Just when Han Meng was worried, more than 3,000 infantrymen followed him. They also formed a square formation and slowly pushed forward towards the Yanzhou soldiers.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" Both sides released arrows.
The two infantrymen got closer and closer, finally approaching a distance of one foot wide, and launched an attack.
"Kill!" The spearmen of the Qingzhou soldiers rushed forward and fought fiercely with the Yanzhou soldiers at close range.
Han Meng led his troops to cover both sides in time. In just a quarter of an hour, the Yanzhou soldiers were forced to retreat more than ten steps.
"Generals, listen to the order, the front row becomes the back row, the back row becomes the front row, and the whole army retreats slowly!" Lu Qian ordered.
Then, under Lu Qian's calm command, the Yanzhou soldiers retreated slowly until they reached the edge of the city wall.
"Go up and seize the city gate!" Han Meng shouted.
"Kill!" The Qingzhou army's infantry and cavalry cooperated, and they rushed forward with great momentum, taking advantage of Xiao Sheng, with the potential to seize the city gate in one fell swoop.
When the Qingzhou soldiers approached, Han Meng realized something was wrong. It turned out that many trenches were dug outside Puyang City and sections of ramparts were piled up.
"Kill!" The drums in Puyang City were beating loudly, and rows of strong archers suddenly appeared in the ramparts. They were obviously well prepared.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" The strong archers of the Yanzhou soldiers fired a volley. The arrows rained down from such a close range and exploded at the Qingzhou soldiers in the front row. The Qingzhou soldiers were immediately shot down.
Han Meng was so excited that he jumped off his horse and rolled to the back to avoid a hail of arrows in front of him. Then he took the shield from his own soldier and handed it to him. Unfortunately, his horse was hit by an arrow and immediately fell to the ground screaming. It was clearly an ambush.
"Kill!" Lu Qian waved his saber. Under his order, the Yanzhou soldiers who had retreated immediately turned back and fired back.
The strong archers on the side of the fortress fired another round of diffuse fire. Although the effect was not as good as the previous one, many Qingzhou soldiers were still killed.
The morale of the Qingzhou soldiers was robbed, and they could not withstand the attack of the Yanzhou soldiers. They retreated again and again, and the rhythm of the battlefield was immediately disrupted.
After Han Meng raised his sword and broke it, he chopped at the Yanzhou soldiers who rushed forward. However, the Qingzhou soldiers behind them retreated faster and faster, and Han Meng and his troops were suddenly surrounded by Yanzhou soldiers.
"Capture the enemy general alive!" Yanzhou soldiers shouted with high morale and red eyes.
Yuan Xi rode his horse across the pontoon bridge, and Yuan Jun, who followed, also headed for Henan.
In this attack on Yanzhou, in addition to the civil and military personnel guarding Youzhou and Bingzhou, most of the civil servants and generals from Jizhou accompanied the army on the expedition. Only Tian Feng, Xu You, Shenpei, Xun Chen, Chen Lin, Xin Pi, and Chen Qun were left behind to coordinate the food and supplies. .
This was an unprecedented battle, Yuan Cao's final decisive battle in the Central Plains, and an epic war recorded in history.
It is said in history that Emperor Taizong Xuanwu and Cao Cao went hunting in the Central Plains.
The Qingzhou Army dispatched 100,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. The commander-in-chief is Ju Shou, Chen Deng is the military advisor, Gu Yong is the guard, and Xu Huang is the deputy general.
Hao Zhao, Zang Ba, Zhou Cang, Ji Ling, and the surrendered Zhu Ling were all controlled by Ju Shou, and the 10,000 cavalry army was the Qingzhou Jingqi from Jizhou, led by Taishi Ci who was transferred back to Qingzhou.
Jizhou dispatched 100,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. The coach is Yuan Xi, the civil servants are Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Sima Yi, Guo Tu, Zhong Yao, Feng Ji, Cui Yan, and the generals are Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Gao Lan, Han Meng, Jiang Qi, Chunyu Qiong, Jiang Yiqu, Zhao Rui, Zhang He , Zhang Xiu, Mi Wei, Mi Fang.
Among them, Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun commanded 10,000 cavalry, including Guards Xiaoqi and Wuhuan Tuqi, while Wuhuan generals Wu Sang and Duan Pixi commanded 20,000 Wuhuan cavalry.
"Thousands of miles of river water, even in Aocang, Yanjin, Baimajin, and Puyang, Cao Cao had to divide his troops to defend. The general's move to attack everywhere, the big fanfare is really wonderful, especially in Mengjin to attract Cao's thieves. ." Guo Tu praised.
