My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 756: Zilong is everywhere, and surrenders upon hearing the news
The sixteenth year of Jian'an, the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month.

It was also the fifteenth day after Xiahou Dun led 60,000 Cao troops from Hebei to return from the Hejian and Bohai fronts.

Zhuge Jin was like an invisible hand hovering over Hebei, controlling the three armies of Liu Bei's camp, attacking in unison and suddenly launching sudden attacks on the battlefield stretching for hundreds of miles.

Specifically on the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, it was the 20,000 elite cavalry led by Zhao Yun that first crossed the Yishui River and fired the first shot in the counterattack in Hebei.

Although Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, and Taishi Ci were supposed to attack separately and together in theory, they were hundreds of miles apart, so it was difficult for them to attack at the same time even if they agreed on a date in advance. In addition, Zhuge Jin carefully considered the specific situation and finally decided to let Zhao Yun's army attack one or two days earlier than the other friendly forces.

This decision is easy to understand if you think about it carefully, because the attack locations of these three groups of troops are at different distances from Nanpi where Zhang He is.

Zhao Yun's attack route was closest to the rear of Cao's army and farthest from Zhang He, so the news of Zhao Yun's invasion would reach Zhang He the latest. From this, as long as Zhao Yun launched the attack first, Zhang He would eventually hear bad news from three directions at the same time.

Moreover, when Liu Bei's camp just launched the counterattack, the rear of Cao's army did not react immediately. The high-ranking civil and military officials of Cao's army also had to take time to confirm whether it was a feint attack or a main attack, because Liu Bei's harassment of Cao Cao had been too frequent and the span was too large recently.

Apart from other things, twenty days ago, Guan Yu also took Fuli and other counties in the east of Qiao County in the direction of Xuhuai. But after the attack was slightly successful, the troops immediately leveled the front line, swallowed up the Cao army's salient and switched to defense on the spot.

The reinforcements sent by Cao's army to block the pass did not get a chance to fight and were just dragged there.

When this kind of thing happens too often, it's like the wolf is coming. Although Cao's army doesn't dare to gamble with you, fearing that you might mix one truth among the nine lies, their reaction will definitely be slower.

After Zhao Yun really entered, the Cao army leaders would definitely judge whether it was a feint attack or a main attack. Of course, this judgment did not affect the Cao army's defense on the front line. The frontline soldiers had to fight to the death. They didn't care whether it was a main attack or a feint. But it would definitely affect the speed of the high-level reinforcement decision-making.

……

"According to Ziyu's calculations, with Yunchang's feint at Xu Huai, Cao's reinforcements would definitely be slower to react. When I just crossed the Yishui River and entered the Yanbian counties of Zhongshan County, even if the generals in the rear of the Cao army heard about it, they would definitely not react.

I guess the Cao army won't be truly shaken until I've truly reached Lunu and Anxi counties and deployed along the Hengshui River. Or even after I've crossed the Hengshui River and approached the Hutuo River, the Cao army will truly be afraid. These few days of time are enough for me to make good use of and expand my victory. The first few days after entering enemy territory must not be wasted."

In the early morning, when the army was quietly crossing the Yishui River, Zhao Yun was the first to cross the river. Standing on the south bank, he looked back at the soldiers passing by in batches. He was still thinking about the rhythm of this advance and the instructions given to him by Zhuge Jin before leaving.

In the dead of winter, Yishui River is also frozen with a thick layer of ice, but not all the way to the bottom. The river water is flowing, and the freezing of the surface reduces the heat exchange between the cold air and the lower river water, so the water at the bottom may remain at four degrees for a long time. Only in the hinterland of Northeast China, such as rivers at latitudes like the Heilongjiang and Songhua Rivers, will the bottom freeze every year.

It is precisely because the Yishui River is not frozen all the way to the bottom that it is easier to cross the river in the middle of winter when the river is wider. At the same time, there are no new tributaries flowing in or out, and the river runoff is always about the same. Therefore, the flow rate in the wider river areas must be slow and shallow, and the ice layer is more likely to freeze thicker.

At this time, if Zhao Yun chose a place where the river was particularly wide and the water was particularly shallow, he could just let the cavalry lead the horses across the ice. At most, he could tie straw on the shoes of the soldiers and the hooves of the horses to prevent slipping.

But today Zhao Yun chose a place where the river was narrow, the ice was thin and the current was fast. He also prepared a batch of light wooden sleds in advance and crossed the river quietly before dawn.

