Compared with the success of Taishan Army's Eastern Expedition, Ding Sheng's Western Expedition was much more difficult.
After the Taishan Army captured Ye City, in order to defend this important place in Hebei, the Taishan Army quickly captured Wucheng, a small city to the west, and Fujin not far to the north. Especially this Fujin was the external defense of Ye City.
very important.
At this moment, the main force of the Han army in Hebei was gathered in the Handan area. Handan was only a hundred miles away from Yecheng, and the army marched there in three days. With such a short distance, the Taishan Army continued to build a deep defense in the northern area.
But fortunately, there is a Fu River between Handan and Yecheng. The Fu River originates from Fu Mountain, and then merges into the Zhang River east of Liren, until it reaches Youyan. Therefore, this is also a canal between Zhao and Wei.
, businesses are flourishing.
After Ye City was defeated, Feng Fang, a subordinate of the former Wei Commandery Governor, surrendered, so he offered a plan to the Taishan Army to capture Fujin first, so as to serve as a defense for the northern part of Ye City.
After that, the Taishan Army took over Wucheng and Fujin successively with the official seal of the Wei Commandery Governor. They used these two cities as the outer strongholds of Ye City, forming a horn-like situation and echoing each other from afar.
It didn't take long for the news of Yecheng's fall to reach Zhendong General Zhang Wen.
Zhang Wen was sweating profusely, knowing that his original strategy of blocking the north and catching up in the south was a complete failure. But now that Yecheng was lost, he had a premonition that the order letter from Kyoto was already on the way.
The Zhangshui River controlled by Yecheng was the most important transportation line for the Han Dynasty to contact Hebei. The fall of Yecheng meant that the Han Dynasty could no longer obtain additional troops from the Hebei region, and supplies from the Gyeonggi region could not be transported to Hebei.
.
As for the passages between the Taihang Mountains, they are better than nothing.
In panic, Zhang Wen changed his previous slowness and quickly crossed the river, landed in Hanoi, and set up camp at Chaoge.
In this way, the Han troops from Hebei gathered at Handan in the north, and the Han troops from Henan gathered at Chaoge in the south. With the Zhang River as the boundary, they attacked Yecheng from the north and south.
It was against this background that Ding Sheng led the Western Expeditionary Army and began to march south to Hanoi.
…
"Commander, Huanshui is in front of us."
At this time, under the leadership of the guide from Yecheng, the Western Expedition Department of the Taishan Army finally arrived at the Huan River.
The leader of this front army team is Lu Zhao. He is from Fengqiu in Chenliu. After the Taishan Army captured Fengqiu, he was recruited into the army. Later, he moved from Ding Sheng's tribe to fight in Henan and Sili, and accumulated merits.
Became a team leader.
Lu Zhao was unknown at this time, but in history he was a fierce general in Cao Wei. He was recruited by Cao Cao when Chen Liu was raising his troops. Now this man has joined the Taishan Army and is still making a name for himself with his bravery.
Some people achieve things because of people, and some people get things done because of others, but they don't see it right away. Lu Zhao is obviously the latter.
Before Lu Zhao set out, he was specially called by the captain to assign tasks. As Lu Zhao was the vanguard of the army exploring the road, Ding Sheng had to give him some instructions.
Ding Sheng told him that this time we need to establish a base and defense line along the Qishui River. In addition to marking nearby settlements along the way, the former army team should try not to conflict with the Han army or powerful forces. Their mission is to explore and not fight.
It was with this instruction that Lu Zhao and others avoided hostile settlements and dock walls and rushed directly to Huanshui.
Because Hanoi County has never been exposed to war, the scenery that Lu Zhao and others saw along the road was completely different from that of the Eastern Expedition.
What the Eastern Expeditionary Army saw were ruined cities on both sides of the Zhang River and people dispersed. But what Lu Zhao and others saw was a heavily fortified countryside.
Although Hanoi has been supplying Hebei's army for conquests, many Hanoi and Guizhou leaders have dispersed to the countryside in order to escape conquests, but generally speaking, order in Hanoi is still there, and the rule of the Han Dynasty here is still strong.
Therefore, along the way, Lu Zhao and others had long been targeted by Han soldiers from the nearby Shexiang Pavilion.
Lu Zhao and others arrived at Huanshui and were taking a rest. It had been almost half a month since they arrived in Hebei from the north. These people had not washed themselves properly and were covered in shells. The most important thing was that their military uniforms were too dirty.
Feeling distressed.
In fact, they only acquired these habits after joining the Taishan Army. Not all of them live in decent houses with wells. Many of them lived in caves before joining the Taishan Army. Maybe
I have been like a wild beast all my life and have never had a bath.
But in the melting pot of Taishan Army, they took a bath for the first time, put on clean clothes for the first time, and knew the difference between humans and beasts for the first time.
Therefore, when Lu Zhao and others arrived at Huanshui, they planned to clean up. However, they just pretended that they had taken off their clothes and had not yet entered the water.
