Great Han Empire

Chapter 474
Zhao Yun and Liu Ming galloped for eighty miles with six thousand cavalry, and quietly surrounded Xi'an Yang at dawn.

The north city gate of Xi'an Yang opened as scheduled, and Liu Ming rushed in with two thousand riders, and quickly occupied the four city gates.Zhao Yun and Lu Xian followed each other with their troops and rushed in.The [-] defenders in the city were caught off guard and were brutally massacred by the Han army.Half an hour later, Xi'an Yang was controlled by the Han army.

Liu Ming brought Mustafa to meet Zhao Yun.Mustafa is about 20 years old, tall, heroic and vigorous, with a reserved demeanor, deep guard in his eyes, and few words.He was very surprised when he heard that Zhao Yun was standing opposite him.Zhao Yun, who is famous in the frontier, is such a handsome, elegant, gentle and courteous young man?Zhao Yun said a few words of gratitude, then took Mustafa's hand and said, "You donated Xi'an Yang and made great contributions to us recovering the northern frontier counties. I, the Emperor of Han, and your Great Chanyu, will all help you." I reward you heavily."

Mustafa smiled faintly, bowed and said, "I'm just out for revenge."

Zhao Yun looked at Liu Ming who was standing on the side, and sighed: "You will get what you want." Then he pointed to the map and said, "Can you help us take Jiuyuan City as quickly as possible?"

Mustafa hesitated for a moment, but said nothing.

Zhao Yun said with a smile: "You are Brother Qiansi's brother, that is, my brother, I believe in you." He pointed to Heyin City on the map and said, "Master Xu's tens of thousands of troops have secretly stationed in Heyin and Yu. Daiyuan, they will cross the north to attack Jiuyuan and occupy the Yinshan key pass to complete the encirclement of the Hu allied forces. The purpose of my long-distance attack on Jiuyuan City is to clear all obstacles for Master Xu's tens of thousands of troops to cross the north. Now, I urgently need your help to conquer Jiuyuan City."

Mustafa did not expect Zhao Yun to tell him the attack plan of the Han army without any concealment. On the one hand, he was shocked by the attack strategy of the Han army, and on the other hand, he was also moved by Zhao Yun's trust. He asked a little excitedly. : "General Xu's tens of thousands of troops are on the other side?"

Zhao Yun said: "Yes. It is estimated that the general will start a full-scale attack in the cloud soon. As long as the general can firmly drag the main force of the Hu allied forces in the cloud, General Xu can quickly cross the river and quickly seize the Yinshan pass. The prerequisite for General Xu to quickly cross the river is that we must capture Jiuyuan, otherwise the army will not only be blocked from crossing the river, but it will also be difficult to complete the capture of the Yinshan pass."

Mustafa nodded and said: "My lord led his troops to suddenly come out of the Gongxian Desert, which is indeed unexpected, but if we want to attack Jiuyuan by force, the casualties must be huge, and once the attack is blocked, it will be difficult for General Xu's army to cross the river smoothly and quickly Go north." He pointed to Jiuyuan City on the map and said, "It's too difficult to take down Jiuyuan. It is now the Chanyu Court of Xubugudu Hou, and the elite cavalry of the You tribe are densely packed inside and outside the city. It is very difficult for us. Approaching Jiuyuan City quietly."

Zhao Yun and Liu Ming looked at the map for a long time.Zhao Yun frowned, and said slowly: "If we fight the opponent before we reach Jiuyuan City, then the surprise attack plan will be exposed, and our journey of this month will be in vain. Since we can't fight in, then Let's lure out the cavalry stationed in Jiuyuan City, what do you think?"

"Lure them out? Let's lure out half of the troops in Jiuyuan City first, and then encircle and annihilate them when they are unprepared." Liu Mingsi thought, "If we can kill half of them first and then attack Jiuyuan City, then we The chances of winning Jiuyuan are great."

Mustafa smiled wryly and said, "How to lure them out? Unless General Xu launches a river-crossing attack, they will not be able to leave Jiuyuan City, but if General Xu launches a river-crossing attack now, the loss will be huge."

