Chapter 271 Who Can Stop Me?

Chapter 271 Who Can Stop Me?

The news of the series of fierce battles in Luoyang was not able to get out in time.

Victory cannot boost morale on other battlefields.

If you lose, your enemies will brag about you.

This is the problem of information transmission.

Fortunately, Shao Xun closed the three passes in the south of Luoyang in time, so that the main force of the bandits was confined to the Luoyang Basin. Occasionally, some of them infiltrated south of the three passes, but they were immediately chased and intercepted by the mounted soldiers and their subordinates, and were eventually eliminated one by one.

The Huns later realized that if they could not break through these three city passes, sending more small troops to infiltrate the south would only be sending heads to the Jin army and would be useless.

However, they are not interested in going south now. Many battlefields have already been opened in the Luoyang Basin, and they have no time to spare.

In the area of ​​Shan County and Xishi, Wang Mi's troops retreated quickly, as if they were very reluctant to engage in a fierce battle with Shao Xun's troops, even though the fighting capacity of the Zhongwu Army on the opposite side was very questionable and did not look like Shao's army.

Liu Jing is still staying in this area, doing nothing at first, but recently he has encountered some trouble: Sima Mo, the King of Nanyang who is guarding Guanzhong, under the persuasion of Wei Fu, the military adviser, sent generals Chunyu Ding and Zhao Ran to lead an army of 20,000 to the east, seemingly intending to go out of Tongguan to attack Liu Jing, and also seemingly intending to cross the river from Pubanjin and attack into Hedong.

No matter which direction he went, it was enough to make Liu Jing nervous.

To some extent, they were more afraid of the Jin army in Guanzhong because they often used money to lure the various Hu people and gathered large cavalry, which were more difficult to deal with than the infantry of the Luoyang Imperial Guards.

Pei Chun, the prefect of Xingyang, sent Li Ju to lead his troops westward to attack the fortress of Zhao Gu and others, vowing to eliminate these rebels.

Because Shi Le did not go south, Wang Shiwen, the governor of Xuchang, and Wang Kan, the general of chariots and cavalry, under the strict orders of the envoy who risked his life to break out of Luoyang, led an army of 15,000 to cross the Yellow River to the north and enter the territory of Ji County, apparently intending to attack Henei and cut off the Xiongnu's retreat route.

Upon hearing that Luoyang was under siege, Shan Jian, the governor of Jingzhou, ordered all counties to select brave men and send them to Xiangyang, intending to gather 5,000 elite troops and march north to rescue Luoyang.

Pei Dun, the governor of Xuzhou, organized a 10,000-man army and marched westward with the intention of supporting the capital. However, they had not gone far when, due to insufficient money and food and his harsh laws, which made him unpopular in the local area, the soldiers became clamorous and dispersed. Pei Dun had no choice but to return to Xuzhou.

Twenty thousand people were sent away from Yangzhou last year (Battle of Changping), but Governor Zhou Fu has always been loyal and loyal to the emperor. Even though he was at odds with Sima Yue, he still sent 5,000 people north, and they have already set out.

Sima Yue's confidant, Chenliu Prefect Wang Zan, gathered 3,000 soldiers and entered Xingyang, intending to pass through Chenggao Pass and enter the Luoyang Basin.

In short, after the Huns suddenly arrived and Luoyang was besieged, all the states and counties in the world immediately sent reinforcements to the best of their ability, intending to help the king - they were not necessarily doing so to help Sima Yue, in fact Sima Yue did not have such great appeal, these people were helping the court and the emperor.

This can actually be considered a "will test".

At least in October of the third year of Yongjia, the Jin Dynasty barely passed the test of will, and the people's hearts were still there!

Shao Xun was in Jiuqu and received some news bit by bit.

To be honest, he was a little surprised. This zombie-like court could actually summon so many troops to come from all directions to support the emperor. It was really weird!

As a result, his ambitions were somewhat restrained, and he became more "loyal"...

The first drum sounded in the Nine Bends.

The auxiliary troops immediately took action.

Feed the unfed draft animals, put away the utensils, take out the unprepared dry food and put it in a place where it is easy to use. In short, there are a lot of chores...

