The two armies turned into two torrents, and collided in one place under the orders of the generals of both sides. It didn't take long to see the center of the battlefield, where the corpses of the enemy and ourselves were piled up.
Although the number of people participating in this fierce battle was not large, in terms of fighting and killing, it was far more brutal than before. Not to mention Zhou Hui and other civil and military figures who had not experienced many battles, even Tao Ze who had experienced battles could not help but be moved by it.
.
Wang Zheng was the only one on the field who seemed to have a calm expression, but in fact it was just calm on the surface.
Because we were also watching from the sidelines, watching the soldiers from both sides of the city march one after another, one after another, to their death. In fact, it was Wang Zheng who was most moved by this heroic scene.
Even though he has seen similar scenes countless times, he still seems to be calm, but in fact he feels sad in his heart.
Because the original Wang Zheng was one of them...
Because in his previous life, he was also one of them...
In a war, only a few people, or a few surnames, can truly share the fruits of victory.
And who is the person who actually creates the fruits of victory?
They are those at the bottom who are nameless, as humble as ants, and crawl around with their heads lowered. They are the majority of the people. They have paid the most expensive price, but they have never been qualified to participate in the feast of partition.
I didn’t even know there was such a feast from beginning to end...
Not only will their names be left behind in later generations and history books, but even the generals who commanded them to die may soon forget about them.
Staring at the increasingly sad rain of blood below, two verses suddenly appeared in Wang Zheng's mind, and he couldn't help but murmured in a low voice:
If you don't talk about the matter of making a marquis, one general will make thousands of bones wither.
...
Since the fighting, Ling Cao's whole body has been dyed red by the blood of the dead and wounded. Some were killed by him and some were killed by others. There was his own blood and the blood of his enemies, which blurred his eyes and made the whole world confused.
They all lost their original colorfulness and were all a miserable red.
But none of this matters anymore, and Ling Cao doesn't care anymore.
Because at this moment, in his red eyes, the general flag fluttering in the wind and rain became more and more clear.
Ling Cao knew he was very close to it...
Maybe there are only a dozen steps, or maybe there are not even ten steps?
No matter what, as long as we work harder, we can capture this military flag, and then the defenders on the opposite side will definitely be in chaos!
In the jumping firelight, he chopped down the last soldier in front of him with one knife, wiped the blood on his face with a swipe, then raised his arms and raised the knife, looked back and shouted: "Brothers, the enemy's defense line has been broken, and the military flag is close.
Chi Chi, the first achievement in capturing the flag is at your fingertips, kill him!"
Relying on Ling Cao's bravery, Sun Cejun had the absolute upper hand in hand-to-hand combat, and even tore a hole in the enemy's defense line. Now that they saw the dawn of victory, their fighting spirit naturally became higher, and they all shouted to follow Ling Cao.
Move forward bravely.
Seeing that his side was in disarray, a soldier beside Zhou Zhi hurriedly advised: "Captain, the enemy's attack is fierce, why don't we take shelter temporarily?"
Zhou Ju suddenly changed his expression when he heard this and rebuked: "I didn't know what Thief Sun was up to just now, so I retreated to lure the enemy deeper. Now that I know they came to carry the flag for me, how can I retreat again? My brother Kuang is at the top of the city at this time.
While watching the battle, the Mu Wangzheng of Xuzhou stood in front of him. He retreated again and again. Isn't this a sign of weakness?"
Before the soldiers could persuade him again, Zhou Zheng had already unsheathed his sword: "At this time, the two armies are in a stalemate, and our army is at a disadvantage. We still have the advantage of numbers and geographical location, and have not shown signs of defeat. But if we retreat without fighting,
People are bound to be panicked and the consequences will be disastrous!”
After saying that, he stuck the sword directly on the ground, then stepped forward to hold the flag in person, and shouted: "I am invincible today, I will never retreat, kill!"
At the critical moment, Zhou Ju made the right choice, and stabilized his intentions through his manly spirit that was not afraid of life and death. The originally shaky formation finally stabilized, and then Zhou Ju divided his own soldiers and rushed forward.
