Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 954 The right time

After Zhang Liao came in, he raised his hands to the screen and said, "Madam, Liao has something to report."

Lu Lingqi understood and asked all the maids present to go out and said, "General, please speak."

Zhang Liao said: "My lord has an order for Liao to go to Jinyang."

Lu Lingqi knew clearly that Zhang Liao was ordered to leave at this time. Yuan Xi in Jinyang should have made a big move, and immediately said: "General, you have worked hard, be careful on the road."

Zhang Liao spoke up: "Liao will leave soldiers here to protect the wife. The passage between Wuyuan and Jinyang has Qubei in charge of logistics." He paused and whispered: "My lord, if the wife is not worried, , you can go back to Beixin City first.”

Lu Lingqi understood the meaning of Yuan Xi's words. It was hard to say whether she was loyal or not. Yuan Xi said this because she was worried about Lu Lingqi's safety and did not want her to take risks.

Lu Lingqi thought for a moment, then raised her head and said, "No, I'm in Wuyuan."

"As my husband's wife, I cannot leave at this time. You can just bring a message to my husband on my behalf so that he can fight with peace of mind."

"No matter what happens, Bingzhou will definitely belong to my husband."

Zhang Liao's heart moved, and he immediately realized that Yuan Xi was going to take action on New Year's Eve. The timing was really unexpected!
Because the Southern Huns also celebrate the Spring Festival.

"This is not only a test for me, but also a test for Qubei. If he is smart, he will never lead the tribe to a place of eternal destruction."

Regardless of the busy schedule, he came directly to see Yuan Xi and saw that all the generals in the room were already discussing matters. Zhao Yuntianyu, Gao Shun, Zhang He, and Zhang Liao, the five top generals under Yuan Xi's command, were all here.

Yuan Xi smiled and said: "No, Wen Yuan came just in time, there are still a few days before the launch."

Lu Lingqi waited for Zhang Liao to go out and said to Mrs. Du, "I can arrange for my sister to go to Beixin City."

This is because when the Southern Xiongnu were born, they claimed that their ancestors were descendants of the Xia clan. That is to say, they believed that they had the same origin as the Han people. This was not only reflected in the writing, but also in various living customs, including the Spring Festival.

Therefore, Yuan Xi also spent a lot of time thinking about how to break Jinyang, the last stronghold of the Southern Huns, because using strong methods can achieve temporary success, but it will also leave consequences. In the end, his method was to break the tension between the two tribes. National conflicts turned into class conflicts.

Lu Lingqi nodded and said: "Don't worry, general, I hope the flag will fly and we will win."

The Han court in the Eastern Han Dynasty was weak, and the Northern Xiongnu outside the Pass were almost annexed by Xianbei, and the language they used became Xianbei. Although the Southern Xiongnu in the Pass were also affected by this, they generally still followed Han customs, especially in Taiyuan County. This is because the earliest birthplace of the Xiongnu was the Hetao Plain, and Taiyuan County, where Jinyang is located, was its core area, and the language they used was almost the same as Chinese.

"Besides, the possibility of betrayal in Qubei is unlikely, otherwise my husband would have forced me to leave. If, by any chance, I have other intentions, it would be an excuse for my husband to completely clean up Bingzhou."

Zhang Liao bowed his hand, left the mansion, took advantage of the night to secretly leave the city with his men, and rushed to Jinyang overnight.

The language of the Xiongnu in the early Han Dynasty was very complex. This was caused by the absorption of a large number of terms from defeated tribes in the process of expansion, but a considerable part of them was pronounced in ancient Chinese.

Lu Lingqi looked at the infant child and hesitated for a moment, then shook her lips and said, "That's it."

Seeing Zhang Liao arriving, Yuan Xi smiled and said: "Wen Yuan is here, now we can start to act."

Madam Du shook her head and said, "Madam, what are you talking about?"

"If you want to take charge of the Lu family in the future, how can you run away from a young age?"

"I will accompany my wife, but this child..."

Zhang Liao cupped his hands and said: "Liao set off immediately after receiving the order. The journey was delayed. I hope my lord will forgive me."

Zhang Liao and his personal guards rushed day and night for five or six days, and finally arrived in Taiyuan. At this time, there were only a few days before the Chinese New Year.

Zhang Liao understood and whispered: "Then please take care, Madam. Liao will leave the most capable bodyguards and swear to the death to ensure Madam's safety."

For the ordinary people of the Southern Xiongnu, although they have had hatred against the Han people for generations, this hatred was mostly caused by the forced attacks by tribal leaders, that is, slave owners. If these tribal leaders did not take the initiative to provoke conflicts with the Han people, The people of the Southern Huns were originally involved in wars and even experienced the pain of having their wives and children separated.

Therefore, privately, most of the tribesmen who were like slaves also hated the tribal chiefs who treated them like cattle and horses. Therefore, Yuan Xi besieged Jinyang for the past six months, slowly encroaching on the surrounding land, and liberating the Southern Xiongnu tribesmen. , is a plan to draw fire from the bottom of the cauldron.

