Mid-August.
The army set out at the end of July and did not arrive in Nanyang until mid-August. After the Chinese army was positioned in Duyang City, there was no movement. The hundreds of thousands of troops were all stationed near Duyang City, Wancheng and Fancheng, but they did not make any move. Instead of going on the offensive, they were recuperating, which made Liu Chu's people nervous. Until the end of August, there was still no movement from Jing's army.
Similarly, after the Wei army arrived in Yuzhou, they did not start a war with Sun Wu.
But it no longer mattered whether Cao Cao wanted to go to war or not. Sun Wu seized this opportunity and was determined to make a big profit in the battle of Jingwei.
Sun Ce appointed Zhou Yu as the Commander-in-Chief, and led Zhou Tai, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and other generals to garrison Lujiang with an army of 70,000 people, ready to march north at any time. Sun Ce personally led the expedition and took Taishi Ci and other generals with an army of 80,000 people to wait near Xuzhou.
If Jingwei did not start a war, Sun Ce would naturally not dare to touch Cao Cao's bad luck.
But if a war breaks out, he will naturally pounce and take a bite.
So the most comfortable thing now is Sun Ce. He has signed an alliance contract with Liu Chu, and all the troops on the border between the two sides have withdrawn. Liu Chu is guarding against Dajing and preparing to attack Yizhou, but he can boldly mobilize the power of the whole country and prepare to go north to capture Xuzhou.
Near Huai'an.
Sun Ce's Chinese Army Dragon Tent was located here.
"Your Majesty, there is news from Yuzhou," Lu Su reported. "The Jing army did not take any action after stationing in Nanyang, and the Wei army stationed in Runan did not take any action. Both sides seemed to be waiting for something, and they were very restrained."
"Ah!"
Sun Ce was looking at the hung map and sneered: "It's just a tacit understanding. Cao Wei has Cao Wei's conspiracy, and Dajing has Dajing's plan. The target of their attack is neither Liu Chu nor me, Da Wu. Just wait. , the war is bound to break out."
Lu Su smiled and said: "Jingwei is a snipe and a clam. Jingguo has restrained Cao Wei's main force, which just gives us an opportunity. Xuzhou will have it at our fingertips. Similarly, Cao Wei has also restrained Jingguo's main force, Liu Bei will definitely general Attack Yizhou. However, Jingguo is powerful, with more than 500,000 soldiers and horses, Nanyang only has 170,000, and Yizhou also has an army of 120,000. It may not be easy for Liu Bei to capture Yizhou."
Sun Ce smiled lightly: "Then it depends on Liu Bei's ability. If he wants to steal food from Boyuan's mouth, it depends on whether Liu Bei's teeth are hardened." Then he pointed to the map of Xuzhou and said, "After the war begins, our soldiers will Split into two groups, you lead 30,000 troops and capture Pengcheng quickly. I overthrow the rest and capture Xuzhou. Zhou Yu takes Pi and surrounds Xuzhou. Don't let Cao Wei's reinforcements come in."
"Here!" Lu Su said.
With Xiapi and Pengcheng in hand, the two counties to the west of Xuzhou will isolate Cao Wei's army. Cao Wei's army in the north will definitely attack Jingguo and will have no time to go south. By then, they will be able to occupy the entire Xuzhou.
…
Montenegro.
After Cao Cao's army and Zhang Xiu's army arrived in the south, Xi Zhicai immediately ordered the Black Tiger Army to prepare to leave the mountain.
The road from Heishan to Bingzhou has already been explored. Although it is a bit difficult, it can achieve unexpected results. Under the leadership of Zhang Yan, the 50,000 Black Tiger Army went out day and night, spending seven days walking out of the mountain and reaching the foot of Taiyue Mountain.
This place is just sandwiched between Luliang Mountain and Taiyue Mountain, with Taiyuan Basin to the north and Fenyang Basin to the south.
The terrain is gentle.
Among Zhang Yan's 50,000 black tiger troops, all were Youzhou's tall war horses provided by Cao Wei. The purpose was to rush through Bingzhou and into Chang'an as quickly as possible.
