Great Han Empire

Chapter 763: A Storm of Troubled Heroes

Li Dian waved his hands angrily, cursing loudly at the Xuzhou army who fled.He didn't believe that this Northern Xinjiang army would defeat the Xuzhou army to occupy Xinhe.This is the key to the retreat of the army. If the Xuzhou army hadn't given up on purpose, the Northern Xinjiang army would not have been able to reach the river.

Throwing the Yanzhou Army north of Xinhe can not only hold back the Northern Xinjiang Army, but also buy time for the Xuzhou Army and Jingzhou Army to retreat.These shameless villains have resorted to such despicable means.

While Li Dian was excited, he was surprised to find that the old opponent was guarding the other side.More than three months ago, the Yanzhou army defeated Gao Lan's army and entered Dongwuyang. Today, he led his army to stand in front of the Yanzhou army again, cutting off the Yanzhou army's retreat, and sending the Yanzhou army to a desperate situation.

Li Dian ordered an attack and prepared to forcefully cross the river.At this time, Xiahoudun, who received the news, rushed to the river on a flying horse. Instead of complaining, he ordered the army to set up a camp with their backs against the Xinhe River and stand firm.

"If we kill them now, we still have a chance." Li Dian stared at Xiahou Dun with wide eyes, and said in disbelief, "Giving up the attack means giving up our way of life."

"We have been surrounded." Xiahoudun said with a wry smile, "The iron cavalry of the Northern Xinjiang Army has killed us from our left and right flanks, and they arrived in an instant." Then he pointed to the rear of the army, "The 1-odd elite infantry from the Northern Xinjiang We are less than five miles away, and they will soon catch up. Now we are surrounded on all sides, if we insist on crossing the river and attacking, we will definitely be defeated by the northern border army before dusk. If we form a self-defense formation, we can last at least one night."

Li Dian was taken aback, "Where are Tian Kai and Ma Teng? Could it be that the entire army has been wiped out?"

Xiahou Dun shook his head.He didn't know either, but since the Northern Border Army could find out that they were retreating in time, and mobilized troops to chase and intercept them, there were only two possibilities.I just decided to give up supporting Tian Kai and Ma Teng this morning, but I suffered retribution in the afternoon. At this critical juncture, the Xuzhou Army and the Jingzhou Army abandoned the Yanzhou Army and escaped alone.

"How could this happen?" Li Dian looked up to the sky and sighed in despair, "Why did we die overnight?"

"Mancheng, we still have a chance." Xiahou Dun comforted, "Regardless of what Tian Kai and Ma Teng are doing now, the northern army is surrounded on all sides, and it will take some time to adjust the deployment of troops, and they will not be able to launch an attack until tomorrow morning at the earliest. "Xiahou Dun looked up at the sky, "It's almost dusk, and the northern army has no time to besiege us. We'll try to break out of the siege until late at night."

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Zang Ba glared at Sun Guan, wishing to slash him, "How can you disregard the overall situation at this time? Xiahou Dun joined us, and we have 3 people, and 3 people are huddled together. There is absolutely no problem in withdrawing to Ganling Kingdom. "

"How do you know there is no problem?" Sun Guan said unconvinced, "The Northern Army surrounded Tian Kai and Ma Teng yesterday, and today they surrounded Xiahou Dun. It can be seen that the Northern Army has already concentrated its main force to eat us. The Northern Army It takes time to encircle and wipe out two armies, and we can use this time to withdraw quickly. What we need now is time, not strength. No matter how many troops there are, they are also the prey of the Northern Xinjiang Army."

Although Zang Ba said that Sun Guan did something wrong, he also agreed with his statement in his heart.Zang Ba pondered for a long time, and finally made a decision.He looked up at Wu Dun, "How long can the dry rations carried by the soldiers last?"

"Two days." Wu Dun said without thinking, "If you save a little, you can last for four days."

"Order the army to retreat east along the north bank of the Dagu River." Zang Ba said loudly, "Hurry up, retreat overnight, run overnight, don't stop for a moment."

"To the east?" Sun Guan, Yin Li, and Wu Dun were puzzled, "Why to the east?"

"First retreat [-] miles to the east to get rid of the pursuit of the northern army's iron cavalry, then run for [-] miles, go directly south to Pingyuan County, and cross the Yellow River from the direction of West Pingchang."

Zang Ba gave Sun Guan a hard look, "You're right, since the Northern Frontier Army has already prepared, it is estimated that they have set up an ambush to surround us in the Panhe area, so we will no longer retreat in the direction of Ganling Kingdom. Instead, they rushed south to Pingyuan County and withdrew across the Yellow River by surprise."

