Chapter 666: Liyang Ferry Defeat Zhao Jun

On the third day of the April 10th year of Tiantong, Zhao Kuo, the chief general of the Zhao army, followed the plan of general Tian Zhen, and adopted the strategy of luring the enemy into depth. He took the initiative to lead the army to evacuate Liyang, pretended to return to the army Yecheng, and attracted the Deng army to cross the river, intending to launch a raid while the Deng army crossed the river.

Liyang City is only a few miles away from the Yellow River. In order to ensure logistics, Deng's army specially transferred the Nujiao Guard, which had been stationed in the Yangtze River for many years, to inspect the Yellow River. As soon as Zhao's army left Liyang City, the Nujiao Guard immediately received the news. Zhou Yu immediately sent the news to Xue Rengui's army.

After receiving the news, Xue Rengui immediately summoned the generals to discuss.

"Everyone, Zhou Yu, the general of the Angry Jiao Guard, sent someone to send news that Zhao Kuo had led the entire army to evacuate Liyang and headed towards Yecheng." Xue Rengui said.

"General, can you tell why the Zhao army suddenly retreated?" Ma Chao asked in confusion. Although he knew that the Zhao army was the best choice to return to Yecheng, Zhao Kuo led his army south to Liyang and retreated to Yecheng without fighting in a battle, which was really puzzling.

Xue Rengui said: "The Zhao army withdrew from Liyang. I guess it is related to Murong Cheqi. Now Murong Cheqi has besieged Huai County. There is no main force of the Zhao army in Hanoi County. With Murong Cheqi's army, it will definitely take all the entire Hanoi County within half a month. When Murong Cheqi takes over Hanoi County, we will march towards Yecheng. The main force of the Zhao army is in Liyang. Once Murong Cheqi takes over Yecheng, the Zhao army will be cut off. I believe Zhao Kuo is also worried about this. No matter what, it will be fine. Since the Zhao army has left Liyang, our army can cross the river with peace of mind."

"The General is right, but Zhao's army evacuated Li Yang without warning. It's really weird. You need to be careful." Xun You, who was standing beside him, thought for a while and said.

Xue Rengui has been in the army for many years and has always been cautious. Even if Xun You didn't say it, Xue Rengui would consider this. So he nodded and said, "Military Xun is right, and he also needs to worry that this is the Zhao army's plan to lure the enemy into depth. He deliberately evacuated Liyang, lured our army across the river, and then raided our army. Deng Qiang obeyed the order!"

"The last one is here!" Deng Qiang came out and responded.

"I will order you to lead our troops to cross the river first and set up a camp on the north bank of the Yellow River. If the Zhao army attacks, you need to defend the position at all costs and wait for the reinforcements of our main army." Xue Rengui said.

"Here!" Deng Qiang responded.

"Qin Lie obeys the order!" Xue Rengui continued to order.

"The last one is here!" Qin Lie responded.

"I ordered you to lead your troops to cross the river immediately after the Jinwu Guard. If the Zhao army attacks our army's camp, you need to support the camp on the periphery and protect the camp!" Xue Rengui said.

"Here!" Qin Lie responded.

After receiving the order, Deng Qiang led the Jinwu Guard to the Baima Ferry on the edge of the Yellow River, and the Nujiao Guard had already prepared enough ferries for the army to cross the river.

When he arrived at the Baima Ferry, Zhou Yu personally led the angry generals of the Jiaowei to greet him.

"Zhou Yu has met King Guiyang!" Although he was the same general of the same guard, Deng Qiang was the prince in his title, and Zhou Yu was just a county magistrate, so Zhou Yu also did a lot of work in terms of etiquette.

Deng Qiang quickly walked up to Zhou Yu, helped Zhou Yu up, and said, "General Zhou doesn't have to be too polite. Now he is in the army. We should judge it by military duties. You and I are both the generals of the same guard, with the same status and are not subordinate to each other, so there is no need to perform this great gift."

Zhou Yu stood up and said, "King Guiyang, after receiving the general's military order, the Nujiaowei has prepared enough ferries for the Jinwu Guard to cross the river. The 50,000 troops crossed the river in batches, and all of them can cross the Yellow River within half a day."

Deng Qiang nodded and asked, "General Zhou, do you know the current trends of Zhao's army?"

