Rejuvenation of the Han Dynasty in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 227

Liu He crossed Hebei from Chenggao, and after a short rest in Wen County, he sent his troops straight to Heyang.

At this time, Hanoi and Hedong were not stable either. In October last year, Guo Tai, the Baibo bandit of Xihe County, led an army to attack Hedong County. Dong Zhuo sent Niu Fu to lead his troops to attack, but was defeated by the Baibo army. The entire northern part of Hedong County was occupied by bandits. .

After the various tribes of the Huns rebelled, from Jinyang to Hanoi, and all parts of Bingzhou were plundered by the Huns. After the Xiongnu Shanyu Fuluo challenged Dong in the alliance of princes, he sent envoys to join the alliance with Yuan Shao, temporarily stationed in Xiuwu, and harassed the people. The people are miserable.

Liu He led his troops to Heyang County. There were only [-] defenders in the city. The defender was Wang Kuang who was in charge of Han Hao. When he heard that Liu He's army was coming, he hurried into the city.

When Liu He asked about the military situation, Han Hao sighed helplessly: "I am ashamed to say that I fell into the plan of the Xiliang army to attack the east and attack the west, and I lost the entrustment of the king, prefect and leader."

It turned out that Li Ru sent Li Meng, a general from Xiliang, to attack Pingyin. Han Hao mistook that the enemy would cross the river from Pingyin County and led his troops to defend the river bank. Unexpectedly, Li Meng led his elite to cross the river from Xiaopingjin and went around to attack in the rear. Ma was defeated, so he could only summon the remnant army and the bravery of the village to defend Heyang to the death.

This Han Hao was also from Hanoi. He once gathered the people to defend the township and county, and was recruited by Wang Kuang as an officer. Dong Zhuo had arrested Han Hao's uncle and threatened him to join him. Han Hao refused.

Liu He saw that he was a bit inferior in commanding troops and planning, but he liked him very much, because Han Hao was one of the initiators of Cao Cao's farming system. He was not good at leading troops, but he was a small farmer. is an indispensable talent.

Knowing about the military situation with Han Hao, he asked him to join the army and fight against Dong Zhuo together. Han Hao was worried that he had nowhere to go, so he readily agreed.

Liu Heyan said: "Li Meng occupied Pingyin, but he didn't come to march. Obviously, he wanted to defend Luoyang and prevent us from attacking Mengjin."

Han Hao nodded and said, "The Xiliang Army has nearly [-] troops stationed here. They are all elites, and they may be difficult to deal with."

Zhang Fei laughed and said, "Famous generals like Hua Xiong, Zhang Xiu, and Lu Bu were all defeated by General Liu, let alone little Li Meng? If I go alone, I can take down Pingyinjin."

Liu He took the opportunity to say to the generals: "We are far away from Youzhou, and we only have [-] soldiers and horses. Now that we are traveling alone in the Central Plains, we must know how to be considerate to the soldiers, not to make unnecessary sacrifices, and not to show personal bravery unless it is absolutely necessary. "

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Zhang Fei was only talking about it for a while, so he quickly bowed and apologized.

Liu Heyan said: "For the commander-in-chief of the three armies, bravery is of course important, but rigidity is easy to break, and when there is cowardice, you can't just rely on courage. For a general, courage is the foundation and wisdom is the only way to become a leader." Shuai Cai, if he only knows Ren Yong, he is just a man, how is he different from Lu Bu?"

Zhang Fei waved his hand, retreated to Guan Yu's side, and said in a low voice, "I don't want to compare myself with the slaves of the three surnames."

Guan Yu stroked his beard and nodded slightly, his eyes thoughtful. He had realized a few days ago, and after Liu He's admonition, he had gradually grasped the mystery of being a handsome man.

Zhang He clasped his fists and said, "General, Pingyin's troops are comparable to ours, how should we fight?"

Liu He said with a smile: "To defeat Li Meng, Captain Han needs to go out in person."

Han Hao was taken aback when he heard the words, shook his head and laughed, "The general made fun of it. It's not because he underestimated himself. The Xiliang army is elite, and half of the defenders in Heyang are civilians. How can we fight against them?"

Liu Heyan said: "The Xiliang army is nearly ten thousand, it is not appropriate to face the enemy head-on, and we should use tactics to eliminate them."

