After Liu Sui's head was found, someone was found to sew it up.
Shao Xun ordered the collection of fine coffins, murder weapons, and property in Yewang City, and gave them to Liu Runzhong, so that he could transport his son back to Shangdang for burial.
In addition to this matter, the Shangdang battle situation is particularly important.
On the seventh day of October, after the army had rested for a day, Shao Xun left Wang Que'er to take charge of Yewang, mopping up any remnants of enemies that might exist in the fields, and supervising the war in the direction of Zhiguan. He led the Yinqian right camp, the black army, and the main force of the rebel army, which was more than 10,000 people.
People and more than ten thousand soldiers from all walks of life marched north to Shangdang.
The battle has reached this point, but he still refuses to stop.
The Xiongnu court was probably a little panicked, and there was bound to be a reaction. Maybe it was time to make some decisions that were difficult to make before.
Before Wang Que'er's pursuit battle ended, Quyang King Liu Xian had already arrived at Zhiguan to supervise the battle, and he might have brought soldiers, horses and grain - not a lot, since transporting grain from Hedong to Zhiguan required crossing the entire Wang Dynasty.
Wushan, there are many dangerous passes in the road, and the losses are heavy.
As for Shangdang, I just received news this morning: Liu Yao personally arrived at Danzhu Ridge, and his vanguard has arrived at Bazi's Tomb.
Danzhu Ridge, also known as "Changping North Mountain", is the boundary mountain between Changzhi Basin and Jincheng Basin. It is named after Danzhu, the eldest son of Yaofeng.
Danshui flows out of it, meanders southward, exits Taihangxing, and runs through the entire Jincheng Basin. Its name is also related to Danzhu.
Of course, there are also rumors that the name of Danzhu Ridge and Danshui comes from the Battle of Changping - "Qin pits Zhao soldiers and bleeds Danchuan, hence the common name Danshui."
Shao Xun asked many people where the place name Bazi Tomb (today's Bagong Town) came from, but no one could find out.
In the end, it was the Hujie people from Shangdang who told him this piece of "history": Duke Xianggang of Jin conquered Ba and moved Bazi here. At first, there was Bazi City, but later it was abandoned and Bazi was buried here.
Shao Xun was a little surprised and asked his staff whether Jin Xianggong had really attacked Bashu? No one had heard.
Maybe it's a rumor.
But this is not the point. The point is that Liu Zhao failed to move north, so he retreated to Xuushi County (today's Gaoping). He was defeated and fled all the way to Bazi's Tomb, where he was overtaken by Liu Yao's vanguard.
Of course, this does not mean that Liu Zhao is good at fighting. In fact, his father Liu Runzhong has taken all his strong men to the south, leaving Liu Zhao mostly old and weak. It is normal that he cannot defeat others.
As for why he didn't raise his troops to go north, firmly guard the Jincheng Basin, and spy on the Changzhi Basin behind Danzhu Ridge, to be honest, Liu Runzhong wanted to go south to make great contributions and gain wealth. After all, he stayed in Gaodu, and neither the Xuans nor Mao had any credit.
The situation in Shangdang was critical, and Shao Xun would certainly not delay.
Even if he can't capture the entire Shangdang, he still wants to keep the Jincheng Basin firmly in his belly, and then plan to conquer the basin later.
The dangers of the Taihang Mountains are really difficult to appreciate without being there personally——
On the seventh night of the Lunar New Year, the army stayed overnight in the ancient city of the country of Xin (yú, same as "Yu").
This city is just outside Taihang Xingkou. It was built by Shu Shu (Ji Dan), the son of King Wu of Zhou Dynasty. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, the city still existed.
There is Xie Terrace in the south of the city, Xieshui (a tributary of Qinshui River, which no longer exists today) in the west of the city, and Xie Pavilion seven or eight miles southeast, which is the name of this place - the country of Wei was later destroyed by the state of Zheng, and the descendants of Uncle Wei called it "Yu".
" is the surname, and Xicheng is the birthplace of the surname in later generations.
On the eighth day of October, a group of vanguard soldiers and horses went upstream along the Danshui River and entered Taihangxing.
Shao Xun asked Liu Runzhong and Liu Quan and his son to board his carriage and set off together on the afternoon of the eighth day of the lunar month.
"The majestic Taihang Mountains are daunting. Without Gongji (Liu Runzhong), I really don't know when I would be able to enter Bingzhou. The mountains and rivers inside and outside do not deceive me." Shao Xun opened the car curtain and looked at both sides.
The towering mountains sighed with emotion.
There were personal military guards on the left and right sides of the carriage.
