What can Xiahou Ba do? He is still waiting for Qin Lang to come with him to hand over defense.
Otherwise, what else can we do? Wen County doesn’t want it anymore? !
If Wen County fails to defend, then Chaoge to the east of Wen County will be directly exposed to the soldiers of the Shu bandits. Once Chaoge is lost, Yecheng will be less than three hundred miles to the northeast. .
Therefore, no matter what Qin Lang thinks, Xiahou Ba cannot leave Wen County easily.
And Qin Lang. Qin Lang finally realized that if he continued like this, although he could suppress Zhang Xi at Mengjin Ferry, it would not be of any help to the Yanzhou war.
Of course, the biggest blame for Yanzhou's failure to win lies with Sima Yi. Qin Lang has a lot of excuses to use to get rid of his responsibility.
However, such a big thing as the loss of Yanzhou would definitely be very damaging to the Wei Dynasty.
As Cao Cao's adopted son, Qin Lang was also Cao Rui's confidant. All his future, glory and wealth were pinned on the Wei Dynasty. The Wei Dynasty's vitality was severely damaged, which would not do him any good.
Therefore, Qin Lang must lead his troops as soon as possible to break through the constraints and threats of the Mengjin Crossing Shu bandits, and rush to Wen County to hand over defense to Xiahou Ba.
But, this is difficult.
Qin Lang's first attempt ended in failure.
That was three days ago. Qin Lang used Bi Gui's Bingzhou cavalry as the vanguard to clear the way, and Hedong County soldiers followed suit, trying to use this method to break through the Shu thieves in Beizhong City.
But not long after Qin Lang sent troops from Heyang County, Zhang Xi personally led 40,000 infantry to leave Mengjindu and rush to aid Beizhong City.
It has to be said that the scouts and craftsmen of the two families were very efficient in this Hanoi battle.
But this was not unexpected by Qin Lang. This was also the reason why Qin Lang arranged the cavalry as the vanguard.
If Zhang Xi uses infantry to fight against the charge of Bingzhou cavalry, it is pure seeking death. If Zhang Xi uses rangers to fight against Bingzhou wolf cavalry, then Qin Lang will also tell Zhang Xi what the Wei Dynasty relies on to defeat the North. When he was near Wuhuan, he fought back at Bailang Mountain and beheaded Wuhuan Chanyu.
After all, the cavalry in the Han region is the strongest.
Using cavalry to clear the way, Qin Lang believed that he would not be afraid of any Shu thieves' infantry or cavalry.
But what Qin Lang didn't expect was that Zhang Xi didn't want to play a head-on showdown with Qin Lang at all.
Zhang Xi actually expected the Bingzhou cavalry to clear the way, and as a response, Zhang Xi did send the Qiang and Hu cavalry led by Ma Dai, but the purpose was not a head-on confrontation, but flank harassment.
In a head-on cavalry duel, the Qiang and Hu foreign cavalry could not defeat Cao Wei's Bingzhou cavalry.
The rangers of the Qiang and Hu tribes do not wear armor, but the Bingzhou cavalry wears full-body leather armor, and the worst ones have light armor to protect their vital parts. The two sides are not on the same level in terms of ordnance and equipment.
And when it comes to morale, it's even more different.
During the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, almost all the foreign cavalry in the North were pushed to the ground and rubbed by the big men. Occasionally they rose up, but it was just because the court had no time to take care of them. Once the court made up its mind to deal with these foreigners in the North, , then this group of aliens will have to pay at least a few Shanyu as a price.
The shadow of four hundred years has fallen, causing the foreign tribes in the north to feel terrified when they see the Han cavalry. Without fighting, their morale and fighting spirit have weakened by three points.
Therefore, if these Qiang and Hu cavalry were to attack the Bingzhou cavalry head-on, Zhang Xi estimated that 30% of them would have to escape before the official battle. If the battle was slightly unfavorable, these Qiang and Hu cavalry would immediately collapse.
Head-on confrontation is not possible, but containment and harassment is the specialty of this group of Qiang and Hu Rangers. In the past four hundred years, the foreign tribes in the North have relied on these methods to continuously encroach on the borders of the Han Dynasty and gain living space.
Moreover, although the Qiang and Hu cavalry had too little ordnance and equipment and were not as good as the Bingzhou cavalry, at this time, it became a major feature of the Qiang and Hu cavalry. Their horses carried light loads and were fast.
Harassment is the most suitable combat method for these foreign horsemen in the North.
If the Bingzhou cavalry cannot stand this harassment and pursue these northern rangers in an organized manner, then the infantry following them will lack protection. The 40,000 infantry brought by Zhang Xi can cooperate with Zhang Yi in Beizhong City. Encirclement and annihilated less than 20,000 infantry under Qin Lang's command.
If the Bingzhou cavalry were not harassed and were shot and killed by the foreign cavalry from the North in a guerrilla manner along the way, then the more than one hundred miles from Heyang County to Wen County would also cause the Bingzhou cavalry to suffer considerable losses.
Of course, the most important thing is that there is Beizhong City in the middle.
The cavalry may be able to bypass Beizhong City and rely on its speed advantage to keep its own supplies safe. But the infantry cannot bypass it.
The infantry bypassed Beizhong City and headed for Wenxian County. The food supply was all under the control of Beizhong City.
