"Crash!" The heavily loaded baggage train passed by, causing a splash of water.
The prisoners were numb, too lazy to dodge, and did not dare to dodge.
In the battle of Xiurong, one of the Xiongnu generals (Qiao Zhong) was captured and 2,500 troops were surrendered. Only Qiao Yu and a few hundred others escaped from the encirclement and were nowhere to be found.
Let’s ask again about the number of Xiurong’s defenders before the war: more than 5,500.
During the actual siege stage, the number of Xiongnu soldiers killed in the battle was less than 3,000. Obviously, they had no determination to die and no determination to fight to the last man.
You know, this is Xiurong City, named after Liu Yuan, and it was captured just like that, which shows how low the Xiongnu's military morale has declined.
Of course, the orthodox Huns still resisted resolutely, especially when they were guarding the river. They fought a field battle with the Silver Spear Army and tried to attack halfway across the river. Unfortunately, the upper reaches of the Fen River (Lan River) were not wide enough and the current was not fast, so they were defeated in one fell swoop.
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During the city defense stage, the Huns continued to die in large numbers, while the Di and Qiang suffered fewer casualties. Among those who finally surrendered, they numbered close to two thousand.
This is reality.
After capturing Xiurong, Shao Xun took command of the city and recruited the chieftain.
Wang Que'er led the Silver Spear Left Camp, Luoyan Army, Xianbei Qingqi and a group of nearly 18,000 strong men to go south.
Before leaving, I tortured Qiao Zhong - in fact, he was sentenced without much punishment - and learned that there were four thousand Xiongnu imperial troops in the Chihshui area, and "thousands" or "more than ten thousand" of various tribes were building fortifications.
Keep.
Qiao Zhong really didn't know the number of Zahu, so he could only use a vague number to deal with it.
As for who the guard is, I will scare you to death if I tell you: Liu Fu, King of Bohai.
Wang Que'er drew some signs on the map and found that the Xiongnu camp was about 150 miles away from them, located in the Chishui River Valley, and they were building a fort along the way.
There should still be a large number of Xiongnu tribes in the mountains on both sides.
Their attitude is very important.
These tribesmen are not difficult to deal with and can be easily defeated in a frontal field battle. However, instead of fighting you head-on, they will only sneak attack on your long supply line, which is very annoying.
This is actually the reason why Shao Xun wanted to recruit the tribal chief.
There is no hope of turning enemies into friends, so it is better to stabilize them first. If there are a few young men among the tribal leaders who are willing to help lead the way, and select a few tribes that dance the most happily to destroy them, the others will have to weigh their concerns.
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In fact, some tribes have already chosen to cross the Yellow River and head to the Hexi area.
In the past two years, the climate in Guanxi has improved, precipitation has increased, and the grasslands in Hexi (Hetao area) are rich and lush. Wouldn't it be great to be like the Tiefu Xiongnu fleeing from Yanmen to Xingxing West?
Shao Xun did not care about these people who fled westward, and could not care about them. If they escaped, the threat to the food road would be small. It is a good thing, and there is no need to complicate it.
Since Xiurong moved south, the army's food routes have been harassed by Ruowuowu, which caused Wang Queer's troops to march very slowly and had to send a large number of cavalry to cover the rear.
He counted the time and felt a little worried.
The military adviser Zhang Bin was appointed to accompany the army and participate in the praise painting. Seeing Wang Que'er's worry, he advised: "There is no need to worry, Governor Wang. Marching in the mountains is not easy. You have to camp step by step. Food, grass, equipment, winter clothes, and wounded medicine are transported.
Slowly, it will hinder the advance of troops, but it is indispensable. For the present plan, we must proceed steadily and never advance rashly."
"The ones I'm worried about are not the Xiongnu, but the weather." Wang Que'er raised his horse whip and said, "Maybe in ten days and a half, the snow will fall. Even if you have winter clothes, when the weather is cold and the ground is freezing, the troops will
The morale is low, but there is also a bit of fighting spirit."
Zhang Bin had obviously considered this issue. After hearing this, he immediately said: "Military battles are inherently unpredictable. When the first snow falls, it will never be too cold. If it really doesn't work, you can retreat to Xiurong, Loufan, Fenyang or even
Jinyang."
Wang Que'er's face still didn't have much expression, and she just said: "That's fine. Duke Liang's military order has been issued, so we can only fight."
"The king's army went south. Even if they didn't attack the city, the Xiongnu would not dare to take it lightly. They would be prepared for it." Zhang Bin added: "Qiao Zhong once sent people to Pingyang to ask for reinforcements. I heard that thousands of people were sent to Pingyang, most of whom were stationed on the river.
