Chapter 726 The Falling Eagle
In the third year of Taiwu, on May 5th, Xin'an, Jianshui.
Since the Guanxi Army occupied Mianchi in May, it has been confronting the Taishan Army of Xin'an on the south bank of Jianshui.
In the next few days, a small-scale sentry battle took place between the two armies in the open plains on the south bank of Jianshui River.
Jianshui, this river originating from Mianchi Mountain, flows slowly along the Western Henan Channel. It has been welcomed and sent for thousands of years. It has witnessed King Wu's defeat of Zhou and King Qin's eastward campaign to conquer Liuhe.
On this day, a young knight walked to the edge of the stream and looked at the stream, which was more than twenty steps wide, thoughtfully.
There were two knights behind him, looking at the surroundings of Jianshui also leisurely.
They are Zhao Yun and the cavalry commanders Xue Yi and Xia Houlan.
At this time, Xia Houlan stepped forward and admonished Zhao Yun again:
"Zilong, let's just go here. If we go further, we may encounter Kansai soldiers."
Zhao Yun did not answer the question, but said to the two of them:
"The king ordered my crane-controlling army to be deployed in the Xin'an area. Do you know why?"
Xia Houlan replied:
"Because Xin'an is the gateway to the west of Kyoto."
Zhao Yun nodded, then pointed to Badou Mountain behind him and sighed:
"That's right, Xin'an is our gateway to the west. Look at the Badou Mountain. Xin'an is at the foot of the mountain. To the north of Xin'an is the stream we see now. But what about the south? It's a vast expanse of land. There is no road to Zeze, so if you want to enter Kyoto from now on, you must pass through Xin'an.”
"Then you look at the Badou Mountain. Although it is not high, it has steep slopes and slippery walls, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Therefore, Xin'an has no worries on three roads and can only threaten Xin'an from the west."
Speaking of this, Zhao Yun looked at the gentle stream and sighed:
"It is precisely because the west is so important that I have to come and see the terrain here in person. Just like now, if I didn't come in person, how would I know that the stream would be so gentle when it flows through this area?"
Xia Houlan was puzzled:
"There are soldiers in the army here. Just let them monitor the situation. How can we risk it ourselves?"
Then Zhao Yun smiled softly and taught Xia Houlan:
"I learned this from the king. Every time there is a big battle, the king will take three or five cavalry generals to walk through the battlefield first, inspect the mountains, rivers and lakes, so that they know what they are aware of. As for what the Youyi people are sent out to do, they are sent out to check it out. , some things can only be understood when you see them with your own eyes.”
Xia Hou was speechless after hearing these words.
In fact, he couldn't persuade Zhao Yun. He had been more upright than himself since he was a child. Even when he went to join the Taishan Army, Zilong did it after thinking about it. Therefore, although Xia Houlan didn't agree in his heart, he could only accompany him. .
He looked at the flat land on the south bank of Jianshui River, and saw a dense forest not far away, and said a little warily:
"Zilong, you are right, but now that we have surveyed it, we should go back. That dense forest gives me a very bad feeling."
Hearing Xia Houlan talk about the dense forest, Zhao Yun also looked over, and the more he looked, the more he frowned.
Xue Yi, the cavalryman behind, said directly:
"There is something really wrong. There is not a single bird or animal chirping in the wilderness and dense forest. It is too quiet."
Then he asked Zhao Yun:
"Could it be that the Kansai Army is ambushed in the forest?"
Zhao Yun chuckled, pinched the horse's belly, and said with a smile:
"Can't we see clearly if we rush over?"
After saying that, without waiting for the other two to reply, they rushed over like an arrow.
Xue Yi and Xia Houlan behind him were shocked when they saw Zhao Yun's recklessness, but they could only chase after him on horseback.
And when the three cavalrymen rushed out of the dense forest, there was suddenly a dense sound of horse hooves.
After bypassing the dense forest, the field of vision was completely empty, and then I saw a Kansai Army team with about a hundred riders mounting their horses in a panic.
At this time, Zhao Yun didn't hesitate at all, and pressed in while holding the horse's arms straight.
There were three Guanxi warriors at the head. They looked like Qiang Di. Seeing the sudden appearance of Zhao Yun, they hurriedly drew their bows and shot. However, before the bows could be bent, Zhao Yun swung his spear in a circle, and then sharply pointed the spear. He cut their throats.
The three of them fell off their horses and fell to the ground. Zhao Yun dismounted and rushed into the crowd.
Then the spear in his hand was like a burst of light, stabbing or smashing, swinging or swinging, and it was all over the place.
With Zhao Yun in front to break up the formation, Xue Yi and Xia Houen behind were much more relaxed. They were all from the north. Before they picked up the thief, the bows and arrows in their hands were already flying like locusts.
While running, the horses were bumpy and the bows and arrows were unstable, but the two of them were still able to hit six out of ten shots. The casualties suffered by these Kansai soldiers were no less than those of Zhao Yun in front.
