I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 377 He is still that proud eagle of the grasslands

The next day, Zang Min led two thousand cavalry back to Yanmen County, and as Lu Zhi had requested, he also took the troops led by the fierce general Huang Zhong with him.

Lu Zhi was even more concerned about Yuan Shu's safety than he had imagined.

However, this was not the first time such a thing had happened. In the years that Zang Min had followed Yuan Shu, almost all the civil and military officials from the Yixin Society he had come into contact with regarded Yuan Shu's safety as more important than anything else.

Initially, Zang Min believed that this was a relationship of shared interests.

However, from the perspective of people like Lu Zhi, Zang Min noticed that their mindset seemed to stem not only from a shared interest group, but also from other, more important reasons, and was related to the world at large.

Zang Min is becoming increasingly interested in the Yixin Society.

Almost at the same time that Zang Min led his troops back to reinforce, on September 21st in Shuofang County, the governor of Shuofang, Lian Da, received help from General Zhang Quan and 10,000 Southern Xiongnu cavalry. After five battles, he annihilated 8,000 invading Xianbei cavalry with superior forces and won the Battle of Shuofang.

On September 25th, with the help of 10,000 cavalry led by the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu Tu Te and the commander of the Du Liao Camp, Shao Yuan, the prefect of Wuyuan Commandery, launched a counterattack against the invading Xianbei cavalry, annihilated them, and won the Battle of Wuyuan Commandery.

By late September, three of the four armies launched by Tan Shihuai in his massive invasion campaign had been defeated by the Han army, leaving only his main force to continue fighting in Yanmen County.

His battles in Yanmen County were, to be honest, not easy either.

He led a force of 40,000 men, including 30,000 cavalry and 10,000 auxiliary troops, south to Yanmen County. Such an army was indeed quite large and dangerous for Yanmen County.

A few years ago, if such an army had invaded Yanmen County, the governor of Yanmen County would probably have fled in panic, heading straight for Luoyang.

With 40,000 men attacking, how could a mere prefect like him possibly handle it?
But it is different now.

When news of the Xianbei invasion arrived, Yuan Shu had not yet led the main force of the Tianxiong Army to provide support. Xia Yu, the governor of Yanmen, had already led three thousand county soldiers north to Qiangyin County, preparing to launch the first wave of resistance based on Qiangyin County and three surrounding villages.

He needed to buy time for Yuan Shu to arrive.

He himself could not defeat Tan Shihuai's main army, but he could delay them.

Lian Da had previously defeated the Xianbei invading army in Qiangyin County, so Xia Yu believed that the Xianbei would definitely seek revenge in Qiangyin County this time they marched south. Therefore, he built a large number of defensive fortifications in Qiangyin County. By the time Tan Shihuai led his army to the north of Qiangyin County, he had completed all the defensive fortifications.

His thinking was correct; Tan Shihuai's trip south was indeed intended to completely destroy Qiangyin County.

More than three years ago, a major defeat here cost him nine thousand able-bodied men, which shook his prestige. It took him more than three years to restore his prestige and build up an infantry force.

He wanted to use this newly established army to restore his prestige, completely destroy the county town of Qiangyin, kill all the men, women, and children inside, leaving no one alive, in order to vent his anger.

He wanted the Han people to know that he was still the proud eagle of the grasslands, and that the entire border of the Eastern Han Dynasty was his backyard and vast grassland, and that no one could stand against him.

He wanted to remind the Han people of the fear he had once brought to the borders!

He immediately ordered his 10,000 auxiliary troops to prepare for a complete capture of Qiangyin County.

At the same time, he learned that there were three large farms in the area surrounding Qiangyin County. The farms also had defensive walls and a certain number of garrison troops. So he ordered three armies composed of Xianbei people to try to attack these farms.

"If it is convenient to attack, then attack. If the resistance is fierce and it is inconvenient to attack, do not launch a forced attack. Return immediately and inform me."

Tan Shihuai gave orders to his three generals, and then personally directed the attack on Qiangyin County.

Having gained experience from his previous conquest of Youzhou, he believed he had some understanding of siege warfare, so he casually took charge of the siege operation.

However, what he did not expect was that the city of Bingzhou was far stronger than the city of Youzhou, and it was not so easy to deal with. Moreover, the weather was not cold yet, and the moat of Qiangyin County had not frozen. The widened moat was three zhang wide, and it was not something that could be crossed easily.

We need to build pontoon bridges, guard against attacks from the city walls, and worry about many things.

Not to mention that there were also three thousand county soldiers personally led by Xia Yu, the governor of Yanmen, inside the city.

Xia Yu arrived in Qiangyin County early and took over the city's defenses. He mobilized all 1,500 able-bodied men in the city to become a reserve force. The elderly, women, and children in the city were also mobilized to handle logistical matters for the army.

Everyone needs to be useful, and everyone needs to contribute their share to this war.

