Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 437: Turning against guests

In November of the twenty-third year of Jian'an.

Guan Yu stationed troops on Yuliangzhou, trapped Xiangyang, and besieged Fancheng.

Although Yan Xing was a brave general in the northwest, he was afraid of Guan Yu's army and did not dare to camp near Fancheng. He instead stationed his troops in Yancheng and waited for the arrival of his general Jin.

Half a month later, on Cao Cao's order, Yu Jin, who led the five armies to go south for reinforcements, finally arrived at Yancheng and joined Yan Xing.

Yancheng, Wei army camp.

In the big tent, Yu Jin was seen stroking his short beard and pacing. His body was lean and his face was majestic, making it difficult for people to get close to him.

"Yan Ming, how is the situation in Fancheng today?"

Yan Xing sat on the top chair and said: "General, Guan Yu led his army to advance with victory, trapped Xiangyang, and besieged Fancheng. The momentum was huge, and he had 30,000 people under his command. At the end of the day, the general had few troops and was afraid of being attacked by the enemy. Therefore, we did not dare to enter Fancheng lightly, but stationed troops in Yancheng as a containment."

Yu Jin walked slowly and said: "On our way south, Your Majesty warned us, 'Guan Yu is both wise and brave, so our army must not underestimate the enemy. If we can win, we should take it. If we cannot win, we should fight with caution.' The general was concerned about the overall situation and showed himself to the enemy. , is the best policy.”

Yan Xing has led troops in battles for many years. As a general under Han Sui, he once nearly killed Ma Chao. In addition to his bravery, he also had good tactics and strategies.

Therefore, when Yu Jin and Yan Xing led their cavalry southward, their natural first priority was to seize Han Fanjin or drive Guan Yu out of Yuliangzhou. First, the siege of Fancheng was relieved, and then the waterway communication with Xiangyang was opened.

"promise!"

As he wished, seeing Yan Xing's behavior, and considering Cao Ren and Niu Jin's defense of the city, Guan Yu gave up the idea of ​​storming Fan City, and instead repaired the fortress, intending to surround Fan City with fortifications, and then led his troops to fight against Yu Jin.

Yu Jin turned his head and looked at Yan Xing and asked, "What's the situation in the two cities of Xiangfan now?"

Using cavalry to deal with the infantry coming ashore and the Southern Han Dynasty, which lacked cavalry, cannot be said to be infallible, but it can be said to be a wise move.

Yan Xing replied: "According to the scouts sent by General Cheqi, there are five thousand soldiers in Xiangyang. Lu Chang, the prefect of Zhangling, is in charge. There is food in the city for two years, and there is no danger of running out of food. There are three soldiers in Fancheng. , four thousand men, with enough food and grass to last seven months, and Cao's chariots and cavalry and general Niu Jin will hold the position."

Yu Jin smiled and said: "I have always heard that the general is good at commanding the cavalry and soldiers. Now the water thieves have come ashore to attack, just for the sake of fish entering the shallows. Now if you want to undermine Guan Yu's reputation, you need to rely on the general to command the cavalry and soldiers to cross them."

After a pause, Yu Jin said: "I want to take advantage of the lack of reinforcements from the water thieves to lead the soldiers south to defeat Guan Yu's troops and break the siege of Fancheng. Even if it is difficult to defeat Guan Yu's troops, I can still inspire the morale of Fancheng's troops and send food and supplies. Entering the city is for a long battle."

Although Fancheng stands across the river from Xiangyang, in fact Fancheng was not built right next to the Han River. Therefore, there is a narrow area south of Fancheng and north of the Han River, which is called Fanjin and is used to communicate with Xiangyang.

"The general's words are in line with the military strategy." Yan Xing cupped his hands and said, "I will follow the general's orders."

With that said, Yan Xingxing went to the map of Xiangfan to point out, and said: "Guan Yu stationed his troops on Yuliangzhou, and rode to the south of the city in 7,000 paces to go to the village, cutting off the communication between the two cities of Xiangfan. At that time, the traitor Fu Fang sent letters to the old officials of Nanxiang, There are many commotions in Nanxiang counties."

Yu and Yan joined forces and led the 30,000 soldiers of the Seventh Army southward to attack Guan Yu's troops who were besieging Fancheng.

In December, the seven armies led by Yu Jin and Yan Xing marched to the north of Fancheng to camp and establish contact with Cao Ren.

He led his army to the south and saw that Guan Yu's army was in full swing and there were many soldiers and horses, so he knew that it was impossible to defeat him. Therefore, Yan Xing directly exposed his whereabouts and declared that General Yu Jin's army would come to rescue him in the near future, in order to contain Guan Yu's use of troops.

Yu Jin stroked his short beard and said: "Guan Yu used strong troops and had the ambition to capture Xiangfan. He wanted to shake up the counties in Jingxiang and think that they would be coordinated internally and externally. However, the disadvantage of Guan Yu was that he had a small number of troops. With 30,000 troops, he divided his troops and trapped them in the south. Even if we have the advantage of encircling the north by boats and boats, we cannot eliminate the disadvantage of having few soldiers."

