Great Han Empire

Chapter 638
The Northern Xinjiang Army erected giant shields and giant spears in front of the formation.

After a morning of fierce fighting, the Youzhou Army's intentions have become very clear. They want to break through the middle of the Northern Xinjiang Army and break out from the Jieqiao.In order to strengthen the defense of the center, Qu Yi ordered the left and right wings to shrink intensively and move closer to the center.The horse-repelling formations on the left and right wings of the Northern Xinjiang Army were relatively weak, and had been destroyed in the morning attack, and the soldiers suffered varying degrees of damage.Especially Xu Huang's right-wing army, although they repelled the crazy attack of the Youzhou Army, they also paid the price of nearly 2000 casualties.

With the sound of the war drum, the battlefield that had been quiet for half an hour rang out again with deafening killing sounds.

The infantry of the Youzhou Army launched an attack on the left, middle and right of the Northern Xinjiang Army at the same time.

=

The strong bows, ballistas, and stone cannons of the Northern Xinjiang Army poured out their anger on the enemies who came to them.

The soldiers of the Youzhou Army had no fear, shouted all the way, and ran as fast as they could, but when death was inevitable, the soldiers were left with nothing but fearlessness and hatred, "Kill..."

The Northern Xinjiang Army saw the most thrilling scene up and down.In the past, it was the enemy's iron cavalry that hit the giant shield, but today, the enemy bravely bumped into it with his thin flesh and blood.

=

After several years of wars, the Northern Xinjiang Army has already gained a wealth of experience in the use of giant shields and spears.In order to give full play to the role of the giant shield spears, block and kill the enemy cavalry in large numbers, and reduce their own casualties, the soldiers stacked the giant shield spears and placed them in a staggered manner.

From a distance, the Youzhou soldiers seemed to have crashed into the giant shield, and then were swallowed by the giant shield, but they actually rushed into the giant shield formation, and started a bloody hand-to-hand fight with the Beijiang soldiers who were ambushing in the formation. .

The Youzhou Army's fierce attack regardless of casualties immediately put the Northern Xinjiang Army in a difficult situation.The soldiers of the Youzhou Army rushed forward continuously, and they fought to the death with the idea of ​​dying with the enemy.No matter how brave your soldiers in Northern Xinjiang are, you will always be tired, injured, and surrounded by more enemies.The soldiers of the Northern Xinjiang Army fell one by one.

In the narrow and winding giant shield formation, sharp weapons and powerful martial arts have lost their effect.Whoever has more people can defeat the other.

=

Qu Yi on the high platform looked at the huge shields that had been overturned one by one, and knew that the Youzhou army's iron cavalry was about to start charging.

Holding the railing tightly with both hands, he looked at the tens of thousands of corpses lying on the battlefield, and deeply felt Gongsun Zan's ruthlessness, Gongsun Zan's cold blood.Gongsun Zan paved a way out of the siege with the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers.If it was me standing opposite, I couldn't do it no matter what.Gongsun Zan's heart was too cruel.Qu Yi finally understood why the Hu people in the frontier were so afraid of Gongsun Zan, why Gongsun Zan ordered the massacre of the Hu people's tribes, the old and the weak, women and children of the Hu people, and even infant children.He doesn't treat people like people at all.

Some of the Youzhou Army's infantry attacked the left flank of the Northern Army, some attacked the center of the Northern Army, and more people flocked to the right flank of the Northern Army.

Now the situation has become clear. The Youzhou Army's iron cavalry is going to attack the right wing of the Northern Border Army, where the Northern Border Army's strength is weakest.

Qu Yi slammed his fist on the railing and roared angrily, "Gongsun Zan, wait for your death."

He flew down, pointing at the eight hundred guards lined up downstairs and yelling wildly, "Go, go, follow me to kill, kill..."

=

Qu Yi roared away with his men and horses.

Li Hong had no choice but to rush up to the high platform with Zhu Mu.The situation on the battlefield surprised him very much, "Hurry up, light the wolf smoke, and order the cavalry to attack."

"Gongding, you command, and I will support Yuntian (Qu Yi) and Gongming (Xu Huang)."

Li Hong made two steps in three steps, quickly rushed down the tall building, and jumped on the horseback, "Brothers, go to the right, go to the right..."

Under the leadership of Li Hong, the three thousand black panthers moved quickly along the embankment.

=

The earth groaned and trembled under the ravages of iron hooves.

