Chapter 1219: Attack the North and Attack the South
“King, General Wang, I, my lord, I mean, General Zuo Hussar, where are you?”
Seeing that the person in front of him did not answer immediately, but had a complicated expression, Wei Chang suddenly felt that something was not right.
I don’t know why, but my heart sank, and I was also a little panicked.
Although Wei Chang has been with Wei Yan for a long time, his talent is really not that good and can only be said to be average.
It can be said that giving up Gaodu City and withdrawing troops from Gaoping Pass may be the biggest decision he has ever made in his life.
Moreover, he had to be instigated and promoted by Wei Rong before he could make such a move.
But Wei Chang knew that it was impossible to hide the military report he sent there from his master.
He was even prepared to be beaten to death by an adult—leaving only one breath at most.
Wang Han was originally very dissatisfied with Wei Yan.
Because of Wei Yan's impulsiveness, the engineering battalion had to accompany him, lingering on the edge of total annihilation.
It’s just that the somewhat honest and honest little general Wei in front of him saved the people of the engineering battalion in one fell swoop.
Thinking of Wei Yan's last actions again, Wang Han couldn't help but sigh in his heart, and he whispered:
“Little General Wei, Old General Wei asked us to retreat first, and he led the army to seize the rear personally…”
“Sir, will you personally lead the army and seize the rear?”
Wei Chang's expression changed, and he subconsciously raised his eyes to look behind him.
The endless team is retreating towards Gaoping Pass.
It can be seen that the soldiers look a little depressed.
Such a depressing atmosphere has been rare in the Han army in recent years.
“Little General Wei, where are you going?”
Seeing Wei Chang get on his horse again and pull the reins, Wang Han quickly stepped forward to stop him and asked.
Wei Chang looked anxious:
“I’m going to pick up your Excellency.”
"Young General Wei, no!" When Wang Han heard this, he immediately became anxious. "Old General Wei has said that the retreating soldiers will all be under the command of General Wei, and they must guard Gaoping Pass tightly. No mistakes will be made."
“The current task of General Wei is to quickly gather the soldiers and regroup to prevent the bandits from taking advantage of the situation. What will happen if Gaoping Pass is lost?”
“Old General Wei asked me to bring the order talisman and the order sword and hand them over to General Wei so that it would be convenient for General Wei to command the army…”
It's okay if Wang Han didn't say this. When Wei Chang heard this, his heart suddenly sank!
He did not wait for Wang Han to finish speaking, and interrupted Wang Han in an extremely rude manner:
“What? Is this really what you ordered?”
"Of course, how can I dare to speak nonsense about such a major military matter?"
After Wei Chang saw that Wang Han had indeed taken out the command talisman and command sword, he felt that the world was suddenly spinning.
He held on to the reins tightly to prevent himself from falling off the horse.
"grown ups…"
Wei Chang knew Wei Yan very well.
Others don't know it, but Wei Chang knows that he, as an adult, attaches great importance to military power.
Your Excellency must compete with the Central Protector for a very important reason, and that is because you want to dominate one side, lead an army on your own, and prove yourself.
When the Prime Minister went on the Northern Expedition, he incorporated the troops from Hanzhong and also brought you into the Prime Minister's residence.
From now on, you have lost the opportunity to lead an army alone.
Over the years, this matter has almost become an obsession among adults.
Especially the soldiers like Shangdang, who he brought out personally.
Under what circumstances would your Excellency hand over military power?
Wei Chang was in a trance, already feeling very confused.
I then remembered that I had violated your orders and retreated to Gaoping Pass without authorization. This made me have no choice but to withdraw my troops and cut off the rear in person...
Wei Chang could no longer sit still on the horse. He swayed and finally turned over and fell off the horse.
“Little General Wei?”
“Little General Wei!”
Wang Han and others were shocked, and hurriedly stepped forward to help Wei Chang up, shouting anxiously.
Wei Chang's physical fitness is good. After all, he has been practicing his ability to resist hits all year round.
This fall only made him breathless. After being massaged by Wang Han for a few times, he woke up again.
As soon as he woke up, he burst out crying:
"Sir, the child is unfilial. The child has harmed you!"
He cried a few times, probably because he still had not recovered his breath. He coughed a few times, and then he struggled to stand up and get on his horse again.
