Great Han Empire

Chapter 443
Zhang Yan looked up at the starry night sky, at the chaotic crescent moon, and suddenly pointed to the flickering Yanming Ridge on the opposite side and said, "What is Tuoba Feng thinking now?"

"Today we hit Tuoba Feng hard, causing him to lose his troops. Tomorrow, what will his army do? The biggest possibility for Tuoba Feng is to quickly return to Cuiyun Ridge, and attack Xianbei King Kuitou from north to south. Secondly, he may ask for help from the leader, wait for the army of the leader to come to join him, and then join forces to attack south again; there is another possibility that Tuoba Feng will become angry and put all his eggs in one basket, and continue to attack tomorrow."

"What do you think Tuoba Feng will choose?" Zhang Yan walked around the fire, glanced at each general, and continued, "At the Yanmen Pass, the scouts speculated that Tuoba Feng would be defeated based on the battle flags of Xianbei's various ministries. About 6 people have gathered outside Yanmen Pass, which is almost all the troops of Xianbei in the north. That is to say, the ambitious Tuoba Feng has made up his mind to attack Yanmen Pass this time. It is an excellent opportunity to win Bingzhou and lay a solid foundation for him to dominate the prairie in the future."

"If the scouts' judgment on Tuobafeng's strength is correct, then we can calculate in this way now that the north of Cumulus Ridge is the 5000 men of the leader, and the south of Cumulus Ridge is Tuoba Feng and Luozhiyan. Luoluo has 3 people. Compared with Tuobafeng, the benefits gained from Luoluoluo's southward invasion are very small, so he must preserve his own strength. If there are still 1 people in Luoluoluo's hands now , then Tuoba Feng only has 2 people at most, not even 2. Tuoba Feng’s 6 people were destroyed by 1, although 5 were Han slaves and Hu people of other ethnic groups. At least more than [-] iron cavalry have been lost in the headquarters. Judging from the fact that he led [-] people to attack Danhan Mountain last year, the northern Xianbei's army strength was at most between [-] and [-]. Now his strength has plummeted, and at most it is quite In this situation, Tuoba Feng may have realized that we have fallen into our plan to kill the enemy. If you were Tuoba Feng, what would you do now?"

"The Xianbei in the north has no strength, and the leader of the Xianbei king will not let him go. As long as he returns to the prairie, the leader will definitely call other tribes to attack Tuobafeng. As the leader of the tribe, Luoluoluo will never let him go. Considering his own interests, he may not help Tuoba Feng get out of trouble. For his own future, in order to preserve the northern Xianbei and his position in the prairie, the most sensible thing to do is to preserve his current strength and immediately return to the northern Xianbei , Get ready to face the leader."

"Therefore, Tuoba Feng will definitely not go all-in on another attack. Now, in order to preserve his strength and return to Xianbei in the north safely, he will definitely garrison Yanming Ridge with Luozhi and Luoluo, and let the king take it down. Cumulus Ridge. Without knowing the situation of the battle at Yanming Ridge, the leader is very likely to continue to attack Cumulus Ridge according to their original plan and lead the troops to the south to rendezvous. Tuoba Feng hopes that the leader will fight with us at Cumulus Ridge Both sides will suffer, which is beneficial to him, and we also hope that Tuoba Feng will not use all his strength to attack him from the north to the south when the leader storms Cumulus Ridge, so that Yang Feng can concentrate his strength Hit the leader hard to achieve our goal of killing a large number of Xianbei people."

"But..." Zhang Yan said loudly, "Who can guarantee that Tuoba Feng will not use all his strength to attack Cumulus Ridge with Kuitou from north to south? That's why we retreated on our own initiative. We pretended to be in a state of confusion and unable to fight any more." If he retreats in panic, Tuoba Feng will immediately fall into a dilemma. Withdrawing beyond the Great Wall, he will lose his troops and gain nothing. In the future, he will face attacks from other tribes. After so many people died, how could he end up with such a tragic end? Would you like to? If you don’t withdraw, Tuoba Feng can strike again when we are about to collapse, completely defeating us and occupying Bingzhou. In this way, all the goals of his invasion will be achieved. With the population and wealth of Bingzhou, he can dominate The days of the prairie are just around the corner. At this time, what will Tuoba Feng do? The only thing he has to do is to urge the king to go south to join him, and he will not send a single cavalry to support Cumulus Ridge. At this time, for him It is said that any soldier is a precious asset."

