The Yellow Turban Army arrived faster than expected.
In the evening, everyone on the city saw smoke and dust billowing from the plain to the east.
In other words, Zhuoxian County is mostly an endless plain with extremely developed agriculture. It was the foundation of the Yan Kingdom as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period... Gongsun Xun's previous supervision of spring plowing was certainly based on the west and north of Zhuoxian County, but this does not mean that
Farmers on the east and south sides will give up spring farming because of folk rumors of uprising.
Therefore, the Hebei Plain at this time is full of greenery and green seedlings.
Then, the Yellow Turban Army came.
Everyone stood at the top of the city, and saw under the reflection of the golden sunset, on the green earth, a huge army with yellow scarves on their heads and yellow flags winding towards them, like a giant yellow dragon. On both sides of the dragon,
Thousands of cavalrymen dispersed and galloped around, guarding the two wings, just like an army baring its teeth and claws.
For a moment, the yellow flag, the headscarf, the green earth, the golden afterglow, the simple and stable city wall, the vermilion banner with Chinese characters, the restless smoke and dust, the leaping knights... actually showed a particularly awe-inspiring atmosphere.
An indescribable momentum.
Now, not to mention the county soldiers and prisoners who were guarding the city, Guan Yu, Qian Zhao, Liu Bei, and Zhang Fei, who were seeing the military formation for the first time, were actually a little unable to control themselves at this time.
However, at this time, you can see the difference in quality among everyone.
Those temporarily recruited county soldiers and confiscated prisoners almost relied on the pressure of the officers to barely stabilize their positions. However, the performance of the rangers who had just joined the army and followed these officers was obviously uneven... Some of them could barely stand.
After straightening up, some were in a trance, while others simply fought with each other. If it weren't for the sword-wielding warriors beside them, and if they weren't worried about military law, they would have abandoned the city and fled!
But at the same time, the performance of the four people from Guan Yu was extremely consistent - they first opened their eyes and observed carefully, then quickly stood upright, and waited until some rebel cavalry provocatively galloped several miles ahead of the city wall.
When they arrived at the place, they were eager to try it.
Of course, the most eye-catching performance was Gongsun Xun, the governor of Zhuojun, and his personal ministers and followers who were experienced in war!
The former's smile remained undiminished and stood firm; while the latter, including the followers who were drafted and sent to serve as officers on the city wall, mostly looked down upon him.
The strangest thing was that Lou Gui, a military strategist whom Gongsun Xun trusted very much, couldn't help but sigh, causing everyone who had come to their senses to look at him sideways.
"Junhou, Yi Gong, and Grandson Sima, you said...you said that if Xu Bojin was here, why would it take ten days?" Lou Gui slapped the battlements hard, and then finally couldn't help but point at the tens of thousands of troops in front of him and shouted angrily.
."Can we destroy this beast today?!"
Most of the people were stunned because they had no idea who this Xu Bojin was, but Han Dang and Gong Sun Yue, who were asked their names, all nodded slowly in agreement.
"Okay." Gongsun Xun shook his head to stop his confidant's private drama, but there was a lot of regret in his tone. "Xu Bojin was transferred to Luoyang and served as a captain in the Northern Army. If he retreats this time, he might still be able to return to the army.
We can meet again..."
However, this kind of ban not only failed to end this unnecessary topic, but also further aroused some people's reactions.
"I dare to ask Junhou," Guan Yu on the side couldn't help stroking his long beard and asked in a depressed tone. "The Xu Bojin you and Lou Jun mentioned is the Xu Rong who went to Luoyang to take office that day and specifically visited the Junhou in Zhongshan.
Lieutenant Xu? The one who helped the princes to annihilate Goguryeo in Xuantu?"
"It's him." The Yellow Turban army outside the city was getting closer and closer. Gongsun Xun really didn't want to talk more, but since the topic had been moved away, it didn't matter. "What concerns does Yun Chang have?"
"Then I dare to ask you again," Guan Yu continued to ask. "What kind of ability does Xu Bojin and Colonel Xu have? He can actually destroy tens of thousands of strong yellow turban thieves in front of him in one day. Could it be that he is a god descending to earth?!"
