Three hundred miles west of Tancheng and two hundred miles south of Lanling County, the flags on the official road between Donghai County and Pengcheng County were facing the wind, and smoke and dust suddenly rose.
Looking closer, more than thousands of elite cavalry with bright flags and horses galloping from east to west.
Among them, the one who immediately stepped forward was about 20 years old, with a fair face, no beard, and clear-cut features.
There was a creaking sound under his waist, which turned out to be a long sword holding a black cowhide case that was shaking.
"Stop, give the order to assemble the army."
The general dismounted, and the more than a thousand men and horses behind him also reined in their horses and stopped. The deputy general stepped forward to wait for orders.
"Zheng Lue, order your troops to quickly surround Wuyuan County, and you are not allowed to let anyone go!"
"promise!"
The general who led the large group of troops to attack at starry night was Xu Zongwen, the cavalry captain of the Jin army.
Pengcheng, formerly known as Pengcheng Kingdom, was one of the feudal vassal fiefdoms of Emperor Wu of the Sima clan like Xiapi. It belonged to the settlement of Sima Quan, King of Pengcheng. Later, Jiehu Shile went south to Xuzhou and successively attacked Pengcheng, Xiapi and Linhuai. , the three Sima vassal states were destroyed one after another, and they were abolished and turned into counties.
Pengcheng County covers seven counties: Pengcheng, Wuyuan, Fuyang, Luxian, Liuxian, Wuxian, and Guangqi. It borders Xiapi County to the south, Donghai County to the east, Lanling County to the north, and Lu County and Pei County of Yuzhou to the west. The county, plus Pengcheng, is also the seat of Xuzhou, bordering Surabaya to the west, controlling the seven counties of Xuzhou to the east, taking Yuzhou to the west, spying on Yanzhou and Qingzhou to the north, and crossing the Huaihe River to the south to attack Yangzhou!
Because of its unique geographical environment and excellent strategic location, Pengcheng is destined to be a battleground for military strategists!
At the end of Qin Dynasty, Pengcheng was the main battlefield between Chu and Han.
At that time, Pengcheng was the capital of Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu. Emperor Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty united with the 560,000 troops of the princes and countries to attack Pengcheng. Soon after, he was beaten to pieces by Xiang Yu's tens of thousands of light cavalry. In order to escape, he even ignored his children and cruelly killed his eldest son Liu Ying. He and his eldest daughter, Princess Lu Yuan, kicked off the carriage one by one, letting the groom Xia Houying take him to escape alone, and then he saved his life...
At the end of the Han Dynasty (Eastern Han Dynasty), Xuzhou became the place where the princes competed for four battles. It was successively occupied by Tao Qian, Liu Bei, Lu Bu, and Cao Cao, and changed hands several times. The story is so exciting that it lasted for three days. I couldn’t stop talking about it for three nights!
Therefore, if you want to capture Xuzhou, you must first capture Pengcheng!
Xu Zongwen understood this well. He gathered troops and horses in Tancheng and personally led 5,000 elite cavalry to bypass Lanling and fight down Xiangben County, the nearest county to Tancheng. Xu Zongwen left behind 3,000 infantry to escort the baggage, grain and grass, and collect ordnance. , following closely behind the main force of Jingqi.
He led five thousand fine cavalry day and night to attack Wuyuan County, the nearest county to the east of Pengcheng County. He planned to use Wuyuan to sacrifice the flag first, then rush northwestward to attack Fuyang and Guangqi counties, and finally swept across Pengcheng and other counties with a complete victory. North, and Zhu Xu besieged Pengcheng!
On the other side, Shen Yu led 1,500 people who all disguised themselves as the Qin army in Tancheng. In just two days, they used Li Yan's East China Sea governor's seal to easily defraud the three cities of Zhuqi, Licheng and Ganyu. Now they are heading west. The main army chasing Xu Zongwen.
Zhuge Kan took the head of Li Yan, the former governor of Donghai, and openly surrendered the two cities of Houqiu and Quxian that had not yet surrendered. The progress was also very rapid, but Houqiu and Quxian were far away from Tancheng, and he wanted to catch up. It will take at least three days to return to join forces with Xu Zongwen.
At this point, all seven cities under the jurisdiction of Donghai County fell into the hands of the Jin army. After receiving the news, the five counties of Lanling County in the north panicked!
"I have five thousand men and horses in the small city of Wuyuan. Moreover, Wuyuan is an earthen city with a circumference of only more than ten miles. It only takes half a day to capture it." Xu Zongwen said to everyone.
Everyone responded, and Xu Zongwen was particularly proud. He had surrendered Xiangbi recently, thinking that Wu Yuan's order would be overwhelmed by his powerful military power, and he immediately sent people to surrender on his own initiative.
At the beginning, he used the trick of suspecting soldiers to surrender Xiapi without any effort. Now, what stood in front of him was just Wuyuan City, and it was easy to capture it without any effort.
