Chapter 363 Elephant Cavalry
"I say, if you want to go to Jiaozhi, then go. Why would you take me with you?"
Fa Zheng looked towards the stern where the sound came from, and saw the guy who was tied up there mumbling.
The tied man's identity did not need to be introduced as his attire could be clearly identified, because that was exactly the attire of the Yi people among the southern barbarians.
The person who spoke was Meng Huo, whom Cheng Yu had mentioned when he mentioned the battle situation in Yizhou to Qiao Yan.
Fa Zheng wrote in the letter he sent to Chang'an that, considering the limitations of the local terrain, it would be impossible for him to capture and release the southern barbarians of Yizhou three times to make them return to their will, because no one could guarantee that once the enemy had the advantageous terrain, they would not attack them in turn, or escape to the deep mountains and forests and disappear from sight forever.
In short, their goal was to use these captured southern barbarian leaders to catch the big families in Yizhou County behind them, and at the same time to regain them in other ways and use them for their own purposes.
Fa Zheng took Meng Huo with him without hesitation when he set out for Jiaozhou.
Although Meng Huo was one of the Yi leaders, he spoke Chinese quite well. After listening to the brief conversation between Fa Zheng and his companions, he figured out where Fa Zheng was going.
But this kind of "understanding" did not make him feel comfortable at all.
Take him from Yizhou to Jiaozhou?
"You Han people really like to do these boring things. If you want to kill me, then kill me. If you want to chop me up, then chop me up. It's no big deal to just hang my head out and throw it to my wife. What's the point of taking prisoners to save face?"
Fa Zheng glanced at Meng Huo and casually threw a fishing rod into the Ming River. "How did you know that I was going to bring you along to show off my skills?"
"If I really want to save face, I might as well bring a few more boats and soldiers. After all, my trip to Jiaozhou this time was unexpected to the Jiaozhi governor. With more manpower, maybe I can directly tie him up. Isn't that much better than reasoning with this guy who came from such a barbaric land?"
Meng Huo was stunned.
He thought about it and it seemed to be true as Fa Zheng said.
Although Zangke County and Jiaozhi County of Jiaozhou were connected, they had not had formal exchanges with each other for several years. Not to mention the Jiaozhi prefect, even the people of Jiaozhou who lived near the border between Jiaozhi and Zangke might not have thought that someone would come down the Ming River when the internal unrest in Yizhou had not been completely settled.
He was still an official appointed by the court in Chang'an.
"Then why did you take me with you?"
In order to take him with him, an escort had to be arranged to guard him. Otherwise, no one knew whether Meng Huo, with his physique, would suddenly regain his freedom and escape.
"You can't blame me for this," Fa Zheng spread his hands. "You know the terrain of southern Yizhou much better than we do. If we keep you in our hands, according to Madam Wang's judgment, your wife and subordinates may find you directly. Instead of doing that, it is better to take you out of Yizhou so that even if they get the news, they won't be able to find you in a short time."
"I heard that your wife has a high reputation among the Yi people and is very decisive. Instead of wasting our time on you, we might as well deal with her after you disappear from Yizhou. If we can defeat her, it might be much easier to persuade her to work for us than for you."
"You!" Meng Huo's expression suddenly turned ugly when he heard this weird but seemingly feasible explanation.
If he died, his subordinates would definitely avenge him with the idea that the army of the underdog will win.
But if he was only taken out of Yizhou temporarily and there was a possibility that he would come back, what would his subordinates do?
It seems that it is just as Fa Zheng said, that he will be temporarily led by his powerful wife to fight against these guys who occupy Yizhou.
After nearly a year of dealings with them, Meng Huo had actually gained a full understanding of their abilities.
If they were initially somewhat restrained due to their confusion about the situation in Yizhou, they are now firmly in the upper hand.
Even if his wife were to lead his subordinates, the possibility of being able to effectively compete with the other side would still be very low, and it is even very likely that they would fail again because the other side had already made preparations.
