Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 270: Can this general be adopted?
Yuyang County is a wild and peaceful place.

On the hillside, Zhang Yu and other civil and military officials sat in the open air, with large shields gathered around them to prevent the strong wind from disturbing them.

"My lord, it is said that we have captured the soldiers and officials of Guangping, and Gongsun Zan led his army in Zhuo County and ordered Shan Jing and Zou Dan to guard Yanshan. In order to prevent my lord from sneaking across Juyong Pass, the prefect of Yuyang, Zou Dan, is not in Yuyang, the seat of government, but is ordered to station troops in Changping to serve as the rear guard of Juyong Pass. Therefore, the territory of Yuyang is now empty." Zhao Yun said with a bow.

"Oh?"

Zhang Yu asked, "Is there any other way to get to the back of Juyong Pass?"

Xianyu Fu pondered for a moment and said, "There is an alternative route to Juyong Pass. Since there are no high walls on the two sides of the mountain, we can climb over the two sides of the mountain. However, I know that the enemy is well prepared at the South Pass, so I dare not report it to you, so as not to mislead you to use the troops."

"good!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "If I knew there was another way through the mountains, I would not have dared to use my troops rashly because I was worried that Gongsun Zan would set an ambush. Now I will enter the south of Yan from Gubeikou, which is the way to catch them by surprise!"

Zhang Yu didn't just take any shortcuts, he specifically took the roads that others wouldn't expect. In order to successfully bypass the enemy, he would often release false information to confuse the enemy.

For example, in order to bypass Gubei Road successfully, Zhang Yu asked Li Song and Qi Zhou to go south to Puyin Road to attract the enemy's attention. The last time he bypassed upstream to enter Guanzhong, he released false news that Ma Teng was going to rebel, and at the same time he had his troops cross the river to feint an attack.

After all, the way to use troops is nothing more than combining the real and the fake, making it difficult for the enemy to figure out your tactics and where the main force of your army is.

"Sir, our army has arrived at Guangping now. I wonder how we should deploy the troops next?" Xu Huang asked.

Zhang Yu did not respond in a hurry. Instead, he looked at his advisers and asked, "The enemy is stationed near Juyong Pass. Do you have any suggestions?"

Xun You hesitated for a moment and spoke first: "My Lord, the enemy is numerous and we are few. If our army wants to take Juyong Pass directly, the enemy will defend the city firmly and our army will find it difficult to succeed. Therefore, in my opinion, we should divide the forces of our small army and then defeat them one by one. Then we can break through Juyong Pass and welcome the main army."

"Where does the plan come from?" Zhang Yu asked.

"My lord, Ji County (now Beijing) is the seat of Youzhou. It has numerous fields and roads, and occupying it can cut off Changping's rear. Therefore, my lord can send troops to raid Ji County. Upon hearing the news, Zou Dan will surely lead troops to reinforce it. My lord can attack them on the way and catch them off guard, thus defeating Zou Dan." Xun You said.

"If Zou Dan is defeated, you will send people to Guangyang and Yuyang to govern. But Shan Jing has you at his back and a large army in front of him. He will be attacked from all sides and Shan Jing will surrender!"

"color!"

Zhang Yu couldn't help but cheer and said with a smile: "Gongda's strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west is a brilliant move."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked around and asked, "Do you have any objections?"

"Mr. Xun's plan is brilliant!"

Jia Xu stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then said, "I just thought it would be a good idea to let you go to Yuyang first and persuade the soldiers and officials in the county to join us, in case after we defeat Zou Dan, you will just hold on to the isolated city and not surrender, and Gongsun Zan will lead his troops north, leaving you without any outside help and in a difficult situation of lack of soldiers and food."

Zhang Yu turned his gaze to Xian Yu Fu and asked, "How is Gong Zuo?"

Xianyu Fu looked serious, cupped his hands and said: "As I said before, if you can defeat Zou Dan, I can use the reputation of my clan to persuade the counties and towns in the county to join us."

"it is good!"

Zhang Yu said: "In this case, let's follow the strategy of Gongda and Wenhe!"

"Where is Zhongkang?"

"The general is here!"

"I order you to lead our troops to Ji County and make a lot of noise along the way to make sure the enemy notices you." Zhang Yu said.

"As ordered!"

"Where are Gongming, Zixun, and Zilong?"

"The general is here!"

Generals Xu Huang, Zhao Yun and Gao Shun stepped out and bowed to receive the order.

