Soldiers come to the world

In the Lu'an POW camp, Cao Cao, accompanied by Xu Huang and several other generals, was inspecting the captured Han prisoners of war. The soldiers had no way to retreat, and eventually became prisoners of war of Cao Jun.

Cao Cao greatly appreciated Xu Huang's victory in this battle. This victory was particularly important after the defeat of Cao's army in Nanyang. .

Cao Cao rode on horseback to inspect the prisoner-of-war camp. Seeing that the large tents in the prisoner-of-war camp were neat and orderly, the soldiers of the Han army were not confused by being captured, but were still walking in a row, dignified and dignified. The prisoner of war is still so neat and orderly. '

Thinking of this, Cao Cao turned back and asked Xu Huang, "Gongming thinks, what should we do with these prisoners of war?"

Xu Huang bowed immediately and said: "Most of these Han soldiers are from Jingzhou. Their parents, wives and children are all in Jingzhou. It is unrealistic to enlist them in Cao's army. The humble officer thought that these prisoners of war could be used as bargaining chips to exchange more money from Liu Jing." Benefit."

Cao Cao smiled, "But most of these prisoners of war are good at water warfare. It's a pity to let them go back. How about making them boatmen?"

Xu Huang thought for a while and said: "I heard that the Han army first used the captured Cao Jun as miners, and those who were willing to surrender after a year were incorporated into the Han army. This is because the Han army wanted to prevent Cao Jun from defecting. You have to sharpen it for a year first, before breaking their opposition, otherwise they will become hidden dangers instead."

Cao Cao nodded, "You're right. Judging from their current situation, it would cost too much to get them to submit to our army. The gain is not worth the loss. It is better to exchange benefits from Liu Jing. This is the best policy."

Cao Cao turned back to Xu Huang and said, "You know, Liu Jing's army has arrived at Wankou."

Xu Huang was startled, "I don't know the lowly position, when did this happen?"

Cao Cao sighed softly, "Two days ago! Liu Jing personally led a thousand warships to march eastward, and he did his best for this battle in Hefei."

Xu Huang was silent. He had followed Cao Cao for many years. From Cao Cao's sigh just now, he felt that the lord lacked confidence. Therefore, I would like to lead an army to attack Qichun County, suppressing Jiangxia, making Liu Jing difficult to care about, and disrupting his plans for the Eastern Expedition."

Cao Cao was slightly taken aback, Xu Huang's strategy was similar to Jiang Dongxi's campaign back then, but the failure of Jiangdong's strategy back then made Cao Cao really have no confidence.

Xu Huang said again: "The territory of the Han Dynasty is too large, which will inevitably lead to the dispersal of their garrison troops. However, Wenpin's defense is focused on the Nanyang line, and the hinterland of Jiangxia will be empty instead. I don't need to bring more troops for humble positions. Only [-] elite soldiers are enough. If Jiang Xia succeeds, it may solve the crisis in Hefei."

Cao Cao pondered for a moment and said: "Although Gongming's policy has no loopholes, it is also related to the overall situation. Let me think again and give you an answer later."

"The humble official obeys the orders of the lord at all times."

At this moment, a soldier rushed over and knelt down on one knee to report: "Send a message to Duke Wei and General Xu. The envoys of the Han army have arrived outside the camp and asked to see General Xu."

Cao Cao chuckled, "Don't want us to negotiate with him, they came first by themselves, Gong Ming can go to meet him and report to me afterwards."

"Follow the order!"

Xu Huang turned the horse's head and urged the horse to run towards the barracks. Cao Cao stopped inspecting the prisoner-of-war camp and returned directly to Lu'an County.

About half an hour later, Xu Huang saw Cao Cao again. At this time, Cao Cao was standing in front of the sand table with Chen Qun and Mao Jie to discuss the military situation. Military envoy."

"Who is the envoy of the Han army?" Cao Cao asked lightly.

"It's Pang Tong who engages in Wen Jin."

Cao Cao sneered, "Liu Jing sent such a low-level official to negotiate, it's really deceiving!"

Chen Qun beside him hurriedly said: "Duke Wei, Liu Jing sent low-level officials. The low-level officials think that he wants to deal with this matter in a low-key manner, not intentionally insulting. They want to ask us, so they should not have arrogance."

Cao Cao nodded. Thinking about it, the same is true. The exchange of prisoners of war will become the norm in the future, and high-level contacts will only complicate things. Cao Cao calmed down his anger and asked, "What does the other party mean?"

"Reporting to Duke Wei, the other side said that they are willing to exchange the Cao Jun prisoners of war in Nanyang County, one for one, and the other party promised to release Jia Kui."

When Cao Cao heard that the other party was willing to release Jia Kui, his dissatisfaction was completely eliminated. He smiled to everyone: "What right does Pang Tong have to release Jia Kui? This is of course Liu Jing's arrangement. He even sent a small official to negotiate. Jing is teasing me!"

Mao Jie said from the side: "I want to report to Wei Gong, since Liu Jing's army has arrived, he will not be stationed in Wankou for a long time. I think that the Han army will inevitably attack Ruxukou on a large scale, and the situation will be broken at Ruxukou. We are far inferior to each other, and I suggest that Zhang Liao's army should immediately retreat north."

Cao Cao agreed with Mao Jie's analysis, and immediately ordered: "Send me an urgent order, Zhang Liao's army immediately retreats northward, without a moment's delay."

