Chapter 319 Nanyang
Just when the main force of the regular soldiers led by Shao Xun and Hou Tuo were engaged in a series of pursuit battles in the Wanye Corridor, Chen Yougen, as a surprise soldier, was slightly unlucky.
Although I was embarrassed, they were really lost...
Chen Yougen was so angry that he beat up the guide. If it weren't for the fact that this person was a member of the Le clan and he still needed to lead the way, he would have killed him with a single sword.
On the ninth day of October, they finally crossed the difficult mountain road and arrived at the first point of the Three Crows Valley Road: Pheasant Heng Mountain.
This mountain, also known as Baichong Mountain, is located ten miles north of Pheasant County.
Seeing that there was still enough food and grass, they continued walking through the desolate mountains without disturbing anyone.
That night, we passed through Xi'e County - where Zhang Heng's former residence is located.
On the 11th, after half a day of galloping fifty miles, I caught up with Nanyang Leshi's people and headed straight for Wancheng in the middle of the night.
There are a few enemy soldiers staying in Wancheng, and there are also a large number of enemy women and children. The defensive force is not strong, but it is not defeated in one blow.
In the second half of the night, the outside world was as dark as ink, and I couldn't see my fingers - in the physical sense, it was really too dark on a cloudy night.
Because of the news of defeat coming from the front, everyone in Wancheng was panicked.
Especially those young people from the Luanjun family who had just moved into the city were at a loss.
Some people even cried, secretly lamenting that maybe they shouldn't have caused chaos. If you go back to Guanzhong, just go back to Guanzhong. Although you will probably starve to death, you will not be without any vitality.
But what about now? More than 10,000 troops were defeated, all the way from Fangcheng Mountain to Duyang and Bowang. They were completely untenable.
Yes, it just doesn’t hold up.
Some people are defeated, but they can slowly gather the defeated troops, reorganize their troops, and turn defeat into victory.
Even if you can't turn defeat into victory, you can at least dig deep trenches and high bases to continue the stalemate with the enemy.
But if someone chases you all the way, and every time you reach a place, when you just want to take a breath, the pursuers come to kill you, this is untenable.
The consequences of being untenable are terrible, because you have no idea where to escape to.
The greater possibility is that they are constantly "slimming down" on the way to escape, and the number of defeated troops is getting smaller and smaller. In the end, even if they want to return and fight, they will not be able to do so.
There are more than 2,000 families of rebel soldiers living in Wancheng. Everyone is well-informed. After communicating with each other, they feel more and more desperate.
But now that the matter has come to this, there is nothing we can do.
If that doesn’t work, all the army, old and young, can just flee south together. It is better to go to Xiangyang and join General Wang than to stay in Wancheng and be slaughtered.
While they were anxiously waiting for their father, brother, and husband to come back, and then retreat together, Nanyang Leshi's people had armed their subordinates and servants, gathered a hundred or ten people, and sneaked in at night Ximen suddenly launched an attack and captured the city gate.
When the sound of "creeping" sounded, the soldiers of the Changjian and Yicong armies swarmed into the city.
After a less fierce battle, the whole city was basically under control at dawn, and no one was allowed to escape.
The whole Wancheng was like a giant beast, turning over and falling asleep again. But while it was sleeping, it still squinted one eye and looked toward the northeast.
******
When the clouds filled the western sky, Hou Tuo fled to Wancheng in embarrassment.
Before entering the city, he was still planning carefully.
There were only a thousand soldiers left in the city, and the defeated soldiers he brought back were only a little over a thousand. This kind of power is not enough to defend a famous city like Wancheng.
Fortunately, there are still more than 2,000 Guanxi refugees in the city. If all the men over fifty and under fifteen are recruited, and some of the young men from Wancheng are forcibly recruited into the army, we can probably The strength of the troops increased to about 5,000.
At this time, it is possible to defend the city.
After retreating from the army, we still had to gather the people scattered in various counties. Then find a way to collect some of the defeated troops and restore strength as much as possible.
This time, he suffered a huge loss.
Confidently heading north to Fangcheng Mountain, the camp failed to hold on for even half a day and was defeated by the army's tactics of rushing and fighting regardless of casualties.
The tens of thousands of troops that were fully loaded before the war were reduced to ashes, which is heartbreaking.
Alas!
The city gate has been opened, and the gatekeepers are looking at them eagerly.
When Hou Tuo saw him, he almost covered his face with his sleeves. He was really shameless in front of others!
More than a hundred riders rushed to the front and entered the dark city gate.
Hou Tuo rode forward and sped up slightly.
All he wants now is to have a hot meal and then have a good sleep.
After running for my life all the way, I was exhausted both physically and mentally. I really couldn’t stand it anymore.
"Xilulu..." The painful neigh of the horse suddenly sounded, followed by the sound of dense crossbow arrows piercing the air, and the screams of people dying.
Hou Tuo was horrified. Someone was making trouble and surrendered the army?
Just as they were about to turn around and exit the city, more than a hundred officers and soldiers came running from left and right.
They fought out from the city gate hole, with fine armor and all kinds of weapons.
As soon as they met each other, Hou Tuo felt that the world was spinning, and the horse under his crotch had crashed to the ground.
He fell heavily to the ground, and just as he was about to get up, he saw seven or eight long swords pressed against his neck, chest and abdomen, and he was suddenly too frightened to move.
“Tie them up.” Chang Can, deputy governor of the Changjian Army, shouted.
