Chapter 1019 It’s hard to think about the beginning and the end
To the east, there are said to be 50,000 troops but actually 30,000 troops are pretending to attack Guangling's flank.
On the western rear, Lu Xun personally led the reinforcements, claiming to be 50,000 but actually 20,000.
After Sun Quan personally led an army of 100,000 people ashore, he became very anxious and headed towards Hefei impatiently.
To be honest, even when Shu conquered Liangzhou, Sun Quan was never so anxious.
Not only was he not in a hurry, but he also had the intention of watching a good show.
After all, those who have conquered the world since ancient times have conquered Guanzhong first and then Liangzhou. Who has conquered Liangzhou first and then entered Guanzhong?
Not to mention a place like Liangzhou, which is not only vast and sparsely populated, but also has barbarians who have been causing trouble for more than a hundred years.
The only advantage is that it produces good horses.
But if you want a good horse, can you get around the barbarians?
At that time, the more good horses are asked for, the faster the barbarians will be counterattacked?
It is hard to say whether the advantages of Shu's covetousness of this kind of territory outweigh the disadvantages or the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.
Not to mention Sun Quan and Lu Xun, even Cao Rui and Sima Yi never thought that Shu could win over all the barbarians in Liangzhou in just a few years.
He even managed Liangzhou as a place for producing wool.
The so-called basic necessities of life are food, clothing, housing and transportation.
Especially food and clothing, which are necessary for everyone.
Liangzhou has become a wool-producing area. Let alone chaos, it would not be surprising if a few wealthy towns like Guzang emerge, which are world-famous.
(Note: Guzang during the turn of the Han Dynasty, also known as Wuwei in later generations, was the first city that never sleeps in China's historical records because it avoided war and was at the node of the Silk Road)
After the battle in Guanzhong, Sun Quan finally understood it.
The Kingdom of Shu really has a good way of governing the barbarians.
Sugar cane is grown in Nanzhong and woolen materials are produced in Liangzhou, although I don’t know what will happen after the merging of the states.
But thinking that Feng Yong could quickly pass through Bingzhou and go south to Hedong, it is said that he even instigated a group of Bingzhou Hu people to rebel.
How would the Hu people, who have always been unfaithful, be so obedient if they didn't promise enough benefits?
However, Sun Quan felt a little more balanced when he remembered that Wu State had also pacified Shanyue in Danyang in the past few years, and at the same time Wuxi Wuxi barbarians were also weakening day by day.
In Sun Quan's view, Feng Yong was indeed good, but Zhuge Ke defeated Danyang Mountain in three years and collected more than 100,000 troops, which was not too bad.
Especially after Zhuge Ke took over the post of General Weibei and formally stationed at Wankou in the north of the Yangtze River, he also attacked Shu County, a border county of Wei State, and plundered its people before returning.
At the same time, they also continued to send scouts and agents to the north, with the furthest reaching Shouchun.
We have checked all the road junctions in the Jiangbei and Huainan areas.
Before Zhuge Ke led the army alone, most people in the court thought that he was too arrogant to claim that he could level Danyang Mountain in three years.
So his achievements in these years have really amazed the whole country of Wu.
Sun Quan, who directly promoted Zhuge Ke despite Zhuge Jin's strong opposition, felt even more proud.
Not to mention that Zhuge Ke was personally recommended by Prince Sun Deng.
This shows what?
Wu State, regardless of its ruler or ministers, can be regarded as having successors.
Sun Quan rode his horse and stopped on the shore of Chao Lake. He felt a sense of heroism in his chest as he watched the troops coming ashore one after another.
According to what Zhuge Ke learned in advance, the Wei army in Qingxu Prefecture had shown signs of mobilization some time ago, and was most likely heading west to reinforce Guanzhong.
Moreover, in the past few days since he made plans to move north, no new reinforcements have arrived from the Wei army in the Jianghuai area.
This shows that Wei State has indeed attracted most of the attention of Shu State.
