Chapter 354 Personal Expedition
Zhao State, Handan.
Guo Dian led an army of more than 10,000 giant deer to besiege Handan.
Since Gao Lan conquered Yiyang, under the guidance of the local tycoon Liu, taking advantage of the emptiness of the Taishan Army in the middle of Zhao State, Guo Dian led his army and marched straight in.
First, a grain transport team was ambushed and annihilated in the wild, and 200 grain trucks were handed over. During this process, Guo Dian's army defeated Zhang Nan's guerrillas several more times and drove them into Jiulong Mountain southwest of Handan. Then the next day, they occupied the dock wall in the north of Handan and began to cut off the Taishan Army's supply line from Handan to Xiangguo.
Stationed in Handan were the two brothers Lu Xiang and Lu Kuang who were part of the Taishan Army Guards. They had previously learned about the Julu Army's march south to Handan from Zhang Nan's reports, so they were not panicked at this moment.
On the one hand, they sent flying troops carrying flags to carry emergency military reports back to Yecheng. On the other hand, they began to take the initiative to attack. Relying on the bravery of the two Lu brothers and the strength of the armored soldiers of the central defense army, they took advantage of the unsteady foothold of the Julu Army outside the city and left the city. He killed two hundred people and returned with a great victory.
When the Julu Army, which was still arrogant at first, met such an elite, it quickly put aside its previous contempt and began to take it seriously.
Once the Julu Army became serious and demonstrated their ability to repeatedly defeat the Yellow Turbans in Hebei, after they surrounded Handan, they began to plunder the countryside and continuously destroy the grassroots communities of the Taishan Army around Handan.
Panic spread across the countryside. These mountain lair leaders who had just come down from the Taihang Mountains gave up their fields again in the war, either returning to the mountains, or carrying the old and the young to the Liang Dynasty in the south.
The situation is very critical.
……
It was in this critical situation that Zhang Chong of Yecheng immediately chose to lead his army to fight in person after learning the news.
At that time, officials such as Cai Yong and Zhuge Gui all advised Zhang Chong that he was already the master of a place and that it was no longer appropriate to rush to the battlefield.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Chong’s bold words:
"I'm going to make plans right away, not to maintain my success in silence. What's more, the world is uncertain, how can I live a hundred miles away?"
As a result, everyone no longer dared to mention it, so Zhang Chong appointed Yang Mao, the military deputy, as Yecheng captain, and military advisor Zhonglang General Duman as Yecheng guard. He commanded 4,000 soldiers in the central defense army, and 3,000 soldiers from the military academy, Dong Fangbu.
At the same time, Zhang Chong also dispatched three battalions of "Flying Leopards", "Flying Elephants" and "Flying Bears" from the sudden cavalry, as well as four battalions of "Tianwei", "Tianxiong", "Tianwu" and "Tiande".
In this way, ten battalion leaders suddenly rode, and the two battalions of Feilong and Feihu were already on the front line of the Bai people. Zhang Chong himself took the remaining three battalions of Feizihao assault cavalry, the fourth battalion of Tianzihao assault cavalry, and finally left the "Tianxin" battalion in Yecheng. It can be said that all the elites were out.
The heads of these horse-mounted battalions were all garrisoned in Yecheng, so the troops were quickly assembled after the recruitment order was issued.
After recruiting 10,000 people to provide food and fodder, Zhang Chong took 8,000 elite troops, 3,500 cavalry, and a total of 11,500 horse and infantry soldiers to fight.
Then the army quickly advanced along the Guangyang Road from Yecheng to Handan.
……
When Zhang Chong led his army to help the north, Guo Dian outside Handan City also decided to take action.
In order to cut off the reinforcements from Yecheng south of Handan, Guo Dian ordered his confidant Gao Lan to lead his 1,500 cavalry south quickly, preparing to pull out Liang Qi south of Handan so as to isolate Handan.
On March 26, Gao Lan led his troops to attack Liang Qi. Liang Qi's guard general Zhang Qiongshuai, who was also one of Zhang Chong's old brothers, sent 500 men out of the north gate to fight.
Gao Lan failed to succeed in one attack, so he quickly gave up on Liang Qi and once again crossed the countryside, trying to copy the example of conquering Yiyang. But Zhang Qiong had already learned from the military newspaper how Yiyang City was lost. How could he not learn from the experience?
Therefore, Gao Lan attacked Liang Qi twice on the 27th and 29th, but Zhang Qiong refused and failed to achieve victory.
After all, the cavalry led by Gao Lan was really powerless if they wanted to conquer a heavily guarded military fortress.
Just when Gao Lan decided to give up Liang Qi, he was stopped by the four battalions of "Tianwei", "Tianxiong", "Tianwu" and "Tiande".
……
On Guangyang Road, a hundred miles away from Handan, a majestic army was meandering forward, stretching for more than ten miles.