"Let's capture Chengyi immediately and let General Xu cross the river from the direction of Yudaiyuan." Zhao Yun pointed to the map and said, "Look, Yudaiyuan is located on the other side of the Yellow River between Chengyi and Yiliang. Let's capture Chengyi first." Yi, then attack Yiliang, and firmly control the forty miles of the Yellow River, so that General Xu's army can cross the river safely. We attacked Yiliang, and General Xu led his troops to cross the river. After knowing this, we must send troops from the three cities of Wuyuan, Jiuyuan, and Linwo to attack us, and then our chance will come."

"Chengyi is forty miles away from Xi'anyang, Yiliang is eighty miles away from Xi'anyang, and Wuyuan, Jiuyuan, and Linwo are only fifty or sixty miles away from Yiliang." Zhao Yun looked at Mustafa and said, " We must take Cheng Yi quietly, otherwise, reinforcements from Wuyuan, Jiuyuan and Yiliang will arrive immediately, and our whereabouts will be exposed, not to mention the matter of crossing the river."

Mustafa smiled and said: "Don't worry, my lord, with my face, it is not a trivial matter to open the city gate fraudulently."

===

Dusk, Chengyi.

Mustafa was drenched in blood, and rushed with a group of remnants in a panic.Dust was flying in the distance, and thousands of cavalry rushed over like a stormy sea.The alarm horn rang through the sky of Cheng Yi in an instant.

Mustafa led hundreds of remnant soldiers and ran to the bottom of the city shouting, ordering the defenders to open the city gate immediately.Dianji, the chief of the Xiongnu who was stationed at the west gate of Chengyi, saw that Mustafa was fleeing, and immediately ordered the drawbridge to be lowered and the gate opened.Mustafa rushed into the city first.
"Have the Han people crossed the river?" Dianji greeted Mustafa and asked anxiously, "Has Xi'anyang been lost?"

Holding a bloody saber in his hand, Mustafa shouted angrily: "Liu Bao, Liu Bao is the one who killed him. Go and tell the accountant that the Han people are going to cross the river. Hurry up..."

Dianji turned around and told his subordinates to inform the head of the household, Chunle, before he could finish his sentence when he heard a loud roar from behind his head.Dianji's subordinates widened their eyes in fear, and watched Diandu's head soaring into the sky. Dianji's mouth was still opening and closing quickly, and the spurted blood instantly splashed his head and face. The corpse fell down with a crash.

Mustafa roared loudly: "Cut off the sling, capture the city gate, quick, quick..."

Following closely behind, Liu Ming led a group of troops and swept away into the city.

Outside the city, Zhao Yun came rushing with a large group of troops. The Han army's iron cavalry swarmed in like wolves and tigers, killing wantonly.Du Wei Luxian and Zongliu each led 1000 men and galloped along the moat, intercepting and killing the Hun cavalry who had escaped from the city.The bloody fight lasted for more than an hour, and the two thousand enemy soldiers were finally killed.Originally there were hundreds of captives, but Liu Ming, Mustafa, and many former Hun soldiers from Changshui Camp seemed to be very hostile to these soldiers from the Hun right tribe. They killed all these captives, and the blood on the long street It flowed into a river, which was horrible.

Liu Ming's battalion recaptured Cheng Yi at the cost of 800 men.

===

Dawn, Yiliang.

The successful capture of Chengyi greatly encouraged the confidence of the soldiers of the Han army, and Zhao Yun immediately decided to take advantage of the victory to attack Yiliang again.If Yiliang can be occupied, the Han army will be able to rely on the strong city to resist the fierce counterattack of the Huns, and it will buy more time for more Han troops to cross the river for support, and it is also possible to lure more Huns cavalry away from Jiuyuan. city.

Now Zhao Yun only has Liu Ming's battalion in hand, Jiang Wu and She Yingtong's two battalions of cavalry are still hiding in Yangshu Lake and preparing to launch a surprise attack on Jiuyuan City.Zhao Yun told Mustafa that it is obviously difficult for us to use this battalion to attack Yiliang and block the Xiongnu iron cavalry in the field at the same time.If Xubuguduhou's army attacks fiercely, our entire army may be wiped out, so it is best to take Yiliang first.Mustafa smiled wryly and said that the fraudulent opening of the city gate is a one-off thing. Neither you nor I can guarantee that the news of Cheng Yi's disappearance will not be leaked out.

Zhao Yun smiled and said, "It's all right. If the Huns in Yiliang see through this trick, we'll just besiege the city. I'm worried about your safety."

