At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 321 Huang Zhong is famous, Gao Lan avoids it

"Abandon the city?"

After listening to Zhuge Liang's words, all the generals were in an uproar.

Yan Yan's face was as dark as water, and he stepped forward and said: "After ten days of fierce fighting, our army suffered more than a thousand casualties. We abandoned the city and left without even achieving an inch of success. Wouldn't it be ridiculous if this was spread?"

Zhuge Liang asked in reply: "With three thousand troops, we defended an enemy force that was ten times our own in attack for ten days, and helped most of the people in Nanyang County buy time to evacuate. How can we say that we have not achieved even an inch of success?"

Yan Yan was speechless.

According to Zhuge Liang, being able to do this is considered a great achievement.

Even though there were ten thousand soldiers and horses in the city, in order to confuse Chunyu Qiong, Zhuge Liang was so cruel that he only sent three thousand soldiers and horses to fight, and he didn't even allow him to change shifts secretly.

In this way, we were able to withstand an enemy force that was ten times our size and attack for ten days. This was already considered a great victory.

Huang Zhong said in a deep voice: "Military advisor, please don't forget that before leaving, our lord asked us to hold on until the people of Nanyang evacuated to Xiangyang. There are still many people stranded in Nanyang. If we retreat like this, wouldn't it be against our lord?" Order?"

Zhuge Liang explained patiently: "The people of Nanyang retreated from north to south. The south is closer to Xiangyang, so they should have all evacuated. The north is far away from Xiangyang, but they are also on the way south."

"Withdrawing troops from Ye County to Xiangyang, even if we move lightly and march forty miles a day, it will still take more than ten days to completely withdraw from Nanyang. If we take into account that we will continue to struggle with Yuan's army during this period, it will take even longer. At that time, the people of Nanyang had already completely evacuated."

Normally, the infantry's daily marching speed is about thirty miles. If there is food and baggage, the speed will even be reduced to twenty miles.

Marching forty miles per day is already the marching speed of relatively elite troops. When Sima Yi conquered Liaodong, the army only marched thirty miles per day on average.

Of course, the battlefield situation changes rapidly, and there are also generals who are good at running attacks.

For example, General Xia Houyuan of Wei State claimed that he could travel 500 miles in three days and a thousand miles in six days. However, this kind of marching speed is most likely caused by cavalry. If the infantry runs so fast, they will probably be exhausted before they reach the place.

There is a saying in the art of war: Those who seek profit within a hundred miles will defeat the general; those who seek profit within fifty miles will reach half the army.

It is not a good thing for the army to march too fast. Blind pursuit of marching speed will inevitably cause many soldiers to fall behind. Even the soldiers who can barely reach the front line will lose their combat effectiveness.

In this case, once encountering the enemy, they will inevitably be defeated.

The retreat of the people of Nanyang County seemed extremely fast, but in fact a long time had passed since Zhou Qi gave the order.

After receiving the military order, Huang Zhong and others began to deploy troops and generals, and spent sixteen or seventeen days on the march. During this period, eight hundred miles of urgent documents were spread throughout Nanyang County. As early as the army was still marching north, On the way, the people had already begun to move south.

In times of peace, it would naturally be more difficult to mobilize people to move south, but in times of war, it would be very different.

When a war is about to begin, even if the government does not organize it, the people will spontaneously move south, and those who are capable will even hire chariots and horses to go south themselves.

The most important thing is that people don't need to be too stingy about their physical strength when moving south. They only need to take a short rest every day and they can move south day and night.

As for the old, weak, women, children, and people with limited mobility, government fleets transport them at a speed even faster than that of young adults.

Zhuge Liang's calculations were very accurate.

Now even if they evacuate Nanyang at full speed, they have completed the task of covering the evacuation of the people of Nanyang County. As for the few people who are unwilling to cooperate with the government and make it difficult to evacuate, they can only be left to fend for themselves.