Zhou Yu said: "After the Zhao army withdrew from Liyang, they marched towards Yecheng. However, strangely, the Zhao army's marching speed was not very fast, and there were still many Zhao army scouts around Liyang. It seemed that the purpose of the Zhao army's evacuation from Liyang this time was not simple."

Although Zhou Yu was a general of the First Guard and ranked among the top in the Deng army, Zhou Yu's intelligence was not low. Even among the military advisors of the Military Affairs Office, there were not many people who could beat Zhou Yu, so it was easy to detect the strangeness of the Zhao army.

Deng Qiang nodded, then said with a serious expression: "It seems that it really responds to the words of Junshi Xun. Zhao's army is probably not really retreating, but intends to use retreat as bait to lure our army across the river. It seems that the general's vanguard is under a lot of pressure."

"Haha, if Zhao Kuo really had this plan, it would probably be the day of his destruction. It would be a joke to lure the enemy into the deeper plan and dare to show off in front of our army." Zhou Yu said with a smile.

Deng Qiang also smiled when he heard this. Indeed, when it comes to strange and brilliant plans, the Deng army can be said to be the champion. Although Deng's country now has a million troops, when Deng's country rose, most of them fought with few defeats more. Strange and dangerous moves emerged one after another. The most classic ones are Xixian in the first year of King Sheng of Deng, the Battle of Wuguan and the smuggling through Qinchuan in the 1st year of Qianyuan, and the raid of Chang'an, which made the Han Dynasty doubt their lives.

"It's getting late, so I'd better cross the river earlier to avoid delaying too much time." Deng Qiang said.

"Okay, King Guiyang, please come here." Zhou Yu nodded and said.

With the help of the Nujiao Guard, the 50,000 Jinwu Guards crossed the Yellow River in an orderly manner. After crossing the river, Deng Qiang did not lead his army to occupy Liyang City as soon as possible, but instead set up a camp on the edge of the Yellow River to protect the Liyang Ferry and ensure that the main army successfully crossed the river.

The day after the Jinwu Guard crossed the river, the Longxiang Guard led by Qin Lie also began to cross the river with the help of the Nu Jiao Guard.

At the same time, the Zhao army, who pretended to be back in Yecheng, chose to stay in Huangze and investigate the movements of Deng army when it was confirmed that there was no Deng army scout followed him.

"Taiwei, scout, the scouts' return, the vanguard of Deng's army had crossed the Yellow River and established a large camp near the Liyang Ferry. It did not enter Liyang City, but the main army was still on the south bank." Tian Zhen reported to Zhao Kuohui.

Zhao Kuo was a little puzzled. Liyang City was the number one fortress for Deng's army to go north to Hebei and a place that military strategists must fight for. Now he took the initiative to give up Liyang City. Deng's army did not occupy Liyang City as soon as possible, but chose to camp in the Liyang Ferry area. Did Deng's army see something?

"Tian Zhen, Deng's army did not enter Liyang City, but what did you see?" Zhao Kuo asked.

Since Tian Zhen offered Zhao Kuo a plan to lure the enemy into depth, Zhao Kuo has already regarded Tian Zhen as his aide and a counselor, and he would ask Tian Zhen for any matter.

Tian Zhen didn't know the intention of Deng's army not to enter Liyang City. However, raiding Deng's army was related to his future, so Tian Zhen said firmly: "Don't worry, Taiwei, there is no flaw in everything our army has done, and Deng's army did not know that our army did not return to Yecheng, but stopped at Huangze. Therefore, Deng's army would never have any awareness. As for why Deng's army did not enter Liyang City as soon as possible, the last general thought that this was related to the Deng's army's always cautiousness. After all, Liyang City has always been my city of Zhao. Deng's army knows very little about the situation in Liyang City and will not rashly enter. Besides, Deng's army did not enter Liyang City, which is a good thing for our army. After all, fighting with Deng's army in the wild is much easier than siege."

Zhao Kuo thought about it and felt that Tian Zhen’s words were very reasonable, so he felt relieved and asked again: “Tian Zhen, the vanguard of Deng’s army has crossed the river. Do you think we will go back to the army and raid the Deng army now, or wait until all the main forces of Deng’s army crossed the river before raiding?”

"Taiwei, the time for a raid is the most appropriate time now. The purpose of our army's raid on the Deng army was just to severely damage the Deng army. It is unrealistic to annihilate 300,000 Deng troops by one raid. Now the Deng army has not as many troops on the north bank of the Yellow River as our army, and our army has the upper hand. If the raid is at this time, it will definitely severely damage the Deng army." Tian Zhen said.

