Chinese New Year

Chapter 652: Breaking in, momentum

Floating clouds connect the sea and the mountains, and the plains extend into the green and Xu.

From a topographical perspective, the east-west running Taishan Mountain Range divides Qingzhou into two parts, north and south.

The area between the northern foot of Mount Tai and the Bohai Sea has been called "Haidai" since ancient times - "Dai" refers to Mount Tai.

This is a relatively flat area, with many counties and towns such as Jibei, Jinan, Le'an, and Beihai. It is very important and can even be said to be the most important and central area of ​​Qi.

This prime area is flat when facing Hebei. The only obstacle is the Yellow River, but the Yellow River is not entirely controlled by Qingzhou. The opponent can cross the river directly by taking a detour.

Starting from mid-March, Leling prefect Shao Xu began to build a floating bridge across the Yellow River.

Cao's soldiers watched the progress of the floating bridge as if they were facing a formidable enemy, and tried every means to sabotage it. However, due to their desperate efforts, Shao Xuzhen was unable to successfully build the bridge.

But on March 20, a large-scale cavalry group received an order to advance eastward from Jibei - they didn't even need to cross the river.

Before setting off, Duan Pidi climbed up the hill and took a last look at the camp.

This place is called "Pingyin Ancient City". It is located at the western section of Mount Tai in the east and the intersection of Jishui River and Yellow River in the west (Sidukou). It is actually a water and land transportation hub.

As a grassland herdsman, it is actually a little difficult to imagine large-scale shipping.

It can transport soldiers, food, weapons, and everything else, and it can do so very quickly, faster than infantry and cavalry, because boats can still move even at night. When going downstream, the speed is unmatched by cavalry.

The most important thing is that it saves a lot of money.

"Let's go." Duan Wenyang shouted from the bottom of the hill.

Duan Pidi came down the mountain and marched eastward with his troops.

There was someone watching them in the mountains, passing on information. It was undoubtedly Cao Wei's scout.

From the scout's point of view, the marching conditions of the Xianbei cavalry were actually not very good.

They are crowded in the narrow and cramped foothills and riverside plains.

To the south is the Taishan Mountain Range, to the north are the ruins of the Qi Great Wall and the Ji River, and further north is the Yellow River.

The post road is sandwiched between the Qi Great Wall (north) and Mount Tai (south), and the Qi Great Wall is located on the south bank of the Ji River, cutting the already small northern plain into pieces.

At this time, if they had prepared an attack camp in the mountains in advance, selected elite soldiers and generals, and rushed out of the mountains, they could have cut the Xianbei people, whose team was stretched out very long, into several sections, making it impossible for the front and rear to take care of each other.

Unfortunately not!

No one had the courage to set up an ambush deep in enemy territory.

No one wants to take risks.

After walking for a while, the Xianbei cavalry at the foot of the mountain sent some men to look for mountain paths and gentle slopes in an attempt to drive out the Cao army scouts.

The scout hesitated for a moment and finally disappeared into the mountains and forests.

Duan Pidi withdrew his gaze.

Yellow clouds were floating in the sky. No one had cleaned up last year's withered grass, and after a few rains, it rotted on the roadside.

Most of the Qi Great Wall has collapsed, with only a few sections still intact. Some even rebuilt gates to allow pedestrians, troops, and merchants to enter and exit.

Unfortunately, most of the people walking on this road now are military personnel.

Duan Pidi estimated that he had walked for dozens of miles, but he didn't see a single person, not even a fort. There were only white bones and the ruins of villages and forts.

Yes, there is only one way: attack Jibei from Jinan, or attack Jinan from Jibei.

The two sides killed and plundered each other. It is hard to say what happened in other places, but the forts, manors and villages at the border between the two sides must have been the worst hit.

Not to mention dozens of miles, you are considered amazing if you can see people after marching for more than a hundred miles.

On the 21st, more than 4,000 light and heavy cavalry led by Duan Wenyang and Duan Pidi had entered Jinan.

They passed through a swamp that was slightly flooded after the spring flood, and the terrain ahead suddenly opened up - the Jishui River merged with the Meigou River in the northeast, forming a flooded area with a circumference of hundreds of miles, called "Meihu Lake" (located in the southwest of Changqing, Jinan today).

On the evening of the 23rd, they appeared in the southwest of Zhua County.

When the people working in the fields heard the warning bell, they all retreated back to the fortress.

Xianbei cavalry marched through the fields, chasing any peasant who did not flee in time.

These peasants would become their slaves and their property.

If you can't catch up, just shoot him to death with one arrow.

Of course, they don’t want everyone.

For example, an old farmer had his head chopped off by the Xianbei cavalry - they did not even respect their own elders, let alone those in the Central Plains.

When the military clerk saw this, he coughed.

Duan Pidi pretended not to know and delayed for a while. Only when his men had almost robbed all the women and men who were scattered outside did he give the order to enforce military discipline.

