Chapter 126 Talking about Shen Chen, Shen Chen arrives
Under coercion and inducement, Zhu Zhong rebelled.
He was from Runan, and among the prisoners were several of his fellow villagers. They were interrogated separately and were forced to find out his home address.
After arriving at Kunyang City, a knife was pressed against his back. If he was dishonest, he would be killed on the spot. Then he would send people to his house to crush the bones of his family members and spread the ashes.
Although it is impossible for Shen Chen to really be as immoral as Cao Cao and do such a thing as giving birth to a child without causing inflammation of the skin.
But the problem is that Zhu Zhong has been following Cao Cao for a long time. Zhu Zhong knows all the immoral things he has done. Cao Cao is completely capable of doing such things that harm his family. Didn't he annihilate the Dong Cheng clan this year?
So Zhu Zhong felt that since Cao Cao could do such a thing, then others must be able to do it too. Out of fear, he could only do it according to Shen Chen's request.
So, almost as soon as the "Cao Army" entered the city, the situation changed dramatically.
"Kill!"
They suddenly turned against each other, attacked the surrounding Cao troops, and seized the city gate.
At the same time, a large number of Shen Chen's troops were heading towards Kunyang from a place beyond the end of the road that could not be seen in the distance outside the city.
The sound of the horn "woo woo woo" resounded throughout the sky.
Cao Hong and Liu Dai were shocked. They never expected that this team was actually Shen Chenjun in disguise.
In fact, Cao Hong had been very careful. He knew Zhu Zhong and had observed the situation of the "Cao army" that came.
All of them were exhausted and sweating profusely. It seemed that they had indeed come from afar, and what they said was consistent with the information they already knew.
Therefore, he never doubted the other party's true identity from the beginning and relaxed his vigilance to let them enter the city.
But I still didn't expect this to be the enemy.
After all, Cao Hong would never have imagined that Xia Houyuan had been defeated and Zhu Zhong was captured.
Now it is too late to regret closing the city gate.
At this moment, there were loud shouts of killing in the north and south of the city, because when Cao Jun was deployed, the main force was in Ye County.
There are 5,000 troops in Ye County, which serve as the mainstay, and the combined troops of Kunyang and Wuyang only have 3,000 or 4,000 troops. They are in reserve, so they do not have many troops.
Cao Hong defeated his troops and added more than a thousand Kunyang defenders. The city was full of more than 3,000 but less than 4,000. He also had to defend four city gates and had to take turns to rest, resulting in only a few hundred troops at each gate.
Even if Cao Hong and Liu Dai personally led the troops to fight fiercely, the two sides only fought fiercely around the city gate. It was too late to mobilize troops from the city.
Soon, the battle only lasted less than half an hour. After paying the price of hundreds of lives, Cao Hong could no longer support it, because Shen Chen's main force had arrived within twenty minutes, and there was a steady stream of them. The enemy troops entered the city.
Moreover, Gan Ning also received the news from Shen Chen and quickly sent troops and horses to cooperate. The entire north gate of Kunyang was completely occupied, and the south gate was also violently attacked. For a time, the defenders in the city were panicked and collapsed.
Although this is the ancient battlefield of the Battle of Kunyang, Cao Hong does not have the luck of being a destined son like Liu Xiu, and there will be no meteors to help him.
So after about another half hour, Cao Hong fought and retreated. He led the remaining army and was forced to flee to the east gate. After barely fighting his way out of the east gate, he ran all the way to the east toward Wuyang.
Shen Chen and Gan Ning joined forces, leaving 500 men and horses to guard Kunyang and the prisoners in the city, while the rest pursued them one after another.
Wuyang itself had two thousand defenders. Cao Hong never expected that there would be so many soldiers and horses outside Wuyang City. As a result, under attack from both sides, Cao Hong had no time to escape into Wuyang City and was defeated.
Kunyang guard Liu Dai sacrificed his life to cover Cao Hong, but was beheaded by Gan Ning. For a time, Cao Jun at the gate of Nanyang, except for Wang Zhong, who could only watch on Wuyang City and did not dare to go out to help, was almost killed. Shen Chen killed them all.
