The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

First more.

——

It was the beginning of April, and before we knew it, the season of early summer had arrived.

The weather in April is neither too cold nor too hot. It is near the river, and the night wind is blowing slowly, which is very refreshing.

The fragrance of flowers in the night breeze is a very poetic thing, but it is not a good thing to put it into this season. In a normal year, the wind in April should bring the fragrance of wheat, but because of the battle of Chu Feiyan and Zhang Niujiao, the fields were deserted and weeds were overgrown.

At the beginning of last year, Zhang Jiao revolted. In March of this year, Zhang Niujiao and Chu Feiyan revolted. The people of Jizhou are really suffering from the war.

"Last year, there was no harvest. The wheat seeds were just planted in February this year. In March, Zhang Niujiao and Chu Feiyan made trouble." Lined up, looking at the wilderness outside the camp, "The wheat seedlings haven't grown and become deserted. ... I'm afraid this year will be another year of poor harvest."

"The Bohai and other counties in the east of the state have heard that there are no large groups of thieves in chaos. At least there is some harvest there, which is much better than last year."

"I hope so." Xun You was silent for a while, then gently sang a Jizhou folk song that no one wrote the lyrics, "'The world is in chaos and the city is ruined, the mother does not protect the child, the wife loses her husband, and it is the emperor's return to live in peace' ."

This folk song appeared last year after Huangfu Song asked the imperial court to reduce or exempt taxes in Jizhou. Once it appeared, it quickly spread. It was sung by almost everyone, regardless of men, women, old or weak, and could be heard everywhere in Jizhou.

Young people are always full of admiration for heroes. Xu Ji, who usually does not talk much, his eyes lit up after hearing Xun You sing this ballad, and he said sincerely: "General Huangfu is both civil and military, loves the people like a son, Jizhou last year It's a blessing to have him as the state shepherd."

"Yes. If General Huangfu was still in Jizhou, Zhang Niujiao and Chu Feiyan would definitely not dare to make trouble."

Huangfu Song is now the number one general of the Han Dynasty, breaking the Yuzhou Yellow Turban, Yanzhou Yellow Turban, and Jizhou Yellow Turban. As pointed out by the soldiers, he is invincible in battle. In the battle of Julu and Xia Quyang, he has won hundreds of thousands of battles. The corpse, the head of the owl, sent the capital to the capital, and built the capital with the heads of countless yellow turban soldiers.

Xuankang interjected and said, "Although General Huangfu has gone to Chang'an, there are still lieutenants in Jizhou! With the lieutenants here, the rebellion between Chu Feiyan and Zhang Niujiao will be quelled sooner or later." Since Xun Zhen was appointed as the postal supervisor in the northern part of Yingchuan County, Xuankang has been working at night. Following him, Xun Zhen patiently taught Xuan Kang how to rule the government and lead the army. The two of them were called "monarch and minister", and they were actually "teacher and student". Xuan Kang had great confidence in Xun Zhen.

A few of their literati chatted in a low voice outside the camp, discussing the chaos, while Xin Ai, Jiang Qin, Liu Deng, Wen Pin and other military officials commanded their troops to gather in the camp and prepare to cross the river.

Xun Zhen was stationed at the horse in the middle of the night, looking to the northwest.

To the northwest was the direction of the Floodwater. Li Xiang had already led the troops from the headquarters and hundreds of civilians to go first, rushing to the river to build a pontoon bridge.

The water is about tens of feet wide. Although the river is not turbulent, it is very deep and cannot be crossed on foot. After Xun Zhen led his troops to the river, he tried to send people to collect ferries a few days ago, but most of the ferries were burned by the thieves on the other side, and only a few small fishing boats were obtained, far from enough for three thousand cavalry and two. Thousands of people and hundreds of trucks crossed the river, so a pontoon bridge had to be built.

Xun Zhen ordered Xuan Kang and Xun Cheng, who was also in charge of logistics, to prepare the materials for building the pontoon.

——When Xun Zhen first launched the army, the logistics was managed by Xun Cheng. Later, Xun Cheng returned to Yingyin under his order. During this period, the logistics were managed by Li Bo and Xuankang for a while. After returning from Yingyīn, the logistical work was transferred to him again.

