Great Han Empire

Chapter 689
In May of the fourth year of Chuping in the Han Dynasty (AD 193).

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In May, Youzhou.

The battle clouds over Quanzhou City were densely covered, the sound of war drums one after another was deafening, and the sound of fierce fighting resounded through the sky.

Yan Liang's army suddenly tore off the camouflage, and launched a tidal attack on Quanzhou City with a force of 2 troops.On the first day, Yan Liang ordered all four divisions to attack together, but on the second day, Yan Liang changed his siege strategy. He ordered Gao Shun, Xiang Cheng, and Sun Luan to lead their troops to diversionary attacks, and ordered Wu Xiong, Xie Wu, Xu Yan, and Yan Liang to attack the city. Jie, Zhao Xuan and others assembled an army of 1 and stormed the south gate of Quanzhou City.

The Youzhou army was caught off guard, and was beaten so dizzy by the Beijiang army that they were powerless to fight back.Captain Ma Zheng had no time to adjust his forces, so he could only take the lead and fight back bravely, but soon he was driven to the city by the fierce Northern Xinjiang Army.

The south gate is lost.

The soldiers of the Northern Xinjiang Army rushed into the city, divided into several groups to kill the Fuya, trying to destroy the command of the Youzhou Army in the shortest possible time.

Ma Zheng took his time and commanded the defenders in the city to rely on the obstacles on the street to block them with all their might, trying in vain to kill the Northern Xinjiang army that had rushed into the city.

Army Sima Xu Le saw that the sudden attack was blocked, and immediately ordered his men to rush into the houses, smashed down the walls, and rushed up from the enemy's flank.

Ma Zheng saw the wall collapsing behind him, and saw the northern border army rushing out from the gap in the wall, and opened his mouth in despair, "Kill them, kill them..."

The crossbow arrows roared fiercely, and the soldiers of the Youzhou Army fell down one by one, powerless to resist.After killing three people in a row, Ma Zheng's shield shattered, his chest and abdomen were pierced by a bloody spear, and he howled to death.Several personal guards who rushed to rescue were cut down to the ground in a blink of an eye.

Holding a bloody saber, Xu Le stepped on the bloody wreckage of Ma Zheng, shouting wildly, "Don't love to fight, go forward, go forward... and enter the government office..."

The soldiers roared all the way, advancing step by step, invincible to those who stood in their way.

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Yan Liang swayed his majestic body, and surrounded by a group of personal guards, walked into Quanzhou City majestically.

Wu Xiong, Yan Jie, Zhao Xuan and others greeted him one after another, followed behind Yan Liang, and reported the situation of the battle.

"Is the county magistrate of Quanzhou still here? Where's Yantie Guan?" Yan Liang saw Xu Le rushing over with his helmet in his arms, and asked, "You didn't kill them all, did you?"

Xu Le touched his mouth, humming and haha, he didn't say a word for a long time, his expression was tense.

Yan Liang sneered as he strode forward, "Did you kill him?"

"I don't know them." Xu Le whispered.

Yan Liang glared at him, "Are there any living people in the government office?"

Xu Le scratched his head, "It seems there are still."

"It seems..." Yan Liang sneered, "What's the matter with your helmet?"

Xu Le hurriedly lifted up the helmet, pointed to a hole in it and said, "I was hit by a crossbow arrow, but luckily the helmet blocked it for me, otherwise what my lord saw would be a dead body."

Yan Liang casually pulled off the helmet on his head and handed it over, "Then use mine."

"Thank you, my lord." Xu Le grinned happily, thanked him again and again, and put it on his head without hesitation, and then his face immediately changed, and he looked embarrassed.The helmet was too big and covered his eyes.

Wu Xiong, Yan Jie and others burst out laughing.

"My lord, I'd better give it back to you." Xu Le looked at Wu Xiong and others dissatisfiedly, and returned the helmet to Yan Liang, "If you want to reward me with something, please change it to something else. I can't afford this."

"You don't want it?" Yan Liang put the helmet on his head, "You don't want it, the reward is gone."

Wu Xiong patted Xu Le's shoulder with a palm, pointed at Yan Liang and said, "Brother, you have been fooled. Lord Tiger Head has deceived many people with this helmet, haha..."

Xu Le couldn't laugh or cry.

"What are you laughing at? Do you want to stay in Quanzhou City to watch the gate?" Yan Liang stared at Wu Xiong fiercely, and said loudly, "You should stay and watch the gate."

Wu Xiong lowered his head and rushed away, "Thank you, sir. I'll straighten out the army and cross the river north."

Yan Liang looked around at Yan Jie, Jie Wu and the others, "Which one of you wants to stay?"

The crowd dispersed.

Yan Liang cursed harshly, then turned to look at Xu Le.Xu Le yelled immediately, "My lord, I don't want any rewards anymore, I'm leaving the city right now. My lord, walk slowly, I won't accompany you anymore." After speaking, he ran away like dying with his helmet in his arms.

