At this very moment, Juyan Lake is located five or six hundred miles away from Shuofang.

The thousand Han soldiers guarding this place sent out small teams to patrol various areas.

The Ruoshui River valley, the banks of Juyan Lake, and the Juyan Grassland are their main patrol areas.

Of course, the main focus was on organizing thousands of residents in the city to select able-bodied men to reinforce the walls of Juyan City.

Juyan City is located on the bank where the Ruoshui River flows into Juyan Marsh, using the river as a natural barrier.

Along the banks of Juyan Lake and Ruoshui River, there are countless fertile fields that were previously reclaimed by the border troops.

Since the onset of winter and the arrival of cold weather, the Xianbei people in the northern desert and the Northern Xiongnu people in the northwest have become restless.

They wanted to move eastward from here into the Hetao region, or go against the flow of the Ruoshui River valley, cross the vast desert, and enter the Hexi Corridor.

Once we can enter the Hexi Corridor, we can plunder the counties of Longyou and also go west to bully those small countries in the Western Regions.

Juyan Lake thus became their key transit point.

Although the Tuoba Xianbei tribe, whose capital was in Darhan, suffered heavy losses and defeats on the Hetao Plain, they were defeated and killed.

However, the various Xianbei tribes in the Hexi Corridor north of the Gobi Desert were not affected in any way.

The war that took place in the east was like a gust of wind on the plateau, blowing by without leaving a trace.

The commander of this thousand Han soldiers was named Geng Chun. He came from a military family, and his ancestors had made meritorious contributions by killing Xiongnu people in Liangzhou, which benefited their descendants!

He was constantly worried and deeply concerned about the current situation in Juyan.

Rebellions were raging in Wuwei, Zhangye, and Longyou.

After the newly appointed governor of Liangzhou, Ding Yuan mobilized 10,000 soldiers from various prefectures to fight against the rebel armies of Beigong Boyu, Bian Zhang, and Han Sui in Wuwei, Xiping, Anding, and Beidi.

The Qiang people also got involved, and the situation in Liangzhou became extremely chaotic.

Most of the Han troops from various parts of Liangzhou were transferred to Longyou, which reduced the number of troops stationed on the border of Liangzhou.

If it weren't for Juyan's strategic importance, and the fact that Juyan City was separated from Zhangye County by a vast desert, the only way to march would be through the Ruoshui River Valley, which is three or four hundred miles away.

Ding Yuan might also rotate or transfer these thousand men.

After all, the soldiers in Liangzhou, especially the border troops, were always ready to fight against foreign tribes, making them even more formidable in combat.

To repel external threats, we must first secure internal stability!

Ding Yuan now needs to concentrate the elite troops from all over Liangzhou to quickly quell the rebellion of Beigong Boyu, Bian Zhang, Han Sui, and others, so that Liangzhou can be stabilized.

As for the surrounding alien races, let's hold off for now!

As far as the Han Dynasty is concerned, the surrounding foreign tribes are used for leveling up and completing dungeons.

When there is no trouble, they can send out thousands of cavalrymen with powerful bows and crossbows to pursue enemies in the south and north.

at this time.

Standing atop Juyan City, Geng Chun faced the bleak north wind and looked across Juyan Lake towards the distant desert.

Whenever there was any disturbance over there, I felt as if foreign cavalry would suddenly attack.

If it's just over ten thousand Hu cavalry, with our own thousand garrison troops plus four or five thousand civilians in the city, we should be able to hold out for a month or two without any problem.

But at this time, the number of Hu cavalry would definitely not be so small; it could be tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands.

Geng Chun then had no choice but to seek help from Zhangye County.

But he knew even better that Zhangye County would not send a single soldier to provide support at this moment.

This is what worries Geng Chun the most.

Juyan Lake, a strategic location and important border town, was a flank for foreign tribes venturing deep into the desert.

Even if Geng Chun and his thousand men were to die in battle, they could not retreat.

However, if the Hu cavalry is strong and holds their ground, it's uncertain when reinforcements will arrive.

"I hope that this winter, the Xianbei people of the desert and the Xiongnu people north of the Tianshan Mountains will not come to attack this place!"

Geng Chun muttered to himself.

Just then, several riders hurriedly rode over from the grassland next to Juyan Lake in the distance.

These are cavalrymen patrolling the edge of Juyan Lake.

Seeing their hurried pace, Geng Chun's heart tightened, and an ominous premonition welled up in her mind.

As expected, the knight arrived breathlessly in front of Geng Chun:

"Commander Geng, something terrible has happened! To the north, there are Xianbei cavalry, a huge force, it looks like there are tens of thousands of them!"

hiss!

The Xianbei people still came!

Geng Chun's expression turned serious: "Do you know which tribe of Xianbei they are?"

"Our subordinates risked their lives to investigate and discovered that they were the Tuoba and Yuchi tribes of the Hexi Xianbei!"

Upon hearing the names of these two Xianbei tribes, Geng Chun's eyes became even more resolute.

"Issue the order: the entire city is on alert! All able-bodied men from every household are to assemble in the city square, and the armories are to be opened!"

"All other troops were withdrawn into the city, and scouts were sent out ten miles away to report on the movements of the Xianbei people at any time."

"......"

As Geng Chun issued one military order after another, Juyan City was instantly in an uproar, with countless soldiers coming and going.

Even the people in the city joined in the movement.

As people living on the border, they are closely connected with the army and maintain a high degree of unity; many of them are also the wives and children of the army.

When nomadic cavalry raided the border, every household displayed a high level of wartime preparedness.

In less than an hour, with the help of the people, all kinds of defensive equipment were piled up on the city walls.

Only one thousand able-bodied men were given weapons and became the reserve force.

Farmers in peacetime, soldiers in wartime.

This land was dug out by them, hoe by hoe, how could it be ruined by the iron hooves of the Xianbei cavalry?

Their will to defend this place is stronger than anyone else's.

One smoke signal after another traveled upstream along the Ruoshui River valley toward Zhangye.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the desert dust north of Juyan Lake blotted out the sun, and the ground trembled.

Swarms of barbarian cavalry, as dense as locusts, appeared one after another on the barren, yellow earth.

As he watched the sky slowly being swallowed by black and gray, Geng Chun's breathing became heavy.

The current Hu cavalry force is definitely no less than 50,000.

It's uncertain how many days Juyan Lake, this tiny place, can hold out.

Moreover, with so many barbarian cavalry, Juyan Lake might just be a minor obstacle on their raiding route.

They only need 10,000 men to surround Juyan City, while the remaining 40,000 men can swagger across the Ruoshui River Valley and march to Zhangye, Dunhuang, Jiuquan and other places.

"We will live and die with Juyan, to serve the Han Dynasty!"

Geng Chun gave a final, poignant pep talk to his subordinates, both soldiers and civilians.

In less than half an hour, the Xianbei cavalry, like a tidal wave, had spread from the edge of Juyan Lake.

They surrounded the city on three sides of the Ruoshui River, blocking its way.

Geng Chun and his thousand subordinates, along with four or five thousand civilians, were instantly turned into an isolated island in Juyan City.

Geng Chun certainly wanted to take the initiative, but looking at his few subordinates, he gave up the idea.

The only course of action now is to hold Juyan City.

We can only hope that Zhangye will see this urgent signal and give it sufficient attention.

The fact that the Liangzhou governor's office recognized the importance of Juyan Lake, even if it was just to send a rescue mission, would have delayed and made the Hu cavalry hesitate in their attack.

As the saying goes: "When the storm is about to break, the mountains are full of clouds; when the dark clouds press down on the city, it seems as if the city will be destroyed!"