From the position of Xunzhen, you can't see the water that is miles away, but you can see the sparks of fire on both sides of the water.

The fire on the other side belonged to the thief camp. According to the report from the scouts, there was no one in the thief camp on the other side. These fire lights were specially left by them before they left to confuse Xun Zhen. The fire on the shore was the torches of Li Xiang's soldiers and the hundreds of civilians.

"What time is it?"

Dian Wei glanced at the large leaky pot placed at the gate of the camp, and replied, "It's five quarters of the second watch."

"Zhongqing, go to the river and see if Li Yuanqin has built a pontoon bridge."

Yuan Zhongqing took the order, brought two personal soldiers, set up torches, and galloped to the river.

"Uncle Hou, go and urge Yulang, Boqin, A Deng, and Zhongye, and tell them that the whole army will move out in a quarter of an hour."

Zuo Bohou received the order and galloped back to the camp to urge the people of Xin Ai.

Xun Zhen turned around and summoned Xun You to the front, and asked, "Has the messenger returned?"

There was a river between Xun Zhen’s team and the bandit soldiers. Although he knew that Chu Feiyan and other bandits had withdrawn, they could not pursue them in a short time. Therefore, in order to prevent the defenders in the city from not knowing about this and delaying the war opportunity, he sent a few messengers to go there. Notify the city of the enemy situation "The thieves have withdrawn".

Xun You shook his head and said, "Not yet."

Xun Zhen looked into the distance, and could faintly see the sparse firelight on the Yingtao city several miles away on the opposite bank. He listened for a long time, but did not hear the sound of soldiers and horses fighting. He thought regretfully: "The thieves have attacked Yingtaoduo one after another. The defenders have been exhausted for a long time, and I didn't think that the bandit soldiers would retreat tonight, so they were unprepared." It is late at night, and it is very easy to cause trouble when retreating at night, not to mention the lack of training bandit soldiers are well-trained If the Han soldiers were suddenly attacked when they were retreating at night, the three armies would be in chaos.

A quarter of an hour soon arrived. Xin Ai, Jiang Qin, Liu Deng, Wen Pin, and Gao Su finished their assembly within the time specified by Xun Zhen, and more than 2,000 cavalrymen lined up at the camp's gate.

Fearing that Chu Feiyan and the others would escape, Xun Zhen hurriedly crossed the river to pursue him. He didn't say much. He only galloped around in front of the cavalry and gave the order, "Go on!"

Riding in the front, the husband and the carriage behind, thousands of people and horses holding torches, like a fire dragon, rush to the south bank of the Mishui.

On the way, he met Yuan Zhongqing who was returning, and he reported to Xun Zhen, "Li Xiang has built a pontoon bridge."

"What about the others?"

"He asked the villain to report to the lieutenant: 'The thieves on the other side have been gone for a long time. In order to chase the thieves, I can't wait for the lieutenant and his troops to arrive'. He has already taken his troops to cross the river first."

"very good."

Xun Zhen Chuan ordered to go, and ordered all the troops to speed up their march. When they reached the river, they were greeted by the hundreds of people who were left by Li Xiang on the bank. water.

Xun Zhen didn't have time to wait for the people behind and the trucks to cross the river, leaving Xun Cheng and 200 men and horses to sit by the river, bringing the middle and rear troops to bypass the empty camp left by the thieves on the other side, and rushed to the foot of Yingtao City. .

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Dian Wei walked behind Xun Zhen.

Xun Zhen looked back at the three of them and saw that Zhang Fei was very excited, Zhao Yun clenched the handle of the spear, Guan Yu seemed to be as usual, but from the fact that he forgot to bring his beard bag, it could be seen that he was also excited about this night attack. Jump yù try.

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun are all tiger generals, and their blood is born with the element of war. For such people who were born for war, if they want to gain their allegiance, it is not enough to just give them respect, but also give them a place to use their strengths.

Xun Zhen galloped against the wind, summoned the three of them to come forward, and said with a smile, "Yunchang, Yide, Zilong, there are tens of thousands of thieves in front of you, would you like to strike first?"

Zhang Fei replied loudly, "It's just what you want, I don't dare to ask for your ears!"

