Lu Xun finally decided to send his army westward and take Yiling directly, which actually required more judgment and consideration than Yu Fan thought.
Although it was indeed out of caution, it was because he judged the Jingzhou Army's amazing appetite and increase in combat power.
There is a saying in the Art of War: "If you are ten, besiege an enemy, if five are attack, attack if it is doubled, if the enemy is doubled, you can divide it, if it is small, you can defend it, if it is small, you can avoid it."
The Jingzhou army did not chase him westward at first, but deliberately sent his army northward, setting off a smoke bomb for everyone to escape from Mianshui.
After the main force was mobilized, Zhijiang was captured.
What does this mean?
The Jingzhou Army deliberately avoided direct combat with itself.
At least at that time, the leader of the Jingzhou Army judged that its military strength was "not as good as" his own Wu Army.
According to the defenders of Zhijiang who escaped back, he did not hesitate when he captured Zhijiang. He left two thousand troops in Zhijiang, while the opponent's strength at that time should have been no less than ten thousand.
Considering that Zhijiang County could play some defensive role, Lu Xun judged that the strength of the Jingzhou Army at that time was at least 15,000.
Liu Chan, the crown prince of Hanzhong, was also among them. Judging from the way that Lü Meng's army was annihilated with a huge fire, it was not difficult to annihilate a mere 2,000 people.
Now that someone can actually escape and come back to report, he must have done this on purpose.
If he wants to attack Yidu next, what he needs to do is to slow down the speed of his return reinforcements, rather than deliberately letting people go to inform himself.
They probably wanted to set up an ambush on the road.
At this point, Lu Xun basically judged the strategic intention of the Jingzhou Army at this time - to encroach on his own effective strength.
It is neither to escape back to Yizhou or Hanzhong, nor to control the western line of the Yangtze River and wait for reinforcements.
It’s about mobilizing oneself, dividing oneself…and eventually eating one’s own troops!
When he came to this conclusion, even Lu Xun's mind felt a little creepy.
The opponent had this plan from the very beginning when their military strength was "inferior" to our own. What a big appetite!
And when they released people from Zhijiang, they dared to ambush themselves, which should at least be similar to their own strength.
He came out with 30,000 horses, 2,000 troops were stationed at Zhijiang, 3,000 troops were stationed at Yidu, and 3,000 troops were left behind at Jingcheng. There were still 22,000 troops left.
The other party may be able to make a rough judgment on this by interrogating Chen Gang of Zhijiang.
That means...the Jingzhou army is fighting more and more.
In addition to surrendering soldiers, I am afraid that many people were also recruited in Zhijiang.
After all, once the reduction of pawns exceeds a certain proportion, they dare not use it immediately.
This style of military warfare was very different from the Guan Yu and Jingzhou Army he knew.
I'm afraid it was also written by Liu Chan, the crown prince of Hanzhong.
He must capture Yiling, Zigui and other places as soon as possible, and then station troops to hold on. After his lord captures Jiangling, he can flank the Jingzhou army on both sides to seal the victory.
However, when the army arrived at Yiling, Lu Xun found that this place had become a tough place.
Unlike Yidu who had fled earlier, Yiling was already prepared for a desperate resistance.
More than ten miles east of Yiling, the Yangtze River channel gradually narrows. The Huya Mountains of Jingmen are located here, forming a natural river pass. This section has fast currents and many exposed and hidden reefs.
Guardsmen Zhan Yan and Chen Feng each led their troops to garrison here. No matter how good the Jiangdong Navy was, they would not be able to break through such a dangerous pass.
This was also the most important reason why Lu Xun wanted to capture Yiling. By capturing this place, he would have the confidence to block the army from Yizhou.
However, the one who is stuck right now is himself.
Lu Xun's army marched on both land and water to Yiling. The three thousand naval troops led by Wu general Li Yi passed through Yidu and were blocked here.
The main force crossed the Ju River and headed south via the mountain road to Yiling.
However, Deng Fu, the governor of Fangling, and Guo Mu, the governor of Nanxiang, had already heard the news and led their troops to come to support.
At the same time, Wenbu, Deng Kai and others from Zigui gathered about 4,000 Yi soldiers and rushed to Yiling to resist the Wu army.
