War is a continuation of political struggle, essentially the last resort to settle all disputes. Chen Cheng thinks he prefers peace, but he still feels excited when war on an unprecedented scale is about to come. There are really not many interesting things in this world, and fighting is one of the most interesting forms of entertainment.

Perhaps, just as Princess Liu Qian said, he likes war and bloodshed from the bottom of his bones, but he himself refuses to admit it.

The imperial court has issued an edict to deprive Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Gao Gan and others of their state pastors, and beat them into enemies, ordering the princes of the world to crusade together. Although the authority of the Son of Heaven is no longer in the eyes of the princes everywhere, playing the card of the Son of Heaven still has some effect.

A large number of soldiers and horses came from Xiliang and went to Henan through Guanzhong. Although Tian Yu was in Chang'an City, he had already felt the breath of war. At the banquet, he asked, "General, is the imperial court going to send troops?" ”

Chen Cheng said with a smile: "Yes, there are a lot of soldiers and horses dispatched this time, and the country will let you follow me and join the army under the name of the tooth soldiers." After defeating the combined forces of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, if you want to continue to lead the troops, you can become a general among the tooth soldiers. If you don't want to lead troops to fight, I will pick a good place for you in the Central Plains and go to be a Taishou for a few years. ”

The imperial court has mobilized 150,000 troops, and so many army exchanges can't be hidden from people with intentions, so Chen Cheng doesn't plan to hide it like last time. Last time, it was a surprise, and with the high mobility of the cavalry, Cao Cao was taken by surprise. But this kind of thing can not be repeated, Cao Cao was raided once, and he will never fall down again on the same trick.

Tian Yu said: "Since Yuan Shao has transferred the army to Yanzhou, why not let General Gongsun Zan send troops from Youzhou and take Hebei directly?" ”

Chen Cheng said: "I think so too, so I have appointed and expanded the place under the jurisdiction of the First War Zone, and put Gongsun Zan and Zhang Yan under Zhao Yun's command, and ordered him to advance Hebei from the rear." ”

From Bingzhou to Hebei, either through Zhang Yan's territory, to turn over the continuous Taihang Mountain, or to detour through Youzhou, these two roads are not easy to supply, so Zhao Yun's side is just a partial division, a feint can be attacked, and the main force still has to advance along Luoshui and the Yellow River. There are rivers to transport grain and grass to support the frontline of more than 100,000 troops.

Tian Yu said: "The general should know the truth of the speed of the soldiers, since he has decided to send troops, why waste time to set up a banquet?" ”

Chen Cheng said with a smile: "It is admirable that the state allows the public to come before the private, but the army is not on this day. Today's and extremely audio-visual entertainment, tomorrow will be in armor again! ”

As soon as the bamboo board sounded, the melodious sound of the silk and bamboo orchestra sounded in the lobby, and dozens of young and beautiful girls dressed in gorgeous neon clothes turned out from behind the screen, singing and dancing in the eyes of everyone. Although these songs and dances were all choreographed by Chen Cheng, they have been improved by Diao Chan and Zi Jia'er, and there are many differences from his impression, so he also watched them with relish.

So the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves, but because they were going to go on the expedition tomorrow, they didn't drink much.

In the evening, after Liu Qian took care of the children, she returned to the dormitory and saw Chen Cheng sorting out the things she needed. Hearing the sound of footsteps, Chen Cheng raised his head and said to Liu Qian: "I'm not worried about the war, as long as the rear supplies continue, it is inevitable to defeat Cao Cao and Yuan Shao." But on the Son of Heaven's side, you have to keep an eye on me, now is the critical time, and there can't be a slight mistake on the Chang'an side. ”

Liu Qian hugged Chen Cheng from behind, leaned her head on him, and said, "Well, I will take care of the family, Master, you just have to rest assured." ”

The next day, Tian Yu woke up from his sleep very early and rode his horse to wait outside the general's mansion. Not long after, Chen Cheng had already walked out with the war horse, and after seeing Tian Yu, he said with a smile: "Guorang got up early. ”

The army had either already driven to Luoyang or had been gathered near Tongguan, so Chen Cheng quickly arrived at Tongguan with thousands of cavalry, where he gathered more than 10,000 Ya soldiers and headed east into Hongnong and headed for Luoyang. From Hongnong to the east, you can see a huge military station every thirty miles along the way, which is full of all kinds of supplies, the most of which is grain and grass.

The number of tooth soldiers had grown to 18,000, including five infantry battalions and three cavalry battalions, and the rest were baggage and engineers. In addition to building the military station, Ding Yuan was also responsible for maintaining the roads, building bridges, and building field hospitals along the way, and he was also fully responsible for the requisition and distribution of grain to the people.

Although he was only a major general, his power was already greater than that of many leading generals. The three armies have not moved, and the grain and grass go first, which is true in any era. Yan Zhong sat in Chang'an, was in charge of the overall situation, and when he arrived in Henan and Hongnong, because there might be enemy cavalry coming to burn and kill, he needed a general like Ding Yuan to deal with it.

With regard to the battles that may occur in Yanzhou and Henan, the General Staff Department has made many deductions and prepared dozens of plans. Therefore, after Chen Cheng led his troops to Luoyang, he only needed to choose one from the dozens of plans, and then take a break to change it. Compared with the armies of the Kwantung princes, the soldiers and horses of the imperial court now have an all-round advantage.

Whether it was weaponry or organization and training, the army of the imperial court was half an era ahead.

