Sima Yi led his troops to surprise the prime minister, which really exceeded the Wu people's expectations. Just as Sima Yi had predicted, the Wu people thought that after the heavy rain, the Han army would have to wait until at least the Mid-Autumn Festival in August before launching operations, and they were not wary of splitting up troops to attack. In addition, Sima Yi's march route was too unexpected, and there were no mistakes along the way. This resulted in When he appeared at the gate of the city, it was like a divine soldier descending from heaven. The Wu people guarding the city were devastated and had no intention of fighting. However, in just over an hour, Sima Yi captured and beheaded the guard Shi Zong and captured Xia Xiang City.
After the city was broken, Sima Yi beheaded and killed all the two thousand Wu remnants in the city, and built a Jingguan on the edge of the city. At the same time, on the pretext of defending the city, the people in the city were ordered to keep food for one day, and the rest were handed over, and then they were all sent out of the city. As for the gold and silver obtained in the city, he kept nothing secret and distributed them all to his soldiers. But in just one day, he completely established his foothold in Xiaxiang. ..net
Privately distributing gold and silver, killing prisoners, and demobilizing civilians were all violations of Han military laws and regulations. Therefore, the chief secretary Jiang Ji felt uneasy and asked him how he planned to explain it to Liu Xie. Sima Yi replied: "We went deep into the enemy's territory and crossed the Surabaya River, but the Wu army arrived at dawn and dusk. It can be said that we are in a desperate situation. Since it is an extraordinary situation, we must use extraordinary methods. This is the principle of using troops. Yes, why should Zitong be persistent? Besides, although I broke the law, I am not self-absorbed and my actions are clear, so why should I fear what others say? If Your Majesty takes the blame after the war, I will bear the full responsibility, so you don’t have to worry."
After that, he ordered Sima Fu to lead a thousand cavalry out of the city for a cruise. They raised flags along the road to demonstrate, hunting down the Soochow cavalry traveling by the Huaihe River, or storming the Wu people hoarded in the docks outside the city. They raided all the way, and the Wu people collapsed at the first touch and fled in all directions. The news that Xiang Xiang had been captured by the Han army spread quickly throughout Huainan and Huaibei like a fire starting a prairie fire.
At this time, the main general guarding Xuzhou was still Yuan Xi. Sun Quan, with Liu Ye and Lu Ji as the military governors, led a total of more than 40,000 troops to garrison Xuzhou. Several people were originally stationed in Pengcheng, Xiapi and Lanling. After learning the news of the fall of Xiaxiang, they quickly led them to Xiapi to discuss matters together.
Although Lu Ji was a famous scholar in Wu County and a contemporary Confucian, he had never experienced a war. Therefore, after learning the news that the lower minister had been defeated, he was already timid even before the battle. He directly asked Yuan Xi: "The lower reaches are blocked. The lord's army may not be able to come to the rescue, and most of the bandit army has already moved out. With this coming and going, our army is already in danger. Do we want to withdraw to Huainan first to join the lord?"
When Liu Ye heard this, he raised his eyebrows and immediately looked at Yuan Xi's expression. His face was indeed as gloomy as rain. Before he could get angry, Liu Ye objected first and said: "Why should I panic? Although the traitor army defeated the prime minister, it was just a surprise attack on me. If they can be so invisible, there must not be many people coming, and there must be no navy troops. Now is the time." While he is still on a weak footing, I quickly mobilize my troops to break the city. As long as I can recapture the city, I will take the initiative. How can I abandon the territory thousands of miles away without even fighting a battle? If the news reaches the lord, I am afraid he will also be disappointed with us. ah!"
After listening to Liu Ye's words, Yuan Xi's face immediately changed and he said loudly: "What Zi Yang said is deeply in my heart." He prepared to leave the camp to mobilize troops, but was quickly stopped by Liu Ye, who asked: "I haven't asked the envoy yet. Now that I'm here, how do you plan to defeat the enemy?"
