Chapter 41: The Xiliang Army was defeated, and the five schools of the Northern Army took control of the situation!

Frontline battlefield.

"Mr. Xu's chain of plans succeeded. Lu Bu, the brave but foolish fellow, was indeed lured to the infantry battalion and is now besieging Zhang Liao. With the bravery of the Bingzhou army, the five schools of the Northern Army will surely be attacked from all sides."

Niu Fu received the intelligence and was overjoyed: "Should we increase our offensive?"

Generals such as Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou also had happy expressions on their faces, but they were even more wary of Yuan's power.

This series of plots would not have been so seamless if it weren't for the help of Song Xian and Hou Cheng under Lu Bu. Yuan's factions were really intertwined.

"With a fire in the backyard, not only will the food and fodder logistics be cut off, but there is also the risk of being attacked from both sides. The five schools of the Northern Army will definitely send troops back to rescue."

Xu You smiled confidently and said, "Even the five schools of the Northern Army will retreat, shrink their defenses, and go back to support the rear! At that time, we will seize the opportunity to pursue the victory and defeat the five schools of the Northern Army in one fell swoop!"

Sure enough, not long after, the offensive of the five schools of the Northern Army weakened. The Western Liang Army made a little test and found out their true strength. The five schools of the Northern Army chose to split up their troops to support the rear defense and relieve Zhang Liao.

Originally, Qin Qiong led more than 10,000 soldiers from the five schools of the Northern Army, and more than 2,000 Black Armored Army participated in the battle. The traitor Wang Fang and Xu Rong's nearly 10,000 Western Liang troops, as well as hundreds of Jinyiwei, also participated.

But now, only Qin Qiong was left with more than 10,000 soldiers from the five schools of the Northern Army, struggling to hold on at the front line. The Western Liang Army had more than 50,000 soldiers, and a single spit from each of them could drown them!
The Xiliang Army immediately intensified its offensive, and the five schools of the Northern Army were defeated and gradually retreated.

……

The five headquarters of the Northern Army.

"General, the counselor of the Xiliang army is Xu You from Nanyang. He is resourceful, but greedy and arrogant. We can retreat to advance and lure the enemy deeper.

"Even if our strategic intentions are discovered, given Xu You's greed and Lu Bu's troops surrounding our rear defense, they will definitely take advantage of our strategy."

Jia Xu gave Qin Qiong some advice.

After a brief test fight, he had already figured out the temperament and methods of this strategist of the Xiliang Army.

Moreover, after investigation by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they learned that this person was Xu You from Nanyang. They were able to gain insight into the opponent's psychological activities and formulate appropriate strategies for the current situation.

After hearing this, Qin Qiong acted according to the plan.

After this period of contact and in-depth understanding, they also developed trust and recognition in Jia Xu's abilities.

As a counselor, Jia Xu made strategic deployments, but the execution of retreating to advance and luring the enemy deep into the territory required Qin Qiong and other generals to take charge.

How to retreat? How to lure the enemy deep into our territory? Where to ambush? How to counterattack? And so on! All these tactical arrangements need to be perfected and executed by these soldiers.

In this way, the five schools of the Northern Army, under the command of Qin Qiong and Xu Rong, pretended to be defeated and retreated again and again.

……

Xu You easily saw through the Northern Army's five schools' strategy of retreating to advance and luring the enemy deep into their territory.

“I have to say, General Qin Qiong is indeed a capable and skilled warrior!
"After sending troops back to the rear to relieve Lu Bu's siege, they only had more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, but they were able to hold out against our army of more than 50,000, fighting and retreating. The five schools of the Northern Army have not yet been defeated.

"For this reason alone, Qin Qiong is worthy of being ranked among the top ten generals of the Han Dynasty, or even among the top three!"

Xu You listened to the report of the messenger and quickly discovered the strategic activities of the five schools of the Northern Army through geomancy maps and intelligence analysis.

"Mr. Xu, since the enemy is retreating to advance, how can we break the situation? Should we give up the pursuit? Should we avoid being ambushed?"

With the support of Li Jue, Niu Fu became the new leader of the Western Liang Army and served as the commander-in-chief of the central army. Therefore, he did not participate in the battle on the front line like Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and other generals.

"Give up? Of course not!"

Xu You shook his head and said:

"Lü Bu led the Bingzhou Army to encircle the rear of the five schools of the Northern Army and surrounded Zhang Liao's infantry battalion. Given the bravery of Lü Bu and the Bingzhou Army, even if the five schools of the Northern Army sent troops to support them, it would be difficult to suppress Lü Bu and his men in a short period of time.

