Chapter 202: Here they come, all here
Chapter 202: Here they come, all here
There was chaos in Xiangcheng County, for one simple reason: the prefect had run away.
There was no need for the court to dismiss him from office, he would first repay the favor as a sign of respect to avoid a bad end.
Upon seeing this, county and prefecture officials and clerks fled in all directions, leaving the huge city of Xiangcheng without a leader.
On the next day, those who had a little wealth began to flee.
Cars big and small filled the roads.
At the Ru River ferry, the boatmen had never seen such a scene before. They were so frightened that they even suspected that thieves were attacking. They were so scared that they rowed their boats directly to the west bank and stopped doing business.
Some brave ones are still ferrying people and horses. At this time, they can often ask for a price at will, and others dare not bargain.
In the afternoon, a piece of news began to spread among the crowd: Wang Mi's bandits had broken into the county town, divided their troops into four parts to plunder, and would soon reach the Ru River.
As soon as the news came out, the chaos near the ferry reached a new level.
Some people abandoned their horses and carriages and ran away with their valuables.
Some people went upstream and downstream to check if there were any shoals that could be crossed.
Some people are still hesitant and are looking for people to ask to find out whether the news is true or not.
But at this time, there was no good news at all. Instead, rumors spread quickly, and people did not hesitate to speculate the situation with the greatest malice and then scare themselves or others.
In short, there was chaos among those who fled.
On the other side of the ferry, there was the sound of horse hooves.
Hundreds of riders stopped their horses on the shore.
Several people dismounted, grabbed two boatmen and took them across the river.
A moment later, a large fluttering flag with the word "Shao" on it was planted on the other side of the river.
Several standard-bearers stood under the flag, wearing helmets and armor, with long swords on their backs, looking around with their eyes wide open, showing no fear at all.
Some people who were standing outside the ferry and trying to squeeze in stopped subconsciously and stared at the big flag stupidly after seeing it.
More troops came from the other side of the river, and the long snake-like team had no end in sight.
A young general in bright red military uniform rode his horse forward.
Hundreds of personal soldiers followed closely behind.
"Go forward and look back." the red-robed general shouted.
"Put on your iron crotches." More than a hundred personal soldiers shouted in unison.
"Look at the back from the front." The red-robed general shouted again.
"Get your iron spears ready." This time, not only the personal soldiers were shouting, but even some soldiers who were marching also shouted.
The horse team galloped past.
The soldiers followed the red figure. A student soldier officer drew out his sword and struck the small round shield tied to his arm, shouting, "Victory!"
"Victory!" The sound spread from one building to another, and it was passed on five times, and then the second round started soon.
The fleeing crowd on the other side of the river saw this and subconsciously slowed down their movements.
No more crowding, no more pushing, no more shouting.
The people in front looked at it intently.
The people at the back were whispering and asking each other questions, then turned around to look at the big flag with the word "Shao" on it.
The flag seemed to have magical power, calming people's hearts in an instant.
"I won't run away!" The brave young man broke free from his mother's hand, and under his father's angry gaze, he quickly grabbed a horse, turned over and rode out at full speed, his voice heard from afar: "I will follow the Marquis of Luyang to fight the bandits, don't worry, parents, I will be back soon."
His actions inspired many people, and more than ten strong men rushed out.
Someone walked away while cursing, "You bunch of thieves, do you think there is no one in my city?"
Someone else looked back and said, "Where can we escape to? If the enemy crosses the river and chases us, we will die anyway. We might as well fight."
Everyone avoided his gaze.
There are hundreds of people, all kinds of people.
It is normal for some people to be brave and some to be cowardly.
Wang Mi's army came and everyone fled. Some people were forced to join in, and they were unwilling to do so. Now that Marquis Luyang had crossed the river to fight the bandits, seeing the backbone, the brave men were naturally willing to follow his banner and defend their hometown.
The soldiers on the west bank of the river had stopped and were forming a line on the grass by the river.
Wang Chan, Hao Chang and other Hebei generals commanded more than 3,300 people from their own army, and under the guidance of craftsmen, they cut down trees and built simple floating bridges.
Shiqiao, Yongxing, Nanshan and the newly formed Lijiafang each dispatched 200 soldiers, totaling 800 people, carrying horses, troops and equipment, to cross the river in advance.
All the boatmen came to the west bank of the river and ferried the soldiers and horses across.
After a short rest, the soldiers who crossed the river dispersed into teams to gather information.
In the evening, Chen Yougen personally led 200 people into the open gates of Xiangcheng County. Without any hesitation, the first thing he did was to seal up the treasury, and then summoned the remaining officials in the county government and the state government, ordering them to mobilize the people in the city, select young men, distribute weapons, and patrol the city walls.
At the same time, messengers were sent to various counties in the name of the Southern Route Governor, Marquis Luyang, stating that if any commanders abandoned the city and fled again, they would be executed without mercy.
This order can be said to be very harsh. It is not a gentle punishment like dismissal from office, but killing!
Late that night, Shao Xun and his personal soldiers crossed the river.
