The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Although the lure of the enemy this time was unsuccessful, it was not without gain.

First of all, he went deep into the "enemy realm" and beheaded hundreds of Yellow Turban soldiers back and forth. Secondly, through this "lure to the enemy", the soldiers' ability to march quickly at night was exercised, and their courage was exercised. Thirdly, and most importantly, Xun Zhen was appraised as "Loyalty, Straightforward and Odd Festival". Although Bo Cai and He Man had tens of thousands of troops, he was not afraid at all. With only a few hundred men, he dared to cross the river to lure the enemy. After that, his reputation will be able to rise to a higher level.

Xun Zhen and others first rested in Jia for a night, and returned to Xiangcheng the next afternoon.

Li Zan and other county sergeants greeted him at the gate of the city, and the people of the county gathered on the side of the road to watch. The dress of the scholars was different from that of Qianshou. Li Zan and others wore high-crown Confucian clothes. When the wind blew, they all had long sleeves fluttering. A group of people stood out among the common people. Xun Zhen saw it from a distance, and hurriedly passed down orders, ordering the soldiers to stop, get off their horses, and take Xun You, Xi Zhicai, and Xin A along to walk up.

Li Zan said: "You led your troops to cross the river, killed nearly a thousand thieves day and night, circled the tiger's mouth, and returned safely. There were tens of thousands of thieves who dared not attack, and they shook the south bank of Rushui. Zan and the gentleman in the county have come here especially after hearing your return. Welcome."

Xun Zhen hurriedly returned the salute and said, "How dare you accept the prince's salute if you are a son of a young lady! It's shattering, it's shattering!"

Li Zan's father Li Ying and Xun Zhen's ancestor Xun Shu were teachers and friends. Xun Shu's son Xun Shuang was eighteen years younger than Li Ying. He was so happy that he said to his family, "I finally drove Li Jun today!" Li Ying's grandfather was a Taiwei, and his father was a county governor of 2,000 stone. The leader of the people is also the core figure of the famous people in Yingchuan. Although Xun Zhen is a child of the Xun family, in front of Li Zan, he is only a junior.

Li Zan said with a smile, "Although I'm a few years older, Junzhou County is an outstanding man with outstanding achievements and aggressive thieves. The reason why Yingchuan protects most of them is due to the strength of your Lord, and it's not an exaggeration for me to pay this tribute to you. "

The scholars in Xiangcheng County saw that Xun Zhen was very respectful and honored to Li Zan, and when they looked at him again, they felt more and more pleasing to the eye.

After chatting a few words under the city gate, and condolences to Xun Zhen for his hard work, everyone entered the city together.

Li Zan went first, Xun Zhen followed, and the local scholars followed. Unknowingly, in the minds of scholars in Xiangcheng County, Xun Zhen was second only to Li Zan.

Li Zan's bow at the city gate was actually deliberate. Where does the reputation of the scholar come from? The topic is clear. In layman's terms, it is to praise each other, but in a better way, it is appreciation and praise. The Li family and the Xun family are also considered friends, and Xun Zhen was considered by Li Zan to be a loyal and straight-minded scholar, and he explained that his son Li Xuan had a deep friendship with him, and of course he wanted to give him a hug. Of course, this "praise" is not a random praise. The world has its own public opinion. If the name of the person who is praised is not true, then not only the person who is praised will be laughed at by the world, but the celebrity who praises this person will also be laughed at by the world.

People enter the city.

Xun You, Xi Zhicai, and Xin Ai did not enter the city. The three of them turned back to the army and directed each song to enter the city.

When the left and right of Xiangcheng entered the city, the people on the side of the road burst into cheers.

This is their son of Xiangcheng. Although they failed to lure the enemy to cross the river this time, they went deep into the tiger's den, which greatly boosted the morale of the people. Xiangcheng Liangqu also participated in this operation and returned safely. The people of Xiangcheng were naturally excited. Just as Xun Zhen complimented Li Zan for making Xiangcheng scholars feel honored, the people of Xiangcheng also feel honored when they see these returning Xiangcheng children.

These Xiangcheng children who returned to the city raised their chests and raised their heads to greet the cheers of the villagers, as if they were all great heroes who had made extraordinary achievements.

…

Xun Zhen led his troops into the city and was warmly welcomed by scholars and commoners.