150,000 vs. 60,000 to 70,000, which is still twice as many as the enemy. The advantage lies with Da Wu!
"Da da da…"
A burst of rapid horse hoofbeats interrupted Sun Quan's train of thought. He turned around and saw that Zhuge Ke, who had originally asked Ying to lead the army, was running towards this side with several personal guards.
“Your Majesty, I have something important to report!”
After receiving the permission, Zhuge Ke got off his horse and trotted over:
"Your Majesty, according to reports from spies, there seems to be a reinforcement army coming from Hefei, and at the same time, there seems to be movement in the army of Wei thieves in Shouchun."
This is to be expected.
Now even if the force is smaller than your own, the opponent can still maintain enough composure, and he will not follow suit until you actually land ashore.
“How many people are there in the front army of Wei thieves supporting Hefei? Have you found out?”
"The rebel army is huge, and the scouts are watching the smoke and dust from a distance. It can be said that there are tens of thousands of them."
When facing the Han scouts, the Wei army scouts were at a disadvantage due to the generation difference in equipment.
But facing the Wu army scouts, they had a certain advantage.
After all, Wu did not produce good horses, and there were even fewer sergeants who were proficient in riding skills.
This is also one of the reasons why Wu Jun’s repeated attacks on Hefei were unfavorable.
The reason is the same as when the Wei army faced the Han army.
When two armies meet, the more the scouts are suppressed by their opponents, the less the commander can grasp the situation on the battlefield.
Unable to grasp the mobilization of the opponent's various personnel in a timely manner, in many cases we can only respond passively.
“Well, it seems that Wei people’s reaction is quite quick.”
Sun Quan pondered, with some hesitation on his face.
After leaving Chaohu, the Wu army no longer had any advantage when facing the Wei army.
In the Hefei area, although there are many small lakes, the terrain is flat and open.
Wei thieves can fully utilize the huge advantages of fine cavalry and move around at will.
Even though Sun Quan had as many as 100,000 men, half of them who could actually attack the city might not be able to reach it.
Because the remaining people, in addition to protecting the rear food road, also need to be on guard against the elite cavalry of Wei who appear from all directions at any time and come and go like the wind.
I have to say that Man Chong built the new city of Hefei in a dangerous place far away from Chaohu Lake, which made it at least twice as difficult for Sun Quan to capture Hefei.
Now that he heard that Wei Jun had reacted, what Sun Quan immediately thought of was:
Temporarily slow down the marching speed, and while moving forward slowly, deploy troops along the way to guard against the fine cavalry of the Wei army.
Probably because over the past few years, everything has been going too smoothly during the leveling of the mountains and the destruction of the city, so Zhuge Ke was far bolder than Sun Quan at this time.
He did not notice Sun Quan's hesitation, but said excitedly:
“Your Majesty, according to my opinion, Shouchun learned that your Majesty personally led the army to Hefei, and the thieves must have come to the rescue in full force.”
"I would like to personally lead an elite army and quietly head north. At that time, Shouchun's troops are empty, and they will surely be able to attack them with a single drum!"
“When the time comes, the thieves’ retreat will be cut off, and there will be a large army in front of them. They will be like rats in a cage. Why worry about being destroyed?”
Zhuge Ke has sent many spies to explore the north in the past two years, not just for Hefei.
Otherwise, why would he need to come and report in person if it was just a military situation mobilized by the Wei army?
Sun Quan was shocked by this bold proposal.
Hit Shouchun directly?
He led the army to the north with only one goal: Hefei.
I saw him shaking his head subconsciously:
"No! This is too risky. The Wu people are good at sailing, but the Wei people are good at riding horses. Staying away from Chaohu Lake and heading north alone is the same as feeding into the tiger's mouth."
Zhuge Ke couldn't help but became anxious when he saw Sun Quan's veto, and was about to state his reasons.
Sun Quan raised his whip to stop Zhuge Ke from talking:
"I know that you have a plan, but the time has not come yet, and we will discuss it later."
