Xishan Fanhu itself is only a small-scale tribal alliance.
In the battle of Houerwu, two thousand tribesmen were either captured or killed, and the Wuchi clan had to open a stronghold and surrender. The foundation of the Thirteen Fanhu tribes in Xishan was already shaky even if it had not been uprooted. .
Although the remaining thousands of Fanqi escaped from the Houerwu Gorge, the Motu tribe no longer had the ability and reputation to restrain other tribes, so these more than a thousand Fanqi were quickly disbanded and returned to their respective tribes.
When the Wuchi clan opened their stronghold and surrendered, the other tribes in the Xishan Mountains were naturally doubly panicked. Some who acted faster had already dragged their families and drove herds of cattle and sheep to flee towards the Yinshan Mountains. , thinking that the farther away from the ferocious and formidable Shuozhou soldiers and horses, the better, and no longer had the courage to go to Shuozhou City to look for them.
However, most of the Tibetan people, or the vast majority of ordinary people, would hardly have the determination to cut off their wrists even if they were about to die. Therefore, in the newly established Tibetan barracks and the third battalion of Tongbai mountain soldiers, they crossed the mountains and ridges to Baidu. When the Heiyan Plateau, Yingpanmao, and Pingliang Valley areas in the north of Luo Chong cut off the escape routes for the Tibetan people from the Western Mountains to the southern foot of the Yinshan Mountain, most of the Tibetan people were still stranded in the Western Mountains; they did not dare, or did not expect to gather thousands of people. The remaining troops were defeated, but they were still able to break through the blockade of Tongbai Mountain Soldiers.
Of course, even if the foundation of Xishan Fanhu has been shaken and the ability to take the initiative has been completely lost, the Fanbu villages are built in the dangerous plateau gorges of Xishan, with thousands of Fanhu men, women and children guarding each other. Xu Huai thought Attacking them one by one is time-consuming and laborious.
The conflict between Han and Tibet is acute and difficult to ease in a short period of time. It is equally difficult to get these Tibetan tribes to surrender unconditionally before the troops come to the stronghold for a complete siege...
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In late April, there were finally several heavy rains in Xishan. The dry gullies overflowed with torrents. Most of the large and small streams and rivers in the eastern foothills of Xishan converged into the Pianguan River, and then the water flow became even more powerful. Among the Yellow Rivers that pass through the Shanxi-Shaanxi Grand Canyon from north to south, the Cangtou River at the northern foot of the Xishan Mountains is equally powerful.
Bailuochong is the intersection of several branch streams at the eastern foot of Xishan Mountain that merge into the Pianguan River. In the dry, loess-filled Xishan Mountains, it is a rare place with abundant water and grass.
The Motu tribe has lived here for more than a hundred years, with a population of more than 4,000. They built three forts near Bailuochong based on the steep plateau valley.
In the sparsely populated and vast deserts and grasslands, the Motu tribe is no longer too small. However, in the battle of Houerwu, nearly 500 of the Motu tribe were either captured or killed. The heavy losses can be said to make Motu... The pain goes up and down in my heart and my bones.
Not to mention the other Xishan tribes, even within the Motu clan, Motu Dunli, the commander-in-chief, repeatedly mobilized various tribes to provoke him, harassed Shuozhou, and finally made a nearly desperate decision to gather troops to besiege Houerwu. Deeply doubtful and distrustful.
On the last day of April, more than a hundred cavalrymen, all wearing green and black armor, passed through the long ditch in the east and arrived in front of Motu tribe's Laihu'er village.
Chen Zixiao drove his horse directly to the wall of Laihu'er's village, held an arrow in his hand, and shouted towards the wall: "Xiao Yanhan, the princess of Gucheng, and Han Lun, the general of Yingzhou, and Wu Sanrong are here to serve as herdsmen of Xijing, and Lin, the governor of Yingzhou." Master Shi has sent military orders to supervise the defense, Motu Dunli, please open the gate of the village quickly!"
More than ten years ago, the Xishan Fanhu were secretly instigated by party members to rebel. After Xiao Linshi suppressed the rebellious tribe, he still focused on appeasing other tribes.
Although this gave Motu and other tribesmen a chance to rest and recuperate, it also gave Xiao Linshi a high reputation and deterrence within Xishan Fanhu.
Xiao Yanhan, Chen Zixiao, and Wu Sanrong also did some urgent contact work before leading more than a hundred troops from the Yushu Chong Pass in the north of Shuozhou into Xishan and arriving at Laihu'erzhai to confirm that there were still some people who were willing to be loyal at this moment. Or thinking of taking shelter under Xiao Linshi.
Mo Tudun's troops stood on the wall of the village in shock and confusion. Someone opened the gate of the village below and welcomed Xiao Yanhan, Chen Zixiao and Wu Sanrong into the village.
The situation became more and more dangerous, and there was not much time to waste on persuasion and mediation. After entering Laihu'er Village, Xiao Yanhan and Chen Zixiao immediately ordered that Mo Tudunli and others be detained.
More than a dozen armored warriors swarmed forward and drove back the hesitant and panicked guards around Mo Tu Dunli. They pushed Mo Tu Dun Li and his son Mo Tu Qi to the ground and tied them up with ropes.
