Three thousand miles in exile

Cao Zhuang and Li Xiaolian quickly gathered the team to count the casualties, and soon the number of casualties was reported to Liu Zhan.

"Modao wounded three people in 410 and killed 34 people."

"The Lancers wounded 280 and killed 160 and three."

"All the heavy armored shield soldiers survived without any casualties."

"The infantry wounded 760 and 890, and killed [-] and [-]."

Compared with the total annihilation of [-] Yan troops, this number of casualties is already very rare, but Liu Zhan did not feel complacent after the victory, and his expression was solemn.

"Li Xiaolian, you lead the remaining infantry and heavy armored soldiers to escort the wounded to clean up the battlefield. The wounded are immediately sent back to Tongtian Pass for treatment, and the dead soldiers prepare their appearance and send them home."

"After finishing all this, I will execute my military order." Liu Zhan raised the Mo Dao and pointed forward. "Where my blade is pointing, the walls will be cleared, and the Yan people will be driven out from the foot of Qiyun Mountain. There will be no farmland in the villages within a radius of [-] miles!"

The hilly land north of Qiyun Mountain is fertile and suitable for farming. It has always been the granary of the Yan army.Since it can't be included in the bag for the time being, it will be destroyed!

Li Xiaolian looked solemn. "The last general takes orders!"

Liu Zhan looked back at the Modao cavalry and Lancers who had gathered, and he held up the Modao in his hand. "The rest of the cavalry followed this general into the country of Yan, leaving no armor anywhere!"

The cavalry raised their weapons and shouted excitedly.

"Let's go!!" Liu Zhan rushed out first, and the following cavalry galloped away like red dragons chasing Liu Zhan.

Liu Zhan didn't intend to give the rear of the Yan Kingdom time to react. Many Yan soldiers escaped in this battle, and they had to rush into the hinterland of the Yan Kingdom before these deserters!

After leaving Qiyun Mountain, go north, pass the Maiziao hilly land, and then go north to the endless grassland.

Because Yan State is located in the extreme north, only the hilly area around Qiyun Mountain in the south has a warmer climate and is suitable for farming. Further north is boundless grassland. There are no roads and no need for roads. As long as the direction is correct, you can go where you want to go .

Liu Zhan has a map of Yan State in his hand. This map is accurate to the distance between each tribe and city-state. Where there are rivers and forests, it can be reached in a few days. With this map, Liu Zhan is not afraid of getting lost in Yan.

Their first stop was a tribe called Ashwang.

Yan also has city-states, but more nobles still live on the grasslands in the form of tribes.

The tribe of Ashuwang already had the embryonic form of a semi-city-state. According to the map, this tribe has about tens of thousands of people, and it is a large tribe.

Under the night, bonfires are dotted, and stretches of tents and wooden houses are looming in the moonlight.

It is now the third watch, and most of the Yan people have fallen asleep.

Soon it turned into a sea of ​​flames. Liu Zhan didn't need any food, grass, and supplies. Each cavalry only needed to find enough dry food for two days to carry with him, and the rest was burned.

Liu Zhan did not kill ordinary Yan people, but only the leader of the Ashuwang clan.

"General! We found more than 2000 slaves from Chu, what do you think we should do with them?" Jiang Changlin came to report.

Those slaves were almost all Chu people who used to live in the Cangxia Plain, and they were captured alive as slaves. When they heard the accent and knew that it was the army of Great Chu, they all cried.

"General, please save us!"

These people are indeed very pitiful, but Liu Zhan has more important matters, he can't divide his troops to save these poor people, if Jinyang City is destroyed, more people will die.

Liu Zhan stepped forward on his horse and glanced at these ragged and haggard Chu people.

"I am General Qi Yun. Qi Yun Mountain is the town under my general's jurisdiction. Have you seen the mountain in the distance?" Liu Zhan held his horsewhip and pointed to the mountain in the distance that went straight into the clouds.

"If you want to live your life, go to that mountain. When you go to Tongtianguan to verify your identity, the officials will arrange for you to be naturalized and become Chu people again. The horses and carriages of the Ashuwang Department are at your disposal."

Although they received General Qi Yun's personal promise, these Chu people were obviously terrified of being beaten, and most of them shrank back and did not dare to move.

