Chapter 135: The Little Old Man Called Zhang Cheng

Taishi Gong said: Yu Ben Ji said, "The river flows out of Kunlun. Kunlun is more than 2,500 li high, and the sun and the moon are sheltered from each other. It is also bright. There are Liquan and Yaochi on it." Today, since Zhang Qian's envoy to the Great Xia, the source of the river is poor, and I hate to see the so-called Kunlun in this era? It is said that the mountains and rivers of Kyushu are close to the Shangshu. Up to Yu Benji, all the monsters in Shanhaijing, I dare not speak. The trace of Dawan, Yuan Yin Bowang. Begin to study the source of the river, and look at the sea. The branches go westward, and the pegasus is inward. Cong Ridge is dust-free, and the salt pond is silent. The vastness of the territory is often a pavilion.

——"Historical Records: Biography of Dayuan"

Although nominally the level of the deputy military division roughly corresponds to the generals, generals and generals. But in the fallen army, there is a clear tendency: in the same rank, civilians are often higher in status than generals. For example, the military adviser Zhuge Liang, whose position is "supervising the country". Zhang Juzheng, who was in charge of reforming the Guanzhong area first, and then the "four-eighth zero" Yizhou, was immediately dispatched to Yizhou as the prefect, and was the number one reform commander. Zhang Heng, the number one organizer of national scientific and technological progress. These people are very polite when they see Luochen, and they are very polite. Although Xu Da, a general of the same level, has a very high status, he obviously has to give up three points in front of Zhuge Liang, Zhang Juzheng and others.

Further down, Xu Shu, the deputy military advisor of Wenchen, is an old minister who has been with Luochen all the time. Among those generals, Huang Zhong, Xiahouyuan, Ma Chao, Yan Qing, Lin Chong, etc., which one has not been commanded by him? Therefore, although they were of the same rank in name, these powerful local generals were all respectful when they saw Xu Shu.

Today, the newly promoted deputy military division, no one knows where he came from, but suddenly became the deputy military division. Just like back then, no one knew where Zhang Juzheng came from, and suddenly he was directly assigned to be the Situ, leading the land and military reform in the Guanzhong area. Even in the Guanzhong area, they did not hesitate to kill the clansmen. Finally, the productivity of the Guanzhong area was liberated, and the financial capacity and resources of Luochen Group increased exponentially. Of course, like General Xu Da, he suddenly appeared and was directly promoted to become the commander. Like Chang Yuchun, it's better, let him stay in the position of Shuofang prefect for a long time, and then immediately go out to the mountain to serve as a general, and he is likely to be promoted again in the future.

These sudden appearances of civilian and military generals, without exception, are very powerful. Without exception, they have obtained the great trust and support of Luo Chen.

Several generals looked at each other and said, "Mr. Zhang, it's an honor." This Mr. Zhang returned the salute naturally with a smile, looking like a good old man. Can't help but wonder what kind of work he is going to preside, cultural education? Didn't Zhang Heng already serve as the principal of Chang'an Academy? However, if people saw the way he commanded a squad of the Guards to fight against the Huns patrol just now, they would probably not doubt the identity and ability of this desert veteran.

This Mr. Zhang Cheng is the famous Hou Zhangqian of the Western Han Dynasty and Chinese history.

Zhang Qian was ordered by Emperor Wu to join forces with the Dayue clan to fight against the Xiongnu. Unexpectedly, he was detained for decades after passing through the Xiongnu for the first time. After fleeing, he arrived at Dawan, Kangju and other places, and then arrived at the Da Yuezhi. This is the first time that the Central Plains Empire has actively sent official envoys to the Western Regions to prepare for the Silk Road and the Western Han Empire to control the Western Regions. After that, Zhang Qian was sent to the Western Regions again, and then to the Southern Border. He was a desert veteran and an ace diplomat.

This can explain why this little old man, who usually only knows how to laugh, is still very calm and easy to deal with when he encounters the big wolf and the strange wolf patrol. It can also explain, at this critical moment, why Luochen suddenly activated him and suddenly joined Luochen's desert army. A veteran who has spent his life in the desert and outside the territory, without this level of composure and bravery, without this level of strategic coping ability, how could it be possible?

