The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Huangfu Song was a kind person who cared about his soldiers. After the military meeting, he still did not rest, and regardless of the fatigue of the journey, he immediately went to patrol the camp to inspect the situation of the soldiers in the camp. After the tents were all set up, the soldiers had eaten and settled in the camp, he returned to the handsome tent that had been built for him earlier, ate some food and went to sleep.

This behavior of Huangfu Song is similar to that of Xun Zhenen, which is related to the tradition of the Han family. In order for the generals to not only have "general power", but also "general morality", they must "treat their soldiers as babies" and "see them as their beloved sons". , the only way to make the ministries effective. Most of the famous generals of the Han Dynasty have done a good job in this regard. Huangfu Song has been in charge of the door for generations, taught by the words and deeds of his father and ancestors, and he has done an excellent job in this regard, "very popular".

Xun Zhen returned to her camp and chatted with Xi Zhicai. When they talked about it, the two sighed with emotion.

Xi Zhicai said: "Zhu Gong ruled the army with strictness, while General Huangfu ruled the army warmly. Li Guang and Cheng Bushi of the former Han were both famous generals in Bianjun County. , Cheng did not know the vexation of governing the army, and his ranks were neat. Today, General Huangfu has the leniency of Li Guang, but watching him set up a police camp, he also has the vexation of Cheng Buzhi. also!"

Xun Zhen agreed and said to himself, "Huangfu Song is a famous general in the world, and now I am fortunate to be able to fight against him. I should take this opportunity to learn a few tricks."

When it comes to Confucianism, the Huangfu family is far inferior to the Xun family, and when it comes to governing the army and fighting, the Xun family is not as good as the Huangfu family. Although Xun Zhen has read a lot of military books, and gained some experience in managing the army from books and movies in her previous life, it is not easy to get it on paper. Everyone knows how to get grace and power. It is very simple. It is not difficult to practice in peacetime or to charge in wartime. What is difficult is the specific camp affairs, the daily chores, the eating, drinking, and sleeping of the entire army. It's not easy to manage. He only has about 3,000 troops now, and it is very difficult to manage it. However, Huangfu Song led more than 30,000 cavalry. Going down will bring the whole army in order. This is what Wu Zi said: "The covenant, the decree is saved and not troublesome".

Han Xin ordered soldiers, the more the better, but not everyone was Han Xin. With Xun Zhen's age, knowledge, experience, and talent, now he can bring two or three thousand troops, at most three or four thousand. Can't care. Such people as Xu Zhong, Jiang Qin, Liu Deng, Gao Su, and Chen Bao had no experience in leading troops before. Although they had heard Xun Zhen teach them some military books when they were in Xixiang, they had never practiced them. , Three or four hundred people is the limit. Xu Zhong had the largest number of soldiers, four songs, four hundred people, half armoured soldiers and half crossbowmen. In fact, it was very difficult for him to bring these people. Usually, he always follows Xun Zhen, and these days he spends most of his time in his own camp.

Xun Zhen was aware of this problem, but now she is fighting with Bo Cai and He Man, so she has no time to pay attention to it. He was going to wait until after the war to take time out to train his generals. Only one bottle of water can teach half a bottle of water. Before training, he has to learn something from Huangfu Song.

After resting for a day and a night, at noon the next day, Huangfu Song beat the drums of war, and stood on a makeshift general platform with Zhu Jun, Prefect Wen, Wei Xiaowei and other generals to convene the troops of the three armies.

The meeting place was chosen in an open space outside the township of Tonche, and more than 40,000 riders came out of the camp.

Xun Zhen and Sun Jian each led their headquarters and stood at the far left of the troops. The left side of the army refers to the generals, but it is the right side when it comes to the soldiers and soldiers. Can not be compared with "Master Wang", the position is the lowest, so it is on the left.

