Chapter 10: Winning the Central Plains, Section 35

Northwest of the battlefield.

In order to tear apart the phalanx as soon as possible, Li Kan and Zhang Heng's Xiliang infantry army deployed the army directly in front of the phalanx, and organized more than a dozen attack squads to repeatedly attack, trying to break through the defense of the phalanx, and then let the iron cavalry attack. Who knew that after more than an hour of fierce fighting, his iron cavalry was still blocked on the side of the battlefield, and he did not kill for a long time.

At this time, the Northern Xinjiang Army suddenly launched a counteroffensive, and the phalanx in a short period of time changed from an impregnable "fortress" to a surging "wave". The dozen or so assault teams that were attacking were swallowed up by the invincible storm in the blink of an eye.

Li Kan and Zhang Heng were shocked, and hurriedly ordered to form a formation to hold on, stabilize their positions, beat war drums, erect the banner of "Double Rabbit", and asked Yang Qiu, who was fighting fiercely on the battlefield a mile away, for the support of the brigade.

Zhang Baiqi commanded the army to set off a storm and advance bravely. He wanted to use the superior forces to surround the Xiliang infantry army on the opposite side and encircle and annihilate it before the Xiliang Iron Cavalry arrived.

"My lord, the enemy has asked for help." Yu Yigen pointed to the "Double Rabbit" banner in the enemy formation and shouted, "Send people to kill the enemy's flank and block the support of the enemy cavalry." ”

Zhang Baiqi nodded again and again. He was worried that his Duliao battalion was insufficient to entangle the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, so he hurriedly ordered Li Yao, who was reorganizing the army in the rear of the army, to quickly intervene and attack from the flank of the Xiliang infantry army, destroy the defense of the Xiliang people as soon as possible, and surround the Xiliang army.

"Drum ......," Zhang Baiqi turned around and waved vigorously at the herald. Tell the troops to attack quickly and surround the enemy. ”

Yang Qiu saw the "Double Rabbit" banner trembling violently in the bloody rain and bloody wind from a distance, and he wanted to help, but he couldn't do it.

The Duliao camp is famous all over the world, and it was once the most elite iron cavalry of the Han Dynasty guarding the northern frontier, and fighting with such a battle-hardened army, the Xiliang people are obviously a little worse. Compared with the soldiers of the Duliao battalion, the Xiliang people have a big gap in terms of personal martial arts and the coordination of the battle formation. If it weren't for the Xiliang people who had the numerical advantage, this battle would have been decided.

Yang Qiu did not dare to send troops to support Li Kan, lest he lose his numerical superiority and lead to the rapid rout of the army.

"Urgently tell Lord Han and ask him to use reserve reinforcements, or transfer troops from the middle battlefield to support Li Kan and block the counterattack of the Northern Frontier Army." Yang Qiu vigorously wiped the blood stains on his gray beard and said anxiously, "Tell Lord Han and ask him to pull the main army onto the battlefield as soon as possible, and quickly change the unfavorable situation on the battlefield, so as not to suffer heavy losses to our army." Quick, quick......"

The southeast side of the battlefield.

Yang Feng and Liang Baiwu commanded the army to suddenly change formations, and the huge and strong "fortress" quickly turned into a huge and sharp "iron cone".

When the formation was changed, Liang Xing and Ma Wan were each taking an iron horse to shoot along the two wings of the phalanx, and when they saw that the two wings of the phalanx suddenly "collapsed", they thought that there was an opportunity to take advantage of it, and hurriedly waved their troops to attack. After the two wings of the phalanx "collapsed" and contracted, the ballista cart formation in the formation immediately became the front line of the attack. With an earth-shattering roar, the ballistas fired continuously, and the arrows were like locusts. The Xiliang Iron Cavalry was hit hard.

Liang Xing and Ma escaped death, and retreated quickly with the gallant horsemen. Their withdrawal completely exposed Xia Zhao's army of foot soldiers to the attack of the Northern Frontier Army. Huaxiong took the lead in launching a counterattack, and then Yang Feng and Liang Baiwu pushed forward with the "iron cone" array, beating Xia Zhao's army of foot soldiers to the point of embarrassment and retreating.

Liang Xing and Ma Wan regrouped the iron cavalry as fast as possible, and more than 3,000 cavalry soldiers rushed to the battlefield again, barely helping Xia Zhao stabilize the formation. However, there are too many Northern Xinjiang Army, more than 10,000 people roar like thunder, and the situation on the battlefield is precarious, and the infantry and cavalry army of the coalition army may be completely defeated by the Northern Xinjiang Army at any time.

