Great Han Empire

Chapter 126

After Yan Rou finished reading the document, she casually handed her beard and fist.

"Look at it too."

"My lord, tell us. I can barely read a few words, and my beard is not much better than mine. What news is there from Zhuocheng?" Fist asked.

"As we predicted, Lord Muguo of Jizhou is leading an army of [-] to attack the Yellow Turban Army. In addition, the Lord Prefect urged us to cross the giant horse water as soon as possible and take down Fan Yang." Yan Rou put away the bamboo slips and said with a smile: "Master Prefect It's easy to say. We only have such a small force, how can we take down Fan Yangcheng?"

"Why not? Zhang Niujiao's 10,000+ Yellow Turban Army has been eaten up piece by piece by us. Why can't we take down a city?" Huzi said disdainfully.

Yan Rou didn't bother to pay attention to him, and continued: "I think we should cross the river first and meet the little bird."

"Before I left, the captain told me that everything is up to Lord Yan. But I have an idea?" Fist said.

"Talk about it. People say that we are a den of thieves, and they will be angry when they hear it. The captain trusts us and lets us take on the task of chasing Zhang Niujiao alone. If we do this well, we can eliminate some of them." Enemies, that would be very ideal. So what about horse thieves? They can still kill people and make meritorious deeds." Yan Rou waved her big thick hands and said boldly.

"Ziyu, why are we chasing after Zhang Niujiao? Do you want to serve as his cavalry guard? I think it's more appropriate to besiege the city."

"Siege?" Yan Rou immediately said: "This is a good idea. We are not many in number, and the troops with horns can't move them. We can only watch the big fat sheep, but we dare not pounce on it. Since we can't deal with him , We simply surrounded Fan Yang and blocked the follow-up troops of the Yellow Turban Army in Fan Yang City. If Zhang Niujiao refuses to save him, the troops in Fan Yang City will not be able to escape, and sooner or later they will be annihilated by us."

"Your idea has a premise." Hu Zi pointed at Yan Rou and said, "If Zhang Niujiao gave up on Fan Yang, crossed the Yishui River directly, and withdrew to Zhongshan Kingdom, then the troops he stayed in Fan Yang to contain us would not be There are too many. We can only surround the enemy when Fan Yang has fewer troops. If they have a large number of people and break out of the city, tens of thousands of people will run away as soon as they charge, and we will not be able to stop them at all."

Yan Rou nodded with both fists, expressing agreement with Huzi's concerns.

"Now we don't have accurate information about this." Fist said hesitantly, "I think we will cross the river first, and at the same time send someone to inform the fearless troops to step up reconnaissance and pay close attention to the movement in the direction of Yishui River. Zhang Niujiao wants to leave, and only Go from Shuang Pao Ferry, Yi Ferry, and Xu Ferry. If the Yellow Turban Army's large troops and supplies are concentrated at these three ferries, it means that they are planning to abandon Fanyang City."

"That is to say, the Yellow Turban Army who stayed in Fanyang just wanted to contain us and cover the large army to cross the river. Their number must not be large. We will beat them." Yan Rou said happily, "What do you think?"

"Being able to capture Fan Yangcheng is indeed a great achievement." Huzi said excitedly.

Zhang Niujiao led his troops directly to Yishui River instead of entering Fanyang City.

Upstairs in the north tower of Fanyang City, Zhang Baiqi looked pale, silently watching the army moving outside the city, saddened.

After the annihilation of Jiuliting's entire army, he has been depressed and suffered a great mental blow.He has never had the courage to meet Zhang Niujiao.The commander-in-chief has always trusted himself, reused him, and discussed everything with him. As a result, in the crucial battle, because of his own negligence, the commander-in-chief's plan to encircle and wipe out the Leopard Army fell short.The Yellow Turban Army not only suffered heavy losses, but also pushed the commander into an embarrassing situation.It is a trivial matter that the commander-in-chief's reputation is damaged, but what is more serious is that the commander-in-chief may lose his position as the leader of the Yellow Turban Army.

Zhang Baiqi fell into deep self-blame.Chu Feiyan was worried that he would commit suicide because of Zhang Niujiao's scolding, so she always arranged for him to avoid Zhang Niujiao.

