Chapter 324 Thrilling

Chapter 324 Thrilling

Chapter 324 Thrilling
On the first day of November, Shao Xun returned to Nanyang, where he rested for a night and dealt with a large amount of official business related to the resettlement of the garrison troops and refugees.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, we continued to travel north and returned to Xiangcheng via Duyang and Ye County.

At this time, Wang Mi, Zhao Gu and others had led their troops into the Luoshui River Valley and attacked Yiyang County.

There were only 500 Zhongwu soldiers in the county, and more than 3,000 strong men were conscripted from the people who had taken refuge in the city to defend the city at all costs.

The fierce fighting lasted for two days.

Wang Mi and Zhao Gu consumed almost all the old, weak, women and children they had captured, and even sent out their own troops to attack fiercely for half a day.

Yiyang was on the verge of collapse, but it never fell.

Wang Mi and Zhao Gu saw that they were about to lose their capital, so they didn't want to fight anymore and left. Anyway, Yiyang was not able to attack and could not pose a threat.

When Hongnong prefect Yuan Yan heard that the Huns had entered the Luo River Valley, he feared being attacked from both sides, so he led nearly 5,000 Zhongwu troops to abandon the Huixiban camp and retreat to Jinmen Mountain, relying on the food and military supplies at Jinmenwu to hold their ground.

During the retreat, Han Zhengxi General Shan Zheng took advantage of the situation and launched a fierce attack, beheading more than a thousand people. He then led 15,000 infantry and cavalry to camp on the bank of Luo River outside Jinmenwu, unsure whether to attack the fortress by force.

King Liu Can of Henei led more than 10,000 cavalrymen, passed Yiyang, and went straight to Jinmenwu to observe the terrain.

"Shao the thief really knows how to choose a place." Liu Can looked at the fortress located on the mountainside and took a breath of cold air.

This kind of fortress cannot deploy military forces and is more difficult to attack than a county town located on flat ground.

Moreover, after years of continuous reinforcement, Kinmenwu has not only become larger, but the thickness and height of the walls have also been enhanced. There is also a sheep and horse wall behind the trench, which is really difficult to destroy.

Shan Zheng, Wang Mi and Zhao Gu all looked pale.

The location chosen by Jinmenwu was very clever. They could only send a maximum of 300 people up there at a time, which made it impossible for them to effectively utilize their military strength advantage.

From a military perspective, this type of fort is suitable for siege. Besiege it for a year or two to see how long you can hold out.

But can we look at the problem from a military perspective now? Obviously not.

Liu Can's gaze lingered on the three of them for a while.

Shan Zheng is not very nervous.

His daughter was the widow of the previous emperor, and he himself was the General of Zhenxi and a great chief of the Di tribe. As long as the imperial court wanted to retain its influence in the Qiang and Di tribes of Fengyi and Shangjun, it would not force them to die.

Wang Mi was a little nervous.

It was not easy for him to gather troops, and he only had more than 30,000 soldiers so far. He only brought 10,000 people with him this time because he did not want to consume too much of his own strength. However, he was quite dependent on the Liu Han court, and he did not have much confidence to refuse the order from above.

In this regard, Shi Le was much tougher than him. Although Da Hu had pretended to be very good and obedient until now, Wang Feibao had already seen through him.

He glanced secretly at Zhao Gu and found that this guy was more nervous than himself, and sneered secretly.

The difference in status becomes apparent at critical moments.

Sure enough, after Liu Can pondered for a while, he gave the order: "In this battle, Zhao Anbei will lead the charge and focus on attacking the Yuanyan camp outside the fort."

The three or four thousand soldiers of the Zhongwu Army who retreated could not be packed into the Jinmen Fort, and they should not all hide in the fort.

The Art of War says: "Any defender who advances without building a wall or retreats without setting up a fortress in order to resist the enemy is not a good one."

When defending a city, unless it is absolutely necessary, you must leave a camp outside the city to form a support force with the city.

In this way, the enemy army will not be able to move freely and deploy its troops when attacking the city. It will be easy for them to be attacked from both sides, and the siege equipment will be more easily damaged.

Yuan Yan was so courageous that he did not enter the fort. Instead, he used himself as bait and set up a camp outside the fort in a strategic location that was convenient for attack. His intention was very obvious: he had no way to retreat and would fight to the death here.