"The leader will help Tuoba Feng conquer the world? Will the leader attack Cumulus Ridge regardless of the loss?" Huang Ting hesitated for a moment and asked seductively.

"Yes, this is the crux of the problem." Zhang Yan waved his hand and said, "After taking down Bingzhou, we don't know how the Xianbei ministries will redistribute the territory, but we know that the leader will not help Tuoba Feng become stronger. Kill Tuoba Feng before he became strong, and get rid of the scourge that threatens Danhan Mountain. Now the Xianbei people have joined forces to invade the Han Kingdom, and the leader is the king. After the prairie, he will lose some of his hearts, and the leader will definitely attack Cumulus Ridge, but he will not attack Cumulus Ridge with all his strength."

"After a few days of fighting, the Xianbei people suffered a lot, and Cuiyunling was still unable to take it. Tuobafeng had no choice but to give up his greed and withdraw his troops outside the Great Wall. With these few days, we can get enough As long as Tuoba Feng withdraws, we will immediately regroup our troops, pursue and fight fiercely, and strive to hit Tuoba Feng again on the Cumulus Ridge. Even if we can't kill him, we will beat him half to death. Let him return to the prairie, at most he will be a wild dog, being chased and fled around."

"If Tuoba Feng is not fooled, how about gathering heavy troops to attack Cumulus Ridge tomorrow?" Zhang Baiqi asked worriedly, "On Cumulus Ridge, only Yang Shuai's 2 horses are elite yellow scarves, and the other 8 people, including Peng Shuai Lei Shuai's ambush troops were all field soldiers, very weak, and there was no danger to defend on Cumulus Ridge. If Yang Shuai was attacked by Xianbei's cavalry from north to south, and the soldiers were overwhelmed and scattered, then Xianbei People are not withdrawing their troops out of the fortress, but are going to gather heavy troops to go south again. Yesterday, our morale was so high, but the [-] soldiers in the field were swept away by the Xianbei. The combat effectiveness of the soldiers in the field seems to be really vulnerable at present. Just like the Yellow Turban soldiers who followed the great virtuous teacher and raised their troops to revolt, they relied on courage and faith rather than strong force."

"Let Master Xiangkai go to Cumulus Ridge to boost the morale of the whole army." Huang Ting suggested.

"Master is too tired, and if Master rushes now, it may not be able to boost morale." Zhang Yan shook his hand and said, "I have already sent people to Cuiyunling, and asked Yang Feng to tell the whole army that we We won the battle at Yanming Ridge, and now we will see if they can stop the Xianbei deserters at Cumulus Ridge. As long as we can kill more Xianbei people, even if the [-] troops on Cumulus Ridge are completely wiped out, I will fight against them. No hesitation."

All the generals stared dumbfounded at the murderous Zhang Yan, no one dared to speak out, and the atmosphere in the big tent was very depressed for a while.

"If Tuoba Feng withdraws his troops tomorrow, will we pursue him or not?" Wang Dang had calmed down a lot at this time, he hurriedly asked.

"Chase." Zhang Yan said without hesitation.

"What if Tuoba Feng attacks again tomorrow?"

"We swear to stop him at Wuliting." Zhang Yan waved his fists and shouted: "Even if the whole army is wiped out, we will not hesitate."

"Order the entire army to retreat overnight."

===

When the generals of the Yellow Turban Army heard the order to retreat, they immediately became a mess. Excited junior officers and soldiers surrounded their respective commanders, roaring loudly, and some even waved their knives at each other.retreat?The battle has ended like this and you are still retreating?No one can understand, roaring, scolding, crying, resounding through the night.

The generals of the various ministries were unable to carry out the order, so they returned to the big account to discuss with Zhang Yan.

Yu Digen rushed into the big tent and shouted angrily at Zhang Yan: "Marshal, there is no way to withdraw. The soldiers are in chaos. Everyone's morale was high and they were ready to fight to the death tomorrow, but such a withdrawal is not morale. It’s rising, but resentment is rising.”

Zhang Yan acted as if he hadn't heard it, and pointed outside and said, "Take someone to see those chariots, and take all the usable ones away."

