Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 421: Battle in Hedong (Part )

Just as Huan Xi said, at this point, he has no way out. If he retreats now, the prestige he has built up in the army will be gone.

After all, who would respect a general who is afraid of death?

Of course, Huan Xi had no intention of retreating. He said confidently:
"Ziliang believes that fighting with a small number against a large number will lead to danger, but Huan disagrees. In this battle, the advantage is on my side."

Huan Xi was not lying. In fact, he dared to march north with only 70,000 infantry and cavalry because he was sure of victory.

The outcome of a war does not depend on the number of soldiers and generals, but on whether the soldiers have a strong will.

This is exactly what the Yu army lacks.

Over the years, the Yu army suffered too many defeats against the Liang army, which made them develop a habit. Once they saw the situation was not good, they would either flee or surrender.

As for every soldier who fought to the last and welcomed the dawn of victory, it was never considered by the soldiers of the Yu army.

After all, Huan Xi was not Murong Jun, and he had never killed the surrendered soldiers. The Liang Army had always adhered to the policy of treating prisoners well. The Yu Army and the Liang Army had been fighting for many years, and this was almost obvious to everyone.

Therefore, Huan Xi knew that although Fu Jian had a large number of soldiers and generals, the only ones who could truly fight to the death for him were probably the elite Di people.

Once the situation becomes unfavorable, many people will lay down their arms and surrender. They simply do not have the courage and determination to fight to the death.

However, few superiors would really pay attention to the thoughts of the lower-level soldiers, including Fu Jian and Murong Jun.

Fu Jian had devoted himself wholeheartedly to the deployment of troops for the battle. His advantage in military strength enabled him to dare to leave the camp and fight Huan Xi to decide the outcome.

When Murong Jun learned that Huan Xi had divided his troops, he was also overjoyed.

The reason why he and Fu Jian chose to attack Hedong County from two routes was to force Huan Xi to divide his troops.

Murong Jun said to Murong Ke happily:
"Huan Xi only has 70,000 infantry and cavalry, not many elite troops. Fu Jian has 100,000 soldiers under his command, and Yue Wan has 30,000 infantry and cavalry to help him. There is no need to worry about not being able to avenge the previous humiliation."

But Murong Ke was not as optimistic as Murong Jun. He said in a deep voice:
"Whether the advantage in numbers can make up for the gap in morale and ability of the generals remains to be seen. The outcome of this battle is unpredictable."

Murong Jun frowned when he heard this. He felt that his fourth brother was blaming him for detaining Murong Chui.

Seeing his brother's face darken, Murong Ke realized that he had said something wrong and quickly apologized.

Murong Jun then smiled and said:
"Xuan Gong is overthinking. Yue Wan's talent is no less than A Liudun's. With him here, I can rest assured."

Murong Ke said earnestly:
'I hope so.'

Although Yue Wan had a brilliant record of battles, Murong Ke knew clearly that the reason why Ran Min failed was, firstly, that he was besieged by three parties, and secondly, it was Ran Min's own problem. A series of victories made him complacent and careless, so he suffered a defeat in the battle of Xiangguo.

Therefore, Murong Jun believed that Yue Wan's talent was no less than Murong Chui's, but Murong Ke actually did not agree with this. However, he understood Murong Jun's character and further persuading him would only backfire.

Murong Ke forced a smile and said:

"Your Majesty, since Huan Xi is heading north to fight Fu Jian, we should also contribute in Dongyuan County. Only by making Huan Xi feel the danger on the southern front, he will lose his composure and make a big mistake."

Murong Jun nodded when he heard this. He also knew that the outcome of a war could not be determined solely by the number of troops.

In history, there are many cases where the few defeated the many and the weak defeated the strong. Murong Jun immediately summoned all the generals and said:
"Starting today, we will attack Dongyuan County and make sure we take the city within three days!"

Murong Jun did not take the small Dongyuan County seriously. Yang An only had 5,000 elite soldiers, while he had 120,000 infantry and cavalry. How long could he hold on?

In Murong Jun's opinion, three days, just three days, would be enough for him to occupy Dongyuan.

However, the development of things was beyond Murong Jun's expectations.

The Yan army attacked the city again and again, suffering thousands of casualties, but the city stood firm.

On the third day of the siege, Murong Jun's face became increasingly ugly. He sent envoys to persuade Yang An to surrender and promised him a high position and generous salary.

The envoy successfully entered Dongyuan City. He appealed to Yang An's emotions and reasoned with him:
"Qiuchi was established for nearly fifty years, but was destroyed by Huan Xi. I heard that you are the grandson of Qiuchi. You have national hatred and family grudges, so why would you work for the Huan family? Your Majesty values ​​your talents. As long as you obey the will of heaven, when your Majesty enters Guanxi, you will restore Qiuchi. Isn't that wonderful!"

Yang An listened to his long speech patiently, and then said:
"I allowed you to enter the city today because I thought Murong Jun wanted to stop the war and make peace. I didn't expect to hear such dirty words. It's really unbearable to hear.

"You were ordered to come here to sow discord between me and Lord Liang, but did you know that if it weren't for Lord Liang, the lives of Yang's entire family would have been in danger during the civil strife in Qiuchi.

"Mr. Liang sent troops to kill my enemies for me and protect the three generations of the Yang family. I will never forget this kindness.

"Although An is a Di Qiang, he knows loyalty, righteousness, integrity and shame. How could he betray his master?

"Go back and tell Murong Jun that we would rather die in battle at Dongyuan than follow the example of the Duan tribe and become the wronged souls who died in vain!"

Although Qiuchi State did fall to Huan Xi, it was Huan Xi who quelled the rebellion for them. Otherwise, even if Qiuchi State still existed, its ruler would be Yang Jun, who started the rebellion, and would have no relationship with Yang An's family.

What's more, Huan Xi was very kind to Yang Chu, Yang Guo and Yang An, three generations of his family. Yang Chu had previously lived out his life in Chang'an, but now he has passed away, while Yang Guo and Yang An, father and son, were both highly valued by Huan Xi.

Given the strength of the Huan family, Yang An had no reason to betray them.

When the envoy heard that Yang An asked him to go back and pass on the message, he couldn't help but feel relieved. Nowadays, being an envoy to the enemy camp is a high-risk job. If you are not careful, you may lose your head.

When the envoy asked to leave, Yang An said with a smile:

"The person who brings the message doesn't have to be alive!"

After saying this, he ordered his personal soldiers to kill the messenger in astonishment. In an instant, a shining blade came towards the messenger, and the messenger could not dodge in time. He saw a cut on his chest that went all the way to his abdomen. Blood splattered, and even his intestines flowed out.

The screams of fear gradually became weaker until the messenger was completely dead.

Yang An wrote a reply letter to Murong Jun on the spot, tied it to the messenger, and carried the body out of the city on an old horse.

Although it is said that envoys should not be killed when two armies are fighting, Yang An must kill the envoy of Yan State. This is to show his loyalty to Huan Xi and to show the soldiers in the city his determination to hold on to the end.

The body of the Yan envoy was found by scouts outside the city and brought back to the front.

Murong Jun was naturally furious, but when he saw in the letter that Yang An mentioned that he had killed the surrendered soldiers, Murong Jun finally understood why the resistance in the city was so fierce.

(End of this chapter)