mtl008 Chapter 127 The war is coming
Chapter 127 The war is coming
The 17th day of the 11th month is an inauspicious day for all activities.
After a night of heavy snow, the area outside Shacheng was once again covered in white.
The soldiers who had endured the hardships inside the city listened to the howling wind on the ice all night and finally understood why the Changming River got its name.
The north wind howled all night long.
It is both perseverance and despair.
"Drink some hot water."
"Everyone, come and drink some hot water."
As the cooks who delivered the food finished distributing the hot water, there was finally a hint of life on the city wall.
But everyone knows that a mere bowl of water can only warm you up.
Meanwhile, the Hu people on the opposite bank of the Changming River were able to cook meat and drink wine.
"Gurgle...gurgle..." The aroma of meat wafting over made everyone's stomachs growl even louder.
The soldier, whose hands were cracked from the cold, could no longer bear it and ran to the general guarding the city.
"General, will the imperial reinforcements really come?"
"Yes, it will definitely happen!"
"His Majesty is a wise ruler; he certainly won't abandon us."
"..." The soldiers present simply listened quietly.
They've heard this same excuse far too many times these days.
At first, they also believed that the imperial court's reinforcements would arrive soon.
However, as the weather grew colder and more people starved and froze to death, many began to realize that the imperial court would not send troops.
"General..." The soldier who asked the question knelt down with difficulty.
He wasn't afraid of dying, but he was afraid of dying such a pathetic death. "Rather than waiting to die like this, I'd rather die a quick and painless death."
"You..." The general guarding the city was about to reprimand him when he saw the other soldiers kneeling down as well.
"General! Let's take the initiative and attack while we still have the strength!"
"Yes, General! Let's take the initiative!"
"General, please let us die on the battlefield!"
"..."
Seeing everyone, including his deputy, kneel down, the general guarding the city closed his eyes in despair.
He certainly knew the importance of defending the city.
The army has been without food for five days, and tomorrow they may not even have firewood to boil water.
How are they supposed to defend this?!
"That's enough." When he opened his eyes again, the general guarding the city had already made his decision.
"Pass on my order: everyone, follow me out of the city to kill the enemy!"
"Yes!" the soldiers responded in unison, their eyes shining brightly.
But those eyes were filled with a resolute determination to face death.
"Om-"
As soon as the horns and war drums sounded, shouts of battle immediately rushed out of the city and headed towards the Changming River!
The Hu people, who were eating at the time, were caught off guard and were immediately killed, numbering around a hundred.
Before they could react, light cavalrymen quickly attacked from both sides.
"Swoosh!" The spear pierced through the body of the Wei soldier, throwing him to the ground!
The next moment, someone leaped up and slashed the Hu man off his horse with a single stroke, "Thud!"
“Woo—” Immediately afterwards, the Hu people’s horn sounded.
The Hu soldiers fighting against the Wei soldiers seemed to have heard some terrifying sound and quickly retreated.
Some were even killed by Wei soldiers because they exposed their weaknesses.
But the next instant, heavily armored cavalry, dressed in their finest attire, charged out from the center and swept over them with overwhelming force.
Stomp and crush people and weapons alike!
Unable to withstand such an offensive, and having been starving for many days, the defending general had no choice but to seize horses and, taking advantage of his light armor, overtake the heavily armored cavalry and charge forward!
The aim was to stop the leading heavy cavalry and disrupt their formation.
"Bang!" But the heavy armored cavalry in the midst of the charge had such great momentum that it knocked him flying.
With a thud, the general and his horse crashed into the snow, and all he saw was the iron hoof trampling down on his head—
"Whoosh—" Several long crossbows swept past, cutting through the wind!
With a loud "crack," the lead heavy cavalryman was shot through and sent flying, the impact shattering the formation.
"Thump thump thump..." Immediately afterwards, the ground shook, and thousands of troops rushed in.
