That night, Zhao Fubi fell, and Gao Lan led his cavalry to break out alone.
Why did Gao Lan make this move?
Because in the daytime battle, he never found the enemy cavalry that faced him that day. At that time, Gao Lan wondered whether the reinforcements mentioned by the prefect Guo Dian had already arrived nearby, and those Taishan cavalry had been deployed.
Went there to snipe the reinforcements.
After Gao Lan made this judgment, he decided to break out.
Of course he knew that after his breakthrough, he would definitely not be able to stay in the Julu Army. But Gao Lan believed that with his 500 cavalry troops, they would be useful wherever they went.
After choosing the direction to break out, Gao Lan also very cunningly chose the southwest corner, because the northeast direction is the direction of the Han army's reinforcements. Their arrival will inevitably attract the strength and attention of the Taishan Army, so the southwest corner in the opposite direction is naturally weak.
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As for killing Xiao Guo? In fact, Gao Lan didn't want to kill him. After all, Guo Dian treated him well, but who asked Xiao Guo to rush to death? What could he do? He could only send him away!
Gao Lan's judgment was correct. As he broke through to the southwest, except for a few thieves and crossbowmen at the sentry posts in the barrier who discovered them, no one else came to intercept them, but they actually allowed them to break out.
So what exactly are the mobile forces of the Taishan Army doing?
Yes, they were indeed dispatched to the northeast by Zhang Chong, where reinforcements from the Han army arrived.
…
When Zang Min received Guo Dian's letter asking for help, what could he do?
He wanted to tell Guo Dian that Jushu of Xiang State was an abandoned son, and you, Guo Dian, who went to save Jushu were just giving away!
Zang Min himself has been fighting for a long time, so he doesn't know Lu Zhi's plan. Lu Zhi's arrangement did not give much thought to guarding the northern part of Zhao State.
But it was too late for Zang Min to remind Guo Dian. By the time he received the letter, Guo Dian had already sent troops south.
This Guo Dian really fought against the Hebei Yellow Turbans too many times, and really regarded the Taishan Army as such. In the Battle of Jize launched by Lu Zhi before, Zang Min also sent 2,000 soldiers south to help the army. Although there are
Half of them are new soldiers, but there are still thousands of soldiers who were trained carefully by Guo Dian.
But wasn't it still defeated by a partial army of the Taishan Army?
Hey, now that my beloved son is in Guo Dian's army, do you think I can save him? Forget it, just think this is my last battle.
This is good, let the younger generations see that I am just old, but not bad!
Therefore, after receiving Guo Dian's letter at the end of February, Zang Min, the Prime Minister of Zhongshan, mobilized all the domestic troops. In addition to the four most elite battalions and 2,000 armored soldiers he had organized and trained, there were also 800 Wuhuan cavalry.
The four major families in the country, the Liu family, the Zhen family, the Zhang family, and the Ren family, had a total of 2,000 soldiers. After that, Zang Min transferred 800 Guan troops from Changshan Pass, as well as the beacon and fire post soldiers on the front line of the Great Wall in the north.
Another two thousand were collected.
This time Zang Min really wiped out the enemy and turned into an army. He mobilized all the armed forces within the country that could be mobilized, and also mobilized those that could not be mobilized.
For example, the guards at Changshan Pass cannot be mobilized, because it is the most important pass to prevent Hu Qi from Youzhou from marching south to Jizhou. In fact, it does not belong to the establishment of Zhongshan State, and Zang Min cannot mobilize it.
But this time, in order to save his beloved son, Zang Min directly captured the soldiers at Changshan Pass and reorganized them into the army. In this way, after gathering 8,000 soldiers, the Zhongshan Kingdom's military force could be said to be exhausted.
Obviously Zang Min placed all his bets on this one.
As for the Zhongshan Kingdom having no available troops in the future? Zang Min would have died long ago, so what does it have to do with him?
Is there no wealthy family in Zhongshan who could see Zang Min's thoughts? That's really not the case. On that day, Zang Min and Guo Dian exchanged nephews, which was a very private matter, and outsiders had no way of knowing. Therefore, all the wealthy families thought that Zang Min was taking advantage of the overall war situation.
Set out to go south to aid Julu.
Although the wealthy families care about the local families and regard them as their top priority, they are helpless when a powerful county guard acts with some kind of justice. After all, there are many wealthy families in Zhongshan State, but they are leaderless. How can they have the overall will and merits?
The illustrious Zang Min contends?
With such a big bet this time, Zang Min will naturally lead his troops to the battlefield in person. All the powerful people in the country know what kind of condition Zang Min is in. It can be said that no matter whether he wins or loses this time south, Zang Min will most likely die on the battlefield.
Up.
Zang Min also knew this, so before setting off for the expedition, he had a coffin prepared for the warriors to carry with him.
In short, he will die on the way to the expedition this time.
