Chapter 3 Storm Section 8 At the end of this month, Niu Fu commanded the Northern Army to launch an attack on the Northern Xinjiang Army on the front line of the Candle River in Guanxi.

At the same time, the Northern Army had accumulated a large number of troops, horses, and ships on the opposite bank of Pubanjin, intending to attack the east of the Yellow River after it opened.

Hedong Taishou Wang Yi and Diannong Zhonglang General Zuo Yan asked Xu Rong and Jinyang for help respectively. Xu Rong, Yu Shi, and Zhang He carefully analyzed the situation and believed that the attack posture of the Northern Army at Pubanjin was to contain the strength of the Northern Xinjiang Army and to plan for the offensive on the Kansai battlefield, and the possibility of a feint attack was very high.

But once Dong Zhuo knew that the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army had all arrived on the Jizhou battlefield, this feint attack would immediately turn into a strong attack.

Hedong is a place that is related to the survival of northern Xinjiang and is a place where the northern Xinjiang army must be saved.

At this time, the Northern Xinjiang Army in Guanxi could only abandon Luoyang and concentrate all its forces to defend Hedong. At present, the grain and materials purchased from Jing, Henan, and Yangzhou in northern Xinjiang are still being transported to Jinyang through Hongnong and Maojindu, and the war situation in Guanxi is very important, and it is impossible to mobilize troops to support Hedong.

Xu Rong then suggested that the Jinyang Imperial Court immediately recruit 10,000 Hedong Tuntian soldiers to support Pubanjin, and sent Zhang Baiqi south to lead the Hedong army to resist the imminent attack of the northern army.

Xu Rong was anxious to write the hussar general Li Hong. Dong Zhuo's judgment of the situation is very accurate, and his determination is very great.

Judging from the existing offensive of the Northern Army, Dong Zhuo obviously wanted to recapture the Kwantung region, occupy Luoyang, and control the initiative.

The Northern Xinjiang Army's strength in the Kansai direction is limited, and it is difficult to block the sharp attacks of the Northern Army on the two battlefields of Hedong and Kansai at the same time, so the development of the situation in the next few months is not optimistic.

Xu Rong said in the letter that if Dong Zhuo got the news of the Jizhou battlefield, he would definitely do his best to attack Hedong, and at this time I could only choose Hedong and give up Guandong to Dong Zhuo.

If the general could not completely solve Gongsun Zhan and Yuan Shao around April, then in order to avoid the dilemma of the northern Xinjiang being exposed to the enemy, the general should immediately change his strategy and seek to occupy half of Jizhou instead, reduce and suspend the war in Jizhou, and ensure the survival of the northern Xinjiang.

After reading the letter, Li Hong shook his head and handed the letter to Koji Yi, who came in a hurry.

"Look at it, Dong Zhuo is in a hurry to occupy Luoyang, and he moves so fast. Zilie (Xu Rong) and Congyi (Jade) They had a hard fight. ”

"If we can successfully complete the siege, the fighting in Jizhou can be expected to end before April." Zhu Mu said worriedly,

"I wonder if the two generals, Zhang Yan and Zhao Yun, have already met?" Li Hong smiled,

"No matter how the battle in Jizhou is fought, Hedong must ensure that there is no worries. Anxious Shuyu Xing (Xian Yufu), Zhong Yuan, and Zilie, told them that Luoyang could abide by the rules, but if they couldn't, they would give up immediately and let Dong Zhuo and the prefectures and counties fight each other. Northern Xinjiang should avoid fighting on two fronts as much as possible, and even if it cannot be avoided, it should shorten the time of fighting on two fronts as much as possible and reduce the loss of money and grain in northern Xinjiang to the greatest extent. ”

"However, if Kanto loses ......," Zhu Mu said again.

"Gongding, don't worry about the safety of your uncle, before I left Kanto, I had repeatedly instructed Zilie and Zishan (Yan Liang). If they withdraw from Kanto, they must bring their uncle with them. Li Hong whispered comforting.

