Shu Chen

Chapter 137 Cavalry
In the season when all things are tired, the world is silent.

Only the little snowflakes were flying all over the sky, turning into many white butterflies, falling silently from the sky.Occasionally, a mischievous bird brings the first light of dawn, which wakes up the sleepy little village.

This is Zhuo County, Fanyang County, Youzhou.

The earliest name was Zhuojun, which was the hometown of Liu Bei, the former emperor, and Zhang Fei, the former Xixianghou.

It's just that Wei Caopi changed Zhuo County to Fanyang State in the fifth year of Huangchu, and then became Fanyang County when it was restored to the county again.

However, in people's hearts and conversations, they are still privately called Zhuojun.

Without him, the deep-rooted inheritance passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years cannot be eliminated in a few years.

Thanks to Xianbei Kebi's ability to use all his troops to plunder Bingzhou this year, the border area of ​​Youzhou was able to enjoy a short period of peace, and all the garrison soldiers could take turns to go home.

This small village has also welcomed back many soldiers, making the quiet winter a little more lively.

At least, when the sun is shining colorfully on the icicles of the tree branches, there will be smoke from every household, occasionally accompanied by the joyful sound of children getting a little bit of caramel.

Kacha~~~
Click, click.

Accompanied by the sound of stepping on the snow, a man in a cloak carrying mutton and wine jars trudged along the village path.

After walking to a door lintel where the paint has peeled off and mottled, he stamped his feet to shake off the snowflakes on his body, and then he called loudly, "Is Brother Li at home?"

When I was young, the ancient door opened in response.

A woman smiled happily and brought people into the courtyard. She muttered joyfully, "Mr. Zhang Jia came at the right time. My husband whispered this morning that you will come to visit today, and he slaughtered the dog and prepared drinks for him." gone."

"Ha, brother Li knows me too!"

When the visitor heard the words, he burst out into a hearty laugh, and handed over the mutton and the wine jar in his hand, "I won't bother Mrs. Li to lead the way, I'll go straight to the backyard."

Judging from such familiar movements, the two families should have frequent exchanges.

"Okay, Mr. Zhang Family can do as he pleases."

Walking there, I saw a sloping eaves protruding from the low wall of the backyard, and a simple sloping pavilion built with wooden pillars. A strong man nearly forty years old was already present.In the pavilion, two tables are set up in the form of a banquet. The snowflakes on the ground are vaguely lit by two small red lacquered pottery stoves, and there is a faint smell of strong wine mixed with meat. Incense spread.

When the visitor saw him, he strode forward and cupped his hands with a smile, "Looking at the red mud for snow, melting the ice for warming the wine, brother Li is in a good mood!"

"What's up with that red tape!"

The strong man raised his head when he heard the sound, and laughed and cursed, "Come and sit down quickly, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

While pretending to be sex, he also made the long scar on his face twist like a long worm, making it even more ferocious.

However, the words are very warm.

"Hahaha~~~"

The visitor laughed heartily, walked in and sat down, and then raised the wine cup to invite instead of the guests, "Brother Li, I haven't seen you in several months, and it's a joy to see you again today! Drink it up!"

"drink!"

The strong man made a heroic sound and drank it all in one gulp.

Just when he put down the wine cup and wiped the wine stains on his beard with his sleeve, the haggard look on his brows became a little bit darker, "Oh, Zi Chan, this year's war, I am aggrieved!"

It also let the original gurgling smile of the visitor slowly disappear.

This year, Tian Yu, the captain of the Protector of Wuhuan, left the fortress and was besieged by Xianbei in Mayi City. Shanggu prefect Yan Zhi went to rescue him, and he promised Ke Bineng a lot of supplies for Tian Yu to return.

The strong man was one of the Sima soldiers of Shanggu County, and he witnessed Ke Bineng's desperation with his own eyes.

And a lot of stocks in the counties of Zhuojun were requisitioned and transferred by the imperial court to Xianbei.

Both of them witnessed Han Jiaerlang's dignity being trampled by Xianbei.

"The matter has come to this point, brother Li's lamenting will not help the matter."