"We will capture Wuyuan today, eat in the city, and rush to Guangqi City overnight."
"promise!"
Everyone was also confident. Like Xu Zongwen, no one took Wuyuan City seriously.
"Pei Gongcao, this Wuyuan City is a county town under Pengcheng. Do you know how many people there are and how many Qin troops are defending the city?"
The meritorious officer named Pei mentioned by Xu Zongwen was the meritorious officer of the county under Wang Xian, the prefect of Xiapi. His surname was Pei Mingqing, and his courtesy name was Fuji. On the second day when the Jin army quelled the Hu rebels in Nancheng, Tancheng, Pei Qing brought Wang Xian's personal letter. He came to Tancheng to meet Xu Zongwen and brought Wang Xian's confession from interrogating the assassin.
The assassins admitted that they were spies of the Qin army lurking around Wang Xian. When they learned that Wang Xian had surrendered, they planned to assassinate Wang Xian, but accidentally killed Xu Zongwen. In the end, no one succeeded, and instead they fell into the trap...
"There are 8,000 households and over 37,000 people in Wuyuan County. There are only more than 3,000 households and less than 10,000 people in Wuyuan City. The Qin army stationed there is only more than 2,000. It is really easy for the captain to capture this city in one fell swoop, but!" With a small number of people guarding the army, Pei Qing opened his mouth and came.
Pei Qing came from a famous family in Hedong and was also a member of the gentry. After becoming an official, he served as an official in Xuzhou for several years and knew the population and taxes of Xuzhou's seven and fifty-four counties. Naturally, the truth and falsehoods of Wu Yuan could not escape Pei Qing's sharp eyes.
"But what?" Xu Zongwen couldn't help but ask.
"The captain and his men all have elite cavalry. They have no siege equipment, and the cavalry cannot set foot on the city wall. If you want to take this city, you will have to lose it. A mere Wuyuan City is really not worth the loss!" Pei Qing said carefully! Later, Xu Zongwen on the side gradually began to pay attention to Wuyuan City.
"What do you think Mr. Auxiliary Machine should do?" Xu Zongwen suddenly treated Pei Qing with extra courtesy and did not dare to look down upon him in the slightest!
He is worthy of being a county meritorious person. He is knowledgeable, can draw from other sources, is talented, talented!
Pei Qing was very satisfied with Xu Zongwen's title. He stroked his short beard and said lightly: "Wuyuan City is small and there is no big river. All water in the city relies on two canals under the short mountain in the north of the city. Once the water source is cut off, the people in Wuyuan City will only be able to survive." Die of thirst!”
"What you mean is to besieged but not attacked, to make an emergency landing."
"The captain can understand with just one click, that's right." Pei Qing said: "To subjugate the enemy's troops without fighting is a good person!"
Xu Zongwen nodded repeatedly, and he immediately dispatched two teams of troops to implement Pei Qing's plan to cut off the water source of Wuyuan City.
"Da da da--"
The heavy sound of horse hooves gradually faded away, and soon the two groups of people who went to explore the road had penetrated deep into the low mountain, and only a little bit of dust was seen.
Xu Zongwen's eyes were dark and his face became more solemn, and he and Pei Qing immediately led troops to surround Wuyuan City.
In an instant, the Jin army officers and soldiers galloped on horseback in unison. Within a moment, five thousand fine cavalry had already formed a formation at the foot of Zhigu Village, and Xu Zongwen just needed to give the order to prepare to attack the city.
Just when everything was ready and only the east wind was needed, Xu Zongwen was shocked and ordered troops to station troops at the south gate of Wuyuan City to block the enemy's retreat. However, there was no flag hanging high, and no sound of drums was heard. The Jin army had no clue at all. The meaning of siege.
The continuous movements of the Jin army under the city had already alarmed the people in the city. The Qin army had already prepared rolling logs and stones on the city wall, with swords unsheathed and swords cocked to welcome the Jin army's attack. There was no movement for most of the day.
"Capture Wuyuan, Captain, are you going to Pengcheng?" Nie Zhen'er, dressed in guard equipment, frowned slightly and approached to ask Xu Zongwen.
Xu Zongwen smiled and said: "Yes, if you capture Pengcheng, you will capture Xuzhou. I will lead everyone deep into the hinterland of Qin. If I don't capture the entire Xuzhou and regain the old land, how can I be worthy of the soldiers who charged into the battle for me?"
"There are many Qin soldiers in Xuzhou." Nie Zhen'er said softly as she looked at Wuyuan City getting closer and closer in front of her with watery almond eyes.
"Even if there are as many Qin soldiers as the tide, I will not be afraid!" Xu Zongwen tightened his horse's head and said slowly.
Nie Zhen'er turned her eyes to him and asked, "Why?"
