Gou writes entries in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 134 Send troops to quell Hu
Three thousand Dawan horses are worthy of only one thousand warriors.

The cost of training these thousand iron pagodas is comparable to tens of thousands of elite infantrymen.

Even before Shen Fu's horses arrived, Zhang Liao was already selecting soldiers for training.

Zhang Liao is proficient in cavalry warfare and has superior force. What is even more rare is that Zhang Liao is also a wise general. Based on the characteristics of Tiefu Tu, he has developed many formation battle methods.

This heavily armored cavalry now urgently needs an actual battle to verify its power.

The Qiang and Hu from the north have invaded Hedong. Liu Xuan came back this time to mobilize troops, so he had no time to deal with other matters.

Half a month later, the food, grass and baggage were all ready, and Liu Xuan officially led the army to the expedition.

In this battle, Liu Xuan sent [-] iron pagodas, [-] elite Tiger Battalion soldiers, and [-] fully armed elite infantrymen to conquer the Qiang and Hu tribes in the north.

Zhang Liao led a thousand iron pagodas as the vanguard, Zhao Yun commanded the Tiger Camp, Liu Xuan and Lu Bu were in charge of the central army, and Jia Xu served as the accompanying military advisor.

There are a total of [-] elites, which is the most powerful combat force Liu Xuan has dispatched since Huaiyin.

The army was assembled in Guangling and set off.

On the day of the expedition, there were crowds of people on both sides of the official road. When the people heard that Liu Xuan personally led the troops to conquer the Qiang and Hu, they were all excited and spontaneously came to the road outside the city to see off the Northern Expedition army.

Liu Xuan looked at the eager eyes of these people and felt a little excited.

This time, under the orders of the imperial court, the crusade against foreigners was a major event that truly brought honor to the country.The foreign tribes from the north have brought trouble to the Central Plains, a phenomenon that has existed since ancient times.

There are also many people in Guangling County who come from the northern border areas and have no choice but to move their families because they cannot bear the harassment from foreigners.

Some of them were refugees whose entire villages and towns had been massacred and who could no longer survive in the local area.

"His Royal Highness the King of Huaiyang must drive these hateful barbarians out of the Central Plains."

"More than sixty of my relatives died at the hands of the barbarians. Please ask the King of Huaiyang to avenge me."

"The King of Huaiyang will win!!!"

Liu Xuan looked at the people's expectant looks and couldn't help but feel excited and waved his hand.
"Bring a pen and paper."

Outside Guangling City, tens of thousands of soldiers on the expedition lined up neatly, surrounded by tens of thousands of people who came to see them off. They all stood in silence at this moment.

Looking at Liu Xuan in the center, he stood still in front of the stage and wrote two lines of official script with a brush.

[However, let the flying generals of Dragon City stay, and don't teach Huma Duyin Mountain]

After Liu Xuan finished writing these two lines, he took out the seal of King Huaiyang and stamped it.

Although the handwriting cannot be said to be excellent, it is just neat and legible.

But the heroic spirit in the words has long made people ignore the quality of the handwriting.

Although Liu Xuan didn't say anything, these two lines of poems were enough to explain everything.

More than 1 people marched towards Luoyang, carrying not much baggage.

The endless rice is enough to supply the army's rations, and there are three thousand Dawan horses accompanying the army. Because the Tiger Battalion soldiers are also proficient in mounted combat, they are also equipped with war horses this time, which is enough to handle the remaining food, grass and baggage transportation.

Fighting against the nomads does not require many offensive equipment, so the army marched very fast this time.

Ten days later, the army had passed Yuzhou and would reach Mengjin Port west of Luoyang in three days.

At this time, Liu Bei's three thousand soldiers and horses had arrived at Mengjin Port first.

Mengjin Port is located south of the river and west of Luoyang.

Hedong County has been invaded by the Qiang and Hu. If the Qiang and Hu want to further invade Luoyang, they must go south from the north bank ferry and capture Mengjin Port before crossing the river.

