Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 333 The God of Soldiers Sent Out, Northern Expedition to the Central Plains

At the end of February in the 24th year of Jian'an, after releasing the carrier pigeon, Shen Chen looked at the order in his hand and meditated.

As a later generation, after realizing the inconvenience of communication in this era, Shen Chen naturally thought of carrier pigeons and began to arrange them.

But the training of the carrier pigeons was not smooth, because Liu Bei's territory was too big.

From Yizhou to Jingzhou, it spanned eight provinces and one municipality directly under the central government in later generations, with a range of thousands of kilometers, and they were all areas with relatively harsh environments.

The pigeons that can fly thousands of kilometers in later generations are often the result of careful selection and breeding, scientific breeding and management, and continuous training.

The pigeons of the Han Dynasty were not the same, and they were not as well-bred as the later generations. If they were kept at home for a long time, the pigeons might lose their ability to fly long distances.

Moreover, as the area across the Yangtze River, Jingyi is affected by the rainy season for a lot of time every year. The bad weather and breeding problems often cause pigeons to only fly hundreds of kilometers.

So although Shen Chen has always wanted to establish a carrier pigeon system, there are many difficulties. It is an extremely difficult task to start from scratch.

Fortunately, after years of hard work, he finally successfully built this system a few years ago.

Just used another method.

It's not that Liu Bei releases pigeons on the front line of Tianshui County, and he can receive them quickly here, but the short-distance flight mode, that is, it is delivered one stop at a time.

After the homing pigeons fly out, they first go to Hanzhong Pigeon Base, then to Hanchang, Dangqu, Jiangzhou, and then send letters from Jiangzhou to all parts of the country. Each station is basically about [-] kilometers away, usually from Wudu to In Jiangzhou, it can be delivered within a day.

But there are still some other factors in the middle, such as natural enemies of pigeons such as eagles, falcons, eagles, bad weather interference, or occasional magnetic field changes, hunters hunting and other factors, plus the carrier pigeon base has to go to the front line, often a few days later, It is even common that sometimes it is ten days and a half months late.

So in simple terms, homing pigeons are not very stable.

However, for the Han Dynasty, which was severely lacking in information technology, this was already a great progress, enough to support nearly half of military communications.

The other half still has to rely on scouts, animals are still not as reliable as humans after all.

The order in Shen Chen's hands was sent by Liu Bei from Hanzhong half a month ago. He went to the carrier pigeon base several times in the middle, and finally landed in Wancheng, Nanyang, and then sent it to the front line from Wancheng. It took twelve days, more than the original time. At least the journey of more than two months is still a lot faster.

In the letter, Liu Bei told Shen Chen that because Cao Cao had the advantages of the number of troops, the quality of soldiers, and the first mover of food and grass, their long-term stalemate was not good for him, so he hoped that Shen Chen could make some noise in Nanyang to relieve the pressure.

After all, Liu Bei has put a lot of troops on Sun Quanhui's surprise attack on Jingzhou, resulting in insufficient combat effectiveness on the front line.If Hanzhong is lost in order to defend Jingzhou, the loss outweighs the gain.

Zhou Buyi came over and asked, "Brother, what did the king say in the letter?"

Shen Chen handed him the letter in his hand and said: "My lord is facing off against the main force of Cao's army in Longyou. His troops are not elite, and his supplies of food and grass are much more difficult than Cao Cao's. If we fight for a long time, it is easy to lose the battle, so I hope we can get it right. Make some noise and ask Cao Cao to send reinforcements to Nanyang to ease the pressure on the Lord."

"Take the initiative to attack Cao Hong?"

Zhou Buyi was so clever that he immediately understood what Liu Bei meant.

Shen Chen nodded: "Presumably it was Fa Xiaozhi's idea for the Lord, but it's okay, Cao Hong can't beat me!"

At that moment, Shen Chen stood upright, with an extremely calm and confident expression on his face.

Even though Cao Hong had already deployed 5 Cao troops on the front line at this time, and [-] were left behind in the counties behind, he only had [-] people.

But he didn't feel any fear at all, instead he was full of eagerness to try.

I have been sitting in Nanyang for too long.

It's time to let Cao Cao know how long he has prepared for today!
"Let's go!"

Shen Chen walked out of his back garden, walked towards the middle hall, and said to Shan Yi who stood like an iron tower at the door: "Yide, beat the drum and gather the generals!"

"only!"

Shan Yi hurriedly ran out.

There are three places in the front line of Yecheng, one is the city of Yexian County, the other is the tent in the northeast corner of Yecheng, and the last one is at the foot of Mount Lu in the west.

Shen Chen is currently in the central government office of Yecheng City, sitting in the rear.

Gan Ning was the general in the main battalion at the northeast corner, and Lu Chang camped at the foot of Mount Lu. The three camps formed horns, blocking Cao Hong's way southward.

