Chapter 231 Joy and Sorrow
Early when the armored cavalry broke up the two thousand rebel cavalry, the 1,500 infantry of the Yamen Army had already chased the enemy and started killing them.
After chasing for hundreds of steps, they did not hear the sound of retreating troops at all. Instead, behind them, there were three more buildings of Silver Spear Army infantry chasing them.
Not only that, the auxiliary soldiers also formed a team at the rear and came out one by one.
Three gaps were suddenly opened in the car array for them to enter and exit. Obviously, this is to let go of the winner and beat the drowned dog.
On the northwest and southwest sides of the main formation, the vehicle formations were also opened at the same time. After receiving the order, Chen Yougen and Li Chong each sent more than 2,000 troops to attack.
More than ten thousand soldiers rushed towards the enemy with shouts and made a noise.
The enemy's second formation of infantry collapsed and fled backwards.
The rear formation fired thousands of arrows again.
But this time, they failed to drive away the thieves who were running around without thinking.
The defeated soldiers fell down one after another, trying to run to both sides, but there were high-pitched shouts of killing on both sides. In desperation, they could only push the people in front, use them as human shields, and rush towards their own side. Back formation.
The pursuers did not stop for a moment, with swords in hand and spears stabbing. The defeated soldiers rushed into the rear formation and directly led them to collapse.
At this point, the 40,000 rebel infantry still on the battlefield collapsed as a whole, and were killed by more than 10,000 Jin troops who were chasing from three directions.
Shao Xun stood on the high platform and watched this moment calmly.
The scene of tens of thousands of people collapsing is spectacular and extremely shocking.
Looking down from a high place, three sharp knives were thrust into the enemy's soft abdomen from three directions: left, center and right, causing huge damage in an instant.
Chasing death and chasing north, moving forward indomitably.
At this time, Shi Le's commanding flag had just landed.
He has no chance of comeback.
"Shi Le, I don't know how he became famous..." Shao Xun shook his head and got off the platform.
When Suigongshi Fan rebelled, he was killed by Sima Gui, the king of Fanyang, and was defeated.
In the Battle of Dongwuyang last year, the 50,000-strong army was defeated and collapsed in front of Gou Xi.
Historically, in the Battle of Feilong Mountain next year, more than 100,000 troops were defeated by Wang Jun and fled.
This man lost countless key battles in the early stage, but in the end he was able to basically unify the north, which is also an anomaly.
Perhaps, perseverance and being good at correcting mistakes are his outstanding qualities.
The entire pursuit lasted until evening.
Nine hundred cavalry came back first, followed by the infantry.
Basically, in this battle, more than 20,000 people were beheaded and 10,000 people were captured. This was considered to be a complete defeat of the main force of the Han army heading south.
Everyone inside and outside the car array was beaming with joy, talking loudly, and laughing endlessly.
The hard-working auxiliary soldiers have to clean the battlefield, take care of the wounded soldiers, make fires to cook, and even repair equipment, trim horseshoes, and organize supplies...
While the soldiers were eating, Shao Xun led his soldiers to inspect each camp. Wherever he went, although there were not many words, judging from the expressions and actions of the soldiers, the coach's prestige had increased again.
This is the war dividend.
In addition to battlefield seizures, territory, and fame, the improvement of prestige in the army is also a huge gain.
No one likes to hang out with losers.
Those who win battles are always more likely to gain support from others.
Of the 20,000 troops who went on the expedition, only half were from our own people, and the remaining half were attached to the imperial court. They are human beings, not machines. After fighting such a big victory with Marquis Lu Yang, they will naturally have a tendency in their hearts.
Perhaps, at this stage, this tendency is not enough for them to abandon the court and seek refuge with Shao Xun. But as the saying goes, quantitative changes produce qualitative changes. When the situation changes drastically, it will show its power.
After dinner, Shao Xun did not hesitate at all. Taking advantage of the favorable opportunity when the enemy was defeated and in shock, the whole army went north and captured Yecheng after nightfall.
Almost at the same time, he ordered Li Chong and Chen Yougen to lead the Yamen and Changjian armies and more than 7,000 auxiliary soldiers to pursue the pursuit northward with baggage cars and sidecars - he gave special instructions , the main force of the army is to be cautious, first to think that it is invincible, and to wait for the enemy to be victorious. After all, most of the thieves' cavalry have escaped.
******
After Shi Le was surrounded by his men and fled, he first headed east and then north. He didn't stop to rest until midnight when his horse power was really insufficient.
He asked each general to report the number of troops and horses in his headquarters. After a rough calculation, he found that there were less than three thousand horses around him.
Wang Mi and Liu Ling are still with them. They are feeding the horses outside and staying with their subordinates.
Shi Chao and Wang Sang fell behind.
This battle was a terrible defeat.
After eating some water, he took a deep breath, and then frowned when he saw everyone looking downcast.
After a while, a smile appeared on his face and he said, "What are you all doing with your heads down?"
Kui An raised his head and looked at him, but stopped talking.
Shi Le laughed and said: "When we robbed the road in Chiping Garden, we only had more than a hundred riders. Later, we followed the Gongshi Fan in the uprising and were chased by the Yuzhou soldiers, running around. The tribe was scattered. ."
"After the defeat of Gongshi Fan, General Ji went on his own, and his troops expanded to 50,000 or 60,000 people. At the worst time, he was defeated by Gou Xi, who only had a thousand cavalry at his side. >
"After defecting to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, after a lot of hard work, we finally had thousands of soldiers and more than ten thousand riders. After two months of hard work, the number reached tens of thousands. Although they were defeated by Shao Xun, it was still not a loss." "Now there are three thousand. Riding, gather them together, the remaining brothers may not be dead, they may have run home, and we can still see each other by then."
