Chapter 417 Iron...
Due to the length of the mace and the fact that it has never appeared on the battlefield, even if someone really discovered that it was a secondary weapon, in most people's impression, it should be a sword or a knife.
But when it is a mace, its use is very different from that of a sword.
The weight of eight kilograms may not seem like much, but when it is swung while riding a horse at a gallop, it will inevitably be like a steel whip hitting the person.
"Patrol the sentry post..." The appearance of the new weapon and the excitement brought by participating in another crucial battle, when Lu Lingju gave orders, she only showed a bit of high spirits. She looked around and said, "The rest of you! Eat here."
She did not dismount, but looked around from her high position to confirm that the disturbances were normal and that there were no accidents during the march. Then she continued, "Although you have all practiced with the iron maces when they were distributed, don't think that the extra eight pounds in actual combat is a trivial matter."
Eight kilograms. With this extra weight when running, the longer the action, the greater the impact. The same is true in combat.
Although the battle they are facing is destined to not last too long due to its scale, they still cannot take it lightly.
"But I still have some confidence in you!"
"Although you are not the most capable in the Fanyang camp in terms of proficiency in archery and horsemanship, you followed me to conquer the Wuhuan in Liaodong, killed Tadun in battle, and wiped out the remaining generals of Gongsun Zan. You have traveled hundreds of miles without stopping. Tomorrow's battle will require us to work together in one go. You are much stronger than the elite soldiers under General Huya's command, right?"
When everyone heard Lü Lingju calling her father "General Tiger Fang" in all seriousness and what she said at the moment, they all laughed out loud, "Not bad!"
Lu Lingju said, "Even the military advisor Sima Zhongda was left in General Huya's camp because he could not keep up with our offensive. We cannot let him look down on us. Is that the case?"
"yes!"
This unanimous answer came again from the upper reaches of the Xushui River.
"Then everyone, eat your fill. If anyone lacks the strength to swing the iron mace..."
She swung the sword in her hand twice in the air, and then heard a startling whistling sound.
This "spoken" threat made the soldiers present immediately respond with "Don't worry, General", and they all smiled as they looked at each other.
It is truly a blessing for them to have such a general who is ambitious and has a bit of a lively personality.
Moreover, although she was a little erratic, and the decision to capture Gao Shun seemed to have come up suddenly, she was actually trying to gain military merit for them, and she did not relax at all because of her own advantage.
After returning to the soldiers who were patrolling the surroundings, Lu Lingju dismounted, took out the improved assembly line lunch bag from the bag on the side of the saddle, ate a quick meal, then drew some water from the bamboo tube on the side of the horse's back and wiped his slightly tired face.
Although it was almost dusk when they crossed the river, because she had sent out her troops earlier, Lu Bu should be advancing slowly towards Xushui at this moment. She still had one night to rest and there was no need to travel at night.
She found a place to settle her soldiers in a secluded place nearby, arranged for shifts in the night watch, and then took a nap in the middle of the night, hugging her weapon.
As daybreak approached, the team headed towards the lower reaches of the Xushui River.
Target——Beiping County!
At this time in Peking, Gao Shun was also carefully checking their preparations.
This is not because the battle at this moment is particularly important. When facing the enemy crossing the river, they have only one chance to try.
Rather, this is what he has to do every time he encounters a war.
The formation he led was of course still a cavalry when the army was migrating, but when it was used to intercept the enemy and trap them in the formation and make it impossible for them to escape, it was a real heavy infantry!
The cost of building such a heavily armed team is already very high, not to mention the subsequent costs of maintaining armor protection.
What Gao Shun needs to ensure is that everyone in the team is in a state of high fighting spirit. Otherwise, if this heavily armored army has a defect in one of its operating hubs, it will never become the enemy's nightmare again.
In this team of about 800 people, everyone's eyes followed Gao Shun's inspection of the army, until they saw the commander said "Go!" in the same tone as before. They seemed to be in a completely sober state at this moment, and followed his footsteps in an extraordinary manner.
