Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 310 Again

"Changsun Fei wanted to defeat General Mao's troops, so he led a light cavalry south. Zhao Sima led 7,000 soldiers to meet the enemy at Bolangsha and successfully held off Changsun Fei. General Mao led 2,000 elite cavalry to defeat 10,000 Suo Lu infantry, but... Zhao Sima was killed in battle, and his 7,000 soldiers... were all killed in battle. General Mao's elite cavalry suffered more than half of their casualties..."

The battle report sent back from the south by Meng Gan's readers.

Liu Daogui remained silent for a long time. There were fewer and fewer Jin people with spirit in the north. Although this battle successfully held back Changsun Fei, the entire Yingchuan Zhechong Prefecture was also crippled.

They also lost Zhao Yuan, a former general of the Yuan clan.

Back then, when they went north to Lanling, they were among the first to follow me, and they have been working quietly and diligently ever since.

Mao Dezhu's cavalry was also basically crippled.

Although it was said before the battle that we would hold back Changsun Fei at all costs, the cost has indeed been quite high.

It's hard to imagine that the intensity of the battle would be no less than that on the Fangtou side.

However, on the other hand, without Mao Dezhu and Zhao Yuan desperately holding back Changsun Fei's 20,000 elite troops, the final outcome of the Fangtou battlefield would have been uncertain.

"The families of all fallen soldiers will be allocated 200 mu of land, and their children will be raised by the military government until they reach adulthood. Wounded soldiers will be allocated 100 mu of land, and other merits in battle will be calculated separately."

As for Zhao Yuan, Liu Daogui submitted a memorial to posthumously confer upon him the titles of Prefect of Yingchuan, General Yangwei, and Baron of Zhongmou County, thus securing posthumous honors for him.

Even if Huan Xuan doesn't approve, we should still show our stance and look for another opportunity later.

He also ordered craftsmen to build a stone monument at Bolangsha and inscribe the names of the fallen soldiers.

Let all soldiers know that those who fight for China will not die in obscurity...

That's all we can do for now. More people will sacrifice themselves on this path, and those who survive can only keep going.

"The great victory at Fangtou has shattered the Wei army's morale. We can take advantage of Tuoba Gui's momentary lapse in concentration and launch a surprise attack on Ye City!" Shen Qingzhi's battle robes were stained with blood, and his demeanor was noticeably different from before.

He is more confident and more authoritative.

The last time they besieged Yecheng, it was just for show, a show of force.

Now things are different. The victory at Fangtou has dealt a blow to the arrogance of the Suolu.

Gao Xun said, "Ye City is far from the Huai and Si Rivers. Shangdang, Jinyang, Pingcheng, Zhongshan, and Ji City are all behind the enemy. Even if our army takes them, it will be difficult to hold them. Instead, we will be trapped in a long period of attrition."

Shen Qingzhi said, "Why defend? After we capture Ye City, we can simply take its people, money, and grain and leave. Why get entangled with the barbarians?"

Liu Daogui shared the same idea as Shen Qingzhi: capturing Yecheng would have a far greater impact on the morale of the people of Hebei than the gains from the war.

This is a watershed moment.

Huan Wen, despite his immense power, was halted at Fangtou. Liu Laozhi, on the other hand, nearly succeeded when his army reached the gates of Ye City, but his efforts were thwarted by his soldiers' greed and their scramble for Yan army armor and weapons.

If Liu Daogui can conquer Ye City, his status in the Northern Kingdom will rise significantly. Although he will not be a regional hegemon, he will be able to join the ranks of first-class forces.

These days, as long as you have a big reputation, you'll be the one everyone wants and the one who wins hearts.

Huan Xuan usurped the Jin throne and declared himself emperor. The so-called legitimacy and righteousness had long since vanished. Whoever had the strongest army and the most powerful horses was the one destined by Heaven!
"Indeed, now that we've come, we can't just go back like this. Our soldiers have fought valiantly, yet we haven't captured a single grain of rice or a foot of cloth. Issue the order: the army will immediately follow me north to attack Ye City!"

