The most arrogant in history

Chapter 202: First meeting Gongsun Zhang.

Ye Kun ordered the others to stay put and wait.

An hour after it became completely dark, Ye Kun gave the order:

"Heavy infantry battalion, attack in full armor and attract the enemy. Heavy cavalry and archers, hold the rear and aim at the brightly lit areas of the blockhouse and shoot!"

This was Ye Kun's common tactic, using heavy infantry as bait to lure the enemy into battle, and then attacking with powerful crossbows.

If you kill just one tenth of the enemy's troops, the enemy will collapse.

The heavy infantry lined up and moved forward, approaching the enemy's blockhouse a hundred steps away, then suddenly accelerated and charged with drums beating.

The soldiers of Niu Yeliang on the opposite side were obviously a mob, with poor discipline and not even a night patrol.

Hearing the sound of war drums, the enemies on the other side, before they could even see the situation clearly, crowded into the battlements of the blockhouse and shot a volley of arrows at them.

However, the volley of arrows caused almost no damage to the heavily armored heavy infantry.

The heavy infantry continued to advance slowly, consuming the enemy's arrows.

The archers led by Wang Da Kui were already in position, aiming at the battlements of the enemy's blockhouse and firing indiscriminately.

Bows and crossbows are not that accurate, but they have a long range, great power, and far greater lethality than the enemy's bows and arrows.

Amid the hail of arrows, screams continued from the enemy's bunker.

Lights were also lit in the blockhouses on the east side of the river, and the enemy reinforcements stepped onto the pontoon bridge and crossed the river to engage in battle.

This was exactly what Wang Dagui wanted, so he immediately ordered:

"Don't shoot at the blockhouse, shoot at the enemy reinforcements on the pontoon bridge!"

When shooting at the blockhouse, the hit rate is too low.

But facing the enemy troops lined up on the pontoon bridge, one hit and one kill is a sure thing!

Ye Kun also ordered the archers of the rear army to provide fire support.

Soon, most of the soldiers on the pontoon bridge were killed or wounded, and countless fell into the river.

The remaining enemy troops were terrified. Some jumped into the river to escape, while others turned around and ran away.

The heavily armored soldiers continued to approach the two towers on the west side of the river, shouting in unison: "Surrender and you will not be killed!"

The enemy soldiers in the tower had used up all their arrows. Seeing that the rear army had suffered heavy losses and was in full retreat, they dared not fight anymore and shouted:

"Stop fighting, stop fighting, we surrender!"

"Put down your weapons, raise your hands high, and come out one by one!"

The heavily armored soldiers surrounded the blockhouse and shouted in unison.

Soon, the enemy soldiers in the blockhouse came out one after another with their hands raised.

Ye Kun waved his hand and ordered the light armored soldiers to cross the pontoon bridge and take control of the five watchtowers in the east of the river.

The battle lasted only a dozen minutes and was easily resolved.

Half an hour later, the seven blockhouses and enemy camps on both sides of the river were all under Ye Kun's control.

As expected, there was a batch of food and dried meat in the military camp, as well as swords, guns, bows and arrows and some armor.

There are also a few goats, a pond of fresh fish, and some jars of good wine!

Stationed by the river, the soldiers also knew that they could live by the water and catch fish themselves.

After counting the troops on the battlefield, it was found that more than 200 enemy soldiers were shot and killed, and more than 200 were captured, including wounded soldiers.

Ye Kun was very happy. He ordered to set up camp on the spot, set up long-distance sentries, as well as visible and hidden sentries and mobile sentries, and let everyone make a fire, cook, and have a good meal.

Wang Da Kui said, "Brother, there is still a lot of food here. We can rest here for a day. The brothers are tired after marching for days."

Zhuge Feng, Huangfu Lin and others also had the same idea.

Ye Kun nodded: "Pass the order down, the army will rest here for a day."

There are still a few days before the alliance meeting, so Ye Kun is not in a hurry.

Ye Kun was very tolerant towards enemy prisoners.

Those who are willing to follow me can follow me. Those who are not willing to follow me can leave.

Ye Kun also provided simple first aid to the wounded soldiers, and at the same time promoted his own benevolence and righteousness, telling them that if they were desperate in the future, they could come to Jiangnan to seek refuge with him.

