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

Chapter 372 Send Troops
In the small Guangling County, there is a storm.

Any one of Zhuge Liang, Ma Chao, Gan Ning and Wenpin could oversee a county.

But now, all four people are gathered here, which shows that Zhou Qi attaches great importance to Guangling County.

When Zhuge Liang threatened Yuan Shao with breaking the embankment and flooding the city, Liu Bei had no choice but to use the strategy of secretly infiltrating Chen Cang. After informing everyone about the process of abandoning the city and fleeing south, Ma Chao, Gan Ning, and Wenpin all changed their expressions slightly.

The reason why they did not send troops to assist Liu Bei for a long time was not because they planned to sit back and ignore it, but because they believed that with the strong strength of Tan County and the large number of soldiers, horses, and food in the city, it would be easy to resist Yuan's army for two years.

But now, less than a year has passed, and Liu Bei has abandoned the city and fled.

Now even if Zhuge Liang mobilized all his troops from Guangling County and marched northward, he would be unable to make a comeback and could only sit back and watch Yuan Shao occupy the entire Donghai County.

Without Liu Bei's nail in Tan County, Guangling County will inevitably bear the brunt and become the front line of the war between Chu and Zhao.

Zhuge Liang looked at everyone and asked: "Xuan Degong sent people to ask for help. Do you think we are going to send troops to rescue?"

The three people had different expressions when they heard this.

The reason why Guangling County was able to stay out of the matter before was because Liu Bei was the nail in Tan County. At least until Tan County was not lost, Yuan Jun could not move south in a large scale.

Ma Chao had 10,000 troops under his command, including 5,000 cavalry. Naturally, he hoped to go north and make achievements.

They did not expect that His Royal Highness the King of Chu would secretly grant Zhuge Liang the Jie Talisman. This was the legendary Jie Jie. The Jie Jie holder would have the supreme power to kill mid-level and lower officials without reporting.

Zhuge Liang saw this and asked, "Does Zhongye have something to say?"

Gan Ning's character may seem rough and arrogant, but in fact he is as careful as his hair. He knows that Yuan's army is powerful, and most of his troops are infantry and naval forces, so he is more defensive.

Seeing everyone's performance, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but sigh in his heart, then took out a talisman from his arms and raised his hands in the air.

"Although it is in compliance with the regulations to report to the lord first, the war situation is changing rapidly. If someone is sent to Xiangyang to consult at this time, by the time the edict reaches Guangling County, I am afraid that Xuande Gong will have been besieged by Yuan's army."

Now whether to send troops to meet Liu Bei or to occupy the natural dangers of the Huaihe River and defend Guangling County is related to the national strategy of the entire Chu State.

It has to be said that almost none of the generals who can sit in their current position are fools.

Zhuge Liang is very clear-headed.

As for whether to rescue Liu Bei, Gan Ning didn't care, he just had to obey orders.

Wenpin actually wanted to send troops to rescue Liu Bei, but without an edict from the King of Chu, he did not dare to make such remarks rashly. Facing Zhuge Liang's inquiry, he could only say vaguely: "This matter is serious, so I thought I should send someone to report it to my lord first." , whether to send troops or not, just wait for the Lord's will."

Zhuge Liang took a deep breath and said: "Xuan Degong and Guangling County are at loggerheads, and my lord has previously decided to join forces with Liu to fight against Yuan. Now that Tan County has been lost, Xuande Duke has led his troops south. Naturally, we cannot sit idly by and must send troops to rescue." .”

However, he also knew that Zhuge Liang seemed young, but he had already made great achievements in battle, and was highly regarded by the King of Chu. Although his official position and title were higher than those of Zhuge Liang, he still had to be controlled by Zhuge Liang, so he did not speak.

However, anyone who disobeys military orders can be killed first and then punished, just like Shang Fang's sword.

At this time, it is better not to do anything, but to just obey orders with peace of mind.

