Great Han Empire

Chapter 635
At the end of this month, Niu Fu commanded the Northern Army to launch an attack on the Northern Army on the Zhushui River in Kansai.At the same time, the Northern Army accumulated a large number of soldiers, horses and ships on the opposite bank of Pubanjin, planning to attack the east of the river after the Yellow River opened.

Wang Yi, the prefect of Hedong, and Zuo Yan, the general of Diannong Zhonglang, asked Xu Rong and the Jinyang court for help respectively.

Xu Rong, Yushi, and Zhang Yun carefully analyzed the situation, and believed that the Northern Army's attack posture in Pubanjin was to contain the Northern Army's strength, and the purpose was to respond to the offensive on the Kansai battlefield. The possibility of a feint attack was very high, but Once Dong Zhuo knew that the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army had arrived at the Jizhou battlefield, this feint attack would immediately turn into a strong attack.The area of ​​Hedong is related to the survival of Northern Xinjiang, and it is a place that the Northern Xinjiang army must save. Attacking Hedong is tantamount to hitting the vital point of Northern Xinjiang.The northern border army in Kansai could only abandon Luoyang at this time, and instead concentrated all its troops to guard Hedong.

At present, the grain and materials purchased by Beiqiang from Jing, Henan, and Yangzhou are still being transported to Jinyang through Hongnong and Maojindu.Xu Rong then suggested that the Jinyang court immediately recruit [-] soldiers from Hedong to support Pubanjin, and send Zhang Baiqi south to lead the Hedong army to resist the upcoming attack of the Northern Army.

Xu Rong urgently wrote to Li Hong, the general of Hussars.Dong Zhuo's judgment on the situation is very accurate, and his determination is very great.Judging from the current offensive of the Northern Army, Dong Zhuo obviously wanted to recapture the Kanto, occupy Luoyang, and take the initiative.The Northern Army has limited strength in the direction of Kansai, and it is difficult to block the sharp attacks of the Northern Army on the two battlefields of Hedong and Kansai at the same time, so the development of the situation in the next few months is not optimistic.Xu Rong said in the letter that if Dong Zhuo gets news of the Jizhou battlefield, he will do his best to attack Hedong. At this time, I can only choose Hedong and give up Guandong to Dong Zhuo.

If the general cannot completely solve Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao around April, then in order to avoid falling into the predicament of the enemy in the north, the general must immediately change his strategy, instead seek to occupy half of Jizhou, reduce and suspend the war in Jizhou, so as to ensure northern Xinjiang Survive.

==
After reading the letter, Li Hong shook his head, and handed the letter to Qu Yi who came in a hurry, "Look. Dong Zhuo is eager to occupy Luoyang, and he moves very fast. Zilie (Xu Rong) and Congyi (Yushi) and the others It's been a tough fight."

"If we can successfully complete the encirclement, the battle in Jizhou is expected to end before April." Zhu Mu said worriedly, "I wonder if the two generals Zhang Yan and Zhao Yun have already met?"

Li Hong smiled, "No matter how the battle in Jizhou is fought, Hedong must ensure that there is no worry. Shu Yuxing (Xian Yufu), Zhong Yuan, and Zilie, tell them that if Luoyang can abide by the rules, if they can't, give up immediately and let them Dong Zhuo and other prefectures and counties are fighting each other. Northern Xinjiang should try to avoid two-front warfare, even if it cannot be avoided, the time of two-front warfare should be shortened as much as possible, and the loss of money and food in northern Xinjiang should be minimized."

"However, if the Kanto is lost..." Zhu Mu hesitated to speak.

"Gongding, don't worry about Uncle's safety. Before I left Kanto, I have repeatedly told Zilie and Zishan (Yan Liang). If they withdraw from Kanto, they must take Uncle with them." Li Hong comforted in a low voice.

"Thank you, General." Zhu Mu bowed and thanked, "Although I am very worried about my father's safety, I am more worried about the safety of the country..."

Li Hong looked at him, "When I left Luoyang and went north, I told Zilie, whether it is Kanto or Luoyang, we will defend if we can, and let go if we can't. Now our goal is Jizhou, Kanto and Luoyang It's not our focus, we don't need to expend forces there."

"The revitalization strategy decided by the imperial court is based on Hebei." Qu Yi handed the letter to Wen Chou who came later, and said with a smile, "No matter who occupies Luoyang in the future, as long as he does not submit to the imperial court, he will die."

Luoyang's position in Zhu Mu's heart is supreme, and it is the foundation of the great man.Luoyang cannot be controlled by the imperial court, which means the overthrow of the country, and means that the road to saving the country is more difficult and tortuous.Zhu Mu let out a long sigh, feeling very sad and bitter in his heart.