Gao Shun did not give them any instructions, because all the matters that must be paid attention to during the battle had already been explained during the daily running-in.
He did not use any additional slogans to boost the morale of his subordinates, because the moment he took a firm enough step forward, his subordinates already knew the subtext.
Just fight!
They also have reasons why they have to win this battle!
There's not much to say then.
"General Gao!" The generals of the Beiping County garrison rushed to meet Gao Shun as soon as they saw him appear, and asked hurriedly, "How many generals in Beiping do you need to accompany you?"
In the troop dispatch order from Ju Shou to Gao Shun, there was a sentence that said that the defenders of Beiping and Tongguan should obey Gao Shun's orders. But judging from Gao Shun's performance, apart from making some adjustments to the garrison in Beiping City, he did not seem to have any intention of leading the troops into action?
"No need," Gao Shun replied, "You guys stay at the city gates, and if there are any fish that escape and come to the city, you can shoot them with the crossbows on the city walls."
Taking these defenders with him might seem like it would give him more help when facing the threat from Lu Bu, but it would also make the situation more difficult.
What kind of person Lu Bu is, whether it is his killing of Dong Zhuo or his successful pursuit of Gongsun Zan, or his battles with Jizhou in the past few years, it is enough for Gao Shun to see clearly.
When his elite troops faced Lu Bu, they might be able to rely on their tacit understanding and armor defense to stop the charge of the Bingzhou elite cavalry led by him. However, the Peking defenders who rarely experienced war would never be able to do that!
If they were used as weaknesses by Lu Bu during this initial encounter and were to be exploited in a breakout, they would find it difficult to gain a foothold in the face of the astonishing charge of the Northern Iron Cavalry, or even flee in panic due to the death of their friendly forces, which would in turn cause the barrier formed by the Formation Trap to break.
Instead of doing this, it would be better to use the best soldiers instead of the best quantity, and use the absolute elite to deal with the attack of Lu Bu and others who are ready to attack!
But what Gao Shun had never expected was that in the opposite side's advance, in order to gain a foothold on the other side of Xushui, the cavalry led by Lu Bu first came from the shallow bay of the river, but they were not as swift and powerful as Gao Shun had thought, and they would not be able to break through their interception with a swift and powerful offensive.
Lu Bu changed his previous intention to kill his way through the enemy formation as soon as they met, and cruised on this side of the river with the cavalry he led, harassing Gao Shun with bows and arrows.
In the brief delay caused by the damage done by his crossbow, the soldiers following closely behind him had already rushed over.
This doesn't seem to be Lu Bu's style at all!
It was because the soldier from the Xianzhen Camp, who was rushing in the front following Gao Shun's order and intending to stop the enemy from crossing the river, hit a shield when he held up his shield to block the rain of arrows and drew his sword to chop at the enemy.
A shield even stronger than the one he had!
As so many soldiers from the Xianzhen Camp launched an attack together, the sounds of swords and shields clashing were not uncommon.
This was no longer the team that came and went like the wind that he had encountered before, but a team of shield soldiers that was mainly for defense.
The spearmen in the rear had not yet arrived at this moment, so they were in a completely defensive posture.
Dayong's investment in armor has never been small, and this was fully demonstrated in this battle.
Even though the general of the Xianzhen Camp had made his subordinates act and change formations without any delay when facing the enemy, relying on his training methods, even Lu Bu had to admit the gap in strength.
Dayong's troops still have their unique advantages due to their complete armaments!
When they even gave up the attack and reduced the possible flaws, this situation of stubbornly holding the river bank became increasingly difficult to change.
Gao Shun really didn't understand what Lu Bu was thinking.
Even though the shield soldiers in the front army formed a human wall that had not yet been broken by the trap camp, the soldiers behind them were still standing in the water and had not landed on the river bank.
In this situation, it's not the right time to launch an attack.
As long as the side defending the city can prevent the other side from making any progress, the attacking side will inevitably consume much more energy than them. At that time, will they still be given a chance to continue the stalemate?
