The Huns were burning things, and Xi Jian was also burning, but what he was burning was grain.
When the Huns burned things, the Wubao commanders did not dare to fart, but when Xi Jian burned things, they became furious.
"Your fortress is located in a plain land. There are more than a thousand families, and 400 hectares of fertile land are cultivated." Xi Jian snorted coldly, pointed his riding whip, and said: "A harvest of seven or eight bushels of dendrobium per mu is 70,000 hectares."
Dendrobium grain. The Xiongnu’s thousands of horses, vertical and horizontal
If one person, two or three horses eat all the millet and beans, it will only cost 200,000 hu of dendrobium a month. If they put down the pastures and cut some grass, it will only cost more than 100,000 hu of dendrobium. The food in your field will be enough for them to chew for half a month.
, what is this if not capitalizing on the enemy?"
Wubao Shuai was speechless.
Mr. Yufu has made it clear that even if the grain is not mature, it must be cut in advance and cannot be left to support the enemy. However, not everyone is willing to do this. Commander Wubao has a lucky mentality.
"Just wait and be punished." After Xi Jian finished speaking, he snorted coldly and led the team away.
"Xi Daohui!" Wubao Shuai was dissatisfied and said loudly: "You are also from Gaoping, so you can't bear to watch the food being burned and Sang Zi being killed?"
"It is precisely because I am from Gaoping that I ask you to burn the grain. The thieves will retreat without food. If there is food, they will loot everywhere. I don't know whether it will be a long-term pain or a short-term pain. You are not worthy of living in troubled times." Xi Jianbu
Without further words, he roared away with hundreds of cavalry.
On the 17th, the army moved northward and arrived in Juye County.
On the last section of the journey, in order to maintain their horse power, they walked with their horses. After all, each person only had one horse, plus a few donkeys and mules to travel, and their mobility was not as good as that of the Huns.
When Xi Jian climbed up an earthen kiln and looked at the earth, all the scenes in the north came into view.
More than a thousand Huns cavalry burst into the fields, arrows flying everywhere.
The people who were harvesting grains were crying and running away.
On the Wubao not far away, the bells rang continuously, and everyone climbed up to the top of the city, extremely anxious.
Not long after, the main gate of Wubao opened, and hundreds of people, armed with spears and rifles, stood dozens of steps outside the gate, shouting loudly to respond to the retreating Baoting.
In troubled times, the only ones who can help you, care about you, and are willing to fight for you are your relatives and fellow villagers.
The castle guards threw away their sickles, abandoned the newly harvested grain, and even abandoned their donkey carts and ox carts. They rushed towards the castle gate in a panic.
The Huns rode around and fired at them, harvesting human lives wantonly while deliberately leaving an opening so that the remaining Baoding could run back.
When the castle guards saw this, they rushed toward the castle gate as if they had been granted amnesty.
The soldiers leaving the fort shouted loudly, asking them to go around from both sides and enter the city, so as not to disrupt the military formation.
The Huns cavalry followed them like a shadow, speeding up their horses, preparing to take advantage of the moment of chaos to charge straight up to see if there was any advantage.
"Overseer, take action." Someone on the small earthen kiln said urgently.
"It's too late if we don't take action now," someone else said.
They were all natives of their hometown. Seeing the Hun cavalry wreaking havoc, they felt particularly sad about the death of rabbits and foxes, so they all asked for a fight.
"Wait a moment." Xi Jian waved his hand and said.
Everyone sighed and felt extremely angry.
It is true that they know that now is not the best time to attack, but if they delay it any longer, more people will die in Wubao over there. How can they bear it, these are all countrymen.
At the same time, he also criticized Xi Jian endlessly. This man was really cold-blooded. It seemed that no matter what the situation, he could not shake his mind. In his eyes, there were only appropriateness and inappropriateness, and no other emotions.
The Huns in the distance had already rushed very close, and circled to both sides, shooting arrows continuously.
Flank shooting has been a standard tactic in the grassland since ancient times. When encountering an enemy on foot or cavalry, one should not charge head-on. Instead, one should split the enemy's position on both sides, pick up the bow and arrows, and fire from a flank to harass the enemy's weakly defended flanks.
In fact, they often go around to the rear and shoot from three sides.
Those who can cope with such a siege scene are generally well-trained infantrymen, because they need to quickly adjust their formations and distribute their troops without panicking. Being able to do these things with a certain amount of casualties is not something that farmers and soldiers can do.
Those who arrive must be professional recruits who have been practicing all year round.
Baoding was a little flustered when he went out.
People around them kept screaming and falling down, and the power of the cavalry looked so scary that they fought with each other and subconsciously wanted to escape.