This time, he brought 3,000 soldiers from the first to fifth battalions of the Silver Spear Army, 800 Long Sword Army, plus 3,300 surrendered soldiers from Hebei and more than 200 craftsmen - they served as auxiliary troops.
The Sixth Battalion of the Silver Spear Army was stationed near the Green Willow Garden, and was accompanied by 400 palace soldiers and 2,000 Yamen soldiers, serving as the general reserve force.
The Eighth Battalion of the Silver Spear Army was assigned to Sanwu, Yiyang for training because it was composed entirely of new recruits.
Another 1,200 Yamen troops were left behind to guard Guangchengze.
The remaining two thousand people were taken to Yushanwu by Li Zhong, and together with the Seventh Battalion of the Silver Spear Army, they served as the central defense reserve force of the fortress.
All combat deployments have been completed, and we are just waiting for the next major battle.
*******
On April 22, Wang Yan personally inspected the three passes in Luonan, with Huanyuan Pass being his last stop.
General Miao Bo of the Palace personally went out of the city to greet him.
After some greetings, everyone went up to the top of the city wall.
"This..." The sunlight was a bit dazzling. Wang Yan put his hands on the pergola and looked at the post road in front of him, which was hidden among the grass and mountains.
The road is not very wide, and some sections are even narrow, making it impossible for cars to pass each other, as there is only room for square tracks.
Based on his limited military knowledge, a frontal attack would be extremely difficult, which greatly boosted his confidence.
Wang Dun followed behind his brother and watched silently.
The lush greenery made him a little distracted. He forced himself to put aside all distracting thoughts and silently looked at the terrain, comparing it with what was described in the military book.
Suddenly, an idea came to his mind: "General Miao, why don't you select elite soldiers and ambush them on the mountains on both sides, and suddenly attack when the enemy's large group passes by. When the enemy marches, they form a long snake formation, and it is difficult for the head and tail to take care of each other. Maybe we can cut them into several sections and win a great victory."
When Miao Bo heard this, he thought it made some sense, so he looked at Wang Yan.
Wang Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "General Miao, just hold on to the city. At this moment, it would be best if we can avoid making mistakes."
"Brother!" Wang Dun was somewhat unwilling.
Miao Bo also looked at Wang Yan with expectation.
To be honest, how can the credit for defending a city be compared to defeating the enemy in a field battle? Not even close!
"No need to take risks, just follow orders." Wang Yan said.
"Yes." Miao Bo agreed.
Wei Wei feels a little regretful.
He now really needs to perform in front of the emperor in order to obtain a higher official position and greater power. Unfortunately, Wang Situ disagrees, which is a pity.
Wang Yan's gaze passed over the post road and fell on the vast mountains in the south.
In just over a month, Wang Mi crossed the entire Henan Province, and the Taifu could not escape the blame.
Luoyang, after all, still has to be defended by the imperial guards, no matter the invading enemy is Wang Mi or the Huns who are already sharpening their knives.
Wang Yan returned to Luoyang the next day.
At this time, reinforcements from all over the country gathered one after another, mainly troops from nearby states and counties. The most conspicuous one among them was the troop from Liangzhou: 5,000 Liangzhou cavalry led by Beigong Chun, Zhang Zuan, Ma Yu, Yin Jun and other generals.
The sensation caused by the five thousand cavalry was enormous.
In particular, their war horses are tall and majestic, completely different from the relatively short horses on the northern grasslands. They should be very powerful in a head-on charge.
Among these 5,000 men, there are men from Liangzhou, as well as Xianbei and Qiang people who came here to rely on them. Each of them has combat experience and looks strong and agile. They are not the kind of fancy troops.
Unexpectedly, in the bitterly cold land of Liangzhou, there lay hidden such a powerful army. When the people of Luoyang heard the news, they immediately ran around to tell each other and were extremely excited.
You know, the imperial guards only have more than 2,000 cavalry at this moment, less than half of the reinforcements from Liang Province. This battle will be easy to fight!
In addition, the Liangzhou cavalry brought by Beigong Chun also greatly deterred potential ambitious people - uh, if Shao was here, he would also be deterred. This crappy court can actually get 5,000 elite cavalry from Liangzhou. Isn't this forcing me to continue pretending to be a loyal subject?
Along with Beigong Chun came tribute from Liangzhou: five hundred fine horses, ox horns, felt carpets, and tens of thousands of incense and medicines.
Compared with other prefects, Zhang Gui was indeed extremely respectful as he offered tribute in addition to paying taxes.
Upon hearing the news, the emperor specially gave wine to entertain Beigong Chun and other generals in the palace, and sent an envoy west to Liangzhou to comfort and encourage them.
For a moment, it seemed as if people saw the illusion of the revival of the Jin Dynasty.
But on the other hand, it is a fact that Wang Mi had led his troops to Huanyuan Pass, and it is also a fact that after Liu Yuan stockpiled food, fodder and equipment, he led a large army to attack Pingyang and Hedong counties.
This bizarre scene makes people sigh with emotion: Although the Jin Dynasty had many problems, its national destiny should not have ended at this time. The reason why it has fallen to this point is all due to human-made mistakes.
Sincerely!
(End of this chapter)