Chapter 199: Full Force Reinforcement
There has been little snow in the Xiying camp of Mount Li since the beginning of winter.

Every morning, frost dyed the forest and smoke filled the military camp.

Where would Yan Xing get the conditions to wash up after waking up?
First, he made a bowl of thinly boiled bean soup, then sat in front of the fireplace to warm himself by the fire and wake himself up.

Thirty people lived in the mud house built with boards, sleeping on large double-decker bunk beds.

The living conditions are very crowded. The earthen house does not cover a large area, only about four meters by seven meters, with a pillar in the middle.

There were no windows, only a door facing the fireplace.

Opposite the fireplace is the fireplace of another row of barracks, and the two fireplaces share a flue.

The stone fireplace has smooth smoke exhaust, and there are people on duty at night to ensure that the temperature in the mud house is not freezing.

Outside the door was another barracks, with the doors of the two barracks facing each other, leaving an aisle only ten feet wide.

Because of the cold weather, the aisle has been covered with branches and straw, and a layer of soil has been pressed down.

As a result, the light in the barracks was dim and could only be provided by the fireplace.

In order to speed up construction, the camps are arranged in rows like this.

Thick corn porridge was cooking in a black pottery pot in the fireplace. Yan Xing was a little uncomfortable at first, but now he has a good appetite.

While I was thinking, I vaguely heard the sound of horse hooves, and soon the sound of gongs.

Some of the prisoners waiting for breakfast in the barracks continued to lie down, while others sat on the edge of the first bunk bed waiting.

They all had greasy hair and messy beards. When they heard the gong, the three elected leaders of ten men in the barracks immediately went out.

The light in the corridor outside the door was even dimmer. Yan Xing walked out of the corridor among the crowd, holding a black pottery bowl with a chip on it.

Then he saw a military officer wearing double-legged armor and white feathers on his head standing on the wooden platform. The military officer roughly counted the number of people and saw that more than 200 ten-man captains of the camp had arrived one after another. He turned his head to glance at the military officer in charge of the place.

The officer immediately struck the gong: "Silence!"

Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Bai Yu, a military officer, raised the official document in his hand and looked around: "The Zhengbei Shogunate has issued an order. Those who are willing to wear armor and fight against the Xiongnu should sign up immediately! Only two out of three will be selected! If you kill one Xiongnu, you will have your sentence reduced by three years! If you kill two, you will be released! If you kill three, you will be rewarded with a horse and allowed to return home! If you kill five, you will be allowed to redeem one!"

The officer looked down at Yan Xing in the front row and said, "This is the shogunate's response to Captain Yan's letter of request for battle."

Yan Xing finished his bean soup, looked up and asked, "When do we leave?"

"The sooner the better. You will go to Tongguan with the Jingzhou soldiers, where we will distribute armor and equipment!"

The officer threw the scroll in his hand to Yan Xing and said, "The earliest will be today at noon. When the Jingzhou soldiers pass through the border, we will set out with them and spend the night in the North Camp!"

The armor, weapons, winter leather clothes, tents, etc. that Yan Xing and his men carried when they set out from Liangzhou had already been looted and confiscated.

Only Yan Xing was granted the honor of retaining his sword, but even so, his bag was confiscated.

In the next camp, Lu Chang also received a transfer order. They did not need to choose two out of three, and the entire battalion was recruited.

Compared with Yan Xing, Lu Chang received some support from his fellow villagers in Jingzhou, was able to wear a new set of warm winter clothes, and had time to take care of his appearance and keep his beard neat and delicate.

After all, people like Lu Chang have already started doing technical work, unlike the captives obtained in Guanzhong, who can only do heavy physical work such as logging, building walls, and building houses.

Not far from the West Camp is the Lantian Camp, where currently there are only 3,000 young and strong men in training. These soldiers are from the immigration team from Jingzhou.

Zhen Mi received Ma Teng's letter at dawn, and Ma Teng could no longer sit still.

The northern Hu invaded Ganquan Mountain, but were ambushed and repelled by Yang Qiu. Yang Qiu then retreated decisively and strengthened the Chiyang defense line.

Although Duan Wei did not send any letter to her, fighting must have broken out in the north.

It would take at least two days for the letter to reach the Taiyuan front.

So Ma Teng sent books to the front line while asking his daughter to deliver a letter to Zhen Mi.

After reading the letter, Zhen Mi remained silent for a long time.

Ma Yun held up an egg and explained to her, "Father, it seems that if we defend for too long, we will lose. My husband's original plan had no hidden dangers, but the casualties in this battle were so great. Now it's not just the Xiongnu in Hexi, the Qiang and Hu in the north are also feeling uneasy."

