Chapter 9 Chasing the Central Plains on the 21st section of April, Yanzhou Dongping Kingdom, no salt city. The general Li Hong commanded the army to roar down and kill Wuyan City.

Cai Yang led the army all the way to run wildly, and as soon as he withdrew into the city, he was surrounded by the Hun iron cavalry. Lu Bu, Fan Li, Yan Rou, Wei Jun and others each led their armies to arrive.

Li Hong immediately divided his troops into three routes, one was led by Lu Bu and Fan Li, and commanded the infantry army to attack Wuyan City; One route was led by Yan Rou and Wei Jun, and quickly crossed the Wenshui River and attacked Dongpinglu; One route was led by the great general and the Xiongnu Dadan Yu Liu Bao, and attacked Shouzhangcheng on the south bank of the Wenshui River.

The three cities of Wuyan, Shouzhang and Dongpinglu are located on the north and south banks of the Wenshui River, and the distance between the three cities is only about 50 miles, which can be used as horns to support each other.

Crossing the river to attack Shouzhang and Dongpinglu was equivalent to breaking this cone-shaped formation, cutting off the two horns of Wuyan City and cutting off the back road of Wuyan City.

That night, Li Hong and Yan Rou each led a large army and crossed the river to the south, one to attack Dongpinglu in the east and Shouzhang in the west.

Wei Yan followed with 50,000 men and a large number of siege equipment. Wuyan originally had a thousand defenders, but after Cai Yang withdrew to Wuyan with more than 2,000 people, the defensive strength of Wuyan City was strengthened.

In addition, the defenders of Wuyan City got the news of the Northern Frontier Army's southward attack in advance and had two days to prepare, so the strong attack momentum of the Northern Frontier Army was contained.

Lü Bu was worried that Cai Yang would retreat ahead of schedule and destroy the general's plan to encircle and annihilate him, so the attack on the first day was quite uneventful, deliberately creating the illusion that the army was exhausted and underarmed, and induced Cai Yang to continue to hold on to Wuyan City.

The next day, Lu Bu received an urgent report. The general was attacking Shouzhang, and Yan Rou took Dongping Lucheng with lightning speed.

Before Cai Yang could withdraw, the defenders of Dongping followed the orders of the prime minister of Dongping to reinforce Wuyan, but they were surrounded and had no time to return to Dongpinglu.

When Yan Rou attacked Dongping Lu, there were only 400 Yiqu troops in the city, and they had no power to parry, and they were swallowed up by the Northern Frontier Army in a blink of an eye.

Dongping was conquered by land, and Cai Yang's retreat was cut off immediately, and the Yanzhou army was in a desperate situation. Lü Bu and Fan Liang were overjoyed, and hurriedly ordered Zhang Ying to lead 3,000 foot soldiers to make a diversion attack in Dongcheng, and the remaining 12,000 foot soldiers to attack in Beicheng.

Now even if Cai Yang wants to retreat from the west and south cities, it will be a dead end. The Northern Xinjiang Army gathered more than 1,000 ballistae and more than 50 stone cannons to bombard indiscriminately.

The soldiers took turns attacking, and the battle was fierce. Cai Yang commanded the Yanzhou army to fight hard, and until noon, he did not let the northern Xinjiang soldiers climb the city tower.

The siege battle was separated by a stalemate of mutual attrition, and Lu Bu and Fan Li were anxious and at a loss.

In the afternoon, Chen Gongdu transported grain, grass and ordnance to Wuyan City. When Chen Gong asked about the siege, Lu Bu frowned and explained in detail the difficulties encountered by the army.

The army on the left had fewer foot soldiers and a slight shortage of siege troops, which was the main reason for the delay in taking Wuyan City.

If the army is delayed in Wuyan City for too long, it will seriously affect the speed of the army's capture of Changyi.

"If there is no breakthrough, I plan to recruit the Iron Knights to attack the city." Lu Bu said helplessly,

"It's going to increase the number of casualties in the army, but that's all I can do." Chen Gong pondered for a long time and thought of several ways to siege the city, but it all took time, and the Northern Frontier Army was now short of time.

"Cai Yang knows that Dongping Lu has been lost?" Chen Gong asked,

"If he doesn't know that his back road is cut off, he may abandon the city and flee."

