bookcurios Chapter 144 Outside Jingyang City
Chapter 144 Outside Jingyang City
Yan Ruxiang was in his forties and had become the governor of Qin territory, all by fighting his way through.
In the eighth year of Tianqi in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Northern Xiongnu had not yet become a powerful force. They joined forces with the Qiang and Di tribes and led an army of 100,000 soldiers south from what is now the territory of Xiliang, all the way to the city of Chang'an.
Jingyang, March.
To the north of the Jing River, in the hinterland of the "Eight Hundred Li Qinchuan", it borders Sanyuan County and Gaoling District to the east, Weiyang District of Xianyang City to the south, and faces Liquan County across the Jing River to the west. It is adjacent to Chunhua County and Sanyuan County in the north, relying on Beizhong Mountain and Sha'e Mountain.
The key area of Jingyang is just a small enclosure surrounded by a gap and an earthen wall that is only about ten feet high at its highest point. There are only a hundred households left in the city.
Hundreds of ministers, generals, officials, more than a thousand women and children, servants, and tens of thousands of remaining soldiers crowded in in an instant. Most of them could hardly find a place to curl up and lie down.
More soldiers were blocked outside the ruins, especially those fleeing from the north, who built human walls within a few hundred steps outside the city.
Among the corpses were refugees and soldiers who were shot and injured and could not be rescued.
It was freezing cold at the time, and tens of thousands of corpses were piled up in layers and poured with water, freezing overnight.
His head was facing forward, his face looked somewhat ferocious, his eyes were wide open, and it was quite scary to look at him up close.
Among the crowd was a captain, Yan Ruxiang.
"The superiors have ordered that those from Yanqing defend the first line to the death. After holding out for a day, you can retreat and rest."
At the end of the team, there was a mounted officer who was unable to enter the city and could only act as a messenger.
"Each soldier has a steamed bun, picks up the weapons and swords on the ground, and perhaps there is still a way to resist..."
Yan Ruxiang was already numb from shouting at the top of his lungs. There were less than 20,000 people outside the city who were able to fight, and the rest were refugees.
"Let's fight! Anyone who doesn't fight is a coward! A coward!"
Someone in the crowd shouted, "Maybe they are too hungry, so let's get something to eat first."
"Mom, I'm going to join the army. I'll get you half a bun first."
Another man cried and said.
"I'm joining the army, give me some steamed bread first..."
People kept shouting.
The city wall was not high, and the steamed buns were hung down in bamboo baskets. The officer ordered people to guard it, and then line up to receive them.
The steamed bun is hard, but it tastes delicious when chewed.
Yan Ruxiang had only more than 800 men under his command, but after hearing the officer's call, he recruited several hundred more people.
"Captain, can you spare me half a bun? My mother and sister depend on me for support. They might not be alive tomorrow. I'd like to leave them half a bun. If I die, they'll have the strength to collect my body."
Looking at the dark and muddy face, the clothes were tattered and the feet were wrapped in rags, and it seemed that he was not wearing shoes.
"Here's one for you. Go find a pair of shoes over there. There's also armor in the tent. Find one and put it on first."
Yan Ruxiang signaled to his men, gave the young man an extra steamed bun, and then spoke with concern.
He didn't want to ask the young people their names. Most of them would not be back tomorrow night, and asking these questions would only cause more trouble.
Do I have to remember these people?
What does it have to do with me?
The same thing is happening at this moment.
Yan Ruxiang could have refused these requests, but when he thought about what might happen tomorrow, he decided to be a nice guy again.
"Captain, my name is Yan Dongsheng. My mother said thank you, you are a good person."
"Oh, Yan Dongsheng, remember, my name is Yan Ruxiang."
"Yan Ruxiang, that's great. We're from the same family. I'm marrying above my station!" The young man's name was Yan Dongsheng. After hearing what Yan Ruxiang said, a happy smile broke out on his face.
In fact, he didn't know that his "Yan" and Yan Ruxiang were not from the same family.
