Last year, Hao Zhaoxiang was defeated and could return to Liangzhou via Didao. This was because there were several ferries around the junction of the Tao River and the Yellow River.
Feng Yong thought that now that he was leading the army out of Longxi with great fanfare, he must have alerted the Wei army guard in Xiping County on the other side of the Yellow River.
Liu Hun led the highly mobile cavalry, which could easily patrol the river section to prevent sneak attacks from the opposite side.
"promise!"
Liu Hun cupped his fists and had no objections to Feng Yong's arrangement.
As long as Feng Junhou's orders are given, he will only carry them out to the letter.
On the second day, Feng Yong asked the Dark Night Battalion to go ahead and launch a search.
Then he led the soldiers protecting the Qiang Xiaowei Mansion and then crossed the mountain, letting Jiang Wei lead the three thousand tiger infantry to the rear.
Liu Hun finally led the cavalry to try to go up the mountain. Although they could barely pass, it was still inconvenient.
He had to lead his people back, inspect the route, and work with Governor Chen to guard against the Wei army on the other side of the river.
The person guarding Hexi at this time was Lu Pan, who worked with Hao Zhaoyi to put down the Quying rebellion in Xiping the year before.
He was very nervous when he learned that Feng Yong was leading the army out of Longxi.
People in Liangzhou have been unstable since last year, and General Hao, who had long been famous in Hexi, just died of illness.
The Shu people really chose a good time to send out their army at this time.
Lu Pan even personally led his troops to the west bank of the river, just in case.
Unexpectedly, in these days, I could only see people coming and going on the other side, and even Han troops appeared at several ferries, but I couldn't find where the main force of the Han army was.
This made Lu Pan even more uneasy: Could the Han army be preparing to attack Hexi secretly?
He makes sense.
Because since ancient times, there is no other way to come from Didao except crossing the river and entering the land west of Hexi.
"General, there seems to be some movement from the Wei people opposite."
Liu Hun, who was stationed by the Taoshui River, was a little surprised when he received the news from the sentinel, and quickly led his people to check.
By the time he arrived at the ferry at the junction of Taoshui River and Dahe River, Wei Jun had already begun to row rafts to the middle of the river.
"General, it seems they want to cross the river." A general beside him said.
Liu Hun did not answer immediately. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and observed for a long time, and then said, "Let's go to the river and have a look."
The general pulled Liu Hun with some worry, "General, be careful."
Liu Hun smiled nonchalantly, "What are you afraid of? The bandits from the opposite side haven't come over yet."
"I'm afraid there are sentries near the opposite side." The general reminded, "Besides, our army is in the rear. The general is approaching so rashly, I'm afraid there is something wrong."
"Am I still afraid of mere sentries?" Liu Hun smiled proudly, "Let's go and take a look. We can't see very clearly here."
As he said that, he took the lead and touched forward.
The general had no choice but to take his people with him to follow.
Liu Hun found a high place on the shore, hid his body, widened his eyes, and tried hard to see the other side clearly.
"How many do you think there will be?"
Liu Hun looked at it for a while and then asked.
"The general estimates that there should be six to seven hundred people, but no more than a thousand at most."
The general is also trying to see clearly the situation on the other side.
Liu Hun made a silent calculation in his mind and found that there were indeed no more people on the other side. Then he turned around and said, "Let's go back."
After riding his horse and galloping back to the rear, Liu Hun immediately organized his troops and horses, had people wrap the horses' hooves in cloth, and then immediately led the army to outflank them towards the ferry.
Lu Pan stood on the west bank of the river, looking nervously as the men and horses began to cross the water.
Even on the west bank, it can be seen that the Han army on the other side is making a lot of noise.
What worries him even more is that he heard that Feng Yong is still leading the army this time.
After the Northern Expedition, in Lu Pan's view, Feng Yong was indeed somewhat capable in using troops.
Moreover, he likes to take risks and sneak attacks, which can be seen from the fact that he led his troops to attack Longguan.
Therefore, in order to find out where Feng Yong's main force was, Lu Pan had to take the risk and let people cross the river to test it out.
