Chapter 1161 Ending

Chapter 1161 Ending

Chapter 1161 Ending (Part )

On February 332, the sixth year of Kaiping in Daliang () and the twenty-second year of Li Chengyuheng, several long dragons emerged from Guanghan and slowly arrived at the battlefield.

"Captain Huan." After seeing Huan Wen, Dangqu Prefect Zan Ying dismounted and bowed.

Huan Wen helped him up and said, "Mr. Zan is an elder, why do you have to do this?"

"Of course, of course." Zan Ying smiled, then pointed to the convoy that had just stopped behind him and said, "The Zhu family has newly raised 20,000 hu of rice, 500 cattle, and 100 jars of wine."

Huan Wen nodded and said nothing more.

Zan Ying followed his gaze and looked towards the hills ahead.

The battle is unfolding.

On the undulating hillside, rows of Bantunman soldiers were advancing rapidly and launching an attack on the Chengjun camp.

At the foot of the hill, the second group of two thousand people were ready and began to move forward slowly.

If the front team retreats without fighting, the rear team will directly kill the front team without any mercy.

After these two groups, a group of mixed Hu cavalry had already drawn their bows and were riding their horses.

The soldiers of the Right Cavalry Guard sat on the ground in their armor, ready to mount their horses and charge at any time.

They were all supervisory teams. This was a typical "using cavalry to suppress infantry" tactic, that is, light and heavy cavalry would guard the rear, and once the infantry fought ineffectively, they would directly attack from behind and suppress them on the spot.

Duan Liang's troops arrived on the morning of the 20th. They were exhausted and unable to fight, so they transferred the Bandunman who had just captured Guanghan to attack Li Cheng's camp.

The battle started on the 21st. Perhaps because the two sides were familiar with each other, the fighting was not very intense. After attacking for a whole day, there was no progress at all.

Duan Liang was furious. Ban Dun Man explained that after several days of pacification and reorganization, Li Cheng's soldiers were no longer so panicked. They were protected by the camp and had rested more fully, so they recovered. It would be difficult to fight them now.

Duan Liang only partially agreed with what they said, and strictly ordered that they launch a fierce attack the next day and not to be sneaky or evasive.

The Bandun barbarians also knew that they had to work hard, and they attacked fiercely all day on the 22nd, regardless of casualties.

Seeing the ruthless Bantun barbarians, the defenders cursed. At the critical moment, Li Xiong came to the front to boost morale. The two sides fought until dusk. The Bantun soldiers broke through a flank camp, captured and killed more than 3,000 people, and then attacked the adjacent camps. The battle lasted until nightfall before they called off the battle.

In the second half of the night, Duan Liang led a unit of the Right Cavalry Guard with more than a thousand men and two thousand Xiongnu and Shiloushan Hu soldiers to launch a surprise attack, destroying a camp and killing the general Li Yi.

During the day on the 23rd, the Bandunman continued to attack. Li Xiong went to the front of the battlefield for the second time to boost morale, but he seemed to be not in good health and soon withdrew.

The morale of the army was somewhat low, and the Bandun barbarians broke into the camp. General Jianwei Li Qi was injured, and his uncle Ran Yuan led his guests to rescue him, but he died on the spot - Ran Yuan, the younger brother of Li Xiong's concubine Ran, was one of the Bandun minor surnames, originally "Nian", but changed his surname to "Ran" after sinicization.

After nightfall, the Right Cavalry Guard led the Zaohu to launch an attack as usual, but they were met with an attack from the Cheng army cavalry. The Zaohu cavalry waiting at the foot of the mountain took advantage of the situation and attacked. The two sides engaged in a fierce battle on the hillside and then stopped fighting.

Today is the fourth day of the siege. The cavalry of Cheng Jun attacked again and fought a fierce battle with the Right Cavalry Guard. The Cheng Jun was defeated, and less than 500 of them escaped back to the camp.

After the Cheng army's cavalry was defeated, the shield soldiers launched an attack weakly.

