Great Han Empire

Chapter 833 The Heroes of Troubled Times Compete in the Central Plains
In mid-April, Hanoi County, Pinggao City.

Pinggao City is like an unyielding warrior, bloodstained and scarred, standing proudly by the Jishui River.The dilapidated banner on the city tower waved its arms under the blue sky, roaring to the sky, majestic and majestic.

Gao Rou smelled the strong stench that permeated the air, and his chest was extremely distressed, and the feeling of vomiting surged, making him involuntarily reach out and cover his mouth.

"My lord, let's attack." Zhu Ling pointed at the battlefield where the corpses were scattered, with a trace of contempt in his eyes, "The northern army can't hold it anymore. In two or three days, we will definitely be able to take Pinggao."

"The attack should be more fierce." Gao Rou turned the horse's head and galloped to the rear of the battle formation. "Reinforcements from the Northern Border Army will appear at any time. We must retake Pinggao as soon as possible at all costs."

Zhu Ling and Zhao Rui looked at each other, and turned to look at Pinggao City at the same time, with solemn expressions.The attack has lasted for twelve days, and after paying a heavy price of more than 6000 people, the army still failed to attack the city wall.Although the Northern Border Army was at a disadvantage in number, they relied on their tenacious will to firmly guard the city without showing any signs of defeat.

"Master Yuan Wei came to write a letter last night, and the Kansai battlefield is getting tighter and tighter." Gao Rou looked up at the battle flag swaying in the wind, looking listless, feeling a little uneasy in her heart.After continuous attacks, the soldiers were physically and mentally exhausted, the attack gradually lost its sharpness, and the attack rhythm became slower and slower. If there is no progress in this battle, the time will drag on and the hope of victory will be very slim.As long as the northern army gains an advantage in the Yanzhou battlefield, they will immediately adopt a new strategy in the Henan battlefield, and Ping Gao must bear the brunt of it.

"Master Chunyu is still retreating?" Zhu Ling asked in surprise, "Has the army in Guanzhong started attacking Hedong yet?"

"Lord Chunyu has withdrawn from Mianchi and is defending Xin'an." Gao Rou snorted coldly, and said angrily, "Xiansi (Yuan Tan) somehow thinks, but at this moment, he still wants to preserve his strength. If the Kansai battlefield Major changes occurred, Luoyang was in a hurry, and Henan was lost because of this. How can he live a good life? Look at Xianyi (Yuan Xi), who rushed from Nanyang to the battlefield in Henan without a day's delay, but what about him? He has two , The [-] troops, after receiving the order, were reluctant to attack Hedong for a long time, which caused the situation in Kansai to be tense, and Hangu Pass was in frequent emergency situations. It will not do him any good to do so, in the future..."

Zhu Ling and Zhao Rui remained silent.This matter is related to Yuan Shao's family affairs, Gao Rou, Yuan Shao's nephew, can complain, but they dare not speak casually.

"Isn't Master Duan Yan in the area of ​​Tongguan and Huayin?" Zhu Ling whispered, "Han Sui's iron cavalry in Xiliang is in Fufeng, and the army in Guanzhong dare not attack Hedong at will. ..."

"The troops in the direction of Fenglingdu and Taolin Fortress are restrained by the Northern Frontier Army. If Master Duan Yan attacks Pubanjin, the Northern Frontier Army will immediately attack Fenglingdu and Taolin Fortress. In this way, the two places will lose Support, Kansai may be more critical." Gao Rou sighed, "For Hebei, the Kansai battlefield is a containment battlefield, but once the Northern Army gains an advantage in the Central Plains battlefield, the Kansai battlefield may become the main battlefield at any time."

Gao Rou looked at the two of them, and said with a wry smile: "The ultimate goal of Hebei's attack on the Central Plains is Luoyang. After the Central Plains is obtained, Guanzhong and Kanxi will definitely become the next targets of the Northern Frontier Army. The Xinjiang army forced back to Hedong, not only related to the safety of Luoyang, but also related to the success or failure of the Central Plains War. If Xiansi only cares about himself and delays sending troops to Hedong, the result will be disastrous." Gao Rou sighed for a long time, turned to face the two The man waved the horsewhip in his hand, "Please do your best, my lords. As long as we can capture Pinggao and surround the Northern Border Army in Henan, we still have hope of winning this battle."

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Zhang Yun stationed his horse at Gaopo, looked at a dark shadow far away on the horizon, and let out a long breath.

Finally arrived at Pinggao city.Mr. Zhang Yan's method has immediate effect.When Xin Ping saw Yan Liang's army approaching Zhongmu, he immediately gave up supporting the Puyang battlefield, and also gave up the idea of ​​sending troops to attack Aocang to encircle and annihilate the northern Xinjiang army.On the night when Xin Pingping's troops went south, he also led his army across the river to rush to the Pinggao battlefield.

"My lord, the enemy's scouts have spotted us. Will the army continue to attack the rebel flank according to the predetermined plan?" Cheng Lian charged forward and asked loudly.

"Is Zhu Ling withdrawing his troops?"

