Meng Da was really a little depressed.
He has just completed the expansion, and there are only more than 4,000 people, including nearly 1,000 new recruits who have not been trained much.
Although he had carried the Three Thousand Steps in his hands for a long time, he was not worried about any problems that would arise if he surrendered to Cao Cao.
But with just such a small number of people, he certainly cannot be the leader in raising an army.
He doesn't have the influence of the Shen family here, so he simply can't recruit so many young men. If he uses force, the people may revolt in a day or two...
So he was waiting for Cao Jun to arrive.
As a result, before Cao's army arrived, they heard that Liu Feng had taken advantage of Shangyong first. Fortunately, the Shen brothers seemed to have escaped.
He began to wait again. Since Liu Feng took action first, he believed that the Shen family would definitely make big moves. He had to wait for news from the Shen family before he could cooperate.
Waiting and waiting, the messenger from the Shen family finally arrived.
Meng Da excitedly took the brocade bag handed over by the messenger, and couldn't wait to take out... a piece of tattered linen cloth.
Yes, Mengda turned it over and saw that it was also a piece of tattered linen cloth.
It even has the smell of sweat and patches of stains...
Before Meng Da could question him, the envoy was so frightened that he knelt down and begged for mercy, saying that when the family leader handed it over to him, he clearly said it contained a secret message and asked him to deliver it to you personally.
The Shen family went to great lengths to send an envoy to bring him a piece of tattered linen cloth to wipe his sweat, just to tease him? Come to think of it, it's really not necessary.
Unwilling to give up, Meng Da had an idea. Maybe there was another mystery in this piece of linen cloth?
Soak it in water, dip it in oil, pour chicken blood on it, or even roast it over fire...
After a lot of twists and turns, Mengda was finally convinced that this motherfucker was just a piece of tattered linen cloth for wiping sweat!
Then there is a possibility. The real secret letter may have been lost halfway.
When Meng Da heard the news, his heart tightened. The only people who could do such a thing could be Liu Feng's people.
But soon he relaxed again, so what if he knew?
The Shen family is guarding the west entrance, and he is guarding the east entrance. If Cao Jun comes, he will go to the Yongbei entrance.
The news couldn't be sent out, and reinforcements couldn't be brought in. Even if Liu Feng knew about it, how could he use three thousand men to make a comeback?
But there is no news about the Shen family now, so when to send troops is a question.
"Report to the general! There are ships approaching from the east. It seems that the army is about to enter the three counties."
Meng Da was not surprised but overjoyed when he heard the news. The lower reaches of the Mian River were still in the hands of Cao Wei. Jingzhou had just experienced a war. It couldn't be Guan Yu, but Cao Jun!
As soon as Cao Jun arrives, he can directly send troops. No matter what the Shen family is up to, it shouldn't be a problem to capture Shangyong.
After confirming that it was Cao Jun, Meng Da directly led his guards out of the city to show his sincerity and greeted them respectfully at the dock.
When the boat heard about it, the person who stepped off the boat first was a veteran, about forty or fifty years old, with gray spots on his beard and hair, but he still moved like the wind and did not look old at all.
This person has a serious and majestic face. He seems to be unsmiling and quite powerful.
The soldiers who disembarked with him looked neat and tidy, and seemed to have strict military discipline, which was completely different from the soldiers under his own command.
"General Meng Da, welcome the general." Meng Da stepped forward quickly, bowed his hands deeply, and then asked with a smile, "Please forgive me for being blind, I wonder which general under King Wei is here in person?"
The veteran general who disembarked from the boat returned the greeting with cupped fists. Although he was not enthusiastic, he did not refuse the man. "I am Xu Huang, the general of Ping Kou. I have led four thousand troops here to regain the territory of the three counties."
"Ah, it turns out that it was General Gongming who was disrespectful and disrespectful in front of him. Although the general is in a secluded place, he has heard of the general's name for a long time. When I saw him today, it was really..."
Meng Da had a good literary talent, and there were many flattering words in his belly that promised not to be gross but could make people happy both physically and mentally, waiting to be spit out, but Xu Huang suddenly raised his hand.
"Business matters are important. Let's not talk about this. After the three counties are recovered, I will have a drink with the general and have a good time."
"Uh... that's what the general said." Meng Da, whose words were blocked in his stomach, suddenly felt tight in his chest and short of breath.
Xu Huang led his army and asked as he walked: "What is the current situation in the three counties?"
Meng Da took Liu Feng's action first and briefly talked about the escape of the Shen brothers to Xicheng, not even hiding the fact that the secret letter had been intercepted.
"It seems that Liu Feng is not a simple-minded reckless man." Xu Huang said after hearing this.
He was able to see through the betrayal of the Shen family and Meng Da in advance, take advantage of Shangyong first, almost block the Shen family brothers inside, and even intercept their secret messages.
It seems that Liu Bei's pretense cannot be taken lightly.