"After receiving the news that General Yan Rou had captured Dongpinglu, we have withdrawn the troops surrounding the west and south gates and concentrated on the northern city to attack, with the goal of letting Cai Yang abandon the city as soon as possible. But now it seems that Cai Yang obviously knew that his back road was blocked, so he simply gave up the idea of fleeing and wanted to live and die with the city instead. ”

"Lord Chen, you have been in Yanzhou Mansion for many years in the past, and you know the Saltless City very well, do you know if there are any damages to the walls of the Saltless City?" Fan Li told the general Li Hong who led his army north to Youzhou to quell the rebellion of Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju, and took advantage of the weakness of the damaged city wall of Jicheng to use stone cannons to collapse the damaged part of the city wall and conquer Jicheng.

Now there are more than 50 stone cannons under the Yanwu City, and if you find the broken part of the city wall, there is a fierce bombardment, and there is a chance that the city wall will be knocked down.

"I haven't heard of any damage to the walls of Saltless City." Chen Gong shook his head and said,

"Even if there is a breakage, it will be repaired very quickly. The construction of the city wall in the Central Plains is very different from the construction of the city wall in the northern Xinjiang. The walls of the northern Xinjiang are all made of stones, thick and wide, and it is very difficult to repair once damaged, while the walls of the Central Plains are earthy inside, and the outside is built with bricks and stones, although they are not as strong as the walls of the northern Xinjiang, but it is easy to repair. Chen Gong suddenly remembered something as he spoke, stood up suddenly, waved his hand excitedly and said, "There is a way, dig a tunnel, dig a tunnel into the city." Lu Bu and Fan Li glanced at each other and smiled bitterly.

What kind of solution is this? It takes a long time to dig tunnels, and there is no time to do so now. Chen Gong saw the disappointed expressions of the two and hurriedly explained: "When the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army attacked Wuyan City, they dug more than a dozen tunnels outside the city. After we recaptured the Saltless City, we blocked up all these tunnels. However, because the conditions were very poor at that time, it was impossible to completely seal the tunnel, so only the two ends of the tunnel were tamped with soil. Lu Bu and Fan Li looked at Chen Gong in surprise,

"So, the tunnels are still there?"

"Of course it's still there." Chen Gong said,

"It's been a long time, Cao Cao has long forgotten about it, and he won't spend manpower and material resources to reseal it. All we need to do is find the entrance to the tunnel, dig up the earth that seals the entrance to the tunnel, and then we can enter the city along the tunnel......"

"Let's dig up the dirt at the exit of the tunnel, and the soldiers will be able to fight into the city." Fan Liang stood up excitedly and grabbed Chen Gong's arm,

"Lord Chen, do you remember the entrances to these tunnels?"

"I should still be able to find it." Chen Gong said with a smile,

"Although I wasn't the one who sealed the tunnels back then, I knew several tunnel exits leading to the most important parts of the city. From the location of these exits, it is not difficult to judge the entrance to the tunnels excavated by the Yellow Turban Army. Lu Bu jumped up, pulled Chen Gong and walked out,

"Quick, find the entrance to the tunnel first, as long as you can find an entrance to the tunnel. We'll be able to take the Saltless City tonight. ”

"Lord Fan, go and gather a thousand strong people, ...... quickly" Cai Yang leaned against the cold city wall, holding a black cloth and slowly wiping the blood on his hands, turning a deaf ear to the fierce fighting around him.

The speed of the Northern Xinjiang Iron Cavalry was too fast, and although he escaped the Jishui River, he could not escape the Wenshui River.

I can't escape, I can only fight to the death, and I hope that the lives of myself and thousands of soldiers can help save the precarious situation in the Central Plains.

The drums in the city burst out, rapid and violent. It's so tense that you can barely breathe. Cai Yang turned abruptly and looked into the city.

The sound of killing in the dark city was everywhere, and the government in the city was being engulfed by a blazing flame, and the fire rose to the sky.

Cai Yang felt a chill in his heart, he never expected that there would be a rebellion in the city at this time. Cai Yang did not hesitate at all, waved his hand and shouted: "Order all departments to defend the city." ”

"Defend Tun, kill with me. Whoever rebels will be killed. Cai Yang had just rushed down the city wall with a group of men and horses, and he met the prime minister of Dongping head-on.

