Seeing that the guest who came to visit turned out to be Lu Zhi's old acquaintance, Guo Dian suddenly became excited in his heart.

You must know that Lu Zhi is a famous Confucian, who studied under the great Confucian Ma Rong, not only with the "Jing Shen" Zheng Xuan as a brother, but also with Xun Shuang, Kong Rong and other great sages are also known as the pillars of contemporary Confucianism. It is no exaggeration to say that this veritable Confucian general is the commander-in-chief of the whole army in this campaign against the Yellow Turban rebels, even if it is known as the "first general of our time" Huangfu Song and the "second general" Zhu Jun who was crushed by the former, they are just Lu Zhi's commander of other armies, and it is difficult to say that he is the deputy general and deputy who assisted Lu Zhi in quelling the rebellion. It is conceivable that Lu Zhi at this time is so "deeply favored by the emperor" and what a scenery he is.

Such a commander-in-chief and commander-in-chief of the entire battle deigned to come to visit him, thinking of this, Guo Dian could not care about him being defeated by Zhang Huang twice, and his heart was full of joy.

"Fang Cai Guo lost his temper and made Lu Gongjian smile."

After inviting Lu Zhi to sit at the table, Guo Dian hurriedly poured himself a glass of wine and apologized to Lu Zhi for his apology, after all, Guo Dian almost threw his helmet on Lu Zhi's instep, if he really injured the commander-in-chief of the three armies, I am afraid that Guo Dian would not forgive himself after exhausting his life.

"Where, where." Lu Zhi raised his glass heartily, drank a cup with his sleeve covered, and immediately picked up his chopsticks and sandwiched the dishes on the table.

Although Lu Zhi's current status is really prominent, the dishes that Guo Dian uses to entertain him are quite simple, just a pot of wine and a few ordinary dishes. However, this made Lu Zhi happy in his heart, after all, all famous Confucians, their mood is quite open-minded, just like Lu Zhi, he doesn't care about the number of dishes on the table, he cares. It's just Guo Dian's friendship with him, and whether the two have common words.

The friendship of gentlemen is as light as water, if it is speculated, it will be as intoxicating as mellow wine, and only the friendship of villains will be as sweet as honey.

"Gong Lu came to my Julu first, did he want to understand the truth of the Yellow Turban Thief?"

After some greetings, Guo Dian couldn't help but bluntly ask Lu Zhi's intentions.

Lu Zhi didn't care about this, on the contrary, he was very pleased that Guo Dian was drinking for him. I will never forget the major events of the country. As the saying goes, things gather people in groups, perhaps it is precisely because Lu Zhi and Guo Dian are loyal ministers who are full of devotion to the country and the society that they will establish such a deep friendship.

"This time, the imperial court ordered me to lead the five battalions of the Northern Army to Jizhou to quell the rebellion, and this kind of letter really makes Lu ashamed......"

It is common for loyal ministers to say good things about the Son of Heaven to each other, especially loyal ministers like Lu Zhi who are loyal to the Yanliu royal family and the Han court, but after that, he said the reasons one after another. It is nothing more than that the Fifth School of the Northern Army needs some time to prepare enough heavy food and grass. And he, seeing this, plans to go to Jizhou first to understand the situation. Therefore, he temporarily delegated his authority to his deputy appointed by the imperial court, the general of the Wuhuan Zhonglang sect. He took a few attendants and hurried to Jizhou.

After all, this time he was appointed by Liu Hong, the Son of Heaven, as the commander-in-chief of this campaign against thieves, and the matter was very important, and he could not be allowed to relax at all.

"I see." Guo Dian nodded in realization.

Although he is a local official, Guo Dian is no stranger to the Fifth Battalion of the Northern Army. After all, it was the most glorious force of the Han Dynasty, and the limelight even overshadowed the Southern Army, which was as famous as it.