When Huangfu Song saw Xun Zhen and the others yesterday, he was pleasant and amiable. Today, he is standing on the platform in armor, with a crimson cape hanging on his shoulders. , standing upright, looking from the far left to the far right, at the end withdrew your gaze and said: "You are all loyal and brave for our Han family. The demons are in chaos, causing harm to the county and the country. The tragic situation in Yangcheng, Yangzhai, Xiangcheng, and Fucheng counties, ten rooms and five empty rooms, dead bodies on the road, children displaced, homes burned down, ..." He pointed to the distant fields, "The young crops in the wild are unattended. The people of Yingchuan are suffering! Yingchuan is only a stone’s throw away from the capital. Most of you are the people of the capital and the warriors of Sanhe. If you can’t defeat the Yingchuan thieves this time, they will surely enter the capital and Sanhe. At that time, your homeland will become like this. Will you promise?"

More than 40,000 troopers responded loudly, "No!"

"It is fortunate that Duke Wen, the prefect of Yingchuan, and a cadre of officials in the county held on to Yangzhai, which made the thieves have no way to advance, so they had to turn south, in order to merge with the thieves in Runan and Nanyang. The thieves in Runan and Nanyang were very strong. If you let them join forces, the thieves will be unstoppable! Don't you think that if Runan and Nanyang are far from the capital and Sanhe, your home will be safe and sound. Let me ask, if the thieves cannot be controlled, they are attacking you. What will happen after the entire county of Nan and Nanyang?"

More than 40,000 troopers watched Huangfu Song and listened to what he said.

Huangfu Song looked around the stage and said loudly: "They will definitely attack Yingchuan again, and then attack the plundered capital and Sanhe! At that time, the thieves were sharp and sharp, can you still keep your home?"

More than 40,000 troopers answered in unison: "I can't keep it!"

"So, when we save Yingchuan, Runan, and Nanyang, we are saving the capital, saving Sanhe, saving your homeland, and saving your parents, wives, and relatives! The thieves were trapped in Wuyang yesterday. It will soon go south to Runan or Nanyang, the time is not for me, gentlemen! If we cannot annihilate them before they go south, Nanyang and Runan will not be protected, and the capital and Sanhe will be in danger! Then your homeland will be in danger. We were burned and looted! Before we left the capital, General Lu and Zong had brought tens of thousands of people to Jizhou to attack the first thief Zhangjiao, the second-generation famous generals of Lu and Zong. If they went to Jizhou, they would surely be able to pacify Zhang in a few days. Jiao, it is said that the first person entered the capital, so you don’t have to worry that the thieves will attack the capital and Sanhe from Jizhou. In this way, the only way for the thieves to enter the capital is from Yingchuan.”

Huangfu Song took out his sword, pointed to the blue sky, and said proudly, "To protect our homeland, do you dare to fight to the death?"

More than 40,000 cavalrymen, the knights raised their horses and halberds, the halberdiers raised their halberds, the spearmen raised their spears, the crossbowmen drew their sabers, raised them to the sky, and shouted in unison, "To protect our homeland, dare to fight to the death!"

Xun Zhen also took out his sword, pointed to the sky, shouted loudly, and thought in his heart: "Huangfu Song is approaching the battle to encourage the soldiers, not to say 'loyalty', but to start with the vital interests of the soldiers and use their parents, wives, relatives to encourage them to fight. It's a good idea."

Most of the troops led by Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were temporary recruits from the capital Zhuangyong and Sanhe Knights, not regular troops. Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were ordered in a critical situation. The old soldier obeyed the command obediently, and fought the enemy to the death. Most of these minions were common people before they joined the army, and they were not as useful as the nearly 1,000 iron officials and disciples under Xun Zhen's subordinates. When facing the battle, one is "loyalty" and "death in battle", the other is "escape" and "survival", more than 80% of people will choose the latter.

Therefore, at this time, if you want them to fight to the death, you can only use the safety of their relatives and clans, and use their family property and fields to motivate them.

In this battle, Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun and other generals fought for loyalty, and their subordinates fought for their homeland.

Once the oath is over, the whole army is ready to go.

Zhu Jun's group came early and was familiar with geography, so they would go first, and Huangfu Song would lead the main group to follow. Sun Jian and Xun Zhen were with Zhu Jun.