Liu Ming's battalion is basically soldiers from the Changshui camp in the past, and there are many Xiongnu soldiers.Mustafa and Liu Ming took hundreds of wounded Hun soldiers and escaped into Yiliang City at dawn, and then successfully occupied the west city gate, but the ensuing street battle was extremely difficult. Not smooth.

Garrisoning Yiliang was He Zhong, a famous warrior of the Huns. He led a wild counterattack with nearly a thousand soldiers, intending to recapture the city or stand by for help.It is only fifty or sixty miles from Yiliang to the three cities of Wuyuan, Jiuyuan, and Linwo. If they can defend until dusk, reinforcements will come anyway.Under the supervision of officers at all levels, the Xiongnu defenders in Yiliang City fought a bloody battle with the Han army. Every street, every house became a bloody battlefield.

Du Wei Zongliu charged fiercely with a group of personal guards and once reached the front of the government office, but unfortunately he was shot by a long arrow and died on the spot.The morale of the Han army was frustrated, and they retreated immediately.A military governor, Sima, counterattacked, but was also speared and killed by the ferocious He Zhong.Liu Ming was furious, swung his knife and rushed forward, chopped off eleven of He Zhong's spears in one breath, and cut off He Zhong's seven spears, forcing him to retreat seventeen steps, and finally cut off one of He Zhong's arms with the last knife.He Zhong screamed in pain, and then grabbed a spear and stabbed Liu Ming's throat head-on.Liu Ming dodged, smashed the handle of the spear with his fist, and the saber viciously chopped into He Zhong's chest.With a miserable howl, He Zhong kicked Liu Ming in the waist and abdomen before he died, kicking Liu Ming into the air and flying backwards more than ten steps away.

After Liu Ming fell to the ground, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood, and rolled a few times before he could stabilize himself. The soldiers of the Han army rushed forward and gave up their lives to protect him.Liu Ming lay on the ground in a very embarrassing state, gnashing his teeth and shouting, "Kill... kill me..."

Captain Lu Xian led his troops to attack the east gate.The enemy soldiers on the east city gate vowed to block it to the death, and they would not retreat until they died. They were condescending, occupied favorable terrain, and repelled the attacks of the Han army dozens of times.Lu Xian couldn't bear it anymore, and rushed forward with the soldiers himself.After paying the price of more than 400 soldiers from one military marquis and two village chiefs, the Han army finally took the tower.The moment Lu Xian commanded the soldiers to rush up the tower, a seriously wounded enemy soldier shot three sharp crossbow arrows at him with a crossbow.Lu Xian was pierced through his body by a crossbow arrow, and fell heavily to the bottom of the city.

Around noon, Yiliang was captured by the Han army.In this battle, the Han army killed [-] enemies, including two captains, two army Sima and [-] soldiers, and suffered heavy losses.

Zhao Yun and Liu Ming rode 160 cavalry for [-] miles in two days, captured three cities, and lost more than half of their men and horses.

===

Zhao Yun stood on the blood-stained city tower, heartbroken.

Lu Xian and Zongliu used to be the commanders of the Northern Army Commander Shuiying. Since Changshuiying arrived in Jizhou with the General the year before last, they have been fighting together in the north and south, going through life and death, and being like brothers. They never thought that Yiliang is today. They died in battle at the same time.Zhao Yun looked up at the Han flag fluttering high, thinking of the voices and smiles of his comrades, he couldn't help trembling.

Liang Baiwu's stout figure slowly appeared in front of Zhao Yun.

From early in the morning, Qu Yi and Yang Feng commanded the army hiding in Yudaiyuan to cross the river.Zhao Yun said in a letter to Qu Yi that if he could capture Yiliang, what he needed most was cavalry.Considering the distance, at dusk today Xubuguduhou's army will attack Yiliang from three directions: Wuyuan, Jiuyuan and Linwo.In order to allow more soldiers to cross the river to participate in the battle, the Han army must defend Yiliang and keep the enemy's cavalry out of the ferry.

"My lord..." Liang Baiwu bowed and called softly.Zhao Yun's prestige and achievements are really admirable, and a yellow scarf warrior as strong as Liang Baiwu will respect Zhao Yun.When he led the army into the city just now, he saw corpses all over the street, smelled disgusting blood, and stepped on the blood-red ground, which gave the soldiers a feeling of shock.Zhao Yun miraculously appeared on the other side of the Yellow River with his iron cavalry, and miraculously went down to three cities. Liang Baiwu felt that Zhao Yun was a deification like a general, an invincible deification.

