The first section of the monarch and his ministers is green and tender below

  Time entered May, and the weather gradually became hot.

  Zhang Kuang wiped the sweat from his forehead and saw that the whole army was somewhat tired, so he ordered:

  "Halt! Take a one-minute break!"

  The order was passed down and the soldiers of the Heavenly Balance Army cheered in unison, leaving the main road to find large trees by the side of the road to take shelter under.

  However, although the troops appear to be scattered all over the place, they still maintain a basic formation. All soldiers are in units of "shi", that is, ten-man squads, sitting together. In addition, there are special sentry squads, conscientiously dispersed around, closely monitoring the surrounding situation.

  Since Wang Guo joined, Zhang Kuang's basic knowledge of marching and fighting has been greatly supplemented.

  The Yellow Turbans marched in a single breath for dozens of miles, and when the entire army was exhausted and unable to move, they would stop to rest. Each time they rested, they would stay for a long time.

  As a result, the soldiers' marching distance was not too far for the day, but their bodies were extremely exhausted, to the point that if they encountered a battle along the way, their combat effectiveness would be greatly discounted.

  Now, Zhang Kuang tried the marching method introduced by Wang Guo. Every five to ten miles, he would stop and rest for a moment on the road. It seemed that walking and stopping was not fast, but in fact, the distance traveled in one day was not less than before. Moreover, the physical strength of the soldiers was preserved relatively well, and even if an encounter battle occurred, they still had the power to fight.

  As the "army strategist" of the Tianping Army, whenever the troops stopped to rest, it was Wang Guo's busy moment. He led a detachment of "bodyguards" assigned to him, riding precious war horses, inspecting in the middle of the formation. Once he found a place that violated military discipline, he immediately ordered his bodyguards to capture the perpetrators and beat them with a military stick.

  The warriors of the Tianping Army, even when resting, still maintain the basic formation of a ten-man team, which is trained by being beaten with thousands of military sticks.

  Of course, those who get enough rest are actually only the soldiers in the army. Those who serve as auxiliary personnel, even during breaks, still have to be busy with various trivial matters.

  Problematic vehicles need to be repaired, draft animals need to be fed, and firewood needs to be collected. Although they don't have to fight on the front lines, the heavy workload makes many rear-service soldiers hope to be transferred to combat troops.

  After sitting under the tree for a while, seeing that the warriors' physical strength had also recovered more or less, Zhang Kuang was about to issue an order to continue advancing when he saw a horse rushing forward from ahead. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be one of the scouts sent out by the team.

  After capturing four or five dozen war horses in an ambush against the Han army's cavalry, Zhang Kuang was finally able to turn his entire scouting party into mounted troops. At that time, stirrups and high saddles had not yet been invented, so cavalrymen relied on the strength of their legs to clamp onto the horse's body and ride on it.

  Due to the inability to exert force on horseback, unless they are highly skilled veterans, ordinary cavalrymen generally do not possess strong close combat capabilities. Therefore, in the Han army, the main way of fighting for cavalry was still to use long-range weapons to harass the enemy, or to pursue and attack the enemy when they retreated.

  As for being able to ride on horseback, using heavy long weapons, and fighting with the enemy for three hundred rounds, such behavior can only be achieved by a fierce general in the army. Calculating this way, it turns out that Zhang Kuang's body, which has crossed over, is still quite capable, and can even borrow his legs to ride horses and gallop like flying.

  He rushed all the way and arrived under Zhang Fei's great banner, jumped off his horse, panting heavily, and loudly reported:

  "General, ... ahead ... there's an ambush!"

  Zhang Fei was startled in his heart, but his face remained calm and expressionless. He ordered his personal soldiers to summon Wang Fu and Zhou Cang, saying in a gentle tone:

  "Don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry, have a drink of water first, take a rest, and then tell the situation in detail."

  Having received Zhang Kuang's comfort, Xi Hou was moved in his heart. He took the water skin handed over by the imperial guard and took two small sips. After his breathing became even, Xi Hou began to report back in detail:

  "We followed He Bai Chang forward... Four or five miles away, Zhao Lao San saw a flock of birds flying in the sky, circling above a forest but not landing. He told us that this forest must have an ambush... He Bai Chang sneaked in to take a look and indeed found Han soldiers. He let me come back to report and ask what to do next?"

  That Zhao Lao San was originally a scout under Wang Guo, with rich experience. Zhang Kuang secretly calculated in his heart that if he didn't know there were ambush troops and got caught off guard, it would be disastrous. However, since they now knew about this beforehand, the ones to suffer losses wouldn't be the Tian Ping Army.

  "Zhao Lao San's judgment is meritorious, record two levels of merit. The scout team discovered the enemy's ambush and shared five levels of merit. You can go inform He Qian to make another careful reconnaissance, but absolutely do not disturb the enemy's ambush."

