Great Han Empire

Chapter 106
Li Hong saw Yan Rou.The fiery red war horse, the fiery red cloak, and the majestic Huoshaoyun.

He let out an exclamation, walked up quickly, and shouted loudly: "Brother Ziyu..."

Yan Roufei got off the horse, ran a few steps, grabbed Li Hong's big hand, and shook it again and again: "Zi Min, if you don't come again, we will cross the holy water eastward."

Li Hong laughed: "Zhuocheng is still in our hands, and Zhuojun has not been lost. Brother Ziyu still has the strength to fight again. How can there be a saying about crossing the holy water?"

"Zhang Niujiao is powerful, and the Yellow Turban Army should not be underestimated. 10 of them have crossed the giant horse water one after another, and 5 of them are coming. Compared with them, our strength is too weak to fight back." Yan Rou said a little discouraged.

Li Hong patted him on the shoulder and comforted him: "There will always be a way. Last year, the Guangyang Yellow Turban rebelled, captured Jicheng, killed the governor, and killed the prefect. The momentum is terrifying. You are under the command of Lord Liu, aren't you too? Have you defeated them and wiped out the Yellow Turban Army?"

Yan Rou shook her head and said with a wry smile: "Last year, there were not so many Yellow Turbans in Guangyang, and most of them were civilians, so it was much easier to fight. The strength and number of this army now cannot be compared with last year's."

The two were talking when Xian Yufu hurried over.Compared with the last time the two met in Guangning, he was much thinner.

"You have to pay attention to your body." Li Hong said with concern, "I haven't seen you in a month or two, you've lost a lot of weight."

Xian Yufu was worried and waved his hands weakly.

"The battle is developing too fast. We have lost consecutive battles, so we don't want to sleep. I heard that you are coming, Ziyu and I came here overnight, just to ask if you have any strategies to defeat the enemy?"

Li Hong held Xian Yufu's hand, said with a smile, "You should take a good rest first, and let's discuss after you have recharged your energy."

"Go, go, pay, pay. Is your injury fully healed?" Yan Rou asked.

"Okay, it's just a few more scars." The three of them walked together affectionately, and the older Xian Yufu was caught between them.Seeing Li Hong, Xian Yufu's mood suddenly improved, and his extreme fatigue seemed to have eased a lot.

"It would be nice if I followed you all the time." Yan Rou said regretfully, "You have fought many battles in Shanggu, and the games were wonderful and hearty. I stayed in Yuyang and only got a few small battles. It's not interesting. nothing."

Li Hong smiled embarrassedly.At that time Yuyang prefect He Yi insisted that Yan Rou stay and guard Yuyang City, but Yan Rou couldn't refuse because of her feelings, so she missed the opportunity to go north with Li Hong to kill the enemy.He has always been brooding, and he still has complaints to this day.

Seeing Yan Liang following behind, Li Hong immediately remembered that he hadn't introduced him.

"Come on, let me introduce you. At this time, my new bodyguard Du Cao, his name is Yan Liang and Yan Zishan. He is the thief Cao of Zhongshan Guojun. He just came to me today."

Xian Yufu and Yan Rou stopped to look at Yan Liang, with surprise on their faces.

Yan Liang didn't expect that Li Hong would stop suddenly and introduce the two adults to him, and his heart warmed.It's always exciting to be valued by one's superiors.

"The next official pays homage to the two adults."

Yan Rou is a soldier Cao Shi in the county mansion, bigger than the thief Cao who is in charge of guard work, but the difference is not that big.

He hurriedly returned the courtesy and said: "Don't dare to do it, don't dare to do it. Now we are all working under the account of the captain, and we are all colleagues, so don't be too polite."

Xian Yufu looked Yan Liang carefully up and down, returned the gift, and said to Li Hong with a smile, "Is the Prime Minister here?"

Li Hong nodded, "Inside the big tent. Just now we were chatting by the river."

"He's so generous, all these good players are under your account. Do you know what Yan Zishan's nickname is?"

Li Hong shook his head, looked at Yan Liang and asked strangely: "Is Zishan famous?"

Yan Rou laughed out loud.

"Yan Zishan, nicknamed Hutou, is good at wielding a big knife with a big tiger head. When he wanted to make a living, he carried this big knife and killed all over Hebei. But because he was too rampant, he had no one under his command, so he offended him. He hired many masters in Hebei, but in the end no one wanted him, and he came back in a state of embarrassment."

Yan Liang's face was reddish, and he stood aside with an embarrassed expression.

Li Hong became curious, and hurriedly asked, "What happened next?"

Xian Yufu went on to say: "Later, he returned to his hometown in Changshan country to help the local county suppress bandits. He once killed more than 100 bandits by himself and with a knife. The county magistrate despised him for being too murderous and refused to keep him in the county. Ya, sent him to be a small pavilion chief. But Yan Hutou has become famous since then."

"When did Brother Hutou follow the Prime Minister?" Xian Yufu turned to ask Yan Liangdao.

