Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 27 Eight Armors

"A hundred riders are enough?"

On the watchtower of Chanhewu, Zhang Ji, who had not slept all night, faced the golden morning sun and asked hesitantly.

"enough!"

Zhang Yu yawned and said, "Based on the confessions of those who surrendered, I drew a rough sketch of the cadres and counted the number of people. A hundred strong cavalrymen are enough to destroy them!"

Zhang Yu shook his head repeatedly at his father's cautious style. If his father knew that Zhang Liao would rush into Sun Quan's camp with 800 people and kill several generals in a row, he would probably be shocked.

In Zhang Yu's opinion, although the Chigan Hu were numerous, they were mostly a mob. Once a surprise attack was successful at night, the Chigan Hu would be trapped and it would be difficult to stir up trouble. His father Zhang Ji's worries were really excessive.

Zhang Ji looked down at the big head family in the northeast corner, sighed and said, "There are more than 400 families in the village, but only 300 of them can send strong men to serve as soldiers. If we fail this time, I'm afraid that those who are in poverty will not only be in the northeast, but all over the village."

After a short silence, Zhang Yu understood his father's feelings and said, "Father, my grandson showed the King of Wu a military book, which said at the beginning: 'If the general listens to my advice, he will win if he uses it, so keep him. If the general does not listen to my advice, he will lose if he uses it, so get rid of him.' I dare not compare myself to my grandson, but I just think that sending troops now is better than sending troops later."

"Military strategists often talk about momentum. Those who have momentum are more likely to win. I personally think that momentum is about benefiting oneself, and whether the battle will be won or lost depends on oneself, not the enemy."

Zhang Yu propped his wrist on the wall and said, "The villagers in Wuzhong are my father's villagers and my son's villagers. Now that we have defeated the enemy by surprise, the situation is on our side. Therefore, I should observe the situation and advance when it is favorable and retreat when it is unfavorable. I will never go deep into the enemy's territory alone and put the villagers in Wuzhong in danger."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "If father is worried, why don't you lead the troops yourself and destroy Chigan with your cavalry?"

"You will lead the cavalry in person?"

Zhang Ji pounded his aching left leg, shook his head and said, "I wanted to lead the cavalry to fight in person, but my legs are getting weaker and weaker, so I'm afraid it will be inconvenient to lead the army in person."

"It's better like this!"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "To be safe, my uncle and I will lead a hundred cavalrymen to go ahead, and your father will lead the rest of the people in the fort to follow. If the Hu people are unprepared and the hundred cavalrymen attack the camp, your father will lead the troops to surround them to prevent them from escaping; if the surprise attack fails, your father will lead the troops to support them to prevent them from pursuing us."

"Then we must summon all the soldiers in the dock who can fight!"

Zhang Ji looked down at the fort and said, "When the men leave, we will need women to take up arms and guard the fort!"

"It is about 200 miles from Chigan. Cavalry can go back and forth in three to five days. Let the women guard the dock for a few days, there shouldn't be any big problems!" Zhang Yu said, "Or let uncle take more than ten people to stay, and I will lead a hundred cavalry alone."

"No!"

Zhang Ji shook his head and said, "You are the first to lead a hundred cavalrymen. If your uncle is not by your side, I am a little worried. The affairs of the dock can be handed over to your aunt. In addition, Lao Li will be responsible for guarding the gate, so there will be no chaos in the dock!"

Looking at the familiar fortress, Zhang Ji smiled and said, "I have worked hard for my father for half my life, and this is all I have left. If we can destroy the Hu this time, Chanhewu may become even more powerful!"

"Please rest assured, father. I will try my best to win!" Zhang Yu assured.

Zhang Ji patted the wall and ordered, "Old Li, blow the horn to gather the troops and march out."

"promise!"

The old man with the broken arm blew the horn to gather the troops, and the dull sound of the horn echoed in the dock.