The Huns were not in a hurry, and after completing a circle, they came a second time, vowing to wear away the last vestiges of resistance from the fortresses, and then rush into the fort with their retreating footsteps.
"Charge!" Xi Jian got off the earthen kiln and got on his horse.
Hundreds of cavalrymen also mounted their horses, adjusted their formation slightly, and after assigning their order, they marched forward with a bang.
They waded through the shallow stream and reached the wilderness on the other side, then slowly increased their speed.
The Huns who were on guard outside were shocked.
They were careless and never thought that there was a group of Jin cavalry hiding on the other side of the stream. Moreover, this stream actually had many shallow water fords, allowing the enemy to rush over easily. This is actually normal.
The locals, of course, are familiar with every plant and tree here, and it is this kind of information asymmetry that they deal with.
More than 500 cavalrymen gradually moved closer during the charge. Like a sharp knife, they easily pierced the Huns' rangers who had hurriedly intercepted them and continued to move forward.
The men outside the Wubao gate were already retreating inside. The Huns laughed loudly, put away their riding bows, drew out various short-sighted soldiers, and followed behind to kill them.
Xi Jian held a bow and shot one person to death without slowing down at all.
The twenty-seven cavalrymen brought from Jinxiang followed closely behind, their eyes full of ferociousness.
Behind them, there were cavalrymen from various families and Wubao, a total of nearly 500 people, holding various instruments, shouting and shouting.
Five hundred cavalry inserted directly into the side and rear of the Hun cavalry, causing horrific casualties in just an instant and cutting the enemy army into two pieces.
Marshal Wubao stood on the wall and cried with joy when he saw this.
Hundreds of cavalry arrived in surprise, and ran into the thicket of Hun cavalry. After running for more than a hundred steps, they slowly slowed down, turned around, then increased their speed and launched the second round of charge.
Okay, okay! It’s saved!
The Huns were stunned. Some of them had quick eyesight and quick hands and quickly retreated far away. Others were still in confusion. They were undoubtedly attacked by the second wave and were killed in pieces again.
The entire battlefield situation reversed instantly.
The Huns were also decisive, without any hesitation, and rushed into the distant wilderness on the spot.
The defeated soldiers scattered everywhere scrambled to flee and retreat to the nearest temporary camp.
Xi Jian led his men to pursue him on tiptoe.
The two sides chased and fled, and soon disappeared on the distant horizon.
Marshal Wubao knelt down on the wall with relief, sweating.
The Huns were very close to breaking into the fort, and the food supply might not be able to be saved by then.
Food? Yes, food!
Marshal Wubao stood up in a hurry, gritted his teeth, and ordered people to burn the unharvested grains in the fields. He must not attack the enemy.
****
Shi Peikang, the shogunate chief of Xuchang, hurried to Kaocheng.
Yanzhou shogunate left chief Shi Pan Tao and left Sima Pei Shao, two soldiers consulted and offered wine to Bian Dun, Lu Qiuchong, supervised and protected Mi Zhi, and the king of Zhonglang and others went out of the city to welcome him.
The few people went directly into the Donghai Palace to discuss countermeasures without much exchange of greetings.
The so-called small meetings are held for big things and a big meeting is held for small things. This time when the Xiongnu invaded, they did not take the Donghai King to play with various countermeasures. Several of their senior officials met and made a decision, which was the decision of the entire town army general's office. Anyway, now
Concubine Pei is in charge of the Great Seal, so she can completely bypass King Donghai and issue orders.
Concubine Pei only said some polite words at the beginning, then sat aside and listened quietly to everyone's discussion.
"The Xiongnu crossed the river from Jibei, sometimes joining forces together, sometimes dividing their troops, and sometimes gathering together again, passing through Dongping and entering Gaoping. The pioneer group has broken into Jiyin." Pan Tao gave a brief introduction, and then added
: "According to investigation, the Huns' military strength should be between 10,000 and 20,000, mainly cavalry."
"Oh? The scouts can still investigate?" Pei Kang was a little surprised.
He could remember that the last few times the Huns invaded, the cavalry was overwhelming, hunting down scouts and cavalry everywhere, which almost blinded Henan.
"It's not just scouts, it's just people sent from various forts to report." Pan Tao said.
Pei Kang raised his eyebrows and said, "This is much better than the Battle of Gaoping."
This is the war dividend.
Last time, the Wubao commanders were not necessarily willing to get involved in the war between Shao Xun and the Xiongnu. They just wanted to send some money and food, focusing on "strictly maintaining neutrality." But this time, there were more people reporting the news, and more supplies along the way.
convenient.
"Is Wubao Manor an enemy?" Pei Kang asked again.