Jinche Township is not far from Shushui. It is more than ten miles away, and it is not far away. It has reached the river.

Zhu Jun sent 3,000 people to the river with soil bags yesterday, pretending to be crossing the river, in order to contain He Man in Kunyang City. Although he did not actually cross the river, he had cut off the upstream water. The last time the flow was cut off was at night, and I was in a hurry to cross the river, so it was not completely cut off. There was still water in the river at that time. This time, the time was sufficient, and the upstream water was completely cut off, revealing the wet bottom of the river.

Seeing that Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song came with the main force, the officers who led the troops out of the camp yesterday greeted them. Zhu Jun ordered his troops to temporarily stay by the river, waiting for Huangfu Song, and took Sun Jian, Xun Zhen and others to the river to watch.

The water in the upper reaches was cut off last night. Today, the sun has been drying for a long time. Although the soil at the bottom of the river is still wet and muddy, it is much stronger than last time.

Zhu Jun personally went down to the river and took two steps. He tried it out and was quite satisfied. When he returned to the shore, he said to Xun Zhen and Sun Jian, "Not only can the foot soldiers walk, but the knights can also gallop past!"

Xun Zhen and Sun Jian also went down to try it, and came back and replied, "That's true."

Zhu Jun asked the officer, "Did the 5,000 thieves deployed by Bo Cai and He Man on the other side of the river come out again after returning to Kunyang last night?"

Yesterday, when the officer led his troops to the river, there were still 5,000 people stationed by Bo Cai and He Man on the other side of the river. The two troops faced each other across the river. After nightfall, about two watch, the troops withdrew back to Kunyang. . This officer was able to cut off the upper class. He shook his head and said, "No more coming out."

Zhu Jun raised his head and looked at Kunyang City, which was more than ten kilometers away on the other side of the river. Although it was far away, he could only see the outline of the city, but the noisy voices of people in the city could be vaguely heard even on the river side. , at this time, there was no sound at all. The city will be heavily guarded. Zhu Jun asked again, "Did the thief He Man send troops to Wuyang last night?"

"no."

"He Man transferred the 5,000 thieves on the other side back to the city, and did not go to Wuyang." Zhu Jun sneered and said, "It seems that he intends to defend Kunyang and fight our army to the death."

Just as Xi Zhicai and Huangfu Song judged, He Man was afraid of being attacked by the Han army.

Standing behind Zhu Jun, Xun Zhen also looked at Kunyang from afar, and thought: "Because of the arrival of Huangfu Song, Yingchuan Yellow Turbans are divided into two cities, and they cannot join forces. Kunyang is not a worry, and can be captured sooner or later, now the only worry is I don’t know how Wuyang’s waves will react?”

Thinking of this, he unconsciously remembered what Huangfu Song said yesterday. Huangfu Song said: If Bo Cai left He Man and escaped by himself, it would save the Han army a lot of trouble. He thought to himself, "Huangfu Song's words may be just to ease the generals, but it's true. If Bo Cai escaped alone, our army would save a lot of energy in fighting Kunyang, and we could go all out, but if he If he doesn't want to flee first, he will definitely come to rescue when our army attacks Kunyang. If he only sends three to five thousand people to rescue him, that's all. What if he personally brings the whole army to rescue? Ten to twenty thousand people, It's a little trouble."

However, this is just a "little trouble".

It should be noted that before crossing the Shushui, the Yellow Turbans occupied the geographical advantage. After crossing the Shushui, although He Man had Kunyang as the basis, he became the Han army occupied the geographical advantage, because it was like the Fucheng and Kunyang separated by the river. Like each other, there is also a river between Kunyang and Wuyang called Lishui, which is also a tributary of Rushui.

With this Lishui, Bocai and He Man used to stop the Han army from crossing the river to attack Kunyang on the other side of the Lishui, but now it has become that the Han army can stop Bocai from crossing the river on the Lishui side to save Kunyang. .

When He Man retreated into the city, the Han army had no worries, and after Huangfu Song arrived, all the troops crossed the river.

More than 40,000 footsteps, and it took more than an hour to cross the river.

