Chapter 737: North-South Confrontation

Chapter 737: North-South Confrontation

Chapter 737: North-South Confrontation (Part )

When Liu Cong left, he selected five thousand strong men and headed north to Pu Zi.

It’s not that we don’t want to mobilize more troops, but there are objective difficulties.

In recent years, many core tribes of the Xiongnu have migrated westward, and they have suffered repeated defeats. Where did they get so many soldiers?

All Liu Cong had at his disposal were actually 6,000 imperial guards.

So he really risked everything on this expedition and took with him all the soldiers who could fight.

At this point, there were only a few hundred imperial guards left in Pingyang City, plus a variety of people managed by the Weiwei, the City Gate Captain, and the Pingyang Magistrate - these people were good at taking bribes and suppressing the people, but they were really incapable of fighting.

There are guards in the palace, but these people are good at arresting thieves and arranging ceremonial guards, but they are not good at fighting.

On the morning of the 19th, Liu Cong felt a chill in his heart as he watched the Pingyang men and herdsmen from various tribes arriving one after another.

He usually acts high and mighty, and doesn't even know that the local situation has become like this.

The young and strong men who came according to the orders were both old and young, but there were not many young and strong people.

Liu Cong suddenly looked at General Wang Teng, who was the one who did this.

Wang Teng was not panicked and reported: "Your Majesty, we have been recruiting strong men since the beginning of the year, but there are not many left now. The number of people crossing the river to the west is increasing day by day, and many strong men have gone. Yesterday, Your Majesty issued an edict to select 5,000 strong men to go north to Puzi, and I have done so."

Make bricks without straw.

This is the situation. I have made it clear. You can handle it as you wish.

Among the five Xiongnu tribes, there were many nobles.

The Liu and Huyan families were basically in the same boat, intermarrying for generations, rising and falling together.

There are also famous surnames such as Wang, Bu, Qiao, Jin, and Ma, each with its own tribe.

Wang Teng was born in the Wang family. Before him, Wang Zhang and Wang Hun followed Liu Yuan to serve in Sima Ying's court, and later returned to Xiongnu to serve as officials. Generally speaking, the Wang family actually had a close relationship with the Liu family and was considered a relatively loyal noble.

Wang Teng did his best in the tasks assigned by Liu Cong.

The young men are not stupid. They have long legs and can hide and run.

The clan leaders and tribal leaders also have their own selfish motives, and time is short. All these factors combined have led to the current situation.

There were a lot of old men in their forties and fifties with gray beards.

There were a lot of snotty-nosed, childish-looking teenagers.

Of course, there are still some strong and healthy ones, but they are fewer in number.

Liu Cong thought about it and couldn't bear to blame him, so he sighed silently and said, "Now that the troops are ready, let's send them out."

After saying this, he got on the imperial carriage.

Civil and military officials followed him in a grand procession.

General Guanwei Bu Chu was ordered to stay in Pingyang.

At this moment, he was standing on the top of the city wall, looking at the more than 20,000 troops marching southward in a tragic manner, and he couldn't help but hide his tears and sigh.

He knew about the conscription of young men and felt very sad.

Soldiers are needed in Luliang Mountain, Guanjuejin, Chenguan, Hongnong, and Wuling Road - by the way, there are still several thousand elite soldiers in the north and south roads of Wuling, and they should have been ordered to withdraw by now.

Soldiers are needed everywhere, people are dying everywhere, and after fighting for so long, is the Han Dynasty going to be destroyed?

Then he looked towards the north again.

In the vast mountains, bloody fighting continues, and no one knows how long they can hold out.

I really hope the snow will fall heavier to slow down the advance of Shao's troops and buy more time for the emperor.

He looked west again.

The weather is getting colder and the river is about to freeze. What is the prince's plan?

In fact, he did not want the prince to come because Hedong had already rebelled. If the army passed through here, the logistics and food routes would be exposed to the Hedong nobles.

I heard that the prince had appeared in Fengyi and the vanguard had even crossed the river, which might be able to help the emperor.

******
After Liu Cong went south, he advanced extremely quickly and headed straight for Wenxi.

But Wenxi was not the first battle, Jie County was: On the 20th, more than 10,000 Xiongnu infantry and cavalry advanced eastward and defeated the young men recruited by Liu.

