Three thousand miles in exile

After this incident, no one in the army dared to refute the eldest prince. In the end, the eldest prince decided that after the snow stopped, the whole army would march into the Cangxia Plain to fight the main force of the Yan army.

On the eve of the war, the eldest prince called the generals to discuss matters almost every day, and young generals of Liu Zhan's level were naturally not qualified to participate.

Wood was burning in the tent to keep warm. Liu Zhan, Cao Zhuang, Li Xiaolian, Wei Chenggui and others chatted around the brazier.

The sky has been gloomy for several days in a row. According to past experience, such rainy and snowy weather will last for at least half a month.The trees on the top of Furongping were almost bald by the soldiers. If the fire was not lit, the temperature would drop sharply at night and people would freeze to death.

The weather with sleet and sleet is the coldest. They grew up in the northern Xinjiang and they are still used to it. Many soldiers from the south fell ill.

Yesterday Zhou Chan ordered to boil ginger soup for the whole battalion to drive away the cold, but the ginger soup that was boiled out was as bland as clear water due to the limited supplies.

Liu Zhan made a simple sand table, and wrote about drawing and painting when he had nothing to do.

The flat area between Furongpingding and Yangbeiao is about tens of miles away from Cangxia Plain to Yangguan.

Giyang Pass is the first pass that must be passed through to enter the Cangxia Plain. Now that it is occupied by the Yan army, if you want to enter the Cangxia Plain, you must first take back the Pass to Yang.

Similarly, if the Yan army wants to defend the Cangxia Plain, they must defend the Yang Pass. It can be expected that this will be a fierce battle.

More than ten days later, the continuous rainy days finally stopped, and the long-lost sun shines on the land of northern Xinjiang, but one night, the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, and the trees are showing tender green teeth.

The soldiers were not in a good mood for spring, and the whole camp of the Chu army was filled with the tense and depressive atmosphere before the war.

The eldest prince ordered the whole battalion to move out.

The scouts came to report that the Yan army deployed [-] soldiers and horses outside the Yangguan Pass, vowing to guard the Yangguan Pass and fight to the death with the Chu army.

The [-] vanguard troops of the Chu army arrived at the front of the Yan army first, less than a mile away from the Yan army's vanguard. From a distance, the Yan army's iron cavalry was arranged in a crescent formation, with so many people that they could not see the edge.

The sound of war drums sounded, and the forward troops of the Chu army set up an arrow formation. Fifteen shield soldiers with 1000 people each lined up closely in the shape of arrows in front of the formation.

There are 2 archers densely packed behind the shield phalanx, followed by infantry and the largest number of infantry.

The Chu army did not mount the cavalry.

The iron cavalry of the Yan army is famous all over the world, and it is not the best policy to use cavalry to head-to-head with the iron cavalry of the Yan army.

When Liu Zhan's Chinese army came to the rear of the battlefield, the battle had already started in front, and the shouts and roars echoed in the plain. After a face-to-face meeting, the battlefield was already full of corpses, and the smell of blood wafted for ten miles.

The Chu army beat drums again and sent out troops.

The Zuozhen army and the Youzhen army moved at the same time, outflanking the Yan army from the left and right wings. The first to rush into the battlefield were the [-] cavalry from the left and right towns, followed by [-] infantry.

The [-] cavalry of the Yan army were only a few thousand sporadic under the encirclement and suppression of the Chu army at all costs, and the Yan army had to add nearly [-] cavalry to the battlefield.

Just after the iron cavalry of the second echelon of the Yan army rushed into the battlefield, the Chu army also sent out troops with drums, and [-] infantry from the left rear army rushed into the battlefield.

As more and more soldiers of the Chu army entered the battlefield, Liu Zhan's team also stepped forward.

When he saw the real battlefield, he just felt his head buzzing.

All you can see are dead bodies!

The Chu army has dispatched more than 15 troops, and most of these people have turned into corpses. The iron cavalry of the Yan army is well-deserved. It takes five lives to fill a cavalry of the Yan army. The endless plain in front of you is full of blood and corpses!

At this moment, withdraw troops to Yangguan Mingjin!

The iron cavalry of the Yan army retreated like a tide, leaving [-] infantry behind.

The eldest prince was so excited that he shouted hoarsely. "Siege—!!"

The sound of war drums echoed densely in my ears.

Liu Zhan and the phalanx of 3000 people under his command moved.

Countless rehearsals, countless discussions and explanations with everyone, everything is waiting for this day!

