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

Chapter 146 Encouragement and Wei, the first battle against the rebels

"Boom boom boom!"

The drums were rumbling, and Xu Huang and Gao Shun fought inseparably. The two fought for fifty rounds, but they still couldn't decide the outcome.

Such superb martial arts, such a wonderful contest, immediately caused the soldiers watching the battle in the school field to shout loudly and excitedly.

"clang!"

The two fought until round 55. Gao Shun finally lost strength and the weapon in his hand was knocked to the ground.

Xu Huang put away his sword and stood up, but did not take advantage of the victory to pursue.

"I lost!"

Gao Shun was not a person who couldn't afford to lose. He took a deep look at Xu Huang, then picked up the weapon on the ground and jumped off the school field.

"Xu Huang!"

Seeing this, Huang Shao couldn't help shouting excitedly, and the soldiers under his command reacted and began to cheer.

Zhou Qi waited until the excited emotions of the soldiers were vented, and then came to Xu Huang's side holding the brocade robe in both hands, with a smile on his face.

"Gongming is brave and uncommon, this shirt belongs to you!"

Xu Huang was overjoyed when he heard the words, and prepared to step forward to take the brocade robe.

Although the brocade robe is made of Shu brocade, the material itself is very precious, but to Xu Huang, the meaning of this brocade robe is far greater than its own value.

"Wait a minute!"

Just when Xu Huang had stretched out his hands and was about to take over the brocade robe, Dian Wei suddenly jumped onto the school field.

Zhou Qi turned to look at Dian Wei and asked, "What do you mean, Mr. Dian?"

Dian Wei bowed to Zhou Qi, then looked at Xu Huang, and said in a low voice: "Gao Shun is a general under my command. He is not good at force, but his greatest strength is training."

"You beat Gao Shun, so what is your skill?"

"Although General Zuo does not allow us, the commander-in-chief of the Fourth Army, to compete on the stage, I still want to test your martial arts skills, so as not to wear this shirt on the battlefield and lose the majesty of General Zuo."

Xu Huang was furious when he heard the words, and regardless of Dian Wei's status, he was ready to compare with him in order to justify his name.

This does not mean that Xu Huang has no courage.

This matter is related to Xu Huang's reputation and future, but being openly questioned by Dian Wei would make anyone else extremely angry.

Zhou Qi scolded Dian Wei: "Gongming didn't just compete with Gao Shun alone. Each of the four armies sent ten brave warriors to the stage, but Gongming finally won the championship. Doesn't it mean that his martial arts skills are extraordinary?"

Dian Wei pouted and said, "A certain letter has two halberds in his hands. If he wants the brocade robe, he must first ask me, Dian Wei."

Xu Huang was furious immediately, and shouted: "Compare, I, Xu Huang, have never been afraid of anyone, and I just want to measure your ability as the commander of the Bingzhou Army."

After saying this, Xu Huang immediately raised his weapon and prepared to step forward to compete with Dian Wei.

Zhou Qi hurriedly grabbed Xu Huang, and then reprimanded Dian Wei: "Gongming has already fought Gao Shun for dozens of rounds, and his physical strength has been exhausted. How fair is it for you to fight against him on the stage at this time?"

"You go down, even if you want to compete, you should wait until Gongming has rested."

"boom!"

Unexpectedly, when Dian Wei heard this, he threw away his left halberd and said: "A certain person is good at two-handed halberds. Now he only has one-handed halberds, and his combat effectiveness has dropped by at least [-]%."

"I don't cheat either."

"As long as you can go for thirty rounds in my hands, I will recognize that you have the strength to obtain the brocade robe."

Xu Huang became even more angry when he heard this, and bowed to Zhou Qi: "This man has insulted me too much. Please ask General Zuo to allow me to fight with him!"

Seeing Xu Huang's resolute attitude, Zhou Qi immediately sighed and said, "You can compete in martial arts, don't hurt your friendship."

Xu Huang threw away the long knife in his hand, walked to the weapon rack instead, picked up the heaviest axe, and swung it several times to get used to its weight.

After getting used to it, Xu Huang walked to Dianwei's side, pointed to the left-handed halberd that had been thrown on the ground, and said, "I don't need you to let me go, use all your strength to fight me."

Dian Wei looked at Xu Huang with a sneer, but remained silent.

Seeing this, Xu Huang was even angrier, and immediately raised the big ax in his hand, saying: "If you don't use your full strength, after you are defeated by me, don't make any noise!"

Dian Wei smiled and said, "If you can defeat me, why not give the position of Army Commander to you?"

