Chapter 263: The Rear

Chapter 263: The Rear

Chapter 263: The Rear (Additional chapter for the leader, Emperor Han Ming)
"Wang Mi, you poor bastard!"

"Liu Yuan is also a poor guy!"

On the post road, Chen Yougen became more and more angry and whipped the captive with his horsewhip.

The prisoners were beaten so hard that they screamed in pain, but they dared not resist.

"Coward!" Chen Yougen hit him again and then let the unfortunate prisoner go.

Shao Xun stood on the hillside, watching the team slowly moving forward on the post road.

Prisoners, prisoners, and more prisoners...

Horses and carriages, horses and carriages, and more horses and carriages...

"Fortunately, we only captured less than 6,000 people, otherwise we wouldn't be able to support them." Shao Xun made a joke, but it was also the truth.

Liu Ling stood aside, bowing his head silently.

After being captured, no one cared about him and he was left alone for several days. Moreover, because of his tall and strong body, he was also put in a shackle, which made it inconvenient for him to eat and he felt extremely uncomfortable.

After a few days of this, the Duke of Luyang County finally agreed to meet him yesterday.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately told everything he knew - without being tortured.

The Duke of Luyang asked him if he was willing to be a groom. He was overjoyed and agreed on the spot.

So, he now became a "glorious" groom, specializing in leading horses and holding stirrups, or driving carriages for the Duke of Luyang County.

"King Kong slave, do you dare to go to Luoyang?" Shao Xun suddenly asked.

"Should I go alone?"

"Someone will go with you."

"Yes, sir." Liu Ling agreed without hesitation.

"There is no time to lose, let's set off immediately." After saying this, Shao Xun summoned a clerk and a group of personal soldiers, and ordered them to take Liu Ling to Liang County. Then Pei Kang would lead the men to Luoyang to report the internal situation of the Huns to the emperor.

After everyone arrived, Liu Ling bowed and turned to leave.

Shao Xun glanced at him.

This person is quite interesting and very realistic, and can be regarded as a model of the saying "whoever gives you milk is your mother".

Usable, but not trustworthy.

Liu Ling is also very talkative and has a bit of humor when he speaks.

He once mentioned to Shao Xun that Liu Yuan had "discovered" the imperial seal in the Fen River, on which was written: "Newly protected."

It is said to be the imperial seal from the reign of Wang Mang, which is simply nonsense.

He also mentioned a story that was widely circulated in Pingyang: Liu Yuan believed that his soldiers could be worth ten of their own - of course, this was what Liu Yuan said when he was boosting morale, and there was a specific context, but most people would not be able to distinguish and would just spread it everywhere.

"Now I see an army of more than 100,000, each of whom is equal to ten of the Jin army. We can march with drums and destroy the chaotic Jin army like pulling a withered tree. We can complete the work of Emperor Gaozu of Han, and will not lose the status of Wei." - This happened four or five years ago. At that time, Liu Yuan's main force was still the five tribes of the Xiongnu, which had more than 100,000 strong men.

Liu Ling complained about Liu Yuan in every possible way, saying that he was worthless. Generals such as Chen Yougen despised him after hearing this.

After all, he was the monarch you once served. Now that he has changed his allegiance, are you going to harm him like this?
His character is too bad to be a close friend.

"Governor." A messenger came running, dismounted from his horse, took a few quick steps, and handed an imperial edict to Tang Jian.

Shao Xun took it, looked at it, sneered, and said, "No!"

Tang Jian, Chen Yougen, Jin San and others all looked at him.

"The emperor ordered me to go east to Bai Ma to reinforce Wang Kan, Liu Qia, Wang Shiwen and others." Shao Xun explained.

"You treat us like beasts of burden every day!" Chen Yougen was angry.

In this battle, the soldiers under his command repeatedly broke through the enemy lines and suffered heavy casualties. They had just finished fighting Hongnong and were heading to Baima again, hoping that they would kill off all the soldiers bit by bit.

"Commander-in-chief, you still have to respond properly." Tang Jian reminded after careful consideration.

