Chapter 511: Waiting for Change

Chapter 511: Waiting for Change
The sound of the drums seemed to strike at one's heart, nearly knocking one's soul away.

On June 20th, after several days of stockpiling supplies, the Jin army advanced westward from Neihuang.

Countless ships sailed out of Huangchi, entered Baigou, turned west at the north, went upstream more than 200 steps north of the county town, and entered the Huanshui River.

In the end, the military farm captain Hao Chang did not get the opportunity to join the army. He led 5,000 military farm troops from Yingyang and Luyang to stay in Neihuang to prevent the enemy from easily seizing this important strategic node.

Shao Xun led the entire left and right battalions of the Silver Spear, part of the Volunteer Army, all the Mule Army, and part of the Palace Soldiers, totaling more than 18,000 combat soldiers, in addition to 5,000 hereditary soldiers of Xuchang, 3,000 Palace Soldiers, 5,000 soldiers stationed in Kaocheng, Ningpingcheng and other places, 3,000 farmhands from the Henan nobles, and 3,000 young men from the Hebei forts. The total force was more than 37,000, claiming to be 150,000, and they marched straight to Anyang.

This was the scene he saw when Zhi Quliu led more than 2,000 cavalrymen to Neihuang.

The boat trackers wore short and rough clothes and stood barefoot on the river bank. When the horn sounded, their muscular thighs suddenly exerted force, the tow ropes were stretched straight, and they dragged the heavy boats forward.

When they encountered shallows, they were even extra careful, dispatching people to the north shore to tow the ship from both sides to ensure that it passed safely.

Between Huangchi, Baigou and Huanshui, masts and oars are like a forest and the sound of people is deafening, as if all the ships in Henan Province have gathered here.

When the boat saw the approaching Hun cavalry, bells rang immediately.

The boatmen and transporters worked together to push the crossbow cart to the side of the ship, and worked hard to load arrows and string the crossbow.

Our own cavalry rushed out from the shore and rushed straight towards the Huns.

The infantry also quickened their pace to shield the trackers from being affected, causing the boats to lose control and collide with each other without having time to anchor.

The arrows were as dense as locusts.

As soon as the Xiongnu cavalry approached, they turned their horses' heads and fled back with their heads in their hands.

It won’t work during the day, that would be a death wish, try again at night.

Zhi Quliu seemed to have anticipated this scene. He just sighed softly and led his men away.

He is like a gambler. He has already lost once in the same game, but he refuses to believe in evil and always thinks that if he plays one more time, he might be able to turn defeat into victory.

But this is a material world, war is materialistic, the enemy is not something that will collapse at the first blow, so why bother to provoke them? What else can you get besides the dozen or so corpses left behind?
After the enemy cavalry withdrew, the Yicong army chased them for a few miles and then stopped, returning to the river bank to continue escorting the fleet and infantry.

There are many ways to teach your enemy a lesson.

The Xiongnu cavalry was light and flexible, and it was difficult to catch up with them. But as long as you get closer to Anyang and Yecheng, one day, these Xiongnu cavalry that roamed around and repeatedly harassed them will run back obediently, not going anywhere, abandoning their mobility advantage and fighting you head-on.

You didn't take the initiative to catch them, but they were forced to run to you and fight you in ways they are not good at. This is the wonder of war.

"Splash!" The bow of the ship split the waves and moved forward with all its might.

The boat trackers' calls echoed across both banks of the Huan River.

The convoy moved forward without a sound, like a beast stalking silently on the eve of hunting.

The weapons and armor shone with dazzling silver light, as if longing for a bloody sacrifice.

This huge team headed straight for Anyang, unstoppable.

******
A group of cavalry dismounted.

Some people led the horses to graze, while others took various tools from the pack horses and started working hard.

The sky was cloudless and the blue was blinding.

On the ground scorched by the scorching sun, three thousand Xiongnu cavalrymen waved shovels and pickaxes, carried dung baskets, carried away the dug soil, and dumped it into the Huan River.

Not long after, a fort commander arrived at the river bank with more than 2,000 men driving carts.

He hesitated and asked whether to push the carriages into the river.

Kui An whipped him with a whip and said, "Hurry up and do it without hesitation."

The commander of the fort was unhappy and ordered the guards to push one carriage after another into the river and fill them with sandbags.

Kui An learned this trick from Shao Xun.

When besieging Luoyang, Shao Xun filled the river with baggage carts and sandbags to create a temporary wading passage, allowing his soldiers to successfully cross the river and gain a foothold on the other side.

This trick still works now.

Even if the river cannot be blocked, it is always good to allow some sections of the river to be silted up.

Shao Xun could certainly send people to dredge and clean up, but this would take a lot of time and slow down his advance.

Tao Bao's order was to delay, so Kui An and Zhi Quliu acted separately, really using every possible means.

After working like this for an hour, the surface of the river became turbid.

Kui'an inspected along the river and was quite satisfied.

It is easy to block a river, but difficult to dredge it. This alone can disgust Shao Xun for a long time and buy Da Hu more time.

