Great Han Empire

Chapter 287
In the middle of the night, Heibaoyi rushed to Chiyang from the camp.

Li Hong ordered the ministries to rest outside the city and set off early tomorrow morning.The exhausted soldiers dismounted one after another and fell asleep.Li Hong took the soldiers from the guard station and scattered around, taking turns to patrol.

At this time, a group of people rushed quickly from the direction of Chiyang City, and more than a dozen burning torches were particularly eye-catching in the dark night.Several attendants rode their horses to meet him.

"My lord, it's Mr. Jing Zhaoyin Gai Xungai."

When Li Hong heard the reply, he hurriedly galloped up to meet him.Gai Xun's complexion was very bad because of overwork, and he looked very tired.

"How did Mr. Gai get to Chiyang?" Li Hong asked while bowing and saluting.

"The first batch of grain, grass, and supplies to Anding will leave tomorrow morning. I'll come over to have a look." Gai Xun said with a smile, "Your people, do you have the confidence to keep the barbarians out of Sanfu's borders?"

Li Hong hesitated for a moment, then bowed and replied: "My lord, don't worry, I will never let the barbarians step into Sanfu, it's just..."

"Just what?" The wrinkles on Gai Xun's face suddenly squeezed together, and he asked with a slightly nervous expression, "If you have any difficulties, just tell me, if I can't solve it, you can still report it to Your Majesty."

Li Hong smiled gratefully, and said: "The barbarians are as powerful as a bamboo, and they have already pushed into Xiaoguan, while our armies are still in a hurry, so we must lose again and again in the early battles."

Gai Xun immediately understood what Li Hong meant.He stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The trip to Luoyang, the people have made great progress. You can fight in peace and stability, and don't worry about the affairs of the court. With His Majesty's trust in you, it should be no big deal to lose a few battles in the early days. I’m afraid that if you lose more battles and fight too many battles, your morale will be low, and it will be out of control.”

Li Hong smiled, but didn't make a sound.

"I'll explain it to His Majesty for you." Gai Xun sighed, "It's just that in this way, the Taiwei who is in charge of military affairs may soon be convicted and dismissed. His departure may not be a good thing for you. "

Li Hong looked at Gai Xun in bewilderment, and asked in a low voice, "Everyone knows about the invasion of the barbarians, not to mention losing a few battles, it is also a matter of reason, why do you want to get rid of the Taiwei?"

"Actually, he should have been dismissed a long time ago." Gai Xun said, "If you hadn't defeated the rebels in Yicheng, he would have been gone as a captain long ago. But this time, no matter whether you defeated the Hu people or not, he would not be able to keep his position." The official position of Taiwei is over. If you still lose a few more battles, the time for him to resign will be faster."

"The general can't tolerate him?"

"It's not that the general can't tolerate him, but that the two of them are simply incompatible." Gai Xun sighed, "Didn't you see it in Luoyang?"

Li Hong shook his head and said, "I think they have a good relationship."

Gai Xun glanced at him, wondering whether Li Hong really didn't understand or pretended not to understand, "The official position of Taiwei used to be called Da Sima. In Jianwu 27, it was changed to Taiwei. The general is in charge of the conquest, and there is a great conflict with the authority of the Taiwei in military affairs. Therefore, in order to avoid conflicts, the generals often take the post of Sima or Taiwei. The previous generals of this dynasty are all relatives of the emperor. The relatives of the state are superior in power and monopolize power, so although the position of Taiwei is prominent and ranks first among the three princes, they generally do not have any real power in military matters. To put it bluntly, it is just a display."

"Master Zhang Wenzhang led the army to Xiliang to suppress the rebellion with the position of Sikong and the general who led the chariot and cavalry. Last spring, he was worshiped as a Taiwei by His Majesty, so he was able to control the real power in military affairs. So far, the Taiwei Mansion has no military affairs. The weight of the words of the superior is far greater than that of the General's Mansion, so his resignation is a matter of time, but this time the opportunity is very good, and the open and secret struggle between the two mansions is avoided."

