Great Han Empire

Chapter 132
Yushi and Xian Yufu got on their horses and galloped away.

Li Hongda laughed, and he said to Tian Zhong: "Old man, if the Yellow Turbans are really attacking, you are a prophet."

Tian Zhong stroked his mustache and said triumphantly, "I have been fighting for decades. I am not as good as you in sending troops, but I must have more experience in fighting than you."

Standing next to the two of them with a dignified expression, Zhao Yun saw that Li Hong and Tian Zhong were calm and still talking and laughing at this moment, and he was very impressed.He really wanted to calm down, but his heart was beating uncontrollably, and he felt slightly suffocated.He had a strong urge to jump on the horse immediately, jump on the horse and fight with a gun.

He has been in the army for less than half a year, and has been working as a guard behind the prefect, and has not participated in any battles.Following Lord Li Han to break out from Zhending City, that was his first battle, the first bloody battle.Later, he went north with Li Han and fought several battles with scattered Yellow Turbans, but they were all small battles involving dozens of people.

That day at the foot of Xiong'er Mountain, the army was surrounded by the Black Panther Yicong. Li Han was outnumbered and let Zhao Yun, the best martial artist in the army, fight alone.Li Han wanted to use Zhao Yun's outstanding martial arts to pick and kill several opponents, and the troops took the opportunity to break through.Unexpectedly, the first time Zhao Yun played alone, he ran into the famous tiger head in Hebei.He has never participated in a war, and he is eager to fight behind the famous leopard and make a name for himself.

What an exciting thing it is for a cavalry army of thousands of people to charge and fight on the endless plain.Zhao Yun clenched the sword handle tightly, and his palms began to sweat.

Li Hong suddenly heard his slightly heavy breathing, and smiled at him, "Zilong, relax."

Zhao Yun blushed, feeling a little embarrassed for being overly nervous.

Li Hong walked up to him, patted him on the shoulder affectionately, and said: "Thousands of people, tens of thousands of troops are fighting, unlike the battle between hundreds of people we fought in Xiong'er Mountain that day. There is a big difference between them." .In a small battle involving hundreds of people, the martial arts and courage of the soldiers, the cooperation between everyone is very important and the key to victory. But the big battle pays attention to the deployment of troops, requires flexible command, and requires the tacit cooperation between the various parts. His strength and courage are useless."

"Zilong, fight a few more battles, watch a few more bloody and bloody battlefields, and you will soon become a brave and skilled veteran." Tian Zhong said indifferently, "After a long time, you will get used to fighting. .”

A scout came hastily on horseback.

"What's going on?" Zheng Xin asked angrily, "Why did this happen again? What about the scouts twenty miles away?"

The scout was startled when he saw that Zheng Xin was angry.

"My lord, it's the troops of the Hejian Kingdom who escorted the food and grass here." The scout hurriedly replied.

Li Hong suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.It seems that this trip is very lucky, whatever it thinks, it will come.

When Zheng Xin heard that he was one of his own people, his heart fell to the ground immediately, and his expression immediately turned from anger to joy.

"They came from behind us, and they came from the small road. Our scouts are all on the main road, so they ignored it." The scout explained anxiously.

Zheng Xin nodded in understanding, waved his hand and said, "Be careful, be careful. You go."

Li Hong turned to Zheng Xin and said solemnly: "When you arrive in Hebei, the mountains, rivers, villages and cities are different from those in northern Xinjiang. You have to urge the scouts to adapt to the environment in time. This kind of negligence can no longer be done."

Zheng Xin blushed, and said softly: "We have already noticed it when we were in Beixin City, but the changes are too great, and the scouts also need a process of familiarization, so it is inevitable that there will be a lot of secrets."

Li Hong himself was born as a scout, so of course he knew the difficulties of the scouts.

"If possible, recruit some soldiers from Hebei to supplement the scouts." Li Hong said to Zheng Xin: "The officer in charge of escorting grain and grass in the Hejian Kingdom is very skilled. If it is the enemy, we will be caught off guard today. .”

Zheng Xin smiled wryly and said: "It's a powerful character. Last time Chu Feiyan almost ate us, and this time another one appeared. It is said that Hebei is a place with outstanding people and talented people. It is true. I have seen it. Look at the tiger head, The level of martial arts is not inferior to yours; Zhang Niujiao and Chu Feiyan of the Yellow Turban Army are all admirable in their intellect; Zhao Yun next to you has good martial arts, good character, good looks, and good knowledge. Extraordinary, it seems that Hebei has a lot of such rare people. I admire it, it’s really a good place.”

