Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it is mid-autumn in August. At this time, the weather turns cooler, the autumn is high, and the horses are fat. It is the time to use troops.
After more than a month of preparations, Cao Xiu, the commander-in-chief of the Wei State, has assembled 100,000 infantry and cavalry in Hefei. All military supplies such as grain, fodder, and vehicles have been prepared. The army is ready to go. It only needs a signal from Neiying Zhou Li to send its troops south. Kill Soochow.
Three days later, Zhou Li asked an envoy to bring Cao Xiu a handwritten letter, saying that he was ready and asked Cao Xiu to immediately lead the army south to Wancheng and march to Jiangzhu. He would personally lead his troops in Wancheng as an internal response to open the city gate to welcome the Wei army. .
Then Cao Xiu's army could take advantage of the situation when Soochow's heavy troops were hanging outside and its interior was empty, either to cross the river and occupy Poyang, or to go straight to Wuchang to destroy Wu in one fell swoop.
Cao Xiu was really excited after reading the letter. He immediately ordered the army to set off and march south. He also sent an envoy to Luoyang to inform Wei Emperor Cao Rui. He also sent people to ask Hussar General Sima Yi and Yuzhou Governor Jia Kui to march as planned.
All of a sudden, the three armies that Cao Wei had been preparing for a long time all moved into action, and they marched towards Soochow in a mighty and menacing manner.
The east road was the main force of the Wei army. Cao Xiu led Jianwu General Wang Ling, Langya Prefect Sun Li and other generals with one hundred thousand infantry and cavalry to march towards Wancheng. Their primary purpose was to meet Zhou Li and open Wancheng, the gate across the river. .
On the middle route, former General Manchong, General Zhu Ling and other generals led by Jia Kui, governor of Yuzhou, led an army of 50,000 to take Dongguan from Xiyang.
Dongguan is a Guanzhai fort built by Sun Quan in the 17th year of Jian'an to resist Cao's soldiers. This pass is on Ruxu Mountain, and at the foot of the mountain is Ruxu River. Therefore, this pass just blocks the mouth of Ruxu River, because it is separated by Ruxu River. Xushui is opposite Xiguan on Qibao Mountain, so it is called Dongguan.
This pass controls Chaohu Lake in the north and the Yangtze River in the south. It is a key point between Wu and Wei. Because there is a Ruxuwu water outlet nearby, which serves as a garrison for the navy, Soochow has sent generals here to guard it.
Therefore, the main purpose of Jia Kui's troops was to contain the Wu navy in Dongguan so that Cao Xiu's army could cross the river calmly.
As for the west route, Sima Yi, who was stationed in Wancheng, led 50,000 troops from Jingzhou to Jiangling. If Jiangling could be broken, it would be best. If not, Soochow's heavy military group near Jiangling could also be contained.
The three armies totaled about 200,000 people. Their murderous intent and overwhelming momentum attracted the attention of all parties once they were launched. All forces wanted to see if Cao Wei, who suffered a disastrous defeat on the Western Front in the first half of the year, could win on the Eastern Front in the second half of the year. Get back face.
200,000 Wei troops marched south, and they had already prepared flying horses to report to Wuchang. Seeing that the fish had taken the bait, Sun Quan immediately ordered Lu Xun, the general of the auxiliary state and the herdsman of Jingzhou, Zhu Huan, the Fenwu general, and Quan Cong, the Suinan general, to lead their own troops. Assemble to Wancheng as planned.
A few days later, Sun Quan left Wuchang and visited Wankou in person to summon the generals to deploy strategies for the battle.
"My lords, although the Wei army came in three groups, Cao Xiu on the east route has fallen into our trap, and we are just around the corner to defeat the Wei army. I have ordered Zhu Ran, the general who conquered the north, to lead 30,000 elite troops to Jiangling. He will be in charge of Jiangling. Sima Yi's soldiers and horses should be worry-free.
As for the enemy army in the middle, as long as Qing and others can defeat Cao Xiu's army in one fell swoop, the Wei army along Jia Kui's route will naturally become a lone army, and it will not be a problem to defeat them later.
Therefore, the key to the current war situation lies here in Wancheng. I hope that all the ministers will work together and work hard to achieve a great victory for Soochow that is not inferior to that of Xishu! "Sun Quan said with excitement.
All the generals said in unison: "I dare not die in service, and I will live up to the high expectations of the Supreme Being."
