Chapter 775: Mouse in the Pocket

Chapter 775: Mouse in the Pocket

Chapter 775: Mouse in the Pocket
A distance of seventy miles is not really that long.

Shao Xun temporarily recruited more than a thousand cavalrymen in Jingle to lead the way.

The combat effectiveness of these people left behind in the rear is very poor, and they are not even comparable to the Tianchi headquarters. Don't expect to defeat anyone, it's enough to detect the enemy in advance.

The Yicong Army followed closely behind as backup.

The infantry stretched out their formation and advanced at full speed.

The only danger was that the enemy had ambushed a large number of infantry in the mountains on both sides, but with hundreds of miles of vast mountains, it would be impossible for them to reach here from Pingcheng unless they went without food or water and could fly.

A day later, the tribal light cavalry acting as the vanguard arrived near the ruins of the ancient city of Loufan, and exchanged bows and arrows with the small number of Xianbei cavalry who remained in the city.

Two days later, Shao Xun arrived at the ancient city of Loufan.

At this time, Lan Gu sent a messenger south to the northern border of Xiurong County, then east across the river valley to Jingle, and then south to catch up with the army, reporting: More than a thousand Xianbei cavalry went straight into Lan Gu from Xiurong (now Lan County), but were repelled in order to capture the army alive.

The Caocheng River in the north of Lan Gu County was generally calm, except for the smoke and dust filling the sky, flags everywhere, and the continuous sound of drums and horns, which might indicate a suspected invasion.

After reading it, Shao Xun did not make any adjustments.

It doesn’t matter whether it is a decoy or not, he can’t withdraw the troops stationed there anyway.

The same goes for Tianchi. It is impossible for him to withdraw the palace troops and the Yellow Head Army.

Only when the situation behind him is stable can he fight with peace of mind in the front.

After arriving at the ancient city of Loufan, without building siege equipment, Shao Xun sent a thousand yellow-headed soldiers forward, holding large shields, and directly burned the wooden fence that blocked the gap in the collapsed city wall.

Hundreds of Xianbei cavalry in the city realized that they had no chance of winning a battle on foot, so they fled in a hurry.

At this time, the Xianbei people who had attacked Lan Valley from the northwest also began to rush eastward.

They could not bypass Xiurong and headed straight for the ancient city of Loufan.

On the afternoon of May 9th, the Silver Spear Camp set up obstacles at the confluence of the Fen River and the Lan River to guard against cavalry attacks.

The army was in the rear, with bows and crossbows drawn, ready for battle.

After doing all this, he climbed a hillside on the west bank of the Fen River and looked west.

The enemy's cavalry were sparse and not numerous.

There were probably about sixteen or seventeen hundred soldiers on the hillside, in the river valley, and in the farmland.

The cavalry really got too far with the infantry, and they dared to charge with such a small number of people. I thought it was the era when the Xianbei cavalry defeated tens of thousands of Liu Borgen's rebels in one battle?
"Stop them, don't let them come!" Shao Xun issued an order: "Order Zhang Shuo and Man Yu to mobilize a group of elite troops to push Suotou westward. Send another messenger to Xiurong through a secret route. If the city is still there, order Qiao Yu to gather the herdsmen and harass them from behind."

"If we can contact the capture troops, we can have them move westward and attack Suotou from both sides."

"The Yicong troops stationed at Fangshan should move north along the Lishi River as quickly as possible and join up with the troops stationed at Xiurong."

Nearly 20,000 infantry and cavalry blocked the narrow confluence of the Fen River and the Lan River. The more than 1,000 Xianbei cavalry would definitely not be able to break through. Behind them were the herdsmen of various tribes who were gradually reacting, as well as part of the Zhuosheng Army and the Yicong Army who could be deployed. Shao Xun had no intention of letting them go.

The current battlefield situation is a bit like encirclement and counter-encirclement.

According to what he had learned so far, after the Shiling Pass defenders were defeated, the Xianbei people had already penetrated deep into the Taiyuan Basin and the mountainous areas west of the basin.

This troop should be the vanguard, mainly composed of cavalry, with a large number of horses and draft animals. They carried at least ten days of dry food. They may have also looted some food on the way, or harvested the green wheat that was about to mature in the fields of Jinyang, Xiurong and other counties as supplies.

After leaving Jinyang, they walked westward into the continuous mountains, advanced westward along the flat Fen River Valley, occupied the "T-junction" of the ancient city of Loufan, and then suddenly split into two for some unknown reason - perhaps someone saw Shao Xun's flag and came back to report.

They headed north from the T-junction and marched along the major post road in the Fen River Valley, attempting to raid Jingle and Tianchi.

All I can say is that their style is very bold and aggressive, and I don’t know where they get the confidence from.

Anyway, Shao Xun had fought for so many years, and he had never seen anyone dare to block his retreat with only 2,000 cavalry. Not to mention 2,000, even double that to 4,000 would be seriously insufficient, not to mention that this was not a plain, but a mountainous area.

Another group of Xianbei people attacked Xiurong, and they basically took over the north bank of Lanshui River. However, the county seat was on the south bank of the river, where there were some farmlands and tribes. The commanders of the forts and the leaders of the tribes recruited some young men and confronted the Xianbei people across the river.

