Wei Ni

This year is the first year of Wei Qinglong and the second year of Wu Jiahe.

Sun Quan, who had a sailing heart, although his plan to find allies in Wei's rear to contain Wei's forces went bankrupt due to Liaodong Gongsun Yuan's betrayal, he also ushered in the tribute of thousands of mink skins and ten hen chicken skins from the throne of Goguryeo. Be obedient to the throne.

Faced with the fig leaf obtained at the cost of losing nearly 10,000 soldiers and spending countless resources, Sun Quan suddenly realized that he once again set his sights on Hefei in Huainan.

Especially when Sun Bu failed to fake a surrender and was killed, and later when the valley of Wancheng was swept away, there was resentment among both the government and the public in Jiangdong.

Obviously, the previous Battle of Shiting had severely damaged the Wei State. Why, after Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor and moved the capital to Jianye, instead of continuing to attack with the strength of his soldiers and striving to seize the areas south of the Huai River, Sun Quan did not do his job properly. What about the sailors who sailed around?

Not only did they lose troops and generals, waste people and money, but they also allowed Wei to seize the opportunity to launch a sneak attack!

This kind of questioning from the government and the opposition made Sun Quan quite unhappy.

But there is no way to refute it.

After all, facts speak louder than words~
Therefore, after learning that the Luoyang Central Army of Wei State was going north to attack Xianbei outside Yanmen Pass and that it would be impossible to rush to Huainan this year, he summoned all the important ministers to make plans, and finally made a mighty crossing in late winter in December. Big river.

In terms of strategy and tactics, there is no difference from before.

After relying on the Jiangdong Navy to enter Chaohu via Ruxu River, the troops divided into two groups.

Along the way, Quan Cong led 50,000 troops ashore and walked west to attack Lu'an County, the seat of Wei's Lujiang County. On the other side, under the leadership of his own army, the navy went north against the Nanfei River to attack Hefei City.

It is worth mentioning that the invading troops from Jiangdong this time exceeded 100,000.

Because since the Battle of Shiting, Quan Cong, who originally had nearly 20,000 soldiers, was sent to fight against the rebellion in Danyang, Wu County and Kuaiji County.

Following the practice of quelling the rebellion in Jiangdong, all the captured generals were sent to military strategists (similar to the Wei dynasty), and the strong ones served as soldiers and the weak ones worked in the fields, so his headquarters increased to more than 30,000 people. In addition, after marrying the princess, he took charge of several additional troops, so Quan Cong, who was in charge of 50,000 soldiers, was only a supporting force.

The main force of the attack was still Sun Quan, who supervised nearly 70,000 troops.

Therefore, Jiangdong Sun Wu, who had incorporated Shanyue and Huajun County's military raising system, had an unusually deep war background. Even when Emperor Xiaowu of the former Han Dynasty was resurrected, he had to lament that he did not dare to bear the word "military and aggressive" in front of Sun Quan.

Of course, for Xia Houhui, the more troops from Jiangdong, the better.

With expectations for military success and gratitude for "Sun Shiwan arrived late," he was ordered to rush to the Zhengdong General's Office to discuss matters very quickly.

It was just the result of the military discussion that made him a little disappointed.

The Wei State has about 50,000 soldiers standing guard on the Huainan battlefield. After dividing the troops to garrison in Lujiang Lu'an, Anfeng County and Hefei City, Shouchun City can go to support Hefei's troops, which is only 20,000 infantry and cavalry.

After all, Man Chong did not go to the temple this time and mobilized county soldiers from Yanzhou and Yuzhou to fight.

But even with such a huge disparity in military strength, Man Chong decided not to participate in the battle with the three thousand new soldiers of the Shijia family who were affiliated with Xia Houhui and had not yet been included in the Huainan garrison.

"Although the traitor Wu is powerful this time, he certainly has no intention of fighting to the death! Our army has no worries about its defense, and there is no need to let the soldiers work in vain."

