Chapter 3 Troubled Times Descend Section 62 Battle of Bochang (Part II)

On the 22nd of September in the 7th year of Light, the snow stopped.

After the first snowfall, there was a faint mist on the ground, and the snow that fell on the ground yesterday was gone, only a piece of mud.

I don't know how much more blood we need to shed on this wet land. But I know that this is not the way to make the land fertile.

What happened to our nation? Why do we have to kill each other intermittently every 200 years? Hopefully, it's too late to stop this.

I was standing at the head of the city, and I was full of emotion, when the gate of the Yellow Turban Army opened, and groups of old, weak, women and children poured out.

"It's a success", I smiled when I met Tian Chou.

In the Battle of Bochang, because the Yellow Turban Army first gave in and handed over the women and children, we faintly buried a strong psychological hint in the hearts of the Yellow Turban Army: once it is impossible, surrendering and staying with the old and weak women and children in the camp is also a choice.

"Send a battalion of Mahan infantry from the west gate to lead the men in the direction of the north gate. Open the north gate and order the wolf rider to go out of the city to be on guard, and the thunder cavalry is ready in the city to prevent the enemy from taking the opportunity to storm the city. The women and children were forbidden to enter the city, and the Le'an infantry battalion was ordered to leave the city and lead them to Boxing for resettlement. This Le'an infantry battalion let them stay in Boxing, quickly get in touch with Guoyuan, and pick up the Le'an army that went to help. "I quickly gave a series of orders.

Gu Shan, who had returned from the camp of the other party, was summoned to the head of the city, and he gave a detailed account of the situation in the Yellow Turban camp.

Knowing that the other party's leader will be Zuo Shobachi, such a name obviously relieved us. This is not the name of a knowledgeable person, his combat experience cannot come from the military book, he can only rely on his own summary, and it is difficult to say how much he can comprehend.

"It seems that the real situation is likely to be: the yellow scarves are too mixed, and they do not belong to each other, so their attacks show waves of offensives. Unexpectedly, this is exactly the key point for us. I sighed.

Gu Shan nodded again and again, agreeing with my opinion: "In the tent, the officials of the Yellow Turban did not show the slightest subordinate characteristics, and the official title of the left beard was Qingzhou Mu. However, he also has General Pinghan in his account, Taishan (County) Taishou Lei Gong, Le'an (County) Taishou Baique, Qi Guoxiang and so on. They have no respect for each other, and they can't see whether the order is unified. ”

What a large group of officials, the revolution has not yet succeeded, there is a large group of high-ranking officials, Qingzhou is not theirs yet, and all the official positions are already complete. Hmph, do they want to be revolutionaries or officials, or are the purpose of the revolution to be officials? I thought to myself.

However, this is in line with the essence of the revolutions of the past – to seek self-privilege.

Historically, slave societies were born when the slave-owning class rose up in revolution and replaced the tribal chiefs as the new privileged class. When the feudal lords and the aristocracy rose up in revolution and replaced the slave owners as the new privileged class, feudal society was born. In the same way, capitalist society was born when the capitalist class rose up in revolution and replaced the feudal lords as the new privileged class.

Of course, this does not preclude the so-called revolution within the class for the sake of dog-eat-dog and for the sake of seizing one's greatest privileges.

Just look at what the Yellow Turbans have done, and the new officials they have been so eager to appoint, who still bear the old names, that they do not want to reform the society, but only to take into their own hands the privileges it gives to the few.

Among these Yellow Turban generals, some people don't even have a first name, only an official position and a nickname. The progress of society, no matter how you say it, will not be in the hands of a few bandits who can't even read a word. I thought angrily and funny.

