The spring sun is like a bubble in the morning, which naturally dissipates in a short time, and then comes the scorching sun of summer. I don’t know why, but the summers in these years have always been particularly painful, especially for the Han army who was preparing to send troops to Xuzhou.
Since the beginning of summer in April, various armies mobilized by the state have been stationed in Suiyang one after another. Generals such as Guan Yu and Zhao Yun who arrived in Suiyang first, while taking inventory of supplies, continued to send emissaries and scouts to Xuzhou and Huainan to find out where the Wu people were in the two countries. The layout of the ground. Although they were four hundred miles apart, the lurking emissaries still had to report once a week, and the scouts had to investigate every three days. In two months, hundreds of horses were killed in the exchanges, and soon military information piled up in Suiyang.
The large-scale actions of the imperial court have also attracted the attention of the Wu people. Liu Ye, the governor of Xuzhou, sent people to investigate the two states of Yan and Henan. He first learned that a large amount of materials were transferred to Suiyang, and then a large army was stationed. He sensed something was wrong, and immediately tortured and plundered the people in Pengcheng, Xiapi and other places, searching for Got more than ten spies. All signs showed that Ji Hanjun was about to launch a war against Jiangzuo, so he quickly reported to Sun Quan. In May, Sun Quan led a group of shogunate officials to settle in Shouchun with great fanfare, and then implemented strict martial law on both sides of the Huaihe River, ordering all counties to close the city to defend themselves, and all the people were forcibly recruited into the army, under the special management of Diannong Xiaowei. At this point, both armies have entered a wartime state.
But unfortunately, the weather seemed to be tilting towards the Wu people. In June, a sudden burst of wind and rain suddenly came around Pengcheng, just like a wave rolling into Pengcheng. It rained for several days in a row, but there was no sign of stopping. The surrounding water conditions also changed accordingly, and the water level rose greatly. Not only the warships took the opportunity to enter Xuzhou, but even two large ships also took advantage of the opportunity to enter the Surabaya area and docked in the south of Xiapi City.
This sudden heavy rain made Guan Yu very troublesome. After all, this not only meant that the ebb of the autumn water was greatly delayed, shortening the time for the Han army to attack the city, but also the roads became unfavorable for cavalry. Of course, more importantly, it affects the morale of the army. Among all kinds of weather, rain and snow are the most discouraging and can easily breed plague. Therefore, during these days, Guan Yu often led his personal guards to inspect each camp to maintain the morale and discipline of the three armies.
It rained for a full month, until early July, and it wasn't until the Chinese Valentine's Day that the sky finally cleared up. The long-lost sunshine shone down, and the puddles on the ground suddenly shone like stars. The air was filled with the fresh fragrance of water, which made people feel like drinking sweet wine. At this time, Liu Xie's envoy had also arrived. He came through mud and water. When he arrived in Suiyang, his legs and feet were covered with mud spots, and the raincoat he had taken off was tied to the horse's back and was still wet. Water dripping down.
The envoy rested for a while in the camp. When he saw Guan Yu, he immediately asked: "Your Majesty is ready to move. When will the marshal prepare to go out?" This was what Liu Xie had discussed with Guan Yu in advance. Once Guan Yu decided to fight, On that day, Liu Xie led his troops out to suppress Suiyang. Guan Yu pondered for a moment, thinking that the heavy rain would stop and it would often take twenty days for the tide to recede, but the emperor obviously couldn't wait that long, so he replied: "Well, go and tell your Majesty that the road will be dry in ten days." If so, I will lead the army eastward."
After seeing off the envoy, Guan Yu held a military meeting in the army and talked about the departure with all the generals. He said: "Although there are unforeseen circumstances in the sky, we have been wasting our time here. But the government and the public are full of expectations, and the people are Yuan Yuan. I can't help but wait here. Now that the troops and horses are all gathered, and the food is in the mountains, there is no need to worry about the future. All you have to do is march on the march and make meritorious service on the battlefield. In the future, you will talk and laugh with your descendants, and your reputation will last for generations. It will surely become a good story!"
When all the generals heard this, they all agreed. Only Sima Yi looked suspicious. When the meeting was over, he left and returned from the crowd and asked Guan Yu for advice: "Marshal, what should be the original plan for sending troops at this time?"
It turned out that before this, Guan Yu and his generals discussed the strategy of the Eastern Expedition and proposed a surprise attack. He thought that now that the army was gathering in Suiyang, there must be Wu scouts monitoring it, so as to judge the specific movements of the Han army. Therefore, the army can use this as a misdirection to delay the front, and send another surprise force to the north to suddenly go south from Langya and Donghai areas, capture Haixi, Huaifu and other places, and make a decision to cut off the Wu people's return path. This caused the Wu people to be forced forward and backward, and the military morale was in chaos. However, the heavy rain in summer and autumn not only delayed the attack time, but also caused the plan to lose the conditions. Therefore, Guan Yu had the idea of giving up and made the army prepare to set off directly.
Guan Yu had been in contact with Sima Yi for several months and knew that he was restrained and dared to be the first. He couldn't help asking: "With Zhongda's wisdom, he must know what I am thinking, so why ask knowingly? Now that the opportunity to fight has been lost, you still want to lead the troops." Attack the Wu people?"
Sima Yi nodded and said: "If the marshal does not give up, Yi is willing to take on this important task."
"I'm afraid it's too late. It takes hundreds of miles to go from Suiyang to Zhangwu. You are setting off today, and you are not walking fast on the road. If you bump into a scout, you may be a sheep in a tiger's mouth!"