That's what he said.

This made Li Changshi smile and did not argue on the grounds that the new army of the Shi family was related to the prestige of Emperor Cao Rui.

Although Xia Houhui felt disappointed, he also believed in Man Chong's words.

It's not that they are all arrogant people who turn a blind eye to the disparity between the enemy and ourselves, but they have something to rely on - the construction of Hefei New City started at the beginning of the year was completed before winter!
Even the moat has been dug to divert water into it!

There are two reasons why it was built so quickly.

Firstly, Man Chong demolished the old city of Hefei, and many materials could be directly reused, saving the time and effort of cutting down trees and mining stones.

The other is to thank Sun Quan for his cooperation.

If Sun Quan had not put his thoughts into the sea and did not raise troops to invade in summer and autumn, the construction period would naturally not be so fast.

Hefei New City is located in the watershed between Dongfeishui and Nanfeishui (south side of Jiangjun Ridge). It is the source of Nanfeishui. It is smaller in scale than the previous one, but it is a pure military city with taller and thicker walls.

Of course, if the purpose of demolishing the old and building new ones was just to thicken and raise the city wall, the Wei Temple would not agree to Man Chong's suggestion.

The replacement of old and new cities benefited the Wei State in a strategic sense.

The old Hefei city is located at the top of Nanfei River. If there is an invasion from Jiangdong, they can directly go north against the river to the bottom of the city. No matter whether they attack or retreat, it is very easy.

But it won't work when facing Xincheng.

The water flow in the upper reaches of Nanfeishui River was not abundant and the river channel was not wide. Jiangdong's elite navy could not sail to the city.

If they wanted to attack the city, they would have to abandon their boats and travel thirty miles by land.

Not only did it greatly increase the difficulty of transporting siege equipment and baggage to Jiangdong, it also increased the city's defensive power - no matter how stupid the general was, he could restrain the soldiers during the dozens of miles of land march from Jiangdong, so that they could prepare for war. In fact, this is also true.

Sun Quan, who led the invasion this time, still went northward by boat against the Nanfei River. He was not prepared to travel by land at all. Therefore, when he saw the ruins of Hefei instead of the familiar city, he The monarchs and ministers in Jiangdong were all confused and at a loss as to what to do.

After twenty days of planning, the emperor and his ministers still did not come up with a plan, let alone get off the boat and go ashore.

It can be said that he is well versed in the style of fighting an army without force.

Xia Houhui couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Man Chong's assertion that "the thief Wu Li Shui will be cowardly" is so insightful!

Well, he also came to Hefei with Man Chong.

Although his new army of Shijia still stayed at the outer dock of Shouchun City, Man Chong still asked him to come with the cavalry as the commander of 500 cavalry.

No matter what, he is the queen of Qiao Pei.

Although Man Chong didn't like him very much, he also knew the emperor Cao Rui's intention of sending him to the Huainan front line. It would be unreasonable if he was not given a chance before the battle.

However, he was stationed with the cavalry troops on the north side of the mountains behind the new city, which is the source of Dongfei River. 【Note 1】

Because Hefei New City is really too small.

Even Manchong, who had led 20,000 troops, only sent 2,000 soldiers into the new city to join the 3,000 soldiers guarding the new city. The rest of the troops were stationed in Chengde County below Shaipi (Lake). .

This arrangement was made mainly to be ready to move troops to rescue Sun Li, the prefect of Lujiang.

no way.

Wei's troops stationed at Lu'an in Lujiang were not many, and including the county soldiers, they could only number 8,000.

However, the partial army under the supervision of the thief Wu Quancong actually numbered 50,000 people.

If the other troops attack the city day and night regardless of casualties, the prefect Sun Li may not be able to hold on for a long time; and out of consideration of being surrounded and seeking reinforcements, Cao Zuan of Anfeng County cannot be allowed to lead his troops to reinforce Lujiang.