"Leave me a song to defend the city." Yan Liang cursed at Xu Le's back, "A bunch of bastards, do you want me to stay and watch the city gate?"

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Quanzhou City was 120 miles away from Yongnu. Yan Liang commanded the army to march at high speed, and surrounded Yongnu two days later.

"Two days, I only give you two days." Yan Liang pointed to the tall city and said solemnly, "Within two days, we must take down Yongnu and cut off Gongsun Zan's retreat."

The generals were so excited that they agreed with a loud bang.

"Ziping, lead your troops across the river, detour towards Jicheng, and force Gongsun Zan out." Yan Liang said to Gao Shun who was standing beside him, "Just put on a show. If you encounter Gongsun Zan's iron cavalry, you should retreat immediately. Don't fight them."

Gao Shun nodded.He is now a general in the line, the deputy commander of this army.

"Zishan, do you think we should send Shang Beishang to get in touch with Lord Yan?"

"Forget it." Yan Liang waved his hand and said, "According to the time calculation, Ziyu has already arrived in the city of endless, and he will send people here soon. We should take down Yongnu city first and complete the encirclement of Gongsun Zan."

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In May, Jicheng.

Qu Yi led his army to the foot of Jicheng City to confront Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan deployed an army of 7 inside the city and 4 outside the city, with [-] against the Northern Army's [-] cavalry army.

Qu Yi had no intention of attacking, but Gongsun Zan was impatient and sent his troops to battle several times.Qu Yi leaned his back on the big river, guarded the camp, and repeatedly repelled Gongsun Zan's attacks.

Gongsun Zan then led his iron cavalry into the formation again.Qu Yi rejected Zhao Yun's request and forbade the iron cavalry to fight.He ordered the soldiers to set up a horse-repelling formation in front of the camp, equipped with thousands of crossbows and fifty stone cannons, and hit the Youzhou iron cavalry hard.

The Youzhou army fought for five days in a row, suffering heavy losses and greatly weakening their vigor.

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In the middle of May, Kuai Ma rushed to report that Yan Rou and Liu He led their troops out of Juyong Pass and approached the city of Changping.

Zou Dan, who was stationed in Changping City, told Gongsun Zan very puzzled in the letter that Yan Rou's cavalry did not seem to be many, and Yan Rou did not attack Changping City after arriving in Changping City.Judging from all signs, it seems that the army under Changping City is not Yan Rou's main cavalry.

Gongsun Zan and Guan Jing thought of Flying Fox Fortress at the same time.Did Yan Rou lead the army to detour to Feihu Fortress to join Qu Yi?But in this way, the northern border army gave up the opportunity to attack back and forth, which was obviously impossible.

Could it be that Yan Rou's cavalry went south to support the tense battle on both sides of the Yellow River?Gongsun Zan also felt that it was impossible. Unless there was a riot of refugees in Jizhou, the strength of the northern army was enough to block the attacks of Tian Kai and Yuan Shao.

"My lord, Yan Rou may detour through Xianbei in the middle, cross Dayan Mountain, kill Yuyang and Lulongsai, and cut off our retreat." Guan Jing had to meditate, then shook his head, denying his own thoughts, "Yuyang Letters are sent to Yang and Lu Longsai every day, and the defenders of these two places have not found the Karasuma cavalry so far, so there should be no such possibility."

"If Yan Rou conscripted the cavalry of the Karasuma people and Xianbei people, he would have at least [-] to [-] troops. We will definitely find so many people at the border." Gongsun Zan agreed with Guan Jing's analysis, "Qu Yi only defends but does not attack. It may be waiting for Yan Rou's reinforcements. After Qu Yi and Yan Rou joined forces, he gained an advantage in terms of strength, and he is about to fight us."

When the two were discussing a decisive battle with the Northern Army, the scouts reported urgently that Yongnu City had been captured by the Northern Army, and Yan Liang and Gao Shun were leading an army to attack.

Gongsun Zan was quite surprised.It turned out that the army that attacked Quanzhou City was actually Yan Liang's army, and he was deceived.

"Yan Liang besieged Quanzhou City in mid-April, but he did not capture Quanzhou until recently, and then captured Yongnu. Why? Why did he stay in Quanzhou City for a month?" Guan Jing asked, "Could it be that Qu Yi told him , Yan Rou's cavalry has arrived?"

"Yan Rou's iron cavalry?" Gongsun Zan muttered in a low voice, his brows furrowed, and he felt uneasy.This old friend is also considered a mighty general in Youzhou. In the years of attacking and killing Hu people in the past, the two of them have killed enemies side by side many times, and their relationship is very deep.It's a pity that today I and him have become enemies of life and death, and we are going to fight on the battlefield.Yan Rou was born as a horse thief, with deep scheming and vicious methods, especially on the grassland, where he comes and goes like the wind, so it is difficult to catch him.

"He must be on the grassland." Gongsun Zan suddenly had a flash of inspiration and shouted, "Yan Rou must be near Dayan Mountain. Hurry up and write to Yuyang and Lu Longsai to ask them to pay close attention to the cavalry of the Karasuma people."

