Great Han Empire

Chapter 633
"Has the section of the Yellow River in Pingyuan County ever opened?" Zhao Yun asked anxiously.

"The weather is getting better and better. Within three to five days, all the four hundred miles of the Yellow River in Pingyuan County will be opened." The scout said with certainty, "I used to be from Pingyuan County, and I am very familiar with this place. The opening of the Yellow River this year belongs to" Wenkai River', the ice layer starts to thaw from top to bottom, and the ice water drains smoothly, and there will be no danger of ice water flooding due to ice dam blocking the river channel."

Zhao Yun's face became more serious when he heard this, "So, the Yellow River section in Wei County of Jizhou and East County of Yanzhou has opened?"

"Exactly, my lord."

Zhao Yun was flustered for a while, and was speechless for a long time.After a while, he stepped forward and patted the scout on the shoulder, "You've worked hard, go down and rest."

Liu Ming waved to the guards behind him, and one of the guards hurriedly took out a map from the leather pouch on the horse and spread it on the ground.

Zhao Yun half-kneeled on the ground, pointed to the map and said, "If the Yellow River sections in Weijun of Jizhou and Dongjun of Yanzhou have been opened, then the Heishan Yellow Turban Army concentrated in Liyang of Weijun, Dunqiu of Yanzhou, and Weiguo will pass by in the near future. River, to join the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army, the time for the Yellow Turban Army to go north to Jizhou is likely to be advanced."

Liu Ming nodded, pointed to Gaotang City in Pingyuan County on the map and said: "Gaotang City is 150 miles away from Ganling City and 250 miles away from Jieqiao. If Tian Kai and Liu Bei's army can cross the river in two days, they can Quickly support Gongsun Zan." Then he looked at Zhao Yun, who was frowning, and said in a low voice, "It is really too difficult for the general to wipe out Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao."

Zhao Yun smiled wryly, "Heaven is not beautiful, man is not as good as God."

"Hurry up, report to the general that the Yellow River section in Jizhou, Yanzhou, and Qingzhou has been fully opened, and the situation on the battlefield has changed suddenly. Please respond as soon as possible, the general."

=

Jiang Wu and Mustafa came across the river at high speed.

Zhao Yun briefly introduced the battlefield situation.The General has already sent someone to send an urgent letter. At present, the [-] troops of the General and Lord Qu Yi are confronting Gongsun Zan's army at Xifeng Pavilion, while Yuan Shao's army is stationed at Linqing Pavilion, which is [-] miles away from Xifeng Pavilion.Since Yuan Shao's army threatened the safety of both Gongsun Zan's army and Ganling City, Gongsun Zan did not dare to launch an attack for a long time, and the three armies fell into a stalemate.

"Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao's army has been firmly restrained by the general." Zhao Yun said, "Now we and Zhang Yan's army will encircle the two wings. As long as we and Zhang Yan reach Ganling City, Beiqiu and Linqing Pavilion on time On the first line, the encirclement will be completed."

Jiang Wu excitedly waved his hands and said, "It's a joy to fight with the general. I haven't fought for two years, and a fight will be a big battle with more than 20 people. Okay, I'm happy. After the encirclement, who shall we fight first? Yuan Shao or Gongsun Zan?"

"Fight Yuan Shao first." Zhao Yun said calmly, "But the situation has changed now. The Yellow River is open, Tian Kai and Liu Bei can fight to the battlefield at any time, and the Yellow Turban Army can also cross the Hebei at any time. We can ignore the matter of the Yellow Turban Army for the time being. In the short term, they will not cross Hebei, but Tian Kai and Liu Bei will definitely cross the river, so we'd better split up our forces to block and delay their attack speed, so as to ensure that the army has enough time to wipe out Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao."

"How many people are there?" Mustafa asked, "Our troops are limited, and we cannot divide them too much. Once we delay the plan of total annihilation on the main battlefield, the responsibility will be great."

