Chapter 209: Secret Chamber Cage
At noon, the north wind blew hard, and the flags of both sides fluttered in the earthen defense line in the southern part of the battlefield.

On the top floor of the wooden building on the city wall, the five-colored battle flag and two large banners were re-erected.

Black Bear continued to watch the changes in the war situation in the north. He and the soldiers fighting on the front line would not give the Huns any chance to regroup.

Even if another force appears near the battlefield, they must pursue the fleeing Huns.

Expand the casualties and cut off as much chance as possible for the Huns to regroup.

Fortunately, before the war, he gave the Huns two options: either drown or surrender.

Many Hun infantrymen who could not run fast had already begun to abandon their weapons and kneel in the snow.

The fleeing Xiongnu cavalry were squeezed at the edge of the lake, forming a narrow crescent-shaped pile of people running from north to south.

Soldiers on the front line may be trying to persuade people to surrender, or they may be aiming at a dense crowd and shooting with bows.

More than ten miles away, Black Bear could not observe clearly, and the scout messenger was unable to report in time.

With the mentality of giving it a try, he controlled Lu Bu to charge towards the crescent-shaped group of Huns.

Immediately the Huns formed layers in the north and south to make way for a passage, and people and horses from the west fell into the lake one after another.

Lu Bu took a quick taste and stopped, then reined in his horse and retreated.

In the crowd, Liu Bao had no time to change his clothes. He only had time to jump off the chariot, change to a horse, and put on a fine felt cloak.

He was wearing a hood, revealing only his face. He was surrounded by his relatives and horses, and there were people and horses panting in front, behind, and on both sides.

From time to time, heavy arrows would fly through the air. If a soldier or horse was hit by an arrow and fell down, he would be trampled by the surging soldiers and horses and would never have a chance to stand up again.

The other side used various words to persuade them to surrender, and the Huns on the periphery dropped their weapons and led their horses away.

Liu Bao could not hear the shouts for surrender from the outside at all. He only saw the surrendering Huns being tied up by the enemy.

There were about ten Huns in a team, and they tied the right hands of these people with leather ropes and strung them in a line.

Seeing that they were not executed on the spot, more and more Huns surrendered.

There were fewer and fewer Huns who persisted stubbornly, and the enemy's archers also changed from indiscriminate overhead shooting at the beginning to small-angle accumulated shooting.

Zhao Yun became very anxious upon seeing this, and immediately ordered his men to stop shooting arrows and sent people forward again to persuade them to surrender.

If Black Bear did not kill the captured Huns, they would most likely be handed over to Liu Bei.

Now continue the killing, and those who are killed are the future servant cavalry of Liu Bei's side.

What's more, there is a possibility that the Wuhuan people may intervene in the battle at any time. Only by defeating the Xiongnu early can they organize their troops and take precautions against the Wuhuan people.

With this preparation posture, even if the Wuhuan people arrive at the battlefield, they will be cautious.

Without this posture, the Wuhuan people would be difficult to restrain and would inevitably launch an attack.

The Xiongnu must be forced to surrender before the Wuhuan arrive. Otherwise, when they see the Wuhuan arrive, the Xiongnu's morale will be restored and they will fight to the death.

Wang Rou and most of the Wang family's troops were also surrounded at the edge of the lake. As soon as they left the city, they were swept away by the fleeing soldiers.

Because of his good physical strength, he was able to follow the defeated cavalry to the edge of the lake.

At this moment, Wang Rou raised his sword and shouted, commanding his men to carry dead bodies and horses in an attempt to build a barrier.

They even collected bows and arrows in an attempt to resist.

Wang's troops were still in high spirits. He organized a group of several dozen foot archers. Seeing a dozen Xiongnu surrendered soldiers approaching to persuade them to surrender, Wang Rou raised his sword and pointed: "Shoot!"

The infantry archers fired at the soldiers, and seven or eight Xiongnu surrendered soldiers were hit by arrows and fell off their horses.

Wang Rou's white beard trembled as he shouted at the top of his voice: "Hold on! The Wuhuan people will surely come to help!"

Relying on the sturdy armor on his body, Wang Rou climbed onto the horse's corpse and faced east. He took off his helmet and slammed it on the ground. His hair turned gray as he shouted to his troops and fellow villagers: "The enemy army is already exhausted! When the Wuhuan arrive, the enemy army will be defeated!"

Wang's troops raised their swords, spears and halberds and shouted in response. They were carried here by the fleeing soldiers and suffered few casualties, and were full of fighting spirit.

They have better equipment, armor and treatment than the soldiers of Taiyuan County, and have better protection against long-range attacks.

At this moment, it was because they witnessed the casualties of their relatives and friends that they were burning with anger, their blood was boiling, and they were eager to fight and vent.