Lu Xun ordered his subordinate Xie Jing to lead troops to attack, but the Wu army was not good at fighting in the mountains. Even though the equipment, strength, and training were superior to the Yi soldiers, the war still fell into trouble.
As the days passed, Lu Xun couldn't help but become anxious because he was unable to capture Yiling quickly.
Lu Xun, who was looking at the map, frowned: "If we cannot attack this place for a long time, the Shu army will have gone west to ask for help. If Yizhou reinforcements have not captured Yiling before they arrive... they will have no choice but to take a detour to avoid Guan Yu's Jingzhou army and retreat to Jiangling." Already."
However, what he didn't know was that the people asking for help had already been sent back by Liu Chan, and the Yizhou reinforcements arrived much faster than he had calculated...
…
When Zhang Fei received the news in Langzhong, he immediately couldn't sit still.
The second brother and Adou were both trapped in Jingzhou. Their life and death were uncertain, and he was so anxious that he wanted to kill someone.
"You have to wait within three days to prepare food, grass and baggage, and order all the troops to go out!" Zhang Fei's tone was unquestionable.
His generals Fan Qiang and Zhang Da stood bowed and immediately raised their heads in surprise after hearing this: "Three days?"
How could the equipment, food, horses, and ships needed for tens of thousands of people be prepared for this trip in three days? It’s not like going on an outing, just pack a bag and go!
At this time, Zhang Sanye, who was worried and resentful of Soochow's back-stabbing behavior, didn't care about it and said sternly: "Three days! If you dare to delay the war, military law will be enforced!"
"this……"
The two had no choice but to withdraw and had to step up their preparations.
However, how can it be so easy to send out armies and assemble soldiers? On the third day, the two of them naturally still failed to prepare all they needed and ordered their troops to go out.
Fan Qiang and Zhang Da had no choice but to go to Zhang Fei for explanation.
However, they knew very well the temper of their right-hand general, and the two of them were going to get into trouble...
Sure enough, as soon as he entered the room, Zhang Fei glared at the second general and said, "We have prepared everything we need. Can the army go out tomorrow?"
Judging from his tone, Mr. Zhang's mood is getting worse and worse.
Fan Qiang raised his head and said: "General, we have tried our best to prepare all the food, grass and baggage. Unfortunately, Langzhong's ships are limited and we still need to mobilize them from other places... Please give me a few days of grace, General."
"Huh?" Zhang Fei glared and said in a voice like a tiger, "How many days of grace? The Eastern Wu thieves betrayed the alliance and made a sneak attack, trapping the second brother and Adou in Jingzhou. Their lives are still uncertain. I can't wait to go to Jingzhou tomorrow to capture Sun Quan's son alive! You guys! How dare you disobey my general's orders!"
Fan Qiang and Zhang Da quickly bowed and apologized: "General, I don't dare, it's just that ship..."
Seeing that the two were still trying to defend themselves, Zhang Fei felt his anger rising above his head: "Come here! Pull these two out of here!"
"Third general, wait!" Suddenly a clear male voice came from outside the house, and two tall and handsome men walked in side by side.
One person wears a feather fan and silk scarf, and the other person wears plain clothes and a sword.
It was Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun who arrived.
It was Zhuge Liang who spoke. At this time, he walked towards Zhang Fei with a smile: "No matter how urgent the matter is, manpower will eventually be limited. Why should the three generals be angry?"
Zhao Yun took the opportunity to wink at Fan and Zhang, and said in a low voice: "Why don't you hurry up and get ready? The three generals have me and the military advisor to deal with it."
The second general looked grateful, nodded in greeting, and then silently retreated.
"Hey! Sun Quan's son betrayed the alliance and made a sneak attack. The second brother and Adou don't know whether they are alive or dead. How can the military commander still laugh!" Zhang Fei turned around, his chest rising and falling, and he was obviously still angry.
Zhuge Liang shook his feather fan lightly, turned to the front of Zhang Fei again and said with a smile: "Yide, you must have underestimated Yunchang and the prince."
"Huh? How do you say this?"
Zhuge Liang was also uneasy in his heart, but losing control of his emotions was harmful and useless. At this time, he deliberately looked calm and calm: "The prince, with less than a thousand personal troops, cooperated with Jiangling's thousands of defenders, he will wipe out Lu Meng's army of thousands. And Jiangling City will be wiped out." Since Jian has not been lost, it will be difficult to capture Soochow for a while.