"According to the general's information, Tian Kai and Liu Bei brought the main force of the 30 Youzhou army to Qingzhou south." Zhao Yun then analyzed the situation.In his opinion, after more than two months of continuous conquest by the Youzhou Army, there must be losses, but not too much, because Gongsun Zan almost wiped out [-] Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army in the Battle of Dongguang, which shocked the Yellow Turban Army. Horror is too big.Wherever the Youzhou Army went, the Yellow Turban Army probably fled in anticipation and did not resist at all.After Tian Kai and Liu Bei occupied the four counties in northern Qingzhou, they may have recruited a group of prisoners from the Yellow Turban Army on the spot.Calculated in this way, the Youzhou Army should have more than [-] troops returning to Jizhou after excluding the garrison troops in Qingzhou.

"In other words, we need to send at least [-] to [-] cavalry to stop them."

Liu Ming, Jiang Wu and Mustafa did not speak.Using the existing [-] cavalry to deal with the [-] cavalry in Gongsun Zan's hands would have some advantages, but if [-] to [-] cavalry were deployed to stop the enemy's reinforcements, then the two sides would be fighting evenly.After encircling the enemy, whether you can quickly wipe out the enemy and defeat the enemy depends on the iron cavalry.If the iron cavalry and the enemy are both wounded, not only will the army not be able to wipe out the enemy, but it may also be broken by the enemy.

No one dared to make this decision, and neither did Zhao Yun, so he invited three people to discuss it together.

=

"Where is Master Zhang's army now?" Jiang Wu asked.

"If everything is normal, he should be on his way to Ganling Kingdom in a hurry." Zhao Yun said, "After Mr. Zhang Yan is ordered to take down Yecheng, he will go east to Ganling Kingdom at the fastest speed to join us. Yecheng is a distance from Ganling. Lingguo is more than 400 miles away, Master Zhang marched day and night, and arrived in about three to four days."

Of course, the premise is that Zhang Yan must take Yecheng within one to two days.If he can't attack for a long time, Yuan Shao will definitely return to help after he gets the news. He will not help Gongsun Zan attack the northern army at the risk of losing Yecheng.Once Yuan Shao left, we and Gongsun Zan were left to fight wholeheartedly.But the ensuing problem is that due to our lack of troops, we cannot completely solve Gongsun Zan, and Gongsun Zan will withdraw his troops soon because his rear route has been cut off and his food and supplies cannot be replenished.

If Yecheng cannot be captured, the situation will become very severe, so whether Yecheng can be captured is the key to this war.

"I don't know if Yecheng has already been captured by Master Zhang Yan." Zhao Yun said worriedly, "I don't know whether the encirclement can be successful, so I can't make up my mind to divide the troops."

The four discussed for a long time, and finally decided not to divide the troops for the time being.

The army immediately attacked westward, and after taking Dongwu City, they immediately went to Ganling City and Beiqiu to join Zhang Yan.At this time, the whereabouts of the iron cavalry army have been fully exposed. If Zhang Yan's army has not arrived at the meeting place, then the plan of encircling and annihilating will completely fail. Therefore, can we divide the troops and when to divide them? The army will be discussed later.

=

On the road from Bohai County to Ganling Kingdom, there are convoys transporting grain, grass and luggage every day.

Army Sima Min Xun led two thousand cavalry to ambushe a grain convoy, and then ordered some soldiers to dress up as civilian husbands, and some soldiers to dress up as Youzhou soldiers who were guarding grain, and headed towards Dongwu City swaggeringly.

These iron knights were cavalry from the Ural Mountains. They used to be victims of disasters and refugees in Jizhou and Qingzhou. They spoke exactly the same accent as the locals, so they entered the city without any risk.

A large cart suddenly broke down when it reached the city gate, and the entire wheel fell off.The cars behind continued to move forward, and within a short period of time, more than a dozen carts full of grain filled the city gate.

At this time, the iron cavalry of the Northern Xinjiang Army roared from all directions.With a loud roar, Min Xun drew his knife and slashed, causing a massacre at the gate of the city.

If the city gate cannot be closed, this battle will not be fought.The two thousand soldiers of the Youzhou Army stationed in the city were tied up, and Tobu City changed hands.

Zhao Yun ordered the soldiers and horses of the army to replenish food and fodder immediately.