Xu Huang stopped talking when he heard the words, and swung the big ax in his hand directly, and slashed towards Dianwei's forehead.

Xu Huang was born with supernatural power, and his ax skills were superb. He just competed with everyone on the school field, but he has not yet displayed his full strength.

Facing Dian Wei's provocation, Xu Huang immediately filled up his anger, chose his best weapon, and prepared to teach Dian Wei a lesson.

The big ax is a heavy weapon, and with the blessing of Xu Huang's natural divine power, its momentum is even more terrifying.

In Xu Huang's view, Dian Wei would not dare to directly attack his thunderous strike, and would definitely avoid the edge temporarily. Therefore, Xu Huang's move seemed to use all his strength, but in fact he only used six points of his strength.

If Dianwei chooses to dodge, Xu Huang can also quickly change his move from chopping to sweeping.

"clang!"

Unexpectedly, Dian Wei did not dodge or dodge, and directly used the iron halberd in his hand to hold the ax that Xu Huang had chopped down.

"Is there only so much strength?"

Seeing this, Xu Huang couldn't help being shocked, and thought to himself: "Although I only used six fractions of my strength, I was chopping from top to bottom, and with the blessing of the weight of the ax itself, ordinary people can't resist it at all."

"This Dianwei was able to hold up my axe so easily. He is indeed quite capable."

Xu Huang did not dare to neglect, and immediately used all his martial arts skills to dance with great force with the big ax in his hand.

However, no matter how Xu Huang attacked, Dian Wei could defend impeccably, and the two sides soon fought for twenty rounds.

Not only did Xu Huang fail to suppress Dian Wei with his natural power, but due to repeated head-to-head confrontations and having fought with Gao Shun for a long time before, he was actually somewhat exhausted.

It has to be said that Xu Huang just met his nemesis.

The big ax in his hand is a heavy weapon, and it consumes a lot of physical strength. He is not good at fighting for a long time, and he is also a horse general.

If Xu Huang mounts a war horse and fights with others, ordinary people will be shocked to the point of numbness in their arms, and then be beheaded under the horse, even if they fight with him several times.

He was at a disadvantage in the battle with Dian Wei, and the natural power he was proud of was not as good as Dian Wei, so he was restrained everywhere.

Seeing that the two sides had fought for nearly [-] rounds, the soldiers watching below the school field, who had never seen such a wonderful fight, even shouted hoarsely at this moment.

"clang!"

The two fought for another round, Dian Wei had already exerted his full strength and was in full swing, while Xu Huang was at the end of his strength.

He felt the huge force coming from the axe, and almost failed to hold the handle of the axe, letting the ax go away.

Xu Huang didn't have time to rejoice, but he felt the halberd in Dian Wei's hand change. The halberd blade directly hooked the side of the axe. With just a little force, the weapon in Xu Huang's hand could be removed.

In a battle with Dian Wei, if he had no weapons, he could declare defeat.

Just when Xu Huang thought something was wrong, Dian Wei suddenly changed his moves again, not only did not seize the opportunity to take away Xu Huang's weapon, but jumped out of the battle circle.

Dian Wei bowed deeply to Xu Huang and said: "Thirty rounds have come and we are still undecided. Gongming is worthy of the robe given by General Zuo!"

After speaking, Dian Wei picked up the left-handed halberd that he had thrown on the platform, and jumped directly to the bottom of the school field.

"Xu Huang!"

"Xu Huang!"

"Xu Huang!"

Below the school grounds, the onlookers were quiet for a while, and then the loud shouts were directly transmitted to Xi County not far away.

Although Xu Huang had won the first place in the martial arts competition before, Dian Wei Zhiyong had already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Although the soldiers recognized Xu Huang, they did not think that he could be compared with Dian Wei and Xu Chu.

This wonderful contest let everyone know that Xu Huang's bravery is absolutely extraordinary.

It wasn't until the crowd cheered that Zhou Qi walked up to Xu Huang, handed over the shirt with a smile, and said, "Gong Ming, you can accept this shirt with confidence now."

Xu Huang took the jersey with confused eyes, and he still felt a little bewildered until he walked off the school field and returned to the team.

"Since Dian Wei took the stage to provoke, why did he show mercy in the end?"

Xu Huang thought about it over and over, but couldn't figure out the key. Finally, he simply declined the celebration banquet and went straight to the place where the Bingzhou Army was training.

"Dian Sima, why do you keep your hands on the school field?"

Looking at Xu Huang who was full of doubts, Dian Wei said with a smile: "Gongming thinks that someone is the kind of person who is competitive and doesn't want others to show off?"

Xu Huang heard the words, but was speechless.

