One hundred and sixtieth chapters soldiers impermanence
Liu Xiang thought the flying bugs were so beautiful.
It's up to you to break out of the 400-mile Liaoxi Corridor.
Last year Gongsun Zan sent troops to attack, but he retreated without any pain. Although there were some other reasons, the Western Liaoning Corridor was also a very important obstacle.
Now, things have changed, and it's Liu Xiang's turn to be in trouble.
There is Yuguan on his side, and Tuhe County on the other side of Liaodong. The county seat is located on the east bank of Xiaoling River, which is modern Jinzhou.
Tuhe County blocks the east exit and relies on the river. It occupies a favorable location and is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
In normal times, this would have to cost the lives of soldiers. Now, when the locust god passes by, mortals are frightened, so they only need to take advantage of the situation and give him a gentle push.
What Liu Xiang wants to do is to let the Anping Army become the straw that breaks the camel's back.
He collected and made 3,000 Nuo opera masks for worshiping the Locust God, along with 3,000 outfits and hundreds of locust flags.
Nuo opera is the oldest form of Han nationality's ritual of worshiping gods and dancing ghosts to ward off plagues. It represents Anqing's dance to entertain gods and originated from Fang Xiang's exorcism activities during the Shang and Zhou dynasties.
Liu Xiang wants to perform a big show and play psychological warfare.
The first scene was chosen at Juyongguan.
It is now late July, and the time window for combat is only three months. Youzhou is bitterly cold and it is difficult to fight in winter. There is only one choice between Shanggu and Liaodong.
But the opportunity was rare, so he wanted to capture Juyong Pass first, and then attack the four counties in Liaodong.
Yan Rou led his Hu cavalry to join Wuyan and Kebineng, and the entire army of 10,000 cavalry had already set off. They wanted to contact Qiu Liju and Nanlou outside the fortress, using food and grass as bait to induce them to follow Yan Rou and enter Xianbei.
Domestic looting.
It doesn't matter what they grab, they just want to disrupt the Xianbei tribes.
The locusts rushed into the grassland from Bingzhou, and the tribes of Wuhuan and Xianbei were afraid that they would be uncomfortable. Liu Xiang was worried that they would go south to plunder, so he wanted to take a preemptive strike and contact Wuhuan to rob Xianbei to solve the hidden danger in advance.
It can also move Qiu Liju's army away from Liaodong, reducing the resistance to the next advance.
The Black Mountain Army, the Left Army, the Right Army and 50,000 militiamen are already transporting grain, grass and baggage to Yuguan, making preliminary preparations and waiting for the Chinese army to arrive. Then they will rush out of the Liaoxi Corridor and attack Gongsun Zan, a vassal state in Liaodong.
If the war goes well, we will try to capture the four counties of Liaodong.
An infantry battalion of 8,000 people was left to lead 50,000 militiamen to garrison Beixin City to guard against bandits from all walks of life in Jizhou. These people are Liu Xiang's allies. There are nearly 200,000 of them. If it were not for the lack of food and grass, the number could be even more.
There are also Bingzhou and Sili in the Taihang Mountains with more than 100,000 yellow turbans from all walks of life. These are also Liu Xiang's allies.
You need to take advantage of them, but also be on guard against them.
Order all militiamen to be on alert. In the next few months, most of his regular soldiers will go abroad to fight. The main force defending the territory will be these hundreds of thousands of militiamen.
1.4 million people from Jizhou will join Liaoxi, Youbeiping, and Yuyang, and will open up wasteland and farm fields next year.
Now he is building a house for himself, and will later be sent to build cities and roads, dig canals and dams, and provide relief through work.
After arranging tasks in various places, Liu Xiang led fifteen thousand infantry of the Chinese army to Jundu County, preparing to attack Juyong Pass.
The location of Juyong Pass is so important. At the junction of the Taihang Mountains and the Yanshan Mountains, there is a 36-mile-long passage running from northwest to southeast called Jundu Trail, which is the modern Guangou Pass.
