Chapter 204 Strong walls and clear fields
On October 27th, there was a heavy snowstorm starting at midnight.

It was still snowing in the early morning, but the strong winds had subsided a little.

On the east bank of the Fenshui River at Dujin, most of the boats that were anchored on the shore last night have been frozen in the ice.

The ice on both sides is two or three feet wide and tends to spread towards the center of the river.

The black bear observed upstream and downstream, and found that the boats might be frozen, and the Huns' camp on the opposite bank was moving towards the shore.

More than ten miles away, the outline of the Huns' camp could be vaguely seen, with many people setting up tents there and cavalry coming and going.

The black bear looked at the opposite bank for a moment, then turned his horse's head and went up along the east bank of the Fen River.

The depth of snow accumulation is about twelve or thirteen centimeters. Although there are signs of freezing in the swamp and lake areas, the ice is not thick and is not connected, making it unsuitable for large troops to pass through at present.

After repeated observations, he rushed straight eastward into the right royal court.

The cavalry stationed here are still transporting food and fodder, using bags made of sheepskin and cowhide to transport grain and beans, using horses for the load and ox carts for the pull.

It was a pity that there was not enough time and technical resources to manufacture a large number of sleds, so much fodder and food had to be burned.

It was almost noon when he arrived. Seeing that the garrisoned cavalry were still packing food bags, he immediately urged them: "The enemy's vanguard will arrive at any time, hurry up and transport the food back to the camp."

The five captains of a thousand cavalry and the captain of a hundred cavalry who were following nearby had no choice but to stop loading food and start to secure the bags of food on the horses' backs.

There are more than 30,000 horses here, but not many cattle, less than a thousand.

A horse carried two bags of grain, and the total amount of grain was less than 20,000 bags, so the tents were transported by ox cart.

The rest can only be burned.

The wind and snow obscured the view and visibility was less than twenty miles.

A fire broke out in the royal court on the right side, and smoke and ashes rose into the sky. Only Guo Xian's troops stationed in Qi County could see it.

As for the Black Mountain Army of Yu Digen that arrived in Yuci in the north, it was difficult to observe.

The gates of Qi County were closed, and Black Bear reined in his horse and arrived at the north gate.

Guo Xian has already controlled all the Black Mountain Army units in the city. The bargaining chips offered by the big families in Taiyuan are too generous. They are allowed to move to Taiyuan after the war, which makes it worth their counterattack.

Compared with Zhang Yan's proposal, the Black Mountain Army in the city prefers to cooperate with the Taiyuan people rather than seize the city by force.

When more than a hundred Black Mountain archers saw the black bear approaching, the leader immediately shouted, "Shoot!"

Shooting with strong bows, the arrows of these mountain hunters were relatively accurate, and dozens of arrows landed near the black bear.

More than a dozen arrows were bounced off the armor. Seeing this, Black Bear said nothing, turned his horse around and rode away.

South of Gengyang City, the battlefield where the right wing had set up an ambush before.

Liu Bao, wearing a golden eagle crown, reined in his horse and inspected the center of the battlefield.

Even though the ambient temperature was low, the depression where tens of thousands of headless corpses were piled up was filled with frozen maggots.

There was a stench here that made Liu Bao suffocate and dizzy, and the leaders and nobles of the various tribes in Xihe who came with him all had grim expressions on their faces.

After patrolling around ten miles away, we set up camp to rest.

Liu Bao washed his cheeks with snow and returned to the campfire. "We have no way out. We cannot kill him this year, but we must let him know how powerful we are. Otherwise, he will send troops to harass us again next year, and we will not be able to bear it. If he comes every year, within ten years, we will all become corpses, eaten by maggots and become a pile of bones."

Looking around at these leaders and elders, Liu Bao said without emotion: "Almost every man taller than the bow will die. This is something that cannot be avoided. The herdsmen and slaves can still surrender, or surrender to the Xianbei. But for us, there is no room for surrender."

