Jingzhou, Nanjun, Zigui City.
This is one of the few cities between the Three Gorges Kawakou Yufu and the important town of Nanjun Jiangling.
Zigui is different from other important towns in Nanjun. It is more like a military fortress with a small number of people living here.
Due to the existence of the Yangtze River, one can travel down the river from Yufu to Jiangling, traveling thousands of miles in a day!
But since ancient times, there has been one gain and one loss.
Thanks to the luxuriant land and water resources on both sides of the Yangtze River, the originally not-so-high mountains were completely covered by dense jungle.
If soldiers want to march on land, it will be a hundred times more difficult than walking by water!
It was extremely peaceful in the mountains, and almost no one could be seen except for people hunting.
Zigui City is the first pass between Yufu and Jiangling. From here on, the real rolling hills begin.
If you want to enter the Nanjun Plain, you need to walk more than 200 miles of mountain roads, pass through the important town of Yiling, and then climb over Huya Mountain.
Therefore, Yufu has the entrance of the Three Gorges River as a natural barrier, and Jiangling also has hundreds of miles of dense forests as a dangerous pass!
In history, Liu Bei eventually hated Yiling because he was advantaged by Lu Xun.
At this moment, in the dense forest twenty miles outside Zigui City, there were constantly crowds of people.
These people are extremely agile, and trees, weeds and uneven terrain do not affect their movements at all.
No matter who it is, they can't help but exclaim when they see someone with such strong skills.
That’s not all that’s surprising!
There are actually thousands of people walking on flat ground in these mountains and dense forests!
The leader looks ugly, but his eyes are bright.
It was none other than Pang Tong, one of the five military advisors of the Qin State, the rear military advisor, the military advisor of the Eastern Army, and the military advisor Zhonglang General!
These extremely agile people around are the barbarians under the command of the Eastern Army.
Zhu Meng returned to Nanzhong to recruit Nanzhong warriors, but did not bring back these soldiers.
Therefore, the remaining barbarians in the Yongliang campaign were brought back by Huang Zhong.
"Military advisor, it has been discovered that Zigui City is undefended and there are only a few soldiers."
The person standing in front of Pang Tong to report had a red face, which was extremely inconsistent with his calm aura. It was Wei Yan who was promoted to general general by Liu Zhang after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Pang Tong thought for a while and then made up his mind immediately.
"Divide the troops into two groups and ask General Meng Da to lead his troops to the rear of Zigui City. Chang Wen, you will personally lead the troops to attack."
"Remember, we must fight to the death!"
Wei Yan was immediately overjoyed. He didn't expect that he would get such a big credit.
"Don't worry, military advisor!"
Under the leadership of Wei Yan, thousands of barbarian soldiers continued to move forward, and soon lost their traces under the cover of dense forests.
The corners of Pang Tong's mouth raised slightly, and a strong fighting spirit burst out from his eyes.
This time the Eastern Army's military division led its troops to return to the fishery. It was not under any orders from Chang'an. It was completely a spontaneous act of the Eastern Army.
When Huang Zhong and Pang Tong led their troops to Yizhou, Liu Zhang did not issue specific requirements.
Therefore, if the commander-in-chief Huang Zhong and the military advisor Pang Tong agree, they can wait for the opportunity and enjoy the power of emergency decision-making.
In fact, Liu Zhang had already expressed his thoughts implicitly. As long as the fish were not lost and no large-scale casualties were caused, he would not interfere too much.
This time the Eastern Army's barbarians attacked Zigui, it was entirely Pang Tong's idea.
As a native of Jingzhou, Pang Tong had a clear understanding of the geographical terrain from Jiangling to Yufu, and he was even more aware of the difficulty of attacking it head-on.
Even the Eastern Army in its heyday would find it difficult to break through head-on.
It is also very difficult to rely on the navy to force a landing.
As long as the port is heavily guarded, it is almost the same as a city. A frontal breakthrough is as difficult as climbing to the sky.