In the early morning of the next day, Zhao Yun left 1000 people to garrison the city, and then led the army to rush towards Ganling City along Chidao.

=

Qingyuan City.

Zhang Yan led the army to travel more than three hundred li and arrived at Qingyuan City.More than 100 miles ahead are Ganling City and Beiqiu City.Whether or not these two cities can be captured is not important to the Northern Army. The important thing is to join up with Zhao Yun immediately, cut off the retreat path of Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao, and complete the encirclement.

Zhang Yan was stationed at Mashan Hill, watching Qingyuan City faintly visible in the distance, feeling extremely anxious.

Along the way, the army only passed two cities, one was Guantao City and the other was Qingyuan City.In order to avoid being discovered by the enemy, the army took advantage of the darkness to bypass Guantao City, but after arriving at Qingyuan, there was no need for the army to hide their tracks anymore, because Yuan Shao's retreat had already been blocked.

Zhang Yan ordered Wang Dang and Peng Lie to give up their food, supplies, and trot all the way to Ganling City and Beiqiu City with the soldiers of the two armies, cutting off Gongsun Zan's retreat.Regardless of whether Zhao Yun's iron cavalry arrived at the two places, they first occupied Gongsun Zan's retreating lanes in the east and south directions.

Li Xuan rushed over with a dozen scouts.Zhang Yan felt relieved, and rode up to meet him.

"Wen Lie, is there any movement in the direction of Linqing Pavilion? Is there any abnormal behavior in Yuan Shao's army? Can you find General Du Liao's cavalry?"

Li Xuan was out of breath, bowed and said, "My lord, Yuan Shao's army is stationed at Linqing Pavilion sixty miles away, and everything is normal. When we came back, three scouts from Yuan Shao's army followed us and were caught by us. Kill." He stretched out his foot and kicked the two heads hanging from the horse's neck, triumphantly.

Zhang Yan took a look, "Why are there only two heads, and one more?"

Li Xuan blushed and said embarrassingly: "That man ran away. We shot him a few times, and two of them hit vital parts, so he couldn't survive."

Zhang Yan didn't care.This kind of fighting between scouts is too common.

"We once went deep into Beiqiu City for thirty miles, but we didn't find General Du Liao's iron cavalry, nor did we find any scouts from the army of iron cavalry."

Zhang Yan twirled the whip in his hand anxiously, and whispered in surprise: "Could it be that the army wasted time crossing the river? Didn't Dongbu City be taken down? According to the time calculation, he should have arrived."

At the beginning, it was estimated that it would take at least two days to attack Yecheng, but the army was defeated in one day.The next day, Sun Qin led 5000 people to defend the city, and set off for Ganling with the army.Could it be that Zhao Yun is still calculating the time when he will reach Ganling Kingdom based on the siege time of two days?If this is the case, the meeting time between the two parties will be delayed by one day.

One day was enough for Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan to break through and leave.

Zhang Yan thought for a long time before making a decisive decision.

"Urgently order Wang Dang and Peng Lie to approach Linqing Pavilion and attack Yuan Shao tomorrow morning."

"Order the army to rest immediately. In the early morning, rush sixty miles to attack Yuan Shao."

"Wen Lie, you have to work hard again. Take a dozen brothers and rush to Dongwu City to find General Du Liao's cavalry army. Once you meet Mr. Zhao, please rush to Linqing Pavilion."

===

Xifeng Pavilion.

Li Hong and Gongsun Zan's army faced off for five days.Qu Yi invited several times for a decisive battle, but Gongsun Zan resolutely ignored them.Li Hong wrote to invite Gongsun Zan out of the camp for a meeting, but Gongsun Zan did not reply.

Li Hong didn't care, and led people to patrol around Jieqiao and Xifeng Pavilion every day.

Along the way, there were a lot of peasants transporting grain, grass and luggage. Li Hong often got off his horse and chatted with them, asking them about the situation in their hometowns.The civilian husbands recruited for the war this time were all from the Zhongshan and Changshan areas. Almost every family benefited from the Mintun, and they were very grateful to the court and the general.Regarding this war, the reaction of the common people was beyond Li Hong's expectation.The people only recognize one death principle, the general gave them a place to live and live, the general can feed them and clothe them warmly, the general is a good man, so as long as the general fights a battle, it is a just battle.It is an honor to be able to serve the Great General, even death is worth it.

