Fifty miles east of Wancheng, thousands of soldiers were sitting on the ground, drinking cold water and eating biscuits. After several days of long journey, Cao Xiu finally led the army to approach the destination of this trip.
"I have seen the great Sima." A young scribe in his early twenties was led to Cao Xiu by his guards.
Cao Xiu stood with his sword in hand and said with a smile: "This is Mr. Dong Lang. Where is your master now?"
It turned out that this young scribe was Dong Cen, a close confidant of Zhou Li who had been raised since childhood. These days, either he or another confidant of Zhou Li, Shao Nan, acted as envoys to deliver news, so Cao Xiu was already very familiar with this person. .
"Back to Da Sima, my master is in the city. Now my master is responsible for guarding the east gate of Wancheng. He is ready to open the city gate at any time to welcome Master Wang into the city." Dong Cen replied respectfully.
Hearing this, Cao Xiu was overjoyed and said, "Okay, well done! As long as we successfully capture the city, I will definitely ask for credit for your master in front of His Majesty."
"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Grand Sima Ma for your kindness. I also ask the king to advance westward quickly. We and the Poyang rebels have been looking forward to it for a long time."
Cao Xiu nodded and said, "Well, it's time to set off." He looked at Jianwu General Wang Ling and said, "General Wang, order all the battalions to set off."
"promise."
After Wang Ling went to deliver the order, Cao Xiu smiled and said to Dong Cen: "Dong Langjun, you will stay and follow the army so that you can send a signal in time when it arrives at the city. This is what your master meant in the letter."
"No. My master has already told me before I came here. It is a great honor for me to be able to serve Grand Sima." Dong Cen responded with a hint of flattery.
Cao Xiu was in a good mood and promised: "As long as the big thing is accomplished, I will personally recommend a future for you."
"Thank you so much for your appreciation, Lord Sima. I'm so sorry for you, so I'll do whatever it takes!" Dong Cen quickly cried and bowed.
Cao Xiu was very satisfied with Dong Cen's attitude, but he didn't see the sneer hidden behind Dong Cen's tearful expression.
However, he said that just twenty miles west of the Wei army, Lu Xun and others had already secured various dangerous passes, prepared food and soldiers, and were in a strict manner, waiting for the prey to come to their doorstep.
The place where the Wu army ambush was in a narrow valley. Lu Xun personally led 30,000 troops to occupy the mountain pass. Zhu Huan led 30,000 troops in the forest on the left. Quan Cong also led 30,000 troops in the forest on the right. The entire army was deployed. Form a formation and set up a net to wait.
"Report, Commander-in-Chief, the Wei army has passed Shiting, and is now less than ten miles away from our army." A group of scouts suddenly arrived from a distance, and the leader reported to Lu Xun with clasped fists.
Lu Xun nodded and said: "I know, let's investigate again and report again." He turned to a young general beside him and said: "Send the order to the three armies to prepare for fighting."
"promise."
On the other side, Cao Xiu saw that the army was getting closer and closer to Wancheng, and he was very excited. He thought that if he could destroy Wu in one fell swoop, he would be powerful in the world and famous in history. By then, he would be a great hero of the country, the emperor and All officials will respect themselves extremely.
"Report to Grand Sima. There is a large group of Wu troops blocking the way at the mountain pass five miles ahead." Just when Cao Xiu was feeling quite complacent, the sentry's report disrupted his thoughts.
Cao Xiu couldn't help being stunned after hearing this. He couldn't believe his ears for a moment and asked hurriedly: "How many traitors are there?"
"I saw from a distance that there were tens of thousands of people."
Cao Xiu exclaimed: "What? Impossible, absolutely impossible. The main force of the Wu army has not yet arrived at Wancheng. How could there be tens of thousands of enemy troops here?"
"We have seen it with our own eyes and would never dare to deceive Da Sima." The captain of the sentry horse replied firmly.
At this time, Sun Li on the side said anxiously: "Da Sima, we have fallen into the trap of Zhou Li. He must have pretended to surrender in order to lure our lone army to go deeper!"
When Cao Xiu heard the word "trick", his chest hurt, his vision went dark, his body swayed twice, and he almost fell off his horse. Fortunately, Sun Li had quick eyesight and quick hands to support him.
"Where is Dong Cen? Call this person quickly." Cao Xiu came to his senses and shouted loudly.
The left and right hurriedly searched around, but could not find Dong Cen's figure after searching around, so he replied: "I saw this man in the Chinese army not long ago, but now he has disappeared."
"Okay, very good. Zhou Li, Lu Xun, Sun Quan, you have worked really hard these past few months to lure me into taking the bait." At this time, Cao Xiu still didn't understand that he was being tricked by the Wu people.