A cry of killing came from the east, and more than twenty pavilion soldiers and dozens of Guizhou chieftains in single clothes were seen rushing over with spears, spears, nets and forks.
Lu Zhao was so annoyed that he didn't even want to wear any clothes, so he went up to him naked and carrying a giant axe.
He swung his ax at one of the pavilion soldiers and disembowelled him. Then there was a pool of water, hot and fishy. The soldiers who were running behind him had never seen such a bloody scene, and they were immediately stunned.
Then they were picked up by Lu and beheaded one by one.
At this moment, the pavilion soldiers and the brave warriors who came from behind dispersed in a rush, not daring to stay any longer.
Originally they were bold and ignorant, and had never had any contact with the Taishan Army. They only thought that these people were the rumored moth thieves, and they wanted to get rich by using the heads of these moth thieves, but they ended up risking their own lives here.
After Lu Zhao killed three people, he did not chase after him. He watched the rats flee in a hurry. He just spat and wandered back. After putting on his clothes and armor, Lu Zhao called to the brothers in his team:
"Everyone, hurry up and clean up. Let's cross the river directly. It's not safe around here."
Lu Zhao was worried that there would be pursuers behind him, so he wanted to lead people across the river as soon as possible. Once they crossed the bank and were blocked by the Huan River, the team would be safe.
After crossing the river, Lu Zhao left a few soldiers hiding on the bank. They were told that if there were enemies pursuing them across the river, they must contain them and allow time for the small team to move in.
After that, Lu Zhao took the remaining people and continued on their way, making sure to clearly explore the road to Qishui.
The ten-man team behind did not wait for the expected pursuers, so they also caught up with them in the night.
…
The Luzhao team was exploring the road ahead, and the main force of the Taishan Army's Western Expedition was also on the march.
Along the way, the Western Expeditionary Army had already destroyed many settlements along the route, and every time a powerful dock was destroyed, a large amount of corn supplies were brought back to Yecheng.
Before Ding Sheng set out, he had to meet with Zhang Chong for instructions. He knew that the most important purpose of this western expedition was to build a deep defense in the north of Hanoi to resist the Han troops from Henan. By then, the defense line would be built around the Qishui and Huanshui rivers.
First and second lines of defense.
And if this is the case, all these rural fortresses on the north bank of the Huan River need to be cleared away, because they are blocking the rear of the Western Expeditionary Army. For the safety of the Western Expeditionary Army's food routes, these barriers cannot be left behind.
Before Ding Sheng set out, the Western Expedition Army consisted of 4,000 officers and soldiers. Because it needed to shoulder the task of blocking the Han army in Hebei, Zhang Chong also assigned 2,000 cavalry to the Western Expedition Army, making a total of 6,000 troops.
With the help of the map marked by Xianfeng Tun, they quickly conquered the dock wall along the road and gained more than 6,000 people. Ding Shengdu sent them to live in Yecheng area.
After that, Ding Sheng accelerated his march, but because the Western Expeditionary Army was clearing the barriers, it took three days to reach the vicinity of the Huan River. Here, Ding Sheng left a force of 400 troops to clear the area and build fortifications and trenches on the Huan River.
Later, on the way to Qishui, the former army reported that there was a hillside in front of it with a dock wall on it. They were controlling this official road and Qiantun had led troops to attack it.
Ding Sheng left this part behind and ordered the whole army to continue marching and must reach Qishui tomorrow. He had already learned from the patrol scouts that the Han army had arrived at Chaoge and might continue to move north at any time.
In order to compete for time, Ding Sheng could only rush all night.
The October wind was freezing cold, and many of the soldiers in the army were from Runan, so they couldn't bear the cold. It was fine and warm at first, but when they were crossing the Huan River, they had to wade through it.
, this will be unbearable at night.
Along the way, many people have fallen ill and fallen behind.
Jin Quan, the general who had been leading the army, rushed back to Ding Sheng's military headquarters and directly informed Ding Sheng of the troop attrition.
Jin Quan said to Ding Sheng with a bitter face:
"Captain, the troops can't go any further. Look at how many people have fallen on the road. They are all our children."
With a straight face, Ding Sheng hit Jinquan on the chest and cursed angrily:
"I don't know? I don't know? Jinquan, let me tell you, even if you only lead one soldier, you still have to reach Qishui tomorrow. Don't talk to me about difficulties. I have more difficulties than you. I only want one result, and you will get it tomorrow
Can you take someone to Qishui?"
Jin Quan was an old subordinate of Ding Sheng, and he never had diarrhea under him. Now seeing Ding Sheng provoking him, Jin Quan immediately promised:
"Our department will definitely complete it."
With that said, Jinquan mounted his horse and ran back to the troops again, calling for everyone to march quickly.
Jin Quan's unit was equivalent to a school captain, with an establishment of 2,000 people, most of whom were veterans of the Taishan Army. After the friendly forces reinforced a batch of winter clothes, Jin Quan led his unit to hasten the march.
Finally arrived at the small town of Youli in the middle of the night.
