Chinese New Year

Chapter 475 Dongyan
At the end of October, Shi Le's army north of Fangtou retreated one after another.

The infantry went ahead with the baggage.

The cavalry lay in ambush behind, trying to trick the Jin army into leaving the city and pursuing them, then encircling and annihilating them.

As a result, until the end, the Jin army did not send out a large number of troops.

The hundreds of volunteers who stayed behind marched out of the city for a while and found that there were large groups of enemy cavalry coming from the front and left, so they immediately rushed back to the city.

Afterwards, the two sides reached a tacit understanding, refrained from interfering with each other, and completely broke off contact.

On the first day of November, Shao Xun received several special guests in the north city of Fangtou.

"Are you Xing Wei from Gong County?" Shao Xun looked at the person in front of him, thought for a while, and blurted out.

In fact, he had already forgotten this person. However, Cai Cheng provided a list of people who came to visit today. After seeing their hometowns and names, the old events of five years ago resurfaced.

Before the Battle of Yemagang, he led his army northward from Ji County. At that time, many Hebei scholars and powerful people sent him provisions, and he summoned some of them, including Xing Wei.

"That's right. Mr. Chen has a good memory." Xing Wei said happily.

"After not seeing you for so many years, I am still happy to see you all, my heroes." Shao Xun led everyone into the government office.

"I received the news too late that year, and was unable to follow Lord Yu south, which is a regrettable thing." Xing Wei couldn't stop sighing.

Seeing this, others also lamented.

Shao Xun smiled but said nothing.

The reasons why these aristocratic families did not retreat south were very complicated, and it was not because they did not have enough time as they said.

Maybe because he couldn’t bear to give up his family business.

It may be because Yu Chen was compressed to the vicinity of the county town and was unable to communicate.

It may also be because they simply did not look favorably upon Henan's regime. After all, the Xiongnu had a huge number of cavalry, while Henan had only a few and could only passively take the beating.

In short, it is very complicated and not that simple.

But to be fair, these people did not follow the Huns wholeheartedly. Most of them were forced to do so due to the situation, and a small number of them wanted to gain wealth and fame - as time goes by, the latter will become more and more numerous, and the former will become fewer and fewer.

The battle of Fangtou was such a big event that at least the big families in Ji, Wei, and Dunqiu were quite concerned and kept trying to find out the news. Today, the situation became clear, and some people couldn't wait to come over to discuss privately - the people who came now were the first group, and they were also the most active group in returning to Dajin.

"How is the situation at home?" Shao Xun asked everyone to sit down and asked kindly.

"To reply Lord Chen, after Ji County fell into Shi Le's hands, he made many demands and it was extremely painful." Xing Wei sighed.

"We have to send hostages, pay taxes and provide men, it's really too hard."

"Sometimes the bandits came to rob women and property, and Shi Le was unable to stop them."

"Yes, small soldiers rely on robbery, and big generals rely on extortion. My family had to give away two women a while ago."

The crowd had either sad or angry looks on their faces, and they kept accusing the Huns, as if they were mortal enemies.

Shao Xun listened with a smile, nodding from time to time, as if he really approved of them.

Of course, there are many such people in troubled times, so there is no need to blame them too much.

If Shao Xun were the commander of a fortress in Hebei, he would have no choice but to do the same in order to protect himself.

Some things are hard to be left in ignorance, and now we need to win them over.

"It's not easy for you guys." After hearing their words, Shao Xun's face showed sympathy and he sighed.

"Yeah yeah."

"Now that Mr. Chen has arrived, there is hope for Hebei."

"I wonder when you will launch an expedition to the north to recover the lost territory?"

Looking at everyone's eager eyes, Shao Xun did not give a direct answer.

Who knows whether these people who are indecisive will leak the news to Shi Le.

You know, many of their families sent women to the generals under Shi Le as concubines to improve their relationship - this may be the tradition of Liu Han, because Liu Cong required every important official in the court to send their daughters into the palace. Yes, everyone, and some even sent more than one. The most was two generations of women, or six.

Shao Xun won't trust them for the time being.

"Please be patient." Shao Xun said, "The way to cut down the enemy's head is complicated and requires overall planning. It cannot be decided in an instant. After you go back, you can do your own work and wait for the right time."

When these words were spoken, some people were extremely disappointed, some lowered their heads in thought, some had flickering eyes, and so on.

Everyone has his or her own values, interests, personality and habits, and it is impossible for them to have the same ideas.

It can only be said that the first group of people who came were relatively inclined to return to the Jin court - relatively speaking.

Shao Xun did not ask them to destroy their families to help Shi Le, which was unrealistic. He felt that if he could contact them a few more times in private and win them over at a critical moment, and not provide Shi Le with food and soldiers, it would be a huge success.

This is a tedious, meticulous and long-term task, and he plans to arrange for someone to be stationed in Fangtou to handle this matter.

Perhaps it's time to let the father-in-law take action again.

He had fought for many years in Ji County and had once enjoyed a good reputation. Not only did he rule Ji County like an iron bucket, but people from neighboring Henei, Dongqiu and Wei County also came to him to submit to him.

Although they were forced to retreat south in the end, it didn't take too long for their influence to completely dissipate.