Xu Huang must have thought so before Dian Wei kept his hand.

But when Dian Wei stopped at the last moment, Xu Huang began to wonder if he had wrongly blamed the other party.

Dian Wei questioned himself seemingly arrogantly and domineeringly, but it turned out that not only his reputation was not damaged, but he was blessed by misfortune and was respected by the officers and men in the army.

"Could it be that Dian Sima deliberately made me famous?"

Hearing this, Dian Wei said with a smile: "I don't have that much thought. However, General Zuo really values ​​you very much, and he was worried that your army sergeants would not accept the promotion. That's why I deliberately went on stage to provoke you and make you famous."

When Xu Huang heard this, he couldn't help being moved, and said: "I'm just a small official in Hedong County, I never thought that General Zuo would treat me so kindly, I will definitely remember this kindness in my heart."

After saying this, Xu Huang bowed deeply to Dian Wei and sighed: "I used to boast that I was brave and did not take the world's heroes seriously. Now that I see Dian Sima's bravery, I realize that my knowledge is shallow." ."

"Dian Sima's bravery, although the ancient Fan Kuai, may not be able to match it."

Dian Wei shook his head and said with a smile: "What does this mere martial arts mean?"

"Xu Zhongkang, the commander of the army guard under General Zuo, is not inferior to me in bravery. Xiang Bode can also fight me for fifty or sixty rounds without losing."

Xu Huang couldn't help being shocked when he heard the words, and the pride he felt just now because he won the leader of the competition was quickly restrained.

He thought to himself: "General Zuo has a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger. I should be more modest and cautious in my actions in the future."

The head coach's tent.

Xi Zhicai looked at Zhou Qi and said, "Congratulations, Duke Ming, for adding a strong general to your command!"

Zhou Qi stroked his beard and said with a smile: "I have talked with him, this Xu Gongming is not as simple as being brave, he is also quite insightful in training and commanding troops."

"If you can polish yourself well, you will definitely become a famous general in the future."

Xi Zhicai's expression moved slightly, and he said: "Even Dian Wei and Xu Chu have not received such praise, it seems that Duke Ming has very high expectations for Xu Gongming."

Zhou Qi said: "The general lies in wisdom rather than courage."

"Dianjun and Zhongkang charge into the battle, and no one can stop them."

"However, they are above the commanding force, but their room for growth is relatively limited. It is difficult for them to lead an army alone."

"In comparison, although Xu Gongming is slightly inferior in martial arts, he has great potential in commanding troops. He is exactly the person I urgently need under my command."

Xi Zhicai said: "My lord values ​​Xu Gongming so much, no wonder he deliberately asked Dianjun to compete with him on stage, to show kindness and power to win him over."

Zhou Qi stroked his beard and smiled without saying a word.

Through this incident, it can not only help Xu Huang establish prestige in the army, but also deter Xu Huang through Dian Wei, letting him know that there is no shortage of strong generals under Zhou Qi, so that the other party will not be confused and unclear about himself after being promoted.

Although Zhou Qi has conquered Xu Huang now, there is no emotional foundation between the two parties.

After the war is over, Xu Huang may also leave Zhou Qi and exchange his achievements for an official position.

Only by giving kindness and power together can Xu Huang's heart be accepted.

In this case, no matter where Zhou Qi goes in the future, Xu Huang will most likely follow him.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Outside Chencang City, the rebels camp.

Wang Guo said angrily: "We have been besieging Chen Cang with an army of more than [-] for more than two months. We can neither conquer Chen Cang nor encircle and send reinforcements to eliminate Zhou Qi's officers and soldiers."

"Now the soldiers are tired and the food and grass supplies are not keeping up. Sooner or later there will be trouble."

"On the other hand, Zhou Qi has been preparing for war for nearly two months, but he still stands still. The money we gave Dong Zhuo has no effect."

"If you continue to besiege Chencang without meritorious service, the soldiers under your command may collapse without fighting."

Ma Teng hesitated for a while, but finally couldn't help but said: "The siege has been going on for a long time, and the soldiers are exhausted. In order to attack Chencang, the soldiers didn't even go home to celebrate the New Year. They have been exhausted here in the severe cold weather."

"In my opinion, since Chencang is difficult to conquer and Zhou Qi did not fall into the trap of sending troops to help, it is better to retreat to Liangzhou first and then try another route."

Han Sui frowned when he heard this.

He was extremely ambitious and was not willing to give up.

And Han Sui also knew that if they returned without success this time, the seemingly mighty Liangzhou rebels would inevitably fall apart when they returned to Liangzhou.

Han Sui wanted to take all this rebel army into his own hands, so naturally he didn't want to see this happen.