Gu Shan took a breath, with a puzzled expression on his face, and continued: "Lord, there is still one person in the village, it's strange. This person's name is Yang Feng, and he is the captain of the left cavalry under Zhang Liang, the general of the late local government, and is currently the prime minister of Jinan. Yesterday, he spoke for us everywhere in the camp, and last night, he called me to his barracks to rest and talked with me about the disposition of the troops of the Yellow Turbans. ”

"Hmm", I solemnly instructed with a solemn face: "Remember, about this Yang Feng, it is forbidden for you to talk about it with anyone." If you don't feel like you can keep your mouth shut, maybe, I'll consider keeping this secret after you don't have a head. Remember, your head is at your mouth right now, shut your mouth for me".

Gu Shan nodded again and again, indicating that he understood.

"You go down and give the military intelligence report that Yang Feng told you to join the army, but don't mention the name Yang Feng, just say that you found it yourself." I added: "You can rest for a few days, and if the weather is bad, you will go to the Yellow Turban Village again in three days and ask for a two-day postponement of the battle." ”

Tian Chou hurriedly objected: "My lord, since you said that you will fight in three days, is it inappropriate to temporarily change the time?" The weather is not good for us, and it is not good for the enemy army. Should we stick to our promises, and we will fight in three days' time. ”

"It is better to reschedule, for for it is impossible for the enemy to hand over all the women and children to us in three days, and besides, it is impossible for them to reorganize their ranks within these three days. For us, even if Yun Changyide arrived in time, he would not have time to familiarize himself with the army in three days. Therefore, both sides have the hope of rescheduling.

The Art of War: Anger can be drummed up. If we had been prepared, there would have been no battle in three days, and the enemy had been prepared for battle in three days, and once we had told them that there would be no more fighting on that day. The enemy's morale is bound to be discharged.

In addition, more than 7,000 people from two legions came to the reinforcements this time, but the leading general was Le Wenqian (Le Jin). In order to prevent the bandits from escaping, Bingyuan took my guards to Linzi and stationed them, and Fu Hao led the rest of our army into Zhuxu City in Langxi County, Xuzhou. Now, there are only three front-line generals left, you, me and Wen Qian, and from this point of view, we must also stall for time. ”

Tian Chou was silent......

I glanced around at the city, looked back at Gu Shan, and then asked, "What about Wen Qian?" Why didn't he exist in the city? ”

Tian Chou bowed his hand slightly and replied: "After receiving the order of the lord's reorganization team, the right army division handed over the task of reorganization to Bingyuan, and now these troops are all trained by Bingyuan, and after Wen Qian took over, he is familiar with the team in the battalion. ”

As he spoke, Tian Chou sighed: "If we are given a little more time, these two 'Swift Gallop' legions can be trained, and at that time, with the thunder and wolf riding, we will sweep through Qingzhou." It's a pity that the time is short, and Bingyuan only has time to organize them into infantry formations, and we haven't had time to train the characteristics of Swift Gallop. ”

"That's fine, this time we will use their three armies to fight a battle, so that they can learn to cooperate with each other in blood and sweat." While comforting Tian Chou, I raised my monoculars and observed the movements of the women and children in yellow turbans outside the city.

The north gate of the city rumbled open, and with a burst of military trumpets, the wolf cavalry with hideous armor lined up in a neat queue and slowly poured into the great plain in front of the north gate of Bochang.

The earth was steaming, and a faint mist was wafting in the air. In the fog, the black figure of the wolf rider flickered, and under the hideous mask, the breath of the wolf knight could not be seen, but fortunately, the white gas that spewed out from the horse's nose from time to time reminded people that at least, they were riding live horses.

As a gust of wind blew, the fog cleared slightly, and the black steel monster suddenly presented his iron face in front of the women and children, close at hand, as if it was a demon jumping out of the nine deep abysses. The motionless figures seemed to be hellish demon soldiers, and the spears stretched straight into the air were their tools for harvesting human lives.

In this scene, the frightened women and children who were staggering in the mud screamed and cried. At the same time, those old and weak women and children also avoided the north gate of Bochang, where those strange ironclad wolf riders were.

