Three Kingdoms

Western Capital City.

If future generations still have some impression of the scene where the couple had an awkward moment on the city wall in the final ending of Westward Journey, then the current city wall of Xidu City looks almost like that.

In the Loess City among the loess, the city walls that have not been repaired for many years have been eroded by wind, sand and rain and are dilapidated. The gate tower has also disappeared, and there are a few residual trees, reminding that there seemed to be a building here. Since the beginning of the Xiqiang Rebellion, few Han people have set foot here. Now Zhang Liao and others have arrived here again in more than ten years.

Destroying something is always easier than building it. When the Han people retreated, they burned a fire, and after the Hu people looted, they burned another fire. Everything that could be taken away was taken away, most of what could not be taken away was burned, and the rest was stone, loess, etc.

Zhang Liao had people dig out the wells blocked by the dam in the city. After digging down for more than ten meters, they finally found water. Although it was turbid, it would only need to settle for a day or two before it could be used.

The water source is almost enough. After all, there is Huangshui outside the city. The main issue is food.

"There is food and grass in Longyou, Yishan will send it over..." Zhang Liao watched Ma Heng worry about calculating the amount of food and grass again, and said, "Didn't you just calculate it two days ago?"

Ma Heng smiled and said: "General Wenyuan is laughing at me, so-and-so... Well, I am anxious and looking for something to do..." Ma Heng has obsessive-compulsive disorder caused by anxiety, just like some people in later generations. Many people need to check again and again whether they have their keys and mobile phones. After leaving the door, they open the door to see if the water is turned off in the kitchen and the windows are closed. They get out of the car and take two steps before turning back and pulling the car door to see if it is locked. This is the same. An emotional compensation.

Compared with Ma Heng, who met Ma Heng for the first time, Zhang Liao was undoubtedly much calmer and did not laugh at Ma Heng because of it. He just explained some logistical matters and focused his main energy on the upcoming battle. superior.

Before the two armies confront each other, it is always the scouts from both sides who fight first.

According to the news passed back by the scouts, Zhang Liao felt a little strange. The scouts reported that they seemed to be Qiang people, not Tibetan people...

Although Zhang Liao had never had contact with the Tibetan people before, according to Yang Fu and Yang Yishan's description, there are still some differences between the Tibetan people and the Qiang people, and they are easy to identify. The Qiang people don't have the habit of putting on makeup, but the Tibetan people do.

Of course, the makeup here is not like the Asian transformation technique of later generations, but uses something called "ochre", which is ground into fine powder and then applied to the face...

So it is easy to identify them. If their face is painted red and looks like a monkey's butt, they are naturally a Tibetan person. Now Zhang Liao naturally thinks that the makeup habits of the Tibetan people are very weird, but a few hundred years later, the Tang Dynasty made the Tubo makeup all the rage, which made Bai Juyi lament that "Yuanhe's makeup and combs are remembered, and the buns are piled with ocher and the face is not Chinese." wind".

Why Qiang people?

This made Zhang Liao wary.

Among Longxi, the Qiang people are also the majority. If the Qiang and Fan people join forces, it must be a very difficult matter. Therefore, Zhang Liao not only paid close attention to the changes in the front, but also deliberately passed such a message to the rear, Just in case something unexpected happens.

What Zhang Liao didn't know was that Yao Kehui, who was opposite him, was even more sad than Zhang Liao.

"Is this the third time you've sent someone to urge us?" Yao Ke, the Qiang leader who came back to see the arrogant and arrogant Tibetan messengers walking away, couldn't help but said angrily, "What do you think of us? "

Yao Ke returned silently.

The Qiang leader asked: "What should we do next?"

Yao Kehui nodded silently.

The Qiang leader sighed. He actually knew that there was only one option.

Just when Yao Kehui was preparing to go into battle, Zhang Liao actually made the same decision, preparing to bring some manpower to carry out a tentative attack tomorrow to find out the opponent's strength.

At present, due to the terrain, Zhang Liao's scouts cannot conduct back-and-forth reconnaissance on the large plains like Guanzhong. The folds on the Loess Plateau restrict the direction of travel and also fix the scope of reconnaissance. Of course, this is true for both parties.

