In fact, after a month of development, Qingxu's war has somewhat changed.
Xu Huang led troops to reinforce Zang Ba in time, giving Zang Ba the confidence to stick to Pengcheng State and suffer a series of defeats. The morale of the Wei army who retreated to Pengcheng was also greatly restored.
As for the Soochow Army, the four armies surrounded and attacked Xiapi. Now that Xiapi has been captured, if the four armies were to divide their forces and march into Pengcheng State in this way, their military strength would appear to be scattered and they would be easily defeated by the enemy one by one.
Therefore, the Soochow Army also consciously joined forces to attack Pengcheng State together.
But just when Zhou Yu and Xu Sheng had joined forces and marched together to Zhuge Jin's headquarters in Xiapi, Zhou Yu suddenly separated his troops from Xu Sheng and led his troops south towards Shouchun.
Zhou Yu's sudden change made both Xu Huang and Zang Ba judge that this should be Cao Xiu leading the army to attack Shouchun, which caused Zhou Yu to have to return to Huainan. This is a normal thing. After all, Huainan is important to Jiangdong. It is much more important than Qingxu Prefecture.
Huainan is not only the home base of Zhou Yu and other Huaisi Group, but also a barrier to defend Jiangdong, which must not be lost.
And Qingxu is just a springboard for the Soochow Army to enter the Central Plains. It doesn't matter if they can win the best or not.
Xu Huang and Zang Ba, who have many years of battle experience, can understand this.
Therefore, the two of them were not too surprised by Zhou Yu's division of troops and left. Instead, they thought it was a natural thing.
But if Zhou Yu leaves, he will take at least about 20,000 people with him. This will cause a very big change in Qing Xu's strength comparison. Incidentally, it will also cause a very big change in the battlefield situation.
There are only less than 30,000 soldiers originally stationed in Qingxu Land left in Jiangdong.
The most critical thing is that these three parts of the Jiangdong Army have not yet completed their combined forces. Zhuge Jin led more than 10,000 people from Xiapi City and was on the way to the border of Pengcheng Kingdom. Lu Xun led more than 5,000 people on the northern side of Pengcheng Kingdom. While guerrilla, they headed to Xiapi to join Zhuge Jin's troops, while Xu Sheng also moved towards Xiapi with 10,000 people.
Xu Huang and Zang Ba discussed it and both felt that the Jiangdong Army led by Zhuge Jin in Xiapi was the key node. As long as Zhuge Jin's army could be defeated, the entire siege of Pengcheng Kingdom might be lifted.
This judgment can't be said to be wrong. Even Jia Kui thought it was reasonable. However, Jia Kui tactfully reminded Xu Huang and Zang Ba to be careful of Zhou Yu and make sure that Zhou Yu really returned to rescue him. Huainan.
After all, Zhou Yu is a famous general in the world and a well-known resourceful man. He just played a trick on Jia Kui in Huainan, which is still fresh in Jia Kui's memory.
Xu Huang and Zang Ba were easier to talk to than Cao Xiu, and they accepted Jia Kui's suggestions humbly, and Jia Kui was not so arrogant that he looked down on these two veterans. But the problem now is, if this continues Stay put and wait until it is confirmed that Zhou Yu has really returned to Huainan, then the three armies on the opposite side should also converge.
In this case, Pengcheng would still be at risk of being besieged, which would be a missed opportunity to defeat the enemy in one battle.
Xu Huang and Zang Ba discussed it and decided that it was worth taking the risk - after all, if they were Zhou Yu, they would definitely lead the army back to rescue Huainan instead of sitting back and watching Huainan be captured by Cao Xiu.
As for Jia Kui's suggestions, although Jia Kui made suggestions, this time Jia Kui was not very confident in his suggestions. In addition, Jia Kui's qualifications in front of the two veteran generals were too low. The two veteran generals could consider it. My suggestions are already very honorable.
Therefore, when Zang Ba proposed that he personally lead 10,000 soldiers to attack Zhuge Jin's army, Jia Kui actually did not object.
First of all, Zhuge Jin's headquarters is indeed the center of the Jiangdong Army. As long as Zhuge Jin is defeated, the remaining Xu Sheng and Lu Xun will probably have to retreat separately, and Xiapi may be able to recover.
