The 3,000-step Taishan Army's East Route Army advanced in a vertical formation, with roving cavalry on both sides responsible for intercepting and covering the enemy.
Still more than a mile away from the battlefield, Captain Zhang Dan ordered all the troops to form a battle formation.
At this time, the chaos and fighting on the battlefield ahead were all presented to the eyes of the three thousand Taishan troops. The yellows were knocked down like wheat, and the red tide surged and howled. It was obvious that something was wrong with their friendly Qingzhou Yellow Turbans.
Many veterans in the army saw this scene and knew that the Qingzhou Yellow Turban army would collapse in a short time. Some of them were hesitant, wondering why they wanted to take a trip into this muddy water.
At this time, there was another roaring tsunami from the Han army, and then several yellow scarf flags were seen falling, so the atmosphere in the Taishan army formation became even more depressing.
Military officials from all departments wanted to say a few words, but the most suitable person to do this kind of morale-boosting thing was Colonel Zhang Dan.
Zhang Dan also knew the expectations of the people, so he rode to the front of the battle.
In the front are the faces of various disciples, and behind is the epic battle between the Han army and the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans. Zhang Dan is full of blood, and he knows that he and the three thousand disciples in front of him stand on an important choice.
To advance is to turn the tide, but to retreat is to destroy your reputation. Should you save your fellow brothers while moving forward, or should you take a step back and survive? This has never been a choice for Zhang Dan.
So, Zhang Dan said loudly:
"I, Zhang Dan, can't help you because I didn't bring you here to live, I came here to ask you to die."
As soon as these words came out, all the troops were in an uproar. They knew that the Lord would encourage them before the battle, and they were well prepared, but they never expected that Zhang Dan would say such words.
Not only the soldiers, but also the former army Sima Guo Liang didn't expect that as the former army Sima, he would naturally be in charge of the frontline war. Originally, he was expecting his general to say something, but who knew he would say this?
Zhang Dan paused, just watching what he just said was fermenting, until everyone became more and more confused, and more and more people couldn't help but whisper, he continued:
"What's wrong, can't we die?"
Zhang Dan raised his voice, pointed at the bloody Yellow Turbans behind him, and shouted:
"What, they can die? We can't die? Those thousands of people who died for the great cause, they can die, but we can't die?"
Zhang Dan’s voice became louder and louder:
"I have known a truth since I was a child, that is, the life of us poor people is very short. How short can it be? It is so short that it ends in twenty years. Maybe we starved to death because of a famine. Maybe we were killed just because of a visit to relatives.
We were robbed and turned into ghosts. Even, it was just an ordinary illness, and we died in a ravine without any reason."
"So, look at me and tell me, why should we die?"
Zhang Dan glanced at the officials present with his bright eyes and said again:
"It is precisely because I understood this truth very early that I knew at that time that men should do great things in this world, so that their journey in this world would not be in vain. Later I read the Bible and understood that there is a saying
As the saying goes, if you don’t live with five pots of food, you will die with five pots of food. I have always kept these words in my heart.”
Having said this, former Army Sima Guo Liang no longer felt anxious as before. He looked at the captain chatting in front of the battle with admiration, secretly thinking that he was as good as Commander Qu.
All the officials were so excited by what Zhang Dan said.
But suddenly, Zhang Dan came to a big turning point, and he loudly said:
"But it wasn't until I started this career with Qu Shuai that I realized that I was young in the past. Where was my youth? Young Zai Naigong was actually willing to die for Wudingshi. What did I know from Qu Shuai?
It is a truly important event, and what is the great cause that we good men should dedicate ourselves to!"
"That is to let the people have fields to cultivate and houses to live in, so that the world can be peaceful and healthy, and the leaders of Guizhou can live and work in peace and contentment."
Zhang Dan pointed to the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans fighting in front and said to everyone:
"Are these people so stubborn because of the Five Cauldrons of Food? Tell me loudly, right?"
The Taishan Army roared:
"no!"
Zhang Dan pointed at everyone in front of him, that is, the disciples of Taishan Army, and shouted:
"Then we people, who don't take shelter from the wind and snow, come here to rescue us, are we doing it for Wuding food? Tell me loudly?"
This time, everyone in the Taishan Army used all their strength to shout loudly, with veins on their necks protruding:
"No, no, no!"
After three calls, the military spirit condensed.
So, Zhang Dan drew out his sword and yelled:
"What are our Taishan troops doing here?"
The troops roared:
"Raise swords and soldiers, exchange for peace, and restore the Qingming Dynasty to the world!"
