Chapter five hundred and fiftieth IX unpredictable outcome
"Therefore, those who are good at surprising things are as endless as heaven and earth, and as endless as rivers."
Jizhou, Weijun.
Generals Zhang He and Jiang Qi returned with victory. They all thought that Fan Chou's troops had retreated. Zhang Liao was now a lonely brigade and it would be difficult to maintain a stalemate. The retreat to Hanoi was almost a foregone conclusion. After Zhang Liao retreated, Zhang He might go north to engage Gao Xiang and others.
Attacking Liu Yu or sending surprise troops to the east to support Yuan Shao can greatly affect the direction of the battle.
Jiang Qi was eager to return to his army. He rushed from noon to evening, even passing through counties and towns without entering. He had to rush to Yangping Pavilion to allow his troops to have a meal and rest.
Zhang He also wanted to rush back to Yecheng as soon as possible at first. After all, he was worried. He believed that with Zhang Liao's ability, Liang Qi's suspicious soldiers would not be able to hide it for a long time. To prevent changes, he did not reject Jiang Qi's idea of marching urgently.
.However, when he saw that it was getting late and Jiang Qi was still marching in a hurry regardless of rest, Zhang He finally couldn't help but said: "Why is it so urgent? Even if Liang Qi and other suspected soldiers are exposed and Ye City is strong, how can Zhang Liao's more than 10,000 men
Can you win it?"
"I can't wait any longer." Jiang Qi looked at the horizon covered by dense forests. The purple dusk was reflected in the forest sky, and the circling birds seemed to be returning to their nests, chirping. He smiled bitterly on the horse and said:
"I want to end Wei Jun's war as soon as possible. If we can get to Yangpingting today, we can take advantage of Zhang Liao's unpreparedness tomorrow to attack Zhang Liao and other troops. If we win, not only will Wei Jun be protected, but our army will also be able to directly attack Hanoi and Henan to divert our troops.
With its strength, we can achieve overall success.”
"I have been urged all the way, but unfortunately I still can't make it tonight." Jiang Qi was a little helpless. Many of his subordinates ignored the road at night. If he continued to rush, I was afraid that half of the people on the road would be left behind when they finally reached Yangping Pavilion.
Zhang He wanted to say in his heart that many people were left behind just by rushing the march along the way, let alone marching overnight. Fortunately, Jiang Qi understood the situation clearly and could make timely adjustments if he failed to achieve the set goal. He said, "What if?"
Just repair it in the city. Here in the wilderness, we can only sleep on the spot. It won’t be too late to march again when the weather is almost over tomorrow.”
Jiang Qi did not hear the complaining tone in Zhang He's words, nodded in agreement, and immediately ordered the entire army to stop for repairs. By this time, everyone was already tired from leaving, and the ordinary soldiers began to prepare to light fires for cooking and build simple tents and villages. No.
There was a forest in the distance, with a stream flowing next to it. Under Dub's order, some soldiers of the Yuan Army began to try to enter the forest to cut down trees and hunt.
The birds hovering in the sky finally flew back to the woods, but were startled by this group of uninvited guests again, making similar panicked sounds as before.
Zhang He, who was just about to dismount, was suddenly startled. He looked into the forest with a somewhat vigilant expression, but did not relax because the birds were frightened by his own people.
He vaguely remembered that at Huguan a few years ago, Zhang Liao not only resisted Yuan Shao's tens of thousands of troops with a lone brigade, preventing Yuan Shao from advancing or retreating, but also launched several raids with light cavalry, severely defeating the front army. The timing of the raids was often unclear.
, making Yuan Jun unable to defend himself. If this reflects Zhang Liao's mastery of fighter planes and his talent for light cavalry raids, wouldn't it be like back then?
'call out'.
A sharp arrow suddenly flew out of the forest and penetrated the throat of a soldier who was chopping firewood with a pop.
The shadowy trees in the dark forest suddenly moved together. The straight tree trunks and majestic mounds turned into cavalry, and the crisscrossing branches turned into spears and swords. The scouts who were the first to go deep into the forest were struck by this.
