Chapter 496 Family
After a summer rain, the hills and valleys between Mount Tai and the river began to cool down visibly.
The rain moistens the forest and makes the greenery brighter.
But among this emerald green, a strong red broke the original vitality. It was death.
A group of Han soldiers dressed in crimson had just ambushed and killed a group of refugees in this forest.
After some wreaking havoc, these people put on their clothes again, then picked up the heads of the refugees, carried the rags and a few rations on their backs, and went back talking and laughing.
As for those women, because Duke Cao was too strict, they did not dare to take them back to the camp, so they had to stab them with a knife.
What a pity.
This group of Han soldiers walked along the forest road for four miles and came to a huge camp. After checking the military symbols with the officials outside the camp, they returned to their camp.
Those heads cannot be used for credit now. They will have to wait until there is a war later before they can be easily taken out.
So, these people threw the head into the corner of the tent and ignored it.
Obviously, this group of Han soldiers belonged to Cao Cao, but they were not Cao Cao's direct force. They were the captured soldiers that Cao Cao surrendered after he conquered Qi and Le'an.
Among them are the original Qingzhou Yellow Turbans and some powerful tribes from various places.
The Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were originally the pillars of Taiping Dao, and they also had ideals and strength. But as the Taishan side came out of the mountains to fight, and then the Yellow Turbans from Le'an, Jinan, and Pingyuan counties went north to Dahe to support the main road, those who remained began to fall.
First, Sima He, the leader of the Qi State, directly showed his cruelty and cruelty. He sent troops to plunder the countryside and did not engage in production, causing the Yellow Turbans of the Qi State to quickly become thieves.
The Yellow Turbans in Beihai and Donglai were not able to turn the tide. On the contrary, Guan Cheng of Donglai began to gather at sea to form a self-contained unit. Guan Hai of Beihai also had to support himself amidst the attacks from the strong local Han army and the Langya soldiers in the southwest. .
The reason why the Langya soldiers in the southwest desperately attacked and plundered the Yellow Turban Army in the North Sea was not only for external defense, but also because of revenge.
The gang of bandits and the Yellow Turban Army in Langya Mountain began to become blood enemies when Zhang Chong defeated Zang Ba.
Then the two sides chose completely different paths.
Zang Ba narrowly escaped death in the rolling mountains. After returning to Laofeng, his father directly handed over power to Zang Ba.
Zang Ba lived up to his father's expectations and first annexed thirty-four families of bandits from Langya and Wulian Mountains, taking complete control of the Langya Kingdom. After that, Zang Ba chose the right person again and received huge rewards.
When Tao Qian first took office in Xuzhou, Zang Ba led his elite troops to ambush at the roadside to invite his return. Later, with the support of Zang Ba, Tao Qian quickly removed the obstacles in the state and successfully suppressed the Xuzhou Yellow Turbans entrenched in the countryside.
From then on, Zang Ba became Tao Qian's confidant, and he was even regarded as the prefect of Langya by the latter, and he was appointed as the governor of Northeast China.
In this way, under the leadership of Zang Ba, the Langya bandits quickly transformed from Shanliao bandits to the Han army's economic and political divisions, completing a class transition.
At this point, Zang Ba's power was unparalleled.
But what Zang Ba could never forget was the defeat at Yilu Mountain Pass. In that battle, he not only lost his past ambitions of fame and glory, but also left a deep arrow mark on his body.
Later, the Taishan Army moved to the Central Plains, defeated several generals of the Han Army, and even went north to capture Hebei. Zang Ba did not dare to reach Taishan County with his troops, so he had to focus his expansion on Beihai.
Therefore, Guan Hai and Zang Ba fought several battles in the southwest of Beihai, each with their own victory or defeat.
But all Guan Hai's energy was delayed because of this, and he could only watch the situation in Qingzhou become more and more deteriorating.
The disintegration of Qingzhou Yellow Turban gave Cao Cao an opportunity, but any gift has its price.
Why did Cao Cao divide these Qingzhou Yellow Turbans into one battalion? It is because the military discipline of these people is so poor. If they join forces, Cao Cao is afraid that the elite soldiers he has brought out will deteriorate.
There are about a thousand people in this Qingzhou army, and they have been camping here for six days.
Since the beginning of June, the Han army on the Pingyuan side suffered several setbacks at Pingyuan Jindu, and they no longer had the organizational strength to provoke the Taishan army.
On the contrary, Jinan started taking action.
They first targeted the Taishan area to the west and sent heavy troops to block the mountain pass to prevent the Taishan Army in the Taishan area and Zhu'a's Taishan Army from joining together.
After that, Jinan marched towards Zhu'a.
Led by Cao Cao's clan general Xiahou Dun, he led a thousand Jinan troops and three thousand Qingzhou troops out of Licheng and attacked Zhu'a.
