Chapter 273: Xiliang Army Breaks Out

Luoyang.

The scouts and detectives who went to gather information have all returned, and the situation is not optimistic.

Of Xu Rong's 20,000 troops, except for 2,000 cavalry, the rest were all archers.

"The Yangzhou army deployed 20,000 infantry and cavalry to the west of the city?"

"This is an attempt to eat my part."

Xu Rong said to the generals, "Li Zhonglang and Guo Zhonglang just fought with the enemy generals and did not gain any advantage."

"Everyone, tell me, what should we do?"

All the generals clamored to attack while the enemy was still unstable, so as to avoid being surrounded.

They all knew that the north and south sides had been blocked, and the east side was not easy to navigate.

Not to mention how dangerous it is to cross the Luo River, even if you rush out, where can you go?

Outside Hulao Pass in the east, Zhu Jun was recruiting soldiers in Zhongmou County. There were four passes to the south and the Yellow River to the north. No matter which way he went, it would be a dead end.

Only in the west is there a glimmer of hope.

Xu Rong did not jump to conclusion and looked at Li Jue and Guo Si who had not spoken yet.

"Li Zhonglang, Guo Zhonglang, what do you think?"

Guo Si gave the chance to speak to Li Jue, who clasped his fists helplessly and said, "General, I don't think it's a good idea for the whole army to break out."

Xu Rong raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Li Jue continued, "This may be a trap. If we rashly fall into it, we will be in danger of being wiped out."

Xu Rong asked: "What is your suggestion?"

Li Jue replied: "We can let some people break out first. If they succeed, they can come back to reinforce and attack the Yangzhou army from both sides, so that we can retreat safely."

Xu Rong nodded, then looked at Guo Si and asked, "What do you think, Mr. Guo?"

Guo Si clasped his fists and said, "I have nothing to add. Li Zhonglang's opinion is exactly what I think."

"Okay!" Xu Rong slammed the table and said, "Pass my order!"

"Generals Li Jue and Guo Si, Generals Li Jue and Guo Si, each led 5,000 infantry and cavalry, and attacked from the west gate and south gate respectively."

"If you succeed in breaking through, you will return to Luoyang at midnight and cooperate with the rest of the army to break through!"

"It is now Shenshi (4pm), the whole army is preparing to eat. Generals Li and Guo will set out at Xushi (8pm), and the rest of you should be ready to fight!"

"Respect!"

All the generals went down and started to work.

Soon, huge smoke rose from the city of Luoyang and flew far away in the sunset.

Twenty miles west of Luoyang.

There are small hills with low altitude on the left and right, and a small open plain of ten miles in the middle of the hills. The 20,000-strong Yangzhou army is stationed in the middle of the plain.

Zhang Fei and Wu Ning led the second replenished battalion and 6,000 soldiers and camped in the north.

Gong Lei temporarily led a newly established battalion, assisted by Cheng Pu and Zhu Zhi, with a total of 10,000 infantry and cavalry, and camped in the south.

The two camps had just laid their foundations and construction had not yet been completed.

Suddenly, the scout reported: "The Xiliang army is cooking in Luoyang City, and it seems that they are trying to break out!"

Immediately, the generals on both sides quickly gathered together for a brief meeting.

"Captain Gong, you are the boss here." Zhang Fei supported Gong Lei and said, "We will do whatever you say!"

Gong Lei was flattered and said, "Thank you Captain Zhang for your kindness. I will just be the leader. If you have any opinions, we still need to discuss it with everyone."

There are no other troublemakers here, and the only troublemaker, Guan Yu, holds a nominal position and has no real power.

The generals agreed with what Zhang Fei said and looked at Gong Lei.

In terms of seniority, Gong Lei is the oldest!
In terms of military achievements, Gong Lei has made quite a few!
In terms of trust, Gong Lei is definitely one of the people the lord trusts the most!

There is no point in arguing over this empty reputation. Besides, Gong Lei is sensible and speaks nicely, so no one will be angry about it.

Gong Lei cleared his throat and said, "Since the enemy wants to break through, I suggest that the entire army put down what they are doing and focus on building traps and digging pits for horses."

"I don't know when the enemy will attack, and we can't figure out the direction of attack in the dark. It's better to arrange the fortifications more sparsely and over a wider range."

"This would be very inefficient, but our main goal is to hold back the enemy and prevent them from rushing out."

"At least we can't break out easily!"

This is considered mature advice, and no one has any objection to it.

"I have finished what I want to say." Gong Lei clasped his fists and said, "You can also speak up and add more."

"My lord often says that the three soldiers are smarter than him. I believe that everyone's wisdom is definitely higher than mine!"

This was so well said that the generals could not think of any rebuttal.

So, you and I talked together, starting from our respective areas of expertise, finding and filling in the gaps, and soon we worked out a complete defense plan.

However, time is short and it is impossible to cover everything.

