How can there be no fire at the North Gate? The fire raged in the sky, all the houses near the north gate were set on fire, the huge city gate was burnt to smithereens, and there were only some remnants of wood. Cao Hong couldn't take care of it anymore, he took the lead and rushed into the sea of ​​​​fire, followed by Xiahou Dun, and then the cavalry. Cao Hong's horse is good, although the horse neighed as soon as it plunged into the sea of ​​​​fire, it was burned by the scorching air waves, but he did not hesitate and rushed over. The cavalry is also lucky, after all, there are horses and cavalry, which can basically rush out of the sea of ​​​​fire. The infantry is finished, how to rush through this sea of ​​fire? The water carried by the infantry was also insufficient. No more water and containers could be found in the entire city. Only a few infantrymen desperately threw themselves into the sea of ​​​​fire. The situation is extremely dire. Cao Hong Xiahou Dun rushed out, losing most of the men and horses around him, and some of them ran away from other directions, some were captured, and some returned to the team one after another.

Cao Hong did not dare to stop or rest, and reluctantly led the team to continue to advance north, hoping to join forces with Dian Wei.

After receiving Cao Cao's order, Na Dianwei rushed to order 100,000 cavalry, bypassed Luoyang, and marched westward along the Yellow River. Some of the fallen troops retreated to the west, and when they saw Dian Wei, they seemed startled, and hurriedly slipped into Mianchi City. Dian Wei led a fierce attack, and the fallen horses evacuated one after another. Dian Wei thought that the city was broken and was very proud, so he rushed into the city unprepared. As a result, cold arrows were encountered in every street and alley, with heavy casualties and slow progress. The fallen troops resisted, seeing that one house could no longer be defended, and they slipped into the next one. Dianwei's troops could only be wiped out one by one.

The next day the battle was even more tragic. They finally met the legendary Luojun Guanzhong Iron Cavalry. The number of cavalry in the fallen army was not as large as they were. Cao Luo's two armies were damaged by about 2:1. Later, the Luo army took the initiative to withdraw from the battle and went to Caoyang City. Dian Wei did not dare to pursue, so he could only move forward slowly, planning to attack Cao Yang the next day.

However, after Cao Hong occupied Hongnong, Dian Wei's advance seemed to be much easier. Cao Yangcheng did not encounter great resistance. However, there seemed to be very few fallen horses, only a small number of cavalry. After resisting for a while, they quickly headed towards Tongguan. slipped away. Dian Wei thought that his mission was to recover Mianchi and Cao Yang. Now that the mission has been completed, there is no need to pursue Tongguan. It's useless to get to Tongguan, and you can't beat it yourself, and you may suffer heavy losses. That night, Wei's army and horses rested under Cao Yang.

During the night there were soldiers shouting that there was a fire in the south. Dian Wei went up to the tower to take a look, didn't he! The southern side seems to be Hongnong City, the southern side of the fire is as bright as day, and the entire southern half of the sky is billowing with smoke. That Dianwei's first reaction was to send cavalry to take a look, but then he thought, the enemy's situation is unknown, how can (good Zhao) send troops at will? Random division? He had to order the military horses to be more vigilant. Dian Wei's military horses spent the night in fear, but nothing happened. In the early morning of the next day, Dian Wei saw Cao Hong, Xiahou Dun and their cavalry at the top of the city, burnt to black. The faces of this group of people were covered in black smoke, their clothes and weapons were all covered in black smoke, and they looked terrified.

It turned out that Dian Wei's dispatch of troops was a special situation on the battlefield. Dian Wei led the cavalry to bypass Luoyang City and attacked Mianchi and Caoyang, showing Cao Cao's decisive move. Ma Chao remained calm in the face of danger, and resisted steadily in Mianchi and Caoyang, so that the main force would not be dragged by Dian Wei. Cao Hong's judgment was correct. It was true that the main force of the fallen army was forced to gather in the north to resist Dian Wei. However, he made two mistakes: First, fighting against Dian Wei in the north did not mean that he could not escape. The second is the speed of the fallen cavalry. It only takes a few hours for the north and south lines, and the main force can be easily transferred from Mianchi to Hongnong. .

