Chapter 261 Sharpening the Knife

Chapter 261 Sharpening the Knife

Chapter 261 Sharpening the Knife
Liu Cong's defeated troops quickly returned to Pingyang.

Two completely different painting styles appeared on the flat river valley.

A fort built with a mixture of bricks, stones, earth and wood, standing high on the plain.

Around the fort, there are crisscrossing fields and thousands of acres of fertile land.

The other type is villages or settlements, most of which were recently migrated and existed in the form of clans and tribes, each of which was led by a noble Xiongnu family such as Liu and Huyan.

Liu Cong had his own tribe: the former Xiongnu Xike tribe.

After returning to the tribe, all the chiefs (tribe leaders), junior commanders, and clan leaders came to pay their respects, "Your Highness."

Liu Cong looked ashamed.

Among the tens of thousands of cavalrymen who went on the expedition, many came from several tribes under his control, namely the so-called Xiongnu headquarters.

Apparently someone failed to come back this time, which made it difficult for him to face the big and small heads.

"Everyone..." Liu Cong opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.

"Your Highness." A military leader stepped forward and said, "Men of the grasslands die in heavy battles. They are born to fight. Your Highness does not need to blame yourself."

Everyone said yes.

Liu Cong felt better and smiled. Surrounded by the chiefs and clan leaders, he entered an earthen city.

Young girls presented traditional foods such as milk, cheese, mutton, green millet rice (millet), and Dongqiang wine. Dongqiang (also known as Dongqiang, historians have not been able to verify what kind of plant it is) is dark blue in color, like a weed, and its fruit is like a sunflower seed. It ripens in October and can be made into white wine.

Liu Cong asked the leaders to sit in a circle, as was the custom on the grassland.

He actually doesn't like these foods very much.

He had long been accustomed to the lifestyle of the Jin people and was indifferent to these so-called traditions, but in order to get close to the tribal leader, he acted very well and ate happily.

After Liu Cong started, the leaders also started eating, including meat, rice and milk.

"I heard that tens of thousands of people from various tribes were conscripted?" Liu Cong asked after taking a sip of wine after eating half full.

"If two households contribute one male, it is not a big fortune." said a minister.

"We have too many people."

"If you can grab something, you won't lose anything."

"In the past, the Han people provided money and food for us to fight. Now the Jin people don't want to pay, so can't we take it ourselves?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone laughed.

Liu Cong also laughed.

"According to the Han tradition, the annual supply to Nan Chanyu Fei Zhi was more than 190 million."

Simply put, the Eastern Han court spent "more than 190 million" worth of money and food every year to give to the Southern Chanyu to support this group of Xiongnu mercenaries.

During the hundred years of the Three Kingdoms period, the Huns were still mercenaries, fighting for Cao Wei.

The same was true in the early and middle period of the Western Jin Dynasty.

So it was not nonsense when someone just said that the Huns had a large number of soldiers. They were professional mercenaries.

However, after migrating south to the Han area, they were indeed a bit useless and not as ferocious as the newly emerging Xianbei people on the grassland.

"The Jin people are killing each other, and their best soldiers and generals are almost wiped out, but there are still a few strong troops left." Liu Cong waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, and then said: "Shao Xun, the Duke of Luyang County, has a very organized Silver Spear Army under his command. It is very difficult to deal with. You should be careful when you encounter him. Shi Le once mentioned that he is good at using chariots, so you may think of a way to deal with him."

"Your Highness, if you say so, we will be careful."

"Maybe we can use the same method as wolves hunting."

"Yes. Delay, siege, dig roads, set fires, and create smoke. If we use all of these together, it would be good if his convoy can travel more than ten miles a day."

"I would like to meet him and see how powerful he is."

Liu Cong felt very relieved after hearing this.

They had never met Shao Xun, so they were quite imposing. This was not a bad thing, as fighting depended on morale.

If you are afraid of the thief Shao, you will be timid in fighting, which will be bad.

"Your Highness, will you lead us in the expedition next month?" a minister asked.

"Next month? Has it been decided?"

"It's almost done. The cheese, dried meat, and grain have all been collected. I think it will be done soon."

"If we can't grab anything in this battle, we'll lose."

Everyone was talking and talking.

The biggest problem facing the Huns during their war was raising food supplies.

Bingzhou also suffered from drought this year. Although it was not as severe as Henan, it was also affected and it was not easy to raise food.

Shi Le contributed a little, and the Hexi tribes that were less affected also sent some food, cattle and sheep, but it was still not enough, so they could only rely on robbing from the south.

"I will still be the vanguard in the attack on Luoyang." Liu Cong nodded and said, "There will be many soldiers from Hexi and Daibei tribes coming over. You must maintain good relations with them and don't be estranged. When fighting, we should work together."

"Yes, sir." Everyone responded in unison.

After the banquet, Liu Cong left the earthen city and took a walk around the tribal settlement.

Someone is sharpening a knife.

Someone was adjusting the cavalry bow and the foot bow.

Someone was washing the horses.

Someone was preparing ropes to capture prisoners.

Some people led a group of young people, passed on some experience to them, and taught them how to fight.

The above are men.

Women are preparing fodder for the livestock for the winter.

Others were milking cows, drying cheese, and preparing dry food.

Some people even killed sheep. On the one hand, it was a tradition to slaughter livestock in late autumn for the purpose of winter fodder; on the other hand, it was also to prepare dried meat for use by the army.

Cheese and dried meat are very filling, and they don't take up much space and are light in weight, so they are essential for cavalry on long-distance raids. Liu Cong was quite moved when he saw them.

How could such a good soldier suffer such a great loss at the hands of Yuan Yan and Shao Xun?

He has been reflecting on this for the past two days.

Shao Xun was quite strategic when it came to fighting wars.