"Chariot?" Yu Digen laughed angrily, "Is that also called a chariot? Don't be ashamed to be conspicuous, just that broken thing, with two wheels and one board, is that also called a chariot? Don't say that a horse has hit it, just put it on If one person hits it, the carriage will be torn apart. If I had known that this formation of carriages would not be able to stop the Xianbei people, I might as well have set it on fire."

Zhang Yan said with a smile: "Chariot? Do you know how much it costs to make a chariot? Don't say we can't afford it, even when Huangfusong led the Northern Army to attack us. Don't look down on these baggage carts. Nailing a few spears is just as effective. If it weren’t for this chariot array blocking the speed of the Xianbei people today, could our ballista kill so many Xianbei people? Would our soldiers have only so few casualties?”

Yu Digen was very dissatisfied and said: "The commander-in-chief is still heartbroken for the lives of the soldiers? The commander-in-chief used [-] field soldiers as bait to let them be killed by the Xianbei within two days. The commander-in-chief still knows the lives of the soldiers? The commander-in-chief’s heart has long been a stone.” Yu Digen stopped for a while, stared at Zhang Yan, gritted his teeth, and said suddenly, “Now the commander-in-chief is not only a stone heart, but also blind. You listen to Zhenbei Those in the General’s Mansion don’t think about the Yellow Turban Army at all. With this method, Li Hong and Xu Rong easily killed our Yellow Turban Army completely. Marshal, are you really blind?”

Although the Yellow Turban general felt the same in his heart, everyone was still very surprised when they suddenly heard Yu Digen say this. A group of people looked at Yu Digen blankly, not knowing how to speak out to dissuade him.

Zhang Yan was furious, and shouted sharply: "Shut up. What is the Yellow Turban Army? The Yellow Turban Army is the Yellow Turban Army of the Han Dynasty. It doesn't matter whether we are ant thieves from the imperial court or the frontier soldiers of the Han Dynasty, whether we are alive or dead. We are all from the Han Kingdom. Even if we were rebels when we were dying, we were also traitors from the Han Kingdom. Can you change this? Today, when we face the invading barbarians, you still Having said that, have you forgotten your ancestors and the parents who gave birth to you and raised you? We have enmity with the imperial court and the Son of Heaven, but we have no enmity with the State of Han, nor with the people of the world. Enemy. The Yellow Turban Army fought for the Han Dynasty and for the people of the world. What’s wrong? Even if 20 people died in one battle, what’s wrong? Those who have no conscience and have forgotten their ancestors are a hundred times more aware."

Zhang Yan suddenly faced the generals and shouted: "Who among you is not Han Chinese, stand up for me!"

Yu Digen looked ashamed and bowed his head in silence.Wang Dang, Huang Ting and other yellow scarf generals were ashamed and speechless.There was a dead silence in the big tent.

Zhang Baiqi coughed dryly, and said in a low voice: "2 field soldiers killed [-] opponents in two days, and the results were brilliant. They are all heroes of the Han Dynasty, warriors of the Yellow Turban Army, and they did not die in vain. "

"My heart is a stone? Am I ruthless?" Zhang Yan sighed with tears in her eyes, and said sadly, "If I was not ruthless, why would Tuoba Feng gather 4 people to attack us today? If I was not ruthless Ruthless, we used the yellow turban elite and crossbow carts yesterday, will the Xianbei people still attack us today? Will the Xianbei people have such a heavy casualty? Can Yang Feng still guard on Cumulus Ridge now? If I am not cruel, I will be cunning How could Tuoba Feng be fooled? How could he be hit by us and get scarred? I don't need to sacrifice these 10 soldiers, but the iron hooves of the Xianbei people will not be ruthless. They will take our [-] soldiers If they are all killed, the people in Taiyuan and Shangdang counties will be killed everywhere, do you understand?"

"Let's take a step back and say, if our [-] elite soldiers are not soldiers who have survived a hundred battles, if they haven't rested and trained in Bingzhou for more than a year, if they haven't obtained the best weapons in the Jinyang Arsenal, if they haven't been given to us by the [-] troops in front of us. Having consumed a large amount of the enemy's troops, can we successfully inflict [-] cavalry today?"