Unless Qinlang can rely on the grain reserves in Wen County to ensure supplies, it is impossible for Qinlang to easily abandon this supply channel connecting Heyang County and Wen County.
This is also Zhang Xi's confidence to contain the two counties of Qinlang and Xiahouba on the flanks. Beizhong City is stuck on this supply line.
Therefore, before Qin Lang's cavalry arrived at Beizhong City, they were harassed and restrained by the rangers led by Ma Dai. Qin Lang really hesitated for a long time before giving the order for the cavalry to take the initiative to attack.
Ma Dai was not slow to respond. As soon as he saw the Wei cavalry beginning to gather, he immediately ordered the Qiang and Hu foreign cavalry to disperse and retreat toward the north of Hanoi County.
This group of Qiang and Hu aliens, if they were to face off against the Bingzhou cavalry, they would not be able to kill them, but when they heard that they were retreating, they dispersed and retreated so quickly.
When Qin Lang saw that the Qiang and Hu cavalry had chosen to retreat, he didn't want to cause trouble. The cavalry only poses a threat when it is in an organized form. Once dispersed, it will take some time to regroup.
But no matter what, they can no longer threaten their Bingzhou cavalry.
Originally, Qin Lang really had no intention of letting his cavalry pursue him, and felt that it was not necessary. But after carefully observing the direction of the retreat of these cavalry, although they were scattered, they were basically heading towards the north.
In the northern part of Hanoi County, there are no particularly important towns or military fortresses, but there is an official road.
An official road that can bypass Wen County and march towards Chaoge.
When Qin Lang saw this group of Qiang and Hu cavalry retreating to the north so neatly, he couldn't help but wonder if this was a plan of the Shu thieves to cross the sky and cross the sea.
Let yourself mistakenly think that this group of Qiang and Hu cavalry are fleeing for their lives, and don't care about their whereabouts. In fact, this group of Qiang and Hu cavalry regrouped in the north of Hanoi County, bypassed Wen County and even Chaoge, and attacked directly Yecheng? !
No one else knows how empty Yecheng is now, but Qin Lang still knows it very well.
Therefore, no matter whether the cavalry can attack the city, or whether the purpose of this group of Qiang and Hu knights is Yecheng, Qin Lang cannot let this group of Qiang and Hu knights leave.
Even if these Qiang and Hu cavalry cannot really conquer Yecheng, if what they did in Hedong County is repeated in Jizhou, then Qin Lang's ten heads will not be enough to kill him. Even Cao Rui may not be able to save him.
Once the aristocratic families in Hedong and Hebei unite to kill someone, Cao Rui will have no choice.
Therefore, Qin Lang must let the Bingzhou cavalry follow and pursue him, not only to protect the safety of Yecheng, but also for his own life.
But on the second day after the Bingzhou cavalry was ordered to pursue the Qiang and Hu cavalry, when the Hedong County soldiers led by Qin Lang had just arrived fifty miles west of Beizhong City, the 40,000 Han County soldiers led by Zhang Xi had already arrived at Beizhong City.
Moreover, Zhang Xi set up a stronghold directly on the west side of Beizhong City. This posture showed that he was not to defend the city, but to decide the outcome of a field battle with Qin Lang.
Even if Qin Lang is scared, he can't help but be scared.
He only has 18,000 soldiers, while Zhang Xi has a full 40,000 troops, and they are still fighting in the field. With combat experience and tactical command ability, not only Qin Lang is timid, but even Sima Yi will be timid.
After Qin Lang received the report from the reconnaissance cavalry, he hesitated briefly, and then ordered the entire army to retreat to Heyang County.
But before Qin Lang could withdraw his troops and return to Heyang City, Bi Gui and Dai Ling, who had made a circle from the north, also returned to Heyang County with their Bingzhou cavalry.
It turned out that the Qiang and Hu cavalry did not gather in the northern part of Hanoi County. They simply dispersed and retreated, then divided their forces and went south, returned to Beizhong City, and joined Zhang Xi's main force.
The sneak attack on Yecheng that Qin Lang thought existed only in Qin Lang's imagination.
Bi Gui also complained a lot about this, thinking that Qin Lang wasted the strength of the cavalry horses in vain, and reduced the cavalry's combat effectiveness in disguise.
Dai Ling did not dare to speak to Bi Gui, but Qin Lang would not get used to it. Bi Gui really wanted to talk about relationships. Qin Lang's relationship was much stronger than Bi Gui's.
Qin Lang reprimanded Bi Gui on the spot, and then asked him to strictly abide by military orders and continue to organize the military equipment station.
Of course, this is just a way for Qin Lang to establish his power. It does not mean that Qin Lang is preparing to go out for the second time. He has many things to consider.
Qin Lang's first attempt to march ended in failure. At the same time, Qin Lang realized that it was not as easy as he thought for the cavalry to clear the way.
Yes, the Qiang and Hu cavalry of the Shu thieves did not attack Yecheng this time, but it does not mean that they cannot attack Yecheng. Whether they went or not are completely different concepts.
As Zhang Xi led his troops forward to Beizhong City, Qin Lang's second idea of moving forward to open up the passage by storming Beizhong City also came to nothing.
So, how should we avoid Zhang Xi, march to Wen County, and join Xiahou Ba? !
Qin Lang is really starting to have a headache now.
(End of chapter)
