Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 119 Bluffing
  Zhang Yu was not a roundworm in Huan Xi's belly, so he naturally didn't understand Huan Xi's idea of ​​only wanting people and not land.

He also thought that the other party's desperate move eastward was to seize Luoyang and gain an important political bargaining chip.

When Huan Xi was observing the defense of Luoyang City, he brought out all 5,000 Jin cavalry and 5,000 Xiongnu archers under his command.

Zhang Yu looked at Huan Xi's military formation outside the city, his face pale, and he asked Yang Ai, the counselor beside him:
  "I heard that Huan Xi's men only have 20,000 or 30,000 elite men. Why are there so many cavalry?"

It turns out that the Jin and Hungarian cavalry under Huan Xi were all composed of one man and three horses.

Huan Xi deliberately bluffed, covering his military uniform with grass and trees and fastening it to the horse's back.

Because the distance was too far, it was difficult to see clearly. Just like in the Battle of Feishui, Fu Jian and Fu Rong looked at the Bagong Mountain in the distance from the top of Shouyang City. When they saw the grass and trees moving with the wind, they thought they were all Jin troops and were captured. His face turned pale with fear.

Today, when Zhang Yu saw the black sea behind Huan Xi, he estimated that there were no less than 20,000 to 30,000 horsemen, and the horror in his heart was beyond words.

Yang Ai was also frightened by the cavalry outside the city. He pretended to be calm and estimated:
  "Huan Xi had a fine cavalry before. He defeated the Liang people and obtained a large number of horses. After that, he marched to Hetao and captured the Huns. If his father Huan Wen secretly sent cavalry to enter the pass from Nanyang and obeyed his orders, he could have pieced together this story. size.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yu gritted his teeth and said:

"Huan Thief! Let me allow you to be rampant for a while. I will hold on to the city and hope for reinforcements from King Fu Tian. We will attack him from both inside and outside and see how you can escape!"

Zhang Yu originally planned to stand firm and wait for reinforcements, but Huan Xi's bluff frightened Zhang Yu into hiding. Even though 30,000 soldiers had gathered in Luoyang City, he did not dare to go out to fight.

The messenger asking for help has already gone north, but Luoyang and Jinyang are 800 miles apart. Now is the autumn harvest. Fu Jian still needs time to assemble the army. Naturally, it is impossible to rush to the battlefield overnight.

However, Zhang Yu was confident that he would hold out until Fu Jian came to help.

There are specialties in martial arts. Compared with infantry, cavalry are not good at attacking cities.

However, the city of Luoyang is strong and the garrison is sufficient. As long as Zhang Yu is determined to stay behind closed doors, it will not be easy for Huan Xi to break through Luoyang.

Let’s talk about Huan Xi. After showing off his power outside Luoyang City, he led his cavalry back to the military camp and ordered Deng Xia:

"Today I saw the flags waving on the top of Luoyang City. The defenders on the city wall must have believed it, so there was a commotion. I expected that the enemy troops would be frightened and would not dare to go out to fight.

"Ying Yuan, I will give you five thousand fine cavalry to sweep the surrounding counties for me and move away all the people and animals."

When Deng Xia heard this, he agreed loudly and immediately led five thousand Jin cavalry out of the camp.

Henan County governs twelve counties including Luoyang, Gongxian, Heyin, Chenggao, Fengshi, Xincheng, Yanshi, Liangxian, Xinzheng, Gucheng, Luhun, Yangcheng, Yangzhai, and Xin'an.

Since Zhang Yu planned to stand still and wait for reinforcements, except for leaving some soldiers to guard Xuchang, most of them were gathered in Luoyang City. The remaining counties were empty of defenses, so it was not difficult to seize them.

This is why Huan Xi insisted on giving Zhang Yu a fright.

Zhang Yu huddled in Luoyang, making it clear that he wanted to wait for help. To this end, he even did not hesitate to open the way and lure Huan Xi deeper.

Since Luoyang City cannot be attacked by force, it is natural to detach an army and forcibly relocate the people from the surrounding counties of Luoyang.

