Great Han Empire

Chapter 343 The Swordsman
Qiao Wang Su Puyan's younger brother was surrounded and killed by Jiang Wu's men, and three hundred Liaodong cavalry were also swept away.Su Puyan looked at the corpses all over the ground, and jumped into a rage, leading three thousand cavalry in pursuit all the way.Xiao Shuai Wu Dan advised him to calm down, not to fall into the trick of the Han army to lure the enemy, it is better to go back to the city and join the army.Qiu Liju, Prince of Bailang, ordered all the cavalry not to leave Jicheng for forty miles.Wu Dan said, if we continue to chase, we will be sixty miles away from Jicheng.

Su Puyan shouted angrily: "Qiu Liju and Wu Yan are both cowards. What's so scary about leopards? If I don't kill the Han army today, I won't go back to Jicheng. Send an order to chase after me."

Su Puyan had been holding back his anger for a long time, and he was determined to kill the Han army to vent his hatred.

When Zhang Chun led the rebel army to attack Jizhou last year, neither Qiu Liju nor Wu Yan wanted to go south to fight. Only Su Puyan couldn't stand Zhang Chun's temptation, and took 3000 Liaodong cavalry to go south with him.Karasuma in Liaodong lived in the frontier fortress for a long time and was very poor. The tribes often fought against each other in order to rob property.They also often rebelled. When they rebelled, they also wanted to attack the more affluent central border county of Youzhou, but because of the long distance and the Karasuma tribe in Liaoxi and Youbeiping, they never succeeded.This time they had the opportunity to attack the wealthy Central Plains and loot wantonly, of course they didn't want to miss it.Su Puyan went south with his iron cavalry and plundered a lot of property along the way, but in the end he was severely beaten by Zhao Yun near Handan City and lost more than [-] people.Originally, he wanted to reorganize the iron cavalry to counterattack, but the young commanders who wanted to go home for a long time were unwilling. They took advantage of the situation and ran away with the looted property without even saying hello, which made Su Puyan feel ashamed.After returning to Jicheng, if Su Puyan hadn't killed the two young commanders of the tribe who were going home, the Liaodong cavalry would probably have run away.

Now that the leopards and Gongsun Zan, who are famous in northern Xinjiang, have all come back, the Karasuma people are terrified. Anyway, they have already had their fill, so why do they have to sacrifice their lives for the Han people?Wu Yan had already retreated, but Qiu Liju stopped him.He said that it was safe to run back now, but in the future, could Leopard and Gongsun Zan let them go?Everyone knows Gongsun Zan's bloody methods against the Karasuma people. According to Gongsun Zan's temper, if he doesn't kill them all this time, he won't let it go.Rather than being chased and beaten by Leopard and Gongsun Zan in the future, it is better to beat them to the ground now. Even if Leopard and Gongsun Zan cannot be killed, they must be beaten to the ground, unable to move eastward.The leaders of the tribes thought about it too, especially that Gongsun Zan, if he wasn't killed, the one who would be killed in the future might be himself.This time, they rebelled with the Han people. They attacked the city and pulled out the strongholds, killing many people, even Ji Chou, the captain of Hu Karasuma.So everyone shared the same hatred, poured blood into an alliance, and vowed to fight the Han people to the death.

After Xiongba from Xianbei came, everyone's thoughts changed immediately, and then Changping City was beaten down by leopards for a long time, and now the people of Karasuma had more thoughts in their hearts, and now even Qiu Liju wanted to run away, Not to mention Wu Yan, only Su Puyan wanted to fight, he wanted to avenge Handan.

The Karasuma people's scouts rushed to report back, and six miles ahead, they found the front of the Han army's infantry, about 1000 people, about ten miles away from the Han army's rear.

Su Puyan was elated, waved his hands and roared, "Go, rush up and kill them."

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

After the Northern Expeditionary Army left Changping, the five armies marched hand in hand, advancing towards Jicheng at the fastest speed.Yan Rou's cavalry army is attacking near Jicheng, and Karasuma's cavalry is restrained outside the city. The soldiers of the Han army don't have to worry about enemies appearing in front of them, so they are advancing very fast, and Lei Zhongbu is at the forefront .

