The Qingzhou Army marched southward with overwhelming force and easily occupied the entire Langya Kingdom.
After leaving behind two army commanders and a small number of garrisoned soldiers, a mighty force of 17,000 people marched south from Zan Kingdom and entered Xiangben County.
The scenery along the way is extremely beautiful. This place became Lanling County in later generations, formerly called Cangshan County.
It is not the Cangshan Mountain in Erhai, Yunnan, but the Cangshan Mountain in Linyi, Shandong. There are mountains stretching for dozens of miles, with undulating mountains, hills and mountains, mist, mist, and pleasant scenery.
Following the road at the foot of Zeng Mountain, before reaching Xiangben County, there were cavalry galloping from a distance. They were scouts and spies sent by Chen Mu.
"Captain."
The spy dismounted and reported.
Chen Mu asked: "Is there any enemy situation ahead?"
"There is no hostility, it's just..."
"Just what?"
"There's just something weird."
"explain."
"I waited for the team to explore along the official road and found that the villages along the way were deserted. Some people's doors were open and even the doors were unlocked."
"oh?"
After hearing Tan Ma's words, Chen Mu thought carefully, frowned slightly and said, "Are there any valuables in the house?"
"Most of them are here, but there are still chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep scattered in the wild without anyone raising them."
"Are there any signs of a fight?"
"none."
"Where are the footprints?"
"The footprints are very messy."
"Lead the way to the nearest village."
"only."
Tan Ma got on his horse, and the five members of the team galloped along, leading Chen Mu and the escorting black armor heavy cavalry.
After about half an hour of galloping, at the foot of the mountain in the distance, you can see a village nestled in the mountains and forests. Next to the village, there is a stream flowing from the mountains, which serves as the village's water source.
Outside the village is the official road, and then there is the wilderness and plains, with a lot of fields. In the fields, there are unattended cattle and sheep eating millet seedlings, and chickens and ducks running around all over the ground.
This is almost unimaginable in rural areas. Cattle and sheep eat millet seedlings, and if you are not careful, it may cause a quarrel between two families.
But now the whole village seems to have evaporated, and there is no time to clean up the fragile belongings. It is really puzzling.
Moreover, looking from the direction of the official road near the entrance of the village, there are messy footprints everywhere.
You can't actually tell anything by looking at the footprints, because there are hundreds of people in a village, and dozens of people at best, walking back and forth, it's always a mess.
But the problem was that Chen Mu dismounted to investigate and found that one of the footprints was very strange. It was not an ordinary shoe sole pattern, but several grid-like mud prints.
Anyone with a little common sense knows that these are copper foam boot soles.
Copper foam shoes are actually spiked shoes. They were invented as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The soles are not ordinary patterns, but copper nails, which have an anti-slip effect when marching and fighting on rainy days.
The shoes of ordinary soldiers and common people in the Han Dynasty were basically hemp shoes. Only officers would wear these boots. Although these shoes had been popularized by the common people in the Tang Dynasty, they were basically exclusive to officers at this time.
Among the pottery figurines unearthed from Han Dynasty tombs in later generations, most of them were general-level pottery figurines wearing copper boots. So it can be basically concluded that an officer once appeared here.
Chen Mu's guard Ada looked around and wondered: "Why is there no one in this village? Could it be that they knew the war was coming and fled into the mountains?"
"Escape into the mountains?"
Chen Mu looked at the rolling mountains and shook his head: "Perhaps there are still fish that have slipped through the net in the mountains, but there are definitely not many. If they fled into the mountains because they were afraid of war, they would definitely take away all their valuables, including cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks.
"
"That means he was killed by the rebels."
Zhang Long showed a wise look in his eyes. If the people were dead, there would be no way to take away the cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks and other livestock.
Chen Mu rolled his eyes at him: "Not to mention that there are no corpses here, and there are no traces of fighting. If it were done by rebels, how could these cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks, which are so valuable in the village, still be kept? I don't think so.