Wang Rou raised his arm and brandished his sword and shouted again: "Our army will win!"

Suddenly, Wang Rou trembled violently. She turned around with difficulty, but before she could see clearly behind her, her legs and feet went weak and she fell off the dead horse.

A hundred steps away, Zhao Yun threw the bow in his hand to his personal soldiers before getting back on his horse.

At this time, Wang Rou fell to the west and fell into the arms of several young men. He was shot in the back of the neck, and the arrow brushed against the cervical vertebra and came out from the right side.

Wang Rou's blood vessels ruptured and she was unable to utter a single word. Her eyes were wide open and it would take her a while for her to die.

Soon, several teams of Xiongnu surrendered soldiers drove their horses closer, shouting loudly, trying to attract the tribes to surrender.

Liu Bao was still frightened and did not dare to step out to stop them. He rode his horse around them. He dismounted and quickly changed his clothes, wearing a set of double-crotch armor worn by Wang's troops. He only brought a few trusted confidants with him, mixed in with the crowd, and was forced to surrender.

He knew very well that it was already noon and the Wuhuan camp was more than thirty miles away from here. Even if he could reach the battlefield, the Wuhuan might not dare to join the battle.

The Wuhuan people were very good at being sandwiched between the Xianbei and the Xiongnu, or between the Xiongnu and the Han army, acting as lackeys and taking advantage of others' misfortunes.

No one tried to stop them and the Huns surrendered one after another, and soon only more than 2,000 Wang's troops were left.

At this moment, the wounded soldiers on the front line have begun to be transported to the rear. Those who can move retreat on their own, and those who cannot move are left on horseback by friendly forces. One person can move a group of horses, and there are also charioteers involved in the transportation.

Faced with the highly motivated Wang's troops, Zhao Yun found it difficult to persuade them to surrender, nor could he command others to launch an attack.

While they were waiting, two heavy sleds driven by Yuan Shu's team of six gradually approached, one from the south and one from the north, ready to attack.

The black bear was worried that he would lose control and fall into the lake, so he controlled Lu Bu to hold the halberd diagonally forward.

After this simple attack order was issued, the six or seven thousand people who surrounded the enemy in a circle opened fire.

Hundreds of thousands of arrows covered the area and shot at the angry Wang's troops. In a moment, only one in ten of their positions remained.

Then the foot knights advanced with their spears, stabbing and stabbing repeatedly, advancing layer by layer. Many of the overlapping corpses were also hooked open by the iron spears, and the corpses on the lower layer were stabbed and stabbed.

During this period, there were also those who pretended to be dead and suddenly jumped up to try to attack. They were stabbed by dozens of spears and halberds and killed on the spot.

Probably because they saw the destruction of Wang's troops' positions, the Wang members who stayed behind in Zhongdu City set fire and began to burn the various supplies and equipment brought from Taiyuan.

A small number of knights surrounded the city of Zhongdu, and the people inside the city could not escape.

Fireworks from the Zhongdu city rose up and drifted southward along with the north wind.

At Wang Ling's position, he sat dejectedly on the snow, looking up at the smoke and dust that was gradually dissipating, and his last trace was about to fade away, and he was speechless for a long time.

During this period, thousands of cavalry retreated from the front line and dismounted to rest three or four miles north of Taiyuan Army, where they ate and rested.

These cavalrymen, wearing four colors, were mixed together and had long lost their command.

Being able to come here is purely a matter of battlefield intuition and combat enthusiasm.

Linghu Chao rode his horse to Wang Ling's position and knelt on one knee beside Wang Ling: "Brother, there are still 100,000 Wuhuan people, Black Mountain Army, Hedong soldiers and the remnants of the Xiongnu. Don't lose heart."

The strongest Huns have been defeated and almost wiped out. What else can they use to fight?

Wang Ling said nothing, and a moment later Guo Huai also arrived on horseback.

He jumped off his horse and walked to Wang Ling's side: "I saw cavalry arriving from the north, but they were holding yellow flags."

Wang Ling turned around and looked at Guo Huai: "Boji is referring to the various Black Mountain troops who are attached to the Black Bandits?"

"Yes, the Black Bandits are the remnants of the Yellow Turban Bandits, and they are from the same lineage as the Black Mountain Bandits."

Guo Huai went to look at Linghu Chao and said, "Brother, now that things have come to this, we cannot let our fellow villagers die in vain. I have seen the Black Bandits use their troops, and they rarely massacre border residents. How dare he draw his sword when we have 20,000 men to surrender to him?"

Seeing that Linghu Chao remained silent, he could clearly feel the expressions of the surrounding officials and soldiers immediately become lively.