Zhang Dan pointed his sword towards the battlefield ahead, his voice was hoarse and he roared:
"Then why do our Taishan Army come here?"
At this time, everyone raised their weapons and shouted:
"Plow the fields, live in houses, and leave health and well-being to all the people!"
Suddenly, the roars of thousands of people shook the sky, and the sound of their arrival was transmitted to the stunned Han troops.
After that, Zhang Dan did not go back, but stood where he was and ordered the Chinese army to beat the war drums. Then he stood aside and inspected each row of officials as they passed in front of them and headed towards the battlefield ahead.
Three thousand Taishan troops gathered into a huge square formation and were not divided into smaller formations.
Walking in the front was a unit of the former army Sima Guoliang, with 500 people under his command, arranged in a horizontal formation of 100 people long and five people deep. The first two rows were armored infantrymen, the last row were crossbowmen, and the last
The two rows are knife wielders.
After that, two thousand troops from Sima Wei Zhou of the left army and Sima Xie Bi of the right army passed by.
They all lined up in two square formations of fifty people across and ten people vertically. There was a large gap between the two formations, which was the marching path reserved for the Chinese army. The configuration of these two formations was the same as that of Guo Liang's troops, and they also had the same steps.
Two hundred hands, two hundred sword-carrying hands, and one hundred archers.
Then there are the 1,500 people of the Chinese army. They are Zhang Dan's own guard of 500 armored soldiers, 500 cavalry, and the 500 crossbowmen of Sima Wangzhang of the Chinese army.
Wang Zhang's army is a pure archer unit, and its soldiers are almost all descendants of Shanliao from the Nanshan District of central Shandong. Equipped with strong bows and crossbows, they are the most powerful trump card of the Eastern Expeditionary Army.
The last one to pass by was the rear army Sima Luo Gang and his five hundred armored swords.
After joining the Taishan Army, this former Dahe water bandit increasingly showed the qualities that would make him an outstanding prize leader.
He is brave enough to charge into the army, kind enough to care for his soldiers, and strict about himself. He is a general that Zhang Dan is very optimistic about. He does not strive for credit or push back, and is taciturn when receiving rewards. He is quite like the general of Yuntai's Big Tree.
wind.
After Zhang Dan inspected all the troops, he saw that all the troops were full of morale, and he became confident in this battle.
Then without further delay, he led Shi Bi and other guards to catch up with the Chinese army and took over the command of the army from Wang Zhang.
Shi Bi was the Fengqiu Cuo Ma Yong. He was captured by the Han army and fed horses. After the Han army was defeated, he fed horses to the Taishan army. So this person once sighed:
“How can a man raise a horse with a bow and three stones?”
This was heard by Zhang Dan, who was patrolling the army, and he really gave this man a chance and let him join the Taishan Army. After that, this man dominated the army with his unparalleled strength and shooting skills, even the most powerful general Pan Zhang.
its opponents.
After Shi Bi became a general through his meritorious service, Zhang Dan promoted him to the Cross-Collision Corps and the Military Academy. After he graduated, he was assigned to the Eastern Expedition Army and became Zhang Dan's First Guard General.
As soon as Zhang Danfu returned to the central army, the flying troops sent by sentinels reported that the Youzhou Tuqi, one of the main forces of the Han army, was reorganizing the army and had already rushed towards them.
Zhang Dan did not dare to be careless and ordered all his troops to stop marching and form a large formation of five troops.
So amidst the roaring horns, war drums and the voices of military officers, the marching Taishan Army slowly stopped and began to remind each other of Pao Ze's position, and then adjusted to form a tighter formation to prepare for the impact of the cavalry behind them.
.
Zhang Dan, who was supported by all the troops, was not as calm as he looked at this moment.
This time the reinforcements were basically brought in by him, Zhang Dan, in his capacity as a captain.
After parting ways with Ji Sun, Zhang Dan couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart when he looked at the Qingzhou Yellow Turban who was looking forward to death. He knew that he had no reason to gamble with the Qingzhou Yellow Turban, but he still couldn't do it.
So, he galloped to catch up with the Taishan Army, which had returned eastward, and with the authority of the army's commander-in-chief, ordered all the troops to march westward to support the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans.
Originally, all the generals in the army, except Xie Bi who took the whole army as the priority and was determined to withdraw, the other generals were more obedient to Zhang Dan, the old commander.
Relying on his prestige, Zhang Dan pulled the team back.
