The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 680: The Battle of the Grand
War is about to break out.

In April of the first year of Ganlu, Guanqiu Jian sent troops from Lelang, but the direction of the troops was not Goguryeo, but directly towards the powerful enemy Tuoba tribe.

Tuoba was in the midst of civil strife at the moment. Because his eldest son, Shamo Khan, was not around, and Liwei was seriously ill due to the betrayal of everyone, his sons were all eager to show themselves.

They distorted the meaning of "persuading people to return" as Li Wei said.

They began to lead their respective elite troops to pursue the traitors who had left, and the two sides fought everywhere.

Li Wei's own troops were extremely strong and were led by several of his sons. When facing those traitors with their families, their fighting power was fully demonstrated.

They quickly defeated several major rebel forces and killed their leaders to intimidate the rest of the people. The purpose was to tell them that this was the fate of traitors!

They believe that such actions can serve as a deterrent and stop those people from fleeing.

Little did they know that their killing only made these leaders more afraid. After learning that Ku Xian had received protection from the Wei people, they sent people to contact Wei and get the same protection.

Some tribal leaders also formed an alliance at this moment to fight back against the Tuoba troops who came to hunt them down.

For a time, war broke out everywhere.

"Hahaha, that's all!"

Tuoba Xilu raised the spear in his hand high, on which hung the head of the rebel leader.

He looked at the knights around him angrily and shouted, "Why don't you surrender?!"

Hearing his words, the knights who were fighting abandoned their caravan and turned around to run.

Xilu did not continue the pursuit, but instead took his men to capture the convoy in front of him.

This tribe is not a large one, and the caravan has only about 10,000 people, most of whom are women and children.

Xilu said indifferently: "Take these people back!"

Immediately, knights began to advance and drove them back like livestock.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Xilu suddenly felt that this rebellion was actually not bad.

The alliance will eventually disband, even if not now, then after my father's death.

But now that these people have escaped, I have an excuse to attack them. If I can defeat all of them, I can capture them back.

Then I could assist my father in establishing the Xianbei Empire.

There will no longer be any alliance. All tribes will obey the orders of one person. Officials will be appointed by one person. The top and the bottom will be one!!

And if my eldest brother can't come back.
Xilu's eyes brightened a little.

He seemed to have a good future in mind.

The knights who were out exploring hurried over, "Prince! There's another caravan to the east, with over 20,000 men and a ton of livestock!"

Xilu burst into laughter.

"Alright, this time, let these thieves know what the consequences are for betraying their father! I'm going to capture them one by one and behead them right in front of you! Follow me!"

Xilu led the army to charge again.

Those people wanted to take their entire clan with them when they fled, but Xilu and his men were pursuing them lightly, so once they were discovered, it would be difficult for them to escape.

Xilu quickly caught up with the tribe, and just as Xilu was about to launch an attack, another army slowly appeared in the distance.

Xilu hurriedly asked everyone to stop.

He looked at the distance in astonishment. In the rolling dust, the army was slowly approaching.

Xilu finally saw their faces clearly.

This is a Wei person!

They raised the flag of Zhenbei, and among them were cavalry and infantry. They formed a battle formation and were slowly approaching this side.

When they saw them, the convoy immediately sped up its pace.

Xilu was very surprised at this moment. "Why are the Wei people here? Are they trying to interfere in my domestic affairs?!"

"Someone is coming!"

He immediately arranged for someone to go and negotiate with the Wei people, ask them about their intentions, and remind them to leave as soon as possible.

And the people he sent returned quickly.

The scout's face looked quite ugly.

"Sir, they say they are Yang Hu's army, and they came here to accept the Xianbei tribesmen who surrendered to them. They also told us to stop pursuing them and turn around and leave."

Xilu was furious. "What do these bastards mean? Are they trying to protect the rebels? Are they trying to start a war with us?"

The scout continued, "They say these people have chosen to break away from the Tuoba and submit to the Wei State. Therefore, the Wei State must ensure their safety, and they will no longer have any connection with the Tuoba State."

Xilu couldn't bear it any longer at this moment.

"The Wei people want to fight us!"

"Follow me!" Xilu immediately led the cavalry and launched an attack on the Wei army in the distance.

Xilu's cavalry had more than 6,000 men, while the enemy seemed to have only about 4,000 men, which meant they were at a disadvantage in terms of manpower. Moreover, the enemy's army was a mixture of infantry and cavalry, which was definitely different from their pure cavalry.

The moment he learned the other party's reply, Xilu knew in his heart that war with Wei was inevitable. As long as he and his people did not want to watch their own group disband, they must go to war with Wei!
The other party obviously wants to force them to disband. In this case, it is better to give them a hard time and let them see who is the boss of the grassland!