"If Lu Bu knew that Diao Chan was dead, he would definitely launch a frantic attack. Diao Chan was a powerful general who could defeat ten thousand enemies and was the most powerful general in the world. If he attacked from behind, Qin Qiong and other frontline troops would be attacked from both sides, and their morale would be shaken.

"We should take advantage of this opportunity to turn the tables and try to inflict heavy damage on the five schools of the Northern Army, especially the Black Armor Army. If we can cause them to lose many soldiers or even be completely wiped out, that would be the biggest gain of this battle."

After Xu You's analysis, the generals of the Xiliang Army felt that it made sense and decided to take advantage of the situation and take the initiative to join the game.

Of course, the generals of the Xiliang Army kept sending scouts out to explore, trying their best to avoid enemy ambush points.

They are taking advantage of the enemy's strategy and actively joining the game, but they are not seeking death. If they find an enemy ambush point, they must be prepared in advance, otherwise they will be capsized in the ditch.

……

Qin Qiong retreated again and again, deliberately setting up three ambush points that were discovered by the Western Liang Army, and pretending to be defeated and having to give up, in order to boost the pride of the Western Liang Army and further magnify Xu You's arrogant character.

When they finally retreated to the Pingfeng Mountain area, Jia Xu felt that he could lead his troops to counterattack.

Beimang Mountain lies on the north side of Luoyang and is a branch of Xiao Mountain. It has 33 peaks, including Pingfeng Mountain, Gucheng Mountain, Yisu Mountain, Cuiyun Peak, Shouyang Mountain, etc., which are lined up from west to east.

Although the terrain here is flat and the highest altitude is about 250 meters, there are many ambush points.

Qin Qiong also thought that the best place to set up an ambush in the Pingfeng Mountain area was to counterattack the Xiliang Army. But at this time, the intelligence from the rear decided that they should increase their offensive and severely damage the Xiliang Army.

"Lü Bu's Bingzhou Wolf Riders were actually slaughtered by Li Siye's Mo Dao Troops?" Qin Qiong was a little bit unbelievable when he received this information. "Infantry against cavalry? And they won a great victory in the end?!"

This is completely beyond military common sense and is simply impossible to happen.

Even when infantry was fighting cavalry in the past, they relied on cover, terrain, chevaux de frise, sword and shield formations and other defensive offensives to counterattack.

But Li Siye's 3,000 Modao troops actually faced Lü Bu's 3,000 Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, and slaughtered them almost to annihilation in the flat plains? !
This information was shocking and extremely important. It was brought to the front line by the Embroidered Uniform Guards at full speed.

After being shocked, Qin Qiong and other generals were actually overjoyed!
Jia Xu thought for a moment and said, "This news will surely inspire the people and shake the enemy's morale. We can set up an ambush and counterattack, and confuse them, and we will surely inflict heavy damage."

They immediately deployed their troops, eliminated the enemy's scouts, and lured the enemy deep into their territory.

Jia Xu designed and deliberately spread some rumors.

What about Lu Bu being defeated, what about Lu Bu defeating Zhang Liao's troops, what about Lu Bu outflanking Qin Qiong and other troops from behind, what about Lu Bu being defeated again...

True and false, false and true!
These rumors were spread by word of mouth, or by spies, or deliberately heard by the Xiliang army, or accidentally spread back by Xiliang army prisoners who escaped...

The purpose is to confuse the Xiliang Army’s intelligence system!

After the spread of such rumors, which were difficult to distinguish between true and false, even if the Xiliang Army received news that "Lü Bu was defeated by Li Siye" or "Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry was defeated by the Modao Team", they would not believe it completely, but would conduct a careful investigation, which would take a lot of time.

This is how the time difference tactic was formed!
...

The news that was difficult to distinguish between true and false, deliberately spread by the five schools of the Northern Army, indeed had an impact on the intelligence system of the Western Liang Army.

It is impossible to tell whether the ambush set by Qin Qiong and other generals at Pingfeng Mountain is true or false.

but!

Xu You analyzed the intelligence from the scouts and calculated the withdrawal speed of Qin Qiong and other generals, and found that their pace suddenly slowed down after they arrived near Pingfeng Mountain.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation!
Xu You deduced that there must be a trap near Pingfeng Mountain and the enemy was likely to set an ambush there.

Xu You decided to take advantage of the situation and encircle and annihilate Qin Qiong's front-line troops!
Xu You ordered the Xiliang army to "continue to advance" and at the same time sent people to the rear to spread the news that "Diao Chan is dead."

