At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 385 Battle
"Tap Tap!"

The war horses are galloping, the smoke is billowing, and the momentum is like a rainbow. The leading general is none other than the famous Hebei general Gao Lan.

The generals in Hebei were already good at mounted combat, among which Yan Liang and Wen Chou were the most outstanding. However, since they were killed by Ma Chao and Guan Yu, Gao Lan's status has skyrocketed.

Gao Lan was good at cavalry combat. Although he was not as brave as Yan Liang and Wen Chou, he was more stable. Even though the status of the generals of the Yingchuan faction was rising step by step, Gao Lan was still irreplaceable when it came to commanding the cavalry.

This time, Yuan's army crossed the Huaihe River and invaded Guangling County. It was overwhelming. As a cavalry general, Gao Lan was naturally at the forefront and was the first to reach Dongcheng.

Arriving in Dongcheng does not mean arriving under the county seat.

The walled county town can be regarded as the city center of later generations. In addition to the city center, the county town also governs many rural pavilions, just like the villages and towns of later generations.

After Gao Lan entered the territory of Dongcheng, due to his cautious nature, he did not call for formation immediately. Instead, he sent many scouts to find out the news, and then prepared to set up camp first.

"General, the place ahead is only more than twenty miles away from the East City. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers and has open terrain. It is a good place to set up camp. Do we want to set up camp here?"

Although Gao Lan trusted the deputy general's vision, setting up camp was of great importance and he did not dare to neglect it. After going to investigate in person, he nodded with satisfaction and said, "This place is really suitable for setting up camp!"

"Tap Tap!"

"When Yuan Jun's hands and feet freeze to death, we will launch a massive attack and we will surely defeat him in one battle!"

"Peter knows that our army is approaching, so he should not be negligent. He will order his soldiers to keep their saddles on their horses and their armor on their bodies."

Seeing this, the deputy general said hurriedly: "The Chu army scouts are so close to our camp. I am afraid that the Chu army has already come to kill us. General, we must be on guard!"

The winter in the south is indeed very difficult, especially during this Little Ice Age. If there is no shelter from the wind and no way to cut down trees for fire, over time, humans will really be unable to bear it.

Gao Lan then led his personal guards to a haystack and began to rub his hands and breathe.

Gao Lan took a deep breath, and then said: "Recall all the soldiers who went to cut down the trees, gather them all, and prepare to fight!"

As soon as Gao Lan passed on the order, he saw a horse galloping towards him, and it was a blood-stained scout who came.

Especially when wearing armor, I feel even colder.

When Ma Chao heard this, he suddenly realized.

"Give me the order to let the soldiers dismount and rest first. When the baggage team arrives, they will set up camp here."

In this way, if the Chu army suddenly arrives, the soldiers under his command will be in a hurry.

Gao Lan frowned when he looked at the scout whose wound was still bleeding and ordered someone to take him down for bandage.

The scout gasped and said, "We were ordered to conduct reconnaissance. Not far from the camp, we encountered the Chu army scouts. If our brothers hadn't fought hard to cut off the enemy, I'm afraid the villain wouldn't have been able to come back!"

Gao Lan's heart sank and he asked, "Have you ever detected the movements of the Chu army?"

Ma Chao looked at Xu Shu next to him and asked with some doubts: "The so-called strong momentum will weaken again, and it will be exhausted after three. Since we have led the troops here, why don't we just rush out and instead hold our troops here?"

"It's freezing cold today. If the two armies are fighting or marching, they will not feel cold even if they are wearing armor. If they are always on high alert but do not start a war, over time, Yuan's army will definitely be shivering from the cold."

Some people may wonder that although Yuan Jun can't stand this kind of weather, Chu Jun, who is also wearing armor, may not be able to stand it either.

As the saying goes: A person's name is like the shadow of a tree.

Gao Lan quickly realized the seriousness of the matter. Even he himself could not bear the cold, let alone his soldiers.

The soldiers under Gao Lan's command were all tense at this time, ready for a fight at any time.

The deputy general took the order and left.

Once it stopped, Gao Lan couldn't stand the terrible wet and cold winter in the south.

Not long after Gao Lan assembled his team, he vaguely saw the Chu army scouts who were gradually approaching, and he did not dare to neglect them, as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Gao Lan was shocked. After the scout tightened the reins, he hurriedly stepped forward to help him down and asked, "Why are you like this? Did you encounter the Chu army?"

The scout shook his head and said, "We have only fought with the Chu army's scouts and have not yet detected the movements of the Chu army."

"Tap Tap!"

