Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 143: The Camp and Wall Remain as They Were, That Is What a Strong Army Is

The first month of the sixth year of Zhongping.

"The officials of Yuzhou are very anxious to recruit people, and the people in the camp are uneasy. There are also Han army troops stationed in Banliang. What do you think we should do?"

He Yi looked worried, looked at his colleagues in the room, and asked concernedly.

Huang Shao took a radical attitude and said in a deep voice: "We cannot defend Laixiang now. In my opinion, we need to take the initiative to defeat the Han army in Banliang."

"The Banliang Han army has only three or four thousand people. Our army may be able to win!" He Man nodded.

Liu Pi looked unhappy and said, "Although the Han army has a small number of soldiers and horses, they include a thousand imperial guards, all of whom are wearing armor, and are led by the Left Colonel Zhang Yu."

"As for Zhang Yu, he is even more amazing. He was able to defeat our army in his early years. Later, he moved to the northern border and fought a bloody battle against the Xianbei and Hu bandits, beheading the Xiongnu Chanyu. He is a fierce general of the Han army. The frontier cavalry under his command are elite, which cannot be compared with the Han army in the inner counties."

Liu Pi and Zhang Yu were old rivals. Previously, under the leadership of Peng Tuo, they almost defeated Zhao Qian, the governor of Ru County. However, because Zhang Yu led cavalry to help, they failed in the end, and even Peng Tuo died in the chaos.

Several years had passed and Liu Pi had already forgotten about Zhang Yu. Unexpectedly, Zhang Yu led his troops to attack them again, which forced Liu Pi to pay special attention.

Hearing this, Huang Shao, in order to prove that he was not inferior to Zhang Yu, said in a rough voice: "Although Zhang Yu is brave, don't I have brave men under my command?"

Liu Pi could not help but roll his eyes. The last time Huang Shao and He Man led more than 10,000 people to plunder Qiao County, they set out with great confidence, but ended up being defeated by the powerful Xu family. They were even tricked by Xu Chu into exchanging food, and both the food and cattle were lost.

He Yi pressed his hands down, signaling everyone to calm down, and said: "No matter what the Han army is like, the three counties of Pei, Chen, and Liang are blocking the main roads, cutting off our army's way to Xu and Yanzhou, and Zhang Yu is leading a large army to advance. Judging from the situation, our army is afraid that we will have to fight the Han army."

As he spoke, He Yi said in a slightly serious tone: "But how to fight against the Han army, let me ask what we should discuss now!"

Liu Pi agreed with what he said and said, "I agree with what you said. Zhang Yu is leading an elite group of imperial guards. If we line up to fight him, I'm afraid we won't be able to defeat him. If we want to defeat Zhang Yu, I think we need to come up with a plan."

He Yi looked at Liu Pi and asked, "Does Tianshi Liu have any plan?"

Liu Pi had been fighting against the Han army for many years and had gradually honed his skills as a general. The previous ambush of Yuzhou troops was led by Liu Pi.

"Your Excellency, it has been more than a month since the Han army stationed in Banliang. During this time, our troops have not harassed them, so their troops may have relaxed."

Liu Pi thought for a long time and said, "In my opinion, our army should play to its strengths and avoid its weaknesses, select elite troops, and attack the Han army at night. If the night attack is successful, the current danger will be resolved!"

"A night attack on the Han army?"

He Yi nodded after a moment's hesitation and asked, "Although the plan is good, I wonder how many soldiers each unit has available for a night attack?"

Huang Shao scratched his head and said, "There are 7,000 old and weak men in my army, among which there are 1,000 to 2,000 strong men. As for those who can carry out night raids, there may be only about 1,000 of them."

"We have more than 2,000 soldiers who can fight, but the number of those who can attack the camp at night is estimated to be about 1,000, the same as the Yellow Angel," said He Man.

"There are few people in Pi's army, and those who can use night vision to command troops are estimated to be six or seven hundred people," Liu Pi said.

