The horse thieves on the opposite side were also stupid, and when they woke up, the mute had already broken into the horse thieves alone, just like a vicious wolf into the flock, and the horse thieves were picked off the horse one after another, and in less than a moment, the dumb man killed the horse thieves, and when the horse came back, the group of horse thieves had already been scattered.

Xu Shao rode forward in horror and said to the mute: "Hey, you're not dumb?" ”

The mute said, "You're the dumb." ”

Xu Shao suddenly said: "Oh, I seem to have seen you somewhere!" ”

The mute whispered, "You must be mistaken. ”

"It can't be wrong, it certainly can't be wrong." Xu Shao pondered for a moment, and suddenly shouted, "I remember, you are Zhao Yun, the commander of Gongsun Zhan's White Horse Righteousness!" When the Eighteenth Route Coalition was fighting Dong Zhuo, I saw you in front of Gongsun Zhan's tent! ”

When the Eighteenth Route Coalition Army crusaded against Dong Zhuo, Xu Chu and Guo Tu followed Ma Teng to participate in the coalition army, and Xu Shao listened to the tune in front of Xu Chu's tent at that time, and Zhao Yun was Gongsun Zhan's general, and had assisted Ma Tengjun in searching for Cao Ying, Xu Shao and Zhao Yun had several relationships, so he vaguely remembered.

When Ma Zheng just rescued Zhao Yun, Zhao Yun's image changed greatly because he was seriously injured and dying, so Xu Shao couldn't think of it, but just now, Zhao Yun was so powerful that he beat hundreds of horse thieves to the ground with a raise of his hand, and Xu Shao suddenly remembered that the white horse silver spear that shot Lu Bu back with an arrow in front of the Tiger Prison Pass.

The dumb man's face changed slightly, and when he turned around, he happened to see Ma Zheng greeted him with excitement, so he stepped forward to hold Ma Zheng's reins and said indifferently: "That was many years ago, and now I am Gongzi's guard." ”

Xu Shao said: "Hehe, no wonder you are so powerful, it turns out that you are really Zhao Yun!" With your protection, Childe is afraid that no one in the world will be able to hurt half of his hair. ”

……

Xihe County, Zishi.

Zhang Jizheng led the Bingzhou army to flee south all over the mountains, and the official road was already in chaos, several horse-drawn carriages full of gold and silver fell across the center of the official road, and the road was completely cut off, and the follow-up vehicles and horse teams could not pass, so they had to detour the wilderness on both sides of the official road, and as a result, many vehicles fell into the mud and could not extricate themselves.

The general Lei Xuce came to Zhang Ji and said hurriedly: "General, it's not a way to go like this, you should be caught up by the Hebei army before you reach Hedong." ”

"Report~~" Lei Xu's voice fell, and a fast horse galloped from the direction of the road, shouting loudly, "General, Hebei cavalry has been found ten miles away in the north!" ”

"Huh!?" Zhang Ji was taken aback, a trace of flesh pain flashed across his face, and he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Order, Zhang Xiu led three thousand light horsemen to the north to intercept the pursuing soldiers, and then ordered the whole army to throw away all the baggage vehicles and go south lightly!" ”

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Zhang Xiu and the generals responded violently and took orders one after another.

……

Ten miles north of Zishi, Zhang Hezheng led 5,000 Hebei light cavalry to the south.

Zhang He thinks that the poor Kou Mo chases, once the Bingzhou Army is forced to be urgent, it is likely to turn around and bite the Hebei Army, then the gains outweigh the losses, and the Bingzhou Army is not a rabble after all! Most of these 30,000 Bingzhou troops were the old Liangzhou troops who had followed Zhang Ji for many years, fierce and tenacious, and they were still very combative.

However, since it was Yuan Shao's military order, Zhang He could only carry it out.