The purpose was to stimulate the brave but foolish Lu Bu, so that he would break through Zhang Liao's camp at all costs and delay the five schools of the Northern Army.

It would be even better if Lu Bu could madly outflank Qin Qiong and other troops and retaliate against the five schools of the Northern Army.

But Xu You didn't hold much hope!
As long as Lu Bu and the Bingzhou Army can hold back Zhang Liao's troops and Wang Fang's nearly 10,000 Xiliang troops who are rushing back to support him, Xu You will be able to encircle and annihilate Qin Qiong and other generals' front-line troops.

Here, Xu You had actually misjudged the situation in the rear.

At this time, Lu Bu had been defeated by Li Siye, and the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry was almost wiped out by the Modao Team. "Diao Chan" suddenly came back to life and showed affection to Lu Bu, pointing her spearhead at the Xiliang Army.

Lu Bu even decided to lead the Bingzhou Army to join forces with the five schools of the Northern Army to take revenge on the culprit, the Xiliang Army!

On the battlefield, things change rapidly.

However, Xu You did not have a God's perspective and could not see the specific situation behind. And as Jia Xu's rumors spread, the intelligence was true and false, false and true, and it was difficult to distinguish the true from the false.

After Xu You misjudged the situation in the rear, the strategic deployment and tactical direction of the Western Liang Army were wrong from the very beginning.

...

The Xiliang army continued to advance.

More than 50,000 Xiliang troops were divided into three armies: front, middle and rear, with more than 10,000 soldiers in each army. Each army was further divided into several parts, and each part successively encircled and chased Qin Qiong and other troops.

Even if it was an ambush, Qin Qiong, leading more than 10,000 Northern Army soldiers from five battalions, would not be able to defeat the entire Western Liang Army. They set their target on the Western Liang Army's vanguard.

The vanguard of the Western Liang Army was commanded by Zhang Ji. The vanguard's duties were to conduct reconnaissance, serve as vanguards, and scouts. Xu You also formulated a strategy of "continue to go deeper". Even though they knew there might be an ambush, they still ran headfirst into the ambush circle.

A battle broke out here between Zhang Ji, Qin Qiong and other generals.

This battle was extremely brutal!!!

Zhang Ji, the commander, was accidentally hit by an arrow and died of excessive bleeding due to inadequate rescue. The vanguard of the Xiliang Army suffered heavy losses, with more than half of the nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses killed.

In this battle, Qin Qiong led more than 10,000 soldiers from the five schools of the Northern Army and undoubtedly won the ambush.

however!
The Western Liang Army implemented Xu You's strategy of "continue to advance", and follow-up troops successively encircled and blocked Qin Qiong and his men in the Pingfeng Mountain area.

The Xiliang army took advantage of the loss of the vanguard troops to encircle and block Qin Qiong and other generals, making it impossible for them to escape. …

"Alas, although we finally surrounded Qin Qiong and the other generals, it's a pity that Zhang Ji was killed in the ambush, and the vanguard troops lost more than half of their 5,000 or 6,000 soldiers!"

After hearing the intelligence, Niu Fu felt a little sorry for the death of his comrades. Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and other generals also looked a little solemn.

Xu You said without changing his expression:
"General Zhang's death is very meaningful, because his delay allowed us to outflank Qin Qiong's army, and even the Black Armor Army was blocked in the Pingfeng Mountain area! As long as we manage to encircle and annihilate Qin Qiong and other generals, it will be considered revenge for General Zhang!"

The generals of the Xiliang Army nodded.

At this time, Zhang Ji's nephew Zhang Xiu led his troops to the commander's tent. He ignored the guards' obstruction and broke in directly, angrily scolding Niu Fu and other generals:

"You deliberately used my uncle as bait and caused him to die in battle at Pingfeng Mountain. Do you really think I can't see it?"

"Shut up, you have no right to talk here?!"

Niu Fu felt that his authority was challenged and immediately scolded Zhang Xiu, the brat.

If it weren't for Zhang Ji's face, he would have been kicked out long ago.

Zhang Xiu was not afraid and said in a deep voice:

"My uncle is blind and follows you heartless guys. You all know that the enemy is lying in ambush at Pingfeng Mountain, so why don't you lead your troops to advance quickly? Do you have to wait until my uncle dies in battle before you form an encirclement?"

"The battlefield is changing rapidly. Who can guarantee to have a comprehensive understanding of the overall situation? Zhang Ji's death was also an accident!"

Niu Fu said in a deep voice:
"Qin Qiong and Xu Rong are both good fighters, especially the traitor Xu Rong, who is very familiar with the tactics and formations of our Xiliang Army. There are also Xuanjia Army interspersed among them, trying to break through the blockade.

