The situation in Hebei has become a mess, as the war develops. The Han army's original idea of suddenly pulling out the malignant sores was no longer realistic. More and more knowledgeable people have discovered that fighting against thieves has become a protracted battle.
With this understanding, the elites of the Han Dynasty did not want to unite as one and work together as one, but to eradicate the hostile forces first and shift the intersection of struggle from the outside to the inside.
The same logic appears in Taipingdao hands. In this dimension, due to the sudden rise of the Taishan Army, the Yellow Turban Army was not defeated by the Han Army in a short period of time, but their original plan to attack Luoyang in three separate groups almost failed.
Ruying Road is either destroyed or disabled, Nanyang Road is no longer listened to, only the Hebei Yellow Turbans still retain their strength.
Knowing that the Han Dynasty could not be destroyed for a while, the upper echelons of the Yellow Turbans in Hebei also began to fight against each other. The final outcome ended with the Zhang brothers eradicating the powerful faction within the sect by force, and Wei Shou fleeing the Julu Han army.
During this process, the Taishan Army passively participated in the civil strife between the two parties.
In the former, during the internal rebellion of the Han army, General Zhang Chong sang in the snow at night, and then killed a famous Han army commander, which made the Han army outside the city feel frightened and either left or surrendered. The main force of the Han army in Henan was also taken over by a group of Henan aristocratic families for their own use. Now they are preparing to sell the people from Hebei and go south to Shangluo.
In the latter, the Taishan Army's mission to Guangzong, under Dong Zhao's control, actively or passively caused the Guangzong Rebellion to explode into an uncontrollable situation. Now Guangzong's Hebei Yellow Turban, which relies on its spiritual call to command the entire religion, has almost gone bankrupt at the bottom.
Therefore, this time the Taishan Army became the big winner in this series of events.
The singing of Chaoge under the snowy night allowed the Taishan Army to directly take the initiative in the southern confrontation line of defense. The Henan Han Army stationed in Qishui was semi-surrounded. If they did not go south as soon as possible, they might not be able to leave.
What's even more terrible is that the Henan Han army knows nothing about these.
In addition, the victory of the Taishan Army in a series of battles in Hanoi also spread to the Yellow Turbans in Hebei. A large number of lower-level Yellow Turbans, who have been disappointed with the top brass, are becoming more and more interested in the Taishan Army. In addition to understanding the invincible military exploits of the Taishan Army, I also learned what they stood for.
Especially the method of dividing fields to households, immediately won the support of the Yellow Turban Army at the bottom.
Therefore, this wave of Taishan troops is a winner. Some people win, and some lose. This time, the losers were two people, one was Beizhonglang general Lu Zhi, and the other was Sun Jian.
Because Lu Zhi was originally from Hebei, he was exactly what the Henan family wanted to abandon. When they were plotting this matter, they directly excluded Lu Zhi.
It is conceivable what kind of blow Lu Zhi's Hebei Army will face when the Han army in Henan withdraws from Hebei. That's not all. The main force of the Han army in Hebei is composed of ten thousand elites from the five schools of the Northern Army.
These people are not from Hebei!
When these people realized that Hebei would become an abandoned place by the imperial court, these troops from the Fifth Academy must take advantage of the opportunity to withdraw through the passage of Taihang Mountain. They don't want to die in Hebei.
Therefore, it is conceivable that Lu Zhi's army is finished this time.
Lu Zhi's side suffered a huge loss, and Sun Jian was no exception.
He was an abandoned son who was regarded as an outsider, and he was about to attack Yecheng with a thousand warriors. He was once a heroic warrior in Jianghuai, but now he was fighting with a group of strangers in Hebei. This time he was not loyal to the country, but fighting for himself and a group of brothers.
……
On November 12, the sixth year of Guanghe year, a dozen miles northeast of Lin County.
A cavalryman was walking on the field.
This cavalry army is Sun Jian's tribe who set out from Qishui Camp seven days ago, with a total of 1,300 cavalry.
Sun Jian told no one about the march route this time. They only let the cavalry team go west along the Qishui River after leaving the camp. When they saw the hills and valleys, Sun Jian led them to turn north.
This trip lasted five days.
Today they just walked out of the mountain road and started galloping on a large plain.
At this time, Sun Jian looked at the land of Hebei, where the mountains were dancing with silver snakes, but the vastness was still there. The frustration of the past few days was gone.
He was thinking, among all the great heroes who have great fortune and great achievements, which one has a smooth life? Gaozu was defeated at Pengcheng, and Zhongzu was able to escape from Jicheng. But what in the end? Both of them have gone through tribulations and jointly created the Han family world in these four hundred years.
So, that’s true. Destiny will not disappoint those who persevere.
