Chapter 772: Attack from both front and back
The arrival of the Xianbei people caused panic in Xiurong County.
Qiao Tan looked at the adobe house built last winter, looked at his wife and children leaning against the door, and burst into tears.
After the heavy rain last year, the imperial court sent some people to teach them how to grow turnips. Many families planted several acres of vegetables in the vegetable patches in front of and behind their houses.
This thing is still growing slowly in winter. When picked out, it is very juicy. Not only can people enjoy it, but livestock also like to eat it, so many livestock have been slaughtered for the winter.
These livestock that have not been slaughtered can give birth to calves again in the spring. At this time, the vegetation is lush and everything can be fed.
After it is almost grown, you can sell it directly to the merchants from Pingyang, exchange it for some utensils, and decorate the house with four walls.
He even imagined that one day he would save enough money to rebuild this dilapidated mud house, and then he would raise a few livestock in this kind of land, and his grown-up children would take the cattle and sheep to graze in the mountains. .
After returning in autumn, the whole family harvested and planted turnips together, and tanned leather to sell in the county...
Now everything is gone.
Why do you guys want to ruin my life?
Jotan wiped away his tears, took his horned bow and quiver, got on his horse, and rushed out.
More and more knights are gathering in the river valley. In an instant, there are no less than three thousand, and more and more people are coming here to gather.
There were bursts of drum sounds from the top of Xiurong City.
Hundreds of strong men armed with swords, guns and rifles came to the south bank of the wooden bridge beside the Kelan River.
The bridge is newly built and still smells of wood.
Just like the mud houses and wooden houses rising from the ground on the south bank of the river; the neatly groomed wheat fields; the forage barns built by everyone and the newly planted trees. Fruit trees.
The herdsmen of Kelan County are changing from nomadic to semi-sedentary. Their lives are undergoing profound changes. Their recognition of the imperial court is increasing step by step. Now they suddenly meet Tuoba Xianbei, everything is at stake. The risk of going back to the past made me feel extremely sad and angry.
People can distinguish between good and bad.
What kind of days are good and what kind of days are bad, as a person who has experienced it, it is clear.
Now it's up to them to defend their homeland.
“Burn the bridge!” There was a loud shout from behind.
Someone looked back and saw more than ten horses riding towards them. The leader was wearing a silver helmet and holding a thick wooden pole, shouting at the top of his lungs.
He was followed by dozens of people, some with gray hair and some with childish faces. They were all holding firewood and quickly stacking them on the wooden bridge.
A moment later, another three hundred people came with spears and bows and stood in the south of the bridge.
Their faces were pale and suspicious, and they kept looking at the wooden bridge. When they saw that the firewood was piled up and someone started to pour oil on it, they breathed a sigh of relief.
The Huns looked at the wooden bridge that was about to be burned, showing regret. But I don’t want to part with it too much, it’s just a wooden bridge, just burn it down and build it again.
The new batch of young men come from a Wubao, and they came here last year together with several descendants of the Langya Wang family.
The Wang family's children lived in the county and opened a tavern to teach apprentices.
The surname of these young and strong people is Zang. They come from Ju County, Dongguan County. There are more than 400 families in total. They have built a very rough-style fortress on the mountainside to live in. It is made of big wood and covered with soil. It's just rough.
The Zang family was actually from a noble family, but they respected the orders of the Wang family's children, which was a bit of a vassal. They were the thugs and bodyguards of the Wang family's children in Xiurong.
Suotou invaded, and for their own livelihood, Zang's tribe came out in full force and formed arrays along the river, trying to block the Xianbei people on the north bank of the river.
The Xianbei people on the other side obviously noticed what was going on here. After a while, hundreds of riders rushed over along the river, shooting arrows as they rushed.
The arrows flew across the river and roared towards them.
The young men stood on the bare river bank, with no cover, and more than ten of them fell down in an instant.
Many people dispersed in a hurry and ran towards the south, far away from the river.
"Set fire!" The people from Zang's Wubao came forward holding simple wooden shields. Several of them held torches, gritted their teeth and lit the firewood, then turned around and ran away.
One person ran slowly and was shot to the ground, screaming in pain.
The fire burned brightly.
The Xianbei cavalry, who had such strength, even before the fire started, rushed straight to the south bank of the river, waving their big halberds, stabbing and beheading one person every time.
"Whoosh!" An arrow flew out.