"Report~~" When Zhang He was riding his horse and galloping forward, a fast horse suddenly galloped back in front of him, and shouted loudly, "General, three groups of cavalry were found in front, each with two or three thousand horsemen, approaching our army from the southeast, southwest, and south!" Judging from the banner played by the other party, the cavalry in the south direction should be the Bingzhou Army, while the cavalry in the southwest and southeast directions should be the Liangzhou Army! ”

"Liangzhou Army? It's coming so fast! Zhang He's expression sank, and he shouted to the soldiers behind him, "Order the whole army to form a formation on the spot and prepare to fight!" ”

"Yes!"

The soldiers took the order and left.

The Hebei cavalry surging south soon began to slow down, and then slowly spread out to the two wings, and set up a formation on the empty snowfield, almost the Hebei cavalry had just finished the formation, and the black-pressed cavalry appeared in the south, southeast and southwest at the same time, and the three cavalry marched in unison like a rolling iron stream, crushing towards the Hebei cavalry.

These three cavalry are the Bingzhou light cavalry led by Zhang Xiu and the Liangzhou iron cavalry led by Ma Chao and Xu Chu.

Zhang Ji obeyed Ma Yue's decision to retreat from Bingzhou to Hedong, and Ma Yue immediately ordered Ma Chao and Xu Chu to lead two thousand iron cavalry to rescue from the northeast of the river.

Seeing that the Hebei cavalry had already been in strict formation, the three cavalry surging north immediately began to slow down, when the two armies were still a thousand steps away, Ma Chao, Xu Chu, and Zhang Xiu raised their right arms at the same time, and the cavalry slowly advancing behind them suddenly stopped at the horse, and then slowly spread out to the two wings.

Cavalry is different from infantry.

The thicker and denser the infantry's formation, the stronger its attack and defense.

But this is not the case with cavalry, if the cavalry is arranged in a thick, dense formation to charge, it is basically equivalent to suicide! Cavalry charges are generally spread out as far as possible to the two flanks, with only a few rows or even only one row in front and back! Only in exceptional circumstances would the cavalry charge in a dense formation.

For example, when the Xiliang Iron Cavalry is projecting a spear, or when it is about to be suppressed by riding and shooting, it will use a dense formation to charge.

The two armies were in a circle, Han Juzi slapped his horse and came out of the battle, dancing with a knife and shouting: "Han Juzi is here in the river, who dares to fight?" ”

Xu Chu was about to ride his horse out of battle, and out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a horse galloping out, and when he looked sideways, it was Ma Chao.

"Xiliang Ma Chao is here!" Ma Chao turned the wolf spear sideways, pointed at Han Juzi and shouted, "The thief will die quickly!" ”

Han Juzi was furious, urging the horse to take Ma Chao directly, Ma Chao also rode the horse to meet him, the horse's hooves were churning, the snow was splashing, and the two horses intersected in an instant, Han Juzi held the long knife above the top before it could be chopped down, Ma Chao's wolf spear had already stabbed out like lightning, and the cold tip of the spear ruthlessly pierced Han Juzi's throat, and the sharp and wide blade of the gun cut off Han Juzi's neck entirely, and a head suddenly flew up in the air.

"Poof~~"

Fierce blood gushed out from Han Juzi's broken neck like blood, and the galloping war horse with the headless corpse ran forward for dozens of steps before falling off the horse and falling on the cold snow. Ma Chao raised his gun and poked Han Juzi's bloody head, and rode his horse back and forth in front of the two armies, looking up to the sky and roaring, showing off his martial arts and might.

In front of the Hebei formation, Zhang He was furious, jumped out of the horse with a gun, and shouted: "Ma Chao is going to be rampant, Zhang He is here, take his life!" ”

"Zhang He!?"

Ma Chao's slender and sturdy body suddenly trembled slightly, and slowly turned his head, his cold eyes were as bright as a wolf's eyes, staring at Zhang He fiercely, and all of a sudden, Ma Chao's dark eyes had become red! Zhang He!? Ma Teng's death was due to Gongsun Zhan's betrayal, but Zhang He was the one who killed Ma Teng!