"Hmm..." Shao Xun thought for a moment and said, "Then let's ask the clerk to write a memorial. You can consider the wording. The gist of it is that our troops are exhausted from the long battle, with heavy casualties, and they are short of food and weapons. The soldiers are full of complaints, so we should not act rashly."

"We should now firmly hold Yiyang and guard this road for the imperial court to prevent the Xiongnu from making a surprise attack."

"One more thing, the Xiongnu are already reorganizing their troops and will march south by October at the latest. The court should be prepared to respond."

"These few points are enough. Let's do it this way. Send it to Luoyang after you finish writing it."

"Yes, sir." Tang Jian immediately found someone to do it.

Shao Xun shook his head. This was not the emperor's intention, but an order issued by Sima Yue in the name of the emperor.

Are you kidding me?

No matter how strong the soldiers are, if you transfer them here and there and toss them around, in the end they won't be able to exert much combat power.

They are a bunch of insects with a very narrow mind, and all they think about all day is fighting among themselves.

The army returned to Yiyang in mid-September and stationed there to rest.

At this time, Shao Xun suddenly received a gift: twenty horses and sixty mares.

This was sent by Beigong Chun via a roundabout route.

The reason was that last year Shao Xun selected some Yi Yang specialties and asked an angel to take them to Liangzhou and give them to Zhang Gui.

In his heart, Zhang Gui always regarded Yi Yang as his real hometown and had deep feelings for it. After seeing the specialties of his hometown, he was very happy. This should be his return gift.

And the gifts were chosen with great care.

The mare was just what he needed.

After searching for several years, the number of mares was less than 200. Now with the gift from Zhang Gui, there are more than 200 mares.

The twenty horses were still intact, which was really nice, so they could be used for breeding. On September 16, Shao Xun ordered Yiyang Sanwu to hurry up with the autumn sowing.

He was planning to take a gamble, which also meant that he would not leave here easily. Sima Yue's plan was likely to fail.

******
The news of Hongnong's great victory had already spread throughout the Luoshui River Valley. After learning that the army had returned, Du Yin rushed to Jinmenwu as soon as possible.

On the post road along the Luo River, teams of prisoners marched forward dejectedly.

The commanders of the local large forts such as Yiquanwu, Yanggongwu, and Heshuiwu all came and looked at the prisoners quietly without a single noise.

They even saw the Huns - they didn't need to hear them speak, just look at their hair ornaments.

This kind of realistic education is more effective than anything else.

Before the war, they were complaining and every time you sent money, food, and men, you would get warnings and threats left and right. What about now?
"You are truly a god." Du Yin bowed deeply and sighed.

"Your Excellency is always victorious in your military operations. Without you, the Xiongnu would have already crossed the Luo River and reached Yiyang." Yang Hui, the owner of Yanggongwu, praised.

People came forward one after another, pouring out flattery.

Shao Xun laughed and waved his hand, saying, "Stop talking nonsense. The Xiongnu's vanguard was only repelled. It's not time to let down our guard."

"What? The Huns are coming again?" the impatient commander of the fort asked in surprise.

Others also looked at each other.

Liu Han has captured and killed more than 20,000 people this time. How dare he come?
"Shao Taibai can't leave." someone else shouted.

When these words were spoken, everyone looked at them sideways.

Although many people think that the Duke of Luyang County is the spirit of Taibai Star who has descended to earth, few people say it out loud. This guy is the first one in Yiyang to say so.

Maybe he himself felt that what he said was too shocking, so he smiled awkwardly and quietly hid behind.

Shao Xun seemed not to hear and only said: "The Xiongnu will definitely come, don't doubt it. They will either go to Yiyang, or go to Xin'an, or go to Henei. You still need to prepare your troops and horses, don't take it lightly."

Du Yin and others exchanged glances and could see each other's worry.

The worry was not about the coming of the Huns, but about war.

It made little difference to them whether the Xiongnu or Shao Xun occupied Yiyang, as they would both demand money, food, and able-bodied men.

It would be best if the Huns did not come, so there would be no war and they would not have to pay money or food for supply expenses.

