Chapter 42: Walking Horse Yuzhou (Kneeling and kneeling)
After Zhang Jiao was defeated, he fled to Quzhou on the other side of the Mingshui River.
Zhang Liang is stationed there, and there are tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in the city. However, Guangping City is a county seat. Although the city is not as tall as Julu, it is still stronger than ordinary county towns. Quzhou is a county town, and the city is not high. Once it is captured,
The consequences of the siege are unimaginable.
The most important thing is that Zhang Jiao's condition is very bad now. He is short of breath and heartbroken. In addition, the lung disease that has been delayed for a long time has become more serious. He is already lying on the hospital bed, dying. Although he is not dead, he still has a high fever.
In addition, Lu Zhi stationed troops in Guangping on the other side of the Ming River and was eyeing Qu Zhou, so the situation was extremely unfavorable for the three Zhang brothers.
In the government office of Quzhou County.
Zhang Bao walked up and down in the hall, while Zhang Liang knelt down behind the desk and said nothing.
Of the three Zhang brothers, Zhang Jiao is the eldest brother, Zhang Bao is the second brother, and Zhang Liang is the third eldest. Although Zhang Bao ranks second, in terms of personality, he is not as calm as Zhang Liang.
"No, my eldest brother is seriously ill. If this continues, something unexpected may happen. We must find a way to save him."
Zhang Bao walked around, feeling very irritable.
Zhang Liang said solemnly: "I have taken medicine and tried various methods, but nothing has improved. What can be done? Let's deal with the situation at hand first."
"You can't just watch your eldest brother become so ill and just ignore him."
Zhang Bao asked angrily.
"Brother's illness must be taken care of, and the current situation cannot be ignored."
Zhang Liang said unhurriedly: "The officers and soldiers of the imperial court are around and can attack Quzhou at any time. If we don't deal with it, not even our lives can be saved, let alone big brother."
"Then what do you think we should do?"
Zhang Bao sat down in his seat. He was now at a loss and had no idea.
Compared to Zhang Bao, Zhang Liang only had a calmer personality, but when it came to resourcefulness, he also had no choice but to think: "Quzhou is too dangerous, we must withdraw our troops, Guangzong has enough troops and food, and the city is better than Quzhou's."
It’s tall and you can retreat there.”
"Why not remove the giant deer?"
Zhang Bao was puzzled.
Zhang Liang shook his head: "To go to Julu, you have to cross the river. One pontoon bridge was cut down by you, and the other pontoon bridge is in Guangnian. Do you plan to go around a thousand miles to cross the river from Tangyang, or do you plan to cross under the eyes of the army?
?”
Zhang Bao's face froze.
Zhang Jiao had told him about his strategic intentions before.
At the beginning, he said that he would withdraw troops from Julu, but in fact, he planned to fight a protracted war with the official army.
Because there is a cavalry in the official army, it is exaggerated that this group of cavalry can ride and be good at shooting. They don't need to charge. They can use the mobility of the light cavalry to shoot arrows from a distance and beat Zhang Jiao's infantry team to pieces.
When he was in Weijun, Zhang Jiao suffered heavy losses and was almost unable to fight in the wild.
So he could only choose to defend the city.
Julu City had plenty of food and supplies, unlike Guangping, which had certain loopholes. Moreover, it and Quzhou were horns with each other. No matter where the army attacked, the other side could attack by surprise.
For example, if the army attacks Julu, then Quzhou's soldiers and horses can pass through the pontoon bridge in Nanmeng Township or the pontoon bridge in Guangnian City to sneak attack on the rear of the army. If the army gets violent and cuts off the pontoon bridge in Nanmeng Township, Quzhou will
The soldiers and horses can also go down the river to attack Yiyang, Quliang, Shuzhang and other places, and cut off the official and army food routes.
When the officers and soldiers attack Quzhou, Julu will be easier to deal with. There is no need to cross the river. Just attack Guangping and Quang Nian nearby. No matter what, the officers and soldiers will not be able to take care of both ends because of the small number of people. Even if there is a cavalry, it will not be possible.
Difficult to cope with.