The visitor was silent for a while, then Fang uttered a soft sigh of relief, "Wait until tomorrow Sui Tian Xiaowei regroups and defeats the Xianbei barbarians, and then we will get back all the humiliation of today!"

"Heh~~~"

Unexpectedly, the brawny man sneered, shook his head and sighed, "Lieutenant Tian has no chance. I have a strong opinion of the prefect, and I vaguely heard the prefect mention that someone impeached Captain Tian to disturb the border and cause trouble for the country. The day will be transferred away from Youzhou."

"what!"

The visitor exclaimed, and soon his face turned red, "Who is so short-sighted! Could it be a spy of the Xianbei Hulu?"

Don't blame him for acting.

Tian Yu was originally under the command of the White Horse General Gongsun Zan, and he treated the Hu captives such as Xianbei and Wuhuan quite well.

Every time he heard that there were Hulu invaders in the frontier, he would look fierce as if he was going to the enemy, and rushed to fight in the dust.

"It seems to have been heard that he is someone who is close to the governor of the king."

The strong man's voice was extremely melancholy, "In the face of the national calamity, many people who eat the people and anoint them don't want to protect the safety of the people, but instead have the heart to fight for power and profit! Alas."

The governor of Youzhou today is Wang Xiong from Langya.

Because he was appreciated by Cao Pi, he served as the governor of Youzhou. After he took office, Tian Yu had different political opinions, and he often wanted to run away Tian Yu and take over the military power of Youzhou alone.This matter is not considered a secret among Youzhou scholars.

Imada Yu went out of the fortress and returned after being defeated. It is not unexpected that he hinted that other prefects and bureaucrats went up to the court to frame the court.

"Ugh"

After hearing this, the visitor also sighed in dismay.

"I forgot to inform Zichan."

Raising the wine cup and drinking alone, the strong man grinned, "Before I retired this time, I also showed myself to the prefect because of my old age and frequent injuries, and I will resign next year when the spring plowing begins."

"Resignation?!"

With an exclamation, the voices of all the visitors were anxious, "Even if Lieutenant Tian was transferred away, the governor of King Bi Na would not sit back and watch the Xianbei Hulu invade. My brother has been in the army for nearly [-] years, and he is well versed in the fighting nature of the Hulu. In charge of the army, you will not ignore Brother Li's talent. Besides, Brother Li is rich in spring and autumn, why did you resign?"

"Maybe Zichan doesn't know that Xianbei has entered the Guanzhong. What's the point of us fighting for our country!"

"what!"

In the land of Yanzhao, the young man's style of being a chivalrous man is quite strong.

Just like in the old days when the first emperor was in his hometown, even though his family was poor, he was easy to make friends with heroes, and when he was young, he fought for his attachment.

Zhang Shiping, Su Shuang, etc., the great merchants of the Zhongshan Kingdom, gave them a lot of gold and wealth, and used them to beg for the yellow scarves for the rebels.After decades of tossing and turning, he is now posthumously titled Emperor Zhaolie in Western Shu.

With the humble end of weaving mats and selling shoes, he became the title of emperor. Such deeds made all the people in Zhuojun honored.

Even if it is, their current monarch is Wei Guo with the surname of Cao.

Therefore, when the Li Shus encountered something indignant, or felt uncomfortable with Cao Wei's actions, they would all have such thoughts involuntarily: If Emperor Zhaolie, who was born in his hometown, was their monarch, would he also Will it be so?

The gentleman of the Zhang family who came back from the banquet was thinking about it in his heart.

While looking southwest frequently, an answer became clearer in my heart: Duke Xuande, who came from the borderlands, would never tolerate the horseshoes of the Xianbei Hulu to enter the habitat of my son of the Han family!
Well, this Mr. Zhang's family name is special, and his character is Zichan.

Although he is not of the same family as Zhang Fei in Houzhuo County of Guxi Township, he is also from a powerful family background.

Not only the wealth and land in the family is enough for him to travel far away, but also the population is quite prosperous. Without him alone, there are many people who will be filial to the elders.

Longyou, Hanyang County, Chengji County Mayor Lishui (Hulu River).

About more than 200 riders of the Han army were fleeing southeast along the Changli River in a panic.

