Chapter 28 Zhang He

Fifty miles east of Yiyang City, on the shore of the Lannii Lake.

On the small hillside beside the lake, Xianglang Zhuma, he put on a pergola in his hand, looked at the half-red lake surface under the sunset, and smiled at the corner of his mouth.

"Father, since you want to rescue Yiyang, why is it stagnant here?" Xiang Lang's eldest son Xiang Tiao asked in confusion. He was different from Xiang Lang's gentle personality and was a little anxious. Xiang Lang originally planned to rush to Linxiang to support Liao Li instead of rescue Yiyang immediately, but now Xiang Lang returned to attack Yiyang, but after crossing the Xiang River, he stopped moving forward. He only walked fifty or sixty miles in three days. It was not too late, so he had someone to set up a camp by the Lannii Lake early, which made Xiang Tiao feel incredible.

"Wenbao, why can't you change your temper?" Xiang Lang turned his head unhappily and looked at Xiang Tiao: "Why don't you learn from Juying (Xiang Chong), read more books, and develop your temperament?"

Xiang Tiao turned his head unhappily and looked at the golden light shining on the lake, silent. His father liked his companion Xiang Chong, and he always liked to ask him for the standards of Xiang Chong, which made him feel very unhappy. This time, his father left Xiang Chong and his younger brother Xiang Chong to take the navy to guard against the Yizhou navy in Jiangbei instead of giving it to him, which clearly looked down on him.

Seeing that his son was unhappy, Xiang Lang sighed and didn't want to talk about him anymore. He also felt a little regretful, why was his son not as good as his nephew? He took Xiang Tiao by his side just to have the opportunity to give him more advice, but he didn't expect that the two of them would froze as soon as they opened their mouths. He shook his head helplessly, and said in a eased voice: "Wen Bao, do you think our 8,000 army will have a chance to attack the city?"

Seeing that his father's tone was so gentle, Xiang Tiao felt a little embarrassed. It was a fact that he was not as steady as Xiang Chong. It was useless to always compete with his father. He thought for a while and said, "Although our army has 8,000, there are many new recruits. Moreover, although Yiyang City is not big, they have 7,000 troops, and even in field battles, there is no problem in defending the city. If we attack the city, we basically have no chance of winning."

Xiang Lang looked at his son's thoughtful expression and nodded with satisfaction: "Then what's the use of us rushing to the Yiyang City? They defended the city, and Yiyang had enough food to keep them safe. However, outside the city, we need to mobilize food from Luoxian and Linxiang. The road is much longer. Outside the city, we must be prepared for them to attack out of the city at any time. How can we fight with peace of mind? No matter from any aspect, we are at a disadvantage. Since we know it is a disadvantage, why should we still rush to Yiyang?"

Xiang Tiao was stunned. He thought about it and understood something: "Isn't my father's purpose?"

Xiang Lang smiled: "Yiyang is to be taken back, but it is not a strong attack. There are military tactics, and if there are ten, attack them, five, attack them, and if there are multiples, the enemy will fight them. Although our army has eight thousand people, its strength cannot be fought against the other side, and it will not be possible to fight. How can we expect to besiege the city? So we cannot besiege the city." He raised the horse whip in his hand and pointed to the sparkling lake surface: "I walked slowly, on the one hand, it can save our army's physical strength, and on the other hand, it can lead Cao's army out of the city and come here to fight with me. The location was chosen by me, and the timing was also chosen by me. They wanted to leave people to defend the city, and the troops separated again. For me, this third goal can be achieved again."

Xiang Tiao suddenly realized and praised with conscientious thoughts: "Father is wise, why didn't I think of these? If the Cao army wants to come to our army to fight, they will lose their advantage in defending the city, and they will also leave people to defend the city. In this way, their advantage in military strength will be gone, and our disadvantage will be transformed into advantages. Gao Ming, too clever."