Guo Huai looked around and said sincerely, "If we all die here, our wives will be possessed by the black thieves. A hundred years later, our descendants will recognize the thieves as their fathers. If we surrender and save our lives and families, we can avenge our hatred for ten generations if the situation changes in the future."

Linghu Chao hesitated to speak. Guo Huai knew what he wanted to say, so he continued, "The black bandits will never forgive us, a well-dressed family. Please warn the villagers to hold out until night. We will break out after nightfall. We will survive outside, and the black bandits and their followers will not oppress the innocent villagers too much."

"Boji has a point."

Linghu Chao nodded and looked at Wang Ling: "Brother, you can't give up our ancestors' foundation just because of a defeat in a battle!"

"I won't give up easily."

Wang Ling reached out and grabbed a ball of snow and held it tightly in his hand: "The black thief is so sharp, how can the heroes of the world let him go?"

Guo Huai was also depressed. He took off his helmet and punched the snow.

There were dozens of brothers of the same generation in the battle array, and they did not dare to leave them to surrender, so they could lead them to break through...

Compared with Wang Ling and Guo Huai, Linghu Chao has less pressure in this regard.

Even if Linghu Shao would not be valued by Black Bear, he could at least save some of his clansmen, so that they would not be like the Wang family and the Guo family, who were severely damaged by this battle.

After the messenger team holding yellow flags arrived at the battlefield, they headed towards Wu County City under the escort of some four-color knights.

In the north building, more than a dozen messengers of various kinds stood trembling in front of the black bear.

They all presented the parchment letters. Black Bear only read a few scrolls and said, "In principle, I can promise you that I will not kill any of you. Especially the Black Mountain Army, who were bewitched by the big families in Taiyuan and have now come to their senses, I naturally welcome them."

Guo Xian, Yu Digen and other messengers from the Black Mountain Army Commander, a total of seven people, one of whom asked: "I heard that the Great Commander intends to relocate the Black Mountain soldiers and civilians to strengthen Taiyuan?"

"Not only Taiyuan, I also want to strengthen Hedong."

Black Bear smiled and asked, "When the war stops, I will discuss it with your commander in person."

The envoy was stunned and looked at the other envoys, who all had similar expressions.

Seeing this, Black Bear was not surprised: "Since your commander Qu is worried, I will let Zhang Yan negotiate on my behalf. I have no intention of distracting myself from managing Taiyuan for the time being. I will recommend Zhang Yan as the governor of Taiyuan County and Yang Feng as the governor of Hedong County. All the soldiers and civilians in the mountains and valleys of Taihang can be relocated."

"Go back and inform your commander that next summer and autumn, Hedong and Taiyuan counties will strengthen their fortifications and issue bamboo tokens to the people in their territories. If you want to migrate to the border at that time, it will be difficult to settle them."

As he spoke, Black Bear looked at the nine envoys and representatives from various Wuhuan tribes, as well as some envoys from smaller tribes who were not qualified to come here.

Looking at these people, Black Bear frowned and said, "I have no intention of being an enemy of the Wuhuan tribes. You have never provoked me. Although we fought today, you did not go into battle. This is friendship after all."

"So I give you a choice. Either you withdraw now and see if I can catch up with you. Or the leaders and lords of each tribe come to see me immediately, bring your elite knights, and obey my command."

Then he pointed at the envoys of the various leaders of the Black Mountain Army and said to the Wuhuan people: "The snow here is more than a foot deep. The further north you go, the thicker the snow will be. I will not threaten you, but tell you the truth. If you refuse me, the Black Mountain Army will attack you."

"How far can you escape without tents and supplies?"

"Follow me and listen to me. Let's solve the problem of food first. Having a full stomach is the most important thing for a person to live. Go back and let your leader and sir think about it carefully. I will launch the attack before dark."

The Black Mountain Army did not have the combat capability and determination to break through the Wuhuan camp, but it was enough to disturb the Wuhuan.

The Wuhuan people had only two choices: either flee quickly or be caught up and surrounded by the cavalry that arrived later while they were packing their luggage and setting up their tents.

The same was true for the Wuhuan people and for the nearly 10,000 people left behind in the Xiongnu camp.

Everyone has few choices, and the harsh climate blocks mobility.

The battlefield looks very large, but it is actually just a secret room.

In this secret room, the person with the biggest fist has the final say.

But soon, hundreds of thousands of people and nearly 100,000 cattle and horses gathered here. If the famine was not resolved, an uncontrollable disaster would break out.

Everyone has very few choices, either fighting to the death in a secret room.

Alternatively, they could quickly reach a distribution agreement and confiscate the assets of the big families in Taiyuan and Hedong. Filling their stomachs was more important than anything else.

Other issues can only be dealt with later.

(End of this chapter)