Chapter 335: A crowd of 500,000

In July of the 12th year of Jian'an (199), Emperor Xian of Han, Zhou Yu used a trick to lure and destroy the defenders of Pengcheng outside the city, and Cao Bao was killed in battle.

In August, the Xuzhou gentry led by Sun Gan surrendered. In the same month, Xia Pi State, Donghai County, and Langjia County all surrendered. Sun Quan led the five counties of Xuzhou. At this point, Sun Quan had all the two prefectures of Xuyang, with a population of nearly 7 million under his rule, and his reputation was greatly enhanced. In September, Sun Quan led the Grand Sima and was named Duke Wu. At the same time, he moved his capital to Shouchun to show his determination to compete with Ma Yue.

Shouchun, Wu Gong’s Mansion.

Sun Quan was summoning civil servants and generals to discuss matters.

Xu Shu said: "Lord, I'll give you a detailed return to Ma Butcher. Jia Dushi has already gone to Mobei together. It seems that Ma Butcher should dispatch the Mobei Iron Cavalry to the Central Plains this month! In addition, the 100,000 Sichuan troops stationed in Nanyang, led by General Xu Huang and counselor Fa Zheng, entered the southern foot of Songshan Mountain, and may enter Yingchuan or Kou Luan at any time."

Sun Quan said: "I am the first to be a new man in Xuzhou, so the butcher of horses will not give up."

Xu Shu said: "In addition, the 80,000 elite troops led by Gao Shun, the top general under the Ma Butcher, have already gone out of the Sishui River and headed towards Xingyang and Xuchang! These 80,000 people are real elites, of which 30,000 Xiliang Iron Cavalry are experienced in many battles, and the remaining 50,000 infantry are also elite troops trained by Gao Shun himself."

Sun Quan changed his face slightly, "Mobei iron cavalry more than 100,000, Xichuan surrendered 100,000 troops, and 80,000 elite troops led by Gao Shun. Isn't the horse butcher mobilized nearly 300,000 troops this time? There are nearly 150,000 cavalrymen! It's worthy of being the horse butcher, and there are indeed many soldiers and generals under his command!"

As Sun Quan finished speaking, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, Lu Fan, Bu Zhi, Yu Fan and other literary officials changed their qualities. Just now, because Sun Quan was in charge of Xuzhou, the excitement of the Wu army's great momentum had already disappeared. The reality was cruel. Although Sun Quan's territory was greatly expanded and his power expanded rapidly, he still seemed to be alone and lonely compared to the butcher Ma.

"I'm afraid there are more than these troops!" Xu Shu said again, "If it is not bad as expected, the Ma Butcher will take advantage of the opportunity to go south to the Central Plains to destroy Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi, and the like. At that time, more than 100,000 former Yuan clan members in Hebei may also be owned by Ma Butcher. When the Ma Butcher's real troops enter the Central Plains, there may be 500,000 under his command!"

"Five hundred thousand?" Zhang Zhao asked Sun Quan with a pale face, "Lord, how many soldiers and horses do our army have at present?"

Sun Quan had a serious expression and asked Zhou Yu: "Gong Jin, how many troops are there in our army at present?"

Zhou Yu said: "Except for the remaining troops required by the counties under the rule of the lord, all the troops that our army can mobilize have gathered on the front line from Shouchun to Pengcheng, including 30,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry and 20,000 navy. These are all elite troops who can conquer and fight. In addition, there are more than 30,000 surrendered troops in Xuzhou, and Yu has selected 10,000 elite troops from them to form the Xuzhou camp."

Sun Quan said: "In other words, our army has less than 70,000 troops?"

"There are less than 70,000 people!" Zhang Zhao said in a lost voice, "The difference in military strength is too great!"

Bu Zhi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "The horse butcher has many soldiers and generals. The army consumes a lot of money and food every day, so it may be difficult to last. Our army only needs deep ditches and high bases and does not fight with them. The cold army's rations will naturally retreat."

