Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 181: Planning for Taiyuan (Part )
On the fields in early winter, the north wind gradually rises, flags flutter, horses neigh, people sing, swords and spears clash, and drums beat like thunder.

When Gao Shun and Xu Chu led the Xianzhen Camp to attack the enemy and the Taiyuan army formation was shaken, Zhang Yu keenly sensed the opportunity to use troops and decisively ordered Ke Di to lead 500 cavalry to attack.

The 500 cavalry led by Kirby went out to fight, but were immediately entangled by the cavalry deployed on the left wing by Li Jun. In order to create space, after only a short fight, Kirby led the cavalry to fight and retreat, pulling the Taiyuan cavalry on the left wing out of the battlefield.

As the Taiyuan cavalry on the left wing fought, the Taiyuan cavalry on the right wing refused to be outdone and took the initiative to fight with the cavalry led by Zhang Feng.

Zhang Feng was no pushover. He led his cavalry to meet the cavalry on the right wing, wielding the lance in his hand and stabbing an enemy cavalryman to the ground. He then drew out his ring-handled sword and slashed left and right along the gaps in the cavalry formation, with an impact force that was no less than that of Zhang Yang.

"Sir, Captain Zhang has already started fighting!" Guo Tu pointed at the waving military flag and shouted.

Zhang Yu remained calm and said, "There are 500 cavalrymen under Maoshan's command, all of them are elite soldiers. Even if we cannot defeat the Taiyuan cavalrymen, we will not be defeated by them either."

As a distant branch of the Zhang family, Zhang Feng was able to be retained by Zhang Yu until now. In addition to his loyalty, his abilities were not much worse. He was as strong as his uncle Zhang Yang in terms of martial arts, and was well versed in Confucian classics in civil and political affairs. He could barely be considered a man who was both knowledgeable in literature and martial arts.

"How's the situation over there Kirby?"

Compared with Zhang Feng, Zhang Yu is more concerned about Kobe's situation.

There were so many people around that they could only catch a glimpse of the increasingly small flags. This made the people around unsure and they did not dare to answer Zhang Yu.

When Zhang Yu was about to order his cavalry to march out and find out the situation on the battlefield, the scouts sent by Kobe arrived on fast horses.

"Sir, the enemy cavalry on the left wing has been taken away from the battlefield by Captain Ke. Now there are only infantry and more than a hundred cavalry on the left wing." The cavalry reported.

"it is good!"

Zhang Yu clapped his hands excitedly and said with a smile: "Let Wenyuan lead the armored cavalry to attack, and the outcome will be decided!"

"promise!"

The horn was blown, and a hundred armored cavalrymen mounted their tall horses and, led by Zhang Liao, set off towards the open flank.

Apparently, Zhang Yu ordered Ke Bi to lead his troops to attack in order to drive the Taiyuan cavalry away from the battlefield, so that Zhang Liao could lead the armored cavalry to help the Xianzhen Camp and charge at the already shaky Taiyuan infantry in one go.

At this time, the Xianzhen Camp could no longer charge. The Xianzhen Camp led by Gao Shun could only maintain the line. However, Xu Chu's troops were still fighting hard because Gao Shun was the vanguard. This forced the Taiyuan infantry to be unable to stand. Li Jun waved flags again and again and sent follow-up troops forward to contain Xu Chu's troops.

However, their movements were slow and their formation was somewhat disorganized when they advanced. They happened to meet the armored cavalry led by Zhang Liao who rushed to the battlefield. After Zhang Liao checked the strength of the formation, he immediately launched a charge. However, because the armored cavalry was too fierce, the Taiyuan infantry began to panic before they could break into the formation.

The armored cavalry company sped up their horses and, with overwhelming force, first dispersed more than a hundred cavalrymen, and then, like a sharp dagger, slashed diagonally into the junction of the flank and the center of the army. With the containment of the trap camp, they crashed fiercely into the chaotic army formation, killing many of the Taiyuan army's infantrymen and throwing them to the ground.

Looking at the flags of the central army, Guo Tu was filled with excitement and said, "Sir, Wenyuan has led the armored cavalry into the battle. The enemy's central army is in chaos. We will surely win now!"