Thinking of this, he had decided to recommend Yu Chen as the Sili Xiaowei, who would be in charge of the work of pacifying Ji, Wei, Dunqiu and other places, laying the foundation for the next attack. ******
In mid-November, the troops in Fangtou area gradually evacuated, and the first group to return to the south bank were the soldiers from Xuchang.

There were 5,000 soldiers when they set out, and about 3,000 when they returned. After going through the baptism of bloody battles, they had undergone some inexplicable changes from the inside out. They looked the same on the outside, but their temperament was different.

In fact, this is normal.

On the cruel battlefield, they faced the enemy's sharp blades, were defeated, hunted down, and after being taken into custody, they were forced to defend again, and then fought again, died again, were defeated again, and were taken into custody again...

It is not accurate to say that the casualty rate in ancient wars could not exceed 5% or 10%.

In sieges and defenses, casualties far exceeded this figure, and it was common for battles to continue fighting even after half of the people had died.

Even in a field battle, the whole country would not collapse if only one-tenth of the people were killed. It also depends on the people and the situation at the time.

It was very common for a scattered army to retreat to the rear, be gathered together, reorganized, and then sent to the front line again.

During this process, it is difficult for outsiders to understand the soldiers' psychological state.

It probably transitions gradually from fear and despair to numbness and the idea of ​​death being the end of it.

After the war, these soldiers who have emerged from the pile of dead bodies will undergo a transformation in their psychological qualities after a period of settling down.

They are the 3,000 soldiers from Xuchang who were withdrawn from Fangtou.

More than sixty days and nights of suffering have greatly increased their ability to withstand death, and correspondingly, their combat effectiveness has also been greatly improved.

Such troops deserve preferential treatment.

On November 13, when they arrived at Dongyan County, they received an order to stop there and collectively become government soldiers.

In order to implement this matter, Liu Bin, the son of Liu Shan, the governor under his command, came in person to be responsible for the resettlement of the soldiers. After completing the work, he was appointed as the governor of Zaoting troops on the spot.

On the 14th, the snow and wind were a little strong, but Puyang State, Dongyan County, and Baima County all sent officials to clear and measure the land.

The soldiers watching from the sidelines looked somewhat excited.

Strictly speaking, the government soldiers are still hereditary soldiers, but there are differences between hereditary soldiers and other hereditary soldiers.

The government soldiers could marry into the civilian households, but the hereditary soldiers could not.

The government soldiers did not need to perform labor service and had light tax burdens, but the hereditary soldiers had to contribute most of their income and were like slaves.

Local soldiers can be elected as officials, but hereditary soldiers cannot.

The land of the government soldiers is private, but that of the hereditary soldiers is not.

The government soldiers have more land and have military units, while the hereditary soldiers have less land and have no military units.

In short, apart from the fact that generations of soldiers have remained unchanged, other aspects have undergone fundamental changes, and a boost in morale is inevitable.

Liu Bin looked at these people silently, feeling emotional.

He was also born into a Shibing family and could empathize with Shibing's experience. He was sincerely happy to see these people escape from the sea of ​​suffering.

"Wu Gui, the land in the northern section of the second canal west of Zaoting is 146 acres and 30 steps." The county official handed the deed to a soldier and said loudly.

"Thank you, Mr. Chen. Mr. Chen is truly my second parent." Wu Gui knelt down excitedly, kowtowed several times in the direction of Xuchang, then carefully put away the deed with a smile on his face.

"Qian Heitan, in the middle section of the second canal west of Zaoting, the land is 147 acres and 2 steps." The county official continued to shout.

"Thank you, Mr. Chen." Qian Heitan took the land deed and kowtowed several times in the direction of Xuchang.

When he stood up, tears streamed down his face, thinking that all the fighting day and night under Fangtou City was worth it.

"Li Goulang..."

Liu Bin walked around the fields and came back with a sigh: "These are all good fields, but there are a lot of weeds. I asked my lazy wife to clean them up before the New Year."

Everyone laughed.

No one has anything bad to say about Puyang.

The land is extremely flat, with plenty of water and very fertile. If it had not been on the front line and repeatedly plundered by people crossing the river, it would not have become so sparsely populated as it is now.

Three thousand soldiers were settled in Dongyan and Baima counties. When their families moved in from the surrounding areas of Xuchang, there were a total of three thousand households.

After Fangtou City was built, at least Dongyan County was very safe, and Baima County was also relatively safe. Now we can focus on developing production.

In this way, after two years, these soldiers' families will be able to be self-sufficient, with relatively sufficient food, meat and milk to provide nutrition for themselves and their children and nephews, and to train diligently.

A few years later, they could even find craftsmen to customize equipment, gear, and even raise horses.

In five years at most, a qualified and durable infantryman will be born. Moreover, this is not a one-time deal. Their sons will also have a certain foundation and can be conscripted into the army and fight in the battlefield. Their combat effectiveness will not be too bad.

This is the bonus brought by the Battle of Fangtou.

The only trouble now is the extreme shortage of troops.

The Battle of Fangtou captured more than 2,000 prisoners from Hebei, but even if they were all distributed, it would not be enough.

In this matter, perhaps we can only find a solution from the Fort Manor, which has a large population...

(End of this chapter)