Liu Kun's troops soon left the plain and entered the hilly areas between Taihang and Taiyue Mountains. The mountains are high and dense, and the roads are rugged and difficult to walk. The troops walked north along the narrow river valley on the Zhuozhang River, and sometimes directly advanced on the dry riverbed in winter. Along the way, the troops continued to recruit soldiers and food.
Although most of the densely populated villages in the past have been destroyed, some refugees are hidden in the mountains and valleys. As Liu Kun's army advanced northward, more and more refugees came out of the mountains and gathered in the scenery and joined the army. The number is far greater than the ones recruited in Shangdang a few days ago.
Three months ago, Lu Yao fought and fled along this route, and his troops fought fewer and fewer than before, until he finally collapsed. Who would have thought that if he retraces this road, he saw that the team expanded like a snowball, and the number of people in the entire team was approaching 8,000.
These vassals have seriously affected the speed of the team. In recent days, the army has only been able to travel twenty or thirty miles a day. According to this situation, I am afraid that it will not reach Jinyang in spring, but instead become the target of the attacks of the Huns.
Sure enough, as the troops marched, small Hu tribes scattered throughout Shangdang also heard about the news. These small tribes were vassals of Huns, and each tribe was usually only ten to twenty. The so-called "luo" is the basic unit of the Hu tribe, which is about two or three tents and a family group of about twenty people. During wartime, about five cavalrymen could be dispatched.
After the Huns gathered in Hedong, these Zahu tribes remained in Shangdang counties to eat. One of the tribes was annihilated by Liu Kun's personal guards in Changpingting. The soldiers of the Zahu tribe gradually moved closer to Liu Kun's troops with dozens to hundreds of people. During this period, relying on the complex terrain of Bingzhou, they repeatedly approached with small groups of cavalry to conduct tentative attacks and harassment.
Correspondingly, Ding Miao, the cavalry general under Liu Kun, also scattered his cavalry into multiple teams, and conducted a large-scale search and attack within a hundred miles of Liu Kun's headquarters as the center of the circle.
In just a few days, dozens or even more cavalry teams were clutching and changing, attacking and defending each other, and fighting sounded from time to time. Ding Miao's cavalry team suffered considerable casualties, and the losses of the Hu people were even more than multiples.
This situation lasted for five days. Liu Kun had to order to stay in Yangyi County, to allow the refugees to recover their physical strength, and to take this opportunity to reorganize the refugee team and select young and strong soldiers to prepare for the battle with the Huns.
Yangyi County was small, and the troops settled in Jicheng, 30 miles southeast of the county. Jicheng was the city blocked by Jin people in the Spring and Autumn Period. The camp was more than six miles away, and the terrain was flat and wide. Liu Kun set up his big tent for selling gold and cows in the central open space. He was a wealthy and high-ranking official, and although he was not deliberately extravagant, he was still not comparable to ordinary officials. The incense beast stove was placed on the left and right sides of the tent, and the ground was covered with good fur carpets. Outside the tent, the two wings of the halberds and armored soldiers were lined up to the gate. It was really very grand. The rest of the army would set up their own tents; then rely on the old brigade of Jicheng, and set up camps with baggage vehicles.
The camping day before, the various sentries were exploring far away, and cooperated with Ding Miao's elite cavalry to force Zahu's troops to drive away from afar.
From the next day, each general and school chose to select strong military personnel to enrich the organization. Although the presiding agent was Linghu Sheng, the respected veteran general, there was no need to worry about doing this for you. As soon as the sky was dawn, more than a dozen generals qualified to establish the army under Liu Kun's army rushed to the gate of the refugee camp and raised flags to recruit soldiers.
Recruiting soldiers is a big deal, even more detailed and troublesome thing. It must be done in a complete manner. After more than ten flag gates were in place, Linghu Sheng took the stage to beat the drums and sent the operators to gather the young and strong people who were willing to join the army on the open space in the center of the camp.
The refugees were stationed on the north side of Jicheng, which was noisy and had no rules. At this moment, it was even more chaotic and noisy: unlike the military camp, but like a market in a certain Tongdu Dayi. Linghu Sheng repeatedly ordered the army to serve him and dealt with a few unreasonable troubles, and then settled the order a little.
Then the generals entered the field to select soldiers, and each selected two hundred people based on the three-way drum. All the young and strong people were selected to go behind the flag gate of the general. Therefore, all the generals showed off the Xianli military flag and exquisite armor, and the soldiers accompanying them naturally used tall and majestic people to show their mighty and majestic spirit in front of the refugees.
Lu Yao was a little embarrassed because he was a short general, with only Xue Tong and He Yun under his jurisdiction. The flags were only one side, dancing alone in the cold wind, which was really ruined by the military power.
In the face of helplessness, he heard the sound of drums on the high platform, so he asked He Yun to hold the military flag and walk into the refugee community with Xue Tong first.
It should be noted that among the thousands of people, there are some people in the remnants of the Bingzhou Army. Lu Yao and Xue Tong are all senior Bingzhou Army officers, so they naturally broke the connections between bones and tendons. In a blink of an eye, several old acquaintances were found in it.
