Northern Dynasties

Chapter 396 Retrieving Special Merits
Jinzhou is located in the middle and lower reaches of Fenshui, the southernmost part of the territory controlled by the Eastern Dynasty between Hefen and the front line of confrontation with the Western Dynasty.

In addition to its important strategic location, Jinzhou has another special significance for the overlords of the Eastern Dynasty.In the old year, Gao Huan, the king of Bohai, was appointed as the governor of Jinzhou by Er Zhurong, and Gao Huan also gained a unique status and power, which laid the foundation for the next comprehensive replacement of Er Zhu's hegemony.

After the Battle of Mangshan, the eastern and western dynasties each entered a period of internal rest. Although there were occasional frictions on the border, the scale was not large.Therefore, Jinzhou's armaments are also restrained and hidden.

However, following the order of the Jinyang Overlord Mansion, the war machine started to run rapidly, and a large number of people, horses, and material resources continued to pour into Jinzhou, making Pingyang County, where Jinzhou's state government is located, turned into a huge military camp, filled with a wave of The atmosphere of chilling, even the water flow of the Fen River has not declined due to the season, and the river has become more turbulent.

In late August, after meeting His Majesty the Emperor, Gao Huan, King of Bohai, personally led the army from all directions in Hebei to set out from Yecheng, pass through Taihang Mountain from Fukou, and head straight for Jinzhou.

When the army arrived at Baima City, Jinzhou Prefecture, it was already September.And the Xianbei people from the six prefectures who had assembled in Jinyang also came south one after another, and the commander was Hu Lujin who had been transferred back from Jizhou governor.

"Da Sima, this time I have to ask you to supervise the battle for me again. I hope that I can achieve great success in this battle. Don't let your son work for a long time."

Outside the White Horse City, Gao Huan waited here personally to welcome Hu Lujin who led the team. Seeing that he was approaching, he laughed and strode forward.

There are many fierce generals in the Eastern Dynasty, but if you talk about the most special one, it must be Dendrobium.This man was born in a famous imperial family and had a prominent family background. As early as when Bohai King Xinyang raised righteousness and rebelled against Erzhu's hegemony, he followed Juyi and became the right-hand man of Bohai King. No. 1 under King Gao Huan of the Bohai Sea!
Seeing such a courteous reception from the King of Bohai, Hu Lujin hurriedly dismounted from his horse and walked forward, but Gao Huan held him firmly while he was about to pay his respects. Let's reward the royal family together, and wait to get rid of the western thieves and then drink horses to Jiangdong, all the sons are just in their prime, how can they be idle!"

After Gao Huan heard this, his smile became even more joyful, and he took Hu Lujin's arm and walked side by side into the city. settle down.

The current governor of Jinzhou is Gao Yue, the younger brother of Gao Huan's family, but Gao Yue is not in the state capital now. Because he is sick and fears that he will be overwhelmed by military service, Gao Huan recalled him to Jinyang to recuperate a month ago, and cooperated She Digan stays in the Bafu together.

Having said that, those who are familiar with the situation know that things are not that simple.

Because it is located on the front line of the war between the two countries, the people of Jinzhou have long been tired of the life disturbed by the war. Therefore, when the Bafu government issued a mobilization order not long ago, there were rumors in the territory that the guard general fell ill during this time, which is really a bad omen. It is a sign that hinders military affairs.

Naturally, Gao Huan would not blame Gao Yue for alienating his clan's help because of these rumors from the countryside, but he felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, so he sent doctors and divination doctors to the state to diagnose Gao Yue. If Gao Yue needs to be transferred away from Jinzhou, a strategic hub, it will not affect the ensuing battle.

Since Gao Huan's rise, his achievements and deeds are not lacking in magic tricks and ghost transformations. Especially as he gets older, he gradually begins to believe in these alchemists' mystic arts, so he temporarily transfers Gao Yue away.Anyway, this time he was going to lead the army in person, and all important military and political affairs could be dispatched immediately, and it didn't make much difference whether Gao Yue was in the state or not.

After all the generals sat down, Gao Huan began to talk about his battle plan.

Although the ultimate goal of this campaign is to eliminate the regime of the Western Dynasty, Gao Huan also knows that it is indeed difficult to achieve this goal. The timing, location and harmony of people are indispensable.

The previous Battle of Mangshan was originally the best moment to suppress the Western Dynasty, but in the end, it had to give up such a rare opportunity because of the lack of harmony in its internal personnel.

Therefore, after the war, Gao Huan also learned from the painful experience. In the middle school, he used his son Gao Cheng to rectify corruption and suppress the powerful, and then strengthened the control of Liuzhou Xianbei through the second soldier Cao of the Overlord Mansion, so as to concentrate the military power that was too scattered before.