In order to achieve a surprise effect and to guard against reinforcements from other places in the country, we must be prepared for both. Xi Zhicai ordered Zhang Yan to lead eight thousand cavalry from Taiyue Mountain and rush towards Lingshikou, bypassing all the cities they passed, with the purpose of breaking through Lingshikou when it was defenseless.
As long as Lingshikou is breached, reinforcements from Bingzhou to support Chang'an can be blocked.
Xi Zhicai personally led more than 40,000 cavalrymen to go south on the mountain road, fight out of Zhongtiao Mountain, seize the Yellow River ferry, and advance into Chang'an. At the same time, he was ready to receive the reinforcements of Cao Wei's army.
Cao Wei's move really caught Dajing by surprise.
Zhang Yan led eight thousand cavalry and rushed towards Lingshikou. There was no obstruction by any troops along the way, and the flow was smooth.
However, when passing by Fenyang, he was discovered by Tian Jing, the magistrate of Fenyang. Since Tian Jing was transferred to the county magistrate of Fenyang, he has rapidly promoted national policies and strictly inspected every detail, making the local nobles in Fenyang afraid to reach out to national policies. Anyone caught in any matter will be severely punished.
In order to prevent some nobles from taking risks, Tian Jing applied for two thousand Fenyang officers and soldiers to be stationed near Fenyang City. The garrison officer was a student of the same year as Tian Jing's military school, named Deyao.
Mu Gong was studious and honest, and he was particularly sincere and hard-working. He had a similar personality with Tian Jing and cooperated with Fenyang's government affairs. The two of them worked together to make Fenyang's national policy very smooth.
It was precisely because of this meticulous attitude that Mugong discovered the Black Tiger Army rushing through Fenyang at night.
Mugong was stationed in Jingmao Village, ten miles outside Fenyang City. The patrol team routinely patrolled the gentry estates around Fenyang. They noticed a large number of cavalry crossing the border and immediately reported the matter to Mugong.
At the time of the war in the south, the situation in Bingzhou was delicate, and Mugong suddenly felt that something was wrong. He made a decisive decision and led all the officers and soldiers out. At the same time, he sent people to report the news to Fenyang Tian Jing and Bingzhou General Zhang Liao.
Since most of the officers and soldiers were infantry and there were only 500 cavalry, Mu Gong ordered the infantry to march quickly, and he led 500 cavalry to intercept Lingshi.
Lingshikou, bordering Leihuo in the east and Hefen in the west, is the junction of Taiyuan Basin and Fenyang Basin.
As the saying goes: Open the mouth of Lingshi and vacate Jinyang Lake. Lingshikou is Fenshui Pass. Going south to Fenshui Pass can lead directly to the Yellow River. Crossing the Yellow River is Chang'an. If there is a crisis in Chang'an, the situation will be extremely dangerous.
Mu Gong was keenly aware of the danger of the situation and was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat. He ordered that he rush to Lingshikou to report the news at all costs.
Fortunately, Zhang Yan was afraid that the horse's hooves would alert the garrison in Bingzhou, so the cavalry did not go all out. This gave Mu Gong time to snatch the report. However, when Mu Gong was about to arrive at Lingshikou, he unexpectedly encountered three hundred detective horses from the Black Tiger Army.
The detective horses of the Black Tiger Army unexpectedly met each other face to face. Because the night was too dark, they had no idea who was on the other side. The captain of the Black Tiger Army's detective horse shouted: "Who is on the opposite side?"
Along the way, Mu Gong was anxious and anxious. His eyes shot out a cold and silent light. He met the enemy face to face. With a cold face, he kept silent. He straightened his bow and arrow, struck preemptively, and shouted: "The person who will take your life!" and then gave the order. : "Fire the arrow! Rush over!"
The opponent was caught off guard.
Mu Qinggong led the cavalry and rushed over with a hedge, losing more than a hundred people, and headed towards the Lingshikou non-stop.
After Zhang Yan learned the news, he decisively ordered the entire army to rush to Lingshikou and attack Lingshikou at all costs, otherwise Cao Wei's plan would be destroyed.