As she said this, she pierced the egg with a needle and then crushed the egg with a little force.

The egg liquid flowed into the bowl, and Ma Yun picked up another egg: "If there is a place that is broken by the Qiang Hu, it will be like this egg. If it is not broken, it will be as stable as before."

She also held the egg and squeezed it hard. With all her strength, the egg suddenly cracked and the egg liquid splashed.

After taking a deep breath, Ma Yun said, "Sister, if you want to hold the defense line, you can't let the Qiang and Hu break through even a little bit."

Zhen Mi nodded, also worried: "Of course I believe in Lord Ma's reasoning, but I have never been involved in military affairs. If I intervene rashly, I am afraid that I will cause unhappiness."

Ma Yun advised again: "When the Qiang and Hu allied forces come to attack, only a handful of them dare to take the lead. Most Qiang and Hu are waiting and watching, unwilling to make every effort. Father has a reputation for being a hero. If he goes to Weibei, he can defeat 3,000 people. With Pang De's help, the Qiang and Hu in the north dare not act rashly. By delaying for some time, the defenses in various places will be more stringent, and perhaps we can hold on until my husband returns triumphantly."

Even if they cannot hold out until Black Bear returns, as long as the final battle with the Huns on the front line determines the outcome, the Qiang-Hu coalition will naturally retreat and surrender.

The fighting enthusiasm of the Qiang-Hu coalition forces is not high now, and most of them are here to wait and see the situation.

If you can find a gap, then rush in together.

Ma Teng felt that he could plug this possible gap.

Zhen Mi hesitated for a long time, then said, "My dear, you have not given any clear restrictions. Lord Ma may as well return to Huaili to check the family property. After four or five days, my dear, please come back to Huaili by yourself."

Ma Yun thanked him immediately. If Ma Teng had returned to Huaili three days earlier, he would have had three days to mobilize his old troops around him.

Although this old part has been adapted, it is better to familiarize yourself with it again than to make sudden changes.

The war potential of the Sanfu area continues to be released, and the neighboring Hongnong County is also being mobilized.

It was no longer possible for Linghu Shao, the governor of Hongnong County, to do anything. The two batches of materials he had previously raised for loan fell into the hands of Gan Ning and Zhang Sheng. Linghu Shao was very poor now, but the Hongnong tyrants were generally under great pressure.

Hongnong was also looted by the Southern Xiongnu, and the native places of the men and women rescued in the early stage were roughly counted.

If the local gentry in Hongnong do not send out troops now, the Guanzhong troops returning victoriously from the front will surely clean up Hongnong, which is right next to their bed.

If they did not send troops, the Guanzhong troops would be defeated, and the Huns would take advantage of the situation to catch up and plunder, and the people of Hongnong would not have a good ending.

It’s just that Hongnong is too close to Guanzhong, and the two lifelines of Tongguan and Shaanxi and Tianjin are in the hands of Guanzhong.

There was no room for bargaining, and the people of Hongnong had no choice but to send troops.

They barely put together a combined army of 5,000 county soldiers and powerful tribesmen, and hurried to the front battlefield.

The Hedong people, who had only about 3,000 mobile county soldiers, also completed the final mobilization and formed a joint force of more than 20,000 people.

Originally, Hongnong County could mobilize tens of thousands of people, but Hongnong was injured and Linghu Shao's prestige was damaged, so more than 5,000 people were mobilized.

On October 24th, the day of light snow, fifteen days after the Guanzhong troops defeated the right wing.

Linghu Shao and Cui Yan, who were heading north, met up in Pingyang. Both sides had nearly 30,000 troops, eating the food and fodder left by the Chanyu royal court.

Linghu Shao was under great mental pressure. Although he did not marry Wang Yun's daughter, his brother Linghu Chao did, and Guo Huai also married her.

However, Hongnong does not have a large-scale, profit-oriented, famous family group like Taiyuan and Hedong.

The scholars in Hongnong were relatively simple. They were either top-notch family members like the Yang family who focused on academic development, or members of the Zhang family who gave up military power and focused on cultural development. The rest were powerful and wealthy.

Therefore, the local tyrants in Hongnong were more afraid of retaliation from the Guanzhong soldiers and the Huns, which was fundamentally different from Linghu Shao's position.

If the operation is not done properly, a mutiny may occur.

Only after joining forces with Cui Yan did Linghu Shao finally relax.

The two of them looked at the map in the warm and spacious Chanyu's meeting tent.

It was also a durable cowhide map. Cui Yan grabbed a black dot and said, "This is Zhang Yan's army. He has sent out troops. There are about 3,000 of them, most of whom are elite infantrymen."