Yuan Xi, who was riding with a group of subordinates, turned around and said slowly, "Haha, this is the result of our army taking the initiative. Aocang in Hanoi is the closest to Xu County. Even if he knew it was a bluff, Cao Cao had to He can't afford to gamble on heavy defenses."
Guo Tu showed admiration on his face and said flatteringly, "It is said in ancient times that famous generals are good at attacking, but the enemy does not know where they are defending. I can't see this. The general's military use is comparable to that of Han Xin."
Yuan Xi smiled and said modestly, "These are all discussed together with Feng Xiao, Wen He, and Zhongda. They are not my own wisdom, and you don't need to praise me so much."
"The general is also the leader of all."
Guo Tu said and asked: "Then why did the general not bluff in Puyang and take Xu County directly from Aocang? Why is this?"
"Although the route from Hanoi is the shortest, the mountains along the way are steep, such as Mount Song, which is an easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack place. In addition, the Yanzhou Army will definitely deploy key defenses there. So marching from Hanoi seems to be the most convenient route, but in fact it is The most time-consuming and labor-intensive." Jia Xu answered on his behalf.
"Well, Wen He is right. Let Yuan Mai's troops in Hanoi go down the river to Yanjin and land." Yuan Xi ordered.
"Report! General, Han Meng defeated the enemy and pursued him to the gates of Puyang City. He was ambushed unexpectedly. General Han was chased by the enemy for three miles. There were many casualties in his troops." The herald reported.
"This Han Meng was too careless. He lost the first battle, which greatly damaged the power of our army!" Feng Ji said angrily.
"Who is the general of Puyang?" Yuan Xi asked with a serious look on his face.
"According to the information we received, if Cao Cao did not change his general temporarily, it should be Lu Qian." Jia Xu replied.
While a few people were talking, Han Meng, who was looking embarrassed, and Xu Sheng, who was high-spirited, came to the rescue. Obviously, they were in different situations.
"General, the last general led his troops to join General Han and drove the Yanzhou soldiers back to the city." Xu Sheng reported.
"Wen Xiang is indeed brave, not bad." Yuan Xi said with a smile.
"General, I underestimated the enemy and led to over a thousand casualties. Please punish me!" Han Meng said half-kneeling in shame and anger.
"Don't follow the so-called feint to the north. Han Meng, you are also a veteran who has experienced many battles. You can't even tell whether the enemy is really defeated or feinting to the north. It's clear that you are greedy for merit and rush to advance!" Yuan Xi scolded coldly.
Han Meng lowered his head. He himself did underestimate the enemy, but the main reason was that Lu Qian was well prepared. The fortresses, trenches and trenches were prepared in advance.
"Get the marching map!" Yuan Xi ordered without giving Han Meng a good look.
Xu Chu received the order and immediately brought the marching map and spread it on the ground. All the civil and military personnel who were following Yuan Xi gathered over.
"Cao Cao couldn't defend every city. He didn't have that many soldiers, horses and food. So they must have occupied several contested areas in an attempt to consume our army's strength. Then they blocked our army at the Jishui line to defend Chenliu and Xu. County. After that, Cao Cao is probably good at using surprise troops to cut off people's retreat," Yuan Xi said.
"So our army cannot make the mistake of neglecting Puyang and other places like the last Battle of White Horse, which will lead to the risk of being attacked later." Zhong Yao said out of the queue.
"That is to say, we must capture all the frontier contested areas such as Puyang, Juancheng, Baima, and Wuyuan in order to advance step by step." Feng Ji said.
"No, no." Yuan Xi quickly objected, "Attacking the city is the last resort. If we forcefully capture a strong city like Puyang, our soldiers will suffer heavy casualties."
"If we can't attack by force, do we need to leave a force to monitor?" Guo Tu asked.
Yuan Xi did not answer, but asked: "Who are the guards at Juancheng, Baima, Wuyuan, and Yangwu?"
"Lu Qian and Bian Xi guarded Puyang, Li Tong and Liu Yan guarded Baima, Yu Jin and Yang Chou guarded Juancheng, Cao Hong guarded Wuyuan, and the rest are unknown. Among them, Puyang and Juancheng are heavily fortified. I'm afraid they have their own troops. Baima is now just a garrison. City." Jia Xu replied.
