Since most of the army was infantry, Xiao Jingxuan only marched sixty miles a day, and then arranged for the army to camp and rest.
It is almost five hundred miles from Lingzhou to Fengzhou. According to the current speed, it is estimated that it will take nine days for the army to reach Fengzhou.
However, along the way, Xiao Jingxuan became more and more angry. Some of the towns he passed were really empty. Some villages were even massacred.
There were even a lot of corpses on both sides of the road. The most important thing was that Xiao Jingxuan actually saw two Beijing temples. Beijing temples where the heads of ordinary people were scattered.
Xiao Jingxuan thought that he had been on the battlefield and had seen many tragic scenes.
However, when Xiao Jingxuan saw the scene of massacre, he still could not take it lightly. Xiao Jingxuan stopped in front of a Beijing temple and summoned all the soldiers.
Xiao Jingxuan found a high place and said to all the soldiers: "Brothers, take a good look at these capitals. This is a blood feud, a blood feud that will never be easy.
The reason why men like us join the army is to protect our families and our country. I hope you will take a good look at this scene and remember him in your heart.
One day, we will avenge this bloody feud, and we must use the heads of our enemies to comfort the heroic spirits of our fellow countrymen and elders, so that we can be worthy of our comrades who died in the war."
After saying these words, Xiao Jingxuan arranged for people to bury the bodies of the villagers and let them rest in peace.
Because there were too many corpses along the way, it took Xiao Jingxuan thirteen days to reach Fengzhou City.
Looking at the dilapidated Fengzhou City in front of him, Xiao Jingxuan was a little stunned. It didn't look like a city in front of him.
The walls are in ruins, there is not even a city gate, the whole city is in ruins.
Xiao Jingxuan had no choice but to arrange for the troops to camp first. Let’s talk about it after resting.
After the army set up camp, Xiao Jingxuan took a few personal guards out of the camp to inspect.
There are no intact buildings in the city anymore. Xiao Jingxuan walked around Fengzhou City and didn't see a single living person.
After walking around the entire Fengzhou City, Xiao Jingxuan fell silent. This was no longer something that only five thousand people could solve, and he had to ask for help.
Xiao Jingxuan wrote a letter asking for help and asked the cavalry to go to Longzhou and hand it over to the Governor of Longzhou.
Then he summoned the military lieutenants and generals to start discussions. Fengzhou City must be rebuilt.
Without Fengzhou City, Shuozhou and Yinchuan alone would not be able to form a horn, and there would be huge holes in the entire defense line.
However, now that autumn is coming, the city must be built quickly before spring begins.
So the next day, all the infantry began to take action and began to rebuild Fengzhou City.
Xiao Jingxuan expanded Fengzhou City on the original basis. However, there is no time to clean up the city for the time being.
Now all the energy is put on the city wall. Fortunately, although Fengzhou City was destroyed, there is no shortage of bricks and stones.
Xiao Jingxuan designed the new Fengzhou City like this. The city wall is three feet high, and there is an arrow tower every five meters. The arrow tower is one foot higher than the city wall. The city wall is three meters thick.
There are four gates in the southeast, northwest, and outside the city. Although there is no water, it is very deep and wide, about three meters. Each gate has a suspension bridge. There is also a gate inside the suspension bridge.
The design is very good, but 5,000 people is too few. The most important thing is that Xiao Jingxuan did not let the cavalry participate in the construction, but let the cavalry continue to train, and the infantry and auxiliary troops were responsible for building the city.
Xiao Jingxuan did not intend to complete it in one step. Such a large project would not be completed in three to five years.
One month after Xiao Jingxuan arrived in Fengzhou City, the trench in front of the Fengzhou City wall had just been dug. However, it was at this time that support from Longzhou arrived.
Xiao Yan's uncle is really good. In addition to providing hundreds of craftsmen, he also brought eight thousand civilians and food and baggage.
With the arrival of these people, the speed of city building has increased a lot. After all, these talents are professionals.
With the arrival of craftsmen and civilians, the infantry finally had time to train.
Xiao Jingxuan stipulated that the infantry train in the morning and build the city in the afternoon. The cavalry trains all day long, with only auxiliary troops. Except for escorting supplies, the rest of the time is spent on building the city.
While Xiao Jingxuan was busy building the city, a bloodless war broke out in the imperial court in Luocheng, the capital of the Wei Dynasty.
It turned out that there was still a heated discussion in the court about the outcome of this battle, as well as the gains and losses.
Logically speaking, having repelled the barbarian attack and regained the lost territory, this should be a great victory.
However, the left and right Xiaowei were almost completely wiped out. The defenders of Fengzhou, Yinchuan and Shuozhou also suffered heavy casualties. The defenders of Lingzhou, Yanzhou and Daizhou also suffered heavy losses.
In this battle, the Wei Dynasty lost almost 120,000 troops. This did not include the deaths of the people.
According to statistics from local officials, the number of civilians who died at the hands of the barbarians this time was about 50,000, or nearly 200,000.
What a shame and humiliation. This is the biggest shame since the founding of the Wei Dynasty by Taizu Taizu.
As the head coach this time, the eldest prince should be responsible for this.
The entire court almost became a quarrel over this.
In fact, there was still a party struggle behind this incident. The prince was the first to advocate severe punishment for the generals.
