Chapter 173 Three Knocks
"Open the door!"
Liang Zhao's personal guards stood at the foot of Baohan City and knocked on the gate, but the sturdy city gate remained motionless. Liang Zhao was so angry that he drew his sword and was about to chop down the city gate himself.
Liang Zhao put down the knife in his hand. He didn't expect Su Chao to be so ugly. He tricked him out of the city gate, immediately sent new soldiers into the city, and then locked him outside.
Liang Zhao was so angry that he almost laughed. Su Ze and his gang were all outsiders from Hezhou. He didn't really think that just a few city gates could stop them from entering the city, right?
childish!
After all, Su Ze has no prestige in Baohan at all.
Who is Que Tiehu? He is an unknown bandit in Hezhou. It would take less than a month for Liang Zhao to quell the rebellion.
At this moment, Su Cho appeared at the city gate and shouted to Liang Zhao:
"General Liang, the soldiers also want you to experience what it's like to spend the night outside the city. Please camp outside the city today."
Hearing this, Liang Zhao was so angry that he picked up the knife again and shouted angrily: "How dare you, you little brat, bully me!"
Su Chao ignored Liang Zhao's rage and walked down the city gate. He said to the gatekeepers, "General Su, I want you to guard the city gate for three days. If you can, you will be rewarded handsomely. Do you understand?"
The soldiers said in unison: "Understood!"
After Liang Zhao outside the city gate vented his anger, he sheathed his sword, smiled and said, "As expected, he is a brat. He will retaliate immediately after being wronged. With such subordinates as Su Ze, there is nothing to worry about!"
The Qiang generals surrounding Liang Zhao nodded one after another. Isn't it just spending a night outside Baohan City? It's not a big deal. Can Su Ze let himself never enter Baohan City again?
Everyone looked at Gao Hui, who was comforting the Ganliang West Army, and forced a smile, following Gao Hui to resettle these refugees from the Western Regions.
It seemed that Gao Hui was solely focused on settling these refugees from the Western Regions and didn't care about having them spend the night outside the city.
Now Gao Hui and Liang Zhao, who had the highest status in Baohan City, no longer cared about it, and the other military leaders and generals also held their breath and thought about how to humiliate Su Cho after entering the city tomorrow.
-
"Open the door!"
Murong Shaozong, wearing Tuyuhun armor, stood at the gate of Xiping City and knocked on the gate.
Murong Shaozong spoke in Xianbei language, and he deliberately said viciously:
"General Qu has been ambushed by Wei bandits near the river. Quickly open the city gates and send troops to rescue him!"
The deputy general who stayed behind in Xiping City was a little hesitant at first when he heard the news, but when he saw that the Xianbei knights behind Murong Shaozong were all injured and holding tattered military flags in their hands, most of his doubts were eliminated.
He quickly ordered his men to open the city gate, and he led his troops to the city gate to welcome Murong Shaozong and inquire about more about Qu Shuai's situation.
Qiao Zhuang and Su Ze, who were following behind Murong Shaozong, saw Murong Shaozong pretending to open the gate of Xiping City, and couldn't help but sigh at what the Han system was.
Emperor Xiaowen chose to sinicize in accordance with the historical trend. After the Northern Wei's territory expanded, the original grassland military system was no longer able to rule the entire country, so he had to upgrade the operating system.
Sinicization is not just about using Chinese surnames, but also a complete set of administrative, economic, and military systems.
When Su Ze entered Jincheng and Baohan, the soldiers guarding the gates repeatedly checked the seals and tokens, and only opened the city gates after confirmation.
However, Tuyuhun did not have such a system. The defending general simply heard Murong Shaozong speaking Xianbei language and saw that they were wearing Tuyuhun armor, so he believed his one-sided story and opened the city gate.
This is also the reason why the rulers of the Central Plains are not afraid of rebellions from small border countries, but once a small country establishes an official system and uses Han clothing, it must be incorporated into their own rule.
Seeing that his opponent was so weak, he gave a wink, and the five Northern Army soldiers behind him immediately drew their swords and rushed forward, chopping down the soldiers guarding the city in the doorway.
This team of Northern Army soldiers worked in perfect harmony. After they controlled the gate, Su Ze led the cavalry behind him to mount their horses. The rumbling cavalry rushed along the main street of Xiping's central axis towards the general's mansion in the center of the city.
At this time, the deputy general who stayed behind in Xiping finally discovered something was wrong, but Su Ze had already entered the city with 200 cavalrymen, and it was too late for him to gather the army. As he watched Su Ze pass by him, a sharp sword flashed with a cold light, and the deputy general's eyes went dark and his head flew into the air.
Su Ze looked back at the [Daxia Dragon Bird Guard] beside him. This precious sword of Helian Bobo was indeed a magical weapon. It was as easy to chop people as to chop melons and vegetables with it. With the protection of the [Daxia Dragon Bird Guard], Su Ze did not need to take action against the enemies along the way as they were all chopped down by him in advance.