The national policy of the Qin State has been set. The next step is to attack Jingxiang. As the military advisor of the main battle legion, it is natural to plan as early as possible.
This time the war broke out between Jingnan and Jingbei, which gave Pang Tong the opportunity to fish in troubled waters!
However, Pang Tong could not agree with the fact that Cai Mao led his army to win consecutive battles and threaten Jiangling like a broken bamboo.
From the moment he learned that Cai Mao had sent troops from Xiangyang, Pang Tong knew that Cai Mao was finished and the power of the Jingbei Prefecture Mufu was about to suffer a heavy blow!
Everyone can know that these 50,000 troops are already the last strength of the Jingbei forces.
Once defeated, Jingnan will replace Jingbei and become the new lord of Jingzhou!
Pang Tong knew Zhuge Liang's ability clearly. If he were allowed to completely control Nanjun, he would definitely turn Nanjun into a flawless iron barrel!
At that time, if the Eastern Army wants to pierce the iron barrel, it may have to pay an unacceptable price.
As a military advisor of the Eastern Army, we must not sit back and watch the enemy become powerful while our own side does nothing.
At this time, the Eastern Army had nearly 60,000 troops, less than half of its heyday.
But enough was enough for Pang Tong.
His goal this time was simple, to capture the strategic depth of the two-hundred-mile mountainous area and push the Yufu defense line to the Yiling line.
Take Yiling, rely on the city for defense, and use Huya Mountain as the boundary with Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang!
Pang Tong concluded that Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's thoughts must be on Cai Mao at this time, and all military deployments would also be centered around Cai Mao.
Cai Mao's army has 50,000 people, 30,000 infantry, and 20,000 cavalry. It is also a force that cannot be ignored!
Especially the 20,000 cavalry, once they gallop into action, their power is quite astonishing.
How many soldiers and horses does Jingnan have in total?
It is not difficult for Zhuge Liang to eat Cai Mao's 50,000 people, but it will definitely not be too easy.
At least most of the troops under his command must be mobilized!
Under such circumstances, how could we care about Zigui and Yiling?
I am afraid that most of the military forces in these two places have been mobilized.
Wei Yan's report just now also confirmed Pang Tong's guess.
As long as Yiling is captured, all the initiative in the future will be with the Qin army.
Even if Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang captured the entire Nanjun, they would still feel like they had something stuck in their throats and could not feel at ease all day long.
Huang Zhong immediately expressed support for Pang Tong's strategic ideas.
In view of Liu Zhang's strategy of replacing attack with defense and developing with peace of mind, as well as the current situation of the Eastern Army, Huang Zhong could not give Pang Tong too many troops.
Sending troops means transporting food and dispatching civilians.
And the more troops are sent, the harder it is to control the situation.
If all 60,000 troops are dispatched, after capturing Yiling, can they resist taking Jiangling?
In this way, we will surely fall into the quagmire of war, and if we are not careful, we will encounter disaster.
Pang Tong naturally understood this truth and only dispatched five thousand barbarians, as well as Wei Yan and Meng Da as generals.
Although the purpose of this battle was a sneak attack, Huang Zhong had already promised Pang Tong to capture the two cities of Zigui and Yiling, and immediately sent the Wushe Battalion to defend the city and preserve the results of this victory!
Pang Tong closed his eyes and rested, feeling the excitement in his heart.
Pang Tong has been looking forward to this day for how many years!
When he first heard about Liu Zhang's appreciation and connection with Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong felt a little disappointed.
If you are with Zhuge Liang as a colleague, there is no chance to distinguish between superior and inferior.
But Zhuge Liang was so arrogant that he followed Liu Bei and started his grassroots business with him!
This undoubtedly gave Pang Tong a chance!
Overt and covert fighting, conspiracy, Crouching Dragon and Feng Xiao!
Suddenly, Pang Tong opened his eyes suddenly, and a burst of light erupted.
"Kong Ming, the fight between us starts from now on!"
