Black smoke poured out from the tunnel entrance, but there was no movement at the city wall for a long time. Li Zhi was also a little anxious. The wooden pillars were doused with kerosene and sulfur, but it was not easy to burn in the tunnel. If the burning failed, he would have to risk sending people down to burn the wooden pillars again.
Without warning, the city wall tilted, and the soldiers on the city felt the changes on the ground, and they ran away one after another. A "rumbling" sound was heard, and the city wall collapsed into a pile of bricks and earth.
Hao Zhao shouted, leading two thousand Euphorbia soldiers, one after another, climbed up the brick mound and rushed towards the city.
Gongsun Zan's army on the city wall gathered on both sides and fired arrows, but the euphorbia warriors not only carried shields, but also wore iron armor, so those arrows did not pose much of a threat. Below the city, Xu Huang also commanded the soldiers of the bow and crossbow camp, using strong bows and crossbows to fire and cover.
The Euphorbia soldiers withstood the arrows of Gongsun Zan's soldiers in the city, and they advanced step by step. The defenders gathered rows of spearmen, and the sharp spearheads emitted bursts of frightening cold light.
But the halberd warriors were heavily armored infantry. When they gathered together, the halberds also exuded a silent intimidation.
There was nothing fancy, the soldiers just repeated simple stabbing movements until their hands and feet were so weak that the next group of soldiers stepped on them, or else they would be stabbed to death by the opponent's sharp blade.
In the narrow area, the advantages of the heavily armored infantry came into play. Not only did they have a neat array, their movements were coordinated and coordinated, but most importantly, they had a protective advantage.
After two thousand Euphorbia soldiers killed more than 300 people, they opened the gap in that section of the city wall and occupied the south gate.
Then Xu Chu roared, and more than a thousand light infantry swarmed onto the city wall. Under the leadership of the fierce tiger Xu Chu, the Suwei infantry also became wild beasts, madly pounced on the defenders on the city wall.
Euphorbias and light infantry cooperated with each other to firmly control the southern section of the city wall, and the situation was clear.
The south city gate was opened, and not only the Qingzhou Army, but also the Jizhou Army and Wuhuan Army poured into the city. Because of the barrier of the trench, they did not continue to advance but seized the surrounding city walls.
Yuan Xi also entered the city with his personal guards. Looking at the dense trenches and forts at close range, he couldn't help but feel numb. Breaking through the city wall is the first step, and whether you can destroy the middle fortress in one fell swoop is the key to victory.
Because the tunnels leading to the central fortress had to be kept secret as much as possible, the coalition forces still carried out tactical storming of the outer trenches and fortresses to confuse the enemy. Soldiers from both sides repeatedly seized the trenches, and the next month was a long waiting process.
It was impossible for more than 100,000 people to attack the narrow trenches together, so all four sides assigned men to take turns to feign attacks. The waiting process during the siege was tedious. Fortunately, there was a concubine in the camp to accompany him, and he was happy. In addition to inspecting and training soldiers, Yuan Xi usually went out to hunt.
Koto.
Just when the Yuan family was about to defeat Gongsun Zan, the Danyang battle between Jiangdong Sun family Wu Jing and Sun Ce was coming to an end, and Sun Jian completely took control of Kuaiji County.
Sun Jian appointed Cheng Pu as the prefect of Kuaiji, Han Dang as the county captain, and Sun Bi as the southern captain. The three of them assisted each other in civil and military affairs to suppress the unrest caused by the battle of Kuaiji.
As the Battle of Kuaiji came to an end, the Battle of Danyang led by Sun Ce also began to come to an end. Under Lu Fan's precise deployment, Fan Neng turned against Zhang Ying of Jingxian County. Then Fan Neng directly sent troops to Jingxian County, and the two started fighting in Jingxian County. Fight.
Fan Neng's troops were well-prepared, Zhang Ying relied on the favorable geographical location, and was supported by Shanyue troops. Both sides fought in such a way that both sides suffered losses. In the end... neither of them were stupid. Naturally, they knew that continuing to fight like this would only give Sun Ce, who had already stationed troops in Wuhu, an advantage.
