Chinese New Year

Chapter 417 Siege
On the eighth day of the ninth month in the sixth year of the Yongjia reign of the Jin Dynasty (312), the weather was sunny, with a clear autumn sky.

Two swallows flew over the water, one in front and one behind, chasing each other and flying into the distance.

The geese flying south formed a long line and went away.

From their perspective, many camps appeared on the ground overnight, stacked up one after another, extending into the distance.

In the camp, people are as insignificant as ants.

But when the number of ants reaches a certain level, the scene becomes quite spectacular.

More than 50,000 infantry and cavalry from the Jin and Han sides faced off under the ancient Zhama Dike, trying to fight a life-and-death battle.

This battle is very subtle.

The emperor of Luoyang was uneasy and issued repeated decrees ordering Shao Xun to return to the capital to provide assistance.

The Emperor of Pingyang had just received the news that the Jin army had crossed the river, and he hastily summoned his ministers to discuss the matter.

Shi Le cruised around Luoyang and broke into the Luo River Valley, wreaking havoc everywhere.

Bandits are gathering in Jijun and Dunqiu areas, and they seem to have some agenda.

Wang Mi was urged repeatedly and planned to gather his troops and march to Luoyang.

After the three passes of Luonan, the government soldiers were conscripted in large numbers, which had delayed the autumn sowing.

On the Yellow River, the grain ships were stuck in Ao Cang and could not move forward.

All the well-informed people in Henan were paying attention to this war.

……

A group of people rode out of the abandoned village and climbed up the high embankment.

The leader held a longbow and pointed at something not far away.

Although it is called the "Huns' Camp", there are actually more than one camp, but six or seven, each separated by a certain distance, guarding the camp in the middle like stars surrounding the moon.

For several days, they worked hard to dig trenches, build earth walls, and construct criss-crossing ditches around the camp.

Cai Cheng, Jin Zheng, Wang Que'er, Shao Shen and other generals followed behind, frowning secretly.

Shao Xun glanced at their expressions, suddenly sneered, and said: "The thieves are in such a passive posture, what are you afraid of?"

"Zhao Gu!" Shao Xun continued, "He was just a general of a fort a few years ago. Even though the soldiers under his command have been trained and their combat effectiveness has improved, they are still just so-so."

"Shi Le!" Shao Xun said again, "In the battle of Yemagang in the past, I defeated their 60,000 rabble. I heard that they have been training and reducing their troops for several years, and they are known as 'elite', but with such a background, how elite can they be?"

"The Xiongnu cavalry may seem to have more men and horses, but they have been frightened by the Yicong army. If we fail to attack the camp, they may attack us. If we succeed, they will run faster than anyone else and you will not be able to catch up with them."

Everyone laughed.

These words are inspiring and uplifting. But in the whole of Henan, only Mr. Chen can say this.

"In the next few days, we will speed up the construction of siege equipment." Shao Xun said, "A camp is not a city. If you can't take this, I think there is no need for you to continue to eat the bowl of warriors. Wang Que'er!"

"I am here." Wang Que'er stepped forward and answered loudly.

Shao Xun straightened his battle robe for him, then took two steps back and looked carefully at the best of his first batch of disciples.

The young general, who was in his twenties, was already a veteran who had been on the battlefield for nearly ten years.

He has an upright figure, a resolute face, a square character, and can even be described as stubborn and old-fashioned.

His abilities had been artificially elevated through his own ten years of teaching and example, but they could only be considered adequate.

In fact, this is enough.

It is not easy to find a talented general. It is good enough to train a general who is good enough. After all, according to the calculations of a large number of experts, the talents of a county are enough to conquer the world.

"In this battle, you will be the Grand Commander, in charge of the entire army." Shao Xun said, then took off his sword and handed it to Wang Que'er, saying, "With this sword, you can kill anyone below the rank of commander-in-chief."

"Yes, sir." Wang Que'er took a deep breath and took the knife with force.

He squeezed his hands so hard that his knuckles turned white, showing his inner excitement.

Perhaps, there is also heavy pressure.

As a general, how can one not bear pressure? This is also a big test for him.

"Jin Zheng." After Wang Que'er retreated, Shao Xun shouted again.

"I am here." Jin Zhenghu walked over with a clatter, the leaves of his armor rustling.

Shao Xun punched Jin Zheng on the shoulder, but the guy didn't move at all and stood there steadily.

It's worth the special treatment he received over the years. He has grown into a square figure and is full of explosive power. He may be slightly weaker than Liu Ling.

"You are the commander of the front army." Shao Xun said, "Attack the city and capture the stronghold, destroy the enemy, all of which are your duties."

"Yes, sir." Jin Zheng raised his head and agreed.

Before leaving, he glanced at Wang Que'er.

"Hao Chang."

"The end will be here."

"You are the commander-in-chief of the rear army, in charge of all the auxiliary troops in the camps, and you are waiting for the commander-in-chief's orders."

"As ordered."

"Man Yu."

"The end will be here."

"You are the commander-in-chief of the cavalry, and you are at the disposal of the commander-in-chief."

"As ordered."

"After understanding their respective duties, they returned to their respective camps and made preparations."

******
While Shao Xun was observing the enemy situation, the Xiongnu commander, King Liu Fu of Bohai, also climbed onto the high platform in the camp.

His eyes were attracted by the movement on the river. The floating bridge was built so quickly!
In another day or two, the people of Jin would be able to build a floating bridge directly from the river bank to the north bank.

Because there are no chains to secure the north bank, the floating bridge looks shaky and not very stable, but it is still passable.

Thinking of this, Liu Fu became more and more anxious.