"Puyang City is hard to capture lightly because of its strong soldiers. Juan City is on the edge of Cao Cao's defense line. You can divide your troops to capture it. Afterwards, some soldiers and horses are left to garrison outside Puyang City. The lord can lead his troops to directly attack Baima, Wuyuan and other places. . At that time, Puyang will undoubtedly become an isolated city. No matter how talented Lu Qian is, he will not be able to prevent the morale of the soldiers from falling. By then, as long as our army surrenders, Puyang can take over without fighting." Guo Jia suggested.
Guo Jia's strategy was also often used by Emperor Taizong Li Shimin and Emperor Taiwu Tuoba Tao.
"This is called subduing the enemy's army without fighting. Guo Fengxiao is really very wise." Zhong Yao said.
"The master will write down the transfer order." Yuan Xi ordered, "Let the troops from Liyang and Yanjin rush to Puyang to meet up. Jiang Qi will lead the garrison in Liyang, and Gao Lan will receive Baima Jin. Zhang Xiu and Zhong Yao will lead 10,000 troops. Stationed outside Puyang City, he is responsible for the dispatch of subsequent grain, fodder and baggage. Xu Sheng leads the water to keep the rivers open, and Zhang He leads 10,000 troops to capture Juancheng. There must be no mistakes."
After a pause, Yuan Xi continued: "Send fast horses to urge Sima Yi, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou to lead the Wuhuan cavalry south quickly, march westward along the river, attack cities and counties along the way, and ensure that the water and food roads of the Qingzhou River are open."
Yuan Xi had just issued the transfer order, and Han Meng immediately knelt down on one foot.
Next, "General, please give me a chance to redeem myself and make meritorious service. Han will definitely fight to the death to repay me!"
"General Han just went through a tough battle. The general doesn't want you to work hard." Guo Jia said.
"Not winning is not enough to avenge shame. If the general does not give Han a chance to make meritorious service, he will really have no shame in living in this world." Han Meng said with a blush.
Yuan Xi saw the effect of inspiring the general. So he ordered: "Okay, General Han, do you dare to attack Wuyuan with your troops and horses?"
"If we can't win, we will fight Wu Yuan to the death!" Han Meng said excitedly.
"You can let Xu Sheng's navy march eastward. Then they can go ashore for a sneak attack to assist Zhang He in capturing Juancheng." Guo Jia suggested.
"That's right, send the order to the generals immediately!" Yuan Xi said loudly.
After Yuan Xi sent out the generals, he led nearly ten thousand cavalry across the river and took the lead in marching towards Baima. They rushed to Baima City the next day and separated out their light cavalry to scout the surrounding situation.
Yuan Xi rode his horse to the camp of the Jizhou Army in the previous battle.
Today there is still an abandoned camp here. There seemed to be traces of smoke and fire in Ditucheng opposite. One can imagine the tragedy of the White Horse Battle a few years ago, and the death of his father Yuan Shao.
"General, the surrounding villages have been relocated, and the defenders in the city cannot leave. The guards are very tight." Zhao Yunce immediately reported forward.
"The defensive troops came out to attack at night. Cao Cao's army likes to play this trick the most." Yuan Xi glanced at Zhao Yun and ordered.
"Promise!" Zhao Yun received the order and retreated, arranging soldiers to garrison the barren camp and build some fortifications for defense.
"The last battle with Mr. Yuan was here. Alas, three years have passed in a flash!" Guo Tu shook his head and sighed.
"Father's revenge, I will avenge it for him this time! You can rest assured." Yuan Xi looked at the Tucheng opposite.
One of Taizu Wu Emperor Yuan Shao's three greatest hatreds was Cao Cao.
Later, after the decisive battle in the Central Plains, Cao Cao was crowned the leader, and the Yuan family's great hatred was avenged. It was said in history that Emperor Xuanwu sacrificed blood to Taizu.
"The general needs to be on guard against Cao Cao's daughter's tricks. Last time he made repeated sneak attacks. Otherwise, our army would not have been in such an embarrassing situation." Guo Tu said with lingering fear. He was really a little scared.
Yuan Shao didn't pursue his fault last time, which was a great luck. So now he will only follow Yuan Xi's words.
"Our army has many soldiers and enough food. If we divide our troops first to remove the strongholds around him, it will be equivalent to removing his minions. I wonder what tricks Cao Cao can use after the stalemate between the two armies this time." Yuan Xi said.
"It would be too unoriginal to just attack our army's rear grain collection point, but it will definitely be a plan for our army's grain. After Cao Chun's defeat in the last battle of Liyang, Cao Cao re-activated Lu Bu as a cavalry commander. Cao Cao's The cavalry army has gradually become a climate, and it would be really disturbing if we don't try to get rid of it," Guo Jia said.