Sun Li said anxiously: "Da Sima, you have fallen into the trap and it is too late to regret. What should you do now?"
Cao Xiu was silent after hearing this, and after a moment he laughed and said, "Although I have fallen into the bandit's trap, I have nothing to fear! Order the army to line up to meet the enemy, but I want to weigh how many pounds the bandit Wu has."
"Da Sima, no! Since the Wu thieves have set up a trick, they must be well prepared. It is not good for me to fight at this time. It is better to retreat first in order to advance later." Sun Li advised.
Cao Xiu said: "Humph, we have a hundred thousand people, even if the thieves are well prepared, what do we have to fear?
What's more, if they retreat at this time, the army will be in chaos. If the Wu army takes the opportunity to cover up the killing, they may be defeated. It would be better to go up and fight the traitors to the death, so that there is a chance of victory. "
"This..." Although Sun Li felt that what Cao Xiu said made sense, he still felt that it was inappropriate after repeated consideration, and persuaded: "But our army has been traveling continuously and is already exhausted. It is not time to fight now. At that time. It is better to retreat first and wait..."
Before he finished speaking, Cao Xiu interrupted him coldly: "Needless to say, this is the Grand Sima, and all the consequences will be borne by that person. You just have to act according to the order."
"promise."
After hearing what he said, Sun Li stopped trying to persuade him and went to various ministries to deliver orders. After he left, Cao Xiu changed his domineering attitude and his expression gradually became serious.
The reason why he insists on marching to fight is not only for the reasons mentioned just now, but also because he can't save his face.
If he withdraws his troops at this point, then his trip will be in vain, a waste of money and food, and he will definitely become the laughing stock of the world. But if they do not withdraw, since Wu Jun has been prepared, it will not be so easy to defeat.
However, once he was defeated, it would be an even greater shame in his military career. How could he have the face to go back to the court to see Emperor Wei?
At this time, Cao Xiu was really in an undecidable dilemma. He sat motionless on his horse, letting the army pass by, and only kept calculating the gains and losses of withdrawing or not withdrawing in his mind.
After a while, he finally made up his mind to take a gamble and lead his army to a life-or-death showdown with Wu Jun. As long as he can win this battle, it will be enough to erase the shame of being deeply deceived by the Wu people for months.
"Zhou bream dog thief, if I don't take off your dog's head this time, it will be difficult to eliminate the hatred in my heart!" Cao Xiu said to himself bitterly, looking in the direction of Wancheng.
Five miles away is a step away for the cavalry. The Wei army's forward five thousand cavalry galloped and saw the Wu soldiers' formation. Their halberds were like forests, their swords and shields were like mountains, their armor was shining like the sun, and their momentum was like a rainbow.
"Da Sima, the thieves have occupied this dangerous place. The Wu army in front is blocking the mountain pass and is condescending. The birds do not dare to fall into the mountains and forests on both sides. This means that there are a large number of enemy troops ambushing on both sides. At this moment, the enemy's formation is like arms outstretched, waiting for them. Take our army into your arms." Seeing the Wu army's formation, Sun Li took a deep breath and quickly spoke to remind Cao Xiu.
In order to observe the strength of the Wu army, Cao Xiu did not stay in the middle army, but led Sun Li and other generals to follow the front army, leaving only Wang Ling to lead a large group of troops to follow.
"Yes, the enemy army has indeed been carefully prepared for a long time, and then they are ready here." Cao Xiu nodded, pointed forward and said: "Did you see that general flag? Lu Xun is here in person."
Sun Li followed his gesture and looked over. Sure enough, he saw a big general's flag, and wrote a letter with the four characters "Capital Governor Lu", and said: "Lu Xun is a famous general in the Eastern Wu Dynasty. He defeated Liu Bei in Yiling a few years ago. This man is proficient in the art of war. He knows his strategy well and should not be underestimated."
Cao Xiu nodded, hummed, and then said with a smile: "Let's go back to the central army first."
"Da Sima, do you have any strategy to defeat the enemy?" Sun Li asked seeing his relaxed expression.
Cao Xiu did not comment and said: "We will discuss it after we go back." After that, he and Sun Li and other generals led hundreds of guards towards the central army, leaving only the five thousand cavalry on standby.
"Captain, do you want to take action?" Looking at the Wei cavalry in the distance, a private general asked Lu Xun.
Lu Xun shook his head slightly and said: "Wei Qi is far away. Once our army attacks, they can retreat calmly. Besides, I am not setting up such a large formation here just for the mere thousands of enemy soldiers in front of me. The bulk of them are still there." later.
Only when the arrow is drawn on the string but does not fire can it be the strongest deterrent. Pass on the order. No one is allowed to attack without my order. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed. "
"promise."
