Great Han Empire

Chapter 190
Sang Yang laughed and said, "Whether Dong Zhuo will attack the rebels alone, we don't know."

"Ma Teng must have crossed the river this morning, otherwise he would have made it too obvious."

"The rebels will definitely retreat, because they have several channels of information. If they don't retreat, are they waiting for our [-] cavalry to attack them?"

"The possibility of the rebels retreating to the south is the greatest. Because the Qianghu cavalry who were thundering in June will appear along the Weishui River at any time, they can meet them. The possibility of going north is the least, because there are many mountains in the north, and the road is difficult. The infantry will be seriously injured. The retreat speed of the rebels is delayed, and there are tens of thousands of our cavalry chasing behind them, so the rebels are vulnerable to attack."

"As for Captain Xianyu Fu not arriving at the country of Mei as scheduled, and Li Zhonglang not arriving at Qianye Ridge, Lord Taiwei had already thought of an excuse. He said that he had temporarily changed the plan and sent you to cross the Weishui River in the south and follow the south bank of the Weishui River. Hurry up and attack Chencang."

"Even if Dong Zhuo and Ma Teng gave the order, the two of them would refuse to go north to Duyang under the excuse that Li Zhonglang did not arrive and the troops were not enough. Although the two of them had a bad relationship, they had a private relationship with Beigong Boyu He has a good relationship with him, so he won't take this opportunity to chase him. What's more, Beigong Boyu still has 5 horses in his hands."

Li Hong smiled lightly and said, "Lord Taiwei's excuse is really good. We have reached the south bank of Weishui River? Haha... Who will go to the south bank of Weishui River to find us. Sir Taiwei is really a good excuse."

Sang Yang said worriedly: "However, this trick will not last for a few days. As long as our troops arrive at Chen Cang, but you have not yet arrived, the nonsense of the Taiwei may be..."

"It will take more than ten days for Beigong Boyu to receive the news after the lie is intercepted. In another five or six days, Beigong Boyu may solve it." Li Hong said confidently, "Yes. Come on, Lord Sang, let’s have something to eat, we’re going on our way soon.”

Sangyang looked at the black cake in his hand with a sad face, not knowing how to swallow it.Li Hong and Zhao Yun ate it in two bites.

"Li Zhonglang, do you always eat this?"

"Yes." Li Hong said, "We ate this food from Youzhou to Jizhou, and then from Jizhou to Xiliang. The army is very poor, and everyone can eat this every day. It's pretty good. It's better than eating two meals a day. The troops are much stronger."

Zhao Yun took out a piece of dried meat pie from his rucksack and handed it to Sangyang, and said regretfully: "Our conditions cannot compare with those of the Taiwei's Mansion, so sir, you will have to settle for a few days. After this battle is over, we may be able to Capture a little loot, and then I'll cook meat for you."

Sangyang held the hard black cake in one hand and the dried meat cake with a strong smell in the other, and almost wanted to spit out last night's meal.He was born in a family of officials and officials, and he was dressed in rich clothes and jade food since he was a child. He had never eaten such a thing before.He stared blankly at the thing in his hand, but couldn't eat it, and didn't dare to throw it away.

Zhao Yun saw his embarrassment, and hurriedly took back all the things in his hands.

Seeing that Li Hong had led the horse to the river, Sang Yang hesitated for a moment, looked at Zhao Yun, and asked in a low voice, "You adults always eat this?"

"Yes." Zhao Yun replied, "He eats three meals a day, this is the same. It has never changed since the day I followed him."

"You have been fighting all the time? These are dry rations for the cavalry, and you only carry them with you when you are fighting. You have been fighting all the time?" Sang Yang asked incredulously.

"I heard from the old man that since my lord returned to Lulongsai to serve as a soldier, he has been fighting without rest. I started fighting with my lord in November last year. I didn't even dare to fight from Youzhou to Liangzhou. Thinking about it." Zhao Yun laughed, "But it's fun to follow the adults, and it's even more fun to fight with the adults."

"Li Zhonglang is so economical, he must have a lot of savings? Does he have a family?" Sangyang asked casually.

Zhao Yun glanced at him and burst out laughing, "My lord is just joking. My lord never takes his salary, it is reserved for the wounded barracks to improve food or to reward meritorious soldiers, or it is just used as military pay, anyway, he never Get a salary. Adults often say that he is alone, and it is useless to ask for money, as long as he has enough to eat every day. When the adult was in Xianbei, he lost the memory of the past. He forgot everything about the past, even his own parents. I have forgotten all of them, so my lord has neither relatives nor wives."

