Gou writes entries in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 150
In the summer of 203 AD, Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Dun to lead [-] fine cavalry and ride straight to Jincheng.

The Qiang and Hu cavalry suffered almost all casualties in the invasion of Hedong last year. There were only [-] fighting men left. After being assigned to various tribes, they could only maintain the law and order of each tribe.

Therefore, when Xiahou Dun sent scouts in advance to explore the road, bypassing the settlements of various tribes, and fighting all the way to Jincheng, Bei Gongling in the city had just received the news.

"Report, Chief, the [-] Han cavalry troops have reached less than [-] miles outside the city."

Bei Gongling was overjoyed subconsciously. Could it be that Liu Xuan came back so soon?

"Can you clearly see the banner of the Han army? Is it General Liu's army?"

The scout reported back: "The flag of the vanguard general is written with the character Li, and the flag of the central general is written with the character Xiahou. I wonder if it is General Liu's army."

"Xiahou, Li?" Bei Gongling pondered slightly. She had not known these two generals before.

The last time Liu Xuan went to the Hetao Plain, none of the generals around him had this surname.

If Liu Xuan sent soldiers, even if he didn't come by himself, there was no reason why he didn't send any acquaintances.

Bei Gongling analyzed it and felt that something was wrong, so he quickly called a close aide and said:

"You quickly lead a group of troops to the north of Chilechuan, where General Liu's subordinates Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun are stationed. Tell them about the large number of cavalry coming from outside Jincheng."

"If these people are indeed sent by General Liu, it will be fine. If they are enemies, we may not be able to withstand it with the only [-] defenders in Jincheng. Please come to our aid quickly."

After asking the messenger to leave the city gate as quickly as possible, Bei Gongling thought for a while and decided to be on the safe side and ordered all the gates in Jincheng to be closed and all the defenders to assemble and stand by.

Based on her many years of experience in ruling the Qiang and Hu tribes, she has felt that there is a high probability that these 5 people should be enemies.

If Liu Xuan's army came, it would be impossible for his army to be discovered until fifty miles from Jincheng.

They must have deliberately concealed their presence. The grasslands were vast and there were not many Qiang and Hu cavalry left. As long as they sent out a large number of scouts, a concealed march could be achieved.

And now that their whereabouts have been discovered, the cavalry will definitely move forward at full speed for the remaining fifty miles.

It is estimated that it will take less than an hour to reach the foot of Jincheng.

Sure enough, Beigong Ling had just closed the city gate and gathered all the warriors who could fight. To the east of Jincheng, the flag was already faintly visible.

They were all cavalry. Bei Gong Ling looked around from the top of the city and knew immediately that these were definitely not Liu Xuan's troops and should be the enemy.

She had been fighting with Liu Xuan for several months, and Bei Gongling had seen all the troops under Liu Xuan's command.

Liu Xuan's soldiers have a particularly obvious characteristic, that is, no matter what type of soldier they are, they always have the most comprehensive armor.

I wish I had armor on my ears and eyes.

Although the tens of thousands of cavalry in front of them were fully armored, they were obviously just the normal configuration of the Han army, only protecting their heads, chest and abdomen.

Bei Gongling was glad that she had closed the city gate and did not leave the city in a hurry.

Although the 6000 people in the city are all cavalry, they are not fully armored, and there are tens of thousands of people in Jincheng, most of whom are old, weak, women and children. Once they leave the city, they will definitely be overtaken.

When the time comes, there will be no danger to defend. Even if Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun of Chilechuan can support them, they will not be able to survive until then.

Although they are now surrounded in the city, fortunately, the opponents are all cavalry and do not carry siege equipment.

As for Jincheng, because Liu Xuan transferred a large amount of grain last year, not all of it was distributed, and the rest was stored in Jincheng. In addition, the pasture outside Jincheng was particularly rich in the spring and summer this year, and the cattle, sheep and livestock were growing well.

The grain and dried meat stored in Jincheng are enough to feed the soldiers and people in the city for more than half a year.

