During the Battle of Bowangpo twenty years ago, Liu Bei only had the small town of Xinye. The generals who accompanied Guan Yu in the Northern Expedition were either latecomers or were not yet born like Lan Ji.
Because he had not experienced the early hardships, he could not sympathize with Guan Yu. Only Zhou Cang, who carried the sword at the time, felt the same way. He silently walked over to pour wine for Guan Yu. He had a master-servant relationship with Guan Yu for more than 20 years.
Guan Ping saw that Zhou Cang had 'robbed' his job, so he smiled awkwardly and asked Guan Yu doubtfully: "Father, now that we are alone and deep behind Cao Xiu, the Jingzhou warships can now sail freely in the Feishui River. If Cao Xiu sends people What should we do if we go downstream to intercept them? If tens of thousands of troops lose supplies, the direction of the war will change. Besides, I heard that Wancheng has enough food and grass."
"Zhang Wenyuan is prudent with his troops. I estimate that Wancheng's food reserves will be at least three months or more. But if Cao Xiu turns around and comes back to seize Bowang, the food and grass consumption will be much faster." Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard without any panic.
"Ah? Our food can only last more than a month. If Cao Xiu intends to follow us, why not abandon the warship and return by land?" Guan Ping frowned.
Guan Yu used the cooperation of warships to fight a wonderful mobile battle in Nanyang. Especially the 'mobile turret' tactic this time was an eye-opener for the Jingzhou generals. Although Guan Ping felt it was a pity, he did not feel panic because of the battle. If the ship is gone, it can be rebuilt. The terrain of Nanyang is mainly plains, so it is impossible for Cao Xiu to completely block their retreat.
Cao Zhang felt that Cao Xiu's statement was correct. The upper reaches of the Jingshui River were the Funiu Mountains, and all Jingxiang waterways ended at Nanyang. There was no river navigation for 600 miles from Bowang to Luoyang. Warships entered the Central Plains through waterways and could only go around the Huaihe River. The Surabaya Network must also be based on the capture of Huainan, so the role of the Jingzhou navy will be greatly reduced after completing the Nanyang strategy.
Guan Yu smiled slightly, "How can a father not know Tan Zhi's worries? Before we set off for the expedition, Yuan Zhi gave us a solution."
"Xu Sikong is transporting grain by land from Xinye? Then divide the troops to guard the grain road. Otherwise, Cao Xiu will first cut off the river to block the warships, and then cross the river to intercept our grain road. Then our army will be in danger." Guan Ping reminded quickly.
"The purpose of dividing the troops is naturally to be divided, but it is not to guard the food road, but to cut off the food road from Cao Xiu to Runan, and to prevent the Wei soldiers from crossing the Feishui River in large numbers to escape to Runan. As for the supplies of our Jingzhou army, there are various sources in the Central Plains. The place will give it to us." The corners of Guan Yu's mouth raised in a serious manner, he thought of the plan Xu Shu had made with him, and said to himself that Lan Tian's tactics were so fun to use, as they benefited oneself at the expense of others.
"General, what exactly is this?" Pang De looked puzzled.
Guan Yu stroked his beard and explained to everyone: "Nanyang's supplies all come from the Central Plains. Xu Sikong gave dozens of "Changjiang Newspapers" to report to the army. They would pretend to be Cao Xiu's handwriting and write letters to Luoyang. They would also use Da Sima's name to write letters to various counties in the Central Plains. The county asks for food, so we just sit back and wait for food and drinks."
"So that's it. It's Xu Sikong's wonderful idea to use Wei's food to supply our army." Pang De complimented.
"Xu Sikong bluntly said that this plan was inspired by Ziyu. In short, it will be enough to defeat the enemy." Guan Yu nodded and then told Pang De: "Lingming, you will lead an army of ten thousand tomorrow and use Bowang's troops as bait to capture the enemy." Du Yang, let’s maintain a strategic buffer to avoid making Cao Wei’s grain team suspicious.”
"Wei." Pang De stood up and clasped his fists.
"Tanzhi, you lead 10,000 troops to patrol back and forth between Bowang and Wancheng on the east bank of the Feishui River to prevent the Wei army from crossing the river in this area. Even if Cao Xiu really reacts, he will have to let him go south for dozens of miles. Here." Guan Yu continued to order.
"Wei." Guan Ping stood up.
After Guan Yu ordered the two groups of soldiers and horses, he continued to drink with the generals. Seeing this, Lan Ji asked in surprise: "Uncle, where am I?"