Liu Zhan's heart is as deep as an ancient well without waves, and he said it all. If these people don't even have the courage to escape, how can they get a new life.

"Let's go!" Liu Zhan led Qi Yun's cavalry to gallop away again.

Ashwang was engulfed in flames.

In the flames, the Chu slaves kneeling outside the tribe looked at each other, and finally a young man stood up, grabbed the ownerless horse, rode on it and ran towards Qiyun Mountain.

With one person taking the lead, more and more people started to move, some people pulled the carriage, some people pulled the horse, and they left one after another in the morning light.

Leaving Ashu Wangbu and continuing to head north, the map records that running at full speed can reach the outskirts of the Uragan Forest in two hours. In the morning, more than 8000 cavalry led by Liu Zhan came to the Uragan Forest.

This is the first place Liu Zhan chose suitable for rest. It is safer for more than 8000 cavalry to rest in the forest than on the plains.

"The whole army rests, and they are on duty in shifts, and they will leave in the evening." Liu Zhan ordered.

In order not to be found whereabouts, the whole army is forbidden to light fire.

After eating some dry food with cold water, Liu Zhan leaned against the tree trunk and slept for two hours. At noon, he discussed the next target with Cao Zhuang, Wei Chenggui, Jiang Changlin and others who were also unable to sleep.

Liu Zhan pointed to a certain coordinate on the sheepskin map. "Going north along the edge of the Uragan Forest is the Wula River, and then going east along the Wula River, Yanda is on the bank of the Wusha River."

Wei Chenggui asked: "General, shall we go straight to Yan Dadu?"

Before Liu Zhan could speak, Cao Zhuang immediately objected. "Although the main force of the Yan army is heading south, there will be many defenders in Yan Dadu. It is too risky for us to kill directly with more than 8000 cavalry."

Liu Zhan glanced at Cao Zhuang appreciatively, motioning for him to continue.

Cao Zhuang was encouraged. "I think we should continue to burn and destroy the tribes along the road. These tribes are the foundation of the Yan Kingdom. If things get serious, they will naturally spread to the front line."

Jiang Changlin and Wei Chenggui scratched their heads, both of them thought that Cao Zhuang's suggestion was good but it was not so interesting.

Cao Zhuang was able to understand that this level has already improved, and Liu Zhan calmly stated a goal that made everyone excited. "My goal has always been Yan Dadu."

Liu Zhan pressed a stone on the sheepskin map where Yan Dadu was located.

"Tonight we attacked this tribe at the confluence of the Ulagan Forest and the Ula River, and then moved along the Ula River, this, this, this, these three tribes."

Liu Zhan clicked on the tribe markers on the map, only to see that the three tribes were not on the way.

One is on the riverside, one is going north, and the other is going west. The route of going east, west, and north will delay a lot of time, and the three of them are even more confused.

Liu Zhan explained. "The Yan people can't predict where we will appear if our whereabouts are uncertain. One is more beneficial to us, and the other is to make the Yan people more panic."

Make the people of Yan panic, and then?

Cao Zhuang listened attentively.

"What we have to do in the past few days is to attack the tribes near the capital of Yan from far and near, and at the same time set up obstacles to make the people of Yan think that we have a large army entering the hinterland of Yan." Liu Zhan told his plan, and finally sold There was a hurdle.

"But the main force of the Yan army will not be able to return for a while, so what do you think the Yan people will do?"

The three of them were already stunned, and Liu Zhan laughed wantonly.

The biggest Achilles' heel of the Yan Kingdom has been grasped by Liu Zhan, and that is the flat land in the hinterland!

It would take seven or eight days at the earliest for the king of Yan to receive the news that Wu Kechu's entire army was wiped out, because the Yan soldiers could not pass through Qiyun Mountain to go to the Cangxia Plain and had to circle around to reach the front line.

Even if the king of Yan immediately realized that something happened in the rear and sent the main force back to defend, it would take six or seven days at the fastest for the Yan army's iron cavalry to return to the capital of Yan. This half month is enough for Liu Zhan to go back and forth three times in the hinterland of Yan. .

At the same time, Jinyang City.

The Yan army has been attacking Jinyang City violently for two consecutive days. As the first county in northern Xinjiang, Jinyang City has been strengthened by several generations of management by the Yan family. .

