On the night when Huan Wen's army burned the warships, Murong Chui received the report. He went out to watch, but saw the sky burning with fire on the Yellow River. Murong Chui opened his mouth and burst into laughter because the missing tooth in his mouth had long been used.
It is inlaid with gold, so when you open your mouth and smile, it will sparkle with golden light.
Murong Chui immediately judged that this was Huan Wen's troops fleeing south overnight. After sending scouts to confirm the news, his generals all suggested that they should immediately take the opportunity to pursue and annihilate the Jin army in one fell swoop. However, Murong Chui rejected everyone's suggestions without thinking.
"Huan Wen is not the fledgling you think he is. He is a hero of his time. He has experienced hundreds of battles and is familiar with the military. Doesn't he know that once he withdraws his troops, there will be a risk of being pursued? So he must have made preparations.
If I were Huan Wen, I would ambush the elite on the way out and wait for the pursuers to ambush me. I, Murong Chui, would not fall for his trick. This is a game of cat and mouse. They are thousands of miles deep into my country of Yan, and we have plenty of time to catch up.
When their troops are exhausted and their horses are exhausted, it will be time for my Great Yan cavalry to trample on them."
Murong Chui's judgment was absolutely correct. In order to prevent Murong Chui's pursuit, Huan Wen had already arranged for his fierce general Deng Xia, the champion general, to lead 10,000 elite troops to set up an ambush in the rear. Deng Xia was known as the most powerful general in the Jin Dynasty, and people at that time compared him with
Compared with Fan Kuai, he was extremely powerful and brave in battle. If Murong Chui led his army to pursue him that night, he would be playing into Huan Wen's hands.
Three days later, seeing that Yan's troops and horses had no intention of pursuing him, Huan Wen felt relieved and ordered his troops to withdraw southward at full speed, relaxing his vigilance. However, this was the beginning of Murong Chui's pursuit.
On September 14th, Murong Chui selected 8,000 elite cavalry, all wearing light armor, long bows and horses, and personally led the cavalry to pursue. However, they did not get close, they just followed behind without revealing their traces.
Like vicious wolves stalking their prey, they followed the Northern Expeditionary Army from a distance, staring at their prey with fierce eyes, waiting for the best opportunity to attack.
In this way, he followed Huan Wen's army for seven hundred miles until he arrived at Xiangyi beside the Suishui River on September 22. Murong Chui started his action. He was very familiar with the terrain of Xiangyi. There were many hills in Xiangyi, and only through
An east-west passage for soldiers and horses, this is the best terrain for an attack.
On September 22, Murong Chui ordered Murong De to lead 4,000 cavalrymen to bypass the flanks and arrive at Dongjian on the east side of Xiangyi to set up an ambush without disturbing Huan Wen's army. The next morning, Huan Wen led 50,000 cavalrymen to set up an ambush.
The extremely exhausted Northern Expeditionary Army entered the death passage. In the afternoon, the Northern Expeditionary Army entered Murongde's ambush range, and the evil wolf launched an attack on its prey.
In the narrow terrain of Dongjian, Murongde's cavalry charged with cavalry and attacked the Northern Expedition force fiercely. At the same time, Murong Chui, who was following in the west, led four thousand cavalry and also began to attack.
Under attack from the east and west by the elite Xianbei cavalry, the tired and frightened Northern Expeditionary Army quickly collapsed and was defeated. The formation was in chaos and there were countless casualties.
Huan Wen urgently ordered the champion general Deng Xia and the conquering general Zhu Xu to organize troops and horses. Deng Xia and Zhu Xu broke out to the west and the other to the rear. After a bloody battle, they finally opened a gap in the evening to protect Huan Wen's soldiers and horses, protruding through the western passage and fleeing.
And escape.
Murong Chui was not willing to give up. He led his troops in pursuit, followed by his light cavalry with long bows. He pursued them all the way until dawn the next day before giving the order to stop the pursuit. This was because his own cavalry had already shot all the arrows they carried, and because it was
They carried dry food and used cavalry to chase Huan Wen's army. There was not much food and grass left for the troops and horses, so they had to stop.
But even so, when the results were tallied up after dawn, more than 30,000 Jin Northern Expedition troops were annihilated in this battle at the cost of less than 2,000 people. It can be said to be a staggering and huge victory.
After Murong Chui ordered all Jin prisoners and wounded soldiers to be beheaded, he led his troops back with satisfaction.
Huan Wen and others narrowly escaped death and fled south with 20,000 defeated soldiers without looking back. Although they were depressed, they were also somewhat lucky to have escaped.
However, when the wolf went away with its full meal, the hyena came upon the wind.
In August, the State of Yan asked the State of Qin for help, and asked the State of Qin to send troops to rescue in exchange for the land west of Hulao Pass. The King of Qin, Fu Jian, followed the advice of Prime Minister Wang Meng and sent General Gou Chi of the Left with 20,000 horse and infantry troops to rescue.
Wang Meng told Gou Chi that this rescue was just a show. He must not fight to the death with the Jin Dynasty soldiers for the sake of the Xianbei people, but should wait for the opportunity to move and assess the situation. Gou Chi understood his intention and led the army to march slowly, watching and patrolling.