Five battalions of the Northern Army, which at first were supposed to be eight battalions. They are the middle base battalion, the tun cavalry battalion, the infantry battalion, the Yue cavalry battalion, the Changshui battalion, the Hu cavalry battalion, the shooting battalion and the tiger battalion, and later the middle base battalion was omitted, the original Hu cavalry was merged into the Changshui battalion, and the tiger battalion was merged into the incident sound battalion, so only the five battalions of the tun cavalry, the infantry, the Yue cavalry, the Changshui, and the shooting sound were left, and the commanders of these five battalions were all captains, so they were known as the five schools of the Northern Army.

Such a strong force that once made the Xiongnu have to surrender with hatred, this time it was sent out to conquer the Yellow Turban rebels, which in Guo Dian's opinion is simply a sure thing. But just when he was thinking like this, Zhang Huang's smiling face couldn't help but appear in his head, and he couldn't help but itch his teeth with hatred.

After thinking about it, Guo Dian hugged his fists and said to Lu Zhi, "Lu Gong, Guo has a reluctant request, and he also asks Lu Gong to fulfill it." ”

"Brother Xian, but it doesn't hurt to say it." Lu Zhi was stunned for a moment, and then he was relieved, because he believed that Guo Dian's person would definitely not say anything unwanted.

As soon as the words fell, I heard Guo Dian say in a deep voice, "Please ask Lu Gong to take Guo with him by the way when he is fighting against the Yellow Turban rebels." ”

Lu Zhi couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded when he heard this, according to common sense, since the regular army of the imperial court has arrived, then an interceptor army like Guo Dian, which is temporarily composed of local officials and soldiers, should withdraw with interest, and the next thing should be taken over by the Northern Army, after all, Guo Dian is a Julu Taishou, and his duty is first to govern the county under his rule, and then to suppress thieves.

No, Guo Dian's words made Lu Zhi very incomprehensible.

At this time, Lu Zhi suddenly thought of Guo Dian's angry appearance when he entered the mansion, and suddenly his face showed a little narrow-mindedness, and teased, "Among the Yellow Turban thieves, is there a bad fate that makes it difficult for the virtuous brother to give up?" ”

Lu Zhi's words suddenly made Guo Dian's face flush with shame, and he said with embarrassment on his face, "That little cub has beaten me twice, it's nothing more than deceiving me that there is no general who is good at fighting, and now that Lu Gong is leading the fifth school of the Northern Army to come, Guo Dian cheekily begged Lu Gong to keep me in the army, even if I am a horse pawn, Guo Mou will admit it!" ”

[Let a Taishou be a pawn?] ]

Lu Zhi immediately laughed when he heard this, but he also understood Guo Dian's determination, and after bowing his head and thinking about it, he allowed Guo Dian's request. After all, from the perspective of the overall situation, it is imperative to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion as soon as possible, and if there is a brave general like Guo Dian who has both civil and military skills, and has fought with the Jizhou Yellow Turban several times, and understands the strength of the Jizhou Yellow Turban Army, it would be even better.

"Don't mention the words of the pawn, when the army arrives, the younger brother will temporarily serve as the deputy of the foolish brother to act as the lieutenant."

"Thank you, Duke Lu." Guo Dian clenched his fists with joy and thanked.

"Virtuous brother doesn't have to be polite." Lu Gong waved his hand with a smile, and immediately asked about the matter: "Brother Xian, you have fought with the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Jizhou several times, I believe you have already understood the military strength of the other party, right?" ”

Guo Dian heard the sound of the piano and knew its elegance, nodded and narrated, "Now in the Yellow Turban Rebellion that has plagued my Han, only the Yellow Turban Thieves in Jizhou are the most popular. There are three Yellow Turban thieves in Jizhou: one is commanded by Zhang Niujiao, a disciple of the demon thief Zhang Jiao, and has conquered several princely fiefdoms and counties. Looking at its attack route, it should be the western part of the state and Youzhou; The second team was led by Zhang Bao, the second brother of the demon thief's compatriot, and the thief called himself 'Digong General' led an army to attack the east, and the target should be Hebei and Qingdao. However, compared to the one with Zhang Niujiao, this team's attack is not very ferocious; The last one is the Yellow Turban Thief who stayed in Pingxiang County, Julu County...... It stands to reason that this thief army should be commanded by Zhang Liang, the third brother of the demon thief Zhang Jiao's compatriot 'Rengong General', but for some reason, the one who really led and commanded this thief army was a yellow-haired son named Zhang Sheng, this little cub has good martial arts. There are many tricks, and they know how to use witchcraft, which is quite difficult to deal with......"

