Chapter 3: The Tempest, Section 11

The Northern Frontier Army erected giant shields and giant spears in front of the formation.

After a morning of fierce fighting, the intention of the Youzhou army was very clear, they wanted to break through the middle of the Northern Xinjiang Army and break through from the boundary bridge. In order to strengthen the defense in the center, Koji ordered the left and right flanks to shrink intensively and move closer to the Chinese army. The horse-repelling formations on the left and right flanks of the Northern Frontier Army were relatively thin and had been destroyed in the morning attack, and the soldiers had also been damaged to varying degrees. In particular, Xu Huang's right-wing army, although it repelled the frantic attack of the Youzhou army, it also paid the price of nearly 2,000 casualties.

As the drums of war sounded, the battlefield, which had just been quiet for half an hour, once again emitted a deafening killing sound.

The infantry of the Youzhou Army launched an attack on the left, center, and right roads of the Northern Frontier Army at the same time.

The strong bows, ballistas, and stone cannons of the Northern Frontier Army poured out their anger on the oncoming enemy.

The soldiers of the Youzhou army were fearless, chanting all the way and running hard, but when death was inevitable, the soldiers were left with fearlessness and hatred, "kill ......"

The Northern Xinjiang Army saw the most thrilling scene up and down. In the past, it was the enemy's iron cavalry that struck the giant shield, but today, the enemy bravely rammed into it with his own thin flesh and blood.

After several years of war, the Northern Frontier Army has gained a lot of experience in the use of giant shield spears. In order to give full play to the role of the giant shield spear, block and kill a large number of enemy iron cavalry, and reduce their own casualties, the soldiers placed the giant shield spear on top of each other and staggered it, and it became the tomb of the iron cavalry like a horse rejection array.

From a distance, it seemed that the Youzhou soldiers had directly collided with the giant shield and then been swallowed by the giant shield, but they actually rushed into the giant shield array and started a bloody hand-to-hand fight with the northern Xinjiang soldiers who were ambushed in the array.

The fierce attack of the Youzhou Army, regardless of casualties, suddenly put the Northern Xinjiang Army in a predicament. The soldiers of the Youzhou army rushed up in a steady stream. With the idea of dying with the enemy, they fought to the death. No matter how brave your Northern Xinjiang soldiers are, there are always times when you are tired, there are always times when you are injured, and there are always times when you are surrounded by more enemies, and the soldiers of the Northern Xinjiang Army fall one by one.

In the narrow and tortuous giant shield array, sharp weapons and powerful martial arts have lost their effectiveness. Whoever has more people will be able to defeat the other side.

Koji Yi on the high platform looked at the huge shields that had been knocked down one after another, and knew that the iron cavalry of the Youzhou Army was about to start attacking.

He grabbed the railing tightly with both hands, looked at the tens of thousands of corpses lying on the battlefield, and deeply felt Gongsun Zhan's ruthlessness and Gongsun Zhan's cold-bloodedness. Gongsun Chan used the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers to pave a way to break through. If it's yourself who is standing on the other side, you can't do it anyway. Gongsun Zhan's heart is too ruthless. Koji Yi now finally understands why the Hu people in Biansai are as afraid of Gongsun Chan as tigers, why Gongsun Chan will order the slaughter of the Hu tribe, the old and weak women and children of the Hu people, and even the infant children can be chopped with a knife. He doesn't treat people like people at all.

Some of the infantry of the Youzhou Army attacked the left flank of the Northern Frontier Army, and some attacked the middle of the Northern Frontier Army, while more people flocked to the right flank of the Northern Frontier Army.

Now the situation is clear. The direction of the Youzhou Army's iron cavalry is the right flank of the Northern Frontier Army, the weakest place in the Northern Frontier Army.

Koji Yi slammed his fist on the railing and shouted angrily, "Gongsun Zhan, you wait for death." ”

He rushed down, pointing at the 800 guards lined up under the tall building, Qu and shouted, "Go, kill with me, kill ......."

Koji Yi roared away with the men and horses.

Li Hong was helpless, and Zhu Mu hurriedly ran to the high platform. The situation on the battlefield surprised him very much, "Quick, light the wolf smoke, and order the iron cavalry to attack." ”

"Gongding, you will command, and I will support Yuntian (Kojiyi) and Gongming (Xu Huang)."

Li Hong took three steps and made two steps, quickly rushed down the tall building, flew and jumped on horseback, "Brothers, go to the right, go right and kill the ......."

Under the leadership of Li Hong, the three thousand black panther Yicong started quickly along the river embankment.

