Chapter 504 Chaoge
On May 12th, the eighth year of Yongjia in the Jin Dynasty (314), the south wind blew strong and the clouds were thick.
The wormwood seems to be connected with human nature, swaying in the wind, much like people are afraid.
The little bird was happily eating bugs on the ground, and then jumped onto the half-crumbled wall and glanced south.
Countless horse legs appeared in the grass.
The horse's legs are neither fast nor slow, moving forward slowly.
Looking up, the horses snorted and occasionally neighed.
The knight was holding a horned bow, reining in one hand, and holding cheese, dried meat, etc. in his other hand, stuffing it into his mouth to chew.
Looking back again, the knights are lined up one after another, stretching into the distance.
In the abandoned farmland on both sides of the knight carrying the bow, a team of knights on each side suddenly accelerated and rushed forward.
They held the reins in one hand and the thick horses and halberds in the other, and slowly disappeared into the smoke.
The cavalry archers didn't even blink. They just put away the food they were eating, looked up and looked ahead, and continued to maintain a leisurely pace.
After row after row of knights passed by, there were baggage vehicles one after another.
The car was loaded with food and equipment, and a few auxiliary soldiers walked with it. They helped push the car when it encountered difficult sections.
The cavalry passed quickly.
"Dong dong dong..." A dull drum sound suddenly sounded in the wilderness.
At the other end of the post road is an uphill road. Looking from a distance, I saw several soldiers appearing in my eyes.
Almost at the same time, a sidecar appeared on both sides of the soldier.
The mules and horses panted heavily and struggled to drag.
There were several sergeants sitting in the side car, looking relaxed, whispering to each other, chatting and laughing.
Among them, some were foot archers, some were sword and shield hands, and some had dark rifles at their feet.
After the combination of soldiers and vehicles passed dozens of rows, a large vehicle full of advocates appeared.
The drummer bares his upper body and beats the drum hard.
Kakuate is sitting in the carriage, holding the horns in his arms and swaying.
The birds were frightened by the sound of the drums and soared into the sky, immediately catching a glimpse of the whole scene.
In the boundless wilderness, the post road runs from north to south.
Both sides of the avenue are farmland covered with weeds, and abandoned villages dotted with thorns.
Above the river like a jade belt, the boats go upstream and the water is very deep.
The trackers shouted slogans in unison and dragged the boats up.
On the deck of the ship, there were many soldiers sitting on the ground. They looked at the land of Hebei with curious eyes and commented on the mountains and rivers here.
On the east bank of the river, there was also a large infantry advancing.
The sidecars and baggage cars covered one side, and the large cavalry galloped in the wilderness to protect the outer area for them.
The drumming stopped for a moment.
A rider appeared on the uphill slope.
This man is nearly forty years old, riding a majestic white horse. From time to time he puts up a pergola and looks ahead.
The south wind blows, and the cloak behind the knight on the white horse flutters lightly.
Dozens of knights appeared soon after.
They held high their flags and lined up neatly to follow the knight on the white horse.
Behind them were another large group of soldiers and sidecars...
The marching scene of 20,000 to 30,000 horses, boats, carts, foot and horse, was actually so shocking.
In the wilderness far away from the road, there are dots of forts standing.
At this time, all the farmers working in the fields were withdrawn, as if facing a powerful enemy.
They are like bystanders on the land of Hebei, witnessing one war after another.
Sima Ying, Sima Yue, Sima Mo, Sima Teng, Wang Jun, Xianbei, Gongshifan, Jisang, Gou Xi, Shi Chao, Shi Le... too many people were killing here.
Now another Henan man has arrived, and his army is marching towards Chaoge with great momentum.
******
On the west bank of Qishui east of Chaoge County, a rough camp has been set up. Camping is the second priority, and the cargo on the ship is unloaded little by little. Coming down is more important.
It was busy until May 16th, when all the supplies that were enough for the army to go out for two months were unloaded and loaded into the temporary wooden warehouse.
In the past few days, the five thousand cavalrymen of the Yi Congjun were engaged in a bloody battle on the outskirts. Even the deputy governor Yin Qi fell from his horse and was seriously injured.
There is no doubt that they played a huge role.
Without these large-scale cavalry, relying solely on infantry would greatly increase the risk and the unloading speed would be even slower.
Even during the march, there were already a large number of ravines, earth walls and even muddy areas on the road ahead, which seriously hindered the speed of the army - if you don't send cavalry to open the way, you will have to endure less than ten miles a day. The speed was obviously unacceptable to Li Zhong who was scrambling for time.
On May 17, the whole army had another good meal, and then surged westward.
The cavalry was dispatched again.
In the east of Chaoge City, countless cavalry appeared in the wilderness.
The leader stood up on the horse with miraculous skills, waving his hands up, causing everyone to cheer continuously.
After a moment, he waved his hand.
"Woo——" The sound of the trumpet shook the sky and the earth, as if countless evil ghosts were released from the ground.
In the queue, knights with their horses and halberds raised at an angle continued to rush out, forming a loose formation, and followed them at a fast pace.
Their speed was getting faster and faster, and the shouts continued.
"Kill!" The leading cavalryman was still raising his arms to boost morale.
“Kill!” The knights raised their horses and halberds in response. Light arrows were fired from the opposite side.