Tian Zhen is not stupid either. Although he really wants to make contributions, Tian Zhen also knows that the Deng army is far above the Zhao army. It is simply a delusion to defeat 300,000 Deng troops in one raid. It is better to take advantage of the fact that the main force of the Deng army is still on the south bank and there are only tens of thousands of troops on the north bank. A sudden attack can also cause the Deng army to be damaged.

Zhao Kuo thought for a while, nodded and said, "You make sense. It seems that this is the only way to do it. You gather troops and prepare to raid Deng's army."

"Here!" Tian Zhen replied.

Soon, all the generals of the general gathered together. Zhao Kuo planned to return to Liyang to attack Deng's army, and ordered the generals to rectify their troops and prepare to set off.

Most of the generals did not have much opinion on Zhao Kuo's approach, but they were strongly opposed by Kou Hong. Kou Hong thought that Zhao Kuo had figured it out and led the army back to Yecheng. Later, he stopped at Huangze. Although Kou Hong was a little confused, he didn't think much about it. He thought that Zhao Kuo wanted to rest the army, and Li Yang would only take a few days to return to Yecheng. Murong Ke still couldn't attack Yecheng at this time, so Kou Hong didn't say anything, but now Zhao Kuo actually wanted to kill someone to attack Deng's army and return to Li Yang to attack Deng's army. This is not a big mistake in the world.

So Kou Hong persuaded: "The Grand Marshal must not be. Now the Deng army has sent tens of thousands of vanguard troops to cross the river. If the attack fails, it will be entangled by the Deng army. When the Deng army crosses the river on the south bank, our army will be surrounded by the Deng army. By then, our army may be in danger of being wiped out. Now we should return to Yecheng immediately. I hope the Grand Marshal will think twice!"

It was Kou Hong again, and Zhao Kuo was bored when he saw Kou Hong. He and Tian Zhen had been planning this plan for many days and were sure to win, but Kou Hong was going to come out and pour cold water on it at this time.

However, as the chief general of the first army, Zhao Kuo still has some cunning patience, so he suppressed the dissatisfaction in his heart and said patiently: "General Kou doesn't have to worry. This Taiwei has already made a complete plan. This operation will definitely be foolproof. Besides, the Deng army has no idea that we have not returned to Yecheng, and it has also stopped at Huangze. At this time, we can fight in less than a day, and our army can kill Deng army in front of Deng army. The main force of Deng army wants to cross the Yellow River, but in a few days, it is impossible to do it at all, so there is no need to worry."

"But the Taiwei, our army is the main force of Da Zhao in Hebei. Once our army loses, the whole of Hebei will be very dangerous. If it is absolutely necessary, you must not take this dangerous move. Please ask the Taiwei to return to Yecheng according to the original plan." Kou Hong still disagreed and insisted on returning to Yecheng.

Now Zhao Kuo could not help but feel angry, and said with a pale face: "Kou Hong, this Taiwei is the chief general of the army. How can you not allow you to make trouble? This Taiwei has decided to go back to Liyang to fight Deng's army, you don't need to say much."

Although Zhao Kuo used the identity of the chief general to suppress Kou Hong, Kou Hong was still unmoved and said righteously: "Although the Taiwei is the chief general of the army, this battle is related to the life and death of our Great Zhao. As a minister of the Great Zhao, the last general cannot watch the Taiwei put the army in a dangerous situation and destroy the elite of our Great Zhao."

"Kou Hong, you are arrogant!" Zhao Kuo was furious when he heard this, slammed the table and said angrily: "I saw that you are a talent that can be made, so I will bring you by my side and give you a chance to make achievements. But you repeatedly contradicted this Taiwei and questioned this Taiwei's decision. It seems that this Taiwei was too tolerant of you in the past. Come and take Kou Hong down!"

Seeing this, everyone looked at each other, not knowing how to do it. Seeing this, Tian Zhen immediately called out the guards and pulled Kou Hong down. Kou Hong, who was dragged by the guards, shouted: "Zhao Kuo, you are a foolish person, Zhao Zhao will sooner or later be defeated by you."

"Drag on!" Seeing that Kou Hong was still making a fuss, Tian Zhen quickly asked the guards to drag Kou Hong down quickly.