Gong Lei made the decision: "Then let's set up the trap first, and if we have extra time, we can make the rest of the arrangements!"

Everyone agreed.

Soon, smoke from cooking fires rose from the Yangzhou military camp, even larger than that in Luoyang city.

In terms of appetite, every soldier in the Yangzhou Army is a big eater with an amazing appetite. The cooks also work extremely hard, as they are all muscular men.

There's no way. People who are weak or fat can't do such heavy work.

Therefore, there is an unwritten rule in the Yangzhou army that as long as the cooks pass the selection, they will become the main force.

Jinmao even had the idea of ​​setting up a cooking camp, but unfortunately he didn't have time to implement it.

Even so, the cooks are no longer just menial soldiers. If they are willing to join the battle, they can immediately become the main elite force.

As a result, an interesting phenomenon occurred in the Yangzhou army: often the soldiers in the main camp could not beat the cooks.

There is a joke circulating among the Yangzhou army: "The final fate of the elite is to be a cook!"

Xu Shi.

Guo Si led his army out of the west gate, while Li Jue led his army out of the south gate.

In order not to alert the enemy, the two groups of people did not light torches and moved extremely carefully.

Guo Si's marching route was to advance head-on, which was very consistent with his temperament.

On the surface, Guo Si seemed to be a straightforward and rough man, but in fact, Guo Si had many clever tricks.

Beneath the brave and fearless appearance, there is a cunning heart.

Li Jue was different. He was consistent in his words and deeds, a brave and resourceful general.

Therefore, Li Jue chose to take another path.

It goes southwest along the Luo River until it reaches the Qinling Mountains and then heads north.

Li Jue was certain that there would be no ambush by the Yangzhou army in the hills on the east side of the Qinling Mountains.

According to the total number of 70,000, there are 10,000 at Mengjin Pass, and 20,000 elite troops blocking the road. In addition, the four southern passes of Luoyang need to be guarded, so at least another 20,000 people must be removed!
The remaining 20,000 people must be used as a mobile force to prevent this big fish from escaping.

In fact, Li Jue's guess was correct.

However, the number was estimated wrongly.

There are still 60,000 Yangzhou troops left on the battlefield. Excluding the 50,000 above, there are still 10,000 to guard Luyang County. There is no mobile force at all.

The military forces displayed on the surface are all the military forces.

Haishi.

Guo Si and his men had already reached five miles outside the Yangzhou military camp, and the bright firelight was like a guiding light, pointing the way.

"He is quite skilled!" Guo Si cursed inwardly, knowing that his intention had been discovered. Otherwise, the Yangzhou army would not have gone to such great lengths to set up so many lighting devices.

This is to prevent him from sneaking into the camp!

Guo Si ordered the entire army to rest for half an hour before launching a night attack, in fact, to wait for Li Jue to lead his troops to join him.

Even if the Yangzhou army was prepared, Guo Si believed that with the combined strength of his and Li Jue's troops, a part of them would be able to break out by surprise.

At that time, whether to return to support or run away directly, the initiative will be in their hands.

But no matter how long they waited, there was no sign of Li Jue.

Guo Si was immediately annoyed: "Where did Li Jue go?!"

"When I return to Luoyang, I will report him to the general!"

The opportunity for battle had passed. Without Li Jue's cooperation, Guo Si had no confidence in breaking through the 20,000-strong Yangzhou army that was well prepared.

Unless he has 5,000 elite cavalry, that would be enough.

Unfortunately, when Dong Zhuo left, in order to preserve his strength, he only left one thousand elite cavalrymen to Xu Rong, and the other one thousand cavalrymen were all miscellaneous soldiers gathered from the battlefield.

Of course, the infantry under Xu Rong were indeed the elite of the Xiliang Army, because in Dong Zhuo's eyes, only the cavalry were the real elite.

If the infantry is gone, you can recruit and train new ones, but if the cavalry is gone, it is gone too. It will take three to five years to train an elite cavalry.

Just as Guo Si turned around and wanted to escape, he was surprised to find that the Yangzhou army also appeared behind him.

"Horse riding!"

"How did it get exposed?"

Seeing the fire dragon formed by torches rushing towards him from the northeast, Guo Si was certain that it was definitely not the Western Liang army.

Night attacks require suddenness. Marching so blatantly are you afraid that the enemy won't notice, right?

Therefore, the person coming is an enemy, not a friend!
...

Time goes back to before dark.

Meng Jinguan.

Zhou Tai received a reply from Jia Xu, who allowed him to act as he saw fit and decide whether to attack or defend.

Given enough autonomy.

Jia Xu is different from Jin Mao. The Xiliang Army itself is not as strict as the Yangzhou Army and emphasizes freedom and autonomy.

Fighting a war depends entirely on the wisdom and ability of each general. Dong Zhuo is just a mascot who issues orders and only looks at the results. He will not personally take part in command.

