Chapter 75 Xu Rong, sounds the clarion call for war
Xu Rong led the army, marched westward from Pingyuan Kingdom, and entered Qinghe County.
Qinghe Kingdom was originally a pocket formation deployed by Yuan Shao. There were not many defenders in the entire county, and they were almost completely destroyed.
The Jizhou army in nearby Lingxian and Yixian counties fled in the face of the wind and retreated all the way to the wild areas around Qingyuan and Guangzong.
This place happens to be the boundary bridge. As mentioned before, Qingshui crosses the entire Wei County and Qinghe Kingdom. If you want to cross the river, you must either take the boundary bridge or take a detour from the Taoguan.
Many people may have heard of the terrain of the Jieqiao, which includes hills, flat land and a large number of low and high slopes. Historically, Ju Yi ordered the crossbowmen to hide behind the low slopes, and when the white horse Yi Cong approached, they suddenly rushed out and stopped.
Shooting randomly, Gongsun Zan was defeated.
This is a good ambush point. At this time, the commanders of the Jizhou Army were Supervisor Guo Tu and General Chunyu Qiong. Chunyu Qiong was ordered to guard Taoguan. When he heard that the Qingzhou Army was advancing westward, he quietly led his troops northward to prepare for an ambush.
Guo Tu and Xu You both served as military supervisors and commanded the army alone. This time Yuan Shao targeted Gongsun Zan, and he was entrusted with the important task of dealing with the Qingzhou Army, so he chose to lure the enemy deep and design an ambush.
"Hahahaha, we have repaired our armor and strengthened our troops for today. I see that the enemy is as powerful as fire and water, and it seems that we must rush to break it. This is my plan. Within a few days, the enemy army will be defeated!"
Twenty miles southwest of the boundary bridge, Guo Tu's army is stationed here. He seems to have a conspiracy. He has long guessed that the Qingzhou Army will choose to attack Weijun from Qinghe State in order to break the siege of the Bohai Sea, so he ambush the fortresses entering Weijun.
On the road, attacking from both sides, you must give the enemy a good look.
Chunyu Qiong knew that Guo Tu was favored by Yuan Shao, so he laughed and complimented him: "The supervisor has a wonderful plan. I have never heard of Yan Yi and Xu Zheng. I think you are just an unknown person. I believe that the supervisor can definitely control it."
They were defeated easily."
"Report!"
At this moment, the scout came to report. He entered the camp and knelt down on one knee and said: "The enemy has arrived at the ambush point twenty miles away."
"good."
Guo Tu stood up and said proudly: "Give me the order and prepare to attack!"
"Prepare to attack!"
With an order, all the ministries began to move.
The defenders of Ganling City and Beiqiu City in Lingxian County fled in the direction of Jieqiao in the face of Xu Rong's army.
These soldiers and horses are just bait. Guo Tu went south from Guangchuan in the north, and Chun Yuqiong went north from Taoguan. The two of them, one from the south and the other from the north, were the two backup forces left by Yuan Shao to deal with the Qingzhou army.
Guo Tu expected that the Qingzhou Army was eager to relieve Gongsun Zan and would definitely want to attack Wei County. Since Jieqiao was the nearest crossing point, it was the best place to ambush.
After confirming that Xu Rong had entered the ambush circle, he issued an order and ordered each unit to start separate operations according to the original plan.
First, the defenders from various places who served as bait were on standby, and then the vanguard Sui Yuanjin was sent to support. When Sui Yuanjin joined the remaining defenders and fought with the enemy, Chunyu Qiong led Han Juzi, Lu Weihuang, Zhao Rui and other troops
If a general breaks out suddenly, he will be able to defeat the enemy's army.
The idea is very good. If you encounter an ordinary enemy, this strategy will work almost every time. Even Yuan Shu was lured deep into the enemy. Cao Cao used Sun Ce as a bait to set up a surprise attack, which made Yuan Shu flee in embarrassment. Cai Cai struggled to support him.
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But Xu Rong was not like Yuan Shu. As the top military commander in the late Han Dynasty, his commanding ability was stronger than that of Sun Jian and Cao Cao. He was also an elite veteran of Qingzhou who commanded, so he was definitely not an ordinary person.
At this moment, although he sent a forward to chase the enemy, there were no other troops behind the forward. The main force had long been reduced to pieces and was harassing the enemy area.
Out of a force of 10,000, he only had 3,000 at his side, most of whom were light cavalry and were extremely mobile.
Don't think that there are no cavalry in Qingzhou. Even Yuan Shao had over 10,000 light cavalry in history, so it won't be much worse now.
During Wang Fen's reign, in order to help Lu Bu form a cavalry army, he purchased horses from Xianbei in central China. Later, when Wang Fen died of illness, Yuan Shao also continued to purchase horses. Not only did he have tens of thousands of light cavalry, but he also imitated Xuanjia heavy cavalry and built five hundred heavy cavalry.
cavalry.
Qingzhou has two thousand heavy cavalry and five thousand light cavalry.
