The farmland has been covered with a thin layer of snow.
Anyone familiar with farming knows that with a few more snows, there will definitely be a good harvest next year.
Within the low earthen wall, the vegetable garden is neatly planned.
The hemp rope on the well's reel has been frozen solid, and a straw shed has been built over the well, which is already covered with snow.
Dozens of thatched huts are enclosed by earthen walls.
Although the house is simple, it has a sense of life.
There are several small handmade objects hanging under the eaves, which should be for children to play with. When the wind blows, they flutter, which is really cute.
There are several vegetable baskets placed at the door, and in the baskets are freshly picked salted vegetables.
The salted cabbage is golden in color and pickled just right. You can tell at a glance that the hostess is very virtuous and takes care of housework.
The house is spotless.
Although the household items are simple, they are neatly arranged, and most of them are newly made. Only one jewelry box looks a little old, which may have commemorative significance.
"Bang!" The cold wind blew, and the bedroom door was suddenly blown open and hit the earth wall hard.
A dark red blood stain extended from the threshold to the inside.
Following the blood trail, what I saw was the body of a baby.
The baby must have been thrown to death. His eyes were closed, his fists were clenched, and a stream of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Further inside, a woman was leaning against the earth wall, naked, her lower body was in a mess, and she had been dead for a long time.
After carefully searching other houses, the bodies of old people can be seen everywhere, followed by children, women at least, and not a single adult.
The soldiers quickly exited the fort wall.
There are several "fresh" corpses outside the gate of the fort wall. Judging from their clothing and hair accessories, they should be Huns.
On the post road outside the fortress wall, the torrent of steel rolled eastward without stopping for a moment.
Groups of knights walked on both sides of the torrent, with horned bows hanging from their waists, spears in their hands, and ferocious human heads hanging under their saddles.
The knight in golden armor came from behind, and everyone paid attention to him.
In the Battle of Jianshui, more than 4,700 Xiongnu infantry and cavalry were killed before and after, completely defeating their proud cavalry superiority.
Facts have proved that when the logistics are sufficient, the soldiers are capable and brave, and they are fighting on the inside and there are multiple resting points along the way, the cavalry has no advantage.
When the Jin army forcibly crossed Jianshui, they even lost the battlefield initiative to fight when they wanted and leave when they didn't want to. They were forced to use short attacks to attack the elite infantry who were tightly fortified, resulting in a disastrous defeat.
In the Battle of Mengjin, if Song Zhou had carried more than a month's worth of food and fodder and set up a stronghold at the ferry, with the strength of the five thousand right-guard forbidden troops, he might not have been completely wiped out.
But he made the wrong choice. This shows how important it is to be with the right person - now, everyone understands this.
The snow is getting heavier.
There were many waves, and it was bitingly cold.
The long queue of vehicles is less than a day away from Luoyang, and they will be able to reach the city by tomorrow morning at the latest.
What would the Huns do?
Continue to stop them at all costs, or simply retreat home?
The decision lies with Liu Cong.
Theoretically, he still holds the overall initiative.
If we leave now, with the more than 30,000 light cavalry still alive, in the open Luoyang Basin, we can completely use their numerical advantage to wear away or even encircle and annihilate the Jin army's cavalry.
However, the capable Jin infantry could not increase their speed under the harassment of light cavalry and could not catch up with the retreating Liu Han infantry.
He can escape unscathed, it just depends on whether he wants to just leave.
****
Let's go back in time a few days.
Just when Shao Xun led his troops to leave Ganshuikou and go to Jianshui, a big event happened at Dayang Ferry in Hedong.
Da Sikong Hu Yanyi, who was urged to do nothing by Liu Cong, without raising enough food and grass, bit the bullet and set out from Pingyang with 50,000 to 60,000 infantry troops and arrived in Dayang on the night of the first day of November.
It was freezing cold, and the infantry troops from the Xiongnu, Han, Di, Qiang, Jie, Xianbei and other miscellaneous groups were short of supplies. Not only were they shivering from the cold, but their food rations were also cut to save more food.
Sent to the front line for consumption by cavalry.
This suddenly ignited their anger.
Are infantry inferior to cavalry?
In the Jin State, cavalry was assigned to infantry to fight. Should we reverse this situation and have infantry to be assigned to cavalry?
Hu Yanyi is a descendant of the Liu Han family, how respected is he? Of course he knows the dissatisfaction of the soldiers, but a clever woman can't make a meal without rice and can't produce food. What can he do? Although he still has plenty of fish and meat, wine and beauty tonight,
Life is full of joy.