Liang Baiwu was the first Han soldier to cross the river today.According to Qu Yi and Yang Feng's arrangement, Liang Baiwu took the first batch of 2000 infantry to cross the river, and then quickly rushed to Yiliang City, 1 miles away from the ferry, to support Zhao Yun's attack on the city.Qu Yi said, if Master Zhao takes the city, your task is to defend Yiliang until all the troops cross the river.Liang Baiwu raised his voice vigorously and said, even if I beat all [-] people, I still have to defend Yiliang.Qu Yi scolded, everyone is beating up, and you are still a fart.You just have to stick to it for two days.In two days we have at least [-] people crossing the river, so your backup force should be enough.Yang Feng explained that we first need to transport the cavalry across the river as much as possible so that the army can stop the cavalry of the Huns rebels, so you have to work harder.Although there are not many troops defending the city, it should be more than enough to defend the city for two days.Liang Baiwu vowed to keep it.

Zhao Yun bowed back and asked, "Has General Qu ever crossed the river?"

"I have crossed the river." Liang Baiwu said, "Master Heng Jiheng is crossing the river with the Fengyun Cavalry Battalion. It is estimated that at least [-] cavalry will be able to rush to the north bank by dusk."

Zhao Yun let out a long breath, and the expression on his face suddenly relaxed a lot.

"I'll leave it to you here." Zhao Yun held Liang Baiwu's big hand and said, "I'll take the cavalry out of the city immediately to meet General Qu."

===

Ten miles away from Yiliang City is Huijinyuan, which is thirty miles away from the ferry.Qu Yi decided to place the blocking battlefield here.

Zhao Yun rushed to Huijinyuan with three thousand cavalry.The continuous marches and bitter battles have exhausted the soldiers, and many soldiers came with injuries.Zhao Yun looked around in pain, then turned to the pale Liu Ming and said, "Order the soldiers to rest immediately. How are you? Are you okay?"

Liu Ming spat a mouthful of blood on the grass, grinned and said, "Okay, I can't die. If I don't take revenge today, I won't live."

Zhao Yun knew that he was in pain.The two brothers who had been with each other for many years died suddenly, and most of the brothers in Changshuiying were also lost. Now he is in pain and only thinks about murder and revenge.Liu Ming jumped off the horse with difficulty, and lay down on the grass, staring blankly at the blue sky with wide-open eyes.He didn't dare to close his eyes, as soon as he closed his eyes he saw Lu Xian and Zong Liu, he couldn't control his grief and wanted to cry.Zhao Yun looked at him worriedly, wanted to comfort him but didn't know where to start.This man is going down.Zhao Yun sighed sadly, and ran to Mustafa's side.

"I'll take you to see General Qu."

Mustafa asked in surprise: "Is it Master Qu Yiqu, the general who protects the Xiongnu?"

Zhao Yun smiled and said, "Yes, he is General Polu now."

"Last year he beat Xubuguduhou and Baimatong into a mess, and finally forced them to retreat across the Yellow River." Mustafa said excitedly, "The Huns are afraid of him now. I always want to see him Him. Is he tall? Is he young as a man?"

Qu Yi lost a lot of weight, but he was still so tall and strong, so imposing, and so energetic.He waved his hands to Zhao Yun and said with a smile: "Zilong, I haven't seen you for more than a year. You seem to have turned black, but your body is stronger."

Zhao Yunfei got off his horse and saluted respectfully, "Hello, my lord."

"I'm okay, but I'm just in a bad mood." Qu Yi smiled, "Last year, I had bad luck and fought badly in the war. I'm useless. Let's see if I can turn around this year. Is the general okay? Is Mrs. Yu beautiful? ?”

Zhao Yun said with a smile: "After this battle, the general will see it when he returns to Jinyang."

Qu Yi tapped his head with the horsewhip in his hand, "After this battle, it's hard to tell if the head is still around your neck. When are you going to get married? Remember to notify me in advance. Don't be like a general, get married in a sneaky way." Yes, what are you talking about?"

Zhao Yun smiled shyly.Mustafa looked at Koji with a little fear.Last year he led 5 people to fight Xubuguduhou with 10 people, and finally drove Xubuguduhou away. He also said that he was useless in such a battle. If he was given 10 people, he would not kill the Huns People are finished.

