Chapter 108: The Northland (8)

Returning to Lingzhou, Yan Zhong asked, "Why didn't the prince recruit Fu Gan and Yang Hui?" There are many admirers of Liangzhou Haojie, and many of the Huns have received the favor of Fu Gong, if they can get the assistance of these two people, it is enough to be worth thousands of troops and horses. ”

Chen Cheng smiled: "When we defeat the Huns, it's not too late to invite them." ”

Yan Zhong said: "When the Huns are defeated, how can they go on a campaign before the battle?" ”

Chen Cheng replied: "If you can win, you can recruit the two of you to add icing on the cake." If you can't win, why not preserve Fu Gong's bloodline? ”

Yan Zhong shook his head and said, "The prince is magnificent, but he is too kind of a woman. ”

The group hurried back to Lingzhou, and the candidate was already waiting at the city gate. Chen Cheng asked Yan Zhong to take Yan Xing to arrange the crossing of the river, and asked Zhao Yun to escort Liu Qian back to his house, but he jumped down and asked, "Have you already found a place to ambush the Huns?" ”

Hou Xuan approached, lowered his voice, and said: "Within fifty miles north of the east bank of the Yellow River, there is no trace of the Huns. ”

Chen Cheng paused and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Hou Xuan said: "I don't know, but I sent people to secretly cross the Yellow River, and found that many places on the west bank were fighting, and many villages were burned by the Huns." ”

Chen Cheng pondered for a moment and said, "Could it be that the Huns are determined to take all the land and population west of the Yellow River first, so they withdraw all the soldiers and horses from the east to the west?" ”

The Huns' light cavalry obscured the entire battlefield, leaving his vision in the fog of war, and until there were more reliable sources of information, everything was only speculation.

Hou Xuan said: "Most likely. ”

He said to Chen Cheng: "Although the land reclaimed in the west is not as large as in the east, the grain stored everywhere is enough to support the Xiongnu for several months. If they can be ruthless and kill all the captured population, the Huns can hold on for a longer time. ”

Chen Cheng frowned and pondered for a while, and said, "Since the Huns have withdrawn to the west, then you can cross the river with me." By the way, are there ships in the county that are suitable for water warfare? ”

Hou Xuan asked: "Does the lord want to advance by land and water?" ”

Chen Cheng nodded and said, "Yes, if we can place a strong crossbow on the big ship and then drive along the river, then when we fight with the Huns, we don't have to worry about the right flank." ”

Hou Xuan shook his head and said, "There are some fishing boats and ferries nearby, but there are no warships. ”

"Why? I see that the water surface of the Yellow River is wide, which is suitable for the sailors to cross and horizontally. ”

Hou Xuan said with a smile: "The lord doesn't know that the Yellow River will freeze every winter, and war horses can gallop on the ice. On weekdays, when it is not freezing, there is a long shallow area on the shore. The boats are big and easy to run aground, and if they are small, they can't fit many people and are useless, so there are few traces of sailors on the big river. ”

"So that's the case," Chen Cheng said, "It's not that County Lieutenant Hou told me, I don't know the reason for this." How many soldiers and horses do you have? What is the geometry of infantry and cavalry? ”

The candidate said: "There are two thousand men, half on foot." ”

Chen Cheng said: "Let each of them bring five days' food, and then go to the west bank together to get all of them." ”

After thinking about it, he said, "After all the soldiers and horses are transported to the west, you will organize those ferries and fishing boats, and so and so ”

Hearing this, Hou Xuan clasped his fists and said, "No! ”

More than 200 fishing boats and ferries traveled back and forth between the two docks, transporting soldiers and horses to the west bank in waves. Many of the boats did not have time to wait to get to the pier, so they rushed straight to the shallow water, waited for the soldiers to jump into the river, and then rowed back to the east bank.

Those boatmen and fishermen knew that this was to resist the Huns, and Chen Cheng opened the treasury of Lingzhou and scattered a large amount of copper coins, cloth and salt, so they were very hardworking, from morning to night, busy non-stop, Rao is so, in one day, it can be enough to transport more than 20,000 people across the river.

