In Jinyang City, Qingzhou soldiers and Jizhou soldiers were stationed in one place, firmly controlling the city abandoned by the Huns.
I heard that Liu Yasheng wanted to set a fire before retreating, but it had been raining for days and the weather was humid. Even if the rain stopped, fires would not easily break out. After the enemy retreated, the few remaining people spontaneously put out the fire, and then it rained again.
This important town in the northern country, which is about 20 miles away, has been preserved.
Outside Jinyang City, there are endless carriages and horses as far as the eye can see.
The drivers and grooms spoke with Hebei accents and looked like mud monkeys, but they still used their last remaining strength to unload the grain and load it into the warehouse.
After all this work, some people will return as soon as possible to transport the next batch of grain.
Some people rested for a day or two, and then transferred military supplies and equipment northward to support Commander Li Zhong's expenditure in attacking Xinxing.
There was also a "ding-dong" sound coming from the distance.
The wealthy Taiyuan family brought out many craftsmen from their own forts, working day and night to repair damaged vehicles, repair damaged armor, and reforge curled-edged swords...
At the foot of the mountain to the west, there are luxuriant water and grass, and flocks of cattle and sheep.
Some overused draft animals are also grazing here and will be raised for a while before being put into use again.
The mountain roads were rugged and transportation was difficult. Not only did the master suffer heavy casualties, but the draft animals often rolled down the ravines and valleys, causing heavy losses and requiring timely replacement. After fighting in Bingzhou for so long, everyone had a deeper impression: fighting is about logistics.
Perhaps it was because of the continuous rain and the ferocious flow of rivers and streams, carrying a large amount of sediment, leaves and even corpses. The women and children grazing herds went to great lengths to move some of the livestock to the mountainside, or further away from the river.
place.
Someone is already making cheese, and it will be shipped out in a while.
Livestock that died of illness, died in battle, or were injured were slaughtered on the spot.
After rough tanning, the leather is put away and can be made into leather armor later.
The meat will be further processed. Due to weather conditions, it is inconvenient to dry and dry, so it can only be smoked. The bacon will also be transported regularly as a front-line supply.
The water and other things were put together in earthen pots and cauldrons for cooking. Under the south city wall, rows and rows of pots were spectacular. They were for the soldiers to eat to replenish their strength and fight more vigorously.
In the camp in the east of Jinyang City, troops arrived one after another.
While cursing the muddy and difficult road, they looked for a place to light a fire and dry their wet clothes.
There was thick smoke billowing in the camp, and there were constant coughs. The wet firewood made people irritated, and they wanted to scold their mothers.
Farther away, piles of prisoners and slaves were filling the puddles on the post road.
Mud, broken bricks, and branches were used for whatever they could, and they were busy making sure not to affect the passage of the baggage convoy.
This is the other side of war, the side that few people know.
Without this aspect, there would be no warriors galloping through various conflicts on the battlefield, let alone victory.
Under such circumstances, Li Chong spent three days arriving in Yangqu County, and then made simple weapons to launch an attack on Shiling.
****
On May 20th, Lu Ya led more than a thousand people as a vanguard and tried to attack the enemy's stronghold on the stone ridge. After leaving corpses on the ground, he retreated.
"There should be no less than two thousand people on the mountain." Lu Ya pulled down the two arrows stuck in his armor and said, "The thieves mainly guard a few narrow mountain roads that can only be passed by bicycles, erect fences and build earthen walls.
, with iron-armored warriors with big shields and spears in front, and archers at the sides and behind. If you want to attack, you must give me elite soldiers."
"How many elite soldiers are there in the enemy army?" Li Zhong asked.
"It's hard to say." Lu Ya replied: "There may be some defeated soldiers who returned from Jingxing on the mountain, but there are all elite soldiers on the mountainside. There are always thousands of people in total."
Li Chong knew it well.
Hu Shile, who was once so powerful, only has so few elite soldiers today.
I heard that when Liang Gong went to Nanyang, the Le family was able to pull out a thousand heavily armored elite soldiers and even raised a small number of cavalry. Now many years have passed, and the Le family's power has penetrated from Nanyang to Shunyang, Xinye, Yiyang and other counties.
, the strength is more powerful.
From the perspective of military strength, Shi Le is not necessarily stronger than the Nanyang Le family. It's just that they have been fighting for many years, have rich battle experience, and have a group of fierce and fearless men under their command. This is better than the Le family - but
The Le family has repeatedly fought in battles over the years, and their war experience has slowly improved, but they are no longer what they used to be.
"Dig trenches, build trenches, and stockpile supplies and equipment." Li Zhong ordered: "Send people to monitor the mountains on the left and right sides to prevent thieves from taking detours and sneak attacks. Send another ranger to inspect the grain roads in the rear. If there is any news, report it immediately."
Li Chong's words were an instruction to the other generals around him. They were very convinced of him and quickly followed the order.
Lu Ya was a little confused and said hurriedly: "Captain, weren't we talking about attacking Shiling Village just now?"
Shiling Village refers to the temporary camp built by Shi Le at Shiling Pass.
As the north gate of Jinyang, the terrain of Shiling is very dangerous, so during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, a military town was built at the southern foot of Shiling, which was called "Shiling Town", and a pass was built on the mountain, called "Shiling Pass".
The Jin Dynasty was in a state of semi-abandonment of Bingzhou, and at the same time opened the country's gates to welcome the Hu people going south. Of course, they were too lazy to care about the north gate of Jinyang. At this time, Shiling Pass and Shiling Town did not exist.
If there was no war, naturally there would not be so many dangerous passes involved. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, both sides fought bloody battles in Bingzhou in western Henan. This was related to the fact that both sides used the terrain to resist resolutely and continued to build forts.
