In Dongxia Prefecture, there is a river flowing across almost the entire northern Shaanxi Plateau. It is called Qingshui, which is later known as Yanhe River and one of the important tributaries on the west bank of the Yellow River.
Most of the terrain in Dongxia Prefecture is Taiwan and Pigang. Only the river valley in the Qingshui Basin can be said to have rich water and grass and fertile land. Therefore, both sides of Qingshui are also the most densely populated areas in Dongxia Prefecture, and most other areas
They are all desolate slopes, with barren land and limited output.
Dongxia Prefecture governs Guangwu City, which is located in the Qingshui River Valley area. The valleys here are densely covered and criss-crossed, and the plateau walls are steep and rugged. If you are not familiar with the plateau valley paths and enter here rashly, it will be like entering a huge maze. It is easy to get lost.
Lost among the ups and downs of the plateau and valley, not knowing where to find the way out.
As the state government of Dongxia Prefecture, Guangwu City is composed of three cities of different sizes, each located according to its valley.
The easternmost small city is located on the north bank of Qingshui, near mountains and rivers. It is called Fenglin City. It was built during the Helian and Hu Xia years. It guarded the middle and upper reaches of the Qingshui River Valley for the Hu Xia regime and withstood the Northern Wei Dynasty for several years. Although the city is
It is not big, but the city wall is as hard as stone and has many horse faces. It is long and dense. Relying on this unique geographical advantage, it is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
More than ten miles west of Fenglin City, the river valley gradually widens. There is also a city located near the river. It is located in the valley between two rivers. There are many canals and valleys around it, and the city is also built quite deep and wide. This is Guangwu University.
The city is also the seat of the state government of Dongxia Prefecture.
A few miles west of Guangwu City, there is a long and narrow sloping valley, which was once a tributary of Qingshui River. However, the river dried up many years ago, forming a sloping valley called Dry Valley. Dry Valley is connected to the valley of Qingshui Basin.
It is an important passage through which one can quickly reach Fushi City and other places from Guangwu. Therefore, there is an official animal husbandry station and a post station called Qiangu Station.
In the early morning, Li Mu climbed to the tower to observe the enemy's situation.
At this time, there is a thick layer of frost on the outer wall of the city wall. This is because the soldiers who defended the city poured cold water on the city wall at night in order to prevent the enemy from attacking the city. Under the blowing wind of northern Shaanxi, the water quickly vaporized.
It solidifies into ice and does not melt for a long time.
At this time, there were not many enemy camps outside Guangwu City. Since Fenglin City to the east was still entrenched, in order to avoid being attacked from both sides, the enemy did not dare to enter this section of the valley in large numbers and station nearby.
But this only ensures that the pressure on this east-west area is still small. Between the plateau valleys to the north of Guangwu City, enemy barracks are already full, and rangers are constantly dispatched to the surrounding area day and night.
Patrolling and sweeping the river valley to maintain the blockade of the city.
Looking at the enemy rangers cruising back and forth like locusts in the valley outside the city, Li Mu spat hard. Although he felt annoyed, he also felt helpless for a moment.
He originally wanted to defeat the enemy from outside, and led a force of 3,000 troops north to meet the enemy. He planned to annihilate the bandit army in the upper reaches of Qingshui in the northwest, so that they would not dare to go south to harass and plunder.
At first, the battle went relatively smoothly. After encountering several rebels head-on, Li Mu defeated them and dispersed them.
However, he did not expect that the number of rebels increased as they fought. One group quickly attracted several groups. In the end, Li Mu did not even know how many rebels were attracted. If he had not seen the opportunity and evacuated as soon as possible, he would have been killed by these rebels.
Besieged in the northern area.
He withdrew his troops and returned to Guangwu. Most of the bandit troops who originally wandered between the two Xia states were also introduced and chased them all the way to the gate of Guangwu City. Li Mu hastily mobilized the Han and Hu armed forces in the territory, and finally gathered thousands of troops.
Trapped in the city.
"Lord, Fenglin City reports that supplies and equipment are insufficient. We sincerely request the main city to provide supplies."
Li Mu was still looking northward at the enemy's formation with a frown on the top of the city, when a general from below hurriedly stepped forward to report.
After hearing the words, Li Mu nodded, and after a moment of pondering, he ordered: "Give me another five hundred stones of food, two thousand arrows, gather three hundred strong soldiers, eat and rest immediately, and leave the city in the evening to transport supplies."
Fenglin City and Guangwu City are at the horns of each other. If they don't follow the rules, the bandit army can cover up the city unscrupulously and surround Guangwu City. The situation will then be even more dangerous.