Frightened by the sudden change, they thought it was a forest spirit, but they didn't know that it was the Bingzhou cavalry that had already been hiding here with the help of dusk.
Zhang Liaoyao shot an arrow first, and then there was a loud noise around him. More than two thousand cavalry immediately urged their horses to fight out of the forest. This cavalry was trained by Zhang Liao when he was serving as the guard of the Huns in Bingzhou. Not only the Han people in Bingzhou , and even added a large number of Hun cavalry when wiping out the southern Huns. They rushed out of the forest in an orderly manner, chasing and killing a group of soldiers who entered the forest, aiming directly at the bewildered Zhang He, Jiang Qi and other soldiers. horse.
Jiang Qi first heard a scream in the forest, and then saw the soldiers at the back throwing down the firewood and running back in piss. What followed them and rushed out was a group of cavalry who had been lying in wait for who knows how long!
"Where did this come from? Where is Liang Qi? What happened to Yecheng?" Jiang Qi forgot to be cautious for a moment and muttered to himself in a daze.
"It's Zhang Liao." Although Zhang He didn't know where the other party came from, it didn't stop him from immediately issuing an order: "All cavalry will follow our formation to defend against the enemy, while the infantry will stay behind to set up military formations!"
He handed over all the infantry to Jiang Qi, hoping that he could delay it for a while and allow Jiang Qi to deploy a line of defense in time with the help of carriages. However, the army has not yet set up a stronghold. If it cannot be delayed, it can only wait for an opportunity. , fought and retreated.
Zhang He really did not expect that on the day they conspired to join forces and go south to attack Fan Chou, Zhang Liao and Fazheng, the Huangmen servant who accompanied the army, would notice something was wrong. After all, Liang Qi was not a good general, so he could hide it from Zhang Liao and others.
After the two men calculated their plans in private, they decided to use their tactics. While Fazheng also set up suspicious troops to mislead the enemy, Zhang Liao selected elite cavalry to quickly and slowly catch up behind Zhang He and other troops, preparing to make a sudden attack when Zhang He and Fan Chou were fighting. Knowing that he was still a step too late, Zhang Liao was unwilling to let his tactics fail, so he sent out scouts to monitor the movement and prepared an ambush here in advance. Finally, he waited until Zhang He and other troops were eager to return.
Zhang He only organized more than 800 cavalry formations in the end. After Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan, he obtained a large number of Youzhou cavalry and Wuhuan cavalry, but most of these cavalry were assigned to the main army formation and were defeated in the decisive battle with the emperor. In the end The only cavalry that fell into Zhang He's hands was this less than a thousand men. The cavalry that hurriedly organized to fight were no match for the Bingzhou cavalry who were waiting for work, and their momentum was suppressed as soon as they came into contact.
He did not dare to go head-on, nor did he dare to make tactical detours, exposing Jiang Qi and other infantrymen behind him to the enemy's sight. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and persevere, hoping to engage Zhang Liao in a head-on battle.
The two horses passed each other, Zhang He managed to block Zhang Liao's blow, and his mouth was numb, but the deputy general behind him was knocked off his horse by Zhang Liao, and was trampled to death by the following cavalry.
Zhang He also missed Zhang Liao and attacked a Bingzhou cavalryman with a flat face and flat nose. He slashed the opponent's thick neck horizontally with the knife in his hand. The knife penetrated deep into the bone, but failed to cut off the opponent's head. Instead, it got stuck. In the flesh and blood.
He has Huns under his command!
This was Zhang He's first thought.
The Hun screamed and cried out in pain. He still had courage after half of his neck was cut off. He struck a final blow at Zhang He frantically. Zhang He quickly abandoned his knife to avoid it. At this time, the Hun was completely dead. , swaying on the back of the horse, and finally being knocked off the horse and falling to the ground.