It was precisely because of Zang Min's "loyalty" that all the wealthy families destroyed their families and found it difficult to support his soldiers. After all, no matter how despicable and selfish a person is, they still yearn for nobility. Of course, this nobility still belongs to others.
Those who hold salaries for everyone should not be allowed to freeze to death in the wind and snow? That is impossible. It should be said that they can freeze to death, but they must be praised, otherwise there will be no next "noble" person to hold salaries for everyone.
However, one thing is that Zang Min is still aware of his physical condition. Just following the army will kill him, let alone leading the army to fight.
Therefore, he promoted his adopted son Zang Yi as the false commander, commanding and dispatching the eight thousand soldiers of the Zhongshan Kingdom.
The border army general was influenced by Hu Feng and was good at raising false children. Zang Min had been at the border for a long time, so he naturally raised a group of false children to help him control the army. These people were either adopted from his family or were lonely in the clan, but these people were all
Zang Min doesn't take them seriously because they are adopted to protect their parents and children.
But Zang Yi is different. Zang Min really treats him as his biological son. But even if he is a biological son, there are still differences between elder and younger.
If the other adopted sons of the Zang family can be regarded as slaves, then Zang Yi can be regarded as the great steward, but Zang Hong is the slave owner. This is the difference between top and bottom, inside and outside.
Among the hundreds of Zang family members, Zang Yi's influence and ability are among the best. Even though Zang Min is now an eunuch living in Zhongshan, there are hundreds of people who followed him to Zhongshan.
The population and status of a family in this world are two aspects of the same thing. Let's put it this way, the people who gather the family are not local powerful people, but the families of officials. As for the small people in Guizhou who usually work hard, their households only have five or six people. Once there are more
, you will be evicted.
As a traveling official, Zang Min also had the responsibility to support his family. So even if he came to Zhongshan Kingdom, his whole family still came.
As a leader among so many people, Zang Yi has naturally accomplished several great things.
Once, he fought under Zang Min to quell the rebellion in Kuaiji, and he rose to prominence due to his outstanding performance. In the following ten years, he gradually climbed up the ranks in Zang Min's camp, with outstanding military exploits. Every time he was injured, it was because he was in front of the charge.
Therefore, he is very popular with scholars. Therefore, even though this person is strict and harsh, he is still very prestigious in the military.
His second major event was during the Northern Expedition a few years ago, when he protected Zang Min from the grasslands and returned to the Han Dynasty. Moreover, the direction in which he returned was unusual. He charged towards the heart of the Xianbei people. It can be said that the generals
After retreating, Zang Yi stepped forward alone.
After this battle, even though the Han army was defeated, Zang Yi also gained the reputation of "Zang Dubei" among the border troops.
But this time, Zang Min will rely on Zang Dubei's prestige to lead the army south to save his own son.
…
On March 6, the army of the Zhongshan Kingdom gathered on the north bank of the Hutuo River. After joining the 2,000 northern beacon soldiers who came from the farthest distance, the army of 8,000 and the force of 10,000 people crossed the Hutuo River and headed south to Julu.
The journey from Hutuoshui to Julu is about 200 miles, and then the diversion from Julu to Handan is about 150 miles.
This 300-mile journey can be reached in about two days if the cavalry runs at full speed, but it will take ten days to move the army. However, this is a theoretical speed. There are many rivers along the way, and it will take a lot of time for the army to cross.
.
Therefore, the Zhongshan Kingdom's army continued southward until it reached the outside of Julu City on March 16. After replenishing a batch of military supplies, Zang Min also obtained the latest information on the war in Zhao.
We know that the Julu Army has now besieged Handan, and we also know that the Taishan Army's troops have reached the front line of the Bai people. As for Xiang State, it has long been surrounded by the Taishan Army.
So Zang Min did not delay any longer, even though he was already feeling a little unwell, he still urged the whole army to march faster. Because he expected that after the Taishan Army completed its sweep in the northern part of Zhao's land, they would definitely make a tentative interception in the direction of Julu.
But on this day this year, it was strangely severe. It was only March and April, but it was already extremely hot. The Zhongshan Army was all northerners, and the Xianbei Wuhuan Huqi further north were not able to withstand the heat.
Under such circumstances, he couldn't walk much during the day. So Zang Min decided to rest during the day and drive at night.
The main force of eight thousand Zhongshan Kingdom was divided into sixteen battalions and marched on the straight road from Julu to Handan. The sergeants stepped on the hardened road in a dull manner, and behind them were the army servants pushing the carts. Only the Huqi
The war horses snorted wantonly.
Night marching is very dangerous for any army. Without necessary reasons, no general will easily attempt such a risky behavior.
In the dark night, not only are the roads unclear, but the direction cannot be identified. Even any noise in the dark night will stimulate the nervous spirit of the Zhongshan soldiers.
