And in the eleventh year, in June, Jiashu, Yao Xiang defeated Qi Gong Duan Yu Liang's father, cut Gong Duan and retreated to Mount Tai, and did not dare to look west since then. In July, Yao Xiang defeated the pseudo-Zhou Yu Jinshan and entered the city of Gaoping. Ding Geng, Yao Xiang is a general of the self-named chariot cavalry, and the history of Yanzhou assassination.

——————————————— excerpt from the preface

"General Gu, the Beifu army has already left the camp." Guan Wei arched his hand and said to Gu Cheng.

"Then let's go." Speaking of this, Gu Cheng turned his head and glanced at Zhang Sheng, who was sitting in the middle. The fourteen-year-old figure does not appear to be very tall, and his childish face is expressionless.

I can't imagine that the lord is a famous general in Liangzhou, but his son-in-law is so mediocre, this may be the will of God. However, Gu Cheng did not notice that Zhang Sheng was only fourteen years old, and according to the "modern thinking" of his enemy, Zeng Hua, this age was the time for rebellion, and it was by no means the time to take responsibility for a state. But Gu Cheng looked at it with his own thoughts, when he was fourteen years old, Gu Cheng had already become a member of the personal army under Zhang Guan, and he had also harvested several heads.

On the same day, Zhang Guan fell into the plot of the Queen of Ma and the Song brothers, Gu Cheng, Guan Wei and others first set up Zhang Sheng as the main under the anger, although he was young and his talent was mediocre, but he was Zhang Guan's son-in-law. And because Gu Cheng was the leader of Zhang Guan's subordinates, he was elected by the generals to lead the soldiers and horses.

"Lord, please rest assured that you will live in the city, my Hezhou army will fight to the death, and will never let the lord be humiliated in Beifu!" Gu Cheng bent down to Zhang Sheng and said, his tone was very passionate. Everyone also followed behind Gu Cheng and swore generously to Zhang Sheng.

Zhang Sheng's face became a little uncomfortable. He looked at the group of people who were swearing to defend his honor at a loss, and he naturally looked back, and soon turned back and said, "Okay, okay, that's it." ”

Hearing Zhang Sheng's words, the hot hearts of Gu Cheng and the others suddenly seemed to fall into ice water, and the entire lobby suddenly fell into a silent and embarrassing situation. Gu Cheng arched his hand helplessly. Stood up. He took a deep look at Zhang Sheng on the seat. His gaze even crossed over to Zhang Sheng and cast his gaze behind him. After a while, Gu Cheng walked in front, and everyone followed behind, and walked out without looking back.

When everyone walked out of the lobby, Zhang Sheng hurriedly stepped down from his seat, looked back and said anxiously, "Mother." It's really going to be a war, what can I do? ”

Behind the seat was a curtain, behind which sat a figure. As soon as Zhang Shengdi's words fell, a very nice woman's voice came and said: "Sheng'er, the military power is in the hands of those generals, what can we do?" I'm worried now that if we lose this battle, will they give us both as gifts? ”

"Mother, what did you say?" Of course, Zhang Sheng didn't know the deep meaning of his mother Tian's words.

Madame is right. Why do these generals have no fear to fight with Beifu. In fact, I have already made all plans. If you win, you can get more weight from Beifu, and if you lose, as long as you send your wife and young master to the front of the battle, you will still be a meritorious man. A very soft voice followed. Zhang Sheng knew that it was Wang Qiang of the Inner History who was speaking, he was his cousin, and now he was the most trusted person by his mother.

"So what to do?" Although Zhang Sheng was a mediocre talent, he also knew that the "lord" who was tied to the front of the battle with a rope as a surrender gift did not end well, so he was a little frightened.

"Madam, for the sake of the young master, you have to make plans in advance!" Wang Qiang continued to persuade.

"But we have no military power, so we can only be slaughtered!" Tian said hatefully.