The fort seemed to come alive, and the men from each family hurriedly took up their spears and bows, saddled their horses, and led them. Some people were afraid that they would be too late, so they just ate a few mouthfuls of food and rushed to the fort gate at the sound of the horn; or at the instruction of their wives, they rushed to the east gate to gather.

Zhang Ji had governed Wu for many years, and in order to prevent sudden attacks by the Hu people, he trained the Wu people in a militaristic way. After years of training, these Wu people had some prototypes of soldiers.

As the villagers gathered, Zhang Ji was preparing to put armor on Zhang Yu.

Looking downstairs, Li Song opened the big box, revealing Zhang Ji's treasured black iron armor.

This armor was worn by Zhang Ji during his campaigns. The armor was made of iron and was not very pretty. However, the marks of swords and knives on the armor showed its sturdiness.

Looking at the black iron armor in the box, Zhang Ji showed a reminiscent look. He picked it up with both hands, and the black iron armor unfolded straight up.

Comparing himself to Zhang Yu, Zhang Ji said, "Although Ji An is taller than me, he can generally wear the armor!"

Armor in the Han Dynasty was divided into cavalry armor and infantry armor according to the type of soldiers. The armor that Zhang Ji treasured was the cavalry black iron armor he wore when he served in the Du Liao Camp.

The cavalry's black iron armor is mainly light, with the breastplate and back armor connected by ropes. In order to allow flexible use of bows and spears, there are no armor plates on the arms. However, Zhang Ji's armor may have shoulder armor added to his left and right shoulders to increase protection.

The lower body of the cavalry armor is not protected by iron armor, but by leather thigh gaiters to protect the thighs.

As for the helmet, it was a rough iron helmet. In order to add to the majesty, two hexagram tails were inserted vertically on both sides. It looked similar to a hexagram crown, but somewhat different. It was probably that Zhang Ji asked someone to make the helmet himself.

Patting Zhang Yu on the shoulder, Zhang Ji said: "Don't take off your armor easily, it can save your life sometimes."

"I remember!"

Zhang Yu nodded in response to his old father's earnest advice.

"Crench!"

Zhang Yang put on armor and held a sword, pushed the door open and walked in. When he saw Zhang Yu in armor, he was stunned.

"Brother, aren't you going to lead the troops yourself?" Zhang Yang asked.

Zhang Ji shook his head and said, "I will lead the old and weak in the back, and you and Ji'an will each lead fifty cavalry in the front. How to fight will be up to Ji'an!"

"Ji'an leads the troops, and I assist him?" Zhang Yang looked embarrassed. He never expected that his brother would decide to let his nephew lead the troops and let him, an old soldier, assist him.

"Don't want to?"

"no!"

Zhang Yang was unwilling and said, "I have fought for so long, and it is unreasonable for me to obey Ji An's orders!"

Zhang Ji's eyes widened and he said, "If it weren't for Ji'an's cleverness, I'm afraid all the wealth would have been robbed by Chi Ganren. And the strategy of a surprise attack on Chi Ganren was also proposed by Ji'an himself. If you are sure of crushing Chi Ganren, you can lead it!"

Zhang Yang was left with no excuse after being scolded by Zhang Ji. He said helplessly, "I am willing to obey Ji'an's orders!"

"good!"

Zhang Yang acted like a wronged young wife and said, "Brother, all the soldiers in the fort have gathered. We can set off!"

"go!"

When Zhang Ji arrived outside the fort, he selected 100 strong cavalrymen from the 300-odd men and assigned them to Zhang Yu and Zhang Yang. Among the 50 cavalrymen assigned to Zhang Yu, Zhang Ji selected the veteran Du Sheng as Zhang Yu's deputy.

As they were going to the battle suddenly, everyone took the time to prepare their weapons and equipment.

Bows, spears, armor, shields, swords and other equipment are the equipment of most warriors. And these things are enough to make people take the trouble to check, such as whether the spear is sharp enough, whether the bowstring is spare, and whether there are enough bows and arrows.

