Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

After rushing back and forth twice, there was a shrill shout from the bushes and stream from time to time. After the last battle, the Khitan cavalry did not turn their horses, but fled directly to the north.

Zhou Jun crossed the creek and gradually reined in his horse. Someone said: "I can't catch up."

The ten generals widened their eyes and let out a long breath. Right now, his heart is still pounding, everything that happened just now seems to be in the snap of his fingers, and he still hasn't come back to his senses... But the flashes of swords and swords flashed before his eyes one by one.

The ten generals heard the sound of horseshoes that were drifting away, and turned their heads and said, "Count the casualties and gains."

"Five of our troops were injured and one died. Three of the Khitans died." The lieutenant shouted.

The casualty ratio was doubled, and the ten generals looked ugly, and said again: "Fortunately, we won."

The lieutenant general said: "If General Wang Shi didn't want to abandon the wounded soldiers and lead his troops to fight to the death, the situation just now would be very dangerous."

The ten generals said: "Cut off the heads of the Khitan soldiers, and take away the wounded soldiers and their corpses. Send people to report to the peak, the place and the real situation of the conflict."

"Decree!"

... Li Chuyun's camp on the right side is on the north side of Wenyu River. There are military camps on the river bank, surrounded by wooden fences, and simple archery towers have been built in each camp. The water on the river is long, the water has been unsealed, and many pontoon bridges have been built on it.

A military general walked into Li Chuyun's tent, clasped his fists and said, "The scouts in front came to report, it was the first time they encountered Liao army rangers, and they won the first level and three ranks, and they have driven the Liao army rangers to the north."

Li Chuyun hurriedly asked where he was. After a while, he asked Zhou Jun how many casualties?

The general's voice was not as loud as before, and he said, "Five people were injured, one person died... It's really a tragic victory."

At this moment, Shi Yanchao, who was sitting at the bottom, snorted coldly: "It's expected."

Li Chuyun waved his hand to let the reporting general leave, thinking to himself, Shi Yanchao had confronted the Liao army at Xinkou in the first battle of Jinyang (Chai Rong's period), and he also fought head-on with the main cavalry of the Liao army as a forward during the first Northern Expedition to Youzhou, at least he had some experience.

Li Chuyun couldn't care less about Shi Yanchao's displeasure at the moment, so he said calmly, "What advice does General Shi have?"

Shi Yanchao's attitude towards Li Chuyun seemed to be very useful, and said: "The conflict between small groups of cavalry is comparable to the proficiency in equestrian horse warfare. No matter how well the Zhou army's cavalry trains, can they compare with the barbarians who ride horses and herd sheep on the grassland all day long? The horses raised in the Central Plains are of the same breed, and they are slightly inferior to the grassland horses. It's no wonder that they can be cheap."

Shi Yanchao said disapprovingly again: "But General Li, don't be afraid..."

Li Chuyun looked unhappy, frowned and said: "When was I afraid, what are I afraid of?"

Shi Yanchao said: "We will lose out against small groups, but if tens of thousands of cavalry fight on horseback, the cavalry of the Zhou army will not be afraid of the Liao army." He patted the plate armor on his chest.

Li Chuyun nodded thoughtfully this time, acting more modestly.

At this time, a general said: "The Liao army is approaching Shunzhou, should we gather troops and horses to go north for a decisive battle?"

Li Chuyun said: "No hurry."

He looked down at the picture on the chopping board, stared at a thick line that read Wenyu River for a while, then looked up again, just in time to see the winding river in the distance outside the tent.

"Wait for news from secret sentries, scouts, and the secret work of the Privy Council to go to the middle army on the right to determine the number of Liao troops." Li Chuyun said.

The main force of the Zhou army first went to the Youzhou area, and then besieged the Liao army in Youzhou to death in the city. Compared with the Liao army from Shangjing, the Zhou army has the advantage of waiting for work at leisure. It can arrange spies and secret sentries in advance; both sides are cavalry, and there are mobile rangers everywhere.

Li Chuyun said: "I guessed that the main force of the Liao army was in a hurry to rescue Youzhou and went straight to Beikou (Gubeikou), but the battle is so important that we can't underestimate the enemy and advance aggressively based on speculation. When the deployment of the main force is confirmed, first transfer the left (Hantong Luoyan Ring Division) to the east, and form a north-south response with our troops, and then launch a war with superior forces!"

The general said: "The Liao army came from afar, attack now, and take advantage of their exhaustion."

Li Chuyun shook his head and said: "The Liao army is approaching Shunzhou, but the baggage must still be in the north. Now we will attack directly and run away as soon as we hit it. It won't do anything. When Luo Yanhuan attacks quickly, we will first detour and outflank my left wing and attack from two directions. Only then will we have a chance to fight."

He immediately said: "Pen and ink wait, I will report this to His Majesty."

...

Outside Youzhou City, cannons roared, and the table in front of Guo Shao was shaking. Fortunately, I lived in a tent. If I lived in a tile-roofed house, the tiles might be shaken off the roof.

After Guo Shao finished reading Li Chuyun's report, he asked his attendants to pass it to the generals.

The "Youzhou Qianying Military Mansion" is responsible for the dispatch and daily affairs of the entire army, and almost all the reports and military orders are handled by the military mansion, so Wang Pu, Zuo You and others already knew about it in advance.

