Chapter 269 Gao Jian
In the sixth year of Guanghe, it was September 15th, Youshi.
The sun gradually dimmed, and the confrontation between the main force of the Han Army and the main force of the Taishan Army also reached a critical moment, but they were not the factors that determined the success or failure of the battlefield. On the contrary, Ru Ying Huangjin, who had been resting since before the war, became the winner of this battle. Hands behind your back.
The Han army's Youzhou cavalry will soon arrive on the battlefield. Can these ragtag troops withstand the Han court's most elite cavalry regiment? The pressure is on Ru Ying Huangjin.
When the flying army carried the flag and sent the military orders of Jin Dao and Qu Shuai to Ru Ying Huangjin's tens of thousands of people, the two leading commanders were desperate.
One of them is named He Dali, a native of Yangzhai, Yingchuan. One is named Cao Dayong, a native of Xihua in Runan, and both are leading figures in the two circles who were supported by Zhang Chong.
How do you think two people can fight? That's not the case, because the key to his ability to rise to the top is to be the first to declare his intention to follow Zhang Chong. But the two of them are not ordinary people. If they didn't have any force, Zhang Chong would not allow them to come.
But if you have courage, you still have courage. They still know what kind of enemy they are going to face in the Youzhou Cavalry. On this plain, the role of this kind of assault cavalry corps is less than that of infantry, not only when one is equivalent to a hundred, but when compared to ten.
During the Guangwu period, hundreds of thousands of Hebei bronze horse thieves could not withstand the attack of three thousand Youzhou cavalry. How can we, Ru Ying Huangjin, not only withstand it, but also give Qu Shuai two moments of time?
But they also know that now they can only implement it according to Qu Shuai's words. What if they don't? The whole army fled, and they were all dead on this vast plain.
So, He Dali gritted his teeth and took the golden sword. He solemnly said to the flying army:
"Qu Shuai must never fail our brother Ru Ying!"
Carrying the flag was also stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted, dismounted himself, and said to He Dali:
"He Kui, my Qushuai has never betrayed anyone in his life. After a while, I asked a brother to report back to Qushuai and said that I, Xiao Chen, have delivered the general order and have fulfilled my duties. Later, Xiao Chen will join brothers Ru Ying. , fight to the last moment!”
After saying that, he gave the reins to He Dali. He was stunned by the person named Xiao Chen and said in confusion:
"Xiao Chen, there's no need at all. We naturally trust Qu Shuai, so it's up to you to repay the favor and not bother the two of us."
Who would have thought that Xiao Chen said seriously:
"He Kui, it was me who sent Commander Qu's golden sword and military orders, and you believed my promise. In that case, I, Xiao Chen, can't let you Ru Ying's brothers down, but Xiao Chen is a very unknown person. I have nothing to do with you, I can only use this passion to live and die with you.”
After saying that, Xiao Chen bowed deeply to He Dali and Cao Dayong.
He Dali and Cao Dayong stopped talking. If they wanted to, they could say, "Who do you think Xiao Chen is?" Do they care about your Xiao Chen's guarantee before they fight to the death? But they thought about it again, isn't it precisely because this person is nothing that his behavior seems so fierce? Although his position is low, his righteousness is extremely low.
He Dali and Cao Da looked at each other and said to Xiao Chen in unison:
"Xiao Chen, today we are here in Xingyang, in this large formation of ten thousand people, and Huang Tianhou Tu is here to witness it, how about you and I becoming sworn brothers in front of the formation?"
Xiao Chen did not hesitate and paid homage to the two of them:
"Brother, please accept my bow!"
He Dali and Cao Dayong were so happy that they asked each other's names, only to find out that this young Chen was called Chen Cheng.
In this way, He Dali and Cao Dayong gathered their strength and said hello. They mobilized various units and moved to the northwest of the battlefield. After arranging their formation there, they took advantage of the time and hurriedly dug fortifications to block the impact of Youzhou's sudden cavalry.
Just as Ru Ying Huang Jin was stepping up his deployment of horseback troops and digging trenches, a Taishan Army armored soldier also moved over.
This army is Zhang Chong's most trusted army, the two thousand soldiers under the command of Zhonghujun Yujin.
