Chapter 720: The Defeat Is Hard to Stop

Chapter 720: The Defeat Is Hard to Stop
The willows on Sanchuigang in early May are green.

In the pouring rain, various nobles and tribal chiefs came one after another.

No matter how heavy the rain is or how difficult the road is, they have to make it this time. Otherwise, they will be greeted by a rain of arrows.

Among the group, the most dazzling one is Guo Rong.

His contribution can be great or small, depending on how you interpret it.

To interpret it in a small way, it was just the rebellion of a county.

If we interpret it in a broader sense, this is the breakthrough point for overall victory.

If Wang Xiu really went to Shangai County, the local nobles would probably recruit strong men to travel east out of inertia of obedience or for some other reason. Lu Ya might not be able to make it, not to mention the subsequent attack on Jingxing Pass.

Even if Jingxing Pass could not be conquered, the morale of the Xiongnu might not be affected, and Danzhuling might not be conquered so quickly.

If you count it this way, Guo Rong's contribution is really not small.

"You have made great contributions in Leping, so you can be appointed as the prefect of Leping." Inside the thatched pavilion, Shao Xun said, holding a horsewhip in his hand, looking at the gloomy sky outside.

"Thank you, Lord Liang, for your kindness." Guo Rong was overjoyed and knelt on the ground.

Shao Xun looked down at him and said, "Get up. The official seal will be issued to you later. Return to Leping as soon as possible. We don't want you to fight. We will just recruit people to help transport the food supplies."

"Yes, sir." Guo Rong stood up and responded.

When 90,000 troops entered Bingzhou, the most difficult problem was the supply of food and military supplies.

Bingzhou had suffered from disasters and wars for years, and had long been extremely poor. Last year, the weather was good and the crops were harvested, so they had accumulated some food and grass, but this year, the war had almost consumed all of it. Expecting to raise food and grass in Bingzhou was like looking for fish in a tree.

At present, two-thirds of the food and fodder for the troops entering Bingzhou from Fukou Xing are transported by ship from Fangtou and then transferred by land, and the remaining one-third is requisitioned from Hebei.

All the food and grass along the way to Jingxing Pass came from Jizhou.

The transportation of Hou Feihu's troops in Danzhuling was also quite difficult. Generally, they had to transport their supplies to Hanoi by ship and then transfer by land. The distance was long and the consumption was extremely high.

Food is only one aspect of consumption, and conscription is another huge burden. After all, even if there is food, it still depends on people to transport it.

Shao Xun's intention was to send Guo Rong back to serve in the army, to help transport food and equipment, and to reduce the burden on the people of Hebei.

In addition to transporting the animals, they may need to allocate some manpower to help with herding.

As the army advanced rapidly, large numbers of livestock began to enter Bingzhou.

These livestock will inevitably lose weight after the long "march", so Guo Rong needs to find hills and valleys with lush vegetation in Leping for grazing.

There are still many things to do.

"Zhang——" Shao Xun looked at a Wuhuan chieftain who was following closely behind Guo Rong, and for a moment he couldn't remember the complicated Hu name.

"How dare I pollute your ears with such a lowly name? Please give me a good name." The chief knelt on the ground and said.

Shao Xun pondered for a moment and said, "I heard that your sister Zhang is Tao Bao's wife. Tao Anshi is very loyal and brave, and you should not fall behind him. You can be named 'Zhang Zhongzhi'. Get up."

"Thank you, sir, for giving me the name." Zhang Zhongzhi immediately stood up and thanked him.

There were several scholars in the thatched pavilion, and Shao Xun comforted them one by one.

At the edge of the thatched pavilion, there were some people of lower status standing, half of their bodies inside the pavilion and half outside in the rain, but they dared not move.

Shao Xun put his hands behind his back and looked at these people one by one.

Everyone who caught his attention prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to behave in the slightest.

Even more than a dozen tribal chiefs knelt in the mud outside the pavilion, motionless.