Wang Han quickly shouted: "Little General Wei? What are you..."
Hearing Wang Han’s shouting, Wei Chang seemed to have remembered something and turned around:
“General Wang, Qin will be in charge of the talisman and the sword for the time being. When we get to Gaoping Pass, gather the retreating soldiers as soon as possible and guard Gaoping Pass..."
Wang Han was startled for a moment, and then became anxious.
No, isn't this what he relayed to Wei Chang?
Why did Wei Chang repeat this to himself?
Looking at the tears on Wei Chang's face, Wang Han knew what he wanted and quickly persuaded him:
"Little General Wei, Old General Wei has asked you to guard Gaoping Pass. He must have thought about it a long time ago."
"If you don't listen to General Wei's orders and spoil General Wei's arrangements, won't it be in vain that General Wei's hard work has been in vain?"
Wei Chang shook his head:
"General Wang, your Excellency was forced to divorce your queen in person because of my willfulness. Now that Your Excellency is in danger, if I just sit back and do nothing, how can I be a son of man?"
He took a deep breath and looked at Wang Han seriously:
"General Wang, I know that you have been with the Central Protector for a long time and have received guidance from the Central Protector. Your ability to lead an army far exceeds mine."
"Therefore, in my opinion, you are a more suitable person to guard Gaoping Pass than me."
After he finished speaking, he bowed deeply to Wang Han:
“General Wang, everything is entrusted to you!”
After saying that, he got on his horse, called his personal guards, and ordered that all members of the Wei family, as well as all the military battalions that the master had trained over the years, be brought with him.
After the men and horses were gathered together, Wei Chang led the two thousand people and headed back towards the eldest son.
Wang Han could not persuade him, so he could only let him go.
As Wei Chang said, he has followed the Central Protector for many years and has naturally learned a lot.
The current situation in Shangdang and the importance of Gao Pingguan's position are self-evident. How could Wang Han not see it?
Coupled with the heavy responsibility of protecting the engineering battalion, there was no reason why he should not accept Wei Chang's request.
The military situation is urgent, and it is hard to say about the eldest son, but the Wei thieves from Gaodu City may arrive very soon.
Since Wei Yan and his son were absent, Wang Han had to take on the important task of guarding Gaoping Pass.
Whether it was intentional or not, Wei Chang took away all of Wei Yan's old subordinates.
It actually saved Wang Han a lot of trouble.
But things have pros and cons.
Wei Yan's cronies are basically elites in the army.
Their departure made the combat effectiveness of the remaining soldiers at Gaoping Pass somewhat worrying.
Wang Han deployed his defenses and sent people to notify Chang'an and Hedong as quickly as possible.
Just as the situation in Bingzhou was changing, the war situation in Jingzhou far to the south also changed.
Lu Xun first asked Zhuge Jin to lead the army to attack Peizhong, and then wrote to Feng Yong, attracting the main force of Jingzhou Governor Guanqiu Jian.
It was only at the end that he unexpectedly led the Wu navy up the Han River, cutting off the connection between Xiangyang and the north of the Han River, making Xiangyang an isolated city south of the Han River.
Although Zhuge Jin was dead, Lu Xun gave in and continued to lead the army, storming Peizhong in the south of Xiangyang.
Xiangyang lost contact with the north of the Han River, and the Wu army broke through the water stronghold outside the city overnight.
In the end, all the troops had to be withdrawn into the city.
There was no way to send reinforcements to support the Wei army in Peizhong.
Lu Xun arrived too quickly, causing the defenders of Xiangyang City to be at a loss at first.
Even the water fortress in the moat can be lost in one night, let alone the ability to cooperate with the Wei army in the middle of the river.
On the other hand, they sent surprise troops to go around to the lower reaches, cross the water where the Wei army could not reach, and then outflank it.
Facing the encirclement of the Wu army, although the Wei army in Zhongzhong resisted tenaciously, they were ultimately outnumbered.
Most of them were killed in battle or captured, and only a very small part escaped back to Xiangyang.
After Bu Zhao captured Peizhong, he continued to lead the army northward and advanced towards Xiangyang.
Xiangyang City is surrounded by water on three sides, and the only land route is to the south.
