The deployment of tens of thousands of troops in turns for three days will make the soldiers exhausted, and the loss of food and grass will also increase.
In the end, the harvest was only a few thousand cavalry, plus Wei Xu and Hou Cheng. It was not a loss at all, and it could be regarded as a certain advantage.
This was Yuan Tan's inner drama, because he didn't know how poor Lu Bu was, and thought that the other party should be about the same as him and had eight thousand cavalry under his command.
Of course, Yuan Tan's focus is not actually on this account, but on military morale.
In the past two years, who has been the most dazzling person in the Central Plains region, and even in the Han Dynasty?
Lin Mo recognized the second one, fearing that no one would dare to recognize the first one.
He helped Lu Bu, who was at the end of his rope, to secure Xuzhou step by step, occupy Huainan, and defeat Cao Cao. Today, he can even compete with the northern army. Even people like Ju Shou and Tian Feng, who are the most talented in the world, are in awe of him. He must be very high-spirited. Bar.
However, he won the first battle between the two armies, defeating Lin Mo, the almost invincible think tank, and Lin Mo, Lu Ying's general of the three armies. Based on this alone, no matter how much food and grass he put in, it would not be a loss.
After this defeat, Lu Ying must be in panic. On the contrary, the military morale that was turbulent because of Yan Liang's capture will stabilize or even rise.
The most important point is that Yuan Tan has found confidence. He, Lin Mo, is definitely not invincible. Once the advantage slowly accumulates, Lu Bu will really lose to him, and even finish the battle before the end of the Western Front battlefield. This great leader , who else can be shaken?
"Sir, the night ambush has been arranged." Wen Chou walked into the tent and bowed to Yuan Tan.
After all, he won the battle, Wen Chou felt much better, and his respect for Yuan Tan also increased.
"Okay, then leave it to the people below. General, please take a seat." Yuan Tan planned to take this opportunity to get closer to Wen Chou.
Somewhat carried away, Tian Feng smiled silently but did not interfere.
It is understandable that Lin Mo suffered a hidden loss on the battlefield, and it is normal for Yuan Tan, who is also a young man, to feel a little arrogant.
Moreover, he also followed his own advice and set up ambushes in the three camps, which made Tian Feng even more impressed by him.
"Sir, shall we continue to challenge Lu Ying tomorrow?" Han Ju, who was also sitting in the Chinese military tent, looked at Yuan Tan who was sitting on the handsome chair.
"Or, we can try to attack Lu Bu's camp and check the defense of Lu Bu?" Zhao Rui, who was sitting next to Han Ju, put forward his own opinion.
Wen Chou did not express his position, but the words of the two people made him nod frequently. It was obvious that they were full of fighting spirit.
Yuan Tan pressed his hand and said, "I intend to continue the challenge. After three consecutive days of challenge, coupled with the severe defeat of their cavalry, the morale of Lu Ying must be low now, so of course we must continue."
Even if this is a new move that can be used all over the world, in fact, this move usually requires an absolute advantage in military strength to be able to play it. After all, when the army retreats, the tired soldiers will lose miserably when faced with the new force. .
Therefore, Yuan Tan's approach was to change the number of soldiers and horses every day so that the soldiers could get better rest. This could be regarded as taking advantage of his own strength.
"besides."
Yuan Tan paused, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, "When the challenge comes tomorrow, take advantage of the situation and advance the camp fifteen miles!"
"Wow! You are worthy of your lord Linzi, and you will not give in an inch of ground to Lu Bu who can defeat Cao Cao again and again. This move will definitely scare Lu Jun!" Wen Chou excitedly punched the desk table.
Moving the army camp forward not only boosts the morale of one's own side, but also damages the morale of the enemy. Yuan Tan wants to expand his advantage step by step. Of course Tian Feng understood his thoughts and immediately bowed and said:
"Sir, the Guangxian Dazhai can accommodate an army of 200,000 because of the open terrain. Once the army moves forward, the passage ahead will become narrower and the camp will not be able to gather the army."
This is indeed a problem. In front of Tian Feng, Yuan Tan was relatively humble. He lowered his head and said, "Sir, do you have any good ideas?"
"I see that the camp cannot move forward easily. Just keep suppressing Lu Bu. When the time is right, divide one army and occupy the whole mountain. If the two fronts attack immediately, Lu Bu will be defeated."
"Sir, you are too cautious. There is no need for that."
Wen Chou was tired of this kind of petty and slow advance. He was not happy at all. He waved his hand and said: "I think what you said is in line with the current situation of our army. The advance of the army stronghold will make Lu Jun frightened. Maybe we can not attack ourselves." break!"
When two thoughts, one anxious and one slow, collide, conflicts will inevitably arise.
In fact, if conditions permit, Yuan Tan will indeed focus more on Tian Feng, but his considerations are not limited to the confrontation between the two armies, but also the future position.
In terms of influence in the Northern Army, Tian Feng couldn't compare to Wen Chou, nor could he compare to the two brothers Xin Ping and Xinpi beside him.
