Great Han Empire

Chapter 178

"We have received news that the rebel army has gone northward, heading towards Meiyang." Sun Jian replied, "Bian Zhang and Han Sui's intentions are obvious. Let's unite and act together."

Zhang Wen thought for a while, and said to the attendant serving in the tent: "Go and invite Lord Changshi, Lord Sima and several other adults."

Sun Jian is about 30 years old, tall and mighty, with a tiger's back and a monkey's waist, a resolute and handsome face, and a pair of unruly eyes. He looks steady and confident.He leaned over and spread out the map, pointed to Meiyang City on the map and said: "Lord Taiwei, Bian Zhang is rushing towards Meiyang at this time, and may intercept General Dong. If General Dong cannot retreat in time, he will be blocked in Meiyang Fortress, Beigong Boyu, who followed closely behind, can rush there and besiege General Dong together with Bian Zhang. General Dong has only 3 people, and against an army of 13, he has no intention of mantis blocking the car and is vulnerable. Therefore, Mr. Taiwei General Dong must be notified immediately and ordered to lead his troops to move closer to Xiaohuaili."

Zhang Wen didn't make a sound. He looked at the map carefully and asked, "Have the troops of General Zhou and Captain Huangfu withdrawn to Xiaohuai?"

"The troops of the two lords are already in place, and now only the troops of Master Dong and Captain Bao have not arrived. They have been stranded in Meiyang for two days." Sun Jian frowned and said, "This man is arrogant and rude, often If you don't obey the command, the Taiwei should be severely punished."

Zhang Wen smiled slightly and said: "Wentai, General Dong has been in Xiliang for decades. He is not familiar with the terrain of Xiliang, the rebels in Xiliang, and the Qiang Hu in Xiliang. He has rich knowledge of Xiliang. Xinjiang combat experience, we have no way to compare with him in this regard. Now, Xiliang's counter-insurgency depends on him a lot. In the future, it will be pacified, and he will be needed to guard it. Therefore, we must try to restrain him. "

Zhang Wen paused for a moment, looked at Sun Jian's resentful eyes, patted him on the shoulder lightly, and said, "He is over 50 years old, and he has made decades of hard work for the stability of the frontiers of our Han Kingdom. This is obvious to all. However, the imperial court treated him too poorly. It was not until last year that he was given the lowest rank of Polu general because of the suppression of the rebellion. This was not rewarded by His Majesty on his own initiative, or because he spent a lot of money to buy the Zhongchang attendant gang He just got it by talking. If it were you, what would happen to you? Aren’t you angry? You don’t hate those who have no military achievements, no skills, but because of various connections, they can be a general, arrogant, and show off their might People? Don’t say it’s him, even if I see those people, I don’t bother to pay attention to them.”

Sun Jian bowed his head and remained silent.

"You are 31 years old this year. You are already a member of the Xiliang Anti-Rebel Army. You are equivalent to a school lieutenant. This battle is well fought and we won. You can at least be the prefect of a state or county. Where is General Dong? General Dong At the age of 30, he was still a military commander, and he was fighting against Qianghu in the western border. Look at Li Zhonglang again. He was only 20 years old, and he was already a general of Zhonglang, who is equivalent to a prefect of a Dazhou county. Although, He came from a bad background, and this Zhonglang will be brought back by his blood, sweat, and military exploits. But you have to think about it, they both served the Han Dynasty. Why is there such a big gap? Apart from luck and ability, there are no other factors? "

"Why can Zhao Yan, the younger brother of Great Changqiu Zhao Zhong, be the captain of the city gate without even getting an inch of merit? Why can he be the captain of the Northern Army when He Miao, the younger brother of General He Jin, can't even write a memorial? The position of Situ was bought with 500 million yuan. What reason do we have to accuse General Dong of bribing the dignitaries and eunuchs? What reason can we accuse him of buying his officials? He has no prominent family background, no power He doesn’t spend money, he doesn’t bribe, can he be an official?” Zhang Wen sighed, “Wentai, General Dong is not easy. Although he has a bad temper, he is arrogant, corrupt and perverts the law. The enemy's methods are cruel, but compared to those shameless, mediocre and incompetent people above the court, compared to those local bureaucrats who are greedy, bring disaster to the country and the people, eat the people's flesh and drink the people's blood, and force the people to rise up, he is a Good official. He has been loyally guarding the frontiers of the Han Dynasty, and has devoted a lot of effort to the peace and stability of the western borders. Based on this alone, he is a hero of the Han Dynasty."

"Since General Dong can be regarded as a good official and a hero, what does it matter if he is a little arrogant? If it does not affect the overall situation, what does it matter if he neglects military discipline? As long as we can calm down the western border, we will What is this face worth?"

Sun Jian was overwhelmed by Zhang Wen's generosity and mind, and hurriedly knelt down to plead guilty.

===

Liangzhou Inspector Geng Bi, Chang Shi Sangyang, Sima Taoqian, and Huangfu Li, who joined the military, walked into Zhang Wen's Chinese army tent one after another.

Geng Bi thought for a while, and immediately said: "Master Taiwei, I'm afraid Bian Zhang and Han Sui already know about the news of the arrival of reinforcements from Jizhou. Bian Zhang was worried that it would be dangerous to go deep into Jingzhao Mansion, so he immediately led his troops closer to Meiyang. The intention is to join Beigong Boyu's troops. The rebels are cunning. In this way, we have to give up our idea of ​​annihilating the enemy in Xiaohuai."