Guan Jing was startled, and his face suddenly changed, "My lord, we are surrounded."

"Yes, we were trapped by leopards." Gongsun Zan hurried to the case, pointed at Dayan Mountain on the map, and poked it a few times, "Qu Yi moved slowly, Yan Liang bluffed, and Juyongguan remained silent for a long time. , are all to deceive us and draw our attention to the frontal battlefield, so that Yan Rou can lead his army through the central Xianbei, detour thousands of miles, outflank Yuyang and Lulongsai, and completely cut off our retreat."

"What should we do now? Yan Rou's iron cavalry is near Yuyang and Lulongsai, and Yongnu is occupied by Yan Liang again. Our two retreat routes are all cut off by the northern border army." Guan Jing asked with some panic, "Yes Withdraw, or continue to stick to Jicheng?"

Gongsun Zan hurried back and forth restlessly, shook his head and smiled wryly, "Stay firm, although we can delay for a while, but it's a dead end. In my opinion, we should quickly retreat to the west of Liaoning."

"Where to retreat?" Guan Jing looked at the map and said, "If we retreat towards Lulongsai, there will be Yan Rou's iron cavalry, and Karasuma people from Liaoxi and Liaodong. Even if we can safely withdraw to Liaoxi, the estimated loss It is very serious. In my opinion, we should withdraw in the direction of Yongnu. Gongsunxu's [-] troops are in Tuyin, let him immediately kill Yongnu, take Yongnu back, and open up the way for us to retreat."

Gongsun Zan lay on the map and looked at it for a long time, "This is the only way to survive. Fortunately, we let Gongsun Xu retreat to Tuyin in advance, otherwise we would be finished."

"Yan Liang must have left a heavy army in Yongnu City, and Gongsun Xu's army may not be able to capture it. We must find a way to lure Yan Liang's army away from Yongnu City as much as possible." Guan Jing said, "We can't take the army with us." Withdraw to Yongnu, but do the opposite."

"Withdraw to Lulongsai?" Gongsun Zan thought for a while, then shook his head, "Withdrawing to Lulongsai, our entire army may be wiped out."

"As long as we bring the iron cavalry back, it will be difficult for the leopards to enter the west of Liaoning." Guan Jing sneered, "With the iron cavalry, we can block the food roads of the Northern Xinjiang army at will. Liaoxi and Liaodong are our territories. He wants to Expeditions for thousands of miles may not have the strength in the short term. In addition, Western Liaoning and Eastern Liaoning are very poor. We have brought tens of thousands of troops in. Survival is a problem. Once the army defected or collapsed, we would be in trouble. A hard fight by the Xinjiang army will consume the strength of the northern Xinjiang army, and it will also help us retreat to the west of Liaoning smoothly."

Gongsun Zan hesitated for a long time, and asked worriedly: "Shi Qi, this is a dangerous situation. Once we are surrounded..."

Guan Jing smiled wryly, pointed to the map and said, "My lord, if we lure Yan Rou's iron cavalry and Yan Liang's army to the west of Xu Wushan and east of Baoqiu River and the area of ​​Wuending City without risking our lives, we will Even if we break out of the encirclement, it will be a dead end, because Qu Yi and Yan Liang will chase after us, and Yan Rou will lead the iron cavalry along the Rushui River to rush forward and surround Tuyin before us, cutting off our retreat again."

Gongsun Zan stared at the map for a long time, and the murderous look in his eyes became more and more intense. Suddenly, he punched the desk and yelled, "I'm going to kill the leopard, kill him."

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The next day, Gongsun Zan ordered the army to retreat to Jicheng.

On the third day, Gongsun Zan ordered Shan Jing to lead an army of 5000 to guard Jicheng, and Zou Dan led [-] men to guard Changping.

Gongsun Yue and Guan Jing took [-] cavalry first across the Gushui River and Baoqiu River to enter Lucheng.

At this time, the news from Yuyang and Lulongsai was still the same as usual. Within a hundred miles, there was no trace of the Karasuma people, nor was there an army of iron cavalry.

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Qu Yi received the news of Gongsun Zan's withdrawal and called a meeting of the generals overnight.

Sima Wu Ye reported the latest military situation to the generals, "Gongsun Zan suddenly withdrew his troops, obviously because he had received the news that Yongnu City was lost. He led his troops back to Lulongsai to the west of Liaoning, which is exactly what we need." Wu Ye stretched out his hand Turning to Lucheng on the map, "The whole army launched a pursuit. We must surround Gongsun Zan west of Xuwu Mountain and east of Baoqiu River, and wipe out Gongsun Zan."

"The two adults Liu He and Qi Zhou continued to surround Changping City."

"Master Fan Li surrounded Jicheng."

"Yan Liang and Gao Shun, each with their own troops, are advancing rapidly along the banks of the Gushui River. They will soon rush to the Lucheng area to stop the Youzhou army."

"The rest of the troops pursued at full speed according to the established route, and surrounded Gongsun Zan."

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(End of this chapter)