The earth groaned and trembled under the ravages of iron hooves.

The Youzhou Iron Cavalry burst down with the momentum of the river, and a huge roar resounded through the battlefield, and the thunderous roar soared into the sky.

The foot soldiers of the Youzhou army retreated to both sides of the battlefield like a tide.

Under the command of Lingqi, the infantry of the Northern Xinjiang Army quickly retreated and assembled, trying to put down a defensive position in the shortest possible time. Xu Huang ran in the middle of the battle array, constantly screaming and roaring, hoarse.

The strong archers at the rear of the battle formation shot a dense array of long arrows at the fastest speed towards the Youzhou Iron Cavalry. The chariot battalion quickly moved closer to the center in order to block and delay the enemy's attack on the center.

The Iron Riders were galloping, roaring like a hurricane on a battlefield full of corpses.

Dead bodies tumbled and shattered under the iron hooves, blood splattered and flowed under the iron hooves, and occasionally wounded soldiers could be seen crawling, screaming, and tearing apart under the iron hooves.

Wherever the Iron Rider passed, the flesh was blurred, and a complete corpse could no longer be seen, and a cry of pain could not be heard.

The drums of war beat and shook the earth.

The Iron Cavalry suddenly accelerated, and the excited and bloody roars of the knights were suddenly drowned out by the sound of a huge gallop.

The retreating Youzhou soldiers bore the brunt of the blow, and with their screams of horror, fear, and helplessness, hundreds of soldiers who had not had time to avoid were knocked into the sky, trampled into pulp, and crushed into powder.

The iron cavalry rushed through the arrow array of the Northern Frontier Army, and it was instantaneous.

Xu Huang raised his battle axe high and roared wildly: "Brothers, kill ......"

The soldiers of the northern frontier who had been in battle for a long time formed a small horse rejection formation at the fastest speed, and greeted them without fear, "killing ......"

For a time, blood rained and flesh flew.

The soldiers of the Northern Xinjiang Army are rushing to kill, dying, and going forward one after another, swearing to block the enemy's iron cavalry with their flesh and blood.

Youzhou Iron Rider is galloping, howling, indomitable, and never dying.

Koji Yi and the Eight Hundred Guards Qu entered the tragic battlefield.

In the face of thousands of powerful Youzhou Iron Cavalry, the eight hundred people were like a splash, and after a few flutters, they immediately disappeared into the chaotic battlefield.

When the number of Youzhou Iron Cavalry and the Northern Xinjiang infantry was almost the same, in the absence of any means of defense, all that was left for the Northern Xinjiang infantry was death.

Xu Huang needs a ballista and a strong archer. Now only a dense array of bows and arrows can wipe out these unrivaled armies of iron horsemen.

Xu Huang led his soldiers to fight and retreat to the Chinese army. On the right side of the Chinese army, the chariot battalion and the strong archers were already in position, and as long as the enemy's iron cavalry was drawn into range, even if he and his men all fell, he would not hesitate.

At this moment, a low and passionate horn suddenly sounded from the rear of the battlefield.

"Whew...... Ho...... Call...... Ho ......"

The black panther servants galloped wildly, the sound of killing shook the sky, and the sharp cone-shaped array aimed at the Youzhou Iron Cavalry to block the waist.

Li Hong's long hair was flying, his spear was flying up and down, and he was invincible in a fierce battle. The righteous soldiers followed closely and fought bravely.

The battlefield suddenly set off a stormy wave. The fighting was fierce.

Gongsun Chan was extremely excited and roared repeatedly. "Okay, okay, the leopard is dispatched, and the Northern Frontier Army is going to be defeated."

"Order Gongsun Fan, take 5,000 iron cavalry, go straight to the right flank of the Northern Xinjiang Army, and give him a hard blow." Gongsun Chan raised his hand and shouted, "We can camp on the north bank of the boundary bridge tonight." ”

"My lord, slow down ......" Sima Zhao Heng, who had been standing behind Gongsun Zhan, suddenly shouted loudly.

Gongsun Zan was stunned for a moment, and turned back very dissatisfied and asked, "Ziyu, what's wrong?" ”

Changshi Guan Jing pointed to the sky on the left, his expression shocked, "My lord, the iron cavalry of the Northern Xinjiang Army has gone south. ”

Gongsun Chan was shocked and suddenly turned his head to look.

The three-pillar wolf smoke rose in a curling manner, and the smoke column became thicker and thicker, higher and higher, reaching into the sky.

Gongsun Chan was dumbfounded, and a strong feeling of suffocation rushed to the bottom of his heart, making him almost out of breath.