This improvised wooden sled is shaped like a cross between a raft and a sled, with a relatively smooth bottom and very little friction. If the ice is intact, it can be pulled across the river by horses. If the ice is broken, it can be used as a boat to float across the river, but it is not as stable.

Fortunately, the Yishui River is not too deep in winter. Even if you fall in, you can definitely wade to the other side as long as you hold on to the sled.

Zhao Yun also specially prepared a batch of warm-up liquor to motivate and comfort the soldiers before the battle. If anyone got soaked while crossing the river, they could drink some distilled liquor to warm themselves up. These liquors were reserved as medical supplies, not for ordinary soldiers to drink casually.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly and the entire river crossing process was very covert.

Cao's army sent cavalry scouts to patrol more frequently in places where the river was wide and the water was shallow, but they were not so cautious in places where the water was deep, the ice was thin, and the terrain was relatively rugged. Zhao Yun chose a difficult road in exchange for the secrecy of the operation, which can only be said to be a mixed bag.

"General, the whole army has crossed the river. Where should we go next? Should we go south-southeast and head straight for Beiping County?"

As the entire army went ashore and reorganized, the generals and soldiers around him came to ask for instructions whether to proceed according to the original plan.

Before the attack, Zhao Yun had made a complete plan, but when it came to the actual battle, he would definitely have to adjust it according to the actual situation and adapt to the situation. It would never be wrong for the generals to ask for instructions whenever possible.

Zhao Yun thought about it and decided to make a minor adjustment. "Forget the original plan. Head directly south and attack Puyin County first. Ignore Beiping County. Our army is all cavalry anyway, and we have plenty of food with us. We don't need to worry about food routes for now. For the first few days, just focus on attacking and charging hard to build up momentum."

Zhao Yun acted decisively and bypassed a county town.

Beiping County in Zhongshan County roughly corresponds to the vicinity of Mancheng in Baoding in later generations.

Readers familiar with Hebei's geography should know that the core areas of Beijing, Zhuozhou and Baoding in later generations all extend from northeast to southwest along the Yanshan Mountains. Therefore, Zhao Yun's route of advance this time was actually to go south along the edge of the Yanshan Mountains, and secretly cross the river at a hilly location with deep water and fast currents where the Yishui River flows out of the Yanshan Mountains.

If he went east after crossing the river and entered the plain area, he would naturally reach Beiping County. But if he continued to go south along the edge of Yanshan Mountain, he could bypass Beiping County and go to Puyin County (roughly in today's Wangdu, Baoding).

At that time, if they want to attack Lunu (Dingzhou County, Baoding City) and Anxi (Anguo County, Baoding City) on the way south, it will be more sudden.

The generals immediately carried out Zhao Yun's orders without reservation, and were not at all worried about bypassing Beiping County.

With General Zhao leading the army, what would it matter if he left a few counties behind? Would the enemy cut off their way home or their food supply? No way! At most, they could eat whatever they could get.

Zhao Yun prepared a lot of food for his army this time. The soldiers were equipped with horses to carry supplies and equipment. The soldiers brought enough food for fifteen days, and even the horses brought two bags of soybean meal.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, soybean oil extraction was not popular. Thin iron pans were rarely used in this era, and few people cooked. At most, the only dishes that were fried were mostly fried with animal fats.

Over the years, it was Zhuge Jin who brought about a small-scale demand for thin iron pans and cooking, which gradually became a trend among the upper echelons of Liu Bei's camp. However, it only improved people's lives and was not promoted to the general public.

However, since cooking has been invented, the technology of extracting oil from plants has gradually been established among the people. Regardless of the scale of production capacity, it is always beneficial to maintain it on a small scale as a technical reserve.

The Northeast region is suitable for growing soybeans, and when reclaiming new land, it is necessary to first plant crops that can support the land. So during the years that Zhao Yun was reclaiming land in the Northeast, in addition to planting one season of staple food every year, when there was nothing to plant during the remaining three or four months of the growing season, he would let the military settlers plant some soybeans whenever they had time.

Considering that the troops would be deployed in the cold winter this year and there would be no wild grass for the war horses, Zhao Yun collected all the soybean meal from the soybean oil pressing in Liaodong this autumn and used it specifically for this cavalry operation.

The soybean production capacity of the entire Liaodong military settlement, and the soybean meal left after oil extraction, is only enough to feed 20,000 cavalrymen for more than half a month. It has to be said that raising horses is still very expensive.