But now.

The most influential kingdom in the army, as well as Ma Teng, already have the intention of withdrawing troops.

If Han Sui insists on attacking Chencang, but cannot do so for a long time, his prestige will be damaged, which will not be conducive to Han Sui's attempt to command the rebel army.

Thinking of this, Han Sui immediately said: "It is not easy for an army of more than [-] to retreat, and Zhou Qi knows how to fight well. If he knows that we are retreating, he will definitely lead the army to attack."

"The soldiers have been besieging the city for a long time and are homesick. If we order the troops to withdraw, they will lose all will to fight and retreat in droves. Who can resist Zhou Qi's army?"

Wang Guo frowned and thought for a while, and then said: "I gave Dong Zhuo so much property before, but he didn't get it done."

"This time when we withdraw our troops, we can ask Dong Zhuo to persuade Zhou Qi not to pursue him."

"As a leader, I can also lead my soldiers to cut off the rear in preparation for pursuing troops."

Han Sui's eyes flashed and he said: "That's very good."

But after Zhou Qi promoted Xu Huang and Gao Shun, the training speed of the army has been accelerated a lot, and he has been able to command like an arm.

this day.

Suddenly there was a detailed report. Liangzhou had less and less food and grass transported to the Chencang rebel camp, and the rebel offensive also began to slow down.

Zhou Qi immediately summoned his generals and said: "The rebel army does not have much food and grass, and its momentum has declined. If my prediction is true, the traitor army will retreat soon."

"The bandit army is a rabble. When it advances, it becomes menacing. When it retreats, it looks like a lost dog. This is a good opportunity to defeat the enemy."

"Mei County is still a few days away from Chen Cang. If the bandits retreat, we will not be able to catch up here."

"So in my opinion, the whole army should pull out the camp and go to Chencang day and night."

Having said that, Zhou Qi looked around at the generals and asked, "Who is willing to be the vanguard?"

Huang Shao said hurriedly: "I would like to be a pioneer!"

Seeing this, Zhou Qi nodded and said: "I order you to lead 3000 men and horses, put up more flags, falsely claim to be [-], clear out the rebel scouts, and occupy the favorable terrain twenty miles east of Chencang. If the thieves come to attack, do not fight with them. Waiting for the army to arrive.”

"I asked Xu Gongming to be your deputy general, and I will consult his opinions when I encounter problems."

"only!"

Huang Shao and Xu Huang took the order and left.

"Dian Wei is the commander-in-chief, Gao Shun is the deputy general, and he commands three thousand troops and horses. They are the left army."

"Xu Chu is the commander in chief, Zhou Jin is the deputy general, commanding [-] soldiers and horses, I think the right army."

"Xi Zhicai commanded [-] soldiers and horses, thinking that the rear army was responsible for escorting food, grass and ordnance."

"Xiang Hong commanded eight thousand soldiers and horses, and marched with me."

After Zhou Qi dispatched, the [-] troops marched towards Chencang.

The three thousand vanguard troops led by Huang Shao and Xu Huang went into battle lightly. Xu Huang personally led the elite scouts in the army to hunt down the scouts sent by the rebels.

that's it.

It wasn't until the three thousand vanguard troops arrived [-] miles east of Chencang, where they occupied favorable terrain and began to camp, that Guo Guo and others received the news.

at the same time.

Dong Zhuo also received a request from the rebels to help delay Zhou Qi so that when the rebels retreated, they would not send troops to pursue him.

Dong Zhuo originally thought that Zhou Qi was young and inexperienced in military affairs, afraid of the large number of rebels, and did not dare to lead troops to attack, so he retreated to Mei County, and was not worried that he would lead an army to pursue the rebels.

never thought.

Zhou Qi actually arrived at Chencang and established a foothold here without notifying Dong Zhuo.

After Dong Zhuo got the news, he was furious.

He was about to write a letter to question Zhou Qi, why he didn't discuss with him about the deployment of troops, but he received Zhou Qi's military order, ordering Dong Zhuo to gather all the troops in Yong County and go to Chencang to join the army.

Although Dong Zhuo was annoyed, he also wanted to know what kind of medicine was sold in the cycle gourd.

He immediately headed towards Chencang with his soldiers and horses, but instead of camping next to Zhou Qi's camp, he set up camp [-] miles north of Chencang.

Wang Guozhi knew that Zhou Qi and Dong Zhuo had led troops to Chencang, and knew that it would be too late if they did not withdraw their troops.

He immediately sent someone to send a large amount of money to Dong Zhuo, asking him to hold Zhou Qi back, and then began to withdraw his troops.