"I was ordered by the Xijing Defense Envoy to harass Shuozhou. I have no merit but hard work. How dare you tie me up with a rope?" Mo Tudunli was in his ambitious and strong years. He was born with supernatural power and was captured by four powerful followers. With his back pressed down, Yu struggled to stand up and asked in a hissing voice.
"The Xijing Defense Envoy ordered you to harass Shuozhou, but why did you gather the limited talents of the Xishan tribes to storm Houerwu, but ended up with such heavy casualties? You think you are loyal, so you don't have to take responsibility for such a disastrous defeat. "?" Chen Zixiao stared at Mo Tudunli and asked sternly, "Don't try to quibble in front of me. If I take you to Yingzhou, you will be given a chance to speak in front of Master Lin Shi."
Most of the tribesmen around Motu Dunli were indifferent to their being tied up, and shouted: "The Khitan power is over, you..."
"Stop his mouth!" Chen Zixiao ordered.
With sharp eyes and quick hands, the left and right men immediately tore off a corner of their robes and blocked the mouths of Mo Tudunli and others, preventing them from having another chance to say anything.
Before the Chihu people officially went south in a large scale, they still hoped that the Yueting would send troops to attack Yanji, Yunshuo and other places. Therefore, even if they secretly bribed Motu Dunli and others, they would not make a big show of it among the tribe.
Most of the tribesmen of the Thirteen Fanhu tribes in Xishan thought that they were attacking Shuozhou on the orders of the Xijing Defense Envoy. At the same time, the tribe's escape route from west to north was also blocked by Tongbai Mountain soldiers. Xiao Yanhan, Chen Zi Xiao, Wu Sanrong led more than a hundred armored men and women, with support from the inside, and broke into Laihu'er Village directly. The vast majority of Motu tribesmen could not even think of resisting in their hearts.
Now Chen Zixiao directly accused Motu Dunli of being responsible for the defeat of Houerwu and wanted to take him to Yingzhou to be punished. The Motu tribesmen, who were originally dissatisfied and resentful about the defeat, looked at this with indifference. everything.
No one could speak for them, let alone conflict with Xiao Yanhan and the armored warriors brought by Chen Zixiao to save Mo Tudunli and others...
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Motu Dunli and others were controlled more easily than expected and escorted to Yingzhou. However, there were still some people within the Motu Department who were still loyal to Xiao Linshi. As the newly appointed Qu Commander, Chen Zi controlled the Motu Department. Xiao Xiao and Xiao Yanhan rushed directly to Wuchi Village to meet Xu Huai.
Xiao Yanhan's mood and feelings at this time were completely different from those when she went to Shuozhou to meet Xu Huai more than two months ago.
More than two months ago, Linhuang, Dading and other hinterlands fell one after another, and the Khan became a prisoner of the Red Husbands. Yanji and Yunshuo had just won a great victory, but before they could rejoice, they fell into panic and chaos.
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Everyone is so restless and unsure of the way out.
At that time, Xiao Linshi did not think that going to Xijin Prefecture to establish a new emperor would bring any change to the Khitan, and advocated moving westward. However, at that time, Shuozhou City was still under the control of the soldiers and horses of the Southern Dynasty, and Xishan Fanhu was basically independent of the Xijing Road.
If you don't obey orders from outside, even if you want to move westward, there is no way.
Not to mention the north-south pincer attack formed by the Yueting and Chihu people on the Yunshuo area, not to mention the wandering minds of Xiao Xinhan, Li Chulin and others, they may not be able to deal with the two obstacles in the way of Shuozhou and Xishan Fanhu alone.
What do the tribesmen talk about about moving west?
Xiao Yanhan had always felt that Xu Huai would not be loyal to the Yue court because of his life experience, and he probably had ulterior motives towards them. However, given the situation at that time, they had no confidence that they could storm Shuozhou where Tongbai Mountain soldiers were stationed.
city.
When the soldiers of Tongbai Mountain first invaded Xishan, Xiao Yanhan certainly did not think that Xu Huai had seen through their intention to move westward and intended to help them.
However, after the Battle of Houerwu, Xu Huai not only let some of the Wuchi clan go to Yingzhou, but also intentionally opened up the gap in the north of Shuozhou from Yushu to Xishan, and even divided his troops to the west and north of Bailuochong.
; And it was Xu Huai's move that actually completely cut off the other options of the centrist forces of the Thirteen Divisions of Xishan, and they could only take refuge under Yingzhou again.
This can be said to be a key factor in their success in detaining Motu Dunli and others without any hindrance and controlling the Motu tribe. If the Motu tribe thought that they could still go west or north to escape the threat of Shuozhou soldiers and horses, they would soon
It's hard to imagine that their trip would go so smoothly.
Everything proves that Xu Huai not only had long understood their intention to move his family westward, but even at such a difficult time, he directly sent troops to attack Xishan to help them open up the westward migration route.
In fact, after taking control of Motu and other tribes, they divided their troops and stationed at the junction between Tangzi Mountain and Dabao Mountain at the northeastern foothills of Xishan Mountain, where they resisted the Red Husband's cavalry that crossed from the southeast of Yinshan Mountain, forcing the Red Husband to retreat.
The cavalry could only go south through the gap in the north of Datong, which not only ensured the safety of the westward migration route, but also encouraged the tribes near Datong to move westward with them.
From this moment on, no matter how unwilling and unwilling Xiao Yanhan felt in her heart, she could no longer question Xu Huai's goodwill.