Chapter 223 The troops are divided into three groups
On March 26 of the third year of Yonghan, in April of 199 AD, the Jizhou army officially began to attack the Qingzhou army east of Jieqiao.
Nearly 100,000 troops set off in a mighty manner, divided into three groups, and launched a containment offensive against the Qingzhou Army.
The first route went north from Guangzong to Guangchuan, crossed the river at Guangchuan, and attacked Dongwu City.
The second route continued northward, passed through Guangchuan County, crossed the river in Yuxiu County and went south to attack Qingzhou's rear granary, Fuxian County.
The last step was to cross the river from the boundary bridge and directly attack Liu Bei's military camp to the east of the boundary bridge to achieve the purpose of being flanked on three sides.
The reason for this arrangement is that Qingshui is now in the spring and summer flood tides, and the water flow is large, making it difficult to cross the river.
In the Han Dynasty, Qingshui was a large river, second only to the four major river systems of the Yellow River, Yangtze River, Huai River, and Jishui River. It was a river of the Xiang River, Han River, and Pearl River. The river surface was very wide and the water flow was also very large.
Because Qingshui was the Yongji Canal in the Sui Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, it was one of the ancient Yellow River roads. In the Cao Wei Dynasty, Cao Cao ordered Baigou and Zhangshui to be built into Qingshui, and named it Licao Canal. Yongji Canal
Jiqu canal is built on the basis of water canal.
Therefore, since the Cao Wei period, Licao Canal has become an important road for water navigation in Hebei, undertaking the water transportation function of the entire Hebei. This is enough to prove that Qingshui itself is a very huge river and can be used as a canal.
However, before Cao Cao built the canal, according to "Hanshu Geography", Qingshui used to be the ancient Yellow River road, and a large number of pits and ponds were washed out on both sides of the river beach. This made it impossible for large ships to pass through Qingshui in the early days.
This meant that neither Jizhou's navy nor Yuan Shao's own ships could use them. Even if the river could drive ships, there were too many potholes and ponds on both sides, and the people on board could not disembark and land.
As a result, Yuan Shao had very few options for crossing the river. Either go through the Jie Bridge, go through the Wei Bridge, or cross the river through the bridge on the Guangchuan side.
From Yuan Shao's perspective, the direction of Weiqiao was the main force of the Qingzhou Army, so it was naturally impossible for him to cross the river through Weiqiao.
Although Jieqiao is a large bridge, the Jieqiao ruins excavated and studied by later generations, as well as the records in "Shui Jing Zhu" written by Li Daoyuan, all indicate that Jieqiao was a large bridge in the Han Dynasty.
But the problem is that no matter how big the bridge is, it is impossible for more than 100,000 troops to pass through it at once.
The bridge is actually very narrow, and no more than ten people can cross it side by side at a time. If Yuan Shao chooses to forcefully cross the river from the boundary bridge, it would be tantamount to queuing to commit suicide.
The Qingzhou Army occupied the east of the boundary bridge, dug ditches on the east bank, laid out traps, and almost surrounded the entire bridge. At that time, Liu Bei only needed to guard the bridge and arrange archers and crossbows, which would be enough to make Yuan Shao die without a burial place.
.
Therefore, Yuan Shao could only send two groups of troops to cross the river a long way around. After the other two groups of troops had broken through, they attacked Liu Bei's camp from the flanks. Only then could Yuan Shao's main army cross the boundary bridge and attack from three sides.
This is the tactic deployed by Yuan Shaojun.
First, he personally led the army to prepare west of the boundary bridge, and then the second group of troops went south from Guangchuan, took Dongwu City, and threatened Liu Bei's north.
The third group of soldiers and horses marched directly to Yi County, and then to Xutu Ganling, cutting off Liu Bei's retreat.
With such an encirclement on three sides, Liu Bei's food route will also be cut off. At that time, he will either go south from Dongjun back to Jinan, or go upstream to Qingshui to find Guan Yu. Either way, Liu Bei will be completely defeated.
The tactic is indeed the best tactic in a very bad situation.
