Chapter 734: Return to Righteousness (Part 2)
On the pontoon bridge, people shouted horses neighing.
Group after group of Hu and Han people, supporting the old and the young, marched from east to west, arriving behind Guancheng on the west bank of the Yellow River.
A temporary camp was built here, with straw huts and wooden houses densely packed, complete with cooking utensils and bedding.
The camp was not established for a long time, only two or three months. It was Liu Can's act of kindness, intended to gain the hearts of the soldiers and civilians crossing west.
The location of Guancheng originally belonged to Feng Yi Linjin County.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao conquered Ma Chao and Han Sui in the west and crossed Pubanjin at night, which was here.
But at that time, Linjin Pass on the bank of the Yellow River had long been abandoned.
The soldiers from Guanzhong left the pass and crossed the river to Bingzhou. They crossed as they pleased, no one cared about them.
The Kwantung soldiers crossed the river to invade Guanzhong. They crossed as they pleased and no one cared about them.
But in the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties, it was different.
At the latest in the eighth year of Datong, Zhongli City was built on the sandbank in the river.
In the ninth year, the east and west gates were rebuilt on both sides of the strait, taking advantage of the danger as a place of heavy defense.
At this point, it is not so easy for Pubanjin to cross the river, unlike before when Xu Huang, Gao Huan and others could cross it casually - in general, the war is getting more and more involved, and the more intense it becomes, The tighter the defense became, the more Guancheng sprung up.
There are defenders in Guancheng.
There are more than 4,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry in the east city.
The west city is slightly larger, with five thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry.
Zhongli City is the smallest, with only 1,500 infantry.
Those who are evacuating this group are mainly the family members of the sergeants in the three cities of Pujin Pass.
Feng Yi and Di Qiang rebelled twice in a few years. After being suppressed, they were dispersed and resettled. In addition, for many years, Feng Yi and Di Qiang were sent to fight in the east, resulting in many casualties. Therefore, Feng Yi freed up a lot of land, and according to the arrangement of Liu Cong and Liu Can, all of it was given to the families of the defenders of the three cities.
The guardian of the three cities of Pujin will be Liu Chang, a clan member of Liu Han who was promoted to the title of Duke of Henan Province. He also serves as the magistrate of Hexi and Puban counties.
Puban belongs to Hedong County.
Hexi County was newly established and belonged to Fengyi County. It was located on the west bank of the Yellow River in Linjin County.
It can be seen that Liu Chang's main task is to guard Pujin Pass. He serves as the magistrate of the two counties purely to fully mobilize resources. After all, it is more convenient to grasp the military and political affairs together, and the efficiency is more than one level higher than the separation of military and political affairs.
After inspecting the camp, Liu Chang received a military report. After reading it, his expression changed drastically, so he led his soldiers to the pontoon.
The pontoon was crowded with people, vehicles and livestock crowded together, making it extremely chaotic.
Liu Chang grabbed the soldiers who were about to step forward to whip the soldiers and civilians moving westward and clear the passage. He walked to the ferry outside Xiguan City, collected several ferries, and rowed eastward.
After arriving on the river, it seems that we can see the whole picture of the east bank more clearly.
The people stranded outside Dongguan City were so densely packed. At a glance, there were probably tens of thousands of them!
On the pontoon, there is an endless stream of people, livestock, and vehicles.
In the Yellow River, ferries, fishing boats and even rafts come and go, also full of people, property and livestock.
"The situation is over!" Liu Chang sighed silently, feeling very sad.
After the ferry docked, Liu Chang looked up at Dongguan City.
The defenders at the top of the city were in full formation and showed no signs of relaxing.
This is the old army he has led for many years. In the past few years, I don’t know how much effort I have spent, how much property and concubines have been scattered, and I don’t know how many times I have confided in my subordinates. Now it seems that everything is worth it.
At the time of the defeat, the soldiers may be a little shaken, but they really will not lose their fighting spirit and soldiers' morale.
That's good.
After landing, guard Liu Guan came over and reported the new news in a low voice: "The news is quite mixed. What can be confirmed at present is that the chaos in Hedong is in chaos, the county and city have fallen, and the Zhiguan army is behind The road is blocked."
"Where are Xue and Liu?" Liu Chang asked.
