Three thousand miles in exile

In the beginning of spring, Dachu announced to the outside world that 50 troops would march out, and they would arrive at Luming Ferry in northern Xinjiang one after another in April.

The ferry in Luming County is the only place in Huangchuan that is suitable for large troops to cross the river. The more you go to Qiyun Mountain, the more dangerous the terrain on both sides of the Huangchuan River is, and the more turbulent the water flow is. Ridge area.

The general who led the [-] soldiers and horses in the six counties of Cenzhou was called Fang Cuo. Fang Cuo was an old department of the Yan family. He offended the then Patriarch Yan Qiliang and was dismissed five years ago. Promoted to the first level, Ren Liupin Zhonglang will lead the soldiers and horses of the six counties of Cenzhou.

Fang Cuo has experience in fighting the Yan army several times, and he can be regarded as a veteran in actual combat. The only disadvantage is that he is over sixty and his beard is turning white.His intention to invite the battle this time is to plan for his nephew in the family. His son Fang Hui and nephew Fang Rui are all under his command as school lieutenants, and he will take over his official position only after he wins the battle in this expedition.

Bijialing, Cenzhou Military Camp.

Liu Zhan was lying on the soil slope with a piece of straw in his mouth, humming the pop music from his previous life, feeling very comfortable.

"Boss, General Fang has ordered troops to fight again, why are you still lying here!" Cao Zhuang ran to report the news with a sad face, and as expected, horns sounded in the camp soon, and Fang Cuo's nephew Fang Rui and his deputy Chen Qingkun led five thousand soldiers and horses To intercept the Yan army.

The area around Bijialing where the Cenzhou military camp is stationed is full of dense forests. Luming Ferry is in the depression where Bijialing and Furongpingding meet. Bijialing is backed by Qiyun Mountain, and Furongpingding is connected to Cangxia Plain. Attack in the direction of the top.

Fang Cuo had already set up several passes in the mountain pass. He never confronted the Yan army head-on. Every time you send troops to sneak attack, you can succeed.

This military achievement was like falling from the sky. All the officers and officers in the camp flattered Fang Cuo and his nephews and cronies. Only Liu Zhan never stood up in front of Fang Cuo, and even stationed his soldiers in the middle of the distance. far north.

Cao Zhuang, Li Xiaolian, Wei Chenggui, Zhang Xiaoman and others were all in a panic.

Liu Zhan sat up and signaled them to sit down. "Let me ask you, this time the Cenzhou Army has made great achievements in defending the Luming Ferry, who will be rewarded by the higher-ups?"

Li Xiaolian rushed to answer. "Of course General Fang."

Liu Zhan nodded. "That's right, at least a promotion."

Cao Zhuang became anxious when he heard this. "Boss, then we should take the initiative to invite Ying so that General Fang can see our capabilities!"

Liu Zhan said patiently: "I often tell you that you have to think twice about everything and see the essence through the phenomenon." Hearing this sentence from the 21st century, the brains of several big and three rough men were tied up.

Everyone knows that Luming Ferry has made great achievements, and everyone is scrambling to curry favor with Fangcuo. Only Liu Zhan can see it more clearly.

"If you are General Fang, should you let your nephew or you outsiders who have nothing to do with this obvious opportunity to make meritorious service? Besides, when asking for merit, should you write the name of your nephew's cronies, or will you write Your and my name?"

Li Xiaolian was a little discouraged. "We also understand. We just thought that maybe General Fang would like Big Brother. After all, Big Brother is already a county lieutenant at such a young age."

After all, this group of eighteen or nineteen-year-old young people still have too little experience. Liu Zhan thought to himself, how could a selfish general like Fang Cuo promote the younger generation?

"We are now hiding in the mountains and controlling the pass of the canyon. The reason why the Yan army can't bargain is because the geographical advantage is not the way to use troops like gods. It will take a few days at most for the army to reach the other side. After the army crosses the river, we will enter the Cangxia Plain and The Yan army will confront each other head-on."

Liu Zhan said seriously. "Fang Cuo is nepotism. When he is meritorious, he will let his nephew's cronies take over. When he is in trouble, he will definitely let the dead ghost go. Those idiots who want Fang Cuo to remember themselves will be the dead ghosts of Fang Cuo's nephew's cronies in the future."

