Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 467 Surrounding Three Ques and One
November, Fancheng.

After Lu Meng led his troops to the west, Shiren was responsible for the war in Xiangfan.

Although Shiren was vulgar and crude as Guan Yu said, he was not a fool. After all, he followed Liu Bei from Youzhou to the south and fought for 20 to 30 years. During this period, he went through forty to fifty battles, large and small, so he was a fairly mature veteran.

Historically, Liu Bei and Guan Yu allowed Shiren to be in charge of public security in important places, and they worked with Mi Fang to supervise the transportation of troops, which all showed that Shiren had certain talents. As for Shiren's rebellion and surrender to the enemy, that is another moral issue.

With Lü Meng's instructions and Fei Yi's persuasion, Shiren did not make any mistakes. He strictly followed Lü Meng's old arrangements and led his cavalry on patrol in person to be wary of Cao Ren's sudden attack from Fancheng.

Gai may have been worried about an ambush outside the city. Although there were fewer troops outside the city, Cao Ren chose to close the city gates tightly and wait for help out of concern.

When the Han Dynasty surrounded Wei Shou, Shi Ren also led Xiangfan's army for more than ten days, and finally waited until Pang Tong and Jianghuai had ten thousand people on foot.

"Meet Governor Pang and meet Huo Zhengnan."

Outside the big tent, Generals Shiren, Fei Yi, Feng Xi and others greeted Pang Tong, Huo Du and other Jianghuai generals respectfully.

After Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor and succeeded to the throne, Zhuge Liang moved from the post of military advisor general to the prime minister, and the vacant military advisor general was appointed by Pang Tong. Pang Tong's current official positions are as military advisor general, Jianghuai deputy governor, and Jiajie.

"Thank you, General Shi!"

"Don't dare!"

At Pang Tong's request, Shiren and Fei Yi rode out of the camp, and a group of more than ten riders rode slowly around Fancheng.

With a gentle look on his face, Pang Tong bowed his hands to the Jingzhou generals and said, "On your Majesty's order, and with the entrustment of Guan Junhou, I am going south to temporarily lead the Xiangfan military force."

The holiday was not given by Liu Bei when he proclaimed himself emperor, but was given by Liu Bei when Pang Tong led his army to the west. Therefore, although Pang Tong is only a military advisor and general, he has the right to take leave of absence. Under certain circumstances, he can supervise generals across theaters.

Since the city wall has such characteristics, any outstanding military strategist will seek to divert water to the city and strive to break the city wall as soon as possible. For example, when Cao Cao used troops, he used water to defeat the enemy three times. He used the canal water to defeat Yuan Shu, defeated the Si River to capture Lu Bu, and led the Zhang River to destroy the Yuan family.

"Have!"

Shiren pointed to the walls of Fancheng and said: "After the prince surrendered to Jin, he led our army to surround Fancheng. At that time, he was worried about the abundance of equipment in the city, but Cao Ren was quite brave. In addition, he was afraid that the reinforcements of thieves would go south, so he asked the generals to build heavy fortresses and trap Fancheng. Block the enemy from the north."

The Second City of Xiangfan is a city wall built in the early Han Dynasty. The city walls at that time were mostly made of rammed earth, so they would easily collapse if soaked by water.

Shiren raised his hand and reached into the tent, asking Pang Tong to enter the tent to discuss matters.

"No need!"

Pang Tong held the reins, looked at Fancheng with attention, and said: "In the past, there were heavy rains in the mountains and rivers. Did Fancheng collapse?"

If there is no water attack and the defenders do not leave the city to fight. The only option is to attack the city by force, or to fight with the defenders. For example, Liu Bei besieged Luoxian County for more than a year, during which Pang Tong died due to the siege; Cao Cao's attack on Yangping Pass lasted for many months, and he had to get a group of deer to clear the way, and then he captured Hanzhong.

There were three war zones in the Southern Han Dynasty: Huo Jun, the head of the Jianghuai War Zone, Guan Yu, the head of the Jingxiang War Zone, and Zhang Fei, the head of the Bashu War Zone. Under normal circumstances, each theater performs its duties without interfering with each other. If you want to be a director across war zones, you need Liu Bei's permission.

Shiren was stunned for a moment and said, "Then please invite Governor Pang to come with me!"

"I am willing to obey the orders of Governor Pang!" the Jingxiang generals said in unison.

Shiren pointed to the corners of the city filled with wood and said: "The rammed-earth city often collapsed when exposed to water, but the thieves used wood to repair it. Although Fan City has collapsed today, it is not easy to attack the city by force!"

Fancheng is special. The Han River broke out due to flash floods and flooded Fancheng. Therefore, unlike artificial water storage, it comes and goes quickly. Therefore, only a small part of Fan City collapsed, rather than a large part of it.

Pang Tong held up his whip and raised his hand, refusing and said: "General Shi, the war is urgent today. I wonder if I can take you to inspect the walls of Fancheng."

"Please ask Pang Du to enter the account!"