"Yun Chang misunderstood." Lou Gui had no choice but to interrupt and explain. "I'm not saying that Xu Bojin can kill tens of thousands of Yellow Turban thieves by himself, but I am saying that if there is someone here who has Xu Bojin's ability to lead the cavalry, they may be able to defeat them in one go.
Next... You don't know that on that day, Goguryeo's 50,000-strong army surrounded the stronghold. The king took Xu Bojin as his general and imitated the battle of Yanling in Jin and Chu.
Collapse..."
Lou Zibo took over the topic and kept chattering and explaining, but it also made people such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Qianzhao, Liu Bei and others who had never fought in a war ponder.
After a while, Gongsun Yue, who was always more sincere and honest, told the truth: "Actually, whether you are a prince, your uncle, I, or your righteous father, I am not looking down on you, but all of us.
Seeing that the yellow turban thief was flashy and marching in a disorderly manner, he thought that if there could be a cavalry veteran like Xu Xiaowei in the city at this time, and there were elite cavalrymen like Xu Xiaowei when he was in Xuantu, then he would take advantage of the thief's unsteady footing.
, maybe we can win the battle!"
"Is this the case?" Qianzhao was still a little unbelievable. "I think the thief is quite powerful. He is not an ordinary thief..."
"What Zi Jing said is wrong." Gongsun Xun, who had been sizing up the Yellow Turban Army while these people were talking, finally waved his hand and said. "Although the rebel army is very powerful, it seems to me that it has a lot of flaws. If it is true at this time
With thousands of cavalry, perhaps we can defeat them all in one day!"
Liu Bei's heart suddenly moved, and he quickly asked for advice: "I have just joined the army, and I don't know much about it. Please give me some advice."
Gongsun Xun glanced at the other party, but did not refuse. Even in front of these officers, he pointed out the Yellow Turban Army in front of him:
"You see, although the enemy has thousands of cavalry, they don't know how to use them centrally. Instead, they are scattered everywhere. Once a large group of cavalry attacks, they can't stop them quickly. This is one of the reasons. And if you think about it again, Guangyang
Tens of miles away from here, tens of thousands of thieves' infantry marched in large groups, marching here in one day. It seemed to be majestic and majestic, but it caught us off guard. But in fact, the thieves were generally already strong but weak at this time, and they were exhausted.
Secondly, there is still time, look at the sun at this time, the sun is setting on one side and the afterglow is dazzling on the other, and they are coming from the east..."
"I understand!" Even though Liu Xuande had become more taciturn and improved over the years, he suddenly gained something at this time and couldn't help but interject. "If at this time, while the enemy's foothold is not stable, he leads the cavalry to charge head-on, the thieves will be counterattacked.
It’s hard to deal with it, and if you retreat even a little bit, it will be dark soon... By then, the enemy army will be hungry and exhausted, and they will retreat in the twilight, fearing that it will be difficult to see the beginning and the end, and the whole army will collapse!"
Gongsun Xun smiled and said nothing.
Liu Bei knew he was being disrespectful and felt he had to give up to make up for it: "Looking at it now, this thief general is indeed a man who doesn't know how to fight. He has such a large army and is so powerful, but he still makes a mess and is full of flaws. He looks like a three-year-old child in front of his brother.
Son……"
Gongsun Xun still smiled and said nothing.
In other words, compared with his previous experience talk, Liu Bei's words really hit the point. He explained the obvious advantages and disadvantages of the Yellow Turban Army at this time.
What are the advantages of the Yellow Turban Army?
The answer is momentum and quantity!
At this time, the Yellow Turban Army had just been in action for seven or eight days, but they had conquered cities and territories, and had good news one after another... They were not short of food or supplies at this time, and because many powerful people and street knights were involved, their single
The quality of the soldiers is not as weak as imagined, it can even be said to be relatively outstanding!
As for the constant flow of refugees, coercing each other, and more than half of the women and children in the army still don’t have enough to eat...that situation has not happened yet!
