Cen Peng really didn't expect Liu Xiu to trust him so much. Not only did he let him command an army of 50,000 people, but he even lent him the Chixiao Sword that never left his body, so that he could perform royal duties in the army.
Cen Peng was deeply moved by Liu Xiu's trust. He knelt down on one knee, took the wooden box handed over by Liu Xiu with both hands, and said in a trembling voice: "The king has high hopes, which scares the last general! The last general will not humiliate the king.
mission!"
After hearing what Cen Peng said, Liu Xiu only smiled slightly, stretched out his hand to help Cen Peng up, and said meaningfully: "Whether our army can completely annihilate the bandit army in this battle depends on Jun Ran's response!"
Cen Peng said seriously: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, the general will go all out in the end!" wavv
Due to the new changes in the situation, Liu Xiu could only divide his troops to fight.
He sent Wu Han and Geng, commanding 12,000 cavalry, to stop the remnants of the Bronze Horse from escaping north.
He also sent Cen Peng, commanding an army of 50,000, to Qingyuan to wait for the opportunity. Liu Xiu himself led the remaining troops and horses and continued northward to pursue the remnants of the Bronze Horses.
When Wu Han, Geng, and Cen Peng led their troops to leave one after another, Geng Chun and Liu Zhi walked up to Liu Xiu. They frowned and said, "Your Majesty asked General Cen to command 50,000 troops to go to Qingyuan. I'm afraid
,Isn’t it appropriate?!”
Liu Xiu smiled and said: "In Nanyang, I fought with Jun Ran many times, and I also suffered heavy losses at the hands of Jun Ran. I also admire Jun Ran's ability to run the army."
Geng Chun and Liu Zhi looked at each other and smiled bitterly. They did not question Cen Peng's ability to lead the army in the war, but they were worried about him. Liu Zhi said: "Cen Peng has just surrendered to the king, and it will take time for him to remain loyal to the king.
!”
Liu Xiu waved his hand and said with a smile: "As the saying goes, don't trust people when you employ them, and don't trust people when you doubt them. Since I have enabled Jun Ran, I naturally trust Jun Ran's loyalty, just like I trust Bo Shan and Bo Xian!"
Geng Chun and Liu Zhi heard that they could not say anything more, but they still felt unsure. At this time, Ma Wu and Yao Qi came over, and the former laughed and said: "General Geng, General Liu, don't worry, Cen Peng
This person is usually a bit arrogant, but he is a stubborn person. Once he is loyal to someone, even nine oxen will not be able to win him back!"
In the past, Cen Peng was loyal to Wang Mang, but he suffered a lot for Zhu Tiandu's tribe. If he had not run out of ammunition and food in the end, Cen Peng would not have surrendered to Liu if he was worried about the more than 100,000 people in Wancheng.
After hearing what Ma Wu said, Liu Xiu also laughed and agreed: "What Zizhang said is absolutely true."
Compared with his ancestor Liu Bang, the biggest difference between Liu Xiu and his ancestor Liu Bang should be the difference in self-confidence.
Liu Bang was able to conquer the world, and Han Xin was indispensable. It can be said that Han Xin's prestige in the army was superior to Liu Bang's, and his achievements were so great that Liu Bang was deeply afraid and finally chose to kill Han Xin.
But Liu Xiu is different. Since I am willing to use you, I will choose to trust you and hand over the military power to you boldly. Even if you have second thoughts about me and want to rebel against me, I will not be afraid because I have confidence.
I can take care of you.
It is precisely because of this self-confidence that Liu Xiu's situation has never happened.
Liu Xiu had so many talented people and strangers under his command. In addition to the continuous battles, there were many people with outstanding achievements, such as Deng Yu, Wu Han, Jia Fu, Geng and others. If you pick anyone at random, they are all in the army.
Having his own direct lineage, he responds to everything he calls.
Liu Xiu, however, never had any intention of being wary of them and always gave them great importance and trust.
It is also because of the lack of suspicion between monarchs and ministers that generals such as Deng Yu and Wu Han who have left their names throughout the ages have always been loyal and devoted to Liu Xiu. In terms of controlling people, Liu Xiu is far better than Liu Bang.
Of course, Liu Xiu also made mistakes sometimes, but this situation is very rare and will be mentioned later.
Wu Han and Geng, leading more than 10,000 cavalry, galloped to stop the remnants of the Bronze Horse Army that were fleeing towards Qingyuan County.
