Chinese New Year

Chapter 625 Meeting
After the meeting, Zao Song was quickly arranged to rest.

Duan Mobo led his men away directly, and after running for dozens of miles, he returned to his tribe.

My younger brother Duan Ya was leading people to take care of the livestock.

According to Duan Mobo's instructions before leaving, the war horses were adequately fed in case of emergency.

This is the pear-nosed horse they brought from the Northeast grasslands.

In later generations, until the Khitan and Jin dynasties, there were still many of these horses in the Northeast, but compared to the end of the Jin Dynasty, their numbers had dropped sharply, especially tall and strong individuals were relatively rare, and the quality of the entire population declined.

Just like humans have different races, horses also have different types. The pear-nosed horse is a breed unique to Northeast China.

It has a pear nose and split ears, a curved and docile body, and can run among the trees.

Its characteristic is the pear nose and split ears, which means that the two ends of the horse's nostrils are split and there is a notch at the tip of the horse's ears.

There is a saying in the local area that if the nose is not broken, the strong air will rush to the lungs, and if the ears are not broken, the wind will beat but no sound will be heard. It roughly means that if the nose is broken, the lungs will not be hurt, and if the ears are broken, the subtle sounds in the wind can be heard, such as the sound of an arrow breaking through the air.

Another characteristic of the pear-nosed horse is that its neck is relatively thin, which allows it to run among trees. This is a product of the natural environment in the northeast region, where there are many deep mountains and old forests, which is completely different from the endless flat grasslands in the west.

The pear-nosed horses are overall taller and stronger than the horses on the flat grasslands outside the Great Wall. At the end of the Song Dynasty, the Jurchens deliberately selected the best of the best and chose tall and strong horses to serve as mounts for their armored cavalry.

Not all horses can be used as heavy cavalry mounts, let alone armored cavalry mounts, which have higher requirements than heavy cavalry mounts. This thing is simply an accelerator for the continuous degeneration and degradation of the horse breed - the tall and strong ones died on the battlefield, and their genes could not be effectively preserved.

Duan Mobo still has 300 armored cavalry under his command, with majestic horses and elite soldiers. This is the reason why he has always been unwilling to give up.

However, the situation is indeed critical.

If Shao Xun was the only enemy, he would strongly suggest starting a fight, but now the Murong Xianbei were sharpening their knives, and it was not a good time to start a war.

Of course, this did not prevent him from instigating others to go to war. After all, there were only three positions for generals.

Ji Lujuan was the Duke of Liaoxi County, a hereditary title with his own fiefdom, so he did not need the position of a garrison commander.

She Fuchen is the younger brother of the former county official Wu Wuchen. He has always been dissatisfied with Ji Lujuan's inheritance of the title. His willingness to surrender may be very strong. After all, when he went south to Zhangwu, he was only concerned with looting and was not very enthusiastic about fighting.

Duan Pidi was a fool who had an unrealistic worship of the Jin Dynasty. He might also surrender. After all, Shao the thief was still using the banner of the Jin Dynasty and had not usurped the throne.

Duan Wenyang, as you can tell from his name, still admires the Central Plains. He is also a brave man, charging into the midst of thousands of troops, and is unstoppable. Relatively speaking, he has a simple mind, so it might be most appropriate to let him die.

After thinking for a long time, Duan Mobo could not come up with a solution, and secretly considered whether he should send someone to contact in advance.

******
Just when Duan Mobo was hesitating, Duan Jilujuan dismissed everyone. After a while, he secretly called back Duan Pidi, Duan Wenyang, Duan Shujun and Duan Xiu.

These four are his biological brothers, unlike She Fuchen (uncle) and Duan Mobo (cousin).

"We were brothers. After father passed away, we became more distant." Duan Jilujuan sighed and said, "Why bother? I am in poor health and don't have much time left. In the end, this family business still depends on you."

After saying this, his face looked quite melancholy, as if he was reminiscing about the past.

"Brother..." Duan Wenyang was somewhat moved.

Duan Pidi sighed softly.

Duan Shujun and Duan Xiu were a little younger, and their eyes were a little red.

Of course there will be fights between brothers, especially when it comes to power, fathers and sons can become enemies, let alone brothers.

But after all, they grew up together and had a happy time when they were young. The family affection exists, and they are much closer than Duan Shefuchen and Duan Mobo.

Given the current situation, some things that seemed very big and infuriating in the past now seem so insignificant.

At critical moments, brothers still need to work together.

"Before, Wang Jun lured the Tuoba clan to attack, and we united and defeated them. We must unite again this time to overcome the difficulties together." Duan Jilujuan said again.

After hearing this, several people nodded secretly.

Brothers should be united, and cousins, uncles, and the like should also be united, but there should be a distinction between close and distant relatives.