Abnormal noises from time to time, as well as some giant trees falling on the side of the road, would force the army to stop and repeatedly check and confirm. Although this kind of caution is a necessary style of a good army, it ultimately made the army exhausted.
Tired and frightened, it was natural that from time to time a sergeant would fall behind in the dark and try to run back to his hometown. Therefore, Zang Min knew without any calculation that the attrition of the troops at this time would be severe.
Since marching in the dark is so dangerous, why does Zang Min do it? Is it really him, Lao Hutu?
no!
There are many disadvantages to marching in the dark, but he has the temptation to make a final decision. The dark night gives the army a protective color, allowing the Zhongshan National Army to lurk near the Taishan Army, and then take advantage of the dawn to attack the entire Taishan Army.
Under normal circumstances, a battle at dawn can directly determine the outcome of the war.
Now, after another ten days of marching, on March 26, they finally arrived less than twenty miles away from Handan.
So far, the Taishan Army has not been able to find any trace of them, which is undoubtedly good news.
It was just dark that night, and the troops of the Zhongshan Kingdom marched for another hour, passing through a wide grassland. The aroma of the green grass mixed with the soil, coupled with the fishy smell of the army, lingered in the minds of the Zhongshan soldiers.
That's all the smell memory of that night.
The sun still sets slowly according to the scheduled time, and the huge temperature difference between day and night forms a layer of white mist on this boundless grassland, making the night even more profound and mysterious.
The Zhongshan soldiers continued to advance through the mist, and then stopped at an unknown stream. They were now less than six miles away from Handan City and could no longer go forward.
If you go further, you will encounter the sentries of the Taishan Army, and then the whereabouts of the Zhongshan National Soldiers will be exposed.
At this time, the Chinese Army no longer used flags and drums to convey orders to various ministries, but were all delivered one by one by the soldiers. The Chinese Army has just issued the latest military order to the commanders of the sixteen battalions:
"The entire army will rest for two hours."
As a result, the tired sergeants either sat on the ground and took a nap, or chewed the dry biscuits handed out, and some went to the stream to fill up with water.
These are veterans. They know that after going to the battlefield, a mouthful of water can often be life-threatening.
After each camp set up sentries to keep vigil, they began to rest one after another. Two hours was enough for everyone to regain their energy.
…
The moonlight was bright, shining on this grassland, and it was quiet.
The Zhongshan soldiers have fallen asleep.
But what they didn't know was that in the wilderness four miles away from them, there was a place that was brighter than the moonlight.
It was the coldness of countless swords and spears, and the cold light of armor everywhere.
At this time, in this wilderness, Zhang Chong personally led a total of seven battalions: "Flying Leopard", "Flying Elephant", "Flying Bear", "Tianwei", "Tianxiong", "Tianwu" and "Tiande"
Three thousand five hundred elite assault cavalrymen just stopped here with their heads in their mouths and horses in their mouths.
When Zhang Chong appeared here with the assault cavalry group, it meant that the Zhongshan National Army's action had failed, and they had long been exposed to the eyes of the Taishan Army.
That's right, not long after the Zhongshan soldiers passed through Julu and headed south, Li Hu led the flying dragon cavalry to cruise near Julu.
How could the Zhongshan Kingdom's march of nearly 20,000 people be concealed? There were ruts and excrement along the way, not to mention that the fleeing troops who had fallen behind along the way were intercepted by Li Hu.
From these people, Li Hu mastered all the information about the Zhongshan soldiers. After that, he ordered Mao Shao and Yue Jin to lead 20 cavalry and 40 horses to Handan at full speed to give this important information to Zhang.
rush.
So, there was this scene before us.
At this time, Zhang Chong was wearing his special mirror armor, which was shining and reflecting in the moonlight, as if it were a crown placed on the heads of the entire army.
The commander of the Flying Leopard Army, Xi Shen, asked for instructions in a low voice:
"Qu Shuai, should we attack now?"
Xi Shen has been cautious in his words and deeds since he was transferred to the Flying Leopard Army. Apparently he has learned from Du Man that his previous private agreement with the Han army in Jiyin County was a taboo.
To be honest, he really didn't know that the commander-in-chief could command the troops, but this diplomacy could not be done independently. After being reminded by Du Man, he became panicked. But later he found that Commander Qu seemed to have nothing to do with him, and he felt relieved.
One breath.
But after all, there is a burden in his heart, so Xi Shen is eager to fight at this moment.
Zhang Chong kept looking at the moon in the sky. When Xi Shen asked, he smiled:
"There's no rush. The enemy is just sleeping now. Let them sleep a little longer. After all, they have been traveling for so long. Let them rest more."
After finishing speaking, Zhang Chong also said to Xi Shen:
"A Shen, do you think the moon is beautiful today? I just don't like the color. It looks like a blood moon!"