Secondly, Lu Xun has already proven his ability in the past, and Xu Sheng is also well-known as a Mesozoic general in Jiangdong. No matter how you look at it, Zhuge Jin, who was born as a civil servant, is an easy target to bully!
Xu Huang and Jia Kui both thought so, so Zang Ba led his troops to go out. Then Zang Ba fell into Zhuge Jin's ambush.
Or to be precise, he was not ambushed by Zhuge Jin, but was ambushed by Zhuge Dan.
Yes, the person who is actually in charge of military affairs in Zhuge Jin's army is not Zhuge Jin himself, but Zhuge Jin's younger brother, another hero of the Langya Zhuge clan, Zhuge Dan.
The reputation of the Zhuge family as "dragon, tiger, and dog" was passed down from later generations. There was no such saying in this era.
And in fact, Zhuge Dan and Zhuge Jin did not have much actual friendship. They just had a common ancestor more than two hundred years ago, Zhuge Feng, the former Han Dynasty official.
Zhuge Dan originally served as an official in Wei State, and was the minister of Wei State, and he had a good relationship with Wei State's minister Pushe Du Ji.
It happened two years ago. At that time, Zhuge Dan had just entered the official position and was working under Du Ji. Once, the two of them went out together to inspect the water conservancy facilities in the river. Unfortunately, the boat they were riding in overturned. Zhuge Dan and Du Ji Falling into the water together.
When the servants saw this, they quickly rowed a boat to rescue him. At this time, Zhuge Dan asked his servants to save Du Ji first and then save himself. This was a life-or-death situation, which was equivalent to saving Du Ji's life.
Therefore, Du Ji admired Zhuge Dan very much and planned to keep Zhuge Dan by his side to train for a period of time. Once he had the qualifications, Du Ji planned to recommend Zhuge Dan to the court.
Then Du Ji changed from Shangshu Pushe to Yongliang Changshi, and was transferred to Chang'an by Cao Pi to help Cao Zhen handle the government affairs in Guanzhong.
Without Du Ji's care, Zhuge Dan's life in Yecheng would not be easy.
First of all, in Soochow and Ji Han, the two people named Zhuge were really famous, and they were both enemies of the Wei Dynasty. Zhuge Dan was somewhat influenced by these two brothers of the same clan.
Secondly, Zhuge Dan was valued by Du Ji because he saved Du Ji's life. Although there were no "Seven Sages in the Bamboo Grove" in Yecheng at this time, there was already a habit of sitting around and talking. Zhuge Dan's actions were interpreted by those "elegant scholars" as deliberately trying to win the favor of his superiors. Zhuge Dan really wanted to throw all these people into the water, and then ask them one by one who to save first!
At this time, Zhuge Dan was still young, only in his early twenties. In his youth and arrogance, he really couldn't get along with these so-called "elegant and elegant people", so he mocked these people a few words to vent his anger.
But Zhuge Dan was angry, but his future was basically over.
In these days, people who can chat and chat in Yecheng and are so-called "elegant scholars" are basically people from aristocratic families or royal relatives. You have offended these people, how can you expect to be able to do so in Yecheng? Can you survive? !
In the end, Zhuge Dan had no choice but to resign and return to his hometown in Langya to continue studying and wait for the next opportunity to become an official.
But when Zhuge Dan returned home, he discovered that his hometown of Langya had changed from the territory of the Wei Dynasty to the territory of Soochow.
And before Zhuge Dan stayed at home for a few days to heal the psychological trauma of resigning, a clan brother named Zhuge Jin came to the Zhuge family to recruit "promising people" under the guise of returning to his hometown to worship his ancestors. A wise man”.
You can't write two Zhuge Lai in one stroke. Zhuge Jin's operation is completely normal in this era.
Moreover, although Zhuge Jin is not as famous as his brother Zhuge Liang, he is still an important official. After hearing the Zhuge family's evaluation of Zhuge Dan, Zhuge Jin immediately visited Zhuge Dan in person, hoping that Zhuge Dan would serve in Jiangdong and help Zhuge Dan. He leads the troops in battle, what can Zhuge Dan say? !