"Everyone who came here today has been registered." Shao Xun stood at the edge of the thatched pavilion, looking at the dark clouds that were getting thicker and thicker, and said, "Go back and do your own work, and don't let your imagination run wild. When the court recruits soldiers, you should obey the orders of the officials. If there are those who refuse, we will chase them down and punish them according to the law, even if it means going to heaven or hell."

"Yes, sir." Guo Rong took the lead and everyone answered in unison.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the field fell silent for a moment.

Shao Xun looked at the vast rain curtain, pondering in silence.

The surrendered people either stood or knelt, and dared not move.

On the post road outside the thatched pavilion, rows of soldiers marched northward in the rain.

Bingzhou welcomed a new conqueror.

Ninety thousand men gave him the confidence to command power. He did not need to say anything harsh. Just a look could make the Hu and Han warlords, who were used to burning, killing and looting, tremble in fear and even kneel in the rain waiting to be questioned.

He doesn't need to emphasize it repeatedly, because every word he says will be carefully remembered by others, and no one dares to disobey him. This is the power that makes men intoxicated the most.

"Let's go." Shao Xun asked Yang Qin to bring the raincoat, and then said, "Go straight to Qi County."

******
Wen Qiao did not go to Sanchuigang because he felt that there was something important to do.

At the end of April, he assembled 4,000 soldiers from three counties and marched south to Jiexiu, where he joined forces with more than a thousand people from the Guo family of Taiyuan who occupied the county seat and resisted a fierce offensive launched by the Huns.

The Xiongnu assembled tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry, and after failing to steal the city, they began to plunder everywhere and at the same time sent out infantry to attack the city. In the end, they left behind more than a thousand corpses and the offensive ended in failure.

Today is the seventh day of May, and there are far fewer Huns in the wild.

Perhaps it was due to lack of food and fodder, or perhaps it was due to the continuous rain, the cavalry could no longer run. In any case, except for a small number of people left to monitor Jiexiu, most of the troops dispersed and disappeared.

Jiexiu is a county under the jurisdiction of Xihe.

During the Warring States Period, it was the border between Wei and Zhao, so it was named "Jiexiu".

In this dynasty, because Jie Zitui lived in seclusion in Jiexiu, it was renamed "Jiexiu". It is the earliest birthplace of the Guo family in Taiyuan.

"A woodcutter reported that the Xiongnu bandits are building a fortress in the Lengquanshui area in the south." Guo Wu of the Jiexiu Guo family said, pointing to the south.

Lengquan Water is located 20 miles southwest of Jiexiu County and is named after its cold spring water.

Ten miles southwest of Jiexiu, the flat and open terrain gradually converges into a small opening, becoming rugged and narrow. The post road leads out of it, with mountains on the left and water on the right, making it quite dangerous.

This mouth is called "Guanjuejin North Mouth" - Guanjuejin is the famous Queshu Valley during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

Lengquanshui is located ten miles inside the north entrance. The terrain is relatively dangerous, so a city fortress was built as a defensive measure.

Going southwest from the north entrance for a total of about 110 miles, you will reach the border of Pingyang Yong'an County (now Huozhou). This is the Queshu Valley mountain road, which is "sandwiched between two mountains", "in the middle of the Fen River", "with mountains on top" and "overlooking a steep ravine below".

Simply put, if you go from north to south through Queshu Valley, there are high mountains on the left side of the post road, the deep Fen River Valley on the right side, and high mountains on the other side of the river. Among the 110-li long section, dozens of miles are particularly dangerous. There was no road originally, but a pavilion road was created by cutting through the mountains and stones. The pavilion road is five or six feet to ten feet above the water surface, just like the Qinling Mountains and Bashan Mountains. It is an extremely rare wooden plank road in the north.

The purpose of the Xiongnu building a fortress at Lengquanshui was self-evident - during the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Lengquan Pass and Post Station were set up here and soldiers were sent to garrison. During the Jin Dynasty, there was no fierce war to catalyze the construction of the fortress.

