Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

"Too useless."

On the front line of the pavilion, Cao Hong stood on the high oar to watch the situation.

Seeing Shen Chenjun receding like a tide, his endless defense line in place was in a mess, almost in a mess, which made him feel aggrieved.

Although relying on bows and arrows and catapults alone would definitely not be able to break through his camp, Shen Chen would have to spend at least tens of thousands of soldiers' lives to fill him up if he wanted to break through, but this feeling of being crushed and beaten made him very uncomfortable .

This is much more aggrieved than Cao Cao being beaten by Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu.

In the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao had an army of more than 4 at any rate, while Cao Cao had only [-] or [-] troops in Guandu, twice as many as himself, so it was normal for him to be beaten.

But Cao Hong's troops were [-] more than Shen Chen's.

Cao Hong never expected that the offensive and defensive situation was so severe that the soldiers were powerless to fight back.

"General."

Zhao Yan stepped forward to persuade him: "Although it is true that we are a bit useless, our mission is to hold Shen Chen here. Judging from today's offensive, even if he can't break through our camp for a year, why should the general worry? "

"That's right, but I have fought with my elder brother for many years, and I have never felt so aggrieved. Even in the battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao never made us suffer like this."

Cao Hong sighed, and said, "The only thing I'm afraid of now is that Shen Chen's attack will damage the morale of the soldiers."

"But even Yuan Shao didn't break King Wei's stronghold."

Zhao Yan said seriously: "The general must remember that war is not a matter of face injury or a soldier who can be killed but cannot be humiliated, but a war between two countries, by any means. It is Shen Chen who is anxious now, not us, defense is what we should do things."

"Yes, defense is what we should do."

Zhao Yan's words immediately woke up Cao Hong, and he quickly ordered: "Order the soldiers to clean up the battlefield, eat something as soon as possible, and take a rest to prevent the enemy from attacking again."

"The general is wise."

Zhao Yan bowed his hands in salute.

It has to be said that at this time, a calm person is still needed to make suggestions.

Cao Hong was impulsive in history, far from calm like Cao Ren. Being able to encourage and persuade Cao Yan by his side really increased Cao Jun's chances of winning.

But at this time, Cao Hong saw that after the Nanyang Army retreated in the distance, the civilian men and auxiliary soldiers brought by the Nanyang Army were constantly digging trenches and spreading towards the center of the battlefield near the Lishui River.

"what?"

Cao Hong was puzzled, and said, "Shen Chen dug a trench outside his camp, and diverted the Li River into it to turn it into a moat. I can understand it, but why does he seem to be continuing to dig?"

Zhao Yan looked over and frowned immediately: "Speaking of these two days, I found that the Lishui River seems to have lost a lot of water overnight. At first, I thought it was because the weather was too hot, which caused the water and soil to dry up, and it was caused by Shen Chen's military water. , now it seems that he wants to flood our camp with water?"

"Flood our camp?"

When Cao Hong heard this, he burst out laughing: "Shen Chen must have something wrong with him. The summer is so hot that the river can't even overflow the river bed, let alone the embankment. He can at most save some water and use excavation What's the use of digging ditches in the camp and leading the water down the Li River?"

Zhao Yan raised his head and looked at the sky. It was the last hour, that is, around five o'clock in the afternoon.Although the sun was already in the west, it didn't mean to go down the mountain at all. It was still shining with scorching light. Even in the evening, the temperature was still hot.

In summer, the hotter the sun, the less water flow in the river, which is common sense.Does Shen Chen want to rely on that little water flow to submerge their camp?

It's so whimsical.

But thinking about the opponent's record, Zhao Yan felt that he should not relax his vigilance, it would be better to be more rigorous, so he persuaded: "I'm afraid that Shen Chen has other plans, the general should be careful."

"I think he has been sitting in Nanyang for more than ten years, and his skills are not as good as when he was a child."

Cao Hong snorted, shook his head and said: "Forget it, don't worry about it, let him dig if he wants to. Anyway, now that his army is watching, we can't stop them from digging ditches and blocking the river. The most urgent thing is Dongying. In order to prevent the sewage from flowing in, the trench over there is blocked, and Shen Chen can send people to attack the camp from there."

Zhao Yan shook his head and said, "Our camp is really too big. The canals leading from the Fu River are only enough for everyone to live and drink. It's still too much to fill the ditches around the camp with water and turn them into camp rivers."