Now, Guo Tu could not help being excited. Zhang Yu had already occupied Shangdang and Dingxiang. Now he had defeated Li Jun and taken over Taiyuan County. Except for Yanmen County, all of Bingzhou was under the control of Zhang Yu.

And how long can Yanmen County last?
It won't be long before Taiyuan is captured, and Yanmen will be under his control soon. If he gives up his position and surrenders, he will soon get a more generous reward. How can he not be excited?
Zhang Yu smiled as he pressed his sword, saying, "The Taiyuan soldiers have been through many battles and are more elite than the Zhongyuan County soldiers. But Li Jun is not a good commander. If someone else had led the army, it wouldn't have been so easy today."

Li Jun was from Bashu, conservative by nature, and not very good at using troops. Zhang Yu dared to say that he would spend the Spring Festival in Jinyang, but it was not just a boast, but a result of his careful consideration.

"Now that Li Jun's army has been defeated, you have taken control of Taiyuan. All these brave men will serve you." Guo Tu bowed and said with a smile, "In the past, Zhao Xiangzi was able to establish the foundation of the State of Zhao because of Taiyuan. You will surely achieve great things if you take control of Taiyuan!"

Zhang Yu was overjoyed when he heard Guo Tu's flattery. No wonder Guo Tu, a man from Yingchuan, could get to a key position in Yuan Shao's group. In addition to his talent, he also had a clever mouth, and many of his words could touch people's hearts.

Zhang Yu tried his best to remain calm and said, "Gong Ze, it's too early to congratulate you now. Let's wait and see what Li Jun does next. As for Taiyuan, we need to control Jinyang before we can say that Taiyuan is ours!"

"promise!"

Guo Tu stole a glance at Zhang Yu's expression and saw that there was no joy on his face. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Zhang Yu was so cunning and had strong emotional control that it was increasingly difficult for him to guess Zhang Yu's inner thoughts. Compared with Zhang Yu, his friend a few years ago, Zhang Yu, as his master today, made Guo Tu feel a lot more unfamiliar.

Zhang Yu naturally didn't know what Guo Tu was thinking. The reason why he had to control his emotions was more out of consideration for his subordinates. If the master's thoughts could always be guessed by his subordinates, wouldn't it be easy for him to be led by the nose? Especially for a minister like Guo Tu who likes to guess the master's thoughts, he couldn't reveal too much of his thoughts. It might be a better choice to be close but not too distant.

Just as the two were talking, in the distance in the Taiyuan army formation, the flags suddenly retreated, and then the front soldiers of the Du Liao army shouted loudly.

"Li Jun escaped!"

When the voice reached Zhang Yu's ears, he could not help but smile with joy and said to Guo Tu, "Li Jun has been defeated. You can be happy now!"

"kill!"

Zhang Yu raised his whip and pointed forward, shouting, "Charge the whole army, don't let Li Jun get away!" "Yes!"

With flags waving, various troops pursued the victory, and the Taiyuan troops fled in panic.

Armored cavalry charged, war horses rushed and chased, Li Jun didn't care about other troops and fled in embarrassment. The cavalrymen who fought with Kirby and Zhang Feng were dumbfounded. They were fighting hard with the Du Liao army, and now their own governor ran away, what should they do?
"Down!"

"It's down! It's down!"

"Stop fighting, surrender!"

"We are from the same hometown, please don't kill each other!"

"General Zhang is the son-in-law of a Taiyuan man, you can surrender now!"

The morale of the Taiyuan army was not high, and now they saw Li Jun fleeing, and they all rushed to surrender to Zhang Yu, the son-in-law of Taiyuan. Zhang Yu's reputation was prominent in Bingzhou, and hundreds of Taiyuan soldiers surrendered at once.

The most amazing thing was that after the Taiyuan cavalry surrendered, they took the initiative to stop the fleeing infantry and called on everyone to surrender to Zhang Yu. Some infantry even lined up to surrender and took the initiative to offer weapons and armor.