Several members of the tribe rushed up and tied Hou Tuo tightly with leather ropes. The sound of killing not far away continued.
The soldiers fired their crossbows first, then stepped forward to engage in close combat.
They were full of energy and high morale, but the defeated troops were as frightened and exhausted.
The battle only lasted as long as a stick of incense and was over quickly.
Rivers of blood flowed on the streets, and a fishy smell rose into the sky.
Hou Tuo stared blankly at the slaughtered troops, and couldn't help feeling sad and crying bitterly.
“You are telling me that I want to rebel?” He said loudly with tears streaming down his face: “It’s true that this world is not good for people to live in.”
Youfu Bingbuqu stepped forward, stuffed a ball of rags into his mouth, then kicked his feet and said, "Stop crying in mourning. It's not too late to cry before you die."
Hou Tuo was He staggered, but there was no reaction, as if he had given up all hope and didn't want to make any struggle.
Chen Yougen squatted on the roof on the right side of the street, still holding a walking bow in his hand. Seeing Hou Tuo's embarrassment, after listening to his words, he shook his head and said to himself: " In the past, maybe I would have done it with you and turned the world upside down. But now - well, you can't do anything like this. "
There is no foundation to rely on. There are only a few thousand households of refugees from Guanxi, but they are still burning, killing and looting in Nanyang counties. The relationship with the locals is extremely tense, and defeat is inevitable sooner or later.
At the same time, Chen Yougen was also a little creepy.
If Leshi is willing to help Chen Hou, Wancheng can change its owner.
If Leshi and Chen Hou fall out, wouldn’t Nanyang change its banner instantly?
Wancheng, Xiongzhen, is one of the eight major governorships of the country. How can such a hidden danger exist?
He couldn't figure out how to handle the matter for a while. Maybe he could only wait for the monarch to go south to discuss it.
******
On October 15th, Le Kai hurried to Wancheng from his hometown in Juiyang.
When we entered the city, we happened to see the Silver Spear Army brigade arriving.
“Le Gong.” Wang Queer bowed and saluted from a distance.
"General Wang." Le Kai returned the greeting.
Lucai still prefers this person.
Compared with Jin Zheng, another deputy governor of the Silver Spear Army, Wang Queer is gentler, polite and easier to get in touch with.
Hearing that this man was not married yet, Le Kai secretly thought that he might be able to select a talented and beautiful daughter from a distant branch of the Le family and marry him to consolidate the relationship.
Of course, this matter may arouse Shao Xun's suspicion.
But it seems unjustifiable if the generals under his command cannot make their own decisions regarding major life events.
There are still opportunities.
"Le Gong, has the army already set off?" Wang Queer took a few steps closer and asked.
“We set out yesterday, uniting several big families in Suiyang and Nieyang, with a total of more than two thousand people on foot and on horseback.” Le Kai said: “The Yu family also responded, but the troops and horses have not yet gathered. ”
There are about a few noble clans in the northern part of Jingzhou.
One is the Le family, which started in Juiyang County, Nanyang State, and its influence spread across the four counties of Juiyang, Nieyang, Jiyang and Wan.
The second is the Zong family, native of Ye County, Nanyang State, and quite influential in the Ye and Duyang areas.
The third is the Yu family, which has been separated from the Yingchuan Yu family for many years and is the most prestigious family in Xinye County.
There is also a Fan family in the west, mainly active in Shunyang.
In Wancheng itself, there is also a Liu family, which is said to be the queen of Changsha, the son of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. Liu Qiao, the former governor of Yuzhou, was born in this family and called himself "Anzhong Liu family".
The aristocratic families in Jingzhou are mainly concentrated in the north, more precisely, in Nanyang and its surrounding counties and villages.
The situation is now very clear. If various families have ideas, they can gather the small families attached to them and start to contribute, so as to occupy a good position in the political reshuffle of Nanyang after the war.
The Nanyang Le family and the Yu family took the lead in taking action. If the Fan family, Liu family, and Zong family did not want to fall behind others, they should take action in the next few days.
When the aristocratic families are organized and no longer scattered, the overall strength is still considerable.
Looking optimistically, it was easy to gather twenty to thirty thousand soldiers. I don’t know how they were frightened to death by Wang Ru, Hou Tuo, and Yan Yi.
"Le Gong still has to send someone to urge him." When Wang Que'er heard that the music of the Le family and the Yu family had gathered, he nodded and reminded: "The prince will come to Nanyang soon. , We will attack Wang Ru and Yan Yi later. The Nanyang tribes should be more active to avoid misunderstandings by the princes."
When Le Kai heard this, he sighed in his heart.
People from all walks of life come and go, and everyone wants to fight with them, which is very annoying. Fortunately, it was Shao Xun who came, and the Le family invested a lot there, so it was not a waste of money.
Moreover, this time they fought cleanly and defeated Hou Tuo in one battle, capturing and killing many of them. Next, attack Wang Ru and Yan Yi. If the past can happen again, it will be worth investing more money for Lejia.
As the contemporary head of Le's family, Le Kai has carefully calculated the gains and losses.
There are too many aristocratic families in Nanyang, and the competition is fierce. If you want to stand out and leave other families far behind, you must rely on this opportunity to restructure order.
Considering that Chen Hou’s extremely weak foundation in Nanyang, Lejia has already taken the lead, and they should seize the opportunity to further consolidate this advantage.
(End of chapter)