Chinese New Year

Chapter 471 Persistence
The Huns were burning things, and Xi Jian was also burning things, but he was burning food.

When the Huns burned things, the commanders of the fortresses dared not say a word, but when Xi Jian burned things, they became furious.

"Your fortress is located in a flat land, with more than a thousand households and 400 hectares of fertile land." Xi Jian snorted coldly, pointed with his whip and said, "One hu (70 to 80 bushels) per mu, that's 70,000 hu of grain. Even if each of the 10,000 Xiongnu cavalry has two or three horses and eats only millet and beans, they can only get 200,000 hu per month. If they stop grazing and cut some grass, they only need more than 100,000 hu. The grain in your land is enough for them to eat for half a month. Isn't this aiding the enemy?"

The commander of the fort was speechless.

Lord Yu had already made it clear that even if the grain was not yet ripe, it had to be harvested in advance and not left to aid the enemy, but not everyone was willing to do so. This commander of the fortress was just hoping for a lucky break.

"Just wait to be punished." Xi Jian said, snorted coldly, and led the team away.

"Xi Daohui!" The commander of the fort was dissatisfied and shouted, "You are also from Gaoping, how can you bear to watch the food being burned and your hometown being destroyed?"

"It is precisely because I am from Gaoping that I want you to burn the food. The bandits will retreat if they have no food, and will plunder everywhere if they have food. You don't deserve to live in troubled times if you can't figure out whether it is a long-term pain or a short-term pain." Xi Jian said no more, and left with hundreds of cavalrymen.

On the 17th, the army marched north and arrived in Juye County.

For the last section of the journey, they walked while leading the horses in order to maintain the horsepower. After all, each person only had one horse, plus a few donkeys and mules for transportation, so their mobility was not as good as that of the Huns.

When Xi Jian climbed up an earthen kiln and looked out at the earth, all the scenes in the north came into view.

More than a thousand Hun cavalrymen rushed into the fields, and arrows flew everywhere.

The people who were harvesting grains cried and screamed and fled.

On the fort not far away, bells rang continuously, and everyone climbed to the top of the city wall, extremely anxious.

Soon, the main gate of the fort was opened, and hundreds of people holding spears and bows stood dozens of steps outside the gate, shouting loudly, trying to support the scattered guards.

In troubled times, the only people who can help you, care about you, and are willing to fight for you are your relatives and fellow villagers.

The fort guards threw away their sickles, abandoned the freshly harvested grain, and even abandoned the donkey and ox carts, and rushed to the fort gate in panic.

The Huns surrounded and shot on horseback, wantonly harvesting lives, while deliberately leaving a gap so that the remaining guards could escape back.

Upon seeing this, the guards rushed towards the fort gate as if they had been pardoned.

The soldiers coming out of the fort shouted loudly, asking them to go around the city from both sides and not to charge into the chaotic army.

The Hun cavalry followed closely, speeding up their horses, ready to take advantage of the chaos and charge forward to see if there was any advantage to be gained.

"General, let's do it." Someone said anxiously on the small earthen kiln.

"It will be too late if we don't take action now." Someone else said.

They were all native people of the place. When they saw the Hun cavalry wreaking havoc, they felt particularly sad for the death of the rabbit and the fox, so they all asked to fight.

"Wait a little longer." Xi Jian waved his hand and said.

Everyone sighed and felt extremely angry.

Admittedly, they knew that now was not the best time to attack, but if they delayed any longer, more people would die in the fort over there. How could they bear to do that? These were all fellow villagers.

At the same time, he also secretly criticized Xi Jian. This man was really cold-blooded, as if no matter what the situation was, he could not shake his determination. In his eyes, there was only appropriateness and inappropriateness, no other emotions.

The Huns in the distance had already rushed very close, and were circling to both sides, shooting arrows continuously.

Flanking shooting is a standard tactic on the grassland since ancient times. That is, when encountering enemy infantry and cavalry, instead of charging head-on, they split to both sides, draw their bows and arrows, shoot arrows from both sides, and harass the enemy's weaker flank.

They even often went around to the rear and surrounded the enemy from three sides.

Those who can cope with this kind of siege and shooting situation are generally well-trained infantry, because you have to quickly adjust the formation, dispatch troops, and not panic, and be able to accomplish these things with certain casualties. This is not something that peasant soldiers can do, and they must be professional recruits who have been training all year round.

The burger who went out was a little flustered.

People around them kept screaming and falling down, and the cavalry's power looked so terrifying that they were trembling and subconsciously wanted to escape.

