Ling Tong's invitation to the field battle was ignored by Zhang Xi.
Just kidding, even if you include reinforcements, I am only a quarter of your Jiangdong Army. I am so full that I am ready to go out with you to fight in the field? !
Of course I refused this kind of thing.
Although Chen Dao and Wei Yan felt very angry and dissatisfied with Zhang Xi's decision.
In these days, although there are no military generals fighting in a one-on-one battle, if one side follows the rules of the Spring and Autumn Period and requires both sides to lead troops in a field battle, a military general with a little self-respect will not and cannot refuse if conditions permit.
Because refusing means that you are afraid of the opponent's generals. If word spreads, your reputation will be bad, and it will also affect the morale of the army.
And according to the rules of this era, once it is decided that it is a one-on-one battle between the two sides, no one else can intervene. The Jiangdong Army cannot rely on the number of people to help the battle, let alone take the opportunity to attack the city.
Therefore, this is a battle related to dignity and morale, and cannot be refused easily.
But Zhang Xi refused, and since he was the commander-in-chief, he really had the right to refuse. Wei Yan and Chen Dao could only sulk angrily, and there was really nothing they could do.
Zhang Xi really didn't know at first that such ancient rules were still left on the battlefield in this era. He thought it was Zhou Yu's plan to take advantage of the two armies' field battle, whether it was to attack the city or swarm them, to destroy the field battle out of the city first. Let’s talk about the E County garrison.
But even if he knew, Zhang Xi would still choose to disagree.
"Even if our army wins, we will still suffer losses. The enemy's army is so large that they will never retreat because of this." Zhang Xi said to the two sulking generals, "But if the enemy's army wins, we will inevitably suffer huge losses, which will affect the subsequent defense of the city." Why do you do this harmful and unprofitable thing?!”
Zhang Xi is very practical. If he wins, he will at most boost his morale, but if he loses, he will lose his troops. Why would he do it? !
But the two generals still angrily expressed dissatisfaction, and even the slightest favor Wei Yan had accumulated towards Zhang Xi over the past few days was now gone.
After Ling Tong called for battle for a long time to no avail, he returned to the military camp triumphantly.
Zhou Yu was also very satisfied with this. He got the information he wanted - although reinforcements from Jiangxia were coming, they would not be large, so he did not dare to go out of the city to fight in the field.
In this case, we will continue to attack the city and strive to capture Hubei City before the Jiangxia army comes to help, and then march to Zhu County to control the counties in the eastern part of Jiangxia.
This is not a wasted trip.
Therefore, in the next few days, Jiangdong Army's siege continued, and it was not slowed down by the arrival of reinforcements led by Chen Dao, and it continued to attack the city for five consecutive days.
However, the effect of Jiangdong's army's attack on the city was far less than that of the previous few days.
Although the E County defenders in the past few days were still able to tenaciously repel the Jiangdong Army who had climbed onto the city wall, everyone could see that they could no longer hold on.
But now, Jiang Dongjun can't take advantage at all.
Because the opponent is different.
Zhang Xi originally commanded the 2,000 men left behind by the Jiangxia navy. If the navy went ashore to fight, its own combat effectiveness would be reduced, so it had to partner with the Jiangdong army, which was also weak in land warfare. Otherwise, it would have been unable to hold on long ago. .
What Chen Dao brought was the Jiangxia Army, or the Jiangxia Army after two months of training.
Although the combat effectiveness is still not outstanding, the Jiangxia Army, which has initially mastered the Yuanyang Formation tactics, is still in a city defense battle, and it is not a problem to deal with Jiangdong's navy.
Zhou Yu really has a headache now.
Zhou Yu originally thought that although the enemy came for reinforcements, they did not have many troops. After such a long period of attack and defense, the city wall of E County was already dilapidated and it was just a matter of a few more days.
But now, the city wall of E County is indeed in dilapidated condition, which makes it easier for Jiangdong Army to climb the city wall than before. But every time they climb up, they will be driven down within a short time, and the casualties each time are higher than the first time. Be big when attacking a city.
What does this mean? !
This shows that the troops coming to aid from E County must be the elite of the Jiangxia Army, and their combat effectiveness exceeds that of ordinary Jiangdong soldiers.
But the problem is, Zhou Yu asked several generals, whether they were Gan Ning, Ling Tong, Lu Meng, Chen Wu, etc., to lead their elite troops to attack the city. Everyone did not gain anything, but suffered more than ordinary losses. The soldiers are just a little smaller.
This is a bit unacceptable to Zhou Yu. They are all elites. Why are the elites of Jiangxia Army better than the elites of Jiangdong Army? !
If this is the case, Zhou Yu really doesn't know how long it will take to spend all these Jiangxia elites under E County.
Yes, it's not that Zhou Yu was unsure of capturing E City, it was just that he couldn't grasp the timing of the capture, nor could he grasp when reinforcements from the rear would arrive.
Although the messenger sent to Jiangdong has not yet returned, there has been no response so far, which itself illustrates the problem. It seems that the dispute between the lord Sun Quan and the Jiangdong family has not yet reached a conclusion.
Zhou Yu began to hesitate now.
If you wait until Xiangyang has assembled a large army, move down the river from the direction of Nanjun, cut off your retreat, and then attack Xiaji and Qichun on land. Although you are sure that you can retreat, the strategic purpose of sending troops this time will be ruined. .
Should we take advantage of the opportunity and give it up? Anyway, we defeated the Jiangxia navy and forced the navy to sink their ships and intercept the river. It is unlikely that Jiangxia will restore the navy's combat power in the short term. We can attack Jiangxia when the time is right in the future.
