Liu Xiu divided his troops into four parts. Jia Fu commanded 50,000 soldiers and went to Zhending to quell the troops of the five schools who had made a rebellion in Zhending.
Deng Yu commanded 20,000 of the most elite troops and advanced westward from Hanoi to Hedong. Kou Xun commanded 20,000 soldiers and stayed in Hanoi. He had to resist the rebels in Hanoi and beware of Zhu Jun stationed in Luoyang. Li Yi sent troops
Hanoi.
As for Liu Xiu himself, he personally commanded the rest of the troops and returned to Jizhou and went to Julu County to quell the Bronze Horse Army who had caused rebellion in Julu.
The number of soldiers and horses currently commanded by Liu Xiu is only 50,000, but among these 50,000, there are more than 10,000 Youzhou assault cavalry. These Youzhou assault cavalry are Liu Xiu's biggest support in suppressing the Bronze Horse Army.
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To make a long story short, Liu Xiu led his army from Huaicheng and went north into Wei County. Soon the army arrived at Yecheng, the county seat of Wei County.
Wu Han, Chen Kang and other officials went out of the city to greet Liu Xiu. When he saw Liu Xiu, Wu Han stepped forward quickly, stepped in and saluted, and said in a loud voice: "The general will pay homage to the king!"
Liu Xiu got off the carriage, walked up to Wu Han with a smile on his face, and said with a smile: "Zi Yan is exempt from courtesy."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Liu Xiu smiled and praised: "In Yecheng, Ziyan punished rape, eliminated evil, punished the unfaithful, and killed the incompetent, but he made great achievements!"
When Wu Han killed Miao Zeng, he returned from Youzhou with tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. His contribution was so great that no one could compare with him. However, Liu Xiu did not even dare to praise him. He said nothing about Wu Han's killing of Miao Zeng.
carry.
Now, Liu Xiu praised Wu Han for killing Xie Gong in public. From this, we can also see the change in Liu Xiu's mentality.
In the past, he hid it and did not dare to show his attitude of breaking up with Liu Xuan. He regarded Wu Han's killing of Miao Zeng as his private act. Now as he took Hanoi, Liu Xuan was killed by the Red Eyebrow Army again.
Contained, he no longer has any worries in this regard.
Wu Han grinned, laughed, and said: "It all depends on the king's planning and victory. The general will only follow the king's orders and dare not take credit."
"Haha!" Liu Xiu laughed and patted Wu Han's arm.
Seeing that Liu Xiu was in a good mood, Chen Kang lost no time in coming forward, knelt down and kowtowed, and said: "Your Majesty, Chen Kang, pays homage to your Majesty!"
Liu Xiu's eyes turned and fell on Chen Kang. After a moment, he waved his hand and said softly: "Prefect Chen, please get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Chen Kang stood up and said cautiously: "In the past, the official was so confused that he believed Xie Gong's lies! Since General Wu came to Yecheng, he reprimanded the official, so he allowed him to
I am so enlightened that from now on, I am willing to look up to you as your Majesty and do your best for Your Majesty!"
As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Wu Han again.
Wu Han said to Liu Xiu: "Your Majesty, you have to kill Xie Gong. Chen Taishou also contributed. During this period, Chen Taishou also actively prepared grain and grass and transported it to Hanoi, ensuring that our army had sufficient supplies."
Phew! Chen Kang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. These days, it was no wonder that he had tried so hard to please Wu Han. In front of King Xiao, Wu Han's words for him were worth thousands of words.
Sure enough, after listening to Wu Han's words, Liu Xiu looked at Chen Kang with much softer eyes, nodded and said, "Prefect Chen has been working hard these days."
Chen Kang's body was shaken, and he knelt down again, kowtowed forward, and said: "Working for the king, even a humble minister does not feel it is hard, even if it hurts my brain, I will not hesitate!"
When it comes to pleasing people, Chen Kang is indeed very good. When he calls himself in front of Liu Xiu, he no longer calls himself a lower official, but instead calls him a minor official.
Liu Xiu smiled and did not comment on Chen Kang's claim. Wu Han turned sideways, waved his hand and said, "Your Majesty, please come to the city."
