Chapter 320: The virtual is real
It is said that in the Qingxian Palace, the Longzhu and Chen Gong teams, representing the two major forces of the Black Mountain Army and the Chen Liu Army, met here to study the strategic deployment of annihilating the powerful enemy Cao Mengde in the Central Plains.
Chen Gong showed absolute trust and clearly explained Lu Bu's deployment of more than 100,000 troops. Chen Long asked Zhou Buyi, who was pretending to be Long Zhou, to talk about his strategic vision. Chen Gong was scheming and could not express his joy and anger. Zang Ba couldn't help showing contempt when he saw that Long Zhou was so young.
Zhou Busu didn't take it seriously and spoke out the first level of his idea. It turned out that in Zhou Buyi's idea, Chen Liujun and the Black Mountain Army needed to attack in two ways. Both ways were a combination of virtual and real, and a combination of virtual and real.
First, Lu Bu personally led 50,000 soldiers to attack the 30,000 soldiers in Dingtao who were guarded by Le Jin, Li Dian and Liang Mao. Zang Ba led his 20,000 troops to prevent Caoxian's chariots from rescuing them, and ambushed Caoxian on the road leading to Dingtao. On the road, an ambush operation was carried out to completely cut off the connection between Dingtao and Caoxian.
This large-scale battle between 70,000 troops and 35,000 troops includes sieges, field battles, ambushes, reinforcements, duels and other war elements. Both sides are famous generals and have a large amount of supplies. It is likely to be a back-and-forth battle. Long Zhou's mouth turned out to be a virtual weapon to contain Cao Cao's White Tiger Army.
Zang Ba looked disdainful, held his neck high, and said without even glancing at Zhou Buyi from the corner of his eye: "According to what Mr. Xiaolong said, my lord's main force of 70,000 is still a virtual army. Is it true that your army is a real army? You real soldiers Soldier, where is the target?"
Zhou Bujie was neither happy nor angry, he still looked neither humble nor arrogant, and said: "What is true is what is false, what is false is true, what is false is what is true, this is the art of confusing the enemy."
"General Zang Xuangao is right. We are indeed a real force along the way and must gain something. If Marquis Lu Wen can capture Dingtao along the way, everyone will naturally be happy and deal a heavy blow to Cao Cao's rear. But objectively speaking, Le Jin and Li Dian will not give up Dingtao so easily. Once the battle situation reaches a stalemate and Cao Cao's soldiers return, it will be difficult to achieve a great breakthrough, and there will be no strategic threat."
"So, along the way, we must directly threaten Cao Cao's confidants so that he does not dare to rescue Ding Tao. The details are related to confidentiality. I wonder if everyone here can keep it strictly confidential?" After saying that, he asked Long Zhu for instructions with his eyes, which meant I don't know if I should tell the details of the battle.
Chen Long looked around the hall and said, "Gongtai, could you please leave the guards for now?" Chen Gong nodded and waved everyone away. Chen Long continued, "We are all generals here. It's okay for you to say it, Long Zhou."
Zhou Buji said: "All generals, please come here." Everyone didn't understand what he meant, so they all gathered around Zhou Buji. Zhou Busu dipped his pen in some water, drew an irregular oval, and then drew a thin line, saying: "This line is the Yellow River, and this circle is the ancient Daze Heze. The position of our Black Mountain Army is now Here." He said and drew a triangle east of Chen Liu to indicate the location of the Montenegrin Army.
"Dingtao is located in the south of Heze, passing through Dong'a County and Juye County. It is the area around Rencheng and Qufu, where Yanzhou is governed. There are many towns and cities between the counties, and the middle layers are heavily fortified and guarded by famous generals." Zhou Undoubtedly, several more triangles were drawn in the south and southeast of Heze, representing Dingtao, Dong'a, Rencheng, etc. The famous generals who gathered around couldn't help but have a bird's-eye view, as if a simple map was there. In front of you.
Several people have begun to look at Long Zhou with admiration, but they don't know that map making is Zhou Buyi's strength.
Zhou Bujie continued: "North of Heze, between the Yellow River, is Juancheng, the original seat of Yanzhou." After saying this, Chen Gong was an old fox after all, and there was a spark in his eyes, as if he had caught it all at once. The strategic focus of Long Zhou.
"Between Juancheng and Rencheng is a large plain, suitable for cavalry surprise attacks. There is only a small Linqiu County in the middle. The current garrison in Juancheng is only 5,000. If Dingtao is sent to Juancheng in secret, two thousand troops will be sent to Juancheng in secret. A hundred thousand troops besieging the city can be defeated with a single drum."