Zhang Chong, who has always been cautious in his work, never puts the life and death of the entire army on one person. In addition to inspiring Ru Ying and the Yellow Turban to die bravely, Yu Jin's army is also Zhang Chong's back-up force, and this back-up force will also be in the army. He was responsible for the most frontal mission in intercepting Youzhou's sudden cavalry.
In addition to the thousands of halberd-armed soldiers, the Yujin Army also had thousands of crossbow troops. Because of the nature of the Central Guard Army, the quality of these soldiers is particularly high. In addition to halberd warriors and crossbow warriors, they are also ring-headed sword warriors. They abandon their halberds and crossbows and pick up swords and axes. Can fight again.
In order to have enough troops to dispatch to the northwest, Yu Jin even took the initiative to release the 300 Youzhou assault cavalry captured in the previous battle. At that time, several generals said that instead of letting these sudden cavalry go back to the Han army, it would be better to kill them all now. Others, even if they were not as bloody as these few, suggested cutting off these people's arms or thumbs, which would not only allow these people to live, but also prevent them from going to the battlefield.
But he refused to take any of them. These 300 Youzhou Riders were very valuable human resources. No matter whether they killed or humiliated them, there would be no benefit. So he made an oath with these 300 Youzhou Riders.
Yu Jin stood in front of these prisoners and solemnly promised that he would release them all. But if Taishan's army wins this battle, you will come back and become our prisoners. And if our Taishan Army is unfortunately defeated in this battle, then you will be completely free and can follow everyone wherever they go.
Yu Jin told them that according to the hatred between the two armies, even if you are killed, you should be killed, and now we choose not to kill you because we are grateful to you for living. You have used your bravery to repay your loyalty to the Han Dynasty. Later, when Taishan's army won, you also need to use your commitment to repay my kindness to you for living.
After saying that, Yu Jin took the lead in cutting off a rope and sent the Youzhou Riders to scatter.
The prisoners looked at everything in disbelief, as if Jin had really cut the rope, they looked at Yu Jin with confusion. One of them stood out from the crowd and was Liu Bei's companion. He was captured and sent here.
At this time, Qianzhao solemnly said:
"General, you are a gentleman. We recognize your promise. If your army wins this battle, we don't want to be prisoners anymore, so we will be your soldiers, General. And if you lose this battle, we will not Kill your prisoners, and we will bury the body for you, general, so that the wild dogs will not eat it.”
Yu Jin smiled, nodded, said nothing else, and then went out with the entire army of 2,000 fine armors.
When Yu Jinjun arrived, Ru Ying Huang Jin had already chosen his position. There is a gentle slope on the right rear wing of the Han army. This slope has a long gentle slope along the northwest. Although it does not shake much, it can still withstand a little bit of horse speed.
The ten-thousand-person formation of Ruying Yellow Turban is arranged according to the tradition of the Yellow Turban Army. It is a simple five formations, two in front and three in back, arranged in a line along the gentle slope.
Then there were military chariots and horses on both sides, which simply covered the two wings. Because there was not enough time, the horses and horses were all built on the carts originally, and they were simply placed and not hammered into the ground.
Yu Jin looked at the battlefield and the layout of Ru Ying Huangjin, and sighed inwardly, because although the layout of these people was okay, their formation was loose and their armor was low, so they obviously could not directly resist the sudden advance of Youzhou's cavalry from the opposite side.
In view of this, Yu Jin resolutely decided to place more than a thousand Changge soldiers under his command at the front of Ru Ying Huangjin to act as a buffer for the entire army. Therefore, the military formation on the northwest slope of the battlefield presents a sharp arrow formation with the front, middle, and back three.
According to normal circumstances, such a military formation should be an impact formation. But Yu Jin felt that Ru Ying Huangjin's combat quality was too low and he didn't dare to counterattack, so he had to let them stay behind. If they are not allowed to face the powerful Han army, their courage will still be there.
Yu Jin did not place the remaining thousand crossbowmen in the formation, but arranged them on Ru Ying Huangjin's position, and then asked Ru Ying Huangjin to insert thick wooden stakes in front of these Taishan Army crossbowmen to guard against them. Cavalry charge.
The thousand soldiers with halberds in the front line formed a five-row formation. This formation was undoubtedly short and could easily be missed by the two wings of the Han cavalry.
But this was Yu Jin's plan. He wanted to use these soldiers as a huge reef. After withstanding the fiercest impact of the Han army, even if the rest escaped from the two wings, the horse's speed would already be weak. In the end, he led his guards to guard the five-row formation in person, acting as ballast for the entire army.