"Zhang He!" Ma Chao raised his gun to tease the sky, and Sen Ran shouted, "Did my father die at your hands in the battle in the clouds back then?" ”

"Yes!" Zhang He raised his gun and responded, "Today, I will send you to hell and reunite your father and son!" ”

"Ahh

Ma Chao looked up to the sky and howled, urging the sweat and blood under his crotch to force Zhang He like a whirlwind, the two horses intersected between the electric light and stone fire, Zhang He's heavy iron gun and Ma Chao's wolf gun slammed together, making a suffocating sound of gold and iron, Zhang He only felt a buzz in his ears, his chest was like being smashed by a heavy hammer, and his arms were even more sore, tired and tired!

Zhang He was shocked, and he was worried that Xiliang Jinma Chao really lived up to his reputation! It's much more powerful than his old son Ma Teng!

When Zhang He was secretly frightened, Ma Chao folded his horse and killed it back, the wolf gun was like a poisonous snake out of the hole and stabbed Zhang He's throat viciously, Zhang He raised his gun in the spirit, only to hear a bang, the wild power rolled back like a tide, Zhang He could no longer hold the iron gun in his hand, ten fingers were loosened, and the heavy iron gun had already flown in the air.

Zhang He, the fierce general in the river, was knocked off by Ma Chao before he could hand over the horse!

Seeing Ma Chao so powerful, the soldiers of the Liang Army applauded as if the sky was falling apart, and the tiger idiot Xu Chu was also secretly surprised, wondering when did this kid Ma Chao become so powerful? With Ma Chao's current strength, even if he and Lao Dian join forces, I am afraid that they may not be able to win steadily.

In fact, since the earth-shattering battle with Lu Bu back then, Ma Chao's strength has improved by leaps and bounds, surpassing Dian Wei and Xu Chu!

The strength of a military commander is determined by three factors, namely martial arts, physique, and confidence!

Among them, the constitution is an innate condition, and acquired practice and effort cannot change a person's constitution.

Therefore, the vast majority of people cannot become military generals, but can only be a small soldier, and only those who are talented and powerful can become military generals.

A person with a strong physique can become a general, but not necessarily a fierce general, both with a strong physique and a superb martial arts, then he can be called a real general.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, there were many fierce generals like the sand of the Ganges, but their strength was different, and the most important factor that determined the strength of the fierce generals was self-confidence! The more enemy generals fall under their own hands, the stronger the general's self-confidence will be, and the stronger his strength will be!

Like Ma Chao defeating Lu Bu, who was known as invincible in the world at that time, his self-confidence can be greatly increased, and his strength will improve by leaps and bounds. So today, Ma Chao was full of revenge, and it was not surprising that he picked up Zhang He's spear within the two combinations, killing him and fleeing in defeat.

"Drink!"

Ma Chao knocked Zhang He's iron gun away with a shot, shouted back to the horse and stabbed Zhang He's throat again, this shot was accurate and ruthless, the two were separated and close, Zhang He couldn't dodge and had to instinctively shrink his head, only to hear a soft sound, Zhang He's helmet had been picked up by Ma Chao's wolf gun, and the messy hair was scattered in an instant, confusing Zhang He's eyes.

Zhang He's heart was broken, and he rushed to the front.

"The thief is gone, leave his life!"

Ma Chao turned back and chased after him.

Zhang He didn't dare to look back, only hit the horse and galloped away, and when he was fleeing in the wilderness, two strong generals suddenly appeared in the Hebei formation, jumped on the horse with a spear to meet Ma Chao, and shouted in unison: "Dongping Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang are here, don't want to hurt my general!" ”

Seeing this, Zhang He's heart was slightly calm, and he hurriedly bypassed Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang's brothers and rushed back to his own position.

Ma Chao saw that Zhang He was about to hide in the army, and couldn't help but feel anxious, so he stabbed Lu Kuang off the horse with a shot, and then freed his right hand to snatch the spear in Lu Xiang's hand.

