Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 234 Guard

Without Murong Chui in command, the Yan army revealed its true strength.

It's not as powerful as I imagined.

On the other hand, everyone on our side was overjoyed at the prospect of war. Every soldier knew why they were fighting, and many of them carried the burden of blood feuds. On the battlefield, everyone was willing to risk their lives and fight without hesitation.

The strength or weakness of an army does not lie in its size or the number of troops, but in its internal mobilization capabilities and the degree of cohesion among its people.

The Northern Expedition was the best way to unite people's hearts and minds.

Liu Zhong said, "The Yan state has had too many successes in the past few years. It destroyed Zhai Wei in one battle and then destroyed Western Yan in another. It is inevitable that it will become arrogant."

Winning too easily is not a good thing either. The Yan state has been conquered by other states without taking a break to recuperate and reorganize its internal affairs, and it has become too powerful.

The military remains strong, but the national strength has not increased.

Murong Chui is sixty-eight years old this year, which is considered old in this era, and he is no longer able to do many things...

Tan Daoji, standing to the side, also cupped his hands and said, "The major battles in Yan were all fought by Murong Chui, and had nothing to do with others. In the west, Murong Long has adopted a scorched-earth policy and commands an army of 30,000, making him the strongest. I think it would be worthwhile to attack Taishan County. If we advance, we can take Qing and Yan provinces, and if we retreat, we can use Taishan as a shield to resist the Yan cavalry!"

Although Tan Daoji was young, his strategic vision was first-rate.

Taishan County's strategic value is no less than that of Gaoping. It is surrounded by mountains, so it is not afraid of a future counterattack by the Yan army.

Although Gaoping was an important town in Sishui, Murong Long remained holed up and refused to come out, leaving Liu Daogui with no way to deal with him.

Comparatively speaking, the Yan army in the north was more dispersed and easier to defeat. Yes.

Just as they were getting excited, a scout suddenly arrived and reported, "Murong Long of Gaoping is leading 10,000 infantry and cavalry, and Ping You of Rencheng is leading 8,000 men, heading towards Siqiao!"

Liu Daogui's expression changed. "Issue the order to immediately return the army and rush to the aid of Siqiao!"

Siqiao is the vital passage to the southwest of Sishui. If it falls into the hands of the Yan army, Liu Daogui will lose the initiative in the attack and be in a very passive position.

Wang Yuande had only a thousand or so soldiers, while the enemy had nearly twenty thousand. Liu Daogui had no choice but to rush back.

"Damn it, Murong Long has gotten smarter. He stayed hidden when we were around, but as soon as we left, he crawled out from between his legs!"

Liu Zun's swear word made everyone smile, easing the tense atmosphere.

The army quickly marched south, and after a day's rapid march, when they were only thirty or forty li away from Siqiao, a scout arrived, covered in dust, and reported to the military advisor that the enemy had retreated!

Liu Daogui frowned. Murong Long's strategy was to relieve the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao and to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out.

Murong Chui used this tactic to defeat Zhai Zhao, and Liu Daogui and Liu Yu also used it once at the Qiantang River.

Murong Long used a mix of feints and real attacks, and his forces were stronger than ours, making it almost impossible to counter him.

"The army shall set up camp and rest on the spot!" Liu Daogui became alert and immediately gave the order.

Regardless of whether the Yan army is genuinely fighting or not, we must first stabilize our own position.

With the help of able-bodied men and slaves, the camp was erected in less than two hours.

But on the opposite bank of the Si River, squads of Yan scouts stood like a pack of wolves on the earthen slope, silently watching the movements on the east bank.

As evening fell, a dozen scouts rushed over, reporting: "Suo Lu Murong Shao, in alliance with Duan Sugu, Mu Yuteng and other tribes, has besieged Lu City with an army of 30,000!"

As expected, if Liu Daogui's main force was in the north, they would attack Siqiao in the southwest; if Liu Daogui's main force was in the southwest, they would launch a fierce attack on Lucheng.

The Yan army outnumbered their own forces tenfold, so they could fight however they wanted.

The Jin army, on the contrary, found itself in a predicament of being constantly on the move.

