The situation in Jingzhou is slightly calm, and at this moment, although the generals are seated in the northern camp of the Han army, there is silence, only a few charcoal braziers crackling. Zuo Zhonglang will be Huangfu Song, the meaning of the word is true. He was dressed in armor, covered with a blue robe, and a handsome helmet in his arms, and a few wrinkles on his broad forehead and a gray beard on his chest proved that he was already sixty years old.

This time to send troops, he received the order from the late spring of this year, with the post of Taishou in the north transferred to Zuo Zhonglang general, the governor of Yu, Yan, and Hebei three states, and also in charge of Lu Zhi, Dong Zhuo's two battalions of people, and has the right to supervise the three states of the assassin and the Taishou and all the subordinate officials, can be called a thousand catties of heavy burden on the shoulders, but also shows that its holy family is not light.

The old general really lived up to his trust, first defeated the main force of the Yellow Turban in Yuzhou, Bocai and Peng Tuobu in Yingchuan, Runan, and Chenguo, and then entered Yanzhou, captured Daqu Shuai Bu in Dongjun, beheaded 7,000 people, and won three battles and three victories.

But now he has changed his usual vigorous and resolute style, sitting by the handsome desk without saying a word, holding a small wooden stick in his hand and fiddling with the charcoal in the basin, his eyes are looking at a piece of burning charcoal in a daze; The generals also looked at the old general motionlessly, as if they were an idol of a mud tire.

Huangfu Song is deliberating on the personnel changes in the northern battalion: "In terms of courage and ability, Dong Zhongying is as good as Lu Zigan. However, Zhong Yingjiu led the soldiers of the Xiliang Hu people and was a reckless and rough man. And the generals of the Northern Army are all children of the noble clan, I am afraid that his prestige will not be able to suppress these people, which will lead to the defeat. ”

The next day, outside the city, Huangfu Song personally reconnoitred the battlefield situation.

The east of Gwangjong City is bordered by the Qing River, and the other three sides are wilderness. From afar, the city walls are towering, and the guards are like ants. In addition to the guards on the city, there is also a camp of the Yellow Turban Army outside the city, which is at odds with the city.

Previously, when Lu Zhi commanded the army, because there were many Yellow Turban soldiers in the city, and they fought bravely, and the city was high and thick, it was difficult to overcome quickly, so he sent a large number of people to build a siege and dig a trench outside the camp outside the Yellow Turban Army, and dug a deep trench to besiege it. This is a traditional siege method, which seems clumsy, but it is a big killer. Once this method is used, even the strongest city will be conquered one day. It's just that not long after the construction of these fortifications such as soil mountains and trenches was built, Lu Zhi was sent to Beijing, but now it is the predecessors who planted trees and the descendants who enjoy the shade.

Beyond the earth mountains and trenches are layers of Han army camps.

It was already past noon and far from evening, and the sun was scorching. Under the dazzling sun, countless flags fluttered in the camps of these Han troops, drums and horns were heard from time to time, and horses neighed from afar, an atmosphere of Jin Ge Iron Horse.

When the emperor looked forward to it for a long time, he turned his horse and left.

He brought tens of thousands of foot cavalry, and there had to be a place to be stationed, Dong Zhuo had already found a place for them in advance, and under the leadership of a general, the group went to build a camp, but it was behind the Han army camps on the west and south sides of Guangzong City.

While walking, Huangfu Song asked the generals under his command and said: "The Jizhou thieves are led by Zhang Jiao and Zhang Liang personally. Ladies and gentlemen, what is the best plan? ”

Dong Hedong, Dong Zhuo led the Dongzhong Lang General with Hedong County.

Compared with the Yellow Turban Army in Yingchuan, Runan, Dongjun and other places, the Yellow Turban Army in Jizhou is a descendant of Zhang Jiao.

Zhang Jiao has been operating in Jizhou for many years, and he has many dead soldiers under his command, and he himself is the leader of Taiping Dao, whose prestige is unparalleled, and he is extremely capable of serving the people to death, and his troops are far more daring to fight than the Yellow Turban Army in Yingchuan and other places. Lu Zhi is a famous man in the world, Dong Zhuoxi is a fierce general, and the two of them have led tens of thousands of people to attack and defeat more and win less, which shows the combat effectiveness of the Jizhou Yellow Turban.

Shi Liangyan, the marching commander, Sima Fu Xie, the staff Yan Zhong and others are all newcomers, and they are not familiar with geography, nor have they seen the combat effectiveness of the Jizhou Yellow Turban.

