Xiaoqi

After three cups of wine, the three people in the hall couldn't help becoming acquainted, or Xu Huang gradually let go of his restraint, and completely merged into the conversation between Li Li and Zhuge Liang.Because Zhuge Liang and Li Li have always been very close, calm and calm, talking and laughing happily, without being restrained at all.Only Xu Huang seemed not quite used to this kind of occasion, especially in front of Li Li, he couldn't be as calm and calm as Zhuge Liang, and he looked rather flattered.However, he was a forthright and frank person after all, and he let go of the wine cup and wine naturally, and he was no longer as restrained as before, sitting upright and talking with his voice tucked away.

At this moment, Xu Huang's voice was very loud: "The heavy rain for several days has seriously hindered the next battle, and the soldiers can't practice. They can only hide in the camp and wipe their weapons, laughing and chatting. But General Gongsun and General Zilong have already led the army to pursue It's been two days, at least two hundred miles away at this moment, the distance from the army behind me is too great, it's tantamount to going deep alone, isolated and helpless, which is extremely dangerous. What's more, they are on the territory of barbarian tribes In combat, you are neither familiar with the terrain nor have food and supplies; once you are ambushed, the consequences will be disastrous. Therefore, the general recommends sending troops as soon as possible, and marching in a hurry, and strive to catch up with them within three days; otherwise, they will run out of dry food. Encountering a surprise attack by the barbarian army, it is bound to be self-defeating. It is very likely that the entire army will be wiped out."

"Crack the grain!" Before Xu Huang could finish speaking, Li Li suddenly stood up and suddenly realized: "Grain. It turned out to be grain! Since last night, I have been feeling uneasy. I always feel that the [-] cavalry led by Bogui and Zilong There seems to be something wrong, the hidden danger is the most important thing, but I have been unable to figure out where the problem is. Now I finally understand, it turns out that all this is because of the food and grass. They set off too hurriedly, eager to hunt down the barbarian army, and they were all War cavalry. Naturally, it is impossible to carry a large amount of food and grass. These were not a problem at first, as long as I led the army to arrive later, they would not run out of food. But now a heavy rain blocked my follow-up army in the pass, so Bogui and Zilong led The [-]-strong army will not be supplemented with food and grass. In this way, once the food and grass run out, they will surely collapse without fighting. The situation is worrisome." After speaking.Li Li looked solemn, pacing back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back.

It is impossible for Li Li not to be aware of the obvious truth that soldiers and horses go first without moving food and grass, but he just ignored this point, thus breaking the taboo of military strategists.All along, he has always focused his attention on strategy and tactics, taking a comprehensive view of the overall situation.On the one hand, he led the army to fight against the barbarians, and on the other hand, he planned the two major wars in the Central Plains.I was too busy to turn my head.As a result, the layout of the three battlefields of Hebei, Huainan, and Beyond the Great Wall was all in his mind, which made him dare not slack off for a moment. He kept thinking about how to gain the greatest benefit in the three battlefields, repeatedly weighing the pros and cons, and How to dispatch troops and generals.It wasn't until the heavy rain came suddenly that he finally stopped and was able to calm down and sort out the recent wars and future marching strategies.

It was precisely because of the sudden silence in the midst of the battle that Li Li felt a little uneasy in thinking about the entire battle situation. After thinking about it for a long time, he finally pinpointed this uneasiness on the pursuing army led by Gongsun Zan and Zhao Yun.But he racked his brains and couldn't figure out where the problem was, where there was a flaw.For this reason, he thought for a whole day and night, but he still couldn't grasp the key point and couldn't figure it out.

Until this moment, Xu Huang woke up the dreamer with a single word, and Li Li suddenly realized that this mistake was caused by the most basic and well-known problem of food and grass in military strategists.This kind of low-level mistake should not have happened to Li Li, but now the facts are all there. The biggest shortcoming of the chasing army led by Gongsun Zan is food, and this is also the most deadly.

The matter has come to this point, it is useless to worry, the problem has already arisen, and the danger already exists. The plan for now is to face it positively, try to solve the problem, and save unnecessary casualties.Li Li has led the army for many years and encountered various difficulties, so he is not flustered at the moment, but rather calm.

"Kong Ming, how much dry food did Bogui take with him when he led the army?"