Pang Tong rode his horse slowly and said: "Since the Han River overflowed in July, it is now November, and our army has been besieging Fancheng for nearly four months. But I don't know how the food and grass reserves in the city are? Is Cao Ren short of food?"

This question touched upon Shiren's knowledge blind spot, and he subconsciously looked at Fei Yi.

Fei Yi understood the idea and said: "I would like to report to Governor Pang. According to Yi's knowledge, Zhu Zhi, the traitor governor, thought that Xiangyang was in the south of Han Dynasty. When the water rose, our army patrolled in boats and its city was like an isolated island. Therefore, a large number of troops were stationed in Xiangyang. Keep food and money in the city for long-term defense."

"Fan City is located in the north of Han Dynasty. It is easy to get support from Chinese soldiers and horses, so the food accumulated in Fancheng is not as good as Xiangyang. Fan City has been besieged for four months. Now I can see that the food left in the city is gradually running out!"

Pang Tong looked around the city for a long time, pointed his whip at the east gate, and said: "Withdraw the siege of the east gate!"

Shiren was taken aback and said: "To besiege Fancheng and keep the troops at the four gates is the old policy of the princes and Ziming. Now that the east gate has been withdrawn, if the rebels arrive here, won't the siege of Fancheng stop? Solution?"

"otherwise!"

Pang Tong looked at Shiren and Fei Yi and said: "Today is different from the past. In the past, the reason why the monarchs set up sieges was to fear reinforcements from thieves. Today, the monarchs stationed troops in Xinye, and Ziming defended the enemy in Huangban. Now the foreign troubles have disappeared. , only internal troubles remain in Fan City."

"According to what General Junyi said, if the rebels arrive here, it means that our army's outer garrison has been destroyed. At that time, the outer garrison has been destroyed, and the inner army has no choice but to withdraw from Hannan!"

In Pang Tong's view, it was no longer necessary to divide his forces and encircle Fancheng. If Cao Wei's soldiers and horses attack Fan City, it means that Lu Meng and Guan Yu have been defeated. All the enemy soldiers and horses on the outside were defeated, and the army besieging Fancheng had no chance of taking Fancheng.

Fei Yi hesitated a little and said: "Withdraw the siege of the east gate and open the trap door with Cao Ren. Could it be that Governor Pang wants to raise his troops to besiege Fancheng in order to break through Fancheng quickly." "Of course!"

Pang Tong stopped his horse and said: "Your Majesty heard about the Xiangfan Incident and has now raised his troops to march westward. Cao Cao will also raise his troops to Nanyang in the near future. At that time, the Chinese troops were concentrated in Jingxiang. The enemy was numerous and we were few and without water. Without the benefit of the teacher, it is difficult to know the outcome!”

"Currently, if we want to make Cao Cao's troops retreat, only Fancheng is captured by our army. When Xiangfan is lost, Cao Cao has no need to march south. Therefore, by opening a trap door with Cao Ren and surrounding three towers, we can prevent the rebel army from fighting to the death. "

Although the Southern Han Dynasty occupied the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, it formed a north-south confrontation with the Northern Wei Dynasty. However, in terms of the number of troops available for Liu Bei's Northern Expedition, the Southern Han Dynasty was not as large as the Northern Wei Dynasty.

In addition to the population factor on the one hand, it is also related to the closed terrain of Bashu. It is not easy for Bashu troops to get out of Sichuan. Now Liu Bei is raising troops for the Northern Expedition. In fact, he often uses troops from Jing and Yang states.

Compared with the south, which has a fragmented terrain, the Northern Wei Dynasty was located in Henan and Hebei, and boats could transport troops from south to north, making it convenient to transfer troops. In addition, the Nanyang Basin is a revolving door in China, connecting all major land areas in the world, which is more conducive to Cao Cao's deployment of troops to Xiangfan.

In the past, it was difficult for the Northern Wei Dynasty to conquer the Southern Han Dynasty. How could it be easy now for the Southern Han Dynasty and the Northern Expedition?
The closer to the center of the Central Plains, the stronger the counterattack force of Cao Wei encountered. Moreover, Cao Wei today is still under the rule of Cao Cao, and its power cannot be underestimated.

Historically, even if Guan Yu defeated Xu Huang, he would still have to face Cao Cao. At that time, Cao Cao stationed troops in Mobei and gathered soldiers from all over the world. The soldiers of Yang, Henan, Yan, Ji and other prefectures and counties as well as the main force of the Chinese army numbered no less than 130,000.

In this plane, the threat from the Southern Han Dynasty is so great that Cao Cao has already been restless. When Xu Huang went south, if Cao Cao had not taken Liu Bei's main force into consideration, he would have already gathered a large army to Jingzhou, directly led his troops to repel Guan Yu, and personally lifted the siege of Xiangfan.

Liu Bei led his army to Xinye, and Cao Cao's troops arrived behind him. The two sides were bound to compete in the Nanyang Basin.

The vast Nanyang Basin was conducive to the movement of large-scale cavalry in the Northern Wei Dynasty. If Xiangfan cannot be captured, then Liu Bei will not only be distracted by Xiangfan, but also have to confront Cao Cao, and the pressure will not be small.