If one wears armor without a shield, one needs to check whether the armor has any defects; if one uses a shield without armor, one needs to check whether the shield is sturdy.

As a local armed force, the soldiers in the fort naturally had more shields and less armor. Among the more than 300 people, including the armor worn by Zhang Yang and Zhang Yu, there were only eight sets of armor, not as good as the thirteen sets of armor that Ye Zhupi had when he started the rebellion.

I don’t know how future generations will record this event if I have an inheritance.

After finishing all this, it was almost noon.

After Zhang Yu had the meal brought by Li Suyi, he saw that everyone was ready, so he and Zhang Yang led the cavalry ahead.

Hao Zhao and Zhang Maoshan were Zhang Yu's personal cavalrymen, and Li Song, who had some martial arts skills, helped Zhang Yu carry arrows and spears, and also gave him some advice.

Because Chi cadre moved south late, he grazed his cattle dozens of miles south of Chanhebi, about 130 miles away from Chanhewu by mountain road.

Chanhebi is a salt pond. To its southeast there was originally Qiangyin County, which belonged to Yanmen County. However, as the Eastern Han Dynasty reduced its borders to Pingcheng, Qiangyin County was abandoned and filled by the Xianbei people who migrated south.

With the Chigan Hu people leading the way, Zhang Yu's troops went in the front, Zhang Yang followed closely behind, while Zhang Ji kept a distance of ten miles from the two.

The hundred riders galloped from morning to night on a road of over a hundred miles. In order to reach Chiganzi as quickly as possible, Zhang Yu did not stop to rest except for a short rest in the middle. Instead, he prepared to reach Chiganzi as quickly as possible and launch the most fierce assault.
-
At the hour of Chou, the stars were twinkling and the weather in the north was very cold.

On the hillside outside the Chigan tribe, Zhang Yu, wrapped in felt, huddled behind the hill with Zhang Yang, Li Song and others, discussing the arrangements.

It was the first time for Zhang Yu to lead so many people in a surprise attack, and he was really nervous. But as the initiator, Zhang Yu had to act calm and make arrangements according to the military books he had learned.

Hao Zhao ran over from the other direction in the dark and said in a low voice, "The Chigan Hu army is acting as usual and has not noticed our army's movements."

"How are the defenses?" Zhang Yu asked.

"The camp is poorly guarded, but there are a few dogs watching outside!" said Hao Zhao.

"How is your uncle?" Zhang Yu asked out of trust in the veteran.

At present, Zhang Yu does not trust Zhang Yang, and he is afraid that he does not know who to trust. It is better to rely on himself than on Hao Zhao and Li Song.

Zhang Yang had forgotten the previous conflict, narrowed his eyes, and said: "The Hu army is unprepared. As Ji An said, a hundred cavalry can charge and destroy their camp."

"Bring me the picture!"

"At this!"

Li Song took out a fire starter from his bosom and barely illuminated the map that Zhang Yu had drawn earlier.

Zhang Yu spread out the map and said, "According to the captured Hu people, there are more than 500 tribes in Chigan. In the past, Chigan Puda was in the middle, and there were more than 100 tribes on each side. The west side housed the captured slaves, and the north side had many cattle and sheep."

"If we follow the previous plan, I will lead the cavalry to attack from the west, and my uncle will attack from the north. We will use slaves, cattle and sheep to disrupt and scold the cadres, and then we will meet in the center. How do you think?"

Zhang Yang looked at the faintly visible line in the firelight and asked, "How far are you from me now?"

"According to the report from the previous person, the leader of the dock was twenty miles slower than our troops!" Li Song said.

Zhang Yang pondered for a moment and said, "Why not wait until the owner of the dock arrives and lead our troops to raid the cadre so that the owner can cooperate with us."

"to make!"

Zhang Yu thought for a long time and said, "Let Du Sheng lead 20 cavalrymen to charge in from the east, and leave the south to the owner of the fort. Surround them from all sides and capture as many Hu people as possible."

"it is good!"

(End of this chapter)