Chun Yuqiong, who had broken three generals in a row, had no intention of fighting again, so he collected his troops and returned to the city. Seeing thousands of troops retreating into the city in an orderly manner, Han Zhan couldn't help but secretly sigh that this Chun Yuqiong was also a person who was quite proficient in the art of war, and was not as wasteful as described in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

As soon as Chun Yuqiong retreated into the city, a junior colonel came over and bowed to him: "General Chun Yu, Chen Taishou is invited!" ”

"Where is Mrs. Chen?"

Xiao Xiao pointed to the city tower and replied, "Back to the general's words, Taishou is on the city tower at the moment. ”

Chun Yuqiong snorted after hearing this, turned over and dismounted, threw the reins of the horse to the colonel, and carried the weapon along the stairs to the city wall.

Chen Zhen, the Taishou of Guangping, who was dressed in military uniform, saw Chun Yuqiong coming, hurriedly greeted him, arched his hand towards the other party, and said: "General Chunyu, three generals of our army were unfortunately captured, and now the enemy army is in the limelight, in order to avoid its edge, we should not be able to hold out!" ”

When Chun Yuqiong thought that he was going to lead the troops to meet the enemy, Chen Zhen persuaded himself, but he insisted on going his own way and had to fight, and as a result, he turned against the three generals Wei Yuanjin, Lu Weihuang, and Zhao Rui. At this moment, listening to Chen Zhen's old story, he nodded, blushed and said, "What Xiaoqi said is extremely true. The city wall of Guangnian is high and deep, and the thieves can't attack it for a while, and when the reinforcements of the lord arrive, we should join forces with the outside and kill them. ”

Han Zhan led Zhao Yun, Guo Jia and a group of civil and military officers to a place a stone's throw away from the city wall and stopped. He looked up and saw that the city wall was two feet high, and there was a moat more than a foot wide outside. The city wall is crowded with people, and through the gap in the battlements, you can clearly see the piles of rolling wood and stones.

Although the walls of Guangping City were not high, it still made Han Zhan feel frustrated. The bamboo ladder used in the army to attack the city is only more than four meters long, and the city wall is six meters high, even if the ladder is erected on the city wall, the defenders do not throw wooden stones downward, and their own people cannot climb it. Seeing this situation, he could only reluctantly announce: "The army retreated ten miles, set up camp, rushed to make siege equipment overnight, and came back tomorrow to attack the city." ”

Seeing Han Zhan's army retreating into the distance, Chen Zhen and Chun Yuqiong, who were standing on the city wall, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Chun Yuqiong ordered people to be on strict guard, and at the same time sent people to Jizhou to ask Yuan Shao for help.

…………

After Dian Wei and the others infiltrated Guangnian City, they scattered and hid in many abandoned houses. He planned to wait for the dead of night to lead people to attack the south gate, seize the city gate, and then take the army into the city. In order to find out the reality of the defenders, he sent spies when it was almost dark.

Not long after the spies left, they hurried back and told him: "The city is heavily guarded, and there are soldiers standing at every important street to closely check the passers-by. The road to the city gate has been blocked, and no one is allowed to cross it unless there is a passtoken. ”

After hearing what the spies said, Dian Wei immediately understood that the plan to attack the city gate could no longer be carried out, and now there was no other way but to storm it. But the defenders have blocked the road to the city gates, and they must lead their men all the way through. Even after the city gate was captured, it would have to hold on for at least half an hour before the army outside the city had enough time to arrive.

After much deliberation, Dian Wei decided to abandon his plan to seize the city gates and continue to lurk in the city, waiting for the right moment. When Dian Wei said his thoughts, his team led the ninth brother and said, "Junhou, if we don't attack the city gate at night tonight to welcome the army into the city, will the envoy be blamed?" ”

"Don't worry, before Mr. Guo sent me, he told me that I could do it cheaply. Now that the garrison is heavily guarded, I cannot allow the brothers to die in vain. After he said this, he saw that Brother Jiu's face was still full of worry, and hurriedly comforted him and said, "Don't worry, if you make Jun blame, I will take all the responsibility." ”

In the camp outside the city, since it was just dark, Han Zhan and Zhao Yun stood in front of the big tent, looking at the city in the distance, waiting for the fire signal in the city. However, as soon as the watch passed, there was no movement in the city; The second watch has passed, and there is still no movement.

Guo Jia walked to Han Zhan's side and whispered to him, "Little Hou Ye, it's late at night, go back and rest in peace early!" ”

Han Zhan shook his head: "Wait, maybe there will be a signal from the city soon." ”

"It's already the third watch," Guo Jia continued to persuade Han Zhan: "Before I sent the Marquis of the Dian Army into Guangping City, I told him that he could act cheaply. Now they can't see the movement in the city for a long time, maybe the city is heavily guarded, and they have no chance to take advantage of it. Little Hou Ye should go back and rest. ”

Just as Han Zhan was about to turn around and go back to his tent, Xun Yu hurriedly walked over and reported to Han Zhan: "Envoy Qiqi, according to our detailed report in Jizhou City, Yuan Shao will send reinforcements to reinforce Guangping City tomorrow. ”

"What, Yuan Shao is going to send reinforcements?" The news Xun You said frightened everyone, because in this way, the army was in danger of being attacked on its back, Han Zhan hurriedly asked, "How many men and horses are there?" ”

"Two thousand foot soldiers!" Xun You replied: "Led by the second prince Yuan Xi and the military Sima Han Juzi, they will set off at the end of the day, and they can rush to Guangping City at about noon." ”

There were only 2,000 soldiers and horses who could come to help at any time, but Han Zhan knew in his heart that if he let this reinforcement enter Guangping City, the number of people who would attack the city by himself would increase. The only way to do that is to wipe them out on the way. Thinking of this, he shook his head at everyone and said, "Everyone come with me!" ”

When he entered the tent, he sat down behind the table, looked at the crowd and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we must not allow this support of Yuan Shao to enter the city of Guangping, so I plan to ambush them on the way. ”

"Ambush, ambush where?" Xun You asked curiously.

