Chapter 23 Iron Cavalry Across a Hundred Miles (Part 1)
The Han army, with its iron cables and boats, was vast, with more than 10,000 men and horses preparing to cross the Yellow River for the third time.
Moreover, the place where the Han army crossed the river this time was basically chosen under the eyes of the main force of the Yellow Turbans in Puyang. On the Yellow River embankment just north of Puyang, tens of thousands of cavalry armors shined, flags fluttered, horses neighed and people roared, plus umbrellas and honor guards.
Here, we have already begun to cross the river...it is extremely powerful.
The sky was clear and cloudless, and you could see very far from a high position. Therefore, on the top of Puyang City, everyone from ordinary soldiers to leaders of the Yellow Turban Army in the city gathered around to watch the movements of the Han army from a distance.
At this time, seeing the power of the Han army, the leaders of the Yellow Turban Army on the city couldn't help but look worried:
"The number of Han troops is even greater than before!"
"This is natural. Every time a city is conquered, heroes and warriors from nearby areas will lead their troops to defect. Isn't it the same when we attacked the city that day?"
"The quantity doesn't matter. Now you and I have also fought in wars. Don't you know that armor and horses are the most important things? The Han army's so many armors and cavalry are the most terrifying."
"Yes, the Han army is so sharp. This time they spared us from Puyang and came to Henan. What if Xiancheng, Zhencheng, and Fan County also imitated Baima, and Dunqiu and other places were all lost at once? How could we here?
Didn’t it become an isolated city?”
…………
Yanzhou Yellow Turban Qu Shuai Bu Ji, who was over fifty years old and dressed in simple civilian clothes, could only frown and remain silent when he heard the discussion of his group of young men.
"Commander Qu, why don't we attack him halfway across the river!" At this moment, a man on the top of the city suddenly asked for a fight.
The leaders heard the sound and looked over, but when they saw the speaker, they each held their breath, as if they were afraid of this person.
It is said that this person's surname is Liang Mingyuan and his courtesy name is Zhongning. He is one of Bu Ji's two most relied-upon deputies. He is in his thirties and his appearance and behavior are quite impressive.
In fact, you don't even need to look at the behavior. Just by listening to the name, you can tell that this person has a good background, and the Liang family is indeed a historically large family in Puyang City. Liang Zhongning himself once traveled to study... but his family background is not good.
Okay, so after years of wasting time without an official position, my whole family joined the Yellow Turban Army.
"Isn't what Deputy Commander Liang said inappropriate?" After a long pause, Bu Ji's other assistant, dressed as a simple old farmer, didn't even have a serious name. He was just the Taiping Dao master who was usually called Uncle Zhang, and then he spoke slowly.
Retorted. "I see that although the Han army crossed the river under our noses, they specifically crossed the east bank of Pu River. If we want to attack them, we have to cross the pontoon bridge on the east side of Pu River. Who will be able to cross the river by then?"
No one is afraid of hitting him."
As soon as this statement came out, most people, including Bu Yi, nodded in agreement, and no one was willing to attack without permission... Puyang these days is located at the triangular junction of Pu River and the Yellow River. It is an important place in terms of economy, transportation, and defense.
It is the best choice, which is why it can become the top city in the Central Plains connecting the north and the south. However, if the waterway is blocked, it will make people more suspicious.
Liang Yuan and Liang Zhongning sighed deeply when they saw this, but they could only endure it and explained to the divination:
"Shuai Bu, how could I not know that the Han army's landing on the east side of the Pu River was deliberate? It seemed arrogant but was actually cautious? How could I not know that an attack at this time would not have any great effect? However, the Han army had won many times before.
, and now he is crossing the river directly in front of us. If his arrogance cannot be dampened, I am afraid that the hearts of the soldiers in the city will be shaken again..."
Bu Ji, Uncle Zhang, and even the other leaders woke up in an instant... You must know that the Han army came with great force this time and captured four counties and five cities in a row, all of which were quick and easy. They also crossed the river repeatedly, rising and falling.
, the Yellow Turban Army simply had no way to deal with it, and could only be beaten passively. In addition, defeated troops repeatedly entered Puyang, and the morale in the city had already been somewhat depressed.