Many street articles in later generations said that the Mongols had very few logistical needs when fighting, and they just had to herd a flock of sheep. When they were hungry, people ate mutton and goat milk, and horses just ate grass. But if they really fought like that, the Mongol army's war horses would have died of malnutrition and starvation long ago.

For horses used in war, the cellulose in grass leaves alone is not enough; starch, protein, and even a little fat are needed.

The Mongolian army's logistics were to bring all the families with them, and the scale of grazing was very large. In addition, they relied on looting to maintain supplies. They fought from Asia to Europe, slaughtering 20 million people in total. Of course, the looted materials were enough to feed hundreds of thousands of troops for many years.

Zhao Yun led a righteous army, or returned home to fight. With so many cavalry, they couldn't rely on looting, so they had to fight quickly, or tighten their belts and save more before the battle.

When the battle really started, the supplies from the rear could not be delivered, and the city was broken, so the only priority was to use the grain stored in the treasury to subsidize the cavalry. The Cao army's treasury was not enough, so they had to ask the local tyrants for grain. Although they were called IOUs, they were not white, because they were all stamped with Zhao Yun's seal of the left general, allowing them to take the documents to ask for money after the battle.

Before he left, Zhuge Jin gave him a tip, asking him to negotiate terms with local tyrants, so that the amount of military supplies would be extremely huge in case of emergency during wartime. After the battle, he could take the IOU and exchange it for a petition, claiming the title of Guannei Hou, Duting Hou, etc., without a real number of households.

The price of this item was clearly marked during the reign of Emperor Ling, 5 million for Guannei Hou and 10 million for Duting Hou. But it was sold at random back then, which was too unprincipled.

Liu Bei did not sell titles. He would only make an exception to the righteous men who really helped the army in special and urgent situations. He did not give them actual titles, but just gave them an honor. The reason for the commendation was not because of money and food, but because they really helped in the cause of suppressing the rebellion.

……

Zhao Yun's cavalry safely crossed the Yishui River, bypassed Beiping County, and headed south along the remaining range of Yanshan Mountain, and soon arrived at Puyin.

The defense of Puyin County was actually more lax than that of Beiping County. This was not surprising, because Puyin County was not originally a county of Yanbian, and at the same time it was not a county seat or a key location, so the soldiers and officials here were naturally more lax.

I always thought, "If the people from Youzhou attack, Beiping County along the Yishui River will definitely suffer first. It won't be too late for us to get nervous after the situation at the front becomes tense."

There are usually several Quchang leading troops in Beiping County, but in Puyin County there are only the county magistrate and county lieutenant.

How could a county lieutenant, with a few hundred men, hold his ground when he saw Zhao Yun's 10,000 or 20,000 cavalrymen marching southward in an endless stream?
Zhao Yun hadn't even approached within 300 steps of the city wall, and the people on the city wall hadn't been able to confirm Zhao Yun's identity, but the county lieutenant was already weak in the knees.

Seeing that the fighting on the city walls had subsided and that the city did not seem to be on high alert, Zhao Yun cautiously moved forward and asked a group of cavalrymen holding shields to temporarily act as scolds.

"Listen, bandits on the city wall! General Zhao Yun, on the orders of General Liu, leads 50,000 cavalrymen to take back Zhongshan and Changshan. Zhongshan County is where General Liu served as an official, and you elders should know his reputation for benevolence.

I, Zhao Yun, am from Zhending, Changshan. I believe that everyone in the world knows this. I am leading tens of thousands of cavalrymen back to my hometown. You all know whether the powerful and righteous people in various counties will join forces with me. If you return now, you will be considered as participating in the great cause and being loyal ministers!
Moreover, Yuan Qingzhou will also join us this time and attack Jizhou together. Cao thieves won't be able to hold out for long! Xiahou Dun has been transferred away! Zhang He and Gao Lan have been surrounded by Ma Chao and Yuan Qingzhou in Bohai, and they will not come back to save you!

If you delay, your subordinates will cut off your heads and offer them to you, which will help others achieve fame. You can decide whether to become a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty or die in vain. "

After Zhao Yun finished shouting, the magistrate and lieutenant of Puyin County on the top of the city wall both subconsciously took a few steps back and put their hands on the scabbards vigilantly.

Several other lower-level officers and clerks on the city wall, such as the head of a garrison, also looked at each other, their eyes revealing their vigilance and distrust of their companions.

The county magistrate and the county lieutenant were both knowledgeable people and they quickly noticed the embarrassment in each other's eyes. It was obvious that a chain of suspicion had formed between the two of them and they were both afraid that they would become the bargaining chip for the other to save his life.

