Chapter 205: Jiazhai
In the sixth year of Guanghe's reign, on June 10th, outside Puyang City.
In the scorching heat of June, the hottest time of the year, six thousand elite soldiers of Zhang Chong's Taishan Army lined up in the wilderness east of Puyang City in the sun.
Zhang Chong stood on a chariot, looking far ahead at the big city that lay across the south of the river, thinking about how to fight Puyang.
As a key city on the south bank of the Yellow River, Puyang City is four feet high, with a deep moat on the outside that diverts water from the river as a moat. It is the first fortified city that Zhang Chongzheng has attacked in eight battles. If he really attacks it, he doesn't know how many people will die.
Then look at Puyangjin on the edge of Puyang City, which is a strong stronghold. This Puyangjin was actually built by two Dazhai in Hebei and Henan across the river. Between the two Dazhai is a permanent wooden bridge across the river. Now, Jiahe Dazhai has been built into a military stronghold and serves as the peripheral fortification of Puyang City.
With just one glance, Zhang Chong knew with his military prowess that the key to this battle was to first occupy Jiahe Village in Puyangjin. Otherwise, if the Taishan Army attacks Puyang, the Han army in the sandwiched stronghold will leave the stronghold and attack the Taishan Army's flanks. Therefore, we must first capture Jiahe Village before we can attack Puyang later.
But Zhang Chong frowned on the chao car and looked at the Jiazhai by the river. This is not a separate Jinzhai. I don’t know who has expanded the village with three wooden villages. The finished font surrounds Jinzhai. It can be said that the iron wall is tight and impregnable.
The Jiazhai in Puyangjin is not easy to fight!
Not only that, Zhang Chong looked at the flags in Puyang City and Puyang Jinshang, and he clearly felt that there were reinforcements in Puyang, and there were ten flags at the head of the camp alone. If there were 400 people in a unit, there couldn't be 4,000 Han soldiers? This obviously exceeds Dongjun's military strength.
In fact, Zhang Chong's guess was correct, reinforcements did come from Puyang.
The governor of Dongjun was called Cao Shao, and he was the son of the late eunuch Cao Jie. He has the typical character of a eunuch's son, greedy, cruel, violent and cowardly.
During his tenure as the governor of Dongjun, he collected countless taxes and levies, destroying the lives of many wealthy families in the territory. He was truly a devastated governor. But when the Taiping Dao uprising broke out in April, the people saw the Taiping Dao people swarming in the territory. They didn't even think about defending the land and bringing peace to the people, so they wanted to flee to Beijing and seek shelter from Zhang Rang.
But when he rushed to Baima, he suddenly heard that all the wealthy families in the county had raised troops to help, and even Lu Zhi, the general of Beizhonglang who had already crossed the river, was going to send troops south. Cao Shao stopped running and returned to Puyang, looking forward to Zixiong's attack. Destroy the Way of Peace.
No wonder Cao Shao suddenly rose to prominence. How could a kid like him from Kyoto not know the majesty of the Northern Army? As long as the Northern Army arrives, those thieves will be nothing more than chickens and dogs. Since the proper military exploits were presented to him, why didn’t he, Cao Shao, accept them?
So when Cao Shao returned to Puyang in May, he united the Tian family from Puyang, the Chenggong family from Baima, and the Ji family from Wei County, unified the county soldiers in hand, and raised a team of two thousand people, and then Just look north in the city, waiting for when the Northern Army can move south.
Just kidding, if the Northern Army doesn't come, don't ask Cao Shao to leave the city.
Cao Shao didn't wait long. On the first day of June, a thousand soldiers of the Northern Army followed the Hejin Ferry southward and arrived outside Puyang. Then they began to rely on Puyangjin and began to build fortresses, as if they were going to be crucified outside Puyang. look.
Cao Shao quickly sent a batch of supplies and corn to the Northern Army outside the city, and then found out who the leader of this road was.
Breed Shao!
Cao Shao complained secretly, why? Because the relationship between the Cao family and the Zhong family is not harmonious.
