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

Chapter 386: East City Lost
"Tap Tap!"

The army moved forward slowly. Even though they were marching hard in the cold winter, Yuan Shao still felt full of energy, and even the symptoms of hemoptysis were relieved a lot.

Although Yuan Shao finally adopted Xin Pi's opinion, Ju Shou's words still made him a little wary.

However, before Yuan Shao led his army to the east city, reports of defeat came from the front line.

"It's unreasonable. More than 10,000 elite cavalry faced 5,000 Chu cavalry, but they were defeated in the end. If Zhang He hadn't led troops to help in time, I'm afraid Gao Lan would have been killed by Ma Chao!"

After reading the battle report, Yuan Shao was naturally extremely angry.

After the army crossed the Huaihe River, it was almost invincible, and Yuan Jun's sluggish morale gradually became high.

At this critical moment, Gao Lan was defeated again by Ma Chao.

Yuan Jun was already afraid of Ma Chao's reputation, but after this battle, Ma Chao's reputation became even worse. Yuan Shao was also worried that his soldiers would be timid when encountering Ma Chao in the future, so he blamed Gao Lan.

He doesn't care about the battle process, and he doesn't want to know how difficult it is for Gao Lan.

You know, even before Zhou Qi conquered Piao and Shan, he only had more than 3,000 cavalry under his command.

He only knew that in this battle, Gao Lan's troops were twice as powerful as Ma Chao, but they were killed and returned in defeat.

Previously, Gao Lan was the vanguard general, leading the heavy cavalry. Zhang He was originally far behind.

Seeing that all the ministers in Hebei were interceding for Gao Lan, especially after hearing Shen Pei's words, Yuan Shaocai's anger subsided a little.

Yuan Shao pondered for a moment, then changed his words: "Removed from the position of Gao Lan's vanguard general, demoted to three ranks, fined for three years, and given forty military sticks. The troops and horses were handed over to Zhang He's command, and he was ordered to follow Zhang He and perform meritorious deeds."

Yuan Shao said angrily: "Publish my edict to remove Gao Lan from all his official positions, escort him back, and behead him in public to rectify military law!"

However, Zhang He was cautious by nature and knew that Chu had many famous generals, so he did not dare to neglect and sent scouts early to investigate the military situation on the front line.

Yuan Shao believed in Zhao's strength and was not afraid of a head-on confrontation with the Chu army.

Fortunately, the person responsible for beating the military stick was Gao Lan. Although the beating looked very miserable, it was just a superficial wound. It only took a few days for him to recover and there would be no serious problems.

"If there is another mistake, both crimes will be punished at the same time, and I will definitely kill you without mercy!"

"Although our army is defeated, the main force is still there. General Gao has always been kind to his soldiers and has great prestige in the army. Killing him at this time may cause people's hearts to wander, which will not be conducive to your majesty's plan to destroy Chu."

The rest of the civil and military officials in Hebei also advised: "Victory and defeat are common matters for military officers. Please suspend your majesty's thunderous anger and give Gao Jianjun a chance to make meritorious deeds!"

After the edict reached the front line, although Gao Lan felt aggrieved, he finally accepted the punishment.

Zhang He was holding a cotton coat at this time, with a solemn look in his eyes.

Although Gao Lan was defeated in this battle, it also proved in disguise that the Chu army was indeed planning to join forces in the east city before a decisive battle with him.

If it were the southern princes, such a serious loss of cavalry would be enough for them to lose this unit.

After Ju Shou's previous analysis, Yuan Shao felt somewhat worried.

Shen Pei also stepped forward and said: "Although General Gao suffered a lot of casualties in this battle, it also allowed Your Majesty to detect the Chu army's determination to defend the east city. It can be seen that the Chu army was retreating steadily before, not because of any other plan, but because it was defeated by Your Majesty." It was a surprise.”