Viewed from a high altitude, this north-south artery is full of soldiers, with the sound of people and horses neighing everywhere, and a sea of flags everywhere. Military flags, camp flags, general flags, back flags, and order flags are fluttering in the wind. At first glance, it is an economic system. teacher.
There is no doubt that this army is the Taishan Army heading north.
The sky was bright, and the sky was full of morning glow, which fell on the Taishan army officers and soldiers in yellow clothes, full of solemnity and solemnity.
The Taishan Army marched on the road according to their respective camp heads. There was a cart and three handcarts at each place, which were pulled by the soldiers and moved forward with the team.
On these carts are placed a lot of armor and spare weapons, as well as a lot of tents, military supplies, etc. Originally these were pulled by ox carts, but now that spring plowing is underway, the oxen between Zhao and Wei are being sent to the fields for plowing. That's why I only let Zheng Fu lead me.
But fortunately, there are not many of these things, the trolley is easy to use, and there is a group of people changing them, so the work is not heavy. After all, compared with taking care of three meals a day, this job is more manageable.
It rains a lot in spring, so the grain, fodder, and armor on the cart are all covered with grass to prevent moisture.
Battalion flags of various colors were lined up at the front, and then each song, camp, team, and military flag under the camp head had its own military flag, guiding the officers and soldiers of each department to move forward in an orderly manner.
In the team, the new cavalry commander Zhao Yun was walking slowly along the side of the road with the Feixiong Army's cavalry. Since they were not required to patrol on alert, it also gave Zhao Yun the opportunity to observe the Taishan Army at close range.
How should I put it, Zhao Yun found that the Taishan Army was different from the county soldiers he had seen in his hometown of Changshan in the past.
In the past, he had seen large armies in his hometown, but these armies were generally dressed in different colors, with different scores and powerful groups, and there was no uniformity.
But the Taishan Army is different. They all wear yellow clothes and yellow turbans, and all officials and soldiers are equipped with identifying shoulder sleeves and arms.
The epaulettes of military officials come in black, red, white, green and other colors.
For example, the first level of generals is black, the first level of team generals is white, the first level of generals is yellow, the first level of generals is blue, the first level of generals is red, and the next level up is the color of captain level. It can be said that the rank of military officials at all levels is clear at a glance.
The sleeves and arms of the soldiers were not dyed, and were all the original color of linen.
In addition to being distinguished by color, these sleeves also have their battalion commander, military position, and name written all over them. The tradition of naming Taishan troops began with Xue Shibi and has continued to this day. Countless unknown Guizhou leaders gained their names in the army and gained their glory in the war.
It can be said that the Taishan Army is their roots and where they belong.
Zhao Yun knew that these were the main force of the five divisions of the Taishan Army, and they were all elites who were good at fighting. Especially those who went on this expedition were all members of the Central Guards Army, and they were even more elite among the elite.
And this elite can be seen from the clothes.
Among them, Zhao Yun also saw some infantry battalion leaders with their own battalion numbers. For example, the one in front of him was holding high an "Iron Wall" flag.
Although Zhao Yun is from the cavalry system and does not know much about the infantry system, he also knows that in the infantry, ordinary battalion heads have regular organizational numbers, and only those battalion heads with outstanding achievements can have their own independent numbers. Obviously, this Iron Wall Battalion is such an elite battalion leader with its own glorious history.
Zhao Yun was right. This Iron Wall Battalion was indeed an elite battalion of the Central Guards. Its unit was given the title of "Iron Wall" by Zhang Chong for being responsible for the sniper raid on the Youzhou Assault Cavalry during the Xingyang Battle.
Its camp was originally composed of the elite of Yu Jin, and several generals later moved there one after another, but the unparalleled tenacity of the Iron Wall Camp has been passed down.
In fact, it was only a short time before Zhao Yun joined the Taishan Army. I wonder if there will be an independent battalion leader from the beginning.
For example, Yishan Camp, Lushan Camp, or Laiwu Camp in the early years. These are either named after place names or named after counties. However, with the continuous reorganization of the Taishan Army, these battalion heads have been downgraded to local defense forces and rarely participate in large-scale field military operations.
The current elite field force of the Taishan Army consists of five divisions with a total of about 20,000 captains, ten battalions of sudden cavalry with 5,000 cavalry, and two yamen with flying troops carrying flags, each with 1,000 people.
Among them, the original Feijun Beiqi has been split into two yamen, the inner and outer yamen. The outer yamen are still responsible for the original duties of reconnaissance, enemy detection, and assassination, while the inner yamen were selected as the honor guards and guards of the shogunate.
Then the remaining local garrison troops organized in various base areas numbered around 30,000. Among them, there are 6,000 in Laotaishan area, 3,000 in Laiwu area, 3,000 in six counties in central and southern Shandong, 4,000 in five counties in Heji area, 2,000 in Puyang area, and 2,000 in Chaoge area in northern Hanoi. The total between Zhao and Wei is 3,000. thousand.
