Gongsun Zan led his army forward for less than five miles when he saw the corpses of his subordinates lying scattered in the woods on the roadside. Most of them had been killed by arrows.
"Lord, it seems that Zhou Bi and Pan Gong have encountered the Yan army." A general named Chen Shi who was beside Gongsun Zan said.
Gongsun Zan said: "Judging from the battlefield, the Yan army should be harassed by a small group of troops. There is no large group of troops. There should be no ambush. Keep moving forward. We will reach the Yan army's camp in fifteen miles."
Running forward again, after walking less than five miles, Gongsun Zan and his party happened to meet Zhou Bi, and two troops from Pan Gong came back from the front.
When they met, Pan Gong cupped his hands and said: "Master Qi, the four generals Huang Zhong, Xu Huang, Wei Yan and Pang De have been repulsed."
Gongsun Zan laughed and said: "Okay, well done. You two are worthy of being my vanguard generals. Return to the army, rush to the Yan army camp in one breath, and completely defeat the arrogant Yan Hou Gao Fei!"
"promise!"
When the troops joined forces, Gongsun Zan took the lead, running forward with a double-edged iron spear in hand.
Running wildly all the way, when they were about to reach the high-flying Yan army camp, they saw the scouts coming back from the front, and immediately reported: "Please tell me, my lord, that the Yan army has all retreated and is camping twenty miles away."
Gongsun Zan couldn't help being surprised and secretly shouted: "The Yan army will retreat without a fight. Is it because Gao Fei is afraid of me?"
The scout said: "The Yan army retreated in a hurry, and they didn't even have time to dismantle the camp..."
"Report——" Another scout galloped over, "Reporting to my lord, enemy troops have been spotted ahead. Four generals, Huang Zhong, Xu Huang, Wei Yan, and Pang De, are heading this way."
Gongsun Zan thought for a moment and said, "Why are we here again? We just retreated and then we attacked again. Is it to cover the retreat of the army?"
Pan Gong said: "Lord, please give Zhou Bi and I a thousand more cavalry. We will definitely capture these four generals and present them to the Lord!"
Gongsun Zan said: "No, the whole army will come together, surround them with a large army, and devour them all in one go."
Pan Gong, Zhou Bi, and Chen Shi all said in unison: "Promise!"
The plan was decided, Gongsun Zan immediately assigned Pan Gong, Zhou Bi, and Chen Shi three men with a thousand cavalry each. Let Pan Gong and Zhou Bi disperse on the two wings, and let Chen Shi make a circuitous route, and then surround the four generals Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Xu Huang, and Pang De.
, he himself led the remaining troops to face the four generals head-on.
The army was divided into three and quickly opened like a big net.
The four generals Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Xu Huang, and Pang De each led 500 horse archers and joined together. The four generals moved forward on horseback and followed Gao Fei's instructions to harass Gongsun Zan's army. Each of them brought a
With a big bow and a steel knife in his waist, when encountering an enemy, he would rush forward with a barrage of arrows. After releasing the arrow, he would retreat. He would always maintain a style of play in which the enemy advances and we retreat, and the enemy retreats and we advance, keeping in line with the enemy.
There is a subtle distance.
"Old General, this time Gongsun Zan will definitely lead his army to kill them all. In order to avoid being surrounded by Gongsun Zan's army, I think we should separate ourselves, break out, keep distance between each other, and spread out horizontally, which can attract a lot of Gongsun Zan's troops.
, to make it easier for the lord to camp behind." Xu Huang had been silent all this time, and now he suddenly spoke to Huang Zhong.
The leaders of this operation are Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Xu Huang, and Pang De, all of whom are deputy generals. The four of them have cooperated relatively tacitly since the first attack on Gongsun Zan's army. The soldiers led by the four of them are all skilled in bow and horse.
Nothing will happen to people, distant combat, or close combat.
Huang Zhong is a first-class marksman, holding a big golden bow. After listening to Xu Huang's words, he said: "Gong Mingming's words are reasonable. We have repeatedly attacked Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan must be able to see our intentions. If we are surrounded by Gongsun Zan, then what will happen to him?"
We will definitely lose some soldiers and horses. Before the official battle with Gongsun Zan's army, we must try to avoid casualties, spread out horizontally, each person leads a team, and divide into four teams to attack Gongsun Zan."
Wei Yandao: "Old General, we wear chainmail armor on the inside and fish scale armor on the outside. What's more, the arrowheads of Gongsun Zan's army are all made of iron. They can't penetrate the fish scale armor made of steel sheets on our bodies. It's better to charge directly into the enemy's formation.
, and killed Gongsun Zan in one fell swoop."
Pang De said: "This move is too risky, not to mention that after killing Gongsun Zan, if the remaining soldiers do not retreat, we will be trapped in a tight siege. If we retreat, they will return to Nanpi City. If we attack again, we will be
If you have any difficulties, it’s better to follow your lord’s instructions.”
Huang Zhong was also a cautious man, and he could see Gao Fei's intention in making such an arrangement, and said to Wei Yan: "Chang Wen, don't you see my lord's intention? My lord's ambition is not with Gongsun Zan, but with Gongsun Zan's 30,000 soldiers."
The Lord Ma adopts this strategy of luring the enemy deep into the
, it must be to annihilate Gongsun Zan’s effective forces. Once Gongsun Zan is surrounded in the wild, it will not only induce Gongsun Zan’s men to surrender, but also reduce the pressure of attacking Nanpi. We are fighting quickly this time, and we must do it before Gongsun Zan’s reinforcements arrive.
Capture Nanpi City."
"But...my strategy is also correct. As the saying goes, capture the thief and capture the king. If you kill Gongsun Zan, Gongsun Zan's army will be dispersed. It will not be too late to pursue him again." Wei Yan argued.
