On the Dingchou day of the twelfth lunar month in the sixth year of Yanxing, three days before the end of the new year, the Liang people at the foot of Wuzhangyuan suddenly learned the news: the Shu army had abandoned the camp on the eve of the battle and headed east, heading straight for Chang'an. potential. According to the news from local farmers, they set out at Chou hour, about four hours ago.
After four hours, the experienced veterans all estimated the distance after learning about it: No matter how fast the Shu army moved, after all, the few horses were walking at night, so they would not be walking fast. The distance will definitely not exceed forty miles. If a fast horse chases us, we will probably arrive in two hours.
But differences quickly emerged among the military commanders as to whether to catch up or not.
General Lu Bu naturally advocated continuing the pursuit and fighting the Shu army decisively. He said: "The Shu army abandoned their camp, abandoned the land, and showed me to fly away with my back. This is a great opportunity for a joint battle. We only need to lead our cavalry to follow behind. Could those slow sergeants under Liu Fan's account be able to Do you think so?"
However, former general Han Sui insisted on not fighting. He returned to camp and watched the Shu army's actions. He said: "The Shu army took the initiative to invite a battle and then exposed its shortcomings. It must have been planned. It is unwise to fight recklessly even though it is known to be a fraud. . It’s better to make plans after clarifying the situation.”
Some people also suggested that since the Shu army's baggage all depends on the supply at the valley entrance, why not attack Xiegu first? Once the valley entrance is captured, how long can more than 100,000 people support it without food and grass? Hungry and starved to death. But it was quickly dismissed. After all, it was common sense among military strategists to carry food, grass and baggage. Now that the Shu army dared to abandon Xiegu and go eastward, they must have secretly changed their food routes before they dared to do so. This sentence was exactly what Liu Fan planned. In fact, while he was resting in Wuzhangyuan, he secretly ordered Zhang Lu and others to transport grain via the Tangluo Road. It had just been opened the day before yesterday, and the current change of formation came about.
All in all, there were many opinions, and after arguing for half an hour, we still couldn't make up our minds. Lu Bu had already had enough of such an atmosphere of inconsistency, and shouted angrily in public: "You are all so frightened! Why are you so entangled? Military affairs are basically done in one go. How are you different from the shepherds who are so indecisive?!"
After he opened his mouth to curse, all the generals were silent. At this time, Lu Bu's tone became calmer again, and he said calmly: "Don't think too much. I will lead the attacking army in front, and you will follow behind and watch the overall situation. If I succeed, I will If we take advantage of the situation, if we can't take it, we have to contain it so that the rebel army does not dare to invade Xijing. Otherwise, where will the emperor be placed?"
With this arrangement, the others would not object, and they all returned to their formation and marched eastward. Lu Bu led his 40,000 troops at the front, with Jia Xu and other Dong Zhuo's remaining troops in the middle, the Qiang Di from the three towns of Liangzhou behind, and the front in the middle. It's about four or five miles away. During the discussion, Jia Xu remained silent throughout the whole process.
The Liang army set out at three o'clock in the hour. At this time, the sun was hanging above the head, and its rays were shining down. People felt warm. When they looked up, they saw a bright sky all around, and some of the rocks on the top of the mountain were also exposed. And Lu Bu rode a tall horse at the front, his bright light armor was particularly bright and dazzling, as if he was a man in the sky. Some soldiers were a little hesitant at first, but when they saw Lu Bu's tall figure from a distance, they gradually felt relieved and said privately: Only people like the general can be called the best general in the world.
That being said, the road ahead was delayed after all. They didn't see traces of the Shu army's rear formation until two o'clock in the morning. At this time, the sky was extremely dark, and the thick clouds were like waves coming in layers, pressing down to the low sky. The clouds on the skyline turned dark red, as if they were smeared with blood. Soon snowflakes began to fall sporadically, reflecting dots of red under the red clouds in the sky, like dots of solidified blood clots. People stretched out their hands to pick it up curiously, but what was left in their palms was still snow-white ice crystals.
