Three Kingdoms King of the North

After listening to Han Zhan's words, Dong Cheng murmured in his heart: Marquis Ting made such an arrangement, probably because he was afraid that when he went out to fight in the city, I would not be able to control the defenders in the city. Taking the opportunity to cause chaos, I really can't suppress it.

After trying to understand the reasoning, Dong Cheng nodded and said to Han Zhan: "I am willing to obey Tinghou's arrangement, and tomorrow I will lead the defenders in the city to escort Shengjia to Jizhou."

In the early morning of the next day, Han Zhan personally escorted Han Xiandi out of the east gate.Emperor Xian of Han poked his head out of the car, cheered up and said to Han Zhan, "Han Qing's family, Hangu Pass, please. I will wait for your return in Jizhou."

Han Zhan hurriedly bowed and saluted, and replied: "Your Majesty, please go back to Jizhou first, and I will return to Jizhou as soon as possible to meet His Majesty." After speaking, he waved to Jushou and others to signal that they could start their journey.

Standing on the side of the road, Han Zhan looked at the long team passing in front of him, and thought that these soldiers and horses would be incorporated into the Jizhou Army when they arrived in Jizhou, and he couldn't help feeling ecstatic.

"Han Jizhou," Han Zhan was complacent when he suddenly heard someone calling him. He looked up and saw that it was Lu Bu riding a red rabbit horse.Lu Bu cupped his fists on the horse and saluted: "We will meet later!"

"There will be a time later!" Han Zhan felt so happy when he thought that he would be able to send this plague god away soon.

Not long after Lu Bu passed by, there were two beautifully decorated carriages, surrounded by Lu Bu's subordinates, moving forward with the team.Han Zhan stared at one of them and thought to himself, "The most beautiful woman in the Three Kingdoms sits in it, but unfortunately she is also Lu Bu's favorite woman, otherwise I really want to keep her."

Just as he was thinking, he suddenly saw that the curtain on the window of the carriage had been lifted by a corner, and he could vaguely see a face that was all over the country and all over the city.Han Zhan couldn't help sighing, and then said to Huang Zhong who was standing behind him, "Han Sheng, let's go back to the city."

On the afternoon when Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty left, Jia Xu arrived with soldiers and horses.I don't know where he found this many soldiers and horses, there are a total of 10 people, plus the [-] cavalry brought by Li and Guo, the total force has reached [-].

Standing in the gate tower, Han Zhan looked at the camp in the distance, and his heart was still pounding.Now Li Guo has [-] soldiers and horses, but he has only [-] cavalry.Although these cavalrymen were equipped with stirrups and horseshoes on their horses, their combat power far surpassed that of any cavalry, but Han Zhan was very self-aware. He didn't think that with his own [-] cavalry, he could defeat Li Guo's [-] soldiers Ma, so he ordered to stick to it.

Jia Xu rushed to the camp, and after understanding the situation in detail, he said to Li and Guo: "You two generals, the reason why the defenders in the city have not fought for a long time, based on Jia's estimation, must be that there are too few soldiers and horses. Therefore, I dare not fight lightly. Hangu Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack. If our army launches a strong attack, even if we barely take the pass, we will suffer heavy losses. In Jia's opinion, it is better to set up troops in front of the pass and wait for the defenders in the pass. After the food and grass are cut off, we can launch a fierce attack, and we can easily break through the city."

Huang Zhong, who was patrolling the city, saw Li Guo's army approaching the village only three miles away from the city, and hurried into the guard's mansion to report to Han Zhan: "My lord, the soldiers and horses of the two thieves Li and Guo have already left the city. Go down to the stronghold at a distance of three miles. The last general dares to ask for orders, and ask the lord to give the last general a thousand cavalry, which will surely defeat the enemy army."

"Han Sheng, it's not that I don't want to fight." Han Zhan said helplessly: "However, the enemy's army is strong. If our army rushes to fight, it will be like a sheep entering the tiger's mouth. I still plan to stick to it and wait for the Jujian army and them to fight." After escorting the holy driver away, I will immediately abandon the gate and leave."

