Chapter 214 [VIP]
Outside Liangzhou City, there is a natural gorge that stretches for dozens of miles. At its narrowest point, it can only accommodate two vehicles side by side.
Normally, this place doesn't affect business, but during wartime, it becomes a natural barrier, practically impregnable.
Because Liangzhou was easy to defend and difficult to attack, Jieli Khan devised a plan to besiege the city and deplete its food supplies, thus winning without losing a single soldier.
Once they occupy Liangzhou as a stronghold, they won't be afraid of the Wu Dynasty's reinforcements, because the enemy will also be difficult to conquer.
As Jieli Khan sat on his warhorse, gazing at the distant city, his heart swelled with emotion. After so many years, they were finally able to set foot on this land again.
Three hundred years ago, the most powerful Khan of the Turks led his people to conquer all the land in the north. At that time, they had the most fertile pastures, countless Han slaves, and inexhaustible gold and silver treasures.
Unfortunately, he couldn't hold on in the end. He certainly wouldn't do what his predecessors did, because he wanted to conquer the entire Central Plains and rewrite the history of the Turkic Kingdom!
The warhorses snorted and neighed, and the third son, Jieli Chiyan, asked, "Ada, when are we going to attack the city?"
"That's about it." Jie Li placed his hands on his chest, looked up at the gray sky, and said, "May the Eternal Heaven protect us."
May the Eternal Heaven protect us!
"Brave warriors, follow me and charge in! Today we must take Liangzhou! Kill!"
The bugle sounded, and the Turkic army began its attack on the city!
*
The soldiers inside the city were also fully equipped and ready to go.
Having eaten and slept well these past few days, they were all full of energy and ready to fight the Turkic barbarians to the death, spears and swords in hand.
Li Mu hurriedly walked up to the city wall, his loud voice resounding through the city, "All soldiers, listen to my command! Today, the cold blades gleam in the sun, and the war drums beat to the heavens. The Turkic iron cavalry has already pressed on to our borders! They rely on their strength to bully the weak, repeatedly invading our territory, plundering our grain and fodder, and slaughtering our people. How can we let this hatred and resentment go unpunished?"
Behind us lie the lights of ten thousand households! Parents, wives, and children lean against the door, gazing into the distance; fertile fields and ancestral graves are all behind us! Even if the Turks have a hundred thousand iron cavalry, how can they crush the backbone of our Chinese nation?
Form ranks! Arrows unleash their power, spears line up in front, bows and crossbows await their chance. Those who behead the enemy chieftain will be rewarded, and those who break the enemy lines will be recorded in history! Those who desert in the face of battle will be executed on the spot!
Today's bloody battle is not for titles and rewards, but to ensure that our descendants will never again see the barbarian hordes eyeing the river! Let the Turks remember—the bones of Han men are harder than their scimitars! Kill!
Li Mu turned and swung his long sword at the flagpole, shouting, "When this flag falls—only a headless general will remain, no soldier will retreat!"
"Kill!!!" Tens of thousands of soldiers raised their spears and shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.
The sound of horses' hooves grew closer and closer, like thunder, and with a command, crossbow bolts fell from the sky like meteors, shooting down the first wave of Turks who rushed in.
The already narrow pass was completely blocked. The horses that rushed in trampled over the corpses, only to be shot down by a second volley of swords.
The neighing of warhorses echoed through the sky, and blood and flesh splattered on the ground, turning the yellow earth red.
As more and more people died, the pass became completely blocked, and those in front were trapped, unable to get out.
Those who followed couldn't get in either, because there were archers guarding both sides of the canyon. Anyone who rushed in would die inside. For a time, the Turkic cavalry were caught in a dilemma.
At the same time, the gates of Liangzhou suddenly opened, and Li Mu led tens of thousands of soldiers to charge forward and fight the barbarians.
The Turks were caught off guard when the enemy dared to open the city gates to fight. Many of them were killed before they could even react.