The men and horses in front quickly crossed the river, and there was no movement on the other side. It seemed that they were not discovered by the Han army. This made Lu Pan finally feel relieved.
There are several crossings in this section of the river. It was the first time for the Han army to leave Longxi and they did not understand the situation, so they may not have known that they would suddenly send people to cross the river.
When most of the men and horses were on the other side, Lu Pan finally felt relieved.
Very good, it seems there is no problem.
So he immediately ordered, "Build the bridge quickly!"
The civilian husband and auxiliary soldiers carried the wood and bamboo that had been prepared long ago and began to build a pontoon bridge on the water.
"General, the Cao thieves are almost finished crossing." The general reminded Liu Hun anxiously.
The look on Liu Hun's face was extremely calm.
His eyes looked toward the water.
The boat used by Cao Cao to cross the water seems to be quite strange.
It seems very light to lift it up by looking at two people, but it can carry ten people without sinking, which is really weird.
"General!"
Seeing that Cao Cao not only crossed the water, but also continued to lay a pontoon bridge behind him, the general couldn't help but remind him again.
Liu Hun's eyes finally narrowed, quite like Feng Junhou's when he squinted.
Wei Jun's sentry scouts have found the ambush army not far in front.
Liu Hun raised his horse.
The cavalry behind him immediately began to stir.
A Wei Jun sentry scout raised his head and looked ahead feeling a little uneasy, and then saw several flags suddenly appearing in front of his eyes, and at the same time he felt the ground begin to shake and level.
In his eyes, he saw a surging red tide.
"run!"
The companion shouted heartbreakingly and suddenly wanted to turn the horse's head.
An arrow flew over and hit him diagonally in the back of the heart.
The companion leaned back involuntarily and fell off his horse.
The sentry was so frightened that he almost passed out of his body. While turning the horse's head, he pressed his body tightly against the horse's back and gave the horse a hard whip.
The war horse neighed and began to charge towards his camp.
So Wei Jun, who had not yet formed a formation, saw his sentry leading a fiery red tide rushing towards him.
"This is...Shu Army! It's Shu Army!"
Wei Jun suddenly became panicked.
Liu Hun followed the sentinel closely, rushed to the front of the Wei army's formation, loosened the reins, and held the horse's shaft tightly with both hands. The long blade of the horse's blade drew across it, immediately bringing up a string of blood beads.
The two Wei soldiers covered their necks and their eyes instantly lost their look.
The sudden charge of the Han cavalry did not allow the Wei army that had just landed to react at all. There was no formation in the first place. After being charged by the Han cavalry, some people turned around and ran to the back.
Liu Hun led the people and rushed out of a road without much hindrance at all, waiting for him to turn around and come back.
Our own cavalry was following the gap he had made, charging wave after wave. At the same time, there were mounted archers on both wings to drive back the Wei soldiers who wanted to flee to both sides.
The Wei army was already unprepared, but now that they were charged like this, they became extremely chaotic, trampling on each other, and many people were forced to turn around and jump into the river.
Watching the Han army rushing into the Wei army's formation like slaughtering chickens and sheep, Liu Hun controlled the reins with one hand and the horse's chariot with the other, his face expressionless.
Ma Shan's blood was still wet, dripping down the blood trough to the ground and seeping into the soil.
The battle started quickly and ended quickly.
Lu Pan, who was standing on the other side, saw all this and just frowned before ordering the troops to retreat.
The half-paved pontoon was also withdrawn.
"General, something is wrong."
The general quickly reported to Liu Hun, "These thieves are all Hu soldiers wearing Wei armor. They are not real Wei soldiers at all."
Liu Hun looked at his generals in confusion, tightened the reins, and rode around the prisoners who had put down their weapons. He found that they were all barbarians, and there was not even a real Wei soldier.
Liu Hun reined in his horse again and walked to the water's edge. Seeing that the people and horses on the opposite side had gathered again, his face finally became a little ugly: "The thief is testing."
No wonder this group of thieves dispersed without a fight. It turned out that they were not the real Wei army at all.
Being tricked by the other party and testing his own defenses made Liu Hun feel a little regretful.