Li Hong was very moved.He asked himself, he didn't do anything specially for these kind and simple people.He just fulfilled his duties, kept the peace in northern Xinjiang, and made the people in northern Xinjiang have enough food and clothing.This is his responsibility and his obligation.As the Hussar General defending the northern border, and as the official in charge of the northern border's military affairs, this is what I have to do.However, he didn't do enough.

Seeing the faces full of hope and hearing the words of praise, Li Hong thought of what he had done in the past two years and all the hardships and hardships he had suffered, and he couldn't help feeling very relieved.I did nothing wrong, absolutely nothing wrong.As long as the people can live a peaceful life, have enough food and clothing, then I have done nothing wrong.

Today, in the face of many brothers who used to talk happily and killed the enemy side by side, as well as many state and county officials who were shameless and disrupted the country, I am worthy of the sword I raised in my hand.They arrogantly indulge the law, ignore the rules and regulations, wantonly destroy the country, and poison the living beings. If such people are not killed, the law of heaven will not tolerate them.

There were also people who scolded the general, and even cursed in front of Li Hong.Of course they didn't know that the kind-faced officer with disheveled hair in front of them was the general.In their view, Li Hong was just a small barbarian officer in the northern Xinjiang army, nothing special.

These people were refugees stranded in Zhongshan and Changshan, and they were full of complaints against Li Hong.Some people say that this year the general ordered to block the pass into northern Xinjiang. He only cares about the people in northern Xinjiang and ignores the people in the world. He is not a good person.It is also said that the general is half a barbarian, and he treats barbarians better than the people of the big man.Others say that the great general has the most powerful army in the world, but he allows the world to be in chaos and the people of the world to struggle in the abyss of death, and ignore them.The Great General is no longer the indomitable hero of the past. The Great General is a bastard, the biggest bastard in the world.

Li Hong was very sad.Although most of the people are illiterate, they are kind and honest, and they have the most simple and honest heart.They don't have the ambition of the scholars to save the country, nor the passionate speeches of the scholars. They just want to eat and wear warmth, and want to have a shelter from the wind and rain. Can't satisfy them, can't do it for them.I am ashamed of myself.

What is the ultimate goal of saving the country and revitalizing the country?Is it the so-called meritorious deeds built by scholars and left a name in history?No, it should be so that all the people in the world can have enough food and clothing, and have a warm and peaceful home.This is the thousand-year achievement that I should fight bloody for, and work hard for.

I still have many, many things to do.

=

Thirty miles away from Jieqiao is called Yunting.Here is a slope, the slope is not very steep, but there are more than two hundred steps in length.There are small hills on the left and right sides of the slope.

Yang Feng and Xu Huang are commanding the soldiers and civilians to set up the horse and deer villages.On the hills on both sides, many soldiers of the chariot battalion are setting up ballistas and putting camouflage on them.

Seeing Li Hong coming on horseback, Yang Feng and Xu Huang rushed to meet him.

"Qizhi, Gongming, look, can this place withstand the attack of Youzhou cavalry?" Li Hong asked with a smile.

Yang Feng smiled without saying a word.Xu Huang replied respectfully: "The general has sent people to set up stone cannons on the north bank of Jieqiao, so it can be seen that the general has no intention of defending here."

Li Hong nodded.Sima Zhumu pointed to the hills on both sides and said: "We will block here for a while, consuming part of Gongsun Zan's strength. The main battlefield is still at Jieqiao. After arriving at Jieqiao, we can rely on the natural barrier of Qinghe to block. Only Zhang Yan and After the two lords Zhao Yun and Yuan Shao have defeated Yuan Shao, we can surround Gongsun Zan in Jieqiao and finish him off."

"Gongsun Zan is very cautious and has been reluctant to fight." Yang Feng asked worriedly, "If Yuan Shao got the news in advance that we are attacking Yecheng and joins forces with Gongsun Zan, then we will have a hard time fighting this battle."