The Shu army's military formation was less than ten miles to the east, hidden behind blood-red low clouds, but a large number of bonfires were lit, and in conjunction with the numerous flags in the military formation, it was as if they had lit up the clouds. The low clouds were so tight that the mountains and plateaus to the south could not be seen. So Lu Bu ordered the front army to stop and eat some dry food and wait for the center and rear armies to gather. After another half an hour, the center and rear armies also arrived. So Lü Bu was on the left, Jia Xu was in the middle, and San Zhen was on the right. The side extensions are linear. The army is adjacent to the Wei River in the north and Wei Yuan in the south. It is about ten miles long and two miles thick. It forms a formation and moves slowly. Snowflakes fell one after another, and hundreds of thousands of horses rode on the snow. The surroundings were filled with snow and mist, like ghosts walking around.
It got dark quickly, and the Liang army quickly folded their flags and stood up in formation and stopped moving forward. Although the main formation of the Shu army resting can be seen in front, the road cannot be seen clearly. It is estimated that the distance between the forward and the rear team is less than five miles. Han Sui once again sent a message asking if it was too late now, should he continue to march as planned? If that doesn't work, just set up camp to avoid the snow and rest, and then try to join the battle tomorrow.
Lu Bu still insisted on fighting together, even at night. He said: "Although our army is a little tired after walking for a day, isn't that the same for the Shu army? Seeing us coming from afar, they must have thought that nothing happened today. I will lead the army to attack tonight, which must be surprising. Expected, great victory.”
Seeing that the communication envoy was not satisfied, Lu Bu said again: "You can move your army to Kangyuan and watch us capture and kill with the Shu people. When encountering a critical moment, you can go around Nanshan to attack its flanks and send out a line of troops to surround it." To the east, the Shu army will be defeated."
After listening to Lu Bu's words, the envoy knew that the situation was urgent, so he took a message back to the Liang people's formation and reported to Han Sui, Ma Teng, Song Jian and the various Qiang and Di kings. After Han Sui and others fell into battle, they were cooking buttermilk to drink and keep warm. After hearing what was reported, they couldn't help but privately discuss with others: "Lü Bu is so warlike, let's see what he does tonight. If it doesn't work, then You should think about your future options as soon as possible.”
So the messenger reported back to Lu Bu: "The former general and others are ready to watch the battle, but they didn't say anything else."
Lu Bu had already made up his mind about this. After hearing the reply, he didn't say much more. Instead, he sent a message to Jia Xu of the Chinese Army. Lu Bu sent someone to warn him: "If I don't support it, I still hope that Wen He can help." Xu still didn't say much, so he naturally agreed to Lu Bu's request.
After dinner and a short rest, when Lu Bu led ten thousand people out into battle, the snow had stopped. The moon came out of the clouds again at this time, reflecting the bright white scenery on the mountains and below.
With the vision suddenly clear, the knights raised their military flags high and approached slowly in the breeze without the sound of drums. Their formation was not a horizontal formation, but with four battalions in the center, four battalions on the left, four battalions on the right, four battalions in the middle, leaving two battalions behind, forming an inward-curving circular formation, like an arrow attacking forward. This formation can be contracted into a circular formation when defending, and can be used as a wedge to attack the enemy's formation when attacking. It is a formation that can be attacked or defended.
The camps were walking on the ground and felt a little uneasy when they saw the sky was so bright. They listened carefully to the surrounding atmosphere, speculating and praying in their hearts: Has the Shu army discovered them? Or have you fallen asleep? God bless, even if the Shu army finds out, let them get closer!
But nine times out of ten things are unsatisfactory. When they arrived at the plateau where the enemy camp was located, they saw the Shu army arrayed on the silvery white land like a row of huge sea of clouds. The moonlight was hidden behind it, revealing a silvery and cold light. The light is majestic, thick and motionless, as if there are millions of waves hiding behind it. If once provoked, these waves will roar out and roll in, drowning everything in the world.
Opposite them, the Liang army realized that it was difficult to make a surprise attack, so they could only form a majestic formation and wait for Lu Bu's order to attack. In the shadows, the Liang Army's military formation was like a black cloud in the sky that was about to spread rain. It was ready to attack without any fear. Thunder and torrential rain would start at any time.