Everyone in the Bronze Horse Army knew very well that they could only have a chance to survive by escaping to Qingyuan and joining up with brothers from the Gaohu Army, the Heavy Company Army, and even other units.
At this time, facing the interception of the Han cavalry, the Bronze Horse Army showed their desperate efforts and launched a fierce attack on the Wu Han and Geng tribes.
However, the tactics of infantry versus cavalry and infantry versus infantry are completely different. The Bronze Horse Army lacked experience in fighting cavalry. When they launched their attack, they ran into a cavalry countercharge.
When infantry fights against cavalry, the first thing required is a neat formation, and this aspect is precisely the fatal weakness that the Bronze Horse Army lacks.
The bronze cavalry army was as scattered as sand. They only had a bit of momentum and strength, but when they bumped into the cavalry charging formation, it was like a clenched fist hitting the tip of a knife.
Under the command of Wu Han and Geng, more than 10,000 Youzhou cavalry cooperated tacitly and fought skillfully. They rushed the 100,000 bronze horse army to pieces, and the whole army was in chaos.
Dongshan Huangtu and Shanghuai Kuang hurriedly gathered their troops, and the whole army huddled into a ball, guarding tightly, and no longer dared to launch an active attack.
The Bronze Horse Army no longer launched an attack, and Wu Han and Geng also stood still and did not lead their troops to attack the Bronze Horse Army's iron barrel formation. The war between the two sides fell into a stalemate.
Wu Han and Geng didn't care if the war dragged on like this. Their mission was to prevent the remnants of the Bronze Horse from moving north. Now the Bronze Horse Army was scared to the point of standing still, which was exactly what they wanted.
The two of them could afford to do so, but the Bronze Horse Army could not. The spies at the rear were like a revolving lantern, constantly relaying Liu Xiujun's movements to Dongshan Huangtu.
Seeing Liu Xiu's troops getting closer and closer to their side, and being suppressed by Wu Han and Geng's cavalry, they were unable to move. If this continued, they would be trapped here alive.
Dongshan Huangtu sent more than a hundred elite soldiers to spread out and break out to the north to seek help from Qingyuan.
Most of these more than a hundred elite soldiers were robbed and killed by the cavalry under Wu Han and Geng. Only a few of them were lucky enough to escape the pursuit of the cavalry and ran all the way to Qingyuan.
Currently, a total of 200,000 troops from the Gaohu Army, the Heavy Company Army and the Bronze Horse Army are gathered in Qingyuan.
After receiving an urgent distress letter from Dongshan Huangtu, Zhao Gui, the leader of the Gaohu Army, Qi Ran, the leader of the Chonglian Army, and Zhang Huai, the leader of the Bronze Horse Army, gathered together to discuss how to respond.
Zhang Huai's opinion is very simple. Now the general is trapped and one hundred thousand brothers are in danger. We must use all our strength to rescue him.
However, both Zhao Gui and Qi Ran were worried. They were in Qingyuan now, surrounded by counties and counties affiliated to Liu Xiu. Once they tried their best to rescue the Bronze Horse Army, what would happen if Qingyuan was attacked by officers and soldiers from surrounding counties?
The supplies for their 200,000-strong army are all in Qingyuan. Once Qingyuan is lost, there will be no need for Liu Xiu to surround them, and they themselves will collapse first.
Zhang Huai thought about it carefully and thought that Zhao Gui and Qi Ran's concerns were not unreasonable. He frowned and asked: "So, General Zhao, what do General Qi think we should do now? Is it possible that in response to the general's request for help,
Just sit back and ignore it?”
"Of course we can't sit idly by and ignore it? Otherwise, we wouldn't be in Qingyuan now!" After hearing this, Zhang Huai's expression softened a little.
Zhao Gui continued: "We need to separate two troops and horses to rescue General Dongshan, and leave one troops and horses to guard Qingyuan. Only in this way can we be foolproof!"
Zhang Huai nodded and agreed: "According to General Zhao's opinion!"
After the three of them discussed the results, they immediately began to take action. Zhao Gui led the main force of the headquarters and stayed behind in Qingyuan. Qi Suo and Zhang Huai led their respective subordinates to relieve the danger of the Bronze Horse Army being trapped.
Liu Xiu sent Wu Han and Geng Du to intercept the remnants of the Bronze Horse, which was equivalent to throwing a difficult problem to the rebel army. The rebel army divided its forces to respond, which was equivalent to throwing this problem to Cen Peng.
