Chapter 597: The Royalist Army Surrounds Xingyang, Luo Ziling Daggers the Princes
"Good luck to the world!"
To the north of the river, the Taiping Army, as densely packed as an ant colony, held sharp blades and shouted loudly, with a fierce and intimidating momentum.
After defeating Huangfu Song, the Taiping Army did not stop its advance. It has now completely occupied the important town of Xingyang and built several dangerous passes around Xingyang.
There is not only an arsenal here, but also a large granary, which is a very good place for a major battle.
The fortified cities east of Luoyang were almost empty.
Luo Xiao stopped his plan to storm the remaining fortified cities at the risk of huge casualties, and instead stationed in Xingyang to attract troops from all over the world to support the king and to draw firepower for the Taiping Army in other states and counties.
The most correct approach for the powerful people in the world should be to clear out the Taiping Army in various places separately, and wipe out the Taiping Army distributed in the states and counties around Luoyang, so that they can work together.
But the military is just a continuation of politics, and when the capital faces a huge threat, any military goals are no longer important.
The most correct approach for Luo Xiao is to ignore the damage and attack Luoyang directly, but the correct approach for a person who will not live for many years and a person who can live for decades is different.
After Luo Xiao's training and the tempering of battles, the Taiping Army is no longer the army that Zhang Jue had.
No matter how demanding a person is, he has to admit that this is an elite force, and a rare elite force in the world.
What kind of army can be called elite?
There are only two points: skilled techniques and tactics, and a firm will to fight. The former can only be obtained through repeated battles and hard training, while the latter...
The personal charisma of a commander can greatly enhance the army's fighting spirit.
Future rewards can strengthen the army's will to fight. For example, if they capture a city, promising not to put down their weapons for three days or ten days can greatly enhance their combat effectiveness.
But in Luo Xiao's opinion, these are all minor tricks, methods limited to one army or one team, and methods that only generals with war in their minds would come up with.
In Luo Xiao's view, the combat effectiveness of a country's army is a reflection of the entire country's politics.
When politics is clear, the fighting capacity is strong; when politics is dark, the fighting capacity is weak.
The military is the continuation of politics. It is not just war, but the entire military system. This is the key.
Luo Xiao adopted a three-pronged approach. Although Zhang Jue's reputation might not be good to others, it was extremely high to the Taiping Daoists. This ensured that the Taiping Daoists naturally had a good impression of him and the Taiping Army trusted him.
After completing this step, Luo Xiao began to reform the political system of Taiping Dao.
He integrated most of the Taiping troops from Yuzhou, Yanzhou and Jizhou, and established a system of advanced troops with Xingyang as the center.
The Taiping Army and their families were divided into different areas and lived there.
Who should do what, what work should men do and what work should women do.
Who should get what, food, cloth, how much for men, how much for women, and even the elderly and children, all should be distributed according to need.
Luo Xiao arranged everything perfectly.
In Luo Xiao's opinion, this was too simple.
Because most of the Taiping Dao members came from the poorest common people, they were too easily satisfied.
The entire Taiping Army was well organized and orderly, which was a far cry from the chaos of the past.
Especially in times of chaos, they were able to have such a life, and a sense of pride from the bottom of their hearts filled the hearts of the Taiping Army.
I have lived for decades, but have I ever seen such a peaceful world? The state of the Taiping Army can only be described in four words: the people's hearts can be used.
In Luo Xiao’s words, “The Han court was violent, and Taiping was gentle; the Han court was cruel, and Taiping was kind; the Han court was unfair, and Taiping was equal.
How dark the world was in the Han court.
How bright the peaceful world is.
The tiny moth flies towards the light, people yearn for light and are willing to sacrifice, this is the law of nature.
If I do the opposite of the Han court, then I will have peace.
The people are on my side, so why can't I win? "
In Xingyang City, the residence of the Taiping Army’s great and wise teacher.
The generals who each commanded an army sat there obediently like little children, all looking at Luo Xiao who was sitting on the upper seat, with infinite respect in their eyes. It was not the look they gave to a person at all, but it was as if they were looking at a god.
In the eyes of these people, Luo Xiao is almost omniscient and omnipotent. No matter whether it is political affairs or military affairs, nothing can stump him. From defeating Huangfu Song to now establishing the prototype of the Taoist country.
Success in everything!
Almost every moment the Taiping Dao is becoming more cohesive, and the Taiping Army is becoming more powerful. This is all done by the man in front of him, so effortlessly.
Luo Xiao had in his hand important military intelligence on the Taiping Army in other states. After reading it, he put it down and said to the generals in the hall: "The elite Taoists from Yuzhou, Yanzhou and Jizhou are gradually gathering here and are constantly being recruited into the Taoist system.
Next is the Qingzhou Taiping Army, which is growing rapidly and now has hundreds of thousands of troops. It is very powerful and is attacking westwards to join us.
The situation of our brothers in Jingzhou, Yangzhou and Youzhou was not very good before, but as we defeated Huangfu Song, threatened Luoyang, and continued to harass Sanhe and Yingchuan counties, all the loyal princes in the world turned their attention to us.