After hearing Li Li's words, Zhuge Liang's expression also changed greatly, dense beads of sweat overflowed instantly on his forehead, and his eyes were full of self-blame and shame.In the past two days, he has been immersed in the joy of Lulongsai's victory. After all, this is the first battle he has personally commanded since he became an official, and he won the battle.This kind of great joy is not the feeling that people in the game may not understand the joy of those in authority.The most important thing is that after this war, the barbarian army suffered heavy losses, and it was impossible to organize such a large-scale war anymore, and the remaining tens of thousands of remnants were no longer to be feared.

It was precisely based on this mentality that Zhuge Liang didn't take the barbarian army who was fleeing in a hurry at all, thinking that the overall situation was settled, and the rest was to wipe out the defeated barbarian army.Naturally, he doesn't need to worry about such trivial matters, the commanders of each battalion are fully capable of dealing with the aftermath of clearing up the remnants.There is no direct relationship between youth and prudence, but it is an indisputable fact that most young people are not cautious enough.Zhuge Liang, who is well-known to future generations, is still young and in a critical period of rapid growth.

When Li Li asked about the food and grass that Gongsun Zan had brought with him before he set off, the pale Zhuge Liang replied with great difficulty: "There is only three days of dry food. If we save some money, we can barely last four days."

Li Li's face changed drastically when he heard the words, and he said without hesitation: "Gongming immediately assembled the army, led [-] cavalry to carry dry food for ten days, and brought more arrows. Go to prepare now, lead the army out of the customs in the evening, and travel both starry and night. Be sure to catch up within three days." Go up to the front army, and then stay where you are, and don’t move. No matter what the rain is, the army will set off tomorrow morning, and it will be there within five days! It’s not too late, Gongming, hurry up and prepare.” Xu Huang didn’t repeat, and immediately took orders to leave go.

"My lord, my minister?" As soon as Xu Huang left, Zhuge Liang couldn't help asking for punishment, but before he could open his mouth to plead guilty, Li Li waved his hand and interjected, "Kong Ming doesn't need to blame himself, this matter has nothing to do with you. Send Gongsun Zan to lead the army to chase after him." Killing the barbarian army was not part of your tactical plan. It was my temporary decision to send an army to bite the barbarian army so as to wipe out the barbarian army as soon as possible. However, haste makes waste, and this sudden heavy rain, As a result, the [-] troops led by Gongsun Zan and Zilong were in danger. This is really unlucky, I hope there is still room for redemption.”

Chapter 968 Breaking into the wolf's lair, a friend in need is a friend

After the rain, the road is still muddy and difficult to walk.On the mountain road in Pinggang, groups of Han army cavalry walked slowly, and many cavalry led their horses forward on foot, marching at an extremely slow speed.

The heavy rain in the first two days failed to stop them from advancing and pursuing. On the third day, the rain cleared up, but unexpectedly, it rained again that night, and the rain stopped again at dawn.I thought it wouldn't rain again this time, but I didn't expect to be afraid of something. On the evening of the fourth day, there was another strong wind and heavy rain.This is the third heavy rain in four days.

On the fifth day, it rained again after dawn.The stop-and-go Han army embarked on the journey again, chasing after the barbarian army in the direction in which they fled.

Despite the bad weather, after five days, the cavalry of the Han army pursued the defeated barbarian army for more than [-] miles, and they have not given up chasing until now.

However, today's marching speed is indeed too slow. The slippery and muddy roads are only one aspect that affects the speed, but they are not the most important.What really restricted the speed of the Han army's pursuit was that they had been out of food for two days.In other words, they have been hungry since the third night, and they have been struggling for two days now.

Marching on an empty stomach for two days has already exhausted all the strength of the soldiers. Today is the third day, and the soldiers can't hold it anymore.After marching in the rain for five consecutive days, they were cold, hungry and tired. Even hard-working men are exhausted. Now they are like this. They are exhausted physically and mentally, and they are so hungry that they can no longer walk.

Compared with the cavalry, their horses were also exhausted. Although they were not tortured by hunger, the muddy roads tossed the horses a lot.One step and three slips, each step is very difficult.

"Zilong, I can't chase anymore. Find a suitable camp ahead and settle down. Let's rest here." At the front of the marching team, Gongsun Zan with a tired face reined in his horse and stood on the side of the road, looking at a A soldier walked past him weakly, and he sighed helplessly.

Zhao Yun reined in his horse and stopped beside Gongsun Zan. He saw the scene in front of him and was anxious in his heart, but he couldn't find a solution to the difficulty, and he was worried.