As long as Hefei is captured, there is no choice but to attack Liu'an in the west, Shouchun in the north, or Guangling in the east. Why take risks now?
Emperor Sun of the State of Wu was still very dedicated to Hefei.
Of course, this veto did not affect Sun Quan’s optimism for Zhuge Ke.
After all, as young people, there is nothing wrong with being more radical.
As long as you cultivate yourself well in the future and experience more things, you will naturally become more stable.
I saw him slowing down his speaking speed again:
"Yuan Xun, I know that you are eager to perform meritorious deeds, but defeating the thieves does not happen overnight. As long as the opportunity comes, you will one day make meritorious deeds."
Seeing that His Majesty said this, Zhuge Ke had no choice but to leave in dismay no matter how unwilling he was.
Looking at Zhuge Ke's back, Sun Quan knew that he was still unwilling to give in, so he couldn't help but frown slightly:
Although Zhuge Yuanxun had great strategies, was his temperament a little too strong-willed?
However, the current situation did not allow Sun Quan to think too much. On the contrary, Zhuge Ke's suggestion gave Sun Quan a hint:
"Right now, we are outnumbered. If a large army rushes to attack Hefei, the thieves may not be able to come to our rescue in time. Why should we fear that they will attack and disturb my way back?"
Thinking of this, he immediately gave up the idea of taking precautions along the way and ordered the entire army to speed up.
Man Chong, who was also heading to Hefei, was extremely anxious after learning the news, but he stopped and summoned all the generals:
"Although there are hundreds of thousands of thieves, the new city of Hefei was built under my personal supervision and is located in a dangerous location. The city is well-defended and well-armed, so the thieves will not be able to attack overnight."
"Now the enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered. If we move our army forward and meet the enemy head-on, we will attack the enemy with a small number and may not have a chance of victory, so we have to find another plan."
Wang Ling had always been at odds with Man Chong, and there was a police presence in Guangling, so he had already separated from Man Chong and led troops to support him.
Man Chong had 40,000 people in his hands. He first gave 3,000 to Tian Yu to go to Hefei in advance, and 5,000 to stay in Shouchun.
Therefore, starting from Shouchun, the maximum number of people could not exceed 32,000.
Over the years, the climate has been erratic, with droughts, floods, and locust plagues occurring alternately without interruption.
Even in winter, it is often warm for one or two years and freezing for three or four years.
Although we are just getting ready to enter winter this year, the chill is already a little bit pressing, and it looks like it will be another cold winter.
During the march, no matter how careful you are, someone will catch wind and cold. If the wind and cold persist, it is easy to become an epidemic.
Therefore, those who suffer from wind and cold must be isolated. Even if there are auxiliary soldiers and civilians, some soldiers must be assigned to take care of them.
Be lenient if you expect the enemy, be lenient if you expect yourself to be lenient.
Man Chong can only calculate the strength according to 30,000 troops now, and no more.
Not only did Man Chong know this, but the generals also knew how many troops they had. When the commander said this, they all nodded.
“Then I wonder if the general has a plan?”
"Since we cannot fight head-on, I also believe that General Tian can hold Hefei. Therefore, we will no longer go to Hefei this time, but divide our troops into two groups."
“I will personally lead the elite cavalry all the way to Xiaoyaojin and harass the thieves’ food routes.”
Speaking of this, Man Chong glanced at everyone and said loudly:
“There is another route, which is hidden around Hefei. One is to respond to the city at any time, and the other is to look for fighter opportunities and wait for attacks.”
“I think Sun’s thieves stayed at Chaokou for more than two months. Now after landing, they suddenly rushed to Hefei. Therefore, the siege mold was either transported from Chaohu or made temporarily under the city.”
“Let’s not talk about the temporary siege equipment made under the city, but if he really transported it from Chaohu..."
