The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 136: If a real man knows the suffering of the common people, how can he sit in confinement until his death?
Here, Liu Bei and Li Yi each led an army to pursue the defeated Yellow Turban bandits.

Liu Bei led Guan Yu and Xu Huang southward to Gushi to pursue Huang Shao.

Li Yi led Zhao Yun northward to Chengfu to pursue He Yi.

On the road, Zhao Yun and Li Yi rode side by side.

The two chatted about some military issues.

As they were chatting, Zhao Yun suddenly asked:
"The military advisor insisted on leading an army to pursue He Yi, but was it purely to wipe out the Yellow Turban bandits?"

This is a clever question. Li Yi led his troops to Chengfu to suppress bandits.

However, Zhao Yun asked Li Yi if he was going to suppress the bandits.

"Why do you ask this, Zilong?"

Li Yi raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said with interest:

"If we are not going to Chengfu to suppress the bandits, then why are we going there?"

Zhao Yun hesitated for a moment and said:

"Yun just thinks that to deal with a petty thief like He Yi, there is no need for the military advisor to lead the troops personally."

"I would like to make a bold guess that the military advisor must have other intentions when he went to Chengfu."

Hahaha……

Li Yi laughed out loud:

"My lord, you always say that Zilong is careful and attentive. I see that it is indeed true."

"Yes, the first reason for going to Chengfu is to suppress the bandits, but the second reason is..."

Li Yi paused for a moment, looked at Zhao Yun and said:
"Zilong actually observed so carefully, why don't you guess what this is for?"

Zhao Yun rode on his horse, pondering for a moment.

After a while, he began to express his own guess:

"When our army was fighting against the Yellow Turban bandits in Xinyang, the military advisor went to the Yingshui River to survey the terrain."

"And Chengfu is backed by the Woshui River. Could it be that the military advisor went there to survey the terrain there?"

Hehehe...

Li Yi laughed out loud:

"Zilong is really very smart, very smart!"

"My lord always says that Zilong is steady and can be entrusted with important matters. If there is a need for Zilong in the future, please do so."

"Yi Dang first recommended Zilong."

Zhao Yun hurriedly bowed and said:

"The military advisor's talents and strategies are rare in the world. Yun has benefited a lot from being by the military advisor's side."

"From now on, we should listen carefully to the wise instructions and not be lax or lazy."

Ok……

Li Yi nodded, and then asked Zhao Yun:

"Since Zilong has guessed the purpose of our trip."

"Is it possible to guess what I want to do?"

"Could it be that the military advisor is targeting Yuan Shu?"

Zhao Yun boldly put forward his own guess without hesitation.

Li Yi nodded, confirming Zhao Yun's guess.

Runan is the second largest county in the country and has the largest population in Yuzhou.

One of the most important reasons is that the geographical location here is good and there are a lot of water systems.

Take the Yingshui River, which Li Yi had previously surveyed.

This river system connects to the Huai River and can lead directly to Xuzhou.

In other words, this water system can connect the three states of Yu, Yan and Xu.

The same was true for Li Yi who was about to go north to Chengfu to survey the Wo River there.

They are all connected to the Huai River and can go directly to Xuzhou.

If the food and fodder is transported by land, half of it will be consumed even for seven days.

However, water transportation, for a distance of one thousand miles, only consumes about one-fifth of the average, and at most no more than one-half.

Just imagine if we could use these two water systems to transport food and even soldiers.

So how many troops can they deploy from Xuzhou to Yuan Shu's Huainan?
After Zhao Yun heard Li Yi's idea, he was shocked:
"Military Advisor, do you want to transfer the war with Yuan Shu to Yuzhou?"

"good."

Li Yi nodded, "If we can make good use of Runan's water system, it will not only improve the efficiency of our food and grass transportation."

"It will also increase the delivery capabilities of our soldiers."

"Relying on water routes, we can deploy a large number of soldiers in Runan, Jiujiang, and Lujiang."

Previously, when Li Yi was in Guangling, he always chose to defend in the war against Yuan Shu.

A very important reason is that it is not easy for Guangling to take the initiative to attack.

You have to take the Yangtze River waterway first and go around to the back of Jiujiang before you can land.

Therefore, when Yuan Shu attacked Guangling, Xuzhou was in a more advantageous position as the defender.

If you want to attack Yuan Shu, the best way is to move the battlefield to Runan.

If we follow the waterways of Yingshui and Woshui and attack Yuan Shu from Runan.

It is possible to go directly to Shouchun.

Yes, it’s direct!

This can greatly enhance Xuzhou's autonomy.

This is also the reason why Li Yi began to strongly recommend Liu Bei to train sailors and helmsmen, purchase and build ships, and recruit craftsmen long ago.