Fu Xie said: "When our army first arrived, we met with Dong Gong and Deputy Marshal Zong, and were attacked by thieves and tied with each other. In the humble opinion of the following officials, it seems that there is no need to rush to attack the city, but let the troops rest for a day or two, and take advantage of this time, we will first explore the reality of the city, feel the situation, and then discuss how to break the thief is not too late. ”

Fu Xie, the word Nanrong, a native of Beidi County, after Fu Jiezi, the Marquis of Yiyang in the Western Han Dynasty. Eight feet long, with a majestic face, he studied under Taiwei Liu Kuan, and was born in filial piety.

Huangfu Song asked again and said, "Yan Jun, what do you think?" ”

Yan Zhong, a native of Guzang in Wuwei County, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the former Xindu County Commander and Liangzhou Celebrity, and Jia Xu were fellow villagers. He is good at observing people, Jia Xu was not famous when he was young, only Yan Zhong was different, saying that Jia Xu has the talent of Zhang Liang and Chen Ping.

Yan Zhong replied, "What Fu Sima said is extremely true. I just arrived, although I heard Dong Hedong talk about the situation in the city, but first, Dong Hedong has just arrived, and the thief soldiers have only been fighting for a while, I am afraid that I don't know much about the reality of the thief soldiers, and secondly, after all, hearing is false, seeing is believing, and what I hear is not enough to use soldiers to attack the war, and then I ...... it three times. ”

"How about three?"

Yan Zhong looked at the sect member leading the way in front of him, lowered his voice, and said: "Thirdly, most of the troops of the Lu Gong Office are soldiers from all counties in the world, while most of the troops of Dong Hedong are Qin Hu of Liangzhou, and the generals have just arrived, and they don't know much about them yet. I don't know the other, and I don't know myself. For this reason, Zhong thought that what Fu Sima said was very true, and it would be better for me to wait a little longer, and wait for the general to personally find out the truth of the thief before making plans. ”

The Yellow Turban Rebellion, in order to quell the chaos, the imperial court did its best, and successively recruited 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers and horses.

These 50,000 or 60,000 people came from different sources, some were troops defending Luoyang, such as the Fifth Colonel of the Northern Army, some were recruited from the surrounding areas of Luoyang, and some were county soldiers. According to the different sources, it is divided into two roads, the road led by Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun is mainly recruited by the Three Rivers Knights and Gyeonggi Zhuangyong, with a total of more than 40,000 people, while the road led by Lu Zhi is mainly composed of soldiers from the northern counties, with a total of 20,000 or 30,000 people. - Of course, now there is another source, that is, the Liangzhou Qiang Ride brought by Dong Zhuo.

The Art of War: "Know yourself and know your opponent, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles." ”

Speaking of which, Huangfu Song now has fifty or sixty thousand people under his command, but in addition to his headquarters, he is not familiar with Lu Zhi and Dong Zhuo's old departments, neither "confidant", nor has he fought with Jizhou Taiping Road, nor does he "know the other", so it is indeed not suitable for impatient and impatient warfare.

In fact, in addition to these three reasons, there is another reason that Yan Zhong did not say, that is: the generals were changed one after another, and the army's morale was unstable. From Lu Zhi's departure from Beijing to the present, in just a few months, with the addition of Huangfu Song, the commanders of the Han soldiers in Jizhou have changed three in succession. First of all, Lu Zhi was falsely convicted and sent to Beijing, and then Dong Zhuolang was defeated and defeated, and the edict of the imperial court had come down, so that he would go to Kyoto immediately after the arrival of Huangfu Song. The front-line commanders have been convicted one after another, and even the battle is unfavorable, how can the morale of the army be stable? Morale is bound to be low.

When Yan Zhong thought of this, he couldn't help but think of Dong Zhuo's defeat not long ago, and said in his heart: "Dong Zhuo has been on the battlefield for a long time, he is a fierce general of Xiliang, with his military exploits, he has been promoted step by step from a small Yulin Lang to today's two thousand stones, how can he not know that the enemy needs to be steady, and the most taboo to advance?" However, as soon as he was ordered to attack Guangzong on behalf of Lu Zhi, he urged the army to advance quickly as soon as he arrived in the camp, and he fought under the city, I am afraid that it was precisely because of 'changing generals in the face of the enemy, and the army's heart was unstable', so he was eager to achieve a victory to calm the army's heart, but he was unexpectedly defeated. ”

Huangfu generals, Huangfu Song carefully read the art of war, he knows these truths clearly, the reason why he asked himself, Fu Xie and others, in fact, is afraid that the generals will be arrogant and underestimate the enemy because of the victory, at this time I heard that the words of the two people were very much in line with his mind, and he immediately said: "The words of the second secretary are exactly what I want." ”

He looked up at the sky, and then said, "The autumn rain continues, so let the soldiers rest for two more days." After sending Dong Hedong away tomorrow, let's have a military discussion the day after tomorrow, and then discuss the matter of attacking the city and destroying the thieves. ”

The generals who followed him agreed in unison.