This place leads directly to the hinterland of Youzhou. Without Juyong Guan in hand, it is equivalent to being pinched by the throat.
Juyong Pass in the Han Dynasty was built at the north entrance of Jundu Trail, which is the location of modern Badaling. The perimeter of the pass was 150 feet, or more than 300 meters, and the east and west gates were 30 feet apart.
17 miles to the south is Nanguan of Juyongguan, located in Jundu County, so it is also called Jundu Pass, which is the location of the modern water pass.
Liu Xiang had been planning these two gates for more than a year, but he could never find an opportunity. He only occupied the southernmost Xiaguan, which is the modern Nankou.
Xiaguan is not actually a city. It is just a place where villagers raise horses. There are 3,000 rear troops and 5,000 militiamen stationed there. There is also a horse farm in the nearby valley, and there are 3,000 militiamen there to assist in defense.
There are many people, but the defense is not strong. Only by taking Juyong Pass can Liu Xiang feel at ease.
He was waiting for the fog to start.
Autumn has entered in the late seventh month of the lunar calendar, and it often gets foggy in the morning, especially in the mountains.
The local old man judged that it would be foggy in the next few days, so he entered Jundu Trail under the guidance of his guide.
On July 23, the fifth day of the locust plague in Youzhou, heavy fog filled the mountains.
Liu Liu is the captain of Guandu Pass in Jundu Pass. He is in a bad mood and is very worried. He has been worried for a year.
At the beginning of last year, he was under the jurisdiction of the prefect of Guangyang. Guangyang had money and food. He and his more than 500 brothers had enough to eat every meal.
Now that he has been recruited by the Shanggu prefect, he is hungry and full. No one can bear it. None of the brothers want to do it anymore. He has already killed several deserters.
He doesn't want any of the brothers killed by the killer, not even a single one.
He was very worried. Now that there was a locust plague, it would be more difficult to have a full stomach in the future, but what could he do? He could only sit in the tower and be silent in a daze.
Suddenly he heard a noise on the wall, and the sound got louder and louder. He frowned and walked out, but his words of reprimand were suppressed before he could even leave his mouth.
A chill rose from the bottom of his heart. He shivered and felt his scalp numb. There was a group of things appearing and disappearing in the thick fog. They should be people, right?
They wore masks, waved flags, and danced Nuo operas. A lot of bits and pieces were floating around on their bodies, and it was hard to see what they were. There seemed to be some small things flying around, whimpering strange things.
The sound came from the fog.
Are these things people?
He swallowed, and looked at each other a few times with his brothers. No one knew what was going on, and no one could comfort the other.
"He, they are coming." Someone was so frightened that he lost his voice.
Something in the fog is approaching.
Getting closer.
Liu Liuzhuang had the courage to look carefully. There was something painted on the flag, but he couldn't see what it was. The face seemed to be a mask to worship the locust god, and the body was yellow and green. There were also a group of small things flying over.
locust?
The weird tone of voice was also clearly audible, as if it was saying: "The locust god is passing by, and the creatures are avoiding it."
The locust god is passing through?
Didn’t I just go there a few days ago? Why are you back again?
Someone nearby was shivering and chanting: "Messengers of the Locust God, messengers of the Locust God, they must be the messengers of the Locust God."
The more he chanted, the higher his tone became. The man suddenly shouted, turned around and ran away: "Run, the Locust God is passing through. If you don't want to die, run, run."
Liu Liu stretched out his hand to catch an empty space and watched him go straight to the city climb, rushed down the wall in a few steps, passed through the city in a flash, and ran into the west gate on the opposite side. The sound of frantic slamming on the door was accompanied by panic.
The shouting came: "Open the door, open the door, let me out."
The sharp sound made people tremble in their hearts.
Several more brothers ran away, some running along the wall, and some running down. Some brothers came over to take a look, turned around and ran away with a strange scream.
Running more and more.
Liu Liu looked at the shadowy things in the mist and felt guilty.
In fact, he is quite courageous. He is not afraid of how many people come to attack the city. If he cuts them with a knife or a bullet, he will lose a piece of meat at most.