As Liang Zhongning said, if we don't take any action, something will really happen!
"But what if we attack by force and lose?" Bu Yi asked seriously after thinking about it for a while.
"If we lose, we will lose." Liang Yuan replied helplessly. "We have already lost so many games and lost so many cities, why not lose another one? But if the raid succeeds, the situation will be different... I
I personally led a small group of cavalry in the city to suddenly cross the Pu River to charge and kill. No matter whether we won or lost, we would withdraw immediately. At least we would make the tens of thousands of troops in the city understand that we are not timid people."
"Not good." Bu Ji immediately shook his head. "The army in the city still needs to rely on Zhong Ning's talents and wisdom, so just send a brave young commander..."
Liang Yuan couldn't help but feel a little moved when he heard the words... This yellow scarf Yanzhou Qushuai Buji was firstly a generous man, secondly he was good at listening to advice and accepting advice, and thirdly he really relied on people like them who were outside the Taiping Dao sincerely, which was not in vain.
He, Liang Yuan, made up his mind to defect to this man that day.
Of course, generosity is generosity, and as the commander of an army, it is not good to be too lenient. So, Liang Zhongning turned around to give orders, but asked Wang Du, the Weixiang garrison who had returned from defeat a few days ago, to personally lead the troops out of the city and cross the Pu River.
Trying to strike...such an action has the feeling of punishing someone on behalf of someone else.
However... the first vanguard of the Han army to cross the river was Zhang Fei and Zhang Yide from Yan.
The generals of the Yellow Turban Army in the city were high up and could see clearly that Wang Du followed the instructions and led the 300 cavalry that had been scraped together in Puyang City to quickly cross the Pu River and attack the Han army that had just landed ashore. The Han army was at that time
However, only fifty or sixty people came ashore, so they had no chance of fighting.
However, as soon as the battle began, these fifty or sixty cavalry, led by a Han general, chased away the three hundred cavalry on their side like ducks!
Wang Du couldn't take it back, so he was wrapped up by his own defeated soldiers and fled back to Pushui... In the end, it was the Han army who took the initiative to offer gold to take back this group of fifty or sixty Han cavalry, otherwise he would be afraid
It may not be known if we chase across the Pu River and reach the city.
In Puyang City, the leaders of the Yellow Turban Army, like the ordinary soldiers around them, almost all turned pale and did not know what to say... For many of them, this should be the first time they had seen the regular army of the Han army in a field battle.
Power.
"Uncle Zhang," after a moment's pause, Bu Si was the first to wake up, and then he hurriedly gave serious instructions at the top of the city. "Take people out of the city to pick up Wang Du at the edge of Pu River, comfort him, and tell him
, saying that this time I saw clearly that it was indeed not his fault, and asked him to relax and return to the city to cultivate."
Uncle Zhang immediately handed him over and left.
"Zhongning." Bu Ji continued. "The Han army is so powerful, let's..."
"Shuai Bu!" Liang Yuan, whose face was pale and pale, suddenly bowed and bowed. "I underestimated the Han army. I asked Commander Bu to allow me to leave the city!"
"Why are you leaving the city at this time?" Bu was stunned.
"Commander Bu!" Liang Zhongning did not answer directly. Instead, he immediately pointed to the endless stream of Han troops on the Yellow River and said, "You said, with such an army, who can stop the capture of Xiancheng, Zhencheng, and Fanxian cities?
?”
Bu Ji immediately fell silent.
"Since we can't stop them, we can't leave them alone at this time!" Liang Yuan quickly said sincerely. "Commander Bu, hurry up and order me to go to the cities in Henan and Uncle Zhang to go to the cities in Hebei to quickly gather the troops! Only
Only by gathering our forces together can we stop the Han army!"
"You're right!" Bu Zai suddenly realized. "That's how it should be... But what happens after we gather our troops? We still have thirteen or four cities. If we all gather together, we are afraid of another 20,000 troops. Although Puyang is big, it has already
I can’t pretend anymore.”
"Go and attack Baima." Liang Yuan seemed to have already thought about it. "Gather the troops first, and then go to attack Baima and Weixiang... After that, place 10,000 troops in each of the two places, and join Puyang to the west of Pu River.
