Three Kingdoms.

Chapter 3512 Similarity, Sameness and Interconnection

From Jingzhou to Fangling, although you can walk through Pengshui, it is actually not easy to walk, especially going upstream is even more difficult.

Therefore, Cao Zhen did not dare to delay. After receiving the news, he immediately led his soldiers directly over the mountains and ridges. The subsequent food and baggage was transported along Pengshui by ships.

Along the way, Cao Zhen was very worried, afraid that when he arrived at Fangling after all the hard work, he would see the tricolor flag hanging from the top of Fangling City...

On the map, Fangling is just a small dot, but if you really have to use your legs to travel, it will simply cost you your life.

Cao Ren and Cao Zhen did not dare to send other ordinary troops here. After all, Fangling was indeed very important and must be adjusted according to the actual situation.

If the Hussars are desperate to attack Fangling, they will attack from both sides, then Cao Zhen needs to hold back Li Dianjun and buy time for Cao Ren's northern line to resist Wuguan.

If Li Dian just made a false shot in Fangling, then Cao Zhen must detect it as soon as possible, and then either sneak attack on Li Dian's flank, or turn around to support him.

Anyway, the battle situation is changeable, and new situations may arise at any time. If you are just an ordinary general, you may pass information up and down, and then lose the opportunity while waiting, especially on the mountain road from Fangling to Jingzhou, it is simply It's fatal...

Cao Zhen issued a death order, and everyone ran forward regardless of the stragglers.

Therefore, although Cao Zhen grabbed a lot of time, the number of soldiers who arrived at Fangling was not large.

Standing on the top of the mountain, when he saw that the flag in the mausoleum was still the logo of Cao Jun, Cao Zhen really took a long breath and said, "God have mercy on me!" 』

"General, are we entering the city now... now?" 』

his soldiers asked.

Cao Zhen shook his head, "We won't enter the city!" It's here! Find some high place on the mountain and hang up all the flags we brought! 』

No one expected that the mediocre Shen family would be so unreliable!

At least after a month or two, Cao Zhen felt that Shen was not a waste!

Shangyong City, which Cao Zhen has been to, is larger, taller and stronger than Fangling City. Moreover, it has been run by the Shen family for many years. There is also the Shen family's Wubao in the surrounding area as a corner to jointly protect the Shangyong area. How could it be so easy? Has been breached?

Could it be that gunpowder was used again?

Eighty percent yes!

Damn it!

The Cavalry General is so damned!

Don’t talk about martial ethics!

Gunpowder will cause disaster sooner or later!

But why couldn't the hussar be killed in Zhongtiao Mountain before?

Cao Zhen gritted his teeth and looked at Fangling City in the basin at the foot of the mountain.

Nowadays, such a small town has become the main point of contention between Cao Jun and the Hussars, making Cao Ren and Cao really passive...

Fangling was also very famous in history.

This is the place where Meng Da became famous, and of course it was also the place where he died.

Many people think that Meng Da is incompetent, but in fact Meng Da is also very good. However, when he attacked Fangling, he did not go through sweat, nor did he start from Hanzhong, but went north from Zigui and passed through the Shennongjia area. The mausoleum guard was caught off guard and never expected that Meng Da would appear from the south!

The difficulty of this route is not much less than walking through Ziwu Valley.

After Meng Da took Fangling, Liu Feng captured Shangyong, and it was not completely captured, but he had just negotiated surrender terms with the Shen family at that time.

At that time, Liu Bei not only defeated Cao Cao in Hanzhong, but also captured the Shangyong area. At the same time, Guan Yu was eyeing Nanyang. The world was shocked. The limelight was unparalleled for a while, but the curse of prosperity and decline came. It's on Liu Bei's head. Liu Bei was so proud at that time. Not only did he wantonly build pavilions and pavilions in Sichuan and Shu when Hanzhong was not yet stable, wasting money and food, he even turned a blind eye to the large number of people in Hanzhong who had been relocated by Cao Wei, and directly launched the After planning the follow-up attack, he also ordered Guan Yu to attack Fancheng in Xiangyang in an attempt to march into the Central Plains in one fell swoop.