Zan Ying watched from the side and sighed in her heart.

This is the price you must pay for surrendering and returning to the right path. If someone forces you to attack the camp, will you obey?

At this moment, another team came from the north.

Zan Ying looked in the direction of the voice and recognized at a glance that it was a Liao person.

He was too familiar with these mountain people.

The officials of the Jin Dynasty exploited and abused them, but Li Cheng simply "pardoned" their crimes and allowed them to live outside the mountains. He immediately won the hearts of the people, so that a considerable number of Liao people went to fight for Li Cheng's court.

Now it seems that Li Cheng's favor has its limits after all.

Now, some Liao tribes have also surrendered, and their young men have been conscripted to attack their former benefactor Li Xiong.

The Emperor of Daliang is truly...

Use the government troops to suppress all the states in the world, use the imperial army to quickly conquer those who disobey, and then mobilize the troops of military towns, tribes, vassal states, and powerful families to fight in all directions. These mobilized troops will then drive the surrendered soldiers and even capture the young men themselves, forcing them to attack cities and strongholds.

Use cavalry to defeat infantry, and the rear team to kill the front team, and then promise a generous reward after the battle...

Emperor Liang really figured out a set of effective methods.

This method seems to be able to stabilize the place in the long run, but the successor cannot be a mediocre person, otherwise he may not be able to control it effectively.

After Zan Ying delivered the food and grass, two thousand of his troops were left behind to attack Li Cheng's camp the next day. He agreed with a wry smile.

The battle on the 24th lasted until sunset.

More than 2,000 soldiers of the Right Cavalry Guard launched a swift assault in the end. They stepped on the trench that was almost filled with corpses, climbed over the wall under the arrows, and engaged in a fierce battle with Cheng’s army inside and outside the camp wall.

Li Xiong seemed to appear again. Arrows almost fell at his feet, but his thin and sick body did not retreat. He used a hoarse voice to boost morale. The soldiers were encouraged and fought desperately, but they could not drive the Liang people out.

In the end, General Ren Yan led his personal troops to fight hard, but he could only escort Li Xiong back to the central army camp and abandoned the camp occupied by the Liang people.

Zan Ying withdrew his gaze from afar.

The army has been stretched to its limit. Even if rewards are given out, morale is boosted, or the guests who are well-maintained are sent out to fight to the death, it will be of no avail.

Sure enough, after nightfall, General Wei Bo led two thousand men down the mountain to surrender, which greatly shook the morale of the remaining troops of Cheng's army.

The Tianshui Wei family is a noble family of the six counties. If they have lost confidence, what will happen to the others...

******
Under the flickering light, Li Xiong lay on the couch, looking sideways at the two coffins in the camp.

Li Qi eventually died, succumbing to his wounds, just one day later than Ran Yuan. These were his closest people.

Since the expedition, one son, one nephew, one relative-in-law, and several meritorious generals have died.

The most core and loyal people of Dacheng are destined to perish here.

And if they all die, Dacheng will no longer exist.

A country is made up of people. Most people don't really care who rules them. What you need to hold on to are those who share weal and woe with you and have the same interests as you. The royal family, relatives by marriage, and nobles are the core.

Li Xiong has always done this.

With the more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians who moved south from the six counties as the core - now it has grown to 200,000 or 300,000 - they formed an alliance with the Bandun barbarians to deepen the ties, and gave the sons of the wealthy families in the six counties official positions and money, allowing them to be superior to the people of Shu. Finally, they pardoned the Liao people, won their hearts, and slowly consolidated the status of those who moved south in Shu.

He once thought seriously that this generation must do so, but by the time the next generation comes, the Dacheng Kingdom will be slightly more stable, and perhaps Li Ban can slowly improve the status of the Shu people and eventually integrate them into one.

From this perspective, Li Ban, who had close relations with the scholars in Shu and was kind and filial, was the perfect successor because he could gradually dilute or even eliminate the conflicts between the soldiers and civilians who went south and the people of Shu, which was crucial to the long-term stability of the Dacheng foundation.