The Youzhou iron cavalry rushed down with the momentum of a river bursting its embankment, a huge roar resounded across the battlefield, and the thunderous roar went straight to the sky.

The infantry of the Youzhou Army retreated to both sides of the battlefield like a tide.

Under the command of Lingqi, the infantry of the Northern Xinjiang Army quickly retreated and assembled, trying to put down a defensive position in the shortest possible time.Xu Huang ran in the middle of the battle formation, shouting and shouting non-stop, his voice hoarse.

The strong archers behind the battle line shot dense long arrows at the Youzhou cavalry as fast as possible.The chariot battalion quickly moved closer to the Chinese army to block and delay the enemy's attack on the Chinese army.

=

The iron cavalry was galloping, whistling like a hurricane on the battlefield full of dead bodies.

The dead bodies rolled and shattered under the iron hooves, and the blood splashed and flowed under the iron hooves. Occasionally, some wounded soldiers could be seen crawling, screaming, and falling apart under the iron hooves.

Where the iron cavalry passed, there was blood and blood, and no complete corpse could be seen, nor a cry of pain could be heard.

=

The sound of war drums was earth-shattering.

The iron cavalry accelerated suddenly, and the excited and bloody roar of the knights was instantly drowned out by the huge galloping sound.

The retreating Youzhou Army infantry were the first to bear the brunt. With their horrified, terrified and helpless screams, hundreds of soldiers who did not have time to avoid were knocked into the sky, trampled into flesh, and crushed into pieces. Flour.

=

The iron cavalry rushed through the arrow array of the Northern Xinjiang Army, and it was there in an instant.

Xu Huang held up his battle ax and roared loudly: "Brothers, kill..."

The soldiers of Northern Xinjiang, who had been through battles for a long time, formed a group of small repelling horses at the fastest speed, and greeted them without fear, "Kill..."

For a time, there was a bloody storm, and flesh and blood flew everywhere.

The soldiers of the Northern Border Army were charging, dying, and advancing one after another, vowing to block the enemy's iron cavalry with their flesh and blood.

The Youzhou iron cavalry is galloping, howling, going forward indomitably, endlessly.

=

Qu Yi and Babai Qinwei Qu entered the tragic battlefield.

Facing thousands of powerful Youzhou iron cavalry, 800 people were like splashes, and after a few splashes, they immediately disappeared on the chaotic battlefield.

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When the number of Youzhou iron cavalry and northern Xinjiang infantry was almost the same, without any means of defense, the only thing left for the northern Xinjiang infantry was death.

Xu Huang needs ballistas and strong archers. Now only dense bows and arrows can destroy these unrivaled cavalry troops.

Xu Huang led the soldiers to fight and retreat to the Chinese army.On the right side of the central army, the chariot battalion and strong archers are already in place. As long as the enemy's iron cavalry is brought within range, even if he and his subordinates all fall down, he will not hesitate.

=

At this moment, a low and passionate horn horn suddenly sounded from behind the battlefield.

"Hoo... ho... ho... ho..."

The black panther followers galloped wildly, the sound of killing was loud.The unstoppable conical formation aimed at the Youzhou iron cavalry and hit them in the middle.

Li Hong's long hair was flying, his spear was flying up and down, and he fought fiercely, invincible to those who stood in his way.Followed closely by Yi Cong soldiers, marched bravely.

The battlefield suddenly set off a turbulent sea, and the battle was unprecedentedly fierce.

=

Gongsun Zan was extremely excited and roared repeatedly, "Okay, okay, the leopards are dispatched, and the Northern Frontier Army is about to be defeated."

"Order Gongsun Fan, take five thousand cavalry, go straight to the right flank of the Northern Frontier Army, and give him a severe blow." Gongsun Zan raised his hand and shouted wildly, "We can set up camp on the north bank of the Jieqiao tonight."

"My lord, wait a moment..." Sima Zhao Heng, who had been stationed behind Gongsun Zan, suddenly called out.

Gongsun Zan was taken aback for a moment, then turned around and asked in great dissatisfaction, "Ziyu, what's the matter?"

Chief Shi Guanjing pointed to the sky on the left with a shocked expression, "My lord, the cavalry of the Northern Frontier Army has moved south."

Gongsun Zan was startled, and suddenly turned his head to look.

The three pillars of wolf smoke curled up, and the smoke pillars became thicker and higher, reaching the sky.

Gongsun Zan was dumbfounded, and a strong sense of suffocation rushed into his heart, making him almost out of breath.