Of course, Yan Zhong was the whole dispatcher, and Yan Xing was also busy with the front and back, helping to deal with various things.

"Have you thought about it?" Yan Zhong took a moment and whispered to Yan Xing: "Now that the great enemy is present, the prince is lacking a powerful general. If you stay with me, you will only have hard work, no merit. ”

Yan Xing wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Uncle also has no one in his hands, I don't help it, those local heroes can really hand over the money and food of the tribe happily?" ”

Yan Zhong twisted his beard and said, "This is also true. ”

After dark, torches were lit on both sides of the Yellow River, and the boatmen continued to transport troops to the west bank. But the river is fast, and it is difficult to see clearly in the dark, and even if there is a little torch, it is still not as efficient as during the day. After two accidents in a row, Chen Cheng had no choice but to suspend the transportation of troops.

Wait until after dawn the next day before transporting the soldiers and horses again. The troops that had already been transported were gradually gathered under the leadership of officers at all levels. The army crossed the river in a big way, and the movement was very loud, and the people on the west bank heard about it, and sent a lot of food, and some people volunteered to help them lead the way, and even some people brought their own dry food to join in.

The martial arts of these people are very good, but they are only good at small-scale battles, and they have no armor, the most important thing is that they have not been trained, they do not know the orders of the army, they can only be used for defense, but they are not very suitable for taking the initiative. However, the combat effectiveness of the Huns is not too strong, and it is good to have more people.

While the soldiers were still crossing the river, the Huns' troops had already advanced along the river for dozens of miles to the south. Most of the villages and villages along the route were scorched, the food and cattle in the villages were plundered, the old and weak were slaughtered, and the young and strong and women and children were divided among the tribes.

Lian County was the largest and strongest fortress in Beidi County to resist the Huns, and after this fortress was lost, there was no way to stop the Huns in the hundreds of miles of fertile fields in the south. Except for a few very strong Wu forts, which saw the opportunity early and resisted resolutely, as long as the Huns were determined not to fear casualties, the rest of the villages would be breached in a few hours.

Listening to Tanma passing on the military situation in waves, Chen Cheng, Yang Qiu and Cheng Yi in the big tent all had solemn faces. However, it was expected that the Huns would kill them, and now with a little more time, the soldiers would all be in place. Although the Huns had many soldiers and horses, they were better equipped, and the victory or defeat in the battle was only five or five.

"Report!"

The herald rushed in again and said loudly: "Villager Li Qiang asks to see him." ”

Chen Cheng asked, "Li Qiang? Who's that? ”

Li Kan stood up and replied, "One of my clansmen has cultivated some fields in front. ”

Chen Cheng let out an "oh" and said, "Let him in." ”

A middle-aged man with undried blood on his body walked in under the leadership of the soldiers, and as soon as he entered the big tent, he knelt on the ground with a "poof". Li Qiang kowtowed heavily on the ground and said loudly: "The Huns are sixty miles ahead, besieging Zhuangzi, please implore the general to send troops to rescue." ”

"Sixty miles?" Chen Cheng pondered for a while and looked at the others in the big tent, Cheng Yi shook his head, and Yang Qiu clasped his hands to his chest and sneered.

Hou Xuan sighed and said to Li Tao: "It's not that we don't want to send troops to rescue, it's really that the army hasn't gathered yet, and it's too far away, half of us are infantry, if we only use cavalry, then our troops will be even less." ”

Li Qiang hurriedly said: "The forces of the Huns are attacking the villages, and the army will take the opportunity to cover up the past, and it will definitely be able to win a complete victory!" ”

He shouted to Li Kan: "Patriarch, you can't care about our life or death!" ”

Li Kan: "This ....."

He naturally wanted Chen Cheng to send troops to the rescue, but he also knew that Chen Cheng had a little more troops in his hands than Cheng Yi, which was only after the local heroes had joined the army, if Yang Qiu and Cheng Yi did not agree, Chen Cheng would not be able to rely on more than 10,000 people in his hands to fight with the Huns' nearly 100,000 troops. Moreover, half of the 10,000 men were infantry, and when they reached sixty miles away, the daylilies were cold.