At present, Cen Peng is faced with two choices. First, he leads his army to attack the Heavy Company Army headed by Qi Ran and the Bronze Horse Army Department headed by Zhang Huai.
However, the strength of these two troops must be more than 100,000. It is not easy for our side to defeat more than 100,000 with 50,000. Even if we win, it will be a tragic victory with too many casualties. In Cen Peng’s view, our side
Go and attack Qi Ran and Zhang Huai's subordinates.
The second option is naturally to attack Qingyuan. However, the main force of Gaohu Army staying behind in Qingyuan is tens of thousands of people. They have the support of Qingyuan's city defense and have a geographical advantage. If we want to forcefully attack Qingyuan City,
, is by no means an easy task, and in Cen Peng’s view, attacking Zhao Gui by force is also a bad idea.
No matter whether to attack Qi Suo, Zhang Huai or Zhao Gui, it is not a good strategy, but our own army of 50,000 cannot be moved. At this time, Cen Peng felt quite embarrassed.
Now the 50,000 Han troops led by Cen Peng are hiding in a small mountain col near Qingyuan. Outside the mountain col is the official road, and the two places are less than five miles apart.
The rebel army, led by Qi Ruo and Zhang Huai, was marching quickly on the official road outside the mountain col.
Seeing that Cen Peng had not given the order to attack, Zhu, Gai Yan, Fu Jun, Ji Zun and other generals came to Cen Peng one after another.
Ji Zun was the first to speak: "General Cen, the bandit army is less than five miles away from our headquarters. Now is a good opportunity to take the initiative!"
Zhu Da nodded and answered: "Our army suddenly charges out and will definitely catch the rebel army by surprise!"
Cen Peng glanced at everyone and remained silent. Even Fu Jun, who was taciturn, couldn't help but ask: "General Cen wants to capture Qingyuan?"
If Cen Peng's target was Qingyuan City, then it would be normal for him to let this bandit army pass. But after listening to Fu Jun's words, Cen Peng remained silent.
Seeing this, everyone present was stunned. Cen Peng neither wanted to fight the reinforcements of the rebels nor the rebels staying in Qingyuan, so what exactly did he want to do?
Zhu frowned and said: "General Cen, the opportunity is fleeting, what are your plans?"
Cen Peng said quietly: "The number of bandits who are reinforcing the remnants of the Bronze Horse is no less than one hundred thousand. Our army will fight with them, and the casualties will be considerable. The bandits who are left behind in Qingyuan also number in the tens of thousands, and they have the support of city defense. We
The army is not easy to fight either."
So? The reinforcements of the traitor soldiers are numerous and powerful, and it is difficult to fight. If we do not fight, the traitor army left behind in Qingyuan has the city defense to rely on, but it is also difficult to fight. If we still do not fight, then we will just sit in this mountain valley and wait.
Like pie in the sky?
Zhu took a deep breath and said angrily: "General Cen is timid, so just wait here. I, Zhu, am not a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death!" As he spoke, he shouted to the generals on the left and right: "There are some who are not afraid of death.
Brother, come with me to fight!"
Upon hearing this, many Han generals present picked up the weapon without saying a word and planned to follow Zhu out of the mountain pass. Cen Peng suddenly said: "Wait a minute!"
Zhu turned around and glared at him. Cen Peng said with a stern face: "I am the commander-in-chief of the entire army. It is up to me to decide whether to fight this battle or not. Can General Zhu disobey the order?"
"So what if you resist the order?!" Zhu said angrily: "Cen Peng, stop using chicken feathers as arrows! You have only followed the king for a few days, and how many years have I known the king? What kind of score are you putting in front of me?!"
After finishing speaking, he took a step to walk out.
Cen Peng shouted: "Whoever dares to disobey military orders and go into battle rashly will be killed without mercy!"
Zhu almost became angry and asked loudly: "Who dares to kill me, Zhu?!"
"Your Majesty, how dare you!" As he spoke, Cen Peng suddenly lifted up the wooden box that Liu Xiu had given him personally. This wooden box contained Liu Xiu's Chixiao Sword. Among the Han army, the Chixiao Sword was the most valuable.
The weight is no less than that of Shang Fang's sword.
Seeing Cen Peng take out the King's Red Sky Sword to suppress him, Zhu's face turned livid, and his eyes almost burst into flames when he glared at Cen Peng.
