Chapter 200 A Tale of Two Cities
Mozhe Dike thought he was going very fast.
The rebels in Qinzhou were mainly Qiang people and Han landlords who had lived in Qinzhou for generations.
The Han landlords were just like those in Longxi County, consisting of local militia and family soldiers. They rebelled because they were dissatisfied with the exploitation of Li Yan, the governor of Qinzhou.
The only ones left are Qiang people like Mozhe Dati.
The Qiang people in the northwest region have been causing trouble since the Han Dynasty.
The Qiang Rebellion in the Eastern Han Dynasty lasted for more than a hundred years and eventually brought down the Eastern Han Dynasty's imperial court.
In fact, it is difficult to say that the so-called Qiang are the same race.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, the ethnic minorities in the northwest were collectively referred to as "Qiang", just like calling the northern nomads "Hu".
These northwestern Qiang tribes may have different customs, beliefs, and even languages.
For example, the tribe of Mozhe Dati surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty in the early days and moved to Qinzhou. His family has been the military leaders of Qinzhou for generations, that is, middle and high-level military officers of Qinzhou. The tribe is not nomadic but farming, and even has family-inherited military tactics.
These days, it’s hard to tell who is Qiang and who is Han.
Many Qiang people look no different from Han people and speak no different from Han people.
Some Qiang tribes are still in a nomadic state, and they speak dialects that others cannot understand.
Even some Han people in Qinzhou were labeled as Qiang people. Some Han people who could not survive and rebelled in the mountains also called themselves Qiang people.
It took a full month for Mozhe Dike to reorganize such a large group of people.
After the final count, the army had a total of 20,000 people, with no distinction between regular soldiers and auxiliary soldiers, just a group of people mixed together. In addition, there were 30,000 conscripted men and cannon fodder armed with bamboo poles and farm tools, totaling 50,000 people. They claimed to have 300,000 people. They swore an oath in Tianshui City and officially set out!
Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about logistics and led his men directly to Longxi County.
Why would the refugee army care about logistics? All they have to do is rob places.
Mo Zhe Dati did not fail to understand military affairs; he did this precisely because he understood military affairs.
The refugee army also has its advantages.
Refugees are like a plague. When they arrive at a place, they will rob and eat up everything there. The local people cannot survive and will join the refugee camp, so the refugee population will expand rapidly.
The reason why the Qinzhou rebels were able to quickly sweep across Qinzhou was not only because of Li Yan's own brutality, but also because there had been a famine in Qinzhou in the past two years, the government had imposed heavy taxes and levies, and the people had no surplus food.
Since we can’t survive anyway, we might as well rebel together!
Many of the rebels who joined Mozhe Dam had the same idea.
The solution to Mozhe dike is simple. As long as the government troops of Longxi County are defeated and the local food is eaten up, the people of Longxi can be forced to join the ranks of the rebels.
However, as soon as Mozhe Dike entered Longxi County, he ran into an iron wall.
Xiangwu County was a small city. I thought it would be the same as before in Qinzhou. I led the army to the city of Xiangwu, surrounded the city, and then opened the city and surrendered.
But when the Mozhe Dike reached the foot of Xiangwu County, it found that the situation was different from that in Qinzhou.
All the farmlands near Xiangwu City have been harvested, and the nearby villages have been mobilized to relocate.
When he heard his subordinates report these things, Mozhe Dati already felt that something was wrong, but when he found that all the firewood nearby was burned, he finally felt something was wrong.
This is Longxi, a semi-plateau west of Longshan Mountain. Without heating in November, people would freeze to death at night.
The cannon fodder in his army, who were holding farm tools and bamboo poles, were all wearing thin clothes.
When I was in Qinzhou before, it didn’t matter. I would just collect weeds and firewood. If all else failed, I would just tear down the houses of my fellow villagers. Anyway, as long as I could burn something, I could keep warm.
But in Xiangwu, the village was relocated, the woods for firewood were burned, and all the reeds along the river were burned.
For the first time, Mozhe Dike understood the destructive power of clearing the countryside.
But he had no other choice.
Distribute winter clothes to soldiers? Even his own people can’t do it, how can he distribute winter clothes to those cannon fodders?
If we can’t even supply food to the rear, who will deliver firewood to the front line?
Mo Zhe Dadi gritted his teeth and finally thought of only one solution - attack the city.
When it came to attacking the city, Mozhe Dike felt like he had hit a wall.
This Xiangwu City is too strong!
There were archers standing on the city walls, and as soon as you got close to the city, there would be a rain of arrows.
There was no place to climb the reinforced rammed earth wall. Even if people stepped on it to climb up, they would be greeted by shining spears.
Mozhe Dike also prepared some wooden siege ladders, which were the only siege weapons that these rebels could build, but they were all cut off and demolished by the defenders on the city wall with long spears.
On the first day, Mozhe Dati dispatched his direct subordinates, but he withdrew them after fighting for a while. Such an attack on the city was tantamount to seeking death.
