According to "Shui Jing Zhu": Wuling has five streams, Weixiong River, Yuxi, Youxi, Yuanxi and Chenxi, all of which are inhabited by barbarians, so it is called Wuxi Barbarians.
From the end of the Western Han Dynasty to the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the barbarians in Wuling County rose up in resistance due to court corruption and excessive government taxes.
At that time, the Wuling County government was located in Yiling County. The barbarians defeated the imperial army many times and conquered many surrounding counties.
In the end, even the administrative office of Yiling was occupied by barbarians, and the imperial court had no choice but to abolish Yiling County and move the Wuling administrative office to Hanshou on the bank of Dongting Lake.
During the Guangwu period, Emperor Liu Xiu sent General Wuwei Liu Shang and Fubo General Ma Yuan to conquer the Wuxi barbarians. As a result, Liu Shang was annihilated because he underestimated the enemy and rushed in. Ma Yuan also failed to quell the enemy and died of illness during the expedition. Later, the court We can only focus on appeasing this area.
Zhuge Liang was well versed in history, and he was a little confused when he heard the word Wuxi Man. "There are only three thousand troops stationed in Wuling. I don't know why Zi Fang was greedy for power and rushed in..."
When Zhang Fei heard that there was a war, he immediately became interested and shouted: "Are these barbarians very powerful? Ziyu, give me a thousand men, and I will rescue Mi Zifang."
"Yide must not be reckless. The former famous general Ma Fubo also suffered a defeat here. Now the troops in various places in Jingzhou are tense. Don't get too entangled with the Wuxi barbarians. Try to redeem Mi Zifang first." Zhuge Liang dissuaded.
Lan Tian frowned and said, "Since there is a problem, we should find a way to solve it completely."
After everyone discussed it, they decided to send troops from Lingling to rescue Mi Fang.
Lantian left Xu Shuang, the deputy general of the trapped army, and asked him to recruit new soldiers for Zhuge Liang in Lingling, and then sent them to the Jiangwu Hall recruit camp for training.
Gao Shun and Gan Ning each led an army of two thousand, and Lan Tian, Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, and Hua Tuo accompanied the army. They followed the waterway around Dongting, and then headed towards Chenyang from Yuanshui River.
It is now the standard configuration for Lantian operations to lead medical teams on expeditions, which can greatly reduce war losses.
Water transport is the most efficient way to transport troops and food. After only three or four days of walking in the river, the fleet arrived near Hutou Mountain in the upper reaches of Yuanshui River.
The mountains here are high, the beaches are dangerous, and the roads are rugged. There are several blockages in the rivers that block the progress of the fleet.
Now that the river is blocked, if you want to continue marching, you have to go down the river to clear away the silt and rocks, or take a rugged mountain road.
Zhuge Liang said: "Ma Fubo was trapped here in the past. The weather was very hot at that time, and the soldiers were infected and died of diseases. I didn't expect that history would be so similar. Now it is extremely risky to rush into the army. The outcome of this time is unpredictable..."
"I have sent someone to inquire and make contact. It would be best if Mi Zi can be redeemed safely, but sooner or later this battle will have to be fought, otherwise there will be no peace in this place in the future.
Now there is no scorching heat blocking the road, and I have also prepared Mr. Yuanhua's medical team. Our conditions are much luckier than Ma Fubo's. "Lantian said happily.
"Are the soldiers of the two generals good at water?" Zhuge Liang suddenly asked.
Gan Ning cupped his fists and replied: "Commander, these two thousand sailors of mine know how to swim."
Zhuge Liang nodded happily: "Fortunately, Ziyu asked you to come in a small boat. As long as these rivers are dredged, we can continue to go up the Yuan River and avoid the dangerous places on the land."
"Go down to the river to clear out the silt?" Gan Ning scratched his head in confusion.
Gan Ning had done this before in Linwu County. To completely clear the silt, the cofferdam would have to cut off the flow, which would take a long time. By then, the grass on Mi Fang's grave must have been very tall.