Especially since Yan Liang had been captured alive, receiving support from Wen Chou was equivalent to receiving support from hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Northern Army.
Of course, the most important thing is that he really doesn't think there is any problem with moving Dazhai forward. In a war, it is good to take steps step by step, but sometimes it is necessary to cut off the situation.
After much thought, Yuan Tan decided to move to Dazhai according to the established plan.
"If you must move Dazhai forward, Master, you must first occupy Qishan. Otherwise, once the Lu army is occupied, this terrain will wrap up our army like a cloth bag, which is extremely disadvantageous!"
"This is based on what Mr.
Yuan Tan nodded and said firmly: "After Dazhai moves forward, I will send another 50,000 people to Qishan to occupy the high ground."
"Sir, it's better to occupy Qishan first and then move camp." Tian Feng advised earnestly. He didn't know that what Yuan Tan had in mind was actually no less than his, but they just had different priorities.
According to Tian Feng, it is very simple for the army to move forward. It is an act of demonstration under the condition of high morale.
But if you want to retreat, it will not be so easy. The suppression of morale is on the one hand, and being chased during the retreat is another.
Yuan Tan shook his head. This time, he refused directly. "At this moment, we must advance to Dazhai first to chill the morale of the army. The order cannot be messed up."
As long as the stronghold is established, Lu Bu can still rush out. His military strength is only 60,000.
Tian Feng tried to persuade him several times but was blocked by Wen Chou, Han Ju and others, so much so that he almost had a head-on conflict with Wen Chou, but Yuan Tan immediately intervened.
Tian Feng is good at everything, but he is too rigid and sometimes looks like he has obsessive-compulsive disorder. If not for this, he would not have been thrown to the Qingzhou front by Yuan Shao. He is a typical person with high IQ and low EQ.
Wen Chou actually had no ill intentions towards Tian Feng. He just wanted to quickly defeat Lu Ying and form a two-line flanking attack with Yuan Shao to rescue Yan Liang.
Therefore, when a family has a big business, there will always be problems of one kind or another. In many cases, it is not even possible to distinguish right from wrong, but they just have different positions.
When it comes to loyalty, Wen Chou is no less loyal to the Yuan family than Tian Feng.
After stopping the quarrel, they had a light celebration banquet in the Chinese military tent. It was a rule set by Yuan Tan not to drink alcohol. Now that he had some advantages, he would not be so excited that he would get drunk alone. He wanted to let These generals are always in combat mode.
While they were feasting on meat in the central military tent, Zhang Yang placed some meat and fruits in the northwest of the camp and burned the memorial bamboo with tears in his eyes.
Wei Xu, Hou Cheng, and Zhang Yang were all old friends. They had been on the battlefield together when they were in Luoyang. Now it was Zhang Yang who was the one who exposed the corpses in the mountains and begged Yuan Tan to allow him to be buried in the mountains and forests.
At the beginning, Zhang Yang was heartbroken but acted as if nothing had happened. He seemed to be deeply afraid of exposing the purpose of his trip. This was the mentality of a warrior. He thought a lot, but it turned out that he was still wrong. He was immersed in his own world.
In the end, Xu Shu came forward to give advice and asked him to take the initiative to find Yuan Tan. We are here to seek refuge. We can do whatever we want in our hearts. Deliberate concealment will only expose more problems. This seems to be the truth when Zhang Yang hears it. No wonder he has to let me Wait until you arrive before setting off to the North Country. It turns out that you are using your brain just like the unmasked virtuous son-in-law.
"Drink, brothers, this is your favorite autumn wine." Zhang Yang held the wine bottle and tilted it, sending them on their last journey.
After saying goodbye to Hanoi and never returning, Zhang Yang felt a little sad. First it was Hao Meng, then Wei Xu and Hou Cheng. Some people only lived under the willow tree where they parted in a hurry.
After a night of silence, Lu Jun did not come to rob the camp, which was unexpected but also reasonable.
This is quite good. After suffering such a big loss, we can only retreat. It seems that our morale is very unstable and we dare not take any more risks.
It was just dawn, and after breakfast, the 35,000-strong army began to huff and puff towards Lu Ying again.
Not long after they left, a group of about 20,000 people followed behind them. These people were going to set up a stronghold fifteen miles ahead.
According to Yuan Tan's requirements, it was necessary to take into account the terrain and accommodate as many sergeants as possible, so it was built according to the scale of Lu Camp.
The advantages and disadvantages are quite obvious. It is close to the huge ocean water, so it is convenient to get water, and it is upstream and there is no need to worry about the other party blocking the water flow. The disadvantage is that it is too close to Qishan, only a few miles away, and it is easy to be harassed.
The abuse outside Lu Ying still continued from the morning until near dusk. What was different from before was that today everyone chose to ignore it tacitly, and yesterday's painful lesson was still vivid in their minds.
Even Lu Bu himself just sat on the handsome chair in the central military tent and rubbed the surface of Fang Tian's painted halberd.
"Ming Jin, withdraw the troops." Yuan Tan gave the order, the clanging sound of Jin Jin sounded, and the army began to retreat.
