The situation of the two troops who went deep into the country alone was very different. The reason was probably that one took the initiative and the other was deceived into going deep. There was a huge time difference in between.
This lasted for ten days, which was very fatal.
Kuang Ba, Fei Teng, and Yin Hu Yao actually worked very hard and performed very well. However, under the siege of nearly three times the number of Xia troops, they still couldn't stand it.
After fighting for ten days, the weakest link suddenly collapsed, and Yinhu Yao, who had fewer than a thousand men, fled, triggering the rout of the entire army.
The soldiers of the Wuwei Army who were attacking the stronghold shouted and climbed down the wall, killing the last batch of resisting enemy troops, then lowered the trench bridge and opened the stronghold gate.
On the periphery, the officers and soldiers of the Strategic Army who were preparing to take over from the Wuwei Army, led by the military envoy Guan Kairun, bypassed both sides of the camp and pursued them bravely.
Under the rainy night, the soil was soft and slippery, and there was no light, so it was difficult to maintain the formation. The pursuit only lasted for a moment, and it became extremely loose. Later, it became a spontaneous pursuit with the team as a unit.
There is no doubt that this violates the basic principles of pursuit warfare. However, the enemy's morale has collapsed, and even the men and horses in the rear have collapsed. There are no counterattack troops in the rear, and the whole thing is in chaos.
This is a breakthrough, not a retreat.
So we saw a magical scene. A Xia soldier stood up and chased a deserter. The deserter also had weapons in his hands. They were one-on-one, but he did not dare to turn back and fight.
It can be seen that morale waxes and wanes.
Li Chengsi and Li Sibi took the lead and disappeared into the rain.
The deserters threw away their obstructive spears and armor, carrying only their bows and knives, and fled desperately.
Behind them, the sound of cavalry chasing them kept ringing. Everyone pressed their lips tightly, covered their heads and hurried on, hoping to escape under the cover of night. If you are a dead Taoist friend, you are not a poor Taoist. Just kill others and don't look for me.
They crossed fields, waded through shallow streams, skirted forests...
There were fewer and fewer people around me, and my body became more and more tired. It wasn't until majestic mountains appeared in front of me that I cried with joy.
There were faint shouts of killing coming from the mountain ridge, and there was dull sound of horse hooves nearby. It was the Xia army cavalry searching and suppressing.
The defeated soldiers knew clearly that the Xia soldiers must be ambushed and intercepted. There would be no good results if they fled along the post road, so it was better to take a small road.
The paths are not easy to walk, and sometimes you will get hit by an arrow out of nowhere.
Needless to say, those were the villagers they had plundered before. They originally did not dare to take any action for fear of retaliation. But now the Jin army was defeated like a mountain and scattered everywhere. If they don't take revenge, what are they waiting for?
The defeated troops in twos and threes were so frightened that they had no choice but to flee.
But the villagers have already gathered. They are armed with wooden spears, hatchets, axes, and hunting bows. They are calling friends and are as brave as tigers.
The defeated soldiers with local accents begged loudly for mercy, but they were answered with a heavy blow.
Latin enlistment is a common method used by various warlords. Won't these young men harm the locals? Not necessarily. No need to talk nonsense. Unless someone is a guarantee, they will be killed.
The defeated soldiers who took the small road suffered a bloody misfortune, and the defeated soldiers who took the main road also encountered a strong interception at the bottom of the plateau.
The Xia soldiers shot arrows from the mountain plateau, but there were still two to three hundred people blocking them from the front. The defeated soldiers fled in a hurry and made a desperate attack. They actually killed the Xia soldiers who blocked the road. However, the cavalry followed closely behind and rushed forward.
The horse picked up the enemy one after another, and then threw them off the horse.
The defeated soldiers lost their minds and fled forward with all their strength, only to encounter a second wall again.
Only a few smart and lucky people used the cover of the woods to disappear into the mountains.
The military sergeant chased him all night.
After dawn, they rested for a while, then each took twenty vinegar cakes and chased north along the post road.
On the tenth day of the lunar month, they invaded Cizhou.
