As a general, his value can only be reflected on the battlefield. In terms of title, Zhang Liang is already a second-class duke. In terms of official position, he and Wen Hao are also second-class generals with a prominent status. Looking at the Han Dynasty, he is also
He can be ranked in the top ten. But Zhang Liang is not satisfied. He wants to go further. And if he wants to go further, he can only continue to accumulate military merit. Now, Liu Ziqiu asked him to go back to Luoyang to think about his mistakes behind closed doors, and he was naturally disappointed. Unfortunately for Liu Ziqiu
Things are no longer what they used to be, and the promises he made cannot be changed.
To be honest, Zhang Liang is indeed a brave general and has made many military exploits, especially his ability to shoot through a Yang with a hundred steps, which Liu Ziqiu deeply admired. But since Zhang Liang used a trebuchet without authorization during the battle against Chang'an City,
Liu Ziqiu gradually lost trust in him. Now Zhang Liang has become a little utilitarian and a little ambitious. As for when he started to change, Liu Ziqiu can't recall it for a while. It probably started when Zhang Liang failed to pursue Wu Yun.
From now on, he will be more and more thirsty for power and status.
It is not a bad thing for his subordinates to pursue power, but it must be within a controllable range and must be bound by the law. Liu Ziqiu will never allow anything that violates laws and disciplines to happen. This time, through Zheng Yong's incident
, Liu Ziqiu just made an innuendo and reminded Zhang Liang.
Reinforcement was like putting out a fire. Liu Ziqiu only rested for an hour in Taigu County before leading the army to continue northward. Cui Hao, the magistrate of Taigu County, was taken with Liu Ziqiu because he was familiar with the situation around Taiyuan. This made Cui Hao very excited.
He took the initiative to offer advice: "Your Majesty, since the traitors have appeared in Taigu County, Yuci and Qingyuan in the south of Taiyuan must have been lost. I think we should capture Qingyuan first to be prepared."
Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter. Liu Wuzhou's goal is Taiyuan City. As long as the siege of Taiyuan is lifted, the rest is not a concern! Send an order to the three armies to go straight to Taiyuan!"
This kind of tactics does not leave any escape route for himself. This is not because Liu Ziqiu is arrogant, but because he has sufficient confidence in his troops. After occupying Chang'an and Luoyang, Liu Ziqiu can use more resources, and his total military strength
He did not expand blindly, which gave him enough ability to upgrade the equipment of the army.
Today, his men are almost armed to the teeth. Not only are they equipped with strong armor and sharp weapons, each soldier can also carry enough fried noodles and dried meat for ten days. During the entire march from Luoyang to Taiyuan, more
Counties along the way provide various conveniences, and cooking in pots is a thing of the past, which saves the soldiers a lot of time and energy. Therefore, although they have just experienced a long and urgent march, the soldiers are still high-spirited and energetic.
Liu Ziqiu abandoned Yuci and ignored the two counties of Qingyuan. The army passed directly through the gap between the two counties and reached the gate of Taiyuan City.
…
At this time, it was almost dusk. Liu Wuzhou's troops who were besieging Taiyuan City had already heard the news that Han reinforcements had entered Taiyuan, and were launching a fierce attack on Taiyuan City at all costs. The battle was extremely exciting, and the casualties on both sides of the attack and defense were extremely heavy. Taiyuan
The city was already crumbling. At this moment, smoke and dust suddenly rose from the south of the city, and thousands of troops and horses swept in.
When Liu Wuzhou received news of the arrival of Han reinforcements, he asked in a deep voice: "Who dares to defend the enemy?"
"Your Majesty, I am willing to go!" Yuchi Gong acted openly and aboveboard. After learning that Liu Ziqiu had conquered Chang'an and Luoyang, he confessed to Liu Wuzhou that he and Liu Ziqiu were sworn brothers. At this time, he also took the lead in attacking Taiyuan many times.
He personally risked the arrow. When he heard that the reinforcements of the Han army were coming, he took the initiative to ask for a fight. Because in Yuchi Gong's heart, Liu Ziqiu was indeed his brother, but he could not betray his lord.
However, Liu Wuzhou was not as magnanimous as Yuchi Gongjing. Although he also entrusted Yuchi Gong with important tasks, he was not at ease. Moreover, this would be the first time he had a head-on confrontation with the Han army since he raised his troops to go south. If he could repel even
By completely annihilating the reinforcements of the Han army, the morale of the Taiyuan defenders is likely to be completely shattered, and Taiyuan City will be conquered without attacking. If we cannot win, our own morale is likely to be shattered. In such a crucial battle, Liu Wuzhou
Naturally, he refused to hand it over to Yu Chigong, whom he could not fully trust.
Liu Wuzhou pondered and said: "Taiyuan City can be attacked in an instant, and General Yuchi is requested to fight bravely to be the first. There are some reinforcements from the Han army, why should General take action? Lu Chongmao and Wang Xingben obey the order!"
Two big men walked out from under the tent, each clasped their fists and said, "Please give me your Majesty's orders!"
These two were also generals under Liu Wuzhou. Lu Chongmao was originally a mountain bandit in Xia County. He was always brave. He took advantage of the Sui Dynasty to gather troops to rebel and dominate one side. Last year, seeing Liu Wuzhou's power, he accepted Liu Wuzhou's recruitment. Wang Xingben was a Sui soldier.
An old general of the court, who was originally stationed in Pufang, but later Liu Wuzhou's army came to kill him. He opened the city to surrender and threw himself under Liu Wuzhou's tent. Liu Wuzhou had one advantage. He treated his subordinates very favorably. Every time he got a woman of gold or silk, he didn't take anything for himself.