Xilu waved the spear in his hand and made strange noises from his mouth. The entire cavalry team was infected by his bravery and started shouting. They rushed towards the Wei army in the distance like tigers and wolves.

At this moment, the Wei people were very calm. The cavalry were divided into two sides, and the infantry took out powerful crossbows and aimed at the enemy.

Then "whoosh~~~"

"Whoosh~~~"

"Whoosh~~~"

"Whoosh~~~"

When the powerful crossbows fired their first volley, Xilu lowered his body and listened to the arrows buzzing past his ears.

But when the powerful crossbows continued to fire, Xilu suddenly became frightened.

What kind of sorcery is this? !

Why can I shoot continuously?!

How did they do that?
The Wei people also found it strange. Ever since they were equipped with rapid-fire crossbows, they had not encountered any light cavalry daring to attack them head-on for a long time.

If this powerful crossbow is swung forward, who can withstand it unless a soldier holds a shield to clear the way?

Crossbow arrows flew towards the Xianbei people like rain, and they were almost drowned by this "rain".

These were just light cavalry used for pursuit, and they fell to the ground screaming.

It was too late for Xilu to call a halt.

Because Xilu himself was also shot through. He was probably hit by at least four arrows and fell off his horse in incomprehensible fear.

The rest of the knights, at this moment, were just shouting witchcraft and fleeing in terror.

It's not just the people in the Central Plains who are superstitious, the Xianbei people are even more so.

Historically, when Desert Khan returned to Xianbei, he showed the slingshot bird to everyone. Then, the Xianbei people were very frightened and spread the word that Desert Khan had learned the magic of the Jin people in Luoyang and was going to use it to harm people!

Desert Khan was then executed.

In the first battle between the two sides, the Xianbei people suffered a crushing defeat because they were unfamiliar with the Wei people's tactics.

Xilu's death in battle also marked the official rupture between the two sides and the beginning of a full-scale war.

Yang Hu divided the army and ordered each unit to go and support the tribes that had surrendered.

After this incident spread, more and more tribes expressed their willingness to submit to the Wei State.

In their minds, this so-called surrender was probably just like before, paying tribute and sending gifts, then getting the protection of the Wei Dynasty and accepting the title from the emperor of the Wei Dynasty.

Yang Hu was the first to engage in battle with the enemy. His army blocked the enemy's pursuers in many places. With the cooperation of those tribes, Yang Hu won frequently.

This also made the Xianbei people quickly change their tactics. They no longer dispersed to pursue, but gathered their troops to besiege Yang Hu's isolated troops.

Guanqiu Jian officially came on the scene at this moment. He led his army to fight against the gathered Xianbei army, and the elite soldiers of Qingyang immediately went crazy with killing.

But the Xianbei commander Tuoba Chuo was a very smart guy. After the battle, he discovered the gap between the two sides and chose to retreat directly, preventing Guanqiu Jian from achieving greater results.

At this moment, Li Wei also learned the news that the Wei people were involved in the war.

This made Liwei's condition worse.

But he also made arrangements, ordering Tuoba Luguan to lead his main force to help his brother. He told his son that if the war was not going well, he could abandon himself and the city and leave, not to be caught by the Wei people, and to preserve his greatest strength.

Guanqiu Jian was now approaching step by step, and those who were ordered to pursue him now became the pursued.

Guanqiu Jian captured several Tuoba castles along the way and seized a large amount of supplies.

At this time, Tuoba Luguan, who was going to provide support, encountered Wen Yang, who was going to attack Shengle, on the way.

Wen Yang did not engage in battle with the enemy, but quickly changed direction and headed further north.

Lu Guan did not dare to pursue, nor did he dare to go to support. He was afraid that if he gave chase, Guanqiu Jian would defeat his brother. But if he went to his brother's side, the elite troops would break through his own royal city!
He had no choice but to separate some cavalry and deploy them around the city, telling them that if they encountered an attack from Wen Yang, they should harass him and not let him attack the city with peace of mind.

He himself continued to move forward to support his brother and help deal with Guanqiu Jian.

The Xianbei were engaged in an all-out war and no longer had the energy to care about the defecting tribes. These people left at a faster pace, and more and more people successfully escaped. Moreover, because of the opportunities for fighting, more and more people defected within the country.

In an instant, Tuoba fell into a desperate situation of internal and external troubles and disintegration.

After successfully recruiting those who surrendered, Yang Hu left his troops to guard them while he continued to advance to support Guanqiu Jian.

At this moment, Guanqiu Jian was fighting a guerrilla war with Tuoba Chuo.

Tuoba Chuo realized that he was no match for Guanqiu Jian, so he dispersed his troops and adopted harassment guerrilla tactics, fighting and running away, each forming their own team. Guanqiu Jian remained motionless, but slowly advanced towards Shengle, putting enough pressure on the opponent.

(End of this chapter)