Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 374: Clay Chicken and Clay Dog, Provocation

In March, Li Song went out of Qingshankou and was ambushed by Zhang He. He was rescued by Zhao Yun. He was defeated at first but then won and fought with him in Yuanshi.

Zhang Yu sent Cheng Pu to support Li Song, and also sent Man Chong to lead two thousand elite cavalry to sneak through the mountain roads, accompanied by Ma Chao and Yan Xing, to flee to Jingxing in an attempt to lift the siege of Puwu.

In order to contain Yuan Shao's army, Zhang Yu sent Wang Ling as the vanguard and Zhang Liao as the front, advancing to Maocheng and Shexian, out of Fukou, and heading towards Wu'an.

Yuan Shao followed Tian Feng's plan and ordered Jiang Qi (Jiang Yiqu) to lead 6,000 infantry and cavalry to the north to support the troops at Puwu and Qingshankou. He also assigned 10,000 troops to Chunyu Qiong and ordered him to defend Yecheng.

In response to Zhang Yu's troops coming out of Fukou, Yuan Shao sent Wen Chou as the vanguard, stationed in Wu'an, and set up camp on Cishan, hoping to use the high ground to attack Bing's army.

At that time, Zhang Yu had 50,000 soldiers and horses under his command, and Yuan Shao had nearly 70,000 soldiers and horses, and they would gather at Cishan soon.

When Yuan and Zhang were advancing, Yan Liang was leading his troops to besiege Puwu for a long time.

Inside the big tent, Yan Liang looked at the letter in his hand with a look of disdain, and said, "Although Zhang He has strategies, he is timid in fighting. He could have defeated Li Song, but was defeated by Zhao Yun and several hundred cavalrymen. Now that he sees reinforcements coming to help him, he is cowardly and asks for help without fighting to the death. He is not a great general!"

Zhao Yun's strategy of confusing the enemy with a false attack was not difficult to detect. Shortly after Zhang He retreated, An Ba waited to go and investigate, and soon found out the strength of the Bing army. Especially after repelling Zhang He, Li Song gathered the defeated soldiers and defended Qingshankou instead of leading his troops in pursuit.

Yan Liang learned about the battle and was disdainful of Zhang He's cowardice. Now Cheng Pu led troops to reinforce Li Song, which put Zhang He under great pressure. In order to avoid defeat, Zhang He wrote a letter to Yan Liang asking for help, hoping to get reinforcements from Jiang Qi's troops first.

"How can Zhang He compare to the general?"

The confidant took the opportunity to flatter him and said, "If Zhang He was capable of taking on the important task, why would you appoint the general as the commander-in-chief to lead the expedition against Zhang Yan?"

"Ha ha!"

Yan Liang smiled a few times, looking quite satisfied.

Seeing this, Jiang Qi's waiting cavalry asked cautiously, "General, what do the soldiers say?"

Yan Liang calmed down, put the letter down, and said, "Let General Jiang go to support Zhang He first, and I will lead the troops to guard Puwu."

"My general said that if you need reinforcements, you can send 2,000 soldiers to support you. He will lead 4,000 soldiers to the south first, then repel Li Song, and then lead the troops to fight back against Pu Wu." Hou Qi said.

Yan Liang stroked his beard and smiled, saying proudly: "The enemy is like a chicken or a dog, no match for my soldiers and generals. Since I defeated Zhang Yan, the Black Mountain bandits have lost their courage and are trapped in the city without attacking again. If the combined forces come to help, I want to make another contribution for you, so I can let all the troops go south to help Qingshan, Pu Wu does not need to worry."

"promise!"

The cavalryman bowed and praised him, saying: "The general is extraordinary and brave, and can defeat ten thousand people in Hebei. Now I know the true style of the general. If so, I will report to the army immediately."

"Ok!"

Yan Liang showed a proud look on his face and waved his hand to let the guard see him off.

After the scouts left, General Lü Kuang hesitated for a moment and said, "General, you sent several thousand soldiers south, but now you only have 7,000 to 8,000 soldiers, which is not enough. If the enemy reinforcements come out of Jingxing, the enemy is outside, and Zhang Yan is inside. If we attack both inside and outside, I am afraid that you will not be able to cope with it. So why not let Jiang Yiqu send 2,000 soldiers to your command, in case the enemy suddenly comes out of Jingxing to relieve the siege."

