A.D. 228, April 3.
Yellow River Ferry.
Cao Rui's face was ashen.
There were dozens of people standing in the big tent, all of whom were generals who followed Cao Rui's troops into Guanzhong.
"Everyone," Cao Rui said suddenly: "Lu Xun of Eastern Wu led an army of 50,000 troops and has already arrived in Jiangxia. Sun Quan himself led an army of 100,000 troops to Hefei."
Cao Rui has received news that Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu Dynasty took advantage of the Wei army's large-scale invasion of Guanzhong and divided his troops into two groups to invade the territory.
This is not a good thing.
Although the strength of the Wei Dynasty was greater than that of Wu and Shu, it could not withstand the enemy on both sides.
"Your Majesty!"
The minister ordered Chen Qun to report: "Sun Quan led his troops to invade the country again this time. Although he divided his troops into two groups, the old minister thought that Sun Quan's ambition was in Hefei."
This was not the first time that Sun Quan invaded Hefei. He had already invaded Hefei three times before, but all ended in failure.
After three consecutive attacks on Hefei without success, Sun Quan took advantage of the Wei-Shu Pass to engage in a fierce battle and led a large army to Hefei.
Chen Qun could naturally guess Sun Quan's purpose. Sun Quan was guarding the south of the Yangtze River. If he wanted to advance north, Hefei was the place he had to capture, because Hefei was the chokepoint for land and water transportation between the north and the south.
Soochow is famous for its navy, so if Soochow wants to go north, water routes must be the first choice.
"We, the Wei Dynasty, only need to defend Hefei with heavy troops. The Wu army is not good at land warfare. If Hefei cannot be defeated for a long time, the Wu army will retreat."
Chen Qun was not overly worried about Sun Quan's large-scale attack on Hefei. He still had some understanding of Soochow's combat power.
After hearing this, Cao Rui thought about it and did not completely agree with Chen Qun's proposition, so he said: "Today is different from the past. At this time, our great Wei Dynasty is fighting a fierce battle with the Shu army. Sun Quan's soldiers are attacking in two groups. I think his purpose may not be the same." It's just Hefei. If Jiangxia suffers a loss, the Wei Dynasty will be in danger on the front line of Jingxiang."
More than a year ago, after Cao Pi died of illness and Cao Rui ascended the throne, Sun Quan raised troops to attack Jiangxia. Although the main force of Soochow was in Hefei this time, Jiangxia had no choice but to do so.
"Pass the decree!" Cao Rui said solemnly: "Order the Grand Sima Cao Xiu to quickly lead 80,000 troops and station in Hefei to resist Sun Quan. Order Sima Yi..."
As soon as he said Sima Yi, Cao Rui's face became a little ugly. Previously, he had strictly ordered Sima Yi to lead 30,000 troops into Wuguan, but in the end, this guy led 30,000 troops to fight with Meng Da in Shangyong. To this day, he still still In Shangyong City.
Although Sima Yi also sent people to tell him how powerful he was, the Wei army was defeated in Tongguan and Pubanjin, so Cao Rui naturally complained about Sima Yi.
"Order Sima Yi," Cao Rui said: "Shangyong can leave some troops to block Mengda and prevent him from having the opportunity to attack Wanluo. Let Sima Yi immediately lead troops to reinforce Jiangxia to resist Lu Xun."
Compared with the three counties of Shangyong, Cao Rui is more concerned about the safety of Hefei and Jiangxia. After all, Meng Da's threat cannot be compared with Sun Quan.
After arranging the southern front, Cao Rui still didn't feel at ease. Instead, he was worried. The Central Plains had been cut off from Guanzhong for more than 20 days, and not a single soldier of the 100,000 additional troops had entered Guanzhong.
Sima Yi stopped talking and took no further step towards Wuguan. As for Tongguan and Pubanjin, although the two Wei armies attacked for days, they could not move forward.
A few days ago, Zhang He informed that Shu Han Prime Minister Zhuge Liang had led the main force to Tongguan. If he continued to attack Tongguan, there would be no chance of victory, and Wei might lose troops and generals.
After learning the news, Cao Rui immediately ordered Zhang He to leave a small number of troops to contain Zhuge Liang in Tongguan, and quickly led his army to Pubanjin to fight with him.
