I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 448 The Battle of Mangdang Mountain (Part 1)

Mangdang means vast and expansive.

Mangdang Mountain is the only mountain range in the Xuhuai region, standing out abruptly at the junction of north and south, like a tall building rising from the ground.

Despite its small size, the fact that Emperor Gaozu hid here to escape Qin soldiers and that King Xiao of Liang, Liu Wu, built his underground palace and mausoleum here demonstrates its defensive and difficult-to-attack nature.

The northwest side of Mangdang Mountain is a steep slope, impassable to people.

To the southwest, there is a huge lake called "Dangze". Legend has it that "there was a man named Qin Gao from Zhao who was skilled in playing the qin and served as a retainer of King Kang. He practiced the magic of Peng Juan and floated around Dang County for more than two hundred years. Later, he entered the Dang River to take a dragon's son, rode a red carp out, and sat in a shrine. Ten thousand people in Dang watched him. He stayed for more than a month and then went back into the water."

When Emperor Gaozu led his people to hide in Mangdang Mountain, it was because of this water that they did not starve to death in the mountains.

At this time, Zhou Yu deployed his forces according to the terrain of Mangdang Mountain, and the Han army was roughly divided into three groups.

At the foot of Mangdang Mountain on the north and east sides were Zhou Yu's and Taishi Ci's main troops, totaling 20,000 men.

Lu Meng and Lu Yi led 5,000 troops to garrison in Xiao County, between Pengcheng and Mangdang Mountain, to protect the supply route and prevent Yuan's cavalry from outflanking and trapping Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci's troops in Mangdang Mountain.

Zhang Liao's cavalry had already assembled near Xiang County, south of Mangdang Mountain, a few days ago. Thanks to the high mobility of the archer cavalry, Zhang Liao's three thousand elite cavalry could arrive at the battlefield at any time to provide support.

At this time, Ju Shou on the opposite side also gradually gathered information about the Han army based on the reports from the scouts, and made a rough judgment on Zhou Yu's arrangements.

"What a daring fellow! He's actually putting the balance of power on the cavalry!"

Zhou Yu's plan was crystal clear to Ju Shou.

Since they were relying on Mount Mangdang to deploy their troops, it was clear that their aim was to minimize the damage inflicted on the Han infantry by Yuan's cavalry.

However, this also shows that Zhou Yu did not have the concept of using heavy infantry to inflict casualties on Yuan's cavalry. Moreover, judging from the previous standoff at Dingtao, Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci's camps did not have many heavy infantry at their disposal.

Given this, Zhou Yu clearly focused his efforts on dealing with the Han army's cavalry rather than Yuan Shao's cavalry...

"How can Zhou Yu be so confident? Does he think that the Han cavalry can definitely defeat our cavalry?"

This is what truly baffled Ju Shou.

Even with heavy cavalry as a support, as long as our light cavalry is not held back by the enemy infantry, giving the Han army's heavy cavalry the opportunity to charge and trample, how can the Han army's cavalry defeat Yuan's cavalry?

"..."

After some hesitation, Ju Shou decided to write a letter to Yuan Shao.

"Your Majesty, please allocate cavalry for reinforcement!"

"May I ask how much the Governor-General requires?"

"all!"

Ju Shou's tone was resolute.

"Since Liu Miao and Zhou Yu know that our heavy cavalry is not in the Central Plains, they will definitely send out all their heavy cavalry to suppress our army."

"If we can seize this opportunity to annihilate the enemy's heavy cavalry and even their entire cavalry force here, then the enemy will be like a tiger with its claws and teeth pulled out. Although it is still huge, it will no longer pose a truly fatal threat!"

Ju Shou informed Yuan Shao of his judgment, but Yuan Shao did not even reply with a letter to inquire. Instead, he directly allocated Yuan Shao's cavalry to Ju Shou for unified command.

"I have everything I need for this battle!"

The overwhelming numerical superiority of the cavalry filled Ju Shou with confidence for this battle!

"Attack as soon as the opportunity arises!"

------

"Ju Shou is quite clever!"

Liu Miao, Zhou Yu, and Taishi Ci stood together on the mountain, watching the movements below.

After several sunny days, this morning, it seemed as if countless wisps of fog were emerging from the ground, which, combined with the somewhat hazy sky above, made the visibility terribly low.

The reason why military camps are located on high ground is so that the commander-in-chief can observe the movements of the battlefield at any time.

This is why Mount Mangdang was a strategic location fought over by military strategists.

However, today's overcast skies and dense fog have clearly greatly diminished the geographical advantages of Mount Mangdang.

Although Yuan's army was inevitably affected as well, the losses and gains were still the greatest for the Han army.

At this moment, the sound of drums could be heard from the hazy Yuan army's position, clearly a sign that an attack was about to be launched.

At this moment, Liu Miao was dressed in gold and silver scale armor, with a crimson cloak wrapped around his back and a red fox fur scarf around his neck, its fur covering his collar and blocking the cold wind.

"Southerners really are not used to the North."

From his vantage point, Liu Miao could clearly see that many Han soldiers, despite being equipped with winter clothing, were still shivering and trembling.

Normally the weather would be fine if it were sunny, but now that the sun was out and there was a cold fog, the Han soldiers, most of whom came from the south, began to shiver.

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Zhou Yu stood to the side with a stern expression.

