Chapter 85 Strange...
When Qiao Yan arrived at the foot of Guyang City, even though the bloodstains on and around the city had been cleaned up and the heads and broken arms and limbs of the Han people had been collected and buried by Zhang Liao, bloodstains could still be seen spreading from the top of the city.
As the long autumn wind passed through the northern border, the tattered flags on the city walls, which were also stained with blood, fluttered in the wind, but only a desolate scene remained.
"To the north of Guyang City are the inner and outer Great Walls, and to the northwest is Guanglu Pass. How did the Hu people break through it?" She asked as she frowned and looked towards the city.
The Han Great Wall was built in the Wuyuan and Yunzhong areas with two inner and outer walls. One wall followed the terrain of the Yinshan Mountains and continued the base of the Qin Great Wall in Guyang. The other wall went back thirty miles inward and was built with rammed earth and rubble.
Along the second inner city wall, there are beacon towers and military passes, the most famous of which is Guanglu Pass.
In the past, when Huhanye Chanyu surrendered to the Han Dynasty, he stationed his troops here. After that, he returned to Mobei to do business and asked to be the son-in-law of the Han Dynasty as a vassal. This is the Guanglu Pass where the story of Concubine Zhaojun happened.
Because Guanglu Pass is located outside Guyang Road at the gap of Yinshan Mountain, there should be seven or eight hundred people stationed here as a rule, and there are often people patrolling on the lookout tower, so changes in Guyang are extremely rare.
After hearing her question, Zhang Liao hesitated for a moment before replying, "Before, Youzhou, Jizhou and Wuhuan rebelled, and the court mobilized troops from Bingzhou. The governor wrote a letter to clarify the key points of the border, but the conscription captain came with the imperial edict. In addition to mobilizing troops from the Southern Xiongnu and leading them with Yu Fuluo, the son of Qiangqu, he also withdrew more than 400 people from Guanglu Pass, including half of the soldiers left in the camp of General Du Liao in Wuyuan County."
"The Wuhuan Rebellion occurred in June, and when the army was recruited in July, Marquis Qiao was still under house arrest."
The implication was that there was no point in telling her at that time.
But this kind of call for rescue and firefighting in the place where the fire broke out, without considering the long-term defense situation elsewhere, is really——
"Ridiculous!" Qiao Yan couldn't help but scold.
How can you recruit soldiers like this!
But Bingzhou only had a governor who had the power to supervise and recommend, and he could not interfere in so many military affairs. Even if Cui Lie wanted to stop it, he had no way to do so.
Now that General Du Liao is no longer in office, there is indeed no one who can stop the people from taking away the Du Liao camp.
Qiao Yan could curse like this despite his title of Marquis of Leping, but Zhang Liao couldn't.
He just sighed and said, "More than half of the people in Guanglu Pass are missing. The remaining ones were doing their duty. When they heard that a large number of cavalry were coming from Guyang Road, they warned them and chased them. However, they were outnumbered and all of them died."
"What's more troublesome is that the outer city wall on the Yinshan border is not very effective in defense now. The inner wall happened to have a collapse in this section. It was originally reported for repair, but before the repair was completed, the enemy arrived."
When Qiao Yan passed through Guyang City, he saw the tragic scene after the looting. It was hard not to feel a deep hatred for the Qiang and Hu people.
The undomesticated nomadic peoples at this time regarded the Han people as two-legged sheep, and would mercilessly eat a piece of meat from the Han people if given the opportunity to plunder. This was truly an animalistic act.
The blood in the city could not be cleaned up in a short time. As Qiao Yan walked through, a bloody smell hit him in the face.
Her gaze fell fixedly on one of the places, where there was a collapsed courtyard wall and a bloody palm print on the edge of the wall.
Judging from the size of this palm print, its owner is clearly still a child.
Qiao Yan couldn't bear to watch any longer and increased the speed of his horse.
Exit from the north gate of Guyang and walk a little further to reach the Inner Great Wall.
Zhang Liao pointed his finger and said, "This is it."
Qiao Yan looked in the direction of his finger and saw that there was a very obvious collapse in the second city wall built during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu.