"Brother Xian suffered at the hands of this son?" Lu Zhi interjected coldly and teased.

Guo Dian's face stiffened when he heard this, his face was full of ridicule, and he said embarrassedly after half a sound, "It's really ...... Ashamed! ”

Lu Zhi originally meant to make a joke with Guo Dian, and it was inconvenient to ask in detail when he saw this. He stretched out his hand and touched his beard and thought for a moment, then suddenly asked suspiciously, "The demon thief Zhang Jiao is not in Jizhou?" ”

Guo Dian understood Lu Zhi's doubts as soon as he heard it. Shaking his head, he said, "This thief is in Jizhou, but it is rumored that he has contracted a strange disease and is bedridden." Therefore, the Jizhou Yellow Turban was delivered to Zhang Bao, Zhang Niujiao and Zhang Sheng. ”

"In Pingxiang?" Lu Zhi's eyes flashed.

Guo Dian was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses, and replied in embarrassment, "I can't know ...... this."

"Yes and no. You'll have to try it to find out. Lu Zhi took a long breath and said righteously, "If that horn is really in Pingxiang County." God helped me wait...... If that horn can be captured, I believe that not only will the Jizhou Yellow Turban collapse, but the morale of the rest of the rebels in the country will also be greatly damaged, right? ”

"Lu Gong wants to fight Pingxiang?" Guo Dian's face was straight, after all, this meant that he could find Zhang Huang to get back the face he had lost the first two times, although it was not a matter of long face with the help of the power of the Northern Army.

"Hmm! …… The lion catches the rabbit with all his might! When the fifth battalion of the Northern Army arrives, the whole army will besiege Pingxiang! ”

Guo Dian was stunned when he heard this, you must know that in his opinion, as long as one battalion of the five battalions of the Northern Army is dispatched, most of them are enough to wipe out Zhang Huang's Yellow Turban Army, but listening to Lu Zhi's meaning, he actually wants all the five battalions of the Northern Army to be dispatched.

[Lu Gong is going to kill chickens and make an example of monkeys!] ]

Seeing Lu Zhi, who was silent, brushing his beard and thinking silently, Guo Dian suddenly understood in his heart: Obviously, Lu Zhi wanted to crush the Yellow Turban thieves in Pingxiang County with an overwhelming advantage and annihilate them in one fell swoop, so as to boost the morale of the local officials and soldiers who had been fighting against the Yellow Turban rebels for several months, and at the same time shock the Yellow Turban thieves in Jizhou and even the rest of the world, and show them the determination of the imperial court to quell the rebellion!

Plotting this matter, Lu Zhi and Guo Dian deliberately blocked the news, lest the Yellow Turban thieves in Pingxiang County flee early after learning the news that the Northern Army was coming, so that they would lose the best opportunity to deter the rest of the Yellow Turban Thieves in Jizhou and even the world.

But unfortunately, the opponent who fought with them this time was Zhang Huang, who had long been familiar with this history, of course he knew that Lu Zhi would soon lead the northern army to crusade as the general of Beizhonglang, so he had already secretly transferred some heavy grain to the east, and the people in the city who were willing to follow the Yellow Turban Army also moved to Quzhou County in the east one after another.

Although if there was a choice, Zhang Huang did not want to lead the Yellow Turban Army to move eastward, after all, in the original history, after the Jizhou Yellow Turban suffered a defeat, it was transferred eastward along the route of Pingxiang, Quzhou, and Guangzong. In Guangzong, the great sage and good teacher of the Yellow Turban Army, the Tiangong general Zhang Jiao died here, and the Rengong general Zhang Liang also died here, and Zhang Bao was left alone in the Taiping Dao "Three Daozong", but unfortunately, it was also broken by Huangfu Song and Julu Taishou Guo Dian soon after.

