Chapter 917 Shangjun

Chapter 917 Shangjun

Chapter 917 Shangjun
The ancient ferry crossing is shaded by elm trees that stretch for dozens of miles.

Naturally, this ferry was called "Yulin".

When the Yellow River flows through this place, it no longer flows east-west, but turns from northwest to southeast.

There is a dilapidated old city wall in the southwest of the river. It is the former site of Shanan County of Yunzhong County in the Han Dynasty. It is not far from Yulindu, only a few miles away. It is located in the present-day Shierliancheng Township of Jungar Banner. The eastern part of Shierliancheng is the old city of the Han Dynasty, the southwestern part is Shengzhou City of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the northwestern part is Dongsheng Youwei City of the Ming Dynasty. At this time, there is only the eastern Han Shanan County.

The Huns were stationed around this earthen city.

On June 16, there were shouts and neighs of horses at the ferry. The Huns stared at the troops and horses gathered on the other side of the river, and remained silent for a long time.

For several days, the two sides have been confronting each other across the river, and the atmosphere is very tense.

Sometimes, the Xianbei people would look for a small ferry with not so good conditions and ferry more than a hundred people across the river. When the Xiongnu found out, they would immediately intercept them, surround and shoot them on horseback, concentrate their superior forces, and push them into the river in one fell swoop.

Relying on the mighty Yellow River, the Huns barely maintained the confrontation, but in other words, they could not cross the river. At least the Xianbei cavalry, who came here on whose orders no one knew, would not watch them do so.

Towards evening, Shi Le, on the order of Liu Chang, the commander-in-chief of the army, the governor of Shangjun and the Duke of Henan, dispatched knights to patrol the Yellow River - the former governor of Shangjun, Liu Yang, had died of illness.

Shi Hu was full of complaints: "The emperor lives in Chang'an, I'm afraid he doesn't know the inside story of Shengle. The Xianbei people have all fled to Wang's mother and son, and we still expect them to join us in fighting against the Shao bandits."

The wrinkles on Shi Le's face became deeper and deeper, almost enough to pinch a mosquito to death.

His nephew kept complaining, but he had nothing to say.

"Liu Chang is also a loser. In such a poor place like Shangjun, he insisted on keeping hundreds of concubines and female entertainers." Shi Hu continued, "He still has a good excuse, saying that he used to enjoy himself in Chang'an, but now he is suddenly in a desolate place, suffering every day, so what's wrong with enjoying a beauty? Pah!"

Shi Le glanced at him and said, "You should marry a wife."

Shi Hu's face suddenly turned ugly.

Shi Le patted his nephew's shoulder gently.

This uncle and nephew can be said to be in the same boat, as their wives were both lost to the thief Shao.

Liu has already given birth to children for Shao the thief, but there is no news about Guo. She must have been taken home by Guo's people in Taiyuan, right?

"Uncle, we shouldn't fight anymore." Shi Hu said sternly, "We should withdraw our troops now, return to Shangjun, and guard the gates carefully. We don't know whether Tuoba Yihuai is alive or dead, and Helan Aitou may have been killed by his tribe. If we wait any longer, how long can we wait?"

Shi Le was silent for a long time before he said, "The emperor is at his wit's end. He has suffered heavy casualties while attacking Hedong, but he still cannot take down Hou Feihu's camp. He is desperate and is trying all kinds of methods. This is probably what he is talking about."

"I heard that the Zhang family in Liangzhou no longer regards Shengle as the legitimate dynasty?" Shi Hu asked.

Shi Le said nothing, just nodded.

Before the Tuoba Xianbei split, they were extremely powerful. Tuoba Yulu defeated Liu Hu and was feared by people near and far. After experiencing civil strife, the Zhang family of Liangzhou sent envoys to declare themselves vassals, hoping to use the prestige of Tuoba Xianbei to help them consolidate their position and suppress those who opposed them. But after Tuoba Yulu was murdered by the mother and son of the Qi family, the prestige of the Dai Kingdom declined greatly and could no longer intimidate people.

