It is said that the Soochow troops were divided into three groups and invaded the border in the north. The first group was led by General Lu Yi, Marquis of Jiangling, and Zhuge Jin, Marquis of Wanling, who led a total of 50,000 troops. They were stationed in Jiangxia and Mian. At the entrance, prepare to attack Xiangyang, an important town in the Wei Dynasty and the capital of Jingzhou.
[Note 1: Soochow has the position of senior general above the general. 】
The second route, led by the clan general Zhenbei General, Jiande Hou Sun Shao, and Fenwei General and Duxiang Hou Zhang Cheng, led an army of 50,000 to march towards Guangling and Huaiyin on the southeastern border of Wei.
Sun Quan, the Lord of Wu, even went on a personal expedition. He led the Danyang Shangjia and Lujiang Qingjin of the Eastern Wu Dynasty, known as one hundred thousand people, to personally surround the Hefei New City that Wei had just built three years ago.
The Soochow general Lu Yi and the general Zhuge Jin were famous generals and ministers in the south of the Yangtze River who were in charge of the army and dismounted in charge of the people. The army along the way should not be underestimated, so needless to say.
Sun Shao, the Marquis of Jiande who attacked Guangling and Huaiyin, was not only eight feet tall, but also handsome and talented. Moreover, he had served as a border general in Soochow for decades. He had always been good at raising soldiers and was able to gain the vitality of the soldiers. He rarely suffered a defeat in many years of battle.
Zhang Cheng and Zhang Zhongsi were the eldest sons of Zhang Zhao, a famous minister of the Eastern Wu Dynasty. He was strong, loyal, and good at understanding people. He was always known for his talent and learning. He was friends with famous Wu officials such as Zhuge Jin and Bu Zhi. He was not only full of knowledge and good ideas , and he once led an army to defeat the Pingshan bandits and surrendered 15,000 elite foreign soldiers in one fell swoop. He was also a real all-rounder in civil and military affairs and a famous general in the future.
This time Soochow is coming fiercely, and it echoes Zhuge Kongming's east and west in Western Shu, which really makes Cao Rui feel sad.
At this moment, Emperor Cao Rui, Liu Fang, Sun Zi, Gao Tanglong, Cao Zhao, He Zeng, Liu Shao, Wei Zhen and others gathered in Shiqian Hall to discuss how to restore the death of Changyi Hou Manchong and Runan Prefect Tian Yu respectively. The two memorials sent from the Yangzhou front line determined what strategy the court should adopt next to deal with the Wu army.
Everyone circulated the two memorials one by one, and they all understood the cause and effect of the matter. At this moment, everyone was thinking carefully.
It turned out that Zhang Ying, the defender of Hefei Xincheng, saw that Wu's army was strong, so he asked Man Chong, the Marquis of Changyi, the general who conquered the east, for help. Man Chong wanted to lead all the troops to rescue Zhang Ying, and also wanted to order the soldiers on leave from Yangzhou to return to the front line to jointly defend against the enemy, so he In the memorial to Cao Rui, it was stated that he wanted to request the imperial court to send generals and mobilize the imperial army to assist Yangzhou and Hefei New City.
When Tian Yu, the general of the Yiyi general and the prefect of Runan, learned about Man Chong's idea, he believed that the new city of Hefei was well-defended and could defend itself. The intention of the Wu army was to attack the new city to lure Wei into sending troops and then ambush him. He believed that Zhang Ying should hold on vigorously at this moment and allow the Wu army to attack the city to defeat the Wu army's vigor, instead of sending out a large army to compete with Wu. If the imperial court really sent reinforcements to the new city, I am afraid that Sun Quan, Lu Yi and others would have already ambushed them and would in turn swallow up the imperial reinforcements.
Liu Shao and Liu Kongcai, the regular attendants of Sanqi, were continuing to read Tian Yu's memorial in detail at this moment:
"Your Majesty, the Governor of Runan, has killed General Tian Yu Fuwei:
The Wu army was aware of the large-scale campaign. They were not just greedy for small gains, they actually wanted to attack the new city to lure our larger army. At this time, it is better to listen to the enemy's attack on the city and dampen his energy, rather than to fight with him. If the city cannot be taken out, the Wu people will be idle; if they stop idle and then attack, they can be severely defeated. If the thief sees that I have figured out his plan, he will not attack the city and will flee on his own. If our army advances, it will suit their plan.
In June of the second year of Qinglong, Yu Dun, the governor of Runan and the general of Yiyi, bowed his head and paid homage again. "
After Liu Shao thought carefully again, he finally spoke:
"Your Majesty, I believe that the new arrival of thieves is a time for concentration and determination. If the Marquis of Changyi raises his troops to attack, he may not be able to subdue the Wu thieves, but the Marquis of Changyi asks for reinforcements from the court to ensure that everything is safe. Therefore. I think we can send 5,000 infantry and 3,000 elite cavalry in advance, and march forward with a loud voice to shake up the situation."
