The fighting in Handan City continued into the day.
There were about 2,000 Jin soldiers blocked in the city. After seeing the cavalry everywhere outside the city who did not distinguish between ourselves and the enemy, they decisively chose to stay behind and then fought fiercely at the city gate with the Xia army's cavalry that rushed over.
When fighting near the city, the cavalry was no match for the infantry, but the Xia army won because they had more soldiers and high morale. The Jin army had few soldiers and low morale, so they were quickly driven into the city without even having time to close the city gates.
The Xia army's cavalry rushed in along the street, but were quickly killed and injured by a hail of arrows and had to retreat to the vicinity of the city gate.
In the second half of the night, more and more cavalry came over, and everyone wanted to take credit. There was even a rumor that Li Keyong was in Handan City. This false news almost detonated the entire battlefield. All the nearby cavalry came over, and Handan was completely destroyed.
It was so crowded.
At Mao hour, two thousand infantry from the Administrative Army arrived. After they entered the battlefield, they quickly defeated the last resistance of the remaining soldiers of the Fifth Academy Army and took control of the entire city of Handan.
Then they searched the whole city for Jin generals who might be hiding in private houses - mainly to capture Li Keyong.
But unfortunately, Li Keyong was not seen until Li Yixian, the Qing Dao beheading envoy, arrived in Handan.
In the afternoon, Lu Huaizhong threw away the large army that was still on the way and quickly arrived in Handan.
"Everyone is stunned." Lao Lu cursed loudly: "Even if Li Keyong came to rescue the Fifth Academy Army, he would not be stupid enough to stay and guard the isolated city. He prides himself on being brave, skilled in bow and horse, and has many soldiers around him.
, can you scare me into retreating to Handan City?"
To be honest, Lu Huaizhong was also slightly disappointed. Of course he didn't believe that Li Keyong was surrounded, but what if it was true?
Although Li Keyong could not accomplish anything, he was the key to uniting the hearts of people in Hedong.
He is fierce and brave enough to attract the followers of some reckless generals.
He was loyal and sincere to others, and attracted the followers of some generals who were full of charlatanism.
He was from the three tribes of Shatuo and the nine surnames of Zhaowu. There were many generals and commanders, and there were also a lot of adopted sons from the Li clan. These people were also devoted to him.
If he dies, although the possibility of civil strife in Hedong is small, it is not small, and it will definitely greatly accelerate the demise of the Hedong military and political group.
"Over there in Wu'an..." Lu Huaizhong opened his mouth and hesitated.
It is indeed rare for a "ferocious" person like him to hesitate.
"Dutou, Wu'an still has to press hard. Even if the enemy cannot be completely annihilated, we must try to kill as many people as possible." Li Yixian saw Lu Huaizhong's thoughts and immediately stepped forward and said: "General, please lead the troops to the west.
Go forward and pursue the bandit army."
"Okay, very good." Lu Huaizhong was also very moved.
First march to Fu River, then forcefully cross the river, then besiege the city, and then march overnight to Handan. We have not had a good rest during the fight. Now we have to endure fatigue and pain, march west to Wu'an, and pursue the enemy. This will
Quite tenacious.
Lu Huaizhong was very satisfied with the veteran troops he brought out.
"Let's go now!" he ordered.
It's a pity that there are not many cavalry to send to him. In the case of continuous marching and fighting, the mobility and continuous combat ability of the cavalry are completely compared to that of the infantry. As expected, humans are more tolerant than animals.
After Li Yixian led his troops to set off, except for the two thousand infantry of the army, there were almost no infantry in the city who could fight.
Lu Huaizhong walked along the street.
Handan in the Guo Dynasty was not in the same place as Handan in the Warring States Period. It was thirty or forty miles away, and it was far less big than Handan at that time.
This is just an ordinary small county town. It has just experienced the devastation of war, people are in panic, and corpses are everywhere.
The people of Hebei did not live well under Li Keyong's rule. Lu Huaizhong still remembers that in the early years, after Li Keyong defeated Meng Qian and occupied the three eastern states of Zhaoyi, his troops also looted the people and trafficked people.
In the past ten years, such things have disappeared due to vigorous rectification, but the ruling style of a group cannot be changed overnight. Although Li Keyong has made progress in the governance of local states and counties, it is still far from enough.
"How long until Kang Yanxiao arrives?" Lu Huaizhong asked after the inspection.
He came to Handan lightly, while the main force was still marching, led by General Kang Yanxiao.
"General Kang has just sent an envoy, and he will be able to reach Handan at the same time." Shao Shenjian reported.
July is the hottest time of the year, and marching and fighting is not a simple matter. It is evening at Youshi, and the speed is not bad, not too slow.
But Lu Huaizhong wished they could fly over immediately.
The guards Jin Qianzhi was destroyed, the Huang Jia army in front of the hall fled, and the Fifth Academy Army suffered heavy losses. The main field force of the Jin army in Xing Mingci was destroyed.
There are just a few county soldiers.
The training and treatment of state and county soldiers are not as good as those of government soldiers, and their combat effectiveness is naturally not as good. They can only defend the city and wipe out bandits and bandits. Even in field battles, they have to rely on the city to fight in order to have combat effectiveness.
In Lu Huaizhong's eyes, these state and county soldiers all had outstanding military exploits. Now they could attack quickly and slowly, without giving the enemy time to react, and annihilate these enemy forces one by one.
To defeat the weak with the masses, to bully the weak with the strong, and to defeat the slow with the fast, this was the strategy Lu Huaizhong had set from the beginning, and he was prepared to carry it out to the end.
****
There was chaos in Wu'an City.
An Jinquan took a horsewhip and whipped the soldiers who were shouting and making a lot of noise.