Although Zhang Niujiao hated Zhang Baiqi's incompetence, he was greatly disappointed by the Battle of Jiuliting, but after all, Zhang Baiqi was a warrior with both civil and military skills in the Yellow Turban Army, and he had made many military exploits for the Yellow Turban Army. Completely deny people.So Zhang Niujiao never mentioned it.He wanted to let Zhang Baiqi lead the army after the matter subsided.

Fang Biao ran up the tower in a hurry and called out to Zhang Baiqi: "Shuai Zhang, the commander wants to see you."

Zhang Baiqi was expressionless. He stared blankly outside the city and smiled wryly.

"I won't go. I left [-] brothers and escaped alone. I have no face to meet him. I won't go."

Fang Biao glanced at him sympathetically, knowing that he hadn't recovered from the shadow of defeat, and was extremely depressed.

He waved to the attendants behind him and asked him to reply to the commander, walked up to Zhang Baiqi himself, and said cautiously: "The commander said, he was responsible for the failure in the battle of Jiuliting, and it has nothing to do with you." Zhang Shuai, stop blaming yourself too much."

Zhang Baiqi's heart trembled.The gratitude to the commander, the kindness to the commander, the apology for the soldiers who died in battle, and the hatred for himself, all kinds of complex emotions rushed into my heart in an instant.He heaved a long sigh.

"Is the commander-in-chief going to give up Fan Yang?"

Fang Biao immediately said: "Yes. Now Changshan, the situation of Zhao Guo is critical, and the officers and soldiers are attacking fiercely. The general must rush back to Changshan to command the battle, so he ordered Sun Shuai and Zuo Sima to escort the grain and grass to cross the river, leaving Zhang Shuai and I stood firm in Fanyang for a period of time to contain the Youzhou army that was chasing us."

The clouds in the sky were very thick, and the sun could not be seen, it was gray, vast and bleak.The wind on the river was very strong, passing over the bare treetops from time to time, making a shriek.The clear river water reveals a hint of coolness, gently slapping the low shrubs on both sides.

Chu Feiyan stood by the Yishui River, watching everything in front of her silently, feeling a little depressed.

He has already sent people to urge Zhang Niujiao to go first and head south quickly.If Zhang Niujiao got on the road immediately after receiving his news, he should have reached Yidu by now.

Chang Shan's situation is now very critical, to the point that Zhang Niujiao must rush back to deal with it himself.

Since Chu Feiyan's [-] troops rushed back to Changshan in time, they cooperated with Wulu and Wang Dang's troops to quickly repel Guo Dian's attack.

Then news of Zhang Niujiao's failure in the Northern Expedition spread among the Yellow Turban Army, which immediately triggered a major earthquake in the Yellow Turban Army.The leaders of the Yellow Turban Army who have their own thoughts have no intention of fighting, and one by one they start to form cliques to re-elect a new leader of the Yellow Turban Army.

More leaders had the idea of ​​preserving their strength and returning to the Taihang Mountains.They considered that Zhang Niujiao's 10,000+ main force was basically lost in the Northern Expedition, and the future of the Yellow Turban Army was bleak.Many leaders even ordered their own troops to withdraw from the front lines.Some small leaders in the rear began to secretly rush to transport food into the mountains, ready to withdraw to Taihang at any time.

The slack in the army's morale directly led to the defeat on the battlefield.The Bai Rao Department who was sticking to Xiangguo had no choice but to withdraw from the battlefield because of the lack of supplies and suffered heavy losses.In a fit of anger, he not only did not return to Handan to join Yang Fengjun, but instead led the troops directly to the Taihang Mountains.

Changshan Yellow Turban Army Wang Dang has been following and chasing Guo Dian, but also because of supply problems, he had to withdraw halfway, and was ambushed by Guo Dian near Yuanshi City.Wulu, who had been following him all the time, not only failed to support in time, but turned around and withdrew first.Wang Dang's troops couldn't hold on, and finally the whole army was wiped out. Only Wang Dang led hundreds of people and escaped desperately.

Wang Dang immediately joined Chu Feiyan's men and surrounded Wulu in Shiyi who were about to flee into Taihang Mountain.Now the two sides are at war.If the enemy doesn't fight, he fights first.

Chu Feiyan kept looking up at the sky, sighing and worried.