"Without the Zhenbei General's Mansion, without the trust of the generals, without the help of Xu Rong, Zuo Yan, Li Wei and other adults, can our Yellow Turban Army fight this battle? Can we win this battle? Can we protect the people of Bingzhou? Is the family defending the country? Can our Yellow Turban Army build a world-famous name?"

"Get out of the battlefield immediately?" Zhang Yan said in a cold voice with a frosty face, "Anyone who disobeys orders will be executed!"

===

Tuobafeng, Luozhi Dianluoluo and a group of Xianbei leaders stood on Yanming Ridge, watching the yellow scarf army retreat in a mess in the distance, they couldn't help looking at each other in surprise.

After Luozhi Yanluoluo hurried to Yanming Ridge, Tuoba Feng, who was extremely frustrated, had burning eyes and wanted to eat him in one bite.If it weren't for the army that fell into the Luoluo and fled the battle today, the Xianbei iron cavalry would have great hope of defeating the Yellow Turban Army.As long as the last blocking barrier of the Yellow Turban Army is defeated, as long as the Yellow Turban Army is completely defeated, Bingzhou will be at your fingertips, and the entire northern border will also fall under the iron hoof of the Xianbei people.

After listening to Tuoba Feng's complaints, Luo Zhiyan Luoluo was not angry, he said a few words to calm down Tuoba Feng who was in a rage.

From Xu Rong's abandonment of Yanmen Pass, Zhang Yan's attack on Yanming Ridge, to Yang Feng's surprise attack on Cuyun Ridge, the Han people dragged the Xianbei people to the brink of defeat step by step.Looking back now, the Han people obviously made careful preparations to defeat the Xianbei people. They gave up the Yellow Turban Army in Yanmenguan Xuezang and showed weakness everywhere. , consume the troops of the Xianbei people, and finally achieve the goal of defeating the Xianbei people, driving away the Xianbei people, and stabilizing the entire northern Xinjiang.Luo Zhiyan Luoluo said that what needs to be guarded against is not only the increasing number of Yellow Turbans, but also the reinforcements of other Han armies, such as Qu Yi's cavalry, elite soldiers from the Northern Army, and reinforcements from Jizhou.The Han people have a large population, and tens of thousands of people can be gathered casually to fight. It is better to give up marching into Jinyang and withdraw troops back to the grassland.If the fight continues, the fight will be over, and the consequences are self-evident.

Tuoba Hui also changed his mind.The Yellow Turban Army we are facing today is not a Yellow Turban Army at all, and its combat power is even stronger than that of Leopard Li Hong's infantry.During the Battle of Boluogu last year, Luri deduced and commanded a [-]-strong army and almost defeated Li Hong's blocking infantry, but today's Han army is too powerful. Under the attack of [-] cavalry, not only were they not defeated It was defeated, but the Xianbei were beaten out. Even if the cavalry of the Xianbei in the west did not run away, both sides must have suffered losses in the end.At that time, even if the Xianbei people wiped out the Yellow Turban Army, they would not be able to continue to attack Jinyang southward.

Today's [-] Han troops not only have good soldiers and sharp weapons, but also have crossbows.Hu people call ballistas ballistas.Back in Boluogu, none of Li Hong's infantry had such equipment, so it could be seen that this army was definitely not the Yellow Turban Army, but most likely the most elite Northern Army of the Han people.This time, I fell into the trap of the Han people again, and fell into the tricks of the Han people.

Tuoba Hui told Tuoba Feng that the Han people exchanged the price of annihilating the entire army yesterday in exchange for the result of annihilating [-] Xianbei cavalry in today's battle, and the opponent's general who commanded this battle must not be Zhang Yan.Zhang Yan would not take the lives of his [-] Yellow Turban soldiers as a trifling matter.At present, it seems that the Han general who commanded this battle is not only cruel, but also determined to wipe out the Xianbei people.

Luozhi Yanluoluo tried his best to persuade Tuobafeng to withdraw immediately.He said that the Han people deliberately set up this plan, and the Xianbei people didn't hear the wind at all in advance. It can be seen that the Han people have a meticulous layout and are absolutely sure of winning.The current strategy is to let the king gather his troops to occupy Cumulus Ridge first, and then the army will join together, form a group, slowly withdraw from Yanmen Pass, and stabilize the four northern counties.The northern border of the Han people was hit hard by this, and it was difficult to recover in less than ten years.More than ten years later, the four northern counties and some states and counties in Youzhou have long been firmly occupied by Xianbei people. At that time, even if the Han people wanted to take it back, they would be powerless.