"Ask for help, ask for ......help," Xia Zhao Khan was like rain, angry, "Tell Lord Gao that the army is about to collapse, ask him to support quickly, support quickly." ”

The summer sun hung high in the clear blue sky, the scorching sun shone on the battlefield for miles, the bloody air shrouded the sky and the earth under the high temperature, and the violence and cruelty rose with the fierce fighting on the battlefield and the undulating smoke and dust. All the people on the battlefield are immersed in the killing, whether it is the high generals or the soldiers moaning in pools of blood, they have thrown their lives out of the clouds, and they have all thrown away all emotions. They only have bloody weapons in their eyes, and they only kill in their hearts. When they stabbed Bingling's spear into each other's bodies, when they licked and sucked the blood of their opponents, what they felt was not pain, not happiness, but numbness, extreme disregard for life and survival.

Han Sui stood under the big tree, his eyes closed, and he was engrossed in playing the flute. His wide robe fluttered in the wind, his long gray beard gently swayed, and a faint and warm shallow smile appeared on his weather-beaten face, and his whole body and mind seemed to melt into the melodious sound of the sad and sad flute.

Ling Ru, Han Yi and dozens of guards stood at the foot of the hillside in twos and threes, looking at Han Sui from a distance, their eyes full of respect and worship. This old man has struggled all his life for Xiliang, indomitable and exhausted. Although today's Xiliang is in a critical situation, and the situation is more sinister than more than ten years ago, as long as the old man is still alive, as long as the old man's flute is still echoing under the vast sky of Xiliang, Xiliang will finally be able to stabilize one day, and Xiliang people will finally be able to live a long-awaited peaceful life.

The sound of sudden hooves came from far and near, one after another. Messengers rushed from all over the battlefield. Ling Ru asked the guards to stop them far away, and there was only one reply: insist, gritted his teeth and insisted.

After a long time, the sound of the flute gradually became higher, and the sad sound faintly carried a trace of murder.

Han Sui's body suddenly straightened, and he seemed to have returned to the years of the past, back to the heroic era of scolding Fang Xuan and pointing out the country.

"Sir, sir......" Xin Bi Pegasus came, his hoarse cry was filled with anger and panic, "Xia Zhao, Liang Xing, and Ma Wan can't hold on, please Sir agree to our request and send troops to support immediately." ”

The flute stopped abruptly.

Ling Ru, Han Yi and the others glared at Xin Bi fiercely, eager to rush up and beat him violently. Recently, Mr. has rarely played the flute, and he finally took a break to relax, but he ruined this bastard who is not long-eyed. The battle situation in Guanzhong is under the control of Mr., how much change can be made in a short period of time?

Han Sui slowly opened his eyes, held the horizontal flute in his hand, and slowly looked up at the sky.

It was nearly noon.

"Sir, the left flank of the Northern Frontier Army has suddenly counterattacked. Because the Qiang cavalry left the battlefield without authorization, the number of iron cavalry was seriously insufficient, resulting in our army being unable to effectively block the attack of the Northern Xinjiang Army. Lord Xia Zhao's army was dealt a heavy blow as a result, and its defeat was imminent. Xin Bi turned a blind eye to the dissatisfaction of Ling Ru and the others, rushed to the bottom of the tree in three or two steps, and waved his arms excitedly at Han Sui.

Seeing that Xia Zhao's army was in danger, Xin Bi, Deng Sheng and others urgently urged Gao Gan to send troops to rescue, but Gao Gan took the overall situation into account and was worried that his premature attack would affect Han Sui's control of the entire battle situation, so they did not agree, but repeatedly sent people to ask Han Sui's opinion, but Han Sui's reply was the same. Xin Bi was so anxious that he couldn't hold back his eagerness, and personally rushed to the Chinese army to persuade Han Sui.

"After the start of the war, Jiao Touch led 5,000 soldiers to fight, and after Jiao Touch died, Xia Zhao brought another 2,000 people to support, and there are at most 5,000 foot soldiers left on the right flank battlefield. After the Qiang people left the battlefield, there were only three or four thousand cavalry left, and these people suffered heavy losses after the counteroffensive of the Northern Xinjiang Army, and now they have withdrawn to both sides of the battlefield on the right flank to protect the infantry army. Now on the battlefield, only Xia Zhao's army is fighting against more than 10,000 Northern Xinjiang troops, and he can't stop it at all. Once Xia Zhao's army collapses, the morale of the army will definitely be weakened, and the battle behind will not be able to be fought. ”

Han Sui frowned and was silent.

