In the sixth year of Guanghe's reign, on June 10th, outside Puyang City.
In the scorching heat of June, the hottest time of the year, Zhang Chong's Taishan Army's six thousand elite soldiers lined up in the wilderness east of Puyang City in the sun.
Zhang Chong stood on a chariot, looking far ahead at the big city that lay across the south of the river, thinking about how to defeat Puyang.
As a key city on the south bank of the Yellow River, Puyang City is four feet high, with a deep moat on the outside that diverts water from the river as a moat. It is the first fortified city that Zhang Chongzheng has attacked in eight battles. If he really attacks it, he doesn't know how many people will die.
Then look at Puyang Jin on the edge of Puyang City. It is such a strong village. This Puyang Jin was actually built by two Dazhai in Hebei and Henan across the river. Between the two Dazhai is a permanent wooden bridge across the river. And now This Jiahe Dazhai has been built into a military stronghold and serves as the peripheral fortification of Puyang City.
With just one glance, Zhang Chong knew with his military literacy that the key to this battle was to occupy the Jiahe stronghold in Puyangjin first. Otherwise, if the Taishan Army attacked Puyang, the Han army in the Jiahe stronghold would come out to attack the flanks of the Taishan Army. .So we need to capture Jiahe stronghold first before we can attack Puyang later.
But Zhang Chong frowned on the chariot and looked at the Jiazhai by the river. This is not a separate Jinzhai. I don’t know who has expanded three wooden villages in this village. The finished fonts surround Jinzhai. Inside, it can be said that the iron walls are tight and impregnable.
The Jiazhai in Puyangjin is difficult to fight!
Not only that, Zhang Chong looked at the flags in Puyang City and Puyang Jinshang, and clearly felt that there were reinforcements in Puyang, and there were ten flags at the head of the camp alone. If there were 400 people in an army, there must be 4,000 Han soldiers? This was obviously beyond the Dongjun army. Military strength.
In fact, Zhang Chong's guess was correct, reinforcements did come from Puyang.
The prefect of Dongjun is called Cao Shao, and he is the son of the late eunuch Cao Jie. He has a typical character of a eunuch's son, greedy, cruel, violent, and cowardly.
During his tenure as the prefect of Dongjun, he expropriated many levies and destroyed many wealthy families in the territory. He was truly a devastated prefect. However, when the Taiping Road uprising broke out in April, he saw the Taiping Road swarming in the territory and had no idea. I thought about protecting the land and bringing peace to the people, so I wanted to flee to Beijing and seek refuge with Zhang Rang.
But when he rushed to Baima, he suddenly heard that all the wealthy families in the county had raised troops to help, and even Lu Zhi, the general of Bei Zhonglang who had already crossed the river, was going to send troops south. Cao Shao stopped running and returned to Puyang, looking forward to Zixiong's attack. Destroy the Way of Peace.
No wonder Cao Shao suddenly rose to prominence. How could a kid like him from Kyoto not know the majesty of the Northern Army? As long as the Northern Army arrives, those thieves are nothing more than chickens and dogs. Now that he has received his proper military exploits, he Why didn't Cao Shao?
So when Cao Shao returned to Puyang in May, he united the Tian family from Puyang, the Chenggong family from Baima, and the Ji family from Wei County, unified the county soldiers in hand, and raised a team of two thousand people, and then I just looked north inside the city, waiting for when the Northern Army would move south.
Just kidding, if the Northern Army doesn't come, don't ask Cao Shao to leave the city.
Cao Shao didn't wait long. On the first day of June, a thousand Northern Army soldiers followed the Hejin Ferry south to the outside of Puyang. Then they began to rely on Puyangjin and began to build fortresses, as if they were going to be crucified outside Puyang. Look.
Cao Shao quickly sent a batch of supplies and corn to the Northern Army outside the city, and then found out who the leader of this road was.
Grow Shao!
Cao Shao complained secretly, why? Because the relationship between the Cao family and the Zhong family was not harmonious.
