Liang Wang Liu Jing arranged for some elites to stay on the bank of Dongying River to monitor, and then led everyone back to the outside of Xuchang City.
Although Liu Jing didn't seem to care much about the sudden appearance of these Qingzhou cavalry, judging from the performance of Shi Hu, Wang Zhang and others, he couldn't help but ignore them.
He currently brings only a few thousand Xiongnu soldiers and horses, and the enemies on the other side are also about the same number. If there is a conflict, the outcome is really unpredictable.
After Liang Wang Liu Jing needs to go back, he will mobilize more soldiers and horses from the army surrounding Xuchang, and then rush here to intercept before dawn tomorrow morning.
He has already thought about it. If the enemy on the other side does not cross the river when the army arrives tomorrow, he will take the initiative to attack.
Because although the Jin army in Xuchang City has reached the last moment, the Hu soldiers and horses under him are all about the same. They must not let the Yingchuan soldiers in Xuchang know that foreign aid is coming.
Otherwise, once the defenders in Xuchang City are in trouble, they may suffer heavy losses.
Don't waste the opportunity at the last moment!
The hundreds of Huns cavalry left in Xi'an on the east Ying River have been keeping a close eye on the enemy on the other side.
Watching them set up a simple camp, watching them drinking horses by the river, watching them gathering wood, watching them lighting stoves.
The water surface of the Dongying River is relatively wide, and it is difficult for the crossbows of both sides to shoot to the opposite side. During this period, apart from mutual insults and provocations, there was no substantial fighting.
When night fell, the Hun cavalry on the west bank of the river could no longer see the situation on the other side.
At the beginning, the Qingzhou Han army on the opposite side often deliberately made some neighing noises by the river, which made the alert Huns cavalry very nervous, thinking that the enemy on the other side was going to risk crossing the river.
However, when they opened their eyes and looked again, there was no movement.
After repeating this many times, the Huns cavalry no longer cared about the tired tricks of the Qingzhou Han army.
No matter how loudly they stirred up the river water, they could not arouse the Huns' vigilance at all.
Because it was such a dark night, let alone cavalry wearing armor and carrying weapons, even crossing the river with light equipment would be very dangerous.
The water in this area is enough to turn any adventure into a terrible disaster.
When the hook-like crescent moon hung in the sky, there were bursts of noise from the Qingzhou Han army camp on the other side, but it did not cause the Huns to be nervous at all.
Soon, not long after, everything in the dark night returned to calm.
"How's it going? Are everything set up!?"
Liu Xun, who was wearing armor, asked Ran Liang next to him in a low voice.
"Everything has been arranged!" Ran Liang replied softly.
"Eighty people are left in the camp. They will make noise every half an hour, so that the Hulu on the other side will not notice anything unusual!"
Liu Xun nodded with satisfaction, "Okay, then let's set off and ask all camps to silence themselves!"
"Don't worry, Duke, there will be no problem!" Ran Liang said excitedly.
This time they rushed to help Xuchang to rescue the siege. Although there were only five thousand cavalry, they were all the elite cavalry of the Han army.
There are not only the Yulin Guards composed of the generals' sons, but also elites drawn from other guards.
Liu Yu was still a little worried about Ran Liang's prestige, so he made his nephew Liu Xun the chief general and Ran Liang his deputy.
Then, under the pitch-black night, thousands of Han troops quietly left their camps and headed south along the road that had been marked during the day.
This road leads to the shoal ferry south of Dongying River, and it is also the ferry that Wang Zhang knew.
The road along the way is rugged. If you are not familiar with the terrain, you may get lost at night.
Therefore, before deliberately exposing his whereabouts to the Huns, Liu Xun Ranliang had already sent people to make preparations according to the path pointed out by Xun Guan.
In order to ensure the physical strength of the horses, they led the horses most of the way.
If this were an ordinary sergeant, even a qualified Han army soldier might not be able to withstand such an intense march.
However, these Han cavalry are all the best among the best.
Compared with those semi-professional military soldiers, they are all completely professional soldiers.
Traveling through mountains and rivers, drinking ice and sleeping in the snow are their must-training.
Therefore, while the Hun cavalry in the east of Yingshui were still trying to defeat the enemy on the other side, Liu Xun and Ran Liang had already led thousands of Han cavalry southward along the hilly road.
When the ugly time was over, under the guidance of the guides hidden along the way, the cavalry led by Liu Xun Ranliang finally arrived at the shoal ferry forty miles downstream of the Dongying River.
At this time, the sky was still dark, and the crescent moon in the sky scattered a faint light, which fell on the rushing river, showing fish scale-like waves.