In the Yellow Turban camp outside the father city, Bo Cai was thunderous and angry. After successive defeats, losing cities and land, and being humiliated by Xun Zhen crossing the river, even a mud bodhisattva has three parts of earth. Besides, Bo Cai is not a mud bodhisattva. Before the uprising, he was a powerful family in Yangzhai. Extremely angry.

After Bo Chi released Xun Zhen, he returned to the camp. The more he thought about it, the more resentful he became. He couldn't sleep all night. He couldn't swallow the breath. If you don't protect it, how can you and I stand in the world?" After he returned to the camp yesterday, he entered the camp gate and went to the tent. On the way, he met many Yellow Turban soldiers in the camp. He even felt that these Yellow Turban soldiers were laughing at him. He felt that when they looked at him, they had lost the awe they used to have, but instead showed a taste of ridicule, which made him feel ashamed and angry, and even felt that he couldn't hold his head up.

He Man was also very resentful of Xun Zhen's "crossing the river to humiliate them". He gritted his teeth and said, "If a man is born in this world, if he has a revenge and does not avenge it, he will laugh for the hero! This revenge must be avenged." Asked Bocai, "What is the master's idea, Man would like to hear it?" They were somewhat contradictory, Bo Cai wanted to fight Yang Zhai again, He Man insisted on going south to Rushui, but the two took a stand when facing Xun Zhen Consistent.

"The Xun thief is light and agile, and his followers are fierce. If you don't kill this thief, we will never rest easy! I heard that 'knowing shame is close to courage', but now that you and I have suffered this great humiliation, we should be angry! In Xiangcheng and Jiashi, I wanted to reorganize the troops, but I was in a hurry to go south, and this matter ended hastily. There are not many soldiers, but there are elites. If you want to take revenge, you must first prepare an elite army! I think the reorganization should continue!"

Although Bo Cai was annoyed, but Yingchuan's yellow turban was defeated by Xun Zhen in a row, but he could not help but be cautious, so he did not propose to attack Xiangcheng in the north and seek revenge from Xun Zhen, but wanted to continue to reorganize the group.

He said: "Yangzhai lost, the two counties fell, and the Xun thieves crossed the river as if they were in no-man's land. It was all because our army was not formed and the military discipline was not strict. The Xun thieves were only two thousand, so how could they be able to win consecutive battles? It is simply because he trained his two thousand thieves outside Yangzhai County for a few days. We have nearly 100,000 troops. If we can properly organize them, at least we can get 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers. 10,000 hits at 2,000, not to mention the Xun thief, even if the reinforcements of the thief's court come, you won't be afraid!"

He Man had already supported his reorganization, but now he has been "insulted" by Xun Zhen, and will not object to his proposal, saying: "What the master said is very true. The capital sent another tip yesterday, saying that the reinforcements of the thief court will not be available soon. If you want to enter Yingchuan from the east, whether it is to avenge the Xun thief or to meet the reinforcements of the thief's court, you must reorganize the entire army. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"The father city will be conquered soon. If it is changed now, it will not be good for the siege. In Man's opinion, it is better to wait for the father city to be taken down and then reorganize."

"Okay! I personally supervise the formation!"

Bo Cai was angry and tried to be strong, and negotiated with He Man. He summoned all his subordinates, Qu Shuai and Xiao Shuai, and issued a strict military order: "The whole army is attacking the city!" Originally, only one side of the east city wall was attacked, but now they are attacking the four city walls at the same time. . He wore armor and carried a sword, galloped on horseback, and led a team of armored soldiers to go around outside the siege troops, urging all the ministries to do their best to attack.

The father city was already crumbling, and it was difficult to support it, but now Bo Cai and He Man were angry again, and the city was trapped before night.

Bo Cai and He Man marched into the city, first killing the officials and soldiers guarding the city, such as a certain Wuguan and Hong, and then killing all the surnames in the county. Because he hated his father's stubborn resistance for many days, in order to restore the dejectedness of a losing streak, he did not restrain his soldiers, and burned, killed, and plundered for a whole night. Thousands of people died overnight in the county, with corpses lying across the road, blood all over the city, women and children crying in grief everywhere, and soldiers carrying knives, hoes, money and beauty in the streets. Hong, Feng and other clansmen and children in the city were all killed, some houses were set on fire, and black smoke billowed, covering half of the county.

After a brief rest, Bo Cai and He Man split up.

