Although last year's Huaibei War was a complete victory, scholars who knew the government knew it. In Zhuge Liang's original strategy to pacify Wu, taking back Huaibei was only the first step to pacify Wu, while conquering Huainan was the top priority. Last year, 210,000 troops were mobilized to pacify Huaibei. Now the Emperor has mobilized troops again, but only 170,000 troops have been mobilized. It is really strange.
Judging from the topography, Huainan faces the Huai River to the north and the Jiang River to the south. In between, there are tributaries such as Xia River, Fei River, Shi River, and Ruxu River that communicate with each other, as well as lakes such as Shaopi and Chaohu. Therefore, even in winter, the distance between the tributaries The water level can still support the navigation of large ships, which can be said to be a natural battlefield for the Wu navy to roam freely. In the previous Battle of Huaibei, when the tide receded in autumn, the Wu people had to abandon their navy and lead a large army to fight the Han army on land. I am afraid it will never happen again.
In terms of timing, the use of troops this time is also open to question. After all, at the same time as the troops were being mobilized, the relocation of civilians was still going on in Xuzhou, Huaibei. As many as 200,000 Guanlong people are being moved to Langya and Xiapi counties under the responsibility of Pang Tong. The people's march stretched for hundreds of miles from Tongguan to Luoyang, consuming a lot of manpower and material resources from the court. It was precisely this that prevented Liu Xie from mobilizing more troops.
But even so, Liu Xie was still very determined to mobilize troops for war. In the Tai Pavilion, he discussed with the officials and analyzed the gains and losses of this battle. It is believed that although Huainan is covered with water networks, the area west of Feishui and east of Yangquan is still dominated by plains. The Han army only needs a navy to protect the flanks of the Han army in the Huai River, and then it can send a force first Cross the Huai River first to sweep the cities along the Huainan coast. Once successful, the cavalry can be sent across the plains to attack the heart of Wu. Wu's army will inevitably be in chaos and shrink its formation.
What's more important is that after the great victory, the morale of the Wu people was low and the morale of the army was in chaos. After all, the Sun family was originally a puppet dynasty, and all clans worked hard for it, all for the sake of wealth and honor. The imperial court took advantage of this opportunity to start a series of wars, so that it would not take any chances, and once again expressed its righteousness, it would recruit Wu people like the late emperor recruited Sima Yi, and it would be very possible to repeat the victory of Xindu.
As for Chen Chong's question after hearing this, why the army was divided into three parts that were not subordinate to each other, Liu Xie also thought deeply about this. It's not that he doesn't set up a coach, but that this battle is too special. According to Zhuge Liang's plan, once he wins, it will be a matter of course to conquer the world. Therefore, Liu Xie did not want any accidents to happen, nor did he want to stay away from the battlefield and hand over command to others. Therefore, after thinking about it, he planned to personally control the central army and win this decisive victory with his own hands.
In early July of the fifth year of Long'an (219), Liu Xie led the Third Division of Shanglin Army to leave Dongdu and temporarily resided in Xincai, waiting for the arrival of army ministries. Although the troops in this expedition were not as strong as last time, it can be said that all the famous generals came out. Except for Zhou Buyi and Guo Huai, there are many generals who have been famous in various mansions in the past. People such as Sun Zi, Wen Hui, Wang Ling, Lu Yu, Jiang Xu, Yang Qiu, Qu Sheng, Cen Guang, You Chu, Du Ji and others have all been ordered to command elite troops, no less than a few thousand. At the same time, Liu Xie promoted some newcomers, such as Wang Ping, Xin Chang, Dong Yun, Niu Jin, Hao Zhao, etc., who all stayed in the Chinese army as bodyguards. Liu Xie had high expectations for them and hoped that they could be recruited after this war. Promoted to the top ranks of the military. In addition, he also brought some surrendered generals and even entrusted them with important tasks. For example, Huang Quan was transferred to Handong to cooperate with the generals in Nanfu to command the Han navy. Li Dian and his son also joined the cavalry. , planning to participate in the war to sweep the cities in Huainan.
According to the secret intelligence of the Han army in Huainan, although the Wu army has nearly 300,000 troops nationwide, because the Jingzhou regiment led by Zhou Yu cannot act rashly, and the Jiaozhou regiment led by Lu Dai is still quelling the new rebellion, Sun Quan can The troops mobilized should only be the Huainan and Sanwu legions, about 150,000. Although the strength of the Han army seems to be comparable, the Han army is the state's refined government army, while the Wu people are still the generals themselves. In terms of training, the combat capabilities of the two are completely different. The last test conducted by the two armies in Haixi was a clear proof.
In mid-July, Huang Quan led all the naval forces of Nanfu to Fubo and joined the main army. The emperor sent the left governor Zhou Buyi and his generals to greet him. This was the first time for most of the Han army to see their own navy. They could not help but be amazed when they saw with their own eyes the sight of the boats and ships on the bank and the flags crossing the river. Naturally, they were more confident in the upcoming war. As a general, Zhou Buyi valued the order of the navy and the control of entry and exit. This reflected Huang Quan's ability in training troops. Therefore, he praised Huang Quan and said: "The return of a general is like the return of Cen Peng to his ancestors." , in the future, it will be the general’s work that will break Wu’s unification.”
Zhou Buyi was a popular figure in the court, and to be praised by him, Huang Quan naturally thanked him repeatedly. Although from this battle onwards, both of them were the commanders of the army, their statuses were worlds apart. Zhou Buyi had already been given the title of Grand Governor, which distanced him from the other generals in terms of title, and he was already a General of the Four Directions in terms of rank. It was only a matter of time before he became a Grand Duke General such as General of Chariots and Cavalry, General of Hussars. However, Huang Quan was still a miscellaneous general, and at the same time he was constrained by the military supervisors. He had to discuss everything with the generals, and it was probably unknown whether he would be able to lead an army alone after the war. Of course, Huang Quan had no dissatisfaction with this, and Liu Xie valued his caution in thinking twice before acting, so he entrusted all the navy in the country to him.
