The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Xun Zhen stood at the front of the city and looked out of the city.

Snow stopped early. From near to far, the open space under the city, the open space outside the city, the long official road, and the fields and trees in the distance are all covered in white.

In the distance, Yingshui is like a jade belt, winding and twisting, coming from the west and going to the east. Because it is living water, it does not freeze, and it reflects a bright light under the newly born morning sun.

In this boundless white, there is boundless yellow.

The whole city was besieged. In the distance, near, east, west, on official roads, in the open fields outside the city, in the fields, in the woods, except for the side of Yingshui, there are many yellow scarves soldiers in ragged clothes and armed with various weapons. Roughly calculated, at least tens of thousands of people. There are more people running from a distance, far apart, they seem to be the size of ants, but they are everywhere.

The city wall of Yangzhai is very high, standing on a high place, looking far into the distance, a word jumped into Xun Zhen's mind: "Moth."

Stand tall and the wind is cold. The heights were extremely cold, and he was cold to the bone.

Prefect Wen, Fei Chang, Zhong Yao, Han Liang, Guo Tu, etc. also came over after hearing the news and stood beside him.

Prefect Wen grabbed the battlements, stood firm, looked out of the city, and murmured, "What a moth thief." He also had a similar feeling to Xun Zhen.

Xun Zhen remembered a sentence: "Like moths going to fire, how can you be stingy when you burn yourself."

This sentence was seen somewhere in his previous life, and he forgot the source, but it seems to be very appropriate to use now.

He could see very clearly that the Yellow Turbans near the city basically did not wear armor, and few of them had serious weapons. Many of them carried agricultural implements, such as shovels and hoes. They didn't even have agricultural tools, they used bamboo guns and wooden sticks, and the equipment was extremely simple. With these weapons, there is not even a large-scale ordnance to siege the city, can you knock down a strong city like Yangzhai? Maybe they don't even believe it themselves. But they still came, like moths to a flame. Why? Because of religious fanaticism?

Xun Zhen did not think so.

"Like moths going to fire, how can they be stingy when they burn themselves." From the "fire"'s point of view, the moths are seeking their own death, but from the "moths"' point of view, isn't this the only way for them to run towards the light? Years of disasters, the court's incompetence, local corruption, tyranny and lawlessness, rebellion is a death, not rebelling is a death, it is better to fight for your life, so, knowing that it is a fire, they still come.

Xi Zhicai carefully observed the Yellow Turban army outside the city, and said, "Although there are many demon thieves, they are scattered and undisciplined, and they are not to be feared." Being able to form a line, is it where they are handsome?"

In such a short time, two or three thousand people were added outside the city.

Although there are a lot of people, but as Xi Zhicai said, more than 80% to 90% are scattered and undisciplined. Not much.

The field that only Xizhi pointed to was about five or six miles away from the city. There were a thousand or two thousand people standing there. They were quite disciplined, and compared with other people, their weapons were better. There are spears, halberds, and crossbows, and the worst is swords. Xun You's eyes were sharp, and he saw hundreds of armored soldiers and hundreds of knights with horses.

"Is that person Po Cai?"

In front of this group of people, there was a tall chariot, and a man was standing on the chariot, looking towards the city head with his sword. From time to time, people ran to the car on horseback or on foot, as if asking for instructions. After receiving the order, they returned to the original place and continued to command the siege of the city. After being reminded by Xun You, everyone watched for a while, and it was obvious that this person must be Shuai Qu of the Yellow Turban Army outside the city. The main component of the Yellow Turban Army is Taiping Road. Who else is the commander of Taiping Road in this county besides Po Cai?

Twenty or thirty drum carts were parked in a row to the left and right of the chariot that Bo Cai was standing on. There are two drummers in each drum cart. Possibly Bocai gave an order, and the drummers began to beat the drums. At first, the drums were silent because of the crowds outside the city. Gradually, the Yellow Turban soldiers who heard the drums became quiet one after another. "Tong", "Tong", "Tong", the dull drum sound clearly entered the ears of the people in the city.

The frequency of the drum sound was not fast, which coincided with the rhythm of the heartbeat. At first, I didn’t feel it. When the outside of the city was quiet, and when I listened to the unhurried drum sound, everyone clearly felt the resolute meaning contained in it.

In a trance, the boundless white and the boundless yellow seem to have become the vast sea, while Yangzhai City seems to be a small boat sailing alone.

An indescribable pressure filled everyone's mind.

Prefect Wen felt stuffy, moved his feet uneasily, and said as if he had nothing to say: "What do you want to do?"