Of course, Liu Bei's order to Guan Lao'er was naturally to let Guan Yu look for opportunities and not require Guan Lao'er to take action immediately, but at this time Liu Bei had probably forgotten what his second son looked like. With Guan Yu's character, seeing how tough the veteran Huang Zhong is, and then Guan Yu himself "doing nothing" in Jingzhou, how can he hold back? So Guan Yu forgot Liu Bei's instructions when he entered Sichuan, forgot Liu Bei's words that he earnestly asked Guan Yu to defend his retreat, and began to mobilize his entire army to attack Xiangfan.

Then, there is no more.

So now that Li Dian has commanded his army to occupy Shangyong and points directly at Fangling, has he really accumulated enough strength in Hanzhong to pounce on Jingzhou in one go, or is he just a partial force pulling back Jingzhou's defense line, and the Hussars The main force of the army is actually in Wucheng, Wuguan?

No one knows.

So Cao Zhen had to see it in person.

"Where's the flag?" ! Why are there just so many? ! Go get more! Hang it up and spread it out wider! 』

Cao Zhen roared and ordered his men to spread banners all over the mountains and forests.

From a long distance, the words on the flag are actually not very clear, and they are also obscured by the branches of trees in the mountains and forests, but the colors can still be seen in general.

Especially the character Cao, when viewed from a distance, just looks like a black mass with a hat on top, while the character Fei has two legs spread apart, so even if you can’t see the specific gesture clearly, you can still see the characteristics of the upper and lower characters. It is still very obvious, plus there are still many differences between the tricolor flag and the red and black Han flag.

As for being able to see clearly the row of big characters written on a certain flag from several miles away, then even those little soldiers and scouts can become clairvoyants...

Cao Zhen doesn't need to be far away to see clearly. It's better if he can't see clearly.

He just needs the other side to see that there is a flag.

Not only the hussar scouts, but also the Di people in the imperial palace.

Cao Zhen is not worried about the cavalry scouts coming to the mountain to investigate, because the terrain here is only a few miles away in a straight line, but if you really walk, you may not be able to walk there in a day, plus there is Fangling City in the middle. , even if the hussar scouts have the courage to fight, they will be discovered by Cao Jun when they reach the mountain.

With the advantage of being in a commanding position, and as his troops arrived one after another, Cao Zhen gradually became more confident.

After all, Li Dian's large army has not arrived yet, but these small hussars, Cao Zhen does not pay attention to them.

"General, are we stationed here?" ” A confidant asked Cao Zhen, “Are you sure you don’t want to enter Fangling City?” 』

Being in the wild mountains and forests is definitely not as comfortable as being inside the city.

Especially in winter.

"Right here!" ”Cao Zhen turned around and went down the mountain.

The wind on the top of the mountain made him feel a little cold.

"Find a shelter from the wind and cut down more wood to keep out the cold..." Cao Zhen ordered, "We also need to make arrangements for the soldiers who are coming... Let people keep an eye on it at the mouth of the river, and transport the baggage ships as soon as they arrive..."

The subordinate responded and hurriedly went to do it.

Fangling City was generally built in the Fangling Basin, surrounded by mountains, and a Nanhe River in the middle, or Pengshui, passed through the Fangling Basin and connected everything around it.

The current situation is that the Hussars team appears on the hilltop in the west, while Cao Zhen and others stay here in the east, with Fangling in the middle.

"We just want to let Faang Ling know that we are coming, that's all..." Cao Zhen found a dry place sheltered from the wind and sat down, "Into the city?" That’s not necessary...those Di people will...hum...if they want something, just give it to them first..."

Cao Zhen did not intend to fight with the Hussars at Fangling, because although there is the Nanhe River in Fangling, it is not a place where the Jingzhou navy is deliberately deployed. On the contrary, the mouth of the Danjiang River, which is located at the intersection of the Dan River and the Han River, can allow the Jingzhou River to flow. The army has a broad stage.

Moreover, the Danshui of Han River was also the core point planned by Cao Ren and Cao Zhen to resist the Hussars this time.

It's just that it will take a certain amount of time to deploy the navy to Danjiangkou. At the same time, it will also take time to set up traps and strengthen the fortifications in Fangling south of the river. Therefore, Cao Jun needs time and cannot let Fangling surrender so quickly. Cavalry.

That's right, both Cao Zhen and Cao Ren expected that Fangling would probably surrender in the end, so if Cao Zhen entered the city, he would be used as a bargaining chip by the Di generals to curry favor with the hussars.