The sun gradually rose and the mist dissipated. As if suddenly, the curtain on the stage was lifted, and the large cloth that covered the wolf rider was removed. This team exposed its hideous features: a horizontal line of 200 horsemen, arranged in five columns, three facing the women's and children's ranks, and three facing the Yellow Turban camp. The horses were dressed in light armor, only the horse's face was in iron armor, and the eyes and nose were exposed. The rest of the horse's body is exposed.

The knight on the horse was dressed in unicorn armor, with a half-cut cuirass on his chest, a tortoise shield (arm shield) on his arms, his entire face hidden under the armor, and a bunch of crimson cherry blossoms stuck in his helmet, which was flying in the early morning breeze.

There was a coaxing exclamation from the Yellow Turban camp, and even though I was far away from the city walls, I could feel the panic in their voices.

"Okay", I put down the binoculars and said to Tian Chou proudly: "In the next two days, there will inevitably be many cowardly people who will try to pretend to be injured and blend into the ranks of the old and weak, so as to avoid the upcoming battle. The advantage of this is that our enemies will be greatly reduced; The downside is that the enemy's stubborn resistance will be beyond our imagination. The Battle of Bochang will be a tough battle. ”

Tian Chou seized the opportunity and asked hesitantly: "Lord, that Yang Feng in the enemy camp ......"

I immediately cut off his words: "Zitai, this person was captured by me in the battle of Jizhou, and he was sent back just to understand the dynamics of the Yellow Turban, this matter is absolutely confidential, and it is not suitable to talk about it too much here." Go back, you contact Ye Tian, and you will come forward on our side, and you will be fully responsible for negotiating with Yang Feng. ”

After hearing this. Tian Chou felt trusted, and immediately decided to put the topic aside. Discuss with me how to defend the city.

Tian Chou and I patrolled around the city wall, and at the west gate of the key defense, we met Zheng Hun's eldest disciple Ju'an who was busy installing some equipment. When Juan saw us coming, he immediately put down what he was doing and trotted over to salute us.

"The city lord is fine, and the elder Tian is fine", Ju'an clasped his fists at us again and again.

I looked at Tian Chou and smiled helplessly. Zheng Hun's disciples and he are carved out of the same mold, and they are best at two things: patting sycophants and doing handiwork. The first thing he did when he got started was to shoot Zheng Hun's ass on the mountain, and he was comfortable when he patted him. In such an atmosphere, every disciple of Zheng Hun who came out of the school is extraordinary. At this moment, the military situation is urgent, and I don't have much stamina to put up with his sycophants.

"Ju An, what are you up to?" I don't have anything to say.

"City Lord, it's 'Zheng Hun Crossbow' and 'Ju'an Cannon'" Ju'an replied respectfully, and immediately, he carefully reminded: "City Lord, this 'Ju'an Cannon' is named after me'Ju'an', and the little lord was awarded the Izumo Order for this invention and won the title of Lord of the Third Class. ”

"Oh", I nodded in amazement, "Looks like I'll call you 'Lord Giant' from now on." ”

Ju'an proudly expressed his humility: "Don't dare, don't dare, the little lord can have today, thanks to the city lord's gift and my teacher's earnest teaching." ”

I looked down at the "Zheng Hun Crossbow" and the "Ju'an Cannon". Zheng Hun's crossbow is a three-bow bed crossbow, which is improved by Zheng Hun on the basis of his predecessors, due to the use of standardized iron parts for a large number of parts, and the installation of a winding winch machine, the bed crossbow not only began to be large-scale, but also quickly disassembled and installed. This technology is the result of Zheng Hun and Gao Shan's joint research, because it contains a high degree of military secrets, so it is only allowed to be installed in Izumo Castle and Luanyang Castle, and even Guanghuan Castle does not dare to expect equipment.

