At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 120 If you want to break the yellow scarf, you should use fire to attack

In fact.

The suggestion made by the Yellow Turban Qushuai just now was actually a bit wrong.

Relying on several generals under his command, Zhou Qi set up a long snake formation, and even the soldiers who led out of the city chose county soldiers and county soldiers.

These soldiers have usually received training, and their obedience is far superior to that of the private soldiers, domestic slaves of powerful families, and the newly recruited rebels.

Even so, this so-called long snake formation also has many flaws.

If Gong Du adopts this strategy and uses an absolutely superior force to attack the three directions of the snake head, snake tail, and snake gall, it is possible that the formation will be broken in a crooked manner.

However, Gong Du was cautious by nature and knew that military affairs should not be too rash, so he directly refuted that person.

He pondered for a while, and then said to Qu Shuai, one of his subordinates: "Wu Dun, you will lead 500 people to test it out, so that I can see the reality of this formation."

"Remember not to love fighting, and retreat immediately if you can't do anything."

He then instructed the other two commanders, "Zhang Kui, Wu Ming, and you each lead 3000 people to raid the formation. If Wu Dun falls into a tight siege, send troops to rescue immediately."

Gong Du led the remaining soldiers and horses to stand ready.

Wu Dun took the order and left.

He knew that Dian Wei and Xu Chu were extremely brave, so they didn't dare to lead troops to attack snakeheads and snaketails, so they went straight to Cheng Pu's position and killed them.

Seeing this, Zhou Qi waved the command flag.

Cheng Pu hurriedly ordered two hundred shield soldiers to defend the front, two hundred spearmen to lie in ambush at the back, and one hundred archers began to bend their bows and set arrows.

Zhou Jin stayed next to Zhou Qi and said: "When Duke Ming used to practice the one-word long snake formation, if someone led troops to attack the belly of the snake, the snake's head and tail would be surrounded and strangled. Why did Dian Wei and Xu Chu not be allowed to send troops now?" "

Zhou Qi smiled and said: "The way of formation is adapted to local conditions, changes with time, and is ever-changing."

"There were only 500 people who came to attack the Yellow Turbans, and it was just a test. If the order moves from head to tail at this time, it will expose the reality of the formation."

"With the talent of virtue and strategy, the enemy can be defeated without any other support."

Only then did Zhou Jin suddenly realize, and then continued to observe the battlefield situation intently.

as predicted.

Before Wu Dun led his Yellow Turbans into the formation, one hundred archers led by Cheng Pu had already shot three arrows.

The Yellow Turban Army under Wu Dun's command suffered dozens of casualties, and he already had the intention of retreating.

But he came here to test the reality of the formation.

If he leads the troops to retreat before they touch the formation, he will inevitably be punished. Wu Dun can only bite the bullet and urge his soldiers to charge forward.

Facing two hundred sword and shield soldiers in formation, the Yellow Turban Army's momentum was naturally blocked.

The pikemen who were ambushing at the back started their performance, and each pike was like a snake coming out of its hole, and every time it attacked, it would take the life of a Yellow Turban soldier.

The battle between the two sides was less than a cup of tea, and the Yellow Turban Army led by Wu Dun had already returned home in a complete defeat.

Seeing this, everyone on the left and right hurriedly advised Gong Du: "The people we rely on have the advantage in military strength. If we only send 500 people to test, it is like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth."

"If Shuai Qu really wants to break the formation, please attack with a large army."

Gong Du felt that what his subordinates said was justified, so he ordered Zhang Kui and Wu Ming to lead [-] troops each to attack the gallbladder of the snake, and went straight to capture Zhou Qi.

The two led the attack.

Seeing this, Zhou Qi ordered people to wave the flag and convey orders to several generals.

The four of Cheng Pu changed their formation. They all guarded the front with swords and shields, and behind them were spearmen and archers.

As for Dian Wei and Xu Chu, they each led two hundred light cavalry, detoured towards the flanks of the Yellow Turban Army.

