Chapter 312 Blood Oath
Once Lu Zhi made a decision, the Han army's machine started to spin.
But war is a fog, and both the enemy and ourselves are speculating and groping each other in this fog.
The main force of Lu Zhi's army and the Hebei Army, a total of 15,000 troops, began to discharge the barrier in the early morning of the 12th. The army was roughly divided into three parts.
One unit is composed of two thousand Youzhou cavalry. This is the foundation left by the Han army in Hebei in the Battle of Xingyang. Its chief general remains a clan member. Four subordinates. They are Baima Colonel Gongsun Zan, former Military Academy Captain Cui Jun, Left Military Academy Captain Gai Tong, and Right Military Academy Captain Lu Fang.
One unit consists of 6,000 people from the five schools of the Northern Army, the main force of the Chinese army. Sun Meng, the captain of the Tun Cavalry School, led 800 fine cavalry; Zhou Zhong, the captain of the Yue Cavalry School, led 1,000 wandering cavalry; Wei Duan, the infantry school captain, led the northwest cavalry officer of 2,000; Wei Jie, the Changshui school captain, led 800 Hu cavalry; Shesheng, the school captain The fifth commander leads a thousand crossbowmen.
There is also a group of 7,000 people who died in Hebei counties. There were three thousand fine soldiers from Wei County, and two thousand from Zhao's counties. There were two thousand dead in the counties and counties of Changshan.
Originally there were still three thousand Hedong troops selected by Dong Zhuo, but they had already been sent to the southern front.
Therefore, at this time, in the wilderness beside Jize, with banners and flags blocking out the sun, the Han army had over 10,000 troops, boundless, and slowly pressed towards the Qingzhou Yellow Turban coalition.
At this time, the drums were beating loudly at the Huangjin camp in Qingzhou five miles away.
There were constant sentry cavalry reporting the movements of the Han army in the distance to the camp.
"The Han army has organized its troops."
"The Han army has left the camp."
"The Han army is five miles away from here."
……
Yu Xi flew and the whole camp of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou was filled with solemn killings.
Ji Sun, the commander-in-chief of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans, stayed up all night yesterday.
Amid the shocking sound of drums, Ji Sun looked at the six-section war banner with a myriad of thoughts.
Yesterday at the military meeting, Zhang Dan of the Taishan Army suggested establishing strongholds and engaging in a long-term confrontation with the enemy. Just wait for Commander Qu to annihilate the Han army in Henan, return to the north, and then counterattack.
What Zhang Dan said makes sense, and this was the intention at the beginning to sacrifice the grandson.
But in the end, Ji Sun gave up and decided to fight the Han army with all his troops.
This is not the arrogance of Ji Sun. He thinks that his team has been trained by the Taishan Army and can compete with the Han Army. This is not because Jisun has lost his mind and has to seek death even though he has a sound strategy.
This is great courage to sacrifice one's grandson.
Why did Ji Sun lead his troops to fight the Han army? All because of one breath.
Since the Guangzong Incident, the consequences of the strife among the upper echelons of Taiping Road have spread to the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans.
These Taoist disciples in Qingzhou, who left their hometown for their ideals and realized the ambition of keeping everyone warm, crossed the river and came to Hebei to fight. They were disappointed to find that everything the Taoist envoys said in the past had become lies.
The Han army is so powerful, and the friendly forces are so divided. So how can this ideal be realized? Who cares about that ideal?
Therefore, Sun Ji must pass this decisive battle to tell all Taoist disciples and Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou that we still care about the ideal and we are still realizing it!
We can die, but our ideals cannot be destroyed.
We can die, but the peaceful and prosperous age where everyone is equal and warm must come.
So what if the Han army is strong?
We Qingzhou Yellow Turbans still dare to fight! Can fight!
So he asked everyone three questions in front of all the soldiers:
"Do you remember our original intention of joining Taipingdao?"
"Do you remember the original intention of our uprising?"
"Do you remember our original intention of moving to Hebei?"
Those present who asked these three questions were silent, and it also reminded them of their original intentions.
It was a roar that was not afraid of violence, unwilling to be a cow or a horse, and unwilling to be a human or animal. That is the wish that future generations can live in a warm, healthy and peaceful world.
So, they joined Taipingdao.
They abandoned their plows and picked up their swords clumsily, vowing to use the weapons in their hands to seize their dignity and life.
In this way, in the memories of everyone, Ji Sun continued:
"Since the April uprising, too many of our people have died. They either died at the hands of powerful men, or died in the revenge of cruel officials, or died heroically in the confrontation with the Han army. Now that we can live, there are still What are you asking for? I just want to ask, if our comrades can die, we can’t.”