As for the so-called "Ju'an cannon", it is a centrifugal catapult cart, because it uses centrifugal force to launch boulders, and auxiliary equipment such as counterweights can be canceled, so it has been successfully miniaturized. However, centrifugal catapults have always had a drawback: they are not very accurate. In the process of throwing stones, the change of force is too complicated, causing the stones thrown to be thrown from far and near, which are acceptable for defending the city and used for siege - if you don't get it right, you will injure the besieging soldiers.

"Ju'an, has this catapult been tested?" I'm worried about the inquiry.

Ju An saluted and replied: "At present, there is a flow of people outside the city, and it is impossible to fire a cannon to measure the range. However, the main thing in the city is to see the power of this artillery car, we can test the fire to the southwest, where is the Yellow Turban battalion, even if there is a mistake, it doesn't matter. ”

I quickly waved my hand to stop him, "The gun carriage is a weapon of our defense, but now is not the time to show it. We have a small army, and once the war starts, I hope to be able to use the whole army. In this case, it is necessary to deter the other party so that the other party does not dare to take the opportunity to attack the city. So, I need a full display of defensive weapons. Tomorrow afternoon, when you've installed all the ballistas, we'll fire a salvo. ”

Juan understood what I meant, and immediately asked for my opinion on where to use as the point of impact.

Just as we were pointing to the open space outside the west gate and discussing the test firing, a soldier hurriedly came to report: "Report, city lord, an army has been found outside the east gate, which is rapidly approaching Bochang, and is now 5 miles away from the city." ”

Oh, the direction of the east gate is Le'an, and it should be our reinforcements coming, but why should the soldiers report urgently?

"What's so unusual about this army? Why are you so nervous? "I asked without a care.

"City Lord, this team moves very quickly, but the formation is extremely scattered, and there is no echo from the beginning to the end, it does not look like our army. In addition, there was no flag in the army, and it seemed that ......" The soldier did not continue. I immediately intervened, adding, "Seems more like an army of bandits, doesn't it?" ”

The little soldier nodded again and again, and I praised it appreciatively: "Whoever discovers these anomalies, seeing the big in small places, is really a general, and he ordered him to come to see me, and I have a heavy reward." ”

Tian Chou volunteered: "Lord, Lei Qi is still on standby in the city. Since the formation of the incoming army is scattered, under the blow of the thunder cavalry, it will collapse, I will lead the thunder cavalry out of the formation, and the lord will press me back, how about it? ”

"Okay", I agreed: "Order, Le Wenqian immediately led the soldiers to the city and prepared to meet the battle." Use the military horn to inform the wolf rider to move closer to the east gate, ready to meet the thunder rider. Order: The Mahan Legion assembled at the North Gate and prepared to close the city gate for battle. ”

In the city, the trumpets sounded fiercely. The wolf cavalry outside the city looked back at the city and let out a low snort. I saw a fiery red military flag rising at the head of the city, and on the flag was a jagged lightning sign - this was the battle flag of the thunder horse, which marked that the thunder horse was about to go out of the city to face the battle.

With the rumbling of the door, the east gate opened, and the thunder horses in black clothes and black armor rumbled out of the city gate, the horses' hooves trampled on the ground, the earth trembled, and the dust fell down from the city wall.

After a while, all the thunder horses rushed out of the city gate and were officially revealed on the field of Qingzhou.

The black horse is all the same, the front half of the horse's body is covered with plate black armor, and a dazzling metal thorn protrudes from its forehead. Under the sun, there is a faint cold light. The knight on the horse, wearing a plate-type full breastplate, with unicorn armor under the breastplate, and plate-type armor or shields on the limbs. The face is completely covered under the mask, leaving only a small hole in the position of the eyes, and occasionally, the murderous aura of Senhan flashes.

If the wolf rider is an army made of silver, the thunder rider is an army made of gold. The horses they ride are the highest and best horses of each tribe. Each cavalryman had to train at least two or three horses before completing his training and becoming a qualified thunder cavalry. These horses were killed by a fall during sprints and queue exercises.

