Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 312 Decision

"You had 60,000 troops around Fangtou, yet you were defeated by a bunch of rabble?" Tuoba Gui was surprisingly calm, his face expressionless.

But Tuoba Hena, kneeling on the ground, was trembling. "It's not that we are incompetent, but that the enemy army is too cunning. They immediately seized my ten thousand elite cavalry, making them unable to move. Changsun Fei was tied down south of the Yellow River, and Yu Lidi and Gongsun Biao were cowardly before even engaging in battle... I fought bravely and managed to save several thousand elite cavalry and break through the encirclement..."

"Pah—" Tuoba Gui spat a mouthful of phlegm in his face.

He knew his cousin's character best.

If they truly fought bravely, they wouldn't have fled with several thousand elite cavalry, but would have turned back to fight again.

If deployed properly, three thousand elite cavalry could save more men and horses, even if they couldn't change the course of the battle...

Tuoba Hena knelt on the ground, not daring to move.

Tuoba Gui harbored a deep resentment with nowhere to vent it.

Of the 60,000 elite troops, only 20,000 gradually escaped back. These were not ordinary herdsmen, but elite soldiers who had fought alongside Tuoba Gui for many years...

Tuoba Yi said, "Now that things have come to this, we should quickly attack Fangtou and wipe out this Jin bandit!"

Tuoba Gui glanced at the soldiers around him; the fierce spirit he had shown when he went to war was gone from his face.

This was the first major battle between the Wei army and the Northern Army. Despite having superior numbers and a large number of cavalry, the Wei army suffered such a crushing defeat, which severely damaged the morale of the Wei state.

And it left a shadow in the hearts of all Wei soldiers.

The consensus was that the Northern Army was strong and the Wei Army was weak.

Moreover, Luoyang is four or five hundred miles away from Fangtou, and even if they rushed there, the soldiers would inevitably be exhausted.

"Your Majesty, give me another 10,000, no, 20,000 troops, and I will avenge this blood feud!" Tuoba Hena shouted.

Unexpectedly, Tuoba Gui kicked him to the ground, shouting, "Drag him away and give him thirty lashes!"

Ultimately, he was one of the twenty-one Yuan Cong members, and also a cousin, so Tuoba Gui did not kill him.

Bang, bang...

The whistling of the whip and Tuoba Hena's screams echoed in the central army camp, and only then did Tuoba Gui calm down.

Although Tuoba Hena was not as good as Changsun Fei, he was still one of the top generals in Wei. The fact that Yu Lidi and Gongsun Biao were also defeated shows that this Northern Army was as powerful as ever.

Back then, Liu Laozhi's 20,000 elite troops from the Northern Army routed Murong Chui's 200,000-strong army.

Murong Chui, on the other hand, swiftly conquered Pingcheng and killed Tuoba Qian, clearly demonstrating the disparity in strength between the two.

Mobilizing an army of over 100,000 around Luoyang is no easy task, and rushing there hastily might not necessarily yield any advantage.

It's understandable that Tuoba Hena, Yulidi, and Changsun Fei were defeated, since they were all generals of the state. However, if Tuoba Gui had gone there and the battle had gone badly, it would have damaged his prestige.

When a monarch suffers a defeat, the situation becomes dire.

The northern nomadic kingdoms, in particular, relied entirely on the personal prestige of their monarchs to suppress other ambitious individuals...

"I regret not heeding Cui Qing's advice. What should we do now?" Tuoba Gui looked at Cui Hong, his most trusted minister.

If we had listened to his advice and personally led an army of over 100,000 to attack, perhaps none of this would have happened.

"With the disastrous defeat at Fangtou, Yecheng will inevitably fall. It will be too late for Your Majesty to rush there now. In my opinion, it would be better to withdraw the troops and return to Pingcheng to recuperate. Liu Daogui's base is in the Huai and Si regions, a thousand miles away from Yecheng. He will abandon this place sooner or later. Huan Xuan usurped the Jin throne and established himself, but he lacks the ability of Huan Wen. There will surely be a major upheaval in the country. At that time, Liu Daogui will definitely be involved. In two or three years, Your Majesty can lead 100,000 elite troops south and sweep through the Huai and Si regions of the Central Plains in one fell swoop, and set foot in Huainan!"

Cui Hong had a very accurate grasp of the current situation and was also very familiar with the character of the Jiangzuo gentry.

Internal strife has almost become part of their nature.

Liu Daogui has made such a great contribution, the Jiangzuo group will make their move sooner or later.

Tuoba Gui gazed at Luoyang, lost in thought.

Beneath the city wall, the corpses lay in layers, covered with a thin layer of ice, and studded with arrows, resembling reeds.

The defenders on the city wall were clearly exhausted, too weak to even stand. They leaned against the battlements, nervously watching the Wei army below.

The siege has lasted for more than two months, and the Wei army has suffered as many as 10,000 casualties, but the casualties inside the city are also high.

"If we retreat like this, morale will be severely damaged, and my prestige will also be harmed. We will encounter even more difficulties when we march south in the future!" Two cold glints flashed in Tuoba Gui's eyes.

Cui Hong was taken aback, "Your Majesty..."

"Since I raised my army, I have been invincible in every battle. Now, if I retreat at the slightest setback, how will the people of the world submit to me in the future? Issue the order: Luoyang must be captured within three days. Without my military order, the vanguard shall retreat and the rearguard shall be executed. If the rearguard retreats, the cavalry shall execute them!"

Tuoba Gui's ferocity was instead provoked.

In exchanging Ye City for Luoyang, the State of Wei was not actually at a loss.

Ye City was never the core area of ​​the Wei Kingdom. When Murong De marched south, he took everything he could, leaving this area still desolate.