The origin of this army was purchased by Gongsun Zan from Xianbei in the east and Wuhuanna of Youzhou. He then recruited young men from Youzhou who were good at riding and archery in Zhuo County to form it in the early years. It has always been led by Zhang Fei, who followed Liu Bei south this time.
They were not taken away during the war. Xu Rong had commanded the Xiliang cavalry, so he was naturally more than capable of leading these Youzhou cavalry.
Yan Zhong was old and could no longer travel around. After capturing Ganling, he sat in Ganling and was responsible for coordinating the rear. Xu Rongze and his deputy Wang Dan pursued the defenders of Qinghe Kingdom, chasing them one after another, killing many and running slowly.
The enemy army attacked the city and captured the territory. Only three thousand people almost captured the entire Qinghe Kingdom.
Wang Dan was the Qingzhou Yellow Turban when Liu Guan and Zhang Chen swept Qingzhou. This group of people included Zhang Rao, Guan Cheng, Guan Hai, Li Bo, Sima Ju, Xu He and others. After the surrender, they had become Liu Bei's early mid-level officers.
There are also the soldiers of Ada, Aer, Zhang Long and Zhao Hu.
In addition, people like Wen Su, Xu Chu, Han Hao, Sun Guan, Yin Li, Sun Kang, Wu Dun, and others who have only joined in the past two years have gradually emerged. In addition, Dian Wei, Tai Shi Ci, etc.
The early team also included Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, Wu Anguo, Xu Huang and other generals who joined during the rebellion against Dong, forming the current general system of the Qingzhou Army.
This system is divided into four levels. The first level is naturally Guan Yu, Zhang Feidian, Wei Taishi Ci. These four people have been joining for the longest time and have outstanding abilities, so they have the highest status. Guan Yu is the first, and Taishi Ci is the last. They belong to the front, back, left, and right levels.
's general.
The second level is Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, Zang Ba, and Qianzhao. The time they joined is neither long nor short. They are very capable and have become generals. They are inferior to the previous four.
Just qualifications.
The third level includes Ah Da Ah Er, Zhang Long and Zhao Hu, as well as Zhang Rao, Guan Cheng, Guan Hai, Li Bo, Sima Ju, Xu He, Wu Anguo, Xu Huang, Han Hao, Sun Guan, Yin Li, and Sun
Kang, Wu Dun, Cai Yang, etc. have joined for a short period of time, and people like Guan Hai, Xu Huang, Han Hao, and Sun Guan have all made great achievements and belong to the rank of school captain.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Among this group of people, Guan Hai is the oldest and has the most credit. He should have been in the second grade, but he followed Guan Yu wholeheartedly, so he was not promoted. As for Xu
Huang Han Hao and Sun Guan also had their own reasons for not becoming a general for the time being.
Finally, the fourth group has the most people, including Wen Su, Xu Chu, Qin Qi, Luo Hao, Li Lan, and countless others, big and small, who are famous in history but have not shown their talents at this time, and who are unknown in history but are still among the
There are veterans who have served as lower-level officers for many years, and there are even old men who are still among the 500 soldiers who left Liu Bei's army at Zhuojun.
These people belong to the middle and lower-level officers below the rank of captain, Army Sima to Qujunjun. They can be said to be the backbone of the army. Although they are not like the previous groups, they not only joined early, but also have the ability and are promoted quickly. But they are in the Qingzhou Army
They are so deeply ingrained that even Liu Bei has to take care of their emotions.
The reason why I say this is because Xu Rong's current situation is very embarrassing.
He is a semi-monk. He just joined the Qingzhou Group and suddenly rose to a high position and served as the commander-in-chief of the army. Although his current official position is still a school captain, Wang Dan is also a school captain. Since he led the Yellow Turbans to surrender to Liu Bei, he has been in and out of life for many years.
Quite prestigious.
Suddenly Xu Rong took command of them, and this group of people was still the oldest elite group of veterans in the Qingzhou Group. In the early years, they followed Liu Bei in the Northern and Southern Wars. They had already retreated to the second line and became county soldiers in various places. They were temporarily transferred by Chen Mu.
Come up.
Xu Rong had no prestige, no military merit, and no qualifications. Even if Chen Mu's military orders were given and they were forced to obey them, it was one thing to obey the orders, and another thing to obey or not, which naturally appeared different.
"Brother, have you heard about it? The new Colonel Xu is said to be from Youzhou, and some brothers recognized his Youzhou accent."
While the army was resting, one of Wang Dan's army commanders suddenly came over and whispered.
Wang Dan glanced at Xu Rong, who was standing on the slope in the distance, looking at the terrain, and said calmly: "So what if he is from Youzhou?"
The Army Sima said angrily: "Brothers all say that he is an old friend of Ming Gong, a relative and friend, and that is how he can lead us. We are grieving for our eldest brother."
"There is nothing to complain about. This was the appointment made by the Fourth General when he left. Can you still blame the Four Generals?"
Wang Dan was sitting on the grass, his expression neither sad nor happy. Only the handful of grass he casually grabbed with his right hand and tore out the roots betrayed his complicated mood.