The shouts were deafening, and Liu Zhan didn't care whether everyone could hear him. "The shield soldiers advance in an orderly manner! The infantry in the rear don't fall behind! A group of three! Rely on each other!"

In such a chaotic battlefield, the chances of surviving will be greater only if you unite together.

There is no complete ground at the foot of the battlefield, everyone can only step forward on the corpses of their predecessors, arrows keep passing over their heads, and people around them keep falling.

His face was sticky and greasy, and Liu Zhan couldn't tell whether it was blood or sweat.He led the soldiers to advance steadily, swinging the knife again and again, piercing the enemy's body one by one.

At this moment, everyone's brains have only one thought, to kill all the enemies that come into their sight!

Liu Zhan's ears were buzzing.

Approaching to Yangguan, arrows rained down from the sky.

The right rear army carrying ladders, siege stakes, catapults and other siege equipment also arrived on the battlefield, and the shield soldiers set up their shields to cover the siege equipment and rushed downstairs to the city gate.

Liu Zhan's mind was still clear, and he blew the whistle tied around his neck, which was an order to stop advancing and set up a shield for defense.

After finishing the first two waves of arrow rain at Yangguan, Liu Zhan blew his whistle again, took the lead and rushed downstairs to the city gate, and Cao Zhuang and several burly soldiers resisted the siege stakes on the ground to help smash into the gate.

Yesterday Liu Zhan discussed with everyone that if he was arranged to attack the city, he would go downstairs to the city gate and climb the city wall to escape death, so it is better to fight at the city gate.

Two huge siege piles hit the city gate at the same time, no matter how thick the city gate was, it couldn't hold on anymore.

At the moment when the city gate was loosened, Liu Zhan rushed into Giyang Pass together with the crowd. There were more than [-] Yan army guards in Giyang Pass, and it was another fierce battle.

The shouts of killing inside and outside the Yangguan Pass did not subside until the early morning of the next day.

There are corpses all over the field inside and outside Yangguan.

In the mess, Liu Zhan searched back and forth holding a long knife covered in blood, and when he saw the living Yan army, he killed it with a knife.

He almost went all over Yangguan and found only a few hundred brothers, each of them suffered big or small injuries. Liu Zhan found a yard for everyone to gather together and treat the wounds first.

At this time, Cao Zhuang's loud voice rang out from outside the yard. "Boss, I found Xiao Lian! There are more than a hundred brothers!"

Liu Zhan's voice was a little hoarse, and he stood at the gate with a knife in his hand, watching familiar faces walking towards each other supporting each other.

"Brother." Li Xiaolian's left shoulder was slashed halfway and he couldn't move.

Liu Zhan supported him, and finally felt relieved. "Just come back."

When the city gate was knocked open, the scene was chaotic. Li Xiaolian was stabbed to cover Liu Zhan. Liu Zhan thought that Li Xiaolian would not be able to survive this test. At this time, seeing Li Xiaolian's wounds all over his body, his heart was full of emotions.

Liu Zhan said: "After this war, I asked my father to write a letter to the family, and asked the family to send a lady from a great family to be your wife. You are the only one left in your family. If something happens to you, I will have no face to go back to see you." mother."

Li Xiaolian smiled honestly.

"Hurry up and get the medicine." Liu Zhan signaled.

After Cao Zhuang and the others broke into the Yangguan Pass, they set up a warehouse with some healing medicines in it. Liu Zhan ordered people to transport them back quietly and did not report it. Of course, the shortage of wound medicines after the war must be used by his own people first.

Liu Zhan asked Zhang Xiaoman to count the number of people. There were a total of 150 people, and more than 100 of them were seriously injured. It is not known whether they can make it through.

After defeating Yangguan, the eldest prince led the elite Chinese army into the city to take over Yangguan. At this time, the city was filled with jubilation, and all the soldiers who were reaping the rewards were celebrating.

During the period, someone came to Liu Zhan's small courtyard and saw the wounded everywhere and left again. I don't know if there are other arrangements from above.

Liu Zhan didn't want to worry about it anymore, he organized a few soldiers who were not very injured to set up a pot to cook something to restore their strength.

Everyone brought some dry food with them, including steamed buns and dried meat. Zhang Xiaoman led people to collect the dry food, boiled it in a pot and ate it separately.

The granaries in Giyangguan were all empty, and the Yan army had no intention of defending them from the beginning. It is estimated that the generals of the Yan army knew very well that they could not withstand the all-out battle of the Chu army.

Yan State is located at the top of northern Xinjiang, the living environment is harsh, and the population of the people is less than one-tenth of that of Dachu.

