Three Kingdoms Eschatology

There were also many rockets among the arrows of the Shu army. These rockets flew across the sky like meteors and ignited the thatched huts in the village.You can see the raging flames rising from the village, as well as the black smoke rising into the sky.

The Shu army sword and shield holders hold their shields and hold their swords upright, covering the spearmen and advancing steadily.When the spearmen approached the wall of the village, they used spears from time to time to detect whether there were traps hidden in the ground.

The sword and shield soldiers finally passed through the gap in the wall that had been broken earlier.Chop and chop with the barbarians in the village.Spearmen marked the path with small flags on the protruding path.

A sword-and-shield soldier rushing to the front blocked it with his shield, and the barbarian's bamboo pole and iron-tipped gun pierced the shield.

Before the barbarian fell to the ground, two more bamboo spears pierced the sword and shield soldier, and immediately pierced him with two holes.Enduring the severe pain, the sword and shield soldier of the Shu army swung his knife and slashed vigorously, cutting off the ends of the two bamboo spears, before he collapsed to the ground.

Another sword and shield player behind him rushed up.The two barbarians with broken guns panicked, dropped the "bamboo pole" in their hands, turned and ran back.Unexpectedly, the other party rushed up with strides, one by one, slashed into their backs with the blade, and knocked them to the ground.

More barbarians rushed up with swords and guns, but at this moment there was a rush of horseshoes, and Yan Yan personally led the cavalry into the village.The riders held the first steel sword in their hands, and under the leadership of Yan Yan, they rampaged in the village.

The spear in Yan Yan's hand flew up and down, stabbing left and right.All the barbarians near his mount were shot and fell to the ground.The Shu army warriors who rushed into the village with him also took advantage of their horses to slash and kill, cutting off the heads and severed limbs of the enemy soldiers one by one.

There were screams and howls in the Nanman village, and the fire burned more and more fiercely.The sound of a horn horn suddenly sounded, and the barbarians who were still fighting back retreated towards Tuoshui.

They pulled out the bamboo rafts hidden in the grass by the river, pushed them into the Tuo River, and floated downstream.There are only a few women left in the village, and these women don't matter to them, anyway, they can be plundered again in the future.

Yan Yan led the Shu soldiers to search and clean up the village, and after confirming that all the remaining barbarians had been killed, he was about to order the withdrawal of the village.He suddenly heard the sound of bull horns coming from all sides, followed by shouts like a mountain roaring and a tsunami.

Yan Yan was startled, and boarded a watchtower that was about to collapse, and looked out of the village. There were dark human heads around the camp and the surrounding fields.There are at least 2 of these barbarians.His heart sank, knowing that he had fallen into someone else's trap.

Although this is a plain, except for the wilderness overgrown with wormwood on the north side, the other two sides are areas with rich vegetation and forests.Ah Huinan ambushed more than [-] soldiers here.

At this time, more than [-] people came to encircle the stockade. The barbarians in the north had already prepared a large number of bamboo horses, and quickly spliced ​​them together to build a long line of defense from Tuoshui to the jungle.

Yan Yan immediately calmed down and ordered decisively: "Hurry up to extinguish the fire in the village and repair the wall. The infantry line up at the gap in the wall and wait! Quickly send soldiers to Han'an for help!"

The soldiers of the Shu army moved in response to the sound, busy with all their hands and feet.So Xin's barbarian army was also making its own arrangements and did not launch an attack immediately.

Chapter 192 Breaking the Encirclement

Zhaizi watched Yan Yan upstairs and observed the surrounding environment.I found that my four thousand step riders had been completely surrounded, and there was no way to break out of the encirclement.

Although the barbarians are infantry, in the north they rely on a large number of bamboo horses to form a barrier.It is impossible for cavalry who can't ride a thousand to rush out.If infantry is used, it will inevitably be intercepted by the opponent's heavy troops, and the flanks and backs will be exposed to the opponent when breaking through. Once blocked, the entire army will be wiped out.