Fortunately, Huang Zhong is not a brave and foolish person. Hearing what Han Zhan said, he immediately understood the other party's intentions, and hurriedly replied: "Please rest assured, my lord, as long as the last general is here, I will definitely not let the two thieves Li and Guo go." Soldiers and horses enter the city."

As soon as Huang Zhong left the guard's mansion, a cavalry marquis ran up to him and reported to him, "Report to Colonel Huang, the bandits are calling for battle below the city, please go to the city quickly and have a look."

Huang Zhong followed his subordinate to the top of the city tower, and he heard a wave of curses, looked down, and saw dozens of disheveled soldiers standing an arrow away, pointing their fingers at the gates of the city wall. Direction, swearing.The yelling and cursing of the Xiliang soldiers made the Marquis a little annoyed. He said to Huang Zhong: "Please give me a hundred cavalrymen, Lieutenant, and I will kill them to the ground."

Unexpectedly, Huang Zhong shook his head and said, "If they want to scold, let them scold. No one is allowed to fight without my general's order. Anyone who disobeys the order will be beheaded!"

"Lieutenant," Junhou pointed to the group of Xiliang soldiers under the city, and said emotionally: "There are only a few dozen people below, and I can lead a hundred cavalry to rush out and kill them all. Please!" The captain agrees!"

Chapter 218

"You want to disobey?" Huang Zhong stared at the military lord who insisted on going to battle, and said, "Could it be that you don't listen to the commander's order?"

Seeing that Huang Zhong was angry, Junhou obediently closed his mouth.He leaned on the crenel, looked at the Xiliang soldiers below the city, and secretly cried out that it was a pity, and said that if the captain agreed to fight by himself, he would definitely be able to kill all these bandits.

Huang Zhong saw Junhou's gloomy look, so he walked up to him and said to him, "To tell you the truth, our school captain also wants to lead his troops out of the city to have a good time. But the lord repeatedly told him that although Li Jue and Guo Si Martial arts are mediocre, but they have a strategist under their command, who is really good, if he goes into battle rashly, he will fall into his tricks if he is not careful, so we have no choice but to hold on."

"Lieutenant," Junhou said with a bitter face, "the food and grass in the city can last up to five days. If we don't repel Li Guo's bandits, once the food runs out, we will have to withdraw from Hangu Pass. Thinking about traveling thousands of miles Coming here once, but returning in a hurry after failing to complete an inch of merit, I really feel unwilling."

In fact, not only the military marquis thought so, but the group of sergeants around him also thought the same way. They all echoed: "Lieutenant, we mobilized our troops to come to such a far place, but we withdrew to Jizhou without a battle. What others said , I'm also shameless when I wait."

Although Huang Zhong felt in his heart that he would withdraw his troops and return to Jizhou if there was no battle, if others talked about it, it would be a bit embarrassing.But he kept in mind what Han Zhan said. In order to ensure that Shengjia can reach Jizhou smoothly, he must stay at Hangu Pass for more than five days.Because he didn't speak, just turned and left.

As soon as he got off the tower, he rushed to the guard's mansion impatiently, and said to Han Zhan, "My lord, there are bandits fighting outside the city. I wonder if we can meet the enemy?"

Han Zhan looked up at Huang Zhong, and said strangely: "Han Sheng, didn't the Marquis tell you that the rebels are powerful and we have to stay behind closed doors. We will abandon the city and leave after the holy car is gone."

"But my lord, I heard that there is not enough food left in the city, so I can only support it for about five days." Although Han Zhan said he didn't plan to fight, Huang Zhong said unwillingly, "Why don't we fight with Li Guo before we abandon the pass?" Two thieves compete."

Regarding Huang Zhong's statement, Han Zhan thought for a while, and then said: "Han Sheng, we stay here to ensure that the Jujian Army and the others can safely escort Shengjia back to Jizhou. If you go to battle rashly, once you win Jia Xu's treacherous scheme, when Hangu Pass falls into the hands of Li and Guo's two thieves, they can send troops to pursue Shengjia."

Although Han Zhan stopped after speaking halfway, Huang Zhong knew very well in his heart that his lord had no intention of going to war at all, so he had no choice but to exit the conference hall in a leisurely manner.