=

"My lord, withdraw immediately." Zhao Heng persuaded in a low voice, "Since Li Hong's reinforcements have arrived, he is obviously determined to occupy Jizhou. That is to say, he is now very happy to see us turn back and fight Yuan Shao."

"Our chances of defeating Yuan Shao are much greater." Guan Jing said, "As long as Tian Kai and Liu Bei can come to help in time, we can retreat safely to Bohai County."

"After we defeated Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao's strength was the weakest." Zhao Heng explained, "From the current situation in northern Xinjiang, Li Hong's best choice is of course to defeat Yuan Shao at the least cost and occupy half of Jizhou. This will ensure that Northern Xinjiang has money and food. As for who will own Jizhou in the future..." Zhao Heng looked at Gongsun Zan, cupped his hands and said, "My lord, as long as we can break out of the siege, it will be difficult to say what will happen in the future."

Gongsun Zan hesitated, "If we are surrounded between Yunting and Xifeng Pavilion, and Tian Kai and Liu Bei's reinforcements cannot arrive for a long time, our entire army may be wiped out."

"My lord, look at today's situation. Can we rush out?" Guan Jing pointed to the battlefield and sighed in a low voice, "The withdrawal is delayed, and more than half of our troops have been damaged. The whole army will really be wiped out."

Gongsun Zan took a long breath, gritted his teeth, "Retreat, withdraw immediately, retreat to Yunting. We will fight Yuan Shao overnight and break out from the direction of Xifeng Pavilion."

=

The order to retreat was passed down one after another.

The Youzhou army behind the battlefield was in a panic.Shan Jing and Zhao Heng took the [-] infantry who had not entered the battlefield, and withdrew from the battlefield first with food and supplies.

The soldiers of Bing Cao Ying commanded tens of thousands of civilians to pretend to be Youzhou Army and stand behind the battlefield.

Gongsun Zan and Guan Jing lined up on the battlefield with three thousand white horses, and continued to command the Youzhou soldiers ahead to fight to the death.

Gongsun Fan took [-] iron cavalry to line up on the left side of the army, and only waited for the iron cavalry of the Northern Xinjiang Army to kill them before fighting and retreating.

=

The white horse that Gongsun Zan sat on neighed restlessly.

"Here we come, there are probably tens of thousands of cavalry." Gongsun Zan said solemnly, "It seems that the leopard will not let me go until it kills me."

Guan Jing shook his head, "Li Hong's strength is limited. If he kills us now, he will have few tens of thousands of horses left. In the future, he will not only have a hard time gaining a foothold in Jizhou, but also the desert and northern Xinjiang." Then he said Pointing to the smoke rising into the sky, "Li Hong's intention is obvious. He wants us to retreat immediately, and then he and Yuan Shao surrounded us one after the other, and beat us with their strength."

Gongsun Zan waved his horsewhip, and said bitterly, "After breaking through, I will fight the leopard to the end. It won't be that easy for him to seize Jizhou."

"My lord, do you think Yan Gang and the others should be ordered to withdraw first?" Guan Jing asked.

"We can't retreat." Gongsun Zan said murderously, "If we want to retreat safely, we must rely on them to hold back the cavalry of the Northern Border Army."

Guan Jing was stunned for a moment, with a look of unbearable expression on his face.The 2 cavalry and more than [-] infantry on the battlefield were sacrificed in vain.

=

The ground shook violently, and everyone felt a kind of panic like landslides and ground cracks.

The [-] northern Xinjiang cavalry army rushed out of the sky and roared towards the battlefield with overwhelming momentum.

The Northern Xinjiang Army cheered loudly, and the soldiers took the lead bravely like a rainbow.

Youzhou's army lost their souls, turned around and fled one after another.

=

With Gongsun Zan's order, the eight thousand cavalry immediately withdrew from the battlefield.

Tens of thousands of terrified civilians were crying for their fathers and mothers, and they ran wildly on the battlefield.

Standing on the high platform, Zhu Mu gave orders again and again, directing the armies from all walks of life to launch a counterattack.

Liu Ming followed Gongsun Zan with five thousand cavalry.Zhao Yun, Jiang Wu, and Mustafa each led a large army, surrounded from three sides, and encircled the remnants of Youzhou on the battlefield.

=

Yan Gang led his troops to break out of the siege, and ran into Qu Yi and his Qin Wei Qu head-on.Qu Yi was furious, raised his halberd and shouted, "Kill him, kill him for me..." The crowd rushed forward, hacking with knives and axes, beheading several horses in succession.Yan Gang fell off his horse, and was immediately chopped into a meat paste by several red-eyed soldiers.

