My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 252: The Hero's Descendant?

In Nanchi, the Xiongnu Chanyu formulated a set strategy: the Right Wise King Yizhixie would lead 80,000 cavalry from the various tribes in the south of the Mu, plus the Right Wise King's own 30,000 cavalry, totaling more than 70,000 cavalry, to invade the two counties of Beidi and Longyou!
As for the Shanyu Ting headquarters under the control of Junchen, and the various tribes in Mubei who followed Shanyu Ting from Mubei to Munan to spend the winter, they temporarily stayed in Nanchi and were ready to go.

——It is said that they are ready to go, but in fact they are just waiting and watching, waiting for the right opportunity to act according to the progress of the war.

If Yizhixie succeeded in attacking Beidi and Longyou, or even pushed the battle line to the northern gate of Guanzhong: Xiaoguan, then Junchen would naturally order Yizhixie to lead his troops to attack Xiaoguan, while he himself would plunder Beidi and Longyou counties.
If the war goes unfavorably, the military officials will be happy to see Yizhixie suffer heavy casualties, and then punish Yizhixie and the other tribes in the south of the Munian River, or even increase the amount of cattle, sheep and livestock that the tribes in the south of the Munian River will hand over to the Chanyu's court next year, and no one will find fault with it.

In short, no matter what, Junchen will definitely make a profit.

Yizhixie understood Junchen's intention, and simply set a strategic goal for this battle: to penetrate deep into the heartland of the Han people, in order to spread the name of "Right Wise King Yizhixie" for his bravery throughout the grasslands, and lay a solid foundation for his reputation in the future.

While Yizhixie led his troops to leave Nanchi and march towards Chaonasai, the northwest gate of Beidi County, Cheng Bushi, the governor of Beidi County, had also led a large army and officially stationed in Chaonasai.

Although the army had already entered Chaonasai, there was still an endless stream of northern men who came to join the army voluntarily.

If it was an ordinary person, Cheng Buzhi would not have to be distracted - he would just leave the reorganization to his generals and concentrate on building the defense line;

But on this day, a group of people came from outside the Great Wall.

There were about seventeen or eighteen people, each with two horses, and equipped with bows and armor!

The young man in the lead looked to be in his early twenties, but he was big and strong, and he carried a ten-stone heavy crossbow on his back: the Dahuang Crossbow!
Now the Han Dynasty prohibits armor but not swords, prohibits crossbows but not bows;

This team of soldiers was fully armed, and the young man in the lead came to join the army in broad daylight, carrying a powerful weapon, a large yellow crossbow, which showed that he was obviously from an important background.

I thought he was the nephew of a duke or a marquis, or the son of a general.

After learning about the man's background, even though Cheng Buzhi was a high-ranking official, he immediately came to the recruitment office outside the barracks...

"But is it Sun Mao, the former commander of Beidi, the son of Lord Sun, or Sun Pijiang, the former commander of Yiqu, who is here in person?"

From afar, he saw a team of obviously impressive soldiers outside the barracks. Cheng Bushi arrived before he did, and from a distance of several dozen steps, he had already raised his hands in respect.

Then the young man who was leading the team turned around following the sound. When he saw the highly distinctive scarlet armband on Cheng Bushi's sleeve, which was exclusive to generals of the rank of captain, the young man was immediately horrified!

He hurried forward and before Cheng Buzhi could react, he had already knelt on one knee with his hands clasped.

"Former Yiqu Commander Sun Pijiang, meeting General Chengguo!"

···
"The general is famous all over the world. I am just a humble boy, why should the general come in person..."

Seeing Sun Pijiang looking flattered, his eyes were covered with a layer of mist in the blink of an eye, and Cheng Buzhi couldn't help feeling sad.

With slightly red eyes, he forcibly pulled Sun Pijiang up from the ground, and looked him up and down with a sigh;
He nodded again with admiration and patted Sun Pijiang on the shoulder.

"General Sun, the former commander of the Northern Land Commandery, was not afraid at all when faced with the Xiongnu's 140,000 elite cavalrymen approaching the border. He led 5,000 warriors of the Northern Land Commandery and died in battle at Chaona Pass!"

"I have heard for a long time that General Sun's orphan was already seven feet tall at the age of fourteen. He was a lieutenant of Yiqu, with the strength to kill tigers and wolves with his bare hands, and the courage to defeat ten thousand men!"

"He was promoted to the rank of Yiqu Captain, leading a thousand northern knights. He is truly a son of a military family!"

"After seeing you today, not only do you not think the rumors are exaggerated at all, but you even think that the rumors belittle Captain Sun a little bit?"

Cheng Buzhi praised Sun Pijiang generously. His eyes, which usually showed no fluctuations, were now fixed on the back of Sun Pijiang - the giant crossbow whose appearance alone was enough to make people tremble with fear.