After getting off his horse and walking closer to take a look at the crack in the Inner Great Wall, Qiao Yan couldn't help but frowning for a moment.
There is only clumping soil and gravel in the cross-section of the crack, and there is no grass or wood component that is usually found in rammed earth cities to ensure their solidity.
This may be the custom when it was built, and there is nothing to blame.
But in addition to the signs of weathering on the city wall, signs of human destruction are also obvious.
It was no accident that the Hu people chose this place to attack.
"Let's go to Guanglu Pass and take a look." Qiao Yan got on his horse again and said as he turned his horse's head.
Not long after they headed northwest, Guanglushai appeared in front of them.
This place was once the stationed place of the Chanyu, and its scale is indeed not too small. Its shape is narrow on the top and wide on the bottom, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. However, at this time, there are only 200 people left here, and the number of personnel seems a bit pitiful.
It was only because of the arrival of the army led by Zhang Liao that they were able to retain their previous patrol structure.
She looked towards the military settlements in Guanglu Sai and saw that the tiles on the roof, illuminated by the sunlight, were shaped like the Chinese character "固".
The same pattern can be found in Guyang City, but unfortunately, this expectation of defense obviously failed to keep these two places safe.
"Did you send anyone to investigate Guyang Road before I came?" Qiao Yan asked while looking around.
Zhang Liao replied, "Marquis Qiao sent me a letter stating that we intended to attack. I think Marquis Qiao probably didn't want the Xiongnu to realize that we were going to make a big move, so he only sent out three or two scouts to follow the trail they left behind for a while to make sure they didn't misread the direction they left. The others just pretended to repair the border defenses and prepare the garrison."
"The group of looters came from the alley between Yangshan Mountain and Yinshan Mountain, and they also left from that alley and headed straight northwest."
Qiao Yan naturally did not hesitate to praise Zhang Liao for his cautious behavior.
The Yinshan he mentioned does not refer to the Yinshan Mountain range itself, but to the Daqing Mountain in the mountain range. The Yangshan he mentioned is the Wula Mountain in the east, also known as the Wolf Mountain. The valley between the two mountains is the Guyang Road, also known as the Huyan Road.
Qiao Yan looked over the wall of Guanglu Pass to the north. The rugged and reddish mountains in the sunset gave off a sense of bloodiness. She looked for a long time before she turned her gaze away and said to Zhang Liao, "I have two things for you, Wenyuan."
"Just as Lord Qiao ordered."
Qiao Yan said, "First, I am not familiar with the border, especially the area outside Guyang Road. Please select two guides from Guanglu Pass."
Zhang Liao was capable of making this arrangement given his military prowess, but Qiao Yan was not suitable for this task.
"Secondly, your troops must also go out with us on this expedition. Guanglu Pass is short of manpower. I have written a letter to the governor of Wuyuan County. Please deliver it for me and ask him to send a group of people to ensure that at least 600 people are stationed in Guanglu Pass to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation."
As for why they didn't continue to transfer personnel from the Yunzhong County garrison...
We have to keep some manpower to guard against the Xianbei.
"I'll do it right away."
It was almost night, but it did not affect the transmission of news, especially the increase in the number of guards in Guanglu Pass.
The governor of Wuyuan County still had the autonomy to deploy the personnel, but after sending the people out, he couldn't help but remind Qiao Yan that he had no experience in fighting outside the Great Wall, so he just asked people to fill in the border garrison, and then withdraw the people after the people who quelled the rebellion in Youzhou returned, and everything would be back to normal. Why should a county marquis take such a risk?
Qiao Yan wanted to pretend he didn't see it, but after thinking for a while he picked up his pen and wrote back: [He has been under house arrest for a long time and needs to be let out for some fresh air in the frontier. 】
This sounds like something that deserves a beating, but considering her usual style, it is not surprising at all.
Besides, there has never been a young talent in the Han Dynasty who hasn't done some extraordinary things. If he wasn't worried that he wouldn't be able to explain to anyone if Qiao Yan died outside the Great Wall, the prefect of Wuyuan County wouldn't even want to say more.
Logically speaking, if Qiao Yan wanted to go out of the border to pursue the invading Hu people, he should have submitted a petition to the central government.
