After the Han army's victory, Zhang Fei ordered the prisoners to collect the corpses on the spot. Nearly two thousand corpses were placed on wheelbarrows and transported all the way back to the south of Pingcheng. The corpses were piled in a long line in front of the city wall.
Chen Chong wrote a letter about this, saying: Once a living person dies, the disputes during his lifetime lose their meaning. The only wish left is to return to his hometown and reunite with his family and friends. The Han army respected the warriors who died in battle and hoped that these skeletons would be given a proper burial by the living. For this reason, the Han army was willing to return the corpses to Shanyu.
He tied the letter to a buzzer and asked General Guo to shoot arrows into the city. When the Xianbei people in the city saw the letter, they also panicked. They asked Bu Dugen: "Except for the reinforcements outside the city that can fight the Han people, Where else could Yang's defenders be? Now that the Han people have placed the corpses of these defeated people under the city, the morale in the city is extremely low. If there is no way to retreat, should they just sit back and watch the city fall?
Bu Dugen brought the people who said these words to Kuitou and asked them to repeat them. Shanyu Jiwei was still there, and everyone was silent. Although Kui Tou endured the pain, he remained silent after listening and gave in to Bu Dugen. After giving instructions first, Bu Dugen rebuked them and said: "Did everything go smoothly when the previous king unified the north and south of the desert? Ten years ago, when I was still underage, there were rumors all over the clan that Xianbei warriors were fighting one against ten. Five years ago , warriors from all tribes competed with each other, thinking that no one in the world could control the former king, so the elder brother and Jian Man fought for power, each surname was separated, and the three parties were divided. Now we have the advantage of the high wall, and the current ones are They are all famous warriors in Xianbei. I remember that during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, General Li Guang of the Second Division led nearly 300,000 troops to attack the Xiongnu. At that time, the Xiongnu chanyu Qie Tuanhou only had 100,000 people, but he defeated the Han army. , with Emperor Wu’s great talent and great strategy, yet we have such a defeat, how can we just bow our heads and admit defeat when we face a mere 60,000 enemies, Xianbei knights and iron-clad knights?”
These words made everyone unable to hold their heads up. Only Tuoba Jiefen came out. He was instrumental in saving the enemy in the Battle of Shaling. No matter what words he said, he would not be reprimanded by Bu Dugen, so he analyzed He said: "Victory and defeat in war are normal, so why should you blame me so much? Everyone here has experienced war, but being so discouraged is really because the situation is unfavorable. It is just sitting in Chou City. The leaders of our army are also trapped here. Although there are many Xianbei knights, someone still needs to lead the army here. If all of us die here, the situation of the strong Han and the weak will no longer be able to be reversed."
These words hit the point, and Bu Dugen had nothing to refute. He could only say: "The more critical the moment, the more calm and calm you must be. When fighting a tiger, you must be both cautious and brave. The same is true for war. In any case, don't We made depressing remarks in front of our troops, but now we are surrounded by the Han army, and if our morale collapses again, we will just sit back and wait for death, giving up even the slightest chance of survival."
The leader managed to sit up from the bed with his hands. He waved his hand to Bu Dugen not to say anything. When Bu Dugen saw him sweating profusely when he stood up, he was worried, but at the same time he knew that Shan was an extremely strong person and he respected him very much. Brother, stood silently beside the bed, waiting for the leader to lecture.
Xianbei Chanyu's face was as white as ice and snow, and his lips were yellow, but he was sitting on the couch, his eyebrows and eyes were still as sharp as needles, his face was stiff and his expression was still majestic, making all the ministers hold their breath and nod. Unexpectedly, he did not lecture his subordinates first. Instead, he said to Bu Dugen first: "This is not their fault. The commander is the backbone of the three armies. The reason why the late king was always invincible when he was there was probably because the late king was always present in every war." On the front line, I am now lying in bed. It was my fault that I did not expect the Han army to attack the royal court first. Now that I cannot go to the city to command the troops, it is normal for the army to have low morale. How can I be blamed for it? What about others?”