Compared with these local garrison troops, the Five Military Divisions directly under the central government are undoubtedly the troops with the best pay, the most sophisticated armor, and the fastest promotions. Those who have meritorious service in the garrison troops will come to the field troops to show their ambitions.
It is precisely because of this that the Five Military Divisions gather the essence of the above regions. It can be said that they are truly a gathering of fierce generals. And a large proportion comes from the lower levels of Guizhou.
This is also Zhang Chong's unique simplicity. As Zhang Chong's basic base, the army has always been the top priority of his governance. Although the generals who were descended from the aristocratic families are capable, they cannot be Zhang Chong's reliance.
If you want to sleep well, you have to be poor brothers.
Zhao Yun didn't know the twists and turns involved. Although he showed good combat skills at this time, he had not fought for a long time, and there was nothing outstanding in terms of vision and pattern.
But everyone knows that Zhao Yun must have a bright future because he has a good brother-in-law.
Zhao Yun certainly knew about these rumors in the military. He was also embarrassed and felt that a man should be self-reliant and self-reliant, and how to achieve success through others.
So he simply told his sister that he wanted to rely on his own ability to gain a foothold in the military.
Zhao E was not only grateful for her brother's lack of respect, but also sad that her brother was separated from her. But she still felt that she respected Zhao Yun's choice, so she talked to Zhang Chong about the matter.
Hearing Zhao Yun's words, Zhang Chong laughed.
He called Zhao Yun to tell the story of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing in the former Han Dynasty. Ask Zhao Yun if these two people are famous generals in ancient times.
Zhao Yun nodded. Wei Huo was respected by all soldiers in this era, including Zhao Yun.
Then Zhang Chong asked, had Wei Huo harmed their achievements just because he was a relative of Han Wu? On the contrary, because of this relationship, they have a stage to fully display their talents.
Therefore, Zhang Chong made Zhao Yun understand that it was a fact that he became his brother-in-law, but this was not power but pressure. Only when you really create a big industry will the army know that you are called Zhao Yun and not some Qu Shuai. brother-in-law.
Zhao Yun nodded solemnly.
Zhao Yun felt complicated about this brother-in-law who suddenly appeared.
Since childhood, her sister has been the person he respects most in her heart, and she is the one he wants to protect with his life. But then his father died unjustly and his sister disappeared, and he was powerless to do anything about it.
At that time, he knew that there was too much helplessness in this world.
So Zhao Yun further refined his civil and military skills, eager to make up for his past regrets.
But who knew, his sister appeared and brought a brother-in-law with her. Zhao Yun was stunned, but even more ecstatic, he had a family again.
That day at the shooting banquet of the Military Academy, Zhao Yunli came out on top. After recognizing Zhang Chong, he followed him to the mansion to reunite with his sister.
After many years, the two siblings naturally had endless things to say when they met, but Zhao Yun was more interested in Zhang Chong. This man, who was not much older than him, had become a very important figure in the world. Even though he lived in the countryside of Zhending, he knew the feats of General Soaring to the Sky.
But this understanding was hazy until Zhang Chong talked a lot about how he was sent to work and how he came to pray for the people. From his motivation to everything along the way, Zhang Chong told him everything. Zhao Yun listened.
Zhao Yun was also immersed in this story and had a clearer understanding of his brother-in-law.
This is a great hero, a great hero, even a great sage.
Because only those ancient sages would make it their life mission to ask for orders from the people.
He had seen the poverty in Guizhou, but to be honest, he didn't feel much sympathy for it. In fact, the Zhao family is also a small tycoon in Zhending, otherwise Zhao Yun would not be allowed to learn literature and martial arts.
Therefore, Zhao Yun's feeling towards Qian Shou in the past was more of pity, a kind of pity that Confucius said, see him alive and can't bear to see him die.
Whether from his father or his teachers, Zhao Yun was educated to help the Han Dynasty and to be a gentleman who protected the country.
In other words, Zhao Yun at that time only looked up and never looked down. In these days of the Taishan Army, Zhao Yun no longer ignored or only showed mercy, but actually began to do something for the Guizhou leaders.
Thinking of this, Zhao Yun looked at the position of the Chinese Army. There was a large apricot-yellow banner, where his brother-in-law was located.
Brother-in-law, what kind of person are you?
……
At the same time, under the banner of the Chinese army, Zhang Chong, riding a Puma forward, asked a cavalry general the same question.
"Demo, how do you think I compare with Sun Wentai?"
The man named Demou was Cheng Pu who had just joined the collision team. He and Han Dang were accompanying Zhang Chong.
Perhaps out of curiosity about Sun Jian, or for other reasons, Zhang Chong, who was marching, suddenly asked Cheng Pu this question.
Faced with the question of "death" that Zhang Chong suddenly asked, Cheng Pu calmly replied:
"Sun Sima is an extraordinary person, Qu Shuai is an extraordinary person."
Zhang Chong found it interesting and asked:
"How do you say this?"
(End of chapter)