However, she wrote in her letters to the governor of Wuyuan County and Cui Lie that if one wants to do a good job, one must first sharpen his tools, and the Baibo bandits who were trying to survive were the tool. However, it took a lot of time to sharpen the tool, and if the permission to send troops was not obtained until the central government was reported, it would inevitably delay the opportunity to fight.
Then she will report again later.
It's not like I haven't done this before anyway.
In addition, she said in the letter that if the invading barbarians were not taught a lesson, Bingzhou might be in danger of You and Ji.
In the joint war between Zhang Ju and Wuhuan, the prefect of Youbeiping in Youzhou, the prefect of Liaodong and the commander of the Wuhuan protection team were killed one after another. If Bingzhou also suffered the same disaster, who would die first?
The governor closest to Guyang and Guangluxai was the governor of Wuyuan County who had received her letter.
Shocked by the possibility mentioned in Qiao Yan's letter, the prefect of Wuyuan touched his neck and felt a little cold for no reason.
Looking at the other party's powerful and commanding remarks, he decided to keep quiet.
Go ahead and beat him, at least you can ensure his personal safety.
What surprised Qiao Yan was that among the people sent by the Wuyuan prefect to garrison Guangluxai, there was an acquaintance.
After receiving the letters from both places that night, Qiao Yan took a nap. Then it was time for her to send troops as agreed with others. When she rode out of Guanglu Pass and looked back at the border, she met a familiar face.
That is——Liang Zhongning.
At this moment, he was wearing armor, holding a halberd, and standing on the city wall of Guangluxai.
Even with the helmet covering part of his face, Qiao Yan was able to recognize him at a glance because his expression was too strange.
Compared with the soldiers who were curious about who Leping Hou was, his expression seemed much more complicated.
But Liang Zhongning should feel a little confused.
If he were still a prisoner of the bandit gang who had to be punished by being sent to the border because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he would definitely not be among those sent to guard Guanglu Pass at this critical moment.
However, because of his good performance in the past three years and his record of killing enemies in regular dispatch operations, he currently serves as an official border garrison.
Although his living conditions are much better than before, if it weren't for Qiao Yan, he probably wouldn't be like this today.
However, in this formal military environment, he gradually realized that the Yellow Turban Rebellion they launched, although it seemed to be in full swing, was actually very easy to be defeated.
What's more, everything Qiao Yan, no, it should be said that Marquis Leping, did in Bingzhou was good for the people's livelihood.
The winter before last, when he and his comrades were eating and sitting around a campfire to keep warm, he heard someone talking about how, if Marquis Qiao had not quickly put down the locust plague in Bingzhou, if there really was a famine in Bingzhou, they would be the first to starve to death.
Liang Zhongning had to admit it no matter how much he didn't want to, that Qiao Yan had indirectly saved his life.
And now a scene appeared that he had never thought of before. He was watching the other party go to the frontier.
Regardless of whether the White Wave Bandits and Black Mountain Bandits under her command were all under the banner of the Yellow Turban Army when they first started the uprising, when they were driven by Qiao Yan, Liang Zhongning had an indescribable sense of déjà vu.
It is undeniable that what she did at this time should be regarded as a matter of protecting the country and the people.
Thinking of this, Liang Zhongning's complicated look turned into relief and respect.
He raised the halberd in his hand, and together with the soldiers guarding on the city wall, cheered for this expedition to "collect debts".
This somewhat special blessing made Qiao Yan look at Guanglu Pass for a long time.
But when Zhang Liao asked her about it, she just smiled and shook her head. "Wenyuan, just think of it as the novelty of your first expedition."
When she turned back, her gaze towards the front had regained its usual calmness.
There is no need to think too much about the previous Yellow Turban Rebellion; the current situation is more important.
The area between mountains and rivers from Guyang to the west, now known as Bayannur, is also called Beijia today.
Between this place and Yangshan is a red sandstone mountain range that stretches from east to west.
This is also why Qiao Yan saw the red mountains when he looked out from Guanglu Pass.