"Retreating." Cheng Lian waved his hands excitedly and said, "The rebels don't know how many people we have come, so they retreated in a panic. If we can take the opportunity to attack at this moment, we will be able to hit their flanks hard and beat Zhu Ling back to Ji. On the west bank of the river."

"Command the ministries, attack quickly, quickly..."

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The Hanoi army withdrew to the camp as quickly as possible.

The rapid sound of war drums resounded across the field, and the tense atmosphere made people almost breathless.The soldiers in the camp rushed back and forth, shouting deafeningly, and fear filled the entire camp with the bloody air.

"Move the archers to the left side of the camp, quick, quick..."

Zhu Ling looked at the Beijiang army rushing from a distance, and cursed angrily, "What are the tens of thousands of Aocang troops doing? Are they all sleeping in the camp?"

"Xin Ping, this bastard, has an army of tens of thousands in his hands, yet he allows his enemies to cross the river to help." Zhao Rui wiped the blood on his face, his eyes tearing apart, "I'm going to kill him."

Gao Rou stationed her horse under the banner, staring blankly at the roaring Northern Xinjiang reinforcements, with a look of despair on her face.It was hard for him to believe his eyes. At this critical moment, Xin Ping's army failed to hold back the Northern Border Army on the Henan battlefield, allowing them to kill Pinggao.The [-]-day attack was ruined overnight, and the lives of thousands of soldiers were buried under the city of Pinggao meaninglessly.

"Boom..." With a loud noise, the ballista in the camp began to roar.The crossbow arrows roared fiercely, pouring away with the anger and pain of Hanoi soldiers.

"Let... let..." Several military waiters impatiently gave the order to shoot before the archers were fully arrayed.

In an instant, arrows filled the sky.

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In mid-April, Henan, Zhongmu.

After Yan Liang received Zhang Yan's order to attack Zhong Mou, he rushed out of Guancheng with lightning speed and caught Han Heng and Ma Yan by surprise.The two dared not love to fight, so they withdrew 160 miles in one breath, and returned directly to Zhongmou, holding on to the city.

The resolute retreat of the rebels made Yan Liang a little worried.

There are two lanes in the direction of Guancheng.One is to the east, directly leading to Zhongmou and Chenliu.One is to the south, directly leading to Yuanling, Xinzheng and Yingchuan.Once the rebels retreated 160 miles, if the northern army directly pursued and killed Zhongmou, the defensive forces in the direction of Guancheng and Xingyang would be very limited.At this time, once Yuan Shao transferred troops from other counties and counties in Yuzhou to go north, or the Jingzhou army supporting the Central Plains battlefield went straight to Guancheng from the direction of Yingchuan, the Northern Xinjiang army attacking Zhongmu would be surrounded between Zhongmu and Guancheng.

After discussing with Wei Xu, Xu Yan, Zhou Shan and others, Yan Liang left 3000 men to garrison Guancheng, and the rest of the army followed him to attack Zhongmu.The scouts traveled a hundred miles south to search for the traces of the rebels, and if they found any rebels heading north from Yingchuan to Henan, they urgently told the Northern Xinjiang Army in the direction of Zhongmou to withdraw their troops urgently.

After Yan Liang led his army to Zhongmu, he did not order to attack the city because of his own lack of strength. Instead, he set up three camps outside the city, pretending to be tens of thousands of troops with civilians, and made a full attack posture.

On the second day after arriving in Zhongmou, the scouts on both sides of the Honggou River quickly reported back that the rebels in the direction of Aocang had already split up and moved south, and would soon reach the east bank of the Honggou River. Kill Zhongmu directly.

At this time, Yan Liang had not received the news of Pinggao City, let alone the news that the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army had occupied Dingtao and Changyi. However, he considered that the main force of Yuan Shao's army was gradually moving to the Zhongmou area, and that the entire battle situation in Henan was moving in a favorable direction. The Northern Xinjiang Army moved towards capturing the Central Plains, so it decided to stay in Zhongmou to attract more rebels to the Zhongmou and Chenliu areas, buying more time for the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army to seize Dingtao and Changyi.

"I plan to move the battalion to Guandu, build it along the Honggou River, block the enemy's direction of crossing the river, create a tendency to rush to occupy Zhongmou East and enter Yanzhou, and force the enemy to move more troops from the direction of Aocang to the south." Yan Liang pointed On the map on the table, he pointed heavily at the Guandu Pavilion on the map, "If most of the main force of Yuan Shao's army is attracted to the south by us, then Gao Lan in the direction of Puyang can free up his hands and quickly capture the city of Chu. Consolidate the Puyang defense line and prepare for the army to attack the White Horse. If the White Horse is captured, the army can go down to Yan County, Yanjin, and Fengqiu to directly threaten the flanks of the Central Plains battlefield. A favorable situation for a decisive battle with the rebels will be formed."

"In addition, Yuan Shao's main force goes south, and our army in the direction of Aocang can be called immediately. The situation in the Henan battlefield is under our control again." Yan Liang sneered, "As long as Wen Chou and Zhang Liao guard Pinggao, we can advance and retreat freely. Yuan Shao wants to encircle and wipe out Let's go dream."

