Chapter 152: Foothold
Huangfu Song suspected that he had heard wrongly.
But Cheng Yu immediately added, "It is Gaoping that was previously occupied by Zhong Qiang."
Huangfu Song and Cheng Yu looked at each other in silence for a moment, and then Huangfu Song asked in a daze, "Has Gaoping been taken down?"
Cheng Yu replied, "Fortunately, General Huangfu is here to distract attention. We marched last night and broke through the city this morning. We are still finishing up, so I would like to invite General Huangfu to have dinner with us."
Huangfu Song: “…”
When this unexpected event happened, Huangfu Song couldn't tell for a moment whether he was more surprised or more happy.
Cheng Yu said that he was lucky to be here, but as for Huangfu Song, he didn't feel that he played any role at all.
He was stationed here, waiting for the Bingzhou army led by Qiao Yan to join forces with him.
I thought that in this way, with sufficient manpower, even if Gaoping City was not captured, a team could be left to surround the outside of the city, restrict the elite troops of Zhong Qiang from going out, and then sweep the periphery and occupy Liupan Mountain Pass to set up camp.
In this way, the army would not suffer too much in the subsequent westward advance.
However, Qiao Yan had no intention of engaging in a protracted war with Zhong Qiang, but directly chose to break into the city by force!
No matter how bad the Zhong Qiang people were at defending the city, just relying on the city walls of Gaoping's first city to guard them was enough to cause trouble.
Zhong Qiang was able to gain the upper hand among all the Qiang tribes, and he was definitely not incompetent in fighting!
So how was Gaoping City breached overnight?
When Huangfu Song followed Cheng Yu to Gaoping, he was still thinking about this question in his mind.
When he reached the outside of Gaoping City, he saw that the Qingshui River that flowed around the city could no longer be called Qingshui. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it the Bloody River.
The Qingshui River originates from Liupan Mountain and flows northward to Gaoping City. It is truly a clear river, but at this moment, an astonishing number of corpses of the Zhongqiang people are piled up along the moat surrounding the city.
The blood that gathered on the ground soaked into the surrounding land, and even dyed the Qingshui River blood red.
Qiao Yan stood by the river, watching these soldiers clear out all the escaped criminals in the alleys and houses in the city. He looked incredibly sharp as he stood there with his gun in hand.
Hearing the sound of marching footsteps coming from behind, she turned around and looked towards Huangfu Song, then her expression softened a bit: "General Huangfu."
When Cheng Yu set out to Chaona City to invite Huangfu Song, the fighting in the city had almost settled.
The Zhong Qiang, which claimed to have a population of 100,000, was actually split into several parts internally, and the Zhong Qiang leader only commanded the most prosperous group of more than 10,000 people.
Although Gaoping City looks solid with high walls and thick walls, after they broke through the south gate, the Zhong Qiang in the city became the turtle caught in the jar.
The fact that Gaoping City had no major city gate on the north side further exacerbated the unfavorable situation they faced.
All they had left was to flee east or west.
But when the Bingzhou army broke through the southern city gate, the follow-up troops that had been advancing in order from the Qingshui River Valley immediately split up under the command of Xun You.
One team still served as the reserve reinforcements for the team attacking from the south gate, while the other two teams used cavalry and crossbow teams to encircle and kill the enemy at the east and west gates.
The reason why Qiao Yan brought so many generals with him on this trip was to meet the needs of the subsequent division of troops for combat.
And when the target at this moment was only Gaoping City, these generals and their followers became the sharp blades that surrounded them from all sides!
Zhao Yun was guarding the east of the city gate, and Fu Gan and Chu Yan were guarding the west of the city gate.
This is a waiting lineup that anyone who sees it would feel is luxurious.
Perhaps they still have a chance, which is to unite their men into a rope in the city with no way to retreat, and counterattack the Bingzhou army.
But the arrow shot by Qiao Yan that hit the messenger first flew towards him. No matter how calm and composed he appeared, it was still frightening to others.
