Rejuvenation of the Han Dynasty in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 158 Take the initiative
Liu He made a plan with Cheng Yu in the city, and was about to send out troops, when he suddenly reported that the rebel army had built a pontoon bridge in Xushui, and the former army had already crossed the river and assembled at Qianqiu Pavilion.

Cheng Yu said: "The thieves have already crossed the river, and they will attack the city soon. Don't let them all cross the river. You can attack them while they are halfway across. This is a good opportunity!"

At this point in the afternoon, Liu He immediately called Guan Zhang and Zhu Ling to discuss matters, and ordered them each to bring two thousand soldiers and horses to prepare, and to go out of the city to kill the enemy at dusk.

The three left under orders, Liu He was also dressed neatly, and asked Cheng Yu to help Guo Dian defend the city, and the four left the north gate and headed straight for Xushui.

The red sun fell to the west mountain, the sun was gradually dimming, and there was an orange light above Xushui. The Black Mountain army was scrambling to cross the river on the pontoon bridge.

Liu Heyuan saw that the bandit army had no formation on his horse, so he immediately ordered Guan Yu to go out from the left, Zhang Fei led an army to outflank from the right, and led the Chinese army and Zhu Ling to attack the center from left to right.

At this time, the two armies were separated by three or four miles, and they could not see clearly in the twilight. It was not until the dust piled up on the road that the bandit army suddenly shouted, shouting and rushing to meet the enemy.

It was Lei Gong and Li Damu, the leaders of the Black Mountain Army who crossed the river first. When they saw the officers and soldiers approaching, they hurriedly prepared their troops to meet the enemy.

Lei Gong called the troops to form a formation hastily in front of the camp. The soldiers were still in a panic, but when they saw a man in white robes and a white horse in front of him, he couldn't help but widen his eyes and exclaimed in surprise: "Liu... Liu He?!"

Liu He urged his horse to come to the front, and the handsome flag was fluttering in the night wind. Seeing Lei Gong, he couldn't help laughing and said, "Hey, isn't this Lei Gong? We meet again."

Lei Gong looked embarrassed, forced himself a smile, and shouted angrily: "Liu He, you are not in Youzhou, what are you doing in Jizhou?"

Liu He said loudly: "You falsely called the Eight Great King Kongs and said that you would come to fight me again, but you fled to Zhongshan. If you didn't come to me, I would have to come to you."

Lei Gong's face turned red, and he said angrily: "Liu He, if you hadn't been treacherous and tricky, how could I have lost the army? Today I will kill you to avenge my dead brother."

In fact, Lei Gong's coming to Changshan was also a helpless move. Originally, he really wanted to ask Zhang Niujiao to send troops to avenge him, but he couldn't agree with the military advisor Guo Daxian.

I didn't expect to meet Liu He here, and thinking of the shame of being captured, I was ashamed and angry, and before I finished speaking, I galloped out on my horse and went straight to Liu He.

Just as Liu He was about to go into battle, Zhu Ling stepped out and said, "There is no need for the general to do anything, just watch me capture and kill this thief."

Zhu Ling galloped out on horseback, and killed Lei Gong together. This Lei Gong had some skills, and after more than ten rounds, there was no winner.

At this time, Guan Zhang had already attacked from the two wings, Guan Yu rode his horse into the bandit army, swiped the green dragon knife left and right, the bandit army couldn't resist at all, as if entering a land without people, they went straight to the bridgehead on the river bank.

On the other side, Zhang Fei was meeting Li Damu. This Li Damu's eyes were indeed huge, bulging out like toads, and looked very permeable in the night.

Zhang Fei suddenly saw it, and shouted loudly: "Huanyan thief, why do your eyes are bigger than mine, please report your name!"

Li Damu looked at the black man with his eyes wide open, and said angrily: "I am one of the Eight Great Vajras of Montenegro, Li Damu, what's your name?"

"Listen, grandpa Zhang Yide is here," Zhang Fei pointed his spear at Li Damu and shouted, "The eyes are so big, damn it!"

As soon as the words fell, he galloped his horse and went straight to Li Damu. Li Damu didn't know how powerful Zhang Fei was, so he stepped forward to meet Zhang Fei, and after fighting, the bronze knife in his hand was blown away.