These people have lost their courage and are unable to fight again in a short period of time. They must reorganize themselves.
He couldn't figure out how many people there were in the city. He had sent someone to do a rough calculation before. Some said four thousand, some said five thousand, and some said six thousand. He estimated that there were probably about five thousand people.
On the post road outside the city, officers had already led people there. When they saw the defeated troops, they collected them and sent them back. Therefore, the number of troops could be increased a little, but not much. It would be difficult to exceed six thousand.
Prince Jin has already been here once, asking about the situation and resting his power.
An Jinquan was very ashamed. Since July, the Fifth Academy Army had actually fought one battle, and was defeated by the Xia Army in the south of Linming County, losing thousands of troops. The rest was to wait for orders in boredom until they fled in chaos.
The King of Jin did not blame him much. After some encouragement, he led his cavalry southward to intercept the enemy troops heading north from Fukou.
Yes, the ghosts of the Xia people are really lingering. In fact, there have been bandit cavalry in the suburbs of Wu'an, but they were forced to charge by the Hengchuang army and retreated.
It would be great if the Tielin Army were here. Four hundred pairs of vests were made in Jinyang year, and the Tielin Army has become more and more powerful in recent years. If they were here, the bandit cavalry would not dare to be so arrogant.
"Military envoy, we have collected 1,500 men, food, grass, horses and mules, and are ready to go at any time." As soon as An Jinquan sat down, someone came to report.
"Very good, you take the others and leave first. I'll stay and wait for King Jin before I take care of the defeated troops." An Jinquan waved his hand and ordered.
"As ordered." The visitor hurried away.
After a while, there were cries one after another in the city.
The people of Wu'an had just been plundered, and their goods and food were taken away. Not to mention, Ding Zhuang was also recruited on a large scale to join the Fifth Academy Army.
The people of Wu'an were not stupid. They knew that they would never come back once they left, so they cried and said goodbye.
The Jin soldiers, who looked like wolves and tigers, slashed and killed several people with their swords. Then they took their wealth, food and grass, and strong men on the road and headed west.
An Jinquan stayed in Wu'an with two thousand soldiers, on the one hand to contain the defeated troops, and on the other hand to cut off the king of Jin's throne. The king of Jin did not ask him to do this, but An Jinquan felt that a man should be conscientious, so the king of Jin removed him from the tribe.
Promoted, carefully trained, and entrusted with important responsibilities, this kindness must be repaid.
They waited until nightfall. An Jinquan was preparing to have dinner when suddenly there was the earth-shattering sound of horse hooves outside the city. After a while, several horses rushed into the city and shouted: "Quickly retreat, there are thousands of thieves riding on them.
There are armored cavalry coming from the south. The King of Jin is already running into the mountains."
An Jinquan was shocked and was about to say something. The military academy that had gone to the east of the city to contain the defeated troops also ran back and shouted in a hissing voice: "There are bandit infantry coming from the direction of Dog Mountain. They should be the First Division of the General Army.
"
"Come on, your mother!" An Jinquan threw his job on the ground, hurriedly gathered his men, and fled out of the city.
To say that the ghost is still lingering, it really is that the ghost is still lingering. The pursuit is so tight, and there is no chance to breathe. You are going to heaven.
The chaotic troops and horses left the west gate of Wu'an and headed straight for the Western Mountain. Almost at the same time, a large group of cavalry attacked from the southeast. The Jin soldiers exploded at once. They, who had been frightened for a long time, dispersed and took advantage of the cover of the night.
, scattered and fled.
In the northeast, two long dragons were arriving quickly. The sound of drums was rumbling, shaking the sky and the earth, and countless Xia soldiers were rushing towards them.
An Jinquan led hundreds of people, fighting and retreating.
"Envoy, please mount your horse and leave first." The general let his horse out and cried: "When you return to Jinyang, don't forget to take care of my family."
An Jinquan yelled: "What nonsense are you talking about? If we come out together, we must go back together. If not, we can die together. What a big deal!"
After hearing this, the soldiers burst into tears and drew their swords one after another, preparing to fight to the death. When the Xia army pursued them, they ran away in a hurry, but when the matter came to an end and saw that they could not run away, they did not have so many other thoughts. There were so many brothers.
Together, even if we die, we will still be there to take care of us on the road to hell. What a damn thing to be afraid of!
"An Jinquan, Mingzhou has surrendered, why are you still running?"
"Your whole family is in Mingzhou, and now it falls into my hands. The king of Xia is kind and respectful, so why don't you surrender quickly?"
"The King of Jin and the King of Xia are brothers. We are all one family. Why are we fighting? Even if you surrender, you will not lose your wealth. Don't make any mistakes."
"Can you bear to watch the old brothers you have led for eight years die without a burial place?"
"My sons, An Shenhui and An Shenqi, were both imprisoned. They are so pitiful at such young ages. Their life and death depend on your thoughts."
A large group of cavalry surrounded them, circling leisurely.
Hundreds of sergeants around An Jinquan formed a formation with baggage vehicles and were ready.
Xia Jun did not want to attack by force, so he resorted to scheming and used words to shake An Jinquan's will to resist.
Sure enough, this worked.
The soldiers and generals all looked at An Jinquan and remained silent. King Jin had left, and they had no reason to fight to the death. Of course, if An Jinquan was determined to fight to the death, they would follow suit.
In the wilderness, screams could be heard one after another. It was the Xia Army's cavalry that was easily harvesting the lives of the defeated soldiers. The officers and men of the Fifth Academy Army had already messed up their organization and were completely like meat on the chopping board.
An Jinquan's expression kept changing in the firelight, and the hand holding the knife trembled slightly.
After a long time, he burst into tears and threw the knife to the ground.
