Chapter 930: The soldiers I send to fight are not from my country

When Jin Zhun returned to Chang'an City, he first inspected the military camp.

He is now the General of Chariots and Cavalry, responsible for the entire defense of Chang'an, and all troops must obey his orders.

But that's just talk. Are there really so many people who listen to it?

There are only 10,000 people in the city, including the guards and imperial guards. Now they have all been mixed together and divided into five parts.

Four divisions took turns guarding the city walls, and one division took turns guarding the palace.

Those in charge of these troops include members of the Liu Han royal family and the in-laws, the Huyan clan, so it is difficult for outsiders to interfere.

Up to now, only the two thousand men led by the Right Guard General Jin Ming are available. This is because the emperor dotes on Queen Jin Yuehua and trusts the Jin family very much. Otherwise, there would be no chance at all.

Of course, there are also thousands of soldiers from the city's own tribe who can be used.

The main force of the tribe had fled westward to Qinzhou, but some of the best and strongest were conscripted to Chang'an. Jin Zhun used his power to deploy them inside the city instead of leaving them outside to fight with the siege bandits.

There are no less than three thousand people like this, and they can produce miraculous results at critical moments.

While thinking, Jin Zhun patrolled silently and soon arrived at a camp.

The people stationed here were servants from wealthy families who were conscripted from Chang'an, a total of 2,000 people with average combat effectiveness, and they were led by Xin Shu, the prefect of Shiping.

When they were about to enter the camp, they heard Xin Shu arguing with someone from afar. His voice was quite loud and could be vaguely heard outside - this also indirectly showed that some people really did not have much awe for the Han people.

"At first I wanted to recruit soldiers to hold out in Shiping, but the emperor didn't allow it and ordered me to lead troops to rescue. I obeyed the order, but halfway through, the emperor ordered me to withdraw my troops, and I obeyed the order again. As a result, we were defeated by the Xianbei people, and only hundreds of the three thousand men returned." Xin Shu's voice was full of resentment, and Jin Zhun could almost imagine that the spittle was about to spray on his face.

"When I returned to Shiping, the county town had been occupied by others. I had no choice but to come to Chang'an in a hurry without a single soldier." Xin Shu continued to complain. He only said: "I am loyal to the emperor, but how much food and grass have I been given after the siege for several days? I killed a few old and weak horses to fill my stomach, so what? Do you think they are cannibals?"

"I think we should just open the city and surrender. There's news from the west of the city that Lord Liang has returned. If we surrender to him, he will definitely make the decision for us, the scholars of Xizhou. Isn't that better than waiting to die here?"

"Keep your voice down? What do I have to fear? I am worthy of the emperor, but is the emperor worthy of me? He made a fool of three thousand men, and now he only cares about his slaughtering soldiers and ignores us. Humph, this is the way to death."

"Mr. Hu is an important official in the court. Shouldn't he persuade the emperor to step down? The emperor's strategy is not difficult to guess. He just wants to wait for the army besieging the city to collapse. But how can this be so easy? Hou Feihu has fought for twenty years and knows everything about the army. He is not a scholar who suddenly took charge of the army. It is not easy to trick him. I think the army besieging the city has not collapsed yet, but the army defending the city has collapsed first."

"Stop talking, stop talking..." Another voice sounded, which sounded like the voice of Guanglu Doctor Hu Xun.

Jin Zhun listened for a moment and didn't want to listen anymore, so he left quietly without even patrolling Xinying.

With a sad face, he arrived at the headquarters of General Jin Ming's troops in the north of the city.

Jin Ming lived in the city tower, but he looked listless. When Jin Zhun arrived, he was drunk.

"Brother." Seeing Jin Zhun come in, Jin Ming was too lazy to get up and just said hello.

Jin Zhun stood there, looking at his cousin coldly.

Jin Ming couldn't bear his gaze, sat up straight, bowed, and said, "How are you, brother?"

