Chapter 259 Collapse
These two military reports did not have too many words. One of them even had only one sentence, but every word was very important.
The military report coming from the south was sent from Taiping Road in Runan. The sentry rider who delivered the message died of exhaustion after finding the main force of the Taishan Army. Therefore, Zhang Chong’s only source of information about the situation in Runan was this military report, but there were only eight words in the military report:
"Ashamed of Huang Tian, we will work hard together."
Zhang Chong called over his Runan Huangjin commanders, and they identified the handwriting as that of Huang Shao, the new Runan Qu commander. At that time, Zhang Chong understood that the Runan Yellow Turban was in danger.
As for what happened, Zhang Chong compiled the intelligence from the past few days and probably guessed it. A few days ago, Chen Huan, the chief minister, received a military report. He said that the Han army that had been confronting him had made a suspicious formation and then quietly retreated.
In the previous battle at Yingyang, Zhu Jun, the then Youzhonglang general, led more than 10,000 remaining troops to runan south, and then Huang Shao also led 40,000 Runan Yellow Turbans southward. It stands to reason that both sides are fighting, and the winner will not be decided so quickly. Therefore, it is obvious that a variable has emerged, and this variable is the remnant of General Zuo Zhonglang of the Han army who was originally huddled in Yangdi.
Therefore, when Zhang Chong and Zhang Chong are combined, it is estimated that when Huang Shao and Zhu Jun confront each other, Zuo Zhonglang of the Han army will appear on the battlefield, and then the Runan Yellow Turban will be defeated. Zhang Chong thought again, after the main force of the Han army defeated the Runan Yellow Turbans, where would they go next?
That must be me!
The military reports from the south had already made Zhang Chong feel urgent, but the military reports from the north made Zhang Chong feel heartbroken.
The military report sent from the north was personally sent by the great sage Zhang Jiao. In his letter, he roughly stated the situation on the battlefield in Hebei.
The Hebei Yellow Turbans and Lu Zhi's Beizhonglang generals had several decisive battles with each other, but they lacked cavalry to dominate the battlefield, and in the end they could only huddle in the two cities of Guangzong and Quyang.
But then, as Taiping Road began to gain an overwhelming advantage on the Qingzhou battlefield, several Yellow Turban troops came north from Qingzhou to support the Hebei battlefield.
Among them, Ji Sun from Jinan, Zhang Rao from Pingyuan County, and Xu He from Le'an were the first to lead their troops north because they were closest to Hebei. These Qingzhou Yellow Turbans are among the best in terms of physical fitness, armor condition, and mental outlook. The addition of these elites has greatly enhanced the Hebei Yellow Turbans' field combat capabilities.
Before that, Lu Zhi sent the Youzhou Cavalry to Xingyang south of the river. He no longer had the power to decide the battlefield. So after several battles, the Han army was defeated. Lu Zhi retreated directly to Julu before he stabilized his position. battle front. But just when the Yellow Turbans in Hebei were planning to make persistent efforts, a Han soldier was killed from Fukouxing. It was Dong Zhuo, the governor of Hedong, who was the reinforcement to support Hebei.
Because Dong Zhuo appeared so suddenly, the Yellow Turban Army was completely unprepared. Then just under Julu City, the Yellow Turban Army of Hebei and Qingzhou suffered a major defeat. This time, Zhang Chong's teacher, Zhang Liang, the number two figure on Taiping Road, died in battle under the city.
No one knows what Zhang Liang said to Zhang Jiao before he died in the battle, but after that Zhang Jiao led the Yellow Turban Army from Hebei and Qingzhou to withdraw to Guangzong. And a cavalry detached from the Yellow Turban Army, went straight to Zhang Chong in Xingyang, and delivered the military report that Zhang Chong is holding now.
Zhang Chong knew that his teacher had died in the battle, and he was in a trance. He remembered the peach-blossomed Lushoupo, the elder who asked for life for the people, and their mutual understanding, which saved the people from fire and water and benefited the world at the same time. ideal.
But now, the work has been accomplished, and Zhang Shizhong's path has collapsed, and another elder who loved and protected him has passed away.
In addition to telling Zhang Chong the bad news, Zhang Jiao also mentioned in the letter that the situation in the world has become increasingly clear. As more and more Yellow Turban troops gather in Hebei, the Han army will also gather in Hebei. By then, both sides will A real decisive battle will break out in Hebei.
If Taiping wins this battle, within a few years, the world will become the age of Huang Tian. When the time comes to conquer the world, and there is no one more powerful than Zhang Chong in the sect, Zhang Jiao will take Zhang Chong as his heir, inherit their three Zhangs' aspirations, and rule all the people in the world for Huang Tian.
