A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 269 Breaking the situation, one world, three courts
December 14
Hebei Province, Zhuojun, Rongcheng
Originally an unknown small county, it is now ushering in its most glorious moment in history.

At this time, the cold wind was raging and the city was covered with snow, but the top of Rongcheng was a dark red, and the reflection caused by the blood made the eyes hurt in the sunlight.

Because the temperature was too low, blood flowed down the city wall, causing red icicles to appear on the wall, with dense arrows on them.

There is only one day left until the Bronze Horse Army runs out of food.

The leaders of the Bronze Horse Army had fallen into madness and frantically ordered their soldiers to climb onto the city wall, causing the siege to be intermittent and leaving the defenders with no time to prepare. Almost every time one was killed, another would be replaced, and they could never be killed. All.

At this time, there were only 10,000 defenders in the city, and they were exhausted. Nearly two-thirds of the soldiers could no longer hold their swords and guns because they were out of strength.

The Bronze Horse Army even used 5,000 men as a supervising team and stood under the city wall. Anyone who took a step back would be killed immediately. The supervising team were all soldiers or relatives of each leader, and they showed no mercy at all.

Even so, the Bronze Horse Army did not devote all their troops to siege the city, but left 30,000 people to guard against Liu Xiu's cavalry that came and went like the wind.

In the mountains and forests ten miles west of Rongcheng, Liu Xiu's 10,000 cavalry are all here.

"General, I'm afraid Rongcheng won't be able to hold on any longer. Sentinels are coming to report. The sound of fighting at the top of the city is getting quieter and quieter, and it's gradually turning into street fighting."

"General, let's move. If we don't move, Rongcheng will be lost, and Lao Feng and the others will be trapped in it." Deng Yu said anxiously.

Liu Xiu was not in a hurry: "Are the 30,000 enemy soldiers who stayed in the camp still there?"

"General, according to the report from the spies, he is still there and has made no move."

Liu Xiu kept pacing, "General, I'm going to lead the charge. We have 10,000 cavalry, and they are all well-recharged troops. It's only 30,000, and they collapsed in one charge."

"Nonsense, this is not an encounter in the wild. The enemy army left 30,000 people on guard and never moved. It can be seen that they are guarding only our 10,000 cavalry troops. There must be traps outside the camp to guard against cavalry.

A hasty surprise attack will not only fail to defeat them, but will lead to a fierce battle. When the enemy troops in the city come out to support them and lose their speed advantage, the ten thousand cavalry will be finished, and the city will be finished. "

Deng Yu didn't know what to do.

Liu Xiu thought again: "By the way, did Fan Yang get news yesterday that there was an infantry of thirty thousand people hidden on the east bank of Laishui?"

"Yes." A civil servant flipped through the letter and confirmed.

"Zhu You!"

"General!" A middle-aged general came out and agreed.

"Immediately take a few people to sneak into the east bank of Laishui, find the 30,000 people according to the marks, let them cross Laishui, and launch an attack on the Bronze Horse Camp at midnight tomorrow. We will choose the right time to attack from the enemy's flank. "

"Follow orders"

December 14
Chenshi
An army of 30,000 people, holding the flag with the character "Liu", launched an attack on the 30,000 Bronze Horses who stayed in the camp.

Because the Bronze Horse Camp was only a temporary camp, they had no choice but to go out to meet the enemy.

However, when the leader of the Bronze Horse Army saw that there were no cavalry in the enemy army, he was cautious and sent only 20,000 people to meet the enemy.

Soon the battle began, and the two sides fell into a fight. In Rongcheng, two battles started at once, one inside the city and one outside the city.

Feng Yi, who was fighting in the city, heard the sound of fighting outside the city and knew that reinforcements were coming, so the remaining 6,000 men burst out with great strength, resisting another attack by the Bronze Horse, and even pushed back several streets.

After fighting for a while, Liu Xiu sent 7,000 light cavalry led by Deng Yu to attack from the left side of the enemy army. The enemy army was in chaos.

Fortunately, the leader of the Bronze Horse Army came with the last 10,000 men to support them, and they were able to stabilize their position, while the 7,000 cavalrymen also fell into a hard fight.

"Rumble!" A sound of horse hooves sounded from the right side.

It was Liu Xiu who personally commanded 3,000 elite cavalry who arrived. They quietly bypassed the rear of 30,000 Zhu Youjun, and then launched a charge from the right side of the Bronze Horse Army. Because this side was close to Laishui, the Bronze Horse Army did not expect any cavalry. Come from this way.