"Juancheng has fallen, and Dingtao has been engaged in a series of battles. This ensures that Cao Cao panics and takes advantage of him to move troops around to block the holes in Juancheng. Marquis Lu Wen's army can turn the weak into real, cooperate with the Black Mountain Army, and call him You can't have both sides at the same time. When the time comes, whether you want to engage in an upright siege or a surprise blitz, of course each will show its abilities! Hahaha!" Zhou Busuo laughed proudly after saying this, as if Juancheng had already been stepped on by himself. .
Chen Gong nodded repeatedly, and Zang Ba also put away his disdainful expression. Zhou Buji's strategic arrangement naturally has great feasibility and possibility of success. What Chen Gong and others didn't know was that Chen Long and Zhou Buyi had already agreed that the Montenegrin Army's first military target was not Dingtao or Juancheng, but the largest city at the junction of Yanzhou and Jizhou---- -----Puyang.
The Puyang area crosses the plains of the lower reaches of the Yellow River, bordering Handan and Yecheng of Jizhou to the north, Jiyin County and Juancheng County of Yanzhou to the east, and Tangyin and Huaxian counties of Anyang County in Bingzhou to the west. Its geographical location is extremely important, as it is Jizhou The water and land chokepoint between Yanzhou and Yanzhou.
Puyang was called Emperor Qiu in ancient times. It is said that Zhuanxu, one of the Five Emperors, once made it his capital, so it was known as the Imperial Capital. The name of Puyang began during the Warring States Period. It was named because it is located on the Yangtze River of Pu River. It is one of the important birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization.
During the Warring States Period, Puyang people included the politician and strategist Wu Qi, the reformer Shang Yang, the politician Lu Buwei, the diplomat Zhang Yi, etc. It can be said that there were many talents. In the late Warring States period, when great powers were competing for hegemony, frequent wars and repeated battles were fought in this area, reflecting its extremely important strategic position.
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Great Golden Embankment was built to control the water of the Yellow River. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, the people of Puyang helped Xiang Yu defeat Zhang Han, accelerating the demise of the Qin Dynasty. During the Han Dynasty, Puyang was still the seat of Dongjun. Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty personally led tens of thousands of officials and soldiers to Puyang to block the breach of the Huzi River in the second year of Yuanfeng (109 BC); in the fourth year of the founding of Emperor Cheng of the Western Han Dynasty (29 BC) ) autumn, when the river broke through Dongjun, the imperial court sent officials and people to block it and built more golden embankments; in the twelfth year of Yongping of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 69), under the leadership of the famous water conservancy expert Wang Jing, more than a thousand canals and embankments were built. Here, the Guhe River flows south of the city, and the Yellow River has been peaceful for more than 700 years. During this period, Puyang's economy developed rapidly and its population increased significantly. In the second year of Emperor Ping's reign in the Western Han Dynasty, Puyang's population reached 370,000, making it one of the most densely populated areas in China at that time.
During the Han Dynasty, Puyang's economy and culture were developed and talented people gathered. The famous officials Ji An, Confucian scholars Suo Lufang, Jingfang and other Puyang people were all outstanding figures of their generation. During the short-lived Wang Mang New Dynasty between the two Han Dynasties, Dongjun was renamed Zhiting, and Puyang was still the administrative seat.
In such an important town, even though Yuan Shao was on good terms with Cao Cao at the time, there were still famous generals Xu Huang, Xu Gongming, military advisor Manchong Manboning, and fifty thousand White Tiger troops guarding it. This time, Chen Long wanted to attack Juancheng, lure out Xu Huang's troops to rescue Juancheng, stage a beautiful ambush when Cao Jun was trying to cross the Yellow River, and then pursue Puyang to fight an annihilation battle, completely occupying Puyang's Yellow River waterway. It is connected with Mengjin, Guandu, Chenliu and other waterways. When the time comes, it is guaranteed that Yuan Shao in Jizhou and Cao Cao in Yanzhou will have trouble sleeping, and they will cooperate with the troops of Lu Bu and Gongsun Zan to eliminate Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, the two strongest enemies in one fell swoop.
By then, Liu Bei is already a thing of the past, and if Cao Cao and Yuan Shao die again, only Sun Ce and Sun Quan will be left in the world. Quick unification will not be a dream. Capturing Puyang with all their strength and establishing a firm foothold is the biggest strategic goal agreed upon by Zhou Buyi and Chen Long. With this base, Chen Long dreams of opening up the mouth of the Yellow River and even deploying troops from the sea to continuously inject the Qinglong Army. In the North China Plain, the troops from Wancheng and Chang'an are mobilized at the same time to destroy Cao Yuan. It will be just around the corner.
