Great Wei Overlord

Chapter 878
Chapter 884 Dying struggle

In this time and space, Chu Suanzi took advantage of the desire of the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River to obtain military power, and used the financial resources of the four major families of Lu, Gu, Zhu, and Zhang to create a new army of [-], which eventually belonged directly to the imperial court. There is a place to use it.This new army was originally formed on the basis of the four major families in Jiangdong and the children of the middle and lower gentry families, and the leader was naturally Lu Shi.

Although he was ordered to take over the new army, when Sima Xi first took office, his ability to control military power was much worse than that of Lu Shi.Not to mention Lu Shi, even sending Lu Qin, the second ancestor, is stronger than Sima Xi.After all, in this era, one still needs to know one's background, and the most important thing is to fight for one's father.The four major families in Jiangdong are headed by Gu Lu, and Lu Qin can represent Naifu's will to a certain extent.

It's just that Sima Xi, who is good at training soldiers, is definitely not an easy character to get along with.At the beginning of Sima Xi's ascension, he taught Jiangdong's soldiers a lesson.

Sima Xi's military training was extremely strict and cruel, and many soldiers were injured during the training.Captain Zhang Xuanzhi disagreed with doing exercises three times a day.Zhang Xuanzhi is a direct descendant of the Zhang family in Wujun. His grandfather is Zhang Cheng, and his maternal grandfather is Gu He. Zhang Cheng is Wei Weiqing, but his maternal grandfather Gu He is even more powerful. Doctor Guanglu.According to the Ninth Rank Official Personnel Law, Henry Zhang’s background is at least a middle and upper rank.And this Zhang Xuanzhi is not mediocre, he not only served as the official minister, but also became the champion general and Wu Xing prefect, known as Zhang Wuxing in the world.As famous as Xie Xuan, there is a saying of "two Xuans in the north and the south".

Sima Xi sneered coldly: "The army follows the righteous way, the name is upright and the words are obedient. This king is the general of the town army, and it is his duty to train soldiers. Zhang Xuanzhi, do you want to disobey orders?"

"Don't dare!" Henry Zhang knew that the Seventeen Forbidden 54 cuts were not a joke, he said: "Training soldiers requires a degree of Zhang Chi, and the humble staff thinks that practicing three times a day is too hard."

But Sima Xi didn't argue with him, and said in a rage: "Bold Henry Zhang! Our army is about to move, how dare you slow down our army's morale? You have received so much benefit from Wei Guo, so recruit it quickly!"

Henry Zhang was shocked: "I haven't even been out of Wu County. When I first came to Huai'an, how can I receive the benefits of Wei Guo?"

Sima Xi said coldly: "If that wasn't the case, why did you slow down our army! Just from what you said just now, it proves that you are undoubtedly a spy of Wei State! Come on!"

Sima Xi is the prince of the Jin Dynasty. When he took office, he came here empty-handed. He also brought the [-]-step heavy infantry and [-] sharp soldiers trained by himself. Sima Xi said: "Pull this spy down and behead him!
Henry Zhang was shocked.

All the generals thought: "Zhang Xuanzhi has hit the knife's edge now. Sima Xi has just arrived and is looking for an opportunity to show his prestige." They came one after another, unavoidably involving themselves. The so-called protection of things, they all came up to plead in a hurry, calling: "Henry Zhangzhi's three generations of officials have been loyal, and they are definitely not spies. Please check it out with the general of the town army."

Sima Xi still wanted to punish Zhang Xuanzhi. The 28 new troops were divided into 52 schools (battalions) large and small. A total of 47 generals, including generals, Sima, and soldiers, [-] of them knelt down. Life to guarantee that Henry Zhang is not a spy, Sima Xi said coldly: "If he is not a spy, but neglects the morale of the army, he is also guilty and worthy of death!"