The west and south are dense forests. As long as you attack yourself, the opponent's soldiers will retreat into the forest.Yan Yan knew in his heart that in this dense forest, his cavalry could not play a role, and infantry would suffer a loss if they entered the forest.

To the east is the Tuoshui, which is dozens of battles wide. If soldiers are allowed to swim through it, they will be shot by barbarian arrows and suffer heavy casualties.And it's hard to guarantee that there will be no barbarian ambushes on the other side of the river.

Yan Yan is very anxious, now his only hope is to let the soldiers break out of the encirclement, and Zhao Yun can come to help in time after receiving the letter.

At the same time, Han'an City, dozens of miles upstream of Tuoshui River.Zhao Yun is personally inspecting the city defense at the top of the city.Suddenly, he saw Yiqi running from the south.The horse and the man seemed to be injured, the man lay motionless on the horse's back, but the horse was running limping.

Zhao Yun's heart palpitated, he knew it was not good.He quickly asked the soldiers to open the city gate to meet him.The person who came was Yan Yan's commanding soldier, who had been shot several times on the shoulder and arm, bleeding profusely and unconscious.After being picked up from the horse, he said in a weak voice, "Hurry up... the barbarians are surrounded... the south, beside the Tuoshui River... Hurry up."

When Zhao Yun heard this, he guessed that it was Yan Yan who was ambushed by barbarians in the lower reaches of the Tuoshui River.On the lower reaches of the Tuoshui River, there happened to be a barbarian village closest to Han'an.

Without hesitation, we can only send troops to rescue Yan Yan.But now, in addition to the more than [-] Liang soldiers and horses in the city, there are also [-] Shu army infantry left by Yan Yan.No matter what, Han'an had to leave [-] soldiers and horses to guard the house, otherwise the whole army would be in danger of being wiped out if someone took over the granary.

……

On the bank of Tuoshui, the pretty handsome Ah Hui saw that Yan Yan's encirclement was safe, and waved his hands and ordered: "Attack!" Nanman's horns and drums suddenly sounded.The barbarians on three sides shouted in unison again, rushing towards the stockade with a roar.

When they approached the stockade, they were naturally greeted by arrows.The barbarians rushing to the front were wearing rattan armor and rattan helmets and holding bamboo and rattan shields.These rattan armored bamboo shields are very light, but they are very powerful against bows and arrows.

The arrow hit the top, and pierced through the armor with a puff, but the arrow cluster only got halfway in, and was stuck in the armor.Some rattan armored soldiers of the Nanban were shot like hedgehogs, but they were actually unscathed, and they still rushed forward.

Some barbarians have rushed to the gap in the wall.Here, Yan Yan's Shu soldiers hastily piled up a low obstacle with branches, wood, the collapsed bamboo wall, and stones.In the rear, the spears of the soldiers of the Shu army protruded from behind the obstacles, and rushed towards the approaching barbarians.

A barbarian rushing to the forefront, just climbed up this low obstacle, and two spear blades struck at lightning speed.

The barbarian dodged sharply and dodged one, but was stabbed in the chest by the other.The spear blade pierced through the rattan armor, and after being pulled out, a bloody arrow shot out.The other barbarians beside him were also shot and fell to the ground.

In other places, the spears of the Shu army also stabbed out from behind the bamboo wall in the village from time to time. Many barbarians who were close to the wall were caught off guard and suffered many casualties.

Some barbarians carried huge conical logs in a group, and kept crashing into the wall of the village. From time to time, gaps could be seen in the bamboo wall.But when the barbarians poured into the gap, they would be intercepted by the swords and shields of the Shu army.The two sides fought shield to shield, sword to sword.

The two sides fought around the wall of the village for half an hour, but the barbarians failed to break into the village.A leader of a barbarian tribe remonstrated to Ah Hui:

"General, we have lost a lot in such a strong attack. Anyway, the Shu army has been besieged, so we don't need to rush. They are not far from Han'an this time, so they must not have much food with them. Why don't we wait for work at leisure. Wait for them We are almost hungry, and our war elephants have also been transferred, and it will not be too late to kill them at that time."