"My lord, I wonder what happened to the troops who were recruited before the war..." After exchanging glances, Du Yin asked on behalf of everyone.

"Do you still have any conscience?" Before Shao Xun could say anything, Chen Yougen's thunderous voice had already sounded: "If the governor had not repelled the bandits, you would not only have to send money and food, but you would also have to send women to reward the troops and send hostages to the Xiongnu army. What troops? No more."

As soon as Chen Yougen finished speaking, everyone was shocked.

"Yougen, shut up." Shao Xun scolded, then turned his head and said gently: "Zhuwu tribe still has more than 4,000 people, and I left them to garrison at Huixiban. If the Xiongnu go south, this is the only way to go, so we must guard it well. Now is not the time to disband the troops, so be patient."

Du Yin sighed inwardly, thinking that the person might not come back. Moreover, they might even have to provide food to support him.

This happened!

But Shao Xun had won a great victory and was in high spirits. Du Yin did not dare to bargain openly and could only hold back.

"Don't be ungrateful!" Chen Yougen was just scolded, but he didn't let it go, still muttering: "Who ordered the planting of winter wheat last year? Wang Taiwei also received the request of Governor Shao to send letters to all counties to promote this matter. If the governor didn't mention it, you will be waiting for nothing this year!"

When everyone heard this, they looked ashamed and their morale dropped to the bottom. They no longer dared to mention releasing the person.

"It's very tiring to station troops in Xiban. I'll have to worry about food and fodder." Shao Xun said.

"This..." Du Yin hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "This is my responsibility."

Once he expressed his opinion, it was difficult for others to say anything.

One or two village chiefs timidly suggested sending their nephews or nephews to lead their own troops, but a glance from Shao Xun made them speechless and they dared not speak again.

Shao Xun took Du Yin's hand and said, "I also have a family in Yiyang, so I am half a Yiyang person. The future of Yiyang still needs everyone's concerted efforts. There are 4,200 people stationed in Huixiban. I intend to organize them into a unit named "Zhongwu". Mr. Du, would you be willing to serve as the deputy commander of the Zhongwu Army?"

"That's what I wish for." Du Yin quickly adjusted his mindset, bowed and said.

Shao Xun nodded with satisfaction, and then said, "I heard that many officials in Yiyang County are unmanageable. Before going to the battle, I consulted with Pan Ling and planned to replace some people. To be honest, most of these people are my students. In the future, I hope that Mr. Du will give me some convenience when they go to the countryside to do work. Is that okay?"

"Okay..." Du Yin agreed numbly.

The Duke of Luyang swallowed Yiyang in one gulp.

If it was said that before only the county magistrate Pan Si was inclined towards him, but ten miles outside the county, all matters were still decided by the commanders of the fortresses, it was different now.

For example, if a disciple of the Duke of Luyang County became a military clerk in Yiyang County and went to various forts to recruit soldiers, would you give him some?

I just promised him a favor, and now if I go back on my word in the future, do you really think he won't get mad?

Shao Xun laughed when he heard this and said, "I am very happy to meet all the talented people in Yiyang today. I am the landlord of Jinmenwu, how can I not prepare a banquet? No one should leave until you are drunk."

After hearing this, Tang Jian sent his personal soldiers to prepare without Shao Xun's instructions.

Yiyang County was very important, and originally had a very rich population. When the war broke out, many people fled here to seek refuge. The population of this county was probably no less than that of the other five counties combined.

On the way back to the capital, the governor mentioned that he had discussed with Lord Yuan to relocate the remaining people from the three counties of Hu, Shaanxi and Hongnong here - if there was no room for them, they would be evacuated to Guangchengze.

Even Lord Yuan himself was shaken.

His family is about to move to Liang County.

If things didn't go well, he would take his people to Zhuyang in the south (Zhuyang County in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Zhuyang County in the Tang Dynasty, now Zhuyang Town) and then decide on the next move.

When it comes to life and death, no one is a fool.

If it really doesn't work, just take the troops away and surrender to Shao Gong.

It's not that he doesn't dare to do so, but he is reluctant to give up the position of prefect that he has worked so hard to obtain.

(End of this chapter)