Lu Jun did not attack, which was expected. However, after yesterday's scene, everyone was the most cautious when returning. Everyone felt that their ears were pricked up to listen to the sound of horse hooves.
"I am Changshan Zhao Zilong, anyone who stands in my way will die!" A cavalry of three to four hundred people suddenly appeared on the flank. Judging from the direction, it was obvious that they ran down from the other side of Qishan.
Changshan Zhao Zilong's name had already been heard loudly in Xiaoguan, so this shout did have a lot of deterrent effect on the Northern Army. The Yuan Army to the west quickly dispersed.
Yuan Tan was quite dissatisfied with this. Although their embarrassment and escape were arranged in advance, yesterday they ran away very naturally. Today they were clearly really timid, and their eyes could not deceive others.
Wen Chou from the Central Military Department tightened his spear and looked sideways at Zhao Yun.
It was Zhao Yun who rescued Gongsun Zan from himself when he was at Jieqiao. He was still an unknown junior at that time. Afterwards, Wen Chou learned that the person he was fighting against was named Zhao Yun.
It was six or seven years later that I heard this name again. The news came back from the Central Plains that Zhao Yun single-handedly challenged thousands of Cao Ying's men under Xiaoguan City and retreated unscathed. It was so majestic.
But in Wen Chou's view, there was still an unfinished fight between them. He knew that Zhao Yun was not simple, but he did not think that he would lose to the opponent.
If it weren't for the formation issue of entering the camp first, he would have really wanted to go up with his gun and kill them.
Closer, closer, closer. Yuan Tan's right hand has been raised. The first campers have all adjusted their directions and are ready to go. They only need to wait for the last two layers of human walls to disperse before they can shoot the opponent.
Just when Yuan Tan was about to wave his hand and give an order, Zhao Yun and the cavalry suddenly turned around and ran wildly along the side road.
"They changed direction, hurry up! They're going to the southwest!" Yuan Tan reacted and shouted quickly. The heavy crossbow that climbed into the camp first was a bit cumbersome, so he quickly picked up the big crossbow and adjusted it according to Yuan Tan's pointer.
There was nothing they could do, there were so many people in front of them, and no trace of the enemy troops could be seen, it was all under the command of Yuan Tan who was sitting on a tall horse.
The problem is that the opponent keeps running all the way without stopping, and there is no way to aim at it.
"Fire arrows!" The more than 360 riders behind Zhao Yun were all holding strong bows. They didn't even need to aim, they just fired a shower of arrows at the crowd, and more than 200 people fell to the ground after being hit by arrows.
In fact, even elites like Hakuba Yicong cannot shoot accurately at high speeds. Sometimes they will slow down to aim. Only in this way can the turbulence be reduced.
But it’s obviously not necessary in front of us. There are tens of thousands of people, so why don’t you shoot casually?
Moreover, the Northern Army was already exhausted, their movements became extremely slow, and their reactions were also very slow. Facing the unpredictable rain of arrows, they could not fight back except passively being beaten.
The only thing Zhao Yun has to pay attention to is to keep a stone's throw away.
This kind of gameplay made Yuan Tan a little at a loss. One moment he shouted for archers to shoot, another moment he shouted for shield soldiers to block, and he also shouted for spearmen to be sent to encircle them, but the effect was not great.
"Follow me and kill them!" Wen Chou saw what Zhao Yun was thinking. He was clearly taking advantage of the lack of horses and horses of the northern soldiers. He did not bother with the first camp at all, but only shot the stragglers who had lost their formation on the outside. That’s all.
Wen Chou and his eight hundred cavalry shouted, and a passage was immediately opened in front.
"Zhao Zilong, please leave. I am An Ping Wen Chou. Do you dare to fight me?"
Wen Chou Zhao Yun turned around and glanced at him. He was indeed the man who fought against him back then.
If conditions permit, of course I want to fight him again, but it's a pity that I have military orders. Today, I mainly focus on flying kites, dragging these Yuan troops on the periphery and beating them violently. Seeing the cavalry chasing after them, Zhao Yun withdrew towards Qishan.
After half a year of training, this cavalry team had a very good tacit understanding with Zhao Yun. They followed Zhao Yun all the way and quickly left the battlefield.
After chasing for a certain distance, Wen Chou raised his hand to stop the pursuit. This group of cavalry was very fast and ordinary cavalry could not catch up. They had to go back and mobilize elite fast cavalry.
In addition, once entering Qishan, Wen Chou was worried that there would be an ambush, so he just drove them away.
He returned to the army. Yuan Tan was gathering the troops led by Zhao Yun, who were in chaos. The two had a conversation and felt that this approach might not work. Before he could finish speaking, he heard someone shouting: "Zhao Zilong is coming back to fight again." Got it!"
A commotion ensued.
"asshole!"
Wen Chou was angry this time. He raised his gun and shouted: "Han Juqian will lead five hundred cavalry to outflank from the left wing. Zhao Rui, lead five hundred cavalry to block it from the right wing. I will pursue Zhao Yun myself!"
"Here!"
(End of chapter)