When the Ruyingchuan Huangjin hammered the last stake for the friendly crossbowmen, dust rose in the distance in the northwest and the ground shook. Everyone knew that the Youzhou Cavalry finally arrived on the battlefield.
Then the Han army in the circle burst into cheers, but they were soon beaten to the point of crying by the Taishan army.
With tens of thousands of people fighting behind them, Ru Yinghuangjin and Yu Jinbu held their breaths and watched the dust, every movement and silence, they were so nervous.
Soon, they saw dozens of cavalrymen carrying apricot-yellow flags constantly fighting with the Han cavalry in crimson military uniforms. From time to time, someone fell off their horse.
He Dali and Cao Dayong in the middle formation looked sadly at the friendly knights being surrounded and killed by the large number of Han knights, and said sadly to Chen Cheng beside them:
"Is that your robe?"
Xiao Chen nodded. His eyes were full of tears now, and he just stared at Pao Ze in front of the battle formation, hoping that they would quickly enter the formation.
The flying troops carrying flags in front of the formation showed excellent riding and shooting skills, constantly circling around and firing back, but there were really too few of them. Under the leadership of a red-headed general, Fei Jun carried the flag and rescued a small team that was surrounded, and then ran straight towards the formation of Ruying Huangjin.
But at this time, an arrow was shot from the Han army's formation and hit a man carrying a flag. The man fell heavily under the exclamation of the soldiers.
At this time, the red-banded general had already rushed to the front. Hearing the shouts of the brothers behind him, he turned around and looked back and saw this scene. Without thinking, the man turned back on his horse and bent down to pick up the brother. About to withdraw.
Two brave men broke out from the cavalry of the Han army, and they were about to surround and kill the thieves and establish their own military destiny.
The red-headed general was not afraid at all. He hit a string with his right bow and shot a man over. Then he drew his sword and passed by the rider behind him. The man's head flew out.
It wasn't over yet. The red-banded general who instantly killed two people picked up the reins and pointed at the general under the banner of Youzhou's sudden cavalry with a blood-stained knife, looking scornful.
Over there, Zong Yuan, the head coach of the Youzhou Assault Cavalry under the banner, looked at the fierce cavalry commander on the opposite side with an ugly face. It was this man who blocked him for a moment with more than a hundred cavalry, which greatly reduced the effect of the assault.
Zong Yuan led Youzhou's sudden cavalry to lurk in the dense forest twenty miles away in the early morning. In order to achieve the effect of the surprise attack, he ordered the entire army to remain silent. Anyone who dared to violate it would have the military officials confiscate their armor and cavalry and drive them out of the army. He pierced his ears and traveled to the army. Relying on harsh punishments, they were able to avoid the patrolling sentry horses of the Taishan Army before the war.
Originally, he should have arrived at the battlefield at least two moments in advance, but he was destroyed by the hateful thief general on the opposite side. However, the clan member resisted the man's provocation. He wanted to observe the military formation in front of him as soon as possible to see how to break through.
In the Youzhou Assault Cavalry, some members of the sect had a bad feeling, but some had a good feeling.
At this time, Gongsun Zan, with his white horse and white armor, was a suave and charming man. He looked at the behavior of the red-banded cavalry officer just now and couldn't help but said to Liu Bei beside him:
"A good cavalryman, able to draw a sword and stand on horseback, he is a hero!"
These words made Zhang Fei next to Liu Bei darken his face, but Gongsun Zan smiled and comforted him:
"A Fei is naturally more heroic than that general."
At this time, Zhang Fei didn't have any words, so the army called him A Fei or Yan Bao.
After Liu Bei and Zhang Fei lost their troops after the attack, they temporarily stayed with Gongsun Zan, and they were already in a semi-dependent state.
Liu Bei looked at the red-headed generals who were gradually disappearing, sighed, and thought of recruiting them.
Ah Zhao! Where are you at this time? Will you also be on this battlefield with me?
……
The red-banded cavalry general was none other than Meng Ju, the general of the Fei Army. He led the remaining forty-three cavalrymen of the Fei Army and wearily entered Ru Ying Huangjin's formation from the right.