“Yuan Shao has chosen a good time. If it were colder, his own soldiers would be affected; if it were warmer, our soldiers would not be troubled by the cold... At this time, we are in a situation where the enemy has the strength and we have the weakness.”

"Tsk!"

Liu Miao clicked his tongue.

"To be old and not die is to be a thief!"

Then Liu Miao turned to Zhou Yu and said, "Distribute all of that stuff!"

Zhou Yu asked, puzzled, "Now?"

"Right now!"

Liu Miao licked his dry lips: "These days, I've learned a lesson from those old, seasoned soldiers!" "What lesson?"

"What's worse than being alive and having no money to spend is dying with money still in your hands!"

Liu Miao chuckled.

"We're reluctant to use our own stuff, are we just going to wait for the other side to use it for us?"

After a long silence, Zhou Yu nodded immediately and then summoned his personal guards to make arrangements.

moment.

The soldier who came to eat as usual suddenly twitched his nose violently!
"Goodness gracious! I don't like it! What's this smell? It smells so good!"

Soldiers from the Wu region quickly identified the fish: "It's a fish! A sea fish!!!"

In the large pot where food is being cooked, chunks of snow-white fish are being turned up and down!
A thick layer of oil, like ocean waves, continuously laps against the edge of the pot, soaking in a thick layer of grease, and then, stimulated by the scalding heat of the iron pot, it releases a rich aroma!
The official in charge of logistics stepped forward.

"These are all sea fish caught in the East China Sea, then processed into frozen fish and transported here!"

Since the widespread use of pointed-bottom seagoing vessels, marine fishing has become a large-scale industry, and the meat consumption of people in the Sanwu area far surpasses that of other regions!

Some merchants from Jingzhou and Shu even came to Jiangdong specifically for a plate of sashimi or a bowl of fish.

This inevitably led some people with ulterior motives to want to transport the fish to the inland areas.

However, fish meat spoils very easily, and due to the hot climate in Jiangdong, it is impossible to preserve fish meat.

But with the arrival of winter, everything changes.

In recent years, both the Central Plains and Jiangdong seem to be colder than before, which has extended the shelf life of fish.

Sea fish naturally contain abundant oil, which can be easily made into fish jelly.

These frozen fish were transported from the rear to the front lines, allowing soldiers to quickly consume sufficient amounts of oil!

Some soldiers, however, quickly discovered another difference!

Today, not only is the food problematic, but the water they're given is also problematic!

"Is this... wine?"

"Yes, the rice harvest in Champa this year was quite good, so we brewed some wine afterwards!"

Alcohol gives you strength! Meat keeps you warm!
The Han soldiers, who were initially struggling with the weather, swallowed the wine and meat, and a warm current quickly spread from their abdomens to their limbs!

Some people ate so quickly that beads of sweat even appeared on their foreheads!
The rich aroma quickly spread throughout the mountains and fields, causing Zhou Tai, standing behind Liu Miao, to unconsciously twitch his nose twice: "Your Majesty, this battle is quite extravagant!"

"What's this about extravagance? The fish and meat were caught by their families from the sea! The wine was brewed from the rice they harvested from their daily labor! What is there for you to be reluctant about?"

Zhou Tai swallowed hard, remaining silent, and simply blinked his large, ox-like eyes at Liu Miao.

"Ah!"

Liu Miao walked to a hut that had been set up on the mountain, pulled out a folding chair, and stepped onto it with a flourish.

"Alright! Stop staring at me! Come and drink with me!"

"I'm coming!"

Zhou Tai scurried over to Liu Miao, poured him a small cup, then uncorked the teapot and gulped down a huge mouthful!

"..."

Liu Miao kicked Zhou Tai in disgust: "Leave some for Zi Lie!"

"He won't drink!"

"Hurry up! Otherwise, I won't allow you to drink!"

Zhou Tai then muttered curses and poured Chen Wu another small wine cup, then stood some distance away to drink it before daring to run back to Liu Miao's side.

"Woo~~~~~"

A melodious and desolate bugle call sounded from the front.

The sound of the horn seemed to pierce through the thick fog, suddenly revealing the distinction between the turbid and the clear on the originally chaotic land.

far away.

Clusters of bright yellow flags, symbolizing the Northern Zhao's Earthly Virtue, appeared, crowding out all other colors on the plain and quickly engulfing the entire battlefield like a sandstorm.

Opposite them stood the Han army's red banners, as fiery as flames!

The banners and flags filled the sky and the fields, causing Liu Miao to lose his composure for a moment.

According to the Yin-Yang school of thought, fire can generate earth.

Liu Miao looked down at the distinct red and yellow colors in the distance.

"Yuan Shao designated the Northern Zhao as the Earth element, not only because his Runan Yuan clan originated from Gui Chen, and Gui Chen originated from Emperor Shun... but he probably meant that the Northern Zhao grew out of the corpse of the Han Dynasty."

"However, he probably doesn't know that the reason I chose the red flag is not because I still adhere to the Five Elements theory."

Liu Miao picked up his wine cup, and the warm wine flowed down his throat to his abdomen.

He casually wiped the wine that had dripped onto his beard.

"The reason I chose red is because the past, present, and future of the Han Dynasty are all dyed with the blood of the Han people!"

"And this time is clearly no exception!"

(End of this chapter)