He turned over and dismounted, put the saddle in place, and bent down to pull something up.
It was the tool used by thieves to cross the water that he had noticed before.
I originally thought this thing was not heavy, but when I tried it myself, it turned out to be as expected.
Liu Hun noticed that the boat was actually made of willow branches, but there were more than a dozen bulging skin bags tied to the frame.
He pressed the skin bag with his hand and found that it was empty.
Liu Hun couldn't help but feel so novel and surprised by this discovery.
"Go ask those barbarians, what on earth is this?"
Liu Hun kicked Zhouzi and ordered the generals who had been following him.
The result was quickly revealed: it was a sheepskin that had been blown out.
Although he had some guesses, Liu Hun still couldn't believe it when he heard that it was really sheepskin.
"General, those barbarians said that there are many sheepskin boats like this used to cross the rivers in Liangzhou."
The general explained, "Because the Hu people tend to herd sheep, when they kill the sheep, they peel off the sheep's skin completely and then boil it."
"When you need to use it, you only need to tie up the head, tail and limbs, leaving only a small opening, and then you can float on the water through your mouth."
After hearing this, Liu Hun suddenly realized, "That's it."
He walked a few more steps and saw a different boat.
This boat is obviously much larger than the one just now, and it doesn't look like sheepskin.
"What is this?" Liu Hun asked curiously, squatting down and taking a closer look, "Looks like cowhide?"
The general looked around, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and ran to the prisoners of war again, and brought a foreigner over.
"Sir, this is indeed cowhide."
The Hu people did not dare to hide anything and answered respectfully.
Liu Hun raised his eyebrows: "Bragging?"
The barbarian prisoner of war nodded, "It takes a person with a strong voice to blow on the cowhide. Most people can only blow on the sheepskin."
After learning how to use the kayak from the prisoners of war, Liu Hun, instead of being happy, seemed a little worried.
The Wei people had this kind of boat that was convenient for crossing the river. Doesn't that mean that as long as they found a suitable place, they could come over whenever they wanted?
So I just have to be more careful.
Lu Pan was naturally unwilling to accept the failure of crossing the river this time. He was about to find another way to find out what the other side wanted to do. Unexpectedly, at this time, an abnormal situation occurred on the West Sea.
The Bald Hair Tribe made a fortune a few months ago. The tribe's population and livestock were greatly replenished, and a lot of supplies were purchased from Feng Yong.
The tribe's strength has not only been restored, but it is also better than before.
The Xiqiang in the West Sea area did not see the Bald Haired tribe in the beginning of spring and thought they had moved away, so they happily returned to the pasture occupied by the Bald Haired tribe.
Unexpectedly, the Bald-headed tribe suddenly appeared again in the summer. When they saw that the Xiqiang tribe who had been driven away dared to come to their pasture to graze, they immediately became furious.
The fight between the two parties spread to the edge of Xiping County, which happened to be a sensitive place because it was the place where local wealthy families and Qiang rebelled most frequently.
Nine years ago, Qu Yan of Xiping County colluded with the local wealthy families in Liangzhou counties to rebel. If it were not for Su Ze (Su Ze) urging General Hao to send troops to quell the rebellion and eliminate the rebels in time, there would have been another Liangzhou chaos.
Two years ago, in Xiping again, Qu Ying caused chaos and killed several county magistrates.
Xihai is close to Xiping County. Once the battle between Bald Hair Tribe and Xiqiang spreads there, someone in Xiping County will definitely take the opportunity to cause chaos.
The Han army in the south was ready to cross the river, and the dispute between the Hu people in the north might lead to a rebellion in Xiping, which made Lu Pan's heart burn.
Not long after Xu Governor took office, he encountered the loss of Longyou again, and his prestige was never established.
However, the prestigious General Hao happened to die of illness. The only one who could barely suppress the dispute between the Bald Hair Tribe and the Xiqiang was Lu Pan, who had been following Hao Zhao all these years.
As a result, Lu Pan had to give up continuing to explore the other side.
He arranged his manpower and guarded each ferry, confirming that the Han army would not be able to cross the river in a short period of time, and then hurried back to Xiping to mediate the dispute.
