Chapter 386 "The Battle of the City"
In the northeast of Wuping County, a team of more than a hundred people was moving forward with difficulty.
It can be seen that they were originally cavalry, but now, almost all of them are leading their horses on foot.
The number of horses has been greatly reduced. There is now less than one horse, and they have lost weight seriously. It doesn’t look like they can ride for a long time.
They had received the retreat order from the messenger and were preparing to retreat to Gaoping. Helplessly, he was intercepted by Jin's mounted infantry, and the messenger was shot to death by a crossbow machine. He was a little confused about his direction.
After going around in circles, a few days were wasted. Walking along the river, they were intercepted by a group of government soldiers coming on horseback.
They did not fight them on horseback, but dismounted and formed a formation, with crossbows at long range, infantry bows at mid-range, and spears, axes, and heavy swords at close range.
Those who were in a hurry to run away had no intention of fighting with them and could only stay away from them.
But avoiding it like this is not an option.
Wherever they go, as long as they encounter a village in the countryside, their whereabouts will be exposed, and they will have no choice but to run for their lives.
The food and water carried with them became increasingly scarce. Not only were the people hungry, but the horses were also losing weight.
At this moment, the little grain left was used to feed the horses, and occasionally some hay was found for them to eat.
As for the people, they have already begun to kill horses to satisfy their hunger.
This is their situation. It is very difficult. They don’t know if they can go back alive.
People's hearts began to divide.
Some people still have a little confidence left in their hearts, thinking that Gao Ping is still there and that as long as he can retreat and rest for a while, he can return to fight again.
Some people began to wonder why the Central Guards issued the order to retreat. Isn't this strange? Could it be that the enemy's main force has pressed down on Gaoping City? Or is the food route cut off?
If it is the latter, then the situation is very dangerous.
When the food road is cut off, even if there is still a small amount of food in the army, the morale of the army is shaken, and a decisive battle with the Jin army is nonsense.
When Cao Yi and Shi Le heard the news, they would only run away, but would not listen to orders and come closer. They were not mentally ill.
When the news came that Shi Le and others were either retreating or not patrolling, the morale of the Gaoping defenders would only be lower and their chances of winning would be even lower.
At that time, the infantry in the city may be able to hold on for a while, but the cavalry stationed outside the city will be forced to face the enemy directly.
With this kind of morale, dividing people into several groups, riding and shooting in battles, is just looking for death. The opponent only needs to focus on defeating a small number of people, and the rest may run away without even fighting.
The only way to win may be to concentrate our forces for a decisive battle, but in a head-on fight, can we really defeat the Jin cavalry?
The Xianbei people's fighting methods are similar to theirs. There were several cavalry duels in Bingzhou, and the Han Dynasty was defeated...
This war has come to an end - at least the end of the first phase. ——Now they need to get back alive.
Three hundred horsemen appeared on the distant horizon, and there was an exclamation among the retreating Huns.
Three hundred horsemen rushed to a distance of more than a hundred steps, separated into a group of people to collect the horses, and the remaining two hundred and fifty people came in formation.
Crossbows, rifles, spears, and heavy swords shine in the sun.
To fight or not? Everyone looked towards the leader.
The leader frowned, as if hesitating.
These Jin soldiers, who are called Fu soldiers, never fight with them on horseback. Instead, they dismount and fight on foot, using strong bows and crossbows, big swords and heavy axes. When they form a formation, they are really impressive. Not easy to deal with.
If there is enough food and grass, plenty of horse power, and no shortage of arrows, it is not impossible to give it a try.
But right now, there is no possibility of winning at all.
"Go!" The leader directly ordered to retreat.
Everyone got on their horses and roared away.
The other party immediately sent the horses to the soldiers.
The soldiers got on their horses and pursued quickly.
Both sides ran and chased.
Occasionally, a Huns cavalry looked back and fired an arrow to shoot down the soldiers who were chasing too close, but they remained unmoved. After slowing down their horses slightly, they still stayed behind.
While escaping, horses kept neighing and falling to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
It is self-evident what the outcome will be for the Hun cavalry who lost their horses on the land of Henan, which is full of Diwubao and Tuweizi.
******
South of Suiyang County, Liang State, a group of Hun cavalry had just crossed the river.
A group of people came out from behind the woods ahead.
The leader of the team turned pale.
He was still in Chen County the day before yesterday and retreated after receiving the order. Along the way, I always felt like I was being watched.
Behind the crude camps, there seemed to be eyes always watching their whereabouts.
As a result, I was caught up after only two days of walking.
He knew that the enemy troops could freely supply supplies in those camps and feed the horses until they were fat and strong, and the men could also have a good sleep in peace of mind, and then get up in high spirits and pursue them with their tails on. . But they could only camp in the increasingly cold wilderness without access to new supplies. I could only rely on the water I brought with me to return to Gaoping.