They have not become mortal enemies, and their strength is even greater than theirs. According to the rules of the Southern Barbarians, they are the ones who should obey.
In fact, long before Meng Huo was captured, he had heard his wife say that with the example of Yao Chang, the General who protected the Qiang and Barbarians, instead of continuing to serve Yong Kai, it would be better for them to switch to the Governor of Yizhou and become the subjects of the Great Sima.
According to the lady, seeing that Yong Kai himself was about to become a victim in the process of the Grand Marshal taking control of Yizhou, why should they sink together with each other?
Meng Huo didn't know how Fa Zheng learned of their difference in attitude, but the response given by the other party really hit the nail on the head.
"Now you know what I mean?" Fa Zheng said, "Then do you still think I want to use you to save the situation?"
Meng Huo shook his head dejectedly.
Fa Zheng did not give Meng Huo any leeway and continued, "When we reach Jiaozhi, the situation in Yizhou may have been settled. Your Excellency is determined to conquer the southern barbarians, and we do not intend to delay. I will release you after you abandon the boat and land. Since we are colleagues in the future, I will not make things difficult for you."
Meng Huo propped himself up and looked at Fa Zheng carefully. He did not see any sign of lying on the young man's face. It was as if he was certain that Meng Huo's wife Acuo would fight them again, be defeated, admit defeat, and switch sides in the next few days.
He walked along the river in confusion, and was also confused when Fa Zheng untied the ropes and shackles on his body after he got ashore.
But when he really regained his freedom, he was a little hesitant about whether he should return to Yizhou as soon as possible.
If what Fa Zheng said was wrong, their Yi tribe was still fighting with the troops of the governor of Zangke County. His return at this moment would be a shot in the arm for their side, allowing them to have a chance to fight back.
But if what Fa Zheng said was true, his return might lead to the breakdown of the alliance that had already been formed, or he might be in an awkward position in terms of his identity, or even offend Fa Zheng who brought him out of Yizhou, making him seem like a nobody.
“…”
Seeing that Fa Zheng left him behind without even looking back and led his men towards the county seat of Jiaozhi County, Meng Huo hurriedly followed him.
"Wait a minute!" Meng Huo shouted from behind, "How can you be a military advisor like this? What's the matter with losing the prisoners?"
Fa Zheng replied: "I said, we will be colleagues in the future. If you want to go back, go back first. I will discuss with you later how to capture Yong Kai. After all, you have no intention of killing you all. Yizhou is now a subordinate of Chang'an. The people of Yizhou are the subjects of the emperor of Chang'an, or -"
"You think you are not from Yizhou?"
If this method of winning over allies was used in Yizhou, Meng Huo might be able to discern some sophistry from it, but now he was standing on the land of Jiaozhi, and seeing Fa Zheng in front of him with the demeanor of a celebrity who could talk with anyone, his confidence was greatly reduced.
After hearing the other party's emotional rhetoric, his momentum was reduced by half.
"Of course I am from Yizhou, but..."
Meng Huo was still a little confused, and he didn't know what he was thinking at the moment. He suddenly said, "I will go with you to see the governor of Jiaozhi first, and then we can decide who is better after we return to Yizhou!"
It is hard to say whether the winner can be determined, or whether Meng Huo is his enemy or friend at that time, but he did manage to trick a very iconic bodyguard into submission.
So when Shi Xie was still paying attention to the situation in the direction of Jingzhou and decided to see how the war changed over there to help him take a stand, he suddenly received news from his subordinates.
"You said that the man claimed to be Fa Zheng, the official of Yizhou?"
Shi Xie repeated the name and realized that it suddenly sounded familiar.
He suddenly remembered that he had heard of this man's name before.
When Liu Ba went north from Jiaozhou to Chang'an, Shi Xie paid attention to his situation after his arrival, so he asked people to inquire about the results of the selection test. Fa Zheng was the first one in that test after Liu Ba.
The other party's family background is not simple, and his own strength is also very strong.
