Chapter 375 Borrowing Troops

Chapter 375 Borrowing Troops

Chapter 375 Borrowing Troops
Shi Le also came to Dongping.

Looking at the empty wilderness, he had an illusion that he only needed 20,000 to 30,000 cavalry and tens of thousands of infantry to break through it and drink from the Yangtze River.

Then he smiled to himself, thinking that it was just a breakthrough, but there was no way to establish a stable rule.

If you cross the counties of Henan, the local nobles will pretend not to see you, and may even give you money and food to let you go quickly. But if you want to be a local tyrant and stay to rule, it is not that easy.

After two years of wrangling with the Hebei gentry, Da Hu has already understood this.

It is easy to win the three states of Yu, Yan and Xu, but difficult to conquer them.

Once Yangzhou and Jingzhou sent a large army to the north, the Henan gentry would likely immediately defect and provide them with supplies.

Henan is not his territory, so there is no need for him to work so hard.

"General." Tao Bao and others rode forward.

"Are you ready?" Shi Le stopped thinking and asked.

"General, give the order." Everyone said.

"Go!" Shi Le waved his hand loudly, and a large group of cavalry followed closely behind him, like mercury pouring out of the ground, filling the entire plain.

Before them, thousands of infantry had already set out early, heading directly for Linqiu.

In the direction of Juancheng, the city gates were closed in broad daylight.

Governor Yang Mao stood on the top of the city wall pretending to be calm and constantly boosting morale.

The Huns did not stay at the city for long and disappeared in a short while.

For them, looting property was more important. They only had seven or eight days' worth of food and water, so it was better to leave the strong cities and towns to the infantry.

Shi Le, Liu Ya, Jin Zhun and Hu Yanyan, each leading a cavalry force ranging from several thousand to more than ten thousand, rushed into the eastern part of Yanzhou.

On the 26th, Shi Le entered Puyang.

On the 27th, Jin Zhun attacked Gaoping, Liu Ya wreaked havoc in Jibei, and Hu Yanyan entered Mount Tai.

At this time, three pontoon bridges had been built in the Dongwuyang area, and more and more infantrymen crossed the river. More than a hundred fortresses in Jibei, Dongping, Gaoping, Rencheng, Taishan, and Puyang counties and kingdoms surrendered one after another and offered money and food.

At the same time, Cao Yi and Zhao Gu had traveled south from Qingzhou for several days, but they did not come to Yanzhou.

The entire eastern Henan region was filled with a foul smell.

Cao Fu was stationed in Xuchang. Although he was old and lacked energy, at this critical moment, he still tried his best to cheer up and formulate strategies.

"The news is cut off again, damn it." Chen Yougen slapped the stone table and said angrily.

Li Zhong's face was calm and he said nothing.

This isn’t the first time we’ve fought the Huns, so what’s the big deal about having our communications cut off?
At this time, don't be smart and send out any messenger. It's too dangerous.

"Yougen, have most people gathered here?" Cao Fu, who was dozing off, suddenly asked.

Xiaohong served some snacks to the three of them, then looked at Chen Yougen with fear and slipped away.

"Almost done. The total number of auxiliary soldiers is over 7,000." Chen Yougen said, "Can we start fighting?"

"Can one person ride two horses?"

"No."

"How about the donkey and the mule?"

"If we wait another ten days, maybe we can gather them together." Chen Yougen said, "But the military situation is urgent, is there any need to wait?"

Cao Fu was silent for a moment, then said, "You go to Chen County first to help defend Yangxia, Chen, Xiang, and Ku counties. I am worried that without a large army to support the battle, Mr. Chen's years of hard work will be destroyed. Besides, as for Lu Yuzhou, you should go."

After learning that the Huns had crossed the river from Dongwuyang, Lu Zhi's heart suddenly became tense.

He immediately sent a letter to Xuchang, requesting that a group of troops be sent over, and specifically asked for the government soldiers.

From Fugou to Xiang, the area of ​​200 to 300 li was mostly earthen fortifications, with battalions as units. There were only a few hundred men in each earthen fortification, which certainly could not withstand the siege of a large enemy force, so they asked Xuchang to send reinforcements.