Li Damu was so frightened that he was caught off guard while screaming. He was stabbed by Zhang Fei with a spear, turned over and fell off his horse and died.

At this time, Lei Gong, who was fighting head-on, couldn't stand it anymore, and within twenty minutes, he was stabbed in the shoulder blade by Zhu Ling.

Liu He immediately led his army to cover up and kill them, and the bandit soldiers who crossed the bank were killed crying and howling, and fled to the other side one after another, huddled together on the bridge, and countless people fell into the water.

Lei Gong fled to the bank in a hurry, and was about to dismount from the bridge, when suddenly a nearby army came up, and the leader of the army was Guan Yu, who was wielding a knife and killing indiscriminately.

Guan Yu rushed for a while, and at this time his momentum was in full swing, his long beard fluttering, and he was as awe-inspiring as a god. Lei Gong was so frightened that he couldn't move, and before he recovered, he was chopped off by Guan Yu's horse.

The rebel army was in complete chaos, fleeing for their lives. Liu He sent people to order those who could not cross the river to surrender. Officers and soldiers chased and killed them along the river bank.

After killing the bandits on the shore, Liu He immediately ordered the soldiers to guard the bridgehead and prepare bows and arrows for defense. Another part of the soldiers demolished the pontoon bridge to prevent the bandits from responding.

Not long after night fell, the river was full of people and dead bodies were floating, the bandit army on the other side finally assembled, and rushed towards the south bank amidst the sound of drums.

Liu He stood on the horse and watched the bandits calmly. After halfway through, he drew his sword and issued an order. The soldiers fired their bows and crossbows at once.

Zhu Ling called the soldiers to speed up the demolition of the bridge, and brought all the tents and timber for the camp, threw them on the bridge surface, set them on fire, and blocked the bandit army's attack.

The thieves shouted on the other side, but they charged several times to no avail. Seeing the fire on the other side, suppressed by bows and arrows, they had no choice but to retreat temporarily to meet the thieves crossing the river, and lit torches on the bank and shouted loudly.

When Liu He saw that the pontoon bridge was broken, he immediately ordered his men to take the prisoners to collect the weapons and equipment on the shore, leaving Guan Zhang to lead the troops, and the rest of the troops escorted the captured thieves back.

When the men and horses came to the city, the common people lined the road to greet them. This battle greatly defeated the bandit army, greatly boosting the morale of the defenders, and the confidence of the common people in the city was also greatly increased. Hundreds of people came to join the army overnight.

Liu He and Guo Dian discussed holding a feast to celebrate their successes, rewarding the three armies, and handing over the first achievements to Cheng Yu. Without his suggestions and plans, everyone would still be training soldiers in the city at this time!

After Guan Zhang returned to the city, the banquet had been set up, and the three armies celebrated with joy, and they respected Cheng Yu even more.

At the banquet, Cheng Yu said: "This time the Heishan army is defeated, Zhang Niujiao will definitely raise a large army to fight, the general should prepare early, if they lose two more battles, the morale of the bandit army will be exhausted, and the city will be safe to defend!"

Liu He said with a smile: "If it weren't for the large number of bandits, I would have led my troops to fight to the other side today. I have all the generals to help me, and I have no fear of bandits when I meet the enemy!"

At this time, suddenly the defenders came to report that Zhongshan reinforcements arrived. Liu He was overjoyed, knowing that Han Dang and Qu Yi must have led the troops, and immediately sent people to welcome them into the city.

Cheng Yu saw two more burly generals coming, he was surprised and said: "I don't think the general's powerful generals are like a cloud, and it is no coincidence that they can cut the yellow scarf and break the black mountain bandits!"

Liu He said with a smile: "Although there are many fierce generals, they seldom strategize. For those who dispatch in front of the battle, they should ask Demou for more help in the future."

Cheng Yu naturally understood what Liu He meant, raised his glass and said: "The general is so sincere, how can I not know the seriousness? Only this half body is left to be driven by the general."

Liu He laughed and asked Guan and Zhang to toast Cheng Yu together, adding another all-rounder with both civil and military skills.

(End of this chapter)