Great Han Empire

Chapter 69 Yanzhao Fengyun
In the early morning, Lie Kuangfeng stood by the edge of Changqing Lake, looking into the distance.

At this time, it is early spring, and the lake is rippling with blue waves, stretching as far as the eye can see.The wind on the lake was blowing, and the cold was blowing.The big trees around the lake shore swayed back and forth in the wind, and the freshly green branches and leaves made a melodious rushing sound to the sound of the wind.

Scar came galloping on horseback.

"My lord, Murong Ji's army was raided by the cavalry of the Han army at the foot of Yuyang City, and suffered heavy losses. Now the troops have withdrawn to Changqingwei." Dao Scar said excitedly.

Lie Kuangfeng was startled, and asked incredulously, "Where's Xiong Ba?"

"His troops attacked the East City Gate, and after receiving the news, they have withdrawn to Changqingwei. Xiongba sent fast riders to urge us to quickly gather to Changqingwei. They retreated from Yuyang City very hastily, discarding a lot of supplies, Urgently needed to be replenished."

"Master Xiong Ba, how long can their food, horse grass, and weapons last?" Lie Kuangfeng asked eagerly.

"The food has been exhausted, and the horse grass can last for a few days. More than 1 war horses are concentrated in Changqingwei. If there is no forage, they will soon lose their fighting power. By then, they will be powerless even if they want to retreat to Quang Binh. "

"How many troops does Murong Ji have left?" Lie Kuangfeng asked suddenly after pondering for a while.

"Wumeng and Weiran ran fast and snatched out more than 2000 people. The tribes such as Jindiao, Heidiao, and Sui suffered heavy losses. Basically, the entire army was wiped out. It is said that there are only more than 1000 people left. Yuwendong, Murongfeng , Murong Lin died in battle at Yuyang City."

Lie Kuangfeng couldn't help laughing.

"The Golden Eagle and Black Eagle tribes are finished. In this way, the commander-in-chief's plan to rule the Murong family will probably be realized soon."

"Last year in Xingmengyuan, Mijia of the Baizhan tribe and the two Murong tribes defeated the Luozhuo Diao of the Red Sun tribe, but Mijia's troops suffered heavy losses, and the Baizhan tribe was devastated. At the end of last year in Lulong Sai, the Queji of the Pegasus tribe in the eastern Xianbei, and the Suli army of the Mushen tribe were wiped out. The strength of the four major tribes in the eastern Xianbei is now greatly weakened, and they can no longer compete with the commander. They can only obey orders obediently Now that Murong Ji and Murong Ing have lost their battle, what else can they do besides expressing their allegiance to the commander in chief? Now several large tribes in the eastern and central parts of Xianbei have been successfully eradicated and weakened by the commander in various opportunities Now the commander-in-chief firmly holds half of the tribes and army of the Xianbei Kingdom in his hands, and everything is guided by the commander-in-chief. I want to see if Helian can be a king for a few days."

Scar nodded again and again, "The Han people are very powerful. Without their indirect help, Murong Ji, Murong Invasion, Que Ji, and Soli, these huge tribal forces, really have no way to settle them in a short time."

"The commander-in-chief is very aware of the strength of the Han people. Although he has repeatedly told the chiefs of the tribes that the Han people are vulnerable, in fact he just wants to lure them to send troops. The foundation of the Han country for hundreds of years does not mean that it can be defeated in a day. Many people underestimated the Han people too much, and ended up reaping the consequences. Lulongsai's defeat, and now Yuyang City's defeat again, have proved the commander's statement is correct. The strength of the Han people is indeed not to be underestimated." Lie Kuangfeng looked serious said.

"Tian Jing from Lulongsai, Tian Kai from Yuyang City, Liu Yu from Youzhou, and the white horse Gongsun Zan in Liaodong, none of them are easy to deal with."

"Now there is Black Panther Li Hong." Dao Scar said with a smile.

"Yes, there are also leopards." Lie Kuangfeng smiled wryly, and then asked strangely: "The Han people call him a black panther?"

"Didn't he make a flag? It's the flag we saw in Huahongyuan. Isn't the leopard on the flag black." Scar explained.

"The news from Xiong Ba said that he led the Han Chinese cavalry to launch a surprise attack in the dark."

"The leopard appeared in Yuyang City again?" Lie Kuangfeng asked in surprise.

Scar nodded, "This is the second time he has carried out a night attack. Xiongba seems very angry."

"So the Han people have already seen through Wuyan of Bailing Ranch, Huaitou's troops are fake." Lie Kuangfeng said worriedly.