The heavily armored cavalry, which had not suffered many losses, immediately broke into smaller units and used a cross-charge tactic to avoid the giant crossbows while engaging the arriving Wei reinforcements.
Upon seeing the situation, the Hu general on the banks of the Changming River immediately changed his flag signals, ordering his army to encircle the enemy from the outside...
......
Eastern Xianbei.
Youlian Zangtu, who was already worried that the Northern Hu would deny their involvement and leave him in a difficult situation, agreed to Mona Louzhenhe's proposal almost without much consideration.
He personally led his troops, taking advantage of the fact that the entire Northern Hu army was mobilized, and directly joined forces with the western army to raid the Northern Hu's stronghold!
Upon hearing this devastating news, the eldest prince, who was halfway through his 200,000-strong Northern Hu army, immediately returned to reinforce the capital.
But they were all nomadic peoples, and their specialty was to rob and run.
By the time the eldest prince rushed back to the capital in a fit of rage, the eastern and western divisions had already divided up all the treasures and women within the capital.
They were left with only an empty city and the heads of a few royal family members.
His beloved father was among them.
Can this be tolerated? !
The eldest prince was so angry that he vomited blood on the spot. After regaining consciousness, he insisted on leading his troops to attack the eastern and western parts.
The second prince, born to a Han Chinese, was naturally furious!
They even finally felt a sense of brotherhood.
The Xianbei tribes' military strength was naturally inferior to that of the Northern Hu.
However, Baili Ce's methods were too dirty; he directly used Tan Lang's words to persuade the two leaders to use underhanded tricks.
Mona Louzhenhe didn't think much of it. Why bother with morality when dealing with the Northern Hu? He completely abandoned morality!
However, Youlian Zangtu, who had previously received a considerable amount of gold and silver from the Northern Hu and had promised to help them purchase grain, hesitated.
"This...not only did you withhold the promised grain, but now you're going to be so ruthless. Isn't that a bit much?"
Qiu Jiang went straight for the kill, saying, "If the leader is willing to let the Northern Hu prince use your head to pay homage to their king, then you can indeed refuse."
Youlian Zangtu stood up instantly!
He immediately agreed to the second prince's request for a large bribe.
Meanwhile, on Mona Louzhen's side, Tan Lang was in charge of spreading rumors and slander against the eldest prince, saying that he had known all along that the two Xianbei tribes were going to take action against the Northern Hu capital.
Then, within two days, the two princes each "intercepted" secret letters from the East and West ministries to each other.
No wonder people from the Northern Hu region are known for their short temper.
Something even more outrageous than they had anticipated—mutual distrust and morale collapse—happened.
Seeing that he couldn't explain himself and suspecting that the eldest prince wouldn't tolerate him, the second prince took the initiative and killed his own elder brother.
However, the generals under the eldest prince did not submit to the second prince and killed him that very night to establish their own power base.
Then, the two Xianbei tribes were completely wiped out, and the Northern Hu army retreated.
Despite his lack of martial ethics, Youlian Zangtu even received several letters of friendship and a few beautiful women.
Mona Louzhenhe even took in several surrendered Hu generals, making him the biggest winner.
Qiu Jiang, who was finally able to meet Bai Li Ce in Salendo, couldn't help but exclaim, "I really didn't expect this!"
"The Northern Hu people have always been embroiled in internal strife, and this alliance is also based on interests."
"Naturally, the slightest disturbance will lead to a betrayal."
Qiu Jiang nodded, finding it very reasonable.
Then he countered, "Is this your reason for betraying Wang Qingyan?"
"What backstab?" Baili Ce was completely confused.
"Hmph," Qiu Jiang sneered.
Pretending to be quite similar.
Unfortunately, being a fellow treacherous person, he knew all too well what kind of person Baili Ce was.
He immediately pulled out the evidence he had collected from the Great Wei and slammed it on the table, saying, "Take a look for yourself."
Um??
Bai Li Ce picked up the thick stack of letters with some skepticism...