"We were also delayed, so Zhang Ji was sacrificed. After this battle, we will commend Zhang Ji. He is the first to make contributions, and you will inherit the title and salary!"

This time, Niu Fu and the others really didn't intend to kill Zhang Ji. At this point, they were already strategic allies, so there was no need to weaken their own forces at such a critical moment.

"I do not care!!!"

Zhang Xiu spat, which immediately made the generals feel embarrassed. But considering that Zhang Ji had just died in battle, his nephew's emotions were understandable, so the generals could only hold back for the time being and not argue with the young boy.

Niu Fu said in a deep voice: "In this battle, we encircled and annihilated Qin Qiong and other generals. Zhang Ji should be credited with the greatest merit. Do you have any objection?"

"no!"

Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and other generals nodded. In fact, they were somewhat moved by the scene and felt sad about the death of their comrades.

"Mr. Xu, I hope the Yuan family can find a way to confer the title of nobility on Zhang Ji, and have Zhang Xiu inherit the throne." Niu Fu treated his brothers with all his heart.

Xu You nodded and said, "Don't worry! As long as we can get His Majesty to revoke his order and the whole family of Taifu is spared, then being conferred a title of nobility is a piece of cake!"

Niu Fu felt relieved then and hoped that Zhang Ji’s spirit in heaven could rest in peace!

When they were preparing to intensify their offensive and launch a siege against Qin Qiong and other generals who were trapped, a messenger suddenly came in a hurry and brought a message:
"General, there is news that Lü Bu and his Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry were defeated by Li Siye's infantry, and almost the entire army was wiped out!"

"What?!!!"

The generals of the Xiliang Army were immediately shocked and confused, and could not believe it.

Is this another rumor spread by the enemy? Or is it a real battle? But it's too unbelievable, isn't it?!
"This must be another rumor deliberately spread by the enemy! What about Lu Bu's defeat, Lu Bu's defeat of Zhang Liao, Lu Bu's encirclement of Qin Qiong's frontline troops, Lu Bu's alliance with the five schools of the Northern Army, is just to disrupt our military morale!"

Xu You once again predicted the situation and misjudged it again. He said:

"To use infantry against cavalry, or to face the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry led by Lü Bu, or to annihilate them all in a flat plain, is this possible? Does this make sense?"

"It's indeed unlikely!" Niu Fu nodded.

This is also the idea of ​​the generals of the Xiliang Army.

"The enemy is surrounded by us and can't escape. Now they have nowhere to go, so they deliberately spread this rumor in an attempt to disrupt our morale and open a breakthrough to break out of the encirclement."

Xu You smiled confidently:
"It's just a petty trick! I saw through the conspiracy at a glance! You can fool others, but it's wishful thinking to fool me and Xu You! Don't worry, continue to intensify the offensive!"

"We listen to Mr. Xu!"

Niu Fu and other generals hesitated and looked at each other. Due to their preconceived impression of Xu You's past brilliant strategy and the absurdity of using infantry against cavalry, they finally nodded and continued to intensify their offensive.

Xu You sneered and said, "The more this is the case, the more desperate the enemy is!"

The Xiliang army continued to intensify its offensive and was completely trapped in the Pingfengshan battlefield.

In Xu You's opinion, they had already won a great victory in today's battle.

They caused chaos in the capital and robbed the people under the pretext of burning food and fodder and tracking down the murderer. After arousing public indignation, they forced the five schools of the Northern Army to join the war, attempting to make the capital unstable through civil war.

This was also a preparation for Yuan Shao's "forged edict to purge the court" and "the princes' attack on the capital".

Xu You originally just wanted to cause chaos in the capital, but he didn't expect the war to go so smoothly.

Lu Bu, a brave but foolish fellow, would go crazy and attack Zhang Liao's troops of the Northern Army's Five Schools just because of a woman.

Because Lü Bu led the Bingzhou Army to attack, the Qin Qiong troops on the front had to split up and return to the rear to avoid a fire in the backyard and being attacked from all sides. This gave the Xiliang Army the opportunity to encircle and annihilate Qin Qiong and other front-line troops.

Speaking of which, they should also thank Lu Bu!

"After the annihilation of the five schools of the Northern Army, your Majesty's military strength has been weakened. The princes are besieging the capital and entering the capital to purge the emperor. Your Majesty will find it difficult to resist. This will force your Majesty to carefully consider the consequences of killing Yuan Wei's entire family!"

