Two days later, the Han army had crossed Surabaya. The reconnaissance cavalry reported: The bandit army retreated more than 20 miles to the west and occupied Kongshan and Zhaishan formations. The army was extremely powerful and the company camp was continuous for 20 miles. The Qi and Han armies all used horses and donkey carts to carry loads, and the carts were connected with iron ropes, and the army horses were enclosed among them. There were many infantry, the forts were strict and orderly, and there were many Han Chinese and Huns who spoke with Kansai accents among the sergeants. It seemed that the Baibo Army All are here.
That night, Liu Bei secretly discussed his actions with his staff. Xu Shu, Fazheng, Xun You, Guo Kai, Shejian and other ministers of the hegemony arrived. They all said: Now the bandit army is arrayed in the mountain, waiting for work. If our army challenges us, there will be no good results, so we suggested Liu Bei first moved to the Xiaohongshan and Hushan areas, thirty miles north of Kongshan, to confront the rebels from the north to the south, and slowly planned to attack them.
There was nothing wrong with the plan, but Liu Bei was not satisfied. He said to everyone, "Do you remember what I said before?"
"Ming Gong said that he wants to mobilize the enemy for a decisive battle?" The first person to react was Xun You. He shook his head and said: "If Ming Gong has any adventurous ideas, please pay more attention to the lives of the soldiers. Our army has penetrated deep into the enemy's territory. In a moment, If you are not careful, it may lead to defeat. I hope you will be careful."
Liu Bei laughed. He pointed to Surabaya behind him and the foothills in the distance, and said slowly: "Gongda, this is enemy territory for you, but not for me. I am stationed in Dongping to suppress the rebellion. It can be said that for four years, I knew the landscape of Xuzhou clearly, and I did not take risks in thin air."
"What do you plan to do, Ming Gong?"
Liu Bei's next words shocked everyone: "I plan to form a formation with my back against the water and use my own formation as bait to lure the bandits to attack."
Everyone thinks that since ancient times, it has been extremely disadvantageous to form an array with your back against the enemy. If the enemy forces squeeze with infantry formation and drive some of our soldiers into the water, then the whole army will be cut into several pieces and it will be difficult to counterattack. Therefore, those who can fight against the water and win are all famous people who can be remembered in history books.
And using this formation as bait is even more unwise. The leader is the courage of an army, and when the general dies, the army will be in chaos. Therefore, once there is a battle, the enemy army will definitely attack with all its strength, with various units attacking one unit in turn. No matter how good the unit is in fighting, it is often difficult to resist, resulting in the death or capture of one general and the collapse of the entire army.
Liu Bei explained: "Our army has elite soldiers and brave generals, and we have far more food and fodder than the enemy. If we are not at a slight disadvantage, the traitor army will not be determined to fight. When the traitor army comes to fight, attack us with all your strength." At this moment, surprise troops can suddenly be sent out on both wings to destroy the elites. Once the elites are lost, the bandit army will be frightened and defeated."
However, these words could not persuade everyone. Fa Zheng also advised: "Ming Gong, since there is a perfect law in the world, why should we abandon the superior and seek the inferior? Now the rebel army is besieged from the north to the south. As long as our army moves steadily towards To the east, move slowly, and the two states will be captured sooner or later."
Liu Bei remained silent, and the atmosphere in the military tent was slightly tense for a while. After all, there was persistence in Liu Bei's eyes, which showed his true intention: he still wanted to fight against the enemy.
Everyone finally looked at Xu Shu. He was the long history of the Ba family and a disciple of Chen Chong. Therefore, his opinion is very important. If he persuades Liu Bei, Liu Bei will not be able to disobey him. Unexpectedly, Xu Shu actually supported it and said: "The world has been in turmoil for several years. If the thieves cannot be quelled early, the north and the south may not be able to return home. Although Ming Gong's strategy is risky, it still has a 60% chance of winning. If we plan carefully, we can achieve 70% success." point."
With Xu Shu's support, Liu Bei was overjoyed and said with a smile: "Seven points is enough."