Cao Zhao had recently lost his beloved brother. He was in a daze and said nothing.
He Zeng heard this and agreed very much with Liu Shao's proposal. He couldn't help but praise:
"Kong Cai's strategy is wonderful. The Marquis of Changyi will not fall into the Wu army's ambush plan, and he can safely defend Hefei. This strategy is really a wonderful strategy that kills two birds with one stone!"
Cao Rui, as well as Cao Shuang, Bian Lan, Wei Zhen, Du Shu and others nodded after hearing He Zeng's words.
When Liu Shao heard this, he felt quite proud of himself. He stroked his mustache and continued to smile:
"Yes, once the elite cavalry of the imperial court arrives in Hefei, they will sparse their ranks and use more banners and drums, and the soldiers will display their power under the city. In this way, the Wu army will definitely think that our imperial reinforcements are in vain, and will definitely come to invite attacks and draw out the thieves. After that, the Marquis of Changyi can lead his army to intercept his return route and strangle his food route. When the Wu thieves hear that our army has cut off their rear, they will be frightened and run away. In this way, they can defeat the thieves without fighting!"
Cao Rui was overjoyed when he saw Liu Shao's plan. He stood up and said:
"Kong Cai's plan is very clever. Liu Fang and Sun Zi, you two will immediately issue an edict to implement it. In addition, I will send an edict to Yangzhou and order the generals to hold fast. I want to go to Yangzhou in person to supervise and lead the troops to conquer. Wu Lu, compete with that Sun Quan!"
Liu Fang, Sun Zi and others bowed to accept the order.
When Wei Zhen saw that the emperor wanted to personally lead the Eastern Expedition, he was shocked. He immediately advised:
"Your Majesty, Sun Quan is showing support to Zhuge Liang externally, but internally he is actually watching the battle between the Wei Dynasty and the Shu captives. Moreover, the city of Hefei is solid, so there is no need to worry about it. Your Majesty does not need to personally conquer the army. This can also save the cost of the six armies. , I hope your Majesty will think twice!"
After hearing Wei Zhen's words, Cao Rui understood that what he said was true, but since he took the throne, he had not personally commanded a battle. This made him who longed for Emperor Wu's majesty always worried. Now that Sun Quan personally came to invade, the world was shocked. , but his Hefei New City is impregnable, and he has good ministers and fierce generals to defend it, so it is naturally easy to defend but difficult to attack. Because of this, he has to personally conquer and fight a beautiful victory, so that the people of the world can see his peak martial arts!
With this in mind, how could Cao Rui be willing to listen to Wei Zhen's harsh words?
"What Gong Zhen said is reasonable, but Sun Quan's personal attack this time has made people in the southeast agitated. If I don't go south in person, how can the hearts of the people be at peace? I have made up my mind, please don't say more! "
"promise!"
Everyone in the hall saw that the emperor had made up his mind, so they did not continue to dissuade the emperor. They understood that at this time of crisis, if the emperor could lead the expedition in person, it would really boost the morale of the soldiers at the front and help to eliminate the enemy as soon as possible.
After a while, Cao Rui seemed to remember something, and he said again:
"The former school official Cao Desi died for the country. Yanlong and Ziqi, you have ordered you to give former general Desi the official title of seal and ribbon, and buried him with honors as a general. As for many matters in the school affairs office, let He Zeng come and take charge first. Bar."
"I obey the order!"
Liu Fang and Sun Zi's hearts sank. Due to the power of the school affairs, it seemed that they would have to curry favor with He Ruijian in the future.
"I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness. I will do my best to repay Your Majesty!"
Never before had he suddenly seen such power, and he was extremely excited at the moment.
——
Zhang Ying, the guard of Hefei New City, was so worried that he could not even eat when faced with the heavy siege of 100,000 troops led by Emperor Wu Sun Quan himself.
This was the fourth time he had been awakened by nightmares.
At this time, the imperial reinforcements were not expected to arrive. Although Manboning, Marquis of Changyi, was a veteran of the three dynasties, a famous general who was capable of fighting and unparalleled in resourcefulness, he was already seventy-six years old in Shouchun. .
Zhang Ying looked at the Wu army with flags in the distance outside the city, looking majestic like a huge cyan dragon entrenched, and her heart was filled with worry.
Could it be that he and the tens of thousands of garrison soldiers were going to be buried together in Hefei New City?
That's all, if a man dies, he will die. Why should he be so afraid? The worst he can do is to serve the country with his death and seek shelter for his descendants!
He once again glanced at the Wu army formation outside the city, pounded the solid Hefei city wall hard, and let out a long sigh.