Dugu Clan, one of the four great clans, is the crown prince's biggest supporter.
Of course, those who advocate heavy rewards are the eldest prince's family. As the eldest son of the emperor, the eldest prince is also the grandson of the head of the Yuwen Clan, and he also has many supporters.
The two sides had a lively quarrel in the court.
In addition to these two groups of people, the Lin family and the Cui family all remained silent and did not participate.
The remaining people are the nobles headed by Min Yanghou. They are not involved. As staunch royalists, they will not easily express their stance without the emperor's order.
In the palace, Emperor Jia'an was furious and said angrily to the eunuchs beside him: "Look, look, these are my two good sons, one has military power, the other has many party members, huh, and those courtiers, one by one
Stand in line, I'm not dead yet."
The eunuch next to him was not an ordinary person, but Lu Weihai, a close minister of Emperor Jia'an, who was in charge of the eunuchs and was known as a poisonous snake by the officials.
Lu Weihai said cautiously: "Your Majesty, please pause your thunder. Marquis Minyang and several honorable nobles are outside the palace to ask for an audience."
"Is Duke Liang here?"
"Your Majesty, Duke Liang has not come."
"Let them in."
After the officials came in, Emperor Jia'an discussed the rewards with these nobles.
In the end, Emperor Jia'an had to compromise and appease both parties.
After these nobles left, Emperor Jia'an said lonelyly: "Hey, these people are still a little bit worse. It's a pity that Xiao Chengen ignored the emperor's favor, otherwise... By the way, how is he now?"
As a eunuch, Lu Weihai knew what to say and what not to say, what to hear and what not to hear clearly, so he said: "Fortunately, we are building the city now."
Emperor Jia'an was noncommittal.
In the study room of Duke Liang's Mansion, Xiao Chengen looked at the letter in his hand and didn't speak for a long time. At this time, a voice sounded in the room.
"My lord, we will meet in court today..."
Xiao Chengen sneered contemptuously: "He brought it upon himself, he is mean and ungrateful. How do you make people loyal? Stand back and monitor him closely."
The study became quiet again.
After Xiao Chengen finished reading the letter in his hand, he said to the room: "Send someone to inform the clan uncle. It is impossible for the young eagle to fly for nine days without being baptized by the violent storm. In addition, tell Liangzhou the same thing."
At this time, Xiao Jingxuan did not know about the disputes in the capital, but he encountered a problem.
Local materials were used to build the city. In addition to the city gates and some defensive equipment that needed support from Longzhou, there was also food.
There is no shortage of food and grass in Fengzhou, but there is a shortage of meat. Although there is a lot shipped from Longzhou, it is a drop in the bucket.
You must know that these craftsmen and civilians are doing manual labor. Without oil and water to eat, people can't bear it.
Of course, the same goes for the military.
There is also money and wages. Originally, there was a horse market in Fengzhou City, so there were many business travelers. Naturally, there was no shortage of food and wages.
However, nowadays, everything is stretched thin, so we can't always ask our uncle for help, right?
Although the old saying goes that if you are thick-skinned, you have to eat enough. But this seems too incompetent.
It seems that this is the only way to do it. Instead of calling the generals to discuss the matter, Xiao Jingxuan called Lei Ben and ordered his troops to stop building the city and take charge of guarding the city. If there is a war, he can command other tribes to defend the city together.
After giving Lei Ben a warrant, Xiao Jingxuan began to prepare with the cavalry.
On the third day, Xiao Jingxuan disappeared in Fengzhou City. Also disappearing with Xiao Jingxuan were 1,100 Fengzhou cavalrymen.
Although Xiao Jingxuan disappeared, Fengzhou City was still under construction in an orderly manner.
However, the generals in the army were a little surprised and panicked. In desperation, Lei Ben summoned officers above the rank of captain and showed Xiao Jingxuan's warrant to calm the uneasiness in the army.
Ten days after Xiao Jingxuan disappeared, the north wind blew on the grassland. It was already autumn and the weather was already a bit cold.
I saw that about five hundred miles away from Fengzhou City, a thousand-man cavalry was resting there.
I saw that the clothes of these people were a bit strange. Some were wearing iron armor, like Wei Cavalry, but some were wearing leather armor and barbarian leather hats. They looked like barbarian rangers.
The year before this team started, more than a dozen people gathered around and discussed with a hand-drawn map.
The leader said: "Now it has been found that there is a tribe of 100 people fifty miles northwest of us. Pass the order and take action at midnight tonight. The first rate will follow me to attack, and the second rate will be on guard around us. Remember
, no matter young or old, they will be killed without mercy."
Facing the leader's order, everyone did not hesitate and said in unison: "Yes."
It turns out that these people are Xiao Jingxuan and others who disappeared.
Faced with a shortage of supplies, Xiao Jingxuan had no choice but to plan to plunder on the grassland.
However, plundering was not as easy as imagined. First, the terrain was unfamiliar, and second, the strength was insufficient. Large tribes could not defeat them, and small tribes were located in remote areas.
Xiao Jingxuan led everyone to search the grassland for ten days before he found a tribe that could be plundered.
I don’t know what the harvest will be like this time, but I can’t do it without fighting, and the troops’ supplies are getting less and less. If there is no more harvest, I’m afraid they will run out of food.