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

Chapter 133 Zhou Lang's ingenious design, the first battle against the thief chieftain

"Don't let go of your arrows. I am Zhou Qi, the newly appointed captain of Hanyang County. I am here on orders from the governor."

above the city wall.

The officers and soldiers who were about to fire arrows hurriedly called their commanders after hearing Zhou Qi's call.

"Do you have proof?"

Zhou Qi showed his seal, and the officer hung the seal on the city wall. After reading it, he hurriedly sent someone to notify Gai Xun.

Zhou Qi took advantage of the nightfall and Beigong Boyu and others led the troops to retreat temporarily before coming to speak under the city wall.

It didn't take long.

Gai Xun brought Xin Zeng and Kong Chang, who were in charge of Hanyang County, over here. After seeing that it was really Zhou Qi himself, he immediately opened the city gate and went out of the city to greet him.

"At the end of the new year, it was my fault that the captain transferred to Liangzhou."

Zhou Qi hurriedly bowed in fear: "Sir, how dare you call me a captain in front of you? If you don't give up, sir, please just call me Qi."

According to current official positions, Zhou Qi's rank is still higher than that of Gai Xun, so Gai Xun calls him captain instead of calling him by his first name like before.

However, Zhou Qi is a person who knows how to repay his kindness, and he respects Gai Xun quite a lot, and he does not want to be like this.

Gai Xun shook his head and said: "Etiquette cannot be abolished."

"If I call the captain's name directly, the soldiers in the city will know it, and I may look down on you because of it, which will not be good for the captain in the future."

Zhou Qi pondered for a moment, knowing that what Gai Xun said was right, he immediately said: "How about this, Mr. Renqian calls me Captain, and we use the nickname in private, how about that?"

Gai Xun was not a pedantic person either, he stroked his beard and said, "Since that's the case, it's better to obey orders than to be respectful."

"See you sir."

After the two of them chatted about the past, Dian Wei also came up to greet Gai Xun.

Gai Xun looked at the majestic and majestic Dian Wei, stepped forward to support Dian Wei's arms, and said: "After a few years, Dian Jun is as powerful as before. With the help of warriors like Dian Wei, Ayang County will definitely be indestructible."

When Zhou Qi escorted Yang Qiu's family thousands of miles away, Dian Wei's bravery was praised by Gai Xun.

As Zhou Qi's crusade against the Yellow Turbans began to gain fame, the reputations of Dian Wei and Xu Chu for their bravery gradually began to be known.

Seeing this, Zhou Qi pulled Xu Chu over and said, "Sir, this is another warrior under my camp. His bravery is no less than that of Lord Dian. When I asked for the yellow scarf, I was able to make meritorious deeds. It is thanks to the two of us going first in every battle."

Xu Chu knew in his heart that Zhou Qi was promoting him, so he hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.

Gai Xun looked at Xu Chu, and saw that he was more than eight feet long, his waist was ten girth in size, his appearance was majestic, and he looked mighty. He immediately turned his head and smiled at Zhou Qi: "Why do all the warriors in the world enter the tent of the captain?" yeah!"

It was night, after Zhou Qi had eaten, he did not rush to rest, but went around to check the city defenses, and asked Gai Xun for details about the city.

Nowadays, Zhou Qi can be regarded as the highest military officer in Ayang County, and Gai Xun should take over the military affairs.

After working for most of the night, Zhou Qi didn't fully understand the affairs of the county, so he immediately said to Gai Xun, "Although my rank is slightly higher than that of Mr., Mr. is quite famous in Liangzhou. Please help me protect the city and caress the people." Work hard sir."

"It's getting late today, let's rest for now, let's discuss the details tomorrow."

Gai Xun watched Zhou Qi leave, but he couldn't help but nod secretly.

"It's been a few years since Ziyi has achieved great success, yet he is still not arrogant or impetuous, and he is quite respectful to me. It seems that he didn't misunderstand the person at the time."

He originally thought that Zhou Qi would be named the commander-in-chief of the county and would regard himself as the highest military commander after arriving in Ayang.

However, judging from his attitude, it is obvious that he still intends to focus on himself.

This is what Gai Xun should treat Zhou Qi with admiration for.

Although Gai Xun is a modest gentleman, he does not underestimate himself. He knows how complicated the situation in Liangzhou is where Hu and Han live together.

Although he himself is not good at military affairs, he can defend the city with his prestige.

If it were Zhou Qi who guarded the city instead, without understanding the affairs of Liangzhou, something bad might happen instead.

Compared with Zhou Qi's rapid promotion, Gai Xun has been the governor of Hanyang County for many years.

His qualifications, family background, and reputation are already sufficient now. As long as he makes some more contributions, he will definitely have a bright future in the future.