After Guan Yu encircled Yuliangzhou, the first thing he did was to send Shiren and Zhao Lei to occupy Fanjin and cut off the connection between the two cities.

The next day, Yu Jin and Yan Xing mobilized the elite of the seven armies to attack the Fanjin camp.

Yu Jin and Yan Xing led 20,000 infantry and cavalry to besiege the Fannan camp from three sides. However, the two were veteran generals and did not directly launch a fierce attack. Instead, they built a long fort and tried to surround Fan Nan's camp.

In the big tent, Guan Yu discussed military matters with Liu Zan, Zhou Cang, Guan Ping, Ma Liang and others. "Report!"

The scouts stepped into the tent, interrupted everyone's discussion, raised their hands and said: "I am reporting to you, Yu Jin and Yan Xing, with 20,000 infantry and cavalry, besieged the Fannan camp on three sides. The sergeants entered the siege on three levels and built long fortresses. , seems to have the intention of besieging Fannan camp for a long time."

As soon as this statement came out, there was a lot of discussion in the tent.

Guan Ping didn't understand Yu Jin's intention and asked: "Father, why did Yu Jin not attack Fan Nan's fortress but build a long fort instead?"

"Yup!"

Liu Zan was confused and said: "If you don't break the Fannan camp, how can you get through to Fanjin? If you can't get through to Fanjin, how can you contact Xiangyang? What is the meaning of Yujin's technique?"

In response to the two people's doubts, Guan Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and his power suddenly rose.

Stroking his long black and white beard, Guan Yu sneered and said: "The move of Yu Jin is to counter the foreigners. We build long forts separately and encircle Fan Nan. When the long forts are built, it will be difficult for the Fan Nan fortress to endanger Fan City. Now. You must observe the movement of our army in Jin and use strategies to deal with it."

As he spoke, Guan Yu speculated: "Fan Nan is low-lying, and when the Han River is in full swing, it often floods Fan Nan. The current strategy of banning is to force our army to withdraw, and instead of attacking, we will attack Fan Jin."

It has to be said that Yu Jin was smart. Facing Guan Yu's siege and reinforcements, he backhandedly surrounded the Fan Nan camp. Once the Fannan camp is surrounded, it will lose its role as a threat to Fancheng. Guan Yu's siege on the east and south sides of Fancheng was instantly shattered.

Moreover, the Fannan area is low-lying. During the rainy season, the Han River often floods Fannan. Today, Yu Jin is not in a hurry and chooses to build a long fortress. This not only eliminates the threat of Fan Nan's camp, but also uses the Han River to force Shiren to move camp and leave Fanjin without fighting. It can be said that he kills two birds with one stone.

Guan Yu stood up from the couch and sighed: "I have been in formation for more than thirty years, and have experienced countless battles. Today's strategy is of far-reaching significance, and it turns out that I am the most important general of Cao Cao."

People always make progress in confrontation. After the war for 20 or 30 years, not only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei made progress, but also Cao Wei's generals such as Yu Jin and Xiahou Dun. After all, if Yu Jin can be valued by Cao Cao, there will always be a few brushes.

"As my father said, building a long fortress in the ban has the intention of turning against the guests, then how will our army respond to it?" Guan Ping asked.

"Why right?"

Guan Yu glared at his ignorant eldest son and said in a serious tone: "Now it is forbidden to build a long fortress. Unless we send troops to destroy it, there is no other way to break it!"

For his eldest son Guan Ping, Guan Yu often felt angry that he would not fight.

After following him for more than ten years, Guan Ping was almost clueless in military strategy. With Guan Ping's talent, Guan Yu felt that he could only serve as a general, obeying the general's orders and unable to lead an army alone in battle.

On the other hand, his younger brother Guan Xing was young, knowledgeable, and well-educated. He was highly regarded by military advisor Zhuge Liang. Zhang Zhao even praised Guan Xing for being one of the three nobles in the future.

Guan Xing, who was appreciated by so many people, was recommended as Xiaolian by Jiang Wan this year, and was appointed as a minister by Liu Bei, walking in the palace.

Gai felt Guan Yu's mood, Guan Ping smiled bitterly and said: "Young man is shallow, thank you father for your teaching."

"Your Majesty!"

Ma Liang cupped his hands and said: "The seven armies of General Yu Jin are attacking. Our army is divided into north and south. The enemy is numerous and we are few. We cannot fight now. In Liang's opinion, why not ask for help from the king. When the reinforcements arrive, join forces to attack them. Then Yu Jin will definitely fail!"

Guan Yu put his hand on the hilt of his sword and said calmly: "We are building a long fortress in Jin. If our army does not fight, it will not only hurt the morale of the army, but also greatly boost the morale of the traitor army. Now that we are out of camp to attack it, although we dare not say a great victory, it will be a victory." It can defeat the enemy's plan of building a long fortress."

(End of this chapter)