Although there are few cavalry, their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.

Zhang Kui and Wu Ming didn't dare to be careless, so they dispatched a thousand men to stop it. So, only 4000 of the original [-] soldiers attacked the snake gallbladder.

Dian Wei and Xu Chu kept Zhou Qi's order in mind, and led their cavalry to harass Youdou. With only 2000 cavalry, they held back [-] of their opponents.

The Yellow Turban army advanced, but the two retreated.

When the Yellow Turban army retreated, the two chased after them and hacked and killed them.

Zhang Kui and Wu Ming led four thousand Yellow Turban troops to charge into the battle, using the same recipe and the same routine.

However, this time the Yellow Turban soldiers were outnumbered and the snake's head and tail were restrained by the army, and they were unable to encircle the Yellow Turban army who came to break the formation in time.

In fact.

Zhou Qi's troops were too few, even if Dian Wei and Xu Chu led the troops to attack, it would be difficult to complete the encirclement.

However, Cheng Pu and the others had already prepared their positions.

The four of them were all extremely brave, so not only did they not fall into a disadvantage in the fight with the Yellow Turban Army, but they had an absolute advantage.

Seeing that the battlefield was in a stalemate and the two sides were fighting hard to separate each other, Gong Du simply gritted his teeth and ordered the entire army to attack, preparing to break the formation of officers and soldiers in one fell swoop.

On the podium, Zhou Qi's mouth curled up slightly as he watched Gong Du approaching aggressively.

He ordered people to wave the flag, and Cheng Pu and others understood, and began to shrink their formation. Relying on the advantage of the terrain, relying on the cooperation of the front sword and shield soldiers and spearmen, they put on a defensive posture.

The remaining six hundred sword shield soldiers at the snake head and tail positions also moved towards Zhou Qi's position.

"Boom boom boom!"

The war drums roared, and the shouts of killing shook the sky.

Although the Yellow Turban Army had an absolute advantage in strength, except for two thousand who were held back by hundreds of Qingqi, the rest of the soldiers and horses besieged Cheng Pu and others, but because of the terrain, it was difficult to form a formation at all, and they could not exert their numerical advantage at all.

The two sides fought for a long time, causing casualties to each other, but it was still hard to tell the winner.

Seeing that the Yellow Turban Army's spirit had lost, Zhou Qi suddenly ordered someone to blow the horn.

city ​​wall.

Zhao Qian, who had been waiting for a long time, heard the sound of the horn, immediately pulled out the sword at his waist, and shouted loudly: "The thieves are exhausted, and the lords will follow me out of the city to kill the enemy. The meritorious deeds are now!"

Most of those who stayed in the city were powerful private soldiers, domestic slaves, and newly recruited rebels. These people could defend the city and were not suitable for fighting outside the city.

Otherwise, there would be no less than eight thousand soldiers in Yinqiang County. Facing the tens of thousands of yellow scarves led by Gong Du, Zhou Qi could just be tough.

However, when these soldiers in the city saw so many Yellow Turbans fighting against a mere [-] officers and soldiers, they immediately felt contemptuous.

Encouraged by Zhao Qian, the prefect of Runan, they felt their blood boil instantly, and they all wanted to go out of the city to make contributions.

Seeing this, Zhao Qian couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly, and said to himself: "It's just as Ziyi expected."

The city gate opened wide, and five thousand soldiers came out fiercely.

Regardless of their combat effectiveness, these soldiers and horses looked quite bluffing. The Yellow Turban Army, which had been unable to attack for a long time and had lost its vigor, was immediately in a panic when seeing this.

Gong didn't know that there were miscellaneous soldiers with low combat effectiveness in the city, and he thought they were all like the officers and soldiers outside the city.

Zhou Qi, however, refused to let go of this hard-awaited fighter opportunity. He hurriedly ordered someone to blow the trumpet and personally led his troops to hunt down the fleeing Yellow Turban Army.