"The fact that the leopards came to support from Lulongsai led the troops, which shows that the Han people have seen through the disguised containment scheme in the direction of Lulongsai. That is to say, other reinforcements of the Han people will continue to rush to Yuyang from other places. come to the city."

"What did Xiongba say?"

"He didn't send any instructions, he just urged us to rush to Changqingwei immediately and transport the food and grass as soon as possible."

"But now the commander's purpose of dispatching troops has been achieved, should he withdraw his troops?" Lie Kuangfeng said softly, frowning.

"Before leaving, the commander-in-chief repeatedly told us that this time, we don't want to siege cities and plunder land, but only to achieve our own goals. We only have three goals. One is to use the attack on Yuyang City to weaken Murong Ji and Murong Ji. to prepare for the annexation of the Golden Eagle and Black Eagle tribes. The second is to lure the Tuoba tribe and his confidant Karasuma people to attack Shanggu and take the opportunity to consume their strength. The third is to hit the Han army hard, devastating Looting the property of the Han people to prepare for the future invasion of Youzhou. Now that these three goals have been achieved, Xiong Ba not only does not rush to withdraw the army, but instead asks us to rush over to assemble and rush for food. Has he been dazzled by the defeat? ?”

"Changqingwei now has nearly [-] troops. Even if Xiongba wants to retreat, he needs to feed the soldiers. Let's rush there as quickly as possible. We will arrive at Changqingwei tomorrow."

The bright red sun hangs on the gorgeous morning glow, dazzling.The Gu River lies quietly in the middle of the plain, with a thin layer of mist floating on the clear water.Both sides are dense bushes, half green and half black, lying quietly beside the Gu River.

Li Hong rode on the black panther and looked at Guhe motionlessly.

This section of the Gu River is not very wide, about thirty steps away.More than a dozen wooden boats were busy back and forth on the river, transporting soldiers and horses to the opposite bank.

Li Hong's Fengyun cavalry lost more than 300 people in the raid, and more than 100 wounded soldiers were still recuperating in Yuyang City.He led more than 600 cavalry soldiers through Yuyang City yesterday afternoon, crossed the Gu River by the wooden bridge outside the north gate of Yuyang City, and marched more than 100 miles to get here.Li Hong ordered the troops to rest by the river and cross the Gu River again at night.It is sixty miles away from Changqingwei and eighty miles away from Changqing Lake.

Li Hong's thoughts flew back to the room where the business was discussed yesterday.

His proposal was almost unanimously opposed by everyone except Liu Yu, who was desperate for victory.

Liu Yu was under a lot of pressure.The spring plowing season is about to enter, but the Xianbei invasion seems to have just begun, which makes him very anxious.If the enemy cannot be driven away before the spring plowing, the fields in Youzhou will be barren and there will be no harvest this year.No common people will stick to the fields and cultivate when the enemy rushes into their homes at any time.If there is no harvest in the second half of the year, how will the people of Youzhou live, and what will happen in winter?Without a harvest, the national treasury will be even more scarce, and Youzhou's economic development and military expansion will become empty talk.Liu Yu is eager for miracles and eager to defeat the enemy.

Li Hong's suggestion is very risky, but very tempting.

He Yi, the prefect of Yuyang, sneered and ignored him.Tian Kai spoke fiercely, hoping that Liu Yu would give up this adventure and stick to the city as the best policy.Xian Yufu was noncommittal, he didn't know whether Li Hong's strategy would succeed, but his intuition was that Li Hong had some wishful thinking, as if he underestimated the enemy's wisdom.Yan Rou stood by Tian Kai's side. He thought that since the odds of winning were slim, it would be better to concentrate on defending the city and then recruit reinforcements.

Liu Yu finally decided to take the risk, just like he trusted Li Hong in Lulong Sai, he believed that Li Hong would succeed.

He only said one sentence to Li Hong: "Take your people and go."

Looking at the thin old man in front of him, the deep wrinkles on his face, and the wisdom and trust in his firm eyes, Li Hong suddenly felt that he could die for him.He knelt down excitedly and kowtowed three times to Liu Yubi respectfully, then turned and left.

"The people..."

Li Hong heard Tian Zhong calling him.He respected Tian Zhong, so he didn't allow Tian Zhong to call him a lord in private, not to mention Tian Zhong was his savior.A person who has fought all his life is a legend, a hero, and he should be respected by everyone.Li Hong regards Tian Zhong as his relatives just like treating his elders.

"There are still 300 people on the other side, and the crossing of the river will be over soon. Go to the woods ahead and take a rest." Tian Zhong said with concern.

