When he left the next day, Han Yu hesitated but still decided to take Diao Chan and Cai Wenji with him.
Although the battle with the Heishan Bandits was full of dangers, Han Yu was even more worried about leaving the two girls in Yecheng.
If he brought them together, Han Yu would be able to protect them too.
In addition, along the way, he would also be able to chat with Diao Chan and Cai Wenji to improve their relationship.
Cai Wenji and Diao Chan were also willing to follow Han Yu to Changshan.
Even though the two girls knew Han Yu had gone to Changshan to eradicate the Heishan Bandits, they would still feel more comfortable following Han Yu together.
Especially Diao Chan, Wang Yun had given herself to Han Yu, and Diao Chan had already considered herself as Han Yu's person.
Naturally, wherever Han Yu went, she was also willing to go with him!
These days, Han Yu was quite busy, and because Diao Chan was still young, Han Yu had not eaten Diao Chan yet. (lol)
Seeing the beautiful faces of Diao Chan and Cai Yan, he thought that the two of them would temporarily stay in the military tent; his heart ached for a while.
Han Yu naturally handed over the safety of the two girls to Dian Wei.
With Dian Wei, Han Yu believed that nothing bad would happen.
Military commanders Zhang He and Gao Lan each led 5,000 infantry, while cavalry captain Ju Shou led 3,000 cavalries.
Moreover, the 500 horses that Han Yu had obtained from eliminating the Xiongnu barbarian tribe when he saved Cai Yan had been used to form 500 cavalrymen.
A total of 13,500 troops and cavalry were ready for battle.
They were all waiting for Han Yu's order to leave for Changshan.
Han Yu stood before the army and said loudly: "This time, the Heishan Bandits have invaded our Jizhou Province on a large scale.
All of you are our best men from Jizhou.
I hope that after we go to Changshan this time, all of you will fight the enemy valiantly and be able to return to Jizhou safely on Qingming day. (Chinese Memorial Day or Ancestors' Day, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, usually in early April.)
I, Han Yu, am a fair person in terms of military rewards and punishments.
As long as all of you adhere to military discipline and have performed military feats, I will reward all of you with proper rewards for your deeds.
But if I see any of you afraid of the enemy and violating military discipline, I will not forgive all of you so easily.
Do all of you understand?"
Now that Han Yu has broken through to 100 points of strength, even though he is young, he also has a majesty that is not haughty and arrogant.
At this time, his words were filled with momentum, and all the soldiers did not dare to refute.
"We will obey the General's orders!"
The crowd shouted in unison.
Han Yu nodded in satisfaction and continued: "As long as everyone is brave enough to go to war, this expedition, we will definitely be able to eradicate those Heishan Bandits in one fell swoop!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!
The soldiers shouted in unison again.
"Depart!"
...
The army departed from Yecheng to the north, and in less than five days, arrived in Changshan County through Zhao County.
Yuanshi County, the capital city of Changshan, is in the southernmost part of Changshan, close to Zhao County.
After millions of Heishan Bandits entered the County, the prefect who served there was afraid of the Heishan Bandits' momentum and fled.
The prefect was thinking clearly.
In any case, his position as prefect would be replaced by Han Yu.
Rather, why would he stay here to defend against those Heishan Bandits?
The prefect fled, and the county officials were even more panicked, and no one dared to fight against those fierce Heishan Bandits.
So many regional officials also fled.
Since all the officials had fled, the people were also afraid of the Heishan Bandit's might, so of course, they could only follow them.
As a result, the Heishan Bandits occupying Yuanshi County, the capital of Changshan.
At this moment, Yuanshi County already didn't look like the capital.
The entire city wall was dilapidated, and even the city was occupied by bandits.
Not only Yuanshi County, but now the entire county west of Changshan Mountain had been almost entirely occupied by the Heishan Bandits due to their proximity to Taihang Mountain.
Along the way, there were refugees everywhere.
"General, Yuanshi County is already in a dilapidated state and is unsuitable for use as a prefecture. At present, there are bandits everywhere in Changshan, and I am afraid that we do not know much about the arrival of the general's enemy troops.
It's very important that we find a suitable county to rebuild the county seat as soon as possible and issue an order.
Only in this way can we gather people around the county who have fled, and at the same time stabilize the county officials and people who have not been attacked by the Heishan Bandits, and then unite with them to defeat the enemy.
Otherwise, it won't be difficult for us to defeat the Heishan Bandits alone, but it will be very difficult to finish them all at once."
Looking at the dilapidated Yuanshi area, Guo Jia frowned slightly and suggested.
Han Yu nodded, knowing what Guo Jia said.
The Heishan bandits claimed to have a million troops, if not a million, there were hundreds of thousands.
When Han Yu regained the county seat, he would have to leave some of his armies to defend the county, and the number of troops in his hands would be less and less.
In this way, if he faced Zhang Yan's main force, how would he be able to resist?