Huang Zhongdao: "I didn't say your strategy was wrong. But don't forget, if Gongsun Zan dies, Nanpi City will still be there, and Yuan Shao will send people here, then all the remaining soldiers of Gongsun Zan's army will definitely surrender.
Yuan Shao, if he holds Nanpi City
Otherwise, our army will not be able to launch a quick attack. I am the commander-in-chief. You all listen to me. Just follow Xu Gongming’s suggestion and spread out laterally. If you find that there are enemy troops surrounding you, spread out laterally. The wider the distance, the better.
, so that Gongsun Zan cannot surround us."
Xu Huang and Pang De happily accepted the order, and each led his five hundred cavalry to disperse. Huang Zhong also led his five hundred cavalry to disperse to the left, leaving only the five hundred cavalry led by Wei Yan in the center of the main road.
Wei Yan had no choice but to obey his order. He started to charge forward with his five hundred cavalry, venting all his dissatisfaction on the enemy. Holding a bow and arrow, he led the five hundred cavalry and rushed forward for a while, looking intently at the road ahead.
A burst of smoke and dust rolled up, and the chaotic sound of horse hooves could not be heard.
"Attention, we have encountered enemy troops. The whole army is on alert and listen to my orders!"
Wei Yan slowed down and led five hundred cavalry forward. The large bows they used were all special bows brought by Hu Yu from Dongyi. Their range was far beyond the short bows used by ordinary cavalry. He looked intently and saw
The person at the front was Gongsun Zan. With a glint in his eyes, he turned to the subordinates behind him and said, "Come with me and rush over to capture the thief and the king. This is an excellent opportunity!"
The five hundred cavalrymen all accepted the order gladly. Who wouldn't want to make meritorious deeds?
"Fire the arrow!"
Following Wei Yan's shout, five hundred cavalrymen fired arrows at the cavalry camp brought by Gongsun Zan, shooting two arrows as quickly as possible.
"Draw the sword!"
The five hundred cavalrymen put away their bows and arrows and drew out the steel knives they wore on their waists. Once the sharp steel knives were drawn out, they immediately followed Wei Yan and rushed towards Gongsun Zan.
When Gongsun Zan saw an enemy general rushing over with five hundred cavalry, he sneered: "You don't overestimate your capabilities!"
The scouts around him immediately pointed at Wei Yan and reported to Gongsun Zan: "My lord, the commander here is Wei Yan, one of the eighteen hussars of Yanyun under Gao Fei's tent!"
After Gongsun Zan heard this, a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes, and he immediately said: "Rush over and kill Wei Yan. I will sacrifice Wei Yan's head to the flag!"
Gongsun Zan's men first ate two arrows from Wei Yan's cavalry. They couldn't help but sigh at the far range of the opponent's bows and arrows. When they started shooting at Wei Yan and others with short bows, they unexpectedly found that Wei Yan and others were wielding steel knives.
After rushing over, the arrows fired could not penetrate the enemy's armor at all. The enemy soldiers were unscathed, with only one or two arms scratched by the arrows.
The two groups of cavalry collided with each other in an instant. Wei Yan rushed towards Gongsun Zan with his steel sword and slashed at him.
Gongsun Zan was holding a double-edged iron spear. Before Wei Yan's steel knife could hit him, he took advantage of the length of the iron spear and stabbed it directly into Wei Yan's heart.
Wei Yan's steel sword turned and immediately blocked Gongsun Zan's iron spear. He then turned and slashed along the iron spear, slashing at Gongsun Zan's hand.
Gongsun Zan was shocked. He didn't expect that the young general in front of him had such skills and was so vicious. If he didn't let go of the iron spear, his hand would definitely be chopped off. In desperation, he immediately used the iron spear to cut off his hand.
He stabbed it out, and at the same time released the iron spear with both hands, and drew the sword from his waist.
Wei Yan twisted his body, and an iron spear passed by his chest, making the steel plates of his fish scales squeak. At the same time, he clamped the iron spear with his arm, and held the tip of the iron spear in his left hand.
The end of the handle was swept smoothly, and the tip of the iron spear headed towards Gongsun Zan's throat.
Gongsun Zan hurriedly blocked it with his sword. At the same time, he leaned back and leaned on the horse's back. He managed to escape, but he was still shocked in his heart: "One Wei Yan's kung fu is so good, how can the other seventeen hussars flying high in the air be so good?"
Aren't they all like this? Damn it, where did Gao Fei win over so many generals?"
Wei Yan and Gongsun Zan fought together and then separated. Not only did they seize Gongsun Zan's iron spear, but they almost killed Gongsun Zan. Once they were separated, the iron spear in his left hand swept across and killed several cavalrymen. The steel knife in his right hand kept waving.
, and fought towards Gongsun Zan’s camp.
The remaining 500 cavalrymen were also experienced in many battles. They wore hard armor and held sharp steel knives in their hands. They charged with Wei Yan, either cutting off the enemy's limbs or cutting off the enemy's limbs wherever they passed.
The weapon suddenly tore a hole in Gongsun Zan's army, and the hole became bigger and bigger.
Gongsun Zan turned the horse's head and saw Wei Yan leading five hundred cavalry as if there was no one around. He was itching with hatred and immediately ordered: "Surround them all, don't let anyone go, shoot them to death with arrows!"
Wei Yan had his own plan. He did not cut off Gongsun Zan's head, but he did not want to be trapped in a tight siege. After killing more than a dozen people, he saw a huge crowd of people in front of him, and he quickly turned his horse's head and charged.
Five hundred of his subordinates shouted: "Retreat!"