Chapter 48: Powerful Gunpowder

Changes in the speed of the army's movement mean a dramatic change in the war situation. For example, in World War II, the country used a blitzkrieg battle, and the tank corps destroyed Poland, a major country in Eastern Europe, in a few months, shocking the world. Facing the rapidly advancing torrent of iron armor, the Polish army could not react at all and could only be defeated.

The cavalry of the Fallen Army was equipped with stirrups and used good horses, becoming the most elite cavalry at that time. This cavalry was obviously moving faster than any other army. Cao Hong thought that the main force of the fallen army and Dian Wei were fighting fiercely in the north and could not take care of the south. Unexpectedly, the Luojun used street fighting and other methods to delay Dianwei's attack, so the main force was able to attack Hongnong at a high speed, giving Cao Jun a fatal blow.

Of course, another magic weapon in this battle is gunpowder. After assiduous research, Zhang Heng's gunpowder finally made significant progress. The explosive nature of this gunpowder is not stable, and there are no advanced things such as artillery. However, as long as it is projected with a traditional trebuchet, the gunpowder can burn violently, sometimes it can explode, and it can be used in actual combat. At the beginning of its use, gunpowder used its burning properties. For example, the first time gunpowder was used in war in the Tang Dynasty was to use gunpowder to burn the city gate. Although Zhang Heng is a 387 University enquirer this time, he cannot escape the law of gunpowder utilization. Obviously, in order for gunpowder to exert greater power, it is necessary to specialize in artillery and the like, and to stabilize the properties of gunpowder.

In any case, this immature gunpowder easily burned Hongnong to a pile of rubble, and tens of thousands of Cao Jun were buried here. This battle obviously left a deep psychological shadow on Cao Jun. It is no wonder that this weapon is a bit out of date. How could the Three Kingdoms have such a powerful incendiary weapon...

It is said that Luochen saw the Hongnong fire, and expected that the battle was over, the Luojun had taken the opportunity to calmly withdraw to the Tongguan area. He took the southern route and took it to the vicinity of Hongnong, but he did not encounter Cao Jun. Luochen flew all the way and returned to Tongguan safe and sound.

Luochen was not in a hurry to return to Chang'an, and Cao Cao was able to move the crowd, so how could he just let it go. Luochen looked from a distance at the head of Tongguan City, and the fire in Hongnong in the east seemed to be still smoking blue smoke...

"Master, you asked me to come here..." Zhang Heng climbed the Tongguan Tower and saw Luo Chen with his back to him, looking into the distance. "Ah, yes, sir..." Luo Chenfang came back to his senses and pulled Zhang Heng to the side of the city wall. "Cao Cao's army came, but it was empty. I don't expect him to give up. He will probably lead his troops to attack Tongguan. This time, I would like to ask you to assist the army in defense of Tongguan, and by the way, investigate the use of gunpowder."

"No problem, no problem." Zhang Heng readily agreed, "I just wanted to see how the gunpowder worked. I heard from Ma Chao's feedback that it was not bad, and it burned the entire Hongnong."

"Yeah..." Luochen nodded, "The power even exceeded my expectations, Cao Jun suffered heavy casualties, and died so tragically that people couldn't bear to look directly.

"It's a pity..." Zhang Heng sighed. "But most of my gunpowder was used to burn Hongnong this time... It's obviously a waste. Did Ma Chao fire it indiscriminately, creating an unprecedented fire? Look, it's all smoking now... It's terrifying."

This is indeed the case, that Cao Cao's army then arrived in Mianchi, Caoyang, Hongnong and other places. Cao Cao personally rode to Hongnong. "How could this happen..." Cao Cao was shocked. It is conceivable that the fire was very big at that time, and it is impossible for ordinary dry wood, even with oil, to have such an intensity of fire.

