Chapter 906: Playing tricks on each other
The winter of the 10th year of Jianxing was much warmer than the winter of the 9th year of Jianxing.
Not only did the winter snow in Liangzhou arrive later than in previous years, but there were also many fewer icy areas in the Jianghuai area than in previous years.
“General, spies have come to report that there seems to be a large army of Wu captives gathering at Ruxukou.”
In the Governor's Mansion in Shouchun City, a civil servant hurriedly handed the intelligence sent from the front to Man Chong's hand.
Man Chong’s face looked slightly strange at first, then calmed down again, and asked:
“Do you know who is leading the army?”
“I heard that Sun Quan personally led the army.”
When Man Chong heard this, he suddenly smiled strangely:
“Thief Sun has been trying to organize his army to invade the north for the past few years. I thought I would be able to settle down for a year this year, but I didn’t expect that he only took action in the last month of the year.”
In the spring of the third year of Taihe, they wanted to attack Xiyang.
In the winter of the fourth year of Taihe, we wanted to attack Hefei.
In the winter of the fifth year of Taihe, he pretended to surrender.
In the winter of the sixth year of Taihe, I originally thought I could settle down for a year, but I didn’t expect that I would invade the north again in December.
Wu Lu mostly invaded the north in winter and early spring. This was because Wei had fine cavalry and went to war when the weather was cold, and its combat effectiveness would be reduced.
The Wu people are not good at land warfare, so they want to avoid the leader of Wei.
So Man Chong has long been used to Wu Lu taking action in winter.
I saw him commanding:
“Send someone to send the spy information to the governor Wang so that he can be prepared and respond at any time.”
Although they were at odds with Wang Ling, they were both officials in the same court after all, and they also guarded the land of Huainan to guard against Wu captives.
Such a national matter, according to the rules, naturally you still need to be notified.
Wang Ling learned that Sun Quan wanted to personally lead the army to invade the north, and he immediately became furious and said:
“Last year, Thief Sun played a trick on me, causing me to lose face in front of many old men. I was still thinking about how to take revenge, but I didn’t expect that he would show up at my door!”
So he reorganized Yangzhou's troops and troops and stationed in Hefei.
Man Chong continued to recruit soldiers and horses from Yu and Yang states in Shouchun, and at the same time summoned Yanzhou to be ready for support at any time.
Just when the Wei State was intensifying its troops and preparing to attack the Wu people head-on at Chaohu and Hefei.
An army of Wu State quietly set out from Wancheng, Lujiang County, bypassed Chaohu Lake, and quickly rushed towards Lujiang County of Wei State.
The commander of this army was none other than Lu Xun, the general of Wu who guarded Wuchang.
(Note: Lujiang is divided into two parts, one is Lujiang County of Wu State in the south, and Wei State has set up a Lujiang County in the north, located to the west of Hefei, opposite Lujiang County of Wu State.)
Lu Xun's plan to invade the east and attack the west was not only hidden from Wang Ling who was guarding Hefei, but also Man Chong who was recruiting troops and horses in Shouchun was not aware of it.
Just when everyone in the Wei army thought that the Wu State was going to enter Chaohu Lake from Ruxukou and invade Hefei on the edge of Chaohu Lake, as in previous years.
Lu Xun had already led his soldiers and horses and rushed all the way to the gate of Liu'an City, Lujiang County, Wei State.
The defenders of Liu'an City were horrified when they saw the black Wu soldiers under the city. While sending people to Hefei and Shouchun to report the news, they quickly strengthened their defense.
Lu Xun, who was nearly fifty years old, although he had become a great general of a country and had led the army for many years, he still maintained the unique elegance of a scholar.
He found a high ground, looked at the Liu'an City in front of him, and ordered:
“Send people to persuade them to surrender, and at the same time ask the army to cut down trees immediately to use as siege equipment.”
As he spoke, he tightened his thick and long down jacket.
Compared to the riverside, Liu'an City, which is far away from the shore, seems to be colder.