However, as the commotion outside became more and more intense, he, who was quite drunk, had to leave the beauty's embrace and go out for a inspection.
After encountering several tribal commanders who openly contradicted him, he became furious and ordered them to be killed.
And at this moment, an arrow shot out of the darkness, hit Hu Yanyi's throat, and came out through his neck...
The consequences of this arrow were very serious. Tens of thousands of troops lost their restraint and fled back from Dayang. They returned to their tribes and Wubao. It was impossible to recruit them to Luoyang in a short time.
The news that Hu Yanyi was killed by his subordinates was rushed to Luoyang after five hundred miles, and was presented to Liu Cong's desk in the middle of the night on the fourth day of the lunar month.
After dawn, Liu Cong, who looked gloomy, summoned the generals for a meeting and announced the bad news on the spot.
There was a moment of silence in the tent.
Since leaving the army, two generals, Hu Yanyi and Hu Yanhao, have been lost, and each battalion has lost no more than 15,000 soldiers and horses.
Although most of them were either men under Anbei General Zhao Gu's tent or miscellaneous men from various walks of life, the number of Xiongnu troops who died in the battle also reached an astonishing three thousand.
Furthermore, the loss of too many miscellaneous soldiers is not without negative consequences.
At least, the morale of the whole army is a bit low at the moment, and it is really not suitable to fight anymore.
But who is to say this?
Everyone looked at me and I looked at you. Finally, General Longxiang Liu Yao came out and spoke: "Grand Governor, withdraw your troops."
Liu Cong was speechless, but his expression was obviously unhappy.
Liu Yao ignored him and said to himself: "Although we have made various arrangements today, the food and grass in the army have never exceeded the seven-day requirement. Oh, the recent field battles have been unsuccessful, and the siege of the city has been unfavorable. Many people have died, and the food and grass are slightly surplus.
, or it can last for more than ten days."
What Liu Yao said was a hell of a joke.
Everyone looked at him and then at Liu Cong.
Liu Cong still had no expression.
Liu Yao seemed completely unaware of the meaning of what he said. He just heard him continue: "The Jin army has counterattacked on all fronts on the periphery. If they do not withdraw at this time, all the achievements will be wasted."
Results?
In Liu Cong's understanding, the results may be limited to those goods and women brought back by the grain transport team.
Perhaps it was also a blow to Jin's prestige.
But this kind of thing is invisible and intangible. If you say it exists and others don’t recognize it, then it means it doesn’t exist. How can it be regarded as real merit?
"Grand Commander, withdraw. No infantry will come, and Luoyang City cannot be captured." Liu Yao looked at Liu Cong and said sincerely: "I am willing to lead my headquarters to cut off the rear. After the army returns to Pingyang, we may consult for details.
If you come back next year, you may not have a chance."
When Liu Cong heard this, he was a little moved. Yongming was really thinking about national affairs.
Yesterday's attack on the city ended in failure again.
He personally supervised the battle and could clearly see that Zhao Gu had really worked hard and had no hidden agenda. Unfortunately, due to lack of strength, the Jin army was not just a piece of paper and was outnumbered, so it could only be defeated in the end.
Perhaps, as Yongming said, it is really impossible to win Luoyang this year.
After all, the Jin Kingdom still has some luck, and it has to let it dissipate for a while before attacking again before it can be possible to capture it.
Thinking of this, Liu Cong sighed and said: "Let the emperor decide this matter. All camps - retreat to the north of the city first."
Liu Yao frowned slightly and retreated.
When King Chu said this, he still had some thoughts in his heart.
According to his true intentions, he probably didn't want to withdraw his troops so hastily. The situation was helpless, and he had no choice. In the end, he could only leave it to the emperor, who would make the decision for him.
Fortunately, the emperor is much stronger than the king of Chu.
He should have known about Dayang earlier than the King of Chu. Maybe the angel had already traveled day and night to Luoyang.
Retreating the troops is already within a matter of seconds.
****
Situ Peng Lezhao hurriedly entered Dexie Mansion.
The air is filled with the smell of powdered fat. If you smell it carefully, there may also be the aroma of wine and meat.
In the deep winding path, there are endless sounds of silk and bamboo, men's teasing, and women's coquettishness.
After turning around a screen wall, the sound suddenly became louder.
Le Zhao kept walking and entered the hall.
