Chapter 24, Chapter 8: Meeting an Old Friend
As it turned out, although morale was low and there was a stampede among the troops, once a turning point appeared, the instinct for survival would overcome everything.
First, a few riders roared and killed several barbarians, breaking through the encirclement. Then, infantrymen and halberdiers followed. In the distance, barbarians noticed the situation and began to gather here.
Liu Jun shouted in a low voice, "Form ranks and attack!"
The retainers he brought were all Liu Kun's elite troops, all equipped with Xianbei horses and armor. They were naturally no less capable than the Jie Hu, and immediately made a name for themselves in the battle.
"You few, alone, probably won't go very far. Why not gather your old troops here and fight to the death? Perhaps there's still a chance of survival." Liu Jun shouted to the few riders who rushed out to escape, "I am Liu Jun, son of Liu Kun, the Governor of Bingzhou and Marquis of Guangwu. I have come here today to rescue you!"
Those men, who were both capable of riding horses, were naturally high-ranking officers. Upon hearing this, they immediately understood the implications and quickly sought out their former personal guards and followers, gathering several hundred men in no time.
Seeing that many soldiers were still protecting several high-ranking officials like headless flies, and that the officials in the middle were still acting like scholars and were even preparing to surrender, Liu Jun became even angrier and said angrily: "In this time of crisis, you are still surrounded by such people. You should bow down to the barbarians and submit to them. Don't harm the brave men of my Great Jin!"
He casually beheaded another snarling barbarian, then roared at the hesitant soldiers, "They are calm because they surrendered with their reputation and can still get a position. What about you? You might just be slaughtered and tortured. You hold sharp blades and wear armor, are you willing to offer your necks to be killed and become souls under the barbarian's blade?"
Upon hearing this, most of the soldiers no longer hesitated, abandoning their former lords and rushing out of the encirclement. In the blink of an eye, there were more than a thousand men in total.
Liu Jun saw that the commotion was too great. With only a small force, the Hu barbarians might not pursue them with their entire army. If they delayed any longer, they would probably become as cumbersome and difficult to move as before.
Therefore, looking at the screaming and howling crowd rushing towards him from within the encirclement, he gritted his teeth and said, "On my command, break through and head north!"
Having said that, he turned his horse around first and galloped back the way he came, the sound of hooves and footsteps behind him ringing out in unison, deafening in the dark night.
After an unknown amount of time, the group fled for their lives. Clearly, these people were not the central army that Shi Le was keeping a close watch on, so no enemy troops pursued them for the time being.
As dawn broke, Liu Jun finally felt a little relieved and ordered his men to take out some of the dry rations he had prepared earlier and distribute them.
Despite their exhaustion, the guards counted the men and horses and found that there were more than 500 horses and more than 2,000 men.
Liu Jun only drank some water before going around to find those who looked like generals, offering them some comfort. He then noticed that many of them were exhausted and their horses were worn out. If the enemy pursued them, they would soon collapse from exhaustion. In addition, with the shortage of food and supplies, it would be good if half of them could return to Bingzhou with them.
The premise is that there are no pursuers.
Soon news came from the rear that two or three thousand people were chasing after them.
Seeing the despair on the faces of these fleeing soldiers, Liu Jun, with his fierce and unyielding nature, could not bear to look at them. He simply said to Liu Yong and a few other family generals, "Hold the heavy shields firmly. Tell all the archers and crossbowmen that if they don't want to die, they should all form ranks."
He rode his horse and gathered all the cavalry together, instructing them to observe first and not to act rashly.
“Your Highness, judging from their armor, these men are not the main force,” Liu Yong, who had followed Liu Kun in many battles and was very experienced, said. “If our Bingzhou troops were here, we should be able to put up a fight. But these are just remnants and ragtag soldiers…”
Apart from the self-destructive Battle of Nanque in his previous life, Liu Jun had never personally commanded a battle. To say that he was not flustered at this moment would be a lie, but in order not to shake the morale of the army, he remained calm and composed. "I previously asked Lu Jing to meet up with the Yuzhou troops. The reinforcements are on their way. A mere thousand or so Hu barbarians are nothing to worry about."
The soldiers who had escaped were already exhausted and terrified of the Hu people. Many of them were thinking of sneaking away again, but seeing his confidence and the well-trained nature of his guards, they couldn't help but pick up their weapons again.
"No matter how fast it runs, can it compare to the horses of the Hu people?"
"Since I've already been given a second chance at life, I might as well fight to the death. Even if I die, I won't be a coward."
"I heard from the brothers in front that there might be reinforcements."
"Let's fight those bastards!"
So when the Hu cavalry charged, the infantry at the front stood firm with their shields, while the archers behind them fired every arrow they aimed.
The Hu people had not expected that this remnant army still had fighting power, and they were defeated and forced to retreat, hesitating to advance.
As expected of Shi Le's army, they quickly realized that this remnant force was small in number, and at the leader's command, they launched a fierce counterattack.
This led to another stalemate between the two sides. Although archers were effective against cavalry, the remaining arrows were few and they obviously couldn't hold out for long.
At this moment, Yin Xiaocheng ran up from behind to report that Lu Jing and the Liu brothers were arriving soon.
At this moment, all the military books he had read were swirling in his mind. Liu Jun suddenly shouted, "The vanguard will become the rearguard, and the rearguard will become the vanguard. Retreat!"
Originally, for the sake of convenience in relaying messages, the guards were arranged to stand one every hundred paces, which had made them the de facto leaders of the defeated soldiers. They commanded the troops well and prevented any further trampling incidents.
These soldiers were able to break through the encirclement because their physical strength and reaction time far exceeded those of ordinary people. When they turned around and ran, their speed was not much slower than that of a horse.
The fierce battle was in full swing when the troops suddenly began to retreat, which inevitably left the Hu people somewhat bewildered. After pursuing them for a short while, they saw banners waving and dust billowing in the distance, and on one of the banners was the character "Liu".
Although Liu Yuan's state was also named Han, these Hu people's fear of the powerful Han had long been ingrained in their bones, to the point that they would feel their scalp tingle at the mere sight of the character "Liu," and subconsciously think that it was Liu Kun's Bingzhou soldiers coming to rescue their son.
If luck were any worse, and Liu Kun had borrowed Xianbei cavalry, things would have been far from peaceful.
Therefore, the Hu people hesitated for a moment, and then began to retreat.
Liu Jun sent his men to give chase only symbolically, and only felt relieved when the enemy was far away.
Just then, Liu You, Liu Dan, and others arrived. Liu Jun immediately dismounted and expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you all for saving my life!"
In fact, the Liu family had no idea what had happened. When they were far away, they thought Liu Jun had encountered a group of refugees, but when they got closer, they realized that it was the Jie Hu who had fled at the first sign of trouble, and they were quite worried.
Liu You laughed and said, "We haven't even drawn our swords yet, what is there to thank us for?"
“Indeed, you should thank him.” An elderly man in military uniform slowly emerged from the fleeing soldiers, followed by two equally disheveled but distinguished civil officials.
"Father!"
"grandfather!"
Not only were the Liu family members excited, but Liu Jun also recognized the person in front of him as Liu Qiao, the governor of Yuzhou, and was overjoyed.
Liu Qiao turned around, glanced at him with a complex expression, and bowed deeply.
Liu Jun quickly stepped aside to avoid the greeting, and then heard Liu Qiao say, "Seven years ago, I offended you in many ways, but Your Highness disregarded past grievances and risked your life to save me. This kindness is as high as the sky and as vast as the sea. If you ever have any instructions in the future, the Qiao family will not dare to disobey."
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