Chapter 988 Tieling
After receiving the alarm from Yanmen Fortress, Bigui, the governor of Bingzhou, who had just sent his only 5,000 troops to Yanmen Fortress, suddenly received another alarm from Jiuyuan County:
An unknown number of Han troops appeared in the north of Jinyang.
This news shocked Bi Gui like a thunderbolt.
"Shulu...how could Shulu...how could he be there? How could he be there?"
Bi Gui was considered a handsome man when he was young, but he was usually gentle and elegant.
Although he is now past middle age, he still gives people a sense of grace and grace.
But at this time, his magnanimity was completely gone.
After the shock, it was replaced by fear, panic, and being at a loss.
I saw him falling to the ground, his face pale, his eyes dull, and he was muttering and repeating:
“Why are the Shu captives there?”
Just a few days ago, news came from Guanzhong that two of the three armies of Shu captives had retreated.
Especially Feng Thief, he should be at Yinshan Mountain right now, fighting with Ke Bi Neng!
Why are there still a group of Shu captives emerging from Yanmen?
Did they fall from the sky?
"Your Majesty!" When Li Xi saw Bi Gui's appearance, he immediately wanted to slap him twice to wake him up:
"The urgent issue now is not where the Shu captives will come from, but how to defend Jinyang! If you are responsible for the safety of a state, but you act like a woman when things happen, isn't it true that you are unworthy of your majesty's trust?"
Bi Gui regained a little consciousness after Li Xi drank this. He rolled his eyes like a dead fish twice and trembled:
"Yes, yes! The most urgent thing now is to find a way to defend Jinyang..."
Just thinking that there were only a few hundred county soldiers in Jinyang now, he suddenly felt weak all over again, as if he had fallen into an ice cave:
“It’s just...just how to keep it now...”
Li Xi finally couldn't bear it anymore, stepped forward and grabbed Bi Gui's lapel, pulled him up, and said urgently:
"Your Majesty, you should immediately send people out of the city to catch up with the five thousand soldiers and ask them to turn back immediately. This way, there will be at least one defender in the city."
"If the Shu captives want to go south to Jinyang, they must pass through Jiuyuan County. The Huns in Jiuyuan County can be ordered to do their best to stop them!"
“In the past, Emperor Wu divided the Xiongnu into five tribes. Except for the northern Xiongnu in Jiuyuan County and the southern Xiongnu in Puzi County, the remaining three tribes, the left, right and middle tribes, are all in the counties south of Jinyang.”
"The envoy can send people to various counties to summon them. Even if it is an emergency, at least ten thousand people can be gathered at the foot of Jinyang City to ward off the Shu captives."
Cao Cao divided the Xiongnu into five divisions: north, middle, left, right and south. Needless to say, the north was placed in the Jiuyuan.
The middle part is located in Daling County (northeast of Wenshui County in later generations), and the right part is in Qi County (later Qi County). These two parts are both in Taiyuan County, not far from Jinyang.
The left part is located in Zishi County of Xihe County (later south of Fenyang), which is also close to the border of Taiyuan County.
Only the south, Puzi County (later Xi County) in Pingyang County, is far away.
The commanders of the five Xiongnu tribes are all named Liu, and there is also a Han army Sima Jianzhi in the tribe.
The purpose of this operation was to dismember the Xiongnu so that they could no longer cause harm to Bingzhou, Hedong and other places.
The second is to use the Xiongnu to defend Bingzhou and prevent the Xianbei Hu from the north from going south.
Although this time, those coming from the north were not Xianbei people but Shu captives, but the method of dealing with them was the same as before.
It’s just that plans are not as fast as changes after all.
The Shu captives came too quickly. Yanmen blocked the front leg and sent the military information over. The rear leg of the Shu captives was already not far from Jiuyuan County.
More importantly, most of the soldiers originally stationed in Jinyang were transferred away from the beginning of the Battle of Guanzhong, and now only 5,000 remain.
And when time is urgent, it is definitely impossible to gather all the Huns.
Fortunately, each Xiongnu army has military officers and horses assigned by the imperial court, and I believe they can definitely recruit many of them.
The current plan is to find a way to hold back the Shu captives and wait for reinforcements from Guanzhong or Luoyang to arrive.