Now even if Zhang Niujiao rushes back to Changshan, the situation will be difficult to recover.Zhang Niujiao lost 10,000+ troops, which was a big blow to the Yellow Turban Army, and the high morale disappeared in a blink of an eye.If you want to revive the morale of the Yellow Turban Army and stabilize the morale of the Yellow Turban Army, in addition to Zhang Niujiao who has to rush to Changshan immediately, it is best that Zhang Niujiao can lead the troops to defeat the Jizhou army, win several victories in a row, and capture several cities .

Difficult, too difficult.If the commander-in-chief doesn't act too hastily and is eager to go north to attack Youzhou, the situation of the Yellow Turban Army this year will be very good.But it was too late. Since the leopards in Youzhou led their troops across the Shengshui River, bad luck came to the Yellow Turban Army again.

"Here we come, Shuai Chu, the commander-in-chief is here."

The attendant behind him pointed to the opposite bank and suddenly yelled.

When Zhang Niujiao saw Chu Feiyan, his heart felt warm.

After receiving Chu Feiyan's emergency, he suddenly realized that the plan he had made for the Northern Expedition was indeed a big mistake.Even without Leopard Li Hong's Fengyun cavalry, even if his 15 army is attacking Jicheng, Youzhou, facing the current situation, he has no choice but to retreat and return to help.

He ignored the deep meaning of Chu Feiyan, Yang Feng and others' opposition to the Northern Expedition.Now he suddenly understood, but it was too late.

When he and other Yellow Turban leaders summed up the reasons for the failure of the Yellow Turban Army last year in Taihang Mountains, they summed up a lot, but they ignored a fatal reason, that is everyone's selfishness.Zhang Niujiao himself has a clear conscience, he really wants to inherit the behest of his master Zhang Jiao, so that the people of the world can live a good life.But what about everyone else?What about those who are willing to follow and reluctantly willing to follow him?Are they also for the people of the world?

Zhang Niujiao knew it wasn't. Some people did it for revenge, some did it for themselves to get rich, and some did it for themselves to be able to control more troops and do whatever they wanted.If Zhang Niujiao can't satisfy their wishes, they will split up and fail sooner or later.Even if we can win the battle this year, what about next year?What about the year after?

If we don't solve the problem of the different goals of the leaders of the Yellow Turban Army, if we don't establish our absolute authority in the Yellow Turban Army, if we don't establish a set of strict military discipline in the Yellow Turban Army, if we don't thoroughly grasp every soldier in the Yellow Turban Army, the failure of the Yellow Turban Army will be fatal. is inevitable.

Zhang Niujiao looked stern, but his hasty tone could not conceal the anxiety in his heart. When he saw Chu Feiyan, he immediately said, "Swallow, let's go on the road overnight."

"Father, why don't you go to Beixin City for a rest?" Chu Feiyan asked with concern.

"No. The sooner you go back, the better. If it's too late, I'm afraid the Yellow Turban Army will be beaten by this bastard Wang."

Chu Feiyan shook her head helplessly, "Wang Shuai has an irritable personality, and I'm afraid the fight will be over long ago. Let's think about how to end it when we go back."

Zhang Niujiao whipped his horsewhip fiercely in the air, and said angrily: "If this kid makes a big mess and makes the Yellow Turban Army fall apart, I'll kill him."

Seeing that Zhang Niujiao's attendants had already arrived one after another, Chu Feiyan quickly got on his horse and said to Zhang Niujiao, "Let's go, father. The troops set off in the morning, and they will probably arrive at Fanxingting soon. Let's hurry up and catch up with them before dark."

"How many troops are there in Beixincheng?" Zhang Niujiao asked.

"Zhang Feng's 5000 people stayed here. I asked them to watch over the three ferry crossings along the Yishui River. When Sun Shuai and Zuo Sima's troops arrived, a total of 4 to [-] people protected the batch of food, grass, and luggage to cross the river safely. There will be absolutely no problem." Chu Feiyan replied immediately.

Zhang Niujiao looked back at Yi Shuihe, and said worriedly, "I hope Ziyin can bring his troops back safely."

Chu Feiyan asked in surprise: "You didn't ask him to come back with you?"

"I asked him to guard Fan Yang to stop Yan Rou's cavalry." Zhang Niujiao looked at Chu Feiyan, with a hint of sadness in his eyes, and whispered, "He doesn't want to see me."

(End of this chapter)