Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 119: Selecting Troops for Battle
In February, Guo Tai, a remnant of the Yellow Turbans, gathered the refugees from Xihe River in Baibo Valley and rebelled. They then called themselves the Baibo Army and plundered the counties in Hedong.

In the same month, Zhang Yi, the governor of Bingzhou, was worried that the Baibo army would join forces with the Xiongnu rebels, so he led troops from various counties to march westward, aiming directly at Lishi.

To get from Zishi to Lishi City, one has to pass through Luliang Mountain. Between the two passages, Yuli (now Wucheng Town, Luliang City) is an important city on the road. It controls Jinzhong in the east and Xihe in the west. It was built by the famous general Wu Qi as an important city for governing Xihe County.

Therefore, Zhang Yi sent Feng Bo, the governor of Taiyuan County, to lead his troops to occupy Licheng first, in order to block the passage of the Southern Xiongnu rebels from crossing the Luliang Mountains and penetrating into Jinzhong to plunder.

Although there are Luliang Mountains between Yuli City and Lishi City, the erosion of Lishi River has formed a river valley passage of more than 100 miles.

When the army reached Licheng, Zhang Yu proposed to Zhang Yi a plan of defending the west and attacking the south in order to annihilate the rebels, that is, to first kill the Baibo rebels in Hedong and then destroy the Xiongnu rebels. However, as Guo Yu said, Zhang Yi declined Zhang Yu's suggestion for safety reasons.

Seeing that Zhang Yi rejected his suggestion and was determined to march west to attack the Xiongnu rebels, Zhang Yu no longer insisted on his own opinion. After all, as Zhang Yi said to everyone, the Han army was small in number but elite, while the Xiongnu army was large in number but not united.

After Yu Li reorganized the army and Zhang Yi left 500 old and weak soldiers to guard the dangerous places, the army of 15,000 people set out towards Lishi City in a mighty manner.

In February and March, the temperature in Luliang Mountain is much cooler than outside the mountain. Snow can be seen melting everywhere between the mountains. The streams in the valley benefit from the replenishment of ice water. The water flows vigorously, and the tributaries converge and flow to Lishi City and then into the Yellow River.

"Tighten your fur coat tight, don't catch a cold!"

Zhang Yu rode his horse quickly and passed by a Hu cavalryman. He tapped the cavalryman's shoulder with his whip and said with concern.

"Thank you, General!"

Seeing that it was Zhang Yu who cared about him, Hu Qi was flattered.

Because the Yunzhongqi were close to the frontier, they had won several battles and gained a lot. Nowadays, winter equipment has become more and more mature. People no longer wear winter clothes to keep warm, but fur coats made from fur to keep warm.

Zhang Yu nodded and asked, "Have you eaten it before?"

"have eaten!"

Hu Qi nodded and replied, "I just ate the cake mixed with mare's milk!"

"it is good!"

Zhang Yu nodded in satisfaction and said to his attendants, "If you can defeat the rebels, I will reward you with slaves and servants for your military achievements."

"Long live the general!"

"Your Excellency is wise!"

The morale of the cavalrymen was greatly boosted and they all celebrated.

Last time, when they followed Zhang Yu to sweep the border, almost all the cavalrymen were given Hu women, which made them very happy. Now that the general promised to reward the slaves, they were naturally happy.

"Report!"

Shi Yi led his personal cavalry to find Zhang Yu, and said, "Sir, our army has discovered enemy scouts and is now engaging them."

"Try to capture him alive and see if we can get any information out of him!" Zhang Yu said.

"I will lead the team myself!"

After saying this, Shi Yi turned his horse around and led several riders on his left and right forward.

"If enemy scouts appear, all cavalrymen should march in dispersed formations and observe the mountains on both sides to prevent enemy ambushes. And inform General Zhang!" Zhang Yu ordered immediately.

"promise!"

Scouts are the eyes and ears of the army. Zhang Yu's army consists of elite soldiers from the Hu tribe, so he was appointed by Zhang Yi to be the vanguard, responsible for exploring the way for the army.

The reason why Zhang Yu often used Shi Yi to lead the scouts was because Shi Yi had a keen sense of perception. He could tell the number of cavalry and infantry by looking at the smoke and dust, and the distance of the army by listening to the ground. It would be a pity if such a gifted person was not used to lead the scouts!