At this time, Cao Cao said to Xu Huang again: "Although Gongming's suggestion in the morning is good, the return journey of Nanyang and Yiyang has been blocked by the Han army. Even if Jiangxia is disturbed for a while, it will be difficult to return. I don't want Gongming's army to be defeated by the Han army in the end." Annihilation, so I decided not to accept Gongming's suggestion, please understand."

Xu Huang was sad, Wei Gong finally rejected his plan, of course, he also knew that the final result of the surprise attack on Jingzhou would never return, in the final analysis, Wei Gong did not want himself to be a prisoner of the Han army, Xu Huang nodded silently, He understood Duke Wei's painstaking efforts.

At this time, Cao Cao said slowly to Xu Huang: "Although Gongming is not allowed to go to Jingzhou to take risks, I still have to give Gongming a heavy responsibility, that is, to take full charge of land defense, and strictly prevent Huang Zhong's army from breaking through by land. How can Gongming be honest?" If I can’t keep the land line, then my minimum requirement is to keep the passage between Shouchun and Hefei.”

"Understand, I will never let Duke Wei down!"

After Liu Jing's army rested briefly in Wankou, the thousand warships continued to march eastward. On the big river, the fleet stretched for dozens of miles, and the thousands of sails competed, which was a spectacular sight.

At this time, Liu Jing adjusted his army again, taking away [-] Jingzhou soldiers who were good at water warfare from Huang Zhong's [-] troops, and handing over Pound's [-] cavalry to Huang Zhong, making the main force of the Han army reach [-]. However, although Huang Zhong's army has decreased in strength, its combat power has increased accordingly.

The main force of the Han army marched towards Ruxukou without hesitation, which made Liu Jing's tactics very clear. He took advantage of the navy and occupied Ruxukou in one fell swoop, breaking the situation from Ruxukou.

At the same time, Cao Cao withdrew his focus from Shu County and Lu'an County, handed over land defense to Xu Huang, and ordered Zhang Liao to return to Hefei to prepare for the Han army's defeat at Ruxukou.

Cao Cao and Liu Jing have been fighting for more than ten years, and they both know each other very well. This is like a master playing chess, paying attention to the overall situation, and not too concerned about the gains and losses of a city and a region. Cao Cao assisted Sun Quan in conquering Wu County, unified Jiangdong, and increased assistance in the southeast direction. The two sides have their own layouts. Now it is the final decisive moment.

Ruxukou was the focus of the battle between Sun and Cao during the Three Kingdoms period. Its strategic position is extremely important. It is the outlet of Ruxushui and the entrance of the Yangtze River to Chaohu Lake and even Hefei. The army, or the Han army, is an indispensable strategic fulcrum.

For the Han army, capturing Ruxukou meant gaining a foothold in the Hefei War and becoming a logistics base for the Han army to go north. Cao Cao also knew this well, so after capturing Ruxukou, he was in Ruxukou. Xukou built a large number of fortifications, and there were as many as one hundred heavy trebuchets alone, and [-] troops were stationed, commanded by General Zhang Yun.

Standing on the observation tower of the military city, Zhang He looked at the river with a stern expression. Zhang Liao's [-] troops had withdrawn to Hefei two days ago. He received an urgent order from Duke Wei yesterday. The main force of the Han army had arrived in Anhui a few days ago. The mouth is now marching towards Ruxukou, so he must strengthen his defense.

At this time, the deputy general Ding Rong stepped forward and said: "I think that the Han army will not attack Ruxukou immediately. They must pull out the threat of Wuhu first, otherwise they will be attacked from behind by the Jiangdong army."

Wuhu has [-] Jiangdong garrisons and [-] warships, led by general Ling Tong, a force that cannot be ignored. More importantly, Ling Tong has received Sun Quan's order and will fully cooperate with Cao's army to prevent the Han army from occupying Ruxukou .

Zhang He nodded. His lieutenant general was right. The Han army's first wave of attack would not be aimed at Ruxukou, but Wuhu. Thinking of this, Zhang He immediately ordered: "Send a pigeon letter to Wuhu and tell them that the Han army The main force is about to be killed."

Wuhu is located about 250 miles away from the opposite bank of the Yangtze River at Ruxukou, and Wuhu cannot be seen from the observation tower at Ruxukou, but the factual development is exactly in line with Zhang He’s worries. In Wuhu, [-] warships of the Han army were one mile away from the pier, staring at each other, waiting for an opportunity to attack.

The vanguard general of the Han army is Shen Mi. He is known as the number one general in water warfare in Jingzhou. He has rich experience in water warfare and strong strength in water warfare. Also become mature and calm.

At first, Shen Mi wanted to attack Wuhu at night, but his spies found that the Wuhu Water Village was very lax, as if they could let them in and out, which made Shen Mi vigilant. The Jiangdong army's water fortress will be trapped by the enemy. More importantly, it is rumored that the Jiangdong army also has kerosene, so it is relatively easier to deal with them.

Shen Mi gave up his plan to attack at night, and instead fought against the Jiangdong navy during the day. He was not in a hurry. His task was not to annihilate the Jiangdong navy, but to keep a close eye on the opponent and not allow them to support the Ruxukou Cao army. .

At this moment, the drums of the civil war in Wuhu Shuizhai rang loudly, and two hundred Jiangdong warships rushed out of the water village. On the first warship stood a general with an iron gun in his hand. It was Ling Tong, the leader of Wuhu Jiangdong Army.