Actually, during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, the empty city strategy did exist.
But the protagonists are not Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, but Wenpin and Sun Shiwan.
In history, Wenpin also adopted the same response as he does now when faced with Sun Shiwan's sneak attack, assuming a posture of being unprepared but staying behind closed doors, which led to Sun Shiwan's misjudgment and thought that In fact, Wenpin had been on guard for a long time. Opening the city gate was just a way to set up an ambush to lure him into the trap. Therefore, he did not dare to attack Xiling and chose to withdraw his troops directly.
This not only made Wenpin famous, but also made Sun Shiwan a laughing stock in the army.
But today, things are different.
Historically, Sun Quan's sneak attack on Xiling was not a large-scale operation.
At that time, Jiangxia was divided into two.
The north is Cao Wei's territory, guarded by Wenpin, and the south is Soochow's territory, including E County, Xia Zhi, and Jin Chun, all belonging to Soochow's sphere of influence.
Sun Quan's sneak attack on Xiling was just an attempt to take over Jiangxia. Sun Quan did not bring too many troops. It was the kind of operation where a successful sneak attack would be the best, and a failed sneak attack would result in the withdrawal of troops.
But in this time and space, Sun Quan's real purpose of attacking Jiangxia was to provide cover for the sneak attack on the two counties of Jingnan. Therefore, he not only brought a full 50,000 soldiers, but it was also impossible to predict that Wenpin was on guard. Retreat directly.
At least they have to wait until the main force of the Jingzhou Army is attracted to Jiangxia before they can choose to retreat at the right time.
Therefore, Sun Quan finally gave Zhou Li 5,000 soldiers and horses as the vanguard to test and attack Xiling first.
And Zhou Li is also a rare resourceful person. The most important thing is that this person is really willing to take risks. Historically, he has tricked Cao Xiu to death.
Wenpin had been in Jingzhou for a long time, and he had heard of Zhou Li's reputation. When he learned that Zhou Li had led five thousand troops to attack Xiling, Wenpin knew that his empty city plan could no longer go on.
Wenpin stopped pretending and had already gained five or six days, so it was not considered a loss.
In addition, county soldiers drawn from various counties have also arrived near Xiling City. At this time, Wenpin continued to make plans to empty the city, which would only lead to more losses than gains.
Therefore, Wenpin immediately went out to defend the city, and at the same time ordered the four gates to be closed. The soldiers went to the city wall to hold on, and moved all the defense materials that had been prepared to the city wall.
Next, is the most difficult battle to defend the city.
Counting the days, Xiangyang should have received its call for help at this time. If they go down the Han River to support Xiling, it will take about ten days, and Wenpin needs to hold on for these ten days.
Although the ratio of offensive and defensive forces was more than ten to one, Wenpin was still confident that he could hold on for ten days.
As the Battle of Jiangxia began, Xiangyang immediately mobilized.
Zhuge Liang had already sent a letter back to Xiangyang, asking Xiangyang to be more vigilant and beware of changes in Soochow. When the letter arrived in Jingzhou, it did not even cause any objections.
On the one hand, Fei Yi had informed Xu Shu and Wang Ji about the situation of his mission to Jiangdong before going to Chang'an. The two of them actually came up with similar answers as Zhuge Liang, and had already begun to adjust Jingzhou's defense issues.
Therefore, when Zhuge Liang's letter came, the two of them were not surprised at all. They had already ordered Shi Bao from Jiangling, Zhang Ren from the Public Security Bureau, Wenpin from Jiangxia, Xi Hong from Wuling, and Pan Jun from Lingling to step up their guard.
As for dispatching troops and reinforcements, it is not possible for a while.
On the one hand, this is not wartime, and mobilizing troops and horses is not that simple. It takes at least a month or two to prepare food and grass with the army, and to coordinate and change defenses back and forth.
On the other hand, Cao Wei in the north has been making frequent movements since March. Not only are there signs of troop build-up in the direction of Wancheng, but also signs of troop mobilization in Xuchang and Runan counties slightly further away.
