Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 375: Fufeng Ma Mengqi is here

On March 22, when the sky was just slightly bright, smoke rose from the South Camp, and the soldiers were already wearing armor and holding weapons and waiting.

At the edge of the camp, Yan Liang was wearing black armor, a golden helmet, and standing with a sword in hand. He looked mighty and intimidating.

Watching the scene outside the camp, Yan Liang had a serious expression, as if he was deep in thought.

"Report!"

The waiter came on a fast horse and said, "General, we can only see the floating bridge twenty miles outside the camp, but no enemy troops are moving."

"what happened?"

Yan Liang frowned and muttered, "Didn't we see most of the enemy troops appearing at the flood control site yesterday? Now that the floating bridge has been completed, there are no enemy troops. Could they attack another day?"

Lü Kuang said in confusion: "Could it be that the enemy is resting today and will attack the South Camp tomorrow?"

Yan Liang glanced at Lu Kuang and said, "The army should move quickly. If they don't come today, they will attack tomorrow. Won't the enemy be afraid that we will attack them halfway across the river?"

Lu Kuang realized that he was talking nonsense and chuckled a few times to cover up his embarrassment.

As he spoke, Yan Liang looked at the waiting cavalry and said, "Cross the river and explore to see if we can see the enemy!"

"promise!"

The cavalrymen took the order and retreated, leaving Yan Liang and Lu Kuang with puzzled faces.

After watching for a long time and still not seeing anyone coming, Lu Kuang asked, "General, should I let the soldiers rest?"

"Don't worry yet!"

Yan Liang waved his hand and said, "If you need food or water, let the soldiers prepare it on the spot. Let the soldiers wait for orders first to see if the situation changes."

"promise!"

About an hour later, the cavalry rode into the camp.

"General, there is no sign of the enemy."

"Probe again and report again!"

"As ordered!"

Seeing that there was still no enemy movement, Yan Liang could not help but slack off and asked his men to bring a stool and sat down. The soldiers were already getting impatient, and the camp was filled with noisy conversations. As time went by, many people sat on the ground and began to chat with each other.

Yan Liang looked back and saw that the troops were not in good order, but he had no intention of stopping them. After all, he was tired of waiting, and perhaps, as Lü Kuang said, they would attack at another day.

"How can Zhang Yu appoint such a person as a general when he can't even fight a war?"

Yan Liang could not help but complain, saying: "No wonder Zhang He almost defeated Li Song. Judging from this, you will surely be able to defeat Zhang Yu."

When Yan Liang was getting impatient, he saw a rider rushing over with a worried look on his face. As soon as he saw Yan Liang, he said anxiously, "General, something terrible has happened."

Seeing that it was a scout from the East Camp, Yan Liang's expression suddenly changed, and he stepped forward and asked, "Is there any enemy in the East Camp?"

"Exactly!"

The scout nodded repeatedly and said, "There is a large enemy force outside the East Camp. It is believed that there are thousands of soldiers and horses. Judging from their armor, most of them are elite soldiers. It may be difficult for the East Camp to hold on now. I hope the general will rescue them quickly."

"Shuzi!"

Yan Liang kicked the stool away and cursed, "It was originally a strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. No wonder there is no movement today."

Yan Liang then gave a loud order, saying, "Lü Kuang, you lead 2,500 soldiers and horses to stay behind. I will send half of my elite infantry and cavalry to rescue."

"Bring me my horse!"

"promise!"

Following Yan Liang's order, the troops of the Ji Army in the Southern Camp began to move. There were a total of 5,000 soldiers, half of whom stayed in the camp and the other half followed Yan Liang to the battle.

When Yan Liang led his troops to rescue, Ma Chao and Yan Xing, with 800 cavalrymen, lay in ambush in the reed marsh where the flood was being controlled.

"Why haven't you come yet?"

Ma Chao stretched out his hand to push aside the reeds and looked at the road outside. He became anxious because he did not see Yan Liang for a long time.

Yan Xing was calm, sorting the arrows in his bag and said, "The enemy's East Camp only has 2,000 soldiers, and our army has shown 6,000 soldiers. The East Camp will definitely ask for help from the South Camp. So Yan Liang will lead his army to rescue sooner or later, so we might as well wait a few more moments."

Historically, Yan Xing and Ma Chao had a life-and-death feud during the Jian'an period, but in the second year of Xingping, both of them were subdued by Zhang Yu, so now they no longer have a life-and-death feud. On the contrary, because they are both surrendered generals from Longyou, they have a good relationship.

Ma Chao glanced at Yan Xing and said, "Although Man Boning is just a scholar and his martial arts are not as outstanding as you and me, he does have some strategies, right?"

Yan Xing said: "Man Boning is a man that the Lord holds in high esteem. He is a scholar and can be appointed as a general. How can he be without strategy? He must be good at strategy!"

"That's true!"

Ma Chao nodded and said, "People from Guandong are cunning, but people from Guanxi are trustworthy!"

Yan Xing did not say anything, but just looked at Ma Chao, as if to say that Ma Chao was not very cunning. When Ma Chao wanted to reply, he saw the scouts rushing up to the two of them and said, "General, the Ji army is coming. The flag is named 'Yan', with about 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers, and they are only ten miles away."

"Yan Liang is here!"

"Yan Ming!"

Ma Chao was overjoyed, so he whistled, signaling the cavalrymen who were ambushing in the reed marsh to get ready.