However, he didn't expect that in just one year, the other party had been assigned to an important position in Yizhou, and suddenly appeared in front of him at this time.
At this delicate time when Zhang Jin had just led his troops north to Jingzhou for an expedition, Fa Zheng's arrival could not have been just to bring him April greetings.
This is not the time to give New Year gifts and curry favor with others!
"The Yizhou Nanman soldiers under your command have discovered an interesting situation," Shi Xie was just about to meet him when he heard Xu Jing walk in from outside and said, "There is a man following this legal officer. He is none other than Meng Huo, the leader of the Yi people in the Nanman tribe. Although he has not revealed his identity, it is enough to prove the situation in Yizhou."
Shi Xie was already quite old, and because of the wrinkles on his face, he looked like he was frowning in confusion. "Are you saying that the Grand Marshal has made a breakthrough in his expedition to Yizhou, and brought this leader with him to show me a hint?"
"I didn't say that," Xu Jing shook his head. "Perhaps this is just a trick they gave me. The specific situation should be determined after the envoy meets Fa Xiaozhi in person."
But although Xu Jing said that there was a possibility of sleight of hand and misleading judgment, thinking that the battle situation in Jingzhou might have only been reported to Chang'an at this time, even if the speed of using carrier pigeons to report the news was not fast enough for Fa Zheng to arrive in Jiaozhou to find him in such a short time, Shi Xie felt that it was more likely that the other party really had such strength and vision and appeared in front of him at the right time.
Maybe... he shouldn't hesitate any longer, but should make a decision as soon as possible?
Shi Xie immediately raised his voice and said, "Let him come in to see me."
He wanted to hear what Fa Zheng would say in front of him.
By the time Fa Zheng stepped into Shi Xie's territory and met the governor of Jiaozhi, who had been in power in several counties of Jiaozhou for 10 to 30 years, Liu Biao had already arrived in Chen County by traveling day and night.
This place is the county seat of Guiyang County.
Traveling day and night for two days was a heavy burden for a man of Liu Biao's age, and a look of fatigue inevitably appeared on his face.
But the situation was urgent, so he had to ask the Chen County defenders as soon as he got off his horse: "Where is Zhang Ziyun?"
According to the theory, if Zhang Jin wanted to attack northward and reach Chen County from here, the distance would be much shorter than if Liu Biao came here from the south. It was really surprising that Liu Biao could arrive here first.
Liu Biao himself did not believe that the defenders of Chen County were more capable than the defenders of the three counties that had been conquered previously, and that they had intercepted Zhang Jin halfway in advance.
It's already good enough for people here to have even a little respect for him, the governor of Jingzhou.
With this clear understanding, Liu Biao was not surprised at all to hear the truth from the Chen County garrison, "They have not yet moved north... After capturing Linwu County, the Jiaozhou governor divided his troops and still camped at the foot of Keling Mountain, while the other troops went to Nanping County and Guiyang County."
He carefully looked at Liu Biao's face and said, "Both places have changed hands."
Five counties!
Liu looked towards the south with a gloomy expression. If calculated in this way, even though the county seat of Guiyang County was still there, this county would be considered completely lost half!
What's even more terrible is that the newly lost Nanping County is connected to the two counties of Lingling County. As long as Zhang Jin takes over this transit station, he can rush northward from this newly opened front to Quanling, the county seat of Lingling County, at any time, directly avoid Liu Biao's troops coming south to intercept him, and then go straight to Nanjun.
The troops from Yulin County of Jiaozhou could also move northward from the gap west of Jiuyi Mountain to fill the gap and enter Lingling County.
The Guanhu Rebellion in Lingling and Guiyang in the past could be quelled by Sun Jian who went south from Changsha County. A crucial prerequisite was that Guanhu's soldiers came from just one place and the soldiers recruited were all from Jingzhou.
Zhang Jin’s situation is quite different!
Faced with this new news, Liu Biao suddenly realized that, although Zhang Jin was indeed not a discerning leader, he was not a stupid person!
He also has some skills in marching and fighting strategies.
