Chapter 205 Interception before and after
In the Chanyu's palace, Cui Yan, who had just fallen asleep in the second half of the night, was startled awake by some noise.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he found that the house was brightly lit. He rubbed his eyes, put on his fur coat, walked out of the dormitory, walked around the screen, and pushed open the door.

I saw a clear sky outside the door, and when I raised my eyebrows, I saw the sky was blue without a trace of impurities.

His mood also brightened and he walked down the stairs. The slightly scorching sun sprinkled on his face, as if streams of strength penetrated his skin and merged into his body and mind.

He swung his arms left and right and twisted his waist. When he was about to walk out of the small courtyard, he saw the guard on duty in front of the door with his arms folded in front of him.

The guard didn't dare to look up, and Cui Yan's expression changed immediately: "Why is this?"

There was no military officer on duty, and there were only six guards guarding the gate nearby. No one answered Cui Yan's questions.

Cui Yan tried to force his way in, but the guards said nothing. They just worked together to push Cui Yan back and closed the door.

Seeing this, Cui Yan flicked his sleeves, turned back angrily, quickly climbed up to the second floor and held up the window, then saw teams of Hedong soldiers of varying sizes, carrying bags or pushing carts, advancing in two groups towards the north.

One group went north along the Fen River to Huocheng, and the other group advanced northeastwards along the Han Xinling official road.

Seeing this, Cui Yan's anger gradually subsided, but he felt a little dejected.

The people of Hedong could easily sell Wang Yi, so they could naturally put him under house arrest.

Even though he set fire to the fodder stored in the royal court, he still failed to dispel the ambitions of the people of Hedong.

After all, it was the black bear that scared the people of Hedong.

The world of Hedong people cannot tolerate a neighbor who is stronger and more domineering than Gongsun Zan.

It’s a pity that after this battle, Hedong will be completely separated from Hebei.

The front line, in Zhongdu County.

Wang Ling sat in the main seat, holding a wooden tablet in his hand, on which was recorded a rough statistics of the morning.

Nearly 500 slaves froze to death last night, and nearly 3,000 people have suffered frostbite or frostbite disease in the past few days.

Moreover, since nightfall, Taishi Wengong attacked the small settlements on the outskirts, destroyed twelve of them, killed and captured about seven hundred people, and then left.

Guo Huai sat by the brazier and described the current predicament: "The peripheral tribes are already in a panic, and some of the garrisons have retreated without permission. The snow has stopped today, and many people think that tonight will be colder, and there will be more frostbite and casualties, and there are generally complaints."

Wang Rou on one side asked, "Can we dispatch Wuhuan people to patrol the outer garrisons?"

Slightly larger outposts must be set up on the outskirts of the main camp and major garrison areas; small outposts with dozens or hundreds of people should also be set up between these outposts to ensure that they can serve as a warning at night.

Tai Shi Wengong was too ferocious, and Xiaotunlei had no ability to resist last night.

One small settlement after another set fire to the fortresses in an effort to seek help, but no reinforcements came and the small settlements could not hold out until the reinforcements arrived.

"The Wuhuan people disliked the Xiongnu and were hostile and wary of them."

Wang Ling explained: "The Wuhuan would never send out troops before the Xiongnu came forward to fight."

The conditions for the Huns to join the war were very simple, that is, the people of Taiyuan attacked first.

Wang Ling did not expect that the Wuhuan people he had recruited along the way and temporarily bribed and hired had now reached a consensus and refused to set up camp in front, let alone launch an attack first.

Even if they joined forces with the Taiyuan people to launch a preemptive offensive, the Wuhuan people would dare to refuse after they formed a group.

Although the Xiongnu and Wuhuan people carried leather tents, they also had many armed slaves accompanying them. In the past few days, there have been continuous casualties among the slave group due to freezing to death or frostbite.

But they were able to hold back and were determined to force the people of Taiyuan to fight first.