Zhou Yu said: "The idea of ​​Zishan (bu Zhibiao) is good, but it is not realistic. Yuan Shao has occupied Hebei for a long time and has accumulated a lot of money, grain, and military horses. This time, the butcher dispatched more than 100,000 Iron Cavalry in the North of the Mo to sweep across the four prefectures of Hebei with lightning speed. Ruoyu expected that Yuan Shao would be all the accumulation of many years. "

"Although our army has all the money and food from the counties of Xuzhou, it is still far from Hebei. Therefore, if we keep it and compete for the consumption of money and food, the first thing that cannot be supported is our army rather than Liang."

"Yes." Zhang Zhao said tremblingly, "What's more, Guan, Liang and Hetao, under the rule of Ma Butcher, can't they have no savings? This time Ma Butcher obviously came prepared and is determined to win!"

"I'm afraid of him!" Zhang Zhao finished speaking, General Zhou Tai stepped out and shouted, "Although the horse butcher's command has many soldiers and a wide range of generals, except for the thousands of Jinfan thieves in Ganning, most of them are northern landslides. Our army only needs to send a navy army to block the Yellow River waterway. What can the horse butcher even has millions of cavalry?"

Zhou Yu said: "General Zhou Tai doesn't know that the Yellow River is not as good as the Yangtze River and Huai River. Every winter, it enters the dry water period. During the dry water period, the water level of the Yellow River will be greatly reduced. Navy ships are impossible to pass through. Some river sections may even cut off the flow. The horse butcher's cavalry does not need to build a floating bridge to cross the river."

"Ah, that's it." Zhou Tai scratched his head, "That's really a bit troublesome."

Lu Xun said: "It is September now, and it is the time when autumn is clear and the weather is clear and the horse is strong. The terrain of the Central Plains is flat, which is conducive to the galloping of cavalry. The horse butcher's rule is peaceful and there is no worries. However, our army's ally Yuan Tan has an ambiguous attitude and may turn to the horse butcher at any time. In this way, the weather, place, and people are not in our army. This is a great battle."

Sun Quan's face gradually became heavier and asked Zhou Yu: "Gong Jin, don't you have to fight this battle with Ma Butcher?"

Zhou Yu shook his head and said, "No, this battle needs to be fought, and it must be fought!"

Sun Quan clenched his fists and said, "What the Grand Governor said is exactly the same as his own will."

Zhou Yu turned to Lu Xun and smiled slightly, saying, "Bo Yan said that the time, place, and people are indeed the three major factors that determine the outcome of the war. However, as the saying goes, the time and situation change, and the time and place are not constant, but will continue to change according to the growth and decline of the forces of the warring parties."

When Lu Xun heard this, his expression moved and fell into deep thought. Lu Meng, Xu Shu and others looked dazed.

Sun Quan said happily: "So Gong Jin has already had a solution to it?"

Zhou Yu said loudly: "Yu's countermeasure is very simple, which is to first divide the troops to defend the enemy and resist step by step. In the early stage of the war, consume a large amount of food, grass and supplies of the Liang army, do your best to slack off the spirit of the Liang army, and then concentrate your troops to defend the dead in Shouchun! At this time, the supply line of the Liang army will be lengthened, which will help our army defend."

"As long as we stay until the turn of spring and summer next year, the Jianghuai land will enter the annual plum rainy season. At that time, the flat Jianghuai land will become muddy and difficult to move around, and the cavalry advantage of the Liang army will disappear!"

"When the main force of the Liang army was restrained by our army in Xuzhou, Cao Cao would definitely send troops to attack Xichuan. In this way, the butcher's backyard caught fire, and he would be required to fight quickly to rescue Xichuan as soon as possible. In this way, the three major elements of the sky, the right place, the people and the people will all be reversed, and they will be beneficial to our army. How can we not win this battle??"

"Crack!"

Sun Quan pulled his sword and slashed off a corner of the table, and said sternly: "I have decided to fight to the death with the butcher Ma in Shouchun. If you have any words to avoid his edge and retreat to Jiangdong, you should be the same as this case!"

Mobei, Danhan Mountain.

As early as June, Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao had received a military order from Ma Yue to convene thousands of households under his command. By the end of August, after nearly three months of assembly and preparation, the 3,000 households and 120,000 Iron Cavalry in the North of the Mo had all gathered in the old camp of Danhan Mountain, and the dense felt bags stretched a hundred miles away.

