Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 421 Three Route Northern Expedition
On the city of Chang'an, Xia Houmao and Zhong Yao looked to the southwest.

It was the time of sunset, the sky was still dark, and the setting sun was hanging on the horizon, illuminating the clouds in the sky into gorgeous fire clouds.

On the endless plain, the green and yellow grasslands meet each other, and countless war horses are crisscrossing the south bank of the Wei River, approaching Chang'an.

The plain was vast and boundless. Although Xia Houmao lacked combat experience, at least he had been in Chang'an for so long. He still knew a little basic common sense in the military camp. With a glance, he could probably estimate the number of enemies.

He said to Zhong Yao: "Taiwei, the enemy seems to have only more than 1 horses, and there are no reinforcements in the rear. They have come from a long distance, and they must be exhausted. If we go out of the city to make a surprise attack at this time? Wouldn't we be able to defeat them?"

Zhong Yao shook his head: "General, don't be impulsive, Shen Chen is not easy to deal with. This person dared to fight against the late emperor himself when he was more than ten years old, and he was already famous all over the world when he was more than [-] years old. It is very likely that he will come here this time." To show the enemy's weakness and arrange a large ambush in the rear, it should be on the safe side."

Xia Houmao raised his hand and set up a pergola to look into the distance. The height of the city wall of Chang'an City is eight meters if the moat is not counted, that is, the height of the horizon of eight meters.Standing high and looking far, the west is an endless plain, which can be said to be unobstructed.

On the vast grassland, there are more than 1 cavalry from Shen Chen alone, densely packed all over the wilderness, arranged in a horizontal line by the Jushui River, stretching for several miles, and several cavalry stand on the hillside overlooking Chang'an.

Although the more than 1 cavalry drinking the water from the horses was spectacular, and the terrifying momentum seemed to crush everything into powder, but no matter how you looked at it, it didn't look like there were ambushes behind.

Xia Houmao wondered: "But there is nothing more than ten miles behind them. Even if they use cavalry to ambush, they can't rush to help so quickly."

This is the most basic military common sense.

But Zhong Yao still said firmly: "The general only saw the west city, but forgot the north city and the south city. What if the enemy is only here to attract the general's attention and lure the general to mobilize the main force to leave the city, and the north city is suddenly attacked?"

"Yes, General."

Dai Ling, a school lieutenant next to him, said: "Even if we chase them out, they have more cavalry, and we have to cross the river to chase them. We can't catch up with them at all. If our main force is exhausted, they will suffer if they attack from other places."

Xia Houmao suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, looked around and said: "Shen Chenduan is treacherous, he almost fell into the trap."

Another general, Fei Yao, said: "General, after all, the Taiwei has been sitting in Guanzhong for more than [-] years, and he knows Chang'an well. Your Majesty sent the Taiwei here, and I hope the general will listen to the Taiwei's advice."

"Ah."

Xia Houmao was not a person with a strong desire for power, so he nodded and cupped his hands to Zhong Yao, saying, "That's right, thanks to the help of the Taiwei, otherwise I would have sent troops recklessly. From now on, the military affairs in this city will be controlled by the Taiwei. , everything depends on Captain Lao.”

"It's all about sharing worries for His Majesty and the general."

Zhong Yao returned a salute.

It stands to reason that Zhong Yao is a Taiwei, his rank is first rank, and his ranking is still above the generals, second only to the great Sima, so he would not be so respectful to General Anxi of the third rank like Xia Houmao.

However, during the Cao Wei period, the Sangongs were basically empty positions and had no real power.And Xia Houmao is not only the general of Anxi, but also holds festivals and fake festivals. He supervises the affairs of Guanzhong, Yong and Liangzhou together with Zhenxi General Cao Zhen.

So when Zhong Yao was sent over this time, it was actually Cao Pi who found a senior counselor for Xia Houmao.Cao Pi also issued an edict to Xia Houmao before, asking him to listen to Zhong Yao's opinions more, so this time it is considered a smooth sailing, and the highest military power is handed over to Zhong Yao. In this way, he is the supreme commander in name, but the command is under the command of Zhong Yao .

And this also has an advantage, that is, Zhong Yao's power comes from Xia Houmao's decentralization.Cao Pi didn't trust foreign surnames, but trusted Xia Houmao, Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu, Xia Houshang and other second-generation clan disciples, so even if Zhong Yao changed, he could quickly regain power.

This is Cao Wei's check and balance on the high-ranking courtiers. Like Sima Yi, he was suppressed by Cao Zhen and did not dare to have any unreasonable thoughts until he killed the second generation of the Cao family and the Xiahou family, and the third generation of the clan collapsed. At that time, he completely grasped the military power, and then cleared the obstacles for the Sima family to seize the country.

Therefore, it can be said that it is not that Cao Pi has insufficient control over power, but that the lives of outstanding children of the Cao family and Xiahou family are too short.As long as there is one in the second generation who can be as capable as Sima Yi, there is probably nothing wrong with the Sima family.

Zhong Yao successfully took over the military power of Chang'an City. After thanking Xia Houmao, he raised his head and looked to the west.

