Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 376: Standing without words, only sighing at the poor quality

Yan Liang was killed by Ma Chao on his way to support the enemy, and his 2,500 infantry and cavalry fled in panic. Yan Xing and Ma Chao killed and captured nearly a thousand people, and sent Yan Liang's head to Man Chong.

After the defeated army fled back to the South Camp, Lü Kuang was shocked to learn that Yan Liang had been ambushed and killed. He knew that the situation was hopeless, so he led his troops to flee. Zhang Yan in the city saw the changes outside the city and seized the opportunity to lead his troops to attack the South Camp, defeating Lü Kuang's troops and capturing more than a thousand carts of baggage.

Compared to the fierce fighting in the South Camp, the battle in the East Camp went quite smoothly. Man Chong got Yan Liang's head, so he hung it on a pole and asked people to persuade Jia Kai, the commander of the East Camp, to surrender. But Jia Kai saw that Yan Liang was dead and there were many enemies outside the camp, so he led 2,000 soldiers to surrender.

In the Battle of Puwu, Man Chong led several thousand infantry and cavalry to relieve the siege, Ma Chao killed Yan Liang, Zhang Yan defeated Lu Kuang, Jia Kai led his troops to surrender, killed more than 2,000 enemies, captured more than 3,000 enemies, and captured more than 1,000 carts of baggage. More than 7,000 Yuan soldiers were almost wiped out, and only Lu Kuang led more than 1,000 people to surrender to Zhang He and Jiang Qi in the south.

Yuanshi, the main camp of Jizhou army.

"General, something terrible has happened!"

The troops hurried into the tent, bowed to Zhang He and Jiang Qi who were chatting, and said, "General Lü Kuang is leading the remaining troops outside the camp. Please open the camp and keep them!"

"Lü Kuang?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang He and Jiang Qi looked at each other, and both of them felt something was wrong.

"Isn't Lü Kuang under the command of General Yan?" Zhang He strode out of the tent and asked, "Why is he leading the remaining troops outside the camp? Could it be that General Yan was defeated and the siege of Puwu was lifted?"

"Where is General Yan?"

The general led Zhang He out of the tent and said hesitantly, "According to what the defeated soldiers said, we marched out of Jingxing with our army, and used the strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west to ambush and kill General Yan. Now we should have lifted the siege of Puwu."

"General Yan was beheaded?"

Zhang He was originally surprised, but in an instant he became shocked and said, "General Yan is a man of unrivalled courage, how could he be killed by the Bing army?"

"quick!"

Jiang Qi called his men and said, "Quickly welcome Lü Kuang into the camp. We need to inquire about Puwu's situation now!"

Jiang Qi then said to Zhang He, "Your Excellency has always favored Yan Liang, but now Yan Liang has been killed by Bing's army. I'm afraid you and I will be punished by your Excellency!"

Zhang He calmed down and said, "We have not defeated Puwu, but have lost a general. If you knew the situation, you might send someone to punish us!"

Jiang Qi covered his mouth with his hand, lowered his voice, and said: "First, let someone call Lu Kuang and ask him carefully about Yan Liang's defeat. If he was defeated because of the small number of soldiers, you and I need to ~"

Yan Liang's death in battle was Jiang Qi's biggest headache. He was ordered to support Yan Liang and Zhang He. If Yan Liang lost because of the small number of soldiers, he would be punished. However, it was not only Jiang Qi who was troubled. Zhang He was also worried that Yuan Shao would be angry with him because of Yan Liang's death.

Zhang He nodded and said, "Although the death of General Yan is a serious matter, if we march out of Jingxing with all our forces, not only will our troops be in danger, but the situation in Changshan may also change drastically."

"What Junyi said makes sense!"

Jiang Qi sighed and said, "The army has gathered in Handan. Now one enemy army is in Qingshan and the other is in Puwu. If the two armies advance north and south, you and I must lead our troops to retreat to the strategic point to prevent the enemy from looting Julu."

It was said before that Yuanshi was located between Puwu and Qingshan. If the siege of Puwu was lifted, Man Chong would lead his troops southward and form a pincer attack with Li Song. Zhang He and Jiang Qi did not dare to stay in Yuanshi, so they had to lead their troops to retreat to avoid the attack of the combined forces.

After a while, Lü Kuang was brought in. When questioned by Zhang He, he told him all the military information he knew.