The Prime Minister was sweating profusely and terrified,

"Lord Cai, the Northern Xinjiang Army has entered the city, and it is burning and killing ...... everywhere" Cai Yang's scalp was numb, and he blurted out: "The Northern Xinjiang Army has entered the city?" Have you seen it? ”

"It's indeed the Northern Frontier Army. They came from the tunnel, appeared directly in the garden of the mansion, and burned the mansion first. Cai Yang was incredulous.

What method did the Northern Xinjiang military use to dig a tunnel that was nearly 1,000 steps long in just two days? The shouts from the street in the distance became clearer and clearer, and if you don't believe it, you have to believe it.

"Withdraw ......" Cai Yang raised his hand and shouted,

"Order all departments, withdraw quickly, break through from the direction of the West City Gate, quickly, quickly ......" In April, Yanzhou Dongpingguo, Shouzhangcheng.

The general Li Hong led his army to surround Shouzhang. The number of defenders in Shouzhang City was very small, only 400 people, and they were very frightened when they saw the Northern Xinjiang army coming.

But they immediately discovered that the people surrounding Shouzhang were all bearded people, which immediately aroused the hatred in their hearts.

The Shouzhang County Order urgently told the people in the city that all men, women, and children, would participate in the battle to defend the city. All the men between the ages of 14 and 60 took up arms and went up to the walls.

Li Hong did not attack, but only let 20,000 Hun iron cavalry line up under the city, fired several rounds of long arrows into the city, and then shot a letter of surrender into the city.

The defenders of the city knew that they were outnumbered, but they still refused to surrender. Liu Bao demanded an attack. Although the city outside the fortress is not as large as the city of the Central Plains, it is far taller and stronger than the city of the Central Plains, and the Huns have the experience of attacking the city and pulling out the village, and the cavalry can be used as a foot pawn.

Li Hong did not agree and rejected Liu Bao's request. Let the Huns attack the city, and the people in the city will surely suffer.

Once the Huns smelled the blood and saw the treasure, no one could stop them from burning, killing, and plundering. Although Li Hong's prestige among the Huns was very high, at that time, Li Hong's dissuasion would not have any effect.

Until the critical moment, Li Hong would never release the fierce tiger of the Hun Iron Rider out of the cage. Late at night, Wei Yan led a heavy battalion to Shouzhang, and at the same time brought the news that Yan Rou had conquered Dongpinglu.

"Wuyan City is surrounded, and Cai Yang can't hold on for long." Li Hong said to Wei Yan,

"Urgently tell Wei Jun to bring five thousand iron horsemen to Shouzhang and take Shouzhang City immediately." Li Hong's hand pointed to Juye City on the map,

"After Wei Jun took Shouzhang, let him rush to Juye, implement the siege, and wait to join the army of Lu Bu and Fan Li. The siege of the city was handed over to Lu Bu and Fan Li, and the iron cavalry should not forcibly attack the city. ”

"The general wants to gallop five hundred miles south to surround Changyi?" Wei Yan raised his eyebrows and asked excitedly.

"Yes, I'll go south to Changyi immediately. It has been six days since the army crossed the river......" Li Hong looked up at the *night* outside the tent (**please delete),

"No, it's the seventh day. Cao Ren, who was stationed on the front line of Dingtao and Changyi, had plenty of time to strengthen the city defenses and deploy troops, and if it dragged on, it would be more difficult for the army to attack Dingtao and Changyi. ”

"After the iron cavalry arrived in Changyi, they surrounded Changyi, cut off the connection between Dingtao and Changyi, and cut off all reinforcements and grain, grass and ordnance to support Changyi. Then move along the Surabaya River to the line of Peiguo in Yuzhou and Pengcheng in Xuzhou, and attack Cao Cao and Liu Bei who came back from Jianghuai to the north. Li Hong's hand slowly swiped south from Changyi City on the map,

"Cao Cao and Liu Bei's army is in a hurry to return to help, and they must march day and night, exhausted, and will be unprepared for us. At this time, if we can inflict heavy losses on Cao Cao and Liu Bei and delay their speed in rescuing Yanzhou, we will give the left and right armies more time to attack Dingtao and Changyi. Whether or not we can take these two cities is very important for us to stabilize the front line on the line of Dingtao and Changyi, and to consolidate and stabilize most of the counties and counties of Yanzhou that we occupy. Wei Yan hesitated for a moment and whispered: "General, you are hurrying south with 20,000 iron horsemen, and there is no time to supply grain and grass. From here to Changyi, all the way is a large plain, there is no city barrier, and the speed of the iron horse will be very fast. I can't transport the grain and grass to the city of Changyi in time, and there is no way except to grow wings and fly. Li Hong frowned, and said to Wei Yan: "You march day and night with the people and grain and grass, and you must follow no matter what." I asked Yan Rou to lead the army to accompany you and protect the safety of the grain route along the way. ”

