Chapter 22 Five, fierce man Geng Yan

While Liu Xiu was chasing Chong Meng and fighting in full swing, Geng Yan also started fighting here. Liu Xiu's generals have a variety of styles, and there are not a few of them with bright and eye-catching images.For example, Feng Yi, who has both civil and military skills, is extremely humble and never fights for power.Every time Liu Xiu's troops won a battle, the generals always liked to gather to discuss their merits, but Feng Yi went to the shade of a big tree alone, and ignored it, as if the credits had nothing to do with him.From then on, Feng Yi got a nickname - General Dashu.

Feng Yi is unique, and Geng Yan is even more unique.Among Liu Xiu's many generals, there are quite a few who have suffered defeats. Many generals would have died several times without Liu Xiu's command in battle.But only Geng Yan didn't need Liu Xiu's command, as long as he went to the battlefield, there was no one he couldn't handle, and there was no battle he couldn't win. At least, so far. At this time, Qi Wang Zhang Bu heard that the fierce man Geng Yan was coming to attack, and set up several lines of defense.In this world, for the strong, there is no threshold.On the battlefield, for fierce people, the so-called line of defense is useless.Soon, Geng Yan let Zhang Bu fully see what a real macho is.

After Geng Yan crossed the Yellow River, in less than half a day, he broke through Zhang Bu's first line of defense, Zhu'acheng (now northeast of Changqing District, Jinan City, Shandong Province).Then, deliberately left a gap to let the remaining enemies escape. When they ran to the second line of defense, Zhongcheng, the people inside heard that Geng Yan was coming, as if the sheep heard that a wolf was coming, they didn't want the city. empty city.Then, Geng Yan broke through two more lines of defense and hit Jinan County, unstoppable and invincible. At this time, Zhang Bu was afraid.

He seemed to see that if Geng Yan broke through two more lines of defense, he, the King of Qi, would be in trouble. Zhang Bu's last two lines of defense were two cities.One is Xi'an City (to the east of Huantai County, Shandong Province today), and the other is Linzi City (to the east of Linzi Town, Zibo City, Shandong Province).This Xi'an City is not Xi'an City in Shaanxi Province, but Linzi City is still the same Linzi City, which is famous all over the world and everyone knows it. Xi'an City is only forty miles away from Linzi City.Zhang Bu sent 20,000 soldiers to guard Xi'an, and more than 10,000 people to guard Linzi. The distance between the two cities was not far, and they became a corner, helping each other.However, something unexpected happened to Zhang Bu. Geng Yan arrogantly drove the army to the middle of the two cities.

Anyone who is a little familiar with the art of war knows that the two cities are connected like a snake with a snake tail.Geng Yan stands in the middle, if you want to hit the snake's head, the snake's tail will slap you, if you want to hit the snake's tail, the snake's head will bite you back.No matter how strong you are, you are still busy. As I said before, for fierce people, any defense line on the so-called battlefield is in vain.From Geng Yan's point of view, he didn't send his army to the middle of the two cities because he was full and begged for a fight. There was no technical problem for him in taking the above two cities.

After Geng Yan garrisoned the army, he sent someone to spread the message that all the ministries should rest for five days.Five days later, a general attack was launched on the city of Xi'an. Geng Yan told the generals that the city of Xi'an was small but very strong, and Zhang Bu's garrison here was elite.Although Linzi city has been famous for a long time, it is not difficult to capture it.Therefore, the siege of the city is based on the fortification, let's attack Xi'an first. With great fanfare, Geng Yan threatened that the whole army would have enough food and sleep, and the news that they would attack Xi'an City in five days' time soon reached Zhang Bu, the defender of Xi'an City.

When the people over there heard it, they were very anxious.The person in charge of guarding the city was Zhang Bu's younger brother Zhang Lan.Geng Yan's reputation in Jianghu is notoriously fierce.When Zhang Lan heard that he was coming to attack the city, she was busy all day long, strengthening the city wall day and night, and sending people to patrol in shifts. In the middle of the night on the fifth day, Geng Yan ordered the whole army to eat and prepare to go.By dawn, the army arrived at the city.But when everyone opened their eyes to see it, they couldn't help being stunned.

Because what Geng Yan ordered them to attack was not the city of Xi'an, which had been rumored five days ago, but the city of Linzi. As the saying goes, soldiers are never tired of deceit, and this trick played by Geng Yan has a scientific name of "sounding east and west".However, as soon as this move was made, it was immediately opposed by the guard Xun Liang and others. They believed that Xi'an had a strong army, and if they attacked Linzi, Zhang Lan of Xi'an would definitely lead an army to attack, and they would definitely fail if they were attacked by the enemy.It would be different to attack Xi'an first. Linzi city is weak, and it is difficult to even defend the city, so it will definitely not attack from behind.

