Chapter 82 "Borderless Land"
Zhang Fang did not come for the time being, giving Luoyang some extra time to prepare.
Grain harvesting, drying, and storage began on a large scale everywhere.
You have to farm, no matter how difficult it is, you have to work hard to survive.
Mi Huang has recently been building relationships with Man Fen and Miao Yuan.
This is what he is good at.
As the governor, I hope that the two of them can obey orders at critical moments and not fight independently.
Man Fen was lukewarm towards Mi Huang, but he did not deny face.
Miao Yuan is an old general from the Sima Yi era. He once followed Shangguan Si. He was greedy and cruel, but he was still aware of current affairs and was enthusiastic about winning over Mi Huang.
Most of these two soldiers are new recruits, and their training time is only three or four months. A few days ago, when we went out for group exercises in the city, Mi Huang went over to watch. After returning, he became a little silent.
Under Shao Xun's influence, he now has some discernment and can see what is a strong soldier and what is a weak soldier.
These two men have five thousand soldiers and horses. In terms of combat effectiveness, they may not be as good as the Royal Army.
Fighting in Luoyang, he had no soldiers, which made him very sad.
Shao Xun is paying close attention to the training of new recruits.
The Royal Army has basically been replenished, and many defeated soldiers with military experience have arrived. After a month of training, they have become roughly familiar with the battalion.
Shao Xun only hopes that the enemy troops will come slower and slower, so as to give him more time to train his troops.
But sometimes, the more you worry about something, the easier it will come...
In early August of the first year of Yong'an (304), on the vast plain south of Yecheng, a tragic The battle is nearing its end.
The 15,000 soldiers surrendered from Hebei were beaten into chaos as soon as they fought.
Most people surrendered on the spot.
They are all from Hebei, why should they be beaten to death? That's not necessary.
Some even surrendered their troops and defected before the battle, joining the Yecheng camp and heading south.
They did not move quickly, as if they wanted to let the news ferment.
At the same time, the Xianbei cavalry accelerated southward.
They did not rush towards Wang Shizhongjun.
Twenty to thirty thousand forbidden troops are not something they can deal with, especially when the light and heavy cavalry are fully equipped, and even armored cavalry are available. If they rush forward rashly, they are looking for death.
They specialize in picking out weak soldiers.
In the southwest of Anyang, Liu Qi galloped away in embarrassment, not daring to look back.
His brother Liu Anzhi waved his big halberd, knocked down several arrows, and protected Liu Qi closely.
While running for their lives, the two of them almost cried without tears.
The Liu family in Jie County was a powerful family in Hedong, with many tribes and cattle and sheep, but the country's quality was not high.
Liu Qi's grandfather Liu Gui once served as Shangshulang (sixth rank) and jointly formulated new laws with Jia Chong.
Father Liu Jingyou only served as a minor official.
When it comes to their generation, they simply work as Wubao commanders at home, waiting for the opportunity to become officials.
The Liu family did not respond much to Emperor Sikong's Northern Expedition. Only Liu Qi and his brother Liu Anzhi took the song eastward to take a chance.
Liu Qi was purely interested in fame, while Liu Anzhi was married to the daughter of the Pei family. The two of them traveled together, bringing a total of 3,000 pieces with them. After they joined Wang Shi at the Yellow River, , looting all the way, and were enjoying themselves, when they were suddenly attacked by Ye Division.
After being plundered, everyone had no intention of fighting, so they retreated all the way, even scattering friendly troops who didn't know where they came from.
When the friendly troops saw this, they ran faster than them, causing Liu Qi and Liu Anzhi to curse.
But it’s better to scold than to scold, it’s more important to escape.
The two fled south in a hurry, not daring to look back, not even the part.
Let this fight go to whoever wants to fight? We won’t serve you anymore. Go home!
Northeast of Dangyin, a temporarily recruited peasant army was marching. As a result, the further north it went, the more defeated troops it encountered.
The defeated troops who fled in a panic were simply a "rumor-making machine."
After a while someone said that the entire army was wiped out and Sikong was captured and killed.
After a while, someone said that the Luoyang Chinese Army turned against Sima Ying before the battle and surrendered.
Some people even say that the emperor was wounded by an arrow and issued an edict to abdicate.
The rumors became more and more outrageous, making the peasant soldiers panic and collapse on the spot.
In the northwest of Dangyin, the county soldiers from Chenliu stationed themselves in place after hearing the news that the troops from all walks of life were retreating.
During this period, Xianbei cavalry surged southward, but they ignored them and left.
In the evening, after a fierce debate, the entire army broke camp during the night, turned around and left.
This is the battlefield of the Northern Expedition.
The mob had no intention of fighting, and, stimulated by the rumors, they fled one after another.
And their actions of escaping greatly affected the Luoyang Central Army...
In the early morning of the seventh day of August, Shi Chao took advantage of the heavy fog to lead the main force of the Ye Division into the Bo Central Army.
The Chinese soldiers were panic-stricken, but in the end they were of good quality. After a day of fierce fighting, there was no winner.