The Xianbei people were at a loss for a moment and must have given up the idea of ​​capturing Xiurong County. They continued to rush northwest for dozens of miles, attempting to launch a surprise attack on Langu County, but were discovered by the Zhuosheng army.

Once discovered, the cavalry would be helpless.

To capture the enemy's stronghold, we still have to rely on infantry, but who knows where the Xianbei infantry is, maybe they are far away in Pingcheng.

Combining these two points, Shao Xun boldly judged that this was a tentative invasion to the south by the Xianbei people, or a robbery.

As for the news obtained through torture of prisoners that Tuoba Yulu had assembled tens of thousands of troops, further observation is needed.

This is because even when it was not fighting, it would gather tens of thousands of soldiers and horses for patrol every year.

Apart from other things, when frost did not appear on the Yinshan Mountains in spring and summer, the number of troops, officials and herdsmen was rarely less than 50,000. They marched, set up tents and herded their livestock as they went.

During the autumn harvest and hunting season, more people and horses gather.

This kind of activity happens every year. It is unscientific to judge that they are going to invade the south just because they see them gathering troops.

Only when the Xianbei army moves south to Yanmen and enters Xinxing can we judge that the situation has escalated.

While I was daydreaming, a large cloud of dust came from the west again.

Shao Xun's eyes focused and he looked carefully, only to see many herdsmen in fur coats coming into the valley.

He was a little surprised at first, then he sneered.

It is obvious where these herdsmen come from.

He went down the high slope.

The battle plan had to be adjusted. He originally wanted to quickly get rid of the more than a thousand Xianbei cavalry who were blocked west of Loufan, and then march eastward to Jinyang.

It now seems that we can only send a part of the troops eastward to contact Jinyang, while the main army has to stay in Loufan to eliminate this group of enemy troops and traitors first.

******
As the sun sets, the mountains in early summer become a little chilly.

The purple-robed knight rode his horse up the hill and looked towards the east.

The Lanshui River flows quietly eastward, and near the ancient city of Loufan, it merges with the Fenshui River which flows from north to south, and then flows eastward together, out of the mountains and into the rich Taiyuan Basin.

In the western part of Taiyuan, the road was built in the river valley.

There are mountains on both sides of the valley, stretching for hundreds or even thousands of miles with no end.

The Fen River makes a big turn here, changing from a north-south flow to an east-west flow, so the post road also became a T-junction.

The ancient city of Loufan is on the west bank of the Fen River, in the northern half of the river valley.

Not far from the city is the Lanshui River, a tributary of the Fenshui River. To the south of the Lanshui River there is a flat valley, which gradually becomes rugged further south and extends into the mountains.

The flag of "General Shao" was erected outside the ancient city of Loufan. The Jin soldiers set up camps on the mountain, with flags flying densely.

There were soldiers and horses inside the old city of Loufan, and even trenches were dug and earth walls were built outside the city.

On the flat river valley on the south bank of Lanshui River, a group of yellow-headed people were carrying chevaux de frise and deer antlers.

Warriors wearing iron armor sat on the ground with their weapons beside them, ready to go into battle at any time.

The narrow road was completely blocked by traffic.

"Hena, the new group of people are making trouble." A man came from behind and said breathlessly.

Tuoba Hena suddenly turned around and looked behind him, where there was a lot of noise and commotion.

He didn't understand what was going on, so he looked at the person who came with a puzzled look.

Wasn't it all fine before? They didn't want to be ruled by the thief Shao, and they all patted their chests and said that they had wanted to kill the thief Shao for a long time. The King of Dai led the troops and was willing to send troops. Anyway, what are they doing now?
The shouts of "Run! Run!" echoed throughout most of the valley. When the leaders saw the Silver Spear Army marching in formation following the drumbeats, they were immediately frightened out of their wits, and shouted to their men, and ran away.

"Waste!" Tuoba Hena understood.

These tribesmen who were won over by him were just like the herdsmen under the rule of the thief Shao. They bullied the weak and feared the strong. They ran away when they met a powerful enemy, and surrounded the weak and burned, killed and looted them.

The only difference is probably that Shao Ze really gave some benefits to those who were willing to join him.

For example, the county magistrate Qiao Yu organized his men to defend Xiurong.

For example, the leader of the Bu clan, who brought his herdsmen and slaves to shoot at them across the river.

For example, the Liu clan of the Jie people were on high alert in Jingle.

Hearing that the three had married into the families of the barbarians and could serve as officials in the Han area, and that the thief Shao also supported them to become local leaders and showed them enough favors, they were unwilling to rebel.

Even the ordinary shepherds gained certain benefits.

To put it bluntly, it’s just human nature.

When the thief Shao led his army northward, he was actually just further "conquering cities and territories" based on these events.

It’s just that it was not through military means, but political appeasement with tens of thousands of troops as “guarantee”.

These herdsmen have average combat effectiveness, but they are still capable of pursuing enemy troops, harassing enemy units, and launching ambushes.

The Shao bandits are trying to pacify them, and the Xianbei are also trying to win them over.