"Thank you, General." Zhu Mu bowed and thanked,

"Although I am very worried about my father's safety, I am even more worried about the safety of the community...... Li Hong looked at him.

"As early as when I left Luoyang to go north, I said to Zilie, whether it is Kanto or Luoyang, we can defend it, and if we can't keep it, we will let it go as soon as possible. Now our goal is Jizhou, Kanto and Luoyang are not our focus, and we do not need to consume troops there. ”

"The revitalization policy set by the imperial court is based on Hebei." Koji Yi handed the letter to Wen Chou, who came later, and said with a smile,

"No matter who occupies Luoyang in the future, as long as he does not submit to the imperial court, it will be a dead end." Luoyang's position in Zhu Mu's heart is supreme and the foundation of the Han Dynasty.

Luoyang cannot be controlled by the imperial court, which means the overthrow of Sheji, and it means that the road to save Sheji is more difficult and tortuous.

Zhu Mu let out a long sigh, very sad and bitter in his heart.

"Zilie doesn't seem to have confidence in us to quickly pacify Jizhou?" Koji Yoshiki continued,

"Can't we solve Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao?"

"Zilie's worries are very reasonable." Li Hong said,

"According to the calculation of time, the eastern section of the Yellow River has been thawed and opened, and the great battle of the northern army attacking the east of the river has begun." If Niu Fu's tens of thousands of troops entangled the Northern Xinjiang Army in Guanxi and prevented the Northern Xinjiang Army from crossing the river to come back, and Dong Zhuo sent heavy troops to attack Hedong at the same time, then Zhang Baiqi's 10,000 Tuntian soldiers would not be able to stop the Northern Army.

In order to secure Hedong, we must recruit more Tuntian soldiers into the battlefield. The more troops in northern Xinjiang participate in the war, the more astonishing the expenditure on food and salaries will be, and under such circumstances, northern Xinjiang is bound to be unsustainable, so it has to abandon two-front warfare.

"The general, like Zilie, has no confidence in the battle of the boundary bridge?" Wen Chou asked as he stood aside.

"Of course there is faith." Li Hong smiled and pointed to the dark sky,

"But God has to help me." Part of the Northern Xinjiang army retreated to the north bank of the boundary bridge, and part relied on the horses, deer barricades and trenches that had been arranged, and set up a defensive position, preparing to meet the Youzhou army.

Hundreds of bonfires were lit on both sides of the bridge, and the scorching light of the fires lit up the night sky. The officers and men of the Northern Xinjiang Army held their weapons and gathered around the fire to warm up and rest.

From time to time, the cold wind floating over the Qinghe River could hear the slight snoring of the soldiers, the gentle neighing of the war horses, and the occasional sound of burning firewood

"Crackling" sound. In the big tent of the Chinese army on the north bank, Li Hong, Liyi, Zhu Mu and other military officials were still discussing the military situation.

In today's two battles of Xifeng Pavilion and Yunting, the Northern Xinjiang Army lost nearly 5,000 people. Due to the haste of the retreat, all the seriously wounded were discarded, except for a part of the lightly wounded who could persist in walking back to the boundary bridge with the army.

The seriously wounded who were left on the battlefield had only one fate, and that was death, so Zhu Mu counted them all in the number of casualties.

Li Hong's heart is like a knife. In order to lead Gongsun Zhan to the boundary bridge, in order to pacify Jizhou in a war, the Northern Xinjiang Army paid a huge price.

These brothers who once followed their expedition to the desert did not die under the iron hooves of the Hu people, but died under the rebellious sword of the Han people.

"If I don't kill Gongsun Zhan, I swear not to be a man." Li Hong gritted his teeth and was furious. For a long time, he has always regarded Gongsun Chan as a friend.

