Chapter 3: The Tempest, Section 6

"Has the Yellow River section of Pingyuan County ever opened a river?" Zhao Yun asked urgently.

"The weather is getting better and better, and within three to five days, all the 400 miles of the Yellow River in Pingyuan County will be opened." The scout said affirmatively,

"I've been from Plains County in the past, so I'm very familiar with this place. This year, the opening of the Yellow River belongs to the 'Wenkai River', and the ice begins to thaw from top to bottom, and the ice level is stable and discharged, so there will be no danger of ice dams blocking the river and causing ice floodplains. Zhao Yun's face became even more solemn when he heard this,

"So, the Yellow River sections of Wei County in Jizhou and East County in Yanzhou have been opened?"

"Exactly, sir." Zhao Yun was flustered for a while, and he was speechless for a long time. After a while, he stepped forward and patted the scout on the shoulder,

"You've worked hard, go down and rest." Liu Ming beckoned to the guards behind him, and one of the guards hurriedly took out the map from the leather bag on the horse's back and spread it on the ground.

Zhao Yun half-knelt on the ground, pointed to the map and said: "If the Yellow River section of Wei County and Yanzhou East County in Jizhou has been opened, then the Yellow Turban Army of Montenegro concentrated in Liyang of Wei County and Dunqiu and Weiguo of Yanzhou will cross the river in the near future and join the Yellow Turban Army of Qingzhou, and the time for the Yellow Turban Army to go north to Jizhou is likely to be advanced." Liu Ming nodded, pointed to Gaotang City of Pingyuan County on the map and said, "Gaotang City is one hundred and fifty miles away from Ganling City and two hundred and fifty miles away from Jieqiao. If Tian Kai and Liu Bei's army crossed the river in these two days, they could quickly support Gongsun Zhan. Then he looked at Zhao Yun, who was frowning, and whispered,

"If the general wants to completely annihilate Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao, it is too difficult." Zhao Yun smiled bitterly,

"Heaven is not beautiful, and people are not as good as heaven."

"Quick, report to the general urgently, saying that the Yellow River section of Jizhou, Yanzhou, and Qingzhou has been fully opened. The situation on the battlefield has changed abruptly, so please deal with it as soon as possible. Jiang Wu and Mustafa came across the river at a rapid pace.

Zhao Yun gave a brief introduction to the battlefield situation. The general has already sent someone to send an urgent letter, and at present, the 30,000 troops of the general and Lord Koyi are confronting Gongsun Zhan's army in Xifeng Pavilion, while Yuan Shao's army is stationed in Linqing Pavilion, which is sixty miles away from Xifeng Pavilion.

Because Yuan Shao's army threatened the safety of both Gongsun Zhan's army and Ganling City, Gongsun Chan did not dare to attack.

The tripartite armies then reached a stalemate.

"The army of Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao has been firmly pinned down by the general." Zhao Yun said,

"Now wait for us and Zhang Yan's army to outflank each other. As long as Zhang Yan and we reach the line of Ganling City, Beiqiu and Linqing Pavilion on time, the siege will be completed. Jiang Wu waved his hand excitedly and said, "It's a pleasure to fight with the general." There has been no war for two years, and a fight is a war of more than 200,000 people. Okay, happy. After the encirclement, who do we fight first? Yuan Shao or Gongsun Zhan? ”

"Hit Yuan Shao first." Zhao Yun said calmly,

"But now things have changed. The Yellow River is open, Tian Kai and Liu Bei can kill the battlefield at any time, and the Yellow Turban Army can also cross the river north at any time. We can ignore the matter of the Yellow Turban Army for the time being, they will not cross the river to the north in the short term, but Tian Kai and Liu Bei will definitely cross the river. Therefore, it is best to divide our forces to block and delay their attack speed to ensure that the army has enough time to completely annihilate Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao. ”

"How many of them are there?" Mustafa asked,

"We have limited troops, we can't divide too many troops, once we delay the plan of total annihilation on the main battlefield, the responsibility will be great."

"According to the news that the general received, Tian Kai and Liu Bei originally went south to Qingzhou with the main force of 10,000 Youzhou Army." Zhao Yun then analyzed the situation.

In his opinion, after more than two months of continuous expeditions, the Youzhou Army will definitely have losses, but it will not be too big.