Seeing this, He Yi suddenly felt depressed. Tens of thousands of people could not gather 3,000 night vision soldiers, plus the more than 1,000 people under his command, it was estimated that there were less than 4,000 people, and there were probably many water in these 4,000 people. It would be enough if half of them were elite soldiers who could really attack at night.

Seeing that He Yi looked unhappy, Liu Pi advised: "Sir, the key to a night attack lies in the quality of the troops rather than their numbers. If the Han army's 4,000 troops are unprepared, even 2,000 can defeat Zhang Yu."

"That's all I can do!"

Out of fear of the Han cavalry, He Yi said: "Now I trouble you three to return to the camp and carefully select the soldiers and horses. If the soldiers and horses are available, our army can attack the Han army at night in a few days."

"promise!"

Since there was a plan to attack the Han army at night, Liu Pi, Huang Shao, He Yi and He Man each went back to the camp to select soldiers and horses. Through the efforts of the four of them, they finally gathered 4,000 people.

Among the four thousand men, there were barely two thousand elite troops capable of launching a night attack, while the rest were only able to stir up noise and fight with the wind. This was similar to what He Yi thought.

After discussion among the four, He Man, Liu Pi and Huang Shao each led more than a thousand people to attack the Han army at night, while He Yi led his troops to stay in Lai Township.

On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, the moon is bright and you can see things.

The night was getting colder, and guided by the moonlight, the Gepi bandits, with their mouths sealed and their horses' hooves wrapped, slowly moved towards the Han army camp in the pitch-black night.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the Gepi bandits sneaked to within two or three miles of the Han army camp. In order to investigate the situation, Huang Shao led his trusted men to sneak up on them and observe the layout of the Han army camp.

Huang Shao pushed aside the grass and looked through the darkness, only to see that the Han army camp was heavily guarded, brightly lit, with multiple barricades outside and patrolling soldiers inside.

Huang Shao's cousin Huang Xi looked at the Han army camp and muttered, "Brother, the Han army is heavily guarded. It may be difficult to attack at night. Why don't we return to the army and find another strategy?"

Huang Shao glared at Huang Xi and said, "What are you afraid of? The Han army's defenses may seem strict, but since we stationed our troops in Banliang, our army has never attacked their camp. How can they be on guard every night? Besides, if we withdraw our troops now, won't the soldiers laugh at us for being cowardly?"

Huang Shao was famous for his bravery among the Gepi bandits, so he was entrusted with the important task of raiding the imperial guards led by Zhang Yu. In order to successfully raid the camp, He Yi handed over the elite troops of his own army to Huang Shao to lead, and equipped his subordinates with bows, crossbows, and armor, which meant that he was responsible for defeating the enemy. If he retreated because of difficulties now, it would not be in line with Huang Shao's temperament.

"Come here, inform Liu Pi and He Man to move according to our torches!"

Huang Shao licked his cracked lips and said, "Zhang Yu is a brave general. Now watch how I defeat his army and cut off his head to use as a chamber pot."

Huang Shao, with excitement, led his men back to the headquarters. While contacting Liu Pi and He Man, he made plans to raid the Han camp.

At about 4:00 am, Huang Shao raised a fire as a signal and led his troops to raid Zhang Yu's camp, while Liu Pi and He Man attacked Lu Qi's and Xu Jun's camps respectively at night.

At this moment, inside the big tent, Zhang Yu was sleeping soundly with his head on a soft pillow, his body covered with a felt, his armor and weapons hanging on the rack, and he was unaware of the upcoming night attack.

Just as the Gepi bandits had expected, the Han army soldiers, including Zhang Yu, were not on edge and would not sleep with their weapons and armor on.

While Zhang Yu was sleeping soundly, the sound of an alarm suddenly rang out outside the village.

"Ding~"

"Enemy attack!"

Zhang Yu, who was sleeping soundly, was awakened by the sound of a gong. He was stunned for a moment, but then he quickly reacted, lifted the blanket, and stood up quickly.

Before Zhang Yu could speak, the guards stepped in quickly and said in panic, "Captain, the bandits have raided our camp."

Although Zhang Yu was anxious, he looked calm and said, "Sima Gao will guard the camp tonight. Go find him and find out the situation as soon as possible."