A prominent characteristic is that one thinks a lot and thinks about failure before thinking about victory.

Before attacking a place, the first thing to think about is to ensure the food supply, and the second thing to consider is the retreat route in case of defeat.

He is such an old-fashioned general!
He was only in his twenties, how could he fight like an old man in his fifties or sixties? He had no youthful spirit or heroic passion at all!

But this kind of person has very few flaws, which gives him a headache.

He likes the kind of generals who are bold and aggressive, brave and advanced, but also have many flaws. The two sides fight back and forth with danger everywhere, and both sides have a chance to win.

In such chaotic battles, he was often able to take advantage of his cavalry, seize fleeting opportunities, and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.

If Wang Kuang had not marched to Changping last year and blocked the river in Henei, it would have been difficult to defeat this army of 30,000.

But Wang Kuang dared to march north in large numbers, but was eventually surrounded by his cavalry and defeated in one fell swoop.

This time when he went south to Luoyang, he didn't want to meet Shao the bandit. The way that guy fought was simply disgusting.

However, you will eventually meet it in the future.

Others have pointed out my shortcomings before, but I just didn't like to hear them. Now I have to slowly correct them.

Raising troops out of anger, being impatient and reckless, being overly competitive, etc., are not qualities that a general should have. Even less are they qualities that a ruler should have, if he still wants to get the throne.

As the sun sets, Liu Cong, who had been standing in the wild for a long time, wakes up, sighs, and walks towards Tucheng.

After suffering a loss, he seemed to have matured a lot, even though he was already in his thirties.

The "thief Shao" mentioned by Liu Cong was like the "godfather" of the Jin Dynasty's military, who was forcing various generals to mature one after another.

Wang Mi, Shi Le, Liu Cong...

Next, no one knows who the "victim" will be.

******
Fan Long returned to Pingyang City earlier than Liu Cong, and the first thing he did was to enter the city to report.

After hearing this, Liu Yuan didn't say anything as he was worried about other things.

"Your Majesty seems to be worried about something?" Fan Long asked.

Liu Yuan looked at a map on the table and asked casually, "When will Xuanming come?"

"Just these few days." Fan Long couldn't say for sure, so he could only answer truthfully.

Liu Yuan nodded, but in fact he didn't care much about this matter.

Fan Long glanced at the map quietly.

The Han Dynasty has become quite powerful since its development.

Most of the six counties of Bingzhou were captured by the imperial court, and Liu Kun was almost surrounded. Even to contact Luoyang, he could only go through the direction of Xiangyuan, and there was a risk of the messenger being captured.

The two counties of Pingyang and Hedong in Sizhou were also taken.

In Fengyi County in Guanzhong, there were tribes that were dependent on the imperial court.

In the vast Hexi area, Queen Shan's family and four Xianbei tribes led by Lu Zhuyan came to surrender.

The prosperous Hebei region included territories conquered by Shi Le.

This was a big country spanning four states, namely Bing, Yong, Ji and Si, as well as parts of the Hexi grassland.

"Food!" Liu Yuan slapped the table and sighed.

The food issue has always been a problem.

More than 10,000 Di people were summoned from Fengyi, more than 10,000 Xianbei from the four tribes were recruited from Shangjun, more than 10,000 cavalry from the Tiefu clan and Bai tribe Xianbei from Xinxing and Yanmen counties, more than 10,000 cavalry from the miscellaneous Hu from the north of Dai, plus 20,000 cavalry and tens of thousands of infantry from the Xiongnu, and the young men from various forts in Pingyang and Hedong, and the Wangmi tribe...

The consumption of so many soldiers and horses gathered together is enormous.

"We will set out in October at the latest." Liu Yuan stood up and looked at the sudden autumn rain outside instead of Fan Long. He said, "Mr. Fan, which direction do you think we should advance from?"

"I think it would be better to go out of Chenguan and enter Henei," Fan Long suggested.

"Because Yuan Yan and Shao Xun just defeated Xuan Ming?" Liu Yuan relaxed his brows and asked with a smile.

"No." Fan Long shook his head and said, "Henei is rich, which is good for collecting food and contacting the King of Pingjin."

"Shi Le has opened up the situation now." Liu Yuan said with a smile: "How should we use Shi Le to attack Luoyang this time?"

"Perhaps we can order the King of Pingjin to go south to Yuzhou." Fan Long said, "The governors of Yecheng, Jijun, and Dunqiu are just like Liu Kun of Jinyang, who can only defend the city and cannot withstand a single blow. If the King of Pingjin goes south, they will be powerless to stop him. Once the stone soldiers enter Yuzhou, Wang Kan and Wang Shiwen will have difficulty in supporting Luoyang."

Liu Yuan nodded slightly.

This strategy is actually not bad, and it can also take advantage of the situation to cut off one of Luoyang's grain transportation routes.

"I don't know how the king and his ministers in Luoyang will respond." Liu Yuan turned back and said.

"Maybe they think Your Majesty will not attack Luoyang." Fan Long said with a smile.

Liu Yuan laughed: "We have summoned so many people, how can we not fight a battle? Go and urge Xuanming to come to see me as soon as possible."

"I obey your order." Fan Long took his leave and left.

When leaving the city, he met Grand Marshal Hu Yanyi.

He frowned and looked worried, and didn't even pay attention to Fan Long, and went straight into the city.

Fan Long felt worried.

Hu Yanyi had been reorganizing his infantry recently and was worried about food every day. Moreover, he heard that the infantry that had been recruited were very upset that Hu Yanyi had not issued them enough military rations, and many of them were calling for war and killing.

Fan Long always felt that there was a dark aura lingering above his head, as if there was going to be a bloody disaster.

He shook his head, shook off the thought, and walked away quickly.

(End of this chapter)