The heroes of the Han court have led their armies to attack us.
This is probably what the legend says, "The whole world is your enemy!"
There was a smile in Luo Xiao's voice, full of arrogance and generosity, as if he no longer had enemies everywhere in the world, but friends everywhere.
His calm demeanor also infected the Taiping Army commander in the hall, sweeping away his previous worry.
Youqu Shuai asked directly: "General, what should we do next?
The princes' army coming to support the king is probably coming soon, but I don't know whether they will march together after the alliance or come separately. These people should not be underestimated."
Luo Xiao smiled when he heard that, he stood up and slowly walked out of the house, and the other generals stood up and followed him.
Luo Xiao stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky and laughing: "Why are we staying in Xingyang?
Isn't it just to see the loyal troops in this world?
Isn't it just to let the princes who are still loyal to the Han Dynasty, and the relatives of the Han Dynasty who are still making achievements in the world, see with their own eyes how my Taiping Army cut off the Mandate of Heaven!
Let them come.
Let’s see whether they can revive the Han Dynasty or we can overthrow it.
Don't be afraid. As I have told you before, while we are in this world, it is better to do the next big thing with a clear conscience than to spend your life in a mundane way.
Eliminating a dynasty that is on its way to extinction, destroying the old corrupt world, and building a new world, is there anything more magnificent than this in the world?"
The light in the eyes of the Taiping Army commanders became brighter and brighter. In their eyes, Luo Xiao's figure became taller and taller, like the majestic Mount Tai.
They had never seen anyone like Luo Xiao before.
They were deeply impressed by his chivalrous spirit, his disdain for fame, wealth and power pursued by most people in the world, and his benevolence towards all people.
In the past three hundred years, the greatest saints I have ever heard of are King Zhaosheng and King Luowen, and the greatest saint I have ever seen is the Great Sage and Good Teacher.
This is the truest thought of the Taiping Army commanders.
Luo Xiao continued to walk towards the courtyard, and the group hurriedly followed him. Luo Xiao said loudly: "Go and find out the news from all directions and see who is the first prince to arrive.
Let's use his head to tell the world, don't waste time dying one by one, come together!"
The Taiping Army leaders had waited for this day for too long, and they were already impatient to fight against the last army the Han court could rely on.
The loyal princes from all over the world also led their troops to Xingyang. Luo Kong led the Western Region Iron Cavalry at the fastest speed and quickly crossed the river from Hexi, then arrived at Hedong County, and went straight to Henei County and stationed on the north bank of the river. In an instant, the horn of war seemed to sound.
However, for the time being, Luo Kong did not have the energy to cross the river to attack the Taiping Army because he was entangled by local forces and was slowed down.
The imperial court certainly would not rely entirely on the army to defend the king. The Sili still had some war potential. The imperial court quickly recruited a group of young and strong men from the Sanhe area and Hongnong County, and opened the arsenal to Huangfu Song to re-arm a large army.
However, Huangfu Song was very cautious this time. He stationed his troops to the west of the passes in Xingyang to prevent the Taiping Army from suddenly attacking Luoyang and putting the whole world in a passive position. Even if they could not win the battle in the field, they would still have no problem defending the city.
As the two armies arrived to besiege Xingyang, the princes of Yuzhou and Yanzhou, which were closest to Xingyang, either led their armies to attack the east and south of Xingyang, or each looked for people with high reputation to form an alliance.
For example, Luo Zichuan, a role model for the whole country, was sought after by many people, from prefects to county leaders, hoping to form an alliance with him to attack the Taiping Army in Xingyang.
The Zhang family, which was closest to Xingyang, also led their private army to join Luochuan. Among the top wealthy families, the one who suffered the most in the Taiping Rebellion was the Zhang family of Xinzheng, because they believed in Taoism.
Some people also spread the rumor that Zhang Jue was a member of the Zhang family of Xinzheng. This was to attack the Zhang family and force them to take out their family tree and prove one by one that Zhang Jue was not a member of the Zhang family of Xinzheng.
One army after another, fast or slow, surrounded Xingyang, like a dragnet that made it impossible for anyone to escape. Huangfu Song looked at the news with a smile on his face. He had said it long ago that it would be easy to quell the Taiping Rebellion as long as soldiers were recruited from all over the country.
Our great Han Dynasty has a good historical tradition of serving the king and saving the emperor for three hundred years, why not use it!
The emperor in Luoyang looked relaxed but also frowned. It was not so easy to save the emperor. Just look at the child emperor of the previous Han Dynasty, who lost the throne due to his hard work.
Luo Xiao kept deducing the weaknesses of these princes on the map. Although he said to let the princes attack together, they still had to be defeated one by one during the war.
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He occupied Xingyang, united millions of common people, gathered 100,000 Taoist soldiers, and used the title of "Lord of the Heavenly Dao". Within a few months, he was able to gain a piece of land of peace and tranquility. Was this a sorcery? - "Records of Heroes at the End of the Han Dynasty"
(End of this chapter)
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