Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 298
Yuanfeng eight years, March, early spring.

Beidi Border Pass, under Xiongguan Pass in Beidi.

The snowy winter on the grassland has passed. Although the weather is still a bit cold, the green that can be seen everywhere makes the grassland full of vitality. Of course, there are more shoals with some water on the grassland.

rumbling,
The water splashed on the shoal, the dull sound of horseshoes sounded, and a black wave appeared on the skyline of the grassland.

moment!

It was as if the entire land was covered by sea water.

"drive!"

"drive."

It turned out that a large number of cavalry from the Donghu people on the grassland gradually approached the border of Dawu.

And the leader, of course, is Qie Tihou, Youxian King of Donghu, who personally led the army to station [-] miles outside Jinbei Pass. Then, looking at the Xiongguan in front of him, he ordered,
"Big household, order! You can start."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

In the former army, a mighty and ferocious man agreed, and then Da Danghu led [-] elite cavalry from the former army headquarters to form a supervising team, and shouted at the leaders of the ten tribes in front;
"Your Majesty has ordered that all the ministries attack one by one without interruption, and those who dare to retreat privately will be beheaded."

"Eternal life is in the sky, I will obey the order of the king."

The leaders of all the tribes knelt on the ground and bowed deeply, and then returned to the teams of the tribes with the leaders around them.

With the beating of drums in the formation, the infantry of the Donghu tribes began to attack. When they came, many simple siege equipment had already been built and brought them together.

"Come on!"

"Kill in!"

"Follow up. Your Majesty has an order. Those who retreat will be killed. Those who climb the city wall first will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold. They will be named commanders and slaves."

Under the heavy reward, there must be a brave man, and the Donghu people rushed forward as if they were crazy.

At the northern Shanxi Pass, Hou Xiaolian, the leader of the frontier army, was also wearing armor, and looked solemnly at the Donghu people who charged outside the pass, and there were so many more people.

Before he could think about it, he exclaimed,
"Listen to the order, all the ministries will defend the city one by one, and fight to the death!"

"It's the general, fight to the death!"

city ​​gate closed
The desolate horn sounded, and the soldiers defending the city performed their duties and prepared to face the enemy.

"The crossbowman is ready, one hundred steps ahead, let go!"

"The shooter is ready, let it go!"

A rain of arrows and spears quickly covered the area under the city, directly shooting and killing the Donghu soldiers who were charging, especially the spears, which directly nailed people to the ground, and screams came over.

"what."

"Uh."

In an instant, a large area of ​​the city was emptied, but the Donghu people erected a large shield, and with the protection of the large shield, they rushed up frantically, not fearing life or death.

"The archer moves forward to prepare, above the target city wall, covers the projectile, prepares, releases."

Immediately afterwards, Donghu's archer soldiers began to fight back, and in an instant, the soldiers guarding the city wall were shot, and the screams were endless.

"Raise the shield, and the crossbowmen continue to release arrows."

A row of large shields was also erected on the city wall, and the captain shouted with all his might. Soldiers on both sides fired at each other tragically, causing heavy casualties.

The Donghu infantry who rushed up were rushing towards the chariots and ladders, and they all leaned over desperately.

Looking at the erected ladder, Hou Xiaolian frowned, the Donghu people's attack was too fast, so many people died and they didn't know how to stop.

"Ready for melee,"

Following the shouts of the guards from all ministries, in a short while, the northern Shanxi frontier army guarding the city drew out their long knives and took out their spears to prepare. The Donghu soldiers were crowded under the city. Under the supervision of the centurion, they began to climb up continuously. , Ant attack.

Shortly after,

"Kill it."

"Fight with you, ah."

In a short time, the brutal fight between the two sides reached a fever pitch, but no one took a step back.

Seeing that the first group of people were almost dead, Da Panghu waved his hand again, and the second wave of people rushed up like waves without gaps.

Looking at the corpses below the city, as well as the tribal warriors who kept dying, only the heads of the various tribes behind them were bloody, with resentment in their eyes.

The big household also didn’t look at it, and it’s useless if you don’t want to be reconciled. Here, King Youxian and Tihou are heaven, and continued to say to the commander beside him,

"Order, the third tribe is ready to go up at any time, and anyone who lags behind by a hundred steps will be killed."