Yan Liang bowed respectfully and said: "Last year, there was a yellow scarf in my hometown, and I couldn't stay any longer. I took my parents and fled to Zhuo County. This spring, I will see that the situation is okay, so I plan to return to my hometown. When I passed by Nulu City, I saw Zhongshan The country recruited soldiers, and I went to apply for it immediately. Later, I was favored by the Prime Minister of the country, and I was transferred to the mansion to be a thief Cao."

"So you are so famous." Li Hong praised.

Yan Liang looked even more embarrassed, very embarrassed.

Xian Yufu and Yan Rou met Zhang Chun, and they were sitting in the big tent, discussing the military situation.

Li Hong's opinion is very clear, the current strength gap with the Yellow Turban Army is too far, and there is no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation.Referring to the way Huangfusong, Zhu Jun, and Lu Zhi used to wipe out the Yellow Turbans last year, it was nothing more than a stalemate first, and then win with a strange plan. After the troops reached a certain number, they waited for an opportunity to fight against them.But now they can't even hold a stalemate, and the troops can only retreat blindly. This battle is very difficult to fight.

Xian Yufu was immediately discouraged.He asked dejectedly, "There is no turning point at all?"

Li Hong frowned tightly, and said with a wry smile: "No indeed. Even if there is a turning point, we have to create it ourselves. To create this turning point, we need troops. Without troops, everything is in vain."

Zhang Chun sighed, and said slowly: "We don't have any troops now. We can't even recruit temporarily?"

"why?"

"Every time the Yellow Turbans occupy a place, they open warehouses to distribute food to the local people. They are very popular. Now people everywhere are looking forward to the Yellow Turbans coming to their doorsteps, so that they can burn down the government, kill bullies, and rob riches." People have food to eat and clothes to wear. Now the common people are on the side of the Yellow Turban Army, helping them and sending them news. Now how many people are willing to serve as soldiers to fight them? Except for the private troops of the rich and powerful.”
Li Hong felt dizzy when he heard it.

"Your Excellency, you mean that there are no people on the ground in Zhuojun who are willing to help us, right?"

Zhang Chun was expressionless.Li Hong turned to look at Xian Yufu and Yan Rou.The two looked dignified and nodded at the same time.

"In any case, we must slow down the enemy's attack speed. If we can drag them until it snows in Zhuojun, maybe the situation will turn around." Zhang Chun pondered for a long time, and said slowly.

Several people in the big tent were silent.

"If the 3000 troops from Xianyuyinbu in Shanggu County arrive in time, we still have 5000 troops west of the Shengshui River, half of which are cavalry. We can make full use of the mobility of the cavalry to effectively attack the enemy's supply lines. Carry out small-scale raids to achieve our goal of delaying the enemy's attack. The infantry guard Zhuocheng, and more than 1 people guard a city. Even if the Yellow Turban Army invests 10 people in a storm, it may take a while, right?" Zhang Chun looked at the case. Looking at the map on the table, he said to the three of them:

"On the Jizhou battlefield, our troops can only barely support it. The main force of the imperial court is now on the Xiliang battlefield, and the future is uncertain. We can't count on reinforcements, so we can only rely on ourselves."

"This time the Yellow Turban Army suddenly entered Youzhou. Their strategic intentions are very obvious. They want to occupy the entire Youzhou. They want to lay down a foundation, consolidate their sphere of influence, occupy a larger territory in the future, and seize greater benefits. Establish a stable rear."

"Youzhou is located in northern Xinjiang, far away from the Central Plains and the capital. If we let them succeed this time, it will be very difficult for us to completely wipe them out in the future. Once it becomes too big to lose, the people of Youzhou and the Han Kingdom It's all a disaster."

"So we all have to persevere, stick to the west of the Shengshui River, and keep the Yellow Turban Army in Zhuojun. As long as it snows, it will be difficult for the Yellow Turban Army to supply supplies, and the siege will not be able to continue. A turning point may appear. gone."

"Last year, several generals completed the final blow to the Yellow Turban Army. Didn't they all take place in winter? This year in Youzhou, maybe the situation is the same."

Li Hong, Xian Yufu and Yan Rou all nodded in agreement with Zhang Chun's opinion.

They all admire Zhang Chun.At first, it was thought that Zhang Chun's incomparable defeat from Zhongshan Kingdom was due to his incompetence, but now it seems that is not the case.This person still has real talents and learning. It is estimated that the attack of the Yellow Turban Army was too violent.How many troops can he gather from a Zhongshan country?Without troops, no one can defeat the enemy.

Li Hong felt that Zhang Chun was definitely a good official.What he said by the river showed that he sympathized with the Yellow Turbans emotionally.The soldiers in the Yellow Turban Army are ordinary people. If it is not for the sake of survival, who would take the initiative to ask for death and rebel.What kind of crime is rebellion? It is a crime that implicates the entire family.Zhang Chun's resentment towards this dark world does not prevent him from continuing to be an official of the court, continue to receive the rank and salary of the court, and continue to work hard to annihilate the Yellow Turban Army.A clear distinction between public and private, and separation of emotion and law, this kind of person must be a good official.