Xiang Lang looked at him and smiled and waited for Xiang Tiao to continue talking. When Xiang Tiao saw him, he scratched his head and said, "If Cao's army did not divide the troops, but waited for our army to come to the city in Yiyang, General Zhang's troops should arrive at that time. We will join forces and have more than 15,000 people. They should have consumed almost all the food in Yiyang City. If we don't beat him, he will definitely lose. It is also a loss to leave the city, and not leaving the city is a loss. Instead of being in a desperate situation at that time, it is better to defeat our army first while our army has not been encircled, and then return to the army to fight General Zhang. Father, is that right?"

Xiang Lang smiled with satisfaction and patted Xiang Tiao on the shoulder: "Wen Bao, you have made great progress recently. If you can use your brain as much as you are today, what else can you worry about for your father?"

Xiang Tiao smiled embarrassedly, lowered his head and said, "Thank you for your advice. It's because my son is stupid and cannot understand his father's painstaking efforts."

Xiang Lang laughed, didn't answer his words, and pointed at Yingpan and said, "Then talk about it, why did I set up the camp here."

Xiang Tiao looked up at the Yingpan at the foot of the mountain, thought for a moment and said, "This is the passage between Lanni Lake and Fenghuang Lake. It is facing water on three sides, and only the south can enter and exit. Our army is stationed here, not only to use water, but also to have no worries. Even if the Cao army comes from the south, our army can discover it early, and it will not allow Cao army to take advantage of it. If they want to attack with strong force and attack with weak forces, and our army can defend with the Yingpan, they will naturally not have an advantage. Our army is waiting for work and can attack and attack. In this way, there will be no mistakes."

"The son is teachable." Xiang Lang smiled and nodded: "The scout came to report that Zhang Junyi had already left the city with 5,000 troops and came here. Zhang Junyi was one of the four famous generals under Yuan Benchu ​​back then, and his military skills were varied. I wonder how he would change when facing the formation of our army?"

…………

Zhang He was sitting on a small hill five miles west of Fenghuang Lake, listening to the scout's reward. His expression was as usual, calm and did not look anxious at all. The eldest son Zhang Xiong, the General Du Yu of the Central Army, and Qiao Yue stood behind him, listening quietly to the scout's report.

After hearing the scout's reward, Zhang Xiong frowned in embarrassment and said with a smacking mouth: "Father, Xiang Juda set up the camp on the hillside between the two lakes, facing water on three sides, condescending to the heights, and eight thousand people hugged them together, seemingly guarding against our army to attack them."

Zhang He smiled indifferently, stretched out his fingers to hook it. Du Yu quickly took out the map and spread it to the grass in front of him. Du Yu is of Zixuan, with a medium figure, handsome appearance, and a relatively calm personality. He has been in the back of Zhang He for nearly five years and has never made any mistakes. He is very trusted by Zhang He. Zhang He looked at him setting up the map and asked with a smile: "Zixuan, tell me, how did we attack just now?"

When Du Yu heard this, his fair face turned red and he looked up at Zhang He with some embarrassment: "General, how can I say it well? Let's give the general instructions. The general is experienced, so let's learn from the general."

Zhang He smiled, turned around and said to Qiao Yue, who was tall and tough, and said, "Ziyuan, tell me?"

Qiao Yue was stunned, grinned and smiled, showing a rare white teeth: "General, aren't you making things difficult for me? You asked me to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, but I didn't frown. I don't understand the arrangements for the march and war. You should ask the Major General. He is the most true master. If he really can't, he can ask Zixuan. If you ask me, you will ask the wrong person."

Zhang He raised his hand and gave Qiao Yue a whip, and cursed, "You priest, you are all over the day. If you ask you something serious, you can just fight. How can you just focus on fighting? If that's the case, how could General Zhennan teach the military marquis and lieutenants in the academies of Xiangyang and Chengdu? You learn from Zixi, use some thoughts on the important matters. Don't always hang out on women's belly, otherwise you, the general of the Central Army, can only watch Zixi as the general and follow his orders in the future."