Sangyang asked in disbelief, "Li Zhonglang never spends money?"

Zhao Yun smiled and said, "Normally he doesn't need money. He stays in the barracks every day and has no place to spend money."

"Li Zhonglang knows how to fight?"

Zhao Yun thought for a while, then nodded.He looked at the mulberry sheep and asked, "Does your lord really not eat it?"

Sangyang looked at the dried meat pie in disgust, swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva, shook his head, and said firmly, "I won't eat it."

===

In the morning, Dong Zhuo led his troops to Luofengling again.

Bian Zhang has withdrawn with his troops.The battlefield was littered with the corpses of soldiers from both sides and the remains of their horses.

Dong Zhuo ordered his men to bury the corpse immediately, clean up the battlefield, and clean up the loot.

"How much did we lose?" Dong Zhuo asked Li Jue while sitting on a tree stump.

"Back to the general, 3000 and 24 soldiers were killed, and more than 600 were injured." Li Jue said loudly, "The enemy killed more than 800 people..."

Dong Zhuo interrupted him with a wave of his hand, and said with a smile: "Not bad, not bad...Where are the reinforcements? Have they crossed the Dushui River?"

"Ma Teng's troops have already crossed the river and are rushing to Qianye Ridge. With his bad temper, he probably won't come to see your lord." Guo Si said.

"Where's that leopard?" Dong Zhuo asked strangely, "Where's his troops?"

Nobody knows.

At noon, Li Su arrived at Luofengling.

After listening to Li Su's narration, Dong Zhuo was speechless for a while.Li Su didn't dare to make a sound.To be honest, he didn't follow Dong Zhuo's wishes for this matter. He was a little afraid that if Dong Zhuo lost his temper, he would beat him dozens of times.

Dong Zhuo stood up, patted Li Su on the shoulder, and praised: "Shaoshen (Li Su's word), fortunately you are smart, and ran to see the Taiwei immediately. Although we did not achieve our goal, at least we knew that Li Zhonglang was unwilling He offended us and didn't expose our shortcomings in front of the Taiwei. In other words, Li Zhonglang can still be recruited and used."

Li Susheng was afraid that he might say something wrong, so he didn't express his opinion.

"Attack Du Yang?" Dong Zhuo walked back and forth on the grass for a few steps with his hands behind his back, and then stood in front of Li Su and said, "The Taiwei told us to attack Du Yang? Is the Taiwei confused? After we attacked the rebel camp , heavy casualties, how can there be any troops to attack Du Yang? Ma Teng is late, and Li Zhonglang is still missing, so they should be sent to attack Du Yang, what do you think?"
Li Su nodded, and said cautiously: "The general is very reasonable. We have fought a battle and need to rest for a few days. Then we will send troops to Meiguo City to see if Lord Taiwei can help us."

Dong Zhuo laughed, and said sarcastically, "Old Bian has already returned to Liangzhou, and the Taiwei doesn't need any help."

Soon, Li Ru, who was stationed in Meiyang City, sent someone to send a message.Beigong Boyu retreated.

Early the next morning, Taiwei Zhang Wen sent someone to send orders.Cancel the plan to attack Du Yang.Dong Zhuo's troops and Ma Teng's troops immediately marched to the city of Mei.

===

Meiyang is about [-] miles away from Meiguo City, and Xiaohuaili is nearly [-] miles away from Meiguo City.Han Sui's army and Zhou Shen's northern army pulled out their camps at almost the same time.Before Zhou Shen's troops arrived at Wugong City, Han Sui's troops had already left Meiguo City.

Bianzhang's cavalry rushed to the foot of Qishan Mountain at dusk and joined the main force.

Han Sui looked at Bian Zhang, who was dying and unconscious, and his heart ached like a twist.

In the middle of the night, Bian Zhang woke up slowly to the melancholy sound of the flute.

Han Sui sat alone in the dark night, bathed in the faint moonlight, playing the flute silently, thinking about his thoughts.

"If Zhang Wen's Jizhou reinforcements hadn't arrived in time, if Beigong Boyu hadn't delayed the rendezvous time, we wouldn't be in such a mess, and you wouldn't have been injured so badly." Han Sui grabbed Bian Zhang's hand and slowly Said slowly.

Bian Zhang sighed in pain, and said in a low voice, "Wen Yue, don't doubt Bo Yu, we have been friends for so many years, don't you have any trust in that?"

Han Sui stared blankly at the dim candlelight, and remained silent for a long time.

"Listen to Yang Qiu, Cheng Yi and the others, you plan to fight Zhang Wen in Qishan?"