"There are no outsiders here now. Just tell me the truth about what you are thinking." Duan Ji Lujuan said again.

"If you want to fight, then fight. If you don't want to fight, then don't fight." Duan Wenyang said.

Duan Pidi thought for a moment and said, "If we want to fight Shao Xun, we should prepare now. But the losses in this battle will be heavy."

Who wants to fight in the spring? Cattle, sheep and horses are losing weight, especially war horses, which are very thin. And they charge in armor like the Central Plains cavalry, which is very destructive to the war horses. They may not be able to charge for more than a few rounds before they have to change horses and fight again.

During the war, precious food had to be used to feed the horses.

After the war, even if they won, they would be seriously injured. If the Murong Xianbei attacked, they would be unable to withstand it.

Duan Pidi actually tactfully expressed his intention not to fight.

"Brother, I think Zao Song exaggerated Shao Xun's military strength." After the two brothers expressed their opinions, Duan Shujun said, "Shao's soldiers have been fighting in Hebei for a long time, some for a year, and some for two years. They are exhausted from the long battle, and many of their personnel and equipment are missing and have not been replenished. The soldiers are also eager to go home, and their fighting spirit is not strong enough. Can they exert 50% of their 100% combat strength?"

"The Youzhou light cavalry he recruited are weak in combat power, but they can be defeated in one blow. It's even a question of whether they are willing to work hard or not."

"Aren't Shao Xun's Yicong Cavalry the Hu people of Hebei and the Wubao tribe of Henan? They have also fought in Zhangwu, but their fighting power is average. If we send our entire army forward, even if we cannot destroy them, we can at least inflict heavy damage on them."

"If the cavalry retreats, the morale of Shao's infantry will drop. Even if we can't defeat them, we can force them to retreat. If we chase them closely, we may be able to gain an advantage."

After listening to his third brother's eloquent speech, which was quite reliable, Duan Jilujuan became interested and asked, "So what do you suggest--"

"I suggest surrendering," said Duan Shujun.

Duan Jilujuan's mind was a little confused for a moment: "Surrender?"

"Yes." Duan Shujun said solemnly, "Shao Xun was in great need of cavalry. I heard that he sent people to Liangzhou to recruit soldiers in his early years, which shows that he was not very satisfied with the cavalry from the Central Plains. These Liangzhou people followed him in his expeditions and made special contributions. But no matter how many people there were, they could not withstand the loss. Shao Xun could not recruit Liangzhou soldiers later, so he could only select people from the Wuhuan of the Qihuo Army, the Henan Wubao tribe, and even the various tribes in Jizhou. He often recruited one thousand, two thousand, or three thousand people. It can be seen that the losses in the war were huge, and it is very likely that entire camps and camps would be annihilated. This is our chance."

"You mean--" Duan Jilujuan seemed to understand.

"We can sell them for a good price if we surrender." Duan Shujun said, "Our war horses are taller than Shao Xun's horses, our riding skills are better than his soldiers, and our courage in charging is stronger than his cavalry. If we fight a few battles for him, Shao Xun will know how powerful we are and will definitely be inseparable from us in the future."

Duan Jilujuan was somewhat convinced.

He looked at his last brother, Duan Xiu.

Facing his brother's gaze, Duan Xiu was a little nervous, and said with a stiff face: "No matter how good you are at fighting, you still have to eat. With the current situation in the tribe, even if you defeat Shao Xun, there is still Murong clan. Even if you are lucky enough to defeat Murong clan, you will definitely suffer great losses. Yuwen clan will hear about it and think that they can take advantage of it, so they may attack us. If we continue to fight like this, when will it end?"

Upon hearing this, Duan Jilujuan exchanged glances with Duan Wenyang and Duan Pidi.

Duan Xiu pointed out the fact that their environment was too dangerous and there were too many enemies.

At the end of the fight, there may still be warriors left, but the tribe will be completely destitute and its members will flee in all directions, thus being defeated without having to fight to the bitter end.

There seemed to be little choice.

"I still want to meet Shao Xun." Duan Jilujuan said.

"Brother, what do you want to see?" Duan Pidi asked subconsciously.

"Look at what kind of man he is."

******
On the sixth day of March, a tall flag was hoisted on the top of Wuzhong County. At the same time, Jin Zheng led his troops eastward along the coastline, crossed the Beishui River, and entered the territory of Beiping.

Shao Xun and Duan's messengers came and went, constantly delivering messages.

The people of Youzhou, who had just finished their spring sowing, were conscripted to transport food and fodder, and they all sighed.

The nobles and powerful families closed their doors and observed from a neutral perspective.

The Wuzhong Yang clan, a branch of the Quanzhou Yang clan, prepared 30,000 bundles of hay and sent them to the military camp.