The city wall of Jinyang was full of stone-throwing marks, but there were no cracks on the wall. There were corpses everywhere under the city wall. Zhou Sui's soldiers and Yan's defenders resisted desperately.

"Where is Governor Yan? Hurry up and ask Governor Yan to organize the young and strong to help out on the city wall." Zhou Sui was in a panic, he grabbed a soldier and told him to find someone quickly.

After Yan Qixiu showed his face yesterday, he hasn't seen anyone until now, Zhou Sui rubbed the sweat off his face, and hoped that Yan Qixiu wouldn't just drop the chain now.

Zhou Sui didn't know that Yan Qixiu had gone to find Prince Rui.

"Why don't you let me in? The battle is so fierce, I should advance and retreat with Prince Rui." Yan Qixiu was stopped by the soldiers outside the General's residence.

The soldier refused to let him go, and even pushed Yan Qixiu down more fiercely. "The general has an order. Except for General Zhou, no one will be seen, and anyone who dares to trespass will be killed!"

Yan Qixiu fell to the ground and was stunned for a moment. It wasn't because of the fall, but because he suddenly seemed to know something.

"Prince Rui can't leave me, it's impossible for him not to see me for a few days." Yan Qixiu muttered to himself.

The attendants at the side hurriedly helped Yan Qixiu up, when a soldier came running from the long street. "Lord Sheriff! General Zhou is in a hurry to find you. The city gate is urgent. General Zhou wants you to quickly organize the young and strong to defend the city."

"Yes! I'll ask Zhou Sui!" Yan Qixiu turned his head towards the city gate.

Zhou Suizheng was in a state of desperation.

"General Zhou! The people are clamoring to leave the city, do you want to let them go?" Pei Gongli just came back from the back gate, his official uniform was ripped off by the angry people, and his official hat was also taken off, he was very embarrassed .

Zhou Sui said angrily: "Don't let it go! Now we are counting on recruiting some strong men to guard the city. If the city gate is opened and the people rush out of the city, Jinyang City will be handed over to the people of Yan!"

Jinyang City is located between Furongpingding and Dazhupingding. It is built on the back of Fengwei Ridge. Qiyun Mountain Peak Weiling.

The army of Yan could surround the main gate but not the back gate. As long as they left the city through the back gate, they could go west to Luming Ferry and cross Huangchuan, and north they could enter Qiyun Mountain and go to Shanyin County.

As long as the rear city gate is opened, the people of the whole city will definitely swarm out. Who will stay and defend the city?

Of course Pei Gongli understands this truth, but it is not an option to force the people to be locked up in the city. Someone is already making trouble at the rear city gate.

"Zhou Sui!!" The matter of Pei Gongli has not been discussed yet, but Yan Qixiu grabbed Zhou Sui and questioned him as soon as he arrived. "Tell me honestly, did the General and Prince Rui escape?!"

"You're crazy!" Zhou Sui covered Yan Qixiu's mouth, dragged him into an empty corner, and then slapped Yan Qixiu dumbfounded. "Can this kind of thing be asked in front of the soldiers? Idiots! Believe it or not, I will kill you with one knife!"

At the same time, Pei Gongli was also stunned, he said in disbelief: "Is this true? General and Prince Rui..."

Zhou Sui glared at Pei Gongli, who immediately dared not speak further.

"If you don't want to die, you'll just rot in my stomach. I'm not afraid to tell you that it doesn't make any difference to us whether the Great General and Prince Rui are around or not. If the city breaks down, we still die!"

"And you, if you don't want to die, organize the young and strong to resist now. The general has already sent reinforcements in Ruichang. As long as the reinforcements arrive, they will be able to defend!"

Zhou Suilian cursed and bluffed the two of them, but actually he didn't know what to do. Before he left, the general said that he would definitely bring in the rescuers, but he didn't know if they would have the life to wait for the rescuers to come.

And the Yan Army Camp outside Jinyang City.

For two whole days, the Yan army made no progress in attacking the city, which made King Yan a little impatient.

The 29-year-old new Yan Wang is in his prime, and he wants to complete the grand plan that the old Yan Wang did not complete.