Zhong Yao replied, "It's nothing more than a demonstration."

Bo Cai on the chariot took out his sword, pointed at the city head, and shouted.

Standing behind him, the armored soldiers, light soldiers, and knights on the left and right raised their weapons and shouted in unison: "The sky is dead, the yellow sky stands!"

Outside the city, ten or twenty thousand people danced with weapons of various colors at the same time, screaming wildly: "The sky is dead, the yellow sky stands!"

The shouting of nearly ten or twenty thousand people was deafening, and the sound stopped Xingyun, not to mention the sudden shouting after the sudden silence? The momentum is even more amazing! To say that there was a sound of spring thunder on the ground would be too small.

The people in the city just came under an indescribable pressure, and when they heard this earth-shattering shout, they were startled by Xun Zhen's courage and determination, they felt their hearts almost jumped out of their mouths, not to mention other cowardly and cowardly people. man.

Prefect Wen's legs softened, so that he didn't collapse to the ground.

Xun Zhen's eyes and hands were quick, so she hurriedly grabbed him, grabbed his arm firmly, and said in a low voice, "The Ming Palace must not fall!" If he fell to the top of the city, needless to say, the morale of the soldiers in the city would immediately drop to the bottom. For this reason, Xun Zhen had already heard the sound of crackling, and looked around to see that some of the county soldiers who were guarding the city were so frightened that they lost their weapons.

Prefect Wen was pale, clutching his chest, swaying, grabbing Xun Zhen with his backhand, and said in a trembling voice, "There are so many moth thieves, the momentum is amazing!"

Xi Zhicai was also taken aback, but he was young, reacted quickly, recovered quickly, and quickly calmed down. He smiled and said, "Bo Cai is very resourceful and knows how to get ahead. But unfortunately, it is only a small one. It's just cleverness. Do you know the Ming Palace? When he led the crowd, to be honest, I was still a little worried about whether we could defend the city, but now that he has led the bandits, I feel relieved. "

"Why?"

"Sun Tzu said: 'The teachings are unclear, the officials and soldiers are impermanent, and the soldiers are in chaos, which is called chaos.' Without training, the soldiers are not fully equipped, disciplined, and do not understand the way of battle formation. No matter how loud the shouting is, what can I do? And the grandson said: 'Be near and be far, wait for work with ease, and wait for hunger with fullness'. Outside the city There are many thieves, half of them are disheveled, their feet are weak and weak, and I don’t know how long they have been hungry. Our army is sitting in the strong city, the soldiers are well fed, and their weapons and armor are excellent; they are armed with hoes and shovels. , Hunger and cold, not our enemy."

Prefect Wen nodded again and again and said, "It's really, really!" His face became better, he let go of Xun Zhen, stood up straight, and asked Xi Zhicai again, saying, "Although the crowd of thieves is unbearable, it is better than the crowd. We are surrounded. In your opinion, what should we do now?"

Xi Zhicai glanced at Xun Zhen, and Xun Zhen nodded slightly. After this brief eye contact, the two of them understood each other's intentions, and Xi Zhicai replied to Prefect Wen, saying: "If you want to defend the city, first defend the wilderness. Today, the thieves think they are powerful, they underestimate my city, and they are rambunctious. , near the outskirts of my city, can't be ignored. In the following opinion, we should quickly send the elite soldiers out of the city to make a surprise attack, and beat them out first!"

The name of defending the city is "shou", not just "shou". Offense is the opportunity to defend, defense is the strategy of attack, and the combination of attack and defense is the right way to defend the city.

As soon as Xi Zhicai finished speaking, one person hurriedly objected and said, "You soldier Cao Shi's words are bad!"

It is Han Liang who is against the five sense rafters.

Prefect Wen asked, "What do you think of Han Qing?"

"There are so many captive soldiers, how can we fight against each other? I have few soldiers, and I am not enough to attack, and I have more than a rule. The army has arrived, and the morale is high. Our army does not know whether it is true or not. If we go into battle rashly, we may lose. The plan should be stick to first, and then think strategically."

Han Liang is old, and he is not as energetic as Xi Zhi, but his words also have some truth.

After all, no matter how undisciplined or poorly armed the Yellow Turbans are, there are still 20,000 people, and so far, there are still people coming from all directions.

There are only 3,000 county guards in the city, and there are four walls that need to be defended. In addition to the bravery Zhong Yao has recruited in the past few days and some of the guests and disciples contributed by the big households in the city, there are only 1,000 people on each wall. In the guards, there are fewer mobile troops left, less than a thousand people. With such a small amount of manpower, it may be enough to defend the city, but it is far from enough to fight outside the city.