When Tuoba Gui moved the capital to Pingcheng, people from Hebei and southern Mongolia began to migrate to Dai County.

Ye City is more like an arena of power struggles.

In the past, Shi Hu, Ran Min, Murong Huang, Huan Wen, Wang Meng, Murong Chui, and Liu Laozhi all had their hands on this place; now it's just a different group of people.

Liu Daogui may not be able to defend Yecheng in the future, but Tuoba Gui will be able to gain a foothold in Luoyang.

With Jinyang, Hedong, and Shangdang all in Wei's hands, they held a commanding position over Yecheng and Luoyang. Their cavalry could reach them in an instant. Liu Daogui was unable to cultivate the land in Yecheng and could only rely on supplies to be transported from the rear. If Wei cavalry simply blocked the supply lines, the Beifu Army in Yecheng would be trapped like turtles in a jar.

Wuwuwu——

The bugle sounded again.

Tuoba Gui, riding a white horse, clad in red armor, and carrying a long spear, stood by the moat, pointing at Luoyang City, and declared, "The rise and fall of the Wei Kingdom will depend on this battle. Anyone who dares to retreat even a step will have their entire family exterminated, and the first to reach the top will be ennobled!"

The sound drifted in the cold wind.

Messengers spread military orders far and wide, and the morale of the Wei army changed dramatically.

Driven by the bows and swords, they charged forward with all their might.

Sure enough, the arrows and stones on the city wall were sparse, not as dense as before.

However, the soldiers remained tenacious, and many wounded soldiers clung to Wei soldiers and fell off the city wall, only to be pierced by broken spears on the ground.

Those who survived fought back fiercely.

But the Wei army was simply too numerous. In the past, if they couldn't breach the city walls, they could retreat to regroup. But this time, there was no way back. If they retreated even a step, they would be beheaded by the cavalry supervising the battle.

People are forced out.

Even though the Wei army was not good at attacking cities, they were forced to show their ferocity and threw lives at each other.

After nearly two hours of fierce fighting, the city was finally breached.

The besieged Jin army was exhausted and too wounded to get up. Some committed suicide by cutting their own throats, while others jumped off the city walls.

"I swear I will never be enslaved by the barbarians!"

The shouts were hoarse yet impassioned.

This caused Tuoba Gui, standing below the city, to momentarily lose his composure. "Could it be that these Jin people are not afraid of death?"

Cui Hong stared at the twisted corpse on the ground, his expression slightly complicated. "With the Battle of Canhebei as an example, I'm afraid it will be difficult for anyone to surrender to His Majesty in the future."

The Battle of Canhebei allowed Tuoba Gui to quickly defeat the Yan state, but it also caused many negative consequences.

There are still people rebelling in Hebei, while the Northern Yan and Southern Yan have been entangled with the State of Wei.

Tuoba Gui remained silent. At that time, he was preparing to release the surrendered soldiers, but Wang Jian stopped him and followed his advice, which led to their massacre.

Good fortune and misfortune are intertwined; if you gain an advantage, you will naturally have to pay a price.

At this moment, the soldiers escorted several generals forward.

"Are you willing to surrender?" Tuoba Gui asked, looking at them.

"Pah!" A mouthful of thick phlegm was sprayed directly onto Tuoba Gui's face.

"I, Xin Gongjing, would rather be a ghost of the Great Jin than a traitorous subject of the Qiang!" His white hair fluttered in the cold wind.

Tuoba Gui was furious. In the past, he was the one who spat on others, but today he was the one who was spat on. He felt disgusted and angry, and with a clang, he drew his long sword.

Unexpectedly, Xin Gongjing stuck his head out and shouted, "Kill me quickly!"

"I..." Tuoba Gui was furious. Since he started his rebellion, he had never been contradicted like this before. He was about to swing his long sword down.

Cui Hong, who was standing next to him, coughed.

Tuoba Gui's sword stopped in mid-air, unable to swing any further. After several major battles, Xin Gongjing also rose to fame and became a renowned minister.

He himself came from the Xin clan of Longxi and had been guarding Luoyang for many years, earning him great prestige among the northern gentry.

"Fine, killing you would only uphold your integrity and tarnish my reputation. I will not kill you. Guards, take you away and keep a close watch on you!" Tuoba Gui sheathed his long sword and waved his hand helplessly.

"Your Majesty, 20,000 Chu infantrymen have marched north from Wuchang and have reached Wancheng!"

The scout then came to report.

"Chu army? Huan Xuan?" Tuoba Gui was a little unfamiliar with the word "Chu" for a moment, but then he sneered, "When did he get such audacity?"

Sending 20,000 infantrymen to reinforce Luoyang is simply a pipe dream.

Cui Hong asked, "Is it the Northern Prefecture or the Western Prefecture?"

"Huan Xiu leads the army, half in the Western Prefecture and half in the Northern Prefecture!" The Wei Kingdom has a large number of cavalry, and its scouts are also extremely elite.

With the addition of spies, every move in the Central Plains was under their watchful eyes.

"Huan Xuan is throwing his own hands into disarray. The Northern and Western armies have been at odds for a long time. What can he do to me if he sends this force here immediately? There's no need to pay attention to him. Let Tuoba Yi stay and guard Luoyang. After the elite troops have rested for two days, they will follow me westward."

Tuoba Gui immediately ordered the slaughter of cattle and sheep to feast the soldiers, which greatly restored the morale of the Wei army.

Taking Luoyang would provide a forward base south of the Yellow River, eliminating the need to fight for crossings or wait for the Yellow River to freeze over when attacking the Central Plains.

Cui Hong quickly advised, "Your Majesty... the soldiers are exhausted and should rest..."

"Know yourself and know your enemy and you will never be defeated. I will go and meet this person in person. Minister Cui, you need not worry. I know what is important."

(End of this chapter)