Man Chong looked at everyone with bright eyes, "I need a brave general to lead the strong men in the army to rush into the enemy's formation and burn their siege equipment to delay the enemy's attack."
The generals looked at each other, and finally someone stood up and said loudly:
“The general’s hair and beard are all white and he is over seventy years old. He still leads the army into battle himself. How can we dare to retreat in front of the battle?”
Man Chong was overjoyed: "Good!"
Immediately he separated from the generals into two groups, and Man Chong personally led ten thousand fine cavalry and headed towards Xiaoyaojin with great fanfare.
The remaining 20,000 people quietly continued towards Hefei.
Sun Quan, who was not far from Hefei, was shocked when he learned that Man Chong was leading the army and did not come to Hefei, but to Chaohu Lake:
“How dare Man Thief An be so bold? Does he really dare not to save Hefei?”
Sun Quan’s eyes were filled with disbelief.
The thieves in Hefei have few soldiers. If Man Chong really can't come over, are they really not afraid of the city falling?
In his hurry, he blurted out subconsciously:
"No! I must lead the army back, just in case."
Thinking of this hurried journey, Sun Quan couldn't help but regret a little. What if he had chosen to travel slowly and be prepared along the way?
"Your Majesty, the army has been marching in a hurry all the way, and now it suddenly turns back. The officers and soldiers in the army must have doubts. If the army's morale is shaken by then, the big thing will be over!"
Sun Tai, the son of Sun Quan’s fourth brother Sun Kuang, followed him north this time and was responsible for escorting the siege equipment. At this time, he learned that Sun Quan wanted to turn back and quickly dissuaded him:
"If Your Majesty is worried about the safety of the retreat, you can just send more troops back to defend. Why do you need to lead the army back in person?"
"The thieves already have few soldiers. Now that Man Chong has failed to save Hefei, we will take the opportunity to attack the city. Then we will see whether Man Chong will cut off our retreat first or we will capture Hefei first."
When Sun Quan heard this, he couldn't help but hesitate.
He thought for a while and then said:
“Having said that, the Wei thieves’ elite cavalry is indeed our army’s formidable enemy and must be guarded against. How about this, you **** the siege equipment and continue forward, join Zhuge Yuanxun, and attack the city together.”
"I am stationed here. If there is trouble in the rear, I will turn back to rescue them. If there is no worries in the rear, I will go and join forces with you."
Between the two decisive battles, there is no room for hesitation, let alone delay.
Sun Quan was good at politics but not good at military strategy. At this time, he used political and muddy methods between the two formations. It seemed that he was taking care of both ends, but in fact it was difficult to take care of both ends.
Sun Tai wanted to persuade him again, but seeing that Sun Quan was determined and Hefei was in sight, he wanted to send the equipment to the city as soon as possible, so he gave up.
But it was this short journey that caused a disconnect between Sun Tai and Sun Quan who were escorting the siege equipment.
Hefei New Town is surrounded by mountains rising abruptly.
When Sun Tai led his army into the foothills, he looked at the mountains and couldn't help but sigh:
"The Wei thieves chose this place to build a new city. They really had a unique vision!"
At this moment, suddenly war drums were heard rumbling in the valley, flags were erected on the mountains, and at the same time, shouts of killing were heard, and countless Wei troops rushed out of the mountains and forests.
Sun Tai was so frightened that he almost fell off his horse: "When did the thieves set up an ambush here?"
Didn’t Zhuge Ke already arrive at Hefei City?
Where did this Wei bandit ambush come from?
Unless you are prepared in advance, or you are a rare elite soldier in the world, you can quickly form a formation to block the enemy when you encounter an attack while marching.
Not to mention that most of the troops Sun Tai led this time were auxiliary troops to transport attacking equipment.
Now being attacked by the Wei army, chaos suddenly broke out.
“Don’t panic! Someone is coming, send the order, and all the ministries will come closer to me!”
As soon as Xu Yin landed, he saw countless arrows and crossbows flying over.
(End of this chapter)