"We have to fight hard." Li Hong waved his hands and smiled. "None of us can afford to lose this battle. We can only fight to the death. However, if Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao join forces, they will inevitably be suspicious of each other. We may lose this battle." The victory is certain. Yuan Shao is focused on preserving his strength and escaping from the encirclement, so he can't work together with Gongsun Zan. Maybe when the critical moment comes, he will stab Gongsun Zan in the back."

"It's good news for us that they joined forces together." Zhu Mu said worriedly, "I'm worried that Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao will see our intentions in advance, and they will turn around and run away one by one, then we will really be very sad." Hard work. Not only now, but even harder in the future."

=

The sacrificial front came flying from the guards with a few righteousness.

"General, Mr. Zhao sent someone to send a message that the Yellow River has opened up."

Li Hong, Zhu Mu, Yang Feng, Xu Huang and others' hearts sank, and their faces all showed anxiety.The longer the time drags on, the more unfavorable the situation will be for the Northern Xinjiang Army.Tian Kai, Liu Bei, and the Yellow Turban Army may cross Hebei at any time.At present, Gongsun Zan has the Northern Border Army on the left and the Jizhou Army on the right, because he is afraid of being attacked on both sides, he has been hesitant to start a war.

"General, if there is no accident, Zhang Yan and Zhao Yun's armies will join up soon, and our intentions will be fully exposed." Zhu Mu said with a stern expression, "We must hold back Gongsun Zan and let Zhang Yan and Zhao Yun gather all of us. The force stormed Yuan Shao. If the stalemate continues, Gongsun Zan will definitely turn around and retreat eastward when he sees that the main force of the northern army has gone south."

"Let's go, let's go back to the camp." Li Hongfei got on his horse and whipped his whip fiercely in the air, "We will attack Gongsun Zan tomorrow."

===

Gongsun Zan was very annoyed.Yuan Shao, an old, treacherous and cunning thing, obviously had bad intentions, and even pretended to be plausible, and refused to join forces again and again.

Yuan Shao's army was only sixty miles away from Xifeng Pavilion, and Gongsun Zan did not dare to attack rashly no matter what.Seeing the days go by, and the reinforcements from the Northern Border Army might appear on the battlefield at any time, Gongsun Zan couldn't help feeling very worried.There are only more than 2 Beijiang troops in the opposite camp. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Once missed, the chance of seriously injuring the Beijiang army is very slim.

The plump fresh meat had already entered his mouth, but someone stuck his throat and couldn't swallow it.

=

Linqing Pavilion.

When Yuan Shao left Yecheng, he made an appointment with Yuan Xi to give a message in two days, but it has been five days today and he still hasn't received any letter from Yuan Xi.The few messengers I sent to Yecheng in the past few days also disappeared without any reply.Yuan Shao was a little terrified.

Yuan Xi did not send the letter as promised, there are only two possibilities, either Yecheng was surrounded, or Yecheng fell.The main force of the Yellow Turban Army in Montenegro has followed Yudu and Suigu to the banks of the Yellow River in Liyang and Dunqiu. The Yellow Turban Army stationed in Montenegro is not so powerful.Could it be that reinforcements from the Northern Xinjiang Army quietly came to Jizhou and surrounded Yecheng?Reminiscent of the fact that Li Hong was uncharacteristically threatening him with the Black Panther Yi Cong that day, Yuan Shao was terrified and had a feeling of being cheated.

The scout who was shot and killed by the Beijiang Army returned to Linqingting, and before he died, he said that he was killed by the Beijiang Army scouts near Qingyuan City.After Jushou got the news, he immediately realized the seriousness of the problem, and hurried to the big tent to meet Yuan Shao, "My lord, Yecheng should distribute food and grass every three days, but it has been delayed for two days, and there is no news. There must be something wrong with Yecheng. "

Yuan Shao comforted: "Perhaps the Yellow Turban Army from Black Mountain came down to harass..."

"Then we should be able to receive news from Yecheng." Ju Shou shook his hand and said, "The messenger sent to Yecheng has not returned, so it can be seen..."

Yuan Shao looked at Jushou, his heart beating wildly, waiting for his next words.

