Liu Cong's camp was located outside Guangmo Gate in the north of the city.
With 40,000 cavalry, plus various miscellaneous names recruited from surrenders and rebels along the way, the size of the camp is very large.
The larger ones may have thousands or even ten thousand troops stationed, while the smaller ones may have only a thousand troops.
There are intervals between the camps to prevent the collapse of one camp from affecting other camps, or the spread of fire and the burning of all the camps.
Of course, the terrain of the Luoyang Basin is quite spacious and has such conditions for building camps. If it is a place with complex terrain, it will be difficult. More than 80 years ago, a man was burned to death by a fire.
Tens of thousands of Han army barracks were lined up from the north of the city to the west of the city, and even part of the east of the city, winding for more than ten miles, layer upon layer, which was spectacular.
The standard tactic of surrounding three towers and one tower, leaving only the Luoshui side in the south of the city, shows the sinister intentions.
But when I think about it, it's a little strange. There are nearly 60,000 infantry and cavalry inside and outside Luoyang City, which is as strong as Liu Cong's troops. This kind of siege always feels outrageous.
"Shao Xun is in Yiyang? Where is Yuan Yan?" Outside the camp in the north of the city, Liu Cong did not forget to care about his two "old friends" during his inspection tour.
"It should also be in Yiyang." Hu Yanhao, the conquering general, replied.
Liu Cong nodded and said nothing.
Longxiang General Liu Yao followed closely behind.
This man was Liu Yuan's nephew, but his father died when he was young. He was raised by Liu Yuan and was considered half a son.
He has a strong and powerful appearance, half a head taller than Liu Cong. He is good at writing and martial arts. He is good at cursive and official script. He is known as a good archer. He can draw a strong bow that ordinary people cannot draw. He once penetrated an iron plate more than an inch thick with one arrow.
.
He prefers reading. He reads everything and covers a wide range of topics. His favorite is military books.
When he was twenty years old, he traveled to Luoyang, escaped after committing a crime, and lived in seclusion in Bingzhou for many years.
After Liu Yuan's uprising, he joined in and made many military exploits. He was now King of Shi'an and General Longxiang.
Hearing that Liu Cong was still thinking about Shao and Yuan, they couldn't help but admonish: "Grand Governor, the emperor only wants to seize Luoyang."
Liu Cong was a little unhappy after hearing this, and was about to scold him when he suddenly remembered his reflections from the past few days, so he swallowed back the words he was about to blurt out and said: "What Yongming said is true. You should not abandon public service for private reasons. Attack Luoyang.
Do you have any strategies?"
Liu Yao glanced at him, unsure whether he should tell the truth or not.
"But it's okay to talk." Liu Cong looked as open-minded as if I would listen to whatever you said with an open mind.
Liu Yao thought about it for a while and said: "Actually, the current strategy of the governor is good. Spreading the troops and plundering to meet the military needs can also disappoint and alienate the whole Jin country. Even if we can't win this time, it will be much easier to come back next year.
.”
The cavalry could not attack the city.
Forty thousand cavalry rushed to the gates of Luoyang City, and the Jin army decided to huddle up and defend. They had no place to use them, but they couldn't just sit and eat without moving.
Therefore, Liu Cong sent half of them out, with two to three thousand horsemen per group, supplemented by the infantry of Zhao Gu and others, and plundered everywhere.
If they could defeat the Wubao barriers they encountered along the way, they would knock them down. If they couldn't be knocked down, they would scare them. If they couldn't even scare them, they would go directly to the next one without wasting time.
All in all, food is the biggest problem.
The Han Dynasty was not rich. He had prepared for this expedition for a long time, but he still didn't have enough food. What should he do?
It is unrealistic to expect grain and fodder to be transferred from the rear.
We captured a lot in Hanoi, but they couldn't stop people from eating horse chews. After crossing the river and heading south, they captured another batch, which was still tight - there were so many people and horses that they piled up a hill-like pile of grain and hay, and there wasn't much.
God will eat it up for you.
Yesterday at the military meeting, someone seriously put forward the opinion that since there was a lack of infantry, Luoyang could not be taken easily, so it was better to divide the troops into four parts and plunder them. Liu Cong accepted it.