At this moment, the commander of the Huben army made Wang Zhang read the report, and muttered: "The last general is humble, and he is not as good as Li Dianjian, but why do you think he is so strategic, and he still uses the idea of ​​​​infantry to use cavalry..."

Guo Shao said nothing.

Wang Pudao: "General Wang's words are reasonable, General Li is a little cautious. However, I think that there is nothing wrong with General Li's actions in the current situation.

In the early stage of this campaign, the purpose of the Great Zhou Army was to capture Youzhou City, and this is the key; it was not to eliminate the first batch of reinforcements from the Liao Army. Li Chuyun is not greedy for merit or aggressive, as long as the strength and deterrence of the Great Zhou cavalry is maintained, the Liao army's reinforcements are limited, and Youzhou cannot be saved.

The Liao army is in the north of Shunzhou, and Li Chuyun and Luo Yanhuan are on the east side of the Wenyu River on the north and south sides, maintaining a maneuvering and forming a corner. It is extremely difficult for the Liao army to break through the Wenyu River defense line. Once it is close to the battle, it will face two sides of the superior forces of the Zhou Dynasty; even if it breaks through, it will be trapped in the encirclement of the Zhou army. "

Wang Pu glanced at Wang Zhang, and said again: "The elite soldiers of the Central Plains are still fighting in the interior all year round, while the Liao army is in the grasslands. They are not as flexible and cunning as the Liao army. Why should we use our own weaknesses to attack the other's strengths?"

After hearing this, Guo Shao agreed with it. In his philosophy of life, he really can't follow the rhythm of others. He must actively choose a regular rhythm and let his opponent follow his own footsteps. He immediately said: "I have always valued the opinions of the generals on the ground at the front. Unless there are obvious mistakes on the front line, let's try not to interfere with the judgments of various parties."

He also urged the ministries of Youzhou City to step up their attack on the city. At this time, Guo Shao was most worried about attacking Youzhou City.

At dusk, Jingniang reported that the undercover agents in Shunzhou and Tanzhou had received news from the Liao army, and the number of them was roughly equivalent to the number dispatched from Shangjing. Guo Shao used this to judge that almost all the main force of the Liao army's reinforcements took the road of Gubeikou.

Sure enough, Li Chuyun also made the same judgment the next day, and wrote a letter requesting that the main force of the Zuolu (Hantong Luoyanhuan Department) cross the Wenyu River to the east and encircle the Shunzhou Liao Army from the north without stopping.

The "Youzhou Qianying Military Mansion" issued military orders efficiently, coordinated the mobilization of various armies in an orderly manner, and deployed a big battle. Zhou Jun's command system has been continuously evolving and improving from Guo Shao's messengers a few years ago. At this time, it is becoming more and more mature. From the written military orders and establishment of the central staff group to the verification and filing of the commanding officials, to the organization of the messengers, the military orders extend in all directions to form a controllable whole of 200,000 troops...

Of course, there are also weaknesses. Although Kuai Ma’s delivery of military orders is considered fast, it is not real-time information like radio. Compared with the extremely fast-changing situation on the battlefield, it is too late to rely on the Chinese army’s decision-making. In order to make up for the weakness of the command system.

Xia Da Luoyan led the main force on the left to go north, and the battle had already started. Because Luo Yanhuan will directly attack the flank of the Liao army after leaving Wenyu River!

Amidst the roaring and noisy cannons, even people had to speak louder to hear clearly. Guo Shao rubbed his temples vigorously, staring at the big picture hanging above.

A battle of nearly 100,000 cavalry (real numbers) between the two sides is about to break out! Guo Shao's attention could not help but shift from the equally important siege battle to the upcoming cavalry battle.

Wang Pu said behind him: "The Liao army may run away, and the cavalry soldiers fight, and it is difficult to stop them if they run."

"Hmm." Guo Shao let out a sigh. Take a brush and draw three arrow arcs on the picture.

If the Liao army fled north, it would not affect the battle situation. But if the Liao army is in a decisive battle, it will not be regarded as a disadvantage... The Zhou army has a total of 53,000 cavalry troops deployed on the left and right sides.

However, Zhou's army has the upper hand strategically. Li Chuyun and Luo Yanhuan are not far from each other, and there is no possibility of being defeated by each of them. Once they contact the enemy, they can quickly form a pincer attack.

Guo Shao was very confident about this battle at this time, but he was a little apprehensive.

Wang Pu's voice said again: "The Great Zhou Army still has a great chance of winning!"

Guo Shao said without turning his head, "What Wang Shijun said is right."

But the process of waiting is still uncomfortable, and waiting is the most exhausting. It is a well-prepared event, but it is composed of countless details. Before the result is announced, Guo Shao will be worried that if something goes wrong in any aspect, it will affect the overall situation.

He turned around and sat down in front of the rough wooden case.

The sound of "Boom..." guns shook his eardrums, and there was an unpleasant smell of gunpowder smoke in the air; Guo Shao's brain was also buzzing. Amidst the loud rumbling noise, he seemed to see thousands of horses galloping and heard the loud roar of horseshoes.

This is not just imagination. At this moment, Luo Yanhuan's troops are galloping along the arrows on the map, and Li Chuyun's troops are also heading north to face the battle at the same time.

Guo Shao took a deep breath, sat there motionless, and couldn't control the ups and downs in his heart.

!!