Xian Sun of the Ning Mansion of the Red Chamber

Chapter 183 Take the initiative
Outside the city of Lan County, several small bands of Xiongnu rangers nearby were attracted by King Jingjing and his party. They looked like wolves hunting on the prairie. As long as a wolf was staring at them, it would call its companions to join them. Come round up.

Lan County is not big, with only two thousand households and a few thousand people, and there are no guards stationed here. The whole city's government servants and soldiers guarding the city add up to only a hundred people, and the city wall is low and dilapidated. .Facing the Huns with more than two thousand cavalry, they seemed so fragile and vulnerable.

The Xiongnu cavalry were worried about the hundreds of soldiers in brocade uniforms who fled into the city. The battle at Mahekou alone cost them more than two hundred people.You must know that they only paid more than 700 lives for breaking through the remote towns guarded by seriously ill people.In the eyes of the Huns, the combat power of this group of soldiers is more vigorous than that of the frontier army.

It's just that the cavalry at the bottom of the Xiongnu didn't know that it was the emperor's pro-army, Xiuyiwei, who brought them huge casualties.

The situation of the Embroidered Guards is also not optimistic. When they set off from the capital, they had 1000 people. The King of Beijing allocated two hundred to Jia Ying. All with injuries.There are also more than [-] personal guards of the royal residence and accompanying guards sent by the Ministry of War, and now only about half of them are left.

The handsome King of Beijing Jing is panicking like a beggar at this moment.

Fortunately, they withdrew into the county seat of Lan County smoothly, and finally they could breathe a sigh of relief, but they don't know how long the city walls of Lan County can support them.The Huns have already launched three attacks. Although they were successfully repulsed by them, they also paid a high price.What's more terrible is that after nearly a thousand more mouths suddenly appeared, the food in the county could not last long.There is no way, this county is too poor, and the Huns came before this year's autumn grain.

Shui Rong was in the county yamen right now, holding a bowl of porridge, a few plates of pickles on the table, but a few dark yellow and hard coarse corn buns, he opened his mouth but couldn't finish it.

Not to mention Shui Rong, the prince who grew up in rich clothes and fine food, even the servants of the palace who came along with him, gnawed on the cornbread in their hands, and found it hard to swallow.

"Gong county magistrate"

The Chief Historian of the Beijing Prince's Mansion naturally didn't want his master to be wronged, so he wanted to open his mouth and scold the county magistrate who was with him.Only when he called out a name, facing Gong Shangren, who had a yellow complexion and a scrawny figure, and even his official uniform was patched up with patches, the chief historian couldn't help but sighed helplessly, his tone softened, and said: "How can you The prince is eating these things! Go, kill a chicken, have it stewed by the accompanying cook, and serve it up again."

Gong Shangren noticed the change in the Chief Historian's expression, saluted respectfully, and replied: "My lord, there are no chickens in the county government."

Hearing this, the Chief Historian said angrily, "Then go sell one. People in the city always have these in their homes. I'll pay for the money."

Gong Shangren replied: "Your Excellency, you can't buy it even if you have to pay for it. It's just that there is a shortage of money. The people in Lan County are not rich. There is not enough food for every household. What's the use of asking for money."

Hearing this, the Chief Historian looked a little unhappy and said, "No matter how small Lan County is, there are thousands of households. Doesn't one of them raise livestock or poultry?"

He felt that Gong Shangren was a little ignorant of flattery, and he was clearly fooling him.

Still unmoved, Gong Shangren said: "My lord, even if there are, they are used by the people to survive. As an official of the court, how can we compete with the people for food."

The Chief Historian's face suddenly turned cold, and he said in a deep voice: "Gong Shangren, is it true that our prince's status is not as good as those mud legs in your eyes? Besides, the Huns have already attacked the city. Once the city is broken, you will What's the use of guarding these livestock and poultry?"

Shui Rong at the side listened to the quarrel between the two, feeling upset, and said, "Chang Historian, forget it. Take these things away, I really have no appetite."

"My lord." The Chief Historian wanted to say something, but he heard noisy voices from outside the county government office.

Hearing the sound, Shui Rong hurriedly drank outside and asked, "But the Huns attacked the city again?"

Gong Shangren hurried out and said to Shui Rong: "My lord, please stay in the county yamen for a while, and the officials will take the young and strong to guard the city together."

In the end, the low city walls of Lan County failed to stop the Xiongnu soldiers, and they attacked again.