Youli was the place where King Wen of Zhou was secluded by the King of Shang. It was also where he compiled the Book of Changes. There is still a shrine to King Wen of Zhou here, and local people often worship it.
But Youli sounds ancient, but in fact it is very dilapidated, because this place used to be a prison, used for exiles, how prosperous it can be.
In the middle of the night, when thousands of people from Jinquan entered Youli, the people there fled. And because of the language barrier, the officials below Jinquan couldn't communicate with several local people.
At this moment, Jinquan is in urgent need of a local guide to take them on a night walk.
There is another river between Qishui and Huanshui, called Dangshui, also called Tangshui. Thousands of years later, a martial saint named Yue Fei will be born here, and he will continue to write a story of ups and downs.
Crossing this river, especially at night, is impossible without local people as guides.
Just when Jinquan was at a loss, a sheepherder volunteered and offered to lead them across the river.
…
As more than 10,000 Han troops entered Chaoge, this thousand-year-old city was once again awakened and filled with people.
At this time, Hanoi was not as tight-knit as Taishan's army thought. In fact, with several wars in Hebei, most of Hanoi's military resources were exhausted.
Li Min, the prefect of Hanoi, only had two thousand brave men he could scrape together at this time, and he called himself "Tiger Brave". But it was useless no matter how loudly he called his name. As the Taishan Army conquered Yecheng, Li Min's two men
Thousands of people can't stop Taishan's army from moving south.
Therefore, Li Min could only rely on the help of Zhendong General Zhang Wen to defend Hanoi. But as everyone knew, he was in danger when he was with the Han soldiers in Henan.
As Zhang Chong concentrated the conflict in the center of the Han Dynasty, he had ordered the frontline commanders to focus their main attacks on the main force of the Han soldiers, and temporarily let go of the powerful troops and local county troops.
It's just that Li Min didn't know this, so he moved his troops to Chaoge specifically for warmth this time.
This time in the shogunate, the visitor was angrily reprimanding Zhang Wen. Not only the verbal instructions, but also the formal instructions were even more severe.
Maybe Liu Hong was really interested. Liu Hong's order came very quickly this time. When he learned that the Taishan Army had captured Yecheng and was obviously going to fight against the Yellow Turban River in Hebei, he was particularly uneasy.
Because the tombs of himself and his ancestors are all in Hebei. On the one hand, he is worried that his ancestors will be humiliated, and on the other hand, he is worried that after the two thieves join forces, they will no longer be able to control it.
So he criticized Zhang Wen for having no conscience and being unable to share the country's worries. He was angry at Zhang Wen's incompetence, but he couldn't find anyone to replace him. In the end, he could only let Zhang Wen inspire his conscience again, and he must move north quickly.
Advance, and together with Lu Zhi's troops in the north, attack the Taishan Army from both front and rear. They must take advantage of the fact that their foothold is not stable to eliminate this serious danger first.
Zhang Wencheng accepted the reprimand with fear and placed the visitor next to his seat. This time the visitor did not leave after announcing the decree. To put it bluntly, he was here to supervise the army.
Zhang Wen directly held a military meeting and began to compile the latest military reports.
The army reported that part of the Taishan Army had moved south, and its front part had reached Qishui in the north of Chaoge, and was building fortifications along the river there. It was obvious that it was going to have a long-term confrontation with the Han army.
Following this military report was the response of the frontline generals.
Zhang Wen's former captain Cao Cao was stationed in Qiyuan. This place was the Bamboo Arrow Garden Mausoleum built during the Yin and Shang Dynasties. Later it was also an important place for bamboo production in Weiguo.
Qiyuan is the first line of the Han army from Qishui, so after the Taishan Army's cavalry appeared on the north bank of Qishui, Cao Cao led his troops to move to the front line of Qishui, so as to compress the cruising space of the Taishan Army's cavalry and slow down the rear.
pressure.
At the same time, in the Luchang Mountain area to the west of Chaoge, Zhao Rong's and Sun Jian's troops who were originally stationed here also moved to Qiyuan, intending to use this as an advance base to resist the possible southward movement of the Taishan Army.
That's right, it's resistance.
Before the visitors from the court came, Zhang Wen's strategy was still conservative, which was to use defense instead of attack, find opportunities during the confrontation, seize them, and never waste a fight, making the same mistake as Huang Wan.
And sure enough, a few days ago, when Zhang Wen went to Qiyuan, where Cao Cao was stationed, to boost morale, he was almost attacked by a Taishan Army Cavalry. There were about five hundred people in this cavalry, and Xu was from Qishui.
Cross the river at the ford, and then attack the Han army from behind.
If Cao Cao had not used his troops carefully, he would have been taken advantage of by these five hundred thieves.
The five hundred thieves did not know that the Han army commander Zhang Wen was not far away. After lighting a fire, they did not want to fight and left.
However, with the arrival of the court visitors, Zhang Wen could only change the original plan and asked all ministries to stop digging trenches and building fortifications. They wanted to attack with the entire army and defeat the Taishan bandits on the north bank of Huan River.
For a time, the sky over Huanshui River was filled with clouds of war.