After hearing Gongsun Zan's words.Zhao Yun did not agree blindly, but the expression on his face became more and more worried, and he said in a low voice: "The scouts just came to report. After crossing this mountain, less than a hundred miles ahead is the Xianbei Royal Court. Half an hour ago, Tadun After staying in Xianbei Court for a while, the defeated army led tens of thousands of remnants to the east. It seems that they are going to Liucheng, their old nest. At this time, it would be too dangerous for our army to camp here. The Xianbei people already know that we The army followed Tadun, and they must send a large number of scouts to watch us all the time. Once the Xianbei people know that our army has been out of food for many days, they will definitely go out to rob and kill our army; if this is the case, our entire army may be wiped out at any time .”

Hearing this, Gongsun Zan was dejected, with a melancholy expression, and sighed in a low voice: "I don't know what Zilong said! But, you have seen the situation in front of you. The soldiers are hungry and tired, and have no combat power at all. Even if we catch up with the remnants of Tadun's army, so what? Isn't it just death in vain? In other words, even if our army continues to march, if the Xianbei cavalry suddenly attacks when we pass by the Xianbei royal court, then wouldn't we have no way out and still be unable to escape the entire army? Annihilation of bad luck.

Therefore, right now we have no choice but to rely on the mountain passes in front of us to build a defensive formation to resist the possible offensive of the Xianbei people, and temporarily station here.The mountains here are quite high, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the area of ​​this mountain forest is not small, so it is an ideal place to station troops.There is a saying that we rely on the mountains to eat the mountains. When we temporarily station our troops here, we can go up the mountains to hunt or dig some wild vegetables to satisfy our hunger. When the soldiers recover, they will have the ability to protect themselves.At that time, we can take the initiative to attack and bring down the Xianbei Royal Court.This is the safest way I can think of. I don't know what Zilong wants? "Gongsun Zan's words were extremely pertinent, obviously the result of careful consideration.

After Zhao Yun heard the words, he was silent for a while, weighed the pros and cons repeatedly, and couldn't think of a better way, so he nodded in agreement.The reason why he was hesitant was not that Gongsun Zan's strategy was bad, but that the [-] cavalry they led had no defensive weapons other than bows and arrows and personal weapons.The most important thing is that these soldiers are all cavalry, and they are not good at defending themselves. Their strong point is charging on horseback.Now [-] hungry cavalry are required to dismount and serve as infantry, avoiding strengths and taking weaknesses, it is extremely aggrieved.However, all of this is forced by the situation, and it has to be like this, otherwise the whole army will be in danger of being wiped out.

Two hours later, [-] troops stationed in the forest.More than a dozen tents were poorly built, and the rest were straw huts, which were very simple, but they finally had a place to shelter from the wind and rain.Fortunately, it is the rainy season, there is a lot of rain, and the trees are green, so there is no need to worry about the Xianbei people using fire attacks in the short term.

Fortunately, the Xianbei people who were dozens of miles away did not send troops to attack while the Han army was camping.Until the evening, when the defense of Shandao Pass was completed, the Xianbei people still did not move at all, and there was no sign of sending troops.This made Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun and others who had been anxious all the time breathe a sigh of relief, and they could finally eat their first hot meal of wild vegetable and mushroom soup in five days in peace.

When they went up the mountain to pick wild vegetables in the afternoon, many soldiers were no strangers to wild vegetables. After all, they all came from poor backgrounds and had dug wild vegetables since they were young.However, they are afraid of the mushrooms that can be seen everywhere in the mountains and forests. Looking at the fresh and attractive mushrooms, no one dares to pick them, not even the wild vegetables that grow beside the mushrooms.

When the first batch of soldiers who dug wild vegetables came back, Zhao Yun was surprised to see that none of them picked mushrooms, and they were all green wild vegetables.Because the mushrooms grow extraordinarily vigorously after the summer rain, don't even the mushrooms grow in the mountain forest near Xianbei Royal Court?

After questioning the soldiers, Zhao Yun couldn't help but laugh.It turns out that there are no mushrooms in the woods. On the contrary, there are mushrooms everywhere in the woods, and the number of mushrooms is far more than that of wild vegetables.It's a pity that the soldiers didn't dare to pick it, because when they were young, they saw many people picking mushrooms and poisoning the whole family to death.Since then, many people would rather starve than pick mushrooms after the rain. It is true that once bitten by a snake for ten years, they are afraid of well ropes and daunted by the fresh and tender mushrooms.