Thinking of this, Gao Huan glanced at Liu Feng and other generals.These Guiyi generals themselves are very talented and courageous, coupled with the blessing of previous achievements without trust and righteousness, they are more enthusiastic about creating meritorious deeds, and have been gradually arranged by Gao Huan from the marginal position of the Bafu military. took a more important position.

"In the old years, the Western Thieves lost a lot of armor and soldiers, and Yuwen Black Otter was weak and weak, so he had to recruit Guanxihao's right part to join the army. But he forgot, if these Han son's private songs are worthy of forming an army, why would they give up the country The black otter is waiting for the guest to send the thief slave!"

Hearing Gao Huan's words, all the generals in the hall laughed, and felt more and more in their hearts that the Western Army was willing to degenerate and was no longer an opponent like it was in previous years.

"At present, the army is ready, and the battalions are courageous because of their numbers. But if the battle fails, they will all flee. How can a mob be worthy of a big battle? Therefore, in this battle, the western thieves will be defeated and their corpses will be scattered everywhere. Kill those Han sons from Kansai and never dare to join the Black Otter again!"

It is not an easy task to completely wipe out the Western Dynasty, so Gao Huan's second goal is to wipe out as many vital forces as possible of the Western Army.

Those Kansai tyrants had no choice but to accept Yu Wentai's recruiting and reorganization. When it comes to the depth of heart-to-heart communication, how can they compare with the Xianbei people from the six states he rescued from Er Zhu's hands?
Therefore, it is only necessary to give the Western Army a hard blow, so that those powerful people in Guanzhong will no longer dare to attach to Yuwentai and be driven by him to fill the battle with their lives, then the Western Dynasty will become a water without a source, a tree without roots, and will soon wither and fall. down.

"Your servant, please be the king's vanguard, and capture the city of thieves, Yubi, for the king!"

Liu Feng, who has been valued by the King of Bohai in recent years, suddenly stood up from the table and walked into the hall, bowed to the king and said.

After Gao Huan heard this, he laughed again, raised his hand and said to Liu Feng: "General Zuowei, there is no need to rush to fight. Of course, Yubi City will attack. Its city hangs in Fennan, and the thieves rely on this city to be brave. The former feigned an attack, and the bandits were disturbed by it, and now they will attack again to pick out the crowd, and wait for the bandits to come to rescue them, General Zuo Wei will attack them hard for me again!"

While speaking, he ordered the armored soldiers outside the hall to display all kinds of siege equipment they had made.In the eighth year of Datong, Gao Huan came to attack Yubi, but was ridiculed by the defender Wang Sizheng. He often hated it in his heart. This time when the Tong army came back again, he naturally made sufficient preparations.

In addition to all kinds of siege equipment and plans, he also ordered the warlocks to set up altars outside the hall to stimulate the evil spirits in the jade city, so that the defenders would lose their minds and lose their strength.

Hu Lujin saw the sorcerer ostentatiously in the hall, and a trace of worry flashed in his eyes. Although he quickly concealed it, Gao Huan caught him, and smiled at him and asked, "What's the matter, Da Sima?" Unhappy, can you tell me to explain it for you?"

After thinking about it for a while, Hu Lujin approached and said softly: "I just feel that the huge army is unjust, and the soldiers all have the ambition to use their lives, and they will win if they judge the situation. They really don't need these tricks to show off."

"Haha, if it wasn't for the presence of the great Sima, I'm afraid it would be difficult for me to listen to such blunt words."

After Gao Huan heard the words, he laughed a lot at first, and then sighed slightly: "I have the same plan in mind as Da Sima, but there are many superstitious people in the army. As long as it can boost morale, such things that are not costly are not necessary. Deliberately avoid it."

Hearing what the king said, Hu Lujin nodded quickly and stopped expressing his opinion on it.

After resting overnight and discussing military affairs, Hu Lujin returned to the headquarters early the next morning, and Gao Huan also personally led the troops out of camp. , and headed straight for Yubi City in Fennan.

Yubi City is located on the top of Poling plateau on the south bank of Fenshui, facing Yuan on three sides, and only the south side can pass through.The circumference of the city is ten miles, although it is not huge, but standing on the top of the plateau is as solid as a rock, unbreakable.

A few months ago, Yubi City began intense preparations for the battle. Most of the old and weak residents in the city had been evacuated to the south to hide in the countryside along the river east, leaving behind mostly strong and fearless warriors.

Under the leadership of the city lord Wei Xiaokuan, they carefully strengthened the city defenses, and tried their best to stockpile useful strategic materials.

People from all over the river east also knew that Yubi City was their most reliable protection, so they all enthusiastically assisted in the defense.