Therefore, Liu Xiu successfully led his men into the enemy formation. Under the constant collision, the Bronze Horse Army formation was in chaos.

Liu Xiu led his personal formation to kill the leader of the Bronze Horse. The banner fell and the Bronze Horse was completely defeated. However, the Bronze Horse Army in the city saw that the camp outside the city was occupied, the leader died, and their morale suddenly fell into a low ebb.

Under attack from inside and outside the more than 20,000 infantrymen remaining outside the city and the remaining 5,000 remnant soldiers inside the city, most of the 50,000 bronze horse troops in the city surrendered.

After solving the siege of Rongcheng, Liu Xiu led the remaining 7,000 cavalry non-stop southward and reached the rear of the 150,000 bronze horse army.

After showing the head of the leader of the Bronze Horse Army, the general of the Bronze Horse Army saw that the situation was over and his side had no food and grass, so he had no choice but to open the camp gate and surrender to Liu Xiu.

The leader of the Bronze Horse Army was killed, and the main force was wiped out. Liu Xiu cleared the way south, and the Bronze Horse Army surrendered 200,000 troops. After selection, the strongest among them were incorporated into the army, and a total of With nearly 100,000 infantry, Liu Xiu's strength suddenly increased significantly.

The second year of Gengshi (the sixteenth year of Xinmang)

March
Liu Xiu wiped out the remaining troops of the Bronze Horse Army and occupied all the territory of the Bronze Horse Army. The number of troops in his hands reached 130,000, including 100,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry, but the elite level increased.

At the same time, for the first time, the banner of Xingda Sima appointed by the Han Emperor was used to take charge of all affairs in Hebei. Bai Lin was appointed as the chief minister of Jizhou and responsible for local government affairs. May
After two months of stabilizing local areas and dispatching officials, the counties and counties under Liu Xiu's rule were basically settled.

Between Liu Xiu and Liu Ziyu in the south, in addition to Zhendingguo, there were also some scattered peasant armies, totaling hundreds of thousands of people, but most of them were ragtag groups.

Therefore, Liu Xiu led Feng Yi and Deng Yu as the main generals, each leading tens of thousands of troops to wipe out the small forces in the middle and prepare for the upcoming war with Liu Ziyu.

Knowing that Liu Ziyu's troops had more than 400,000 soldiers and that they were well-prepared, Liu Xiu was ready to look for help and at the same time set his sights on the north.

Yuyang County, Yuyang.

"Father, do we really want to surrender to Liu Ziyu all the time? Everyone knows that he is just a fake. If Liu Lin, Liu Jie and other Liu family members hadn't recognized him, how could he sit there? position.

I don't accept it, and I heard that since he ascended the throne, he has been arrogant, extravagant, and has no ambition. He has competed for power and profit with Liu Lin, Liu Jie and others. He behaves like a villain. How can he be the master of the Ming Dynasty?

The Geng clan of Yuyang and the Peng clan of Shanggu are both border counties. They have followed the orders of the Han Dynasty and have been stationed on the border for decades. Now that the world is in turmoil, only by finding a clear master can we safely hand over the border.

It is a pity that the Bai Kingdom has limited power and has no ambition to dominate the world. Nowadays, the strength of the Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Xianbei and other tribes in the north has recovered and is ready to move. It won't be long before they will take advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains to invade the border areas.

Our border counties have always been poor, how can we resist alone? Even with the help of Bai Guo, how long can it persist? If it is not the strength of the whole world, it may not be able to resist.

Father, it just so happens that Liu Xiu in the south is the Grand Sima appointed by the Emperor of Chang'an. Why not let the boy go and have a look. If he is the emperor, he can lean against a big tree. If not, the boy will go to Chang'an and ask for Chang'an's support.

Isn't it because Weixiao in the northwest relied on the Chang'an court that he was not afraid of his back and withstood the pressure of the Qiang people and the Western Regions? "

After listening to his son Geng Yan's words, Geng Kuang nodded and said: "Yan'er said it well. After all, I, Yuyang, are a border county. Without the support of the court, I won't be able to survive for long. I will just follow your words. However, now the south is in chaos." , be sure to pay attention to safety when going out."

"Father, don't worry, you personally taught me all my martial arts. None of the hundreds of Wuhuan people left me behind, let alone those bandits in the south."