It is no exaggeration to say that the wave of the Yingchuan Yellow Turban was defeated because of the Battle of Changshe, and on the side of the Jizhou Yellow Turban, the Battle of Guangzong was the most critical battle.

But unfortunately, the current situation prompted Zhang Huang to choose to move eastward, because Zhang Bao is in Anping Kingdom east of Julu County at the moment, if he can persuade Zhang Bao to promote the merger of the two Jizhou Yellow Turbans, I believe that he will still have some confidence in the battle of the Northern Army in the future. If he can get in touch with Zhang Niujiao again and flank the Northern Army before and after, maybe the Jizhou Yellow Turban will have a chance to win.

Of course, this is just Zhang Huang's beautiful expectations, after all, that Zhang Bao may not sell his account. Every time I saw him, I gritted my teeth, which made it really hard for Zhang Huang to imagine that this kind of high-spirited guy would be Zhang Jiao's younger brother and Zhang Liang's elder brother, just a ruffian who doesn't learn and can't learn, and will repay him!

On March 25, when Zhang Huang's side had almost secretly transferred the heavy grain and grass and the people of the county who were willing to follow him to Quzhou County, the long-famous Northern Army finally arrived in Julu County, Jizhou, and under the command of Lu Zhi, it only rested for half a day before marching to Pingxiang County.

The first to arrive at the county seat of Pingxiang County was the Yue cavalry battalion of the five battalions of the Northern Army, which was composed of the Vietnamese people in the south, and quietly touched the city.

Yang Feng, who was shocked, hurriedly reported the matter to Zhang Huang after finding out. And when Zhang Huang climbed the wall of Pingxiang County and looked down at the city, he saw that the sturdy light cavalry had been divided into more than ten small teams, running back and forth along the city wall from afar, obviously intending to monitor every move in the city.

"Has Lu Zhi already arrived in Jizhou?" Zhang Huang muttered to himself. Although he knew about this, he couldn't help but be a little surprised, because from the behavior of the knights of the Yue Cavalry Battalion, he could guess that Lu Zhi was probably planning to completely annihilate his Yellow Turban Army.

Following the Vietnamese cavalry battalion, the infantry battalion of the Northern Army also arrived. Different from the previous Yue cavalry battalion, this army is stationed in Shanglinyuan in the western suburbs of Chang'an all year round. Since the battle arrived at the west city of Pingxiang County, it has been divided into five divisions and lined up in formation, facing the first two and three in Pingxiang County, and the five phalanxes estimated the strength of two divisions. That is, five thousand.

The 5,000 infantry battalion soldiers standing with guns stood under the county seat of Pingxiang County, and their waists were straight, like benchmarks. This atmosphere of strict and heavy military discipline. made Zhang Huang's complexion change slightly.

This was followed by the Shooting Battalion, and the first to arrive was the Tiger Benshi who were incorporated into it. I saw that the tiger guards were holding a solid iron shield in their left hand and a thick-backed machete in their right hand. All the key points were wrapped in iron armor, although they were only standing at the back of the infantry battalion, but the shock to Zhang Huang was very strong.

Nima...... Heavy infantry! ”

Zhang Huang looked at those tiger warriors in shock, and he felt that the iron shield in the other party's hand was definitely no less large than the tower shield of the ancient Western heavy infantry phalanx.

[Heavy infantry is not very good in terms of mobility......]

Just when Zhang Huang was secretly wondering, he suddenly saw those archers, that is, archers with strong bows and quivers at their waists. At this time, Zhang Huang understood that those tiger warriors were not used to fight the enemy, and their task was to protect the archers behind them. Think about it, when those tiger warriors put down the huge iron shield in their left hand and form an impenetrable steel fortress with their companions, who can hurt the archers behind them?

