Chapter 603 The Road Ahead is Blocked
After the troops of the Xishan tribes conquered Hongya, they stayed in Hongya for six or seven days to rest and recuperate before continuing to advance eastward.
The army was advancing at an extremely slow pace, and although they had captured Hongya City, the morale of both the generals and soldiers was extremely low. If it weren't for the strict control of the leaders of each tribe, they would probably have already begun to flee.
It’s because the battle of Hongya and the Daqian troops left such a shocking impression on them!
In the end, the hundreds of remaining soldiers relied on a narrow pass to block their attack for nearly half an hour. No one retreated, no one begged for surrender, until the last person died in battle, and their troops were able to enter Hongya City.
This was just a force of less than 10,000 Daqian soldiers. With the help of the small city of Hongya, they held them back for nearly half a month, reducing their forces by nearly half. Daqian still had tens of thousands of soldiers. Could they really achieve the victory they imagined against such a force? Or could the various tribes of Southern Xinjiang really easily crush the main force of Daqian?
After marching eastward for several days, the allied forces of the Western Mountains had only covered a hundred li. Another fifty li or so brought them to Jiajiang City.
This time, their goal was to reach Jiajiang and Emei. Longyou was occupied by the Xuhen and Wudeng tribes, and their presence there might cause further conflict. However, the Xuhen tribe had clearly taken this into consideration and had offered to cede Jiajiang and Emei to them for garrison.
As the army was marching, a scout suddenly ran back frantically.
"Chief, this is bad! A large number of Daqian soldiers have appeared ahead, blocking our way."
There are many tribes in the area west of Yazhou, which are basically dominated by the Di people, as well as branches of the Qiang people, branches of the Tubo tribes, etc. Among them, the most powerful tribe is the "Zagu Tribe". Therefore, the leader of this coalition army is also the chief of the Zagu Tribe, Lawang Bacha.
Lawang Bacha suddenly stood up and asked, "What? Where did these soldiers come from?"
The commander said urgently, "Judging from the flags, they should be the Daqian troops. There are probably more than 20,000 of them, and they are about 20 miles away from us."
"Twenty thousand Daqian troops?" Lawang Bacha's expression changed drastically. In Hongya, his coalition had a several-fold advantage in manpower, yet they suffered heavy casualties and only took over ten days to capture Hongya. Now, the enemy's forces were equal in strength. Could he be their match?
Yes, in front of them were the troops of Shi Nai and others.
Qingshen Pass was not far from the Jiajiang area, and Chen Ruiwen and Liu Fang's troops were all cavalry, so they joined forces with Shi Nai and Guan Jin within two days. Although Shi Nai's troops had suffered heavy losses in the previous battle, they still had over 10,000 men. Add to that the 3,000 reinforcements sent by Jia Cong a few days ago and the 10,000 cavalry brought by Chen Ruiwen and the others, and their total number of troops was nearly 30,000.
Upon learning that Ma Shang and Sun Ze died in battle in Hongya, Shi Nai was also furious!
He had originally intended to launch a surprise attack on the allied forces mid-march, but from Hongya eastward, the allied forces had been marching along the banks of the Yishui River, leaving no suitable opportunity for a surprise attack. However, this was no problem. He had nearly 30,000 troops here, and Jia Cong's troops would surely arrive a few days later. As long as he blocked their path, they would be trapped.
Afterwards, they discussed and decided to send 4,000 soldiers to ambush the rear to prevent a surprise attack from the Jiajiang and Emei tribes. They also sent several thousand more soldiers dozens of miles south to ambush in the barren mountains of the Emei Mountains. Shi Nai personally led 20,000 soldiers and formed a battle array directly in front of the enemy army.
"Why don't we just charge at them?" Shi Nai said impatiently, "Otherwise, if they retreat directly back to Hongya, wouldn't that be troublesome?"
"Don't worry!" Liu Fang said, "Niu Chong will lead his troops to set out at the same time as us. The two of us will join forces with you, while Niu Chong will lead his troops to bypass Hongya."
"According to the time calculation, Niu Chong should have arrived in Hongya by now."
"The Xishan coalition didn't leave many soldiers in Hongya, and most of them are wounded. Although Niu Chong only has 5,000 men, it won't be a problem for him to capture Hongya ."
"We've already sent a troop of soldiers to ambush in the barren mountains dozens of miles away. If they don't go, it's fine. But if they really try to enter the mountains, they'll be dead. And to the north is Danleng. Now, these 20,000 soldiers are already on the chopping block, waiting for the Marshal to come and use them."
Shi Nai pounded his fist hard, "Ah!"
Jia Cong's troops arrived earlier than Shi Nai and others expected. On the third day after Shi Nai and others blocked the coalition troops, Jia Cong's vanguard general Lu Feng arrived first.
During these three days, Shi Nai and others did not attack, and the other side did not dare to move rashly. They sent scouts to contact the southern border troops in Jiajiang and Emei areas, while setting up camp and building fortifications on the spot for defense.
"Brother, where is the Marshal?" Shi Nai asked as he walked into the big tent towards Lu Feng.
Lu Feng sat down. "The Marshal's troops are about twenty miles behind me. What's the situation here? Can we engage them?"
Shi Nai shook his head and said, "These bastards are all hiding in the main camp. I wanted to go and steal their territory, but Liu Fang was afraid they were well-prepared, so he said we should wait until the commander-in-chief arrives."
"The Marshal asked you to come here, but what are your orders? Are you going to start a war?"
"The Marshal asked me to investigate the situation first before mobilizing the troops. What is the situation in the enemy camp now?"
Liu Fang gave a bitter laugh. "I don't know what this coalition army is thinking. Not only are they setting up camp at the front, but they've also built extremely solid fortifications."
"Not to mention their main camp, within a few miles around it, they've built numerous forts with earth and stone mounds and stationed troops there. This makes it impossible to launch a large-scale attack on their main camp. Unless they run out of food and fodder, they'll be able to remain huddled in this shell forever."
"However, they came from Yazhou and lost a large number of troops in Hongya, but they also have a lot of food and fodder. I'm afraid they won't be short of food and fodder in the short term."
After listening to the stories of Shi Nai and others, Lu Feng personally led his troops to explore the enemy camp, and then sent someone back to report to Jia Cong.
In the camp where Jia Cong was in the rear, after receiving the report, Jia Cong thought for a moment and then asked someone to invite Shen Tu Mou over.
After Shen Tu Mou entered the tent, Jia Cong spoke, "Ahead is the camp of the Western Mountain coalition forces. They currently have over 20,000 soldiers. However, the number of soldiers is secondary. The most important thing is that they are staying indoors. If we attack them by force, we will suffer heavy losses. Therefore, I would like to ask Elder Shen Tu for help!"
Shen Tumou was also knowledgeable about military affairs. After a brief thought, he understood. "The Marshal wants me to send some men into the enemy camp to help you defeat the enemy from both inside and outside?"