Good guy, in order for Zhang Chong to lead his army north, Zhang Jiao even promised Zhang Chong his successor. It’s hard to tell how many machinations and tricks there are in this. At least for now, Zhang Jiao does intend to entrust the Taiping Road to Zhang Chong.
On the one hand, before his brother Zhang Liang died in the battle, he begged Zhang Jiao to put aside his past resentment, believe in Zhang Chong, and use Zhang Chong, saying that Zhang Chong would definitely realize the ideal of Taiping Dao. On the other hand, after nearly half a year of war, Zhang Jiao increasingly realized that he was not suitable as a military commander, and Zhang Chong, who had won many battles, was undoubtedly the best candidate for this.
After carefully sealing the letter in the box, Zhang Chong was silent for a long time, then decided to change the plan. The soldiers poured out. Even if the pot of millet in front of him was a pot of raw millet, Zhang Chong would take the lead in eating it.
For everything! ——
Guanghe six years, September 13th, Dan.
On an official road more than ten miles away from Xingyang City, Mao Shao sat on a grain cart, bored and watching the numb-eyed disciples pushing military supplies.
Since Mao Shao was captured, he only served as a general. Later, he secretly went to find Chen Qin, the chief secretary. After some coyness, he asked Chen Qin if what he said before was still valid.
Chen Qin laughed loudly and said nothing. He only transferred Mao Shao to the baggage team as a garrison deputy, responsible for transporting grain and fodder. Regarding Chen Qin's operation, after Mao Shao returned, Lao Nu and his companion discussed it, and both expressed that they did not understand it.
You have to say that there is support, but since Mao Shao was transferred from the main battle corps to the logistics, it is obvious that there are fewer opportunities for meritorious service. But you have to say that Chen Qin did not support him, but he also jumped from an ordinary general to a deputy general.
But even though Mao Shao didn't understand Chen Qin's operations, he still went because he knew that no matter what, he would catch Chen Qin.
Mao Shao's first task when he entered the supply camp was to transport grain from Yanshi Barrier to the frontline camp.
Now the Yanshi Barrier has become a grain storage area for the Taishan Army in the rear. Part of the grain and millet inside was brought by Zhang Dan by boat from Fengqiu, and part of it was brought by the Taishan Army from Guancheng. The large amount of grain and fodder behind it will be From the Heji area along the Ji River, a steady stream of water was sent to the Yan family.
But there is one thing to say. Compared with the Han army on the opposite side, this supply can only be said to be incomparable. The Han army on the opposite side has both Aocang's grain and Luoyang's Taicang. It can be said that in terms of supplies, the Taishan army has eaten them all, but the Han army can still feed them for half a year. This is the gap.
The camp where Commander Qu was stationed was only about five miles away from the Han army on the opposite side. In a place called Yuegang, both sides could see the watchtower of the other camp. It can be said that the two armies were cheek to cheek.
It is said that while setting up camp, a strange thing happened.
The sergeant who was in charge of digging deep trenches suddenly dug up some earth platform foundations, as well as some stone chimes and stone guis from unknown eras. After a particularly outstanding bronze casting was unearthed, its animal patterns were mysterious and everyone thought it was a god.
After that, everyone didn't dare to neglect and hurriedly sent it to Qu Shuai. Zhang Chong was still pondering over it, wondering which ancient relics he had excavated. After all, whatever civilization he found in Henan could be found in pre-ancient times.
But at this time, Ma Yuanyi, who was wearing a yellow dress and a precious crown, suddenly had the whites of his eyes turned up and swayed all over. Then his temperament suddenly changed, and he pointed at the bronze ornament and said:
"Foolish believers, this is the treasure I gave you, and it is a blessing to you. On the day of the decisive battle, send this treasure to its land again, and Huang Tian will appear to help you win. After the war, I want you to use Capture it and sacrifice it to me.”
After saying this, Ma Yuanyi trembled again and began to wake up, looking at everyone in confusion.
Zhang Chong felt disgusted, knowing that Ma Yuanyi wanted to encourage everyone, but this mysterious religious method greatly damaged his prestige. If this battle fails, it is because Zhang Chong did not command it well. If it wins, it has nothing to do with Zhang Chong. It is Huang Tian's blessing to the world.
Not to mention, Ma Yuanyi's supporting posture is really quite coaxing. Many generals who didn't see the Taishan Army held their breath, with confusion and fear in their eyes. If Zhang Chong hadn't dealt with these people a long time ago and told them what was going on, he might have really knelt down. Got off.
After Ma Yuanyi "woke up" and looked at the reactions of everyone in the big tent, what surprised him was that the generals of the Taishan Army might be afraid, but none of them believed it. Obviously, these people believed in Zhang Chong far more than they believed in Huang Tian. But this time Ma Yuanyi did it casually and treated it as a test. In short, there are still many days to come, let's look at it later.