Cao Hong thought for a while and said, "Then continue digging canals to divert water, and dig a few more. Shen Chen likes to dig, so let's dig too, not only to divert water from the Ke River into the camp, but also to dig canals to divert water out of the camp. Shen Chen The offensive is very fierce, if the defense cannot be perfected, I am afraid that Dongying will become a hidden danger."

"Well, well, then leave this matter to me."

Zhao Yan nodded.

Cao Hong was right. Although they were fewer in number than them, they were well equipped and had high morale. It was difficult for them to gain the upper hand in a head-on confrontation, and they even had the risk of being defeated by the opponent.

Now the comparison is to see who makes the mistake first.

Cao Jun can only hold on, but defense is also a science, and any flaw may become a fatal point.

Therefore, it is crucial to check for leaks and fill in vacancies, and to nip the loopholes in the bud.

And their camp is short of water now, so they dig canals to divert water.But he was afraid that Shen Chen would flood the camp with water, so he dug aqueducts from the camp.

This kind of project is indeed very big, and a large number of civilians and auxiliary soldiers must be mobilized, but the victory lies in two words-safety.

In the next few days, Shen Chen never launched an attack again.

They are digging canals, and Cao Jun is also digging canals.The difference is that the canals dug by the Nanyang Army extended to Cao Jun's side, while Cao Jun continued to dig canals from the Fushui in the north to build in his camp.

By the end of April, Shen Chen's army had dug out a large number of criss-cross trenches, extending all the way beyond the range of bows and crossbows on the periphery of Cao Ying.

About a hundred steps away, those trenches can be connected with the trenches outside Cao Ying.

However, Cao Hong is not a fool. He asked people to dig a trench in the camp, which connected the lower reaches of the Li River near them. The ditch flows back into the Lishui.

This kind of confrontation was common in ancient wars. Cao Cao himself liked to do this. He attacked Lu Bu to surround Xiapi, and dug ditches to flood the city.When Yuan Shang surrounded Yecheng, he also dug aqueducts and flooded the city.

It's just that that method doesn't mean flooding the flood. Cao Cao doesn't have the ability to summon the flood. Centimeters of water are continuously submerged.

At that time, the soldiers of the enemy army would have been stepping on the water, their feet would be infected by the sewage, which would cause beriberi, their entire legs would rot, and then they would lose their combat effectiveness, and Cao Cao would easily break through the city.

Cao Hong thought that Shen Chen was probably learning Cao Cao's tactics, so he didn't plan to be Lv Bu's assistant, and honestly dug ditches in the camp to solve this problem.

But when the ditch was about to be connected, within the range of the bow and arrow, Shen Chen couldn't continue digging the ditch.

Because Cao Jun can shoot arrows.

So he continued to choose to launch a war to cover the excavation work of the civilian husband and auxiliary soldiers.

For half a month after that, Shen Chen launched a thunderous offensive and continued to personally lead the troops outside Cao's army, just like the pressure Yuan Shao put on Cao Cao in the Battle of Guandu, defeating Cao's army.

The rain of arrows on the cloud tower completely suppressed the archers on the wall of Cao Jun's stronghold. Their catapults and bed crossbows also had a longer range than Cao Jun's, and their long-range firepower was almost incomparable.

Although Cao Hong also thought of a way, such as sending people from the westernmost camp that had not been attacked, and after gathering together, he sent out from the camp to attack from Shen Chen's northwest flank.

But they were spotted by enemy scouts before they arrived, and then the yellow guards in heavy armor blocked them halfway.

At that time, Cao Jun in Xiying was stunned and did not dare to move.

Go up and fight?
Is that steel armor weighing tens of kilograms a decoration?
A knife can't break someone's defense even if it is cut and rolled.

Shoot with a bow and arrow?

The range of other people's bows and arrows is farther than yours.

Bypass?
In the distance there are iron cavalry from Xiliang.

As a result, Cao Jun in the west camp ran back in despair not long after leaving the camp.

Under such layers of protection and the timely deployment of the big battlefield, Shen Chen's offense and defense can be said to be watertight, making it impossible to find any flaws.

Cao Jun could only continue to be suppressed and beaten, and even the camp in the east was almost destroyed because the problem of the camp in the east had not been resolved. flat.

In the next half month, from the stalemate at the beginning of March to the end of April, facing Shen Chen's stormy offensive, Cao Hong was miserable, sending daily battle reports to Yecheng one by one, and the pressure on the front line was enormous.