Zhang Fei studied Poetry and Classics from his teacher when he was young. Although he is a martial artist, his cultural attainments are not low.

Zhao Yun replied loudly, "Yes, please fight the thief for the lieutenant!"

"Okay!"

Xun Zhen sent Xin Ai, ordering him to divide a hundred cavalry and hand them over to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Zhao Yun had his own definition to follow. He ordered the three of them to go west to chase the bandit soldiers, and ordered Xin Ai to take the remaining knights to the east. Chase thieves.

Guan Yu rode the horse with one hand, freeing one hand to caress the beard, looked at the night in front of him, and hummed: "Why do you need to follow on foot, one horse and one spear is enough!"

Xun Zhen smiled and said, "A little bit of a knight, make a big voice for Yun Changzhuang."

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun gave a military salute to Xun Zhen, and took the hundred cavalry and dozens of true definitions from the horse to the west, and left without a trace. Xin Ai and the rest of the knights drove their horses to the east and chased away.

Because they didn't know where Chu Feiyan and the others were going, they couldn't just chase in one direction and score troops to pursue them. After the two cavalry troops left, Xun Zhen led the infantry to the north along the footprints left by Li Xiang's troops.

Not far away, I saw a few corpses in the fields by the roadside. From a distance, their clothes and armor seemed to be soldiers under Xun Zhen's command. Xun Zhen was overjoyed and said, "Has Li Xiang caught up with the bandits?"

Yuan Zhongqing went immediately, took a close look, turned his horse to return, and reported to Xun Zhen: "Lieutenant, it is the messengers who were sent to inform the city that the thieves have escaped."

No wonder there is still no movement in Yingtao City. It turned out that the messenger was intercepted by the dark post left by the thieves before they retreated.

Xun Zhen hurriedly looked at Xun You, and said, "There are not no wise men among the thieves. Before withdrawing, they did not forget to leave a secret post. They can be regarded as those who know the soldiers."

In the distant Yingtao City, there was a blaze of fire, and there was a commotion, but Xun Zhenbu's thousands of cavalry were discovered in the city.

Thousands of people in Xun Zhen's group did not hide their whereabouts. If the sound of hundreds of horses galloping was not enough to be heard by the city, the torches of the three thousand troopers were enough to cause the city to sleep.

At this time, Xun Zhen's department was not too far from Yingtao City, and with the help of the fire at the top of the city, Xun Zhenyao saw a high-crowned and black-clothed official ascend the tower, surrounded by seven or eight armored warriors.

"This must be Prefect Guo." Xun Zhen summoned Xuankang, "You go to the city to report."

Xuan Kang received the order, brought four or five knights, ran out of the army, and went to the city to pass the news.

Xun Zhen didn't care what was going on in the city, and then led his troops to the north, and after a further two or three miles, they encountered several soldiers left by Li Xiang on the side of the road.

Xun Zhen called them forward and asked, "Is there any trace of the bandit soldiers?"

"See you."

Xun Zhen was overjoyed and asked, "Where?"

"My troops have pursued this far, and I saw the troops behind the bandit army. Li Jun ordered me to stay and give directions to the lieutenant. He brought his troops to catch up." The soldiers pointed to the northwest and said, "The bandit rear. The troops escaped all the way to Jishui."

Xun Zhen immediately sent the order, "Call Yulang and Yunchang back! Order them to run from left to right to the south bank of Jishui."

The two heralds took the order and ran off on horseback.

Xun Zhenfu led the troops to continue their pursuit in the direction pointed by the soldiers. On the way, he asked the soldiers, "How many thieves are there in the back of the palace?"

"Three or four thousand people."

"Do you know who is headed?"

"Seeing its flag from a distance, write a letter."

Of course, the most famous person surnamed Zhang is Zhang Niujiao. Now that Zhang Niujiao is dead, who will be the one left behind? According to the information Xun Zhen inquired, apart from Zhang Niujiao, there seemed to be no particularly famous surname Zhang Zhi among the thieves.

Xun Zhen's heart moved, and she suddenly thought: "After Zhang Niujiao died, Chu Feiyan changed his surname to Zhang. Could it be he who left behind?"