After he finished speaking to Bu Dugen, he faced the commanders under his command, his expression became friendly, and he said softly: "It is difficult for you to still sit with me in the city, but it is absolutely impossible to abandon the city. Don't say that Pingcheng is my new city. In Dingwangting, during the reign of the late king, Pingcheng was also a barrier to the bombs and covered the flanks of the Hetao. It was indeed a key place in the overall situation. If Pingcheng was lost, not only would there be no danger to the southwest of the palace of the bombs, but also Yunzhong, Wuyuan and Shuofang. It is difficult to save the county, even if I die, Pingcheng must not be lost! Otherwise, how can I have the face to meet the late king?" At the end of the sentence, all the commanders lost their composure, thinking of Tan Shihuai's heroic appearance on the battlefield during his lifetime.
After two remarks, the leader succeeded in uniting everyone, but this was not helpful in the current predicament. Kuitou thought about it over and over for the past three days, and finally came up with an idea. He told the commanders about the arrangement and said: "The Han army came here and did not prepare to attack the city. It is obvious that they are afraid of the high dangers of our defense and want to trap and kill us here. It was not a mistake for you to order Qi Guang to charge into battle the day before yesterday. It was just that the Han army came well prepared. How could a mere three hundred cavalry accomplish this? Now we must fight to the death, and we must not be cowardly. The seven thousand warriors among the generals were placed in the north of the city, and they quickly broke through with light armor. Breakout formation."
He summoned Tuoba Jiefen in front of him and said to everyone: "For the breakout, I hope you can have someone who can lead you, who can not only appease the various tribes, but also take care of the overall situation. You have been fighting with me for many years, and I know your character. Here is the only one." Tuoba Jiefen is qualified to take on this position." Tuoba Jiefen was so frightened that he was suddenly given such an important task, and he knelt down in panic. He excitedly asked to resign and said, "In terms of talent and reputation, none of me is as good as Lord Bu Dugen. General Shanyu This responsibility is entrusted to me, how can I convince the public?"
The leader patted him on the shoulder, with a kind smile on his stern face, and Shanyu said: "You don't have to worry, I have other important tasks for him." Tuoba asked Fen inexplicably, but since Shanyu said this, it was not convenient for him. He declined and could only stand up and retreat among the commanders. Bu Dugen also consciously walked to Shan Yu and waited for Shan Yu's appointment.
Everyone saw that the leader took out his treasured carved jade bow from the bed and handed it to Bu Dugen. He said: "Now I am old and seriously ill, and my brother, you are at your best age. You are capable of fighting and making strategies." , I’m just a little impetuous, but it’s enough to be a Shanyu of Xianbei.”
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the tent. Bu Dugen knelt on the ground and refused to accept it. The commanders also did not expect Shanyu to give up power at this time. They all thought it was a test of tactics and stepped forward to show their loyalty. Only Kui Kui After everyone had finished speaking, he solemnly said again: "My order here is by no means a joke. Don't say too much."
After that, he took out the saber from his waist, roasted it for a moment on the candlelight, and then scratched the injured area. A putrid smell immediately came out along with pus, but Chanyu still felt it was not enough, so he endured the pain and cut the wound. The whole piece of rotten meat was cut off, and the bystanders were stunned. Only Shanyu showed a calm expression when he saw the bright red blood on his waist. He smiled and said to everyone: "It turns out that my blood is still red."
He cut off the flesh, as if he had cut off the patient. He stood up neatly and said to Shuluo Yu Qiguang: "You are a fierce tiger in my tribe. You have killed countless enemies for me. Now I am going to die. You Are you willing to accompany me to mount the horse and charge for the kill again?" Shuluo Yu Qiguang clasped his fists on the ground, crawled and said with tears, "I am willing to fight to the death with Shan Yu!" All the commanders understood Shan Yu's intentions, and felt admiration and sadness in their hearts, and in the end they all knelt down He prostrated himself and said, "I am willing to fight to the death with Shanyu!"
