Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

On September [-], Shen Chen arrived at Duyang on the front line of Nanyang.

As the left general and prince Taifu under the king of Hanzhong, he is the border general who sits in Nanyang.

Shen Chen's four main generals are Huwei General Gan Ning, Quni General Wenpin, Eagle Cavalry General Zhang Xiu, and Jianwei Zhonglang General Lu Chang.

There are Zhang Quan, Shen Tao, Liu Wei, Zhou Jian, Wang Jie, Wu Shuo, Han Hu, Zhao Jun, Li Ying, Huo Yang, Wu Dang, Wu Tao, Shan Yi, Zhou Tai and others as lieutenant colonels. , Sima.

In terms of civil servants, Zhou Buyi, Deng Ai, Xie Hui, Zhang Li, Hu Mian, Li Qiu and other dozens of juniors and disciples served as army staff and clerks.

The [-] soldiers and horses in Nanyang are all commanded by these people.

And Wenpin was good at guarding, so Shen Chen ordered Wenpin to lead his subordinates Zhang Quan and Wang Jie to lead 5000 people to guard Danshui to guard against Wuguan.

The remaining soldiers and horses were scattered all over Nanyang, mainly in Wancheng, Duyang, Bowang, Yexian and other places.

After Shen Chen arrived in Duyang, he immediately summoned Gan Ning, Zhang Xiu and Lu Chang.

Among the three, Lu Chang is the oldest, 57 years old this year.Zhang Xiu was next, also 55 years old, her hair was black and white and turned gray.Gan Ning is the youngest, 52 years old, and his body is still majestic.

Now the Nanyang Army actually still faces a problem, that is, the senior generals are aging, and most of the middle and high-level generals come from the subordinates of Cai Mao, Zhang Yun and others of the Jingzhou Army in the early years.

These people were all in their 40s and 60s at the time, but now they are generally around [-] or [-] years old, such as Liu Wei, Zhou Jian, Wang Jie, Wu Shuo, Han Hu and others.

Fortunately, Shen Chen trained a large number of young officers, and the reduction of the old and the weak in the army was relatively thorough.The remaining elites are all veterans who fought on the battlefield in their twenties before, and most of them are now in their thirties and are in their prime.

And the army is constantly replenishing young and strong, so that the structure of the bottom-level army is composed of elite veterans in their thirties who are junior officers such as corporal commanders and superintendents, plus elite recruits in their twenties.

After years of training and occasional actual combat with Cao Jun, the combat effectiveness is still very high.

At this moment, Shen Chen summoned three generals in the Duyang meeting hall, Zhang Xiu came in first, saw Shen Chen cupped his hands and said: "General Zuo!"

"General Zhang sit down."

Shen Chen waved his hand, they are all old friends, and they don't have so many rules and particularities.

Zhang Xiu sat down obediently.

In his early years, because of the problems at both ends of the snake and mouse, his status in the army was actually not as high as he imagined.

Fortunately, he woke up at a critical moment and sent troops to help Liu Bei in the Battle of Pingting, so that he was able to get the title of a miscellaneous general.

Otherwise, with the guilt of killing Cao Ang, Dian Wei, and Cao Anmin on Cao Wei's side, he would probably die of fear just like in history, and then his descendants would be punished and exterminated by Cao Pi.

It's just that since then he has started to behave with his tail between his legs. His original group of Xiliang iron cavalry followed his uncle Zhang Ji to fight the world. Now they are generally around 60 or [-] years old, and they have basically lost their combat effectiveness.

If Cao Wei were to be replaced, it would probably be to seize the military power and give him an idle official position or find an excuse to execute him, but Liu Bei saw that he had meritorious service in sending troops back then, so he told Shen Chen that he hoped that Zhang Xiu's problem could be properly settled.

Shen Chen then placed the older cavalry of the Xiliang Army in the local area during the disarmament, and let them live with their families, and set up village settlements and pavilions.

Later, he used the horses that Zhang Xiu had brought over from Guanzhong to let the veterinary experts in Zhang Xiu’s army breed them to breed a new breed of horses. Five thousand cavalry.

Back then, Zhang Ji brought 7000 cavalry from Guanzhong to fight Liu Biao and Cao Cao. After several battles, there were only [-] or [-] people left. Their families also brought them here. They were once controlled by Liu Biao, and now they are all reunited.

Since then, those Xiliang veterans have taken root in Nanyang Fallen Leaves.

Now the new [-] cavalry is led by Zhang Xiu, which is already a great trust for a person who used to be at both ends of the snake and mouse. , content to listen to orders.

After a while, Gan Ning and Lu Chang also came in. Needless to say, Gan Ning, although he is in his fifties, walks like a tiger.In history, he led troops all the year round as the prefect of Xiling in Eastern Wu. The time of his death was not in 215 AD, but at the end of 219 AD or the beginning of 220 AD, that is, next year or the year after.