He Man took tens of thousands of strong troops and went out of his father city in the east. He joined thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers stationed in Jinche Township, and with the might of a great victory, besieged Kunyang, and wanted to make persistent efforts to defeat Kunyang.

Bo Cai, with the remaining 60,000-70,000 men, stayed in the father city, while dividing his troops to attack the Wubao Zhuangzi of the powerful families in the surrounding villages of the father city, collecting food and goods, and at the same time making all-out efforts to reorganize.

The last reorganization was due to the eagerness to go south and the reluctance of many of the troops, so it ended hastily. Only the direct descendants of Bo Cai and He Man completed the reorganization. This time Bocai made up his mind, and with He Man's full support, although there were still reluctance among the followers, it was difficult to form any resistance.

Daoists from more than a dozen counties were reorganizing at the same time, and Bo Cai personally went to each county camp to supervise. Some of them violated the law or were too slow, or flogged or reprimanded. They were vigorous and resolute. It only took two days to initially complete the reorganization. There were more than 30,000 strong and capable warriors, plus the tens of thousands of soldiers taken by He Man, there were nearly 50,000 soldiers, including 5,000 elite soldiers and nearly 1,000 cavalry soldiers.

Among the five thousand elite soldiers, one thousand are the original soldiers of Bocai's direct line, and the rest are warriors selected from the Taoists in various counties. All the weapons were allocated to them. Previously, a "dead camp" had been selected from various ministries and given to He Man, and this batch of elite soldiers and knight Bocai were led by themselves. The camp's name was "Dare to Strike." Two elite teams were compiled, one for the trap camp and the other for the daring camp. Below the two camps were the 30,000 soldiers led by the commanders, and the women, children, the old and the weak were eliminated.

After the preliminary adaptation is completed, the parts are determined, the generals are selected, Bo Cai is the commander, and He Man is the deputy.

Bo Cai was in his father's city to start a new series of adaptations, and the momentum was not small, and it was already known by the Scouting News and Xun Zhen.

Xun You and Xi Zhicai were quite worried, and they discussed with Xun Zhen, saying: "We failed to lure the enemy, and the fall of our father city was unexpected, but Bo Cai did not rush south after capturing his father city, but just divided He sent He Man's troops to fight Kunyang, but he stayed in his father's city to reorganize the entire army, but it was unexpected! This thief is not a mediocre person. After this reorganization, the fighting strength of the thieves will definitely rise to a higher level. The battle is not good."

Xi Zhicai said: "The matter of our going south to lure the enemy has been reported to the lord of the government. Today, our father city has fallen and the thieves attacked Kunyang. I wonder if the lord of the government will order us to save Kunyang in the south? If so, we can ask It's hard."

When Xun Zhen left Yangzhai, he took 2,000 people with him. In Xiangcheng, he first collected 500 Yellow Turban dead soldiers, and then 500 children of Xiangcheng. There are currently 3,000 people. Although they have been expanded, there are still not many troops. . This number of people can defend the city and make surprise troops, but it is impossible to fight against the tens of thousands of Yellow Turbans in a dignified manner. Especially after the adaptation of the Yellow Turban Army, it is even worse.

Xun You walked to the front of the tent, looked in the direction of Luoyang in the northwest, and said, "I don't know if the army of the imperial court to pacify the thieves has been dispatched?"

…

After the initial reorganization of Bo Cai's entire army, Bo Cai left 3,000 people to guard his father's city, and personally brought the reorganized troops to support He Man.

He took more than 30,000 people, merged with He Man's more than 10,000 people, nearly 50,000 people, and attacked Kunyang day and night. A day later, Kunyang fell.

Bo Cai and He Man slaughtered all the surnames in Kunyang, leaving 2,000 people to guard Kunyang. More than 40,000 people fight against Wuyang. It is foreseeable that Wuyang will be difficult to hold on for too long, and sooner or later it will also end up being captured.

Xun Zhen had just regained two counties overnight, and within ten days, two counties were lost on the south bank of Rushui, and Wuyang was in an emergency. Prefect Wen messed up his hands and feet, and before the reward for Xun Zhen's recovery of the two counties and the lure of the enemy's father city was issued, he hurriedly handed down an order, ordering Xun Zhen to rescue Wuyang.

Xun Zhen called Xun You and Xi Zhicai to discuss.