And as we all know, not all horses are suitable for riding, and a horse suitable for riding must be sensitive to the feeling of the reins, otherwise, such a horse is only suitable for pulling a horse - pulling a cart. As for the thunder horse, not only must the best riding horse be chosen, but since even the horse is covered in armor - although this armor has been reduced as much weight as possible, but with the knight on the horse, this weight is definitely not light - so it must be the most load-bearing horse. Under such a choice, the cost of building such an army can be imagined.

Under Tian Chou's order, Lei rode outside the east gate and leisurely arranged the queue. The trumpet sounded, and a cyan battle flag was raised again on the head of the city, and a vicious wolf's head was embroidered on the horse. Seeing this, the wolf riders shouted in unison:

"Wolf-wolf-wolf-".

This was the battle flag of the wolf riders, and the trumpet guided them closer to the east gate. As soon as the trumpet sounded, the wolf rider shouted in unison again: "Wolf-wolf-wolf-".

At the same time, in the direction of the east gate, the thunder cavalry knocked on the shield in his hand. The dull and uniform dull sound, like rumbling thunder, as if tens of thousands of iron balls rolled over the iron plate and roared on the earth. All of a sudden, the battle clouds were thick at the east gate.

By the north gate, the wolf rider who had been silent suddenly made a sound, as if the demon who had been silent for a thousand years had suddenly awakened, and this scene frightened the women and children to cry. Immediately, a small group of soldiers came out of the north gate and took over the work of the wolf horseman. After a little tidying up the team, the wolf rode roaring towards the north gate.

The thunder riders and wolf riders cooperated with each other, and 10,000 people came to them, but they might not be able to repel them. Now, the key is to see how the yellow turban reacts. I hurriedly instructed Le Jin, who ran up to the city: "Wen Qian, pay attention to the dynamics of the Yellow Turban Battalion, if the enemy army does not move, we will not move." If the enemy army goes out of the camp, send a legion out of the city and attack it head-on. ”

Le Jin tightened the sword in his hand, and replied loudly: "Don't worry, my lord, I will let the Yellow Turban Thief come and go." ”

I patted Le Jin on the shoulder and comforted him: "Don't be nervous, Bochang Oriental Boxing City, then Lewei and Le'an are two cities, and then east is the sea." There is a natural danger of the Yellow River in the north of Le'an, and we have a stone defense circle on the left bank of the Yellow River. If it is really the enemy army coming from the east, unless they can break through the four cities of Jieshi, Le'an, Lewei, and Boxing. It's impossible to even break these four cities without any news from us. Unless ——, the enemy's army and horses are few, take advantage of the cold and freezing, and the gap where there is no one in the field, evade the defense of the four cities and come to Bochang. However, if the enemy army is small, I estimate that under 10,000 people, it will not be enough to ride the wolf and stuff the teeth. Therefore, we don't need to worry about the East Gate, it is common sense to pay attention to the Yellow Turban Camp. ”

Time passed slowly. Outside the city, the Yellow Turban camp was in a commotion, and the old, weak, women and children had stopped pouring out. A commotion was gathered at the gate of the camp. Although across the county seat of Bochang, the Yellow Turban Army in the direction of the West Gate could not see us opening the East Gate and dispatching thunder horses, but the movement of the North Gate was in the corner of their eyes, and there was no reason why they could not notice it. Now, it is estimated that they are discussing how to respond.

Inside the West Gate, the newly reorganized Qingzhou First Centrino Regiment has been ready to standby. Just wait for the city gate to open and go out of the city to face the battle. At the head of the city, Lejin and I anxiously waited for their reaction. If this fight starts, it will be Lejin's first battle under me. When he first arrived, he won a high position, and Guan Zhang and others were listed as county lieutenants, and he had long wanted to fight a battle to prove that he was worthy of my attention, and now, the big war was imminent, and Le Jin couldn't help but be eager to try.

