Chapter 248: Changing the Flags of Generals and Commanders

"keep going!"

Upon learning that Dong Zhuo's army was retreating, Jin Mao was not prepared to stop and continued to advance.

He wanted to set up camp five miles outside Dagu Pass.

However, Sun Jian still wanted to meet him as a lot of information needed to be verified.

Half an hour later.

The first and second battalions had crossed the battlefield and continued to advance. The strong crossbow battalion led by Huang Zhong followed behind the main battalion to provide fire support.

Jin Mao led a thousand personal guards to wait for Sun Jian.

"If you had come a step later, you would have been collecting my body."

Facing Sun Jian, whose face he couldn't see clearly, Jin Mao dismounted and clasped his fists, saying, "Brother, please make it short. I want to know the latest battle situation."

Upon learning that Dong Zhuo's army had been fighting Sun Jian for the past few days and had not had enough rest, Jin Mao became more determined.

"In this case, I will lead the army to attack Dagu Pass."

"Brother, you can wait here. Our baggage train is at the rear."

Sun Jian knew what Jin Mao meant, but waved his hand and said, "Han Dang and Zhu Zhi are enough here. I'd better go to Dagu Pass with my junior brother."

Jin Mao glanced at Sun Jian's remaining soldiers and suggested, "Brother, why don't you go back to Guangcheng Pass and transfer the soldiers here?"

"Alas." Sun Jian waved his hand again and said, "Junior brother, why are you so polite?"

"Your men are so brave, who else can attack Dagu Pass except you?"

"I only need to contribute a little, and Dagu Pass will be within my reach!"

Jin Mao couldn't see through Sun Jian's thoughts, so he said no more and held out his hand, "Please!"

This time, Sun Jian didn't even ride the Qingcong horse. He asked Jin Mao for a war horse and followed the main force to the front.

...

night.

Otani Pass.

Duan Wei reported to Dong Zhuo: "Prime Minister, I have defeated Sun Jian and crippled him. Only a thousand of his men remain."

"I could have wiped them out, but the reinforcements from Yangzhou Mu arrived, so I had to retreat."

Dong Zhuo was dissatisfied and said in a bad tone: "General Duan, you have worked hard. Go down and have a rest."

No mention of reward was made.

Duan Wei was not surprised. He knew what kind of person Dong Zhuo was.

As long as Sun Jian's head was not chopped off, it would be a failure in Dong Zhuo's eyes.

But Duan Wei was also helpless. Thirty thousand cavalrymen sounded intimidating, but there were only three thousand real Han cavalrymen, most of whom were Qiang, Hu, Xiongnu, and Hu cavalry from various counties. Their combat effectiveness was incomparable.

Since Emperor Wu of Han, the Han cavalry has become a model of combat effectiveness for the surrounding barbarians. No cavalry tribe dared to confront the Han cavalry of the same number.

The best proof is that Duan Xing had only 2,000 regular cavalry under his command, but he was able to defeat the Qiang and Hu tribes so badly that they could not even raise their heads.

Didn’t Duan Wei also have three thousand Han cavalry?

That depends on who the opponent is. Zhang Fei's troops under Jin Mao, together with his personal guards, number nearly two thousand, not to mention the two thousand strong crossbow cavalry.

With the cooperation of the infantry, Duan Wei could see at a glance that this group of rabble was no match for them and they would suffer heavy losses in a head-on conflict.

Not to mention, Duan Wei has been fighting with them for four days, and a tired army is bound to be defeated!

Even if Duan Wei didn't say it explicitly, Dong Zhuo knew these principles.

This is because Duan Wei was the second most powerful General of the Central Army under Dong Zhuo, except for Xu Rong.

Although his status was not as high as that of the General of the Central Army of the Dong family, Dong Zhuo valued him so much that no one dared to offend him.

As soon as Duan Wei went down, the scout came to report immediately.

"Prime Minister! The governor of Yangzhou has deployed his troops five miles outside Dagu Pass and is setting up camp."

