Back to Liu Bei, after Liu Bei made good friends with Lu Bu, he sent scouts from time to time to find out about the Huns in Taiyuan.
The overall situation in Taiyuan was really irreversible. The prefect Gai Du had been killed in the Battle of Jinyang. Xu Bu Shanyu cut off his head, smeared it with lime and hung it under a goshawk holding the sun, while he besieged the counties in Taiyuan County. , he ordered his personal general Shan Yuzhan to circle the city for several weeks, and the defense of the city and countryside was timid, so that no city could hold out for more than five days. After ten months, only Jiexiu and Zishi counties were left in Taiyuan that had not been conquered.
Under such a one-sided situation, the Black Mountain thieves operating in the eastern part of Taiyuan could not bear the loneliness, and organized a cavalry to go down the mountain to rob. I sat on the top of the mountain to fight, and struck hard to rob, and they managed to gather 20,000 people at once. Many people were lucky enough to escape the trampling of the Huns' horse hooves, and then had to face the steel knives of the Black Mountain bandits.
The entire Taiyuan County has completely become a hunting ground for barbarians and bandits, with wailing and moaning everywhere. Liu Bei stepped up his efforts to pick up the fleeing people in Yangtou Mountain, and sent envoys to communicate with Xihe. He sent more than ten people one after another. Most of them were blocked by refugees because they were unfamiliar with the geography. In the end, only three people arrived at Lishi, and they spent five days anxiously. A few days later, Liu Bei finally received a reply from Chen Chong.
The person who came to deliver the message was Meng Jian and Meng Gongwei. Meng Jian had not yet reached the top, but his speech was mature and steady. He said to Liu Bei: "Liu Xiaowei came at the right time! Now your troops are stretched thin, and you have more than enough to retreat, but not enough to advance. Originally, Mr. We are only 40% sure of winning. The school captain's arrival is like the rain after a long drought. The teacher said that we are sure of winning this time!"
Next, Meng Jian told Chen Chong's deployment: Now Xu Bu Shanyu has gathered a large army in Taiyuan. Although it is difficult to match the force, it will not last long. The Xiongnu rebellion was just to refuse the corvee and live in Bingzhou. But now all the strong men and women are in Taiyuan, and their relatives are still scattered all over the Bingzhou.
Among the Xiongnu tribes, none were more rebellious than Tuge and Tiefu. Chen Chongke led the coalition forces to attack Shangjun. All the young and old of the two tribes were captured by the coalition forces. The coalition forces then turned eastward and spread propaganda to the Xiongnu army. This will surely cause the army to lose morale and collapse without fighting.
It's just that such an action would take more than a month. Xu Bu Shanyu would definitely not sit back and watch the success or failure. Chen Chong originally planned to let Yang Hui repeatedly harass and block his advance during Pingzhou, but now that Liu Bei has arrived, he naturally has to shoulder the important task of involving the army, leaving Liu Bei alone.
Naturally, Liu Bei readily agreed to the promise, and immediately made a request: a bait is needed for the raid. Currently, there are still two counties in Taiyuan, Zishi and Pingtao, which have not yet been captured. Yang Huidang will lead his troops to garrison one of them and attract the main force of the Huns to the west of Zhaoyuze. Liu Bei Then he led his army to hide on the east bank of Zhaoyu Ze, using the water as a cover, waiting for opportunities to attack and harass.
After the discussion was completed, Liu Bei summoned Guan Yu and Zhang Fei that night to reorganize the troops, select the brave men from Shangdang Township who were good at fighting, and incorporated them into the army. The remaining ones were responsible for transporting grain, grass and baggage, and guarded the Yangtou Mountain to continue to guide the fleeing people. After the arrangements were made, the army had a full night's sleep and raised the flag at noon the next day to go on the expedition.
After crossing Yangtou Mountain, Liu Bei did not go straight to Zhaoyuze. Instead, he went south around the foothills, made a big circle, and then stationed at Jie Shan, which is twenty miles north of Jie Shan. Zhaoyu Ze, and to the east of Zhaoyu Ze, are the five counties of Zedong that were in danger of falling.
Today, thousands of Hu troops are stationed in each of the five counties of Zedong, supporting each other and forming a flanking defense line made of cities against the main Xiongnu force. However, for Liu Bei, it is also an obstacle that he must break through.
No matter who it is, a siege is a brutal hell that must be filled with human lives. Now that Liu Bei is outnumbered and alone, hastily attacking the city is not the best strategy. Fortunately, Liu Bei had already thought carefully and immediately cut down trees on the boundary mountain. He set up camp for several miles in one day. He also made siege equipment such as rams, stone machines, and ladders. He also searched and rescued the people at the bottom of the mountain, and intercepted and killed the wandering Huns cavalry. , claiming to the prisoners that he had 30,000 troops, and soon he would stop attacking and persuade the prisoners to surrender as soon as possible.