Just as Liu Bao said before, the Huns can retreat, and the Wuhuan can also retreat.

Only the people of Taiyuan could not retreat, they had no other choice.

Wang Ling's answer made the dozen or so people around him look unhappy, so Guo Huai said, "Since there is no other choice, why don't we have a feast for the soldiers today and start a decisive battle tomorrow?"

Last night, there were nearly two thousand casualties in combat and non-combat, and every household has suffered losses. This cannot last for a few days.

As a result, a representative of a famous family stood up and said, "The troops of Hedong will march north from Pingyang today. In three days, they will be able to attack the black bandits from both sides! By then, we will achieve twice the result with half the effort. After joining forces with the troops of Hedong, we will not have to worry about the Xiongnu and Wuhuan causing chaos."

Guo Huai looked at him and asked, "If we wait three days, how many servants in the army will be alive?"

If people who suffer from frostbite or frostbite today do not receive good treatment, they will become among those who freeze to death tomorrow.

No one answered Guo Huai's question. Although they felt sorry for the loss of servants, they still gritted their teeth and persevered.

At this time, a young scholar came in quickly with a roll of sheepskin and handed it to Wang Rou: "A letter from the Chanyu."

Wang Rou spread out the sheepskin scroll, glanced at it and handed it to Wang Ling: "Liu Bao is urging us to fight. Every day we wait, the Xiongnu will suffer losses. The snow is so deep that it is difficult for the horses to find food. When the fodder brought by the army is eaten up, the Xiongnu's horses will be exhausted and they will be trapped."

Wang Rou looked at the others again: "Liu Bao hopes that we will start the battle tomorrow. If he does not see any movement from our army, he will lead his troops to withdraw after daybreak. Otherwise, they will run out of horse feed and be in a passive position. They would rather withdraw and suffer losses than be passively controlled by us."

Wang Ling glanced at the scroll and asked Sun Zi beside him: "What did Yang Feng say?"

"The most he can do is to stop the troops and watch the battle, but he can't lead them to turn against the enemy."

Sun Zi was also sitting near Guo Huai, warming himself by the fire. He looked up at Wang Ling and said, "There are many former Yellow Turbans in Yang Feng's army. If he turns against us, his army will be in chaos."

Similar to Guo Xian, he can restrain the troops in place and it is difficult to lead them to turn against the enemy in battle.

Of course, this is only the current battle situation; when the Guanzhong troops are really weakened, these people will surely turn against their own side and chase down the defeated soldiers.

Wang Ling was not surprised and asked again: "How did Zhang Yan and Zhao Yun respond?"

"These two men killed the messenger and sent his head to the black thief."

A middle-aged scholar who was in charge of instigating the rebellion of the generals in the south said: "Wei Yue released our envoy, but cut off a pair of ears."

"You thief insulted me too much!"

Wang Ling then asked Linghu Chao, who was in contact with Hedong, "Can the garrisons of Huocheng and Tangcheng persuade us?"

"It's very difficult. Since yesterday morning, the Hongnong soldiers outside Huocheng were instructed by the Yang brothers to rob and kill the Hedong envoy. The Hedong envoy has difficulty contacting Wen Pin."

Linghu Chao said in a normal tone: "The Yang family of Hongnong has joined forces with the black bandits. My brother is no longer able to control the Hongnong soldiers. The black bandits appointed Liu Xiong, the commander of Tangcheng, whose troops are all from the Shangluo mountains, and are difficult to persuade. The soldiers guarding the South Pass and the Middle Pass are transferred north, so the Xiongnu can bypass them and pass through the official road of Han Xinling behind them."

Sun Zi, who was familiar with the surrounding terrain, said, "Even if the Xiongnu on the west bank divided their troops and went around the southern end of Queshu Valley today, they would only have 5,000 cavalry. Given the ferocity of the Black Bandits, 5,000 cavalry stationed in the valley would be isolated and difficult to sustain. If they could unite with the Hedong troops, they should be able to hold out and divide the Black Bandits' forces." Everyone thought about this proposal, and many people looked at Wang Rou, who shook his head, "The Xiongnu have suffered setbacks at the hands of the Black Bandits. Before Taishi Wengong died, the Xiongnu would never divide their troops to go around and attack."

