Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 159 Fighting
On the east bank, Murong Long and Murong Zhou were concentrating on looking at the two groups of people in the river.

In fact, they were also very tired. They had been chased all the way, and even if the people could still hold on, the war horses could not bear it. More than 200 war horses died on the road, and more than 1,000 horses fell behind.

However, Murong Long believed that it was all worth it. If he had arrived any later, his cousin's head would have been cut off by the Jin army.

The reason why they were so wary of the Jin army on the other side was not entirely because they were frightened by the momentum they displayed.

Instead, it was the news of a defeat from Zou County. Murong Hui's 5,000 troops were almost completely wiped out by a Northern Army of 1,000 men, and Murong Hui himself was killed in the battle...

Murong Long was also a participant in the Battle of Feishui that year, and followed Murong Chui to witness the strength of the Northern Palace Army.

In the Battle of Linzhang, more than 100,000 Yan troops were defeated by Liu Laozhi and fled in disarray...

He hesitated because he had so many unpleasant memories.

There is no doubt that the Northern Army is the best in the world, and is particularly good at defeating the enemy with a small force.

"The Liu family of Pengcheng..." Murong Long looked at the flags illuminated by the fire on the opposite bank, and felt an inexplicable chill in his heart.

"Aren't the elite troops of the Northern Prefecture all in Xinting fighting against the Jingzhou army? Why are they heading north?" Murong Zhou looked extremely miserable, with disheveled hair and four or five feather arrows stuck in his back.

"If they are weak, they will be strong. If they are strong, they will be weak. We have the intention to seize the Central Plains. Of course, the Jin army will send troops north. I have long advised my father that the time to attack Jin has not yet come. Our mortal enemies are Western Yan and Tuoba Wei."

It was precisely because Murong Long did not agree to attack Luoyang and the Central Plains that he was exiled to Huaibei by Murong Chui to guard Gaoping.

Others who agreed were given new positions.

Murong Zhou sighed, "It's useless for you to say that. He Lin is in favor right now. If it weren't for him, why would you and I be left out?"

He Lin was Murong Lin's courtesy name. He was not loved by Murong Chui since childhood, and later betrayed his brother Murong Ling, leading to his death.

However, Murong Chui had the same problem as Fu Jian, he was too soft-hearted and returned to Hebei, killing his mother and sparing his life.

When Murong Chui restored his country, Murong Lin offered many suggestions and made many achievements. He was appointed General of the Fu Army and led his army to capture the important town of Zhongshan. He captured the defending general Fu Jian alive, and his reputation soared.

He fought wars in many places and made great military achievements.

After Murong Chui became emperor, he was granted the title of King of Zhao.

Like the Former Yan, a new round of internal strife in the Murong family had already begun, and it was even more intense than that of the Former Yan, involving three generations.

Murong Chui first favored his eldest grandson Murong Sheng, comparing him to Cao Rui. Later, when Murong Hui grew up, he was majestic, handsome, and had an extraordinary bearing, just like himself at his age. So Murong Chui hinted to Murong Bao several times to make him the crown prince.

But as the crown prince, Murong Bao loves his eldest son Murong Ce.

Murong Chui's actions directly sowed the seeds of disaster for the State of Yan.

Since the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, civil strife broke out in every generation of the northern kingdoms due to the change of monarchs. In contrast, the Jin Dynasty was relatively stable because the emperor had no real power.

Seeing Murong Long remained silent, Murong Zhou licked his cracked lips and said, "Fifth brother, are we going to continue this battle or not?"

From the very beginning, Murong Long was not very interested and his mind was not on this place. The Sishui River Basin was adjacent to Huaibei and had numerous water networks, so it was not the core area of ​​Yan State.

Just as a buffer zone.

Murong Long really had to think carefully about fighting a desperate battle with the Northern Army for this buffer zone, and the Northern Army on the other side was from the Pengcheng Liu family.

Murong Zhou and his defeated troops were listless, as if they had lost their parents, and had no fighting spirit at all.

This situation also affected Murong Long's cavalry.

The defeat brought them a great psychological shock...

"kill--"

At this moment, a roar from the river disrupted Murong Long's thoughts.

In the river, the two groups of people were entangled with each other, and the water was splashing.

