It was getting late, and it was impossible to return to Lingzhou today, so Chen Cheng ordered to stay temporarily in an abandoned village. He controlled his mount and entered through the broken barrier first. The barrier was made of trees and soil and was high.
About one foot three feet and four feet thick, this kind of barrier can protect against wild beasts and bandits very well, but it also has a certain ability to withstand organized troops. However, the attacker must be determined to break through such a defense.
Not difficult.
There are many corpses near the breach in the barrier. Judging from their clothing, they should be local villagers. There are broken farm tools and weapons walking on the ground. There are large areas of brown and black on the ground. It is obvious that fierce battles have occurred here. But now the guards
Both the attackers and the attackers had disappeared, leaving only the corpses of the deceased on the ground emitting an unpleasant smell.
Chen Cheng frowned, feeling that he seemed to be taking it for granted. If he entered here rashly, he might catch an epidemic or something. But since the order had been issued, it was best not to change it. It was never a good habit to change orders at night.
For example, the Tumubao Incident in the Ming Dynasty was caused by the emperor's change of course.
Of course, the current situation is not that serious, but if the order is changed again and again, it will reduce the general's prestige.
After finding a relatively open and clean place, Yang Hu, Yan Xing and others first fed the horses, then walked around the village and found some millet and rice near the collapsed kitchen and buried stove.
Wheat. Because they were very close to the Huns, they did not dare to light a fire, so they ate the millet directly with cold water.
The millet is not shelled properly, and there are still many shell fragments inside. The hard shell will scratch the teeth in the mouth, and it will sting when swallowed, making it very uncomfortable to eat. Generally speaking, normal humans are
You wouldn't eat it like this. Chen Cheng swallowed two mouthfuls without changing his expression. He was sure that he also hated this kind of food, even if he had many differences from ordinary people.
After arranging the order of the vigil, Chen Cheng lay down on a pile of straw and quickly fell asleep. After sleeping for about four hours, he woke up automatically without being urged by others, and then took over Yan Xing's vigil.
Xing whispered a few words to him, and then got into the darkness.
Chen Cheng looked inside the village, then found a taller tree and climbed up. It was already midnight, and the bright moon was hanging in the sky. He sat on a thicker tree trunk and swayed with his feet.
.
The moonlight shines on the earth, and the scenery nearby and far away is shadowy. At night, there is no hustle and bustle during the day, but if you listen carefully, you can still hear a lot of sounds. There are many insects vibrating their wings inside and outside the village, and not far away
In the Yellow River, the water is flowing endlessly to the east.
Faced with this situation, Chen Cheng couldn't help but recite two lines of poetry, "The moon is setting, knowing that it has not yet dawned, and the river is far away and only the sound can be heard." After reading, he felt that time had decreased by several seconds.
After a long time, when the moon set and the sun had not risen, Yang Hu, Yan Xing and others had already woken up. They fed their mounts first, then directly pulled up the horses and went onto the road from the entrance of the village. The fence at the entrance of the village and nearby
The house had been burned beyond recognition. Chen Cheng hurried past on horseback and caught a glimpse of a small hand sticking out of the adobe bricks.
He sighed in his heart, put a little force on his legs, Gulu hissed, and increased his speed. The cavalry behind him also speeded up, and it didn't take long to arrive near Lingzhou. Lingzhou is not far from the Yellow River.
For four miles, there were ferries on both sides of the Yellow River, and fortresses were built near the ferries to store troops and food.
It is said to be a fortress, but it is actually a large fort. The wall is no more than two feet high, and up to five or six hundred soldiers can be stuffed in the middle. This kind of fort was originally used to store supplies transported across the Taiwan Strait. When I heard that the Huns were coming,
After that, it was hastily converted into a fortress. Therefore, the defensive power of the fortress can be imagined.
Chen Cheng revealed his identity at the ferry, and then took the ferry back to the east bank. The Yellow River has a wide water surface, which is by no means comparable to the river outside Guanzi City in western Liaoning. There are often large wetlands and tidal flats on the bank, with reeds and other aquatic plants growing inside.
Countless animals inhabit it. When Chen Cheng and others passed by, countless birds were frightened, flapping their wings and making loud sounds. Among the dense flora, the calls of toads could occasionally be heard.
The water surface of the Yellow River near Lingzhou is seven or eight miles wide, and the current is so fast that it took the ferry less than half an hour to row from the west bank to the east bank. After Chen Cheng and the others landed, it took them a while to get to Lingzhou City.
A lot of stones and wood were piled up, and many soldiers and civilians were transporting more defense materials to the city.
When Xu Chao heard that Chen Cheng was back, he rushed over immediately and asked: "My lord, have you encountered any Huns here? Is Lian County still holding on?"
"We bumped into some," Chen Cheng said: "They were probably tribal soldiers on the periphery. They were not difficult to deal with. After encountering the Huns, we retreated. The situation behind them is unclear."
Xu Chao sighed and said: "Without news for so long, I'm afraid it has already fallen."
He said to Chen Cheng: "General Yang Qiu sent someone over and said that General Cheng Yi's troops will arrive in Fuping today."
"I know, he told me before."
Xu Chao asked: "Since General Cheng Yi has also arrived, why not station the army in Lingzhou? This will also make it easier to fight the Huns!"
Chen Cheng asked: "Is there any food supply for the army locally?"
