Not long after Liu Bei retreated from Boluoting, towards the end of August, Beifu reinforcements came to meet him. Most of the Beifu troops were cavalry, with a total of 30,000 cavalry. Each knight had two horses. The reinforcements were like clouds of horses, and the horses were fat.
The soldiers were strong and well-dressed, and they were stationed in the west of the city, attracting attention. People commented: "They all say that Jinyang's iron horses are invincible in the world, and today we saw them, and they are indeed worthy of their reputation!" The armies in Hebei and Henan were newly defeated, and now they see Jinyang.
The military's appearance is at its peak, and its morale has been boosted.
This time the Jinyang Army was still led by Chariot General Zhang Fei, with Shaofu Liu Bao as the deputy general. However, there were many new generals in the army, and a large number of young scholars from Bingzhou were promoted. The first was Yangqu Guo Huai, who
He was the son of Guo Jian, the governor of Yanmen, and his grandfather Guo Quan. He had been an official to the rank of agricultural minister, and was famous for his military knowledge in Bingzhou. When he was young, he was summoned by Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, and they all praised his talents.
Next is Sun Zi. Although he came from a poor family, he was famous for his ability to adapt to situations and his photographic memory. He was praised by people at the time as a Wang Zuocai. Then there are Wen Hui, Linghu Hua, Wang Ji and others, all of whom are leaders in Bingzhou and role models for the gentry.
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There are also many Xianbei and Xiongnu righteous followers in the army. They keep friends with each other. In Daibei and Yanmen areas, they raise horses for military training and herd horses to fill the valley. Every autumn, they go to Yunbei to set up defense patrols, dispatching tens of thousands of troops and horses, and the military is extremely prosperous.
, all the countries under Chang Shi's government saw them, and all of them were trembling and surrendered. However, in previous years Liu Bei thought that they still needed training, so he did not take them to Hebei to participate in the war. But before setting off this time, Zhang Fei said to Liu Bei: "How can the descendants become talents without flesh and blood?"
?" Only then did Liu Bei agree to bring these young people together.
Zhang Fei first discussed the latest war with Liu Bei. Liu Bei had already discussed it with Fazheng and others, and told Zhang Fei: "The people in Hebei are currently in turmoil, which makes our army run amok. However, we have to fight Cao Cao head-on. If we fall into the trap, we will lose money."
It would be too ugly to see the power of our army if it were reduced to Beipi. It is better for me to involve the main force here, confront him with the garrison, and then send another army to attack Youzhou. Last time, we made many gains in Youzhou, and this time at Juyongguan
It has fallen into my hands again, and there is much to be done now. As long as Youzhou is captured in my hands, and I use tricks to drive a wedge between the Dong bandits, Xindu will be in chaos, and the Cao bandits can destroy themselves without a fight!"
After hearing this, Zhang Fei disagreed. He believed that the morale of the Beifu army was high at the moment, and the young generals under his command also wanted to compete with the Eastern Army. If they could not fight head-on, I am afraid the soldiers would not be willing to do so. Liu Bao also
Nodding aside and saying yes.
After Liu Bei heard this, he summoned all the young people from Beifu for questioning. The people who came in were Guo Huai, Sun Zi, and Wen Hui. The three of them wore military bean crowns and crimson military uniforms with round collars and narrow sleeves.
With a short sword hanging from his waist and bright deerskin boots under his feet, he still looks majestic even when meeting the emperor.
At that time, they saw Qianzhao sitting next to Liu Bei with cloth straps on his feet. His face was yellow and he had a grim look on his face. When Qianzhao saw the three people coming in, he greeted his two servants, stood up and said goodbye to everyone. The servants
Holding him on the left and right sides, he limped out slowly.
The three of them were astonished as they watched Qianzhao being removed with great difficulty. They never expected that Qianzhao, who was famous in Hebei and was said to have the courage of ten thousand men, would be beaten so embarrassingly by Cao Cao!