The purpose is to wait until the day when Yuan Shu is completely destroyed.

By that time, Xuzhou would definitely require a nationwide mobilization.

In addition to the main battlefield, a large number of troops were deployed from Runan.

Chen Deng's Guangling could also follow the Yangtze River and attack Yuan Shu's Jiujiang from behind.

And if this situation really took shape, then Sun Ce, who was separatist in Wujun, would definitely rebel against Yuan Shu at this time.

By then, Yuan Shu would have to fight against the main force of the Xuzhou army, and Sun Ce would be fanning the flames in the backyard.

The day of destruction is just around the corner.

"The military advisor is really thinking long-term..."

Zhao Yun let out a sigh and expressed his sincere admiration for Li Yi's plan.

"Haha, it's too early to talk about this now. The most important thing right now is to capture He Yi and the other Yellow Turban bandits."

Soon, Li Yi's army arrived at Chengfu.

Chengfu is backed by Woshui River, which is used as a moat, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Li Yi first ordered his men to set up camp, and then took Zhao Yun and a dozen riders to survey the surrounding terrain.

This was his combat habit, to survey the terrain first before starting a battle.

"If I remember correctly, above Chengfu is Pei State, right?"

Li Yi looked into the distance and said indifferently.

Zhao Yun was on the side, looking through the map and reporting to Li Yi:
"My lord, Chengfu is located at the border between Runan and Pei."

"North of Chengfu, across the Wo River, is Qiao County of Pei State."

Ok……

Li Yi nodded, "Qiao County is Cao Cao's hometown."

Zhao Yun took the opportunity to answer:
"Yes, Qiao County is dominated by the Cao and Xiahou families."

"I guess Cao Cao has a lot of influence here."

Li Yi raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said:
"In addition to the Cao family and the Xiahou family, there is actually another family in Qiao County that is quite powerful."

Zhao Yun was from the north and didn't know much about the powerful families in the south.

All we know is that Qiao County is Cao Cao's hometown, and that the Cao and Xiahou families have a great influence on this place.

I actually didn't know there was another family that could compete with the Cao and Xiahou families.

Zhao Yun humbly asked which family it belonged to.

Li Yi introduced to everyone in a very eloquent manner:
“In Yuzhou, there are two powerful Xu families.”

"One is the Xu family of Pingyu County in Runan, which has three generations of officials. Xu Zijiang, who founded Yuedanping, was born here."

"The other Xu family is the Xu family of Qiao County, Pei State."

"This family has several thousand households. Together they built a solid fortress to defend against bandits. They are quite powerful."

Well!
Zhao Yun was slightly startled. The Xu family had several thousand households.

They were able to spontaneously build Wu Castle to defend against bandits, which shows that their family was very powerful.

It is definitely not inferior to the Cao and Xiahou families in the same county.

Li Yi continued speaking.

"Because Qiao County is adjacent to Runan, it is often invaded by bandits from Runan."

"A few years ago, more than 10,000 Yellow Turban troops came from Gepi to attack Xu's Wubao."

"In the Xu family, there is a young hero named Xu Chu."

"He is the strongest young man in the Xu family. He led men, women and children to fight to the death."

“When they run out of arrows, they throw stones at them.”

"Xu Chu was very good at using flying stones to hit people. Wherever the flying stones hit, the bandits would die instantly."

Zhao Yun nodded. It seemed that this Xu Chu was no ordinary person.

"Xu Chu became famous at a young age. One year, the food in the fort was all gone, so Xu Chu negotiated with the bandits to exchange cattle for food."

"When the transaction was being made in front of the battlefield, the ox broke off the path and escaped. Xu Chu caught up with it and threw himself off the ox's tail, walking more than a hundred steps."

"Its strength was so great that the bandits were frightened and dared not attack the fort."

"From then on, the people in the Huai River, Ru River, Chen State, and Liang State areas all heard of Xu Chu's name and were afraid of him."

"As a result, Xu Chu became famous in Yuzhou."

After listening to this, Zhao Yun admired Xu Chu's bravery, but at the same time he couldn't recognize him and uttered a sigh.

"The military advisor has a wide range of knowledge."

"I don't want thieves to rise up all over the world. It's the same everywhere."

Zhao Yun seemed to recall some old things from his youth.

In addition, Li Yi was always friendly and kind to others, so Zhao Yun confided his thoughts to him.

"Yun is in Changshan Zhending, and there are many bandits in the countryside."

"Especially the Black Mountain bandits, who are the leaders, are the bandits who gather in the mountains."

"Yun thought at that time, in today's world, treacherous officials are in power and the people are suffering. There are countless people like my hometown."

"Although the clouds can protect the village for a while, there will be a day when they are no longer able to do so."

"As a man in this world, if he knows the suffering of the common people, how can he sit there and die in confinement?"

