Li Hong saw Yan Rou. The fiery red war horse, the fiery red daze, and the majestic fiery clouds.

He exclaimed, walked up quickly, and shouted, "Brother Ziyu......"

Yan Roufei dismounted, ran a few steps, grabbed Li Hong's big hand hard, and shook it again and again: "People, if you don't come again, we will cross the holy water east." ”

Li Hong laughed: "Zhuocheng is still in our hands, Zhuojun has not been lost, Brother Ziyu still has the strength to fight again, how can you say that you will cross the holy water in the east?" ”

"Zhang Niujiao is powerful, the Yellow Turban Army is indeed not to be underestimated. They have 100,000 horses and horses that have crossed the giant horse water one after another, and the next 50,000 horses are coming. Compared to them, we are too weak to fight back. Yan Rou said a little discouraged.

Li Hong patted him on the shoulder and comforted: "There will always be a way." Last year, the Guangyang Yellow Turban Uprising, captured Jicheng, killed the assassination history, killed the Taishou, and the momentum was terrifying. Under the command of Lord Liu, didn't you also defeat them and eliminate the Yellow Turban Army? ”

Yan Rou shook her head and said with a wry smile: "There were not so many yellow scarves in Guangyang last year, and there were mostly ordinary people, so it was much easier to fight. Now this army is not comparable in strength and numbers to last year. ”

While the two were talking, Xian Yufu hurriedly walked over. Compared to the last time the two met in Quang Ninh, he was much thinner.

"You have to pay attention to your body." Li Hong said with concern, "I haven't seen you for a month or two, you've lost a lot of weight." ”

Xian Yufu was worried, and waved his hand weakly.

"The situation of the war is developing too fast, we have lost consecutive battles, how can we have the heart to sleep. I heard that you were coming, Ziyu and I came overnight, just to ask you if you have any strategies to retreat from the enemy? ”

Li Hong took Xian Yufu's hand and said with a smile: "You have a good rest first, and when you have enough spirits, we will discuss again." ”

"Go, go, come in, come in. Are your injuries completely healed? Yan Rou asked.

"Alright, just a few more scars." The three of them walked together affectionately, and the older Xian Yufu was sandwiched between the two. Seeing Li Hong, Xian Yufu's mood suddenly improved, and his extreme fatigue seemed to have been reduced a lot.

"If only I had been following you." Yan Rou said regretfully, "You arrived in Shanggu and fought many battles, and the scenes were wonderful and hearty. I stayed in Yuyang and only caught a few small battles, which was not interesting at all. ”

Li Hong smiled embarrassedly. At that time, He Yi, the Taishou of Yuyang, insisted on Yan Rou staying to guard Yuyang City, but Yan Rou was embarrassed and could not refuse, so he missed the opportunity to go north with Li Hong to kill the enemy. He has always been obsessed with it, and he still complains.

When Li Hong saw Yan Liang following behind, he immediately remembered that he didn't introduce him.

"Come, let me introduce you, at this time, my new guard governor Cao, his name is Yan Liang Yan Zishan, he is the thief Cao of the Zhongshan County Government, and he only came to me today."

Xian Yufu and Yan Rou stopped and looked at Yan Liang, their faces showing surprise.

Yan Liang didn't expect that Li Hong would suddenly stop and introduce the two adults to him, and his heart warmed. It's always exciting to be valued by your boss.

"Xiaguan meets the two adults."

Yan Rou is a soldier in the county government, and he is bigger than the thief Cao who is in charge of the guards, but the gap is not big.

He hurriedly returned the salute and said, "Don't dare to be, don't dare to be." Now we are all working under the captain's account, and we are all colleagues, so we don't need to be too polite. ”

Xian Yufu looked Yan Liang up and down carefully, returned the salute, and said to Li Hong with a smile: "Is the Prime Minister here?" ”

Li Hong nodded, "In the big tent." We were chatting by the river just now. ”

"He's so generous, and he's put all these good hands under your tent. Do you know what Yan Zishan's nickname is? ”

Li Hong shook his head, looked at Yan Liang and asked strangely, "Is Zishan famous?" ”

Yan Rou laughed.

"Yan Zishan is nicknamed Tiger Head, and he is good at using a tiger head knife. When he was eighteen years old, he wanted to mix a bowl of rice to eat, so he carried this big knife to kill all over Hebei. As a result, because he was too rampant, there were no Shihe people under him, but he offended many masters in Hebei, and in the end, no one wanted him, and he returned in embarrassment. ”

Yan Liang's face was slightly red, and he stood aside with an embarrassed expression.

Li Hong became curious and hurriedly asked, "What happened later?" ”

Xian Yufu continued: "Later, he returned to his hometown in Changshan Country and helped the local county to suppress bandits. The county magistrate disliked him for being too murderous, refused to leave him in the county office, and sent him to be a small pavilion chief. But Yan Hutou has become famous since then. ”

"When did the tiger head brother follow the Prime Minister?" Xian Yufu turned to ask Yan Liangdao.

