The outcome of the battle at Xingyang was of concern to the whole world, and somehow, the key to this battle was Zhang Dan's troops who were originally stationed in Fengqiu.
Where is Zhang Danbu at this time?
His troops were in Yanshi Xiaoyi, less than twenty miles away from Xingyang.
This city is not well-known in history, but it guards the intersection of Jishui and Honggou. It can be said that as long as this city is lost, the water network that transports half of the world to Xingyang will be paralyzed.
Therefore, in history, Qin Shihuang launched a military operation to frighten the six countries during the Lao Ai Rebellion. He attacked and occupied the Yanshi Xiaoyi of Wei. This battle caused the Eastern princes to be at a loss for several years, and provided the opportunity for Qin Shihuang to consolidate.
Time is won internally.
Zhang Dan will lead four thousand troops to garrison here.
It is said that in July, Zhang Chong led the main force of the Taishan Army, 4,000 troops, to go south. Zhang Dan stayed in Fengqiu to recruit rebels and train his troops. Now, in addition to the original 2,000 troops, he also recruited 1,000 troops near Nafengqiu.
Thousands of trackers.
Fengqiu is an important water transportation city at the intersection of Puji and Jiji, and there are many trackers. These poor trackers have been joining the army enthusiastically since the Taishan Army captured Fengqiu. These people are accustomed to collective action and are not afraid of hardships. With a little organization, they can become elite soldiers who can fight hard.
Therefore, after Zhang Dan was stationed in Fengqiu, he specially organized and trained four battalions with these thousands of trackers and thousands of Han soldiers.
Later, from July to August, he received military orders from Qu Commander Zhang Chong. During this period, Zhang Dan, with the key officers drawn from each battalion, continued to reorganize the four battalions. In more than a month, a certain amount of combat effectiveness was formed.
Although it cannot be compared with the main force of Taishan Army.
Waiting for Zhang Chong's military order to come south, he ordered his troops to join forces to attack Xingyang. Zhang Dan led Wei Zhou, Li Fu, Luo Gang, Pan Zhang, Huo Dan, Li Cun, Zhang Neng and other generals, and led an army of 4,000 people, using the former Han
The canal boats of the army camped in Fengqiu came west along the Jishui River.
Previously, Zhang Dan, as Zhang Chong's township party and clan relative, was regarded by Zhang Chong as the cornerstone of the Yuan Cong faction in the army, and he had been cultivating him. Zhang Dan had served as a general several times, and he was also talented, so he also had experience.
Out.
This meeting was stationed in Yanshi Xiaoyi. Zhang Dan looked at the continuous barracks outside the river and the countless military tents with banners filling the mountain plateau. He sighed to Fan Chang, the chief secretary next to him:
"Sir, I often hear Commander Qu talking about ancient times, saying that Xingyang and Chenggao have been important towns in the world since the Spring and Autumn Period. From Qin up, Jin and Chu competed here for hegemony; from Qin down, Chu and Han divided their powers here. Later.
If something happens, you might as well look at this place to decide success or failure. I didn’t understand it at the time.”
After taking a breath, Zhang Dan pointed to the vague outline of the mountain plateau to the north and said to Fan Chang:
"But now that I see it, there is Sanhuang Mountain, and Aocang, which stores the largest amount of grain in the world, is located there. As long as it is captured, Commander Qu can summon a hundred thousand troops with a wave of his hand. With this military strength, there is no place in the world that cannot be conquered."
Although Master Fan Chang was not good at military strategy, he still frowned after hearing Zhang Dan's words:
"Young Lieutenant, you want to attack Aocang directly? Aocang is not defenseless on Sanhuang Mountain. There are two military cities at one end of the mountain, Xiguangwu in the west and Dongguangwu in the east.
Two hundred steps away from each other, the chasm passes between the two military cities and enters the river. In the past, when the Chu and Han Dynasties fought for hegemony, they faced each other across the chasm. Therefore, Guangwu in the West was also called the City of the King of Han, and Guangwu in the East was also called the City of the King of Chu. Back then,
Even the overlord of Chu failed to cross the Honggou Stream, so the captain still listened to Qu Shuai's military orders and waited here for a while, and then we will take the long term after Qu Shuai went north."
Zhang Dan was quite narrow-minded when he was young, but after fighting with Zhang Chong on the battlefield for a few years, he became much more stable. Now that the military chief did not agree, Zhang Dan did not insist, but nodded and ordered the sentry to continue.
Sentinel.
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He Yi felt uneasy.
Just now, he made a military plan on the maza before the formation, but the maza suddenly collapsed. Although his confidant Yin Zhong said wisely:
"Qu Shuai has as much weight as the sky on his shoulders, how can a little horse carry him?"
The embarrassment was resolved with these clever words, but in the eyes of He Yi, who had always been superstitious, a stumble before the formation was really not a good sign.
He Yi took the bag from the guard and took it with him, forgetting about Xingyang with its four closed doors not far away, and thinking in her heart:
"But in a city like this, what kind of surprises can there be?"