The powerful arrow went straight into the man's open mouth and came out through his neck.
"Bang!" The knight fell to the ground with a crash, and the horse neighed and ran away.
Everyone seemed to be waking up from a dream. They drew their bows one after another, hid behind their shields, and fired at the Xianbei cavalry rushing across the wooden bridge.
The enemy cavalry fell off their horses one after another, and more than ten of them fell in a matter of seconds.
"嘘嘚!" A more violent sound of horseshoes was heard, and the knight temporarily put on his armor, jumped up on his horse, and rushed straight towards him.
The first man was hit in the face by an arrow and screamed that he fell off his horse.
The second man was shot into his mount and flew out screaming.
The third person? Just heard a "boom", the wooden bridge broke, and the enemy cavalry fell into the river, including men and horses.
The young men on the south bank suddenly shouted loudly, and their morale was slightly boosted.
The Xianbei people wandered on the north bank of the river angrily.
Xiurong County is located on the south bank of Lanshui River. There are many houses, fodder barns, sheepfolds and even several newly opened shops around the city.
There are rows of barns on the hillside behind the city, and there might be food in them.
But they were blocked on the north bank and could not advance even an inch, so why not be in a hurry?
Seeing that they could not cross the river, the courage of the young men began to increase.
They held up their wooden shields and slowly stepped forward. Taking advantage of the range and power of their rifle bows, they aimed at the Xianbei cavalry on the other side and named them one by one.
Because the enemy is moving, and their archers are seriously insufficient in number, they cannot cover the shooting, so most of the arrows fail, but there are still some people who have good archery skills or are lucky enough. , shooting at the enemy or the horse he is riding from a distance.
Every time I win, the south bank of the river can’t help but burst into cheers.
After doing this for a while, the morale of the young men was getting higher and higher, while the Xianbei cavalry was passively beaten, their morale was low, and they quickly broke away from contact.
Some people went up and down the river to find places where the water was shallow enough to ford, while others shouted from a distance: "You are descendants of the great Huns, why are you looking for the Jin thieves? Such betrayal of your ancestors is not a good thing. Don’t you feel ashamed? Why don’t we kill the Jin people together and take possession of their fields, houses, wives and daughters?”
There was silence on the south bank of the river for a while. Soon a person came forward and cursed loudly: "I, the Bu family, are the commander of Kelan County and a beautiful and wealthy family. How can I be a thief like you?"
Say that. , pull out the bow, raise your hand and shoot an arrow.
The arrow missed the man, but knocked the horse over.
The Xianbei people have quick eyes and quick hands. They jumped out from the horse, rolled to relieve their strength, then hurriedly climbed up and retreated.
After seeing the enemy's embarrassed appearance, the people on the south bank of the river burst into laughter and their momentum was high.
The archer put down his bow, spat, and said: "The king of Liang found famous people to teach me writing, and he also found old farmers to teach me how to farm. Seeing that the days are getting better and better, who the hell will follow? Are you going to be a horse thief?”
There was another cheer on the south bank of the river.
Do the Xiongnu and Xianbei have a good relationship? That has to be divided into places.
The Xiongnu are widely distributed, from the grasslands outside the Great Wall to the hinterland of the Central Plains. Generally speaking, the further north they are, the more barbaric they are, and the more likely they are to get involved with Tuoba Xianbei; the further south they are, the more civilized they are, and after Liu Han founded the country, they and Tuoba Xianbei were even enemies.
As for the western part of Taiyuan, there are both types of people, and there are slightly more people who are enemies of Tuoba.
The Xiongnu nobles like the Xubu family were among the surnames of Kelan County. They were Ding and other "Kelan Bu". They had been Hanized for a long time and were unwilling to seek refuge with Tuoba Xianbei.
However, just because their side "won" and withstood the Xianbei people's fierce offensive, it does not mean that they can win on the other side of the river...
Nearly a thousand Xianbei cavalry have already formed their formation. Divided into three parts.
The two hundred knights in iron armor who came out first were sharp for their arrows.
Four hundred leather-armored assault riders holding long spears were slightly behind.
At the end are more than 300 herdsmen wearing furs. Their equipment is very poor, but they are full of wildness.
The two sides opened up their formation on the north bank of the river, slowly increased their speed, and collided in an instant.
When the wrong horse passes by, countless horses fall off each other.