Xun Zhen has already attached great importance to Chu Feiyan, but if the person behind the palace is really Chu Feiyan, then the emphasis on Chu Feiyan has to be raised to a higher level. Xun Zhen knew that Chu Feiyan took over the post of commander-in-chief of the Montenegrin Army after Zhang Niujiao. As the commander-in-chief, he took the initiative to lead the troops to the end. Even if the move was to stabilize his position as the commander-in-chief, this decision and courage were quite extraordinary.

Xun You interrupted Xun Zhen's thoughts and said, "Lieutenant, the city gate is open."

Xun Zhen turned his head to look and saw that the gate of Yingtao city in the northeast was wide open, and a group of men and horses came out of the city, with a big banner with red characters on a black background and a letter of Guo on it. Chasing the thieves.

"Zhongqing, you go and report the direction of the escape of the thieves to Taishou Guo."

Yuan Zhongqing received the order, and Pegasus went to summon the news.

...

Guo Dian was in his prime, but because he hadn't slept well these days, he looked very tired. He got a report from the former Zhongqing, and he took the eight hundred county soldiers and ran to the northwest following the Xunzhen tribe.

"Xuanjun, how many men did Lieutenant Xun bring to aid me in Julu this time?"

"Three thousand steps."

"Since we parted ways in the army last year, speaking of it, I haven't seen Lieutenant Xun for more than half a year. I heard that Lieutenant Xun defeated several giant thieves in Zhao County, and captured tens of thousands. This time Zhang Niujiao, Chu Feiyansheng Chaos, half of Jizhou is in turmoil, but Zhao County alone is fine, Lieutenant Xun deserves to be the person that General Huangfu values."

Guo Dian and Xun Zhen didn't have a deep friendship. The two of them just worked together under Huangfu Song's tent. This time Xun Zhen took 3,000 paces out of the county to come to his aid. The order, but Guo Dian is still full of gratitude.

"The lieutenant asked me to apologize on my behalf. In order to pursue the thieves, I cannot greet the Fu-Jun outside the city. Please don't blame the Fu-Jun for the disrespect."

"The lieutenant led the troops out of the county to save me Julu. It's too late for me to thank you, so how can you blame me?"

The thieves had withdrawn, and Xun Zhen came across the river. The pressure on Guo Dian's shoulders lightened. He talked with Xuan Kang and Yuan Zhongqing. Around the fifth watch, he and his subordinates came to the south bank of the river. .

On the south bank, there is a fierce battle.

Xuan Kang and Yuan Zhongqing led the way and took him to Xun Zhen.

"Thank you Lieutenant for saving you!" Guo Dian bowed and saluted.

When Xun Zhen heard the sound, she turned her head, hurriedly stepped forward, and smiled back, "Gong Gong! Don't you come here?"

"It's all thanks to the lieutenant's help that I, Ying Tao, can be saved."

"I'm ashamed to say that, because there are thousands of bandit soldiers stationed on the north bank of the Fen River and my unit lacks boats to cross the river, I stayed on the south bank of the Fen River for three days, but I couldn't cross the river as soon as possible, and the bandit soldiers have been besieging the city until now. The rescue came late. , please don't blame Mr. Guo."

Guo Dian had fought with Huangfu Song and knew some military affairs, so he could understand why Xun Zhen couldn't cross the river earlier, and said, "I heard that the thief commander Zhang Niu's horn was hit by the arrow. Not only did they not retreat, but the offensive became more and more intense. If the lieutenant hadn't been watching from the other side of the river, we still don't know when this siege of gall pottery would have been!"

He said it well.

The reason why Chu Feiyan withdrew, of course, was mainly because Zhang Niujiao died and the morale of the coalition army was unstable. He had to change to a relatively safe place to consolidate his position as the commander of the coalition forces. In addition, there was also Xun Zhen on the other side, and he was worried that Xun Zhen would take the opportunity to attack. for the sake of.

The screams of killing by the river and the sound of weapons colliding cut through the quiet night. Guo Dian turned to look at it and said, "How's the war going?"

"It's too late, I couldn't catch up with the main force of the thieves, and I couldn't bite the thieves in the back of the hall, and only grabbed a tail."

