Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 588 It’s time to withdraw the troops!

In December, it was extremely cold and Hangou froze.

Xutai, the stronghold of the Han army.

Inside the big tent, a sand table was placed in the big tent. Lu Xun stared at Zhongli on the sand table and stopped and thought.

"General!"

Jiang Ji raised the curtain and said: "The heavy towers built on Zhongli City blocked Cao Xiu's attack. Our army does not need to send troops ashore!"

"what happened?"

Lu Xun raised his head and asked happily: "Why did Zhongli City suddenly build a heavy building? Didn't Cao Xiu stop it?"

Jiang Ji smiled and said: "According to the scouts, Cao Xiu ordered a halt to the attack on Zhongli City the day before yesterday because Zhongli City was about to surrender. Unexpectedly, this was false. Cao Xiu may have been angry and raised troops to attack the city. He attacked from noon until late at night, and the soldiers were exhausted. It’s unbearable, so we have to withdraw our troops!”

"Yesterday, Zhongli defeated the rebel army with several heavy towers. Although the heavy towers were damaged by stone bullets, they were repaired later. Now the Tushan method has been defeated by Xu Sheng. Presumably, what happened the day before yesterday was Xu Sheng's fake surrender. The method is to deceive Cao Xiu, and then seize the opportunity to renovate the heavy building unprepared. "

"color!"

Lu Xun sighed in surprise and said with a smile: "When Xun left the capital, the Grand Sima said that Xu Wenxiang could guard Zhongli, and Xun believed in him because of his bravery. Unexpectedly, Xu Wenxiang was smart enough to implement a strategy of false surrender and deceived Cao Xiu. Then guard Zhongli.”

Lu Xun was stationed in Xutai, and he kept an eye on the battles in Zhongli and Xiapi. In particular, the situation in Zhongli City concerned him very much. For example, when Cao Xiu was building Tushan, Lu Xun secretly complained that something was wrong.

Although it is time-consuming and labor-intensive to use civil methods such as tunnels, earth mountains, and flooding to destroy a city, generally speaking, once the civil methods are used to destroy a city, ordinary cities can be destroyed. Especially the earth mountain method, he took advantage of the limitations of the city and built earth mountains outside the city, thereby condescendingly controlling the air.

The only way to break the earth-mountain law is to reverse the earth-mountain, that is, to build a high city on top of the city to seize air superiority.

When Cao Xiuji came up with the method of destroying the city through the earth mountain, Lu Xun was ready to send troops to counterattack. Unexpectedly, Xu Sheng played a trick of pretending to surrender, which not only confused Cao Xiu, but also made all Lu Xun's preparations in vain.

"General, are you going to send troops to Zhongli now?" Jiang Ji asked.

"No need!"

Lu Xun looked at Zhongli on the sand table and said with a smile: "Since General Xu can guard Zhongli City, our army should stay still and watch the changes!"

As he spoke, Lu Xun remembered something and said, "The Grand Marshal sent a letter asking our army to pay attention to the movements of the Wei army."

"what for?"

Lu Xun smiled and said, "The Grand Marshal is afraid that the Wei army will not be able to conquer Zhongli for a long time, and then he will think of withdrawing the army."

"Ok!"

Jiang Ji nodded slightly and said: "Da Sima's worries are not unreasonable. If the Wei army cannot break Zhongli City, the troops and horses will suffer heavy losses. In addition, the southern expedition will take a long time, and Cao Pi may want to withdraw his troops."

"Once Cao Pi withdraws his troops, it will be difficult for Da Sima to overwhelm his army and encircle Shouchun!"

Huo Jun had communicated with Lu Xun and Jiang Ji about the purpose of this battle, hoping to kill as many Wei troops as possible rather than simply forcing Cao Wei to retreat.

Lu Xun paced slightly and asked, "Zitong, have you found out why the Wei army was acting abnormally the past few days?"

Jiang Ji pondered for a while and said: "According to the scouts, it seems that Wei General Cao Ren died of a sudden illness, and then the Huainan military was handed over to Cao Xiu."

The news that Cao Ren was killed by a crossbow was blocked by the Wei army and no one was allowed to spread it. After all, if his soldiers knew that Cao Ren was shot to death, they would not be laughed to death. In order to ensure the morale of the sergeants, Cao Pi told outsiders that Cao Ren died of a sudden illness, rather than being shot to death by the Han army with a powerful crossbow.

