Chinese New Year

Chapter 512: Harassment and Advance

Shi Le made a plan and began to act.

The Jin army still followed the original plan without any haste or impatience.

After encountering an attack by Xiongnu cavalry a few days ago, Yang Dan did not care and continued to lead his troops northward, heading straight for Dangyin, and urged the follow-up troops to catch up quickly.

On the 24th, after several days of harassment, Yang Dan's troops were attacked at night. A chariot formation blew up the camp. The farmhands of the Nanyang gentry ran around and screamed, and were taken advantage of by the Huns. More than 400 people were beheaded.

Fortunately, Yang Dan personally led his army to counterattack. He was wounded twice, but charged three times on horseback and finally drove the Huns back.

This time, he learned his lesson.

Even if they set up camp in a circle, not everyone can withstand it.

Or they may be able to hold on for a while, but after being harassed to the point of being nervous for several days in a row, they suddenly collapse.

He stopped obediently to the north of Changshagou, no longer trying to be brave, but instead cut down trees and set up fences, waiting for follow-up reinforcements.

The Xiongnu sent a large number of cavalry to attack the Yang tribe soldiers who were out collecting firewood, leaving them without firewood to make fire and without hot meals. With no other options, Yang Dan could only send out a battalion of cavalry to escort the soldiers who were collecting firewood.

Looking at the soldiers under his command who were exhausted and looked as if they had not had enough rest, he finally understood that it was not that he did not want to march north, but that he could not march north and he had to rest well.

At this time, looking back at the Silver Spear Army, Yang Dan had to admit that those battle-hardened soldiers were indeed different. Under repeated harassment from the enemy, they ate and drank as needed, and slept as needed, without any delay at all.

The difference is too big!
On the 25th, Li Chong led his troops to the north of Changshagou and began to collect soil, sift it, and tamp the earth to build a city.

Hu Wu Fuzhi came from Neihuang again. After carefully reviewing Li Zhong's actions during this period, he couldn't help but be amazed: This man is like a piece of wood, strictly following orders, so meticulously that he seems to have almost no thoughts of his own.

Xi Jian looked at it very carefully, and even pulled several officers aside to ask them questions. If it weren't for the fact that he was a shogun's official, those people would not have bothered to talk to him.

There are so many things to do, who wants to chat with you? I've delayed things, and the boss wants to "reward" me with a whip. Will you help me get it?
Xi Jian seemed oblivious to their perfunctory attitude and just eagerly absorbed all kinds of knowledge about marching and deployment of troops.

Honestly speaking, with his current level, commanding an army of tens of thousands of people, the result is not likely to be good.

Without any experience in commanding a large army, without any expertise in related fields, and without any experience in commanding large armies in battle, what else could that be but asking for death?
His current ability to lead a large military group is far inferior to Li Zhong's, and he is far behind in terms of experience.

"The enemy troops are coming!" A roar came from the lookout tower, and soon the alarm bell rang.

The auxiliary soldiers who were carrying soil in the distance shouted and fled back in a panic.

The Xiongnu cavalry quickly caught up with them, shooting with bows and arrows, and easily taking their lives.

The auxiliary soldiers fell one after another, and after paying the price of more than a hundred casualties, the remaining people hid behind the trenches in fear.

General Liang Su led the infantry into the trench wall and drew his bow and arrow.

The Huns reined in their horses and did not approach any closer.

The camp gate was opened, and five hundred cavalrymen rushed out and fought with the Huns in the wilderness.

Xi Jian and Hu Wu Fuzhi stared at the battle outside in a trance, and then looked away after a moment.

Both sides lost some men and then broke contact, ending the battle.

This is the daily life of the Western Route Army.

The Jin army built a city on the spot, and the Huns were spying not far away, waiting for an opportunity to attack.

There will always be times when you are careless, and there will always be places that you cannot protect, and that is what he is aiming for. He wants to kill and injure your people, drain your morale, and try to make you collapse.

Hu Wu Fuzhi felt that this was a bit scary because people were dying every day.

However, Xi Jian felt that the Huns were too small-scale and did not deploy enough troops, especially without mobilizing infantry, which greatly reduced the effectiveness of the harassment.

This method cannot shake the Western Route Army's position. I wonder if they have any other tricks.

******
The long convoy left Shiqiao North City.

The road was uneven and difficult to walk on because it had been in disrepair for a long time. By the time the sun was setting, they had only walked a dozen miles, which made the leading officer anxious.

The dull sound of horse hooves came from the east, startling everyone in the caravan.

The Wancheng soldiers who were responsible for the escort mission immediately took action.

The officer cursed the scouts for being useless and saying they had died, while he whipped the soldiers, ordering them to connect the baggage wagons end to end and form a circle.

Others took simple deer antlers made from tree branches and placed them outside the chariot formation.