Wei Xu, Zhao Xuan, Zhou Shan and others agreed with Yan Liang's strategy. They discussed the details, and then Wei Xu and Zhao Xuan led the army to move the camp. Zhou Shan wrote a letter to Handan Xingyuan, and Yan Liang ordered the generals on the Henan battlefield to , be prepared to withdraw from Henan at any time.

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In mid-April, Yuzhou Yingchuan, Xuchang.

After Liu Biao received the emperor's decree and Yuan Shao's letter, he traveled day and night and arrived in Xuchang ahead of the army.

After Yuan Shao visited the emperor in Xuchang, he was worshiped by the emperor as the great Sima and the great general, in charge of state affairs and monopolized power.At this time, everyone in the court knew that Cao Cao had come to an end and had no future, so overnight, all forces pinned their hopes of revitalizing the country on Yuan Shao, and the ministers of the court expressed their allegiance to Yuan Shao. His power expanded again, and his prestige reached its peak for a while.

When Yuan Shao was in full bloom, he didn't forget himself. He used Jushou again, and took Jushou as the official order to help him deal with state affairs.

The development of the Henan battlefield and the extreme deterioration of the situation in the Central Plains forced Yuan Shao to let go of his previous suspicions and re-appoint Jushou.Yuan Shao appreciated Jushou's talent and loyalty very much, and he also formed the habit of relying on Jushou to sit in the rear for a long time.Now Jushou is in Xuchang, and in the imperial court, his influence on Luoyang is very small.Yuan Shao hoped that with the help of Jushou's talents, relying on the power of the emperor and the court, he would join forces to defeat Hebei.When Li Hong was defeated, the role of the emperor and the imperial court disappeared. At that time, Luoyang was still Luoyang, Xuchang was still Xuchang, and Jushou still could not have the same influence on Luoyang as before.Based on this point, Yuan Shao invited Jushou out again without any hesitation in the current precarious situation.

Yuan Shao originally wanted to use this opportunity to amend the official system and remove Cao Cao's prime minister, but Ju Shou dissuaded him.In the DPRK, many celebrities and ministers are Cao Cao's people. Although due to the current situation, they are all close to Yuan Shao, but once they defeat Hebei and regain the Central Plains, they may turn against Yuan Shao at any time and turn around. Go help Cao Cao again.Because in the eyes of these ministers, it is not a good thing for Yuan Shao to be in power alone. After all, the prophecy of "Yuan Daihan" and "Five Virtues" have been circulated in various places for several years. If Yuan Shao defeated Li Hong this time, He has made outstanding achievements and is very likely to embark on the road of usurping in the future.In order to prevent problems before they happen, it is inevitable to help Cao Cao restrain and weaken Yuan Shao.

For this reason, Ju Shou suggested that Yuan Shao should maintain the status quo before the end of the Central Plains War.If you want to defeat Li Hong as soon as possible, you need to work together.In order to calm the world and stabilize the country as soon as possible, it is necessary to weaken the strength of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Liu Biao and others.The Central Plains War is the best opportunity to weaken the strength of Cao Cao and others. When Cao Cao has few soldiers, not to mention the ministers in the court, even Cao Cao himself may bow to the adults.

Yuan Shao accepted Jushou's suggestion and devoted all his energy to the Central Plains War.During the war, all major military and political affairs were handled by Shangshutai, and all the governments in the DPRK and China obeyed Shangshutai's orders.

Jushou recommended Wang Lang, Hua Xin, Zheng Hun and other famous scholars from all over the world to the Shangshutai, and begged Yuan Shao to pardon Tian Feng and use Tian Feng again.

Yuan Shao politely refused.After Jushou returned to the mansion, he thought twice, wrote a letter full of emotion, and visited Yuan Shao again at night.After reading the letter, Yuan Shao remembered Tian Feng's great achievements over the years, and also thought of the current crisis in the Central Plains, so he finally agreed.He urgently ordered Luoyang Yuan Wei to release Tian Feng immediately, and let him rush to Xuchang day and night.

In the next few days, Yuan Shao and a group of ministers at Shangshutai discussed day and night the strategy of facing Hebei and defeating the northern army.

Ju Shou analyzed the current situation in detail, and believed that it was impossible to solve Yan Liang in the Henan battlefield and block Li Hong in Dingtao and Changyi at the same time when the opportunity was lost, and one of the two battlefields had to be given up.Jushou believes that the Jingzhou army has not arrived at Yingchuan so far, and it is impossible to advance eastward and join forces with Cao Cao and Liu Bei to rescue Dingtao and block Li Hong. Therefore, Dingtao and Changyi are abandoned, and the allied forces block the northern army's attack on Fengqiu and Chenliu. Pace is the best policy.

Let's first unite with the Jingzhou Army to deal with the Northern Xinjiang Army on the Henan battlefield in the shortest possible time. Even if they cannot be encircled and wiped out, we must drive them out of Henan.As long as the northern border army on the Henan battlefield is dealt with, we will be able to free up our hands and prepare for the decisive battle with all our strength.

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I will go to work in the afternoon and continue tomorrow.Thank you for your support, thank you.

(End of this chapter)