The second drumbeat sounded.

All the draft animals were harnessed, the vehicles began to move, and the auxiliary troops began to be divided into various camps, where they were assembled by officers and prepared for departure.

The soldiers began to check the equipment.

For a moment, the sound of swords being drawn into sheaths could be heard continuously.

Spare bowstrings were tied to the quiver, and everyone counted the arrows in the quiver. If there were less than thirty arrows, they would immediately ask the auxiliary soldiers to take them.

The war horses were also led out for a few walks as a warm-up.

The third drum beat sounded.

The soldiers began to put on armor in pairs and check each other's equipment.

The well-strung bow hangs on the left side of the waist, the ring-handled sword hangs on the right side of the waist, and the spear is in his hand, no problem.

Several baggage carts beside the marching column were loaded with long-handled axes, hook-and-sickle spears, wooden clubs, lances and spare equipment.

The officers began to determine which squad would be on which sidecar, who would take turns with them, and who would be the reserve troops supporting the two squads...

Everything is in perfect order.

After fighting till now, the Silver Spear Army is considered to be an elite force, although Shao Xun always feels that they are not good enough and their level is still too low, and they need more training...

******
When the first sidecar slowly came down the hill and came into view, the Huns suddenly became agitated.

During these two days, they divided the 4,000 cavalry into three groups and took turns to harass the enemy. However, apart from suffering more than a hundred casualties, they gained almost nothing.

And I've exhausted myself!

Hearing that the army had less than half a month's worth of food and fodder and that they could not capture Luoyang, everyone was very anxious and didn't know what the point of staying here was.

For example, the infantry in front of us, all added up, may be only a little over 10,000 people, but they are very experienced.

Yes, it's sophistication.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, skills, discipline and equipment are important, but in the eyes of these Hun cavalry, the sophistication of these soldiers is the most annoying. They know what to do and when, and who does what. Moreover, the more they fight, the more confident they become, and the less afraid they are of their harassment.

Even in the midst of thousands of troops, they ate when they should eat and slept when they should sleep. Even if their comrades on the periphery were fighting with flesh and blood flying everywhere and the sound of killing was deafening, they could still sit on the ground calmly, eat and drink to restore their strength, or even hide behind large shields and ration bags and take a nap with their clothes on.

This army should have been established for quite a long time, at least four or five years, and they have experienced a lot of battles, and each of them is a killer, and they will not collapse easily. The day before yesterday, General Hu Yanhao ordered them to turn west and harass this army in turns, making them eat poorly, sleep poorly, and consume a lot of energy and physical strength. Then he personally led the main force to come and surround and kill them in one fell swoop.

Standard prairie wolf pack hunting tactics.

They just follow and harass the prey all the way, taking a few bites from time to time, making the prey bleed, panic and lose their composure, exhaust their strength, and finally fall down with a bang to be eaten by the wolves.

But after "practicing" with them for a day and a night, there seemed to be no effect.

There are a total of 4,000 cavalry, divided into three parts. Only a thousand or so will rush up to harass at a time, and they won't even look at you.

They also had cavalry that were skilled in hand-to-hand combat. They would conserve their energy when they had no chance, and would suddenly charge out when they had a chance, causing the Han cavalry to bleed continuously.

My maid!
The wheels rumbled, the horses neighed, and the long dragon of carts moved forward, unstoppable.

Shao Xun wore the golden armor bestowed by the Emperor of Jin and held the precious bow bestowed by the Emperor of Han. He looked majestic and proud.

No tactic is perfect.

Chariot formations can only deal with pure cavalry units. If it is a large army mixed with infantry and cavalry, it will be a bit troublesome.

For example, what would you do if someone ambushed you on both sides of the road and used catapults to hit you?
Liu Yu thought about this problem.

His solution was to hang cloth curtains on both sides of the car to cushion the falling rocks.

The chariot formation is mobile, so as long as you can get through this section, you will be safe. After all, the catapults are almost immobile. Moreover, the range of the catapults is very impressive, and the accuracy is even more impressive. It will fall apart in a short time.

So this tactic is basically useless, and the Huns cannot use this tactic now. Where are their infantry?