Zhao Yun pointed to Mustafa and introduced it to Qu Yi, "It's all thanks to Mustafa that we were able to successfully win the three cities this time."

Qu Yi praised a few words, and said: "If you are willing, you can follow Liu Ming to lead the army. For your merits, even being a captain will wrong you."

At this time, Hengji also came.He and Zhao Yun haven't seen each other for more than a year, and they are very happy to see each other.After the four chatted and laughed, Mustafa guessed that Qu Yi, Zhao Yun and Heng Ji still had important matters to discuss, so he hurriedly bowed and said goodbye.

===

"When did General Xu start crossing the river to contain the Huns in Linwo and Jiuyuan?" Zhao Yun asked.

"It should start." Qu Yi looked at the sky and said, "He is just bluffing. The key is to see if we can defeat the Xiongnu iron cavalry here. As long as we defeat them and kill them in large numbers, Xubuguduhou will come from Jiuyuan Call in more troops to prevent us from crossing the river."

"Our casualties will be huge." Heng Ji said worriedly, "If they call in all of Jiuyuan's troops, it will be very difficult for us to stop them."

"It's not that serious. We have 1 cavalry and 4000 infantry, which can completely stop them." Zhao Yun said, "At present, the [-] soldiers in Xi'anyang, Chengyi and Yiliang have been dealt with by us. It is impossible to recruit [-] soldiers. The only reinforcements that Xubu Guduhou can transfer to Yiliang are [-] soldiers from Jiuyuan, [-] soldiers from Wuyuan City, and [-] soldiers from Linwo City. The total is [-]. [-] people. If General Xu can successfully contain part of Linwo and Jiuyuan's troops in the direction of Heyin City, then the number of troops that can reach Yiliang is no more than seven or eight thousand troops."

"The Marquis of Xubu Gudu will leave thousands of people to garrison Jiuyuan City no matter what, so the harder we fight, the fewer troops we will stay in Jiuyuan City, and Jiang Wu will be more confident in hitting and quickly Take down Jiuyuan City." Zhao Yun looked at Qu Yi and Heng Ji and said with a smile, "If Jiang Wu not only takes down Jiuyuan City, but also kills Xubu Guduhou, then the ending will be perfect."

Qu Yi laughed, "If he died so early, then this battle would be over soon."

Hengji smiled and shook his head, "Don't think about such a good thing, let's think about how to deal with Xubu Guduhou's counterattack. If he sees our plot, order Xubu Qiyang to lead his troops back to Jiuyuan immediately It will be very difficult for us to go north to attack Yinshan without the support of the city. Now it depends on whether the general's frontal attack can firmly hold Xu Bu Qiyang."

===

Xubugudu Hou was taken aback when he received Yiliang's request for help, and hurriedly summoned the ministers of Shan Yuting to discuss the matter.Lan Shamang, king of Youguli, believed that this was a trick of the Han army, a harassing attack by a small group of troops sent by the Han army.He believed that if the Han army crossed the river from Yudaiyuan, they should have received assistance from Yiliang and Chengyi cities at the same time, but so far they have only received support from Yiliang, which shows that this information is not accurate.Xubu Guduhou was hesitant, so he hurriedly sent his horse to Yiliang to find out the truth.

As soon as the fast horse left, the scouts lurking near the Yellow River reported that the Han army was crossing the river from the original direction of Yudai, and the two cities of Chengyi and Yiliang were captured by the Han army overnight.Soon, Linwo City rushed to ask for help, and the Han army began to cross the river from the direction of Heyin City to attack.After hearing the news, Xubu Guduhou and Chan Yuting's ministers were shocked.The two cities of Chengyi and Yiliang were lost overnight. It can be seen that the Han army had a plan to cross the river.

Xu Bugudu Hou didn't hesitate any longer, and immediately ordered the left general Huyan Dengdu to lead [-] cavalry to kill Ben Yiliang and Cheng Yi, and make sure to take back both cities and drive the Han army back to the south bank of the Yellow River.He ordered the two thousand iron cavalry stationed in Wuyuan City to attack immediately, and followed General Zuo to attack the Han army.Command the right captain Xu Buwu to lead two thousand cavalry to support Linwo, and must prevent the Han army from crossing the river.He ordered Kuai Ma to rush immediately to Yunzhong and urgently called Xu Bu Qiyang back to aid Jiuyuan City.

===

(End of this chapter)