Chapter 140 Stabilize the morale of the army and attack Yingyin
In early autumn, the climate in Henan is still hot.
It was already the middle of the Eastern Jin Dynasty when Huan Wen went on the Northern Expedition, and the Little Ice Age from the end of the Han Dynasty to the end of the Western Jin Dynasty had almost ended.
Therefore, the Ru River and Ying River in Henan were very abundant at that time, and the Huaihe River could be used for the Northern Expedition.
But at this time, it was at the peak of the Little Glacier, and natural disasters continued. There was a severe drought in the Huainan area two years ago, which led to the fall of Yuan Shu, and the Runan area was not much different.
There was a large amount of farmland along the Ru River and Ying River. At that time, people basically lived near the rivers. Residents needed a lot of river water for drinking and irrigation, which caused the flow of Ru River and Ying River to drop sharply.
In the wilderness near rivers such as Yingchuan River in non-Runan, such as the large area between two rivers, it is almost a wilderness. Even though there is countless land that can be cultivated, no one has cultivated it.
Therefore, after Shen Chen led his troops and separated from Liu Bei, they walked along the dozens of square kilometers of land between Ru River and Ying River, heading towards the north.
There is almost no human habitation for hundreds of miles along the way. The water flow of several rivers in Yingchuan has been greatly reduced, let alone the tributaries of the canals.
The most important thing is that since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, decades of war have almost destroyed the entire land of Henan. Coupled with droughts and famines, the people are eating each other up. The prosperous land that used to be densely populated and with roads extending in all directions has long since disappeared. .
The once long stretches of streets and neat roads have been replaced by overgrown woods and overgrown weeds. Most of the villages have turned into ruins, and the howls of wild dogs, jackals and tigers can be heard throughout the wilderness.
Occasionally, you can see a lonely figure walking in the wilderness. If you see an army from a distance, it will hide in the mountains like frightened rabbits without a trace.
Most of the time, they can only see abandoned villages around the overgrown post roads, dry canals, bones everywhere, farmland that has been turned into wasteland by no one, and the lonely mound tombs in the wilderness. .
The whole world seems to have become a deserted place.
However, this phenomenon will improve as we get closer to Xudu.
Because Shen Chen knew that Cao Cao was farming on a large scale around Xudu, with tens of thousands of households just farming, so the closer he got, the easier it was to be exposed.
On July 10th, the army passed Xiangcheng and headed north to Yingyang. The surrounding area was Cao Cao's farming area, which was less than 40 kilometers away from Xudu. It almost passed Yingyin and reached the city of Xudu.
For this reason, Shen Chen's army slept in the open air, marching in the wild during the day and sleeping in a leeward place at night, often with tigers and wolves, and in mounds and graves.
At that time, the land of China was far from being dominated by humans. Humans lived along the rivers, and in the wider wilderness, tigers, wolves, and wild boars were everywhere. When they got up in the middle of the night, you could even vaguely see the green eyes in the forest.
Therefore, marching like this not only tests the soldiers' endurance, but also their willpower.
Huangmenting's original 1,900 soldiers could still keep walking at such a high intensity, but Gan Ning's 2,100 soldiers were a little less interesting and could not keep up with the speed of Shen Chen's army.
In the afternoon of July 11th, the army passed Yingyang and reached Yingyin in more than ten miles.
In later generations, this area was the Yanluo Expressway west of Xuchang City. It was a wilderness. Their location was obscured by a dense forest, and the road ahead was covered with weeds. It required constant exploration to find the direction.
Because it was close to Yingyin, Shen Chen went a mile ahead to check the situation. At the same time, the soldiers also walked all morning and just took a rest.
After the army stopped, the soldiers in Huangmenting silently worked in small groups to find suitable resting spots, and at the same time took out dry food and water.
Gan Ning's army was a little more scattered. Everyone seemed to be relieved, sighing and finding a piece of grass to lie down.
In fact, after arriving in Ye County, everyone had the same food and grass.
During the raid, I always brought twenty days' worth of dry food, two days' worth of water, some wheat cakes, pickles and dried meat. Although it wasn't much, the food was much better than before, at least I had some meat to eat.
It's just that Ganning's army has not been reorganized and still has some of the backward habits of the old warlords.
Those middle and lower-level officers beat and scolded the lower-level soldiers and exploited their dried meat, which made the internal situation of Ganning Army not very good.
Even Gan Ning himself saw that all of his soldiers were lazy and just found a place to lie down after walking for a day. They were not as well-trained as Shen Chen's army, which made him feel very embarrassed, so he beat the soldiers.
Shen Chen was standing on a hillside and looking into the distance. This was a wilderness. In the distance, he could faintly see a looming city on the horizon.
There are a lot of fields outside the city, and the villages are connected in a line. It is obvious that this is where Cao Cao is stationed, and there may be enemies ahead, so he turns his horse and returns to the station, preparing to call a few clever scouts to go over on foot to have a look. , unexpectedly heard a wailing sound coming from behind.
"What's going on?"