Yan Liang replied respectfully: "Last year, there was a yellow scarf in my hometown, and I couldn't stay, so I fled to Zhuo County with my parents. This spring, seeing that the situation is okay, I am ready to return to my hometown. When passing by Nulu City, he saw Zhongshan recruiting troops, and immediately went to enlist. Later, I was favored by the Prime Minister and transferred to the house to be a thief. ”

"So you're so famous." Li Hong exclaimed.

Yan Liang's expression was even more embarrassed, and he was very embarrassed.

Xian Yufu and Yan Rou had seen Zhang Chun, and several people sat in the big tent to discuss the military situation.

Li Hong's opinion is very clear, the current gap with the strength of the Yellow Turban Army is too far, and there is no chance of winning in a head-to-head battle. Referring to last year's Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and Lu Zhi's methods of exterminating the Yellow Turbans, it is nothing more than to hold each other first, and then win by surprise, and wait for an opportunity to fight with them after the troops reach a certain number. But now they can't even hold each other, and the troops can only blindly retreat, and this battle will be very difficult to fight.

Xian Yufu was immediately discouraged. He asked in frustration, "No turnaround at all?" ”

Li Hong frowned tightly and said with a wry smile: "It is indeed not." Even if there is a turnaround, we have to create it ourselves. To create this turnaround, we need troops. Without troops, it would be in vain to say anything. ”

Zhang Chun sighed and said slowly: "We don't have troops now. Can't even recruit temporarily? ”

"Why?"

"Every time the Yellow Turban Army occupies a place, they open warehouses to the local people and release grain, and they are very popular with the people. Now the people everywhere are looking forward to the Yellow Turban Army coming to their doorstep, so that they can burn the official mansion, kill the bullies, rob the rich, and have food to eat and clothes to wear. Now the common people are on the side of the Yellow Turbans, helping them and sending them messages. How many people are still willing to fight them as soldiers? Except for the private armies of the gatekeeper tycoons themselves. ”

Li Hong's head was big when he heard it.

"What you mean is that there are no more people on the ground in Zhuo County who are willing to help us, right?"

Zhang Chun's face was expressionless. Li Hong turned his eyes to look at Xian Yufu and Yan Rou. The two of them looked solemn and nodded at the same time.

"In any case, we must slow down the enemy's attack. If we can drag them until it snows in Zhuojun, maybe the situation will turn around. Zhang Chun pondered for a long time and said slowly.

Several people in the tent were silent.

"If the 3,000 men of the Xianyu Silver Department of Shanggu County arrive in time, we still have 25,000 troops west of the Shengshui River, half of which are cavalry. We can make full use of the mobility of cavalry, effectively strike at the enemy's supply lines, and carry out small-scale surprise attacks to achieve our goal of delaying the enemy's attack. The infantry is guarding Zhuocheng, and more than 10,000 people are guarding a city, even if the Yellow Turban Army invests 100,000 people to attack, it is estimated that it will take a while, right? Zhang Chun looked at the map on the desk and said to the three of them:

"On the battlefield of Jizhou, our troops can only barely support it, and the main force of the imperial court is now on the battlefield of Xiliang, and the future is uncertain. We can't count on reinforcements, so we can only rely on ourselves. ”

"This time, the Yellow Turban Army suddenly entered Youzhou, and their strategic intention is very obvious, that is, they want to occupy the entire Youzhou. They want to lay a foundation, consolidate their sphere of influence, and build a stable rear in order to occupy a larger territory and seize greater interests in the future. ”

"Youzhou is located in the northern part of Xinjiang, far away from the Central Plains and far away from Kyoto. If we let them succeed this time, it will be very difficult for us to completely annihilate them in the future. Once it becomes a state that cannot be lost, it will be a disaster for the people of Youzhou and the Han Kingdom. ”

"So we all have to persevere, insist on staying west of the Shengshui River, and keep the Yellow Turban Army in Zhuo County. As long as it snows, it will be difficult for the Yellow Turbans to resupply, and the siege will not be able to continue, and a turnaround may occur. ”

"Last year, several commanders completed the final blow to the Yellow Turban Army, wasn't it all in winter? This year in Youzhou, perhaps the same is the case. ”

Li Hong, Xian Yufu and Yan Rou all nodded their heads again and again, agreeing with Zhang Chun's opinion.

They all admired Zhang Chun. At first, I thought that Zhang Chun's rapid defeat from Zhongshan Kingdom was because he was mediocre and incompetent, but now it seems that this is not the case. This person still has real talent and learning, and it is estimated that the attack of the Yellow Turban Army is too fierce. How many troops can he make up in Zhongshan alone? Without troops, no one can defeat the enemy.

Li Hong felt that Zhang Chun was definitely a good official. His words by the river showed that he was emotionally sympathetic to the Yellow Turbans. The soldiers in the Yellow Turban Army are ordinary people, and if it weren't for the sake of survival, who would take the initiative to beg death to rebel. What is the crime of rebellion, the sin of the nine tribes. Zhang Chun's indignation against this dark world did not prevent him from continuing to be an official of the imperial court, continuing to take the rank of the imperial court, and continuing to work hard to annihilate the Yellow Turban Army. There is a clear distinction between public and private, and the separation of love and law, this kind of person must be a good official.