"Go directly south to Pingyuan County and withdraw across the Yellow River?" Sun Guan exclaimed, "Xuan Gao, what do you want to do? If you disobey the military order without authorization, you will be beheaded."

"You still know that you want to behead?" Zang Ba said angrily, "We will deliberately frame the Yanzhou army this time, sooner or later, Cao Cao will not let us go. Even if Cao Cao let us go, Liu Bei will not let us go , He happened to have an excuse to kill our brothers together. Since Master Tao Qian died, how could our brothers have a good life? If we didn't have soldiers in our hands, Liu Bei would have driven us out of Xuzhou long ago."

Sun Guan and the three looked angry, bowed their heads and remained silent.

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After Liu Bei entered Xuzhou, he reused his old subordinates who had followed him for many years, which is understandable.He also reused Mi Zhu, Chen Deng and other elites in Xuzhou. This is what he should be, and there is nothing to blame. But Liu Bei has no foundation in Xuzhou, and none of the main generals of the Xuzhou army belong to him. In order to gain a foothold in Xuzhou, he must control the army , So he transferred many generals of the Xuzhou Army one after another, and replaced them with his own people.

When Tao Qian was in office, there were three major factions in the Xuzhou Army. One was the local generals of Xuzhou, such as Xu Dan (dan), and the other was the generals of the Danyang Army, such as Cao Bao.One is the Yellow Turban generals, such as Zang Ba, Sun Guan, and Wu Dun. (The soldiers of Danyang County in Yangzhou were famous for their bravery and skill in fighting in this dynasty. Generals He Jin, Cao Cao, Tao Qian, Yuan Shu, and Sun Jian and his sons all recruited soldiers in Danyang.)
Zang Ba was a native of Hua County in Taishan County, Yanzhou. He was famous for his bravery in his early years and had many friends.His father, Zang Jie, was a subordinate of Taishan County. Because of his honesty and integrity, he was suspected by the prefect, and was framed by the prefect and taken into custody.At that time Zang Ba, he took a group of friends to rob prison, rescued his father, and fled to Donghai County, Xuzhou.During the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou, he was a leader of the Yellow Turban Army, but because he was very dissatisfied with the Yellow Turban Army's wanton burning, killing and looting, he angrily accepted Tao Qian's consolation and brought his own army to help Tao Qian defend the city. He was worshiped as a captain for his military exploits.In the third year of Chuping (192 A.D.), the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou suffered consecutive defeats. The commander Sima Ju also died, and the Yellow Turban Army fell into a low ebb.Tao Qian immediately asked Zang Ba to lead his army to garrison Langya County to recruit the rest of the Yellow Turbans. It was at this time that Zang Ba's friends Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li and others were appeased.In the Xuzhou army, Zang Ba is very powerful.

Liu Bei can control Xuzhou's local army and the Danyang army through various means, but he cannot control Zang Ba's army, which was originally the Yellow Turban Army.Since he can't control it and is a threat to himself, he must find a way to weaken Zang Ba's power, and even force Zang Ba to reduce the number of troops under the pretext of insufficient military resources.As a result, the contradiction between Liu Bei and Zang Ba became bigger and bigger.Fortunately, the Taishan Yellow Turban Army has been haunting the border of Xuzhou, threatening the safety of Xuzhou, Zang Ba is still useful to Liu Bei, otherwise Zang Ba and his gang of brothers would have been almost rectified by Liu Bei.This time Liu Bei recruited Zang Ba to go north to Jizhou to conquer, one of the main reasons was to take the opportunity to consume Zang Ba's troops.

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"If we continue to retreat to the direction of Ganling, we may be surrounded and wiped out by the Northern Xinjiang Army. If we are lucky enough to withdraw safely, we may be killed by Cao Cao and Liu Bei. So we have only one way now, to retreat to Qingzhou."

"Xuan Gao, have you figured it out?" Sun Guan asked in surprise, "Are you going up the mountain?"

Zang Ba raised his hand and gave him a look, "Are you promising? Are you willing to be a rebel and a bandit for the rest of your life?"

"You are Kou Shuai in the first place." Sun Guan muttered in a low voice.Since Zang Ba's subordinates were all Yellow Turbans, many Xuzhou officials privately called Zang Ba Kou Shuai or slave bandit.

"My lord, do you want to take Qingzhou?" Wu Dun asked hesitantly.

"How did Tian Kai occupy Qingzhou? Didn't he just beat him down?" Zang Ba raised his horsewhip and whipped it down in the air. "Let's beat him down too."

