Chinese New Year

Chapter 540 Three Places
The war in She County had already started.

The first stage of a siege is of course to remove the fortifications outside the city. Otherwise, if the enemy suddenly attacks you from behind, kills your soldiers, and burns your siege equipment, how can you fight back?
The worst thing about defending a city is to defend a bare city.

One thing that is in the Xiongnu's favor is that the terrain outside Shexian is relatively flat. If there is a small hill, the defenders can set up camp on the hill to form a horn with the county town, which would be really disgusting.

The attack and defense of the camp became intense from the very beginning.

The King of Henei fought well in Guanzhong, and when he entered Chang'an, the entire eastern half of Guanzhong was already in the hands of the Han Dynasty. The rest was to pacify them, just like what Shao Xun did in Hebei: those who came were given official positions.

Therefore, the Di and Qiang people in Fengyi and Shangjun were required to contribute one adult male from every three households, and more than 10,000 people were recruited.

The four Xianbei tribes mobilized four thousand cavalry.

The tribes in Hexi (Hetao) received the order from the Chanyutai and dispatched more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry.

Together with more than 10,000 men and women in Guanzhong and Bingzhou forts, the total number of troops was 30,000 to 40,000.

King Yao of Zhongshan led 8,000 imperial guards and cavalry, which were the main force of the central army.

As soon as more than 40,000 soldiers and horses arrived in Shangdang, the local Hu Jin officials and people complained bitterly.

The hay stored in the mountain-like hay warehouse was being consumed quickly, and the top of the mountain was getting shorter day by day. Now all the Han and Hu people were conscripted to go out and cut grass.

All the granaries were opened, and the grain that had been stored there just a few days after the autumn harvest was taken out again.

Even food, fodder, cattle and sheep were transported over mountains and across rivers from Taiyuan and Hanoi, regardless of the losses.

This battle is a real fight, and it must be won quickly to minimize consumption.

The battle has been going on for several days and many people have been killed on both sides.

All obstacles outside the camp were cleared away, and the final stage of the attack began.

Amid the sounds of fierce fighting, Liu Yao climbed onto the high platform and overlooked the entire battlefield.

Outside the east wall of the camp, the attacking Di and Qiang people had already climbed up the wall and were fighting head-on with the defenders.

There were many gaps in the wall, which were traces of the attack. The defenders used wood, earth and rocks to block the gaps and fought fiercely with the enemy troops rushing towards these gaps.

In a short moment, countless people died on the spot.

Some people are no longer able to take care of their family’s fields.

Some people can never go back to see their loved ones again.

Some people may be about to see their families broken up and their spouses and children separated.

War is such a destructive activity, but it has to be fought because there have been more wars than peace since ancient times.

The south gate of She County suddenly opened and a group of people rushed out.

The Huns were well prepared, and their cavalry came galloping and charged straight ahead.

The cavalrymen were thrown to the ground by dense crossbow arrows from the opposite side. However, their actions still worked, and the two thousand defenders who had rushed out of the city stopped and could no longer move forward.

The follow-up infantry followed and approached the group.

But they did not dare to be careless because they had suffered a loss the day before.

Although there were only two thousand men who went out of the city to fight, half of them were wearing iron armor and had various weapons such as crossbows, swords, spears, bows, etc., and their skills were quite good.

The leader was Xi Jian, a military officer in the military office of General Shao Xun Longxiang. He was quite brave and daring. The first time he went out of the city to fight, he rushed behind the retreating Qiang people and killed and wounded many of them.

This time, although Liu Yao was well prepared, he could only barely stop their advance.

The "Xi" general's flag on the opposite side fluttered in the autumn wind for a long time. Seeing that they could not break through, they formed a tighter formation and slowly retreated.

A large amount of arrows were rained down from the top of the city wall in time, blocking the pursuit of the Xiongnu cavalry and allowing them to retreat safely to the county town.

But as a result, the Diqiang infantry who were attacking the camp were frightened and fled in panic.

The Jin army in the camp did not pursue the enemy as they had suffered too many casualties and were no longer able to pursue.