However, Gai Xun prefers Liangzhou to be stable and prosperous than to be promoted.

The scale of this rebellion is not large yet, but Gai Xun, who has lived in Liangzhou for a long time, can already vaguely feel that a huge storm is coming.

Without Duan Jiong's intimidation, the Qiang people would definitely set off huge waves in Liangzhou.

The imperial court doesn't pay enough attention to this rebellion now, it just allocates money and food to let Liangzhou's local army attack the thieves. Once the rebellion cannot be extinguished in a short period of time, the rebellion will become bigger and bigger like a snowball.

Eventually, it might even cause an avalanche.

Look at the current governor of Liangzhou, Zuo Chang, who is he?
Not only did he not take the initiative to suppress the rebellion, but he embezzled tens of millions of military supplies. He also transferred Gai Xun to Ayang for personal grievances, and wanted to get rid of him with the help of thieves.

Zuo Chang has no regard for the overall situation, and the Liangzhou rebellion will become uncontrollable sooner or later.

It was precisely because Gai Xun saw this that he tried every means to transfer Zhou Qi, who was good at conquering and fighting, to Liangzhou in case of emergency.

The next day.

Zhou Qi got up a little late because he was very tired due to the bitter cold in Liangzhou and the long journey, during which he encountered many bandits.

Gai Xun was reasonable and didn't bother Zhou Qi, but started defending the city on his own.

have to say.

The Qiang people's siege ability is not even comparable to the Yellow Turban Army. Ayang, a mere small town, has stopped [-] rebels for some time.

Seeing that he was unable to attack for a long time, Beigong Boyu immediately shouted from the city: "Brothers of the Qiang people, haven't we been oppressed enough by the Han people? Haven't we suffered enough bullying and discrimination?"

"I come from Xianling Qiang. Although I am not of the same Qiang race as you brothers, I also know how difficult it is for you brothers to live under the rule of corrupt Han officials."

"In the past few years, how many brothers' cattle, sheep and property have been exploited, and how many brothers' wives and daughters have been humiliated."

"This winter, how many brothers were frozen to death, how many old people were starved to death, and how many tribes died!"

"The Yellow Turban Rebellion swept the world, the Han court was overwhelmed, and Liangzhou Sanming was dead."

“Since our brothers and I have no way to survive, if we don’t fight back now, then when will we wait?”

"Now, I, Beigong Boyu, the leader of Xianling Qiang, promise to all Qiang brothers: As long as you help me destroy Ayang, the rich Han people and aristocratic families in the city can be plundered by you, and the Han women can be plundered by you. Never stop it.”

After Beigong Boyu's words fell, the eyes of many Qiang soldiers defending the city wall flickered.

At this moment, Gai Xun walked out of the crowd, walked to the side of the battlements, pointed at Beigong Boyu and cursed: "Traitors, how dare you deceive people here."

"If you talk about the rest of the Qiang tribe, it may be difficult to live."

"However, most of the Xianling Qiang people are Qiang people, and most of the Huangzhong righteous followers recruited by the Qiang Guards School are from Xianling Qiang. Who dares to bully the Xianling Qiang people?"

"What you have done is only for your own self-interest, but you want to put the rest of the Qiang tribe in danger?"

"Although the Liangzhou Sanming is no longer there, the imperial court has a vast territory and countless famous generals. Even if there is no Liangzhou Sanming, there will be the Liangzhou Three Tigers."

"In the old days of rebellion, many Qiang tribes were crushed by officers and soldiers, and the blood of Qiang brothers was spread all over the land of Liangzhou."

"Beigong Boyu, do you want to let the tragedy happen again for your own selfish desire?"

Gai Xun's words not only exposed Beigong Boyu's ambitions, but also made the Qiang soldiers guarding the city sweat dripping from behind.

When they thought of the days when they were dominated by Duan Jiong, their eyes showed fear, and the small thoughts that had just arisen in their hearts were quickly extinguished.

The so-called tiger dies but the remaining power remains.

Even though Duan Jiong has been dead for four years, and it's been a long time since he left Liangzhou, the Qiang people still haven't forgotten the method of the massacre.

Although the imperial court of the Eastern Han Dynasty has decayed, the strength of the Han army is still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

This was not the cowardly Song Dynasty, which was trembling in the face of the foreign cavalry and could only kneel down and ask for peace.

In the Han Dynasty, there was a saying that "one Han should be five Hu".

Of course, the "one Han as five Hu" here does not mean that one Han soldier is brave enough to fight and kill five Hu.

It refers to the strict discipline, well-trained, and complete armor of the Han army. When they hear gold, they will advance, and when they hear drums, they will retreat.

to the opposite.

There are many tribes of Hu people, they do not belong to each other, their military discipline is lax, they do not obey orders at all, and their will to fight is not strong, and they will disperse at the slightest setback.

