Chapter 258 Keep him here!
Chapter 258 Keep him here!
On the last day of August, the siege continued, and it became more and more rapid and brutal, as if it was going to wipe out everyone.
It is no longer possible to catch strong men in the wild.
All the walls of the fort that could be breached have been breached.
If we cannot conquer them, they have already sent us some money, food, and strong men. It would be inappropriate to ask for more, as they will resist.
Wang Mi still had more than 24,000 men, 10,000 of whom were "old soldiers" brought from Dayang. The remaining 10,000 men were all young men from Hongnong, and to Wang Mi, they were consumables.
After several days of siege, they had captured 3,000 strong men, and today they had captured another 1,000 men. These 4,000 men were now considered veterans by Wang Mi, and were considered his own men.
These people are not able to fight any big battles yet, so they need to be trained like a hawk to make them loyal. Then they can be taken to enjoy some benefits, such as rape and looting, or rewarded with some money and property, before they can truly become their own people.
Wang Mi sent a thousand veterans to take these "old soldiers" across the river via the Yejin Ferry and the pontoon bridge.
Yujin, located three miles northwest of Hongnong County, is an important ferry crossing the river, just like Maojin next to Shan County. There was also a Tongjin to the west, which was later moved to Hedong and named "Fenglingdu".
Between Hongnong and Hedong, these three places are the most convenient for crossing the river.
Shao Xun occupied Maojin, Liu Cong and Wang Mi occupied Yejin, and no one cared about Tongjin in the west.
If Liu Cong and Wang Mi retreat now, they can cross the river via Yejin.
From here, heading north, you can reach Ruicheng in later generations, then cross the Zhongtiao Mountain Pass and reach the Sushui River Basin - today's Yuncheng Yongji area.
The question now is whether to cross the river and withdraw?
Wang Mi was a little conflicted. He wanted to cross the river, return to Hedong, and then retake Dayang after joining up with the main army - but he was really a little scared.
At the same time, Wang Mi also wanted to advance eastward now, recapture Shan County, and block the Shao bandits in Dayang.
Even if we fail to capture him in the end and let Shao escape eastwards through Chenguanxing into Hanoi, at least we can capture some of him and teach him a lesson.
I can't deal with you alone, but the emperor is gathering a large army, and tens of thousands of cavalry are surrounding you. Can you still fly away?
Compared with Wang Mi, Liu Cong wanted to keep Shao the thief more.
The battle has been going on for so long that he has become a little dizzy.
Yuan Yan first pretended to surrender, which made him furious. Then, he sent people to carry his helmet and battle clothes to spread the news everywhere, which made him even more excited. Now Shao Xun attacked Dayang in the north and defeated Wang Sang, which was a big slap in his face.
With all this going on, how can I bear it?
He knew that Liu Yao and Liu Jing had already gathered troops in Pingyang and Hedong, and that soldiers from various tribes had gathered there, and there were now 30,000 to 40,000 cavalry.
Grand Marshal Hu Yanyi was gathering infantry, with the capable and warlike imperial guards such as the Huben Left and Right Guards, the Yulin Left and Right Guards, the Xiaoqi, the Yueqi, the Shesheng, and the Qiangnu as the backbone, assisted by tribal soldiers and the Han army. Now there were 70,000 to 80,000 people.
If these people pressed forward, Shao Xun would have no chance of survival. But the question was, if they won the battle, what would it have to do with Liu Cong?
He wanted to win now, relying on his 7,000 cavalry and Wang Mi's 20,000 infantry. Only by winning this way could he avenge his previous defeat. Otherwise, he would always feel uncomfortable.
So, he made a decision quickly.
As for this thief Yuan Yan, let him go for now and leave 10,000 infantry and cavalry to keep an eye on him.
If he dares to leave the city, that would be just the right opportunity to encircle and annihilate the remaining two or three thousand men of his.
If he didn't dare leave the city, he would only live a month longer.
After figuring it out, he immediately issued a series of orders...
******
"I wonder if the autumn sowing has started at home." On the Qiliai Mountain Road, Zhang Gu sat on the plateau, staring at the deep post road below the plateau.
His family had moved to Liang County a long time ago and farmed in the countryside.
This year's severe drought has caused quite severe damage to agriculture.
Fruit trees, vegetable plots, pastures and other things that made money quickly were swept away.
If the winter wheat had not been harvested in May, there would have been no grain harvest.
There were a few rains after the beginning of autumn, but there was no so-called "continuous autumn rain" and the overall rainfall was still slightly less.
According to the plan, if feasible, autumn sowing should be carried out in early September and no later than September 15th.
I hope it will come true.
The loess plateau terrain of Hongnong was relatively new to Zhanggu.
Not as high as the mountains, but much steeper.
Some of the plateau walls are even straight up and down, forming many deep valleys.
Today, let these valleys become the burial place of our enemies.
"Captain, the enemy cavalry is still thirty miles away." A scout hurried up the plateau and reported.
"Explore again." Zhang Gu ordered.
"promise."
After the scouts left, Zhang Gu felt a little worried and wandered around the various ambush points on the plateau to make a final confirmation.
There were five hundred soldiers on the western plateau, but they were not all gathered in one place. In fact, they were divided into several groups.
While inspecting, Zhang Gu recalled Duan Xiong's words that day: "One thousand men lie in wait on the two plateaus. When the enemy troops arrive in large numbers, you count the heads. After ten teams (five hundred men) have passed, you immediately fire your bows and crossbows. When you shoot, shoot first from the west plateau, shouting as you shoot. The bandits will surely try to dodge and leave their backs to the east plateau. When the other leaders hear the shouts from the west plateau, they will lead their men to shoot, killing and wounding many people."