Tian Zhong was amused.

"You have only lived for 20 years, what do you know? I think you are very good, and you are also from our northern Xinjiang..."

"Okay, okay." Zheng Xin bowed to Tian Zhong again and again, "I know what kind of person I am, you old man is merciful, and merciful."

Li Hong and Tian Zhong laughed.

At this time, there was a sound of bull horns in the distance to disarm the alarm.

An officer in full armor came with a few entourages on flying horses.

Li Hong, Zheng Xin and Tian Zhong dismounted to meet them.

The officer saw it from a distance, immediately dismounted from his horse, and walked a few steps.He seemed to recognize at a glance that the leopard Li Hong was walking in the middle, and he stopped to salute after a long distance.

"Your Majesty Zhang He pays his respects to Your Excellency."

Li Hong hurried forward to help him up.

This person is very young, about eighteen or nineteen years old, tall and strong, with a slightly dark complexion, a face with sharp edges and corners, a pair of piercing eyes, a resolute expression, and a refined and heroic temperament.

Li Hong immediately felt good about it, and asked with a smile, "Are you troops of the Hejian Kingdom?"

"Exactly. Under the orders of the Prime Minister, I brought 500 people to escort food and grass, and came from Gaoyang City day and night." Zhang He spoke in a rough tone, and he sounded very comfortable.

"Are you..." Li Hong didn't know what position he held, so he deliberately asked slowly.

"Xiaguan is now the county lieutenant of Gaoyangcheng, Hejian Kingdom."

"Before leaving, did the Prime Minister tell you that after the food and grass are delivered, your troops will stay and take part in the battle against Boling City?" Li Hong asked.

"Master Cheng, the magistrate of Gaoyang County, told me that after seeing Mr. Xiaowei deliver the food and grass, he will stay in his tent to serve." Zhang He said very respectfully, "I have a small position in the army, and I can't see Mr. Prime Minister."

Li Hong laughed, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Is Captain Zhang from Hebei?"

"My subordinate is from Hejian County. He joined the army last year and has been following Lord Guo's army to participate in the crusade against the Yellow Turban Army. Three months ago, he was injured on the battlefield of Zhao State and returned home to recuperate. He just received an appointment to serve in Gaoyang City this month. .”

"Oh, it turned out to be like this. You surprised us by appearing from behind us unexpectedly. Your marching route is very hidden. If it is the Yellow Turban Army, we will be attacked by surprise." Li Hong said appreciatively.

Zhang Yun hurriedly explained: "The Yellow Turban Army is very rampant now, haunting and unpredictable, and it is impossible to defend against it. For the safety of food and grass, I deliberately led my troops to set off from Gaoyang in advance and go around behind the army. There is an army of cavalry in front of the adults. Naturally, I can rest easy in the back."

Li Hong was very surprised when he heard the words, looked at him carefully again, secretly praised him in his heart, and couldn't help but look at him with admiration.

Li Hong immediately introduced Zheng Xin and Tian Zhong to him.

"You and Tian Junhou will handle the handover immediately, and hand over the food and troops to him."

"Then, I..." Zhang He asked hesitantly.

"How did we get here when we first arrived? I don't know many things. I want to ask you carefully. You follow me for the time being. The troops will leave in half an hour."

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Zhang Yun stared blankly at Li Hong's back, his eyes full of doubts.

"Old man, is he really a leopard?"

Tian Zhong nodded solemnly, and asked strangely: "Is there something wrong?"

Zhang He shook his head and said with great admiration, "It's beyond my surprise that your lord is so young. He is not at all what I thought."

"What's the difference? Tell me?" Tian Zhong asked with great interest.

"Since your lord became famous in the first battle of Lulongsai, his prestige has spread throughout the world. Everyone knows his legendary experience in Xianbei. Everyone thinks that he is a bloodthirsty barbaric man who is easy to kill. Who knows that he is such a hero. " Zhang He said excitedly with a look of admiration.

"A hero?" Tian Zhong deliberately asked back, "Why can't I see it?"

