Chapter 467: Taking sides

Chapter 467: Taking sides

Chapter 467: Taking sides
A large army gathered in the territory of Dongping.

As the place where the enemy crossed the river in the last war, Dongping was a top priority for defense.

Gaoping County began mobilizing after the first group of Xiongnu cavalry sneaked across the river a few days ago.

A total of 6,000 soldiers from the prefecture went into battle, plus more than 3,000 loyal troops - the soldiers from the ten counties of Gaoping had been stationed for many years, but not everyone had loyal troops, so they were still being recruited slowly.

On the fifth day of September, the first group of more than 4,000 people arrived at the western border of Fan County and set up camp.

They were almost all infantry, with very little armor, and looked no different from the garrison troops.

But to be honest, they were the Yamen Army and had a lot of combat experience. After becoming the Fubing, due to the improvement of economic conditions, they had more time to practice martial arts and their overall strength increased.

Their primary task was to station near the ferry and prevent the Hun cavalry on the other side from crossing the river.

After Gaoping prefect Yu Hua sent a batch of supplies to the front line, he felt a little relieved.

The soldiers of the government army were training non-stop by the Yellow River, and the sound of killing was deafening, forcing the people of Hebei who were building a pontoon bridge to panic. It seemed that there would be no problem on the way.

On the eighth day of the ninth month, after returning to Gaoping, he held a banquet in his mansion and summoned local big families such as the Ma, Luqiu, Xi, and Tan families.

The war was imminent, but in Yu Hua's mansion there was a sound of lascivious music, and it felt as if the warm breeze was intoxicating the visitors.

Xi Jian, who was invited to the banquet, frowned and felt a little disappointed.

He had heard that Chen Gong Shao Xun was domineering and looked down on the emperor, so he felt somewhat unhappy in his heart.

Unfortunately, the battle of Gaoping was so exciting that Chen Gong personally led his troops to chase Jin Zhun from Gaoping to Pei State, and then from Pei State to Pengcheng. Along the way, he did not give Jin Zhun the opportunity to stop and gather the defeated soldiers and reorganize his troops. He also kept a distance of one or two days to prevent Jin Zhun from making desperate moves.

In the end, the Huns were completely defeated and never gathered together again. Thousands of them were at a loss, running around, and due to hunger and exhaustion, they all fell on the vast land of Henan.

After the battle, Xi Jian made inquiries from various sources and reviewed Chen Gong's tactics, which he was amazed by.

In addition, he was also fascinated by the battle in which the enemy took a detour through Hebei and marched thousands of miles to attack Gou Xi.

In the past two years, he denied it verbally and claimed to the outside world that Mr. Chen was just so-so, but privately he continued to learn the essence of Shao Xun's tactical play and put it to use for his own benefit.

Simply put, Xi Jian actually admired Shao Xun's military strategy, although he never admitted it in public.

But Mr. Chen's bravery and victory in every battle could not cover up his many shortcomings.

Disrespecting the emperor is the first, employing the wrong people is the second.

What ability does Yu Hua have? How did he become the governor of Gaoping? Since he took office, he has plundered countless wealth, which makes people laugh at him.

Thinking of this, Xi Jian looked at the luxurious Yu Mansion and couldn't help but snorted.

These are all the hard-earned money of the people in Gaoping counties.

"Daohui, come and take a seat. We're waiting for you." Yu Hua sat at the head of the table and waved with a smile.

Xi Jian bowed, sat down at the desk, and scanned the room, and found that dozens of people had come. Among them were not only nobles, but also local tyrants. It seemed that Lord Yu had made preparations and notified everyone in Gaoping County.

"I summoned you all here today because of an urgent matter." After everyone sat down, Yu Hua first picked up the wine jar and toasted. Then, under the influence of alcohol, he sighed and said, "I have been in Gaoping for some time. I have never offended you. The ten counties are peaceful. However, the Xiongnu did not give us the opportunity to enjoy ourselves."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone laughed secretly.

What does it mean to not harm anyone? When you go to someone's house to collect money, you collect money over and over again. Is that fake?
If you weren't a relative of Mr. Chen's wife, and Gaoping was guarded by 6,000 government soldiers, they would have chased you away long ago.

Yu Hua probably knew that people had a bad impression of him, so he didn't dwell on it and went straight to the point, "I have accurate information. The Xiongnu crossed the river from Jibei, and there were several thousand of them. Jibei Marquis Xun Jun and Internal Secretary Yin Xian led troops to resist them, but were attacked by Cao Yi and were defeated. They retreated to the county city. Jibei only has five counties, so the bandits will not stay for long. Most of them have already headed to Dongping and Taishan."

"This..." Some people couldn't help but exclaimed after hearing this explosive news.

Yu Hua raised his eyelids, glanced at the man, and without saying much, called a county assistant and explained the current situation on the battlefields in Henan and Hebei.

The most core battlefield was in Fangtou City, Ji County, where Chen Gong Shao Xun and Liu Han's General Shi Le were confronting each other. The war had been going on for some time, but the most intense stage had obviously not yet arrived.

In addition to the core battlefield, there are also flanks.

The left wing of the Xiongnu consisted of about 10,000 cavalrymen. The main force, with the cooperation of Cao Qi of Qingzhou, successfully crossed the river at Jibei and broke into Henan.

According to the latest news, the Xiongnu's right wing consists of about 3,000 cavalrymen, and seems to have suddenly reached the city of Luoyang, causing unrest among the emperor and his ministers.

The battle situation was actually quite clear, and it was crystal clear what Shi Le was planning.

I also had a general idea of ​​Mr. Chen's purpose.