Because of Lei Zhong's great achievements in the Battle of Boluogu, he was promoted from an ordinary soldier to a military commander in a short period of time, which made him a legend in the Zhenbei General's Army.Probably because of similar experiences, Li Hong treated him very well.Lei Chong was illiterate, so Li Hong asked him to worship Zuo Yan as his teacher and study in Zuo Yan's military tent for an hour every night. When Zuo Yan was away, he asked Wen Chou or Chen Hao to take his place.Many generals are skeptical that Lei Zhong can lead an army. Can a person who doesn't know the art of war lead an army?Li Hong was unmoved and insisted on his own opinion. He said to his subordinates, I was illiterate and did not understand the art of war, but I still lead troops to fight. I can do it, why can't Lei Chong?

When the generals of the various ministries were training in the Longshan camp, Li Hong asked Lei Zhong to teach the generals of the various ministries to practice the horse-repelling formation.Lei Chong was very afraid and did not dare to teach, so he asked Li Hong to resign, but Li Hong refused.On the first day of training, Li Hong personally stood among the generals being trained.After Lei Zhong saw it, he was so scared that he couldn't even speak.Li Hong said with a smile, if you teach boldly, I want to see who is disobedient and who looks down on you.Whoever looks down on you, Lei Zhong, looks down on me, Li Hong.

Lei Zhong was very excited.In this life, he followed Li Hong, fought for Li Hong, died for Li Hong, and he didn't think about anything else.

When attacking Changping City, it was not Yan Liang's turn. For this reason, Yan Liang, Lei Zhong and others were very breathless and wanted to rush to Jicheng to kill the enemy and make meritorious service.After setting off from Changping City, Yan Liang led his troops to rush forward all the way, while Lei Zhong led his soldiers to trot all the way, wishing to cross to Jicheng in one step.Originally, each unit marched three miles apart, but Lei Chong ran so fast that he unknowingly threw Chen Hao's team behind him ten miles behind.

The scouts flew to report, and a Karasuma cavalry suddenly appeared in front of them, rushing towards them.

Lei Zhong was taken aback, and asked loudly, "Which one is the closest to me?"

"It seems to be Mr. Gao Shungao." The scout pointed to the left direction and said vaguely.

"Go and ask for help." Lei Zhong shouted eagerly, "Whoever it is, ask him to lead his troops to help immediately."

"Soldier, immediately ask for help from the rear, quick, quick."

"Beat the drums, line up..." Lei Zhong raised his hands and shouted, "Brothers, the enemy has been killed."

============
Seeing the Han soldiers in a loose formation from a distance, Su Puyan's eyes glowed with excitement. Like a very hungry wild wolf smelling blood, he yelled frantically and led the army to run wildly.Under the command of the passionate horn, three thousand cavalry swept forward like a hurricane.

The distance between the two sides was thirty steps, and the Karasuma man stopped shooting, and the speed of the galloping horse reached the limit immediately, and the sound of horseshoes was deafening.

At this time, the earth-shattering sound of war drums sounded in the Han army formation.

160 soldiers formed 500 horse-repelling formations, which were criss-crossed, with a distance of more than [-] steps.Facing the swarming enemy cavalry, the twenty horse-rejecting formations standing in the front row let out a loud roar: "Kill..."

The two armies collided, and there was a loud "boom..." in an instant, the neighing of war horses, the clanging of weapons, and the shouts of killing resounded through the mountains.

Twenty horse-repelling formations and two hundred soldiers killed dozens of horses and dozens of enemy soldiers in a short moment, slowing down the speed of the enemy's charge, but they themselves were also hit by the huge impact of the enemy's cavalry. It was crushed into fine powder.

The Karasuma people in front of the formation were galloping on their horses, but the iron cavalry who followed were eager to kill the enemy. They scattered around the formation of the Han army and divided into dozens of cavalry squads. The passage rushed into the horse rejection formation from all directions.

Standing in the center of the formation, Lei Zhong looked at the enemy cavalry who were killing them from all directions, and sneered, "Beat the drums, order the formations, attack at will..."

The soldiers of the refusal formations launched a fierce attack on the Karasuma people who had lost their speed without waiting for the order of the superior.Karasuma, who rushed madly all the way into the Juma formation, suddenly found himself vulnerable.Their horses were honeycombed by spears from every direction, and they themselves were killed by more spears, swords, and arrows that howled in all directions.

Soldiers from both sides were entangled in the battle against horses, and the losses of the Karasuma cavalry were increasing.

