Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 216 Two-Legged Sheep, Building a Mound of Jing!
Liangzhou, Jincheng Prefecture, Yuzhong County Government Office
The county magistrate, assistant magistrate, and registrar of Yuzhong County were all killed by the rebellious Huangzhong Yicong. Originally ordered to go south to help Jincheng County quell the rebellion, the Huangzhong Yicong revealed their ferocious nature after tricking the city gates open, and slaughtered the city. Almost all the people in the city were killed.

Perhaps a few women were "lucky" enough to become playthings of the Qiang people and eke out a living, and perhaps some Han people escaped the city, but ultimately they could not escape their tragic fate.

The former were two-legged sheep, and the latter had no water or food. A few were lucky enough to escape with some dry rations. They ate grass for a few days and became skin and bones, with sunken eyes and emaciated bodies. They happened to run into Huangfu Song's army.

After Huangfu Song rescued these people, he had the army doctor treat them, but only provided them with a small amount of thin white porridge and pickled vegetables.

It wasn't that Huangfu Song was reluctant to part with the grain; to be honest, he had never fought a battle with such abundant provisions before.

The food supply never stopped, His Highness the Crown Prince trusted him greatly and supported his choice of a steady and reliable strategy.

The official Du Ji, who had previously impeached the Crown Prince for treason, was indeed a talented man, even though he had arrested his chief clerk Liang Yan. The grain from Guandong was transported from Luoyang to the Taicang in Chang'an, and Du Ji coordinated the transportation of laborers and auxiliary soldiers, without ever delaying the process by even half a day.

Generals who lead troops into battle know that such logistical deployment capabilities are extremely rare!
The reason why Huangfu Song only provided thin porridge and pickled vegetables, and only enough to barely satisfy their hunger, was because he was afraid that these starving people would eat until their stomachs burst.

When he served as the governor of Beidi Commandery, he once saw starving people who ate and drank excessively after receiving food, and they swelled up to death.

Upon learning that the city had been almost entirely slaughtered by the Qiang and Hu tribes, Huangfu Songye was somewhat furious and ordered Sun Jian to lead the vanguard to Yuzhong City.

Vanguards are not responsible for paving the way with blood as others might think. Instead, they are responsible for clearing paths through mountains and building bridges over rivers. Therefore, Huangfu Song also intended to use these trivial matters to temper Sun Jian's character.

If a fierce tiger only knows how to fight, it will sooner or later be ambushed and killed by a cunning hunter.

However, after the enemy troops were at the city gates, Sun Jian immediately led his forces to attack the city.

Sun Jian's army consisted of two thousand cavalrymen, five thousand men from good families in the Three Auxiliary Regions, and five thousand auxiliary soldiers.

Enraged by the brutality of the Qiang and Hu tribes, Sun Jian, despite being persuaded by his brother-in-law Xu Zhen and his younger brother Sun Jing not to personally attack the city, still ordered Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Huang Gai, and Zu Mao to each lead two thousand troops to attack the city.

There was no gap in the three-way defense, no assists, and all four goals were the main attacking options.

With a shield in his left hand and the hilt of a ring-pommel sword in his mouth, Zu Mao personally climbed the city wall, becoming the first to scale it. He also secured a safe zone for the soldiers on his siege ladder, and successfully captured the city wall.

In less than an hour and a half, Yuzhong City was captured by Sun Jian. His troops lost less than 700 men, and all 5,000 Qiang and Hu people in the city were slaughtered on Sun Jian's orders. Their bodies were burned, and their heads were cut off to build a Jingguan (a mound of corpses).

Sun Jian was never a good-tempered person, and he would show no mercy to beasts.

Sun Jian showed exceptional gentleness towards the women who had been violated, and even handed over many Qiang and Hu prisoners to them to kill personally in order to vent his anger. The people of Liangzhou were not weak; even the women carried daggers at all times. If the villagers living outside the city heard the sound of gongs and drums in the village, they would immediately grab their weapons and rush out to defend themselves.