Seeing Huang Zhong so restless, Han Zhan suddenly became a little uneasy.He got up and left the conference hall, and told Rob to prepare his horse, and went to Ximen with him to have a look.

When Han Zhan climbed the gate tower, the soldiers guarding here saluted him one after another.It just so happened that the Marquis who urged Huang Zhong to fight was also there. Seeing Han Zhan waving to the soldiers, he walked over and boldly said, "My lord, there are bandits calling for war outside the city. Please let your subordinates fight. be sure"

Before he finished speaking, Han Zhan raised his hand to stop him.Han Zhan said with a smile, "Master, do you really think that there are only dozens of Xiliang soldiers under the city?"

Hearing Han Zhan's words, the Marquis Jun couldn't help being taken aback, and asked, "Will they still have an ambush? But no, my subordinates have checked the surroundings carefully, and the rest of the bandits are staying in the camp."

"If the thieves and soldiers stayed in the camp, would Li and Guo send these dozens of soldiers out to die?" Han Zhan pointed to the hills on both sides, and said to the crowd: "Behind the hills on both sides, faintly There is a murderous look coming out. If what the Marquis expected is correct, there must be ambushes behind the hills."

Han Zhan's words made all the soldiers dubious.But thinking that the other party is their lord, even if they said something wrong, everyone made a look of "so it is", but they were thinking in their hearts why this lord suddenly became so timid.

Just when Han Zhan turned around and was about to leave, he suddenly heard a sergeant shouting, "Look, the bandit soldiers who called for formation have left." Han Zhan turned his head and saw those Xiliang soldiers who were calling for formation outside the city were dragging them Blade, walking back unsteadily.

Junhou slammed his fist on the battlements and said angrily, "What a pity, what a pity!"

Seeing the reaction of the Marquis Jun, Han Zhan was not in a hurry to leave. He stopped and said to the Marquis, "This Marquis, I will make a bet with you. There is a stick of incense behind the camp, and before the ambush soldiers come out from behind the hill, I will admit defeat. If there are bandits calling for formation tomorrow, I will allow you to fight."

"Great, really great." Hearing what Han Zhan said, the Marquis Jun was overjoyed, and then he lay down on the crenel, staring wide-eyed towards the direction of the hill to see if there was an ambush.

"Wait a minute," Han Zhan saw that the Marquis was overly happy, so he asked, "I agree with you to fight if I lose, but what if you lose?"

The Marquis scratched the back of his head, and said with some embarrassment: "If the subordinate loses, the subordinate is willing to obey the command of the lord. If the lord orders you to face east, I will never face west."

Those Xiliang soldiers had just returned to the camp when a group of troops suddenly appeared from behind the hill on the north side and headed for the distant camp along the official road.Seeing this situation, Junhou couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat, and said secretly: "It's dangerous, it's dangerous." Because not only did he want to fight just now, but he even encouraged Huang Zhong to fight too.If Huang Zhong really ordered his troops out of the city to attack those scolding Xiliang soldiers, he would already be surrounded by bandits.

It so happened that at this time, Huang Zhong heard that Han Zhan had come to the West Gate Tower, so he also caught up to meet him.I happened to see the ambush soldiers coming out from behind the hill, and I secretly called it a fluke, thinking that fortunately the lord was determined not to go out to fight, otherwise he would fall into the tricks of the bandits.

As soon as Han Zhan turned around, he saw Huang Zhong standing not far away, so he waved to him and said to him and everyone on the city wall: "We just need to stay in the city for a few days, and wait for the holy car to go away." After that, we can abandon the customs and leave. Since the Marquis has brought you out of Jizhou, we will bring you back one by one."

After Jushou and others left Hangu Pass, they sent messengers to report to Han Zhan every day when they camped, saying where the car had driven.After reading Jushou's letter, Han Zhan felt more and more uneasy.According to the original plan, the car driver can travel at least seventy or eighty miles a day. If he blocks Li and Guo at Hangu Pass for five days, the car driver will be hundreds of miles away. Even if Li and Guo occupy Hangu Pass, And it was too late to send troops to catch up.But now they can only walk fifty miles a day, which means that if they want to reach a safe distance, it will take another two or three days.