He actually knew that Shen Chen probably only had more than 1 cavalry come over to have a look.

Because before the fall of Huaili, someone had already sent a report to Chang'an, which means that there were only [-] cavalry behind them, and the main infantry could not fly. It is impossible to be in Huaili two hours ago and appear in Chang'an after two hours under the city.

But Zhong Yao couldn't leave the city.

Not afraid.

Instead, Cao Pi gave him only one order-to stick to Chang'an!
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In early December, Shen Chen in Guanzhong was the first to attack.

His troops came out from Chencang Road and Baoxie Road. The cavalry traveled three hundred miles a day, occupied several cities, and went straight to the city of Chang'an.

Behind him, Huang Zhong's infantry followed his footsteps, took advantage of the opportunity to capture Mei County and Wu Gong, and then surrounded Huaili.

The [-] Xiliang Army led by Pang De and Zhao Yun, with about [-] cavalry and [-] infantry, went south from Longguan Road along the Lishui River to Yong County, then passed through Meiyang, Maoling, and Pingling, and arrived at the north bank of Weiqiao .

Cao Wei's layout in Guanzhong was relatively clear, and a small number of soldiers were sent to the outer areas of Mei County, Wugong, Meiyang and other places to serve as outer fortresses for alarming and blocking the enemy.

The main force is huddled in Chang'an City, and at the same time, there are some backup teams behind Lantian, Baling, Zhengxian and Hedong.

The city of Chang'an is big, which has great disadvantages, but it also has advantages.

That is, in August of this year, after Cao Pi was convinced that Liu Bei planned to make a northern expedition, he allocated a large amount of grain and grass to Guanzhong. Now the grain and grass in the city are piled up like a mountain, enough for the [-] troops in the city to spend for a year and a half.

At present, Cao Wei has 10 people in Guanzhong, half of which are in Chang'an City alone.

At the earliest time, Xia Houmao had only 4 people, and more than 1 of them were divided into counties. Later, Cao Pi asked Zhong Yao, Xu Huang and Zhu Ling to increase his troops by [-]. In addition to Zhong Yao who assisted Xiahou Mao in Chang'an, Xu Huang and Zhu Ling Each of them surrounded the rear of Chang'an with their troops to prevent food roads and reinforcements from being cut off.

In this way, adding Cao Zhen, the Zhenxi General Cao Zhen who guarded Wuguan Liu Bei's troops in Lantian Valley, Cao Wei has two clans sitting in Guanzhong, with a total force of about [-]. Moreover, the overall situation is mainly defensive, and the idea of ​​defensive counterattack is obvious .

A few days later, Shen Chen's main force arrived outside Chang'an City one after another.Zhao Yun and Pang De crossed the Wei Bridge and stationed in the north of Chang'an City, while Shen Chen and Huang Zhong were in the west and south of Chang'an City, besieging Chang'an.

Each of their marches stretched for 2 to 3 miles, with [-] troops plus civilian husbands, auxiliary soldiers, and craftsmen, at least [-] people. All kinds of supplies, grain, grass, and vehicles were arranged in rows, and the left and right wings were protected by soldiers. Walk for forty miles, go out of the inclined valley to Wuzhangyuan, and walk slowly along the banks of the Weishui River.

The procession was magnificent, like a moving terrifying beast, crushing everything that stood in front of them into dust.

In history, Zhuge Liang even had to farm on the spot in Wuzhangyuan due to the problem of food and grass. He wanted to farm while fighting. It can be seen that even if there were wooden cattle and horses, food and grass were still difficult problems for Ji Han in history.

But at this time, after several years of careful preparation, the people's livelihood in Hanzhong is not as dilapidated as it was in history. Grain and grass need to be transferred from Chengdu, which saves a link in the middle and greatly reduces the cost of grain transportation.

So at this moment, Shen Chen's Northern Expedition army can be described as mighty, with 15 soldiers, [-] corvee workers transporting grain from Chencang Road and Baoxie Road in the rear, and [-] civilian workers after leaving Chencang Road and Xiegu, plus various craftsmen. Auxiliary soldiers dispatched a total of [-] horses and launched an attack on Chang'an City.

A war of this scale was obviously a great war in ancient times, and even if it is placed in any war history, it can leave a mark.

However, this is only part of it, because Nanyang is the main force.

At the beginning of December, when Shen Chen took the lead in launching the Battle of Chang'an, and [-] troops surrounded Chang'an, Jingzhou's war machine was finally in full swing.

Liu Bei personally led the army and went north to Wancheng.

After that, he ordered Gan Ning to be the vanguard and Zhang Fei to be the general in the front. He led [-] troops out of the Nanyang Basin and went straight to Henan.

And he himself sits in the central army, the main force is mighty, followed by 5 people.

He also ordered Wen to be hired as the rear army to guard Wancheng and defend the rear.

There are more than ten senior generals in the army, including generals Ma Chao, Zhang Xiu, Lu Chang, Wu Yi, Wu Ban, Gao Xiang, Dong Jue, Feng Xi, Zhang Nan, and Zhang Ren.

Meng Da, Kou Feng, Liao Hua, Huang Quan, Yang Huai, Gao Pei, Deng Xian, Leng Bao, Liu Gui, Fu Jin and other dozens of middle and senior generals.