And behind them, there are Xianbei cavalry who are whistling in various ways, happily chasing them.From time to time, some cavalrymen drew bows and set arrows, or waved flying stone ropes and threw them forward, trying to get the slow-moving Han army off their horses.

The distance between the two is less than a stone's throw away.

Winter is at the end of December.

It has been more than a month since the Xianbei Rangers invaded and plundered along the Guanchuan River Valley.

General Zuo of the Han Dynasty and Wei Yan, who was also the prefect of Hanyang, defended Pingxiang, Chengji and Ayang counties, relying on the city.

Although Li Shu and others had been allowed to enter the city to escape the flames of war, due to the helplessness of the small number of cavalry, it was impossible to curb these Xianbei Hulu who came and went freely.

Even if the prime minister Zhuge Liang sent Wu Banbu to help in the battle, he gained a lot.

These Xianbei masters harassed and never confronted the Han army head-on.

Relying on the mobility of their horses, they often avoid the siege of the Han army, clash into villages and burn houses, destroy wells or irrigation ditches, etc., and then walk away in front of the Han army who came after hearing the news.

It can be called a horseshoe, like a locust passing through.

It is also difficult to make meritorious deeds by setting up an ambush in the village.

Wu Na Xianbei is extremely cunning!
Every time troops are dispatched, scouts and cavalry will be dispatched in a fan shape, and after finding out all the movements in a radius of more than ten miles, they will drive away on horseback.With a distance of more than ten miles, the time required for the Han infantry to arrive was enough for them to retreat.

Today's chase was an accident.

Zhao Guang, the cavalry governor, personally led three hundred elite guard cavalry, and came out to intercept and kill the Xianbei scouts.

Because the penetration was too deep, the main force of Xianbei was besieged in the opposite direction, cutting off the way back to Pingxiang City, and desperately broke through the Changli River Valley.

There are two reasons why Xianbei dared to pursue him.

One is that they sent troops out of Hanyang this time, about [-] cavalry.

With the superiority of troops and the sudden pursuit of the battle, they don't need to worry about being defeated in an ambush.

The other is the reward set by Wei General Cao Zhen when he came to Longyou from Youfufeng in Guanzhong.

Kill a soldier of the Han army and reward him with a hundred coins.

Kill a cavalry pawn of the Han army, and reward a thousand coins and three horses of silk!
If it is just to destroy villages or bridges and ditches, the supplies for this year's winter have already been sent there in advance.

Cao Zhen's strategic intentions are very clear: harass the people's livelihood in Longyou, snipe and kill the cavalry of the Han army, let Nishu establish cavalry, and the strategy of letting them leave Xiliang is always in the plan.

As for these Xianbei Hulu, will they bring back the heads of Han infantry as cavalry pawns to receive rewards?
Guo Huai, the new prefect of Jincheng, also sent nearly a hundred Wei cavalry to fight side by side with them.

On the surface, he claims to be their guide, but secretly, he also intends to monitor the results of the battle to prevent them from being unsatisfactory.

Therefore, when a Han cavalry burst into the siege, all the Xianbei Hulu were excited.

They all seem to have seen that the silk silk that can call countless wealth from Haoyou in the four counties of Hexi is waving to them.

It's just that they didn't see that the formation of the Han army fleeing in embarrassment has always been neat, and there is no phenomenon of cavalry changing paths and fleeing alone.

And the cavalry they pursued had no formation for a long time.

Everyone was scrambling to be the first, fearing that the beheaded Han army equipment would be snatched away first.

Zhao Guang, who was hanging behind the cavalry, rode his horse forward while looking back at Xianbei who was biting him tightly, without any trace of panic on his face.The personal guard beside him also looked back frequently, and couldn't help lowering his voice and asked, "General, the Hulu formation has collapsed. I'll wait until the horsepower is almost at the limit. Should I blow the horn now to fight back?"

"Don't be impatient."

Zhao Guang, who leaned his body close to the horse's neck to avoid the gust of wind, rarely showed a ferocious expression on his face, "These barbarians burned, killed and looted, full of evil, I will destroy them!"

"promise!"