Big yellow crossbow!
Nowadays, apart from the bed crossbow, the Han family has an ultra-long-range, ultra-destructive weapon with the greatest power, the longest range, and the highest threshold for shooters!
As a ten-stone heavy crossbow, even if it is fully extended, anyone who can load the arrows must be a one-in-a-million-strong man!
The former Zhonglang Li Guang, the current governor of Yanmen County, was the one who astonished Emperor Taizong with his ability to wield the large yellow crossbow.
Especially after Li Guang showed off his unique skill of using only his waist and arm to draw the large yellow crossbow in front of Emperor Taizong, Emperor Taizong exclaimed on the spot: If it were during the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao, a man like Li Guang would have been granted the title of Marquis of Wanhu!!!
Today in the Han Dynasty, the martial spirit is very strong.

In the army, whether it is the low-level soldiers or the high-level officers, they all have a strong admiration for the strong.

The "strong" here can be personal strength, military strategy, or even a powerful background.

But the most intuitive and impressive thing is undoubtedly his outstanding personal fighting skills.

It was just like back then, when Li Guang held a large yellow crossbow in his arms and captured the heart of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen - today, Sun Pijiang easily gained Cheng Buzhi's recognition simply by carrying a large yellow crossbow on his back.

If he was just the son of the former Beidi Commander Sun Mao, even if Cheng Buzhi had admiration for him, he would at most keep Sun Pijiang by his side - arrange him in his own central military tent, and make him responsible for auxiliary work such as being a staff officer.

But with that large yellow crossbow - just a large yellow crossbow carried on Sun Pijiang's back, Cheng Buzhi was already convinced: Even if the political factors were put aside, Sun Pijiang could definitely be a general under his command based on his personal strength!
What's more, Sun Pijiang once served as the commander of a cavalry unit independent of the Beidi Commandery: the Yiqiu Commandery Commandery.

Being able to lead a thousand cavalrymen - especially those arrogant northern knights who have been favored by the court since childhood, Sun Pijiang already possesses at least the talent of a colonel.

And Sun Pijiang is very young.

Given time, this former cavalry captain would become a cavalry commander or even a cavalry general of the Han Dynasty, and Cheng Buzhi would not find it strange at all.

"Captain Sun, you've arrived just in time!"

After exchanging pleasantries with Sun Pijiang and looking at the twenty or so elite cavalrymen that Sun Pijiang brought with him, Cheng Buzhi finally took a deep breath and brought the topic back on track.

"If I remember correctly, when Captain Sun was the Captain of Yiqu, he had 1,000 soldiers under his command, all of them were Yiqu elite cavalry?"

Hearing this, Sun Pijiang had a vague guess and nodded slightly.

"I have been blessed by my late father's influence, and by the kindness of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Xiaojing, and have been honored to be appointed as the Yiqu Commander, leading a thousand knights from the north, all of whom are good Yiqu family members..."

After getting the answer he expected, Cheng Buzhi just nodded solemnly;

After trying to suppress his curiosity, he asked again, "Since you are the Yiqu Commander, why did you resign?"

As he spoke, Cheng Buzhi raised his head symbolically and glanced around.

"I have been guarding the North for three years, but I have never heard of a Yiqu commander in the North?"

Seeing Cheng Buzhi asking about this, Sun Pijiang just lowered his head slightly dejectedly, and then pretended to be strong and forced a smile.

"In the second year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign, I took leave due to my mother's death." "The following year, the seven states of Wu and Chu plotted a rebellion in Guandong, so Emperor Xiaojing transferred the commander of Yiqu in Beidi to serve under the command of Marquis Gonggao."

"——General Zhou ordered a surprise attack on the Huaisikou Pass. Marquis Gonggao attacked in the snow and defeated hundreds of thousands of rebels from Wu and Chu in one fell swoop."

"But few people know that among the three thousand light cavalry under the command of Marquis Gonggao, one thousand of them are Yiqu Captains under the command of a certain Xiri..."

After hearing this, Cheng Buzhi finally understood the whole story.

——In the Han Dynasty today, although there is no saying like in later generations that children should observe three years of mourning when their parents pass away, it is completely normal to take a few months off to take care of the funeral arrangements when their parents pass away.

Sun Pijiang lost his mother, and even though he was a military commander, no one could say there was anything wrong with taking three or two months of bereavement leave.

It was all Sun Pijiang’s bad luck - during his mourning leave, Wu and Chu happened to rise up in rebellion, and the court transferred the Yiqu Duwei under Sun Pijiang to Guandong.

If Sun Pijiang had not asked for leave, he would probably have been promoted to a higher rank, with a general title such as Yiqiu Duwei, and led his troops to Guandong to serve under Han Tuidang.

As a result, Sun Pijiang was on mourning leave, and the entire Yiqiu Commandery, except for the main commander Sun Pijiang, was transferred to Han Tui's camp.

Later, Zhou Yafu devised a brilliant plan to cut off the retreat of the Wu and Chu rebels. Han Tuidang personally led 3,000 light cavalry to launch a surprise attack on the Huaisikou. All those who survived the 3,000 cavalry under his command were probably already dead.