Such an army can only fight with favorable conditions, but it is difficult for it to confront the elite Han army head-on.

Therefore, the Han and the Hu fought in groups, and the regular army of the big Han could even block the Hu troops five times their own.

The real difficulty in quelling the Qiang Rebellion is that the Qiang tribes are relatively scattered, and when they win, they fight bravely to be the first, and when they lose, they disperse in droves, and most of them are cavalry, so it is very difficult to wipe out one by one.

Even if the Qiang people were defeated, as long as they could escape back to their tribe, they could continue to make trouble after the imperial army retreated.

This is also why, when Cao Cao pacified Liangzhou in history, all the generals under his command were a little timid when they saw more and more rebels gathering, but Cao Cao laughed and was overjoyed.

Cao Cao's move was not only to appease people's hearts, but also to understand the habits of the Qiang people, and to know that the large but complex Qiang coalition army was easier to defeat.

Moreover, the Qiang rebels were all gathered together, so Cao Cao didn't need to kill them one by one, he only needed to defeat them in one fell swoop, and it could save a lot of food, grass and time.

Beigong Boyu, who was under the city wall, felt humiliated after Gai Xun scolded him like this, so he immediately ordered people to attack the city.

However, Gai Xun ordered the soldiers to defend the city in an orderly manner.

The rebel army attacked for half a day, leaving hundreds of corpses behind, and had to leave in desperation.

Zhou Qi also came to the top of the city wall, but he didn't meddle in it. Instead, he watched Gai Xun's command and how the rebels attacked the city. He didn't shake his head until Beigong Boyu led the troops to retreat.

"Why is the captain shaking his head?"

Gai Xun stepped forward and said with a smile.

Zhou Qiyao pointed to the rebels who were still in disarray when they retreated, and said: "If Beigong Boyu wants to capture Ayang so easily, I'm afraid his troops will eventually starve to death outside the city."

Gai Xun also stroked his beard and asked, "Does the captain think that the rebels will retreat if they can't hold on for long?"

Zhou Qi nodded and said: "The reason why Beigong Boyu wants to capture Ayang is to go and capture Long County to build up his momentum."

"Now Ayang has been unable to attack for a long time, his plan has come to nothing, and there is no food and grass supply."

"If there is no internal support in the city, the rebels will retreat sooner or later."

Gai Xun's expression moved slightly, and he lowered his voice and asked, "Zi Yi thinks there might be rebels in the city?"

Zhou Qi shook his head, and said: "I don't know the specific situation of Liangzhou, but it is necessary to guard against others. You should select elite and reliable Han soldiers and let them guard the city gate."

"Even at night, troops must be secretly guarded."

Hearing this, Gai Xun had a thoughtful look on his face.

There was a slight smile on the corner of Zhou Qi's mouth, and he said, "I have a strategy, which may defeat the enemy."

Rebel camp.

When Li Wenhou learned that more than [-] people had died under his command, he immediately cursed loudly: "We attacked the other cities, and all the Qiang people in the city surrendered. Only in Ayang County, the Qiang people in the city are willing to be the lackeys of the Han people. I am so angry. also!"

Beigong Boyu also sighed: "I originally thought that the Qiang people were oppressed by the Han people. As long as I raise my arms and call out, there will be like clouds of followers."

"However, Duan Jiong's prestige is too great, and Gai Xun is quite prestige among the Qiang people, so that the Ayang Qiang people dare not rebel. It is so difficult for us to break through the county."

Li Wenhou said: "In that case, why don't we withdraw our troops and attack elsewhere?"

Beigong Boyu pondered for a while, and said: "Let's wait for a few more days. I shout out from the city every day. The Qiang people in the city have already made a move. If they can take down Ayang together, Long County will be within easy reach."

"If we still can't defeat Ayang, it's not too late to attack elsewhere."

It was night, when Beigong Boyu was resting, he was suddenly woken up by his left and right cronies.

"What happened?"

The confidant hurriedly said: "There is a person from outside the camp who came to see me."

Beigong Boyu's expression moved slightly and he asked: "It's a leader of the Qiang tribe. He didn't say anything about what he came over. He just shouted that he wanted to see the general."

Beigong Boyu stood up in a hurry and said: "Invite that man into the camp quickly. Then invite Marquis Li Wen."

Not long after, Li Wenhou and the leader of the small tribe of Qiang came over, Beigong Boyu personally poured a bowl of kumiss for the leader of the small tribe, and said, "Your Excellency, why did you come to my camp late at night? "

The man bowed to Beigong Boyu, and said: "To be honest, we also have the intention of raising troops, but Gai Changshi has kindness to my tribe's son, and I can't bear to betray him."

