Chapter 109: The Northland (9)

It's easy to talk with your fists at any time, especially in a violent organ like the military. Since Chen Cheng has the biggest fist, there are many fewer people who oppose him. He ordered five hundred elite cavalry, and asked Cheng Yi and Yang Qiu for five hundred cavalry each, and then under the leadership of Li Qiang, he rushed to the place where Wu Fort was.

Under normal conditions, the cavalry galloped at a speed of about twenty kilometers per hour, but that was ideal on flat ground. When marching in the field, in order to save horsepower, it is almost possible to advance ten kilometers on the plains in an hour, and sixty miles is only a matter of three hours.

For the Huns, with light cavalry as the main force. This distance is already within the strike range. When Li Qiang ran out for help, he ran all the way, and it took less than an hour. When he went back, although he was in a hurry, he could only slow down his horse, and it took several times longer to get to the outside of Lijiawu Fort.

From a distance, thousands of Hun cavalry were dismounting, and under the command of the leaders of the various tribes, they launched an attack on Wubao. Their tactic was simple, relying on the large number of people, constantly stepping forward to tease the defenders, testing the weaknesses in the defensive line, and taking the opportunity to kill the defenders in Wu Fort with bows and arrows.

There were about three or four hundred young men on the walls of the fort, and from time to time they counterattacked with bows and crossbows. Lingzhou has fallen into the hands of the rebels for many years, and the powerful are vying to buy ordnance, except for the armor is not easy to get, bows and crossbows and knives and guns are almost every household.

Just as Chen Cheng was observing, someone suddenly poked his head out of the Wu Fort and shot a Xiongnu nobleman with a strong crossbow. The Huns outside were in an uproar and stepped forward to shoot with bows and arrows, but after the previous man shot an arrow, he immediately hid behind the wall, and dozens of arrows all fell into the air.

Those Huns vented, but they didn't get any results, but they were shot and killed by the people in Wubao. The companions around him fell to the ground screaming one after another, and they could only drag the corpse of the noble man to retreat into the distance.

Li Qiang pointed in the direction of Wubao and said, "General, the Huns have been attacking since the morning, and it has taken several hours, and if they attack now, they will definitely be victorious!" ”

Chen Cheng watched for a while, and then asked Li Kan, who was following him, "Does Zuo Sima think it's okay to attack?" ”

Li Kan looked serious and said: "The thousands of Huns here are nothing, but I'm afraid that there will be some behind." ”

He said to Li Qiang: "How many people are in the city?" Can we all pull out together? ”

Li Qiang smiled bitterly: "After the Huns came over, the people from ten miles and eight towns ran in, and there were thousands of people who were old and weak. Where did they withdraw? ”

Chen Cheng asked, "How many more are there near such Wu Fort?" ”

Li Qiang said: "As far as I know, there are still three in the north that have not been broken by the Huns. ”

"There are a lot of people in every Wubao?"

"Yes," Li Qiang said, "Every time the Huns come over, or when the Qiang people make a rebellion, the surrounding people will hide in. ”

Chen Cheng thought for a while, and soon made a decision, "No matter what, let's defeat the Huns in front of you first." ”

He took Li Kan and Li Qiang back a distance of five miles, and behind a large area of woods, Zhao Yun was repairing there with soldiers and horses.

After gathering all the generals, Chen Cheng said loudly: "Wait for me to lead the troops to attack head-on, the soldiers and horses of your two divisions will be outflanked from both sides, and when you hear the sound of the gong to collect the troops, you will retreat immediately, understand?" ”

The generals responded: "Understood! ”

So all the people got on their horses and marched north along the avenue. Fifteen hundred cavalry is also a powerful armed force on the grassland, although the Huns are known as 100,000 people who control the strings at every turn, but most of them are herdsmen transferred over, and the elite hinterland is only one or two hundred thousand, and the remaining ones have very doubtful combat effectiveness.

The Huns outside Lijiawu Fort retreated out of range of their bows and arrows, and several leaders were arguing fiercely around the nobles who had been shot.

"The walls here are too strong, so we'll go somewhere else." A Xiongnu leader with a gold ring on his ear said in a loud voice: "There are many Han people here who can be plundered, why do you want to suffer here?" ”

His words were agreed by many people, "That is, we have let go of so many Wu Forts before, and let the people here give some food and gold silk women." ”

"yes, let them send more women out!"

"Enough!" Another Xiongnu leader shouted: "The Han here has killed one of our householders, and we must kill all the people in the city!" If we don't punish them severely, how can we enslave these Han people? ”

As soon as these words came out, several leaders immediately changed their minds and agreed: "This is reasonable, we should let these Han and Qiang people know that our Huns are powerful!" ”

Some people objected: "But this wall is so thick, how many lives do you have to fill in to knock it down?" ”

Someone came up with an idea: "Didn't we arrest a lot of Han and Qiang people?" Let them go to the siege! ”

"That's a good idea!"