Both of them thought: "The plan to lure the enemy has failed, and it can be seen that Bo Cai is cautious. If Nan saves Wuyang, it may be difficult to use the plan and can only fight hard with the thieves. We have 3,000 troops. With 50,000 soldiers, there are two elite battalions who are trapped and dare to attack, and there are nearly a thousand knights.

You can't go south easily, and you can't ignore the orders of Governor Kewen.

If you don't listen, don't speak up in disobedience, Xun Zhen's image of "loyalty, love the people and don't fear death" created by Xun Zhen's hard work will also be lost.

what to do?

Xi Zhicai understood Xun Zhen's dilemma, and finally came up with a solution, saying: "Wuyang is in a hurry, the government is urging, and the people in the county are all looking forward to our troops going south to attack the thieves. At that time, we can use the strategy of delaying troops.”

"What is the plan to slow down troops?"

"One is to slow down the government's urging, and the other is to reduce Wuyang's pressure. This is a plan to slow down the army."

"The plan will come out?"

"Sun Bin rescued Zhao and attacked Wei, causing people but not people. Now to save Wuyang, we can use this strategy. Kunyang is between Fucheng and Wuyang. If Kunyang is lost, the thieves will be cut off before and after. When I crossed the river and attacked Kunyang, Bocai heard that I wanted to attack Kunyang, so I would divide my troops to save it. If I divided my troops, the pressure on Wuyang would be slightly reduced. In this way, it could not only meet the urging of the government, but also reduce the pressure on Wuyang.”

Xun You sighed: "Although this plan can delay the army, it can only be delayed for a few days at most. I hope the army of the imperial court can come soon!"

Even if Bo Cai split up and rescued Kunyang, the Yellow Turbans would still be able to leave tens of thousands of soldiers to continue besieging Wuyang. This strategy only temporarily managed to deal with the prefect of Wen and temporarily delayed the time when Wuyang fell. Once Wuyang fell again, he told Xiaoli that Xunzhen would have no excuse for not going south. He told Dali that as long as Bocai and He Man captured two counties again, they would be able to join forces with the Yellow Turbans in Runan and Nanyang to get there. When the time comes, their voices are bound to grow louder, and it will be difficult to eliminate them.

According to Xi Zhicai's plan, Xun Zhen ordered troops to train outside Xiangcheng County, and recruited children from Jia and Xiangcheng counties to join the army. He made a gesture, claiming that he would cross the river south again to attack Kunyang. When Bo Cai and He Man heard the news, they were really worried about Kunyang's loss, so they left He Man to besiege Wuyang, and Bo Cai led more than 20,000 people back to Kunyang. UU reading www.uukanshu.com

After Bo Cai left, due to the division of troops, the number of soldiers was reduced by half, and due to the fact that the two counties were conquered within ten days, the Yellow Turban soldiers were also exhausted, and He Man's offensive against Wuyang suddenly slowed down. Even so, facing the attack of more than 20,000 people, Wuyang couldn't hold on for long. According to Xi Zhicai and Xun You's estimates, it would be great to be able to hold on for another four or five days. That is to say, Xi Zhicai's strategy of delaying the army can work for four or five days at most. After four or five days, either Wuyang falls, or due to the pressure of Wen Taishou, Xun Zhen will have to do a fake show and lead his troops south to attack Kunyang. .

At the time of the dilemma, Yang Zhai came to a messenger.

Xun Zhen welcomed the messenger into the account, and showed the letter to watch, but it was Wen Taishou's personal letter and summoned him back to Yangzhai. After reading the letter, he felt the pressure relieved, and the dilemma he had faced for several days was no longer there. Come, show the letter to them both. Xun You looked over with joy: "Is the army of the imperial court here?"

It has been nearly two months since the Yellow Turban incident. The imperial court finally got rid of the initial hustle and bustle, and made a deployment response. He worshipped He Jin as the general, led the five battalions of the Yulin around the city, and repaired the equipment. Guan Duwei, who suppressed the rebellion, defended Luoyang, and at the same time used Huangfu Song as the left middle commander, holding the festival, Zhu Jun as the right middle commander, holding the festival, with Lu Zhi as the north middle commander, holding the festival, sending the North Army The five schools, the Knights of Sanhe, the recruited Jingyong, and the state soldiers of the prefectures of the world were led by the three of them respectively, and the troops were divided into two groups. And specially selected Wang Yun as the prefect of Yuzhou.

Zhu Jun led the army first and reached Yangzhai.