"My lord, withdraw immediately." Zhao Heng whispered, "Since Li Hong's reinforcements have arrived, then he is obviously determined to occupy Jizhou. In other words, he is now very happy to see us turn around and fight Yuan Shao. ”

"We have a much greater chance of beating Yuan Shao." Guan Jing said, "As long as Tian Kai and Liu Bei can come to help in time, we can safely withdraw to Bohai County." ”

"After we defeated Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao's strength was the weakest." Zhao Heng explained, "Starting from the current situation in Northern Xinjiang, Li Hong's best choice is, of course, to defeat Yuan Shao at the lowest cost and occupy half of Jizhou, so that he can ensure that Northern Xinjiang has money and food." As for whose Jizhou will be in the future......" Zhao Heng looked at Gongsun Zan and arched his hand and said, "My lord, as long as we can fight our way out of the encirclement, it will be difficult to say what will happen in the future." ”

Gongsun Chan hesitated, "If we are surrounded between the Yunting Pavilion and the Xifeng Pavilion, and the reinforcements of Tian Kai and Liu Bei are delayed, we may be completely annihilated. ”

"My lord, look at the way we look today, can we rush out?" Guan Jing pointed to the battlefield and sighed in a low voice, "It's too late to retreat, more than half of our troops have been damaged, and the whole army will really be wiped out." ”

Gongsun Chan took a long breath and gritted his teeth hard, "Withdraw, withdraw immediately, withdraw to Yunting." We went to fight Yuan Shao overnight and broke through from the direction of Xifeng Pavilion. ”

The orders to retreat were passed down one by one.

The Youzhou army at the rear of the battlefield was in a panic. Shan Jing and Zhao Heng took 20,000 foot soldiers who had not yet been put into the battlefield, and took the lead in withdrawing from the battlefield with grain and grass.

The soldiers of the Bingcao battalion commanded tens of thousands of people to pretend to be the Youzhou army and stood behind the battlefield.

Gongsun Zan and Guan Jing took 3,000 white horses from the battlefield and continued to point out the Youzhou soldiers in front of them to fight to the death.

Gongsun Fan lined up on the left side of the army with 5,000 iron cavalry, only to wait for the iron cavalry of the Northern Xinjiang Army to arrive, and then retreated.

The white horse under Gongsun Chan's seat neighed restlessly.

"Here, there are probably tens of thousands of iron horsemen." Gongsun Chan said with a solemn expression, "The leopard doesn't seem to kill me, but he won't give up." ”

Guan Jing shook his head. "Li Hong's strength is limited. If he kills us now, there will be few tens of thousands of horses left, and it will be difficult for him to gain a foothold not only in Jizhou in the future, but also in the desert and northern Xinjiang. Then he pointed to the wolf smoke rising into the air, "Li Hong's meaning is obvious, he wants us to retreat immediately, and then he and Yuan Shao surround us one after the other, and gather the strength of the two to fight us." ”

Gongsun Chan waved his horsewhip and said hatefully: "After breaking through, I swear to fight the leopard to the end." He wants to seize Jizhou, but it's not so easy. ”

"My lord, do you think you ordered Yan Gang and them to withdraw first?" Guan Jing asked.

"Can't be withdrawn." Gongsun Chan said murderously, "If we want to withdraw safely, we must rely on them to hold back the iron cavalry of the Northern Frontier Army." ”

Guan Jing was stunned for a moment, with a trace of unbearable expression on his face. The 5,000 iron horsemen and more than 20,000 foot soldiers on the battlefield were sacrificed in vain.

The earth shook violently, and everyone felt a terrification like a landslide.

The 20,000 iron cavalry army of northern Xinjiang rushed out of the sky and roared towards the battlefield with overwhelming momentum.

The Northern Xinjiang Army gave an earth-shattering cheer, and the soldiers were like rainbows and bravely took the lead.

The Youzhou army was scattered, and they turned around and fled.

Gongsun Chan gave an order, and the eight thousand iron horsemen immediately quickly withdrew from the battlefield.

Tens of thousands of terrified people cried for their fathers and mothers, wolves rushed around, and they scurried around on the battlefield.

Zhu Mu stood on a high platform and gave orders again and again, commanding all the armies to launch a counterattack.

Liu Ming took five thousand iron horsemen and chased after Gongsun Zhan. Zhao Yun, Jiang Wu, and Mustafa each led a large army, copied from Sanba, and surrounded the remnants of Youzhou on the battlefield.