Of course, Chen Gong and others did not know all of Chen Long's ideas, but Zhou Buji's plan was flawless. If he controlled Yanzhou, it would be of great benefit to Lu Bu's army without any harm. Moreover, when distributing benefits, the Juancheng area was originally the territory claimed by the Black Mountain Army, and Chen Gong and Zang Ba had no objection to this.
The victory of Chen Long's attack on Puyang was due to surprise, but the general Xu Huang and the military advisor Man Chong were by no means ordinary people. Let's talk about Man Chong first. He was a famous scholar in Yanzhou, named Boning, and was from Changyi, Shanyang. According to the official history, he first served as the magistrate of Xu County under Cao Cao, in charge of justice, and was known for his strict law enforcement. After he was transferred to the prefect of Runan, he began to participate in the military and participated in the Battle of Chibi. Later, when Guan Yu besieged Fan City, Man Chong assisted Cao Ren in defending the city, discouraging his plan to abandon the city and flee, and successfully persisted until reinforcements arrived. During Cao Pi's reign, Man Chong was stationed in Xinye and was responsible for the war against Wu on the Jingzhou side. During Cao Rui's reign, Man Chong was transferred to Yangzhou and succeeded Cao Xiu in charge of fighting Wu on the east side, and he made many contributions. Later, due to old age, he was transferred back to the central government to serve as Taiwei. He died of illness a few years later and was given the posthumous title of Jinghou.
Man Chong was strict in enforcing the law. When he was the magistrate of Xu County, Cao Hong's relatives and guests broke the law many times in Xu County, and Man Chong arrested them. Cao Hong begged Man Chong, but Man Chong refused to let him go. Cao Hong asked Cao Cao to intercede, and Man Chong executed the offender in advance before Cao Cao came. When Cao Cao learned about it, he was not angry but happy, praising Man Chong for his strict law enforcement. After the famous scholar Yang Biao was imprisoned, Man Chong was in charge of the interrogation. Xun Yu and Kong Rong wrote letters pleading: "Only question, don't torture." Man Chong ignored him and tortured him as before. Xun Yu and Kong Rong were extremely angry. A few days later, Man Chong asked to see Cao Cao and said: "No evidence of guilt was found during the torture of Yang Biao. If he is to be executed, evidence must be found before he can be executed. This man's name is famous in the country. If no evidence is found and he is executed, he will lose the support of the people. Please My lord, please think clearly." Cao Cao released Yang Biao immediately, and Xun Yu and Kong Rong understood what he had done. They were full of praise for what he had done and were very friendly to him.
At that time, Yuan Shao dominated Jizhou, and Runan County was Yuan Shao's hometown. His disciples and guests were distributed in various counties, and they supported Cao Cao. Cao Cao was very worried about this and made Man Chong the prefect of Runan. Man Chong recruited 500 people, conquered more than 20 fortresses, designed to trap and kill more than 10 leaders, captured more than 20,000 households, and 2,000 private soldiers. Man Chong ordered them all to go home to farm, and Runan was pacified.
After the defeat of Chibi, in the 24th year of Jian'an, Guan Yu attacked Fan City, and Man Chong assisted Cao Ren in defending the city. In August of the same year, heavy rain caused the Han River to overflow. The Yu imperial army that came for reinforcements was flooded and the entire army was annihilated. The walls of Fancheng also collapsed in many places due to flooding, and the army was panicked. Someone advised Cao Ren to abandon the city and flee, but Man Chong advised him: "Mountains and rivers come and go quickly, I hope it won't be too long." I heard that Guan Yu sent other generals to Jia's command, and the people south of Xu were worried. Guan Yu did not dare to attack because he was afraid that our army would be behind. Horn. If we run away now, our country will no longer own the land south of the Hong River. Please keep waiting." Cao Ren agreed. Man Chong drowned his white horse and swore an oath with the soldiers that they would die. Fighting, everyone regained their strength. Later, Xu Huang's reinforcements arrived and the water dropped slightly. Cao Ren, Man Chong and Xu Huang attacked Guan Yu successively, but Guan Yu was finally defeated.
Man Chong had outstanding achievements throughout his life and was successively named General Yangwu, General Fubo, Marquis of Nanxiang, Marquis of Changyi, General Zhengdong, and Taiwei. Together with Sima Yi and Jiang Ji, he was a veteran of the four dynasties of Cao and Wei. In the third year of Zhengshi (AD 242), Man Chong passed away and was given the posthumous title Jinghou. His son Man Wei ascended the throne.
Man Chong lived a lifetime of honor and served the Cao family wholeheartedly, but Xu Huang, another guard of Puyang, was even more incredible. If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