But in my heart, there is very little interaction between myself and Gongsun Zhan. Whether Gongsun Chan regards himself as a friend or not, he doesn't know.

In the early days, when the invading Xianbei people were fighting in Youzhou, he and Gongsun Zhan had gathered twice.

For the first time, I was very drunk. The second time, Gongsun Chan led the iron horse to Xiliang to participate in the war, and he met him in Jicheng, and ate Gongsun Chan for nothing.

Later, when he led the army from northern Xinjiang to Youzhou to quell Zhang Chun's rebellion, the two were busy with war and only met a few times.

At that time, he was already a general, and Gongsun Chan was still a lieutenant. In the past, Gongsun Zhan's official position was higher than his own, and he wanted to perform the official salute when he saw him, but now it is reversed, and his official position is much higher than that of Gongsun Zhan, so Gongsun Chan is very embarrassed.

I don't care if Gongsun Chan is willing to give himself the gift of being an official, after all, Gongsun Chan is a hero in his mind.

But later, he was very angry at him for repeatedly violating military discipline and insisting on attacking without listening to dissuasion, and as a result, he was surrounded by the Karasuma people in Guanzi Castle.

Although he tried his best to excuse him later, he began to be very dissatisfied with him.

The contradiction between Gongsun Chan and Liu Yu has been going on for a long time. Gongsun Zhan's vendetta against the Hu people was not only unacceptable to Liu Yu, but he was also extremely disgusted.

But everyone has their own opinions and ways of acting, and as long as Gongsun Chan does not endanger the interests of the Han Kingdom, he can understand and tolerate it.

What's more, when Gongsun Chan was in charge of the military affairs of the three states, he obeyed his military orders and helped him a lot.

However, in the matter of the Youzhou army going south to Jizhou, he was very disappointed and angry with Liu Yu and Gongsun Zhan.

As Lord Lu Zhi said, these people have no Son of Heaven in their eyes, and there is no imperial court. Only by killing, all these arrogant and perverting people who have bent the law and caused chaos in the society have been killed, and if they are afraid of killing, the Great Han Kingdom will be saved, and there will be hope for revitalization.

After Gongsun Zhan went south, he first teamed up with Yuan Shao to force away Jizhou Mu Hanfu, and then forced Yuan Shao to cede Jizhou County to him as a territory.

Thinking of these things, Li Hong was angry. The Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty is still in Chang'an, Han Zuo has not been severed, and the imperial court is still dealing with state affairs.

Especially Yuan Shao, holding that something

"Undertaking the edict", casually worshipping the officials of Fengzhou County, Liu Biao, Wang Qiu, Cao Cao, Zhou Ang, etc., are all local officials he worships.

These people are grabbing territory, expanding their power, provoking wars, and destroying lives. Li Hong felt unbelievable that such a rebellious person had the support of most scholars in the world.

I remember that when I was just preparing to go south to Jinyang the year before last, I went to the Yunzhong camp to persuade myself to lead the army to attack Luoyang.

At that time, he said that Yuan Shao was the mainstay of saving the Han, but how do you think this Yuan Shao is also a disaster for the country, what he does will only make the society overturn, and it has nothing to do with saving the society.

Are you wrong? Thinking about it, so many men and scholars in the Great Han Kingdom supported Yuan Shao, it seems that they were wrong.

But since I didn't betray the Han, the court, or the Son of Heaven, then it must be the scholars, the gate lords, Yuan Shao, and Gongsun Zan who betrayed the Han Dynasty, the court and the Son of Heaven.

Rebels, according to the law of the Han Dynasty, should be punished by the nine tribes. The sound of horses' hooves shattered the silence of the night. Zhao Yun sent someone to deliver urgent military information.

The left and right armies that had outflanked the two flanks had met at the foot of Ganling City this afternoon, but Yuan Shao had fled.

Our army on the left has successfully conquered Tobu Castle and is making a detour in the direction of the boundary bridge, and we can complete the encirclement of Gongsun Zhan's army in the early morning of tomorrow.