Both sides exaggerated their numbers a lot when declaring war to the outside world. In fact, the Yan army sent about [-] troops to defend Yangguan in this battle, which is already half of the country's troops.

In the future, the State of Yan will have to defend Fanyang Pass, Liyang Pass and the counties and towns on the Cangxia Plain. It is impossible to fight with nearly 30 Chu soldiers at Yang Pass with all their strength.

Although the Yan army lost to Yangguan, their goal has actually been achieved. The Chu army suffered heavy casualties in this battle. It can be said that they killed five hundred enemies and lost one thousand!

It is lucky that only one-third of the 3000 people under Liu Zhan survived. No one in the entire battalion survived.

Except for the more than 3 elites under the command of the First Prince, the rest of the armies roughly estimated that about 10 people survived, and the Chu army probably had about [-] people, and half of them were too injured to go to the battlefield immediately.

In other words, nearly 20 Chu soldiers died in this battle!

In this Northern Expedition, two-thirds of the nearly 30 people mobilized by the Great Chu with all its might were sacrificed.

Da Chu was also seriously injured, and it was impossible to launch a large-scale war in a short period of time. This was the purpose of the Yan army at the expense of [-] cavalry to guard Yangguan!

Liu Zhan suddenly figured out something in the blink of an eye, maybe the eldest prince's goal from the very beginning was to give Yang Guan a pass!

He didn't even think about dealing with the Yan army, so he demanded a decisive battle with the Yan army as soon as he came, so he suppressed Zhang Taining, who had a different way of thinking from him, as long as he gave Yangguan, he would not hesitate to use 20 lives in exchange!

At this time, the victory report of the Northern Expedition had already been urgently delivered to Beijing eight hundred miles away. It was enough to recover Yangguan and save Emperor Xuan's face. It doesn't matter how long or how long the battle in Cangxia Plain will be fought in the future.

To the north of Giyang Pass is the Dazhupingding Highland, and Jinyang City is located on the Dazhupingding Highland and connects to Qiyun Mountain.

To the west of Giyangguan is Furongpingding highland, which is backed by Huangchuan natural barrier and Qiyun Mountain, and to the south of Giyangguan is Yangbeiao hilly land.

To the east of Giyang Pass is Cangxia Plain, and taking back Giyang Pass will draw a clear line of defense for Da Chu in the northern border.

The purpose of the First Prince or the Zhou Group is to redefine the forces in northern Xinjiang. After this battle, Jinyang City, including the northern army stationed at Giyang Pass, is in the pocket of the Zhou Group. The Zhou Group intends to replace the Yan Group !

He did not hesitate to sacrifice the lives of 20 people for his own selfishness. Liu Zhan thought he was very cold, but compared with these people, he was really far behind.

"Boss, I'll take off your armor, you can sleep for a while." Liu Zhan was so absorbed in his thoughts, Zhang Xiaoman came over and called him several times before returning to his senses.

After taking off his armor, Liu Zhan realized that he had been hit by two arrows on his back, and also had knife wounds on his waist and abdomen, and there were countless small wounds.

Fortunately, his armor is made of refined iron and is hard enough, and the wounds are all skin wounds, but they are not serious.

Speaking of which, most of the personal guards around Liu Zhan survived thanks to this fine iron armor.

If it weren't for the blacksmith workshop rushing out a thousand sets of armor, Liu Zhan's most core group of people still don't know if half of them would have survived, and most of them are still there now.

Although he was already very tired, Liu Zhan's brain clearly knew that he couldn't lie here at this time, even though he was so tired that he could fall asleep at any time.

After casually wrapping his blood-soaked clothes and tying them up with a belt, Liu Zhan picked up his saber and took a few people with him to go out decisively.

He fought bloody for the great prince to break through the gate of Yangguan for the great prince, and let the rightful lord know about it, otherwise all the brothers will die in vain!

Liu Zhan first asked Zhang Xiaoman to lead people to spread rumors, and everyone said that Liu Zhan, the deputy lieutenant of their battalion, took the lead in opening the city gate of Yangguan, and was the first to rush into Yangguan, and described the process vividly.

As for Liu Zhan himself, he immediately found out that the eldest prince was condolences to the wounded soldiers.

With the character of the eldest prince at this time, he must be seizing the opportunity to shape the character of his future benevolent monarch. Liu Zhan deliberately passed in front of the eldest prince, covered in blood and exhausted.

"Wait, you're the one..." The eldest prince had a little impression of Liu Zhan but couldn't remember it all at once.