After all, he came from the Imperial Guards and really knows how to fight.
The superior ordered an ambush, so Zhang Gu led his men to ambush, but he had no idea how to ambush in order to achieve the best killing effect.
Who would tell you these little details and tips? How can you learn them if you haven't experienced them? I'm afraid you can only slowly explore and summarize them by yourself.
The method taught by Duan Xiong is actually the experience passed down among the imperial guards and is a kind of military heritage.
Once the inheritance is broken, the experience may be lost, and then newcomers have to start from scratch, explore and summarize.
Therefore, once the refugee army is joined by experienced officers and soldiers, its combat effectiveness will be rapidly improved. This is one of the reasons.
Zhang Gu returned to the position before departure and told the soldiers to eat some food and drink some water to maintain their strength.
After a while, the scouts reported that there were still twenty miles to go. After another, ten miles, five miles...
The sound of horse hooves gradually became louder and more frequent.
Zhang Gu's expression brightened up, and he lay on the plateau and watched quietly.
Slowly, the enemy came into view.
In the front were more than ten riders, they were enemy scouts and rangers, each with three horses.
Under the forced march, it was difficult for the large group of troops to wait for the scouts to conduct a thorough search, and it was even more impossible to send people to carefully check the earthen plateaus on both sides. Of course, some generals were cautious and would rather not reach the destination in time and watch their friendly troops fall into danger than to ensure their own safety. Such people would stop and wait for a day or two to ensure safety before leaving. Liu Cong obviously couldn't wait.
The rangers passed quickly and disappeared on the distant horizon.
The ambushers did not react and let it go.
The sound of horse hooves could be heard again. This time there were more than two hundred riders, and each man had three horses. The ambushers let them go on their own.
Just when Zhang Gu was getting a little impatient, a massive cavalry finally appeared in front of him.
With one man and two horses, more than four thousand cavalrymen look very imposing.
Zhang Gu stared with wide eyes.
Because the terrain was gradually narrowing and there were too many people and horses, the enemy cavalry gradually slowed down and moved forward in a column.
In short, the original boundless "sea" has turned into a surging "torrent".
The torrent is powerful and unstoppable.
The horse has a strong physique, its mane flying when it gallops, and its huge hooves kicking the mud, making a thrilling vibration.
The person on horseback has excellent riding skills and controls the horse with ease. The combination of man and horse is very good.
Honestly speaking, Zhang Gu felt that their riding skills were better than those of the Imperial Guards, and much better than those half-baked soldiers in the palace who claimed to be good at riding and fighting.
Riding horses, drawing bows and arrows, and harassing repeatedly, ordinary infantry cannot withstand it.
But today, grandpa is going to kill you!
Zhang Gu counted silently in his heart, and when about five hundred riders had passed, he ordered people to raise a large flag, then gave a shout and shot arrows out.
"Kill!" The two hundred people following him seemed to have received a signal. They drew their bows and crossbows and shot towards the plateau.
Those who couldn't shoot arrows picked up big rocks and smashed them down with all their might.
Suddenly, people and horses were thrown to the ground on the post road.
The Huns were shocked and angry. Some of them subconsciously looked for places to hide, while others whipped their horses and rushed forward.
At this moment, flags were raised on the opposite east plateau and shouts of killing were heard.
Dozens of archers shot the panicked Huns happily, making loud noises as they killed - this was sending a signal.
"Charge! Don't stop!" General Liu Ling of Liu Hanpingbei roared and ran forward with his personal soldiers.
The others also reacted and followed his general flag.
We were ambushed at the narrow pass, but the enemy was not numerous. Judging from the density of the arrows, there were only about 100 or 200 of them at most, and it did not cause much casualties.
Just keep moving forward and get through this section despite the casualties.
As for whether there are enemies ahead, I don't care. If you dare to block my way, I will fight you!
The Hun cavalry continued to advance.
Unexpectedly, after walking only two or three miles, a large number of arrows were shot at us from the hills on both sides, occasionally mixed with some fallen rocks.
Another flurry of people turned around.
Hey!
Liu Ling waved his lance to block the arrows shot from both sides while cursing loudly.
There were sounds of arrows breaking in the air everywhere. He was already pierced by two arrows and his horse was also hit by one, which almost knocked him over.
He turned his head to take a look and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the large group of people were in a mess, they still followed behind. Judging from the sounds, there must be hundreds of them.
The number of enemy soldiers on the hills on both sides was about the same as before, about one or two hundred. This made him feel a little relieved. After all, not everyone could shoot arrows and use crossbows. He just needed to keep charging and get through this period!
Well, after charging for about three miles, the third wave of attacks arrived...
Liu Ling was hit by another arrow and his horse fell to the ground.
In a hurry, he changed to an empty horse, asked his personal soldiers to raise the general's flag, shouted loudly, and called on the people behind to follow closely.
The sound of arrows breaking through the air gradually faded away, and the screams gradually disappeared.
There was a sudden light ahead, and the road became clear.
"He broke out!" Liu Ling breathed a sigh of relief.
He reined in his horse, turned around and saw that there were only about three or four hundred people who followed him out of the pass.
There were still endless screams and the painful neighing of horses in the narrow passage.
Slowly, another two or three hundred riders rushed out.
"Shelter the people and horses." Liu Ling gave the order immediately.
At the same time he gave the order, the dull sound of horse hooves was heard in the fields to the east.
Liu Ling turned his head and stood there.
Tall and majestic war horses, thick and powerful lances, both the man and the horse wearing heavy armor, what else could this be but armored cavalry?
(End of this chapter)