With Zhuge Liang's previous mature experience in Qingzhou, and Yuan Xizhao's operation, all the Southern Xiongnu tribesmen, whether ordinary people or slaves, were liberated. Yuan Xi reorganized their households, registered them, and lived together with the Han people. , adopted the same policy of treatment and support, and the tense confrontation between Hu and Han in the border areas has been alleviated to a considerable extent. Yuan Xi adopted a half-cultivation and half-grazing approach to these Hu-Han border people. After two sowing seasons, although there were still some barriers between the Southern Huns and the Han people, their views on Yuan Xi's army and the Han people had changed.

Especially regarding the siege of Jinyang City, the Southern Xiongnu tribesmen could also see from this that Yuan Xi was better than the Southern Xiongnu chief, so many people expected that after Yuan Xi captured Jinyang City, he would destroy the Xiongnu who once oppressed them. Kill the leader.

Under this situation, the general environment for capturing Jinyang has been formed, and with the series of methods adopted by Yuan Xi, the conflict between the Southern Huns and the Han people in the city has become more and more intense. At this time, all it takes is a suitable opportunity.

Now more than ten days have passed since the last feint attack. The weather is getting colder and colder. The walls of Jinyang City are covered with ice. No one would have thought that Yuan Xi would attack the city at this time, but it was precisely because he did not expect it that he was able to succeed. possibility.

Risks and opportunities coexist. Yuan Xi expressed his views to the generals and finally said: "Only a few of us know about this matter. It must be kept secret until the moment before the attack, and it is not communicated to the entire army."

"I have previously secretly sent a batch of siege equipment and tools. These are the usage drawings. You can take them back and teach them to the first soldiers to use them. They will be issued two hours before the siege."

"Before this, it doesn't matter if you train normally or a little less. Just let the soldiers maintain their condition."

"Now let's discuss the direction of the main attack together."

Yuan Xi spread out the map and called for everyone to gather around. When Zhang Liao went over to look at it, he found that the map was completely different from the marching route maps he had seen before. It even carefully described the ups and downs, tall mountains and flowing rivers, as if It's like standing on a map.

Yuan Xi was quite proud and said: "I call it a three-dimensional map. The height difference is marked on each marching route, so that the marching time can be more accurately estimated."

The generals immediately pointed to the undulating mountains, plains and ravines, and discussed which marching route was the most suitable. They were all knowledgeable soldiers, and they quickly figured out where to gather and how long it would take to reach the city at the same time. Different city gate directions launch an attack route together.

This is very important in siege warfare. Many fortified cities can be defended for several years without losing, and some can fall within a few hours. This completely depends on the response of the defenders at the top of the city. In other words, the highest goal of the siege is How to deploy troops in a short period of time that the city's defenders cannot cope with, so that the defenders' defense will have loopholes and collapse.

As the days passed, while the Youzhou Army was waiting in full swing, the Spring Festival was about to begin in Jinyang City. At this time, heavy snow began to fall over Jinyang City.

In just half a day, more than a foot of snow was piled on the ground inside and outside Jinyang. The ground was covered with white snow, and even the city head and moat were covered with snow.

As a result, the leaders of the Southern Xiongnu tribe headed by King Guli on the left and right sides of the city loved An An even more. In this kind of weather, it was difficult for the soldiers to reach the top of the city, let alone attack the city.

What's more, they have been sending people out of the city to dig out the ice in the moat. Now under the snow-covered river, there are actually broken ice floes. If the Youzhou army dares to cross the river in the snow, they will fall into the river. This If you fall into the water in this kind of weather, you will die. Who dares to take such a risk?

Therefore, the Southern Xiongnu leaders were happy and determined that they could have a peaceful Spring Festival this time. The only thing that made them unhappy was the attitude of the Bingzhou Shang clan.

Since the last incident of digging soldiers out of the city, the relationship between the two parties has become worse and worse. However, most of the family property of the Bingzhou Shang clan has been confiscated by the Southern Xiongnu under various excuses. King Gu Li did not take it seriously at all, so He severely punished the dozens of domestic slaves who took the lead in making trouble under the city and killed them all. For a time, everyone in the city and the state's merchants and residents were in danger, and they became increasingly dissatisfied with the southern Xiongnu.

King Guli of the left and right accepted the worship of the clan leaders. After everyone left, King Guli of the right said: "Although we have survived this year, we still don't know how many months we can last in the coming year."

King Zuo Guli asked: "How long can the food in the city last?"

King Yougu Li said: "It will only take two or three months."

King Zuo Guli thought for a while and said: "While winter is here, kill as many cattle and sheep as possible and store them. The meat won't spoil in winter anyway."

"After the New Year, we will find a way to let the domestic slaves of Bingzhou merchants go out of the city to die, and distribute their family members to various tribes for food storage."

King Yougu Li praised: "What a great idea. In this way, we can support it for another three months."

"At that time, whether it is breaking out of the encirclement or waiting for reinforcements, it will be much easier."

King Zuo Guli smiled and said: "Even if things are not harmonious, I have found a way out. When the time comes, whether it is to go south to Sili, or to the west to Qiangliang, or even to the north to escape from the fortress, I will be able to find a way out."

"But we cannot surrender to the fierce tiger. Judging from this person's consistent behavior, he will not give us people a way to survive. In this case, we will make him pay a heavy price!"

The two looked at each other and laughed.

However, in less than half a day, the content of the private conversation between the two had spread among the small circles within the Bingzhou Shang clan.

Especially King Guli's plan to eradicate the Bingzhou Shang clan finally cut off the last thought of the Bingzhou Shang clan.

(End of this chapter)