Zhang Yan also sent a battle report. Wang Dang's army tried its best to chase all the way, and caught up with the Jizhou army in Dahe, and the two sides fought fiercely.

Yuan Shao ordered the army to burn all the grain and grass and baggage, cutting off Wang Dang's pursuit. Wang Dang sighed at the fire, and could only watch the Jizhou army get out of trouble.

In this battle, about 6,000 people were killed, wounded, and captured, plus the 3,000 defenders we killed at Yecheng, Yuan Shao lost a total of about 10,000 troops and all the grain and grass baggage, and Yuan Shao suffered heavy losses.

At present, the army has surrounded Ganling City, and will attack immediately after the follow-up grain and grass baggage arrives.

Yu Yigen has already led 8,000 people to Yunting in a hurry, and he can complete the encirclement of Gongsun Chan in the early morning of tomorrow morning, completely cutting off Gongsun Chan's retreat.

Because our army suffered 6,000 casualties when attacking Yecheng, Sun Qin left another 5,000 people to defend the city, and Yu Yigen led 8,000 people to Yunting, so my siege army is now only 30,000 people.

With a force of 30,000 troops, it was difficult to attack the heavily defended city of Ganling, so it was ...... Zhang Yan immediately put forward a new strategy of only encircling and not fighting, and preparing to encircle and annihilate Tian Kai and Liu Bei's army who were about to cross the river with Zhao Yun's iron cavalry.

In order to implement the strategy of outflanking and encircling, the left and right armies had to detour hundreds of miles, and each had to capture a city, which was very difficult.

Although Li Hong, Liyi, Zhang Yan and others carefully planned for this for more than three months, Li Hong and the generals were not sure whether it would be successful in the real implementation.

At this time, after receiving the news that Yuan Shao had escaped and Gongsun Zhan was besieged, there was jubilation in the big tent. Conquering two cities and besieging Gongsun Chan was a huge victory.

After the defeat of Gongsun Zhan, the Northern Frontier Army could free up its hands to recover Bohai County and Hejian Kingdom, and sweep away the remnants of Gongsun Zhan.

At the same time, there is also spare strength to deal with the Yellow Turban Army, which may go north. Yuan Shao, who was hit hard and lost Yecheng and Wei County, could not find any opportunity for a counteroffensive in the face of Jizhou, where the war gradually stopped, and could not pose a threat to the Northern Xinjiang Army in the short term.

On the contrary, the desperate Yuan Shao could only enter Luoyang earlier and fight with Yuan Shu and Dong Zhuo.

After congratulating each other, Li Hong and the generals immediately gathered in front of the map to discuss Zhang Yan's proposal. After a day of bloody fighting, Gongsun Zhan's army lost at least 20,000 to 30,000.

However, none of the main forces in Gongsun Zhan's hands moved, whether it was the iron cavalry or the elite foot soldiers he brought out from Youzhou, they were basically intact.

If this calculation is accurate, then Gongsun Chan should still have 70,000 to 80,000 troops. At present, the Northern Xinjiang Army has 25,000 troops on the front of the boundary bridge, Zhao Yun's 20,000 iron cavalry on the left side of the boundary bridge, and Zhang Yan's 40,000 troops on the right side of the boundary bridge and the rear of the Youzhou army, a total of 85,000 troops, and the strength of the two sides is equal.

"Our plan in the past was to first attack Yuan Shao with the two-way army of Zhang Yan and Zhao Yun, defeat Yuan Shao, and then quickly encircle and annihilate Gongsun Zhan." Zhu Mu said with a serious expression,

"Now although Yuan Shao has run away, he still fights Gongsun Zhan the same. I don't understand, why did General Zhang Yan suddenly change his strategy and attack Tian Kai and Liu Bei, who were nowhere to be found? Could it be that Tian Kai and Liu Bei have already crossed the river? ”

"Zhao Yun's scouts are on the edge of the Yellow River, as long as Tian Kai and Liu Bei cross the river from Gaotang City, we will get the news immediately." Koji Yi pressed one hand on the map and said in a resolute tone,

"We should immediately launch an onslaught on Gongsun Chan."