Because of the battle of Dongguang, Gongsun Chan almost wiped out 300,000 Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army, which was too shocking to the Yellow Turban Army.

Wherever the Youzhou army went, the Yellow Turban Army probably fled in despair and did not resist at all. After Tian Kai and Liu Bei occupied the four northern counties of Qingzhou, they may have recruited a group of prisoners of the Yellow Turban Army on the spot.

In this way, excluding the garrison strength of Qingzhou, the strength of the Youzhou army to return to Jizhou should exceed 10,000.

"In other words, we need to send at least 3,000 to 5,000 iron horsemen to block it." Liu Ming, Jiang Wu, and Mustafa did not speak.

With the existing 20,000 iron cavalry against the 10,000 iron cavalry in Gongsun Zhan's hand, there would have been a certain advantage, but if 3,000 to 5,000 iron cavalry were dispatched to block the enemy's reinforcements, then the two sides would be an evenly matched bitter battle.

After encircling the enemy, the key to whether or not you can quickly annihilate the enemy and defeat the enemy depends on the iron cavalry. If the Iron Cavalry and the enemy are defeated, not only will the army not be able to completely destroy the enemy, but it may also be broken through by the enemy.

No one dared to make this decision, and neither did Zhao Yun, so he invited the three of them to discuss it together.

"Where is Lord Zhang's army now?" Jiang Wu asked.

"If everything is normal, he should be on his way to Ganling Kingdom." Zhao Yun said,

"After Lord Zhang Yan is ordered to conquer Yecheng, he will go east to Ganling Kingdom and join us as quickly as possible. Yecheng is more than 400 miles away from Ganling State, and Lord Zhang marches day and night, arriving in about three to four days. "Of course, the premise is that Zhang Yan must take Yecheng within one to two days.

If he can't attack for a long time, Yuan Shao will inevitably come back after getting the news, and he will not risk losing Yecheng to help Gongsun Zan attack the Northern Frontier Army.

As soon as Yuan Shao leaves, we and Gongsun Chan will be left to fight a decisive battle wholeheartedly. But the problem that followed was that due to the lack of our troops, we could not completely solve Gongsun Zhan, and Gongsun Chan was also cut off from his own back road, and the grain and grass could not be replenished, and he would soon withdraw his troops.

If Yecheng can't be captured, the situation will become very serious, so whether or not Yecheng can be captured is the key to this big war.

"I don't know if Yecheng has been taken down by Lord Zhang Yan." Zhao Yun said worriedly,

"I don't know if the siege will be successful, so I can't make up my mind to divide the troops." The four of them deliberated for a long time, and finally decided not to divide the army for the time being.

The army immediately attacked to the west, and after taking Tobu Castle, it immediately went to Ganling City and Beiqiu to meet Zhang Yan.

At this time, the whereabouts of the Iron Cavalry Army had been fully exposed. If Zhang Yan's army had not yet arrived at the rendezvous site, then the plan to encircle and annihilate it would have completely failed.

Therefore, whether and when to divide the troops is still to wait until after meeting Zhang Yan's army. On the galloping road from Bohai County to Ganling Kingdom, there are convoys transporting grain and grass every day.

The military Sima Min Xun successfully ambushed a grain convoy with 2,000 iron cavalry, and then ordered some soldiers to disguise themselves as civilian husbands, and some soldiers to disguise themselves as Youzhou soldiers who held grain, and swaggered towards Dongwu City.

These Iron Knights were the cavalry of the Ural Mountains. In the past, they were all disaster victims and displaced people in Jizhou and Qingzhou, and their accents were exactly the same as those of the locals, so they entered the city without danger.

When a large cart reached the city gate, it suddenly broke down, and the wheels of the cart fell off. The car behind continued to move forward.

In a short period of time, more than a dozen carts full of grain filled the city gates. At this time, the iron cavalry of the Northern Xinjiang Army roared from all directions.

Min Xun roared, drew his knife and slashed, and immediately killed at the city gate. If the gates of the city cannot be closed, this battle should not be fought.

The 2,000 soldiers of the Youzhou Army stationed in the city were tied, and Tobu City changed hands. Zhao Yun ordered the soldiers and horses of the army to immediately replenish grain and fodder.