"Come here, notify Zhang Yang, Zhang Liao, Ke Bi, Zhang Feng, Meng Ningzhi and other military commanders and Qu Hou to gather their men as soon as possible to prevent the bandits from entering the camp."

"promise!"

Zhang Yu's camp had cavalry deployed inside and elite infantry deployed outside. Meng Ningzhi and Gao Shun took turns patrolling and guarding in preparation for night attacks by bandits.

The attendants took the order and walked quickly, while Zhang Yu, with the help of another attendant, put on armor and a ring-handled sword at his waist.

Within a few breaths, Zhang Yu put on his armor and walked out of the tent with his sword in hand.

"Captain!" After leaving the tent, Zhang Yu saw Gao Shun walking quickly towards him. He had already put on armor, and two personal guards on his left and right were holding torches to clear the way.

"How is Zixun doing?" Zhang Yu asked.

Gao Shun looked solemn, and said, "The Gepi bandits attacked our camp at night, but were spotted by our secret sentries. Now the bandits are trying to force their way into the camp, and I have sent my soldiers to the camp entrance to resist them."

Although Zhang Yu did not discover the Gepi bandits' plan of a surprise attack in advance, in order to prevent the bandits from attacking, the Han army often deployed visible and hidden sentries. The Gepi bandits may have dealt with the visible sentries, but did not discover the hidden sentries. Thanks to the discovery of the hidden sentries, the Han army was not caught off guard.

"it is good!"

"What do you think now, Zixun?" Zhang Yu asked.

Gao Shun bowed and said, "Not only was our army attacked tonight, but the two captains Lu and Xu were also attacked by the Gepi bandits. I think the captain needs to contact the generals as soon as possible and have the troops of each unit line up to prevent any unexpected events."

"In addition, we need to dispatch soldiers who are good at archery to the front of the camp to defend against the enemy, in case Shun has too few soldiers and the bandits break through the siege and enter."

"it is good!"

Seeing Gao Shun in good order, Zhang Yu patted Gao Shun on the shoulder and said with satisfaction: "Zixun is strict and orderly, so I have nothing to worry about!"

"Come here, contact all the officers as soon as possible, and order Meng Ningzhi to lead the troops of this qu and wait for Gao Shun's orders."

"I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Zixun to take care of the defense!"

"promise!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu had made all the arrangements, Gao Shun did not dare to stay long and hurried to the entrance of the village.

After Gao Shun left, Zhong Yao and Zhang Yang came in a hurry. Other clerks such as Lu Fan and Yu Yi were at a loss and gathered around one after another.

"What's going on, Captain?" asked Yu Yi.

Zhang Yu was calm and composed, and said to everyone: "The Gepi bandits are in a desperate situation. In order to defeat the enemy, they led their elite troops to attack our camp at night, but they have been temporarily stopped by Sima Gao. Don't panic, everyone!"

Seeing Zhang Yu so calm, everyone felt relieved.

"Captain, do you have any instructions for my cavalry?" Zhang Yang asked.

Zhang Yu pressed his hands down and said, "There is no need to rush to use troops now. I have ordered the infantry to resist the enemy. Mr. Zhang can return to his headquarters first and be ready for dispatch at any time."

"promise!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu had his own arrangements, Zhang Yang took the order and returned to the camp.

"Ji'an, what should we do now?" Zhong Yao asked after straightening his clothes.

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "If you are not afraid, you can follow me to the entrance of the village to watch the battle."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu took a torch, held his sword and walked forward with the light. Seeing that Zhang Yu was fearless, the crowd followed him.

The camp was not big, and there were two lines of defense on the periphery, the outer one was a trench, and the inner one was a barricade. There was no trench in front of the camp entrance, but there were barricades. The Gepi bandits, led by Huang Shao, had already broken through the outer trench, and they only needed to break through the barricades to enter the camp.

After walking a few steps, Zhang Yu approached the edge of the village and found a high place to look out.

