Chapter 1138 The Right to Choose

"Sure enough, it's here!" Zhang Chen clapped his hands excitedly, opened his eyes that were smeared with goo, and opened his mouth that hadn't been washed for three days. He laughed, and then greeted, "Brothers! Get together. Ready to go!”

No matter who is eating high-calorie food for three days in a row, without properly eating some vegetables, rice, etc., and without being able to wash up properly, they will all look like this, and no one will be any better. go.

Soldiers in the field can still be clean and not contaminated by any dust?

Anyway, Zhang Chen didn't care what he looked like now. The most important thing was that he finally waited for what Zhang Liao had told him...

Zhang Liao took eight hundred cavalry to the east, while Zhang Chen took two hundred cavalry and hid in the hills, eating the "bamboo tube rice" left by Zhang Liao for the cavalry who conquered the west, and drinking from the mountains. The spring water in the middle of the river, my daily expectation is to send people wearing camouflage uniforms to check the movements of Zheng County. Today, I finally found a grain transport team coming from the direction of Zheng County.

Zhang Chen's face was covered with dust, and the marks of sweat caused his face to show a natural camouflage color, one white and one black, but his eyes were shining under the eye guano, making him look like he was sitting on the ground. The beggar of later generations looked up and saw the beautiful woman in a miniskirt swaying past in front of him. He was not only excited, but even a little excited.

Zheng County's actions meant that Zhang Liao's speculation became a reality.

As the saying goes, before the soldiers and horses move, food and grass go first.

When the big-headed soldiers did not have enough fat, they consumed a considerable amount of these carbohydrates. "Can Old Lian Po Still Eat?" Although it talks about the eagerness of an old man seeking war, it can still reflect the attitude of the soldiers at that time. The food intake is astonishing.

And when fighting, the consumption is even more terrifying.

A huge amount of exercise, plus no one knows whether they can sit down to eat the next meal after finishing this meal, so fear can not only make people crazy, but also increase their appetite, even if it is two or three times the usual amount of food. , was basically wiped out. If it were not for military control and rationing, the soldiers would even be able to eat three days' worth of food in one day!

With high-calorie food such as fat and oil, as well as pre-fried, dried and compressed flour cakes, Zhang Chen could not only reduce the number of fires, but even eliminate the need to carry a large amount of food and grass in a short period of time.

It's just that eating too much will inevitably have some side effects, such as getting angry, being unable to poop, etc., but in terms of convenience, these things are not a problem.

At least Zhang Chen thinks so. If it weren't for these special grains, the frequently rising smoke would have been easily detected by Yang's scouts who were watching on the top of the mountain. But now, these Yang's scouts seemed to be blind. , came and went under Zhang Chen's nose, turning a blind eye.

In this era, the land was still relatively sparsely populated. In addition, Dong Zhuo had cleaned it up before, and the population in many areas had been moved to Guanzhong. As a result, many mountain villages were abandoned in the Hongnong territory. Yang Chen He led his people to huddle in such an abandoned village, hiding under the burned-out eaves and broken walls. If he hadn't entered the village, who would have discovered that there were people hiding there?

The opportunity was placed in front of Zhang Chen.

Since Zhang Chen followed Zhang Liao, he has always been busy following Zhang Liao, and from time to time he was disliked by Zhang Liao in various ways. Zhang Chen was helpless, so he could only do what he could, endure hardships and never complain, and now he finally had a chance to prove himself!

Two hundred cavalrymen mounted their horses and poured out like a tide along the mountain road. They excitedly pounced on the grain transport queues heading to Tongguan, just like a group of hungry gray wolves pounced on the beautiful sheep.

Yang's soldiers never thought that they would encounter the troops of Zhengxi here. They even thought that General Zhengxi's troops had arrived near Hangu Pass. This area was safe and there was no danger. Therefore, when they saw Zhang When Chen Chen rushed over with his men and horses, many people were stunned.

The young officer responsible for transporting food and grass came to his senses and shouted loudly, hoping to command the few food transport guards to defend and counterattack. However, these originally sent to transport food and grass were basically auxiliary soldiers, and most of them were No one who has ever been on the battlefield has ever been on the battlefield. When they see the galloping horses, they basically run away subconsciously.