"It's not good to see you like this." Jin Zhun snorted coldly and said.

"What do I look like?" Jin Ming sneered and said, "I'm going to die soon, so I'll just live one day at a time. What's wrong with drinking a little and playing with women?"

Just as he finished speaking, there was a commotion in the north of the city, and people were shouting from both inside and outside the city.

Jin Ming sat at the window and looked over to see that the army besieging the city was demolishing the houses outside the city. In order to demolish the houses faster, they even set fire to them, causing thick smoke.

There seemed to be shouting and killing sounds in the thick smoke.

Jin Zhun also walked over and looked outside the city. He saw more than 2,000 cavalrymen rushing along the wide and straight post road, and they had a fierce collision with the Huyan cavalry under the account of the King of Runan. Countless people fell off their horses at once.

The knights on both sides did not retreat, but urged their horses to fight again and again.

Among the bandits, there was an old Qiang with disheveled hair who was very brave. Wearing a brand new Ming Guang armor, he charged left and right, poking, stabbing, and smashing with his horse lance, and used his skillful techniques to knock down several people repeatedly.

The close followers around him were also unstoppable. They rushed forward with all their might, shouting and yelling, and soon defeated the Huyan cavalry that was blocking their way.

"Kill!" More infantrymen with disheveled hair rushed up, holding spears, swords and shields, chasing after the Huns' defeated cavalry and rushing straight into the camp.

Bandits also came from both sides.

They were so bold that they dared to pass through the smoke-filled house, blocking the Huyan cavalry that were moving to both sides and forcing them to move to the middle.

The Qiang cavalry launched another charge, wedging fiercely into the slightly chaotic Huyan cavalry, cutting it in two.

The Diqiang infantry were not capable of fighting tough battles, but their morale was high when they were fighting a favorable battle. They quickly chased after the Huyan cavalry and killed them as if they were chopping melons and vegetables. They were extremely brave.

"The cavalry charging is from Lao Qiang Yao Yizhong's army." Jin Ming, who was a little tipsy, tried to open his eyes wide and said, "The infantry following behind should be Fengyi Di Qiang. The ones flanking from both sides are the Ba people. Their ability to fight in formation is average, but their soldiers are brave and not afraid of death. Alas, I think the King of Runan can't hold on. I'm afraid that more than 2,000 people have been killed or injured in the past few days. How many people does he have in total? Only 5,000 or 6,000."

"Has the King of Runan requested to enter the city?" Jin Zhun asked.

"I mentioned it once this morning, but I didn't open the city." Jin Ming said. Jin Zhun looked at his cousin quietly.

Jin Ming felt a little scared by his gaze, and half sobered up. He asked, "Brother, why are you looking at me?"

Jin Zhun didn't answer for a long time. Just when Jin Ming was about to say something, Jin Zhun suddenly smiled and asked, "Do you want to live?"

Jin Ming was stunned at first, then he seemed to understand something, and then he looked at his cousin carefully, and after a while he replied seriously: "I want to live."

"If you want to live, listen to me." Jin Zhun said.

Jin Ming felt relieved and happy, but still a little uncertain, so he asked, "Can he really survive?"

"You can survive." Jin Zhun said without hesitation: "There are soldiers everywhere outside the city, with nearly 200,000 people. If you were the King of Liang, what would you think?"

Jin Ming suddenly realized and said, "If I were the King of Liang, I would surrender some of the troops and have them monitor the miscellaneous Hu people in Guanzhong."

Jin Zhun smiled softly and said, "That's right. Besides, the King of Liang said that 'the barbarians and the Chinese are all at peace', which obviously means he will not kill all the Xiongnu tribes, so there is no need to worry."

After that, he sighed again, his eyes slightly red as he said, "In fact, if I had not been at my wit's end and the emperor was really unworthy, I would not have surrendered."