Due to the problems of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry itself, the offensive of the coalition forces on both flanks of the battlefield did not achieve the expected goals. Now that the coalition forces are unable to suppress the Northern Frontier Army, of course, they cannot force the Northern Frontier Army to throw all their troops on the battlefield. On the contrary, the Northern Frontier Army took advantage of the favorable situation on the battlefield and launched a counteroffensive on both flanks. Their purpose was obvious, to force themselves to quickly dispatch all their armies.

"My lord, the Northern Frontier Army has counterattacked on all fronts, and they should have no army." "Even if they still have an army, it's just a reserve army left in the city, and the number won't be too many. ”

"How much do you know about Xu Rong?" Han Sui asked suddenly.

Xin Bi was stunned for a moment and shook his head. He was not familiar with Xu Rong and had no way of understanding it.

"Xu Rong is now the imperial lieutenant of the Jinyang Imperial Court, one of the ministers of the Three Dukes, and he is powerful. But he came from a humble background, his ancestor was an ordinary official in Xuanwu County, Youzhou, he can be ranked as the third duke, how much hardship he needs to pay, do you know? ”

Xin Bi, Ling Ru, Han Yi and the others looked at each other, a little puzzled, and didn't know what Han Sui meant by this.

"Li Hong, Xian Yufu, and Xu Rong were all from Youzhou, and they controlled the military power of the Jinyang court. But have you noticed that after the Battle of Yizhou, Xian Yufu suddenly left Jinyang and returned to Northern Xinjiang, and the successor was Xu Rong. Almost at the same time, the eldest princess revised the official system in Jinyang, moved Shangshutai out of the palace, and openly competed with foreign dynasties for power. Li Hong remained silent, and then went north to get out of the jam. ”

"Li Hong and Xian Yufu have both left Jinyang, leaving only Xu Rong alone in charge of the army, what does this mean?" Han Sui paused for a moment and continued, "This shows that Xu Rong is the person of the eldest princess, and the person who will restrain Li Honghe and Xian Yu in the future of the eldest princess, so ......" Han Sui pointed to the battlefield and said in a very sure tone, "Xu Rong cannot be defeated, and the Jinyang Imperial Court and the eldest princess will not allow Xu Rong to be defeated." Once Xu Rong was defeated and left Jinyang, it would be a heavy blow to the eldest princess and the imperial court. ”

"Sir, do you mean that Xu Rong has the absolute certainty of victory?" Simbi asked nervously.

"Li Hong and Xian Yufu won the victory in the Central Plains War, and their exploits were even more prominent, while if Xu Rong wanted to stay in the court of Jinyang, he needed to win the Battle of Guanzhong and achieve the same outstanding feats. In order to help Xu Rong win this battle, the eldest princess and the imperial court will do their best, and will give him the greatest support in terms of military strength and financial endowment. Han Sui's face was worried, and he said slowly, "Xu Rong definitely still has troops in his hands, but we don't know how many there are." Therefore, we must not expose our forces too early, we must not prematurely reveal the direction of the main attack, and we must wait a little longer to ensure that nothing goes wrong. ”

"But......" Although Xin Bi was saddened by the losses of his own army, he had to admit that Han Sui's speculation was very reasonable. Yuan Shao can't afford to lose this battle, and once he loses, not only will the prospects be bleak, but he is more likely to lose Luoyang and collapse. He thought about it for a while, and sighed helplessly: "Since Mr. is unwilling to expose his troops and the direction of the main attack too early, he must think of another way to lure the enemy, and he can't fight so hard." We can't afford to fight like this. ”

"How long can the left and right flanks last?" Han Sui nodded and turned his head to ask Ling Ru.

"On the right flank, there are iron cavalry to help, and it can still be supported. In addition, the main army of Lord Gao Gan was on standby on the right flank, and if Xia Zhao's army slowly retreated, it would be extremely advantageous for us to quickly encircle the enemy in the event of a counteroffensive. Ling Ru said, "In comparison, the left-wing battlefield is very dangerous. The iron cavalry of Yang Qiu and Cheng Yi on the battlefield on the left flank is now entangled by the Duliao battalion of the Northern Xinjiang Army, and has been unable to support Li Kan's infantry army, while Li Kan's 5,000 infantry and Zhang Heng's 2,000 infantry soldiers who later supported it are retreating one after another after being frantically counterattacked by the Northern Xinjiang Army because of the lack of iron cavalry cover, and the situation is very critical. ”

Before Ling Ru finished speaking, Xin Bi was not happy. The battlefield on the left flank is full of your elite Xiliang, and there is also an iron cavalry fighting on the battlefield, this situation is still dangerous, and you are too good at it. He was about to ridicule him, but Han Sui said a fair word in time and blocked his mouth.

