Zhang Chong took 12,000 horse infantry, not counting the sheep, and it took him three days to finally reach a large river flowing from north to south.
It is Daliao River.
The Daliao River comes from the Baiping Mountain outside the Great Wall, then flows from north to south along the western foot of the Changbai Mountains through Gaoxian (Tieling), then turns westward and turns southward in the Xinmin area, then passes through Wangping, Liaoyang, and then
It merges into the 200-mile-wide Liaoze River and finally enters the sea.
When Zhang Chong's army arrived here, they were very lucky, because in July, there was heavy rain here and the water in Daliao surged.
It has been raining for more than a month, and the water in Daliao has risen by more than several feet.
If Zhang Chong had come earlier, the place would have been flooded long ago, and there would be no place to camp, let alone crossing the river.
Now, as the heavy rain ends, Daliao water gradually flows into Liaoze in the south, and the water level has returned to normal.
But having said that, the wetness left by the receding river water still caused trouble for the entire army to cross the river.
…
Among the group of sudden riders, young Guan Ping was curiously watching the craftsman battalion in front of him laying the pontoon bridge.
There was a clear sense of stupidity in his eyes.
Guan Ping carefully looked at the Daliao River flowing down from the north, looked at the wide river surface, and sighed:
"I always thought that it was bitter cold outside the Great Wall and there were no good mountains or rivers. But from the looks of it, the water is wider than the Wenshui River."
Taishi Ci beside him rolled his eyes and mocked:
"You need to walk more. Although Liaodong is far away from the Central Plains, it is still a paradise. Otherwise, why would we Donglai people be willing to come to Liaodong?"
After listening to Tai Shici's words, Guan Ping remembered:
"Brother, didn't you avoid living in Liaodong before? Tell me about your experience in Liaodong."
Taishi Ci took a breath and refused to talk to Guan Ping.
After all, he, Tai Shici, also wanted to save face. Could it be that he told his little brother that when he came to Liaodong, he became a bandit? In the end, he was arrested and made a slave of the Li family?
It's hard to say this.
However, when Taishi Ci saw the long Liao River, he still recalled it.
Here, it's not far from the mountains where I gather with my brothers.
Perhaps it was a coincidence that the place where Taishi Ci dropped grass would have a name in the future. It was called Hetuala.
At this moment, the master craftsmen of the craftsman camp are constantly planning the path and determining the location to build the pontoon bridge.
Soon, all the army's heavy supplies and auxiliary troops began to lay soil for the bridge and began to build fortifications.
During this process, half of these engineers were buried underwater, stripped naked, and worked in the biting cold water.
However, as the main force led by Zhang Chong personally, the supplies of the North Route Army were relatively sufficient.
After working until the afternoon, three pontoon bridges appeared on the Liao River, and these engineers were able to go ashore to rest, put on clean clothes, and keep warm.
In this way, not a single soldier was seen on the other side, and the 12,000 soldiers of Taishan Army's Northern Liao Army crossed the Liao River.
At this time, Wang Ze, who had been deep in thought on the way to attack Xuantu County, couldn't help but ask Zhang Chong:
"King Zhang, not only are your soldiers very resilient, they can drive hundreds of miles without changing their colors. Even the auxiliary soldiers can work in cold water. It's really not easy."
Zhang Chong laughed loudly, pointed at the running people and horses like a dragon, and said proudly:
"These are my brothers! I treat them like brothers, and they consider me my brothers."
Hearing this, Wang Ze had a complex expression.
He understood why the Han Dynasty was defeated so miserably in Hebei.
…
The Han army in Xuantu County finally discovered this group of soldiers and horses crossing the Liao River.
At this time, in Xuantu County City, a cavalry general was reporting urgently to Ji Gao, the prefect of Xuantu:
"Master Fu, an enemy army has appeared from the northwest. Judging from the flags and uniforms, it should be the Taishan Army. The sentry cavalry found that this army should have tens of thousands of people, with half of them on horseback and half on foot, and they are heading towards the county town."
In the prefect's mansion, all the well-dressed people were shocked when they heard this sentence.
They were talking about it, and they all couldn't understand. Isn't the Taishan Army to the west of Liaoze? Why did such a force suddenly appear here in Xuantu?
Just when everyone in uniform was in a panic, the man at the head, a heroic general wearing a jade forehead belt and a warrior bun, slapped the table:
"Just be quiet, why are you panicking? The sky hasn't fallen yet?"
The person who said this was none other than Ji Gao, the prefect of Xuantu.
However, this prefect was not granted the title by the Han Dynasty, but by Gongsun Du, who claimed to be the governor of Pingzhou.
But this does not mean that Ji Gao is an unknown person, on the contrary, he is Xuan Tu's powerful sect.
His ancestor was a military meritorious lord conferred by the Emperor Gaozu of the former Han Dynasty, ranked 66, and was named Xiangping Marquis. However, this title was taken away long ago, and now he is just a wealthy family in Xuantu City.
But such a wealthy family is the largest powerful faction in the city. Because Ji Gao is a man from all over the world, he has recruited countless wandering warriors from Su Shen, Fuyu, and Goguryeo, including two hundred armored soldiers.
It was precisely with this kind of strength that he was able to capture Xuantu City and become the prefect.
At this moment, following Ji Gao's angry rebuke, the armored warriors surrounding him put their swords on the ground and knocked on the wooden board.
As these warriors knocked, the hall gradually became quiet.