"Heh, Murong Long and Murong Shao have improved quite a bit. Let's see who can outlast whom." Liu Daogui laughed instead of getting angry.

As long as we don't act rashly, we have a chance to turn the tide against this tactic of the Yan army.

In Lucheng, Liu Guangzhi had been preparing for a long time, with well-trained troops and ample supplies. Furthermore, Mao Dezhu and Wang Zhongde's cavalry were providing support outside the city, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

Now it all comes down to who can stay calm and who can avoid making mistakes...

Lucheng.

The bugle call was deafening, and the catapults launched their projectiles with sharp whistles as they crashed down on the city walls, raising plumes of blood and eliciting screams.

It cast a somber atmosphere over the newly warming spring days.

This was the seventh fierce attack by the Yan army on the fortified village on the north bank of the Si River, and the previous attacks had all ended in failure.

The fortified village was piled high with corpses, and a stench of decay filled the air.

Murong Shao had intended to attack Lu County since last summer, so he made a lot of preparations, conscripting a large number of able-bodied men and building hundreds of siege weapons.

The attack was not successful; not only did they fail to advance to the south bank of the Sishui River, they also struggled to capture even this small fortified village.

The catapults bombarded the fortified village for a full half hour, until all sound fell silent.

The Yan cavalry then spurred the able-bodied men forward, shouting, "Anyone who retreats even a step will die!"

"Kill!" A Jie soldier with deep-set eyebrows and a high nose suddenly became ferocious, carrying a sword and shield and charging forward recklessly.

"Kill!" This move was immediately echoed by his comrades behind him.

A dark mass surged upwards.

These people were either mixed Hu people who surrendered from the Bingzhou area or refugees captured from various places in Yanzhou, used to wear down the Jin army.

The true elite Xianbei troops were kept in reserve and were not used. The battering rams and cloud carts had already approached the fortified village, but there was still no movement inside, as if all the defenders inside had died. The Yan army thought they had an opportunity and rushed frantically towards the city wall.

But just then, a loud shout rang out: "Mao Yi of Xingyang is here!"

"Zhao Yuan of Xingyang is here! Men, kill the Hu!"

The garrison in the fortified village, though already exhausted, suddenly became like mad tigers upon seeing these barbarian men with deep-set eyebrows and high eyes, their fighting spirit soaring to the heavens.

Behind the battlements, swords and spears flashed, blood splattered everywhere, and the barbarian men screamed and fell to the ground.

A dozen or so Northern Army soldiers, each carrying a torch in one hand and a short axe or halberd in the other, leaped off the city wall and onto the cloud chariot, hacking and slashing as they went.

The Yan army huddled together, trampling each other.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, three cloud chariots burst into flames from the inside out, and with a shrill scream, they crashed to the ground.

The other Yan soldiers who charged forward ignored the supervising team behind them and turned to leave.

At that very moment, the sound of horses' hooves thundered from the northwest, and more than 800 riders pierced the rear of the Yan army like a long sword, with blood gushing into the sky.

The Yan army on both flanks hurriedly returned to defend, while another army emerged from the south bank of the Si River, making a great commotion and firing a thousand crossbows at once, following closely behind the Yan army and taking advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack.

The garrison in the fortified village charged out together.

"Kill all the barbarians!"

Rockets streaked across the sky and landed in the Yan army's camp.

The warhorses fled in panic, throwing the Yan army into disarray.

At this critical moment, a force of two thousand Xianbei soldiers fought bravely at the front, barely managing to hold back the attack of two infantry forces from the south.

However, these two Jin armies did not fight to the death. After burning the catapults, cloud chariots, and battering rams, they retreated into the fortified village.

The cavalry in the north did the same; once they struck, they turned and fled, never lingering in battle.

Murong Shao's eyes were bloodshot with rage. These Jin troops were far more formidable than the elite forces of Zhai Wei and Western Yan. Not only were they fearless in the face of death, but they also came up with all sorts of ingenious schemes.

With a few thousand men and a fortified village, they resisted him for five whole days!

He also lost 800 of his elite Xianbei troops. As for the mixed Hu and refugee armies, the number of casualties was countless. However, it didn't matter how many of these people died, and Murong Shao didn't even care about counting them.