In fact, fur coats are more expensive than down jackets, and they are also warmer than ordinary down jackets.
But the down jacket Lu Xun was wearing was specially custom-made from Shu.
It is so thick and long that it can even be used as a quilt cover at night.
Compared with those fur coats that cannot be thickened, it is much warmer.
Nowadays, most of the aristocratic families in Wu State wear fur coats when walking around the house, but when going out, they always wear thicker and longer down jackets.
For those small families, they choose more ordinary down jackets.
After all, the lining and appearance of down jackets are both made of silk, so compared to fur coats, they don’t lose face.
Arrows were fired from the top of Liu'an City, obviously refusing to persuade them to surrender.
Lu Xun was not worried, because this was expected.
After learning that there was no hope of persuading the troops to surrender, Lu Xun led his men to inspect the camp and urged each battalion to prepare for the attack.
Although the camp is relatively orderly, it is a bit noisy.
Lu Xun sighed and did not make too many requests. He just summoned the generals of each battalion and ordered them to restrain their soldiers.
Everyone in the world says that the Wu people are good at sailing, but not good at land warfare. In addition to historical traditions and the lack of horses in the south, they are not good at land warfare.
There is also the military system currently implemented in the state of Wu, which is also part of the reason.
Except for the Imperial Guards under His Majesty's personal control, the most elite battalions in other armies are those hereditary troops in the hands of generals.
The greatest task of the commander-in-chief of the army is to coordinate the generals so that they can lead the battalions forward together and cannot fight independently.
However, Lu Xun had a distinguished status and had always been highly respected, so under his supervision, the Wu army's camp was quickly built.
On the second day, Wu Jun couldn’t wait to send out his battalion to attack the city.
Although the siege equipment was not ready, this did not prevent Wu Jun from trying to fill in the moat of Lu'an City first.
Although Liu'an City is the county seat of Lujiang County, it is not actually a big city.
But because it was built near the Xiang River, the moat is not only deep but also very wide.
The soldiers carrying earth and rocks began to rush forward. They didn't even have leather armor on them, and some even had ragged clothes.
These are the soldiers at the lowest level, and there are also some dead soldiers.
The Wei army set up antlers on the other side of the moat. The Wei army's crossbowmen behind the antlers began to draw their bows and crossbows after the Wu army entered the shooting range, and arrows flew like rain.
Sergeant Wu breathed in the cold winter breath, then sprayed white mist from his mouth and nose, and kept his head down and just rushed forward.
Arrow feathers fell from the air, some stuck into the ground, and some stuck into the rocks and soil on their backs. Fortunately, Sergeant Wu escaped.
But there were also arrow feathers that penetrated the soldier's body, and the soldier fell to the ground with him. The hot blood flowing out of his body quickly turned cold in this weather.
The blood that had not had time to seep into the ground quickly solidified and became as cold as the body.
What's more, the vital part was not shot, and he fell to the ground wailing. He tried to get up, but was kicked to the ground by his colleagues, and then trampled by his feet.
Then someone kicked the wounded soldier who was moaning, and he also fell down and fell on top of the wounded soldier. The rocks and soil on his back were scattered down, burying the wounded soldier's face...
Lu Xun was standing not far behind, looking at the dense arrow feathers shot by the Wei army in the air in front of him, his face was calm, but there was a trace of gloom in his eyes.
Over the years, the Wu and Wei armies have been fighting in Hefei City.
The Wei thieves continued to reinforce Hefei, and at the same time deployed heavy troops in Hefei. According to Lu Xun's idea, he raided Lu'an City himself, and the Wei thieves were supposed to be unprepared.
Judging from the fact that I arrived at Lu'an City very smoothly, this plan was indeed successful.
But what people also didn’t expect was that the city of Liu’an didn’t look big, but from the reaction of the Wei thieves, it seemed that the city was filled with elite soldiers and strong generals!