At present, Jia Xu, the governor of Youfufeng, said that he is about to arrive at Longyou. With Jia Xu, the old fox, in Longyou, Zhang Liao will be able to face the enemy in front of him with peace of mind. If Longyou is restless and is attacked from both sides, even if Zhang Liao has extraordinary abilities in the battle formation, he may only be able to achieve partial victory, but cannot save the overall defeat.

"These guys..." Zhang Liao gestured with his fingers on the map, "They marched ten miles the day before yesterday... They also advanced ten miles yesterday, and they simply couldn't move today... This is either waiting for backup, or someone else. There are other plans... We have rested for four days, which can be regarded as waiting for work..."

"I just don't know how many people are behind these Qiang people?" Ma Heng frowned and said, "It would be better if we could find out the situation behind them..."

Zhang Liao laughed and said: "That's exactly what I mean!"

"What General Wenyuan means..." Ma Heng also came to his senses and said, "Taking advantage of the chaos in the battle formation tomorrow, secretly send scouts there?"

"Exactly!" Zhang Liao's eyes flashed, "I want to see what these Qiang and Tibetan people are doing when they are together?!"

The sky in the northwest of Han Dynasty, especially in autumn, is so blue that it makes people feel distressed.

A dark moon and high winds are a good time for killing people, and a cloudless sky is also a good time for killing people.

Early the next morning, the two sides moved together in unison, advancing towards each other and facing each other from afar.

In order to better observe the situation on the opposite side, Zhang Liao did not lead his troops on the front line, but stood on a temporary wooden platform and looked at the opponent's military formation in the distance.

Ma Heng felt that as the coach, Zhang Liao, even if he was not on the front line, was somewhat risky to be so forward. However, Zhang Liao said that if he was at the rear, how could he resolve the enemy's situation as soon as possible and how could he make the most reasonable judgment?

It can be said that all the generals from the border counties, from Lu Bu to Guan Yu, are mostly military generals with this type of frontline command. If these men from the border counties did not go into battle in person that day, they might have made their soldiers feel uneasy...

Ma Heng, who was in the Western Capital City, also climbed up the city wall, holding on to the broken city wall and looking out. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and even his breathing was a little disordered.

Zhang Liao frowned, looking at the Qiang battle line which was powerful but actually not very large in number, and couldn't help but feel a little confused. After all, Zhang Liao was also a cavalry general. He knew that the Qiang people's seemingly huge cavalry skirmisher line was because of the war horses, so it looked visually large, but in fact it was not thick enough...

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Liao slowly raised his hand and suddenly lowered it.

Suddenly, the war drums and thunder rang, shaking the earth and the earth!

In order to cover the scouts and attract the attention of the Qiang people, Zhang Liao's formation this time was more similar to the traditional Han battle formation, that is, the central army set up infantry and the cavalry was placed on the two wings.

Yao Kehui was also staring at the Han military formation opposite, and then he couldn't help but look back at his own soldiers and horses, and sighed imperceptibly...

Comparing people to each other can sometimes make people angry.

The Han army has a neat appearance and bright armor, but what about his own men...

"How to fight?" asked the Qiang leader on the side, "Should we attack the main formation of the Han people as before?"

Yao Ke shook his head and said: "Look at the formation of the Han people... If we charge into the middle, then the cavalry on both sides of the Han people will come up..."

"Then what should we do..." Before the Qiang leader could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the rumble of war drums.

"First attack one of the Han's flanks!" Yao Ke shouted back, "The left wing! Attack the Han's left wing!"

The horn sounded and the Qiang people rode forward.

On the battlefield, the sound of horns, war drums, and the sound of horse hooves mixed with the roar of people made the ground shake for a moment.

Almost as soon as the Qiang soldiers burst forward, Zhang Liao began to order the soldiers to adjust their formation. On the temporary high platform, the commander in charge of the flag waved the flags representing the direction and subordinates. Immediately the Chinese army fought. A group of sword and shield warriors ran out of the formation, unfolded in the direction of the Qiang people's attack, and then set up their spears, forming a new defense line outside the formation.

The cavalry started almost at the same time as the opponent, but unlike the Qiang people, the Han cavalry still maintained a relatively complete formation while running...

The cavalry from both sides made contact first.

The Qiang cavalry was faster than the Han army. The rapid sound of horse hooves gradually turned into a huge roar. In the flying yellow dust, the Qiang cavalry were like wolves running out of the sand, shouting all the way. They rushed over, and then looked at the silent Han army on the opposite side. Some Qiang people thought that the Han people were timid, so they couldn't help but shout more crazily, trying to overwhelm the Han people in terms of momentum.