——
In Shouchun City, the Marquis of Changyi and General Zhengdong Manboning, who were already gray-haired and wrinkled, but still wearing heavy armor and swords hanging on their waists, were frowning and thinking about something in the commander's tent at the Yangzhou headquarters.
His plan to lead the northern Yangzhou army to rescue Hefei has been rejected by Tian Yu, and his plan to have Zhang Ying withdraw from Hefei New City and retreat to Shouchun to temporarily avoid the enemy has not been adopted by His Majesty. What should I do?
Man Chong couldn't help crying and patted her thigh. Could it be that she was really old?
It seems that he wants Wu Jun to see whether his sword is still young; he also wants to show His Majesty whether his old bones are still useful!
"Somebody come!"
He shouted loudly toward the outside of the tent, and immediately two soldiers in armor came into the tent.
"General, here!"
Man Chong nodded, his eyes filled with vicissitudes of life now filled with a sharp and unyielding aura:
"Pass an order from my general to immediately recruit dozens of strong men from the camp who are accustomed to fighting and will not avoid life and death. Then I will order people to break pine branches to use as torches and pour sesame oil into them. I will immediately follow my commander to Hefei. When I encounter the Wu army, I will set fire to the wind from a position upwind. I want to show Sun Quan that General Zhang Wenyuan is not the only one in the Wei Dynasty who can deter these rascals!"
"Yes, General!"
The two soldiers took the command arrow from Man Chong's hand and strode out to deliver the order and deployment.
Three days later, Changyi Hou Manchong personally led five hundred Wei warriors, one in ten thousand, carrying pine branch torches and sesame oil fire bags, and quietly rushed to the location where the Wu army was stationed outside Hefei City.
In the night, Man Chong could still vaguely see the flags of the Wu army fluttering in the wind.
It was a pity that the headquarters of Wu Lord Sun Quan could not be found for a while. After observing for a while, Man Chong felt that the time was ripe. He raised his hand and slashed the flag in his hand:
"Do it!"
When the five centurions of the Wei army saw the general's order, they immediately split the small flags in their hands. Immediately afterwards, the fifty commanders and one hundred corps commanders gave orders one after another, and the entire army immediately lit the torches and pine oil in their hands.
The fire took advantage of the wind and instantly snaked along the thorn bushes where the Wu army was stationed like a thousand fire snakes!
The fire continued to spread under the influence of the wind, until it burned Wu Jun's siege equipment, and the sleeping Wu Jun soldiers woke up!
"Quick, put out the fire! Put out the fire!"
A gorgeously armored general from the state of Wu had just woken up from his sleep and immediately began to command his soldiers to put out the fire.
This is the nephew of Wu Lord Sun Quan, the son of the in-laws of the Great Wei Dynasty, and the grandson of Wu Emperor Cao Cao's brother: Soochow Changshui Captain: Sun Tai.
Of course Man Chong recognized this Sun Tai, but he did not show mercy because he was Emperor Wu's in-law. He immediately issued a cold order:
"Fire the arrow!"
At this time, the five hundred Wei troops were upwind, and the arrows they shot went with the wind. The wind greatly increased the range and penetration. In an instant, many Wu troops were killed!
Sun Tai was gorgeously dressed and had bright armor, so he naturally became a target for the five hundred sharpshooters of the Wei army. Hearing a scream of "Ah!", Sun Tai had already been hit by dozens of arrows and died instantly!
The general was shot dead, and the Wu army was immediately in chaos. At the same time, many siege equipment were burned by the fire set off by Man Chong.
Seeing this, Man Chong stroked his white beard proudly, with a satisfied sneer on his lips.
Just as Tian Yu, Wei Zhen, and Liu Shao expected, Sun Quan was unable to attack for a long time because Zhang Ying, the defender of Hefei New City, refused to defend and fought hard. The Wu army's siege equipment was destroyed by Man Chong. Therefore, Wu and Wei have been in a stalemate. Come July.
[Note 2: "Three Kingdoms·Book of Wei 21·Liu Shao Biography": "In Qinglong, Wu was encircling Hefei. At that time, all the officials and soldiers in the east were on leave. The general who conquered the east invited the Chinese army with full favor and summoned the soldiers to leave. They must be gathered together to attack them. Shao thought that "the thieves have recently arrived, and they are dedicated and sharp." If you favor a small number of people and fight on your own, if you attack, you don't have to be able to control it. Nothing is lost by being favored and waiting for soldiers. He thought that he could send 5,000 infantry and 3,000 elite cavalry in advance, march forward, raise his voice and enter the road, shaking the situation. Riding to Hefei, he sparse his troops and put more of them with banners and drums. He led the thieves out from behind the city, planned their return route, and secured their food routes. When a thief hears that a large army is coming and cuts off his rear, he will be frightened and run away. He will defeat the thief without a fight. "The emperor obeyed. The soldiers marched to Hefei, and the thieves' fruits were returned."]
