On August 18th, fallen leaves had accumulated thickly in Sanfu Plain. Both sides of the Weishui River were green and yellow, and the smell of leaves and soil was everywhere. The last stranded migratory birds also began to fly south, and the reputation of the autumn cicada finally dissipated, leaving the sky and earth in a rare emptiness and silence, and not a single noise could be heard for a while.
At this time, a group of mighty soldiers passed through. They were all wearing leather armor, as if a river was flowing through the leafy ground. The chaotic footsteps did not stir up smoke and dust, but instead produced an itchy rustling sound. . When they passed through Maoling and Pingling, the tombs of the previous Han emperors, the people guarding the tombs asked them where they came from and were they going east too? The walking soldiers smiled and said, yes, they are the sons of Fufeng. After stationing in Chang'an for a while, they will go out with the general to attack Cao Cao.
On the north bank of the Wei River in front of them, elites from Jingzhao, Fengyi, Hedong, Hongnong, and Shangjun had gathered, and the team lined up from Anling to Gaoling. Under Chen Chong's arrangement, the Chang'an arsenal distributed newly made arrows and spears to them, and also brought thousands of good horses from Liangzhou Muyuan. Most of these horses were fed with wheat and beans and were fat. Now that he is fat, the knights are very happy. During these days, they often ride their mounts and run wildly in the mountains and fields.
By the time these county soldiers from Fufeng also joined the team, all the troops recruited from Guanzhong had arrived. When the news reached the court, the ministers inquired among themselves one after another, asking how many people had been recruited from Guanzhong this time. Those who knew the inside story replied that it was about 130,000, which caused a commotion.
Not long ago, the Bafu in Jinyang and the Dudufu in Henan came to report that the armies in both places were fully prepared, with a total of about 250,000 soldiers. Including the army in Guanzhong, the number was actually 380,000, far away. Far exceeding the previous estimate of 300,000 troops, Taichang Shen Tupan couldn't help but sigh: "It is beyond the imagination of predecessors that the country can be so prosperous." The ministers all disagreed, and then began to praise Liu and Chen for their virtuousness.
At this time, Liu Bei and Chen Chong were making final plans before the expedition in the palace. It is said that it is a plan, but in fact it has been intensively discussed since April this year. After many debates and arguments, it was finally completed in July. Although there have been major events such as Yuan Shao's assassination and Cao Cao's Beitou since then, the general situation has not changed and it is greatly beneficial to the Han army, so it is still available. At this time, it is nothing more than emphasizing the key points.
Generally speaking, this expedition can be summed up in one sentence: spread the net on three sides, use the slow to attack the fast, use the power to overwhelm the enemy, and destroy the tired eggs.
In the original plan, Chen Chong planned to advance on three sides. In his opinion, although Hebei is now unified, there are still quite a few deficiencies in defense. Yuan Shao took over a large number of Taihang Mountain passes from Zhang Yan, and then went north to the foot of Yan Mountain and formed an alliance with Wuhuan Xianbei. It can be said that most of the passes were isolated, but the two most important dangerous passes: Juyong Pass and Hu Pass were still in Bafu. in hand.
Huguan can break through the Taihang natural barrier, and Juyongguan can break through the Yanshan natural barrier. Therefore, Chen Chong planned to send a partial division in the west and north to directly attack the hinterland of Hebei. At the same time, with 300,000 troops as the main force, they crossed the Yellow River from Puyang Dong'a and entered Hebei. As a result, the Hebei rebels will be attacked from three sides. Even though they have many soldiers, they have to fall into a dilemma of being stretched thin.
Since three armies have looted and looted the territory, Hebei's people will inevitably be in turmoil and the city will be difficult to hold on to. Therefore, if the rebels want to win, they can only fight with the Han army, and the only option is to survive in death.
