Through interrogating the prisoners, we learned that the group of captives who came to stop them were from the Daxi tribe. The beheaded chief was named Daxibai. He was the second son of the tribal leader and could not be considered a direct descendant of the Murong tribe. Murong Mohuba had already led most of the army to seek refuge in Changli.
The cavalry turned south and gradually penetrated into the Liaoxi Mountains. There are rolling mountains all around. There is still snow on the top of the mountain, just like the endless waves rolling between the huge sea. The vegetation in the mountains is plentiful and sparse. On the flat ground between the mountains, where horses' hooves step, some tall trees are sparsely planted, growing stubbornly toward the sky among the towering gravels that appear from time to time. The sky may be blue and clear, or there may be dense clouds, which change constantly within a day. Although it has been the second or third day of weather, the strong wind is still as sharp as a knife. Before dark, a strong wind often blows in, and many new shoots are carried up by the wind, causing a rumble in the mountains, like a landslide. The air in the mountains is fresh, but the mountain roads are too rugged, making both men and horses gasp for breath, and climbing over high mountain passes is several times more difficult than usual.
The Heng people have lived in the Daibei grassland for a long time, and the Han cavalry often herds horses in Longshang, but they are still not used to such a long march in the mountains. Some of Tuoba Muyan's entourage rejoiced and said: "I have only walked a few hundred miles and I am already so tired. Fortunately, I listened to the words of the king's master. Otherwise, I would have to go deep into the mountains and wander around. How would I be able to return home?" Some. Both Han and Xianbei got miasma because of this, so they had to stay and guard the way back, waiting to meet again when they returned.
But Zhou Buyi's main force crossed the mountain and took risks without stopping. Finally, he crossed the vast ocean and crossed the last mountain pass. He saw the Yu River under the mountains. The river meandered here and met the Wulu Mountain in the east. Turning to the south, it finally merges into the sea. Between the valleys, the river has left a series of large or small flat lands, and there are dots of Xianbei villages along the river banks. One of the larger flat areas in the river bend was Jicheng (northern part of today's Yi County), the capital of Murong Xianbei.
The two sides of the Chongqing River are different from the deep mountains and forests. The vegetation here is extremely lush, with huge rocks and trees scattered left and right. Jicheng was built on the south bank of the Chongqing River, close to the river bank and backed by mountains and cliffs. The only transportation was the east-west road along the river. The walls of Thorn City are made of piled stones, tall and solid. I heard that the defender of the city was Murong Ninghu, Murong Mohuba's younger brother. He had thousands of troops and enough food reserves to last for one or two years.
The Han army came down the mountain from the south, divided its forces and cut off east-west traffic, and first completed the siege of Jicheng. Zhou Bujie was not in a hurry to attack the city. He ordered the soldiers to rest for a few days, then divided his troops along the river to arrest the prisoners, drove the people up the mountain to cut down trees, and overhauled the attacking equipment. A siege seemed inevitable.
However, unexpectedly, with not much food, the Han army did not appear to attack the city for several days. Tuoba Muyan was very puzzled when he saw this, and his entourage and confidants also encouraged him: "If the state wants to besiege the city here for a long time, I'm afraid it won't be able to consume the Bailu!" Muyan came to Zhou Buyi and asked to attack the city as soon as possible. Zhou Bujie said, "The Bailu are hiding within the thick city wall. They have plenty of food and are determined to defend the city. Although we are all elite soldiers, if we try to attack the city, we will suffer countless casualties. Therefore, I plan to fight him outside the city." .”
Mu Yan did not explain: "Since the Bailu have enough food and a high wall to stop us, why do they come out to be beaten by the general?"
"Yeah. So, I have to find a way to provoke him out."
"How did you get him to come out?"
Zhou Bujie did not answer any more, and just said: "Brother Mu Yan, just watch the battle, we will see the outcome soon."
The Han generals used their offensive equipment to demonstrate before the battle, but they were not in a hurry to attack the city. Instead, they sent an envoy to the city to see Murong Ninghu and asked him to surrender the city to avoid a full massacre. Not to be outdone, Murong Ninghu ordered the envoy and his followers to flog him, and then drove him out of the city. The morale of the Xianbei people in the city was high and they all shouted long live. On the other hand, the Han army, although the envoy was humiliated, still had no intention of attacking the city, and the day passed quickly.
The next day, the Han army sent another envoy. This time they did not ask for surrender. Instead, they brought two wooden letters with them, saying that they were specially sent to deliver gifts. One was for Murong Mohuba, and the other was for Murong Mohuba. The portion was given to Murong Ning for protection. Murong Ninghu originally thought that the Han army wanted to use both soft and hard tactics and refused in public. Unexpectedly, when he opened the wooden letter, he found two sets of women's clothes. The envoy smiled again and said: "Since your ministry is so willing to flatter the Liao thieves, the imperial court is also willing to be beautiful." The sarcasm was not concealed.
Under such circumstances, Murong's tribe became even more furious. He immediately whipped the envoy a hundred times, put him into the women's clothes he had brought, and then drove him out of the city with blood dripping on his face. Even so, the generals in the city were still upset, and many took the initiative to fight. But Murong Ninghu knew that the time had not come yet and that if he attacked, he would fall into a trap, so he still forced himself to endure it.