"General, don't worry. Shangyong is caught between me and the Shen family. This person has been trapped in the isolated city and cannot be defended for a long time. However, our army does not have many troops..."
Xu Huang knew what he meant. He must have thought that the 4,000 people he brought were too few.
"Soldiers are more valuable than elite soldiers. The soldiers under a certain command are very rigorously trained. How can they be compared with ordinary soldiers?"
"Yes!" Meng Da didn't have any temper when facing Xu Huang. His soldiers did look much better than his own, and it was a big honor not to say that his soldiers were just a mob.
"What's more, General Xiahou Boren personally led the main force and came from the north of Shangyong. He has probably arrived before me. I will join him as soon as possible."
Mengda was overjoyed when he heard this: "That's very good! General, let's lead the army to rest in Fangling. At the end of the day, we will kill cattle and sheep to comfort the general's army. Wait for three days..."
"No need." Xu Huang interrupted Meng Da again with a wave of his hand, "When will General Fangling's troops be launched?"
"Uh... The general has been preparing for many days and can be sent out at any time."
Xu Huang nodded: "In that case, I will lead my army to rest for an hour, and then send out troops immediately! We will rendezvous with General Xiahou immediately in case something changes."
Meng Da: "..."
He secretly glanced at Xu Huang's soldiers, but saw that there was no resentment on their faces, and he couldn't help but secretly praise them in his heart.
There was a saying among Xu Huang's army: "If you don't get paid, you belong to Xu Huang."
This does not mean that he embezzled and embezzled military pay. Pay here means eating. It means that he ran the army very strictly. In order not to miss the military opportunity, he often made his soldiers too busy to have time to eat.
Xu Huang was not angry when he heard about it. He laughed and scolded: "Did I destroy your jobs?"
The implication is that it is necessary for the war. It is better to delay a meal or two than to lose the battle and die.
Moreover, he lives a simple life, his food and salary are always paid in full, and he does not do anything special.
Therefore, although running the army can be said to be strict, the soldiers under his command can only joke and complain a few times about how to work hard or how to work hard.
"Why, one hour is not enough for the general to send troops?" Seeing Meng Da's silence, Xu Huang stopped and turned to look at him.
Meng Da immediately felt a suffocating sense of oppression and hurriedly said: "Enough, of course it's enough! Just one hour, we will send troops in one hour!"
…
An hour later, Meng Daliu's confidant Deng Fu led 500 troops to defend the city. He gathered all the remaining available troops and marched to Shangyong with Xu Huang's 4,000 troops.
From Fangling to Shangyong, Xu Huang chose to take the land route.
The Mianshui River does not lead directly to these two places. Shangyong City and Fangling City are on the tributaries of the Mianshui River respectively, but these two tributaries are not connected.
To take the water route, you must first go out of the three counties, and then circle back from Mianshui. The time of making this big circle is not much different from that of taking the land route.
The Northland sergeant was not used to taking boats, and Xu Huang was afraid that his soldiers would vomit and lose strength before the battle started...
The only disadvantage of taking the overland route is the terrain, which is often dangerous with two mountains sandwiching a valley.
So although Xu Huang was anxious to send troops, he did not pursue speed when marching.
Along the way, scouts were sent out to explore the road, and they were always on the lookout for ambushes on the hills.
Sometimes, even if the situation seems to be very good, one should not be careless. Yu Jin's incident is a lesson before him.
After marching for two days, the army finally approached the east bank of the blocked water, and across the blocked water was where Shangyong City was located.
"Report——! General, we saw a large group of people marching towards this direction from the front. Judging from the flag, we believe it is General Xiahou's army."
The scout Pegasus came to report, and Xu Huang immediately ordered a halt to the march.
"General Xiahou's troops? Are you mistaken?"
"It is indeed General Xiahou's banner."
That's not right. If Boren wanted to attack Shangyong, he should have landed on the west bank of the river. Why did he come to the east bank? And are you still marching eastward?
Xu Huang had an ominous premonition and immediately ordered his troops to contact Xiahou Shang's troops.
Then the two armies reunited, and Xu Huang finally met Xia Houshang.
I saw that he was covered in dust and dirt, and there was still blood and dirt on his armor that had not yet been cleaned, and the ominous premonition became even stronger.
"General Boren, why are you marching here?"
Xia Houshang did not answer for the time being. Instead, he stared at Meng Da next to him and asked calmly: "General Gongming, who is this?"
Meng Da hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "The last general, Meng Da, comes to see the general. Da has mobilized all the troops in Fangling and is willing to help the general recover the three counties."
Xia Houshang had doubts, rolled his eyes, and decided to deceive him.
He immediately became furious and pointed at Meng Da like a sword: "What a treacherous person, how dare you cheat with the Shen family to surrender to me?!"
"ah?!"
Meng Da was so shocked that he almost couldn't hold it in because he was half-filled with urine.
Fortunately, he was still young and his sphincter was not weak. The two armies had not yet fought, so his sphincter made a small contribution and finally saved General Meng's face.
(End of chapter)
