What Lu Xun used was not a simple plan to attack the east and attack the west.
He divided his troops into two groups, attacking from the left and right, but at the same time, he went out from the left and in from the right, and he kept using tactics of suspicion, which made Zang Ba unable to judge clearly where the main attack direction of the Soochow Army was.
Zang Ba did have a headache, but it wasn't all Lu Xun's clever strategy.
In addition to the influence of Lu Xun's strategy, the current situation in Xuzhou is also a big problem.
Zang Ba actually controlled only one Xiapi County, half of Pengcheng Kingdom, and half of Donghai County. The other places, including Guangling County in the south of Xiapi County and Langya County in the north of Xiapi County, were all in In the hands of Soochow.
The current deployment of troops by the Soochow Army only uses troops from Langya County. Xu Sheng's army stationed in Guangling has not seen any movement yet.
The reason why Zang Ba judged that the main force of Soochow's attack was Peng Chengguo was not only because Lu Xun, as the coach, was attacking in that direction, but also because once Pengcheng fell, Lu Xun could contact Xu Sheng in Guangling County and attack Pengcheng directly. Cut off the connection between Xiapi and Yanzhou.
At that time, Zang Ba would be like a turtle in a urn, with nowhere to run.
But the problem now is that when Lu Xun attacked Pengcheng, he was like a shrimp, retreating when he encountered difficulties. On the other hand, Zhuge Jin was making great progress in Peng County.
Therefore, even if Zang Ba still insists that Soochow's main attack direction is Peng Chengguo, he cannot sit back and watch Zhuge Jin directly lead troops into Xiapi County.
Reinforcements from Quyang still have to be sent, and Peng Chengguo has to defend. At the same time, Guangling County in the south is also a hidden danger, and a certain amount of mobile troops must be set aside for defense. Sometimes Zang Ba also thinks, what if Soochow this time It would be great if the commander of the army is Sun Quan.
This Lu Xun, with this trick of doubting soldiers, is enough to prove that he is not a mediocre person who came to power by relying on his status as a foreign relative. At least he is much more difficult to deal with than Sun Quan, the leader of Soochow.
Zang Ba still persisted. At the same time, Zang Ba did not forget to send a notice to Xu Huang in Yanzhou, asking Xu Huang to be prepared to station in Pengcheng at any time to ensure his own retreat. If possible, he should also march to Xiapi in time to help him defend. .
At this time, Zang Ba was still relatively sober, and at the same time, he showed his worth as a mature general.
But the problem is that since Soochow dares to take the initiative to launch an attack, it is definitely not possible for Lu Xun to be the only one.
Just a few days after Zang Ba sent the messenger, Zang Ba received a fatal news - Zhou Yu, a famous Soochow general stationed in Huainan, suddenly led his army northward and was now approaching Huailing. Xu Sheng from Guangling County also suddenly sent troops , advance to Xutai.
Forget about Xu Sheng from Guangling, Zang Ba has been on guard. He stationed heavy troops in Xu County to guard against Xu Sheng's attack in Guangling County. How on earth did Zhou Yu from Huainan come to Huailing? !
Didn't Cao Xiu and Jia Kui of Yuzhou already lead their troops to press forward? Didn't they say not long ago that they had threatened Zhongli of Jiujiang County? !
How did these two idiots guard Zhou Yu so that he could break through Zhongli and directly enter Huai Ling in Xiapi County? !
Now, Zang Ba is no longer facing attacks from two sides. He is now besieged from all sides and may be driven out of Xiapi County at any time.
Regarding this issue. In fact, Cao Xiu and Jia Kui both have something to say, and they are basically not good things.
Cao Xiu and Jia Kui indeed led Yuzhou troops to press forward to Jiujiang County, and even entered Jiujiang County for a time to threaten Yinling in Jiujiang County.
In the eyes of Cao Xiu and Jia Kui, with such suppression, Zhou Yu in Shouchun would not be able to avoid their surveillance, whether he wanted to go north to attack Yuzhou or east to attack Xiapi.
This strategy is actually very good. In theory, there are no loopholes.
But let’s face it, there are many good strategic policies that have problems of one kind or another when they are actually implemented.
For example, a certain "Little Zhuge" often complained that every time the strategy was formulated very well, but at the critical moment, he would not be able to command the army. This would be the same if it were set back 1,700 years.
Cao Xiu and Jia Kui did not get along.
It's not a simple disagreement, but a very serious disagreement!
These two people are disliked by everyone.
Although Jia Kui gave birth to a disgusting son, apart from being a little temperamental, he was indeed a man who was dedicated to the public, loyal to his duties, and accomplished both civil and military affairs.
Although Jia Kui was born in the Jia family, a wealthy family in Hedong, Jia Kui's branch was relatively poor.
According to "Wei Lue", Jia Kui was young and poor. He didn't even have a "hakama" to put it bluntly in winter, or even a pair of trousers to wear outside in winter.
This family background is basically similar to that of Deng Ai. They are both from aristocratic families, but they are the kind of people who are relatively miserable among the aristocratic families.
Therefore, Jia Kui actually looks down on those who achieve high status by relying on the protection of their ancestors' wings instead of relying on their own abilities.
Unfortunately, in Jia Kui's eyes, Cao Xiu belongs to this kind of thing.
