Please ask me to be the emperor

The next morning, Zhang Shun counted the men and horses and found that his soldiers had only lost twenty or thirty men, while the horses had lost sixty or seventy. It turned out that most of the losses were caused by broken horseshoes during night marches and night charges.

Cavalry uses horses, which are different from ordinary horses. These war horses are hard to come by, and many of them were snatched by Zhang Shun from Zhang Zongheng, the governor of Xuanda, on the spot. Losing so much all at once really made Zhang Shun feel distressed.

Although a lot of horses were lost during the previous attack on Cao Bianjiao, more than a hundred horses were seized from the officers and soldiers to supplement them.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Quanchang did not carry his war horses across the Yellow River this time. As a result, although Zhang Shun captured a large number of elite officers and soldiers, he was unable to capture a single horse.

Although nearly a thousand officers and soldiers were captured in the two battles, how could Zhang Shun dare to incorporate them into his team to fight against Cao Wenzhao?

He had no choice but to order the injured He Yilong and "The King of Chaos" to lead five hundred infantry and escort the eight to nine hundred prisoners back to Luoyang City for detention.

As for Cao Bianjiao, Zhang Shun did not dare to let He Yilong and "The King of Chaos" take him back to Luoyang. Now that I have led all the elites here to stop Cao Wenzhao, the city of Luoyang is weak.

If such powerful generals find an opportunity to lead the captives to cause chaos in Luoyang City, no one will be able to control them, and they will lose their foundation.

Afterwards, the rebel army and Cao Wenzhao faced off at Mengjin Ferry for several days. Just when Zhang Shun thought that Cao Wenzhao was at the end of his game, unexpectedly one morning, Wukong opened the curtain of Zhang Shun's tent and ran in, shouting: "Master, it's not good! The soldiers have to cross the river." ”

Although Zhang Shun knows that this guy likes to make noises, he doesn't have to be afraid of ten thousand just in case. He quickly led his guards to the riverside and saw that the Yellow River was surging and there was no boat on the water.

Zhang Shun angrily scolded: "Where are the officers and soldiers? If you lie about military information, you will be beheaded!"

Wukong quickly pointed to a river island north of Mengjin and said, "Master, look!"

Zhang Shun was shocked when he saw it. At some point, a pontoon bridge extended from the north bank of the Yellow River and was connected to the river island.

Zhang Shun quickly ordered people to call Zhao Yutou, Zhao Lizi and others. When the local snakes Zhao Yutou and Zhao Lizi arrived, Zhang Shun quickly asked: "Where is this? Do the officers and soldiers want to use this to cross the river?"

Zhao Yutou couldn't help being dumbfounded when he saw this, and quickly responded: "This place is Guojiatan, where Zhongyi is located."

Seeing that Zhang Shun was confused, Zhao Yutou quickly explained: "I wonder if my lord has ever heard of the Three Cities of Heyang?"

"According to legend, a long time ago Meng County was not called Meng County, but Heyang. The seat of Heyang County was not in the current Meng County town, but it was close to the north bank of the Yellow River and was called Beizhong City."

"South of Beizhong City, there is a beach in the Yellow River, which is called Zhongli. The imperial court built another city on top of this Zhongli, which is called Zhongli City."

"On the south bank of the Yellow River, another city was built, called Nancheng. The three cities faced each other across the river and were connected by bridges. They were known as the most important military towns in the world. By the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, these three cities were no longer known. I don’t know when it was destroyed!”

"Now it seems that this Cao Wenzhao is trying to follow the wisdom of the ancients and use Guojiatan as a springboard to cross the Yellow River." Zhang Shun couldn't help but have a toothache after hearing this. This Cao Wenchao was going to quarrel with him.

The Yellow River in Mengjin is about one mile wide in dry season and as wide as two miles in wet season. The Yellow River flood season can be divided into four types according to the season:

Generally, in March and April, when the peach blossoms are in full bloom, it is called the Peach Flood; in July and August, when there are heavy rains in the dog days of summer, it is called the Fu Flood;

In September and October, the weather is slightly cooler and it is autumn. If there is a flood, it is called autumn flood; if it is winter, the river surface freezes and the ice blocks the river, it is called cold flood.

It is now September or October. Although there are no floods, it is still in the flood season of the Yellow River. The river is wide and difficult for officers and soldiers to cross.

If Cao Wenzhao were allowed to occupy the beach in the middle of the river, which was only about a mile away from the south bank of the Yellow River, officers and soldiers could try to cross the river at any time, and the rebels would be unable to defend themselves, which would be a difficult task.

After thinking about this, Zhang Shun remembered something and quickly asked: "Generally, the river beaches and river banks are mostly silt and sand, can the officers and soldiers stand on it?"

Zhao Yutou knew what Zhang Shun meant and quickly replied: "The river beach and river bank here are different from other places. They are all made of stones washed down by the river since Sanmenxia. Although there is floating soil on it, aquatic plants and shrubs can grow on it. In fact, the foundation It is particularly strong. This is also the reason why Zhongli City was able to be built on it."

As Zhao Yutou was talking, his grandson Zhao Lizi suddenly interrupted: "My lord, I have something to say, should I say it or not?"

"Say!" Zhang Shun was too lazy to talk nonsense to him. Zhao Yutou was talking enthusiastically, but his interest was interrupted by his grandson. He couldn't help but feel a little dissatisfied and glared at his grandson, but he didn't say anything.

Zhao Lizi felt a little scared when he saw his grandfather's eyes. However, he still frowned and said: "In my opinion, it is better to defend than to attack. Cao Wenzhao has such a great reputation, but his master has defeated him. He must not be able to do anything!"

"Bastard!" When Zhao Yutou heard this, he couldn't help blowing his beard and staring, and cursed, "I think you are so courageous. You are so young, and you dare to talk nonsense. If it hadn't been for the lord's decisive decision this time and the blessing of fate, it would have been different. As someone else, I don’t know how many times I have died. How can I still have your say?"

Zhang Shun knew that Zhao Yutou wanted to protect his grandson, but it was excusable. He still cooperated: "Old man, he just said this, and I just listened to it, what is it worth? Whether he talks or not is up to him, and whether he listens or not is up to me!"

Zhao Yutou stopped talking. Unexpectedly, his grandson Zhao Lizi made a face at him. The old man was so angry that he took off his straw sandals and wanted to whip him.

Zhang Shun stopped him quickly, turned around and said seriously to Zhao Lizi: "If you don't say it, then I won't listen!"

Zhao Lizi then said quickly: "I was thinking, although Cao Wenzhao is great, he is still a landlubber. He is not as good as me, the Mengjin fisherman, who lives on the water all the year round. Why doesn't my lord recruit fishermen and boats on the river to attack the pontoon of the officers and soldiers?"

Zhang Shun was delighted when he heard this and thought to himself: Why did I specially summon your grandson here? Isn't it just to use your prestige and reputation to recruit these people?

So, he smiled and said: "You are serious, I will leave this matter to you. Within two days, you recruit me two hundred heroes, all of them must be bold and good at water. I will burn this floating bridge. , trapped the officers and soldiers on Guojia Beach to death!"

Zhao Lizi couldn't help but frowned when he heard this and said: "It's too late now, can you have a day?"

"The military situation is so strong that there is no room for peace!" Zhang Shun said with a smile, "If we delay for a long time and the officers and soldiers are building the pontoon bridge across the south bank, I am afraid that no matter how many heroes on the water are recruited, it will not be able to help anything!"