"The strength of the fallen army is simply amazing," Guo Jia, who was next to him, was worried. "First, its cavalry attacked so quickly and over a long distance, far exceeding our army. It means that the enemy can quickly approach our army and retreat safely after a fatal blow. Our army can't react at all. Why are their cavalry so fast? Second, the fallen army has such weapons. I have learned in my life, never (bacg) seen it. These two points are very strange..."

"That's right..." Cao Hong lowered his head and said dejectedly, "At that time, I saw with my own eyes that a soldier was smashed into pieces after hitting the fireball, accompanied by a loud explosion. That thing was really powerful..."

"Then you also made a command error!" Cao Cao reprimanded. "The army marches into Hongnong, and then the enemy does not know where they are, so they dare to sit back and relax. For the generals, you must always pay attention to the enemy's situation and explore the enemy's intentions. If the enemy disappears inexplicably under your nose, you must be very careful. It's gone!"

"Yes, yes." Cao Hong agreed.

"I want to see how powerful the fallen army is now..." Cao Cao gritted his teeth, "The whole army is attacking, and the target is Tongguan!" Nearly 400,000 troops around Cao Cao marched in a big way, approaching Tongguan, and there are more than 100,000 people left. On the front line of Luoyang. This is the second time Cao Cao has invaded Lintong Pass.

"What about Hebei?" Guo Jia asked.

"If I don't solve Luochen's matter now, there will never be a peaceful day behind me! Besides, the biggest significance of this battle is to find out the strength of Luochen's army. Previously, Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong fought against the Luo army, and as a result, several generals lost their troops and lost their generals. Without exception, this time I want to see for myself." Cao Cao said. "Luochen is an increasingly powerful and mysterious enemy, which is worrying..."

Hearing this, Guo Jia couldn't help nodding: "Yes, very mysterious, a little strange..."

Luochen watched from the top of Tongguan City to see that Cao Cao's army was divided into the left, middle, and right three-route troops as before. He couldn't help laughing: "Mr. Cao, it's been a few years, why are you still the same! You still use this method, isn't it more effective!"

Cao Cao was quite annoyed under the city. Did Luo Chen come up with some very powerful new methods? He didn't answer any more, but drew his sword directly and shouted, "Attack!"

Just like a few years ago, the black Cao Jun rushed over like a tidal wave.

"Whoosh, whoosh" Several fireballs were thrown from the city, some of them hit Cao's soldiers and burned a large area. Some of them exploded in the air, and with a bang, Cao Jun below killed dozens of people, blood and blood flying.

Cao Cao was stunned. Then Guo Jia reacted quickly: "Duke Cao quickly retreat, stay away! This thing is too scary!" Yan Bi instructed Xu Zhu to lead Cao Cao's horse and run back, and he ran back with him. A large number of fireballs burned around behind them, making a crackling sound, and Cao Jun howled in horror.

The Cao army soldiers saw that Cao Cao had retreated, and without waiting for the order, hurriedly followed the frantic retreat. Countless people were trampled and killed, and the siege army followed Cao Cao for a long distance before stopping. .

Chapter 49 Meeting

The words are divided into two parts. The north is in full swing, but the south is very calm. Liu Bei and his entrepreneurial group escaped into Huang Zhong's Shangyong en masse, temporarily out of danger. Ma Dai immediately returned to Tongguan. Only Xu Shu was left in Shangyong to accompany Liu Bei and others.

Zhang Juzheng has been struggling recently. There have been three rebellions of aristocratic clans in the Yizhou area. It is said that the land-equalization system obviously wants to break the land annexation. Zhang Juzheng is in charge of Yizhou. When the big landlords annex a large amount of land, a large number of peasants have become farm laborers and become a personal dependent class attached to the big landlords. This will not only lead to a sharp drop in national tax revenue, but also lead to problems such as insufficient soldiers, and seriously weaken the strength of the feudal state. I couldn't help being furious. When I checked, it was a forced merger by the big landlord relying on the privilege, the power and influence of the aristocratic family. A few years ago, Yizhou suffered large-scale droughts and military disasters, and farmers had no way to survive.