, it seems like he was kidnapped in a hurry."
Being kidnapped?
Ah Da Ah Er, Zhang Long, Zhao Hu and other Xuanjia heavy cavalry generals were confused. In this troubled world, human life is as cheap as weeds, almost worthless. Taking people captive is not as cost-effective as taking away property, cattle, sheep and other livestock. Which princes
Would you do such a stupid thing?
At that moment, Zhang Long said in confusion: "But Governor, if you don't rob money or livestock, why do you just rob people, young men and women? It's understandable, but look at it like this, the whole village has been robbed.
What’s the use?”
yes.
what's the function?
This is also what Chen Mu is puzzled by.
In troubled times, everything is valuable, food, gold, copper, iron, and livestock.
Only population is not cheap.
The rule of law in the world has collapsed, and killing an individual is no different than killing a chicken.
A group of soldiers broke into the village and robbed nothing but the entire population. It was a bizarre thing.
What are they planning?
Chen Mu thought about it and couldn't figure out the reason, so he stopped thinking about it and said directly: "No matter what the purpose of arresting people is, let's go and take a look first. According to the traces, this matter should have happened not long ago, chase!"
As soon as the order was given, everyone mounted their horses one after another, and the heavy black armored cavalry galloped towards the south in a mighty manner.
At this time, the Xuanjia heavy cavalry can be said to be light cavalry, because the heavy armors are all in the baggage convoy at the back, and will only be temporarily equipped when they need to rush into the formation.
But without the heavy armor, the speed of the light cavalry can be increased. Chen Mu rode Ziying, like a purple lightning, galloping in the front, in the wilderness, horseshoes were played, and the cavalry with half of their feet in the stirrups were at full speed.
Moving forward, the speed has reached 20 kilometers per hour.
After galloping for about twenty minutes, the horse team slowed down and began to run lightly. The horses also need to rest and cannot maintain the fastest speed all the time. Generally, horses have to rest for half an hour after running for an hour, so they must conserve their horsepower.
Moreover, after speeding up and running, the formation of the cavalry also dispersed. Now it slowed down and maintained its formation. After resting for more than ten minutes, it started running again. After running for seven or eight minutes, people could be seen in the distance.
.
Don't forget that so far, they have only chased for about forty minutes. But they have already covered more than 10 kilometers while galloping. According to the walking speed of a person, it takes almost three to four hours.
There are many villages along the way. I glanced at them casually and found that they were just like the previous villages. Most of them were empty. Even if there were some people, they seemed to be people hiding in the mountains. They would go back to the village after they left.
After checking, he saw the cavalry and was so frightened that he immediately hid again.
Chen Mu led the Xuanjia heavy horse and ran wildly, and finally caught up with those who kidnapped the people. He saw that on the road in the wilderness in the distance, there were densely packed people, tied up with hemp ropes, wailing all the way, and guarded by soldiers holding guns.
, there are also supervisors whipping their whips to urge them.
As if they heard the roaring sound behind them, the soldiers in the distance turned around to check. When they saw smoke and dust everywhere, it turned out to be the terrifying cavalry brigade. All the soldiers froze on the spot, and the team actually stopped for a while.
After a while, a shrill scream continued to rise and fall, spreading from the rear team to the front team. These people arrested at least thousands of people, and the continuous line stretched for several miles. The soldiers at the end realized that something was wrong, and they began to run to the front.
, while shouting to report the news, while looking back in horror from time to time.
Chen Mu led the cavalry group behind the people's group, slowed down his pace, and stepped through the fields on the side. He ignored the soldiers who were overtaking him and went straight forward to find the general who led the group this time.
After a few minutes, a large group of soldiers rushed in from the front. The general at the head was still aggressive at first. He shouted and shouted on his horse, asking the soldiers to stand up and stand ready.
