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

Chapter 227: Fighting between fierce generals, peak duel

Berkshire, Jiangzhou.

Zhou Qi led an army of [-] people and arrived on a starry night journey. Generals Xiang Hong, Jia Xu, Gan Ning, Chen Wu and Ling Cao all came out of the city to meet him.

Zhou Qi first spoke warmly to the generals he knew and comforted him, then looked at Gan Ning, who had a slightly nervous look on his face, and asked: "Is this the Hundred Horse Robbery Camp Gan Xingba under your command?"

Gan Ning hurriedly saluted and said, "That's right!"

Zhou Qi heard this, stepped forward and took Gan Ning's hand, turned to everyone and said: "Previously, Gu promoted Xingba to Zhonglang General. You are still dissatisfied. After learning about the incident of Baiqi's robbery of the camp in Jiangzhou, can you please return the favor?" Have something to say?"

All the generals lowered their heads and were silent.

Zhou Qi continued: "Xianba County was promoted first, and hundreds of cavalry robbed the camp, burned the grain and grass array and beheaded Liu Sui, causing Zhao Wei and Yan Yan to retreat. There is no more powerful and majestic person in the army than this."

Zhou Qi took off his cloak, put it on Gan Ning himself, stroked his back and said, "A single person can become a hegemon, like a tiger with wings!"

Gan Ning didn't expect that the general of chariots and cavalry would praise him so highly, and he couldn't help but feel excited in his heart. He secretly thought that he was not the wrong person.

After greetings, the army entered the city.

Zhou Qi was discussing matters with civil and military officials, but the envoy sent by Du Ji arrived in a hurry eight hundred miles away.

After Zhou Qi read the letter sent by Du Ji, he couldn't help but frown. He didn't expect Yuan Shu to do such a thing.

However, considering that Du Ji and Zhang Liao are both in Lujiang County, with their talents, the entire territory of Lujiang will not be lost.

He immediately wrote three letters and sent people to Jiangxia, Lujiang, and Jiujiang respectively, asking Zhou Cheng and Xu Huang to lead troops to assist Lujiang, and ordered Du Ji and Zhang Liao to act expediently.

He also specifically told a few people that if they found an opportunity in this battle, they could teach Yuan Shu a lesson, but they should also be merciful.

Zhou Qi is currently attacking Yizhou and has no time to visit the north.

If Yuan Shu's strength is greatly damaged at this time, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao will inevitably reap the benefits. When the time comes, Zhou Qi will inevitably compete with these two powerful princes.

Rather than doing this, it is better to continue to put Yuan Shu in Yuzhou.

It's not that Zhou Qi is afraid of Yuan Shu, but because he has people like Yuan Shu as his neighbors, even if he leads an army to invade, he won't be afraid as long as the frontier is guarded by good generals.

This is why, even though Zhou Qi knew that Yuan Shu and Liu Bei might invade Yangzhou, he still insisted on marching westward.

Over the years, he has managed Lujiang, Jiujiang, and Jiangxia like iron barrels. Except for Zhou Cheng, there are good generals guarding them. It should be no problem to maintain stability for Zhou Qi.

Although Zhou Cheng is slightly lacking in ability, he has many soldiers and horses under his command, and Li Ru is lurking to help secretly, which can at least keep Jiangxia safe.

Now that the three parties have gathered together, as long as Zhang Liao can block Yuan Shu's first wave of offensive, it is still unclear who will win at that time.

As long as Liu Bei does not participate in the war, Zhou Qi does not have to worry about the situation in Yangzhou.

However, now that the covenant has not been completed and the protons have not been dispatched, Zhou Qi will not completely trust Liu Bei.

After thinking about it, he wrote to Danyang County Sheriff and Xu Huang, asking them to be alert to Liu Bei's movements in Xuzhou and not to be careless.

After everything was done, Zhou Qi let the army rest in Jiangzhou for three days, and then raised his army to kill Bendianjiang.

Most of Yizhou's main forces are gathered here. If they can be wiped out, Yizhou will be easily accessible.

However, when Zhou Qi led his army to Dianjiang and inspected the geography and landforms, his heart sank to the bottom.

The road to Shu is difficult, and it is difficult to go to the blue sky.

Although this is not Sichuan, it has high mountains and dangerous roads, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Dianjiang is located in the eastern part of the Huaying Mountains, and its landform is dominated by hills.

The mountains in the east and west are towering, and the troughs and troughs between the mountains are intertwined; the high beach river in the middle runs through the entire county, with streams, rivers, small ditches, and flat dams embedded in it.