The late old King Xiongcai of Yan was probably a wise king who was praised by the nobles and supported by the people of Yan. He built the Iron Cavalry of the Yan Army by himself.

The old king of Yan successively established three city-states, Lingshou, Wutan, and Guzhu, and gathered people scattered all over the grassland to form a stable society, which brought Yan's national strength to a higher level.

Ten years ago, the old king of Yan set up the grand goal of going south to unify the northern border, and in just a few years, he defeated the Chu army and could only hide in the Qiyun Mountain area.

It was only the last step that Old King Yan could achieve his goal, but it was a pity that at the age of 57, he contracted a cold and fell ill.

The former Prince Yan and now the new King Yan succeeded to the throne, and it took another three years to wipe out the chaotic party.

After finally consolidating the kingship, the first national policy of the new King Yan is to go south to attack Jinyang, and he wants to achieve the goal of the old King Yan!

The king of Yan raised the power of the whole country, and young and strong fighters from all city-state tribes were recruited to join the army. The army of nearly 25 people claimed that the 30 army was the entire combat power of Yan State.

5 people attacked Tongtian Pass, 8 people besieged Yangguan, 12 people attacked Jinyang, and the entire front was in full swing!

King Yan planned to take Jinyang within ten days, but after only two days he found that it was not that simple.

Even though the nobles of Jinyang City fought openly and secretly, and wished for life and death on weekdays, he ignored the scale of Jinyang City as the first county city in northern Xinjiang.

The piercingly high city wall alone made Yan soldiers frightened, and there was an urn city outside the city gate.

In the past two days, the Yan army has lost more than 4 people in Jinyang, and there are still a steady stream of young men on the city wall to make up for it.

There are millions of people living in Jinyang City!

The Prime Minister of Yan, Mo Tuo, once prevented the King of Yan from advancing rashly. At this moment, the young and energetic King of Yan realized why the Great Chu claimed to be the lord of the world. There are many cities of the size of Jinyang in the Central Plains.

At this time, it was too late to regret, and there was no turning back when he opened the bow. This battle was exhausting, and if he returned without success, his prestige would be ruined.

On the other side, Li Xiaolian immediately executed Liu Zhan's military order after arranging the wounded.

He took the remaining [-] soldiers who were not injured and swept along the north side of Qiyun Mountain. All the houses in the villages were burned, the farmland was leveled with horses, and all the grain, grass and luggage in the warehouse were transported back to Tongtian Pass.

The thick smoke at the foot of Qiyun Mountain has not been extinguished for four consecutive days. At the same time, Li Xiaolian met more and more Chu slaves, and he also knew from the mouths of these slaves where Liu Zhan had been.

At the military camp of Tiancang Village, Song Fenglin made a mark on the map of Yan State according to the news sent back by the slaves.

I saw that Liu Zhan's team had already crossed the Wula River. In the past four days, Liu Zhan had taken down five tribes, and yesterday he took down two tribes in one go.

His whereabouts were erratic, and he burned a tribe in the extreme north for a while, but he appeared on the south bank of the Wula River the next day.

Song Fenglin touched these coordinate points with his white hands, and even he couldn't figure out what Liu Zhan's next plan was. The nobles in Yan's capital must have been frantic at this time.

At night, Liu Zhan led the cavalry to camp by the Wula River.

For the past four days, Liu Zhan chose to camp and rest in a hidden place, but on the fifth night, he openly lit a fire by the Wula River?

Everyone is very confused.

Liu Zhan ordered calmly. "A person lives with a bonfire, keep a little distance from each other and don't get too close. After the bonfire is lit, ride a horse and trample around the bonfire."

Cao Zhuang and the others were full of question marks while they couldn't figure it out and strictly followed Liu Zhan's instructions.

More than 8000 people set up more than 8000 piles of bonfires. Under the night sky, these bonfires formed a formation like stars in the sky.

I saw dots of fire all over the banks of the Wula River, and from time to time there was the movement of horseshoes like thousands of horses.

Liu Zhan led everyone to leave before dawn, and the herdsmen who had been hiding in the distance all night and dared not approach them boldly came forward to see.

Seeing the bonfires all over the ground and countless horseshoe prints, he was so frightened that he sat down on the ground. How many cavalry would it take?I am afraid there must be one hundred thousand cavalry!