Cao Zhen deployed suspicious troops here to make Li Dian feel that it was not worthwhile to attack Fangling, and then go north to attack Yunguan and join Pang Shanmin and others.

Although the strength of Li Dian, Pang Shanmin, and the hussars of Wuguandao will increase after they join together, it is actually a good thing for Jing Xiang, because Cao Jun only needs to defend one direction, and then Cao Jun can use the navy to attack. Even if it cannot be stopped, the navy can be used to retreat to Xiangyang and continue to resist.

Moreover, having the Hussars attack along the Danshui and Hanshui rivers has an additional benefit for Cao Jun...

But these are all plans. Although they are plans that may be realized, plans are always plans. Whether they can be realized in the end depends on the person who implements the plan. After all, there are only more than a thousand soldiers defending Fangling here, and the Di people are not trustworthy. If Di people are unhappy, or are too happy, they can sell Fangling for a small amount of money and a small amount of rights. , then Cao Jun is really in trouble.

Fighting on two sides, the collapse of either side is equivalent to the collapse of the whole situation.

Thinking of this, Cao Zhen felt a little uneasy. Under the myriad of clues, it seems that any possibility will put Cao Jun in danger.

When he attacked Hanzhong before, although Cao Zhen's attack was blocked, he didn't feel much fear. But now that Cao Zhen was thinking about it, his hands couldn't help but tremble a little, and he even needed to hold a branch on the side to stay stable.

Seeing Cao Zhen's face turning pale for some reason, his confidants became nervous, "General?" 』

"Ah...it's okay..." Cao Zhen was startled, came back to his senses and said, "I was thinking...from Hanzhong to Shangyong, and then from Shangyong to Wancheng, which one is farther..."

There was no doubt that he was there, and he thought for a while and replied, "It seems to be similar... From Hanzhong to Xicheng, you can take the Han River, but from Xicheng to Shangyong you have to walk on the mountain road... And from Wancheng to Yungguan, it is a mountain road, and then You can go to Xicheng along the Han River..."

Cao Zhen nodded, and then subconsciously repeated, "That's true...Yunguan...Danjiangkou..."

…

…

The Hussars scouts discovered the traces of Cao Zhen and others, and relayed them to Shangyong.

There is no mistake in every song, one post, one content, one 6 one, one book, one book, take a look!

In mountainous areas, if you really run with two or four legs, even if you run for three days and three nights, you may not be able to run from Fangling to Shangyong, but light can transmit information in a short time. Return to Shangyong.

However, the amount of information that this transmission method can carry will be relatively small.

So now Li Dian only knows that Cao's troops have appeared in Fangling, and there are a lot of them. But for other situations, it will take three or four days before the scouts will retreat from the front line and report in detail.

"Cao Jun appeared in Fangling..." Li Dian looked at the map, "It's so fast... This is a bit troublesome..."

From Hanzhong to Xicheng, Li Dian took the Han River, went down the river, bypassed Xicheng, and went straight to Shangyong. Although there were some risks, Li Dian learned about the current situation of the Shen family in Shangyong by collecting information, so he successfully raided Shangyong and killed the Shen family.

Xicheng was relatively prosperous and had a large population before. However, in the previous battle, Cao Jun and the Shen family destroyed almost ten houses and nine empty houses. The population was young and strong, and there were countless casualties. Even after Cao Jun withdrew, a large number of people died. Those who came down also fled Xicheng.

Xicheng is now simply an empty city. The few defenders in Xicheng are just like monks clocking the clock every day. They do not go out of the city to check on errands. Therefore, Li Dian did not waste much effort and slipped under the eyes of the Xicheng defenders.

But Shangyong is different. Even if Li Dian successfully raids and kills Shen Dan, it doesn't mean that like in the game, not only the city, but also the surrounding land will change color in an instant, and then next. The number of resources can be increased for the occupying party from the beginning of one second...

After he occupied Shangyong, he not only wanted to clean up the surrounding areas of Shangyong, such as the Zhushan area, but also stabilized the grain transportation channel from Hanzhong to Xicheng and then to Shangyong.

At the same time, the next step of the expansion plan must also be considered.

Li Dian received an order from Guanzhong, asking him to look for an opportunity and march into Jingzhou.