At night, the prisoners were placed in the outer camp near the cliff. One person visually observed that the cliff was only two feet high, and there were piles of pine grass and soft rocks at the foot of the cliff. So he wrapped himself in hemp and jumped down from the cliff. Sure enough, he was not injured. Taking advantage of the Han army's lack of time to react, all the prisoners followed him one after another, descended Jie Mountain in a hurry, and hurriedly reported the news to Jie Xiu.
The person stationed in Jiexiu was Dugu Gudu Hou Su Kelan. He was shocked when he received the news. It should be noted that there are only twenty miles between Jieshan and Jiexiu City, but tens of thousands of troops are marching here without him knowing it. Within half a day, the enemy army can come to surround the city. It is difficult for a county to resist it, and the combined forces But he was unable to take care of the five counties, and Xubu Chanyu besieged Pingtao a hundred miles away. Water from afar could not quench his thirst nearby.
Thinking back to the painful lesson of Zadu being ambushed in Lin County, Su Kelan made a decisive decision and decided to strike first. He quickly ordered to summon all the Hu troops in the five counties, a total of 30,000, intending to rush forward to encircle the boundary mountain and trap the Han army here. However, the Han army on the boundary mountain was sitting on a favorable location, but seemed to be at ease, allowing Su Kelan to gradually tighten force. Such a situation made Su Kelan conclude that there was a trap on the mountain, so he ordered all the troops to slow down and go up the mountain cautiously.
There is silence among the mountains and forests. Apart from the sunshine and the shade of the trees, the only sound is the footsteps and breathing of the Hu people who have deliberately slowed down. The Han army's camp on the top of the mountain is like a rolling stone that can fall at any time, crushing people in an instant. At the end of the day, when Su Kelan's search reached the mountainside and the moon was slowly rising, he realized that something was wrong. If the Han army had an ambush, they would miss the opportunity if they did not launch their attack at this time. It was just a report from a prisoner. How could we explain the camp in front of us?
Su Kelan walked slowly for two more moments, but he couldn't bear the anxiety in his heart, so he immediately gave the order and led the front army to attack the camp directly. The Xiongnu soldiers groped from the afternoon until midnight. It was already full of moonlight and stars were everywhere. They could not muster their strength. They took their swords and guns and rushed into the camp. However, they saw that there was no one in the Han camp, except for more than a thousand grasses. People are holding torches that are about to burn out, and ashes and dust are everywhere.
How could Dugu Sukelan still not know that he had fallen into the trap of dispatching troops? At this moment, he was really furious. He took a knife and split the Han army flag at the camp gate into several pieces. He said angrily: "Do the Han people think I am a pig dog?" He immediately ordered the entire army to turn down the mountain and quickly return to the defensive boundary.
But the Huns spent a whole day and night in the mountains and fields, and there was no strength left. Now the ready-made barracks was right in front of them. No matter how Su Kelan whipped and persuaded, the soldiers did not want to move a step.
After successfully mobilizing Su Kelan, Liu Bei was so proud that he went back to where he came from and made another circle, from Jie Mountain back to Sheep Head Mountain. Just when Su Kelan had just groped to the mountainside, Liu Bei ordered The whole army changed their horses and quickly turned to Qi County. At this time, there were only more than 200 guards in Qi County. Even though the city wall was strong, there was no way to hold on. In order to preserve their strength, the people in the city abandoned the city and attacked Pingtao. After being routed and fleeing, Liu Bei was able to seize control of Qi County without losing any blood.
It wasn't until the afternoon of the second day that Su Kelan led his army panting to the foot of Qixian County. Liu Bei had time to put up the Dongping flag on the city tower. Looking at the cloud-patterned tiger flag flying on the city tower, Su Kelan rode his horse there. Under the city gate, he shouted at Liu Bei with a knife: "Han! How dare you go out of the city to compete with my Huns warriors!"
Liu Bei took off his coat, revealing his still young face. He replied to Dugu Sukelan, who was in the city: "You have lost the city and the territory, and you are already a defeated general under my command. How can you compete with me?"
Dugu Sukelan rode his horse around and said angrily: "You just used deceit to gain the city by chance. Our army is still there, our weapons are still strong, our bows and arrows are like rain, and our knives are like forests. Now you are sitting in the city of Chou, isolated and helpless, and you are about to die." It’s here! If you offer the city, I can spare your life; if you go out of the city to fight, I can give you a good burial; if you persist in your stubbornness and wait to die upstairs, then I will cut you into pieces and feed you to dolphins and dogs. !”
Liu Bei couldn't help laughing when he heard this. He put on his pocket again and said calmly: "You stand back a little, and I will open the door and fight with you. However, if you lose, I will not kill you. Recently, my family, Riyueqi, has lost his appetite. If I win without eating green grass for five days, how about you herding my horses for a month?"