In the first ten days of May, Cao Pi in Yecheng saw that the battle report was getting worse day by day, Cao Jun was shot to death as many as 5000 people, and his morale was low, so he decided to send reinforcements.

At that time, there were still many troops left behind in Yecheng, so Cao Pi sent generals Jia Xin and Chen Zhong to lead 1 troops to help.

At the same time, Wang Lang, the military sacrificial wine and prefect of Wei County, accompanied the army as the supervisor.

More than ten days later, Jia Xin hurriedly marched for more than one hundred miles every day, and arrived at Taiting in late May, and Yan Kuang also brought a large amount of supplies from the rear to supplement Cao's army.

With the number of troops and material reinforcements, Cao Hong's situation finally improved a lot, which made him much more relaxed.

Two days passed.

On the evening of May 21, Cao Hong convened a meeting of generals in his main tent of the Chinese army.

In addition to Zhao Yan, Jia Xin, Chen Zhong, and Wang Lang, Deng Zhan, Yan Ming, Niu Jin, Liu He, Dong Chao, Dong Heng, Liu Kai, Liu Zhu, Cheng He and other generals from all ministries and battalions attended the meeting. .

This meeting was mainly to discuss Shen Chen's changes in the past few days.

Under the cover of the army, the peasants finally connected the trenches with the ditches around Cao Jun, and then Shen Chenjun withdrew, leaving behind a large criss-cross ditches with potholes, making it impossible to understand what he was thinking.

You must know that Shen Chen prepared countless siege equipment this time. Although they left a road for the siege equipment, so many ditches made it difficult for soldiers and horses to come over.

This made the subsequent Nanyang Army's offensive much weaker due to the problem of the trenches, and it was inconvenient for them to dispatch their own people.

An operation is simply puzzling.

In the camp, Cao Hong was sitting as the commander in chief. His current official position was General Wei and Governor General. In this area of ​​Henan, he had the highest official position. He was Cao Wei's commander in chief on the southern Jingzhou battlefield.

The deputy generals under the tent will be General Fenwei Deng Zhan and the guard Zhao Yan, and the rest Wang Lang and Jia Xin will sit in the second seat, followed by the rest of the generals.

After Cao Hong and the others arrived, they opened their mouths and said, "Everyone, I called everyone here today to talk about what Shen Chen is doing. He dug the canal in front of us, hindering his march, and made me want to break the law." I can't even figure out what's going on in my head."

Deng Zhan once supported Cao Cao and proclaimed him king and meritorious service, so he was the number one general under Cao Hong's command. He stood up and shouted: "General, don't care what he does, what he delays is his own march, and he can't delay us, just flooded with soil. "

"That's what I said, anyway, the camp has already dug a canal, so I'm not afraid of him releasing the water."

Cao Hong thought for a while and said, "It's just that I think that since he has already withdrawn, why don't we send people to block the ditches they dug at night? It's better to be at ease."

"Ha ha."

Wang Lang, the supervising army below, smiled and said, "Captain, maybe this is Shen Chen's plan."

"Oh?"

Zhao Yan hurriedly said, "What advice does the supervisor have?"

Wang Lang looked around and said, "Think about it, everyone, now that our reinforcements have arrived, can Shen Chen break through the camp?"

"Of course not."

Everyone shook their heads, although they are walking on thin ice these days, and the camp is also crumbling.

But this is just the beginning stage.

If Shen Chen wanted to rob the camp, he had to send people across the trench bridge to enter the camp.

But Cao's army is only inferior in long-range firepower, and they have the advantages of numbers and terrain in their battalion. They are not afraid of Shen Chen's army.

So even if it seems that the defense of the camp is difficult, if they really fight, they may not have any fear.

Wang Lang continued: "So Shen Chen had to lead us out of the camp. He dug more than a hundred trenches outside? To fill it up, such a large project would have to send out tens of thousands of civilians and assistants like Shen Chen. Bing, there are so many people outside, what if Shen Chen makes a surprise attack at night?"

Raid at night?

After everyone thought about it carefully, Cao Hong broke out in a cold sweat and said, "Auxiliary soldiers are far less well-trained than soldiers. Once they are attacked by surprise, they will definitely flee for their lives. It may destroy the camp and drag down the entire army."

"Exactly."