The generals of the new army's school lieutenant level are almost all the children of the four major families. The four major families in Jiangdong have always been married, and their creations and productions are all advancing together. Among the 45 generals, several friends even bleed, shouting : "General, Henry Zhangzhi has made outstanding achievements, and he killed him with one sentence, fearing that the soldiers of the three armies will not accept it."

Sima Xi said coldly again: "If you can do what you want if you have credit, what do you need military law for?"

The generals who pleaded hurriedly changed their words when they heard this, and said one after another: "The army has not moved, so kill the general first, which is bad luck for the army." Some people also said: "Although Zhang Xuanzhi has committed crimes, he is not guilty of death. Please be merciful to the general."

Seeing that everyone was pleading for Henry Zhang, in fact Sima Xi didn't have to kill Henry Zhang, but just to establish his prestige. Seeing that the heat was enough, Sima Xi said: "Death crimes are inevitable, but life crimes are inevitable. If you pull it down, beat it again." Ten army sticks, follow suit with respect."

The two armored soldiers pulled Henry Zhangyou and said they pulled him away, and came to the school field outside the tent, directly and rudely pulled down Henry Zhang’s pants, and beat him up cracklingly.The [-]th army stick is not light, only forty or fifty sticks beat Henry Zhang to a bloody mess between his thighs, and finally Henry Zhang fainted from the pain.But Sima Xi still didn't appreciate it, and shouted: "Remember the rest for now, after he recovers from his injuries, we will march again!"

After this incident, the generals of the four major families in Jiangdong no longer dared to rely on their own identities and disobeyed Sima Xiyang.Until at night when no one was paying attention, Sima Xi sneaked into Henry Zhang's tent.It turned out that all of this was just a strategy, and it was also Zhou Yu's fight against Huang Gai who was willing to fight and the other was willing to suffer, in order to help Sima Xi withdraw his military power.

Although the four major Jiangdong families have a deep influence on this army, Sima Xi's control over the army is getting stronger and stronger. Simultaneously, Sima Xi also mixed his [-] heavy infantry and [-] cavalry into the new army. Among them, he acted as the backbone of the grassroots, and slowly eliminated or transferred the disobedient generals, and gradually replaced the leaders and lieutenants of the seventeen battalions. After the readjustment, the command of the army became smoother. Those who did not kiss him also obeyed his command.

Since ancient times, guarding the river must guard the Huai River.This is a rule that has been formed since the Southern and Northern Dynasties.Changhan's defense line of thousands of miles is hard to defend.To say that the Eastern Jin Dynasty has been partial to the southeast, in fact, Huan Wen's contribution is definitely not small.Huan Wen has taken the initiative to defend the Jingxiang area since he led Anxi General, Nanman Captain, and Jingzhou Inspector in the first year of Yonghe. As for Xu Yang, it was guarded by Xi Yin, the son of Xi Jian.It can be said that the two major warlords of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Xi family and the Huan family, kept the country of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

The Xi family began to decline after Xi Jian's death, and Xi Chao's father, Xi Yin, could not lead Xi Jian to assist the national army.The main body of Xi's auxiliary national army is composed of refugees from Yan, Qing, and Xu states. During Xijian's period, they still had considerable combat effectiveness, but after Xijian's death, they quickly deteriorated and were already unbearable.Although Xi Chao is good at planning, he is invincible, and he is not without the image of being in charge.Facts have proved that the auxiliary national army has long been useless.

If it weren't for the [-] extra troops in the Eastern Jin Dynasty because of some accidents, the Eastern Jin Dynasty might have fallen into the embarrassment of having no soldiers at this time.

Sima Xi stabilized the morale of the new army, but he didn't wait for the Wei army who came to Shiyue. When he didn't know how to attack the city with blasting, Shiyue used to encircle the cities that were difficult to conquer, and passed them by. Quick interspersed tactics.Anyway, those generals of the auxiliary national army who had long been corrupted did not have the courage to go out to fight in the city.

Even so, this is still a hidden danger.Shi Yue decided to clear out the cities behind the Southern Conquest Army. First, Pengcheng (Xuzhou) and then Xiapi were successively attacked by Shi Yue with tunnel blasting.

