Chapter 159 Ambush Ren Jun with Soldiers Like Gods
Chapter 159: Use soldiers like gods to ambush Ren Jun
On October 7th, Liu Bei's army set out in the morning and marched toward Xiangcheng.
There were a small number of Cao Jun scouts in Xiangcheng. When they heard the news, they immediately reported it.
By the afternoon, Xia Houyuan, who was stationed in Yingyin, and Cao Hong, who was stationed in Linying, learned about this incident.
They also immediately reported the news to Xun Yu.
In Xudu City, at the residence of Shangshu Ling, Xun Yu looked at the official document in his hand and fell into deep thought.
Sitting beside him was Situ Peng and Chen Qun.
After Chen Qun left Liu Bei, he had been taking refuge in Xuzhou with his father. Later, when Cao Cao defeated Lu Bu, he worked as a county magistrate in many places in Henan.
In June last year, his father Chen Ji passed away due to illness, so he resigned and returned home to observe his mourning.
The rule of observing filial piety in the Han Dynasty was generally three years, but due to the uncertain current situation, sometimes the emperor would relapse or resign from the army, so the period of observing filial piety was changed to thirty-six days.
In times of war, especially in times of war, the practice of observing filial piety was quite popular in the late Han Dynasty, but Cao Cao did not observe filial piety to his father. Chen Qun only observed filial piety for Chen Ji for one year, and now he was conscripted as Situ Tuo by Cao Cao.
At this moment, seeing Xun Yu frowning while looking at the official document, Chen Qun asked curiously: "Your Majesty, what happened?"
"well."
Xun Yu sighed and said, "Shen Chen is here again. He and General Liu Bei of the Left joined forces to Xiangcheng."
Chen Qun said: "The emperor's uncle is here too? How many troops and horses do they have?"
"About ten thousand people."
Xun Yu pondered and said: "Shen Chen is used to using the trick of making noises from the east to attack the west. I'm afraid that he will march to Fenqiu again and then detour to Jianqiang or Yanling to invade Xudu."
Chen Qun laughed and said, "Isn't this simple for your Majesty? The art of war is fictitious and real, but no matter how much he doubts the soldiers, I will remain unmoved. Does he really dare to travel a long distance and attack Xu without food, grass, and baggage?"
The routine can be repeated once and for all. Everyone is not a fool. Cao Hong didn't want to be fooled by the attack on the east. It was just that Xu Du was the top priority and there was really no other way. Only then was he defeated by Shen Chen even though he was already very cautious. .
Now Cao Cao has burned Yuan Shao's grain and grass in Guandu, which has greatly inspired Cao Cao's forces in the rear. They only need to hold on for a while. When Cao Cao's main force returns to support, Shen Chen and others will naturally retreat.
Therefore, for the defenders of Xudu, as long as it is not the most urgent matter such as the destruction of Xudu's city, then they can ignore it and hold on to victory!
Xun Yu nodded and said: "What you said makes sense, and I think the same way. There are General Li and General Han's camps outside the city. Linying and Yingyin can be reached in just one day. If he divides his troops, he will be dead. .It’s just that this man is like a god in his military skills. I’m afraid he has other plans.”
Chen Qun shrugged: "If he has any plans, he can't go north to Guandu."
"Ha ha ha ha."
Xun Yu laughed and said: "It would be great if he really went to Guandu, but it's a pity that Shen Chen wouldn't be that stupid. However, this matter cannot be reported to Cao Gong. Yuan Shao's food and grass are all destroyed. He must either make a desperate move and storm Cao Gong's camp, or If he withdraws his troops back to the north, Duke Cao will definitely pursue him. No matter what happens, don't distract him."
"I know."
Chen Qun nodded. The situation is not that critical now. Reporting it to Cao Cao would only add to the trouble. It would be better to hide the news and face it alone.
A few days later, on October 11, Shen Chen's army began to march into Fenqiu.
Fenqiu is located on the south bank of Yingshui. It is only 20 kilometers to the north to Yingyin on the east bank of Yingshui. It is also less than 20 kilometers to Linying on the east bank of Yingshui to the southeast. After passing Lishui, the distance between the two cities is Xudu is only forty kilometers away.
It can be said that Fenqiu - Yingyin - Xudu - Linying - Fenqiu actually forms an irregular rhombus. The distance between the two sides is very close, and they can even directly cross the Tishui River to go to Xudu.
It's just that Cao's army stationed troops in two places and deployed troops and horses outside Xudu. Once it penetrated through the middle, it would be besieged from all sides, so Shen Chen did not rush forward.