Qiao Yue smiled awkwardly. He walked to the map and squatted down. After looking at the map for a long time, he still scratched his head and said, "There is really no chance in this terrain. If I have to say anything, I can only attack this road. However, they have camps to rely on, and our losses are quite large."

Du Yu held his chin, supported his arm on his knees, and shook his head: "It's not appropriate. Although our army has strong combat effectiveness, it will be a terrible victory even if it wins. The battles behind it will not be fought. Judging from the current situation, it's better to wait for them to leave here and fight with them on the march tomorrow."

Zhang He looked at Zhang Xiong again. Zhang Xiong was about to speak, but he saw a fast horse racing from the west. He stopped and pointed to the front and said to Zhang He: "Father, I'm afraid the situation has changed. It's not easy for us to have such a safe plan."

Zhang He also saw the scout. He narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard with his hands. A trace of worry flashed through his eyes, and then he relaxed again.

The scouts arrived at the hillside, flew off the horse, rushed forward a few steps, and happened to arrive in front of Zhang He and turned over and bow down. His voice was quick, "General, Zhang Fei's seven thousand army has gone around Yiyang and headed straight for us. He has passed Zishui and is seventy miles away from us."

"I understand, go down to eat something and explore again." Zhang He waved his hand and asked the scout to leave. He turned around and looked at Zhang Xiong and the other three. Seeing that they all changed their faces, Zhang Xiong was surprised. Du Yu stood up, held his chin in his hand, frowned slightly, and was pondering, but Qiao Yue was furious and held the knife ring in his hand and said loudly: "General, Zhang Yide wants to surround us with Xiang Juda. Please order the general, I will stop him and see if this enemy of ten thousand people is just as famous as Guan Yunchang."

Du Yu burst out laughing and raised his hand to slap Qiao Yue: "Do you think you are General Huang, and you can't deal with Zhang Yide, a ten thousand enemy. Don't talk big, just listen to what the general says with peace of mind."

Zhang He didn't say anything. He stared at the map for a long time before looking at the three of them and asked, "Tell me, what should I do?"

Zhang Xiong looked at Zhang He, then looked at Du Yu, and Du Yu squatted down again, measured with his fingers on the map, clicked Yiyang, and then clicked Fenghuang Lake, then opened his hand to measure the distance between Linxiang, and thought for a while and said, "General, since Zhang Yide has passed Zishui, he should camp in Lanxi Town, the north bank of Lanshui today, leaving our army less than fifty miles. If he was asked to catch up tomorrow, this 5,000 army will have a great chance of winning against us 5,000 people. After he did this, our army was very passive. Now the plan is to either retreat to Yiyang overnight before they return to the siege, or defeat Xiang Juda before Zhang Yide arrives, so as not to be surrounded on both sides."

Zhang He smiled, he looked at Zhang Xiong and said, "What do you think?"

Zhang Xiong looked at him, looked at the map again, shook his head: "It's a pity to retreat to the city. When we go back, more than 10,000 of them will be able to follow us and surround us. When the food in Yiyang is eaten up, we still have to break through."

"Then do you mean to defeat Xiang Juda?" Zhang He smiled and said, "We only have one night at most, can we fight?"

"The opportunities are all controlled by people. How can you know if they don't fight?" Zhang Xiong and Qiao Yue looked at each other and said suddenly.

Zhang He shook his head, pondered and looked at Du Yu again.

Du Yu thought about it and shook his head and said, "In my opinion, it is better to go back to the city. Although there is not much food in Yiyang, it is still okay to support it for ten days. We have 7,000 people in Yiyang, and his 15,000 people have basically no chance of winning. With these ten days, General Cao will definitely send people to support us. When the time comes, the chance of winning will be much greater. Our army's purpose in Changsha is to restrain Zhang Yide and let General Cao easily take Wuling. Now most of Zhang Fei's troops have been mobilized here. Our mission has been completed, so there is no need to take risks."

Zhang He smiled and said, "Ziyuan, do you think so too?"