The defeat of Gao Lan not only dealt a heavy blow to Yuan's army, which had gradually recovered its morale, but most importantly, thousands of cavalry were lost in this battle. Even if Yuan Shao's territory was in the north, he would still be somewhat injured.

Moreover, the east city is not dangerous. A decisive battle with the Chu State here is definitely a good thing for Yuan Shao.

Hearing this, all the civil and military officials from the Hebei faction changed their expressions. Jushou hurriedly stepped forward to persuade: "Beheading our own generals before the battle is over may damage the morale of the three armies. Although Gao Lan was defeated, he had made great contributions before. Your Majesty, please be kind enough." Keep an open mind.”

Just when Gao Lan was confronting Ma Chao, Zhang He faintly felt that something was wrong.

Therefore, Zhang He simply abandoned the food and baggage and led his troops forward lightly. This saved Gao Lan at the critical moment and prevented the annihilation of more than 10,000 elite cavalry of Yuan's army.

After rescuing Gao Lan, Zhang He began to discuss the reasons for the defeat with Gao Lan.

They only knew that the Chu army had been able to maintain strong combat effectiveness despite staying in armor for so long in the cold wind. On the other hand, Yuan Jun was almost frozen.

With Zhang He's intelligence, he quickly thought that there might be something wrong with the clothes worn by the Chu army, so he sent someone to arrest a Chu army scout, and then got the cotton clothes from him.

Feeling the soft touch on his hands, Zhang He then took off his clothes and put on the cotton coat.

It didn't take long for Zhang He to clearly feel that this cotton coat was unusual. It was lighter and warmer than Yuan Jun's clothes.

"If this kind of clothing is already in the Chu army's equipment, then there is no chance of winning if we rashly fight with them this winter!"

Gao Lan said: "But your majesty only wants to defeat the main force of the Chu army before the King of Chu returns to the east city. If you advise your majesty to stop the army at this time, not only will you not succeed, I am afraid you will be reprimanded!"

Why doesn't Zhang He know Yuan Shao's temper?
However, as the commander of an army, even if he does not consider his own future, he still considers the lives of his soldiers.

And if the army is defeated, Zhang He will be like Gao Lan, who will not only be punished, but also lose Yuan Shao's trust.

Thinking of this, Zhang He immediately said to Gao Lan: "General, please hold the camp. I will take this cotton coat to meet with Your Majesty. I must explain the stakes clearly!" Seeing that Zhang He had made up his mind, Gao Lan immediately sighed slightly. He took a breath and said: "Jun Yi is going to take care of himself. If your Majesty insists on allowing us to attack the city, we must not say anything disobedient."

Zhang He nodded and said, "I know!"

Zhang He rode his horse as fast as he could to meet Yuan Shao, took out the captured cotton coat, and explained in detail the reasons for Gao Lan's defeat. He then said sincerely: "The Chu army has this cold-resistant article, which will give them an advantage in winter battles."

"In addition, this cotton-padded coat has a strong defensive effect against swords and arrows, and can also greatly enhance the combat effectiveness of the Chu army."

"If you insist on fighting with it, your chances of victory are slim."

"In the opinion of the last general, our army should stay in the occupied city and recuperate at this time. It will not be too late to fight the Chu army again when the weather gets warmer in the spring of next year!"

Yuan Shao ordered his men to pull over the cotton-padded coat. After careful inspection, he was somewhat surprised to find that there was no cotton inside.

Things are rare.

Even as an emperor, Yuan Shao felt that this kind of cotton-padded clothes was very luxurious. He didn't think that hundreds of thousands of Chu troops could wear such precious cotton clothes, and thought that Zhang He was looking for an excuse for Gao Lan's defeat.

Yuan Shao is quite afraid of Zhou Qi, and now he just wants to take advantage of the opponent's absence from the front line to break through Dongcheng and directly enter Yangzhou.

At that time, even if Zhou Qi arrived at the front line, it would be too late.

