Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 268 Everything Can Be Circumvented

Between the undulating hills and plains, there were more than 50,000 soldiers and horses from You and Bing states, camping for more than ten miles, with chevaux de frise set up as barriers between each unit.

Inside the big camp, the 20,000 elite soldiers under Zhang Yu's command camped neatly, with no noisy sounds inside and no idle people wandering around outside. At a glance, it was clear that Zhang Yu's soldiers were by no means a mob, but the elite of the army.

Compared with Zhang Yu's troops, the Youzhou coalition army led by Liu He had high morale, but because of their large number of troops and the fact that their soldiers came from between the Han and Hu groups, their camps were not only messy, but their military discipline was also difficult to relax, and casual people could be seen everywhere.

Therefore, in order to prevent accidents, Zhang Yu and Liu He each set up a camp and placed the commander's tent in Zhang Yu's central army.

"Those barbarians are so stupid!"

Yan Rou stormed into the tent, picked up the kettle on the table and took a few gulps.

"what happened?"

Li Song was explaining the customs and geography of Youzhou and Bingzhou to Xun You and Jia Xu. Seeing Yan Rou, who was always amiable, in such a state, he asked.

Yan Rou complained, "I had an agreement with the Hu people of Dai County that I would be rewarded with money and food if I conquered Ji County and defeated Gongsun Zan. But now they insist that I pay the money and food, or I won't fight."

Xun You's expression became serious, and he said, "The Hu people are greedy for money. Even if we reward them with money and food now, they will still ask our army for money and food after we defeat Gongsun Zan."

"No!"

Li Song smiled and said, "The Hu people are afraid that our army will not be able to take Juyong Pass, so they ask for a sum of money first to avoid sending troops in vain."

"Correct!"

Seeing that Li Song was pointing directly at the key point, Yan Rou said, "The Hu people in Dai County are clamoring for money and food, just as Li Jun said. I will analyze the pros and cons with the Hu people and promise to give them more money and food before persuading them to go back."

"Why not give part of the money first?" Zhao Zi asked.

"The Hu people are greedy for money. Now that they have been given money and food, how can they be willing to risk their lives?" Li Song pointed out: "So it is better to give more money and food after the battle is completed, and never give money and food before the battle."

"I see!"

Jia Xu laughed and said, "Mr. Li is well versed in the customs of the Hu people. The Hu people are brave and aggressive, and they are greedy for money and food. They can only see the near future, but not the long-term. Therefore, if you want to use the Hu people, you must never let them do what they want. Otherwise, after getting the food, the Hu people will become arrogant!"

Xun You seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "The customs of the Han and the Hu are different. This incident has made me gradually understand why the Hu people are so rude and greedy for money!"

"If you know the style of the Hu people, it will not be difficult to control them!" said Li Song.

The social culture of the Hu people is different from that of the Han people, so they have different behaviors. For example, it is natural for the Han army to pay soldiers monthly and to give land, houses, and slaves to those who have made meritorious services.

The Hu people are different. They are mercenaries. They need money and food to fight. Therefore, their purpose is to get money. Therefore, if the Hu people get money in advance, they are likely to run away when they encounter a tough battle. If they are forced to give money, the Hu people will think about the money and fight with peace of mind.

While everyone was chatting about military affairs, an attendant walked into the tent and announced, "Your Excellency has returned to the camp!"

"go!"

Li Song and the others led the way to meet Zhang Yu.

After a while, they met Zhang Yu who was returning from investigating military intelligence on the way, and they all asked him about the investigation results.

"I wonder what you have discovered during this exploration of Juyong?" Li Song said.

Zhang Yu handed the horse whip to his left and right, and walked towards the big tent surrounded by the crowd, saying: "Juyong Pass is dangerous and there are many soldiers and horses inside the pass, so it may not be easy to break through the pass head-on."

"Zilong and I wanted to observe the situation at Jundu Mountain to see if we could find a small path to break through the pass, but we were driven away by enemy cavalry on the way and had no choice but to lead our troops back."

"Your Excellency was chased by enemy cavalry, I wonder if you were injured?" Guo Tu asked with concern at the first moment.

"I and the other riders are fine, but the enemy riders have suffered heavy casualties!"