Sun Quan was very satisfied with everyone's attitude and nodded while stroking his purple beard. After a while, he looked at the first person on the lower right and shouted: "Where is Boyan?"
Lu Xun quickly left the office and said, "I'm here."
"I now ennoble you as the Grand Governor, and give you the yellow ax. You will command the three armies, take charge of the king's affairs, and all the civil and military officials will listen to your orders."
The ministers were all shocked when they heard this. This was a huge amount of trust and respect. The king's courtesy to Lu Xun today was even greater than when he faced Liu Bei's invasion.
Although Lu Xun was also appointed as the Commander-in-Chief at that time, he only gave him the power to control the generals. Unlike today, he gave the power to Huang Yue. Such a generous treatment can only be compared with that of Zhuge Liang of Western Shu. The ministers in the world may not be able to find the third person.
Lu Xun was also deeply moved and wept and said: "The Supreme Lord has treated me so kindly. Even if I am shattered to pieces, I will not be able to repay it. I will definitely try my best to defeat the Wei thieves, so that the enemy leader Cao Rui will be frightened, show the strength of the country, and promote the reputation of the Supreme Lord." . ”
"Okay, you can rest assured that you have such bold words." Sun Quan stepped forward to help him up and said happily.
Then, he shouted to Fenwu General Zhu Huan and Suinan General Quan Cong: "Where are Zhu Huan and Quan Cong?"
"I'm here," the two of them quickly replied.
Sun Quan said: "I order you two to be the right and left governors, each leading 30,000 elite troops to assist the chief governor in defeating the enemy."
"Follow the order." The two of them accepted the order and returned to their respective positions. Only Zhu Huan had a look of injustice on his face.
However, Sun Quan didn't seem to notice Zhu Huan's abnormality. He turned to look at a wealthy civil servant who was nearly forty years old on his right and said: "Qing Zhou, the rest of the drama must be completed. Cao Xiu's army must be allowed to penetrate deep into our territory. .”
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will send another letter to Cao Xiu in two days, urging him to come south as soon as possible."
It turned out that the person who replied was Zhou Li, the protagonist of the fake surrender plan. At this moment, he also followed the army with his troops in order to confuse Cao Xiu nearby.
Sun Quan nodded and said: "Very good, this time Cao Xiu fell into the trap, you should be the first to take credit."
"This is all due to the exquisite arrangements of the Supreme Lord and the Grand Governor. I am just acting, and I can't say I have any merit." Zhou Li replied humbly.
Lu Xun said: "The Lord of the Zhou Dynasty is too humble. I deserve the first credit. I hope that the Duke will continue to deceive Cao Xiu and urge him to march faster so that his troops and horses can be as far away from Jia Kui's army as possible."
"Yes, I would like to obey the orders of the Grand Governor." Zhou Li replied understandingly.
On the second day, Sun Quan was preparing to return to Wuchang and take charge. However, he actually saw the angry expressions of some people at the military meeting yesterday, so in order to make the generals completely obey Lu Xun, he had a plan in mind.
When Lu Xun came, he personally held a whip in his hand and drove Lu Xun, and ordered all the officials to kowtow. When all the generals saw this, they were all awe-struck and no longer dared to despise Lu Xun's military orders. Sun Quan then left with peace of mind and completely handed over the frontline command to Lu Xun.
So Lu Xun immediately dispatched troops and generals, and ordered Zhu Huan, Quan Cong and others to lead their troops to sneak into various dangerous passes north of Anhui City to ambush. One hundred thousand Wu troops were waiting with nets set up, waiting for Cao Xiu's army to arrive.
On the other side, Zhuge Liang, who was stationed in Hanzhong, had also received news that hundreds of thousands of troops from Wu and Wei were dispatched. At present, most of Cao Wei's troops were transferred to the eastern front, and only tens of thousands of Wei troops were guarding Guanxi.
Although the Han army only had tens of thousands of troops, when the Han and Wei armies fought, the Han army had always been small and the Wei army had been large. Now the strength of the troops was rarely similar. This was already to Ji Han's advantage. This rare situation made Ji Han Everyone felt a little uncomfortable for a while.
However, Zhuge Liang had long expected this to happen, and now within a year, Ji Han had been given a good opportunity to conduct two northern expeditions. This situation made him excited, and he knew that it was God's will that would never stop Yan Han.
So, he quickly summoned a group of civil and military officials to the mansion camp on Xitan Mountain to discuss matters.
