Chapter 723 Brother Cong’s Worry
There was rain and fog between heaven and earth.
The turbid river water rushed down with an unstoppable force, rushing into the distance and making a loud rumbling sound.
Human beings appear so powerless in the face of the power of nature.
Liu Cong stood on the hillside, staring at the mountains and rivers quietly, speechless for a long time.
In fact, the heavy rain first started in Guanzhong and gradually spread to both sides of the Yellow River.
At this time, there is less rain in Guanzhong, but both sides of the Yellow River are experiencing large-scale, high-intensity rainfall, which is gradually affecting the entire Bingzhou and even Hebei.
This kind of weather is very precious to the big man.
Militarily speaking, they had lost consecutive battles and it was difficult to stop the fierce offensive launched by Shao Thief.
But they can't stop it, but God can.
With such continuous rainfall, the Jin army's supplies will become intermittent. The soldiers may only be able to eat two meals a day, instead of three meals as they did when they went out to fight.
Even if the rain had been heavier and longer, washing out more roads, making the mountain trails more slippery or even blocking them altogether, it would have been even less possible for the Jin army to launch an offensive.
Moreover, such humid weather will also increase the number of sick people in the army, further weakening its combat effectiveness.
For the big man, this is a rare respite.
This place is called Shilou Mountain, located at the junction of Xihe and Pingyang counties, and belongs to Lishi County, Xihe County - Lishi is the place where Liu Yuan made his fortune and was the core territory of the Xiongnu.
Shilou belongs to a part of Luliang Mountains.
At the beginning, "Lüliang" only referred to a mountain beside the Yellow River in Fengyi County, Hexi Province, called "Liangshan". I don't know when "Liangshan" became "Lüliang Mountain", and I don't know when again, Luliang has become the general name for the mountains running from north to south in the He and Fen areas, but people are still used to the name of a single mountain, such as the stone tower here. Mountain (located in today's Shilou County).
There are many pastures in the Shilou Mountain area, home to various Xiongnu tribes, and even other miscellaneous people who migrated here.
These barbarians are the main force of Liu Yuan's army.
When Tuoba invaded, they were also the main force in the resistance.
Now after several years of westward migration, the population has been greatly reduced, but some still remain.
Historically, after the fall of Liu Han and former Zhao, these Hu people still lived here, and experienced the migration of rulers from generation to generation. There were a large number of mixed blood, and it was difficult to distinguish their original ethnic origin.
In the Northern Wei Dynasty, they were simply divided into regions, such as "Fen and Hu".
Fenhu is a large category, which is divided into "Lishi Hu", "Shiloushan Hu" and so on.
Shilou Shanhu is one of the cornerstones of the Liu Han Dynasty. Its predecessor was the Zhengzong Tu Xiongnu. After the fall of Liu Han and the former Zhao Dynasty, it mixed with the Lu Shuihu, Tiefu Xiongnu and even the Di Qiang and Han people in the Northern Qi Dynasty. During the year, they were all slaughtered - "All men above twelve years old were killed, and women and young weaklings were treated as sergeants."
Of course in the third year of the Divine Turtle, the Shiloushan Xiongnu were not homeless wild dogs. They were members of the Liu Han clan and one of Liu Cong's trustworthy tribes.
So he came to inspect it in person.
"Unfortunately, Chen Qing has passed away, and no one has given me any advice." After looking at it for a long time, Liu Cong looked sad.
The generals who came with them looked at each other.
Chen Yuanda has died of illness.
When he was alive, he would really advise against things he didn't like, which made the emperor very unhappy, and he almost died on more than one occasion.
However, Chen Yuanda continued to give advice and repeated admonitions. Until he died of illness, he still issued a seal to plan for the emperor to continue the country.
Liu Cong noticed the expressions of the ministers, sighed, looked at his younger brother Liu Chang, who had recently been promoted to Duke Xihe, and said, "I will leave Xihe to you, guard this place for me."
"I obey your order." Liu Chang replied calmly.
"Do you have any strategy?" Liu Cong couldn't help but ask when he saw his expression of neither sadness nor joy.
Liu Chang took a deep breath and said: "The main guard is cold spring water, and the second guard is Lishi."
Liu Cong frowned and thought for a long time, and finally nodded and said: "Qiao Zhong, Liu Yasheng is still in Taiyuan, and these two men are also under your command."
Liu Yasheng fled westward with five thousand people and entered the mountains to the west of Taiyuan. He was rescued by the Xiongnu tribe and recovered. .
Liu Ling led his army to pursue him and defeated him.
Liu Yasheng continued to flee westward, and was later reinforced by Qiao Zhong, who defeated Liu Ling and finally stabilized his position.
"Are there enough soldiers?" Without waiting for Liu Chang's answer, Liu Cong said to himself: "I will allocate another four thousand people to you from Beiqu. These are all strong soldiers of the Imperial Army. They just arrived when Feng Yi put down the rebellion and returned with a great victory."
When Liu Chang heard this, he felt relieved and immediately said: "With this magic weapon, I will definitely not let the Shao thief cross the Xihe River."
The Han Forbidden Army originally had 32,000 infantry and cavalry. Strong fighting power.
Of course, these people cannot be said to be full-time professionals. It can only be said that some of them are recruiters and the other part are semi-professionals. However, the equipment is indeed good. They have been working hard to collect and produce various armors and equipment for many years. them.