"The three of you leave your baggage behind and follow me to lead the troops to attack Zou Dan." Zhang Yu ordered.

"I obey your orders!" The three generals looked solemn.

Having decided on the strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, the generals and their troops did not dare to delay, especially Xu Chu, who abandoned the baggage and ordered his troops to travel on camels and pack horses.

The road from Guangping to Jixian was flat, about 200 li in distance, and Xu Chu traveled to Jixian at a speed of 70 li a day. Zhang Yu led his troops to hide beside the Gushui River near Hunu, more than 100 li away from Jixian and Changping.

On March 30th, Zou Dan heard that some troops had bypassed Beigukou to invade. Before he could find out the situation, he learned the next day that the troops who had bypassed Beigukou were leading their troops directly to Ji County. Zou Dan was shocked and informed Sheng Shan Jing. He led more than 10,000 people of his own army to Ji County to rescue the besieged Ji County.

In the evening, Zhang Yu learned of Zou Dan's whereabouts and led his troops to march day and night, with the cavalry leading with two horses and the infantry following behind on single horses.

On April 2nd, the weather was clear, but the spring rain still hadn't come, and there hadn't been any heavy rain for more than ten days.

At noon, Zhang Yu, who had traveled 120 miles a day, led his troops to Niu Mountain under the guidance of Tian Chou.

"Urgent report!"

Bulu Hu Tuli came with scouts to report to Zhang Yu who had just arrived at Niushan.

"Have you spotted any enemy?"

Zhang Yu had not yet taken off his saddle when he saw Tu Li and his scouts coming, so he asked.

"My lord, Zou Dan's troops are more than ten miles away and there is no defense yet!" Tuli did not dare to dismount and said in a hurried tone.

Since Zhang Yu appointed Shi Yi as general, Zhang Yu selected people from the army and finally chose Buluhutuli, an old man who had followed him in his early years, to be in charge of scouts and lead a thousand cavalrymen.

Although Tuli did not have Shiyi's amazing insight, "looking at the smoke and dust to know the number of horses and infantry, listening to the ground to know the distance of the army", and amazing archery skills, he was extremely careful and often drove his horse to the area 40 or 50 miles away to investigate the enemy situation. He was not much less courageous than Shiyi. Before Zhang Yu set out, Tuli led his cavalry to investigate the surrounding areas and finally found out the news of Zou Dan in advance.

Hearing this, Zhang Yu gave up his plan to take a rest by removing the saddle, and jumped on the saddle, saying: "The enemy is unprepared, now is a good opportunity to defeat them!"

"My lord, aren't you going to wait for the infantry?" Zhao Yun asked.

Zhang Yu put on his helmet and shouted, "The opportunity for battle is fleeting. We can't wait for the infantry. We can defeat Zou Dan and let the infantry clean up the battlefield!"

Then, Zhang Yu reined in his horse and turned around, holding a half-eaten Hu pancake in his hand, looking at the riders eating, and said loudly: "The enemy is more than ten miles away, but they don't know where our army is. Follow me to defeat the enemy and kill the general, and then we will enjoy wine and meat after defeating the enemy!"

After saying this, Zhang Yu threw the half-eaten Hu pancake to the ground, drew his spear and raised it high to encourage the knights.

"Wan Sheng!"

Seeing their commander being so heroic, the riders responded loudly, throwing away the Hu cakes in their hands one after another, and some water pilots even threw away their water bags.

"Let's go!"

"Woo!"

As the attack horn sounded, the four thousand cavalrymen consciously dispersed in twos and threes, forming a black mass that seemed endless, and they rushed towards Zou Dan, who was more than ten miles away, like a wave.

Zou Dan quickly received the news of such a massive cavalry formation and was immediately horrified.

"General, the enemy cavalry suddenly attacked and our infantry has not yet formed a battle formation. We must withdraw now!" said the attendant fearfully.

"How to withdraw?"

Zou Dan looked terrified and cursed, "If we withdraw now, our army will be destroyed. If our army is defeated, Ji County will be powerless to hold on. How can I face you, sir?"

Zou Dan knew Gongsun Zan's character. If he fled with his entire army wiped out, Gongsun Zan would never let him go, especially after Gongsun Zan had repeatedly warned him.

Since retreat means death, why not fight tenaciously? There may still be hope of winning.

"Prepare the army for war!"

Zou Dan rode his horse forward and signaled his infantry to quickly form a battle line and have the cavalry guard the flanks.

