Guan Yu boarded the warship and took command personally. Jingzhou's land and water troops continued up the Shuo River, and Nanyang's cavalry on the other side accompanied the fleet.
When Jingzhou soldiers and horses arrived at the point where Feishui turned north, Guan Yu suddenly ordered the warship to dock on the other side. Nanyang Rangers mistakenly thought that the opponent was going to land here, so they flew towards Wancheng to report the situation.
Guan Yu did land at the turning point, but it was only Lan Ji's youth camp. When Cao Xiu led tens of thousands of main troops to the landing point, there was no sign of Jingzhou soldiers on the riverside.
"Where are the Guan Yu people?" Cao Xiu asked, looking at the empty river beach.
"Well, the scout did see Guan Yu dock." Zhang He replied awkwardly.
Cao Xiu did not comment, and rode his horse for half a mile by the river beach. Then he returned to the front of the army and said seriously: "Jingzhou soldiers did land. There were dense horse hoof prints by the river beach. The hoof prints gradually faded a lot half a mile away. It seems that the soldiers have landed." It’s a small cavalry force.”
"Why did Guan Yu send a small number of cavalry?" Cao Zhang said to himself, stroking his yellow beard.
"What's wrong, Guan Yu's warship is so fast, it must be heading north to Xi'e. This cavalry is used to intercept and kill the scouts." Cao Xiu suddenly realized.
Zhang He nodded in agreement: "No wonder the general has not received any information in the past half hour."
"Why didn't Guan Yu follow the art of war and bypass Wancheng? Is he going to attack Xi'e in the rear now? Isn't he afraid that we will cut off his food route?" Cao Zhang looked confused.
"Guan Yu relied on the Jingzhou navy to sail unimpeded in the Tiao River. Can we cut off the food route?" Cao Xiu said with a bitter look on his face.
Cao Zhang frowned and snorted: "There are nearly 80,000 troops stationed in Wancheng. One person can stop the water by throwing a stone. The source of the water is Funiu Mountain. So what if Jingzhou's warships are powerful? I don't believe Guan Yu can sail the ship up the mountain. Then go directly to attack Luoyang."
"What King Ren Cheng said makes sense." Zhang He agreed with Cao Zhang. Guan Yu's tactics of coming and going freely made it impossible for the Wei army to crack them. Now they can only break jars and smash them, deliberately blocking the water to prevent ships from sailing. As for the river, it flooded the farmland. , villages, are no longer within the scope of his consideration.
"That's fine." Cao Xiu nodded, "On the north side of the city facing the Feishui River, there are only two cities in Xi'e and Zhixian. We can cut off the flow in many places to reduce the driving range of Guan Yu's warships. When Jingzhou's troops and supplies are exhausted, this battle Then you can be sure of victory."
"I'm afraid Guan Yu is old and confused. He doesn't pay attention to the art of war when marching and fighting. He is afraid of starving to death with tens of thousands of troops. Now I think about it. If Your Majesty had sent me to take charge earlier, he wouldn't be so passive." Cao Zhang saw. His plan was very clever, and he laughed with satisfaction.
A trace of disgust flashed in Cao Xiu's eyes. Zhang He saw Jieshui next to him and suddenly thought of a possibility, so he quickly said: "Da Sima, do you think there is a possibility that Guan Yu is not going to fight against Xi'e at all, but to attack Xi'e?" The boat is lying across the river, and then it is going to capture the city of Bowang in the northeastern part of Western Hubei."
Bowang is the route of Wancheng's grain route. Logistics supplies from the Central Plains will pass through Kunyang, Yexian, Duyang, Bowang, Xi'e and Nanyang. The Guanyu detour will obviously lead to a shortage of grain.
During Guan Yu's advance northward in the past two months, he emptied all the granaries in the counties around Nanyang. Even if Cao Xiu went to reoccupy it now, he would not be able to get a single grain in the official granaries. In addition, he could only find supplements from the common people. But that would be a drop in the bucket.