Liu Zhan clasped his fists and said, "I have seen the eldest prince, the young general is Liu Zhan, your deputy lieutenant."

"Yes, it's you." The First Prince saw that Liu Zhan's clothes were not bloodless, and his eyes were a little moved. "Why don't you take good care of yourself when you are injured, where are you going?"

"Back to the eldest prince, the young general is going to the military doctor to get some wound medicine."

The eldest prince immediately asked the people around him to sulk. "Where is the military doctor? How can the soldiers find it by themselves?"

The entourage knew the eldest prince's temperament and also knew how to behave in front of outsiders. "This subordinate immediately took Vice-Lieutenant Liu to see Doctor Ma!"

Just as Liu Zhan was about to leave, someone in the crowd beside him suddenly yelled. "Isn't this the first Deputy Lieutenant Liu who opened the city gate and entered the Yang Pass?"

The eldest prince was startled. "You opened the gate to Yangguan?"

Liu Zhan clasped his fists and replied, "The young general's responsibility lies."

The First Prince was very interested in every detail of this victory. "What was the situation at that time? Please tell His Highness carefully."

At this time, no one noticed that the person who spoke for Liu Zhan started talking and walked away quickly. Looking at the back, it was Zhang Xiaoman.

Liu Zhan outlined how to break open the city gate, how to enter the city and how to fight with the defenders. At this time, the eldest prince looked at Liu Zhan seriously.

The First Prince was surrounded by sycophants who all agreed. "Vice-Lieutenant Liu, why didn't you tell His Royal Highness the First Prince immediately after you made such a great contribution?"

Liu Zhancai said nicely: "It is the young general's responsibility to win the Yangguan Pass for the eldest prince. The eldest prince commands the three armies and manages all kinds of opportunities every day. The young general dare not disturb him."

The eldest prince laughed heartily, feeling very useful. "You still have injuries on your body, so go and show it to the imperial physician. Don't leave the root cause of the disease at a young age. Your name is Liu Zhan, right? My Highness remembers you."

Liu Zhan was also sure that the eldest prince would not forget his name again this time.

The rumors spread by Zhang Xiaoman that day also reached the ears of General Zhou Chan. It is true that Liu Zhan was the first person to break into the Yangguan Pass, it just depends on whether anyone knows.

There are rumors in the Yangguan that Liu Zhan led the soldiers under his command to enter the city of Yangyang for the first time. This military exploit cannot be lost silently.

The news of the great victory in northern Xinjiang arrived in the capital two days later.

The good news has always reported good news but not bad news. It only said that the [-] cavalry of the Yan army and the [-] defenders were ambiguous about the fallen soldiers.

Emperor Xuan was overjoyed. He opened the Taimiao to comfort his ancestors that day, and sent people to spread the news of the great victory in northern Xinjiang to the whole country, making the whole country celebrate.

The eldest prince was named Prince Rui, and at the same time Emperor Xuan made it clear that the eldest prince would be in charge of all affairs in northern Xinjiang.

From then on, the First Prince could independently appoint all the officials in Northern Xinjiang. Under Zhou Chan's suggestion, the First Prince immediately promoted a group of people to fill the vacancies in the army.

Liu Zhan was promoted to the seventh-rank school lieutenant, and he filled the vacancies of soldiers under his command. He still led 3000 people. This establishment can set up another [-] households in the army as a rule. Liu Zhan asked the eldest prince to promote Wei Chenggui to the rank of thousand households.

In the past few days, both inside and outside Yangguan have been busy repairing fortifications and cleaning the battlefield. Unless they are seriously injured and unable to move, all soldiers with minor injuries must go to help.

Liu Zhan didn't want to give up a little hope, and personally took Cao Zhuang and the others to clean the battlefield to find his own people.

After all, he has the common medical knowledge of later generations. He thought that there might be brothers who passed out and suspended animation and were buried alive. He didn't expect them to pick up a few of them.

And so it was July.

The eldest prince ordered the vanguard general Xu Muyuan to lead the general of the Zuozhen army Zhang Taining and the general of the right town Ouyang Jie to guard the Yangguan.

The rest of the northern army was also divided into two. The eldest prince and general Zhou Chan led 4 people to Jinyang City, and the remaining soldiers stayed at the Yangguan.

The purpose of the Zhou family is to replace the Yan family's power in northern Xinjiang. Now that the northern army is in Zhou's hands, as long as Jinyang City is captured again, the Yan family's era in northern Xinjiang will be completely over.

The author has something to say: the current humiliation will be doubled later