"The Thunder of June is coming soon." Han Sui nodded and said, "After his 10,000 cavalry arrived, we would have an army of [-], and we could have a decisive battle with the enemy. Now Zhang Wen's [-]+ troops have all caught up. , if we don't fight and stop them at Qishan, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to defend Hanyang County after we return to Xiliang."

Bian Zhang closed his eyes, and said slowly: "Now the troops are panicked and their morale is low. At this time, we are fighting Zhang Wen in the Qishan and Fengxiang areas. Isn't that exactly what the enemy wants?"

Han Sui sighed, and said in an almost desperate tone: "Old Bian, if we don't fight, we will retreat all the way, and our morale will be lower and lower. Han* can't hold it at all. Hanyang can't hold it, Xiliang's door is wide open. Zhang Wen's 10,000+ army will swarm in. At that time, we may hardly find an opportunity to hit Zhang Wen hard. After Zhang Wen occupies Hanyang, he will immediately rely on Zhou Shen's Northern Army and Li Hong's Jizhou Army Conquer everywhere and regain the lost land. But we are not strong enough, so we can only abandon the Xiliang counties that we previously occupied, and retreat to Jincheng, barely holding our ground, and temporarily defending a corner."

Bian Zhang opened his eyes and said weakly: "We just lost for a while, lost a few thousand horses, Zhang Wen only increased by 5 horses, and the strength of the two sides is still almost the same. Wen Yue, you seem too persistent I care too much about the place we have now. You know, we retreated in a hurry, not because we couldn't beat them, but because we couldn't afford to fail, and we couldn't afford to lose. If we want to survive for a long time, we need soldiers, We have troops and strength, so we retreat. Even if Boyu joins us, facing the frontal resistance of 10,000+ troops, we still have to retreat after a long battle without success, and Zhang Wen still has to chase after him. Today's Things are still going to happen.”

Han Sui withdrew his hand holding Bian Zhang, contemplating deeply.Did I think wrong?
Bian Zhang glanced at him, and said solemnly: "If we want to occupy Xiliang, if we want to win, we must have absolute superiority in military strength. We must do everything possible to destroy the enemy and gain superiority in military strength at the lowest cost. , rather than face-to-face decisive battle with the enemy, meaninglessly exhausting our existing strength."

Han Sui suddenly realized, his face was ashamed.

"Old man, I am indeed getting more and more stingy."

Although Bian Zhang was in great pain, his eyes showed joy, and he said with trembling lips, "Wen Yue, do you know what to do?"

Han Sui smiled bitterly, and said worriedly: "Old Bian, you can't die. If you die, how can I support myself?"

Bian Zhang showed a calm expression, and said calmly: "It's good to die, it's good to die, it's good to die, it's good to die."

Han Sui looked at him sadly, not knowing how to comfort him.Bian Zhang couldn't bear it anymore and fell into a deep sleep.Han Sui sat there for a while, then quietly walked out of the tent.

He summoned Yang Qiu, Liang Xing, Ma Wan and more than a dozen other generals to discuss matters in the army tent overnight.

"We withdrew our troops overnight, and retreated as quickly as possible without stopping along the way." Han Sui glanced at everyone, and said firmly and forcefully.

The generals thought that Han Sui's convening of the meeting was to prepare for the pursuit of soldiers, but it was completely different. Han Sui asked to retreat, and he retreated quickly.Everyone couldn't accept it for a while, and they all looked at Han Sui, hoping to hear his explanation.

"Old Bian and I discussed it carefully and decided to give up the idea of ​​a decisive battle. The decisive battle is too much for us to lose. So we simply retreated in large strides, retreated quickly, and lured the enemy to chase us. We retreated quickly, and the enemy The pursuit is fast. If we retreat far, the enemy’s pursuit distance will be longer. Once the enemy’s pursuit distance is too long, the few chasing troops behind us will definitely have problems in covering and supporting, and at the same time, their food and grass transportation will also be difficult. It will become more and more difficult as the distance increases. At this time, it is our turn to take action and beat them hard."

Han Sui stood up, called his subordinates to gather around the table, pointed to the map on the table and said, "I will order June Jinglei to lead the Qiang Hu cavalry along the south bank of the Weishui River, at the border between Hanyang County and Longxi County. Launch a harassing attack to lure Zhang Wen to divide his troops to pursue. At the same time, Kuai Ma notified Boyu and Marquis Wen that after they retreated to Anding County, they should immediately lead their troops to march from Wuzhi to Hanyang County, so as to induce Zhang Wen to divide his troops to pursue again."

