Shouchun, fat water.
From Ruxukou to Shouchun, passing through Hefei and passing Shaopi, Liu Bei's army marched by water. After marching for many days, the boats entered Feishui and stationed in Shaopi.
Thanks to the information passed on by the 'fisherman', Liu Bei learned that Xiahou Dun had stationed five thousand troops on Bagong Mountain, hoping to coordinate with the east and west of Shouchun City.
Lu Su had been in Jianghuai for many years and knew the importance of Bagong Mountain, so he suggested that Liu Bei seize Bagong Mountain.
Bagong Mountain is not high, only more than 200 meters, but it has more than 40 consecutive mountains. It is one of the few high points in the vast Huaihe River Basin. Once he owns Bagong Mountain, Liu Bei can gain a firm foothold in Huaixi.
In order to have the advantage of striking first, Liu Bei ordered Huo Du to be the vanguard and led the navy to cut into Feishui and cut off the connection between Shouchun and Bagong Mountain.
Then Liu Bei selected ten thousand people, led by Huang Zhong, to attack the Bagong Mountain camp in five groups. However, the Bagong Mountain fortress relied on the mountain to defend it. Xiahou Dun had built it for many years and had sufficient equipment to defend the camp. It was difficult to pull it out under a strong attack.
Fortunately, Xiahou Dun's reinforcements were repulsed by Huo Du, but the battle situation also fell into anxiety.
In order to occupy a favorable terrain before Cao Cao went south, Liu Bei adopted the strategy of cutting off the water supply and ordered Feng Xi to go up the east mountain of Bagong Mountain to cut off the water source of the Bagong Mountain camp.
When the water source was cut off, the Wei army in Bagong Mountain was in chaos, abandoned the mountain camp and fled into Shouchun City at night.
Huo Du followed Fazheng's orders and attacked halfway across the river. The Wei army drowned more than 3,000 captured people. Only the more than 1,000 defeated troops retreated to Shouchun City with the support of Xiahou Dun.
Under the strategy of Lu Su and Fazheng, Liu Bei seized Bagong Mountain before Cao Cao arrived at Huai River.
There was Bagong Mountain, and Liu Bei built a fortress east of Feishui. Wei Lusu led the navy to station at Shaopei, and ordered Huang Quan to garrison between Shaopei and Bagong Mountain. Liu Bei himself led the army to garrison at Bagong Mountain.
However, just when Liu Bei sent Huang Zhong to lead his army to try to cross the Feishui River and launch a tentative attack on Shouchun City. Cao Cao's vanguards Tian Yu and Du Xidu crossed the Huai River from Ying River with ten thousand people on foot to support Shouchun from the west.
After learning that Tian Yu was going south to support, Liu Bei guessed that Cao Cao's army was not far away, and wanted to take advantage of Tian Yu's unsteady footing to lead his army across the Feishui to defeat Tian Yu.
However, Fazheng stopped Liu Bei from doing this. He said, "If you want to gain longevity, you must solidify Bagong Mountain." Now the king has set up his camp and crossed the water to attack Tianyu. If Cao Cao's army crosses the Huaihe River and seizes the main camp, the king will be defeated! '
Fazheng's words hit the key to the tactical situation. Feishui flows out of Shaopi into Huai River, Bagong Mountain is to the east of Feishui, and Shouchun is to the west of Feishui.
Looking at the vast terrain of the Jianghuai River, apart from Shouchun, only Bagong Mountain can be stationed and defended. Liu Bei captured Bagong Mountain and could rely on Bagong Mountain to build a defense line of fertilizer and water. If Bagong Mountain is lost, Liu Bei will have no place to stand except to retreat to Shaopi.
Liu Bei gave up the operation of crossing the water to attack Tianyu and ordered the army to shrink the area east of Feishui. As expected by Fazheng, Yu Jin ordered 30,000 soldiers to march to Xiacai.
Xiacai is located in the lower reaches of Shouchun. Crossing the Huai River, you can go up to Bagong Mountain.
Apparently Cao Cao used Tian Yu as bait to lure Liu Bei across the water to attack him, allowing Yu Jin to lead 30,000 soldiers to attack Bagong Mountain. Once Yu Jin captured Bagong Mountain, Liu Bei had no choice but to retreat to Shaopi.
Yingkou, the camp of Cao Wei.
In the big tent, Cao Cao sat on the couch, and Sima Yi reported the battle situation in the tent.