Li Kan looked away in embarrassment, but Chen Cheng suddenly said: "What Li Qiang said also has a certain truth. ”

Cheng Yi was stunned for a moment and said, "What makes sense about this?" ”

Chen Cheng said: "I thought that the Huns would continue to waste time in Lian County, but I didn't expect them to take the initiative to kill them. In this case, it is better for me to take a small number of soldiers and horses to frustrate the enemy's spirit, and the army can take the opportunity to strengthen the camp and wait for the Huns to collide. ”

Li Qiang was stunned and said: "A small number of soldiers and horses can't break the siege." ”

Li Kan coughed, pulled Li Qiang, and said, "The generals are discussing things, so don't talk yet." ”

Li Gang looked at Li Kan, and then at the dozen or so generals in the big tent, his chapped lips moved, but he didn't say a word.

Cheng Yi shook his head and said: "The idea of reinforcing the camp is very good, the Huns are all light horses, maybe they will be killed here at some point." It's okay to go out to investigate the enemy's situation, but General Chen doesn't need to personally lead his troops to the battle. You are the master of an army, not a pioneer officer, and if there is any damage, the tens of thousands of troops here will be scattered. ”

What he said was not an exaggeration, if Chen Cheng knelt down, not to mention anything else, most of those Qianghu leaders and Han heroes would have to withdraw to the east coast, and Cheng Yi would probably not be willing to throw his capital in the north. There is also Yang Qiu, he was reluctant to rescue Lingzhou, if he wasn't afraid of losing the hearts of the people who didn't have much, and he was also afraid that Cheng Yi and Chen Cheng would join forces to take Fuping City first, he wouldn't have brought troops here.

Cheng Yi sighed in his heart, Chen Cheng's house is really a chaotic fate. The situation in the north was chaotic, and the heroes of Lingzhou built their own cities, each with strong soldiers, and within a few days of his hands, they were gathered together. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous and angry, if Yan Zhong could also support him clearly, he would not be worse than Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng smiled: "It's not that I'm boasting, if you talk about the strength of martial arts, the two generals are together, and they are not my opponents." ”

Cheng Yi showed a stunned look on his face, but Yang Qiu stood up and said angrily: "Julu Hou is too blind!" ”

Chen Cheng said: "I didn't mean you........ Well, I'm just telling you a fact. If General Yang doesn't believe it, we can compare and compare. ”

Xiliang is much more vulgar than Luoyang, and the one who can gain a foothold here is either a traitor like Han Sui who kills his companions as usual as eating, or a martial artist like Ma Teng who took the initiative to participate in the rebellion, Yang Qiu can dominate the north for several years, and naturally he is not a good bird. Although he was forced by Lingzhou Hao to return to Fuping, his essence still hasn't changed much.

So, before Chen Cheng's words fell, Yang Qiu's anger rose from his heart, and he was angry and shouted: "Then compare and compare!" ”

He rushed forward, pulled out the sword at his waist, and stabbed at Chen Cheng. The space in the big tent is not large, and the distance between the two is even shorter. At this moment, the elbows and armpits, and as soon as everyone inside and outside the big tent reacted, the sword had already stabbed Chen Cheng's chest with a cold light.

Then everyone's eyes flickered, and there were two crisp sounds of "dangdang", and when they looked again, Chen Cheng had already stood up, and the long sword in his hand was pressed against Yang Qiu's neck. Yang Qiu was pressed to his knees by the long sword, and there was still a look of shock and confusion on his face.

He looked up and exclaimed in disbelief, "How is this possible? ”

Chen Cheng shook his head and said in his heart: Why do these villains like to say this after failure? Eh, is Yang Qiu a villain now?

He patted Yang Qiu on the shoulder with his long sword and asked, "How?" ”

Yang Qiu's expression changed several times, and finally lowered his head and said in a muffled voice: "You are indeed very powerful." ”

Chen Cheng laughed, moved the long sword away, simply returned the sword into the sheath neatly, turned his head and asked Cheng Yidao, "What did General Cheng say?" ”

The look of surprise on Cheng Yi's face had not yet dissipated, his body relaxed, and he said slowly: "Juluhou is not wrong, even if I go with Yang Qiu, I am not your opponent." ”