However, Yan Ruxiang saw that he was happy and did not expose it.
"Have you found the right shoes?" Yan Ruxiang still thought about what happened just now and asked casually.
"Found it, but the icing is a little damp. I'll bake it later."
"Well, gather around the fire tonight so you don't freeze to death tomorrow."
Seeing Yan Dongsheng's clothes were torn to pieces, Yan Ruxiang couldn't help but play the role of a good guy again.
The so-called shoes were nothing more than clogs wrapped in linen. They were cold and hard to wear on the feet, but they were better than nothing.
Outside the city where corpses are scattered all over the countryside, it takes a lot of courage to pick shoes off the dead!
The cold wind blew wildly across the wilderness. Blood mixed with mud, after being trampled repeatedly, had turned into sticky brown mud. It was dragged out of the passage and formed obvious traces after freezing.
Although it was night, there were no stars or moon, and not a single light could be seen in the chaotic sky.
A white crack appeared in the sky, looking like the corner of a devil's eye in the dark night sky.
Outside the city of Jingyang, there were a few felt tents filled with soldiers, and outside the tents were crowded with refugees, who huddled close to the tents to absorb the faint warmth.
"Alas, they missed the best chance to escape."
Seeing this, Yan Ruxiang sighed and said, "Bring some more firewood and let these refugees light a fire outside the tent. Remember to keep it in the leeward side of the tent and have someone watch over it.
Also, we need to provide extra weapons and distribute them to those who are willing to help.”
The person accompanying him was a captain in Yan Ruxiang's team. His surname was Chai and his name was Jin, just as his name suggested.
According to Yan Ruxiang's instructions, all the firewood within the power was distributed that night, as were the worn-out weapons.
Seeing this, the other battalions also followed suit, it was just a matter of how many.
The next day.
In the center of Jingyang City, a few hundred steps away, there was no supreme commander, only the officers who shouted slogans yesterday.
"Brothers outside the city, young and old men who can hold weapons, come with me and kill those Northern Huns. If I die, I will take your lieutenants and captains with me. They are all officers. You must follow them closely."
His voice was hoarse because he shouted too much yesterday. Today, Yan Ruxiang and others who were a little further away could not hear his voice.
Anyway, they came for their morning food, perhaps their last meal of the day.
The people in the city also knew the situation outside the city. A lot of food might not have been given to the soldiers, but it was not wasted anyway. After finishing this meal, there might be more for the next one...
Soldiers and refugees ate together.
Fortunately, someone boiled hot water today.
The water looks a bit murky, but this is no longer the time to worry about it.
Chenshi.
The sunlight penetrated the clouds in the sky, making the chaos a little clearer.
The Northern Hun coalition army sent 30,000 vanguard troops.
Yelu Qi looked at the dilapidated scene outside Jingyang City and said to his companion Connie Qiwa with a smile.
"I told you that the Great Zhou Dynasty is not good enough, but those old guys still won't listen. You guys shouldn't suffer any loss by following me."
"Captain, there are quite a few people outside the city. We only have 30,000 people. My generals and that old fellow Li Weize are leisurely at the back. We should wait for them."
"Don't be afraid. Let me kill those people under the city first. When the army arrives, we can just attack the low city wall directly."
Connie Qiwawa had no way to deal with such an arrogant guy. If Yelu Qi had not insisted on dragging her along yesterday, she would have been cleaning up the spoils in the back.
"A warlike fellow will surely be the king of the grassland in the future."
Connie Qiwa complained inwardly.
Although she was dissatisfied, Connie Qiwa still recognized Yelu Qi in her heart. This guy was able to stand out in the Northern Xiongnu and was definitely not an ordinary person.
And this time the Yelu tribe wanted to unite them to build a new kingdom.
This kingdom started in the Beiliang area, but Li Weize seemed to disagree, arguing that Yelu Qi's ideas were too radical and that taking too big a step could easily lead to disaster.