Even if they are in the middle of taking a bath, eating, or even having sex and don't have time to get dressed, everyone, regardless of age or gender, must rush out to protect the village immediately.

Many times, family members who were laughing and chatting together before going out with weapons may become cold corpses after the war, forever separated by death.

These women, their faces contorted with malice, gripped daggers and swords, chopping Qiang and Hu men into mincemeat until they collapsed from exhaustion or fainted from the overwhelming mental shock.

However, since capturing Yuzhong City, Huangfu Song's army has not advanced an inch. They did not go to rescue Chen Yi, the prefect of Jincheng, who was trapped in Yunwu and whose life was hanging by a thread, nor did they help Zhu Jun, the governor of Liangzhou, to quell the rebellion of the bandits in Heguan and Fuhan led by Song Jian of Fuhan. Instead, they stationed their troops in Yuzhong City.

Thirteen thousand soldiers from the Fuliang family, forty-three thousand soldiers from the Heliang family, two thousand infantry captains, two thousand imperial guards, five thousand Yongying soldiers, five thousand Chang'an soldiers, four thousand soldiers from the Jingzhao Prefecture, three thousand soldiers from the Youfufeng Prefecture, and fifteen thousand auxiliary soldiers, totaling eighty-six thousand troops stationed near Yuzhong City.

This distance was delicate for Beigong Boyu, who was besieging Yunwu. It was about 330 li from Yuzhong to Yunwu. Even at the maximum speed of 120 li per day for his more than 10,000 Huangzhong Yicong on horseback, it would take at least three days to arrive.

While the Huangzhong Yicong that arrived at that time were not exhausted, they were a welcome meal delivered to their doorstep. In other words, the location where the Han army was stationed was just outside the effective attack range of the Huangzhong Yicong.

After discussing with Beigong Boyu, Bian Zhang decided to gather the Liangzhou rebels to fight against Huangfu Song.

The Xianling Qiang, who had been defeated by Gai Xun at Ayang, joined forces with 10,000 men. Bian Zhang's rebel army numbered 30,000, Bei Gong Boyu and Li Wenhou's Huangzhong Yicong numbered 15,000, and the Qiang and Hu rebel army numbered 20,000. In addition, the Qiang from Jujiu, Shaodang, Zhong, Baima, and other groups joined forces, totaling 30,000 men. Almost all the rebel forces in the central and southern parts of Liangzhou had joined forces in one place.

Bei Gong Boyu's idea was simple: as long as Huangfu Song's army was defeated here, the fate of the Han Dynasty would be sealed.

Even if they cannot defeat Huangfu Song, a draw would be enough to make the Han army retreat in pain, and then these Qiang people would be able to regain dominance over Liangzhou!
Bian Zhang, on the other hand, felt that everyone was from Liangzhou, and Huangfu Song was just born into a good family, so what was there to be proud of!
Tomorrow, let's each lead 100,000 troops and see who comes out victorious and who suffers total annihilation!
Unfortunately, with the change of a certain person, history may no longer follow the predetermined path.

Huangfu Song was not in a hurry to quell the rebellion; otherwise, the rebels might have been able to fight this renowned general of the Han Dynasty to a standstill.

When the two armies lined up on the grassland outside Yuzhong City, Huangfu Song ignored the rebels' repeated provocations and challenges, and silently ordered his soldiers to continue building fortifications and improving defenses.

By the eleventh day, apart from the cavalry responsible for maintaining the daily supply lines, the nearly 100,000 troops were all holed up in their camps, showing no sign of going into battle.

Even though Beigong Boyu sent people to curse Huangfu Song's ancestors for eighteen generations, and especially to express his friendly intention to have some negative relationship with Huangfu Song's female ancestors, Huangfu Song only ordered his generals not to go into battle.

However, the Qiang and Hu rebels who were hurling insults at the emperor and crown prince became even more aggressive, even using foul language against them.

If the emperor deserves to be scolded, then so be it; but how could the generals and officers of the Han army tolerate the insults directed at the crown prince?
(End of this chapter)