Ma Chao, Gan Ning, and Wenpin were all shocked when they saw this, and quickly fell to the ground.

On the contrary, Wenpin was hesitant to speak.

Although these generals have high positions and powerful positions, they do not dare to stand out rashly.

Now that Tan County has been lost, Yuan Shao's next target must be Guangling County, and Zhuge Liang has to defend it.

"Therefore, in my opinion, the army should be divided into four groups. On the one hand, I will report the matter to the lord, and on the other hand, I will send troops across the Huaihe River to meet Duke Xuande. Not only that, I will also send troops to block the Huaihe River, and recruit troops and horses from Danyang County and Wu County. Come to support Guangling County to prevent Yuan's army from attacking southward."

The most important thing is that Zhuge Liang has another worry that he has not expressed.

That is, after Liu Bei leads his troops into Guangling County, if there are not enough troops here, the opponent may not turn around and take Guangling County into his pocket.

You know, Guangling County should have belonged to Liu Bei in name, but Liu Bei had ceded Guangling County to Chu State in order to allow Zhou Qi to send troops to relieve Tan County.

But now, until Tan County fell, Chu State did not send a single soldier to rescue Tan County, which is equivalent to Chu State breaking its promise first.

If Liu Bei really wanted to waffle and occupy Guangling County as a place of residence, it would be more difficult for Zhou Qi to handle it.

By then, unless he breaks his skin and forces Liu Bei to surrender to Yuan Shao, there is a high probability that Zhou Qi will compromise.

However, after Xuzhou was occupied by Yuan Shao, the strategic significance of Guangling County was completely different. Zhuge Liang was naturally unwilling to give up Guangling County to others.

When Ma Chao, Gan Ning, and Wenpin saw Zhuge Liang holding the Festival Talisman and thinking clearly, they all said in unison: "We are willing to listen to your orders!"

Zhuge Liang looked satisfied. After collecting the talisman, he walked to the map, pointed at Huaiyin and Xutai and said, "If Yuan Benchu ​​wants to attack Guangling County, he will definitely take these two cities first."

"Zhongye will lead 5,000 infantry to Huaiyin and hold on to this place. I will also ask Jiang Qin to lead 2,000 naval troops to station near Huaiyin. We will be the horns of each other and defend Huaiyin together."

"Xing Ba led 3,000 navy troops to set up camp in Hongze Lake. I then sent an order to General Zhou Jin to lead 3,000 navy troops to help."

"If my prediction is correct, when Yuan Benchu ​​goes south to attack Guangling County, he will definitely use Hongze Lake as a breakthrough!"

In fact.

Zhuge Liang had already guessed that this day would come when he learned that Yuan Shao was vigorously training his navy in the four lakes in the north.

You know, Hongze Lake is located right in the Huaihe River, spanning Guangling County and Xiapi County. It has a very vast area, and the water flow here is not as fast as in the river.

As long as the Zhao navy can adapt to the environment of the four northern lakes, it will be no problem to conduct operations in Hongze Lake.

The most important thing is that Hongze Lake is too vast, and it will be very difficult to set up defenses here, which will undoubtedly greatly increase the difficulty of defense.

(PS: Hongze Lake was called Pofutang during the Han Dynasty. It was renamed Hongze Lake in the Tang Dynasty. The area of ​​Hongze Lake in the Han Dynasty was not as large as that of later generations. For the sake of a sense of substitution, it is directly called Hongze Lake here. Books to understand the situation Don’t make fun of me.)
It is for this reason that Zhuge Liang concluded that when Yuan Shaonan attacked Guangling County, the breakthrough point would definitely be Hongze Lake.

As for Huaiyin, it is located on the east side of Hongze Lake and south of the Huaihe River. It originally belonged to Xiapi County. However, since Zhou Jin led the navy to control the Huaihe River, Huaiyin was placed under the jurisdiction of Guangling County.