Ma Yue slowly moved forward surrounded by Jia Xu, Dian Wei and dozens of iron cavalry. Outside the tent, Pei Yuanshao and Zhou Cang had already led thousands of households to welcome each other for a long time. A young man stood tall and solemnly surrounded by two guards. The young man looked as handsome as a crown and was as handsome as a pleasant scenery, which made people feel like a spring breeze.

When Ma Yue and his party appeared in everyone's sight, the boy hurriedly led two guards to walk forward. When Ma Yue was still ten steps away, the boy knelt on one knee and sang loudly: "I'll bow to my father."

This young man is naturally the eldest son Ma Zheng who has been staying outside the border to exercise.

"See the Prime Minister."

Behind the boy, two guards also knelt down on one knee.

"Yes." Ma Yue nodded and raised his hand to signal, "Get up."

"Thank you father."

Ma Zheng paused his head and bowed again, then stood up and stood respectfully on one side. Zhao Yun and Xu Shao also stood up and stood behind Ma Zheng. After Ma Zheng finished the ceremony, Pei Yuanshao, Zhou Cang and various families came forward to greet him.

It's night.

The central army's tent was bright and crowded.

Pei Yuanshao said to Ma Yue: "Boqi, in accordance with your military order, the three thousand households in the northern part of the Mo area, a total of 120,000 troops have gathered in the old camp of Danhanshan Mountain!"

"Yes." Ma Yue nodded and asked, "After the brigade of cavalry leaves the old camp, there will be no barbarians taking advantage of the situation, right?"

"Don't worry, Bo Qi." Pei Yuanshao said, "The barbarians in the desert are destroyed and fleeing. There is no force that can pose a threat. Even if the three families move in full swing, only the elderly and weak women will be stationed, the old camp will be safe and sound! In fact, brothers have long been looking forward to this day."

"Big leader, we guard the grassland in the northern desert every day. Every day, we are hunting (population robbery), and we are fucking women. This life is almost fading out of the birds." Pei Yuanshao finished speaking, Zhou Cang and the thousands of households in the gathering tent, and the hundreds of households muttered, "If we don't let us go south to the Central Plains, we would rather not be these thousands of households."

As Ma Yue's power expands and its status increases, Ma Yue's power becomes heavier and heavier. Nowadays, most people don't even dare to breathe when they see Ma Yue. Only Zhou Cang and Shuoguo's remaining old bandits dare to call Ma Yue "big leader". As for the only one who calls Ma Yue directly Bo Qi, Pei Yuanshao is the only one left.

Ma Yue cut only half-cooked cow hooves and chewed them happily. He could only nod and had no time to answer.

Zhou Cang waved his hand and said loudly: "Come here, bring the Europa dancer."

A rapid drum beat sounded outside the tent. Amid the stimulating drum beats, a group of blond and blue-eyed and tall Europa women twisted their waists and swayed their hips, entering the tent in a tent. These Europa women were dressed in exposed clothes, and only had a short and narrow animal skin around their waists, and there was almost nothing left.

When these dancers twisted their waists and hips, the animal skins on their waists were raised one after another, and the spring light was leaking under their crotch. A group of old bandits in the tent, including Ma Yue, Pei Yuanshao, and Zhou Cang, clapped and screamed. Time seemed to have flowed back for more than ten years. The group of desperados returned to the glorious years of licking blood at the tip of the knife during the day and raising fires at night.

A maiko accidentally twisted in front of Zhou Cang, shook her plump and seductive ass hard with her back to Zhou Cang.

"Come here, the slutty girl who deserves fucking, hehe!" Zhou Cang laughed lewdly, hugged the European and Roman dancer and leaned over his legs, forcing the dancer to pout his fat buttocks back and stretched out two fingers to touch the dancer's crotch, then sucked it into his mouth with a sizzling sound, and then shouted to the bandits beside him, "It tastes pretty good, hehehe..."

"Hahaha……"

The thousands of households in the tent burst into laughter.

The next day.

The horns were ringing at the foot of the Danhan Mountain, and teams of iron cavalry in the north of the Mobei rushed out from the old camp and formed neat and orderly cavalry formations on the vast grassland. Ma Yue, Ma Zheng and his son slowly passed by Dian Wei, Zhao Yun, Jia Xu, Zhou Cang, Pei Yuanshao, and Guanqiu, and the lower horses surrounded him and passed by the cavalry formations.