On the other hand, if you can't disperse those tiger warriors, does it mean that you will be shot by the arrows of those sound shooters?

When he thought of this, Zhang Huang shuddered.

Just when Zhang Huang was secretly sweating coldly, the Changshui Battalion of the Northern Army also arrived.

The so-called Changshui battalion is actually a light cavalry stationed in Changshui, among which there are some pro-Han Wuhuan and Hu people, who are particularly fierce when fighting on the battlefield.

[Two light riders?] ]

Zhang Huang glanced at the knights of the Yue Cavalry Battalion who were still walking back and forth in his city at this time, and after comparing them with the knights of the Changshui Battalion, he found that in addition to the standard horse battle spear, the knights of the Yue Cavalry Battalion also had a pair of hand crossbows hanging from the saddle; The knights of the Changshui camp did not have a crossbow in the saddle, but they had a horse chopping knife hanging from it. After thinking about it carefully, Zhang Huang suddenly understood: the Yue Cavalry Battalion should be responsible for dividing the enemy army on the battlefield, and it is the main force to destroy the enemy; Most of the Vietnamese cavalry battalions were responsible for harassing the enemy from the flank, or pursuing the enemy.

Just when Zhang Huang was secretly confirming his guess, he glanced into the distance out of the corner of his eye.

Suddenly, he was stunned.

What did he see?

He saw another cavalry unit coming in the distance, and the number of this cavalry was so large that Zhang Huang's heart was cold.

How many cavalry are there?

Five thousand? Six thousand? Seven thousand?

Zhang Huang is difficult to estimate.

And this is the strength of the last battalion of the fifth battalion of the Northern Army, the Tun Cavalry Battalion!

Under Zhang Huang's stunned watch, the knights of the Tun Cavalry Battalion went straight to the rear of the army's formation, and then, three horsemen assisted a knight, wearing heavy armor for him, even the war horses under their crotch. It is also equipped with iron armor and hanging armor one after another.

"Heavy ...... Cavalry?! ”

Zhang Huang only felt that his throat was a little dry.

Yes, the Tun cavalry battalion is the heavy cavalry in Zhang Huang's understanding, because it is one cavalry and three subordinates, so the number seems to be almost more than 10,000. But in fact, there were only 2,500 cavalry members, and the remaining 7,500 were cavalry attendants who assisted their respective cavalry, responsible for helping them put on their armor and pull spare horses before the battle. Of course, in case of emergency, these horsemen will also show their good strength, even if they are not as good as the Yue Cavalry Battalion or the Changshui Battalion. But after all, it is not comparable to ordinary cavalry.

The real total strength of the Northern Army was not only 20,000 as rumored, but 27,500 people. Among them, the Tun cavalry battalion had a total of 10,000 cavalry and three cavalry members, plus 2,500 people from the Yue cavalry battalion and 5,000 people from the Changshui battalion, Zhang Huang was shocked to find that the cavalry of the northern army had reached 17,500 people. As for the war horses, they were double, or even tripled.

Until this moment, Zhang Huang finally appreciated the essence of the Han court. finally appreciated the essence of the Northern Army, a strong division entrenched between Chang'an and Luoyang.

Look at the formation of the northern army under Pingxiang County at this moment, with the pikemen of the infantry battalion in front, five phalanxes, behind them. The Tiger Guards of the Archery Battalion used their sturdy iron shields to form an impenetrable line of defense, and behind this line, the Archers waited solemnly for these skilled archers to be without a threat to themselves. What kind of terrible lethality will erupt?

However, compared to the heavy cavalry of the cantonment cavalry battalion that stood behind the archers, perhaps these archers were only terrifying, not terrifying.

Look at the formation. Zhang Huang couldn't help but begin to imagine what a tragic scene it would be when an army clashed with the Northern Army and was mercilessly shot by the Shooters without being able to disrupt the Tiger Benshi formation. And then, when the battle was stalemate, the tiger warriors and archers in front scattered to the left and right, and released the fierce and terrifying beast of the cavalry battalion cavalry, which army in the world could resist?