Liu Daogui made a decisive decision.

Tuoba Gui's forces were concentrated in Luoyang, leaving Ye City empty and its people in a state of panic.

If not now, when?

When the military order was issued, Liu Daogui thought he would have to do some mobilization, but he didn't expect the soldiers to be even more excited than he was.

"Ye City is a city built by the Hu people. Even if we die in the city, it will be worth it!"

"We've come all this way, we can't just go back like this. I've heard that Ye City is overflowing with treasures, and there are hordes of Hu women..."

"Wherever the commander points, we'll attack..."

This great battle undoubtedly propelled Liu Daogui's reputation to its peak, as well as his morale.

What the soldiers need is a general who can lead them to continuous victories.

Let alone attacking Ye City, even if the soldiers were sent to fight Tuoba Gui right now, they wouldn't bat an eye.

Of the army, there were more than 23,000 soldiers who could still stand. Liu Daogui took 20,000 with him, and left the remaining 3,000 to Shen Qingzhi to guard Fangtou and defend against Tuoba Gui's attack from Luoyang.

Gao Xun led the wounded and disabled soldiers back to Liyang to rest and recuperate.

Xiao Chengzhi led his thousand troops, mounted the captured warhorses, and marched westward to Ji County in a grand display, aiming to mislead Tuoba Gui in Luoyang.

He also sent someone to the south to contact Mao Dezhu, asking him to take advantage of the situation to harass the Suolu army.

Previously, when Changsun Fei attacked Xingyang, he was unable to break through Hulao Pass.

Mao Dezhu's control of this place was like a fishbone stuck in Tuoba Gui's throat.

The army marched north.

The dark clouds had dispersed, the cold wind wasn't as strong as it had been a few days ago, and the sky was unusually clear. Although the ice and snow on the ground hadn't completely melted, a few green buds had already appeared on the bare trees.

Before we knew it, spring had returned to the earth.

Although the Northland was devastated, it still held a glimmer of life.

Once the Yellow River melts, that will be Liu Daogui's period of advantage.

The navy could roam freely along both banks of the Yellow River. This battle lasted for nearly half a year, and the biggest weakness exposed by the Wei army was its weak control over southern Hebei.

While Tuoba Gui could defeat and conquer the Yan state within a few years, it was no easy task to manage such a vast region as Hebei in a short period. Of the various states that governed Hebei—Jie Zhao, Ran Wei, Former Yan, Di Qin, and Later Yan—only Wang Meng of Di Qin truly managed it. During his tenure as the governor of Ji Province and garrisoning Ye City, he selected virtuous and capable individuals and vigorously promoted scholars from the Guandong region. He reformed the old regime, stabilized the people's hearts, and developed production. The people of the six former Yan provinces rejoiced as if parched seedlings had received rain.

Unfortunately, Wang Meng passed away from illness six years later.

A few years later, Fu Jian launched the Battle of Fei River, plunging the northern kingdom into war once again.

Murong Chui established his state and was invincible in his campaigns in the south and north, but he was lacking in governance. Moreover, his Later Yan state rose and fell suddenly, disintegrating after only nine years.

Tuoba Gui had only been in Hebei for three years, and with the relocation of the capital, the declaration of himself as emperor, and the suppression of rebellions in various places, he had no time to attend to this region.

Therefore, the emptiness of Ye City was inevitable.

After a day of marching, the army once again approached Ye City, and it felt as if it were a dream.

Unlike last time, my mindset has changed dramatically.

Those sturdy city walls and tall pavilions no longer seem so distant, as if they are within reach.

Fangtou is the gateway to Yecheng. The soldiers who had fled the battlefield had long since escaped into the city, bringing their fear with them. The soldiers on the city wall were clearly not as motivated as they had been last time.

Hiding behind the battlements, only a pair of eyes were visible as they silently watched.