The guards had stopped working and retreated to a nearby tree.

Firstly, we had been working under the scorching sun for so long that we really couldn't do it anymore; secondly, the river overflowed and the banks were muddy, so we couldn't work anymore.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance.

A moment later, the scout came running back.

After listening to the report, Kui An immediately ordered everyone to mount their horses.

He personally led 2,500 men, with horn bows strung, to meet the enemy, while the other hundreds of men drove their horses back.

The commander of the fort was panic-stricken. He led his draft horse and called the fort guards to scatter.

The field was quiet for a moment, except for the rushing Huan River, which overflowed from the river bank, submerged the post road and meadows, and created large yellow mud ponds.

The cavalry of both sides had started a fierce battle in the wilderness.

Arrows flying, swords clashing, killing and being killed have become the main theme of Hebei Province.

After fighting for half an hour, both sides withdrew their troops and stared at each other from a distance.

The Jin army had few cavalry, only 500 vanguards, but they were well-equipped and good at fighting.

The Huns had five times as many people as them, so they could make an outflanking move, use their superior numbers to defeat the enemy, and take full advantage of their military strength.

After fighting for a while, the two sides suffered equal casualties and neither wanted to fight anymore.

So, after looking at each other, they retreated tacitly and disappeared into the wilderness.

Half an hour later, the sound of horse hooves could be heard again from the east.

A thousand mule troops arrived at the river bank.

General Jiang Ke looked at the damaged river and sighed.

A thousand men dismounted their mules, half of them on guard while the other half tried to clear the river.

That's all the enemy is capable of.

If the commander of the nearby fortresses was willing to provide food and grass on the spot, the matter would not be so complicated. However, there were only a few people in Changle County who secretly communicated with the government and were unwilling to openly join the army. They were really courting death.

While the river was being cleared here, Kui An led his men back to Changle County.

There was some commotion in the county, but after they withdrew, it gradually quieted down.

Kui An climbed to the top of the city wall and looked east.

The Huan River flows quietly, winding and disappearing at the end of the east.

Nothing could be seen there, but Kui An seemed to hear the incessant sound of drums, the splash of boats cutting through the river, the rustling of advancing infantry, and the huge buzzing sound of crossbows being fired.

He felt that there was something wrong with his brain, and it seemed that he had to grab a few women to relieve his sexual desire tonight.

But he actually knew it very well in his heart, but he just didn't want to face it: all kinds of small tricks can only stop the enemy soldiers temporarily, they will come after all, and they are unstoppable.

"Pass the order down, report the movements of the Shao bandit every hour. Anyone who dares to slack off will be killed without mercy." Kui An slapped the city wall and ordered. The personal soldiers took the order and went down to pass on the order.

Kui An still refused to go downstairs and continued to stand there, looking at the eastern sky like a husband-waiting stone.

******
On June 23rd, Yecheng was exceptionally fresh and clean after the drizzle.

Surrounded by his generals, Shi Le returned to the long-lost city.

He patiently exchanged greetings with the officials and scholars, and then returned to his mansion. It was already night time when the lights began to come on.

"Comfortable." Shi Le leaned on the couch without any image, his face unable to hide the dusty look.

The personal guards brought the food, and each of the staff members took a cushion, sat on the ground, and began to eat.

Shi Le ate very quickly. After a while, he threw away the bowl and drank some tea to rinse his mouth.

"There are still many things I haven't had time to do." After rinsing his mouth, he sighed and said.

The first thing was to set up schools, learn from the people of Jin, select the children of generals and officials to go to schools, and cultivate talents to manage the local area, so as not to rely on the gentry for everything and constantly bargain with them as it is now.

The second thing was to revise the Nine-Rank System, allowing local states and counties to elect virtuous and capable people, with an emphasis on people of lower birth, such as the poor and the powerful, which also weakened the influence of the great aristocratic families.

The third thing was to re-count the census of the counties. The current census was a joke, far less than the actual population. In fact, this problem was very common during the Later Han Dynasty. Zhang Bin believed that even if he could only count a few hundred thousand more people, it would be an improvement over the past, and he deeply agreed with it.

Household registration is a prerequisite for the determination of rent and taxes. If this can be implemented, there will be no need to keep playing cozy with the gentry.

The fourth thing is to reduce laws.

Shi Le had a deep understanding of this. The laws were harsh and complicated, and the common people would violate them carelessly, and the consequences were often unbearable. He felt that some unreasonable, inhumane, overly complicated, and overly harsh laws should be deleted to give the people a sigh of relief, which would also stabilize society and facilitate governance.

In addition to the four things, there is also encouragement to engage in agriculture and sericulture.

He had been doing this all along, but had only done half of it, which was to distribute land and houses to the more than 70,000 infantrymen who had followed him to start his career, allowing them to grow and harvest their own crops and practice fighting in their spare time.

As for people other than these, he could not take care of them, and for the time being he did not have the energy to do so. Instead, he delegated the rule to the nobles and powerful families.

To this end, he ordered his sons, nephews, officers and generals to marry into the gentry in Hebei and Bingzhou in order to deepen their relationship.

