Great Han Empire

Chapter 865 The Heroes of Troubled Times Compete in the Central Plains
Yangwu City.

After Zhang Yan received Zhang Yun's request for help, he realized that the rebels had put half of their troops on the front line of Fengqiu and Wuchao. This surprised him and hurriedly dispatched reinforcements.He urgently ordered Wang Dang, who was blocking the enemy on the front line of Suanzao in Yanjin, to rush to Fengqiu City for support, ordered Lu Bu to cross the river overnight, and led two battalions of southern troops to the Wuchao area to help Zhang He, Gao Shun and other generals guard the Jishui River line of defense.

Yuan Shao did not put the main force on the frontal battlefield to pursue, but assembled heavy troops to attack from the flanks in order to cut off the retreat of the Northern Xinjiang Army and completely wipe out the Northern Xinjiang Army. There was a serious mistake in the deployment of troops. In just two days, the Northern Border Army, which stood on the front line of Fengqiu and Wuchao, suffered heavy losses.

Zhang Yan was heartbroken and regretful again.Since the start of the war, it was the first time that the Northern Xinjiang Army lost four generals and nearly ten thousand soldiers at the same time on one battlefield. This was something that I could not even imagine before the war.

"Urgently report to the general, and ask him to lead the cavalry to cross the river as soon as possible." Zhang Yan's face was ashen, and he punched the case, "I will not avenge this revenge, and I will not be a human being."

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Twenty miles south of Yangwu City, on the banks of the Jishui River, Xin Ping, Jiang Qi and others commanded the army to attack with overwhelming momentum.

Yu Po, captain of Zhongbaying, and Chen Jian, captain of Buqiying, urgently told Qu Yi that the rebels were attacking like a tide, and the army suffered too much loss, so they asked for reinforcements.

At this time, some soldiers of the northern army, led by Yushi, had already withdrawn to Yuanwu City, and the two battalions of soldiers of the southern army who stayed in Yangwu City were led by Fan Li to cross the gutter water and were evacuating to Suanzao. available troops.In desperation, Qu Yi rushed to Yangwu City in person, intending to beg Zhang Yan to temporarily draw troops from the original Wucheng to go south for support.

"Brother Yuntian, order Yu Du and Chen Jian to withdraw from the battlefield immediately and retreat to the Yuanwu City." Zhang Yan waved his cattail fan while pointing at the guards rushing in and out of the government office, "I'll cross the river first and get to the gutter water On the east bank, you will lead your troops to retreat to the original Wucheng, and join me in Yanjin. We want to lure Yuan Shao here, so we can't wait too long at Jishui River."

"The general has already crossed the river?" Qu Yi heard that he was going to retreat, and he immediately felt relieved. He snatched the fan from Zhang Yan's hand and slapped it fiercely a few times, "Have the iron cavalry arrived on the north bank of the Yellow River? "

Zhang Yan leaned over and handed the scrolls of bamboo slips on the case table to Wei Yan who was packing up, "According to the time calculation, the general should have arrived in Liyang."

"So, Yuan Shao will not have a few days to be happy."

"Hurry up, he's going to cry soon." Zhang Yan said with a smile, "You need to retreat faster, throw away everything you can, don't feel bad. In a few days, when we come back from killing, these things will still be yours .”

"Haha... Not only are these things still mine, but even Yuan Shao's head is mine." Qu Yi put the cattail leaf fan in Zhang Yan's arms, turned around and strode away, "See you in Yanjin."

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Yanjin Ferry.

Today Liu Bei made a comeback.He ordered Gao Gan to launch a diversion attack at Yanjindu, and he and Zhu Ling led people to cross the river ten miles upstream of Yanjindu.

The river crossing was very smooth, and hundreds of people reached the opposite bank unimpeded, but Liu Bei and Zhu Ling smelled a suffocating danger, and both of them felt that something was wrong.It is only four to fifty miles away from Suanzao and Yanjin, and only ten miles away from Yanjin Ferry. Even if the Northern Xinjiang Army did not deploy heavy troops here, at least they would arrange Northern Xinjiang cavalry to patrol, and it is impossible not to see the shadow of the enemy.

Tuqianqu, who was the first to go ashore, carefully checked the surrounding area, and told Liu Bei that everything was safe.Liu Bei gritted his teeth, waved and ordered to send another [-] soldiers across the river.

Before half of the 2000 people landed, the roar of galloping horses resounded up and down the river, and a group of northern Xinjiang cavalry roared along the river embankment.The coalition soldiers were caught off guard and faced the battle in a panic. The thin battle formation was torn to pieces by the rampant cavalry in an instant, and more than 1000 people were quickly swallowed by the torrent.