At this time, they suddenly heard a shout from Zhao Yun in front, and then they saw Zhao Yun riding back with a disheveled warrior in his arms.
The warrior was also majestic. Even though he was caught in the air, he refused to give in. In the end, he was knocked unconscious by Zhao Yun's sword, and then he hung down limply.
In this way, after Zhao Yun came out, he shouted to Xiahou and Xue:
"Let's go!"
Then the three of them rode back.
The remaining Kansai knights, after experiencing the previous surprise, soon realized that there were only three enemy knights who rushed out.
Moreover, the Qiang cavalry captured by Zhao Yun was obviously their commander, so after seeing the three enemy troops retreating "in a hurry", they pursued them without thinking.
Just like this, on the south bank of the wide stream, the three riders in front were running, and dozens of riders were chasing after them.
But after chasing after them, the three horses on the opposite side suddenly stopped walking and even turned around. One of them even put his legs on the saddle, pointing at them and teasing the two people around him.
Now these Kansai knights were at their wits end. One of the knights who had been granted temporary command roared and made the brothers stop.
Then he said to the "most" educated cavalryman beside him:
"Lao Yang, what do you think they are doing? Why are they acting like this suddenly?"
The cavalryman named Lao Yang was a distant branch of the Hongnong Yang family, and he was indeed the most educated among the rough people from Guanxi.
The old Yang was not humble, he put his hands on the awning and looked ahead. He looked left and right, and suddenly sneered:
"Technology stops here."
The general didn't understand and asked what he meant.
Old Yang pointed contemptuously at the three riders in front and explained:
"Old Pu, you don't know that we Han people have an allusion. Back then, the flying general Li Guang used this to deceive the Huns. Now those Taishan thieves are trying to imitate this old trick and deceive us."
The man named Lao Pu was not a Han, but a Di from Lueyang. The Di and Qiang people are often confused, but in fact there is no difference. If we really want to be more serious, maybe the Di people have Han surnames.
For example, Lueyang Di has the surname Pu, while Wudu a little further south has Baima Di, and most of them have the surname Yang.
The person who had just been captured by Zhao Yun was a Lueyang Di chieftain. This Lao Pu was his clan uncle. He knew that if he could not save the little chieftain, he would die if he went back. So after listening to Lao Yang's words, he had already made a decision in his heart. Finally I asked:
"Can't be wrong?"
Lao Yang said seriously:
"But okay, if something happens it's my fault."
So, Lao Pu suddenly blew his horns and led the knights to charge.
At first, Lao Pu stared at the Han warrior cruelly, but as he stared, he became a little panicked, because the knight actually stopped in place when they charged.
What's going on? Aren't you scared out of your wits?
But in the next moment, everyone, including him, suddenly heard thunder.
It was a large-scale cavalry charge. So, Lao Pu, who was ferocious a second ago, screamed:
"Withdraw!"
But how come it’s too late?
As the first team of yellow armored knights rushed to the hillock, more and more knights appeared on the hillock line. They bypassed Zhao Yun like a tide, and then pressed towards this team of Kansai knights.
A moment later, when these Taishan Army knights killed the Kansai knights, they turned around one after another. One of the knights stepped forward directly and ran in front of Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun took a look and saw that it was Xu Sheng. Wasn't he sent to Kyoto by himself? Back so soon?
Thinking about this, Zhao Yun casually threw the captured Di people to Xiahou Lan, and then asked in surprise:
"Come back so soon?"
But Xu Sheng looked serious, turned sideways and whispered to Zhao Yun:
"Military Lord, the king is here."
Zhao Yun was stunned for a moment and didn't react for a while. It wasn't until he saw Xu Sheng's serious face that he said in horror:
"Where are you?"
Xu Sheng whispered:
"Just in the middle account."
The middle tent set up by Zhao Yun is to the west of Xin'an and to the sun of Badou Mountain.
Now, Zhao Yun did not dare to delay any longer and hurried back with Xu Sheng and others.
On the way, Zhao Yun asked Xu Sheng what happened.
But Xu Sheng couldn't tell. He only said that after he sent the Kansai envoy to Kyoto, he was summoned by the king alone. Later, he asked about the situation in the army and the movements of the Kansai Army in Mianchi, and suddenly wanted to come to Xin'an.
So Xu Sheng also knew nothing.
Just like this, Zhao Yun felt uneasy, not knowing what had happened. He wanted the king to come to his camp in person. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but wonder, could it be...
……
When Zhao Yun led Xu Sheng and others back to the camp, he saw his crane-controlling army gathering in the wide valley.
The He Controlling Army is indeed a forbidden army, and Zhao Yun has trained it well. It is now deployed in the valley, with neat military appearance and clear flags.
Countless apricot-yellow flags, paired with white crane military flags, spread on the valley floor, like white peonies blooming on the earth.