When the Jin army burned their ships and retreated, Gou Chi led his troops southward and followed him on the flanks. After Murong Chui defeated the Jin army, Gou Chi thought that the time had come to take advantage. A few days later, in Huan Wen's ancestral home of Qiao State, Gou Chi
He led his army to fight out and intercepted Huan Wen's 20,000 defeated soldiers. The hyena showed no mercy to the Jin Dynasty's already injured prey. After a day of fierce fighting, it killed more than 10,000 Jin troops and withdrew with satisfaction.
Huan Wen hurriedly led the defeated generals to flee to the southeast. In early October, they entered the territory of the Jin Dynasty. Only then did they gain a foothold in Shanyang County, Xuzhou and gather the remaining soldiers.
At this point, the massive Third Northern Expedition, which lasted for several months, ended in complete failure. The 50,000 infantry and cavalry led by Huan Wen had less than 10,000 people left, and more than 40,000 soldiers and horses were killed on the way to withdraw. At the same time, there were also losses.
There were nearly 300 large and small ships, a large number of vehicles and baggage, a thousand war horses, thousands of armors, and countless weapons, bows and arrows.
At the same time, a large number of cities and lands that had been recovered with great momentum a few months ago were immediately lost. The tens of thousands of people who followed them south also fled.
And these losses were only human and material losses, which were nothing to Huan Wen. What really made Huan Da Sima angry and painful was that after the defeat of the Northern Expedition, his reputation and strength were damaged.
of huge losses.
From today on, everyone in the world will laugh at him, Huan Da Sima, for not overestimating his own capabilities and insisting on the Northern Expedition without listening to dissuasion. As a result, he was beaten by Murong Chui and an unknown person from the Qin State and fled back.
From today on, the goal he hoped to achieve through the victory of this Northern Expedition seems to have been shattered.
For everyone in the Jin Dynasty, Huan Wen's failure in the Northern Expedition caused mixed emotions. For the emperors of the Jin Dynasty and Wang Xie and other aristocratic families, Huan Wen's failure seemed to have prevented something terrible from happening. Because of Huan Wen's ambitions
, almost like the intentions of Sima Zhao, the founder of the Jin Dynasty, everyone knows it. If Huan Wen wins the Northern Expedition, there will be no way to stop his next actions.
However, Huan Wen's failure is not something to celebrate, it is also the failure of the Jin Dynasty. What's more, what crazy behavior will an ambitious man who suffered a major setback do? No one knows. This is actually worrying.
matter.
In short, the failure of the Northern Expedition is destined to be a highlight in the history of the Jin Dynasty. The shock caused must be huge and unpredictable. To a certain extent, this is a huge turning point in the historical torrent, which makes the great
The Jin Dynasty moved towards another future.
…
Wujuncheng, mid-October.
The cold current has arrived in the south of the Yangtze River. Wu County is actually not too far south, and the winter is actually very cold. And it is the kind of wet and cold. Since the first cold current went south, almost overnight, a strong wind
Mixed with the cold rain, the entire tree crown of Wujun City was swept bare. In an instant, people realized that the bleak and cold winter had arrived.
People on the street have begun to put on thick winter clothes, and they have begun to shrink when walking on the street. In the shops on the street, people's homes have also begun to smell of fireworks all day long, which is the smell of wood stoves and charcoal pots for heating.
The sky above the city was also covered with a layer of foggy smoke.
The cold weather did not stop Li Hui from running and exercising. He still ran with heavy loads in the cold wind in the early morning, rain or shine. His figure gradually became strong and perfect, and his legs became slender and strong. Due to the exercise,
Through long-distance running with heavy loads, his lung capacity increased significantly, and his body muscles became strong and flexible.
Now Li Hui, if he runs and jumps without any weight, his steps are light and his jumping ability is amazing. For Li Hui, the transformation of his previous weak body has been basically completed. Now this body is stronger than normal.
A healthy body.
In fact, other exercises can be carried out on this basis, but Li Hui does not want to practice until his body is covered in muscles and looks like a skinned bullfrog with an exaggerated physique. What he really wants to learn is some martial arts and fighting skills.
Technique is a very useful life-saving skill in this era.
But so far, Li Hui can only learn some basic moves from the nursing staff. But it is obvious that the nursing staff at South House are not very good in this regard.
On the third day after the Zhongzheng evaluation, Li Hui saw the results of his evaluation from the notice in front of the Yamen. He was rated as a fifth grade. According to the grade breakdown of the nine-grade Zhongzheng system, he was a 'middle' grade.
This did not surprise Li Hui. Although he gave the Zhongzheng officials a little shock that day, when he left, Li Hui clearly heard their sighs and whispers of "what a pity" to each other.
Li Hui knew what they were regretting and why they said 'it's a pity'. Because even though he showed his ability, he was not from a wealthy family, so the result would be the same, he must be of 'low quality'.
Therefore, when he saw the results of the middle grade, Li Hui did not feel too surprised, but was a little relieved. At least it had reached the grade he had hoped to achieve before.
It's not that Li Hui took it all for granted and accepted it calmly. It's that even though he felt unfair in his heart, he had nowhere to reason.
You know, when Li Hui saw the result that Gu Chang was rated as the third-grade top grade, he couldn't believe his eyes. Gu Chang could be a top grade, and although he was not talented, he was still more than enough compared to Gu Chang.
However, this is the reality. This is the abnormal rule of this era. The upward path for poor families is locked, and the aristocratic families monopolize the upward path, and they are unable to change it.