Geng Yan laughed as soon as he heard it, and retorted: "You are only half right. If we attack Xi'an City, Linzi City may not sneak attack; but if we attack Linzi City first, Zhang Lan in Xi'an City will not attack from behind. us." Geng Yan talked for a long time, but the generals still couldn't understand.Geng Yan continued: "Think about it, everyone. Five days ago we let the news out that we were going to attack the city of Xi'an. Now they are so nervous that they don't know if they can survive. How can they have the guts to save people? As for Linzi, They definitely didn't expect us to attack the city. As long as I shouted to fight, they would panic and be captured by us soon. You just want to attack Xi'an City, and you don't know how serious the consequences will be. On the contrary, take Linzi City, There is no need to attack Xi'an City, it will naturally fall."

At this time, the generals seemed to understand a little bit.But they all felt that Geng Yan was not here to attack the city, but to brag.Before the war even started, Geng Yan was blowing up in a different way, and all the cows on the ground were going to be blown to the sky by him. Seeing the flickering expressions of the generals, Geng Yan smiled knowingly.I saw that he was confident, and said confidently: "Don't think I'm bragging. If you don't believe me, just listen to my analysis. You will understand after listening." Only then did Geng Yan come up with his battle plan one by one.Unexpectedly, after listening to this, all the generals suddenly realized that they all smiled admiringly towards Geng Yan.They all couldn't help shouting in unison - fierce man, he really deserves his reputation.