As he said this, he looked at Wang Ling and said, "We can't wait any longer. If we wait a day, we will lose two thousand men. How many more can we lose in a battle with the black bandits? Tomorrow our army will head south and fight the black bandits first."

"That's fine. I will order the Wuhuan people to gather and observe so that we can provide support. Liu Bao cannot be left behind here. He must be at least 20 miles away from our army. There are many black thieves and knights, so we must be on guard."

Wang Ling agreed, and Wang Rou also stood up: "I will talk to Liu Bao in person."

Everyone stood up one after another, and Sun Zi couldn't help but let out a long sigh when he walked out.

He has been hiding in Hedong for the past two years to avoid his enemies and has become familiar with the people of Hedong.

He also knew that he could not blame the people of Hedong now. If the people of Hedong had turned against him before the snow fell and attacked Wen Pin, Liu Xiong, Zhao Yun and others who were heading north, the black bear would never have stayed at the northern end of Queshu Valley.

They will certainly go south with all their strength, and no one will be able to save the people of Hedong at that time.

The people of Hedong have now turned against us, but after the heavy snow, the mountain roads are difficult to travel on.

The Fenshui Road was blocked by Huocheng and Tangcheng, so the Hedong soldiers could only take the Han Xinling official road to the east of the Fenshui Road.

This was the road Liu Bang took when he withdrew his troops. At that time, Empress Lu beheaded Han Xin and sent his head to Liu Bang's army, and Liu Bang buried Han Xin on the spot.

This official road is located in Taiyue Mountain, with Qi County to the north and Pingyang and Yang County to the south.

The Hedong soldiers who set out from Pingyang had to travel a full 350 miles to reach the battlefield.

This is a front-line march under pre-war conditions. It would take three days to arrive at the destination by a forced march, or five or six days if it is a slower march.

How much impact can the Hedong soldiers, who will not arrive until three days later, have?

The Yang brothers led the Hongnong people to surrender to Hei Xiong. With the Yang family's connections, the Yang brothers must have received accurate and detailed secret reports when the Hedong people were plotting to put Cui Yan under house arrest.

In other words, when the Hedong people launched the mutiny last night, the Yang brothers' accusation messenger might have already arrived at the Black Bear front-line military camp and informed them of the Hedong rebellion.

But it doesn’t matter, since the main force of the Black Bears has been surrounded.

Even if Black Bear managed to break through and return to Guanzhong alive, the Huns, Taiyuan people, and Hedong people would definitely hunt him down to the end.

What can Black Bear use to fight back after losing its main cavalry force and retreating into Guanzhong?
Just as their meeting was ending, Gan Ning's fleet of more than 300 ships hoisted side sails, and the officers and soldiers rowed in batches, going upstream against the Yellow River, and had already passed Pubanjin for 30 miles.

Almost at the same time when the messenger of the Yang brothers informed Hei Xiong, Gan Ning received Hei Xiong's order to send troops.

It was very simple. The flock of geese raised by Gan Ning disappeared all at once and were called back by the black bear.

Just as the telegram said, Gan Ning, who had already prepared to send troops, was ready to go, and at four o'clock in the morning, his entire army boarded the ship.

From Fenglingdu, go north along the Yellow River, turn into Fenshui at Longmenjin and then go upstream. It is 500 miles by water to reach Pingyang; another 300 miles will bring you to the front line.

At this moment, Black Bear led more than a hundred riders to circle around the foot of the mountain on the east side to observe the changes in the terrain.

About twenty miles northeast of here is one of the small paths of the Han Xinling official road. More than 4,000 people of Yang Feng's vanguard army who arrived here first have already camped in the mountains to avoid the wind.

