Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 437 Singing and Advancing
Yang Jia's body was covered with wounds, which were left when he crossed Yinping Mountain.

Although they had made sufficient preparations, the difficulty of crossing Yinping Mountain still exceeded everyone's expectations.

Although Su Ze had repaired many plank roads in advance, some dangerous places could only accommodate two people walking side by side. Some places were so densely wooded and overgrown with thorns that there was no way to open a path, and they could only force their way through the thorn bushes.

This is not the most difficult part, because the road on Yinping Mountain is really difficult to walk on. Even if arrangements are made in advance, nature will create a lot of trouble.

For example, when the march was halfway through, the wooden planks of a suspension bridge collapsed. In the end, Hou Jing led the way and climbed the bridge across the ropes. Yang Jia glanced at the abyss below. The screams of his comrades who could not hold on and fell to their deaths were still his midnight nightmare.

There were wild beasts and landslides in the mountains, and Hou Jing's troops even got lost. They finally found the right path under the guidance of a guide appointed by the Duke of Su County.

But these are not the most difficult ones.

The biggest challenge of field marching is the weather.

It is already June, and the summer rainy season has arrived in the northwest.

Hou Jing's army encountered three consecutive days of rainfall. The already slippery rocks became even more difficult to walk on. Even more terrifying was the mudslide caused by the heavy rain. The rolling mud poured down along with the rocks, and an entire battalion of soldiers disappeared.

In this way, Hou Jing's team of 2,000 people who set out from Dazhong, after a month of crossing the Yinping Mountains, only had 1,000 people left.

These thousand men were no different from the savages, their armor was in tatters, and Yang Jia hadn't had a full meal for several days.

Even the main general Hou Jing was in bad condition. His face was covered with wounds and his arm was dislocated during a rock climbing session. He still couldn't use his strength.

But when Hou Jing saw Jiangyou City, a smile appeared on his monkey-like face.

Since Deng Ai's surprise attack on Shu, there has been no record of a large army passing through the Yinping Ancient Road. Even small groups of merchants would not choose to cross the Shu Road this way.

However, Sichuan had been at peace for too long, and the defenders of Jiangyou City had become very lax. They did not even have the basic city defense discipline. Even during the day, when the four gates were open, no soldiers could be seen guarding the city.

When Hou Jing drew out his sword, he felt a sharp pain in his right arm. He raised his sword with his left hand and said:

"Brothers! We are alone and deep in the enemy territory. We have no way to retreat! Jiangyou City is right in front of us. Only if we capture Jiangyou can we survive!"

Yang Jia glanced at the vast mountains behind him. He knew very well that it was impossible for him to cross Yinping Mountain again. General Hou was right. There was really no way out this time.

The soldiers of the government were elite already, and it was hopeless for them to wrestle with nature in the mountains. However, looking at the Jiangyou City with its gates wide open, everyone vented their anger on it.

When Hou Jing announced the attack, a thousand barbarian-like soldiers rushed out.

Before the defenders in Jiangyou City could react, Hou Jing's army had already rushed into the city.

By the time the defending generals reacted, several soldiers from the palace, who looked like savages, had directly charged into the military camp in the city, and the Jiangyou defenders were immediately defeated.

The battle did not last an hour. The county magistrate of Jiangyou City was captured and the defending general was killed. Hou Jing immediately opened the treasury of Jiangyou City and rewarded all the silk and property looted by the county magistrate to the soldiers.

Hou Jing then announced to the people of Jiangyou City that all the exorbitant taxes in Jiangyou would be abolished, and all the slaves of the local wealthy families would be released and incorporated into the army to form a slave army, distributing weapons from the arsenal to these slaves.

Like other areas of Southern Liang, Yizhou had a very developed slave economy on large estates because Xiao Yan did not prohibit land annexation and intentionally or unintentionally improved the status of the aristocratic families.

The result of allowing these wealthy families to develop the manor economy is that self-cultivating farmers continue to go bankrupt and become slaves.

Hou Jing liberated these slaves and promised to distribute land to them according to the equal-field system. He also gave them weapons, and soon he formed an army of 2,000 people.

Of course, this slave army cannot fight a tough battle, but with their large numbers, they will have no problem fighting a favorable battle.

After the battle, Hou Jing ordered the soldiers to rest in the city for only one day. After the food in Jiangyou City was eaten up, he asked each soldier to carry five days of dry food and immediately head to Mianzhu, the northern gateway of Chengdu.
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At the foot of Nanzhong City, Wang Sengbian looked at the city. Why did things develop differently from what he expected?
I thought I was moving very quickly and I did take advantage of the shortage of troops in Nanzhong City. However, the Nanliang army also had problems. They crossed the Shu Road to attack the city and had no siege equipment at all.

The commander of Nanzhong City, Song Zixian, was also a ruthless man. He directly implemented a policy of clearing the countryside outside the city. Not only did he evacuate all the villagers, he also burned all the trees and bamboo forests within a few miles.

The result was that Wang Sengbian could not find cannon fodder to die, and he had to cut down trees to make siege weapons from far away, so the progress of the siege was extremely slow.

