Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

In Dongxia Prefecture, there is a river flowing across almost the entire northern Shaanxi Plateau, named Qingshui, which is later known as Yanhe River and one of the important tributaries on the west bank of the Yellow River.

Most of the terrain in Dongxia Prefecture consists of plateaus and hills. Only the river valleys in the Qingshui Basin can be said to have abundant water and grass and fertile land. Therefore, both sides of Qingshui are also the most densely populated areas in Dongxia Prefecture. Most of the other areas are desolate slopes with barren land and limited output.

Dongxia Prefecture governs Guangwucheng, which is located in the Qingshui River Valley. The valleys here are densely covered and criss-crossed, and the plateau walls are steep and rugged. If you are not familiar with the path of the plateau valley and enter here rashly, it will be like entering a vast maze. It is easy to get lost among the ups and downs of the plateau valley and not know the way out.

As the state government of Dongxia Prefecture, Guangwu City is composed of three cities of different sizes, each located according to its valley.

The easternmost small city is located on the north bank of Qingshui, next to mountains and rivers. It is called Fenglin City. It was built during the Helian and Hu Xia years. It guarded the upper and middle reaches of the Qingshui River Valley for the Hu Xia regime and withstood the Northern Wei Dynasty for several years. Although the city is not big, the city wall is as hard as stone, has many horse faces, is long and dense, and relies on this unique geographical advantage to make it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

More than ten miles west of Fenglin City, the river valley gradually widens. There is also a city located near the river. It is located in the valley between two rivers. There are many canals and valleys around it, and the city is also built quite deep and wide. This is Guangwu University. The city is also the seat of the state government of Dongxia Prefecture.

A few miles west of Guangwu City, there is a long and narrow sloping valley, which was once a tributary of Qingshui. However, the river dried up many years ago, forming a sloping valley called Dry Valley. Dry Valley is an important passage connecting the Qingshui River Valley area. Through this, you can quickly reach Fushi City and other places from Guangwu. Therefore, there is an official animal husbandry and post station here, named Dry Valley Station.

In the early morning, Li Mu climbed to the tower to observe the enemy's situation.

At this time, there is a thick layer of frost on the outer wall of the city wall. This is because the soldiers who defended the city poured cold water on the city wall at night to prevent the enemy from attacking the city. Under the blowing wind of northern Shaanxi, the moisture quickly It solidifies into ice and does not melt for a long time.

At this time, there were not many enemy camps outside Guangwu City. Since Fenglin City to the east was still entrenched, the enemy did not dare to enter this section of the river valley and station nearby in order to avoid being attacked from both sides.

But this only ensures that the pressure on this east-west area is still small. Between the plateau valleys to the north of Guangwu City, enemy camps are already full, and rangers are constantly dispatched to the surrounding area day and night. Patrolling and sweeping the river valley, maintaining the blockade of the city.

Looking at the enemy rangers cruising back and forth like locusts in the valley outside the city, Li Mu spat hard. Although he felt annoyed, he also felt helpless for a moment.

He originally wanted to defeat the enemy from outside, and led a force of 3,000 troops north to meet the enemy. He planned to annihilate the bandit army in the upper reaches of Qingshui in the northwest, so that they would not dare to go south to harass and plunder.

The battle went relatively smoothly at first. After encountering several rebels head-on, Li Mu defeated and dispersed them one after another.

However, he did not expect that the number of rebels increased as they fought. One group quickly attracted several groups. In the end, Li Mu did not even know how many rebels were attracted. If he had not seen the opportunity and evacuated as soon as possible, he would have been killed by these rebels. Besieged in the northern area.

He withdrew his troops and returned to Guangwu. Most of the bandits who originally wandered between the two Xiazhous were also introduced and chased them all the way to the gate of Guangwu City. Li Mu also hurriedly mobilized the Han and Hu armed forces in the territory, and finally gathered thousands of troops to trap the city.

"Lord, Fenglin City reports that supplies and equipment are insufficient. We sincerely request the main city to provide supplies."

Li Mu was still looking northward at the enemy formation with a frown on the top of the city, when a general from below hurriedly stepped forward to report.

Li Mu nodded after hearing the words, and after a moment of pondering, he ordered: "Give us another five hundred stones of food, two thousand arrows, gather three hundred strong soldiers, eat and rest immediately, and leave the city in the evening to transport supplies."

Fenglin City and Guangwu City are horns with each other. If they don't follow the rules, the bandits can cover up and surround Guangwu City without restraint, and the situation will be even more dangerous.

The bandits are also well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of this terrain, so they have been attacking the relatively small Fenglin City in the past period, and mainly blocked the large city of Guangwu.