There's nothing we can do. The enemy is too strong and came so suddenly.

"Captain Hu, you and I should stop being suspicious of each other. Why don't we surrender together and share the credit? Don't be like Xiang Liang. Although Xiang Liang gained temporary benefits in dealing with Yin Tong, he was eventually punished by God."

The county lieutenant was not as well-read as the county magistrate, and did not think of the story of Xiang Liang and Yin Tong. He just laughed and said, "Since the county lord has said so, how dare I disobey him? Why don't we all go to the top of the city wall and shout to the people below to explain that this is a common county city, and then open the gate..."

Make the merit book public before taking action, to avoid being attacked from behind by your own people when opening the door.

There was no way. Even if Zhao Yun’s intimidation didn’t make them fall in love immediately, they were afraid that the people around them would be moved first.

Liu Bei had been an official in Zhongshan for three years, Zhao Yun was a fellow villager from Changshan, and Yuan Tan came back under the banner of Yuan Shao to help in the battle.

Although Cao Cao had ruled Jizhou for nearly ten years and Yuan Shao had been dead for nearly ten years, everyone was suspicious of their colleagues and was unwilling to play against the wind.

Soon, the city gate of Puyin County was opened.

Zhao Yun was cautious and did not lead the first group to enter the city. Instead, he asked his generals to lead hundreds of cavalry vanguards in first and control the city gates and towers before he entered the city to take over.

After entering the city, he sealed the government treasury, took a brief inventory of the accounts, and asked the county magistrate and county lieutenant to retain their original positions, cooperate with the anti-rebel army, and prepare supplies.

Then Zhao Yun rested for only one night and continued to march south the next day, dividing his troops to attack Lu Nu and An Xi.

Until this moment, the senior generals and large forces in the rear of Cao's army had not yet reacted. Only the local garrison in Zhongshan County was holding on.

Zhao Yun sent a detachment of troops to pass through Wangdu County and Tang County. Seeing that the situation was unclear, the local defenders closed their doors and refused to listen or watch.

Zhao Yun had no time to waste and was not angry. He just took out the list in public, crossed out the officials of these two counties from the list of those to be retained after the war, and then went around the city.

That action is probably similar to the King of Hell writing a book of life and death.

After travelling over eighty li in one day, they arrived at Lunu and Anxi, where Zhao Yun took out Liu Bei's signboard and showed it.

He repeated all the threats, inducements and insults he had said in Puyin before, and handed the "Book of Life and Death" that he had marked to a cavalryman to be sent to the foot of the city. He had a hanging basket lowered from the top of the city wall, and he could go up to see it and fill in the box himself.

The magistrate of Lunu County and the military commander stationed there looked at the account book that Zhao Yun had sent over. All the officials of Puyin County were retained, while those of Wangdu County and Tang County were crossed out. There were even temporary replacements written down behind the crossed out officials.

That is to say, when those counties change hands in the future, the official positions will be distributed to whoever is who, and among them there will be quite a few powerful people from neighboring counties who will help the army.

This looks as if it were a joke, just like playing a game. If you want to make progress, just fill in the form yourself. If you don't want to make progress, just cross out your name and make room for others to fill in.

This sense of relaxation, this easy demeanor, contrasted with the solemn and murderous atmosphere of Zhao Yun's army, with their armor shining like sun and their horses silent, could not help but make the defenders feel frightened.

After a struggle and winning over the hearts and minds, although it took more effort than Puyin, both Lunu and Anxi were forced to surrender without a fight.

Zhao Yun advanced 150 miles deep into Zhongshan County without bloodshed and forced three counties to surrender without a fight. This was a very good result.

He had no intention of forcing the entire Zhongshan County to land. It would be enough for him to pick out key points and carve out a way for the forced landing so that he could continue to advance rapidly.

After conquering Lunu, Zhao Yun not only gained control of the government seat of a county, but more importantly, he could rely on local ships and laborers to cross the Hengshui River and ensure logistics.

After crossing the Hengshui River, Zhao Yun didn't care that there were still seven or eight counties in Zhongshan County that had not been attacked or forced to land. He just went southwest and headed straight for Wuji County on the north bank of the Hutuo River, and then prepared to cross the Hutuo River from there. On the other side of the river was his hometown, Zhending County in Changshan County.

Zhao Yun is very familiar with these places, and he has both connections and appeal.

(End of this chapter)