"I suspect I've been tricked." Ju Shou's expression turned ugly, "Li Hong is a leopard, if you don't hit him, you'll be fine, and if you hit him, you'll hit it."

Yuan Shao suffocated for a while, feeling dizzy.Losing Yecheng and Weijun at this time was a fatal blow to him.He hesitated for a moment, nodded and said, "I also have this hunch. The reinforcements from the Northern Border Army may have already used the cover of Taihang Mountain to sneak into Jizhou."

Yuan Shao urgently called Tian Feng, Shen Pei, Guo Tu and others to discuss.

Tian Feng resolutely said: "No matter what the current situation in Yecheng is, and whether we have been tricked or not, our two goals of sending troops to Ganling Kingdom and staying in Linqing Pavilion have been achieved, and there is no point in staying here. We should Leaving the Ganling Kingdom quickly allowed Gongsun Zan to have no worries and boldly fight Li Hong. In this way, even if the reinforcements from the Northern Frontier Army arrived, Gongsun Zan would not suffer a disastrous defeat, because his reinforcements would soon cross the river. According to past experience, the Yellow River The day of opening the river is coming, Tian Kai and Liu Bei's armies will soon be on the battlefield. The strength of both sides is evenly matched, and some will fight."

Yuan Shao pondered for a moment, and said decisively: "Okay, let's go, go immediately, don't stay for a moment. Since the situation in Yecheng is unclear, we don't want to retreat westward, and go directly south to Dunqiu and Liyang to drive the Yellow Turban Army across the Yellow River."

"Then what?" Guo Tu asked, "Then shall we return to Yecheng in the north, or attack Heishan according to the established plan."

"Let's meet up with Cao Cao in Liyang first to replenish supplies." Yuan Shao stood up abruptly, "Immediately send someone secretly to Yecheng. We will not do anything until we get definite information."

=

Gongsun Zan finally got the good news.Yuan Shao not only agreed to his request, but also turned south with his army.

"Is there such a good thing?" Gongsun Zan held Yuan Shao's letter and read it carefully under the candlelight, lest Yuan Shao might have some conspiracy. "Yuan Benchu ​​made such a simple matter so complicated. What did he mean?"

"My lord, Yuan Shao's goal has been achieved. It is very wise for him to leave Jizhou with a large army at this time." Guan Jing said with a smile, "Now, it is the duel between us and Li Hong. Whoever wins will occupy Jizhou. As for Yuan Shao, he has bigger thoughts than adults, he wants to plot the world, he wants to occupy Luoyang."

"He wants to compete with Yuan Shu for Luoyang?" Gongsun Zan frowned and said in a low voice, "If Yuan Shao takes Luoyang smoothly, it won't do us any good..."

Guan Jing understood, "Gongsun Yue died in Yangdi City in order to help Yuan Shu fight for Yuzhou. Yuan Shu owes his life to my lord. If Yuan Shu can occupy Luoyang, it will be much more convenient for my lord in the future..."

"You should do this immediately." Gongsun Zan said, "Tell Yuan Shu that I will help him occupy Luoyang as soon as possible. If he misses this opportunity, he will become Yuan Shao's servant."

"What about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow morning, we will attack Li Hong."

===

In the middle of the night, the cold wind howled.

The sudden sound of horseshoes tore apart the silence of the night.

Zhang Yan woke up suddenly and jumped up.

The scout rushed into the big tent with a gust of wind, "My lord, Yuan Shao has escaped."

Zhang Yan shivered involuntarily, feeling horrified.He barely managed to stabilize his shock and anger, and asked in a deep voice, "When did it happen?"

"dusk."

"In that direction?"

"Go south."

"Twilight? To the south?" Zhang Yan muttered a few words in a low voice, and silently calculated the distance, "Urgently order Wang Dang and Peng Lie to catch up, entangle Yuan Shao, and hit Yuan Shao hard."

"Urgent report to the general. Yuan Shao saw through our strategy and escaped from the encirclement first."

"Here's the order, all the ministries will set off immediately, advance rapidly to the southeast, stop Yuan Shao, surround Yuan Shao, and kill Yuan Shao."

===

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(End of this chapter)