Bei Gongling calmed down for a moment, looked at the cavalry under the city and said calmly:
"Who are you? What are you doing in Jincheng?"

"I am Xia Houdun, the shepherd of Shuozhou, a great Han Dynasty. I came here to guard Shuozhou on the orders of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. Since you are the people of Shuozhou, open the city gate quickly and I will pardon your innocence."

Under the city, Xiahou Dun, with both eyes intact, did not look so fierce, but the arrogance in his words was clearly revealed.

Bei Gongling frowned: "What Shuozhou? This is the grassland, the territory where our Qiang and Hu people have lived for generations."

"How reckless, you Qiang and Hu people have been defeated by Liu Xuan, the Han general who conquered the north, and your entire clan has surrendered. I, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, have changed the Hetao Plain to Shuozhou, and I, Xiahou Dun, will be the new shepherd of Shuozhou."

Xiahou Dun said, taking out a volume of imperial edict from his arms, "This is the imperial edict. If you don't believe it, you can read it yourself."

Bei Gongling suddenly had an ominous premonition in his heart. Xiahou Dun dared to present the imperial edict in front of tens of thousands of his subordinates, so there was a high probability that the edict was true.

Moreover, what Xiahou Dun said was not groundless.

Her Qiang and Hu clan had indeed surrendered to Liu Xuan, which was tantamount to surrender to the Han Dynasty. It was reasonable for the Han emperor to divide the Hetao Plain into Shuozhou.

The only thing that was wrong was why the new governor was Xiahou Dun.

Beigong Ling was far away in the grassland and didn't know who the various forces in the Central Plains of Han Dynasty were. Naturally, he didn't know that Xiahou Dun was Cao Cao's man.

He only knew that Xiahou Dun was definitely not Liu Xuan's man.

"My Qiang and Hu people have indeed surrendered to the Han, but from the beginning to the end, we have been in contact with the Han's general who conquered the north, Liu Xuan, King of Huaiyang. We Qiang people only believe in Liu Xuan, King of Huaiyang. We can surrender unless the King of Huaiyang speaks."

With the enemy outnumbered and ourselves outnumbered, Bei Gong Ling naturally did not want a conflict. If this was Liu Xuan's intention, then she had nothing to say.

However, Xiahou Dun below the city smiled disdainfully,
"Haha, I'm afraid this will disappoint you. King Liu Xuan of Huaiyang has been buried in the East China Sea. How can I let him speak?"

"How outrageous!" Beigong Ling said angrily after hearing this, "How dare you arrange King Huaiyang like this. You and others are clearly trying to steal the Hetao Plain behind King Huaiyang's back."

"Come on, shoot the arrow!"

Bei Gongling was so angry that he directly ordered the defenders on the city to fire arrows.

As for what Xiahou Dun said about Liu Xuan being buried in the East China Sea, he couldn't listen to a word of it.

Her heart has been completely captured by Liu Xuan. Liu Xuan is almost omnipotent in her eyes. How could he die so quickly?

Xiahou Dun didn't know why this woman suddenly became furious when she heard that Liu Xuan was dead, but now the four gates of Jincheng were closed tightly, and the defenders on the city were also ready to defend.
He failed to deceive the city gate, so he was so angry that he had to surround Jincheng with his troops, and at the same time set up camp and prepared to attack the city by force.

Chilechuan, Liu Xuan Military Camp.

As early as more than a month ago, the [-] heavy infantry and [-] tiefutu reinforcements from Yangzhou were already in place. The entire Chilechuan had [-] heavy infantry, commanded by Zhao Yun.Another [-] iron pagodas were assigned to Zhang Liao for training.

The messenger sent by Bei Gongling came to Chilechuan and reported the enemy situation outside Jincheng to the two of them.Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun immediately judged at the same time that they were enemy troops.

Because Chilechuan only received more than 1 Yangzhou soldiers last month, if Liu Xuan sent soldiers to Jincheng at the same time, it would be impossible for them to not get the news.