It hit Sun Cejun's waist.
As a second-rate general, Ling Cao was indeed difficult for ordinary soldiers to resist. However, the other soldiers who rushed into the city with him were not afraid of death, but they were not outstanding in combat power. They were immediately blocked further away.
Outside, the entire team was divided.
good chance!
Seeing that Ling Cao was surrounded by his own family, Zhou Zhi's eyes suddenly lit up and he stared at Ling Cao who was still slashing with his sword not far away. He was about to go up with the last few guards and try to capture him alive.
While he was being captured alive, a low buzz suddenly came to his ears, but it was the sound of a horn coming from outside the city.
Zhou Ju's heart skipped a beat, he hurriedly stopped and looked up, thinking in his mind: "Could it be that the thieves have reinforcements and want to take advantage of this gap?"
At this time, a soldier beside him heard the meaning and couldn't help shouting: "Captain, we are about to retreat."
The sky is getting darker and darker, the heavy rain has not stopped, and today is the third day of the offensive. Even though he knew that this naturally collapsed gap was a rare opportunity, with the timely response of Wang Zheng and others, Sun Cejun seemed to be able to
Understanding that there was no opportunity to take advantage of, he once again chose to withdraw his troops.
Seeing that he had to give up when success was in sight, Ling Cao was naturally very unwilling. However, Sun Ce was very vocal about how to govern the army, and the military orders were overwhelming. After all, he was unwilling to disobey, so he had to look at Zhou Zhi holding the general's flag hatefully, and then
He turned around, summoned his soldiers, and ran out.
It was a charge all the way when they came, but it was not easy when they left. After entering and exiting, Ling Cao finally fought his way out of the city, but most of the infantry following him were dead or wounded, and only about 20 people were left in the end.
At the same time, Sun Ce's troops at the top of the city and at the city gates also rolled away like a tidal wave.
It wasn't until the last figure of Sun Cebing came out of the gap that Zhou Zong just breathed a sigh of relief. The veins in his left hand that tightly grasped the handle of the flag slowly disappeared. Just as he was about to order the soldiers to clean the battlefield and quickly repair the gap, he heard the sound of horse hooves behind him.
, turned around to look, but it was Zhou Hui, Wang Zheng and others galloping towards them.
After handing the general's flag to the soldiers beside him, Zhou Zheng quickly stepped forward and knelt down to apologize: "The last general is incompetent and failed to keep the enemy general Ling Cao. Please punish me by the county king!"
How could Zhou Hui punish him? Zhou Zhi's performance today was a great honor to him. He stepped forward to help him up and said with a smile: "Ling Cao and other tiger generals are brave and extraordinary. It doesn't matter if they don't stay. You
Being able to repel it and hold the gap is already a great achievement."
Then he looked at Wang Zheng and asked, "What does the state pastor think?"
"There are so many talented people in Jiangdong."
Wang Zheng glanced at Zhou Zheng, first nodded and praised, and then turned to the main topic and said: "The collapse of the city wall today was due to an accident from two parties. The Sun thieves organized the attack in a hurry, and now the retreat is also sudden. There are more than ten thousand people and many horses.
Such frequent changes in the camp will inevitably lead to random thoughts, and this is our opportunity!"
"What does Zhou Mu mean?" Wei Yan on the side reacted immediately: "Will there be any gaps in Thief Sun's encirclement line at this moment?"
"good."
Wang Zheng looked at everyone and said loudly: "This opportunity must not be missed. We must immediately arrange for the men to change into thieves' clothes and armor and leave the city in the chaos, and go to the north of Lujiang River to contact our reinforcements!"
...
Outside Bo'an City, Xuzhou Military Camp.
Pei's reinforcements finally arrived.
Outside the military camp, General Xuzhou was orderly guiding Pei's army and horses to either rest on the spot or to enter the camp first. At this time, the rain was still falling and the water on the plain was also deep, but Guo Jia finally did it in advance.
After some arrangements were made, although the troops entered the camp slowly, there was no chaos.