Chen Kang followed Liu Xiu diagonally behind him and said with a smile on his face: "The lower official has prepared a banquet at the county mansion. In addition, the lower official has sent people to prepare wine and meat to reward the soldiers of the three armies!"
Liu Xiu praised Chen Kang and was very satisfied with Chen Kang's thorough work.
On the way to the governor's house, Wu Han approached Liu Xiu and whispered mysteriously: "Your Majesty, there is something going on. Please give me your permission!" wavv
Liu Xiu looked at Wu Han happily and asked, "What's the matter with Zi Yan?"
Wu Han cleared his throat and said: "Your Majesty, Xie Gong has been executed. Can Xie Gong's wife stay?"
Liu Xiu looked at Wu Han inexplicably. Wu Han could handle this kind of thing by himself, so why bother asking him? After thinking about it, Liu Xiu raised the corners of his mouth and asked with a smile: "Is it possible that Ziyan is attracted to Xie?"
Madam?"
Wu Han blushed, scratched his head, and laughed twice, which was regarded as acquiescence.
Liu Xiu was not a person who liked to kill. On the contrary, he would choose not to kill anyone who could avoid killing him.
Now that Xie Gong is dead, there is no need to kill Xie Gong's family or even his clan members. However, Wu Han was quite surprised that he could fall in love with Xie Gong's wife.
He had met Qin Zi once before, and his impression was that she was a very beautiful woman, and there was no other special impression about her.
He said: "Ziyan, as far as I know, Mrs. Xie and Xie Gong have a very good relationship. Now that you have killed Xie Gong, can Mrs. Xie not resent you?"
Wu Han said seriously: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I am confident that I can tame this woman!"
The concept of chastity in the Han Dynasty was not as strong as that of later generations. Although the concept of one woman not having two husbands existed, it was not deliberately enforced. The husband could also enjoy the right of his wife's first night, or whether the wife was a virgin or not, for the husband.
Words are not that important, as long as the two people are happy. The folk customs of the Han Dynasty are somewhat similar to those of modern times.
Therefore, whether Qin Zi is already a wife is not a problem for Wu Han. The key is that Qin Zi was Xie Gong's wife. This is a big problem. If he wants to marry Qin Zi, he must get the king.
Only with permission.
Liu Xiu glanced at Wu Han who was full of confidence, smiled, and said: "As long as Ziyan likes it, then go for it, I have no objection!"
Wu Han was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "Thank you so much, Your Majesty!"
Liu Xiu asked curiously: "Can Mrs. Xie really make Ziyan fall in love at first sight?"
Wu Han coughed dryly and said, "She is a strange woman!"
Liu Xiu shrugged. He didn't see what was so strange about Qin Zi. In his eyes, Qin Zi was no different from other women. The feeling between people is very strange. Some people are naturally attracted to each other, and some people are naturally attracted to each other.
rebuke.
When passing through Yecheng this time, Liu Xiu did not make drastic changes to the officials in the county government of Yecheng.
Liu Xiu didn't like Chen Kang's personality, but he also affirmed Chen Kang's ability. For now, Chen Kang can still be retained.
After resting for one night in Yecheng, Liu Xiu led his troops and horses early the next morning and continued northward, first to Guangping, then northward through Guangping and into Julu.
The city is located in Julu County, northeast of Zhangshui River. Currently, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses of the Bronze Horse Army are gathering near the city. They are making great efforts to capture the city and cross the Zhangshui River.
Just when the city was in danger, Liu Xiu led his army and arrived at the city.
Liu Xiu had only 60,000 soldiers and horses, while the Bronze Horse Army had hundreds of thousands. It seemed that the strength of the two sides was very different, but in fact it was not.
Among the hundreds of thousands of Bronze Horse Army, there must be more than 100,000 dependents. Most of these more than 100,000 people are the elderly, weak, sick, disabled, women and children. Not only do they have no combat effectiveness, but they are also a burden to the Bronze Horse Army.
Even though it is a warworthy army, the Bronze Horse Army is very loosely managed, and compared with the regular army, there is still a big gap.
Although the Bronze Horse soldiers were numerous and powerful, the Han army officers and soldiers who had fought with the Qingdu Army and Youlai Army were not afraid. All the generals in the army asked Liu Xiu to fight.