The highest altitude of Dianjiang is 1000 meters, and the lowest altitude is more than 300 meters. The terrain is high in the north and low in the south.

This city is built near mountains and rivers. There are high mountains on the east and west sides. It is a natural barrier for Dianjiang County and it is difficult for the army to pass through.

To the north of Dianjiang, the natural barrier of Fujiang was guarded. Just like Xiangyang, it was difficult to transport siege equipment there.

After thinking about it, if you want to attack Dianjiang, you can only attack from the south.

However, the terrain of Dianjiang is high in the north and low in the south, and it is supported by the city wall. It is obviously difficult to conquer Dianjiang from south to north.

After observing the terrain of Dianjiang, he seemed to have some understanding. In history, even if Liu Bei had internal support, he still spent three years and failed to capture Chengdu.

The land of Bashu is really easy to defend but difficult to attack. If Liu Zhang only let his soldiers defend the city and not fight Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi may have spent three years but still couldn't reach Chengdu.

Zhou Qi had no choice but to return to the camp and said to everyone: "Dianjiang is built near mountains and rivers. The terrain is too steep. I'm afraid it won't be possible to attack by force."

"And there are still more than [-] soldiers and horses in the city, so it is impossible for us to attack the city by force."

"Do you have any countermeasures?"

When the generals heard this, they all looked at each other in shock.

Most of them had fought against Xiangyang, so they naturally knew how terrifying this kind of city was. Apart from Dianjiang's strategic location being inferior to Xiangyang, the city was no less dangerous.

Facing such a fortified city, no one dared to boast that Haikou could capture it.

Seeing that all the generals were speechless, Zhou Qi finally turned his attention to Gan Ning and asked, "Xingba is a native of Ba County. He should know the details of Dianjiang better than us. Does he have any good strategies to break the city?"

When Gan Ning heard this, he smiled bitterly and said: "If there are only two or three thousand defenders in the city, my lord can still launch a strong attack with the advantage of military strength."

"If the defenders in the city are incompetent, they can still use strategies to attack the city."

"However, there are more than [-] defenders in the city, and their strength is still higher than our army. The generals Zhao Wei, Yan Yan, Zhang Ren, Deng Xian, Wu Yi and others in the city are all famous generals in Bashu. It is difficult for just one person to deal with it."

"Now that five people have gathered in Dianjiang, it is extremely difficult to break them."

Zhou Qi had no choice but to turn his attention to Jia Xu, wanting to see if this poisonous man with great scheming could come up with a good strategy to break the situation.

Jia Xu pondered for a long time, and then said: "My lord, you can lead the troops to call for formation first. The army is so large that if they dare not go to battle, it will definitely damage their morale, and then we can make other plans."

Zhou Qi nodded slightly when he heard this, and then led his troops to the south gate.

As the army arrived, people shouted, horses neighed, and gongs and drums roared. Zhou Qi looked around the generals and asked, "Who wants to step forward to call for battle?"

"Someone wants to go!"

As soon as Zhou Qi finished speaking, Huang Zhong couldn't wait to jump out and ask for a fight.

"Someone is also willing to go!"

The other generals were not to be outdone and asked for battle one after another.

Zhou Qi gently stroked his beard and said with a smile on his face: "You are all brave and skilled generals, but since Han Sheng is the first to speak, he should be the first to lead the charge."

Huang Zhong was overjoyed and said hurriedly: "If I dare to go to battle, I will definitely live up to my lord's high expectations!"

But it was said that Huang Zhong led three thousand troops, holding swords and wearing armor. There was a strong bow hanging on the horse, and a pot of arrows on his back.

He clapped his horse and came out, pointed at the garrison in the city, and shouted sternly: "General Chariot and Cavalry has been ordered to punish the thieves. The troops have arrived today, why don't you open the city to surrender? When the city is destroyed, the corpses will be separated. It will be too late to regret!" "

"Now that Huang Hansheng is here in Nanyang, who among the thieves dares to go out of the city to fight with a certain person!"

Huang Zhong was at his peak at this time, full of energy, and his voice was like thunder. Even though he was a stone's throw away, his voice still clearly reached the ears of the soldiers in the city.

When the generals guarding the city heard this, their expressions changed slightly.

Yan Yan was very impatient, and he was at his peak now. When he heard this, he immediately flew into a rage and said to Zhao Wei: "The thieves will be arrogant. If we don't go out to defeat the enemy's spirit, it will definitely damage the prestige of our army."

"I want to lead troops out of the city to fight the bandits, and I want the general to give me permission."

Zhao Wei heard this and was about to agree, but saw Zhang Ren retort: ​​"The bandit army has recently arrived and is full of vigor. It is not a good idea to fight with them."