Sun Jian also admitted that the Taishan Army Commander Zhang Chong opposite him, whom he had never met before, was such an indomitable hero. His people went out with tens of thousands of people, and moved to Wenshui River, conquered Heji in the north, and attacked the Central Plains in the south. Finally, he led his troops north to Dahe and competed with the Han army here. Not only are they not stretched thin, they are getting stronger and stronger.
A true hero.
But it's a pity that he, Sun Jian, attacked this kind of person this time. If he were to change places, he would definitely be able to talk to this person and become a confidant. But now, that Zhang Chong can only be his enemy.
As for Sun Jian, to be honest, he prides himself on being a great man of his generation. He and Chong Ye are the only heroes in the world. As for the rest, they may not be worthy of their name, or they may be under the protection of their ancestors. In short, it is not as good as the two of them starting from scratch.
Now people like Cao Cao and Xun You use their family authority to control him. He, Sun Jian, was like an ant, with no ability to fight back, but that was all.
What do other people rely on? It is family background and the authority of the Han Dynasty. But Sun Jian had already predicted that the world would be in chaos, and that all the logic of the peaceful and prosperous times would be overthrown in the chaotic times. In troubled times, who cares how noble you are? No, it still depends on whose knife is stronger.
Since Sun Jian knew this, why didn't he save his troops and horses for the future? Do you still have to be in danger and attack Ye?
The real reason is not complicated. Sun Jian just wants to invite fame.
After all, the Han Dynasty has been powerful for more than four hundred years, and a strong man who can hold up the banner of the Han Dynasty will naturally be more likely to win people's approval than other ambitious people.
What does Sun Jian have? Do you have soldiers or money? None at all. Sun Jian's only chance in troubled times is this Yecheng battlefield.
When all the armies retreated to Qishui, only Sun Jian advanced with a light force. If he was not a loyal minister, who would be? If he is not an indomitable hero, who is?
So don't look at Cao Cao and Xun You plotting against Sun Jian. But Sun Jian also has a clear heart!
He is vigorous and vigorous, proficient in the art of war, and with the drive he has honed from the bottom up, he will immediately leap over the dragon's gate when the time comes.
Just like that, under the blue sky and white snow, with thousands of cavalry and retinue behind him, Sun Jian waved his whip and pointed in the direction of Yecheng in the distance, with great pride:
"That's the Dragon Gate."
Han Dang and others on the side were confused.
But Sun Jian did not explain to them, but continued to say to the generals:
"Heroes in the world are born in my generation. In this era of great strife, it is time for us to raise our whips to clear the air and restore peace to the world. Let future generations sing about our merits."
Now, Han Dang and others understood. They all stood guard around Sun Jian and shouted:
"I am willing to work with my lord to spread military power all over the world."
Among the shouting crowd, Sun Jian's nephew Sun Bi was also prominently among them. It turned out that although he was scolded by Sun Jian, he was unwilling to accept it and infiltrated into the selection.
When Sun Jian led his troops out of the camp, he realized that Sun Ben was already there. Although Sun Jian was angry, it was not easy to send Sun Ben back to the camp, otherwise the expedition would be leaked accidentally.
Everyone shouted for a while, which relieved a lot of their inner depression.
Many of them already knew that they and others were going to attack Yecheng this time. Of course they knew what kind of mission it was. It is no exaggeration to say that if Sun Jian had not been leading the troops, one-third of the troops would have been scattered.
However, in the final analysis, they were mostly recruited by Sun Jian, and they had shared weal and woe with Sun Jian for a long time. With Sun Jian taking the lead, they maintained a certain fighting spirit.
Here, Lu Fan, who is the wise general in the army, asked Sun Jian in a low voice: "Lord, the situation is very clear now. If we attack Yecheng this time, the sea and the sky will be brighter, and the Han Dynasty will have follow-up in Hebei. But if we fail, The consequences would be disastrous.”
Lu Fan said that the consequences were unimaginable. Whether it was their consequences or the consequences of the Han Dynasty, he did not say. But Sun Jian understood what Lu Fan meant.
He smiled at Lu Fan and said:
"You mean, if we fail to attack Yecheng this time, is there any way out? That's what you mean."
Lu Fan nodded.
But Sun Jian shook his head and confessed directly:
"To be honest, Zi Heng, I really haven't thought about any way out."
These words made Lu Fan stiffen on the horse, and he finally managed to squeeze out a smile and wanted to say it to Sun Jian. But Sun Jian raised his whip and waved it to stop him.
Sun Jiandao:
"I understand what you mean. It's nothing more than thinking about defeat first in order to win. But Zi Heng, let me tell you a personal story of mine."
Lu Fan listened attentively.
"I sold melons to my father back then. Once I was walking on a mountain road carrying two baskets of melons, and ran into a monkey mountain. Ziheng, you are from Runan, so you may not know how powerful the vicious monkeys are here. Let me tell you this, you should not fall into the Monkey Mountain instead of falling into the Tiger Mountain, because tigers are arrogant and will not kill you when they are full. But this group of monkeys is different. As long as they break in, they will swarm you and tear you apart. Broken.”