Such a desert veteran suddenly joined, of course, he was exchanged in the system.

The Western Han Dynasty was too close to the Three Kingdoms, four or five hundred years earlier than the Three Kingdoms. When Zhang Qian said his name, didn't he want to scare people, was he an old goblin? So he changed his name to Zhang Cheng. This is the third surnamed Zhang of the high-ranking officials in Luochen, and Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Heng are in front.

"The details of the big wolves that attacked our army a few days ago have basically been ascertained, and they are a combat team specially trained by the Huns." Luo Chen summed up succinctly. "The nine big wolves of this team, three riders, formed a team to spy on our army's secrets. Mr. Zhang led the team to find out and engaged in a confrontation." Luo Chen said and looked at Zhang Cheng, as if to confirm. For a moment, this Mr. Zhang Cheng smiled and nodded.0

"This also means that the wolves are no longer a secret to us, and our whereabouts - to the Huns - are no secret at all." Luo Chen's last sentence was almost word for word.

The generals in the audience looked at each other in dismay. The most difficult time for the long-distance surprise attack has passed. It seems that the Hexi Corridor will be taken down without the enemy's defense. Now this situation occurs...

"From a distance, there are only two ways for the enemy: First, the Xiongnu troops in the four Hexi counties were alerted, and they began to shrink their forces and build fortifications. --Or run away in time." Luo Chen added with a sneer, expressing his disdain, The conductors under the stage naturally sneered. "There's another way, which is to transfer troops from the front line of confrontation from the north. But it's too late. Think about it, how long have we traveled? And..." Luo Chen sneered even more. "The messenger! Long distance, go to Shuofang!" Two senior messengers immediately appeared in the tent. "Pass it on to Xu Da, the commander-in-chief of the front line in Shuofang: The Xiongnu army has discovered the location and purpose of my desert raiding army. Your task is to hold back the main force of the Xiongnu in front of them so that they cannot go south for rescue." The messenger got the shorthand letter, and the two quickly ran towards Shuofang from different directions.

The generals below listened to such a neat order and analysis 0.6, and all looked proud. Although the Huns knew the whereabouts of the raiding team, what was the use of it? The Xiongnu soldiers in the four counties of Hexi could not be defeated no matter how much they got, and the Xiongnu soldiers from the other side of Shuofang could not get over.

"From a close distance, the situation is grim!" Luo Chen suddenly lowered his voice and sharply reminded the generals below. "The situation is very serious, and a brutal battle is imminent!"

"We used nearly 10,000 elite cavalry to capture more than a dozen wolves, and we lost nearly 20 casualties." Luo Chen mentioned the grassland pursuit battle a few days ago. "You should have seen the brutality of the battle at that time. Many of my soldiers fought with wolves at close range and with death."

"What if the number of wolves is increased by 10,000 times? How about a hundred thousand wolves? What about adding a hundred thousand Xiongnu riders?" Luo Chen suddenly asked loudly. .

Chapter 136: The Battle of Jingzhou

The desert cavalry team led by the northern dust fell into an extremely severe situation, suddenly a powerful enemy appeared, and the marching position and combat purpose were violent, and it was necessary to prepare for a brutal battle at any time.

The battle situation in the south was also extremely tense: an urgent letter from Huang Zhong was passed to Xu Da and to Luo Chen. It didn't take long for the newly promoted deputy counselor, Mr. Fa Zheng, to head south quickly to Xinye, where he met with generals Huang Zhong and Liu Bei in Xinye. The arrival of Fazheng naturally aroused all kinds of speculation and great concern.

At the same time, after the settlement of the Hebei war, a large number of Cao's troops began to move south rapidly. Cao Ren led the cavalry to Fancheng. It is only one step away from Xinye and Jingzhou.

Many people thought that a big and fierce duel - between Luochen Group and Cao Cao Group - would start in Jingzhou immediately. To put it bluntly, Cao Ren, Yu Jin and others will fight against Huang Zhong and Fazheng. After all, the forces of Liu Qi and Liu Bei have already faced off fiercely with the Cai clan in Xinye. The Cai clan obviously took the initiative to attack and even wanted to rob Liu Bei's wife. At this time, the strength behind Liu Bei's forces was revealed. The local leader of Luochen, Huang Zhong, sent his elite 10 sharp iron cavalry to beat the Jingzhou cavalry to a screeching halt.