Zhang Wen nodded, "The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and the plan cannot keep up with the changes. If the rebels gather in Meiyang, they will have 13 horses rushing towards us, and we can only retreat."

"Retreat to Changping Pass?" Geng Bi asked.

"I think so. We quickly retreated to Changping Pass, kept the rebels out of the pass, and fought with them for a long time. We are close to Chang'an, and the food, grass and weapons can be quickly replenished, but the enemy is in trouble. Their supply transportation distance It is quite long, and there will be problems in terms of safety and quantity. What do you think?" Zhang Wen asked.

Tao Qian said loudly: "It must not be done."

Zhang Wen hurriedly said, "Gong Zu, tell me quickly, why not?"

"In the land of Sanfu, the population around Jingzhao is the most concentrated, with a population of at least 20. When the rebels pass Huaili, they will immediately burn, kill and loot the residents near Jingzhao, which will cause destruction to the west of Jingzhao If the rebels reach Changping Pass, it will seriously affect the stability of Chang'an and other parts of the Kanto region. In order to avoid the disaster of war, the people will flee to the pass in large numbers. This is a disaster for the people of the Kanto region, so this It’s absolutely impossible. Even if we fight all of them, we must block the enemy to the west of Huaili City.” Tao Qian said loudly excitedly.

"What insight does Gongzu have?" Zhang Wen felt that what he said was very reasonable, so he hurriedly asked.

"Look..." Tao Qian pointed to the map and said, "Right now, the Qianghu troops in June Thunder are still gathering in Hanyang, while Bianzhang Han Sui is already approaching Meiyang. Now there are only a small number of rebel guards in the four cities of the county. At the same time, they are also responsible for the safety of the supply and transportation routes, so the troops seem to be relatively scattered. We use General Zhou, Captain Huangfu, and Captain Xu with 4 troops to insert into the enemy's hinterland at high speed and directly seize Xiayong County, Chencang two cities, cut off the supply route of the rebels. If the thunder in June reaches Yong County, the troops must swear to defend these two cities, and make sure to cut off the enemy's food road."

"Lord Taiwei and Li Zhonglang's troops quickly joined up with General Dong, and then confronted the Xiliang rebels in Meiyang. They stood firm and did not fight. After a long time, the rebels ran out of food and grass, and they would withdraw their troops."

"After the enemy has withdrawn, we will split up and outflank each other, trying to defeat each of them."

Sang Yang patted the table lightly, and praised loudly: "Master Sima's plan is very clever. Now that the two sides are evenly matched, it is really not suitable for a decisive battle. It is better to delay and defend. As long as the time comes, we will be able to defeat the enemy calmly."

"Master Sima's method is good, but the time is too long. According to the best possible estimate, the rebels will run out of food for a month. The delay is too long, and there is a high possibility of accidents. If the Yong County Guard What should I do if I can’t stop? Or Bian Zhang suddenly turns around and joins June Jinglei to attack Yong County. What about Chen Cang? A reduction in the strength of either side will break the current balance on the battlefield. So, I think it’s better to follow the Taiwei’s original plan. The idea is to move the decisive battle to Meiyang and immediately fight the rebels." Sun Jian said calmly and forcefully, "We used General Dong's troops as bait to firmly attract the rebels of Bian Zhang and Beigong Boyu. All the main forces in Xiaohuai immediately rushed to Meiyang to encircle and wipe out the rebels."

Zhang Wen was overjoyed when he heard the words, and praised: "Wentai's plan is very clever, and it is exactly what I want. It is better to decide the war in Xiliang quickly. If it is delayed for a long time, it is afraid of accidents."

Huangfu Li said softly: "Brother Wentai, we are only 160 miles away from Meiyang, and 10,000+ people are marching at the same time. The enemy will definitely find our tracks and guess our actions. They will not fight us decisively." Huangfu Li Li Shi, Huangfusong's second son, Huangfuhong's younger brother, was fair and handsome, in his twenties, and behaved prudently, which was deeply loved by Huangfusong.

Sangyang hesitated for a moment, and said: "In this way, our actions will not be hidden, and it will become an open decisive battle. Even if Bian Zhang is willing to fight us, he will be well prepared, and it is difficult for us to obtain Advantage."

Huangfu Li said with certainty: "It is impossible for them to fight decisively. Both Mr. Lao Bian and Mr. Wen Yue are my father's friends. I have known them for many years, and their intelligence is very outstanding."

Sun Jian said: "As long as General Dong holds them back in Meiyang, the battle will be more intense, and our march will be faster, faster, and they will not be able to escape our encirclement. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Tao Qian sneered, "Wentai, after the final battle, how many troops can we have left?"

Sun Jian said in a loud voice, "Even if the entire army is wiped out, I will not hesitate. If the rebel army is not eliminated, Xiliang will not be stable. If Xiliang is not stable, the country will not be stable. If the country is not stable, the people will suffer even more."

Tao Qian sneered: "For the sake of the Han Dynasty, for the people of the world, can we abandon Xiliang and the people of Xiliang?"

Sun Jian said resolutely: "Exactly. Without the Han Dynasty, where would Xiliang come from? It is only natural to give up the small family to protect everyone, and to give up the small righteousness to pursue the great righteousness."

(End of this chapter)