Everyone looked at Ji Gao, wanting to hear what he could do.
Ji Gao frowned and thought silently.
If they had followed their usual tactics, they would have led the Han knights out of the city to attack by now. This was also the way the Han army had been targeting the wild tribes in Sushen and Fuyu.
These wild tribes often invaded border counties, often just for plunder, so they fled as soon as they encountered the Han cavalry.
But the situation now is definitely different from the past.
Needless to say, the combat power of the Taishan Army was not only confirmed by the words of the Han army who retreated from Zhongren Pavilion, but also confirmed by reality.
Otherwise, a Taishan army will appear in the northwest now.
Thinking of what Gongsun Du said about the military discipline, combat power, and equipment of the Taishan Army, Ji Gao became even more worried.
Originally, Gongsun Du and other people who fled east did not want to provoke the Taishan Army at all. But as Cao Cao in Qingzhou continued to communicate across the sea, both sides became more and more aware of the reality.
That is, in two or three years, with the steady development of the Taishan Army, these Hebei remnants who have taken refuge in Liaodong will have no power to fight back.
When the time comes, where can they retreat to?
Therefore, Gongsun Du agreed to an alliance with Cao Cao, and both sides harassed and exhausted Taishan's army.
But no one expected that the Taishan Army would be so decisive and directly send troops to conquer Liao. It was like just scolding the opponent, and the opponent would risk their lives regardless of themselves.
At this moment, the Liaodong soldiers were in such a state of astonishment.
It was this consternation that led them to adopt a more conservative strategy, which was to completely abandon the Liaodong vassal state to the west of Liaoze, and then build beacons, border walls, and camps with Liaoze as the boundary.
But now, the Taishan Army has appeared from the northwest, which shows that this strategy has officially been broken.
So, where does the future go for Liaodong?
Just as he was thinking about his merits, Pu Tai suddenly asked the knight below:
"You said the Taishan Army is on the other side? Or is it coming from the northwest?"
The knight nodded.
After confirming this situation, Pu Tai turned to Ji Gao and said:
"Master Fu, this battle is easy!"
Ji Gao asked why.
Park Tae-shin said:
"There is the Daliao River in the northwest. Although the water has receded a few days ago, the two sides are wet and difficult to walk on. Even if the troops and horses come over, how can the baggage be passed? So these Taishan troops must have left the baggage on the west bank of the Daliao River. , he came with his own army and wanted to attack the city."
Seeing Ji Gao's surprise, Pu Tai said:
"So our army only needs to defend the city tightly, strengthen the walls and clear the fields, and the thieves will be defeated if they don't attack."
Ji Gao said nothing.
But another general under him, Gao Zhi, who was also a Goguryeo, objected:
"Meritor, this is all your own conjecture. What if it's wrong?"
Gao Zhi belongs to the Goguryeo sect, and Pu Tae belongs to the Sushen sect. Although they have been naturalized for many years, they still do not deal with them.
Hearing Gao Zhi jump out, Pu Tai smiled contemptuously and pointed outside:
"Gao Jun is also from the north. Has he forgotten what the next ten days will be?"
Following Pu Tai's words, Gao Zhi fell silent. At the same time, everyone including Ji Gao let go of their nervousness and laughed heartily.
Finally, Ji Gao said even more boldly:
"It's a good thing that the Taishan Army has come. This time we won't be able to give them back until we give up our horses."
As for Ji Gao's words, not one person present objected to it.
It can be seen that a crisis unknown to Zhang Chong and others is coming quietly.
Zhang Chong and others knew nothing about this.
…
The road from Daliao River to Xuantu City is a hundred miles.
The army of the North Route passed through this plain, and all they saw along the way were fertile fields. It was obviously time to harvest.
Seeing this, Tian Feng was overjoyed:
"Your Majesty, with these millet fields, we can have no worries about the supply of the army behind us."
Zhang Chong nodded and looked at the army behind him.
At this time, in the plain wilderness, various conch trumpets and horns were blowing, and various flags were flying. This was a quite large army, running along the wilderness.
Because the Taishan Army captured a large number of horses in Liucheng, they had enough foot power for this eastward expedition.
When they were west of Daliao River, they saved their horsepower just for this moment.
In fact, such a large-scale march cannot cover it up. As reported earlier, several groups of enemy sentries have been killed.
During this process, the former army also broke through several Han army dock walls. In short, they conquered everything they passed.
And Zhang Chong didn't care that the Taishan Army's whereabouts were exposed.
Because the enemy army must not have expected that the Taishan Army would march so fast, and this was Zhang Chong's chance of victory.
At this time, several riders came running towards them, led by none other than Xu Huang.
As soon as Xu Huang arrived, he said to Zhang Chong:
"Your Majesty, our army defeated another Han cavalry in front. They were burning millet fields at that time."
Tian Feng subconsciously said:
"The enemy is on a strong wall and in a clear field?"
Xu Huang nodded and suggested to Zhang Chong:
"Your Majesty, our army lost part of its baggage when it crossed the Great Liao Ze. If the enemy forces burn down the millet fields in the wild, it will be even more difficult for our army to supply. I would like to ask your Majesty for permission to lead my troops to expel these rangers.
"
Zhang Chong said with a smile:
"No, let's go straight to Xuantu City. We must not let them react."
"Here."
In the next two days, the march will be mapped out, and then Zhang Chong's route to conquer Liao will be clear.