From the beginning to the end, Black Bear never expected any decent reinforcements.

Except for Gan Ning, Zhao Yun and Wen Pin, any reinforcements that arrived nearby were subconsciously classified by him as enemy troops or friendly troops that were about to evolve into enemy troops.

Arriving at the gentle slope at the foot of the mountain, Black Bear dismounted and squinted his eyes to look into the distance.

The more than 200 riders who followed him also dismounted, some of them stayed behind to feed the horses, and all surrounded the black bear.

"The area around the Fen River and the lakes is high in the north and low in the south, so when the Xiongnu and Wuhuan rode their horses, they were able to look down from a high position and gain an advantage."

Black Bear pointed the whip in his hand like an ornament at the camps of all parties and said to the officers around him: "So if we want to win, we must save horsepower and cannot charge from south to north. This will waste horsepower and will not give us an advantage."

Zhao Yun stood by and asked: "General, what you mean is that after the battle, the cavalry will go around to the east and up the slope, and attack from the flank?"

"Yes, my target is not the Taiyuan people. They are not worthy of my 30,000 strong cavalry charge."

Black Bear pointed to the groups of Xiongnu people grazing their horses on the ice of the swamp in the distance and said, "Tomorrow, bring three days' worth of fodder and beans, each with two horses, and leave the camp at three o'clock in the morning to march thirty, thirty-five, or forty miles away, and divide into six teams."

"There are too many Xiongnu people. It is not easy for them to change their formation. If they change their formation at will, it will inevitably lead to chaos."

"I will order Taishi Wengong to repeatedly charge and penetrate the Xiongnu cavalry formation to disrupt their turning and formation. My mission for you is to take advantage of the opportunity to get close, and when you are three or four miles away, speed up your charge, defeat the Xiongnu in one fell swoop, and drive them deep into the lake!"

"I give the Huns two choices: either surrender, or drive them into the lake."

Black Bear's eyes fell on the four newly selected cavalry generals. Their ability to command in battle might be problematic, but they would definitely listen to his orders obediently.

These four cavalry generals wear cloaks of blue, red, yellow and white respectively. This is the new four-color battle flag formation.

"Qu handsome."

The four men saluted at the same time. Black Bear looked at them and the officers behind them who used the four colors. "You can charge after the convoy has charged. Hold on to the Xiongnu. As long as we can defeat them successfully, most of the wounded can be rescued and we can achieve the final victory."

The four men led their officers to bow and kowtow. Black Bear looked at Zhao Yun again and said, "Zilong will be assigned to the rear team. After the four teams have charged, Zilong will lead the team to observe the battle situation, spy on the weaknesses, and look for opportunities to fight on his own."

Give Zhao Yun the task of attacking weak points and delivering the fatal blow.

Zhao Yun also bowed solemnly. He had no way to retreat in this battle. If he lost, Guanlong, Taiyuan and Hedong would unite with Cao Cao again.

Black Bear then looked at the dozen or so officers in his own team wearing black cloaks: "You and Zhao Zilong are in the rear team, waiting for Taishi Wengong. After you meet up, follow Taishi Wengong to make a detour and infiltrate the Xiongnu to deal a fatal blow. No matter how the battle situation changes, you must follow Taishi Wengong."

We cannot rely solely on Zhao Yun's performance in battle. If the battle goes well, he doesn't mind giving Liu Bao a way out.

If we cannot defeat him immediately, we will have to kill him on the battlefield.

The officers of the Black Flag Team also bowed their heads in unison. They will be the strongest killers on the battlefield tomorrow.

In addition to these six cavalry units, there is also a temporary chariot unit responsible for disrupting the battlefield before the battle, and they will do their best to disrupt the battlefield as much as possible.

The original plan was to use a horse-drawn carriage, but the snow was more than a foot thick, so we changed to a sleigh ride over the past two days.

As long as these charioteers get running, the situation won't be too bad.

(End of this chapter)