After learning the whole story, Zhao Yun personally led a team up the mountain to identify those mushrooms that could be picked one by one.Speaking of which, it is not that no one eats mushrooms nowadays. Some people are familiar with the toxicity of various mushrooms and know that many of the colorful mushrooms are edible.It's just that the cost of identifying all kinds of edible mushrooms is too high, and it is definitely not possible to identify them with a silver needle.In addition, some people cherish their brooms and do not easily tell others what they know, which invisibly intensifies the difficulty of identifying edible mushrooms. Many people see mushrooms as if they see poisonous snakes, and even fear them more than seeing poisonous snakes.

A few years ago, Zhao Yun was the same, he didn't dare to eat mushrooms at all.However, after following Li Li for so many years, I learned many things inadvertently, for example, identifying edible mushrooms is one of them.Today, Zhao Yun can't remember the names of various mushrooms, but he can recognize the real objects, and he knows one of the most simple and easy-to-understand common sense.That is, mushrooms are the same as poisonous snakes, the brighter the color, the more colorful and more beautiful the color, the more poisonous they are, and they are inedible. In contrast, most of the mushrooms that are relatively single in color and less conspicuous are edible.The most common ones are red umbrella-shaped oak mushrooms, yellow trumpet-shaped bush mushrooms, and larger gray mushrooms; as the name suggests, most of these mushrooms grow in the corresponding trees.

The picked fresh mushrooms are soaked in water before eating, that is, they are washed in boiling water to remove the toxicity (mostly for safety reasons), and then add other ingredients. It can be used for cooking or soup. The taste is extremely delicious and memorable. .

In this way, the hungry soldiers ate the most delicious wild vegetable and mushroom soup that can be remembered for a lifetime.And Zhao Yun was the first to start eating. Many soldiers, including Gongsun Zan, salivated at the smell of the vegetable soup, but they dared not put their mouths down.Until they watched Zhao Yun gobble up a pot, they were all in a daze for a long while, and everyone finally confirmed that the mushroom soup in the cauldron was edible.As a result, the first batch of cooked mushroom soup was drank up in a blink of an eye. On average, each person took less than one mouthful, which was useless at all.

Then from the afternoon to late at night, nearly a hundred large cauldrons cooked wild vegetable and mushroom soup repeatedly, adding a hare or pheasant to each cauldron, followed by mushrooms and wild vegetables.Rabbit meat and pheasant don't expect to eat meat, but the "base" of mushroom soup. Adding a little bit of meat can be regarded as nourishing for the soldiers.Simply put, the cooked meat was also in the pot. Thirty thousand soldiers, Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun and more than a hundred generals all ate in the same pot, and they were treated equally.For this reason, many Youzhou soldiers were very moved, and some soldiers even shed tears because they had never had this kind of treatment before, and even during the war, they could not eat the same food as the generals.But the Xiliang soldiers have long been accustomed to this, not only the chief general Zhao Yun shares joys and sorrows with them, even the coach Li Li often eats with the soldiers.

Therefore, this time the accidental shortage of food, but because of a pot of mushroom soup, the bad thing turned into a good thing, and the distance between the generals and the [-] soldiers was virtually shortened, and the soldiers gathered together.More than [-] people were twisted into one rope, and when they recovered, their combat effectiveness can be imagined.

Difficulties are only temporary, and there is no hurdle that cannot be overcome.This sentence could not be more accurate when applied to the [-] army led by Gongsun Zan and Zhao Yun who were alone.On the night when they were forced to camp in the mountains, the [-] cavalry under Xu Huang who had been ordered to rescue them finally caught up.

ps: Huben sincerely thanks: book friends Pulandian, ldjzhh, pijzhul, zb177, Yier 849 book friends for their monthly ticket support, and lcj700319 book friend evaluation ticket support, thank you!

Thank you book friends for your encouragement and support to Xiaoqi, and please ask for a guaranteed monthly ticket and recommendation ticket. I am very grateful, thank you!

Chapter 969

"Gongming?" When they first heard that Xu Huang had led the reinforcements, Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun and others were taken aback, and went out of their tents to greet them.

Sure enough, the soldiers did not lie, and Xu Huang led [-] reinforcements to come here in the starry night.

After setting up the reinforcements, Xu Huang followed Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun, Yan Gang and other generals into the army tent, explaining the situation while walking.

After a little freshening up, Xu Huang also drank the first mouthful of hot soup in the three days of Starry Night and Journey. While drinking the mushroom soup, he thanked Gongsun Zan and Zhao Yun again and again, and he was hooked.

After filling their stomachs, the generals gathered together to discuss countermeasures for the current situation.