Lan Tian immediately understood what Zhuge Liang meant, and he added: "Follow the military advisor's wishes. It is only necessary to clear a boat channel. It is not necessary to completely clear the river channel."
"Wei." Gan Ning looked at the river and estimated that it could be completed in three to five days. At this time, there is really strength in numbers.
In the following time, Gan Ning's sailors took off their armor and divided into several teams to take turns going down the river to pick up stones.
The river water was not very cold at this time, so Hua Tuo asked someone to brew a decoction to dispel the cold, so he had no worries when he started working.
Zhang Fei originally thought there would be a fight, but ended up being stranded on the ship for two days in a row, boredly watching Gan Ning's sailors clearing rocks in the water.
"Commander, Ziyu, let's just go overland." Zhang Fei was bored.
"The terrain of Hutou Mountain is dangerous, and the barbarians will definitely set up ambushes at the key roads. We'd better take the water route with peace of mind." Zhuge Liang explained.
"The brave will win when we meet on a narrow road. Why should we be afraid of a little ambush? How about I be the pioneer?" Zhang Fei suggested.
"Yide, it's safest to go to Chenyang by water. I think the military advisor has figured it out." Lan Tian said.
Zhang Fei looked confused and asked doubtfully: "What are you talking about?"
"Ziyu has understood it, so please help Yide clarify his doubts." Zhuge Liang said with a smile.
"The southwest of Wulin County is very dangerous, and the Wuxi barbarians are familiar with the terrain. They only need to set up ambushes at various land routes. It is very difficult to attack them head-on. Mi Zifang's three thousand soldiers were defeated in this way.
The water surface was unimpeded as we walked along, except here where there were stones blocking the river channel. This was clearly done deliberately by someone. If I expected it to be true, someone was secretly observing at this time. "Lantian smiled leisurely.
"The river here is relatively narrow, and it is relatively easy to do anything. The barbarians want to lure us overland, but we have to do the opposite. They will be the ones who panic." Zhuge Liang reminded.
Zhang Fei looked at the many stones emerging from the river and said in disbelief: "How did so many stones get sent to these places?"
"It's enough to haul dozens of boats of sand and stones and dump them here." Gan Ning interrupted to explain that this was what he did at the Linwu dredging cofferdam.
"That's it." Zhang Fei suddenly realized.
After four days of clearing the river, a passable water channel has slowly formed.
It is really difficult to pass through the shoal. The small and light boat can go down the river to pull fiber.
Zhuge Liang reminded Gao Shun: "We will finish dredging soon. There have been trees swaying on the mountains on the other side in the past two days. I guess the barbarians cannot set up an ambush on land and may attack from the water. General Gao will pay attention to covering the sailors."
Gao Shun nodded and said: "The trapped army is in a state of fighting at any time, but it is limited to fighting on ships."
"If there is an enemy attack, just suppress it with bows and arrows." Lan Tian added.
"Wei." Gao Shun responded with clasped fists.
Another half day passed, and the sailors were doing the final cleanup. At this time, Zhang Fei, who was yawning profusely, suddenly heard a rapid whistle in his ears.
"Beep beep beep..."
This was the exclusive whistle used by the trapped troops to warn the enemy of the battle. There were hundreds of small boats densely packed upstream, most of them were fishing boats, with barbarians in foreign costumes and crossbows standing on the bows.
"Get ready for battle." Gao Shun shouted loudly, and the trapped troops on the ship stood in three rows. The soldiers in the front row held shields for defense, and the two rows behind all drew their bows and arrows, waiting for the barbarians to fall into the trap.
Gan Ning commanded the ship to be turned across the river, and several ships formed a wide attack surface.
The barbarians were originally prepared to be caught off guard, but when they went down the river, they found that this was not the case. Except for dozens of sailors working in the river, the others had already boarded the warship.
The fishing boats faced off against the speedboats, making judgments.