I leisurely struck the city with my horsewhip, beckoned to Ju'an, and asked: "Lord Ju, don't you want to test the cannon, now that there is no one at the West Gate, you can try two cannons to see." ”

Ju An replied excitedly: "Okay, I will live up to the expectations of the city lord." ”

"Two cannons will do," I told him, "One cannon has the farthest range, and one cannon has the closest range." ”

After a while, the boulder cannon fired. The round stone ball "boom" fell to the ground, and then, it bounced up again, flew forward for a distance, fell to the ground again, and rolled on the ground unstoppably, not far from the Yellow Turban wall, a small stone was bumped, and the boulder flew up again, smashed down to the wall, and the soft bullet fell to the ground.

"Wen Qian, do you have the guts?" My heart moved, and I asked Lejin with a straight face.

Le Jin jumped up excitedly and asked urgently: "Lord, you let me take the initiative to attack the Yellow Turban Village." ”

"What kind of guts is this", I shook my head and denied: "I want you to take ten people to the Yellow Turban Village to pick up the boulder that was just launched." At the same time, tell the Yellow Turban Army that we have no hostile intentions, but are just testing the city defense artillery, so that they can continue to transfer the old, weak, women and children. Do you dare? ”

Le Jin said unhappily: "Lord, what's so difficult about this, sending one or two small soldiers can complete this matter, what guts do you need." ”

I patted Lejin on the shoulder and explained, "Sending one or two minions to pick up the stones will not achieve the purpose of intimidating the enemy. I asked you to sign up and go, in the name of the chief general of Bochang, to pick up the stone openly. Show your courage to the enemy. In this way, when the two armies meet, the enemy will be terrified because of you. How about it, dare not sign up and go. ”

Le Jin replied angrily: "Lord, look at me." ”

Seeing Le Jin gradually approaching the Yellow Turban Village, Ju An leaned into my ear and said in a low voice: "Lord, after this smash, I'm afraid that the stone will also crack, even if you pick it up, you can't use it." ”

I nodded and replied, "I'm not trying to pick up the stones, I'm trying to pick up a few more lives." ”

"Picking up human lives?" Juan muttered suspiciously.

I pointed to the Yellow Turbans and explained: "The Yellow Turbans have a large number of people, and many of them have been coerced into joining the rebellion. We have repeatedly carried out the technique of attacking the heart, in the hope that the timid people in the Yellow Turban Army will be able to blend in with the old, weak, and sick and no longer be our enemies. Even for those who stay, I hope they don't have a strong fighting spirit. In this way, the killings will be minimized. If we win this battle, our captured manpower will greatly strengthen Qingzhou's strength. Everything in the world is people-oriented, and with population, there is everything. ”

Behind him, Tian Chou's voice sounded: "The lord is high, and Chou is impressed." ”

"Zitai, why did you come back so soon?" I turned around happily and asked.

"What" Tian Chou took off his helmet dissatisfied, and was still on the ground: "As soon as our army lined up and was about to charge, the soldiers at the head of Dongcheng reported that they saw the opponent's military flag, saying that it was the military flag of General Yide. I was so angry that I turned around and went back to the city. ”

"Thunder rode the wolf, did you also go back to the city?" I asked unwillingly. Thunder rode out of the city on a wolf ride, and then came back in a gray manner. Our two strongest elite soldiers in Izumo, the first time they cooperated in the battle, they encountered Zhang Fei, a troublemaker, and fell into such a bleak situation. Makes me angry and funny.

Tian Chou kicked the helmet on the ground fiercely, and replied viciously: "Since the Thunder Rider Wolf Rider has gone out, let them show it to the Yellow Turban Army, I will enter from the east gate, and let them enter the city from the north gate." Yide, a reckless man, hurt me to be nervous for a while, and the east gate was not opened, so he also entered the city through the north gate. ”

"It's okay" I reluctantly agreed with Tian Chou's proposition, and pulled him to him: "Let's go to the north gate to meet him, this reckless man, marching like this, causing us to have a false alarm, if you don't say a reason, I can't spare him." ”