"Your Majesty..." Zhao Gu made a bitter face, as if begging.

"Don't bargain with me." Liu Can frowned and scolded.

"Yes." Zhao Gu did not dare to resist and agreed.

Perhaps because he saw that Zhao was more sensible, Liu Can ordered Shan Zheng and Wang Mi to transfer archers to strengthen Zhao's army.

He also selected some men from his own cavalry, equipped with horse bows or foot bows, to support Zhao Gu.

With so many archers helping us, we will be able to greatly offset the enemy's geographical advantage and may have a chance of success.

After the order was given, Shan Zheng, Wang Mi and Zhao Gu each selected their soldiers and prepared for the attack.

Liu Can stationed his cavalry in the Luo River Valley, cutting hay and chopping it to reduce food consumption as much as possible, while also drawing maps and trying to find a mountain path to enter Guangchengze.

His father was obsessed with Yuan Yan, but he was not.

In his opinion, the biggest obstacle to the capture of Luoyang was Shao Xun, Marquis of Chen in Jin, because his troops dared to continue advancing while surrounded by cavalry and took the initiative to launch an attack.

This large group of veterans are skilled, experienced, resolute and daring in battle. If they are destroyed, Shao Xun will not be able to gather a similar army within a few years.

And if they cannot be eliminated as a whole, even if they suffer heavy casualties, Shao Xun can slowly restore their combat effectiveness by recruiting new soldiers to fill the vacancies - with the old leading the new, the soldiers' growth rate is very fast.

It must be destroyed as a whole, so that the last army of Jin State that is good at field battles will disappear. In this way, Luoyang and even Yanzhou and Yuzhou can be taken at will.

Yuan Yan is nothing, not important at all.

"Boom, boom, boom..." The sound of drums rang out, and Liu Can came back to his senses, watching quietly the siege that was about to begin.

In this battle, countless people died.

******
The eagle soars high in the sky, overlooking the earth.

At Mengjin and the Xiaopingjin (Pingyinjin) ferry five or six miles downstream, four floating bridges span the north and south, and people like ants go back and forth, constantly carrying things.

Continue flying eastward.

A floating bridge was also built at Beiwushe Ferry in Gong County.

In the first year of Jianwu (25), Zhu Yu sent Jia Qiang, an envoy with imperial seals, and Su Mao, a general who was responsible for suppressing rebellions, with troops to attack Wen from Wushe Ferry.

There were also many people, horses and vehicles on this floating bridge. After being transported with great effort, they were sent to the Hulao Pass area.

The Yellow River meanders northeast, and twenty miles north of Suanzao County, there are two newly built floating bridges.

One end of the floating bridge is in Ji County and the other end is in Suanzao.

There is also a place here that is convenient for crossing the river, which was called Jijin in ancient times, also known as Suanzaojin. A large group of people and horses crossed the river southward and entered the territory of Yanzhou.

One part occupied Suanzao and Dongyan, and built floating bridges on both sides of Wenshijin to guard against Sima Yue's group in the east.

One part headed westward and successively captured Yuanwu and Juan counties, and on the fourth day of November, they arrived at the city of Boxingyang.

Another group, led by Shi Chao, bypassed Xingyang and headed west, arriving at Hulao Pass on the night of the fifth day and setting up camp.

That night, Shi Chao selected elite troops and launched a night attack.

The sound of chaotic footsteps rang out inside Hulao Pass.

Pei Chun, who had just fallen asleep after drinking to drown his sorrows, was suddenly awakened by the shock. At first, he thought the camp was bombed, so he put on his armor with the help of servants, took a sword, and went to quell the rebellion angrily.

When he reached the eastern half of the city and was about to scold, he heard the sound of fierce fighting coming from the top of the city.

"This..." Pei Chun was shocked.

Are there thieves coming from the east?

Why didn't anyone come to report?
Are all the messengers dead?
Just as they were wondering, they saw a group of defeated soldiers rushing down from the top of the city wall. When they saw Pei Chun standing there wearing a helmet and armor and holding a sword, they were stunned for a moment, then ran up to him in a hurry.

The screams from the top of the city became more and more intense.

Pei Chun finally reacted, his back was immediately wet, and he subconsciously wanted to run.

At this time, shouts and cries of killing were heard from the west. It turned out that Shi Le had sent some of his men off their horses and sent some of the captured men to attack the city.