Yan Gang led his troops to desperately break through and bumped into Koji Yi and his personal guard Qu head-on. Koji was furious, raised his halberd and shouted, "Kill him, kill him for me......" Everyone rushed up, slashed with knives and axes, and cut down several war horses in succession. Yan Gang fell down the horse, and was immediately chopped into meat paste by several red-eyed soldiers.

Yang Tai was killed by random arrows in the breakout, Zou Dan and Guo Hua were captured, and the officers and men of the Youzhou army were crushed, with countless casualties.

As the sun sets, the Battle of the Boundary Bridge gradually quiets down.

In this battle, the Northern Xinjiang Army killed nearly 35,000 enemies, captured 10,000 prisoners, and captured more than 3,000 horses. Nearly 10,000 people died tragically in the melee.

In order to block Gongsun Zhan's breakthrough, the Northern Xinjiang Army paid a heavy price, with nearly 10,000 casualties. Xingfenwu Zhonglang killed more than 4,000 of Xu Huang's 8,000 troops, more than half of which was lost. The two armies of Yang Feng and Wen Chou also lost more than 3,000 people.

After three successive battles of Xifeng Pavilion, Yunting and Jieqiao, most of the 24,000 troops of Koji were lost, and only more than 9,000 people remained. Now, even with the 5,000 men and horses of the hussar general's camp, there are only 14,000 people left in the army that is blocking Gongsun Chan head-on.

At the military meeting in the evening, Koji Yoshi's emotions were very excited. He didn't wait to finish reading Zhang Yan's letter, so he smashed the bamboo slip to the ground, "Surround but not fight, surround but not fight, and then surround but not fight, I can't even surround it." Is Zhang Yan dizzy? Couldn't he still figure out what we were doing in Jizhou? ”

Zhu Mu bent down to pick up Zhang Yan's letter from the ground, patted the angry Lu Yi, and whispered, "Lord Zhang is just a proposal. Didn't he already rush to the area of Xifeng Pavilion and Yunting with a large army? ”

"According to the prior agreement, Zhang Yan's army should have rushed to Yunting this morning and Jieqiao at noon today, but what about his army? Where is his army now? Even if he arrives at the boundary bridge this afternoon, we can wipe out Gongsun Chan, but why didn't he show up? Koji roared angrily, "It was precisely because Zhang Yan delayed the fighter plane that Gongsun Chan calmly evacuated the boundary bridge. ”

"Yuntian, calm down." Li Hong waved his hand at him and comforted him with kind words, "When Feiyan led his troops to Ganling City in a hurry yesterday, the soldiers were exhausted, and all the grain and grass of the army were left behind. Even if he can travel a hundred miles again today and lead his army to the boundary bridge, with his 30,000 tired army, it will be difficult for us to completely annihilate Gongsun Zhan. Feiyan is right, although we are superior to Gongsun Chan in strength, we really do not have an absolute advantage in terms of strength. Today's battle can be fought like this, which is already a great achievement. ”

The generals in the tent were silent. Ko Yi himself is a general of the unified army, of course he can understand Zhang Yan's difficulties, but in the face of today's heavy casualties, he really can't swallow this breath.

"According to the confession of the captured Youzhou generals, Gongsun Chan currently has more than 30,000 foot soldiers, including the army left behind in Yunting, as well as 8,000 iron cavalry, and enough grain and grass to support more than ten days." Zhu Mu picked up the map on the desk, pointed to Yun Pavilion and said, "If Gongsun Chan is blocked by Lord Zhang Yan here, we can still completely annihilate Gongsun Chan, but it is impossible to launch an attack immediately, and the army needs to rest." ”

"Hmph...... This just satisfies Zhang Yan's meaning, surround but not fight. Koji sneered.

Zhu Mu nodded, "Indeed, now you can only surround but not fight." We fought three battles in two days, suffered heavy losses, and were unable to fight again. Lord Zhang Yan led the army to march hundreds of miles in a hurry, first attacking Yecheng and then besieging Ganling City, the whole army was very tired and in urgent need of rest. In addition, we still do not have an absolute advantage in terms of troops, and if we attack strongly, the losses will be too great. Therefore, the general meant to agree to Lord Zhang Yan's proposal, first fight Gongsun Zhan's reinforcements, completely cut off Gongsun Zhan's way of life, and surround Gongsun Chan to death in Yunting. ”

Zhu Mu then explained.

