When Lu Zhi, the general of Beizhonglang, led his army to march eastward, the evil spirit was permeating the Yellow Turban Army in Hebei.
Since General Zhang Liang died in battle, the morale of Taiping Road has declined visibly.
General Tiangong has always been in poor health. In the past, Zhang Liang was in charge of military affairs. Now that Zhang Liang died in battle, the burden of the whole Taiping Road fell on Zhang Bao, General of Tiangong.
However, Zhang Bao, the general of the land, was only a middle-aged man. He was already overwhelmed with the complicated war and could not spare the energy to care about the spiritual morale of the Taoist disciples. Therefore, the morale of Taiping Dao was beyond its limits.
The defeat in the Battle of Julu not only caused the Hebei Yellow Turban Army to lose a leader and tens of thousands of Taoist disciples, but what was even more frightening was that the army was filled with the theory that the Han army was invincible. With the help of the Qingzhou Yellow Turban, who was "proficient in fighting",
Their army of more than 100,000 people could not defeat the Han army. Can the Han army still defeat it?
This defeat also had a direct consequence, that is, there were still many powerful forces in the cities originally conquered by Taiping Dao. When Taiping Dao had successive victories, they still cautiously expressed their allegiance to Taiping Dao.
We dare not slack off in our support of human and material resources.
But now? Their courage has begun to grow. Some cities far away from Guangzong have even re-hanged the Han military flag. Even closer, some powerful tribes have begun to move at night to attack the Yellow Turban Army.
, plunder their military supplies.
Faced with this tense situation, Zhang Bao had no choice but to strengthen the monitoring of powerful people from all over the country. He had never thought about doing anything to these powerful people. He would imitate the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans and confiscate their homes and fields, but the Hebei Yellow Turbans
We really don't have the cohesion to accomplish such a thing.
The Zhang brothers of Julu are themselves powerful people in Hebei, and their family is extremely wealthy. Therefore, Hebei Taiping Road has had a close relationship with the local powerful people from the beginning. Since the powerful people in Hebei lack a way to rise, they are also willing to rely on the strong religious overtones.
Taiping Dao came to form associations and expand their influence. And Taiping Dao also needed the funding and preaching of these powerful people, so the two became closer and closer.
Back then, when Zhang Liang and Zhang Chong were discussing the development direction of Taiping Road under the peach trees in Lushoupo, Jinan, Zhang Liang recognized his strategy of breaking the powerful power and dividing the fields. So as soon as he returned to Hebei, he began to build the Taiping Road near Julu.
Action. At the beginning, Zhang Liang attacked some local tycoons, all of whom had obvious evil deeds. But even so, Zhang Liang's action still encountered strong backlash. Not only was the action stopped, but the person was also reprimanded by Zhang Jiao
. In short, in the end, Hebei's campaign to break the power and divide the land was cancelled.
Now that the Battle of Julu was defeated, the Han army came from Handan again. The powerful people in Hebei became even more arrogant and did not care about the so-called surveillance of Taiping Road. Some local tyrants were gambling and had already begun to get in touch with the Han army.
Lu Zhi was originally a famous person in Hebei and was familiar with the powerful people in Hebei. Therefore, when he came into contact with people there, Lu Zhi immediately expressed his wish to forget the past and made a wish. He directly appointed several local tycoons as school captains and asked them to lead them.
Following the Han army's talisman, he returned to his hometown and recruited troops to prepare for the arrival of the Han army in Hebei.
The powerful people in Hebei always favored each other. As soon as they got the guarantee from the Han army, they contacted the leading family in Hebei, the Cui family of Dongwucheng, also known as Qinghe Cui. They
Surrounding the Cui family of Qinghe, they took the lead in planting flags behind the Yellow Turbans of Hebei.
The local tycoons in Julu County also used oxcarts to deliver baggage to the Han army. Some local tycoons even used their familiarity with the geography to serve as spies for the Han army. Even some local bandits brandished swords and halberds to unite the thieves. The Yellow Turbans attacked various fortresses together.
It can be said that the Hebei Yellow Turbans at this time were quite precarious.
As for the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans? They had no time to worry about friendly forces. After being appointed to stay in Leh City, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans stationed themselves in this fortress on the bank of the Zhangshui River.
As we all know, the most important geographical form in the entire North China is the Taihang Mountains. It is like a giant dragon dividing Bingzhou and Jizhou. And to the left of the Taihang Mountains is the Shangdang Plateau. The so-called Shangdang Plateau means that the height is the same as the sky, which shows how high the terrain is. Just because Shangdang is high and Jizhou is low, most rivers from Jizhou have their sources in Shangdang.
For example, this is the case with Zhangshui. Zhangshui can be divided into two branches: Zhangshui and Zhuozhangshui. They both originate from the Shangdang Plateau. The mountain streams in the northern part of the Shangdang Plateau converge and go down the mountain. This is the Qingzhangshui. And the upper reaches In the southern area of Dang, the mountain streams converge and go down the mountain. This is the Zhuozhang River. The two waters merge together and go around Yecheng to Liren.