The personal guard responded loudly, holding the bull horn in his arms to his chest with one hand.

About half a quarter of an hour later, after a long and full gallop, the horses had a little bit of white foam in the corners of their mouths.

It also means that the horsepower is about to reach the limit.

If you don't get rest, you will face the possibility of sudden death while running.

And at this moment, Zhao Guang's snarl resounded.

"Speed ​​blowing!"

"Woooo."

The low-pitched oxhorn, with its resentment in it, rippled far along the Changli River Valley, passed to the skyline, and reached the ears of Zhang Bao and Liu Yin.

"Nothing before!"

"kill!"

Immediately, two banners embroidered with the word "Han" emerged from behind the mountains on the right side of Changlishui.

From left to right, the Xianbei cavalry came in a long formation, and the shouts of killing could not be concealed even by the thunderous hooves of horseshoes.

The only way to destroy cavalry is to use cavalry.

Zhao Guang, who is well versed in cavalry battles, asked Wei Yan for a battle, thinking against Wei and Xianbei that the Han army had few cavalry and was unprepared, he assigned [-] cavalry under his command to Zhang Bao and Liu Yin to lead them on their behalf, and set up an ambush in an open area. .And he led his own guards to lure the enemy, so that those Xianbei felt that there was no danger and boldly chased them.

Wei Yan has always been famous for his bravery and boldness when using troops.

Regarding Zhao Guang's invitation to fight, he, who was extremely indignant after being disturbed by Xianbei, immediately became stronger!
Then there is today's adventure.

Fortunately, the Xianbei Hulu came as they wished.

When they saw the Han army charging forward with their cavalry waiting for work, they were immediately in a panic.Many little leaders yelled loudly at the whole team, trying to turn around and meet the enemy.

But in the galloping pursuit just now, the formation was stretched too long, how could it be fulfilled in a hurry?
I saw that Zhang Bao and Liu Yin were leading [-] cavalry each, and with only one charge, they pierced through the Xianbei formation and cut them into three sections.

And the cavalry at the head and tail of the Xianbei formation were rushing towards the middle, trying to strangle Zhang Bao and Liu Yin's offensive.

But before he arrived, he was blocked by his own rout.

Under the chaos, there were actually quite a few riders who were squeezed into the Changli water by their own people.

When they drove away the rout, they also lost speed.

But Zhang Bao and Liu Yin had already started to turn around, and they were trotting and accelerating to charge again.

Riding battles are originally about rushing back and forth with the speed of war horses.

The Xianbei cavalry, who had lost their speed, were once again attacked by Zhang Bao and Liu Yin's army, unable to resist at all.

What made Xianbei even more desperate was Zhao Guang, who was well versed in riding and fighting.

When no one was chasing him, he turned his horse's head and came with a loud noise. He directly divided his cavalry into five small groups to charge, not seeking to kill the enemy, but to continue to disperse and divide the Xianbei cavalry to make them even more defeated. Out of formation.

Attacking from three sides, one wave meets another.

The Xianbei cavalry, who were still unable to organize their formation and let their horses run, were completely confused.

The little leaders of the various tribes couldn't find their subordinates at all, and they were all fighting on their own.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the formation of the Xianbei cavalry, which was shattered by the impact, could no longer be maintained, and they collapsed directly, and each went away desperately.He was even more embarrassed than when Zhao Guang ran for his life.

Zhao Guang, who had just defeated the Xianbei enemy formation, ran towards a slightly higher place with a double-edged spear in hand.

He is a cavalier, and he must always observe the battlefield.

However, he didn't need to observe.

Zhang Bao and Liu Yin had long led their cavalry, hanging behind the defeated Xianbei soldiers and chasing after them.

While expanding the military exploits, let the broken soldiers continue to flee for their lives, preventing them from finding the leader of the small tribe and being gathered together.

"Heh~~~"

Seeing this, Zhao Guang couldn't help chuckling.

With a splatter of blood on his face, he led his bodyguard cavalry into the battlefield again, surrounded the surrendered soldiers, and still had the strength to divide half of the troops to drive the Xianbei cavalry who did not want to dismount and surrender into the river.

(End of this chapter)