"Go!"

Ma Chao snatched Lu Xiang's spear with his hand and threw it at Zhang He's vest with a loud shout.

Zhang He heard the sound of breaking the air behind his head, and his heart was terrified to roll the saddle and get off the horse, and fell into the dust, Ma Chao's inevitable throw actually stabbed the mount under Zhang He's crotch, and the mount screamed miserably, struggling to run forward two steps and then fell to the ground, when Ma Chao wanted to chase and kill again, Zhang He was rescued by his own soldiers and retreated into the army.

Ma Chao was reluctant, and rushed into the Hebei army alone to kill Zhang He.

Xu Chu was afraid that Ma Chao would lose, and urgently urged four thousand Xiliang iron cavalry to cover up and kill, Zhang Xiu recovered from the shock and also led two thousand and Zhou light cavalry to take advantage of the situation to cover up, Liangzhou iron cavalry, and Zhou light cavalry The two armies attacked together, and the crowd was outnumbered, plus the Hebei cavalry was demoralized because of the defeat of the main general, and was suddenly defeated.

……

Jinyang, Zhang Ji's official residence has now become Yuan Shao's residence.

When Yuan Shao was discussing with Tian Feng and others in the hall, a junior colonel suddenly entered the hall and said, "General, something is wrong." ”

Yuan Shao frowned and shouted, "What's wrong?" ”

Xiao Colonel said: "General Zhang He's forward light cavalry was attacked by the Liangzhou Iron Cavalry and the Bingzhou Light Cavalry, although General Zhang He fought hard to the death, it was difficult to save the defeat, General Han Juzi, General Lu Kuang, and General Lu Xiang were all killed by Ma Chao of Xiliang Xiao, and General Zhang He was also injured by Ma Chao, and more than 2,000 cavalry fled back to Pingtao with 5,000 light cavalry. ”

"Huh?"

Yuan Shao was taken aback suddenly, and Huo Di stood up.

Tian Feng's face sank, and he asked the junior colonel urgently: "Have the Liangzhou and Bingzhou coalition forces ever pursued after victory?" ”

The little colonel said: "The two armies are thirty miles away from Pingtao and have not continued to go north. ”

Tian Feng asked again: "Did Tan Ma find the Liang army of the brigade?" ”

The little colonel shook his head and said, "I haven't found it." ”

"Whew~" Tian Feng breathed a sigh of relief and said with his hand on his forehead, "That's okay." ”

"Damn! The horse butcher dared to sneak attack the advance of our army and dampen the spirit of our army! Yuan Shao gritted his teeth and said, "Someone is coming, pass on the order of the general, immediately gather all the troops to kill Ben Pingtao, and definitely eliminate these two groups of Liangzhou iron cavalry and Bingzhou light cavalry, and revitalize our Hebei army." ”

Tian Feng hurriedly stepped forward and stopped: "The lord can't. ”

Yuan Shao said angrily: "Why? ”

Tian Feng said: "Youbeiping Taishou Tian Yu has just sent an envoy to report that the Pei Yuanshao Department of Mobei has already leveled the ninety-three divisions of Mahan (one of the three Han tribes, in the present-day Korean Peninsula, is the ancestor of the Goryeo stick), and is now leading a large cavalry brigade to cross Liaodong and Liaoxi to the area of Youbeiping and Yuyang. ”

"So what?" Yuan Shao said disapprovingly, "Pei Yuanshao may just take a shortcut to return to the old camp in Danhan Mountain." ”

Tian Feng said: "You can pay in detail, the Mobei Zhoucang Department also crossed the desert from Jiluo Mountain, and was approaching the upper valley and Daijun, did the lord think it was just an accident?" ”

"Huh? Zhoucang's department is approaching Shanggu and Daijun? ”

Yuan Shao hurriedly walked to the front of the case, stretched out his hand to spread out the map, and immediately changed his face at a glance, only to see Pei Yuanshao and Zhou Cang's two Mobei cavalry like two iron tongs coming over on the left and the right, if Yuan Shao could not respond in time, the two cavalry would likely converge in Yanmen County and Zhongshan Kingdom.