Han Zhan took a picture and spread it out on the table, allowing everyone to come around. He pointed to the area between Jizhou and Guangping City, and said, "Twenty miles north of Guangping City, there is a dangerous place, flanked by hills and woods, where we can ambush Yuan Xi's soldiers and horses and kill them without leaving a piece of armor. ”

Except for Xia Houlan, everyone present had passed by the place Han Zhan said and understood the terrain there, so after listening to Han Zhan's thoughts, they all agreed.

Guo Jia asked, "Little Marquis, who are you going to send to ambush Yuan Xi?" ”

Han Zhan looked up at Guo Jia and said, "Fengxiao, you and Cousin Gongda stayed in the camp, and I took Zilong, Xiahoulan and four thousand soldiers and horses to rush over to set up an ambush overnight. ”

"Master Hou," Hearing that Han Zhan was planning to go out in person, Xun You hurriedly opened his mouth to persuade: "The matter of ambushing Yuan Xi can be handed over to Zilong, you don't need to be in danger yourself." ”

"Cousin Gongda, as the commander of the First Army, I can boost morale by being on the battlefield, how can I hide in the camp all day long?" Han Zhanxin said that the reason why I want to participate in the ambush is to see Yuan Xi die with my own eyes, so that no one will compete with me for Zhen Mi. However, in front of his subordinates, he still said seriously: "You and Fengxiao are left to take care of the camp, and you must not go on any errands." ”

……

After arriving at the ambush site, Han Zhan observed the surrounding terrain and ordered the infantry and crossbowmen to hide in the woods on the east side of the official road, while the cavalry led by Zhao Yun hid behind the hills west of the official road. He specifically instructed Zhao Yun: "Big brother, when the strong crossbow in the forest is launched and the Yuan army is in chaos, you will immediately lead your troops to kill them and completely disrupt their formation." Then be responsible for sealing off the battlefield and making sure that no one escapes. ”

At that time, the two thousand foot soldiers led by Yuan Xi and Han Juzi finally appeared in the field of vision of Han Zhan and others. Walking in the front is the second son Yuan Xi in military uniform, next to him is the military Sima Han Juzi, and the two are followed by a flag-bearer on horseback, holding a big flag with the word "Yuan" fluttering in the wind. Behind them, there were Yuan Jun's foot soldiers in the Fifth Route Column.

Han Juzi smiled and said to Yuan Xi: "Second son, let's walk another twenty miles, and we can reach Guangping City." ”

Yuan Xi went to Guangping City this time for two purposes, one was to bring reinforcements and strengthen the city's defenses; The second is to take over Chun Yuqiong's military power. Hearing that there were still twenty miles to go, he could reach Guangping City, he couldn't help but be a little excited, thinking that if he defeated Han Zhan after taking over the military power, he would get more of his father's respect, so he couldn't wait to immediately put on his wings and fly to Guangping City.

Han Juzi was good at observing words and feelings, and when he saw Yuan Xi looking absent-minded, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, he guessed what he was thinking, and hurriedly flattered him: "It's a shame that the lord trusts Chun Yuqiong so much, and lets him share the military power with Fu Zhu, Judge and others, but he can't even deal with a yellow-mouthed child, and in the end he has to bother the second son to go out in person." ”

Thinking that he was going to master the military power soon, Yuan Xi's heart was very happy, and he didn't have the arrogant demeanor of the past, but said to Han Juzi with a smile: "When I take over the military power, I will definitely kill the Han family child without leaving a piece of armor, and then hang his head on the head of Jizhou City to show the public." ”

The two talked and laughed, and led the team to get closer and closer to the ambush site arranged by Han Zhan. Han Juzi, who was chatting with Yuan Xi, suddenly felt that something was wrong, since entering this hilly area, except for the sound of their own movements, there was silence around them, and there was no sound. His heart tightened for no apparent reason, as if he was being targeted by some wild beast.

Yuan Xi noticed Han Juzi's strange appearance, and asked in surprise, "Han Sima, what's wrong?" How do I think you look like you're out of the way, what's wrong? ”

Han Juzi pouted at the woods on the big dirt slope beside the road, and said a little nervously: "Second son, I think there seems to be something wrong with that forest. ”

When Yuan Xi heard Han Juzi say this, he also felt that there was something wrong with the dense woods where Han Zhan and them were ambushed, so he hurriedly raised his hand and ordered the team to stop, and then called a chief and asked him to take people to the woods to search.

Seeing the dozen or so soldiers of the Yuan Army who had searched for him, Han Zhan sighed in his heart, and said in his heart that no matter how careful the battle plan was, the plan would never catch up with the changes, and there would always be some unexpected things happening. He nodded at Xiahou Lan, who was standing aside, and signaled that he could do it.

Xia Houlan received the order, and hurriedly trotted to the front of the strong crossbow soldier Hou Chu Ge, and whispered to him: "Chu Junhou, Hou Ye has an order, release the arrow immediately!" ”

With an order, the strong crossbowmen who were ambushed in the woods released their arrows at the same time, and the crossbow arrows shot by five hundred strong crossbows drew an arc in the air, overwhelmingly plunging into the ranks of Yuan's army parked on the official road like flying locusts.