"Sudden illness?"

Lu Xun looked playful and said, "I'm afraid it's too much of a coincidence!"

"In the past, although Cao Ren was old, his majesty was still there. When he led the troops to supervise the battle and attack the city, he suddenly died of a vicious disease. It was really strange!" Jiang Ji agreed and said: "But I don't know whether Cao Ren died because of a stray target!"

Lu Xun put his hands on the sand table and said: "Cao Ren has been on the battlefield for a long time and was known as a famous general in the Northern Kingdom. His death now should be of benefit to our army. Although Cao Xiu had a strategy, he had little experience in military affairs and had a strong temperament. Not a strong enemy."

"Can the Wei army's grain camp in Huainan be explored today?" Lu Xun asked.

"Have!"

Jiang Ji pointed to Shaoyangzhou on the sand table and said: "The Wei army stationed grain in Shaoyangzhou and was guarded by the army. However, the amount of grain and grass in the water village of Shaoyangzhou was not much, and it was only used to supply Wei soldiers in Huainan. The Wei army stationed a large amount of military grain. From Huaibei, it was transported by boat to Shaoyangzhou and then to Huainan."

"good!"

Lu Xun understood and said: "Now Lao Zitong will draw a map of the distribution of the Wei army and send it to Wuhan, where it will be handed over to Da Sima. Then additional scouts will be sent to investigate the movements of the Wei army. If there is any change, report it quickly!"

"promise!"
-
Not to mention that Lu Xun stood still and watched the changes in Cao Wei's army.

At this time, the news that Xu Sheng pretended to surrender and Cao Xiu fell into the trap and failed made Cao Pi fall into anger.

"boom!"

Cao Pi slammed Xu Sheng's seal ribbon to the ground, as if throwing it away would make him feel better.

"Wen Lie is incompetent and missed the opportunity to humiliate the country!"

Cao Pi pointed to the direction of Huainan and cursed: "Xu Sheng deceived him with a small seal. Isn't it embarrassing?" "The mountains are close to the city, and they are close to the city. But now Xu Sheng has fooled him, and he has become a Chinese general." !”

"It's just a joke. Out of anger, he raised troops and attacked Zhongli day and night, causing heavy losses to the soldiers!"

"I missed the opportunity to defeat Zhongli now. I don't know how long it will take to defeat Zhongli again."

Cao Pi coughed a few times in anger and said, "It's almost spring, and Lian Zhongli hasn't been conquered yet, how can we say that we can sweep Jianghuai!"

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

Sun Zi offered the honey water and said, "Now that the situation is like this, Your Majesty must not get angry."

"I can't drink it!"

"I have ordered civil and military officials to come to the big tent to discuss matters!"

"promise!"

After a while, Wen and Wu were summoned to the big tent to listen to Cao Pi's instructions.

Cao Pi looked at the civil and military men in the tent and asked angrily: "Now that we have missed the opportunity to break the city, do you have any advice?"

Seeing that Cao Pi was still angry, everyone looked at each other and did not dare to speak out.

As if he could see what everyone was thinking, Cao Pi calmed down and said, "I will not blame you for any words you say when the monarch and his ministers discuss military and state affairs!"

With these words, everyone reacted.

"Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, it is better to lead the troops to retreat!"

Liu Ye pondered for a while and said: "Then he led his troops to Xiapi, combined the strength of the two armies to defeat Xiapi, and then advanced to plunder the counties in the East China Sea."

"Then what?" Cao Pi asked.

"The two counties of Xiapi and Donghai are not worthy of Your Majesty's merit, but they are the best strategy at the moment."

Liu Ye lowered his head and said: "Huo Jun is in Wuhan, and when he ordered Lu Xun to go on an expedition, he must have other plans. It is not easy to defeat Zhongli now, so why talk about defeating Lu Xun and then taking Huaiyin."

Although Liu Ye didn't know what Huo Jun was planning, he could vaguely feel that Huo Jun's target was them. Therefore, it is better to abandon Zhongli and turn to Xiapi and Donghai counties in Huaibei. Although it would be a shame to withdraw from Zhongli now, it is better than being defeated by the enemy.