"It's not clear yet, it's too chaotic." Liu Guan said: "The Xue family in Fenyin has rebelled. They have occupied Fenyin County and sent troops north to attack the Pi family. The Wang family in Taiyuan sent troops from the Pi family , across the river from the Xue family, the Xue family did not attack, but turned south to collect the remaining soldiers, men, goods, and food. "
"The Liu family in Jie County also rebelled, and Yi County surrendered for them. In the entire Hedong, there are probably only three counties in Hedong, Puban, Dayang, and Hebei, still in the hands of the imperial court."
"There were many just now. The official fled with his family from Pingyang, and the general sent people to investigate, and they all said that the King of Bohai killed 10,000 Silver Spear Army in Chihong River and successfully retreated south to Chihongling. The general had some doubts. After all, the King of Bohai was defeated. "
Liu Chang smiled bitterly upon hearing this.
There must have been a lot of Silver Spear soldiers killed and injured, but killing 10,000 people? Not trustworthy enough.
Moreover, after the Chihongshui Village was breached, it retreated to Chihongling. Can it really be defended by relying on a bunch of defeated soldiers?
Of the four thousand forbidden troops in the hands of King Bohai, how many are left at this time?
Oh, I don’t think so much anymore. Liu Chang calmed down and said: "Send all the cavalry out and monitor them closely. If there is any movement of thieves, report them immediately. In addition, collect more ships and try to ferry more people, property, food and livestock across the river."< br>
"Aren't you going to send troops to quell the chaos?" Liu Guan asked.
"I only have more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, what kind of chaos can I fight?" Liu Chang said angrily: "Go and do the work quickly."
The general took the order and left.
Liu Chang looked at the endless fleeing army again and strengthened his determination: Defending the three cities of Pujin Pass was a great achievement. Not only was it justified by the emperor, but it was also justified by the prince of Chang'an.
As for everyone else, wish yourself luck.
******
The north wind is blowing, and the chill is deep.
Zhao Lu led two thousand Qingqi to Hankou.
Half a day later, Shi Sheng hurriedly arrived with thousands of infantry and looked at the mountain pass in the distance.
There were fierce killing sounds on the mountain.
Shi Sheng raised his eyes and was startled.
Zhao Lu is so cruel! After the two thousand cavalry dismounted, they attacked directly along the mountain road and fought with the defenders.
It just doesn’t seem good!
How can two thousand light cavalry dismount and fight on foot? Unless the defenders are terrible, have no morale at all, and are instantly overwhelmed by a charge, you'd better not have the dream of dismounting cavalry and defeating infantry in an infantry battle.
But do the defenders suck? No!
Pei's carefully trained iron-armored warriors were at the front, charging along the mountain road and pushing Zhao Lu's men back halfway up the mountain in an instant.
On the top of the mountain, there are all kinds of villagers and serfs, holding spears, daggers, walking bows and even hunting bows, waving flags and shouting to boost morale.
Well, it would be better if the dealers were the ones guarding Hankou. It is not impossible for the more elite cavalry to dismount and fight on foot, but it will be difficult if there are armored warriors with them.
After thinking about it, Shi Sheng immediately made a decision and sent two thousand men and horses to go up the mountain through the mountains and forests on the left and right sides.
There were also guards in the mountains, and they were quickly discovered. Under the shouts, more and more bankers came over, led by even hundreds of soldiers.
The dark mountain forest is rugged and difficult to navigate. There is no road, so you can only climb hard.
The defenders were condescending and had some time to rest. Arrows fell on their heads and spears were stabbed into their chests. For a time, it was impossible to attack, and the casualties were heavy.
Shi Sheng became anxious and sent two thousand more people to reinforce him.
The screams in the dense forest became more and more intensive, but the battle line still remained motionless, which made Shi Sheng worried.
"General Zhao has been hit by an arrow." There was an exclamation on the mountain road.
Shi Sheng looked up and saw hundreds of defeated soldiers rushing down the mountain surrounded by Cavalry Governor Zhao Lu.
The defenders rushed down the mountain road like tigers.
Shi Sheng gritted his teeth and sent out the last thousand men to meet the retreating cavalry.
The golden crow hangs from the west, and the mountains slowly dim.
Shi Sheng was extremely frightened.
They are obviously only a mountain ridge away from the hinterland of Hedong, but they just can't get through.