"Zi Lie doesn't seem to have confidence in us quickly pacifying Jizhou?" Qu Yi continued, "Could it be that we still can't solve Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao?"

"Zi Lie's worry is very reasonable." Li Hong said, "According to the time calculation, the eastern part of the Yellow River has been thawed and the river has been thawed, and the Northern Army's attack on the east has already begun."

If Niu Fu's tens of thousands of troops entangled the Northern Army in Kansai and prevented the Northern Army from crossing the river to return to aid, and Dong Zhuo sent heavy troops to attack Hedong at the same time, then Zhang Baiqi's [-] soldiers in the fields would not be able to stop the Northern Army .In order to ensure the east of the river, we need to recruit more soldiers from the field to the battlefield.The more troops participating in the war in Northern Xinjiang, the more astonishing the food and payment expenditure. Under such circumstances, Northern Xinjiang is bound to be unsustainable.The only way is to give up fighting on two fronts.

"The general, like Zilie, has no confidence in the battle of Jieqiao?" Wen Chou asked standing aside.

"Of course I have confidence." Li Hong pointed to the dark sky with a smile, "But God needs help."

=

Part of the northern Xinjiang army retreated to the north bank of the Jieqiao, and part of it relied on the already arranged Juma, Luzhai and Haogou to lay down a defensive position and prepare to face the Youzhou army.

Hundreds of bonfires were lit on both sides of Jieqiao, and the hot fire light illuminated the night sky.The soldiers of the Northern Xinjiang Army held their weapons and gathered around the fire to keep warm and rest.Floating in the cold wind over the Qinghe River, from time to time there was the slight snoring of soldiers, the gentle neighing of war horses, and occasionally the "crackling" sound of burning firewood.

In the large tent of the Chinese army on the north bank, Li Hong, Qu Yi, Zhu Mu and other military officials were still discussing the military situation.

In the two battles between Xifengting and Yunting today, the northern border army lost nearly 5000 people.Due to the haste of the retreat, except for some lightly wounded who could persist in walking and returned to Jieqiao with the army, the rest of the seriously wounded were all discarded.The seriously wounded who were left on the battlefield had only one fate, and that was death, so Zhu Mu counted them all in the death toll.

Li Hong's heart was twisted like a knife.In order to lure Gongsun Zan to Jieqiao and to pacify Jizhou in World War I, the Northern Frontier Army paid a huge price.These brothers who had followed him on the expedition to the desert did not die under the iron hooves of the barbarians, but died under the rebellious sword of the big man. "If I don't kill Gongsun Zan, I swear I won't be a human being." Li Hong gritted his teeth, furious.

=

For a long time, I have always regarded Gongsun Zan as a friend, but speaking from my heart, I have very, very little contact with Gongsun Zan. I don't know if Gongsun Zan considers me a friend.

When fighting the invading Xianbei people in Youzhou in the early days, he and Gongsun Zan once got together twice.The first time I got drunk myself.The second time Gongsun Zan led his iron cavalry to Xiliang to participate in the battle, he met him in Jicheng and ate Gongsun Zan for nothing.Later, when I led the army from northern Xinjiang to Youzhou to quell the Zhang Chun Zhang Ju rebellion, the two were busy with the war, and only met a few times.At that time, he was already a general, and Gongsun Zan was still a riding captain.In the past, Gongsun Zan's official position was higher than his own, and when he saw him, he had to be dismissed as an official, but now it was reversed, his official position was much higher than Gongsun Zan's, so Gongsun Zan was very embarrassed.

I don't care whether Gongsun Zan is willing to give him the ceremony of dismissing an official. After all, Gongsun Zan is a hero in his heart, but later he repeatedly violated military discipline and refused to listen to dissuasion. The incident surrounding Guanzicheng was very angry.Although I tried my best to excuse him because of my feelings, I have already begun to be very dissatisfied with him.

The conflict between Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu has a long history.Not only Liu Yu could not accept Gongsun Zan's hatred for killing Hu people, but he also felt extremely disgusted, but everyone has their own views and ways of doing things. As long as Gongsun Zan does not endanger the interests of the Han Dynasty, he can understand and tolerate it. What's more, Gongsun Zan When he was in charge of the military affairs of the three states, he obeyed his military orders and helped him a lot.

However, when the Youzhou army went south to Jizhou, I was very disappointed and angry with Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan.As Lord Lu Zhi said, these people have no emperor or court at all. They just need to kill, kill all these arrogant and perverted people who ruin the country, and if they are afraid of killing, the Han Kingdom will be saved, and there will be hope of revival.