Even though she did not draw her bow and shoot the second arrow, but just stood behind the iron shield of the watchtower, the leader of Zhong Qiang knew clearly that unless he could capture the other party, otherwise -
She is the spiritual belief behind these aggressive Bingzhou troops!
With her around, these people will only become more courageous!
When the guards around him had to fight with these fierce soldiers, he realized another bad news.
His opponent did not come in one go simply by taking advantage of the situation.
As the sky gradually brightened, the faces of the soldiers before him all showed a state of vigor and vitality, no less than those of the Qiang people who mainly fed on meat.
The weapons in their hands were much sharper than those produced by the Liangzhou Arms Depot and stored in Gaoping City.
They formed an impenetrable formation on the street facing the city gate. When each long sword chopped off a Zhong Qiang head, he could see these people shouting out a number.
As this number was announced, the soldiers at the front raised their swords again as if tirelessly.
until……
Until a Fang Tian Hua Ji appeared out of nowhere.
The Zhong Qiang leader suddenly realized that his personal guards had fallen one after another, or were now isolated at a distance from him.
His bravery was nothing compared to the almost unreasonable brutality of the opposite side. Before he could make any counterattack, his head had already fallen to the ground.
The thought that flashed through his mind at this moment was -
This seems to be a team that is no less powerful than the legendary Duan Xing's army.
No! Even though Duan Xing had conquered Liang Province for many years, he had never done such an outrageous thing as breaking through a fortified city overnight.
But at this time, his head had been happily placed on the watchtower of Gaoping City by Lu Bu, the guy who had won the first merit, as a signal to the outside world that the Bingzhou Army had taken control of Gaoping City.
His body was piled outside the city along with that of his people.
According to Qiao Yan's arrangement, in order to prevent the corpses from causing epidemics in the vicinity, the corpses will be cremated after they are properly collected and the military merits are counted.
When she made the arrangements, she said confidently: "Xunzi said that the captives of the Qiang people should not be worried about being tied up in a fortress, but worried about not burning them. In fact, burning them is a righteous act for the Qiang people who died in the battle. This will definitely help us win over the roaming Qiang people around us after this shock."1
She did not mention this again when she met Huangfu Song. She only mentioned that she chose to kill all the Qiang people in Gaoping City equally, even those who chose to surrender to her at the end of the battle.
"Gaoping is located on a strategic road and guards a strategic and dangerous place. We cannot afford to lose it. I can break the city today, but the Qiang people I let go may take advantage of it tomorrow. It is better to cut the weeds and root them out so that the scattered tribes around know that this is the fate of those who surrender to Ma Teng, Han Sui and others." Qiao Yan said in a firm tone.
Huangfu Song nodded in affirmation, "Yeshu is ruthless, which is a good thing."
If Qiao Yan wanted to keep this capable and warlike Zhong Qiang for her own use at this time, he would probably have to give her a few more words of advice.
Although there are still quite a number of Zhong Qiang living in Lintao and Yuzhong, and perhaps they can be found to serve as guides for the attack on Longxi County, the Zhong Qiang are much more brutal than other Qiang people in Liangzhou, and they will never be silenced by just defeating them and making them surrender.
"In the second year of Yongchu, the Zhong Qiang attacked the Han army in Hanyang and killed more than a thousand people. In the same year, they joined forces with the Xianrong Qiang to kill more than 8,000 Han soldiers in Pingxiang. In the first year of Yongjian of Emperor Shun, the captain Ma Xian fought with more than 7,000 of their people and made the Zhong Qiang surrender. However, it rebelled again within a short year. Ma Xu and Ma Xian led the troops to quell the rebellion, and the leader of the Zhong Qiang, Liang Feng, surrendered again. But now, the Qiang tribes such as the Xianrong Qiang and the Qiedong Qiang have become silent one after another, and the Zhong Qiang are causing trouble here again. This is their habit." Huangfu Song said as he followed Qiao Yan into the city. 2
Because he himself is from Liangzhou, and his father and ancestors often fought against the Qiang people in Liangzhou, he can talk about these things like he knows them all.
