Three days later, there was still no relief. When Yuan Shu mobilized his troops, he found that Yang Feng, Han Xian and other generals who had returned before had gradually moved to Xuzhou without obeying military orders.
As a result, Chen Deng of Guangling directly set up his general camp thirty miles away in the south, which was a great way to welcome him.
Sun Ce even gave up expansion and gathered troops from Jiangdong to firmly occupy southern Yangzhou.
If the officials sent by Yuan Shu did not surrender to Sun Ce, they would be killed immediately by Sun Ce. As a result, the entire southern Yangzhou was completely cut off by Sun Ce within ten days.
Most of the territories he had previously occupied were lost. Sun Ce seemed to have carefully planned and planned for a long time. When a major event came together, he easily defeated Hefei.
Because there are not enough ships and cavalry, they can only stay outside Hefei temporarily and are not allowed to enter again.
When the south fell, Yuan Shu could only ask Yuan Huan and Liu Xun to lead the old Lujiang army to attack Sun Ce's army. He said it was to repel Sun Ce's army, but in fact it was mainly for prevention. He could not be allowed to advance into Lujiang and then threaten Jiujiang.
At the same time, Ji Ling was appointed as the general, and Li Feng, Liang Gang, Lejiu and others were appointed to join the army. They sent out all their troops to attack Cao's army respectively.
Each of them worked hard to recapture the lost land mentioned in the battle report.
At one time, there were more than 200,000 troops with more than 100,000 shi of food. There were large and small battles for hundreds of miles on the front line. The rivers and mountains and houses in Huainan were all in trouble.
However, the situation became tense and a quick victory was not possible. Cao Cao accelerated the dispatch of the Chinese army after the beginning of spring. The Chinese army he personally commanded arrived on the battlefield in March and began to command on the battlefield, taking in the situation and waiting for the opportunity.
Guangling.
In the main hall of the government office in the city, Chen Deng, who has grown a mottled beard, is receiving intelligence from various places. Standing in front of him is a soldier who has joined the army and is talking about military affairs.
"The original governor of Guangling, Wu Jing, has withdrawn from the territory of Guangling, withdrew his troops and fled to the east of the Yangtze River. In addition, Yuan Shu's general Sun Boyang also spoke out against Yuan."
"Yuan Shu's subordinates, Lei Bu and Chen Lan, would rather fall off the grass and gather together as thieves than fight with Yuan Shu. Within this month, they fell apart. Yuan Shu could only rely on more than 200,000 people."
"Huainan is in chaos, and there is no peace. The people are in panic all day long. The nobles are secretly communicating with relatives and friends, praying to prove their innocence."
"In this way, although this person in Huainan is called the Zhong family, he will not last long. The prefect has now received an imperial edict from the emperor to worship the prefect of Guangling. He can use the name of the Chen family to recruit a large number of scholars, recruit talents under his command, and stabilize Guangling."
"If we had followed the previous strategy of sending the prefect first, we would be done now."
Chen Deng's face lit up when he heard this, and he put one hand on the table and kept tapping with his fingers.
What Wei Lu said came true one by one. Guo Jijiu's judgment was really not just nonsense.
He had expected that once Yuan Shu could no longer stand the emperor's edict and the suppression of Cao Gong, he would definitely choose to rise up and spend several years to stabilize his position.
There is nothing wrong with this idea, because he originally had a huge territory in the south of the Yangtze River, and it was a land of plenty and rich in products, which could support the people and the army.
Once the rebellion is overthrown, after a year or two of verbal and written attacks have passed, the people in the territory can grow grains and fish, and thus gradually become rich.
Or, seeing that he was fine, the other princes would refuse to obey Xu Du's imperial edict.
In this way, Cao Cao's so-called "righteousness" banner no longer works.
But the result is that he can't handle it.
It is impossible to predict what will happen after the incident, but most people will not follow an unjust teacher, as that would require them to go through too many difficulties and obstacles.
These situations were mentioned many times by Guo Jijiu and Zhang Shaoqing at the fireside.
It has won the approval of everyone, and now it seems that it is indeed the case.
"When I take Guangling, I should focus on governance, stick to this land, and unite people's hearts. I will be able to achieve great success in the future."