At this moment, Shen Chen beat the drums and gathered the generals, Gan Ning, Lu Chang, Zhang Xiu, Shen Tao and others got the news, immediately left their lieutenants in the army to guard the camp, and rushed to Ye County by themselves.

In the government office in the city, Shen Chengao sat at the head seat, his junior brother Zhou Buyi sat cross-legged on the left, and Cai Du, Cai Mao's nephew and brother-in-law of Deng Hong's wife, sat on the right.

Two apprentices Wu Dang and Shan Yi acted as guards at the gate.

Soon Gan Ning, Lu Chang, Zhang Xiu, and Shen Tao arrived at the central hall. As soon as Gan Ning entered the door, he yelled, "General, are we going to fight?"

"There's going to be a war."

Shen Chen said with a smile: "This time we are going to have a decisive battle with Cao Hong."

"Great."

Gan Ning jumped up excitedly and said, "I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

"Uncle Xingba, don't be impatient, sit down first."

Shen Chen waved his hand.

After a while, Lu Chang, Zhang Xiu, and Shen Tao came one after another.

Of the four major generals under his command and the leader of the Huangmen soldiers of the special forces, only Wenpin is currently defending against Xu Huang in Wuguan.

The rest are all over the place.

As for mid-level school officials like Zhou Tai, they are definitely not qualified to participate in this kind of high-level meeting, and they all stay in the camp.

After everyone arrived, Shen Chen said: "Everyone, the Northern Expedition that I had prepared well for was wasted due to the great epidemic last year. But this is not a bad thing. The more time you have to prepare, the more sufficient the conditions for victory. Now The epidemic is gradually subsiding, and it is time to start the Northern Expedition again."

Everyone became excited at once.

Gan Ning stood up and cupped his hands, saying: "The last general is willing to be the vanguard!"

"There is no need for a vanguard in this battle."

Shen Chen shook his head and said: "Cao Hong will not take the initiative to send people to attack, he will only set up camps in Kunyang Wuyang and Taiting for self-defense, so we will advance steadily, and the former, middle and rear armies can attack Taiting."

Sending a vanguard is more suitable for long-distance and small-scale battles. The vanguard needs to go to the front to clear the obstacles, and then the main forces of the two sides will meet and then confront each other head-on.

For example, in the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao sent vanguard Yan Liang to sweep away Cao Cao's cities south of the Yellow River to ensure that the main force could cross the river safely, and Yuan Shao did not march until he occupied Baima and other places.

But now that the main forces of the two sides have met head-on, it is meaningless to send vanguards. It is impossible for Gan Ning to bring [-] vanguards to destroy Cao Hong's camp of tens of thousands of people. That is not realistic.

Therefore, the stable way of fighting is that the three armies press forward, and the main force of Cao Hong faces each other in Taiting.

"Order the general!"

Lu Chang got up and cupped his hands and said.

Shen Chen asked, "Where is Gan Ning?"

"The end is here!"

Gan Ning saluted excitedly.

"Let you be the commander-in-chief of the former army, and lead 1 people to go to the camp first!"

"Hey!"

"Where is Lu Chang?"

"The end is here."

"Let you be the chief general of the rear army and lead 8000 people to deliver food and supplies."

"only!"

"Where is Cai Du?"

"Humble."

"I want you to be the governor of Yecheng, responsible for food and grass in the rear, and assisting in defense."

"only."

"General Zhang and Lieutenant Shen accompanied me with the army, and I led the [-] Chinese army to follow the front army and cover the front army."

"only!"

Everyone stood up in unison.

Nanyang has an army of [-], and about [-] are left behind.

Shen Chen led 5 soldiers, of which 8000 followed him to the battlefield, leaving [-] soldiers in Yecheng.

However, this does not mean that his total number is [-].

Because a large number of civilian husbands and auxiliary soldiers were recruited to help transport food, supplies, and siege equipment.

So the actual number of people confronting Cao Jun north of Yecheng currently exceeds [-].

Cao Hong's side is similar.

His total strength is about 10, and about [-] are left behind. If Yan Kuang's Diannong Army is added, the number of left behind is about [-].

There are 1 main forces in the Taiting camp on the front line, more than [-] each in Kunyang and Wuyang, and about [-] soldiers.

In this way, the comparison of the strength of the two sides is [-] against [-], and the advantage lies in Cao!

After Shen Chen gave an order, the Nanyang war machine immediately roared into action.

Soldiers came in and out of the city every day, a large amount of food and grass began to be loaded into vehicles and transported to the front line, and there were countless siege equipment.

God knows how many catapults, wooden curtains, nest carts, rush carts, ladders, and cloud towers Shen Chen prepared for the Northern Expedition.

If you count the crossbows, bed crossbows, arrows, armor, and knives, it is piled up like a mountain.

After the war started, it was necessary to pack the truck and transport it to the front line.

And this is only for the current equipment for the army, and the subsequent use consumption and Yecheng still have a large amount of storage will continue to be sent to the front line.