On October 16, Xu Du received news again that Shen Chen Liu Bei's army had appeared north of Jianqiang and was attacking northward.
These arrangements were within the expectations of Xun Yu and Chen Qun, so they just asked Li Dian and Han Hao, who were guarding Xudu, to be prepared to be attacked. At the same time, they asked Cao Hong to pay close attention to this army. Once they had a direct attack If there is any sign of Xu Du, we must come to intercept immediately.
However, Jian Qiang's troops went north to the Pingning Pavilion area on the south bank of Tong River and stopped. This place is about ten kilometers away from Linying and less than thirty kilometers away from Fenqiu. Judging from their movements, it seems that there are The intention of attacking Linying and Cao Hong.
After Cao Hong got the news, he immediately guarded the city tightly. Although he was relatively safe in the city, there were only more than 3,000 defenders in the city, and the number of troops was not large. If he was suddenly attacked by tens of thousands of troops, he might not be able to withstand it.
So he was even more careful.
The two sides have been living in peace and harmony, but when Shen Chen and Liu Bei went north, Yuan Jun on the Guandu front line was showing signs of fatigue. The fierce attacks in recent days had left Yuan Jun with less than ten days of food left to consume. Zhang He and Gao Lan were still there. Keep attacking.
But Cao Cao is like a stubborn rock in the sea. He can be washed away by the waves. Even if there are strong winds and heavy rains, he still remains unmoved and does not show any flaws.
For this reason, Yuan Shao, who had been so high-spirited just a few days ago and planned to capture Cao Cao alive, went crazy and almost fell ill from anger. He issued an order that if Cao Cao's camp was not breached within ten days, Zhang He would be sent to see him. For a moment, the two of them were frightened and couldn't help it. Do not continue to attack.
At this moment, in Cao Jun's camp, although Yuan Jun's offensive continued, the morale and morale of the army dropped sharply, and the level was far less terrifying than when Yuan Shao personally conquered the army in the first few days. Even Cao Cao rarely had any spare time.
He stood on top of a hill, overlooking Yuan Jun's attack in the distance, which was full of loopholes, and smiled scornfully. If he hadn't had fewer soldiers, looking at Yuan Jun's posture, he would have wanted to personally lead the troops out of camp for a decisive battle.
At this time, Guo Jia came to the Tushan Mountain, held his hands in front of him and said: "Ming Gong."
"Fengxiao is here."
Cao Cao stroked his beard and smiled and said: "Look at Yuan's army outside the camp, the offensive is already extremely exhausted. I think there is not much food and grass in the army. In a few days, they will collapse on their own."
Guo Jia smiled and flattered: "This is natural. Ming Gong is wise and powerful, and he has God's blessing. Yuan Shao is stubborn and will lose sooner or later."
In future generations, if someone says that other people's success is all due to God's blessing, that person will definitely be angry, because this will negate his personal efforts.
However, in the Han Dynasty, there was the so-called theory of heaven, and success or failure was determined by heaven. Moreover, this would add an extremely mysterious color of destiny to the individual, so Cao Cao was not only not angry, but also very happy.
He laughed and said: "This is natural. Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and his like are just dead bones in the tomb. How can they claim to be the number of heaven? Only by fulfilling the destiny of heaven can I prosper the Han Dynasty!"
Guo Jia said: "Even so, please don't be careless. Don't forget that there are still people in Kunyang who are watching us from behind."
"Shen Chen and Liu Bei?"
Cao Cao frowned and said, "Among the official documents that Xu Du has submitted recently, I haven't seen any mention of Ruo Ruo."
Guo Jia smiled bitterly and said: "It is precisely because of this that I want to talk to Duke Ming. I have also read those official documents. In the past, your Majesty would write to inform Duke Cao of the developments in Kunyang, but the latest official document is Not mentioned at all.”
"Wen Ruo is hiding something!"
Cao Cao was suddenly shocked. Guo Jia did remind him that no matter what happened in the past, Xun Yu would always tell him in the official document that there was no movement in Kunyang and that Mr. Cao would be reassured.
But now he didn't even say these words. It was obvious that Xun Yu was secretly concealing something. Perhaps Shen Chen and Liu Bei had already begun to attack Xudu.
Guo Jia said: "Your Majesty is also afraid that Ming Gong will be worried. Perhaps the crisis in the rear is not yet too great at this time, so he did not report it. However, Jia thought that Shen Chen is used to making surprises and acting erratically, like Sun Wu. I'm afraid if Xudu is in danger, if you want to report it again, we may be too late to send reinforcements."