The soldiers did not linger in battle; after killing these people, they immediately returned to the city and closed the gates again, waiting for the second group to enter.
"Ada, this won't do, all our men will be wiped out here!"
Having come this far, retreating now is truly unacceptable! Jieli Khan gripped the reins tightly, his eyes practically bleeding with hatred.
"No matter the cost, we must take Liangzhou City today! The city's food supplies are exhausted; they won't last much longer!"
The subordinate gritted his teeth and nodded, "Yes! Keep charging!"
The Turkic soldiers, stepping over the corpses of their comrades, finally reached the walls of Liangzhou. Li Mu, who had been waiting for them, drew his sword and shouted, "My men, continue to fight alongside me!"
"kill!"
The soldiers charged out again and fought the barbarians. The more they fought, the more alarmed the Turks became. Hadn't they said they were out of supplies? How come they looked more energetic than the Turks after being hungry for so many days?!
"Clang!" Sparks flew as metal clashed. Jie Li Chi Yan, panting heavily, looked at the general of the Wu Dynasty opposite him.
This man was none other than the renowned Marquis of Zhenbian. He looked to be about the same age as me, with an ordinary appearance and a blue mole on his face. Unexpectedly, such a man managed to hold back the Turkic army.
"Lord Zhenbian, I have long admired your name."
Li Mu spat, "Don't you dare imitate our Han people's speech. You think you're worthy?"
"You!" Jie Li Chi Yan glared angrily, his curved blade flashing repeatedly at Li Mu. He was skilled in martial arts and physically strong, and he fought Li Mu to a standstill.
After fighting for a while, Jie Li Chi Yan discovered that not only was Li Mu full of energy, but the other Wu Dynasty soldiers also showed no signs of fatigue, and did not look like they had been starving for four or five days at all.
He felt a chill run down his spine, wondering if Ada had been deceived.
While distracted, Li Mu stabbed him in the thigh with a spear. Although his upper body was covered by armor, his leg was not, and the spear left a bloody hole, causing Jie Li Chi Yan to scream in pain.
"You... what makes the Emperor of the Wu Dynasty worthy of your loyalty? They're not sending reinforcements or supplies; they want to trap you here to die. Why be loyal to him? Why not submit to my Eternal Heaven? I, Ada, will surely give you a great position! I'll provide you with endless gold, silver, beauties, and fine wine..."
Li Mu impatiently flicked his gun, "Enough with the useless talk, come and fight me again!"
Seeing that he couldn't persuade him to surrender, Jie Li Chi Yan had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue fighting. However, the injury on his leg made him walk slower and slower. If this continued, he was afraid he would also perish here.
Jie Li Chi Yan was about to retreat when he suffered another severe blow to his shoulder during several exchanges of blows. Unable to hold on any longer, he turned and tried to run away.
"You brat, you think you can escape?" Li Mu grabbed his spear and chased after him. With one thrust, he severed the rope binding his shoulder, and the armor fell to the ground with a thud. The second thrust pierced straight into his back, and Jie Li Chi Yan was gone without even leaving a word.
Li Mu shouted, "Prince Jieli is dead! Kill them!"
"kill!!!"
The sounds of battle shook the heavens. The Turkic soldiers were gradually forced back to the pass. The tide had turned. If they could not capture Liangzhou City today, continuing to hold out would only result in even greater losses.
Jieli Khan's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at the city so close at hand. He almost vomited blood. He was so close, just a hair's breadth away!
"Khan, if we don't retreat now, everyone inside will perish!"
"Yes, General Chi Yan is still inside. If we don't retreat now, he won't be able to come back!"
How could Jieli Khan be willing to accept this? After a long silence, he raised his hand and waved it weakly.
"Retreat! Retreat!" The Xiongnu sounded their retreat horns, and people rushed outside in a panic.