"It's so wide!"
Looking at the dark river water, Liu Xun couldn't help but let out a soft cry.
"It just rained a few days ago, and the river is deeper than usual. However, the ferry inside is still passable!" said a Han army guide who had already secretly investigated the situation.
"It's getting late, so let's start crossing the river."
Liu Xun immediately stopped hesitating and ordered to Ran Liang and others beside him.
Although this is a shallow shoal, the deep river water is still enough to reach the chest.
If it weren't for the fact that these Han troops basically had two horses and could rely on the horses to gain strength, maybe one of their feet would have slipped and they would have rolled into the river.
Thousands of people and horses waded into the cool river water one by one, holding their breath and concentrating like chasing ducks.
Outside Xuchang City.
When a crow's shrill cry rang out, Shi Hu suddenly woke up from his dream.
He grabbed the saber and walked outside the tent.
At this time, the sky had turned slightly blue-white, and many soldiers in the camp began to walk back and forth.
According to the order of Liu Jing, King of Liang of the Xiongnu, in half an hour, they will gather at the ferry to the east to intercept the Han cavalry.
"What time is it now!"
Shi Hu grabbed an attendant next to him and asked.
"General, it's past Chen hour!"
After hearing that it was already this hour, Shi Hu couldn't help but feel very dissatisfied.
According to this time, when the Huns are ready to set off, the Han troops in the East Ying River may have already begun to cross the river.
When they arrive, let alone a half-crossed attack, I'm afraid they will have to fight openly.
"Put me in armor!"
Shi Hu stuffed a few mouthfuls of food indiscriminately, and then said to the attendant.
He must hurry up and ask Liang Wang Liu Jing what the hell he is doing. This is obviously delaying the opportunity to fight.
If it really were a dignified battle, Shi Hu would not believe that those Qiang Hu who were like bandits were the opponents of the Qingzhou Han army.
When Shi Hu had just put on the armor halfway, he suddenly heard a faint noise.
"what sound!"
Shi Hu's heart moved and he immediately looked in the direction.
The place where the Jiehu people camped was to the west of Xuchang City. Shihu looked to the southeast and realized that the sound was coming from there.
It wasn't just the sound. When Shi Hu looked carefully, he discovered that there were bursts of thick smoke coming from there.
And the thick smoke quickly rose up one after another.
"It's wolf smoke!" A Jiehu attendant exclaimed.
These wolf smoke are a common early warning method used by the Qiang and Hu people. In the vast grasslands or wilderness, only these smoke pillars can convey the furthest distance.
"Enemy attack!"
Shi Hu couldn't help but trembled in his heart.
He couldn't help but think of the worst outcome. These enemy attack warnings were all sent from the southwest, which meant that the Han army's reinforcements were definitely not the ones he saw yesterday.
This round trip was nearly dozens of miles away, it must be another Han army surprise force!
"Hurry up and put on your armor and saddle up!" Shi Hu immediately ordered loudly.
Several confidants immediately left in a hurry, and Shi Hu captured another general.
"Hurry up and let the rear camp pack up and equip the carriages and horses. Wait for my orders at any time!"
The general was stunned when he heard this. The so-called rear camp was the family members of Jiehu's army, as well as a large number of captured slaves and property.
Shi Hu acted like this, obviously he wanted to run away at any time.
Just seeing some warning smoke should we be so scared?
Now I can't even see the shadow of the enemy!
Even the outcome is unknown.
Seeing that the general was still hesitating, Shi Hu couldn't help but became furious. He raised his riding whip and gave him a hard blow.
"Snapped!"
"You bastard, hurry up and go!"
The general immediately ran away covering his beaten shoulder.
When Shi Hu's subordinates arrived, there was no longer just smoke and noise from the southwest, but also faint shouts of killing.
"General Shi, Prince Liang's people are here!"
Just as Shi Hu was about to make arrangements, a general came to report.
When the generals sent by Liang Wang Liu Jing saw Shi Hu, they already looked anxious.
"General Shi, Your Majesty has an order. There are thieves raiding the south camp. I order your troops to rush to the rescue quickly. Make sure there is no mistake!"
"Go back and tell King Liang that Shi Hu obeys the order!" Although Shi Hu was worried, he had to obey the order.
Soon, Shi Hu led three thousand cavalry towards the south of the city where the Qiang and Hu camped.
When Shi Hu and the others arrived, they found that the entire Qiang and Hu camp was in chaos.
The Qiang and Hu in each department no longer have any cooperation with each other, and they are all looking for their own heroes.