Li Hong smiled, "Old man, you've been tired all night, you should go and rest."

"It doesn't matter if you get old and lack sleep. You are the commander of the first army, so you can't be exhausted." Tian Zhong said with a smile.

"The battle behind enemy lines this time requires flexibility and speed, so it is very important to maintain sufficient physical strength."

"Fighting with you is thrilling and fun." Tian Zhong laughed lightly.

"Did any of the Lulongsai veterans die this time?" Li Hong asked.

"Two. But the situation of the Shouyan scout team is good, and the veterans have all survived. It's just my old bones that can't die." Tian Zhong shook his head and said disappointedly.

Li Hong was speechless and looked at him silently.

"We went around behind the Xianbei people this time, are we going to attack their camp again?"

Li Hong shook his head and whispered, "It's to burn their food and grass."

Lie Kuangfeng's eyes widened, looking at the panting scout, he asked loudly, "How far is the enemy from us?"

"Twenty miles away, it's at Shankoudu on the other side of the Baoqiu River."

"Whose banner?"

"It's the leopard's battle flag. There are about three or four thousand infantry."

Li Kuangfeng and Dao Scar exchanged surprised glances, and they both looked at each other in confusion.

"Isn't he in Yuyang City?" Lie Kuangfeng said, "Why did you come to Shankoudu again today? It's more than 100 miles away from Yuyang. Could it be that he rushed here overnight?"

"The people sent by Xiongba told me that there is indeed a reinforcement army of Han people on the other side of the Baoqiu River, under the banner of leopards. Xiongbang even led troops to the ferry to set up an army to stop it. The leopards should not be in this team. But they ran away What are you doing here?"

Lie Kuangfeng thought for a while, then slowly said: "The Han people probably want to take advantage of our new defeat and the unstable morale, sneak deep into the rear of our army, attack back and forth with the leopard cavalry, and surprise our Changqingwei troops. "

"It's very possible. My lord, do you think we should notify Xiong Ba?" Scar said from the side.

"Quick ride to inform Xiongba immediately." Lie Kuangfeng said loudly.

"Order the commander-in-chief of the Toushan tribe, Shuyan, the commander-in-chief of the Shuli tribe, and the commander-in-chief Biqi of the giant mushroom tribe, each with 500 troops from the headquarters, escort the supply convoy, and rush to Changqingwei overnight without rest."

"Order the troops to assemble immediately, and we quickly rushed to set up an ambush near the Baoqiu River. Once the Han army crosses the river, we will attack it."

The messengers behind Li Kuangfeng immediately dispersed.The rapid and loud blaring of horns sounded all around.

"It's already afternoon, will the enemy cross the river?" Scar looked up to the blue sky, hesitated for a moment, and whispered.

"The Han people are cunning, and they might cross the river quietly at night. We will be able to wipe out the Han army with 500 people when they are unsuspecting." Lie Kuangfeng said excitedly.

Li Song stood by the Baoqiu River, looking anxiously at the water downstream, his brows tightened.

"Master Military Marquis, don't worry, according to the speed, the ship should arrive." Dou Qiao comforted in a low voice.

"Master Li, should the troops camp and rest? Since last night, the troops have marched for more than 100 miles, and the soldiers have worked very hard." Zhang Xun asked from the side.

Li Song turned around and nodded, "Okay, camp three miles away from the river bank to rest. Let's pitch more tents with 4000 people to confuse the enemy's scouts."

A messenger galloped away.

"Master Li, when shall we cross the river?"

Li Song looked at the flowing river and said with a smile: "When the boats arrive, order the vanguard troops to cross the river immediately and set up a defensive position three miles from the opposite bank. The large troops will start to move in the middle of the night. What do you think?"

Zhang Xun and Dou Qiao nodded in agreement.

Zhang Xun asked softly: "Where are we going? Now this is the place where the Xianbei people are active, and it is very difficult to hide their tracks."

Li Song smiled and said: "The order I received was to rush to Shankoudu, and then pretend to cross the river in the middle of the night to contain the enemy. Don't you know?"

Dou Qiao said embarrassingly: "This operation is directed by Mr. Li. We thought you would have other orders? We really don't know what we are going to do, so we asked."

"According to the report from our scouts, Li Kuangfeng's army will probably pass by here. The enemy we want to contain is probably his army. As for the next step, we can only wait for Master Li's order here." Li Song pondered. After a moment, he spoke slowly.

At this moment, a rider suddenly galloped from the opposite river bank, at an extremely fast speed.

Zhang Xun's sharp eyes immediately exclaimed: "It's our scout. There's news."

(End of this chapter)