Because there is a big river blocking it, it is actually difficult to have too many tactics around the boundary bridge. If you want to take the initiative to attack, you can only cross the river, and it is not easy for ships to cross, so you can only control it from downstream.
After passing through the area, you still have to make a big circle in the end.
For this matter, Guo Tu repeatedly slandered Yuan Shaojin, saying that if Xu You and Liu Hui hadn't caused trouble and kept delaying Yuan Jun's departure earlier, they might have captured Dongwu City and Yi County and started to attack the border.
The bridge launches an attack.
For this reason, Yuan Shao also reprimanded Xu You and Liu Hui, making Xu You very angry. If Liu Bei hadn't had a bad relationship with him, and Cao Cao was extremely weak at this time, maybe he would have really surrendered to the enemy and rebelled.
On the morning of the 26th, the Jizhou Army, which had set off yesterday, arrived at Guangchuan. After crossing the river from Guangchuan, it went south to attack Dongwu City.
There were not many Qingzhou garrison troops in Dongwu City. There was only one Army Sima with a force of 2,500 people in Wuqu. Facing the enemy's 30,000-strong army, they were almost unstoppable, so they immediately sent people south to ask for help.
.At the same time, news came from Yimu that a large number of Jizhou troops appeared in the direction of Xiuxian County in the north.
After the Qingzhou Army learned the news, Liu Bei and Chen Mu personally led two thousand Xuanjia heavy cavalry northward to relieve the siege of Dongwu City. At the same time, they ordered Zhang Fei to go east and lead the cavalry to intercept the enemy troops in the Xiuxian direction. They must not be allowed to attack Quan.
County, because there is indeed food and grass in Qian County at this time.
Liu Bei's first batch of grain and grass was concentrated in Jieqiao Headquarters, Ganling and Jianzhong, Xiabao, Dongzhao and other townships, while the second batch of grain and grass had been delivered to Pingyuan County by Xun Yu and was now being shipped to Ganling in batches.
There are now more than one million stones of grain and grass in Yi County.
It's not that Chen Mu made a miscalculation, but that the grain itself should have arrived here as expected. The time when Yuan Shao launched his attack was unpredictable, so it was just a coincidence that Yuan's army raided the Qingzhou Army's granary.
Fortunately, Chen Mu has always been cunning. Although there is food and grass in Yi County, it is not the main granary. Even if it is attacked, it will only lose part of the food. What's more, the main force of the Qingzhou Army is not in Weiqiao at all, but lurking in Jieqiao.
, even if Yuan Jun attacks an important stronghold, they will still have enough troops to fight back.
"We first used the Xuanjia heavy cavalry and the Third Brother cavalry to block it, and then slowly retreated, making Yuan Shao think that our main force at Jieqiao was very small, so as to lure him to attack. When the three routes joined forces, the main force would be used up, allowing the trapped troops to attack
Use the boundary bridge to intercept Yuan's troops crossing the bridge, then concentrate your forces to defeat them one by one."
After galloping for half a day, two thousand Xuanjia heavy cavalry had arrived at Dongwu City, about a hundred miles north of the boundary bridge. At this time, the Jizhou Army outside the city had surrounded the city. On horseback, Chen Mu and
Liu Bei discussed while galloping.
Behind them was the sound of thousands of cavalry moving like the earth was shaking. There were more than 4,000 horses here, one person had two horses, one horse carried the knight, and the other horse carried armor and harness weighing hundreds of kilograms.
When the Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry was first created, there were only a thousand men. At that time, it was not established as Liu Bei and Chen Mu's escort army, but was built into a heavy cavalry by Chen Mu.
Later, as the war evolved, Chen Mu and Liu Bei often traveled to and from Qingzhou and Luoyang, so the Xuanjia heavy cavalry took on the task of guarding them.
Moreover, this heavy cavalry has grown from 1,000 to 2,000. They are all carefully selected elites. They have followed Chen Mu and Liu Bei in the north and south for many years. They are generally around thirty years old and are exactly the same soldiers.
In the most powerful period, the combat power burst out can defeat thousands of armies!