A formation of horns is formed south of the Yellow River! But no matter what, we cannot let the Han army seize the city wantonly, otherwise we will really only have one Puyang city and 20,000 soldiers left!"
"That's right, that's so right." Bu Yi supported the battlements and nodded repeatedly. "Now if we don't move, we will be defeated by the Han army one by one. In the end, even Puyang will be gathered together by the Han army."
The entire Dongjun County was defeated!"
"Then please ask Commander Bu to give the order and do this quickly!" Liang Yuan continued to urge.
"It's still wrong." Bu Ji suddenly realized something again. "Those cities in Hebei are easy to deal with, but what about Henan? The Han army has already crossed the river, how can you gather troops and horses?"
"Let go of Xiancheng." Liang Yuan said helplessly after a moment of silence. "When the Han army crosses the river and attacks Xiancheng downstream of the Pu River, I will sneak around from behind and go to Zhencheng and Fan County.
Gather your forces."
Bu's face turned gloomy for a moment, but he had nothing to say.
"After I have gathered the troops from the two counties, I will not go back to Puyang directly, because the Han army will hit me head-on." Liang Yuan continued. "Instead, I will unite the soldiers and horses of several cities on the east side of the county, attack from both sides, and lay down the enemy."
Dong'a, then cross the river from Cangting in the north of Dong'a to Hebei to find Uncle Zhang. At that time, our coalition forces will return to Puyang from the north..."
Bu Nodded slowly, and then gave another warning: "Wang Du fought several times over Dong'a but failed to capture it... If the Han army is in a hurry, don't fight and just cross the river directly from Cangting!"
Liang Yuan immediately agreed, and then went directly to the city to prepare.
However, after walking only a few steps, he remembered something again and turned back to bow to Bu Ji: "There is one more thing, please remember it, Commander Bu!"
Bu has hurriedly stepped forward to help him up: "Zhong Ning, just say it."
"I know that Commander Bu is a loyal and kind man, but if Uncle Zhang and I are intercepted by the Han army," Liang Yuan said sincerely, "I also ask Commander Bu not to save us two, just treat them as dead."
Alright...just guard the great city of Puyang and wait patiently for General Tiangong in the north and Bocai Boshuai in the south."
After saying this, Liang Yuan directly grabbed the knife and walked away.
But Bu was about to speak but stopped, but in the end he was speechless.
Sure enough, after the Han army crossed the Yellow River, just as Liang Zhongning thought, they directly chose to go south along the Pu River, and they bared their teeth and claws unscrupulously, as if they wanted to direct their troops towards Xiancheng downstream of the Pu River.
In the evening, Puyang saw the Han army retreating away, and the civilians also chose to temporarily return to Dunqiu on the north bank of the Yellow River, where Weiguo stopped to rest, and Zhang Bo and Liang Zhongning also took advantage of the dusk to leave.
Puyang, prepare to gather troops and horses from the cities occupied by the Yellow Turban Army in Henan and Hebei.
The divination has been set up at the top of the city, and I personally watch it from a distance.
But just as the two groups of people hurriedly disappeared into the dusk, and Bu was preparing to go down to the city to rest, a young commander could not help but knelt down and begged the Yanzhou Yellow Turban Commander in public on the top of the city.
.
"Why is this?" Bu was confused.
"Qu Shuai!" The young handsome man gritted his teeth and said. "I didn't dare to say anything when Deputy Commander Liang was here before. Only after he left did I dare to ask you, old man... Can you let me go and pick up the brothers in Xiancheng?
You can just send a letter! My brother is also there, I really can’t bear it!"
Divination has been in trouble for a while.
"I know that Commander Bu is in trouble." The young commander hurriedly kowtowed again. "I listened clearly in the audience just now, and I also know that the overall situation should be the most important thing. I also know that Deputy Commander Liang does not care about his own life and death, as if he is just doing business.
... Therefore, I only ask Commander Bu to allow me to deliver the message one day after the Han army besieges the city, so that the brothers in Xiancheng can have a chance to break out of the siege and not have to hold on and die!"
Bu had thought about it carefully, and it seemed that this move would not delay the overall situation. In addition, he was naturally soft-hearted, so he couldn't help but nodded.
The young handsome man immediately kowtowed and was extremely grateful.