The garrison of Mengjin Port has less than a thousand people. The fierce fighting for days has caused heavy casualties to the garrison of the port.

Although Qiang and Hu are not good at water fighting, they are very good at archery.

Although several attacks failed to capture Mengjin Port, they killed and injured thousands of defenders.

When Liu Bei's 3000 men arrived, they happened to encounter a new wave of Qiang and Hu attacks.

A thousand Qiang people connected the warships with iron chains and sailed down the river. They rushed to Mengjin Port within a stone's throw, then lowered the anchor rope on the ship and fixed the warship not far from the shore.

Several warships were connected together, which greatly reduced the turbulence of the warships, allowing the Qiang people on board to use their shooting skills with all their strength.

The northern nomads are good at riding and shooting, and their warships are parked outside the shooting range of the defenders at Mengjin Port. However, the Qiang people have amazing bow and arrow arm strength, and the bow they use is also a two-stone bow, which can shoot arrows farther.

Arrows kept coming from the river, so heavy that the soldiers guarding Mengjin Port did not dare to show their heads.

"Ah hoo hoo~" The Qiang people on the boat were very excited. The defenders did not dare to show their heads. They could use their shooting skills at will.

Several Qiang people stood arrogantly on the bow of the boat, aimed at the gap in the water village at the port, and shot the arrows in their hands together.

"Puff", several screams of soldiers came from the water village, which made these Qiang people very proud.

They are the sharpshooters among the Qiang people, and the chain of warships on the river at this moment is their best stage.

However, at this moment, several warships quietly launched into the water a few hundred meters upstream of Mengjin Port.

On the boat, Guan Yu was holding the Qinglong Yanyue Sword, and Zhang Fei was carrying the Zhangba Snake Spear. They both looked at the Qiang people in the distance with disdain.

This is also Liu Bei's first battle after being recognized as the emperor's uncle by the emperor, and he must show his momentum.

Therefore, when the army arrived at Mengjin Port, he learned that the Qiang and Hu had already provoked the Qiang and Hu on the river. Liu Bei made a prompt decision and ordered Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to lead 2000 men into the water to fight against the Qiang and Hu.

Liu Bei's warships were launched upstream. Most of the officers and men in the army were elites from Jingzhou. How could they compare to the Qiang and Hu in water warfare capabilities?
The warship went down the river, rushing towards the chain of warships downstream as if flying.

The Qiang people on the warship saw the warship rushing down from upstream and subconsciously wanted to avoid it. However, although the chain warship was stable, its flexibility was greatly reduced.

Seeing several warships ramming directly into their chain warship.

Amidst the loud noise, the chain warship also shook violently.

The Qiang Hu, who was not used to water warfare, was suddenly thrown around and could only watch helplessly as the soldiers on the warships jumped vigorously onto the chain warships.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei each led their elite troops and surrounded them on the left and right sides, killing everyone they saw. No one could stop them.

The Qiang and Hu are nomadic people, and a large part of their combat power comes from the blessing of war horses and bows and arrows.

At present, Liu Bei's army rushed onto the chain warship. They did not have the advantage of war horses, and they could not use bows and arrows in close combat. As soon as they met, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei killed dozens of them.

With two thousand against one thousand, and fierce generals like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei leading the charge, the battle above the river soon became without any suspense.

When the Qiang Hu was beating grass in the valley, he looked like a devil against ordinary people, but when faced with the real elite men, he was as weak as a chicken.

A thousand Qiang and Hu had nowhere to escape, and most of them were killed by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. The remaining Qiang and Hu weapons surrendered. However, Guang Zhang had already received instructions from Liu Bei.

In this battle, we must maximize the results.

The remaining several hundred soldiers were all killed.

A thousand Qiang and Hu were all annihilated. The news spread to Xudu, and the government and the public were shocked.