Of course not!
What Lu Bu should do most at this moment is to rely on the small-scale confrontation formed by his own shield soldiers to dispatch more cavalry to the front as quickly as possible. He would rather risk the casualties of cavalry in order to create an opportunity to attack from Gao Shun.
Regardless of whether such an attack could effectively penetrate Gao Shun, it was at least better than the current stalemate that might end in nothing.
But when he looked at Lu Bu who had retreated to the rear, he did not see any annoyance on his face. Instead, he kept mobilizing soldiers to throw sandbags into the river to widen the shallow water area for the soldiers to cross the river.
If the first shot from his powerful bow had not passed through the gap in his shield and killed one of his subordinates on the spot, Gao Shun would almost have thought that the person here was not Lu Bu, but just someone who looked very similar to him.
But this is of course Lu Bu.
He just remembered what Sima Yi said to him before he attacked!
"We are all here to attack together, so General Lu's military achievements are equal to yours. So instead of fighting with General Gao and getting both sides hurt in a battle of elite soldiers, it is better to give up fighting for some unnecessary credits."
"The reason why General Gao's Xianzhen Camp is so powerful is because their military orders are as strong as a mountain, their armor is excellent, and their soldiers are willing to sacrifice their lives. Such qualities are not something that ordinary soldiers can achieve. Therefore, the only ones who will intercept us in the battle of crossing the river will be the Xianzhen Camp. We will not be given the opportunity to attack their weak points. In this case, why don't we be the solid shield to hold them back, and let General Lu be the sharpest spear."
It was so painful for Lu Bu to restrain himself from attacking.
But when he thought about the fact that he was not allowed by His Majesty to participate in the battle against the assassination, which was most likely because he only knew how to attack, and also when he thought about the fact that he would never be willing to leave a stain on his military achievement of pacifying the world, Lu Bu decided to endure this discomfort for the time being.
Besides, his unhappiness didn't last long.
In front of him, the armored soldiers on his side who had crossed the river had formed another row, resisting the group in front that were about to fall, forming an even more solid shield.
Although the front row of this shield was in a weak position in the face of the counterattack of the soldiers of the Xianzhen Camp, it was not yet time to determine the outcome. And just when this "shield" with a do-or-die momentum was holding off the obstruction of the Xianzhen Camp, the sound of horse hooves appeared in the hearing of Lu Bu's cavalry, whose hearing had not weakened with age over the years.
That was their "spear" along the way!
When he looked towards the west, he indeed saw a cloud of dust raised by the galloping vehicle.
Who else could be the leader if not Lu Lingju!
Of course, Gao Shun, who was keeping an eye on all directions during the battle, would not ignore the sound of horse hooves.
Even though he focused most of his attention on Lu Bu, when the cavalry appeared, he still realized their arrival as quickly as possible.
Even as Lü Lingju's figure was marching closer and closer on horseback, the formation of the trap camp that was supposed to deal with the army crossing the river had changed following Gao Shun's deployment.
Although there are less than a thousand people, at this moment it feels like they are facing a combat power that can only be displayed by forces four or five times their number.
Not to mention, this special team has plenty of experience in facing cavalry.
But Lu Bu's performance at this time was very different from usual. How could Lu Lingju, who appeared in such a sudden manner, be an ordinary cavalryman?
The appearance of normalcy lowered the vigilance of the defenders of the Xianzhen Camp.
However, they chopped and hacked with spears and halberds from far away, but when they failed to succeed, the heavily armored soldiers closed the distance with the intention of sweeping them off their horses. At that moment, the cavalrymen in the front row suddenly drew out the iron maces from their sides at the signal of "action" from Lu Lingju.
He directly shot at the nearest soldiers from the Xianzhen Camp.
Perhaps, it would be more appropriate to call it a swing.
These soldiers in the Xianzhen Camp have a set of techniques to dodge long weapons, which allows them to be far more proficient than ordinary soldiers in breaking up cavalry offensives. However, it is precisely this proficiency in action that makes it too late for them to realize that the enemy's secondary weapon is not a sword!
