When Xu Zongwen was planning to send troops to Linzi, the vanguard Shen Yu and Zheng Lue had already marched overnight. It only took them one day and one night to reach Licheng, Jinan County. After resting for half a day, they took advantage of the night to explore again from the junction of Jizhou, Yanzhou and Qingzhou. Entered near Pingyin, Jibei County, Yanzhou.
Shen Yu and Zheng Lue hid their whereabouts, rested during the day and marched at night. They went non-stop and took five days and nights to reach Qinting, Dongping County. They were accidentally exposed on the way and encountered the garrison outside Linqiu. Fortunately, there were not many people on the opposite side. Shen Yu and Zheng Lue relied on their numerical advantage to defeat the Qin army. On the seventh day, Shen Yu and Zheng Lue's 6,000 troops suddenly appeared outside Linqiu City!
Guarding Linqiu City were Yanzhou Biejia Xu Li and Pingdong General Wang Xiu. Wang Xiu had an unusual background. He was the third son of the famous former prime minister of Qin, Wang Meng and Wang Jinglue, and Wang Xiu's eldest brother. Wang Yong is the current governor of Youzhou in Qin!
Wang Xiu was originally the governor of Hedong. He was transferred to Yanzhou a year ago and was reassigned as general Pingdong, responsible for the defense of Linqiu city. This man was both civil and military and proficient in the art of war. He and his father and brother were known as the three heroes of the Wang family.
On the surface, Linqiu City had Xu Li as the chief official, but in fact the military affairs were all under the control of Wang Xiu, and Xu Li did not dare to interfere in the slightest.
"Where? Where did the Jin army come from?" When he heard the news from the city that Jin troops were approaching the city, Xu Li was so frightened that he didn't even wear his official hat securely, so he hurriedly asked for details.
Wang Xiu, a tall man in military uniform, strode out of the governor's office. He did not inform anyone, but ordered the whole city to be under martial law, closed the city gates, and gathered all the soldiers in the city to defend against the enemy.
Later, Wang Xiu, who looked calm, went to the Linqiu Tower to observe the enemy's situation, and at the same time listened carefully to the defenders' reports.
"General, these Jin troops seemed to come from the sky and suddenly appeared outside Linqiu City. No military report was received about these Jin troops, and no one knew who the commander in chief was."
Wang Xiu stretched out his hand and put it in front of his forehead, squinted his eyes and looked at the Jin army not far away with critical eyes, and said plausibly: "The flag is clear, the people and horses are in order, the military appearance is solemn, and the laws are strict. This is a strong army." ! It seems that it should not be underestimated..."
While Wang Xiu was overlooking the appearance of the Jin army under the city, Shen Yu and Zheng Lue were also observing the nearby Linqiu City under Linqiu City.
"Didn't you say that Zhang Chong, the governor of Yanzhou, took away all the people from Linqiu?" Zheng Lue said: "In other words, this is an empty city. Wouldn't it be a direct sneak attack at night? We showed up here with such a big fanfare. Aren’t you exposing yourself openly in front of the enemy?”
When Shen Yu proposed the strategy of approaching the city in broad daylight, Zheng Lue also actively opposed it. However, Shen Yu had a tough attitude and went against all opinions, so he showed up arrogantly at the foot of Linqiu City.
In fact, Shen Yu didn't want to do this. This was written in a tips bag given to him by Xu Zongwen before he set off. Xu Zongwen gave many instructions to him to follow the plan, but he could only obey orders.
The plan did not ask Shen Yu and Zheng Lue to capture Linqiu immediately. Instead, they used Linqiu to attract the defenders from Fenggao direction to return for reinforcements, and then asked Shen Yu to ambush outside Linqiu City to ambush the Fenggao army returning for reinforcements.
When Feng Gao's army is transferred away, Zhu Xu will send Ningyuan General Zhu Chen to lead his army to attack Taishan County. This move is to besiege the city for reinforcements and transfer the tiger away from the mountain!
