"Journey to the West"

Author: Scarlet Polyp

Chapter 15 is a momentary moment

"Put! Shoot in depth! Zhao Guang used a spear to pick up a Kushan man who had climbed ashore back into the water, and loudly commanded the team to fire arrows. The locust's feathered arrows quickly covered the surface of the river, and the last bit of fighting spirit in the chests of the enemy who had crossed the river was wiped out, and the surviving Kushan soldiers who survived the rain of arrows rushed to the west bank, and many were killed by the sharp arrows that followed. Thousands of corpses float on the surface of the river, showing an eerie beauty in the light of the setting sun.

"**** grandma's, finally got through another day!" Zhang Hu walked ashore from the river with a long knife - the last wave of attacks of the Guishan people just now was very fierce, almost a whole team of 100 people rushed ashore, fortunately, Zhang Hu led more than a dozen personal soldiers to jump down the river to fight for their lives, with the salvo of bows and crossbows on the shore, this killed the enemy back, "The Guishan cubs are gathering more and more on the west bank, and today it seems that they have arrived at a few thousand people, and this river can't be defended!" ”

Xian Yugui said on the side: "Our army has less than 5,000 people, and guarding such a long river is inevitably a hundred secrets. Fortunately, the Kushan people have not been killed by the whole army so far, and it is considered a while to keep it. When it really comes to the point where he can't hold it, General Gao won't fill in the old book. ”

Commander Gao Shun fell into the camp to cover the retreat of the main force, but he did not think about resisting the hard fight. He devised a tactic of "blocking at all levels, sneaking attacks from time to time", eating up several small enemy units as soon as he came up, and when the enemy's large forces advanced, he did not fight hard, but constantly used the terrain and darkness to attack and harass. As a result, the already slow march of the Kushan army was even more slow, and it stopped and walked for more than half a month before advancing to the west bank of the Khotan River. Only then did Gao Shun put on a stubborn posture and blocked tens of thousands of Guishan troops here.

The Khotan River is an inland seasonal river, more than 100 zhang wide, the water level is not high in summer, and the deepest part is just no one's chest. At first, the Kushan people were dismissive of the river, and they didn't bother to erect a pontoon bridge, so they only let the soldiers hold hands and cross the river with a group of 100 people. The slow-moving Guishan soldiers in the river suddenly became a good live target for the Han army's bow and crossbow, and even if a few fish slipped through the net, they would be easily killed by the Han army after they landed. The commander of the Kushan on the other side saw that the hard attack would not work, so he used a strategy: he ordered people to build a dam to block the flow of the river, and the downstream smuggled at night, and the soldiers built bridges while crossing the river...... But he was recognized by Gao Shun one by one, and in desperation, he relied on the iron heart of many people to force the crossing with stupid methods. The battle of the Khotan River slowly turned into a war of attrition, although the Kushan army made no progress for several days, and as the enemy troops on the west bank increased, the situation became more and more unfavorable for the Han army on the east bank.

"The crossbow arrows stored in the army have gradually bottomed out, and this river will be lost sooner or later!" Zhao Neng rubbed his beard and said softly, "If we lose the Khotan River, our army will only have Gumo City to defend." But in the small town of Gumo, when the main force of the Guishan people arrives, I am afraid it will not be able to stop for long. ”

"There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, General Gao is a famous general in a hundred battles, and there will always be a way when the time comes. Let's just think about killing a few more when the time comes, and make enough money! It's useless to think about anything else, but think of a bird! Luo An said with a big grin. This time, the temporary formation was in the trap camp, and the strikers did not join in entirety. Zhao Guang handed over most of the people to He Chong and Tuoba Feng to lead the retreat with the main force, and he only brought Luo An Zhao Neng and dozens of capable soldiers to help.

"Lao Luo is very right!" Everyone was infected by Luo An's optimism, and they laughed loudly at the enemy's nest and the incompetence of the enemy generals. Zhao Guang laughed and scolded with everyone, but he knew very well in his heart: the troops couldn't last long - the trapped camp was known as the world's heroes, and even ordinary soldiers were good men in a hundred, but now that the war is over, many soldiers snored while leaning on their weapons, and they couldn't even care about tidying up their clothes and armor.

"The army is exhausted!" Gao Shun looked gloomy, looking at the brightly lit Guishuang tent on the other side of the river, "This is the same as the other, this river can't be guarded." ”

The adjutant general persuaded on the side: "General, we have dragged the enemy for nearly a month, and we have done our best, why don't we retreat to Qiuci?" ”

Gao Shun smiled and said, "A month? This is not enough, I promised Pang Shuai forty days. Why, are you scared? ”

"Afraid? Will I be afraid? Don't underestimate the general! The adjutant general moved the real fire and shouted loudly, "Since the establishment of the camp with the general under Xia, I have been fighting for more than ten years, and I have suffered hundreds of wounds all over my body, when have you ever retreated?" But now that the situation is stronger than people, we can't help but not retreat. If the general thinks that I am confusing the army, he will cut off my head and establish his authority! But please be sympathetic to the brothers who have been fighting for many years and have survived, and leave some seeds for the trapped camp! ”

