Chapter 733: Reconciliation
Chapter 733: Reconciliation (Part )
On the first day of November in the third year of the Shengui era (319), nearly troops had gathered outside Shan County. Grain carts stretched as far as the eye could see, cavalry could be seen everywhere, drums could be heard everywhere, and flags covered the sky...
Even the dumbest person would know that the people of Jin were likely to launch a large-scale war and would do whatever it took to take over Shan County.
When Liu Han and Yi Hou Pu Hong heard the news of Wang Mi's defeat at Qilijian, they immediately retreated to Hongnong County, the capital of Hongnong County, to wait and see - Wang Mi had been worried that the other party would take over Shan County, but now it seems that his worry was in vain, as the other party was not stupid.
The Qiang people who originally farmed and grazed in various counties of Hongnong also began to slowly gather together, as if they were trying to make a desperate effort, or as if they had other intentions.
In short, after several years of persistent westward advancement, the situation in Hongnong underwent earth-shaking changes.
Hedong County, separated by a river, naturally also received the news.
On this day, Pei Dehou left Dayang and headed for Wenxi.
He had to go.
Dayang has several thousand soldiers stationed there, and the garrison commander is Shi Hu. If there was some military discipline before, as the situation changes, the military discipline is getting worse and worse, and there are more and more incidents of disturbing the people.
A few days ago, Pei Dehou, who came to inquire about information under the pretext of escorting grain and fodder, was robbed - when they heard that he was a member of the Pei family, they gave him face and stripped him of his clothes, but did not hurt him.
As a last resort, Pei Dehou borrowed some clothes from a familiar commander in chief, and after gathering some information, he hurried back.
In the evening, he arrived near the Líng Bridge.
A large number of soldiers gathered here, and judging from their number, there were no less than three thousand.
Pei Dehou subconsciously felt that something was wrong.
He remembered that the soldiers from the five Hun tribes were guarding here before, why are they replaced now?
The new soldiers were wearing clothes that they had worn when they were working on the farm. They were a hodgepodge, ragged, and thin, and they shivered when the cold wind blew.
"Duke Wei?" Suddenly, Pei Dehou saw a person who vaguely looked like Wei Zhan from Anyi Wei family.
"Who are you?" Wei Zhan was whispering with someone. He turned his head and asked hesitantly when he heard the voice.
"Wenxi Pei Dehou greets Lord Wei." Pei Dehou stepped forward and bowed.
Wei Zhan nodded.
He had never heard of this person. He must not have a high status in the Pei family of Wenxi, as can be seen from his double-character name.
In addition, he was a little worried that the man who claimed to be a descendant of the Pei family was fake. What if he was a secret agent of the court? At this critical moment, it would not hurt to be cautious.
Seeing that Wei Zhan ignored him, Pei Dehou did not get angry and continued to go north to pass Dianzhenban - this is a passage connecting the north and south of Zhongtiao Mountain. There are ravines on the east and west sides, and a road was built in the middle, like a bridge, so it is also called "Zhen Bridge".
At nightfall, he arrived at Yuyuan in Zhongtiao Mountain and stayed overnight at the fortress of General Jia Guijia. This man was a descendant of another branch of Jia family from Pingyang. He was not doing very well in his life. He gathered hundreds of farming and grazing families in Zhongtiao Mountain and depended on Anyi Wei family.
When Pei Dehou arrived, Jia Gui had gathered five hundred people and was preparing to go down the mountain.
Seeing their aggressive attitude, Pei Dehou was a little surprised and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Mr. Pei doesn't know yet?" Jia Gui was a little surprised and said, "The court has ordered us to go south to help Shan County."
Pei Dehou was stunned, pointed to the east, and asked, "Why go east?"
Yuyuan is located at a higher altitude, with Yucheng nearby, where Yu Zhong was granted a fief. The so-called Northern Yu is the Yu that Jin State used as a passage to attack Guo - Hongnong of Guo State on the south bank of the Yellow River.