As soon as they dismounted, some of them fell to the ground because their legs were weak. The Ru Ying Yellow Turban soldiers who came over immediately wrapped them in woolen blankets. They were sweating too much and would get into trouble if they were not protected from the wind.
As the Han army's Youzhou sudden cavalry appeared, chanting began to be heard from Ru Ying's Huangjin side. Under the leadership of Taoist envoys from each army, they began to pray to the east, praying to Huang Tian to bless the believers.
The solemn and solemn chants of thousands of people, especially the sincere prayers between life and death, directly overwhelmed all the sounds on the battlefield. At this time, the giant crow that had been standing on the Taishan Army's banner before the war was alarmed by this huge chant. Flying directly to the sky above Ru Yinghuangjin.
The setting sun passes through the clouds and sheds golden light. The sacred crows are crowing and the believers are singing. The most sacred thing in the world is nothing more than this.
This scene fell in the eyes of the Youzhou Tuqi opposite, and their hearts trembled. Many of them were Wuhuan people, and they were more superstitious than the Han army. This made them feel excited.
The clan member noticed this looseness and was filled with disdain. He had seen more pious people than this in the Hebei battlefield, but didn't he still turn into dust under their iron hoof?
He rode up to the front of the whole army and shouted to all the Youzhou cavalry and Wuhuan attendants:
"Children of Youzhou? What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that you won't capture enough? Are you afraid that the enemy will hurt you? You don't have to worry. The enemies on the opposite side are already trembling. I can already smell their fear. That's The sheep are afraid of the wolves. The capture of this battle will belong to you, and the glory will also belong to you. I will let everyone in the world know that it was our Youzhou Cavalry that saved the Han army from danger.
Two hundred years ago, it was us, the Youzhou Tuqi, who went south to rebuild the Han Dynasty. Now, two hundred years later, it must be us, the Youzhou Tuqi, who came to save the Han Dynasty from danger. Afterwards, we will recall this afternoon countless times and proudly say to our children and grandchildren that we saved the big man!
And brothers from the grassland, please follow us bravely and use your actions to prove your loyalty to the emperor of the Han Dynasty. And His Majesty will give you endless wealth and clothing, so that you can proudly return to your tribe, so that your wives and children will no longer suffer from the cold in the winter on the grassland.
So come on, come on, pick up the swords and guns in your hands, follow my banner, I will lead you to victory again! ”
The prestige of the clan members is naturally high. These Youzhou Cavalry and Wuhuan Cavalry were all formed by him, and they won one victory after another under his banner, so they never doubted the outcome of this battle.
However, while the clan members were encouraging themselves, Gongsun Zan was teasing in a low voice with Cui Jun, the right commander next to him.
Sima Cui Jun on the right is a descendant of the Cui family in Zhuo County and the son of the former Taiwei Cui Lie. The Cui family of Zhuo County passed down the Confucian classics to their family. From the time of Wang Mang, they used the Ming classics to conquer public affairs. The following generations were famous for their classics. In Cui Shi's generation, they even participated in the largest historical material project of the Han Dynasty, "Dongguan". The editors of "Han Ji" can be said to be from a family of classical Confucian scholars who are extremely pure.
But Cui Jun, the Sima on the right, is an outlier, especially good at martial arts. He later achieved the official position of General of the Tiger Guard, and is now one of the five Sima of Youzhou Tuqi, with a bright future.
It is said that Gongsun Zan originally hated the children of those Confucian classics families, but he was especially fond of Cui Jun. They all deeply felt the pain of being suppressed by the Han Dynasty in Hebei, and they all felt that it was time for the Hebei people to express their own voices.
So while listening to what the clan member said, Gongsun Zan couldn't help but sarcastically said:
"Our handsome man is obviously from Nanyang, but he will worry about us Hebei people."
Gongsun Zan's words were so harsh and cunning that they made Cui Jun laugh out loud.
After the clan member over there finished speaking, he heard Gongsun Zan’s voice and asked:
"Bogui, what are you talking about?"
Gongsun Zan immediately made a solemn statement:
"Deputy Commander, your words are very good."
With the support of the powerful general, the clan member smiled proudly.
In fact, Gongsun Zan despised the performance of the clan members. He grasped the key to the battle as soon as he arrived on the battlefield.
Now the main force of the old commander Huang Wan was obviously being violently attacked by the Taishan Army. The roaring cavalry group made him, a Youzhou native, speechless. How could those Han soldiers be able to withstand it? Sooner or later they would collapse.