There are not many soldiers and horses in Wuyang City, only one or two thousand people. Once the battlefield is cleared, Wuyang is attacked and Wang Zhong is captured sooner or later.
The only thing that made Shen Chen regretful was that he didn't kill or capture Cao Hong.
But this is normal.
After all, Cao Hong has a weak first-class force value, and is ranked among the top five in Soochow. It is easy for a general of this level to break out of a tight siege under the protection of his personal guards.
Especially when Liu Dai has cut off the rear, even if Cao Hong is not killed or captured, it is enough to achieve the strategic goal.
"Uncle Xingba, how are you?"
On a hillside outside Wuyang City, Shen Chen was riding on horseback. Gan Ning was galloping back from a distance. Seeing that his hands were empty, he knew that pursuing Cao Hong would be fruitless.
Gan Ning said regretfully: "It's a pity. We were almost catching up, but Liu Dai was delayed a little bit after he died. I was afraid that you would need me to attack the city, so I didn't catch up again."
Shen Chen said: "It doesn't matter. Even if Cao Hong's head cannot be used to spread the message to the north, Liu Dai and Wang Zhong's head can be used."
He turned around and looked at the small city not far away.
If Yexian is a city located in the canyon at the entrance to Nanyang, then Kunyang and Wuyang are two cities above and below the exit of Nanyang.
Kunyang is in the north, nestled against Diaoya Mountain, and is probably located in the Xiali Township southwest of Ye County, Pingdingshan City, Henan Province.
The location of Wuyang is in Xindian Town, Ye County in later generations. The two places are about 20 kilometers apart, and they just block the Nanyang exit on the left and right.
To a certain extent, the historical Battle of Kunyang was a battle to defend Nanyang.
The only difference from Shen Chen now is that Shen Chen occupies Kunyang and other places and can go north to Yingchuan at any time, so Cao Cao can't worry about him.
Wang Mang realized that the Green Forest Army was a greater threat, so he sent a large army south, but was blocked in Kunyang.
Therefore, the strategic significance of Kunyang, Wuyang, and Yexian is self-evident.
Whoever can seize these three county towns will basically control the main transportation routes from Nanyang southward to Jingzhou.
At that moment, Shen Chen ordered the army to surround Wuyang and rest for a day before launching a formal attack tomorrow.
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And just when Shen Chen was looking around in the Kunyang area of Xiangcheng, Xu Du also received news that Xia Houyuan was ambushed.
Only then did Xun Yu realize that Shen Chen's real intention was not Xu Du at all, because if his target was Xu Du, he would not let Xia Houyuan go and go straight to Xu Du after annihilating him.
So at this time, he had realized that something was likely to happen in Wuyang, Ye County, Kunyang and other places. For this reason, he could only contact Man Chong Li Tong and immediately send people north to report to Cao Cao.
Two days later, Shen Chen broke through Wuyang and killed Wang Zhong. From then on, he controlled the three counties of Nanyang. Based on this, he entered Xiangcheng and threatened Xudu.
At the same time, Cao Cao, who was still in the Yanjin and Baima area, had just completed the execution of Yan Liang and Wen Chou and was now evacuating towards Guandu.
Cao Cao knew very well that these were just Yuan Shao's vanguard troops, and the scale of troops Yuan Shao used in this battle was unprecedented.
There are so many things that need to be coordinated for such a huge force, including food and grass, materials, personnel deployment, weapons and equipment, and siege equipment. The time spent may even be calculated in years.
From last year to this year, Yuan Shao had made sufficient preparations secretly, but he had never found any suitable excuse. Although he sent a letter to criticize Cao, it was not convincing enough. Therefore, it could only be regarded as an undercurrent, and there was no real reason.
of war.
It was not until the Yidaizhao incident broke out this year that Yuan Shao finally found an opportunity and used this as an excuse to immediately send troops to Yanzhou. Although Cao Cao resisted with difficulty, beheaded Yan Liang and Wen Chou, and fought and retreated, he could only passively defend in the end.