When Zhao Yun arrived, he saw a high platform standing in the wilderness at a glance, and the familiar apricot-yellow flag stood there facing the wind.
So, Zhao Yun tightened his grip on the horse, once again increased the already fast speed to the highest speed, and rushed towards the high platform.
When they arrived nearby, Zhao Yun saw at least five hundred generals leading their horses surrounding the high platform. When they saw Zhao Yun coming, they quickly gave way to the passage.
So Zhao Yun didn't wait for the horse to stop, swung the stirrup and dismounted, and then hurried up to the high platform.
When they arrived on the stage, the tall and friendly figure was indeed there. After hearing Zhao Yun’s footsteps, the figure turned around and smiled at Zhao Yun:
"Zilong, it's not too late, it's not too late."
Zhao Yun hurriedly performed a military salute, and then apologized:
"The end will come later. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Zhang Chong waved his hand and said with satisfaction to Zhao Yun:
"What's the crime? I came to you on the spur of the moment and didn't inform you. On the contrary, you went to the front line to visit the enemy in person, and you became more attentive."
Then Zhang Chong waved to Zhao Yun to come over.
Zhao Yun stepped forward, waiting for Zhang Chong to be behind him, and then heard Zhang Chong boast:
"Zilong, you have done a good job in leading this crane-controlling army. I have just made some arrangements. The orders and prohibitions are clear, and the fighting spirit is high. It seems that your unit has recovered well."
Zhao Yun is humble:
"Once the Self-Control Crane Army Shangdang was defeated, the whole army worked hard and practiced hard. This is not Yun's credit, but the efforts of the missionaries in the army. It is they who boosted morale and our army can recover from the defeat. Get out so quickly.”
Zhang Chong nodded and said to a group of people standing on the right:
"Look, this missionary is obviously very useful, and it's not like you said it's delaying things."
After Zhang Chong said this, Zhao Yun realized that the group of people standing on the side were actually cavalry generals.
For example, Li Hu, Xu Huang, Xi Shen, Guo Liang, Li Fu, Li Bi, Yan Gang, and Ma Wu are all listed. These people were all the generals of the sudden cavalry system at that time.
Since the Taishan military reform, the cavalry generals of the sudden cavalry system have been split, and some people have been reorganized into the Forbidden Army as military leaders, such as Xu Huang, Guo Liang, and Li Fu. Some people were grouped together and served as bodyguards in front of the palace, such as Li Hu, Xi Shen, Yan Gang, etc.
So the people who gathered so neatly this time were during the decisive battle with Lu Zhi's Zhenbei Army at Zhongrenting.
Seeing these people here, Zhao Yun knew in his heart that something big was about to happen.
Over there, Li Hu and others heard the king laughing and scolding, with different expressions.
Among them, Li Hu was shy and replied with a smile:
"Which grandson thinks of this? We have been fighting for many years, and we still don't know how good the missionaries are? Let's just take care of the war, and others will take care of the rest. Isn't that good?"
Li Hu said and said to Xu Huang over there:
"Did you say that?"
Xu Huang didn't dare to answer this, he shook his head quickly, and finally everyone denied it.
As for Zhang Chong, he was noncommittal. He turned to Zhao Yun and said:
"You are confronting the Kansai Army these days. How do you view them?"
When the king asked about military strategy, Zhao Yun immediately replied:
"Your Majesty, after these days of exploration by the generals, the Guanxi Army that has arrived in the Mianchi area now has about eight armies and fifty battalions, which are respectively deployed in Mianchi, Xiaoshan, and Hangu. The main generals are three, respectively. They are Duan Xuan, Guo Si, and Liu Bei.”
Xu Sheng had already told Zhang Chong this information before when he returned to Kyoto, so he just nodded and then asked this question:
"Zilong, do you know why I came?"
Zhao Yun thought for a while and guessed:
"Do we want to fight the Kansai Army?"
Zhang Chong nodded, then smiled and introduced the last person in the crowd to Zhao Yun:
"Well, you have also met this Dharma Lord, and he is with us this time."
As he said that, Zhao Yun saw Fazheng, wasn't he the previous envoy from Kansai? Fa Zheng, who was opposite him, could only smile awkwardly when he saw Zhao Yun looking at him.
Zhao Yun has many questions, such as why he suddenly attacked the Guanxi Army. Didn't he want to close the door and attack Yuan Shao? And why does Fa Zheng appear here? How to defeat Kansai? Just rely on his crane-controlling army of four to five thousand people?
All of the above were lingering in Zhao Yun's mind, but he didn't ask because the king didn't say anything.
Over there, Zhang Chong looked at the lushly forested Badou Mountain in the distance, looking down at the gorgeous armored warriors. Only a few eagle calls could be heard from time to time in the sky, which made him upset.
So he said to the knights behind him:
"Shoot the eagle for me."
As soon as the words fell, the nine people behind him all bowed their bows and thundered, and there was no more eagle sound after that.