The Liu family of Quanzhou (descendants of Liu He, the prefect of Jiyin in the Han Dynasty), the Yimen family of Luxian, and the Xianyu family of Yongnu each sent 5,000 hu of grain and beans.

Members of the Wuzhongtian clan came with sheep and wine to entertain the troops.

The situation is still very good. At least the scholars and powerful people in Youzhou are more willing to join Shao Xun than the Xianbei.

After all, he speaks the Jin dialect and the Xia dialect, not nonsense, and all his customs are those of a proper Central Plains person, so it doesn't make people feel too awkward.

Under such circumstances, on the tenth day of March, Shao Xun led his personal army, the Heiliang army, the Yicong army, and more than 3,000 cavalrymen from Liu Ye's family, whom he trusted relatively, left Wuzhong and headed southeast to have a "feast" with the family of Duan Jilu, the Duke of Liaoxi County.

Duan Ji, Lu Juan and others brought five thousand cavalry to the meeting.

On the vast grassland, flags are flying and drums and horns are beating.

The long spear like a jungle was raised high and moved slowly forward.

After a moment, the long spear jungle split into two halves.

A red-robed general appeared.

His personal soldiers and officers guarded him on both sides, like stars surrounding the moon, protecting him as he went forward.

Duan Jilujuan became alert and looked carefully with all his eyesight.

What a mighty warrior!
Duan Wenyang was also observing quietly from the side, and when he saw Shao Xun's appearance, he felt a sense of familiarity in his heart.

I am most annoyed by those scholars who talk nonsense. Shao Xun is quite to my liking.

Duan Pidi also thought it was good.

Everyone has his or her own aesthetic views, and different ethnic groups have different cultures.

The Duan tribe did not like scholars very much.

The Murong Xianbei treated scholars with courtesy.

The Yuwen Xianbei hated scholars. Unless you were extremely talented, they would not treat you well.

"Where is the Duke of Liaoxi?" Soon, the red-robed general pushed away his personal soldiers holding large shields, rode out on his horse, and shouted.

He rode a black horse, wearing golden armor, holding a large spear in his hand, which was placed across the horse.

The horse lance was thick and long, and weighed a thousand pounds, but in this man's hand, it was as light as a willow stick.

After shouting, he dropped his spear to the ground and looked past the neatly lined-up Xianbei cavalry in front of him as if they were nothing.

Duan Jilujuan sighed, nodded to Duan Shujun, went out alone, stopped more than twenty steps away, led the horse and walked forward.

Duan Shujun quietly retreated to the rear and walked towards the camp.

Shao Xun also dismounted, holding a bow in his left hand and a sword in his right, and walked while leading his horse.

"Mr. Chen."

"Duke Liaoxi."

After they had exchanged greetings, Shao Xun stroked the hilt of his knife and asked directly, "What do you think?"

Duan Jilujuan was silent for a moment.

Shao Xun was displeased and said, "Fight or surrender, it's decided with one word. If we want to fight, we can each prepare our troops. Why are we hesitating?"

Duan Jilujuan felt a little humiliated for a moment, but quickly suppressed it.

He sighed and asked, "Who will Lord Chen appoint as the commander of the town?"

Shao Xun looked at him without saying a word.

"Besides me, there are four others who are here today: Pidi, Wenyang, Shujun, and Xiu. Mr. Chen can choose three of them."

"Where are Duan Mobo and She Fuchen?"

"Prepare for war on the pasture."

Shao Xun looked at him playfully and said, "Let the four of them come to see me."

Having said that, he mounted his horse and left.

Duan Jilujuan felt a little embarrassed and annoyed.

This person is really rude.

Does he have the confidence, or is he just being arrogant?
After standing still for a while, he regained his composure, mounted his horse and left.

When he returned to the formation, everyone looked at him.

Ji Lujuan waved his hand, and Duan Shujun's confidants who were waiting for his orders immediately ran over.

Ji Lujuan hesitated for a moment, then made a gesture, and his confidant nodded and left.

In the tent, Duan Shujun sighed after receiving the news.

The plump woman looked at him tremblingly, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

Duan Shujun closed his eyes and said, "Go with peace of mind."

After saying that, he picked up a bowstring and strangled the woman's neck until she could no longer move.

This is his stepmother and sister-in-law, the daughter of Wang Jun.

She first married my father Wu Wuchen and gave birth to one son and two daughters.

After his father died, his eldest brother Ji Lujuan married her and had another son and a daughter.

The elder brother was in poor health. If he died, Wang would marry the second brother Pidi and continue to have children for others.

Duan Shujun actually also coveted his stepmother and sister-in-law, but there was nothing he could do.

After Wang was strangled to death, Duan Shujun took an axe, cut off her head, wrapped it in a felt blanket, and carried it out.

(End of this chapter)