Cao Pi was reluctant and said: "The total number of dead and injured sergeants today is no less than 10,000. If we withdraw from Zhongli, wouldn't it be a waste of sergeants?"

"Your Majesty, may I ask General Jin Wenlie what his wishes are?" Wei Zhen asked, cupping his hands.

Cao Pi snorted coldly and said: "Cao Yangzhou went to Shu, told himself what happened before and after, and then asked for grace."

"What strategy does General Wen Lie want to use to defeat the enemy?" Wei Zhen asked.

Cao Pi stroked his beard and said: "Wen Lie later wanted to use the earth mountain method again. From the earth mound to the wall, it was a gentle slope. The soldiers climbed the gentle slope and entered the tower to fight the rebels. According to Cao Yangzhou, more than half of the soldiers in Zhongli City were killed or injured. , The reason why Xu Sheng adopted the strategy of false surrender must be that he was exhausted and his troops were exhausted."

Wei Zhen heard that Cao Pi still wanted to fight again and said: "Your Majesty, since General Wenlie wants to break the city now, Your Majesty might as well allow him half a month. If Zhongli cannot be defeated, send those who know the strength of the army to cross the Huaihe River and check Zhongli City. We will report the truth to His Majesty and discuss whether to fight again!"

"It has been many months since our army marched south in July. The city of Zhongli is strong and the generals are brave. The soldiers have been fighting for a long time, and many of the soldiers are exhausted. At the turn of winter and spring, we are afraid of damaging the farm work; a hundred thousand people are spending thousands of gold every day. . Now I hope your Majesty will understand the pros and cons and use your troops with caution."

At the beginning of the Southern Expedition, not only Cao Pi, but also the ministers of Cao and Wei were very optimistic. However, after months of siege against Zhongli, they were all numb.

General Cao Ren was shot to death by a powerful crossbow of the Han army because he was supervising the battle. Now Cao Xiu and Xu Sheng faked a surrender plan and missed the opportunity to break the city. As the time approached spring, they gradually realized that Zhongli City might not be conquered.

"Ok!"

Cao Pi nodded slightly and said with satisfaction: "What Qing Wei said is reasonable. Zhongli is only a little bit broken now, so how can we give up so easily? We should let Cao Yangzhou lead his troops to surround Zhongli, and then set a date."

"Your Majesty, if you want to take Zhongli again now, it is better to choose him as the main general and make Cao Yangzhou as the auxiliary in order to break the city as soon as possible." Bao Xun suggested.

"No!"

Wei Zhen raised his hand to Cao Pi and said, "Your Majesty, although Cao Yangzhou has made mistakes today, he has been besieging Zhongli for a long time and is familiar with the tactics of the bandit Xu Sheng. If I choose someone else as a general now, it may be detrimental to the military."

Bao Xun was a little dissatisfied and said: "Your Majesty, although Cao Yangzhou has a strategy, he has made many mistakes in the use of troops since the battle with the water thieves. Today, Xu Sheng's treacherous plot should be a warning to our army. It is best to replace the general and then let him go." Cao Yangzhou is the deputy."

Cao Pi stroked his beard and thought deeply. He did have an idea to replace the Huainan general.

The reason why he replaced Cao Ren with Cao Xiu was not only that Cao Xiu was a member of the clan, but also that Cao Xiu had a very good relationship with him. Therefore, he wanted to train Cao Xiu or gain military exploits for Cao Xiu. Now Cao Xiu fell into the trap and missed the opportunity to capture the city, which made him disappointed.

But as Wei Zhen said, replacing generals easily will inevitably delay time, and may not be as good as Cao Xiu. If the general is replaced, there will be no other generals except Cao Hong, the hussar general. However, Cao Pi felt a little disgusted with General Cao Hong because of his borrowing money in his early years.

After hesitating for a long time, Cao Pi decided to give Cao Xiu another chance and said, "As Wei Qing said, give Cao Yangzhou half a month to break the city. After half a month, if Zhongli City is not broken, Wei Qing will cross the Huaihe River to reach the army. Understand the situation in Zhongli and then decide."

With that said, Cao Pi looked at Sun Zi and said, "Let Cao Yangzhou not let me down!"

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)