The news from Pingyang had not yet arrived, and Wang Zhang advised him to hold on and wait for help, repeating the Battle of Xin'an, and he agreed.

But when the time comes, it's not so easy to calm down.

Yesterday, the Jin army arrived from the west. He climbed to a high place and looked out. All he saw was a forest of silver spears everywhere.

These soldiers are well-equipped, have strict military discipline, and have a calm and composed attitude.

Comparing them with the appearance of those so-called veteran soldiers in their own camp, even those who knew nothing about military affairs could see that they were not on the same level - perhaps the infantry of Shi Le's army was relatively elite, but it was still far behind the famous Silver Spear Army.

"Splash!" Another boat was lowered onto the river.

Craftsmen swarmed forward and fastened the sides of the two ships firmly together.

They were very careful and even with a big battle imminent, they took their time to make sure the two ships were firmly connected.

After doing all this, a servant came over carrying a thick wooden board and laid it above the cabin.

The people of Jin wanted to build three cities in Heyang and two north and south bridges.

Zhongyu City has been completed. Although Nancheng has not yet been completed, the general outline has been established.

The floating bridge between South City and Zhongyu City has been completed, and the floating bridge between Zhongyu City and North City is now under construction.

"The Jin fleet is moving." Someone pointed at the dozens of small wooden boats floating downstream on the river and said.

Liu Fu turned around and saw that it was General Anbei Zhao Gu, so he asked, "General Anbei is experienced in battle, so he should know what these ship owners do, right?"

Zhao Gu was confident, but his face did not look very good. He said, "General, these boats were originally carrying soldiers, food, and equipment for Shao thieves. Now they are heading east. Most likely, Shao thieves thought that the army had enough food, so they let them go downstream to continue carrying soldiers."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present looked unhappy.

Zhao Gu said what everyone was most worried about.

The Jin army had cities and camps on the south bank, with a large number of soldiers stationed there. It would be a hassle to transport them across the river by boat, even if only one or two thousand people were transported at a time.

"Is the temporary bridge downstream still under construction?" Liu Fu suddenly thought of something and asked.

He was referring to the makeshift floating bridge that had been washed away twice.

"It's still under construction." Wang Zhang said, "It happened in the past two days, maybe it's related to the war."

"You are really persistent." Liu Fu slapped the railing.

Everyone was silent.

Liu Fu stood there for a while, feeling that he could not remain silent, he had to save himself.

After thinking for a while, he ordered: "Send me an order to count the money, silk and leather sent by Hanoi and Shangdang, and distribute them as rewards to encourage the soldiers."

After that, he continued, "I still have more than a hundred concubines in my Pingyang mansion, all of them are stunningly beautiful. In such a time of great strife, what's the point of keeping them? It's better to use them to reward warriors. You should immediately inform the entire army that I will keep my word, and those who kill the enemy first will be rewarded with beauties and money."

"There is one last thing." Liu Fu turned around, looked at everyone, and said, "Your Majesty will not abandon us. As long as we hold on for a few days, reinforcements will come from Shangdang. If we hold on for ten days, Hedong will surely send a large number of troops to attack Shao. By then, he will be surrounded and unable to escape."

"Yes, sir." More than ten officers including Wang Zhang responded one after another.

"Have Shi Le and Wang Mi received the news?" Liu Fuxian nodded with satisfaction and asked again.

"The messenger should have arrived." Wang Zhang said, "But I don't know whether or not to respond, and when to respond."

"Shi Andong and Minister Wang are both knowledgeable and shouldn't go to this extent." Liu Fu said quickly.

He spoke so quickly that it almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

Wang Zhang sighed secretly. Now that things have come to this, there is nothing more to say.

The King of Bohai had made some poor commanding moves earlier, but when the thief Shao forced his way across the river and reached the north bank, he sensed the crisis and did not make any wrong or stupid moves.

The only thing they can do now is to hold on and wait for help.

Of course, at critical moments, he can also protect King Bohai's retreat.

There are still many cavalry in the camp and enough horses. They can leave whenever they want. The Jin army has less than 3,000 cavalry. By the time they receive the news, we will have already run away.

However, this should not be done unless it is absolutely necessary.

The cavalry can run, but the infantry cannot. Leaving them all to the thief Shao would be very demoralizing.

"Let's do it this way." Liu Fu quietly clenched his fists.

He hasn't lost yet and still has a chance to turn defeat into victory.

He also arranged a surprise for Shao Ze, which could shake his morale at the critical moment.

Life or death depends entirely on the next few days.

On the tenth day of September, continuous drumbeats rang out over the vast land.

Liu Fu, Wang Zhang and others once again climbed up to the platform and overlooked the west side.

Troops came out of the camp gate one after another and lined up in the open space between the two camps.

Shao Xun was unwilling to wait a moment longer. After the siege equipment was completed, he immediately issued the order for a general attack and handed it over to Wang Que'er for command.

He also climbed onto a high platform with a large banner standing below.

He thought that perhaps he should say something flirtatious to add a bit of drama and heroism to the war. After all, that's how it's written in plays and novels.

But the real battlefield is serious, boring, runs as precisely as a machine, and is cold and ruthless. There is no such nonsense!
The first battalion of 500 men had already lined up, holding large shields, spears, and bows, moving silently, ready to go forward and fight.

Behind them were rows of soldiers, some of them were excited, some were anxious, and some were hysterical.

But under the strict constraints of military orders, no matter what you think, you are forced to rush forward at this moment, burning your life to gain the extremely slim wealth in the legend.

In the turbulent times, people are like grass and worthless.

(End of this chapter)