Mozhe Dati withdrew his direct troops, and the remaining several major rebel leaders also withdrew their direct troops. The only ones left to attack the city were cannon fodder.
The next day, Mozhe Dati simply sent cannon fodder to attack the city, but the result was still a large number of corpses left behind and nothing was gained.
On the second night, Mozhe Dati was suddenly awakened by someone, and his confidant reported that his camp had been attacked at night.
Mozhe Dati hurriedly put on his armor and went out of the camp, only to find that the enemy was not attacking the camp of the main rebel force, but the camp of cannon fodder attached to the surrounding camp.
Mozhe Dati was afraid that these captured cannon fodder would invade the camp, so he naturally would not let them into the camp. However, he was also afraid that they would escape overnight, so he circled some areas around the camp and arranged his troops to supervise and guard them.
The defenders of Xiangwu did not attack the main camp, but killed the guards who were guarding the cannon fodder and released them.
Mozhe Dadi did not dare to fight in the open field, so he could only send people to guard the camp, but he only heard the sound of the horn to call back the troops from Xiangwu City.
On the morning of the third day, Mozhe Dike sent people to take inventory again and found that one third of the cannon fodder had been defeated. They were originally refugees who had no food to eat and had no loyalty to the rebels.
I thought I would be able to eat enough by joining the army, but I found that I still couldn't get enough food in the rebel camp.
Not only did they not have enough food to eat, but they were also forced to attack the city and die.
Now that the guarding supervisors have been killed, why don't you run away quickly?
The night attack also caused a chain reaction, and some cannon fodder in the camps simply killed the supervisory team and ran away.
Mozhe Dati found that he could not afford to waste any more time.
In this case, let’s not attack Xiangwu City!
Mozhe Dati finally figured it out. He was a rebel, not a regular army. Why should he fight to the death against such a tough odds?
Longxi County is not just Xiangwu, and you can move all the villages in Longxi away? Burn all the firewood in Longxi?
Anyway, they are also a refugee army, and their logistical supplies depend on the weather. They can just bypass one city at a time.
After Mozhe Dati figured this out, he decisively led his team to leave Xiangwu City and continue towards the next city, Shouyang County.
-
Qizhou, Yongcheng.
Cui Yanbo, the governor of Qizhou, had a bloody beard. He had just killed a rebel who had climbed up the city wall with his sword, and received cheers from his subordinates. Cui Yanbo looked at the setting sun and sighed deeply. He had finally held on today.
Most of the refugee soldiers suffered from night blindness, so they had to withdraw when it got dark. Sunset was a rare opportunity for them to catch their breath.
However, it does not mean that everything will be fine at night. In the past few days, the refugee leader Mozhe Tiansheng on the opposite side has begun to collect soldiers in the army who are not night blind and started launching attacks at night.
Although these night attacks were repelled, they left the defenders more exhausted and gave them less time to rest.
Cui Yanbo calculated the time and found that the messenger he sent out had been out of the city for a month, so even if the letter for help was sent to Luoyang, it should have arrived by now.
All this shows that the reinforcements sent by the court have already given up Qizhou and are not willing to rescue Yongcheng at all.
Cui Yanbo could not help but feel angry. Who on earth did the court send as the commander-in-chief? I have defended Yongcheng for so long, and they gave up just like that! ?
But after being angry, Cui Yanbo became even more discouraged. Unfortunately, he could not tell this secret to anyone. Every morning he had to encourage the soldiers in the city, as reinforcements from the court would arrive soon.
Cui Yanbo knew that the reason he was able to hold out for so long was not because of the food in the city, nor because his soldiers were much stronger than the refugee army outside, but because of the hope in the hearts of the defenders.
If there is no hope, the city will be broken.
Cui Yanbo also knew that he could keep the secret for a month, but after two months the morale of the defenders in the city would surely collapse.
It seems that we need to make other plans.
Cui Yanbo thought to himself that as the governor of Qizhou, he had the responsibility to defend the territory. Even when Qizhou had fallen, he still defended Yongcheng for so long and held back the main force of the rebels.
Now even the generals sent by the court to quell the rebellion have abandoned Qizhou. There is no need for me, the governor of Qizhou, to be buried with Yongcheng.
After having a new idea, Cui Yanbo's spirits improved a lot. He began to call his confidants to discuss how to escape before the city was broken.
Sure enough, Cui Yanbo's judgment was correct.
That evening, Mozhe Tiansheng did not send anyone to attack Yongcheng, but he sent his soldiers to shout outside the city, saying that the imperial army sent to suppress the rebellion had entered Huazhou and had given up supporting Yongcheng.
Although Cui Yanbo sent people to suppress the camps, rumors had already spread quickly in the camps, and pessimism spread in the city.
Cui Yanbo was also helpless and could only continue to send people to suppress the rumors and even reorganize the camp. However, as long as the imperial army did not appear outside Yongcheng, the rumors would become more and more intense.
It's time to leave.
Cui Yanbo was even more determined to break out when the city was about to fall.
The next day, a soldier with blood all over his face was pushed in front of the city gate.