There were more than 5,000 soldiers and horses in Taiyuan, more than 3,000 surrendered, 1,400 were beheaded, and the rest were hundreds of people scattered. Li Jun fled to Yangyi with dozens of his personal cavalry.

When Wen Shao saw that his army was defeated and the situation was hopeless, he immediately captured Li Jun, offered the city of Yangyi to Zhang Yu, and surrendered to him for the sake of his own life.

On October 7, when Hao Zhao led his troops to join them, Zhang Yu led more than 4,000 soldiers and horses, and arrived in Yangyi with more than 3,000 surrendered Taiyuan infantry and cavalry.

Zhang Yu rode on a tall horse, while General Wen Shao handed over his weapons and stood by the side of the road with a humble look, showing no resentment towards Zhang Yu at all.

Hao Zhao glanced at Wen Shao, rode his horse forward, and asked, "Wen Shao, do you remember the market in Jinyang?"

Wen Shao bowed to Hao Zhao and said humbly, "I didn't recognize you at the beginning and offended you many years ago. I hope you will be magnanimous and forgive me for my ignorance!"

Then, Wen Shao looked at Zhang Yu who was looking at him coldly. At this moment, Wen Shao felt mixed emotions. His beloved woman was married to Zhang Yu, and now he had to bow down to Zhang Yu.

"flutter!"

Wen Shao ignored the cold ground and knelt down, pleading, "My Lord, I was young and ignorant in the past. I used my family's power to do evil and attracted the Hu people, which almost killed you. I dare not ask for your forgiveness, but I hope you will pity me for my contribution in surrendering the city and capturing Li Jun, and spare my life."

Hao Zhao looked angry and said, "My Lord, Wen Shao was appointed Gong Cao by Li Jun. Now he has captured his former master and surrendered. He is a disloyal and unrighteous person. My Lord, please do not pardon him!"

Hao Zhao bore a deep hatred for Wen Shao. If Wen Shao had not wanted to buy a horse, he would not have left his hometown. The hard times during that period were all caused by Wen Shao.

Looking at Wen Shao kneeling in front of him, Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking about how to deal with Wen Shao.

Seeing Zhang Yu remained silent, Lu Fan leaned close to Zhang Yu's ear and whispered, "There are many people around, so you shouldn't get angry now. Besides, Wen Shao has the merit of surrendering the city and capturing the thieves, so it's better to appease him with kind words to reassure the surrenderer. If you want to punish Wen Shao, it's better to leave it for later."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu's expression slightly changed. He dismounted, showed a kind smile, helped Wen Shao up, and said, "Yu An will not blame you for what you did when you were young and ignorant. Wen Jun has made great contributions in surrendering the city and capturing the thieves. Yu will present a report to the court."

"As for the past, it should be written off. Don't dwell on it, Mr. Wen!"

Hearing Zhang Yu's words, Hao Zhao's face suddenly changed. He was about to speak, but was stopped by Zhang Liao's eyes.

Wen Shao was overjoyed and said, "Your Excellency has a broad mind. Shao will never forget it. I am willing to serve you in the future!"

Zhang Yu soothed him with words, looked at Yangyi City, and said, "Gong Ming leads the troops into the city and takes over Yangyi."

"promise!"

As the army slowly entered the city, Zhang Yu, riding on his horse, looked at Wen Shao's figure. His expression changed and he revealed his disgust for him, but he quickly concealed it.

It is impossible for anyone not to dislike Wen Shao, and Zhang Yu's move to appease Wen Shao is more of a political act. After all, Lu Fan was right. There were many people around him. If he punished Wen Shao on the spot, many soldiers and officers who surrendered might become suspicious. In order to appease the large number of surrendered people, he could only tolerate it temporarily.

"Yuan Zhi!"

Seeing Xu Shu leading the clerks into the city, Zhang Yu stopped Xu Shu and said, "If there are any casualties in the recent days, please write down their names. After we capture Jinyang, we will use the money and grain from the Jinyang government treasury to provide relief. At the same time, tell Yu Zhongjun the news that our army has captured Li Jun, and ask him to bring his men to join our army as soon as possible to sort out military and political affairs."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)