Xu Shu and Wang Ji really didn't dare to move too many troops away from Xiangyang, for fear that Cao Wei was trying to persuade Jiangdong to make a false move, but in fact they wanted to divide Xiangyang's troops, and then send troops from Wancheng and Xuchang to attack Xiangfan.
Therefore, the progress of troop deployment is very slow.
From January to April, Jiangdong suddenly attacked Jiangxia. After receiving the report, Xiangyang had to make adjustments and responses immediately.
The ordnance and food supplies are almost ready, and the Jingzhou naval forces are basically concentrated in Xiangyang. It is not difficult to go south along the Han River to rescue Jiangxia.
But the problem is that the threat of Cao Wei in the north is still there. Even if the focus of this attack is launched by Jiangdong, there is no possibility of sending Cao Wei to take advantage of the situation.
Therefore, it is very important who leads the troops south to rescue Jiangxia and who stays in Xiangyang to take charge of the overall situation.
Originally, Xu Shu and Wang Ji made some calculations and thought that Wang Ji and Guan Ping would lead the Jingzhou navy south to rescue Jiangxia, while Xu Shu would take charge of Xiangfan.
After all, Wang Ji has experience in leading troops in combat. Xu Shu lacks experience in this area, so it is better to stay in Xiangyang. After all, there are Deng Ai, Guan Xing, Liao Hua and other generals in Xiangyang who can lead troops. Xu Shu can only be responsible for making suggestions.
But Guan Yu disagreed.
Yes, Guan Yu disagreed. Just as Zhuge Liang expected, Guan Yu would personally go out and lead the troops in battle.
First of all, Guan Yu was indeed unhappy with Jiangdong's betrayal of the alliance and another sneak attack. He felt that Jiangdong's rats were more interested in eating than beating, so this time they had to be beaten painfully.
Secondly, Guan Yu also raised a very realistic question - if he goes south to rescue Jiang Xia, he will inevitably have a water battle with Jiangdong. Who in Xiangyang City today is better at water battles than him? !
Not to mention knowing water warfare, you can stand on the boat and direct the battle without vomiting. Can you find someone to come out and let me take a look? !
This question was asked directly to Xu Shu and Wang Ji, who were speechless.
After guarding Jingzhou for more than ten years, Xu Shu still could not adapt to the environment of water warfare.
If it was just a boat trip, Xu Shu could bear it, but Xu Shu really didn't know much about navy command.
As for Wang Ji, although he was based in Gangneung before, he was a northerner after all. He didn't really have much talent for water warfare. Although he knew some water warfare techniques, he had never actually commanded one.
In the entire Jingzhou, the only people who can be said to be proficient in water warfare are Guan Yu and his son.
Now that Guan Yu is seriously injured and weak, it stands to reason that it would be fine to let Guan Ping lead the army to rescue. But the problem is that Guan Ping has been under the protection of Guan Yu's wings. It is hard to say how capable he is of actually commanding troops in combat.
If it is an ordinary opponent, it is not impossible to let Guan Ping take action. The important thing is to give Guan Ping a chance to practice and grow. But this time the opponent is the Jiangdong Navy.
In any case, since the Battle of Chibi, the world has recognized that Jiangdong's navy is the strongest, and although Sun Shiwan is less capable in land warfare, his command of water warfare still has his shining moments - for example, during the Battle of Ruxu, Sun Quan He personally commanded the navy and blocked the navy led by Cao Cao in the water stronghold and did not dare to come out.
The opponents were different. Wang Ji and Guan Ping led the troops south to rescue Jiangxia. It was hard to say whether they were sure they could repel the Jiangdong navy. This has always been what Xu Shu and Wang Ji were most worried about.
But now, if Guan Yu can really lead his troops southward in person, even if he faces the Jiangdong navy commanded by Sun Quan, he will definitely have a higher certainty of victory. But can Guan Yu's body be able to do it? !
This question was asked by Xu Shu, and only Xu Shu could ask it. Wang Ji was not qualified enough to question this matter.
