Chapter 338: A crooked attack and a shift in focus
Twenty-five thousand Yanmen cavalry, under the command of Qin Hao, decisively bypassed Kaifeng and went straight to Chenliu in the east.
Qin Hao ordered Yue Fei to lead five thousand elite cavalry as a vanguard to clear the way. There were several counties with few garrison troops along the way, but Yue Fei easily defeated them and turned them into food and grass supply areas for the Yanmen cavalry.
Lu Bu's army in Kaifeng was shocked after receiving Qin Hao's order to abandon the battle plan and lead the army to Chenliu.
Liu Bei and Yu Juluo raised objections on the spot and firmly opposed going to Chenliu, but they were forcibly suppressed by the general Lu Bu.
Although Lu Bu also felt that Qin Hao's move was too dangerous, he finally decided to believe in Qin Hao in order to repay Qin Hao's trust in him.
Under the command of Lu Bu, the 20,000 Han cavalry coalition did not engage in a decisive battle with Huang Chao as planned. Instead, they withdrew in time and headed straight for Chenliu.
……
Kaifeng, Huangchao Camp.
"What, Lu Bu did not go into ambush and persuade, but led the army to Chenliu?"
After getting the news, Huang Chao subconsciously raised his voice.
Qin Hao's guess was correct. What was waiting for him here in Kaifeng was not a hundred thousand troops, but an ambush circle composed of thirty troops. Once Qin Hao really led the army and stepped in, it would definitely be a narrow escape.
The Yellow Turbans' current battle plan mainly focuses on Xiang Yu. For this reason, Zhang Jiao did not hesitate to gather all the elites of the army into Xiang Yu's army.
Even Zhu Wen, Huang Chao's subordinate, was temporarily transferred to Xiang Yu's command. It can be seen that the plan is very big and cannot be satisfied by just Meng Jinguan. There must be follow-up plans.
Huang Chao's mission this time is mainly to assist Xiang Yu, contain the Han cavalry, and prevent Xiang Yu from being retaken by the Han cavalry at Mengjing Pass when his foothold is not stable.
The difficulty of the task is not too high for Huang Chao, and Huang Chao naturally has more than this appetite.
In the previous surprise attack on Hulao Pass, Huang Chao severely attacked Xiang Yu, but even though he took his anger out, it aroused Zhang Jiao's dissatisfaction.
How could Zhang Jiao, who controlled the Taiping Guards, not know about Huang Chao's little move? Although Zhang Jiao didn't say it, he was extremely disappointed with Huang Chao in his heart.
After that, Zhang Jiao carried out a series of suppression on Huang Chao, rising up and down secretly, etc., which made Huang Chao panic.
Huang Chao didn't think it was his fault that he had tricked Xiang Yu before. After all, Xiang Yu had planned to plot against him. Huang Chao was just fighting back, but who knew it was self-defeating and aroused Zhang Jiao's strong resentment.
One mistake made all the previous efforts in vain, which made Huang Chao extremely angry.
Huang Chao was neither Zhang Jiao's disciple nor the Zhang family's son-in-law. The reason why he was chosen as the successor by Zhang Jiao was because of his merits.
Huang Chao drafted the Yellow Turban army program, strategic plans, etc. It is precisely because of these contributions that Huang Chao was favored by Zhang Jiao and stood above all other commanders.
However, in the previous battle at Yanzhou, Huang Chao was defeated by Lu Zhi and Cao Cao, and his prestige was no longer what it used to be. Now, Zhang Jiaodu was even more dissatisfied, which made Huang Chao's life extremely difficult in the future.
Huang Chao knew that he could no longer remain silent. Qin Hao's 50,000 cavalry could help him get out of trouble.
Zhang Jiao's order to Huang Chao was just to hold back the Han cavalry. After all, the combat power of the Han cavalry was obvious to all. Even if the Yellow Turbans really wanted to wipe out all of them, the casualties would probably not be small at this time.
However, in Huang Chao's eyes, as long as he is commanded properly, he can definitely wipe out all 50,000 Han cavalry with minimal losses.