After he sent a few scouts forward to explore, he walked over and took a look. He saw that in the wasteland covered with weeds on both sides of the rear post road, his Huangmen Pavilion soldiers all found their seats and sat down in an orderly manner. During the rest, Gan Ning's army was in disarray, and now it was chaos.
Shen Chen saw Gan Ning whipping a soldier with a riding crop. He was embarrassed because the soldier fell to the back of the team during the march, four or five miles behind Shen Chen's army.
The soldier was thin, probably only eighteen or nineteen years old. His face was covered in blood after being beaten, and he begged bitterly.
The soldiers around him seemed to have not seen any of them. Gan Ning had a bad temper and was very murderous. No one could persuade him when he was angry. Therefore, even if some people felt that the soldiers were pitiful, they did not dare to persuade him.
"stop!"
Shen Chen immediately stepped forward to stop him.
Gan Ning had already taken off his armor and was wearing a linen jacket. His muscles were bulging. His temper was rising and no one could hold him back.
However, Shen Chen firmly grabbed the tendon on his shoulder and used a little force. Gan Ning turned around and glared. He was about to get angry, but when he saw that it was Shen Chen, he lowered the riding whip he raised and said to him angrily: "Ah Chen , This guy is lazy, if I don’t punish him, where will his military discipline be?”
When Shen Chen saw that the shoes on the soldier's feet were torn and his bloody toes were exposed, Shen Chen crouched down, took off his linen clothes, wiped the blood on the soldier, and then took off his cloth shoes, which smelled of a fishy smell. The smell hits.
It turned out that his long-distance travel in the past few days had caused his feet to become swollen and inflamed. If he did not recover properly, his feet would probably become necrotic.
At that moment, Shen Chen said seriously: "Uncle Xingba, you see, it's not that the soldier is lazy, but that he has a foot disease. The soldiers followed you and fought with their lives, but you didn't show sympathy to them. You came up and beat them if you disagreed. Regardless of the reason, wouldn’t it chill the hearts of the soldiers?”
Gan Ning was a little embarrassed when he saw this, so he could only say, "I don't know about this."
Shen Chen stood up and looked around. Many officers and soldiers of Ganning Army, including Shen Mi, were looking at him, so he said: "Uncle Xingba led the troops by himself before, so I couldn't interfere too much. Now I am the Zhonglang General, I would like to ask Uncle Xingba if I can lead your team?"
Gan Ning and Shen Chen were not actually subordinate to each other at first. Gan Ning was a military commander under Liu Biao. At that time, he made a bet with Shen Chen. If things went as Shen Chen expected and civil strife broke out in Nanyang, he would listen to Shen Chen in the future. Morning arrangements.
But at least in name, the two of them have no direct subordinate relationship. Shen Chen's words can only be suggestions, not orders. Now that we are about to arrive in Xudu and usher in a big war, how can our military morale be unstable because of some things?
Therefore, he had to find a reason to completely control Gan Ning's team.
Gan Ning's face looked a little unhappy. Although he had always listened to Shen Chen's words, now Shen Chen seemed to be directly asking for military power, which made him feel uncomfortable.
But no matter from which point of view, he couldn't refute it. Just like when they made a bet before, Shen Chen won. And now Shen Chen was appointed as Zhonglang General by Liu Biao, and Gan Ning was also the captain under him, obeying Shen Chen The order is legal and reasonable.
So he had to say: "This is natural."
Shen Chen nodded, and then said loudly: "Since I am a general, then follow my orders. People with foot diseases are now reported to me. I will make new arrangements for how many people there are."
He did not immediately issue any military orders not to beat or scold the soldiers, but he wanted to gather those with foot problems first.
The reason for this is that the officer class of Huangmenting soldiers is based on his relatives. These officers were originally composed of the clan guards who went south from Xuzhou, and there were many relatives of the Deng and Shen clans.
Shen Chen strictly ordered them not to beat or scold the soldiers, and to abide by the three major precautions and the eight major disciplines. If they violated the rules, they would be expelled from the clan soldiers.
You must know that the status of Huangmenting's clan soldiers is very high, and Shen Chen gave them high honors. Therefore, for these people, once they are eliminated, it will be more uncomfortable than killing them.
In addition, newly recruited soldiers who perform well have a great chance of promotion, which will squeeze their living space and make the clan soldiers dare not make any mistakes. This way there is no chance of humiliating, bullying, beating, scolding, or exploiting the lower-level soldiers. The bad habits of warlords in the old era.
The Ganning Army is different. The tradition of a hierarchical army has continued since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Everyone is like this. The top generals do not regard the soldiers at the bottom as human beings, and gradually it has become a habit.
Therefore, it is almost impossible to change things in a short period of time. Just like the servants of the family, Shen Chen can only improve temporarily, but cannot change immediately.
He needs to seize power in the future or have great capabilities before he can carry out reforms. Now he can only boil a frog in warm water and do a good job for himself first, and then seize the military power of people like Gan Ning to improve their army. structure.