Cui Yanbo recognized that this official soldier was the messenger he had sent out of the city to ask for help. This messenger was apparently intercepted by Mozhe Tiansheng when he was returning to Yongcheng from the reinforcements to deliver the message.
"Governor Cui! The imperial court's reinforcements will not come!"
This official military envoy had been tortured for several days and finally couldn't bear it anymore today. Mo Zhe Tiansheng promised him that he would pardon him as long as he shouted in front of the city gate that Xiao Baoyin's army had gone to Huazhou to suppress the rebellion.
Many of the defenders knew this official military messenger. Cui Yanbo's face turned pale and he said to his men:
"Bring me my bow!"
The confidant quickly took out a longbow, and saw Cui Yanbo drawing the bow like a full moon, and then he shot an arrow!
The messenger was about to open his mouth to explain the situation of the reinforcements when he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and saw the arrow feather piercing his chest. He fell down in disbelief.
When Mozhe Tiansheng's cronies who were escorting the messenger saw how good Cui Yanbo was at shooting, they were so frightened that they left the messenger's body behind and ran back to the camp.
Mo Zhe Tiansheng in the camp looked at Cui Yanbo standing on the city gate with a bow in his hand. This old man also had great archery skills. He was probably planning to lure him into a fight and then shoot him. Fortunately, Mo Zhe Tiansheng was cautious and had never approached Yongcheng to challenge him.
This time the old man had run out of tricks, so Mo Zhe Tiansheng ordered his attendants:
"The city will be breached soon! Notify all camps to close the gates and don't let anyone escape!"
Cui Yanbo shot his messenger dead, and then said to his attendants: "This beast was sent out by the rebels to disrupt the morale of our army. He has now been shot dead by this governor. Pass the order down, anyone who spreads rumors in the army will be killed without mercy!"
Cui Yanbo was full of murderous intent, and his superb archery skills also frightened the defenders in the city. Mo Zhe Tiansheng's siege on this day still had no results.
But Cui Yanbo knew that the undercurrent in the city could no longer be suppressed.
Since I can't suppress it, I can only leave.
Cui Yanbo whispered a few words to his confidant and went down the city wall.
In the middle of the night, the west gate of Yongcheng suddenly opened, and a team of cavalry filed out of the city and quickly rushed towards a weak camp of the rebels.
Cui Yanbo took the lead and led the charge, and actually managed to break out from Mo Zhe Tiansheng's heavy encirclement!
Mo Zhe Tiansheng got up from the tent and heard the report from his subordinates. He knew that he could not catch up with Cui Yanbo.
But looking at the Yongcheng City that he had been unable to conquer for a long time, it was like the beautiful woman he had been longing for was now lying naked in front of him.
Mo Zhetiansheng ordered: "Enter Yongcheng!"
"Pass on my military order. Each camp will plunder Yongcheng for three days!"
To plunder the city for three days means allowing the soldiers to loot the city. Mo Zhe Tiansheng's order was tantamount to a massacre. The guards around him who were delivering the order had cruel lights flashing in their eyes.
The confidant quickly sent the order to each camp. At this time, the clever rebels had already led their troops into Yongcheng.
Without its commander, Yongcheng was leaderless. The already demoralized defenders were unable to organize a defense and were hacked to the ground by the bloodthirsty rebels.
That night, flames shot up into the sky in Yongcheng, and there were cries, wails, and beastly roars everywhere.
Cui Yanbo headed eastward, leaving Qizhou and heading towards Huazhou where Xiao Baoyin had stationed his troops.
-
In comparison, Didao was much more peaceful.
After Su Ze entered Didao City, he lived in the house of Longxi Li family, and then began to meet with officials, nobles, powerful people and generals from Longxi.
Li Kuo, the magistrate of Didao County, was a descendant of the Longxi Li family. The court system of the Northern Wei Dynasty was not as perfect as that of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was expressly prohibited for local descendants to serve as local officials.
However, the patriarch of a big family in Jizhou like Zhang Shijun could openly serve as the governor of Jizhou. Although the Zhang family's ancestral home was Qinghe, Zhang Shijun's grandfather had already moved to Jizhou and owned 10,000 tenants in Jizhou.
As a descendant of the Longxi Li family, it was normal for Li Kuo to be the magistrate of Didao County.
The Longxi Li family also knew the news that the rebels had invaded Longxi County. As a top-level aristocratic family with roots in the local area, they were the ones who feared the rebels the most in the entire Longxi County.
How could the Five Surnames and Seven Clans possibly surrender to the rebels? Their ancestral property is in Longxi, and their ancestral halls, ancestral tombs and clan members are all here. Where else could they run to?
Li Kuo and the Longxi Li family were very enthusiastic about Su Ze, and even vacated their ancestral home for Su Ze to use as a temporary military headquarters.
Su Ze's calm attitude also reassured the local forces in Longxi.
After sending these local bullies away, Su Ze opened the system. Today was the day to refresh the system again.
Hey, it’s purple again?
(End of this chapter)