Qiao Yue was a little embarrassed. Of course, he didn't want to retreat to the city like this, but Du Yu's plan was obviously the safest. After returning to the city to hold on for a few days, Cao Chong's reinforcements would definitely arrive and could easily defeat Zhang Fei. But in this way, Zhang He would have made much less credit. He looked at Zhang He and wanted to see the signs on his face, but was disappointed. Zhang He was the same as usual, his face was very calm and he did not reveal any flaws.

"I listen to the general." Qiao Yue also learned to behave and said with a smile.

"Hahaha..." Zhang He pointed at Qiao Yue, stood up and laughed: "It's rare that you, a militant, have become honest today. Let's retreat south."

"Retreat south?" Zhang Xiong and others were stunned. Zhang He ignored them, stood up and patted the grass on his butt, turned over the horse, looked at the three of them condescendingly, and laughed loudly, "What's wrong? You can't even understand such a simple military order?"

"No!" The three of them came to their senses and agreed with a loud voice.

…………

Xiang Lang also received the news that Zhang Fei came to the Yuan. He smiled and said to Xiang Tiao: "Look, General Zhang is here, this battle will be even better. 15,000 to 5,000. With General Zhang's courage, our army will definitely win. If Zhang Junyi knew about the situation, he would definitely withdraw back to Yiyang."

Xiang Tiao also smiled relaxedly: "Father, let's say that, as long as we keep the camp tight, everything will be fine after tonight. Even if he retreats to Yiyang and we surround the city, he will die sooner or later, unless the Cao army in Jiangbei can fly across the river."

Xiang Lang shook his head: "Yizhou Navy is in Wulin. You have to rush back to Jiangling to transport troops across the river. It's not impossible for ten days and half a month. With this time, Yiyang City has been broken." He thought for a while: "But everything has an accident. We should be careful. Wenbao, you have worked harder today, and you will be in charge of the front camp. You must not make any mistakes."

Xiang Tiao nodded and replied, "Don't worry, father, I will stick to the camp and not give Zhang Junyi a chance. I am not afraid of him coming, but I am afraid that he will run away when he hears the news of General Zhang coming to aid. Father, should we inform General Zhang and ask him to cut off Zhang Junyi's retreat first so as not to let him run away?"

Xiang Lang gave him a blank look: "Don't always think about making contributions. Who is Zhang Junyi? Will he go straight west? He will definitely go back to Yiyang in a circle and not give General Zhang a chance. Besides, General Zhang is also something you can command..."

Before he could finish his words, the scout came to report that Zhang He had retreated south with his men, and seemed to be crossing the Longer River to the south.

"How is it?" Xiang Lang said to Xiang Tiao: "But Zhang Junyi is a man of tricks. Don't believe him easily, just relax your guard. Maybe he is a false appearance. Let us think he is really leaving, but come back in the middle of the night to catch us off guard. You must be careful at night and never miss it."

Xiang Tiao agreed and got up and went out. Xiang Lang was still not relieved. He went to the camp to inspect it until he was sure there was nothing missing. He lay down in the middle of the night and then closed his eyes. As Xiang Lang was worried, in the early morning, just as Xiang Lang had just fallen asleep, Xiang Tiao, the front camp reported that a large number of Cao troops suddenly appeared in front of the camp. It seemed that they wanted to attack the enemy in a sneak attack, but the front camp was guarding very tightly. They did not find any opportunity. After testing it, they had retreated. Xiang Lang, who had just been sleeping in a daze, jumped up and rushed to the front camp. Xiang Tiao was fully armed and patrolled in front of the camp with a long sword in his hand. Archers lined up in two rows, waiting for the battle. The sharp tips of the arrows were facing the dark field in the distance, ready to fire at any time.

"Father, you really got it right. Zhang Junyi still didn't give up and pretended to withdraw. He came to attack in the middle of the night. Fortunately, we were prepared, so we didn't let them take advantage." Xiang Tiao said happily as soon as he saw Xiang Lang. Xiang Lang looked at it and looked far away for a long time. There was nothing in the dark night.