Only when we got closer to the mountain did we see several patterns painted on the red sandstone cliffs. Due to rain erosion and rock weathering, these paintings have become a little blurry in some areas, but this does not prevent people from recognizing that most of the contents are scenes of cattle, sheep, dwellings, hunting, and sacrifices.
Of course, these rock paintings have gone through a very long period of time. When they were created, not only did the Han Dynasty not even exist, there was not even the concept of a country.
When we walked into the Guyang Road, the rocks turned from red to black, and the traces of carving on them became clearer due to the contrast between black and white.
For example, where she was looking at the moment, there was a picture of a group of wild goats running painted on the stone wall.
It's just that there is no sign of what was chasing them, whether it was humans or other beasts, which makes people have some wild imaginations and guesses about what happened thousands of years ago.
Just as she thought of this, she suddenly heard Xu Fu's urgent call, "My Lord, look here."
Hearing that his voice was different from his usual calmness, Qiao Yan turned his horse and walked to Xu Fu's side, and saw a rock painting in front of him.
This rock mural was obviously created much later than the others. Even the carvings here are quite fresh, and clearly were left there only a few days ago.
The next moment after seeing the rock painting clearly, Qiao Yan couldn't help but feel a chill in his eyes.
If this were the same kind of paintings on the rock walls, depicting nomadic life, it would be fine.
But this is clearly a picture of the Huns throwing the Han people into a cauldron and cooking them, and then celebrating around them!
This kind of painting is enough to be preserved for a long time, and even two thousand years later there are large-scale murals such as the Guigu murals. The appearance of such a picture of Huns hunting is simply a naked provocation!
Qiao Yan's hands subconsciously rested on the two pieces of three-piece rifles beside her.
Not to mention Qiao Yan's reaction, it was hard for the people who came over after hearing the noise not to show indignation after seeing this scene.
If the people closest to the mural at this moment were not Qiao Yan and Xu Fu, I am afraid that the painting would be wiped off the stone wall in the next moment.
But her mind raced, and after weighing between destroying this painting, which was a disgrace to the people of Guyang County and even to the Han Dynasty, and using it as evidence to attack the Xiu Tu tribes, she gradually calmed herself down and chose the latter.
However, despite this decision—
Since she wanted to not just stop at Leping but expand towards Bingzhou, then in the face of such provocative behavior, it would be okay for her to act a little too radically!
They are really too arrogant!
But for those Xiu Tu people who succeeded in the raid, they could still be even more arrogant.
An important defensive town like Guyang was not originally their first choice.
In their deep-rooted impression, the Han people have always been very wary of Guyang Road.
After all, among the important passes in Yinshan Mountain, namely Shanyu Road, Guyang Road and Shuomo Ancient Road, only Guyang Road can accommodate a large number of vehicles and horses because it is located at the junction of two mountains and the Kunlun River runs through it.
This was also the route they chose for themselves to attack Bingzhou after their rise to power.
Out of fear of the Han Dynasty, they did not dare to directly choose a large-scale invasion. Even though someone tipped off that a section of the Great Wall had collapsed and mentioned the special conscription in Bingzhou, they only made an attempt by quickly attacking Guyang with 500 cavalry.
If this could be accomplished, they would try to contact the nobles of the left wing of the Southern Xiongnu who revealed the news to them, and launch a pincer attack on Bingzhou from both inside and outside.
After all, wandering on the grasslands outside the Great Wall is nothing compared to galloping freely in the city of Bingzhou!
They should replace the defeated Northern Xiongnu who fled westward and become the overlord of this grassland, or even Bingzhou.
What made them more confident was the victory in the attack on Guyang.
After a part of the soldiers were recruited, most of those left in Guanglu Pass were soldiers with slightly lower combat capabilities.
After they discovered the traces of Xiutuguhu and went to intercept them, they were no match for these well-prepared Hu cavalry.
So when the people in Guyang City saw the border beacon fire that was lit a step later, the Xiutu people had already rushed into the city.
In the midst of the killing spree surrounded by cavalry, Guyang was not much different from an unarmed child.
What undoubtedly made them more confident was that after looting and fighting and returning with a full load, they ambushed and waited for a long time at the other end of Guyang Road, but did not wait for any Han army from this side. They only saw the timid scouts coming over, looking from a distance and then quickly retreating.