It turns out that unlike the fortified city of Xingyang that He Yi, Zhang Chong and others thought, the walls of Xingyang at this time had not been repaired for a long time and collapsed in many places. It was no longer the fortified city that it was in the past.
Zhang Chong and others knew all about Xingyang City from books, and had never actually seen it. Now after seeing Xingyang City, I realized how shabby the city really is. The main body of Xingyang City was built by South Korea during the Warring States Period.
The most prosperous renovation was in the Pre-Han Dynasty. Because Xingyang was a top priority for the imperial court in Guanzhong, the capital of Guanzhong, the assessment of Xingyang's city defense was also very important.
But in this Han Dynasty, Xingyang no longer paid much attention to the court. And here is the heart of the capital. It has not heard of weapons for two hundred years.
city wall.
It turns out that Xingyang City didn't even have battlements. It was because Xingyang ordered Yang Yi to learn that the Yellow Turban Moth Thieves had emerged from the Beijing Cableway that he recruited the entire city to supervise them day and night to repair the battlements. As for other construction, He Yi had not started yet.
With a mixed army of 8,000 troops, they arrived at the foot of Xingyang City.
He Yi, who has been fighting for a long time, just looked at the city in front of the formation and said to the young commanders:
"I don't know if such a sparse city can stop our army for a day."
When all the young commanders heard this and looked at Xingyang City, they all became very angry and laughed.
Previously, Xingyang ordered Yang Yi to arrange defenses mainly by setting up three barriers in the south of the city and blocking the water gate in the north. However, Xingyang still had a big defense loophole, that is, there was a large warehouse in the east of the city.
This warehouse does not belong to the imperial court, but is used by the powerful men of Xingyang to collect and store the goods transported by the powerful men along the canal.
Do you still remember that four years ago, Zhang Chong and his friends from Tongli accompanied Sun Tingzhang to transport water transport? At that time, along the Jishui road, all the powerful people were smuggling through water ships.
Zhang Chong had paid attention to a detail before, which was why the powerful people along the road did not pay for the goods on the canal ship. In fact, this was the key to the entire canal transportation network.
These powerful people have been cooperating with each other for more than ten generations, and for as few as five or six generations. Because they involve a lot of money and food, a large number of their transactions are done through accounting rather than cash settlement. Whenever a ship departs from Shandong to Xingyang
, all the private goods brought along the way will be sold along the way. At this time, they have no money in the boat, and no one can find out if they want to check. And when they delivered the corn tribute to Aocang Chang, they were on their way back
They will pass through Xingyang again. At that time, they will replace the needed goods from this warehouse and then transport them to Shandong to sell them.
In this process, everything is lurking under this trading network. Even if people outside know that there is something fishy about it, they can't do anything to these powerful people along the river.
Therefore, the goods parked in the Dongcheng warehouse at this moment are not only the goods of the powerful people in Xingyang, but also the goods of the powerful people in the entire Jishui River.
But there is a saying that the Dongcheng warehouse may now become an enemy. As long as the Yellow Turban army discovers the warehouse here, it is impossible for the Han soldiers in Xingyang to have the strength to defend it. So Yang Yi’s initial plan was to burn down the Dongcheng warehouse. But now Xingyang is powerful
Everyone was filled with righteous indignation, and everyone was furious.
Some of them even shouted:
"I would rather give my family property to thieves than let the county king burn a tile."
Zhang Yi turned pale with anger after hearing this, but he did not dare to burn it, because he knew that if it was burned, Xingyang City would not be able to defend it, so he could only compromise with the powerful people in the city.
It seems absurd for those powerful people to do this, but they have their reasons.
After all, those moth thieves really robbed the Dongcheng warehouse, so how much can they use, and whatever the following moth thieves rob will be doubled. But if it is burned down by your Xingyang order, it will be really gone.
Therefore, a defensive loophole as big as the Dongchengcang outside Xingyang City could only be left because of the interests of the powerful powers in the city.
He Yibu soon discovered the Dongcheng warehouse and opened a warehouse. He found that it was full of iron materials and lacquerware, and other warehouses also contained various materials. He Yibu's entire staff became rich.
The Yellow Turbans were about to divide their lives, but this time they were stopped by He Yi. He said to the soldiers:
"The war is coming, money and silk will only make everyone less motivated to fight. We are just one step away now. Do you think the destruction of Xingyang City can stop us? Now, I have decided to seal the treasury. When we capture Xingyang, let's discuss our merits together.
reward."
He Yi's victories along the way have greatly increased his prestige in the army. It is because of Qu Commander's decision that they can make such a big fortune. So even if they are unwilling to give in, these Yellow Turban soldiers can only turn their heads and watch Xingyang City gearing up.
Already.
The battle started immediately.
He Yi, who had moved the Chinese army's generals north to Dongchengcang, put aside the shadow of the fall of Mazha just now and focused all his attention on the most critical battle in his life.
If it succeeds, martial arts will flourish, if it fails..., it won't happen.