In the early morning of the next day, Zhao Yun left a thousand men to garrison the city. Then he led the army along the gallop road and rushed towards Ganling City.

Qingyuan City. Zhang Yan led the army to travel more than 300 miles and arrived at Qingyuan City. More than 100 miles further on are Ganling City and Beiqiu City.

It doesn't matter to the Northern Frontier Army whether these two cities can be taken or not, the important thing is to immediately rendezvous with Zhao Yun, cut off the retreat of Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao, and complete the siege.

Zhang Yan was stationed in Mashangang, looking at Qingyuan City that was faintly visible in the distance, and he was anxious. Along the way, the army only passed through two cities, one was Guantao City and the other was Qingyuan City.

In order to avoid being discovered by the enemy, the army took advantage of the darkness to bypass Guantao City, but after arriving at Qingyuan, there was no need for the army to hide its tracks, because Yuan Shao's back road had been blocked.

Zhang Yan ordered Wang Dang and Peng Lie to give up their grain and grass baggage, and led the soldiers of the two armies to trot all the way, rushing to Ganling City and Beiqiu City as fast as possible, cutting off Gongsun Zhan's retreat.

Regardless of whether Zhao Yun's iron cavalry arrived at the two places or not, they first occupied the gallop where Gongsun Chan retreated in the east and south directions.

Li Xuan hurried over with more than a dozen scouts. Zhang Yan's heart was relieved, and he hit the horse to meet him.

"Wen Lie, is there any movement in the direction of Linqing Pavilion? Could Yuan Shao's army have any unusual behavior? Can you find General Duliao's iron horse? Li Xuan panted, bowed down and said, "Lord Hui, Yuan Shao's army is stationed in Linqing Pavilion sixty miles away, and everything is normal. When we returned, three of Yuan Shao's scouts targeted us and were killed by us. He stretched out his foot and kicked the heads of the two men hanging from the horse's neck, triumphant.

Zhang Yan glanced at it,

"Why is there only two heads, and there is another?" Li Xuan's face turned red and said embarrassedly: "That person ran away." We shot him a few arrows, two of which hit the vital parts and he didn't survive. Zhang Yan didn't care.

It's all too common for scouts to fight each other.

"We once penetrated thirty miles near Beiqiu City, but we did not find the iron cavalry of General Du Liao, nor did we find the scouts of the iron cavalry army." Zhang Yan turned the horsewhip in his hand anxiously, and whispered in a slightly surprised voice: "Could it be that the army has delayed crossing the river?" Didn't Tobu Castle take it? By the time it took him, he should have arrived. "It was expected that it would take at least two days to attack Yecheng, but the army was defeated in one day.

The next day, Sun Qin defended the city with 5,000 men, and he set off with a large army to Ganling Kingdom. Could it be that Zhao Yun is still calculating the time he will arrive in Ganling Kingdom based on the siege time of two days?

If this is the case, the meeting between the two sides will be delayed by a day. One day, enough time for Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zhan to break through and leave.

Zhang Yan thought about it for a long time and made a decision categorically.

"Urgently order Wang Dang and Peng Lie to move closer to Linqing Pavilion and launch an attack on Yuan Shao early tomorrow morning."

"Tell the army, rest immediately. In the early hours of the morning, he traveled sixty miles in a hurry and attacked Yuan Shao. ”

"Wen Lie, you work hard again, take a dozen brothers, and gallop to Dongwu City to find General Duliao's iron cavalry army. Once you meet Lord Zhao, ask him to rush to Linqing Pavilion. "Xifeng Pavilion.

Li Hong and Gongsun Zhan's army confronted each other for five days. Koji Yi invited a decisive battle several times, but Gongsun Chan resolutely ignored it.

Li Hong wrote to invite Gongsun Chan to come out of the camp for a meeting, but Gongsun Chan did not reply. Li Hong didn't care, and took people to patrol the area of Jieqiao and Xifeng Pavilion every day.

Along the way, there were a lot of people transporting grain and grass and baggage, and Li Hong often got off the horse to chat with them and ask them about the situation in their hometowns.

The people recruited for the war this time were all from Zhongshan and Changshan. Almost every family benefited from Mintun and was grateful to the imperial court and the generals.