Xu You analyzed and deduced in his mind, thinking of the embarrassing situation that His Majesty had to hold his nose and withdraw his order in the hope that the princes would withdraw their troops, and he laughed:

"The world situation has changed because of my plan!!!"

Just as he was laughing in triumph, a messenger suddenly came in a hurry to report: "Report - Wang Fang led nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses to return, and Lu Bu led tens of thousands of Bingzhou troops to accompany them. They are less than 30 miles away from our army."

"Um?!"

After hearing this, Xu You was a little bit incredulous for a moment.

"Mr. Xu, how come Lu Bu teamed up with 'Wang Fang' and others to fight back?!" Niu Fu was also shocked.

Xu You looked at the messenger in doubt and wonder: "Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"This……"

The messenger shook his head and said, "The scouts only spread the news by word of mouth, but they didn't see it with their own eyes!"

"Fake!!!"

Xu You analyzed:
"It must be a rumor to disrupt the morale of the army. The scout who delivered the message may be a spy of the enemy, or even a disguised Jinyiwei, trying to make us temporarily withdraw our troops and shrink our defense line, creating an opportunity for Qin Qiong and his men to break through. Don't believe it!"

But the generals of the Xiliang Army were still a little worried!
"Mr. Xu, why don't we send our trusted spies to investigate carefully. If it is true, we can prepare in advance!"

Niu Fu suggested.

"Diao Chan is dead. This was done by your Xiliang Army. If Lu Bu didn't slaughter the five armies of the Northern Army because of his concubine's death, even if he had a change of heart, would he still join forces with the five armies of the Northern Army?"

Xu You said confidently: "It must be that Qin Qiong and other generals could not hold on any longer and deliberately spread rumors. Don't worry!
Of course, sending spies to investigate is also a good precaution and a safer option. Remember! This time, you need to send spies who are trustworthy to avoid being taken advantage of by the enemy's spies!"

"it is good!!!"

Niu Fu and other generals would immediately send trusted spies out to confirm, but it took a long time for them to go back and forth, and they also had to guard against the enemy's attack on the scouts, so time was obviously wasted.

When Niu Fu's personal soldiers and spies returned, Wang Fang and Lu Bu had already led their troops to ten miles behind them.

"General, it's really Lü Bu and Wang Fang who are joining forces to attack us. We saw the flags! We saw the tall and strong Lü Bu and Wang Fang leading the way! They are less than ten miles away from our army!!!"

"What?!!!"

“This is impossible!!!”

Xu You and the generals of the Xiliang Army were immediately shocked!
Diao Chan was dealt with by the Xiliang Army themselves, and the blame was put on Zhang Liao of the Northern Army's Fifth Infantry Battalion. Given Lü Bu's greedy and lustful nature, how could he join forces with the Northern Army's Five Infantry Battalions after his concubine was killed?

Or...their Xiliang army's serial plot was discovered? !

But no matter what, Wang Fang led nearly 10,000 Xiliang troops to return, and with the help of tens of thousands of Bingzhou troops under Lu Bu, they had to be on guard.

But at this time, Qin Qiong, Xu Rong, Jia Xu and other front-line troops who were besieging Pingfeng Mountain had apparently also received the news. The soldiers who were retreating step by step immediately launched a counterattack, a fearless counterattack that dragged the Xiliang Army on the battlefield of Pingfeng Mountain.

Even within the Xiliang Army, Zhang Ji's nephew Zhang Xiu called on Zhang Ji's old troops to counterattack. Yang Feng and Xu Huang under Li Jue's command turned against him in the battle. The Xiliang Army was immediately trapped inside and outside, and was on the verge of life and death.

By the time Wang Fang and Lu Bu led their troops to attack, the Xiliang army had already lost their composure. Not only could they not unite and fight back, they even started killing each other in the chaos.

Under such circumstances, even the brave and skilled Xiliang soldiers were defeated. Some of the Xiliang generals were killed in battle or captured, and the favorable situation was lost.

The battle lasted for two hours and continued until dusk. When the battlefield was finally cleaned up and the casualties were counted, nearly 20,000 elite soldiers of the Western Liang Army were killed and more than 30,000 were captured. The five schools of the Northern Army completely controlled the Western Liang Army!
"No matter how much I plan, there will always be omissions. God has no mercy on me!"

Xu You was extremely unwilling, but as a military strategist and Yuan Shao's adviser, he was tied up and sent before Qin Qiong and other generals.

However, Xu You held his head high and chest puffed out, showing no fear of death or begging for mercy, which fully demonstrated the character of a scholar. When he saw Qin Qiong, he said confidently:
"You can't kill me!"

……

(End of this chapter)