Lu Fan was still listening. He knew that the master would not tell a story casually. There must be a metaphor behind the story.
So Sun Jian continued:
"At that time, I entered the Monkey Mountain by mistake. I just passed a mountain peak, and then I saw a large group of mountain monkeys densely packed on the slope below. I was twelve at that time, and I was only as big as three or four monkeys, so you can imagine You know how dangerous I was at that time.”
"The several times I fought for my life in the future were considered bloody, but every time I think back, it was the most dangerous time in my life when I encountered a group of monkeys on the narrow road in the Monkey Mountain."
"I was panicking at the time. I knew I couldn't defeat these mountain monkeys. But I didn't dare to run, because I would be caught and torn apart by these beasts within a few steps. So what did I do?"
At this point, Sun Jian stopped and turned his head to ask Lu Fan.
Lu Fan was very smart. He thought for a while and said:
"My lord has done it with those monkeys."
Hearing this, Sun Jian laughed and told Lu Fan:
"Smart, but I didn't go down to fight these beasts. Instead, I slowly squatted down and picked up a stone."
"Then guess what, with just such a move, all the monkeys on the opposite side ran away with a huff and a whistle."
Finally, Sun Jian said to Lu Fan seriously:
"This is my story, and do you understand this?"
Lu Fan hesitated and asked:
"My lord, are you saying that sometimes the enemy only looks big but is actually as timid as a rat? As long as we rush forward, the opponent will definitely become frightened?"
Sun Jian smiled and shook his head:
"Zi Heng, you are indeed resourceful, but you also have a lot of thoughts. In fact, I don't have so much meaning. Let me tell you, when I squatted down to pick up stones, my intention was never to scare those mountain monkeys, but to scare those mountain monkeys. It’s me, Sun Jian, who is really going to fight them to the death. In the end, either I, Sun Jian, will get out, or I, Sun Jian, will be buried in this monkey mountain.”
Sun Jian said to Lu Fan:
"This is what I, Sun Jian, do. I am fearless. I would rather die on the way to charge than live behind when I encounter the enemy. But it is precisely because of my fearlessness that I am the one who survives in the end."
After Sun Jian finished telling this story, Lu Fan began to truly understand what kind of person his lord was.
If it is said that a general should be benevolent, righteous, wise, courageous and severe, then my lord has already eaten the word courage to his bones.
"Fearless, fearless."
Lu Fan chewed on these two words silently, feeling that his thinking and structure were improving. He began to gain some understanding of some things that he couldn't understand before.
This time, the Lord truly risked his life to survive. Just like Han Xin's last-ditch battle, he inspired the courage to fight to the death in dangerous situations.
Lu Fan was still thinking about it, but he might as well have said to Sun Jian:
"This time is also strange. Although I took the initiative to say this about the attack on Yecheng, I always feel that I was guided by that person named Xun You."
Lu Fan was unsure and said:
"Are they trying to provoke the lord?"
Sun Jian nodded at first, then shook his head, he was unsure:
"I can't tell, but I have a feeling that these people want to transfer me away from the camp on purpose. But why do they want to transfer me away?"
Sun Jian didn't understand. Lu Fan had less information than Sun Jian, so he couldn't figure it out.
In the end, Sun Jian and Lu Fan were speechless for a moment, and just walked with the army.
Suddenly, a group of winter deer appeared from nowhere and ran in groups in front of Sun Jian's team.
Sun Ben, who was in the army, had never seen such a scene before. He led a dozen soldiers, wearing helmets and bows, shouting and going to hunt the herd of winter deer.
How could these winter deer take those dozen four-legged and two-headed beasts seriously after they had escaped so many dangers along the way?
Among the deer, there was a particularly majestic stag, who was the leader of the team. It huffed, accelerated suddenly, and then led the tribe to rush through this place.
Suddenly an iron arrow with feathers pierced the air and pierced the stag's neck directly.
It was Sun Ben who shot this arrow. He happily led his guards to pick up the deer carcass and ran back to present it to Sun Jian. As for the remaining deer, they fled in all directions after the death of the leader.
Sun Jian happily accepted Sun Ben's prey, and after some effort, he led his army and continued walking.
Lu Fan, who was next to Sun Jian, glanced at Sun Jian and then at Sun Bi, and his understanding of Wuwei became deeper.
Sun Ben was ignorant and fearless, but Sun Jian was fearless. I don’t know how much higher the latter is than the former.
As a result, Lu Fan's admiration for his lord Sun Jian deepened.
In this way, after walking for half a day, they finally stopped.
But we have already reached "Yecheng Pass" ahead.