"Yamen Army." Cao Fu looked at Li Zhong again and said, "Stay in Xuchang for now. Mr. Chen's family is in the city, and we must not let them get lost. I have already sent 5,000 Xuchang soldiers to Kaocheng, and they will follow the command of the King of Donghai and the Queen Mother."

The Xuchang hereditary soldiers sent several thousand north to Xingyang, and they have not yet been recalled. After sending out 5,000 people, there are still about 5,000 hereditary soldiers left in the city.

Cao Fu did not trust these newly-attached troops, and they had to be suppressed by the Yamen Army.

Hou Feihu led four new Silver Spear Army troops and five thousand garrison troops to Wei Cang to collect ships in case of emergency.

Lao Cao put on an attitude of defending the city to the death.

It’s not the best choice, but it’s a decent solution.

******
September 25th was another sunny day.

On the Yangqu Canal, ships were lined up one after another, almost reaching the horizon.

Yangqu is an artificial canal that has been flowing through Luoyang since the Han Dynasty.

In the west of Luoyang City, it is called "Qianjin Canal". After passing Daxia Gate and Guangmo Gate in the north of the city, it winds southward, passes Jianchun Gate and Dongyang Gate, and then goes all the way east to join Luoshui in Gong County. This section is called "Jiuqu Du".

After Shao Xun passed Gong County, the fleet and caravan headed westward along the Jiuqu Du artificial canal and stationed outside the Jianchun and Dongyang gates.

The reason why Taicang was built inside Dongyang Gate was actually for one reason: to facilitate unloading.

On the day Shao Xun arrived, Wang Yan, Xun Fan, Liu Tun and Liang Fen went out of the city to meet him.

"Have the Huns retreated?" Shao Xun asked, pointing at the devastated battlefield.

"This matter depends on Lord Liang." Wang Yan knew that Shao Xun was anxious, and immediately explained: "Hearing that reinforcements were coming, the Huns attacked Dongyang Gate and Jianchun Gate fiercely, and the imperial guards fought hard to repel them. It happened that Lord Liang's troops arrived, and the Huns fled." Shao Xun nodded.

He was too lazy to compete with Liang Fen for the credit of serving the king. There was no need.

More than 70 grain ships were loaded with more than 300,000 hu of grain, which was a greater contribution.

He just wanted to figure out one thing now.

"Captain, you have been in Luoyang from beginning to end. Do you think the Huns are fighting seriously?" Shao Xun asked.

Wang Yan hesitated for a while and said, "Not really."

Shao Xun understood.

Even someone like Wang Yan, who knew little about military affairs, could see that the Huns' offensive was not fierce, which only meant one thing: the Huns' target was not Luoyang.

This is the same as his previous judgment.

"Where did the Huns retreat to?" he asked again.

"They retreated to Mengjin." Liang Fen stepped forward and said, "I sent Beigong Chun to lead the army to pursue the defeated enemy. A part of the Xiongnu fled westward, passing Xin'an, and most of them retreated to Mengjin. There were many people in Mengjin who tried to ambush Beigong Chun but failed. When the Liangzhou soldiers retreated, they saw a huge fire in the direction of Mengjin from afar. The Xiongnu must have burned the floating bridge and retreated to the north bank."

“How many enemy troops are there in Hanoi?”

"Only an old man can answer you this." Liang Fen looked at Shao Xun deeply, and decided to do him a favor, saying, "My troops have captured the rebel general, and we know that the pseudo-Han Henei Wang Can once stayed in Yewang, and later went on a tour to Ji County in the east."

When Shao Xun heard this, he suddenly felt enlightened. The fog of war that had been shrouding the sky was finally torn apart.

There are two possibilities: 1. The Huns lured him to Luoyang and surrounded and killed him outside the city; 2. The Huns avoided the strong and attacked the weak and attacked the two states of Yan and Yu.

The first one has probably been ruled out.

It is now basically certain that the Huns attacked his lair.