"However, this winter is too cold, and the tribe is really unsustainable, so I went out of the city to meet the leader against my conscience, and wanted to cooperate with the leader internally and externally to capture Ayang."

Beigong Boyu was overjoyed when he heard the words, put his hands on the man's shoulders, and said: "If you can break Ayang, it will be your first contribution, and the rich households in the city will be plundered first by the clan's sons, so you are worried that you won't be able to survive this winter." ?”

The man's face showed joy when he heard this, and then he hesitated for a while and said: "I have one more unkind request. I hope that after breaking through Ayang, Gai Changshi's life will not be harmed."

Beigong Boyu patted his chest and said, "Please don't worry about this."

"Gai Changshi has shown great kindness to our Qiang tribe. Wouldn't it be a big disappointment if someone killed such a wise man?"

The leader of the small tribe of Qiang people was overjoyed when he heard the words, and said: "Since that's the case, I will raise a fire on the city as a sign at midnight, and then I will open the city gate. You should enter the city as soon as possible."

After the three people discussed it, the leader of the small Qiang tribe rushed back to the city overnight.

Li Wenhou asked: "Is this person trustworthy?"

Beigong Boyu smiled and said: "If he didn't ask us to save Gai Xun's life, he might be cheating. Since he mentioned this matter, I guess there will be nothing wrong."

Li Wenhou was immediately overjoyed and said: "In that case, I will be the vanguard tomorrow evening and lead the tribe's men into the city."

The next day.

The rebels continued to attack the city casually for half a day as before, leaving two to three hundred corpses behind before retreating.

At night.

But Beigong Boyu and Li Wenhou led the rebels under their command, quietly touched the outside of Ayang City, and waited quietly.

The weather in Liangzhou is very cold, especially at night.

These rebels have lived in Liangzhou for a long time, but in the face of this extremely cold winter, many soldiers were still shivering from the cold.

They waited patiently, and finally when it was midnight, there were indeed three people on the city wall who raised torches at the same time and waved them in the air several times.

Li Wenhou was overjoyed when he saw this, rubbed his hands that had been frozen for a long time, and said to Beigong Boyu: "I will lead the troops to the city first, and you will lead the army to meet behind, how about it?"

Beigong Boyu nodded and said, "Be careful."

"Kill!"

Fierce shouts of killing broke the calm of the night, and Ayang City became chaotic.

Before Li Wenhou led his cavalry to the gate of the city, he saw that the gate of Ayang County was slowly opened. The leader of the small tribe of Qiang, with the Qiang soldiers in the tribe, was defending the gate with all his might.

"Officers and soldiers are prepared, come to support quickly, we can't stop it!"

Li Wenhou heard the call for help from the leader of the small tribe, so he didn't dare to delay any longer. Relying on his own bravery, he led his elite cavalry and rushed into the city first.

When the leader of the small tribe saw Marquis Li Wen rushing over on horseback, he hurriedly led his tribe members to fight in.

"boom!"

never thought.

Li Wenhou only led hundreds of his soldiers into the city. A temporary giant gate had already fallen, blocking all the Qiang cavalry behind them from outside the city.

Li Wenhou was shocked when he saw this, knowing that he had hit the trick, he wanted to lead his troops back, but found that there was no way out.

"Fire arrows!"

At the same time, the crossbowmen who had been in ambush for a long time bent their bows and set arrows one after another.

In an instant, arrows rained like rain, and most of the hundreds of Qiang soldiers under Li Wenhou's command were shot to death.

Li Wenhou was horrified and hurriedly shouted: "Gai Changshi, I am willing to surrender, please spare my life!"

Gai Xun, who was standing on the tower, moved slightly when he heard this, with a look of hesitation on his face.

Seeing this, Zhou Qi said: "Thieves are capricious. Accepting surrender is not enough to persuade good people, but killing them is enough to punish evil. If you accept it now, you will be more rebellious. If the thieves are powerful, they will fight, if they are blunt, they will beg for surrender and let the enemy invade. , not a good plan."

Hearing this, Gai Xun stopped hesitating and shouted sharply: "Keep shooting arrows!"

After several rounds of arrow rain fell, none of the officers and soldiers were injured, and all the rebels who entered the city were shot and killed. Zhou Qi ordered Li Wenhou's body to be brought, hung it on the city wall, and lit a fire to illuminate Li Wenhou's face.

Zhou Qi sank into his dantian, and said loudly and kindly: "The thief chief Li Wenhou is dead, and those who surrender will not be killed!"

Seeing this, the rebels outside the city were all horrified.

Seeing that something was going wrong, Beigong Boyu did not dare to stay outside the city, so he had to lead his troops back to the camp.

That night, Beigong Boyu annexed Li Wenhou's troops, and then stopped attacking Ayang, and led his troops to Jincheng County the next day.

(End of this chapter)