However, they also proposed that the Luoyang defenders were so large that even if all the Han infantry were present, they might not be able to capture the city. It would be better to withdraw after the plundering was completed. Liu Cong did not adopt this point.
He knew very well that the people below were not very interested in whether Luoyang could be taken or not.
Everyone knows that the city of Luoyang is rich in wealth and beauties, but there is nothing you can do if you can't conquer it. Why not grab some money, food, livestock and goods from the county town and Wubao, let everyone benefit more or less, and then go home and forget it——
This is the mentality of the people below.
But Liu Cong couldn't accept this kind of thing.
He values ​​honor, status, fame - and perhaps beauty - but ordinary wealth really doesn't interest him much.
He only wants Luoyang.
"When will Da Sikong's infantry arrive?" Liu Cong stopped and asked softly.
Thousands of cavalry came back outside the camp gate.
At the head were hundreds of cavalry, followed by horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts as far as the eye could see, and behind them were more than two thousand cavalry.
The carriage was loaded with food, money, silk, gold and silverware, leather and other various goods, and there were even hundreds of women sitting on it.
Obviously, this is a wealthy woman who returned from plunder.
Seeing the Xiongnu camp getting closer and closer, the women were so frightened that they began to cry.
The Huns cavalry laughed loudly when they saw it.
Liu Cong pretended not to see it.
The emperor often emphasized treating the people well, but it was really a bit weak.
When soldiers on an expedition want money, can they not give it to them?
If a man wants to snatch a woman back and enjoy her, can he not give her to her?
When I work hard, I only think about two things: money and women.
This is the eternal pursuit of soldiers. If you don't satisfy this, will you fight in vain?
Even the emperor cannot violate these two clauses, unless you give everyone money and food every day so that everyone has money and food to support their families and have money to marry, otherwise don't talk nonsense!
"If there are a lot of women in the army, it is easy to cause trouble. Let's transport them back as soon as possible. Whoever robs them will get it. Let the commanders, commanders, and leaders of each department take note of them, and then distribute them after they are transported back to Pingyang." After the group of people passed by.
, Liu Cong ordered.
"The transshipment started yesterday." Anyang Wang Liuli was in charge of this matter. He immediately stepped forward to report: "Another batch was transported today. Just in time, after unloading the grain, these goods were transported away by the woman in a grain truck.
"
Liu Cong nodded, still feeling some lingering anxiety in his heart.
How to fight this battle?
The soldiers were having fun looting, but the city of Luoyang remained unmoved. What should we do?
"Let's all go back to our respective camps." Liu Cong sighed and said, "We will try to attack Luoyang tomorrow, and we will choose Ximingmen. If that doesn't work, bring Wang Mi over. His soldiers are better than Zhao Gu."
"Yes." General Hu Yanhao responded.
He was stationed outside Ximing Gate. The king of Chu said this, obviously wanting him to lead his troops to attack.
It just so happened that he also wanted to try the skills of Jin's imperial army.
****
Here in the Luoshui River Valley, the boring mountain battle can no longer go on.
Of the 4,200 Zhongwu troops fighting, there are still about 3,000 people left.
Wang Mi's side was not much better, suffering slightly more casualties. Especially after the Silver Spear Army suddenly entered the battle on the 25th, they directly lost nearly a thousand people, abandoned two camps one after another, and retreated more than five miles.
, cutting down trees and setting up fences.
Shao Xun ordered Yunzhong and Tanshan two docks to send 500 soldiers each, and Kinmen dock to send 1,000 soldiers, for a total of 2,000 soldiers, to be led by Zheng Long, the master of Kinmen dock, as the back-up of the Zhongwu army.
Then he withdrew, heading eastward with a total of nearly 10,000 people, including the Silver Spear Army, the Valiant Cavalry Army and the auxiliary troops. He arrived at Yiyang County two days later and joined Li Chong.
As for returning to Xizan, let's leave it to the young people's militia.
Chen Qi, Du Yin, and Yuan Xi joined forces, followed by Zheng Long, with a total of 5,000 infantry, mainly for defense. It would be a great achievement to keep this road intact.
His current focus is mainly on the east.