"Uncle, the emperor has recently favored the Jin brothers and alienated the virtuous. I think there will be a big chaos." Shi Hu looked around and said, "It's best to make plans early."

Shi Le glanced at his nephew and asked, "What do you think?"

"We have been managing Shuofang for three years and have achieved some success. Now is the time to invest heavily." Shi Hu said, "I am not talented, but I am willing to lead 3,000 soldiers to station in Shuofang and serve as my uncle's vanguard."

Shi Le thought for a long time, but never gave a positive answer. He only said: "The situation is critical, and we can't do without you. I will choose someone else for Shuofang."

Shi Hu was very anxious, but he remained calm and said respectfully, "Yes."

The two of them remained silent.

As the sky gradually darkens, smoke from cooking rises and the whole area becomes peaceful and quiet.

The grassland in summer also has a different scenery.

And in this quiet moment, several messengers came running from the east, and after some negotiations, they hurried into Shanan City.

After hearing the report, Shi Le and Shi Hu, uncle and nephew, were shocked and confused.

Shi Le had experienced more and was very experienced in failure. He immediately summoned his trusted officers and said in a low voice: "When you go to each camp, have the soldiers secretly pack their luggage and bring more dry food. Take away the baggage that can be taken, and throw away the baggage that cannot be taken. Don't feel sorry. Send people to various places to find people grazing horses, cattle and sheep, and have them move as soon as possible. As for Bai Tu, tell them not to transport food here, and wait for a while."

When everyone heard this, they were shocked.

"Uncle, why did you do this?" Shi Hu couldn't help asking, "Even though you packed your luggage secretly, it would still make some noise. Sooner or later, Liu Chang would know about it. If he blames you, it would be difficult to deal with."

"Listen to me." Shi Le's face was stern, and he said, "The thief Shao likes to drive tigers to devour wolves. Now Yihuai and Aitou have fled far away. Even if the Shengle tribes are dissatisfied in their hearts, they still have to show some kindness to Wang's mother and son. If they want to rebel, they won't do it at this critical moment. I think Qiu Dun has been urged by Wang's people to send troops westward to attack my flank."

After hearing this, Shi Hu stopped objecting.

This is indeed very possible. Qiu Dun led more than 10,000 people across the Yellow River to the west, and from the direction, he was just to their east.

Previously, the two sides had sent envoys to each other, and on the surface, their relationship was good. Qiu Dun also did not respect Wang's mother and son very much, and her words were full of contempt, as if she was ready to rebel at any time.

But now it seems that the Xianbei are still the Xianbei after all, and they still listen to their own people at critical moments. This cohesion is surprising.

"I'll arrange it right away." Shi Hu no longer hesitated, turned around and left, and the generals also left one after another.

Shi Le climbed up an earthen platform and looked towards the east.

Unfortunately, it was already night and all I could see was the starry sky in the east, nothing else.

But Shi Le looked at the dark field, but he didn't dare to relax. He was afraid. He had failed too many times. Whenever there was a slight disturbance, he would think of Shao Ze. That man took away everything from him and made his wife pregnant several times to humiliate him.

Shi Le didn't care much about women, what he cared about was strength.

After several years of business in Shangjun, I finally accumulated some wealth. But who knows how much hard work I put in?
If everything is lost in one day, wouldn't you feel sad?

He has not given up yet. He wants to wait until Shao himself makes one stupid move after another, the country is in chaos, he dies and his country is destroyed, and he becomes a laughing stock of the world.

Shi Hu and his men quickly dispersed to various camps. After a while, there was a commotion in the camp, which soon stopped.

Thousands of people silently packed up their equipment, supplies, and bedding, then sat on the ground, quietly waiting for the next order.

Shi Le felt somewhat relieved.

After several years of training, the troops are now able to enforce discipline and have shown some signs of discipline.

The sound of horse hooves rang out.

A moment later, voices were heard outside the gate.