Yu Hua was the governor of Gaoping and did not need to worry about the overall situation. According to the orders of the shogunate, he had only two tasks: one, to provide food and fodder for the soldiers of the shogunate; two, to ensure that Gaoping was not lost.

The former is easy to handle, but the latter is more troublesome.

The government soldiers would not listen to him. They had their own combat missions. For example, the 1,500 government soldiers with horses had already gone to Rencheng, and no one knew what they were doing.

If he wanted to keep Gaoping, he had to rely on the local nobles and powerful families in addition to the two thousand soldiers he had temporarily recruited. This was the significance of today's banquet.

After the assistant officer finished his explanation, he stepped aside.

Yu Hua lowered his head and drank, giving everyone time to digest the wine.

After a long while, before anyone else could speak, Xi Jian could no longer hold back and said, "Sir, the Xiongnu have many cavalry troops, and they come and go like the wind. If we want to make them retreat, we have to fortify our walls and clear the fields."

"What Daohui said is exactly what I want." Yu Hua immediately raised his head and said with a smile: "You might as well explain it more clearly."

Xi Jian was not polite and said directly: "In my opinion, Gaoping is more dangerous than Jibei and Dongping."

"Mr. Chen strongly advocated the system of three crops in two years, which is a good policy. However, after the wheat harvest in May, there are many millets and beans in the fields of the ten counties of Gaoping. I have been traveling all the way from Jinxiang, and I have seen that the fields are all golden, and the millets and beans are about to ripen. If we don't harvest them, they may be cut by the Xiongnu for food."

Yu Hua sighed when he heard this.

Could it be that being too efficient in doing things has become a mistake?

Although he loved money, he really supervised the tasks assigned by his nephew's husband with all his heart.

Last spring, when planting millet, he led the county officials to demonstrate by tilling the field.

After the millet harvest, he traveled to all the counties to supervise the planting of winter wheat.

After the wheat harvest in May, beans are planted in June. He urged us again and again, "Now you tell me that these are planted for the Huns?"

"Daohui, what do you think we should do?" Yu Hua couldn't help but ask.

Xi Jian pondered for a moment and said, "There is no good solution. We can only harvest the crops in advance. Even if we lose some millet, we cannot help the enemy. If we really cannot harvest them—"

At this point, he gritted his teeth and said, "It's better to burn it and be done with it."

"Dao Hui!" Someone exclaimed, "Why is it so?"

"Daohui, the Xiongnu may not be heading to Gaoping, right?"

"It would be a shame to harvest the beans now, as they are not fully mature yet."

There was a sudden uproar in the hall, and the voices of opposition shook the roof tiles.

Xi Jian glanced around, sighed, and said, "It's hard to let go of Shancai, it's hard to let go of Shancai. With such an ugly appearance, no wonder we can't defeat the Xiongnu."

Yu Hua coughed loudly to stop the noise.

When he saw everyone looking at him, he was speechless for a moment because he didn't know what to say.

The gentry in Gaoping were actually not that obedient.

The direct reason was the resettlement of 6,000 government soldiers, which dealt a heavy blow to their interests, and everyone was resentful.

It was fine in peacetime, but is it really appropriate to force them to harvest or even burn the immature beans now? Will it cause riots?

However, when he thought of his niece's husband's great cause, he hardened his heart and said, "Daohui's plan is quite impressive. I have made up my mind. From tomorrow on, we must rush to harvest the millet, beans and grains in the fields. There must be no mistakes. This is the first one."

"All forts and manors must close their doors and fortify their walls. Do not provide food and fodder to the bandits. Sending hostages and soldiers is tantamount to treason. If anyone really does such a cruel thing, you can report it to the Prime Minister and you can take one-third of his property. This is the second."

"Remember, the Xiongnu have only 10,000 cavalrymen, and it is impossible for them to occupy Henan. They are just a group of bandits, who will retreat after burning, killing, and looting. Lord Chen was able to win the battle of Gaoping once, and chased Jin Zhun to the point where he had no way to go up to the sky or down to the earth, so he can naturally win the second time. You are all heroes of the time, so don't make mistakes."

These words were so powerful and even contained a hint of murderous intent that Xi Jian began to look at Yu Hua with new respect.

This old man was extremely greedy for money, but unexpectedly he was decisive enough at the critical moment and even threatened the nobles and powerful families in Gaoping, telling them "not to make mistakes."

Xi Jian took the opportunity to observe the expressions of others and found that although there was dissatisfaction on everyone's faces, no one had an outburst on the spot. It seemed that Mr. Chen had really established prestige in Henan.

Now I have made it very clear. If you dare to provide assistance to the Huns, that would be treason and "desperate". After the Huns retreat, Lord Chen will settle accounts with you.

This is clearly forcing people to take sides.

Before Lord Chen suffered a devastating defeat and showed signs of decline, his deterrent power was still quite strong.

Seeing that everyone had nothing to say, Yu Hua looked at Xi Jian again and said gently, "Does Daohui have anything else to add?"

Xi Jian thought for a moment and said, "Infantry is enough to defend the forts. If the tribes have cavalry, we can temporarily gather them as reinforcements and run between the forts. What do you think? I have 27 cavalrymen under my command, and I am willing to offer them to you now."

"That's right, that's right! How could I not have thought of this?" Upon hearing this, Yu Hua immediately gave an order: "If you have cavalrymen in your homes, send them all to the county city. Don't worry, they will be sent back after the battle. The assembled cavalrymen will be handed over to Dao Hui for command."

"I will follow the Lord's orders." Xi Jian stood up calmly and responded.

"That's it!" Yu Hua raised his head and drank a glass of wine, saying, "After the banquet, you all go back to your homes and make arrangements quickly without any mistakes."

(End of this chapter)