In fact, if you think about it, you will know that at this time, the Guangyang Yellow Turbans were able to give up the Guangyang Zhucheng that they were about to capture, and instead assisted the Jizhou Yellow Turban headquarters to besiege Zhuojun. This shows that Taiping Dao still has a strong control over the army... This is
The true rebels have not developed to the point where the army and civilians are indistinguishable and cannot be killed or dispersed as described by Aunt Gongsun.
However, the weakness of that generation is also obvious, that is, they have no military experience!
The few things Gongsun Xun said to several officers before were not made up to appease people's hearts. They were all facts!
But having said that, even if he saw that the opponent's general was incompetent and that the entire army lacked military experience, Gongsun Xun could not do anything... because Xu Rong was not in Zhuoxian after all, and he did not have that many elite cavalrymen who had experienced battles for a long time.
.
The so-called rangers in the city, if they fight alone or in small groups, may be three points stronger than Xu Rong's frontier troops back then, but if they are concentrated in the battle? It's better not to joke... Believe it or not, Gongsun Xun gave the order at this time
, these people cannot finish lining up outside the city gate before dark.
As for three hundred righteousness... are you crazy? Three hundred versus thirty thousand?
And besides, these three hundred people are all officers carefully trained by Gongsun Xun, and he is not willing to let it go! Let Guo Xun die, why can't they all die together?
In fact, most people on the tower at this time also understood this truth.
'If' Xu Bojin is here, doesn't it mean that the generals and the rangers in the city can't do these things?
"Who is the leader of the thieves?" Gongsun Xun, who was filled with regret when he saw the opponent's general's flag coming into view, suddenly turned around and asked, "Is there the word "Cheng" on the flag?"
"It should be 'Cheng'." Lou Gui answered as he looked far into the distance. "Guangyang originally had a large Taiping Road, so they called him Cheng Yuanzhi."
When Gongsun Xun heard this, his heart moved. He seemed to have caught something, but he couldn't figure it out. He had no choice but to suppress his suspicion and continue to ask: "Is there any outstanding person in the army of that generation?"
"There is a man named Deng who may be worth noting." Lou Gui thought for a while and replied. "A few days ago, a scout came to report that when Taiping Road rebelled and besieged Anci City, there was a county captain in the city who was originally from the local area.
He was born into a wealthy family, but was looked down upon by the county magistrate, so he killed the county magistrate and led several large families in the county, some rangers, and many county soldiers to join the Taiping Road... This person is said to be called Deng Mao, which is quite a bit...
Courage.”
"Junhou Rongzhen, I recognize this person." Zhang Fei suddenly interrupted politely at this time. "Before he became a county captain, he was a great man in Guangyang and was also well-known among the local rangers. I don't want to turn to the thieves."
!However, the so-called bravery of this person is probably just a rumor, because this person’s force is indeed not enough..."
It's definitely not worth comparing with you. Gongsun Xun secretly complained and had an inexplicable thought in his heart.
It seemed that he had vaguely grasped the key, the key that could shred the two to thirty thousand "strong army" that was full of flaws like a cook and a cow, but it was separated by a layer of gauze.
Everyone on the city tower also saw that Gongsun Xun seemed to have gained something, so they all stood in awe and did not dare to say anything.
However, there are always people who don't open their eyes... Although no one on the Han army dared to disturb Gongsun Xun, the Yellow Turban Army was typically unorganized and undisciplined. There was actually a cavalry team of only twenty or thirty people.
There were countless troops behind them, and they directly reached the place more than a hundred steps in front of the city gate tower.
He is a rogue ranger, so he is naturally full of jokes and insults.
That was fine, but the leader, probably because he had an iron armor that he had snatched when he conquered the city before, and he was also quite familiar with handling the horses, suddenly rode westward and came a few meters away from the city gate.
Ten steps away, he bent his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot towards the city gate tower.
You must know that Zhuo County is the county seat of Zhuo County and the seat of the Youzhou Governor's Department. It is the top big city in the entire Youzhou. The city wall is nearly two feet high. If the gate tower is included, it is already nearly three feet high. There are dozens of steps between them.
This guy's arrow came from the bottom up, so it barely landed on the city gate tower, and it was already light and powerless.