Huan Xi was worried that after he divided his troops, Zhang Yu would suddenly lead his army out of Luoyang, so he had no choice but to implement this strategy.

After relocating the people around Luoyang, it is not too late to try to lure the enemy. Even if Zhang Yu really can't hold on, how can he say that he has gained nothing if he can bring back so many people?

After Deng Xia left, Huan Xi only had 10,000 cavalry left, while there were no less than 30,000 defenders in Luoyang City.

It stands to reason that Huan Xi should defend the camp cautiously, but he did the opposite. After Deng Xia left, Huan Xi sent his general Shi Yue to lead the Huns' archers to challenge Luoyang City. He also divided his troops to monitor the surrounding cities. Gate, intercept and kill sentry cavalry.

At the same time, he ordered his infantry to cut down trees and build siege equipment to create a posture of really going to attack Luoyang.

This combination of punches really frightened Zhang Yu.

After all, he had seen with his own eyes tens of thousands of cavalry under Huan Xi at the top of Luoyang City. Shi Yue led the Xiongnu bow cavalry to call for battle under the city, and the Jin army built siege equipment. All these told Zhang Yu that Huan Xi was true. They want to attack Luoyang.

All this information made Zhang Yu misjudge the situation, thinking that Huan Xi had many soldiers around him, otherwise why would he be so arrogant? He really thought that this was his father teaching his son a lesson.

Zhang Yu stood firm in Luoyang. Even if someone tried his best to break out of the siege and went to the city to report that thousands of Jin cavalry were sweeping through the counties around Luoyang and forcibly relocating people, Zhang Yu could only act in a hurry and not dare to leave the city.

In his opinion, although Huan Xi had separated thousands of cavalry, there were still no less than 20,000 cavalry stationed outside the city, and the number of infantry was unknown. He sent troops rashly, fearing that it would be easier to leave the city than to enter the city.

However, a few days later, Zhang Yu still became suspicious. It was unreasonable that the Jin army only built siege equipment but did not launch an attack.

Zhang Yuxin said:

‘I am waiting for Fu Jian’s reinforcements, what are the Huan thieves waiting for? ’

He informed his adviser Yang Ai of his doubts, and Yang Ai thought deeply:

"Could it be that Huan Xi is waiting for his father to go north and besiege Luoyang with him?"

Zhang Yu suddenly realized it. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that what Yang Ai said was reasonable, otherwise there was really no way to explain it.

In fact, Huan Xi was also uneasy. He was afraid that Zhang Yu would notice it, so he sent envoys repeatedly to urge Deng Xia and Yang An. At the same time, Fu Jian, who was far away in Jinyang, finally learned the news of Huan Xi's eastward departure. He was overjoyed when he heard the news and said to the messenger:
  "You go back and tell Governor Zhang to guard the city. I will lead an army of 100,000 people southward, and Huan Xi will be killed!"

Although it was Liu Wuhuan who ordered the execution of Fu Jian, Fu Jian was not a fool, so how could he not know that Huan Xi was the real mastermind behind the scenes.

Fu Jian lost his beloved son and hated Huan Xi to the core.

As for Liu Wuhuan and Liu Yan, they were of course also hated by Fu Jian. Even if Fu Jian was really magnanimous and willing to improve their relationship with them, they had guilty consciences and could not believe that Fu Jian would expose Fu Chang's death.

Now that Fu Jian has learned that Huan Xi has come to the east, not to mention that Zhang Yu is now attached to him, even if he has no relationship with Fu Jian, he still has to help.

However, Fu Jian had already sent his soldiers home during the autumn harvest, and if he wanted to recruit them again, he would not be able to assemble them until he had only a few days to spare.

At the same time, news came from Hedong County that Huan Xi had added 7,000 troops in Puban, and the troops in the southern part of Bingzhou could not move. Fu Jian could only ask the messenger to tell Zhang Yu to hold on to the city and give him time to rescue Luoyang.

Chenggao (now Sishui, Xingyang, Henan), also known as Hulao Pass, is one of the eight passes in Luoyang and the eastern gateway to Luoyang.