The contribution of wiping out 50,000 Han cavalry is no less than wiping out 200,000 Han troops. Although it is still not comparable to Xiang Yu's plan, at least it has narrowed the gap.
If Xiang Yu completes that plan and Huang Chao does nothing, he will never have another chance.
Huang Chao pledged his life to Zhang Jiao and finally got permission to mobilize troops.
In order to ensure that Qin Hao's 50,000 cavalry could be completely annihilated, Huang Chao mobilized all the 200,000 troops around Chen Liu and set up an ambush circle with a total of 300,000 troops.
Huang Chao was gambling with his future, betting that he could win this battle, but he never expected that Qin Hao would act so unreasonably.
He organized a feast for an army of 300,000 men, but when the war started, Qin Hao actually led the army and ran away, and even went to Chenliu.
Chenliu is not only the headquarters of the Yellow Turbans, but also one of the largest grain depots. Once it is breached by Qin Hao, the consequences will be disastrous.
Logically speaking, such an important place cannot be slack in defense, but in order to completely annihilate Qin Hao's 50,000-strong army, Chen Liu's garrison was also mobilized by Huang Chao, and now only 40,000 defenders are left.
Nowadays, Chen Liu's defensive strength is unprecedentedly weak, and Qin Hao's attack was unexpected, hitting Huang Chao's vital point. Once Chen Liu is defeated by Qin Hao, Huang Chao will become the sinner of the Yellow Turbans.
At this thought, Huang Chao, as calm as he was, couldn't help but panic. Huang Chao forced himself to calm down quickly, and after understanding the key, he quickly issued the order.
"Send the order and order the defenders in the surrounding counties of Chenliu to abandon their local areas and concentrate on Chenliu to defend."
The Yellow Turbans built five large grain depots in Yanzhou, and the one in Chenliu City was the largest.
In Huang Chao's view, as long as Chenliucheng is not lost, it doesn't matter if other surrounding counties are lost.
Huang Chao had a headache when he thought that Qin Hao's 50,000 Han cavalry were about to wreak havoc in Yanzhou. Even if the Yellow Turban troops in Yanzhou were strong, they still had to catch up.
Huang Chao could rely on its huge advantage to build a large encirclement first and then shrink it continuously, thereby completely annihilating the Han army.
But deploying such a large force also takes time. Who knows what will happen during this time?
As soon as he thought about this, Huang Chao immediately gave the order again.
"Immediately sent a request for cavalry reinforcements to Hulao, saying that I would need ten thousand, no, I want all the cavalry to intercept and annihilate the Han cavalry in Chenliu."
Only the cavalry could catch up with the cavalry, and until now, Huang Chao has not given up the idea of annihilating all 50,000 cavalry.
Huang Chao is not afraid that Hulao will not give him special support. After all, Qin Hao is wreaking havoc in Yanzhou, and his impact is not limited to Huang Chao.
Huang Chao was afraid that the number of cavalry supported by Hulao Pass would not be able to stop the Han cavalry.
Huang Chao didn't know Xiang Yu's specific plan, but he knew that the plan required a large number of cavalry.
The Yellow Turbans only have 50,000 cavalry in total, and if Xiang Yu's demand for cavalry is too great, there won't be too many cavalry to support Huang Chao.
Of course, these are not things Huang Chao can consider now. The only thing he can do now is to intercept Qin Hao with all his strength.
…………
Just when Huang Chao was worried about Qin Hao, the Luoyang court also exploded because of Xiang Yu.
Mengjin Pass was captured by Xiang Yu, which meant that there was only a small Pingjin left between Luoyang and the Yellow Turbans.
Although Xiaopingjin has a small character, it is not small at all, but this does not bring enough security to the Luoyang court.
The time for the Yellow Turbans to capture Mengjing Pass was still short, and they were not able to send enough troops, so the Han Dynasty still had a chance to recapture Mengjing Pass.
The Luoyang court made up its mind to recapture Mengjing Pass. In the end, General He Jin led an army of 300,000 to recapture Mengjing Pass.
The focus of the showdown between the Yellow Turbans and the Han Dynasty also shifted from Hulao Pass to Mengjing Pass.