Although the Northern Army had only a hundred or so soldiers, each of them was extremely brave and rushed forward.

The Yan soldiers were riding on horses, but they had difficulty turning and were shot off their horses one by one.

More than forty of the five hundred cavalrymen fell in the blink of an eye. The cavalrymen behind them did not dare to move forward. Their horses were in the water and were frightened by the long spears, so they kept retreating.

The scene is very confusing.

Several cavalrymen dismounted and tried to fight on foot, but were trampled by their own horses instead. The small Zhushui River had become an insurmountable fortress for the cavalry...

The night wind was like a woman's hand, soothing all the soldiers' fatigue.

Wang Zhongde jumped up and dived into the river, killing several people in a row and forcing the other Yan troops to retreat.

"Pass the order, cross the river and fight a decisive battle. Whoever kills a Yan cavalryman will be rewarded with five strings of cash!" Liu Daogui was shocked.

This Yan army was even weaker than Murong Zhou's infantry. They had no fighting spirit at all and seemed to be just there for show.

The price of a warhorse ranges from twenty to one hundred strings of cash. Five strings of cash in exchange for a cavalryman is really a great deal.

The essence of war is actually the calculation of interests.

Liu Daogui was the first to jump into the river holding a short axe.

"kill!"

There will always be brave men when there is a big reward, and Liu Daogui led the soldiers himself, so the morale of the soldiers was boosted again.

Led by Liu Guangzhi, Liu Zun, Liu Heipi and others, they rushed down the river with earth-shaking roars.

Wang Yuande led a group of soldiers to place torches on the west bank, shouting and making noise to continue confusing the enemy.

Liu Daogui was certain that Murong Long had no intention of fighting a decisive battle, and since he did not dare to fight, he was already at a disadvantage. Moreover, the battlefield was on the river bank, and the enemy's cavalry could not run and was of little use.

Water splashed and the soldiers rushed to the other side under the arrows.

In the light of the torches, one could clearly see the terrified expressions on the faces of the Yan army on the other side.

The Northern Army was too famous. If the commander was Murong Chui, Liu Daogui would naturally not be his opponent, but his opponent would only be his descendants.

The kindness of a gentleman will be cut off after five generations.

Since Mohuba followed Sima Yi to attack Gongsun Yuan and was named Prince of Ruyi, Murong Chui was exactly the fifth generation.

Murong Chui was actually the last glory of the Murong family.

If Murong Long didn't leave, Liu Daogui was 70% sure he could keep him here.

After fighting for such a long time, they had a general understanding of the combat effectiveness of the Yan army. In fact, there were not many elite soldiers, and the Dingling, Jin and Hu people under his command had no intention of fighting to the death.

The main force of the Xianbei people was on both sides of the Yellow River.

Just as Liu Daogui rushed across the river, the cavalry on the opposite bank moved, but instead of going into the water, they retreated to the south.

A black shadow flashed by, and the torch light turned into a long dragon and flew away.

"Just leave like that?"

"The Murong family is all trash!"

"Five strings of cash are gone just like that, oh my..."

The soldiers stood in the river and sighed.

It would be best if this battle could be avoided. Even if we won, there would be heavy casualties. In order to prevent the cavalry from returning, Liu Daogui ordered his soldiers to retreat and take the time to rest overnight.

At daybreak, the army headed eastward.

The crisis was not resolved, and Murong Long did not retreat far. The cavalry in the north remained where they were. To rush back to Zou County from here, they had to pass through a plain with a radius of sixty miles.

It would take two days for the infantry to cross.

As long as Liu Daogui showed any intention to withdraw to Zou County, he would face a pincer attack from two cavalry units.

"Agui, what should we do now?" Liu Zun asked with red eyes.

"What should we do? Rest here. I won't move until the enemy moves!" Liu Daogui looked to the east. Murong Hui's troops had not appeared on the battlefield yet. This could only mean one thing: they were defeated by his brother Liu Yu.

He was exhausted here, but on the other hand, he also tied down Murong Long and Murong Zhou, blocking them in the south.

Although there was no scout to confirm the news, Liu Daogui believed that Murong Hui would definitely not be a match for Liu Yu.

(End of this chapter)