The county seat is Guancheng, which is now occupied by Deng Xia.

Whenever Deng Xia visited a place, he would clear out the local livestock and leave an army to guard them, forcing them to follow him. He would then lead an army alone, advance first, and attack the next county.

Now that Chenggao has fallen, of the twelve counties in Henan, only Luoyang remains.

At this time, the number of people held hostage by Deng Xia had reached 20,000. They were forced to leave their hometowns and walked a long way, crying.

An old nobleman with great prestige in Henan County came to Deng Xia and begged:

"General, we have lived here for generations and it is difficult to leave our homeland. Please be considerate and let us go back, General."

However, Deng Xia was not Huan Xi, so how could he take their joys and sorrows seriously.

Besides, Huan Xi was outside Luoyang City and risked using 5,000 infantry and 5,000 horse archers to hold back Zhang Yu. He had no time to reason with them peacefully, so he had to use force to intimidate him.

Deng Xia frowned and said angrily:

"Forty years ago, hundreds of miles around Luoyang were scorched earth. After the city fell, more than 100,000 people were slaughtered by the barbarians.

"You have only been moved here by the Hu people in the past few decades, how can you say you have lived here for generations.

"Now my lord will help you leave Guandong and not be enslaved by the barbarians. After you go to Guanxi, you will also be assigned fields and houses. You will have a good life waiting for you!"

"It's okay for you to be ungrateful, why are you still crying here!

"What! The barbarians moved you here, but you dare not resist. My master wants to take you away, and you are reluctant to leave!
  "Although the barbarians' swords are sharp, my sword is not bad at all!"

Everyone was afraid and did not dare to complain anymore. Under the coercion of five thousand cavalry, they had no choice but to support the old and the young and follow Deng Xia on his westward journey.

The next day, Deng Xia's messenger rode back to the Jin camp and reported the situation to Huan Xi.

Huan Xi was very happy when he heard the news. He had previously moved 8,000 households in Hongnong County and nearly 3,000 households in Xin'an County. Now Deng Xia raided ten counties and captured another 20,000 households for himself. The harvest of this trip has been More than 30,000 households.

When Yang Anzai and Du Yu handed over, he led 5,000 infantry on a rapid march and arrived at the Jin army camp. Huan Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With ten thousand elite infantry at his side, even if Zhang Yu really left the city, Huan Xi could hold on to the camp and wait for Deng Xia to return for reinforcements.

After all, although Luoyang has 30,000 defenders, their combat effectiveness is uneven.

If he hadn't been worried that the Xiongnu cavalry archers would not be of much use on the battlefield without the cover of the Jin army's lances, and that he would be at a cavalry disadvantage, Huan Xi really wouldn't be afraid of fighting Zhang Yu outside the city.

Huan Xi immediately decided to lead his soldiers to pretend to attack the city, which made Zhang Yu dare not send troops to intercept Deng Xia.

In late September of the seventh year of Yonghe (AD 351), after more than half a month of stalemate, the Jin army's infantry formation finally arrived at the gates of Luoyang City. The five thousand Xiongnu archers followed the old method and covered their uniforms with grass and trees to make up the number.

Zhang Yu saw a large infantry formation outside the city, and another 10,000 or 20,000 cavalry holding the formation in the distance. Even though he knew that Deng Xia was moving away the people under his rule, he did not dare to go out of the city to fight, and only counted the time in his heart.

Thinking about it, since I had delayed Huan Xi for so long, Fu Jian's reinforcements should be arriving soon.

Little did he know that Huan Xi was also delaying his time.

After Huan Xi ordered the civilians to fill in the moat on the west side of Luoyang, the attack and defense of Luoyang finally began.

However, since the Jin army did not really want to attack Luoyang, it was just a feint attack.

Therefore, although the Jin army lost a lot of siege equipment, its soldiers did not suffer many casualties.

　Sorry, the update is late. I went for an infusion in the afternoon, so I'm a few minutes late. There's another chapter in the evening, before twelve o'clock.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)