After several trials, the Huns had exhausted the arrows in the hands of the embroidered guards. After the threat was gone, dozens of Huns soldiers, carrying a thick log under the city gate, began to hit the slightly broken city ​​gate.

If it goes on like this, the city gate will be broken in a short while.

The Embroidered Guards, who had been battling several times without breathing a sigh of relief, seemed to be unable to withstand the attack of the Huns at this moment, and kept retreating until the soldiers of the Huns completely occupied the top of the city.

Just as the situation was in dire straits, a cavalry force of thousands of people suddenly appeared on the horizon outside Lan County. The tremors on the ground and the startled Huns in the city had already begun to celebrate the victory. After they reacted, The distance between the two sides is no more than 500 meters.

"Where did the Dagan cavalry come from?"

A Hun commander in the lead exclaimed: "Turn the horse's head quickly, quickly!"

Feeling the killing intent on the face, the Hun cavalry team crowded under the city gate became agitated. Because it was a siege battle, many Hun cavalry did not ride on horseback. Start looking for your horse in the panicked crowd.At this moment, the Huns soldiers who had already attacked the top of the city were even more at a loss.

"Reinforcements have arrived, soldiers who are fighting hard, follow me to kill!"

Qianhu of Embroidered Guards held up the long knife in his hand, and shouted excitedly, the morale of the main party on the top of the city was re-inspired, and suppressed the Huns' offensive.

After receiving the inheritance of the White Lotus Sect, the Hunan Army Battalion finally had its own cavalry, with a total of [-] horses, swarming towards the Huns cavalry.

The cavalry's charge needs a buffer distance. All the Xiongnu cavalry gathered under the city wall. Before the horses under them could sprint, Jia Ying and the Hunan army had already arrived.

Most of the combat power of the Huns cavalry lies in their speed advantage, as well as their cavalry and archery skills.Now without these two advantages, cavalry equipment has become a key factor in determining the outcome.

The armor of the Dagan soldiers, the key protective parts are armor leaves made of iron armor. The long swords of the Hun cavalry who could not use the speed inertia to chop on the Dagan soldiers could only leave a deep line on the armor leaves. Scratch marks, their iron smelting technology is too backward, and their weapons are far less sharp than the long knives in the hands of Dagan soldiers.

Moreover, the scimitars among them are also a few inches shorter than the long knives in the hands of Dagan soldiers, and they are inch longer and stronger. The leather armor of the Hun soldiers is only stronger than the cloth in front of the sharp long knives.

After several rounds of charging, the Huns cavalry who had left corpses all over the ground began to wait for an opportunity to retreat. Jia Ying did not give the order to pursue, and deliberately left a hole for the Huns cavalry to escape.

Two thousand against two thousand, even if he could win, the cavalry in his hand would have to be disabled.

Fighting is not about blindly fighting, but about maximizing one's own advantages.The firearms were the reason why the Dagan soldiers restrained the Xiongnu cavalry, but Jia Ying led the cavalry first, and the firearms battalion had not yet arrived, and the infantry and firearms battalion led by Mu Enci were still several miles away.

And behind them, a Hun cavalry of a thousand men was chasing.

After watching the Xiongnu cavalry go away, Jia Ying said to Ba Bushou and Zhao Hezhong, "Count the casualties and seize them, and gather all the nearby horses. I will go to see the prince."

Inside the county government office, Jia Ying saw that his lips were chapped and his face was so haggard that he didn't have half of his handsome demeanor in the past.

"My lord, I'm late, my lord forgive me."

The moment he saw Jia Ying, Shui Rong seemed to be seeing his relatives, with red eyes, he walked forward quickly, helped Jia Ying up, and said with a trembling voice: "Brother Shi! You are finally here!"

In the past few days, Shui Rong has been worried and restless all day long. He is a prince, but he has never experienced such a thing, so how can he not be afraid.It's just that he didn't want to lose the face of Prince Jing's Palace in front of everyone, so he has been persevering. Now that he saw Jia Ying, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother, have you wiped out the Huns?" Shui Rong asked.

Jia Ying shook her head and said, "I just drove them back. I only brought 2000 people here. Without the support of firearms, it is not easy to destroy a Hun cavalry."

"Will they come again?" Shui Rong lifted the heart that had just been let go, like a frightened bird.

Jia Ying nodded and said, "The news of my army's disappearance must have alarmed the upper echelons of the Xiongnu who entered the pass. Just behind my army, there is a thousand-strong Hun cavalry."

"What should I do?" The water-melting face asked sadly.