At the same time, he also sent people to Wuwei Guzang to ask Xu Miao for support.
Urgent rescue messages from Yuzhong guards Wei Ping and Lu Pan reached Xu Miao's hands almost at the same time.
Xu Miao was shocked and anxious when he learned that the Han army was attacking Liangzhou in two groups.
What was surprising was that the Han army would attack Liangzhou at this time, because according to Hao Zhao's estimate before his death, the Han people would have to wait at least two years before they would be ready.
What's urgent is that the troops he has now can only support one side.
In desperation, he gathered all the main officials in Guzang and asked for countermeasures, "The thieves are divided into two groups. Should we aid Yuzhong? Should we aid Xiping?"
The officials looked at each other and saw the worried look in their eyes: Why did the Han army arrive so quickly?
"Ming Gong, entering Liangzhou from Longyou, passes through Yuzhong, which is the main road. This place must be the target of the Shu captives, so I feel that it is important to aid Yuzhong."
"Yuzhong and Jincheng rely on each other, and the Shu captives may not be able to capture Yuzhong. Even if I can capture it, I still have Jincheng, so what do I have to fear? Even if Jincheng is lost, I will retreat to the west of the river, and the Shu captives will not help me. what?"
"That's right! I also think it's better to help Xiping. General Lu can't take care of both sides. If the Shu captives cross the river and go north along the Huangshui River, I'm afraid Xiping will no longer be my possession. Without Xiping, can Jincheng survive? Jincheng If it doesn’t survive, Liangzhou will be lost!”
"The one who attacked Yuzhong was the Shu general Wei Yan. He was taking the high road, so he must be an army of thieves. But the thieves from Longxi have been wandering east of the river for a long time, so they are probably suspicious soldiers..."
Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, someone retorted loudly.
"Wei Yan? Can Wei Yan compare to Feng Yong?"
"How can Wei Yan be inferior to Feng Yong? I heard that Wei Yan is a rare brave general among Shu captives..."
This person still hadn't finished speaking when he was interrupted again: "A brave general who was first frightened and then burned under Xiangwu City?"
"you……"
"Feng Yong broke through Longguan and defeated Zhang Junyi. It was a strange attack, but he was ready to fight. I saw that he left Longxi with great fanfare this time and stayed on the east bank for a long time. I'm afraid he was thinking of sneaking across the river!"
Sneaking across the river?
These words suddenly reminded Xu Miao.
He had served as the governor of Longxi and Nan'an, so he was naturally familiar with the situation in Longxi.
"There are several ferries in Longxi from Heguan to Taoshui. Feng Yong is known as Xiao Wenhe and has many tricks. He openly deployed troops at the Taoshui ferry. He couldn't say that he had led troops to Heguan..."
"Ming Gong, the other side of Heguan is controlled by rebel Hu, so how can Feng Yong easily cross the river from there?"
Someone reminded me.
"No! He must have gone to Heguan!" Xu Miao stood up suddenly, his face a little pale, "Don't forget that Feng Yong immediately led the army to attack Longxi to rebel against the Hu as soon as spring started this year."
"The rebels fled all the way to the west. Although they had no power to resist, he only pursued them as far as Daxia County and stopped, sparing the rebels in the Puhan River Pass area."
The more Xu Miao spoke, the faster he spoke, showing his inner anxiety, "Haven't you ever thought about the weirdness in this? He probably did it on purpose!"
After listening to Xu Miao's analysis, someone finally came to his senses: "He has actually subdued the rebellious Hu of Wu Han secretly, but he made a gesture of letting go of the rebellious Hu of Wu Han, just to confuse us!"
"He had planned it long ago and is now preparing to cross the river through the Pohan River Pass!"
Hearing this, everyone became surprised and uncertain: Is this possible? Could it be that the governor is overthinking?
"Two months ago, the Hu people who fled from Heguan to Xiping mentioned that many of the rebellious Hu people in Wuhan proposed to join the Han people, and they even sent envoys."
Xu Miao said word by word.
As soon as these words came out, everyone's faces turned pale.
Someone whispered with trembling lips, "It is indeed Xiao Wenhe..."