The Zhong family is a famous family in Kyoto. Their family is the descendant of Zhongshanfu in the Zhou Dynasty. They are aristocrats inherited from the pre-Qin period. Their family is not only noble in blood, but also in the upper echelons of the dynasty in terms of official fortune. There are more than 2,000 people born in the world since the time of Emperor An. Shi. And this man named Zhong Shao is the son of Zhong Fu, the current Guanglu doctor. He is also a well-educated man. He often joins forces with Yuan Shao and his gang in Kyoto to rebel against these eunuchs.
Now that Zhong Shao has come, Cao Shao doubts whether he can successfully obtain military merit.
Cao Shao was distracted, and seven of the traitors outside the city were dissatisfied and eight were angry. Originally, he could have made great achievements by playing three cards with the main force, but now he had to fight against Taiping Dao's partial army here. The difference in merit was too big. Big.
Previously, they had already arrived at Dangyin, only one step away from Yecheng. Then he was suddenly called by Lu Zhi, asking him to divide his troops and go south to the river to defend Puyang.
Lu Zhi said this at the time:
"Shen Fu, when you arrive in Puyang, you will be in Puyang Jinli Village, which is at the corner of Puyang City. Your most important task is to ensure the safety of Puyang City and stop the westward advance of the Yellow Turbans of Mount Tai. Then, guard the Yellow River Ferry and retain the Our army's southward passage."
Zhong Shao knew about the Taishan Yellow Turban, his predecessor was the Taishan Bandit! He killed three people worth two thousand stones, and was the biggest bandit before Taiping Road. Poor Kong Rong was hanged to death by these bandits.
But Zhong Shao was still not happy with what Lu Zhi said. If he cooperated with me and led the Northern Army southward, it would be enough to hold the ferry and Puyang. This was too much to underestimate him.
But Lu Zhi was a general with meritorious deeds, and he was respected as a traitor, so he had many thoughts in his mind but did not show them, so he accepted the order.
But Lu Zhi, a great scholar in the world, should not be too insightful into people's hearts. He saw Zhong Shao's dissatisfaction, so he carefully explained Zhong Shao's explanation:
"Shenfu, I had a discussion with Mr. Huangfu and Mr. Zhu before we were ordered to set off for the expedition. The only person to be feared on the Taiping Road is the Yellow Turban of Mount Tai. Because they are real thieves and giants, and their military exploits are unparalleled in all wars. The result cannot be underestimated. Therefore, I paid close attention to the movements of this Taishan Yellow Turban all the way north.
When I first saw him conquering the Dongping Kingdom, I thought he was going north to Dongjun to cross the river to join forces with Zhang Jiao and others. At that time, I thought this was just the right opportunity to capture him. But later, when he crossed the Jishui River and entered Dongjun, he started to Turning west, I knew that this Taishan bandit was a real thorn in my side.
Shen Fu, why do you think this Mount Tai Yellow Turban wants to move westward?"
Zhong Shao is not stupid. On the contrary, as a child of a nobleman, he received a good education. He guessed the intention of Taishan Yellow Turban with just a thought:
"They are going to attack Aocang!"
Lu Zhi nodded and sighed:
"We, the Han soldiers, are not actually afraid of any Jie Kou bandits, because these people are just ordinary men and do not pose much of a threat to the Han family. But the Taishan bandits have the world's pattern, which is a big threat. Look at the five schools of our Northern Army. The sharp soldiers from Sanhe went north to eat grain from Aocang. Once Aocang was forced, the food road was cut off. If you and I enter Jizhou alone, there is only a dead end. What's more terrible is that now all the troops in Luoyang who can fight are handed over to the north and the south. There are no more troops to defend Aocang on the road. Therefore, I need you to lead the troops south immediately to defend Puyang. As long as Puyang is there, the Taishan bandits can only be blocked in Dongjun and can no longer threaten our army's food road. Wait for me to destroy them here. If I have three, I will go south from Puyangjin to defeat the Taishan bandits with you."
Zhong Shao understood the purpose of his military order, clasped his fists, firmly accepted the order, and headed south to Puyangjin.
Zhongshao arrived at Puyangjin on June 1st, and then began to build fortifications, intending to use this place as a stronghold to confront the coming Taishan Yellow Turbans. Then Zhang Chong arrived with the Taishan Army on June 10th. Shao has built three Muzha fortresses and is ready to deal with subsequent attacks by Taishan's army.