After Gongsun Zan went south, he first teamed up with Yuan Shao to force away Jizhou Mu Han Fu, and then forced Yuan Shao to cede the Jizhou counties to him.Thinking of these things, Li Hong became very angry.The Son of Heaven is still in Chang'an, Han Zuo has not been cut off, and the court is still dealing with state affairs. These two lawless bastards actually regard Jizhou as their own private property, and they can divide it up however they want.

Especially Yuan Shao, holding that so-called "inheritance edict", casually worshiped the state officials, Liu Biao, Wang Gong, Cao Cao, Zhou Ang, etc., were all the local officials he worshiped.These people are grabbing territory everywhere, expanding their influence, instituting wars, and devastating lives.Li Hong finds it inconceivable that such a rebellious person has the support of most scholars in the world.I remember the year before last when I was just preparing to go south to Jinyang, I was sent to Yunzhong Daying to persuade myself to lead the army to attack Luoyang. At that time, he said that Yuan Shao was the mainstay of saving the big man, but how I saw this Yuan Shao was also a disaster for the country. A traitor, his actions will only lead to the overthrow of the country, and have nothing to do with saving the country.

Could it be that I was wrong?Thinking about how many elites in Han Kingdom supported Yuan Shao, it seemed like he was wrong.

But since I didn't betray the great man, the court, or the emperor, then it must be the scholars, the powerful, Yuan Shao, and Gongsun Zan who betrayed the man, the court and the emperor.

Rebels, according to the law of the Han Dynasty, should be punished by the nine clans.

==
The sudden sound of hoofbeats shattered the silence of the night.

Zhao Yun sent someone to send an emergency military situation.The left and right armies encircling the two flanks met under Ganling City this afternoon, but Yuan Shao ran away.Our army on the left has successfully conquered Tobu City and is making a detour in the direction of Jieqiao. The siege of Gongsun Zan's army can be completed in the early morning of tomorrow.

Zhang Yan also sent the battle report.Wang Dang's army tried their best to pursue them all the way, and Yu Dahe Gudu caught up with the Jizhou army, and the two sides fought fiercely.Yuan Shao ordered the army to burn all the food and supplies, cutting off Wang Dang's pursuit.Wang Dang looked at the fire and sighed, he could only watch the Jizhou army get out of trouble and leave.

In this battle, more than 6000 people were killed, wounded and captured. In addition to the [-] defenders we killed in Yecheng, Yuan Shao lost a total of about [-] troops and all food and supplies, and Yuan Shao suffered heavy losses.

At present, the army has surrounded Ganling City, and the attack will start immediately after the follow-up food and supplies arrive.Yu Digen has already led 8000 people to Yunting, and will complete the siege of Gongsun Zan in the early morning of tomorrow, completely cutting off Gongsun Zan's retreat.

Since our army suffered 6000 casualties when attacking Yecheng, Sun Qin left another 5000 people to defend the city, and Yu Digen led another 8000 people to rush to Yunting, so our siege army now has only 3 people.It is difficult to attack the heavily defended Ganling City with a force of 3, so...

Zhang Yan immediately proposed a new strategy of encircling and not fighting, preparing to encircle and wipe out Tian Kai and Liu Bei's army who were about to cross the river to help with Zhao Yun's cavalry.

=

In order to implement the strategy of outflanking and encircling, the left and right armies had to detour hundreds of miles, and each had to capture a city, which was very difficult.Although Li Hong, Qu Yi, Zhang Yan and others have carefully planned this for more than three months, Li Hong and the generals are not sure whether it will be successful or not.At this time, after receiving the news of Yuan Shao's escape and Gongsun Zan's siege, there was joy in the big tent.

It was a huge victory to capture two cities and encircle Gongsun Zan.

After Gongsun Zan's defeat, the Northern Frontier Army was free to recover Bohai County and Hejian State, and wipe out Gongsun Zan's remnants of forces. At the same time, it also had spare power to deal with the Yellow Turban Army that might go north, but suffered heavy losses and lost Yecheng and Wei County. Yuan Shao, in the face of Jizhou, where the war is coming to an end, can't find any counterattack opportunities, and can no longer pose a threat to the northern army in the short term. On the contrary, Yuan Shao, who is desperate, can only enter Luoyang earlier, and fight with Yuan Shu and Dong Zhuo.

===

After congratulating each other, Li Hong and the generals immediately gathered around the map to discuss Zhang Yan's proposal.