"We have 80,000 people here. We have to use the lives of 40,000 to defeat him and kill him so that the rest can survive."

"If we fail, we will become the most pitiful people."

"The God of War will not protect cowards. If we defeat them and then the people of Taiyuan, we will be invincible!"

Liu Bao looked at these silent and non-objecting people and said: "My uncle missed the opportunity to advance to Taiyuan. I will not let this opportunity go again. I will force the Taiyuan people and Wuhuan people to fight first, and finally us."

The most senior elder spoke up at this time: "We can let half of our people die, but we cannot be the first to fight. Let the Taiyuan people, Wuhuan people, and Black Mountain Army bleed first. I don't trust them. They bleed first, and then we bleed."

Another leader sitting near Liu Bao also spoke up: "Yes, when they shed enough blood, I will allow my people to die. I can die, but I cannot die for the people of Taiyuan."

Liu Bao nodded, and seeing that everyone else had the same attitude, he said, "I will immediately send a letter to Wang Rou and Guo Huai to inform them of our attitude. If they are unwilling to fight first, we will withdraw our troops and migrate to the Helan Mountains with our people next year, leaving this place to the Xianbei people."

"We have a way out, and they don't."

Liu Bao smiled and said, "If the black general only had one arrow, he would definitely choose to shoot the Taiyuan people. The Taiyuan people have no way to retreat, so they can only fight to the death."

Others also laughed. There was really no need for them to be too anxious.

Even if we withdraw our troops and return to Xihe now, and lead them to migrate westward next year, we will not necessarily lose 40,000 young and strong men.

Even if the westward migration resulted in the loss of 40,000 or more people, the ethnic group could still continue.

But the people of Taiyuan were doomed, they had nowhere to escape.

Outside the city of Jinyang, Wang Ling, covered in dust, rode side by side with Qian Zhao.

Wang Ling brought Tian Yu's letter, in which he ceremonially invited Qian Zhao to submit to the imperial court.

Qian Zhao flipped through Tian Yu's handwritten letter, shook off the snowflakes on it, and couldn't help but smile: "Hei Zhenbei's brutality in killing the Hu people is far worse than Gongsun Bogui. Tian Yu and Xian Yu Fu advised me to join forces to attack Hei Zhenbei, which is insincere."

Everyone was an acquaintance. Qian Zhao handed Tian Yu's handwritten letter to Wang Ling: "The border counties have suffered from the harm of the Hu people. It has always been difficult to determine who is better in the dispute between killing and appeasing. One thing is very clear, the Hu people are more afraid of swords. If there are no swords, they will not waste their words with you. They will use swords to cut off your lips and tongue, and then rob your wife and daughter."

Wang Ling did not refute. He took the letter and asked, "Now that we have an army of 200,000 soldiers, after we kill this bandit, Yuan will be attacked from three sides. In my humble opinion, you should think long-term."

If they really win the decisive battle, the Xudu court will recognize the status of Wang Ling and the people of Taiyuan.

If Xian Yu Fu can lead his fellow villagers in Youzhou to open up a second battlefield, then Wang Ling can also lead his fellow villagers in Bingzhou to open up a third battlefield.

Within the Cao family, Xianyu Fu has unique strategic influence and a high overall status.

"long?"

Qian Zhao looked up at the falling snow, feeling inexplicably pessimistic: "If you win this battle, what can I talk about in the long run?"

He restrained his emotions, glanced at Wang Ling, and said, "The Xiongnu will never retreat easily. After defeating Heizhenbei, it will be your turn, then Hedong, and then Guanzhong. If the country loses the Qin, Jin, and Shuofang lands, it will be like losing a head or an arm. How can it last long?"

Qian Zhao couldn't help but sigh again: "The Xiongnu in the three parts of the royal court are still weak and have small ambitions, like a pack of wolves. The Xiongnu in Xihe and Shangjun are like fierce tigers. If you want to plan for the country in the long run, if I were you, I would unite with Hei Zhenbei and annihilate the Xiongnu."