On the 22nd, after Shao Shen and Yang Hui wiped out the remaining enemies, they arrived in Anyi to discuss their next move.

Liu Cong retreated to Pingyang, so there was no need to deal with him in a hurry. Shao Shen proposed to attack Puzhou Pass to cut off the Huns' retreat.

The river was almost frozen, and if it was delayed for a while, it would freeze over. The ice on the newly frozen Yellow River was thin and brittle, not strong enough for people and horses to pass through, and it would take some time before it could be frozen over.

These days of thin and brittle ice are very difficult to endure.

There was no way to sail, no way to walk, and they could only stare blankly. However, there was a floating bridge at the three cities of Pujin Pass, which could allow people and horses to pass. As long as this place was taken, Liu Cong would not be able to escape.

Yang Hui was a little hesitant.

Most of the soldiers he brought were from Puyang, Chenliu, Gaoping and Dongping. Their combat effectiveness was uneven, especially the soldiers from Puyang and Chenliu. They were originally strong men and hereditary soldiers. Their combat effectiveness was not as good as that of the regular army of the Xiongnu. After a few years, there was some improvement, but it was only slightly stronger, which was a bit risky.

Shao Shen saw through his thoughts and was a little unhappy. He said, "How can you win a war for sure? You are so timid. Why don't you just go back to being a governor? Why lead troops?"

Yang Hui was born in Yanggongwu, Yiyang, and was an old acquaintance of Shao Shen. Hearing this, he felt a little ashamed, so he stopped arguing and only muttered, "The Pujin Pass defenders may not go to the battle."

Shao Shen was about to say something when he saw the messenger rush in and report: "Two commanders, three days ago Liu Cong led his army south and attacked Hedong. His elite vanguard has reached the outskirts of Wenxi City, killed the messenger, and slaughtered the people. We don't know where Liu Cong is."

Shao Shen and Yang Hui looked at each other after hearing this.

The argument is over.

At any time, Liu Cong is more worthy of attention, after all, he is the emperor and more valuable.

Shao Shen cleared his throat and was about to say something, but was interrupted again.

Another messenger came in and reported, "Du Hou asks the two commanders to attack Puzhou Pass and block Liu Can's reinforcements." "Damn it, they are trying to steal the credit!" Shao Shen said angrily.

But he was only angry for a moment.

He was in Anyi and Hou Feihu had just come out of Wangwu Mountain. Logically speaking, it should be them who should stop Liu Can.

If he competed with Hou Feihu for credit, resulting in the exposure of the flank and the collapse of the entire army, his uncle would certainly not forgive him.

Not to mention the nephew, even the son would be beheaded.

After thinking it over, he sighed and was ready to accept it, but he saw from the corner of his eye that the messenger had not left yet, and asked unhappily, "What else?"

"Hou Dushang borrowed the soldiers and their followers from the three Longxiang Prefectures of Xia Lou, Liangqiu and Jiafu." said the messenger.

"Your mother is a slave!" Shao Shen finally couldn't hold back his anger anymore and started cursing.

Even Yang Hui, who usually had a good temper, looked worried.

Hou Feihu was also smart. He knew that among all the soldiers going to the expedition, these three from Longxiang Prefecture were the most capable fighters. They were all veterans of the army. So why were they going to be borrowed?

The messenger lowered his head and dared not say more.

After a long silence, Shao Shen suppressed his anger and said, "Lend it! Lend it to him! If he can't bring back Liu Cong's head, I will scold him when I see him next time."

After saying that, he glanced at Yang Hui and said, "Let's go to Yishi and Jie County and push Liu Can westward."

******
On the 24th, outside the Pei manor, more than 20,000 Hun troops set up camp and waited for orders.

Liu Cong felt a little regretful.

Since we moved south, we have not been able to capture any enemy.

There were forts everywhere, and the farmhands hid inside, looking at them with cold eyes.

We can definitely conquer it by attacking, but what’s the cost?

Pei's manor was quite large, and there were many farmhands. In the Hedong area, they might not be as good as the Fenyin Xue family, but they also had a certain fighting power, otherwise they would have been dealt with by the court long ago.

Now everyone is looking at him, waiting for his decision.

Liu Cong suddenly understood something.