Liu Bei was shocked and hurriedly ordered to retreat.The attack failed again.

Since the Northern Xinjiang Army had heavy troops on the Yanjindu line and could not break through, Liu Bei immediately thought of attacking from the direction of Qingshuikou, more than 100 miles downstream.In any case, I have to be ordered to bring the army to the other side, otherwise, after the war, once the northern army retreats intact, and the coalition forces fail to achieve the goal of severely injuring the northern army, I will be very guilty.

However, as soon as he thought of Qingshuikou, news of help came from the direction of Qingshuikou, and the Northern Xinjiang Army began to counterattack.Before Liu Bei could make a decision on whether to rescue, Gao Rou's second letter arrived. The Northern Xinjiang Army's offensive was too fierce, and he couldn't resist it, so he had to withdraw from Qingshuikou.

Holding Gao Rou's letter, Liu Bei was helpless.Now I am in serious trouble. Not only do I have to rush to help Gao Rou to block the counterattack of the northern army, but also quickly cross the river to attack Yanjin. I can't wait for both of these two things, and I need troops for both of them. Should I rush to help Gao Rou to take back Qingshuikou first? Or should we concentrate our forces on Yanjin first?If you give up Qingshuikou, you will have to garrison heavy troops in Jixian County to block the Northern Xinjiang Army on the east bank of Qingshui River, but in this way, there will not be enough troops to attack Yanjin.Liu Bei was caught in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat, and didn't know what to do.

"Defend Ji County first, block the Northern Army on the east bank of the Qingshui River, and then wait for an opportunity to attack Yanjin." Seeing that Liu Bei could not make up his mind for a long time, Gao Gan knew that he was worried about Yuan Shao, so he took the initiative to suggest, "Rely on our few troops. , coupled with the Yellow River in front of us, it is actually impossible to capture Yanjin. The biggest effect of our attack on Yanjin is actually to contain the strength of the Northern Xinjiang Army, so as to help the coalition forces on the front lines of Fengqiu and Wuchao quickly obtain Breakthrough, therefore, defending Hanoi should be our top priority, followed by helping the coalition forces on the other side capture Yanjin."

Gao Gan is Yuan Shao's nephew, since he has spoken, things will be easy to handle.Without hesitation, Liu Bei immediately accepted Gao Gan's suggestion, and ordered Zhu Ling to lead the army to support Gao Rou, to recapture Qingshuikou as much as possible, and to drive the Northern Xinjiang Army back to Chaoge City.

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Li Yang.

On the surface of the Yellow River, the five boat bridges are like giant dragons, quietly lying prone on the surging river.

Flags were flying on the bridge, and convoys of convoys transporting food, grass and luggage were passing through the bridge.The sea of ​​people on the ferry is like a tide, the voices are full of people, and the hustle and bustle is very lively.

Li Hong frowned slightly, then turned to look at Fu Gan, "Can this place be cleaned up before dusk?"

"Yes, it won't delay the cavalry army crossing the river." Fu Gan hurriedly replied, "From tomorrow onwards, all civilians, food, grass, and supplies will cross the river from the direction of Changshoujin, and all five boat bridges here are reserved for the army to use." Fu Gan Pointing to the dense crowd on the ferry and the boat bridge, "In the afternoon, after these people have crossed the river, the ferry and nearby roads for tens of miles will all be blocked."

Li Hong nodded, "Is Baima City ready?"

"It's all ready, don't worry, General." Fu Gan said with a smile, "There is Mr. Yang Qi sitting in charge over there, and Mr. Wang Ling and Mr. Wang Chang are helping each other, so nothing will go wrong."

"One hundred thousand cavalry roared down, and there was no armor left on the battlefield within a hundred miles, and no one could survive." Xian Yufu said very seriously, "It is impossible for us to tell the Hu knights who are the rebels. Who are the common people, who should be killed, and who should not be killed, so you should immediately report to Mr. Yang Qi and ask him to do his best to evacuate the people in Baima, Pingyangting, and Yancheng to a safe area. If they don’t want to leave, they are forced to drive them away.”

Fu Gan bowed and agreed, "Yan Yun (Wang Ling) said in his letter that in recent months, due to frequent fighting in Baima, Pingyang, and Yancheng, most of the local people have fled their homes. It can be said that the place is deserted. In addition, According to the information we got from Luoyang, Yuan Shao ordered the officials of Henan Yin, Chenliu, and Dongjun to forcefully move a large number of people from counties and counties that might be affected by the war to Yuzhou and Luoyang as early as April." Fu Gan smiled slightly, "Yuan Shao did us a big favor."