And what the enemy wants is what one does not want to do. The core of Chen Chong's strategy is to avoid fighting with the rebels. Although the army of more than 300,000 people consumed a huge amount of food, the rebels could not even support it. As long as the rebels don't fight when they ask for war, so that the rebels have no chance to take advantage of it, and then slowly advance, and use the tactics of soliciting benefits and inducements, over time, the rebels will inevitably be unable to support themselves, and it is inevitable that they will fall apart. The Han army wanted to hold out until more and more of the enemy troops surrendered, then they could take advantage of the situation and attack and defeat the enemy with one blow.
Nowadays, Cao Cao's influence in Beitou is both good and bad. The bad thing is that after Yuan Shao's death, the scene of the collapse of his old army did not appear. However, Cao Cao was a famous general and commanding Hebei at this time was probably more difficult to deal with than Yuan Shao. But the good thing is that Yanzhou rebelled in advance and was discovered by the court in time. Although Dongjun and Jibei are still resisting, the other counties have been recovered by Zhang Miao and Chen Palace, so there will no longer be worries. Chen Chong and Liu Bei shuddered at the thought of the sight of the Bafu army crossing the river and cutting off their retreat route for Cao Cao.
It was getting late, and preparations were still being made for the expedition ceremony at Wei Bei. Therefore, Liu Bei had already put on the armor used for the expedition. It only took about half an hour for him to go outside the city to boost morale.
Chen Chong also knew that he didn't have much time, so he mostly gave Liu Bei instructions.
He first said: "Although there are many sergeants in this expedition, the command is very difficult. You must not relax."
Liu Bei laughed and said: "I also know that Meng De is cunning and wise. How can I dare to be careless?"
Seeing that he didn't understand the point, Chen Chong couldn't help but sigh in his heart, and had to continue to warn: "I'm not talking about Meng De. Your nature is like a raging fire, and you can't be stimulated. You often act arbitrarily and ignore the overall situation. You can take risks in the battle between Ru River and Surabaya." , it’s also partly because the enemy is not cunning. When you leave the border this time, you should listen more to Yuan Nao and Xiao Nao’s opinions."
Seeing that he was speaking seriously, Liu Bei naturally restrained his joking and said solemnly: "Don't worry about me. After all, I still have Yunchang and the others around me. You should be more careful when you stay in Guanzhong! I listen. The Jing (Qian Hong) said that the emperor seems to be very unhappy in the palace!"
Chen Chong saw his angry expression and knew that the gap between Liu Bei and the emperor could no longer be bridged, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. He looked back and saw that the door of the room was closed, and then said slowly: "This is not a big deal. Even if you take away so many people, I will still control everything inside and outside the palace, south and north of Beijing. The only thing worth worrying about is Wudu." I don’t know Dong Cheng’s intentions. Therefore, I have transferred him to your army, so there is nothing to worry about in Kansai.”
When General Dong Cheng of Jianping was transferred to Chencang, Chen Chong did not have any expectations. I just hope that he can continue to blockade Wudu and gradually disintegrate the last remnants of Dong Zhuo. Unexpectedly, after Dong Cheng took office, he actually went against his usual conservative behavior and led his army to successfully attack Sanguan and Gudao. However, the rebels, who may have been exhausted, actually gave in step by step, giving up important places such as Hechi and Xiabian successively. , and finally retreated into Wenshan Mountain, seeming to merge with Baima Di.
This puzzled Chen Chong. He knew Dong Cheng was mediocre and Jia Xu was difficult to deal with. The smooth battle in Wudu made him realize that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out anything. Therefore, he chose to cut off the source of the strangeness directly: after regaining Wudu, Chen Chong transferred Dong Cheng's troops to the expedition team, and handed Wudu over to Lu Bu, asking him to continue to wipe out Dong Zhuo's remnants. He had a deep hatred for the Liang people, although his character Lighter, but also much more reliable.