The city was empty, and the more than a thousand Jin soldiers who were guarding the city fled along the mountain road. They were very smart and knew that there was a black army in the rear blocking the road, so they might not be able to break through the blockage. Moreover, the big post road was really dangerous, and they might encounter them.
The cavalry made a surprise attack and fled along the mountain path.
The Jinglue Army made a brief inquiry, separated out more than a thousand people, and pursued the Jin soldiers in the direction in which they fled, and then the army continued to move north.
On the 12th, they chased to Wencheng County and surrendered to the Jin people's pseudo-county magistrate. The county magistrate and others dispersed and did not dare to resist. Five hundred people were separated and went east to Wucheng. There was also a small fork in the road there, and the county magistrate surrendered to the Jin people.
, just in time for liquidation.
On the 15th, the Jinlue Army pursued to the south of Daning County, and happened to encounter a Jin army that had come back over the mountains. There were about a thousand thieves, while the Jinlue Army had more than 3,000 infantry, and the two sides started fighting directly.
, the thieves were defeated and retreated.
After defeating this enemy force, the officers and soldiers of the General Army, who had been chasing for nine days, were almost paralyzed from exhaustion.
Traveling in the mountains is much more difficult than on the plains. We have to stay alert and sometimes fight, and everyone's physical strength has reached its limit.
"General Guan, I have been waiting day and night for you, and finally you are here." Xia Sanmu, the envoy of the Heiji Army, personally led the reinforcements into the city and said with emotion.
Of the 7,500 defenders, only about 5,000 are left after the battle to this day. However, the number of enemy troops besieging the county town and camp has increased to more than 30,000, and there are also many bugles.
The five armies of Victory, Courage, Might, and Victory, as well as the forcibly recruited local peasants, numbered 4,000.
In addition, the Jin army also divided some troops to make a detour and attack in a sneak attack. Ma Douguan was captured by them, and all one hundred defenders were killed.
There are still nearly 20,000 Jin troops in Hengcheng Town and Xichuan County.
It's not that Kang Junli didn't want to overwhelm all his troops, it was because the terrain was narrow and congested and he couldn't move. He could only divide his troops continuously and try to take a detour. But the detour couldn't go far. Logistics and supplies were a big problem, and it could only be a thousand men.
The small force could not have any decisive impact - the only harvest was probably horses and mules. They found some auxiliary troops of the Black River Army grazing in the mountains, killed more than a hundred people, and plundered 4,000 horses and mules.
After more than ten days of offensive, this was their harvest: they killed 2,800 black soldiers, plundered 4,000 horses, and seized more than 10,000 grains at Madou Pass.
The price paid by the enemy was certainly not small.
Wan Sheng's army was almost wiped out, with only about 500 people left. The army in front of the tent also lost about 2,000 people. More than 3,000 Dingzhuang from Xizhou, who was recruited by them one after another, died in the battle, and the rebellion was suppressed.
Thousands of people, many of the rest fled, and there are currently about 4,000 left.
Today we met with the Jinglue Army, and more than 300 corpses were left behind. If we also count the more than 11,000 Kuangba, Feiteng, and Yinhuyou armies who were basically all killed and wounded, the overall loss is not small.
"Not only are we here, Lu Dutou personally led the Wuwei Army to follow. It's only two days away. The Chishui Army, the Xiaojie Army and the Yongye of Puzhou Township have already arrived in Cizhou. When all the troops arrive, they will definitely look good on the thieves.
." Guan Kairun was very excited and pursued them all the way. Their military commanders were all vanguards, and Cizhou and other cities were recovered by them. If they were to serve as vanguards again and defeat a part of the Jin army and demoralize the enemy, they would not be able to escape this victory.
Already.
"Can you bring food and grass?" Xia Sanmu asked with concern.
After sending people to Hexi to convey the message, Yanchang County urgently collected more than 4,000 grains and beans, crossed the river and sent them to Madou Pass, and then sent them through the Pushui River Valley. At that time, the Jin army had not yet detoured to cut off this grain transportation line, so this batch
The food was delivered to Daning in time.
However, the grain sent from the direction of Yanzhou was not so lucky. The Jin army divided its forces and captured the Madouguan ferry, and grain transportation was interrupted.