They were rewarded to the generals under their command. Therefore, Lu Chongmao and Wang Xingben became loyal to Liu Wuzhou and spared no effort in fighting.
Seeing that the two men were full of confidence, Liu Wuzhou nodded and said: "You two each lead 30,000 troops and horses, and you must stop the Han army's reinforcements. If you can't stop the Han army after three days, I won't blame you. If so,
If we can't stop the Han army within three days, come and see us!"
The second general agreed and was about to leave the tent, but was stopped by Song Jingang.
Song Jingang warned: "General Lu, General Wang, you two can form a formation on the north bank of Jinshui River. Wait for the enemy to cross halfway and attack him. This will ensure your first victory!"
…
Liu Wuzhou's tent was located to the north of Taiyuan City, while Jinshui River, a tributary of Fenshui River, was located to the south of Taiyuan City.
In the spring, the water rose and the Jin River surged, becoming an obstacle in front of the Han army. To break the siege of Taiyuan City, one must first cross the Jin River, and the north bank of the Jin River was already densely covered with Liu Wuzhou's army.
Liu Ziqiu looked around and asked in a deep voice: "How do you think this battle should be fought?"
Li Jing chuckled and said: "Your Majesty, Liu Wuzhou thought that just a mere Jinshui could stop our army, which is nothing more than an idiot's dream. The enemy's formation is so tight that they can be hit by a trebuchet!"
Liu Ziqiu nodded and said: "Brother's words are exactly what I want. Come, prepare the raft!"
The leather raft is also the standard equipment of the Han army. Each hundred-man team must carry one leather raft. The making of the leather raft was proposed by He Chou. His inspiration actually came from the leather ball Liu Ziqiu made for the little princess. The little princess’s original leather ball
It had been broken for a long time, so Liu Ziqiu asked He Chou to make another one. He Chou got inspiration from it and designed a leather raft. This kind of leather raft is sewn with thick cowhide and can be folded up for easy carrying.
Before use, fill the pig urine bubbles with air and fill them so that they can float on the water. Each raft can carry five soldiers, and they can use the scabbard as an oar to cross rapids.
The soldiers had already received professional training and were familiar with the road. Less than half an hour later, rafts were lined up on the south bank of Jinshui River.
Lu Chongmao and Wang Xingben had received Song Jingang's instructions and were waiting for the Han army to cross the border on the north bank. Therefore, they watched the Han army's movements without any reaction.
Liu Ziqiu looked up at the half sunset that had set in the west, raised his hand and ordered: "Cross the river!"
The 50,000-strong army picked up 500 rafts, and the first batch of soldiers and horses to cross the river was only 2,500, and they were all light infantry. On the north bank was Liu Wuzhou's 60,000-strong army, including 10,000 cavalry. Lu Chongmao
He curled his lips in disdain and said: "The Han general is so incompetent that he sent such a group of troops to die!"
Wang Xingben did not dare to be careless, and said in a deep voice: "Liu Ziqiu defeated Yu Wenhuaji, Yang Xuangan, and Wang Shichong in a row, and forced Li Yuan and Xiao Xian to surrender. It is by no means a wasted reputation. You and I should be careful, lest we end up in the gutter.
Boat."
Lu Chongmao laughed loudly and said: "General Wang, why does he need to be as ambitious as others? I don't believe that thousands of Han troops here can rush to the beach!"
Before he finished speaking, a loud "rumbling" sound suddenly came from the other side of the bank, and countless large and small stones fell "crackling". Liu Wuzhou's troops arrayed on the north bank were immediately beaten to a bloody head.
, wailing all over the place. Lu Chongmao couldn't dodge, and was hit on his right shoulder, and his arm drooped at that time.
Wang Xing was originally a general of the Sui army, but he was knowledgeable. He was shocked and said: "No! Trebuchet, withdraw quickly!"
But Lu Chongmao was not an ignorant person. He endured the severe pain and gritted his teeth and said: "What are you afraid of? Just hold on and it will be over!"
Indeed, due to the complicated operation, ordinary trebuchets need a long interval between two attacks. During this interval, the Han army on the Jinshui River would have rushed to the north bank. If the Han army on the south bank of the Jinshui River continued to use trebuchets,
An attack would inevitably kill or injure one's own people. Therefore, Lu Chongmao was certain that there would never be a second wave of attacks by the Han army.
But Lu Chongmao miscalculated. He and Wang Xingben finally restrained the team, and just as they regrouped into formation, they heard another loud noise in the sky, and the second wave of attacks came as scheduled. This time the attack was several times more violent than before.
There were many iron caltrops mixed in the dense stone rain. Most of Liu Wu's soldiers in Zhou's army wore straw sandals, and those with slightly better conditions were only equipped with leather boots. If they stepped on the iron caltrops, they would be immediately pierced through the soles of their feet, and many war horses were also stabbed.
Wearing horseshoes. People and horses were running around, and there was chaos all around. Lu Chongmao and Wang Xingben were eating and drinking incessantly. How could they restrain them?
At this moment, the five hundred rafts had already crossed the Jinshui River and rushed straight onto the river beach. First a big man jumped off the raft, brandishing a cooked copper stick, and hit everyone on the head and face, as if
He was as ferocious as an evil spirit. Anyone who stood in front of this big man would die if they touched him, or be injured if he was rubbed, so no one dared to stop him. The Han soldiers who followed the big man were also extremely brave, stepping on the iron caltrops all over the ground and rushing forward.
After passing by, they got into a melee with the defenders on the north bank.