Ah Huinan didn't know about Zhao Yun's army entering Han'an at this time.He thought to himself, this time Yan Yan dispatched about [-] troops, so there are at most one or two thousand infantry left in Han'an City.With such a small force, the defenders of Han'an would never dare to rescue Yan Yan.

If they really came, it would be a good thing for Ah Huinan, because then the Shu army would not be able to rescue Yan Yan, but would make it easier for Ah Huinan to attack Han'an again.Thinking of this, Ah Hui murmured: "Retreat!"

A burst of horns sounded, and the barbarians receded like a tide.

After the fierce battle, the Shu army also suffered a lot of casualties.Wounded soldiers can be seen everywhere in the stockade.The soldiers who were not injured were also exhausted, and they took out their dry food and ate lunch.

In this attack, Yan Yan was fighting at a short distance, and the purpose was to wipe out several Nanman villages near Han'an, so the soldiers brought two tons of dry food with them.

The grain and food in the village were also taken away by the barbarians and burned.In addition, there were hundreds of newly freed Han male and female slaves who also had to eat.If they were besieged for another two days like this, there would inevitably be riots in the village due to hunger.

In the afternoon, the sun gradually went down.Yan Yan's heart also sank. "If my commander fails to deliver the news, or Zhao Yun is afraid of the barbarians and dare not send troops to rescue him." Thinking of this, Yan Yan dared not think further...

Suddenly, there was a noise from the north.Immediately afterwards, thousands of cavalry rolled up from the upper reaches of the Tuoshui River.They are Qingqi Feiyu of Zhao Yun's army.Before they arrived, the arrows arrived first.

These heavy arrows shot by horse speed are not comparable to ordinary arrows shot by infantry archers, and their power is equivalent to the heavy arrows shot from a kicked crossbow.It is enough to penetrate the rattan armor on the barbarians.What's more, not all the barbarians wore rattan armor.I saw the barbarians fell in pieces.

After those Qingqi Feiyu rushed close, they no longer rushed forward, but turned backwards, and then turned to the tail of the team.In this way, more than a thousand Qingqi Feiyu kept a distance from these barbarians, and kept taking turns to shoot.

The southern barbarian soldiers in the north collapsed in a short time under such dense shooting. Some of the broken soldiers fled to the south, and some fled into the woodland to the east.

Qingqi Feiyu didn't chase after him, some of them jumped off their horses and began to move those bamboo horses to clear the road.The rest of the Qingqi continued to ride their horses and draw their bows, maintaining vigilance.

Immediately afterwards, the ground began to tremble.Thousands of Liang Kingdom's heavy cavalry came roaring under Zhao Yun's personal leadership, sweeping towards the barbarians in the west and south.

The barbarians and A Huinan in the distance saw all this, and were dumbfounded.When they saw the huge "iron man and iron horse" running towards them, they were already out of their wits.

Chapter 193 The Mystery of the Barbarians Moving Northward

Zhao Yun's thousand heavy cavalry faced the barbarians wearing rattan armor and rattan helmets like a storm, and they wiped out tens of thousands of barbarians in a short time.

Some barbarians held their own bravery and went forward with their weapons straight, but courage cannot replace the gap.Not to mention their swords and guns can penetrate each other's iron armor, it is difficult even to touch them.As soon as he got close to the opponent, he was stabbed by Ma Qiang.

In the grassy area between the woodland and the stockade, huge war horses covered with iron armor galloped wildly.They kept knocking the panicked barbarians to the ground, and then trampled them to pieces.

Seeing Zhao Yun coming to help, Yan Yan took advantage of the situation and led the cavalry out of the stronghold.Riveting enough strength to charge with all its strength.In just over half an hour, countless barbarian corpses were left in the grass around the village.But most of the barbarians disappeared into the forest, including the handsome A Huinan.

Ah Hui murmured bitterly to himself at this moment: "If my five hundred war elephants hadn't been borrowed, how could I have lost so much!"