However, Zhang Jin probably did not expect that Liu Biao would react so quickly when faced with the invasion of Jiaozhou forces.
"Mobilize troops! Before Zhang Ziyun's troops leave the camp and enter Lingling County, first wipe out all his rear troops left behind at the foot of Keling Mountain." Liu Biao immediately gave the order.
He thought for a moment and added, "Zhong Miao, go to Quanling first for me. If Zhang Ziyun really wants to go to Lingling Prefecture, he must be stopped outside the city."
The brothers Huo Du and Huo Jun, the former had recruited hundreds of skilled fighters in the countryside when Jingzhou was still affected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion. After Liu Biao took control of Jingzhou, the latter joined Liu Biao's army.
Although they were not as strong as Huang Zhong, Wen Pin and others in marching and fighting, Liu Biao found after recruiting these men that the two brothers were quite talented in defending the city, so he put Huo Jun to use at this time.
Huo Jun was young and his position in Liu Biao's army was not high. Even if his judgment to go to Quanling to intercept was wrong, or he failed to achieve the result that Liu Biao hoped he would achieve, it was not too bad overall.
Anyway, the most important thing right now is to defeat Zhang Jin's force stationed in the central part of Guiyang County.
But for some reason, Cai Mao felt that Zhang Jin's sudden change of direction was a little unusual.
It seemed that this was not just about bringing another army from Jiaozhou into the territory of Jingzhou, nor was it just about quickly completing the diversion before Liu Biao arrived.
Seeing that Liu Biao's tone was full of determination, Cai Mao said quickly: "I think you should be careful of fraud and don't fall into Zhang Ziyun's trap."
The decision to head north from Jiaozhou to Jingzhou was not an easy one to make, especially when the Yecheng court was already in a weak position. How could Zhang Jin choose to attack at this time without some special preparation?
But in response to Cai Mao's worries, Liu Biao just waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to worry so much.
Perhaps it was because he couldn't wait to prove that he was the only governor in Jingzhou, and it was impossible for Zhang Jin to treat him as a soft persimmon. Or maybe it was because Liu Biao had to find a place to vent his suppressed emotions caused by Qiao Yan's previous intimidation, so he still maintained his original judgment.
"Even if he has a trap, we just need to avoid going to the mountains and valleys on purpose."
Liu Biao unfolded the map of the county stored in the Guiyang Prefecture in front of him. He saw that one of the roads they were going to take to Keling Mountain required passing through another valley among the peaks of Qitianling. He said, "Look, this road is the best place to set up an ambush. I will go around it, go east for a while, and take this smooth road to the front of the mountain."
"If that's the case, what does Degui have to worry about?"
Liu Biao had already said so. If Cai Mao still insisted on sticking to his decision, it would be really inconsiderate of him.
Fortunately, he thought that although the soldiers in Jiaozhou were brave, he had never heard of them showing any extraordinary strength in obeying the command of the troops.
Cai Mao could only reply: "No, if I have to say something, it's just one sentence - Your Excellency is personally leading the expedition this time, please do not lead the charge."
Liu Biao laughed: "Do you think I am the Grand Marshal? Even if you really want me to kill the enemy leader in battle, I don't have the ability to do so!"
After he finished speaking, he drew his sword and went out, taking all the generals with him except Huo Jun who had already turned east to Lingling County. He also left Cai Mao to stay in Chen County, and went south without taking a rest.
Because we set out at this moment, it was already deep night when we arrived at the foot of Keling Mountain.
Although Liu Biao himself did not experience many battles, as the governor of Jingzhou, he paid close attention to information about wars in the world. In addition, he was indeed a man who was good at seizing opportunities, and his analysis of the war situation was not bad.
His decision to ride alone into Jingzhou in his early years further proved that he had extraordinary courage when necessary.
He must seize this opportunity to catch the enemy off guard and launch a battle that will shock the Jiaozhou soldiers.