At the moment when the heavily armored soldiers of the Xianzhen Camp made the forward movement at the same time, it was already difficult for them to retreat. The weight brought by the heavy armor made them have to face another factor that delayed the movement. However, the action of swinging the iron mace did not leave any room for others.
Not all armor protection areas are like the "Ming Guang Mirror" of the Ming Guang Armor, which can provide such effective defense. Most armors can defend against swords, bows and arrows, rather than the sudden shock of the iron whip at this moment.
With the power of the horse's movement, the impact instantly formed an irresistible and terrifying force.
Just like the blow that Lu Lingju swung at this moment, the armor underneath even made an almost distorted sound, and there was also a shattering sound, but she knew clearly that it was not the sound of the armor, but the impact of the iron mace that penetrated the armor directly and attacked the human body below, causing absolute destructive power!
That should have been an encounter where the heavy infantry had the upper hand.
Even if this group of cavalry appeared on this side of the river for unknown reasons and launched a sudden charge, it would not affect the results of repeated tests. However, what was presented to everyone present at this moment was that in the fight between the dozens of people led by this group, this group of cavalry, which came down from the sky, won the overall victory.
And the youngest female general rushed in from the gap in the back that had not been filled in time, and rushed straight to -
Go to where Gao Shun is.
She even threw the iron mace in her hand away at the moment when she was about to be stopped.
There is no need to say at this moment how powerful the flying iron mace, or trump card, is.
This equally swift and even more difficult to guard against attack violently smashed the head armor of the man in front of her, causing the soldier to fall down immediately. He was unable to coordinate actions with his superiors in time, while Lu Lingju had already rushed straight to Gao Shun with the long weapon.
Following behind her were the cavalrymen who had accompanied her from upstream of the Xushui River.
Almost at the same time, Lu Bu no longer needed to suppress his previous desire to attack. Seeing that the troops of the Xianzhen Camp were in a little chaos due to the casualties on the flank and Gao Shun's attack, he also picked up the halberd and rushed forward.
But the one who was closer probably had the advantage. When Lu Bu arrived, he heard Lu Lingju's voice:
"General Gao, I'm sorry."
"Ming Gong?"
As the sound was uttered, a teacup held in the hand trembled for a moment and almost spilled the tea in it.
If Guo Tu had not seen this sudden change clearly, he would almost think that Yuan Shao could really remain calm in the face of these two pieces of news.
But this is something that is really difficult to achieve for anyone.
Xin Ping in Qingzhou did not betray Yuan Shao because of Xin Pi's surrender to the enemy. His background as a Yingchuan scholar allowed him to hold the line. He also gave effective suggestions to Yuan Tan when there were changes in Xuzhou.
However, the changes in Qingzhou happened to occur among the remnants of the Yellow Turbans, the group they cared least about.
These Yellow Turbans from Qingzhou stabbed Yuan Shao in the back when he was caught off guard, shattering his dream of inviting Zheng Xuanyan to teach in Yecheng and open an imperial college.
Now, those who were unable to leave with Guan Hai at that time were persuaded by the Taishan bandits under Qiao Yan to attack Beihai and Donglai for them, blocking the rescue of Yuan Tan and Xin Ping on the spot.
If Yuan Shao had not faced the threat of troops from other places, he might have been able to send more troops to Beihai, and with the morale boosted after Kong Rong's return to Beihai, he could have recaptured the lost half of Qingzhou. But he couldn't!
Even Yuan Tan's action of going to Qinghe County to borrow troops under Xin Ping's suggestion was already his limit.
The reinforcement of troops in Xuzhou will inevitably make the generals of Dayong who are already east of Weishui more stable.
And if the situation in Qingzhou was barely within Yuan Shao's expectations, after all, even if Qiao Yan's generals did not advance from Xuzhou, there was a great probability that they would break through from Liaodong and cross the Bohai Sea. Then the situation on the northern front of Jizhou was completely beyond Yuan Shao's expectations.