After the initial shock, Zhang He quickly realized that even among the cavalry under Yuan Shao's tent there were many Wuwan and Wuhuan people. The imperial court had opened up Guanxi in recent years, and there were Huns in the army, so the Qiang people were nothing. Something strange? He conveniently took a spear from the hands of the soldiers on the side, turned around and looked back, only to see Zhang Liao and him each killing one person and then stopped moving, confronting each other.
The other party's eyes were so familiar that Zhang He thought in his mind that the two of them also met in the formation at the foot of Huguan, but that time Zhang He successfully resisted the other party. Is the situation about to be reversed now?
The cavalry under Zhang Liao's command were stronger than he had imagined, but the cavalry he led did not fight as hard as he had expected. After all, it was not long after he first took charge of the Youzhou cavalry, and it was not as good as Zhang Liao's years of careful tempering.
The two armies and horses, which were vastly different in number, began to fight in a stalemate. After all, Zhang Liao's troops had the numerical advantage. The cavalry attacked and encircled Zhang He. Zhang He was undoubtedly going to become the turtle in the urn. Seeing that he was getting deeper and deeper into the enemy's formation, and the chance of breaking out was getting smaller and smaller, Zhang He made another attempt.
Regardless of whether Jiang Qi organized a resistance at the rear, he led the remaining soldiers to retreat to the weak point.
On Jiang Qi's side, he used the time bought by Zhang He to resist in front and hurriedly organized a line of defense. However, Zhang Liao did not put all his efforts on Zhang He. He relied on the strength of his troops and horses and was unexpected, leaving some cavalry behind.
After besieging Zhang He, he immediately led the remaining thousand cavalry to attack Jiang Qi's infantry array.
kill!
Compared with killing generals, defeating the enemy is what Zhang Liao needs to do most at the moment.
Even if his cavalry crashed into Jiang Qi's hastily assembled military formation at high speed, and the opponent's infantry was smashed into chunks like tofu, it still could not change the fierce fighting spirit in Zhang Liao's eyes.
After Zhang He was defeated and fled, nearly two thousand Bingzhou cavalry united into one unit and used their own unique fighting methods to invade Jiang Qi's army. In the form of division and encirclement, they fearlessly charged and killed thousands of infantry in front of them.
In addition to the more than 10,000 soldiers and horses under Jiang Qi's march south, there were also thousands of soldiers under Fan Chou's command. However, they were killed by the opponent's two thousand fine cavalry and were almost defeated. They could only resist under the leadership of their respective generals, trying to
The numerical advantage gradually weakened the momentum of the opponent's cavalry.
His initial plan was good, but Jiang Qi's command of the troops was not as good as Zhang He's. Before long, the vanguard was routed by Zhang Liao and other cavalry. Jiang Qi rushed to the rescue, but suddenly there was a loud noise behind him. Immediately there was a kiss.
The soldiers came over to report, saying that the surrendered soldiers captured from Fan Chou saw that the situation was not right, and immediately rebelled and responded.
Jiang Qi was surrounded by enemies from both sides, and his troops could not defend themselves against the cavalry by means of deer villages and other structures. Moreover, they did not get a good rest after traveling a long distance, so they could not exert their combat power. He had to make a wise choice to retreat and fled south in a hurry with Zhang He who came to support him.
Zhang Liao led his troops in pursuit for a while. The plains were broken and scattered, and mourners filled the fields. Less than twenty-three people fled with Zhang He, Jiang Qi and others. It was getting late at this time and there was no moon. Zhang Liao was worried about the danger of pursuing in the dark night, so he met the enemy.
He gave up and quickly left the battlefield with the remaining cavalry and the surrender troops of Fan Chou's tribe.
Through the dictation of Fan Chou's surrendered troops, Zhang Liao learned about the causes and consequences of Fan Chou's defeat, and he couldn't help but feel deeply regretful. After returning to the camp, he told Fazheng and others about the incident, and everyone also felt regretful.
Zhuge Xuan, the prefect of Hanoi who happened to organize a group of troops to station troops and transport food and grass to the people, was particularly emotional when he heard the news. The offensive that had planned for the two armies to attack together was shattered. He believed that even if they defeated Zhang He and other troops for a while, there was no guarantee that they would not collect the defeated troops.