Without hearing Wang Ling's words, Qian Zhao laughed again and said, "Goodbye now."

After saying this, Qian Zhao lightly kicked the horse's belly, gradually accelerated the horse, and rushed towards the more than one hundred guards waiting in the distance. The guards there also accelerated and followed Qian Zhao farther and farther. In the distance, several Wuhuan servants were also waiting on horseback, surrounding Qian Zhao and heading east to Yuci, heading towards Jingxing Road.

In the wind and snow, Qian Zhao rode his horse lightly for twenty or thirty miles, and the entire team stretched out front and back to form a long line.

Many Wuhuan servant knights, whose horses were weak, had to fall behind in the chase. When they saw they were approaching the ruins of a settlement, they reined in their horses and jumped off.

While waiting for the subsequent knights to gather, Qian Zhao tore open the cowhide map scroll with both hands and stared at it with pursed lips.

After a while, he rolled up the scroll and stuffed it into a waterproof lacquered wooden cylinder, and said to his fellow villagers and personal soldiers who followed him: "Taiyuan is finished. If it doesn't fall into the hands of the Xiongnu, it will fall into the hands of the Black Mountain Army."

A local scholar spoke up: "Your Excellency, do you mean that Hei Zhenbei still has hope of winning?"

"I always thought he would win, so I allowed the Taiyuan people to gather their army."

Qian Zhao saw that his personal soldiers had assembled the stool, and some of them had taken down the cloth curtain to set up a curtain nearby. Qian Zhao sat on the stool, took off his helmet, and immediately sweat rose from his head, forming a white mist: "It was the Xiongnu and the Black Mountain Army that made me miscalculate."

This year's drought in Hebei has frightened the Black Mountain Army. If there are signs of drought again next year, the Black Mountain Army may really move to Taiyuan on a large scale.

What was even more unexpected was that the people of Taiyuan were able to pull away and instigate so many Black Mountain troops, which meant that if the people of Taiyuan officially defected to the Xudu court.

Then Taihang Mountain will no longer be Hebei's natural barrier, and Hebei will be attacked from three sides just as Wang Ling said.

After a short rest, they led the 3,000-plus cavalrymen along the road for another 20 miles and arrived in Yuci when it was dark.

Yuci was originally a big city, and the people in the city fled once when the right wing of the Xiongnu was defeated.

After the temporary stationing of the Montenegrin Army in the north, Yuci City was completely empty.

This Montenegrin army had already forced both men and women of the people to move south to join the war. The four gates of Yuci City were open, and the embers of some houses in the city were still there.

Qian Zhao led his troops into the city, climbed up the tower and looked inside the city. Seeing that nearly half of the houses were intact, he heaved a sigh of relief and said, "We will stay in this city tonight."

The people around him were confused and asked, "Are you going to help Hei Zhenbei?"

The people of Taiyuan will only indulge themselves once. If they are blocked here, they will most likely be annihilated.

The supplies carried by the Wuhuan servant knights are limited and cannot withstand the long journey.

Qian Zhao observed the man with a squinting eye: "If I return to Yecheng now, I will not be able to see my lord. I will wait for three days. If Hei Zhenbei wins, I will have a place to use my skills."

No matter what he did before, he could not use the soldiers of Taiyuan County with confidence, and he did not dare to mobilize the powerful troops of Taiyuan on a large scale.

If the people of Taiyuan suffer a great loss this time, these people will come to cling to him.

Otherwise, Wang Ling wouldn't be so easy to talk to.

No matter what, if Qian Zhao's head was sent to Xu Du, Cao Cao would at least give him the title of Marquis Ting.

The next day at the Right Royal Court, Yu Di Genbu, who had arrived here first after daybreak, was rummaging through the ashes everywhere.