Anyway, Jiangxia cannot always block the river. When he retreats, Jiangxia will take the initiative to dredge the Yangtze River waterway. When he comes back next time, Jiangxia will not have so many ships to sink.
The only pity is that there doesn't seem to be much benefit from retreating like this, not enough to go back and deal with the Jiangdong family. During the last retreat, Xiaji and Qichun were robbed a bit hard, and now there is nothing in these two counties.
But what Zhou Yu needs to consider is not only the immediate interests, but also the overall interests of Jiangdong, Sun Quan's interests, and his own interests. Therefore, Zhou Yu is really torn about whether to withdraw his troops.
At this time, Zhou Yu received an urgent report from the rear, saying that Jiangxia troops came from the land and attacked Xiaji and Qichun counties. The leader of the troops was Huang She, the chief administrator of Jiangxia.
One Huang She was not enough to make Zhou Yu feel threatened. He was also fully prepared for the defense measures in Xiaji and Qichun counties, and deliberately left Jiang Qin and Xu Sheng to garrison. Zhou Yu did not think that a son of Huang Zu could Threatening one's own rear.
But Huang She's sudden attack on his retreat made Zhou Yu feel that something was not right.
It has been almost two months since I sent troops to attack Xiaji. In any case, Xiangyang should already know about it. It is even possible that Xiangyang has sent troops to rescue Jiangxia.
After all, the current Jiangxia governor is Liu Biao's son, not Huang Zu, who is a thorn in the side. Zhou Yu does not believe that Liu Biao would watch his son being besieged but not send troops to rescue him.
So, is Huang She's arrival an act of self-rescue by the Jiangxia Army to escape the siege of Hubei City, or is it a large-scale reinforcement of the former army from the Jingzhou Army? !
If it was just Jiang Xiajun's self-rescue behavior, Zhou Yu was not afraid at all.
Firstly, he has confidence in his own rear army, Jiang Qin and Xu Sheng. Secondly, the boats of the Jiangxia Navy are all in the center of the river. Without boats, he can completely think about what the Jiangxia Navy can do to block his retreat. Leave whenever you want.
But if the Jingzhou Army comes to help, Zhou Yu needs to think carefully. Although the naval forces in Nanjun and Xiangyang have average combat effectiveness, they can still block the escape route. If the Jingzhou Army comes to help, he might actually have a retreat. Possibility of being interrupted.
Zhou Yu thought about it and felt that he still couldn't be careless.
On the one hand, Jiang Qin and Xu Sheng were ordered to stick to Xiaji and Qichun counties to ensure that they had a clear road back.
On the other hand, Zhou Yu plans to make one last attempt.
He ordered the entire army to pack up ordnance and supplies, dismantle their camps, and prepare to retreat.
Jiangdong Army has more than 10,000 people, including 16,700 people who are still able to move due to injuries and other injuries. How could E County not notice that such a large-scale camp needs to be dismantled and the troops are preparing to withdraw.
After receiving the report from the sentinel, Chen Dao and Wei Yan immediately asked Zhang Xi for a fight.
Especially Chen Dao, he counted the days and it was time for Huang She to cross the Yangtze River and launch an attack on Xiangji and Qichun counties. At this time, Jiangdong Army must have been harassed on the back road, so it had to retreat. .
If we go out of the city to pursue him at this time, we might be able to win a big victory.
Originally, Zhang Xi also felt that Jiangdong Army's retreat was not fake. After all, even the camps had been demolished, so the army could not be allowed to sleep in the wild. There were no sleeping bags these days, and the wilds were full of wild animals such as wolves, so there were no camps. Protection is dangerous.
But when Chen Daoyi said that this might be Huang She's attack on the pheasant, Zhang Xi immediately stopped worrying.
With Huang She's two attacks, could he defeat two counties so quickly and threaten Jiangdong's army's retreat? !
Besides, without the cooperation of the navy, you are just a threat. Are you standing on the riverside watching the parade of other people's boats? !
Therefore, Zhang Xi concluded that this was Zhou Yu's plan to lure the enemy.
reason? !
There is no reason, Governor Zhou is such a good at using tricks.
"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people that Zhou Yu's brilliance cannot be covered up even if Luo Guanzhong tries his best to be negative. Anyway, Zhang Xi feels that given Zhou Yu's IQ, it is normal to pretend to withdraw his troops and then set up an ambush.
Zhou Yu wanted to imitate Liu Bei, but Zhang Xi did not want to be Xiahou Dun.
Besides, Zhang Xi's main purpose is to defend Hubei City, not to defeat Jiangdong Army. Just be careful and make no big mistake, just defend the city.
As for Jiangdong Army, it took three days to dismantle the camp. On the fourth day, the entire army boarded ships and retreated, completely evacuating Zhang Xi's sight.
Until this time, Zhang Xi carefully sent out sentinels to explore the dynamics of Jiangdong's army. As a result, the sentinels reported that Jiangdong's warships were barely visible until the junction of E County and Xiaji. The figure really retreated this time.
Even so, Zhang Xi still did not dare to be careless. While continuing to investigate, he sent out sentries to Zhu County in the north of the Yangtze River to notify the defenders of Zhu County to strengthen their vigilance to prevent the Jiangdong Army from retreating under suspicion, which was actually a detour across the river. Go and attack Zhu County.
Although this possibility is really unlikely, it is equivalent to hitting the center of the Jiangxia garrison. There is a possibility of being surrounded, but what if Zhou Yu wants to do a "center bloom" or something? !
After guarding cautiously for more than ten days, Zhang Xi did not wait for Zhou Yu's army to arrive, but his son Liu Qi did.
(End of chapter)