In fact, in ancient history, the reason why the strategic significance of the Huaihe River was inferior to that of the Yangtze River and Hanjiang River was due to administrative division.

Ling County, located to the north of the Huaihe River, was assigned to Guangling County to the south of the Huaihe River. If the Jiangnan princes stationed heavy troops in Ling County, the natural barrier of the Huaihe River would be of little use. Same thing.

The five cities located south of the Huaihe River, Huailing, Gaoshan, Xutai, Dongcheng, and Huaiyin, were assigned to Xiapi County, which is mainly north of the Huaihe River. As long as these five cities are safe and sound, there is no need to worry about rebellion in the south. , because the army can invade Jiangnan directly through here, and the natural barrier of the Huaihe River will not work at all.

It is precisely because of the administrative divisions on both sides of the Huaihe River that the strategic significance of the Huaihe River is greatly reduced.

How could Zhou Qi not know this?
Therefore, in his previous secret order to Zhou Jin, he told him that after taking control of the Huaihe River, he must capture the five cities south of the Huaihe River: Huailing, Gaoshan, Xutai, Dongcheng, and Huaiyin.

As long as these cities are controlled, and then Guangling County is controlled, the entire Huaihe River will become a natural barrier for Yangzhou, and security will be greatly increased.

But Zhou Qi also knew the dangers of doing so.

The ass decides the head.

If he can unify the world in the future, he will definitely not let Xiapi County and Guangling County be divided across the river to govern, and will continue to use the previous administrative divisions.

After arranging Wenpin and Gan Ning, Zhuge Liang set his sights on Ma Chao and said: "Meng Qiqi led his five thousand cavalry across the Huaihe River to meet Duke Xuande. You must remember to conserve your strength as much as possible. Don’t be reluctant to fight if you are not sure of victory!”

These five thousand cavalry were almost all the wealth of the Chu State, so Zhuge Liang was naturally very valuable.

Yuan Shao's cavalry could afford to lose, but Zhou Qi's cavalry could not afford to lose.

Although there is already a horse farm in the Gu Piao Kingdom, the quality and quantity of the war horses there are far inferior to those in the north, so they can only build up the cavalry by pulling up the short ones.

After arranging tasks for the generals, Zhuge Liang sent four messengers respectively.

He rushed to Xiangyang for 800 miles to report the latest battle situation in Xuzhou to Zhou Qi, and informed Zhou Qi of all his ideas and arrangements.

The second messenger went to meet Zhou Jin and asked Zhou Jin and Jiang Qin to divide their troops to assist Gan Ning and Wenpin. They also seconded their general Ding Feng. Zhuge Liang planned to let Ding Feng train the naval army vigorously.

Because Zhuge Liang knew that once Hongze Lake became the main battlefield, the future navy would almost be able to determine the outcome of the battlefield.

The third messenger went to Wu County and asked Shi Huan, the commander-in-chief of the county, to lead 3,000 county soldiers to help.

The fourth messenger went to Danyang County and asked the county captain He Qi to lead 3,000 Danyang soldiers to help.

Previously, because Guangling County belonged to Liu Bei, Danyang County and Wu County were both at the forefront, so the counties had standing troops and their combat effectiveness was quite good.

Since Zhuge Liang came to Guangling County to take office, Danyang County and Wu County have retreated to the rear. There is no problem in recruiting troops from the counties and horses to the front line.

The reason why Zhuge Liang did not recruit Xu Huang, the governor of Jiujiang County who was close at hand and had a heavy army, came to help was because Jiujiang County was also located on the front line, bordering Runan County and Pei State.

Once Xu Huang leaves Jiujiang County, there is no guarantee that Yuan Jun will not attack Jiujiang County from Runan County and Peiguo.

The strategic location of Jiujiang County is no worse than that of Guangling County, and its importance is even greater. This is why Xu Huang, who is Zhou Qi's most effective general, has always stayed here to guard this place.