Jia Ying reassured: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will send someone to escort you back to Taiyuan Mansion. As long as the Huns don't break through Yanmen and Ningwu, it will be safe there."

"Send someone? What about you, brother?"

Jia Ying let out a long sigh and said, "The Xiongnu ravages me, and I will stay low. As an official of the Ministry of War, I naturally want to stay and fight against the Xiongnu and help Datong."

Shui Rong nodded, regained his composure and asked, "Then what do I need to do?"

Jia Ying thought for a while and said, "I am right about two things here. One is soldiers and horses, and the other is food and grass. After the prince returns to Taiyuan Mansion, one is to let the Shanxi Buzheng Yamen raise food and grass, and the other is to mobilize the army of guards from all over Shanxi to go north. Join me, and I will send someone to contact the prince."

Shui Rong said solemnly: "Brother, don't worry, I have self-knowledge to lead the army in battle, but I have been guarding the border for several generations in the Beijing Palace, and I can't lose the dignity of the Palace when I come here. I will guard the rear for my brother in Taiyuan Mansion, waiting The good news from my elder brother."

"It's not too late, my lord, let's go!"

Jia Ying asked Babu Shou to escort King Beijing and his party with a thousand cavalry to leave Lan County, and Mu Enci and his party, who were escorted by the infantry and the firearm battalion, rushed to the city of Lan County.

In the Battle of Lan County, the Huns left more than 1000 war horses, and more than 100 people died on their own side.The one-to-ten battle loss rate does not mean how strong the Hunan army camp is, but that most of the Xiongnu soldiers participated in the siege. Before they could get on their horses, they were dispersed by Jia Ying and the cavalry. People died under the knife of the defenders in the city, and this battle was considered a bargain.

The Hunan army battalion, which had been running around for several days, was already exhausted. Jia Ying immediately decided that the army should rest and reorganize in Lan County first.

Tens of thousands of horses flocked into the narrow town of Lan County, and many soldiers could only sleep on the streets. Fortunately, it was just autumn and the weather was mild.

"Lan County has few people, so it's really not a good place to camp. We can't stay here for long."

Mu Enci found Jia Ying who was patrolling the city defense, looked at the Hunan Army soldiers lying crookedly on both sides of the street, and said aloud.

"Have the people sent out come back?" Jia Ying asked.

"The ones sent to Ningwu and Yanmen haven't returned yet, but there is a new news from Pianguan."

"what news?"

Just listen to Mu Enci said: "A 5000 Hun cavalry came out of Pianguan, and they were approaching us. The large army has gathered. From the captured tongue, it is known that the leader is a Taiji. I am afraid that he will appear outside the city in two days."

"Taiji?" Jia Ying asked curiously, "The son of the Great Khan of the Huns?"

"No, he's the son of King Zuo Tuqi, the grandson of the Great Khan of the Huns." Mu Enci shook his head and said, "If the opponent gathers the rangers around, there will probably be 9000 or [-] of them, and they're all cavalry. It’s not easy to fight a battle! Babu Shou hasn’t returned from Taiyuan Mansion yet.”

Babu Shou took away half of the cavalry in the Xiang army camp. Although the Huns still left a thousand horses, they could not form the combat power of the cavalry in a short time.Once there is no cavalry, they can only defend the city.

Jia Ying also frowned slightly when she heard the words, and thought about it. The Xiongnu army with a population of nearly [-] can attack Ningwu and Yanmen. Can it withstand the siege of tens of thousands of people?
Moreover, tens of thousands of Hunan army camps are crowded in this small county town, which is too crowded. When a round of arrows rains down on the Huns, a small half of them may fall down.Moreover, too many people can't be accommodated on the top of the city, and the troops cannot be fully utilized.

"Call all the generals above the commander-in-chief and follow me out of the city. Also, bring Gong Shangren along with you." Jia Ying ordered to the soldiers around him.

After more than a dozen key members of the Xiang army camp and Gong Shangren arrived, Jia Ying led the crowd to ride out of the city.

On a hillside not far from the city, Jia Ying stood on horseback and looked around at the surrounding terrain and mountains, and said to Mu Enci, "We can't just sit and wait in the city, the Xiongnu army with tens of thousands of people, the low-lying Lan County The city wall can't stop the enemy for a long time, we have to take the initiative to attack."

"You mean to use the mountain here to carry out an ambush?" Mu Enci guessed Jia Ying's thoughts.

Jia Ying nodded and said, "That's right, the cavalry of the Huns can't exert much advantage in the mountains. The only thing we need to guard against is the bows and arrows in their hands."

(End of this chapter)