Wang Sengbian was reluctant to use his 5,000 Jingzhou soldiers for a strong attack, so after two days of fierce attack, the progress quickly slowed down.

Wang Sengbian was prepared to wait for the Yizhou soldiers in the rear to arrive and then drive them as cannon fodder to attack the city. He kept sending people to urge the Yizhou soldiers in the rear, but he received a piece of news that made him furious: the Yizhou soldiers were still in Jiange and had no intention of leaving at all.

Wang Sengbian was so angry that he sent messengers to urge them to leave, but the generals of the Yizhou army still pretended to obey and refused to leave. Wang Sengbian was nominally the commander-in-chief, but he had no direct affiliation with the Yizhou army, and the other party was not his old subordinate, so he really had no way to deal with it.

Sending people to chop off the generals of the Yizhou army? It is still unclear whether you, Wang Sengbian, a military judge, can enter the enemy's camp. Doing so would be tantamount to a fight.

You have to know that Wang Sengbian is a guest army and his logistical supplies are in the hands of others.

The Yizhou army also has its own opinion.

You people of Jingzhou have no moral principles. You rushed through the Shu Road just to grab the credit. Aren't you capable? Then why don't you attack Nanzhong City on your own?
It was because he suffered a setback in the attack on Nanzhong City that he thought of himself. Then why didn’t he think of himself when you were scrambling for the credit?
The Yizhou Group itself was somewhat xenophobic because of the outsiders brought by Xiao Ji. Now Xiao Ji doesn't trust the Yizhou people when fighting, and has to transfer troops from Jingzhou to fight, so he might as well just leave it to these outsiders.

Wang Sengbian had no choice but to send people to Chengdu to ask Xiao Ji, the governor of Yizhou, to issue an order to urge the Yizhou army to cross the Shu Road as soon as possible.

This back and forth bought Song Zixian some time, and the two thousand palace soldiers finally arrived at Nanzhong City, making Song Zixian more confident in defending the city.
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There was a lot of summer rain this year. Looking at the green farmlands on both sides of the road, Yang Jia couldn't help but think of his own fields.

I don't know if my wife can handle it all by herself. Maybe the neighbors can help, right?

The war horses collected by the neighbors were left in Da Zhong, but when in Jiangyou City, because Yang Jia was the first to control the city gate, he was personally commended by Hou Jing and given a war horse.

Yang Jia thought of the Shu brocades in the Jiangyou treasury. What wonderful things they were! He had never seen such good fabrics in his life. If he made a set of clothes for his wife, he would be the most famous person in the surrounding villages!

The spoils were also left in Jiangyou, and General Hou promised that everyone could take them all home after the war.

No one does not believe in General Hou, just like no one does not believe in Duke Su.

General Hou led everyone through the difficult road of Yinping Mountain. Jiangyou City has been taken, and now Mianzhu is in sight. General Hou's goal is being achieved bit by bit.

This is how war is fought. The prestige of a commander is built up through battle after battle.

The soldiers know clearly who they follow to win the battle, and it is useless to love their soldiers like their own sons if they cannot win the battle.

We will reach Mianzhu City tomorrow, so Yang Jia ordered the army to stop marching.

When crossing the Yinping Mountain, the captain of Yang Jia's team died. This time, he was promoted to captain because of his merit.

Shu is indeed a rich land.

Just for taking down a small city like Jiangyou, he received so many rewards. What if he took down Mianzhu or Chengdu?

Yang Jia didn't dare to think about it.

The soldiers all thought so too. They were all holding back their anger and had come thousands of miles to fight in Shu. Wasn't it just for wealth and glory, so that their families could live a good life?
Yang Jia thought of the captain who had died again. The other party seemed to be not far from his home. If he could return alive, he must take good care of his family.

The next day,

Hou Jing's speed was too fast. Although the people in Mianzhu City had received the news, they had not yet gathered their troops before Hou Jing had already started attacking the city.

This time, Yang Jia was the first to climb the city wall, but the defenders of Mianzhu had already lost their will to resist. By the time the defender in Mianzhu killed the local chief and surrendered to Hou Jing, the soldiers seemed to be dreaming.

The army was less than a hundred miles away from Chengdu City. Was the crazy plan of quickly seizing Chengdu actually going to be realized?

Hou Jing followed the same plan, opened the treasury in Mianzhu, liberated the local slaves, and formed another 5,000 slave soldiers.

Then he selected one thousand slave soldiers who had fought bravely in the last battle and added them to the regular army.

In fact, the soldiers were on the verge of collapse at this time, but Hou Jing did not rest.

War is a test of willpower. In the life-and-death fight, both sides are actually pushed to the brink of life and death.

Hou Jing, who had fought in the Six Garrisons, knew very well that in this situation, once people relaxed, it would take a long time for them to recover their combat state.

Our side is exhausted, but the enemy is even more frightened. Both sides are holding on to their last breath, and now it depends on who falls first.

Hou Jing also received news that Xiao Ji, the governor of Yizhou in Southern Liang, was not in Chengdu. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Not to be missed!
(End of this chapter)