"Yes, big pawnbroker."

The commander of the king's tent behind him responded loudly, and immediately led the cavalry from the headquarters to supervise the battle.

As long as someone falters and retreats, the commander will not talk nonsense. The cavalry he belongs to directly rushes over, raises the knife and falls, and a head flies up.

When the Donghu people saw the reinforcements, they even risked their lives and rushed forward.

"Report, general, the soldiers guarding the city have changed three waves, but the enemy army has not decreased, and there are still a large number of enemy troops gathering behind, general, what should we do?"

Hou Xiaolian, the general of the northern Shanxi army, also had a gloomy face, why did this year come so fast, and asked if Hou is crazy?
"Gather the surrounding frontier troops to push up and support them. Liu Fang's army and the northern army will be here soon."

Just as he was talking, another messenger arrived,

"Report, General, it's not good, and Tihou's tent is only 15 miles away from the city. It seems that their reinforcements have arrived, and about [-] people have come."

"what!"

Hou Xiaolian shouted a little voicelessly, isn't there almost 30 people outside the pass?

Immediately took out a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and wrote an urgent letter for help.

"Hurry up, ask Yunzhong County for help, and Anshui, Hedong, Zhongshan three counties let their infantry come over quickly, and send letters to the flying pigeons in the capital, red urgent mail, Jinbei Pass and Tihou's nearly 30 troops stormed for days The Chengguan, the northern Shanxi frontier army will stick to this pass and will never retreat. Please make a quick decision, Your Majesty."

"Yes. General."

The messenger took a few urgent letters and immediately put them away in his arms, then went down from the city tower, flew on his horse, and took a few people to deliver the letters.

But Hou Xiaolian brought his personal guards to the top of the city tower and looked down. He saw that there were enemy troops in the dark, and they kept coming. The fragile embankment may be washed away at any time.

"It's brewed, why are there so many, when will Liu Fang's reinforcements arrive?"

Hou Xiaolian's scalp felt numb when he saw it, the siege in the early spring felt a little different this time, and his face turned pale when he looked at the Wang Tent in Qidihou's camp in the distance.

"Go back to the general, it will take about an hour to arrive."

"Well, we are sending out five messengers for help immediately to dispatch troops to the nearby prefectures and counties."

"Yes, General."

The messenger also answered loudly, not daring to delay receiving the order and leaving.

Looking at the fighting on the city wall, Hou Xiaolian was full of worry, he had been guarding for a whole morning, and many soldiers were exhausted, so he said anxiously;

"Vice General Zhao, prepare the assembled brothers to go up, and prepare to replace them up."

"Yes, General."

With the gradual adjustment of Hou Xiaolian's military strength, Jinbei Pass was temporarily defended, and the Donghu people also retreated for the time being.

The king's tent of Donghu people,
And Tihou drank good wine and watched orchids dancing in the big tent, which was very leisurely.

Surrounded by the confidants of King Youxian, they sat down and watched these dancers intently. These girls were all kidnapped from Dawu. Their figures and skins are beyond words.

The confidant general Zuo Commander Lan's division sitting on the left said;
"Your Majesty, is it really the siege this time, or is it the same as before, and leave after the fight?"

Chia Tihou drank kumiss and ate a mouthful of roasted mutton, and said unhurriedly;

"Don't be impatient, Master Lan, look at this mutton, it will become mushy when roasted over a high fire, and it won't taste good in the end if the fire is low, you have to roast it slowly on a slow fire, and finally the juice will be collected under a high fire. It's just the beginning, those tribes There are too many warriors who dare to fight, let's fight first."

Master Lan also understood what the king meant, and it was understandable to consume the strength of his tribe. The southern grassland was originally the pasture of King Youxian, and everything belonged to the king.

"Your Majesty is wise, Master Lan admires it, but Dawang, if they attack by any chance, then what?"

Lan's division saw today's siege. Although the Dawu frontier army was elite, there was a huge gap in numbers. Donghu's warriors were also brave and fearless. They rushed to the top of the city several times. Now, how can you consume the strength of the tribes under you? Those leaders don't look so docile, it's not easy to deal with each other with heavy thoughts.