Thinking about this, and then seeing the auxiliary soldiers who rushed to fill the moat disintegrating back at an extremely fast speed, the gloom in his eyes became even stronger.
“Come here, please pass the order and tell the army to speed up. Don’t pity the soldiers. The moat must be filled in tomorrow!”
“Also, by the day after tomorrow at the latest, all the ladders must be built and the official siege of the city begins.”
“No!”
The killing cries and screams from ahead still vaguely reached Lu Xun's ears, but he was no longer in the mood to listen.
His eyes looked east.
As long as Liu'an City can be captured, Wu will have a foothold in Jianghuai and can also threaten Hefei's flanks and rear.
No matter how strong the city and walls of Hefei are, the Wei thieves will have no choice but to give up.
Lu Xun thought of this and sent out elite soldiers to be on guard against the Wei thieves coming from the direction of Hefei.
Behind Lu'an City is Shaopo Lake, which was built as a water conservancy project by Sun Shuao, Prime Minister of Chu in the Spring and Autumn Period, to irrigate the surrounding fields.
Shouchun City and Lu'an City are separated by such a large lake. Wei Guo probably never thought that the Wu Kingdom would bypass Chao Lake and attack Lu'an City.
Hence, no navy was deployed at Shaopo Lake.
If Shouchun wants to reinforce Lu'an City, he must either send troops directly from Hefei, or send troops from Shouchun in a large circle around Shapo Lake.
"Lu Xun is indeed a good man with weapons. He caught us by surprise."
Man Chong received the news of the critical situation in Liu'an City. He was shocked and quickly summoned the generals for a meeting.
Looking at the map in front of them, everyone was extremely anxious:
"Former general, Lu'an is a small city and I'm afraid it will be difficult to hold on to it. We will send reinforcements as soon as possible!"
Man Chong’s eyes flickered and he stared at the map, but he didn’t speak immediately.
If Lu'an City falls into Lu Xun's hands, then Wu Lu can enter Shaopo Lake from Lu'an City and invade Shouchun.
This is a complete replica of entering Chaohu from Ruxukou to attack Hefei.
The only difference is that the Yangzhou defense line that the Wei Dynasty had worked so hard for so many years completely fell.
At that time, most of Yangzhou will fall into the hands of Wu Lu.
The door to the Central Plains is now wide open!
"We must rescue, but we cannot send reinforcements directly from Hefei. After all, who knows whether Sun Quan will really lead the army from Ruxukou?"
Man Chong’s face was uncertain. After thinking for a long time, he said slowly:
“The governor Wang is a brave general, so there is no need to worry about letting him guard Hefei to block Sun Quan. Shouchun City has gathered a lot of troops, and it is time to send reinforcements now.”
Speaking of this, Man Chong paused for a long time before continuing:
“And the reinforcements cannot go to Hefei. Since Lu Xun dares to attack Lu’an City, he cannot fail to be on guard against the reinforcements from Hefei.”
When the subordinates heard this, they were even more anxious and puzzled:
“General, if you want to reinforce Liu’an City, the fastest way is to Hefei. If you don’t go there and delay for too long, Liu’an City will be in danger!”
Man Chong is unmoved:
"Although Liu'an is small, its walls are strong and the soldiers in the city are well-trained. As long as the soldiers are united and wait for reinforcements, they can defend it for a long time."
"Although Lu Xun is good at using troops, Wu soldiers are not good at land warfare, let alone attacking cities, so there is no need to worry about Lujiang for the time being!"
As he spoke, his eyes flashed with cold light, "Wu Lu is good for a boat battle. Before, he wanted to lure him into the enemy without coming. But now he comes two hundred miles away from the boat. It's time to destroy him!"
"Immediately send out fast horses and say that I will personally lead the army to rescue, so that the Lujiang soldiers can defend the city with peace of mind."
After urgently rectifying the troops and horses in Shouchun City, Manchong personally led the army westward against the Huai River. Then at the intersection of Jueshui and Huai River, he went south along Jueshui and circled to the west of Lujiang River.