It seems that Xu Huang is overqualified here, but everyone knows that it is precisely because Xu Huang guarded here that he can ensure the stability of Yangzhou for so many years.

Those who are good at fighting have no great achievements. This is exactly what Xu Huang is talking about at this stage.

The words are divided into two parts.

But Liu Bei adopted Chen Gong's strategy and sent Taishi Ci to cut off the mountain road. It was really difficult for Gao Lan's cavalry to pass. After several fierce attacks, they still could not seize control of the mountain road, so they had no choice but to take a detour to pursue the Xuzhou army.

This move bought Xuzhou Army one more day.

At the same time, Wen Chou received an urgent edict from Yuan Shao eight hundred miles away, ordering him to intercept Liu Bei and his troops north of the Huaihe River at any cost.

Wen Chou did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly sent out scouts to explore Liu Bei's southward route, and then stationed troops in Suiling, intending to intercept and kill the Xuzhou army from here.

Sure enough, Liu Bei went down the river from Mushui, intending to enter Hongze Lake directly from Mushui, then cross the Huaihe River and arrive at Xutai.

The Xuzhou army was blocked. Seeing Wen Chou blocking the way in front of him, and the 5,000 cavalry led by Gao Lan chasing after him, Liu Bei couldn't help but feel anxious, and urgently ordered Zhang Fei to lead 8,000 cavalry to intercept Gao Lan. Guan Yu led three soldiers Ten thousand infantrymen went to fight Wen Chou.

The reason why Guan Yu led so many soldiers and horses to attack Wen Chou was that Liu Bei wanted to take advantage of his superior strength to defeat the soldiers and horses blocking the road ahead and reach the south of the Huaihe River as soon as possible.

He was certain that Yuan Shao would definitely lead an army to pursue him from behind.

Once Yuan Shao leads the main force here and Liu Bei fails to break out, the consequences will be disastrous.

Wen Chou saw Guan Yu leading the army to fight, but he stayed in the camp and stayed behind closed doors.

He learned the lesson of Yan Liang being beheaded, and Yuan Shao issued a death order to stop the Xuzhou army. Moreover, Wen Chou's troops were not as powerful as the Xuzhou army, so he blocked the opponent's only way, and then defended the camp and refused to fight. is the most correct choice.

Guan Yu saw that Wen Chou was locked up in the stronghold and could not come out, so he immediately sent people to scold him in front of the stronghold, but Wen Chou made up his mind and refused to go out to fight.

Guan Yu had no choice but to send troops to attack Wen Chou's camp.

The two sides fought for three days. Wen Chou's camp was very strong. Guan Yu could not attack it for a long time, so he couldn't help but feel a little impatient.

But at this moment, Wen Chou suddenly received news that the Chu army was coming from Xutai by land and water. They had already captured the defenses Wen Chou had laid out before and were heading towards Suiling.

Wen Chou was shocked and asked hurriedly: "But who is the leading general of the Chu army?"

The scout hurriedly said: "The general of the Chu army's cavalry is Ma Chao, and the general of the navy is Gan Ning."

When Wen Chou heard Ma Chao's name, he couldn't help but feel awe-struck.

The deputy general beside him said: "Our food and grass are all in Suiling. Even if the Chu army cannot attack the city in a short time, as long as the connection between me and Suiling is cut off, the consequences will be disastrous."

"For the current plan, we should bring troops back to support Suiling!"

Wen Chou was a little hesitant at this time.

He doesn't have many soldiers and horses under his command, and now he can barely block Guan Yu's offensive by relying on the strong camp. Once the troops are divided to return to Suiling, it will be useless if there are fewer soldiers and horses to go back. If there are more soldiers and horses, the strength of the defenders here will be greatly weakened.

At that time, if Guan Yu breaks through the camp and the Xuzhou Army breaks out and joins forces with the Chu Army, then the mission of intercepting the Xuzhou Army will end in failure.

(End of this chapter)