Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 417 Thousands of troops avoid white robes

Xi Yi was not ignorant of military affairs or people. He had given careful consideration to letting Yuan Huiye guard Kaocheng.

The terrain of Kaocheng is very special. The city is surrounded by water on all sides. The soldiers defending the city only need to shoot arrows on the city wall to defeat the invading enemies.

The five thousand men led by Yuan Huiye were guards and servants from various powerful families. They had inconsistent orders and low morale, but their martial arts skills were still good enough, otherwise they would not have been accepted as guards and servants by these big families.

That's why Xi Yi asked Yuan Huiye to take this group of useless guards to guard Kaocheng. The only thing that made people worry was Yuan Huiye himself, but there was really no one else who could be sent in Luoyang.

Yuan Huiye had also led troops in battles before, so he was very cautious when he first set out. After finally marching quickly to Kaocheng, Yuan Huiye suddenly relaxed.

There was no other reason. Yuan Huiye thought that he could rely on the natural barrier to defeat Chen Qingzhi with only 7,000 troops.

After the fatigue of the long march, Yuan Huiye suddenly relaxed and couldn't help wanting to drink. He immediately sent his personal followers to collect fine wine, and he was drunk in the garrison all day.

The group of guards and servants who came with Yuan Huiye to Kaocheng were originally a mixed bunch of bad people. After the commander-in-chief indulged them, the military discipline quickly became loose. After robbing the people of Kaocheng, they still felt it was not enough, and secretly went out of the city to rob the villagers from all directions.

The Song family, a wealthy family in Kaocheng, originally wanted to serve their country. After they heard that Chen Qianzhi had conquered Suiyang, they recruited a thousand soldiers to protect their hometown.

However, Yuan Huiye's troops were beaten by Song's soldiers during the robbery. They complained to Yuan Huiye, saying that Song was planning to gather troops for rebellion and offer Kaocheng to Chen Qianzhi.

Yuan Huiye was already drunk. When he heard his men's accusation, he became furious and ordered that all the Song family members who were officials in Kaocheng be executed and hung on the city wall.

This greatly offended the local nobles. When Chen Qingzhi arrived at Kaocheng, the Song family soldiers hiding in the countryside immediately found Chen Qingzhi and said that they were willing to help Chen Qingzhi conquer Kaocheng.

Chen Qingzhi personally met the head of the Song family and introduced him to Emperor Yuan Hao.

When Yuan Hao heard that someone had come to him, he was overjoyed. He immediately promised to confer an official title on the Song family and gave the position away without paying.

The Song family was even more grateful and offered advice to Chen Qingzhi to attack the city using the family's method of floating ramparts.

It turned out that the Song family was just a local wealthy family and could only hold minor positions in the prefectures and counties, so the family had been doing business for generations.

Henan Province has a dense network of rivers. In order to facilitate the passage of caravans, the Song family was good at making simple floating bridges with cowhide, and the caravans used this method to cross the river.

Although Kaocheng is surrounded by water on all sides, the water is not deep. Soldiers can reach the bottom of the city with floating ramparts and attack the city.

Chen Qingzhi was overjoyed, and the Song family summoned the local nobles who had been harmed by Yuan Huiye. They slaughtered cattle and sheep to build floating forts.

Yuan Huiye in Kaocheng was drunk day and night, and the soldiers who came with him were only interested in looting. There was not even a scout to patrol at night.

Chen Qianzhi seized the opportunity and ordered his elite soldiers to tie up floating ramparts on the water at night. Five floating ramparts were built overnight!

After daybreak, Chen Qianzhi immediately launched a general attack. Seven thousand white-robed soldiers crossed the floating ramparts and rushed to the city wall. At this time, Yuan Huiye was still in a drunken dream.

By the time he was awakened by his attendants, the southern city wall had already been captured.

Yang Zhong, carrying a knife, led the crowd up the south city wall. He was the first to jump onto the city gate. The soldiers guarding the city didn't even have time to react before Yang Zhong chopped off their heads.

Yang Zhong brandished his sword and created a gap in the city wall. More soldiers climbed up the city wall through the gap, and the southern wall soon collapsed.

Once the city wall collapsed, Yuan Huiye and his ragtag army had no will to fight. They all gathered at the west gate, clamoring to open the gate and escape.

Yuan Huiye finally sobered up. He came to the west gate with a sword in hand, killed several leading soldiers, and then said:
"The enemy outnumbers us and has cavalry. Can we escape by leaving the city?"

"You have been plundering in Kaocheng these days. The nobles and common people around you all hate you to the core. Can you run back to Luoyang?"

The soldiers also felt that what Yuan Huiye said made sense, and under his persuasion, they picked up their weapons and fought again.

Yuan Huiye commanded the battle personally and recaptured most of the southern city wall. However, when the bearded and white-robed fierce general Yang Zhong from the Southern Liang Dynasty joined the battlefield again, Yuan Huiye's troops were quickly defeated again.

At this time, the eastern city wall had also been breached, and the people in Kaocheng began to mutiniate, attacking the city gates several times and finally opening the north gate.

Yuan Huiye knew that the situation was hopeless and had no choice but to surrender to Chen Qianzhi.

Yuan Hao was overjoyed. Yuan Huiye was the first prince to surrender. Yuan Hao appointed him as King of Anshun with a stroke of his pen, and increased his fiefdom and treatment. He also incorporated Yuan Huiye's followers as his own personal guards.
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Wuchuan.

After the first Six Towns Rebellion, Wuchuan City was abandoned. Once the most prosperous town among the six towns in the north, now only ruins remain.