After making a comeback, the troops and horses in Yecheng were now far superior to his own. Zhuge Xuan felt deeply that he could not fight alone, so he discussed with Fazheng and others: "There are now nearly 20,000 troops and horses inside and outside Yecheng, and our army only has more than 10,000. Even a small victory is not enough to determine the victory."
For the overall situation, in my opinion, it is better to retreat to the south first. Waiting for the report to be submitted, whether to increase the number of troops or to hold on will depend on the imperial edict."
He came up with this idea out of caution, but in the eyes of Zhang Liao and Fazheng, it was still too conservative. They were unwilling to retreat so easily. Fazheng said: "Since General Yangwei was defeated, our army will retreat easily."
No, once we retreat, the side of the imperial court will be lost. If the soldiers and horses of Yecheng attack Liaocheng lightly, or if they attack Liu Gong from the north, the situation will be ruined. The current plan is to hold on here, as long as General Zhang
If we lead the troops here, Yuan Shang, Zhang He and others will not easily go out of the city to provide reinforcements. If we stay here for one more day, the imperial court will have one more chance of victory."
Zhang Liao agreed with Fazheng's opinion. He said: "This is the truth. Our army just arrived yesterday. This morning Zhang He, Jiang Qi and other soldiers and horses have followed closely. I looked at their military appearance and found that although their soldiers and horses were damaged, they were still intact."
There were a few new flags, and I think they met reinforcements on the road. I just sent someone to catch the scouts, and they replied that it was Yuan Shao who sent Chunyu Qiong to lead his troops to Ye... Yuan Shao fought against the country, and they were still able to divide their troops, which shows that the rest
force."
Zhuge Xuan didn't understand military affairs, so he just made the suggestion to retreat out of caution. He didn't ask to retreat all the way to Hanoi, but suggested to retreat to the counties south of Yecheng. Unexpectedly, Zhang Liao and Fa Zheng both said in unison.
He refused, and he smiled awkwardly. The two people in front of him were the emperor's cronies, and he couldn't afford to offend any of them.
Anyway, he made the suggestion, and they were the ones who made the decision. Whatever happened in the end cannot be blamed on him. As for the subsequent victory in the battle, it cannot be said that Zhuge Xuan did nothing in this battle. He always had a share.
Take advantage. Zhuge Xuan was a scholar with strong bureaucratic habits. Adhering to the principle of being measured and not offending, he immediately agreed to the decision of Zhang Liao and others.
"In this case, we all rely on General Zhang and Fa Shilang for the formation of the march." Zhuge Xuan used words without leaving any trace to position himself a little higher: "I will prepare and coordinate the food, grass and baggage required during this period in Hanoi.
, there will never be any mistakes.”
Zhang Liao didn't seem to understand what he meant, so he thanked him solemnly, and then discussed with Fazheng: "I heard from the captured scouts that Chunyu Qiong only brought 2,000 troops. He was ordered by Yuan Shao to take over the military power of Jufa. I think, here
Can the head make a fuss?"
"The military power of Ju has been lost. Although we have a letter from General Ju Lang urging him to surrender, we cannot write this article for the time being." Fazheng narrowed his eyes and walked unconsciously in the camp: "Do you know why Yuan Shao wanted to do this?
To seize his military power? Changing generals on the spot is a taboo."
Zhang Liao shook his head. He couldn't get much useful information from a scout. It was only a public statement that Yuan Shao asked Chunyu Qiong to take over Jusu's military power. The inside story was not easy to find out.
Fazheng also knew how difficult it was to collect information. He had just asked casually, and now he continued: "Yuan Shao has not believed in Jushu for a long time. Although Jushu is the military commander, Wei County has never been under his control. Not only Yuan Shang, but also
The judges and matchmakers all did their own thing. Now Chunyu Qiong is here again, and he has lost his power even more. He wants to surrender but cannot, so we have to find another way."