Chen Deng smiled at the person in front of him and said, "Write two letters for me and send them to two places respectively."
"Send one to our army and inform Bo Chang about the current situation in Guangling. Wu Jing has led his troops to withdraw from Guangling. The great thing you have predicted will be accomplished and you will definitely make achievements in Guangling."
"The second letter is sent to Xiapi to my father Gui, asking him to immediately send someone to inform Bao Xuzhou to join the war, and to send General Yu Jin to lead his troops south along the river to secretly increase troops."
"only."
After receiving the order to join the army, he ordered the chief secretary to write one by one according to Chen Deng's wishes, and then the letter was sent out by flying cavalry. At the same time, Chen Deng sent more troops to the border and set up more than 60 secret sentries to strictly investigate Wu Jing's withdrawal. Ten miles away.
On the sixth day, Wu Jing's troops were discovered and returned, so they set up an ambush and attacked them, killing more than 2,000 of them, and gained countless baggage and thousands of soldiers.
There were more than a thousand prisoners. Jing led the crowd to escape and ran to the southeast. Chen Deng took advantage of the victory to pursue him. Seemingly greedy for merit, he chased them out of the Guangling border. They were blocked by Sun Ben and fought in the wild.
However, on the way, Yu Jin came with two thousand cavalry, defeated Sun Ben and Wu Jing's troops, completely drove them out, and took advantage of the situation to occupy the mountain roads, waterways, and ferries outside Guangling, and took in a population of more than 70,000 people.
At this point, Sun Ben and Wu Jing no longer wanted to seize Guangling and take advantage of the situation to go north to occupy Xuzhou. They went to Sun Ce to attack the traitor Yuan Shu and made peace with Chen Deng.
In this half month, Chen Deng's name resounded throughout Guangling and parts of Huainan.
…
The news reached Cao's camp twenty miles outside Shucheng, where Zhang Han's army was stationed. The leading cavalry troops were Zhang Han and Zhang Liao, each with 800 elite cavalry under their command.
In addition, Xu Huang and Cao Xiu led 6,000 infantry to camp as outposts to resist Liu Xun's troops.
Liu Xun was the governor of Lujiang and was sent to attack outside Shucheng to resist Zhang Han's invasion.
Among Cao Cao's generals, Zhang Han's reputation is not small, and he can even be ranked among the top. He is a very noteworthy figure in the military intelligence and war reports.
Liu Xun did not dare to neglect, so he built the city wall high and set up sentries along the road to control the pass.
With such a defensive posture, no matter how talented Zhang Han was, it would be difficult for him to break through, so the two sides could only confront each other.
Zhang Hanying, the main camp.
"The city of Shu is strong. If you attack it, you will definitely die. You can't attack again. Liu Xun is also a ruthless man. He has 30,000 troops defending the city, but he has no intention of attacking."
While Xu Huang was scolding, there was still some admiration in his words. Not everyone can be a tortoise.
Although Shu City is not big, the city in the south is close to the river, and strong walls are being built on the other three sides.
Now there are more troops and horses, with a total of 30,000 people. Zhang Han only has seven or eight thousand here, and there are more than 1,000 cavalry, who are good at field battles but not good at attacking fortresses.
He couldn't think of any other way besides calling him father, so he wasted his time.
Anyway, Shucheng is not a necessary route for the Chinese army or a place that must be conquered. It only blocked Zhang Han, and other troops and horses were not affected.
"There is no other way. Just drink and wait for the opportunity."
Zhang Han stabilized Xu Huang's mentality and drank together in the army. Then he was suddenly stunned and said: "How about letting the soldiers drink together tonight?"
"Wouldn't that disrupt military discipline?" Gao Shun retorted directly, looking slightly unhappy.
But then I thought that Zhang Han was not such a person. He might be cynical and think outside the box, but he had never made fun of the lives of soldiers.
"What do you mean, Lord, to show the enemy chaos?"
The two looked at each other and smiled, and then Zhang Han shouted directly: "Jia Xu, where is Jia Xu!?"
"Old Jia, are you planning to assassinate me again?"