If you can’t cross this mountain, are you going to be a turtle in a urn?
There is food and grass in Wangwu City, but it is only enough for one month. Hedong is in chaos, the mouth is blocked, and there is no more food to be sent, so we are sitting on nothing?
"Where is Qi Fuhou?" Shi Sheng turned around and asked with an ugly face: "Why aren't you here yet?"
Qi Fuhou is the Jie chieftain originally stationed in Anyi. Marshal, there are thousands of people, this time seven thousand cavalry have arrived at the king's house.
After the sudden change in Hedong, news came quickly. Liu Xian did not dare to neglect, and dispatched Zhao Lu, Shi Sheng, and Qi Fuhou to lead an army to fight back at Hankou, trying to open up a retreat to contact Hedong and Pingyang.
Zhao Lu's two thousand light cavalry were the first to arrive. They charged and fought fiercely, and most of them were damaged.
Shi Sheng led five thousand Xiongnu and Han soldiers - mostly tribesmen and refugees who had withdrawn west from Hanoi - and rushed after him, but it seemed that there would be no results.
Zi Fuhou was the most cunning, slow to send out troops, and seemed to have different intentions.
Shi Sheng couldn't figure it out. You still have more than 40,000 tribesmen in Anyi. Aren't you worried about them? Don’t you want to rush back and save them?
"General." A lieutenant stammered: "Just now the news came. When Fuhou was planning to send troops, he encountered the envoy of Liu Quan, the general of Heqing Town. Everyone in the army said that he would surrender southward. 'Mrs. Liu'."
"Mrs. Liu?" Shi Sheng was stunned for a moment, then realized, isn't that his aunt?
Aunt Liu Yena is Mrs. Shao Thief. Whenever you meet the Jie people, come forward and say surrender, and you will get twice the result with half the effort.
I heard that many Jie people from Youzhou and Jizhou have taken refuge there. The Jie people from Wuxiang who were not under the control of Liu Runzhong have also taken refuge. Although Fu Hou moved from Qinzhou a few years ago Yes, but it may not be impossible to seek refuge in the past. After all, the customs, language, and appearance are all the same...
My maidservant! Shi Sheng threw the riding whip to the ground heavily and looked up to the sky with a sigh.
It’s over! It's all over!
Nearly 20,000 troops are trapped in Wangwu Mountain.
Well, the facts are pretty much what Shi Sheng thought.
On the fifth day of November, to show his sincerity, Liu Quan personally led more than a thousand people on a forty-mile mountain road to arrive at Wangwu.
Wangwu City experienced a lot of fighting.
Hundreds of bloody heads were piled outside the city, and more than two hundred prisoners were tied to the ground, constantly begging for mercy.
As soon as Fuhou rode out alone, he met Liu Quan from a distance.
Liu Quan got off his horse and said loudly: "The envoys have gone to Anyi. The general's people will be fine."
Qi Fuhou nodded and looked at Liu Quan with a complicated expression.
The language Liu Quan used just now was Jie language, which was a little different from what he said every day. The main reason was that some words were hard to understand and the pronunciation was also different, but after guessing, he generally understood it.
This made him feel a little emotional.
Obviously they are all followers of Hu Tianshen. They originally grew up in the same place, but there is a big difference between those who came early and those who came later.
Liu Quan's group came a hundred years ago, and now they are dressed as Jin people, and their names have been changed according to Jin people's habits.
They have been here for less than thirty years and have been active in Qinzhou. They have only arrived in the hinterland of the Central Plains in recent years. The customs and habits have not changed significantly, and there are not many people in the tribe who can speak Jin language. In the future, I am afraid that I will have to rely more on the Liu family of Shangdang.
"You say it, I will listen to you." Hou Fu also got off his horse and said concisely.
"Bring these heads to Zhiguan." Liu Quan didn't waste any words.
As soon as Fu Hou understood.
This is to tell the Zhiguan garrison, stop trying your best, their hometown has been raided.
Besieged in an isolated city, not a single reinforcement or a grain of food will come. Even if they don't fight, they will surround you to death. What's the point of continuing to resist?
The Art of War in the Central Plains: "Advance troops to defeat the enemy's plan, attack the heart first, and defeat the opponent's troops without fighting."
(End of this chapter)