The Huns were not in a hurry. After making a circle, they came back for the second time, vowing to wear down the last bit of resistance of the fortress guards, and then rushed into the fort following their retreating footsteps.

"Charge!" Xi Jian got down from the earthen kiln and jumped on his horse.

Hundreds of cavalrymen also mounted their horses, slightly adjusted their formation, and after assigning orders, they rushed forward.

They waded across the shallow stream and came to the wilderness on the other side, then slowly increased their speed.

The Xiongnu cavalry on guard outside were horrified.

They were careless and never expected that there was a group of Jin cavalry hiding on the other side of the stream. Moreover, this stream had many shallow waters and was easy to wade through, making it easy for the enemy to rush over - this was actually normal. They were locals and of course familiar with every tree and blade of grass here. They were taking advantage of this information asymmetry.

More than 500 cavalrymen gradually moved together during the charge, like a sharp knife, easily piercing through the Hun cavalry who were hastily trying to stop them, and continued to move forward.

The young men outside the fort were already retreating inside. The Huns laughed loudly, put away their horse bows, drew out various short weapons, and followed behind to kill indiscriminately.

Xi Jian shot and killed one man with a bow without slowing down at all.

The twenty-seven riders brought from Jinxiang followed closely behind, looking ferocious.

Behind them, there were cavalrymen from various families and forts, nearly 500 in total, holding various weapons and shouting loudly.

The five hundred cavalrymen penetrated directly into the flank and rear of the Xiongnu cavalry, inflicting terrible casualties in just a moment and cutting the enemy army into two.

The commander of the fortress was standing on the wall, crying with joy when he saw this.

Hundreds of cavalrymen suddenly attacked and ran into the group of Hun cavalry. After running more than a hundred steps, they slowly slowed down, turned around, then sped up again and launched a second round of charge.

Good, good! We are saved!

The Huns were stunned. Some of them were quick to retreat far away, while others were still in chaos. They were undoubtedly hit by the second wave of attack and were killed again.

The entire battlefield situation reversed in an instant.

The Huns were also decisive, and without any hesitation, they immediately fled into the wilderness in the distance. The defeated soldiers scattered everywhere fled and retreated to the nearest temporary camp.

Xi Jian led his men to pursue.

The two sides, one chasing and one fleeing, soon disappeared on the distant horizon.

The commander of the fortress knelt on the wall, feeling relieved and sweating profusely.

It was almost like the Huns broke into the fort, and the food could have been saved.

Food? Yes, food!
The commander of the fortress stood up hastily, gritted his teeth, and ordered his men to burn the unharvested grains in the fields so as not to provide aid to the enemy.

******
Pei Kang, the chief secretary of the Xuchang Shogunate, hurried to Kaocheng.

Pan Tao, the left chief historian of the Yanzhou shogunate, Pei Shao, the left Sima, two military advisors Bian Dun, Luqiu Chong, the governor Mi Zhi, and Wang, the attendant, went out of the city to welcome them.

Without much greeting, they went straight into the Palace of the Prince of East Sea to discuss countermeasures.

As the saying goes, big things are handled by small meetings, small things by big meetings. This time when the Huns invaded, they would not involve the King of Donghai in all the countermeasures. The high-level officials would meet and make a decision, which would be the decision of the entire Zhenjun General's Mansion. Anyway, the seal was now in the hands of Concubine Pei, so she could completely bypass the King of Donghai and issue orders.

Concubine Pei only said a few polite words at the beginning, and then sat aside, listening quietly to everyone's discussion.

"The Xiongnu crossed the river from Jibei, sometimes joining forces in one route, sometimes splitting up into several routes, and sometimes joining together again, passing through Dongping and entering Gaoping. A part of the vanguard has already entered Jiyin." Pan Tao briefly introduced it, and then added: "According to investigation, the Xiongnu's military strength is between 10,000 and 20,000, mainly cavalry."

"Oh? Scouts can also investigate?" Pei Kang was a little surprised.

He remembered that during the previous Hun invasions, the cavalry was overwhelming, hunting down and killing scouts and rangers everywhere, leaving Henan Province almost blind.

"They are not scouts, but people sent by various forts to report." Pan Tao said.

Pei Kang raised his eyebrows and said, "This is much better than the Battle of Gaoping."

This is the war dividend.

Last time, the commanders of the fortresses were not necessarily willing to get involved in the war between Shao Xun and the Xiongnu. They just wanted someone to send some money and food, and they insisted on "strictly maintaining neutrality." But this time, there were more people who reported the news, and it was more convenient to get supplies along the way.

"Are there any forts or manors that could help the enemy?" Pei Kang asked again.