Li Hong suddenly realized, and couldn't help secretly complaining for Zhang Wen.Speaking of which, he had been Zhang Wen's subordinate after all, and emotionally, he still favored Zhang Wen.Although Zhang Wen was very dissatisfied with his anti-corruption behavior and once wanted to kill him, Zhang Wen's calmness and knowledge still left a deep influence on him.In Luoyang, Zhang Wen treated him very well, asking him how he was and how warm he was. On many occasions, Zhang Wen took him to talk a lot in private and taught him a lot of things in the officialdom.

"During the time you were in Luoyang and Jizhou, you should know what the general wants to do most." Gai Xun continued, "Before you left Chang'an, I talked to you specifically, but you didn't listen to me at all. You are in Luoyang And Jizhou, both are close to death, dangerous and dangerous, do you know?"

Li Hong bowed and thanked: "Thank you for your concern."

A trace of sarcasm and disdain flashed in Gai Xun's eyes, and he continued: "You don't need to thank me, you are lucky enough to return to Chang'an safely. If Zhang Wen is dismissed and the general is in charge of military affairs, I am afraid it will be very unfavorable to you. You have to do it yourself."

Li Hong smiled slightly, and thanked him with a bow.He wasn't worried about what Gai Xun said at all.Not only will this kind of thing not happen, the general will support and help him, because he and the general have reconciled in private.Li Hong was secretly happy.He felt that he should thank He Yong.Without He Yong's courage and courage, not only would he not have reconciled with the general now, but he would also be fighting to the death with swords drawn.

Li Hong hated this kind of intriguing officialdom. He felt that life was tiring, useless, and dirty. He didn't even think about going to Luoyang anymore.If he could die like Fu Xie, he would be very content.What imperial power, what imperial lineage, what power, he has no interest at all, he just wants to let more brothers and soldiers survive the upcoming war, so that they can return to their homeland with their lives. See family.

The two stood in the dark and talked for a long time, about Luoyang, Jizhou, Xianbei's invasion, and food and grass in the rear.

"Food and weapons are being brought in from nearby states and counties, and there will be no problem with the supply in the short term." Gai Xun said, "We have recruited about [-] civilians, and we will send all these things to Anding County in the near future."

"There is an adult sitting in Chang'an, and I feel very at ease." Li Hong said with a smile, "Who will lead the army of Sanfu to go north this time?"

"It's Mr. Xin Zengxin, the captain of Jingzhao Mansion." Gai Xun said, "Yesterday he led an army of five thousand to go north."

"Xin Zeng was my brother and my friend for many years. In Ayang City in Hanyang County, he and Kong Chang, who is now the prefect of Anding County, led the army with me to fight against Lao Bian and Beigong Boyu. The rebels, we fought to the death, and forced Lao Bian to withdraw his troops. After you meet him, tell him not to worry about his family, as long as I don’t die, I will take a bite of their food.”

"Your official must bring it here." Li Hong was infected by Gai Xun's arrogance, and said excitedly, "Your official swears to fight to the death, so as to strengthen my mighty man Tianwei!"

===================

Spring outside the Great Wall always comes very late, and the mountains in the distance are still gray, and there is no green color to be seen.The wind in the morning is chilly, and they whizzed across the endless Gaopingchuan, as if to wake up the sleeping grass.

Qu Yi opened his sleepy eyes, stared at the blue sky for a while, then got up and stretched long.

"Hey, Pingshan, wake up." He lightly kicked the iron ax sleeping beside him, and shouted with a smile, "Xianbei people are here to kill you."

Tie Yue snorted twice in a daze, barely opened his eyes, and muttered dissatisfiedly: "The sun hasn't come out yet, what's your name?"

"Get up, sleep late every day." Qu Yi kicked him again, pointed at the crowd around him, and said with a smile, "Brothers are all up, you Shangguan is still sleeping, what are you talking about?"

Tie Yue had no choice but to stagger up to his feet.

"Pingshan, go and shave your beard, it's too long."

"Don't shave, keep it. Scrape clean, like an eunuch." Tie Yue smiled, "Yesterday, did you take care of the deserter?"

"Let's deal with it." Qu Yi said, "Heng Ji strongly opposes beheading. He said that the soldiers of Xian Ling Qiang saw that their homes were occupied and their relatives were missing, so they secretly left the army and wanted to go home. It’s human nature to say that.”