Pan Tao looked at Mi Zhi, who immediately said, "I haven't heard about it yet."
“Where did the Huns’ supplies come from?”
"The fields are harvested."
Pei Kang was a little angry when he heard this and said: "Don't the counties in Yanzhou have strong walls and clear fields?"
"Of course I gave the order, but..." Pan Tao shook his head and sighed.
Pei Kang was also a little helpless.
The Xuchang shogunate also ordered that the walls be fortified and the country cleared, but in the nearby Yingchuan County, many people obeyed and disobeyed.
This is not because they despise the authority of the shogunate, but because the cost of strengthening the walls and clearing the country is very high, and some people are unwilling to do so.
On the way here, he made a special detour to Xiachen County, and found that the area had been built with strong walls and clearing out the fields. The fields were bare, and the execution was more resolute.
When we headed north from Chenjun and entered the territory of Chenliu, we found that there was quite a lot of unharvested grain in the fields, but there were also some places where the harvest had been completed in advance.
From this we can also see where Mr. Chen was able to implement his will, where he was unable to do so, and where he was half-hearted.
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Pei Kang patted the table angrily and said, "I came here to do only a few things. First, the Yanzhou Army is mainly infantry. Don't move lightly. Just defend the defense area.
Secondly, Yinqian Zuoying has finished its rest and recuperation ahead of schedule. Now it has arrived at Yingchuan and is heading towards Chen County and Liang State. They will not come to Yanzhou. Thirdly, I know that you have summoned the cavalry of the aristocratic families, but don't use them dispersedly.
Gather them together, station them at various key points, and go around to inquire about information. Once you find out where the Huns are, make an attack plan."
"Don't be afraid that you won't be able to defeat them. Dare to fight is the key. As long as you fight, the Huns will feel the pressure, take detours, and avoid you. If you can give them a few hard blows, the Huns themselves will be afraid.
"
"Fourth, send envoys to various counties as much as possible to appease people's hearts and not make them defect to the Xiongnu, or secretly spend money to buy peace. If there are stubborn people, you can threaten them or induce them. In short, stabilize them."
After speaking, Pei Kang looked at his daughter.
Concubine Pei looked at Pan Tao and others.
Pan Tao coughed and said: "What Mr. Pei said is right. Yan and Yu are one body, and we should advance and retreat together."
"What Pei Changshi said is good advice, and you should obey your orders." Pei Shao said.
"Pei Gong, I heard that there are many Huaiying descendants who are good at riding and fighting. Why don't you recruit them?" the king asked.
"They will be stationed in Yingchuan, Chenjun, Nandun, Xincai, Runan and other places." Pei Kang said: "The foundations that Mr. Chen has worked so hard to build are all here and cannot be touched lightly. In addition, they will gather together one after another.
The garrison troops that have risen are stationed in various places, and they have to guard against others. After all, the left camp of Silver Spear has left Xiangcheng."
Wang understood, he cupped his hands and stopped talking.
"What else do you have to say?" Concubine Pei glanced around and asked softly.
"Please give the order, Princess." Everyone said one after another.
Concubine Pei sighed softly, with a slightly sad look on her face, and said: "The Huns were cruel. Wherever they passed, all the villages were in ruins, and the fertile fields were all turned into wasteland. Now that I have no power, I can only try my best to capture the thieves first.
Circle in the east. Chen Gong's foundation lies in Chenjun, Nanton, Xincai, Runan, Ying, and Xiang. If these places are preserved, they will still be able to fight. Chenliu, Jiyin, Jiyang, Puyang, etc.
The county must be fortified and clear of the countryside, and you will send people to patrol, and if anyone refuses to comply, he will be punished as a traitor."
"The counties in Yandong still need to be comforted. I am a woman and cannot be of much help. Now I can only send a message to all the clans, asking them to take care of me for the sake of my orphan and widowed mother."
"If there are suitable positions in the shogunate and counties, the descendants of Yandong can be given priority in hiring."
"After the war is over, I will ask Mr. Chen to distribute food and silk to provide relief to the counties in Yandong as a way of comforting them."
"That's all, you guys are doing your job well." Concubine Pei looked at everyone, her eyes were slightly red, and said: "Mr. Chen also wants to settle things once and for all. These moral ideals must be understood by you. Some people have been robbed or have complaints.
This is human nature, don't blame too much. When the envoys arrive at the counties, they must make it clear that capturing Hebei in the future will have endless benefits. For now, stick to it. As long as I don't mess up, the thieves will."
"As ordered." Everyone responded in unison with sincerity.
(It’s the last day, vote as soon as you can.)
Chapter completed!