Looking at the flames on the east and west sides that illuminated half the sky, Pei Chun understood everything. The bandits were using the fire to communicate and attack from both east and west in an attempt to capture Hulao Pass.

"Quick! Quick! Bring my horse here." Pei Chun said in a low voice.

The servant was a little dumbfounded.

The Lord's mind was full of thoughts of running away, and he couldn't stop it.

"My Lord, the mountain path is narrow. How many soldiers can the enemy send up?" The servant advised: "It may seem powerful now, but it may not be able to break through the city."

"You know nothing!" Pei Chun slapped him and cursed, "How can a lowly person like you interfere in military and national affairs? Prepare the horses quickly. I'm going to Chenjun to report to Lu Shijun. Prepare a few more horses. If it doesn't work, I'll go to Jianye. Shao Xun is a ruthless guy. He will definitely not let me go."

After that, he said to another servant, "Pack some valuables so that you can buy food on the way."

The man nodded stupidly and left.

"Huh? Why are you still standing here?" Seeing that the first servant did not leave, Pei Chun kicked him angrily.

The servant stumbled and said in a stammering voice, "Master...Master, there are bandits on both sides of the palace. How can we run? Should we lead our men to break through the enemy formation and escape?"

Pei Chun was stunned.

Yes, how can I run? Wearing armor and holding a sword, breaking through the enemy's layers of blockade? If I have this ability, why would I run?

Thinking of this, his eyes suddenly turned red and he almost cried.

I am dying! Alas, I am dying!

The servants also wept with him.

The two of them had not been feeling sorry for themselves for long when the first servant arrived with his men pulling a cart.

The carriage was loaded with silks, satins, gold, silver and jade articles, which looked very valuable.

Pei Chun was furious. "Don't you know what 'precious goods' are? How can you run away with a cart full of valuables?"
But - when his eyes fell on the car, he was stunned again.

These were all obtained when he was the governor of Xingyang. Especially the gold, silver and jade articles, he loved them so much that he often played with them. It would be a pity to throw them away.

There was a sound of footsteps coming from the front, mixed with the sound of armor leaves colliding.

Pei Chun looked carefully and found that it was Zheng Zun who got up at night.

Zheng Zun also saw Pei Chun, and even more so the cart of wealth, and was immediately overjoyed: "I was worried that the soldiers would not risk their lives, but I didn't expect that the Lord had already considered it. Is this the reward for recruiting warriors?"

"Yes...I want..." Pei Chun said halfway when he saw the servant gently tugging at his sleeve.

"My lord, we are now attacked from two sides and we can't run away. It would be better to distribute this cart of gold and silk to the warriors and let them fight hard to repel the enemy army. Only in this way can we save our lives." The servant whispered.

Life is the most important thing after all. Pei Chun hesitated for a moment, then his face changed and he said with emotion: "Yes, the enemy army is fierce and their attack is fierce. I am preparing to spend all my wealth to recruit strong men. Let Mr. Zheng take care of this for me. Be sure to select elite and brave men. Money is not a problem!"

Zheng Zun stood up in awe and said, "I know your majesty is righteous."

After saying this, he immediately summoned the soldiers on standby on the streets and his own troops, promised them generous rewards, and ordered them to guard the city.

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

Zheng Zun quickly recruited 300 people and divided them into two parts. One group of 200 people rushed to the east city, and the other group of 100 people went to the west city.

These three hundred people are the vanguard, facing the most ferocious enemies.

Behind them, there were hundreds of young men following each of them, shouting and rushing forward.

After the fresh troops joined in, the sounds of fighting on the city walls became more intense, one wave higher than the other.

Pei Chun was waiting trembling with fear outside the city.

It was not until after midnight that the sounds of killing gradually died down.

When it was getting light in the east and the first ray of sunlight rose, the sounds of killing finally stopped completely.

Before he knew it, Pei Chun had been standing in the city for most of the night.

He had taken off his armor long ago. He leaned on his sword, watching the brave warriors who had fought bravely walking down from the top of the city wall, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

I wanted to laugh, but my mood was complicated and I couldn't laugh at all.

It turns out that defending a city is so thrilling, so how dangerous is a field battle?

Pei Chun had a new understanding of the war and also had a new understanding of Shao Xun.

(End of this chapter)