Su Puyan, who walked around the battlefield and commanded, saw his cavalry being picked and killed one by one by the infantry of the Han army, and immediately realized that the strange formation of the Han army was specially aimed at the impact of the cavalry.The iron cavalry fell into the battle, and then lost its speed and impact. If the fight continued, the cavalry would suffer heavy losses.

"Cunning Han people." Su Puyan cursed a few times, and shouted: "Blow the horn, blow the horn, order them to withdraw, withdraw."

When Karasuma soldiers heard the retreat horn, they hurriedly turned their horses and rushed out.

Lei Zhong dragged his bloody spear, stepped back a few steps, and waved at the drummers in the formation, shouting: "Beat the drums, shrink the formation, and entangle the enemy..."

At this time, if the enemy is allowed to rush out to reorganize the formation, and then attack the horse-rejection formation in a dense formation, everyone will be dead today.

The soldiers of the Han army have been training this kind of horse refusal formation for several months. Of course, they know what the consequences of letting the enemy rush out are.With the sound of intensive war drums, the soldiers of the Han army unanimously accelerated their attack speed, and the corridors between the small formations became narrower and narrower.The Karasuma man could not advance or retreat, and his ferocity became fierce, and the fight between the two sides became more intense.

Su Puyan was in a hurry, and immediately ordered more than 1000 cavalrymen to blow the trumpet and gather outside the formation, "Rearrange the formation, form a dense array, hurry, hurry..."

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

Suddenly, drums and drums thundered on the hillside on the left side of the battlefield, and a group of Han soldiers rushed out.

Holding the shield in one hand and the knife in the other, Gao Shun turned around and shouted wildly: "Brothers, kill..."

"kill……"

A thousand soldiers of the Han army raised their weapons high, roared like thunder, and killed them one by one like wild horses running wild.

Su Puyan waved his knife without hesitation and shouted: "Kill it, kill it..."

More than 1000 iron cavalry turned their horses around, and under the leadership of Su Puyan, they charged towards the Han army on horseback.

Gao Shun ran wildly and roared loudly, full of murderous aura.He had nowhere to vent his grievances, and today he finally had the opportunity to completely release them. He wanted to use the blood of the enemy to calm the resentment in his heart.

He joined the army at the age of 16 and has been in the army for 11 years.After he joined the army, he was appointed as the head of the village because of his excellent civil and military skills. Later, he became a false military marquis, but he was never promoted again.It's not because he doesn't have military merits, but because he doesn't know how to flatter or bribe superiors.In the past few years, he accompanied the army in Hanoi to suppress and kill the Yellow Turban Army, and made many military exploits, but he never received a reward. Instead, he offended his superior because of the military salary.The Shangguan not only withheld the military salary but also defaulted on the military salary, and did not pay any money for half a year.For the sake of his subordinates, Gao Shun did not hesitate to draw his sword against each other, and was almost killed by the Shangguan for the crime of rebellion.After Du Wei Ding Yuan heard about this incident, he released him, promoted him to be a false Sima, and asked him to take a thousand soldiers of his own to participate in the Northern Expedition of General Zhenbei.Ding Yuan said to him, do your best and don't embarrass me. You will be my military commander when you come back from the battle.Gao Shun burst into tears of gratitude, knelt down and left.He swore that even if he died, he would repay Ding Yuan's kindness.

Gao Shun soared into the air, and chopped it down with a single knife, "Kill..." With his loud shout, a big head flew out of the sky, and at the same time, the round shield in Gao Shun's left hand slammed into another enemy. On the soldier's head, the enemy soldier with a knife was smashed to the ground by him and died.

The Hanoi soldiers formed a formation of ten five, slashing the horse's legs with their knives, picking the enemy's cavalry with their halberds, and shooting long arrows. They cooperated very tacitly.

Su Puyan turned around on his horse, turned around and fought again, and met Gao Shun head-on.Gao Shun stood upright, with angry eyes wide open, unafraid, he sideways passed the galloping horse, swung his shield to block Su Puyan's powerful blow, raised his hand and cut off the horse's hind legs flying into the air.The war horse flew a dozen steps away and fell down, Su Puyan was caught off guard and was thrown out.Gao Shun rushed to him and chopped it off with a single knife. Su Puyan's liver and gallbladder were shattered, and he raised his shield to block it. There was a loud "Dang", the round shield shattered, Gao Shun roared, and made another knife, but at this time the enemy's spear behind him Already approaching, Gao Shun had no choice but to give up Su Puyan and dodge the enemy's sure blow.

