Great Han Empire

Chapter 814 The Heroes of Troubled Times Compete in the Central Plains
At the beginning of April, Yanzhou Jibei Kingdom, Chi (chi) Pingcheng.

Built along the Yellow River, Chiping City is tall and strong, surrounded by a wide moat, easy to defend but difficult to attack.

After Yang Yi led the attacking army to cross the river, he immediately launched an attack, but was stubbornly resisted by the defenders in the city. The dense arrow formation once suppressed the soldiers of the southern army outside the moat, making it difficult to advance.Yang Yi immediately asked Lu Bu for help, asking for more troops to attack again.

Lu Bu immediately rushed to the waters on the south bank of the Yellow River by boat.The river was very windy, and the battle flags fluttered in the wind.Lu Bu stood on the big ship armor squad, looking at the battlefield ahead where the drums were thundering and the flags were like clouds, his brows were furrowed deeply, and he was anxious.After finally looking forward to the opportunity to go south to attack the Central Plains and wash away his shame, he encountered obstacles in the first battle, which made him very depressed and helpless.

"The rebel general stationed in Chiping is called Cai Yang." Standing behind Lu Bu, Wei Yan pointed to the distant Chiping City. Fear, so he urgently recruited 1000 troops from Linyi City, 2000 miles away. If the scouts' investigation is accurate, there are currently 3000 troops in the city. To attack a city defended by 3000 people, not only troops are needed, but also time, but we don't have time now."

Lu Bu thought for a while, then turned around and said, "Since Cai Yang put his main force at Chiping, the defensive force at the other crossings should be very weak. Now the troops of the three adults, Fan Li, Guo Xun, and Zhang Sun (Sun), are in the direction of Hu Lin. Cross the river, if their attack goes well, they should be able to advance to Linyi City tonight."

The two guards standing next to Lu Bu saw Lu Bu's gaze turned to them, and immediately understood, each took a section of the silk map and opened it.

"After crossing the river, the two cavalry of the General and General Yan Rou will rush to Jishuihe, capture the line of Qingting and Pingyinting, and cut off the retreat of the rebels in Chiping and Linyi." Lu Bu pointed to Jishui on the map He said, "If we are unable to take Chiping and Linyi for a long time, the attack speed of the army on the left will be greatly slowed down." Lu Bu looked at Wei Yan, "I think we should first surround Chiping and concentrate our main force to take down the weak troops. Linyi, and then..."

"My lord wants to force Cai Yang out of Chiping, and use iron cavalry to kill him in the Jishui River?" Wei Yan asked.

Lu Bu nodded, "What do you think?"

Wei Yan fell silent.After he and Sima Yi brought the fleet to the scheduled bridge-building site, they each received orders from the general.Wei Yan was the Sima of the army on the left, following the infantry army led by Lu Bu.Sima Yi is the Sima of the army on the right, assisting Qu Yi to attack the city and pull out the stronghold.Although Wei Yan's current official position is not high, he is the boss of the Great General Sima's mansion, and he is also the main staff member of the Great General who formulates the strategy of attacking the Central Plains. His status is very important.As the deputy commander of the left army, Lu Bu had to be more polite to him.

"What if Cai Yang doesn't come out?" Wei Yan hesitated, "If we can't take Chiping, we have to leave a certain number of troops to surround it, so that our troops to attack Dongping and Changyi will be reduced. In addition, Chipingdu is a big ferry. Our original plan was to store grain in Chiping and Linyi after taking Chiping, so as to provide food, grass and supplies for the army on the left and Wu Xiong who attacked Jibei. Can we take Chiping as soon as possible? Ping is very important to us."

"Taking Linyi first will completely cut off Cai Yang's way of retreat. He may fight us bloody to the end." Wei Yan turned to look at Lu Bu and said respectfully, "My lord, it is better to surround Chiping with more troops. Alright, let’s send another cavalry to threaten Linyi. Tomorrow, our army of tens of thousands of cavalry will gather at the city, and the direction of Linyi will be in frequent emergency situations. At that time, Cai Yang will have no choice but to retreat.”

"After Cai Yang withdrew from Linyi, we urgently sent an iron cavalry to surround Linyi, forcing Cai Yang to retreat to Qingting and Pingyin Pavilion." Wei Yan pointed to the Jishui River on the map, "As long as Cai Yang arrives in Ji By the river, he can't fly with his wings."

Lu Bu hesitated.

"My lord, if you want to force Cai Yang to withdraw from Chiping, you must give him a chance of survival. This is like hunting. You must give the prey a chance to escape, otherwise the prey will jump the wall in a hurry and die back." Wei Yan persuaded again.

Lu Bu frowned, and said in embarrassment: "In this case, I will command the general to temporarily change the attack route..." Before Lu Bu finished speaking, Wei Yan already understood.It's not that Lu Bu disagreed with his strategy, but he was worried that he would offend the general by commanding beyond his authority.