"General Yan led more than 2,000 elite soldiers to rescue Dongying, but was ambushed and killed by the enemy general Ma Chao on the way. I knew the situation was not good, so I led my troops south, but was defeated by Zhang Yan on the way. As far as I know, the Dongying garrison commander Jia Kai led his troops to surrender." Lu Kuang sighed and said, "I gathered the defeated soldiers, but only got a thousand soldiers and horses, and the rest are nowhere to be found!"

Zhang He frowned and asked, "How many troops have left Jingxing?"

"I don't know the details, but I know that Ma Chao led hundreds of cavalry to ambush and kill General Yan, while other troops besieged the East Camp." Lu Kuang said.

Seeing Yan Liang being killed by a small number of soldiers, Jiang Qi put aside his worries and lamented: "General Yan was eager to rescue, but unfortunately he fell into the enemy's trap. It's a pity that he died young!"

Zhang He said, "We should join forces to relieve the siege of Puwu. Now the enemy has joined forces with the Black Mountain bandits, and there are also surrendered soldiers as minions. The enemy of Puwu is no less than 7,000 to 8,000 people. Now, in order to avoid the danger of being attacked from both the north and the south, you and I can retreat to Xiaquyang first and wait for your order."

"We all agree with the general's opinion!" Lu Kuang said.

Knowing that Yan Liang died as a result of a trap, Zhang He and Jiang Qi no longer had to worry, so they jointly submitted a memorial with Xin Ping, deliberately saying that Yan Liang was defeated and beheaded by Ma Chao, who led 300 cavalrymen, in order to avoid Yuan Shao's anger.

After submitting the memorial, Zhang He, who was good at adapting to changes, abandoned Yuanshi and led his troops to retreat to the farther Xiaquyang in order to control the situation in the northwest of Jizhou as much as possible.

Less than two days after Zhang He withdrew his troops, Man Chong and Zhang Yan joined forces and marched south to meet Li Song and Zhao Yun in Yuancheng. They conquered the cities along the mountains from Changshan to Zhao State and opened up a small mountain path to communicate with Zhang Yu's army.

Soon, Yan Liang was killed, the siege of Puwu was lifted, and the news of the joining of the Black Mountain and Shanxi armies was first transmitted to Yuan Shao's army. In the big tent, Yuan Shao sat high on a stool, with civil and military officials on his left and right.

Yuan Shao asked his attendants, "Zhang Yu is leading his troops across the Qinshui River (now the Nanming River) and is facing our army across the river. What do you think?"

Ju Su stroked his beard and thought, and said, "Mingsir, our army has many cavalry and good mobility. Zhang Yu repeatedly defeated powerful enemies with his cavalry. But now Zhang Yu and our army are facing each other across the river. Without flat fields and wide open areas to gallop, it will be difficult for him to achieve success. Our army is stationed in Cishan, which is high above us and can see the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, which is beneficial to our army. So we might as well confront Zhang Yu and observe Pu Wu's current situation."

Because of the Taihang Mountains, the water system in Hebei is very complex. The Nanming River flows out of the Taihang Mountains, flows southward, then turns northward, and merges with the Beiming River that flows directly out of the Taihang Mountains in Wu'an, and finally flows into the Dalu Lake. Therefore, Zhang Yu's troops left Shexian County, crossed the south-flowing Qinshui River, but confronted Yuan Shao at the north-flowing Qinshui River.

Feng Ji pondered for a moment and said, "Mingsir, Zhang Yu's camp has the Beiqin River to the north and the Nanqin River to the south. The surrounding area is only 40 miles wide from north to south and no more than 200 miles from east to west. The army is stationed on both sides of the river, and the vast land is narrow. The cavalry cannot display their power, which is a great advantage for our army. Therefore, according to Pei's opinion, Mingsir might as well build a floating bridge and then advance slowly to turn the tables."

"Become the host?"

Yuan Shao was quite interested and said, "Gongtu, can you tell me the strategy in detail?"

"promise!"

Feng Ji glanced at Ju Su, Tian Feng, and Xu You, and said with a smile: "Zhang Yu has set up camp between two rivers. Although the cavalry has room to gallop, if our army can slowly cross the river and set up camp with them in the river, with bows, crossbows, and spears, if we advance one mile, the enemy will retreat one mile. With the army and horses encroaching on us, how can the enemy cavalry have room to display their power?"

"color!"