Zhu A's Guo Shu tribe responded immediately, and then the two armies began to fight in the valley between Mount Tai and the river.
And now stationed in this valley is a force that has just been separated from the main camp and is preparing to detour from the passage between Mount Tai to behind Zhu'a.
The morale of Cao Cao's army is generally very high.
Because the backbone of these people are basically former Northern Army officers and soldiers, and then fought and tempered on the Xiaohan battlefield in East and West Beijing, their fighting skills and will are the best among the Han army.
Although those Qingzhou Yellow Turbans who surrendered had poor military discipline, their combat effectiveness was also very high. Precisely because it can constantly vent, its desire to fight is even stronger than that of the average army.
Therefore, with such soldiers, and the number of soldiers is much higher than that of Zhu'a's Guo Shu, the development of the battle situation is naturally not surprising.
After Guo Shu slightly defeated Xiahou Dun's troops in the early stage, he stayed in the stronghold and stopped fighting in the field.
In this way, Xiahou Dun surrounded Zhua with his troops, hoping to force the Taishan army in the city to surrender through siege. The same is true for the dock walls placed everywhere outside the city by Guo Shu, all of which were surrounded by Han soldiers.
It was against this background that Han Chang and his fifty-man team were surrounded in a mountain dock in the remnants of Mount Tai.
Yes, as the battle became more intense, Han Chang was promoted again.
……
Zhu Tanzuo, a mountain man sent by Han Chang, came back, and the news he brought back was very bad.
There are various reports outside the stronghold. Some say that the general Guo Shu was defeated outside Zhua City and has retreated inside the city. It is also said that Taishan's army was attacked by Cao Cao's cavalry from the north in Pingyuanjin and was defeated. Then all the dock walls on the other side of the river were lost.
It is also said that Cao Cao's army is coming back and will strangle the Taishan Army units in the Taishan area.
Han Chang didn't believe much of this news. He still knew the abilities of his immediate boss Guo Shu and knew that he would not lose so quickly.
Not to mention that the Taishan Army stationed in the Pingyuanjin area is a strong force in the rear field. Even if it is three times their size, they can still fight a dozen.
Why is Cao Cao so powerful?
But Han Chang still decided to break out.
Because the reserves in the stronghold were already very dangerous, and because they had been trapped in the stronghold for a long time, the morale of Zhu Abing under Han Chang was very low.
After several days of inquiring, Han Chang decided to abandon this stronghold and move closer to his army in the west.
Han Chang did not intend to break through directly, as that would cause too much damage to his troops.
He already had a plan.
There are two groups of Qingzhou soldiers surrounding him, one is a centurion from Qingzhou Yellow Turban, and the other is a powerful tribe named Zhang, whose number is similar to that of Qingzhou soldiers.
Han Chang has been talking to
In the past few days, he has been letting people pass on news, deliberately contacting the wealthy man named Zhang outside. The local tycoon always felt that Han Chang wanted to surrender and was greedy for the military glory, so he went to contact Han Chang and the others behind the back of the Qingzhou soldiers.
Han Chang obtained news from the outside and replenished some supplies through his false pretense.
Today, he, Han Chang, was preparing to break out of the tyrant named Zhang and let him understand what it means to be brave in war and deceit.
It's a pity that Han Chang actually doesn't need to go to such trouble at all.
Why did he think the Qingzhou soldiers and local tycoon Zhang had four times as many troops as he did, but they still chose to besiege rather than attack? He even took the initiative to contact the rich man named Zhang and said that he wanted to surrender. Why were they so happy?
No one else, because he often has a resounding name called "Taishan Army".
If you are not from Qingzhou, you will never understand their complicated thoughts about the Taishan Army. For example, the local tycoon named Zhang is from the west of Le'an Kingdom, which is actually not far from Mount Tai.
He is full of fear of the Taishan Army, because four years ago, countless powerful clans he was familiar with fell into trouble at the hands of the Taishan Army. How can he not be afraid of this?
But now that the Taishan Army is back again, and he wants to attack these people, what do you want this rich man named Zhang to do?
And this rich man was simply afraid of the reputation of the Taishan Army, while those former Yellow Turbans from Qi State were deeply afraid.
When Lao Qushuai was still there, the relationship between the State of Qi and the Taishan Army was very close. Even after Lao Qushuai jointly defeated the Langya bandits with the Taishan Army, he was impressed by the strength of the Taishan Army's military discipline and even specially ordered some of his troops to join the army. Fang Jingying went to Mount Tai to study.
The reason why the Qi Yellow Turbans were able to quickly occupy central Qingzhou was inseparable from their combat power. And this is all the result of these Qi military officers who were trained by the Taishan Army.
