Chapter 1055: Plundering Jiexiu

Chapter 1055: Plundering Jiexiu

Due to the heavy losses in the capture of Qiumaling, Houmo Chenxiang did not rush to attack again. Instead, he chose to temporarily stop his troops at Qiumaling and repair the garrison that was quite damaged in the previous battle.

In this way, he not only consolidated the current results of the battle, but also allowed the soldiers to rest for a while, and waited for the advance in the direction of Qianlijing to take effect before cooperating with the attack, but his plan was destined to be disappointed.

Although the distance between Queshu Valley and Qianlijing was not far, and the closest distance was only a few miles, it was difficult to communicate directly with each other due to the obstruction of high mountains and dense forests. They could only communicate through the entrance and exit at the rear.

Although Houmo Chenxiang also arranged personnel along the way to deliver messages, the efficiency of communication based entirely on human power was not high.

In the afternoon, Houmo Chenxiang was still supervising the soldiers to strengthen the fortress defense, but the Wei army on the south side of Qiumaling suddenly launched an attack. Although the offensive was not fierce, it still made Houmo Chenxiang alert.

It should be noted that in the previous two days of fighting, the Wei army had been in a passive defensive state, fighting and retreating, but now they fought back and tried to recapture the lost mountain road. This different approach must mean that some unpredictable variables have occurred on the opposite side.

So Houmo Chenxiang ordered his soldiers to defend the fortress of Qiumaling, while he asked people to inquire about the situation of the troops along Qianlijing in the north.

The Wei army's attack was mainly through long-range weapons such as bows and arrows, while the counterattack of the Qi army was relatively monotonous.

Because the troops who went to Heyang before took away too many bows and arrows, Jinyang had not replenished them in a short time, so Houmo Chenxiang's troops did not carry many bows and arrows, and the soldiers' means of combat were also greatly restricted. They could only stay in the camp, avoiding stray arrows while guarding against the enemy climbing the wall.

Although the Wei army launched a counterattack, they were not in a hurry to engage in hand-to-hand combat. In a terrain like Queshu Valley, if the two sides did not engage in close combat, the actual damage that could be caused was very limited, and the fighting process was also very boring and unremarkable.

The Wei army's offensive was wave after wave. Although the intensity was not high, it was not interrupted. Rather than launching a counterattack, it was more like consuming the patience and strength of the Qi army.

"Could it be that the Qiang thieves are going to feint in the daytime and attack the camp at night?"

Seeing the enemy's offensive, Hou Mochen Xiang couldn't help but think secretly. After a little hesitation, he arranged a team of reserve soldiers to prepare firewood and other night battle supplies to avoid being attacked by the enemy unexpectedly and retaking the fortress.

In the evening, the Wei army's offensive intensified. It was no longer just a long-range stray arrow harassment. It had begun to deploy heavy armored infantry. Several people formed combat teams in front and behind, and dozens of teams climbed along the mountain road to Qiuma Ridge.

Hou Mochen Xiang looked at the sky and confirmed his guess that the enemy was going to fight at night, so he ordered the reserve troops in the fortress to prepare meals in advance, so that they could deal with the increasingly fierce attack of the enemy.

But at this moment, the soldier he sent to the rear to get the news rushed into the camp, and said in a panic: "Report to the king, the division brigade on Qianlijing was ambushed by the enemy and was defeated and retreated. The enemy, the enemy is still chasing all the way, and will rush out of Qianlijing and attack Jiexiu City..."

"Is this true?"

Hearing this, Hou Mochen Xiang's face suddenly changed, and even his thoughts were a little blocked for a while. After a while, he was awakened by the noisy and fierce sound of metal clashing from the direction of the fortress wall.

When he saw the Wei army soldiers attacking fiercely, he realized that the enemy was not going to launch a night battle. It was clear that they knew they were in a difficult situation and intensified their offensive, just to create a dilemma for them. Originally, he had planned to encircle the enemy from the front and back, but now the enemy used it against him.

"Hold on, and repel this wave of enemy attacks!"

In a flash, many thoughts flashed through Hou Mochen Xiang's mind. Although he knew that the retreat was in danger, he knew that it was not appropriate to withdraw his troops and horses from here. At present, the enemy army was counterattacking fiercely. Once their soldiers retreated, the enemy army would definitely follow them. At that time, it would be difficult for the front and rear teams to control each other in this rugged mountain road. Once the front and rear lost their discipline, they would inevitably be defeated!

Qianlijing and Queshu Valley were difficult to communicate with each other. The enemy's intelligence transmission must be very immediacy and seriously delayed. The enemy here might not be clear about the specific movements of other troops and horses, so the best way at the moment was to stubbornly and resolutely defeat the enemy's attack, making them wonder if other routes were ineffective? When the enemy slowed down the offensive to save soldiers and strength, it would be a good opportunity to withdraw troops and horses and retreat.

So under the command of Houmo Chenxiang, the Qi army soldiers in the fortress had no other plans, but just focused on fighting fiercely with the attacking Wei army soldiers.

Gao Le, who was also supervising the battle on the south side of Qiumaling, saw that the enemy in the fortress was still fighting tenaciously and there was no sign of defeat, while the casualties of his own attacking soldiers were rising rapidly, so he couldn't help but frowned.

He didn't think that He Ruodun's offensive was frustrated, but he guessed that maybe the enemy's intelligence transmission was delayed, so the enemy generals didn't know that the rear was harassed, so they still fought?

At this moment, the sun had already sunk into the mountains in the west, and seeing that it was getting dark, Gao Le also ordered the troops to retreat. Unless the enemy also had new reinforcements in a short time, it would only be a matter of time before Qiumaling was recaptured. Fighting now would only increase casualties.