Qiao Yan then asked, "If General Huangfu regains his military power, facing these Qiang tribes that are ready to make trouble as the Han Dynasty declines, will he be more inclined to follow the former Grand Commandant's method and kill them all, or will he be more inclined to..."
Huangfu Song did not wait for Qiao Yan to say the second option, and he continued: "First, eliminate the main culprit, and then divide the weaker ones to use for your own benefit. In the final analysis, most of the Qiang people have no blood relationship among their races. They are just called Qiang because of their similar living habits, just like the Bandun barbarians who are still causing trouble in Yizhou today, they are also called Qiang people."
Qiao Yan smiled and said, "I thought so too. But even if we want to divide and win over the people, we have to gain a firm foothold here. We should first take Gaoping, conquer the Qiang tribes in all directions, connect Gaoping to Shangjun of Bingzhou, and properly circulate materials, so that we can have room for discussion later."
Huangfu Song looked towards her and saw that the seventeen-year-old Bingzhou governor no longer had the childish look on his face, and now had the bearing of a superior who was in charge of the country.
Thinking about the chaos in the world today, she was the only one who had the chance to conquer Liang Province. After the rebellion was quelled, she could go further to recapture Chang'an and capture Dong Zhuo. The sense of unreality that had risen in his heart when he came here had subsided.
This is the Han Dynasty’s hope for saving the country now!
He was thinking this in his mind, and when he stepped into the gate of Gaoping City, he also paid attention to the battle situation that had taken place here.
As he looked this way, he saw the battering ram parked nearby.
With Huangfu Song's keen eyesight, he could see that the battering ram used by Qiao Yan was clearly different in shape from ordinary ones.
It is probably with the help of this item, and the fact that most people in Liangzhou, except those who knew about it, did not expect Qiao Yan to choose to attack at this time, so it is understandable that the gate of Gaoping City was knocked open so quickly.
But Huangfu Song did not ask any more questions about this matter.
After all, this kind of key siege weapon is closely related to a general's military achievements, so there is no need to get to the bottom of it.
He simply turned his gaze toward the streets he saw upon entering the city.
After receiving the news from Cheng Yu, he rushed to the city quickly without any delay. It was impossible to clean up the blood and body parts at the battle site in the city so quickly.
Huangfu Song had been on the battlefield for many years and was very accustomed to the smell of blood. However, what he saw was the actions of Qiao Yan's army to gather their troops, which was a scene he had never seen in battle.
In the battle inside Gaoping City, according to what Qiao Yan told him before entering the city, a total of seven to eight thousand Zhong Qiang people were killed inside and outside the city.
This is the number of elite Zhong Qiang people living in Gaoping City.
There were still many remnants of the Zhong Qiang troops stationed in the direction of Huoshizhai, northwest of Gaoping City. She had sent people to pursue and clear them out after stabilizing the city gates.
With such a large number of kills, even if our side has the advantage, there is a possibility that the enemy will kill each other. To achieve this in a short period of time, the damage to our side cannot be too little.
From Huangfu Song's perspective, he could see many Bingzhou soldiers who had died here.
But unlike the bodies of the Qiang people that were hastily carried out of the city, the bodies of the Bingzhou children were carefully carried to the open space in front of the city government, waiting for Qiao Yan's instructions.
The wounded were also gathered in one place in an orderly manner.
Huangfu Song noticed that these injured people all carried simple bandaging tools with them. After bandaging themselves to stop the bleeding, they waited on the spot for rescue by the military doctors. Among them, the lightly injured who had not yet received treatment took out cheese from the small bags tied around their waists to fill their stomachs, to ensure that they could hold on until the military doctor came to see them.
They obviously had enough confidence in the treatment effects of the military doctors and the operating treatment system. When they saw the commander Qiao Yan and Huangfu Song passing by, a soldier with an arrow in the leg even greeted her.
Seeing Qiao Yan looking at his wound, he spread his hands helplessly, "Sir, my leather armor and pot helmet didn't cover my legs. There's nothing we can do about it. When we were chasing him, we didn't notice there was a fish on the roof. Luckily, I'm pretty agile, so he didn't shoot me in the head, but here."