"In addition, Yunchang's Jingzhou army is still outside. How can Jiangdong Lu Xun and others easily capture it?"
Thinking about the Soochow Army's "excellent" siege record, Zhang Fei felt much more at ease.
Zhuge Liang smiled again and said: "Your Majesty and Yunchang have been running Jingzhou for many years and have great trust. If there is trouble now, the generals from all over Jingzhou and the leaders of the barbarians will definitely send troops to help us before us to fight against Soochow. Although the prince is young, he is also With both wisdom and courage, there is no need to worry about virtue.”
Zhao Yun also knew the military advisor's intention, so he cooperated and said, "Yes, in my opinion, it would be good if Chief Yun and the Crown Prince don't chase Lu Xun away."
He and Zhuge Liang deliberately looked at each other and laughed, and the atmosphere suddenly became much more relaxed, and Zhang Fei felt temporarily relieved.
Seeing that Zhang Fei was no longer irritable, Zhuge Liang began to persuade Zhang Fei with reason and emotion, and warned Zhang Fei to treat his generals and soldiers well.
"The general in charge of the army whips the soldiers and generals at will. This is the way to bring disaster."
Zhang Fei couldn't listen to this, but at this moment he thought of Adou.
When he was in Hanzhong, he had a martial arts competition with Adou, and he saw that the soldiers under his command didn't care who he was, and immediately tried to kill him.
He also watched the entire battle with the Bai Jie soldiers, and the scene of those soldiers fighting to the death was still vivid in his mind.
Thinking of the way Adou got along with them in Hanzhong, Zhang Fei was a little shaken for the first time.
When Zhuge Liang saw this, he still couldn't see what was going on? He immediately tried his best to persuade Zhang Fei into his heart.
After Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun left that day, Zhang Fei sat in the house for a whole day without drinking.
When night fell, he finally sighed and walked to Fan Qiang's residence.
He casually waved away the guard who was about to pass the message. Just as he was about to push the door open and enter, he heard the sound of the second general drinking and complaining in the room.
"Oh... come on, drink, let's get drunk and relieve a thousand worries."
"Ever since we followed the three generals, we have been loyal to each other. Unexpectedly, the friendship we have shared for many years has never been in the general's eyes."
"Don't think so much. After drinking, take a rest early. Tomorrow we will have to rush the ships, otherwise we will lose our lives... Sigh."
If these words had been heard by Zhang Fei earlier, the two of them would have been skinned and cramped.
However, Zhang Fei's mood at this time was extremely complicated, and it was rare that he did not get angry.
"My attitude...has made them think that I want to kill them?"
Crunch.
Zhang Fei, carrying a wine jar, opened the door and walked in.
The second general suddenly felt a chill running through his body. He immediately knelt down and knelt down and cried: "Third general, please spare my life. The two of us were just drunk and talking nonsense. The general thought that after I have been waiting for you for many years, please spare my life!"
Seeing the second general so frightened, Zhang Fei felt a little uncomfortable and said in a deep voice: "Let's give up on the three-day plan... Just prepare as soon as possible."
He put the wine jar down casually, and said before going out with his hands behind his back: "This is the aged wine that Adou sent to me... I will keep it with you now."
After speaking, he quickly walked out without waiting for the two to answer.
It is impossible to ask the right general Zhang Fei to apologize to his subordinates. It is impossible to apologize in this life.
But how could the second general who had followed him for many years not understand what he was doing?
At that time, my mouth was wide open, as if I was witnessing the sun rising in the west.
After a long time, the tears that the two generals had just stopped flowed out again, but this time they were also shed with all kinds of grievances and resentments in their hearts.
It is impossible to say that all their dissatisfaction with Zhang Fei has disappeared at this moment.
But this is still the beginning of a change...a huge change in the fate of the three people.
A few days later, Fan Qiang and Zhang Da finally gathered what they needed.
In addition to the 5,000 troops brought by Zhao Yun and the Central Army sent by Liu Bei to accompany them, Zhang Fei gathered an army of 30,000 from Lang, and together with Zhao Yun and military advisor Zhuge Liang, headed for the Jingzhou battlefield...
(End of chapter)