This person was purely provocative, and Gongsun Xun didn't take it seriously at all. He was still staring at the huge army in front of him, thinking about a strategy to defeat the enemy, but the officers on the city gate tower were all furious!
The arrow landed right in front of Liu Bei, so he stepped forward to pick up the arrow, then grabbed a bow from a group of archers behind him and shot the arrow directly.
go back!
As the saying goes, the arrow is as powerful as a shooting star, but Liu Xuande's archery skills seem to be only about momentum. In addition, the armored knight of the Yellow Turban Army below also knew that it was this arrow, and immediately leaned over to shoot it after shooting.
The horse fled back.
Therefore, the arrow just awkwardly landed behind the opponent's horse, and caused the team of Yellow Turban knights to laugh wildly.
As a result, everyone on the tower became more and more ashamed and angry, and Liu Bei was also quite embarrassed.
Most people are well-educated. Gongsun Xun also suppressed laughter in his heart and prepared to comfort Liu Bei with a few words.
However, at this moment, Wei Yue, a rough man who had been silent all this time, finally couldn't bear it any longer: "If my fellow countryman Lu Zheng was here, he would have been killed with one arrow! Let me shoot, at least he would be dead."
If you can shoot down this man's mount, how can you let your ruler be humiliated by this villain?"
Liu Bei had no choice but to kneel down on one knee and plead guilty on the spot:
"I am ashamed of myself!"
In other words, although Liu Bei was placed in the army by Gongsun Xun, his previous position was that of the so-called thieves in the county. He was regarded as an official subordinate to Gongsun Xun, so he was called a subordinate.
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. My brother, please get up quickly. Why should we be like this between you and me?" Seeing that the situation was not good, Gongsun Xun naturally hurriedly comforted him.
Although Liu Bei was embarrassed, he has gradually become more stable over the years. He is said to be silent and rarely express his emotions and anger, so he quickly returned to normal.
However, Wei Yue's words aroused the anger of another person!
"Your Majesty, your Majesty!" Zhang Fei bowed and saluted, and the sound shook the tower. "Although I, a Zhuojun man, are not good at shooting, I am not incapable of fighting! Please allow me to ride alone to fight immediately and capture this villain with a secret arrow!"
It's not that Gongsun Xun didn't want to see Zhang Yide's tens of thousands of enemies, but at this time, the other party was obviously angry with Wei Yue. He didn't want to encourage these people to form gangs based on their geography and seniority... especially since Zhang Yide actually wanted to
Liu Bei came forward.
Therefore, he was prepared to push the opponent down.
But one wave after another broke out. At this moment, Guan Yunchang also raised his hands and saluted: "Your Majesty, the right way is for the monarch to humiliate his ministers to death. You are the king of a county. Today, when you stand in battle and receive this arrow, our generation
If I can't repay, I'm afraid I'll be laughed at... Please allow me to go out to fight, but I'll just ride out alone, and I will definitely kill this person and return it!"
Gongsun Xun was speechless for a moment.
"Your Majesty," Guan Yu continued to speak proudly. "When we first entered the battle formation, we may not be able to compare with Xu Xiaowei's general ability, but when it comes to the power of courage, I may not be convinced by "Lu Zhan"!"
Wei Yue retreated speechlessly... After spending three years together, he knew that the other party hated him, but he still never dared to offend this big man from Hedong, just like he never dared to offend Lu Bu in Wuyuan.
Wu Fu's mentality is always very direct.
Gongsun Xun was also in trouble. He didn't know that Guan Yu was upset because he praised Xu Rong today! So, he opened his mouth to agree to the other party to show his comfort.
"Junhou!" However, Zhang Fei's voice is always the loudest. "Junhou is the governor of Yandi. My brother Xuande and I are both Yan people. Now that he has lost his hand, it is me who should fight."
!Why use Jin warriors?!"
Guan Yu gave the other party a cold look.
Gongsun Xun frowned slightly, to tell the truth... If it was out of a villain's mentality, it might be interesting for Guan and Zhang to antagonize each other. Writing a letter to his mother might also make her happy.