At this moment, Zhang Chong had been watching the chao chariot for more than three moments, but still could not find any opportunity to take advantage of. Knowing that a quick victory was not possible, Zhang Chong ordered Guan Yu and Zhang Dan to set up camp in the wilderness of Puyang.
When the sun passed and the weather was no longer so hot, Zhang Chong asked Zhao Liang and Zhu Ying from the Wuyan camp to launch a test attack on a camp outside Puyangjin.
Zhao Liang and Zhu Ying's Wuyan camp were both Taiping Taoist disciples of the Dongping Kingdom. They were determined and brave, so after receiving Zhang Chong's military order, they began to attack a camp in front of Puyangjin.
But unfortunately, although Zhao Liang and Zhu Ying were also brave, they encountered the most elite Northern Army of the Han court, so after attacking for more than an hour, no one could touch the wall of the camp.
During this process, Zhang Chong stood on the chariot to watch the battle. He sometimes looked at the situation in Puyangjin, and sometimes turned to look at Puyang City to the west. He had some concerns in his heart and ordered the Wuyan camp to retreat.
Zhao Liang and Zhu Ying were both a little embarrassed when they retreated, especially since Zhao Liang had an arrow stuck in his shoulder. If he wasn't wearing three layers of armor, the arrow would cost him his arm.
Zhang Chong comforted the two of them:
"The Han soldiers in Puyangjin are unusual. You see, when you attacked the western camp, there was no movement at all in the east and west camps. These are first-class elite soldiers who can remain calm during a battle. Although your armaments are not worse than those of your opponents, There is a lot of difference in combat skills in this battle, so don’t be discouraged. See the gap clearly, and then we will train our troops well. Once our troops are well trained, we will be really good with the Han soldiers."
After hearing this, Zhao Liang and Zhu Ying felt warm in their hearts. They are not ignorant of practical matters. Although they are Taiping troops in the Yanzhou system, they are actually foreign soldiers under Zhang Chong. And these days, they have been with the Taishan Army. He also knew that the elite of Taishan's army could fight.
Everyone who fights hopes that the general will be wise and the friendly troops are good at fighting, so that their survival rate will be high. Therefore, but now, foreign soldiers like them have regarded themselves as Zhang Chong's subordinates. Now, they have been defeated. Zhang Chong comforted them without punishing them, how could he not make them burst into tears of gratitude?
Afterwards, Zhang Chong stopped attacking and waited for the soldiers to set up camp before making other plans.
The wilderness of Puyang has always been a place of military contention. In addition, it is the Guankuo Plain and has been developed early, so there are not many forests for the Taishan Army to cut down and camp.
Later, Taishan's army searched for another ten miles to the south, and finally found a forest with just enough wood to set up camp. After a busy period of work, until night fell, a huge camp was erected in the wilderness of Puyang.
During this process, no one from either Puyang or Jindu came out to attack. This result once again confirmed Zhang Chongbai's guess.
He returned to the big tent in the camp, called all the generals, and directly stated his observations during the day:
"If we want to defeat Puyang this time, I think we can only capture Puyang Ferry first. Originally, I was worried that if we attack Puyang Ferry here, the Han soldiers in Puyang City to the west will come out of the city to attack us. In this way, we will be flanked from both sides. The situation will be
It would be difficult. But during the day, I asked the Wuyan Battalion to launch a probing attack on Puyangjin, and I specifically observed the situation at the top of Puyang City. Even on the top of the city facing Puyangjin, there was no change in the strength of the troops. Logically speaking, if
If they wanted to go out of the city to aid the friendly forces in Puyangjin, they would have to mobilize mobile forces. But they didn't. So I boldly guessed that the Puyang soldiers were not the same system as those outside the city. After that, when we set up camp, we were most likely to suffer from both sides.
They were harassed by soldiers, but they still did not leave the camp. It can be seen that they seem to be in harmony with each other, but they just want to defend themselves."
Zhang Chong continued to talk about military strategy here, while the flying troops outside carried their flags and reported:
"There is a group of soldiers outside the door, saying it is the Taiping Road in Puyang. When they heard about our arrival, they came here to join us."