"Damn it!" Dong Zhuo angrily smashed the wine jar and shouted, "Jin Mao, you are going too far!"

"Who dares to lead troops to attack at night?"

"I will make him a marquis and reward him with a thousand gold coins!"

Duan Wei’s cognition is one thing, and Dong Zhuo’s emotions are another.

Even though you know you can’t do something, you still do it!

Dong Zhuo is now arrogant and can't stand Jin Mao's slap in the face.

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

As the other generals retreated, Lü Bu, who was already a marquis of Ting, wanted to go one step further. He stepped out of the ranks and bowed, saying, "Prime Minister, I am willing to go!"

"My son Fengxian is still the most brave one!"

Dong Zhuo stood up happily and said, "The most important thing about an army is its surprise, not its number. I will give you three thousand elite cavalry."

"My dear son, please don't let your father down."

Suddenly, Lu Bu was like a chicken with blood injected, and bowed again and said: "Don't worry, foster father, I will return with great achievements!"

Lu Bu is not stupid. He can't even defeat Sun Jian, let alone the more powerful Jin Mao.

This does not refer to personal strength, but military strength.

If it's a one-on-one fight, ten Jinmaos would not be enough for Lu Bu to defeat.

Dong Zhuo was slightly disappointed and said, "Go ahead."

"Here!"

Lu Bu walked out of the central army tent and quickly summoned his generals to discuss a night attack strategy.

In the last battle, Gao Shun and seven other generals escaped successfully, but they all suffered varying degrees of injuries, with Gao Shun being the most seriously injured.

This time, although Lu Bu summoned all the generals, only Wei Xu came.

Wei Xu was the cousin of Lu Bu's wife Yan, and was considered Lu Bu's brother-in-law, closer to him than the other generals.

Moreover, Wei Xu was known for his cleverness and was valued by Lu Bu.

"My Lord, I have heard that Jin Mao is treacherous, so please be careful when attacking at night."

Facing Wei Xu's persuasion, Lu Bu agreed and said: "The Prime Minister gave me three thousand elite cavalry, which Duan Wei also had, but he retreated without fighting. This shows the power of Jin Mao."

"But I have already made a big promise in front of the Prime Minister."

Lu Bu said in distress: "What should I do?"

Wei Xu immediately came up with a bad idea and said, "My lord, why don't you do this?"

Lu Bu hesitated and asked, "What if the Prime Minister finds out?"

Wei Xu spread his hands and said, "Then let's fight. After losing many soldiers and generals, the Prime Minister will believe it."

"Pa!" Lu Bu clapped his hands and said, "That's it!"

the other side.

Jin Mao led the entire army on a forced march of nearly fifty miles. It would be a lie to say that he was not tired.

But the first group of people who came to set up camp were all main forces, so this difficulty could be overcome.

In addition, the necessary investigation is no less.

As soon as Lu Bu came out of the pass, Jin Mao got the news and immediately ordered the camp that had just been laid to be vacated.

He also ambushed soldiers on both sides, waiting for Lu Bu and his men to arrive.

However, Lu Bu's next move confused Jin Mao.

Not only did the three thousand men and horses not have their horses' mouths jammed or their hooves wrapped in cloth, they also held open flames and marched straight into the trap.

Just when Jin Mao thought that Lu Bu was coming to deliver him, the troops dispersed again and set fire to the wooden fence. Halfway through the fire, they fled without looking back.

Jin Mao was completely confused.

There was no choice but to ask people to start putting out the fire.

but!

Lu Bu turned back again!

Jin Mao was amazed that Lu Bu could see through the trap he set, but he also felt strange.

In theory, a night attack requires suddenness.

Since there were no casualties on both sides and Jin Mao was already prepared, Lu Bu should not have made such a low-level mistake and turned back to seek death.

However, since someone has come to our doorstep, how can we just send him away without entertaining him?
"Strong Crossbowman!"

"Fire arrows!"

"Crossbowmen free fire!"