To be fair, if Shi Le had been given a few more years to carry out these five things one by one and push them through, he would have really gained a firm foothold in Hebei, and the title of "Leader of Hebei" would have been within his grasp, just like Shao Xun, the "Leader of Henan".

These days, there are few things you can do without following these rules.

If you try to find a new way based on the experience summarized by countless people, you will often end up making things worse.

Policies must be in line with three things: one, the level of productivity; two, the traditions and values ​​of the times; three, the external and internal environment.

Without these three things, you won't even know how you died.

The five things Shi Le wanted to do were actually all reliable, which may be one of the factors for his success.

But he doesn't have that time anymore because someone doesn't want to give him a chance.

That man was extremely cruel. He kept a close eye on those who had proven themselves in history and wanted to kill them as soon as possible.

This is fate, there is nothing you can do about it.

"Where is Shao Xun?" In the moment of emotion, Shi Le showed a little weakness, but now he sat up straight, put aside the inappropriate emotions, and asked in a deep voice.

"We can arrive in Changle County as early as the day after tomorrow." Zhang Jing put down his bowl and chopsticks and spoke first.

"How about Changle County?" Shi Le asked.

"We can't stop it." Zhang Jing answered honestly: "Perhaps we can only think of a solution in Anyang. Tao Bao sent thousands of people south to defend this city."

"Thousands of people?"

"Tao Bao doesn't really want to defend Anyang. He wants to fight a big battle with Shao Xun in Yecheng." Zhang Jing glanced at Shi Le and said.

Shi Le seemed to be thinking about something, but now was not the time to bother with such bullshit. He thought for a while and said, "This is not wrong."

"At the end of May, Shao Xunfu arrived in Fangtou."

"In early June, they sailed down the Baigou River and then conquered Neihuang. Ships swarmed into Huangchi and stored grain and weapons."

"We are sending troops to Changle again. If we conquer it, we will head west to Anyang."

"The western army advanced step by step, conquered Chaoge, seized Shiqiao, crossed Changshagou, and headed north to approach Dangyin."

"The two groups are about to meet, do you have any good plans?"

Zhang Bin also finished eating and rinsed his mouth, then he said directly: "Your Majesty, it's time to send another group of people to Pingyang."

When Shi Le heard this, he said, "People like Ma Jing and Zhu Ji only take money and do nothing. They are really hateful."

Zhang Bin was still looking at him.

Shi Le came to his senses and immediately said with a smile: "Don't be upset, Mengsun. I will send someone to Pingyang right away."

"Over in Anping..." Zhang Bin said again.

"Liang Zhenyuan doesn't dare to play tricks. If he lets Shao Xun take over Yecheng, he will be in trouble. His troops will come, don't worry." Shi Le said.

Zhang Bin nodded, and then said: "There is only one strategy now, which is to resist at all levels and wait for changes."

"Mengsun, why don't you elaborate?"

"Dangyin can no longer be defended, so we can abandon it, but Anyang cannot be abandoned." Zhang Bin said, "Anyang is only 40 miles north of Yecheng, so it is very close. There are Anyang Bridge, Hanling Mountain, Yemagang, Caoqiao and other places in the north of the city that are good for stationing troops. We can send infantry forward, set up camps on the road, and resist at all levels. The longer the battle lasts, the better."

"Ye City repaired its defenses, stored up food supplies, and recruited soldiers to defend it."

"Select cavalry and elite infantry and send brave generals to lead them. Your Majesty knows better than I do what to do."

After listening to this, Shi Le pondered for a moment and asked, "What if Shao Xun refuses to leave and attacks us step by step?"

"Wait and see." Zhang Bin repeated.

Shi Le remained silent.

Zhang Bin believed that he could no longer resist Shao Xun on his own and needed help from the court.

This strategy is not foolproof.

How long can it be delayed? That is the question.

What the consequences will be if we delay is also a question.

In the end, it remains a question whether anyone will come to rescue us.

There are too many problems, but this is the only solution.

Even if we have to fight a decisive battle with Shao Xun, it would be better to delay it so that we can be more fully prepared.

As for the alienation of Hebei scholars caused by this, that is a minor matter.

If we can't win this battle, everything will be over.

If he wins this battle, the fence-sitters will turn around and support him and give him a beating when he is down.

"How is the situation with King Zhongshan?" he asked.

"We fought several battles with Tuoba, with both sides winning and losing." Zhang Bin did not mention Liu Kun because he had only a few soldiers, most of whom were new recruits and could not play any role. He could only watch the battle between Tuoba Xianbei and the Pingyang court, even though he was the one who instigated the war.

After listening to this, Shi Le remained silent for a long time.

The others did not interrupt and waited patiently.

"Bang!" Shi Le slammed the table and said, "Since this is the case, let's just go all out. Send an order to send Prince Xing to Pingyang. If his mother dares to make a noise, I will divorce her."

After saying this, he looked at Zhang Bin, Zhang Jing and the others and said, "There are still some difficult points in this battle. Let's discuss it together."

(End of this chapter)