Now that Peizhong has been lost, Bu Zhao leads the army from the south and begins to form a comprehensive siege of Xiangyang City.
When the news of Bu Zhi's capture of Peizhong reached Lu Xun's ears, even a quiet man like Lu Xun couldn't restrain his ecstasy and couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh:
“Xiangyang is finally going to fall into our hands!”
The reason why Taizhong is the southern barrier of Xiangyang lies in its special geographical location.
This area has a hilly landform and is supported by Yi River and Man River.
It happened to be stuck on the west side of the Jianghan Passage - the main road between Nanjun and Xiangyang.
After Red Cliff, Guan Yu had a little-known battle between Yue Jin and Wenpin of Cao Wei in the north.
The battle took place in the Qingni area.
In the 17th year of Jian'an (212 AD), Cao Cao marched to Ruxukou and attacked Jiangdong. Sun Quan asked Liu Bei for help.
Guan Yu, who was guarding Jingzhou, sent his general Su Fei northward, intending to harass Xiangyang, contain the Wei army in Jingzhou, and prevent the Wei army from Xiangyang and Jiangxia from flowing down the river and flanking Sun Quan.
Unexpectedly, Su Fei was defeated by Le Jin. Guan Yu then personally led his troops to fight Le Jin in Qingni.
Wenpin from Jiangxia also led his troops to attack Guan Yu from a flank.
Guan Yu had no choice but to retreat to Nanjun.
Lejin took the opportunity to attack Linju County and Jingyang County near Jiangling, and won both of them.
The scale of this war was not too big, and it could even be said that it was insignificant to the situation at that time.
Guan Yu did not lose any land, and the actual result obtained by Le Jin, Wenpin and others was that "the barbarians in the valleys of Nanjun were able to advance and surrender."
In other words, the Battle of Qingni made the barbarians in the north of Nanjun completely turn towards Cao Wei.
But it was this insignificant small-scale battle that had a certain impact on the Battle of Xiangfan seven years later.
Because this area in Peizhong is where the barbarians are entrenched.
After the Battle of Qingni, Cao Wei received the support of Jingman and easily controlled Pizhong, a strategic location on the edge of the Jianghan Passage.
If you want to take the Jianghan Passage from Nanjun to the north to attack Xiangyang, you can't go around Taizhong, otherwise your future will be worrying.
In the Battle of Xiangfan, Guan Yu failed to capture Xiangyang in time, except for the lack of troops and the strong city of Xiangyang.
Another important reason is that he failed to completely surround Xiangyang and only used the Han River to surround Xiangyang on three sides.
There are not even enough troops to completely cut off the Han River and cut off the connection between Xiangyang and the north of the Han River.
Not to mention sending troops to capture the southern barrier of Xiangyang in Zhongzhong, thus completely surrounding Xiangyang.
This gives Xiangyang enough room for maneuver.
With the cover of Peizhong, the counties on the Jianghan Passage south of Xiangyang can continuously deliver materials and personnel to Xiangyang.
Coupled with the inability to cut off the connection between the north and south of the Han River, Fancheng could not be attacked for a long time, so Xiangyang City naturally refused to surrender.
Surrounding Xiangyang, which is surrounded by water on three sides, from the water, there is no way to attack the city.
Guan Yu attacked Fancheng but did not take Xiangyang. It was not that he did not want to attack, but that he simply had no way to attack.
This is also the reason why Lu Xun still forcibly gave in and led the army to continue the attack on Peizhong after Zhuge Jin's death.
Learning that the infantry troops were approaching Xiangyang City from the south meant that Lu Xun's arrangement was mostly successful.
He naturally couldn't hide his excitement.
"When the thieves saw that I personally led a large army and cut off the Han River from the north to the south with such rapidity, and also broke through the water fort outside the city with little force, they must have thought that I was going to attack the city from the north!"
Lu Xun slapped his palm on the simple map made of silk, with a slight flush on his face, showing that he was extremely excited at this time.
Even compared to the Battle of Yiling and the Battle of Shiting, his emotions were not so volatile.
After all, although this World War II was a great victory, it was ultimately just a battle to defend territory.
But if Xiangyang can be captured in this battle, then he will be the third person after Zhou Gongjin and Lu Ziming to open up territory for Wu.