The Zhong family is a famous family in Kyoto. Their family is the descendant of Zhongshanfu in the Zhou Dynasty. They are a noble family inherited from the pre-Qin period. Their family is not only noble in blood, but also in the upper echelons of the dynasty in terms of official career. Since the time of Emperor An, the family has produced two thousand stones. And this man named Zhong Shao is the son of Zhong Fu, the current Guanglu doctor. He is also a well-educated man. He often joins forces with Yuan Shao and his gang in Kyoto to rebel against these eunuchs.
Now that Zhong Shao has come, Cao Shao doubts whether he can successfully obtain military merit.
Cao Shao was distraught, and seven of the rogues outside the city were dissatisfied and eight were dissatisfied. Originally, he could play three cards with the main force and make great achievements, but now he has to play Taipingdao's partial master here. The difference in credit is too big.
Previously, they had already reached Dangyin, only one step away from Yecheng. Then he was suddenly called by Lu Zhi, asking him to divide his troops and go south to the river to defend Puyang.
Lu Zhi said this at the time:
"Shen Fu, when you arrive in Puyang, you will set up a stronghold in Puyang Jin, which is at the same angle as Puyang City. Your most important task is to ensure the safety of Puyang City and stop the westward advance of the Yellow Turbans of Mount Tai. Then, guard the Yellow River ferry and retain the Our army goes south.”
Zhong Shao knew about the Taishan Yellow Turban, its predecessor, the Taishan Bandit! He killed three people worth two thousand stones. He was the biggest bandit before Taiping Road. Poor Kong Rong was hanged to death by these bandits.
But Zhong Shao was still unhappy with what Lu Zhi said. If he cooperates with me and leads the Northern Army southward, he can just hold the ferry and Puyang? This is looking down on him.
But Lu Zhi was a general with meritorious deeds, and he was respected as a traitor, so he had many thoughts in his mind but did not show them, so he accepted the order. But Lu Zhi, a great scholar in the world, should not be too insightful into people's hearts. He saw Zhong Shao's dissatisfaction, so he carefully explained Zhong Shao's explanation:
"Shen Fu, I had a discussion with Mr. Huangfu and Mr. Zhu before we were ordered to go on the expedition. The only person to be feared on the Taiping Road is the Yellow Turban of Mount Tai. Because they are real thieves and giants, and their military exploits are unparalleled in all wars. The result cannot be underestimated. Therefore, I paid close attention to the movements of this Taishan Yellow Turban all the way north.
When I first saw him conquering the Dongping Kingdom, I thought he was going north to Dongjun to cross the river and join forces with Zhang Jiao and others. At the time I thought this was just the right thing to do. But when he crossed Jishui and entered Dongjun, and then started to turn west, I knew that this Taishan bandit was a real thorn in my side.
Shen Fu, do you think why the Taishan Yellow Turban wanted to move westward? ”
Zhong Shao is not stupid. On the contrary, as a noble child, he received a good education. He guessed the intention of Taishan Yellow Turban with just a thought:
"They are going to attack Aocang!"
Lu Zhi nodded and sighed:
"We, the Han soldiers, are actually not afraid of any Jie Kou bandits, because these people are just ordinary warriors and do not pose much of a threat to the Han family. But the Taishan bandits have the world's pattern, which is a big threat. Look at the five schools of our Northern Army. The sharp soldiers of Sanhe go north to eat Aocang's grain. Once Aocang is forced and the food route is cut off, we will have no choice but to enter Jizhou alone. What's more terrible is that all the available troops in Luoyang are now divided between the north and the south. There are no troops left to guard Aocang. Therefore, I need you to lead the troops south immediately to defend Puyang. As long as Puyang is there, the Taishan bandits can no longer threaten our army's food road. If I have three, I will go south from Puyangjin to defeat the Taishan bandits with you.”
Zhong Shao understood the purpose of his military order, clasped his fists, firmly accepted the order, and headed south to Puyangjin.
Zhong Shao arrived at Puyangjin on June 1st, and then began to build fortifications, intending to use this place as a stronghold to confront the coming Yellow Turbans of Mount Tai. Then Zhang Chong arrived with the Taishan Army on June 10. By this time, Zhongshao had built three wooden fortresses, ready to deal with subsequent attacks by the Taishan Army.