"Send someone to lure Shi Le's soldiers to surrender." Liu Yao gave the order after he got off the platform.

The messenger took the order and left.

"What's going on in the east?" Liu Yao asked again.

"More than 300 riders were killed."

"Where did you fold it?" Liu Yao asked as he asked someone to bring a map and look at it carefully.

Gushan!

After hearing the name, he roughly understood it.

The Jin army dispatched more than 10,000 people to Shexian County. It was unknown how much food and fodder they had stored, but it should be enough for two or three months.

These people were firmly pinned down on the east bank of the Zhuozhang River, threatening the retreat of the army on the Eastern Expedition.

He could certainly bypass the city and not attack, but he would need to leave a large army behind to monitor it, and the number of people must not be insufficient, because the defenders have the ability to fight outside the city.

If this were to happen, the army would have to be divided, its power would be greatly reduced, and it would not be able to pose enough threat to the Shao bandits.

Perhaps, choosing Fukouxing as the direction of attack was really a mistake.

Although this place is closest to Yecheng, it is also an area where the Shao bandits have deployed heavy troops.

It has been made clear that She County has a large number of troops.

There are also soldiers on Gushan Mountain, which is over a hundred miles away. They can cut off the post road when they go down the mountain.

So, what about the Fu Shui area on the southern edge of Gushan Mountain, and the Wu'an and Ming Shui areas on the north side?

"Where is Hu Yanmo?" Liu Yao called his staff and asked.

“I have been grazing in the Qingzhang River Valley.”

"Ask him if he has released enough. If he has, go out and run to Fukou Spring."

"As ordered."

"Where is Linghu Ni's surrender?"

"We'll eat in Wuxiang."

"Tell him to take his troops to Jingxing and contact Shi Le."

"As ordered."

"The rest of the officers and soldiers will take turns attacking the city."

After the order was passed down, a new wave of offensive began.

This time, it was the young and strong commanders of the forts in various places, under the supervision of Liu Han's imperial guards and cavalry, who marched towards the camp outside Shexian City.

Almost at the same time, more than 3,000 cavalrymen from various Jie tribes were conscripted, carrying five days' worth of food and water, and marching towards Gushan.

The battle against time begins again.

******
Under the city of Fuliu, men and horses chased each other in a brutal manner.

Thousands of infantrymen under You Lun, who had recently been appointed governor of Zhao Prefecture (still under Shi Le), were attacked from the flank by the Xiongnu cavalry and fell into chaos.

More than 2,000 infantrymen from the front pressed forward, and the You troops were in an uproar and retreated one after another.

Seeing that they were about to collapse, the Wuhuan cavalry of the Qihuo Army rushed forward and fought with the Xiongnu.

When the battle reached a stalemate, another group of Xiongnu light cavalry attacked from the side and rear, killing Liang Fuci's Xiongnu light cavalry and throwing them into chaos.

Julu prefect Zhang Chai led more than 4,000 infantry and cavalry in a counterattack and collided head-on with the Xiongnu infantry in front.

A melee between infantry and cavalry began again.

The battle lasted until sunset. The Xiongnu cavalry fled in panic. More than 2,000 infantry and cavalry were attacked from both sides. Almost no one was left alive and they were all slaughtered.

Upon seeing such a tragic scene, people in Fuliu County immediately opened the city and surrendered.

The army did not stop here, but rushed eastward and attacked the city of Anping.

On September 20th, large armies set up camps in the west, south, and east of Anping City, and the intention of siege was already very obvious.

The governor Liang Fuci climbed up the city wall to look out, feeling worried.

Shi Le promised him to send troops to help, but nothing happened.

Messengers came from Changshan and Julu, asking him to withdraw his troops and hold on until help.

In response, Liang Fuci could only smile bitterly.

He has already shrunk as much as possible, and now the city is full of farmers and herdsmen from various tribes, with almost no place to stay.

Cows, sheep and horses filled every corner, and the stench was overwhelming. Even his office was divided into two stables, which housed more than a hundred war horses.