The hundreds of thousands of bronze horse troops were not gathered together, but scattered around the city.
Liu Xiu also wanted to test the combat power of the Bronze Horse Army, so he immediately sent Geng, Ma Wu, and Cen Peng to lead small groups of troops to attack the three strongholds of the Bronze Horse Army.
As a result, all three armies returned without success. The management of the Bronze Horse Army was very loose, and the weapons and equipment were also very backward. However, the Bronze Horse Army fought very bravely and did not pay attention to the formation at all. When they went to the battlefield, people seemed to be red.
With eyes like a madman, he rushed forward with all his strength. In the small-scale battle, the Han army could not take advantage at all.
Although Geng, Ma Wu, and Cen Peng failed to win, Liu Xiu became more confident in the upcoming decisive battle between the two sides.
The Bronze Horse Army does not pay attention to formations and is good at individual combat, which is a taboo in legion warfare.
In a large-scale phalanx battle involving tens of thousands of people, the strength of one person is too small, just a drop in the ocean. Only by integrating all the soldiers together to form a whole can the most powerful combat effectiveness be unleashed.
But this is exactly what the Bronze Horse Army is not good at, so no matter how many troops the Bronze Horse Army has and how strong its individual combat capabilities are, it is nothing to worry about.
Liu Xiu no longer sent out a small force to harass the Bronze Horse Army, but instead assembled a large army and took the initiative to ask for a battle.
The Bronze Horse Army, which had a large number of people, certainly did not pay attention to Liu Xiu's tens of thousands of people, so they pulled out a large army and wanted to start a decisive battle with Liu Xiujun.
On the plain on the north bank of Zhangshui River in Julu County, 60,000 Liu Xiujun and more than 200,000 Bronze Horse Army were in battle formations, and the battle between the two sides was about to break out.
On the Han army's side, although there were few troops, they were well-organized. The square formations were arranged neatly and row upon row. The soldiers had bright helmets and a rainbow of momentum. People just stood there, and there was a strong atmosphere.
The chilling atmosphere.
The Bronze Horse Army on the opposite side was a huge one, with a sea of people, but there was no formation to speak of. People just stood together randomly. The lineups of both sides formed a sharp contrast, one small and one big, all in chaos.
The leader of the Bronze Horse Army, Dongshan Huangtu, stood on a high slope, looking at the Han army opposite. He raised the corners of his mouth with a contemptuous smile and said proudly: "Liu Xiu did not overestimate his own capabilities. He only led tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.
If you want to fight with my hundreds of thousands of troops, you are really asking for death!"
The situation in Shanghuai was much calmer than that of Dongshan Huangtu. He frowned and said: "The general must not underestimate Liu Xiujun's combat power! In Hanoi, Liu Xiujun defeated the Qingdu Army and scared away the Youlai Army."
"Hmph!" Dongshan Huangtu sneered and said: "Qingdu, You Lai, they are just a mob, a group of crab soldiers and generals, how can they be compared with our Bronze Horse Army? Liu Xiu can beat Qingdu, You Lai,
But if you want to defeat our Bronze Horse Army, you are just talking nonsense!"
Dongshan Huangbalu was arrogant, and the generals he issued were no less generous. People agreed one after another: "What the general said is absolutely true!" "Liu Xiu once sent troops to harass our troops, but they were defeated by our troops. Liu Xiu's army's combat power was no more than
Hey!"
Hearing everyone's contempt for Liu Xiu, Shang Huaikuang's brows furrowed even more tightly and his heart became more and more uncertain. He reminded with a solemn expression: "Everyone, arrogant soldiers will be defeated, so don't be careless!"
The relationship between Dongshan Huangtu and Shanghuai Kuang is the same as that between Wang Kuang and Wang Feng. They were the first to rise up under the banner of Bronze Horse, laying the foundation of the Bronze Horse Army.
The bronze horse army of several hundred people has grown to hundreds of thousands at present. The two are both brothers and the closest comrades-in-arms.
Dongshan Huangtu still respected Shanghuai Kuang very much. After hearing Shanghuai Kuang’s reminder, Dongshan Huangtu nodded and said in a deep voice to the surrounding generals: “Did you all hear clearly what General Shanghuai said?”