They didn't have the luxury of having cavalry escorts with them, so when the enemy cavalry attacked, they had to rely on themselves for everything.

There is only one way now, fight!

Yes, the only way is to fight. It is impossible to retreat to Shiqiao North City. It is more than ten miles away. Will they let you go?

It would be more reliable to break through the obstruction and reach Changshagou, after all, it is only about ten miles away.

In the split second that he was thinking about this, the enemy cavalry was already over a hundred steps away.

They first circled the baggage train, apparently looking for a weak point.

Looking down from the sky, the long convoy was broken down into three small car arrays arranged in a V-shape, supporting each other.

Outside the chariot formation was a cloud of dust rising into the sky. The Hun cavalry were looming in the fog, shouting and yelling.

This is their usual tactic.

No one knew who initiated the order, but in an instant, both sides started shooting arrows.

The baggage train that transported grain did not have such luxuries as powerful crossbows. There were less than three hundred bows in a team of three thousand people, while the Hun cavalry had as many as four to five thousand people.

They took turns approaching, shooting and leaving.

Those in the chariot formation fired arrows in retaliation.

Arrows rained down like rain. The Xiongnu were thrown to the ground, and there were screams in the chariot array.

After shooting for a while, the number of archers in the chariot formation was too small and they were at a disadvantage. Their casualties were far greater than those of the Xiongnu cavalry archers, and they gradually became unable to hold on.

The Hun officer in charge was overjoyed and sent up another team that had just rested.

Their horses were not fast, but they were very close, and they kept drawing their bows and drawing arrows as they circled. The arrows were so dense that the infantry in the chariot formation screamed in pain.

The shield bearer tried his best to cover it, but how could he cover it completely?
Casualties continued to occur, and they seemed to be able only to defend themselves but not to fight back.

Suddenly, the front row of cars collapsed.

The soldiers from Guanxi Wubao shouted and rushed out of the chariot formation and fled in all directions. However, they were soon caught up by the Huns and shot down one by one.

A part of the Xiongnu cavalry dismounted, raised their sabers and swords high, and rushed into the completely collapsed front formation, hacking and killing.

Others began pouring oil on the baggage wagons and setting them on fire.

Smoke rose into the sky.

The draft horses, donkeys and mules were in a commotion, running around in all directions, and the scene was in chaos.

The morale of the main force of the Huns was greatly boosted. They continued to stare at the remaining two chariot formations, circling and shooting arrows, constantly reaping lives.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard again in the distance.

"Woo--" When the horn sounded, the Hun cavalry who were resting not far away jumped on their horses and moved forward to be on guard.

The Huns who were circling around the chariot formation and shooting arrows slowly withdrew.

The new cavalryman revealed his true appearance.

They held high a large banner with the Chinese character "Qiao" on it. They were the Yicong Army cavalry patrolling back and forth along Changshagou and Shiqiao. A gong sounded in the Xiongnu formation, and thousands of them slowly gathered and lined up on a high slope.

After a moment's confrontation, it suddenly went away and disappeared into the wilderness.

Qiao Hong rode over and gathered some remnants of the defeated army.

The infantry also quickly opened the vehicle formation and went out to put out the fire.

A battle to disrupt the food supply route began and ended in a hurry.

After inspecting the battlefield, Qiao Hong couldn't help but curse inwardly: The journey was less than thirty miles and these people from Guanxiwubao couldn't hold on. Compared with the Silver Spear Army, they were not even a little bit inferior.

In addition, there are too few archers.

All members of the Silver Spear Army can shoot arrows, while only one-tenth of the Guanxi Fortress citizens can shoot arrows, maybe even less. You are so weak, yet they dare to charge at you with your bows and ride on horseback to surround and shoot.

Ultimately, it’s a question of strength.

"Don't leave today, set up camp here." Qiao Hong pointed his whip and gave orders to these people, saying, "I have sent people to Changshagou to ask for help. I will escort you north tomorrow."

The leading officer was covered in dust and was speechless.

The intensity of the fighting in the north is really incomparable to that of Wang Ru and Du Tao. He is really impressed.

More than ten years ago, he followed Zhang Fang eastward to Luoyang and encountered Xianbei, Wuhuan and Xiongnu people who served as mercenaries.

The Huns at that time did not fight wars as methodically as they do now.

It turns out that everyone is making progress, except him.

After sighing softly, he took his personal soldiers to comfort the wounded.

Wait until you get to Changshagou and see if you can get a sidecar truck to come over.

But it was just a thought. That was a chariot, which was very expensive and was not prepared for their grain transport team.

Furthermore, after seeing the entire army collapse under pressure just now, he also doubted that even with the side carriages, his men might not be able to hold the chariot formation.

In the end, everything depends on people. They still need experience.

******
On June 28th, Shi Le returned to his palace after inspecting the city defense repair site.

The staff followed closely behind, still discussing the battle situation while walking.