When Xian Yufu heard the words, his face showed suspicion, and he turned to look at Li Hong.

"It's true. When Zishan (Yan Liang) attacked Henan, most of the people in Xingyang and Chenggao fled into Hulao Pass." Li Hong said with a smile, "After the army crossed the river and entered Yanzhou, Yuan Shao probably estimated that they At least the front line of Fengqiu and Chenliu can stop us, so he planned ahead and moved the people from those places to the south. When we arrived at Guandu, we walked hundreds of miles without seeing a single person."

"Why did Yuan Shao do this? He is willing to use food to help hundreds of thousands or even millions of refugees?"

"Where there are millions of people, it would be good to have a few hundred thousand people." Li Hong shook his head and said, "From the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the first year of Zhongping (AD 10), to Yuan Shao's alliance against Dong Zhuo, to Cao Cao, Lu Bu , Yuan Shu's scramble for Yanzhou, coupled with continuous natural and man-made disasters, how much population is left in the Central Plains? Look at how many Central Plains people we have in Hebei, and you can probably guess the current population of the Central Plains."

"Even if it is to help tens of thousands of people, it is still a heavy burden for Yuan Shao." Xian Yufu shook his head and said, "He is still willing to do such a thing at the critical moment of the Central Plains War? Didn't he drive the refugees to Jizhou back then?" ? Why are you robbing people again now?"

"His purpose is very simple. It is to recruit troops to expand his army." Fu Gan explained, "The Central Plains War requires a lot of troops, and Yuan Shao must quickly recruit troops to expand his army if he wants to maintain his strength. The forced conscription in Luoyang and Yuzhou will inevitably affect the stability of Luoyang and Yuzhou. Therefore, how to recruit a large number of troops in the shortest possible time without affecting the stability of Luoyang and Yuzhou has become a headache. And to solve this problem, the best way is to create refugees, and then get the soldiers you need from the refugees."

"The Central Plains War will cause many people to be displaced and become refugees. In order to survive, these refugees either join the army or sell them cheaply as slaves. In short, as long as they want to survive, they have to listen to Yuan Shao's mercy, so that Yuan Shao's needs can be met. In addition ..." Fu Gan pointed to the other side of the Yellow River, "Don't you think the land around Guandu, Kaifeng, and Junyi is very fertile? Although the land around Baima, Yancheng, Yanjin, and Suanzao may encounter floods occasionally, they are all in the upper reaches of the river. Good land."

Li Hong and Xian Yufu looked at Fu Gan suspiciously, not knowing what his words meant.

"Yuan Shao took advantage of the opportunity of the Great War in the Central Plains to remove all these people, and another very important purpose was to snatch these lands." Fu Gan continued, "In recent years, Yuan Shao has been very generous to his subordinates and often rewarded them with a lot of money. Give them the land. In the past few years, he has rewarded all the fertile land in Luoyang, Yuzhou and other places, and he is already short of cash. After the end of the Central Plains War, he needs more land to reward his subordinates, so he is in a hurry Resistant to southward migration. Although he will definitely be able to occupy Yanzhou after defeating us, he will get more fertile land, but it will take a while. Rewarding his subordinates in time is the most time-saving and labor-saving thing, why would he not do it?"

Li Hong and Xian Yufu suddenly realized.

"You can snatch ten thousand hectares of fertile land without any effort, Yuan Shao's method is really very clever." Xian Yufu sneered disdainfully, "In my opinion, he probably rewarded himself with the most land, right?"

"It's human nature to kill people if they don't do it for themselves." Fu Gan said with a smile.

Li Hong didn't speak.Yuan Shao rewarded his subordinates very generously, but what about Hebei?Shouldn't the court think of a way?
"General, Zhao Yun, Yan Wuwei, Xian Yuyin, Lei Zi, Tie Yue and other lords have arrived. They want to ask the general if the military discussion will start immediately?" The arbitrary report woke up Li Hong who was in deep thought.He thought for a while, then waved at Xian Yufu, "Brother Yuxing, let's go."

"Should we wait a little longer?" Xian Yufu said as he walked, "In the evening, Liu Bao, Lou Lu, and Ta Dun, the three big chanyus, Sheyingtong, Tuoba raccoon and other little kings will all come to Liyang. Wouldn't it be better to talk together?"

"Tonight, I'm going to have a banquet with them." Li Hong said with a smile, "I'm going to tell them that no matter whether they were friends or enemies in the past, now they are under my tent, they must listen to me, otherwise don't blame me for turning their faces and denying people. Chop off their heads."

"Haha... Is the general trying to scare them away?" Xian Yufu laughed.