Yuan Xi was impatient and said hastily: "I have been in Xuzhou for many years, and all the people in every city have my old friends. Now I lead three thousand cavalry in front, and you lead five thousand naval forces behind. I will cut off their return route and attack by land and water." , if we activate the internal response in the city, how can we fail to defeat it?"
Liu Yeze said: "Everything will be established if you are prepared, and if you are not prepared, it will be destroyed. If the city cannot be conquered, what will you do?"
Yuan Xi said angrily: "If we can't break the city, I will lead my own son and fight to the death with the traitor. Why should Ziyang say more?" He had fought many battles with the Han army in the Eastern Dynasty. At this time, although he was temporarily attached to Sun Quan , but Yuan Xi also felt disgusted from the bottom of his heart that the Wu people had hesitated to move forward several times before. Therefore, he did not want to talk to Liu Ye anymore, so he called his guards to report his armor, and then went directly to the city camp, leaving only Liu Ye and Lu Ji looking at each other.
Most of the soldiers in Xuzhou were Yuan Xi's old troops, so Liu Ye, the governor, was just a name in vain. He had no choice but to give Lu Ji a few words to tell him to hold on in the city, and he also led his men to follow him. Behind Yuan Xi. At noon that day, they ordered all their troops and horses to move down the Si River. Before setting off, Yuan Xi had a better tone towards Liu Ye. He said: "Back then, the fourth generation and the third prince of my family were famous in the world. Yingchuan Chen and Yingchuan Xun were just lackeys of my family. Even the governor of Zhou was born
I am three points inferior to me, but now the son of Liu Bei's family is allowed to dominate the world. The injustice of the world is evident. I have long lost the will to compete in the world, but I don’t want to be a timid person! "
Liu Ye responded with a promise on the side, but couldn't help but think in his heart, how can the truth in this world be explained by family background? It is normal for family fortunes to rise and fall, and for heroes to emerge in large numbers. I was born into an imperial family. What if a hundred years ago, my family background would not be a hundred times more noble than yours? Of course, these words would not be spoken.
So Wu's army advanced by land and water. Xiapi and Xiaxiang are less than eighty miles apart. They set out at noon and before dark, they saw Xiaxiang City from a distance.
In Yuan Xi's expectation, it was only two days before the city was broken, and there were originally tens of thousands of civilians and defenders. The Han troops who came to seize the city in a hurry and maintain order in the city were probably still in the city. Rest and recuperate. Under such circumstances, there may be many loopholes in the city defense. However, the current situation was beyond his expectation. Looking from a distance, he could see the bright lights on the lower phase city wall. He could clearly see the patrols going back and forth during the period, and he could also see that the garrison soldiers were still building wooden towers. Even if they saw Wu people attacking from a distance, they remained in order and did not waver at all. Upon seeing this, Liu Ye quickly ordered all the ministries to light more torches to create the illusion of strength in numbers, and then sent a small team of troops to investigate the situation below the city.
After waiting for less than two moments, the scouts sent hurriedly returned and reported to Liu Ye with a pale face that a castle made of more than a thousand heads had been erected about ten battles north of the city. Observe, the death state is hideous and terrifying, and due to the dampness and heat of the ground, there are mosquitoes around the head, maggots are rampant, and the stench around is unbearable. Although the Wu scouts had been on the battlefield for a long time, they had never seen such a cruel scene. They couldn't help but lose control, their faces turned pale, and they could only take a few glances before returning to life.
Liu Ye felt the hair on his body stand up when he heard this, and said in horror: "The Bei bandits have always regarded themselves as benevolent and righteous, but they actually used such cruel methods! Can you see the flag clearly and know who the enemy general is?"
"There are two kinds of flags flying on the city, one is a crow flag with a red background, and one has the word "Sima" written on it. It must be Sima Yi, the upstart of the Northern invaders."