Soon people with foot problems were reported to him, including more than 40 soldiers from Huangmenting and more than 200 soldiers from the Ganning Army. Shen Chen then sent more than 200 people, plus these people with foot problems. The sick soldiers, a total of 500 people, returned to Yingyang, occupied the city, and looked for doctors for treatment.
The rest stayed and continued to prepare to attack Xudu.
After resting for about two-quarters of an hour, several figures suddenly emerged from the sparse forest ahead. The scouts sent out for reconnaissance returned and reported to Shen Chen: "General, seven or eight miles ahead is Yingyin City. There are a lot of farms outside the city."
"Is there anyone watching?"
"Yes, there are many Cao troops inside and outside the city."
"I know, it seems they are Cao Cao's field soldiers."
Shen Chen pondered deeply.
Historically, Cao Cao farmed near Xudu, taking advantage of the convenience of the upper reaches of Yingshui River and Tongshui River to irrigate the soil, including the surrounding Yingyin, Yanling and other places, where he farmed.
Shen Chen didn't know about these things before, but later he sent people to lurk in Xudu and found out a lot of information.
When he first arrived at Xudu, he attacked from the southwest of Xudu. He only reached the Linying area and did not go around Xudu.
Now it is only about twenty kilometers away from Xudu. It is so close that the soldiers stationed in the fields are exposed to his front.
The leader of these field troops is called Ren Jun, a Diannong Zhonglang general appointed by Cao Cao. The reason why he was not in Xudu last time was because he went north to transport grain to Cao Cao.
Historically, Cao Cao was very short of food, but it was not because his food stocks were insufficient, but because his rear food roads were destroyed by Yuan Shao.
It was Ren Jun who personally led the field troops to escort the grain road and resisted Yuan Shao's grain-robbing cavalry, and then reluctantly helped Cao Cao overcome the difficulties.
It is now July. After the harvest of new grain from the fields in May, it has been sent to Guandu one after another. After June, the planting of corn will start again.
So Ren Jun returned to Xudu and urged farmers to start production.
Now there are tens of thousands of households in the areas around Yingyin, Xudu, and Yanling. Ren Jun has thousands of soldiers in the field. Their combat effectiveness may not be as good as the elite Cao army, but they should not be underestimated.
Gan Ning's hands were itching unbearably, so he came forward and asked: "Ah Chen, just kill him."
Shen Chen shook his head and said: "No, charge forward, they will inevitably retreat into the city. We do not have the ability to attack the city. If we cross Yingyang and reach Xudu, we will definitely be attacked from both sides."
"What should we do?"
Gan Ning asked.
Shen Chen thought for a moment and said: "Cao Cao is short of food in Guandu. If we destroy his millet fields, the enemy will definitely come out of the city to fight, and we will be able to defeat him."
Gan Ning opened his eyes wide, then gave a thumbs up and said, "Good idea."
The two men agreed that Gan Ning would lead 500 men to attack Yingyin first. If the Diannong army outside the city fought with them, Shen Chen would lead the men and horses to fight out. If they did not fight, they would immediately destroy the farmland and force them to come out.
The reason for this decision is that Ren Jun's Diannong army is currently scattered, spread around Yingyin, Xudu, and Yanling.
If they just ignore them and go to Xudu, then when Xudu's guard force defends them, they will be attacked from both front and back. Therefore, they must capture Yingyin and have a way out.
At this time, the Diannong army around Yingyin visually estimated that there were only one or two hundred people in the west of the city. Counting the troops in the city and in the east of the city, that is, on the east bank of Yingshui, the total number would not exceed a thousand.
Gan Ning only brought 500 people there and destroyed the farmland. It was easy to provoke the defenders in the city to leave the city for a decisive battle. When Shen Chen came out again, the outcome could be decided in one battle.
Soon after the plan was perfected, Gan Ning led his troops and headed towards Yingyin in a swaggering manner.
The planting method of the Han Dynasty was summer millet and winter wheat. Winter wheat was harvested in May of the following year, and then millet seedlings, that is, millet, were planted in June. Its growth cycle was three months, and it could be harvested in September, and then winter wheat was planted.
.
So now in early July, not long after summer millet has been planted, farmers need to take care of, irrigate, remove insects, and weed in the fields every day without stopping for a moment.
When five hundred men from Gan Ning's army appeared in the west of Yingyin City, a large number of farmers were still working in the fields. Then they saw an army suddenly appeared on the post road to the south and marched towards Yingyin.
go in the direction.
This is already the hinterland of Yingchuan and the surrounding areas of Xudu.
Many people thought at first that something was wrong with Cao Jun, who was stationed in Xiangcheng in the southwest, when he returned to Xu Du. But what made them feel a little strange was that there seemed to be something wrong with the military uniforms.
Cao's army's uniforms were uniformly black, but the uniforms of this army were red...
A captain of the Diannong Army who was responsible for supervising the farmers was more and more surprised. Then he thought about it in his mind, would Cao's army wear red uniforms?
red?
The next second, his face suddenly turned pale, then he took out his bone whistle and blew it suddenly.