"So Yun made a long-term ambition in front of his master, to help the country and bring peace to the world!"

Having said that, Zhao Yun gave another bitter smile.

"It's just that my family's education is shallow, and I dare not aspire to be an official in the court for the rest of my life."

"All I can seek is fame and honor on horseback."

“So I joined the army just to follow the path of benevolence and righteousness.”

"I don't kill to show my bravery, I only kill to save the people!" "If I can help to restore order and save the people from danger, I will not be afraid even if I have to sacrifice my life!"

After listening to Zhao Yun's heartfelt words, Li Yi also had a complicated expression.

If it weren't for the circumstances, who would be willing to join the army?

"…Alas, war hurts both you and others. Once you get involved, it's hard to turn back."

"Since Zilong has the ambition to be a real man, Yi should also work together with Zilong."

"Give the people of the world a peaceful world."

"Small for the family, large for the country."

Zhao Yun was pleasantly surprised and immediately bowed and said:

"Thank you, military advisor!"

As Liu Bei's bodyguard, Zhao Yun had few opportunities in history to lead troops into battle alone.

But he was definitely an excellent cavalry general.

During the Battle of Hanzhong, Huang Zhong did not return as scheduled.

Zhao Yun only led a few dozen cavalrymen to search for them, but ended up running into Cao Cao's army.

Zhao Yun attacked Cao's army formation again and again, breaking up and then reorganizing it.

After breaking out, Deputy General Zhang Zhao was wounded again and surrounded by Cao's army.

As a result, Zhao Yun rushed into the enemy camp alone and rescued Zhang Zhao.

This is a manifestation of Zhao Yun's bravery.

Afterwards, Zhao Yun used the empty city plan and defeated Cao's army.

Liu Bei called him "a man of courage!"

Therefore, although Zhao Yun did not have many opportunities to show his abilities, his bravery, wisdom, and leadership skills were all of high standard.

This time, Li Yi led his troops to the south of Qiao County, and naturally he had his eyes on Xu Chu.

Get a more professional bodyguard for Lao Liu, so that Zhao Yun can focus more on fighting on the battlefield.

It's the best of both worlds.

After surveying the terrain, Li Yi made some arrangements.

He led his army to attack Chengfu.

The commander of Chengfu was He Man, the Yaksha of Jie Tian. He Yi fled to another place and said that Liu Bei wanted to kill us all.

He Man was shocked when she heard this:
"Liu Bei is far away in Xuzhou, why did he come to Runan?"

"I don't remember ever having a grudge against him."

He Yi said bitterly:
"Since Liu Bei claims to be a descendant of the Han emperor, he will naturally work hard for the court."

"We have gathered in Runan to serve Lord Yuan."

"Liu Bei has long been at odds with Lord Yuan, so it is reasonable for him to send troops to attack us now."

It's so...

He Man stood with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed, and his expression was solemn.

Someone reported that the Xuzhou army had also arrived at the city.

He Man hurriedly asked who was leading the troops.

The servant replied that it was Liu Bei’s military advisor Li Yi.

"I have heard a little bit about Li Yi."

"Not long ago, the pirate Xuezhou, who roamed the Yangtze River and the East China Sea, was defeated by this man."

He Man said worriedly.

He Yi was so angry that her teeth itched:
"Huang Shuai and I split up our forces and left, only to make Liu Bei split up his forces as well."

"Now that Li Yi has led his troops here, it means that Liu Bei will definitely lead his troops to pursue General Huang."

"I guess Li Yi doesn't have many men, so we can join forces and fight."

He Man readily agreed, as he also wanted to experience Li Yi's strength.

Just as he was about to lead his troops into battle, he was stopped by He Yi.

"Wait a minute! The Xuzhou army has quite a few good archers under their command."

"When our soldiers charged, most of them were shot dead before they got close enough."

"Huang Shao was defeated here before. We must be extremely careful when facing Li Yi."

There are only two ways to deal with powerful bows and crossbows with a wide coverage area.

That is to send out highly mobile cavalry to charge directly or attack from the outside.

But Runan has too many mountains to support cavalry, let alone these Yellow Turban bandits.

Another method, if there is no cavalry, is to use a shield or wear heavy armor and force your way through.

Although He Man and He Yi's men also have leather armor and shields, the quantity is small.

There is no way to arm the soldiers in large numbers.

Then there is only one stupid way left.

Use magic to defeat magic.

"I also have about 400 archers under my command, and maybe they can fight against Li Yi."

After He Man told He Yi that she had raised an archer, He Yi was overjoyed.

We suffered before because we had no long-range output, and we must not lose again this time.

He Man and He Yi led the troops to fight against the officers and soldiers.

To their surprise, Li Yi did not deploy the same lineup of strong bows and crossbows as last time.