At this time, the offensive and defensive battle in Lu'an City had reached a fever pitch.
The moat has long been filled in, and a layer of corpses has been laid under Lu'an City.
Lu Xun’s initial fears became reality.
Although Liu'an City is small, it is difficult to attack.
Even if all the generals in the army are sent to fight in person, no one can stand firm on the wall.
The closest we got was that we were able to storm the city and then be driven down.
Lu Xun was anxious, but his gaze turned more and more eastward.
As long as there is enough time, Liu'an City can definitely be taken.
But the east side in the direction of Hefei is really too quiet.
It's so quiet that it's a little unnerving.
After all, in terms of days, even if the Wei thieves came from Shouchun for reinforcements, there should have been some movement by this time.
This somewhat abnormal situation made Lu Xun feel a little uneasy.
Remembering that His Majesty was still stationing troops in Ruxukou and had not entered Chao Lake at all, Lu Xun felt a little helpless.
Although it is said that they are luring the enemy, the fighting situation in Liu'an City is so fierce. It would be better if someone can lead the troops into Chaohu Lake, advance into Hefei, and put pressure on the Wei thieves.
While thinking, he loosened his down jacket a little warmly.
Man favors this person, he is quite talented, and he is an old man left by Cao Cao, so he should not be underestimated.
Unusually calm, an opponent that cannot be underestimated, and the sensitivity of a perennial leader, Lu Xun's uneasiness turned into doubt.
“Comer.”
“Come on to the general.”
“Send the order to attack the city today and withdraw the troops in advance.”
“No!”
When the attack on the city was in full swing, it suddenly slowed down, which was a good thing for the defenders, because they could seize the time to repair the city wall and give the tired soldiers some breathing space.
But for the Wu army who was eager to capture Lu'an City, it was like using more lives to fill the gap later.
“General, the thieves in the city seem to be exhausted. Why do they suddenly withdraw their troops?”
“I’m afraid the thieves have some agenda.”
“Could it be that there’s something going on over there in Hefei?”
“It is precisely because there is no movement in Hefei that I am worried.”
“Why worry, general?”
“How can I not worry if there is no trace of Man Chong in Hefei?”
Lu Xun sighed and looked at the scarred but still standing city wall, inexplicably reminded of the Battle of Xiaoguan the year before.
I heard that after Feng Yong led his army out of Xiaoguan, he defeated several cities in a row, and after annexing Anding, he was able to turn around and win with a small number, defeating Cao Zhen.
Over the years, the Shu people have continuously expanded their territory, and now they have opened the gate of Guanzhong and fully invaded the Wei state.
On your Majesty's side, although Shiting won a great victory, he was still pinned down by Hefei in the south of the Yangtze River and could not break through.
As soon as he thought of this, Lu Xun felt depressed and anxious.
How did Feng Yong manage to defeat several cities in a short period of time?
As he was thinking about it, he heard someone tentatively say:
“Is it possible that your Majesty has attracted the Wei thieves in Chaohu and made them afraid to divide their troops?”
Lu Xun twitched the corner of his mouth and glanced at the general who said this.
Others may believe this, but can I not know whether it is true or false?
Ever since His Majesty was forced by Zhang Liao to "walk to the high tombs" and "jump horses to the Jin" in Xiaoyaojin, he actually hates and is a little afraid of Hefei in his heart.
Those whom I hate will not want to go to Hefei every day.
Those who are afraid will not dare to approach the city of Hefei without an army of 100,000.
Now Ruxukou is just to lure the enemy. Where can we get a hundred thousand troops?
That's why Your Majesty has stayed at Ruxukou these days and has not entered Chao Lake.
On the second day, Wu Jun finally arrived and brought Lu Xun the news he wanted most:
"Urgent report! General, there seems to be an army of Wei thieves in Anfeng County to the west!"
Before the spies could explain the information in detail, Lu Xun suddenly woke up:
"No! You are so favored that you want to cut off my future!"
(End of this chapter)