"Madam, Mo Zhong, the Shou of Guangwu County, has always been quite slanderous about Gu Cheng and others. This made Jucheng originally the county of Guangwu, and he also had 4,000 soldiers and horses in his hands. According to Gu Cheng's arrangement just now, Mo Zhong was left to defend the city, this is a good opportunity! Wang Qiangdi's voice lowered. Although there were Tian's cronies inside and outside the hall, he still couldn't help but lower his voice when he talked about this kind of thing.

"What do you mean?" Tian suddenly heard the topic.

"As long as Gu Cheng and the others lead the troops out of the city, this will make Jucheng the biggest in Mo Zhong. As long as he closes the four doors tightly, he will do it again," Speaking of this, Wang Qiang's voice was lower, and even Zhang Sheng couldn't hear it clearly. But it doesn't matter if he listens or not.

"At that time, the lady and the young master will be far better than Gu Cheng and the others in front of Beifu." Wang Qiang's words carried a little smile.

"That's a good idea, you should go to Mo Zhong and contact him quickly." Tian was very happy. The Hezhou army together only has 30,000 soldiers and horses, and there is a discordant Gu Zang behind, and no one has the confidence to carry it for long in the face of the once powerful Beifu. The rapid fall of important towns such as Wei and Zhiyang shattered the last illusions of Liangzhou, and Liangzhou had no river and natural dangers, no Xie Ai who could save the crisis, and no courage and confidence from top to bottom back then.

Therefore, Tian was worried that Gu Cheng and the others were just trying to sell their mother and son at a good price, and now with the advice of his cousin, it would be good to be able to sell them for a good price, so Tian was very happy.

Just as Tian and Zhang Sheng watched Wang Qiang disappear at the door of the lobby with joy on their faces, a melodious and majestic sound drifted over with the wind, which immediately made Tian and Zhang Sheng suddenly change color, and they couldn't help but turn their heads to look south.

In the south of the city, a huge Beifu military flag was hunting in the wind, Zeng Hua sat on the flag, listening to the sound of the horn and watching his 30,000-foot army slowly advance in an orderly manner with the battalion as a unit. The neat and dull footsteps were accompanied by the rattling of the armor and the grinding of the armor, and the spears like forests and the shields like fish scales were all marching in line with the momentum of rainbows.

First of all, there were two spearmen, who wore infantry armor, held three-meter-long spears, and carried goose feathers at their waists, and walked in the front; Then there were two teams of sword players, also wearing infantry armor and armed with oval shields and swords, followed closely behind; Finally, there were the five captains of the archers, who wore light armor, carried wild goose swords at their waists, and carried Beifu longbows and quivers, walking at the back of the line.

Next to them are officers, non-commissioned officers, standard-bearers, etc., who carry horizontal swords on their backs, carry wild goose swords at their waists, hold flags, and follow the rhythm next to the team, and shout a few words from time to time, adjusting the rhythm of their respective teams according to the situation and changes on the battlefield. It is under the coordination of officers, non-commissioned officers and standard-bearers, from even the sentry to the team. Then to the tun, and finally to the battalion, each of them acted but closely cooperated, forming a huge rectangle, and then thirty rectangles about five meters apart were arranged into three rows more than ten meters apart, forming a long black belt.

The three battalions on the left side of the horizontal line formation are 5,000 god arm crossbowmen, because the ten battalions on the left are all box troops, and only the box army has the "advanced equipment" of the god arm crossbow. And the strong Mo knife hand is also concentrated on the left. It can be said that it is the strongest wing of the entire formation.

And the rest of the battalions are government soldiers. They are similar to the Xiang Army except for the Mo Sword Bearers and the Divine Arm Crossbowmen, and at most they are longbowmen. In the military equipment of Beifu, the simple and easy Beifu longbow is different from the "British longbow" borrowed from Zeng Hua, and there are no special requirements for height and hand length. Moreover, these Beifu longbows are born because the craftsmanship of Beifu Xianyang, Yang and other military factories is becoming more and more proficient, as well as the purchase of more and more raw materials

It also got bigger and bigger, and finally even the militia was equipped with these Beifu longbows as standard. Every household in Beifu has young people who practice archery when they have nothing to do, and together with fighting, it has become the most popular "mass sport" in Beifu.