Therefore, Zhang Jiao planned to return to Julu to defend the city.
As a result, he never expected that people would dare to ambush him on a rainy day.
But now that Zhang Jiao is defeated and the general has fled to Qu Zhoulai, Julu will no longer be the main attack direction of the army.
Without Zhang Jiao to command, Julu's soldiers and horses probably don't know how to fight. The army only needs a small number of troops to keep an eye on them, and they can attack Quzhou with peace of mind.
Thinking of this, Zhang Bao punched the table and said angrily: "What a shame, why does Lu Zhi have such an elite cavalry? Without this cavalry to restrain us, the Han army would have been repulsed by us long ago. How disgusting!"
Zhang Liang sighed and said: "What can be done? Although the imperial court is mediocre, there are still elites from the three sides. The only thing we can do now is to find ways to bring them down."
"What about the giant deer?"
Zhang Bao suddenly remembered a question and said hesitantly: "How about withdrawing Julu's troops and joining us?"
Zhang Liang thought for a while, shook his head and said: "No, we don't have tens of thousands of ships. Unless we build a pontoon bridge overnight, Zhang Niujiao and the others will have to make a long detour if they want to join us. They can only summon soldiers from Anping, Ganling and other counties.
Let the army come over and guard the city together, so that the elder brother can rest in peace and recover."
"So be it."
Zhang Bao also had no idea and could only agree.
After the Yellow Turban Army rested for two days, the army withdrew from Quzhou in a mighty manner and rushed to Guangzong.
Although Lu Zhi had detectives to detect the news, he could not stop it.
The bridge across the river from Guangping to Quzhou had been destroyed. If the army wanted to cross the river, it would have to go around hundreds of miles and take the Guangnian-Yiyang-Quliang-Chuzhang-Quzhou route, which was too late in time.
Secondly, in ancient times, armies were all mothers if they had milk, and soldiers fought just to eat and get rich. Now that these two items are available, the army has no fighting spirit, and the fighting will is not very high. Lu Zhi can only rest in peace and cultivate, waiting for the resumption of soldier fighting.
Strength, think about it again.
As a result, Zhang Jiao's troops in Quzhou also successfully withdrew from Guangzong County, which is located at the intersection of Anping County and Ganling County.
At this time, Chen Mu was also preparing to formally resign from Liu Bei and go south to Yuzhou.
"Fourth brother, are you going to leave me?"
Liu Bei was shocked when he heard Chen Mu's resignation.
This is a house in Guangping City. When the army enters the city, of course as an officer, you can move into a mansion that is vacant by a wealthy family.
Anyway, the Yellow Turban Army burned, killed, and looted, which caused a devastating blow to the local powerful people. Many powerful people were slaughtered, and these houses had no owners, so they could live in them wherever they wanted.
It is worth mentioning that since Zhang Jiao personally led the troops when they first attacked the city near Julu, discipline was not completely broken and there was less intrusion on the people. Therefore, there were still many civilians who fled into the mountains hiding near Julu.
Now that the imperial court has regained lost territory, these refugees have gradually returned to the city from the countryside and mountains. The six counties of Henan and the two cities of Guangning and Guangping have gradually regained some popularity.
Chen Mu smiled and said: "Not only do I have to leave, but my second brother and third brother also have to follow me. I predict that in the next few months, Lu Zhonglang will only be able to besiege the city and will not be able to fight the Yellow Turban Army in the wild.
, this is a protracted war, and since the eldest brother is unwilling to go south, the younger brother can only do it for him and go south to make contributions to his brother."
Liu Bei shook his head and said: "I have been very pessimistic about making contributions. My master told me yesterday that he has expressed his merits to the court. With all the merits added up, a commander in another department cannot run away. If I can serve as an official with a thousand stones, I
You are already satisfied, so why separate us brothers?"
Chen Mu advised: "My eldest brother's words are wrong. Even if my eldest brother is less interested in making contributions, I still have to think about my second and third brothers. General Lu Zhonglang said that he would recommend me to Taixue. When I return to Puyin, I will definitely
He was promoted as a filial and honest man and became an official. However, if the second brother and the third brother want to become officials, they cannot rely solely on rewards from the court. The eldest brother must have a higher official position in order to be qualified to promote their positions. They cannot always let them
The second brother and the third brother should be the little village chiefs."