As long as Jinyang is not lost, everything can still be saved.
“Yes, yes! Send the order, send the order!”
When Bi Gui heard Li Xi’s words, he was like a drowning man grabbing the last straw and said repeatedly:
“Let the soldiers turn back and defend Jinyang, and then let the Huns in the north..."
Li Xi could no longer hold back and spit his saliva directly onto Bi Gui’s face:
"Your Majesty! I want you to send someone out of the city immediately to deliver the order!"
I’m not asking you to learn how to speak like me!
I am your mother!
He was about to get mad at this extremely incompetent guy.
On weekdays, few people can talk about classics. He is said to be a talented person, but he didn't expect that he would be like this when he encountered trouble.
Li Xi felt extremely regretful at this time.
At the beginning, the imperial court called me many times, but I didn't agree to become an official. I was so blind that I agreed to this guy and took up the post of Bingzhou Biejia.
"Yes, yes, come, come! Give me my order..."
Bi Gui of Jinyang was panicked, and the Northern Commander of the Xiongnu, who was already approaching the city, was even more unprepared.
The day before, many Xianbei Hunan escaped and were intercepted by me. They were still thinking happily that they had hundreds more Xianbei slaves on their hands.
Unexpectedly, I would have received a report today that a large army holding high the banner of the Han family was approaching Jiuyuan County.
It was only then that the Northern Commander realized that these Xianbei slaves were simply being driven south.
Although the commanders of the five Xiongnu tribes all have the surname Liu, there are some differences between the northern Xiongnu and the left, right, middle and south tribes south of Jinyang.
The main tribe in the northern Xiongnu is the Xiutu tribe. They are not the southern Xiongnu, but belong to the northern Xiongnu.
The reason why the surname was changed to Liu was because during the Pre-Han Dynasty, Maodun Shanyu was considered the brother of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, after adding it, he considered himself to have the same surname as the Emperor of the Han Dynasty.
The remaining four tribes are all Southern Xiongnu.
Since the Xiongnu split for the first time, Huhanxie Shanyu first went to the Han territory to ask for surrender, and then asked himself to be his son-in-law. Only then did Wang Zhaojun come out of the fortress.
It is precisely because of this origin that when the Southern Xiongnu arrived in the Later Han Dynasty, most of them claimed to be the son-in-law of the Han family, and they often took the character Liu as their Han surname.
Some are more radical, like King Youxian of the Southern Xiongnu, who even claimed to be a descendant of Emperor Guangwu after being the general who conquered the Liao Dynasty in the Later Han Dynasty.
When Dong Zhuo caused trouble, the Southern Xiongnu sent troops to Chang'an, Luoyang and other places in an attempt to rescue the Han Emperor.
It can be seen that the watchdogs maintained by the Han Dynasty for two to three hundred years were still very effective.
But while rescuing the Han emperor, the Huns saw with their own eyes that the prestige of the Han emperor was trampled on at will.
Many Xiongnu lost their awe and took advantage of the chaos to plunder the land east of Bingzhou and Hedong.
There is a reason why Cao Cao placed the Southern Huns to the south of Jinyang, but placed the Xiutu tribe to the north to guard the gate.
Obviously, no matter how unrighteous the Hu people are, the Southern Xiongnu who were tamed by the Han Dynasty for more than two hundred years have already had the imprint of the Han family on them.
These marks will not disappear easily for no reason.
Compared with the Southern Xiongnu who claimed to be the son-in-law of the Han family, the Xiutu tribe, who were first defeated by the Han and then forced to move inland, did not have so many complicated feelings towards the Han emperor.
Furthermore, because of the historical division of the northern and southern Xiongnu, the Xiutu tribe who came from the northern Xiongnu will not be so close to the southern Xiongnu tribes.
These historical reasons are enough to make it easier for the Xiutu tribe to choose to listen to Cao Wei.
So when the northern commander of the Xiongnu saw the banner of the Han family, his first reaction was not the Han army, but where did the traitor army come from?
It’s just that the thieves came in a lot and very quickly.
From the time the enemy was discovered to the time the thieves arrived at Jiuyuan, it only took less than half a day.
As the rolling iron cavalry continued to approach Jiuyuan County, the Northern Huns commander found himself facing an embarrassing situation.
