"What?"
"All the Jing army went north?!"
When Cao Zhen heard the news, he was so surprised that he thought he had heard it wrong. After confirming it again and again, he frowned and started thinking.
His opponents in this battle are the famous Li Ru and Xu Shu. Both of them are today's top strategists. They are full of tricks. If you are not careful, you will be fooled. So when he heard the news, his first reaction was that this is The conspiracy of Li Ru and Xu Shu.
He carried out tight defenses by the river. It was entirely possible for the Jing army to break through the defense line with the power of artillery and Kecheng's heavy crossbows, but they would have to pay a heavy price. The best way was to outwit them. So Cao Zhen suspected that this was Jingjun's conspiracy.
Then he asked: "Are you sure that the whole army went north? There is nothing left in the camp? There is no hidden Jing army within a radius of thirty miles?"
The detective said: "There is only one empty camp left on the other side. My brothers and I have checked carefully within a radius of thirty miles, and there is no trace. If Jingjun wants to leave an ambush on the other side, he will need at least five thousand troops." People have the opportunity to sneak across, and it is difficult to hide the whereabouts of such a large number of troops. We searched the area carefully, and there is absolutely no Jingjun."
"Does Jingjun really want to go around to Jiacheng, cross the river, and then go south to attack Xiangcheng?" Cao Zhen stood up, walked slowly, and thought carefully. Logically speaking, the Jing army should have to fight quickly and fight to reach Xudu City as quickly as possible. The detour to Jiacheng would have to delay at least half a month. In addition, the battle in Jiacheng would have to go south again. Attacking Xiangcheng would take an extra month at least.
Cao Zhen knew that there was a big gap in equipment between the Jing and Wei armies. If the Jing army was allowed to cross the river and a battle broke out between the two sides, the Wei army would not be a match for the Jing army. They could only rely on their geographical advantages to contain the enemy and kill them on the other side. .
But this formation of Jing's army left him a little confused. The whole army was really heading north, and there were no ambushes around. Is it really going to go in a circle? The focus of his defense was Xiangcheng, and the vicinity of Jiacheng was defended by other generals under his command. The defense was no worse than his own, but without enough sharp weapons to assist, he was by no means a match for Jing's army.
After much thought, Cao Zhen decided to go north.
He had to defend the two old guys Li Ru and Xu Shu personally, which made others feel uneasy. According to the posture of all Jing's troops heading north, he wanted to turn back and fight back. The journey was the same as his. Xiangcheng was well defended and Jing was defeated in a short time. If the military attack cannot be defeated, he will have time to come back to rescue after the emergency.
So he ordered brothers Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang to lead 5,000 troops to guard Xiangcheng, and he led 10,000 troops and 15 heavy crossbows to rush north to aid Jiacheng.
…
midnight.
In Yuan Jingqianjun's camp, after a slight tremor on the ground, a thick stone slab was slightly lifted up and a pair of bright eyes were revealed to scan the situation outside vigilantly. After confirming that it was safe, the stone slab was pushed open. , lay down carefully.
There was silence outside.
The person who came out was Qin Zhen. He came to the tent entrance first and looked outside. Not far away, he saw a dozen Wei soldiers squatting together to warm themselves over the fire, chatting and laughing. He moved his eyes to the left and right, but saw no one else. , he ducked out and walked familiarly through the camp. After finally confirming that there were only a dozen Wei troops here, he returned to the previous military tent and motioned for the people inside to come out.
There was no room for everyone in the tent, so fifty people came out first.
Qin Zhen led them over and eliminated the dozen or so unsuspecting Wei troops who were barbecuing and joking. Then he let everyone get out and ordered a hundred people to guard the shore while the rest went to dig out the buried artillery and weapons. City heavy crossbow.
Four hundred people dug quickly, and it was not until late at night that they were all dug out.
Kecheng's heavy crossbow was pushed to the position where it was previously placed, but the artillery was too heavy and could not be moved unless there were seven or eight horses to pull it. He simply turned the muzzle on the spot and loaded the shells.
Qin Zhen first let the army rest for a while, finished Wei Jun's barbecue, drank a few glasses of Zhuangxing wine, ordered one person to quickly catch up with the army and report the situation, and led the rest of the troops to the river in the dark.
In the winter of 210 AD, Zhang Xiu began to make strategic plans after returning to Chang'an from the Bohai Sea. By April 211, he launched a war. It was already mid-May, and the sun was scorching hot, but at night, the river was still freezing cold. .
The Ru River is not wide. It is five to six feet wide and more than ten feet deep at its deepest point. The current is not fast. Each of the five hundred Jingqian troops found a slender ventilation tube, dived into the water, and swam through it. After crossing the river, Qin Zhen took two people to the shore to observe silently.
The Wei army's defense was still relatively tight. It was already late at night, but the soldiers still stayed at their posts with strong spirits. Patrols passed by from time to time, especially along the river bank, where there was a guard every ten steps.
Qin Zhen hid in the grass and observed, frowning.
The Wei army's defense was so tight that it was difficult to break in quietly. It seemed that it was impossible to get in. They could only rely on artillery bombardment to force their way in. He divided the five hundred people into five groups and charged in from different directions to create the impression of being surrounded by a large army. After preparations were completed, he waved the command flag to the people on the other side.
At the first quarter of Mao hour, it will be five o'clock in the morning in future generations.
"Boom! Boom...!"
The roar of the artillery was like thunder in the quiet night, and the six artillery pieces rang out in all directions. Many Wei soldiers who were still sleeping were stunned when they heard the deafening roar, and then the cannonballs landed in the Wei army camp and exploded.
The unsuspecting Wei army was instantly blown away.
Then, there was a sharp whistle in the sky. This sound was very familiar to the Wei army. It was the sound of sharp arrows from the heavy crossbows of the Jing army to defeat the city. Only then did they realize that what sounded outside was not thunder, but the attack of the Jing army.
Everyone panicked.
Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang woke up from their sleep. When they heard the roaring artillery outside, their faces turned pale with fright. They could never imagine why the Jing army who had gone north had returned. He hurriedly put on his armor and ordered his people to enter the defensive position to defend quickly. At the same time, he ordered his people to quickly deliver information to Cao Zhen.
At this moment, loud killing cries rang out from all directions outside the camp.
After two rounds of artillery and three rounds of arrows, the unsuspecting Wei army suffered heavy losses. Qin Zhen saw the opportunity and planted military flags on the shore. At the same time, no one carried two military flags and rushed into the Wei army camp.
Wei Jun never expected that Jing Jun had already crossed the river, and was so shocked that he forgot to take precautions.
Because it was dark tonight, and the Jing Army's killing cries were heard from all directions outside the camp, the Wei army inside did not know how many people from the Jing Army came. They only knew that they were probably surrounded, causing panic and scrambling to escape. , trampling on each other.