In fact, there are two important rivers in Hebei, which can be divided into three important areas. These two rivers are the Hutuo River and Zhangshui. The Hutuo River can divide Jizhou into the northern part of Jizhou, mainly Changshan and Zhongshan areas. In the early Warring States period, This river is also the dividing line between the Zhongshan State and the Zhao State. The second is the Zhang River, which divides the central and southern areas of Jizhou. The central area of Jizhou is occupied by Zhao State, Julu, and Qinghe. And south of the Zhang River is the Wei State, which is also Jizhou. The southern region. Historically, this was the dividing line between Zhao and Wei during the Warring States Period.
In the case of limited transportation capacity in ancient times, the route from Shanxi to Hebei relied on Baxing. The internal transportation in Hebei relied on Hutuo River, Zhangshui River, and other clear water systems. Therefore, at this time, the Lecheng City where Qingzhou Huangjin was stationed, this Zhangshui River The important fortresses on the border are the ones that the Han army must capture.
As long as the Han army defeated the following people, they could continue to rely on the Zhangshui Waterway and go all the way north to attack the Anping State area where the Yellow Turban Army in Hebei Province was entrenched.
But the people are obviously not easy to fight, because this place was the eastern gateway of Handan in the Zhao Kingdom, and it was for military purposes from the beginning. Everything here, including the docks and the ferry, reveal the simplicity of classical militarism. The watchtower, Luzhai, beacons and other garrison facilities are all available.
Moreover, there were 50,000 people from Qingzhou Yellow Turbans stationed here at this time. In order to supply these 50,000 Yellow Turbans, Hebei Taiping Road continued to recruit ships to transport supplies, so there were boats everywhere on the Zhangshui River. Since the Zhangshui River directly passed through the city from Lieren Therefore, these supply ships can directly park at the ferry to deliver supplies into the city.
Lieren City is not very big. After being crossed by the Zhang River, it is divided into the North City and the South City. In the middle is the ferry of Zhang River. Both cities have walls on one side of the Zhang River, so the two cities are like two triangular cities.
Because Lieren's main protection is to protect Handan in the west, Lieren's North City, that is, the half of the city on the north bank of Zhangshui River, has the most protective effect. There are many military villages and flags fluttering. And the half of Lieren on the south bank of Zhangshui is Mainly civilian houses, the Qingzhou Yellow Turban's logistics and troops are all here.
Compared with the solemnity of the North City, the South City is much more casual, just like a Dali community. Vegetable fields have been opened up everywhere in the city, and some pigs, sheep and chickens are raised. Some of the female dependents accompanying the army even starched their men's clothes and then
Feel free to dry them on the city wall.
Dong Zhuo led four thousand Hedong soldiers and Liangzhou soldiers outside Liren City. The Qingzhou Yellow Turbans inside the city were still enjoying the peaceful afternoon.
If the Han army saw the situation in the city, they might really feel that these Qingzhou Yellow Turbans are more like a group of vagrants than an army.
The weapons of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans are not bad. The sophisticated armor from the Qingzhou arsenal is not inferior to that of the Han army. But it does not mean that they have an army with these armors. The Qingzhou Yellow Turbans are not without warriors. Within ten men
There must be warriors, not to mention more than 50,000 young men? But this cannot make the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans an army, because they lack the discipline that an army must have.
When Dong Zhuo's army appeared, Jinan Qushuai Sun Zheng was discussing something with several of his heroes.
That is how the Ren Gong General Zhang Liang died.
During the Battle of Julu, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans attacked the main force of the Han army from the flanks, and Renggong General Zhang Liang commanded the Hebei Han army as the first attack. Later, when Dong Zhuo's reinforcements arrived, the Hebei Yellow Turbans collapsed first and evacuated the battlefield, while the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans due to the long distance
, was able to retreat slowly.
After the sacrifice to the sun was withdrawn, he heard that his teacher Zhang Liang was dead. When he arrived in a hurry, his teacher had been changed into clean clothes and he was dragged to the sacrifice to the sun and died.
At that time, Jisun was still immersed in sadness and didn't think much about it. He continued to take care of the teacher's funeral. But then when the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were assigned to garrison, Jisun felt a little wrong no matter how he thought about it.
Logically speaking, General Renggong, as the substantive leader at that time, how could he have less protection? But the other generals did not die much. On the contrary, General Renggong who was slightly behind on the battlefield died.
And why were the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans assigned to Lieren? This is the front line of contact with the Han army. Even though the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans are indeed here to support Hebei, they are there to support, not to block the sword.
If all these are still doubtful, the rise of a rumor in the army will make Jisun extremely uncomfortable.
The rumor said that General Renggong's fatal wound was an arrow in the back.
Jisun, who knows the teacher well, knows that if the army is defeated, the division will definitely face the enemy head-on and stabilize the morale of the army. Then the arrow in the back must be fired by the friendly troops behind him. If this rumor is true, then the murderer is actually
Just one of our own people.