At that time, not only will the grain and grass accumulated in Yanmen and Zhongshan fall into the hands of Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao, but even the road of the Hebei army to Jizhou from the north will be cut off by these two cavalry, if the Hebei army can no longer make a forced landing on the party and defend the publicity, Yuan Shao's 150,000 army will become a homeless lone army, trapped in the territory of Bingzhou!

"Not good!" Thinking of this, Yuan Shao said with a disgrace, "The horse butcher has a lot of ambitions, he is trying to force the general's army to a dead end!" Yuan Hao, you can quickly order Youzhou to stay, Qingzhou to stay, Jizhou to stay to help, this general will fight to the death with the horse butcher in Bingzhou! ”

"Lord, don't be impatient." Tian Feng said, "The situation has not been so bad that the lord does not have to mobilize the left-behind troops of Youzhou, Qingzhou, and Jizhou to participate in the war. ”

Yuan Shao said: "What does Yuan Hao mean by this? ”

Tian Feng said: "Feng thinks that the horse butcher does not intend to fight to the death with our army in Bingzhou, and the reason why the horse butcher mobilized the Mobei cavalry of Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao to approach Yanmen and Zhongshan is actually to put pressure on our army!" Forcing our army to return to Yanmen and Zhongshan to protect the grain road, that's all. ”

Yuan Shao said: "So, the horse butcher doesn't plan to fight our army in Bingzhou?" ”

"Of course." Tian Feng said, "If the horse butcher planned to fight a decisive battle with our army in Bingzhou, the main force of his Liang army should have gone north from Caisangjin to Xihe County a long time ago, but in fact, the horse butcher did not do this, but only sent two cavalry north to meet Zhang Ji, which shows that the horse butcher has no intention of fighting a decisive battle with our army in Bingzhou?" ”

Yuan Shao frowned and said, "Yuan Hao is sure? ”

Tian Feng nodded and said, "It's certain below." ”

After two miscalculations, Tian Feng was already basically sure that the biggest enemy in the horse butcher's heart was Cao Ying and not Yuan Shao, and before Cao Ying fell, the horse butcher would only try to avoid turning his face with Yuan Shao! To say that Yuan Shao's strength is far ten times stronger than Cao Ying, Yuan Shaocai should be the biggest threat to the horse butcher, but in fact this is not the case.

Although Tian Feng was puzzled, he gradually realized this!

This is confirmed from Yuan Shao's crusade against Gongsun Zhan, Tian Feng strongly opposed Yuan Shao's northern expedition to Gongsun Zhan, because he was worried that the horse butcher would interfere, but the final result was that the horse butcher and Yuan Shao joined forces to kill Gongsun Zhan, which greatly surprised Tian Feng's expectations and gave Tian Feng a deep shock.

It was also in the prison that Tian Feng finally figured out that the horse butcher actually did not take Yuan Shao in his eyes, and in the horse butcher's heart, the biggest threat was always Cao Ying, not Yuan Shao of the fourth and third dukes. But Yuan Shao didn't know this truth, and Tian Feng couldn't tell Yuan Shao about it.

It's hard to imagine how Yuan Shao would react when he heard that the horse butcher had never put himself in his eyes? With Yuan Shao's surname, he is likely to be annoyed and angry, and desperately gather all the troops to kill the Hetao and fight to the death with the horse butcher! This is what Tian Feng does not want to see.

Since the horse butcher didn't take Yuan Shao in his eyes, and only thought that Cao Ying in the south was his biggest threat, then Tian Feng could just take advantage of the horse butcher's mentality, and the two sides worked together to destroy Cao Ying first, and then took advantage of the fact that the horse butcher was recuperating and recuperating, and he was unable to make a big move, attack the city and seize the land, and then attack the south first, and then gather the power of Kyushu to fight to the death with the horse butcher.