After the two exchanged a few words, Huang Quan suddenly asked Zhou Buyi, "Why don't you see your Majesty?" According to Liu Xie's habit, when the army gathered, he would definitely come to see it in person. Now Zhou Buyi was ordered to come to inspect on his behalf. Although It makes sense, but something must have happened.
Zhou Buyi saw that Huang Quan had seen the clues and said with a smile: "The general guessed it right. It was a letter from the palace saying that Queen Zhong was ill recently and was unwell. Your Majesty was very worried. The medical saint Zhang Zhongjing has passed away, and the other imperial doctors were not good enough." He is a mediocre person, so His Majesty is very anxious, and is sending people to recruit the miracle doctor Hua Tuo, but he has no intention of coming here at the moment."
Huang Quan immediately understood that the news of the queen's pregnancy had spread throughout the capital, and all the officials were celebrating. After all, the emperor got married several years ago, but nothing happened. Who will the Han Dynasty's legacy be passed on to in the future? Everyone secretly criticized this, but in February, the queen found out that she was pregnant, and these rumors gradually disappeared. But now that the queen is ill, it is normal for the emperor to be anxious about her. But now that His Majesty is personally conducting the expedition and commanding the entire army, he still harbors distracting thoughts. Will it affect his wartime command? Huang Quan was a little worried about this.
The next day, he met with Liu Xie along with the generals, and saw that Liu Xie was in high spirits and spoke calmly. As soon as they met, Liu Xie asked Huang Quan: "We found on the front line that the Wu thieves had thirty large boats. They said they were traveling across the river and were invincible. However, our army mostly had small boats such as fighting ships, stern boats, and green birds. We used small boats to attack large ones. We must If you want to win, the most important thing is to be flexible. Gong Heng has led my navy for half a year, what do you think of the officers and men in the boat?"
Huang Quan saw that he was very clear-cut and straight to the point as soon as he opened his mouth. He admired him very much and replied: "Don't worry, your majesty. Although I took over the navy for a short time, the soldiers have been preparing for war for a long time. Since General Wei moved to Nanyang, the Nanfu Navy has been practicing for ten years." It's like walking on flat ground when going to and from the Miao River, let alone the Huai River? The Huai River is no better than the big river. Buildings and boats can come and go at any time, but it is difficult to advance and retreat freely. Even if our army cannot win, it will not be defeated. It will definitely be able to follow your majesty's plan. Cover the flanks and protect the army."
When Liu Xie heard him mention Wei Yan, he smiled, then stopped, appearing not very satisfied. He ordered people to open the map and asked Huang Quan: "If our army wins this battle and you take advantage of the victory to chase into the Yangtze River, how will you deal with the Wu pirate navy?"
Huang Quan did not take the opportunity to boast about his talents, but said seriously: "Your Majesty, since this battle has not been won, we should not take words as a certainty. Otherwise, it will easily increase the arrogance of the army and give rise to the mentality of underestimating the enemy. The battlefield is ever-changing, and there will be very few dissatisfaction." Eighty-nine times, if we are disappointed and our military morale becomes decadent, the consequences will be disastrous."
Faced with Huang Quan's advice, Liu Xie smiled again, nodded slightly and said, "Gong Heng is right, but there is also a saying that everything will be done if you are prepared, and if you are not prepared, it will be ruined. Today is just a countermeasure in the account, and it will not be spread. among the soldiers.”
Huang Quan was already prepared for the emperor's anger, but unexpectedly he was met with gentle breeze and drizzle. This made him sigh in his heart. In the past few years, the emperor's Qi-nurturing skills have been different from what they used to be. It cannot be speculated based on usual experience. Huang Quan then said: "If the Wu pirate navy is not damaged at all in this battle, your majesty asking me to enter the river to set up a formation is tantamount to throwing myself into a trap. But if we can capture their buildings and ships, and then use the one or two surrendered troops as a guide, lead us If you are familiar with the hydrology of Jiangzuo, you may be able to advance and fight."
Liu Xie was not surprised. He put his palms together and said slowly: "Act according to our capabilities and not just for empty names. That's very good!" Then he said to Zhou Buyi: "Before, you said that the main thing is to drive away the Wu thieves now. Recruiting and surrendering is a supplement, but now it seems that it is better to fight a battle first and focus on recruiting and surrendering."
The meeting about the expedition was held from chen o'clock in the morning to noon. Huang Quan had been watching in the tent and found that each general actually had his own opinions. However, after speaking out, he was always dismissed by the emperor in a few words, even if he was as wise as Zhou Bu. There was nothing he could do about it, which resulted in the entire meeting being under the control of Liu Xie, with almost all matters decided by the emperor. By the time the meeting ended, the sun was already high in the sky. Seeing that it was getting late, Liu Xie left everyone in the tent to have lunch together. Three days later, they all set off and officially marched towards Huainan.
After Huang Quan returned to the navy, many old people from Shu came to talk to him and inquire about the emperor's latest arrangements. Huang Quan didn't talk much about this, but privately expressed his feelings to his friends about the emperor's character and talents. He said: "The talents of Qin Shihuang and Emperor Xiaowu are particularly outstanding. However, they are brave enough to judge heroes, wise enough to refuse advice, and eloquent enough." Are you really lucky?" The transcoding has been serious recently, which makes us more motivated and updates faster. Please use your little hand to exit the reading mode. Thanks