Liu Bei invited the three of them to sit down, and then told everyone about his decision and asked them what they thought. Guo Huai showed dissatisfaction when he heard that he was going to divide his troops to go to Youzhou instead of fighting Cao Cao head-on. He asked Liu Bei for orders and said, Jin
Yang Lai is an elite knight, so why not go out to challenge first and fight for a while?
Liu Bei thought to himself, this group of young people are in full swing and are not as sluggish as I am. I am afraid they will be reluctant to let them go to Youzhou. I don’t know if there will be trouble. At present, they have cavalry in their hands. Let them go.
After a fight, even if Cao Cao is defeated, he will not be able to catch up, which will dampen his arrogance. If I win, I will continue to advance and pursue the remaining enemies.
He calculated it in his mind, but deliberately said: "No! I have been fighting for half my life, and I have never defeated Cao Cao in a head-on battle. You should just be patient for the time being. After I take Youzhou, it will not be too late to go out to fight again."
."
As soon as this statement came out, the three of them were really angered. Sun Zi stood up and asked for orders: "I have been favored by your majesty and can now lead the army in battle. I no longer care about my life or death. I only want to make contributions to the country. But it is unavoidable that your majesty does not believe in the officers and soldiers."
It's so chilling. Could it be that Cao Cao's army that suffered consecutive defeats can still compare to when he defeated the city?" Zhang Fei listened on the sidelines and was very happy. He also stood up and said: "Brother, you see that my subordinates are wary.
Let’s fight first!”
Liu Bei said in embarrassment: "In that case, I won't stop you. You can fight with him, but remember not to cross the Zhang River. Lure him across the river, and then use your iron cavalry to charge, and you may win."
Seeing how many people had to be ordered out of the camp, Fazheng smiled at Liu Bei and said: "Your Majesty is already old. Even if the Prime Minister is here, I'm afraid he can't handle it better!" It turns out that he clearly understood Liu Bei's thoughts. Liu Bei
But he shook his head and laughed at himself and said: "We have fought so many defeats against Cao Cao, and if we haven't learned a lesson, then we have fought in vain." Then he turned to the general Guan Yu and said: "You can lead another cavalry group to respond from the side.
If the war situation is unfavorable, we must bring them back so that they will not be defeated by Cao Cao." Guan Yu nodded and promised.
Besides, Guo Huai and his men came out to discuss with Zhang Fei how to fight the battle. Zhang Fei thought about it carefully and said, "How about the three of you lead half of the troops to form an array on the west side of the water to attract the bandit soldiers. I will lead the other half of the light cavalry upstream.
He, grab his back."
But the others discussed it and felt that if they had a small number of troops and formed an array along the river, it might not be enough to stop the enemy, let alone defeat the enemy.
At this time, Guo Huai had an idea. He thought about the dry autumn and the frequent northwest winds. He then thought of a plan and suggested that he take a thousand Qingqi across the river upstream and set fire along the east side of the water. Zhang Fei led his army to the west of the water.
They formed a formation and pretended to cross the river, but in fact they attracted Cao Cao's army. When the fire broke out and the enemy army was in chaos, they took advantage of the situation and crossed the river to break it. After Zhang Fei heard this, he thought this plan was very clever, so he nodded in agreement.
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The next day, the generals of the Beifu Army led the Jinyang cavalry all the way eastward to the Zhangshui River. Guo Huai led his men across the Zhangshui River from Tangyang upstream and sneaked to the southeast. Zhang Fei, Linghu Hua, and Sun
Generals Zi and Liu Bao led a large group of troops, flying flags and drums, and headed south along the Zhang River, making a plan to choose a place to cross the river.
Along the way, red and white military flags were fluttering in the wind. Zhang Fei, known as the "enemy of ten thousand people", wore a gray-white riding leather cap, bright armor, a gold silk belt around his waist, and deerskin boots. His mount was
A bluish-gray fast horse, with bow bags stuck on both sides of the saddle, holding a bow more than ten feet long. Although he was traveling lightly, his majestic scene made people look at him. The other generals were also riding horses, all dressed in brocade.