Only in this way can Yuan Shao have a fifty percent chance of winning!

Yuan Shao said: "But Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao's nearly 100,000 cavalry troops are always a threat. ”

Tian Feng said: "The lord only needs to send heavy troops to garrison Yanmen and Zhongshan counties, and the cavalry of Zhoucang and Pei Yuanshao will naturally retreat." ”

Yuan Shao said: "If you want to let Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao retreat, you need to send at least 100,000 troops back to defend Yanmen County and Zhongshan Kingdom, plus Xihe County, Taiyuan County, and Xinxing County need to be guarded by troops, and the Bingzhou army that fled south to Hedong and the Liangzhou army of the horse butcher need to be heavily guarded. ”

In fact, that's exactly what makes a horse butcher so powerful!

The horse butcher just let Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao's 100,000 cavalry come out and run the horses, and stifled Yuan Shao's ambition to take advantage of the situation to attack the Hetao, which also made Tian Feng realize a grim fact, with the gradual strengthening of Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao's two Mobei cavalry, the strength of the horse butcher is becoming more and more terrifying.

In fact, Tian Feng miscalculated the threat of Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao's cavalry! If Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao could adopt the strategy of fighting to nourish the war and go south to the Central Plains like they did with the Xianbei, Xiongnu, Sanhan and other foreign tribes, then it would indeed be as Tian Feng feared, with these 100,000 cavalry, the horse butcher would be enough to sweep the Central Plains!

However, the horse butcher thought further after all, he not only wanted to sweep the world, but also wanted to retain the vitality of the Han nation as much as possible, so he categorically would not adopt the strategy of destroying the surname by war to conquer the Central Plains, Tian Feng did not know this, so he came to the wrong conclusion.

The threat of Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao's two horses was exaggerated, and the sense of urgency in Tian Feng's heart became stronger.

Under such circumstances, Tian Feng must do everything possible to speed up the process of Yuan Shao's unification of Hebei, and then promote the Hebei army to move south to the Central Plains in the shortest possible time.

Tian Feng said: "Why don't you cooperate with the butcher?" ”

"Working with a horse butcher?" Yuan Shao was stunned and said, "Is this possible?" ”

"Of course it is!" Tian Feng said, "At the beginning, the horse butcher was able to cooperate with the lord to destroy Gongsun Zhan, and now he can cooperate with the lord to destroy Zhang Yang!" The strategic center of gravity of the horse butcher has always been in the Xuchang court south of the Yellow River, that is, Cao Ying, and before Cao Ying is finished, the horse butcher will not easily become an enemy of the lord. ”

"I see." Yuan Shao nodded and said, "In this way, Yuan Hao can quickly send someone to Hedong to contact the horse butcher." ”

"Report~~" Yuan Shao's voice fell, and suddenly a personal soldier entered the account and said, "Lord, Lianghou Ma Yue asked to see him." ”

"Horse butcher's messenger?" Yuan Shao and Tian Feng looked at each other and smiled, and said, "I didn't expect the horse butcher to come to the door first, haha, the herald, please." ”

……

Almost at the same time, Li Su, as Ma Yue's messenger, quietly came to Shangdang County to govern Huguan.

When Li Su came to Huguan, Chun Yuqiong's 100,000 army (actually 30,000, known as 100,000) had already set up camp outside Huguan City, Zhang Yang was like a great enemy, and he hurriedly transferred troops from various counties to assemble in Huguan, but in this way, the northern part of Shangdang County was empty of defense, and if Yuan Shao led his army south, Zhang Yang could hardly resist.

Zhang Yang was forced to be helpless, and was about to ask Ma Yue for help, but Ma Yue's messenger came to the door by himself.

In the partial hall of the government office, Zhang Yang asked Li Su with a faint expression: "I don't know why your envoy came?" ”

Li Su said: "The general's defeat is imminent, don't you know it?" ”

(To be continued)