Before the gold medal was announced, he was defeated directly!
Zhang He, who witnessed all this from a distance, remained silent.
Just by looking at the appearance of the army on the other side, one could tell that it was a strong army.
But how is it clear that he is so powerful?
The first time they met, they defeated their own soldiers and horses. It was really terrifying!
Not only him, but also the central and rear troops behind felt terrified.
From a distance, I saw countless black shadows swarming up under the firelight at the entrance of the camp, but they seemed to have hit the steel plate and ended up in pieces.
The enemy's overwhelming momentum not only defeated Zhang Nanjiao's seven or eight thousand attacking troops, but also defeated all Zhang He's troops who saw this scene.
The entire army was silent and stared blankly at this moment. The flames burning at the entrance of the camp did not illuminate their hearts, but destroyed their will.
"Ming Jin!"
Zhang He's face remained indifferent. He actually wanted to order the attack to continue, but he knew that this was already impossible.
But he felt that he was very lucky, because in the north and south, a large number of torches were gathering around him.
This means that the enemies in Naben have learned of the movement and are rushing over to support them.
After all, unlike Zhang He and others, Chen Mu and Zhang Fei were near the battlefield and could intuitively see the situation on the battlefield. They were unable to judge the situation, so it was reasonable to provide support as soon as possible.
The tinkling sound of gold resounded throughout the battlefield. Zhang Nan and Jiao Chu finally breathed a sigh of relief. In the already defeated situation, they immediately issued an order and the entire army retreated. They could escape justifiably.
Zhang Hejun came and left in a hurry, leaving behind more than a thousand corpses.
Gao Shun didn't pursue him because he couldn't pursue him. Heavy infantry was only suitable for two armies to face each other and charge head-on. Carrying dozens of kilograms of heavy armor to pursue an enemy who was fleeing in embarrassment would be impossible to catch up with.
Soon Zhang He's army retreated like a tide and fled towards the camp. Half a quarter of an hour later, Chen Mu and Zhang Fei's reinforcements had arrived. The three armies were united. Because it was too dark to see clearly, they could only feel countless torches.
At first glance, there were no fewer than 50,000 to 60,000 people.
"very good."
Seeing this scene, Zhang He happily said to the generals: "The enemy has indeed been fooled. The whole army is dispatched, and we can withdraw into the back mountain."
"only!"
The generals immediately went to command their own troops and began to retreat.
After a while, Zhang Nan Jiaochu also came back with the gathered remaining soldiers, and said to Zhang He with a guilty look on his face: "General."
"Needless to say, although you are defeated, it has also attracted the attention of the enemy. The enemy's army has surrounded you. I order you to stay and make mistakes. Act according to the plan. Open the gate of the stronghold and lower the flag. Don't
Beat the drum."
Although the battle was defeated, the strategic goal was still achieved, so Zhang He was still in a good mood and said to the two of them: "If something goes wrong, burn the camp immediately. Do you understand?"
"only!"
The two of them didn't dare to argue, so they could only accept it.
At that moment, Zhang Hejun, who had been prepared for a long time, did not even want a tent. He just asked the soldiers to bring all the dry food and directly started a forced march out of the east gate of the camp and into the forest.
On the front side, 50,000 to 60,000 torches gathered together into a fire dragon, rushing towards Zhang He's camp at this time.
Neither Chen Mu nor Zhang Fei are here.
The leader is actually just the school captain Guan Cheng, which is incredible.
When Guan Cheng saw that the enemy's camp was open and all troops were waning, he was a little confused. He could only watch from a distance and did not dare to take any action.
After a long time, Gao Shun's trapped troops slowly came over.
After all, they are heavy armored infantry, and their marching speed is not really very fast. Even when marching on weekdays, just like heavy cavalry, they need to put their heavy armor on a baggage truck and haul it in order to maintain a normal marching speed.
Seeing Gao Shun coming over, Guan Cheng quickly came over and said, "General Gao."
When Gao Shun saw him, he looked at the soldiers around him with a surprised look on his face, not quite understanding what they were doing.
Because these soldiers actually held six torches, tied wooden sticks into a cross, like a trident, wrapped strips of cloth and grease on both ends and the center, one on each hand.
Moreover, these soldiers tried their best to spread their hands and hold them up, so that at midnight, when viewed from a distance, they looked like a sea of torches.
"This is?"
Gao Shun was confused. The soldiers all took torches without weapons. Are they planning to burn the enemy to death in the ice and snow?
"This is the order of the Fourth General."
Guan Cheng explained: "They say they want us to be suspicious soldiers and just scare them."
"What about the Third General and the Fourth General?"
"I don't dare to say that I went to ambush you, and I don't dare to ask."
"oh."
Gao Shun said nothing.
Chen Mu is like this, no matter what he does, he does it in an incomprehensible and incomprehensible way.
...
...
The weather in late December is getting colder and colder. Although there is no snow, there is a cold wind blowing through the deep mountains and forests, which is so cold that one's bones are chilling.