Guan Yu smiled and said: "Since we four brothers are sworn brothers, we are one body. It doesn't matter what official position I hold. As long as my brothers never leave, I will always be the commander of the village. I am also willing to do so."
Zhang Fei scratched his head. In fact, he wanted to be promoted, but the word "righteousness" came first, so he immediately said: "Me too!"
What they said made Liu Bei hesitate.
Indeed, the four brothers became sworn sworn brothers and went to the battlefield. It seemed that they could just be together and there was no need to worry about the rewards from the court.
But along the way, Chen Mu, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei contributed the most, but it was his eldest brother who contributed less. As a result, he got the most credit. Even if the brothers didn't care, they still had to feel their own conscience to see if it hurt.
Liu Bei sighed and said: "I would rather divide the military merits among the three brothers..."
"Brother, what are you talking about?"
Chen Mu smiled, he knew Liu Bei was sincere.
But it's useless. In the army, military merit has always been passed down from top to bottom.
For example, in this expedition, the lion's share of the credit must go to Lu Zhi, followed by the clan members and the five Northern Army lieutenants.
Then Liu Bei's turn comes second, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's turn are already very few.
This is because Liu Bei, as Lu Zhi's apprentice, skipped the level of Army Sima. Otherwise, Meng Zhen would still get a piece of the pie, and Liu Bei would get even less credit.
There is no way, this is a feudal society, the word fairness may not be realized even two thousand years later, let alone now?
"Alas, I am incompetent."
For the first time, Liu Bei felt a little resentful that he was not a high-ranking official and could not help his brothers get promoted and make a fortune. Thinking of this, he shook his head and said, "Fourth brother, what are your plans if you want to go?"
Chen Mu analyzed: "It is the beginning of May now, and we still don't know how the army is fighting in Yuzhou. But I predict that they have either won or are still in the confrontation stage. Otherwise, if there is a big defeat, the court will be shocked, and it is very likely that
Transfer General Lu Zhonglang over there. There is no movement now, which means the situation is okay."
"The Yellow Turbans in Jizhou are defeated, and the city will inevitably shrink. General Lu Zhonglang will not be able to do anything to them, and they will definitely be in a confrontation stage. At this time, when we go south to Yuzhou, it is like putting eggs in two baskets, no matter which side starts the fight first
, you can get credit from two places.”
Chen Mu was full of confidence.
This is how many families played during the Three Kingdoms period. They bet on both ends, like the dragon, tiger and dog of the Zhuge family. The world is divided into three parts. Each family has their people. No matter who wins, the family can continue to prosper for generations.
Liu Bei nodded: "In that case, I will ask the master for instructions and get a military order for you. It is said to be reinforcements to assist General Huangfu and General Zhu. What do you think?"
"That's best."
Chen Mu smiled slightly, looked at Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and said, "Second brother and third brother, which of you would like to go with me?"
Zhang Fei glanced at Guan Yu. He wanted to go, but since he was the third child, it was difficult to say.
Guan Yu chuckled: "Let Yide go."
Zhang Fei was overjoyed: "My second brother understands me. These days without fighting have made me miserable. If I continue to be idle like this, I will get sick."
Seeing that it was Zhang Fei, Chen Mu rolled his eyes and said, "Third brother, I can take you there. But I have to say it first. When I go to Yuzhou, you have to listen to me on everything. You must not act rashly."
Zhang Fei patted his chest and assured: "That's natural. When my fourth brother asks me to kill chickens, he will never chase the dogs. If he asks me to chase the cows, he will definitely not chase the horses."
Chen Mu thought to himself, I believe you, you are a very bad old man.
Now that Liu Bei, the eldest brother, is suppressing him, Zhang Fei can still listen to his advice. Once he leaves Liu Bei's side, he will immediately turn into a monkey and escape from Wuzhishan, or will he make a big fuss in heaven?