In the following time, it took three days just for the luggage, and it was not until the beginning of March that they finally set off.

It is the late spring season, when the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, and the warm sunshine in the afternoon shines on the earth. The buds on both sides of the road from Yecheng north to Henan are growing tenaciously, facing the morning sun.

As the north-south hub, the wide official road should have people coming and going.

However, the confrontation between the north and the south for many years has long turned Yecheng into a military town, and the people have also been relocated.The original villages were turned into ruins, and the countryside was barren, gradually turning into a land of lush weeds.

Gan Ning rode on horseback and walked in the front of the team. Behind him was an endless army, with flags held high and lined up in several long queues.

As the front army, they did not carry any luggage. His role was to cover the middle and rear troops, first arrive at the front line of Taiting, and then seize the place for camping, so that the central and rear troops could quickly start camping after their arrival.

Cao Jun's scouts were seen far away at the end of the road ahead, Gan Ning suddenly became excited, and with a roar, dozens of scout cavalry rushed out from the army and rushed forward behind Gan Ning.

"Beep beep!"

Cao Jun's sharp whistle sounded.

The strategic position of the Nanyang Basin is extremely important, but it has been difficult to defend since ancient times, because the road leading to Nanyang is extremely wide.

To the west is the Funiu Mountains, and to the east is the Dabie Mountains, but there is a width of thirty or forty miles between the two mountains.

So let alone horse racing in this place, even grazing is enough. Scouts come and go like the wind, galloping recklessly on this vast plain. Shen Chen's scouts and Cao Jun's scouts often face off here.

At this moment, Cao Jun's scouts discovered that the main force of Shen Chen's army was moving northward, and they didn't dare to fight at all. After issuing the warning, they reined in their horses and walked away without any regrets.

Gan Ning chased him for three or four miles. Seeing that Cao Jun's scouts did not dare to fight, he came back in a hurry, and said regretfully to the left and right lieutenants Zhou Jian and Wu Shuo: "These bastards are really cowardly. Cao Jun is afraid of us. Dare to fight."

Zhou Jian persuaded: "General, General Zuo ordered us to go to Taiting to occupy the camp immediately. At this time, chasing the enemy scouts will delay time."

"I know, I know, I'm so annoying."

Gan Ning waved his hand impatiently. He felt that he would be useless if he stayed in Nanyang every day for these years. If he could not go out to hunt occasionally, he really felt that he would die of idleness.

The team moved on.

And soon Cao Jun's scouts had returned to Taiting and reported to Cao Hong.

"Report!"

In the Cao Ying army, Cao Hong is patrolling the camp.

The scout flew to report, got off the horse and said: "Shen Chen's army is dispatched, coming to the pavilion."

Cao Hong's complexion changed suddenly, and he said, "Order the battalions to take precautions, I'll go and have a look."

He immediately transferred to the front battalion.

At this time, a large number of fortifications have been built in the front camp, including trenches, horse rejection, high forts, and walls.

Cao Hong climbed to a high watchtower to watch.

I saw a large group of people slowly approaching on the horizon in the distance, densely packed.

They spread out on the ground, as if they were overwhelming.

The first one was naturally Gan Ning's front army, and about two or three miles away was the central army led by Shen Chen himself.

The vast plain in Henan is vast and boundless, but those people and horses seem to occupy the entire horizon, extending towards the direction of the pavilion.

There used to be some villages and farms in Taiting, but the population has now moved to the rear. The front lines on both sides have been completely devoid of people, leaving only some dilapidated villages and barren land.

Those people finally stopped on the opposite side of Cao Ying and seized the upper reaches of the river.

The pavilion is facing the Nanyang passage, and at that time there was a river flowing out of Funiu Mountain, going east along the Nanyang passage, passing [-] miles north of Wuyang County, merging into Rushui, and then flowing into the Huaihe River.

This river had the same name as Lishui in the south in the Han Dynasty, and was also called Lishui, but it was called Lihe River in later generations, and it was an important tributary of the Huaihe River.

At this moment, Shen Chen's army swaggered and began to set up camp on the north bank of the Lishui River, five miles away from Cao's army.

The Gan Ning army led troops to line up four miles away, and the Chinese army in the rear immediately prepared to build camps. In addition to the 3 people in the headquarters, there were tens of thousands of peasants, auxiliary soldiers, and craftsmen who felled trees one after another.

What is the scene of nearly 10 people acting.

At least in Cao Hong's view, the north bank of the Lishui River in the distance extends southward for more than ten miles, densely packed with human heads.

Pieces of forest fell down, and an unknown number of logs began to be moved to the barracks.

Cao Jun with a radius of more than ten miles just watched, and no one dared to attack.

It was getting dusk, and Shen Chen's army was still continuously casting camps, and the vast plain was as lively as a construction site.

The lights were bright, the voices of people were loud, and the forest stretching for more than ten miles on the north bank of Lishui River was almost completely cut down.

(End of this chapter)