Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 212 Burning food pursuit
Gangneung Castle is so strong that no one can imagine. To be precise, the defense system of Gangneung Castle is not a single city, but a combination of a large city with several peripheral walls of Gangneung nested outside.

The big city is Jinan City, which is built along the river.There are many small cities around, such as Chihu City, Mamu City, Yingcheng, Fengcheng, Bengcheng, Matou and other six or seven large and small cities, which are used to house the people and also to house heavy supplies of money and food.

Guan Yu led four thousand soldiers and horses to Jiangling, hoping to capture the great city of Jinan.However, Ji Nancheng is the seat of Nanjun and the place where Cai Mao has lived for a long time. It is guarded by Cai Yan, a younger brother of Cai Mao's clan.

Cai Yan, whose courtesy name was Wengui, was different from Cai Yong's daughter only by the same name.He was known for his courage and was deeply respected by Cai Mao.Guan Yu rushed in and was discovered by the Jiangjin garrison on the periphery, and reported to Cai Yan.Cai Yan knew that Guan Yu was a member of the Second Liu Dynasty and was extremely brave. He gathered troops and horses to defend Jiangling City and refused to go to war.

Although Cai Yan defended the city walls, due to Guan Yu's attack, many of Jiangling's heavy cargo of money and grain boats were left outside.Guan Yu was not polite and instead captured Jiangjin garrison city and Ying city. He gathered supplies from the two cities to Jiangjin garrison and recruited about a thousand soldiers around Jiangling city to fight Cai Yanxing in a protracted war.

But the situation did not last long. The scouts under Liu Bei's tent walked along the Han River to Jingling, then walked southwest from Jingling, and walked along the Yangshui River to Jiangling.

In ancient times, the connection between Jiangling and Xiangyang did not require taking the Yangtze River across Xiakou and then heading north to Xiangyang.In reality, there is a flow of water between the Yangtze River and the Han River as a communication link.

The young-looking Guan Ping presented the letter and said, "Father, this is a letter from my lord."

Guan Yu put down the Spring and Autumn Period, opened the letter and read it carefully. When he saw the contents of the letter, he looked angry and said solemnly: "The two thieves Cai and Kuai are so bold that they actually tampered with the decree and forced Liu Cong to take the throne. They also locked up the city and attacked Cao Cao. Accept the surrender and lead Cao's army southward."

"This?"

Guan Ping frowned slightly and said, "Wouldn't it be difficult for the eldest son to succeed to the position of Jingzhou?"

Because Guan Jinping married Liu Pu, Liu Qi's son, Guan Yu and his son had close contacts with Liu Qi, and the relationship between the two families was also close.

Guan Yu stroked his long beard and said with emotion: "By leading Cao's army southward, not only will it be difficult to succeed Jingzhou, but also the left side of the Yangtze River may be in danger of overthrow. Now that my lord is leading his people southward, he is afraid that Cao's army will pursue him, so I will let you and my father lead the army to Yangshui." , support the army and ensure the people cross the river safely."

"Father, if our army withdraws, won't we abandon Fengcheng?" Guan Ping asked.

Guan Yu nodded and said, "You can take the lead in ordering the troops to pack up their equipment and load their baggage onto the big ships."

"The two cities of Feng and Ying have too much luggage and it is difficult for our soldiers to move them all away. Do they need to be burned down or distributed to the surrounding people?" Guan Ping asked.

Most of Jingzhou's money, grain, and transportation supplies are divided into two cities: Xiangyang and Jiangling.Not all the grain and grass in Jiangling City are stored in the city, but are also stored in Feng, Ying, and Beng cities.

Now Guan Yu made a surprise attack on Jiangling and captured the two cities of Feng and Ying. Guan Yu had two-fifths of Jiangling's grain and grass, about 200 million shi. Two million stones of grain can feed 200 soldiers for about a month.

Although Guan Yu did not go to Jiangling on this trip, he still received part of Jiangling City's baggage. Unfortunately, he lacked manpower and could not take all of it with him.But burning the baggage and leaving, preventing Cao Cao from getting all the Jiangling baggage, was also a great achievement.

Guan Yu pondered for a while and said: "The distribution to the people will definitely be recaptured by Cai Yan, so it cannot be done. If our army withdraws now, this city will belong to Cao Cao, so we must not attack the enemy. Our army will try to take away as much baggage as possible. If they cannot be taken away, they will be burned with fire, and no baggage, equipment, or Cao Cao will be left behind."

"No!" Guan Ping responded.

After Guan Ping left, Guan Yu's calm face showed worry.Coming from the Central Plains, he knew very well how powerful Cao Cao's troops were, how elite his troops were, and how brave his generals were.Now that Cao Cao's troops have entered Xiangyang, his reputation is greatly shaken, and the ensuing war will affect the survival of Jiangzuo.

"Hey!"

……

Not to mention that Guan Yu, on Liu Bei's orders, burned all the baggage and took a boat from Yangshui into Han River to support Liu Bei's army and people.With Cai Mao's support, Xu Huang, Zhang Liao, Cao Chun, Xia Houyuan and other generals have arrived in Hannan and camped in Xiangyang City.Upon entering the city, Xia Houyuan led his army to take over the defense of Xiangyang City, and raised his tent to discuss matters with the three generals.