However, although the Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry is a unit, this is the first time they have joined forces to fight together since the Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry expanded to 2,000 people. Because Chen Mu and Liu Bei were often not together before, the two sides were in a state of separation.
But this time, the Xuanjia heavy cavalry appeared in front of Yuan Jun in a complete form. Moreover, Liu Bei personally led the team, followed by the commander Xu Chu. This battle was the Qingzhou Army's terrifying battle to show the world the terror of heavy cavalry!
"Now we have 70,000 troops at the boundary bridge, including Wenyuan's and Liangbi's troops. It is extremely beneficial for us to block the boundary bridge, so that the main force of Yuan's army cannot get through. On the Guangchuan side, plus Xiu,
Over in the county, Yuan Shao divided his troops very seriously and his government orders were not strict at all. It would be extremely easy to defeat them in batches."
Chen Mu continued his analysis: "We first cover the troops and horses in Dongwu City and retreat. Yuan Shao must have thought that our army was small and continued to advance aggressively. Then when the three groups of troops and horses could not care about each other, we blocked Yuan Shao from the west, and then
If we attack Yuan Shang in the north and capture Guo Tu in the east, we will definitely win this battle!"
"Um."
Liu Bei slowly reined in the horse's head. The thousands of troops and horses were already slowing down under the guidance of the flag. The dust and smoke behind him were vast and misty, and the galloping momentum was rushing towards this place like a torrent.
On the endless plain in the distance down the slope in front, there stood a black city. Above the city, the flag of the Han army was still flying high.
Outside the city, the black flags of Yuan's army stood like a forest, and a sea of people surrounded the entire city.
At this moment, Yuan Shang and Shen Pei came to the front surrounded by many generals.
Yuan Shao attacked Jieqiao in three groups. The first group was naturally his main attacking side, the second group was Yuan's army going south led by his legitimate son Yuan Shangshenpei, and the third group was led by Guo Tu and included Cui Juye and Shi Huan.
, Ma Yan and other generals.
The reason why Yuan Shang and Guo Tu were sent as the main generals was because Yuan Shao's four generals, Yan Liang, Wen Chou and Gao Lan, were all killed, and Zhang He surrendered, which was a helpless move.
What's more, in history, when Gao Lan and Zhang He attacked Cao Cao's camp in the Battle of Guandu, it was Guo Tu who was the supervisor. As a result, Guo Tu forced the two to attack Cao Cao's camp but failed, so he complained to Yuan Shao and forced the two to surrender to Cao Cao.
Therefore, among the Yuan army, Shen Pei and Guo Tu should be regarded as the few counselors who can lead the army. It is a pity that Shen Pei's level is barely second-rate, and as for Guo Tu, his level can be said to be unsightly.
Yuan Jun's flag was waving, tens of thousands of troops were arranged in square formations, and countless siege equipment was slowly advancing towards the city. Yuan Shao's family was rich, and there were many of these equipment. For example, there were hundreds of catapults. Although they could not threaten the city too much, they
It can intimidate the garrison on the city.
Originally, Yuan Shang planned to use catapults to cover the area, and then use the siege ladder to ascend the city. However, at this time, a spy horse came to report: "Sir, Liu Bei's reinforcements have arrived. They are heavy black armored cavalry with flags on them."
"Liu" "Chen"!"
"What?"
Yuan Shang was shocked and said: "Are you sure you read it correctly?"
Tan Ma said: "That's right."
"Ha ha ha ha."
Yuan Shang was overjoyed and said to the judge: "Sir, Liu Bei and Chen Mu are here in person. If we can capture them in this battle, it will be a great achievement!"
The judge was not so optimistic, and asked the scout in a deep voice: "Are you sure there are only black armor heavy cavalry, and there are no other soldiers behind the cavalry?"
"No!"
Tan Ma replied: "They are still five miles away and are coming here now."
Yuan Shang smiled and said: "Sir, what are you afraid of? It's just a heavy cavalry of black armor, only one or two thousand, my army of tens of thousands will definitely be able to capture it!"