" Over at the county, the young men and goods were transported back to Bingzhou ten days ago. Even if we just go back like this, we will still make a lot of money, so why worry?"
Shi Le's words, remember the hardship first, then think about it. Sweet, it still has some effect. And he didn't lie, it was all the truth, not exaggerated at all.
This is how they have been defeated since the uprising a few years ago. But the failure did not crush them. On the contrary, it made them stronger and stronger as they fought.
Everyone thought carefully and realized that this was indeed the case, so their morale recovered slightly.
However, after all, it was a huge defeat and it was impossible to fully recover. Especially this time, they had gathered more than 60,000 cavalry and countless money, food and goods. It was the strongest time since the uprising, and it was also the time when their morale was the highest. How could they not feel uncomfortable when they were hit in the head?
There was silence for a while.
Everyone was eating water and thinking about their own thoughts. At this moment, Zhang Fulidu, Zhang Du, Feng Motu and others walked in.
Shi Le's heart skipped a beat.
"Your Majesty." The three of them saluted in unison.
After you looked at me and I looked at you, Zhang Fulidu spoke again: "The tribesmen are clamoring to go home and don't want to fight."
Shi Le pondered.
The tribes that were moved inland, even after more than a hundred years, are still in the traditional form of tribal organization.
Tribes are made up of clans.
The so-called clan can be simply understood as the surname. The leader has a surname, and his surname is the name of the clan. Most people do not have a surname, and they can take their own clan as their surname after making meritorious deeds. This is because members of a clan are basically related by blood.
One or more clans together form a tribe.
The tribal leader needs the support of the clan leader, otherwise he will not be able to secure his position.
The clan leader is dissatisfied with the tribal leader and may pull people from his clan to leave and join other tribes.
Of course, a tribe composed of multiple clans may also leave a tribal alliance and join another tribal alliance. This is normal - the famous Eight Tribes of Khitan are actually a tribal alliance. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty At that time, it was headed by the Dahe clan, so it was called the "Dahe clan alliance". In the middle of Xuanzong, it was defeated by the Tang army and reorganized. The Yaonan clan of the Chute tribe was the khan, so it was called the "Yaojian clan alliance", and the Yelu clan of the Diela tribe was His name was the military chief (Yili Jin).
Jieren, Wuhuan, and Xiongnu all have this organizational form.
So, when Zhang Fulidu mentioned that some tribesmen were clamoring to leave, there was nothing he could do.
Shi Le frowned deeply.
I didn’t realize it before, but after the Battle of Yemaoka, he became more and more aware of the dangers of tribal soldiers.
He cannot directly command even one soldier. He must give orders through tribal leaders, and tribal leaders have to carry out military operations through clan leaders, because they are dispatched based on clans and tribes, not Common military organizational forms of Jin and Han infantry such as team, building, and army.
This kind of tribal soldiers gather together for the benefit of others and scatter if there is no benefit. It is impossible for them to fight to the death for you.
"There is no need for the minister to leave in such a hurry." Shi Le quickly reacted, holding Zhang Fulidu's hand and smiling.
Zhang Fulidu sighed.
When he accepted an official position in the Han Dynasty, he was actually willing to obey Shi Le's orders, but his followers didn't understand.
The Han Dynasty did not distribute money or food. They had to provide their own horses and equipment when going on an expedition. All they lost were their own money. It's okay if I can grab something, but if I can't grab it, why should I listen to you?
"Do you really want to leave?" Shi Le asked softly without letting go of his hand.
“I really have to leave.” After Zhang Fulidu finished speaking, he seemed to care for An Shile and added, “After I return, I will go on an expedition according to the king’s order next year.”
Shi Le He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said to Zhang Fulidu and others: "It's not easy for you guys. After the class, I will send someone to send a batch of money and food."
Zhang Fulidu and others were overjoyed and said in unison: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."
Shi Le also smiled, but after Zhang Fulidu and others left, his expression turned gloomy.
Seeing that the room was full of cronies, he did not hide anything and said directly: "This person can only be driven, not relied on for help."
Diao Ying and others nodded silently.
"Your Majesty." Tao Bao stood up and said, "I have robbed a lot of money and food this time. After I go back, I might as well use this to lure the barbarians from Daibei and form an army. Maybe I can use my fingers like an arm."
"Your Majesty, we should have done this a long time ago." Kui An supported from the side: "A lot of money has been spent on Zhang Fulidu, Feng Motu and others. In the end, not all of the soldiers are our own. , what’s the point?”
Shi Le stretched out his hand to stop everyone’s words.
In fact, he had already made a decision in his mind. In the battle against Hebei, he still had to rely on his own people. What Tao Bao and others said was not wrong.
Not only can Daibei Zahu be recruited, but even Xiongnu tribesmen can be recruited - well, he just heard Taobao mention the word "Hu", and he was slightly unhappy, but this Is it time to worry about this?
Every time you take a step, you gain wisdom.
When you suffer a loss, you must learn from your experience and make improvements.
The cavalry should focus on its own people.
The infantry must also be well trained. The young men who are recruited into the army at will are simply vulnerable to Shao Xun's skilled soldiers.
Next year - how about trying your luck with Wang Jun?
Hearing that he is in trouble, they have already sent troops to Liaodong to support Duanbu Xianbei. They may not be able to look after Changshan, Zhongshan and other counties.
As for Yecheng, Shi Le doesn’t want to come in the short term. It’s really unlucky. After his strength is accumulated to a certain level, he may try to go south again.
(End of this chapter)