"Quanzhong, why don't you go into the city to meet the emperor?" Wang Yan asked from the side.

Shao Xun looked at the ships that were unloading, shook his head, and said, "Captain, can you find a way to gather more people and vehicles to speed up the unloading of grain? I'm in a hurry to return for help."

Wang Yan was startled and said, "The emperor wants to gather all the troops to drive out the remaining Xiongnu troops, you..."

"Drive them away!" Shao Xun yelled, "Don't act rashly when you don't know the situation of the enemy. Who knows how many Xiongnu there are in the wild? Everything is just speculation."

Wang Yan nodded silently.

Xun Fan and Liu Tun also looked ashamed, and it was obvious that they did not strongly advise the emperor.

To be honest, they were very satisfied with Shao Xun's act of escorting grain to Beijing. It not only solved Luoyang's urgent needs, but also greatly boosted the morale of the defenders.

It would be a real disappointment if he didn't come.

It was he who proposed to tolerate each other for the sake of the country. No one can live without each other, and we all prosper together and suffer together. Do you really think that in despair, the court has no means to check and balance you?
Fortunately, he came, and he is a good person. He may be domineering, but he can get things done.

It's understandable that he wants to leave now, and there's no need to make things difficult for him.

With the 14,000 infantry and cavalry brought by General Liang Fen, food is available and the morale of the defenders has been greatly boosted. There should be no major problems in the future.

Wang Yan didn't waste any words and immediately sent people back to the city to mobilize some of the men guarding the city, collect carts, and prepare to leave the city to unload the grain.

Shao Xun breathed a sigh of relief.

Yangqu connects the Zhaiquan, Tianyuanchi, Lushuichi, Jiulongchi and other lakes in the city. If he waits for the grain ships to enter the city through the water gate (a waterway hole drilled on the city wall, located near Dongyangmen) and unload the cargo after anchoring, it will be too slow and he can't wait.

But even so, it will take two or three days to unload all the goods.

Well, after such a long journey, the soldiers were physically and mentally exhausted and urgently needed to rest and replenish some supplies.

Seeing that there was nothing more to worry about, Xun Fan and Liu Tun said goodbye and left, returning to the palace to report.

Shao Xun took Liang Fen and Wang Yan aside and talked for a while.

"Mr. Liang, can you lend me the cavalry you have?" Shao Xun asked.

I feel a little embarrassed to say this.

The Liangzhou soldiers belonged to Zhang Gui, and their mission was to serve the king. However, because Chang'an fell, they did not return for the time being.

The court temporarily gave this army to Liang Fen to lead. If the road was opened in the future, they would most likely have to go back.

What's the point of following you to fight now?

Liang Fen didn't say whether she agreed or not, she just said: "We still have 2,000 cavalry and more than 2,600 infantry. I can let them go to fight with you at my command, but -"

"I owe Mr. Liang a favor." Shao Xun said, "I will definitely repay you in the future."

Wang Yan sighed and said, "There is no one else to talk about this, so I will just say it directly. In this situation, no one can do without each other. Help Quanzhong once and let him handle the difficult matter. If the Xiongnu comes to Luoyang again, Quanzhong can still come to the king's defense. General Liang, helping others is helping yourself."

Liang Fen was silent for a moment, and suddenly said with emotion: "Mr. Chen led 20,000 troops all the way upstream, broke through many obstacles, and arrived in Luoyang. Such a strong fighting force is really rare."

Shao Xun looked at him, waiting for what to say next.

"Whatever." After this experience, Liang Fen had some ideas in his mind. He sighed and said, "I'll ask Beigong Chun to come over later. You can discuss with him how to go."

"Thank you, Mr. Liang." Shao Xun bowed and expressed his gratitude sincerely.

He had a vague feeling that Liang Fen and Wang Yan seemed to have guessed the movements of the main force of the Huns.

After thanking Liang Fen, Shao Xun looked at Wang Yan again and said, "Captain, can you ask the court to lend me the Cavalry?"

Wang Yan’s eyes widened.

(End of this chapter)