It doesn't matter if Zhang Liao, Gaoshun, Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, Zang Ba and other generals lead him. After all, those people joined early and have made countless contributions, whether in terms of seniority, military merit or prestige.
Even people like Guan Hai, Guan Chengxu and Sima Ju were recognized by him. After all, they all came from the Yellow Turbans and had similar qualifications. Whoever was in charge could be his deputy.
It happens that an unknown person suddenly rides on their head. Who can bear this?
"Of course we have nothing to say about the appointment of the fourth general, but who knows what his abilities are? Will he be able to lead the army? What if he gives us random orders and gets us killed?"
"Looking at him, he seems to be quite familiar with things in the military. He must have been in a war."
"So what if he has fought in a war? This person came out of nowhere. He may have joined the army, but none of the generals of our Qingzhou Army have gone through hundreds of battles and experienced countless experiences with Duke Ming before they stood out. Even if
He is the eldest brother, and he has made countless contributions. If the eldest brother orders us and we obey, will it be this person's turn to come over and order us?"
"Yeah, I'm not convinced anyway."
Several other mid-level officers such as Qu Junhou were also unwilling to accept it and spoke to Wang Dan one after another.
If you are a low-level soldier, you may be impressed by whoever has the biggest fist and who can fight. But when you reach the level of an officer, you are naturally impressed not by whether you can fight, but by whether this person has the ability to lead and whether he can lead everyone to win the battle.
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Xu Rong's pseudonym was Xu Zheng. He became a captain just after joining the Qingzhou Army. In this team, he served as the chief general and led Wang Dan and another captain Li Bo.
Li Bo is now following Yan Zhong's command to divide his troops to harass the enemy area, where only Wang Dan is present.
But neither Li Bo nor Wang Dan believed that Xu Rong was qualified to lead them. Now they were just reluctantly obeying Chen Mu's appointment. Once Xu Rong's command fails, I'm afraid these veterans will kill them on the spot.
He tore it into pieces.
Wang Dan was silent for a moment, waved his hand and said: "Okay, okay, no matter what his ability is, we should always believe in the Fourth General. Since he is someone recognized by the Fourth General, at least he will not be too bad. Let's see again. If he is not good
If so, we are not responsible for the crime anyway, so don’t talk behind his back and let’s see what his capabilities are like.”
"Fine."
"If his command fails, we will have to write a letter to Ming Gong."
"Don't worry, brother, we will definitely support you."
Everyone gave their assurances.
They, these veterans, had been fighting for Liu Bei for many years. They had fought for the Yellow Turbans, fought against Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju, and fought against Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu. They had already retreated to the second line, but now they were called back and were inexplicably obeying the command of an unknown person.
Although they reluctantly obeyed the order, once this unknown person was like Zhao Kuo and led them to defeat, they would never give up.
When the lawsuit was brought against Liu Bei, they were justified.
Here, the mid-level officers under Xu Rong were all discussing his merits, while over there, Xu Rong stood on a hillside, looking at the terrain in the distance.
It was a plain area with a large number of undulating high and low slopes, as well as some hills, forests and rivers.
The Jizhou Plain is like this. Most of it has this kind of terrain. Even if there are hills, the highest height is tens of meters. Often at a glance, it is an endless plain, which is flatter than the vast grassland of Inner Mongolia.
The defeated defenders of Qinghe Kingdom, numbering about seven to eight thousand people, retreated to about thirty miles east of the boundary bridge. Perhaps they were tired from running, so they had to form formations to rest and deal with them carefully.
Xu Rong did not immediately order an attack, but chose to watch from a distance and let his men rest.
He himself stood on the slope and kept looking at the movement in the distance, with deep and solemn eyes.
"General, those people are talking about us."
A close confidant of Xu Rong said.
When he escaped from Guanzhong, he had almost no subordinates, but he was always followed by hundreds of Youzhou cronies. These people escorted Xu Rong and Yan Zhong into Luoyang, and finally arrived in Qingzhou, nominally becoming Yan Zhong.
A powerful servant of a noble family, he is actually Xu Rong's confidant.
Just now when Xu Rong was looking from afar, his close followers were paying attention to Wang Dan and the others who were resting down the slope. When they saw them looking over here from time to time, they knew what they were talking about, so they told Xu Rong.
Xu Rong said calmly: "I know, these people don't obey me."
"Hmph, when the general was fighting in the north and south, they didn't know where he was. If it weren't for...if he could tell the name of the general, he would scare them to death."
The cronies were indignant.
Xu Rong is also a world-famous veteran who has defeated the Kwantung Army many times. Today, he was despised by a group of mid-level officers of the Qingzhou Army, which naturally made them unhappy.
However, Xu Rong waved his hand and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter. Since I have changed my appearance, I will naturally start again. From now on, there will be no Xu Rong in the world, only Xu Zheng. Do you remember?"
"only!"
Although the confidants were unwilling to do so, they had no choice but to respond.
Xu Rong once again looked into the distance.
After today, there will be no more Xu Rong.
But so what.
Even with the name Xu Zheng, I still want to make him famous all over the world!