"My lord, things on the battlefield are changing rapidly, and there is no time to hesitate." Wei Yan was silent for a moment, and persuaded in a low voice, "The sudden increase in the defensive force of Chiping City was not expected by us in advance, and we must change our attack strategy at this moment. My lord, when If you don't stop, you will be disturbed by it."

Lu Bu turned to look at the battlefield. The sound of war drums blowing in the wind was extremely intense. It was obvious that the army was attacking again.With each attack, the casualties of the Confederate soldiers would increase, but these casualties did not help to change the situation of the battle.

"Order Yang Yi to stop the attack." Lu Bu waved his hands decisively with a resolute face on his face, "Urgently tell the three adults, Fan Li, Guo Xun, and Zhang Xun, that the attack strategy has changed. After crossing the river, we will lead the army to advance towards Chiping City overnight."

"Urgently tell Master Wu Xiong, after crossing the river, don't rush across the Jishui River to the Jibei battlefield, but rush to Chiping City overnight to help us attack Chiping."

"Urgently tell Lords Yan Rou and Wei Jun to change the direction of attack. After crossing the river, Lord Wei Jun please gallop to Chiping to participate in the siege of the rebels. Lord Yan Rou please gallop to Linyi and gallop on horseback to deter the city. Rebels. After the rebels fled in the direction of Chiping City, they immediately surrounded Linyi and forced the rebels to flee in the direction of Jishui River."

"Urgently call on the general to explain the battle situation in Chiping City in detail, and explain why we have temporarily modified our attack strategy. After crossing the river, please don't rush to cross the Jishui River for the time being, but lead the army to Qingting and Pingyin On the front line of the pavilion, ready to encircle and wipe out the rebels fleeing south."

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At the beginning of April, Cangting, East County, Yanzhou.

The [-] soldiers of the Huben Camp successfully captured Cangting after a fierce battle for half an hour.

Qu Yi, Yu Shi, Zhang Zhen, and Sima Yi arrived at the south bank by boat.The commander of the attack, Sima, and several other soldiers stepped forward to greet him.

Qu Yi looked up at the sky, pointed to the blood-colored sunset hanging in the western sky, and said with a smile: "I originally hoped to walk to the south bank in the afterglow of the sunset, but your attack speed was too fast, and my wish came to nothing. The sun hasn't set yet."

The generals standing around laughed.

"Zhong Da, quickly send Master Qu back to the North Shore." Yushi smiled, "Master Qu has such a small wish, we must fulfill him."

Then he pulled Zhang Zhen and shouted to the generals, "Let's go and rush to Dong'e overnight. If we want to keep Xia Houyuan in Dong'e, we'd better be able to come to Dong'e city tomorrow morning."

"My lord, just now I heard from a prisoner that Xia Houyuan arrived at Cangting yesterday." Amidst the laughter of the crowd, a soldier bowed and said to Yushi, "Today he and Wang Zhong led the brigade to withdraw first. .”

Yushi and Qu Yi looked at each other.

"Xia Houyuan arrived at Cangting?" Qu Yi whispered, "Since he voluntarily evacuated Cangting, will he voluntarily evacuate Dong'a?"

"This may be very large." Sima Yi, who was walking beside Qu Yi, said, "Based on the number of boats and bridges, the rebels can see the scale of our attack on the Central Plains at a glance. Xiahouyuan's troops are not enough for us to squeeze between our teeth. If it is I, I didn't even think about it, I immediately turned around and ran towards Dingtao. No matter when, as long as the army is kept, there is a chance to turn around, so Xia Houyuan will definitely make the right choice."

"If he wants to escape, it depends on whether we are willing to let him go." Qu Yi sneered, "Order the Northern Army units to advance towards Dong'a quickly."

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At the beginning of April, Linting, East County, Yanzhou.

The sky gradually darkened, and darkness quietly descended on the earth.

A beam of raging flames soared into the sky on the north bank of the Yellow River, tearing apart the dark curtain in an instant, and emitting a brilliant Guan Mang.

Then more flames jumped and burned in the darkness, and the fiery red light became more and more intense, illuminating most of the night sky.

On the embankment, dense figures swayed back and forth, and the noise of people shouting and neighing disappeared with the wind up and down the dark river.

Suddenly, with a rush of drums, thousands of fiery red stars suddenly jumped out of the river. These dazzling stars are like a string of beautiful and dazzling gems, shining on the black river.The stars in the wind and the stars in the river mirror each other and dance with each other, just like a pair of golden boys and girls playing on the Milky Way, and its various styles make people fascinated.

Under the light of thousands of stars, the boat bridge is as bright as day, and the stalwart body like a giant dragon sways leisurely with the waves.

The bonfire on the south bank was also lit, and piles of flames soaring into the sky were blowing violently under the night wind, as if fire dragons were about to fly away.

The two sides of the Yellow River and the wide river surface were suddenly shrouded in a layer of fiery red mist, and there was a trace of ethereal spirit in the haze.