Moreover, the continuous battles in the past few years have put great logistical pressure on Zhao State. Even Hebei, a wealthy country, cannot afford such a huge consumption.

If the war cannot be ended as soon as possible, Zhao will not be able to survive.

The most important thing is that Yuan Shao is well aware that his physical condition may worsen at any time, and he wants the clan war to be resolved quickly to lay the foundation for Zhao to unify the world.

Therefore, he now resented any suggestion of truce.

Yuan Shao looked at Zhang He, his face darkened, he picked up the cotton coat in his hand and shouted in a deep voice: "Does General Zhang think that everyone in the Chu army is qualified to wear such precious cold-proof clothing?"

"Now that Zhou Ziyi is not on the front line, it is the best time to attack Dongcheng. Is it possible that General Zhang was frightened by Ma Chao and did not dare to attack?"

"If you can't do it, then hand over the military power and I will choose another good general to attack the city!"

Yuan Shao's words were already very serious. Zhang He originally planned to argue a few words, but after thinking of Gao Lan's admonition before leaving, he finally lowered his head and said: "The general is not afraid of Ma Chao!"

Yuan Shao flicked his sleeves and said in a deep voice: "In that case, then quickly return to the front line and prepare to attack Dongcheng."

"This time I will not hold you accountable for leaving your post without authorization as a general. If it happens again, you will be severely punished!"

"only!"

Zhang He was scolded and had to return to the front line unhappy.

He finally got to his current position, so naturally he was unwilling to hand over his military power, so he could only bite the bullet and attack Dongcheng.

However, there were many soldiers and horses in Dongcheng and the defenses were tight. Zhang He and Gao Lan attacked fiercely for several days, but in the end they all lost troops and generals and returned without success.

Until Yuan Shao led his army to the territory of Dongcheng, Zhang He and Gao Lan still had not made any achievements.

After Yuan Shao learned of the situation, he couldn't help but became furious. He immediately took over command of the battlefield and led his army to personally supervise the battle.

I don't know whether it was because Yuan Shao brought a large number of troops or because Yuan Shao personally supervised the battle and boosted morale. Since Yuan Shao took over the command, the resistance of the Dongcheng defenders has been significantly weakened.

Finally, Yuan Shao ordered his men to secretly dig a tunnel into the city, and cooperated with the outside to attack the east city.

Seeing that the city could no longer be defended, the Chu army immediately abandoned the city and fled in confusion. If Ma Chao had not led the troops to cut off the rear and blocked the pursuers, the Chu army would have been completely defeated.

Even so, the Chu army also lost thousands of soldiers and horses in this battle.

After Dongcheng was defeated, Yuan Shao immediately became energetic.

Xin Pi and others came to impeach Zhang He and Gao Lan at this time, saying that the two were unfavorable in fighting, delaying time, and had not accomplished anything, so they should be severely punished. It is hoped that Yuan Shao can transfer Chunyu Qiong to the front line to attack the city and seize territory.

Faced with the impeachment of Xin Pi and others, Yuan Shao laughed loudly and said: "Although Zhang He and Gao Lan have not conquered Dongcheng, they have tried their best. If they are harshly criticized for this, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince the public."

"The supply of food and grass is related to the wealth and life of our army. Naturally, those who are capable should be responsible for it. Chunyu Qiong is worthy of a big responsibility, so he should continue to be responsible for guarding the food road."

Yuan Shao is this kind of person. If the battle ends in failure, he will not reflect on his mistakes, nor will he think that Ju Shou, Zhang He and others have urged him to truce, so he should reuse them.

On the contrary, he will still hate Ju Shou and Zhang He for this.

This time, Yuan Shao personally directed the attack on Dongcheng and defeated the Chu army. Instead, he showed his magnanimity. Instead of punishing Zhang He and Gao Lan, he even called them over to express condolences.

It's not so much a condolence as a show off.

(End of this chapter)