Yuan Shao was overjoyed and said with a smile: "Qingshui and Hejian are a difficult place for military strategists. Zhang Yu relied on his cavalry to achieve success. Now the enemy is approaching the camp. Our army has a high camp on Cishan Mountain. We can observe the enemy's movements and slowly set up camp in Hexi. This will make it difficult for Zhang Yu to use the enemy. And our army, with the strong bows of Jizhou and the long spears of the armored soldiers, will be able to defeat Zhang Yu!"

"Mingsir, it is dangerous to cross the river and use troops!"

Tian Feng advised, "Zhang Yu is not a man without strategy. He has set up camp between the Qinshui River and is in a difficult position. However, the Qinshui River has complicated currents and is sometimes deep and sometimes shallow. Zhang Yu can order his cavalry to cross the two rivers and plunder our army's supplies. It will be difficult for our army to rob Zhang Yu's army of food. In my opinion, you might as well retreat to Handan and lure Zhang Yu away from the dangerous mountains so that our army can use force."

Yuan Shao was displeased and said, "You want to hold on to the enemy and wear down their morale. I am now defending Wu'an and Qinshui, which is in line with your strategy. If we retreat to Handan, wouldn't it show the enemy that we are weak and let the wilderness and the cavalry be defeated? This strategy is not feasible!"

Tian Feng argued, "Leaving the wilderness to the cavalry is the key to luring the enemy. If our army can defeat the Black Mountain troops and Zhang Yu leaves the Qinshui River to besiege Handan, we can go down the mountain valley and counterattack the Qinshui River area and cut off the Fukou Road. Within a month, Zhang Yu will have no food to eat and his army will be defeated!"

Tian Feng's plan was vicious. He hoped to give Zhang Yu the advantage of the terrain and lure Zhang Yu away from Fukou. If the food route was empty, Zhang Yu would be left with no food to eat whenever Yuan Shao sent his generals to attack.

When Yuan Shao understood the key to Tian Feng's plan, he became hesitant.

Seeing this, Feng Ji hurriedly said, "Although Mr. Tian's plan is brilliant, if Zhang Yu sends a general to guard the grain road, Mr. Tian's plan will fail, and our army will be burdened by Zhang Yu's cavalry."

Yuan Shao nodded, and his attitude gradually leaned towards Feng Ji.

When Tian Feng was about to retort, he saw his personal guards rushing in and kneeling to report, saying, "Mingsir, General Yan Liang has been beheaded, the siege of Puwu has been lifted, and now Zhang He and Jiang Qi have led their troops to retreat to Xiaquyang, and Li Song and Zhang Yan have gathered in Yuanshi. The situation in Changshan is out of control."

"what!"

Yuan Shao was greatly surprised, perhaps he did not expect the situation in Changshan to be reversed. He stood there for a long time without saying a word!

Ju Su was also surprised and asked, "Although Yan Liang is a man of few ideas, he is brave enough to fight against ten thousand men. Who in the army can kill Yan Liang? Who can lead the army to break the siege of Puwu? How many soldiers and horses do you have?"

The guards presented the military report. They said: "Zhang Yu sent Man Chong, Ma Chao, and Yan Xing to lead 2,000 cavalry out of Jingxing, using the strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking the west to lure General Yan to the east camp for assistance. However, on the way, they were ambushed by Ma Chao and his 300 cavalry. Ma Chao rode into the battle alone, killed Yan Liang and left, and Pu Wu's army was defeated."

"Poor!"

Yuan Shao stamped his feet and sighed, saying: "How could Yan Liang be so incompetent in commanding troops to be killed by an unknown person?"

"Who is Man Chong? Who is Ma Chao?" asked Ju Su.

"Man Chong is a general under Zhang Yu, leading 5,000 soldiers. Ma Chao is the son of Ma Teng, known for his bravery. Since Ma surrendered to Zhang, Ma Chao has been valued by Zhang Yu." Someone who knew answered.

"Now that Yan Liang has died in battle, Shanxi and Heishan have joined forces, and the situation in Changshan is out of control!" Yuan Shao sighed.

"Mingsir, I am willing to lead the troops north to defeat the bandits for you."

Wen Chou stood up angrily, clasped his hands and said, "Man Chong and Ma Chao, the two thieves, have a despicable plan. They just broke the siege of Puwu and attacked and killed Yan Gongxuan when he was not prepared. Although I am not talented, I have some military strength. I am willing to lead the army north to defeat the Shanxi thieves and recover Changshan."

"Your Excellency, please don't do that!"

(End of this chapter)