Unlike Jinmao, every major event must be taken care of for fear of any mistake.

Therefore, Jia Xu, who was in charge of military affairs, felt that this was a perfectly normal order.

Moreover, Jia Xu had a deep understanding of Zhou Tai from internal intelligence and knew that his character would not be as reckless as Zhang Fei.

To put it bluntly, in Jia Xu's eyes, Zhou Tai was too rigid. He strictly abided by military regulations and would not make the slightest mistake.

When Zhou Tai received the order, he was completely confused. This was the first time he was given the greatest autonomy, and he was a little uncomfortable.

How do I describe my mood?

There was a little joy, but more of panic.

This was an experience he had never had before. What if it went wrong?
Fortunately, Sun Ce is here.

As if seeing through Zhou Tai's situation, Sun Ce applied to go into battle as soon as Zhou Tai received the order from his ministers.

"Commander-in-chief, this is the best opportunity!"

"There are a lot of military achievements right before your eyes. What are you hesitating about?"

Mengjin Pass is closer to Luoyang, so the large amount of smoke from cooking fires naturally could not escape the eyes of Sun Ce, who was eager to fight.

As the defenders, why do we have to cook so much rice?

Intelligence from the front line has been reported back that Dong Zhuo took away a large amount of food and supplies, and there is very little left in Luoyang City, no more than one month's supply.

If they didn't break out, the defenders in the city would be accelerating their suicide!

As long as the food and grass are exhausted, the defenders in the city will only have two options: surrender or die!
Zhou Tai still had that poker face, and said seriously and earnestly: "As long as we can defend Mengjin Pass, it will be a great achievement. Why do we need to take risks?"

Sun Ce was so disappointed with the other party that if his status was not lower than the other party, he really wanted to whip him a few times to see if he would move.

"You have indeed done a great deed!"

A higher-ranking official can crush a person to death, not to mention that Zhou Tai was many ranks higher than Sun Ce.

So, Sun Ce suddenly had an idea and persuaded him: "But have you ever thought about the soldiers?"

"They also need military merits. Whether it's promotion or rewards, they are all things that the soldiers urgently need!"

"Is it really enough for the soldiers to defend Mengjin Pass?"

Zhou Tai's face changed slightly. He understood this principle, but he was more afraid of making a mistake and losing the opportunity he had worked so hard to get.

The position of the governor is not easy to get. The only ones who can be compared to it are the captains of the main camps and the higher-ranking naval governors and the commanders of the personal guards.

The Yangzhou army has no more than ten people in total!
The status of military advisors is transcendent, but not high. Generals like Zhou Tai fear them more than they fear the lords behind them.

Zhou Tai understands very well that his current abilities are limited. Even if there is a better future in the future, he cannot be arrogant.

"What Bofu said makes sense."

Zhou Tai stood up and said, "But can you guarantee that you can lead the soldiers to victory?"

Sun Ce's face lit up with joy, and he clasped his fists and said, "I dare to issue a military order!"

"If I fail to accomplish my mission, please chop off my head!"

Since Sun Ce said so, Zhou Tai was not one to drag his feet and shouted, "Okay!"

"I have five thousand elite soldiers with me. I hope you will keep your promise!"

Sun Ce was overjoyed and bowed, "I will definitely live up to the governor's expectations!"

After saying this, Sun Ce took Zhou Tai's orders and went down to prepare.

Sure enough, there were countless soldiers in the Huaihe River Navy who were eager for military merit.

For a time, they almost fought for a spot on the battlefield.

"It's really a group of tigers and wolves!"

Sun Ce was selecting while thinking.

If he had had such elite troops under his command, what would have happened in the Battle of Jiujiang?
With a beautiful vision in mind, Sun Ce came to Duoju's tent to ask Zu Mao and Han Dang to come out and help.

The two of them would not refuse.

But Han Dang was still upset, and instigated Sun Ce to take the opportunity to lead his troops and establish his own regime.

"Uncle Han!"

Sun Ce said righteously: "For the sake of my late father, I will pretend that I didn't hear such remarks. I hope you won't say them again in the future!"

"Humph!" Han Dang snorted coldly, "The son is not like the father!"

"If my lord were still alive, I would never submit to anyone else!"

Sun Ce's face darkened and he took a deep breath and said, "My late father is my late father! I am me!"

“We’re taking different paths!”

Then, Sun Ce stared into Han Dang's eyes and said in a deep voice: "Uncle Han, if you feel uncomfortable staying under the lord's command, then after helping me this time, I will ask the lord to set you free!"

Han Dang said in a muffled voice: "I don't have such an idea."

Sun Ce's expression eased a little: "In fact, the lord is not a narrow-minded person. Uncle Han wants to seek a future, and the Yangzhou Army is a good destination!"

Han Dang just said "hmm" and said no more.

(End of this chapter)