Jia Gui blinked his eyes, smiled helplessly after a moment, and said, "How long have you been away?"
"More than half a month." Pei Dehou replied.
"No wonder." Jia Gui suddenly realized, and then said: "I won't tell you more, you will know when you go back. Tonight, several forts have gathered 3,000 soldiers and plan to take Yucheng in one fell swoop."
To the south of Yucheng is Dianzhenban, which is the mountain road. It is the same road that Pei Dehou took when he came here. It is more than ten miles long.
To the north of Yucheng is Yuban, which is a downhill road, "extremely steep and dangerous" and twenty miles long.
After going down the mountain, walk northwest for more than 30 miles to reach Anyi, the capital of Hedong County.
The Xiongnu rebuilt the ancient Yu City many years ago to store food, weapons and other military supplies, and at the same time control this key mountain passage.
Jia Gui and others said they wanted to take over Yucheng. There was no doubt that this was a direct rebellion. Pei Dehou was terrified and asked hurriedly, "Has the situation changed?"
"All the Hu people have left..." Jia Guishen said mysteriously.
Pei Dehou seemed to understand something.
Seeing that he understood, Jia Gui stopped talking nonsense and said, "I will go east first. After the matter is done, I will drink with you again."
"Are you sure?" Pei Dehou couldn't help but ask.
Jia Gui laughed and said, "Someone opened the door."
After saying that, he jumped on his horse and left. Hundreds of people followed him with solemn expressions.
Pei Dehou secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
There were about 2,000 miscellaneous Hu soldiers guarding Yucheng. These people only fought, but their daily expenses were all supplied by the surrounding forts and manors. Over time, even the chores of collecting firewood, cooking, washing horses, cutting grass and drying it for drying were undertaken by people sent by each fort in turn.
It can be said that if the local bullies had bad intentions, these Hun soldiers would probably not even know how they died, so it would be too easy to trick them.
******
At midnight, Anyi was as quiet as water.
More than a hundred soldiers gathered inside the city gate.
The leading military school gritted his teeth and waved his hand, saying, "Open the door!"
The soldiers were pale, but they dared not disobey the order and could only bite the bullet and open the south gate. The soldiers who had been waiting outside poured in like a tide.
The military school stepped aside and wiped the sweat off his forehead quietly.
The soldiers guarding the city are all locals.
Living in Anyi, how many people can be free from the influence of the Wei family?
Not to mention ordinary people, even the powerful could not avoid succumbing.
The powerful have soldiers and food, but lack political foundation. When they encounter problems, they need the help of the nobles. Over time, they are basically in a state of dependence.
The Wei family is the heaven of Anyi, it’s that simple.
If you offend the county magistrate and flee to Zhongtiao Mountain, you may not be in trouble. But if you offend the Wei family and hide in the mountains, you may be captured by a fortress commander like Jia Hou and handed over to the Wei family.
The tentacles of the aristocratic families extend so far that it is difficult for outsiders to imagine.
Unless the county magistrate or prefect showed great favor to the local soldiers and brought their families and relatives into the city for protection, they really would not be able to withstand the persecution from the local prominent families.
In the past, many Xiongnu and other Hu soldiers were stationed in Anyi, and the local nobles were still afraid of them. But now that all the soldiers have been transferred away and the front line has suffered a series of defeats, the situation is quite unfavorable, and the situation is very different.
To put it bluntly, the Wei family could have rebelled before, but they didn't dare to because they couldn't bear the consequences. Now they have no scruples.
After a large group of troops poured into the city, they directly surrounded the prefectural government's mansion.
The sounds of killing became louder and louder, and soon, the soldiers and generals of the prefectural government were killed and scattered, and the Wei family's followers rushed into the mansion.
The prefect Yin Ping had his hair disheveled and was pulled off the bed.
"Wei Daoshu rebelled?" Yin Ping pretended to be calm and looked at the soldiers who rushed into the bedroom.
