"Guan Ning Iron Cavalry, charge with me!"

Bingzhou, Yanmen Commandery, west of Jundu Pass, below Baideng Mountain.

The Bingzhou and Youzhou armies arrayed themselves, and after three drumbeats, Zhao Yun brandished his Dragon Gallant Silver Spear, charging ahead of the enemy.

Five hundred Guan Ning cavalrymen followed closely behind, like a long dragon.

A thousand light cavalrymen, originally from the White Horse Cavalry, followed closely behind.

Three thousand cavalrymen of the Duoyan Three Guards and five thousand archers also supported each other and advanced together.

Liu Wei's right-wing army, commanded by Zhang Liao, the Right Commander-in-Chief, amassed a large force on the eastern side of the Taihang Mountains at the same time Liu Wei swore an oath to raise troops in the Hetao region.

At the same time, they launched an attack on the eastern side of the Yanmen Army in Bingzhou from the central and northern sections of the Taihang Eight Passes.

Zhang Liao personally led 2,000 Beiwei soldiers, along with Zhang Yan's 7,000 Heishan soldiers, into Bingzhou through Feihu Pass.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yun, Liu Du, Li Su and other troops passed through Dai County from the northernmost Jundu Pass and attacked Pingcheng (Datong), an important town in the eastern part of Yanmen County.

Their two armies, along with Di Qing's forces that set out from Yunzhong in the north, formed a pincer movement, trapping Yanmen Pass in Bingzhou from both sides.

Duan Wei and Xu Rong, who were guarding Yanmen Pass, could hardly hold out.

Fan Chou and Zhang Ji, who were originally supposed to come to their aid, are in Taiyuan, but they are no longer coming.

The only ones fighting alongside them were the Murong Xianbei tribe, who resided in Yanmen.

However, Murong Muyan and his 25,000 cavalrymen were also in a difficult situation.

The battle of Youzhou had already terrified them. Upon seeing Zhao Yun and the Guan Ning cavalry charging, Murong Muyan had no intention of confronting them head-on. He turned and fled north, escaping the Great Wall and entering the desert.

Duan Wei had hoped that the Xianbei people could hold out for him for a while as cannon fodder, but they deserted in the face of battle and ran faster than rabbits. He could only curse and grumble as he faced the enemy.

He had 5,000 Bingzhou soldiers under his command, and he also temporarily recruited 5,000 new soldiers.

Faced with Zhao Yun's cavalry charge, Duan Wei formed a battle formation to meet the enemy.

However, in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Bingzhou army suffered a complete defeat.

Duan Wei was also stabbed off his horse by Zhao Yun's spear.

Yanmen Pingcheng was subsequently captured.

Immediately, Zhao Yun, Liu Du, and Li Su led their troops in a rapid advance, capturing counties such as Juyang and Fanzhi, and outflanking Xu Rong's rear at Yanmen Pass.

Xu Rong was greatly alarmed. He had no choice but to defend Pianguan and Yanmenguan to the death.

Di Qing received intelligence from Pingcheng that the Youzhou army had entered Yanmen Pass, and immediately intensified his attack on Yanmen Pass.

Li Su, Liu Du, and Zhao Yun also launched an attack from behind Yanmen Pass.

Caught between two forces, Xu Rong ran out of supplies five days later. He vowed never to surrender and committed suicide at Yanmen Pass.

Of his 5,000 soldiers, 3,000 died in battle and 2,000 surrendered.

On the other side of Pianguan, the garrison commander learned that Yanmen Pass had been lost and that Xu Rong had committed suicide. He then surrendered with his two thousand soldiers.

Zhao Yun and Di Qing joined forces, rested for a day, and then marched south to Taiyuan County in a grand procession.

On the southern front, after Zhang Liao's army appeared in Lucheng, the local garrison opened the gates and surrendered the city.

Zhang Liao did not linger and headed directly south through Guangwu, Yuanping, Mengxian, and Yangqu, quickly arriving at the walls of Jinyang.

Soon, Di Qing's 13,000 troops, Zhao Yun, Li Su, and Liu Du's 11,000 troops, and Zhang Liao's 10,000 troops assembled outside Jinyang City.

Three to four thousand troops surrounded Jinyang completely.

Inside Jinyang City, Generals Fan Chou and Zhang Ji, seeing the overwhelming strength of the Youzhou army, dared not engage in battle. They planned to rely on Jinyang City's high ground and abundant food supplies to hold out for a year or two.

However, on the very first night, the city gates were opened, and soldiers from outside the city were allowed to enter.

It turns out that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had turned the Wang and Gao families of Taiyuan against the government.

The Wang and Gao families had long harbored deep resentment towards Dong Zhuo for exploiting them too much.

Now that Liu Wei's troops have arrived, the Imperial Guards persuaded them briefly, and they opened the gates to welcome Liu Wei's army into the city.

They captured Jinyang without shedding a drop of blood.

This also means that Bingzhou has now fallen into Liu Wei's hands.

Liu Wei's order followed, appointing Di Qing as acting governor of Bingzhou, responsible for post-war affairs in Bingzhou.

Officials in Bingzhou who were identified as having little connection with Dong Zhuo were retained in their posts.

Zhang Liao's troops continued south and captured the last county in Bingzhou: Shangdang.

Fan Chou and Zhang Ji hurriedly left the city overnight, abandoning their soldiers and only taking a few hundred followers to flee south. They encountered Hua Xiong, who was returning from his defeat, in Jiexiu.

After exchanging information, they learned that Taiyuan and Hedong had both been lost!

With no way to go north or south, the three of them decided to head east to Hu Zhen in Shangdang.

At this moment, Hu Zhen learned from Dong Yue, who had escaped, that Hedong had been lost. Just then, someone came to report that Hua Xiong, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji had fled to Shangdang.

"It's over! Liu Wei's army is too powerful; we can't hold Bingzhou anymore!" Hu Zhen's face turned pale.

"Brother Hu, they will be here soon. We should hurry across the Yellow River and go to Luoyang to meet up with the governor!"

"If we stay here, and they cross Wangwu Mountain from the east bank of the river and seize Tianjing Pass, we won't be able to cross the Yellow River again!"

Dong Yue advised.

"That's the only way. Brother Dong, you take your thousand soldiers and go ahead first. We'll head south together after Hua Xiong and the others arrive."

Hu Zhen nodded.

He had 10,000 men in Shangdang, and later he subdued many of the Black Mountain Army, bringing his total to 50,000.

However, he was well aware of his own combat capabilities.

The army recruited this year is nowhere near as good as Liu Wei's veterans who fought and defeated the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Wuhuan and other foreign tribes.

It's not advisable to engage in a direct confrontation now; preserving our strength is the priority.

“It’s better for us to cross the Yellow River and meet with the governor than to stay alone in Bingzhou.”

Luoyang is much safer than Shangdang because of the natural barrier of the Yellow River.

......

at the same time.

Liangzhou.

After Han Sui brought Ma Teng to surrender, Xue Rengui suppressed the urge to massacre the prisoners and led his army across the Hexi Corridor at breakneck speed, sweeping through the five counties of Longyou.

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