The source of Mingshui River is deserted, with towering cliffs and lush vegetation at the foot of the mountain. A small stream gushes out from the mountain and winds downwards. There are almost no roads on the way, and the rocks are rugged and difficult to navigate. Wang Hao and Sima Jin had already transferred all their logistical equipment to Ji, on the one hand to lighten the troops' equipment, and on the other hand to confuse the Korean army. The current front army and the Chinese army are both capable combat troops, with almost no logistics personnel and livestock such as donkeys and horses. Otherwise, it would be really difficult to move forward on such a road!
After Hu Yang and Wang Lu arrived, they discussed with Sima Jin all night. In the early morning of the next day, Sima Jin led 5,000 people to explore the road first under the guidance of the guide; half a day later, he took the second 5,000 people and set off again.
Although the road was difficult, luckily it was smooth sailing, and due to the high mountains and steep slopes, there were no traces of people along the way. But once the mountains leveled off, settlements appeared everywhere, lined up on both sides of the river. When the people of the city saw such a huge army suddenly descending from the mountain, they sounded drums and bells in unison and alerted each other. Sima Jin decisively ordered an official to lead his subordinates to rush out of the valley entrance quickly, without giving the enemy a chance to block the valley entrance. Hu Yang saw on the mountain that residents of various towns rushed out from the towns and fields. At first, they wanted to gather together to resist, but when they saw that the Qin army had already rushed to the front, and his companions were far away, he With a coaxing sound, he ran backwards. Those who ran slowly or fell down were stabbed with a spear, but no one cut off their heads. The others all ran out of the valley. Sima Jin sent people back to urge the rear army to follow quickly. He also accelerated the pace of advance with the remaining Qin soldiers and hurried forward.
Outside the valley is a larger settlement with a small city. Although the alarm in the valley had no effect within the valley, it gave the cities outside the valley time to respond. During the time when the Qin army rushed through the valley, all of them had gathered in the city, each holding a stick and preparing to resist.
After the official rushed out of the valley entrance, he also saw the city two or three miles away. He only had 500 people, so he obviously could not attack the city. He could only guard the main road at the valley entrance to cover the large troops leaving the valley. The people in the city felt relieved when they saw that the enemy troops had not followed to attack. They called on the people who had escaped from the valley to gather at the edge of the city and sent people to report to the rear.
It was already sunset time. Those citizens who had hoped to take a break and have dinner after a hard day's work fell into panic for no reason. Now, after the initial panic has passed, and I have calmed down a little, I feel hungry. Then I suddenly remember that my wife, children, and food are all outside the city. I have mixed feelings in my heart, and many people burst into tears. However, someone quickly shouted: "Silence!"
Sima Jin led his men and horses all the way down the mountain. He only sent one official and five hundred people to each city to maintain law and order in the valley. The others quickly drove out of the valley and set up ten camps inside and outside the valley mouth. The farthest one We were about a mile away from the city, and we occupied almost all the settlements nearby, so we felt a little relieved. By this time, it was already dark.
Sima Jin set down camp and stabilized his position, then sent people to urge the people to make food for the army. So the fragrance spread everywhere outside the city and rushed into the city, causing a commotion among the people guarding the city. The leaders in the city saw that Sima Jin only occupied the town and set up barracks, and was not in a hurry to attack the city. Moreover, the number of people seemed to be almost the same as the defenders. Without preparation, they probably would not be able to attack the city, so they ordered the defenders to prepare for the attack. People cooked porridge, which calmed the people's hearts a little.
As soon as Sima Jin came out of the valley, without resting, he quickly discovered that the Jingzhuang who had escaped from the valley did not enter the city, but gathered outside the city. There seemed to be about a thousand people. While cooking outside the city, he also saw a fire in the city, and he was probably cooking. So he walked into a camp and ordered the officials to lead all the soldiers to attack the people outside the city. Although the officials were tired and received the order personally from Sima Jin, they did not dare to argue and immediately beat drums to assemble the troops.
Sima Jin mobilized and said: "We have traveled thousands of miles, have we ever accomplished something? Not yet! Now there is a level, you should take it, and you will be full when you come home! Is that okay?" All the Qin soldiers hit the ground with their handles and shouted loudly.
Sima Jin pointed at the people gathered at the edge of the city and said, "Beat them all as merit!"
The officials beat the war drums, and the Qin army marched forward in order.
The drums and shouts here have already focused the attention of both the enemy and ourselves. The people stationed outside the city escaped from the valley. They were frightened and ran all the way. When they got to the city to catch their breath, they were already hungry, thirsty, and physically and mentally exhausted. Seeing that the Qin army was aiming its attack at themselves, everyone was so frightened that their faces turned pale, they were disorganized, and they even forgot to take action. The Qin army approached within a hundred steps step by step. They shouted and released arrows. Then everyone screamed and ran away. They had already been shot down. The people who were shot down let out bursts of screams. Some people stopped and wanted to rescue them. The second batch of arrows also whizzed in, and then the third batch... The remaining people could no longer care about others, and walked towards the darkness without feet. Running wildly into the depths.
The Qin army rushed up, and a massacre unfolded under the eyes of the city defenders.