"We only have 6,000 troops and less than 5,000 infantry." Li Chong took a deep look at Lu Ya and said, "The Art of War says, 'A general does not worry about victory but first considers defeat, so he can fight a hundred battles without danger.' With this small amount of troops,
, there will be too many casualties in attacking the stronghold rashly, and the enemy may take advantage of it. Once defeated, Jinyang may be killed and plundered by the enemy, which will not only greatly reduce morale, but also allow Shi Le to relieve his urgent need of insufficient supplies."
"Commander..." Lu Ya was a little unwilling and said: "On the occasion of this great victory, it is time to fight bravely and pursue death in the north."
"Are you the governor or am I the governor?" Li Chong scolded: "Go down and rectify the troops, don't make any noise."
"No." Lu Ya saluted, turned and left.
Li Chong summoned the messenger again and ordered: "Go south quickly and urge Governor Jin to bring the Silver Spear Right Camp."
"No." The messenger quickly left.
Li Chong then began to patrol the camp with his own soldiers, and he was meticulous.
If the trench cannot be dug properly, it will be reworked.
Those who fail to place antlers as required and refuse to use carbine will be whipped on the spot.
No one has any complaints.
After so many years, everyone knows that fighting with Li Zhong is very tiring. He spent a lot of time digging ditches and building forts, most of which were even "useless efforts."
But everyone also knows that when fighting with Li Chong, it is difficult to be attacked by the enemy, and there is basically no risk of running out of food.
When the Xiongnu cavalry was strong and the food route was at its most critical, Governor Li also built an earthen city thirty miles away. He was not afraid of trouble at all. For this reason, he did not hesitate to give up the attack and advance slowly.
As he said: Don’t worry about victory, think about defeat first.
This is his style, different from others.
****
On the 21st, it started raining heavily again, occasionally mixed with thunder.
Shi Le came from Jiuyuan County, Xinxing's administrative seat, forty miles away, to inspect Shiling Village.
Zhang Jing, who had escaped from Jingxingguan, stood behind him, looking unhappy.
He had been deprived of his job and all his duties, and he followed Shi Le's orders in vain.
Of course, Da Hu, who only had a territory in one county, could not give him any real power position. At this point in the war, he really had no energy anymore. He just wanted to retreat to a safe place, silently lick his wounds, and take some time off.
.
The wind and rain are getting stronger and stronger, penetrating the raincoat, soaking into the iron armor, and soaking the inner lining, making people feel a bit chilly in early summer.
"If it hadn't rained like this, the Shao thieves would have come faster, and Shiling Pass might not have been saved." Shi Le wiped the rain off his face and sighed: "In the land of five counties, there are few soldiers, few generals, and lack of supplies. What can we do with it?"
Fight with Shao Thief."
Xinxing is not a large county, and it is prone to wars all year round. It is difficult to survive in a long-term war.
A large number of men were recruited this time, which would inevitably miss the agricultural work. Even if Shao Bing was defeated this time, the subsequent grain harvest would be greatly affected. Shao Bing's second attack would be unlucky.
He now felt what Liu Kun felt.
Trapped in Taiyuan, there was no time to recuperate, no encouragement to have children, no teaching on farming and mulberry cultivation, no training for young men. One war after another, there was no chance to breathe. The more we fought, the poorer we became, and the more we fought, the weaker we became. Without the support of Tuoba Xianbei,
Liu Kun has been dead for who knows how many years.
But does he have his own "Tuoba Xianbei"?
In the past, for example, the Pingyang court allocated some money, food, cattle, sheep, and equipment to him from time to time, and helped him share the pressure of the war. But now, there is nothing. His defeat is only a matter of time, maybe a month, luck.
If it's good for three months, is there any point in carrying it on for another three months?
"Your Majesty, Xinxing is not a place where we can stay for a long time, why not..." Zhang Jing stopped talking.
Shi Le remained silent and only asked: "I heard that Liu Yongming is trapped in Lu County?"
"Yes." Zhang Jing replied: "There must be no luck."
"Where is Liu Yasheng?" Shi Le asked again.
"Maybe he's in Jinyang, maybe he's gone. I--" Zhang Jing gritted his teeth and said, "If Liu Yasheng is trapped in Jinyang, how many days will he have enough food to eat? In the end, he may have to eat people. I think he may have already
He left, and at the end of March the 10,000 old, weak, women, children, and homeless men and women were moved away, so he had no intention of carrying him to Jinyang."
Shi Le sighed.
Yes, Liu Yao, as the coach, cannot protect himself, and they have all been severely injured by Shao Jun. What reason do they have to persist?
"Your Majesty, it's time to make a decision." Zhang Jing couldn't help but persuade him again.
Shi Le glanced at his right-hand man who was devastated by the defeat and said after a long time: "I will assign you five hundred people to escort the generals and their families all over the city to the west. Don't make any noise and leave at night. Don't bring any luggage. Take it lightly."
Dress up and go, just carry seven days of dry food with you. After entering the Fenshui Valley, go south and pass through the Xihe River to Pingyang. I have a familiar tribe on the Fenshui side, Wubao Shuai. When there is no food, you can go find it.
They can do it as soon as possible."
Zhang Jing secretly breathed a sigh of relief and agreed in a deep voice.
Sending all his family members away meant that Da Hu had no determination to persevere.
At present, the main force of the Jin army has not yet arrived, and there is no determination to attack by force. Once the army comes in full force, Shiling Village will most likely not be able to protect it, and its fall is inevitable.
Seeing that Shi Le had nothing to say, Zhang Jingshen bowed and left quietly.
Chapter completed!