No one wasted time talking to him. They just knocked him to the ground, tied him up, and took him out of the prefectural government.
Yin Ping's wife, Zhang, sat trembling on the bed, her eyes full of fear.
The soldiers who stayed behind looked at each other, rushed forward, pressed Zhang under them, and took turns ravaging her to vent their anger.
There is a military camp in Anyi City, with 2,000 soldiers. They used to be Xiongnu, but now they have been transferred away and replaced by local recruits. I have only been here for two days, and when I got up in a hurry, I saw a large number of soldiers pouring into the streets.
"Zhao Hei, take your men with you and don't act rashly." A loud shout came from outside.
A dark-faced man in the military camp was stunned for a moment, then responded loudly, "Yes."
After saying this, he immediately turned around, whipped his own confused farmhands with a horse whip, and shouted, "Return to camp, return to camp!"
"Zhang Liu, the master of the family has rebelled. Keep your servants under control and don't help the evildoer." Someone else shouted on the street.
"Yes, sir." Zhang Liu led more than 300 of his soldiers back to the barracks, where they sat on the ground, with their swords unsheathed and bows strung, ready to be on guard.
"Wang Zhuer..."
The shouts came one after another, and in an instant, the agitated soldiers were pacified and returned to their camps, waiting for dawn.
I wonder if Liu Cong would regret it if he saw this scene.
These local tyrants overthrew the grassroots political power of Liu Han's court overnight, causing the county town of Anyi to change color in an instant.
Of course, he should have known the power of the aristocratic families long ago, but he did not dare to take action against them, because that would lead to endless internal friction and give others opportunities.
In today's world, everyone has to compromise. No one can have absolute advantage, and no one can do whatever they want.
******
Unlike the Anyi mutiny, Wenxi County was captured almost without bloodshed.
The county magistrate himself withdrew the Han flag and replaced it with the Jin flag.
On the afternoon of the second day of November, a messenger from the Pei family arrived in Dongyuan County. The county magistrate, without any further ado, summoned two thousand strong men, beheaded hundreds of drunken Hu soldiers in the city, closed the city gates, and returned to Jin.
Almost at the same time, Pei dispatched thousands of infantry and cavalry to intercept the messenger on the post road from Wenxi to Chenguan and persuade the baggage convoy to return.
Most of the convoys that transported grain and fodder to Chenguan came from various counties in Hedong.
As the most powerful family in Hedong, the Pei family's orders were no less than those of the governor. Seeing Pei's actions, they were surprised, but as if they had realized something, they all went back home - it would be great if they could send out less food, after all, the Pei family would hold up the sky if it fell.
Of course, some people stayed, and they were families with strong ambitions.
Pei sent people to gather them together, then dug trenches on the post road, cut down trees to set up fences, and built fortifications, preparing for a long-term defense.
From a military perspective, this means cutting off the food supply for the troops defending Chenguan Pass.
On the evening of the second day of the Lunar New Year, more than a thousand armored warriors from the old residence of the Pei family in Wenxi arrived at Hankou, where they built fortifications and set up camps, which served as the second line of defense.
As a result, the more than 10,000 Xiongnu troops who were fighting desperately against the Jin army in Wangwu Mountain not only lost their food and equipment replenishment, but also seemed to be locked in a huge cage.
From a broader perspective -
Pei controlled the two counties of Wenxi and Dongyuan, stationed troops in Hankou, and cut off the food supply of Liu Xian, the King of Quyang;
The Wei family controlled the county capital Anyi and captured Yucheng, the main grain station in the Zhongtiao Mountain Pass. The head of the Wei family, Wei Zhan, personally went south to build fortifications on Zhongtiao Mountain to prevent the enemy troops from Dayang and Hongnong from returning to Hedong for assistance.
Fenyin Xue Clan and Jiexian Liu Clan have not yet launched their attacks, but they will soon, in the next few days...
Liu Han's battle situation in Hedong and Hongnong was becoming increasingly corrupt.
(End of this chapter)