Since Mao Shao's status was too low, he didn't know what was going on. In short, he was leading a team of 20 people to protect these 20 grain trucks and send this batch of millet to the Yuegang camp.
There was an autumn rain here in Xingyang yesterday, making the day suddenly cold. Mao Shao sat cross-legged in a pile of millet bags and absentmindedly ate the harvested jujubes.
He spit out the date cores and then said to his companions walking below:
"Xiao Jia, how do you think we can make meritorious deeds? The more I think about it, the more I feel that I cannot die in this supply camp. I, Mao Shao, have to revitalize the family and be a wolf, so how can I live in this manger for a long time."
The burly companion named Xiao Jia shrugged his shoulders after hearing Mao Shao's question, meaning that even if you are so smart, Sir, how could I, Xiao Jia, know.
In fact, Mao Shao didn't care at all whether Xiao Jia below had anything to say, and continued:
"You said that thieves..."
Xiao Jia, who was silent, was coughing crazily.
"You said that Qu Shuai happily led us out of the camp, and it's been two days without even a fight? Do you expect us to sit here and die facing each other? Really."
Mao Shao was complaining about the useless battle above. According to his thoughts, the two armies were already lined up, so he could just go up and attack with his sword.
Xiao Jia didn't answer the question. For him, he was only responsible for the husband saying nothing.
Mao Shao complained crazily while eating dates. In the blink of an eye, half a dustpan of dates was about to be eaten by him. The date stones he vomited were everywhere along the way, and many of them were spat on the heads of the soldiers holding halberds nearby.
At this time, a thin and small halberd holder finally couldn't bear it any longer. He muttered something, but Mao Shao, who was sitting on the grain cart, heard it. Maybe not heard? A warrior like Mao Shao who fights on the battlefield must have sharp eyes and sharp ears, otherwise he will not be able to avoid hidden arrows.
Mao Shao immediately noticed the whimpering boy and immediately threw a date at him and cursed:
"Good dog slave, what you just said, tell Naigong again!"
The thin halberd wielder was hit on the head by a date, but remained unmoved, as if the person who just spoke was not him.
Seeing that this man was pretending to be dead, Mao Shao smashed two more dates at him. When he saw that the boy didn't say anything, he jumped out of the car and beat him.
The thin little halberd wielder saw that he would not be able to escape a beating if he didn't speak, so he said loudly:
"Lieutenant, I mean you don't know how to fight."
When Mao Shao heard this, his thick eyebrows straightened up. When his companion Xiao Jia saw this, he knew that Mao Shao was really angry, and he hurriedly scolded the thin halberd wielder:
"You know nothing about soldiers. If you don't patrol your route, go to the west and see if there are any Han soldiers ambushing you."
Xiao Jia was about to send the thin halberd-wielding man away when he heard Mao Shao say calmly:
"Xiao Jia, why are you so anxious? Let this person say it. It's best to let him say two, three or four today, otherwise."
At this moment, the halberd-wielding man also risked his life, scratched his neck, and continued:
"Now we and the other side must have not to mention one hundred thousand, but sixty or seventy thousand people. How can such a large-scale war be just like a street fight? Not to mention that there are many dangerous places on this plain. If we don’t occupy these high ground areas, then the opposite side will Once the decisive battle breaks out, those important places will be like a sharp knife stabbing us in the waist. Therefore, the reason why there has been no fighting in the past two days is that the two sides are testing each other and competing for important places on the battlefield. Squeeze the battlefield space.”
Mao Shao was stunned when he heard these words. He really didn't know this. Seeing that what the other person said made sense, but Mao Shao didn't care whether you made sense or not, he would find an excuse to take off this person's clothes and beat him up. As for whether it is a violation of military discipline, let’s wait until we get beaten! At worst, I'll just say that I've never heard of it when I first came here.
But at this time, the boy holding the halberd on the other side said something again, directly interrupting Mao Shao's thoughts of revenge, and he said:
"Mr. Tun, didn't you say how to do meritorious service before? I know how to do meritorious service, but I just don't know if you can resist."
After hearing this, Mao Shao immediately smiled and said to the boy holding the halberd:
"Don't tell me. As soon as I saw you, I thought you would be a good brother to me, Mao Shao. Come on, brother, tell me how to achieve this feat."
For Mao Shao, whether he called himself father before or brother now, it actually means the same thing, I am your father.
The boy holding the halberd was about to say something when his companion, Xiao Jia, who had been silent all of a sudden, looked at the slope in front of him in confusion, then rubbed his eyes again, and finally said in surprise:
"Lang Jun, do you think that is a person?"