Zhao Yun pondered for a while and said: "General Wenyuan, the messenger said that the people who came were flying the banner of Xiahou. I guess they are Cao Cao's people. I'm afraid they came to attack Jincheng. I intend to lead the army back to Jincheng immediately. You are still here." How about guarding the Yinshan Pass here?"

Zhang Liao nodded and said, "That's fine. You can lead [-] iron pagodas and [-] heavy infantry on horseback to support Jincheng. If the situation changes, send someone to send a message in time."

"Ten thousand heavy infantrymen hold the city firmly, even if 10 people attack the city, they will not be afraid." Zhao Yun said boldly, "On the contrary, Chilechuan is the main route for Xianbei's invasion. The general must not be careless."

"Okay, General Zilong, hurry up and support the leader of Beigong."

The situation was urgent, and the two of them were in trouble. Zhao Yun immediately ordered his troops and set off, leaving Chilechuan and heading straight for Jincheng.

The shortest road from Chilechuan to Jincheng requires passing through a section of the Great Wall Pass under the Helan Mountains. This pass is called Helankou, which divides the Hetao Plain into two sections, the north and the south.

This section of the Great Wall was built by the Qin Dynasty. After more than 300 years, this section of the Great Wall has become dilapidated. In addition, this area has been occupied by Qiang and Hu for a long time since the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the role of the Great Wall's natural barrier no longer exists.

Despite this, Helankou is still a choke point across the Hetao Plain.

Zhao Yun led his army to attack for a day and a half, and finally arrived at the Helan Pass. After passing this pass, it took more than a day to walk to Jincheng.

"Brothers, work harder and cross Helankou ahead. Rest here for the night and rush to Jincheng with all your strength tomorrow."

However, just as everyone was preparing to rush through the Helan Pass, arrows suddenly rained down from the broken city wall, and a group of men and horses also shot out from the pass below.

The first two generals were Brother Qi, one with a long beard and arrogance in his phoenix eyes, and the other with a leopard head and eyes, as strong as an ox. He opened a broken gong and roared loudly,
"This road is blocked. If you want to go there, first ask me if Zhang Fei's snake spear is acceptable."

This group of troops is none other than Guan Yu and Zhang Fei sent by Liu Bei.

After agreeing with Cao Cao to seize the Hetao Plain, Liu Bei sent Guan Yu and Zhang Fei with 2 horses. After crossing Fenglingdu, they went north along Chang'an. They also avoided the eyes and ears of the Qiang Hu and reached the Helan Pass to ambush.

Obviously, Cao Cao and Liu Bei also knew that Liu Xuan's army was stationed in Chilechuan to defend against the Xianbei attack. Liu Bei asked Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to block the Helan Pass in advance. If Liu Xuan's people wanted to quickly support Jincheng, they must go to Jincheng. Coming from Helan Mountain Pass.

Sure enough, it had only been three days since Guan Yu and Zhang Fei led an army of [-] to Helan Pass to ambush. As expected, they saw Zhao Yun leading [-] heavy infantry galloping towards the pass.

Liu Bei's archers were stationed at the pass, and resisting horses were deployed along the pass.

Their purpose is to hold back the reinforcements from the north. As long as Cao Cao's troops can capture Jincheng, the capital of the Qiang and Hu people, the remaining Qiang and Hu people will not be able to make any trouble.

Zhao Yun saw that there was an ambush at Helan Mountain Pass, and he knew even more clearly that there might have been a fight on the Jincheng side.

Seeing Zhang Fei provoking a fight, Zhao Yun shook the gentian silver spear in his hand and stepped forward on horseback.

"I, Changshan Zhao Zilong, have come to meet you."

Zhang Fei also rode out into battle and fought with Zhao Yun.

The eight-foot-long snake spear was like a poisonous snake spitting out a message, and the silver gentian spear was like a dragon sailing out of the sea. The two fought for twenty rounds in one breath, but neither one could do anything to the other.