Xia Houyuan sat on the couch, on an equal footing with the other three generals, and said: "Our army rushed from Xuchang to Xiangyang. It has traveled thousands of miles, and the cavalry is already tired. Now Liu Bei and his people have been defeated and fled to Xiakou. Should we pursue him?"

As he said this, Xia Houyuan looked around at the three generals and said, "Liu Bei led his people away and traveled more than twenty miles a day, which was a taboo for military strategists. Yuan thought that he could take advantage of his unpreparedness and lead his elite cavalry to pursue him when the army and people were in chaos. , to defeat his army. What do you think?"

Zhang Liao pondered for a while and said: "Dian Jun, although Liu Bei left with the people, how could he be defenseless with Lao Ge's strategy? Liao was afraid that he would deploy troops and horses on the way to defeat our army's strength."

Although Xia Houyuan suffered consecutive defeats at the hands of Huo Jun, he was not demoted, but promoted.For example, after Huo Jun returned from Yuzhou, Xu He and Sima Ju started a rebellion in Xuzhou. He led the grain supervision team to defeat the two thieves and put down the rebellion in Xuzhou.At that time, Cao Cao returned from his victory over Wuhuan. In memory of his old achievements and his achievements in pacifying the rebels, he moved Xia Houyuan to the rank of captain of the Dian Army.

Cao Chun disagreed and said: "Zhang Dang, the soldiers under Lao Ge's tent are mostly soldiers and horses from Jiangzuo, and their soldiers and horses are less than ten thousand, mostly infantry. Now we are escorting the people, and many of the sergeants are tired. Although our army is tired, But if you are a cavalry soldier, if it is advantageous, you will rush to attack and pursue it; if it is not advantageous, you will lead your cavalry to retreat."

Xia Houyuan looked at Xu Huang again and asked, "Gongming, what do you think?"

Xu Huang thought about it for a while and said: "Dian Jun, Huang is guarding Xiangfan under the order of Duke Ming, and is not allowed to pursue. However, Huang thought that Xiangyang was just coming down, and many people thought about Liu Biao's kindness. Liu Bei and Liu Qi also stationed troops on the left side of the river. He refused to surrender to Duke Ming. The only generals Jiang Zuo could rely on were Liu Bei, Huo Jun, Guan Yu and others."

"Among the several people, only Liu Bei has the best reputation. If he can be defeated now, it will demoralize the enemy and invaders. It will also shake the morale of the Jiangzuo army and intimidate the soldiers and people of Jingchu. And there are also three generals: Zhu Ling, Lu Zhao, and Feng Kai. Rushing to capture Xiakou, Liu Bei was defeated and had to rush to Jiangzuo. Xiakou can be obtained, and Jiangzuo can be reached within a day's time."

It is not difficult to understand what Xu Huang said. Among Jiangdong, the only generals who are good at fighting are Liu Bei, Huo Jun, Guan Yu and others.Among them, Liu Bei has the highest reputation. If he can defeat Liu Bei, it will make the Jiangdong sergeants frightened.

Moreover, Liu Bei was defeated and fled back to Xiakou. He met Zhu Ling, Lu Zhao, Feng Kai and other generals who were attacking Xiakou. Due to the defeat, Liu Bei's morale was low and Xiakou was generally unable to be defended.The repeated setbacks will severely damage Jiangdong's military morale, thereby disintegrating Jiangdong's army's fighting spirit.

Hearing this, Xia Houyuan was overjoyed and said: "What Gongming said is indeed a wise idea. The only trouble that Gongming has in his heart is Yuan Shao, Lu Bu, Liu Biao, Liu Bei and other heroes. Now Yuan Shao, Lu Bu, Liu Biao and others are dead, and only Liu Bei survives. This is If Liu Bei's life can be taken in the pursuit, the world will be at rest!"

Zhang Liao saw that the three of them had the intention of pursuing the enemy, so he raised his hands and said, "It is not impossible for the generals to raise troops to pursue us, but whoever guards the city of Xiangfan will also have to capture the city of Jiangling."

Xia Houyuan looked at a few people and said: "Since Wen Yuan does not want to pursue, he can lead his cavalry to Jiangling to avoid losing Jiangling. Gongming followed the order of Duke Ming to station troops in Xiangfan. However, because of this policy, it was offered by you. Zihe can Stay in Xiangfan and let you lead your cavalry to pursue them."

Xu Huang shook his head and said: "Since I have been ordered by the king, how can I leave lightly? I am stationed in Xiangfan, but I can be pursued by Zihe."

Zihe, Cao Chunye.His elder brother is Cao Ren, who was ordered by Cao Cao to command the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.Once at Bailang Mountain, under the command of Zhang Liao, he led his cavalry to defeat the Wuhuan army.

"it is good!"

Xia Houyuan made the decision and said: "I will remember Gong Ming's advice. Zihe's two thousand elite tiger and leopard cavalry will pursue him. I will command Xiangyang's infantry and three thousand tiger and leopard cavalry to follow and defeat Liu Bei's troops."

"promise!"

Xu Huang was a little worried and said: "The Xiangyang generals have just returned and surrendered. It may be inappropriate to let them accompany the generals to pursue Liu Bei!"

Xia Houyuan waved his hand and said with a smile: "How could I not know that I ordered Zhang Yun to lead the elite to follow him. Zhang Yunsu has a gap with Er Liu, so he can barely use it!"

ps: Maybe I’m positive, I’m not feeling well today, so I’ll have two more updates for now.

(End of this chapter)