The 120,000 cavalry were arranged in each thousand households as a square formation, with a total of three hundred square formations (300,000 households each with size, some as many as thousands of cavalry, and some only more than a hundred cavalry) arranged one by one on the grassland, stretching for more than twenty miles. It took almost two hours for the horse to review the 300 cavalry phalanx.

The first cavalry formation to be inspected by Ma Yue was the Qingzhou Camp of the fierce general Guan Hai.

Although Guan Hai was killed, the three hundred Qingzhou thieves who had followed Ma Yue to join Guan Hai in the Central Plains were also killed in the battle of Yinfeng Canyon. However, his Qingzhou camp was retained by Ma Yue, and the three hundred cavalry also expanded to three thousand cavalry. This is a daunting elite cavalry!

Each of the cavalry in Qingzhou camp was equipped with two excellent Shandan war horses and four Mongolian bald horses. They rode Shandan war horses during combat and Mongolian bald horses during marching. Only veterans who have outstanding military achievements and are also a master of Qingzhou were lucky enough to join.

Amid the crisp sound of horse hooves, the horse leaped slowly and rode his horse through the Qingzhou camp.

"The big leader is mighty!"

A cavalry general standing in front of the formation raised the sabre in his hand and roared to the sky. Behind the cavalry general, three thousand Qingzhou cavalry responded with a loud bang. The fierce sounds stormed and rolled between the sky and the earth, and began to run out for a long time. A strange burning heat suddenly ignited from Ma Yue's eyes, and even the blood in his body began to boil.

"drink!"

"drink!"

"drink!"

Under the guidance of the cavalry, the three thousand Qingzhou Iron Cavalry shouted horns while rhythmically slapped their breastplate with the back of the saber, making neat and loud impact sounds. This is the unique etiquette of the Iron Cavalry soldiers in Mobei to express the soldiers' respect and support for the commander.

"You are Yuan Song!" In the endless noise, Ma Yue rode his horse to the cavalry and said in a deep voice: "In the battle of Yinfeng Canyon, you stayed in the old camp because of your injuries, so you are the only survivor among the three hundred Qingzhou soldiers! I still remember that you were only eighteen years old at that time, but you had participated in thirty-seven fierce battles and had been injured 19 times, two of which were seriously injured, one at Hulao Pass and one at Changshe. Am I right?"

The cavalry general shouted sternly: "The big leader has a good memory, and the last general is Yuan Song!"

Ma Yue also shouted: "Under this leader, Guan Hai has always been a vanguard general, and Qingzhou Camp has always been the elite among the elite! No matter the personnel and events are changing, the military spirit of the eight hundred bandits will always be immortal! I hope you will not fall into the reputation of Commander Guan Hai, nor will you fall into the reputation of Qingzhou Camp!"

Yuan Song raised his saber again and shouted: "Fight to the death!"

"Fight to the death!"

"Fight to the death!"

"Fight to the death!"

Amid the shouts of three thousand Qingzhou iron cavalry like a tsunami, the horse leaps and urges the horse to move forward.

Then what appeared in front of Ma Yue was the Qiang cavalry camp composed of all Qiang soldiers.

The predecessor of this Qiang soldier was the eight thousand elite soldiers borrowed by Ma Yue from the thirty-six Qiangs in the north. After the great waves washed away the sand, only more than 3,000 Qiang soldiers were left, and they evolved from an infantry to a cavalry that could conquer and fight.

After Fang Yue wiped out Mobei, Ma Yue divided the three thousand households and ten thousand households. Thinking that Guan Qi (Guan Hai's lasting son) lost his father at a young age, he gave Guan Qi these three thousand Qiang cavalry to Guan Qi and became Guan Qi's personal guard. This time, the three thousand households in Mobei were dispatched in full swing, and Guan Qi's personal guards would naturally follow the army to go out to war.

"General Heavenly Powerful!"

In front of the Qiang cavalry formation, the Qiang general, who looked like an iron tower, raised his caltrop bones and jumped to greet the horse.

"General Heavenly Powerful!"

"General Heavenly Powerful!"
To be continued...