Note: If you beat the old master with random fists, the ants will eat elephants if you have more ants. If there are too many people sent out, it will weaken the city defense; if there are fewer people sent out, it is very likely that they will be swallowed by tens of thousands of yellow scarves as Han Liang said. Once the first battle is lost, it will be a big blow to the morale of the army and the people.

Zhong Yao, Du You, Guo Jun and others didn't know much about military affairs. After listening to what Xi Zhicai and Han Liang said, they felt that what they said was reasonable. Prefect Wen also hesitated, not knowing who to listen to.

Fei Chang agreed with Han Liang's opinion very much, and said hurriedly: "What Han Cao Rong said is very true! There are many thieves and soldiers, and our army has few generals. At this time, it is time to stick to it and not to attack! The court should I have received the urgent report sent by the Ming Palace before, and maybe reinforcements will arrive soon, instead of taking a risk, why not stick to the city and wait for foreign aid?"

Xun You disagreed. He was timid on the outside and brave on the inside, and he didn't talk much in front of unfamiliar people. At this time, he couldn't help it. He turned from behind Xun Zhen and said, "Fei Cheng's words are ridiculous!"

Prefect Wen asked, "Why?"

Xun You said: "Mo Tzu said: 'Anyone who defends the city is to injure the enemy urgently, and it will last for a long time to wait for rescue. If you don't know what the defender is, if you can do this, you can defend the city.' How can we avoid fighting without fighting, and wait for reinforcements? If this is the case, it will increase the enemy's fighting spirit and destroy our own prestige, our army's morale will decline, and the city cannot be defended!"

He pointed to the county guards on the top of the city, and said to Prefect Wen: "The bandit soldiers just shouted loudly, and many of the county guards were so frightened that they lost their weapons. When the two armies clashed, what were they fighting? It was a 'stance'! There are many thieves and soldiers, and they have already surpassed me in terms of strength. After shouting, they will win again. At this time, if our army is just holding on, and refuses to take the initiative to attack, then the fighting spirit of the captured soldiers will become firm first. Secondly, those in the county who are watching the victory or defeat and who have not yet turned away from the thieves may also join them. In this way, the momentum of the thieves will become stronger, the momentum of our army will become weaker, and the county will become stronger. Hard to guarantee."

"Makes sense, makes sense."

"So, in my opinion, what Cao Shi, the right soldier, said is justified. It is precisely because there are so many thieves and soldiers that we have to give them a head-on attack. Only by giving them a head-on attack, the thieves' strength is small, the city can be defended. ."

"However, there are so many thieves and soldiers, if it is true as Han Qing said, our army will lose?"

Xun You said, "Just like what Cao Shi of the Right Soldier said: Although the captive soldiers are prosperous, they are arrogant and not organized, and they are not to be feared."

Prefect Wen was still hesitant, and said, "But there are only 3,000 soldiers in the county. If you lose, and the thieves take advantage of the situation to attack the city, what should you do?"

Xun Zhen heard what he meant and knew that he had been persuaded by Xun You and Xi Zhicai, so those who were still hesitating were just worried that if the commander failed to go out of the city, there would be damage, and it would not be good for defending the city, so he stepped forward now. When he got out of the queue, he said in a deep voice: "What Cao Shi and Gongda of the right soldiers have said is very true. Today, the thieves are just arriving, the crowd is not neat, and the army has no formation. This is a good opportunity for our army to attack. When the guests go out to battle, ask the Ming government to lead the county guards to sit and guard. If you win, the thieves will be frustrated, and I will be able to defend the city;

Just as he had guessed, Prefect Wen was indeed persuaded by Xun You and Xi Zhicai, and he was only worried that the county guard would be damaged.

...

Xun Zhen summoned Xu Zhong, Wen Pin, Jiang Qin, Chen Bao, Liu Deng, Cheng Yan, Xiao Ren, Gao Su, Feng Gong and others to come forward.

The drums in the Yellow Turbans stopped, and the Yellow Turban soldiers started clamoring again, with a loud voice.

Wenpin was eager to try and asked, "Xunjun, should we attack Bocai's main formation directly, or should we first sweep away the bandits on the outskirts of the city?"

Xun Zhen watched for a moment, but instead of calling for him to leave the city immediately, he asked Prefect Wen to give an order: "Please order all the ministries in the city and Quyan to silence the flags, bow down under the battlements, and don't show their heads."