Hearing this, Qi Tihou put down the mutton in his hand, wiped his hands, and said;

"Then go in, and then leave the troops and horses of the headquarters to guard this pass, and let those tribes go to Dawu to plunder them before withdrawing. Besides, this king also wants to see their emperor's reaction. Now that the eastward expansion has reached the limit, their outside the pass That so-called Luo Yunhou can be regarded as a man, and the cavalry under him are comparable to the elite of the king's account, so Zhongyuan said that persimmons should be picked softly."

Master Lan heard what the king said, and thought of his neighbors in the east. In the early years, the Donghu people returned from the battle of Pingyun City. Those people were not obedient citizens in the pass.

"What your majesty said is that the Central Plains people are weak and can be bullied, and they fight among themselves the most. The opportunity lies with us. As for their Luo Yunhou, it is not a big problem. As far as the general knows, they form their own system outside the customs, which is similar to the living habits of our grassland people. , It’s very different from the people in the pass, it doesn’t feel like a Dawu person, but like us Donghu people, maybe we can win them over.”

"Master Lan's words are true. Your Majesty's final general also agrees. If it's not possible, your Majesty, we can join them directly to enter the pass and share the world. Let's enjoy the colorful world instead, isn't it right, everyone?"

"a ha ha ha."

"Extremely,"

As the other generals echoed, all the generals in the tent burst into laughter.

Chi Tihou also chuckled, patted the table, and said,
"Master Lan, please sit down and enjoy the delicious wine and food. Don't worry. In the afternoon, the big pawn will be replaced. You will take turns to supervise the battle. Watch carefully how the Dawu frontier army is doing, so that you know what's going on. As for the Marquis of Luoyun, We are beyond our reach at the moment, there is a letter from the royal court in the north, the Yuezhi people have reached the border of our Donghu people, and the Yuezhi queen has become more and more unruly in recent years, and dare to come to trouble the royal court."

The generals in the king's tent were also filled with righteous indignation when they heard the king mentioned the Yuezhi people. They didn't realize that the gradual expansion of the Yuezhi people now also aroused the vigilance of the Donghu people. Zuoxian Wang Yizhi Huxie led the army to teach Yuezhi a long time ago. The people of the clan never thought of retiring for two years and then making a comeback. If it weren't for the Xianbei people in the west, they would have cleaned up that girl long ago.

"Your Majesty, we should be more careful, because we are afraid that the Yuezhi people and the Xianbei people will collude, and we will be in trouble."

Qi Tihou waved his hand and said;

"Wang Ting has long thought about it. Although the countries in the Western Regions are small, they can't stand much. The Xianbei people are now focusing their energy on the Western Regions. I heard that some kind of holy fire or something came from the West. They colluded with the countries in the Western Regions and put It is also a joke that Xianbei Wang Tingxi Shanyu Tanshi is getting ashamed."

"That's true, but the Xianbei people obviously can't lose the countries of the Western Regions, otherwise it will be our Donghu people's opportunity."

Master Lan also nodded in praise.

"Okay, let's all go back and rest for a while, and continue in the afternoon."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Dawu Jiangnan Jinling,

After Zhang Jinyu escorted Mrs. Wang back to the building boat, she went to the big tent of the guard camp, and gave orders when she was done;

"Wei Yong, it's been a hard journey to bring people in."

"Yes, Lord Hou, that old boy was able to keep up."

Wei Yong kept staring at Su Jinkai at the back of the motorcade, but he didn't expect this person to stumble and catch up.

When you go out, you bring people here;
"President Su, Lord Hou is here to invite you."

Su Jinkai wiped his sweat with his sleeve, and thanked Wei Yong;

"Thank you General, just a little meaning,"

After speaking, Wei Yong handed over a thousand taels of silver bill, Wei Yong smiled and refused;
"Put it away and go in."

"Yes Yes."

Su Jinkai hurriedly took it back, and followed Wei Yong into the big tent. As soon as he entered, he saw Lord Hou sitting on the main seat, and immediately bowed down, knelt down, and shouted;
"Master Hou, save Xiaomin's life."

(End of this chapter)