Under the foreseeable circumstances, Pang Tong knew that the fastest way to get Cao Cao to withdraw his troops was to capture Fancheng.

Looking at Fei and Shi, Pang Tong smiled and said: "Today's war is urgent and if we attack the city, we must reveal the trap door and thieves. The reason why we open a way out is to tell the thieves in the city not to hold on for their lives. Although Fan City is small, it is not easy to get down. . If there is no way to survive, the thieves will fight to the death and hold on, and the soldiers will attack the city by force, there will be heavy casualties. This is not a good plan."

"I wonder if General Junyi is right?"

Seeing that Pang Tong's words were reasonable, Shiren cupped his hands and replied: "Since it is the order of Governor Pang, Ren should obey it. I immediately ordered the soldiers from the east gate to withdraw to the north gate."

"good!"

Pang Tong was very satisfied and said: "You have been besieging Fancheng for nearly four months. I wonder if you have all the engineering equipment ready?"

"Be prepared!"

Shiren was very cheerful and replied: "When General Lu was in the camp, he ordered the troops to repair the equipment for future use in siege. Now if Governor Pang wants to use it, he can go with Fei to join the army to inspect the equipment."

Pang Tong nodded, then looked at Huo Du and said, "General, please lead your troops to camp at the south gate. When the army attacks the city, I will supervise the troops to attack the west gate, and the general will attack the south gate. The north gate is for the partial troops."

Huo Du was the general who conquered the south, and as Huo Jun's brother, he had a transcendent relationship in the Jianghuai army. Whether it was Lu Su or Pang Tong, they mostly treated each other as equals.

"it is good!"

The taciturn Huo Du returned the favor.

Not to mention Pang Tong commanding the armies to prepare for the attack on the city, Cao Ren and Zhu Zhi in the city were condescending and had a panoramic view of the mobilization of troops and horses in the Southern Han Dynasty.

At the east gate, Zhu Zhi looked at the Han army abandoning the long base with suspicion.

Cao Ren's face was solemn, as if he was troubled by the current situation.

Zhu Zhi put his hand on the city wall and said: "The bandits have increased their troops and horses, but they have spared the siege of the east gate and moved their troops and horses to the north gate. This is because they have the intention of attacking the city."

Cao Ren nodded slightly and said in agreement: "Encircling three towers and one tower is the principle of the art of war. Today, the bandits have increased their troops and will not increase the defense of the surrounding areas. Instead, they will build a long fort at the east gate. They must have the intention of storming Fancheng."

After a pause, Cao Ren sighed and said regretfully: "In the past, when Lü Meng sent his troops to march westward, I suspected that he was deceitful, and I had many doubts about leaving the city to attack the camp. Now that I think about it again, Lü Meng's march to the west was not deceitful, but actually mine. The army is in a hurry to attack, and I regret not listening to your advice."

When Lu Meng mobilized his troops to march westward, Zhu Zhi suggested that Cao Ren take advantage of the chaos in the Southern Han long fort to lead his elite infantry out of the city to attack the camp. However, Cao Ren was afraid of being deceived by the Southern Han Dynasty, so he hesitated.

When Shiren personally led an infantry and cavalry patrol to the camp to warn him out of the city, Cao Ren regretted that he had not listened to Zhu Zhi's advice.

Zhu Zhi stroked his white beard and analyzed: "Guan Yu was wounded by an arrow, and our army advanced to Xinye. The bandit army first reduced the surrounding troops and horses, and then increased them, and watched as they had the intention of attacking the city. Therefore, in order to rule, maybe Your Majesty will be arriving in Xinye in the near future. Seeing that the enemy is in a hurry, they are afraid that things may change if they are delayed, so they want to go to Fancheng as soon as possible."

Although Fancheng was surrounded by the Han army, due to the many deployments of troops and horses in the past, the scouts sent by Cao Zhen could often write letters about the news outside the city, and then shoot arrows into Fancheng.

There must be several letters. Cao Ren and Zhu Zhi know a lot about the peripheral news. For example, Zhang He came from the west to relieve the siege, and Cao Zhen and Xu Huang's armies came from the north. Guan Yu went north to Wancheng, was injured by an arrow and retreated to Xinye.

Now based on Pang Tong's layout of the three towers, it is not difficult to guess that the Southern Han Dynasty was fiercely attacking due to reinforcements. In order to end the battle as soon as possible, he sent his army southward and tried to conquer Fancheng as soon as possible.

As he spoke, Zhu Zhi's tone increased and he said: "Now that the water thieves want to attack the city, the general should order the sergeants to patrol the city day and night, boil gold juice, and prepare more arrows. Whenever the water thieves attack the city, their soldiers and horses will be killed or injured. The tragedy is so severe that people's hearts will definitely become more frightened, which will greatly benefit His Majesty's use of troops."

Cao Ren's face was solemn and he sighed slightly and said: "Today the food and grass in the city are about to be exhausted. I only hope that your majesty will repel the water thieves as soon as possible, otherwise Fancheng will become even more desperate!"

(End of this chapter)