Led by Lü Bu, Zhao Yun, and Zhang Liao, the Han cavalry, relying on their strong warhorses and excellent armor, overwhelmingly defeated the 20,000 Qiang soldiers stationed in Gangcha, leaving them with no chance to fight back.
The battle lasted for nearly an hour. After nearly 10,000 people were killed or wounded, the remaining Qiang soldiers also came to their senses from their anger, then jumped off their horses and chose to kneel down and surrender.
As for the garrison commander of Gangcha City, he had already fled shortly after the battle began.
After ordering his men to tie up all the prisoners, Lü Bu, along with Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao, entered Gangcha City.
As it was the newly established rear area of Ma Yi, most of the resources of the entire Qiang tribe, as well as the wealth that Ma Yi had amassed over the years, were placed in Gangcha City.
It is estimated that the dried meat and grain stored in the city alone are enough to feed an army of 100,000 for five years, while the wealth plundered by Ma Yi is worth at least 50 million taels of silver.
The gains from this trip were considerable.
Of course, what concerned Lü Bu the most was that the families of Ma Yi and many Qiang chieftains had all become their prisoners.
At this point, six days had passed since the planned date.
Now that Gangcha City has been captured, the next step is to continue the eastward advance and, in coordination with the Emperor's army, launch a pincer attack on the Qiang troops and the Lesser Yuezhi tribes located on the north bank of the Western Sea and the southern foothills of the Qilian Mountains.
While sending someone to inform the emperor, Lü Bu also found Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao to discuss the next steps.
After some discussion, the three decided that Lu Bu would lead the wolf riders to stay in Gangcha to guard the prisoners and the captured supplies.
In Lü Bu's words, these Qiang people had already been terrified by his killings, and with him guarding the area, the prisoners would certainly not dare to cause trouble.
Furthermore, the outcome of the next battle was already decided, and it wasn't worth his time to intervene. It would be better to leave the credit to the younger generation.
Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao were very unhappy with Lü Bu's explanation, but they couldn't find a reason to refute it.
Through the battle outside Gangcha City, Lü Bu's outstanding command ability in cavalry warfare completely impressed the two of them.
After resting for a night in the city, Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao led 20,000 Xiliang cavalrymen and sped towards the rear of Ma Yi's army.
At the same time, Liu Hong's army arrived near a mountain stronghold located northwest of Huangyuan City.
This mountain stronghold was newly built and housed 20,000 Qiang cavalrymen and 20,000 conscripted laborers.
The stronghold is surrounded by mountains on the north, east, and west sides, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. To the south lies a flat pasture, where cavalry can charge out at any time, truly achieving the ability to both attack and defend.
Inside the central command tent, Huangfu Song was also reporting various military situations to Liu Hong.
"Your Majesty, it has been reported that Ma Yi has led 30,000 of the most elite cavalry of the Eastern Qiang and is stationed in a mountain forest 100 miles to the southwest."
Meanwhile, 20,000 cavalry of the Lesser Yuezhi and 30,000 cavalry of the Baima clan were stationed 150 li to the northwest and 200 li to the west, respectively!
As he spoke, Huangfu Song also came to a sand table and clearly marked the distribution of Ma Yi and others' troops on it.
"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, Ma Yi should already be prepared to send troops at any time. Once our army attacks the forward camp, Ma Yi will definitely lead his troops to detour and harass our supply lines!"
Liu Hong gave a soft "hmm," then asked, "What do you plan to do next, my dear minister?"
"Your Majesty, I have two plans. The first is to use the Qiang people we bring along the way to disrupt the morale of the Qiang soldiers guarding the village, and then take the enemy village in one fell swoop."
Secondly, we need to wait for news from Fengxian and Zilong.
If they break through the enemy's rear and block their retreat, then the Ma Yi army will be thrown into chaos and will retreat to attack Feng Xian and his forces.
In this way, our army can make a show of pursuing, lure the enemy out of the camp, and leave an ambush halfway to annihilate them.
"Once we capture this stronghold, the Ma Yi army will be trapped like turtles in a jar, at our mercy!"
"Very well, in that case, you may decide what to do, my dear minister!"
After listening to Huangfu Song's plan, Liu Hong nodded in satisfaction.
As he spoke, Liu Hong turned to look outside the tent and said in a deep voice, "Judging from the time, Zilong and the others should be arriving soon, right?"
Huangfu Song replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, if nothing unexpected happens, news should arrive in about two days!"
Liu Hong smiled and waved his hand: "Don't worry, with Fengxian here, nothing unexpected will happen!"
"Your Majesty is right!"
Upon hearing this, Huangfu Song nodded in agreement.
Huangfu Song was quite familiar with the abilities of Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao. Both were brave and resourceful, and could become great generals. In addition, with the fierce Lu Bu by their side, even if the Qiang people were made of iron, they would not be able to stop these three.
Liu Hong immediately stood up and looked outside the tent: "For now, let's execute the first plan first and demoralize the enemy first!"
"Here you go!"
Huangfu Song respectfully agreed, and then summoned all the generals to the main tent.
Huangfu Song glanced at the assembled generals, picked up a token, and said in a deep voice, "Yang Yan, Yu Jin, Xu Huang!"
"Your subordinate is here!!"
The three people whose names were called stood excitedly in the center of the tent.
"I hereby order the three of you to each lead ten thousand men to escort a group of Qiang people to persuade the enemy troops in the stronghold to surrender!"
If enemy cavalry emerges from the camp, simply repel them; remember to avoid harming the Qiang civilians as much as possible!
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Yang Yan, Yu Jin, and Xu Huang stepped forward to receive the command token, then bowed and retreated.
Subsequently, Huangfu Song dispatched 20,000 Liaozhou cavalry to escort the supply train, and 20,000 Xiliang cavalry to the western part of the camp to guard against Ma Yi's sneak attack.
As for the Imperial Guards and the Northern Army, he left them in the main camp to guard Liu Hong.
Liu Hong, sitting in the main seat, remained silent throughout Huangfu Song's arrangements.
"Thump thump thump!!"
As military orders were issued, the sound of muffled drums echoed throughout the camp.
All the Han soldiers followed their officers in an orderly fashion and began to move quickly.
Soon, Yang Yan, Yu Jin, and Xu Huang led 30,000 Xiliang cavalry, escorting nearly 20,000 Qiang people, towards the camp.
By afternoon, the army had stopped on a plain about 1,000 meters away from the Qiang soldiers' camp.
Upon learning of the Han army's arrival, the Qiang soldiers in the camp hurriedly led the young men they had forcibly conscripted to the back of the camp wall.
Seeing that the enemy was ready for battle, Yang Yan immediately spurred his horse forward and stopped three hundred paces away from the Qiang army camp.
"Brothers in the stronghold, the Han army has come only to rescue you. We hope you will surrender as soon as possible and not perish with that cruel Ma Yi!!"
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