"That's because the old man has been with him all the time, and he has been negligent. Your lord has invaded the Hu army in a row in the northern border, beheaded more than [-] people, captured and killed many barbarian generals, and his illustrious achievements have spread throughout the Central Plains. I know that there is a black panther in the northern border of the Han Dynasty, and it is brave and invincible."

"My lord has now defeated Zhang Niujiao, the leader of the Yellow Turban Army in Zhuo County, and killed 18 troops of the Yellow Turban Army." Zhang He opened his eyes wide and exaggeratedly waved his hands and said, "Once this incident spreads throughout the Central Plains, your lord's reputation will be even greater than before. , I’m afraid he’s no worse than General Huangfu. We used to think that Your Excellency is a middle-aged man, and some even guessed that since he was a slave of the Xianbei people, he might be a big man with a shaved head, but we didn’t expect that Your Excellency has long hair.”

"What's so good about his ghostly hair? It's worn all day, like something, and he won't listen to it if you ask him to tie it up with a hairpin." Tian Zhong said angrily.

Zhang He opened his eyes wide in surprise, and said in a low voice, "Old man, it's a crime to say so."

"What?" It was Tian Zhong's turn to be surprised this time, "I'm guilty?" Then he remembered that he was the assassin, and hurriedly fell silent.

"This time I heard that I was asked to escort food and grass. At first I was not very happy. I wanted to fight on the Julu battlefield. Later, I heard that I was escorting food and grass for Lord Leopard, and I heard that I was temporarily serving under the account of Lord Leopard to attack the Yellow Turban Army. I set off immediately, for fear that this good thing would be taken away by others. Now there are many people who want to make military exploits, especially after the invincible Lord Leopard, there must be more people who want to come."

Tian Zhong said with a smile: "Don't worry, you are right this time. There will be a war soon."

"Old man, shall we go to fight Boling right away?" Zhang Yun asked.

Tian Zhong smiled slightly, but did not answer, and asked instead: "Do your people know how to ride horses?"

Zhang He was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "Northern people, of course know it."

"That's good. Let's go to Liwu."

"Not going to Boling?" Zhang Yun asked in surprise.

Tian Zhong immediately put on a very mysterious look, and whispered to Zhang He, "Boling's enemies have gone to Liwu."

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The sky was overcast, with thick and low clouds.The biting cold wind howled heartily on the empty plain.

The tall city wall of Liwu City is majestic and upright, like a weather-beaten warrior, sitting quietly by the Huanshui River, silently looking at the distant mountains.

Li Hong and his troops rested overnight on the way, and arrived at Liwu City the next morning.

Looking at the dark walls of Liwu City, he thought of Lulongsai and Yuyang City.The Xianbei people are not good at attacking cities and villages, but for the sake of wealth, they gave up the advantages of cavalry and attacked the cities of the Han people at all costs.The cavalry marched thousands of miles in battle just to defeat the opponent, not to rob property.But today, with the cavalry, are you going to attack the city?We beat Liwu, for what?Kill all the Yellow Turbans?

Li Hong couldn't help but think of the bloody pass city wall, blood gushed out of his heart, and he suddenly felt inexplicable fear of the high city wall in front of him.

The soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army are all poor people, without any military training, and their weapons and equipment and combat effectiveness are worse than those of the regular army.Although they have high fighting spirit and determination to perish with the enemy, these alone are far from enough.The Yellow Turbans can often take advantage at the beginning of a war, but once the stalemate is too long, their shortcomings will gradually be exposed until they are defeated.In Zhuojun, the officers and soldiers miraculously annihilated 18 of them even after killing and taking prisoners, which has a lot to do with this reason.

Of course Li Hong understood that being able to defeat Zhang Niujiao was certainly related to his flexible command, but more importantly, Zhang Niujiao didn't know how to deal with cavalry at all.The preparations for the Yellow Turban Army's attack on Youzhou were insufficient.It was also because of this that Li Hong felt that he had won by chance and that the Yellow Turbans had lost for no apparent reason.Now that the battlefield has shifted to Jizhou, has the Yellow Turban Army taken precautions against its own cavalry and has a way to deal with it?
After Li Hong's victory in Zhuojun, he often thought of what Zhang Chun said to him.He didn't understand that these people were so brave and rose up to rebel one after another. Could it be that, as Zhang Chun said, they just wanted to eat three meals a day?