As a result, when he saw Chen Mu, he was immediately shocked, then shrank his head, turned over and dismounted, and prepared to dive into the crowd of soldiers.
However, Chen Mu had seen him a long time ago and said loudly: "Yu Jin, where are you running!"
Yu Jin froze, turned his head, put on a smile, and stood there feeling embarrassed. He waited until Chen Mu rode a horse and came a few meters in front of him, then he raised his hands and saluted: "Doctor Guanglu!"
"You still have me, Doctor Guanglu, in your eyes, which means that at least you still have the imperial court in your eyes!"
Chen Mu rode on the horse, leaned over to look at him, and shouted coldly: "But why do I see you here plundering the people and doing whatever you want? Could it be that you saw the world was in chaos and the rule of law collapsed, so you wanted to commit rebellion and claim the title of lord?"
king?"
A big hat was slapped on his face, and Yu Jin panicked at that moment. He had followed Bao Xin in his early years to fight for the leadership, and of course he knew Chen Mu. Now he is serving as a lieutenant under Cao Cao, although his status is not as good as that of Xiahou Dun, Xia Houyuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong and others.
But he is also a second-line general, so he naturally knows Chen Mu's strength and methods.
Therefore, when Chen Mu directly accused him of committing a crime, Yu Jin quickly denied it and said: "There is absolutely no such thing. I was just following orders."
"oh?"
Chen Mu narrowed his eyes and pressed forward step by step: "Whose order did you give me? Could it be Brother Meng De? Why did he ask you to kidnap these people?"
"I...I don't know, I'm really just following orders..."
Yu Jin waved his hands repeatedly but said nothing.
"Let the people go."
"Doctor Guanglu, please stop forcing me. If I let the people go, I will violate the military order."
"It seems that you, Yu Wenze, still don't know my methods."
Chen Mu glared at him with a fierce look on his face: "Believe it or not, if you keep nagging me, I will kill you today and you will be punished?"
Yu Jin was startled, turned around and looked at his soldiers, and then at the heavy black armored cavalry behind Chen Mu.
I saw that the soldiers behind me were in a hurry to fight. Although there were two to three thousand people, their formations were scattered and not connected into a formation.
But the cavalry behind Chen Mu didn't know when they had arranged themselves in order, and slowly pulled out the ring-headed swords at their waists. They all looked fierce and murderous.
The cavalry is restrained by the crossbowmen, but it is extremely restrained by the infantry. Not to mention mobility, the collision force generated by a horse weighing 500 to 600 kilograms when charging forward is definitely not something that the infantry can withstand.
Yu Jin, who has been training for many years, naturally knows this, so when he discovered that Chen Mu's cavalry had already formed a battle formation and was ready to fight at any time, he immediately stopped and lowered his head and said: "Since Dr. Guanglu said that the people should be released,
Then let the people go."
"Hurry up!"
Chen Mu scolded loudly.
Yu Jin had no choice but to order the people tied with hemp ropes to be released.
Thousands of people were ecstatic that they had escaped death. Many people turned around and ran away, but most people also knew that it was the general who later released them. They were grateful for a moment and knelt down and kowtowed before helping the old man and his wife.
Walk in the same direction as when you were young.
Seeing that all the people who had finally been captured ran away, Yu Jing cried without tears and said to Chen Mu, "Now that the people have been let go, we can leave."
"Who said you can leave?"
Chen Mu glanced at him and said calmly: "My tens of thousands of troops are behind me, and we are about to reach Xiangben in front. Just follow my army."
"Doctor Guanglu!"
Yu Jin opened his eyes wide and argued: "I am a general under Yanzhou Mu, and you have no right to detain our soldiers!"
Chen Mu was too lazy to talk nonsense with him and said to Ah Daodao: "Capture this guy first and tell Zang Ba to let him command the three armies. He rushed to Xiangben as soon as possible and asked Huang Zhong and Cai Yang to hand over his troops to Zang Ba.