"No, no!" Jia Xu hurriedly came out from the corner. He hid among the soldiers and sat down at the table. He just wanted to have a peaceful meal and drink some wine to rejuvenate his muscles.
In the past few months, too much training has made his body much stronger than before. Now, drinking a little alcohol every day can relax his muscles and activate his blood circulation, making him energetic all day long.
"I'm here, I heard it! The plan is very good, it should be to show the enemy's arrogance and arrogance!" Jia Xu said loudly, smiling chivalrously, like a drunken madman lying in the hall, of course, he may be really a little drunk .
Zhang Han said with a bitter face: "Arrogant and arrogant? How should I pretend to be like him?"
Jia Xu smiled and said: "You just need to restrain yourself a little."
Zhang Han: "..."
Jia Xu continued: "Shu City cannot be defended. If we continue to attack the fortress by force, it will shake the morale of our troops. There are 30,000 soldiers and horses in the city, and there is a huge disparity in strength. Even if they send 20,000 troops and leave 10,000 to defend the city, it is common sense. , it’s still frustrating.”
"It seems that Liu Xun did not dare to leave the city to meet the attack. There are only two possibilities. One is that Yuan Shu ordered him not to leave and restricted him with military orders so that Shu City cannot be lost; the other is that Liu Xun was intimidated by the reputation of the monarch and wanted to explore Explore the truth.”
After he finished speaking, he quickly ran to Zhang Han's side with the wine bowl, knelt down humbly, and lowered his voice and said: "I would like to suggest that even if you want to show chaos and lure the enemy, you cannot immediately order the entire army to drink."
"This is not true. The patrol should be doubled on the first night, and the patrol routes should be set up in the most convenient places for investigation in Shu City, that is, on both sides of the city, the main road in front, and the two ordnance buildings. In front of the camp.”
"After three or five days, reduce the number of patrols by one, and order a group of soldiers to patrol day and night without shifts. They will definitely show fatigue."
"After ten days, you can make the soldiers drink wine, and secretly change the soldiers and horses on guard, so that the brothers who have worked hard before can go and rest."
When Jia Xu said this, he took a sip of wine while thinking, and said with a smile: "This is just a way to lure the enemy. If Liu Xun wants to make a contribution, he will attack."
"And I heard that Liu Xun and Cao Gong had a friendship. Although they are each their own masters at this time, their friendship comes first. If he is defeated, he may not resist stubbornly. The prince only needs to lure him out, and then defeat him and capture him. He will open the city of Shu, lead the people away from injustice, and turn to the master of righteousness."
"Well said," Zhang Han touched a bowl with him for the first time, with a relaxed smile on his face, "Wen He, do you think Liu Xun will fall into the trap?"
Jia Xu thought deeply for a moment and nodded firmly: "Yes!"
"Junhou, Dianwei, and Young Master Cao Ang are all important figures in Cao's camp, and they claim to be elite soldiers, but in fact they have fewer troops than Shucheng."
"If Liu Xun wants to become famous all over the world and be rewarded for his meritorious service, he will definitely not miss this good opportunity." Jia Xu's confident look made people convinced.
Zhang Han thought for a long time, and finally felt that instead of separatist forces here waiting for other armies to conquer, it is better to give it a try. If Liu Xun can be captured, then there will be two waterways connected to Hefei, which can block Yuan Shu's retreat.
The Lujiang Army is located in the west of Huainan. There are mountains blocking the two counties. The land route takes a long way and is impassable for hundreds of miles. There are only a few rivers connecting it, so transportation is not convenient.
Therefore, it is difficult to take the route. If you want to go to Huainan through the Lujiang River, you will easily be cut off if you take the waterway.
Zhang Han and others walked through the Chengdong Lake of Huoqiu in Anfeng and followed the Lujiang River where Yangquan entered. After going south for more than a hundred miles, they had obtained most of the territory of Lujiang County by imperial edict, but now the most important city was This is Shucheng.
Liu Xun's position cut off Zhang Han's army's path. However, Zhang Han's mission had actually been completed. Cao Cao's order to him was to take the opportunity to occupy Lujiang and wait for an opportunity to contain some of Yuan Shu's troops.