The 150,000 troops gathered were divided into three routes, with Xu Rong's group on the left flank and 40,000 troops, and went straight to Dongjun along the direction of Chenggao and Xingyang, preparing to join Cheng Yu, who was holding Dongjun. In the middle was an army of 60,000 led by Chen Cheng himself, preparing for a decisive battle with the main force of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in the area between Chen Liu and Xuchang. The right flank is the Lu Fang group, with a total of 60,000 soldiers and horses, which will follow the direction of Yangzhai and Zhaoling, and go straight to Runan from Yingchuan.

The purpose of the three-way army was clear, and it soon began to act in accordance with the established strategy.

On the way to Chen Liu, Chen Cheng began to think about a question. Why did the Yanzhou Muchen Palace, which he appointed, take refuge in Yuan Shao, but Cheng Yu, a former loyal minister of the Cao family, chose to resolutely resist?

Cao Cao encountered some resistance in Yanzhou, and then became overwhelmed. It stands to reason that Cheng Yu should return to Cao Cao's side. Or learn from Chen Gong and throw yourself into Yuan Shao's arms is also an understandable choice. But Cheng Yu didn't choose either way, but backed by Zang Ba's Taishan army, and chose to stick to it.

Chen Cheng said in his heart: Could it be that after so many years, he finally has the so-called king and overlord in his body?

Haha, it's not impossible.

Suddenly, a scout rode back in front of him, and shouted loudly: "My lord, the enemy army has been found near Zhongmu, and there are about 10,000 people on foot and horse. ”

Chen Cheng pondered the terrain near Zhongmu, which was flat and a good place for a decisive battle. In fact, Yanzhou is a good place for a decisive battle. He raised his hand and said loudly: "Order Wei Ran to lead the Flying Bear Hussars, and then bring the first and second infantry battalions to defeat the enemy." Tell him that it is enough to crush the enemy, and if the enemy flees, he is only allowed to chase him for thirty miles. If the enemy flees into the city, just watch it, and don't attack the city without permission! ”

"No!"

Among the soldiers and horses in the rear, they quickly divided into 6,000 cavalry and rushed in the direction of Zhongmu. Seeing the soldiers and horses coming forward, Chen Cheng thought about it, and said to Pang De, Ma Chao, Bao Chu and others: "Let's go and see, this is the first time that artillery has been put into actual combat, if we are not present, it will be a great loss." ”

The guards had expanded to six hundred, divided into three teams, led by Ma Chao, Pang De and Bao Chu. These three people are all heroes who are unique in ten thousand, and their martial arts are even higher than the ordinary Xiliang dragon riders. They had all seen the power of artillery salvos with Chen Cheng, and they were already itching, so they cheered with the other guards and soldiers.

Wei Ran is the current commander of the Flying Bear Hussars, and his predecessor, Liang Xing, has been exiled as the Wuyuan Taishou. If nothing else, after this battle, he can also make a fortune. Although the generals also have heroes from all over the world, the most important ones are the old people who have been following them since they were in Xiliang.

Now among the three provinces and six departments, the Xiliang people occupy more than half of the real power departments, and only some corners are distributed to others. In the three most important positions, the Zhongzhong Order, the Shangshu Order, and the Zhongshu Order, the people sitting are all from Liangzhou. However, Wei Ran is not from Liangzhou, and if he wants to get ahead, he needs to make more military achievements.

Now that the general has handed over the opportunity to fight, Wei Ran immediately shook his spirits and decided to fight a beautiful battle, so that everyone can see that he Wei Ran can be the commander of the Flying Bear Hussar, not just because he knew the general when he was in Liaoxi!

The cavalry soon encountered the enemy scouts, and after a chase and struggle, managed to capture several prisoners. The Xiliang cavalry had better horses and equipment, and there were more of them, so they were able to shield the battlefield and gain the initiative in the battle.

After some interrogation, it was learned that the soldiers and horses near Zhongmu were Jiang Qi's troops under Yuan Shao, with a total of 3,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry, who were sent to defend Zhongmu. After Wei Ran heard this, he immediately led his soldiers to meet the battle. He only needs to take care of this bone enemy near Zhongmu, if Jiang Qi has reinforcements, or arranges government soldiers nearby, then he has other troops to solve it.

After the Xiliang cavalry entered the battlefield, the battlefield within a radius of thirty miles was controlled, and even if there were ambushes, it might not be possible to know what was happening here. Taking a step back, the general's soldiers and horses are nearby, and if the enemy's soldiers and horses are thrown into the battlefield again, it will only make your own results greater.

Jiang Qi is a general under Yuan Shao, although leading troops to fight is not as good as Ju Yi, and it is worse than Hebei Siting Zhu, but it can be regarded as a thin prestige, and he has made a lot of contributions in the battle with Gongsun Zhanjun and Zhang Yanjun. After so many years of fighting, he was no stranger to the battlefield, and after hearing that his scouts had not returned, he immediately realized that the situation was not good.

By the time the scout cavalry he sent out again returned with injuries, Jiang Qi was ready for battle. This often happens when fighting Gongsun Zhan. The Gongsun Chan army, which had the advantage of cavalry, often suddenly appeared near the large army.

Looking at the enemy soldiers who had already shown traces in his field of vision, Jiang Qi said loudly to the soldiers on the left and right: "The enemy is the same as the thieves in Youzhou, there is nothing to fear!" Since they are coming to die, let them be fulfilled! ”