He Yi waved the triangular yellow flag, and then the Chinese army drums played loudly.
He Yi's eight thousand soldiers were surrounded by three and one was missing. They deployed two thousand soldiers in the south of the city, two thousand soldiers in the east of the city, two thousand soldiers in the center, and two thousand soldiers in the west of the city.
In fact, He Yi's arrangement was for three reasons and one was missing. You must know that the water gate in the north of the city had long been blocked by Zhang Yi himself. So this time, He Yi actually fought like a lion against a rabbit and tried his best.
In the sixth year of Guanghe's reign, it was August 24th, Sishi.
The Yellow Turban soldiers from Runan surrounded Xingyang. Armed with various ordnances from the east city warehouse, their troops carried countless ladders and launched an attack on the dilapidated Xingyang City.
Under the command of their respective military officials, the Han soldiers and brave men defending the city continued to release rolling wood and falling rocks into the city, making people wail everywhere. The siege battle was always the most brutal.
He Yi had no intention of staying behind from the beginning. The two thousand veterans he had selected were the ones on the front line of the attack at the moment. These people were flying arrows like locusts under the city, and the Han soldiers on top of the city could not stand at all.
.And the elite brave men in the Yellow Turbans of Runan took advantage of this opportunity, stepped on the ladder, covered their heads and rushed up.
The most intense fighting was in the east of the city, where most of the elite Yellow Turban and Han soldiers in the city were concentrated.
On the east city, Xingyang ordered Zhang Yi to stand on the front line in uniform. The guards around him kept deflecting the incoming arrows to protect the county prince.
Seeing that something was wrong, Zhang Yi yelled:
"Put up the curtain."
Following Zhang Yi's order, the four walls hurriedly put up curtains to block the arrows. With these thick homespun cloths blocking the arrows, the arrows that had little downward impact were bounced away, so that the Han soldiers were slightly stable. Then they held up the bamboo poles
He worked hard to push down the hanging ladder step by step.
There were screams and cries everywhere under the city, and the first wave of Runan Yellow Turbans' attack on the city was blocked.
He Yi, who was fighting outside the east city, also saw the situation on the front line. He secretly regretted that his men were not elite enough. What he saw was that those who climbed the city to fight were all his veterans, while the newly attached disciples were only waving flags and shouting from behind.
.
But He Yi was not surprised. Those gangsters were meant to boost his momentum, and he never expected these people to fight with their lives.
However, He Yi did not expect that the Han soldiers in the city were quite determined to resist.
But in fact, He Yi only saw the east side. The Han soldiers on the east wall were elites in the city, and the county king was personally on the front line, so their morale was naturally extraordinary. But in fact, at this moment, in the south and west of the city, the Han soldiers were there.
The city walls were already in danger.
He Yi, who made a mistake in judgment, felt sorry for the casualties of his elite soldiers and ordered a gold medal.
"Dong, dong, dong..."
The Yellow Turban Army who were fighting desperately in the east heard the sound of gold and hurriedly withdrew. But when the Yellow Turban Commander who was fighting in the south heard the sound of gold, he kicked Mazar over and went straight to the Chinese army in the east to ask for explanation.
.
But it turned out that the soldiers under this young commander had already climbed to the top of the city, and were about to destroy the outer city, but the people on the east side were in a daze to strike gold.
This young handsome man is called Dian Quan. Just his name indicates that he comes from a poor family, but he is brave in battle and is a brave general under He Yi.
When the tenant dog came running, something unexpected happened to He Yi.
But when the tenant dog questioned He Yi with a tone that was partly puzzled and partly doubtful, He Yi secretly regretted it, but just hearing the tenant dog's tone made him angry.
Huh, he won't think that I'm worried about him entering the city first and getting the first advantage, so I'll give him a stumbling block. He's really a mud-legged guy, what's in his eyes.
So He Yi didn't tell the truth, but said leisurely:
"Why are you so anxious? It's been growing all day long. Have you ever seen a turtle? If you put it directly into the hot soup, it will struggle very hard, and even crawl out of the pot and bite you accidentally. But if you
Put him in cold water and put firewood underneath to slowly heat him up, and he will remain motionless and wait for death."
Dian Quan was a rough man and couldn't bear what He Yi said, so he interrupted directly:
"What are you going to say?"
"I'm telling you, we will kill the Han soldiers from the beginning, and even if we win, we will be shattered. But as long as we withdraw at every critical moment, they will think that this is how we attack, and they will slack off.
Go down. When the time comes, if we attack with all our strength, how can they not be defeated?"
In fact, Dian Quan still didn't understand. He frowned and said:
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
Then the yellow turban commander from another area who was attacking the west wall also came. He Yi explained his trick of tricking turtles and deceived the commander away again.
But in fact, when He Yi deceived others, he really deceived himself.
Regardless of whether his theory is correct or not, one unchanging fact is:
The Han army in Xingyang City finally got a chance to breathe.
Xingyang was still in the hands of the Han army after all.
These two facts directly caused huge variables in He Yi's battle.