The clerk said helplessly: "General Duan, don't delay, it is important to intercept the enemy's retreat while the chaos is going on."

"The army has traveled over a hundred miles, and the food and water are running low. How can we pursue them?" Duan Pidi asked.

"Follow me." The clerk stepped on his horse's belly and led the way. Whether there is a local tyrant to provide you with supplies is sometimes completely decisive.

When they broke into Jinan, there was nothing to plunder. If they could not grab enough food, they would have to retreat and join the main force. But if they could get support from local powerful families and provide them with supplies, they would be able to hold on.

These are two completely different results, the difference is huge.

******
On the wide river, a floating bridge gradually extends to the south bank.

Several high platforms were built in the Cao army camp on the opposite bank, and waves of arrows were shot from time to time to interfere with the construction of the pontoon bridge.

There were another two to three thousand relatively elite soldiers who were gathering their strength and were ready to attack at any time when the enemy was halfway across the river.

The attack and defense of a river is actually just about crossing the river and counter-crossing the river. There is nothing special about it.

The floating bridge in front of us is really not far from the other side, just a few dozen steps away.

The arrows from the high platform fell densely on the floating bridge.

Shao Bing, holding a large shield, was unable to provide any protection. The craftsmen and servants screamed and fell into the water from time to time. After floating up and down a few times, they disappeared into the vast river.

"Splash!" The last piece of the raft was pushed into the water.

The craftsmen risked their lives to rush up and fix the bamboo knots and ropes.

The soldiers were eager to try, holding up their shields, swords and spears, and charging towards the shore.

Cao's soldiers, who had been gathering their strength for a long time, came forward to meet them.

The two sides collided head-on, their eyes were bloodshot, and they fought to the death.

"Shao Gou, die!"

"Death, demon thief!"

People fell down in groups, and lives disappeared in groups.

The good man whose parents had raised him for eighteen years collapsed in one breath after seeing the enemy.

Xuan Feng, who had practiced martial arts for many years, was cold-blooded and ruthless. He used his skilled killing skills to continuously reap the lives of his enemies, but he soon died under a hail of arrows.

And there is the person who is in a daze, rushing forward numbly, getting hurt numbly, and walking towards death numbly - he doesn't even know how he died.

……

The overall outcome of the battle is actually not much different from before.

The troops led by Shao Xu repeatedly failed to form a stable beachhead on the south bank of the river and failed to successfully cross the river. As the number of failures increased and the time passed, the morale of the soldiers was somewhat low, and they were afraid that it would be even more difficult in the future.

To be fair, today's fight was the closest to success in many days.

Shao Xu and the Gao brothers of Bohai joined forces and successively invested more than 20,000 men in an attempt to force a crossing of the Yellow River and go straight to Le'an.

But the fierce fighting on the beach told them that everything was not that simple.

As long as Cao's soldiers still want to fight and do not collapse at the first blow, as long as they think of the Emperor of Heaven and the Heavenly Master in their minds, they will have the fighting power.

Thinking of this, Shao Xu put his hands on the pergola and looked across anxiously.

He even sent his son-in-law along to act as the vanguard in breaking the formation, but he was unable to break through.

Behind Shao Xu, officers and soldiers were crowded together, standing solemnly with weapons in hand.

Only a very limited number of people could pass through the floating bridge, and most people did not get the chance to participate in the battle and could only stand on the shore and watch the battle develop.

Our soldiers charged again and again, but were often besieged and killed by enemies that outnumbered them several times.

If we continue to fight like this, we will just keep sending people to their deaths and there will be no result.

The soldiers watching the battle were very clear about this. Unless a miracle happened today, they could prepare the next floating bridge.

Uh, wait—a miracle actually happened.

Just when the Leling and Bohai soldiers were being beaten back and could no longer hold on, the Cao soldiers besieging them suddenly fell into chaos.

The noise was not loud at first, and the sound of horse hooves was not frequent.

But soon, as more and more Xianbei cavalry rushed to the back of Cao's army, shooting arrows and hacking people indiscriminately, the entire Cao army formation was like paper, and it fell apart at the first charge.

The Leling and Bohai soldiers crowded on the pontoon bridge were overjoyed. Under the leadership of their officers, they rushed forward and fought fiercely, cooperating with the Xianbei cavalry to attack from the front and back.

Some soldiers couldn't wait and jumped into the shallow river and waded ashore, cursing loudly as if they had an irreconcilable hatred with Cao's soldiers - which they did.

The situation suddenly turned around!
Cao's army was in disarray. The Bohai and Leling troops were attacking them on the river, and the Xianbei cavalry were charging repeatedly from behind. They could not stand any ground.

They abandoned their camps and cities and fled for dozens of miles.

More and more Xianbei cavalry crossed Jinan, headed straight for Le'an, and even advanced towards the State of Qi.

They did not hide their tracks at all, and even acted a bit brazenly, with the aim of letting more people know, creating momentum, and intimidating the enemy.

The entire Qingzhou is undergoing profound changes.

(End of this chapter)