Chapter 214 Snowfield Counterattack
Chapter 214 Snowfield Counterattack
At four o'clock in the morning, many Tuyuhun soldiers were awakened from their sleep. They felt the ground shaking, as if there was a slight earthquake. The soldiers looked at each other, no one knew what was going on. Suddenly, a soldier pointed to the distance and shouted in fear: "Look, what is that?"
All the soldiers sat up, their eyes filled with fear, they saw a vast mass of black cavalry appearing on the snowfield a mile away, their horses galloping, their swords and spears like a forest, like a black storm, and the monstrous murderous aura was like a shock wave on the flat ground, snow and fog rolling, sweeping towards the sleeping Tuyuhun army.
The Tuyuhun army was stunned. Suddenly, they reacted, got up and fled towards their horses. Unexpectedly, another cavalry came from the north and blocked them from their horses. The Tuyuhun soldiers were killed and rolled on the ground screaming. The spears of the Sui cavalry ruthlessly pierced the chest of every Tuyuhun soldier.
The Tuyuhun soldiers could not rush forward and could only watch their horses being driven away by the Sui soldiers.
In desperation, more than 8,000 Tuyuhun soldiers had to turn around and flee south.
Their morale had collapsed. They had no intention of resisting at all. They were defeated like a mountain. They cursed the Sui cavalry and hated their parents for not giving them two more legs. They rushed south. The snowy plain was full of fleeing soldiers. They threw away their helmets and armor, weapons, packages, and everything that could be thrown away. Everyone had only one thought: escape! Escape from the massacre of the Sui army...
But they could not outrun the Sui cavalry. In an instant, the defeated Tuyuhun army was caught up by the Sui cavalry. The cavalry swallowed up the defeated troops like a whirlwind. Kneeling down to surrender was useless as all of them were ruthlessly killed by the Sui cavalry.
In desperation, a Tuyuhun soldier thrust his spear straight at a Sui cavalryman charging towards him, but the Sui cavalryman blocked his spear and drew his sword to split the Tuyuhun soldier's head in half.
The Tuyuhun commander Liang Qucong was so anxious that he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Don't run away! Gather and fight! Gather and fight!"
Before he finished speaking, a wolf-tooth arrow whizzed in and hit him in the face. Liang Qucong screamed and fell off his horse. The Sui cavalrymen who were galloping over chopped off his head with a sword and held it high. A hundred steps away, the Sui army commander Xiao Xia coldly put away his bow and arrow. He drew his sword and shouted, "Brothers, cut off their escape route and don't let anyone escape!"
The Sui cavalry moved as fast as the wind and lightning, their horses trampled through the snow, stirring up patches of snow fog. Another cavalry, led by Xue Wanjun, galloped along the Zhangye River. The burly Sui cavalry wore bright armor, carried bows and swords, and were fierce. In the blink of an eye, they rushed past the fastest fleeing Tuyuhun army and cut off their escape route.
Murong Baoshu roared and charged towards Xue Wanjun with his spear. Xue Wanjun sneered and dodged the opponent's spear. He swung the 60-jin phoenix-wing sword with both arms. The sword was as fast as lightning, and "puff!" chopped off Murong Baoshu's head.
The Sui cavalry surrounded the defeated Tuyuhun army from both sides, and the shouts of killing shook the sky. At this moment, the Tuyuhun soldiers had no way to survive and were ruthlessly killed by the Sui cavalry. The riverbank of Zhangye River was piled with the corpses of killed enemy soldiers. Rivers of blood flowed into the river, and the frozen river turned red. The blood dyed the ice on the river red. In less than an hour, the Tuyuhun army was completely wiped out, and no one escaped. The Sui soldiers on the snowy field cheered.
Soon, General Zhang Jin came up, clasped his fists and saluted Xiao Xia, saying, "Reporting to you, sir, I have counted the bodies and found that there were a total of 11,340 people on the other side. We killed all 11,340 of them. Except for the hundred or so deserters, none of the other enemy soldiers escaped. We lost 33 people and forty were injured."
Xiao Xia nodded, "Clean up the battlefield, pile up the bodies and burn them thoroughly, dig a deep pit and bury them!"
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Zhang Jin immediately led the soldiers to clean up the battlefield and burn the corpses.
At dawn, the bodies were buried deep in pits dug by the Sui army. After dealing with the bodies, the army turned around and returned to Zhangye City.