"Since dying early and dying late is death! Then let me sacrifice my grandson to be the pioneer. If Huang Tian's ideal has been forgotten by everyone, then let me sacrifice my grandson's blood to awaken everyone."
"We are here, on the land of Hebei, fighting to the death with the Han army. Let the enemies know that there was such a group of people back then. They said that the common people could never be bullied. They held up their plows and hoes and fearlessly charged towards the chariots. . They died generously and went to hell together for the ideal of Huang Tian! ”
After saying this, Jisun cut his palm with a knife, and then drew three blood marks on his forehead and cheeks.
This is a blood oath!
Seeing the sacrifice of the sun, the other generals in the Yellow Turban also drew out their swords, cut their palms open, and made a blood oath!
Finally, Ji Sun and the generals faced the location of Dongfang’s hometown and swore:
"Today we offer our blood as a sacrifice, for my Huang Tian ideal, and donate this broken body to bring peace and prosperity to the world."
Blood oaths are made, and echoes last for a long time.
……
But now, the southeast wind is picking up, and the military flag is flying down.
Ji Sun looked at the army in front of him and murmured:
"The righteousness of the world has been lost, so Huang Tianjiang's righteousness of peace is there. If the world really wants to destroy this righteousness, it will not let us Taiping Dao come into being. And since we have Taiping Dao, then the Han army How can we destroy my way?"
"I am a benevolent person with lofty ideals of Taiping. I don't seek life to harm my benevolence, but I kill myself to fulfill my benevolence."
"We may die, but the meaning of peace will never be destroyed."
Thinking of this, my belief in sacrificing my grandson became more and more firm.
Now, the Han army has left the camp and is still five miles away from our own camp.
So, Ji Sun tied the yellow scarf tightly on his forehead and said calmly to Xu He beside him:
"Let's get started."
At this time, Xu He changed from his usual yellow clothes and robes and put on a basin-collared armor. He turned around and shouted to the warriors behind him:
"Bang the drum!"
Order from all the warriors:
"Order, beat the drum."
So, eighty-one shirtless yellow turban warriors in the rear, with strong muscles, took two drum hammers and began to beat the big cowhide drums in front of them under the chants.
Then amidst the fierce sound of war drums, the ten-mile-long camp began to wake up. Countless Taoist disciples in yellow clothes and yellow turbans walked out of the military tents and formed a yellow ocean in the wilderness.
Under the organization of the Taoist envoys of each battalion, the Yellow Turban Army wiped their faces with water, and then began to pray in battalion units, facing the place where the sun rose in the east.
This is the daily life of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans, but the prayers on this day are particularly solemn.
Because all the Yellow Turban officials present knew that this might be the last time they prayed in their lives.
Some people often ask how to take each day seriously.
The answer is to live every day as if it were your last.
And now, on the shores of Ji Ze, these young Yellow Turban soldiers feel the last day of their lives.
They breathed the air hard and kowtowed to the east in silence.
In fact, they no longer believe in doctrine as they did in the past, but on this day, they were more pious than ever before, because they found that this time, they were praying for themselves and their ideals.
The prayers of 40,000 people, no matter how small each person recites them, is like thunder when gathered together.
The sound of praying spread farther and farther in the wilderness, until it reached the horizon.
Amid the prayers, several more horses came running, shouting:
"The enemy is four miles away from us."
The mourning grandson in the crowd continued to pray with his head buried, as if he hadn't heard anything.
All the people chanting prayers with one heart, gathered together in one place, inspired vast power. This is the power of gathering people to wake up countless birds and beasts spending the winter and sweep away the haze of the world.
God, it's clearing up.
His voice became louder and louder, and his face became more and more solemn. After singing the last word, he shouted with all his strength:
"Bang the war drum!"
The eighty-one warriors knew the stakes of this battle, and they spared no effort to beat the drums intensively and vigorously.
Si Sun stood on the high platform and shouted to the yellow scarf soldiers in the wilderness:
"The sky is dead, Huang Tian must stand! Fight!"
In the wilderness, the Yellow Turban soldiers could not see or hear what Ji Sun was saying.
But all of them raised their arms, with tears in their eyes, and roared:
"The sky is dead, Huang Tian must stand! Fight!"
……
Not far away, 3,000 men from the Taishan Army's Eastern Expedition also moved out of the camp.
The solemn prayer of the Qingzhou Yellow Turban reached here.