But the Han army archers were deployed on small high buildings or behind the chevaux de frise, pouring out their arrows to prevent the bandits from destroying the chevaux de frise. The armored soldiers led by Gao Shun were fighting with the bandits, surrounding the narrow entrance of the stockade.

For a moment, the sound of arrows breaking through the air was whistling, and the wailing of the injured could be heard one after another.

Seeing that the bandits were blocked by the barricade defense line, Zhang Yu breathed a sigh of relief and ordered, "Drop the remaining infantry to the surrounding areas, and let the cavalry lead their horses and prepare for battle."

"promise!"

After the expansion of the army in Yingchuan, Zhang Yu already had two units of 800 infantrymen under his command. However, most of the soldiers under Meng Ningzhi's command were new recruits, so Zhang Yu did not dare to send them into the battle for fear of causing chaos. Therefore, he only allowed Meng Ningzhi to bring his veteran soldiers to join the battle.

Now that the situation has gradually stabilized, Zhang Yufang dared to deploy new soldiers to strengthen the barricade defense line. After two hundred new soldiers joined the battle with bows and crossbows, the arrows behind the barricades became much denser, causing many casualties to the bandits who tried to destroy the barricades.

At the same time, with the assistance of the archers in Xiaogaolou and the strict formation of the soldiers led by Gao Shun, the bandits were unable to break the army formation and finally retreated, leaving behind nearly a hundred corpses.

Soon, Huang Shao, unwilling to accept the defeat, gathered his troops and advanced again with shields, intending to storm the village.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu sneered and said to his men, "Our troops are already on alert, but the bandits are so delusional that they actually want to try to break into our camp."

"Come here, order the cavalry to attack from the west gate and go around to attack the bandits at the west gate. If the enemy troops are defeated, leave a hundred cavalrymen to pursue them, and the rest to attack the other two camps."

"promise!"

Zhong Yao, who was watching the battle, nodded and praised, saying: "The enemy attacked the camp with a strong force, but Ji'an's troops were not startled, and the camp walls were still as before. The defense was strict, which can be said to be a strong army!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yu smiled without saying anything, with his hands behind his back, his expression full of confidence.

As a transparent man, Lu Fan was extremely amazed. It was the first time in his life that he saw soldiers remain calm when attacked at night. The commander Zhang Yu was truly a great man who killed the Chanyu at night.

Soon, under Zhang Yu's command, the cavalry came around from the west gate and attacked the bandits stationed at the east gate from the side.

The sky was gradually getting brighter, and the soldiers fighting at the east gate were even more blazing. The Gepi bandits probably didn't expect that the Han army was so elite that they could not only defend themselves against their surprise attack, but also wait for an opportunity to launch a counterattack.

When the rumbling of horse hooves sounded, the Gepi bandits did not react at first until someone reminded them. But the bandits were busy attacking the Han camp, so how could they have time to prepare?

Zhang Liao was relieved when he saw the bandits were in disorder, and charged forward with his spear in hand. The bandits, however, were terrified when they saw the cavalry charging out of the darkness, and fled in panic.

"kill!"

Zhang Liao stabbed one man to death and charged forward. The armored cavalry he led swept from one side of the east gate to the other, reaping the lives of the bandits outside the east gate like a sickle.

Huang Shao, who was leading his troops to fight Gao Shun, saw the Han cavalry charging behind him and his own soldiers fleeing in all directions. He was shocked and annoyed. However, in order to save his life, he hurriedly called on his men to withdraw.

"withdraw!"

Gao Shun, who was fighting with Huang Shao, saw that the bandits were showing signs of defeat, so he immediately led his troops in pursuit and attack.

Under attack from both inside and outside, the bandits were defeated and fled. When Huang Shao was fleeing with several of his trusted followers, a crossbow arrow shot from nowhere hit Huang Shao in the abdomen from behind.

Huang Shao cried out in pain. After walking a few dozen steps, he could no longer hold on and died from his serious injuries.

Seeing Huang Shao dead, the people around him abandoned Huang Shao's body and fled in order to escape.

Huang Shao, who vowed to chop off Zhang Yu's head before the battle, was killed by a stray arrow. It's really laughable!

(End of this chapter)