What greeted him was the warmth like spring, which instantly dispelled the chill in his body and made him feel so comfortable that he wanted to moan.
As far as the eye can see, the woman's white and tender skin contrasts with the man's dark chest hair.
There is a smell of powdered medicine in the air.
White flesh worms squirmed in the arms of the drunken man.
Some people laughed, some kept drinking, some recited poems and composed poems, some cursed, and so on.
The servant carefully crossed the piles of rotten meat, walked quietly to Xie Kun, and whispered a few words.
Xie Kun was still awake. He looked up at Le Zhao and said with a smile, "Hong Mao is here, can you have a drink?"
Le Zhao forced a smile, bowed and saluted, and said: "Join the army, Situ invites you."
"Oh? What's the matter?" Xie Kun glanced at the hall. Many of Situ's staff were having a wild time here.
"The Huns in the west and east of the city are retreating. Situ has arrived at the Ximing Tower and invited Liu and Pan to join the army. The generals from all the camps went to the tower to observe the rebels." Le Zhao replied.
In fact, Le Zhao looked down on Xie Kun.
This man was born in the Xie family of Yangxia, Chen County. He was famous for his Confucianism. He was also good at talking about "Laozi" and "Book of Changes". He was good at singing and playing the piano, but he did not cultivate dignity and disdain to manage common affairs.
He entered the government in the first year of Guangxi (306). He was willful and indulgent and was not bound by etiquette and law. He was later expelled.
After returning home to live leisurely, I saw a beautiful girl from the neighbor's family, Gao, and went to flirt with her. The girl threw a shuttle and broke her two teeth.
Others made fun of him about this, but Xie Kun said proudly: "It doesn't affect my singing!"
Because Xie Kun was so famous, when Situ went out to control Yanzhou, he was appointed as one of the soldiers who joined the army, and he asked for military advice from time to time.
"Okay, this is business. Wait a moment." After listening to Le Zhao's words, Xie Kun nodded, got up and went to the inner room, washed his face first, changed his clothes, and then left with Le Zhao.
When the two arrived at Ximing Tower, they saw only a dark group of people.
But the strange thing is that so many people gathered here but it was very quiet. Everyone had a serious face and looked outside the city.
Xie Kun and Le Zhao squeezed to the front, looked down, and were stunned.
In the wilderness to the west, drums were beating, and a convoy of about 10,000 people was slowly moving forward.
Wherever the convoy went, it was as if it was cutting through waves, pushing the Hun cavalry that covered the entire wilderness fiercely outward.
After the convoy passed by, the waves of cavalry gradually closed again.
After a while, the motorcade stopped and joined each other end to end.
Suddenly, a large group of soldiers crossed the vehicle formation and advanced to the left and right sides.
The dark armor, silver guns, neat steps, and chilling demeanor all tell people that this is an elite division.
The soldiers held their guns firmly and marched step by step in the heavy snow, blowing white steam.
When they took a step forward, the Huns cavalry took a step back.
It was not until they had advanced thirty steps that everyone stopped, wearing helmets and armor, and standing in awe with their weapons in the heavy snow.
The car formation began to adjust.
After a while, an oval car formation was adjusted.
The cavalry became active and attacked the Huns' light cavalry in the distance.
The soldiers of the government also mounted their horses one after another. After charging forward, the Huns' light cavalry gave way.
The infantry began to draw teams, half forward and half backward.
After half of them were withdrawn, the other half also withdrew under the cover of strong crossbows and infantry bows.
The cavalrymen who had disturbed the Huns' light cavalry also withdrew back. Many of them still had arrows stuck in their bodies, but their expressions were relaxed and high-spirited, and they laughed and entered the car formation.
The car array suddenly closed up, intact as before.
The Huns seemed to be angry because they had been tricked. Thousands of horsemen surrounded them from all directions, riding around and shooting.
But in the wind and snow, the arrows are not accurate, let alone can't shoot far. On the contrary, the crossbow can be used for a while, and every time it is fired, it can always take away a few unlucky Huns.
The Huns soon realized that this was too much of a disadvantage, so they retreated far away. Not long after, they seemed to have received an order, and everyone headed north and disappeared on the horizon.
The battlefield returned to calm.
Shao Xun climbed onto a temporary high platform and looked over the city.
The Yue government generals on the top of the city were stunned.
The Forbidden Army soldiers on the top of the city were stunned.
Wang and Pei, two old wall lamps, were stunned.
Luoyang was stunned.
Is this——made all the way through?
Chapter completed!