"Has the scout sent out?" he asked with concern.

"Sent out." Xiang Tiao Ying said: "But Cao's army came and went quickly, and there was no one left. Judging from the number of torches, there were about four or five thousand people."

"Well, be careful, they might just watch from a distance. When you relax, they will come back. These Cao troops are like wolves and will never give up until they achieve their goals." Xiang Lang patted Xiang Tiao's shoulder with relief and left. The satisfaction in it was self-evident. Xiang Tiao felt relieved, and even more energetic, opening his eyes widened, paying attention to the movements in the distance.

Xiang Lang sent a messenger to Zhang Fei to report on the movements of Zhang He's army. They are still in the mud lake, and tomorrow may be possible. He did not say what Zhang Fei should do. He handed over the initiative to Zhang Fei, and then quietly waited for Zhang Fei's reply.

In the early morning, the north bank of Lanshui was on the verge of Zhang Fei.

Before Zhang Fei woke up, he received a message from Xiang Lang. After reading the urgent article, he smiled, threw the bamboo slips on the desk, turned over and fell back on the camp bed for thought, then jumped up and shouted: "Send the order, cross the river immediately!"

Deputy General Yin Wen walked in with a reply: "General, the soldiers have not had breakfast yet, right..."

"Eat your mother's breakfast." Zhang Fei was furious, and he reached out and picked up the bamboo slips on the table and raised his hand to Yin Wen. "Look, Zhang He is about to run away, what else to eat? Tell them to eat some dry food, catch up with Zhang He, and I will give them meat. Hurry up, if Zhang He escapes back to Yiyang, I will chop you."

Yin Wen's cheek was beaten hard by Zhang Fei, and a red mark immediately appeared, which was so hot that he didn't dare to say anything again, for fear of being beaten up again, so he quickly bowed and left to pass the death. Half an hour later, the soldiers hurriedly chewed dry food, while crossing the Lanshui in sequence, preparing to rush south to intercept Zhang He who was about to escape back to Yiyang.

Zhang Fei sat on the black horse, pouring wine into his mouth slowly, and occasionally pulling a piece of dry beef to chew it in his mouth with a delicious taste. He looked at the soldiers crossing the river and said to Yin Wen, who was lowering his head, "Don't stand stupidly, take your people across the river immediately, go south to stop Zhang He first, and I will arrive later."

Yin Wen responded and took his subordinates to cross the river in a hurry. When he arrived on the other side, he looked back at Zhang Fei who was sitting on the horse, cursed resentfully, and he could not help but get on the horse and ran to a small earth slope next to him, looking into the distance.

The morning sun was a little dazzling, making his eyes blurry and he could see nothing. He frowned and raised his head to cover his eyes. It was here that the guards beside him suddenly opened their eyes wide, pointed to the south in horror and shouted: "Sir, the enemy attack!"

Yin Wen looked south along his fingers, and couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. His heart started to beat violently. He pulled out his long knife and shouted loudly, but found that there was no sound in his throat. He took a long breath, swallowed his saliva and shouted at the messenger beside him: "Transfer, beat the drum to meet the enemy."

The shocked messenger blew the war drum in his hand when he heard this. The rapid sound of the drums soared into the sky. The soldiers who had just crossed the river were in a stir. Before they could figure out why they could go back, they heard a roar from the ground ahead, and then they heard a thunderous shout: "Kill--"

On the small earth slope five hundred steps south, five hundred iron cavalry holding long halberds, led by Zhang Xiong, with a terrifying murderous aura, like a sharp arrow, rushed into the disorganized Zhang Fei army with lightning speed. Du Yu and Qiao Yue each led their troops, distributed on the left and right wings, running wildly, using the iron cavalry as the edge, like the iron wings of an eagle, and followed them to kill. The soldiers ran while shouting: "Kill--"

Five hundred steps arrived in a flash, and Zhang He rushed towards Zhang Feijun like a tide.

The attack was halfway through, and the sound of killing shook the sky.
Chapter completed!