Chanyu put linen cloth on the affected mouth and applied herbs to stop the bleeding. He carefully wrapped it around his waist three times, put on a fine iron armor, and wore a pointed yellow tassel on his head. However, his armor was too heavy and he could not get on the horse. He had to give in to Dugen's support for two moments before getting on. Saddle, his face was even paler from the wounds, but he was in unusually good spirits. He ordered: "Tie my feet to the horse's belly. I don't want to fall to the ground and die."
After that, he stroked his horse again. This horse was seven feet wide at the shoulders and more than ten feet long. Its coat was as pure black and bright as running water. Even if it was wearing a vest, it could run hundreds of miles. It was truly the best in the world. A good horse, it is called the "Iron Beast" because it does not take off its iron armor all year round. The iron beast has been with Kuitou for more than ten years. Kuitou had a deep affection for it. He once wanted to change his horse and go into battle, but he thought about it and said to his entourage: "If you want to control the iron beast, you have to grab the hair on its back and wrestle with it." I tried for seven months to tame the iron beast. I thought no one would do it again after I died, so I just let it stay with me until the end!"
As he said this, he drove the iron beast towards the south gate, where Shuluo Yu Qiguang had led a thousand knights to prepare. After he arrived, he once again unfurled his brown background and white deer king's flag, and there was a tooth-grinding sound. With the sound, the hanging door of Pingcheng fell, and he squinted his eyes to look at the sky full of light. The autumn day was rarely so bright. He couldn't help but murmured: "How can a warrior die on his bed?"
When the Han army in the south of the city saw the Xianbei King's banner coming slowly, they were ready to face a powerful enemy. No matter how tragic the defeat at Shaling was, after Tan Shihuai's death, Kuitou became the biggest border trouble in the northern frontier of the empire. His reputation was enough for the Han army to The new soldiers were at a loss. Taking this into consideration, Chen Chong slightly mobilized the surrounding troops in the east and west of the city to strengthen the troops in the south of the city.
Seeing that the strategy had been taught, the leader looked at the skeletons in front of him and said to Shuluo Yu Qiguang: "If you can still live, throw my body together with these people. These are all my Xianbei's Good boy, if I and their souls are reunited, I will die without any regrets."
After that, he pulled out his knife and ordered the soldiers beside him to blow the trumpet. The sound of the trumpet filled the clear sky, inspiring the Xianbei knights to be heroic. The iron beasts neighed and the horses were guided by the horse king and hurried towards the direction. Galloping forward, the knights felt the excitement of their mounts and howled. This was the proud son of heaven on the grassland, and the descendant of the wolf who regarded death as home.
The Han army saw the leader leading the way, trampling flesh and blood with the iron beast and rushing into the forest of spears. Even though the followers behind him were blocked by the Han army, the man and his horse still broke through the long formation. Liu Bei was quite surprised. He thought he was Guan Yu. Without such ability, how could Xianbei have such warriors?
When the horse walked in, he discovered that the man had tied his legs to the horse and had seven or eight spears and halberds stuck on his body. He was already dead, and only this magical horse was still galloping forward. The iron beast didn't even look at Liu Bei, and suddenly ran towards the distant mountains with the leader, and finally disappeared in the forest.
The army of more than a thousand knights was wiped out without a single prisoner. Shuluo Yu Qiguang died in a hidden arrow from a new soldier, and was eventually buried with the corpses in the south of the city, and the White Deer Flag was also buried. But what surprised the Han army was that the morale of the defenders in the city was extremely high. Not long after, the Chinese army received news that Xianbei knights had broken the siege in the city.
Chen Chong said to Liu Bei: "It seems that we will have to fight for a long time in this siege."