He was not valued by others in Yecheng, so he had no choice but to resign and go home. As a result, within a few days of returning home, his family brothers entrusted the strength of the army to each other. Zhuge Dan didn't say anything, just rolled up his sleeves and got to work. .
And the first unlucky guy to fall into Zhuge Dan's hands was Zang Ba.
This can't be blamed on Zang Ba. In fact, there was information here that made Zang Ba think that Zhuge Jin was leading the troops, and Zhuge Dan did intend to make Zang Ba think that Zhuge Jin was leading the troops.
Zhuge Jin is a scribe, but I haven't heard of him having any experience in leading troops in combat. There will definitely be flaws when such a person leads troops.
Zhuge Dan also deliberately made some minor mistakes during the march to deepen Zang Ba's understanding. After Zang Ba launched an attack on the Soochow Army, he ordered the front army to collapse at the first touch. Zang Ba did not care at all. Suspecting what a ploy this was, he chased after him without thinking.
Then they were ambushed by the rear army led by Zhuge Dan.
The great general of Bai Zhan fell into the hands of a fledgling recruit so easily.
Fortunately, Zang Ba was also a veteran of many battles. He did not panic when he encountered an ambush in a hurry. Instead, he worked hard to gather the remaining troops, gather the morale of the troops, find a weak point, and lead the troops out of the encirclement.
As for Zhuge Dan. After all, this was Zhuge Dan's first time leading a battle. He still lacked some experience, and his grasp of some battlefield details and fighter opportunities was not very good. Therefore, he could not completely retain Zang Ba and let Zang Ba. He rushed out with thousands of remaining troops.
In this way, Zang Ba led the remaining army to retreat while fighting, preparing to retreat to Pengcheng Kingdom, and asked Xu Huang to send troops to meet him. But a person Zang Ba did not expect suddenly appeared behind him.
It was Zhou Yu and the 20,000 Soochow soldiers led by Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu, who was originally judged by Zang Ba and Xu Huang to return to rescue Huainan, took a circuitous route, first going south and then north, marching in concealment. Now he has led his army into the territory of Pengcheng Kingdom, and immediately blocked Zang Ba's retreat.
Zang Ba had no choice but to fight to the death, but he had no choice but to be intercepted in front and pursued by troops behind, so he was outnumbered. Anyway, a series of unfavorable factors made Zang Ba catch up.
Fortunately, Zang Ba's bodyguards were quite capable. Seeing that the momentum was not right, they immediately helped Zang Ba escape from the battlefield. Zang Ba also half-pushed him and quickly broke through with a dozen of his bodyguards and fled all the way back to Pengcheng.
However, the 10,000 soldiers brought out by Zang Ba were completely wiped out at the junction of Xiapi County and Pengcheng Kingdom.
What's even more terrible is that Zhou Yu led the army to pursue Zang Ba all the way, followed closely behind Zang Ba, and came to Pengcheng.
It's good now. After Xiapi, Pengcheng is in crisis again.
Some time later, Zhou Yu camped under Pengcheng and built siege equipment. At the same time, he also waited for the army of Lu Xun, Zhuge Jin, Xu Sheng and others, and surrounded Pengcheng on three sides.
After Xu Huang and others lost 10,000 infantry, their military strength was weakened again, leaving only more than 20,000 people to hold on. Xu Huang had to send a request for reinforcements to Cao Pi for the first time.
As for requests for reinforcements, once they happen, there will be a second and third time. After receiving three requests for reinforcements, Cao Pi had no choice but to send the last mobile force he had, 10,000 Chinese Imperial Guards. Went to Pengcheng.
At the same time, Cao Pi thought carefully about the third-line battlefield and found that only Zhang Liao in Wancheng still had hope of retreating from the enemy and breaking the situation. He had to write a letter privately, hoping that Zhang Liao could do something.
As long as Zhang Liao can defeat Guan Yu, Wancheng's 30,000 garrison and Xuchang's 20,000 garrison can be transferred eastward to first deal with the rats from the east of the Yangtze River, and then move westward to have a showdown with Liu Bei in Guanzhong!
This is Cao Pi's plan! ! !
(End of chapter)