The trap that had never been moved was finally revealed.

I thought Lu Bu had some tricks up his sleeve, but I never expected that Lu Bu just left behind hundreds of corpses and ran away, and nothing else happened.

Jinmao was even more confused, but he didn't pursue.

His most important task at the moment is to set up camp so that he can fight against Dong Zhuo.

...Lu Bu took his men out for a stroll, and when they came back, there were more than 300 casualties, but his face was not depressed at all, instead, he looked like he had won a battle.

"Prime Minister, good news!"

Lu Bu rode his Red Hare all the way to the outside of the central army tent before stopping, which was Dong Zhuo's special permission.

"My son, get up quickly."

Dong Zhuo's clothes were disheveled, and the beautiful maid beside him also retreated behind the screen in disheveled clothes, quite like Yuan Shu in the past.

"Why are you so happy?"

Facing Dong Zhuo's question, Lu Bu clasped his fists and said, "Prime Minister, in this battle, I led my troops to destroy Jinmao's camp, set half of the camp on fire, and caused countless casualties!"

“The fire isn’t out yet!”

This was the bad idea that Wei Xu gave to Lu Bu. As long as it was lit, it would be a great achievement. As for the number of enemies killed, why not just make it up?

Dong Zhuo was overjoyed. He ordered his men to help him put on his clothes, and then hurriedly climbed up to the gate tower of Dagu Pass.

Sure enough, from a distance, the fire at Jinmao Camp had not yet been extinguished.

"My son is brave!"

Dong Zhuo announced to him: "Make him Duke of Duxiang, and give him a thousand gold coins!"

Lu Bu was delighted and bowed, saying, "Thank you very much, Prime Minister!"

"You deserve this."

Dong Zhuo stretched out his hand, and Lu Bu very sensibly stepped forward to support him.

"How many casualties did my son suffer?"

Lu Bu answered honestly, "More than 300 cavalrymen were killed or wounded."

Dong Zhuo's face flashed with pain, and he boasted: "With my son here, why should I worry about Jin Mao's son?"

The next day.

Dong Zhuo praised Lu Bu greatly at the meeting, which made the generals look very unhappy.

Even Duan Wei couldn't bear to watch it anymore. The deputy general of the Han cavalry had an old acquaintance with Duan Wei and had already told him in detail what happened last night.

But he had to endure it even if he couldn't bear to watch it. Everyone who went to war lied about their military achievements, even Dong Zhuo was no exception.

The so-called upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked.

If Lu Bu could lie about his military achievements, couldn’t Duan Wei and the others do the same?

all!

Therefore, everyone has to endure it no matter how ugly their faces are.

"Report!"

"Urgent report from Hulao Pass!"

At this moment, news came from Hulao Pass. Dong Zhuo was so shocked that he suddenly stood up with his fat shaking three times.

After snatching the bamboo slips from the messenger's hand, Dong Zhuoyue's face became more and more joyful.

"Double happiness!"

"Double happiness!"

Dong Zhuo threw the bamboo slips to Duan Wei and laughed wildly, "Good news from Hulao Pass!"

"The Guandong coalition forces will disband without a fight!"

The generals passed the bamboo slips around and looked delighted.

As long as there is no problem at Hulao Pass, Xu Rong can bring Dong Zhuo's infantry to guard the pass.

They won't have to fight Jinmao head-on, so how can they not be happy?

Generally speaking, cavalry likes to attack infantry the most, but if these infantry are equipped with heavy armor and have powerful crossbows to help them, then cavalry hates to attack such troops the most.

It's like a pack of wolves hunting a porcupine. Not only can they not get the meat, but they also get their mouths filled with quills.

And Jinmao's troops just happen to have all of them, so these generals hate fighting this kind of troops the most.

It is better to leave professional matters to professionals. Xu Rong is proficient in infantry combat and has elite soldiers under his command.

Otherwise, the Kanto coalition forces would not have been defeated.

"Somebody come!"

"Hurry up and order General Xu Rong to lead his troops to support Dagu Pass."