Two days later, in the Han army camp outside Xiancheng City, Dongjun, Gongsun Xun was being led by Cao Mengde to look at an unfinished item.
"Is this a catapult?" Gongsun Xun frowned.
"Of course!" Cao Cao replied proudly. "Wen Qi asked me to build siege equipment when I was in Weixiang. That day I thought of learning from the designs in Luoyang to make a catapult, but it rained suddenly.
Come on, if you attack in a hurry as soon as you come back, you will inevitably be delayed... I think, if there is no good way in Xian City this time, it is better to build a catapult to destroy the city!"
Gongsun Xun nodded slowly at first.
The catapult is probably the most natural conventional siege weapon since humans entered the castle age. It uses a simple lever principle to launch stones... It was widely used in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, while ancient Greece and ancient Persia at the same time
It didn’t even pull it down, and even a higher-end torque trebuchet appeared in ancient Rome.
Of course, Gongsun Xun and Cao Cao definitely don't know what the torque and counterweight are. Their clearest understanding of the trebuchet is probably the time when Qin failed to destroy Chu in the history books... The situation at that time was recorded very clearly.
The Chu army prepared a large number of trebuchets by the river in advance. When the Qin army crossed the river, they suddenly launched them. All the boats and pontoons in the river were smashed, which affected the direction of the battle on the spot.
but……
"Tear it down!" Gongsun Xun nodded and thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head and said simply again.
"Why is this?" Cao Cao was quite unhappy. "Such a sharp weapon..."
"It's not a sharp weapon." Gongsun Xun sneered. "It takes dozens of people to operate it effectively, but with the effort of dozens of people firing a cannon, the arrows fired are probably more effective..."
Cao Cao was about to speak but stopped.
"And it's inconvenient to move." Gongsun Xun continued. "If we are forced to besiege Puyang, Brother Meng De, you might as well build more than a dozen of them at once and smash them in one place. If you really can smash a
The gap may be of great use...but now, what's the use of building it? Can it be carried along the way? The most important thing is, how long will it take to build it?"
After saying this, Gongsun Xun said no more and walked away with his hands behind his back.
When Cao Cao heard this, he simply waved his hand and signaled the civilians to stop, and then hurriedly caught up with them and said while walking: "Wen Qi said that he still wants to attack the city as soon as possible in order to speed up the attack.
?Still using Li Jin?”
"Otherwise?" Gongsun Xun said towards the direction of Xiancheng. "Why did you ask them to come? Besides, the morale of the Yellow Turban thieves in Dongjun is obviously low now, and there may not be many casualties. Why should Brother Meng De
Have pity on them?"
"I don't pity them." Cao Cao shook his head and said. "I'm just afraid that the strength of the troops will be reduced. They will be exhausted in the future at Puyang City or in other executions... They are indeed very capable in battle."
"But if we can get down to the city as soon as possible, the rest of the bandits will be at a loss, and the next battle will be easier to fight." Gongsun Xun explained helplessly. "We can't expect the bandits to surrender by themselves, right?"
Cao Cao was speechless again.
However, the slap in the face came as soon as it came. On that night, someone suddenly came to the city and asked to surrender. The conditions were very simple and straightforward - they only wanted to save their lives, so they could leave the city, abandon their weapons, and hand over the city.
The slightest bit of hesitation.
"Puyang abandoned you?"
Among the large number of generals who came after hearing the news, Gongsun Xun was looking at the city messenger kneeling in his tent with great interest.
"That's right!" The man kowtowed repeatedly, his anger palpable. "I don't dare to deceive you generals. Although we have known for a long time that the army is tyrannical, we still want to defend the city to repay the divination because we feel that Commander-in-Chief Bu has always been lenient.
It's Shuai Ende's. But who would have expected that after the army surrounded three city walls yesterday, a messenger came from Puyang this afternoon. Only then did I know that the deputy commander Liang Yuan wanted to use us as bait to involve the army here, so he went to gather them himself.
The troops from Zhencheng, Fan County, and the cities in Henan east of Dong'a are preparing to return to Puyang to hold on. He thought that we would not care about life and death, but he..."
"Hold on." Gongsun Xun was stunned for a moment, then suddenly interrupted him, and then turned to look at his bodyguard: "Get the map!"