As far as Cheng Buzhi knew: among the 3,000 cavalrymen, even the lowest-ranking "soldier" before the war was awarded the third or fourth level of nobility after the war, and was directly retained in Chang'an by the prince at that time and now the emperor.

Rumor has it that almost all the cavalrymen who participated in that battle were hidden by Emperor Zirong in Shanglin Bowang Garden, saying that they were used as cavalry instructors.

As soon as the horse farm near the border wall produces a batch of war horses, Bowang Park will begin to train a captain unit composed entirely of cavalry;

This cavalry captain will use the cavalrymen who were "hidden" by Liu Rong as instructors. After they are trained, it is very likely that these instructors will be directly appointed as generals.

If the lowest-level "pawns" are like this, then the generals who followed Han Tuidang in the surprise attack on Huaisikou naturally have a bright future.

——In that year alone, hundreds of people were directly appointed lieutenants and became the reserve officers of the Han family!
The rest were also snatched away by various forces.

Some went to the Feihu Army, or the Jimen, Xiliu and other field armies;
Some people became the commander of the personal guards of meritorious nobles. Although their official career was bleak, it was still a smooth path.

Some people also entered the officialdom and served as military positions such as county lieutenant and county lieutenant in Guandong and the Kanto region.

In short: the one thousand northern knights who left Sun Pijiang's hands back then had already been integrated into all aspects of the Han family, but not a single one of them returned to the north and continued to serve as cavalry under Sun Pijiang.

Without the troop organization, Sun Pijiang, a commander without troops and a cavalry captain, naturally had no meaning to exist.

In addition, after a period of time, some people began to gossip that Sun Pijiang was called the Cavalry Captain, but he did not have a single cavalryman under his command, and he received a salary of more than 1,000 dan from the county government for nothing;

Sun Pijiang was the descendant of a hero after all, and he could not bear such humiliation, so he resigned immediately and went home to sulk.

If nothing unexpected happens, Sun Pijiang will most likely stay at home and send out another batch of cavalry to the north, and this batch of cavalry has been recruited by the county governor.

The current situation can be considered a blessing in disguise, as it has accelerated Sun Pijiang's return to the army.

"In that case, I won't beat around the bush."

After learning about Sun Pijiang's experience and being certain that Sun Pijiang was not promoted to the post of Yiqiu Cavalry Captain for personal reasons, especially not because he had made a mistake in principle, Cheng Buzhi finally revealed his true colors.

"For this battle, your majesty has granted me special permission to summon all the soldiers in the north to stop the barbarian army from advancing southwards."

"I never thought that this time, a certain conscription order would attract thousands of knights from the north to come here spontaneously, wanting to join the army and serve the country."

"——Today, there are more than 1,200 northern knights who have brought their own bows and horses;"

"If we add those who are skilled in archery and horse riding but never ride horses, I'm afraid that even two cavalry lieutenants will not be able to accommodate these cavalrymen..."

Cheng Bushi stopped talking at the right time, and Sun Pijiang understood the elegant meaning of the words, so he pretended to be hesitant and nodded slowly.

"There are two cavalry captains. I can command one of them."

"General Cheng may be able to find another good general for the remaining part."

"At worst, you can disperse all these thousand-plus cavalry, scouts and messengers."

Hearing this, Cheng Buzhi couldn't help but twitch his mouth, and his face suddenly became a little embarrassed.

Thousands of cavalrymen, all dispersed into scouts?
What an international joke!
It should be noted that at the moment, Cheng Buzhi has less than 10,000 soldiers in total, including the original 4,000 soldiers from the Beidi Duwei Army and several thousand infantrymen who voluntarily joined the army!

An army of only 10,000 people, with a thousand scouts?
Cheng Buzhi would never do such a stupid thing.

——Thousands of soldiers, even if we ignore their cavalry attributes and organize them all into infantry, they are still a considerable force for Cheng Buzhi now!

The situation was such that they were short of manpower, but they were wasting thousands of soldiers who were already there. Even if Cheng Buzhi was crazy, he would question this plan.

Knowing that Sun Pijiang was waiting for him to speak, Cheng Buzhi hesitated for a moment and then stopped hesitating.
He immediately bowed solemnly and saluted to Sun Pijiang.

"General Sun is a descendant of a heroic hero, and has long been a lieutenant of Yiqu. I have long admired the general's reputation!"

"Now that a great war is imminent, I have only 2,000 cavalrymen but no general to lead them. This is a waste of natural resources."

"——If the Xiongnu came with tens of thousands of troops this time, and if there were no 2,000 cavalrymen wandering outside, they would be able to support Chaona from the front. Even if I were an old minister of Your Majesty's palace, I would not be able to stay in Chaona for long without losing it."

"For now, I would like to ask General Sun to temporarily appoint me as a cavalry captain for the sake of the ancestral temple and the country!"

"Take charge of these two thousand northern goblin cavalrymen, and have them wander around the area of ​​a hundred miles to help me negotiate with the barbarians until the reinforcements arrive."

"I hope General Sun, please don't refuse..."

(End of this chapter)