"It's just that it's not necessary to form a battle array." Xu Shu said: "Ming Gong can build a fort along the water. When the bandit army comes to attack, there will be a fort as a base, and the battle array will not be easily overwhelmed. Naturally, there is no need to worry about being breached in a hurry. ”
Liu Bei hesitated after hearing this, and asked, "But if this happens, will the bandit army still come to fight?"
"Why did Ming Gong forget? You have sent a letter to General Zuo and General Zhennan, asking them to go south to cut off the return of the traitor army!"
"It's just news. Send it to Mengde. Waiting for them to lead their army south, it may take a month. When they are not halfway there, they may abandon this place and sit in the city."
Xu Shu smiled and said, "But the moth thief doesn't know."
Liu Bei said "Ah", and then heard Xu Shu say: "Don't you hear the bluff and make something out of nothing? Our army can send a cavalry army, under the name of Cao Shijun, to surprise Lanling in the East China Sea at night. Now, The main force of the rebel army is here, so Lanling must be empty. If it is best to capture it, our army will cut off the enemy's return route in advance. Even if they cannot capture it, the rebel army will think that Cao Shijun has arrived when they see the flag. Panicked, the only choice was whether to withdraw or fight."
"It's just that the bandit army must have hastily to withdraw like this. Ming Gong leads the knights to pursue it in large numbers, and there will be many gains. If the bandit army comes to fight, it will fall into our army's trap. Our army will be in an invincible position."
After hearing what Xu Shu said, everyone present was impressed, and Liu Bei couldn't help but admire: "Yuan Zhi is really my think tank and advisor!"
So he arranged it according to Xu Shu's instructions and ordered each tribe to build forts along the river. On the 26th, when the camp was slightly completed, Liu Bei ordered Zhang Fei to lead 3,000 knights to attack Lanling at night.
That evening, Zhang Fei had just set out when a sudden autumn and winter rain fell on Qilu. Looking at the Sishui River in the distance, in the darkness, the cold smoke and mist cover it like a veil. The geese and gulls that were originally whining suddenly disappeared without a trace, leaving only the endless gray-yellow reeds by the water, swaying in the drizzle.
In the camp of the Qi and Han troops, the humidity was overwhelming. Although they all brought winter clothes, the cold that penetrated their bones was unstoppable, and many soldiers were so frozen that they could not sleep. The next day, the rain was still falling, and due to lack of food, many soldiers fell ill. Guan Hai heard that the Han army was continuously building camps along the Si River, and he could no longer bear it, so he summoned the generals to discuss the matter.
During the meeting, both Dugu Qubei and Shi Taoqiuxiu, the governor of the Great Sima Palace, were ill and could not come. Hearing the raindrops hitting the tent made people feel uneasy.
Only Teng Dan, the military advisor of the Grand Sima Prefecture, did not look sad when he was offering wine. He suggested: "We are not the only ones who are troubled by this kind of weather. The enemy has built camps along the water and is obviously transporting grain and fodder for follow-up. We should take advantage of the enemy's The military camp is not strong. If we lead the army to attack the camp on this rainy night, the puppet government will be unprepared and they will be able to attack it with a single blow."
Guan Hai heard this and agreed. However, the generals were hesitant, especially the two Baibo coaches, Han Siam and Yang Feng, who objected. They said that in a fierce battle late at night, the outcome was unpredictable. After all, the enemy had strongholds and it was not easy to defeat them. It was difficult to decide the opinions of the people, so Guan Hai couldn't help but hesitate. So another day passed.
After dawn on the third day, the rain stopped. Although the sky did not clear up, it was still obscured by clouds. But now that the rain had stopped, the moisture gradually weakened, and the earth became somewhat alive.
At Shenshi, the Chinese army sent an order, and the captains and sergeants gathered in the camp to wait for the order. They were not allowed to move around without permission in the camp, and all military equipment, armor and horses were checked and kept in reserve. After hearing this, the sergeants secretly discussed that the Chinese army had never prepared for war before, so why did it suddenly make up its mind? Moreover, the tone of the messenger who conveyed the order was quite serious. It seemed that he was ready to complete the battle. Could it be that something had happened?