But Zhang Dan knew that his honor was on the line in this battle. He insisted on going his own way, and if he failed, all the responsibility would fall on Zhang Dan.
But Zhang Dan's burden is not this, but the 3,500 disciples under his command.
They came here to fight the Han army because they believed in Zhang Dan. With thousands of lives on their shoulders, who could not be uneasy?
But no matter how anxious Zhang Dan was, he could only wait for the outcome of the war. At this moment, the person who could decide the battle on the front line was former army Sima Guo Liang.
Guo Liang is in the middle of the fifth column. Because his formation is too long, he cannot effectively control the entire 500 troops. There are famous generals on both wings of each column.
Whether they can withstand the attack of the opposing Youzhou Cavalry depends entirely on the ten generals on both wings.
In Guo Liang's field of vision, the Youzhou Assault Cavalry on the opposite side was pressing towards them with a giant front and out of formation.
Guo Liang thought of the last Yu Jin who faced off against the Youzhou Cavalry, and his forehead was dripping with sweat. In the previous battle of Xingyang, Yu Jin and his elite armored soldiers from the left army of the Central Guards suffered heavy losses under the attack of the Youzhou Cavalry.
, Guo Liang had no bottom for a while.
But now that the matter has come to this, Guo Liang has no choice but to fight. They are not afraid of death!
But at this moment, Guo Liang suddenly discovered that the front troops on the opposite side seemed to be in disarray. One of the cavalry troops apparently broke away from the formation and did not continue to advance with the majority of the troops. Instead, they galloped over alone.
How is this going?
…
"What's going on?"
In the sudden cavalry of Youzhou, under the banner of Jingjingjie, the commander-in-chief Cui Jun said angrily.
At this time, Cui Jun wore a straight coat embroidered with a short-tailed bird, a basin collar connected up and down, and a blouse outside the armor, with a short-tailed bird embroidered on the back. Then his helmet was tied with a spade-shaped knot, and his waist was gilded.
He wears a ring-headed sword, holds a fan embroidered with a short-tailed bird, and rides a handsome bay-red horse. The horse is also covered with a coat, and the short-tailed bird is still embroidered on it.
The reason why Cui Jun is covered with short-tailed bird patterns is not because he likes it, but because this pattern is the totem of their Cui family.
Their Cui family is the queen of Emperor Yan, who was the hero who assisted Qi Marquis Jiang Wang. Their ethnic origin is the queen of Dongyi, and the Dongyi Shangniao. This short-tailed bird is the clan totem of their Cui family.
Just looking at Cui Jun's attire, he can live up to the saying that he is a young man from a famous family.
But at this moment, Cui Jun showed no sign of the grace of a nobleman. Instead, he pointed at the Youzhou Cavalry who had just rushed out of the formation and cursed.
He cursed:
"What does Lu Jun do for a living? Does he want to die? How dare he act without orders. Damn it, if we lose this battle because of him, even if he is a member of Lu Shuai's tribe, I will skin him."
Just now, Lu Jun's troops, who were originally deployed on the left wing, charged towards the Taishan Army on the opposite side without notifying the Chinese army.
This move not only destroyed the attack formation that was finally set up, but also made various departments hesitate, not knowing why.
Cui Jun gritted his teeth and said bitterly:
"Lu Jun, you really deserve to die."
So what is going on?
In fact, Lu Jun was also coerced. He could no longer dispatch his troops. These Youzhou disciples all had their own ideas and did not listen to Lu Jun at all.
The middle and lower-level military officials from Dai County were full of disdain for Lu Jun, thinking that this man was a coward.
In several battles, the other units of Youzhou Tuqi were at the forefront, chasing death and chasing north, which was very impressive.
But what about Lu Jun?
He hesitated several times, preferring to let the bandits go rather than lead his brothers to charge forward.
In this battle, the birdman actually let go of an army of thieves once again, allowing them to calmly retreat to the rear and form formation again.
And they, the Daibei warriors, can only watch these moth thieves running past their noses again, shame!
It's not that these Daibei warriors didn't ask for a fight, but every time they were rejected by Lu Junyong's excuse.
At this time, all the soldiers were full of resentment towards the general who prevented them from gaining military exploits and glory.
When they passed Lu Jun's banner, they didn't even know how to dismount, and even hit themselves on the leg with their own swords, showing their disdain for him.
Therefore, Daijun Tuqi's dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction with Lu Jun had already existed.
This kind of sentiment may not be found anywhere else, but among the Northern Tuqi, military exploits are regarded as a matter of life and death.
Why?