"General, the soldiers need to eat, and the horses need forage. Even if you bring enough dry food and horse feed, and even let the Iron Cavalry army burn and plunder along the road, you still can't guarantee the combat effectiveness of the army. Don't forget, you are carrying the Huns, the iron cavalry of Shan Yuting, once something goes wrong, the consequences are unimaginable. Wei Wei hesitated for a moment, but still opened his mouth to persuade,

"General, although time is extremely precious to us, at this moment, it is the first priority to work steadily and ensure the safety of the army. Only if there are no problems in the army can this battle be fought and won. ”

"I have calculated carefully, as long as you keep moving at a speed of eighty miles every day, by the time I lead my army to Changyi, there will be a difference of three days between us at most. In other words, as long as I bring 5,000 more horses to carry grain and horse feed, I can ensure that the army lasts for six days. Li Hong waved his hand and smiled,

"If you don't have confidence, I'll let Tian Chou lead the heavy camp, and you will go to the back to replace Tian Chou to allocate grain and grass to the various armies, how about it?" Wei Yan's face turned red, and he said loudly: "General rest assured. Within six days, I will definitely rush to the city of Changyi to meet you. Outside the tent there was a sudden sound of horses' hooves, coming from far and near, straight to the big tent.

Li Hong turned around slightly and looked out of the tent intently. Wei Yan stood up and was about to walk out of the tent, when he saw a fast horse galloping in, shouting loudly: "General, the big thing is not good, something has happened in Wuyan City." Li Hong was secretly taken aback, sat behind the desk and waved at Wei Yan, signaling to bring the letter over quickly.

"What's going on? Blocked attack? Wei Yan asked urgently as he took the letter from the messenger's hand.

"The Saltless City has been conquered." The messenger panted and wiped his sweat,

"When the army entered the city, they slaughtered and set fire to it. Lord Yang Yi, who took the lead in attacking the city, also killed the Dongping State Minister and more than a dozen subordinates of the State Minister's Mansion, and as a result, this incident angered several ministers of the DPRK and China, and they forced General Lu to arrest Lord Yang. ”

"And then?" Wei Yan handed the letter to the general and asked impatiently.

Later, Guo Xun and Liu Yu brought a group of officers of the Southern Army to rush into the big tent of the Chinese army and argue with General Lu. Choe Jun, Kim Sang, and other ministers of the DPRK and China were extremely dissatisfied with this and threatened to play impeachment. In a fit of rage, Lord Guo Xun slapped Lord Jin Shang and knocked Lord Jin Shang unconscious......" Wei Yan was dizzy and speechless with a wry smile.

There were many contradictions between the samurai and the scholars in the court. When they were in Jinyang, both sides were very restrained and could tolerate each other.

When they arrived here, perhaps it was the emperor who was far away, or perhaps because the Central Plains War had brought a heavy psychological burden to many military and political officials, and the unprecedented huge responsibility made all of them walk on thin ice as if they were on the edge of the abyss, lest they lose the war and damage Zhongxing Daya because of their own mistakes and mistakes.

So everyone has been in a high level of tension, and the anger is very big. The anger is big, and there are already contradictions, so quarrels are inevitable, but I didn't expect things to be so serious.

"How's Kim-sama's injury?" Wei Yan asked worriedly.

"Lord Jin is old and weak, and he was slapped by Lord Guo and fell to the ground, as if he was ......" The messenger secretly looked at Li Hong, who was pale, and said in a low voice,

"It seems like I'm going to die...... Wei Yan's vest was cold, he didn't dare to ask again, he stood beside Li Hong with a frown and a bitter face, without saying a word.