The three of Sun Guan were dumbfounded.Qingzhou is Tian Kai's territory. Back then Sima Ju, Xu He, Guan Cheng and others tried their best, but they failed in the end.With the current 1 people, can they occupy Qingzhou?

"Tian Kai and Ma Teng must have been surrounded by the Northern Army, and there is very little hope for Tian Kai to survive." Facing the suspicious gazes of the three, Zang Ba calmly analyzed, "The Northern Army finished defeating Tian Kai, Ma Teng, and Xiahou Dun." Finally, the next step is the main force of the Northern Expeditionary Army under Xindu City. I estimate that the Northern Frontier Army will take advantage of the iron cavalry to quickly detour to the area around Ganling, cut off the Northern Expeditionary Army’s retreat, and encircle and wipe out Cao Cao, Liu Biao, and Liu Bei.”

"With the current strength of the Northern Frontier Army, even if it can't completely annihilate the Northern Expedition Army, it can still severely damage the Northern Expedition Army. Cao Cao, Liu Biao, and Liu Bei can save a little life this time. It's not bad. Cao Cao's strength is greatly damaged, and Liu Bei's strength is greatly damaged , and Tian Kai's life and death are uncertain. If the remaining [-] Qingzhou troops want to return to Qingzhou safely, it will be difficult. This is our opportunity. We can join hands with Guan Cheng and Guan Hai of the Taishan Yellow Turban Army to attack from north to south , with the momentum of thunder, take Qingzhou in one fell swoop."

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Sun Guan was excited by Zang Ba's words, and raised his hands and shouted, "Anyway, we are all dead, brothers will fight."

Wu Dun and Yin Li looked at each other and smiled.Zang Ba was finally forced to have nowhere to go, and was about to become the real Kou Shuai.

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Night is coming.

Taking advantage of the darkness, Zang Ba's army rushed eastward at an alarming speed along the Gushui River.These soldiers used to be the Yellow Turban Army. They may not have fought well, but they were absolutely top notch in escape.Because Zang Ba told them that if they couldn't drive a hundred miles away tonight, they would be surrounded by cavalry from the northern border army and they would die.The desire to survive stimulated the potential of the soldiers, and everyone ran at an unimaginable speed.

Before leaving, Zang Ba couldn't bear to see these Jingzhou people who had traveled all the way to Hebei die in a daze, so he rushed to the temporary camp of the Jingzhou Army to meet Wenpin, Huang Zhong and Wei Yan, and gave him advice.The three of Wenpin were very grateful and sent Zang Ba out of the camp.

"My lords, please stay for a while. We will meet again in the future." Zang Ba bowed and said goodbye, and flew away like a horse.

Looking at the figure that quickly disappeared into the night, Wenpin sighed softly, "Is this Master Liu's idea, or his own idea? Can he take this opportunity to occupy Qingzhou?"

"It's probably his own idea." Wei Yan said in a low voice, "I heard that he used to be the leader of the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou, and his relationship with Master Liu has always been tense. This time Master Liu took him to the Jizhou battlefield. For the safety of Xuzhou, the second is to borrow a knife to kill someone."

"Borrowing a knife to kill?" Huang Zhong frowned slightly, and said dissatisfiedly, "Master Liu wants to kill him?"

"I heard that he has been stationed in Langya County for a long time and has close contacts with the Yellow Turban Army in the Taishan area. People call him Kou Shuai, and he ignores Master Liu. He is very arrogant." Wei Yan said, "But from today's incident From the facts, he does not seem to be a arrogant and domineering person."

"I think he is good and straightforward." Huang Zhong shook his head and said, "However, if Tian Kai is not dead, and we have safely withdrawn to Ganling Kingdom, his life may be difficult in the future."

"Hmph..." Wei Yan sneered, "Master Huang, do you think we can still win this battle?"

Wenpin closed his eyes and remained silent.Huang Zhong sighed, "It is indeed not easy for Tian Kai to return to Qingzhou alive, but in this battle, I think the Northern Expedition Army can still retreat completely, and will not be wiped out because of Dongguang's disastrous defeat."

"Retire completely?" Wei Yan smiled wryly, "I can no longer see the sun in Xiangyang."

Wen Pin's eyes suddenly opened, "I'll stay, you and Master Huang will lead the army back overnight."

"It's better for me to stay." Wei Yan bowed and said, "I'm not the commander of the army, and I don't have a family. My parents also have other brothers serving me. It can be said that I have nothing to worry about. It is most suitable for me to stay."

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In the middle of the night, the big tent army discussed.

Zhou Shan reported the results of the Battle of Xiaoliangting in detail.

The [-] Qingzhou Army and the [-] Guanzhong Iron Cavalry were wiped out, but the bodies of Tian Kai and Ma Teng were not found, and they probably fled in the chaos.