He originally thought that it was most likely Ju Shou's letter saying that the bastard Lu Bu had once again invaded Hejian County in Jizhou according to his previous half-month attack plan, and was then driven out again by Ju Shou or Gao Shun, or maybe Qiao Yan's Quanzhou troop transfer had made some discoveries under the observation of the spies sent by Ju Shou.
But I never expected that in this letter, Ju Su would actually send me such news.
Gao Shun was captured by Lu Lingju, the captain of Youzhou who protected the Wuhuan, and Lu Bu, the Tiger Tooth General. Beiping County of Zhongshan State in Jizhou was occupied by the generals of Dayong. Floating bridges were being built in the upper reaches of Yishui and Xushui, forming a troop transportation line from Fanyang to Beiping.
There were only two possible situations that Ju Su was facing at this time.
Alternatively, these soldiers could block these two rivers, causing the Yishui River north of Hejian County to gradually dry up, and then the army could completely invade.
Or, before Ju Shou tried to cross the border to attack, they had already gone directly south through Zhongshan State!
In short, at the moment when Beiping changed its owner, Yuan Shao and his side's defense on the northernmost front of Jizhou had almost failed.
Even within just two days, when Ju Su hastily withdrew his troops to the south and re-established a defense line in the central part of Hejian County, two pieces of extremely bad news for Yuan Shao came to them.
Gongsun Zan had previously accumulated a lot of military supplies in Quanzhou, but because of his secretive actions, it was rarely known to outsiders. So when Taishi Ci was stationed here, Shen Pei on the south bank estimated that the other party would at least need to transport a lot of food and grass to this place. However, he never expected that what Taishi Ci might lack was manpower, but definitely not supplies!
Just when the news of Lü Bu's success was delivered to Quanzhou by fast horses, Taishi Ci and Gan Ning joined forces to send troops from the northern part of Bohai County and broke through Shen Pei's camp with lightning speed.
This opportunity to send troops should be considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even though it was not yet the time to launch an all-out attack, the two of them hit it off and acted without hesitation.
If Shen Pei's troops had not rescued him in time, he would have been captured like Gao Shun in the battle in northern Jizhou.
But even so, with the failure of the battle in Beiping County, Shen Pei's army was also attacked. Ju Su's decision to move the front line south was no longer just a stopgap measure, but an inevitable move.
This is the first piece of bad news.
Another is that this unusual movement in the northern part of Zhongshan had already been known to the major families in Zhongshan before it was passed on to Ju Shou.
What shrewd creatures the Zhongshan tycoons are.
Many years ago, a horse merchant from Zhongshan saw Liu Bei's potential and provided him with assistance.
Naturally, some of them had expanded their business to Guanzhong. How could they not see how huge the gap was between the area under the jurisdiction of Jizhou and the area governed by the Emperor of Dayong?
If it were not for the fact that in this era, the more deeply rooted a person is in a local area, the more difficult it is for them to escape from their environment. I am afraid that some of them would have already wanted to defect.
Think about it, the Mi family of Donghai, who were the first to surrender, were not only able to survive the power transfer in Xuzhou with the help of Qiao Yan, but were also able to open up another way of life by selling cotton clothing. They even became a veritable imperial merchant with the ascension of Qiao Yan. Many people were jealous of them.
And now, they have finally waited for this opportunity.
Yuan Shao and the Han court to which he belonged could not be blamed for making such a choice at this time. After all, the troops of Dayong had already arrived in Zhongshan Kingdom.
So soon after Lu Lingju and others settled in Beiping County, they received rewards and condolences from Zhongshan merchants.
That scene really scared Lu Bu and his men.
If the other party had not sent someone to explain to them first, such a huge formation would have been thought to be a siege team composed of civilian forces, not a reward for surrender.
Of course, after learning their identities, it was a good thing for the Dayong troops who had already entered Jizhou with minimal losses. For Yuan Shao, it was another blow.
In a sense, it can even be called a shame.