"Zhong Ling will guard Bowang City with me. Cao Xiu will definitely not be willing to be trapped in Wancheng. Sooner or later there will be a war between us, and it is indispensable for you to fight." Guan Yu understood Lan Ji's personality when he was young and aggressive.
"Hehe, that's good." Lan Ji scratched his head and giggled.
Tongguan, Nanyang, and Huainan were both real and weak, and the kings and ministers of the Wei State had little peace this winter. After Guan Yu cut off the main road to the Central Plains, he sent scouts and soldiers to pretend to be Cao Xiu, and sent troops to Yingchuan, Chenliu, and Hanoi and other counties requested military supplies.
As the Grand Sima, Cao Xiu was in charge of the entire southern battlefield. He had the right to mobilize the strategic resources of surrounding counties, and there was no need to report to Cao Pi for approval, so the counties had to act according to orders.
However, although the Central Plains is extremely wealthy, it cannot withstand the consumption of constant wars, especially when civilians have to be recruited to transport food. Even the gentry in Henan are miserable, but they all know that Nanyang is the gateway to the Central Plains, and Guan Yu's Jingzhou soldiers and horses If the killer goes in, it will ultimately threaten his own interests.
In order to protect the family's land and property, and to protect the family's rights, the Henan gentry, as the first 'shareholders' of the Wei State, were surprisingly 'selfless' in difficult times and used their private treasures to fill military needs.
However, Cao Xiu's "greed" made the Henan nobles unable to resist. After several "severe" urgings from the frontline scouts, the voices from below gradually reached the top.
In early February of the following year, Chen Qun took a package of "Cao Xiu's letters" that he had compiled and went to the harem in Luoyang to meet Cao Pi.
There were constant wars in various places, and there were often memorials to urge food and troops. Cao Pi became numb after hearing it too much. He directly claimed that he was ill and hid in the harem instead of going to court, but he had to see Chen Qun.
When Chen Qun submitted the letter to the imperial court, Cao Pi simply looked at it with his eyes closed, and then said lazily: "Since it is the request of Da Sima, I will make arrangements according to the long article."
"Your Majesty, Wen Lie will need to collect food every few days. The treasury of each county has been emptied. I mobilized the big families to donate some, but it seems that it is not enough."
Before Chen Qun finished speaking, he was interrupted by Cao Pi, who raised his hand and said, "Da Sima's opponent is Guan Yu. Military supplies must be met as much as possible, otherwise he will be defeated by the red-faced thief. Jingzhou soldiers and horses will march to Luoyang. As for Tongguan and Tongguan, The military supplies and troops requested by Huainan will be arranged as appropriate. I have a headache. Please step aside first."
"Uh Wei." Chen Qun bowed and retreated.
Chen Qun's original intention was not to reduce Cao Xiu's military supplies, but the Wei State was not just in Henan. In recent years, it has been fighting almost continuously with foreign countries. No matter how rich Henan's heritage is, it is about to be emptied. He hopes that the counties in Hebei can also provide support. It's a pity that Cao Pi didn't understand. Chen Qun planned to come back in a few days.
Walking out of Cao Pi's palace, he happened to see Sima Zhao standing in the corridor.
Chen Qun hurriedly approached, held the other party's lapel and whispered, "With the national crisis at hand, what will happen if Your Majesty can't go to court for a long time? I think he has a lot of trust in his nephew, so you need to give him more advice."
"Your Majesty is upset. My nephew is no more than a minister. How dare he interfere in the affairs of the court." Sima Zhao deliberately shied away.
Chen Qun frowned and spoke louder, "Don't you dare to interfere in the government affairs? What my nephew did last year, if I hadn't been secretly taking care of him, I might not have been able to live a stable life until now. How many innocent people have you killed unjustly in the name of investigating the case for His Majesty? Do you think I have no idea?"
"They deserve to die." Sima Zhao's eyes were dark.
"These people have nothing to do with Sima's annihilation of the family. They just obtained official positions and land normally. I can understand that my nephew wants revenge, but you must know that too much is never enough. You must help me persuade His Majesty, otherwise the Sima family's case will be handled by yourself, and I will not help you. Cover it up." Chen Qun directly used a threatening tone.
"Uncle Chen, don't be angry. My nephew will try his best to persuade him, but it may not work." Seeing Chen Qun getting angry, Sima Zhao softened his tone immediately. He didn't have enough power now and couldn't do without Chen Qun's support.
"Do your best."
(End of chapter)