This made Ji Sun, who knew the details of the strife among the upper echelons of Taiping Road, shudder.
Therefore, Jisun discussed this matter with his relatives and generals, asking them to be more open-minded and pay attention. And through this attention, many problems were indeed discovered.
At this time, a general said:
"Qu Shuai, most of the millet sent here is old. A small part is rotten and cannot be eaten."
Jisun frowned and asked:
"How many times has this happened?"
"The third time."
One side reported that the supply was of poor quality, and the other side said that the winter clothes they requested several times had not arrived. Seeing that the cold winter was coming, it was still summer when they set off from Qingzhou Yellow Turban, so they came to Hebei wearing single clothes. There were no winter clothes behind them.
How to keep the people alive in the severe cold in Hebei.
These generals were all Jisun's confidants, and many of them were among the Ten Warriors who competed with Zhang Chong back then. So they all understood what Jisun was suspicious of.
One of them simply said:
"Qu Shuai, why don't we go back to Qingzhou? We are really young people in Hebei. Not only does it depend on people's looks, but we don't have any guarantees. The brothers below are a little chilled and want to go back to Qingzhou."
In fact, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were not only cold-hearted, but also a bit frightened by being killed by the Han army. They had never fought against the main force of the Han army before. They had only fought against some local powerful soldiers or county soldiers. Suddenly they met Lu
The main Han soldiers in Hebei who planted the belt, especially the fifth school of the Northern Army, were killed directly and were a bit panicked.
In the army, we often encounter Taoist disciples kneeling to Qingzhou in the east. They pray that they can return to their hometown alive, and do not want to be a lonely ghost who died in a foreign land.
Ji Sun often walked in the army, and he knew clearly what the morale was in the army. It was not that he had not thought about evacuating from Lecheng, and even returned to Qingzhou regardless of it. But if he did not figure out the death of his division, he would
I can't get over my own hurdle.
While Ji Sun and others were continuing their discussion, two other commanders of the Qingzhou Army, Zhang Rao and Xu He, came hand in hand. As soon as they arrived, they announced that Han soldiers had appeared outside the city.
Ji Sun was startled and hurriedly led his generals to the top of the city and took a first look to the west.
…
When Dong Zhuo's army arrived to the west of Lieren, they did not intend to attack, but began to build fortifications. Because the forty miles from Handan to Lieren was a flat and undefeable area, the fortifications built by Dong Zhuo were in a wilderness.
Not far behind is Ji Ze, where water is easily accessible.
Originally, Dong Zhuo planned to cut off the water supply in the city based on his experience in fighting in Liangzhou. But when he saw that the Zhang River, which was so vast that a giant boat could run parallel to it, passed through Liren City, he knew that there was no danger of water shortage in the city.
.
Since the water supply could not be cut off, Dong Zhuo set up camp honestly. He asked the Qin and Hu soldiers to supervise the local tycoons who had joined the army and asked them to dig trenches and build strongholds. This was also his experience in Liangzhou. He drove the people to serve as slaves and filled the fields.
He's methods come at his convenience.
Dong Zhuo captured another group from the surrounding areas and gathered nearly a thousand people who were digging trenches, building earthen walls, and camps for him. Dong Zhuo considered that Lu Zhi would arrive with the main force later and would also need camp walls.
So he drove the local tyrants and people to continue the construction.
The local tycoons were a little dumbfounded. They originally thought they had come to join Master Wang, but they were treated like cattle and horses. In fact, these people are just dumbfounded now. When Dong Zhuo drives them to fill the ravines later, they will probably cry.
I can't cry anymore.
No matter what, under the supervision of the Qiang and Hu Yi Cong at the back, these people can only do the work of slaves. These foreigners can't understand the words of the Hebei people. As long as they see someone stop, they will come up with a cry.
It doesn't matter who you are or who you know.
Anyway, these barbarians made these Hebei village tycoons complain endlessly.
After working for most of the day, these local tycoons and people dragged their exhausted bodies and prepared to return to the camp for food, but they were told that they had no food at all.
So they quit and started to make trouble. Then their heads were beheaded by the rough Qin and Hu soldiers. When several bloody heads were hung up, everyone knew that these Han soldiers would not care about their life or death at all.
While Dong Zhuo was building fortifications outside the city, Sun Ji, Zhang Rao, and Xu He in the city were also inspecting the city. They were all the first-generation commanders of the various parties, and most of the believers in the army knew them, and some were still like this
The three of them personally preached and became religious, so Sanqushuai's prestige in the army need not be mentioned.
The three of them patrolled the fortifications at the top of the city and outside the city with calm expressions, constantly boosting the morale of the army. Especially Jisun, who was originally a Taoist envoy, knew his way to win people.
Every time he met someone he knew, he would shout out his name, pat the person on the shoulder, and ask him if he was afraid.
The people of Qingzhou are nice, but they are really scared. In this situation, they all turned red and shouted:
"Not afraid."
Then Ji Sun shouted:
"Cangtian is dead, Huang Tian is here to stand. For Huang Tian's great cause, let's kill him in these cities."