"Is this the general's order?"

"Yes, the general has to give it."

Cui Yan placed the chess piece in the middle of Queshu Valley: "The soldiers from Guanzhong have taken all three divisions of the royal court. This is the savings of nearly three generations of Xiongnu people who have migrated inland. Liu Bao will not allow the soldiers from Guanzhong to withdraw. This battle will either be in Queshu Valley or in Pubanjin."

Linghu Shao was also familiar with the geography of Hedong. He frowned and asked, "What does the Qianzi Sutra say?"

"He is just like you. The Taiyuan people have their own ideas, just like the Hongnong people under your command have their own concerns."

Cui Yan said with a long sigh: "The Hedong soldiers under my command are the same. They are afraid of a great victory or defeat for the Guanzhong soldiers, and they don't want the Xiongnu to win or lose. To be more specific, the Hedong people want to see the Guanzhong people and the Xiongnu tie."

Linghu Shao nodded and sighed: "It seems that Qian Zijing and I should be swapped. The people of Hongnong are unwilling to sit idly by and watch Guanzhong fail."

At the very least, we must ensure that we return to Guanzhong with the spoils and the rescued men and women; perhaps next autumn, the people of Hongnong will be able to go out with us to plunder.

Cui Yan sighed again and again: "Fate is unpredictable. The people of Taiyuan want to see Guanzhong suffer a minor defeat, while Qian Zijing is similar to the people of Hongnong, hoping that the Guanzhong troops can withdraw smoothly and not cause any more trouble."

As he spoke, he sighed again. There were deviations in the positions of the commanders and their troops in the three combat groups of his side.

This is a very dangerous thing. On paper, the three counties have a combined army of 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers, but they are separated by the north and the south, making it difficult to coordinate them.

Moreover, the troops of these three counties know their own business, and their performance in field battles will not be much better than that of the Xiongnu servant infantry.

The two of them sighed, looked at each other and sighed at the same time.

After sighing, Cui Yan calmed down and placed two chess pieces in Puban. "Yesterday, Wen Pin's troops from Jingzhou, together with Yan Xing and Lu Chang, had crossed the river with nearly 7,000 troops. They will set out from Puban today and will reach Pingyang in three days."

He then picked up another black piece and placed it at the main force of the Black Bears. "This is Liu Xuande's general Zhao Yun, who also has more than 3,000 cavalry. According to the route, they will arrive at the Queshu Valley Road tonight. If they speed up a little, they can join forces with Zhang Yan tonight."

Linghu Shao looked carefully and saw that there were seven black dots in Black Bear's pile, representing a force of over 20,000 soldiers, in addition to Zhao Yun and Zhang Yan's 6,000 to 7,000 men.

In other words, north of Pingyang, Black Bear currently has nearly 30,000 infantry and cavalry.

The 30,000 yuan from the other party is not something that our 30,000 yuan can afford.

Linghu Shao turned his gaze to the Xihe Xiongnu and saw a group of white pieces surrounding Zishi County and the left royal court.

I counted the eighteen white pieces and there were more than sixty thousand infantry and cavalry.

Looking at Taiyuan again, there are exactly ten white pieces, which is also a force of 30,000 people.

He couldn't help but swallow his saliva, fearing that the people of Taiyuan would follow Qian Zhao to the battlefield to watch the excitement and be eaten by the Huns or Guanzhong people.

Now the mental state of the people in Guanzhong and the Huns are both abnormal.

Whether it was the 30,000 people in Qianzhao or the 30,000 people in Pingyang, they could not withstand the fierce impact of a field battle.

This is determined by the structure, mentality and morale of the troops. They can set up camps and defend to intercept, and they can also fight a favorable battle and pursue the enemy for thousands of miles. The only thing they cannot fight is a field battle with instantaneous casualties.

After observing and thinking, Linghu Shao asked: "Why don't the Xiongnu stay?"

"They are waiting for the Zhenbei Army to withdraw, or perhaps they are also waiting for other variables."

Cui Yan said helplessly, "Taishi Wengong is extremely brave and fierce. In the past few days, he led more than a hundred cavalrymen to cross the Fen River and attack the Xiongnu camp at night. The Xiongnu found it difficult to resist, so the large group of troops retreated and no one dared to approach the entrance of Queshu Valley. According to my observation, it will take about seven days for the last transport team of the Zhenbei Army to leave Pingyang."

"Including the distance, the Zhenbei Army still needs to defend the valley entrance and roads for ten days."

"Liu Bao will definitely launch an offensive within ten days."

(End of this chapter)