Chapter 579: The Duke did not cross the river, but he crossed the river!

That night.

The brilliant starry sky spreads across the boundless night, and even the bright moon cannot cover up the light of the stars.

Countless stars are shining brightly in the sky, like scattered gems scattered by the gods, or like a magnificent painting on the sky created by immortals.

The starry sky is always so high above, and the struggles in the human world have absolutely no impact on the vast starry sky.

Such a clear and cloudless sky is considered to be good weather for stargazing by any astrologer.

Zhang Jue sat cross-legged with the "Taiping Daoshu" in his hand.

"Taiping Daoshu" is actually not a collection of spells, but a collection of principles.

There are many seemingly plausible sentences in it, telling the philosophy of life.

For Zhang Jue, this was a book that changed his destiny and he gained some Taoist skills from it.

Because of the appearance of this book, he became convinced that there is destiny in this world, and he firmly believed that he was a person who carried some hope.

When Luo Xiao said those words to him, he felt the guidance of fate countless times.

In the general situation of the world, everyone is in the game and everyone is a chess player.

"Everyone in this world has some responsibilities given by fate. Now I understand what I should do. Everyone has his or her place and performs his or her duties."

Zhang Jue sat cross-legged in the military camp, looking up at the bright starry sky. Countless stars flickered in the night sky, and the dazzling Milky Way was like a jade belt.

In the Imperial College and Luo Academy of the Han Dynasty, there was a classic course called "Astrology", which studied the various changes in the stars.

The Astrological Book believes that the changes in the starry sky have their own rules, and the calendar and other systems are studied based on the rules of the starry sky.

Zhang Jue agreed with this view, but he was a Taoist after all, and the starry sky held endless mysteries for him.

He believed that the ultimate mystery of Tao is contained in the starry sky, and that human destiny lies in the changes in brightness and darkness of the starry sky.

"The fate of the Han Dynasty, the fate of the Taiping Army, and the fate of the entire Chinese nation are all entangled in this, waiting for someone to set the tone for it."

Zhang Jue's fingertips wrote and drew on the Taiping Jing, constantly deducing the future he wanted. He threw weights onto the scale one by one, and the scale continued to tilt towards the Han Dynasty.

His expression didn't change at all. But when the last tiny weight was placed on the scale, everything changed. The scale swayed and became balanced.

“It’s true!”

Zhang Jue's expression finally changed completely. After pondering for a moment, he showed a look of relief.

He knelt down respectfully and kowtowed deeply, "Supreme and Holy Emperor Su Wang, is this the grace you have bestowed?"

Ji Zhao saw this scene. He did not bestow grace, but his grace was everywhere, benefiting all living things.

Because this is a world where everything has a destiny, no matter big or small, nothing can be changed. When each person will be born, what they will say, and when they will die are all predetermined.

No one struggles, no one thinks, it's just the way it is.

This is nothing more than a shadow world, where everything that has ever happened is experienced again, thousands of years apart, without changing at all.

But Ji Zhao appeared. He was like a violent whirlpool and changed everything from the moment he appeared.

Especially as he becomes more powerful, the variables become greater and greater.

The Han Dynasty emerged, but the personal fate of almost everyone in it changed.

To these people, isn’t Ji Zhao’s grace higher than the sky and deeper than the sea?

In the darkness of the tent, Luo Xiao watched this scene from afar.

He had his left hand behind his back, and in his right hand he also held a volume of the Taiping Sutra. Zhang Jue obtained Taoist skills from it, but he did not.

To him, this is just a book about the philosophy of life.

"Julu, what on earth do you want to do?"

The Han army was approaching, but Zhang Jue did not prepare for war but was performing sacrifices here, which made Luo Xiao a little puzzled. How could one win by relying on sacrifices in this world?

Do you think you are King Zhaosheng?

…

On the vast land of Hebei, the Han court army and the Taiping army confronted each other, and no one dared to attack rashly.

In all the major wars that took place in the Central Plains, especially those that were prepared between the two sides, very few ended in direct confrontations between large armies.

Even in Xiang Yu's battle to destroy Qin, he first constantly harassed the Qin army's food supply routes, and the two sides continued to consume each other's strength and fight. Finally, when both sides believed that they had achieved their strategic goals, they fought the final decisive battle.

As the commander of the Han army, Huangfu Song knew very well that his greatest advantage was the abundance of food and fodder. With supplies from Xingyang, Luoyang and Nanyang, he could consume the Taiping Army to death.

Moreover, the Taiping Army had just started the uprising and was at the peak of its momentum. If we fought a decisive battle with the Taiping Army at this time, even if we could win, the losses would certainly be heavy.

The Taiping Army and the Han Army fought several battles, and it was obvious that the Taiping Army was inferior to the Han Army in combat effectiveness.

Only the Taiping strongmen specially trained by Zhang Jue could fight against the elite troops of the Han court. There was no difference between the rest of the Taiping Army and the auxiliary troops of the Han army.

On the battlefield where the two sides fought, it was obvious that the Taiping Army left more corpses, which was a blow to the morale of the Taiping Army. The morale of the Han Army gradually became strong, and the Taiping Army could not be stopped by the Han Army.