On the dilapidated post road, carriages occupied almost all the road surface, and the pro-army troops walked into the rocks on both sides. They were swaying and unsteady, and they were in danger of falling down the elixir if they were not careful.
As far as the road conditions are concerned, don't say anything else.
Liu Runzhong and his son led more than 10,000 cavalry to the south. It was a rapid advance with light troops. They relied entirely on mules and horses and did not even bring grain carts. They were completely determined to prey on the big families.
"Ming Gong is in the Central Plains, across the eight wastelands, and his talents and strategies are astonishing." Liu Runzhong said: "How can the Xiongnu, a small country, withstand the troops of a big country? They can only rely on the mountains and terrain to survive.
If I offer my party, the Xiongnu will lose their geographical advantage. Once the army launches its attack, it will be easy to destroy this imperial court."
Shao Xun glanced at him.
The fake uncle is in a much better mood.
A few days ago, he found Liu Ya from his son and stabbed him dozens of times on the spot. Then he chopped off the head and heard that it was going to be made into a skull wine vessel, and the trunk and limbs were given to the sergeants for food...
Damn, there are anthropomorphic creatures everywhere!
"The credit should be yours, it's yours, no one can take it away from you." Shao Xun stopped the carriage and simply led the two of them down for a walk. The carriage was too stuffy and there were no shock absorbing springs, so the bumps hurt their buttocks.
A pass city loomed ahead. Shao Xun knew that it was called Tianjing Pass (also known as "Taihang Pass"). It was first built in the Yuanshuo period of the former Han Dynasty and has been repaired in the past dynasties.
They are still several miles away from Tianjing Pass, and the walking path is full of dangerous trails and narrow passes.
Shao Xun stopped for a while and turned to look back.
A few miles back from the carriage, Yangchang Ban (alias Taihang Xing) was crowded with people and flags were flying.
At this time, if someone blocks Tianjing Pass in front, and someone in the back occupies the ancient city of the State of Xie, blocking both ends, it will simply be the rhythm of the entire army being annihilated.
The Xingdao is two or three steps wide, and the narrow part is even less than two steps. Later Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty returned to Luoyang from Bingzhou. He spared no effort and ordered the excavation and widening of Taihangxing, but the width of the road was only reduced to three steps (four to five meters).
It's such a narrow road, so what if you bring 100,000 soldiers? You can't get around it.
There are always only a few people in direct contact, and the defenders are too defensive.
This is the difficulty of attacking key passes, because they are built based on the terrain and are much more difficult than attacking a city.
"Gongji, this is your contribution." Shao Xun pointed to the winding mountain path and said: "I have been in the mountain for two days and have only walked less than forty miles. If we attack these forty miles, we will
I don’t know how many soldiers and horses will be killed or injured. In fact, you don’t need to go south. It would be better for the whole army to go north to attack Danzhu Ridge than to go south to Ye Wang.”
Liu Runzhong remained silent. Liang Gong was tactfully blaming him.
Shao Xun glanced at him again, secretly thinking that he still had a bit of a temper, and that he was exactly the same as the Liu Ye who had not been trained.
He then stopped talking.
When the sun went down, we finally arrived at Tianjingguan.
A large flag with the word "Hou" flying high on Guancheng was obviously occupied by the Black King Army.
There are three well springs in front of Tianjingguan, which are called "Tianjing Spring". It is said that they are "huge and unfathomable".
There will already be soldiers here fetching water, washing horses, and burying pots to make rice.
Shao Xun climbed directly to Tianjingguan City and overlooked the mountains.
This pass is located at the highest point of the Taihang Pass. It is an uphill road for forty miles from the ancient city of the State of Wei to the north of the pass. It is a downhill road for more than thirty miles north from Tianjing Pass. After leaving the mountain, you can walk another ten miles to Liu Runzhong.
Gaodu (now Jincheng), his hometown.
It was really not easy to take the difficult and dangerous pass of seventy or eighty miles in such a way without losing any blood. In the final analysis, the united front work was done well.
On the 11th, the army continued to move north.
****
As the vanguard, the mule army entered the mountain half a day in advance.
More than 1,300 soldiers, each with a mule and a riding horse, carried several days of dry food and marched all the way.
Not long after Shao Xun entered the mountain, they crossed Tianjing Pass.
On the afternoon of the ninth day of the lunar month, we left Taihangxing. Under the leadership of our guide, we rushed to Gaodu and stationed outside the city.
The Jie people gave them some dried meat - don't get me wrong, this is beef and mutton. Due to the lack of fodder due to the locust plague, they slaughtered livestock in large quantities to make it.