The Xiutu kings of the Xiutu tribes realized that their real chance might have come.
To this end, he quickly gathered the other members of the department.
The destination they gathered at this time was to go northwest after leaving Guyang Road.
Surrender city.
In the sixth year of Yuanfeng in the Western Han Dynasty, after Wuwei Chanyu died of illness, his son Wushiluer Chanyu succeeded to the throne. In the winter of that year, the weather was colder than usual. Many cattle and sheep of the Xiongnu froze to death in the heavy snow. The left general of the Xiongnu intended to surrender to the Han Dynasty, so Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered Gongsun Ao to build this surrender city here to receive him.
In the nearly three hundred years that followed, Shoujiang City changed hands repeatedly between the Han court and the Xiongnu due to the retreat of border defense, but the name of Shoujiang City remained.
But now the Surrender City is an empty city.
The Xiongnu retreated westwards in defeat, but the Han Dynasty was unable to expand its borders due to the unrest in the country in recent years and recaptured the surrendered city.
After the rise of the Xiutu tribes, this city came under their control.
But King Xiutu didn't like this city.
Its origin represents that there were traitors within the Xiongnu who defected to the Han people due to natural disasters, and the Han Dynasty also once extended its hand to the grassland.
After returning with the rice and "food" looted from Guyang, he still stationed his troops outside the city, and then led his men into the city, wreaking havoc there.
After doing all this, he stood on the top of the city wall and looked into the distance. He saw the autumn grassland scene, and a feeling of pride arose in his heart.
After he gathers the people in the tribe, he will let those two-legged sheep who don't even have the courage to chase him see that just one Guyang City is not enough to satisfy his appetite!
However, how could he have imagined that when his tribesmen received his orders and rushed over, another team was also heading there.
Or a forced march.
In Qiao Yan's opinion, if she wanted to attack the Xiongnu royal court like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing did and achieve the goal of conquering the Xiongnu, the three-dimensional map she had might be able to help her avoid getting lost on the grassland to the greatest extent. However, her men did not have such combat capability.
But if they just headed in the direction of the surrender city estimated by Zhang Liao, there would obviously be no problem.
She didn't even need to bother the system to open the map, because Shoujiang City and the Outer Great Wall that passed through Yinshan Mountain were connected, which meant that -
The Surrender City is at the foot of Yinshan Mountain!
They only need to move along the Yinshan Mountains and there is no possibility of losing their way.
What made their trip seem much safer was the telescope that Qiao Yan brought with him.
When the Yinshan Mountains connect to the inland of the Central Plains, there is a very obvious height difference in the slope. However, when it extends to the north, because the terrain on this side is not low either, it forms only a slightly higher gentle slope.
Therefore, Qiao Yan could just order his men to observe the surroundings from a distance on this mountain, and then advance quickly after confirming that there were no Hun cavalry.
Of course, what she was worried about was not losing the battle at this time.
Ever since they saw that special mural in the Guyangdao Valley, this team seemed to be filled with a burning fire that could erupt at any time.
The Huns, or to be more precise, these plunderers from the Xiutu tribes, really shouldn't have underestimated the Han people's protection of their compatriots and their self-respect.
The fighting intensified rather than diminished as their marching troops advanced, leaving Qiao Yan with no doubt that if a Hun patrol appeared ahead, they would be torn to pieces.
What she was worried about was that their large group would be discovered by the Hun cavalry from a distance, making this blitzkrieg attack ineffective.
Fortunately, with the help of the scouts who were looking far ahead from high places, they intercepted all the Hun cavalry they encountered along the way. They also received unexpected good news from the interrogation of the Huns by the Guangluxai soldiers who understood the Hun language.
There will be a special party under the Surrender City!
In the open-air camp where the march was temporarily stopped at night, Zhang Liao played with the telescope sent back by the scout, and a look of admiration appeared in his eyes.
"If this new gadget of Qiao Hou can be used in border defense, it can play a lot of roles."
"It's a pity that it will never be possible to use it on a large scale until the cost of making this thing is reduced." Qiao Yan shook his head and replied.