Not to mention the knights of the Changshui Battalion, who are responsible for harvesting and slaughtering enemy troops behind the Tun Cavalry Battalion, and the Knights of the Yue Cavalry Battalion, who are always on the sidelines, looking for opportunities or rescues.

[Simply ...... Impeccable! ]

Seeing the crane wing array of the 27,500 northern army under the city, Zhang Huang was extremely depressed.

You must know that before this, he had fantasized more than once that if he could find a way to defeat Lu Zhi and the fifth battalion of the Northern Army under his command, would he be able to change the fate of the Yellow Turban Army. But now, looking at the terrible army that almost overwhelmed him with momentum alone, Zhang Huang had no confidence in victory.

Not to mention defeating Lu Zhi, with his small number alone, killing him at this moment is definitely to add to the head of the Northern Army's soldiers.

He ...... They're here to fight......" Guo Tai, who was beside Zhang Huang, stammered.

This brave young man who is full of courage and fat is even worse than Zhang Huang at the moment, his face is pale, and he can't speak well. As for Han Xian and Yang Feng next to them, they were even more dumbfounded and shocked with their mouths open.

But then again, their appearance is not bad, because there are many soldiers on the city wall, and they have already been frightened to the ground, even if it is a general like Bian Xi and Lang Ping, Zhang Huang looks at their legs are faintly weak.

[What about a war?] ]

Seeing that there was silence on the city wall after Guo Tai spoke, Zhang Huang laughed a few times to himself, and then looked into the distance, the open space behind the tun cavalry camp, where there were faintly nearly a hundred horsemen. It is not difficult to guess that most of the place is the home of the Northern Army, and it is also the place where the Beizhong Lang General Lu Zhi is.

[Yours really...... Is this a disadvantage? Tut! There is no record in the history books that this old man is so good at attacking the heart...... Should he be said to be worthy of being the teacher of Liu Bei and Gongsun Zhan? ]

Zhang Huang smacked his lips in boredom, he had already guessed Lu Zhi's intention of ordering the Northern Army to set up a formation under Pingxiang County, which was nothing more than to use the strong momentum of the Northern Army to scare the Yellow Turban Army and give the latter a dismount. Otherwise, how could Lu Zhi have made the knights of the Tun Cavalry Battalion carry heavy armor before the battle began? At any other time, that's a very stupid thing to do. After all, even if they were soldiers of the Northern Army, their bodies were limited, and if they carried heavy armor before the battle, once the time dragged on, the knights of the Tun Cavalry Battalion would not necessarily charge up. Taking a step back, even if they could hold on, the war horses under their crotches would not be able to withstand it.

[Sure enough, it's a demonstration and scare......]

Glancing at a guy who was fighting under the city, Zhang Huang was a little depressed.

Because the guy who came to fight was clearly the Taishou of Julu County who suffered defeat in his hands last time, Guo Dian!

"This old dog ......," Guo Tai gritted his teeth and cursed in a low voice. Perhaps frightened by the majestic military strength of the Northern Army, Guo Tai's voice was unusually low and slight, as if he was instinctively afraid that he would be heard by the Northern Army soldiers under the city.

"......" Zhang Huang, who noticed this, sighed silently.

He knew very well that after seeing such a majestic and mighty military posture of the Northern Army, he thought of the Yellow Turban soldiers under his command, and he was afraid that there would be no more fighting spirit in his heart.

But then again, even if the Yellow Turban soldiers still have the will to fight in this situation, what is the use? The northern army under the city is simply invulnerable......

[Wait ......]

Suddenly, Zhang Huang seemed to have thought of something, stared intently at the city, and after a few thoughts, the corners of his mouth raised a little inexplicable smile.

"Guo Tai, use the most vulgar words you know, and scold that Guo Laohu in the city as much as you like! …… If you can instigate Guo Dian to scold you, you have made a great contribution! ”

"Huh? …… Promise! ”

Guo Tai glanced at Zhang Huang in confusion and nodded hesitantly. (To be continued......)