The tremendous pressure brought by Sun Ce's Jiangdong Army forced the two people, who had been fighting life and death with overwhelming anger, to shake hands and make peace again, so the two began peace talks and re-allied.
And at this time, three thousand Jiangdong cavalry, under the command of Jiangdong's little overlord Sun Ce, suddenly appeared on the battlefield where the two sides were fighting, killing the two of them by surprise.
The Overlord's cavalry came with force, like thunder, and were unstoppable. Under the leadership of the two powerful generals Sun Ce and Zhou Tai, they made several attacks and defeated Fan Neng and Zhang Ying in one fell swoop.
Zhang Ying was killed on the spot by Sun Ce's Overlord Spear. Most of his soldiers were directly eliminated by the Overlord Cavalry. The others dispersed and sneaked into the mountains. Fan Neng hurriedly used a few soldiers around him to With his life in the way, he managed to escape with his life. He took the remaining five thousand soldiers and fled back to Wanling in embarrassment.
In this battle, the Overlord's cavalry showed the power of Chu Xiang in the past. They were domineering and brave. With only 3,000 cavalry against ten, they defeated Zhang Ying and Fan Neng, who combined nearly 20,000 troops. They were known as Jiangdong. The number one cavalryman, and the name of Sun Ce, the little overlord of Jiangdong, is also famous in Jiangdong.
After Fan Neng fled back to Wanling, he gathered the soldiers and horses who stayed in the city, and also forcibly recruited 20,000 young men from the surrounding areas. He assembled a total of more than 30,000 troops, closed the city gates in all directions, and defended Wanling County while quickly attacking Liu. Yao wrote a letter asking for help.
However, Sun Ce never thought about attacking the city. On the night when he came to the city, Sun Ce and Lu Fan cooperated inside and outside without fighting and without any blood. In the calmest way, Jiangdong Army quickly captured Wan. Mausoleum.
When Fan Neng saw this, he immediately led his soldiers and escaped from the governor's house through a small path. However, during the whole time, because of his previous actions, he was betrayed by his relatives and was killed by several of his own soldiers. Most of the generals of his Danyang soldiers were also Then surrendered to Sun Ce.
Sun Ce led his troops to occupy Danyang County in one fell swoop and immediately sent the news back to Wu County. Sun Jian received the news of Sun Ce's success and immediately appointed Wu Jing as the governor of Danyang and commanded Danyang County.
Three days later, Sun Ce led the Overlord Cavalry, Jiangdong Navy, and Lu Fan to begin the return journey to Wuxian.
Two flowers bloom, one on each side, in Youzhou, Hebei.
On this day, Yuan Xi took Xu Chu, Tai Shici, Zhao Yun and a group of guards to the west of the city to hunt. Before leaving, Yuan Xi went to Yan Rou's camp and invited him out as well. As a result, Xian Yufu and Qi Zhou, who were so panicked, also followed out.
Yuan Xi brought several hounds, and he followed Yuan Shao and others in hunting since he was a child. After joining the army, he often took his subordinates with him to practice archery and riding skills through hunting.
Orthodox Confucian education also involves dabbling in sports, fencing, and archery. However, in order to strengthen its rule, the Qing Dynasty castrated away the martial arts in Confucian culture.
Yuan Xi's archery skills were learned from Zhao Yun, and with years of practice in the art of guidance, his body has been tempered to a great extent. His shots are extraordinary.
He couldn't use Xu Huang's Iron-Tired Divine Arm Bow, but a strong bow was more than enough.
"Whoosh!" As soon as the bowstring sounded, a wild goose fell down in mid-air.
"Good! Good archery skills!" "Excellent archer!" All the soldiers accompanying him shouted.
Yan Rou also clapped her hands and said: "Young master is good at archery. Even among the Wuhuan Xianbei tribe, there are not many people with such archery skills."
Yuan Xi smiled. Emperor Taizong Li Shimin was also a skilled archer and horseman, so he said modestly, "Captain Yan is praising me too much. The people of the Wuhuan Xianbei tribe have practiced riding and shooting since they were young. There must be many capable people." .”
"Of course!" said a Hu general with a thick beard. "Although the second young master is good at archery, he can't beat me."