Therefore, this battle should be fought like this: regardless of the Yellow Turban Army position in front, launch an attack on the raging Taishan Army cavalry. As long as the outermost Taishan Army cavalry is defeated, the Han army can annihilate the innermost Taishan Army infantry. The outcome will be decided by then.
But this person is spending all his time talking about lies. Doesn't he know that with every wasted moment, the Han army will be one step closer to defeat?
And at a glance, you can tell that this person is planning to attack the Yellow Turban Army on the opposite side. He is really an insect! That's all, it's not like he is the coach, so why should Gongsun Zan worry about him?
In fact, Gongsun Zan was quite mean. All the clan members knew what he was thinking. However, he just didn't want to fight the Taishan Army's sudden cavalry.
Not to mention that the Yellow Turban formation on the opposite side had chosen a good position, just in time to protect the Taishan Army cavalry attacking from behind. Even if it had to be bypassed, it would not be that easy.
But more importantly, is it easier to fight the Taishan Army cavalry directly?
From the previous confrontations, the clan members knew that the cavalry on the opposite side was not bad. If they charged directly with them, it would be a barbarian. Even if they won, the Youzhou sudden cavalry would be useless.
But fighting this Yellow Turban Army was different. Opposite him was a ragtag army that he was used to fighting in Hebei.
If you can't defeat Taishan's cavalry, you can't destroy your Yellow Turban Army?
It’s not that his sect members want to pick on the weak, but it’s the same sentence:
The battlefield is never about fighting against enemies, or about fighting soldiers against soldiers, or against generals. The most important thing is morale. Sometimes, to lower morale, you need to pinch the weak.
The Yellow Turban Army in front of us is obviously a weak army, and it is also the last preparation of the Taishan Army. Once the Yellow Turban Army is defeated, it will collapse in the blink of an eye. At that time, the cavalry of the Taishan Army can only watch the entire army collapse, with no way to recover.
Of course, there is a problem with this tactic, that is, the peripheral Taishan Army cavalry can easily break out.
But this problem is not a problem for the clan members. He has no intention of eating the Taishan Army at once. How can he continue to make meritorious deeds if these people are not allowed to escape? Are you still going back to the border areas to eat windy sand?
This means that depending on where you sit, your choices will be different. But who is right and who is wrong in these completely different choices? No one knows, because there is always only one choice, and no one can compare the good and bad.
So, the clan members ordered the entire army to attack the Yellow Turban Army in front, and this military order was indeed supported by all the ministries! Obviously they also agree with the clan members' tactics of picking off the weak and trampling on them.
Look at our side, there are rows of tall horses, finely armored, with ring-headed knives in their hands, polished to a gleaming shine. Above their heads are flying family flags, military flags, and small flags. On both wings are the formidable prairie horsemen, who draw their bows and shoot, revealing their bloodthirsty animal desires. Moreover, except for the anxious snorts of the war horses, the entire military formation was silent, looking at an elite warrior. Anyone who sees it without saying a word is the pillar of the country and the heart of the Han Dynasty.
Look at the other side again! It is more like a group of refugees than an army.
The flag was torn, twisted, and stained. Most of the people were barefoot and didn't even have a pair of straw sandals. Even the clan members could smell the dirty stench from the opposite side, which was just like the smell of shit.
In fact, the clan member smelled it right, it did smell like shit. Ru Yinghuangjin entered Xingyang by himself. Because the water had not been boiled and he was not accustomed to the acclimatization, he directly had diarrhea. Because it was too frequent, many of them even took off their calf nose hakama and traveled lightly so that they could excrete directly.
Therefore, the smell of feces was really strong, and even the Youzhou Tuqi who was under the wind couldn't bear it. However, even Youzhou's sudden cavalry couldn't stand it, and the Taishan Army mixed in there couldn't stand it even more.
They even prayed that the Youzhou Cavalry would launch an attack quickly. They didn't want to smell the smell anymore, it was so irritating to their eyes.
And God Huang, you are so kind and you really answered our prayers.
These damn Youzhou assault cavalry finally rushed over!
Did you notice that Xiao Chen appeared? Hey hey hey! Then tomorrow's chapter will be the climax of this battle. Why don't your family members start paying for their monthly tickets?
(End of chapter)