The north of Gaoping was sparsely populated, and only a large city was supplied hundreds of miles away. Zhang He walked in a hurry and did not bring any food. He didn't know if he could persist in catching up with the main force ahead.
The only thing Zhang He could rely on was that the horses in Wei State were better, the running speed was faster and stronger. If the Han and Wei sides used the same time, Huang Zhong would never be able to catch up.
Neither side brought torches, so they could not move forward at night, and they all drank horses by the Qingshui River to rest.
In early winter, horses can lift up the soil and eat grass roots, while soldiers have no food to resist. There is no tent at night to resist the cold wind, and people and horses snuggle together to keep warm.
Zhang He looked at the stars in the sky and thought to himself that we had no tents and no food, so that old guy would not have it. Maybe he would all freeze to death tomorrow morning. He didn't know that Huang Zhong was well prepared.
Each of the Han cavalry carried compressed grain for half a month. They were wearing winter clothes made from Guangzhou Military Workshop. The lining was filled with feathers of chickens, ducks and birds. Not only was the upper body light but also very warm.
The next day, just as the sky was dawn, two cavalrymen from Han and Wei set out at the same time. They were like playing a chase game, running on the bleak land outside the border.
When the scouts behind him heard news, Zhang He was so angry that he thrust his horse's buttocks and ran forward. He didn't expect Huang Zhong to be so tenacious, and thought to himself that I will take you to run for two more days, and wait for two days to get tired of horses and then turn around and fight.
We continued to chase each other for the next two days, but as the horse's endurance gradually declined, the marching speed of the day gradually slowed down, but we still ran for nearly 400 miles in three days, and we were about to approach the south bank of the Yellow River in a blink of an eye.
"If you continue to march at this speed, you will be able to catch up with General Cao's main force in three days." During the rest of the third night, Zhang He fell into deep thought after the mark on the stone.
When Cao Zhen suppressed the rebellion in Hexi, he left marks on the march in order to facilitate unified dispatch and command, so that each unit could calculate the march time based on the marks.
Zhang He took advantage of the glimmer of dusk to patrol, watching the soldiers who had not eaten for three days were listless, and thought that how could he stop in this state to counterattack? Even if he could catch up with Cao Zhen, he would starve to death. So he decided to turn northeast and go to Fuping, the former Beidi County Capitol for supplies, so that he could only arrive in one and a half days.
If Huang Zhong continues to chase, Zhang He plans to eat and drink enough, defeat the Han army at Fuping City, then bring enough supplies to cross the river, and then turn northwest to Wuwei.
Zhang He cheered everyone up at night, promising that he would have wine and meat when he arrived in Fuping, so that the soldiers would cheer up and hold on for a while, and that he would personally kill Huang Zhong.
No one questioned Zhang He's decision because everyone knew that was the only way to survive.
Huang Zhong's troops chased the Yellow River. Under the introduction of Anding's surrendered general, they knew that Cao Zhen was two hundred miles northwest, but his target was only Zhang He at this time, so they followed him to Fuping.
In the 33rd year of Qin Shihuang, the Qin general Meng Tian was ordered to expel the Huns in the north and regain a large area of ​​land along the Yellow River. After the war, forty-four county towns were built along the river. Fuping County was set up at that time.
Fuping County is surrounded by mountains and flowing, and the geographical situation is very important. It is a fortress to defend the northern nomadic peoples. In addition, with the Yellow River irrigation, agriculture is developed. It was once a very prosperous place. It became the capital of Beidi County during the Eastern Han Dynasty. Later, due to the rebellion of the Qiang people, it moved in and out three times. Finally, it settled in Zuofengyi in the 15th year of Zhongping (185) of Emperor Ling of Han. (now Fuping, Shaanxi)
From the end of the Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms for decades, there were constant wars between the Qiang and Han on the northwest border. Fuping County next to the Yellow River was not as good as before. In addition to the large population loss, the city was old and damaged. The northern counties were surrounded by Fuping, Lian County and Lingzhou, the population of the three counties of Lingzhou was only 5,000. Zhang He wanted to have a full meal and basically dreamed during the day.
Fuping, which has only more than 400 households, is only equivalent to an ordinary village in the Central Plains. The people donated food in front of the Wei army, but they could only barely satisfy their hunger.
After simply filling his stomach, Zhang He led his army out of the city to fight Huang Zhong. He thought that although the number of people on his side was smaller, he had just experienced the supply spirit and had a better spirit. However, the ending was often surprising. The Han soldiers all had bright eyes and still looked the same, unlike those who had experienced cold and hungry.
Could it be that you will be back? Zhang He obviously couldn't understand, but since he decided to fight back at this time, he still spoke harshly in the face of the battle, "Old man Huang Zhong, I'll chase me for a few days. It seems that I'm crazy about dying. Today I will fulfill your wish."
"I finally don't want to run away? Are the soldiers starving? There is no pain if they die." Huang Zhong smiled meaningfully.
Zhang He raised his head and sneered: "Old man, do you still have the strength to shout? When all the people die, so many war horses will probably have to be eaten for a month."
"Wei general Zhang He has a hard mouth and a weak legs. It is well known that I will kill rats with this knife." Huang Zhong shook his head and sarcastically.
"Old man Huang Zhong, today is your sacrifice day next year. The whole army will attack." After Zhang He spoke harshly, he waved his hand forward and charged with the cavalry behind him.
"My boys, the hunting has begun." Huang Zhong also commanded the Han army to hedge.
The Han and Wei sides hedge against the cavalry on the south bank of the Yellow River. Time seemed to return to the Qiang-Han War decades ago, as if back to the Han people who had been longer, the Huns War, and the dilapidated and defeated city walls of Fuping were silently watching.
The hungry Wei soldiers fought as soon as they filled their stomachs. They soon suffered abdominal pain due to violent movements. The pain slowly began to slow down. The fatal slowness on the battlefield was a disaster. Zhang He tried his best to fight Huang Zhong. After only three or four rounds of battle, he saw that the surrounding Wei soldiers were constantly being beaten down.
What kind of wonder is this? Where did the Han soldiers get their physical strength?
Just as Zhang He was out of sight, Huang Zhong used a force to cut Huashan and almost landed on the other party's neck.
Zhang He realized at the critical moment. He used the gun handle to hold the blade and pushed it upwards, barely resolving Huang Zhongshi's powerful slash, and countless cold sweats emerged from his vest.
Huang Zhong's power is still so strong? Zhang He was so shocked that he swallowed his saliva. Yu Guangli found that Wei soldiers were shot down continuously, and thought to himself that he probably made Yang Qiu's mistake. Could this old guy have helped him? Why can't he die?
During the round, Zhang He decisively pulled his horse and turned around and ran away, shouting loudly: "Retreat, retreat quickly."
If you can't beat it, run away, Zhang He is still Zhang He.
In the battle outside Fuping City, the Wei army was killed in ten of them. In the end, there were less than a hundred cavalry left by Zhang He, and they continued northward along the Yellow River to Lingzhou.
The Wei soldiers who died left nearly a thousand war horses, and Huang Zhong was reluctant to eat such force. He left two hundred people to gather the horses and chased them to Lingzhou along the horse's hooves. Only when he arrived did he find out that Zhang He had robbed Lingzhou and ran away again.
The situation in Lingzhou is similar to that in Fuping, and there are only a few hundred families. Zhang He stole some grain and went north to the Great Wall, as if he wanted to escape from the Gobi Desert to Bingzhou.
Although Huang Zhong's son was a little anxious, he was not at the critical moment, so he decided not to chase him.
Chapter completed!