Su Ze also felt a little sad. When he was on the expedition to the Six Garrisons, he had lifted the siege of Wuchuan. He didn't expect that after so many years, Wuchuan City no longer existed.

Su Ze revisited his old place, but not to feel sad. He waited in Wuchuan for three days, and the envoys from various tribes on the grassland arrived as expected.

The first to arrive were the envoys from Rouran.

After all, the regent was Princess Shouyang. In response to Su Ze's request for a meeting, Princess Shouyang immediately sent Yujiulü Brahmin to attend the meeting.

After many years on the grassland, Princess Shouyang is no longer the little white rabbit that Su Ze escorted her to marry.

She knew that this alliance was definitely a meeting held by Su Ze to suppress the various tribes on the grassland, so the people he sent were all noble leaders who posed a threat to his son's Khan position or were dissatisfied with his rule.

At that time, the alliance they signed would become the target of internal attacks by the Rouran, and he would then use Kehadun's identity to weaken their power.

The Turks were the second group to arrive. Ashina Tumen, the son of the Turk leader, led 500 Turk White Wolf Cavalrymen to Wuchuan. These cavalrymen were fully equipped with armor, and the armor style was very unique, combining the casting characteristics of the East and the West. The horses were also very elite. The Turks were also very sober. The decline of Rouran and Gaoche was due to the attack of the Central Plains Dynasty, or in other words, Rouran and Gaoche were both crippled by Su Ze.

With Su Ze's strength and prestige, if I didn't come, I'm afraid he would join forces with Rouran and Gaoche to fight against me.

Ashina Tumen's attitude was very respectful. He said that he came to apologize and that the White Wolf Cavalry he brought was also to help in the battle.

The Gaoche people were the last to arrive, but the one who came was the Gaoche king Mi'etu.

The King of Gaoche had fought against Su Ze head-on and knew how powerful Su Ze was best. He also brought 500 Gaoche cavalry.

All the big shots have come, and people from other tribes on the grassland have also come, and many of them are led by their leaders themselves.

In this way, more than 2,000 people came to the grassland.

On the fifth day of March, Su Ze, in the name of the emperor, formed an alliance in Wuchuan, but did not immediately convene a grassland conference.

Because Xian Yu Ahu moved.

Under Su Jie's constant provocation, Xianyu Ahu finally decided to raise his army from Pingcheng and fight Su Ze at the exit of Baidao.

Xian Yu Ahu was helpless.

He had 100,000 men, while Su Ze only had 5,000. He certainly knew that dragging it out was the best way.

But he couldn't delay.

After Xianyu Xiuli's death, Xianyu Ahu's refugee army became a semi-independent force independent of Ge Rong.

Although Xianyu Ahu was canonized by Ge Rong, the reward was not generous, and many of his generals did not receive rewards from the "Great Qi".

Xianyu Ahu also took the initiative to retreat from the prosperous Hebei area to the impoverished Hengzhou area.

Although Hengzhou was the place where the Northern Wei Dynasty started, it was nothing compared to the Central Plains of Hebei. In order to appease his tribesmen, Xianyu Ahu even robbed the imperial tombs of the Northern Wei Dynasty and rewarded his generals with the gold and silver used as burial objects, but he still could not win their hearts and minds.

He wanted to build Baidao City, but his craftsmen, Xianyu Ahu, did not have the organizational ability.

The subordinates were unwilling to endure the hardship of guarding the fortress, setting up camps and fighting a static battle to consume Su Ze's troops.

Even when Xianyu Ahu was about to go on an expedition, he did not let his generals stay in Pingcheng, for he was worried that one of them would surrender the city.

Xianyu Ahu could only use the stupidest method, which was also the method that Su Jie repeatedly mentioned.

He led all his troops to station at the exit of Baidao and fought a decisive battle with Su Ze.

Xian Yu Ahu will feel safe only when he has all the troops under his watch.

If he wins, Xianyu Ahu's prestige will increase greatly, and he will be destined to be a local lord in the future.

If you lose, you lose. It's better than having your head chopped off and taking credit for it!

And one hundred thousand versus five thousand, the advantage is on my side!

Xianyu Ahu sent an envoy to inform Su Ze of the time of the decisive battle, and brought Su Jie out of the prison and kept him by his side personally. He wanted Su Jie to see him defeat Su Ze with his own eyes.

After receiving Xianyu Ahu's declaration of war, Su Ze said to Dugu Xin and Wei Xiaokuan, who were brought from Wuyuan:
"My work is accomplished."

Then Su Ze ordered Dugu Xin:
"You take the Wuyuan soldiers and these grassland people to watch from behind. This duke does not need them to go into battle. If they make any unusual moves, they will be strangled directly."

"only!"

Dugu Xin took the order and left. Su Ze then said to Wei Xiaokuan who was assisting in handling civil affairs:
"Find the abandoned iron smelting site in Wuchuan and have the Turks smelt weapons to make weapons for this duke."

"Let the Turks make clubs with iron tips and distribute them to the cavalry charging at the front."

Su Ze briefly explained it, and Wei Xiaokuan immediately said:
"Is it Shu that the Duke is talking about?"

Su Ze nodded and said:

"This is it."

Shu is the name of the ancient stick weapon, which became a ceremonial weapon in the Han Dynasty. The so-called "Zhi Jinwu" is actually the "Zhi Jin" Shu, which is actually this thing. This is a ceremonial military officer holding a stick-shaped scepter beside the emperor.

"Why did the Duke of the County create this thing?"

"In cavalry combat, even the sharpest blade will bend, so it's not as convenient as this."

"only!"

Wei Xiaokuan only felt the chilling chill contained in these words.

(End of this chapter)