The kingdom was still worried, so he took his troops and horses to kill the queen himself.

But Zhou Qi was overjoyed when he heard the news of the withdrawal of the rebels, and knowing that the opportunity to defeat the enemy had arrived, he was ready to lead the army to pursue him.

Unexpectedly, Dong Zhuo came to Zhou Qi's camp at this time.

Seeing Dong Zhuo, Zhou Qi narrowed his eyes slightly, and then said with a smile: "The former general came just in time. The retreat of the rebels is an opportunity to defeat the enemy. If you follow the enemy with me, the general will surely defeat the rebels."

Dong Zhuo heard this and hurriedly advised: "Absolutely not."

Zhou Qi pretended to be surprised and asked: "Why did the former general say this?"

Dong Zhuo said seriously: "There is a saying in the art of war: Don't chase the poor invaders, and don't force them when they return. If we send troops to pursue the kingdom now, we will push the kingdom to a dead end. This is chasing the poor invaders."

"The thieves have a large number of soldiers. If they are fighting with trapped animals, the bees and grasshoppers are still poisonous. How about the large number of people!"

Zhou Qi shook his head and said, "No."

"Before, I refused to attack because I was avoiding his vigor. Now I attack because of his decline. The general has no will to fight, and the soldiers have no will to fight. He is as panic-stricken as a bereaved dog."

"The ones I attacked were tired warriors, not those who returned to the masses."

"All the soldiers and horses under the kingdom's command have fled, and no one has the fighting spirit. To fight against chaos is not to be a poor bandit."

Dong Zhuo's face was gloomy when he heard this, and he said: "If you go to chase the enemy, there will be great disasters. If General Zuo insists on pursuing, forgive me for not being able to follow."

Dong Zhuo saw that Zhou Qi could not be persuaded, so he simply threatened not to send troops.

In Dong Zhuo's view, Zhou Qi only had [-] soldiers and horses under his command, but the rebels numbered hundreds of thousands. Without the cooperation of his own soldiers and horses, he would not dare to pursue the rebels rashly.

Zhou Qi said a little coldly: "Since the former general doesn't want to pursue the enemy with me, then he will be responsible for delaying the enemy, and I will lead the army to pursue alone."

Zhou Qi knew very well that the speed of soldiers is very important, so he didn't continue to talk nonsense with Dong Zhuo, and directly ordered the generals under his command to mobilize troops and horses, and began to pursue the kingdom.

However, after the kingdom announced its withdrawal, these rebels really exposed their true nature.

Most of the rebels are Qiang people. When these people advance, they swarm forward with great bravery; when they retreat, they disperse in a chaotic and inexplicable chaos, making it impossible to catch up.

The Qiang people can only fight against the wind, but they all scramble to flee for their lives when encountering headwinds.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this character of the Qiang people that they became a cancer in the Eastern Han Dynasty and were constantly suppressed by the imperial army.

Although the kingdom led [-] soldiers and horses to cut off the rear, the Qiang people among the rebels were all distracted and had no intention of fighting.

If the kingdom hadn't worked hard to appease them and assured them again and again that the officers and soldiers would not catch up, the Qiang people might have dispersed before they had fought the officers and soldiers.

As for Han Sui and Ma Teng, they had already retreated towards Liangzhou with their troops.

"Tap Tap!"

The Kingdom waited for a long time, but still did not wait for the court to pursue the troops, thinking that Dong Zhuo had persuaded Zhou Qi and was about to lead the troops to retreat.

At this moment, dust suddenly rose behind them, and the dull sound of footsteps began to come closer from far away.

Wang Guo was horrified, and cried out: "Didn't Dong Zhuo already agree to dissuade Zhou Qi from leading the army to pursue him? Why is there still the imperial court chasing troops?"

"Come on!"

"Kill!"

"Capture the kingdom alive!"

The shouts of killing come and go from far to near.

Those Qiang people who were barely pacified by the kingdom did not listen to orders at all and dispersed in a hurry, fleeing in panic towards the west.

The kingdom has [-] soldiers and horses, and they have not yet fought the imperial army, but there are less than [-] left.

When the kingdom saw this, he couldn't help but cursed: "The Hulu are not enough to make plans!"

Seeing that the general situation was over, the kingdom did not dare to fight to the death with the officers and soldiers, so it had to flee with its troops.

Zhou Qi pursued him tail-to-tail, defeated the rebels, and beheaded more than ten thousand people.

　I was in poor health and went to swim for two hours to exercise. After returning, my muscles were sore and my coding efficiency was greatly reduced, so it was a bit late. Brothers, don’t blame me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)