prime of life, with good health, full of energy, great strength, and he could also lead the troops to fight, so presumably the skills in the room would not be bad.

How could a man like this not have a few wives and multiple concubines in ancient times?

has been out for so many days, can Zhang Zhifang's wives and concubines not look forward to him coming home with rain and dew?

Thinking of this, Zhang Zhifang stopped talking. If you don't speak, you don't want to, and that's a clear thing.

"Naokata, would you like to say something!" Seeing that his son was slow to express his position, Youzhou Jiedu made Zhang Zhongwu unable to sit still, and asked directly.

"Father, this expedition has been going on for a long time, and the child's body is a little unbearable, so it is not too late to delay it for a few days, let the child rest for a while, and then set off again." Faced with the current situation, Zhang Zhifang did not say that he was unwilling to lead troops there, but only said that he would delay it for a few days.

How many days to slow down?

Can this be mitigated? Apparently not.

Because when you Zhang Zhifang was ready to enjoy life, the Shanxi army continued to slaughter the people of Youzhou, and I don't know how many people would die in a day.

Although Zhang Zhongwu felt sorry for the child, but in the face of the reality that there were dead people every day, this time he did not relax his requirements, but said to Zhang Zhifang: "If the mountain is not destroyed, I will not be at peace in Youzhou. I intend to immediately send troops to continue the pursuit, even if I can't completely annihilate the enemy, I must drive them out of Youzhou, and return the people of Youzhou to a peaceful life. ”

Anyone can be reasonable, but I want to do this thing of leading the troops to fight, things are so tense, there is not even a chance to breathe, Zhang Zhifang is unwilling, "Father, these days, the child's body is really unbearable, he can't get on the horse, he can't pull the bow, his back hurts, he doesn't think about tea and dinner, he really needs to rest for a few days, if something is urgent, his father will still be someone else." ”

At this time, the reason why Zhang Zhifang was unwilling to accept the order to continue the pursuit of Shanxi Kulimo was that in addition to being homesick, he was already afraid of difficulties. After chasing for such a long time, no trace of the army of Curimo was found, which was already very costly, and now that the enemy had come from the mountains to Youzhou, the pursuit was even more difficult.

What's more, most of them are infantry, and chasing cavalry on the plains with infantry is like chasing a train on a donkey, is it possible?

Whether it is from a work point of view or from a personal point of view, Zhang Zhifang is not willing to take on this task, anyway, I have already achieved a major victory in Liaodong, and whoever likes to do the things in the future will do, anyway, I will not go.

Someone else?

Is it time for a substitution?

Zhang Zhongwu looked at his son angrily, "Since this expedition, you have always been leading the troops, and only you are the most familiar with the situation in Shanxi, even if you want to change people, you can only choose from your subordinates." If you don't want to go, recommend someone to take your place. ”

Although Zhang Zhongwu did not lose his temper, Zhang Wei could clearly feel that the old man was already angry. And people also made it very clear, this expedition is your business, and if you don't want to go, then you can recommend someone to me and let him lead the troops.

If you are someone else, you have already heard the taste from the words of the Jiedu envoy, and they are already angry, if you know each other, hurry up and continue to lead the troops to recruit the remnants of the mountain Xi army.

But Zhang Zhifang is different, he is the biological son of the Jiedu envoy, or the deputy envoy of the Jiedu; No matter how angry he is, he doesn't care.

On the other hand, Zhang Zhongwu said this is also a kind of explanation and coercion to Zhang Zhifang, since you don't want to personally lead the troops to the battle, then it is up to you to recommend a general to lead the troops to the battle, it is your credit to win, and you also have an unshirkable responsibility if you lose, after all, is this person recommended by you?

Even if there is no direct responsibility, there is indirect responsibility, and at least there is a recommendation responsibility.

After hearing this, Zhang Zhifang looked at Shi Xiong and Zhang Wei beside him, and then said to Zhang Zhongwu: "Lord Jiedu, the last general recommends Shi Xiong as the main general of this expedition against Shanxi. Then he looked at Zhang Wei and said: "At the same time, Zhang Wei is recommended as a deputy general to assist Shi Xiong in continuing to recruit the remnants of Shanxi." ”

Yes?

Recommend me as a lieutenant?

Zhang Wei was stunned when he heard this, although he wanted to establish meritorious service in the army, but there was also a process, and this matter of directly becoming a deputy general in the army was indeed a bit sudden. Zhang Wei looked at Zhang Zhifang, surprised and confused.

If you want me to be a deputy general, there is no precedent for this!

But Zhang Zhifang did not look at him, but looked at his father and asked for his opinion.

Regarding Zhang Zhifang's suggestion, Zhang Zhongwu was of course surprised.

What a bold recommendation!

The matter of recommending Shi Xiong as the main general is already very bold in itself, he knows that although Shi Xiong has a good relationship with Zhang Zhifang, he is not a senior general in the army at this time, and there are many generals with strong ability, high level and old qualifications in front of him.

Although Zhang Zhifang was reluctant to go to Shanxi this time, there were still many generals in the army who could take on important responsibilities, and Zhang Zhifang let Shi Xiong be the main general, which was a bit risky in itself.

What is even more risky is that Zhang Zhifang suggested that Zhang Wei be the deputy general, which is a bit unspeakable. You must know that Zhang Wei at this time is only a staff member in the Jiedu Embassy, and he is also a young and junior staff member, with neither official position nor experience in war, even if the relationship between people and you is good, you can't go against the convention.

And at this time, Zhang Wei's staff is different from a staff member like Li Shangyin. A staff member like Li Shangyin was a staff member who had passed the imperial examination and was also famous, and because he did not have a suitable position for a while, he went to serve as a staff member for high-ranking officials and nobles, and used this as a springboard to seek a higher and better position.

On the other hand, Zhang Wei is different, he actually didn't have anything before he came to Youzhou, to put it bluntly, he was just a small person in Zuo Xiaowei's army. Except for being able to sing, dance, and have fun, I haven't seen him have any other abilities.

A little person who doesn't know anything is directly a deputy general, buddy, are you joking about the political system or bureaucracy of the Tang Dynasty?