"Taizhen, do you want to fight? It will be difficult if we allow the Huns to build an earthen city in Lengquanshui." Guo Wu said.

"You are too utilitarian." Wen Qiao glanced at him and said with a smile, "I have always liked gambling, but I dare not gamble on this matter. With the four counties of Jingling, Zhongdu, Wu, and Jiexiu in our hands, our achievements are already considerable. Do you still want to gamble?"

Guo Wu smiled sheepishly and said, "Forget it then."

"It's too difficult to attack Pingyang." Wen Qiao looked at the misty south and shook his head, saying, "It's better to take a detour and take Xihe first, then march south with overwhelming force."

"Xihe is a mountainous area (Lüliang Mountains), sparsely populated, and it may be difficult to supply." Guo Wu sighed: "In the past, Tuoba Pugen came down from Xihe and was blocked by Liu Cong in the mountains. He ran out of food and retreated with heavy losses. If Lord Liang takes a detour from here, he may suffer a great defeat."

"You and I don't need to worry about this matter. Lord Liang is very steady in commanding troops." Wen Qiao said, "I have been in Taiyuan for more than half a year. This achievement is enough. Among the various tribes in Taiyuan, the Guo family's contribution ranks first. Lord Liang will definitely reward you. Don't worry."

Guo Wu was delighted when he heard this, and then he said, "In Taiyuan, Liu Yasheng might want to run away. But it's not easy to run away in this rainy weather. But he has no choice but to run away. Without food and weapons, how many days can he hold out?"

"He wanted to run away a long time ago." Wen Qiao smiled and said, "We sent 10,000 soldiers to the south to reinforce Liu Yao, but almost all of them were lost. It would be good if we had 4,000 to 5,000 men. Before that, he had already withdrawn the elderly, the weak, women and children back to Pingyang, and it was clear that he had no intention of holding on. In the next few days, we will see if Liu Ling can catch him."

The biggest problem for Jinyang or the entire Taiyuan is still food and fodder.

How much food could there be in a place where Liu Kun and the Xiongnu had been fighting for more than ten years? When Liu Yasheng first arrived, he brought tens of thousands of herdsmen from various tribes and let them graze freely, which shows how sparsely populated the land was.

The only grain production is in the hands of the Taiyuan nobles, so their attitude is self-evident.

Of course, Liu Yasheng also recruited 3,000 households of common people - refugees from the Tuoba Dai Kingdom - to farm, but the time was too short and they could not provide enough food and fodder.

After fighting for several years, the Huns were still short of food and their situation had never improved, or it could be said that Lord Liang did not give them a chance to improve.

"In the next few days, you should inspect the counties and prepare food and grass." Wen Qiao looked at Guo Wu and said, "If the rain continues, it will be extremely difficult to transport military rations. Lord Liang will definitely find a way to raise them in Bingzhou. Even if he can only raise 10,000 hu, it can reduce Henan's expenditure by 50,000 hu."

Taiyuan has no grain and relies entirely on transportation from Henan and Hebei. For every hu of grain transported, four or five hu are consumed on the road - after days of rain, the amount may be even more than that. This shows how important it is to raise grain locally.

"We really have no food left." Guo Wu said with a wry smile.

"Do your best to raise money." Wen Qiao took Guo Wu's hand and said with a smile, "You invited me to drink yesterday, how can you be without food?"

Just as Wen Qiao was actively deploying defenses and raising food and fodder, on the tenth day of May, Li Chong returned to the city of Jinyang as if he had made a round trip.

As soon as I arrived here, I received news: Liu Yasheng learned of the defeat of Shangdang, so he fled at night and ran to the mountains in the west.

Liu Ling sent a part of his troops to occupy the city, and he himself led more than 7,000 infantry and cavalry westward in pursuit.

It seemed that the Huns' defeat was still difficult to stop.

Li Chong waited for food and grass in Jinyang for three or four days. On May 15, he led his troops north to Yangqu and headed straight for Shi Le.

(I will try to update three times today. Please vote if you have any. Thanks.)
(End of this chapter)