After crossing the river, according to the plan made in the military meeting yesterday, first send troops to the shore of Lishui to stop the waves and then come to save Kunyang. Because the cavalry is not needed when attacking the city, but it is very useful when blocking the enemy from crossing the river. Therefore, this army is mainly composed of the Sanhe Knights under Zhu Jun, supplemented by 2,000 foot soldiers under Huangfu Song, and the Yue Cavalry Battalion. Wei Xiaowei is the main general.

After the division of troops, Wei Xiaowei led his troops to the bank of Lishui, and Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun rushed to Kunyang with the remaining 35,000 or 6,000 men.

Before dark, the main force of Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun arrived five miles outside Kunyang City and stopped to build a camp.

There is no large wasteland outside Kunyang City, and there is no other way but to build camps in the fields. After planning the lower camp area, tens of thousands of soldiers either cut wood to collect soil, or dug trenches, and they went to work in full swing.

After Huangfu Song made arrangements for the camp, he said to Zhu Jun, Prefect Wen, Xun Zhen, Sun Jian and others, "Let's go before it gets dark, and we'll go down to the city to have a look."

Everyone had no objection, and brought two battalions of knights to the city to observe the enemy. Going forward two or three miles, at a place less than two miles away from Kunyang City, everyone stopped their horses and looked at the city from afar.

Under the vast twilight, the city walls of Kunyang City towered high, and the city gates were closed. There was no one outside the city, and the suspension bridge over the moat had already been lifted high. Thousands of soldiers are densely arranged on the top of the city, and they are attached to weapons of various colors, and they are also watching them from a distance in the city. Among them, there are a few people in armor or beautiful clothes, who should be the commander of the army, Qu Shuai or Xiaoshuai, and I don't know if He Man is among them.

Huangfu Song watched for a long time and smiled slightly.

There are too many guards at the head of Kunyang City, far better than when Yang Zhai was guarding the city earlier. Prefect Wen looked terrified and asked, "Why is the general laughing?"

"The thieves won't defend the city."

"Why did you see it?"

Huangfu Song pointed to the left and said with a smile: "The trees in the fields have not been cut, isn't this reserved for us as siege equipment?"

If you want to defend the city, you must first cut down and demolish the trees and houses outside the city, one is to prevent the enemy from taking materials on the spot to make siege equipment, and the other is to prevent the enemy from using it as a cover and launching surprise attacks at night. When Xun Zhen was guarding Yangzhai, the trees and houses outside Yangzhai County were cut down and demolished. Zhong Yao led people to do it.

Zhu Jun nodded and said, "There is a wild pavilion not far from where our army is camping. Next to the wild pavilion is a village. Although the pavilion and the interior are empty, the pavilions and houses are intact. , they should have been torn down long ago, wouldn't it be convenient for us to set up camp?"

Huangfu pointed at the head of the city again, and smiled again: "The head of the city does not see Qudu, nor Lin Shi, but only hoisted the mere suspension bridge. With such precautions, how can I stop me from riding with more than 30,000 paces? It's easy to break it!"

"Qu Du" is two things, one is "can" and the other is "answer", which are two kinds of defense equipment. "Mozi" says: "There are two steps on the city and one canal. The vertical distance is three feet long, the crown is ten feet long, and the arm is six feet long. Two steps and one answer, nine feet wide and twelve feet wide." "Canal" is an approximately upright thing, and "A" is an approximately horizontal thing. "Qu" stretched his arm to stab, and "A" stabbed with a horizontal spear. These two things are similar to the caltrops of later generations, but they are much larger than the caltrops of later generations. When Xun Zhen was guarding Yangzhai, because the siege of Bocai was too fast, he did not have time to make too many preparations, so he could not arrange the "canal answer" as Mozi said "two steps and one canal, two steps and one answer". ”, but there are also several key places in the city, and now, although He Man and others have seen this kind of defensive equipment under Yangzhai City, they have not arranged any of them in the city. This may be because they I don't know why this thing, can't use it, can't do it.