That night, more and more friendly troops retreated southward, and the morale of the Chinese army became increasingly low. Shi Chao took the opportunity to launch a night attack with all his troops, regardless of casualties.
The former Forbidden Army soldiers who surrendered to Yecheng fought a bloody battle with the Forbidden Army loyal to the imperial court. Both sides were littered with corpses and suffered heavy casualties.
By the afternoon of the second day of the battle, the Luoyang Chinese Army finally could no longer hold on and the entire army retreated.
The emperor Sima Zhong was hit by several arrows and fell into the grass.
Sima Yue escaped in embarrassment under the protection of his entourage, with only a few hundred riders beside him.
Seeing that the Xianbei cavalry was outflanking to the south, Sima Yue was afraid and worried about being intercepted, so he fled eastward towards Yanzhou.
The vigorous Northern Expedition ended in failure.
******
When the news reached Luoyang, it was already mid-August.
Military Chief Cao Fu immediately held a meeting.
"You must have heard about the defeat of the army. Once the army of one hundred thousand was dispersed, I don't know how many people can come back. Alas." Although Cao Fu was sighing, there was no emotion on his face. There was no trace of sadness, as if he had already accepted the result.
Others have different expressions.
Someone is panicking.
Someone beat their chests and stamped their feet.
Some people were silent.
Some people exchanged glances with each other, wondering what they were thinking.
"Military Secretary, where is Sikong?" Mi Huang, an honest man, is still very dedicated. Besides, as the governor, he has heavy responsibilities, so he has to understand the specific situation in detail.
"I don't know very well either." Cao Fu shook his head.
That means you don’t know whether you will live or die? Shao Xun and Mi Huang looked at each other, both a little surprised.
Sikong is the coach in name only. With such a high status, how could there be no news? Even if you are dead, your body can still be identified by others.
Sima Ying will even focus on searching for Sikong’s whereabouts. How can he not know whether he is alive or dead?
“Did Sikong return to the East China Sea?” someone asked subconsciously.
“Absurd!” Cao Fu scolded with a straight face.
Others thought it was funny too. How is that possible?
Even if the Northern Expedition fails, as long as they return to Luoyang, there may not be a chance to regroup.
Sima Ying has threats from three directions: east, west and north. It is impossible for him to send the main force south to Luoyang. As long as some of the defeated troops are slightly gathered up, they can still defend the city after returning and wait for the opportunity to change.
The autumn harvest has just been completed, new grain has been put into storage, and there is no fear of shortage of military rations in a short time. Unless Sikong was frightened out of his wits, there was no way he wouldn't come back.
The man lowered his head after being scolded, maybe he himself felt that the words were too outrageous. Is it the sign of a human being to be so irresponsible? Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Cao Fu flicked his sleeves and walked around the hall, obviously thinking about countermeasures.
Shao Xun quietly pushed Mi Huang.
Mi Huang understood, cleared his throat, and said: "Military Secretary, no matter where Sikong is, the top priority is to get Luoyang's defense in order."
Cao Fu stopped, After a moment, he nodded and said: "What Zihui said is true. Luoyang is the Luoyang of the imperial court, it is Sikong's Luoyang, not the Luoyang of the rebellious minister Sima Ying. I don't know much about the formation of troops. Zihui needs to worry more. ”
“As the governor, I have to do my duty.” Mi Huang said.
"Do you have enough food and equipment?" Cao Fu asked.
"There is still some shortage."
"I will find someone to make up for it. What else do you need?"
Mi Huang glanced at Shao Xun.
Shao Xun did not hesitate and said immediately: "I think that if there are broken troops rushing to Luoyang City, they are not allowed to enter the city. They must be broken up and carefully screened before they can enter the city."< br>
“But are you worried that the thieves will make money?”
“Exactly.”
“What you say makes sense, what else can you add?”
“ The defenders of Luoyang are quite weak. At this time of crisis, I thought that I should not limit myself to the limit of the number of troops, but should open up the treasury and recruit warriors into the camp to strengthen the army. "
Cao Fuwen. Yan hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and said, "Yes."
Shao Xun lowered his head and stopped talking.
His purpose has been achieved.
The Royal Army only has 3,000 troops. Logically speaking, it cannot be overstaffed, or it cannot be overstaffed too much.
But what time is it now? The backbone of the army, Sima Yue, does not know whether he is alive or dead, and people in Luoyang are panicked. If they are not protected, rebels will appear. If you are still stuck in the old rules and cling to dogma, you will be a fool.
Soldiers, the more the better.
If you don’t recruit, others may pull you away and beat you in turn. The choice is obvious.
After Cao Fu walked around for a while, he sat back, the wrinkles on his old face bunched up.
Where did Sikong go? Should we send out manpower to search for it? If he doesn't show up, Luoyang will be without an owner...
Without the emperor, no prince, no prince, no powerful ministers, and no officials, who can suppress the situation?
It’s very tricky.
Sikong——Isn’t he really running back to the East China Sea?
(End of this chapter)