Commander, lead your bodyguards and come quickly."
"only!"
Generals Ada, Aer, Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, and the fourth generals dismounted and stepped forward to capture Yu Jin. The soldiers around Yu Jin stretched out their spears to protect him.
But at the next moment, everyone on the Xuanjia heavy cavalry behind Chen Mu put down their swords, took out their bows and arrows, and aimed at this direction.
The most important way for cavalry to deal with infantry is to launch long-range missiles. They use the mobility of horses to roam around the edge of the battlefield. They knock down the infantry with a few waves of arrows and then charge on horseback. It is as simple as chopping melons and vegetables.
Seeing the bright arrows pointed at this side, Yu Jin's personal guards hesitated for a moment, their eyes wandered, and they looked around nervously, wanting to seek a sense of security, but without a shield, how could they feel safe?
Yu Jin sighed and said, "Put down your weapons. Dr. Guanglu has always been honest and will not hurt us even if he thinks about it."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Whether it hurts you or not depends on your performance."
Chen Mu snorted coldly: "Don't think that I don't know what you are planning."
Yu Jin remained silent.
Most of the second-line generals also knew that Cao Cao was going to sacrifice the people to the flag and massacre them in front of Tao Qian at the foot of Tan County.
Although there are some people who are intolerant, first of all, it is a hostile war that will not end until death. Secondly, there is no way to do anything because of the heavy military orders.
In ancient wars, if two sides became enemies, not only the other side's soldiers would be slaughtered, but also the common people.
This phenomenon has existed since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, because the people under your rule are not only your source of tax revenue and food, but also your source of soldiers. Especially during the Warring States Period, when the seven kingdoms competed for hegemony, all the people were soldiers.
During the Warring States Period, the total population of China was only between 10 and 20 million. However, when fighting, tens or even millions of armies would fight against each other. This was because of the conscription system used by all countries, and all people of suitable age were required to be recruited.
Forced into battle.
For example, in the Battle of Changping later, Zhao State was tricked and killed 400,000 soldiers, resulting in the loss of all young and strong men in the country. It was a bit like the Soviet Union during World War II. The ratio of men to women was instantly out of balance, the country was in turmoil, and the city was full of people.
The people were let go, and Yu Jin and his soldiers were also detained. About half an hour later, Huang Zhong and Cai Yang arrived quickly and saw two to three thousand soldiers scattered on the spot, sitting or lying in the wilderness.
The heavy cavalrymen in black armor were waiting seriously, as if they were watching over them.
Although they did not understand the situation in front of them, the two of them immediately came to Chen Mu and said, "Captain."
"Um."
Chen Mu nodded: "Huang Zhong, lead your troops and follow me. Cai Yang, escort these people and march to Xiangbi with Zang Ba."
"only!"
The two immediately took the order.
Cai Yang led his personal guards to unload the weapons of the forbidden troops and keep them under strict supervision.
Chen Mu took Xuan Jia's heavy cavalry and Huang Zhong, flew towards Xiangbi, and left the city.
After walking forward for about half an hour, I looked up and saw that the city was looming in the distance.
But what made Chen Mu feel horrified was that in the wilderness on all sides, along the east direction of Xiangben City, countless soldiers escorted the people, as if they were converging into a river, heading towards Tan County.
Xiangben is only about sixty kilometers away from Tan County. Because it is the seat of Xuzhou, with a radius of dozens of kilometers, the two counties combined have more than 100,000 people living there.
What did Cao Cao want to do by arresting them?
Chen Mu's eyes flashed with a hint of indifference, and he said to Ah Da: "Ah Da, go and cut down some trees and build an object."
"What object?"
Ada asked. He was a carpenter before joining the army and had also built siege equipment. He was very good at this.
Chen Mu said calmly: "A coffin."
"coffin?"
Ada was full of doubts and asked: "What are you doing to build a coffin?"