The Jiangling offensive and defensive battle was busy with crossbow bombardment, and the fighting was very enjoyable.
At this time in Xiangyang, Wenpin was also in a dilemma.
Soochow's Jiangxia navy went upstream and attacked the Xiangyang navy at Hanjin Ferry. As a result, Wenpin had to choose to gather the navy, assemble his troops, and fight against Soochow's Jiangxia navy in the waters near Xiangfan.
Although they still won a small victory by virtue of their strength and their own command, it did not prevent the Soochow Navy from establishing a water stronghold near Yidu to cover the Soochow Army's landing on the north bank of the Han River.
In addition, Zhang Xi from Jiangling sent a military report to Wenpin, telling Wenpin to be careful of Soochow's plan to hide the truth and to strengthen the defense of Xiangyang. Therefore, out of caution, Wenpin requested reinforcements from the three eastern counties. .
Under such circumstances, Kou Feng led 20,000 soldiers from the three eastern counties down the Han River and arrived at Xiangyang City.
After recognizing Zhang Xi as his brother, Kou Feng's current treatment is completely different from that in history. Not only did Zhuge Liang trust him to guard Dongsan County, but he was also very obedient and available whenever he asked for help.
But just after Kou Feng led his troops to Xiangyang, the Soochow army suddenly stopped moving.
The 20,000 Jiangxia navy often moved towards Xiangyang, trying to test the defensive weaknesses of the Xiangyang navy. However, the Jiangdong army that landed on the north bank of the Han River was really as stupid at this time, and there was no movement at all.
The situation has become very strange. Who is the attacker and who is the defender? !
The more this happens, the less Wenpin dares to act rashly.
In addition to the navy, the army is also very important in the Xiangfan defense system.
Earlier, Wenpin only had 10,000 land troops, which was insufficient. Therefore, his response was to mainly use the navy to compete with the Soochow Navy for control of the Han River to ensure smooth communication between Xiang and Fan.
As long as the waterway is not cut off by the Soochow Army, even if Fancheng is attacked, Wenpin will have enough reaction time to transport reinforcements from Xiangyang.
Therefore, at the beginning, Wenpin only arranged 3,000 soldiers in Fancheng, and Liao Hua was responsible for guarding Fancheng.
It's not that Wenpin doesn't want to send more troops, but with so many troops, Fancheng must be defended, and Xiangyang must be defended as well.
There are only three thousand troops stationed in Fancheng, so it is naturally impossible to take the initiative to test the strength of the Soochow Army. With only such a small number of troops, taking the initiative will lead to death faster.
Later, after Kou Feng led his troops to support him, Wenpin finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly asked Kou Feng to lead 10,000 soldiers to support Fancheng's defense.
But during this period of time, the Soochow troops that landed on the north bank of the Han River actually stopped gathering and marching. After setting up camp, there was no movement.
Under this situation, Kou Feng, a reckless man, immediately proposed to take the initiative and conduct a tentative attack.
It's understandable that we didn't do this before. After all, we didn't have enough troops. But now, with 13,000 soldiers guarding Fancheng, it would be somewhat unjustifiable if we continue to stand still, right? !
Kou Feng's intention was not to fight a decisive battle with the Soochow Army, but to have a tentative fight to see what the Soochow Army was doing. It was not a big deal.
But after thinking for a long time, Wenpin still rejected Kou Feng's suggestion.
Although according to the preliminary investigation of the reconnaissance cavalry, the Soochow army that landed on the north bank of the Han River this time only had 10,000 troops, but to be honest, Wenpin did not believe this data.
Once the army is on the move, a rough number can probably be determined based on the army's marching tactics, the size of the camp and the number of stove holes.
However, if they are stationed in one place, the reconnaissance cavalry cannot get close to check, and the detailed work cannot effectively convey true and accurate information. Wen Pin does not dare to take this risk.
In the Xiangfan defense system, the connection between Xiangyang and Fancheng is the most important. Only when these two places echo each other can they exert the greatest strategic value. Once one party fails, the effect of the entire defense system will be reduced by half.
If troops are sent out hastily from Fancheng, once they encounter a planned ambush by the enemy, they will lose troops and horses in vain, which will be very detrimental to the defense of Fancheng.
It's not impossible.
In particular, the Soochow Army put up such a large formation at the beginning, giving people the impression that they were going to attack Xiangfan, but now they are motionless. If there is nothing fishy in this, Wen Ping cannot understand it anyway.
Of course, the most important thing is that Wenpin's duty is to guard Xiangfan after all.
As long as Fancheng is not threatened, even if the Soochow Army is stationed on the north bank of the Han River for a long time, it will only consume the Soochow Army's food, grass and baggage, and the impact on Xiangfan will be minimal.
All in all, Wenpin was out of caution. As long as the Soochow Army did not march towards Fancheng, he would continue to stand still and not take risks.
If the attacker is not in a hurry to attack, how can the defender be in a hurry to take the initiative?
Originally, this matter should have ended here. Kou Feng still respected Wenpin's qualifications, and Wenpin's explanation made sense.