When Zhang Yi learned that his front troops had engaged the scouts, he immediately sent Guo Yu's cavalry to support them, making sure to defeat the Xiongnu scouts and seize the steep places in the valley. Guo Yu knew that Lü Bu and Zhang Yang were brave, so he asked them to lead light cavalry to join the battle.

With Lü Bu and Zhang Yang participating in the scout battle, the Xiongnu scouts were no match for the Han army and were defeated. Many Xiongnu scouts were captured, and through Zhang Yu's torture, the Han army soon found out the movements of the Xiongnu rebels.

After the Xiongnu rebels learned that the Han army had sent troops, the three major armies of Gudu, Zuowang and Xubu gathered in Lishi. In addition, other Xiongnu tribes such as Shanhu and Jiehu, at the call of the new Chanyu, led their troops to Lishi one after another.

At present, more than ten tribes of varying sizes have gathered around Lishi, with a total of more than 40,000 infantry and cavalry. The army is more than twice the number of the Han army, led by Qubei, Luan Timoche, and Xubu Chanyu.

On the second day of March, when the Han army arrived at Yinwa and set up camp, the Xiongnu set out from Lishi and went against the Lishui River. The Xiongnu rebels' intention was obvious. They wanted to rely on their large number of troops to defeat the Han army in a field battle.

Temporary camp, central military tent.

Inside the tent, Zhang Yi held up an oil lamp to illuminate the map, concentrating on thinking about how to defeat the enemy, while the people in the tent whispered to each other, exchanging their thoughts and ideas.

"Your Majesty!"

Guo Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "When our army camped at Yinwa, the Xiongnu rebels advanced upstream, and their intention was clearly to engage in a field battle with us. We can do as they wish and lead our troops to engage them and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop."

"The rebels are from different tribes, and their morale is mixed. Therefore, we have selected the best soldiers to fight in the front line of the rebels. If we can defeat the front line, then given the current situation of the rebels, all of them will be defeated!"

Zhang Yi placed the oil lamp on the table and said, "If we follow what Guo Dingxiang said, our army's formation should be based on infantry as the center, cavalry on both wings, and use the elite infantry to break through the formation."

"That's right!" Guo Yu nodded and said, "The Lishi River Valley is narrow, with the narrowest part only a hundred steps and the widest part several miles wide. It is difficult for cavalry to act violently, and this is the time when infantry can be used. When it comes to fighting on the battlefield, how can our Han army infantry be afraid of the rebellious Hu?"

Although the Lishi River Valley is very long, it is not spacious because it was washed out from the Luliang Mountains. And because the river valley is narrow, it is difficult for cavalry to gallop, so using infantry to fight is the best choice.

"Why not go to Pingchuan and form a battle array?"

Feng Bo pointed at the map and said, "Pingchuan is surrounded by mountains on both sides, with the Yuli River flowing through it. It is narrow on the left and wide on the right. Our infantry will line up on the right plain and fight the rebels."

Zhang Yi stroked his beard and thought, then said, "The infantry should be stationed on the right plain, and the cavalry on the left plain. This will prevent the rebels from bypassing the left plain and attacking the main force from the side."

As he spoke, Zhang Yi looked at Zhang Yu and Wang Rou and asked, "What do you two think?"

Wang Rou looked at the map for a while, shook his head and said, "It's just as Envoy Zhang said."

"Where's Captain Zhang?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Yu once went to Pingchuan to survey the terrain. The situation in Pingchuan is as Feng Taiyuan said, with narrow plains on the left and wide plains on the right. However, the mountains and forests on both sides of Pingchuan are extremely steep, and the enemy has many troops. I am afraid that the enemy will sneak through the mountains and forests and attack our army from the flank."

"So if you want to line up in the plain, Yu thinks you need to send another unit to occupy the strategic point of Right Plain to guard against the rebels and the mountain barbarians who may attack from the side. The left Plain is guarded by elite and powerful cavalry, which is enough to resist the invasion of the barbarians."

The Huns who lived on the grasslands might not be good at crossing mountains, but today's Huns have lived on the plateau all year round. For example, some of the Shanhu people have been crossing mountains all year round. In terms of mountain warfare capabilities, they might be stronger than some Han soldiers.

