In mid-November, Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong gathered in Qixian County and traveled upstream along the winding Jing River.
The cold winter wind was howling, and most of the trees on the mountains on both sides had lost their leaves. Only evergreens such as pines and cypresses were still green. The 20,000 Han troops and the grain ships moved forward at a constant speed, marching only more than thirty miles a day.
After walking for two days, Huang Zhong became more and more anxious and urged Zhao Yun: "Zilong, the army is moving so slowly. Yide is already better prepared than us. If we continue to be slow, we will lose. Why don't we let the troops move a little faster?" "
"It's inconvenient to transport food in winter, so it's better to go slower. As long as the war is ultimately won, why should we take winning or losing so seriously? Is it possible that the old general made a bet?" Zhao Yun joked with a smile.
"I'm already at this age, what do I want from those things outside my body? I just want to repay Your Majesty for your kindness. Besides, without Taiwei Dingjunshan's advice, I wouldn't be able to get that kind of credit. As a human being, you have to repay kindness, right?" Huang Zhong said seriously.
"Then I'll consider myself satisfied. I'll wait until I meet Cao Zhen and Zhang He in a few days and let the old general go to battle first." Zhao Yun replied grandly.
Huang Zhong frowned and said seriously: "Zilong, don't change the subject. I'm saying that the march is too slow. If we continue at this speed, the three generals may have established their military power and will march fifty miles a day starting tomorrow."
"The weather has turned cold at this time, and the soldiers are carrying too much weight. It is too tiring to march fifty miles a day, so it is better to march thirty miles a day. If Yidezhen shows his strength, Cao Zhen's retreat will be cut off, and he will naturally be more likely to collapse." Zhao Yun said without hesitation. Moved.
"Zilong, don't forget that I am the commander-in-chief." Huang Zhong stood up as soon as he slapped the table, with a slight anger on his face. His words showed that he was the general of Zhengxi, which was greater than Zhao Yun's general of Zhenxi.
Zhao Yun saw that Huang Zhong was old but had a childlike character, so he patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Your Majesty did not decide on the general before leaving. Does the old general remember what happened in Hanzhong? The Taiwei also asked us to discuss it, so why are you in such a hurry? Woolen cloth?"
"Uh." Huang Zhong was reminded like this, remembering that in the Battle of Hanzhong, he advanced lightly on Mianshui River and was accidentally surrounded by Zhang He's army. Zhao Yun managed to rescue him and escaped, so he scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.
"Of course I will never forget Zilong's kindness in rescuing him, but now," Huang Zhong said in a less forceful tone.
"Old General, you might as well take a guess, why did the Taiwei insist on betting with Situ Sai even though he knew we were at a disadvantage along the way?" Zhao Yun asked meaningfully.
"Pang Situ was on the Western Front before and must know the situation in Longyou very well. If the Taiwei insists on doing this, could it be because he has more money?" Huang Zhong blurted out like a child.
"Haha, no." Zhao Yun shook his head and laughed, then explained: "How long has Pang Situ been in Tianshui? Don't forget that Captain Fatai is a Fufeng person. He should be very clear about Longyou, the stable geographical environment, and the cultural climate. So he thinks about things more comprehensively than we do.”
"So the outcome is not yet known?" Huang Zhong stroked his beard and said to himself.
"So march more safely. As long as we don't lose to Cao Zhen and Zhang He, we may not lose to Yide." Zhao Yun continued to add.
After hearing this, Huang Zhong said excitedly: "I can lose to anyone, but I can't lose to Zhang He. Just do as Zilong wants. It doesn't hurt to go a few more days."
"That's right." Zhao Yun stroked his beard and smiled.
Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong marched slowly as planned. However, in order to occupy the favorable terrain, their opponent Zhang He led his troops from Linjing, the administrative center, to set up defenses early, arriving half a month earlier than the Han army.
At the intersection of Jingshui and Nishui (now Malian River), the main road of Jingshui made an N-shaped turn, surrounded by towering barren mountains. Zhang He took charge of the village at the narrow southeastern part of the N-shaped terrain.
With half a month's time difference, Zhang He had enough time to build the deer stronghold and arrange defensive facilities such as horse blocking. In the more than ten years since he and Liu Bei were enemies, he often encountered stronger opponents. Zhang He developed a good temper to withstand pressure. I'm also used to double rowing with defense towers.
Seeing the well-equipped camp to the north, Zhao Yun frowned: "General Huang, this camp is well-organized. It should be a famous general under Cao Zhen's command. We encountered a tough situation in the first battle."
"Don't be that turtle-turned-Zhang He, right?" Huang Zhong had a bad feeling.
"That's not certain. It's getting late at this time. Yun Xian arranged for people to set up camp. Please ask the old general to go and find out the truth." Zhao Yun said in a consultative tone.
"Just what I wanted." Huang Zhong clasped his hands and led his soldiers towards the enemy camp.
Half an hour later, before the Han army's camp was set up, Huang Zhong returned to the camp angrily. As soon as he got off his horse, he threw his sword to his followers and went straight to the main tent to complain to Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun saw that Huang Zhong had a sullen look on his face, so he asked doubtfully, "What's going on?"
"I have such a mouth." Huang Zhong gave himself a slap, and then said angrily: "It is indeed Zhang He, that old turtle. I have been yelling at him for a long time. That guy is standing on horseback in the village like a stake. You How can there be such a shameless person?"
Zhao Yun invited Huang Zhong to sit down on the bed, and said with a smile: "Zhang He has a cautious personality. As the general, he resists the Han army. How can he easily leave the stronghold to fight? It is normal to ignore the old general."
"That's not the case. This guy just bullies the weak and fears the strong. We fought many times in Chencang and he didn't come out. Why did he dare to leave the city when General Yan called for formation? It's not because he is afraid of dying under my sword." Huang Zhong was angry.
"The old general is brave and extraordinary. It is very reasonable for Zhang He to avoid your sharp edge. It seems that to defeat Zhang He, he needs to be outsmarted." Zhao Yun fell into deep thought after saying this.
"How can we outwit him when the captain is not here?" Huang Zhong looked at Zhao Yun expectantly. Although he was old and brave, he was not as good as Zhao Yun in terms of tactics, so he no longer regarded himself as a general.
"Let me think about it, there should be a way." Zhao Yun lowered his head and muttered to himself. He suddenly remembered that the Wei army was short of food and grass, and a strategy flashed into his mind. He excitedly said to Huang Zhong: "The old general still fights every day. Let me create a conspiracy for Zhang He."
"Uh, that's good." Huang Zhong was doubtful.
After resting for a night, Huang Zhong led his troops to fight early in the morning. Zhang He ordered his troops to be fully armed and on standby in the camp. He hung a no-war sign outside the gate of the camp to avoid fighting. No matter how insulted the Han army was, they did not respond.
Supervisor Huang Zhong scolded him for a while, and suddenly his bodyguard reported that Zhao Yun was coming, so he turned around to meet him.
"Zilong, what are you doing?" Huang Zhong saw that the soldiers behind Zhao Yun did not carry weapons, but were carrying pots, food, dry firewood and other things for cooking.
Zhao Yun explained with a smile: "I think the weather is cold and the soldiers are working hard in the field, so I asked the soldiers to set up pots and cook soup while we warm up and fight with Zhang He."
"Uh, put a pot in front of the battle to make soup? Is this Zilong's conspiracy?" Huang Zhong looked surprised.
"I have to give it a try. I don't know if it will work." Zhao Yun nodded lightly.
"This is unheard of, and I guess Zhang He doesn't understand it, so let's give it a try." Huang Zhong was noncommittal.
(End of chapter)