"There are still 150,000 shi of food stored in the warehouse. If we collect some from the people, we can get another 50,000 shi."
"So many?" Chen Cheng pondered for a while and said, "Then I will ask someone to invite General Yang Qiu and General Cheng Yi to come over."
Xu Chao looked happy and saluted: "My lord is wise!"
Chen Cheng smiled and said, "If I don't agree with your opinion, am I crazy?"
Xu Chao said sarcastically: "Why is my lord so unconscious?"
In Fuping City, the handsome Cheng Yi was dressed in iron clothes and said to Yang Qiu with a smile but not a smile: "Brother Yang, we haven't seen each other for a long time since you sent troops to attack Yuwei."
Yuwei belongs to Wuwei County and is very close to Anding. Chengyi once stocked up grain and grass here. A few years ago, Yang Qiu marched along the Yellow River and passed through Anding. He raided Yuwei and looted all the 100,000 stones of military rations stored there. Later.
Cheng Yi sent someone to contact Ma Teng, which almost cut off Yang Qiu's escape route. After that war, the relationship between them has not been very good, although their relationship was not good before that.
Yang Qiu said displeasedly: "How long ago did that happen? Now the Huns are pressing down on the border. It's better for you and me to put aside our past grudges."
Cheng Yi said sadly: "You said you should abandon the past grudges? You must first return the 100,000 stones of military rations to me!"
Yang Qiu said angrily: "Are you here to help me fight against the Huns, or are you here to settle old scores with me?"
Cheng Yi snorted and said, "Settle old scores first, and then deal with the Huns!"
Yang Qiu pulled out half of the sword with a "chun" sound and shouted: "Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
Cheng Yi also put his hand on the hilt of the sword and said angrily: "You have a sword, don't I?"
Yan Zhong couldn't stand it anymore and advised: "Both of you are the pillars of Liangzhou. Now that outsiders are coming, it's better to live in harmony and treat the outside world as one."
Cheng Yi glanced at Yang Qiu and said with a smile: "For the sake of Mr. Yan, I'll put up with this nonsense. Mr. Yan is right. Now that the Huns are invading in large numbers, they clearly don't want to kill us Liangzhou princes."
Take it seriously and give them a good lesson. But one thing is that during the period of dispatching troops, all military rations must be supplied by the Northland."
Yan Zhong said: "This is what it should be."
He turned around and said to Yang Qiu: "General Yang understands the righteousness well and will definitely not oppose it, right?"
Yang Qiu put the sword back into its scabbard and said, "Of course!"
Yan Zhong breathed a sigh of relief and said: "I just received a message from the Lord, asking us to move the army forward and station it in Lingzhou. What do the two generals think?"
Cheng Yi smiled and said: "Guests can do as they please, I have no objection."
He heard about Yang Qiu's surrender of Lingzhou to Chen Cheng, so he made a sarcastic comment. Yang Qiu just pretended that he had not heard and said to Yan Zhong: "If the army moves forward, a decisive battle with the Huns will be inevitable. Will we continue?"
Think about it? I sent letters to Cheng Yin, Zhang Heng and the others, why don't we wait until they come over?"
Hearing this, Cheng Yi sneered and said, "Zhang Hengchengyin and the others have all gone to Jincheng. How could they have time to come and rescue you? It's because of the friendship we have developed that I kindly led the troops here."
Yan Zhong said to Yang Qiu in surprise: "The general doesn't even want to defend Lingzhou? Does he want to put the Huns down in Fuping City?"
Yang Qiu said matter-of-factly: "The Huns are used to luring the enemy deep into the territory. We also use this trick, so why not?"
"..." Yan Zhong turned around and asked Cheng Yi, "What does General Cheng think?"
Cheng Yi smiled and said: "Yang Qiu doesn't care about his own territory, what else can I say?"
Yan Zhong thought for a while and said: "Then I will take people to guard Lingzhou, and the two generals can do what they want."
Before Yang Qiu could say anything, Cheng Yi rushed to say: "Then I will go to Lingzhou with Mr. Yan to fight the Huns, and General Yang Qiu will stay in Fuping."
"What do you mean by this?" Yang Qiu shouted: "The Huns are coming fiercely, we avoid their sharp edges and attack them when they return lazily. This is in line with the law of war!"
Cheng Yi laughed loudly and said: "We don't know any military tactics. We only know that if the Huns gain a foothold in Lingzhou, Beidi County and even the entire Liangzhou will be in danger."
He said to Yan Zhong: "Mr. Yan has not been in Liangzhou for a long time. He probably doesn't know that there are hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land on both sides of the Yellow River near Lingzhou, which can produce millions of dan of grain every year. If the Huns occupied such a treasure land,
They will not retreat even if they are beaten to death."
Yan Zhong said in surprise: "I know this is a plain, but are there so many fields in Lingzhou?"
He said to Yang Qiu: "General Yang is so generous that he gave up such an important place to the prince?"
Cheng Yi said with a "hehe" smile: "Although Lingzhou has a lot of food, he can't receive much, so naturally he can give it away casually."
Yang Qiu hummed, but did not refute, seeming to acquiesce.
Yan Zhong understood something immediately, and couldn't help but look at Cheng Yi a few more times, thinking: Cheng Yi knows so much about Beidi's affairs, I'm afraid the person who came here is not good.