Sima Yi smiled and said: "Is there anything normal about using troops? The important thing is to adapt to the situation and adapt to the situation. Although we cannot attack from Qingzhou, the heavy rain will mean that the Wu people will not be on guard. I will lead the troops from the south and go to Qi. County and Fuli area, suddenly crossed Surabaya to attack Xiang Xiang. As long as the city is captured, Pengcheng and Xiapi upstream will also be in panic. I only need to hold on for a few days. Once the marshal's army arrives, the Wu people will have no choice but to come out. Field battle, isn’t this also in line with the marshal’s vision?”
Guan Yu thought for a moment, then quickly made up his mind and asked, "How many people does Zhongda need?"
Sima Yi immediately replied: "Xiang Xiaocheng, I will go in front with five thousand cavalry and ten days of dry food. The marshal will choose another person to send two thousand cavalry and one month's food to follow behind to help. Yi can issue a military order and we will definitely conquer it. "
That night, Sima Yi led the vanguard and quietly left the Suiyang camp. In order to avoid prying from the Wu scouts, they did not light a fire that night, but slowly groped out from the side door by moonlight. Fortunately, after the heavy rain, the weather was clear and there was no clouds. Clouds, only a pure full moon hanging in the sky. The ripple-like moonlight shines down, and even some people who are night blind can see their own shadows at this time. Before Sima Yi set out, he had strictly ordered his subordinates to keep silent, so when he set out, there was only the sound of their rustling footsteps on the ground, and most of the rest of the Han soldiers were still sleeping.
The march route chosen by Sima Yi was actually very bold. He almost shuttled directly from the Huaibei Plain to the foot of Surabaya. It was almost unimaginable to reach Surabaya quietly during the Guanghe era. However, after years of war and cruel plundering of the population, these formerly densely populated areas are now overgrown with thorns and desolate forests. Except for a few official roads that have been repaired, most of the land is deserted. Sima Yi He planned to travel through it and reach the heart of the Wu people.
Even so, the accompanying soldiers were still frightened. The chief secretary, Jiang Ji, asked Sima Yi if he wanted to travel day and night to hide his traces. But Sima Yi easily denied it, and he replied: "Walking in the wilderness has greatly slowed down our army. How can we still stay in the dark at night? You can march with me and focus on progress. There is no need." Worry about other things.”
In fact, in April and May, Sima Yi already had a rough march plan in mind, and sent his trusted aides to inspect the route along the way, intending to propose changes to the plan to the emperor before the war began, in order to build his reputation. The unexpected heavy rain saved him a lot of trouble, allowing him to directly lead his troops to attack. So at this time, Sima Yi's heart was as solid as stone, and like an arrow leaving the string, no one could make him change his mind.
The distance between Suiyang and Xuzhou is only four hundred miles, but since Sima Yi took a detour to the south and marched in dense forests, the difficulty was no less than that of marching thousands of miles. Sima Yi then ordered his younger brother Sima Fu to lead the army in the front, marching hundreds of miles a day, while he supervised the formation in the rear to ensure that no soldiers fell behind or lost their way. Proud of Sima Yi's thorough plan, within seven days, this unexpected force successfully marched 800 miles and arrived at the west bank of Surabaya. This place is less than thirty miles away from Xiangxiang, and Wu Ren is still completely unconscious.
The location for crossing the river was also carefully chosen by Sima Yi. There was a forest on the west bank of the water, and there was a shoal at the ferry. If you rode a horse into the water from here, the water depth would just reach the horse's belly. The open terrain on the other side is conducive to rapid advance. The only thing that needs to be careful is the rangers sent by the Wu people to patrol and reconnaissance nearby. However, because Sun Quan's army is still in the Huainan area of Shouchun, there are actually not many cavalry in Xuzhou, and there is no news of the Han army's invasion, so generally there are Wu activities on the other side of Surabaya only at a few hours of the day. .
Sima Yi set the time to cross the river for the next morning. The river was covered with fog in the early morning, which was perfect for a surprise attack. The night before, Sima Yi and his subordinates joked: "There is a bird in Jianggao. It has not flown for three years and has not sounded for three years. What kind of bird is it?" This is an allusion to King Zhuang of Chu, but Sima Fu and others laughed and said they did not know. .
Sima Yi replied to himself: "This is a phoenix. It will soar into the sky when it flies, and it will be amazing when it makes a song! You are lucky enough to see the phoenix flying for nine days tomorrow!" Then he undressed and fell asleep in the forest leaves, and it didn't take long. Then he snored like thunder. Many of the generals were originally nervous, but when they saw that he was so calm and calm, able to lie down before the battle, they all admired him deeply and sighed to themselves.
Soon after the moon set and dawn dawned, Sima Yi led a group of athletes to cross the river first. After about a thousand riders crossed the river, he didn't waste any time and directly took advantage of the morning fog to explore deeply to the northeast. The morning fog filled the air and everything was quiet. After groping for a while, they unknowingly saw the hazy outline of Xiaxiang City. Under the mist, the Wu guards under the city had just lifted the curfew and were busy handing over to the next group of guards, without any sense of the approaching crisis.
Sima Yi knew that the opportunity was too good to miss and immediately ordered his followers to shoot thunder arrows above their heads. The sound of sharp arrows piercing the air was as harsh as cracking silk, followed by a thunderous shout from the vanguard. Knowing that it was an order to attack, the Han cavalry immediately galloped along with the shadows in front of them. Horse hooves are like drums, bows and arrows are like hammers. To the people of Wu, these Han cavalry are like ghost soldiers born out of thin air. They suddenly come rolling in with thousands of thunderbolts and break through the door in an instant, accompanied by countless sharp blades and gold and iron. phantom.
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Set a small goal first, such as remembering in 1 second: Shukeju