The tribes in the east are all mixed up. As this army goes north, the journey is equally difficult. Maybe our army has not enough food and grass. On the other hand, as soon as they leave, Zhiguan and Hongnong's front line troops are too weak to fight, so they can only retreat step by step.
Over time——"
Having said this, Zhang Bin shook his head.
Wang Queer looked at the majestic mountain ridges on both sides of Chishui River and didn't say much.
He understood what Zhang Bin meant.
After sending out troops for the second time, the breakthrough was probably to the south, not them.
Jinyang's soldiers are serious soldiers, attracting the enemy's main force to gather together, and creating opportunities for Zhiguan and Hongnong.
Liu Shan, Tang Jian, and Liu Runzhong of the Shangdang actually have the same role. They don't have many soldiers, but as long as they send a few troops to cross the Wuling Road and move westward, the Huns will not dare to remove the troops guarding the north and south roads of Wuling.
Soldiers and horses.
Yang Dan and Wen Qiao had the same idea. They led tens of thousands of troops to attack Lengquanshui. The battle was ineffective, but the Huns did not dare to withdraw the thousands of troops guarding the camp. And behind these thousands of troops
, and there are more than one "thousands" who can be rotated or even reinforced at any time.
Liu Cong mobilized troops from Hedong to go north to Xihe, but did not mobilize troops from Pingyang, which already illustrates the problem.
Considering that Hongnong is making great progress, should Liu Cong send reinforcements?
The troops were guarded everywhere, and the troops were occupied in large numbers and thinly divided. Perhaps this was Master Shao's intention.
On October 21, the vanguard Duan Mobo arrived at the Xiongnu camp on the west bank of the Red Flood River (north of Fangshan County). The two sides chased each other in the mountains, with arrows like locusts, and a new battle broke out.
****
The gate of the camp suddenly opened, and hundreds of riders filed out, shouting loudly.
The guards surrounded Shao Shen in groups, using round shields to protect him, spears fired, and braved arrows to rush straight into the enemy formation.
Of course, this is not enough, there will definitely be arrows missed.
But after all, he was the nephew of Mr. Liang. These hundreds of horses were equipped with horse head armor, which only protected the horse's head, neck, chest and abdomen.
This kind of horse-head armor is cheap to make. During the Early Han Dynasty, there were more than 97,000 horse-head armors stored in the Donghai Arsenal. If the Early Han Dynasty could afford suitable war horses and personnel, it could at least form 97,000 and a half-armored cavalry—
- Of course, this is impossible. The cost of armored cavalry is never the armor, but the difficulty of finding war horses, the personnel training cycle is too long, and the daily expenses are too high.
Hundreds of cavalry bypassed the large formation of Mi soldiers, caught up with the retreating soldiers who had attacked the stronghold, and charged and fought fiercely.
When the killing spree began, Shao Shen jumped out of the crowd, identified the direction with dozens of "evil young men", and headed straight for Wang Mi's banner.
Wang Mi stood on the high slope, the corner of his mouth twitching.
He had known Shao Shen for a long time and had been an old rival for many years.
Shao Thief had put a lot of effort into training him. He was excellent in martial arts and had good military skills. He was very brave when galloping and rushing, and he especially liked to charge with hundreds of cavalry.
Fortunately, he made preparations today.
While the flags were waving, drums were beating continuously, and several battalions lined up in neat formations. They fired with strong bows and crossbows, knocking down the broken troops and the chasing cavalry in large areas.
"Xilulu!" The horse neighed in pain.
Several of the evil young soldiers in front of Shao Shen had fallen, and the gap was exposed. Several arrows flew to and were inserted into the armor. Fortunately, they did not penetrate deeply into the flesh, but the pain was heartbreaking.
What's even more helpless is that the war horse first stood up, and then fell to its knees heavily.
Shao Shen hurriedly rolled off the saddle, took the reins handed over by his own soldiers, jumped onto a new horse, gritted his teeth and charged again.
The Qiang people on horseback surrounded him, arrows raining down like rain.
Shao Shen hurriedly urged his horse to meet them head-on. As they passed each other, the horse's trap swept them down, instantly shooting down the two men.
After rushing forward for more than ten steps, another gun came towards me.
Shao Shen narrowly dodged and then grabbed the gun barrel. The enemy rider pulled back hard, and Shao Shen let go of his hand. The enemy rider became unstable and shook a bit. He was picked up by the evil boy who followed closely.