Zhang Yi nodded and praised, saying, "Captain Zhang personally went to the front of the battlefield to investigate the terrain. He is a good general. If it weren't for Captain Zhang's advice, I would have almost forgotten the importance of the mountains on both sides of the plain."

After a pause, Zhang Yi said, "Captain Zhang's Yunzhong Cavalry command is feared throughout the Shuo Dynasty and is considered the elite cavalry of the army. I would like to entrust Zuo Yuan to Captain Zhang. Do you accept my orders?"

"Yu is willing to lead the army!"

Zhang Yu stood up, bowed, and said, "But my cavalry consists of only a thousand or so men. If we encounter a large number of rebel Hu cavalrymen, it will be difficult to hold our position. I need you to assign some of your cavalry to me."

"good!"

Zhang Yi was quite pleased and said, "Guo Dingxiang has many cavalrymen under his command. His subordinates Lu Bu and Zhang Yang are old acquaintances with you. I will give you 700 cavalrymen, which will make a total of 2,000 cavalrymen. I wonder if you can hold the enemy at Zuoyuan."

"Two thousand cavalry can occupy it!"

Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said.

"it is good!"

Zhang Yi said: "Left Yuan will be handed over to Captain Zhang, and Right Yuan will be sent out by the governors of our counties."

As he spoke, Zhang Yi looked around at the governors in the tent and said thoughtfully, "Pingchuan Youyuan has many mountains and trees, and the terrain is rugged. It is recommended that Wei Shangdang lead his troops to guard the area."

"promise!"

Wei Xuan, the governor of Shangdang, knew that he was not good at military affairs, so he readily agreed to Zhang Yi's arrangement.

Looking at Zhang Yi's deployment of troops, he could be said to be a man of great military knowledge. He assigned the most elite cavalry to the rising star Zhang Yu, and deployed them in Zuoyuan to hold back the Huns' soldiers there.

He then selected infantry to break the formation, and placed his hopes on the most elite Han soldiers from Yanmen and Taiyuan counties, and placed Wei Xuan, who knew little about military affairs, on the flank of the mountain, and gave Wei Xuan the easiest task.

After some arrangements were made, everyone saw that there were no fatal problems, so they returned to their camps and prepared for battle.

On the third day of the first lunar month, before daybreak, the Han army camp began to light fires and cook. Soldiers from each camp woke up one after another to prepare for today's decisive battle.

Zhang Yu and his left and right generals had already woken up and were now detailing their troop deployments based on the terrain of Zuoyuan.

Zhang Yu pointed to a small hill on the map and warned, "Zuoyuan is narrow, only a mile wide. Therefore, our army must seize the Zuoyuan hill. Then, everyone else will dismount and repair the fortifications. Remember, today we will use infantry to hold the enemy. No one is allowed to charge without our orders."

“As for Fengxian!”

Zhang Yu looked up and saw that Lü Bu was reluctant to dismount and fight, so he changed his words and said, "Fengxian and Wenyuan will lead the armored cavalry to prepare for battle and wait for orders at any time."

"promise!"

"Boom~"

While Zhang Yu was speaking, a drum sounded.

Hearing this, Zhang Yu stopped talking, glanced at the sky which was about to brighten, and said in a deep voice: "All the details have been given, and all units just need to obey the military orders. Now hurry back to the camp and lead the troops to fight!"

"No!" Everyone responded.

Soon, three drum beats sounded, and Bingzhou infantry and cavalry came out of the camp one after another, marching in several columns and heading towards Pingchuan in a mighty manner.

Zhang Yu was ordered to stay in Zuoyuan, so he led 2,000 cavalrymen to cross the Yuli River, which was up to the horses' knees, and then marched on Zuoyuan.

Zhang Yu climbed to a high place and looked into the distance. Looking at the huge marching columns of troops on both sides of the strait, he let out a long breath.

Almost all the troops available in Bingzhou were gathered here. If they were defeated this time, Bingzhou would be seriously injured. Although he had always wanted to rebel against the Han Dynasty and establish his own country, he and Bingzhou were now on the same side, so he hoped to win this battle!
(End of this chapter)