"Although we are on par with Gongsun Zhan's strength, there is a big gap in the strength of the two sides. Our iron cavalry is twice as large as Gongsun Zhan, and our foot soldiers are also elite in a hundred battles, so it is definitely not a problem to completely annihilate Gongsun Zhan. Wen Chou looked at Li Hong, who had a solemn face, and asked in a low voice,

"General, is Lord Zhang eager for revenge and wants to kill all the enemies who killed the Yellow Turban Army in one go? We killed Gongsun Zhan, and it's not too late to kill Tian Kai and Liu Bei? ”

"Today, Gongsun Chan is chasing all the way here, and the grain and grass he brings are limited, and he will definitely send someone back to Ganling City tonight to urge the transportation of grain and grass, and he will soon find himself surrounded." Xu Huang said a little anxiously,

"Our armies on the left and right marched and killed for days, and the soldiers were very tired. If Gongsun Zhan concentrates all his forces to break through in the direction of Ganling City tomorrow, we may not be able to stop it. Even if we block it, we may not be able to wipe it all out. Therefore, the top priority is to immediately shrink the encirclement, surround Gongsun Zhan, and trap him alive at the boundary bridge. Yang Feng hesitated for a long time and said slowly: "Brother Feiyan's consideration is not unreasonable. The importance of the grain and grass in Ganling City to Gongsun Zhan is self-evident, and he will not leave only two or three thousand troops to garrison the city. In addition, Gaotang City was only more than a hundred miles away from Ganling City, and Tian Kai and Liu Bei's reinforcements could arrive within a day. ”

"Gongsun Chan has 70,000 or 80,000 troops, and in the face of life and death, the Youzhou army will be very tenacious. If we can't attack for a long time, Tian Kai, Liu Bei and the Youzhou army in Ganling City take the opportunity to kill behind us, and the situation on the battlefield may be reversed. Yang Feng looked at everyone,

"Therefore, first surround Gongsun Zhan, surround Ganling City, and encircle but not fight, not only can we avoid heavy losses for our northern Xinjiang army, but also wait for the opportunity to defeat Tian Kai and Liu Bei's reinforcements, and completely cut off Gongsun Zhan's way of life. This is not a good way to completely annihilate Gongsun Zhan. There was silence in the tent.

Li Hong sneered and stood up suddenly,

"I'll go talk to Zhang Yan in person." Yang Feng's face changed slightly, and he stretched out his hand to stop Li Hong,

"General, I'd better go. If the general must concentrate all his forces to fight Gongsun Chan first, the losses of the army will be very staggering. ”

"What Zhang Yan thinks in her heart, I know." Li Hong said very dissatisfied,

The reason why he was reluctant to lead the army to attack Gongsun Chan was because most of the soldiers in Gongsun Zhan's army used to be the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou. He never forgot that he was the commander of the Yellow Turban Army, he didn't want to see the Yellow Turban Army kill each other, he wanted to save these people's lives, didn't he? Yang Feng's face flushed slightly, and he bowed his head and said nothing.

"Northern Xinjiang is in a very dangerous situation now, I need time to ......" Li Hong raised his voice slightly, trying his best to suppress the anger in his heart,

"This is related to millions of people in northern Xinjiang, millions of people in Jizhou, and even the survival of the community, this is a big matter, not a small matter related to the lives of tens of thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers."

"Prepare the horse, I'm going to Ganling City." The curtain was lifted, and the priest rushed in with a cold wind.

"Report to the general, Lord Zhao is in a hurry, Tian Kai and Liu Bei have led the army to cross the river." Jump to