Thinking of this, he ordered Rob to invite Huang Zhong, and discussed with him: "Han Sheng, I plan to send troops to rob the camp at night. I wonder if you can take on this important task?"

Seeing that Han Zhan had made up his mind to stick to it, Huang Zhong had long since given up his plan to fight.Hearing what Han Zhan said at this moment, he couldn't help being taken aback, and then asked, "Master, you have been refusing to fight for the past two days, why did you attack today? Could something have happened?"

Han Zhan nodded, frowned and said, "Ju Supervisor's marching speed is too slow, and they only traveled a hundred miles in three days. In other words, we have to stay at Hangu Pass for two days longer than the original plan before we can go Abandon the pass. I plan to send you to rob the camp tonight. I don’t want to kill many enemies. I just need to let Li and Guo’s army fall into chaos. In this way, when we abandon the pass, they will not dare to go back to the pass for at least a day or two Come and call for battle."

Huang Zhong thought that there were only [-] cavalry in the city, and Han Zhan asked him to rob the camp. He would definitely not hand over all the soldiers and horses to his command, so he asked cautiously, "I wonder how many soldiers and horses the lord can give to Huang?"

Han Zhan stretched out a finger and said, "There are limited soldiers and horses in the pass, so I can only give you a thousand cavalry."

"One thousand is one thousand," Huang Zhong didn't expect to be able to take all the soldiers and horses away anyway. Anyway, tonight is going for a sneak attack, not a strong attack. If there are too many soldiers and horses, it will be easy to reveal their whereabouts, so he readily agreed: "The last general will definitely live up to the lord's great trust, and will definitely kill the two thieves Li and Guo to death."

That night, Huang Zhong led a thousand cavalry, the horses plucked the bells, and the men took the bells, and quietly approached the camp of Li Guo's army.After pushing aside the antlers outside the camp, they rushed into the camp shouting loudly.Huang Zhong led a thousand cavalrymen to rush left and right in the camp, not only beheading the Xiliang soldiers who rushed out of the tent, but also setting fires everywhere, causing Li Guo's camp to fall into panic.

Standing on the tower watching the battle, Han Zhan looked at the fire in the camp in the distance, and couldn't help feeling sorry in his heart. If he had more than ten thousand soldiers in his hands, he would definitely be able to defeat Li Guo's army tonight.It's a pity that only Huang Zhong's [-] soldiers and horses robbed the camp. No matter how chaotic Li Guo's camp is, the Xiliang soldiers who can kill are very limited.

Huang Zhong led the cavalry to charge and kill in the camp for more than half an hour. After Li Guo and others regained their strength and gathered troops and horses to meet them, he turned around and returned to Hangu Pass.After Huang Zhong's robbing soldiers and horses left, Li Jue and Guo Si sent people to count the soldiers and horses, and found that about 5000 people were killed or injured.

When Han Zhan saw Huang Zhong returning with his troops, he quickly ordered people to open the city gate and put the suspension bridge, and welcomed Huang Zhong and others into Hangu Pass.Seeing Han Zhan welcoming him at the gate of the city, Huang Zhong hurriedly got off his horse and saluted with fists in his hands: "The last general will see the lord! Fortunately, the last general did not disgrace his life and disrupted the camp of the two thieves Li and Guo."

Han Zhan looked at the soldiers and horses behind Huang Zhong and asked, "I don't know what the casualties are?" Huang Zhong quickly ordered someone to count the troops who robbed the camp, but found that only dozens of people were lost and more than 100 were injured.

After Li and Guo were robbed by Han Zhan, they were afraid that the other party would come again unexpectedly, so they hurriedly retreated ten miles to the camp.As a result, the front of Hangu Pass became deserted, and no troops were sent to challenge for five consecutive days.

Although Li and Guo didn't send troops to harass them again, something that caused Han Zhan a headache happened again, and the food and grass in the pass were almost exhausted.The [-] defenders in the pass are all cavalry, and they can persist without food for a day or two; but the horses have no fodder, how can they charge forward?