"General Yu, why don't you go and persuade this city to surrender?" Liu Daogui asked Yu Lidi beside him.

Yu Lidi shook his head, “It is one thing if I cannot defeat the powerful enemy for His Majesty, but to persuade the city to surrender is the behavior of a petty person, disloyal and unjust. If the governor insists on going his own way, he may take my life.”

Liu Zun's eyes widened: "You wouldn't even persuade a city, what's the point of keeping you around? Why bother arguing? Cut off his head and the heads of all the prisoners and send them to Tuoba Gui, so that Tuoba Gui will die of grief like Murong Chui!"

Do you think everyone is as sentimental as Murong Chui?

This person is more useful alive than dead.

His very existence serves as a benchmark, a testament to all the Xianbei people.

Tuoba Gui killed even his own uncle, so he wouldn't care about a general under his command.

"That's enough. No need for anyone else. Order the entire army to attack the city immediately." Liu Daogui said no more.

Even the most fortified cities are defended by men. The garrison on the city walls was clearly not elite; their morale was low, and they lacked even the courage to fight back.

Boom, boom, boom...

As the war drums sounded, three thousand prisoners carried long ladders forward, with soldiers in armor following behind, ready to shoot an arrow at anyone who retreated or slowed down.

A merciful general cannot command an army; that's how prisoners of war are used.

Not killing them is the greatest mercy.

Some prisoners, provoked, roared and charged toward the city wall, frantically climbing up the long ladders. Even ants cling to life, let alone humans. The people of Jin in the north still had a sense of national identity, and the common people recognized the legitimacy of the Jin people.

But such rules don't apply to the grasslands; people simply side with whoever is strongest.

The former Yan state, now the Wei state, had countless soldiers who were Xiongnu, Dingling, or Jin people...

Once their powerful rulers died, the country immediately descended into chaos; this was true for Liu Yuan, Shi Le, Shi Hu, and Murong Chui.

Tuoba Gui's brilliance lay in recognizing this early on, and thus he made every effort to align himself with the Chinese civilization in order to maintain the stability of his rule.

The prisoners clung to the city wall, and the defenders were unsure whether to shoot or not, unable to make up their minds for a moment.

Liu Daogui arrived too quickly. The Wei army in the city had just received news of their crushing defeat and had not yet recovered from their shock. When they saw the arrogant and domineering Northern Army, they lost all their courage.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Huaijing led his armored soldiers to climb up.

It was only at this moment that the defending troops reacted, and arrows and stones rained down.

As soon as the blood splattered, the prisoners who had been hesitating immediately turned red-eyed and began to climb desperately upwards.

After losing half their men, dozens of prisoners leaped onto the city wall and, wielding ring-pommel swords, hacked and slashed wildly, forcing the defenders to retreat steadily.

Their retreat meant the tide had turned.

Liu Huaijing led his armored soldiers up the city wall, established a foothold, and then allowed more and more armored soldiers to come up.

Then came a one-sided massacre.

The soldiers of Jianwei were fiercer than the last, and compared to the fierce battle at Fangtou, this siege was a piece of cake.

Within an hour, blood flowed like rivers on the city walls, and heads rolled everywhere.

The defending troops retreated to the inner city wall.

But if the first wall couldn't be defended, the second one would be even less likely to be.

"Anyone who dares to resist will have their entire family, young and old, and their dogs and chickens, wiped out!"

Liu Huaijing led a dozen or so elite guards and shouted loudly at the foot of the city wall.

The other armored soldiers, carrying swords and axes, had fierce glints in their eyes and exuded a murderous aura, as if they wanted to flatten this huge city.

Suddenly, all the sounds disappeared, and only their shouts echoed back and forth between the city walls.

The silence lasted for four or five breaths, then with a "boom," the enemy troops scattered in all directions, abandoning their defense and fleeing in all directions.

The Zhu Ming Gate of Ye City slowly opened, as if welcoming its master...

(End of this chapter)