"How can this be reasonable...... Li Hong smashed his fist on the desk and smashed the letter in his hand to the ground,

Lu Bu was dizzy, and he dared to shake the heart of the army at this time. The order was sent to Yan Rou, the general of Zhenbei, to rush to Wuyan City immediately and take over from Lu Bu to lead the southern army. ”

"General, this matter ...... can't ......" Wei Yan had the intention to dissuade him, but he was afraid of angering Li Hong, so he was a little at a loss, and he stammered when he spoke.

"Such a military spirit...... The morale of the army is even more chaotic. ”

"How can this be reasonable...... the more Li Hong thought about it, the more angry he became, and he raised his fist and aimed at the case a few times.

"I knew that Lu Bu was so poor, I shouldn't have let him be the commander of the Southern Army in the first place."

"General, you have to understand General Lu's difficulties." Wei Yan was intimidated by Li Hong's murderous aura, and involuntarily took a step back,

"Although Yang Yi and Guo Xun are red-eyed in the war, they have followed the general for many years, have always adhered to military discipline, and will not easily violate the law and kill people. If there was no hint and connivance from General Lu in this matter, I can say with certainty that Yang Yi and Guo Xun would never dare to mess around. Li Hong's eyes glared at Wei Yan, extremely dissatisfied with his words to defend Lu Bu,

"How do you know Lu Bu's thoughts? Did he say it to you personally? ”

"General, you are the commander of the left and right armies, and General Lu is the commander of the left and right armies. Once the army on the left does not reach the city of Changyi as scheduled, General Lu will bear all the blame, and you will attack and advance with the army on the left. You can think about it, what kind of mood is General Lu in at the moment? The weight of a thousand pounds on his back almost suffocated him, you know? In order to successfully kill and capture Changyi, General Lu not only had to ensure that the army could not be excessively damaged, but also that there would be no problems in the rear of the army. What options does he have at this point? What else could he do but kill the officials of the occupied city, eliminate all the causes of the rebellion, and ensure the safety of the rear of the army? ”

In the same way, the ministers of the DPRK and China, who were ordered to go south to appease the counties and counties of Yanzhou, also lived with trepidation. They have taken on the great responsibility of ensuring that we can gain a foothold in the Central Plains, to stabilize the county in the shortest possible time, to prevent the people from fleeing their homes, to keep the people in the county and continue farming, and to ensure that the army can be replenished with food on the spot after the spring harvest in May. General, think about how important it is for the former officials of the local government to help them stabilize and control the county as soon as possible. ”

"But we killed all these officials who surrendered and took prisoners, forcing the ministers of the DPRK and China to pay a hundred times more hardships in order to complete the heavy tasks entrusted by the imperial court, and these ministers with a major mission were of course furious. At this time, resolving the contradictions between military and political officials became another headache for General Lu. ”

"In my opinion, General Lu's order to detain Lord Yang Yi must have been an expedient measure to calm and ease the contradictions between the two sides. However, Guo Xun, Liu Yu and other adults obviously did not understand General Lu's approach, and they rushed into the big tent in anger, intensified the contradictions, and then slapped them down, complicating what was originally a simple matter. ”

"Hmph......" Li Hong snorted angrily,

"Just after the Saltless City was defeated, this happened, and Lu Bu couldn't escape the blame."

"General, stabilizing the morale of the army is the top priority at this moment, you should give a clear answer." Wei Yan persuaded,

"Or, do you want to go to the Saltless City yourself?"

"I'm not going." Li Hong waved his hand vigorously,

The book told Lu Bu that he was the commander of the Southern Army, and whether or not he had his acquiescence in this matter, he had to take responsibility, and he could not pass the blame away. If he does not dare to offend the Son of Heaven and the court, I will offend, and I will say that it is my order to kill people and set fires. Choi Jun and Kim Shang want to play impeachment, so let them impeach me. ”

"General......" Wei Yan looked at him fearfully and asked in a low voice,

"That Yang Yi and Guo Xun ......"

"Killing people and setting fires is my order, and it has nothing to do with them." Li Hong roared loudly,

"Let Lu Bu release the people to me immediately, and then lead the army south immediately." In April, Langya County, Xuzhou, Jucheng.

Late at night, the Shushui River is bathed in a pale moonlight, elegant and tranquil. Guan Yu stood on the embankment of the river, stroked his long hair with his hand, and quietly watched the army quietly kill the Yellow Turban Army camp in the hazy moonlight.

Suddenly, the drums beat in all directions, and a crack was torn open in the night. Jump to