On March 24, the first year of Hongshi, Shiyue's Southern Expeditionary Army finally arrived in Huai'an after clearing all the nails in the rear.

Shi Yue didn't move at all, but when he moved, he tried his best.The Shiyue Cong mobilized 20 and a half battalions of infantry with more than [-] troops, including more than [-] civilians. The so-called "[-]" army arrived in Huai'an.

There are thousands of people in the city, and ten thousand people in the field. Although Shiyue's army does not have 20 troops, it has nearly 12 people. 12 people surrounded Huai'an tightly.Looking at Chengyuan, where there are black heads all over the place, they are all ready to do their best, and there is a bit of fear in their hearts.Sima Xi was also a little lost.Sima Xi was one of the most skilled princes in the royal family of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. However, this prince had never fought a battle. When he encountered such a big battle, he was three points timid before fighting.

He even said secretly, "Huai'an is the burial place of my Uncle Sima Dao!"

Shi Yue didn't directly attack the city. Although the method of blasting the city wall with tunnels could attack all the cities, it was just not suitable for Huai'an.Huai'an City is only a medium-sized city, and there are less than 10 people in the city. Such a city, with more than [-] soldiers and horses, certainly cannot be put into the city.

In order to increase Huai'an's city defense, Sima Xi set up 48 large and small military strongholds outside the city like a plum blossom formation. Even the ox crossbow could not reach the edge of the city wall.In desperation, Shi Yue ordered people to shoot an arrow letter at Huai'an City, the content of the arrow letter was nothing more than persuasion to surrender.

Sima Xi led the battle for the first time as the royal prince of the Jin Dynasty. He could die in battle, but he must not surrender, otherwise the morale of the Eastern Jin Dynasty would be severely damaged.

Sima Xi did not tear up the letter of persuasion to surrender, but directly replied a letter, Sima Xi can die but will never surrender.

Shi Yue was also unambiguous. When he received Sima Xi's letter, he said with a smile: "Sima Xi is unwilling to surrender. This country of Jin, which is full of women, finally saw a man. Generals, your chance has come. You have captured a prince. Congratulations!" Not too small!"

The mobilization of tens of thousands of people is no more than tens of thousands of people, and the workload involved is very heavy.The South Army Staff Headquarters quickly carried out the deduction on paper.Then according to the calculation, all kinds of materials are mobilized to various troops.

However, at this moment, an unexpected person came to Huai'an.Xiao Lezi, as Sima Dan's confidant, arrived in Huai'an holding the Shangshu sword.Xiao Lezi deliberately concealed his whereabouts and only brought four followers. If it hadn't been for Wei Jun not completing the encirclement, he might not have successfully entered Huai'an City.

After Xiao Lezi met Sima Xi, Xiao Lezi represented Sima Dan, even if Sima Xi was the general of the prince's army, he still had to bow to Xiao Lezi.But after conveying Sima Dan's imperial edict, Xiao Lezi saluted Sima Xi again.At this time, there is a long series of greetings and greetings.

Then, Sima Xi introduced the military situation to Xiao Lezi, a newcomer to the army.

"According to the reconnaissance of the scouts, almost all of Wei Guozheng's Southern Army was dispatched. There were nearly 12 battalion infantry under Shi Yue's command, including more than [-] cavalry, and the total number was about [-]. The main force of the Southern Army The army is divided into three parts, Qingzhou Front Army, Yanzhou Front Army and Yuzhou Front Army. Among them, the Qingzhou Front Army is the most elite. These Qingzhou Army were formed when Ran Ming was King of Jiaodong. Although the Yuzhou Army is not as elite as the Qingzhou Army, it is not considered an underdog, and the Yanzhou Army is relatively weak. The Yanzhou Army has little combat experience, so its combat effectiveness is limited."

Xiao Lezi asked, "When will Wei Guo launch an attack?"