Unexpectedly, the tense war in Jingzhou suddenly came to an end.

Not a single faction has acted - of course, Liu Bei's return to Xinye doesn't seem like a serious move. Cai Shi was suddenly frightened by Luo Chen's power, and fell on the ground before Cao Cao arrived. Although Liu Lin was arrogant, he also knew that showing his face at this time was killing him. The fallen troops strictly control their actions - this is the proposal formulated by Mr. Fazheng, instead of aggressively attacking the Cai Group and seizing its territory. The only force that entered Jingzhou was less than 30,000 cavalry led by a general.

The most important variable, Cao Cao's power, unexpectedly remained static. Of course, according to Fazheng's point of view, the reasonable explanation is that Cao Cao's war machine is too large and it will take time to drive over, so keep silent now. When the preparations are completed, entering Jingzhou is bound to be in chaos. Of course, Huang Zhong may have a different view - that is, the situation in Jingzhou may be stable and fluctuating for a long time in the future. That is, although there are great fluctuations, the overall regime stability will not be broken.

An article was widely distributed among Cao Cao's army. When it spread to Jingzhou, Luoyang paper was expensive for a while.

It's amazing just to be the partner of the author and the commenter of this article: the author of this article is Luo Chen, and the commenter is Cao Cao.

This article is about how the Central Plains regime responded to the iron cavalry of the northern nomads. Luochen never thought of publishing him publicly. This article was Luochen's private research and was thrown aside at will. Two months later, Cao Cao printed him out. Cao Cao commented and praised him greatly. He believed that Luo Chen was a talent through the ages. Therefore, this time the Luo army fought against the Xiongnu, and Luo Chen would definitely win. There is a great meaning to cheer for Luochen to fight against the Huns.

The following is an overview of the following articles, so that readers can understand and take a look at Luochen's analytical capabilities:

Luo Chen first talked about the traditional infantry tactics of the Central Plains: the phalanx tactics are a traditional tactics, even Wei Qing and others have not changed. The phalanx consists of infantry, chariots and cavalry, with the infantry and chariots outside and the cavalry inside. An important prop was called "antlers", that is, sharpened trees with twigs and branches, shaped like antlers, which were half inserted into the ground during wartime to stop the impact of cavalry. When fighting, the chariots are arranged in a curved arrangement, with antlers between them, interlaced to form a hook shape, in order to reduce the impact of the Turkic cavalry and limit the cavalry's rushing activities. The infantry should cooperate with the chariot. As the chariot and antlers blocked the Turkic cavalry, the formation of the Turkic cavalry was destroyed, and the infantry could rush to the outside of the chariot to fight. If the infantry defeats the enemy, the cavalry in the middle of the formation will come out to pursue; even if the infantry cannot win, theoretically, the losses of our infantry and cavalry, especially the cavalry, can be reduced. This is a typical defensive tactics. The key is the phalanx barriers formed by the infantry and chariots. One can limit the enemy's cavalry, and secondly, it can protect our cavalry to the maximum extent. This tactic reflects two points. First, in the early Sui and Tang Dynasties, especially in the Sui Dynasty, the Central Plains Dynasty fought against the Turks with infantry as the main force;

Then analyze the word "Cavalry Turkification". Naturally, Cao Cao couldn't understand words such as "Sui Dynasty" and "Turkey", but Cao Cao was worthy of his talent and intelligence, and he was able to replace it accurately. In the Sui Dynasty, Taiyuan became the number one military town to defend against the Turks. Li Yuan guarded Taiyuan and was on the front line of fighting against the Turks. The first is to learn the fighting style of the Turks, familiar with riding and archery, using bows and arrows more, and usually wearing armor. This is in the same vein as Zhao Wuling King Hu Fu's riding and shooting. Li Yuan was a step closer than Hu Fu's cavalry and archery, that is, he not only learned the Turks in combat, but also learned the Turks in the way of life. Live by water and grass, there is no fixed place for camp; sheep and horses are used for military ration; when the team advances, there is no need to form a line, and the wind is fast; the battle is fashionable and brave, seeking wealth, and when it loses, it retreats quickly, without shame. The Turkicization of the cavalry made the soldiers reborn, and their combat effectiveness was greatly enhanced. Even when the Turks encountered these soldiers, they could not distinguish them, thinking they belonged to a certain tribe of Turks.