The prisoners thought they were doomed to die, but unexpectedly they were saved and were very grateful.

Almost everyone is willing to follow Ye Kun.

In troubled times, everyone is homeless. As long as there is food to eat, it doesn’t matter who you follow!

At night, Ye Kun was worried that the enemy would seize the blockhouse and fight for control of the ferry, so he didn't dare to sleep much.

But unexpectedly the night was very peaceful, so quiet that the only sounds were the sound of running water and the chirping of autumn insects.

The next morning.

Ye Kun wrote two letters on white silk, one to Pingye County and the other to Dongba County, to report his safety and explain his current location.

For this expedition, Ye Kun brought a hundred pigeons from Pingye County, and Dongba County also brought a hundred pigeons. They could use carrier pigeons to send messages in one direction.

This is also Ye Kun’s first time using carrier pigeons, so it can be considered an experiment.

After writing the letter, Ye Kun asked the clerks to copy it twice, making three copies in total. They wrapped them in pig intestine casings to make them waterproof, tied them to the legs of six carrier pigeons, and released them one by one.

It is not safe to use only one pigeon to deliver a message, so at least three pigeons are needed.

Because pigeons may encounter natural enemies during flight.

Just after releasing the pigeon, the scout reported:

"Lord Ye, a large army has appeared in the south, carrying the banner of Gongsun Zhang of Yizhou, and is coming along our marching route. The vanguard has about 8,000 soldiers and horses."

"Is Gongsun Zhang here?"

Ye Kun thought for a moment and told Zhuge Feng, "Mr. Zhuge, go over to greet them under my banner and tell them that I am by the river, waiting for Lord Gongsun."

Ye Kun doesn't want to offend any of the princes now.

The right way is to be low-key, develop slowly, and grow stronger.

Zhuge Feng took the order and went to meet Gongsun Zhang with several cavalrymen.

Before lunch, the scout reported again: "Master Ye, Gongsun Zhang is leading the army personally and is still five miles away from the river."

"Prepare a banquet for the reception. I will go to welcome them personally."

Ye Kun stood up, called up his personal guards, and took his generals with him, waiting by the river with flags.

Soon, dust rose up ahead and a large cavalry force came galloping towards them.

When they got closer, the Yizhou cavalry opened the battle array, and Gongsun Zhang rode out fully armed.

Ye Kun looked at Gongsun Zhang, who was in his early forties, slightly plump, and had a fair complexion, and looked like a Confucian scholar.

Zhuge Feng followed Gongsun Zhang and called out to Ye Kun, "Master Ye, this is Master Gongsun, the governor of Yizhou."

Ye Kun dismounted, took the initiative to step forward, clasped his fists and said:

"Lord Gongsun has worked tirelessly for the sake of the country and the people, and has come from afar to fight against the rebels. He is truly a role model for the princes of the world. Your humble servant Ye Kun has been waiting for a long time. Please cross the river and rest your horse."

"Hahaha, I've heard for a long time that General Ye is brave. Seeing him today, I find that his reputation is well-deserved."

Gongsun Zhang laughed loudly, jumped off his horse, and clasped his fists in return:

"General Ye, if you take over Dongba County, you and I will be neighbors. I didn't expect that we would meet for the first time in Central Plains."

Ye Kun smiled and said, "I don't understand government affairs. I'm so busy managing Dongba County that I don't have time to visit Lord Gongsun. I'm really sorry."

Gongsun Zhang took Ye Kun's hand:

"General Ye, you don't have to be polite. It's the same for us to meet here. As a minister of the court, I hope that General Ye can show his power and work with me to wipe out the rebellious bandits Niu Yeliang and support the country together!"

Ye Kun nodded: "Serving the country with loyalty is my lifelong wish. Even if I die on the battlefield, I will follow you gentlemen and wipe out Niu Yeliang's rebellion!"

Everyone can tell lies.

Moreover, Ye Kun spoke with righteousness and decisiveness.

Gongsun Zhang was very satisfied and ordered his subordinates to set up camp in Hexi. He took 500 elite soldiers and followed Ye Kun across the river.

It can be seen that Gongsun Zhang was also afraid that Ye Kun would assassinate him, so he brought five hundred personal soldiers, all of whom were burly men and well-armed.