Practice often, and the emperor will reward you from time to time. Loyalty is considered sufficient.
The 32,000 forbidden soldiers have gradually lost more than 5,000 people, and some of them have moved their families to Guanzhong. Those who will stay in Pingyang are only more than 10,000 people.
Liu Cong gave four thousand in one breath, which was indeed quite interesting. After returning from the rebellion, they previously settled in Liangru Mountain in Beiqu County - the mountain has two peaks, which look like breast shapes, so it is named after them.
"I feel relieved when Mr. Xihe said this." Liu Cong forced a smile, coughing non-stop and looking pale.
Of course he knows that this situation is actually very dangerous.
The most ideal situation is that Shao Thief gives them a year to do their best to rectify people's hearts, improve morale, and slowly reverse the crisis.
At the time of the great defeat, people's hearts were in turmoil, and 100% of their combat power could not be used at 30%. But after the rectification, even if it cannot return to its heyday, it is not difficult to have a combat strength of 70 to 80%. This is a huge improvement.
What they fear most is that Shao Thief won’t give them time.
Fortunately, the heavy rain is now continuous, which has delayed the progress of the Jin army. This is a gift from God.
"The good horses in the pasture at the foot of Shilou Mountain are also at your disposal." Liu Cong thought for a while and added.
The ranch is fifty miles northwest of Shilou Mountain. It was opened by the imperial court and is located on the bank of Longquan Water.
The Han people thought it was impossible to farm in the Luliang Mountain area, but in the eyes of the Huns, it was a very good pasture. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Longquan water always produced famous horses.
"Yes." Liu Chang looked at the emperor in surprise and said in a deep voice.
He didn't say a few words today, but the emperor kept chattering, sentence after sentence, which gave him a very disrespectful thought: the emperor was really afraid of Shao Thief.
Liu Cong didn't care about Liu Chang's thoughts, he just made silent calculations in his heart.
There are only two roads from Jinyang to Pingyang.
The first is to take Guanjuejin (Quesu Valley). This road is the shortest, but also the most difficult and dangerous.
The second is to go west to Xiurong City and then south to Xihe.
The name Xiurong (south of present-day Lan County) comes from the late emperor (Liu Yuan). It was named because of its spiritual inspiration and beautiful appearance. It is now the residence of Qiao Zhong.
Historically, during the Hou Zhao period, a beautiful guard army was set up here.
During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Xiurong City was built in the north, so it was called Bei Xiurong and Nan Xiurong - Bei Xiurong was the original pastureland of the Erzhu family, and later moved south to Nan Xiurong.
Liu Cong thought over and over again, becoming more and more irritable.
What if the Shao thieves attack Xiurong City regardless of casualties?
Lengquanshui cannot deploy its troops. It is difficult for Guanjuejin to come over, but it is easy to defend. However, the terrain of Xiurong City is not that dangerous. It is located in the river valley, so it is not difficult to attack.
Can Qiao Zhong defend Xiurong City?
With Liu Yasheng's new defeat, can he hold on to the old city of Fenyang (today's Jingle County)?
If these two areas are not defended, the Jin army can move south in large numbers, reaching Chihongling (north of today's Fangshan County) and Chihongshui (south of today's Fangshan County, Beichuan River, also called Lishi River). It's not far from the old capital Zuoguocheng.
Once you pass Zuoguocheng and Lishi, you are not far from Pingyang County.
Looking at it this way, this is a time of crisis for life and death.
"Your Majesty..." Liu Chang called softly.
Liu Cong came to his senses. He knew that he had lost his composure, which was not good.
Even if you are really anxious, you cannot show it. That will only make your officials and generals worried, which is not conducive to boosting morale.
He smiled and said: "Now that the matter has come to this, we still need to unite sincerely. There are many Chinese people in Xihe and Taiyuan areas, and they will not surrender to Shao easily. We still have to fight."
"The terrain over Hongnong is difficult and dangerous, but we can hold on."
"At Lantian Pass, the prince has just defeated Shao Bing's offensive. He came from a long way, and supplies are not easy. He stopped his troops under the strong city, and there was no way. Every inch of progress will lead to defeat over time. ”
"This battle can still be fought, and there is still a chance of victory."
At the end, Liu Cong seemed to have convinced himself, and his mood actually improved slightly. He laughed and said: "Shao Thief won by luck. , we were about to chase the enemy to the north, but the offensive was extinguished by heavy rain. Isn't this God's help? "
When everyone heard this, they actually realized that there was some truth in what he said.
The gods and ghosts are hard to explain, but sometimes they determine many things.
At this time, Shao Thief attacks again. It can be said that he is going against the will of heaven and will not end well.
"I'm in Pingyang, and I'm not going anywhere!" Liu Cong's face showed a sickly flush, and he said loudly: "If Thief Shao really comes to kill me, I will go to the city and fight hard, but I will die. Why?" Are you afraid?”
“Your Majesty is mighty,” the ministers praised in unison.
Liu Cong looked at the endless mountains again and felt a little at ease.
Mountains are both a constraint and a barrier.
The Imperial Han Army could defeat even Tuoba Xianbei, and of course they could defeat Shao Bing in these vast mountains.
If Thief Shao is really bold enough to kill here, he wouldn't mind marching north personally to meet this beast for a while.
Life or death, just fight.
(End of this chapter)