At this moment, Zhang Chong had been watching the chao chariot for more than three moments, but still could not find any opportunity to take advantage of. Knowing that a quick victory was not possible, Zhang Chong ordered Guan Yu and Zhang Dan to start camping in the wilderness of Puyang.
After the sun passed and the weather was not so hot, Zhang Chong asked Zhao Liang and Zhu Ying from the Wuyan camp to launch a test attack on a camp outside Puyangjin.
Zhao Liang and Zhu Ying's Wuyan camp were both Taiping Taoist disciples of the Dongping Kingdom. They were determined and brave, so after receiving Zhang Chong's military order, they began to attack a camp in front of Puyangjin.
But unfortunately, although Zhao Liang and Zhu Ying also had bravery, they encountered the most elite Northern Army of the Han court, so after attacking for more than an hour, no one could touch the wall of the camp.
During this process, Zhang Chong stood on the chariot to watch the formation. He sometimes looked at the situation in Puyangjin, and sometimes turned his head to look at Puyang City to the west. He had some concerns in his heart, so he ordered the Wuyan camp to retreat.
Zhao Liang and Zhu Ying were both a little embarrassed when they retreated, especially since Zhao Liang had an arrow stuck in his shoulder. If he wasn't wearing three layers of armor, the arrow would cost his arm.
Zhang Chong comforted the two of them:
"The Han soldiers in Puyangjin are unusual. You see, when you attacked the western camp, there was no movement at all in the east and west camps. These are first-class elite soldiers who can remain calm in a big battle. Although your armaments are no worse than those of your opponents. But the combat skills are quite different in this battle, so don’t be discouraged. If you see the difference clearly, we will train our troops carefully and then we will be able to compete with the Han soldiers.”
Zhao Liang and Zhu Ying felt warm in their hearts after hearing this. The two of them are not ignorant of practical matters. Although they are Taiping troops in the Yanzhou system, they are actually foreign soldiers under Zhang Chong. And following the Taishan Army these days, I know that the elite of the Taishan Army can fight.
Everyone who fights hopes that the general will be wise and the friendly forces will be good at fighting, so that their survival rate will be high. Therefore, now, foreign soldiers like them already regard themselves as Zhang Chong's subordinates. Now that he was defeated, Zhang Chong comforted them without punishing them, how could he not make them burst into tears of gratitude.
Afterwards, Zhang Chong stopped attacking and waited for the soldiers to set up camp before making other plans.
The Wilderness of Puyang has always been a place of military contention. In addition, it is the Guankuo Plain and has been developed early, so there are not many forests for the Taishan Army to cut down and camp.
Later, Taishan's army searched south for another ten miles and finally found a forest with just enough wood for camping. After such a busy period of work, until night fell, a huge camp was erected in the wilderness of Puyang.
During this process, no one from Puyang or Jindu came out to attack. This result once again confirmed Zhang Chongbai's guess.
He returned to the big tent in the camp, called all the generals, and directly told his observations during the day:
"If we want to defeat Puyang this time, I think we can only capture Puyang Ferry first. Originally, I was worried that if we attack Puyang Ferry here, the Han soldiers in Puyang City to the west will come out of the city to attack us. In this way, we will be flanked from both sides. The situation will be complicated. It would be difficult. But during the day, I asked the Wuyan Battalion to launch a probing attack on Puyangjin. I specifically observed the situation at the top of Puyang City, and there was no change in the strength. If they wanted to go out of the city to aid the friendly forces in Puyangjin, they would have to mobilize their mobile forces. So I boldly guessed that the Puyang soldiers were not in the same system as those outside the city. After that, when we set up camp, we would be most vulnerable to two sides. They were harassed by soldiers, but they still didn’t leave the camp. It can be seen that they seemed to be in harmony and just wanted to defend themselves.”
Zhang Chong continues to talk about military strategy here, and the flying army outside carries the flag and reports:
"There is a group of soldiers outside the door. They say it is the Taiping Road in Puyang. When they heard about our arrival, they came here to join us."
A bit late today
(End of chapter)