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Wang Mi had already stood up, secretly cursing the Qiang people's light cavalry for their incompetence and their inability to fight with their lives. If it weren't for my cavalry, I would have lost all of it, so what's the use of you?
Fortunately, the infantry had slowly pressed forward. Under the rain of arrows, the Jin cavalry that rushed over suffered heavy losses.
Shao Thief's great nephew was surrounded by more than a hundred cavalry, rushing left and right among the Qiang cavalry, looking incomparably brave.
The Qiang cavalry did not confront them head-on.
When the Jin cavalry charged, they dispersed and then galloped.
When the Jin cavalry turned, they circled to both sides and rear of the enemy and fired arrows continuously.
The Jin cavalry gave up the entanglement and headed straight towards the direction of the big banner, only for the Qiang cavalry to block it slightly.
It should be said that the battle situation is very stable.
But seeing that Shao Shen was still alive and kicking, Wang Mi couldn't hold back his anger.
He glanced to the east and saw another group of infantry troops dispatched to continue attacking the stronghold.
The Zhongwu troops on the wall were raining down arrows, and from time to time they also threw stones, boiling water and other objects. They resisted very tenaciously.
Wang Mi was a little anxious.
His younger brother Wang Yan was still fighting hard in Jianchi. He could not stay too long in the Erling area of ​​Koban and must conquer the stronghold as soon as possible.
Thinking of this, the flag was waved again. Another mixed infantry and cavalry team of 2,000 people left the starting point, marched towards the rear of the Jin cavalry, and outflanked them.
Shao Shen, who dances the most happily, must be killed as soon as possible!
Once he died, the morale of the Zhongwu Army collapsed, and a great victory was expected.
At this time, he had already deployed almost all of his reserves, and the total number of infantry and cavalry that surrounded Shao Shen exceeded four thousand.
Shao Shen seemed to be aware of the danger, and slowly gathered his cavalry, looking for gaps and retreating.
The war drums under the banner were beating faster and louder, which was a signal to speed up the advance.
The four thousand cavalrymen shouted in unison, moved quickly, surrounded the Jin cavalry who were lagging behind, and killed them wantonly.
What’s more, the Qiang cavalry, who had not worked very hard before, saw the Jin cavalry retreat and suddenly shouted and became extremely brave.
The entire formation began to lengthen, and gradually became a little chaotic.
At this time, a large plume of smoke and dust rose from the east, and the rhythmic sound of horse hooves filled the sky and echoed throughout the valley.
Wang Mi's expression changed and he looked up, only to see countless armored warriors galloping out from behind the camp guarded by the Zhongwu Army.
Their speed is very fast. They don't care about the horses at all, and they don't save any horsepower. They just maneuver quickly.
"Fu soldiers?!" Wang Mi's face turned dark. He felt as if he had made a mistake.
A total of 2,400 soldiers crossed the entire battlefield, walked to a gentle slope, dismounted, and then, at a dizzying speed, drew out their weapons and formed a formation.
In an instant, more than two thousand armored warriors rushed over at a fast pace.
Under the crossbow fire, a large number of Qiang cavalry who were chasing Shao Shen fell off their horses and screamed. When the rest of the crowd saw it, they immediately dispersed and retreated.
After the crossbowman finished shooting, he immediately turned around and retreated.
The others quickened their pace, wielding heavy swords, large axes and long halberds, and headed straight towards the pursuing Mi Bing infantry.
Their maneuvers on the battlefield were not random, but a specially selected flank. From arriving at the destination, to dismounting, forming a formation, and then marching into the wall, the entire movement was done in one go. After defeating the Qiang cavalry, there was no hesitation.
The ground was inserted diagonally into the military formation, and a bloody storm suddenly arose.
"It's over!" Wang Mi couldn't stop trembling.
This is the final capital!
The nightmare of the past seemed to come back again. Every time he was complacent and had accumulated some experience, he would be immediately caught and beaten by Shao Xun.
Not once or twice!
In the past few years, he has become a little more stable, and Shao Thief didn't come to beat him specially. Therefore, his capital has become stronger and his ambition has become higher and higher, but today it seems that he is going to lose it...
Wang Mi felt dizzy for a while, his ears were buzzing, and in the end there was only a huge word "Go" in his mind!
"Poof!" He spit out a mouthful of blood and was about to fall to the ground.
General Wang Gen quickly stepped forward and supported Wang Mi.
"Order to withdraw the troops and return to Shaanxi City." Wang Mi said weakly.
Wang Gen nodded and immediately sent someone to convey the order. He took his own soldiers, helped Wang Mi into a donkey cart, guarded him, and ran westward.
Chapter completed!