Shen Pei shook his head and said: "It's not that simple. Although Liu Bei's main force went south, there are still 30,000 troops trapped in Qingzhou and Liu Bei's headquarters. Plus Zhang Fei's tens of thousands of cavalry, it may not be easy to annihilate Liu Bei."
"Sir, please do not inflate other people's ambitions or destroy your own prestige."
Yuan Shang not only inherited his father's appearance, but also inherited his father's arrogance. He pointed to the south and said proudly: "Now Liu Bei has made a stupid move and transferred half of his troops to Weiqiao. It is tantamount to seeking death."
Well, now there are only two thousand heavy cavalry coming to save Dongwu City, what can they do to me?"
"Well!"
The judge responded noncommittally. When he thought about it, although Liu Bei came to save Dongwu City in person, he only had 2,000 cavalry and might not be able to do anything to him. But if he wanted to defeat 30,000 infantry on his side, it would not be that easy.
easy.
While the two were talking, Yuan Shang had already ordered the soldiers on the front line who were pushing catapults and preparing to throw stones at the city to withdraw first.
If the main attack direction is aimed at the city head at this time, the flank forces will be insufficient. Once the heavy cavalry rushes directly from both wings, it may cause the entire army to collapse. No matter how stupid Yuan Shang is, he still knows this point of military common sense.
As a reminder, he has already begun to set up defenses on the flanks.
At this moment, on the far slope, Liu Bei and Chen Mu stopped before to let the cavalry start putting on their armor in advance.
Xu Chu weighs more than 200 kilograms. It is not fat, but a strong tendon. His steel armor is bulging like an iron ball. He rides a horse covered with iron armor at the front of the team, like a giant armored god.
fear.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Fortunately, that horse is not an ordinary horse, but a good Dawan horse purchased by Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping from the Western Regions. It is huge and can bear a lot of weight, otherwise it would be an ordinary horse.
The horses couldn't carry him up at all.
Rows of cavalrymen slowly climbed up the hillside and formed a long snake formation on the hillside.
Liu Bei and Chen Mu galloped up the slope and looked down at the city in the distance. They saw that the densely packed Yuan army was ready and arrayed outside the city to attack the city.
The city was silent. The orange-red flag of the Han army erected high on the city tower was swaying in the wind. The sound of the horn resounded throughout the blue sky. Hearing this sound, the Qingzhou army on the city tower looked for the sound and found that there was a sound in the sky.
Groups of heavily armored knights had already appeared on the slope and had gathered. They were all in a row, their steel armor shining dazzlingly under the scorching sun.
"It's Duke Ming's black armor heavy cavalry. Duke Ming is here to save us."
"I will tell you that Duke Ming will not abandon us. Brothers, when Duke Ming launches a surprise attack on Yuan Jun, we will rush out as soon as possible. We must not sit here and watch, do you understand?"
"clear!"
Shocking roars erupted from the city tower, and the morale of the soldiers, which had plummeted due to the siege by Yuan's army, soared. The morale of the soldiers became very high.
The Qingzhou Army has a discipline of never abandoning or giving up since ancient times. Dongwu City has almost no strategic value in the hands of the Qingzhou Army.
But just like in the Battle of Guandu, it was clear that the Yellow River had no strategic value to Cao Cao, and the Yanjin and Baima areas could not defend Yuan's army at all, but Cao Cao still had to go to rescue the siege himself.
If you just retreat and defend without the courage to draw your sword when facing the enemy, then both outsiders and your own people will think you are weak and can be bullied.
Therefore, Cao Cao needed to stop Yuan Shao in the Baima area of Yanjin, kill Yan Liang and Wen Chou to damage the morale of Yuan's army and improve the morale of his own side.
The same is true now for Liu Bei.
He looked down into the distance. The two sides were about three miles away, a distance of almost 1.2 kilometers.
The breeze blew on the hills, and the big flag with the character "Liu" fluttered slowly.
Liu Bei drew out his double-pronged sword and roared: "Kill!"
"kill!"
The Xuanjia heavy cavalry burst out with a shocking roar, galloping their horses, rushing down the slope like a torrent, heading towards Yuan Jun!