Hearing this, Xu Chu and other bodyguards were furious. You must know that Yuan Xi's archery skills were mastered by Zhao Yun. Except for his weaker physical strength, his accuracy was half as good as theirs.
As far as bows and arrows are concerned, among the generals of the Qingzhou Army, Yuan Xi is only inferior to Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, and Xu Huang. By saying this, General Hu was clearly outcompeting them.
Yuan Xi squinted and recognized the general with a thick beard, so he smiled and said, "Your name is Duan Pixi, right? I recognize you, and I also want to thank you for speaking out for justice last time."
Duan Pixi spoke with a strong Chinese accent and waved his hand, "Hey. I would also like to thank the second young master for remembering me, a little person."
Yan Rou introduced to Yuan Xi: "This Duan Pixi is a Wuhuan person from a tribe in Dai County. He came to Guangyang a few years ago. Because of his good riding and archery skills, he was appreciated by Lord Liu and was recruited into the Youzhou Army. Qi Li. After Mr. Liu was killed, he returned to his original tribe to recruit people and joined our tribe to avenge Mr. Liu."
"You are truly a loyal man of Wuhuan!" Yuan Xi said to Duan Pizhen, "According to what I just said, it seems that you are very good at archery. My archery skills are nothing in the army, but several of my subordinates are. We are waiting for a master, how about we all compete against each other?"
"It's exactly what I want. I've heard for a long time that there are fierce generals under the Second Young Master's tent. Today I want to ask for advice." Duan Pixi was a generous man and immediately agreed. Since ancient times, there has been no first in literature and no second in martial arts. Therefore.
Yuan Xi heard Yan Rou say that he was good at riding and shooting, so he decided to recruit him as the commander of the Wuhuan cavalry. But it's impossible not to suppress his arrogance.
So Yuan Xi gave some instructions to Tai Shi Ci, Zhao Yun, Xu Chu and others, and then they all showed their best. And they tried their best not to let that rogue general look down upon him.
Everyone searched, but found a rare white wolf. As soon as the whistle was blown, except for Zhu Gongdao who left behind to guard Yuan Xi, the other generals all rode forward to hunt.
"The Second Young Master's subordinates are real warriors. That day, when I saw the two generals getting close, I stabbed Tadun's four so-called Wuhuan warriors off their horses. That Duan Pixi also said that he respected your bravery, He just offered to help." Yan Rou said, riding her horse and following Yuan Xi.
Yuan Xi smiled, wasn't it? The foreigners were impressed by the power and bravery, so he said, "I have little talent, and it is only thanks to the help of these heroes that I can achieve today's achievements. I am familiar with Mr. Xianyu and Mr. Qi Zhou. , you and Captain Yan are considered friends. Now I have something to ask of Captain Yan."
Yan Rou patted her chest and said, "Second Young Master, since I, Yan Rou, are my friends, what else can I ask for? Just say it, I will do my best. I don't know what Young Master means."
"In this case, I will tell you frankly. My father allows me to recruit a group of Hu cavalry from the border Hu tribes, but Tadun is at odds with me. The Wuhuan side of the three counties cannot recruit. So I want Yan Xiao to recruit Wei, please help me select and recruit an elite cavalry team from the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes in Daijun and Shanggu."
Yan Rou smiled and said: "I don't think it's a big deal. This is a trivial matter. I will personally go to each tribe to select the best warriors for you." After a pause, he continued: "Actually, Second Young Master, you can still Went to Taduna to recruit some soldiers from Wuhuan in the three counties."
"I have a bad relationship with Tadun, will he still let me choose my soldiers with all my heart?" Yuan Xi asked doubtfully. This is what ordinary people worry about.
Yan Rou smiled and explained, "Second Young Master, you don't know much about the Hu people in the border areas. Nowadays, the Wuhuan people are divided into multiple tribes, and the various tribes attack and rob each other very frequently. The Wuhuan people in the original three counties The tribes do not belong to each other, but Qiu Liju and others have been using force to unify the Wuhuan tribe in the three counties."