After Kou Hong left, the anger on Zhao Kuo's face did not dissipate. Tian Zhen comforted him: "Taiwei, Kou Hong is just a common man. He doesn't understand the trick of the Taiwei. Don't be as good as his experience as he did. When the Taiwei returns to victory, Kou Hong will naturally be convinced by the Taiwei."

Hearing Tian Zhen’s consolation, Zhao Kuo’s anger dropped a little. Although he was very dissatisfied with Kou Hong, Zhao Kuo knew very well that Kou Hong was a hero and his foundation in the army was not stable. If he rashly killed the general, it would be very unfavorable for him. So he said, “Not to mention Kou Hong, a stubborn person, you are ready. There is not much time left. Two hours later, the army will raid the Deng army with this Grand Marshal!”

"Here!" everyone responded.

Two hours later, the 150,000 Zhao army was ready to go and headed towards Liyang under the leadership of Zhao Kuo.

At this time, Longxiang Guard, who followed the Jinwu Guard to cross the river, had already crossed the Yellow River and supported the situation outside the Jinwu Guard Camp.

After crossing the river, Qin Lie sent a scout to investigate in the direction of Yecheng, and soon found the traces of Zhao's return.

After Qin Lie received the news, he sent someone to inform Deng Qiang as soon as possible. After hearing this, Deng Qiang sneered on his face and said, "As soon as Junmaster Xun said, the Zhao army really lured our army to cross the river and took the opportunity to raid our army. However, Zhao Kuo had a good idea, but the result might disappoint him. He sent someone to inform General Qin Lie, hoping that he would hide his traces first and not let the Zhao army find that Longxiangwei cross the river. When our army fought fiercely with the Zhao army, let him cut off the retreat of the Zhao army, and at the same time, he sent someone to report to the general, so that the general would be prepared and support our army at any time."

"Here!"

In order to prevent Zhao Kuo from knowing that it was not only Jinwu Guards on the north bank of the Yellow River, Deng Qiang asked Qin Lie to hide in advance. When he fought fiercely with the Zhao army, he suddenly came out and cut off the Zhao army's retreat. At the same time, Xue Rengui on the south bank was ready. At this time, Xue Rengui had already led the main army to leave Puyang City and came to the Baima Ferry, preparing to cross the river in batches.

A few hours later, the Zhao army rushed outside the Deng army camp, but Zhao Kuo found that the Deng army was not panicked when he saw him leading the army. Instead, he prepared for the war in an orderly manner, and was immediately undecided.

At this time, Tian Zhen said: "Taiwei, the Deng army has only tens of thousands of troops. Even if there is a large camp, it will be futile in front of our army's 150,000 troops. Please order the Taiwei quickly and don't miss the opportunity."

Zhao Kuo nodded and ordered: "The whole army attacked!"

"Kill!" Zhao Kuo gave the order, and the Zhao army launched a crazily attack on the Deng army camp. Seeing this, Deng Qiang ordered calmly: "Send the order and guard it!"

"Here!"

The two armies launched a bayonet-like offensive and defensive battle. Because the Deng army was well prepared, the Zhao army had no choice but to fight against the Deng army for a while, and the two sides fought fiercely.

When the Zhao army was attacking the Deng army camp, Xue Rengui from the White Horse Ferry also received a message from Deng Qiang and said to Xun You: "Military Xun, it's true that Zhao Kuo really wants to lure the enemy into the deep, but he may be disappointed."

If there was only one Jinwu Guard on the north bank, Xue Rengui was really worried about the 150,000 Zhao army, but now there are 50,000 elite cavalry on the north bank. In addition, the Norikao Guard on the Yellow River is an amphibious guard. It has 30,000 infantrymen and can reinforce the Jinwu Guard at any time.

"General, since Zhao Kuo is overestimating his own abilities and wants to perish himself, then we cannot let him down!" Xun You said with a smile.

"Military Xun's words are reasonable. Since Zhao Kuo doesn't know how to live or die, I will do what he wants to do. I sent someone to order Angry Jiao Guard Zhou Yu to lead Angry Jiao Guard infantry to go ashore to reinforce Jinwu Guard. At the same time, I will order Wang Yanzhang to lead the Lingser Guard to cross the river quickly. This time I will severely damage the Zhao army in Liyang!" Xue Rengui's eyes turned cold and he said.