"How is this human nature?" Tie Yue said in surprise, "This is a serious violation of military law. If the soldiers are like this, how can we fight the battle?"

"Kangfengsha doesn't speak by himself, but Hengji is speaking for him. What do you want me to do? Why can't I tear myself apart with them and kill all the dozens of soldiers?" Qu Yi said helplessly, "Heng Ji also said that if Master Li was here, he would definitely not kill them."

"So you forget it?"

"Ten lashes for one person." Qu Yi smiled, "At this time, severe punishment and beheading are really not suitable. Once the soldiers of Xian Lingqiang are angered, they don't obey orders and kill everywhere. It will be difficult for us to delay the enemy. attack speed."

Tie Yue gave him a strange look, and said, "Yun Tian, ​​I see that you have changed a lot, what about the aggressive arrogance you used to have?"

"Haha, I've never been arrogant towards soldiers and brothers." Qu Yi laughed loudly, "You kid, you don't pack your things, you talk a lot of nonsense here, do you want to scold me?"

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything, I won't say anything." Tie Yue hurriedly raised his hand and shouted, "Blow the horn, blow the horn, assemble immediately and get ready to go."

====================
The red sun rises in the east.

Lv Ri Deyan focused his attention on the fiery red sunrise in the sky, and remained motionless.He is over 40 years old, tall and broad, with a long beard and a gentle expression. He looks like an ordinary herdsman. It is hard to imagine that he is a powerful commander in Xianbei.

"Old cow, old cow..."

Lv Ri deduced and looked back, it was Yan Liyou who was calling him.

"Langtou, have you eaten this morning?"

Yan Liyou nodded with a smile.He is also in his 40s, tall, with a slightly fatter body. What stands out is his curly, glossy black beard and a round, bald head.

"Today, shall we take the initiative to attack?"

Lv Ri Deyan looked at the rising sun reluctantly, then glanced at Yan Liyou's bald head, hesitated and said nothing.

"We are hugging each other. If we continue to advance steadily, the Han army may retreat to Xiaoguan early." Yan Liyou said, "They have not been able to find a chance to attack, and the soldiers are also very tired, so there is a high possibility of retreating early. Once they retreat early, the king's attack strategy will be disrupted, so we have to forcefully attack Xiaoguan, and our casualties will increase greatly."

"The front is Gaopingchuan, which is a prairie. If there is a fight, our casualties will not be small." Lvri deduced slowly, "The Han army has leopard cavalry, there is wind and sand, there is Ling Qiang, there is Huang The Xiqiang people in the middle of the country, if we really want to fight, we can't take advantage of it."

"But if we don't fight, the army of the king and Master Tuoba will be exposed." Yan Liyou persuaded, "Lao Niu, let's attack. Anyway, they will rush to the front in the following battles, and our losses are mainly Fight at Gaopingchuan."

"Really?" Lv Ri Deyan squinted his eyes at Yan Liyou, and said suspiciously, "Langtou, do you believe Helian's nonsense?"

Yan Liyou raised his hand to touch his bare head, and said with a chuckle: "What is he? But what Tuoba Feng said is not nonsense, old cow, what do you think?"

"Tuobafeng? Huh, Tuobafeng?" Lvri Deduced laughed, "What does Tuobafeng want to do? He just wants to expand his territory and gradually eat away at the border counties of the Han Kingdom. Encouraging Helian, an idiot, to build some great achievements, and ended up dragging Helian and us here. What are we doing here? Are we really going to fight for Tuobafeng?"

Yan Li asked with a smile, "Lao Niu, where did you complain so much? Since you don't want to fight, why did you come?"

"Don't come? Can I not come? I'm not the same as you, I'm poor." Lü Ri deduced and sighed, "Last year's heavy snow froze thousands of our livestock, and the tribe had nothing to eat , I had no choice but to borrow from Danhanshan and Tuobafeng. The condition they are willing to lend us livestock and food is to help them fight. If I am not subject to them, I will come to fight?"

Li Ri Deyan then said angrily: "He Lian and Tuoba Feng are too stingy. What can we gain by helping them fight the war? Except that we don't have to return their livestock, we just rob them for what they get. There is no other benefit. They Zhan has a large tract of land, and what about us? They must give us some, right?"