Some people who know some secrets said that they heard that there was a vanguard of the Han army in the east, not far from Lanling. After learning about it, the officers and soldiers from all departments felt nervous as they faced a powerful enemy. They all said: If this is the case, we really have to fight. For the first time, the Japanese army had three meals, including meat, but this further confirmed their suspicion that most of them could not sleep.
In fact, Lanling had indeed been captured by Zhang Fei. Just to prevent the morale of the army from being chaotic, Guan Haicai only said that there were Han troops. In the middle of the night, Guan Hai summoned the generals again for discussion. All the generals knew that they were in a desperate situation and had no choice but to fight, and they no longer held any objections. There was silence in the camp. At this point, Guan Hai hesitated again. He asked an old Fu Zhu who had joined the religion in his early years to come out and said to him: "We will fight as a whole country. I hope God and Huang Tian will show us the outcome! Regardless of success or failure, we will all It’s as sweet as sugar.”
Lao Fu Zhu respected the order, and asked people to bring him a piece of paper and a book of changes, and bowed to the sky. After praying, he used the lot to divine the hexagrams. In order, we get: yin, yin, yin, yang, yin and yang, that is, the first six, sixty-two, sixty-three, ninety-four, sixty-five, and upper nine, a total of six lines. Fu Zhu said: "This is the hexagram of Jin where Kun is at the bottom and is on the ground. Fire is on the ground." After saying this, he looked up the Book of Changes to find the lines. After reading, he couldn't help but look happy. He cleared his throat and said loudly: "This is auspicious." The hexagram "Jin" means advancement and ascension. The line says 'Jin. Jin means that the light comes out of the ground, and it is as smooth and beautiful as the Ming Dynasty!'"
Seeing that everyone was puzzled, he explained: "Kun is the earth, and Li is disaster. When Kun is below and Li is above, the sun rises from the ground, crosses the earth and flies into the sky, which means to encourage progress. Sixty-five means changing Yao, and Yao Ci It is said, 'Repent and die, don't be sorry for gains and losses, go forward with good luck and no disadvantages!', that is to say, if there are no gains and losses to regret, moving forward will be good luck, and no matter where you go, there will be no disadvantages!"
At this point, Guan Hai waved his hand to interrupt him and said: "You are bound to win if you move forward, don't worry, so as not to miss the opportunity, right?" Fu Zhu nodded in agreement. Guan Hai was overjoyed and said to the generals: "It seems that God's will is still waiting for us, so what are we waiting for?" He selected about 20,000 elite cavalry and 40,000 horses from all the armies to be the vanguard to ascend the Han camp in Surabaya. The rest of the people on foot and on horseback then responded.
Wait until all the generals and staff accompanying him are gathered. Guan Hai slowly walked out of the tent and found that the sky was already turning hazy and white. He unconsciously stamped his feet and sighed: "If we leave at this time, wouldn't it be daybreak when we reach the edge of the camp? It's too late. I have to give the order. Temporarily relax the law and rest.”
Another day passed like this, and at Shen Shi the next day, the whole army was ordered to eat and rest. Just after Hai hour, the vanguard cavalry selected yesterday had already begun to form the team. Guan Hai came out of the camp wearing Mingguang armor painted black. In addition to dozens of trusted horsemen, he also brought with him a dozen strong pack horses, led by Cang Tou. These were immediately bundled with heavy packages, containing gold, silver, silk and other objects, which he had brought out from Linzi to reward the soldiers before the battle.
"My Iceberg Beauty Wife"
There were no stars or moon in the sky under thick clouds late at night, the surrounding areas were pitch black, and the air was cold and crisp. In the dark night, Liu Bei's flying tiger flag fluttered in the wind, baring its teeth and claws in the wind that no one could see.
The Battle of Surabaya began.