"If Lu Bu's command of his cavalry is indeed a disaster, has Lu Bu really returned home? Not necessarily!" Yuan Xi asked doubtfully, but he did not doubt Cao Cao's personal charm.
The river flows eastward, the sun sets over the mountain stream, and the river is filled with boats of all sizes.
"Get ashore carefully!" "Bring down the weapons and dry food!" Generals of Xu Sheng's army commanded their troops to land ashore.
After more than two thousand soldiers landed on the shore, each with a horizontal coin in his mouth, they took on ropes and bamboo ladders and hurried toward Juancheng under the dusk sky.
When Xu Sheng led his troops to rest for the third time while marching, the new moon had climbed to the middle of the night sky.
The sound of gurgling water came, and Jishui stood in front of more than two thousand soldiers.
Xu Sheng took off his military robe and put on tight black clothes. He tied a ring-headed steel knife on his back, held a dagger in his mouth, and swam in Jishui with the shield in his hand. The more than 40 soldiers following Xu Sheng also swam across the water.
Bonfires were lit on the south bank of Jishui River, and more than a dozen straw huts were scattered along the Jishui River outside Juancheng. Yanzhou Army sentries occasionally patrolled along the river bank in groups.
Xu Sheng's group did not attack the sentries in the hut. They crawled all the way to the bottom of Juancheng, and after finding out several hidden sentries, they turned back and hunted the sentries on the river bank.
Xu Sheng's personal soldiers were originally engaged in the business of killing people and intercepting goods with Xu Sheng, so they were quite familiar with this kind of latent attack and killing.
Half an hour later, all two thousand soldiers lurked under Juancheng.
"Brother Xu, do you think it's so quiet in the city?" A sailor leader asked in Xu Sheng's ear doubtfully.
Xu Sheng looked around and saw a torch burning every two feet on the city wall, and a soldier only every two or three feet.
"I guess you are very relieved about the sentries by the river." Xu Sheng replied softly, "You lead a few teams to use bamboo ladders and reach up from the corner of the city first, and we will follow!"
The little leader agreed, and immediately led people to lift the bamboo ladder and gently set it up on the city wall. The soldiers climbed up the ladder carefully, ten steps, eight steps, six steps, four steps, two steps. The soldiers were secretly happy that the enemy soldiers did not notice them.
"Ah!" "Ding bell!" The soldier who was the first to climb up the wall shouted softly. He could not jump behind the city wall, and his whole body was covered with a layer of net-like things. The net was also covered with small hooks, which cut his hands and face. There was blood all over it.
"Ding bell! Ding bell!" The sound of bells kept ringing on the city wall. The soldiers who jumped onto the wall were all entangled in the net.
"The enemy is attacking!" "Come quickly!" The Yanzhou soldiers guarding the city shouted, and the sound of golden drums spread to the city.
The Yanzhou soldiers guarding the city immediately took action and stabbed down the soldiers on the bamboo ladder.
"What the hell is going on?" Xu Sheng asked angrily outside the city.
A soldier who fell down was uneasy. "It's a fishing net. There are fishing nets all over the city, and there are hooks and thorns."
"While the Yanzhou people haven't gathered, cut down the fishing nets quickly!" Xu Sheng shouted.
For a time, all the bamboo ladders were erected to the top of the city, and the soldiers climbed up again. But when they want to cut the fishing net with a knife.
The Yanzhou garrison had already been prepared. They stabbed down with long spears and pushed away the bamboo ladder with long spears.
"Fire the arrow!" Xu Sheng ordered.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" The lowly archers of the Jizhou Army hurriedly fired arrows to cover, but the two strong attacks were blocked by the Yanzhou soldiers.
After approving the armor, Yu Jin rushed to the city wall.
He raised his spear and shouted loudly: "The thieves are attacking the city at night. There are not many of them. Throw down the torches!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" Throwing firewood to the bottom of the city, the guards could vaguely see the Jizhou soldiers below.
Although they don't know how many there are, the Lord General said it wasn't much, so they preconceptionally thought it wasn't much. So they shouted. Firmly occupy the wall.
"The boiling oil is ready!" shouted the soldiers on the city wall. They used long ladles to pour the boiling oil mixed with poison into the city and countryside. For a time, many soldiers under the city were scalded to death.
"Leave quickly!" Xu Sheng shouted.
The Jizhou soldiers immediately evacuated the city wall without being ordered, and their sneak attack failed.