There should be other places in the Han Dynasty where white crystal mines can be found, but Qiao Yan's impression is that they are only found in places in the south such as Donghai County and Jiaozhou. After all, given the current purchase price, it is still a long way to go before this substance can be mass-produced.
"If Wenyuan likes it, why not..."
It would be better to wait until she has more and then give him one.
Before she finished her words, she heard Zhang Yang, who was also on the expedition, sigh with resentment, "Lord Qiao, let's at least follow the first come first served rule. Chu Yan needs to get your reward first if he wants to fight in the mountains, but can you arm your men first before considering this kid?"
Qiao Yan froze for a moment as he took the telescope back from Zhang Liao.
For a moment she thought she was holding not a telescope but a medal of honor.
But as a qualified potential lord, Qiao Yan gave an answer after a little thought, "Those soldiers will be rewarded according to the first merit system, so you should change the method."
She raised the cylinder in her hand and said, "During this surprise attack on the Xiutu camps under the city of Shoujiang, whoever takes the head of King Xiutu will own this item."
"Is this method feasible?"
She looked around and clearly saw the three generals who had the greatest hope of achieving this goal, with the desire to win flashing across their faces.
It turns out that rewards are more motivating.
She thought for a moment and added, "Only if you don't forget to command your subordinates."
Zhao Yun, Zhang Yang and Zhang Liao immediately replied in unison, "Don't worry, Lord Qiao."
She really had nothing to worry about with these three people.
For example, Zhang Liao.
The guide soldiers he found from Guanglu Pass had once walked the road to Shoujiang City and had their own way of judging distances.
Before Qiao Yan could call for a halt, Zhang Liao had already reported that they could slow down the march and wait for the attack to fall at night.
Qiao Yan became more and more certain that it was the right choice to put Zhang Liao in the position of Wu Meng to gain experience instead of directly inviting him.
The charging team slowly slowed down as orders were passed around.
Or perhaps because everyone was holding their breath, this slowdown did not mean that they were taking a break or relaxing, but rather it was like a bowstring that was stretched so tight that it was about to slip out of their hands.
As night fell, King Xiutu had no idea of the approaching crisis. He only thought that the Han man was still hiding in the distant Guanglu Pass, not knowing that the arrow was about to leave his hand and was aimed at his head.
He looked at his compatriots from various tribes who were rushing over, and stepped onto the temporary platform made of earth with a proud look on his face.
In order to show the momentum of this oath to march to the battlefield, he placed all the treasures looted from Guyang City on a high platform and lined up the Han captives in front. Then, in the center of the platform, just as he had drawn on the rock mural, he set up a bronze tripod with boiling firewood underneath.
In this seldom seen scene, he clearly saw that the elites from various departments gathered below the stage were looking at him with eyes filled with more and more admiration.
He felt even happier.
Thinking about this, they would definitely not go against his intention to invade Bingzhou and then plunder the Central Plains!
King Xiu Tu, who felt that victory was within his reach, stood up with his sword in hand and said loudly, "Please listen to me!"
"We have lived in the north of Yinshan Mountain for a long time, and have been tortured by wind, frost, rain and snow. We don't want to be like Qiang Qu, who was assigned by the Han people. We are worried about everything, especially the winter. Fortunately, we have a chance now!"
His eyes were illuminated red by the fire in front of him, and he was about to declare his ambition to advance into the Central Plains in the next moment.
However, just as he was about to continue speaking, a white feather arrow suddenly came from the sky and hit a flagpole erected around his "speech venue", interrupting him.
It wasn't just his speech that was interrupted.
This was not a solid flag like the large banner in the camp. When the arrow hit it, the flagpole was broken on the spot, making a breaking sound, and slowly fell down.
This is obviously a signal.
A signal of an enemy attack!
Before the flagpole fell completely to the ground, Xiu Tugehu who was there heard a burst of shouting and killing coming from all sides.
Amidst the shouting and screaming, an unusually clear voice came into their ears from afar. Although most of them could not read Chinese, it did not prevent them from hearing the fierce fighting spirit in these six short words.
"Everyone - follow me to kill the enemy!"
Kill the Hu!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