Pan Zhang, Zhang Dan's general, was so excited after hearing this that he couldn't help but said to Zhang Dan, who was deep in thought:
"Captain Lieutenant, why do you think those Qingzhou Yellow Turbans believe in these things? How can there be such a thing as Huang Tian! If there really is a Huang Tian, how can we poor people live such a miserable life?"
After saying that, Pan Zhang also said to his teammate Guo Xing:
"Xiao Guo, tell me. Do you believe Huang Tian?"
Guo Xing was the hero who made a disciple in Aocang to serve as an internal response and opened fire on the Taishan Army. At this time, Zhang Dan was a general in the Chinese Army.
Guo Xing was ordered by Pan Zhang and had to say:
"Young people don't understand this. But these days, how many people can speak out for us poor people. So, what does it matter whether Huang Tian is here or not?"
Pan Zhang was startled by what he said and thought about how reasonable it was.
Zhang Dan listened quietly to the discussion among his subordinates.
They were either disdainful or disapproving. Even a few of them were optimistic, like Guo Xing, who felt that shouting slogans to help the poor was good enough.
As for anyone who truly understands the persistence of Ji Sun and others, no one.
Facing the reactions of his subordinates, Zhang Dan didn't know whether to be happy or worried.
Fortunately, the officers of the Taishan Army were very little affected by the Yellow Turban Army. What is worrying is that the generals are completely ignorant of the spiritual beliefs of the Yellow Turban Army.
Zhang Dan still remembers the scene when Qu Shuai hugged the old pavilion chief's body and swore an oath with everyone. The emotions at that moment were just like those of Ji Sun and others at this moment.
So, Zhang Dan looked at the scene of tens of thousands of people singing in the north and couldn't help but said to Pan Zhang and others:
"You don't understand, but in the future you will understand what kind of power this is. This is a power that can overturn mountains and seas and change the world."
"Some people are superstitious about force and swords and guns. But after all, they don't know that the human heart is the most powerful force in the world. The one who wins the hearts of all people, what if we lose this battle? As long as we are still here, this force The people's hearts are still there. We can still make a comeback. As long as our spark remains, are we afraid that we won't be able to start a prairie fire?"
But it's a pity that Zhang Dan's words were so heroic, but the sadness in his words could not be concealed.
That's right, Zhang Dan doesn't have high expectations for the outcome of this battle. Just because he understands the strength of Qingzhou Yellow Turban.
To be honest, the strength of the 40,000 Qingzhou Yellow Turbans' attack this time may be stronger than the previous 60,000 people who went north to Hebei. But if you want to fight with the Han army in Hebei in a large formation, it's really a long way to go.
This is why Zhang Dan initially suggested offering sacrifices to Big Beard to hold on to the barrier. But Ji Dabeard refused to listen, so Zhang Dan could only lead his army to attack them.
Because if he did not attack with the three thousand main force of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans would not even have a 30% chance of winning this battle. And with their participation, there is still a 50-50 split.
Regardless of the situation in Hebei or his personal relationship with Sun Ji, Zhang Dan had no reason to sit back and watch.
Therefore, this time, Zhang Dan could only risk his life to accompany the gentleman.
Soon, Feijun came to report:
"The Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou came out in full force."
Zhang Dan paced beside the horse for a long time and finally gave the order:
"Order the entire army to attack and respond to the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou."
In this way, the main force of the Taishan Army's three thousand Eastern Expedition Army also set off.
The war is about to break out.
……
The war started earlier than Jisun and Zhang Dan expected.
It was expected that the Han army was still three miles away, but before Qingzhou Huangjin and Zhang Dan's Eastern Expeditionary Army had marched half a mile, they suddenly encountered a surprise attack by a cavalry unit of the Han army.
This cavalry force of the Han Army is composed of thousands of people from the Yue Cavalry School among the five schools of the Northern Army.
They looked like horsemen on the grassland, wearing light clothes and no armor. They only had a curved bow and six quivers, and they shot out lightly.
In fact, although the Yue Cavalry School Lieutenant moved as fast as lightning, the Taishan Army's assault cavalry still detected the enemy's traces two miles away.
But unfortunately, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans are still some distance away from the Taishan Army. By the time Tuqi returns to the Taishan Army, it will be too late to report to the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans.
At that time, the front of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans was marching, and suddenly they were attacked by a thousand people on horseback.
These superb cross-riding knights let out a continuous stream of arrows from the roadside in unison.
If the ordinary Yellow Turban Army encountered thousands of galloping horses, they might have collapsed without even firing arrows at them. But the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were courageous, skilled in armor, and learned battle formations.