...

Zhao Yun came to Yan Yan, cupped his hands and said: "Old General Yan, I kept you waiting for a long time. Some people feared that the barbarians had other tricks, so before they came to help, they sent scouts to carefully investigate the facts at the front. In this way, they came a bit late. , I hope the old general will forgive me."

Yan Yan had already jumped off the horse, kowtowed to Zhao Yun first, and then said: "What is Zilong talking about. This old man can hardly repay General Zilong's life-saving grace, how dare he blame the general."

Zhao Yun quickly helped him up and said, "Why does the old general need to be so generous, don't hesitate, this is not a place to stay for a long time. Let's retreat to Han'an as soon as possible!"

……

Half a month later, when the grain and grass in Han'an had been hoarded enough, the Shu army and Liang army stationed here began to attack again.

They learned the lesson from last time, and sent out scouts to carry out careful investigation every time they attack, so A Huinan tried several tricks but failed.Instead, the opponent used their tricks and killed a large number of barbarians.

In the mansion of Han'an City, Zhao Yun, Yan Yan, Shen Yi, and many Shu Liang generals were discussing the battle situation.

Yan Yan said: "Recently, we have pulled out the camps of many small Nanman tribes on both sides of the Tuojiang River and drove them to the south bank of the Shu River. However, the largest Nanman force nearby - the Ahui Nan tribe is still entrenched between Han'an and Jiangyang. During this period, although they were attacked by our side several times, they suffered no casualties. But for some reason, they refused to retreat to the south of the Shu River. What do you think is better?"

According to the agreement between Zhao Yun and the monarchs and ministers of the Shu Kingdom in Chengdu, the strategic goal of the first stage of pacifying the Nanman Rebellion is to first drive the barbarians to the south bank of the Shu River and the east in the three battlefields of Nan'an, Han'an, and Jiangzhou. shore area.

The deadline given by Liu Zhang is almost here.Zhang Ren had already driven all kinds of Nanman near Nan'an across the river, and Meng Da of Jiangzhou had also driven the barbarians mainly from Wuling to the east of the Shu River.Only Han'an has not completed the task this way, which is why Yan Yan is not in a hurry.

Zhao Yun said calmly: "It seems that we must intensify our attacks on the villages of Ahuinan in order to force them to retreat to the south of the Shu River. Therefore, we need to advance our camp two hundred miles south from Han'an. , Recover Jiangyang City at the mouth of the Tuo River first!"

……

At this time, Jiangyang City was in ruins, and even half of the city wall was demolished by the barbarians, and it was transported to the south of the Shu River to build houses.

Twenty miles to the north of the city, a large village was newly erected. This village was not used as a residence for the Nanman tribes, but a camp used for garrisoning troops.

In a stilted bamboo house built of bamboo and thatch in the camp, A Huinan was talking to a man with feathers on his head and luxurious silk and satin.

This person's surname is Meng Minghuo.He used to be the leader of a certain tribe of Wuman. After moving north to Zhu Ti on the south bank of the Shu River, he went on a campaign of conquests, using both kindness and power. Not only did he quickly unify the various tribes of Wuman, but even many other tribes who moved north and south also surrendered to him.Therefore, he called himself the king of Nanzhong.

At present, among the seven largest tribes who migrated north to the South, three of them directly obeyed him, and more than a dozen small tribes of the South also regarded him as king.After the Liang-Shu allied forces marched south, many barbarian tribes colluded with each other and formed an alliance in order to protect themselves.Meng Huo was elected as the leader again.

Under external pressure, these southern barbarian tribes who were attacking each other huddled together to keep warm, trying to gain a foothold in the three counties of Zhuti, Yuexi, and Zangke.

Ah Hui murmured respectfully to Meng Huo: "Why does Your Majesty come here in person? If you have something to do, just send a letter from your subordinates."