The man who wanted to surrender did not dare to say anything, and the others did not dare to neglect him. They quickly opened the map on the screen behind the cases and gathered around him. Gongsun Xun, who was standing in front of the map, glanced briefly and then pointed his gaze.
A key place-Donga!
By the way, the Yellow Turban Army is not only in Puyang in Henan, but also in the four places of Xiancheng, Zhencheng, and Fan County. To be precise, the Yellow Turban Army currently has a total of seven or eight cities in Henan, but this is the middle one.
There was a strange Dong'a County that was forcibly recaptured by Cheng Li and held firmly, but he forced the Yellow Turban Army of Dong County to divide the city on the south bank of the Yellow River into two blocks!
Therefore, when Gongsun Xun discussed this military plan with Cao Cao before, he only regarded the three cities of Xiancheng, Zhencheng, and Fanxian between Puyang and Dong'a as a unified war zone, and did not consider the three cities separated by Dong'a.
several cities.
But no matter what, a quick look at the map will tell that as long as this person wants to gather the entire Yellow Turban Army soldiers in Henan, he will definitely not be able to bypass Dong'a, which lies between the two Yellow Turban Army occupation areas.
"Calculate the time," Lou Gui said with a frown and clasped his hands. "That Deputy Commander Liang may have set off directly as soon as we crossed the river. And if he didn't go to collect one city after another, he would just send messengers to let everyone know.
The people and horses of the city have gathered together in one place, so I'm afraid that all the cities of the Yellow Turban Thieves have also received the letter..." At this point, Lou Zibo suddenly raised his brows, and then he was overjoyed. "Your Majesty, let us know about this now.
, It’s really God’s will! I’m afraid the Yellow Turban thieves from all the cities in Henan can be defeated in one battle!”
"That's right." Cao Mengde, who had been staring at the map in deep thought, immediately responded. "They didn't know that Xiancheng would surrender, so they lost the opportunity... Our army may be able to advance calmly.
, destroy the thieves directly at the foot of Dong'a City."
All the generals in the tent reacted one after another at this time, and they were all happy.
However, no matter how excited everyone was, Gongsun Xun, the coach, just stared at the map in front of him in silence. It was not until a long time later that he suddenly turned around: "As you said, this is a God-given opportunity, but at this time
, but I don’t want to eat this thief directly.”
All the generals in the account were puzzled.
"Let Li Jin lead the infantry into the city immediately and take over the city." Gongsun Xun had no time to explain, so he immediately put his hands behind his back and ordered. "The cavalry will set off overnight and follow me. We must rush to Dong'a before the yellow scarf thieves, so that the thieves dare not peep.
city!"
"Donga is a hundred miles away from here." Dong Zhao, a local, couldn't help but say. "And Zhencheng and Fan County are still in the enemy's hands on the way. Is it inappropriate to march at night?"
"What's the problem if the iron cavalry is running rampant for a hundred miles?" Gongsun Xun disagreed. "Dongjun's fighter plane has appeared, and it may be decided in a single battle. We must not miss the opportunity!"
Lou Zibo and Cao Cao stared at the map in confusion at the same time.
————I am a dividing line as long as a hundred miles————
"Taizu defeated the Yellow Turbans of Dongjun and went to Xiancheng. He heard that the bandit Liang Zhongning had gathered his troops to capture Dong'a. Cao Mengde, the cavalry captain, was on the side to serve as the deputy. He retreated to the left and right and offered his advice: 'The army from the center is going to Xiancheng. The soldiers are exhausted.
Maybe we can temporarily station in Xiancheng and move to Dong'a. By then the thieves will lose their edge under the city, and all the thieves in Henan will be wiped out in one fell swoop!' Taizu said to him, 'The people of Dong'a are all here, and the troops are exhausted, and the people will be without help.
"Sheng, why do we say we are slow to arrive?" That night, all the cavalry in the army were mobilized and rushed hundreds of miles to the rescue. The thieves then avoided Dong'a and fled." - "Jiu Yan Shu". Volume 27. No. 2 of the Family.
ps: Liang Zhongning and Uncle Zhang are indeed the leader of the Yellow Turbans in Dongjun, it is not a fiction.
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