Chapter 254: To others but not to others

Chapter 254: To others but not to others

Chapter 254: To others but not to others

After Liu Cong was attacked at night, he fled eastward for dozens of miles overnight.

After daybreak, he stopped in anger and sent people everywhere to gather in the defeated soldiers.

This is the advantage of cavalry.

Even if you are attacked by surprise, as long as you find a horse and escape, you will be basically safe.

The soldiers of Hongnong County didn't know if they had more than a hundred cavalrymen in total, and they didn't dare to pursue them, fearing that they would be surrounded and eaten. Moreover, in the dark, they didn't know which direction the Xiongnu soldiers went. At most, they could catch some unlucky ones, and most of them could escape.

If it were infantry, it would be a bit difficult to escape in this situation.

Yuan Yan could defeat Liu Cong, but could not completely wipe out his troops.

Liu Cong also understood this. After spending three days gradually recruiting six or seven thousand cavalrymen, he even wanted to strike back and take revenge on Yuan Yan.

On the 22nd, Wang Mi crossed the river from Dayang and went south to Shan County, where he met up with Liu Cong.

Looking at the sparse hundreds of cavalrymen behind Wang Mi, Liu Cong frowned and asked, "Is the Minister crossing the river to reinforce? Where are the infantry? Without infantry, how can we capture the city?"

After Wang Mi dismounted, he bowed and said, "Your Highness, I dare not move without the emperor's order."

"Then why did you cross the river?" Liu Cong was a little annoyed.

"Your Highness is in a state of anxiety and it is a big taboo to raise an army out of anger." Wang Mi said seriously.

He did have 30,000 soldiers under his command, most of whom were infantry, trained in the past year.

Last year's battles in Gong County and Yecheng almost wiped out all his savings.

Of the more than 20,000 soldiers and horses that once existed at their peak, less than 4,000 returned.

Fortunately, the emperor was kind and did not blame him. He allowed him to recruit his own soldiers and gave him some prisoners.

He was trained like this for half a year, and then followed King Cong of Chu to go to war and defeated Liu Kun, and the morale of the army was restored to a certain extent.

Up to now, the number of soldiers under his command has increased from 4,000 a year ago to 30,000.

He reflected deeply on these 30,000 people and felt that he must practice well.

For this reason, he stopped playing with women and drinking, and lived in the military camp every day, working hard for only one purpose: to settle accounts with that damn Shao Xun and avenge the previous humiliation - every time I just got rich, you come to beat me up, what does my Wang family owe you? Is it necessary to target me like this?

Of course, he also knew that the combat effectiveness of these 30,000 soldiers was not enough, and there was still a big gap between them and Shao Xun's elite Silver Spear Army. Fighting them in a field battle now would only be a waste of lives.

Therefore, he left all his men and horses in Dayang on the other side of the river to continue training. After receiving Liu Cong's order, I crossed the river to take a look and persuaded him to go back if I could.

King Yao of Shi'an and King Jing of Ruyin have been gathering troops and horses. Once the tribes in Hexi and Hedong arrive, it will be no problem to gather 50,000 cavalry.

Grand Marshal Hu Yanyi was summoning infantry from the Han, Di, Xianbei, and Xiongnu tribes, with the ultimate goal of recruiting 100,000 infantry.

Judging from the number of troops, this was a war that would cost the country its life, with the goal of destroying the State of Jin.

The imperial court was preparing for a war to destroy the country, but the King of Chu got angry after a small setback in Hongnong. Why? After the army was gathered, wouldn't the small Hongnong be easily defeated?

Wang Mi didn't want to mess around with Liu Cong.

"You are such a coward, do you plan to be suppressed by Shi Le for the rest of your life?" Liu Cong calmed down a little, but was still unhappy, and said sarcastically.

"Shi Anton has been defeated." Wang Mi said with a smile.

"Huh? Lost to Wang Jun?" Liu Cong said in surprise.

"It was just a small setback. I heard that several thousand soldiers were lost." Wang Mi said this with a hint of regret.

Wang Jun was too incompetent. Upon hearing the news, he called over Su Shuyan, the Wuhuan son-in-law, and got help from thousands of Wuhuan cavalry.