Because in the consciousness of these food and grass guards, they are just existences slightly higher than civilians. Most of the jobs they do in the army are menial tasks. In this case, it is natural for the soldiers to do the bloody things like fighting. ah……

The auxiliary soldiers are like this, and the civilian laborers who are dragged into doing coolies are even more miserable.

However, there were still more than a dozen people standing, guarding the grain and grass vehicles upright, and did not run away.

"Well done!" shouted the young officer who was responsible for escorting the food and grass, "This is the man! I will ask for credit for you when I get home!" The young officer was also helpless. Everyone else could run away, but he couldn't, because even if he ran away , losing food and grass is like losing your head, it is better to die here and still get some pension...

The junior officer was about to pat one of them on the shoulder and ask him to line up to prepare for the impact, but he saw that the soldier's legs were shaking like chaff, his upper body could not move, his face was pale, and he could not even speak, but Staring at the direction in which the people and horses were running in front of him.

The young officer quickly turned to look at the other person, only to find that although this guy was not shaking his legs, his crotch was already wet...

"Ah..." the young officer roared in grief and anger, waved his sword in the air, and then rushed in the direction where Zhang Chen came from.

However, the death-seeking attack of the young officer could not stop the cavalry's horses. Zhang Chen led the troops and swept the entire queue in the blink of an eye, extinguishing all the sporadic resistance.

"Bring as much as you can!" Zhang Chen waved his sword and shouted loudly, "Then pile them in one place! Burn them!"

The fire soared into the sky, and dry grain and grass were the best fuel. Thick black smoke rose into the sky from the flames, exuding a strong burnt aroma.

Zhang Chen turned his horse in a circle. Seeing that the fire had spread to most of the vehicles, he whistled: "Let's go!"

Zhang Chen liked this feeling so much. It was like a whirlwind, whizzing in and whizzing away. The whole battle lasted only an hour, but he stabbed Yang Jun in the waist...

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Zhang Chen is not the only one who likes to lead cavalry in a roaring gallop.

So did Xia Houyuan.

Xia Houyuan seemed to be born with a love for riding horses and enjoyed the feeling of being on horseback. His brothers often laughed at him for being half a barbarian. If he could stick to a horse, he would stick to it for the rest of his life.

Xia Houyuan always smiles.

How can these idiots understand the feeling when the wind blows through the hair, when the soil splashes under the horse's hooves, when the earth is quickly behind the legs?

But there are also things he said that are right. Xia Houyuan really feels that he is a bit like a barbarian, especially when he is galloping, he feels that this world belongs to him, and he is the master who herds the world's lambs...

Cao Cao currently has not many cavalry, and there are not many who can serve as cavalry commanders. Therefore, Xia Houyuan became the first cavalry commander without hesitation, managing more than a thousand troops under his command.

"Are you sure?" Xia Houyuan asked, staring at the reporting scout in front of him.

The scout nodded and said, "I saw it with my own eyes."

Xia Houyuan gave a high-five and said: "Good! Go down quickly to repair it, and then set off immediately. Tell the brothers hiding in the city to seize the city gate when the smoke rises outside the city! If you can succeed, I will be your first success!"

"Wei!" The scout nodded before retreating.

Xia Houyuan stood, looked to the west, then roared, smiled like a horse thief, and shouted: "Haha, brothers, you have to work hard, the big deal is coming! "

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"It is true... It's true, it's about a thousand..." The commander of Hangu Pass pointed to the open space in the distance below the city and said swornly, "... It's true, I saw it with my own eyes yesterday. Shut it down..."

The cavalry captain who led more than a thousand of Yang Biao's cavalry arrived at Hangu Pass after hard work, but he did not expect that what he saw was an open space with not a single human figure. If not for some horse dung remaining on the ground, The Cavalry Commander even thought that the Hangu Pass Order had lied about the military situation!

"How many people are there? No need to give a rough idea, just around!" Captain Qi was obviously dissatisfied with such a vague number.

"Uh... this... definitely doesn't exceed a thousand riders!" Hangu Guanling wiped the sweat from his head and said.