Cao Cao pondered: "What do you mean?"
Guo Jiadao said: "We should send people to Xudu to check the situation. Ren Junshang stationed troops in Weishi, but due to the rapid and violent offensive of Yuan's army, he did not dare to transport grain and grass to Guandu. If the situation is critical, he can be asked to go to rescue."
"Um."
Cao Cao nodded: "Yes, this is a mature opinion, just as Fengxiao said."
At that moment, Cao Cao ordered people to ride horses from the direction where Yuan's army was not attacking and go south to Weishi, and ordered Ren Jun to immediately send people to Xudu to check the situation.
In fact, Guo Jia's worries and strategies were correct, but the tactics used by Shen Chen were not ancient ones, but the tactics of great men of later generations, which always emphasized the importance of being elusive and predicting the enemy first.
Therefore, he would never have thought that Shen Chen's purpose was not to break into Xudu and welcome Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty Liu Xie away, but to gain time for the future of the world.
By October 18th, Ren Jun had already detected the news. At this time, Shen Chen and Liu Bei each led thousands of troops and hoarded them in Fenqiu and Jianqiang counties, together with Cao Hong, Xia Houyuan, Li Dian and Han. Hao and others are in the confrontation stage.
After getting the news, Ren Jun did not leave easily. Instead, he sent someone to Xudu to ask Xun Yu if he needed to lead his troops south to defend Xudu's surrounding areas.
Xun Yu's answer to him was to act according to the situation, don't be reckless, and come to the rescue when the situation becomes critical.
So Ren Jun continued to stand still.
In fact, he didn't have too many troops at this time. He lost a lot of troops and horses in the last battle at Bali Bridge. Last month, he was transporting grain and grass to Cao Cao, and the Yuan army continued to harass him, which caused him a lot of losses.
As a result, Ren Jun's current army is no more than 4,000 strong. Compared with the tens of thousands of peasant troops at the beginning, his strength has been lost too much.
On October 21st, the people Liu Bei sent to Yuan Shao to inquire about the situation came back.
Since Liu Bei was sent by Yuan Shao to cause sabotage in Cao Cao's rear, it was reasonable for Liu Bei to send people to find Yuan Shao after the Wuchao incident. By the way, it was also to investigate the details of Yuan's army and to observe the situation of Cao Cao's army.
The person who sent the envoy was none other than Sun Qian.
After Sun Qian came back, he told him that although he didn't know how much food Yuan Shao still had in stock, the soldiers of Yuan's army were all dejected, their morale had dropped to the bottom, and they might not be able to sustain it for long.
After receiving the news, Shen Chen immediately discussed with Liu Bei and acted according to the plan.
In addition to the main force of more than 9,000 people, their army also has some troops, that is, the three or four thousand defeated soldiers of the Yuan family's old tribe, plus more than 1,000 people from Zhoucang and Pei Yuanshao, there are almost 5,000 troops.
These people are not good at fighting, but there is no need for them to fight. Just let them station in Fenqiu and pretend to be part of the main force of Liu Bei's Shen Chen Army.
Pingning Pavilion was the real main force of Liu Bei's Chenchen army, with a total of 9,000 troops. On October 23, they suddenly went north to the area of Wangtian Pavilion, which was less than 20 kilometers away from Xudu.
Due west of this place is Linying, due north is Xudu, Fenqiu's five thousand troops also suddenly crossed the river, and under the leadership of Guan Yu, arrived at Yulin Pavilion. Due north of this place is Yingyin, due south is Linying, and The soldiers and horses at Wangtian Pavilion were more than ten kilometers away from each other and less than twenty kilometers away from Xudu.
At the same time, the main force of Liu Bei's Chenchen army divided again. Three thousand men went north to Woting, and Han Hao stationed more than two thousand men there. The two sides fell into a confrontation.
It was shaking for a while.
However, no one expected that Shen Chen, with three thousand troops and horses, and Zhang Fei and Gan Ning, had already gone west when they were at Ping Ning Pavilion.
So at that time, Liu Bei's army only had 6,000 men, and over at Yulinting was the rabble led by Guan Yu. The real 3,000 most elite soldiers went west to Chenting, and went out day and night, traveling dozens of miles overnight, and went north to the north of Yanling. The Weichuan Pavilion.
This is the only way for Ren Jun to go south from Weishi.
Seeing the tens of thousands of Shen Chen and Liu Bei's coalition forces surrounding Xu Du, on October 24, Ren Jun did not hesitate to mobilize his troops and go south to support Xu Du!