Coupled with Xu Zongwen's secret attack on Chen Cang, this is a series of strategies. This is the strategy that Xu Zongwen, Pei Qing, and Xi Jian spent all night to come up with to defeat the enemy.
"Withdraw," Shen Yu turned his horse's head and ordered the troops to withdraw from Linqiu City. Before riding his horse and raising his whip, he ordered people to set up an ambush behind him to prevent the Linqiu City defenders from leaving the city to pursue.
Zheng Lue looked at Linqiu City and thought for a while, but he could only shake his head unwillingly and leave temporarily. After all, this was Xu Zongwen's order. He did not dare to disobey it. How the situation would develop, he had to wait and see the consequences. Bar!
Shen Yu and Zheng Lue came quietly with a large wave of Jin troops. After wandering around under the Linqiu city, they quietly left under the eyes of the Linqiu defenders. This mysterious operation of the Jin army made people who always thought they had experienced it. Wang Xiu in the battle formation was really confused by Monk Zhang Er.
"Come here, come out of the city to explore the details of the Jin army," Wang Xiu ordered with a frown: "I want the Jin army to see what they are trying to do?"
"No!" The messenger immediately left with his fists clasped.
If you know your enemy and yourself, you will not be in danger in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemy but know yourself, you will win and lose every time; if you do not know your enemy and yourself, you will be in danger in every battle.
Wang Xiu did not dare to act rashly before fully understanding the motives of this Jin army and the intelligence of the Jin army's commander.
An hour later, a group of Qin army scouts fled back from the outside of Linqiu City. A group of 100 scouts who were ordered by Wang Xiu to go out to investigate were ambushed in the Xiantian Canyon in the east of the city. Almost the entire army was wiped out, with only one person and one horse left. Return to Linqiu City alone.
Just like that, Shen Yu deliberately returned to the city to report the news.
Yes, the person who set up the ambush was Shen Yu. He asked Zheng Lue to lead a large group of troops to Fan County and lay an ambush on the only way for Fenggao's army to return to Linqiu. He led a thousand people at the junction of Dongping and Juancheng counties. The Qin army was stationed in a chaotic manner back and forth, interfering with Wang Xiu's judgment.
"You're the only one who came back?" Wang Xiu's cold gaze shot at the surviving scout, as sharp as a steel knife hanging above his head.
The scout trembled and crouched on the ground and answered slowly: "The centurion led us out of the city to the east, passing by the King of Hell's Wall. The terrain there is high and the vegetation is lush. When we got to the valley, rocks fell from the sky on both sides, and half of our brothers fell. Go down... Later, an ambush suddenly broke out, and we lost another twenty or thirty brothers. We were outnumbered and it was difficult to escape easily. In order to cover the villain's return to the city to deliver a message to the general, the centurion did not hesitate to return and fight with the enemy, life and death. It’s uncertain!”
The scout told his personal experience with tears in his eyes. After Wang Xiu looked carefully, he found that the armor on his shoulder had fallen off. A visible knife cut had a thin layer of dark red scab on his collar, neck, and hands. It's blood, I don't know if it's the enemy's or my own. The whole face is gray and gray, the long hair is scattered, and the helmet is missing?
"Forget it!" Wang Xiu waved his hand, "You're tired, go down and recuperate!"
"General, you must avenge us!" Before leaving, the scout still begged.
Wang Xiu's soldiers on the side helped support the injured scout and hurriedly urged: "Let's go quickly, brother."
After sending away the surviving scouts, Wang Xiu stood silently on the Linqiu city tower for a long time, standing tall and tall like a green pine at the top of the city, with his eyes lowered, and a stern look flashed in his wary eyes.
"Zhu Xu, Xu Xiao, you dare to covet my Linqiu City, I will make you pay the price!"
Obviously, Wang Xiu had guessed that the troops sent to Linqiu were Zhu Xu and Xu Zongwen, who had just captured Qingzhou and had not yet settled down for a month.