As for Han Ma Song and others, they gathered their men and Qiang Di people together and moved to a plateau with many trees. These knight secrets are scattered among the snowy ravines and plains in the distance, like a forest standing quietly in the snow. The horses they were riding clumsily paced and turned in the thick snow, losing their former lightness and vigor.
What remains between the sea of white and black clouds is a land squeezed between the Weishui River and a plateau called Duanliuyuan. The white snow covering it is as clean as a blanket. It is ready to welcome zombies and cross currents all over the ground. of black blood.
Now that his whereabouts have been discovered, Lu Bu will no longer hide it. He asked the troops to rest on the spot and eat again, and took out the wheat cakes and water he had prepared in advance to satisfy their hunger, while he called a dozen riders to come over, and handed over the main formation to Gao Shun. He actually left the team and went directly to the Shu formation. It's over.
In front of ten thousand troops, Lu Bu quickly advanced nearly 500 steps in front of the Shu army without any scruples. With the bright moonlight in the night sky, he vaguely observed the formation of the Shu army on the opposite side, and couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. These military formations were closely connected, about several miles thick, and stretched from north to south without end. In the cold wind, there were countless Shu army formations. The yellow flag is flying. There were large shields and heavy crossbows in front of the formation. Most of them were infantry, with only a small number of cavalry. However, the armor rate was extremely high. Under the moonlight, countless dense armor collars shone brightly, which was extremely spectacular.
Lu Bu was probably a little frightened when he watched the Shu army's formation. A rough estimate puts the number at more than 80,000. And he was ready at this time. He had obviously made arrangements and had many designs waiting for him. This made Lu Bu regretful, but when he thought that Han Sui and others were still watching from the southwest plateau, he could not retreat and could only bite the bullet and continue to prepare for the battle.
He thought for a while, then continued to ride his horse towards the Shu army until he was beyond the arrow's range. Then he turned his horse and walked slowly sideways, trying to observe the strength of the Shu people and the location of their commander.
How could the Shu people tolerate such blatant provocation? After a while, several horsemen rushed out of the army formation and headed straight for Lu Bu.
Originally Lu Bu wanted to immediately ride back to the army, but after taking a few steps, he was attracted by the general's attire. He couldn't help but stop again and looked back to take a closer look. These knights ride tall horses. Although they are not as good as red rabbits, they are one head taller than ordinary Bingzhou horses. Their legs are longer, and they are obviously much more agile when marching on the snow.
But what is more eye-catching is the clothing of these knights. Although they wear fish scale armor, outside the armor, they have extremely gorgeous brocade. There are also two-foot-long bird feathers on their helmets, belts and trousers. There are countless bells hanging on the tall tree poles. When they move, the tinkling sound seems like the spring breeze blowing, and it lasts for a long time.
The leading knight was the most gorgeously dressed, wearing a bright red military uniform and carrying a long bow of lacquered gold. He was as fiery as fire in the moonlit night, showing a very different temperament. He pointed at Lu Bu and said arrogantly: "I am the captain of Jiangzhou, Yizhou, Linjiang, Ganning, Ganxingba, who is the general on the opposite side? Let me know your name quickly!"
[1] Duanliuyuan: At the end of the Han Dynasty, an ancient river to the east of Wugongmang was cut off, exposing a wide river channel. Later generations lived on it, forming a river village. On the plain five miles northeast of the village, Liu Wenjing, the Duke of Lu State, was unjustly killed by Li Yuan in the Tang Dynasty. During the Zhenguan period, Taizong Li Shimin commemorated Liu Wenjing's merits, rehabilitated her, and restored her official title. Following the example of the Han Dynasty, the tomb was built in the shape of three mountains to show future generations of Wen Jing's outstanding military achievements in his life of "Chen Ce rebelled against the Sui Dynasty, fought against the Turks, and captured Guanzhong." Only then did the magnificent landscape of "towering three tombs and dense forests of monuments" appear on the vast northern wilderness. From then on, the Duanliu Plain was renamed Mitsukahara.