Yan Xing understood what he meant and first found his horse, then checked his weapons and bows and arrows. The cavalrymen held the reins tightly, holding their spears, waiting for the approaching Hebei troops.

In fact, Man Chong's strategy was very simple, which was to use the strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking the west, pretending to take the South Camp, and then leading the army to surround the East Camp. However, the real purpose was not the East Camp, but to rescue Yan Liang on the way. So strictly speaking, Man Chong first made a feint to the east and attacked the west, luring Yan Liang out of the camp to rescue, and then surrounded the point and attacked the reinforcements.

Soon, the Jizhou soldiers were seen marching with flags waving. The infantry were divided into several columns, and the cavalry were scattered on the left and right. They walked in a hurry, heading straight for the East Camp.

"coming!"

Seeing the flags of the Hebei troops, Ma Chao subconsciously lowered his voice, and everyone else subconsciously crouched down, not daring to make any noise.

"The Hebei troops are quite powerful!" Yan Xing exclaimed through the gap.

Ma Chao showed disdain and said, "If you march without preparation, you can't be called a good commander. The commander's flag is ostentatious, and the general is gorgeous, but he is just a traitor!"

Yan Xing glanced at Ma Chao sideways, as if he thought Ma Chao was bragging.

"Yanming doesn't believe it?"

Seeing this, Ma Chao felt that he was being underestimated and asked back.

“I have never disbelieved it!”

Yan Xing restrained his expression and said, "If we want to kill Yan Liang now, what plan should we use?"

Ma Chao gestured with his hand to indicate the formation, and said, "The infantry is nothing to be afraid of. Yan Liang is leading the cavalry now. If we can break the cavalry formation, we can kill Yan Liang. If Yan Ming wants to help me, he can lead the cavalry first and attack the infantry. When Yan Liang splits up his cavalry, I will attack and kill him and take Yan Liang's head. If I succeed, I will share the credit with you."

"it is good!"

Yan Xing seized the opportunity and suddenly jumped on his horse. After his troops mounted their horses, they waved red flags, and the remaining 400 cavalrymen all moved. With Yan Xing as the spearhead, the cavalry rushed out of the reed marsh and launched a violent charge, killing the Ji army troops marching on the road.

"kill!"

"Bah!"

Suddenly, they saw the cavalry rushing out from the middle of the road. The expressions of the Ji army soldiers changed drastically and they were all horrified.

Yan Liang cursed non-stop, as if he was saying that the Bing army had no moral principles. However, Yan Liang was a famous general in Hebei, and he quickly responded by arranging his infantry to meet the attack and the cavalry on the flanks to intercept, in order to avoid a rout.

In order to mobilize more troops, Yan Xing, who was charging in the front, deliberately divided the cavalry into several teams, circled along the column, and mobilized the Ji cavalry to reduce the guards around Yan Liang.

"kill!"

"Whizzing!"

In just a few breaths, there were the sounds of galloping horses and loud voices, and the Ji army was mobilized by Yan Xing.

Seeing that the ambushing cavalry consisted of only a few hundred men, Yan Liang kept dispatching his men to advance and meet the attack, while he himself planned to join the infantry formation and gather the chaotic infantry together.

At the moment of change, Ma Chao seized the opportunity, blew the horn for the general attack, rode out of the reeds, charged in front of the other riders, and aimed directly at Yan Liang, who was wearing black armor and a golden helmet.

"kill!"

With Yan Xing attracting firepower, a large number of Ji cavalry were mobilized, and only a few Ji cavalry came to stop them. However, Ma Chao drove his horse forward, and the bow and arrow in his hand made a thunderous sound. Every time an arrow was fired, a rider was killed.

Four hundred cavalrymen followed closely behind Ma Chao, like a sharp knife sweeping across the waves. As Ma Chao charged, the Ji army formation was torn apart like waves wherever he passed, and Yuan soldiers dodged one after another, fearing that they would be hit by the cavalry.

For a moment, flags were flying, trumpets were sounding in the distance, hooves were clattering, and horses were neighing.

Yan Liang was under the general's flag, shouting at the top of his lungs, commanding his infantry to assemble. When he saw Ma Chao charging, the infantry and cavalry fled in all directions, and he was immediately horrified, knowing that he was no match for the charging cavalry, so he turned his horse around and tried to leave the army.

However, the charging cavalry was too fast, especially the yellow horse under Ma Chao's crotch, which was a top-grade horse. Not long after Yan Liang left, he saw Ma Chao rushing in front of him.

Ma Chao had thrown away the bow and arrow in his hand, and the long spear he used to charge had pierced the infantry, and he had no time to pull it out. Now Ma Chao only had a steel whip in his hand.

Yan Liang knew it was difficult to escape, so he turned his horse around and stabbed Ma Chao.

"Den!"

The impact of the whip and spear caused Yan Liang to stagger under Ma Chao's tremendous force, and he almost lost his balance and fell off his horse.

Seizing the opportunity, Ma Chao shouted loudly, his eyes wide open, thick eyebrows raised, like a King Kong descending to the earth, and hit Yan Liang on the head with a whip with a force as strong as a King Kong destroying a mountain.

In an instant, the golden helmet was dented, the skull was shattered, Yan Liang vomited blood, and fell off his horse.

Ma Chao lifted the reins high, and the horse neighed loudly!
"Fufeng Ma Mengqi has killed Yan Liang!"

(End of this chapter)