Pan Tao looked at Mi Zhi, who immediately said, "I haven't heard of it yet."

"Where do the Huns get their supplies from?"

“Harvest the grain in the fields.”

Pei Kang was a little annoyed when he heard this, and asked, "Don't the counties in Yanzhou have strong defenses and cleared the fields?"

"Of course I gave the order, but..." Pan Tao shook his head and sighed.

Pei Kang was also somewhat helpless.

The Xuchang Shogunate also ordered the fortification of the city and the clearing of the countryside, but in the nearby Yingchuan County, many people pretended to obey the order but actually disobeyed it.

This is not because they despise the authority of the shogunate, but because the cost of clearing the countryside is very high and some people are unwilling to do it.

On his way here, he made a detour to Xiachen County and found that the local people had implemented a policy of fortifying the city and clearing the fields, leaving the fields bare and the implementation was quite resolute.

When we headed north from Chenjun and entered Chenliu, we found that there was quite a lot of grain in the fields that had not yet been harvested, but there were some places where the harvest had been completed ahead of time.

From this we can also see where Mr. Chen can implement his will, where he cannot, and where he is half-hearted.

"Let's not talk about this." Pei Kang slapped the table angrily and said, "I came here for only a few things. First, the Yanzhou army is mainly composed of infantry, so don't move rashly, just defend your own area. Second, the Silver Spear Left Camp ended its rest ahead of schedule and has now arrived in Yingchuan, heading towards Chenjun and Liangguo. They will not come to Yanzhou; third, I know you have summoned the cavalry from the noble families, but don't use them in a scattered manner. Gather them and station them at key points to gather information everywhere. Once you find out where the Xiongnu are, formulate an attack plan."

"Don't be afraid of not being able to win. The most important thing is to dare to fight. As long as you fight, the Huns will feel pressured, and they will take detours and avoid you. If you can give them a few hard blows, the Huns will be afraid themselves."

"Fourth, send envoys to the various counties as much as possible to appease the people, so that they will not surrender to the Xiongnu or secretly buy peace with money. If there are those who are stubborn and unyielding, use threats or inducements to keep them stable."

After saying that, Pei Kang glanced at his daughter.

Concubine Pei looked at Pan Tao and others.

Pan Tao coughed and said, "What Pei Gong said is reasonable. Yan and Yu are one, so we should advance and retreat together."

"What Pei Changshi said is good advice, and we should obey it," Pei Shao said.

"Mr. Pei, I heard that many of the young men in Huai and Ying are good at cavalry and warfare. Why don't you recruit them?" the king asked.

"They will be stationed in Yingchuan, Chenjun, Nandun, Xincai, Runan and other places." Pei Kang said, "The foundation built by Mr. Chen with great effort is all here, and we must not move lightly. In addition, they and the garrison troops that have been summoned one after another will be stationed in various places, and we must be on guard against others, after all, the Silver Spear Left Camp has already left Xiangcheng."

Wang understood, bowed, and stopped talking.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Concubine Pei glanced around and asked softly.

"Please give the order, Dowager." Everyone said.

Concubine Pei sighed lightly, with a bit of sadness on her face, and said: "The Xiongnu are brutal. Wherever they pass, all the towns and villages are in ruins, and all the good farmland is turned into wasteland. Now we are powerless, so we can only do our best to trap the bandits in the east. The foundation of Lord Chen is in Chenjun, Nandun, Xincai, Runan, Ying and Xiang. If these places are preserved, there is still strength for a fight. Chenliu, Jiyin, Jiyang, Puyang and other counties must be fortified and cleared. You send people to patrol, and if there are those who do not obey, they will be treated as traitors."

"The various counties and kingdoms in the east of Yan still need to be comforted. I am a woman and cannot help much. Now I can only send letters to the various tribes, asking them to bear more for my orphan and widowed mother."

"If there are suitable positions in the shogunate and counties, the children of Yandong will be given priority."

"After the war is over, I will ask Lord Chen to allocate food and silk to the counties in the east of Yan as a consolation."

"That's all. Everyone, do your job well." Concubine Pei looked at everyone, her eyes slightly red, and said, "Mr. Chen also wants to solve the problem once and for all. I think you all understand these principles. Some people have suffered from looting and may have complaints. This is human nature. Don't blame them too much. When the envoys go to the counties, they must make it clear that there will be endless benefits in conquering Hebei in the future. For now, hold on. As long as I don't cause chaos, the bandits will cause chaos."

"Yes, sir." Everyone was convinced and responded in unison.

(It’s the last day, vote quickly if you have a ticket.)
(End of this chapter)