Faced with Zhuge Liang's analysis, Huang Zhong was also speechless.

However, Wenpin reminded: "We have issued a military order in front of the Lord. We must win the first battle in order to reduce the impact of abandoning Nanyang County. Although we have completed the task of covering the retreat of the people, we have not been able to defeat Chunyu Qiong. I’m afraid there’s no way to report it to the Lord.”

Seeing that Wenpin finally got to the point, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but smile on his face.

"This is exactly why I abandoned the city and left."

Yuan Jun camp.

When Chunyu Qiong learned that Ye County had still not been conquered today, he couldn't help but became furious and shouted sternly: "Almost half of the troops and horses in the city have been lost. Why are you still unable to conquer the city?"

No wonder Chunyu Qiong was so angry.

He had previously taken over the position of Pioneer Officer, but he had promised Yuan Shao that he would achieve a complete victory in the first battle and would not damage the morale of the army.

But now, after attacking the small town of Ye County with ten times the force for ten days, our own troops suffered heavy casualties, but they still failed to capture the city.

Seeing that the army led by Yuan Shao is about to arrive in Ye County, if the city still cannot be captured, Chun Yuqiong, the pioneer general, will resign and apologize to Yuan Shao.

He looked at his general Sui Yuanjin and asked: "The Chu army is so tenacious in defending the city. Is there more than three thousand soldiers and horses in the city?"

Sui Yuanjin replied: "General Tianmo has made special observations these days. Those who fight with our army every day are all the same soldiers and horses. At least their banners and the grassroots generals have not changed."

"And after these days of fierce attacks, there are indeed fewer and fewer defenders on the city wall."

When Chunyu Qiong heard this, her face became more and more gloomy.

If there are many soldiers and horses in the city, there is an excuse for being blocked and unable to advance. However, there are only 3,000 soldiers and horses in the city, but they can hold back 30,000 troops for ten days. If the matter is brought to Yuan Shao, where will Chunyu Qiong's face be?

However, Han Juzi advised: "The reason why we are blocked under Ye County is not because of incompetence."

"Although Ye County is small, there are mountains on both sides of it. The only one we can attack is the north gate. Therefore, although there are few defenders in the city, they can concentrate their forces to guard only one gate, and our army's strength advantage cannot be used. .”

"But general, there is no need to worry too much. I see that the defenders in the city have suffered heavy casualties and their morale is getting lower and lower. If we urge our soldiers to attack day and night, the city will be broken in these two days."

When Chunyu Qiong heard this, he immediately stood up, drew his sword in his hand, and shouted sternly: "Tomorrow, the Japanese general will personally supervise the battle, and order all the generals to personally risk the arrows and lead the army to attack the city. Anyone who dares to fight and refuses will be killed!"

"We will never withdraw our troops unless we break Ye County tomorrow!"

Early the next morning, Chunyu Qiong led the army and began to storm the city.

At this time, Zhuge Liang, Huang Zhong, and Yan Yan had quietly withdrawn from the city with their troops overnight, leaving only Wenpin and more than a thousand remaining soldiers to guard the north gate.

With Chun Yuqiong's personal supervision of the battle, and the generals of Yuan's army personally taking risks to attack the city, the morale of Yuan's army was greatly boosted, and soon some people climbed onto the city wall.

Seeing that he could not do anything, Wenpin immediately shouted: "We defended the city with three thousand soldiers and horses for ten days, and we are worthy of your lord's kindness. Now that our brothers have lost more than half, Yuan's army is unstoppable. Please follow me and retreat first."

"After the withdrawal to Wan County is completed and the corrections are completed, continue to kill the enemy and serve the country!"

After saying this, Wenpin immediately led more than a thousand soldiers under his command to abandon the city and flee. The city was captured by Yuan's army.