"Hongnu cavalry appeared the day before yesterday and yesterday, but they only wandered around the mouth of the valley and did not go deep." At the head of Yiyang City, Li Chong reported: "Hundreds of cavalry approached Yiyang early this morning, led by the final general.
The Yamen army went out of the city to form an array, and the bandits and cavalry waited and watched for a while before retreating."
"What tricks do you think the Huns are playing?" Shao Xun asked.
It's already late October, and the Luoyang River Valley is full of withered and malnourished weeds, and gray and monotonous fields.
Houses, fortresses, woods, hills, and rivers are dotted here and there, making this land a little more lively.
What is gratifying is that winter wheat has been widely sown in Zhuwubao this year, and next year's food will be available - if it is not eaten up by locusts.
"Commander, I feel that we can no longer wait and see like this." Li Chong couldn't help but say.
"What do you think?" Shao Xun asked.
He knows that the current battlefield situation is quite stressful.
The reason for this is that the information is not transparent.
The overwhelming Hun cavalry greatly restricted the scope of activities of the Jin army's scouts, and also made it very difficult for messengers to deliver messages back and forth. If you were not careful, the message was not delivered, but was intercepted by the enemy, and instead leaked your own side's internal information.
Luoyang is now a huge information black hole.
Since the arrival of the main force of the Xiongnu, Shao Xun has been unable to understand the specific situation in Luoyang.
It is true that the Huns did not garrison the south of the city, but you must not think that messengers, scouts, and rangers can freely enter and exit from the south.
In fact, in the vast area from the south of Luoyang City to the three passes of Luonan, the activities of Xiongnu roving horses were very rampant, and the probability of scouts and messengers being killed was extremely high.
Occasionally, the few times when messages were delivered, they set off at night and sent out several groups of people at the same time, taking huge risks to deliver the messages. There was no guarantee that all the messengers would be able to return.
When the number of cavalry on one side is ten or even twenty times that of the other side, the battlefield becomes one-way and transparent.
Shao Xun sometimes even had to torture prisoners to get the news about Luoyang, which was not necessarily accurate.
What can be determined at present is: first, the main force of the Xiongnu is surrounding three palaces, but the number of infantry is small and cannot fight, so they will not be able to take Luoyang for a while; second, they are short of food and grass, and they are dividing their troops to plunder, but this can only alleviate the food shortage The dilemma is that they cannot fully meet military needs. After all, having more cavalry also means high consumption; third, they will launch an siege in the near future.
"At the end of the day, please ask the commander-in-chief for an order to go out and set up camp to observe the thieves' situation." Li Chong pleaded.
Shao Xun thought silently for a while.
With so many Huns cavalry, even if they raided everywhere, they would still consume a lot of food and grass, so they would not last long.
Perhaps, it won't be long before they have no choice but to retreat just like Wang Mi did back then.
Leaving Yiyang and approaching Luoyang is of little significance from a military perspective.
But from a political perspective, it is of great significance.
Is it necessary to seize this political benefit?
Shao Xun thought for a long time. Just when Li Chong wanted to speak again, he stretched out his hand to stop.
"You stay here and help me watch the way back to Xiban. Don't let anyone get in the way." Shao Xun said, "I will personally lead the army out."
"Where do you want the governor to go?" Li Chong asked subconsciously.
"Nine tunes." Shao Xun said.
"Shui Jing Luo Shui Zhu" says: "The east path of Luoshui River leads to Jiuqu to the south, and the land is ten miles away, and there are nine slopes."
In the 10th year of Wei Dynasty (544), Hou Jing built Jiuqu City here.
It is roughly located five miles northwest of today's Yiyang County and fifty miles away from Yiyang City in the Wei and Jin Dynasties (the old city of Han Yiyang).
In the Sui Dynasty, Shouan County was established here, which was followed by the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, Changshui, Fuchang, and Shouan counties were established in the Luoshui River Valley. However, the Wei and Jin Dynasties were not fully developed, and there was only one county, Yiyang.
"Let's set out today, bringing with us a month's worth of food, grass, and equipment." After Shao Xun made his decision, he felt much more relaxed and said to Li Chong seriously: "I'll leave the way back to you."
Chapter completed!