That Zhang Ju is an iron fist, how can I discuss with you, moderate rule... Directly dispatched troops to carry out land reorganization, and forcibly promoted the land-equalization system and the government military system. This is good, the big families have relied on their local strength to rebel. This month saw three rebellions in a row. Fortunately, Lu Bu was more powerful, and his troops and horses were everywhere, and within a day, the rebels were beaten to pieces. Zhang Juzheng was rude, and every leader of the rebel army was caught and executed immediately, and his family forces were also severely punished by execution and exile. A large number of clans have been purged in the counter-insurgency... The forcible advance is still going on. Zhang Juzheng is busy handling the government affairs and some military affairs reported by the county newspapers like a top , and basically handed over all the power in Yizhou to him.

"Zhang Situ..." a civil servant outside the door whispered. "What's the matter? Hurry up, I'm busy." Zhang Juzheng said impatiently. "Luo... Prime Minister Luo, I'll give you this thing." He took the small piece of paper and put it on the table, and slowly backed out.

"Liu Bei..." Zhang Juzheng looked at the note and wanted to complain a little. He was too busy now, but he was going to see Liu Bei. Why don't you ask Zhuge Liang to go? Or ask Xu Shu to talk to him directly and it will be over. Isn't that Zhang Song a diplomat, who finds people to fight every day. The day before yesterday, he held a debate contest in Guanzhong because he was bored, and finally declared himself the champion. Why not let him go...

Complaints return to complaints, and Luochen's orders still have to be implemented. Zhang Juzheng speculates in his heart that Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu may have been under Liu Bei in history, and Luo Chen may not be particularly relieved... "Come on! Prepare a horse! Hurry up to Shangyong!" , Obviously he now feels that time is money, and he doesn't want to waste a minute.

Zhang Juzheng set off on the same day and arrived at Shangyong the next day. Then Liu Bei was about to leave, and he hinted to Xu Shu that he had already sent Sun Gan to talk to Liu Biao. Liu Biao is still enthusiastic, thinking of kinship. The family of Mrs. Cai expressed their vigilance and did not want Liu Bei's forces to enter Jingzhou. Liu Biao defied all opinions and said, "Liu Bei, my brother is also a great sage, don't talk nonsense! How can I refuse him when he is in trouble today? Outside the door!"

That Xu Shu was also sincere: "Uncle Liu is going to Jingzhou, we have no opinion. It's just that Prime Minister Luo Chen heard that you were in Shangyong, and specifically instructed Situ Zhang Juzheng to come and meet you, and asked the uncle to show his face..." Then Liu Bei saw this. Fan enthusiasm, not easy to refuse, but waited for a day in Shangyong. At dusk, the Zhang Juzheng motorcade was already speeding up from a distance.

Zhang Juzheng's aura was really strong, and the two sides were the Imperial Guards of Yulin that Luo Chen personally dispatched. The cart in the middle was very luxurious. On the one hand, Zhang Juzheng is a man of publicity, not very low-key. The second is that Zhang Juzheng is in charge of Yizhou, and every time he travels, he makes great fanfare to deter the local aristocratic family. That Luochen is simple every time he travels, usually with Yan Qing and a few entourages, riding a horse by himself. Sometimes even Yan Qing was alone. But he didn't care much about Zhang Juzheng's extravagant behavior. Zhang Juzheng was exchanged from the system by Luo Chen, and he was absolutely loyal. Luochen trusted him, even more than Zhuge Liang.

Zhang Juzheng rushed to Shangyong City and entered the hall, where Xu Shu, Huang Zhong and others were already waiting. Then Liu Bei and his subordinates Guan Zhang Zhao, Jian Yong Mi Fang and others were also invited over.