"Furthermore, Zhou Qi has so many powerful generals under his command that he should not be underestimated. It would be fine if he wins the battle out of the city. However, if he suffers a setback, and with the defeat of Jiangzhou, our army has already lost two games in a row. The sergeants will definitely feel bad for the Jingzhou army. fear."

"Now that we have occupied the fortified city, we should occupy the city and defend it."

"The thieves came from afar, and the transportation of food and grass was inconvenient. It will inevitably cost a lot of money and food over time."

"When their food and grass are exhausted and the army has no fighting spirit, we can go out of the city to pursue them. We will surely defeat the bandit army in one battle and regain the entire territory of Ba County."

Before Yan Yan could answer, Deng Xian had already said, "Why does General Zhang make others' ambitions destroy his own prestige?"

"Although the generals under Zhou Qi's command have a reputation for bravery, it is because they have never met us before, which is why Zhuzi became famous."

"Furthermore, I have [-] troops in the city and only [-] Jingzhou troops outside the city. Isn't it ridiculous that we are outnumbered and still dare not fight?"

After refuting Zhang Ren, Deng Xian turned to look at Zhao Wei, clasped his fists and said, "If Commander Yan goes out to fight in the city, I would like to lead troops to support him. I also ask the general for permission!"

Zhao Wei felt that both sides' words were reasonable.

However, Huang Zhong was allowed to continue to call for battle outside the city but did not dare to fight, which indeed damaged his morale. He immediately said: "Yan Yan led 5000 troops out of the city to fight, and Deng Xian and Lingbao each led [-] troops to support them."

"only!"

Yan Yan was overjoyed and led his troops out of the city.

Huang Zhong, who was yelling at the city gate, suddenly saw the city gate open and a general leading the crowd out. He couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

However, Yan Yan had just led his troops out when he saw Huang Zhong, who had just been scolding outside the city, clapped his horse and shouted, "Wu, that thief general, tell me your name. I won't kill an unknown person with a certain sword!"

When Yan Yan heard this, he was furious. He also slapped the horse with a knife and cursed: "How dare you insult me? Yan Yan from Ba County is here, and the thief will come and die soon!"

Huang Zhong immediately stepped forward and couldn't help but think to himself: "According to what Gan Xingba said, this person is the new governor of Ba County. He is brave enough that no one can match him, and he is quite famous in Ba County."

"If we can capture him alive, why worry about Bajun's uncertainty?"

Huang Zhong made up his mind and immediately ran towards Yan Yan with his sword in hand without replying.

The two are of similar age, and historically they were both old when they appeared on the stage. Huang Zhong continued to shine, but Yan Yan disappeared from the scene.

This time the two will compete.

Huang Zhong struck with his sword with great force.

Although Yan Yan was brave, he was not reckless. He felt that Huang Zhong's move was too powerful. Without knowing the truth of the opponent's strength, he did not dare to attack it rashly. Instead, he avoided it sideways, and then slashed horizontally with his sword and struck directly. Huang Zhong's waist.

However, Huang Zhong was not someone to take things for granted. He hurriedly slashed with his sword and neutralized Yan Yan's attack.

In their first confrontation, there was no winner between the two.

In this way, Huang Zhong, a fierce general from Nanyang, and Yan Yan, a fierce general from Bajun, fought against each other for more than thirty years, with no winner or lose, and the soldiers on both sides cheered in unison.

Zhou Qi, who was standing behind to watch the battle, couldn't help but marvel when he saw this: "Huang Hansheng's bravery is known to everyone in the army. Even Dianjun may not be his opponent if he fights immediately."

"Now that Lu Bu has been crowned the leader, looking at the world's most powerful generals, there are not many who can compete with Huang Hansheng."

"I never thought that Yan Yan actually has such strength!" Zhou Qi was really surprised this time. There are not many records about Yan Yan in history. However, there is an allusion about Zhang Fei explaining Yan Yan in the novel, and he only mentions it. There is no limit to the braveness of a man who is good at using hard bows and long swords.

However, Yan Yan was already old at that time, and even if he was brave, he had already passed his peak period. Compared with a fierce general like San Ye, he was not worth mentioning.

Looking back now, more than ten years earlier than in history, although Yan Yan has passed his peak period, he is still brave and martial.

Huang Zhong was also surprised and continued to fight for twenty rounds before gradually gaining the upper hand.

Little did he know that Yan Yan was even more surprised.

Bajun Gan Ning was already known for his bravery, but as long as he was not in the water, Yan Yan was not afraid at this time.

But he didn't expect that Huang Zhong in front of him was as brave as a servant.