The four immediately discussed the details.

Zhang Chun immediately set off to Jicheng to pay a visit to Governor Yang Huang.There are no reinforcements, but there must be no problems with the supplies sent to the front line.After going to Jicheng, Zhang Chun was ready to volunteer and offered to undertake the task of raising funds and escorting food and supplies.After entering Zhuojun, there is no pasture, and the forage for the horses is all transported from the rear.Once the horses ran out of fodder, Li Hong's cavalry could be converted into infantry.So Li Hong paid special attention to this issue.

Xian Yufu and Yan Rou returned to Zhuocheng, reported Zhang Chun and Li Hong's opinions to Zhuojun prefect Wang Ru, and prepared to defend the city for a battle.

Li Hong led his troops to travel between the large mountains, forests and plains between Shengshui and Jumashui, attacking the enemy's supplies and small troops, and slowing down the enemy's attack speed.

If Xianyu Yinbu rushed to the Shengshui River, he would temporarily stay on the east bank of the Shengshui River, waiting for an opportunity.

Zhang Niujiao's troops advanced steadily to the city of Zhuojun three days later.

Zhang Niujiao led 5 people to camp in the west city of Zhuo County.Zhang Baiqi led an army of [-] troops to station at the south gate.

After the [-] troops of the left school of the Yellow Turban Army crossed the river, they quickly advanced towards Fangcheng to protect the right wing of the main siege force.

After the [-] troops of Huanglong, the Yellow Turban Army crossed the river, they quickly went northward and captured the small town of Naiguo within a day.Immediately, the large force immediately marched eastward and quickly marched towards the Shengshui River, preparing to capture the Liangxiang Ferry and effectively protect the left wing of the main force.

Fang Biao led an army of [-] troops as the front, and marched on Xiaofangshan.Xiaofang Mountain is still a hundred miles away from Shengshui River.

He is Huanglong's subordinate, according to the requirements, he must rush to Shengshui River tomorrow morning.But this place is already the range of activities of the official army, so Fang Biao ordered the troops to act carefully and closely guard against the enemy's surprise attack.

Fang Biao received the news that the [-] cavalry of Li Hong, Lieutenant Li Feng of the Han Army, had crossed the Shengshui River and were going deep into the area around Zhuo County, so they must always be on guard against being attacked by his troops.This person is good at raiding, especially at night.

Fang Biao didn't take it to heart.He is angry.He was the first to attack the city of Naiguo. He thought he could make a lot of money, but he didn't expect Huang Shuai's order to come before he reached the county government office.Immediately set off.Why can't I even catch a needle in the place I worked so hard to lay down.

The scouts arrived in flight.

"Lord Sima, we saw enemy cavalry ten miles away from us." The scout said sweating profusely.

Fang Biao was taken aback, and asked nervously, "How many people? How many people?"

"Estimated that there are thousands of people?"

"Order the troops to stop advancing, and prepare to block the enemy." Fang Biao roared loudly: "Send someone to notify Huang Shuai, and quickly approach our troops. The enemy's cavalry troops have appeared."

Then the drums sounded.

The soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army quickly gathered together and put up a defensive position.

"Lord Sima, aren't we going to retreat?" Sima from the Yellow Turban Army rushed over and asked one after another.

"Lord Sima, the enemy has several thousand cavalry, and we may not be able to deal with them."

Fang Biao waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

"Huang Shuai has already expected that the enemy may attack us, so the Chinese army behind us is actually the main force. There are more than 2 people there, and they are now ten miles away from us. There are still 3 people on our right flank, eight miles away from us. Road. We just need to stop here for a while, then pretend to be defeated, lure the enemy into the encirclement, and let the main force fight."

"How can we have troops on the right?" A military commander asked in surprise.

Fang Biao's eyes widened, and he cursed loudly: "Just obey my orders, why ask so many? Do you want to die?"

Li Hong saw Zheng Xin rushing over like crazy, and hurried to meet him.

"My lord, Poshan has found traces of the enemy."

"Poshan?" Li Hong repeated in surprise, "Poshan? Isn't Poshan on the right side of Huanglong's army? Are there enemy troops there?"

"Yes, the news is very accurate. It was reported by a local chief himself. I have sent someone to review it. There are about 3 people."

Li Hong unfolded the map with a look of horror on his face.

"Fang Biao's position is an ambush circle."

"Yes. The troops must withdraw immediately before it is too late."

"Retreat." Li Hong yelled at the messenger, "Notify all parties to retreat in the direction of Zhuocheng immediately."

The messenger immediately dispersed and ran away.

Li Hong and Zheng Xin looked at each other, the fear in their eyes became more and more intense.

(End of this chapter)