Zhang Fei has extraordinary strength and powerful and heavy moves, but Zhao Yun's marksmanship is also learned from the spear prodigy Tong Yuan. His marksmanship is so exquisite that with chocolate, the two of them are inseparable from each other.

However, Zhao Yun was in a hurry to break through the barrier and rescue Jincheng, and had no intention of fighting Zhang Fei here. He shot Zhang Fei away and then flew back to the formation.

He said to his confidant behind him: "Go back to Chilechuan quickly and report the situation here to General Zhang Liao. Ask him to increase his troops at Helan Pass."

Then, Zhao Yun waved his hand towards the soldiers behind him, "Brothers, attack!"

Two thousand heavy infantry forward troops, led by Zhao Yun, launched an attack towards the Great Wall Pass.

This pass is only six or seven meters wide, and with 2000 people attacking at the same time, it already looks very crowded.

At this end, Liu Bei's soldiers, led by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, guarded the pass.

On the other end, Zhao Yun led the heavy infantry soldiers to attack frantically.

It's a pity that only 20 soldiers on the front line can reach the enemy. On the defensive side, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are guarding one on the left and one on the right. Even though Liu Xuan's heavy infantry is strong in force, it is difficult to break through Liu Bei's army's obstruction.

Fortunately, Liu Xuan's soldiers were fully armed, and the archers above the pass were not very lethal.

The attack lasted for an hour, with both sides suffering casualties. It was already dark by this time, so Zhao Yu had to stop his troops and retreat, temporarily setting up camp north of the pass.

While sending out scouts to look for other passes eastward along the Great Wall, they waited for Zhang Liao's reinforcements.

Chilechuan, Zhang Liao military camp.

After Zhao Yun led troops to support Jincheng, Zhang Liao worked hard and sent a large number of scouts every day to investigate the important roads at the southern foot of Yin Mountain.

Zhang Liao is a careful man, brave and resourceful. When he was under Lu Bu, he had many dealings with Cao Cao.

Based on his understanding of Cao Cao, he knew that Cao Cao was thoughtful and well-planned. Since he sent a large army to attack Jincheng, he was naturally fully prepared.

It is estimated that the news channel from Yuzhou to the Hetao Plain has been completely cut off by Cao Cao, and the Lord should not know the situation on the Qiang and Hu sides at this time.

Cao Cao knew that they were stationed in Chilechuan.Now that he has sent troops, he will never fail to consider the issue of support from Chilechuan.

Sure enough, on the third day after Zhao Yun left, the scouts sent out brought back news that the Xianbei army north of Yinshan Mountain had assembled and was heading towards Chilechuan.

Zhang Liao secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, he had made arrangements long ago. If the Xianbei people came to attack Chilechuan, they would definitely not get any favors.

But the [-] infantrymen and several hundred iron pagodas he had on hand were bound to be contained.

The Xianbei cavalry soon appeared under the Chilechuan Fortress. Seeing Liu Xuan's army waiting in full formation, they did not attack rashly.

They had attacked several times from last winter to this spring, but under the tight defense of Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun, they did not get any benefits.

But this time, they were not in a hurry to attack the city. The army circled north of the Chilechuan Fortress, completely containing Zhang Liao's army in Chilechuan.

So when Zhao Yun's cronies came to report the battle situation at Helan Pass to Zhang Liao, Zhang Liao immediately came to the conclusion that the Xianbei and Liu Bei's army were all trying to hold them back.

So at this moment in Jincheng, Cao Cao's army must be attacking the city with all its strength.

Zhang Liao decisively said to Zhao Yun's confidant: "Please report to General Zhao quickly. The Xianbei people are attacking Chilechuan, and I cannot reinforce it. Let General Zhao no longer have to tangle with Liu Bei's army and go to other places to break through. Even if Jincheng cannot be rescued, he must still Send the news to Yangzhou and let the lord decide."

(End of this chapter)