Gao Shun patted Cao Xing's shoulder and said, "Old Cao, I'm sorry, I lost my words." I understand that you are thinking about the brothers in the camp. But you must understand one thing, trapping in the camp is for the sake of the Han. If you fight to the death for the Han Dynasty, even if the whole battalion is martyred, the battalion flag will not fall; If you retreat from the battle, even if the whole battalion retreats, the battalion flag has already fallen. ”

Hou Cheng, the commander of the charging cavalry on the side, heard this, and said: "The old brothers in the camp know the general's ambitions, and if the general is determined to be benevolent, the brothers will not have a second word. ”

"I don't want to die, and I won't take the trapped camp to a dead end! But Taishi Gongyun said: 'Death is lighter than a feather and heavier than Mount Tai'. Despising life and death is not necessarily seeking death...... Lao Cao, you can convene the generals for me. Cao Xuan stomped his feet and turned around, Hou Cheng hugged his fists at Gao Shun and smiled bitterly: "General, Lao Cao's temper is so straight, don't worry about ......"

"How many years of brothers, comrades, Lao Cao's loyalty, how could I not know?"

Early the next morning, the Kushan people on the west bank were surprised to find that the Han army on the east bank, which had resisted the army for seven or eight days, had disappeared! At first, the Kushan general Shaka suspected fraud, and refused to give the order to cross the river, delaying until the next day, and finally found out that there was indeed not a single Han soldier on the east bank. Shaka was so angry that he screamed and hurriedly ordered his army to cross the river in pursuit.

The Guishan people pursued all the way to the city of Gumo, and when they saw the city gate wide open, they thought that the Han army had abandoned the city again, so they swaggered into it, so they fell into Gao Shun's strategy. After more than 4,000 people of the Guishan pioneers entered the city, the jack gate on the city gate was suddenly lowered, and thousands of arrows were fired on the city wall, and countless Han troops poured out of the houses and streets in the city instantly, and it only took an hour to wipe out the Kushan people who entered the city. After killing the enemy in the city, Gao Shun ordered someone to open the jack gate, although the Guishan generals were so angry that they didn't dare to enter the city again. After three days of confrontation between the two sides, the balance of power between the enemy and us was once again broken: the main force of the Kushan's eastern expedition, General Ki Bonada, arrived, and the Kushan army outside the city reached 80,000 for a while. Gao Shun saw that the enemy was strong, so he immediately decided to set fire to the city that night, and while setting fire, he secretly withdrew his troops from the east gate of the city. Although the Kushan people were suspicious, they ignored the situation in the dark night, and the fire did not stop until noon the next day. When the Guishan army entered the city, the Han army disappeared again, and the city of Gumo had been burned to the ground, leaving not a single grass. Ki Bonada was furious and threatened to destroy this cunning and hateful Han army first, and then attack Qiuzi.

Three days later, the main force of the Kushan army searched south along the traces deliberately left by the Han army, and finally found the "cunning and hateful" Han army. The two armies immediately set up their positions and fought a decisive battle by the Green Ridge River.

After several unsuccessful attempts with light cavalry, Ki Bonada decisively used the elite in his hands to attack the left flank of the Han army, which was slightly weak.

The elite of the Kushan army consisted of a thousand-strong phalanx of infantry armed with huge spears and iron armor—spearmen who rose up in large numbers under the influence of the series of colonial city-states established by the Greeks in Central Asia. It was with this infantry phalanx and their cavalry that the Kushan people rose from a tribe to which the Otsuki clan belonged, conquered a vast territory from Central Asia to India, and established a powerful empire.

The left flank of the Han army, which was slightly weak, was where more than 1,000 "guest troops" such as Zhao Guang were located.

Most of these "guest troops" who voluntarily joined the trapped camp to resist the enemy together were composed of young and strong officers in the Western Expeditionary Army and their elite soldiers. These warriors are extremely brave in battle and have high martial arts, but the military formation is far less cooperative than the veterans in the camp. In the previous battles, Gao Shun had been deliberately protecting these "guest troops" and used them carefully, but at this decisive moment, he finally couldn't take care of it anymore. It was such an oversight that was discovered by the old and spicy enemy generals.

The Guishan Army's six thousand-man spear team formed a formation and pressed the left flank of the Han army with overwhelming momentum. Although the Han army resisted hard, it was unable to exert itself under the enemy's dense formation, and was soon encircled by the enemy, falling into the dilemma of fighting on its own. Seeing that the battle was unfavorable, Yan Ba, the main general of the left wing, personally led his troops to break into the enemy formation, beheaded a commander and fell into a heavy siege, was seriously injured and fell off his horse, and was desperately snatched out by his generals; The army Sima Yuwen Liang and the Yamen general Zhang Xiong were killed in battle, and all the troops died in battle; Fenwu general Wang Ling struggled to gather the remnants of the left flank and retreated to the Chinese army.

