After pretending to discuss where to build the city, Shao Xun arranged a residence for Wang Huifeng, called his maid, and told her to stay here long enough to discuss it from time to time.

Wang Huifeng didn't say anything. He just quietly returned to his home and read a book.

Shao Xun knew very well that he couldn't be rude to the beauty yet.

Wang Huifeng is a fierce woman. Whether she wants to remarry depends entirely on her and cannot be forced by others. She does have a little affection for herself now, but the causes of this affection are very complicated and fragile, and it will disappear if she is not careful.

The future is long and there are many opportunities.

That night, Shao Xun led his soldiers and rushed to Heyang overnight.

The Yinqiang Left Camp has been resting in Xiangcheng for only more than a month, so it is not appropriate to move lightly for the time being.

The Silver Spear Right Battalion is about to set off from Jinguyuan to Heyang. This is the main field force for this city building operation.

On July 20th, just as Liu Cong issued an order to Shi Le to mobilize his troops, the gate of Heyang North City was opened, and the Yinqiang right camp was filled with more than 9,000 soldiers from the Yi Congjun, 1,000 light cavalry and 400 armored troops from the borrowed valiant cavalry.

Cavalry, plus 5,000 Xuchang soldiers, 7,000 Sizhou soldiers and hundreds of craftsmen, a total of more than 22,000 people, headed east along the north bank of the Yellow River.

The one who stayed behind in the three cities of Heyang was Chen Yougen, the shogunate's left commander.

The force composed of three thousand soldiers and their tribes is the main defense force of Heyang North City.

More than 10,000 people from the Heijian Army, Runan Mule Infantry, Tuntian Army, and Heyang Dingzhuang assisted in the defense of the city, taking turns to experience the atmosphere of the battlefield and accumulate combat experience.

In recent years, as the war has intensified, even the combat effectiveness of farmers and soldiers has increased rapidly.

It is true that they are not as good as professional soldiers like the Silver Spear Army, but the gap is not as big as before. After all, it is easy to improve from thirty points to sixty points, but it is much more difficult to improve from eighty points to ninety points.

In the future, going deep into Hebei will require a large number of line-filling troops with certain combat capabilities. Otherwise, even if it is occupied temporarily, it will be spit out sooner or later.

Since the army left Heyang Beicheng, the road has been smooth.

There were surprisingly few Huns, and they seemed to have lost the ability to stay near Heyang City for a long time. It was not until several days after traveling eastward that a group of two to three hundred Huns appeared, but they did not dare to approach and could only peep from a distance.

.

On the night of the 24th, when the army was stationed in Huai County, the Huns launched their first night attack, which ended in vain.

Shao Xun sat on a damaged carriage, quietly watching the retreating Huns, and put down his snack a little.

Only two soldiers from the right battalion of Silver Spear had the experience of marching under the surveillance of the cavalry day and night. That time, they followed the veterans from the left battalion to escort the grain to Luoyang.

Before this expedition, Shao Xun was a little worried that the psychological quality of the soldiers in the right camp was not good enough, that they would not be able to withstand the huge pressure, and would collapse halfway. Therefore, he personally led the troops to boost morale, commanded in a timely manner, and checked for leaks and filled them to ensure that no problems would arise.

He knew that the soldiers in the right camp were trained very hard and scientifically. They were well-equipped and not all new soldiers. As long as they could get over the hurdle in their hearts and get rid of their fear of cavalry, even if he did not lead the troops himself in the future,

Everyone will cope with it very calmly.

The first time is the hardest.

Starting from the 25th, the number of Huns increased day by day, and the expressions on the faces of the soldiers became increasingly solemn.

"The thieves don't dare to attack the city. If they want to try their luck with us, then beat them back and let them see the bravery of Da Jin'erlang." Shao Xun rode his war horse out of the protection circle of the chariot formation, holding a whip in his hand and saying:

Walk slowly and say loudly.

The soldiers with silver spears stood on the side carriages and baggage carts, holding their rifle bows and manipulating their crossbows, with all the worries on their faces.

Seeing Master Shao in golden armor, the student officers were full of confidence.

Seeing the mighty Duke Chen, the ordinary soldiers became more courageous.

As a martial artist, I naturally like a commander who is skilled in bow and horse and has a heroic personality.

If you can't draw a strong bow, kill stubborn enemies, and if Mount Tai collapses without changing its color, how can you truly convince people?

You can rely on the system to force them to obey orders, but this kind of restraint is not reliable. In troubled times, why do so many regimes die? There are certainly reasons for seeking death, but lack of prestige is also an important factor.

"Man Yu!" Shao Xun suddenly pointed his riding whip.

"The end is here!" Man Yu rode his horse and arrived.

Shao Xun pointed at a group of Hun Qingqi wandering in the distance and said: "One person and three horses, catch them for me, no matter what the cost."

"Nuo." Man Yu did not hesitate, ordered 500 cavalry on the spot, and armed with 1,500 horses, roared out of the formation.

The car formation did not stop and continued to move forward.

From west to east, it meanders for several miles.

That evening, Manyu rushed back with seven or eight arrows stuck in his body.

Many people and horses were lost, but there was more than one head hanging under each person's saddle.