Han Hao had long heard that Liu He was good at using troops, and asked, "The general plans to make sure?"

Liu He spread out the map drawn by Han Hao, and found that this location should be near Xiaolangdi in later generations, but the Yellow River has changed its course many times over hundreds of years, and the terrain may have been quite different.

Pointing in the direction of Pingyinjin and Heyang, he asked, "There are no details of the terrain in this area. Are there bridge decks and mountain roads available?"

Han Hao had been familiar with this place for a long time, nodded and said: "About ten miles away from the bank of Pingyin River, there is a stone bridge called Bali Bridge, surrounded by dense water, which can stop the enemy."

Liu He asked Han Hao to draw a simple topographical map, and then ordered: "I want to use the strategy of luring the enemy, and I have to ask Captain Han to lead the defenders in the city to Pingyin for revenge."

Han Hao already understood, clasped his fists and said, "Obey."

Liu He also ordered Zhang Yun and Yu Jin to lead two thousand troops each to the Bali Bridge under the leadership of their guides, and divide their troops to lie in ambush on both sides of the bridgehead, waiting for the Xiliang army.

Later, Zhu Ling was ordered to lead the troops to carry the luggage, and on the way to the north of the bridge, Guan Zhang led the army to respond, while Xu Rong stayed in Heyang, in case there were some experts in the Xiliang army who came to attack.

The men and horses came to the vicinity of the Bali Bridge, and each of them hid well. After a while, Han Hao led the remnant soldiers back in embarrassment.
The Xiliang cavalry rushed across the Bali Bridge. Seeing the soldiers abandoning their weapons and armour, there were many weapons and supplies on the road. The troops led by Han Hao fled into the swamp and dense forest in a hurry.

The Xiliang army was all interested in profit, since they came to the Central Plains, they looted and burned everywhere, no different from those bandit troops, they had already become greedy, and they all went forward to fight, and the team was in chaos.

At this moment, there was a sound of drumming from the rear, and Zhang Yun and Yu Jin's armies rushed out, and they were killed instantly. The two led the troops to guard the bridgehead, and when Guan Zhang's army came, how could the Xiliang army resist it.

Seeing that the situation was not going well, Li Meng led his soldiers to forcefully rush to the bridge, trying to escape in a bloody way, but Zhang He stopped him and engaged him. Before they could get close, he was stabbed under the horse with a spear.

The Xiliang army was attacked on three sides, and when Li Meng died, there was even more chaos. There were pursuers in front, and the rear was cut off. Ignoring the danger of the swamp, they scattered and ran for their lives. Horses were stuck in the mud, and people were still struggling, and they were shot to death by random arrows.

"Surrender without killing!" Zhang Yun held the bridgehead and ordered people to yell to persuade them to surrender, but at this time, the enemy soldiers in the distance couldn't hear them.

Seeing that the bridge was impossible to cross and the swamp was very dangerous, the rest of the Xiliang army simply backed away a few steps, lightly lifted the reins, and urged their horses to jump into the river, trying to escape from the river.

In an instant, people and horses jumped up from the bank of the river like dumplings, and plunged into the river. Many Xiliang soldiers were not good at water, so they were directly sucked into the bottom of the waves and drowned with the water.

Even if some could swim, there were still archers shooting arrows on the shore, who were helpless in the water, and most of them were killed.

Seeing many enemy troops kneeling at the bridgehead, Zhang He immediately led his troops across the Bali Bridge, and headed straight for Pingyinjin Ferry with Zhu Ling.

Li Meng sent troops to chase the enemy and was killed. The defenders didn't know about it. Zhang Yun rushed into the village and charged back and forth. The Xiliang army was in complete chaos.

In only half a day, Liu He had already led his troops to occupy Pingyinjin, and took more than [-] prisoners from the Xiliang Army, all of whom were detained in the back camp. Yes, it can just solve the military ration problem.

That night, Liu He sent an order to celebrate his victory, and sent people to the other side to inquire about Luoyang news. The scouts reported that Dong Zhuo had burned Luoyang and moved the emperor to Chang'an.

Guan Yu and the others were startled and angry, and Han Hao sighed helplessly. After a hard battle, it was meaningless to seize Pingyinjin.

(End of this chapter)