The Xianbei Duan Wuwuchen originally did not want to come, but Wang Jun gave him three hundred sets of horse armor as a gift, so he sent a small number of more than two thousand cavalry to help in the battle.

As a result, Shi Le was indeed defeated in the Battle of Feilong Mountain, but the casualties were not great.

Wang Mi even suspected that Wang Jun had only won a miserable victory because he did not dare to pursue Shi Le, allowing Shi Le to escape with his main force.

"Where did Shi Le go?" Liu Cong asked.

"He led his army south to join Shi Chao." Wang Mi replied, "I don't know where he is now. He probably left Changshan and Zhongshan counties and headed south of Jizhou. As long as he doesn't get close to Youzhou, Wang Jun won't bother to send troops."

When Liu Cong heard this, his mood, which had just calmed down, began to churn again.

"Shi Le is so lucky." He swung the whip back and forth, feeling both envious and a little jealous.

What kind of people are there in Hebei? Can they stop Shi Le? I'm afraid not even one of them can.

In such a rich place, Shi Le was allowed to ride his horse and plunder everywhere to strengthen himself.

Last time I heard someone say that Shi Le had nearly 100,000 soldiers. Although most of them were just useless people with weak fighting ability, their number was truly terrifying.

This man is cultivating the land, training soldiers, and looting at the same time. If he is allowed to continue to develop, will he still be as honest and obedient as he is now?
Wang Mi glanced at Liu Cong quietly, as if thinking about something, and then said: "Your Highness, I heard that Shi Le has set up a 'Gentlemen Camp' in Changshan, and the people there may have other intentions."

"Gentleman Camp?" Liu Cong asked doubtfully.

Wang Mi explained.

Shi Le was active in Changshan, Zhongshan, Julu and other counties, and captured a group of well-dressed people. He set up a separate camp called the "Gentlemen Camp".

In fact, Shi Le could not control his subordinates, so he gathered local people who had read books and had a certain level of culture and protected them for his own use. As for the ordinary people, they were harmed, and they were not as valuable as the scholars, and they would not help him manage military and political affairs - of course, he would try his best to control his troops, but the more troops there were, the worse the military discipline was. There were some things that he could not control just because he wanted to, so he could only try his best.

"You are so good, Wang Feibao..." Liu Cong looked at Wang Mi with a smile.

Wang Mi bowed and said, "Your Highness will understand."

Liu Cong said nothing.

There was competition between Wang Mi and Shi Le, that is for sure. It was also inevitable that they would speak ill of each other and slander their opponents.

But this is not what he should worry about now. What he wants to do most is to kill Yuan Yan!
Whenever Liu Cong thought of that dinner, he felt embarrassed.

Every word of flattery Yuan Yan said seemed to be a slap in the face.

From childhood to adulthood, I have never suffered such a loss, and I have never been wronged like this!
But what Wang Mi said was also true...

If I act on impulse, will His Majesty be displeased?
Forget it, I'll wait for another month or so, and when the army arrives, I will definitely grind Yuan Yan to dust!
"Clop..." The sound of horse hooves came from the west.

Liu Cong looked carefully and found that it was General Huyan Hao, one of the generals who followed him south to Hongnong and led the main force of the Xiongnu.

"Your Highness." After Hu Yanhao dismounted from his horse, he bowed to Liu Cong, but when he saw Wang Mi and others, he did not express anything and seemed very arrogant.

"General Huyan, why are you here in such a hurry? Didn't I ask you to take in the stragglers?" Liu Cong asked in confusion.

Hu Yanhao's face looked a little ugly. He looked at Wang Mi, then at Liu Cong, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Liu Cong waved his hand generously and said, "Minister Wang is an important official of the court, there is no need to avoid him."

Hu Yanhao hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth and said: "Yuan Yan, that bastard——"

"What's wrong with Yuan Yan?" Liu Cong's breathing was a little rapid.

"That bastard sent people to carry your highness's helmet and battle clothes and spread the news everywhere. We were so angry that we rode in pursuit, but we couldn't catch up with him and he escaped back to Hongnong," said Hu Yanhao.