"You don't know the situation!"

Yan Liang paced and stroked his beard, smiling, "Shanxi has few registered households, and its soldiers are not as many as ours, but they have the advantage of elite troops. When your Excellency leads a large army to Fukou, Zhang Yu dares not not raise a large force to meet them. However, Li Song was defeated at Qingshankou, and many soldiers were killed, so Zhang Yu sent troops to support him. Both of them need troops to deal with, so I don't think Zhang Yu will have any troops to leave Jingxing."

"Even if there are troops coming out of Jingxing, according to my estimation of the Shanxi troops, their number is no more than 5,000. And with only a few thousand troops, based on the camps I have set up, there is no need for you and me to worry."

Although Yan Liang was arrogant, he was not a fool. He made his decision after careful consideration.

After all, as he said, Shanxi had fewer soldiers than Hebei. Zhang Yu was going to lead a large army to fight Yuan Shao, so he was destined not to be able to spare too many soldiers. Now that he had divided his troops with Li Song, it was destined that there would be no soldiers to rescue Jingxing, or even if they could come, their soldiers would not be many. However, Yan Liang was more inclined to the latter. Under his reputation, no officer would have the courage to lead light troops to rescue.

"promise!"

Lu Kuang was persuaded by Yan Liang and said no more.

Unfortunately, Yan Liang overestimated his reputation. The Shanxi generals had gone through fierce battles, and what they lacked the most were courageous generals. It could even be said that many generals wanted to use him to gain merit.

On March 20th, on the southern road of Jingxing, two thousand elite cavalry passed Shangai and marched at full speed along the Jingxing mountain road.

"嘘嘚~"

"General, Black Mountain officer Du Chang is here to see you!"

The cavalry turned back and reported to Man Chong who was marching in the army.

"Lead the way!"

Upon learning that Black Mountain had sent someone to help, Man Chong whipped his whip and pointed forward, and ordered his attendants, "Send Generals Yan Xing and Ma Chao to discuss the confidential matters."

In order to relieve the siege of Puwu and attack Yan Liang, Zhang Yu naturally selected elite soldiers and generals to go on the expedition. After careful selection, considering that Ma and Yan had surrendered not long ago and were eager to make achievements, they were full of fighting spirit, so he asked Ma Chao and Yan Xing to assist Man Chong. "Yes!"

After a while, Man Chong met Du Chang on the roadside. The two of them dismounted and greeted each other first, and Ma Chao and Yan Xing arrived one after another.

After the two sides exchanged greetings, Man Chong expressed his concern for military affairs and asked, "What is the military situation now?"

Du Chang unfolded the Puwu map that he had prepared in advance and described the battle situation: "Yan Liang led his troops to attack Puwu (Pingshan County, Shijiazhuang). The general was worried about the people of Puwu, so he led his troops to attack, but was defeated by Yan Liang. After the defeat, the general led thousands of elite troops to defend Puwu and resist the enemy, and let me lead the old and weak to return to Jingxing in the west. Now Yan Liang's troops have been besieging the city for a month, and the food and grass in the city can still last for two months."

Man Chong pointed at the map and asked, "How many soldiers does Yan Liang have now? How are they deployed?"

Du Chang said: "Puwu City is adjacent to the water control in the south and the Hutuo River in the north. Yan Liang has over 7,000 elite soldiers under his command. In order to prevent the people of Jingxing from sending food and rescue, he ordered the people to build fortifications outside the city."

Du Chang pointed twice on the map and said, "Yan Liang set up two camps in the south and east of the city. The south camp is to block the grain transport to the city, and the east camp is connected to the official road to Zhending. The south camp has more soldiers, while the east camp has fewer soldiers. Yan Liang personally led his troops to station in the south of the city."

Yan Xing folded his arms and looked at the map, saying, "There are many entrances to Jingxing, and there are five main roads. If we use force now, we can catch the enemy by surprise and make it difficult for them to defend themselves."

"Exactly!"

Du Chang said with a bitter face: "If there were a dangerous pass in Jingxing, General Zhang would lead his troops to withdraw. However, there are many roads in Jingxing now, so we can only defend Puwu. If Puwu is captured, there will be no dangerous pass in Jingxing to defend."