Lin Shi, roughly equivalent to a trebuchet, "can be thrown into a man's stone". Xun Zhen didn't arrange this thing when he was guarding Yangzhai, not because he didn't want to use it, but because Yingchuan had not been disturbed by troops for many years, the city defense was loose, the equipment was incomplete, and the county did not have it.

After listening to Huangfu Song's words, everyone nodded and said yes.

Zhu Jun looked at the city head and said contemptuously: "The few people in the city head are in fine armor and beautiful clothes, they should be the thief soldiers Qu Shuai. The armored ones don't matter. When the enemy is about to fight, those two thieves are wearing beautiful clothes. It's ridiculous. ."

The crowd also felt amused and burst into laughter.

Sun Jian and Xun Zhen rode side by side. He smiled and said to Xun Zhen: "Brother Xian, the thieves are so unbearable, this Kunyang City may be broken with a single blow! After crossing the river that night, the lieutenant generals called you and I the same name, saying 'Sun Yu Xun Hu' I'm a mammoth, you're a milk tiger. When we attack the city tomorrow, do you and I want to compete with who can get there first?"

Xun Zhen smiled and said: "Brother is brave, but Zhen is not as good. When we attack the city in the future, Zhen will drum and cheer for brother!"

Sun Jian laughed.

Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun looked back and asked, "What is Wentai laughing at?"

"I just discussed with Zhenzhi, and said that when we attack the city in the future, we will see which of us can go first." Sun Jian jumped off his horse, bowed his hands and asked for orders, and said, "Two generals, please be the pioneers of the siege!"

Huangfu Song asked Xun Zhen with a smile, and said, "Zhenzhi, doesn't Wentai want to compete with you on who can get on first? Now that Wentai is the vanguard, why are you sitting still?"

Xun Zhen dismounted from the horse, saluted respectfully, and said, "Sima Jiangdong Tiger is beyond the reach of Zhen."

It's good to be called "heroic", but it's not good to be considered "brave" and a hero, this is not what Xun Zhen wants. Therefore, he is unwilling to compete with Sun Jian who can ascend first.

Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun laughed in unison, and everyone laughed along with them.

This visit to the enemy eased the tension before the war, and everyone relaxed a lot.

Xun Zhen glanced at Huangfu Song's smiling face, and said to herself: "One piece of a relaxation, civil and martial arts. Before leaving Jinche Township, Huangfu Song used 'protect the family' to boost morale, and when he arrived outside Kunyang City, he pretended to despise the enemy and To resolve the pre-war tension of the generals, this is the way to lead the army well." I remembered a sentence from a previous life: "Tactically attach importance to the enemy, tactically despise the enemy." In ancient and modern China and abroad, there is only one way to use soldiers. Those who are good at using soldiers may have different summaries of how to use them in language, but the meanings are ever-changing and inseparable from the same origin.

...

Huangfu Song despised the enemy~www.wuxiaspot.com~ but was very strict in the specific siege arrangements.

After seeing the enemy's situation, he returned to the army. After discussion, Zhu Jun led his troops to attack the east and west walls of Kunyang City. Huangfu Song divided 5,000 troops to attack the north city wall, and personally led more than 20,000 people to attack the south city wall.

Sun Jian competed to be the vanguard, Huangfu Song agreed, and he was transferred from Zhu Jun's department to lead the attack first. Xun Zhen followed Zhu Jun to feign attack, and he was in charge of the east city wall.

The plan was agreed, and the troops camped outside the city, rested overnight, and began to attack the city in the afternoon of the next day.

——

1. Huangfu Song was a gentle man.

"Song warmly treated the soldiers and soldiers, and was very affectionate. Every time the army stopped, the tents had to be erected, and then the tents were put down. The soldiers all ate, but they tasted the food. There are officials who are bribed because of their affairs, and Song even pays money and goods. If you give it, the officials will feel ashamed, or even commit suicide."

This "officer" is also worth mentioning. He committed suicide because of embarrassment, which is rare in other dynasties except for the "extremely good-looking" Han Dynasty. "Good face" is a good thing, knowing etiquette, righteousness and shame.