Mao Shao sat the highest, so he could naturally see the farthest. But before, his attention was all on the boy holding the halberd. Now he listened to his companions to remind him. At a glance, he turned out to be a knight in a crimson uniform.
Mao Shao was so excited that he immediately shouted to his twenty soldiers:
"The Han army is coming. Hurry up and form a circle around the cart, and let the people and Zhuang people hide behind the cart."
As soon as he finished speaking, Mao Shao's two dozen soldiers began to get busy in a mess. There is no way, these soldiers are all leftovers, not to mention compared with the main battalion of Taishan Army, even compared with Mao Shao's original troops, they are far behind.
But now Mao Shao can only rely on these miscellaneous soldiers.
Mao Shao stood up from the grain pile, put his hands on the awning and looked at the slope not far away. But after watching for a long time, I could only see the Han cavalry. I was wondering what was going on when a word came from the side.
But the boy with the halberd just now actually climbed onto the grain truck and was watching like him. Just listen to what this guy said:
"Mr. Tun, this is the gong I told you."
Mao Shao suddenly understood. He patted his thigh excitedly, understanding that the thigh he was hugging really gave him a chance. It turned out that Chen Qin, the chief secretary, had expected that the supply camp escorting supplies behind him might be attacked by Han cavalry, so he transferred Mao Shao to the supply camp.
This is good, Mao Shao was promoted to an official, and Mao Shao was given a chance to gain military exploits.
At this time, in Mao Shao's heart, the chief secretary Chen Qin was a great good person.
But he suddenly paused, tilted his head, stared at the boy holding the halberd, and said warily:
"How did you know that there would be Han cavalry coming? Are you their internal agent?"
As he said that, Mao Shao put his hand on the shoulder of the kid holding the halberd. As long as there was something wrong with this person, Mao Shao could kill him to the ground.
When Mao Shao's thick palm grabbed his shoulder, the halberd-wielding boy couldn't help but tremble and hurriedly explained:
"This is easy to guess. As long as you know a little about the Han army on the opposite side, you will know that we are completely dependent on the supplies from the Yanshi camp behind us, and there are only a few roads from the camp to Yanshi, so you can know it with a little care Our grain road is on the opposite side, and we know that they will intercept our grain road first.”
He could guess it just by thinking about it. Mao Shao blushed a little, but only for a moment.
He planned to say:
"But now look at the person coming across from you. Is he a lost rider?"
Mao Shao wanted to hear something more from the boy holding the halberd, but who would have thought that the boy shook his head:
"There is too little information to talk about now. But what you just did, Lieutenant Tun, is right. Now we have formed a car formation, and the other side will not be able to break us for a while. And now we are only six or seven miles away from the main camp. Let’s light a fire here, and maybe we can see it from the camp, so it’s not a big problem.”
Mao Shao quite agreed with what this boy said, and he also believed that there was no danger this time. But the reason for reaching this conclusion is different from his.
Mao Shao was not stupid. When he knew that the chief secretary Chen Qin wanted to let him here, he knew that the main force must be nearby and prepare to ambush the Han cavalry who were attacking the grain road.
But Mao Shao couldn't sit back and wait, because if the Han cavalry were eliminated by the main force, wouldn't Mao Shao be able to gain any merit at all?
This is absolutely unacceptable to Mao Shao.
So, Mao Shao turned around and asked the boy holding the halberd beside him, and said boldly:
"Would you like to follow me to capture the Han cavalry? Show your bravery?"
The boy holding the halberd shook his head and pointed at the trembling Minzhuang in the car array:
"Tuen Lieutenant, look at these civilians. Their faces are pale with fear. They can still stay in the car formation just because we armed with weapons are guarding outside. But once we rush out, will those civilians be in danger? ”
Looking at the civilian husband lying on the ground, Mao Shao said lightly:
"They are like sheep. What does it have to do with me whether they live or die? I used to think you were a man, but now, just stay in this car formation and be a sheep in the pen."
After saying that, Mao Shao ignored the man, jumped out of the cart, took his companion, Xiaojia, and two former veterans and rushed towards the small slope ahead. Among these four people, Mao Shao stood tall and straddled his horse, and Xiao Jia and three others followed closely behind him with armor and swords.
On the horse, Mao Shao once again despised the halberd-wielding man. He thought he was a talented person and a fellow traveler, but he didn't expect that he was also a sheep as timid as a chicken. No matter how much he knows about this kind of sheep, he is still just a sheep. Never have the courage to break out of the sheepfold and become a liger.
From behind, looking at the murderous backs of Mao Shao and the other four men, the halberd-wielding man's face was filled with astonishment. He was obviously caught off guard by Mao Shao's words, "They are like sheep, what does it matter whether they are alive or dead?"
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to Mao Shao, but in the end there was only a sigh.
(End of chapter)