Zhang Yuyun said this calmly, then laughed and went into the tent.

Everyone was confused and caught Zhao Yun and Tian Chou to interrogate them, only then did they know what had happened.

"Your Excellency shot down two geese with your arrows, and persuaded You and Ji to make peace. Unfortunately, I didn't see it with my own eyes. Now I finally know that your archery skills are unparalleled!" Jia Xu exclaimed in admiration, and said, "It's just that your Excellency has an important responsibility, and you shouldn't take risks."

Zhao Yun cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Tian has advised you, and you should accept the advice with an open mind!"

Seeing that everyone ignored Zhao Yun's performance, Guo Tu praised him: "General Zilong's martial arts are amazing. He snatched the spear and killed the general, beheaded ten riders, and is truly your right-hand man."

"please!"

Zhao Yun smiled modestly and motioned for everyone to go into the tent first.

Inside the big tent, Zhang Yu sat on a chair, and the civil and military officials sat on the left and right according to their rank.

At the same time, Liu He learned that Zhang Yu had returned to the camp, so he brought Qi Zhou and Xian Yu Fu to the big tent to meet Zhang Yu.

"My lord, you just said that we would defeat Juyong head-on. I wonder how our army should deploy its troops now?" Liu He asked.

Zhang Yu did not rush to answer, but looked at the counselors and asked, "What do you think?"

Guo Tu frowned and thought, he said, "Among all the passes, the easiest to break are Feihu and Puyin. If the entrances of the two passes were not facing Jizhou in the south, they would be easily cut off by Yuan Shao. Instead, we can take Puyin entrance to Youzhou, go straight down to Zhuojun, and take Jixian." "Sir, is there any news about Yuan Shao in Hebei now?" Xun You asked.

"Have!"

Zhao Zi, who was in charge of intelligence, cupped his hands and said, "According to Zhang Yan's report, after Yuan Shao sent Qu Yi to take Changshan, he moved the provincial capital from Yecheng to Xindu. Now that the court has ordered troops to attack the enemy, he has ordered the troops to station in the border counties. But now the troops are not moving, and they seem to be quietly watching the situation in our northern border."

"Where is Xindu?" Zhang Yu looked at the attendant holding the map and asked.

"exist!"

The attendant took out the map of Jizhou from the bamboo tube and spread it out in front of everyone.

"Xindu is located in the middle of Jizhou, in the territory of Leping, bordering Hejian and Boling to the north, and Bohai Sea and Pingyuan to the east." Zhao Zi pointed at the map and said, "Yuan Shao moved his capital to Xindu, so he must be afraid of our army's attack!"

"I'm afraid it won't stop!"

Guo Tu said: "Xindu is close to Hejian and Bohai, I am afraid Yuan Shao intends to seize the two counties."

"The two counties of Hejian and Bohai occupy one-third of Jizhou. How could Yuan Shao be willing to accept this?" Jia Xu said meaningfully.

"Will Yuan Shao send troops?" Li Song looked at Jia Xu and asked.

"Not for the time being!" Jia Xu said, "Our army and Gongsun Zan are both great enemies of Yuan Shao. Unless our army fights Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao will not easily resort to force."

"When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. Now Yuan Shao wants to be the fisherman!" Xun You pointed out succinctly.

"Since Yuan Shao has no intention of sending troops, it is better to go through Puyin Xing into southern Yan and then defeat Gongsun Zan. If Yuan Shao changes his mind, we can go back to Juyongguan. What do you think?" Zhao Zi asked.

"It's too dangerous!"

Jia Xu looked at Zhang Yu, cupped his hands and said, "In the past, when Qin wanted to seize Zheng, Duke Mu ignored Jin's presence in Hedong and sent troops to Guandong. However, Zheng was well prepared, and the Qin troops returned without success. Jin violated the alliance and blocked the Qin troops at Mount Yao, so the Qin army could not return west and was defeated in Guandong. The marriage between Qin and Jin could still turn against each other, let alone you and Yuan Shao?"

During the reign of Duke Mu of Qin, he repeatedly wanted to go east through Guanzhong and even tried to repair relations with the State of Jin. However, the Jin Dynasty would not allow it and repeatedly blocked the passage at the Yaohan Pass, causing great losses to the State of Qin.