But overall, the Xianbei people's horse skills are still higher, and their casualties are relatively small.
After the first wave passed by the wrong horse, the second wave of collision unfolded. This time the Huns' casualties were even more tragic, followed by the third wave...
"Quick! Shoot arrows!" Ding on the south bank of the river The strong men hurried on their way, came to the place where the cavalry of both sides fought, and lined up along the river bank, picking up their bows and arrows.
The Xianbei cavalry who accidentally approached the river bank were suddenly attacked. They were immediately furious and drove away.
At this moment, the strong men on the south bank slightly blocked the Xianbei cavalry offensive, allowing the people on the north bank time to gather.
But the overall situation in the north has actually been determined.
The Huns who survived the charge were pale and sweating profusely.
There is a river on the right, and villages, woods and even mountains on the left. There is not much room for detours, and the horn bow cannot play a big role. When encountering the Xianbei cavalry, which is extremely strong in hand-to-hand combat, they are almost beaten.
Three thousand people fought against a thousand people, and they were overwhelmed. The casualties were greater than others.
Seeing the Xianbei people slowly forming up, the second battle was about to begin.
The Huns cavalry dispersed subconsciously, not daring to meet the charge head on, trying to distance themselves and shoot from behind.
Not surprisingly, they were scattered once again.
Part of the Huns broke into the river, crying.
Some of them rode their horses up the gentle slopes of the hills to escape the pursuit of the Xianbei people.
Looking from the south bank of the river, the northern hillside is full of densely packed Hun cavalry.
Many men, women and children also abandoned their homes and ran all the way up the mountain to avoid possible killings by the rope heads.
The Xianbei people did not pursue them. Instead, they allocated some personnel to guard against the Huns who went up the mountain, while the others calmly collected the supplies left in the village.
Horses, livestock, grain, hay, tools and even vehicles, everything is needed.
As the sun set, more than two thousand horses came from the east, strutting down to feed the horses and slaughter cattle and sheep.
The Xianbei people separated more than a thousand horses and went up the mountain along the gentle slope. They fought fiercely with the Huns and drove them away a little. Then they went down to the village, washed the horses, ate and drank, and were extremely arrogant.
When it was getting late, the Xianbei soldiers were full and their horses were full, so they selected a full two thousand horses and quietly turned back east, heading towards the old city of Loufan.
The geography here mainly extends along the flat valleys of the Fen River and its tributaries.
Go west from Taiyuan and walk 240 miles along the Fenshui River Valley to the abandoned Loufan Old City.
To the west of the old city of Loufan, along the Lanshui River Valley for eighty miles, you will reach Xiurong. From Xiurong to the north, you can go straight to the back of Langu.
To the north of Loufan Old City, walk seventy miles along the Fenshui River Valley to Jingle.
Jingle heads west, along the mountain valley for 45 miles to the northern border of Xiurong County.
To the north of Jingle, continue walking along the Fenshui River Valley for one hundred and fifty miles to Tianchi.
Beyond the river valley are mountains. There are no existing roads and it is inconvenient to walk.
If the Xianbei people can break through Jingle, they can reach Tianchi, launch an attack from the south, and attack the Xianbei people north of Tianchi. The situation of the battle will change drastically.
Qiao Yu, the beautiful lady, was extremely anxious after watching it at the top of the city.
Now we have to find a way to inform Beifang. He knows that King Liang is still in Tianchi. Maybe he has been bypassed by the Xianbei people.
What should we do if we are blocked in the narrow valley that is 230 miles long from north to south, and there are Xianbei troops at both the north and south exits?
It is said that Jinyang is the main intersection of the entire Bingzhou, and this is not false.
All roads intersect, and you can start from here to go to Henan in the south, Hebei in the east, cross the Yellow River in the west, and leave the fortress in the north.
However, Jinyang is sparsely populated and dilapidated. Liu Ling only has 5,000 infantry, so he may have lost Jinyang.
The situation was so critical that Qiao Yu could not imagine what would happen if King Liang died in the mountains.
Most people in Xiurong City still don't want anything to happen to King Liang and don't want to take refuge in Suotou. However, some people are greedy for profit and hope to see the world in chaos.
Actually, it’s not just the beautiful appearance, what about the various tribes in the nearby mountains? They also have ulterior motives and different ideas.
Don’t test the loyalty of others easily!
(End of this chapter)