"The battlefield on the left flank can also be supported at present, so let's concentrate our forces to hit the middle lane first." Han Sui said, "Let's immediately encircle and annihilate the enemy army in the middle and see how Xu Rong responds." How many infantry troops are there on our left flank now? ”

In order to help Ma Chao attack the middle lane, Han Sui had already transferred Yan Xing's 3,000 iron cavalry from the reserve army. Considering the needs of the overall situation, the remaining 7,000 reserve troops could no longer move in any case, and could only requisition troops from other places to support the middle route.

"And eight thousand." Ling Ru said, "My lord, I think it is more appropriate to use these 8,000 men to counterattack the Northern Frontier Army on the battlefield on the left flank. The enemy on the battlefield in the middle of the road a month ago was about 500 paces away from Wannian City, and if we increased our troops to surround and annihilate them, they would definitely retreat into the city. In this way, not only will we not be able to lure out Xu Rong's reserve army, but we are more likely to lose the battlefield on both flanks, so we ......"

"Don't fight." Han Sui saw that Xin Bi's face was not good, and hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Immediately send an order and let Cheng Yin support the middle road with an army of 8,000." ”

If the Northern Xinjiang Army is attacked in the middle, the Xiliang Army will directly threaten the city, and Xu Rong has only two ways to meet the enemy. One is to transfer troops from within the city to support, and the other is to order the troops on the two flanks of the battlefield to quickly shrink and move closer to the Chinese army.

If the Northern Frontier Army adopts the first method, the coalition forces will immediately achieve their goal, and the main army can pour out.

If Xu Rong is still holding on, then the crisis on the two flanks can be alleviated, and Ma Chao and Yan Xing, who occupy the middle lane, can also cut off the retreat of the Northern Xinjiang Army on the two flank battlefields, which can also achieve the purpose of luring out all the Northern Xinjiang Army.

Simbi accepted the offer and took his leave. But as soon as Xin Bi left, Ling Ru and Han Yi surrounded Han Sui on the left and right, and tried their best to persuade Han Sui to transfer troops to support the Xiliang army on the left flank.

Supporting the left flank battlefield can first help Li Kan and Zhang Heng get rid of the current predicament, and can rescue Yang Qiu and Cheng Yi's iron cavalry from the unfavorable situation of entanglement, so that the losses of the Xiliang army can be greatly reduced. Secondly, our sudden dispatch of troops to support the left-wing battlefield is likely to make the Northern Xinjiang Army make a wrong judgment and mistakenly believe that our main attack direction is the left-wing battlefield, so as to transfer out the troops that may exist in Xu Rong's hands.

In addition, Han Yi also said a reason. Ma Chao and his army were always a threat to Han Sui. Ma Chao is capricious, hot-tempered, and not trustworthy at all. Ma Chao had close contacts with Pang De when he was in Jincheng, and he and Yuan Shao's enmity was as deep as the sea, once he was rebelled by the Northern Xinjiang Army, the consequences would be unimaginable. It is better to take this opportunity to weaken his strength and gradually remove his threat completely.

Han Sui was moved, and after a little consideration, he categorically ordered Han Yi and Cheng Yin to lead an army of 8,000 foot soldiers to support the battlefield on the left flank, and at the same time ordered Ma Chao and Yan Xing to strengthen the offensive at all costs, be sure to defeat the northern Xinjiang army on the middle road, and cut off the retreat of the enemy troops on the battlefield on both flanks as soon as possible.

Northwest of the battlefield.

On the left flank of the battlefield, the cavalry of both sides rushed back and forth on the west side of the battlefield, while the infantry armies of both sides fought bloodily on the east side of the battlefield.

Suddenly, a fierce sound of war drums soared into the sky, shaking the earth. Tens of thousands of soldiers who were fighting endlessly woke up and looked up into the distance in unison.

Xiliang reinforcements came rapidly along the middle of the two battlefields, and their flags in the sky were like colorful clouds, rolling and whistling all the way.

Li Yao's army was on the flank of the battlefield on the east side, and it happened to collide head-on with the Xiliang reinforcements.