But it is said that the officers and soldiers were chasing and killing along the way, and suddenly saw a lot of smoke and dust in front of them.

Zhou Qi secretly thought it was bad, he knew that the reinforcements of the Yellow Turban Army had arrived, so he didn't dare to continue fighting, so he hurriedly asked Ming Jin to withdraw his troops.

Nearly [-] enemies were killed in this battle, most of which were achieved by officers and soldiers when the Yellow Turban Army fled.

For the defenders in the city, this was definitely a great victory, and everyone's morale was greatly boosted. Those soldiers who were still a little uneasy felt that the Yellow Turban Army was vulnerable to a single blow after this battle, and no longer had any fear.

The first battle boosted the morale of the city and stabilized the hearts of the people.

Zhou Qi's strategic goal has been achieved. The next step is to retreat into the city and rely on the city wall and the location of the city to defend the city.

In the next half month, Peng Tuo tried his best to attack Yinqiang County, but Zhou Qi calmly resolved them all.

Unable to attack the city repeatedly, Peng Tuo was already a little anxious to get angry.

Especially after Yingchuan Yellow Turban Dafang Qu Shuai Bocai wrote, Peng Tuo became more and more impatient.

Just because Bo Cai first defeated Zhu Jun in Yangzhai and then surrounded Huangfu Song in Changshe, the entire Yingchuan Yellow Turban Army was in a good situation.

However, Zhu Jun and Huangfusong joined forces, and they guarded the Changsha to their death.

Although Bo Cai stormed the city every day, he was still unable to conquer it. Only then did he think of Peng Tuo, the commander of the Yellow Turban Canal in Runan, and sent a letter asking for help.

Peng Tuo first looked at Bocai's brilliant record, and then thought that he was blocked outside the city by Zhou Qi, and he was unable to make any progress after losing troops and generals, so he was anxious and angry at once.

However, it was useless for Peng Tuo to get angry in a hurry.

It is now hot summer, and the weather is particularly hot this year. Peng Tuo urges the Yellow Turban Army to attack the city every day, and many soldiers have fainted from heatstroke.

Especially at noon, many people died from injuries, wound infections, or heatstroke in those camps.

Peng Tuo had no choice but to order his soldiers to go into the forest and rebuild the camp.

He Yi, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese side under his command, persuaded: "Entering the forest to set up a camp can certainly escape the heat, but if the officers and soldiers use fire to attack, what can we do?"

Before Peng Tuo could answer, Huang Shao said with a smile, "It's summer now, the vegetation is lush and the water is abundant. It's not easy to light the trees."

"What's more, we are located in the southeast direction. If there is no wind, the fire will not spread; if the officers and soldiers wait until the wind blows to set fire, they are located in the northwest direction, so they will set themselves on fire."

All the handsome men in yellow scarves were also a little hairy from the heat. After hearing Huang Shao's words, they all nodded in agreement.

He Yi thought for a while, and felt that Huang Shao's words were reasonable, so she didn't say anything more immediately.

In this way, in order to escape the summer heat, the Yellow Turban Army moved their camp from the riverside near Yingshui to the mountains and forests in the southeast.

The Yellow Turban Army, whose morale was fluctuating due to the extreme heat, was calmed down.

After setting up camp, Peng Tuo told the troops: "Although the mountains and forests can be used to escape the heat, there are also mosquitoes, rats, and ants. You and I will bring back some more mint and mugwort and stack them in each tent. That's it." It helps repel mosquitoes.”

All the generals took orders to go, and the offensive on the city was also suspended a little.

city ​​wall.

Zhou Qi wiped the sweat off his face, but he never saw the Yellow Turbans coming to attack the city, so he couldn't help but feel a little strange.

Not long after, a scout came over and reported the movement of the Yellow Turban Army.

Zhou Qi couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard this.

He hastily called everyone together and said: "I have waited for half a month, and finally I have a strategy to defeat the enemy!"