"Here!" Xun You replied.

At the Liyang Ferry Crossing, outside the Deng army camp, the Deng and Zhao army were still fighting fiercely. Although there were only 50,000 Jinwu Guards, they fought with 150,000 Zhao troops. However, the casualties of the Jinwu Guards were really serious. Although Deng Qiang felt a little distressed, Deng Qiang still gritted his teeth and persevered for the sake of the overall situation.

Zhao Kuo, who was attacking fiercely, was also very anxious to see that he had been unable to capture the Deng army camp for a long time, because the more he dragged on it, the more he would be unfavorable to the Zhao army. So Zhao Kuo ordered the strengthening of the offensive and to capture the Deng army camp as soon as possible.

After two hours of fierce battle, as the Deng army gradually became dissatisfied, at this time, General Gan Ning, the general of the Angry Guard, led 30,000 Angry Guard infantry to arrive. After reinforcements, the Jinwu Guard, who had originally gone to the duckweed in the wind, quickly stabilized his feet and continued to fight with the Deng army.

Seeing Deng's reinforcements arrive so quickly, Zhao Kuo suddenly had an ominous premonition. At this time, the rear army came to report that Deng's cavalry attacked the rear army, and the rear route was cut off. Zhao Kuo was shocked and at a loss.

Seeing this, Tian Zhen, who was standing aside, suddenly felt something was wrong and quickly spoke to Zhao Kuo: "Taiwei, the reinforcements of Deng's army have arrived, and our army may find it difficult to achieve success. In order to avoid the retreat being cut off, please ask the Taiwei to retreat quickly!"

Zhao Kuo glared at Tian Zhen. He knew that if he continued to fight at this time, his 150,000 troops would probably have to be explained here. He did not dare to neglect at the moment and quickly ordered a retreat.

But at this time, how could the Zhao army come and leave at will? After the Zhao army withdrew from the offensive, Deng Qiang asked someone to open the camp gate, and the entire army attacked, entangling the Zhao army at all costs.

The sudden attack of the Jinwu Guard really caught the Zhao army off guard, which also strengthened Zhao Kuo's idea of ​​withdrawing troops. So regardless of the Jinwu Guard attacking behind, he broke through the blockade of the Longxiang Guard with all his strength.

But how could Longxiang Guard let the Zhao army leave so easily? Fifty thousand cavalry voluntarily gave up their horse advantage and fought with the Zhao army. The Zhao army was unable to break through for a long time. Later, Jinwu Guard and the Angry Guard entangled again, causing the Zhao army to be in a dilemma.

After another fierce battle for half a day, it was almost dusk. At this time, Wang Yanzhang led the Lingser Guard to kill. As soon as the Lingser Guard arrived, the Zhao army's advantage in military strength disappeared.

Seeing that another reinforcements from Deng's army arrived, Zhao Kuo knew very well that if he didn't leave quickly, he might not be able to leave, so he broke through with all his strength in the direction of Longxiang Guard.

The Zhao army's strength is really not weak, and the Longxiang Guard is a cavalry guard, and its close combat ability is not stronger than that of the Zhao army. So after blocking it for a while, the Zhao army still allowed the Zhao army to break out, but only half of them were able to leave with Zhao Kuo.

After the Zhao army broke through, Qin Lie immediately asked Longxiang Guard to get on his horse and pursue the Zhao army. He killed thousands of Zhao troops along the way. It was not until the Zhao army retreated into Huangze that Qin Lie led his troops back.

In this battle, the Deng army won a great victory, killing more than 30,000 Zhao troops and capturing 40,000 Zhao troops. Several generals were also killed, and Kou Hong was among them. However, the Deng army's own casualties were unclear, especially the Jinwu Guards and Longxiang Guards. The main force of the Jinwu Guards resisted the Zhao army's offensive left and right, and 50,000 people lost 20,000. The Longxiang Guards gave up their immediate advantage and fought with the Zhao army in close combat, which also lost more than 10,000 people. In this battle, the Deng army suffered more than 30,000 casualties, but it was worth it to be able to severely damage the main force.

After Zhao Kuo retreated to Huangze, he counted the troops and was in tears. He was so anxious that his 150,000 troops were left, and more than half of them were lost. In this case, Zhao Kuo did not dare to stay in Huangze. After a simple rest, he hurriedly led his troops back to Yecheng.
Chapter completed!