There is only one Jingxing Road in Shanxi, but when it reaches Jingxing County, it splits into several roads due to the direction of the mountain. Therefore, Jingxing can be regarded as a basin. Puwu is a city outside Jingxing. If it can be defended, the enemy will not dare to enter Jingxing, and vice versa.

Ma Chao was eager to gain merit, so he said, "The east camp of the city is empty now. We might as well attack the east camp through the hanging road. If the east camp is broken, the siege of Puwu will be lifted!"

"Although Dongying has few soldiers, it is blocked by water control and it may be inconvenient to cross the river," said Du Chang.

Ma Chao smiled and said, "It's not that difficult. We can hide in the mountains at night and cross the river at dawn. It's just that there are too many horses, so we need boats to help us."

Ma Chao had a better idea. He pointed to the map and said, "The East Camp is empty. Yan Liang must be worried about being attacked. So why not threaten to take the East Camp? Yan Liang is worried about the East Camp and will lead his army to rescue it. The South Camp is empty and may be able to respond to the troops in the city and attack from both inside and outside. If the South Camp can be taken, the siege of Puwu can be lifted."

"This is a good idea!"

Du Chang nodded and said, "If we can capture the South Camp, we will be able to lift the siege of Puwu."

Ma Chao looked at Man Chong who remained silent and asked, "What do you think of my plan, General Man?"

Although Man Chong was born into a family of scholars in the Central Plains, he was always cold and taciturn because he followed Zhang Yu in long-term battles and in order to discipline the arrogant soldiers in the army. He exuded an aura of indifference, which made Ma Chao, who prided himself on his bravery, a little afraid.

Man Chong said calmly: "I am leading the cavalry here now. If we want to attack the camp, we must dismount. However, the cavalry thinks they are superior, how can we dismount on foot?"

"Attacking the camp is not advisable, but making a feint to the east and attacking in the west is possible."

As he spoke, Man Chong looked at Generals Ma Chao and Yan Xing and asked in a deep voice, "Yan Liang is a general under Yuan Shao who can defeat ten thousand enemies. His reputation is known all over Hebei. You two are highly praised by the Lord and are said to have the ability to break through the enemy's formation and kill the general. Now, instead of killing Yan Liang and making achievements, you want to break through the camp and break the siege. I'm afraid you have no ambition."

Ma Chao was indignant at first when his suggestion was rejected, but when he heard that Man Chong wanted to kill Yan Liang to gain merit, his expression became serious. He did not expect that Man Chong, who came from a scholar family, would have such great ambitions.

Seeing the two of them stunned for a moment, Man Chong said lightly: "If the two generals dare not, then follow Meng Qi's plan."

"Why don't you dare!"

Ma Chao was the first to express indignation and said, "Yan Liang is just a man of empty reputation. If you can give me some advice, I will lead my cavalry to kill him."

"Ha~"

Yan Xing sneered and said, "If Yan Liang leads his army out of the camp, you can sit back in the army and watch how our Long cavalry kill the general!"

Although Man Chong did not have the ability to kill generals in battle, he was braver than many Shanxi generals, and this was why Zhang Yu was optimistic about Man Chong.

Seeing that everyone had such a big appetite, Du Chang said weakly: "I have tens of thousands of men and women in Jingxing now, but there are thousands of old and weak who can form a battle array, and only one or two thousand people who can be used. I wonder how many troops you are leading?"

"Two thousand elite cavalry!"

"There are three to four thousand infantry and cavalry in total. I'm afraid they are no match for Yan Liang's troops."

The provocation worked. Man Chong patted Du Chang on the shoulder and said with a smile: "The strongest troops in the world are in Shanxi. If we can break the formation, five hundred cavalry can defeat ten thousand people. Yan Liang is brave but has few strategies. It is not difficult to break the enemy's troops and break the siege. On the day of crossing the river, you can lead the old and weak to bluff. Yan Liang will be taken care of by the two generals."

"Thank you, Mr. Man, for helping me out of the Black Mountain crisis!" Du Chang said gratefully.

Seeing this, Ma Chao curled his lips subconsciously. Now he had realized that Man Chong was just trying to provoke them to make bold statements and kill the generals. As expected, the people of Shandong were all cunning, so he had to be more careful in the future.

(End of this chapter)