Donghu general Wang Yan stepped forward and said, "Last year, when there was a heavy snow, our army did not move. Now that the enemy is on guard, the Northern Army has always been strong and is even more difficult to conquer. It would be better to hold back."

Duan Sugu, a powerful Xianbei chieftain, said, "I heard that His Majesty was bedridden last year, and His Highness the Crown Prince and the Prince of Zhao are determined to send troops to attack Wei. We cannot afford to lose our troops here."

Mu Yuteng also strongly agreed, "What good would it do to take Lu County? It would only provoke the Northern Army. If Liu Laozhi leads his army north in the future, we still won't be able to hold it. Besides, His Majesty didn't allow us to launch a southern expedition. He only allowed us to intimidate the Jin people, raise troops here to prepare for war, and incidentally plunder some grain and people."

As the Yan army grew larger and larger, and with constant rebellions and warfare in Hebei in recent years, the fields were left barren and unable to support the army. Therefore, the various tribes went south on their own to "collect" grain.

This is an old tradition of the Yan army: each tribe lives wherever there is water and grass, and they go wherever there is food.

However, the fierce resistance from Lucheng made them hesitate to advance.

The Battle of Fei River and Xie Xuan's Northern Expedition a few years ago still left the Xianbei people with lingering fear of the Northern Army.

After successively destroying Zhai Wei and Western Yan, the Yan state's ambitions grew, and it began preparing to attack its arch-enemy, Tuoba Gui, without stopping.

Tuoba Gui's grandmother was from the Murong clan, and she was the maternal uncle of Murong Chui. When Tuoba Gui restored his kingdom, Murong Chui even sent troops to help him eliminate the Dugu and Helan tribes. The two sides had always been allies.

However, when Western Yan besieged the country, Tuoba Gui broke his promise and aided Murong Yong. If Western Yan had not been quickly destroyed, Yan would have faced the predicament of being attacked from both sides.

Now that the two countries are shoulder to shoulder and face to face, a major war is inevitable.

Wang Yan said, "His Majesty is seriously ill, and who knows when he might pass away... Prince Taiyuan, you must be on guard. Prince Zhao has always held a grudge against you."

Prince Zhao, Murong Lin, was Murong Chui's biological son, while Murong Shao was only Murong Chui's nephew.

Once Murong Chui died, Murong Shao's situation became delicate. He held a large army and was highly respected in Hebei because of his father Murong Ke's reputation.

At that time, Wang Yan commanded more than 100,000 Hu people from various tribes and fortified his camp in Guantao. Murong Shao and his brother Murong Kai went into the camp to persuade Wang Yan to return to Yan.

When the Hu people heard that it was Murong Ke's son who had come, they shouted, "The son of the former King of Taiyuan is our father!"

More than 100,000 Hu people surrendered directly to the Yan state.

Such prestige was unmatched even by the likes of Murong Bao, the Crown Prince of Yan, and Murong Lin.

If it weren't for Murong Chui's consideration for Murong Ke's past relationship, Murong Shao's branch would have been squeezed out long ago.

The internal strife within Yan was no less intense than that in Jiangzuo, and for the northern states, every dynastic change was extremely dangerous, often resulting in death and the extermination of entire clans.

In the Northern Kingdom, strength reigns supreme. Murong Shao's forces have suffered heavy casualties, which will affect his future position.

Murong Shao sighed, "However, Daoxing ordered me to launch a fierce attack on Lu City, which has kept the Jin army busy running around."

Daoxing was Murong Long's courtesy name, and he had a fairly good relationship with Murong Shao.

Duan Sugu said, "It's Gao Yang Wang's business if he wants to fight. What does it have to do with us? We might as well make a show of force. We're here to eat meat, not to fight to the death. Since we've held Lu City back, we don't need to worry about anything else."

Other powerful generals also advised against it, saying, "Our army is not good at attacking cities, why fight to the death?"

Murong Shao glanced at everyone, his anger rising but unable to be vented.

It's not entirely their fault that things have come to this. After five days of relentless attacks, they haven't even captured a single fortified village. No wonder their morale is so low, and even Murong Shao is somewhat discouraged...

(End of this chapter)