What they used was that the reputations of Zhang and Dian attracted many times the number of troops to garrison and disperse part of the main force. This was very helpful to Cao Cao in a frontal battle. Of course, Cao Cao never meant what he said when giving orders.
Especially for Zhang Han, he gave him a lot of space, because he understood Zhang Han so well. Once he gave an order to death, Zhang Han would definitely leave his post without permission after completing it, and play by himself. He would never have the idea of making any progress on his own. .
"Okay!" Zhang Han made a decision while chewing the meat and said: "According to Jia Xu's plan, Lao Jia has issued a military order. You all go back and inform your troops to select elites to patrol day and night. It’s a chore.”
Jia Xu: "I didn't—"
"However, although it is painful, if things come true in the future, everyone will be given three rewards."
"Thank you, Lord!"
"Thank you, Shaoqing! If you are rewarded three times, it won't be hard. Every step you take is the three steps before."
Zhang Han looked at Joining the Army in the distance, dumbfounded: "You know how to calculate."
"Come on, now that we have decided on a plan, let's just drink and have fun today. Starting tomorrow, we will try to see if Liu Xun can fall into the trap!"
Zhang Han held up his wine glass and drank heavily with the soldiers.
But he was still thinking about what Jia Xu said just now. In fact, he was leaning towards the second situation. After all, he and Dian Wei had already spread their reputation before the war, and they were more influential to Yuan Shu's generals. The achievement of suppressing power is to capture Lu Bu.
Therefore, they will invisibly treat us as a stronger enemy than Lu Bu. This is why they have four times as many troops as me, but they dare not leave the city camp and instead retreat to Shucheng, a strategic road.
Looking at the situation of the two armies, our army was marching in winter and suffered a lot of casualties. The tired division relied on a big victory to boost its morale.
Liu Xun's soldiers and horses, on the other hand, were waiting for work, gathering and stationed on the city wall, and then came in force, preparing for a battle to test whether they could truly stand on their own.
They must have the advantage psychologically. Now it depends on the fatigue of our army and whether Liu Xun can be more courageous.
While thinking about it, Zhang Han took a deep sip of wine, still feeling a little awkward.
He felt that something was missing, but for a moment he couldn't think of it. It was just that there was a lack of hook for Liu Xun to take the bait.
A cunning prey will never be fooled unless he sees benefits, especially during this war.
…
During the three days, Zhang Han followed Jia Xu's plan and led his troops to fight during the day. He yelled and cursed under the city and forced Liu Xun to go out of the city to fight.
More manpower will be sent to patrol at night, and more open and hidden sentries will be set up to stand ready.
No matter day or night, the majestic appearance of the generals and lieutenants were displayed one by one. On the first or two days of the Lunar New Year, the soldiers and horses of Shucheng were indeed frightened into confusion, and they couldn't help but feel fear in their hearts. Zhang Han's soldiers and horses were well-equipped, physically powerful, and powerful. extraordinary.
Moreover, the horses under the cavalry are all tall horses. Divine horses are rare, and you can tell at a glance that they are not ordinary horses.
But after watching it for three to five days, something was wrong.
Zhang Han's soldiers and horses were obviously tired and no longer as fierce and powerful as before. Even Zhang Han himself was weak.
After Liu Xun heard this, he immediately came to the top of the city to take a look. He saw that it was indeed the case, but he was not sure yet, so he took another look.
He sent cavalry out from the city at night to investigate, and found out that the people patrolling Zhang Han's camp were also holding on, and a straggler had appeared. Careful inspection showed that his steps were empty and weak, and it was not like he was pretending.
This kind of weakness does not come from hunger, but from fatigue.
Zhang Han has a small number of troops. Although he is an elite soldier, the fatigue of the confrontation has already appeared.
Even last winter, his soldiers and horses braved the severe cold and frost and marched through the mountain roads. After going through many hardships, they entered the territory of Anfeng. They only raided the Lujiang River at the beginning of the year. This was the end of a strong crossbow!
good chance!
Liu Xun was overjoyed and immediately called the army to keep an eye on him day and night and check carefully to ensure that Zhang Han could not be deceived.
He even planned to find a chance to give it a try...
(End of chapter)