"Brother, why do you have to act like this?" Jin Ming relaxed a lot, and actually picked up the wine bowl again. After taking a sip, he said with a big tongue: "In fact, I have wanted to surrender for a long time. Brother, you have the same idea, right? Why--"

"Shut up!" Jin Zhun's face turned cold and he scolded.

Jin Ming laughed and said, "I understand, I understand."

Jin Zhun shook his head helplessly.

There is really no need to act this out. Is it really necessary for the major Xiongnu clans such as the Jin, Bu, Lan, and Qiao families to be buried with the Tuge clan?

As far as Jin Zhun saw it, they all seemed to have ulterior motives, but no one took the lead for the time being.

The only ones who really followed the Tuge clan to the end were probably the fools like Huyan clan.

They had married into the Tuge clan and had gained too many benefits, so it was not easy for them to separate now.

Hou Feihu on the opposite side was also good at fighting. He actually picked the Huyan tribe stationed in the north of the city and launched a fierce attack, depleting their manpower and crushing their morale, so as to let other tribes see whether they would have a good ending if they followed the Tuge clan.

This person is not simple.

There were many people who knew how to fight, but very few who could also take into account the internal situation of the Xiongnu.

After leaving the north of the city, Jin Zhun went to take a look at the west, south and east of the city.

In the evening, another attack took place in the west of the city. The Tuge cavalry defeated the thousands of bandits who came to besiege the city, but they did not pursue them, and their morale was very low.

After hearing these reports, Jin Zhun was about to enter the palace to visit the emperor, but he was stopped by Huyan Shi, who was in charge of guarding the palace.

Fortunately, Queen Jin Yuehua quietly conveyed the message: the emperor sometimes sighed, sometimes shed tears, and sometimes got drunk, and he had lost all his fighting spirit.

Jin Zhun stood outside the palace for a long time.

Calculating the time, in two or three days, Jin Ming's troops can be transferred to guard the palace.

However, he still had to contact the Jin army in advance.

******
On August 18th, flags were everywhere on the north bank of the Wei River, and soldiers were like rain.

The flag of "General Shao" stood far away on the top of Gaolu City (now Gaoling). Upon hearing the news, the chieftains of various tribes who had not paid an audience with him in advance crossed the river to the north to express their loyalty.

Shao Xun tried to appease them gently and ordered them to return to their respective camps, but he had one thing in mind: strictly control the troops.

After conquering the city, he would collect donations and distribute rewards within Chang'an, but would not allow private looting - this was also his consistent requirement, looting was allowed, but it had to be organized, and random looting was never allowed.

In addition, Pei Zhan, a military officer at the General's Mansion who was supervising the army under Hou Feihu, also secretly reported the matter of Jin's contact.

After listening to this, Shao Xun smiled calmly.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. What else can we do?

After the arrival of his 50,000 troops, the army besieging the city numbered over 200,000, and the able-bodied men from various tribes and the wealthy and powerful farmhands were still transporting food and fodder day and night.

The might of the army was almost comparable to the time when Sima Ying attacked Luoyang from Yecheng more than 20 years ago - the sound of drums could be heard for hundreds of miles.

"Tell Jin Zhun that I have sent a million troops to Chang'an, and I will throw horse whips into the Wei River, which will almost stop its flow." Shao Xun said in high spirits: "If Jin is the first to initiate the righteous cause, he will be rewarded with official titles and meritorious service. If he is hesitant and indecisive, then we will continue to fight. The soldiers I am sending to fight are not our countrymen. If the Di Qiang die, it will reduce the number of bandits in Fengyi; if the Xianbei die, it will reduce the number of bandits in Bingzhou; if the Xiongnu die, it will reduce the number of bandits in Guanzhong. If you kill them, there will be no disadvantages. If you surrender the whole city, Guanzhong will be our land, and you are all our countrymen, so there is no need to die in vain."

After saying this, he sat comfortably on the Hu bed, waiting for the city to fall.

(Please vote in the middle of the month. Three updates tomorrow. I will keep my word.)
(End of this chapter)

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