Not to mention taking Xiangyang, it is equivalent to breaking the shackles placed on Wu by the Wei thieves, which is of great significance.
Zhu Ran and others were shocked when they heard what the general said:
“What does General Shang mean, are we going to attack Xiangyang from the south?”
"Of course! How difficult it is to attack Xiangyang from the water!"
Lu Xun’s tone was sonorous and forceful:
“We did not cross the Han River from the north to attack Xiangyang, but attacked the north from the south. Why should we abandon the south and go from the north?”
Guan Yu had to capture Fancheng because he had no choice.
Since Fancheng cannot be taken, there is no way to cut off the connection between Xiangyang and the north.
Similarly, if the Northern Army goes south and wants to capture Xiangyang, it must first capture Fancheng to break Xiangfan's power.
"Now that we were caught by surprise, we have completely cut off the Han River. Whether we can take Fancheng or not, it doesn't mean much to us."
Lu Xun pointed at the location of Fancheng:
“Of course, I’m not saying that Fancheng is unimportant, but right now, capturing Xiangyang is the top priority.”
At present, the Wu navy, which has an absolute advantage, controls the Han River and temporarily minimizes the impact of Fancheng on Xiangyang.
But this situation cannot last long.
After taking Xiangyang, we must find a way to take Fancheng again.
Taking advantage of Wu's navy, he traveled between Xiangfan and Xiangfan.
In this way, the Xiangfan Defense Line can be considered completely completed.
Hearing Lu Xun’s plan, Zhu Ran couldn’t help being surprised and happy:
“Since the last few days, the general has been thinking about how to break the city, but he has never had a clue. It turns out that the general has already made preparations!”
Lu Xun looked at Zhu Ran with a smile on his face:
“General Zhu has already guessed it?”
Zhu Ran's breathing became heavier and he lowered his voice subconsciously:
“The general is using himself as bait, but actually he wants to send another general to lead elite troops from the south to attack the city?”
What it means to capture Xiangyang is self-evident.
Zhu Ran can also be regarded as an old man in the army of Wu State.
Before today, he had been thinking about ways to break the city, but found that there was no other way except taking the route of the Battle of Guan Yu and Xiangfan.
Now that he heard the general's words, he suddenly felt as if the clouds were clearing and the sun appeared.
Lu Xun couldn't help laughing loudly. After laughing, he pointed at the south side of Xiangyang City:
“Fan City and Xiangyang City can indeed be at the horns of each other, but that’s for the Northern Army.”
“And for us, it is better to capture Xian Mountain than to attack Fancheng!”
Xian Mountain surrounds Xiangyang and is also the last barrier to the south of Xiangyang City.
According to Xian Mountain, you can overlook the entire city of Xiangyang.
If you attack it from a high position, it will be destroyed.
“Now that the infantry general has captured Peizhong, he can attack Xiangyang from the south at any time. I will stay here to continue to attract the Xiangyang thieves and place heavy troops in the north.”
Lu Xun looked around at everyone with bright eyes:
“In addition, I will pretend to attack Fancheng in the near future, so that the bandits north of the Han River will think that I am trying to imitate Guan Yu’s old deeds and have no time to take care of Xiangyang.”
"I need a general to coordinate with the infantry general and lead elite troops to attack Xian Mountain. Who can go?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Ran couldn't wait to stand up before anyone could speak:
“I will go there in the end!”
“Okay! I also think it belongs to General Zhu.”
Lu Xun solemnly told Zhu Ran:
"General Zhu, whether we can capture Xiangyang depends on whether we can capture Xianshan. The key to this battle lies with the general. I only hope that the general will not disappoint me."
Zhu Ran looked excited and said loudly:
“General, please rest assured and listen to the news from the last general.”
Without further ado, Lu Xun detached some of his elite troops, joined Zhu Ran's troops, took a boat on the Han River, and secretly detoured to Xian Mountain.
Lu Xun, on the other hand, made a big fanfare and announced that he would attack Fancheng.
Just when the Wu and Wei armies were nervously preparing for battle, Lu Xun stood on the bow of the building ship, his eyes were deep, but not at Fancheng, which was within sight.
Rather, northwest, the direction of Wuguandao...
(End of this chapter)