That’s it?

Huangfu Song gradually eroded the Taiping Army's space for activities.

The Taiping Army leaders were all a little anxious, and they hurried to find Zhang Jue and asked, "General, our army is being held back by the Han army, and the situation is really not good.

Although the pass occupied by the Han army is dangerous, as long as our troops of tens of thousands are deployed on the front line, we can resist.

The remaining troops can simply force their way across the river. Although it is not as easy as a ferry, it is better than being passively beaten like now.

If they are unwilling to force a river crossing, they can retreat to the north of Jizhou, or go east to contact Qingzhou, or go north to Zhuojun and attack Youzhou, thus connecting Jizhou, Youzhou, Qingzhou, Yuzhou, and Yanzhou into one.

Either option is better than standing still and wasting time."

Even if Luo Xiao did not show up, he knew that the atmosphere in the army was not good.

Zhang Jue did not say anything in response to the questions from the generals. Instead, he walked out of the tent slowly, put his hands behind his back, looked at the starry sky, turned around and said to the crowd, "If we retreat from here today, where can we retreat to in the future?

If Yanzhou and Yuzhou cannot be conquered, can Youzhou and Jizhou be conquered?

Now we are in a stalemate with the Han army on the yellow river. It is not only our business, but also the business of the three states of Henan. Once we retreat, the only outcome for the Taiping Army in Yangzhou, Jingzhou and Xuzhou south of the yellow river is to be annihilated.

I observed the sky at night and deduced the auspicious time. It is time to lead the army across the river."

Cross the river!

This was an action that Huangfu Song had never expected. In his opinion, this was simply seeking death. Why was a ferry needed?

Because the ferry can accommodate large-scale military operations.

Moreover, the waves at the ferry crossing are the lightest, so the safety of passing through is greatly increased. There are no reefs that can sink the ship at any time. These are all lessons learned through blood.

In Huangfu Song's view, this was clearly a helpless move by the Taiping Army as it was gradually losing the upper hand but was unwilling to abandon the troops in the three prefectures of Henan.

Huangfu Song's comment on this was: "The rebel army does not know how to choose and what to give up, is short-sighted, and will bring about their own destruction."

If Zhang Jue knew Huangfu Song's evaluation, he would probably say to Huangfu Song, "You understand military affairs, but you don't understand destiny."

The Taiping Army's first attempt to cross the river ended in failure.

The corpses of the Taiping Army were floating on the river, with different expressions on their faces. It was an extremely shocking scene, far worse than death on the battlefield.

Zhang Jue sighed slightly, Luo Xiao frowned slightly, and a heavy and gloomy atmosphere fell on the Taiping Army. The failure to cross the river was a heavy blow to the Taiping Army.

That night.

A melodious singing voice came from somewhere, as if a woman was screaming loudly. It was a poem based on the Yuefu of the pre-Han Dynasty - "The Duke Does Not Cross the River".

"You can't cross the river, you can't cross the river!"

"You finally crossed the river, you finally crossed the river!"

The woman's voice seemed to echo in every corner of the military camp, and her voice was full of sorrow. Countless Taiping soldiers were awakened from their sleep and burst into tears while listening to the song.

"Falling into the river and dying, what can I do?"

Fall into the river and die!

Fall into the river and die!

What should I do?

Of course, it is to fight for survival!

Zhang Jue did not expect such an accident to happen. He did not want to continue the stalemate with the Han army, so he wanted to pretend to be demoralized and lure the Han army to attack, but he did not expect that the Han army would assist him.

The Han army used such means. According to normal rules, the Taiping Army's morale should have been extremely low by now, and they should even start to flee.

But Huangfu Song did not understand. The Taiping Army might not be as good as the Han Army in other aspects. For example, in terms of combat effectiveness, they were indeed inferior to the elite of the Han Army, but in terms of tenacity, they were unmatched by the Han Army.

This is an army armed by the Taiping Dao, a low-profile version of the Taoist army, and they are least afraid of such tactics.

Especially when Zhang Jue led the team personally.

Zhang Jue knew that the Han army would definitely seek a decisive battle with the Taiping Army at daybreak. This was also the opportunity he had been looking for. He wanted to make all the spirit, will, and sacrifices of the Taiping Army clearly displayed to the world.

Show it to the Han army!

Show it to the emperor and ministers!

The most important thing is to show it to Luo Xiao!

————

At that time, Wang's army had 30,000 troops, divided into three armies, and the Taiping army had 100,000 troops, also divided into three armies.

The king's army advanced to the beat of the drums, shouting, "Long live the Han!"

The Taiping Army all beat their poles and worked hard, the sound shook the whole area, broke the sky and the clouds, and shouted: "Cross the river! Save yourself!"

The two armies fought for half a day and then retreated. Wang's army won a great victory and the Taiping army suffered a small defeat.

Song sighed and said, "I originally wrote this song to show my weakness and to gather together to annihilate the enemy army. However, the Taiping Army was very eager to survive, so they trapped themselves in a cocoon and won only a small victory.

This is what is meant by: A wise man will make mistakes even after careful consideration. " - Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Biography of the Taiping Army

(End of this chapter)