Although Guan Yu was angry that Military Advisor Xu looked down on him, Guan Yu still knew what his physical condition was like.
Today, Guan Yu can only travel by car, and can no longer ride a horse, let alone go into battle with a sword.
But Guan Yu also has an excuse for Guan Yu.
"Water warfare is different from land warfare. On the river, there are few generals who fight directly. It all depends on the lives of the soldiers. This time I went on an expedition, I only commanded from the bow of the ship. The generals will take care of the fighting. And Why do you need me to take action?!"
That means that I am only responsible for commanding, leaving the fighting to the soldiers.
Moreover, if Guan Yu only took a boat this time to go south, it would be easier than marching on the road, and it would be less bumpy and tiring.
Xu Shu and Wang Ji discussed together for a while, and finally felt that what Guan Yu said was reasonable. It seemed that this situation was not considered Guan Yu acting out of temper, so there was no need to deprive Guan Yu of his military power according to the secret order given by Zhuge Liang. Already? !
In this way, under Guan Yu's support, the Jingzhou Army made readjustments.
Xiangyang's defense was still led by Wang Ji as the general and Xu Shu as the military advisor, responsible for the Xiangfan defense line.
As long as Cao's army does not take the initiative to attack Deng County and Xinye south, then Xiangfan's Jingzhou army will not go north for the time being and wait and see what happens.
As for Jiangxia, Guan Yu personally led 20,000 naval troops and 10,000 infantry, and took the three generals Guan Ping, Deng Ai, and Guan Suo south to rescue.
Guan Ping accompanied him in order to help Guan Yu share the important task of commanding the navy. After all, apart from Guan Yu, Guan Ping had been with Guan Yu all year round and knew some water warfare techniques.
As for "Guan Suo", Guan Yinping is actually worried and plans to follow Guan Yu and take care of him.
And Deng Ai. To be honest, Deng Ai really doesn’t want to go south.
Don’t forget, Deng Ai is a landlubber. He has been incompatible with boats since he was a child. During the Battle of Chibi in the early years, Deng Ai, who was only twelve years old at the time, sneaked into Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang’s car. Zhang Xi originally planned to let him experience it. Such a grand battle.
But unfortunately, Deng Ai started vomiting from the moment he got on the boat, and continued to vomit until Zhang Xi couldn't bear it anymore, so he sent him back to Xiakou. From then on, Deng Ai kept far away from the Jingzhou navy.
But not now.
Not to mention that Guan Yu asked him to follow him by name, but that his wife and brother-in-law accompanied his father-in-law to the battle, and his son-in-law stayed in Xiangyang. No matter how he said it, it couldn't be justified.
The reason why Guan Yu named Deng Ai to go on the expedition was really not because he wanted to torment Deng Ai.
His daughter has been married for such a long time and he has grandchildren. Even if Guan Yu tries to make things difficult for him, he will almost be able to do it.
The real reason why Guan Yu asked Deng Ai to accompany him was because he wanted Deng Ai to accumulate more experience in water battles.
There was nothing I could do about it. Deng Ai was such a quick learner. Guan Yu taught him a little about water warfare, and the first person to understand it was Deng Ai who fainted when he saw a boat.
Guan Yu knew his physical condition, and even if he didn't work hard, he probably wouldn't be able to last long. Once he died, how could Jingzhou support the entire Jingzhou defense line with only Guan Ping, a general who knew water warfare.
Therefore, Guan Yu planned to use this expedition to let Deng Ai accumulate some experience in water warfare, so that what he had learned and practice could confirm each other, and cultivate Deng Ai's water warfare ability.
On the other hand, Guan Yu always felt that Deng Ai's seasickness problem was just a psychological problem.
In situations like this, if you lock Deng Ai on a boat for several months and make him vomit, he will get used to it.
As long as this problem is cured, Guan Yu is confident that in the next two or three years, he will train another famous water warfare general for the Han Dynasty.
(End of chapter)