Tang Taizong 950 Li Shimin was a good soldier in combat, made good use of tactics such as detours and assaults, and dared to penetrate the enemy's line. These are inseparable from the elite iron cavalry, which further promoted the development of the elite cavalry in the Tang Dynasty. In addition to surprise soldiers, Li Shimin also likes riding and archery very much. He himself said: "I don't like bows and arrows, and I think I can do my best." Li Shiming accompanied Li Yuan in Taiyuan when he was a child, and was quite influenced by the "Turkishization of cavalry", and the habit of riding and archery was deeply rooted in his bones. In addition, the Guanlong Group, to which the rulers of the Sui and Tang Dynasties belonged, had some nomadic cavalry and archery colors.

The last is to use Fan soldiers. The use of Fan soldiers in the Tang Dynasty made a qualitative leap in the combat effectiveness of the army, which greatly promoted the Turkicization of the cavalry. The Tang army's "eating and living, together with the Turks" attracted more Turkic soldiers to join. Fan soldiers played a huge role in the founding of the Tang Empire. Of course, not only the Tang army, but many princes at the end of the Sui Dynasty also absorbed Turkic soldiers. For example, in Li Mi's team, there are "hundreds of thousands of horsemen". This set off a nationwide upsurge of learning Turkic cavalry, and the Central Plains cavalry was reborn.

Although this article is slightly obscure, the argument is subtle and can be seen naturally. This is the result of Luochen's in-depth study of the history of cavalry warfare, and I still have to thank the system... However, once this article was published, it led to various disputes and matters, which will be discussed later.

Chapter 137: King Huyan

The encounter on the grassland made the Central Plains and the Huns very upset.

For the fallen army, they thought that the sneak attack plan was successfully achieved, but unexpectedly, a wolf army was killed halfway. How big is this wolf army? How is the strength? Will it completely change the strength of the fallen army and the Xiongnu army in the Hexi Corridor? If the Wolf Legion is very strong and has a shot, then in this vast desert, the 150,000 people who fall into the army will inevitably suffer heavy losses, and may even be wiped out. For the Huns, it was agreed that everyone would prepare for a head-to-head confrontation on the grasslands. As a result, Luochen relied on multiple troops to attack his own Hexi Corridor. the must-have place. At this time, the fallen army suddenly appeared near the Hexi Corridor, and it seemed to be an organized brigade of cavalry. How can we not let the Xiongnu decision-makers panic?

Everyone's attention is focused on one point: how many people are there on the opposite side of Mom! For the fallen army, if the opposite is a pack of wolves, about a hundred or so, playing around, that's fine, no problem. If it were thousands of wolves and cavalry, things would be horrific. Everyone has seen the combat effectiveness of the wolf pack. Luochen only has hundreds of thousands of cavalry, and after so many days of forced marching, the troops are divided into two parts. If it is attacked by tens of thousands of cavalry and wolves, it is likely to be in an extremely passive state. For the Huns, if it is a small thousand people, it is best to be Ma Teng's local army, then there is no problem, at most harassment and harassment, the Hexi Corridor is safe. If Luochen specially sent to attack, there are hundreds of thousands of people, then it's over, fell into Luochen's trick, no matter how big the army rushed to Hexi, and there are still hundreds of thousands of Luochen in front of him going crazy. Seek a decisive battle.

The grassland is vast and sparsely populated. This is the first meeting between senior generals and some powerful factions since the Zhongping coup.

The continuous remnants of the Yinshan Mountains stop here. To the right, there are sparse grasslands and deserts, a small lake, under the Remainders of the Yinshan Mountains. The continuous Yinshan Mountains became a barrier for the Huns' defense - and also made it temporarily safe. King Huyan of the Northern Huns, the only king who maintained his independent fief and population, ran for nearly 100 kilometers and reached the edge of this small lake.