Meng Huo sneered and said, "I want to personally command this battle, so it is very important to us. If we can't annihilate the main force of the Han army in one fell swoop, and let them occupy Jiangyang, Bodao and other places one after another, we can often fight in the future." Cross the river and enter the mountains to attack us. At that time, whether we can still gain a foothold in the south of the Shu River is a problem."

Ah Hui didn't understand too much, but flattered: "Your Majesty is wise."

Meng Huo suddenly became solemn, and turned his eyes to the vast land in the north.In fact, Meng Huo's reason for a decisive battle with the Han army was not that simple.In the past one or two years, his power has expanded rapidly, making his own ambitions bigger and bigger.If the opportunity is ripe, he will not just stop at Nanzhong and become king.

Meng Huo's knowledge and vision far surpassed that of ordinary barbarians.Ordinary Nanman civilians, if they didn't have the opportunity to move north this time, they might never leave their village within two hundred miles for the rest of their lives.

However, Meng Huo went to a Han private school in the Jianning County Government since he was a child. When he was young, he followed the caravan to sell salt in the north, and the most northern crossed the Guanzhong Plain to the Hetao area.

He often lamented why the Hu people in the north could gather into a clan and form such a huge force like the Huns and Xianbei to fight against the Han people and even compete for the world.But these barbarians in the south couldn't do it.

At the moment, all ethnic groups in the Nanman suddenly moved north one after another.Meng Huo believed that this was an opportunity given to him by heaven to unify the barbarians.

As for the reasons for the sudden northward migration of the various tribes, Meng Huo didn't fully understand at first. He only knew that his tribe's territory was suddenly plundered by Wuman, Puren, and Ailaoyi one after another by other tribes, and he couldn't sustain it.Just now he chose to leave his homeland and move north.

But now, after Meng Huo unified most of the barbarians, he found out some reasons after careful investigation.A barbarian force appeared in the south of Yongchang. They attacked Ailaoyi in Yongchang and continued to invade the north.This triggered a chain effect, causing the barbarians to move north one after another.

This barbarian force is staggering in number.And even with Meng Huo's knowledge, it is impossible to determine who these barbarians are and where they came from just based on the characteristics described by others.

He only knew that the south of Yongchang County was basically a desolate and smoky place.Only sporadic Mon tribes lived along the two great rivers. They were more backward than the barbarians and lived on primitive hunting.Moreover, the population is pitifully small, so it is impossible to have such a great strength to drive the group of barbarians to the north.

In addition to Meng Huo, there are two other people in the world who have also noticed this, one is Liang Wang Feng Yu, and the other is Yue Gongshi Xie.

Chapter 194 Standing still

Zhuyang, inside the Liang Palace.Feng Yu was talking carefully with an official.This official was once an old official of Honghe Temple in the imperial court.He is quite knowledgeable about the history and geography of the various tribes around the Han Dynasty.

Zhao Yun has already transmitted the information on Nanzhong to Feng Yu.Feng Yu guessed that in the wild land south of Yongchang County, there must have been an unusually powerful alien race, which eventually triggered a large ethnic migration under a domino-like chain effect.

Where did this alien race come from?Is it just an army invasion?Or mass colonization?It is unknown.Feng Yu also knew little about the history and geography of the surrounding area in his previous life.

According to the official, there is the Kingdom of Funan in the southernmost part of the smoggy and barren land near the sea.There was a tribute with the Han Dynasty.However, the country's national strength is weak, and it is separated from Yongchang County by two thousand miles of smoky and barren land, and it is also separated from Jiaozhou Xiang County by thousands of mountains and rivers.It is impossible for them to have the strength to attack Nanzhong.

After listening to the official's explanation, Feng Yu asked again: "Do you know the situation in the poisonous area in the west?"

"Report to the king. Before Emperor Gaozu opened the Han Dynasty, the whole territory of Shendu was ruled by the Magadha Kingdom, known as the Maurya Dynasty. However, during the Emperor Wu's time, the country had fallen apart. The Guishuang Kingdom occupies a large area of ​​northern Shendu. , this Guishuang was built by the descendants of Yueshi Hu in the Western Regions in the early years..."