Chunyu Qiong was overjoyed when he saw this, and hurriedly led his troops into the city. When he heard that Ye County guard Wen Pin led his troops to retreat, his eyes could not help but flash with a cold light, and he thought to himself: "It takes ten days, if we can only capture Ye County and kill more than a thousand enemies." It is not a great achievement. Our army suffered even more casualties during the siege." "Although this Wenpin does not have an impressive record, he is also a general of the Chu State and is highly regarded by Zhou Ziyi. If he can be captured alive, It will definitely be a great achievement.”

Thinking of this, Chunyu Qiong immediately ordered Gao Lan to lead three thousand cavalry to pursue Wenpin.

But when Wenpin was retreating, he suddenly heard that the pursuers were coming. When he learned that the pursuers were cavalry, he knew that he could not escape, so he immediately led his soldiers to go up the mountain to defend.

With the mountains and forests as a support, the cavalry could not exert its advantage at all.

Gao Lan immediately besieged the mountains and forests, and sent people to ask Chunyu Qiong for help, hoping to wipe out Wenpin and his soldiers.

When Chunyu Qiong received the request for help, he did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly ordered Lu Weihuang to lead three thousand troops to rush to Chunyu Qiong's aid. He still led the remaining army to defend Ye County.

Nanxiang road.

When Huang Zhong learned that Wenpin was besieged, he couldn't help but be very anxious and said to Zhuge Liang: "If we don't rescue him in time, Zhongye may be in danger of his life!"

Zhuge Liang asked the scouts in detail about the number of Yuan's troops besieging Wenpin. When he learned that there were only 6,000 cavalry led by Gao Lan and Lu Weihuang, he said to Huang Zhong: "General, lead 5,000 cavalry to rescue Zhongye." , after encountering Gao Lan, you should use your power to win and never allow defeat, and you must frustrate the enemy's spirit!"

"After rescuing General Zhongye, we are not allowed to fight and retreat immediately!"

Huang Zhong was overjoyed when he heard this and hurriedly took the order and left.

During this period of time, Ye County was always under the banner of civil service, and Huang Zhong and Yan Yan did not show up at all, which made them feel extremely aggrieved.

Now that he had the opportunity to fight, Huang Zhong was naturally extremely happy.

After Huang Zhong led his troops to leave, Yan Yan said with some doubts: "We were ambushing the Nanxiang Road. General Wenpin failed to lure Yuan Jun over. Now we have exposed General Huang Zhong and ordered him to defeat it." Gao Lan, if Yuan Jun is so frightened, how dare he lead troops to pursue us again?"

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "If you only have one person, it is impossible to lure the enemy successfully. With Chun Yuqiong as the vanguard general, it is not necessarily possible."

What Zhuge Liang did not tell Yan Yan was that he had no intention of ambushing Yuan Jun on the Nanxiang Road, nor did he intend to use Wenpin to attract pursuers.

As the only gorge road from the Central Plains to the Nanyang Basin, the Nanxiang Road has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. Even now, the square city left by the Chu State during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period has not completely disappeared.

Since Yan Yan and others knew that Nanxiang Road was easy to defend but difficult to attack and was an excellent location for setting up an ambush, how could General Yuan Jun not know this?

If we really want to set up an ambush here, perhaps our previous plans will be in vain.

The reason why he did not want Wenpin to lure Yuan Jun here was because Zhuge Liang believed that Wenpin and his thousands of soldiers alone were not enough bait to seduce Chunyu Qiong.

With such a defeated army, Chunyu Qiong would not lead the army to pursue him.

If he was just ambushing thousands of Yuan's troops, why would Zhuge Liang start from Xiangyang and start planning so painstakingly?

Wenpin was like the nest laid by the fisherman first, and Huang Zhong and his five thousand cavalry were the deadly bait.

The impact of a big victory in the first game on a major battle is self-evident.

Since His Highness the King of Chu has issued a fatal order to win the first battle, I believe that Chunyu Qiong, who led the army southward with great momentum, must have received the same order from Yuan Shao.