Because he did not choose the mountain valley road, but went straight on the flat road, his speed of going south was astonishingly fast. When the sun was about to set and it was not yet completely night, the shadow of Keling Mountain had already appeared faintly in his sight.
He quickly instructed the team behind him to slow down, in order to avoid being discovered by the enemy's scouts in advance due to their fast speed, making the ambush fail to achieve its intended purpose.
Fortunately, Liu Biao's worries were unnecessary.
When he saw the camp of the Jiaozhou soldiers from afar, there was no sign of their arrival in the camp opposite.
His eyes lit up and he gave the order to attack without hesitation.
But when his cavalry launched a charge towards the opposite camp, and the sound of the horses' hooves almost echoed in the nearby mountains, what he heard was not the sound of the enemy positions hastily rising up and guarding at this moment, but another sound that was no weaker than the sound of his large cavalry charge suddenly coming from the opposite side.
The moment the sound appeared, Liu Biao even felt that the ground beneath his feet was shaking terribly, causing the galloping horse he was riding to almost stagger.
This vibration was slower than the rhythm created by the galloping of war horses, but it also had a muffled sound that could not be ignored, like a thunder exploding in the night, hitting Liu Biao's eardrums directly.
The next moment he knew where the sound came from.
Although the figures in the moonlight were a little blurry, they could still be vaguely identified one by one. This one glance was enough to confirm that the overly tall figure could not have been formed by a warhorse, but was clearly -
"Be careful and avoid!"
A swaying black shadow passed by, allowing Liu Biao to recognize the other party's identity and he immediately exclaimed.
But Zhang Yun, who was eager to win credit in the attack on the camp, had already led the cavalry to the front and had no time to stop.
At this distance, which was much closer to the enemy than Liu Biao was, Zhang Yun clearly saw a team of dozens of black shadows coming towards him, rushing into the cavalry he led with a brutal force that was impossible to avoid.
If it was just a collision between cavalrymen, Zhang Yun didn't think he would suffer any loss.
The party that is fully prepared first is naturally the one that has the greater advantage.
He even ordered his side to release hundreds of arrows the moment he heard the noise coming from the other side, intending to shoot the intruders on the spot.
But if the creature was not a horse, what if it had some natural protection at the height at which his arrow could cause damage?
In the deep night, all he could hear was the dull sound of arrows hitting the hard leather, followed by the close charge of the elephants carrying cavalry. One of the elephant trunks swept him off the horse's back at the moment of the collision, and the running elephant's legs had already stepped towards Zhang Yun in the severe pain of landing.
Faced with such a terrible impact, there was no chance that Zhang Yun could survive.
When Liu Biao heard General Zhang's shout from a distance, his face suddenly changed.
Elephant soldiers, it turned out to be elephant soldiers!
Even though Liu Biao knew that there was indeed such a type of soldier who trained elephants as mounts in Jiaozhou, and that they could be seen in Jiuzhen County of Jiaozhou and the neighboring Funan Kingdom, he never imagined that Zhang Jin not only brought such an extremely special team to Jingzhou and stationed them there, but also did not reveal any news to let the defenders of Chen County find out, and was waiting to deal a fatal blow to their team that was heading south to intercept them!
After smashing the vanguard led by Zhang Yun into pieces, these elephant soldiers, who were at most slightly injured, continued to attack the army in the rear.
The soldiers guarding the opposite camp also completed a series of actions of getting up, dressing and arranging their troops during the buffer time brought by the collision. At this moment, they rushed towards Liu Biao and his men, shouting slogans of killing the enemy.
The transition from sneak attack to encirclement seemed to happen in just a moment.
Liu Biao clearly saw the changes in his team.
The defeat of the front cavalry by the charge of the elephant soldiers was enough to scare the souls out of most of the soldiers who had never seen such animals. Huo Du's reorganization of the formation was not enough to allow the fleeing cavalry to gain a foothold and attack the elephant with the weapons in their hands with enough calmness.