To be honest, Xia Yu also thought Yuan Shu was amazing. He was a seasoned veteran, but he had never seen any official or general mobilize the entire population of an entire city to serve in the war. And this wasn't forced; it was so-called "propaganda," and the entire city's residents volunteered for the city's defense work with great enthusiasm, without slacking off, their faces showing a willingness to die for their cause.

Those members of the "One Heart Society" roamed the streets and alleys, seemingly able to persuade the entire city's inhabitants with just their feet and their mouths.

This kind of unity between the military and the people was something Xia Yu had never seen before.

When he was first transferred to serve as the governor of Yanmen County, he knew he was there to assist Yuan Shu.

He was naturally willing and happy to follow such an amazing person as Yuan Shu, but he never expected that one day he would genuinely admire Yuan Shu.

In just over three years, he managed to transform a dilapidated Bingzhou into a completely different place, giving it a new lease on life. In his eyes, this was nothing short of a miracle, like magic.

Yuan Shu has a bit of luck about him, a bit of destiny, a bit of fate.

That was his initial belief.

However, as he gained a deeper understanding of Yuan Shu's series of policies, he discovered that Yuan Shu's achievements could not be considered solely from this perspective; there seemed to be a special tacit understanding and trust between them.

This is inextricably linked to Yuan Shu's scholarship and thought.

Not only during peacetime, Yuan Shuneng relied on this group to wreak havoc on the local forces in Bingzhou, but also managed to bring out nearly 300,000 hidden people and a large amount of hidden farmland, giving Bingzhou a much-needed respite and a much-needed boost.

The current strong defense of Qiangyin County is also thanks to the actions of Yuan Shu and the Yixin Society, which allowed the city to stockpile enough food and military supplies to support the army's defense needs.

Faced with the encirclement and fierce offensive of the Xianbei army outside the city, the defending troops inside the city were not panicked, but rather felt a strong sense of shared hatred for the enemy.

This boosted Xia Yu's confidence, and he was no longer worried that he would be unable to defend the not-so-grand city before Yuan Shu arrived.

Therefore, from the seventh day of the ninth month until the thirteenth day of the ninth month, over a period of six days, Qiangyin County withstood thirty frenzied attacks from all sides by the Xianbei army, inflicting heavy losses on the Xianbei army. Even the auxiliary army personally commanded by Tan Shihuai, which used a large number of siege weapons, could not pose an effective threat to the city.

In the following days, the three armies that Tan Shihuai had previously sent out to attack Liangzhuang returned one after another, informing Tan Shihuai that the three Liangzhuang were heavily fortified and difficult to attack, and that they were all equipped with weapons that could throw huge stones.

The threat is still very great.

Tan Shihuai suddenly felt a headache.

After a six-day siege, he successfully destroyed the three layers of defense set up by the Han army outside the city and successfully approached the moat of Qiangyin County. However, he still failed to break through the moat. While breaking through the three layers of barricades and pit defenses, he also lost a large number of troops.

Under his intimidation, the auxiliary troops showed strong fighting spirit, daring to charge forward, but also suffered heavy losses. To date, more than 1,300 have died in battle, and more than 3,000 have been wounded to varying degrees, with nearly half of them killed or wounded.

The Han army's defenses remained impenetrable, and their occasional boulder-throwing attacks were highly intimidating, threatening not only the auxiliary troops but also the Xianbei army besieging the city from the rear.

Tan Shihuai gradually had a bad feeling. He felt that his insistence on attacking the city was not the right thing to do. The Xianbei people's strength was never in attacking and defending cities, but in open field battles. Was it wrong to abandon their strengths and confront the Han army?
However, this city was simply too despicable, posing a threat to his prestige and rule. If he did not completely destroy the city, not only would he be unable to swallow his anger, but he would also have difficulty explaining himself to his subordinates.

After all, one of his main slogans for this attack was to avenge the defeat three years ago, to use the blood of the Han people to commemorate the dead three years ago, and to declare that he would occupy Yanmen County, destroy the Jingguan (a mound of corpses), and give the Han people a big slap in the face.

He's already made all those boasts, and now he can't deliver. This is another major blow to his status as a leader. After such a blow, can he recover?
It's hard to say.

Therefore, he must take this city no matter what.

But Tan Shihuai began to think again: was it necessary to launch such a fierce and relentless attack? Could he surround the city, cut off their internal and external communications, and then continue to lead his main force south to plunder?

Or should we pick the easy targets?

If we simply charge into the city and fail to break through, and then Yuan Shu arrives with his main force, wouldn't that be incredibly awkward?

Tan Shihuai's thinking gradually changed. After careful consideration, he ordered that a general be left to lead a thousand cavalry and all the auxiliary troops to continue besieging Qiangyin County and to seek an opportunity to attack the surrounding farms to replenish the army's food supplies.

On September 15th, he himself led the main force of 30,000 cavalrymen further south, intending to cross the Great Wall to cause trouble for Yuan Shu and destroy the foundation of Yanmen County.

(End of this chapter)