When everyone heard this, they all looked at each other, obviously not believing what Zhou Qi said.

Zhao Qian said with deep exhaustion on his face, "Although we blocked Peng Tuo for half a month, the Yellow Turbans kept attacking the city every day. The defenders in the city have lost nearly [-] troops, and there are very few supplies left."

"Nowadays the weather is hot, many soldiers defend the city against the scorching sun every day, and there are not a few people who suffer from heatstroke."

"Although the Yellow Turban bandits suffered more losses, the enemy still has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. It is still difficult for us to defend the city. How can we defeat the enemy?"

The Jun Cheng also nodded and said: "Even General You Zhonglang was defeated by the Yellow Turban, and General Zuo Zhonglang was also besieged in Changshe. Although Peng Tuo's strength is not as strong as Bo Cai's, it is not something we can match."

"In my opinion, defeating the enemy is secondary, and we should focus on defending the city."

Everyone made their own comments, and they all held a pessimistic attitude towards the current situation. Almost no one thought that Zhou Qi could defeat the Yellow Turban.

It is not that they are timid and unintelligent.

It's just that the difference in strength between the two sides is too great, and the Yellow Turban Army has fanatical beliefs, and its combat effectiveness is also very terrifying.

If the officers and soldiers had not relied on the city wall to defend themselves, they would have been defeated by the Yellow Turban Army long ago.

Even so, half a month of fierce fighting, coupled with the long absence of reinforcements, also caused rumors to spread in the city and people's hearts fluttered.

The Yellow Turban Army now uses the strategy of surrounding three towers.

Many gentry tyrants in the city planned to lead their private soldiers to flee the county.

If Zhao Qian hadn't tried his best to prevent Yinqiang County, which lost the protection of the private soldiers of the big family, it would have been breached by the Yellow Turban Army long ago.

Zhou Qi frowned slightly when he saw that everyone was making negative remarks, or why they were silent.

He knew that the reason why everyone had this reaction was not just because the military and civilians paid a huge price for defending the city for half a month.

the most important is.

They see no hope.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Yingchuan battlefield is related to the entire world situation, and its importance is even greater than that of the Jizhou battlefield.

But now.

Huang Fusong and Zhu Jun, who had high hopes, suffered setbacks in Yingchuan. The failure of the two was the real reason for everyone's pessimism.

Zhou Qi looked around at everyone and saw that only Sun Jian, who was all bandaged, had light in his eyes, and immediately asked: "Brother Wentai, what do you think?"

Sun Jian was unable to move, so he nodded to Zhou Qi, and then said: "In my opinion, although the two generals suffered a temporary setback in Yingchuan, their troops and horses have not suffered much loss."

"As long as the war drags on, the imperial court will be able to recruit more troops to quell the rebellion."

"That is to say."

"Although the officers and soldiers seem to be at a disadvantage, it is the yellow turban bandits who are really going to be defeated."

Zhou Qi couldn't help clapping his hands and laughing when he heard that, "Brother Wentai is injured and can't fight the Yellow Turban Bandit, but his heart is very clear."

"As Wentai said, with the strength of the imperial court and the strength of the family, as long as the Yellow Turban bandits fail to defeat the officers and soldiers and invade Luoyang in a short period of time, the situation will gradually improve."

"Rebel armies have been mobilized from all over the country to fight against the rebels, and the Yellow Turban bandits are surrounded by enemies. It is bound to not last long."

Sun Jian also said: "Zi Yiyan had a plan to defeat the enemy before. Although I don't believe it, I still want to know what the plan is."

"I believe that Yizi has a different personality, and he is definitely not a person who talks about it."

After listening to the conversation between the two, Zhao Qian let out a long sigh of relief.

During this period of time, the big rock that was pressing on his heart seemed to be moved away a little.

He turned to look at Zhou Qi and asked: "There are less than five thousand soldiers and horses in the city. Most of them are private soldiers and rebels. Their combat effectiveness is worrying and their morale is also quite low."