Wang Lang is 67 years old this year. Although he is gray-haired, he is full of energy. He said with a smile, "Shen Chen's plan is so cruel. Let us mistakenly think that he is going to flood the camp, so we send people to fill up the channel, and then take the opportunity to attack and kill him." , it is rumored that he was so tyrannical in his early years, and after more than ten years, his methods have not diminished."

Cao Hong only felt a chill down his back, and he rejoiced again and again: "Fortunately, the son sent the supervising army here, otherwise I might have fallen for that little thief. Zixiao was ambushed by this guy back then, and I want to avenge him , you must sit firmly in the middle army and stand still."

"It turns out that Shen Chen came up with this idea. Fortunately, we haven't gone out to the camp these days."

Zhao Yan also sighed: "General, continue to be as steady as a mountain."

"Ha ha."

Wang Lang suddenly laughed again, and said: "Captain, although it is indeed a solution to stay still, but when I entered the camp, the morale of the watching soldiers was low and they were weak all day long. Why is that?"

Cao Hong sighed: "Shen Chen raided the camp every day, and the arrows that came in piled up like a mountain. Many people were shot and stoned to death, and the casualties were seven thousand. The soldiers were afraid of arrows and stone carts. How to stabilize the morale of the army can't make the soldiers feel at ease."

"Ah."

Wang Lang nodded slightly, and then said: "Nanyang soldiers have been attacking the camp for several days, and their morale is high. Lang thinks that the governor should go out to fight against them tomorrow, so as to defeat the Nanyang soldiers' spirit and stabilize our army's morale."

"Oh?"

Cao Hong was shocked and said: "We are not Shen Chen's opponents, should we go out to fight against him?"

Zhao Yan also hurriedly said: "The supervising army can't do anything wrong, our morale is low at this time, and their morale is strong, how can they leave the camp?"

"No and no."

Wang Lang shook his head and said, "It's a good time to go out to camp."

"Forehead"

All the soldiers looked at each other in blank dismay.

Cao Hong said: "I also ask the supervising army to explain clearly why they are going out to fight."

Wang Lang smiled and said, "One, going out to fight hard can boost morale."

"Well."

Cao Hong nodded slightly, it really hurt the morale of the army to be a coward.

Wang Lang continued: "Secondly, Shen Chen dug so many ditches by himself, which seriously hindered his army. His siege equipment would only fail. Without those equipment, why should we be afraid?"

"Ah."

When everyone heard it, they immediately felt that it made sense, and they agreed again and again.

Wang Lang finally said: "Third, I heard that Shen Chen is a great scholar of Confucian classics, and I have also read his "Zhuzi Yan" and "Shen's Classic Collection" in Yecheng. Although there are indeed subtleties, they are not impossible. Let's argue, tomorrow when we arrive at the front of the two armies, the old man only needs to say a few words, discipline Shen Chen will surrender, and the Nanyang soldiers will retreat without fighting."

"what?"

The soldiers looked at each other.

Cao Hong and Zhao Yan were also stunned.

Deng Zhan said hurriedly: "Supervisor, what kind of person is Shen Chen, how can he retreat from the enemy by counting words before the battle?"

"Ha ha."

Wang Lang said with a smile: "If General Deng doesn't believe it, he will come to the front of the two armies tomorrow and see for himself."

"This"

Cao Hong was astonished and said: "Could it be that the supervisor wants to debate the scriptures with him? I heard that he debated countless scriptures in Jingzhou. Even Mr. Sima Decao, a great Confucian in Yingchuan, said that he was the number one scholar of Confucianism in the world. He was also the number one Confucianist at that time. How could the supervisor be?" Can you argue against him?"

"Don't worry, the governor, the old man has his own opinions."

Wang Lang smiled confidently, and said to Cao Hong: "At that time, the commander-in-chief can strictly organize the team and display the banners to strengthen the army."

"it is good."

Seeing that he was so confident, Cao Hong couldn't help but believe him a little bit, and said, "Then I'll write a letter to Shen Chen tonight and ask him to fight tomorrow."

"The governor is relieved, even if he cannot be ordered to surrender tomorrow, his reputation as a Confucianist will be discredited."

Wang Lang got up and said: "At that time, the old man will make him feel ashamed and retreat!"

"There will be labor supervisors for everything!"

Zhao Yan bowed his hands in salute.

Everyone also stood up and saluted.

Only Wang Lang smiled slightly, as if he had a plan in his chest, and with just a few words, he could kill Shen Chen without leaving a piece of armor behind!