The total strength of the soldiers was 12, plus civilian husbands, auxiliary soldiers, and craftsmen, the total number of troops dispatched exceeded 20, and they marched towards Henan.

Knowing Liu Bei's personal conquest, Cao Pi didn't dare to neglect, and immediately led 5 people from Luoyang to the south. With the addition of civilian labor, the total number of his side also exceeded 20.

In this way, if only the soldiers are counted in this battle, the two sides only used Chang'an and Henan to spend 45. If the corvee workers and auxiliary artisans are included, the total number has exceeded 70.

But more than that.

Because just the day before Liu Bei sent troops, Guan Yu also sent troops.

Cao Wei's troops in Hefei were relatively small. Zhang Liao's Hefei city initially had only 8000 people.

Then Cao Xiu, Lu Qian, Zang Ba and others were stationed in Runan, Shouchun, Guangling and other places, with about 4 or [-] soldiers and horses on hand.

In this way, the total strength of Cao's army in the direction of Huainan is less than [-].

Guan Yu sent [-] troops.

Counting the civilian husbands and auxiliary soldiers and craftsmen on both sides, the total number is basically more than 20.

Therefore, in the three-way northern expedition, the manpower used by both sides was already in the millions, not to mention the massive material resources and backup troops.

In fact, the Liu Bei Group dispatched about 28 soldiers, and the Cao Wei Group dispatched 27. It seems that the Cao Wei Group is stronger than the Liu Bei Group, but it sends fewer troops.

But in fact, this time Liu Bei’s Northern Expedition has tried his best. The rear troops in Liangzhou, Yizhou, Jingzhou, Jiaozhou, and Yangzhou add up to more than [-] troops. More than [-] reserve troops.

The main reason is that Liu Bei's territory is too large. Although he has sent Shen Chen, Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu and others to quell most of the barbarian rebellions in the south in the past few years, especially when he personally caressed Shanyue, Shen Chen settled Liangzhou, Zhuge Liang pacified Nanman, and let Yangzhou west The troubles in Liang and Yizhou and other places are basically calmed down, so there is no need to worry about the barbarian rebellion.

However, a large territory means that the defense line is also large, the population is scattered, and the area is wide, so there are a lot of county soldiers to stay behind.Not only the barbarian rebellion, but also the Han people in southern areas like Jiaozhou, Nanzhong, Minnan, Guizhou, etc. Even the Han people may not be willing to obey the government.

Just like Tao Yuanming wrote "Peach Blossom Spring", there are a large number of Han people living in the deep mountains and old forests in the south. They are bound by clans, do not pay taxes, and do not register for naturalization.It would be fine if they were honest, but some people would go down the mountain to loot.

These people gathered together, and even dared to attack the county seat when supplies were scarce.

In historical records, there are many such rebellions of southern Han people. Even Jiaozhi Xianglin caused a large area of ​​Jiaozhi to be separated from Han soil because of the rebellion of Gongcao District Company in Hanren County.

Therefore, to a certain extent, Liu Bei was dragged down by the huge territory.

But even so, his hard power is already very strong. The three northern expeditions, each with strong soldiers and horses, seriously threatened Cao Wei's country.

It was not until mid-December that Liu Bei's army assembled in Wancheng, while Gan Ning and Zhang Fei arrived in Ye County and marched towards Wuyang, Kunyang.

Shen Chen started first because he started earlier and was more fully prepared.

Liu Bei is much slower mainly because his troops are a bit bloated, and he has fewer cavalry in his hands, so he has more things to consider, so the speed of advancing troops is not so fast.

Guan Yu had already arrived in Hefei at this time.

The land route from Hefei to Ruxukou is actually only [-] kilometers, but Guan Yu's water route is faster.

The mighty and overwhelming fleet went north along the Ruxu River, entered Chaohu Lake, and then entered Shishui from Chaohu Lake, and arrived at Xiaoyaojin Ferry outside Hefei.

On December [-]th, at the end of the mid-morning eclipse, countless boats arrived at Xiaoyaojin Ferry, crowding the east bank of the river.

Hefei is to the north of Shishui. Shishui goes around from the south of Hefei city to the west of the city, and then extends all the way north to Feishui. Therefore, if you want to disembark from Xiaoyaojin and enter Hefei, you often have to go down from the east bank.

The battle of Hefei, where Sun Quan attacked Hefei, took place in the east city of Hefei, and the battle of Xiaoyaojin also took place here.

This place is still some distance away from Hefei City, about ten miles away, but Cao Jun's scouts have already heard the news, so they hurried back and reported the situation to Zhang Liao in the city.

So at noon, Zhang Liao led the soldiers up to the city wall.

He looked into the distance, and on the vast horizon in the southeast of Hefei City, countless figures had already appeared. The one in front was a tall figure, riding an equally tall war horse, with a big knife in his hand dragging backwards on the ground, and he was slowly heading towards Hefei City. Come.

Long cloud!

Zhang Liao looked there with deep eyes, his old face, his eyes were full of their appearance in their 30s.

(End of this chapter)