Yang Tai was shot to death by random arrows during the breakout.Zou Dan and Guo Hua were captured.The generals of the Youzhou Army were defeated and suffered numerous casualties.

=

As the sun set, the Jieqiao battle gradually quieted down.

In this battle, the Northern Xinjiang Army killed nearly 5000 enemies, took 3000 prisoners, and captured more than [-] horses.Nearly ten thousand people died tragically in the scuffle.

In order to prevent Gongsun Zan's breakout, the Northern Border Army paid a heavy price, with nearly 4000 casualties.Xingfenwu Zhonglang killed more than 3000 of Xu Huang's [-] troops, more than half of which were lost.The two armies of Yang Feng and Wen Chou also lost more than [-] people.

After three consecutive battles at Xifeng Pavilion, Yunting, and Jieqiao, Qu Yi's 9000 army lost more than half, leaving only more than 5000 people.Now even with the addition of the 4000 troops from the General Hussars' battalion, there were only [-] left in the army to stop Gongsun Zan head-on.

=

At the military meeting that night, Qu Yi was very emotional.Before he finished reading Zhang Yan's letter, he slammed the bamboo slips to the ground, "Surround and not fight, surround and not fight, and then surround and not fight, I can't even surround you. Is Zhang Yan in a coma? Is it over? Could it be that he still can’t figure out what we are doing in Jizhou?”

Zhu Mu bent down to pick up Zhang Yan's letter from the ground, patted the angry Qu Yi, and persuaded in a low voice: "Master Zhang is just a suggestion. Didn't he bring the army to the area of ​​Xifeng Pavilion and Yunting Pavilion?" ?”

"According to the prior agreement, Zhang Yan's army should arrive at Yunting this morning and Jieqiao at noon today, but what about his army? Where is his army now? Even if he arrives at Jieqiao this afternoon, we will He could wipe out Gongsun Zan, but why didn't he show up?" Qu Yi roared angrily, "It was precisely because Zhang Yan delayed the fighter plane that Gongsun Zan calmly withdrew from Jieqiao."

"Yuntian, calm down." Li Hong waved his hand at him and said consolingly, "When Feiyan led his troops to Ganling City in a hurry yesterday, the soldiers were exhausted and all the food and supplies of the army were left behind. Even if he Today, we were able to rush another [-] li and lead our army to Jieqiao, but with his [-] exhausted troops, it would be very difficult for us to completely wipe out Gongsun Zan. Feiyan was right, although we are stronger than Gongsun Zan in terms of strength, we are still fighting against him. There is indeed no absolute advantage in terms of military strength. Today's battle can be fought like this, which is already a great record."

The generals in the big tent were silent.Qu Yi himself is a general in command of the army, of course he can understand Zhang Yan's difficulties, but in the face of today's heavy casualties, he really can't swallow this breath.

=
"According to the account of the captured general of Youzhou, Gongsun Zan currently has more than 3 infantry, including the army left at Yunting, [-] cavalry, and enough food and grass to last more than ten days." Zhu Mu picked up the case Pointing to Yunting on the map above, he said, "If Gongsun Zan is blocked by Master Zhang Yan here, we can still wipe out Gongsun Zan, but it is impossible to launch an immediate attack. The army needs to rest."

"Hmph... This just satisfies Zhang Yan's intention, so we don't fight anymore." Qu Yi sneered.

Zhu Mu nodded, "Indeed, now we can only encircle instead of fight. We fought three battles in two days, suffered heavy losses, and were unable to fight again. Master Zhang Yan led the army to rush for hundreds of miles, first attack Yecheng, and then encircle Ganling City, the whole army is very tired and urgently needs to rest. In addition, we still do not have an absolute advantage in terms of military strength. If we attack by force, the losses will be too great. Therefore, what the general means is that we agree with Master Zhang Yan's proposal and attack Gongsun Zan first. The reinforcements completely cut off Gongsun Zan's way of life, and surrounded him to death in Yunting."

Zhu Mu immediately explained.

At present, Sun Qin leads 5000 men to garrison Yecheng, and Wang Dang leads 8000 troops to surround Ganling City. Therefore, Zhang Yan can only mobilize 4000 troops to block Gongsun Zan in the Yunting and Xifeng Pavilion areas. General Hushi and Qu Yi's 6 men, plus Zhao Yun's 6 cavalry army, now only [-] men surround Gongsun Zan.If the Northern Frontier Army attacked Gongsun Zan's [-] troops with [-] troops, the losses would be staggering.A trapped beast is still fighting, not to mention Gongsun Zan who is facing life and death.