Regarding this war, the reaction of the people was very unexpected by Li Hong. The people only admit a reason for death, the general gave them a place to live and live, the general can keep them fed and clothed, and the general is a good person, so as long as the general fights, it is a righteous battle.

It is an honor to be able to serve a general, and it is worth it to die. Li Hong was very moved. He asked himself if he had done anything specifically for these kind and simple people.

He just fulfilled his duties, kept the peace of northern Xinjiang, and kept the people of northern Xinjiang fed and clothed.

This is his responsibility and his obligation. As a hussar general guarding northern Xinjiang, and as a senior official in charge of the military and political affairs of northern Xinjiang, these are what he has to do.

It's just that he hasn't done enough. Seeing the faces full of hope and hearing the words of praise, Li Hong couldn't help but feel very relieved when he remembered what he had done in the past two years and all the hardships and hardships he had endured.

I didn't do anything wrong, absolutely nothing wrong. As long as you can let the people live a peaceful life and be fed and clothed, you have done nothing wrong.

Today, in the face of many brothers who drank and talked happily and killed the enemy side by side, and in the face of many brazen state and county officials who caused chaos in the society, he is worthy of the sword raised in his hand.

They are arrogant and pervert the law, ignore the law and discipline, wantonly destroy the community, and poison the living beings.

Some people scolded the general, and even scolded Li Hong in front of him. Of course, they didn't know that the officer in front of them with a kind face and a disheveled hair was a general.

In their eyes, Li Hong was just a small officer in the Northern Xinjiang Army, nothing remarkable.

These people were all displaced people stranded in Zhongshan and Changshan, and they were full of complaints against Li Hong. Some people say that this year, the general ordered the blockade of the pass into northern Xinjiang, and he only cared about the people in northern Xinjiang and did not care about the people of the world, and he was not a good person.

It is also said that the general is half a Hu man, and he is better to the Hu people than to the people of the Han Dynasty. Some people also say that the general has the most powerful army in the world, but he allows the world to be in chaos, and allows the people of the world to struggle in the abyss of death, ignoring it.

The general is no longer the big hero who stood up to the sky in the past, the general is a bastard, the biggest bastard in the world.

Li Hong was very sad. Although most of the people do not know how to read, they are kind and generous, and they have the most simple and honest hearts.

They don't have the scholars' grand plan to save the society, nor do they have the scholars' impassioned and generous speeches, they just want to be fed and clothed, and they want to have a sheltered home.

But it is such a minimum requirement, but I can't meet them, I can't do it for them.

I'm ashamed. What is the ultimate purpose of saving and revitalizing the community? Could it be the so-called meritorious deeds of the scholars who built the world and left a name in history?

No, it should be so that all the people in the world can be fed and clothed, and have a warm and peaceful home. This is what I should fight for bloodily, for which I have worked hard and painstakingly.

I have many, many things to do. The place thirty miles away from the boundary bridge is called Yunting. It is a sloping area, not very steep, but more than 200 steps long.

On the left and right sides of the slope are small hills. Yang Feng and Xu Huang were directing the soldiers and people to set up the base horses and deer barricades.

On the hills on both sides, many soldiers of the chariot battalion were positioning and camouflaging the ballistas.

Seeing Li Hong driving his horse over, Yang Feng and Xu Huang hurriedly greeted him.

"Qizhi, Gongming, you see, can this place withstand the attack of the Youzhou Iron Cavalry?" Li Hong asked with a smile.

Yang Feng smiled but said nothing. Xu Huang replied respectfully: "The general has already sent people to set up stone cannons on the north bank of the boundary bridge, which shows that the general has no intention of defending here. Li Hong nodded.

Sima Zhumu pointed to the hills on both sides and said, "We will block here for a while and consume part of Gongsun Zhan's strength." The main battlefield is still at the Boundary Bridge. After arriving at the boundary sedan car, we can rely on the natural barrier of the Qinghe River to block the attack. As long as Zhang Yan and Zhao Yun defeat Yuan Shao, we can surround Gongsun Zhan at the boundary bridge and completely solve him. ”

"Gongsun Chan is very cautious and has always been reluctant to fight." Yang Feng asked worriedly,

"If Yuan Shao gets the news of our attack on Yecheng in advance and joins forces with Gongsun Zhan, then we will have a very hard time fighting this battle."