After Liu Zhan said that, his expression turned cold. "We only have 3000 people. These are our foundations. How can we be a target for others? The farther you can hide at this time, the better. You also have to restrain the people under your command and keep a low profile on weekdays."

Cenzhou Army, a miscellaneous army pieced together from various counties, plus Fang Cuo, a temporarily appointed general, the officers and officers did not know each other, and the general did not know his subordinates. The entire Cenzhou Army was like a mess.

So far, Liu Zhan has only participated in the Central Accounting Conference on the first day of the garrison, and only Fang Cuo's nephew and cronies can participate in subsequent meetings. Such a general who puts cronyism on the table is an eye-opener for Liu Zhan, and he can only sigh. The Yan family's old routine is almost in the same line.

Afterwards, the Chu army crossing the river gathered at the top of Furongping, and the Chu army camp set up the general platform, and the prince and the general personally ordered the generals. This was the first time Liu Zhan saw the legendary prince and general.

Chu State claimed to send 50 troops, but according to Liu Zhan's visual estimation these days, the actual number should be around 30.

It was also at this time that Liu Zhan deeply realized how small his official position was. An eighth-rank official was not even qualified to serve tea and water to the eldest prince, let alone meet the eldest prince or the general.

A long red carpet was laid out in front of the stage. Surrounded by the canopy of guards of honor, the eldest prince came to the beat of the drum. He was wearing a silver-white armor, with a dragon-patterned sword on his waist, a square face and a big nose, and his height was not too prominent. Liu Zhan originally thought It seems that the appearance of the prince and grandson will not be any worse.

Beside the eldest prince was a middle-aged man in silver armor, who looked only about 40 years old, so he must be General Zhou Chan.

Zhou Chan's appearance surprised Liu Zhan, and he couldn't help but think of the description of Yuan Shao in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, "he is tall and handsome, he walks with power, and he is a hero". The officers who had never seen a big man were impressed.

The next step is a cutscene, the imperial decree is read, three animals are sacrificed to heaven, and finally the highlight is the general.

When the general heard his name, he went forward to thank the eldest prince. Liu Zhan and the others stood far away, looking from a distance, there was only a vague outline on the other side of the general's platform. Finally, Liu Zhan vaguely heard Fang Cuo's name.

"Fang Cuo made great achievements in guarding the Luming Ferry. He was promoted to a fifth-rank guerrilla general, and led [-] troops into the Zuozhen Army."

The general of the Zuozhen Army is called Zhang Taining, who was born in a poor family and was promoted to the general of the Zhenjun after his meritorious service in the First World War in Western Xia.

Liu Zhan was a little surprised. He asked Zhang Xiaoman to inquire about the generals who accompanied the army this time. Among them, Zhang Taining was the most talked about by ordinary soldiers, because he was the only general from a poor family in the army, and the only A general who rose from a small military officer.

As soon as Zhang Taining saw Fang Cuo, who was in command of Lie, his face turned dark immediately. If the lieutenant hadn't stopped him in time, he would have wanted to explode on the spot.

Back at the military tent, Zhang Taining yelled at him. "You son of a bitch, let me arrange old, weak and remnant soldiers. The old boy is half buried in the ground and he is spanked. Are all the young and strong men dead? Do you want this old boy to be a guerrilla general? Which one of my subordinates is not better than this old boy?" ?”

Lieutenant General Zhao Wuguang persuaded. "The general is cautious, if there are too many people in the camp, if it spreads to the general..."

Zhang Taining's rough face was full of aggrieved, several generals of the sixth and seventh ranks under him were all brothers who followed him from the first battle of Xixia, no matter in terms of merit or ability, they were all excellent candidates for guerrilla generals, but in order to suppress him, Zhou Chan I would rather mention an old man in his sixties as a guerrilla general.

Fang Cuo, an old man of the Yan family, a descendant of the common clan of the Fang family in Cenzhou, with such a crutches and eight crutches, he can barely be regarded as a clan background, and in Zhou Chan's eyes like this, he is better than a poor general, the more Zhang Taining thought about it, the more angry he became.