Therefore, there are currently only more than 2,000 hu of grain in and around Daning City, and a large amount of dried meat has been consumed, which cannot support the consumption of an army of 20,000 to 30,000 people.
"Of course we have it." Guan Kaiyun said with a smile: "The Xiaojie Army escorted a large amount of grain and grass behind, no less than 40,000 dendrobium, which is enough to meet the needs of a month."
"That's good." Xia Sanmu breathed a sigh of relief, then gritted his teeth and said, "This time I must let out a bad breath."
Under a disadvantaged force, after being beaten passively for so long, people are angry, and of course they want revenge.
******
Kang Junli in Xizhou City has received the military report from the front.
There were a lot of military reports, one coming out every once in a while, which made him look gloomy and frown.
The Kuang Ba, Feiteng, and Yin Hu Yao armies should have been wiped out with more than 10,000 troops. Even if some could come back, how many? Hundreds? A thousand? It would be a drop in the bucket.
Wan Sheng's army had more than 3,000 men, but only 500 were left. An Yuanxin and Shi Jingrong knew that the battle ahead was not good, so they personally led the charge and fought with unparalleled bravery. Both of them were wounded and returned. In this regard, Kang Junli also
Don't blame them too much, they actually didn't make any mistakes.
In front of the tent, the four armies Shenwei, Shenjie and Shenyu each suffered hundreds of losses.
Sixteen thousand people were lost before and after, and the losses were so huge that he didn't know how to report them for a while. As for Cixi Xiangyong, he was not one of his own, so there was no need to report the losses. He could just ignore them.
There is no doubt that he suffered a huge defeat.
This news cannot be concealed. Even if he suppresses it now, Xia Jun will publicize it in a few days, and the sergeants will know it sooner or later.
Li Chengsi, this idiot!
Kang Junli thought for a moment, and decided that it would be better to pass the blame to Li Chengsi, who did not know whether he was alive or dead. If he died, that would be fine, as dead people cannot speak. If he did not die and came back, then military law would be enforced, which would be the same.
say.
"Send the order, the assault formation and the assault cavalry armies gather and retreat. The front-defeating army abandons Madou Pass and retreats to Xizhou. The formation-defying army retreats to Shangping Pass and guards our retreat."
"In a great victory, the Shenwei Army led Xizhou Xiangyong and retreated. In front of the tent, the Shenjie Army cut off the rear. The Shenwei Army lay in wait in Hengcheng, in the mountains and dense forests between Daning. If the bandit army pursues them, they will give them a head-on attack.
"
"As soon as the baggage, food, grass, and goods were received, they were escorted to Lanshi by the master who accompanied the army."
"I sent an order to Lan and Shi, the Governor of the Second Prefecture, to repair the city gates and forts within the territory, and to send prefecture and county soldiers to garrison. The local men of Tutuan mobilized the second batch to strengthen the troops."
"In addition, send an envoy to report to the King of Jin. Let him decide on the future strategy."
The staff looked at each other and didn't dare to fight.
But there seems to be no move. Kuang Ba, Fei Teng, Yin Hu Yao and even Wan Shengjun, more than 10,000 people, basically no longer exist. With such heavy losses, morale must have been affected.
On the other hand, the Xia people surrounded and annihilated the idiot Li Chengsi, and their morale was high. They went all the way north to pursue him.
Given the ebb and flow of the situation, it is really not appropriate to fight decisively. We can only use strong cities and strongholds to weaken the Xia people's morale, and then see if they can successfully counterattack.
Hengcheng Town is between Daning and Xizhou, and Shangpingguan is between Shilou and Pingyi. They are all good places to wear down the enemy's energy. Besides, after all the troubles in Cixi and Xizhou, the people probably have nothing.
With enough food left, the Xia army went hundreds of miles deep, still taking mountain roads. Now the logistical problem was handed over to their side.
There are many small roads in the mountains, and it is not impossible for surprise troops to attack the grain roads. This can further disperse the Xia army's strength.
Kang Dutou used his troops in a well-mannered manner and did not act haphazardly.
But - well, it would have been great if this strategy had been used to lure Xia's army northward from the beginning. But now, it is our own side who is greedy for credit and rushes forward, which is very speechless.