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On the boat bridge, teams of iron knights are leading blindfolded horses and are quickly crossing the Yellow River.

Zhao Yun sat on the horse, surrounded by his own guards, hiding in the darkness of the grove, silently looking at the beautiful night view of the Yellow River.

"How many cavalry have not crossed the river?"

"The Changshui Battalion has assembled five miles away." The guard cavalry led hurriedly replied, "There are still 2000 people from the Hu Cavalry Battalion waiting to cross the river on the other side."

Zhao Yun frowned slightly, and lightly waved the horsewhip in his hand, "Commander Chang Shuiying, rest on the spot. Head towards Dong'e in the early morning."

The team leader gestured to the three orderlies behind him.The three bowed to accept the order, and rode their horses out of the grove.

"Say to Lord Jifeng again, speed up and cross the river."

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At the beginning of April, Yanzhou Dongjun, Hu (hu) Zihe.

Huzi River is very famous in this dynasty.The Huzi River divides the water of the Yellow River from Puyang, first flows southeast to Juyeze, and then flows northwest to inject Jishui.During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu, the embankment of the Yellow River in the direction of Puyang broke, and the river broke through Huzi. A large amount of flood water poured into Juyeze through the Huzi River, overflowed from Juyeze to the southeast, and flowed directly into the Huaisi area and flowed into the Yangtze River.Due to various reasons, this breach has not been blocked, causing many people in the Central Plains to suffer from it for 23 years. Twenty-three years later, under the personal intervention of Emperor Xiaowu, the river trouble of the Huzi River was completely resolved.

Fan Li led two battalions of the Southern Army with 1 horses to arrive at the Huzi River in the middle of the night, preparing to cross the river overnight to Linyi City, fifteen miles away.

The fast horse came galloping.Lu Bu urgently ordered the army to immediately turn around and besiege Chiping City.

After Fan Li received this order, he was speechless for a long time, and did not give the order immediately.

The army on the left is commanded by the general himself.Now the general is crossing the river in the direction of Shi Oxford. He obviously doesn't know that Lu Bu has modified the established attack strategy without authorization.Can this order be executed?This order from Lu Bu is directly related to the speed of the army's attack on the Central Plains. If Lu Bu's order is wrong, he will be held responsible.

"The general should cross the river in the direction of Chiping himself in order to control the overall situation." Guo Xun complained, "Just crossing the Yellow River today, this kind of thing happened, and when we attack the hinterland of the Central Plains in a few days, it will not be chaotic. Who are we listening to?"

"General Lu Bu made it very clear in his order that the number of rebels in Chiping suddenly increased. His army was blocked on the Yellow River and could not advance or retreat. It is normal to rush to support with temporary changes." Zhang Xuan repeated Lu Bu's order over and over again. After reading it several times, he said very cautiously, "No matter where the general crosses the river, he controls the overall situation. This has nothing to do with Lord Lu Bu's order. Besides..." He looked at Fan Li, hesitated for a moment, and did not continue.

Fan Li used to be the leader of the Yellow Turban Army and Zhang Yan's subordinate. He was captured by the general when the general went south to fight Zhang Niujiao.Among the generals of the Yellow Turbans, he and Wei Zheng are the oldest officials in northern Xinjiang.This man is mature, stable, and loyal. He is the most cautious of the generals of the Yellow Turbans and the slowest in promotion among the generals of the Northern Xinjiang.During the attack on the Central Plains this time, the general specially recruited him from the Hanoi battlefield to the Southern Army to serve as Lu Bu's deputy, obviously intending to use his reputation to restrict Lu Bu.Fan Li listened to the general and Zhang Yan, but not necessarily to Lu Bu.After all, his qualifications are too old, and there is a big gap between Lu Bu and him in terms of record.If he had no intention of obeying Lu Bu's order, Zhang Xun's remarks might bring him unexpected troubles.

"What do you want to say?" Guo Xun patted Zhang Xun on the shoulder, "If you want to say it, just be more cheerful, what are you doing hesitating?" Guo Xun stayed with him on the Hedong battlefield for many years, and was transferred to the Southern Army together Captain, the relationship is very good, and we don't have any scruples about talking to each other.

Fan Li looked at him, smiled gently and said, "What's your opinion?" For this Lu Zhi's disciple, Fan Li still admired his knowledge.

"I think that if Chiping cannot be conquered for a long time, even if we take Linyi, it will not help the army to advance the speed of the Central Plains." Zhang Xuan said respectfully, "Under the current situation, taking Chiping, Annihilation of thousands of defenders is equivalent to clearing a great obstacle for the army to advance to the hinterland of the Central Plains." He looked at Fan Li solemnly, bowed and said, "My lord, we should rush to help Chiping, we can't waste any time."

Fan Li thought for a long time, then waved his hand and said: "Send the order, the army will immediately attack Chiping."

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(End of this chapter)