Therefore, for him, the most important thing now is to stabilize the Guandu defense line. In addition to the approximately 30,000 people on the front line, troops must also be deployed in Kaifeng, Chenliu, Weishi and other counties in the rear along the way.
Guandu is located in Zhongmu County in later generations, which is directly north of Xudu. The most important reason why we chose to defend here is the terrain here.
This place has the intersection of several rivers such as Honggou Water, Seigou Water, Langlangqu, and Bian River. The area around the Guandu River is silted up, making it unsuitable for cavalry and large-scale legion operations, so placing the decisive battle site here is the best choice.
What's more important is that there are several cities and rivers to the south of Guandu to protect it. Although it is a smooth road, there are many obstacles. Even if Yuan Shao divides his troops and goes south, there are not enough people to see. There are too many people to replenish food and supplies along the way. Cao's army in Guandu is also behind.
The risk of food shortage cannot be avoided at all.
When Cao Cao returned to Guandu, he immediately inspected various military camps and defense facilities.
The south bank of the Guandu River is like a large construction site at this time, with tents stretching for miles, countless trenches, watchtowers, earthen hills and other defense fortifications, and various camps in a row.
On a hill to the west of the south bank of Guandu, Cao Cao was surrounded by Xu Chu, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Guan Yu, Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, Xun You, Mao Jie, Dong Zhao and others.
These people accompanied him around to inspect various camps, constantly making suggestions and modifications, making these camps more solid.
Cao Cao overlooked the entire construction site, noticed the layout not far away, pointed to a corner of a certain camp, and said to Xu Chu beside him: "Send someone to build an archery tower over there."
"only."
Xu Chu obeyed the order and left.
Guo Jia said: "Ming Gong's camp is extremely strong. I'm afraid Yuan Shao will only hit his head and bleed in Guandu when he goes south."
Cao Cao nodded, and then said: "I am no longer worried about Yuan Shao. The only thing I am worried about is the rear. Xudu is too empty now. I'm afraid if Liu Biao and Sun Ce go north."
Guo Jia smiled and said: "Ming Gong, there is no need to worry. Liu Biao is still pacifying Jingnan. From what I see, Sun Ce will die at the hands of a common man."
"oh?"
Cao Cao was surprised and said: "What is the explanation for this?"
Guo Jia said: "Sun Cexin invaded Jiangdong, and all he killed were heroes and heroes, who could kill people. However, his strategy was light and unprepared. Although there were millions of people, it was no different than walking alone in the Central Plains. If the assassins ambush,
One person is the enemy of one ear."
"Is that so?"
Cao Cao stroked his beard and touched his chin. He couldn't believe Guo Jia's words, so he nodded noncommittally: "I hope so."
Guo Jia added: "But Mr. Ming still has to be careful about another person."
"who?"
"Chen Chen."
"he?"
Cao Cao laughed and said, "Last time, this guy just relied on me not being prepared for Zhang Xiu, and he was defeated by Zhang Xiu. If we were to fight head-on, wouldn't Zi Lian be able to defeat a yellow-mouthed kid?"
Guo Jia said: "Now Zhang Xiu's counselor Jia Xu has come to the court and said that he has urged Zhang Xiu not to send troops. However, I am afraid that Shen Chen will interfere with it. If Zhang Xiu goes back on his word and joins his troops, I am afraid that General Li Feng will All the troops there are weak."
"Well"
Cao Cao thought about it, nodded and said: "I will ask Cai Yang to support Cao Hong then, so that I can be prepared."
"So much the better."
Guo Jia responded.
At this moment, a messenger cavalry suddenly came from the foot of Tushan Mountain, anxiously saying: "Report!"
"What's the matter?"
Cao Cao turned around and saw that the messenger had come up.
"Nanyang Shenchen led ten thousand troops to the north and pretended to attack Xudu. Xun Lingjun was afraid that Kunyang and other places in Ye County had been lost!"