Now it seems that Shao Ze is faster and has a greater advantage.

And his soldiers—

Tuoba Hena looked towards the east again.

More than two thousand heavily-armored warriors, armed with swords, shields, spears, and bows, were extremely arrogant and actually formed a wall in the direction of the Xianbei cavalry.

It was rare for Tuoba He to see infantry actively attacking cavalry.

He even began to wonder what kind of battle the thief Shao had fought in the Central Plains that made him so confident in his infantry.

Perhaps, just as he trusted the cavalry under his command, Shao Ze also had great trust in his heavily armored infantry.

The Yicong Army also dispatched a thousand cavalry.

They led their horses out and walked slowly, looking from afar at the Xianbei cavalry who were unable to advance and dared not retreat, with full confidence.

"Hena, what should we do?"

"Hena, it's full of trenches, earth walls, chevaux de frise, and deer horns. We can't get through."

"Let's take a detour and find someone to lead the way."

"Is there a way?"

More followers rushed up the hillside, looking somewhat anxious.

The Xianbei cavalry were brave and fearless, but that didn't mean they were brainless.

The other side relies on cities, rivers, and mountains to set up defense lines and cut off the road. How can you rush forward?
Into the gully? Or into the chevaux de frise?

"How about we charge forward and shoot when we get close?"

"This is not a field battle. People can hide behind the wall and shoot you with arrows. Where are you hiding? Behind a horse?"

Tuoba Hena became more and more annoyed as he listened, and when he was about to scold, the Yicong army in front had already mounted their horses and accelerated westward.

The infantry also quickened their pace, with great momentum.

The rebellious herdsmen ran even faster and disappeared in an instant, bringing the morale of the Xianbei cavalry down to a low point.

Tuoba Hena closed his eyes.

If they cannot break through the front, the Zhuosheng Army or even the Xiurong tribal soldiers may come after them from behind, and attack them from both sides. If they are not careful, they may be destroyed in these mountains.

But the question is, how to run?
After thinking for a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Go up the mountain, run into the mountain."

"This..." Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

We ran into the mountains and got lost before we knew it.

If the army loses its structure, is it still an army? No, it is just a guerrilla force.

Besides, there are no roads in the mountains. At most, there are a few animal trails or small paths that woodcutters have worn out over the years while cutting wood. They are not locals and may not know how to get there.

Furthermore, when there is no road, it is likely that the horses will have to be abandoned.

They are cavalry, what would happen to them without horses?

"Let's go!" Tuoba Hena insisted, "If we stay here, we will die because we are unfamiliar with the place. Go up the mountain and run eastward, bypassing the area where the Shao bandits are stationed, and then go down the mountain. Maybe we will have a chance to escape."

The followers were still somewhat reluctant.

Some even suggested going back west and rushing to the Yellow River to see if there was a ferry that could take them back west. As long as they could cross the west bank of the Yellow River, they could head north back to Shengle, and they would be considered alive.

Tuoba He thought what he heard made sense, and when he was about to change his mind, the battle broke out at the foot of the mountain.

The Yicong Army of 1,000 cavalry launched a swift charge and collided head-on with the Xianbei cavalry, resulting in a fierce fighting.

Tuoba He's eyelids were twitching. If the battle continued like this, the entire army might be defeated before they could move into the mountains or retreat westwards.

"Blow the horn and retreat westward!" Tuoba Hena no longer hesitated, went down the hillside and mounted his horse.

After receiving the order, the Xianbei cavalry no longer wanted to fight, but instead fled westward in a swarm.

The Yi Cong army pursued them relentlessly.

On the ninth night, the two sides fought at Lanshui.

On the morning of the tenth day, Xiurong Chang Qiao Yu led more than a thousand light cavalry to intercept and attack, but was defeated by the Xianbei. However, he also won a great victory by beheading more than 200 people.

On the tenth night, the Xianbei cavalry who were resting were attacked by herdsmen, scaring away more than a thousand grazing horses and causing hundreds of casualties.

On the 11th day, the Xianbei people rushed all the way to Hehejin, and saw from afar the troops of the Zhou family of Runan setting up barriers and guarding their place. With low morale, they returned in a hurry.

That night, they encountered a part of the Zhuosheng Army heading south in Langu County and were defeated.

In the second half of the night, they fled south in panic and encountered two thousand volunteers led by Yin Xi, a cavalry official of the General's Office.

Tuoba Hena was captured alive by Yin Xi, and the rest of his people scattered into the mountains and their whereabouts were unknown.

It is so tragic for a lone soldier to fall into the enemy's pocket.

But these guys are really good at running, scurrying around everywhere. If it weren't for the restrictions of the mountainous terrain, they might have really escaped.

On the afternoon of the 12th, the news was urgently delivered to the ancient city of Loufan.

Shao Xun no longer hesitated and led his entire army eastward to Jinyang.

In addition, he did not forget to load the heads of more than 2,200 Xianbei cavalrymen who had been killed in several previous battles onto carts and take them away.

Tuoba Yulu should like this gift very much. (I attached a map to this comment so that you don't get confused)
(End of this chapter)