This order is almost the same as the orders Guan Yu received in history. They were all "to act according to the opportunity" and there was no mandatory time. However, Li Dian felt that attacking Shangyong at this time was the best, which was also contrary to Shen and others. Unexpectedly, if we wait until the next spring or summer to fight again, not only will the mountain roads be miasmatic, but it may also give Shen time to recover.

Facts have proved that Li Dian's decision was correct.

However, achieving superiority is only half the battle.

This is true whether it is from a battle perspective or from a distance calculation.

It is a thousand miles from Nanzheng to Xicheng and then to Shangyong.

From Shangyong to Wancheng, it is almost a thousand miles.

It is not difficult to go down the river to Xicheng, but if you want to go to Shangyong through Xicheng, it will be difficult.

The Shangyong area is a typical place surrounded by mountains and surrounded by mountains and rivers, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

If you don't take the waterway, you have to take the mountain road, which is rugged and winding up and down the mountain. It is not only laborious but also time-consuming.

Even Li Dian himself felt tired after defeating Shangyong and needed to rest, so Li Dian sent out a large number of scouts scattered around Shangyong and extending to the Fangling area to serve as tentacles to collect information. Early warning.

He is also acting as a suspect.

After all, Li Dian was only stationed in Hanzhong, and the number of soldiers under his command was not as large as those who had retreated. In addition, there were still some focus nodes left to protect the food routes, so Li Dian could really be used as an attack room now. Ling's main force is only two to three thousand.

Large-scale military operations are thousands of miles apart. It is a difficult problem to coordinate with each other at any time.

Now Li Dian is also faced with a difficult choice. Should he continue to take Fangling and attack the Jingxiang flank, or should he go around the northern route and take the Han River, open up Yunguan, and join Pang Shanmin, Liao Hua and others?

Both routes obviously have their pros and cons.

Li Dian thought for a long time and decided to wait for the latest information and grasp the detailed situation before making a decision...

…

…

There was great joy in Fangling City.

The Di people who guarded the city saw Cao Zhen's banner and received the news that Cao Zhen had arrived with his soldiers. He suddenly felt a little more confident. He ordered the whole city to be notified that reinforcements were coming. And in order to enhance his persuasion and build morale, he directly boasted that he and Cao Zhen had made an agreement long ago, and those who came were the elites of Cao Zhen's army!

When the Fangling garrison saw more and more banners appearing on the mountain, although it was unclear how many soldiers were in the mountain, according to the fifty soldiers per flag, there were two to three thousand soldiers, so they immediately felt relieved.

Especially when Di Renjiang saw that when Cao Jun's banner appeared, the hussar squads gradually disappeared into the mountains and forests and no longer approached Fangling, he believed that he had to wait and had no choice to surrender immediately. is correct.

Cao Zhen is more or less a general among Jingxiang. If Cao Zhen comes to the rescue in person, he will definitely lead the elite main force of Cao's army.

At the same time, if Cao Jun really comes, it also shows the importance of his place, and no matter which party he negotiates with later, he can negotiate a higher price than the original price.

This is more important to him.

Therefore, Di Ren emphasized it seriously and asked his men to step up and reorganize the defense line.

However, some people pointed out that Cao Jun only set up a flag on the top of the mountain and did not see the soldiers show up. On the surface, the Di people scolded the little leader for talking nonsense, but he couldn't help but murmur in his heart.

But soon, Cao Zhen sent people to deliver food, grass and equipment, which reassured the Di people.

The person who got the item will be obviously very excited.

He picked out the best piece of armor and put it on, then showed it off to his men, "Look at it!" These are all good stuff! If we weren't here to guard, how could those guys be willing to give us these good things? ! 』

He held his head high and was in high spirits, and the depression he had felt not long ago was gone.

In Di Renjiang's limited brain capacity, whatever he gets is naturally his.

It doesn't matter whether the soldiers of Cao's army come or not, as long as these valuable things are delivered!

What's more, if Cao Zhen really arrives at Fangling, wouldn't he have to hand over Fangling's authority?

It would be better to be like this now, where he has the final say from top to bottom in Fangling.

General Di Ren did not intend to fight to the death with the Hussars, but he hoped to have as many things as possible in his hands.

So how can we get these good things?

Of course, if Cao Jun feels that they can resist the hussars here, they will send a steady stream of things over.

The Di people summoned their confidants and said, "Send someone to tell General Cao that I will live and die with Fangling!" but! There are no weapons and food now! So...ask them to send more! 』