"Where are we retreating to?" Yang Qiu asked.Yang Qiu was a burly man, tall and dark, with a full beard.In the past, he was a horse bandit running wild in the northwest, with hundreds of brothers under his command, mainly active in the Great Desert and the Yellow River in Wuwei County.

"Retire to Yuzhong in Jincheng County, around Jincheng." Han Sui said, pointing to the map.

Everyone let out an exclamation almost at the same time.

"General, are we going to retreat more than 1000 miles in a row?" Liang Xing asked in disbelief.Liang Xing's father is Han and his mother is Qiang. He grew up in the Qiang tribe.Liang Xing looked straightforward and simple, with an extremely sturdy appearance.

"General, do you want Hanyang?" Ma Wan asked in surprise.Ma Wan is a Qiang, a Qiang belonging to Zhangye County.He and his tribe have lived in the desert for many years, his skin is dark and red, he is tall and a little fat.

Han Sui glanced at everyone and said with a smile, "No more, give up, give up everything."

"Why? That's what we worked hard for." Ma Wan asked loudly.

"As long as the enemy is wiped out, these places and these cities are not all ours." Han Sui laughed, "The more the enemy occupies, the more dispersed the army is, and the easier it is for us to attack them. Don't you understand? ?”

Han Sui returned to the big tent, and walked lightly to Bian Zhang's side.

Bian Zhang opened his eyes and smiled at Han Sui.That smile is uglier than crying.Han Sui's heart trembled, and tears almost came out of his eyes.

"Old man, we are leaving."

"Okay, okay." Bian Zhang said with difficulty.

"We have been withdrawing to Jincheng, and it will take more than ten days. Can you hold on?" Han Sui held Bian Zhang's hand and asked in a low voice, "If not, I will ask June Jinglei to take you to Longxi."

Bian Zhang grabbed Han Sui's hand, held it tightly, and said with all his strength, "Take me back to Jincheng, back to Jincheng, I want to go back to Jincheng..."

Han Sui couldn't bear it anymore, tears welled up.

===

Zhang Wen looked at the pile of bamboo slips on the case table with a heavy heart.

Tao Qian sat beside him, analyzing the latest military situation endlessly.Sun Jian and Huangfu Li sat across from Tao Qian, with their heads down, each thinking about their own concerns.

The Xiliang rebels suddenly threw off their arms and strode back at the speed of fleeing, which surprised the Han army.The staff of the Taiwei's Mansion were in shock, with various speculations and explanations. Zhang Wen was dizzy from hearing it, and was a little at a loss for a while.

Chase?Without knowing the reason, the reckless and lonely army goes deep, and the consequences are unpredictable. Who dares to take risks?
Do not chase?If something really went wrong inside the rebel army, causing the rebel army to retreat in a panic, this is the best time to wipe out the enemy.If he hesitated at the critical moment and delayed the military aircraft, he may have to bear the responsibility in the future.However, if you catch up and fall into the enemy's trick to lure the enemy, and the troops suffer heavy losses, shouldn't you bear greater responsibility.

Zhou Shen, Dong Zhuo, Huangfu Hong, and Xu Rong sent people from the front to send letters of war, asking the Taiwei to give orders immediately, and the whole army launched a pursuit operation.

Tao Qian firmly opposed it.Under the current situation, it is easy to judge that this is Bian Zhang and Han Sui's trick to lure the enemy, it is too obvious.The 15 rebels were attacked by General Dong Zhuo's [-] cavalry, how much loss could they have?They retreated in a hurry, not because of General Dong Zhuo's attack on the camp, but because they knew that Li Zhonglang's Jizhou reinforcements had arrived in Xiliang. They were facing [-] Han troops, and they had no advantage.In this situation where there is absolutely no chance of winning, they will withdraw if they do not withdraw.The rebels had little to lose at all.Did Beigong Boyu's troops suffer any losses?Did the Qiang and Hu cavalry of Jinglei in June suffer any losses?Since there is no loss, what are Bian Zhang and Han Sui running for?Are there still people in Xiliang who can't rebel?

Tao Qian believes that the troops should be gathered together, step by step, and march steadily into Hanyang County, Liangzhou.Then launched operations to recover the city and squeeze the rebels, striving to drive the enemy across the Yellow River within a month.After stabilizing their position in Hanyang, they sent troops north to Anding County, south to Longxi and Wudu County, and successively recovered the lost land in Xiliang.In this way, in the short term, it will not only ensure that Sanfu and Chang'an will no longer be threatened by the Xiliang rebels, but also relieve the victims, recruit the rebels, and strive to stabilize Xiliang before the end of the year.

Sun Jian immediately objected.

(End of this chapter)