There are quite a few generals who followed Xu Huang to support Gongsun Zan this time, Ma Dai, Qi Zhou, Tian Yu and more than a dozen former Youzhou generals all accompanied him; To protect Gongsun Zan's safety.

"Gongming, I wonder what your lord's plans are for the upcoming battle?" Gongsun Zan asked eagerly after Xu Huang and his party had had their fill of food and drink.

This is what the generals in the tent are most concerned about, and it is also an urgent matter that cannot be delayed.After all, the royal court of Xianbei is not far ahead. How can others snore and sleep on the side of the couch?However, Gongsun Zan and Zhao Yun did not have a good plan for this. The [-] cavalry were exhausted, and it would take at least two or three days to recover.During this period, they can only rely on the [-] cavalry brought by Xu Huang to defend the mountain pass; without Xu Huang's troops to help, I am afraid that the army will have to rest while guarding against the Xianbei's attack, so it will take longer to recover vitality.

It was a fluke.When the [-] former army led by Gongsun Zan urgently needed a rest, Xu Huang led the reinforcements to arrive at the right time.It was so timely.With reinforcements, the [-] chasing former army led by Gongsun Zan could take a breather, retreat to rest with peace of mind, and no longer had to worry about the Xianbei's sudden attack.

However, when Xu Huang entered the account just now, he had stated that they did not bring much food and grass for this trip. They brought a total of ten days of dry food and [-] arrows, and no other food and grass.Plus.Xu Huang led a rapid march for three days and three nights, and had already consumed three days of dry food, leaving seven days of rations; but now [-] troops are gathered together.The rations consumed in one day are equivalent to the original four days.In this way, the seven-day ration can only last for two days.Taking a step back, even if the soldiers try to save rations as much as possible, go up the mountain to dig wild vegetables and pick mushrooms to satisfy their hunger.But the wild vegetables and mushrooms on the mountain are limited after all.It is simply impossible to supply the huge demand of the [-] army; it will last for a day or two at most.

Therefore, the problem of shortage of food and grass is still unresolved, and it is still the most urgent problem that needs to be solved urgently. It is really the top priority and cannot be delayed for a moment.

It was precisely because of this worry that Gongsun Zan was eager to know what the lord Li Li wanted from the former army, and whether Xu Huang's trip had brought an order to continue marching.This moment.Former generals such as Gongsun Zan and Zhao Yun were most worried that the lord Li Li ordered the army to move on.Or directly attack the Xianbei royal court.If this is the case, it will undoubtedly push the [-] cavalry stationed just now to a dead end, forcing the army to jump into the bottomless abyss, and the result will inevitably be annihilation of the entire army.It should be noted that the [-] cavalry had just relaxed, and it was the time when the men were exhausted and the fighting spirit that had been mustered had faded away. Attacking the Xianbei royal court at this time is tantamount to seeking death and self-destruction.

Seeing Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun, Yan Gang and other generals staring at him nervously, Xu Huang shook his head with a smile and said, "Don't worry, my lord, my lord has not issued a battle order." Hearing this, Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun and others felt relieved Taking a long breath, the tense expression on his face quickly subsided, his originally sitting posture couldn't help but relax a lot, and his expression and behavior became more natural.

After a pause, Xu Huang smiled and said, "My lord not only did not give the order to march, but also ordered me to bring the military order, and ordered my [-] former army to rest on the spot, wait for the follow-up army to arrive, and then join forces before marching."

"My lord is wise!" Gongsun Zan and Zhao Yun looked at each other after hearing the words, and praised sincerely.

"My lord is wise, my lord is wise!" Yan Gang, Xian Yuyin and more than [-] military commanders nodded in agreement, all with smiles on their faces, full of joy.

In fact, if Li Li really gave the order to march, generals such as Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun, and Yan Gang would not dare to disobey the order even though they knew that the soldiers were no longer able to fight anymore, and had to lead the army to continue fighting, and finally took [-] cavalry to Huangquan together .Because Gongsun Zan, Yan Gang, Xian Yuyin and others were all surrendered generals, they absolutely did not dare to disobey Li Li's military orders, knowing that they were going to die, but they had to bite the bullet and go to justice generously.

There are three reasons.First, their wives, children, and family members have now been sent to Chang'an; if they disobey their orders, not only will they themselves be unable to escape the pursuit of the Xiliang army, but they will also implicate their wives, children, and children, and bring disaster to the whole family.Second, they have led a large army into the territory of the Xianbei barbarians, and they have entered the enemy's rear alone; once they betray Li Li, there will be barbarians in front and pursuers behind, a dilemma, and a dead end.