The most important thing was to stabilize the people who were scattered, gather the fleeing soldiers, give them hope, and let them return to their territory.
What Han Yu wanted was the entire Changsan.
What he wanted wasn't Changshan where people fled to.
At this time Han Yu nodded and asked, "What is the situation in Changshan now? How many counties are still not occupied by the Heishan Bandits?"
The scout replied: "Reporting to the general, there are a lot of thieves in the county, and it is difficult to fight.
Changshan Commanderies has a total of thirteen counties.
Currently, Shangai, Jingxing, Wuji, Lingshou, Yuanshi, and southern Tang had been occupied by the Heishan Bandits. Although the other counties were still struggling, they would not last long.
Han Yu nodded, frowning slightly.
Changshan had a total of thirteen counties, but he didn't want to have six counties occupied by the Heishan Bandits.
Almost half of the county has fallen, it can be said that the current situation is very critical.
However, Han Yu knew that these five counties were all west of Changshan, at the foot of Mount Taihang.
The Heishan bandits attacked aggressively, and they were naturally the first to be attacked, it made sense that they had already been occupied.
Of course, this also had something to do with the officials who didn't dare to fight back, but now was not the time for accountability.
There are also eight counties in eastern Changshan.
The east side of Changshan Mountain is plain, and there is no danger to defend. If the other eight counties were also occupied by the Heishan Bandits, the consequences would be disastrous.
Shaking his head gently, Han Yu knew that this was not the time to worry.
Han Yu said to the crowd: "Now the Heishan Bandits are so strong that they can attack our county, but we can't fight them for a long time.
The most urgent task was to find the main forces of those Heishan Bandits as soon as possible and destroy them in one fell swoop. This attack must be quickly put down within two months."
Everyone heard what he said.
The damage caused by these Heishan Bandits was simply too great.
It could be said that it immediately made people uneasy.
Moreover, two months later is spring, which is the time for plowing the fields.
If the war cannot be stopped immediately and the spring plowing is postponed, further food problems may soon overwhelm the prefecture and the governor's house.
Han Yu asked again, "Which county in Changshan is the most suitable for the prefecture?"
"Zhending County has high city walls, abundant water sources, and many fields, which are sufficient to support troops and serve as a prefecture."
At the side, Ju Shou spoke up.
Han Yu nodded and asked Zhao Yun: "Zilong, I remember that you are from Zhending?"
"Yes."
Zhao Yun nodded and said.
"In that case, let's go to Zhending, set up the county seat, and then spread the news to the counties to appease the people and make them come back to us."
Han Yu gave the order.
Shijiazhuang is a well-known paper farmer's place. Of course, Han Yu knew that this was Shijiazhuang's location in the next generation. It's a good location there.
"How do we deal with the Heishan Bandits in Yuanshi County?"
Zhao Yun could not help asking.
Han Yu thought for a moment and asked, "Are you aware of the Heishan Bandit situation in Yuanshi County? Who is in command? How many soldiers and cavalry do they have?"
Zhao Yun replied: "Yuanshi County is occupied by Heishan Army Commander Yu Du, Bo Rao, and Zhang Damu.
Among them, Yu Du is the commander who has the largest number of troops, which is known to be around 160,000, Bo Rao has about 120,000 people, and Zhang Damu only has 40,000 people.
Yu Du and Bo Rao were the two most famous Commanders in the Heishan army besides Zhang Yan, and they were very capable.
The three of them claimed to have over 300,000 people, but Yun estimated that there were only 20,000 to 30,000 people who could fight. "
Han Yu nodded and said, "No wonder they dare to occupy the county seat, it seems that Yu Du and Bo Rao have some ability."
After saying this, Han Yu asked Guo Jia again: "Fengxiao, in your opinion, should we go to Zhending as soon as possible to protect the other county towns that have not been captured, or should we get rid of Yu Du, Bo Rao and others who are in Yuanshi first?"
"Of course!"
Guo Jia smiled lightly without giving any explanation.
Han Yu asked again: "Gongyu, Zilong, Junyi, what are your thoughts?"
"Attack! Time to teach that group of Heishan Bandits a lesson."
Ju Shou also nodded and said, "We mustn't give them a chance to fight back, the General must already have the same intentions in mind!"
Han Yu nodded and smiled and said, "Now that we have just arrived in Changshan, perhaps the officials and people in the county saw that I am still young and thought that I would not be able to defeat those Heishan Bandits and save them!
It seems that the momentum of this Heishan Bandit will soon fade, and at that time, we can increase the strength of our troops, inspire everyone, raise morale, and let the people and officials of other countries know that with us, those Heishan Bandits will not be able to take another step!"
Everyone nodded.
Right now, Changshan County had been attacked by millions of Heishan Bandits and people were panicking all day long.
Now it is time to achieve a big victory to revive everyone's morale!
…
Thank you for reading!