It’s true that Li Xiang’s team caught up with the bandit soldiers at the rear of the palace, but Li Xiang’s troops were not many, so they couldn’t catch all three or four thousand bandit warriors. They only entangled less than one thousand bandit warriors, and the remaining two or three thousand bandits were trapped. The thieves have crossed to the other side either by boat or through the pontoon bridge.

Xun Zhen didn't pay much attention to the war on this side of the river. There were only a thousand thieves soldiers, and it was only a matter of time to destroy them. He pointed to the other side and said to Guo Dian, "Guo Gong, do you see that thief flag?"

The two or three thousand thieves who crossed to the other side were not in a hurry to leave, they were burning the ferry boat and the pontoon bridge in an orderly manner. A big flag with the words written on it fluttered in the night wind among the thousands of thieves.

Guo Dian replied: "I see, this is Zhang Niujiao's flag. After Zhang Niujiao died, this flag seems to have been taken over by Chu Feiyan."

Ying Tao was surrounded so much, Guo Dian was too familiar with Zhang Niujiao's military flag.

"Before Mr. Guo came, our soldiers took a few prisoners. I have interrogated me carefully. Chu Feiyan has changed his surname to Zhang and took over the position of Zhang Niujiao thief commander. Tonight, the thieves' retreat is due to him."

Guo Dian was taken aback and said, "This thief is very brave!"

"Isn't it? ..., Mr. Guo, in time, this thief must be a big problem for me in Jizhou."

The more than a thousand thieves who stayed on the river side knew that they were doomed, and they were stubbornly resisting. Although they were divided and surrounded by Li Xiang, Jiang Qin, Liu Deng, Wen Ping and other troops, they still fought continuously, breaking out from time to time. There was a cry of "The sky is dead, and the yellow sky stands."

Guo Dian was stunned and said, "This is...?"

"The thieves and soldiers who were left by Chu Yan on this side of the river are all the remaining bandits of the Yellow Turbans."

Only the remaining members of the Yellow Turbans, who are steadfast in their beliefs, will not surrender in a desperate situation where there is no way to retreat. Chu Feiyan can be said to "know people and make good use of them". If it was a bandit who broke up on the river side, Xun Zhen crushed it with an absolutely superior force. , I'm afraid the war is over long ago, and Chu Feiyan could not calmly burn boats and bridges on the other side of the river~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Although the rest of the Yellow Turbans were determined to fight and refused to surrender, they were few in number and their fighting power was not as good as Xun Zhen's part. , their positions by the river were seized one by one by Jiang Qin, Li Xiang, and others. When it was almost dawn, only seven or eight fortresses remained in their hands.

On the other side, Chu Feiyan burned the ferry boat and the pontoon bridge, and left without stopping the rest of the Yellow Turbans who were still fighting.

Xun Zhen watched them go away, watching Chu Feiyan's banner drifting away, knowing that this pursuit could only end there.

From the time they left the camp to the present, the infantrymen of Xun Zhen's army had run for nearly twenty miles in the middle of the night, killing nearly a thousand thieves. Composed of warriors, they could not conquer for a long time.

To the sound of thunderous drums, several horses rushed out of the Xunzhen tribe's formation and attacked it from the west. Another knight and several soldiers on foot rushed out of the Xunzhen formation on the other side and attacked it from the east. . Several galloping horses and spears were attacking from the west. Several soldiers on foot who attacked from the east, armed with halberds and knives, fought bravely for the first place.

Guo Dian was dazzled and stunned. He recognized the knights in the east and the soldiers on foot. They were the most heroic people under Xun Zhen's tent, Xin Ai and Liu Deng. The knights in the west were two of them, riding on red horses. It was Guan Yu, and the one riding the black horse was Zhang Fei. They were two warriors under Liu Bei's account. I heard that Liu Bei now gave Xun Zhen a lieutenant in Zhao Jun, and it was not surprising that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei fought from Xun Zhen. Who is the next ride? Judging from his age, the white horse and iron spear are brave and fierce. He asked Xun Zhen, "Lieutenant, who is the knight on the white horse?"

"Changshan Zhao Zilong."