But unfortunately, these latter people were purged soon after Sima He came to power.
Those who were lucky enough to escape also escaped into the rolling Yimeng Tailu Mountains and disappeared without a trace.
Later, the Yellow Turbans of Qi were so fragile under Cao Cao's troops, which was related to Sima He's great purge. It can be said that Sima and himself have torn apart their own bones.
Now these Qi Yellow Turbans have taken refuge with Cao Cao, but the fear of the Taishan Army still remains in their hearts.
Therefore, when attacking Han Chang's Wudi, these Qingzhou soldiers all tried to push back. As a last resort, they chose the strategy of siege.
Of course, Han Chang was not aware of these situations, but it did not prevent him from actually taking advantage of this fear and carrying out his plan.
……
On this day, a wealthy man named Zhang arrived as promised.
His real name is Zhang Zong, and he has no big ambitions. He just wants to protect himself with his clan in this troubled world.
From his name, we can see that his father's expectation for him was to protect his hometown and treat his family well. But it is a pity that Lao Zhang passed away early and did not know the suffering of his son.
Now he can do neither of these two things. His hometown has become Cao Cao's, and his own clan tribe has to be driven away by Cao Cao to fight. How can it be so desolate.
But the hard days are finally over. As long as he can accept this Taishan thief this time, he will be able to make extraordinary achievements and return to the city.
When the time comes, you can be as happy as you want, and you no longer have to stay in this mountainous area to blow the wind.
Today was the day he had agreed upon with General Taishan. The man opposite him was quite good at getting things done. If he had to do something like this, there would be no turning back. He would have to rely on him in the future.
So the other side wanted to make a covenant with him to be brothers, and to exchange surnames and become a family.
There was no other way, Zhang Zong had no choice but to come.
With thirty elite troops and three horses, Zhang Zong traveled through the mountains and forests.
Even though he only brought thirty people with him, he actually brought all his troops with him. Although he has a tribe of hundreds of people, it is these thirty people who can really fight with a sword and have the courage.
With a tribe of thirty people, even if the little brother of Taishan Army has any evil intentions, he can crush them with a whip.
In this way, they kept walking and finally walked out of the forest.
Once out of this mountain forest, the whole world suddenly feels vast.
In the distance are grass-gray ridges, near are lush green meadows, and a mountain stream flows down from the depths of Mount Tai, making people feel refreshed.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Zong suddenly became inspired. He opened his mouth to compose a poem, but after opening for a long time, not a single word came out.
His Bu Qu looked at his sect leader strangely and didn't understand why he opened his mouth wide. The wind here was quite strong.
Could it be that the sect master learned the art of eating wind from some alchemist?
Zhang Zong was a little angry when he saw the eyes of his men, and he cursed:
"Then why hasn't Han Chang come yet?"
The director of the department who had previously contacted Han Changyouyi hurriedly replied:
"Maybe we came early. People over there said that the sun will arrive when it is three poles higher. It's still early now."
Zhang Zong hummed and began to educate the people below to be more vigilant.
The greater the benefits, the greater the risks. It would be good if the opponent sincerely surrendered, but we must also be careful of the opponent pretending to surrender, otherwise Zhang Zong would not be able to explain himself here?
Thinking of this, Zhang Zong suddenly had this idea:
"It wouldn't be a bad idea to be buried here."
This idea was so scary that Zhang Zong spat several times again.
But he didn't know that his behavior was once again filled with confusion in the eyes of those tribesmen.
Soon, the sun rose three poles high, but there was no sign of the other side.
Zhang Zong already had a bit of an ominous premonition in his heart, but he still tried his best to remain calm and graceful.
Only the sweaty reins showed his uneasiness.
After a moment, Zhang Zong couldn't bear it anymore. He held his horse's head and said to everyone:
"The evil Han Chang actually deceived me. When I returned to camp, I gathered my troops and horses to join the Qingzhou soldiers and pulled out his stronghold together. When the time comes, I will hang him on a bamboo pole and expose him to the sun to make him understand the consequences of deceiving me. ”
But just when Zhang Zong was about to leave, a man ran out from the forest on the opposite side.
The man shouted:
"My good big brother, my little brother just came, why did you leave?"
As he said this, the man kept coming forward.
When Zhang Zong looked back, he saw a man with a face flushed from the sun, opening his arms enthusiastically and shouting:
"I, eldest brother, Zhang Hanchang!"
Zhang Hanchang? Then isn’t my name Han Zhangzong?
This damn little Taishan brother really wants to exchange surnames with his? Want to be a family with yourself?
Being in the vast northwest, I also want to write a poem:
"Ah, Xinjiang..."
"Ah, you are really big..."
Okay, let me send you a picture to praise the beautiful Western soil.
(End of chapter)