"This Xi is not sure!" Sima Xi said: "Wei Guo came here this time with bad intentions. Shi Yue used troops to play tricks on the surface, but this is not the case. He prefers to use small troops as bait. Judging by his appearance, Liang Dao The protection is the most secure, if you want to rely on food roads to make a fuss, I am afraid there is no chance of winning!"

This is not good news, Shi Yue came from a long journey.The troops are somewhat exhausted.It is still beneficial for the Jin army to start the war now. The longer the Wei army prepares, the greater the impact when it launches an attack.From another point of view, this also proves that the Wei army has sufficient food and salaries, and can prepare for the war leisurely instead of rushing to start the war.

Shi Yue was not a generation who earned his fame. He was Liu Xian's general first. In the country, Grand Sima Wang Ning and General Cao Fuqu opened a hall to surrender, and Shi Yue was coerced and surrendered to Wei.

During his stay in Wei State, he fought against famous Yan State generals such as Murong Ke and Murong Chui, winning more than losing.After Ran Min attacked Guanzhong, Shi Yue's troops were even more brilliant, capturing and killing more than a dozen generals of the Fu clan and Di Qin in one fell swoop.Shi Yue's name in the world has always been known for his wisdom and bravery.If you want to deal with a fierce general, you can outsmart it.But if you want to deal with that kind of general who is both wise and brave, you must be strong.

Sima Xi is not a time traveler, so naturally he didn't know that Shi Yue's profile was more than that.In history, he surrendered to Diqin and became a famous general of Diqin. Fu Luo turned against him. , only need to send one general, with no more than [-] soldiers, and he will be able to succeed in no time.It's just a pity that Fu Jian didn't listen to Shi Yue's advice, otherwise there would be no myth of Xie Xuan rejuvenating the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Sima Xi said: "Is there any good strategy for Xiao Canjun?"

Xiao Lezi murmured: "The boats in the south and the horses in the north, the south is weak and the north is strong, fighting with force is not advisable, only outsmart!"

After hearing Xiao Lezi's words, Sima Xi and the other generals sighed endlessly.Isn't this equivalent to nonsense?Saying is tantamount to saying nothing.However, Xiao Lezi is the envoy representing Sima Dan, and he has the right to control the army in name. The generals may not give Xiao Lezi face, but they must give Sima Dan face.Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, this is the first emperor to become the son-in-law of the four major families in the south of the Yangtze River. Moreover, Sima Dan's current son, Sima Yun, was named the prince just after he was born. This is the future hope of the four major families in the south of the Yangtze River.

The performance of the generals was naturally noticed by Xiao Lezi. He smiled and said disapprovingly: "The Wei army has the strength of bows and crossbows, as well as many heavy weapons. The eight-ox crossbow currently used in our army, and everyone The Mingguang armors on your body are all from the State of Wei. You are very clear about the performance of these equipments. But you may not know that all the soldiers of the Wei Army are armored, and even [-]% of the auxiliary soldiers (engineers and heavy soldiers) Although the appearance of the leather armor is different from the captain's standard armor, the defensive ability is not bad at all. In the defense of the city, if our bows and crossbows do not use armor-piercing cones, they are almost useless against their armor. Method."

Speaking of this, I have to mention that the Mingguang armor of Wei State is actually the plate armor of later generations, not the mainstream chain armor in Europe.The so-called armor-piercing cone is not just about making the arrowhead small.To break plate armor, the first is speed, and the second is weight.Such armor-piercing arrows are almost comparable to steel arrows made of fine steel.Iron in this era is very expensive, even if it is crude steel, it costs more than [-] yuan, so the cost of a hundred armor-piercing cones is close to [-] yuan, and each armor-piercing arrow can be nearly ten times the price difference of ordinary arrows .Then the problem arises, at such a price, not to mention that the Jin court is not rich, even the relatively wealthy Wei court does not have a lot of armor-piercing cones.