Under such circumstances, Man Chong had no choice but to wait and watch the enemy change and wait for opportunities to act.

Anyway, before leaving Shouchun City, he was convinced that Sun Quan, who was in charge of the main force in Jiangdong, did not have the courage to decisively attack Hefei New City.

Therefore, he garrisoned his troops in Chengde and waited for twenty days. After learning that Sun Quan still had not disembarked from the ship and landed to attack Hefei New City, he sent people to summon Xia Houhui and Leliang back for military discussions.

It was said to be a military meeting, but in fact it was him who made the final decision and directly issued new deployment orders.

He came with the hope of attacking Hefei because the thief Wu Sunquan was relying on Luoyang's Central Army and could not rush to rescue him. The reason why he did not come to attack was because he did not know that his army had already built the new city of Hefei and occupied the advantageous location. relation.

But he would definitely not just give up and go back.

Instead, relying on the large number of troops, they went ashore to show off their power in front of the city, and also observed the geographical advantages around the new city to make adequate preparations for the next invasion.

Therefore, Man Chong wanted to ambush outside.

Let Sun Quan's show of force turn into abandoning his armor and fleeing in embarrassment.

Instead, he sent Qudu to lead five hundred infantry to hide behind Jiangjun Ridge. Half of them carried banners of various colors and the other half carried gold and stones to preach. When Sun Quan sent his troops to show off, they made great noises and drove them out, pretending to be a large army. Don't use General Zhang Ying as the leader and Le Yang as the deputy to lead 4,000 infantry to lie dormant on the northeast side of Hefei New City. When the propaganda is loud and the thief Wu is frightened, they can fight out bravely.

But they all supported it.

After all, no matter how unbearable Sun Quan was, he would not let Jiangdong soldiers run to the area covered by crossbows and catapults in Hefei New City to show off their power. Therefore, due to the limitation of distance, it was difficult for generals Zhang Ying and Le Yang to break into the enemy's formation when the thief Wu was panicking, and there was no way to drive the defeated troops back into their own formation.

The disparity between ourselves and the enemy is too great~
Maybe when Zhang Ying charged into the forefront of Jiangdong's troops, the Wu soldiers behind him had already calmed down under the constraints of their generals and were ready for battle!
Therefore, Man Chong placed his hopes of defeating the enemy on the cavalry.

Only cavalry with strong mobility can break into the enemy formation when the Wu soldiers panic; only cavalry with the force of a landslide when charging can keep the Wu soldiers in fear and unable to form a formation to fight.

But, will Sun Quan do as he wishes?

The answer is yes.

Because this time the troops were sent to Huainan, it was Sun Quan's first personal expedition after becoming emperor.

He mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops and vowed before the war that he would avenge the Wei State's sweeping of the Wancheng Valley. Moreover, when the Wei State's Luoyang Central Army did not rush to help, he could not even ignore the walls of Hefei New City. Come on, why don't you take the initiative to stop the troops and go back in despair without making a sound or firing a single shot?
Even if there were reasons for the change of enemy situation and insufficient preparations to be announced to the government, the public, and the soldiers, it still could not stop them from privately criticizing Sun Quan for not being willing to fight after he proclaimed himself emperor!
In this way, as an emperor, how can he retain his face and prestige?

How can we expect the day when Hefei will be defeated in Shouchun and the Central Plains will be conquered thousands of miles away?
After comparing the pros and cons, Sun Quan made a decision.

The plan was to lead troops ashore first outside the new city of Hefei and show off their power in order to capture the vigor of the Wei army.

After that, if you stop the troops, you will still be trapped in the city~
We will wait and see how the partial division Quan Cong progresses before making a decision.
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[Note 1: Both the East and South Feishui rivers originate from Jiangjun Mountain and do not flow in parallel (no canals were built to connect them at that time). The Nan Feishui River flows southward and flows into Chaohu Lake, while the Dong Feishui River flows northward and eastward into the Huai River, hence its name. 】(End of this chapter)