What surprised Gao Lan was that after Ma Chao led his troops to attack, he did not rush forward immediately. Instead, he found a place that was easy to defend but difficult to attack, and faced Yuan Jun from a distance.

"only!"

Facing the eyeing Ma Chao and his cavalry, even though he was as calm as Gao Lan, he did not dare to show any signs of neglect and hurriedly ordered all his soldiers to enter a state of combat readiness.

"This place is only more than twenty miles away from the east city. The Chu army may attack at any time. The soldiers are ordered to never leave their saddles, their armors, and to stay vigilant at all times."

Xu Shu gently stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Gao Lan led more than ten thousand cavalry to serve as the vanguard and arrived here. The logistics and equipment must not be able to keep up, and there is no way to set up camp."

Ma Chao became famous in a battle outside Fancheng, and stabbed Yan Liang on his horse among thousands of troops, which has become a nightmare in the hearts of many Yuan Jun.

It might be warmer if you take off your armor and put on thick clothes.

During the march, Gao Lan didn't feel too bad.

Not long after, Ma Chao led his five thousand cavalry to kill them.

The raw material of the Chu army's cotton-padded clothes is cotton, which can become an important strategic material even in war years.

The Chu army was in formation.

"I asked the general to station troops here precisely to deter Yuan Jun and prevent them from cutting down wood to make fire."

With this in mind, Gao Lan began to order people to cut down trees again, planning to light fires to keep warm. It would be safer to remove their armor after the camp was established and the soldiers were safe.

This is not the case,
Although the Chu army did not feel cold, because the cavalry were equipped with warm cotton clothes, the situation was much better than that of the Yuan army.

Cotton was introduced to China through the Silk Road as early as the first century AD. However, it was not taken seriously at first and was not popularized. It was only grown on the border and in some areas in the south.

As for the exact year when cotton was introduced to China, it is unclear. However, according to the "Song Book" records, cotton was not introduced to our country until the Northern and Southern Dynasties at the latest, and it was not introduced in large quantities to the mainland until the late Song Dynasty and the early Yuan Dynasty.

It wasn't until Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty forced cotton cultivation nationwide that this became a crop that ordinary people could grow in their families.

What needs to be noted here is that cotton was introduced to China in the Northern and Southern Dynasties at the latest, not necessarily in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

The Silk Road originated from the Han Dynasty.

There was Zhang Qian in the Western Han Dynasty and Ban Chao in the Eastern Han Dynasty. These two people, coupled with the strong national power during the Han Dynasty, established the Han Dynasty's position in the Western Regions. Therefore, the Silk Road was quite prosperous, and cotton had probably been spread to China long ago. As a time traveler, Zhou Qi naturally knew the importance of cotton, so after he found cotton on the border, he began to promote it on a large scale.

In addition, Chu State's textile technology is extremely advanced, so the quality of the cotton clothes produced is also very good.

However, the workshops that make cotton-padded clothes are all state-owned assets, and cotton-padded clothes and even cotton are controlled commodities and are prohibited from flowing outside Chu State. Therefore, there is no cotton in Zhao State, and Yuan Shao and others do not know the strategic value of cotton.

The Chu army had warm cotton clothes, and even if they were wearing armor, their ability to withstand the cold was far greater than that of the Yuan army.

The two sides faced each other in the cold weather. Naturally, the Chu army had the absolute advantage.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

Time passed little by little, and the sound of teeth clashing rang in his ears. Gao Lan turned around and saw the deputy general who was shivering from the cold. The deputy general's face was red from the cold, and his body was shaking.

This is true even for lieutenants, let alone ordinary soldiers.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

A gust of cold wind blew by, and Gao Lan suddenly felt cold all over, as if he had no clothes on at all.

At this time, he couldn't help but wonder, even in the north where the temperature is even lower, wearing so many clothes in the wild would not make him feel so cold.

Why is it that in the south, where the temperature is higher, there is a bone-chilling coldness? Even though I am wearing a lot of clothes, I feel like I am naked?
It’s not surprising that Gao Lan couldn’t tell the difference between the dry and cold north and the wet and cold south.

Even in later generations when the Internet is developed, many northerners who have never been to the south do not understand how cold it is in the south.

It's like in the future, the indoor temperature of a certain university in the north was only 20 degrees, which made the students unbearable and even alarmed the leaders in the city. In the end, the matter became a hot topic and made it to the hot search list, causing many friends in the south to be confused, and some of them didn't understand why they couldn't bear the indoor temperature of only 20 degrees.

When a northerner who has never been to the south sees others online saying that the temperature in their classrooms and bedrooms can reach subzero, it feels like they are bragging.

Things that people in the north take for granted may not sound understandable to people in the south.