The bandits are also well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of this terrain, so they have been attacking the relatively small Fenglin City in the past period, and mainly blocked the large city of Guangwu.
Although Fenglin City is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it cannot withstand the continuous offensive and defensive battles of the rebels day and night. The more than a thousand guards in the city have now been reduced to nearly half, and the supplies in reserve have long been used up. All thanks to Guangwu City's
Only by desperate efforts can we survive.
After hearing the words, the general first accepted the order, but still looked like he was hesitating to speak. After pondering for a moment, he spoke again: "My lord, if you have to cut it off, you must cut it off. The traitor is fierce and strong, I'm afraid it's not
Our army can't support it alone, and there is no value here that we must defend without losing it. It is better to abandon the city to the south before the rebel army can close the siege, and then take back the city after the spring is warm in the coming year and the troops have rested properly...
"
After hearing this, Li Mu shook his head and said: "As a new commander, if I don't have to do it as a last resort, how can I be a minister who has lost my land? In this cold and desolate land, even the guarding army is insufficient. These thieves from far away seem to be
It's huge, but there's no way to supply it locally, so it's bound to not last long.
If I fear the temporary hardship and avoid it, and hand over this city to the enemy, it will benefit the thieves and make them more courageous. The thieves will surely chase them in one after another. Losing the land to attract thieves will be a deeper sin! Although all parties are waiting and watching, but
Li Boshan has already promised that he will come to help. At this time, we still have to trust him and not retreat rashly."
As he said this, he felt very heavy. Although the bandit army was a visitor from afar, it was still outnumbered. After being besieged the city for several days, it was obvious to the naked eye that it had deepened its grasp of the environment and was constantly collecting all kinds of information on the surface.
The personnel and supplies looted from the Qingshui River Valley will also be displayed outside the city to undermine the morale of the defenders.
Moreover, the rebel army's offensive methods are becoming more and more diverse. From the initial harassment by roaming horses, they are now digging some camps, trenches and trenches outside the city, and even cutting down trees to build large siege equipment.
Li Mu said he wanted to give Li Tai his trust, but his heart was pounding, wondering if he would come to help.
After all, so far, the true nature of the banditry is still unknown, and even Li Mu has not been able to get a glimpse of the bandit army. It is also the freezing cold winter season, and it takes great courage to lead his troops into battle.
In the evening, the number of bandits outside the city suddenly increased, and they began to tentatively set up camp.
When Li Mu saw this, he naturally did not want the bandits to invade and garrison nearby, so he immediately summoned hundreds of elite troops, personally led his troops out of the city, and charged towards the enemy's formation fully armed.
Seeing Li Mu's attack, the bandit army sent thousands more troops to the battlefield. Like a swarm of locusts, they pressed toward Li Mu's troops in a black mass, taking full advantage of their superiority in numbers.
Although this kind of human wave tactic was not very clever, it was effective. After several rounds of roving and charging to no avail, Li Mu's hundreds of cavalry had no choice but to retreat in the face of an enemy that was ten times their size and pressing them step by step.
Withdraw to the city.
However, with such a large number of enemy troops entering the battlefield, apart from forcing Li Mu back into the city, no further achievements were achieved. The Guangwu city was deep and vast, far beyond the ability of thousands of troops to shake it head-on.
Without a steady stream of men and horses stationed in the fort to advance the entire front line, it would just be a few targets on the battlefield. It would be difficult to maintain it for a long time when the weather is freezing and there is no shelter.
.
After Li Mu returned to the city, he was wondering why the enemy army was so unwise in doing such a futile thing, but suddenly he smelled a strong smell of blood mixed with the cold wind blowing from the west, and his expression suddenly changed.
He shouted: "No, Qianguyi is in danger!"
As if in response to Li Mu's words, there was a sudden loud sound of horse hooves in the west direction of the valley, and dust was flying all over the sky. Countless bandits' horsemen galloped down from the upper reaches. The bandits at the front still had many bloody saddles and spears hanging on them.
The bloody aura is spreading from their ranks.
After these bandit knights approached, they did not immediately return to their camp with the valley behind them. Instead, they carried the captured heads and lined up in groups outside Guangwu City to show off their power.
"It's the Huyan tribe in the northern section of Gangu. They refused to obey the Lord's order and help defend Guangwu. In the end, they were not spared and were poisoned by the bandit army."
A general watched for a moment on the city wall and then sighed, and his face soon became serious again: "The bandit army has invaded the dry valley. If they are allowed to control the post road, not only will the city be exposed to danger, but reinforcements may also be in danger."
It’s hard to get close! My lord…”
Li Mu's expression became gloomy at this moment, and he said in a solemn voice: "Send an order to the city, check the inventory, and be on standby at any time after the men and horses are full!"