"General, look"
A Jiehu general pointed loudly into the distance and said.
Shi Hu followed the sound and saw red flags appearing on the fields in the distance.
"It's a Qingzhou thief!"
"How did the thief come from the south?"
As the frequently defeated generals under the Qingzhou Han Army, most of the Jiehu generals had already developed timidity and fear.
Shi Hu's face was also pale. He had already seen that the Han army coming in force consisted of five or six thousand men. If there were rear troops behind the smoke and dust, there would definitely be more.
The Qiang and Hu cavalry on the periphery were completely defeated.
"Woo!"
"Woo!"
At this moment, loud horn sounds sounded.
"Woo!"
The Qiang and Hu soldiers and horses from various ministries were finally ready to meet the enemy and began to line up along the south side of the camp.
Looking at these Qiang Hu who were preparing to fight, Shi Hu couldn't help but frowned.
These Qiang and Hu are almost all unarmored light cavalry armed with spears, spears and swords. If they confront the Han army on the opposite side, they will definitely die, even if their number has been mobilized several times.
"A bunch of idiots, the best way is to defend the camp!" Shi Hu couldn't help but sneered.
"Haha, these Qiang thieves haven't even set up a camp, so how can they rely on the camp?"
A voice came and Shi Hu turned his head to look.
It turned out that Wang Zhang had already come to his side.
"Uncle, the Qiang thieves are about to charge into the battle, what should we do?" Shi Hu said playfully.
Wang Zhang heard this and glanced at the Qiang Hu in the distance.
Due to the recent competition for plunder, they and the Qiang Hu people have long disliked each other.
"These Qiang thieves have not come to ask us to send troops, so let's check the situation first." Wang Zhang said.
"Okay, then let's take action with the camera!" Shi Hu also said.
Just when the Qiang and Hu people had completed their formation and were about to attack, another blast of horns came from farther away, followed by a rumble of horse hooves.
Wang Zhang and Shi Hu turned around and looked around, knowing that those were reinforcements sent by Liu Jing, King of the Huns and Liang who were camping in the north of the city.
"Boom!"
"Dong dong dong!"
Immediately afterwards, another majestic drum sound came from behind, which was the sound of war drums made by the defenders of Xuchang City.
Obviously, Xuchang's defenders had also discovered reinforcements in the distance.
The sound of noisy horns and drums reached the Han cavalry in the south in confusion.
"What a pity, it's still a little late!"
Looking at the Qiang and Hu soldiers and horses who were ready to fight, Ran Liang couldn't help but let out a sigh of regret.
Although the marching speed along the way was very fast, it still exceeded their expectations.
What was supposed to be a night raid in the darkness before dawn turned into an early morning raid.
"Hehe, it doesn't matter!" Liu Xun waved his hand indifferently.
"Let the Yingchuan people at the top of Xuchang city see our majesty!"
In the battle with the Qiang and Hu cavalry just now, Liu Xun had basically seen clearly the strength of these Qiang and Hu.
Compared with the well-equipped Han cavalry, these Qiang and Hu cavalry are simply beggars.
Liu Xun found from some arrowheads he picked up that many of these Qiang and Hu arrowheads were old goods that had been polished countless times and had no effect on the armored Han cavalry.
"Although these thieves are disadvantaged by their armor, they still have the upper hand in numbers. The prince must not be careless!"
A cavalry general wearing Han army armor advised kindly.
Liu Xun glanced at him, then said with a smile.
"Duan Du protects the good words, I will naturally be careful!"
This Duan Duhu was none other than Duan Wenyang of the Duan clan in Xianbei, western Liaoning. As elite light-armored archers, this group of Xianbei followers led by Duan Wenyang was also recruited.
"My lord, I have noticed that the Qiang and Hu soldiers and horses are in chaos, and they all rose up in a hurry. I would like to lead my troops to attack their flanks, so that my lord can defeat the thieves quickly!" Duan Wenyang immediately requested.
The Hun soldiers and horses on the opposite side seemed to be outnumbered, but their formations were scattered and it was difficult to rearrange themselves after one attack. Therefore, Duan Wenyuan felt that as long as he attacked their side and rear after one attack, he could completely defeat the enemy.
"I never expected that a Xianbei like you would be so willing to serve!" Liu Xun couldn't help but smile.
Unexpectedly, after Duan Wenyuan heard this, his face became embarrassed and he spoke softly but firmly.
"The Duke has misunderstood. The last general is not a Xianbei'er, but the queen of Gongshu Duan named Ji!"
"Ji Zhou is a Miao descendant!"