Zhang Jing hurried up to the high platform and reported: "Your Majesty, Qiu Dun led 10,000 cavalrymen to the east and defeated the troops of the Duke of Tianshui. They are galloping towards this side. The Duke of Henan has sent people to the east to intercept them and ordered the entire army to retreat south."

After that, he continued, "I met an old friend in the city and chatted with him for a while. According to him, people from Wuyuan have also started to cross the river to the south."

"Wuyuan?" Shi Le heard it without hesitation and said, "Let's go. We can't stay here."

Zhang Jing nodded, but when he saw Shi Le's slightly hunched back, he felt a little confused again.

******
On June 18, Liu Lugu, no matter how reluctant he was, bypassed Wuyuan and marched south.

Hedouling also returned to the old place where they had grazed several years ago. In addition to managing the grassland, he sent 5,000 cavalry south, led by Dou Yuzhen and under the command of Liu Lugu, and they marched south in a mighty force.

For Liu and Dou, this was not the first time they had arrived here.

Once upon a time, the Dugu tribe, then called the Tiele Xiongnu, was nomadic in the place where the Xiongnu troops are stationed today.

The Dou family also grazed in Wuyuan, distributed on both sides of the river (the Yellow River was to the north at that time), and had frequent contacts with nearby tribes.

After they went south, they did not delay too much, but made a circle, turned east and headed straight for Shangjun.

When tribes near and far heard the news, they became panic-stricken.

Someone sent an envoy to contact them, offering cattle, sheep and horses as consolation and inquiring about their intentions. After learning that the target was not them, they felt a little relieved, but they also secretly recruited young men and prepared for a surprise attack.

Some people just slipped away.

The tent was dismantled and loaded onto the carriage.

The cattle and sheep were gathered and ran away into the distance.

On the prairie, there were tribes everywhere moving in a hurry. Some went to live with relatives, while others went to graze on uninhabited pastures, but those pastures actually belonged to someone else.

A certain tribe was grazing here in the spring. When they had eaten most of the grass, they moved to another place and only left a few people to guard it and wait for the grass to grow.

The tribe that fled here directly expelled these people and occupied the newly cultivated pastures...

Therefore, a conflict is inevitable.

There are also some tribes that were beaten and subdued by Shi Le over the years, and were conquered by using Liu Han's tiger skin.

They were hesitant, not knowing whether to continue following Shi Le or simply draw a clear line with him.

Under the general trend, the whole Henan area was suddenly in turmoil.

Even the two sides that were not in direct conflict were passively affected. Some changed their positions and surrendered, some gathered young men to defend their homes, and some fled with their entire families. In short, Henan, which had been generally peaceful for decades, ushered in a turbulent era.

Also on the 18th, the Che Kun clan, the Yilu clan and other tribes gathered more than 10,000 people. After the Huns abandoned the ferry, they crossed the river in batches and began to pursue them.

In this way, the Tuoba Xianbei launched an expedition in three directions. One direction was led by Qiu Dun, with more than 10,000 cavalrymen attacking from east to west at night. The Xiongnu retreated in panic, losing thousands of people.

One group was led by Liu Lugu, who also had more than 10,000 cavalrymen. They set out from Wuyuan, first heading south and then east, intercepting the Xiongnu's baggage train. They were lucky enough to find several temporary grazing places for horses, cattle and sheep, and gained a lot.

The main force in the front was composed mainly of the Yilu clan, who were a step slow in crossing the river and could only follow in pursuit from behind.

On the 19th, Qiu Dun chased to Shangjun and looted extensively.

On the 20th, Liu Lugu led his army to fight against the Huns and defeated them.

At this point, the battlefield shifted to Shangjun.

Liu Chang retreated hastily with more than 20,000 people, losing all his baggage and many temporary grazing grounds.

Among all the troops, Shi Le's troops suffered the least losses.

They ran the fastest and even brought back some baggage, but as the Xianbei army approached, they had to make another decision.

(End of this chapter)