Of course, most of the livestock were slaughtered because Anping City could not accommodate them and there was not enough fodder to feed them, so they were simply used as military supplies.

For this, Liang Fuci risked his own reputation and promised to compensate the herdsmen for their losses with food and silk after repelling Shao's troops. This was enough to suppress the dissatisfaction.

There were almost no idle people in the city. All the men were soldiers. They were either stationed on the city walls or camping outside the city. They all had to fight in the war.

What makes people sad is that among these soldiers guarding the city and the camp are a lot of herdsmen who can fight on horseback. They could have been cavalrymen, roaming all over the country, but now they are forced to dismount and defend the city.

Is there anything more ridiculous in the world than this?

But the situation on the battlefield is like this, there is nothing much to say.

The space for the cavalry to maneuver was getting smaller and smaller. Shao had also recruited a large number of Hu Jin cavalry to fight for him. Every time he attacked, many people were killed or injured. Now only the strongest people could go out of the city to fight. Liang Fuci sent his eldest son and nephew to lead 3,000 cavalry each to move around at the junction of Anping, Julu and Boling, looking for opportunities to fight.

The rest of you, stay and defend the city, there is no other way.

******
Shao Xun still stayed in Zebei on the mainland, meeting with chiefs of various tribes all day long.

On September 21st, groups of leaders came to his camp and bowed their heads in worship.

The clerk asked questions carefully and recorded the clan name, tribal population, number of cattle and sheep, and where the crops were farmed and grazed.

"Where does your tribe come from?" Shao Xun asked, sitting on the felt carpet.

Several Xiongnu noble girls knelt beside him, with their heads bowed and silent.

Liu sat behind the desk, with nothing to do, feeling a little depressed.

This desk was placed there by Shao Xun, and Liu would kneel and sit there when she had nothing to do.

Shao Xun was reading a book and reviewing official documents on the felt carpet at the back.

If you look up, you can see those two plump and full buttocks.

Because of the posture, the buttocks are taut, round and charming, and the buttocks crack is very obvious.

Occasionally, Shao Xun would ask Liu to get something from another table in front of her, and she would have to lean over to get it, and at this time she would have to arch her hips high...

He did it on purpose!

Liu felt ashamed and angry, as well as having a different indescribable feeling. She could only suppress these thoughts, listen quietly to the words of people passing by, and divert her attention.

"My lord, I came from Sheyan River." The chief replied respectfully.

"Xianbei?" Shao Xun asked curiously.

"Yes."

"When did you come to Hebei?"

"I came with Liang Fuci's official."

"It's been a few years." Shao Xun nodded and asked, "How were the tribes in Hexi divided?"

The headman thought about it carefully and said, "In fact, it is mainly based on clans. They gather in the wild to form tribes, and they are scattered and unstable."

What he meant was that the local civilization was even more backward than that of the Xiongnu, with very obvious clan characteristics. Tribes had already appeared, but the structure was not stable, with clans joining or leaving from time to time.

Clans are linked by blood ties, but tribes are not.

"Can we still make a living?" Shao Xun asked again.

"Not bad. There is no farming in Hexi. People only raise horses, cattle, sheep and camels."

"How is the grass growing and withering?"

"After the sacrifice to heaven, there will be a few good years."

"Living sacrifice?"

"Yes, kill the slaves as sacrifice."

"Can you get some merchants from Guanzhong to do business?"

"a lot of."

"What to buy?"

"Mostly live animals, animal horns, animal tendons, animal skins, and felt blankets."

"No one is buying honey?" Shao Xun asked curiously, "Musk navel, safflower, Cistanche deserticola, Bupleurum, honey, wax, feathers, fox fur, mink fur, etc. are all produced in abundance in Nair. No one is buying them?"

Liu raised her head and glanced at Shao Xun from the corner of her eyes, with a complicated look on her face. What else did he not know?
"Mingsong is truly a man from heaven." The chief was surprised and sighed, "Most of these were sold by the Diqiang tribe."

Shao Xun nodded.

Hexi is a melting pot of various ethnic groups.