Liu Bei saw the sound of swords and armor colliding outside the door, and the sound of neat steps, and expected that it was Zhang Juzheng's guards lining up. Sure enough, Zhang Juzheng entered the main hall after a while. This Zhang Juzheng was wearing a red Ming Dynasty official uniform with embroidered cranes made of fine silk. Liu Bei feels a little fancy dress, but it is indeed luxurious and exquisite, showing a strong aura. As for his hat, Liu Bei thought it was a bit funny. Zhang Juzheng looked at him a little and saw a man with big ears sitting at the head of the guest's seat, who was supposed to be the legendary Liu Bei. Then he made a bunch of fake smiles, hurriedly walked over, and saluted: "Uncle Liu, Uncle Liu, I have heard the name for a long time, a hero in the world, when I see it today, I have a lifelong desire." Then Liu Bei hurriedly got up and returned the salute: "I have heard for a long time that Situ is resolute in governing the country. You Fang is the right-hand man of Prime Minister Luo, and I am fortunate to meet today."

·0 Seeking Flowers··

..........0

The two sides touted each other's courtesy and sat down. That Zhang Juzheng was an arrogant man, quite arrogant, but when he thought that Luo Chen attached so much importance to Liu Bei, he was still careful, so he first complimented: "Prime Minister Luo is commanding a fierce battle with Cao's army in the north. Come and see the uncle first. When the war in the north is over, the prime minister will make a special trip to visit." Then Liu Bei would also play with mud and football, and he would not talk about substantive issues, his tone was modest and authentic: "I have long wanted to meet the prime minister, the young hero of the prime minister, and the world admires it. ...then Cao Cao is Liu Bei's great enemy in his life, but unfortunately his troops are meager, and he can't match him many times..." After speaking, he sighed.

That Zhang Juzheng was a little impatient. He had heard that Liu Bei had been defeated many times. This man's perseverance is worth admiring. Unfortunately, perseverance alone is useless... That Zhang Juzheng also gave up the detour and said directly: "The prime minister admires Huang Shuxian. Cai, I heard that Uncle Huang wants to go to Jingzhou... Then Liu Biao of Jingzhou has no ambitions, how can Uncle Huang display his talents, I am the Prime Minister..."

Liu Bei didn't wait for Zhang Juzheng to finish his speech, and he said, "I appreciate the kindness of the Prime Minister, but Liu Biao is my brother..." Then he said something about Liu Biao's welcome to him.

That Zhang Juzheng smiled on the surface, but he didn't think so in his heart. It may be that Liu Biao was afraid that the Cai family was too powerful and had already threatened the Liu family in Jingzhou, so he brought in Liu Bei, the same clan, to check and balance the power of the Cai family...

Chapter 50 On the Tower

It is said that Liu Bei declined Zhang Juzheng's invitation. That Zhang Juzheng was helpless and had to say: "So, if Uncle Huang has any needs in the future, Prime Minister Luo and I, Zhang Juzheng, will definitely help with all my strength, and Uncle may speak." Liu Bei quickly thanked him.

That Xu Shu was a little worried, and said: "Then Cao Cao's ambition is not small. After defeating Hebei, he will inevitably lead his army south. Jingzhou may be in danger. If Liu Biao is still alive, the situation will be better. If Liu Biao dies, the situation will be extremely dangerous. Uncle, be careful." Liu Bei nodded and said yes, sighed: "Cao Cao is very powerful, when the time comes, I Liu Bei can only do my best to fulfill my responsibilities, and I will not be responsible for Liu Biao and the people of Jingzhou."

However, Huang Zhong disagreed: "Everyone knows, according to the latest battle report in front, Cao Cao gathered half a million troops to Lintong Pass, but he was defeated in the first battle. Now the world runs from north to south, and the entire "three five seven" western part is my fall. The prime minister's control area. Cao Cao will inevitably be afraid, so analysis, Cao Cao may not dare to send troops."

Zhang Juzheng shook his head again and again: "Cao Cao is very powerful. If he wins Hebei, he may even be stronger than the prime minister. The Central Plains are rich, economically developed, and densely populated, which is not comparable to my western region. Cao Cao won Hebei and basically owned Cao Cao himself. Coupled with Yuan Shao's strength, its strength can be imagined." Xu Shu nodded and said: "This time, Cao Cao's westward expedition has gathered 500,000 troops in a few days, and all of them are field troops. The strong economic and population strength of the Central Plains, to be honest, I cannot achieve such a strong mobilization in the west."