Great Han Empire

Chapter 114
Sun Qin stood on top of a cart full of grain, looking at the Fengyun Iron Cavalry in the distance, feeling heavy in his heart.

He was shocked to receive the news that Zuo Xiao's entire army was wiped out.The Fengyun iron cavalry crossed the Shengshui River, and gave the Yellow Turban Army a blow in the first battle, and also killed a handsome general. This was the worst defeat since the Yellow Turban Army attacked Youzhou, Jizhou this spring, and it was also the first of this year. fail.But for the Yellow Turban Army, the important thing about this failure is not the death of Zuo Xiao and the loss of [-] soldiers, but the blow to the morale of the Yellow Turban Army. An ominous shadow.

Last year, the leader of the Yellow Turban Army, General Tiangong Zhang Jiao, passed away suddenly in October, and then the Yellow Turban Army everywhere seemed to have lost their souls, and they lost consecutive battles, which finally led to the complete collapse of the Yellow Turban Army in November.This is a huge shadow, a mark of pain and fear engraved in the hearts of all officers and soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army.

Under the command of Zhang Niujiao, the re-developed Yellow Turban Army fought one victory after another, and everyone almost forgot about this terrifying brand.But in the Dukangting battle, the sudden victory of the officers and soldiers was like a hammer, hitting everyone's heart heavily, and the shadow of failure loomed again.

On the plain a mile away, black cavalry were constantly galloping out from behind the small hills in the north, and quickly assembled to several huge battle flags in the center of the plain.With the increase of cavalry, the phalanx is getting bigger and bigger, the battle flags are getting denser and denser, the majestic and mighty momentum is getting stronger and stronger, and the fierce and terrifying murderous aura is mixed in the tense and suffocating atmosphere of war, slowly and silently It hangs over the sky above Dingxing Ferry without a breath.

The black one is naturally the flag of the Han Dynasty, and the fiery red one is probably the battle flag of Fengyun Iron Cavalry.Grandson thought silently.Among those battle flags, there must be the black panther battle flag of the leopard Li Hong, but Lu Yuan couldn't see it, let alone the famous Li Hong.What kind of person is he?

About a mile in front of the ferry, Sun Qin used more than 2000 carts full of luggage to arrange them in five arcs, criss-crossing, with a depth of one hundred steps.If the cavalry charged forward, they would be blocked by five obstacles in a row. Not only would their speed be completely restricted, but the cavalry would also be trapped by the chariot formation, completely exposed to the long arrows of the [-] soldiers behind the chariot formation.

Could it be that Fengyun Cavalry is going to attack by force?Grandson couldn't believe it.He is very confident in the blocking position he puts down.Since you are courting death, come here.

Sun Qin turned around, and facing the [-] yellow scarf soldiers lined up behind him, he suddenly spread his hands and shouted loudly with all his strength:
"Beat the drum, prepare for the battle..."

Li Hong was surrounded by soldiers of the SS, and Pegasus rushed to the huge battle flag.

Yushi, Huzi, Yan Wuwei, Hengji, She Yingtong, and Xian Yuyin saw Li Hong, and went up to greet him together.

"My lord, when will the attack start? The soldiers are all waiting." Yan Wuweizi shouted loudly.

Li Hong smiled all over his face, waved his hands and said, "No hurry, no hurry."

Then he looked at Xian Yuyin and said, "Boyu, you arrived first, right?"

"Master Yu and Master Yan and I came together, more than half an hour earlier than you." Xian Yuyin said: "According to your request, each part will appear in sequence and gather one after another."

"The soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army on the opposite side saw our cavalry getting more and more, and their legs were shaking." Yushi said with a smile: "My lord, this method is interesting. The more we gather, the more the enemy looks at them, the more fearful they will be, and their morale will be low. They lost by three points before the game was played."

"The chariot formation my grandson set up is huge, and it's hard for us to rush forward. What suggestions do you have for this battle?" Li Hong asked loudly, pointing to the chariot formation of the Yellow Turban Army on the opposite side.

Several soldiers shook their heads.There is nothing to say about this, everyone pulls up their posture and rushes forward to kill.

Li Hong looked around one by one and saw She Yingtong's face showing worry, so he pointed to She Yingtong and said, "Yingtong, tell me."

She Yingtong hesitated for a moment.

"My lord, if we attack by force, the troops will lose a lot."

Li Hong laughed, and then asked: "Then how do you think we should fight?"

She Yingtong shook her head, "There is no other way but to charge hard."

"In this case, we will not fight."

Everyone looked at Li Hong in amazement, not knowing what he meant, and everyone was puzzled.

Li Hong explained unhurriedly: "I ordered you to gather at Dingxing Ferry, just to tell Sun Qin that we are nearby and we can kill him at any time. In this way, Sun Qin has only two options Either stay at Dingxing Ferry, or join the Nai Kingdom's reinforcements to defeat us, and then rush to Zhuocheng swaggeringly."