With the Wei army temporarily withdrawing from the battlefield and the battle at Qiumaling also temporarily coming to an end, Hou Mo and Chen Xiang still seemed to be quite calm, but in fact they were extremely anxious in their hearts.

It was already evening when he received the news, and the enemy troops that had been advancing for thousands of miles must have entered the north of Taiyue Mountain. At this time, he did not know how much turmoil they had caused in the rear, but he was blocked by the enemy troops in front of him. He went on the offensive without daring to move lightly.

Now that the fighting was suspended, he no longer tried to hide it, and hurriedly ordered the soldiers to pack their bags and evacuate to the rear overnight. In order to prevent the enemy from pursuing too closely, he left some soldiers to ambush and block the enemy at dangerous places along the way.

Not to mention the fighting and psychological games between the two warring soldiers in Queshu Valley, He Ruoden and his party marched north along the enemy's escape path. While taking a short rest on the way, they also received news of the reinforcement of troops on the rear route. Then he accelerated forward again.

There is no need to worry about getting lost here. In addition to the Qi Army prisoners in the team as guides, there are also various traces left by the Qi Army soldiers who fled earlier along the way. So He Ruoden and his party trekked dozens of miles of mountain roads in one go, and finally broke out of the Thousand Miles Trail in the evening when it was almost dark.

Although they were already exhausted by this time, they felt very happy when they saw that the field of vision gradually broadened, and all they could see were flat fields and low hills, instead of the irritating mountains and rocks. .

Outside the Thousand Miles Path is a dock wall. The dock wall was originally owned by Nanshuo Prefecture soldiers. Previously, the soldiers were dispatched south, and only their family members stayed behind. But probably because the defeated soldiers who had traveled thousands of miles previously informed the enemy of the enemy's situation, the dock wall was now deserted.

He Ruodun and his party rested here for a while, then put on their armor and mounted their horses. After leaving the dock wall, they headed north along the military road. Hundreds of horses headed straight for Jiexiu City. Along the way, there were also many people fleeing the chaos, mainly the elderly, weak, women and children and other family members of Nanshuo Prefecture soldiers.

These people also heard the news about the entry of the bandits. Fearing that they would be attacked and killed, they took their families and possessions with them and prepared to go to Jiexiu City to escape the war. However, they did not want to encounter the enemy troops directly on the road. Someone let out a cry of despair.

Although the military of the Western Wei Dynasty has never taken advantage of women, children, the elderly and the weak, the families of these soldiers fled with a lot of belongings, and they were very coveted when they saw them on the road. Although the Wei army had strict military discipline, not everyone was a moral model. Seeing the property scattered along the way, some people naturally became greedy.

However, He Ruodun knew the importance and had a clear goal. He not only turned a blind eye to the fleeing people, but also shouted to the troops behind him: "Seize Jiexiu City first, and don't waste any fighting along the way!"

After hearing this, all the knights withdrew their gaze and concentrated on riding fast, finally reaching the gate of Jiexiu City before dark.

At this time, the city inside and outside Jiexiu was also in chaos. There were defenders in the city, but many military families from the surrounding fields rushed into the city to take refuge. All the chariots and horses were blocked inside and outside the city gate. Even if the defenders wanted to close the city gate, , Strengthening city defense is also hindered.

When He Ruodun and his party rushed to the city and frightened away the crowded crowd outside the city, the open city gate appeared in front of them. Although there were still governors and soldiers shouting and wanting to gather the armored soldiers to occupy the city for fighting, many of the armored soldiers were either killed by the crowd. How can they organize an effective interception and counterattack if they are coerced or abandon their weapons and flee.

"The army of the King of the Wei Dynasty came here to fight against the thieves. The people in the city must leave quickly. If you stay in the city, you will die!"

He Ruodun had been in the army for a long time, so he naturally knew how to cause greater panic. After he led his troops to rush out of the city, he was not in a hurry to seize the key points in the city, nor was he in a hurry to kill. Instead, he ordered the soldiers to The horse galloped in front of the winding alleys in the city, frightening all the people in the city and drove them out of the city. Then they found the warehouse in the city. The inventory in the warehouse was scattered among the winding alleys, allowing the mob to pick up and plunder.

After running back and forth in the city for nearly an hour, they collected and packed up some war horses and combat supplies, and then set fire to all directions starting from the core area of ​​the city.

When a group of soldiers gathered in the east of the city, the fire in Jiexiu City was also spreading rapidly. The city was built close to the Fen River, so there was no fear of such harm. However, at this time, all the residents in the city had fled to the suburbs. Even though some gangsters and mobs still stayed in the city, they were mainly there to plunder the warehouse supplies and had no time to put out the fire. .

"This trip has been fruitful. Let's go back to Qianli Jingkou to rest for a while. We'll be back tomorrow morning!"

He Ruoden also knew how to give up when he was ready. He waved his hand to greet his followers, and then took the lead in reining in his horse and heading towards the direction he came from. The group of disciples at the rear also rode their horses and led the horses laden with harvests behind them, all the way south.

The same was true for He Ruobi, who was in the team. He was holding two war horses behind him, and the horses carried several fine armors and other sophisticated ordnance selected from the enemy city's arsenal.

Because there were too many trophies, the war horses would drop items as soon as they started running. He originally wanted to stop and retrieve them, but his father and his entourage had no intention of stopping. They were afraid of falling behind, so he could only keep walking at a high speed. , every time I heard something falling from behind, I would grimace in distress.