Su Puyan picked a life by chance, with the help of his personal guards, he jumped on a horse, raised his knife and slashed, "Kill, kill, kill him for me..."

Gao Shun was surrounded by several horses, like a bloody tiger, killing from left to right, blocking several people in succession.Su Puyan was timid, so he pulled his horse and left.

"Beat the drum, go forward to kill, go forward..." Gao Shun kicked the enemy's head away, raised his knife and roared.

The soldiers in Hanoi rushed forward after hearing the drum, their morale was like a rainbow, and the sound of killing shook the sky.

============
Li Hong brought three thousand black leopards with him, roaring like a long arrow off the string.

The people of Karasuma turned pale with fright, and the sound of the retreating horn was hasty and shrill.Su Puyan turned his horse's head and fled first.The Karasuma people who were still fighting fiercely in the Juma formation fought desperately to open a bloody path, and fled in a panic.The Karasuma people who were fighting fiercely with the Gaoshun tribe panicked and fled in all directions, but were chased and intercepted by the black panther Yicong, causing heavy casualties.

Li Hong looked at the orderly advance and retreat of the Hanoi soldiers, and a look of admiration flashed across his face.

Lei Zhong and Gao Shun walked up to Li Hong one after the other, and bowed to salute.Li Hong glanced at Lei Chong and said with a smile, "Why are you running so fast?"

Lei Zhong embarrassedly wiped the blood on his face, but didn't dare to make a sound.If it weren't for the small number of enemies in today's encounter, I and [-] subordinates would be finished.Li Hong didn't say anything to blame himself, he was very tolerant.

"Ziping, did you lead these soldiers?" Li Hong asked, pointing to the Hanoi soldiers who were cleaning the battlefield.

Gao Shun looked back at his subordinates and nodded proudly.

"Mr. Gao's subordinates are very powerful. They are calm in front of the battle, brave and invincible, and they are also very skillful in the use of battle formations. These people must be veterans who have followed Mr. Gao for many years." Lei Zhong also looked back and said full of praise, " If it wasn't for Master Gao's timely support today, I, Lei Chong, would have died."

Gao Shun smiled modestly, and said in a low voice, "Lord Lei is serious. The formation of Lord Lei is just right to restrain the attack of the enemy cavalry. Without the support of the subordinates, you can still support until the general comes to help."

Lei Zhong shook his head, and said with lingering fear: "If you come later, the Karasuma people will attack with a dense array, and we can't stop it."

"By the way, I think your formation is very effective against cavalry. How did you come up with it?"

"My subordinate is from Mayi, Yanmen County. When I joined the army, I served as a soldier at Yanmen Pass and fought many battles with Xianbei people." Gao Shun said with a smile, "These methods were all discussed by the brothers, not just me. Come out." He fought a fierce battle today, killed many enemies, and his mood improved a lot, and he talked more.

At this time, Pound came back with the chasing black panther Yi Cong, and several people stood and chatted for a while.After a short time, several military marquises reported the number of casualties on both sides.

In this battle, the Han army beheaded more than 400 Karasuma cavalry.Lei Chong's troops lost more than 600 soldiers, Gao Shun's troops lost more than 300 soldiers, and Black Panther Yicong also injured more than a dozen soldiers.

Lei Chong's face was very ugly. He lost nearly half of his soldiers in the first battle, which was a big loss.

Li Hong comforted Lei Zhong and Gao Shun, and then said to Gao Shun: "You should be the commander of the army. All your old subordinates who should be promoted will be reported, and I will approve them."

Gao Shun was taken aback for a moment, then happily knelt down and thanked him.

"My lord, I have an old subordinate named Li Yun and Li Ziyi. He used to be a military lord, but because he was dissatisfied with the superior's deduction of soldiers' salaries, he beat the superior. Now he is just an ordinary soldier. I don't know if my lord can be extra merciful..."

Li Hong laughed and said, "This man is very courageous. Well, this man is good. I want someone who dares to speak up for the soldiers. Call him a fake Sima and serve as your deputy."

Gao Shun was overjoyed, and thanked him again.

Li Hong hurriedly helped him up, and said with a smile, "Ziping, I don't like my subordinates kneeling down every now and then. You go and call Li Yun here, and I'll see what this man who dares to beat his superior looks like."

=================
(End of this chapter)