Because he was injured and unable to fight, Li Ren took the initiative to ask for help from Pei Guo's reinforcements. On the way out of the camp, he made way for the large number of people who were coming from the road, while looking for the leader of the incoming army.
Li Ren knew that Pei State had sent 3,000 troops after being ordered by Guo Jia. The leader of the army was Wenji, the county captain of Qiao County. As for the number of infantry and cavalry among them, as well as the specific number of accompanying provisions, civilians and equipment.
But it's not very clear.
However, looking at the excitement and excitement of the people in front of him, Li Ren could probably figure out one thing.
As a newly surrendered county, Pei Guo could not say that it went all out for the military orders issued by Xuzhou, but at least it tried its best. This further proves that they made a statement to support the old and new masters in this three-party melee.
alliance, hoping and believing that they can achieve final victory.
There are also those flags mixed in the crowd, some are red, some are black, some are green and some are
The reinforcements this time were organized by more than a dozen cities, or to be more precise, they were cobbled together by powerful locals from more than a dozen Pei countries.
Since they had their minds set on it, these powerful men naturally wanted Yuan Shu and Wang Zheng to know clearly who had sent out how many men and horses, and how much food and grass they had sent out.
Seeing that the reinforcements had arrived, Li Ren felt a little more confident and also understood another thing.
The day to attack Lu'an is not far away.
The war is about to break out.
As he arrived, Wu Sheng was discussing the next siege with the generals in the commander's tent on the other side. A sentry rider outside the tent suddenly came to report
"General, there are brothers from General Huang's department coming from the south, bringing good news."
Wu Sheng was startled at first, and then he was overjoyed. Good things come in pairs.
Since it was Huang Zhong's tribe, they naturally came from Longshu, and the good news they brought was that Huang Zhong attacked Longshu at night in the rain, and the battle was determined.
Because Sun Ce had occupied several important towns in the north of the Lujiang River in advance, Wu Sheng's troops had a general understanding of the current battle situation in the Lujiang River since they entered the territory of the Lujiang River, but they had never reconnected with Wang Zheng's side, and the specific mobilization of troops and horses was even more unclear.
Learned.
But Huang Zhong was different. The strategic purpose of him and Wang Xiong led their troops to the north of Lujiang River was not only to recapture Wancheng and reopen the northern passage, but more importantly, to join Wu Sheng's tribe.
Therefore, after capturing Longshu, Huang Zhong made preparations to defend against Cheng Pu's invasion, and at the same time immediately dispersed his sentries and cavalry to look for friendly troops.
The movement of more than 10,000 troops marching was so loud that it didn't take long for Huang Zhong to know that Wu Sheng was preparing to launch an offensive against Lu'an and immediately sent someone to inform him.
From Longshu to Bo'an, they will pass through Qianxian County regardless of land or water. Several heavenly troops have gone through a lot of fighting. When they entered the account, their faces were covered with blood. If it were Wang Zheng, he would have given gentle words and encouragement first, but Wu Sheng did not
He didn't have that intention, so he just asked eagerly: "General Huang sent you here, what do you want to report to me?"
The leader bowed and clasped his fists and replied: "General Huang went north to meet up with General Wu's troops on the orders of Zhou Mu, so he sent the villain here to wait for dispatch, and there is also military information to present."
Wu Shengnai is the commander-in-chief of Wangzheng and one of the four-wing commanders in the Xuzhou Army today. When the two armies merge, he is naturally the leader.
Wu Sheng took the letter, opened it and read it hastily, then handed it to Guo Jia who was standing aside.
Guo Jia read it faster. There was not much content in the letter. It was just Huang Zhong briefly describing the process of capturing Long Shu and asking how to cooperate with Wu Sheng's military operations in the future.
He squinted his eyes and thought for a while, then looked at the messenger and nodded: "General Huang captured Longshu only a few days ago. You can travel hundreds of miles to come here to report the news. It shows that you are loyal to your duty..."
After a pause, his eyes swept over the blood-stained armor of several people, and his voice became gentler: "It has been really hard on this journey. It should be allowed for you to take a rest. It's just that our troops came from a different place and are not familiar with the roads. I don't know.