Shen Jin, a native of Mayi, Yanmen, was a colleague of Lu Yao for many years. He was able to shoot ten stones and shoot left and right. He was known for his bravery in the Bingzhou army. The Qiang and Hu cavalry led by the commander were very capable elite cavalry under the command of Chen Yong, the Yue cavalry. After Chen Yong was defeated and died, Shen Jin successfully broke through and fled into the mountains with more than 20 cavalry until the news came to join the army the day before yesterday. Shen Jin and his cavalry were all tall and powerful men, and they also had complete horses and weapons. Therefore, they were targeted by many of Liu Kun's subordinates. However, Shen Jin and Lu Yao were old acquaintances and took office as Lu Yao's cavalry commander, and the generals had no chance at all.
Shen Jin also recommended his brother Deng Gang, whom he met while hiding in the mountains. Deng Gang is a native of Jinyang, about forty years old. He is an old corps who has been in the military camp for half his life. At the age of eighteen, he joined the army as a good son. He followed four governors of Bingzhou, familiar with various military affairs, and can be called acquainted Lao Ma. Perhaps because he has seen too many vicissitudes of life and death, his words are very humble and he is also steady and reliable.
As we were chatting with Deng Gang, we heard a turmoil in the camp. It turned out that a man was quarreling with others. The man was very tough, nine feet tall, with a bee-waisted waist and ape's arms, a messy hair, and a high nose and deep eyes. He seemed to have some of the blood of the Hu people. The other party who was quarreling with him was a local clan, and more than a dozen mouths were spoken together, and the man was angry and mad. When he was proud, the man suddenly attacked and punched more than ten people one by one, as if he was rolling into the ground.
Lu Yao had just heard a cry when Xue Tong roared and rushed over. Two burly men hugged each other and laughed.
It turned out that this man was Xue Tong's fellow townsman named Gao Xiang. This man was originally the captain of Nie Xuan, the general Jishe, Bingzhou. His martial arts skills are the champion of the entire army. Nie Xuan regarded it as a sharp blade in his palm. Gao Xiang himself was also quite arrogant and had a bad personality and temper.
In the defeated battle of Bingzhou Army, Gao Xiang rode alone and broke the formation several times, but he could not save the situation of defeat as a mountain. Finally, he ran alone into the mountains. However, he was a little lucky and lost his way in the deep mountains and forests. After more than a month of revolving, he was in a mess like a savage, and lost his weapons and armor.
Although Gao Xiang and Lu Yao had no close friendship, they also met one another. In addition, with Xue Tong's friendship with his fellow countrymen, this powerful general of the Bingzhou Army naturally joined Lu Yao's command.
After walking around the camp for a while, Lu Yao, Gao Xiang and others returned to the place where he raised the recruiting flag. He was surprised to find dozens of men gathered in front of the small flag.
He Yun, who was protecting the flag, was joking with the men when he suddenly saw Lu Yao coming not far away. He Yunxi said, "Look, isn't this the general coming?"
The crowd separated from each other with a "chewing" sound, and a ragged boy walked towards him. The boy was slender and fast and powerful. He looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, younger than He Yun, with big ears and a handsome appearance. Seeing his arms exposed outside, his muscles and bones were thick, and his fingers and palms were covered with thick calluses, he was undoubtedly an experienced soldier.
Lu Yao hurried forward a few steps and was about to say hello, the young man looked at Lu Yao up and down a few times, and suddenly asked loudly: "Are you Lu Yao? Are you the army leader of the Bingzhou Army?"
It is extremely rude to call people in person, but Lu Yao does not care about these false articles. With the title of "Master of Army", he knew that the young man must be the remnant of the Bingzhou Army, which made him feel intimate. So Lu Yao smiled and said, "I am Lu Yao. I don't know, you are..."
Before he finished speaking, the young man had already bowed to the ground: "Master of the Army, Chu Kun, a native of Xianan County, come and join you with his brothers!"
"Yes, yes! We are all here to join you!" Many soldiers behind the young man bowed down with him and shouted in a verbal voice.
"Don't be too polite, get up! Everyone gets up and talks!" Lu Yao hurriedly helped them up one by one.
Lu Yao did not recognize any of these soldiers, but they knew Lu Yao's name and expressed that they must follow Lu Yao. It is said that when they were serving in the army, they had heard of a good army leader who was very kind to his subordinates, and he rarely beat and scolded his soldiers. He did not care about food, clothing, housing and use, and shared with his subordinates any rewards he received.
Lu Yao never expected that he had such a reputation among the soldiers of the Bingzhou Army. This was really unexpected. These behaviors were purely natural for Lu Yao and did not deliberately seek fame, but in the eyes of the soldiers, he was a rare good boss.
This situation really made Lu Yao not know what to say. In the eyes of high-ranking officials and generals in the court, Bingzhou is a powerful vassal in the world, a powerful general, and a strategic location for fighting for power and glory and wealth in the world. However, the soldiers who forgot to fight in Bingzhou even had a chief who did not deduct military rations, and even a luxury to avoid being abused, beating and scolded.
He comforted the soldiers repeatedly, and prepared to lead the way himself and take them to rest behind.
Lu Yao was very satisfied with this journey of recruiting soldiers. Chen Jin and Gao Xiang were both brave men in the Bingzhou army in the past, and they were powerful against the courage of a hundred people; and Deng Gang's skillfulness and Chu Kun's youthful spirit all made him appreciate them. Not to mention that those old soldiers who experienced consecutive battles were not comparable to ordinary strong men. With the two hundred such old soldiers, as long as they were properly commanded, they could be worth an ordinary army of thousands; and if the source of troops was sufficient, they could easily train ten times more soldiers with the old soldiers as the core!
Chapter completed!