Chapter 407 Falling short of success

Author: Gongsun Wujiu

Chapter 407 Falling short of success

While they were talking, the Han army attacked the city and finally built up the city wall.

The Yi Cong soldiers who were originally standing on the siege tower howled wildly and rushed towards the defenders who were already waiting on the city wall. The two sides immediately started a brutal hand-to-hand battle.

A large number of Yi Cong soldiers below the siege tower also began to rush upward along the ladder in the tower.

They will continuously attack the city wall until they occupy a position on the city wall, or they will be killed by the defenders until their morale collapses.

The Han army's crossbowmen under the city wall once again began to suppress the archers of the defenders on the city to reduce the casualties of Yicong soldiers.

At the rear, under the orders of Zhao Chongguo, thousands of well-equipped Han military officers, mixed with nearly two thousand loyal followers, also rushed towards the city wall carrying ladders. They would give the final blow to the defenders in the city.

At this time, shouts of killing resounded throughout the city. The Huns and Qiang people, who were not good at defending the city, retreated step by step under the attack of the Han army, and soon the Han army occupied a bridgehead.

The right captain dispatched his last reserve team, hoping to drive the Han army off the city wall.

But under the double blow of the Han army's arrow array and trebuchets, it failed.

Of the seven hundred Huns who counterattacked, only a hundred or so of them actually rushed in front of the Han army.

At this time, the following elite Han troops had already boarded the city.

If the Xiongnu and the Han army were fighting with cavalry, they could barely compete, but now they are fighting on foot.

The dismounted Huns were not even as good as the field soldiers temporarily recruited by the Han army, so how could they compete with the Han army's elite officers?

The Qiang people in the city saw that the Huns had no way to resist the Han military officers, and they soon became wavered.

Some Qiang leaders also began to have small thoughts in their minds.

The Han Dynasty has actually been very tolerant to the Qiang people over the years. The reason why these Qiang leaders dared to rebel was that they could continue their original lives by surrendering when they thought the situation was impossible.

…

Tu Yang wandered under Wuyuan City for several days and finally found an opportunity to send the two messengers into the city.

After completing the mission, he heard that the Han army was besieging Guanglu City, so he rushed outside the city without stopping.

He led his people to hide in the mountains and forests outside the city. When he saw the fierce battle at the top of the city, he sighed in his heart.

He understood that Guanglu City was doomed, and he could only silently pray for the defenders in the city, hoping that the right captain could escape from the fortress that was about to fall.

"Walk!"

Tu Yang then led his men around the mountain, preparing to return to the grassland.

Tu Yang's judgment was correct. He had only left for a quarter of an hour when a group of Qiang people in the city mutinied.

The defenders were overwhelmed and the mutinous Qiang people seized control of the North Gate.

The Han army in the north of the city was overjoyed and took action immediately.

When Captain Right reacted, the Han cavalry had already rushed into the city.

The Han cavalry entered the city, which suddenly brought the morale of the defenders to freezing point.

Even Captain Right, as the commander-in-chief, fell into despair.

The Huns, who were fighting fiercely with the Han army one moment, collapsed the next moment.

They quickly fled to the rear, hoping to escape back to the grassland through the east gate where the Han army had not yet appeared.

The collapse of the Huns caused a huge disaster.

A large number of Qiang people subconsciously fled back, trampling on each other and killing hundreds of people.

The chaos in the city was quickly noticed by Zhao Chongguo.

"All troops attack!"

Zhao Chongguo also issued an order for the entire army to attack at this time.

But in fact, at this time, the defenders had almost given up resistance.

The main force of the Han army successfully entered the city without experiencing much resistance.

Soon the Han army took control of the entire Guanglu City.

More than 4,000 Qiang and more than 2,000 Huns were captured by the Han army.

The right captain of the Xiongnu committed suicide in order to avoid being captured by the Han army.

His personal guards all chose to commit suicide after handing his body to the Han army.

After Zhao Chongguo learned about this, he felt very troubled.

Once this matter is not handled properly, it will have a greater impact on military morale.

At this time, Bingji was ordered by the emperor to go to Shuofang to work for the army.

Zhao Chongguo asked Bingji for advice on this matter.

"How do you think Mr. B should handle this matter?"

Bing Ji said, "In the past, Marquis Yunyang once said that the enemy's hero is my enemy..."

Although Bingji did not directly say how to handle the matter, Zhao Chongguo already knew what to do from his words.

The next day, Zhao Chongguo first ordered the Xiongnu right captain to be crushed to ashes.

Then, following Zhang Yue's approach in the Western Regions, the Qiang people who surrendered were killed eleven times.

When the eleven-day killing system was implemented, Zhao Chongguo invited all the Qiang leaders from the entire Shuofang area.

Later, no matter what the original identities of these surrendered Qiang people were.

Whether they were slaves, commoners or nobles, they all came forward to draw lots without distinction.

Those who drew the lot for death were beheaded on the spot, while those who drew the lot for life were taken aside.

Those who draw the lot for death will certainly die, and those who draw the lot for life will also be severely punished.

Those who survived would be sent to the areas known as the Four Han Counties in later generations to cultivate and guard the border.

The only people who received preferential treatment were the Qiang people who defected in battle.

The so-called four Han counties are the general name for the four counties of Lelang County, Xuantu County, Zhenfan County and Lintun County established in the northern and central part of the Korean Peninsula by the Emperor of Han Dynasty after annihilating Weiman Korea.

In the original history, the reason why these four counties were abandoned by the Han Dynasty was because the population of these four counties was too small, and the virtuous literature considered them a burden.

Now with these distributed Qiang people, the four Han counties may be able to escape the fate of being abandoned.

Compared with the surrendered Qiang people, the fate of the Huns was better. These surrendered Huns will be sent to the Western Regions after also experiencing the punishment of being killed on eleven occasions.

After taking care of the prisoners, Zhao Chongguo ordered the construction of a capital temple ten miles north of the city to deter the barbarians.

Zhao Chongguo's actions made the leaders of the Qiang people who came to watch the ceremony feel frightened, and they all warned their disciples not to go against the will of the Han Dynasty.

After handling these matters, Zhao Chongguo divided his troops to attack the various barriers occupied by the rebel Qiang people.

On the one hand, he led the main army and the leaders of the Qiang tribes back to Wuyuan City.

At this time in Wuyuan City, King Zuogu Li of the Xiongnu had received Shanyu's order to withdraw his troops.

However, retreating does not mean you can just retreat. If you are not prepared, it can only be a disaster.

King Zuo Guli originally planned to abandon Wuyuan City and return to the grassland two days later.

According to his judgment, no matter how strong the Han army was, Yanguang City with 8,000 defenders should be able to withstand it for ten days and a half.

It was known there that Yanguang City fell into the hands of the Han army in just one day.

When King Zuo Guli realized that something was wrong, it was already too late to escape.

…

In the Wuhuan Mountain area, Hu Yantuan Chanyu led the main force of the Xiongnu to confront the Han army for seven days, and had to choose to retreat.

Because the Huns still had an absolute military advantage, Han Feng only chased them for more than fifty miles before retreating to the camp.

For him, there are more important things to deal with now, and that is Wu Huan.

How to deal with the Wuhuan tribe was the most important thing for Han Feng at this time.
Chapter completed!