After arriving at the study, Shi Le sat at the head of the table and reached out to take the military report brought by the servant.

Well, he couldn’t read, so he handed it to Zhang Bin again.

After reading it, Zhang Bin explained: "On the 25th, General Liu attacked the Jin army's grain team north of Shiqiao, killing more than a thousand people and burning hundreds of grain carts."

"On the night of the 26th, General Wang secretly crossed the Qi River and attacked the Jin army north of Chaoge, killing more than 300 people but failing to burn the grain carts."

"Today, General Kong raided the Jin army's grain convoy in the north of Changshagou, killing more than a hundred people. Because the enemy's cavalry was dispatched, he withdrew."

After hearing this, Shi Le felt somewhat happy but also somewhat dissatisfied.

Attacking food routes is one of the most important functions of cavalry.

But in these few times, although the casualties were small, no less than 1,500 Jin soldiers were killed, which could be regarded as a great victory. However, he was somewhat dissatisfied that he did not completely cut off their transportation of food and grass to the front.

Building a city every thirty miles artificially shortened the grain route.

Some grain transport teams with weak combat effectiveness may be defeated at one blow, but some people will not be defeated at one blow. As long as they can hold on for a day or two, they can rush into the city and get a chance to catch their breath.

They could even hold out for a few hours, get reinforcements, and escape.

He was actually a little dissatisfied in his heart, because the results should not be just this.

But that's probably it.

Wang Yang, Liu Zheng, Kong Tuan and others actually worked very hard, but in order to deal with their harassment tactics, the thief Shao would rather go to great lengths to build a city and guard the food route at all costs, which was indeed a difficult task.

Thinking of this, he glanced at everyone in the room, suddenly smiled, and said, "You fought well! If you harass them for a long time, there will always be an effect. Chief Secretary Diao, send people to each fort to explain it clearly to them. Many people can become fort masters because of my appointment. The war is fierce, so don't let them have second thoughts."

"Yes." Diao Ying responded immediately.

"The cavalry has won a series of victories, and the infantry should also have some results. Let's urge Ji Bao to fight."

"We need to urge Liang Zhenyuan as well. It's too late, and he's still sitting there doing nothing."

"Guangping, Zhao, Julu, Changshan and other counties are stepping up their efforts to transport food and fodder."

Shi Le issued orders in an orderly manner, with a sense of ease.

When the staff saw this, they gradually calmed down.

"By the way, where is Shao Xun?" Shi Le asked again.

Zhang Bin pulled out an official letter and said, "When the king was patrolling the city, military reports came back from Changle. Shao Xun attacked the city for three days and captured it. They will march to Anyang tomorrow at the latest."

Closer! That person is closer!

Shi Le took a deep breath and said, "Send an order, Ji Bao immediately stop advancing southward and retreat to Anyang."

"Yes, sir." Zhang Bin took note of it silently without giving any further suggestions.

Shi Le glanced at him, slightly disappointed.

Then he smiled bitterly. What else can he suggest? Once Shao Xun rushed to Anyang, the cavalry would be able to run away, but Ji Bao's infantry would not be able to run away. They would be completely attacked from both north and south by Shao Xun and Li Chong.

The staff members who were originally whispering to each other were now silent.

The atmosphere in the room was a little solemn.

Harassment, food cuts, and ambushes were good, and the results were acceptable, but the problem was that Shao Xun was still getting closer and closer to Yecheng.

You can't stop him. Every day that passes, you lose a little bit of initiative, and the room for maneuver becomes smaller.

Don't believe it? Why was Ji Bao's infantry urgently recalled? Wasn't it because they were worried about being blocked between Anyang and Dangyin and being surrounded?
Some people even began to doubt whether such harassment was useful.

Shao Xun is thick-skinned and tough. Can you make him stop moving forward by throwing stones at him from a distance or even tripping him a few times?

If he walks up to you and punches you, can you withstand it?

Shi Le took in everyone's expressions.

But he didn't know what to say for a moment, so he could only look at Zhang Bin.

"Your Majesty, Liang Zhenyuan should send troops in the near future." Zhang Bin cupped his hands and said.

"Well, that's right." Shi Le smiled and said, "As the saying goes, if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. If he sends troops, the situation will change greatly."

Liang Fuci, the governor of Jizhou and the general who guards the border, had actually dispatched troops, but he went to Leling.

After Shao Xun crossed the river to the north to attack, Jizhou was in turmoil, and many people killed officials and rebelled.

Shao Xu, a native of Anyang, started an army in Leling and gained the support of many people. He then rebelled against Yanci. Liang Fuci went to suppress Shao Xu.

There are quite a few people like Shao Xu, which is a troublesome problem and must be eliminated immediately.

It is hard to say whether he can go south.

But of course he couldn't tell the truth. For now, he still had to boost morale and wait for the situation to change.

(End of this chapter)