Although Cao Cao once praised Cao Xiu as the "Cao family's thousand-mile horse", this horse gave people the impression that it was young and might not be better when it was older. Cao Xiu's ability was not even comparable to that of Cao Zhen in his generation. He was exhausted. Even at Cao Hong's level, he doesn't even have the abilities of Cao Ren and Cao Chun, let alone the more awesome Cao Cao.
Not to mention the previous battle at Shiting, where Cao Xiu was lured deep into the enemy by Zhou Yu and was defeated in one fell swoop. To be honest, there was really no shame in being defeated by Zhou Yu. After all, after Emperor Wu defeated Chibi, he only came back with a few harsh words, privately. I still recognize Zhou Yu's ability.
What really made Jia Kui look down on was that he risked his life and even abandoned the important town of Hefei to rescue Cao Xiu from the siege of the army. But afterwards, Cao Xiu was not punished in any way and still commanded the army, even in his own position. above.
What displeased Jia Kui the most was that Cao Xiu actually took it for granted. Even when he had different opinions several times, Cao Xiu still put on official airs for himself? !
Why, do you want to save me some face? If I hadn't tried my best to save him, you might have told me you were in Shiting.
As for Cao Xiu, he also disliked Jia Kui quite a bit, because Jia Kui was very serious about his work and had a very stubborn temper, leaving no face for himself.
Yes, I know that you, Jia Kui, have outstanding abilities, and it was you who helped me out of Shiting, but I am always your superior after all. If you have any disagreements, you just confront me. What will happen to the officers and men in the army? Look at me? !
After all, I am also a person that Emperor Wu values and I am also a member of the Cao family. This world belongs to the Cao family.
I don’t ask you to flatter me so much, but please give me some face and don’t just start a fight if you have any disagreements. If there’s anything you want to say, why don’t you tell me privately? !
Anyway, both of them have their own problems to some extent, but they both feel that there is nothing wrong with them. Isn't this relationship getting more and more tense, and in the end they just ignore each other?
Cao Pi actually didn't know that the two were somewhat contradictory, but now that Cao Pi could send him to Yuzhou to take charge, there really weren't many people left to fight against Zhou Yu.
Cao Xiu and Jia Kui are both capable men. One of them is experienced in leading troops, and the other is resourceful. As long as they can cooperate with each other, there will be no problem not to mention defeating Zhou Yu, but at least to contain Zhou Yu.
You really can't blame Cao Pi. Cao Pi was in Yecheng, and he couldn't have known that Cao Xiu and Jia Kui in Yuzhou were now incompatible with each other.
But when the two of them started arguing like this, they immediately gave Zhou Yu a chance.
Originally, Cao Jun's army pressed forward and threatened Yin Ling. Zhou Yu, who was in Shouchun, actually had a headache.
It's not that they are worried about Cao Jun's attack. In fact, in the Central Plains, Cao Jun's strategic goal is very obvious, which is to attack Qingxu. Cao Jun did not hide this, it was almost a famous brand.
Zhou Yu, who is in Huainan, does not need to worry too much about the safety of Huainan, or even whether Cao Jun will take the initiative to attack Yinling. This is unlikely. Cao Jun in Yuzhou actually has not many troops. The purpose is to contain himself and will not take the initiative to attack. Offensive.
But the problem is that Zhou Yu doesn't just have to guard Huainan with peace of mind. In addition to dealing with Cao Jun's attack, Zhou Yu has also been planning with Lu Xun for a long time, wanting to preemptively capture Xiapi.
Therefore, Zhou Yu also wanted to pass through Yinling and go north to join forces with Xu Sheng to capture Pi.
It can even be said that neither Lu Xun's two groups of suspected soldiers nor Xu Sheng's Guangling Army were actually the main force that defeated Xiapi. The real main force was the Huainan Army led by Zhou Yu.
But the problem before Zhou Yu now is how to avoid the surveillance of a large number of Cao troops on the north side of Yinling and attack northward without anyone noticing. This is a bit difficult. After all, neither Cao Xiu nor Jia Kui are such reckless men.
But as time went by, Zhou Yu made new discoveries.
Indeed, these two generals of Cao's army are not reckless men. Their ability to lead troops is not weak. The camp is also very stable. Various precautions are in place, making them difficult to fight.
But the problem is that the two generals of Cao's army did not connect their military camps to the city. They camped separately, and the distance between the camps was nearly twenty miles away.
And these twenty miles may not be a problem in normal times. They are all within the scope of the scouts of both sides. It is impossible to pass the army without telling both sides.
But now, the problem is getting bigger.
I don’t know if Cao Xiu and Jia Kui don’t understand the geography of Huainan very well. There happens to be a small road in the middle of their camp that leads directly to Zhongli County. As a "local", Zhou Yu knows it very well.
Moreover, Zhou Yu also discovered that there did not seem to be regular communication between the two camps, and the areas where the scouts were dispatched also overlapped greatly. On the contrary, there were many places that were ignored by both sides. This seemed to be really happening. Head ha.
Therefore, Zhou Yu left Sun Shao to defend Shouchun, while he led 30,000 Huainan troops in multiple batches. He tried his best to cross the gap between the two camps from the detection range with few scouts, and went straight to Zhongli from the small road. .
Finally, they regrouped in Zhongli County. Zhou Yu personally commanded an army of 30,000 people and rushed to Xiapi.
(End of chapter)