Before Liu Biao could hold the reins firmly, he saw the elephant team in the distance suddenly spread out and rushed forward at an accelerated pace, as if they wanted to take advantage of the advantage they had gained in the first encounter and pursue Liu Biao and his men.
How can the mortal body withstand such impact?
Liu Biao himself was unable to come up with an effective solution to such an accident, let alone the soldiers who had lost one of their commanders.
The enemy's subsequent reinforcement team came with bows, crossbows and arrows, as if they were going to return the previous round of attacks to them!
Liu Biao had no time to dodge and saw a poisonous arrow piercing the head of the soldier in front of him.
At the same time, the horses that managed to survive from under the elephant's legs were baptized by a rain of arrows.
In order to avoid this round of cumulative attacks, the horses had to flee back in the direction they came from.
However, during this advance and retreat, Liu Biao was careless and failed to hold the reins in time, and fell off his horse.
The instinct for survival made him subconsciously roll to the side, allowing him to avoid a horse hoof that was supposed to step on his head, but in the face of such an impact wave, falling off the horse would mean death!
Liu Biao's face turned extremely pale in an instant.
He had not expected that this fight, which he thought was a sure win, would turn out to be such a reversal, and he had not expected that one of his rare personal battles would end with him losing his life.
At the moment when the still galloping horse's hooves approached, he even felt the flying dust rushing to his face first.
But before the horses in front could rush past him, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and pulled him out from the herd.
This pulling force carried an astonishing explosive power, which directly lifted him up. The owner of this hand then used his other arm to hold up a shield that had fallen from somewhere. With this protection, he moved sideways and rushed out of this most chaotic area.
At the corner, there was a huge rock lying across the road. He rushed over without thinking and hid behind it with Liu Biao.
It was at this time that Liu Biao saw clearly that although the soldier who rescued him had most of his face covered by armor, he still looked extremely young and was probably no more than eighteen years old.
Liu Biao had no idea where this young soldier had been recruited from, but he knew that he was not a coward, because the moment he was released, the young man asked in a hurried tone, "Sir, what should we do now?"
What to do?
Liu Biao also wanted to ask this question.
In this life-and-death crisis, his mind even stopped working for a moment, but now the temporary safety allowed him to regain the ability to think.
There were a pair of eyes in front of him.
A pair of eyes sparkling with ambition.
It belongs to the young man who rescued him from the pile of horse hooves.
Liu Biao subconsciously asked a question: "What is your name?"
Under normal circumstances, Liu Biao would never even glance at such a small figure, but now he was looking directly at the other person's face and expression, intending to find support from him.
This burgeoning ambition made Liu Biao feel extremely at ease at this moment.
Because this means that the young man will definitely do his best to help him at this moment.
Everyone knows that saving a superior from danger will make it easier to gain merit than at any other time.
The other party replied: "Wei Yan! My name is Wei Yan!"
"Okay, Wei Yan!" Liu Biao grabbed Wei Yan's wrist.
The pain of falling off the horse just now actually drove away all the fatigue he had accumulated along the way, leaving only the urgency to save the situation at this moment. "Now you follow my command."
"We only have one chance to launch a counterattack. Can you take the risk for me?"
The elephant soldiers on the opposite side did not make Wei Yan, who was at his most daring age, retreat at all. He only knew that Liu Biao remembered his name at this moment, which also meant that if he could successfully help Liu Biao break through this predicament, even though he was still so young, he would definitely be able to make a name for himself in Jingzhou.
In the midst of his blood boiling at the prospect of making great achievements, every word he spoke was firm and resolute.
The chaotic noises around him did not affect Liu Biao's hearing of Wei Yan's answer: "As the Lord commands!"
Liu Biao pointed to the Jiaozhou general who was leading the elephant soldiers in the distance and said, "Do you see that man?"
Wei Yan nodded.
Liu Biao said, "I will help you mobilize a small team of people, and then, with the loudest voice you can make, lead this team, shouting that the Lord is dead, and run over there."
"You may be shot on the way, or even by someone on our side, but you still have one chance - kill the enemy leader!":,n,
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