Among animals in nature, many roar to intimidate, but some roars can make people scared, such as lions and tigers, while some roars can make people laugh, such as the prairie dog roaring straight up...

Although the scattered troops of the Qiang people seem to fill all the space, and with the raised yellow dust, they are somewhat majestic, while the Han army's cavalry is in a cone-shaped dense array. In comparison, It seemed to be a lot smaller underneath, but in fact, the Han cavalry was like the steel knife in their hands, sharp and tough. After two or three rounds of arrow exchanges, they viciously crashed into the Qiang people. in the front line!

The Qiang people's cavalry line seemed to have been hit hard by a giant, and a large piece of it was suddenly dented!

If we say that on a relatively flat and vast battlefield, the Qiang's tactics should be more advantageous, because the Han cavalry carries a higher load, while the Qiang cavalry has better endurance. The Qiang cavalry can stick to the front, rear, and left sides of the Han cavalry like dog-skin plaster. , the back-and-forth intrusion weakened the Han cavalry, and then when the Han cavalry's horse power dropped, they could harvest the Han cavalry...

After three to four hundred years of competition with the Han people, this set of methods has become a consensus among the nomadic people. Therefore, after being violently attacked by Zhang Liao's cavalry, the Qiang cavalry still did not take it seriously because several Hundreds of years of fighting experience with Han cavalry have taught these Qiang people that despite the fierceness of the Han's three-axe, only the one who laughs at the back is the winner. Therefore, the Qiang people quickly avoided the direction of the Han cavalry's attack. Make room for the Han cavalry to pass, and then try to attack from behind...

On the left wing of the Han army, Marquis Zhang Shi felt that the light and shadow in front of him changed, and it seemed to be much brighter. Looking around, he found that everything in front of him was empty, and he had already penetrated the Qiang cavalry line and penetrated it.

Speaking of Zhang Shi, there are some twists and turns. He was originally from Chang'an, but when Dong Zhuo and Li Guo broke into trouble in Chang'an, Zhang Shibei, who was originally from a poor family, fled to Pingyang. Later, because Fei Qian started to educate the barbarians, he recommended himself to be a civil servant. Originally, he could be a civil servant. route, but Zhang Shi felt that under Fei Qian, military merit was more promising, so after his term as a civilized envoy ended, he stayed in Yinshan and joined the army. After completing the cavalry training, he changed his job and became a cavalry officer. The military lord followed Zhang Liao to this place.

Zhang Shi shouted: "Turn! Turn the whole army!" Then he motioned to the scout commander who was following him. The scout understood the situation well, said hello, and then separated from the queue with more than ten scouts, and took advantage of the yellow dust in the sky to run in the direction of the diagonal stab.

This time, Zhang Liao arranged a group of scouts like this among the cavalry on the left and right wings, mixed in the military formation, and took advantage of the chaos to cross the Qiang military formation to check the situation at the rear of the Qiang troops. If a wing of cavalry breaks through the Qiang line, they will release these scouts...

Even though they may be seen by the Qiang people, the Qiang people generally think that these dozen people may be deserters from the Han people, and will not send troops to arrest and intercept them. After all, the changes on the battlefield are more eye-catching.

"The Han people are preparing to turn around!"

"Come on! Come on!"

Although the front of the cavalry charge is extremely sharp, the flanks and back are just like the tanks in the battlefields of later generations. The chrysanthemums are always fragile. When the Qiang people saw the Han cavalry preparing to turn around, they suddenly screamed with excitement, ready to He rushed up and measured the size of the Han cavalry's chrysanthemums with his own hands.

On the other side, after the Qiang cavalry charged against each other, they were also preparing to turn around. They were rushing past the Han infantry line, preparing as they had for hundreds of years, while mocking the Han infantry's turtle-shell formation. , while throwing some arrows to strike, and then turned back leisurely.

Past combat experience told these Qiang people that after all, two legs could not run with four legs, and the infantry did not dare to leave the formation easily. Therefore, even if the Qiang people wandered around in front of the formation, the Han infantry could not Most of them can only swallow their anger and eat dirt.

Then, at this moment, something unexpected happened to these Qiang cavalry...