Zhao Wuguang said: "If the general thinks this person is useless, then put it aside. It is not up to you to deal with him after entering our camp."

"That's all." Zhang Taining sighed, he had seen through Da Chu all these years ago, Da Chu is the world of powerful clans, how could a poor family produce a noble son?

Now that people have come under his command, it is not Zhang Taining's principle of doing things to ignore them.

"Let's take a look, if you can tell by just looking at it." Zhang Taining stepped out of the big tent with his hands behind his back

At the Cenzhou military camp at this time, Fang Cuo was surrounded by congratulatory crowds as soon as he came back. No matter how long the battle lasts, his title of guerrilla general can be passed on to his son.

Nephew Fang Rui made up his mind to hold a banquet for his uncle, and the cooks in the Cenzhou military camp got busy.

The Cenzhou army and the Chu army joined together and stationed at the top of Furongping. Liu Zhan still chose a corner to set up camp. In the distance, there was a lot of people in Zhongzhang. Liu Zhan took his brothers and sat around the fire to bake buns. Steamed buns, several people chatted while eating the dried wild pork they brought.

"Did you bring this jerky yourself?" Suddenly a loud voice interjected.

Liu Zhan raised his head and saw that the visitor was a rough man with stubble on his face, wearing a blue iron armor. Liu Zhan thought it was a visiting soldier.

"Do you want to taste the jerky from your hometown?"

The man unceremoniously tore off a piece, put it in his mouth and chewed it, nodding relished while chewing. "Not bad, chewy."

Liu Zhan brought a lot of wild boar jerky, and he didn't hesitate to invite the man to have lunch with the soldiers who came with him.

Although spring has begun, northern Xinjiang is still very cold, and there will be occasional rain and snow at night. A dozen people gather around the fire to eat barbecued meat and steamed buns.

The man slapped his thigh regretfully. "It's a pity that there is no wine, boy, do you have any wine in your camp?"

Liu Zhan said: "There is no wine in my camp, maybe General Fang will have it."

The man said again: "I don't believe it. Drinking wine can strengthen your courage. How can there be no wine in your camp?"

Liu Zhan said: "Drinking wine is very courageous, but how can you calmly defend against the enemy if you are unconscious, even nine lives are not enough to lose."

The man looked sideways at Liu Zhan. "May I have your name?"

Liu Zhan smiled and said normally: "The county captain of Wuyuan County in Cenzhou, Liu Zhan."

asked again. "How many people do you have?"

Liu Zhan replied: "Three hundred cavalry, one thousand army soldiers, seven hundred infantry soldiers, five hundred shield soldiers, and five hundred archers, a total of 3000 men."

The man nodded thoughtfully, and pointed at Cao Zhuang and the others. "These are all your brothers?"

Liu Zhan said: "We are all brothers from the same village."

The man nodded again. "good."

After chatting with the man for a few more words, he took the man away. Liu Zhan's eyes became deep. Even if he didn't see it at first, he found it now. If he guessed right, this is... Liu Zhan smiled. It really is better to come by chance than to come well.

As soon as Zhang Taining walked out of the camp under Liu Zhan's jurisdiction, he couldn't help laughing. "The good boy also raised three hundred cavalry, but he is really willing to spend money."

Due to the frequent changes of dynasties and almost every year of war, the military system of Dachu, or the military system of each dynasty, is very chaotic. There is no systematic system except for the rank of officers. Whether it is good or not depends entirely on the commander's willingness to spend money.

Liu Zhan's soldiers are all more than seven feet tall and full of energy. They eat dried pork and miscellaneous grains, and more importantly, they are all young, all young!

It's a pity that Zhang Taining's good mood can't last long.

Outside of Liu Zhan's camp, it was a different scene. The soldiers were mixed and the camp was chaotic, which was expected by Zhang Taining. He was not surprised, but Fang Cuo was hosting a banquet in the big tent at this time, making him furious.

Zhang Taining came suddenly and killed Fang Cuo by surprise, how could the high-ranking general condescend to come to the lower-level camp?

Fang Cuo has not seen the adults above go to the camp where the soldiers live for more than ten years in the Yan's military camp.