However, as the lord of a county, the head of a city, and the commander-in-chief of an army, with a formidable enemy in front of him, how could he allow these arrogant generals to let their anger run wild?
In fact, Gongsun Xun had already changed his mind and was preparing to suppress these two men from participating in the battle to show his authority!
"Your Majesty." But at this moment, Lou Gui, who had not spoken for a long time, suddenly stepped forward and interjected lightly. "The enemy is coming from far away and has not yet established a stable foothold. With such a good opportunity, we cannot allow it to easily establish a camp and weaken it."
Is the morale in the city good? Why not let the two lead a few soldiers and horses to test it."
Gongsun Xun's heart moved. He turned around and took a serious look at Lou Gui. He then looked at the Yellow Turban Army outside the city who had begun to take advantage of the last ray of sunlight to set up a stronghold. Finally, he looked at the group that was still lingering more than a hundred steps away.
The knight reluctantly nodded: "Since it was Uncle Zi who asked you to go to war, Zhang Yide will immediately put on his armor and go to fight. He must kill this man to boost the power of the army! Yun Chang, go and order twenty horse archers."
Skilled people will then... respond!"
Zhang Fei was overjoyed, but Guan Yu was a sensible person after all, so he restrained himself slightly at this time, and immediately accepted the order and left.
In order to avoid disturbing the situation, no drums were played or flags were waved in the city. Gongsun Xun led a group of officers and stood in front of the battlements and stared carefully ahead.
The city gate suddenly opened, and Yan Di Zhang Fei took the lead. As expected, he just rode out alone with a spear. Moreover, probably in order to quickly put on his armor, he actually took off his coat, and his arms were unprotected, revealing half of his body.
arms come out.
The yellow turban knights who were originally Guangyang rangers were overjoyed to see that there was only one person in the group. Instead of retreating, the group advanced, directly took off their spears from their horses, and shouted to meet the enemy.
Zhang Fei, who had his forearms bare, said nothing. He just patted his horse and came towards him. When he was about to hand over his horse and raise his spear, he suddenly let out a loud shout.
The first knight of the Yellow Turban Army was shocked when he heard the sound, and his movements slowed down by three points. In the blink of an eye, he was directly stabbed off his horse by this majestic man.
The latter person was also panicked for a moment, and wanted to stop and turn around to get behind the big man. However, as soon as he reined in his horse, he felt a pain in his chest, and then his whole body was picked up by a spear, which hit the next person again.
Further back, there was the armored warrior who was shooting arrows from before. Seeing Zhang Fei's bravery and killing three people in a row almost instantly, this man had already lost the will to fight, so he hurriedly turned around and prepared to escape.
However, Zhang Feimao's momentum did not slow down and he had already rushed behind the man. However, he did not lower his spear to kill the man. Instead, he threw away the spear in his hand and stretched out his right arm with exposed veins to clamp the man, killing him alive.
The trap was pulled out from the mount! Then he calmly turned around and returned under the gaze of a group of stunned Yellow Turban Army soldiers!
The generals on the city were dumbfounded, and even Gongsun Xun, who had been prepared for it, was speechless. Liu Bei, on the other hand, was a bit hard to say. Do you think he could not express his emotions or anger, or was he dumbfounded?
After all, Zhang Fei has never been on the battlefield before, right?
However, things don’t end there!
I saw Zhang Fei carrying the man back dozens of steps in front of the city gate, but suddenly he threw the man to the ground, then calmly dismounted and picked up something from the ground... Yes, it was this Yellow Turban Knight before
The arrow that was shot at the city gate tower and shot back by Liu Bei.
Zhang Fei, who suddenly became ferocious, held the arrow in his hand and came to the man who was barely out of breath. He showed the arrow in his hand to the group of yellow scarf knights who were watching from a distance but no one dared to come forward. Then he turned back.
This thing was inserted into this person's neck... The latter didn't even have time to groan, and he died.
Everyone on and off the city was horrified for a moment. Even Wei Yue, who had taunted him before because of his bravery, was dumbfounded.
In the silence, Zhang Fei took the horse and walked slowly towards the city.