"It's hard work." Li Hong waved his hand and smiled,

"None of us can afford to lose this battle, only to fight to the death. However, if Gongsun Chan and Yuan Shao join forces, they will inevitably be suspicious of each other. We may win this battle. Yuan Shao was bent on preserving his strength to escape from the encirclement, and it was impossible for him to work together with Gongsun Zhan. Maybe when it comes to the critical moment, he will stab Gongsun Chan in the back. ”

"They're all in one place, and that's good news for us." Zhu Mu said worriedly,

"I'm worried that Gongsun Chan and Yuan Shao will see our intentions in advance, and the two of them will turn around and run away, then we will have a really hard time. Not just now, but even harder in the future. "Sacrificial Feng came with a few righteous guards from Pegasus.

"General, Lord Zhao sent someone to deliver a message, the Yellow River has opened." Li Hong, Zhu Mu, Yang Feng, Xu Huang and others sank in their hearts, and their faces all showed anxious looks.

The longer the time drags on, the more unfavorable the situation will be for the Northern Frontier Army. Tian Kai and Liu Bei, as well as the Yellow Turban Army, may cross the river to the north at any time.

At present, when Gongsun Chan has the Northern Xinjiang Army on the left and the Jizhou Army on the right, he does not dare to go to war because he is afraid of being attacked on both sides.

"General, if nothing else, Zhang Yan and Zhao Yun's armies will soon meet, and our intentions will all be exposed." Zhu Mu said with a stern expression,

"We must hold back Gongsun Chan and let Zhang Yan and Zhao Yun concentrate all their forces to storm Yuan Shao. If the battle situation continues to stalemate, Gongsun Chan will definitely turn around and retreat eastward when he sees that the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army has all moved south. ”

"Let's go, let's go back to the camp." Li Hongfei got on the horse and pulled out a whip in the air,

"Attack Gongsun Chan tomorrow." Gongsun Chan was very annoyed. Yuan Shao, an old ** cunning thing, obviously has bad intentions, and he pretended to be cheerful, and refused to join forces again and again.

Yuan Shao's army was only sixty miles away from Xifeng Pavilion, and Gongsun Chan did not dare to attack rashly no matter what.

Seeing that the days were passing day by day, and the reinforcements of the Northern Xinjiang Army could appear on the battlefield at any time, Gongsun Chan couldn't help but worry.

There are only more than 20,000 Northern Xinjiang troops in the large camp opposite, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and once it is missed, the chance of severely inflicting heavy damage on the Northern Xinjiang Army is very small.

The fatty fresh meat has entered the mouth, but it is stuck in the throat, and it just can't swallow it. Linqing Pavilion.

When Yuan Shao left Yecheng, he made an appointment with Yuan Xi to give a message in two days, but today is already five days, and he still hasn't received any letters from Yuan Xi.

In the past few days, several messengers sent by himself to Yecheng have also sunk into the sea, and there has been no response at all. Yuan Shao was a little frightened.

Yuan Xi did not send the letter as promised, there are only two possibilities. Either Yecheng is surrounded, or Yecheng is lost.

The main force of the Yellow Turban Army in Montenegro has been solidified on the banks of the Yellow River in the area of Liyang and Dunqiu, and the Yellow Turban Army remaining in Montenegro does not have such a strong strength.

Could it be that the reinforcements of the Northern Xinjiang Army quietly came to Jizhou and surrounded Yecheng? Thinking of Li Hong's unusual, menacing threat to himself with the black panther that day, Yuan Shao's heart suddenly jumped, and he had a feeling of being deceived.

The scout who was shot by the Northern Frontier Army returned to Linqing Pavilion, and before he died, he said that he was killed by the Northern Frontier Army scouts near Qingyuan City.

After getting the news, he immediately realized that the problem was serious, and hurried to the big tent to meet Yuan Shao.

"My lord, Yecheng should send grain and grass every three days, but it has been delayed for two days so far, and there is no news. There must be something wrong with Yecheng. Yuan Shao comforted: "Maybe the Yellow Turban Army of Montenegro came down the mountain to harass ......"

"Then we should be able to get news from Yecheng." Frustrated and shook his hand,

"The messenger sent to Yecheng has not returned, so it can be seen that ......" Yuan Shao looked at the frustration, a heart

"Bang bang" jumping around, waiting for his next step.