The troops participating in the Battle of Xiaoliangting suffered little losses, and more than 2000 cavalry soldiers suffered casualties.

Xiahou Dun's 2 Yanzhou troops were surrounded.The [-] troops of the Xuzhou Army and the Jingzhou Army have withdrawn to the vicinity of the Dagu River.

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Tomorrow morning, Yan Liang and Lu Bu will command an army of [-] to besiege the Yanzhou Army.

After the Yanzhou Army was wiped out, Gao Lan and Gao Shun led their troops to continue to pursue the Xuzhou Army and the Jingzhou Army.Yan Liang led [-] paces to cross the Jiangshui River in the north, hurried westward for a hundred miles along the north bank of the Jiangshui River, and then crossed the Jiangshui River south from the direction of Xiucheng, directly inserted into the Pan River, cutting off the Xuzhou Army and the Jingzhou Army. On the way out, we formed a flanking attack with the armies of Gao Lan and Gao Shun, aiming to wipe out the [-] rebels.

Tomorrow morning, Zhao Yun, Jiang Wu, Wei Jun, Liu Ming, Li Su, and Gongsun Xu led 150 cavalry to go south along Dahe Gudu for [-] miles to capture Pingyuan City in Pingyuan County, and then went west for [-] miles to capture Ganling City, cut off the retreat of the main force of the rebels, and complete the complete encirclement of the rebels.

Yan Liang repeatedly warned Zhao Yun and others not to get entangled in Pingyuan City, but to kill Ganling City as quickly as possible.The key purpose of the Hebei War was to kill a large number of rebel forces, not to kill several rebels such as Cao Cao.After killing all these rebels, it was Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu brothers who finally took advantage.After this battle, Hebei needs a period of time to recover, so during this period of time, it is necessary to ensure that the Central Plains is full of wars and wars.If we kill Cao Cao and other rebels now, the Yuan brothers will dominate and their strength will increase sharply, and it will be very unfavorable for Hebei to go south to suppress the rebellion in the future.

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In the middle of the night, on the banks of the Zhangshui River, the general walks in the camp.

Qu Yi reported to the general that under the command of Cao Cao, the Northern Expeditionary Army has been attacking the capital of Xin. Although there are many tricks, the scale is not large.

Yan Liang reported to the general that the battle of Xiaoliangting was over and the Yanzhou army had been surrounded. Tomorrow Zhao Yun could command the iron cavalry to encircle the main force of the rebel army.

"The key now is when we cut off the connection between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, so that we can hold Yuan Shao back while attacking the main force of the rebel army, and inflict heavy damage on him before he withdraws from Jizhou." Jia Xu added slightly After pondering, he pointed to Qingzhou on the map again, "General, I still insist that it is absolutely necessary for us to take advantage of Qingzhou's weak strength and send a large army south to capture Qingzhou."

"Whether Tian Kai is dead or alive is not important now." Sima Yi also persuaded, "Of the [-] troops in Qingzhou, [-] were buried in Xiaoliang Pavilion, and the remaining [-] were buried under Xindu City. They will soon be killed by us." Annihilation, Qingzhou is weak at present, even if Tian Kai is forced to conscript, it will be too late, so now is a good time to capture Qingzhou."

Li Hong smiled, "The attack on Qingzhou must wait until the decisive battle is over, that is, around mid-September. Before that, I must ensure the absolute superiority of troops on the Jizhou battlefield to complete the attack on the main force of the rebel army. "

"Also..." Li Hong pointed to Hanoi County on the map, "Can we also consider capturing Hanoi County?"

"Attacking Qingzhou has many benefits, but the goal is too big, and it is easy for the rebels to feel increasingly threatened. This may also lead to Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, Liu Bei and others shaking hands again. For us, After today's battle, we hope that the rebels will turn against each other, and hope that the war in the Central Plains will become more and more fierce, instead of allowing the rebels to find another opportunity to join forces against Hebei."

"If you don't let others live, others won't let you be at ease. Who wants to be captured without a fight? Who wants to be slaughtered? So I think it's a little early to attack Qingzhou."

"The advantage of attacking Hanoi County is that it can directly threaten Luoyang, curb the expansion of Yuan Shao's strength, and force him to reach the Central Plains." Li Hong looked at Jia Xu and said with a smile, "This battle is over. It will be very difficult for the Central Plains to be effectively contained. After all, his loss is the least, and he can join hands with Yuan Shu to sweep the Central Plains. Once the Central Plains is in his pocket, it will be very difficult for us to go south in the future."

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(End of this chapter)