Therefore, not only Zhuge Liang, Huang Zhong and others were anxious, but Chunyu Qiong was also anxious.

Huang Zhong was promoted to General Zhonglang when he debuted. Whether under Liu Biao or Zhou Qi, he made great military exploits and was one of the few generals in Chu State.

Compared with Wenpin, Huang Zhong's head is more attractive.

What's more, there are 5,000 cavalry led by Huang Zhong. If they can be defeated, it will definitely be regarded as a great victory in the first battle, and Chunyu Qiong cannot be unmoved.

Five thousand cavalry was also a number that Zhuge Liang decided upon after deliberation for a long time.

There are too many soldiers and horses. With Huang Zhong's reputation, Chunyu Qiong may not dare to fight to the death with him, let alone have the idea of ​​​​taking Huang Zhong.

There are too few soldiers and horses, which is not suitable for Huang Zhong's status, and may not be able to defeat Gao Lan.

Five thousand is just right, no more, no less, and it is more in line with Huang Zhong's status as a general of the Chu Kingdom.

The reason why Zhuge Liang asked Huang Zhong to show his prowess when meeting Gao Lan and to win without allowing defeat was because Zhuge Liang had deeper considerations and was also worried that Huang Zhong's performance would be too stretched, which would arouse Chunyu Qiong's suspicion.

Of course, Zhuge Liang couldn't explain clearly that he used Huang Zhong and Wenpin as bait, lest the two generals would have a grudge.

After watching Huang Zhong lead his army to leave, Zhuge Liang immediately said to Yan Yan: "Send the order, the three armies will break camp and continue to retreat south. Remember to clear the traces before leaving, and don't let Yuan Jun know our true strength!"

Yan Yan asked: "Don't you want to ambush Yuan Jun here?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "Although this place is an excellent place for an ambush, Chunyu Qiong and others will definitely take precautions. It is not advisable."

However, it is said that Huang Zhong led 5,000 cavalry to rescue Wenpin, but before he arrived, he was detected by Yuan Jun's scouts.

When Gao Lan learned that Huang Zhong, a famous general from Jingchu, was leading his troops, he couldn't help but feel awe-struck. While preparing for war, Gao Lan sent people to Chunyu Qiong for help.

"kill!"

Huang Zhong led five thousand soldiers and horses to attack, and went straight to the surrounded Wenpin with a momentum like a rainbow.

Seeing this, Gao Lan did not dare to provoke him even if he had a slight advantage in strength.

He was also worried that Wenpin would take the opportunity to fight out from the mountain and attack him from both sides with Huang Zhong, so he immediately shouted: "Retreat first to preserve our strength! It won't be too late to chase the Chu army after General Chunyu arrives with the Yuan army!"

Lu Weihuang, who was Chun Yuqiong's trusted general, heard this and shouted: "Our army has six thousand infantry and cavalry, all of whom are elite and capable warriors from Hebei. Huang Zhong only came with five thousand soldiers and horses. Why is the general afraid of him like a tiger? Retreat without a fight and let Huang Zhong rescue Wenpin?"

Gao Lan shouted: "Huang Zhong is a famous general in the world, and the soldiers and horses under his command must be the elite of Chu State. Although our army is large, we must divide our troops to defend Wenpin and take advantage of our strength."

"Your Majesty is launching a large-scale southern expedition and ordered us to win the first battle. If we attack rashly and lose our troops, who can bear this responsibility?"

Lu Weihuang was furious and said: "You fear the enemy like a tiger, how dare you mess with the morale of our army here?"

"We finally besieged Wenpin on the mountain. We must not let Huang Zhong rescue him easily. You are afraid of Huang Zhong and do not dare to fight. I will lead my troops to stop him!"

After speaking, Lu Weihuang ignored Gao Lan's obstruction and led three thousand troops under his command to stop Huang Zhong.

Gao Lan was angry and anxious when he saw this, but there was nothing he could do.

(End of this chapter)