On the tenth day of the lunar month, more than a thousand people walked northeast along the post road for tens of miles, and saw a flat basin in the distance. That was the legendary Bazi City and Bazi Tomb. So far, the city and the tomb have disappeared, except
The name of the place.
Jiang Ke rode up a gentle slope and looked to the north.
Liu Zhao built a camp, with a large flag erected in the camp and soldiers walking around.
The Huns army could not be seen on the left and right, and only a few rangers were active.
"Xu Yu!" Jiang Ke shouted.
"The general is here." Xu Yu responded.
"Take 300 people northward. You can't pass through the camp and go toward Huushi County. Come back when you encounter the enemy." Jiang Ke ordered.
Xu Yu took the order and left. After a while, three hundred people changed their mules and mounted them, rolling up a large plume of smoke and heading north.
Jiang Ke led the remaining thousand people and quickly arrived outside the camp.
"But Master Wang?" someone shouted from the high wall of the camp.
"Jiang Ke, the mule army, rushed here to help under the orders of Duke Liang. Is Liu Sheren here?" Jiang Ke asked.
Liu Zhao was a member of the shogunate, and this was his official position. As for Liu Runzhong's son, the status of the tribe's commander-in-chief, that was not an official position.
The camp gate opened quickly, and Liu Zhao walked out, escorted by dozens of people.
Jiang Ke also got off his mule and walked forward.
Some of the soldiers unpacked their bags, took their official seals, and issued official letters about troop deployment, while Jie people's guides came forward to negotiate.
Liu Zhao had never seen Jiang Ke before. After listening to the guide, he looked at the official seal and the official letter. After receiving the letter, he immediately smiled and said: "Commander Jiang is entering the camp. I have prepared meals——"
"There's no rush." ​​Jiang Ke waved his hand and said, "What's going on in the north?"
Liu Zhao's face suddenly turned ugly, and he said bravely: "Liu Yao built a fort on Danzhu Ridge, and his former army commander Hu Yanshou was entrenched in Huushi County. There were thousands of people, and he plundered people, cattle, sheep, and people everywhere.
They fled one after another, and I have asked people to resettle them in the mountains. It is very difficult for them and they are in urgent need of relief."
Jiang Ke knew what he was saying.
Thousands of Xiongnu soldiers couldn't be driven away. Liu Zhao really didn't have any strength at hand. They were probably mostly old, weak, women and children, with few strong men.
"How many people does Liu Yao have?" Jiang Ke asked again.
"I don't know." Liu Zhao answered honestly: "It should be no less than ten thousand people."
"I think the maximum number is ten thousand people." Jiang Ke thought for a while and said: "If there are many soldiers, how can it be possible to build a fortress on Danzhu Ridge?"
"The governor is right." Liu Zhao nodded repeatedly.
"Any news from Pingyang?"
"We captured two rangers yesterday and said that there were large Xiongnu soldiers on the Wuling Road. We also said that Pingyang would transport grain and grass to Jinyang regardless of losses," Liu Zhao replied.
"Who is leading the troops on Wuling Road? How many are there?"
"I don't know."
Jiang Ke sighed and didn't know what to ask.
Wuling Road leads to Pingyang and is a dangerous mountain road crossing the Wuling Mountains.
To put it simply, Wuling Mountain separates the Yuncheng Basin (Hedong County and Pingyang County, located in the west) from the Jincheng and Changzhi Basin (Shangdang County, located in the east) from east to west. There are not many roads, but most of them are mountain roads, which require climbing over mountains and ridges.
, similar to Taihangxing.
Danzhu Ridge separates Jincheng and Changzhi Basin - the two basins face each other from north to south across the mountain.
From the Changzhi Basin (where Shangdang County is located) to the north, you have to cross the endless mountains to reach the Taiyuan Basin (where Jinyang is located).
This is the terrain of Bingzhou, which is composed of large and small basins. Between the basins are mountains, some of which are very dangerous.
The mountains and rivers inside and outside are not without reason. They have been very conducive to defense since ancient times.
Seeing that Jiang Ke was silent, Liu Zhao thought for a moment and said, "There are rumors that Liu Cong went to Wuling Road in person."
"What?" Jiang Ke was a little surprised.
Is this going to go east from Wuling Road and penetrate Gaodu to cut off the return route of Liang Gong's army? Can he do it? Does he have enough food and grass?
Jiang Ke didn't quite believe it, but he immediately called a messenger to pass the news back.
At the same time, he looked at Liu Zhao and said: "Immediately send people to investigate westward, and there must be no mistakes."
Chapter completed!