"I don't know what good strategy Ziyi has to defeat the enemy?"

Zhou Qi walked to the map, pointed to the southeast of the county seat, and said, "It's hot today, and the Yellow Turban bandits couldn't stand the scorching heat, so they have already moved their camp to this place."

Everyone looked at the map and was a little confused.

Zhou Qi looked around at the crowd, and continued: "The so-called strategy of attacking the army, if you want to defeat the crowd with the few, and defeat the strong with the weak, you must use strange tactics."

"A man who is a general should know the sky when he knows the right place."

"Thieves and generals only want to be cool for a while, but they don't know how to set up camp in the mountains and forests. If they are attacked by fire, the army will be destroyed in an instant."

"Therefore, in my opinion, if you want to break the Yellow Turban, you must attack with fire."

Everyone's eyes widened upon hearing this.

Fire attack is indeed a good way to win more with less.

Moreover, the Yellow Turban Army was encamped in the mountains and forests at this time, so they did have the prerequisites for launching a fire attack.

If they can defeat the Runan Yellow Turban Army before the two Zhonglang generals, they will definitely be famous all over the world.

At that time, it will be no problem to become an official and become a noble.

Seeing that everyone's mood suddenly became high, Sun Jian poured a ladle of cold water on them and said: "Having said that, it is summer now, and the humidity in the mountains and forests is relatively high. It is not easy to set a fire."

"Unless there is a strong wind, the number of Yellow Turban soldiers can easily put out the fire."

Jun Cheng said hurriedly: "We can wait until the wind blows strong and then attack with fire."

But Zhao Qian shook his head and said: "The bandit camp is in the southeast, if we want to set fire, we must start from the northwest."

"It's summer now, and there is very little wind. Even if there is wind occasionally, it is from the southeast."

"If we set fire at this time, not only will we not be able to burn the Yellow Turban Army camp, but we will burn ourselves to death. So attacking with fire is not advisable."

When everyone heard the words, they immediately figured out the key point, and they all showed disappointment.

Zhou Qi frowned slightly, but didn't say anything to refute, and the discussion eventually broke up unhappy.

In the next few days, after Zhou Qi arranged the guard work of the city wall, he came to the north city wall every morning and evening to watch Yingshui.

Not only that.

He still often visits the elderly in the city, as well as those very experienced business travelers.

In particular, business travelers who often travel by water are Zhou Qi's key targets of inquiry, and he has visited almost all businessmen, big and small, in the city.

It was dusk this day.

Zhou Qi came to the north city wall as usual to watch the movement of Yingshui, but he saw a lot of white foam on the clean surface of the river.

The clear river water also rose slightly.

Zhou Qi was overjoyed when he saw this, and lay down on the city wall to observe for a long time, then returned to the county with a big smile.

He hastily summoned Dian Wei, Xu Chu, and Zhou Jin, and ordered them to prepare more fire starters such as tung oil.

Dian Wei asked with some confusion: "Nowadays, in order to defend the city, tung oil and other materials are consumed a lot, and there is not much left in the city. Why does Ming Gong want us to find these things?"

Zhou Qi showed a mysterious smile on his face and said: "Of course it is to burn down the Yellow Turban Camp."

When everyone heard the words, they were all astonished, and asked: "But it's summer now, and there is no northwest wind, how can we set fire to the Yellow Turban camp?"

Zhou Qi didn't answer directly, but pointed to the somewhat gloomy sky and asked, "Look, is it going to rain?"

After hearing this, several people became even more confused.

Since it's going to rain, it's even more wrong to set fire to the Yellow Turban camp.

Zhou Qi didn't explain, but muttered to himself: "Today the temperature has dropped and it's going to rain again. God help me."

"You guys go and look for things to ignite the fire. The more, the better. Watch me break the Yellow Turban tonight!"

As the saying goes: If you want to break the Yellow Turban, you should attack with fire; everything is ready, all you need is the west wind.

(End of this chapter)