From a distance, the entire Beifu Army Front was moving in a rough diagonal line of left front and right back. The undulating sound of passwords came from far and near in the black sea, and the background of this sound was the sound of neat footsteps, solemn responses, whirring flags, and the sound of nails and leaves, which were very shocking.

"General. The Hezhou army has already ordered to live in the city. Also began to line up. Liu Gu took a military report, then turned his head and said to Zeng Hua.

"Got it." Zeng Hua nodded, and continued to squint at the dense military formation in the distance. Every time I see my own army out of battle. There will be a feeling of emotion and shock in my heart. I have always emphasized that fighting a war is momentum, that is, 100 people against 10,000 people, and we must also overwhelm the other party in terms of momentum, which the Beifu Army has always done well.

An hour and a half passed, and the Beifu Army and the Hezhou Army finally formed a confrontation, with a distance of only about three miles in between, which was almost the "standard distance" for engagement. At this moment, a sharp trumpet sounded, as if the mountains were moving in the Beifu army, and the entire battlefield suddenly became quiet.

Soon, the command sounded again, and the chief shouted: "Sergeant check the equipment and weapons, ready!" "The sergeants first checked the ground armor on their bodies, then some adjusted their longbows or crossbows, some pulled out their swords, prepared shields, and then checked each other's armor and weapons, and finally reported the numbers in turn and gathered them to the chief.

At this time, the sentry commander was shouting: "All non-commissioned officers and standard-bearers are ready, and each captain will report the number!" After a while, the report of each chief was normal, and it was summarized to the sentry chief. After a while, the captain shouted there: "Prepare all officers, non-commissioned officers, and standard-bearers!" The number of sentinels reported! Then wait for the reports from the sentinels.

After a while, the report came up from level to level, and finally to the battalion commander who had been waiting solemnly. After hearing the reports of each team and its own tun, the battalion commander raised the horizontal knife in his hand, and more than ten battalion trumpeters behind him immediately blew the horn, and the sergeants of the whole battalion immediately raised their spears or struck their shields with their swords, and shouted in unison: "Wan Sheng!" Wansheng! ”

Due to the different reporting times of the battalions, the shouts of the battalions were not at the same time, and soon the undulating shouts of each other rolled up over the black sea that could not be seen at a glance, and wave after wave rushed towards the Hezhou army.

"Mr. Su Chang, Zizhan, do you think this oblique horizontal line formation can win the Hezhou army? These soldiers and horses opposite us are the most elite in Liangzhou. Zeng Hua raised his horsewhip and pointed to the front and asked.

"My lord, it seems that you are preparing to surround the Hezhou army in one fell swoop." Park said with a smile.

"General, 30,000 fights 20,000, an oblique horizontal line formation is enough, and there is no need for a vertical line formation, a goose marching formation or anything." Liu Guzheng looked at the map and military newspapers, and when he heard Zeng Hua's question, he raised his head and replied.

"Shu Yi, you go to the plundering array, and ask the opposite Gu Cheng to descend or not?" Speaking of this, Zeng Hua turned his head and ordered the generals behind him: "Later, Cao Shuyi and Deng Yingyuan will be the first formation; Wei Xingguo and Baishan are the second formation; Du Yu, Mao Zhongzu (An Zhi) is the third formation; The fox slave raised the cavalry to press the formation in the back, and I and Chang Rui, Mr. Su Chang, and Zizhan sat in the Chinese army to cheer for you. ”

Speaking of the back, Zeng Hua was a little helpless. Originally, he wanted to lead the troops to charge in person, but he was persuaded by everyone. This time he fought Liangzhou just to train the soldiers and generals, and Zeng Hua was not good at rushing to the front to grab the credit, so he had to give up.

After speaking, Zeng Hua raised his hand, and the generals bowed to Zeng Hua, and then rode away and galloped to their respective positions.