Jia Xu cited the Battle of Yao to remind Zhang Yu that exposing the routes of advance and retreat to Yuan Shao would be extremely dangerous and might even result in the annihilation of the entire army.

"Wenhe makes sense!"

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and said with a sigh, "Going through Puyin Road and entering southern Yan, our army's enemy is not only Gongsun Zan, but also Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao regards me as a bigger threat than Gongsun Zan!"

If Zhang Yu had not been in Bingzhou, eyeing Hebei, Yuan Shao would have dealt with Gongsun Zan long ago. Now, for Yuan Shao, beating Gongsun Zan was easy, while Zhang Yu was an unknown enemy.

"Puyin is impassable and Juyong is hard to capture. I don't know what to do?" Liu He asked everyone.

Zhang Yu pondered for a while, looked at Tian Chou, and asked: "Zitai, although Yanshan is a dangerous obstacle to Youzhou, is there any other way to enter Youzhou besides Junduxing?"

"Have!"

Tian Chou sorted out his thoughts and said, "Yanshan starts from the coast in the east and ends at Taihang in the west. Therefore, there are many roads from east to west, such as Panghai Road, Lulong Road, Gubei Road, and Jundu Road. Except for Jundu Road, the above three roads all run from north to south. In the past, when the Wuhuan invaded You, they invaded from the above roads."

Zhang Yu thought for a long time and said, "Now that the west road cannot enter You, why not enter You from the north road. The Gubei Road is adjacent to our army. I wonder if we can find a small road to the Gubei Road, and I will lead the elite troops to enter the pass from Gubei!"

Zhang Yu had developed the same military habit as the Mongols in attacking dangerous passes. Since it was difficult to fight head-on, he would take a detour. The troops were highly mobile, and even the infantry were equipped with camels and pack horses. Why bother to fight at Juyong Pass? It was better to take a detour and attack the hinterland directly.

Last time he fought Li Jue, he was able to take a detour of thousands of miles and cross the river from the upper reaches. Why didn't he continue to take a detour when fighting Gongsun Zan today?

Those who truly understand cavalry not only value the impact of cavalry, but also learn to utilize the mobility of cavalry.

Tian Chou thought for a while and said, "The Gubei Road Pass is located in Guangping, Yuyang (now Miyun Reservoir in Beijing). Although it is only three or four hundred miles away from Juyongguan, there are high mountains and steep ridges in between, and the road is rugged and difficult to travel. It is difficult to know the passage unless you are familiar with the geography of Yanshan Mountain."

As he spoke, Tian Chou looked at Xianyu Fu and asked, "You are from Yuyang, and many of your subordinates are from outside the Great Wall, do you know anyone who knows the geography of the ancient northern route?"

"Have!"

Xianyu Fu said: "Although the route between Juyong and Gubei Road is blocked by high mountains, there are rivers running between them, one is Gushui and the other is Baoqiushui. There are river courses in the mountains, so we can travel along the river. There are water sources along the way, so we don't need to worry about drinking water."

After a pause, Xian Yu Fu added: "Gubeikou is just a dangerous place, and its mountain is no less steep than Juyongguan. If we want to take Gubei Road to enter You, we must march quickly, otherwise if the bandits find out, our army will return empty-handed!"

"The Bingzhou soldiers and cavalry under my command all have camels and horses. If we sneak across Gubeikou, 10,000 carefully selected elite soldiers will be enough. Enter Yan from Yuyang, open Juyongguan and welcome the army in. Then Gongsun Zan will be powerless!" Zhang Yu said in a deep voice.

Seeing that Zhang Yu was determined to take the Gubei Road to enter the pass, Xianyu Fu stood up and said, "Since that's the case, Fu will be the guide and open up the two small roads."

"good!"

Zhang Yu ordered his men, saying: "Since we have taken Gubei Road, we must make a feint to the east and attack the west. Now that the rumor has spread that Juyong Pass is difficult to break, our army will take Puyin Pass and enter Yan."

"As ordered!"

ps: There are two more chapters to make up for the one I owed last night

(End of this chapter)