The temporary camp was right next to the ditch outside the city. Those who were injured and had no time to escape were stabbed over and then beheaded! Screams, wails, screams...the sound shook the sky and lasted for a long time...all the people defending the city collapsed on the ground, and many people vomited.
The Qin army did not take the opportunity to attack the city. After beheading the people who fled from the valley, the Qin army returned to the camp almost unscathed.
After dinner, Sima Jin sent people to approach the city and called the city lord to go up to the city to respond. He ordered the city lord to open the city and surrender, otherwise he would open the city tomorrow and behead everyone. The city was already panicked, and almost everyone lost the courage to fight the Qin army. In the middle of the night, there was a lot of noise in the city, and the sentry came to report that the city was in chaos. The city lord opened the east gate and fled eastward. The people in the city were panicked and fled in all directions. Sima Jin only had 5,000 men at his disposal, and backup had not yet arrived. He ordered the entire army to beat drums and attack, and only sent 500 men to occupy the city. The others all bypassed the city to pursue the fleeing city lord. That night, the sky was dark, and the city lord was relatively hidden when he left the city. The pursuit was fruitless, and he could only massacre all the people who could not escape in time. Perhaps because he was afraid of alarming others, or perhaps because of other considerations, the city lord did not destroy any buildings before fleeing.
Because the sky was dark and the Qin army was unfamiliar with the terrain, they were afraid of encountering an ambush. Sima Jin only pursued him for three to five miles before calling for gold and withdrawing his troops. All the troops returned to their camps. Only the official who was assigned to occupy the city led 500 people to defend the place. The torches on the city were burning high, shining light for miles outside the city; the five hundred people were guarding the city, but they took turns to be on guard duty, while the others sat on the city and slept; the official led his own camp of fifty people to patrol back and forth in the city. , searching for the hidden people of the city.
Sima Jin's other five thousand men arrived in the middle of the night, and by then the battle was completely over. When the bus driver heard about the bustle of the half-day, he was so regretful that he stumbled! He set out in the afternoon, it was the middle of winter, and it got dark halfway through. Even though he lit a torch and marched through the night, it was not as smooth as during the day, and it was much more difficult to look after him before and after. Even though they even ate fried millet while walking, they didn't completely descend the mountain until midnight.
All the elites in the valley have been basically killed, so leaving too many troops here is of no use. Sima Jin did not allow the public to rest, so he asked them to cross the city and then march ten miles east to camp. Gongcheng said: "The soldiers have worked hard on the journey. Please rest in the valley for a while before setting off again."
Sima Jin thought for a while and said: "The public car can rest in the valley for a while, and I can choose a thousand soldiers to follow me eastward."
Gongcheng said: "How dare I, I am willing to do it now!"
Sima Jin ordered: "Blow the drum to gather the crowd!"
The sound of "dong dong" drums sounded in the valley, and the tired soldiers stood up from the ground and lined up again.
Sima Jin and Gong Cheng stood on a slightly higher platform in front of the square. Sima Jin shouted loudly: "Gong Shi, Shang Zao, hairpins come out of the battle!"
The men with these three titles in the queue stood up one after another and formed five square formations in front of the entire formation according to their respective battalions. There were about 2,000 people. Sima Jin asked the public to assign public officials, official officials and senior officials to these two thousand people, and temporarily formed an army. Sima Jin said: "The remaining battalions of the governor-general will rest temporarily in the valley. You will follow me to fight!"
Gongcheng said hurriedly: "Please lead the army to fight!"
Sima Jin said: "Our army must explore the way forward for the whole army and beware of secret attacks by thieves. You have been running around and working all night, and you may not be able to defeat the enemy!"
Gongcheng said: "If you can't win, please behead me!"
Sima Jin said: "Take some rest in the valley and fight again the next day!"
Gongcheng said: "I heard that the five officials were not ready to go down the mountain. They defeated powerful enemies and stormed the city. Although I am not talented, I am willing to do my best!"
Sima Jin said: "In that case, I am willing to make great achievements!"
Sima Jin handed over the remaining 3,000 people in the valley to another public transport, and he and the public transport set off with the two thousand people.
When they arrived at the city, Sima Jinrang divided his troops into two groups, one heading east and the other heading south, to explore their respective routes. He was waiting in the camp outside the city for the troops to report back.
Soon, a group heading south reported that there were rolling mountains ahead, and there was no road for ten miles. There is a Juyi town at the foot of the mountain, with more than a thousand households. Sima Jin ordered them to take a rest in the city and strengthen their vigilance. After a while, the eastward branch also sent people to report that ten miles ahead was a valley mouth, and there were countless settlements outside the valley mouth. Sima Jin rushed over and found that the mouth of the valley was about two or three miles wide, and there were indeed countless villages outside the mouth. Sima Jin was a little confused. Is this the outskirts of Handan? He immediately rejected this idea: If this was Handan, the movement just now would definitely attract a large number of Zhao troops immediately, and he would not be allowed to run rampant. Moreover, the city lord's escape proved that there was no strong support force nearby. He decisively asked the public to camp in a settlement outside the mouth of the valley. In order to prevent accidents, he moved his own camp to the mouth of the valley overnight as a support force. When all this was settled, the light began to show in the east. As the drums in the city sounded, all the battalions came out of the stronghold to form formations. The rear side of the Chinese army was suddenly in front, and Sima Jin took it as a front side.