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Fengqiu City.

The two consecutive days of attacks caused the Northern Xinjiang Army to lose troops and generals, and the defense line was frequently in a hurry, but the various units of the coalition army were also hit hard. During the attack, due to reasons such as weapons and combat experience of the soldiers, the various units suffered heavy casualties, especially those who came from both sides of the Yangtze River. The Jingzhou Army, Runan Army, Jiujiang Army and Jiangdong Army suffered considerable losses.These armies themselves were seriously downsized due to many reasons such as hot weather and unacceptable conditions. In addition, most of their soldiers had never experienced such cruel battles, so it was inevitable that they would suffer heavy casualties.

The generals of the various ministries originally thought that relying on large numbers of people could gain a bargain, but who knew that after two days of fighting, not only did they fail to capture Fengqiu City and cross the Jishui River, but suffered unprecedented losses.This kind of loss was not something they were willing to accept, and their personal determination to fight immediately began to waver, and morale also dropped sharply as the casualties increased.

At present, the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army has withdrawn from Guandu and is moving towards Yanjin and Suanzao. In the next few days of fighting, they will face more and more Northern Xinjiang Army, and their losses will also increase. The hope of crossing the Jishui River to capture Yanjin Suanzao and block the Northern Xinjiang Army has become more and more elusive as time goes on.Since there is no hope of annihilating the Northern Xinjiang Army, some people are unwilling to waste their troops in vain, especially Ji Ling's Jiujiang Army and Sun Fu and Lu Su's Jiangdong Army.The reason why they traveled all the way to the Central Plains battlefield was purely forced by Yuan Shao.In the Central Plains War, no matter who wins or loses, it will not have much impact on them for a period of time in the future. How should they live?

On the third day of the war, the Jiujiang Army and the Jiangdong Army took the lead in stopping the attack on the pretext of serious loss of troops and extremely low morale.

Cao Cao was very angry and furious. In the military meeting, he directly accused Ji Ling of disobeying military orders and shaking the morale of the army, and suspected that he had colluded with the Northern Xinjiang Army.Ji Ling's family members are now in Hebei, which is the best reason for suspicion.Ji Ling ignored Cao Cao's tricks at all, he stood up and kicked the table, pointed at his head and shouted, "Here is the head, cut it off..."

Ji Ling was unwilling to follow Yuan Shao's order and lead his army to the Central Plains, but because of Liu Bei's repeated persuasion, he reluctantly led his army to the north, so Cao Cao's unreasonable accusation not only angered Ji Ling , Also angered Guan Yu and Zhang Fei of the Xuzhou Army.Zhang Fei held great resentment towards Cao Cao's Yanzhou Army because of the surprise attack on Changyi City, and this happened to give him a chance to vent.He followed closely behind Ji Ling, kicked the broken case, blushed, and yelled at Cao Cao, spouting words like eunuch and butcher.

When Cao Hong, Shi Huan, Xu Chu, and Dian Wei heard that they could bear it, they jumped up on the spot, cursing and yelling, pushing and shoving each other, and touching each other.Zhang Fei's eyes were sharp and his hands were quick, he picked up a wine bottle next to the case table, covered his head and face, and smashed it on Dian Wei's head, smashing Dian Wei's head and blood on the spot.Before Dian Wei could react, Xu Chu had already jumped on him.Zhang Fei roared angrily, and punched Xu Chu in the face, causing Xu Chu's nose to bleed profusely.Xu Chu was not easy to provoke, so he kicked Zhang Fei upside down.Fearing that the world would not be chaotic, Lu Su yelled, "It's no good, Mr. Zhang has fainted and is about to die." Guan Yu was furious, and pushed Huang Zhong who was blocking him away with his palm, and flew up to wipe his hand. Xu Chu, who had a nosebleed, kicked and flew out.Zhang Fei got up in a daze, and roared loudly: "Copy the guy, copy the guy, chop Butcher Cao, chop him up..."

There was a sudden chaos in the big tent.

Cao Cao was guarded on the side of the big tent by his personal guards, and his expression was a little dazed.He didn't expect things to get this bad.

Kuai Yue, Deng Yi, Pang Ji, Xu Wei and others tried their best to dissuade them.

Considering that this was Cao Cao's camp, Guan Yu was worried that something might happen, so he hurriedly dragged Zhang Fei and Ji Ling, and rushed out under the protection of a group of personal guards.

Kuai Yue temporarily took command of Cao Cao. He ordered all the ministries to stop attacking and take a rest for a day. At the same time, he urged Liu Biao to rush to Fengqiu to direct the overall situation.
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(End of this chapter)