"The Qiang people can still keep the horses, what do the Han people keep for the future? Pull up and siege the city! ”

Immediately, there was fierce opposition, "The Han people can also raise horses, and they can also have them mate with slaves......

While several factions were arguing, there was a sudden thunderous sound in the distance. The Huns often heard such a sound in the steppe and knew that it was a large group of cavalry that was moving. The more experienced ones can hear one or two thousand rides just by their voices.

Several leaders looked at each other, puzzled expressions on their faces. In order to grab more things, they have already run to the front, how can there be other tribes running to the front?

After defeating Yang Qiu's main force and capturing Lian County in more than ten days, the arrogance of the Huns reached the point of almost invincible. They set out from Lian County and went all the way south, and they met the Han people who fortified the city and defended themselves, so they encountered a large group of cavalry in the field, and they thought it was the Huns of other tribes.

The muffled thunder was getting closer and closer, and the speed was getting faster and faster, and the Huns gradually became agitated. Several noble leaders also sensed that something was wrong, "It's so close, why do you still lift the horse speed?" ”

The distance between the two sides has been shortened to a mile or two, and the Huns have seen the outfit on the opposite side clearly, and immediately panicked, "Enemy attack, enemy attack!" ”

"Run, the Han are coming!"

"Run!"

The Huns were not good at attacking cities, but they were very skilled in riding horses and running. When they are fighting with the enemy on the grassland, once they encounter a strong enemy, or find that they cannot win the battle halfway through, they will immediately retreat, wait for dozens of miles, and then regroup, or kill again, or retreat to another place.

The Huns under the city scattered one after another, and they did not expect to encounter a powerful enemy here, so they resorted to the most commonly used tactics. But it takes time for the horses to be lifted quickly, and just when the Huns were competing with each other for the horses and fleeing, Chen Cheng had already collided directly with five hundred horsemen.

The spear pierced into the human body, and dozens or hundreds of Huns were killed instantly. The screams made the other Huns even more panicked, and while rejoicing in their good fortune, they snatched the horses so that they could run faster. Those who did not catch the horses cursed in despair as they looked at the frightened horses that were fleeing in all directions not far away.

"You bastards.......... Yes! ”

The abandoned Huns were desperate, but they inspired the fierceness in their bones, and they drew their blades one after another, and reflexively fought with the cavalry who trampled on each other. However, they are not good at foot combat, and they are still in a state of surprise attack, they have been completely scattered, how can they fight against the imposing cavalry?

In a short time, all the scattered Huns were killed. Only a few dozen Huns huddled together back to back, still fraying. Chen Cheng clamped the spear and tore a Hun galloping in half with the impact of his horse. Zhao Yun rode a white horse and followed him, and there was blood dripping from the tip of the spear.

Seeing the group of Huns trapped by the cavalry, Chen Cheng pulled the war horse and replaced it with a bow and arrow. As soon as he pulled the bowstring away, a leader-like man shouted in the crowd opposite: "Slow down the arrows, I will surrender!" ”

"Oh?" Chen Cheng asked, "Who are you?" ”

"I am the day under the command of Zuo Da Danghu," the Huns shouted: "If the general spares our lives, we will be your dogs in the future, let us bite whoever we want!" ”

Chen Cheng looked left and right and said, "Do you say you want to accept their surrender?" ”

Li Kan said: "Since they are willing to surrender, then accept it, but ask them to hand over their weapons and armor first." ”

The other generals also agreed to surrender, and the Liangzhou princes and the Huns clashed many times, and it was not uncommon for them to surrender to each other. There were Xiongnu soldiers under Yang Qiu and Cheng Yi, and there were also Qiang and Han people on the side of the Huns, and of course, it was not uncommon for them to flee back after surrendering.

Chen Cheng's original intention was to surrender or not, but since everyone said that he could surrender, then he would be as good as a stream.

"Hand over your blades, and I will spare you from death."

The surrounded Huns looked at each other, and they threw down their weapons that day, and the others threw their weapons to the ground one after another.

These dozens of Huns were just a small episode, and Chen Cheng casually dealt with them and put them in the back of his mind. He continued the pursuit with his cavalry for some distance, only to find that the Huns were running faster than rabbits. Except for some of the Huns who ran away, the main force of the Huns had fled far away.

When several Hun cavalrymen saw Chen Cheng and them in the field, they were so frightened that they immediately beat their horses and fled to a more remote place.

The mount under Chen Cheng's crotch ran faster and faster, and gradually distanced himself from the cavalry behind him. Behind him, Zhao Yun led dozens of pro-soldiers to shout "Lord and slow", but Chen Cheng only pretended not to hear it.

He chased and killed ten miles in a row, shot more than a dozen Hun routs, and saw the smoke and dust in front of him, but it was a large group of Huns who were moving towards this side. Seeing this, Chen Cheng knew that this raid would end there. Surprise to be prepared to attack unprepared, and the killing and capture are only two or three hundred people.

The enemy is dominated by light cavalry, and the ability to attack the fortifications is very poor, but it is also difficult to keep them.