"My lord, even if Sun Qin joins the reinforcements from the Nai Kingdom, there will only be [-] people, and there is no possibility of defeating us." Huzi shouted: "Sun Qin can only stay here, put out the chariot formation and confront us in a stalemate."

"In this way, our goal will be achieved." Li Hong said easily, waving his horsewhip.

"But if we drag it on like this, we can't annihilate them." Yushi said helplessly.

"Take your time, there is a chance."

The soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Fengyun's cavalry suddenly withdrawing, and then burst into cheers.

Sun Qin was very worried, and looked at the cavalry gradually disappearing on the horizon in the distance, and heaved a long sigh.

He had long thought that Li Hong would not take the risk of attacking.The casualties of cavalry attacking such a defense in depth, which is severely retarded in speed, are staggering.A general who is good at surprise attacks and has repeatedly defeated the strong with the weak is unlikely to be willing to win the victory with the strong against the strong at a huge price.Soldiers, especially cavalry, are too important to Youzhou now.

However, just because Li Hong didn't attack today doesn't mean he gave up.He was like a very hungry leopard, wandering around him all day long, looking for the best opportunity to attack him.Once hit by him, I'm afraid it will be the same as Zuo Xiao, it will be a disaster.

If Li Hong were to stare at them like this, how could the urgently needed grain, grass, and luggage be delivered safely to Zhuocheng?
Even if Fang Biao brought the 1 horses from the Nai Kingdom safely, and the [-] horses escorted such a huge convoy, he still had to be on guard against the leopard cavalry raids on the road, so the strength was still slightly insufficient.Li Hong was cunning and cunning, and it was impossible to guard against him. Once he succeeded in attacking him, he would lose all food, grass and supplies, and the capture of Youzhou would be delayed. This responsibility would be great.

"Shuai Sun, Shuai Sun..."

Grandson woke up from his contemplation.

"Sun Shuai, Fang Sima sent someone to send a message. His troops are rushing along the west bank of the river, and they are still forty miles away from us."

Sun Qin was taken aback, "Hexi? Why did he run to the other side?"

Fang Biao, who rushed to Nai country overnight, had lingering fears about the presence and absence of the leopard army.That day, the leopard army disappeared in Xiaofangshan, and then rushed more than 300 miles to Dukang Pavilion to attack the left school. They were like ghosts, mysterious and terrifying.So he decided to avoid the Leopard Army.There are more than 100 miles between Naiguo and Dingxing Ferry, no matter whether the leopard army will appear or not, he is very afraid in his heart.He thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to go far away and cross the river to the west bank of Jumashui to Dingxing Ferry to meet his relatives.

Fang Biao's fear inadvertently saved his life.

Fang Biao's troops arrived at Dingxing Ferry in the first half of the night, and then he crossed the river to the other side.Sun Qin personally went to the river to pick him up.

Fang Biao is in his thirties and used to be a village chief in the army of Julu County.He was tall and strong, with a large face, a thick beard under his jaw, and a scar beside his ear.Hearing that Li Hong's cavalry army was right in front of the ferry, Fang Biao's scalp tingled.

"Sun Shuai, shall we leave tomorrow?" Fang Biao asked nervously.

Grandson shook his head.

"The marching convoy has a long distance in front and back, and the troops are scattered. Once the enemy comes to attack, we have no chance to fight back. After thinking about it, I really don't know how to avoid the leopard's attack, so we are still stationed at the ferry for the time being, and then wait for reinforcements."

"There are reinforcements?" Fang Biao asked strangely.

"Chu Shuai's troops arrived at Nulu City a few days ago. This morning, Master Zuo Sima crossed the river here. The commander ordered him to go to Zhongshan Kingdom to urgently recruit Chu Shuai's troops to Zhuocheng immediately. In five or six days, we can join Chu Shuai."

After Zhang Niujiao killed Huanglong, he immediately ordered Zhang Baiqi to take over his troops.At this time, under Zhuocheng, the Yellow Turban Army had 5000 men, while there were still more than 9000 defenders in the city.

Zhang Niujiao attacked for another three days.

Zhang Baiqi feigned attack at the north gate, while Zhang Niujiao led the main force to attack at the west gate.Yan Rou's army Sima Wang Tong led 2000 men to guard the north gate, while Xian Yufu and Wu Chi did their best to guard the west gate.

After four days of fighting, the offensive and defensive sides suffered heavy casualties, and had to temporarily truce for a day.