Kou Feng's use of troops to fight was just a little reckless, but it does not mean that he is a fool. In this situation, defending Xiangfan is a great achievement, and attacking rashly may suffer a big defeat. Even Kou Feng knows how to choose.
But what happened next made Kou Feng become impatient.
Without him, the news that 100,000 Dongwu troops were besieging Jiangling finally reached Xiangyang. Kou Feng was in a hurry! ! !
My brother is surrounded, how can I sit idly by as my younger brother? !
Moreover, in Kou Feng's view, he had found the real reason why the Soochow Army stood still.
This group of Wu dogs used this bluffing trick to contain the Xiangyang army and prevent it from going south to rescue Jiangling.
In fact, the Wu army on the north bank of the Han River did not have many people at all. In Kou Feng's opinion, there might not even be ten thousand people.
Therefore, Kou Feng once again asked Wen to fight, asking him to lead 10,000 troops from the three counties of Dong Dynasty to take the initiative to clear out the Dongwu army on the north bank of the Han River, relieve the danger of Xiangyang, and then go south as soon as possible to support Jiangling.
However, Wenpin still disagreed.
It is true that after receiving the news that Jiangling was besieged, Wenpin had the same idea as Kou Feng. After all, judging from the surface, this should indeed be the case.
But still the same problem, Wenpin couldn't understand if it was a bluffing strategy, then why did the Soochow Army on the north bank of the Han River stand still since they landed? !
To do a suspicious strategy, you must build up a lot of momentum, and the best way to build up momentum is to mobilize and divide your troops to guerrilla in various counties on the north bank of the Han River, creating the illusion that the Wu army is sending troops in large numbers. Only in this way can it serve the purpose of bluffing.
How can you bluff when you're squatting still? !
Such an unreasonable move really made Wenpin have to wonder whether the Soochow army attacking Xiangyang was actually a suspicious force.
There is one thing that Wenpin agrees with Kou Feng's judgment, that is, the main direction of Soochow's attack must be in Jiangling, and the purpose of this Soochow army going north to attack Xiangyang must be to contain the Xiangyang army and prevent the Xiangyang army from letting go. Go south to support Jiangling.
But to contain the Xiangyang Army, only relying on 10,000 land troops and 20,000 naval troops is somewhat insufficient, right? !
If Wenpin had not requested reinforcements from the three eastern counties, then these 30,000 land and sea troops would have had a good containment effect. After all, Wenpin only had the same number of troops at the time and did not dare to divide his troops and go south.
But now that reinforcements from Dongsan County have arrived, Xiangyang has a total of 50,000 land and sea troops. It is not realistic for the Soochow Army to contain the Xiangyang Army with 30,000 people.
Therefore, Wenpin judged that the Soochow army on the north bank of the Han River was stationary during this period and was probably waiting for the arrival of reinforcements. The current strength of this army is probably more than 10,000, and it is very likely that there are 20,000 or even 30,000 troops. .
At this time, Kou Feng, who was in Fancheng, took the initiative to attack the Soochow army. Wouldn't he attack more with less and risk death? !
Therefore, Wenpin rejected Kou Feng's request to send troops and repeatedly explained to Kou Feng that there must be fraud.
But Kou Feng couldn't listen to this, so he led his troops to attack on his own initiative.
On the one hand, Kou Feng was really worried that Zhang Xi would be besieged. One hundred thousand Dongwu troops besieged Jiangling. Even though he had the strong city of Jiangling as a support, if he continued to fight, his brother would definitely be at a disadvantage.
On the other hand, Kou Feng also had his own judgment on the enemy's situation.
Wenpin believed that the Soochow Army was secretly accumulating strength to lure the Xiangyang defenders to take the initiative, but Kou Feng also judged that the reason why the Soochow Army was stagnant was due to insufficient strength. It was not that they did not want to bluff, but that they simply could not do it. .
Of course, Kou Feng is not a willful fool. He knows that he cannot rule out the situation analyzed by Wen Ping. But without even a fight or a test, he knows that huddled in Fancheng and defended is really not his fighting style.
No matter what, if you fight, you will know whether the opponent is pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger, or whether he is too guilty to attack? !
Kou Feng sent out troops directly after giving Wenpin a reply.
As for Wenpin, he couldn't stop Kou Feng at all.
Kou Feng was the actual commander of the reinforcements from Dongsan County. He brought troops to assist Wenpin in defending Xiangyang, but in theory, Wenpin had no actual command authority over Kou Feng.
In terms of authority, the two have an almost equal relationship, but in terms of leadership, there is no clear leadership relationship between the two.
Kou Feng wanted to lead the troops of Dongsan County to take the initiative, but Wenpin really couldn't stop him.
For this reason, Wenpin could only quickly send another 5,000 reinforcements to Liao Hua in Fancheng to prepare Liao Hua to respond to Kou Feng.
Then, Wenpin personally led the Xiangyang navy and took the initiative to launch an attack on the Soochow army's water stronghold stationed in Yicheng.
If you want to fight, let's fight together. At least it can contain the combat power of the Soochow Navy and relieve Kou Feng a little pressure.
Otherwise, Wenpin is really worried that if Kou Feng leaves, he really won't be able to come back.
(End of chapter)