Because "Three Kingdoms·Pan Zhang Biography" still had records about Gan Ning at that time, saying that there was a large-scale plague in the world at the end of 219, and Gan Ning probably died of the plague, so Sun Quan ordered Pan Zhang to take over Gan Ning's troops. It can be seen that Gan Ning lived until before and after the Battle of Xiangfan.

Lu Chang was a talent discovered by Shen Chen in his early years. When Gan Ning established an army and recruited soldiers, Lu Chang was one of them. He followed and participated in several attacks on Xudu. Due to his meritorious service, he was gradually promoted. Finally, Lou sent Shen Mi and others to die of illness. , became Gan Ning's deputy.

Only later, after the formation of the new Nanyang army, Shen Chen promoted him to General Zhonglang, responsible for leading the army alone.

Among the three, although both Gan Ning and Zhang Xiu are generals with the rank of Two Thousand Stones, Gan Ning is the highest in status, followed by Lu Chang, and Zhang Xiu is the lowest. Therefore, according to the arrangement of the seats, Gan Ning sat on the right side of Shen Chen. first position.

Shen Chen saw that the three generals had arrived, so he said: "Last year's great epidemic caused the death and injury of more than [-] soldiers and civilians in Nanyang. Fortunately, Mr. Zhang rescued us, so we survived. But even though we suffered from the plague, Cao Jun would never Will be better than us, and now is a good time for us to send troops to fight and make achievements."

Gan Ning immediately became excited when he heard this, stood up and said, "The general should have dispatched troops long ago, and the last general is willing to be the vanguard."

"Uncle Xingba, don't worry."

Shen Chen stretched out his hand to stop it and said, "My lord and Cao Cao are fighting in Guanzhong, and they have won many battles. There are righteous men in Chendu who are willing to rise up and respond to us. This is a rare opportunity, and we should seize it."

Lu Chang pondered: "General, should we get in touch with the king first? If Cao Cao sends troops from Wuguan, won't we be flanked by both sides?"

Shen Chen smiled and said: "Don't worry, I have already reported this matter to the lord last month, and the lord has given me full power to deal with it. Once Cao Cao launches a large-scale attack on Wuguan, he will immediately send troops to attack Chang'an, and Cao Cao will not I want to lose Guanzhong."

Gan Ning said, "General, how should we send troops?"

Shen Chen said: "I have already made arrangements, where is Eagle Cavalry General Zhang Xiu?"

Zhang Xiu didn't speak all the time, when he suddenly heard his name, he stood up and cupped his hands in a jerk, "The end is here!"

"You take five thousand eagle riders and go to Zhongyang Mountain to take Langling."

"only."

"Where is Lu Chang?"

"The end is here."

"You lead the troops in the headquarters and serve as the rear army."

"only."

"Where is Gan Ning?"

"The end is here!"

Gan Ning stood up excitedly.

Shen Chen said: "Lead the troops from your headquarters as the vanguard and go straight to Kunyang."

"promise!"

He replied.

The reason why others should be Wei, he should be, is because he and Deng Hong are good friends.

Later generations say that Qin Hai Han Nuo, in fact, it should be Qin Hai Han Wei Nuo.

Only the inferiors respond to the superiors, and Nuo is the elders or peers or the superiors respond to the inferiors.

Since Gan Ning and Deng Hong are brothers and sisters, they are Shen Chen's elders.

Speaking of which, there is also a question of seniority.

Shen Chen always called him uncle, but Deng Hong was Shen Chen's mother's cousin and his maternal grandfather.

So to call Gan Ning uncle is to call Gan Ning a generation shorter.

But this kind of thing is harmless, and no one cares about it, and it does not prevent Shen Chen from respecting Gan Ning as an uncle and elder in his life.

After giving the order, the three quickly went to execute it.

Shen Chen called Shen Tao again.

Now the leader of the Huangmen soldiers is no longer Shen Chen's uncle Deng Zhao and father Shen Zhen, but his cousin Shen Tao.

Deng Zhao and Shen Zhen are both in their 60s and [-]s. They have already retired from the army and returned home to take care of themselves.

Shen Tao succeeded as the commander of the Huangmen soldiers, and maintained the basic requirement of [-] Huangmen soldiers for off-the-job training every day.

The youngest of the group of soldiers who followed Shen Chen to attack Xudu back then was over forty years old, and most of them had retired or transferred to other teams to become officers, but the military spirit of this team remained.

And it still strictly follows the clan selection method, which is somewhat similar to the servants in the late Ming Dynasty, but it is no longer only selected from Huangmenting, and the scope has expanded to all major clans in Xinye.

In this way, because everyone is from various surnames in Xinye, and the Deng surname is the majority among them, the fellow villagers help each other, and the combat effectiveness is naturally stronger.

After Shen Tao came, Shen Chen said to him: "Brother Muzi, I have a task for you."

"General, please speak."

Shen Tao responded.

Shen Chen said to him: "This time I sent troops to the north to attack Cao's army because someone behind Chendu wanted to revolt. Although the strength of the enemy and us is very different, the possibility of their success is not very high, but they still need reinforcements. Travel more than five hundred li and rush to Chendu to help."

"I will understand at the end."