"Your Majesty, Liu Bei was unmoved and camped on Bagong Mountain. General Yu saw that the camp was dangerous and did not dare to cross the river easily, so he stopped at Xiacai." Sima Yi said: "Liu Bei's army was deployed between Bagong Mountain and Shapi. , with the benefit of mountains and rivers, it is difficult to break easily."
"Ah!"
Cao Cao smiled contemptuously and said: "Liu Xuande's troops always advance with courage, and few have the foresight and wisdom. The strategy of cutting off the water from Bagong Mountain and stabilizing the camp are beyond his imagination. Now Huo Jun is in Huaihe In the east, there must be an expert to guide Liu Bei."
Gai and Liu Bei have been close friends for many years and have fought against each other many times. Cao Cao was mostly familiar with Liu Bei's military style. Liu Bei was born as a martial artist in Zhuo County, and in terms of his ability to fight fiercely as a general, few could match him. But when it comes to having a variety of strategies and using both good and strange strategies, Liu Bei is not strong enough.
In Cao Cao's view, storming Bagong Mountain was Liu Bei's normal operation. But outflanking, cutting off the water, and attacking halfway across the river, this series of tricks was most likely not something Liu Bei could come up with, but was guided by an expert counselor.
When Cao Cao learned that Bagong Mountain had been lost, he rearranged his strategy to capture Liu Bei's anxious mind. Tian Yu advanced ten thousand men to lure Liu Bei into battle; at the same time, Cao Cao deployed Yu Jin as a partial army, hoping to steal Liu Bei's camp from the Huai River. However, Fazheng had insight and suggested that Liu Bei stick to the Bagong Mountain camp.
Sun Quan sat on the side table and asked: "Your Majesty, Liu Bei is holding on to the fortress, how should we advance now?"
Cao Cao thought for a long time, looked at Jia Xu and asked, "Does Wen He have any good ideas?"
Jia Xu stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, I often hear that one uses the masses to defeat the few, but rarely hears that one uses the few to defeat the many. Now Liu Bei has gathered the power of Wu and Chu to cross the river thousands of miles north to fight for territory. This is not a wise thing to say. Your Majesty, use the power of China. With the help of troops, our enemy is outnumbered, so why not our army just wait and see what happens and wait for the opportunity to move."
"Just wait and see, wait for the opportunity to move?"
Cao Cao frowned deeply and asked, "Does Ziyang have any wise ideas?"
Liu Ye looked respectful and said: "Liu Bei was afraid of the solidity of Shouchun City and did not dare to break through quickly, so he transferred to Bagong Mountain; he was afraid of the strength of the king's troops and did not dare to move lightly, so he retreated to Feishui. Now that the king has raised his troops here, Liu Bei has lost the opportunity. "
"However, having said that, Liu Bei has the advantage of the navy. Due to the dangers of fat rivers and mountains, it is difficult for our army to retreat quickly. Therefore, we can follow Mr. Wenhe's words and watch the changes quietly, wait for action, and observe the loopholes. Defeat the enemy."
For both offense and defense, this is something that cannot be denied. A battle between two armies is often beneficial to defense but not to attack. A general can defeat a famous general's attack with the help of a fortified city, but this does not mean that the general's ability is better than that of a famous general. It just means that the difficulty level is different between the attacking and defending sides.
Jia Xu and Liu Ye suggested that Cao Cao adopt the strategy of waiting and waiting. They wanted to be on the safe side, but more importantly they wanted Liu Bei to take action so that they could seize the opponent's loopholes. After all, Liu Bei is the attacker, crossing the river thousands of miles north. If he doesn't take the offensive, Liu Bei will be the one who is anxious.
Stroking his beard, Cao Cao said: "In this case, let's take it from the perspective of the two princes. Although Liu Bei raised a large army to go north, he was worried about the grain roads and stationed them in Shaopi Water Village to ensure the safety of the grain roads. He could be outnumbered. Feishui The Huai River is a natural danger, which can not only hinder our army, but also limit the enemy's army."
"Now we can order Yu Jin and Tian Yu to lead their troops across the Huai River and set up camp ten miles away from Feishui. Liu Bei will raise his troops to cross the water and attack them. Yan Xing will lead his troops to Shao Po to prevent Lu Su from landing and attacking from the side. .With such an arrangement, even though Liu Bei has many elite soldiers, it will be difficult for him to overcome the danger and win."
"promise!"
Sima Yi stepped forward and suggested: "Although Bagong Mountain in Huainan is short, it has continuous mountains. The king can move his army to Huaibei, build a pontoon bridge, cross the river and take advantage of the mountain to intimidate Liu Bei's troops."