Su Ze and his group hacked at Tuyuhun soldiers whenever they encountered them, and set fire to military camps whenever they encountered them. The Tuyuhun people in the city were completely unprepared, and many soldiers were hacked to death before they could even pick up their weapons.
Su Ze had his men shout loudly, "I am General Su Ze of the Wei Dynasty who protects the Qiang! All the people of the Wei Dynasty who hang white cloth on their doors will not be harmed!"
The people in the city hung white cloth on their roofs. Seeing that there were still so many old Wei people in the city, Su Ze knew that after the Tuyuhun people occupied Xiping City, they had not been able to effectively control the city.
Hou Jing and Yang Chounu led their troops respectively and controlled the other two city gates of Xiping. Su Ze left only one city gate. The Tuyuhun people who were driven out by him were frightened and fled from Xiping City through this city gate.
When it was completely dark, the Tuyuhun people in the city had been basically driven out, and Yang Chounu said excitedly:
"General, there are more than a thousand Tuyuhun people who just escaped from the city. If we pursue them under the cover of night, we will surely achieve greater results."
Su Ze shook his head and said, "No, our army has been fighting for two days and nights today and is already exhausted. It is enough to capture Xiping City."
"Use the laborers in the city to repair the city gates, and order the army to rest immediately! Murong Shaozong, I am sending you to report the victory to Li, the governor of Jincheng, and have Jincheng send troops to support immediately!"
Murong Shaozong immediately took the order and rode out of the city on horseback towards Jincheng.
Su Ze was not carried away by the victory. Tuyuhun had 3,000 troops stationed in Xiping City, 1,000 of whom pursued Gao Hui and were defeated by him, and the rest were driven out of Xiping by him.
However, Tuyuhun not only had troops stationed in Xiping, but also had many tribes and strongholds nearby. He had only 200 cavalry in total. Once he lost his deterrent power, Xiping City would be taken back.
Su Ze also did not trust the Qiang generals in Baohan City, so he chose to report the victory to Li Shizhe and ask him to send the troops in Jincheng to assist in the defense of Xiping.
Su Ze, despite his fatigue, patrolled the city defenses and comforted the soldiers all night.
-
The next morning, when the sun was rising.
The city gates of Xiping have been almost repaired. The West Gate, which was the most seriously damaged, has been blocked with stones, and the treasury in the city has also been taken over by Su Ze.
At this point, Su Ze's tense heart finally relaxed. When he saw the prompt in the system that the task was completed, Su Ze was a little bit unbelievable.
Xiping (Xining), this important town on the Huangshui River, was taken just like that?
By occupying Xiping, Su Ze could control the entire Hehuang Valley from the south to the north, drive out the Tuyuhun people who invaded the valley, and restore farming here.
Xiping is also an important node on the Silk Road.
Heading north from Xiping, there is a small path between the Qilian Mountains that leads to Zhangye, an important town on the Hexi Corridor.
Today, the Hexi Corridor is also in the hands of the Northern Wei Dynasty and is under the jurisdiction of Liangzhou. However, due to the harassment of the Gaoche and Tuyuhun peoples, the trade routes in the Hexi Corridor are temporarily blocked.
The northern route of the Silk Road has more prosperous cities along the way and is safer than the southern route of the Silk Road that bypasses the Tarim Basin. Su Ze is confident that he can dredge the Silk Road in the Hexi Corridor. If the northern route of the Silk Road can be restored, Xiping City will definitely become more prosperous.
Of course, all this is based on the premise that Su Ze can defend Xiping City. As long as he can open up trade with the Western Regions, Su Ze will be able to obtain more high-quality war horses from the Western Regions and form a larger number of armored cavalry.
Let Su Ze occupy the Hehuang area stably and use this excellent agricultural area to farm. The land resources here are enough to support a large cavalry team.
If we only talk about agricultural resources and trade resources, the Hehuang area is much stronger than Xiurongchuan, where his sworn brother Erzhu Rong started his business.
However, the difficulties Su Ze faced were much greater than those faced by Zhu Rong. There was Tuyuhun eyeing him covetously from the north, and there were also Qiang leaders who were wavering and wanted to rebel within the country.
In addition, there is another important issue in capturing Xiping.
In the administrative division of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Xiping City belonged to Liangzhou rather than Hezhou.
This is very embarrassing. If the governor of Liangzhou comes to ask for the recaptured Xiping, should it be returned to Liangzhou?
Su Ze could only sigh that the person who set up the Northern Wei divisions was definitely a very smart person.
Xiping and Baohan were obviously two integrated fortresses, but they belonged to two different states respectively. This was also the reason why Baohan did not come to the rescue when Xiping fell.
During the dynasty's rise, this deliberately disgusting division was naturally intended to prevent ambitious people from establishing separatist regimes on the border and to prevent the emergence of separatist forces that occupied the entire Hehuang Valley and thrived.
But now it is the end of the dynasty, and it will be defeated by the enemy and become a major threat to border defense.