  Ji Huan received the order and took another sip of water before mounting his horse and galloping away. Zhang Kuang looked at his trusted subordinates and asked:

  "What's on your mind?"

  "Why bother? There's a certain household that's been taken over, just go up and slaughter the enemy. They're just a few small thieves..."

  Dian Wei was actually not stupid. It's just that when a person has enough physical strength, they will get used to solving all problems with the simplest method - violence.

  "Hiding in the forest? Isn't that just asking for a wildfire?"

  Wang Guo didn't think much and proposed this one.

  "Good plan! Let's see how a certain family will barbecue the officials and soldiers!"

  Zhang Kuang's eyes sparkled as he gave orders to his subordinates:

  "Da Feng, you can lead the hundred-man squad to rush ahead and pass through the ambush point first. When the enemy is driven out of the ambush circle by our army, you can return to the army and attack them from the side, blocking their retreat route, and there will definitely be great gains!"

  "Roger!"

  Zhou Cang was most obedient to Zhang Fei, without any hesitation, and accepted his orders.

  "Zi Nian, you lead the hundred-man squad of this unit, marching in the second array of the great army. When the front array forces the enemy's ambush to emerge, you will listen for my command and lead your men to charge forward and defeat the enemy!"

  "Some families understand."

  Dian Wei readily agreed. Zhang Fei had just rewarded him with a suit of iron armor that he had captured, and Dian Wei was eager to try it out in battle.

  "Zhong Rong, lead the hundred-man team as vanguard. When approaching the ambush, pretend to set fire to the forest. If the enemy launches a counterattack, first form a defensive formation and temporarily avoid their edge. Wait for the enemy's morale to be disheartened, then listen for my command, open up the road, and follow Zi Xian in a counterattack."

  "Hello!"

  A slender and tall young general, loudly responded. His name was Shen Fu, styled Zhong Rong, a county soldier who followed Wang Guo to surrender to Zhang Kuang. Due to beheading three levels in the battle of ambushing Han army cavalry, he obtained the qualification of "pointing". After "pointing", his strength soared, and he was promoted to temporarily act as the captain of 100 people.

  Everything was in order, Zhang Kuang commanded the army, all wearing armor, advancing slowly.

  Just ahead was the enemy's ambush, Zhang Kuang took a glance from afar and his heart rate accelerated significantly. He Qian had just reported that the number of enemies was between 500 to 1,000, which was quite considerable. With such military strength, even if they were to engage in a head-on battle with the Tianping Army, it would be feasible. However, now that they had set up an ambush and yet been discovered, their defeat was already sealed.

  In the forest, a pair of puzzled eyes scanned the Yellow Turban Army's troops and then looked away. A Han army captain muttered to himself:

  "Doesn't seem right?"

  As soon as the words fell, the helmet was lightly tapped. The Han army's Shi Chang turned his head to look, and it was the team leader.

  "Shut up! Do you want to face military law?"

  At this time, a team of about two hundred Yellow Turbans, marched quickly from the edge of the forest. The Han soldiers all gripped their weapons tightly, waiting for the order to attack.

  But they were disappointed.

  "The bandits are still behind us. Don't startle the snake in the grass."

  A somewhat stout single father, the county magistrate of Danfu County, explained to his military officers and the leaders of the powerful clans. Due to insufficient troops in the county, the magistrate had no choice but to request the three most powerful families in the county to send out their private soldiers to assist in the battle. This resulted in some awkwardness in commanding and deploying the troops.

  "But these moths' appearances are somewhat strange..."

  Jun Hou followed the army for more than 20 years. In those days, he followed the former Taishi Duan Ying on the battlefield of Xiliang and also experienced life and death. He raised objections to the strange aspects of the Tianping Army.

  "Look at the enemy's formation, their armor is neat and their spirit is concentrated. They don't seem to be marching, but rather preparing for battle. Perhaps they have already discovered our ambush!"

  "What! Impossible!"

  The county magistrate suddenly turned his head, staring at the Han army's military candidate with a gloomy gaze. The unintentionally revealed, aristocratic unique sense of superiority, immediately subdued the humble-born military candidate. The military candidate lowered his head, silent as a cicada in winter, not daring to speak out of turn.

  The Han military officer did not dare to be disrespectful to the county magistrate, but the leader of the powerful clan was not afraid of offending the county magistrate who came from a scholar family. In fact, if the county magistrate were not recommended by the "Four Generations and Three Dukes" Yuan family as a "Filial and Incorrupt", it would be impossible to suppress the local powerful clans and make them obediently provide troops. Now, hearing the military officer's words, the leader of the private soldiers became tense.

  "Zhao Junhou, those bandits, have they really discovered our ambush?"