The Yellow Turban Army killed tens of 10 people last year, and another 10,000+ people died this year. However, because of the Yellow Turban Army’s rebellion, they were implicated and killed by the government. Millions of people were displaced and starved to death in the wild; because of the war, the fields were barren In order to survive, countless people had to sell their sons and daughters, and finally they simply cannibalized; because too many people died, the plague broke out in many places in Jizhou and Yuzhou, and more people died as a result.Does this kind of human tragedy have nothing to do with the Yellow Turban Army?

It is indeed a fact that today's imperial court is corrupt, the emperor is fatuous and incompetent, officials are corrupt and pervert the law, and the nobles of the family are rampant.But the result of their fierce battle with the forces of the Yellow Turban Army was that millions of people died within two years.What the hell are the Yellow Turbans trying to do?Overthrow the current court and change the dynasty?Or should we carry this rebellion to the end and let the people of the world die with them?
Now the Yellow Turban Army is weak, and as time goes on, they will be wiped out by the official army sooner or later.But now they are blindly burning, killing and looting, can they solve the food problem of the people?Li Hong thinks it is impossible, but more people will die and more people will fall into a more miserable predicament.

He believed that to solve the problem of food and clothing for the common people, the method of Liu Yu, governor of Youzhou, would be more effective.It is said that the court is not good, the emperor is not good, and the government is not good, but when he was in Youzhou, he heard the people say that Liu Yu is a good official.Liu Yu tried every means to make the people in the counties of Youzhou eat as much as possible and live a stable life.Although Liu Yu didn't do it, and he didn't do it well, but he made the people of Youzhou see hope.Didn’t the people in Youzhou not rebel this year?Why can't officials in other places do it?Officials force the people to rebel. In the final analysis, the root lies in the officials.

If you want the people in the world to live a good life, you must kill all corrupt officials in the world.This is the easiest way in Li Hong's mind.Although he thought it was a ridiculous and naive idea, he really couldn't think of any better idea.Rebellion is not a good idea at all, as the facts have proved.

Now, Jizhou Mu Guodian’s words are correct. The Yellow Turban Army in front of us must be eliminated as soon as possible, and the people who have fled their homes to avoid the disaster of war will come back to farm next spring and solve their food problems next year. Otherwise, the number of dead people will increase year by year. more than a year.

In the future, we must find a way to solve the food and clothing of the people.Li Hong thought to himself.

Zhang He and Zhao Yun accompanied him on the left and right.Zhang Yun is one year older than Zhao Yun. They are about the same age, have the same temperament and personality, and appreciate each other very much, so they got acquainted quickly.

"My lord, when will we start attacking?" Zhang Yun asked softly.

Li Hong looked up at the sky and suddenly laughed.

"If only it snowed."

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Standing on the city wall, Fan Li slowly took two steps back with his thick body.

"My lord, will the leopard army attack the city?" Ji Wei, his subordinate, asked casually.

Fan Li smiled coldly, stared fiercely at the army outside the city, and said in a low voice: "He has no chance of attacking the city. Have all the troops withdrawn?"

"Going back to my lord, there are only five thousand soldiers left to lure the enemy."

"What about the common people? How many common people are going with us?" Fan Li continued to ask.

Ji Wei hesitated for a moment, then whispered: "About 7000 people. Many of them are unwilling to leave the city, only those fleeing villagers are willing to go with us."

"Drive them out of the city immediately. If they don't want to leave, they will be executed immediately." Fan Li shouted sharply.

Ji Wei was taken aback, "You don't want your head. If Chu Shuai knows about this, it will be fine."

"What are you afraid of? I will take care of the big things. The leopards are coming too fast, and we have no time to prepare. As soon as the 5000 people leave the city, they will be chased and killed by his cavalry. Now only after mixing with the people Withdrew. If the leopards cared about the life and death of the people, they would not have killed them all, and we would have a chance to lure him to Chongyun Mountain."

"I heard that he is cruel and bloodthirsty, I'm afraid he won't let us go easily?"

"No. He was able to release three thousand Yellow Turban brothers, which shows that he still has a little humanity and won't slaughter people." Fan Li said with certainty.

"I hope Chu Shuai's ambush is successful this time." Looking at the black cavalry army under the city, Ji Wei took a deep breath, "It's going to snow."

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(End of this chapter)