Fire is even more useless than throwing stones, because it is easier to prevent fire.

The real trouble is that the other side has skilled infantrymen who will attack you in turns regardless of casualties, leaving you no chance to rest and eventually leading to your collapse.

To put it bluntly, it means surrounding you with superior forces and wearing you out, and the final casualties may not be less than yours. In fact, it's just a gamble - it's not worth it at all, because those who can use chariots to maneuver long distances must be well-trained elite infantry, and annihilating them can greatly deal a blow to the enemy's morale.

At present, Liu Han's army does not have the ability to annihilate this mixed force of the Silver Spear Army, the Palace Army, and the Cavalry Army, even though they only have more than 6,000 combat soldiers.

On the night of the 30th, the chariot array camped at the foot of Shou'an Mountain.

On the first night of November, we camped at Ganshuikou.

The so-called Ganshuikou refers to the place where Ganshui flows into Luoshui.

The Gan River originates from the Luti Mountain in the south. There is a city on the mountain, but it has been abandoned. Lu Ji's "Luoyang Records" said: "Gan River flows out 25 miles southwest of Henan County and flows north into Luoyang. There is a Gan City on the mountain, which is the Caiyi of Gan Gong."

In fact, it is the ancient city of Gan State during the Spring and Autumn Period.

Du Yu once annotated Zuo Zhuan: "Gan Zhaogong was Prince Dai, and his fief was in Gan."

It is worth mentioning that this city was still in use until the Later Han Dynasty, and it was a solid city built with stone slabs - I just don’t know whether the stone slabs on the city wall were "cultural relics" from the Spring and Autumn Period.

Before going to sleep, Shao Xun made a special "memo" that if he had the chance in the future, he must renovate Gancheng and convert it into a military base.

The Gan River flows by the side of Gan City, so the city has no shortage of water. There is a small amount of arable land on the mountain, and more wasteland on the plain below the mountain. This is a natural fortress.

As for the fact that occupying this city means extending influence deep into Henan County, that is not a big deal.

Early in the morning on the second day of the New Year, we broke camp and set off, continuing to head northeast.

The distance between Ganshuikou and Luoyang is only about 40 miles. With the cavalry surrounding it, even if they move slowly, it will only take two or three days to get there.

No matter how stupid the Huns are, we must try our best to stop them.

But what is strange is that they did not send more troops. What happened in the past two days?
Shao Xun ignored him and continued to move forward. At dusk that day, he advanced to the west bank of the Jianshui River and set up camp. He looked across at the ancient city of Hanhe South. The Henan County seat of the Eastern Han Dynasty was built on the basis of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty Royal City. It is located in Wangcheng Park in Luoyang City today. At this time (late Jin Dynasty), it had been abandoned and the Henan County seat was moved into Luoyang City.

At this time, the Huns finally reacted.

Four thousand cavalrymen still remained on the west bank to harass the enemy, and more than ten thousand cavalrymen came running to the east bank of the stream, watching closely.

That night was not peaceful.

Outside the makeshift camp consisting of sidecars, baggage carts, and wooden fences, the sound of horse hooves never ceased.

From time to time, the Huns would approach and shoot arrows, or beat drums and gongs, trying to harass them.

In the vast darkness of the night, a large group of infantry quietly arrived, crossed the stream to the west, and set up camp on the spot.

Further away, there were thousands of infantrymen who could ride horses selected by Wang Mi, who traveled all night and headed towards Jianshui.

Shao Xun got up in the middle of the night and climbed onto a high platform to overlook the wilderness.

The camp was set up to the west of the Jianshui River. There were Hun cavalry on the east bank, and behind the camp on the west bank, there were Huns who followed them all the way.

There is a tiger in front and a wolf behind.

Was he trying to stop him from crossing the river, or was he just ruthless and wanted to annihilate them in one fell swoop?
he does not know.

He only knew that the food and fodder carried by the army could last for 27 days, and that they also harvested nearly 200 injured and dead horses along the way.

It is unknown whether the Huns’ food and fodder can last for seven days.

Come on, I will cross the river tomorrow, who can stop me?

(End of this chapter)