Luozhi Lianluoluo's implication is very clear, you, Tuobafeng, are determined to dominate the grassland, honestly be a tribal leader, hang out behind Danhan Mountain, want to be the king of the Xianbei people, door nothing.

Tuoba Feng's army lost 1 people in today's battle, which almost made him collapse with heartache.Whether it was the battle in Xijiang or the attack on Yanmen Pass, he did not suffer such a big loss.This time he brought more than 6 people with ambitions to achieve his ambition, but in a blink of an eye, his hegemony was wiped out by the Han people. After repeated battles, only 6 of the 8000 people remained. People are gone.In addition to the 3 troops left in the tribe, my own army has less than 3 people. With these people, I can barely hold the northern Xianbei, and it is impossible to dominate the grassland.He comforted himself and said that as long as he keeps these [-] people and guards the four northern counties, he will be able to conquer the Hannu in the future, and then conquer the Huns and Karasuma people on the ground, and he can also unite with the Eastern Qiang people and the Huns. If you have the strength, you can recuperate for a few years, and you can make a comeback.

He was ruthless, gave up the desire and hatred in his heart, and decided to retreat.Just when he was arranging the retreat, he heard that the Yellow Turban Army was retreating and fleeing.The desire in Tuoba Feng's heart was instantly rekindled.

In the distance, the Yellow Turban Army was burning the heavy trucks that could not be taken away, and the flames were soaring into the sky.Tuoba Feng excitedly pointed to the front and said: "The Yellow Turban Army can't hold on anymore. Immediately send someone to urge Your Majesty to join us quickly."

Tuoba Han violently drew his knife and shouted, "We won, we won..."

Luo Zhiyan Luoluo shook his head and sighed worriedly.Standing behind Tuoba Feng, Tuoba Hui whispered solemnly: "My lord, the Han people are trying to lure the enemy. If they retreat, of course they will die quietly and escape quietly. How could there be such a big commotion, as if they are worried that we will not As if you know."

Tuoba Feng turned his head and smiled and said: "The Han people are very cunning, they have tricks one after another. They must be worried that we will chase after them, so they deliberately made such a big noise, making us hesitate and dare not Go after them. But fighting depends on strength, if you can't win, you can't win."

"They withdrew, what about the Yellow Turban Army on Cumulus Ridge? What are they doing in that place where they must die?" Luo Zhiyan Luoluo asked bluntly after hearing the words.

"The Yellow Turban Army is also in disarray. The commanders of each department have their own ideas and different orders. These days, when there is an army and a territory, words have weight." Tuoba Feng didn't care, and said happily, "Why did the emperor of the Han Kingdom The Yellow Turban Army recruited Zhang Yan, and made him a Zhonglang general? Isn’t it because of Zhang Yan’s strength. If Zhang Yan finished the battle with the Yellow Turban Army, you will see what happens to him. He didn’t flee to the Taihang Mountains. It’s just a show of the owl’s head.”

"My lord, think about the battle during the day. Although the Yellow Turban Army didn't have any advantage, their morale was high and they had amazingly powerful ballistas. Even if their losses were huge, they wouldn't be too embarrassed to flee, right?" Tuoba Hui Advised again, "My lord, turn around."

Tuoba Feng hesitated for a long time, and said decisively: "Station troops at Yanming Ridge, and wait for the king to come to join us."

All the Xianbei generals bowed and obeyed.

Tuobafeng looked at Luozhi and Luoluo and said: "Currently, our losses are still within an acceptable range, and the army has not yet reached the end of its rope. In my opinion, let's take a look at the development of the battle situation and look at the accumulation. The Yellow Turban Army on Yunling will fight or retreat, and then make plans. This battle is not over yet."

===

On the fourth day of the war, in the early morning, Yanmen Pass.

Murong Feng was stationed on the top of the Ma Mountain, and his fingers were bathed in Yanmen Pass in the night. He smiled and said to Tie Ao beside him: "Look, Yanmen Pass. How many years have we not been here?"

"Ten years." Tie Ao stroked his long beard and laughed loudly, "We haven't been here for ten years since King Tan Shihuai passed away."

(End of this chapter)