Obviously, Dong Zhuo thought the same as the other generals, and he thought even further.

"I have some business to attend to in Luoyang. General Duan Wei will take charge of all matters here for the time being."

"Wait for General Xu Rong to arrive here and use his authority to guard Dagu Pass. General Duan Wei will return to guard Hangu Pass."

The generals were confused, only Duan Wei knew that Dong Zhuo was preparing to move the capital.

"Here!"

...

The twenty-sixth day of the first lunar month.

Five days had passed since the last war, and the corpses had been cleared from the battlefield south of Songshan Mountain to avoid the outbreak of plague.

Five miles away from Dagu Pass, Jin Mao built a wooden camp relying on the remaining range of Mount Songshan, so he no longer had to worry about cavalry charges.

At the same time, Xu Rong took over the defense of Dagu Pass with 50,000 infantrymen. Except for Duan Wei who was replaced, all other generals were under the command of Xu Rong.

Jinmao was unaware of this and even held a meeting to siege the city.

Dagu Pass is narrow and located between two mountains, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

If you want to break through, you either have to use a pile of lives or use your wits.

Fortunately, the mountains and forests on both sides of Dagu Pass are not very high, which is very suitable for mountain soldiers to climb.

Therefore, Jinmao’s main purpose this time was to capture the hills on both sides of Dagu Pass.

As long as we capture two important locations and station enough archers there, and rain arrows down from above, Dagu Pass will be within our grasp.

But Xun You was not so optimistic.

"My lord, Dong Zhuo is an expert in military affairs and will never make such a low-level mistake!"

Jin Mao thought it made sense, so he asked, "What's Gongda's plan?"

Xun You bowed and said, "I don't have any brilliant ideas, I just hope that you can act with caution."

"Our army is small in number. Any loss of troops before reinforcements arrive will undermine our foundation."

Jin Mao adopted Xun Youdao's suggestion: "Gong Lei, Ling Cao, listen to my orders!"

"Order Gong Lei to cooperate with the first battalion in a feint attack to investigate the two forests. Ling Cao will cooperate with him."

The two of them received the order and said, "Yes!"

Soon, a battalion of elite troops set out.

But before the first battalion started to go up the mountain, the gate of Dagu Pass opened, and Lu Bu rushed out with his cavalry, heading straight for Gong Lei and Ling Cao.

"Array up!"

Ling Cao reacted instantly, and the first battalion received the order and quickly formed a circular formation.

However, Gong Lei soon realized that something was wrong. Lu Bu did not charge into the battle.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation!
Gong Lei climbed to the top of the circle and immediately saw a horrifying scene.

Seeing countless infantrymen pouring out and the flags with the word "Xu" on them made Gong Lei realize that the opponent had changed this time.

"Ling Cao, change the formation!"

"Change the formation quickly!"

Gong Lei made a prompt decision and shouted loudly: "Everyone go up the mountain!"

The First Battalion was worthy of being the elite force second only to the Imperial Guards. They began to change their formation quickly, starting from around Gong Lei.

Gong Lei knew that he didn't have much time left, so he immediately led the people who had completed the formation change and rushed to the hills in the east, which was close to the Songshan Mountain Range.

However, Xu Rong seemed to have anticipated this. Lu Bu, as if he had received an order, led his men to block the road to the east.

Oops!

Gong Lei said without thinking: "The front army becomes the rear army, turn around!"

When he rushed to the middle of the team, Ling Cao arrived with his men.

"The front army becomes the rear army!"

Gong Lei didn't have time to explain, and yelled frantically: "Turn around!"

Ling Cao understood immediately, but did not follow Gong Lei. Instead, he rushed to the end of the team in the east.

"Brothers, the moment of life and death has come!"

Ling Cao's face showed abnormal excitement and he said, "Follow me to cover your retreat!"

Nearly a hundred close confidants around Ling Cao were as excited as Ling Cao, as if covering the retreat was a great thing.

(End of this chapter)