Wasn't it just to leave Pingyang that the civil and military officials were willing to follow him in the expedition?

The eunuch Wang Shen had already secretly told him that the ministers in the court sent some of their sons and nephews to go west to Guanzhong, and some even sent their wives away, leaving only concubines with them.

As long as my son left, these people would not be afraid. Now I might also have a chance to leave, isn't that wonderful?

Go south to Hedong to quell the rebellion, and you must also capture the enemy!
Now everyone is hiding in the fortress, what should we do? Moreover, the Pei family has more than one manor. Taking this one and killing some of the Pei family members will not dig up their roots.

Fan Long glanced at Liu Cong secretly and sighed secretly.

Why are the aristocratic families so disgusting? This is a perfect explanation.

You fight them, the losses will be too great.

Don't fight them. As soon as you leave, they will jump out and cut off your food supply.

Use threats and inducements to coerce them, but now that the Jin army has invaded in large numbers, this tactic is useless.

He who wins the hearts of the gentry will win the world, and this is no empty statement.

Shao Xun's harem is full of women from aristocratic families. Is there no reason for that?
"Your Majesty." Fan Long stood up and said, "The Pei family is determined to join the bandit Shao and will not surrender. If we capture this garden, we will probably lose no less than 5,000 people, which is not worth the loss. For now, we should search for the traces of the Jin army and fight them. As long as we defeat their army, the situation may change. Scouts have found that the bandit general Hou Feihu's army is only a few dozen miles away from here. It is better to fight them in the field and defeat them in one fell swoop."

"Your Majesty, you can't do that." Situ Ma Jing stood up and said, "For now, we should hold on and wait for help. The prince's army has crossed the river and is heading east. They will arrive in a moment. It would be better to join forces with these more than 10,000 soldiers and make plans later."

"Your Majesty," said Grand Minister of Agriculture Zhu Dan, "I heard that the King of Ruyin has withdrawn his troops from Wuling. His army is over 8,000. He has gathered herdsmen from the mountains along the way, perhaps over 10,000. We can wait for them to come to our aid."

"Your Majesty, Lengquanshui still has more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry. Withdraw and fight to the death with Shao the bandit."

"The soldiers in Luliang Mountain should just withdraw and fight Shao the thief face to face in this wilderness. Whoever wins will take Hedong."

The Art of War says: "If you prepare for the front, the rear will be weak; if you prepare for the rear, the front will be weak; if you prepare for the left, the right will be weak; if you prepare for the right, the left will be weak; if you prepare for everything, everything will be weak."

Before, everything was prepared, so everything was lacking. After being broken through by the thief Shao, the whole line collapsed.

But you can't be unprepared.

You have also seen the rebellion of the aristocratic families in Hedong. The people's hearts are not with you. Once you let the thief Shao in, they may not necessarily fight a decisive battle with you. You can send light cavalry to plunder, and the main force can occupy various advantageous terrains and build cities and strongholds.

When you attacked, he defended his position and refused to come out.

After you left, they rode down the mountain and burned, killed and looted everywhere.

Over time, one will be defeated without fighting.

But things are different now.

One bandit army crossed the river from Dayang to the north, and another bandit army entered from Chenguan Pass. The defense line has been broken. Then, is it necessary to defend Lengquanshui, Wuling North and South Roads, and Luliang Mountain?

Actually, it doesn’t make much sense.

After hearing this, Liu Cong pondered for a long time and said, "The Duke of Xihe is too far away, so forget it. Order General Bu Tai of the Central Fortress and Liu Jing, the Prince of Ruyin, to come to Wenxi."

After the order was given, Liu Cong no longer hesitated.

On the 25th, Hou Feihu's vanguard and Luoyang's central cavalry of 1,500 cavalry arrived more than ten miles east of the Xiongnu camp.

On the 26th, the cavalry of both sides started fighting.

On the 27th, Hou Feihu led his troops to arrive and set up camp several miles east of Liu Cong's camp.

On the 28th, Shao Xun made a breakthrough on the northern front. Liu Chang, the Duke of Xihe County of the Xiongnu, led his troops to break through and fled south to Shilou Mountain. Hou Feihu selected elite troops and formed a large formation to challenge the Xiongnu.

The war is about to start.

(The third update is complete. Soldiers, please vote quickly.)
(End of this chapter)