The morale and state of both sides are not on the same level.
The leader did not hesitate and led the people to escape.
Fortunately, their unit was in much better condition than the one in the northeast of Wuping. It had sufficient horsepower and no shortage of horses for transfer, so they were able to get rid of the pursuing army while running. , disappeared into the wilderness.
But everyone knows that it is not time to take it lightly, because the enemy will follow them based on the traces.
The whole night, the leader looked behind him suspiciously, always feeling like someone was chasing him.
After dawn, I had dark circles under my eyes and felt weak all over.
At this moment, a cavalry group appeared near the abandoned village in the north, with a number similar to them.
It didn't look like an army of economics, but more like a private army of nobles and their child servants.
They looked here in surprise, as if they did not expect to meet the Huns.
After hesitating for a moment, everyone got on their horses, brandished their spears and halberds, and rushed over.
The leader said hello and ran away with everyone, without even the slightest thought of fighting back.
Morale is a wonderful thing, invisible and intangible, but it is one of the decisive factors in the outcome of a war.
People who talk about military affairs on paper are most likely to ignore morale, because this thing is not as intuitive as how many soldiers, how many horses, how much food and grass. It cannot be seen or touched. Why should I consider this?
This encounter early this morning taught people the importance of morale.
It can make a brave warrior lose his soul and be unable to fight. He only wants to kill his fellow Taoist but not the poor Taoist, and let Pao Ze die in exchange for the chance to escape.
As long as you don't push him into a desperate situation and engage in a trapped animal fight, he will be as stunned as a demon and will not be able to get out of this mood in the short term.
After chasing, the Huns cavalry dropped more than ten corpses and finally got rid of the pursuers.
Continue running the next day.
While passing by Yiwu Fort, more than thirty warriors riding horses and mules suddenly rushed out of the fort.
The team broke up again and ran into the distance.
But not everyone ran away. About twenty people dismounted and surrendered directly, expressing their willingness to serve Wubao Shuai.
After escaping to this point, some people really lost confidence completely. They felt that if they continued to escape, they would die sooner or later, so it was better to surrender.
Such behavior is not an isolated case.
On the vast land of Yuyan, thousands of Xiongnu cavalry were scattered everywhere.
Abandoned horses, soldiers, wounded soldiers, and sick people can be seen everywhere.
Someone escaped by chance and rushed to Gaoping, only to find that the place was already deserted.
Just in time, Xi Jian from Jinxiang County on the other side of the river arrived at Gaoping with 3,000 men, killing more than 100 Xiongnu and capturing 200, but the rest were routed.
Someone received the news halfway and rushed towards Pengcheng.
As a result, when they crossed the Qiao Kingdom, the nobles and powerful men who had not dared to attack them sent people to intercept them. They killed hundreds of people in front of them and captured hundreds of people. They had no horses and horses, and each family divided them up. As soon as it was empty, I was smiling.
What's more, various tribes even began to send people to actively hunt down the lone Xiongnu troops, collect horses and weapons abandoned in the wilderness, and enrich their own forts and manors.
In the end, only four to five hundred riders managed to reach Pengcheng, and even fewer escaped via Gaoping. The Taiyang family, the Hu Wu family, the Dongping Ma family and other noble families joined in the robbery with a group of powerful men. The great cause of defeating troops and horses.
When the Xiongnu army came in full force, they did not dare to take action and would even offer money and food.
When the Xiongnu's decline was not revealed, even if their troops were scattered, they would not dare to take action, but they would not give them money and food.
Now that the Huns have withdrawn and their troops are scattered, don’t blame them.
To be honest, the nobles may be better off. Some powerful people really have no sense of right and wrong. Let alone the Huns, they will kill all the Jin soldiers who are alone.
......
Shao Xun arrived in the suburbs of Pengcheng two days after Jin Zhun withdrew.
There are thousands of Zhao Gu's defenders in the city.
Shao Xun doesn’t know why they haven’t withdrawn yet.
The Xiongnu retreated across the board. Are you waiting here to die?
Looking at the sparse cavalry following him, and then at the water on the back of the pack horse, he left Pengcheng, gathering the stragglers along the way, and also hunted down some remaining Huns soldiers and gathered the horses.
When he arrived in Peixian County, he received a military report handed over to him by the county magistrate.
After reading it, he chuckled and said to himself: What a city-wide battle!
However, the war is indeed coming to an end.
He does not have the ability to carry out the Northern Expedition, and the Huns have no intention of going south in the short term. The situation - let's just stay at a standstill.
But the war between Jin and Hungary is far from over. After the rest, they will still fight until a winner is determined.
(End of this chapter)