Yan Rou saw that Yuan Xi really didn't understand, so she continued to explain: "Hu people have a cold temperament. They only follow the strong. If their tribe is annexed today, they will be loyal to the strong who defeated them until this strong were defeated.”
Indeed, during the war between the East and West Wei, Yuwentai was strong and they relied on Yuwentai, Gao Huan was strong, they relied on Gao Huan, and Xianbei only obeyed the powerful big-headed man.
Also, why the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry is so loyal to Lu Bu is because Lu Bu is the most powerful man in this era. Due to Hu Feng's influence, they also worship the strong, even if Lu Bu has a bad character.
"It's just that I haven't defeated Tadun. How can I make them surrender?" Yuan Xi still asked in confusion.
"Master, please listen to what I have to say." Yan Rou said, "The Hu tribe does not know farming and makes a living by herding. Once there is a famine year when the water and grass are not good, the entire tribe will often starve to death. Even if the water and grass are plentiful, the whole tribe will starve to death. , their income was also misappropriated by the noble leaders, and those Hu soldiers lived a very hard life. In the past, Hu soldiers were recruited by the imperial court to join the army. "
Yuan Xi listened to Yan Rou and got a rough idea. It turns out that except for the personal guards of the leader, the other Hu soldiers are usually herdsmen. Coupled with the nominal submission of the Wuhuan people, they could be recruited as mercenaries of the Han people without any scruples.
Some capable Hu soldiers were also willing to be recruited by the Han people, so that they could not only bring their wives and children to Han areas for resettlement, but also get a stable income. If you perform meritorious service, you can also be appointed an official and receive rewards.
Once the Hu people are recruited into the army, they will completely break away from the original tribe. Even if they are asked to attack the original tribe, they will not hesitate. This is why the Han Dynasty liked and recruited Hu Qidi, and the same was true for the later Tang Dynasty.
Knowing this, Yuan Xi knew that it was still possible to recruit from Tadun, but Tadun would select good soldiers for Yuan Shao first. Yuan Xi discussed some details with Yan Rou. The two of them talked happily, and Yuan Xi probably made some promise.
"Second Young Master, I can see that you also like hunting, but you are missing a few good falcons!" Yan Rou said.
Yuan Xi shook his head. "Falcon running dog" was originally a symbol of a dandy, but to get a good falcon in Han Dynasty was not only a matter of money, but also a matter of opportunity. A falcon often costs hundreds of gold, and in the past, few children from the aristocratic families in Beijing owned one.
Yan Rou smiled and said, "I have some good ones. I'll send a few to the young master tomorrow."
Yuan Xi quickly thanked him. He knew that this was Yan Rou's show of kindness to him, and he did not refuse. This was also a way to appease Yan Rou.
Therefore, sometimes, honest ministers may not be able to accomplish great things, and corrupt ministers may not all be fools of the country, such as He Shen, Zhang Juzheng, and Li Deyu. People are not good or bad. It depends on how the king uses them. If you don't see it, How did Emperor Wanli employ people?
Another place. Generals Xu Chu, Zhao Yun, Tai Shi Ci, and Duan Pizhen chased the white wolf over a hill. It is not difficult to kill the white wolf, but since it is a test of archery skills. Naturally, we strive to obtain the entire intact wolf skin. That would require shooting the white wolf in the eye, so few people dared not take action easily.
After the white wolf crosses the hillock, it will go into the dense forest. The more it pursues, the more trees there will be, making it more disadvantageous for the generals. Mi Li pulled the bow string several times but then put it down, riding on the war horse and shooting the running wolf eyes, what kind of archery skills this requires!
Taishi Ci shouted and said, "Zhongkang, Zilong, let it stop! Then watch me teach it a lesson."
Xu Chu and Zhao Yun understood each other and shot two feather arrows at the same time. The two feather arrows were inserted just in front of the white wolf, less than a foot below the ground. Seeing a foreign object in front of him, Bai Lang stopped suddenly. His body rolled rapidly, trying to escape in the other direction.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" Two sharp arrows shot out, piercing the white wolf's left and right eyes almost at the same time. The white wolf rolled to the ground and howled in pain, and died soon after.