The four of them immediately discussed the details.

Zhang Chun immediately set off to Jicheng to meet Yang Huang. There are no reinforcements, but there must be no problems with the supplies sent to the front. When he went to Jicheng, Zhang Chun was ready to volunteer and offered to take on the task of raising and escorting grain and grass. After entering Zhuo County, there was no pasture, and the forage for the war horses was all transported from the rear. Once the war horse has no forage, Li Hong's Fengyun Iron Cavalry can be changed to infantry. Therefore, Li Hong attaches great importance to this issue.

Xian Yufu and Yan Rou returned to Zhuocheng and informed Zhang Chun and Li Hong of the opinions of Zhang Chun and Li Hong to the Taishou Wang Wei of Zhuojun, and prepared for the battle of defending the city.

Li Hong led his troops to swim between the vast mountains and forests and plains between Shengshui and Jumashui, striking at the enemy's supplies and small forces, delaying the enemy's attack.

If Xian Yu Yinbu rushes to the Shengshui River, he will stay on the east bank of the Shengshui River for the time being, waiting for the opportunity to move.

Zhang Niujiao's troops steadily advanced to the city of Zhuojun three days later.

Zhang Niujiao led 50,000 people to camp in the west of Zhuo County. Zhang Baicai led an army of 30,000 and stationed at the south gate.

After crossing the river, the 30,000 troops of the left colonel of the Yellow Turban Army quickly advanced in the direction of Fangcheng to protect the right flank of the main siege force.

After crossing the river, the 30,000 troops of the Yellow Turban Army Huanglong quickly moved north and captured the small city of Yuguo in one day. Immediately, the large army immediately marched eastward, quickly marched to the Shengshui River, prepared to capture the Liangxiang crossing, and effectively protected the left flank of the main force.

Fang Biao led an army of 5,000 as the front and marched in Xiaofang Mountain. Xiaofang Mountain is still a hundred miles away from the Shengshui River.

He is a subordinate of Huanglong, and according to the request, he must rush to the Shengshui River tomorrow morning. However, this place was already the sphere of activity of the official army, so Fang Biao ordered the troops to move carefully and closely guard against the enemy's surprise attack.

Fang Biao received news that the 10,000 cavalry of Li Hong, the commander of the Han army, had crossed the Shengshui River and were penetrating into the area around Zhuoxian, and they should always be on guard against being attacked by his troops. This man is good at attacking battles, and he is best at night attacks.

Fang Biao didn't take it to heart. He's getting angry. He was the first to attack the city of Yuguo, and he thought that he could make a lot of money, but he didn't expect that before he went to the county office, Huang Shuai's order came. Open immediately. Why did he work hard to lay the place, but he couldn't even catch a needle.

Scouts flew in.

"Lord Sima, ten miles away from us, I saw the enemy's cavalry." The scout said profusely sweating.

Fang Biao was taken aback and asked nervously, "How many people?" How many people are there? ”

"Estimated thousands?"

"Order the troops, stop the advance, form a dense formation, and prepare to block the enemy." Fang Biao shouted loudly: "Send someone to inform Huang Shuai, quickly move closer to our department, and the enemy's cavalry unit has appeared." ”

The drum beats.

The Yellow Turban soldiers quickly gathered together and set up a defensive position.

"Lord Sima, aren't we going to retreat?" At this time, several military commanders of the Yellow Turban Army drove horses and asked one after another.

"Lord Sima, the enemy has several thousand cavalry, I'm afraid we can't deal with it."

Fang Biao waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"Huang Shuai had already expected that the enemy might attack us, so the Chinese army following us was actually the main force, more than 20,000 people were there, and it was now ten miles away from us. There are still 30,000 people on our right flank, eight miles from us. All we have to do is hold back here a little, and then we will feign defeat and lure the enemy into the encirclement, and the main force will fight it. ”

"How can there be troops on our right flank?" A military commander asked in surprise.

Fang Biao's eyes widened, and he scolded loudly: "Just obey my orders, why do you ask a lot?" Want to die? ”

Li Hong saw Zheng Xin rushing over like crazy, and hurriedly hit his horse to meet him.

"My lord, Pershan has found traces of enemy troops."

"Pershan?" Li Hong repeated in surprise, "Pershan? Isn't Pershan on the right side of the Yellow Dragon's troops? Where are there enemy troops? ”

"Yes, the news is very accurate, and it was reported by a local lieutenant commander himself. I've sent someone to check it, and there are probably more than 30,000 people. ”

Li Hong unfolded the map, his face showing horror.

"Fang Biao's location is an ambush circle."

"Yes. The troops must retreat immediately, and they will not be able to do so. ”

"Retreat." Li Hong shouted to the heralds, "Inform all the tribes and immediately retreat in the direction of Zhuocheng." ”

The heralds immediately dispersed and galloped away.

Li Hong and Zheng Xin looked at each other, and the fear in their eyes became stronger and stronger.