It turned out that Geng Yan analyzed the situation on the battlefield in this way: At this time, Zhang Bu was stationed in Juxian County (now south of Shouguang City, Shandong Province), the capital, and Linzi City was at the throat of Xi'an City and Juxian County.Take Linzi down, Xi'an is an isolated city, no matter how many soldiers and horses it has, no matter how strong the city walls are, it won't last long, and the city will definitely be abandoned.This is one of them. The city of Xi'an is densely populated, and if you want to take it down, it will take ten days and half a month.Even if they took it, Zhang Lan led his army to flee, and joined Zhang Bu to gather troops in Linzi City, blocking our army's way.And we fight deep into the enemy's territory, and it is difficult to supply food, so it is easy to be dragged down by them.This is the second. Based on the above conclusions, it is easy to fight Linzi first, the time is fast, and the effect is good. Winning one city is equal to winning two cities.No matter how you calculate it, it is a very profitable business.This kind of business can be met but not sought after. It would be a pity if you lose it and refuse to do it. After Geng Yan finished speaking, he immediately ordered to attack Linzi. Sure enough, as Geng Yan expected, Linzi City was captured in just half a day.What is even more amazing is that Zhang Bu, who was stationed in Xi'an, lost the city and fled back to Juxian when he heard that Linzi had fallen.Ever since, Geng Yan killed two birds with one stone, and destroyed two cities in just half a day. Geng Yan was like a sharp knife, piercing the air and resting on Zhang Bu's neck.Then, Geng Yan issued a document, publicly declaring: "After entering the city, looting is not allowed. When Zhang Bu arrives, we will clean up together." The reason why Geng Yan is called a macho is not only because he is good at fighting, but also has the title of killer.However, the prohibition of troops from plundering the two cities of Linzi and Xi'an this time was not due to his sudden kindness, but ulterior motives. Know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles.Geng Yan knew himself well, and he knew his enemy Zhang Bu better.The reason why Geng Yan said that he wanted to take Zhang Bu was to provoke the other party on purpose.As long as the opponent is in the trap, he will naturally lead his army to attack the city and fight a decisive battle under the city of Linzi, instead of running all the way to Ju County to challenge. This is called buying and selling, and if you want to take advantage of it, you must take it to the end.Originally, Zhang Bu could wait for work with leisure, but this cheap Geng Yan wanted to snatch it away. The generals found out that Zhang Bu was really fooled after Geng Yan, who expected the enemy to be like a god, said.When Zhang Bu heard that Geng Yan was waiting for him to take the initiative to deliver to the door, Zhang Bu couldn't help laughing up to the sky. There are so many talented people in the world, Zhang Bu considers himself one of them.Zhang Bu thought that he hadn't seen such a big scene since he raised his troops to rebel.At the beginning, he led the army to defeat other groups of more than 100,000 rioters at once.Today, Geng Yan has few soldiers and is weak, so it's okay to run wild at the door of the house, but he even utters wild words, if he is Lei Gong, he doesn't know how many times he will kill Geng Yan. So, Zhang Bu, who was not convinced, gathered more than 200,000 troops and drove to the city of Linzi.He wants to see if the braggart Geng Yan can blow his 200,000 troops into the sky. If you want to see how Niu'er was blown to the sky, you must come to see Geng Yan blowing.At this time, Geng Yan also gathered all his energy and blew the cowhide to the end in one breath.He wrote a book to Liu Xiu, reporting on the frontline battle situation. He told Liu Xiu like this: I lured Zhang Bu to come and fight me. Now I'm just waiting for my good news. Within half a month, I will definitely behead Zhang Bu. At this time, after Zhang Bu led his army to Linzi City, Geng Yan also began to form an army.The two sides didn't say anything, and they fought directly under the city.The troops sent by Geng Yan were weak.He told the team leader, you go for a stroll before the battle, and when you get tired, pretend to be defeated and retreat back. I've seen cunning ones, but I've never seen one as frivolous as Geng Yan.The reason why Geng Yan took the initiative to lose in the first battle was actually to lure the enemy into deep combat.He was afraid that if he showed his sharpness, Zhang Bu, a big fish, would run away when he saw the situation was not good, and that would be no fun. Zhang Bu was fooled again.After Geng Yan's men were defeated and fled, Zhang Bu sent his troops to attack Geng Yan's formation.While Zhang Bu was playing hotly in the city, Geng Yan was wandering around the city to watch the excitement. After watching for a while, Geng Yan narrowed his eyes and smiled.Then, Geng Yan waved his hand and shouted loudly: "Brothers, follow me." Geng Yan opened the city gate and rushed out with an elite group.He was like a big knife, piercing Zhang Bu's army down the middle, beheading from the middle.Zhang Bu fainted, Zhang Bu's soldiers became even more faint, and the two sides fought in a melee. This fierce battle was fought in the dark, from morning to dark.During this time, Geng Yan was hit by an arrow in the thigh, and he swung his saber to cut off the shaft of the arrow and continued to fight, but he was not noticed. When it was dark, the two sides ceased fighting.The next morning, Geng Yan regrouped his army and prepared to fight again. At this time, Liu Xiu was in Lu County and heard that Geng Yan was being besieged by Zhang Bu, and Kuai Ma sent someone to pass the message, saying, don't be restless, wait a minute, I will be there soon. Therefore, General Chen Jun said to Geng Yan: "Zhang Bu is in full swing, our reinforcements are on the way, let's take a rest first, and when our leaders arrive, we will fight Zhang Bu decisively." When Geng Yan heard this, he shouted loudly: "The emperor is here, we as ministers should slaughter cattle and sheep to entertain, why do we need a bad boy to worry about His Majesty." Geng Yan decided not to wait for Liu Xiu's rescue, but to take care of Zhang Bu himself.He wanted to prove to Liu Xiu that what he was bragging about was not bullshit, and since he boasted to Liu Xiu, he had to show him the results of the battle. The battle started again.The two sides fought again from morning till dusk, when Geng Yan defeated the Qi army, corpses were strewn across the field, and blood flowed like rivers.This time, Zhang Bu finally couldn't stand it anymore and ordered to retreat. The big fish have already taken the bait, and it is not easy to slip away. Geng Yan had long expected that Zhang Bu was going to run away, so before starting the attack, he set up ambushes on both sides of the road and cast a large net, so that as long as Zhang Bu showed up, he would catch them all. Zhang Bu retreated at night, the moon was dark and the wind was high, so he thought he had slipped away without anyone noticing.Unexpectedly, another group of people came out on the way to retreat.Zhang Bu ran desperately, followed by fierce pursuit, all the way to the front of Ju County.Zhang Bu's legs were fast, and he still slipped into the city. A few days later, Liu Xiu arrived. When Liu Xiu heard Geng Yan's performance, he was very satisfied, and couldn't help but praised in front of the generals: "Everyone says Han Xin is good, but Geng Yan is actually even better. When Han Xin attacked Qi, he fought against the surrendered army. It is easy to win. Today, Geng Yan is fighting against the enemy, and it is not easy to win." If the product is well-made, the advertisement must be blown loudly.Liu Xiu's above remarks made the reputation of Geng Yan in Han Xin's version of the Eastern Han Dynasty even more mysterious.Geng Yan should be proud, but he cannot be complacent, because the work has not yet been finished. Then, Liu Xiu ordered Geng Yan to advance to Ju County and wipe out Zhang Bu completely. At this time, perhaps Zhang Bu would think that he couldn't afford to offend a fierce person like Geng Yan, so he should be able to hide.But Geng Yan told him with iron and blood that since he met him, the version of Han Xin of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he couldn't be provoked, and he couldn't avoid it. Geng Yan charged forward and attacked Zhang Bu.Zhang Bu couldn't stand it anymore, so he escaped from the city and fled to Pingshou County (now southeast of Changle County, Shandong Province).As soon as Zhang Bu, who was afraid of being beaten, entered Pingshou County, Liu Xiu's edict arrived. Liu Xiu sent someone to tell Zhang Bu: You don't want to run away, and I don't want to chase you either.If you vote for me, you will still enjoy the Marquis treatment. In fact, Zhang Bu wanted to escape, but there was nowhere to run.After thinking about it, he had no choice but to lead his army out of the city and surrender.Liu Xiu kept his word and gave Zhang Bu the title of Marquis of Anqiu.Then, Zhang Bu, his wife and children were all moved to Luoyang, the capital. Luoyang is like a zoo built by Liu Xiu. No matter how ferocious a tiger is in the world, as long as it is locked in a cage, it can only roar.There is no doubt that Liu Xiu made Zhang Bu the tiger in his iron cage. Geng Yan finally returned to Luoyang.He is like the most dazzling star in Luoyang's starry sky.Someone gave Geng Yan a count: since he rebelled, he has conquered forty-six counties and sealed off the country, slaughtered more than 300 cities, and has never lost a single battle. In a word, what a fierce man.