The embroidered hat is extraordinary.
Jinyang Beifu Army advanced in such a swagger, the Eastern Army's reconnaissance cavalry on the east bank had long been aware of it, and followed them all the way across the river. Later, more and more cavalry on the east bank gathered, and gradually they lost sight of the head and tail. When the army arrived at Wukou Ferry, the two sides
The army has stopped moving. The river here is narrow and the banks are gentle, making it an easy place to cross. The army of the Eastern Dynasty has gathered here and is in a confrontation with the Beifu army across the river.
That night the two armies camped across the water, but they saw Cao Cao's army camp on the east bank burning with torches, and the end could not be seen in the distance. The soldiers in Jinyang were a little surprised, and they all talked about it: "Why are there so many soldiers from the East? Could it be that Qingxu's soldiers are also coming?"
Are you here to help in the battle?" When Sun Zi found out, he sent an order to all the battalions: "The thieves are just lighting more fires to scare us, don't be fooled!" After saying this, the soldiers felt a little more at ease.
The two armies faced off all night. At noon on the second day, the Jinyang army approached Zhangshui, seemingly intending to force a crossing. The Eastern Dynasty army also formed an array close to Zhangshui. There was only a narrow Zhangshui between the front rows of the two sides.
All faces can be seen clearly.
Zhang Fei rode back to review the military formation. He found that the wind direction was indeed coming from the north and slightly to the west. The two armies were facing each other from east to west. The wind was diagonally passing through the Western Army camp and blowing upstream against the Zhang River. He thought: "Guo Boji is quite capable.
My strategy is to set fire to the windward point in the north at this moment, so that the bandits in the east can't help but be in chaos! I'll hold off the bandits and take the opportunity to let them see the rising talents of our army!"
After thinking about it, he looked across the river, pointed at a black tiger-head flag opposite, and asked the young people around him: "Since we want to show off our power in a battle, we must challenge before the battle. Which of you dares to take the lead and shoot that black tiger flag?"
Come down?"
After that, a young man jumped out from the crowd and said to Zhang Fei: "Uncle, I am willing to go."
Zhang Fei looked at it and found that it was his son-in-law Chen Zhang. He shook his head repeatedly and advised Chen Zhang: "Hanzhen's ambition is commendable, but you have not been in the military for a long time and your skills are not yet developed, so it is better not to force yourself." p>
After Chen Zhang fell out with Chen Chong, he turned to Zhang Fei and stayed in his house. During this period of time, he learned from the pain and determined to join the army and make contributions to get rid of the shadow of his father. Unexpectedly, this time
Once he asked for a fight, his father-in-law persuaded him not to do so. Although he looked unhappy, he was really unsure in his heart. After Zhang Fei persuaded him a few more times, he held the Taiqiu Sword and retreated.
When Zhang Fei saw Chen Zhang returning to the team, he turned around and asked Wen Hui, Linghu Hua, and Wang Ji: "Who are you waiting for who dares to come forward?"
Unexpectedly, a young general rode out from among them. It turned out to be Wang Guang, the son of Wang Ling. He smiled at Zhang Fei and said: "I am the descendant of the Wang family in Taiyuan. When the patriarch killed the Dong thief for the country, I longed for it. Now that I am facing
How dare I fall behind the Cao thief? If the chariot and cavalry refuse to give up, then send me."
Zhang Fei glanced at him and nodded slowly. Wang Guang immediately urged his mount and ran out of the army formation. The horse galloped for dozens of steps and stood by the river with hoofs. That day, Wang Guang wore an iron bag with a tassel on his head.
He was wearing white wild goose feathers, two armors, and a yellow-red brocade robe. The Daijun war horse he sat on was very tall and strong. In order to facilitate running, he did not wear iron armor and was only covered with cowhide. He did not
Carrying a long weapon and holding a bow in his left hand, he stood on the shore, looking high-spirited and full of vitality.