On the night of the night attack, Liu Cong was stationed outside the city, while Hu Yanhao was stationed inside the city. They received the news a little late, were ambushed by the bandits, lost hundreds of soldiers, and fled in panic, in great embarrassment.

The Huns were all gnashing their teeth at Yuan Yan, vowing to dig out his heart and liver as a sacrifice to the dead soldiers.

After Hu Yanhao finished speaking, Liu Cong was so angry that he was shaking and was about to mount the horse by grabbing the whip.

Wang Mi and others hurried to stop them.

“Your Highness.” Wang Mi advised earnestly, “Why bother with this man? Wait until the army arrives——”

"Wang Feibao, transfer 10,000 of your men over here!" Liu Cong turned to look at Wang Mi, his eyes as big as copper bells.

Wang Mi's heart skipped a beat and he felt that Liu Cong was really angry.

"The pontoon bridge isn't ready yet," he said evasively.

"Then hurry up and build more." Liu Cong said angrily: "You can plunder and recruit Latin soldiers in Shan and Hongnong counties. If the emperor is angry, I will help you bear the brunt of the wrath."

Wang Mi thought about it for a long time and finally said yes.

He knew that the emperor attached great importance to military discipline. Many generals had been dismissed from their posts for burning, killing and looting, and even members of the Liu clan had been severely punished.

It would be a good thing if the King of Chu could help him.

Besides, we can't disobey the King of Chu too much now. Who knows if he will get angry and kill people?
******
The army marched along the winding mountain road.

On the right is the mountain, towering and majestic.

On the left is a deep ravine. After a few rains, the muddy river water rushes down in an endless stream.

On the wet post road, both men and horses were very cautious.

From time to time, someone would slip and fall into the valley. After rolling into the deep ravine, they would be swept forward by the river, floating for a while, and soon disappear.

Everyone was horrified.

No matter how outstanding your skills are, no matter how brave you are, you are too insignificant in the face of the power of heaven and earth.

This is Huikeizaka.

In the dry and rainy season, one can even march and fight at the bottom of a ravine, but once the rainy season comes, there is only one slope path accessible - "slope" means a path on the hillside.

It took the 20,000-strong army three full days to get out of the post road carved into the mountain and enter the relatively open mountain basin.

On the night of the 23rd, the army arrived at the Erling area of ​​Xiaoban.

There are two mountains in the east and west of Xiao. The road there is steep and dangerous. It has been famous since ancient times and is referred to as "the solidity of Xiao and Han".

This place is about a hundred miles west of Shan County and is a fork in the post road between Chang'an and Luoyang.

From here to the east is the Xin'an Road, which was repaired and excavated by Emperor Cao Cao of Wei.

From here, turn southeast and after passing the dangerous Huixiban, you will enter the flat Luoshui River Valley, which is Yiyang Road. The Battle of Yiyang between Qin and Han during the Warring States Period took place on this road.

The terrain is like this, and there has been no new way to get there from ancient times to the present day. No matter how far you go, you will eventually end up on these two post roads. There is obviously a reason why everyone walks this way.

Dai Yanzhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty recorded in his "Records of the Western Expedition": "From Dongxiao to Xixiao, it is 30 li. Dongxiao has a long slope for several li, with steep hills and ravines, so that vehicles cannot track. Xixiao is entirely a rocky slope for 12 li, and is no less dangerous than Dongxiao."

The army stayed here for a day to rest.

At this time, Hongnong prefect Yuan Yan sent another envoy through a secret route, saying that Liu Cong and Wang Mi had recruited a large number of Latin soldiers, with a total of more than 30,000 people, intending to capture Hongnong, so they should advance quickly.

Inside the camp, everyone's eyes turned to Shao Xun.

Whether to go to Hongnong or not is entirely up to him.

Shao Xun studied the map carefully for a while before saying, "A good warrior attacks others but is not attacked by others. To be able to make the enemy come to you is to benefit them; to be able to prevent the enemy from coming to you is to harm them. Therefore, if the enemy is at ease, you can tire him out; if he is full, you can starve him; if he is at ease, you can make him move."

Chen Yougen opened his mouth wide. What the hell?

"Pass the order, advance!" Shao Xun gave the order.

(End of this chapter)