Naturally, the celebration banquet couldn't go on, the Fang family's nephews were kicked out of the big account in disgrace, and Fang Cuo stood at the bottom in embarrassment.

Zhang Taining was already angry, but now seeing Fang Cuo, an old kid who just picked up a big deal, his face is even more displeased, so Fang Cuo's skinny body is used as a guerrilla general to fight the enemy?How can you be a guerrilla general if you can't take the lead?

"Submit the roster compiled by your subordinates." Zhang Taining sat in the main seat, turning a blind eye to the various delicacies on the table.

Fang Cuo dared to disobey and asked the deputy general to get it.

Zhang Taining looked at the row of lieutenant generals surnamed Fang in the front row of the roster and sneered. It was really good. Replace it, the clan is used to this routine.

After closing the roster, Zhang Taining snorted coldly, and didn't talk to him directly. "Don't let this general see your Sai surname coming in, you have enough Fang surnames here."

After finishing speaking, Zhang Taining left without looking back.

Zhang Taining cursed in anger as soon as he left. "Vulgar and reckless man! Don't you just bully my family's shallowness, if I am the direct descendant of the Fang family, how dare you be so arrogant!"

Fang Hui and Fang Rui hurried in to comfort Fang Cuo after saying a lot of good things. After all, if they get angry and they don't have a firm foothold when they are old, all this will be in vain.

A few days later, the Yan army sent cavalry to harass. The general sent the left forward guerrilla general with [-] cavalry to pursue them.

Low-level military officers like Liu Zhan are not qualified to participate in the affairs of the middle account, and every time the information on the front line is passed back by word of mouth from the soldiers.

At this time, in the big tent of the Chinese army.

The eldest prince pointed at the map and talked freely. "The Yan army's repeated harassment is to disturb the morale of the army. Our army's morale is high. If we don't fight at this time, when will we wait? The plain between Furong Pingding and Yangbeiao is suitable for a decisive battle. We can attack the Yan army with an array of arrows. The army can attack and retreat with its back against Furongping, but on the other hand, there is a plain behind the Yan army, as long as its main force is defeated, even if the remnant army hides in the three passes, our army can defeat them one by one, and this plan will work."

After finishing speaking, the eldest prince looked at the generals excitedly.

The generals were either thinking in silence or staring straight away, but none of them seemed to have received the look that the eldest prince was looking forward to.

The Yan army is good at riding and shooting, especially the iron cavalry of the Yan army, which made the previous dynasty fearful. If they followed the advice of the eldest prince and went to the plains for a decisive battle, it would be a wolf.

"There will be a plan in the end." At this moment Zhang Taining stepped forward.

Zhou Chan immediately said, "General Zhang, please speak."

"The current situation is unclear and it is not suitable for a large-scale decisive battle. We can lay an ambush in Yangbeiao and then lure the enemy to go deeper. First send [-] troops to test the strength of the Yan army."

After Zhang Taining said, all the generals nodded in agreement. "This plan is safe and feasible."

The eldest prince's face gradually became gloomy. "Yan's army was completely annihilated by the Yan army at Yangbeiao. You used this strategy. Can you guarantee that the Yan army will fall into the trap? What should we do if our army kills them?"

Zhang Taining clasped his hands resolutely and said: "This strategy is a false move, and it is intended to be a test. If the Yan army attacks Yangbeiao with several times the force, our army should retreat from the plain and return to Furongpingding. If the Yan army is chasing after it, our army should respond Send cavalry to fight the Yan army on the plains, and if they are defeated, they will retreat to the top of Furongping;

Zhou Chan's expression remained unchanged, he couldn't tell what he was thinking, some of the generals looked excited, and some looked at the eldest prince cautiously.

The First Prince's face became even more ugly. "My great country, Chu, is acting like a villain!"

Zhang Taining's rough face was a little distorted, and the words he wanted to refute reached his throat several times before he swallowed it.

He can disregard his own future, but he also needs to take care of the future of his brothers. This master is favored by the emperor, and he is likely to be the prince. If he offends the future emperor, their lives will be over.

"Okay, you all go down first, the eldest prince will make a decision on which plan is feasible." In the end Zhou Chan smoothed things over.