How could Dugu Sukelan endure such public humiliation? He immediately laughed angrily and said, "Why not? Give me your name! Naiweng is the Marquis of Dugu Gudu, and he will never collect the corpse for Ni'er!"
Liu Bei shook his head and said with a smile: "It's useless to talk more. Let's see the real results on the battlefield!"
After saying this, Dugu Sukelan seriously retreated one mile to the east and set up his battle array. And Liu Bei did as he was told, opened the city gate, and led the entire army forward with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. The two armies faced each other, with one side having 30,000 troops and the other side having more than 10,000 troops. Seeing that Liu Bei was really outnumbered and outnumbered, Dugu Sukelan couldn't help but feel a little admiration. He said to his followers: "Han'er has such courage. It is not easy to follow me, you must fight hard and make my Dugu tribe's martial name famous here!"
Liu Bei ordered Zhang Fei to beat the drum for the whole army. Zhang Fei stood on the drum alone and said to Liu Bei and Guan Yu: "My brother is here to see the two brothers' achievements!" Then he took off his coat and exposed his muscular upper body. Holding a drumstick, he hit the war drum hard and shouted to the sky: "Kill the thief!"
The sound was like the roar of a tiger, and the sound was like the strong wind, which struck directly into the hearts of every Han soldier and awakened the bravery hidden in their hearts. The whole army could not help but shout: "Kill the thief!"
"Kill the thief!"
Three times "Kill the thief", the voice of the Han army reached the sky. Liu Bei smiled at Guan Yu and said: "Yun Chang, the barbarian has fallen into my trap!"
Then he drew his swords and led his army to charge forward.
The front line of tens of thousands of people slowly started in front of the city, gradually accelerating with the sound of drums. Not to be outdone, Su Kelan then led the entire army forward to greet him. In the midst of the ever-diffusing smoke and dust, two long walls made of human flesh collided hard like steel!
In an instant, everyone lost their voice at this moment. Even if Zhang Fei kept hitting the drum head hard, no matter old soldiers or new soldiers, no matter Hu people or Han people, everyone in the battle lost their hearing. Both sides had only one thought! One action!
Tear the enemy's line apart! Pierce the enemy's lines!
Liu Bei rushed at the front. Dugu Sukelan knew his position and immediately sent a dozen wolf and felt horsemen to try to surround Liu Bei. Liu Bei's horse flew his sword, leaned over and passed by the few knights in front of him. Ming Huqi tried to pursue him, but suddenly he felt a pain in his thigh and could not hold the horse's belly. The horses under him bumped several times and fell to the ground.
Guan Yu tried to come to protect Liu Bei, but Liu Bei shook his head and said with a smile: "What's the matter? Yun Chang, can you capture a horseman alive for me?"
Guan Yu stroked his beard and smiled and said: "It's as easy as picking something out of a bag!" But he saw this man with a beautiful beard taking a few steps back and looking at the fighting in the distance: Dugu Sukelan, wearing a felt hat with eagle feathers on his head and a rolled grass blue cloak, was among his troops. They moved towards the left wing in a crowd, and looked towards Liu Bei from time to time.
Finally, when the battle line became a little tired and Su Kelan commanded the soldiers of the second line to move forward, Guan Yu seized this fleeting opportunity and whipped his horse, like a sharp sword, cutting through the silk cloth. The change of ranks had not yet been completed. Guan Yu's front line was penetrated by Guan Yu's cavalry alone. Dugu Sukelan was in the front line. Seeing the person coming was as big as a mountain and running like the wind, he couldn't help but feel frightened. But at this time, he had nowhere to escape and could only hold his head high. Fight with the knife.
With a smile on his lips, Guan Yu also waved the knife in his hand and passed it forward. Guan Yu's casual blow made Dugu Sukelan feel like the world was spinning. He dropped the knife and lost consciousness all over. Unexpectedly, Guan Yu cut off the horse's head directly. The Hu people beside him were dumbfounded, and watched helplessly as Guan Yu lifted Su Kelan onto his horse's back.
At this time, Lu Bu finally arrived from Jicheng, followed by Gao Shun, Cheng Lian and other three hundred armored knights. It's Shenshi now, and the sun is at its strongest. The armored knights came from the east, and the iron pieces shone with dazzling white light in the sun. Looking at the Hun soldiers on the flanks, they seemed like gods descending from the earth, and they were so awe-inspiring that they could not be looked directly at.
Seeing Guan Yu capture Dugu Sukelan alive, Lu Bu turned to his subordinates and smiled: "I didn't expect that there are such heroes among the people of Youzhou. We don't want to lose the martial name of the people of Bingzhou."