A horse in the formation was shot, raised its hooves, and cried out in pain.
Countless robes passed by him, his morale was high.
Another group of people rushed out from the cavalry formation in the distance.
They moved toward the wings at great speed. While charging, he drew arrows from the arrow pot.
At the top of Chaoge City, the county magistrate and others were trembling and watching.
The field was filled with smoke and dust, and the cavalry from both sides had already engaged in battle.
The people who met earlier were gun-to-gun, knife-to-knife, and when the wrong horse passed by, the empty horse ran around helplessly.
There were also people who failed to kill their opponents in one round and fought together. The horse speeds of both sides were extremely close to stagnant, and then they fought on horseback using techniques that were extremely ridiculous and clumsy in the eyes of infantry.
A cavalryman was shot on his horse and fell to the ground. After getting up, he picked up the scattered weapons, rushed into the thicket of enemy and friendly cavalry in the battle group, and tried his best to assassinate him.
The screams were endless, corpses fell like rain, and the scene was extremely bloody.
The Qingqi on both sides also caught each other and started fighting.
They had no clear formation and no obvious close combat. Arrows were flying in the air, and the screams of pain and screams resounded throughout the earth.
Everyone in the city looked as pale as earth.
The cavalry sent by Dahu were actually inferior to the Jin army in terms of quantity. This was the first time in several years of fighting.
Jie Qi, who was holding a lance, a round shield in one hand, or an iron sword in the other, had been scattered.
The cavalry of the Jin army shouted for a fierce battle, rushed up quickly, and stabbed with long spears and big spears, and soon killed the scattered troops into a rout.
"This..." Chaoge defenders looked at me and I at a loss.
They were all young men from the nearby Wubao. There were more than 3,000 people in total. They were extremely disorganized and had only the same morale.
It would have been fine if Da Hu's cavalry had won the battle, but in this encounter, they had not resisted for long, and they were defeated. What do you think of these city-defending infantry?
At this time, there are people with quick thoughts who peek at others.
Did any of them go to see Yu Chen? Did you surrender secretly? Are you planning to take credit for my head?
No one knew, but the seeds of doubt had been planted.
They are all local people, who can deceive whom? Do you really think I don’t know about the things you have done in private?
Amid mutual suspicion, the cavalry fight outside the city was coming to an end.
Zhiquliu Company did not dare to enter Chaoge City, and fled with the remaining defeated soldiers and disappeared into the wilderness.
The Jin cavalry chased them for a long distance before withdrawing their troops and returning.
Not long after, an arrow was shot at the top of the city, with a letter tied to the arrow shaft.
******
On May 18th, without the harassment of enemy cavalry, the Jin army's infantry advanced rapidly, arriving east of Chaoge in one day and setting up camp.
Early in the morning on the 19th, drums were rumbling in the company camp, and countless infantry troops lined up in the wilderness east of the city.
7,000 Nanyang troops from the Yangdan tribe, 8,000 Guanxi troops from the Liangsu tribe, and 3,000 Heijian troops. Except for those who stayed behind to guard the fortress and build siege equipment, all the main force was sent out.
Twenty thousand people lined up, and the visual impact was amazing.
The defenders on the top of the city looked solemn and confused, not knowing what to do - it was not that they did not dare to fight, but that the superiors could not form a unified opinion, which made them at a loss.
The cavalry of the Jin army galloped around the city, and soon headed north, heading straight for Qishui.
Is this going in the direction of Dangyin?
So brave? Dare you leave the Yellow River and go so far inland?
What will they do if Dahu’s main force comes back to support? By then, there won’t be just two or three big cats and kittens under Quliu’s tent.
No one can answer their questions.
On the contrary, the Jin army arrayed in the east of the city began to yell and curse, inviting them to go out of the city to fight in the field.
They even picked a hundred people with loud voices, who spoke with unknown accents, and shouted repeatedly.
“Do you dare to fight?”
“You are as coquettish as a woman, why fight?”
“Could it be that you are a delicate-skinned and fragile person, hurry up Wash your butts!"
"I like white butts, both men and women like them, haha!"
"If you don't surrender, your wife and daughter will be mine after the city is broken. ”
And so on.
The defenders were angry and frightened.
Some people subconsciously turned their heads and looked into the city, but no one with any useful words had come forward yet.
The officers could not suppress the sergeants. In fact, they were also very agitated. They fought and refused to fight, surrendered and refused to surrender. What is the reason?
Suddenly, violent shouts of killing and the sound of weapons clashing came from the city.
Everyone was startled at first, and then quickly looked around.
Many people moved their steps subconsciously. The garrison at the top of the city gradually formed several groups, guarding each other.
The killing sounds in the city became more and more intense, and the screams resounded from every corner.
Obviously, the Wubao owners have different opinions and are already at war with each other.
The killing sound lasted for half an hour.
At the beginning of the hour, the south gate of Chaoge suddenly opened. First, a group of people escaped in embarrassment and fled into the wild. Then more than a thousand people chased and attacked, slashing and killing.
After seeing the Jin army cavalry, they immediately went back to report the news.
After a while, Yang Dan personally led two thousand elite soldiers to the south gate and captured it.
The follow-up people are coming one after another. At this point, there is no suspense about Chaoge's ownership.
(End of this chapter)