Through the interrogation of several Youzhou generals, Zhu Mu learned that Tian Kai and Liu Bei had about 3 soldiers in Qingzhou, and there were about [-] troops left behind in Bohai and Hejian.If all of these [-] troops arrive at Ganling Kingdom in the near future, then the northern border army's strength advantage will be gone.

Li Hong planned to let Zhao Yun and Jiang Wu lead Fengyun and Duliao cavalry to face Gongsun Zan's reinforcements.The rest of the army surrounded Gongsun Zan in the Yunting area, and when the time was right, they immediately launched a decisive battle to wipe out Gongsun Zan.

All the generals had no objection.

Li Hong then wrote back to Zhang Yan.Zhao Yun and Jiang Wu led the army and set off overnight.

=

After Li Hong sent Zhao Yun and Jiang Wu away, He Feng was left behind on the way back to the tent.

"Clumsy words..."

As soon as Li Hong opened his mouth, He Feng immediately bowed and saluted: "General, don't talk about it. You don't know me yet? I just have this temper, and I like to talk and shout when I'm unhappy. It's been so many years , I followed you through life and death, fought many battles, and lost many brothers, can it be that I still can’t understand this shit, can’t I figure it out?”

Li Hong was stunned for a moment, then smiled, put his arms around his shoulders affectionately and said: "Last time in Luoyang, when I met Gonglu (Yuan Shu), he asked about you and cared about you very much. He said that since the general General He Qi was murdered by eunuchs. After the queen mother and Lord Wuyang were killed by Dong Zhuo, the general’s family members were almost killed. There are not many people left in the He family. He hopes you live well, and in the future It can revive the He clan."

When mentioning the great general He Jin and the He clan, He Feng's face darkened and he bowed his head in silence.After a while, he wiped his eyes and asked hoarsely, "General, you won't transfer me back to Jinyang, will you?"

Li Hong patted him on the shoulder, hesitant to speak.

"I won't go." He Feng said with red eyes, "Although I don't know if my mother is still alive or if my brothers are still alive, I can't leave these life and death brothers and go to Jinyang. I can't do it. I would rather I don't want to be ridiculed even if I die on the battlefield. I can't afford to lose this man, and I can't afford to lose the face of my He family ancestors."

Li Hong was very moved, "Okay, when the war is over, you can go back and see your mother and family."

He Feng stopped abruptly and looked at Li Hong in surprise, "General, my mother? Has my mother arrived in Jinyang?"

Li Hong nodded, "Gaolu (Yuan Shu) took in many family members of the great general, including your family. Some time ago, he entrusted Tian Chou to send your family to Jinyang."

He Feng grinned from ear to ear, "Brother Gonglu treated me really well, and I must repay him well when I have the opportunity."

"Originally, I wanted you to go back to Jinyang to see your mother immediately after the First World War stabilized Jizhou. You haven't seen your mother for five or six years. It's a pity..." Li Hong shook his head regretfully, "If you don't go back now, probably It’s going to be a long time to wait.”

"That guy Gongsun Zan won't live for a few more days." He Feng said happily, "After taking down Jizhou, I will ask the general for leave and return to Jinyang."

A trace of worry flashed in Li Hong's eyes, "After taking down Jizhou, you adults who have been captains for several years will also be promoted."

"General, I'm just a lunatic, don't take it seriously." He Feng waved his hands again and again, "I can't control myself, and I can't control my subordinates, and I often violate military discipline. Compared with Gongming (Xu Huang)." Then he bowed and said goodbye, "I won't talk about it. Today I am very sad and happy, I can't take it anymore, I'm going to ride a horse for two laps." After finishing speaking, he said loudly He ran away yelling.

Qu Yi, who was walking behind Li Hong, looked at He Feng's back strangely, and asked suspiciously, "General, what did you say to him? Why is this kid crazy?"

Li Hong smiled bitterly, "I hope he can return to Jinyang alive to see his mother."

=

shelter from the wind.

After Tian Kai received Liu Bei's urgent letter, he crossed the river in a hurry.

"Xuande, is there a way to rescue Brother Bogui?"

Liu Bei nodded, and spread out the map on the case table.

(End of this chapter)