Instead, he took the initiative to attack, sending 500 warriors wearing combat armor to attack the army.

He Yi and He Man were stunned at first, then they quickly arranged four hundred archers to shoot at the five hundred armored soldiers.

Whoosh whoosh!
The arrow flew past and landed on the soldiers in the front row, but failed to penetrate.

That’s right, the troops Li Yi sent out were the Xianzhen Camp trained by Gao Shun.

Although the training time is not long, it cannot be compared with the complete Xianzhen Camp.

But the equipment can be put on directly, fully armed with fighting gear and armor, and anyone you meet can be killed.

The archers of the Yellow Turban Army were far from being as powerful as the archers of the Xuzhou Army.

Most of the bows they used were soft bows, which could not break the iron armor worn by the Xianzhen Camp.

As for strong bows and crossbows, it is obvious that He Man and He Yi do not have the conditions for large-scale arming.

"No! Stop it quickly!"

Seeing the Xianzhen Camp getting closer and closer, He Man and He Yi both panicked and hurriedly ordered the front-line soldiers to move forward to resist.

The moment the two sides came into contact, dozens of people fell down instantly.

The Xianzhen Camp completely massacred the Yellow Turban Army.

The gap in equipment alone meant that the Yellow Turban Army was doomed to be slaughtered.

"Haha, the military situation is ever-changing, and water has no constant shape."

"Don't the Yellow Turbans even understand such a simple truth?"

Li Yi smiled and said to Zhao Yun beside him that he had just noticed it as well.

This group of Yellow Turban bandits were planning to shoot at him.

But I didn't expect that this time I changed my strategy and didn't play by the rules.

"I see that the Xianzhen Camp has suppressed the front of the Yellow Turban Army. Why not let Yun lead an army to go around the enemy's rear?"

"How about capturing the thief leader?"

Zhao Yun held the gun in his hand and asked for instructions.

"No need to rush."

Li Yi waved his hand, signaling Zhao Yun to stay calm.

"Now the two thieves He Man and He Yi have not yet used their full strength."

"When they are unable to do anything, Zilong can lead the Cloud Cavalry and wait for an opportunity to move."

Zhao Yun took the order and forced himself to suppress the impulse in his heart.

The guard stood beside Li Yi, waiting patiently for the opportunity to fight.

At this moment, the front-line battlefield has become a one-sided massacre.

"The Xuzhou army is so brave and powerful!"

Seeing his most elite Yellow Turban warriors being chopped down to the ground one by one, He Man's heart was bleeding.

"What can we do now?"

He Yi asked hurriedly.

He Man looked into the distance and saw Li Yi in the central army. He drew his sword and shouted:
"To catch a thief, we must first catch the leader. The only way now is to catch Li Yi first!"

This is the best solution He Man could think of.

Their only advantage is their large numbers, but their overall equipment, morale and training are far behind.

They confronted the Xuzhou army head-on and were completely slaughtered.

Then we can only find another way and give full play to our advantage in numbers.

First let the Yellow Turban soldiers use their flesh and blood to hold the front line.

He led an army to bypass the enemy and attack the central army where Li Yi was.

"Okay, let's take a risk."

"I'll be here to protect you, so you can go without any worries!"

He Yi instigated He Man to go around and attack Li Yi's central army.

The opportunity was fleeting, and He Man didn't have time to think too much.

He immediately brandished his sword, led his troops and horses, and went around to the right wing of Li Yi's army from the side.

How could such a large-scale operation escape the eyes of the Xuzhou army?
Soon someone sent the military report back to Li Yi.

Li Yi smiled upon hearing this:
"Just waiting for him to come!"

He immediately ordered Zhao Yun to lead his cavalry to fight.

"kill!!"

Gave an order,
All the Cloud Riders rushed forward, holding spears and wielding sabers.

Dust covered the sky and the sound of hooves was like thunder.

When He Man led the troops halfway, he saw countless dark shadows approaching rapidly.

He was so frightened that he turned his horse around and rode back.

"How handsome! How handsome!"

The Yellow Turban warriors who were originally charging with He Man saw their commander suddenly turn his horse's head.

Everyone was stunned.

what's the situation?
We were just about to follow you, Your Majesty, why did you withdraw first?
The general is the backbone of the army and plays a role in stabilizing the morale of the troops.

Seeing that Zhao Yun's army was coming with great force, He Man turned his horse and ran away.

The remaining group of Yellow Turban warriors suddenly lost their backbone and ran around like headless flies.

"puff……"

The Yunqi rushed over and pierced the chests of the Yellow Turban strongmen one after another with their spears.

The Yellow Turban bandits were all horrified and no longer had the will to fight, so they fled in all directions.

……

(End of this chapter)