Maybe you can take another hard trip and return to Longshu?"
Upon hearing this, the leader said loudly without hesitation: "Although the sacrificial wine has given orders, even if there are thousands of obstacles, in my eyes, there is no smooth road."
"Great kindness!"
Guo Jia clapped his hands and praised it, then immediately wrote a handwritten letter and handed it to him, saying: "Remember, the content of this letter is of great importance. It must be handed over to General Huang personally. Secondly, it must not be seen by the thieves."
"Don't worry about the wine sacrifice!" the leader assured solemnly, then put away the secret letter, saluted Wu Sheng and Guo Jia, called his companions, turned around and left.
...
The summer of the first year of Jian'an is about to pass.
Deep in the mountains and outdoors, it was raining heavily at night, and a few people walked non-stop on their way home. They really felt like sleeping in the open air, under the stars, and catching up with the moon.
But after all, the journey of hundreds of miles was not accomplished overnight. Fortunately, these people were all system soldiers with excellent physiques. Each of them carried two cavalry, and they actually gritted their teeth and climbed over the mountains and ridges in three days, walking through the thick
Jiuyu walked through the vast wilderness and returned to Longshu.
In the afternoon of the day they arrived, the continuous rainstorm that had lasted for more than ten days finally began to taper off.
Several people rushed to the city, raised their heads and shouted, beckoning the guards to open the door.
In order to prevent Cheng Pu from Wancheng from seizing the city again, Long Shu's defense layout was very strict. After Cheng Pu captured the city before, he wiped out all the young people among the people, causing public resentment. However, no one expected that Huang Zhong would be more likely to come.
It was too much. They directly forcibly requisitioned the servants and men of all the wealthy families in the city, and even did not hesitate to kill two big families as a deterrent!
Thanks to this ruthless attack, coupled with the surrender of captured soldiers, the number of Long Shu's defenders now reached 3,000 men and horses, and there were even three posts per post and five posts per post above the city head.
The guard Du Bo recognized the three people in the city. Just as he was waiting to open the door, he saw a group of knights coming on horseback from the city. The first one was carrying a bow and a sword. It was Huang Zhong. Du Bo happened to poke his head and said: "General, the messenger is back.
.”
Huang Zhong reined in his horse and shouted, "Open the city gate quickly."
With a rumble, the city gate slowly opened. A group of people rushed out. The messengers were waiting outside the door. They were also surprised when they saw Huang Zhong. They had just arrived at the city gate, and Huang Zhong came out to greet them. They were heartbroken.
Although he was surprised, he did not dare to neglect and immediately got off his horse.
Huang Zhong then dismounted and personally helped a few people up. He looked around and saw that everyone's face was pale, their lips were dry, and their eyes were bloodshot. He knew that it would be difficult for the Heavenly Army to travel back and forth for hundreds of miles continuously.
Unable to bear it anymore, he quickly ordered his soldiers to send them back to the city to rest.
The man in the lead, however, refused to leave first. He struggled to get up and took out Guo Jia's secret letter first: "This is Guo Jijiu's secret letter. I instruct you to present it to the general with your own hands."
Listening to the other party's hoarse voice and looking at the trembling arm stretched out, Huang Zhong was silent for a moment. He could see that the other party was already exhausted, but still did not forget his mission. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, and took the letter with both hands.
In the letter, he said in a deep voice: "Good men, you are all good men."
"How is General Wu's department doing now?"
"When I was going there, I happened to see Pei Guo's reinforcements arriving. The camp was heavily armed and ready to attack Lu'an."
Hearing this, Huang Zhong was startled for a moment, then nodded: "It is indeed a coincidence."
As he spoke, he patted the messenger's shoulder gently, with a smile in his eyes:
"When you went to Bo'an, General Wu's reinforcements arrived. Now that you are back, I am also going to welcome the reinforcements. Do you think it is a coincidence or not?"
"General Huang is also going to welcome the reinforcements?" The messenger was stunned: "Where did we get the reinforcements... Could it be that Colonel Wang came from that way?"
"No." Huang Zhong shook his head and said, "They are the remnants of Liu Xun from another group."