Only if Yubi City holds firm, they will not be completely exposed to the Eastern Bandit's blade.Out of this sense of crisis, all the knowledgeable people in the territory did their best.

The city lord, Wei Xiaokuan, is in his 30s, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a square face. After learning the news that the Eastern Dynasty is about to attack, he is not disarmed in plain clothes whenever he goes out in public. Instead, they are charged with the important task of guarding the homeland and keeping the enemy from outside, so as not to allow themselves to stand under a dangerous wall and take risks with their own lives.

At this time, Wei Xiaokuan, surrounded by his trusted disciples, stood outside a warehouse door, watching the soldiers laboriously move those round, thick and hard grain cakes into the warehouse.

He walked up to an ox cart, first grabbed a piece of grain cake and weighed it in his hands, then stacked several pieces together, his arms felt a bit strenuous, and then he put the grain cake down again, with a twinkle in his eyes He showed a bit of satisfaction: "These grain cakes are indeed better than those used in the river defense. After you return, you must thank Li Kaifu for me!"

Wu Jingyi, who was in charge of supervising the transportation of grain and cakes, leaned over and said with a smile, "General Wei is really strong. This piece of grain and cake weighs fifty catties. After storage, it will be fire-proof and moisture-proof. I dare not say how long it is. It takes half a year. There is absolutely no change in the flavor of the interior. The transported this time is enough for five thousand soldiers to consume for half a year, with two meals a day, no need to be frugal!"

"Li Kai's mansion is really good at creating things, and its reputation is well-deserved! A small warehouse can store so many things!"

Wei Xiaokuan couldn't help showing joy when he heard this, originally he was going to store half a year's rations for the people in the city, if it was grain or millet, it would at least take up a lot of space.For Yubi City, where every inch of land is extremely precious, this is indeed a bit of a luxury.

But now with this batch of food and cake reserves, it can not only ensure the food of the soldiers, but also make room for other supplies.Although the task of defense is still very severe, he has more confidence in his heart, and at the same time he has a deeper impression of Li Tai.

As the last batch of personnel transporting materials and supplies drove away, Yubi City entered the highest level of combat readiness. Wei Xiaokuan commanded the defenders to completely fill up the gates and openings of the city with earth and rocks, holding his saber in his hand. This is to express the determination to live and die with this city.

The soldiers in the city didn't shout any loud slogans at the moment, they just watched the scene silently with serious expressions.As the soil and rocks were filled and compacted, an old soldier couldn't help but cursed softly: "The dog slave made you so hard, won't you be tired of digging the city gate in the future?"

If the city gate needs to be dug from the inside, it is natural that the city needs to be firmly defended until the enemy army is defeated and retreats, but no one knows whether that day will come.It's just that when they heard the old pawn swearing, the people around couldn't help laughing, even though it wasn't very funny, some people still laughed and shed tears.

"City Lord, the bandit army is coming!"

Not long after the city was sealed off, the soldiers who were watching the enemy's situation from the watchtower in the north came to report in a hurry. Wei Xiaokuan nodded after hearing this, waved his hands to disperse the crowd, and ordered them to return to their posts, while he strode towards the watchtower.

Looking downstairs, the endlessly flowing Fen River is like a jade belt, but all kinds of sundries floating up and down in the river are like flaws on the jade belt.The draft of the river today is several fingers higher than before. The higher part is not the increase in water volume, but the boats carrying Shili supplies in the Eastern Dynasty!
The Eastern Dynasty army on both sides of the river is mighty, shoulder to shoulder, even standing in this high and open position, you can't see the end of its army at all, and it stretches back and forth for at least twenty or thirty miles!
At this time, the soldiers who watched the enemy's situation together from the watchtower couldn't help becoming nervous after seeing how powerful the Eastern Dynasty army was, their faces turned slightly pale, and their breathing became short of breath.

After Wei Xiaokuan looked around, he raised his finger to the Fenshui River, and said with a smile: "There are many veterans in the world who have fought for a long time without a name. You are blessed. After this battle, don't worry about not being successful!"

At this time, Gao Huan, who was walking in the team, seemed to have heard Wei Xiaokuan's eloquent words. He reined in his horse for a while, looked at the Jade City towering on the top of the plateau, and then turned his face to look at the side Fenshui, then murmured: "The army is here, with one order, the river can be diverted, and the mountains can be leveled, not to mention a mere city!"

At this time, far away on the west bank of the Yellow River in northern Shaanxi, Li Tai seemed to hear someone nagging in the dark, but he only regarded it as an auditory hallucination under his excitement. After shaking his head, he said to the soldiers before and after: " Going east on this trip, we will go straight to the nest of thieves. There has been no such special achievement since the Great Unification, and it is only waiting for my subordinates to pick it up!"

(End of this chapter)