Things that are commonplace in the south may sound incredible to northerners.

The humidity and cold in the south is so cold that it's bone-chilling. Even if you wear more clothes, as long as there is a little bit of wind, you will feel cold all over your body. No matter how thick the quilt is, as long as your head is not covered in the quilt, maybe half an hour has passed and the quilt is still cold.

Due to the high humidity, when the weather is sunny in the south, it is even colder indoors than outdoors.

Therefore, an important way for many southerners to keep warm in winter is to go outside and bask in the sun.

As a northerner, Gao Lan had never experienced the humidity and cold in the south. After the cold wind blew, he felt like his whole body was soaked in ice water, and he couldn't help but groan secretly.

Now that a new army has arrived, the camp has not yet been established; the enemy is pressing down on the border, and they cannot cut down trees to make fire, so they can only confront the Chu army here.

If they continue like this, even if they are not defeated by Yuan Jun, they will be frozen and lose their combat effectiveness.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

Gao Lan's upper and lower teeth chattered. It was completely a conditioned reflex and he couldn't control it at all.

"General, general, it's really cold, and the soldiers are wearing armor. If we continue to face off like this, I'm afraid the men won't be able to stand it until the battle begins."

Gao Lan shrank subconsciously because of the cold, and asked in a slightly hoarse voice: "When will the heavy troops arrive?"

The deputy general replied: "It will take at least half a day."

Gao Lan frowned, looked at the Chu army in the distance, and finally could only grit his teeth and said: "You will lead the soldiers to withdraw, and I will personally cut off the rear!"

When the deputy general heard this, he was horrified and said: "Since our army crossed the river, we have won consecutive battles and the morale of our soldiers is at a high level. If we flee without fighting and the news reaches your majesty, the general will probably not be able to escape the blame."

"Although our army feels the cold is unbearable, Chu's army must also feel the same, and their combat effectiveness must be greatly affected. Why doesn't the general lead his army to rush over?"

"Our army is twice as powerful as the Chu army. If we can defeat Ma Chao, the general can also become famous in one battle. Wouldn't it be wonderful?"

Gao Lan pondered for a long time, and finally shook his head and said: "Since the Chu army dares to confront us in such cold weather, they must have something to rely on, so we must not be careless."

"Ma Chao is brave and the Chu army is in a favorable location. If we attack rashly, we may not be able to win."

The deputy general said: "In that case, general, why don't you pretend to withdraw your troops? If Ma Chao leads his troops to pursue us, we can return and fight him. This will make Ma Chao lose his geographical advantage."

Gao Lan felt that the deputy general's words made sense, and immediately nodded and said: "That's it. If Ma Chao leads his troops to pursue him, you will lead his troops back to fight; if not, you will retreat according to the plan!"

In front of the Chu army's formation.

"General Qi, Yuan Jun has begun to retreat!"

After Ma Chao heard the scout's report, he immediately set his sights on Xu Shu and asked, "Military advisor, can we lead the troops into battle?"

Xu Shu looked at the direction of Yuan Jun and sighed: "This Gao Lan is indeed a famous general in Hebei. He was so decisive. He did not rush forward under such circumstances and withdrew his troops straightforwardly."

"However, after such a long confrontation, Yuan's army must have very little combat power left. The general can rest assured and pursue him. He only needs to guard against the retreating Yuan's army coming back!"

Hearing this, Ma Chao laughed loudly and said, "Even if more than ten thousand Yuan troops swarm forward, what should I fear?"

After saying this, Ma Chao immediately began to mobilize his troops and generals, and then led his cavalry to charge forward.

Chu Jun had cotton-padded clothes to keep him warm. Although his body was not as stiff and trembling from the cold as Yuan Jun's was, he had long been unable to bear it and wanted to move his body.

As a southerner, besides basking in the sun, I have two other weapons to fight the cold outside.

One is shaking and the other is moving.

Needless to say, shivering, shivering from the cold, and holding on with a strong sense of righteousness; moving means moving. The humidity and cold in the south are terrible, but the temperature is not as good as in the north. As long as you wear cotton clothes and move around, you won't feel cold, and you may even feel cold. Sweats easily.

Rather than letting these soldiers stand there and freeze, they would rather rush out and fight Yuan Jun.

"kill!"

When the war broke out, Ma Chao rushed to the front with a spear in hand, and the Chu army soldiers also moved forward bravely.

On the contrary, Gao Lan was afraid of Ma Chao's bravery and did not dare to charge and fight him personally. In addition, many Yuan Jun soldiers were frozen. Not long after the two sides came into contact, the Chu army had a clear upper hand, and Yuan Jun even had The situation of defeat.

(End of this chapter)