Cao Cao nodded slightly and said, "Move the army to Huaibei, peek at the enemy camp, and attack from both sides. This is definitely the best plan."
After a pause, Cao Cao said: "Although Liu Bei has many soldiers in Huainan, he is not alone in his big trouble. In Huaidong, Huo Jun is showing off his evil deeds, and Zang Ba and Sun Guan are no match for him. This is what worries me!"
"Huo Jun went to Huaiyin, and his troops entered Zhongli and blocked the two rivers of Wu and Si. Qingxu has few soldiers and may not be able to control his son. I wonder what your advice is?"
"Your Majesty, according to the battle report, Huo Jun has only 30,000 soldiers and horses. Now we enter Hangou and go down to Huaiyin and Zhongli. With this arrangement, Huo Jun can outnumber his troops. In my opinion, Huo Jun's current strategy is: Either join up with Liu Bei, or march north to harass Huaibei."
Liu Ye recounted the arrangement in his mind and said: "Looking at it from this point of view, it is better to select elite generals and governors to station in Xiacai. If Qingxu loses, he will lead his soldiers to the east to aid; if Qiaojun has some, he will Change can be used as a weapon."
"feasible!"
Cao Cao ordered: "Order Xu Huang, the governor of Zhao Yan, and other generals to station 20,000 troops in Xiacai to support Qingxu and secure Qiao County. I led the army in Huaibei to peek at Liu Bei's camp; Yu Jin, Yan Xing, and Tian Yu led the generals Thirty thousand soldiers crossed the Huai River and camped on the west bank of the Feishui River, forming a tense situation with Xia Houdun."
"Send a message to Zang Ba and order him to defend Xiapi. If Huo Jun raises his troops to attack, I will send troops and horses to the east to help, so that he does not have to worry."
"promise!"
Under the military strategy of waiting for changes, Cao Cao's troops moved according to their arrangements.
Yu Jin and Yan Xing led their sergeants to cross the Huai River in the upper reaches of Shouchun, and relied on the Feishui River to build a camp on the west bank to confront Liu Bei on the east bank of Feishui.
It has to be said that Cao Cao's move hit Liu Bei's core.
Liu Bei went north from Hefei to take Shouchun, and his grain and grass were supplied to the army from the Chaofei Canal. Therefore, Liu Bei's retreat and food stronghold were all located in the water stronghold in Shaopi. Lu Su led the navy with more than 10,000 men to take charge, and Huang Quan led 10,000 men to cooperate. And this grain stronghold is not behind Liu Bei, but on the flank of the army.
The soldiers in Liangzhai could not move, and Liu Bei could only command about 50,000 troops. Facing the layout of Cao Cao's army, he felt like he was at a loss and didn't know how to deal with it.
Shouchun's troops numbered 15,000 to 6,000, and the three generals' troops totaled 30,000. The total number of soldiers inside and outside Shouchun was 45,000 to 6,000. The number of soldiers is less than what Liu Bei has available, but it is more than enough to hold on to the fortress.
The three generals camped ten miles away from Hefei. Liu Bei wanted to cross the river to attack the enemy, but there was a risk that the enemy would cross the river and attack him. Moreover, Cao Cao marched along the Huai River and set up camp on the other side of the river at Bagong Mountain. Once Liu Bei crossed the water to attack the enemy in Feishui, Cao Cao would lead his army across the Huai River and compete for the Bagong Mountain camp.
At the same time, Zhao Yan and Xu Huang stationed troops in Cai, threatening Liu Bei's camp at all times. This forced Liu Bei to divide his troops and station them on the south bank to prevent Zhao Yan from sending troops to sneak across.
Cao Cao used his superior tactical ability and superior military strength to Liu Bei's, and relied on Huai River, Shouchun, and Feishui to block Liu Bei in the Bagong Mountain area east of Feishui.
Under the defense lines of Huai River and Feishui built by Cao Cao, even if Liu Bei occupied Bagong Mountain, he could have a panoramic view of the surrounding layout for dozens of miles. However, due to various reasons, including troop strength or river obstruction, the tactical space was squeezed by Cao Cao's troops, which made it difficult for Liu Bei to show his strength.
Since then, after Cao Cao led his troops to rescue, the two sides fell into a stalemate in Shouchun.
Liu Bei wanted to advance towards Shouchun, but was blocked by Cao Cao's troops. Cao Cao did not attack, but hoped that Liu Bei would take action in order to find a chance to win.
(End of chapter)