Among the series of border counties in Youzhou that are close to the grassland, from west to east, they are Dai County, Shanggu County, Yuyang County, Youbeiping County, and Liaoxi County.
Among all the border counties, Dai County is quite special, that is, it is the home of many exiles, criminal officials and their sons-in-law, and there are many grasslands and wild animals in its territory, so it is very good at martial arts.
An important manifestation of being good at martial arts here is the pursuit of first-level martial arts, because the middle and lower class warriors in this county are generally marginalized people on the edge of the Han Dynasty. Only military merit can change the fate of their families, and they may even have the opportunity to move to inland areas to stay away from the border.
disaster.
Therefore, the Daichi warriors are like a group of prairie wolves. They cannot stand sheep like Lu Jun, let alone be driven away by them.
During this charge, the Daichi warriors decided to be themselves and rely on their own swords to get the military merit they deserved.
Led by four hundred generals, Liu Mu, Song Zhen, Guo Ying, and Jia Xiong, Daijun's sudden cavalry took the lead in launching the charge.
Basically, these people have little training in military affairs, are weak in military service, and are strong in military service. None of them are first-class heroes, otherwise they would not dare to act without orders. Because as long as they win the battle, these are trivial matters.
Therefore, under the leadership of four Daibei warriors, four hundred Daijun's sudden cavalry began to urge their horses to accelerate their sprint.
Liu Mu's hundred-man cavalry formed the first charge front, followed by Song Zhen's hundred-man cavalry who formed the second charge formation. After that came Guo Ying and Jia Xiong in sequence.
They began to accelerate about two miles away from the enemy. According to the charging speed, they would be able to rush to the rebel array in about a quarter of a quarter, and then they would rush to defeat and chase them north.
This set of rules is imprinted in the bones of these Daibei warriors, whether they are fighting the Xianbei people or going south to quell the rebellion.
But unfortunately, they had never come into contact with the Taishan Army before. When the Youzhou Cavalry went south to Xingyang, they were left in the army by Lu Zhi due to military discipline issues on behalf of the North, so they never really fought against the Taishan Army.
If they had fought before, they might have understood what kind of elite Taishan Army they faced?
If they had fought before, they might understand why those robes were so afraid of this army.
But unfortunately, they didn't...
so……
In order to avoid possible enemy arrows, Daijun's cavalry galloped wildly from the beginning.
They greeted each other with the slang of their hometown, unwilling to fall behind others.
At this time, Liu Mu, who was charging at the front, suddenly heard a harsh sound of gold and iron coming from the opposite side, and then noticed that the sky was darkening.
Liu Mu was still thinking, does it get dark so fast in the south? Isn't it still half an hour before dark?
Then there were howls and screams one after another, and those sharp arrows were hitting them like raindrops.
It penetrated the skin and shot down the war horses. In just one breath, half of the people in Liu Mu's column fell to the ground.
Liu Mu himself also had two arrows stuck in his shoulder.
He reluctantly pulled out an arrow and saw that the arrow's head was made of iron and could not be so sharp.
When they were fighting Xianbei in the past, all the arrows they shot were bone arrows. How could it be so painful?
The blood and pain aroused Liu Mu's animal nature. His eyes were blood red, and he roared while holding his horse in his hands. However, an arrow from nowhere penetrated directly into his brain from his left temple.
Afterwards, Liu Mu, the fierce warrior who rode on behalf of the North, fell off his horse like a piece of wood, and his brains flowed all over the ground.
When Liu Mu fell, next to him was Song Zhen in the second formation.
At this time, Song Zhen didn't even notice that the fallen man next to him was Liu Mu. All his attention was on holding up the platoon, controlling the horse and continuing to charge in a straight line.
There were just a few rounds of arrow rain, and at least thousands of arrows were missed from the opposite side.
There were war horses and fallen cavalry everywhere, and the uninjured war horses were also frightened and fled in all directions. Only by concentrating on Song Zhen could he control his mount and continue to move forward.
Because too many people fell down in the first row, many people in Song Zhen's second formation could only go around or slow down, but in this way, each row was separated.
So Song Zhen, who was at the front, rushed forward with a few knights. He didn't know that his subordinates were still a long way away from them.
Seeing the thief army getting bigger and bigger, Song Zhen's anger hit him, causing him to make an unexpected move.
I saw him stabbing his mount, and then the war horse on his hip took him to leap forward. After drawing a graceful curve in the air, he crashed heavily into a large formation full of iron men.
He, Song Zhen, fell into the battle without losing the face of the Daibei warriors.