Although the tribe still retained the herding habit, they also had to learn farming.
To put it nicely, it means half-cultivation and half-grazing; to put it worse, it means neither a man nor a fool.
Although there is Jiuyuan County, he cannot defend the city...
Not to mention that for hundreds of years, the Xiongnu rarely had the habit of building cities.
City?
What it is?
Wouldn’t it be delicious when used to corral cattle and sheep?
But how many string-controllers could the Huns who farmed the land produce?
It's just that it's too late to escape at this time.
The northern commander had no choice but to bite the bullet and lead his troops out of the city to fight.
General Guan's lips curled up slightly when he looked at the two or three thousand cavalry troops that the Huns had improvised at the foot of Jiuyuan City. They were even worse than the Xianbei Hu.
The reason why we have to keep going all the way is to achieve this effect so that the opponent does not have enough time to prepare.
Either abandon the city and flee to the south, or improvise troops to fight.
Now it seems that the so-called northern Huns are loyal to the Wei thieves...
Just when the Huns in the north were trying to block the Han army's march southward, the 5,000 Wei troops who had just left the city were called back to Jinyang in time.
The somewhat baffled General Wei Jun learned about the situation he was facing and immediately suggested to Bi Gui:
"Shijun, there is a mountain range in the north of Jinyang. The local people call it Tieling. It is the only way to go south from Jiuyuan County to Jinyang."
“The terrain there is dangerous, with mountains on the left and ravines on the right. Thousands of people are guarding it, and tens of thousands cannot pass.”
"The thieves are strong now and we have few soldiers. Moreover, Jinyang is a big city. It can be said that the city is big but the soldiers are few. This is a big taboo in defending the city!"
“Therefore, instead of defending the city, it is better to defend the mountain pass and resist the enemy.”
When Bi Gui heard this, he subconsciously looked at Li Xi.
Li Xi pondered, but looked at General Wei:
“General Sima, as far as I know, there is a river valley to the west of Tieling, which can bypass Tieling and go straight to Jinyang. What if the Shu captives do not attack Tieling by force, but bypass the valley?”
"This is easy to handle!" The general of the Wei army was named Sima, and his given name was Huan. He was from Hanoi, and it is said that he had some relationship with the Sima family in Hanoi.
But seeing that he seemed to be prepared, he replied, "Hasn't the envoy already ordered the Huns to be summoned to Jinyang?"
"Hu'er can't defend the city. Instead of letting them station outside the city, it would be better to let them guard in the river valley. The river valley is not very wide."
“No matter how powerful the Shu captives are, it will be difficult for them to deploy their troops in the river valley, and Hu’er has a large number of people, so they can take turns to fight.”
“It is not necessary to block the Shu captives, but to delay them until the imperial court sends reinforcements, that will be enough!”
It didn’t sound like there was anything wrong with it. Li Xi nodded subconsciously.
Bi Gui only said that he had agreed, and he quickly raised his palms and said happily:
"We are all trying to merge the mountains and rivers inside and outside the state. So what if the Shu captives took advantage of me and captured Yanmen? Let's see how he breaks through the Tieling barrier."
Hurry up and make arrangements now.
Sima Huan led 5,000 Wei troops to Tieling, but they had not yet set up camp.
Hu people from the north flocked here, all wanting to go south from Tieling to Jinyang.
Sima Huan immediately had people block the passage and not allow anyone to pass.
The Hu people who fled south had no choice but to gather at the foot of Tieling. Some were shouting, some were cursing, and some were begging. They just asked the defenders to open the passage.
Sima Huan was unmoved at all and even ordered that anyone who dared to cross the border would be shot with arrows and crossbows.
Only a small number of Hu people went around the river valley.
When the Hu people at the foot of Tieling learned about this passage and were about to turn away from the river valley, the leading troops of the central Huns closest to Jinyang had arrived at the mouth of the south valley and blocked the gap.
The four southern Xiongnu tribes, whether with the Xiutu tribe or the Xianbei Hu tribe, could not have any life-long friendship. How could they dare to disobey Bi Gui's order and let people go south privately?
At this time, these Hu people who fled south were forced to withdraw from the valley.