Cao Yan took the lead, rode his horse through the army formation quickly, and ran towards the Hezhou army, and after a while, he ran to the middle of the two armies. At this time, Cao Yan pulled the reins, the mount raised the horse's head, and stopped with a neigh.

Cao Yan sat on his horse and shouted into the distance: "I am Cao Yan, a general under the command of Beifu, and I am ordered to come to question!" ”

Gu Cheng heard Cao Yan's words, looked at the Hezhou soldiers around him, and his heart was full of anxiety. The 20,000 Hezhou army is the most elite army in Liangzhou. In the first two years, although Zhang Zuo groveled to Beifu, he still maintained enough vigilance and transferred the most elite troops in Liangzhou to the first line in the east - Hezhou to guard against Beifu. And Zhang Guan, who is sitting in Hezhou, is also a famous general of the Liangzhou generation, and the trained Hezhou army is much stronger than the Wuwei army and Shazhou.

But these elite Hezhou troops are dwarfed in front of the Beifu Army, and everyone can see the momentum of the Beifu Army just now, even those veterans who have fought against the Northern Zhao Army have not been so shocked. It's been like this before the battle starts, how can this battle continue!

Gu Cheng nodded at Guan Wei, then rode out of the formation and galloped to Cao Yan: "The contemptible person is Hezhou Thorn Shi Zuo Sima Gu Cheng, do you have any advice?" ”

"I've seen General Gu!" Cao Yanyao arched his hand and said, "Gu Zang Ma and the Song brothers first murdered the Liangguo Gong Zhang who was ordered by the imperial court, and then framed Zhang Hezhou, and everyone who is a traitor and traitor will be punished. Today, Beifu was ordered by the Son of Heaven to rebel, thousands of troops were sent together, and thousands of horses were grouped, why did General Gu not comply with the will of heaven and abandon the darkness and turn to the light as soon as possible. ”

Gu Cheng was angry for a while, no matter how bad Zhang Zuo was, he was officially appointed by the imperial court, killing him was not going to get along with the imperial court, and if he couldn't get along with the imperial court, he couldn't get along with the Beifu, so the Beifu beat you with a straight face. Gu Cheng also knew that Gu sent someone to ask for a new seal, and Chang'an also promised to hand over the table to Jiang Zuo. But Beifu has pushed this matter clean in the text, and the mouth is another statement, Gu Zang has no way at all, maybe the above table that Beifu promised to forward does not know where it was thrown, anyway, the official reward of the imperial court has not moved for half a year, whatever Beifu says.

After a long time, Gu Cheng raised his head and said loudly: "We are deeply affected by the kindness of the Zhang family, and it is difficult to repay one or two deaths in this life." Today, my Hezhou is fighting to the death here, and whether it is life or death, it can be regarded as repaying the Zhang family. As for the imperial court," Speaking of this, Gu Cheng's eyes were red and tears flowed: "When I am reborn in the prosperous world in the next life, I will repay the country's kindness!" ”

Cao Yan nodded solemnly, bowed to Gu Cheng, bowed to him, and then said loudly: "General Gu, we'll meet later!" Then he turned his horse's head and galloped back to the left flank of the military formation, that is, the forefront of the Beifu Army.

The mount was running angrily, and seeing that it was about to be in front of his formation, Cao Yan drew his horizontal knife and roared: "Ready!" ”

Following Cao Yan's order, Deng Yao also drew his sword and raised his head. The captain of each team immediately gave the order, and the crossbowmen of each god arm immediately stepped on the crossbow ring, and with a force of both hands, pulled the crossbow string on the trigger, and then raised it diagonally, loaded the arrow, and aimed.

Cao Yan had already stopped, turned his horse's head, faced the Hezhou army, heard the sound of a complete report from behind, pointed forward with a horizontal knife in his hand, and shouted: "Shoot!" ”

Only a loud sound of "hum" was heard, and a black cloud suddenly rose and flew towards Hezhou.