At present, Sun Qin led 5,000 troops to garrison Yecheng, and Wang Dang led 10,000 troops to surround Ganling City, so Zhang Yan could only mobilize 28,000 troops to block Gongsun Chan in the area of Yunting and Xifeng Pavilion, and only 14,000 people from Hussar General and Liyi were blocked head-on. Coupled with Zhao Yun's 20,000 iron cavalry army, there are only 62,000 men and horses surrounding Gongsun Zan now. If the Northern Xinjiang Army attacked Gongsun Zhan's 38,000 soldiers and horses with 62,000 men, the losses would definitely be very staggering. The trapped beast is still fighting, not to mention Gongsun Zhan, who is facing life and death.

Through interrogation of several Youzhou generals, Zhu Mu learned that Tian Kai and Liu Bei's Qingzhou soldiers numbered about 30,000, and that there were about 10,000 troops left behind in Bohai and Hejian Kingdom. If these 40,000 troops rush to Ganling Kingdom in the near future, then the superiority of the Northern Xinjiang Army will be gone.

Li Hong planned to let Zhao Yun and Jiang Wu take the two iron cavalry of Fengyun and Duliao to meet Gongsun Zhan's reinforcements. The rest of the army surrounded Gongsun Chan in the Yunting area, and when the time was ripe, they immediately launched a decisive battle to annihilate Gongsun Chan.

There was no objection from the generals.

Li Hong immediately replied to Zhang Yan. Zhao Yun and Jiang Wu led the army to set off overnight.

After Li Hong sent Zhao Yun and Jiang Wu away, he left He Feng on the way back.

"Humble ......"

As soon as Li Hong spoke, He Feng immediately bowed down and said, "General, don't say it." You don't know me yet? I have this temper, and I like to talk and scream when I am not happy. For so many years, I have followed you from birth to death, fought many battles, and lost many brothers. ”

Li Hong was stunned for a moment, then smiled, hugged his shoulders affectionately and said: "Last time in Luoyang, I encountered the highway (Yuan Shu), he asked about you and was very concerned about you. He said that since the general and the general of the Che Cavalry were killed by the ** eunuch, and the Queen Mother and Wuyangjun were killed by Dong Zhuo, the general's clan children have almost been killed, and there are not many people left in the He family. He hopes that you will live well and revive the He clan in the future. ”

At the mention of the great general He Jin and the He clan, He Feng's face darkened, and he bowed his head and was silent. After a while, he wiped his eyes and asked in a hoarse voice, "General, you won't transfer me back to Jinyang, will you?" ”

Li Hong patted him on the shoulder, and stopped talking.

"I'm not leaving." He Feng said with red eyes, "Although I don't know if my mother is still alive and if my brothers are still alive, I can't leave these brothers who live and die to go to Jinyang, I can't do it." I'd rather die on the battlefield than be laughed at. I can't afford to lose this person, and I can't afford to lose the face of my ancestors of the He family. ”

Li Hong was very moved, "Okay, then when will there be no war, you go back, go back and see your mother and family." ”

He Feng stopped abruptly and looked at Li Hong in surprise, "General, my mother?" My mother arrived in Jinyang? ”

Li Hong nodded, "Highway (Yuan Shu) has taken in many of the generals' clansmen, including your family. Some time ago, he entrusted Tian Chou to send your family to Jinyang. ”

He Feng couldn't stop smiling, "Brother Highway treats me really well, I must repay him well if I have the opportunity." ”

"Originally, I wanted to let you go back to Jinyang to see your mother immediately after stabilizing Jizhou in the First World War. You haven't seen your mother for five or six years, but it's a pity ......" Li Hong shook his head regretfully, "If you don't go back now, it is estimated that you will have to wait for a long time." ”

"Gongsun Zhan, that guy won't live for a few days." He Feng said happily, "After taking Jizhou, I will ask the general for leave and return to Jinyang." ”

A trace of worry flashed in Li Hong's eyes, "After taking Jizhou, you adults who have been captains for several years are also going to be promoted." ”

"General, I'm just a madman, don't take what you say seriously." He Feng shook his hand again and again, "I can't control myself, I can't control my subordinates, and I often violate military discipline, just by virtue of this, I can't compare with Gongming (Xu Huang)." Then he bowed and took his leave, "Don't talk about it." Today I am very sad and happy, I can't stand it anymore, I want to go riding a horse and run two laps. With that, he ran away with a shout.

Lu Yi, who was walking behind Li Hong, looked at He Feng's back strangely and asked suspiciously, "General, what did you say to him?" What's crazy about this kid? ”

Li Hong smiled bitterly, "I hope he can go back to Jinyang alive to see his mother." ”

Shelter from the wind.

After Tian Kai received Liu Bei's urgent letter, 100,000 people hurriedly crossed the river.

"Xuande, is there a way to save Brother Boju?"

Liu Bei nodded and spread out the map on the desk. Jump to