After Zhao Guang broke into the enemy formation with Yan Ba, he was also encircled. He soon discovered with sorrow that the iron horsemen of the Great Han could not gallop in front of such a dense spear formation of the Kushans. Soon after entering the battle, his war horse was pierced by several spears, and he had to abandon his horse and fight on foot. Although the strong marksmanship still made it impossible for the enemy to get close, after all, one person and one shot could not block the attacks of dozens of spears from all directions, and the body was soon painted in many places. When he was desperately resisting, a Guishan military general slapped his horse from behind, raised his sword and slashed at Zhao Guang's head.

Zhao Guang only felt that there was wind in the back of his head, and his heart suddenly felt cold. In a moment, he was kicked down by a diagonal stab, and he dodged the fatal knife, and when he looked up again, the enemy general behind him had been split into two pieces by a big man with a giant knife and his horse. Zhao Guang escaped death, sat on the ground and was awakened by the big man's shout: "What are you doing, don't put the rest of the brothers together!" ”

After Zhao Guang gathered the remnants of the surrounding soldiers, he asked everyone to form a circle to meet the enemy. The Kushan people have firmly gained the upper hand, so they are not in a hurry, and a team of 1,000 people is a few feet away, forming an encirclement of everyone. Zhao Guang took the opportunity to count the number of people and found that there were thirty-six people, including himself and the big man just now. Except for Luo An and Zhao Neng, the rest were the personal soldiers of other generals, and it seemed that the left flank of the Han army had been completely dispersed.

Zhao Guang carefully looked at the big man who had saved him just now, and saw that he was nine feet long, with phoenix eyes, majestic, extraordinary appearance, dressed in green robe and bright light armor, holding a green dragon relief swallowing giant knife, in his early twenties, it was the legendary fierce general of the three armies, the partial general Guan Ping.

Zhao Guang hurriedly said: "Thank you General Guan for saving me, although today is a mortal situation, it is not in vain to be able to go to the trouble with heroes like General Guan." “

Guan Ping calmly wiped the blood on his face, threw it on the ground, and asked with a smile: "Boy, have you got married?" ”

"Huh? This one... Still... Never. ”

"Hehe, Guan Mou has never been. Since the eldest husband has not yet started a family, how can he die here so easily! And rush out with Guan! Guan Ping said, looked up to the sky and roared, danced the green dragon giant knife, and smashed into the Guishan array like a tiger descending from the mountain, the giant knife swung like a forest of spears, and then drew a piece of gorgeous blood flowers in the enemy formation. Zhao Guang raised his gun and shouted: "Keep up with General Guan!" He led the crowd to rush up and kill them.

At first, the Kushans didn't care about the scarred remnants of this small group of lost horses. Besieged without attacking, and did not release arrows, just waiting for them to surrender - on the battlefield of Tianzhu, it was not uncommon to surrender with all their strength. However, the remnants of the army in front of him suddenly burst out, much to the surprise of the Guishan people, and then they wanted to suppress it with arrows, but they had already been rushed into the formation by the other party, and they couldn't distinguish between the enemy and me. The spear array of the Kushan Army was layered on top of each other on the periphery, incomparably strong and powerful, but once it was broken through to the inside, the spears that were more than three people tall were completely unwielding. As a result, the large array composed of thousands of people was strung into chaos by dozens of Han soldiers for a while.

Although Guan Ping was covered in blood, his heart was still unusually calm, he saw that the Guishan people's formation was in chaos, and shouted loudly: "Don't fight, take the horse, and rush out!" Everyone was originally killing with red eyes, but when they heard this, they immediately realized that they aimed at the Guishan generals who were riding horses beside them, and rushed out of the battle after killing the generals and seizing the horses. The loss of officers in the Guishan formation, the chaos was even more out of control, and the originally tight formation was scattered, and there was no one to stop the fleeing Han army.

The crowd fled to a small dirt slope more than two miles away before they stopped, and when they saw that no one was chasing, they breathed a sigh of relief, counted the number of people, and only six people were folded in the battle. Zhao Guang said with admiration: "Thanks to General Guan's command, the brothers were able to break out of the encirclement. ”

"What's worth it? Guan Mou also rushed out thanks to your hard work together. What do you call a little brother? ”

"Xiaguanjun Sima Zhao Guang, the word is far away."

"Heh, you are the Zhao Guang of Changshui Camp, your skills are really extraordinary." Guan Ping Zhengse said, "Now that our people have cut off contact with the trapped camp, separated by the enemy's heavy military formation, it is really difficult to meet again, and we can take our lives in vain at any time." I thought, why don't you just go east to Qiuzi, what do you think? ”

Zhao Guang looked at the exhausted crowd and nodded; "Listen to General Guan's orders."

"Hey, Zi Yuanyuan is out of sight, Guan is now a bare-bones general. Everyone is trying to survive in a boat, how old is Guan Mou, please ask you for a bargain, just call me Brother Guan. ”