Duan Pixi and Tai Shici looked at each other and nodded in greeting. Anyone who can take action at this moment and hit accurately can be called a top archer. Heroes have cherished each other since ancient times.
Duan Pixi raised his hand and said, "The three of you are not only superb in archery, but also know how to cooperate in hunting like a pack of wolves on the grassland. I would never be able to do it alone. I lost this competition."
Xu Chu smiled proudly, and Zhao Yun returned the favor. Taishi Ci also smiled heartily and said, "But when it comes to archery and riding, you and I are evenly matched. This is just a competition of skills. How can we win or lose?"
Duan Pixi also laughed and said loudly, "The three of you are not only good at martial arts, but also very kind to my taste. Master Yanrou has my Wuhuan liquor. How about we have a drink later?"
"Haha, that couldn't be better!" Xu Chu agreed gruffly.
Suddenly, Zhao Yun shouted: "Who is hiding there? You are so sneaky, come out quickly!"
Several people looked intently, and sure enough, there was a vague figure behind a pine and cypress tree in the distance. Duan Pixi snorted coldly, raised his hand and shot an arrow.
"Whoosh!" "Thump!" The arrow was inserted into the pine and cypress in front of the man, and the tail of the arrow was still trembling.
"Sir, please forgive me! The younger one is from here. When he saw several military masters approaching, he hid when he was scared." The person who stood up was a middle-aged man with dark skin and dressed as a villager.
Several people rode over and looked around but he was the only one. So I asked him why he was here. After all, this was a war zone.
The villager's voice was trembling, and he was obviously in shock, so he replied, "The villain is from Wangjia Village next door. He comes here to collect firewood. The generals must not misunderstand him."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were a firewood collector here. Please bear with me, old man." Zhao Yun apologized. It's not surprising that civilians are afraid of soldiers. It was normal for him to hide.
The villager said something louder, picked up the hatchet and turned to leave. "Wait a minute!" Taishi Ci stopped him and said suspiciously, "You said they are from nearby villagers, but where is your firewood?"
The villager's eyes flashed with panic, and he defended, "This one, that one was a little scared when he met some military masters, and lost the firewood."
Taishi Ci jumped off his horse, circled around the villager several times, and looked at him from beginning to end until he felt chills all over his body. Taishi Ci shouted loudly: "Work boldly and carefully. You still don't admit it!"
"Ah! Sir, my little home is over there. He is not a bad person! Sir, you are aware of it."
Under the puzzled looks of several people, Taishi Ci said: "You have a callus between the index and middle finger of your right hand. This is obviously the result of practicing archery from time to time. Could it be an ordinary villager?"
The middle-aged man suddenly stood up and struck Tai Shici with the hatchet in his hand. Taishi Ci was well prepared. He grabbed his wrist and twisted it hard. Only a scream was heard. The middle-aged man lost one of his arms.
Four people total. It might be useful to tie up the middle-aged man and bring him to Yuan Xi.
When he arrived at Yuan Xi's place, Taishi Ci told the whole story. Then he said: "Master, it's just that Zhong Kang didn't find any letters on him. It's really a pity that we found any letters."
"Have you searched all your clothes, shoes and socks?" Yuan Xi asked.
"Hey! He just took off his clothes and untied his hair." Xu Chu said in a dull voice.
Yuan Xi looked at the work carefully for a while, and suddenly said: "Let me search the surrounding area where he was hiding just now!"
As soon as these words came out, the middle-aged man's face turned ashen. After a while, Xu Chu came back with several tiger guards and said that he had found a wax pill. He opened the wax pill and got a small piece of paper.
The content is that Gongsun Zan's son Gongsun Xu led the Black Mountain bandits into three groups to rescue Gongsun Zan. The former army has arrived in Dai County.
Yuan Xi looked at the note and said happily, "Gongsun Zan is exhausted, God is also helping us!"
Yuan Xi took it and shook it open quickly, and the content inside was exactly as recorded in the history books: On the 19th day of the month, it was agreed to raise a fire as a signal, open the city gate and attack Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi in the west of the city, and defeat Yuan's army together!
Finally obtained this important information, it seems that the first victory over Yijing will eventually belong to me, Yuan Xi!