Li Yao scolded a few words angrily, his face was murderous, "Order all departments, turn the formation, and prepare to fight to the death." ”

Thousands of officers and men quickly broke away from the main battlefield under the command of the command of the command of the flag and drum and trumpet, and formed a "circular" battle formation as quickly as possible. Li Yao planned to use this battle formation to firmly hold back the Xiliang reinforcements in the center of the two battlefields, and help Yang Ming's Duliao battalion and Zhang Baicai's infantry army to quickly make deployment adjustments.

Under the command of Han Yi and Cheng Yin, the 8,000 Xiliang army slammed into the Northern Xinjiang battle formation with a thunderous momentum, and the fierce battle began in an instant.

Li Yao led the army to fight from early morning to now, it has been nearly four hours, although they have rested for a period of time behind Zhang Baiqi's phalanx, but compared to the recuperated Xiliang army, they are still too tired. The circular battle array finally couldn't hold on to the stormy attacks of the Xiliang people, and a hole was opened, which quickly grew and was out of control.

Li Yao was furious and took his personal guards to kill him. The Xiliang people suddenly found that there was a general of the Northern Xinjiang Army on the other side, and their morale was greatly boosted, and they sacrificed their lives and died to step forward bravely, vowing to cut off his head to receive the reward. But Li Yao is too powerful. He and several guards formed a small attack battle formation, and in a short period of time, he cut down a dozen enemies.

Just as they were about to kill the enemy in one go, Li Yao was plotted by the enemy. Before he died, a Xiliang soldier pulled the trigger of a crossbow, and three crossbow arrows shot through his body in an instant.

Li Yao fell on his back and was angry on the spot.

Li Yao died, and his subordinates went crazy and attacked with their lives. The circular battle formation gradually loosened and crumbled.

Zhang Baiqi was shocked and angry, and commanded the army to quickly move closer to them. If Li Yao's army was routed, the blow to morale would be too great, and the situation on the entire battlefield could be reversed.

"Kill, kill...... Lean up ......" Zhang Bai rode a horse and galloped back and forth in the formation, shouting loudly, encouraging the soldiers to forget their lives and speed up their attacks.

Zhang Heng, the general of Xiliang, led his army to block the attack, intending to prevent the meeting of the two northern Xinjiang armies. Now Han Yi and Cheng Yin are commanding an army to besiege Li Yao's subordinates, as long as this army can be defeated, the Xiliang people will be able to grasp the initiative on the battlefield on the left flank, and may defeat the Northern Xinjiang Army and take the lead in establishing the advantage of a great victory.

Zhang Baiqi was in a hurry, ran to the front in person, and shouted at Yu Yigen, "Open the passage for me immediately, open it immediately, otherwise I will cut you." ”

"Fight." Yu Yigen roared angrily, pointed at the herald and shouted angrily, "Command the chariot battalion, drag the ballistas over to me, all of them." ”

"Boom...... Boom ......" the ballista roared continuously, thrilling. The Xiliang people were caught off guard, and the soldiers fell down in batches like grass mustard in the field.

At the same time, the frontal battlefield without the support of ballistas was also slaughtered, and the soldiers of Northern Xinjiang and the people of Xiliang were crazy, and the battle was extremely tragic.

Zhang Heng saw that his army had suffered heavy losses, and if he continued to fight like this, he would soon lose his combat effectiveness, so he hurriedly ordered a retreat. But just as he gave the order, the ballistae of the Northern Frontier Army were already approaching. In a deafening roar, Zhang Heng flew up with arrows all over his body.

Zhang Heng was killed, the Northern Xinjiang Army was red-eyed again, the blockers were invincible, and the Xiliang people were frightened, and retreated repeatedly, allowing the two Northern Xinjiang armies to meet smoothly.

Mid lane on the battlefield.

Ma Chao and his subordinates persevered, launching round after round of attacks around He Feng's army. As the casualties of the Northern Xinjiang Army increased, the number of battle formations being broken through became more and more.

Wang Rong stormed the "fortress" for the third time.

Under the command of Zhonglang General Du Ping, the soldiers of Northern Xinjiang blocked and killed layer by layer. In the heat of the scuffle, Du Ping was impaled through the body by the spears of the Xiliang people. Cheng Ran's guards desperately rescued him, but he still died tragically in great pain.

He Feng lost two deputy generals of the unified army in half a day, and he was so angry that he almost lost his mind. He took Hao Zhao and a group of scarred guards to cut off Wang Rong's retreat, killed Wang Rong and more than a hundred Xiliang soldiers, and hung their heads high.

Ma Chao was enraged, and in order to avenge his brother, he commanded the Iron Cavalry to launch a crazy retaliatory attack on the Northern Frontier Army.

The battle is getting bloodier and more fierce. Jump to