"A thousand cavalry," the cavalry captain nodded and repeated. In terms of numbers, since the opponent does not have an advantage, in terms of the physical strength of the war horses, the opponent also does not have an advantage when running back and forth like this. In other words, this battle can be fought!

The mission of the Cavalry Captain this time is very clear. Whether it is to defeat Zhang Liao's troops from Hongnong or drive them out, Zhang Liao cannot be allowed to lead his troops to cause chaos in Hongnong. What else can be done in various places? If we are farming, where will we find this year’s harvest?

Therefore, no matter what, a battle is needed. Since our side has the advantage, we cannot easily let Zhang Liao's men retreat easily!

"Come here, give me the order!" the Cavalry Commander shouted in a deep voice, "Half an hour to eat, half an hour to assemble the team, and an hour later to set off! Anyone who misses the enemy will be killed!"

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After chasing Zhang Liao's troops for more than half a day, although there was no trace yet, Captain Qi thought that they were not far behind. In order to ensure the physical strength of the men and horses, they found a suitable shelter from the wind before sunset and camped out. . No matter what, they have to rest after all. Even if people don't rest, the horses have to rest and take a good rest. Tomorrow, or at most the day after tomorrow, they will inevitably catch up with Zhang Liao's troops whose horses are very exhausted.

Captain Qi was very sure of this. However, what Captain Qi did not expect was that not everything could develop in the direction he wanted...

Yinshi was the darkest moment in the world. The soldiers on duty outside the camp were dozing with their arms folded, unaware of the approaching danger.

Most of these Yang family's cavalry were originally private soldiers raised by the Yang family or the powerful men and women in Hongnong. Although they relied on this for a living, their riding skills were not bad, and even Some are better than those from the barbarians, but in terms of military discipline and combat intuition, there are inevitably some shortcomings.

This is not a big problem. After all, Yang Biao originally formed such a cavalry team to counterbalance the team of forbidden cavalry in the hands of Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty. He did not plan to send it to the battlefield in a short time...

But after all, plans cannot keep up with changes.

Han Emperor Liu Xie originally had nothing, but when he went to Bingbei, he had more infantry and cavalry, and then suddenly became Liu Xie's North Palace Forbidden Army. Although Yang Biao tried every means to seize the supply, some of it was reduced. The number of these soldiers cannot be overdone after all, so it is very important to have a Luoyang cavalry that can compete. If Zhang Liao hadn't stabbed Hangu Pass with a knife, it would have affected the entire Hongnong. Even if the danger is separated, Yang Biao will not easily touch this cavalry team.

Everyone was sleeping soundly, when suddenly several shrill screams resounded throughout the night sky, causing many people to jump up on the spot and look around in panic.

In the dark night, the firelight swayed in the distance, dozens of figures were looming, and a battle flag was floating in the air. The three-color stripes were so dazzling.

"What's going on! How could the camp be attacked?!" Captain Qi was puzzled and shouted angrily.

There is a big difference between a cavalry camp and an infantry camp. The infantry camp is basically divided into three parts: the front camp, the middle camp, and the baggage rear camp. The functions are clearly distinguished and the regions are clearly divided. But for the cavalry camp, it is more important to choose a place suitable for livestock to take shelter from the wind and rest at night. place, and because the people and horses are all staying together, they are not as orderly as the infantry.

At the same time, for the convenience of entry and exit, no camps or walls were set up. Instead, horses were set up at the front and back of the road, and personnel were sent to patrol the outside in turns to protect them. Therefore, basically, the cavalry camp covers a large area, just like the current cavalry captain, which basically covers a large part of this road, including the entire woodland next to the road and a part of the valley... …

And these soldiers of General Zhengxi actually appeared inside this valley!

How did these people appear?

This valley is obviously closed!

"Damn it!" Captain Cavalry roared, "Who led the team to survey the valley today!"

At this moment, it happened to be the darkest hour before dawn. The Yang soldiers who were alarmed were in a daze when dozens of people rushed into the camp. They slashed and killed everyone they saw, and some people stood behind. In the darkness, as soon as they saw Yang's soldiers mounting their war horses and preparing to resist, several crossbow bolts flew towards them, knocking both men and horses to the ground. The Yang's soldiers in the valley were immediately suppressed and jumped like dogs. The scene was extremely chaotic!