Su Ze made up his mind. He thought, since he was not the governor of Hezhou, he would stay in Xiping City anyway!
Let Hezhou Governor Li Shizhe argue with Liangzhou Governor!
After the army rested for a night, Su Ze looked at Hou Jing and Yang Chounu beside him and asked, "I'll leave all the heavy cavalry to you. Can you hold Xiping?"
Hou Jing immediately issued a military order and said: "If the city survives, the people will be there. If the city is lost, the people will die!"
"it is good!"
Su Ze really admired Hou Jing's spirit of giving up everything to strive for progress. He was able to rise from a general of the Six Garrisons to the third-in-command of Su Ze's group because of this ruthlessness.
But in comparison, Yang Chounu, who came from the imperial guards, was not as determined as him. His battle plan was more conservative and he basically followed Su Ze's orders.
But the good thing is that Yang Chounu is more loyal to Su Ze, and Su Ze trusts him more.
So two people were left to guard the city. Su Ze appointed Hou Jing as the main general and Yang Chounu as the deputy general, and allowed them to recruit civilians in the city to defend the city in times of crisis. Then he led three teams of armored cavalry and returned to Baohan from Xiping City.
Looking at Xiping City shining in the morning sun, it is time to return to Baohan and solve the problem of Qiang leaders like Liang Zhao.
-
"Open the door!"
Liang Zhao knocked on the gate of Baohan City again, his patience had almost worn out.
After Su Cho took control of Baohan City, he lowered food, medicine and fresh water from the city wall via hanging baskets. No matter what the Qiang leaders outside the city wanted, he would provide it immediately, but he was not allowed to "open the door".
Naturally, rumors spread outside the city.
Some said that Su Cho arrested their relatives in the city and used their family members to threaten them to surrender.
Some said that Su Chao had colluded with the Tuyuhun people, and that the Tuyuhun army would soon attack them and kill them, forcing them to surrender the city.
Anyway, all kinds of outrageous rumors made all the Qiang generals outside the city irritable and uneasy.
Some of these outrageous rumors were naturally spread by Liang Zhao.
Liang Zhao didn't think Su Cho had the ability to control Baohan City at all.
Their families and close associates are in the city, and the people in the city are on their side. How can that young brat Su Chao control the city gate for a while and always?
As long as we relax a little, the traitors in the city will open the city gates and let us in.
Liang Zhao simply couldn't understand what the point of Su Cho doing this was other than venting his anger.
He doesn't really think that he can control Baohan City with just these 1,600 new recruits, right?
Liang Zhao and his men not only have trusted family members in the city, but also tribesmen outside the city. If they fall out, they will go back to the tribe to gather troops and gather tens of thousands of people to attack Baohan. Can your 1,600 people still hold out?
Moreover, Su Cho was only the chief secretary of the general's mansion and had no prestige to control Baohan City.
Oh, by the way, Suze!
Liang Zhao suddenly thought of something he had overlooked, Su Ze!
Where on earth did Su Ze go?
If they were chasing the Tuyuhun people, they should have returned by now, right?
Could it be that Su Ze was ambushed and defeated by the Tuyuhun people?
This possibility suddenly popped up in Liang Zhao's mind, maybe Su Ze was seriously injured or dead!
Following this line of thought, Liang Zhao's ideas became more divergent. If Su Ze was seriously injured or killed, he could completely control Baohan City and take charge of the position of General Protector of the Qiang himself. At that time, he would go to war with Tuyuhun, and the court would have no choice but to accept his appointment!
Yes, only this can explain why Su Cho did this!
After Liang Zhao realized this, he was more eager to enter Baohan City and snatch Su Ze's seal of the General of Protecting the Qiang.
He directly ordered his personal soldiers to ram the city gate, and he personally challenged them from under the city:
"General Su is dead, right? Su Chao wants Champa to surrender to Tuyuhun!"
After these words were spoken, the defenders in the city were confused for a moment, and the Qiang generals outside the city also became excited and ordered their men to attack the city gate.
Su Cho sighed inwardly, it was still a question of prestige.
His prestige in Hezhou was too low and the soldiers did not trust him. Liang Zhao outside the city just said that Su Ze was dead, and the defenders in the city were somewhat shaken.
However, Su Cho had already come up with a countermeasure. He waved his hand, and a team of archers walked up to the city gate and started shooting arrows at the city.
The rain of arrows was sparse and did not kill the enemy, but Li Tong and Wang Hui each shot an arrow, hitting the mounts of Liang Zhao and another Qiang leader respectively.
Liang Zhao's attendants quickly controlled their horses and protected Liang Zhao as they retreated, but another Qiang leader was not so lucky. His horse was shot by an arrow and fell to the ground, and he was thrown out.
After two arrows were fired, the soldiers had no siege tools left and the city finally quieted down.
But Su Chao knew that he couldn't hold on for much longer. If he continued like this, he could only hold on for one more day.
At this moment, a silver light appeared on the horizon outside the city!
(End of this chapter)