Therefore, although Yueqi's arrows were dense, they could not defeat the Qingzhou Yellow Turban army. Once the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans' formation was maintained, Yue Qi did not dare to attack the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans.
It was not until the cavalry of the Taishan Army arrived and joined the cavalry of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans that they drove away the thousands of Han cavalry.
In fact, this is the plight of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans.
The Han army in Hebei opposite has 15,000 men, including 4,000 cavalry regiments. On the Qingzhou Yellow Turban side, plus the Taishan Army's own hundreds of cavalry, the total number was less than 2,000.
The huge disparity in cavalry strength meant that the initiative on the battlefield had been taken by the Han army.
In fact, the Taishan Army and the Qingzhou Yellow Turban did not dare to release their limited cavalry power. They can only cruise near the battlefield to intercept the Han cavalry that may attack at any time.
Soon, the sound of formation formation came from the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou. Obviously, they decided to organize their troops here to prepare for the coming Han army.
But this made the Taishan Army very awkward. Zhang Dan suddenly found that his actions were completely taken away by the Qingzhou Yellow Turban.
If the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans want to fight, they will fight. If the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans want to stop, they will stop.
Thinking of Qu Shuai's words about how to use troops to hurt people without killing them, Zhang Dan felt gloomy in his heart.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Dan gritted his teeth and ordered:
"We moved to the left wing of the Qingzhou Yellow Turban and deployed our formation there."
After receiving the military order, the generals of each department waved their flags and began to move towards the left wing of the Qingzhou Yellow Turban.
Fortunately, the terrain here is open and can accommodate nearly 50,000 people in a large formation.
Time passed like this minute by minute, and the sun rose higher and higher.
At this time, a large formation of nearly 50,000 people had been lined up.
Including the Taishan Army, there were a total of six formations. Among them, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were made up of five large formations, each with 8,000 men. They were arranged in a layout of two in front and three in back. There were carriages in front of each formation to block the Han army's cavalry.
The three thousand men of the Taishan Army formed a separate formation and were arranged on the left wing of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans, roughly in line with their first two formations.
After that, the southeast wind blew up, and nearly 50,000 Qingtai troops formed a formation to wait for the arrival of the Han army.
……
Two hours passed, but Zhang Dan still didn't see the Han army on the opposite side of the chariot.
Zhang Dan looked at his subordinates wrapped in winter clothes and had been standing here for two hours, and felt something bad in his heart. He couldn't help but doubt that the Han army would not come.
So, Zhang Dan quickly released the recovered cavalry again.
But this time, the Cavaliers quickly responded:
"The enemy is stationary one mile away to the northwest."
After getting this information, Zhang Dan was puzzled. He didn't understand that even if the opponent wanted to tire our army, wouldn't the opponent be tired? Why did the Han army stand still there?
……
Over there at the Yellow Turban Formation in Qingzhou, Ji Sun also received a reward from his horse inspection.
Frowning, Jisun thought for a while, and then ordered:
"Order the whole army to have food and rest alternately."
Soon, more than 50,000 people began to take out the prepared dry food from their backpacks and start eating.
These millets were brought by the Taishan Army, and were basically made into military rations for about seven days. In other words, the maximum combat time for this battle is five days.
If the coalition forces do not defeat the Han army within five days, they will run out of food and collapse.
Chewing dry food, the Qingtai Allied Forces began to take turns to rest. The officials on the outside continued to line up, while those inside began to sit down and rest. Two moments later, the inside and outside alternate.
Just like that, another hour passed.
Suddenly, the formation began to stir.
Many people began to point in the direction they came from and exclaimed, and Ji Sun also saw it.
I saw a huge fire burning into the sky at the rampart where they had originally camped.
Jisun's heart tightened, and he knew why the Han army on the opposite side stood still.
Apparently the opposite side had already sent a light cavalry, which had gone around their rear barrier early and burned down their barracks.
At this time, the probing horse from afar came to report again:
"The enemy began to retreat."
At this time, in the cold winter of November, the weather was freezing to the bone, but the forehead of Ji Sun was dripping with sweat.
He has realized what the tactics of the Han soldiers are.
To be honest, he had fought Lu Zhi once or twice with the Qingzhou Yellow Turban. He thought he had a high regard for the opponent, but in the end he was still played by the opponent.
In this battle, Lu Zhi obviously had no intention of fighting them at all, but wanted to use the cold to kill them.
Now, he and the Taishan Army, totaling 50,000 men, were guarding the frozen soil. The barriers at the rear were burned, and the enemy troops in front were retreating. They had no way out.
Otherwise, at night, the northern winter wind would kill half the army.