But now it seems that Dacheng may not have a second generation.

At this time, Li Xiong suddenly felt a strange sense of relaxation. It was as if the heavy burden on his shoulders and the anxiety in his heart had all disappeared, and he was completely relieved of the heavy burden.

After letting out this breath, the fatigue that had been suppressed and the hidden injuries accumulated in his early years all came up in an instant, making him dazed.

There seemed to be another exciting drum beat outside, and the sound of killing in the wind was getting closer and closer.

He heard it, but he felt lazy all over and didn't want to move at all, as if nothing in this world could arouse his interest.

Everything is just a passing cloud, nothing matters.

Life is only a few decades long and seems like a dream.

There were hurried footsteps and faint cries coming from outside the tent, but from beginning to end, no one entered the tent as they were all stopped by the guards.

Okay, that's it, don't disturb me.

I am tired and exhausted. I can't accompany you any longer.

Whoever wants this kingdom can take it.

Shao Xun, you must be very tired, right? Managing so many things, fighting wits and courage with others, exhausting all your energy, even if you appear to be majestic and do what you say, but when the music ends and the people closest to you leave, there will always be a trace of fear, loneliness, fatigue, and confusion in your heart. You are tired, don't deny it.

The night becomes darker and darker.

The sounds of killing became more and more intense.

The morale of the tens of thousands of remaining troops was at an extremely low level. The sounds of fighting and crying were everywhere.

Perhaps judging that Cheng's army was on the brink of collapse, Duan Liang decisively sent the Liao people and Zan Ying's shield soldiers who had just arrived during the day into the battle and launched a siege from all directions.

Li Ba, the cavalry commander of the Cheng army, led 500 cavalrymen to launch a charge, killing the barbarians and forcing them to retreat.

Duan Liang mobilized various cavalry units and besieged Li Ba's troops in a valley. He attacked them repeatedly and eventually annihilated them completely, leaving no one alive.

The military camp that was once arranged like a hedgehog has completely lost its former ferocity and has become a dilapidated house with leaks everywhere.

In the second half of the night, the soldiers of Feilong Mountain killed Li Shi, the Grand Guardian, and approached the central army camp where Li Xiong was.

General Ren Yan gathered troops from everywhere and fought desperately. After sending people to the imperial tent again and again, he was extremely sad and angry when he learned that the emperor had fallen into a coma.

At dawn on the 25th, after a night of fierce fighting, only three or four thousand people were left in the army. They gathered in the central camp, looking terrified.

Li Du, Li Bao, Zan Jian, Ren Yan and other royal family nobles gathered in the imperial tent, looking at Emperor Li Xiong who was on his deathbed.

Li Xiong smiled with difficulty.

He knew his own physical condition very well. Perhaps he could hold on for a few more days, or even longer, but he had given up the desire to live because it was meaningless.

"After I die, everyone should surrender." Li Xiong looked at everyone and said, "The soldiers and horses that were put together here and there have fought with me until now. The soldiers are worthy of me, but I feel ashamed of them."

"Shao Xun has great ambitions and wants to change the world. There are more than 200,000 young men from the six counties, scattered all over Shu, and they have many constraints on the aristocratic families. As long as they retire and live their own lives, Shao Xun will not do anything to them."

"Enough people have died in this world, enough..."

"If the Li family members encounter bad circumstances in the future, you should not complain. It is useless and will only increase casualties. Just give up..."

"I will go ahead. In my next life, I wish to be a commoner in the mountains, working from sunrise to sunset..."

The voice gradually became lower.

Everyone was crying and didn't know what to do.

On this day, Emperor Cheng Li Xiong died.

Li Du was unwilling to surrender, so he led hundreds of people down the mountain and died in battle.

Zan Jian committed suicide in the camp.

Ren Yan, Li Bao and others led 3,000 remnants to surrender, and the battle of Guanghan ended.

On the 27th, the army rested for a day, and on the second day, Duan Liang led his troops to Chengdu.

(End of this chapter)