"I have said many times, do not underestimate the enemy. Even if it is a weak enemy, you must fight with all your strength."

"Yes, father."

涿县
After defeating the Bronze Horse Army, Liu Xiu moved his headquarters from Jixian to Zhuoxian.

"Da Sima, Geng Yan, the son of Yuyang Prefect Geng Kuang, came to ask for an audience."

Liu Xiu, who was listening to Bai Lin's report, heard Geng Yan coming and said in surprise: "Please come quickly!"

"Geng Yan, the son of Geng Kuang, the governor of Yuyang County, pays homage to Grand Sima."

Seeing that Geng Yan was the son of Geng Kuang and his heroic spirit, he praised him and said:

"General Geng, please get up. You are such a young and talented man. How are you doing, your father? I heard that your father has been roaming the grasslands of the north for decades, and the Hu people have fled as long as they heard his name. I have long wanted to go and see him, but it is a pity that military affairs I’m so busy that I can’t spare any time.”

"Da Sima's wonderful praise, it's just a joke by others, it can't be true."

Then Liu Xiu and Geng Yan started talking. The more they talked about Liu Xiu, the more they liked the young general. Geng Yan was also very satisfied with Liu Xiu. Coupled with the sights he saw along the way, he confirmed his decision to join Liu Xiu.

So Lang was affectionate and his concubine was interested. Geng Yan quickly made it clear that he would join Liu Xiu and offered to replace Liu Xiu to persuade Peng Chong, the governor of Shanggu.

Liu Xiu got a strong general, and he also got the two counties of Yuyang and Shanggu. He was very happy. Even though the two counties were border counties, they could not provide him with many troops, but they could provide him with war horses.

August
After wiping out those small peasant armies, coupled with the participation of Yuyang and Shanggu counties in Liaodong, they brought a population of one million. Although Yuyang and Shanggu counties were sparsely populated, they had elite soldiers, and half of Bohai County's The population is equivalent to two Liaodongs.
Liu Xiu's troops reached 200,000, including 20,000 cavalry. In addition to the original 10,000 cavalry, and the entire Youzhou, in addition to guarding the north, the 10,000 cavalry mobilized were only less than the 3,000 fine cavalry presented by the Bai family. The riding skills are a little bit worse, but they are much better than the thousands of light cavalry that I have trained.

It wasn't until Liu Xiu's territory bordered Liu Ziyu that Liu Ziyu reacted to the internal struggle.

During this internal struggle, King Liu Jie of Guangyang was squeezed out. In anger, he led his troops to western Liaoning on sea ships. Liu Lin's military power was also extremely weakened and he was appointed prime minister. Instead, Li Yu and Zhang Shen , one is the Great Sima and the other is the Great General.

Today there are three Han in the world, the "Xuan Han" of Liu Xuan of Chang'an, the "Zhao Han" of Liu Ziyu of Zhao State, and the "Qi Han" of Liu Penzi who was supported by the Red Eyebrow Army in Huayin County this year.

The Red Eyebrow Army was ready to surrender to Liu Xuan when he occupied Chang'an and asked for canonization. As a result, Liu Xuan looked down upon them and only gave several leaders the title of marquis.

In anger, Fan Chong mobilized his red eyebrow army and sent millions of troops to Chang'an, hoping to have a fight with Liu Xuan.

When they reached Huayin, they were reminded by their subordinates and captured Liu Penzi, who was working as a cattle officer, and proclaimed him Emperor of the Han Dynasty, intending to fight against Liu Xuan.

Among them, Kaixiao in the northwest, Liu Xiu in Hebei, and a group of green forest troops in Jingchu were all dominated by Liu Xuan's "Xuanhan".

Liu Ziyu's "Zhao Han" only has himself, but it occupies a vast area from Baijun, Zhaoguo, Julu County, Xindu County, most of Bohai County to the East China Sea, these places are fertile lands. Therefore, the strength is also pretty good.

Liu Penzi's "Qi-Han" was mainly dominated by the red eyebrow army, occupying both Qingxu and Qingzhou.

Outside the Three Han Dynasties, there are also scattered independent forces, such as the Bai Dukedom in Hebei, Gongsun Shu in Bashu, Wang Mang's remnant party in Yangzhou, Huawai in Jiaozhou, and between Xuanhan and Qihan. The vacillating, loose and sporadic peasant armies in Henan and Yanzhou.

(End of this chapter)