Chapter 302: Unwavering

The battle in Hengshan City ended quickly. ReadМ

The soldiers who entered the city began to clear out the remaining enemies and at the same time took over the Xiliang army's warehouses in the city.

Zhao Xu went all the way to the north gate and observed the battle outside the city with Chang Wei.

The Xiliang soldiers who fled in panic obviously did not expect that there were soldiers of King Yan here, and they were caught off guard.

Facing the rampage of the cavalry, a large number of Xiliang soldiers dropped their weapons and surrendered.

For the soldiers who resisted, the soldiers of the royal palace naturally spared no effort and swung the swords in their hands at them.

However, a small number of Xiliang cavalry escaped from the ambush.

The fighting lasted from morning until noon.

At this time, Bai Shang, who was in charge of the ambush, escorted a Xiliang general into Hengshan City.

"Your Highness, this person is Ye Renrong, the deputy leader of Xiliang." Bai Shang said with clasped fists.

Two soldiers pushed the embarrassed Ye Renrong in front of Zhao Xu and pressed him to the ground.

Zhao Xu has never heard of this name.

But Chang Wei laughed. He had fought against Ye Renrong when he was fighting Xiliang.

In the Xiliang army, Ye Renrong was still a wise general.

At that time, the Imperial Guards of Dasong suffered a lot from their subordinates.

I didn't expect to be caught by him so easily now.

He said to Zhao Xu: "Your Highness, this person is a talented general under Murong Wuji."

Ye Renrong raised his head at this time, staring at Zhao Xu fiercely, "Are you King Yan?"

Zhao Xu was not afraid, he said coldly: "Yes, I am King Yan."

"Haha, you are quite capable, but it's a pity that you won't be able to take back Jinzhou after all. Our Xiliang army will definitely make it impossible for you to come back." Ye Renrong shouted.

The corners of Zhao Xu's mouth rose, revealing a king's contemptuous smile.

A weak person will be angered by a few words, but a strong person will just ignore it.

He said calmly: "Really? In that case, I will not kill you for the time being. I will keep it until Murong Wuji is captured and let you two kneel in front of me together."

"Daydreaming!" Ye Renrong shouted.

Zhao Xu didn't bother to argue with him at all, and waved his hand for the soldiers to take him down.

At this time, Chang Wei looked at King Yan. What King Yan said just now was so domineering that it made his blood boil.

He said: "Your Highness, now that Hengshan County has been taken, Xincheng in Xin County is below. If we take it there, we can go straight to Jincheng."

Zhao Xu nodded lightly and said: "But if Hengshan County is lost, Xiliang will definitely be angry, and the next war will be even more cruel."

After a pause, he continued: "And there are two county towns on the road from Xincheng to Jincheng. These two county towns must also be conquered."

In ancient times, battles were often fought one city at a time.

He cannot break out of this pattern.

The reason is that every city is a fortress and granary.

To capture the city and then continue the march would be to shorten the food route.

If you don't fight, go around the city occupied by the enemy and attack a city farther away.

This becomes like checkers, which means the middle point is broken.

At that time, if the enemies in the middle city cut off the food route or attack from both sides, it will be very uncomfortable.

In history, there were many battles in which people got dumped because they bypassed the enemy city.

Chang Wei remembered the distribution of cities on the sand table and nodded.

The war in Jinzhou was not something he could do in a hurry.

The two continued to discuss.

It was decided to clean the battlefield first, and at the same time let the civilians who followed him transport the grain and grass to the granary in the city.

Finally, consolidate the defense of Hengshan City.

After all, this place has now become a bridgehead of war like Feihu Pass.

By taking one step forward, they will continue to jump to the next step.

In the evening, Chang Wei told him the statistics of the battlefield.

"Your Highness, in this battle, 6,621 Xiliang soldiers were killed and 9,100 were wounded. 23,206 Xiliang soldiers surrendered. The remaining Xiliang soldiers Then he broke out of the encirclement and escaped. According to the captured Xiliang general, there were more than 42,000 people in the city, mainly because of the young master. "Chang Wei said.

Zhao Xu is very satisfied with this number.

This battle basically destroyed the army led by Ye Renrong.

But what made him regretful was that Ye Renrong seemed to mainly lead an army of two-dog soldiers like Mr. Chong.

"Those who surrender and challenge the Young Master will be dealt with according to the methods in the camp. The Xiliang soldiers will be escorted to Yanzhou and sent to the mines for mining." Zhao Xu said.

Chang Wei agreed, and then said: "Your Highness, there is one more thing. There are still many people in Hengshan City, and there are also some local wealthy families who are working for the tiger. What should they do with them?"

Zhao Xu frowned and said, "Don't disturb the people in the city. The rich and powerful who do evil will be punished as collaborators and traitors."

To him, there was no use in keeping these wealthy families.

They represent the stubborn conservative forces and the community of interests that hinder progress, and will definitely become their enemies in the future.

In fact, he was aware of this problem when the Yuan family rebelled.

The policy of attacking the wealthy clans and dividing the land and acres certainly won the hearts and minds of the people.

But this seriously harmed the interests of local wealthy families.

That's why they were determined to follow the Yuan family in rebellion and get rid of him.

But now he is sitting firmly in the four northern counties day by day, becoming the one who laughs last.

After that, it was logical for him to promote Yan County's policy throughout the four northern counties.

Of course, on the issue of whether to stand against the wealthy family, he weighed which one to choose.

After much thought, he still chose to stand on the opposite side of them.

Of course, if he wins over the powerful families and protects their interests like the Yuan family, he can make himself compatible with Dasong and have fewer enemies.

But this is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst. The nature of the powerful families to make profits for themselves will not change.

Moreover, they are naturally weak and very easy to succumb to the powerful families.

If he adopted the strategy of reusing the powerful families, I am afraid that his iron smelting and cannon making techniques are now making wedding clothes for the powerful families.

Maybe the army under his command can directly rebel.

And now, he has chosen the poor people who are opposed to the powerful families.

In order not to return to the dark age of being enslaved by the powerful families, they must unite closely around him.

Even if the price is that he may become the public enemy of the powerful families and the powerful families of Dasong one day.

So, since you have chosen one side, you must stand firm.

You must never be soft-hearted when facing the powerful families.

Of course, he will not kill them all with one stick.

This is undoubtedly another extreme. He will also give a break to the nobles who are considered good and kind by the people.

After making this decision, Zhao Xu let Chang Wei leave.

He thought about the next strategy.

After taking Hengshan County, Xiliang will definitely be more vigilant and strengthen the defense of the city on the road to Jincheng.

In particular, they will be on guard against night attacks, which will weaken the advantage of the royal soldiers marching at night.

Therefore, he must find a way to maintain this advantage.

After thinking for a while, he suddenly had an epiphany and nodded with a smile.