Shen Tao handed over his hand and should be.

Shen Chen nodded solemnly and said: "After my main force is dispatched, you will go to Zhongyang Mountain with General Zhang to Langling. Cao Hong must think that it is just a partial division and will not send a large army. As long as you surround Langling, you will immediately Bring ten days of food and grass, and rush to Chendu in the starry night, I don't expect you to be able to defeat Yan Kuang, but if you can defeat Yan Kuang, it will be a great achievement."

"only."

Shen Tao took the order and left.

Shen Chen walked out of the hall with his hands behind his back, and ordered the left and right to say: "Go to the army and set off tomorrow."

Immediately, he left the Duyang government office and went to the army.

The Nanyang Basin is not like the Guanzhong Basin. Although it is also surrounded by mountains on three sides, the gap is too large. Like the Dabie Mountains in the east and the Funiu Mountains in the north, there are a lot of flat roads with a width of tens of miles to choose from.

Therefore, it can be said that the Nanyang Basin is leaking from all sides, and it cannot be blocked by blocking alone. Even Shen Chen's [-] troops stationed in Nanyang and confronting Cao Hong's [-] troops did not rely on blocking, but deterrence.

2 vs. 10, it seems that [-] people are missing, but Shen Chen has a fierce reputation, who dares to say that he can beat him with [-] with [-] people?Even Cao Cao is probably not fully sure.

What's more, Cao Hong himself has more than enough generals, not enough intelligence, and is far inferior to Cao Ren. Therefore, facing Nanyang, where [-] people are stationed, his main purpose is defense, and he has no intention of attacking Nanyang.

At this time, Shen Chen took the initiative to attack, and he knew Cao Jun's deployment and strength situation well. Although Cao Jun often changed defenses and adjusted constantly, it was still Shen Chen's eyes.

He knew that Cao Hong's main force was in Kunyang, Wuyang, Xiping, Dingling, and Yan County, so he raised his troops to the north. Cao Hong would be facing a big enemy, so Zhang Xiu and Shen Tao's side divisions could naturally go straight in and go to Chendu for rescue.

soon.

With Shen Chen's early preparations, on the second day, Shen Chen personally led more than [-] people to Ye County.

There are currently only [-] guards in Ye County, led by general Zhou Jian and Shen Chen's disciple Wu Tao. The two have fought small-scale battles with Cao Jun's offensive on the front line of Kunyang many times, and the two sides have won and lost each other.

Gan Ning led the way with 8000 people as the front army, and Lu Chang led the rear army of 1 people, so his main force was about 4 people.

Including Zhang Xiu and Shen Tao's side divisions, the total number of troops dispatched was about 3000.

In this way, in addition to 5000 people led by Wenpin, Zhang Xiu's son Zhang Quan, and Wang Jie, the general of Wuguan, about [-] troops were placed in Wancheng, Shunyang, Rangcheng, Duyang and other places in the rear for Wuguan. Guan and Nanyang frontline reinforcements.

As soon as they moved, Cao Hong quickly got the news.

Because the attitude of Jingzhou is not to prohibit the people from the north from fleeing to the south.

Especially when the plague was rampant last year, tens of thousands of people in Runan, Yingchuan and other places fled to the south with their old and young. Cao Hong not only turned a blind eye, but even opened the door of convenience, mixing A lot of sand.

Therefore, when Shen Chen's army set off, the Cao Jun spies in Nanyang, of course, rushed back to report the news immediately.

Although the means of communication are still backward, due to the slow start time of the army and the heavy baggage, the average speed of soldiers and horses in the Han Dynasty can only reach forty or fifty miles per day, so it is much faster for a single person to report a letter, ride a horse, or even walk than an army.

In this way, on September 22th, Jian'an [-], Cao Hong in Dingling had already learned that Shen Chen had arrived in Ye County and was about to send troops to attack Kunyang and Wuyang.

At the moment, he didn't dare to neglect, and personally led 4 horses to help.

By September 4th, Shen Chen's 6 people were already in Kunyang, Wuyang and other places, and Cao Hong's total of more than [-] people stood together.

The two sides confronted each other at Taiting, which is located in the southeast of Kunyang and the north of Wuyang, which is the main road between Nanyang and Henan.

On the vast horizon, Shen Chen's army was stationed in place, with Kunyang County to the north, Wuyang County to the south, and Cao Hongying Village in front.

As soon as Cao Hong arrived, he immediately began to build a fortress and guard the center so that the army could not pass through. Shen Chen could only choose to set up camp on the spot and confront the enemy.

However, although surrounded by three sides, Shen Chen was not afraid. He just sent people to cut down some trees, built fences to surround the camp, and then put all the tents and luggage in the camp.

This is actually very convenient, and it is often used when the army is stationed in the field. Basically, it only takes a day or two to repair the camp.

However, due to the lack of time spent on digging trenches, building watchtowers, building walls, and making defensive equipment such as horses, pits, and high oars, the defensive strength of the camp will be extremely empty and it will be easily breached.

So this arrangement is often very dangerous.