Xian Yufu sent someone to contact Li Hong every day, hoping that he would take immediate and substantive actions to solve Zhuocheng's urgent need.Now the defenders in the city are seriously insufficient. If Zhang Niujiao attacks fiercely for a few more days, Zhuocheng may not be able to defend it.The combat effectiveness of the Yellow Turban Army was very strong, and its fierce attack made up for the lack of quality of the soldiers, far surpassing the army that Xian Yufu had put together for several months.Like the officials in Youzhou, Xian Yufu confidently believed that his army was very powerful, and looked down on the Yellow Turban Army, thinking that with more than 2000 people in the city, he could defend for more than a month, but he paid a heavy price for it.The officers and soldiers defending the city were beaten into a panic by the Yellow Turban Army, and Zhuocheng was in danger.

However, none of the people sent out could find Li Hong and his Fengyun cavalry. They disappeared without a trace like air.Xian Yufu was very anxious, his heart was fluctuating, and he was very worried about their safety.

Sun Qin and Fang Biao made up their minds to set off together after Chu Feiyan's troops arrived, so they didn't even send out a single scout except to be on guard day and night.Sun Qin sent someone to tell Zhang Niujiao of their plan, hoping to get Zhang Niujiao's approval.Zhang Niujiao thought that his grandson's consideration was very appropriate, and agreed that they should not leave Dingxing Ferry for the time being, in case they were raided by the Leopard Army.

The scouts of the Leopard Army arrived at Dingxing Ferry on time every day, four times a day, more than a dozen people at a time.They watched from a distance for a while, and then left quickly.The Yellow Turbans were also used to it, as if they hadn't seen it, they ignored it.

Zhang Baiqi hurried into Zhang Niujiao's big tent.

"Master..."

Zhang Niujiao was reading some documents sent by his subordinates.Hearing the sound, he raised his head and greeted Zhang Baiqi to be diagonally opposite to him.

"Yang Feng and Wang Dang came to write and said that the situation in Zhao and Changshan is relatively good. The swallow is going to Zhuojun, and I plan to let Zuo Yan stay in Zhongshan to raise food and grass for us."

"Master, how is Sun Shuai at Dingxing Ferry?"

"They have been in a stalemate with the leopard Li Hong's troops, and no one is moving? Now it depends on whether Yanzi's troops can arrive in time. With Yanzi's character, he will definitely not let go of this opportunity to wipe out the leopards." Zhang Niujiao said coldly said.

Zhang Baiqi nodded with a smile.

"It all depends on whether Chu Shuai's troops can rush to Dingxing Ferry in secret, and then cross the river quietly. If he can do it without anyone noticing, Sun Shuai will use food and grass as bait to lure the leopards to lead the attack. Attacking at the same time will definitely make the Fengyun Iron Cavalry disappear in smoke."

"Yes. The key is to keep it secret and not let the enemy find out, otherwise Zuo Shuai's revenge will be hard to avenge."

Zhang Niujiao pondered for a while, and then asked: "Ziyin, how about we quietly put the main force at the north gate tomorrow?"

"The commander-in-chief is in a hurry." Zhang Baiqi said with a smile.

With a smile on his face, Zhang Niujiao nodded and said, "In four days, we lost more than 3 brothers in order to win Zhuocheng in one fell swoop."

"The officers and soldiers have been busy at the west gate for a whole day today, and Xian Yufu tried his best to prepare to defend the west gate tomorrow. If he knows that we will attack the north gate tomorrow, I'm afraid he will jump off the building." Zhang Baiqi said with a smile on his face: "There are rumors in the city The news also confirmed our conjecture, the north gate is now only defended by 1000 people, we dispatched an army of [-] to attack, and it is estimated that the north city can be taken in an hour."

Zhang Niujiao shook his head.

"I'll attack harder at the west gate, and hold off Xian Yufu. You personally supervise the formation at the north gate, half an hour, at all costs, and take it in half an hour. After a long time, it will be troublesome for Xian Yufu or Wu Chi to bring people to support him. gone."

Zhang Baiqi patted the table lightly, and shouted excitedly: "OK."

Dark night.There is no moon in the sky, only a few dim stars here and there.

The camp of the Yellow Turban Army was silent, except for a few cowhide lamps hanging on the high gate, there was no light in the camp.

Standing on a slightly higher slope, Zhang Niujiao watched his troops walk out of the camp in batches.

It was still half an hour before dawn, and half of the [-] army that was about to move to the North City Gate had left.

Thinking about the scene when the army broke through the North Gate tomorrow and the army entered Zhuocheng, Zhang Niujiao was in a particularly good mood.Tomorrow, Zhuocheng is captured, and Zhuojun is basically in the bag. The rest is to take down Xiacheng, prepare to cross the river to attack Jicheng, and occupy Guangyang County.If the Leopard Army can escape the trap set by Chu Feiyan and Sun Qin, there is another thing to do is to chase and intercept the Leopard Army to avenge Zuo Shuai.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the direction of the North City Gate. The noise was so loud that it instantly tore through the tranquility of the night.

Immediately afterwards, the low and bright sound of the bull horn soared into the sky, resounding through the dark night sky.

(End of this chapter)