Nanyang's logistics mainly come from the Central Plains. The other supply line is Runan in the southeast. However, there is the terrain restriction of Tongbai Mountain between the two places, making the entire grain road twice as far as the Central Plains. Moreover, because Runan County borders Huainan, it is also He is indirectly responsible for the supply of Xiahou Shang's army.
Cao Xiu's scalp was numb with thought. He looked at Zhang He and said: "General Zhang's inference is very likely. You lead 20,000 troops to cut off the water flow. I will lead the main force to the north immediately to prevent Guan Yu's treacherous plan from succeeding."
"The final general will ensure that the mission is completed." Zhang He lowered his head and clasped his fists. He did not have to face Guan Yu directly, which would reduce Zhang Liao's risk. Cao Xiu's arrangement was exactly what he wanted.
Cao Xiu took out the battle map, pointed at several points on the Feishui River and continued to explain: "The bends of the river are relatively narrow. Jun Yi can focus on cutting off the flow at these places. You don't have to completely block the river, as long as the warships can Just leave it alone."
"Wei." Zhang He nodded.
"The scouts on the periphery have been intercepted and killed by Guan Yu. Da Sima has to pick some elites to investigate. We cannot grasp the movements of Jingzhou's troops and horses. We are very passive in fighting." Cao Zhang reminded.
Cao Xiu replied calmly: "I will send tiger and leopard cavalry."
Guan Yu advanced northward very quickly and captured Xi'e before Cao Xiu arrived. He also emptied the official warehouse of grain and abandoned the city to fight elsewhere.
Cao Xiu's guess was correct. Guan Yu's real goal was to gain Bowang. He used Nanyang as a whole and laid out encirclement points with larger strategic intentions for reinforcements. In addition, he also assigned 10,000 troops to Meng Da to let the navy cooperate with him. Continue to take Pheasant County to the north and plunder as much food as possible from Wei soldiers.
When the main force of the Wei army arrived in Xi'e, the city was desolate inside and outside the city. If Cao Xiu wanted to station here, he had to transport grain in the opposite direction from Wancheng. He was so angry that he drew his sword and chopped it on the city wall.
Cao Zhang didn't realize the seriousness of the problem. He looked at Xi'e City and sighed: "If I were Guan Yu, I should occupy the city and wait for work. It's really not worth it for him to mobilize troops like this just for a few warehouses of food."
"Once Bowang is lost, the entire Nanyang army will be out of food. We must arrange the army to cross the river as soon as possible. We must quickly find Guan Yu for a decisive battle." Cao Xiu's face was solemn.
"Da Sima is worried too much. Guan Yu is not as good as us. His warships have to carry troops and food. How long can he hold on? I remember that Zhang Liao stored food in Wancheng for several months. Even if it was used up, it would kill Guan Yu." This army is alone." Cao Zhang didn't care.
"Guan Yu must have deep meaning when he does this." Cao Xiu shook his head gently.
Just when Cao Xiu was deep in thought, his bodyguard came running towards him and whispered something in his ear. After hearing this, Cao Xiu's face changed and he smiled bitterly and said: "It's not easy to cross the river now. The Jingzhou navy has already When patrolling the Feishui River, once our army chooses a place to cross the river, these warships will inevitably come to block it, and the loss of forced crossing is immeasurable."
"Then just wait slowly. Isn't Zhang He blocking the rear? Just wait until he gradually advances to the north. When Guan Yu's soldiers start to get hungry, I would like to see how hard they can use to rock the oars." The corners of Cao Zhang's mouth rose.
"The matter has come to this, I can only think like this." Cao Xiu nodded lightly, he always felt that Guan Yu was not that simple.
Bowang City was quickly defeated, and Jingzhou soldiers and horses stationed in the city to resist the cold wind.
While drinking with other generals at night, Guan Yu stroked his beard and sighed: "Twenty years ago, at Bowang Slope, twenty miles northeast of the city, Yuan Zhi led us to a great victory over Xiahou Dun, and almost captured the one-eyed man alive. It was really a proud moment. Fighting, we were almost able to advance to Xudu, but it was a pity that Liu Biao held back. Who would have expected that Guan would return here twenty years later."
(End of chapter)