After a day of bloody battle, Gongsun Zan's army suffered an astonishing loss of at least [-] to [-]. However, none of the main forces in Gongsun Zan's hands moved. Whether it was the iron cavalry or the elite infantry he brought out from Youzhou, basically All intact.If this calculation is accurate, then Gongsun Zan should still have [-] to [-] troops.

Now the Northern Frontier Army has 5000 troops on the front of the Jieqiao, Zhao Yun's [-] cavalry on the left side of the Jieqiao, Zhang Yan's [-] troops on the right side of the Jieqiao and behind the Youzhou Army, a total of [-]. [-] people, the two sides are evenly matched.

"Our plan in the past was to surprise Yuan Shao with the two armies of Zhang Yan and Zhao Yun, defeat Yuan Shao, and then quickly encircle and annihilate Gongsun Zan." Zhu Mu said with a serious expression, "Now Yuan Shao has run away, but we will still fight Gongsun Zan the same way. I don't understand why General Zhang Yan suddenly changed his strategy and turned to attack Tian Kai and Liu Bei who have disappeared? Could it be that Tian Kai and Liu Bei have already crossed the river?"

"Zhao Yun's scouts are on the bank of the Yellow River. As long as Tian Kai and Liu Bei cross the river from Gaotang City, we will get news immediately." Qu Yi put one hand on the map and said firmly, "We should launch a fierce attack on Gongsun Zan immediately. .”

"Although our military strength is comparable to that of Gongsun Zan, there is a big gap between the strength of the two sides. We have twice as many cavalry as Gongsun Zan, and our infantry is also elite in all battles. It will definitely not be a problem to wipe out Gongsun Zan." Wen Chou looked at his face solemnly. Li Hong asked in a low voice, "General, is Master Zhang eager for revenge and wants to kill all the enemies who killed the Yellow Turban Army in one go? We killed Gongsun Zan, and it won't be too late to kill Tian Kai and Liu Bei?"

"Today, Gongsun Zan came all the way to chase and kill, and he brought limited food and supplies. Tonight, he will definitely send people back to Ganling City to urge the delivery of food and supplies. He will soon find himself surrounded." Xu Huang said anxiously, "Our two left and right Lu Dajun marched and killed for days, and the soldiers were very tired. If Gongsun Zan concentrated all his troops to break through the siege in the direction of Ganling City tomorrow, we might not be able to stop it. , surrounded Gongsun Zan, and trapped him to death at Jieqiao."

Yang Feng hesitated for a long time, then said slowly: "Brother Feiyan's consideration is not unreasonable. The importance of food and grass in Ganling City to Gongsun Zan is self-evident. He will not only keep two or three thousand troops to garrison the city. In addition, Gaotang City is only more than 100 miles away from Ganling City, Tian Kai and Liu Bei's reinforcements can arrive within a day."

"Gongsun Zan has [-] to [-] troops, and the Youzhou Army will be very tenacious in the face of life and death. If we can't attack for a long time, Tian Kai, Liu Bei, and the Youzhou Army in Ganling City will take the opportunity to kill us. What will happen to the battlefield situation?" There may be a reversal." Yang Feng looked at the crowd, "So, first surround Gongsun Zan and Ganling City without fighting, not only can we avoid heavy losses for our northern army, but also wait for an opportunity to defeat Tian Kai and Liu Bei This is a good way to wipe out Gongsun Zan."

There was silence in the big tent.

Li Hong sneered and stood up abruptly, "I'll go and talk to Zhang Yan myself."

Yang Feng's complexion changed slightly, and he reached out to stop Li Hong, "General, let me go. If the general must concentrate all his strength to attack Gongsun Zan first, the loss of the army will be staggering."

"I know what Zhang Yan is thinking." Li Hong said very dissatisfied, "The reason why he didn't want to lead the army to attack Gongsun Zan was because most of the soldiers in Gongsun Zan's army used to be the Yellow Turban Army from Qingzhou. He He never forgets that he is the commander of the Yellow Turban Army, he doesn't want to see the Yellow Turban Army kill each other, he wants to save the lives of these people, doesn't he?"

Yang Feng's face flushed slightly, and he bowed his head in silence.

"Northern Xinjiang is in a very dangerous situation now. I need time..." Li Hong slightly raised his voice, trying to suppress the anger in his heart, "This concerns millions of people in Northern Xinjiang, millions of people in Jizhou, and even The survival of the country is a major event, not a trivial matter that concerns the lives of tens of thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers."

"Prepare the horse, I'm going to Ganling City."

=

The curtain was lifted, and Ji Feng rushed in with a gust of cold wind.

"Report to the General, Master Zhao is in a hurry to write, Tian Kai and Liu Bei led the army to cross the river."

(End of this chapter)