Everyone was stunned and did not understand what he meant. Only Xi Zhicai and Xun You understood it, and Zhong Yao and Du You were clever and quickly understood what he meant. Zhong Yao said, "Is the soldier Cao Rong trying to show the enemy's weakness first?"

Wen Taishou came to his senses and sent an order urgently, ordering the guards to silence the flag and stoop to hide.

Xun Zhen and others also bowed down and quietly watched the movement outside the city.

It didn't take long for the Yellow Turbans outside the city to discover the strangeness in the city. They were inexplicable at first, and then someone shouted: "The guard has escaped! The guard has escaped!" Thousands of people looked at the city head, and countless people waved their weapons and shouted: "The guard has escaped! The guard has escaped. !" A wave of young marshals rushed to the front of Bo Cai's chariot and requested to launch a siege.

Originally, the Yellow Turban soldiers closest to the city were also a mile or two outside the moat. Seeing that there were no guards and flags above the city, they thought that the city was timid, but the guards really escaped, and their courage was multiplied. Hundreds of people swarmed up. , gathered by the river, shouting and shouting.

Xun Zhen said in her heart, "It's about time."

He said to Prefect Wen: "After Zhen leaves the city, please send the Ming government to order the troops to rebuild the flag and help me beat drums!"

Prefect Wen complied.

Xun Zhen led Xu Zhong, Wen Pin and others, and went down to the city head.

The guests under his door and the more than 100 li people trained by Fanyang Pavilion are inside the city gate.

Xiao Ren led his mount.

He got on his horse, ordered ten big and small su, big and small high, a total of 100 people, his eyes swept across the faces of Xu Zhong, Wen Pin, Jiang Qin, Gao Su, Feng Gong and others, and ordered: "Jun Qing, Bo Qin and A Deng followed me out of the city. Zhong Ye, A Bao, A Yan and Xiao Ren met me at the gate of the city. Gao Su and Feng Gong led your guests to guard the gate and beat the drums for me. If I fail, hurry up and cover. City gate!"

The order was like a mountain, and everyone took it in awe.

Xun Zhen also said to the hundreds of people who fought in the battle of Su and Gao: "The thieves are arrogant and untidy, the weapons are simple, and although the number is large, they are idiots! Wherever the flag of our army points, it is the direction of the attack. I will not retreat, whoever retreats first~www.wuxiaspot.com~ will die!" He asked someone to fetch a red flag, so Liu Deng raised it and shouted, "Open the city gate!"

The city gate opened slowly.

He took the lead, Liu Deng followed closely, Xu Zhong and Jiang Qin followed, and a hundred people left the city.

Feng Gong and Gao Su put out two war drums and beat the drums themselves. Seeing that they had left the city, Prefect Wen also urgently ordered the trio who had lowered the flag to raise the flag again, and ordered all the troops to beat the drums of war in unison.

When the Yellow Turban soldiers outside the city heard the sound of the drums, they raised their heads, turned their faces, raised their feet, or climbed to a high place. They looked to the place where the drums were loudest, and saw a young general with a spear facing the morning sun. , drove his horse out of the city gate, a bright red flag fluttered behind him, and behind the red flag were a hundred armored soldiers. This small team went out of the city and rushed towards them without hesitation, heading straight for the moat.

On the top of the city, Wen Taishou and others came to watch the city, and saw Xun Zhen and other hundreds of people rushed through the moat along the bridge without caring for their lives, just like a sharp arrow from the string that drilled straight into the hundreds of yellow turban soldiers on the other side of the river. These hundreds of Yellow Turban soldiers were rushed and unprepared, and most of them were peasants, not opponents at all. Xun Zhen kept running, holding his spear and screaming, and continued to charge into the distance.

In the distance, there are thousands of Yellow Turbans all over the mountains and fields; in the distance, there are countless follow-up Yellow Turbans still gathering from all directions in the west.

The Yellow Turban soldiers did not expect that someone would suddenly leave the city to attack. After a brief panic, the soldiers from farther and farther came to Xun Zhen one after another. The drums beating next to Pocai's chariot sounded again. The yellow flags were everywhere, and the drums of war shook the sky. On the snowy ground in a radius of dozens of miles, the Yellow Turban soldiers were like waves of huge waves. The waves in front arrived, and the waves rose again, overwhelming the sky and covering the sky, drowning Xun Zhen and others almost in a moment.

Prefect Wen was dazzled, and it didn't take long for him to tell who Xun Zhen was. He could only see: in the white snow, in the yellow turban, a red flag was always held high, and it was going forward.