Because on the 27th, Shu general Gao Xiang led 5,000 Han troops to Pubanjin. The Shu army strength in Pubanjin was close to 10,000 people. He had 20,000 troops and horses, and after several days of forcibly crossing the river, he had lost thousands of troops. The Shu army has now sent additional reinforcements and continues to attack, which will inevitably make it more difficult to cross the Yellow River.
Since it is known that the main force of the Shu army is in Tongguan, there is no need to waste time in Tongguan. It is better to join forces and forcefully cross Pubanjin.
Zhang He then left 5,000 soldiers and horses to contain Zhuge Liang at Tongguan, while he personally led nearly 30,000 main troops, crossed Fenglingdu and arrived at Pubanjin late yesterday night.
"Now our army is fighting on two fronts," Cao Rui said loudly: "If it takes a long time, it will be detrimental to our Wei Dynasty. Please convey my will and forcefully cross Pubanjin."
"No!"
The generals agreed, while Cao Rui looked towards the Yellow River outside the tent with burning eyes.
This battle——I must cross the Yellow River.
The afternoon of April 3rd.
Thousands of large and small rafts headed straight from the east bank of the Yellow River to the west bank. In this battle, Cao Wei had dispatched all his main forces and vowed to capture Pubanjin in one fell swoop.
Cao Rui stood on the bow of the Chinese army ship, looking at the "Han" flag on the tower of Puban Jinguan not far away, and secretly made up his mind to break this pass today.
After all, the Wei Dynasty dispatched 40,000 elite troops in this battle, while the Shu army only had nearly 10,000 defenders in Pubanjin. Although Pubanjin was naturally dangerous, he also believed that if he personally boarded the ship, the soldiers would definitely sacrifice their lives, and he would definitely be able to conquer it. Off.
There were thousands of large and small rafts. The front army had reached the middle of the river, but the rear army had just left the shore. On top of the Puban Jinguan Tower, the Han army also came out in full force.
"Cao Rui must be in a hurry!"
"Hahaha!"
Gao Xiang looked at the thousands of rafts in the river and laughed loudly: "Brother Guo Xian, you and I have to do our best in this battle."
"What my brother said is absolutely true," Guo Wei said with a humble salute to Gao Xiang: "In this battle, my foolish brother must obey my brother's orders and fight against the Wei army."
"Okay!"
Gao Xiang was very satisfied. He was not familiar with Guo Wei before, and he only got to know him when he came to Pubanjin. Although this boy is young, only in his twenties, he is very calm.
With 3,000 new troops, they managed to hold off Cao Rui's 20,000 elite troops. The Han Dynasty has a rising star, and it seems that the sky will never stop the Han Dynasty.
But in today's battle, the two of them will face a cruel test. After all, the Wei army has added 30,000 reinforcements. If the 8,000 Han army wants to stop the 40,000 elite Cao and Wei troops, it will not be possible to do so with courage alone.
"Get ready!"
Seeing that Cao Wei's raft had crossed the river, Gao Xiang raised his hands high and dozens of trebuchets mounted on the tower were immediately ready.
In addition to dozens of trebuchets, the archers had their bowstrings fully drawn, waiting for the Wei army to enter their firing range at any time.
The front of the Wei army crossed the river and accelerated its march. However, there was a warship that had just arrived in the river. It was also Cao Wei's only warship today. The others were all rafts, because all the ships collected nearby had been destroyed by the Shu army. Set fire to it.
Cao Rui stood on the bow of the warship. The warship came to the center of the Yellow River and stopped.
Cao Rui's personal visit to the battlefield was originally to inspire the soldiers of the three armies, but when he actually arrived on the battlefield, his subordinate generals would also consider his safety as the emperor and would not let him get too close.
Therefore, stopping at the center of the Yellow River not only allows the Wei army soldiers to see the emperor's presence on the battlefield, but also can scare the Shu army on the other side, but it is not within the range of long-range attacks such as the Shu army's trebuchets.
"Launch!"
Gao Xiang shouted loudly, and the stone trebuchet at the top of the city took the lead in attacking. Stone bullets roared out one after another, heading towards the Wei army's boats and rafts on the river bank.
Bang!
Bang bang!
The stone bullets attacked indiscriminately, and the Wei soldiers speeded up in panic while avoiding the stone bullets.
……
……
This chapter has been completed!