This was because among the people who came to reward the troops, there was a man named Zhen Yao, who was from Wuji County, Zhongshan, Jizhou.
If this is not enough to explain the situation clearly, then let me give you a little more detail. Zhen Yao had a younger sister named Zhen Mi, who was chosen by Yuan Shao as the second wife for his son Yuan Xi. They were supposed to get married next year.
But what's going on now?
Before the marriage was officially completed, the in-laws had already decisively surrendered to the enemy, which was tantamount to a slap in the face for Yuan Shao.
But at this moment, can Yuan Shao spare any extra energy to care about the situation of the Zhen family in Zhongshan?
The previous monthly report was just a provocative declaration. He tried his best to keep himself alert and sit here, but it was just because -
He still has one last chance to fight in a head-on confrontation.
But now the failures in two battles in a row seemed to be telling him in an extremely straightforward way that the outcome was set!
His eldest son was unable to turn the tide in Qingzhou, his second son was faced with the Taihang Mountains which blocked his way, and his youngest son did not even think about defense at this time, but boldly wanted to attack Hanoi first.
The fact that Fang had gained nothing at the moment and even lost territory made the competition in this external mission seem like a joke!
And the biggest joke is Yuan Shao himself.
How could a general who couldn't even control the two states of Ji and Qing have the confidence to support the crumbling dynasty and fight against Dayong?
In such a bleak mood, he even felt an indescribable confusion, rather than the kind of anger that made him want to spit out blood again.
The gradually rising summer heat from all directions was like a cage that appeared prematurely, trapping him inside.
Outside this cage, there are pairs of eyes staring at him as his prey!
Yuan Shao took a deep breath and managed to regain control of his almost out-of-control mentality.
At this moment, a eunuch suddenly came running over. When he saw him, he fell to the ground in panic. After sitting up again with great difficulty, he looked up at him and said, "General - Your Majesty, Your Majesty urgently summons you!"
During this month, Liu Bian actually knew the kind of pressure Yuan Shao was facing. Perhaps he was afraid of forcing Yuan Shao too much and forcing him to surrender, so he seldom came to him.
But at this moment, something extremely troublesome must have happened to Liu Bian, forcing him to ask Yuan Shao for help at this time, and he didn't care whether his great general was still sitting in a wheelchair.
Before Yuan Shao could ask, the eunuch said, "That person... the one from Dayong has sent a letter to your majesty."
It was not an ordinary letter delivered by a messenger, nor was it an article attached to the Leping Monthly News, nor was it a simple note.
But between countries.
The letter from Dayong to the Han Dynasty!
When Yuan Shao arrived at the imperial palace in Yecheng, he saw that Liu Bian had completely disregarded his image and walked quickly to Yuan Shao as if he was grasping at the last straw.
Not only did he not care about his own image, he also did not care about his previous doubts about Yuan Shao, and how he had secretly criticized Yuan Shao for his incompetence when Yanzhou and Yuzhou were lost.
At this moment, Yuan Shao was still willing to stand on the same side with him, instead of taking his remaining subordinates to break through the northern defense line and escape to the grassland as soon as possible, or taking Liu Bian's head to Dayong to seek peace and put all the blame on the emperor of the Han Dynasty. This was enough to make Liu Bian still feel somewhat grateful to Yuan Shao.
He hesitated to speak, not knowing whether he should ask now whether they could save their lives peacefully at this point. He also felt that this question was almost impossible to answer after he had already read out the anti-enemy manifesto, so it would be better not to humiliate himself at this moment.
He said hesitantly, "General, please read this book."
The ceremony and format of this letter abroad were many times more formal than the previous response to the Leping Monthly News, but it only contained two extremely short sentences.
Qiao Yan wrote on it:
[The people's hearts are with me, not with Han. Several states in the world should not be ordered to leave two dynasties. 】
[In August, during the autumn harvest, I hope to meet you in Yecheng and see my old friends to distinguish between the ruler and his subjects. 】
Although the words are simple, this is a much clearer signal of victory than the previous sentence "We must defeat them"!
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