The soldiers even wrapped themselves in quilts and marched slowly along the mountain road, climbing over the mountains and ridges, heading east.
Because we were in the forest, we were not afraid of lighting torches. However, Zhang He did not dare to ask all the soldiers to light fires. The formation was too large and they were afraid of being seen, so they basically used one group per torch and waited until they had passed the ridge.
, the camp was no longer visible, so the whole army was ordered to light a fire.
With torches, you can see the road and drive away wild beasts. The current army of more than 20,000 people was barely able to keep up with the team. After more than an hour, they walked on the mountain road for about five or six miles, and they could already see behind them
Saw the light reaching into the sky.
"This is Zhang Nan, Jiao and Chu who burned the camp. It seems that this empty camp strategy is indeed effective. It prevents the enemy from attacking. After delaying it for more than an hour, they will definitely not be able to catch up with us. We are safe."
Zhang He saw the soaring flames illuminating half of the sky, and he could tell with his toes that the camp was on fire.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Although it is the twelfth lunar month of winter, there is no snow, only strong winds.
In this way, the camp's cloth strips, together with some fish cake grease and winter firewood stored in the army, can be used to burn down the entire camp. By that time, it will be too late for the enemy to think that they have already fled into the mountains and left.
"General, although we managed to escape, our tents and a large amount of baggage were abandoned. If it rains and snows heavily in the past few days, and the soldiers are soaked by the rain and snow, they may inevitably fall ill."
Ma Yan said worriedly.
Zhang He said coldly: "The normal journey from Yuancheng to Yin'an only takes one day and night. Although there is wind and snow, we can abandon the baggage and march faster. We will march quickly today and gallop through the starry night. We can enter the city before dark tomorrow."
Yuancheng to Yin'an is actually Daming County to Nanle County in later generations. The two places are about 35 kilometers apart, almost 90 miles. At three kilometers per hour, it can be reached in almost twelve hours.
However, because it was winter, although it had not snowed, the roads were covered with snow, making it difficult to walk. It was normal for the marching speed to be slower, so Zhang He only said it would take a day and night.
After hearing Zhang He's explanation, the officers and soldiers felt a little more at ease, and then they dispersed, led various ministries, and urged the soldiers to leave as soon as possible.
After passing several mountain ridges, when the sky turned slightly white, they walked three to five kilometers on the mountain road, and finally walked out of this hilly mountainous area. What they saw was a wilderness, and wheat fields covered with snow, further away.
, you can still vaguely see a village.
This is the northeast of Yuancheng and the east side of Wulu Xu.
Although this place is closer to Wulu Market in terms of distance, Wulu Market is actually located on the Yellow River Ancient Road in the north of Yuancheng. It is blocked by these hills. If you want to take a detour, you have to go between Wulu Market and Yuancheng.
A sand pavilion in the middle will do.
Zhang He couldn't help but feel lucky that he had been sending scouts to survey the terrain during this period, and that there were soldiers from the Yuancheng area in the army who were familiar with the geography. Otherwise, I'm afraid they would really be trapped and die under that hill.
"General, this is Shating in the east of Shalu Mountain. I don't know what village is over there, but it is a smooth road for dozens of miles south from here without any obstacles."
The soldier leading the horse was from Fanting in the west of Yuancheng. He had been in the army for seven or eight years and vaguely remembered some features of his hometown and told Zhang He about it.
"Um."
Zhang He nodded and said to the soldiers beside him: "Send a few scouts to Yuancheng to check the situation."
Several flying horses galloped out and headed south along the official road along the field ridge.
Zhang He's army is heading towards the village to the east. If they want to bypass Yuancheng, they must bypass Shating. If they want to bypass Shating, they must pass through the village.
The villages are not in ruins. Compared to Yanzhou, which has been suffering from wars, most places in Jizhou have been peaceful in recent years, except for some killings caused by the Black Mountain Army going south on the border between Yanzhou and Jizhou.
Zhang He was eager to return home. He didn't particularly want to go into the village to have a look. The official road passed by the village, so he could only lead his army along the road and headed towards the village among the crisscrossing fields.
But the closer I get, the weirder it becomes.
This village is too quiet.
The Han people work at sunrise and rest at sunset. It is already the end of the Ping Dynasty, and when the sunrise is approaching, the winter wheat fields also need to be plowed. Why does it seem that there are no people now?
Dong Dong Dong Dong!
When the drums sounded, Zhang He's face turned pale in an instant.
They approached the village, and within half a mile, they heard the loud sound of gongs and drums coming from the village, and they heard murderous intent.
After a while, a group of men and horses emerged from the village. The leader was a long-armed general with great strength. He shouted loudly: "Zhang He, Taishi Ci has been waiting here for a long time!"
"Withdraw! Withdraw quickly!"
Zhang He only felt that his scalp was numb, and he raised his spear to meet the enemy. At the same time, he ordered the soldiers to withdraw to the northeast and avoid the village.
The people had marched all night and walked more than ten miles on the mountain road, and it was difficult to fight to the death.