Xianbei, Xiongnu, Di, Qiang, and so on, and perhaps even Han - most of them had already been assimilated into the barbarians.

Among these tribes, the Diqiang tribe had a considerable agricultural economy, not just animal husbandry.

They generally occupied the marginal areas on the southwest, east and west sides of the river, where precipitation was relatively abundant and there were more rivers, which was conducive to farming.

Until the Northern Song Dynasty, scholars and officials even called the territory of the Dangxiang people "the old land of the Di and Qiang people". There was a reason for this. Of course, the Dangxiang people were actually a branch of the Qiang people. They could not bear the slavery of the Tibetans and fled to the Tang territory to seek asylum.

The Di Qiang and the Dangxiang were just one who came earlier and the other later, but they were actually all from the same group of people.

“How do you feel after moving to Hebei?”

"Hebei has abundant grass and water, which is much better than Hexi. The children can all have enough food, and more of them survive. Now there are children everywhere, and the number of people registered in our department has increased a lot."

This is like a weasel falling into a chicken coop and having a blast.

Good land is good land whether it is used for farming or grazing.

The Ukrainian black soil is pasture in the hands of the Cossacks and arable land in the hands of the Polish manor owners. It all depends on how you use it.

When the Hexi Xianbei came to Hebei, they no longer needed to offer sacrifices to the heavens. The grass grew abundantly every year, which greatly improved their living conditions. Over a few years, the population increased.

"Have you ever learned to farm?"

“They have tried to learn, but not every family knows how, and they can’t grow crops well,” the headman replied.

"Go down." Shao Xun waved his hand and said, "Send two hundred people over tomorrow. I have some use for them."

"Yes." The chief hesitated and replied.

The personal soldiers brought ten pieces of silk and gave them as rewards to the chief.

The chief thanked him profusely, kowtowed and left.

Shao Xun stood up and looked at the autumn lake outside the tent without saying a word for a long time.

Liu secretly raised her head and looked at him.

"Yena." Shao Xun said suddenly.

Liu was startled and lowered her head.

Shao Xun walked over, stood in front of her, and admired her carefully.

A beautiful woman is a work of art, a work of art with soul, and the best mood enhancer for men in their spare time.

It was also a pleasure for him to watch such a woman struggling with herself.

Not all women are worth his time and effort to please.

Among so many people, if he were asked to choose a woman to take with him when the army was defeated, he would only choose Concubine Pei. This was an emotion that originated from their humble beginnings, and had nothing to do with anything else.

"I originally wanted to kill all the Hu people in Hebei and be done with it, even if there were 200,000 or 300,000 of them, what would it matter if I killed them all?" Shao Xun said.

Liu shuddered and looked at Shao Xun in disbelief.

"But I changed my mind because of you." Shao Xun touched her face and said, "You let them survive, and you made me change my mind."

Liu looked at Shao Xun and for a moment forgot to knock his hand away.

She vaguely knew that this was a lie and that Shao Xun was lying to her, but unfortunately, she found herself somewhat willing to hear him say that.

"Write a letter to your brother. I will pretend that I have never heard of the conditions he proposed before and I will not blame him." Shao Xun said, "This time, let him think it over before making any conditions for me."

"You...what do you want him to do?" Liu lowered her head, turned away, and asked softly.

Shao Xun withdrew his hand and chuckled triumphantly.

Liu's face turned red all of a sudden.

She suddenly raised her head and said, "Aren't you looking for Liu Hezhu?"

The voice was slightly unstable, indicating the owner's drastic mood swings.

I feel wronged.

Shao Xun stopped teasing her and just said, "Your uncle has to fight Shi Le for me and has no time. Write a letter by hand and ask your brother - do you dare to rebel against the Xiongnu? Do you dare to fight for the overwhelming wealth?"

"What—wealth?" Liu asked for some unknown reason.

"Write a letter first." Shao Xun instructed, then left the tent and went out.

In the autumn, the horses are fat and the flags are flying everywhere. What a great world of contention!
He and Liu Yao were both racing against time.

(End of this chapter)