So, Sun Ji made a decisive order:
"The whole army is moving towards the west."
Since your Han army doesn't dare to fight, then he will bring his men. At this time, there were still two hours before dark. As long as the Han army could not return to the camp, the battle could still be fought.
Just as Sun Ji was preparing to notify the Taishan Army, they headed west.
Not far away, the Taishan Army's drums were beating loudly, and they also set off.
But just when Jisun thought he and Zhang Dan were connected, he saw that the Taishan Army was heading in the opposite direction, and they were going back.
At this moment, Jisun couldn't hold himself any longer, and he yelled:
"Ready your horse."
The guard over there immediately brought one over.
After sacrificing his grandson, he mounted his horse and went straight to Zhang Dan of Taishan Army.
Zhang Dan, who was in the formation over there, saw a horse riding from the Qingzhou Yellow Turban, his face was uncertain, but in the end he sighed and rode out of the formation to meet Ji Sun.
Between the two formations, Ji Sun saw Zhang Dan running towards him and said anxiously:
"Adan, why do you want to go back? The enemy is in the west."
Zhang Dan looked at Sun Jiong's bright eyes and deliberately avoided them, but still responded to the persuasion and said:
"Big Beard, you can't go to the west anymore. Haven't you noticed yet? We have been tricked by Lu Zhi. It's freezing now, and there is no barrier to block the winter wind at night. We will collapse if we don't fight."
Ji Sun threw off the stirrup, stepped to Zhang Dan's side, grabbed Zhang Dan's hand with one hand, and held the bridle of Zhang Dan's mount with the other, explaining with tears:
"Adan, listen to me. The Han army is less than a mile away from us. All we have to do is throw away our baggage, and we will surely catch up with the Han army. When the time comes, as long as we hold on to the opposite side, we will endure this winter night together. We can’t stand it.”
Zhang Dan saw that Ji Sun was so stubborn that he risked everything and abandoned his baggage to pursue him.
He closed his eyes in pain, and then yelled:
"Big Beard, please wake up. You have more than 40,000 lives on your shoulders. Do you dare to gamble with it? Why do we have to fight with him today? I have already said that time is with us. As long as we Hold on to the barrier and wait for Commander Qu to arrive. This victory will be ours after all. But why don’t you listen?”
Unexpectedly, after Zhang Dan said this, Ji Sun lowered his head and said for a long time:
"Then what? Can your Soaring General be able to stand on his own with this merit? Will our Taiping Dao all have to listen to your Soaring General?"
As soon as these words came out, Zhang Dan was stunned.
After Ji Sun said these words, he seemed to have let go of everything. He raised his head and said to Zhang Dan:
"Adan, of course I know what kind of person Ah Chong is. But I also know that Ah Chong has never believed in our Taiping Dao. He has his own ideals and his own opinions. But before, he was not a believer in our Taiping Dao. We are fellow travelers. But what happens next? Taipingdao is going to fall apart, and A Chong wants to annex our Taipingdao?"
"Adan, you don't understand. This Taiping Tao was built by Taiping Taoist disciple Jun Lu Lanlu for twenty years, and it carries the dreams of countless people. We also have ideals, and we also want to realize them. We also want to make the people of the world live well. But it’s up to us, Taipingdao, to realize it!”
Now, Zhang Dan really understood.
He finally understood why Sun Ji had to take the lead in fighting. It turned out that everything was for the sake of power.
Zhang Dan closed his eyes sadly and said to Sun Ji in pain:
"You said that Taiping Dao will be realized, but can you do it? Without Ah Chong, can this ideal of keeping everyone warm really be realized? Is it up to you, me, or your great teacher?"< br>
"Big Beard, you don't understand after all. It was never Ah Chong who chose Taiping Road, but Taiping Road needs Ah Chong. He is the only one who can create peace in this world! Do you really not understand?"
The confusion in Jisun's eyes flashed, but he said firmly:
"I understand, but I still want to work hard for our Taiping Dao brothers, and let those old brothers who died know that they did pay us Taiping Dao."
After saying this, Jisun pulled Zhang Dan down, then climbed onto his horse with Zhang Dan between his legs.
Later, while the three armies were stunned, Ji Sun dragged Zhang Dan into the Qingzhou Yellow Turban formation.
The Guangzong Incident had such a huge impact on Ji Sun, and he was eager to prove that their careers and ideals were valuable and meaningful. Because he doesn't want those comrades who have sacrificed their lives for this cause to regret it! He did not dare to face the despair of having his ideals shattered. This is why he must fight this battle!
(End of chapter)