At the same time, the Han people captured many prisoners and forced them to fill up the mountains with earth and rocks, as if they were trying to raise mountains of earth. The project was being pushed forward very urgently, and if the captives were a little negligent, they would be whipped and scolded. In the middle of the night, the Han people neglected to guard them, and the captives took the opportunity to flee. Many people ran to the city wall and begged to enter the city. Murong Ninghu was very alert. He did not open the door, but ordered the rope to be lowered and let the prisoners below climb up. He said: "The defenders of the city need strong men. Those who cannot climb up come in and eat food for free. What do you want them to do?"
After the prisoner was brought to the city with a rope, the people on the city used sharp knives to hold him, and used torches to shine on his face to examine his appearance. He shouted and asked questions in Xianbei dialect to find out their identities. Before dawn, about fifty or sixty Qiang people entered the city.
Murong Ninghu interrogated him personally, and the captives complained one after another, and told the Han army who knew what was true. It is said that the Han people deducted food rations and only got one meal a day. As for the Han army sergeants, they only had two meals, and it seemed that they were running out of food. This further strengthened Murong Ninghu's plan to not fight and wait until he had eaten all his food and retreated before pursuing him again.
In the afternoon of the second day, the situation suddenly changed, and thick smoke billowed from the mountains to the east. Everyone in the Murong tribe observed the color of the smoke and said that it was specially made from Xianbei in the east. In the mountains, people often use this as a communication signal. When the people in the city saw it, they became excited. People rushed to say that this must be the arrival of reinforcements from Lord Murong. On the other hand, the Han army had abandoned its camp in the east of the city and moved north on foot and cavalry, leaving a mess on the ground. When the generals saw this, they all asked Murong Ning to fight and pursue him. Murong Ning was extremely cautious and still hesitated.
After about an hour, the Han army's camp in the west of the city also began to waver. Not only had the mountains been completely abandoned, but the chaos of the people and horses was moving towards the mountains. Murong Ninghu didn't care about eating and kept observing the city. It can be seen that the Han army is indeed retreating hastily. Abandoned things are everywhere inside and outside the camp. Either they ran out of food, or reinforcements were really coming.
Murong Ninghu pressed the handle of the knife and repeatedly weighed whether to pursue or not. Seeing in the distance to the east, teams of Han people were streaming towards the river. Wouldn't it be a pity if we let them go?
At this moment, the city gate suddenly opened and a large group of Murong cavalry rushed out. It turned out that Murong Mohuba's second son Murong Teyin accompanied Murong Ninghu to guard Jicheng. When he saw the Han army retreating, he could no longer bear it any longer. Unable to wait for his uncle's order, he privately mobilized his cavalry and opened the city to pursue the enemy. Murong Ning was shocked and angry, but the chasing cavalry was already out, so he had no choice but to gather a large group of infantry and cavalry, and poured out from the northeast gate to follow and pursue the Han army.
The Han army just pretended to retreat and scattered their horses and baggage all the way. When the pursuing captives saw it, they all rushed down to chase the ownerless horse and pick up abandoned things on the ground. Dust was billowing everywhere and people were noisy. It didn't look like a battlefield, but more like a lively market. The Han army originally wanted to lure the enemy into the mountains and then attack. Now seeing this situation, how could they let it go? The retreating Xifu Army immediately turned around and counterattacked. The Han army's brigade had already crossed the river to ambush and was not here, but Zhou Buyi also knew that changes could easily occur. After personally leading thousands of cavalry to cut off, he saw what was happening and immediately intercepted the current Murong cavalry from the flank.
The Han army marched from north to south, passed through the smoke-filled battle formations, and moved all the way south until they reached the bank of the Yellow River and cut off Murong Teyin's return path. Zhou Buji observed the chaotic scene on the battlefield and judged that Murong Xianbei's Qingqi was no match for the Xifu Army, so he turned to attack the reinforcements coming out of the city. Zhou Busuo had six hundred soldiers, all of whom covered their faces with iron bags, wore iron armor, and entered the battle holding long spears. Just like a flying eagle grazing the formation, it rushed into Murong's troops in front of everyone. The iron cavalry struck like a hammer, and those who stood in the way were knocked to the ground. The prisoners queued up in chaos. When the people in the rear team saw it, they all turned their horses and rushed back towards the city gate. The people in the city didn't know it and were still walking out, conflicting with each other and causing chaos. By the time they came to their senses and retreated one after another, the Xifu Army already had thirteen riders in charge, and Pegasus rushed to the city gate.
These thirteen riders belong to Jiang Xu. They did not fight the enemy all the way and went straight to the city gate. When the bright armor and swords of the Han cavalry shone at the entrance of the city, the Xianbei people above and below the city were completely stunned. The enemy is so fast and fearless, and such a fighting style has never been seen before.
Of course there was Jiang Wei among them. The young man left behind his panting armored mount. He was covered in iron armor studded with arrows and holding a long knife. He chopped down the enemies in front of him and led them up the stone stairs. Soon, He stood on the top of the city. They waved their swords to drive away the guards, so that the hinges of the city gate could not be pulled up and the city gate could not be closed. The defeated Xianbei people swarmed into the city, not caring about the fighting in the city.
There was a tall and powerful Xianbei man who seemed to be an officer. Seeing that the situation was critical, he had to close the city gate as soon as possible. He squeezed through the crowd, ran up to the city with a sword in hand, and wanted to drive the Han people away. But Jiang Wei stood motionless, his face covered by his douche, only a pair of menacing eyes were revealed. He waved the bloody long knife at the man in protest. Seeing that his entourage did not follow him, the Xianbei man hesitated and stepped back. Jiang Wei took advantage of the situation and used his long knife to force him forward, forcing him into a blind corner of the stone wall. He stabbed him to death with the tip of the knife, cut off his head, and threw him from the crenel.