The Han Chinese were hot on their heels. After fighting for so long, they had been constantly beaten by the Turks. Today, they were finally able to launch a counterattack, and everyone was bloodthirsty.
"Come back! Withdraw!" Lang Qianping was the first to react, ordering the soldiers on the city wall to sound the retreat horn. If they really chased after them, the Turks would probably wipe them out.
This battle was brilliantly fought, a victory against overwhelming odds, and the killing of one of Jieli Khan's princes. Although the Xiongnu also suffered heavy losses, the Xiongnu suffered even greater casualties; conservative estimates suggest that five or six thousand died just inside the pass!
The soldiers, who had been terrified by the Xiongnu cavalry before, were now emboldened. Who said they were invincible? They were all made of flesh and blood; a knife would only leave a bloody hole!
This battle was also recorded in later historical books and was a turning point in the war between the Wu Dynasty and the Turks.
In the following days, several more battles were fought, but the Turks did not gain any advantage. On the contrary, the Wu army became more and more courageous in battle.
The stalemate continued until August 16th, when reinforcements finally arrived!
On the way here, Zheng Guang had already prepared to collect the general's body, but when he arrived in Liangzhou City, he found that there were still so many soldiers in the city! Could it be that the Turks never attacked at all?
He rushed to the government office and immediately knelt down and kowtowed upon seeing Li Mu, saying, "This humble general greets Your Excellency!"
"Get up."
Zheng Guang buried his head in the ground, saying, "This humble general is late in providing support, I hope the Marquis will forgive me."
"Military orders are absolute. If the higher-ups hadn't ordered you here, how could I have blamed you? It's just that the court delayed the battle, causing the border garrison to lose more than half its strength. After this battle, I will definitely go to the capital to get to the bottom of this!"
Zheng Guang dared not respond. As a minor deputy general, he had no say in the decisions made by those above him and could only do his best to lead the troops into battle.
The arrival of reinforcements and supplies completely turned the tide of the war. Starting in September, the army launched a formal counterattack, and this time it was the Turks who fled in disarray.
During the protracted war that lasted for several months, the Turks consumed a considerable amount of food. Although they burned, killed, and looted everywhere, the northwest was already poor, and the grain they plundered was not enough to sustain so many people for a long time.
As the weather gradually turned colder, the Turks' defeat was inevitable, like a house collapsing.
One victory after another reached the capital. Cities previously captured by the Turks were recaptured one by one, and reinforcements marched directly to Xizhou.
Kyoto, the Imperial Palace.
Emperor Wuping sighed softly as he looked at the successive reports of victory, "I have failed the Zhenbian Army in this battle."
Standing at the lower end, Liu Yaozhi cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty had no choice but to do this. Although it was a risky move, it completely moved the powerful families south, and there were no more powerful families to hold the court back."
The reason for delaying the dispatch of troops was to force the aristocratic families to migrate south. They could leave, but they could not take their land with them, and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland would return to the imperial court.
This desperate tactic was indeed brilliant, but it was also fraught with danger. If the Zhenbei Army hadn't held Liangzhou until reinforcements arrived, the Turks might have marched straight into the capital.
"Li Mu deserves the greatest credit for this battle. What do you think I should do to reward him, Liu Shi?"
"This humble official is unworthy and truly does not know what reward to bestow."
"A promotion is a given, and his husband should also be granted a title. In addition, the Assistant Magistrate of Shanzhou, who mentioned in his letter, promptly dispatched grain and supplies to support Liangzhou and made great contributions in this battle, so he should also be promoted."
"Your Majesty is wise."
"I wonder where he got these provisions from. Wasn't it said that the provisions for the northwestern states had all been exhausted?"
"..."
"Never mind, I'll ask them myself when they arrive in the capital. Oh, by the way, I remember Chen Qingyan is your relative. He's a good young man!"
Liu Yaozhi was slightly taken aback, then cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty."
With the Emperor's favor, it seems Chen Qingyan is destined for great success.
A note from the author:
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