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "Sure enough, there are no empty scholars despite the great reputation!"

Yan Yan knew in his heart that if he continued to fight, he would be defeated sooner or later.

The main purpose of going out of the city to fight the Jingzhou Army this time was to inspire people. Now that they have fought Huang Zhong for more than [-] times, they have achieved their stated goal and can no longer continue fighting.

Thinking of this, Yan Yan made a feint, then turned his horse and drove away.

Upon seeing this, Huang Zhong saw that the opponent was not far from the formation, but he did not dare to pursue him for fear of being covered by the enemy's arrows.

He didn't make any achievements in this battle, and he was indeed a little unwilling.

Huang Zhong suddenly saw that Yan Yan was carrying a strong bow on his horse. His eyes lit up and he shouted: "Today's fight is not all fun. Do you dare to continue to compete with me?"

However, Yan Yan was not fooled and said: "I am the commander, how can I personally take risks? Fighting with you for more than fifty rounds is enough. If you really want to decide the winner, you can be in the military formation."

Huang Zhong smiled and said: "What I want to compete with is not martial arts, but the skill of riding and shooting."

"I see that you are carrying a strong bow on your horse. Unfortunately, a certain person is also good at riding and shooting. Why not give it a try so that I can enjoy it?"

Yan Yan's eyes lit up when he heard this.

His best weapon is not a broadsword, but a hard bow, but the bow and arrow are of no use when the two are fighting in the military formation.

Yan Yan was worried that he would not be able to use what he had learned in his life, but Huang Zhong sent it to him by himself. How could he not be happy?
He thought to himself: "Hitting someone with a hidden arrow is not a real hero. If I can kill someone during a test of archery skills, it will also enhance my reputation and boost the morale of the army."

Thinking of this, Yan Yan immediately shouted: "You are not afraid, so why should you be afraid?"

"Ten arrows can determine life and death, okay?"

Huang Zhong laughed: "Why not!"

Yan Yan threw the sword in his hand to his guards, then took off the strong bow hanging on his horse, and headed towards the formation with ten arrows.

Huang Zhong was not afraid. He immediately abandoned his long sword and jumped out on his horse with a strong bow in hand.

Yan Yan clamped his legs tightly on the horse's belly, held the bow in his left hand, and took out an arrow from the arrow pot on his back with his right hand. He bent the bow and set the arrow with lightning speed, and shot three arrows at Huang Zhong at a very fast speed. It's unimaginable.

If you were an ordinary archer, let alone shooting on horseback, even if you were shooting on flat ground, you wouldn't be able to shoot so fast.

This time was only enough for them to shoot one arrow.

Huang Zhong was even worse. His eyes were as sharp as a hawk. When he saw Yan Yan starting to aim and shoot, he also shot three arrows in succession.

"Puff puff!"

Unexpectedly, the three arrows shot by Yan Yan were all hit by Huang Zhong. The arrows from both sides collided in the air, then burst into pieces and fell to the ground.

Although everyone shot three arrows, Takami had already seen the result.

Yan Yan was indeed fast at shooting arrows, but Huang Zhong was able to arrive late and arrive first. He was also able to accurately calculate the trajectory of Yan Yan's arrows in such a short period of time and intercept them midway.

This technique is no longer a simple archery, but is close to Taoism.

Yan Yan was slightly distracted due to shock, but Huang Zhong remained focused and calm. He took out three arrows at the right time and placed them all on the bowstring.

"Choo Choo Choo!"

The three arrows were in the shape of a pin, blocking almost all the directions in which Yan Yan could move.

"One bow and three arrows!"

Yan Yan couldn't help but feel horrified when she saw this.

Lianzhu Arrow, which was the technique Yan Yan first used, was called Lianzhu Arrow because the speed of shooting arrows was so fast that the arrows seemed to be connected end to end.

This technique is almost considered the pinnacle among marksmen.

The technique of one bow and three arrows used by Huang Zhong is a skill that even a sharpshooter would find difficult to master.

It is not difficult to shoot three arrows at once, most marksmen can do it.

However, after the bowstring is stretched, the point of force is different, so it is almost impossible to ensure the direction and accuracy.

At least apart from Huang Zhong, Yan Yan has never seen anyone who can do this.

A strong sense of crisis came to his mind, and Yan Yan couldn't think too much. Without any hesitation, he turned over and hid under the horse's belly, and managed to escape with his life.

Unexpectedly, once Huang Zhong took control of the offensive, he began to pursue and fight fiercely. While Yan Yan was still hiding under the horse's belly, he shot three more arrows directly at him.