Uncle Liu's bravery was unrivaled in the royal family.You know, in the past, when dealing with the Qiang Hu and Xianbei in Dacaogu, Cao Cao mostly focused on defense. The Hu people were good at riding and shooting, and they came and went like the wind. If he wanted to completely wipe out a Qiang army, he would have to mobilize several times the number of cavalry as the Qiang people. .

This is not worth the gain for any force at the moment.

Even Cao Cao was reluctant to use so many cavalry to pursue the Qiang and Hu.

As long as the various counties and fortresses are defended, these barbarians who are harvesting grass and valleys will naturally retreat after grabbing things. Therefore, Liu Bei's record of annihilating a thousand Qiang and barbarians at once is considered extremely glorious in recent decades.

Liu Bei was lucky. As soon as he arrived, he was attacked by the Qiang and Hu across the river. He attacked with superior force and the Qiang and Hu were destroyed without any suspense.

This battle earned enough face for the declining Han Dynasty. The emperor was so happy that he directly sent an imperial envoy to Mengjin Port to reward Liu Bei and commend the entire army.

After Liu Bei received the award, he did not immediately cross the river and go north. Instead, he camped on the spot to guard Mengjin Port, euphemistically saying that he would defend the last dangerous place in Luoyang to the death.

The memorial was delivered to the imperial city, and Cao Cao explained Liu Bei's strategy in a tacit understanding. The emperor and the ministers felt that Liu Bei's approach was reasonable.

Anyway, Liu Xuan's [-] troops have arrived at Mengjin Port, Liu Bei has won a battle, and the next task of attacking north should be Liu Xuan's turn.

For a time, Liu Xuan's movements became the focus.

When Liu Xuan's army arrived at Mengjin Port, the Qiang and Hu on the other side had already retreated.

Knowing that the Han Dynasty had increased its troops and had lost a thousand soldiers in the battle across the river, the Qiang and Hu people consciously gave up going south, and instead accelerated their looting in Hedong County, preparing to plunder and then withdraw.

Liu Xuan's army successfully crossed the river and entered Hedong County.

What you see is a piece of ruins and devastation.

Because of the failure of the river, the Qiang and Hu people vented their anger on the people east of the river, and their plundering was even more ruthless than before.

Not only were the people's food and livestock robbed, all the men were killed, and the women were turned into slaves and driven back north. Even the remaining houses were burned down.

Lu Bu, Zhang Liao and others looked at the tragic scene in front of them. Although they were filled with murderous intent, they did not immediately pursue the Qiang and Hu in all directions, but continued northward without stopping.

With more than 1 fully armored troops, the Qiang and Hu people naturally did not dare to come forward to provoke them.So after walking for three or four days in a row, Liu Xuan's troops did not encounter a single battle.

At this time, Xu Du was already talking about it.

"More than 1 people have entered Hedong for four days, and there is not a single battle report. What on earth did King Huaiyang go to Hedong?"

"What for? Isn't it obvious? Of course it's just to deal with His Majesty."

"When His Majesty gave Liu Xuan the only knighthood, I felt it was inappropriate. At such a young age, there is no way Uncle Liu is as calm as he is."

"Haha, but if the flying generals of Dragon City are here and don't teach Huma to cross the Yin Mountains, the poem is a good poem. It's a pity that not everyone can imitate the flying generals."

"If King Huaiyang fails to make any achievements this time, I will take the lead in impeaching him and requesting your Majesty to strip him of his title."

Hedong is not far from Xu, and it only takes two or three days for a quick horse to send a message.

Liu Xuan had been crossing the river for four days, but no good news had been received, which disappointed the ministers in Xudu.

Especially with Liu Bei Zhuyu in front, Liu Xuan's inaction is even more glaring.

For a time, rumors about Liu Xuan spread.

Some said that he was bluffing in order to keep his title, while others said that he was no match for the Qiang and Hu and did not dare to attack.