"Ahem!" Liu Bei sighed heavily when he thought of so many involvements, but then he thought of something else. He leaned over and whispered to Chen Chong: "Xianhe told me privately that if it happens this time, it will be Ting Jian, what do you think about the timing of the title of king?" After Chen Chong heard this, he lowered his head and thought for two moments, and then said slowly: "Gaozu said that if there is no Liu family, there will be no king. Xuande, you can do it when you return to the army. We should first go to Peixian County to offer sacrifices to our ancestors and affirm our clan status. Such occupation is righteous, and after returning to Beijing in triumph, it is justifiable for the Bafu to raise this matter."
Liu Bei was overjoyed. He put his arm around Chen Chong's shoulders, patted his back and said, "Ting Jian, the love between you and me is beyond words even if I pour all my love into the world. I hope that your family and I can stay together forever."
It was already getting late, so Liu Bei said so, took his armor, and went to Weibei with Chen Chong to swear the oath.
The swearing-in was unusually loud. In addition to the nearly 30,000 soldiers who were paraded, the emperor, queen, princess, and court officials were also present to watch the ceremony. After the common people heard about it, they came uninvited, crowded several Wei Bridges, and pointed at the soldiers who were being reviewed. They hoped that in this way, they could satisfy their regret of not being able to visit the battlefield in person.
For the ceremony, a high platform was temporarily set up in the venue. The emperor and the ministers sat at the back, while Liu Bei stood at the front of the high platform. Chen Chong was sitting next to the emperor, the head of the ministers. He listened to the noise around him and looked at Liu Bei's military parade in the distance. Suddenly, he felt as if he was in another world.
He was already familiar with this scene. Almost every year he would send people off to fight at this time. But because he was so familiar, he had a vague doubt in his heart: Will this really be the last war? Will everything be so smooth? The struggle for power seemed endless, and even when he was not leading troops to fight, he felt a little tired inside.
He secretly thought in his heart: In the past, Zhang Liang abandoned Xiang Xiang and lived in seclusion. He often felt unreasonable, thought he was weak, and his ambition was easy to disappear. Only when I was in this position did I realize that the intrigues between people can really easily sap a person's fighting spirit. Perhaps after a while, he should find a student who can inherit the mantle, and after promulgating the new policy, hand over the administration of the government to him. In this way, I can live in the countryside and spend the rest of my life writing books.
Thinking of this, he lowered his head and looked at Xu Shu in the front stage, and saw his disciple looking solemnly at the troops below the stage. This made him feel a little satisfied. He thought again: Fortunately, I can be regarded as a successor. Thinking like this, time passed quickly. When all the soldiers started heading east and the horses began to neigh, Chen Chong regained his composure. He led the officials down the high platform and escorted Liu Bei to Lanchi.
There was no sun in the sky at this time, the blue water surface and withered yellow weeds spread toward the north, and the surrounding area was gray and dim. At this time, nearly a hundred monks in the newly built Bishamon Temple came over, wearing cassocks, chanting sutras and blessings to the Han army, wishing them victory in every battle like Bishamonten.
After Liu Bei heard that he had Buddhist qualities, he always supported the development of Buddhist temples. He also donated money to build the Bishamon Temple. But obviously he didn't believe it very much. Before leaving, he didn't stop reading scriptures. Instead, he touched the horse's back and said to Chen Chong with a smile: "Is there any poetry to send you during today's battle?"
Chen Chong thought for a while and read to him:
"Get on your horse and take Chu Gou with you, and ride through Quanzhou gracefully.
Xiaolai wants to serve the country, not to be a prince.
Thousands of miles of countryside are a dream, and the moon on three sides is a sorrow.
It is necessary to clear out the cunning prisoners as early as possible, and nothing will happen until autumn. "
Then Liu Bei and Chen Chong shook hands and said goodbye. Chen Chong watched him turn his horse's head and shake the reins. He suddenly remembered that in the first year of Yanxing, when he led the army for the first time, it seemed to be a similar scene. Liu Bei had obviously thought about it. He turned back and shouted to Chen Chong: "Wait for my victory report!" After saying that, he turned around and rode away. The group of people and horses threw eastward along the walking procession, and soon disappeared in the dim sky. The end of heaven and earth.