"When are you going to come up with something to carry food on your legs?"
On the battlefield, even if a soldier is only slightly injured by a knife or arrow, he will die if the wound becomes infected.
Fortunately, in Bingzhou, the strong liquor that was able to knock down Lu Bu back then has become more and more advanced in the production technology of distilled liquor, until it has produced alcohol that meets disinfection standards.
In conjunction with the current "medical prescription for removing arrowheads from bones", wound medicines, and the bark thread taught by Hua Tuo to Wu Pu and popularized among military doctors in Bingzhou, the process of disinfection, suturing and applying medicine should be feasible.
With this set of support, and the injured soldiers in good mental state, there is naturally no need to worry too much.
Qiao Yan also joked: "I think the mulberry thread should be used to sew your mouth instead of the wound on your leg."
"That won't do. I still have to save my mouth to report my military exploits," he replied quickly.
The other wounded around him laughed when they heard the sound.
Qiao Yan couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.
The expenditure of 200,000 shi of grain resulting from killing thousands of Zhong Qiang people was indeed a burden for others, but it was not too much pressure for her.
The harvest and tax revenue in Bingzhou over the past two years have been encouraging, and there are independent military settlements in Baidaochuan and Shangjun Xihe, which serve as a direct source of filling the provincial government's granary.
It is precisely this confidence in taking the first credit that allows these people, although injured, to know how much they have been rewarded for their military contributions in this battle. This kind of atmosphere in the military camp is also conducive to the recovery of their wounds.
Huangfu Song couldn't help but be infected by the scene before him and smiled a little.
But after stepping into the temporary combat meeting venue she had set up, he quickly returned to his serious expression.
It was good news that Gaoping had been taken. Just as Qiao Yan had said, with this base which was more stable than Chaona City, the supplies she had stockpiled in Bingzhou could form a stable supply route.
However, Liangzhou had been constantly surrendering and rebelling for more than a hundred years, which made people dare not have too high expectations of deciding the outcome in one battle.
And why did Han Sui stay in Jincheng all year round?
This is because Yuzhong serves as a barrier to the east of Jincheng, and the Kuiyuan Gorge outside Yuzhong is the narrowest section of the Yellow River waterway sandwiched between the two mountains, serving as the gateway between Yuzhong and Jincheng.
This section of the Yellow River waterway, which is less than 100 meters wide, severely limits the possibility of attacking Han Sui's lair directly by water, and also turns his Jincheng into a comfortable nest.
Huangfu Song was well aware of the difficulty of attacking this place.
But perhaps because Qiao Yan always did something unexpected, after Huangfu Song said hello to Gai Xun and sat down here, he looked at the map in front of him and the first thing he thought of was not the difficulty of the subsequent battle, but whether they had a chance to take the route through Hanyang first and capture the troops led by Ma Teng.
But what he heard first was Qiao Yan saying, "I want to write a letter to Han Sui."
With Ma Teng and Han Sui's control over Liangzhou, the news that Gaoping City was occupied by her would definitely be delivered to Han Sui in a few days. Therefore, the purpose of Qiao Yan sending this letter was definitely not to inform him that she was now stationed here in a dignified manner, but...
She continued, "As the letter says, I will fight him at Fengyi Mountain."
Fengyi Mountain——
That was the place where Duan Xing killed eight thousand Xianrong Dong Qiang in the past!
Considering Qiao Yan's actions today, it was extremely provocative.
Huangfu Song asked, "What if Han Sui refuses to fight?"
There’s no way Han Sui could accept the challenge!
The distance between Fengyi Mountain and Jincheng is at least ten times that between that place and Gaoping. Even those who are least familiar with war can come to a definite answer as to who can provide more advantageous troop reinforcements.
Qiao Yan replied: "It doesn't matter if he doesn't respond, but if I want to defeat the Qiang tribes east of Yuzhong step by step -"
"He should not think of staying in Jincheng and uniting these people in the name of General Zuo to reap the benefits!"
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