Guan Yu, who was ordered to come out to rescue, had just finished dressing up. He led 20 people out of the city to plunder the formation, and happened to see the opponent's arrow kill the knight. However, unlike the knights behind him who watched Zhang Fei lead his horse into the city, Guan Yunchang
He just let Zhang Yide lead the horse past him with his chest raised and his belly raised. He never looked at the other person, let alone dismounted to express anything.
On the contrary, when Zhang Fei passed by, he looked up at the city gate tower above.
In fact, after Zhang Fei captured the archery yellow turban leader alive, Gongsun Xun did not look at him. Instead, he looked into the distance for a long time. When he came back to his senses, he happened to meet the eyes of his beloved general under the wall, and he simply raised his head on the top of the city.
The voice sent an order: "Ask Yun Chang to lead his twenty men into battle, and tell him that I only want the heads of twenty thieves and nothing else..."
Separated by a wall, the city gate tower is only up and down. Where does one need to communicate? Hearing this, Guan Yu narrowed his eyes and came out with a spear. There was a person behind him who was carrying a strange-style broadsword and followed closely.
, the remaining nineteen people did not dare to neglect and immediately looked away from Zhang Fei in the city gate hole behind them, and quickly roared out to fight.
In the dim light, the remaining dozen or so yellow scarf knights had already dispersed, and Guan Yu ignored them. Instead, he drove straight into the camp that the enemy had just tried to erect hundreds of steps away.
.
The sky was getting dark, and the people on the tower couldn't see clearly how Guan Yunchang showed his power.
However, after Zhang Fei took off his armor, washed away the blood, and changed his clothes, Guan Yu had already led twenty knights back.
The Yellow Turban army that was attacked outside the city was in chaos and noisy for a while, but Guan Yu and his twenty men suffered no casualties, and they actually brought back twenty heads.
One of the heads even wore an iron helmet, making him look like a big boss.
"Your Majesty!" Inside the slowly closing city gate, Guan Yu stood motionless and breathless, and proudly said to Gongsun Xun, who was slowly walking down from the city gate tower, with his hands in his hands. "Thank you!"
Even though many of the surrounding officers thought they were well-informed, they were awestruck and silent when they saw the performance of Guan and Zhang today.
Gongsun Xun didn't say anything, just nodded slightly, stopped when he passed by Guan Yu, and then looked back with a smile: "Everyone, I just watched two 'generals' on the top of the city kill the enemy with invincible bravery.
But if you think about it, as if you have a strategy to defeat the enemy... In less than ten days, in seven or eight days, the enemy in front of you will be destroyed! Yang Kai is on duty today to patrol, and the other gentlemen will follow me back to the official temple to have a banquet.
Two 'enemies of ten thousand'!"
In the darkness, the torches had not yet been lit, and everyone's expressions were blurred. However, after hearing these words, whether it was Guan Yu and Zhang Fei who were each proud, Liu Bei, who had always been indifferent to his emotions, or the rest of the people who were already numb.
General, all of them were stunned on the spot.
The torch was lit, Gongsun Xun had already picked up the sword and walked away. Lou Zibo thought for a moment, shook his head and laughed, then twisted his beard to follow, but the other generals did not move for a long time.
————I am the dividing line that is voiceless and frozen————
"At the end of the reign of Emperor Guang of the Later Han Dynasty, thirty thousand Yellow Turbans from Guangyang surrounded Zhuocheng. Taizu was the governor of Zhuochun. When he saw the enemy, he set up a stronghold at the foot of the city. He led Gongsun Yue, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Qianzhao, Zhang Fei, Wei Yue, and Lou Gui
, Yang Kai, whenever twenty riders leave the city and return through the thieves' stronghold, the thieves cannot hurt them. When they enter the city gate, all the generals boast that they have captured more than once, but Taizu is silent. When the generals are silent, Taizu is proud.
Said: 'Now that we have a glimpse of the reality, we have been able to defeat the enemy's strategy. The thieves will be overthrown in five days, and we will observe.'" - "Jiu Yan Shu". Volume 1. The Chronicles of Emperor Taizu Wu.
Don't scold me. I am here to fulfill my promise...