All the generals looked at each other, Sima Xi said: "Xiao Canjun means that Huai'an cannot be defended!"

"That's right!" Xiao Lezi said unsurprisingly, "Compared to the barbarians, the Wei army is better at bows and crossbows and attacking fortifications. Just the day before Xiao came, he just received the news that Fancheng had fallen. The city of Huai'an Although it's not weak, it can't be compared with Fancheng, how many days did Fancheng resist?"

Sima Xi said: "Xiao Canjun still wants to make a decision on the Wei army's food road, abandon the city, retreat southward in order, lengthen the supply line and supply difficulty of the Wei army, and then give it a fatal blow?"

"Of course!" Xiao Lezi said, "Besides this, what tricks does the General have?"

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Wei Jun began to go out to fight one after another.Under the command of their respective generals, groups of Wei soldiers quickly arranged their formation, and then slowly formed an attack formation.The Wei army is a local tyrant army. Unlike the army in the historical cold weapon era, they do not have guns, daggers, spears, shields, bows, crossbows and other arms. On average, every Wei army soldier needs to be equipped with three types of weapons. Mastering more than three kinds of weapons, such as horizontal knives, is the necessary equipment for all soldiers, as well as crossbows.

An infantry battalion slowly walked out of the camp, and slowly arrived at a distance of a hundred steps in front of a Jin army camp.The leading lieutenant shouted loudly: "Low!"

The soldiers of the Wei army in the front row began to put down their shields upon hearing the order, and lined up their spears, daggers, and spears in three defensive formations, and light cavalry guarded the two wings of the attacking formation.

Seeing that the Jin army had no intention of going to war, the leading lieutenant smiled slightly.However, this smile disappeared in a flash, and the captain shouted: "Raise the crossbow, get ready, let it go!"

An infantry battalion of [-] soldiers, almost all of them were crossbow shooters, thousands of arrows shot up into the air, followed a parabola, and the arrows rained down, nailing the soldiers guarding behind the wall to the spot.The shooting of crossbow arrows is a very shocking scene. Those of you who have watched the movie "Heroes" will understand that the shooting of crossbow arrows is actually similar to that scene, but that is just acting after all, while in reality, it is much more bloody.

Seeing that there were not many soldiers of the Jin army guarding behind the wall in this military stronghold, the leading lieutenant shouted loudly, "Come in!"

All the armor painted black gave people a great sense of oppression.As a member of later generations, Ran Ming paid special attention to the training of the three major steps when training soldiers. Even though it was not as good as a military parade, it was shocking enough.The formidable formation stepped out like a mountain, the horizontal knife was raised, the battle ax was downward, the big knife was slashed, the battle ax was lifted, and the general was ready to tear the enemy apart in the pincer attack.

In fact, there is no need to fight, just looking at this momentum, the soldiers of the Jin Dynasty felt that they had difficulty breathing, the pressure was heavy, and their foreheads were covered with thin beads of sweat.

What is even more unbelievable is that when the soldiers of the Wei army marched forward in unison, in addition to the more than 3000 swordsmen in front, the other [-] soldiers actually fired arrows. More than [-] crossbowmen, divided into three waves, rained arrows into the air with different arcs. Although this is not a continuous shooting in the true sense, it has formed a partial continuous shooting. It may not be difficult to shoot arrows desperately when the troops stop , just on the go, it's incredible!
Sima Xi, who was on the top of the city gate, saw this scene with a telescope.This telescope was given to Sima Dan by Ran Ming back then, and Sima Dan had someone imitate it.It’s just that the craftsmen of the Jin Dynasty didn’t understand the principles of optics, so it was very expensive, so the cost of waste products was also high.Only generals above generals are eligible to own it, and it is still single-barreled.Unlike Wei Guo, who has now been devolved to a general at the Quhou level.

"Xiao Canjun, take a look!" Sima Xi said without interest, "It's too difficult to attack the Wei army's food roads, they can actually fire continuous fire while marching.

(End of this chapter)