"What do you give us? Land?" Yan Liyou sneered, "Old Niu, don't dream, we should go to Chang'an early to grab it. I heard that there are treasures everywhere in Chang'an. We only need to grab a few hundred cars, We can be number one in Xianbei in the west. With these treasures, we don't have to look at the dead faces of Helian and Tuobafeng in the future."

"There is still nearly a thousand miles to Chang'an, which is enough to fight." Lu Ri deduced, "I heard that the emperor of the Han Dynasty has sent a leopard to Xiliang. This person is very difficult to deal with. Murong Feng, Mi Jia and Tuoba Feng We have all suffered under his hands, we should be more careful and not easily fight against him."

Yan Liyou said bitterly: "I have also suffered from him, and I will teach him a good lesson when I have the opportunity. Murong Feng is old and his heart has softened. Why didn't he kill this man when he left Xianbei? Raising a tiger is a danger. , and now I’m hurting myself.”

"No wonder you are so eager to fight." Lu Ri deduced and teased, "So you have suffered from him. Well, let's do as you wish, and we will take the initiative. Who should go first?"

"Of course it's Xu Gui from the Eastern Qiang, otherwise how could the Han army take the bait?" Yan Liyou scratched his bald head back and forth twice and said with a smile.

====================
Seeing that the Eastern Qiang people attacked first, Qu Yi immediately ordered the cavalry of the third battalion to form a dense formation and retreat slowly in a character-shaped formation.

Kuang Fengsha saw that Xu Gui's [-] army was chasing very fast, and had already opened a distance from the main army behind, so he ordered the horn player to contact Qu Yi, and he demanded to attack.

Regardless of their kinship, the Eastern Qiang people joined the Xianbei people in attacking Beidi and Anding County, and massacred the Xianling Qiang people. This greatly stimulated the soldiers of the Xianling Qiang people and aroused their hatred.

Qu Yi, who took the lead in the center, flatly refused after receiving the news of the violent wind and sand.The enemy's offensive intention was very obvious, that is, the Edong Qiang people lured the enemy. Once the two sides fought, the [-] troops trailing behind them would surely swarm up, encircle, divide, and then annihilate them one by one.

"Tell Kuangfengsha, keep the formation, don't make contact with the enemy, and continue to retreat."

===

Kuang Fengsha looked at the Dongqiang people who were getting closer, his eyes almost burst into flames.

"The Han people don't have the guts to just run for their lives." Xinhu, Kuangfengsha's subordinate, was originally a young commander, but now he is a military commander. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "My lord, let's go up and kill Xu Gui."

Kuangfengsha hesitated.

"My lord, don't be fooled by the Xianbei people. This is their trick to lure the enemy." Nine sheepskin shouted loudly, "Once we are dispatched, the army will immediately lose its defensive position. Without the formation, we can only fight with the enemy." The [-] troops on the opposite side are fighting to the death."

"What are you afraid of? I'm going to fight anyway." Zhanma waved his whip and shouted angrily, "Blow the horn, blow the horn, get ready to attack!"

The bugle soldiers surrounding them cheered up and immediately blew the charge horn.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."

"My lord, don't be impulsive." Jiu Yangpi shouted hoarsely.

"I'll kill you." Zhanma drew out his saber sharply, pointed at Jiu Yangpi's neck and shouted, "We have already retreated six hundred miles from the Yellow River to Gaopingchuan. When will we retreat? I will not retreat. gone."

Jiu Yangpi's facial muscles twitched violently a few times because of his anger.He swallowed with difficulty, and suddenly shouted loudly: "Okay, if you don't retreat, you will not retreat. Anyway, you will die. Whoever is afraid of you, kill..."

Seeing that the three army commanders under him all said to attack, Kuang Fengsha raised his knife and roared without hesitation: "Brothers, kill..."

The sound of a huge horn suddenly soared into the sky, and the shouts of the soldiers resounded through the open field in an instant, and the left iron cavalry in the wind and sand suddenly launched an attack.