"I will give you two pieces of silk, and they will be distributed after the class." Shao Xun announced loudly.

Everyone cheered, and the morale of the entire car formation was greatly improved.

Shao Xun laughed.

Some battles must be fought even if the casualties are greater than the enemy's.

The wilderness just now was extremely empty, with no rivers or woods. In fact, it was not suitable for attacking cavalry, because if you were not careful, you would be sent flying kites in circles.

But so what?

Just like when you are besieged, you don't care how many people are beating you, just focus on one person and beat him to death.

The Huns are divided into tribes and clans. If you beat the people of one tribe and beat them to pieces, the people of other tribes will be frightened. The next time they come to harass them, they will be murmuring in their hearts.

Will hesitate.

This is the effect you want!

Shao Xun did not believe that Liu Ya had such high prestige that he could force tribesmen to commit suicide regardless of casualties.

If the old capital is discounted, will you make up for it? Is the compensation enough?

This is a political issue as well as an institutional issue. If you can solve this issue, you can build a grassland empire.

****

On the night of the 27th, the army camped in the southwest of Ji County.

Beginning on the 28th, the Huns seemed to give up their harassment. Except for a few people left to monitor, the main force disappeared without a trace.

At this time, Shi Le's envoy was still on the way to Xihe, carrying his memorial and urging the emperor not to attack the three cities of Heyang.

In short, Shi Le didn't want to go and was still bargaining.

Of course, maybe he will change his attitude soon because the situation has changed again.

On the first day of August, the army arrived near Yanjin and set up camp.

On the second day, the entire army crossed Qishui. In the evening of the same day, the vanguard crossed Qingshui north and arrived outside Fangtou City.

On the third day of August, the army continued to cross the river.

There seemed to be a small number of defenders in Fangtou City. They came out of the city to intercept and defeated the Yi Congjun.

At this time, the number of Xiongnu cavalry gradually increased. But most of them were not from Hanoi, but the Xiongnu, Jie, and Wuhuan cavalry under Shi Le's rule.

Shao Xun did the math for him. After getting the news, he started mobilizing and raising food and grass to go south. The speed was not slow. Shi Le was really capable, and the efficiency of his separatist regime was pretty good.

On the fourth day of August, the infantry across the river captured Fangtou, beheaded 200 people, captured 200 people, and captured this dilapidated earthen city.

At this point, more than 20,000 troops were stationed inside and outside Fangtou, with deep ditches and high fortresses, and they were stationed there.

On the fifth day of August, he climbed up the Fangtou City Wall, which was almost crumbling, and looked far into the distance.

On the Yellow River, ships were densely packed, coming from Xingyang and Puyang counties, loaded with grain and military supplies. After docking, they unloaded the goods on the tidal flat near Laoqikou and transported them to the camp.

Qikou is where the Qishui River enters the Yellow River.

In the ninth year of Jian'an of the Han Dynasty (204), Cao Cao "built a weir with large trees at the mouth of the Qi River to prevent the Qi River from entering the Baigou for canal transportation."

The Qishui River originates from Taihang and is joined by many streams along the way. The water is turbulent and has a large flow. When flash floods occur, it rushes into the Yellow River.

For the purpose of the Northern Expedition, Cao Cao ordered the construction of artificial weirs and dams using large canopy trees at Qikou to redirect the flow to the northeast.

To put it bluntly, the water in Baigou flowing in the northeast is scarce and is not suitable for water transportation, while the Qishui River has abundant water, so we tried to find a way to pour Qi water into Baigou to facilitate water transportation and provide grain and grass for the Northern Expedition.

In other words, the Fangtou water conservancy project is mainly for military purposes. To be more precise, it is mainly used to transport military supplies, grain and grass to reduce the logistical pressure of going deep into the hinterland of Hebei. Land transportation is not impossible, but the cost of water transportation is much lower.

many.

Logistics has always been one of the most important factors in war at any time, and is even the primary consideration for most generals when fighting.

Historically, when Huan Wen withdrew his troops from Fangtou, logistics was the decisive factor - there was less rain, the rivers were clear and shallow, and some sections of the river were inaccessible to grain transport ships, which directly led to the shortage of food on the front line day by day.

Now Shao Xun arrived at Fangtou decades earlier than Huan Wen, and was preparing to transform this earthen city, which was not much stronger than a fortress, into a large military city, with its back on the river, to garrison strong troops, and to serve as a strategic fulcrum for the northward march.

If there are still Xiongnu cavalry in Puyang this year causing damage to the crops of the local people, once the troops are successfully stationed in Fangtou City, they will at least be able to protect the two hundred miles of the river from east to west, so that the people on the south bank can produce with confidence and no longer be subject to abuse.

Riding and killing.

"Is that Guqingshuikou?" Shao Xun asked, pointing to a semi-silted river in the southwest.

He Lun, who was crossing the river from Wenshijin to the north, looked up and said immediately: "Yes, that is Qingshuikou." Wang Zhongxuan (Can)'s "Heroes" once recorded that "(Yuan) Shao was at Qingshuikou in Chaoge, (Zhao) Fu and others"

From then on, hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of people marched through Shao Ying in terror.'"

Shao Xun glanced at He Lun approvingly.
To be continued...