After hearing the report from the spies who were among the Hu people fleeing south, Shi Bao said with some worry:
“General, it seems that the Wei thieves are ready!”
He didn't understand why General Guan let the army rest and regroup in Jiuyuan County, resulting in not taking this dangerous place in time. What a pity, what a pity!
General Guan had no expression on his face. He said "hmm" and looked steadily at the mountains ahead.
Suddenly he ordered:
"Release that northern commander, as well as all the barbarian generals, and let them go to Tieling to call the pass and try out the attitude of the Wei thieves."
"Ah? General, let them all go? General, don't you want to use their names?"
Shi Bao was a little surprised.
Just like the man who was forced to surrender to the mud, no matter whether he was willing to do so in his heart or not, at least on the surface he was surrendering to the big man.
Now Huo Yi can use Lord Xianbei's name to appease the Xianbei barbarians in Yanmen County, and at the same time collect some supplies.
But in the battle of Jiuyuan County, the Huns and barbarians who were improvised together were not enough in number.
Even the war horses are no match for the Xianbei people of Yanmen. How can they be the match for the cavalry led by General Guan?
In less than half a day, the Huns under Jiuyuan County were completely defeated. Even the commander could not escape and was captured by the army on the spot.
As for the horses, cattle and sheep abandoned by the Huns, many of them were sent to the stomachs of the generals.
Shi Bao thought that General Guan would borrow the title of the Xiongnu Commander-in-Chief like he did at Yanmen.
“Yes, let them all go, there’s no point in keeping them.”
General Guan nodded, "His tribes are all in Jiuyuan County. They are fleeing and scattered now. There is nothing to be afraid of."
“Here.”
After the Northern Commander of the Xiongnu was captured, he was kept in the army. He only thought that he was going to be used by the Han army to sacrifice the flag, but he did not expect to escape death.
After untying the hemp rope on his body, the Han soldier just raised his chin, without even bothering to say anything, signaling that he could get out.
The commander didn't even dare to say more, for fear that the other party would regret it. He didn't even look at the direction carefully, so he ran away with several of his generals in a panic.
I don’t know how long I ran. I met some tribesmen who fled south one after another on the road, and then I understood the direction I was going.
At the moment, he and several generals gathered some tribesmen, and then they got some food, and then continued to flee south until they reached the foot of Tieling.
Upon learning that the commander-in-chief had returned, all the Huns and barbarians around Tieling gathered there on their own initiative, hoping that the commander-in-chief could lead them through Tieling.
Having gathered many tribesmen’s commanders again, this gave them some confidence.
At the moment, he went to the foot of the mountain in person. After announcing his identity, he shouted:
“I beg the general, for the sake of me and my people to defend the imperial court from enemies, please let me go...”
Before he finished speaking, a faint thunder suddenly came from the distance.
Sima Huan on Tieling had no time to answer Bei Shuai's words. His eyes were already tightly attracted by Bei Bei.
The black cavalry was rushing in from all directions, constantly driving the barbarians around Tieling and squeezing them in this direction.
“Lead your people out of here quickly!”
Sima Huan's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly shouted sharply at Bei Shuai, who was at the foot of the mountain.
Shuai Zuobu stood at the foot of the mountain, naturally unable to see what was happening in the distance.
He still wanted to continue shouting, but Sima Huan had no time to argue with him, so he directly asked people to set up bows and shoot arrows:
“If you don’t get out of here, I’ll kill you on the spot!”
Seeing that Sima Huan was so inhumane, the Northern Commander, even though he was a clay figure, was very angry:
I led my tribe and tried my best to help you block the enemy in the north, but in the end I was treated like this?
Just looking at the coldly shining arrows on the ridge, he could only grit his teeth and turn around angrily. After walking a few steps, he noticed the sound of thunder.
No, this is the sound of horse hooves!
Sima Huan on the mountain looked at the barbarians outside who had no way to escape. They were squeezing towards him in a confused and ignorant manner, like ripples starting to appear on the surface of a lake.
He was trembling all over, and it took him a long time to squeeze out two words through his teeth:
“So cruel!”
Ps: Where the northern Xiongnu came from, there is no clear conclusion in the historical circles. The conclusion accepted by most people is used here, which comes from the Xiutu tribe of the northern Xiongnu.
(End of this chapter)