.........
Chang'an was also a world covered in snow at this time. Shortly after the beginning of winter, Chang'an had two heavy snowfalls. The entire city was covered in silver and was peaceful.
In an agricultural society, winter is also a time for farmers to rest. The same is true for the court. In winter, the pace of the court slows down, and all kinds of struggles among officials are put to rest. This morning, in the side hall of the Liangyi Hall, Emperor Yang Jian convened a small court meeting.
The reason for holding a small court meeting was that Emperor Yang Jian received a message via flying eagle from Xue Shixiong, the governor of Liangzhou, that nearly 30,000 Tuyuhun troops had launched an attack on Zhangye in Hexi, but were defeated and annihilated by the Zhangye army.
The unusual movements in Hexi affected the arrangements for the war against Tuyuhun in the spring, so Yang Jian naturally had to discuss it with his important ministers.
Gao Jiong bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we are sending a large amount of food and supplies to Hehuang, and at the same time sending more troops to Hehuang. This is obviously preparation for war. How can Tuyuhun not see it? Attacking Hexi is their response. They want to transfer the battlefield to our side.
There is no chance on the Hehuang side, and on the Hexi side, they control the Dadouba Valley, which is more advantageous to them in terms of terrain, so it is reasonable for them to attack Hexi, but the 30,000 troops were defeated and annihilated by the 5,000 Zhangye troops, which is a brilliant victory, and the court should commend them greatly. "
Yang Su also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, since Tuyuhun has been defeated in Hexi, we don't need to worry about it. We will still act according to the original plan."
Yang Jian nodded, and then asked Prince of Jin Yang Guang: "My son is the Grand Marshal of the Western Expedition, I would like to hear your opinion!"
Yang Guang bowed and said, "My son's idea is basically the same as Prime Minister Gao and Prime Minister Yang. Tuyuhun's sending troops in winter has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it will be difficult for us to rescue them, and they can concentrate their superior forces to capture Zhangye. But if they fail to capture Zhangye, the advantage will turn into disadvantage, morale will quickly drop, and retreat will also be difficult. It can only be said that Tuyuhun wanted to gamble, but they lost the bet."
Yang Jian smiled and said, "Xue Shixiong highly praised Zhangye's military commander Xiao Xia. How do you think you can commend him?"
Yang Guang pondered for a moment and said, "There are three merits here. The first is that the people of Zhangye have made great contributions in supporting the army. The court can consider reducing taxes as a reward. The second is that the soldiers of Zhangye have made great contributions in defending the territory. The court can give them extra rewards. The third is that the commander-in-chief Xiao Xia has made great contributions. I suggest recording a great merit in the merit book and considering rewards and punishments after the Tuyuhun campaign is over."
"That makes sense. If I want Xiao Xia to concurrently serve as the governor of Zhangye, what do you think?" Yang Jian continued to ask.
Yang Guang was a little embarrassed, and after a while he said: "The concurrent appointment as the governor of Zhangye is not a reward for military merit, but a personnel appointment. Logically, I cannot interfere with the Ministry of Personnel, but I still have to say that he is still young and inexperienced, and is not yet capable of shouldering the welfare of the people of a county. Please think twice, father!"
Crown Prince Yang Yong, who was standing aside, had been ignored the whole time. When he heard that his father actually wanted Xiao Xia to be the governor of Zhangye County, he finally couldn't help but said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say, too!"
Yang Jian glanced at him and said calmly: "You say!"
Yang Yong bowed and said, "Father, the governor is the highest civil servant in a county, and is related to the welfare of the people in the county. Therefore, when choosing a chief official, one must be extremely careful. Not only his ability, but also his moral character, and more importantly, his experience, so the court has a complete system for selecting officials. How can one become a county governor without serving as a county magistrate? One must work diligently at a low level, be a good county magistrate and assistant official, and accumulate experience and qualifications. Therefore, to reach the level of county governor, one must be at least in his thirties. Xiao Xia is less than seventeen years old. If Your Majesty lets him be the governor, I'm afraid that all the officials will not accept it!"
It has to be said that what Crown Prince Yang Yong said was completely reasonable and flawless.
Yang Jian was about to express his opinion, but he saw Han Wang Yang Liang sneering, so he asked: "What suggestions does Han Wang have?"
(End of this chapter)