At this time, the war horse was no longer under the control of its owner. How could it escape Huang Zhong's miraculous archery skills?
"Puff puff!"

There were only three sounds of arrows hitting flesh. Except for the arrow feathers, all three arrows shot into the body of the war horse.

The fur of the war horse is very tough. If it were any other archer, the arrows shot by it would probably only be able to penetrate the flesh.

Huang Zhong was born with supernatural power, and he also had a rare divine arm bow in his hand. The power of the arrows was naturally not comparable to that of ordinary archers.

The war horse let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground. If Yan Yan hadn't escaped in time, he would have been crushed by the horse's body.

Yan Yan was lucky enough to escape with his life, but he didn't dare to relax at all. He didn't even see Huang Zhong bending his bow and unloading an arrow, and threw himself directly on the ground beside him.

as predicted.

As soon as Yan Yan left the place, three arrows were shot over, all hitting the position where Yan Yan was just now.

If he hadn't reacted quickly, he might have become the dead soul of Huang Zhong by now.

It was only then that Yan Yan breathed a sigh of relief. After standing up, he bent his bow and nocked an arrow and shot towards Huang Zhong without any hesitation.

In this arrow competition, each person only brought ten arrows. Huang Zhong shot three rounds and only one arrow was left in his hand.

For a marksman, arrows are equivalent to life.

Without arrows, what's the use of being a good archer?
Therefore, Yan Yan can conclude that Huang Zhong will never dare to shoot the last arrow easily before he is not sure.

only.

If Huang Zhong shoots the last arrow, it means that Yan Yan's life is likely to be in danger.

Fortunately, Yan Yan is also a marksman and knows the methods of other marksmen very well, so he is not particularly worried.

Now, with more arrows in his hand, he has the initiative in the second half of the competition.

Although Yan Yan's arrows were fast and accurate, they were not as good as Huang Zhong's ability to shoot three arrows with one bow, but the lethality was still greater.

Yan Yan fired several arrows in a row, Huang Zhong moved his horse around, sometimes jumping to avoid, and sometimes using his bow to brush away the arrows. It was also full of dangers and a mess.

In order to protect the war horse, Huang Zhong was not only hit by two arrows in the important position on his body.

Fortunately, Huang Zhong's calculation was accurate, so his flesh was not injured, and the arrow just hit the gap in the edge of the armor.

Not long after, Yan Yan only had the last arrow left in his hand.

By this time, the fight was supposed to have reached a fever pitch, but both of them became unusually quiet.

None of them were willing to shoot the last arrow in their hands easily.

I don't know how long the confrontation lasted, but Huang Zhong took the lead immediately.

He would use the body of the war horse to block Yan Yan's sight, bend his bow and arrow beside the war horse, and then shoot at Yan Yan with lightning speed.

Yan Yan had already witnessed Huang Zhong's incredible archery skills, and now that he had lost his horse, he almost no longer had any belief in victory.

Being able to survive this competition is already commendable.

Therefore, when he saw Huang Zhong shoot the last arrow, his pupils shrank violently, and then without any hesitation, he shot the last arrow in his hand.

"puff!"

The two arrows collided and exploded in the air, and they all fell to the ground.

Yan Yan's move also proved to others that his archery skills were not inferior to Huang Zhong's, and he was also capable of shooting flying arrows in mid-air.

"Pfft!"

However, Yan Yan had no time to be happy, as a breath of death that he had never felt before suddenly enveloped his whole body.

He didn't know what happened yet, but he felt a chill on the top of his head. An arrow curled up in blood and hair, and fell directly with the helmet.

The rope holding the helmet could not withstand the huge kinetic energy and immediately burst into two pieces, leaving a deep wound on Yan Yan's neck.

"Tick!"

"Tick!"

"Tick!"

Blood slowly flowed down from his forehead, blurring Yan Yan's eyes. Yan Yan's face was purple and there was only one thought left in her mind.

"The last arrow he shot was obviously intercepted by me, how could another arrow suddenly appear!"

"Pfft!"

Yan Yan found it difficult to breathe, and fell straight to the ground with a dull sound.

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

Generals Lingbao and Deng Xian, who were raiding the formation nearby, were originally enjoying watching the battle between Huang Zhong and Yan Yan, but when they suddenly saw such a change, they were all horrified.

They hurriedly brought in troops to investigate Yan Yan's situation.

　In fact, I have mentioned it twice before, and I will say it again here for the last time. The title "Gu" is not limited to kings. There were also many people who were called "Gu" in the late Han Dynasty. There are at least clear records of Yuan Shao, Liu Zhang and Sun Quan. There is still no title. Sun Quan before the king.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)