Taishi Ci rushed out of the village with seven or eight thousand elite soldiers, and Zhang He also led thousands of his own troops. The two fought together for twenty or thirty rounds, but there was no winner. In the end, he made a false shot and took the lead.
Break away.
It's just that among the huge army of 20,000, there are always some who can run slowly. Taishi Ci followed closely behind him and shouted loudly to surrender without killing. He fled in all directions for a while, and countless soldiers who ran behind were captured.
After running away like crazy for more than half an hour, he actually ran away for seven or eight miles in one breath. When he turned around and looked around, he saw that the entire plain was full of deserters who had abandoned their helmets and armor and were in such a state of embarrassment.
Almost no morale.
The reason for this is that Zhang Hejun's morale was already very low. Marching for days had consumed a lot of both physical strength and fighting spirit, and his fighting spirit could be said to be at its lowest point.
Secondly, no one was prepared for this battle. Just when they thought they had escaped and the army could leave calmly, a group of men suddenly appeared.
Under such circumstances, it is strange that the army still has fighting capacity.
Zhang He struggled to gather his soldiers, and there were only 17,800 men under his command. As many as 4,000 to 5,000 were lost or captured, which was a heavy loss.
"General, we have gathered our soldiers, what should we do now?"
Jiang Qimayan's hat was also crooked and there were blood stains on his body. After a hard fight, he escaped, found Zhang He, and asked with a grimace.
Zhang He was also frightened, but at this time he had to hold on and said: "Don't panic, everyone, this must be just a garrison stationed here by Chen Zigui. Bypassing the sand pavilion, there must be no obstruction in front of us."
Everyone feels sad.
When we set out from Ganling, there were still 40,000 troops. After being intercepted by Cao Cao, there were still more than 30,000 people left. As a result of yesterday's battle, today's battle, and Zhang Nanjiao's lone army behind, now only
With less than half of the troops left, it can be described as very desolate.
After appeasing the two lieutenants and several army commanders, Zhang He could only order the army to rest on the spot for a while and finally catch their breath. The only good news was that there were no pursuers behind, and no one could be seen chasing them.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Why is this place?"
While taking a break, Zhang He asked the Fan Ting soldier.
The soldier looked around blankly and saw that this place was a small river. On the other side of the river was a small hill. Behind him was the plain where he came from. There were several undulating hills, which were the remnants of Shalu Mountain. After thinking for a while, he said:
"This place looks like the Wei Pavilion to the east of Sha Pavilion."
"you sure?"
Zhang He asked again.
The soldier recalled it carefully, nodded seriously and said: "I'm sure, this river is the Wei River. If you follow this river, you can reach the border of Yanzhou, and then go south to Yangping in Yanzhou."
"good."
Zhang He said to the guards beside him: "Order the soldiers to fill the water bags with water and set off as soon as possible."
"only!"
The personal guard went to deliver the order.
After resting for about half a quarter of an hour, the army set off again.
Everyone lowered their heads and looked dejected. The army was defeated miserably and had no fighting spirit.
After walking along the Wei River for more than an hour, we almost reached the border of Yanzhou. Then we went south along the plain, heading all the way to Yin'an.
Yuancheng - Yangping - Yin'an form a triangle. Yangping is directly east of Yuancheng and Yin'an is southwest of Yuancheng. As long as you go southwest, you can reach Yin'an County.
The march went smoothly along the way. At least the weather was kind and the sun was shining brightly today. Although the sun shone pale light and did not bring any warmth to the earth, at least it did not snow.
After walking for another half an hour, they probably arrived at the beginning of Yuzhong. The soldiers had not eaten breakfast yet and were tired and hungry. Zhang He rode on his horse and looked into the distance. He saw a barren mountain in the distance and a forest at the foot of the mountain.
After thinking about it, he pointed over there and said, "You can rest by the forest."
The army then marched into the forest, where they began to light fires and boil water to make rice.
Although the baggage was lost, the cauldron could not be lost. The cauldrons used for cooking in the Han Dynasty were generally copper or iron cauldrons, and occasionally pottery cauldrons were used. Pottery pots were fragile, so copper and iron cauldrons were mostly used in the army.
Let’s not talk about the functions of copper and iron kettles. Just say that they are made of copper and iron. At this time, they can be regarded as precious metals and naturally cannot be discarded easily.
The reason why Zhang He chose to cook in the forest is simple, because the trees can block the smoke.
When cutting firewood in winter, you will definitely only have wet firewood, and there will be a lot of thick smoke. If you are in the wild, you can see it several kilometers away. In the forest, there are branches that block the sky and sun, and there is snow on them, which can filter the smoke.
.
The soldiers began to make rice, throwing various dry foods and pickles into the pot. When it was boiled to make a pot of stew, the soldiers began to eat with their hands or with chopsticks made from branches.
After the soldiers had eaten and rested for more than half an hour, Zhang He finally gave the order to set off again and continue to advance.
And at this time.
About three miles away from here, a group of people was slowly approaching.
The leader was actually Zhang Liao, who was supposed to be stationed at Shating!