It is very common for the Xiongnu to confer kings, and they are all local powerful factions. However, after the cleaning of Qiangqu and Zhongping, almost all local Xiongnu kings exist in name only, or they are directly abolished or killed. For example, in the coup d'état, Zhong Ping actually slaughtered a group of local powerful factions. However, this King Huyan, Emperor Tiangao was far away, and he was honest, so he could be considered to have survived.

Sentries were scattered around the small lake, and King Huyan's guards were stopped. Hu Yan was also a king of the Xiongnu, no matter where he went, he was always chasing after him, and this time he brought more than a hundred cavalry. Considering that he was meeting Zhong Ping this time, he couldn't be too arrogant, so Hu Yan ordered most of them to walk slowly, and rushed over with a few guards. The expressionless guard stopped his guard: "Idle people can't wait to enter ¨ˇ."

How could King Huyan be so rude, he couldn't help being very annoyed, and he was about to attack, but after all, he was out of his own territory, and it was better to be cautious and low-key in everything. Then he made a cold gesture to his guard: "You wait here."

There was a stalemate here, and there was a rush of hooves from the east, and a general rushed to the highest warning area by the lake in an instant, and then calmly reined in his horse. The man behind him also brought a guard, but he seemed to understand the rules and stopped just right. This general has a dark complexion, sharp edges and corners, and is not tall. Jianmei looked cold. Hu Yan saw that this person was familiar, thought for a second, and realized that this person had once suppressed the rebels in his defense area - that is, the person who did not support Zhongping. During that time, Hu Yan was worried, and he had already made up his mind: If people don't move, I won't move, and if people move, I will move. If Zhong Ping doesn't do anything to him, then everyone will be at peace, and I will listen to you. If you want to kill yourself, you can only make trouble, run away if you can't fight, anyway, the west is a vast unknown world. Even if you don't keep migrating west, you can survive in the Western Regions.

At that time, this general had a cold look. If I remember correctly, he seemed to be called Zhao Cheng. At that time, some people gave him the nicknames "Field Ghost", "Ghost" and so on. In less than a month, the local dissident forces were defeated, and they fled to death. However, this Zhao Cheng seems to have received special instructions. The army generally does not enter Huyan's Wangcheng. Zhao Cheng's men saw Huyan's local troops, but they didn't seem to see it. There was no communication and no friction. He left after a month, and then Zhong Ping sent a letter to call him "Brother Huyan" affectionately, to appease him, but did not touch his territory or population.

Being able to survive, Hu Yan felt that Zhao Cheng played a role in it.

So he immediately forgot his unhappiness, walked over quickly, and greeted: "¨'General Zhao Cheng! General Zhao Cheng!"

Then Zhao Cheng stopped, turned his head coldly, and looked him up and down.

Wearing luxurious clothes and embroidered with the beast pattern that represented his identity, Hu Yan should have been quite confident, but somehow, some felt that he was being seen. Hu Yan was a little flustered and straightened his clothes, and said with a smile on his face: "General Zhao Cheng, the next is King Huyan of the Northern Huns, a few years ago..." Before he finished speaking, Zhao Chengcheng nodded, as if to say: " Needless to say, I understand." The guards on both sides lifted the tent curtain for him, and Zhao Cheng walked into the central army tent without turning his head, leaving Hu Yan in a mess in the wind. Nima, this person is so rude! Hu Yan's affection for Zhao Cheng disappeared instantly.

But it is not the way to dry it, Hu Yan still clucked (dead) arranging his clothes, and strode into the central army tent. The guard was quite polite, and thoughtfully raised the tent curtain for him.

Hu Yan originally thought that there were a lot of people sitting in the big tent, high-ranking generals and officials, priests, local elders, etc., and then there were many other kings - although they existed in name only, they had no real power at all. But as soon as he entered, the scene inside surprised him. In the huge tent of the Chinese army, there were only five or six people sitting at random. These people did not sit on the sides, but were very casual, even in a circle. For a moment, Hu Yan even thought that he had gone to the wrong place...or that he had come too early, not many people showed up, and neither did Zhong Ping.

But it was Zhong Ping sitting in the middle of the circle. Zhong Ping brought Hu Yan back to reality in one sentence: "Brother Hu Yan, you are finally here, hurry up, you will be missed.".