Many granaries were not completely burned down, with the carbonization in the middle and upper layers still smoldering, and often there was still grain left on the bottom layers.

The situation of this Montenegrin army was not good. They collected wood to make fires for heating, but lacked tents that were warm enough.

After only one night's stay, more than 200 people froze to death in the early morning. Those who were frozen to death or had frostbite were ignored and not counted.

Guo Huai, with a coalition force of more than 8,000 members of his clan and fellow villagers as the vanguard, arrived at the Right Royal Court one after the other with the new Right Wise King Liu Qubei.

Looking at the Black Mountain Army rummaging through ashes everywhere, although Liu Qubei had been mentally prepared for this, his disappointment was evident in his words.

After marching 200 miles, the Xiongnu army was already exhausted. Without the food and fodder stored by the right wing, it would not only be difficult for them to recover their strength, but they would also continue to be weak due to the accumulated snow.

Sun Zi, who was born in Zhongdu County, came to Guo Huai at this moment. At this moment, Sun Zi also wore a jacket and a sheepskin cape. He said: "In Jingling and Zhongdu counties south of Qi County, as well as the towns and villages, most of the residents have been driven out by the Guanzhong soldiers, and their houses have been burned down. They have fortified their walls and cleared the fields a few days ago."

"Two empty cities?"

Seeing that Black Bear had given up its pitiful depth and concentrated its forces to shrink into a ball, Guo Huai frowned: "He is so brave."

Sun Zi also looked unhappy. Before he could take revenge, his family and fellow villagers had already suffered the ravages of war.

He calmed down and said to Guo Huai, "Scouts reported that the reeds in the southwest swamp are still burning. Our army lacks shelter from the cold. I heard that many people in the Black Mountain Army in Qi County were also frostbitten last night. If we can't protect ourselves from the cold tonight, many officers and soldiers may get frostbitten or get sick."

Perhaps worried that the young Guo Huai did not realize the seriousness of the problem, Sun Zi added: "The soldiers in Guanzhong have fortified their walls and cleared the fields. It is still snowing today, and it is difficult for the officers and soldiers to collect wood. Please fight quickly, otherwise the severe cold will hurt your health and you may collapse without fighting."

"Yes, I understand."

Guo Huai raised his eyebrows and looked at the fine snowflakes floating in the sky. This was to let people die on the battlefield rather than freeze to death.

The casualties that the army and its troops can bear are limited, especially frostbite and death, which have the most obvious impact on morale.

Leather boots and leather jackets are luxuries. How could the Taiyuan coalition of powerful forces possibly guarantee that their troops had good cold-proof equipment?

When it comes to cold protection, the Taiyuan soldiers are no better than the Huns' armed slaves.

At this moment, in Huocheng where Wen Pin was stationed, the soldiers from Jingzhou who had arrived here were hiding in the city and were cutting the sheepskins distributed to them.

They were all freshly slaughtered sheepskins, frozen hard, and after being tanned, they were made into rough leather boots and leggings, or sewn together into sheepskin cloaks.

Although it is not completely dry and is hard, as long as it can block the wind, it is a good thing.

Outside the city was the Hongnong military camp, which had seized a nearby village built on the mountain and huddled in the houses to fight the snowstorm.

Brothers Yang Guang and Yang Liang sat around the fire, both looking unhappy.

They can't pass unless Wen Pin lets them go.

Although Wen Pin was stationed in the city, they could travel outside the city.

But if they dare to infiltrate, Wen Pin will dare to go out of the city to attack them.

They are here to help in the war, not to create hostility.

Now it snows heavily one day and lightly the next. The Huns' horses are heavily dependent on wild grass. The snow will urge the Huns to launch a decisive battle.

The decisive battle is imminent, but they are not trusted and cannot participate in the war, so they are anxious and angry.

The signboard of Hongnong Yang family could not convince Black Bear and could not win his trust.

A strong sense of frustration and anger lingered in the hearts of the two brothers.

(End of this chapter)