"Because now I have eight thousand brothers behind me. With them, I have the courage. And behind me where you can't see are the people of Jiangdong, the Jin Dynasty, and Your Majesty! I will not retreat, nor will I I can’t retreat, so I won’t be afraid, let alone be afraid.”
Xu Zongwen's legs gently urged the Qinglei horse to turn to the south. After spending several days together, plus the suppression of the rebellion that night in Tancheng, he and Qinglei had developed a tacit understanding. The Qinglei horse's pointed ears swung rapidly and flexibly. , and at the same time turned to the direction designated by Xu Zongwen.
Nie Zhen'er was born in Xuzhou since she was a child. He didn't know anything about the Jiankang court, nor what Xu Zongwen said about courage, but she could feel that the man in front of her at this moment made her feel a surge of joy. Respect!
"Set up camp on the spot. No one is allowed to fight without the command of the captain. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed!"
Xu Zongwen said a word and immediately turned his horse's head towards the opposite direction of Wuyuan City. Nie Zhen'er hurriedly arranged her armor and hurriedly followed.
The Qin army watching the battle on the city didn't know why. After struggling for a long time, the Jin army did not attack the city. They leaned on the city wall one by one and carefully watched the Jin army retreating one after another. They were grateful but very nervous, for fear that the Jin army would turn around and fight back. .
However, a full hour later, the Jin army had already evacuated and set up camp five miles away from Wuyuan City. It seemed that they were not ready to leave.
When the battle report reached the ears of the city defenders, Wu Yuanling did not believe it at first. He sent people out of the city several times to investigate, but the news he received was that the Jin army had not moved without permission, but had only set up camp and neither attacked nor evacuated.
Three consecutive days passed, and the Qin army did not see the Jin army attacking the city, so they slowly lowered their guard and spent the whole day thinking about other ways out of Wuyuan City to prevent the city from being cut off from water and food and being trapped alive.
Two days later, outside Wuyuan City, the Jin army camped.
In the distance, an endless stream of people and horses rushed toward the camp. Looking closer, they were dressed in silver armor and helmets, and most of them were infantry.
The first man galloped to a stop in front of the camp, dismounted and reported: "My subordinate Tian Luo has been ordered to return to the Cavalry Commander's account and obey his orders!"
When Xu Zongwen heard the reports coming from the left and right, he quickly came out of the camp.
"Okay, okay, if this is the case, Qin Ming will never even think of escaping!"
Qin Ming is Wu Yuanling.
Smoke was already rising in the military camp to celebrate the arrival of reinforcements, and Xu Zongwen received supplies of food and grass. At ten o'clock at noon, the whole army was ordered to kill cattle and sheep in preparation for attacking Wuyuan, so that the Qin army could surrender without a fight.
The smell of roasted beef and mutton was tempting. The Jin army abandoned their saddles and horses and sat down outside the bow and arrow range of the Wuyuan City defenders to eat and drink.
The whole bucket of water was placed under Wuyuan City. After the Jin soldiers had finished eating and drank the water to quench their thirst, some went directly to get the raw meat in groups and gathered firewood in front of Wuyuan City to barbecue.
Wuyuan City was besieged for three days, and the water source in the city was cut off. The Qin army had to kill horses and drink blood to quench their thirst. This was not enough. The cattle and horses were gone, so they could only lie down on the city and stare with their eyes wide open, watching the Jin army pile up buckets at the gate of the city, licking their chapped lips one by one, waiting eagerly!
After that, Pei Qing suggested that Xu Zongwen divide his troops to capture Guangqi City. When Wuyuan City comes to surrender, the two armies will attack Fu Yang from east to west, and the north of Pengcheng can be determined with a snap!
Xu Zongwen readily agreed, and ordered Sima Zhenglue to lead four thousand elite cavalry to advance eastward, bypassing Fu Yang and taking Guangqi City directly.
"Captain, it's been five days, it's time for the Qin army to surrender." Zhang Gui said to Xu Zongwen.
Xu Zongwen stood on his horse in military uniform and ignored Zhang Gui's words. He stared at Wuyuan City in front of him, which was about to be broken without attack, and fell into deep thought.
Tian Luo on the other side looked completely noncommittal when he saw Zhang Gui's gaze, and just smiled lightly.
"Boom, boom -" The gate of Wuyuan City opened, and the defenders abandoned their soldiers and ran frantically towards the buckets at the bottom of the city. One by one, they held the buckets and drank desperately. Several Qin soldiers drank so much that they actually choked alive. died!
"Wuyuan City has surrendered!" Nie Zhen'er saw the white flag erected on the top of the city and the city gate opened. She put it down and had been chewing on it for a long time. The half of the fragrant leg of lamb couldn't help but muttered at Xu Zongwen.
After being besieged by Xu Zongwen's army for seven days, Wuyuan City finally surrendered to Xu Zongwen!
Xu Zongwen: "That's it? That's it? Is this the surrender?"