Although Fenglin City is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it cannot withstand the continuous offensive and defensive battles of the rebels day and night. Nearly half of the thousands of guards in the city have been lost, and the supplies in reserve have long been used up. All thanks to Guangwu City's Only by desperate efforts can we survive.

After hearing the words, the general first accepted the order, but still looked like he was hesitating to speak. After pondering for a moment, he spoke again: "My lord, if you have to cut it off, you must cut it off. The traitor is fierce and strong, I'm afraid it's not Our army can't support it alone, and besides, there is no value in defending here. It's better to abandon the city to the south before the rebels are close enough to encircle them, and then take back the city when the spring comes and the troops are well rested... "

After hearing this, Li Mu shook his head and said: "As a new commander, if I don't have to, how can I be a minister who has lost my land? In this cold and desolate land, even the guarding army is insufficient. These thieves from far away seem to be It is huge, but there is no way to supply it on the spot, and it is bound to not last long.

If I are afraid of the temporary hardship and avoid it, and give up the city and land to the enemy, it will benefit the traitor army and make them more courageous, and the traitor army will surely pursue them one after another. Losing soil and attracting thieves is a deeper crime! Although Kuang Zhufang is waiting and watching, Li Boshan has already promised that he will come to help. At this time, we still have to trust him and not retreat rashly. "

As he said this, he felt very heavy. Although the bandit army was a visitor from afar, they were outnumbered. After being besieged for several days, their grasp of the environment was visibly deepened. They were constantly collecting all kinds of information on the surface of the earth, and they were also collecting human and material resources swept from the Qingshui River Valley. Displayed outside the city to undermine the morale of the defenders.

Moreover, the rebel army's offensive methods are becoming more and more diverse. From the initial harassment by roaming horses, they are now digging some camps, trenches and trenches outside the city, and even cutting down trees to build large siege equipment.

Li Mu said he wanted to give Li Tai his trust, but his heart was pounding, wondering if he would come to help.

After all, so far, the true nature of the banditry is still unknown, and even Li Mu has not been able to get a full picture of the bandit army. It is now the freezing cold winter season, and it takes great courage to lead his troops into battle.

In the evening, the number of bandits outside the city suddenly increased, and they began to set up tentative camps.

When Li Mu saw this, he naturally did not want the bandit army to invade and garrison nearby. He immediately summoned hundreds of elite troops and personally led his troops out of the city to attack the enemy's formation fully armed.

Seeing Li Mu's attack, the rebel army sent thousands more troops to the battlefield. Like a swarm of locusts, they pushed toward Li Mu's troops in a black mass, taking advantage of their numbers.

Although this kind of human wave tactic was not very clever, it was effective. After several rounds of roving and rushing to the formation without success, Li Mu's hundreds of cavalry had no choice but to retreat in the face of an enemy ten times their size pressing step by step. Withdraw to the city.

However, with so many enemy troops on the battlefield, apart from forcing Li Mu back into the city, no further results were achieved. Guangwu City is deep and vast, far beyond the ability of thousands of men to shake it head-on.

Without a steady stream of men and horses to move in and advance the entire front line, the forts set up were just a few targets set up on the battlefield. It would be difficult to maintain them for a long time when the weather was freezing and there was no shelter. .

After Li Mu returned to the city, he was wondering why the enemy army was so unwise in doing such a futile thing, but suddenly he smelled a strong smell of blood mixed with the cold wind blowing from the west, and his expression suddenly changed. He shouted: "No, Qianguyi is in danger!"

As if in response to Li Mu's words, there was a sudden loud sound of horse hooves in the direction of the valley to the west, dust was flying in the sky, and an unknown number of bandit troops galloped down from the upper reaches. The thieves at the front still had many bloody heads hanging on their saddles and spears, and the bloody aura was spreading from their ranks.

After these bandit knights approached, they did not immediately return to their camp with the valley behind them. Instead, they carried the captured heads and lined up in groups outside Guangwu City to show off and show off their power.

"It's the Huyan tribe in the northern section of Gangu. They refused to obey the Lord's order and help defend Guangwu. In the end, they were not spared and were poisoned by the bandit army."

A general watched for a moment on the city wall and then sighed, and his face soon became serious again: "The bandit army has invaded the dry valley. If they are allowed to control the post road, not only will the city be exposed to danger, but reinforcements may also be in danger." It’s hard to get close to me, my lord…”

Li Mu's expression became gloomy at this moment, and he said in a solemn voice: "In the city, please check the remaining inventory. The troops and horses will be ready at any time after they are full!"