Feng Yu interrupted him and said, "This guy knows everything. What I want to ask is the current situation in the south. Do you know?"

The official showed a embarrassed expression on his face, and kowtowed to Feng Yu: "Because of the dangerous road, the southern barbarians attacked and harassed. My big Han Shangguo has little contact with the poisoned southerners, so I know very little about the situation here. The minister also knows nothing about it." I know, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Feng Yu nodded, and was about to wave his hand to let the officials go down.But the other party continued: "However, I know that there is a secret business road in the south that leads to Shendu. , many Chinese caravans use this method to exchange property with Shendu."

"Oh, then is there anyone in our country of Liang who knows this way?"

"My lord, I am afraid that no one in the whole of Middle-earth knows the whole picture of this road. Because the goods transshipped from this road are all handled by various barbarians along the way, and they are transported in the form of relay transmission. There is no caravan Will walk this path from beginning to end.”

After Feng Yu let the officials go down, he called Chen Tiao, who was in charge of the intelligence network, and ordered him to send agents to Nanzhong in the form of a caravan to inquire about the situation.

Then, he personally edited another letter, and sent a messenger to Xie, Duke of Yue.Feng Yu believes that if foreigners invade Nanzhong, they will not only march in one direction to the north, but will definitely march to Jiaozhou in the east.

Finally, Feng Yu suddenly thought of something again.The servant ordered: "Go, bring those poisoned monks from the former White Horse Temple to the palace."

……

On the west bank of Tuoshui, in the half-person-high wormwood bushes, several loud dog barks suddenly sounded.Five figures suddenly stood up from the grass, spread their legs, and ran towards the south.

Immediately afterwards, there was a rapid sound of horseshoes behind them.The scouts of the Three Riders of Liang had already chased after them on horseback.

The five people they were chasing were barbarian dark sentries.As the two sides got closer, the scouts rode their horses and drew their bows, and shot arrows at five people one after another, and three people were shot down by the arrows one after another.

When the other two were about to flee into a dense forest, they only heard a low bark.Two mountain dogs had caught up with them and threw them to the ground from behind.One of the barbarians pulled out the dagger from his waist and stabbed the mountain dog in the stomach.Just as he got up after breaking free from the hounds, scouts from Liang Guo had already rode their horses, and the blade of the saber brushed against his neck...

After a while, nearly a thousand Shu army cavalry galloped past here, stepping on a spacious "road" out of the Artemisia grassland.

After more than half an hour, an endless team passed by the "road".This is Zhao Yun's army coming out in full force.Yan Yan also set off with Zhao Yun.

When the army marched until noon, Zhao Yun could see the barbarian camp.At this time, the four doors of the barbarian camp were closed.There are many figures of people on the watchtower in the village.Obviously the other party has already prepared.

This time, the Han army has learned lessons.In order to prevent the opponent from setting up a horse trap near the wall of the village, they did not use the way of dragging the horse to destroy the wall of the village.

In front of the Han army formation, fifty gun carts loaded with ballistas lined up.A ballista continuously shoots a round of projectiles, doing test firing, in order to obtain the parameters of the bombardment.Then, the ballista players corrected the gun position and projectile angle based on these parameters.

With one order, the fifty rounds were almost exactly the same, and the stone balls the size of a sea bowl were thrown out in unison.With a burst of "puff puff la la" sound.On the other side's bamboo wall, some were pierced with a big hole, and some collapsed...

After an hour of ballista shooting, more than 200 stone bullets were consumed.A section of the camp wall that lasted more than [-] battles was destroyed.Under the cover of the shield wall, Liang Jun's spear and shield soldiers marched steadily towards the camp to the beat of the drums.

In the camp of the barbarian army, arrows began to fly out sparsely.But for gun and shield soldiers, it is almost useless.Zhao Yun and Yan Yan, who were watching the battle from behind, looked at each other with suspicion in their hearts.They all saw that the barbarian army in this big camp was very small.