"kill……"

===

Qu Yi and Heng Ji's two battalions of cavalry watched dumbfounded as the eight thousand cavalry rumbled like a hurricane, viciously rolling towards the rushing enemy troops.

"Kuangfengsha, I'm going to kill you bastard!" Qu Yi yelled angrily.

"Order Hengji, who is on the right, to get closer to me immediately, gather intensively, gather intensively."

"My lord, we should go up immediately, and quickly eliminate the Eastern Qiang iron cavalry in front of us with a thunderous force." Biebu Sima Tongzi said loudly, "My lord, the formation is broken at this time, we should change formation immediately, and then charge."

"No." Qu Yi waved his hands resolutely and said, "Rushing up is just a fight, and the problem can't be solved in a short time. As long as the Xianbei army rushes over, we will be surrounded immediately."

"Order the troops to retreat quickly and distance themselves from the battlefield."

===

Xu Gui is a tall, thin, black-faced Chinese character with a pair of sharp eagle-like eyes.He has always hated the Han people, and even more hated those Qiang people who abandoned their ancient homeland and defected to the Han Kingdom.He regarded them as traitors who turned their backs on their ancestors.

Facing the roaring Han army, his face suddenly turned rosy, and he became excited like a wolf seeing its long-lost prey.

"Up arrow..." Xu Gui raised his spear high and shouted wildly, "Up arrow..."

"Accelerate...accelerate..."

The sound of the horn was urgent and shrill, and the shouts of the soldiers were drowned in the huge roar.

The dead grass on the Gaoping River trembled violently under the trampling of countless horseshoes.

Thousands of horses galloping.

===

Law Ri's deduction saw that the Han army turned back to meet the enemy, and immediately ordered the army to speed up its advance.

"Order the left and right wings to advance rapidly and encircle the Han army."

"All units of the Chinese army, advance at full speed."

Mu Gaiting of the Xiongnu tribe, and Chongyun of the Yelang tribe each brought [-] cavalry, and shot them out from the left and right wings of the army like two long arrows off the string.

Law Ri Deduction and Yan Li You brought [-] cavalry like a mountain topple the sea, overwhelming the sky and the earth, with an astonishing momentum.

===

Long arrows roared in the air, war horses galloped across the grassland, soldiers shouted heartily, and two iron cavalry collided instantly.

"Boom...boom...boom..."

In an instant, the bloody killing began.

===

Heng Ji saw two long arrows suddenly shot out from the sky, and a murderous aura shot out from his eyes.

The left and right wings of the enemy army launched at the same time, encircling the Han army on the battlefield.The [-] cavalry in the violent wind and sand were more or less ominous.

"My lord, we have to rescue them." Lu Huanyang reined in his horse and stopped, pointing to the distant battlefield where the roar of killing was loud and shouted.

Heng Ji nodded, turned his head and said to the messenger behind him, "Go and tell Lord Qu Yi, my Fengyun cavalry will never leave a comrade in arms."

"Blow the horn!"

Heng Ji rode out on his horse, raised his knife and shouted wildly: "Brothers, follow me to kill... kill..."

The soldiers of Fengyun Iron Cavalry suddenly cheered and roared like a tide. Everyone rode forward one after another, and the army began to move forward, run, and gallop.

The battlefield is getting closer and closer.

The soldiers who were fighting fiercely boosted their morale when they saw Fengyun Iron Cavalry coming to help, and the battle became even more tragic for a while.

On the galloping horse, Heng Ji suddenly stood up and raised his knife, shouting wildly: "Hoo...ho..."

Lu Huanyang, who followed closely behind, was shocked and excitedly raised his gun to respond: "Hoo...ho..."

The soldiers of Fengyun Iron Cavalry roared in unison: "Hoo... ho... ho... ho..."

The roar was like bursts of thunder, crashing in the sky above Gao Pingchuan, it was soul-stirring.

The army burst into the field like lightning.

"Go in..."

The Fengyun iron cavalry swept in, submerging the Eastern Qiang soldiers in the surging flood.

The situation of the battle suddenly turned around.

The Eastern Qiang soldiers were defeated and fled in all directions.

===

Qu Yi ordered the horn soldiers to sound the horn to withdraw the troops.

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(End of this chapter)