"I suspect you've been tricked." Frustrated, his face was ugly,

"Li Hong is a leopard, if you don't hit, you will be hit." Yuan Shao was suffocated for a while, feeling dizzy.

Losing Yecheng and Wei Jun at this time was a fatal blow to himself. He hesitated slightly, nodded and said, "I also have this hunch, the reinforcements of the Northern Xinjiang Army may have already used the cover of Taihang Mountain to quietly enter Jizhou. Yuan Shao urgently summoned Tian Feng, Shen Pei, Guo Tu and others to discuss.

Tian Feng said very resolutely: "No matter what the current situation in Yecheng is, and no matter whether we are in the plan or not, our two goals of sending troops to Ganling Kingdom and staying in Linqing Pavilion have been achieved, and there is no point in staying here any longer." We should leave the Ganling Kingdom quickly, so that Gongsun Chan has no worries and can fight Li Hong boldly and confidently. In this way, even if the reinforcements of the Northern Xinjiang Army arrived, Gongsun Chan would not be defeated miserably, because his reinforcements were about to cross the river. According to the experience of previous years, the day when the Yellow River will open is approaching, and the army of Tian Kai and Liu Bei will soon be able to rush to the battlefield. The strength of the two sides is equal, and some fight. Yuan Shao pondered for a moment and said categorically: "Okay, let's go, go immediately, don't stay for a moment." Due to the unclear situation in Yecheng, we should not retreat westward, but go directly south to the area of Dunqiu and Liyang, and drive the Yellow Turban Army across the Yellow River. ”

"And then?" Guo Tu asked,

"Then we will return to Yecheng in the north, or will we attack Montenegro according to the established plan."

"Let's meet Cao Cao in Liyang first to replenish the grain and grass." Yuan Shao stood up suddenly,

"Immediately send someone to Yecheng secretly. We don't do anything until we get definite information. Gongsun Chan finally waited for the good news.

Yuan Zhao not only agreed to his request, but also led the army to turn around and go south.

"Is there such a good thing?" Gongsun Zhan took Yuan Shao's letter and looked at it repeatedly under the candlelight, lest Yuan Shao have any conspiracy.

"Yuan Benchu made such a simple thing so complicated, what did he mean?"

"My lord, Yuan Shao's goal has been achieved, and it is very wise for him to leave Jizhou with the army at this time." Guan Jing said with a smile,

"Now, it's a showdown between us and Li Hong. Whoever wins, who will be able to occupy Jizhou. As for Yuan Shao, he has a bigger mind than adults, he wants to plot the world, and he wants to occupy Luoyang. ”

"He wants to fight with Yuan Shu for Luoyang?" Gongsun Chan frowned and said in a low voice,

"If Yuan Shao successfully occupies Luoyang, it won't do us any good......" Guan Jing comprehended,

"In order to help Yuan Shu fight for Yuzhou, Gongsun Yue died in Yangzhai City. Yuan Shu owes an adult a life. If Yuan Shu can occupy Luoyang, it will be much easier for adults to act in the future......"

"You do it right away." Gongsun Chan said,

"Tell Yuan Shu that I will help him occupy Luoyang as soon as possible. If he misses this opportunity, he will be a slave to Yuan Shao. ”

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow morning, we will attack Li Hong." Late at night, the cold wind howled. The sound of horses' hooves suddenly tore through the silence of the night.

Zhang Yan woke up suddenly and jumped up. The scout rushed into the tent with a fishy wind,

"My lord, Yuan Shao ran away." Zhang Yan couldn't help but shiver, and her heart was shocked. He barely managed to hold back his anger and asked in a deep voice, "When?" ”

"Dusk."

"Which direction?"

"Go south."

"Dusk? To the south? Zhang Yan muttered two sentences softly, and silently calculated the distance,

"Urgently order Wang Dang and Peng Lie to catch up, entangle Yuan Shao, and hit Yuan Shao hard."

"Urgent report to the General. Yuan Shao saw through our strategy and escaped from the encirclement first. ”

"Order, all the departments immediately set off, rushed to the southeast, stopped Yuan Shao, surrounded Yuan Shao, and killed Yuan Shao." Jump to