However, it was too difficult to form a battle line in such a hurry, especially when the infantry changed from marching formation to square formation, which immediately threw the infantry into chaos. Soldiers looked for their generals, and generals looked for soldiers. They had to rely on flags to help everyone recognize where they were.

After finding the flag, each squad and team had to find the team, and the team had to find the garrison, the garrison had to find the division, and the division had to find the school and battalion. So how could thousands of people be arranged in a row in a short time?

More than ten li, about seven or eight kilometers in later times, although the cavalry could not make a long-distance charge of seven or eight kilometers, they could march quickly. And by marching quickly, the cavalry could arrive in half an hour.

Therefore, when Zou Dan was organizing his troops, Zhang Yu led the cavalry to advance quickly, and then when they reached the last two miles, he ordered the cavalry to launch a charge like a storm.

Soon, after only a quarter of an hour, Xu Huang, the vanguard, had led his cavalry to two miles outside Zou Dan's army. While the infantry were still lining up, Zou Dan was reorganizing the cavalry.

When Xu Huang rushed to the battlefield, he saw that Zou Dan's infantry and cavalry were in disarray and launched a direct charge.

Seeing this, Zou Dan had no choice but to lead his cavalry to meet the enemy, hoping to buy more time for the infantry to form a team.

When Zou Dan and Xu Huang's cavalry were fighting, the cavalry led by Tuli appeared, bypassing the enemy cavalry's obstruction and shooting at the infantry, directly disrupting the infantry's formation.

The archers of Zou Dan's army shot arrows randomly, and the sparse arrows flew through the air, but they did not cause any damage to the cavalry. On the contrary, the swift shooting of the Bingzhou cavalry made the already chaotic formation even more chaotic.

Seeing the infantry in turmoil, Tuli boldly changed his harassment mission and attacked the battle array like a wolf or a tiger. When the cavalry launched a charge, the soldiers of Zou Dan's army fled in all directions, no matter how the officers shouted.

"kill!"

A little later, another cavalry unit, led by Qin Yilu, charged towards the chaotic Zou Dan army from another direction.

The two teams of thousands of cavalrymen clamped Zou Dan's infantry like sharp pliers at both ends until the pliers met in the middle, cutting the infantry in half. Afterwards, the cavalrymen raised their spears and swords high, slaughtered the panicked Youzhou infantrymen in the army, and drove them away like sheep.

On the hill, under the brightly colored "Zhang" banner, Zhang Yu stopped his horse and looked out at the chaotic battlefield. As the infantry was in the process of collapse, Zhang Yu focused his attention on the fighting cavalry.

However, even when Zou Dan was surrounded by several cavalrymen, he fought with his spear and killed several cavalrymen in succession, and still fought his way out of the encirclement, showing his extraordinary bravery. It is obvious that Zou Dan was highly regarded by Gongsun Zan, so his martial arts skills were naturally good.

Now Xu Huang's performance was not inferior to Zou Dan, and even better. In order to deal with Zou Dan, Xu Huang took the initiative to move forward. However, Zou Dan led more cavalry than Xu Huang, and in turn called on the cavalry to surround and kill Xu Huang. Xu Huang ran around and fought with the enemy with his superb riding skills.

"Zilong, can we take this general?" Zhang Yu pointed at Zou Dan with his whip and asked.

Zhao Yun watched for a moment, then put his hands on the reins and said, "General Xu is holding us back, so we can kill him!"

"good!"

With Zhang Yu's permission, Zhao Yun led his cavalry down the hill and joined the chaotic cavalry battle to alleviate Xu Huang's predicament of having few soldiers.

Zhao Yun spotted Zou Dan and charged at him with more than ten riders. As he waved his long spear, some riders died or fled. Zhao Yun rode his horse up to Zou Dan and shouted, "Zhao Zilong of Changshan is here!"

Zou Dan held his spear to block a few times, and seeing Xu Huang taking advantage of the situation to counterattack, he thought the situation was over, so he had no intention of fighting and wanted to turn his horse and retreat. However, he saw a flash of cold light, and Zhao Yun's spear had already pierced Zou Dan's abdomen.

"puff!"

Zou Dan's body shook a few times and then he fell headfirst to the ground.

Zhang Yu reined in his horse on the hill and looked at the devastating situation after Zou Dan's death. His stern expression finally relaxed and a hint of joy appeared on his face.

(End of this chapter)