After Yuan Xi learned about it, he laughed repeatedly and said: "The villain who seeks glory can rise to great heights wherever he goes! He does not sit in the court and practice weapons, but comes to show off weapons on the battlefield. He is really looking for death!" While laughing, he controlled Chang Yang, but his eyes narrowed, obviously hating Sima Yi. He turned to Liu Ye and said, "In the battle at Xindu, it was Sima Yi who betrayed his enemy and sought glory, which led to the marshal's defeat. Since we collided today, I will avenge the marshal!"
"Now that his city is entrenched, how can he fight with us?" Liu Ye looked around and worried: "Now our army has been galloping for half a day and has not rested, and the opponent's foundation is already entrenched. The hope of breaking the city is really slim, so why not We set up camp on the ground and sent envoys to ask for reinforcements from our lord. It won’t be too late to besiege the city and fight again.”
However, Yuan Xi was stubborn and insisted: "I have my own way to force him out of the city." He immediately sent his personal guards to the city to scold him. The content of the scolding was quite straightforward. He first loudly declared that Sima Yi had turned his back on the Lord to seek glory and made a mockery of the two countries. To accuse Liu Xie of being blind-sighted and appointing ministers without discipline is to say that the emperor and his ministers are in harmony with each other, which is a big joke in the world.
As expected, the Han army was furious at the humiliation of their commander-in-chief, Junfu. Within a few moments, the city gates were opened, and the Han army inside came out in formation with flags and torches. Yuan Xi laughed when he saw this and said to Liu Ye: "The more you lack something, the less willing you are to hear others scold you. Zi Yang, look, aren't you going to die now?" He said confidently: "Now I will defeat him in one fell swoop while his formation is still in full swing."
The drums in the army sounded like muffled thunder, and Xuzhou soldiers stepped loudly in the darkness, kicking up clouds of flying dust in the moonlit night, and soon created a hazy gray fog between the sky and the earth. Yuan Xi led seven hundred cavalry in the vanguard, gradually pulling his formation into a cone shape with a narrow front and a wide back. He planned to end the war with a single charge.
It was night at this time, and the Han army's formation was very slow to adjust. Just when Yuan Xi attacked, the archers had no time to release arrows in the front line. The galloping horses nimbly penetrated the gaps between the Han troops, and then rushed out of the enemy's line unscathed. Almost nine out of seven hundred cavalry reached the front and back of the Han troops in this way. And as long as they turn their horses around and fight back, they can completely defeat the Han army's formation like a hammer and anvil.
In order to maintain the formation, Yuan Xi hovered in place for a while, but amid the commotion
He suddenly discovered that not far away was the Jingguan built by the Han army. While the heads of the old troops were being piled up, he felt depressed and resentful. He encouraged his subordinates and said, "Today I kill the thieves and break the city, and I will repay them tenfold!"
However, while he was talking, he heard a thunderous rumble from the south, and a cloud of gray dust rose in the sky, but the source was a dark dense forest.
Is there someone in the south? Yuan Xi had not been suspicious for a long time, but the reinforcements of the Han army that had been ambushing in the south for a long time had already arrived in front of him. Only then did the Wu people realize that the two sides were so close. These people were ambush in the dense forest hundreds of steps away from the city gate. This was almost within arm's reach in the war. However, due to the sight of the capital below the city, the scouts were frightened and hurriedly withdrew without taking a closer look, which led to Yuan Xi making a fatal misjudgment.
This ambush appeared like a ghost, barely causing any ripples on the battlefield, and surrounded the Wu cavalry who were trapped in a tight siege. Then, they lowered their swords and stabbed them randomly with their long spears, quickly killing them all. Liu Ye, who was facing the enemy, sensed something was wrong and immediately led most of his troops to withdraw. Sima Yi took advantage of the victory and pursued him for more than thirty miles, defeating and capturing more than 4,000 people. Sima Yi did not keep any of the people he had obtained. He continued to behead them and built a tower with human heads next to the original Jingguan. As for Xuzhou Mu Yuan Xi, his head was also sent to Suiyang with a sealed letter.