But Liu Xuan didn't care about all this.

The tragic situation in Hedong along the way has made Liu Xuan forget these false reputations. The only thing he wants to do now is to let these Qiang and Hu who invaded the Han Dynasty get their due retribution.

On the fifth day of the army's march, the scouts from the front finally came to report that their troops had passed Shouyang Mountain, and in front of them was Fenglingdu, the only ferry crossing from the river to the Qiang and Hu territories in Hexi.

Liu Xuan spread the map on the ground and said to the generals,
"For five days after entering Hedong, our army worked non-stop day and night. Finally, before the Qiang and Hu retreated, we blocked the only channel for the Qiang and Hu from east of Hedong to retreat to the west of Hexi, Fenglingdu."

"From now on, all the tribes will act according to the plan and kill the Qiang and Hu who invade Hedong without mercy."

"Yes!!!"

The generals walked all the way, and according to Liu Xuan's wishes, they did not make any stops. Even if they saw small groups of barbarians attacking and killing people along the way, they just drove them away without pursuing them with a large army.

The purpose is to block the retreat before they retreat.

Now you can finally let go and have a killing spree.

The miserable conditions of the Han people seen along the way had already aroused the anger in the hearts of all the soldiers.

Just as Liu Xuan was setting up camp at Fenglingdu, a Qiang and Hu troop of several thousand people was marching toward Fenglingdu in a mighty manner near Shouyang Mountain in the east.

Thousands of Qiang and Hu cavalrymen, driving two to three thousand women and children, as well as a large number of livestock, were preparing to cross the river westward and return to Qiang and Hu territory.

These thousands of people are the stronger tribe among the Qiang and Hu. The livestock and food looted this time are enough for their tribe to eat for several months. As long as they can thresh grass and grain one more time before winter, they will not have to worry about it all winter.

And these thousands of women and children will also become reproductive tools and slave labor for tribal men.

"Report, Han army found at Fengling Ferry."

Suddenly, the Qiang and Hu scouts from the front rushed over and said to the tribal leader.

The tribal leader was frightened. This was not a good sign. A few days ago, another tribe crossed the river south and was attacked by the Han army. A thousand warriors were wiped out.

This shows that the soldiers of the Han Dynasty have begun to launch a counterattack. If the opponent has already arrived at Fenglingdu, then the Liangzhou Army close to Hexi may have joined the attack on the Qiang and Hu.

"How many people are there in the Han army? Can you see the flag clearly?"

The scout replied: "There are about 1000 cavalry and 5000 infantry. The flag says Liu."

"The surname is Liu?" The tribe leader frowned and thought for a while, "They shouldn't be from Liangzhou. What are you afraid of? It's just a thousand cavalry."

After that, he ordered his subordinates: "Leave 2000 people to guard the loot. The rest of the people, charge with me and kill the cavalry. The remaining infantry will practice archery for the warriors, hahahaha."

"Yahuhuhu~" the soldiers under his command howled, waving the scimitars in their hands.

About 5000 cavalry followed the leader and charged towards Fenglingdu.

More than 5000 cavalry are considered an extremely powerful force even among the entire Qiang and Hu. Therefore, the combination of [-] Han cavalry and [-] infantry is no match in their eyes.

As the leader said, after killing these one thousand cavalry, the remaining five thousand infantry are just targets for arrows.

The Qiang and Hu cavalry army rushed to the vicinity of Fenglingdu without any formation.

The Han army in the distance is clearly visible.

Although there were a thousand cavalry later, the equipment of this cavalry team made the Qiang and Hu leaders salivate.

From knights to war horses, they are all armed to the teeth with iron armor.

The cavalry leader felt sour in his heart and spat out disdainfully:
"Wearing such heavy armor in front of our Qiang cavalry warriors, isn't this just to kill someone?"

"Warriors, use your skills to take down this thousand iron lumps for me."

(End of this chapter)