In March of the 24th year of Jian'an and April of 219 AD, Sun Quan of Jiangdong received a letter from Liu Bei.
The letter said that he was fighting Cao Cao in Longyou, and that Cao Cao's main force had been contained in Xiliang. He hoped that taking advantage of this opportunity, Sun Quan could decisively send troops to Hefei, occupy Huainan, and threaten Cao Cao's center.
Of course, Liu Bei and Sun Quan were not at odds with each other at this time. On the surface, they were allies. Moreover, Liu Bei also married Sun Shangxiang. They were related by marriage and had very close contacts.
Since only the top management of both parties knew about the plans of both parties, and even Zhang Zhao and the others only found out about it at the end of last year, outsiders had no idea that they had already been scheming and secretly plotting against each other.
Therefore, at least on the surface, Sun Quan thought that his disguise had deceived Liu Bei, and when he saw this letter from Liu Bei, he immediately became happy.
"Liu Bei will also be alone one day."
In Ruxukou, in Sun Quan's mansion, he read the letter, looked around and smiled smugly at everyone: "He begged me to send troops to Hefei to relieve the siege of Xiliang."
He said with a serious smile: "Cao Cao also sent a letter a few days ago, saying that he has trapped Liu Bei's main force in Xieyuguan in Guanzhong, Rongqiu Mountain in Lucheng, Xiliang, and even Nanyang's army is confronting Shen Chen in Taiting, and Jingzhou's rear
Completely empty, let us send troops."
"Hahahahaha."
Zhuge Jin, Gu Yong, Sun Shao, Kan Ze and Yan Zhen expressed their opinions one after another.
Even though they had been operating secretly a few years ago, they were afraid that Liu Bei would have time in Jiangdong and did not dare to blatantly do so. They could only use the pretext of conquering Shanyue to secretly transport grain from the southeastern hills to Nanchang and store it.
As the saying goes, what works first and what works below is effective. Due to Liu Bang's liking, ministers and people also raised pigeons one after another, which led to the popularity of raising pigeons among the people. It is not troublesome to raise pigeons anyway, and the worst is to eat pigeon meat in the future.
Everyone was wondering, this thing was indeed relatively widespread at that time, and many people in the court and the people were keen on raising it, but what does this have to do with spreading messages?
Lu Xun explained: "The Shanyue people were moved here, but his family still stayed in the mountains. I once saw him release the doves in his hands, and finally found his former residence and brought back some pieces of cloth.
.”
It's a pity the result of that expedition...
They were actually Han people who hid in the mountains due to the war. However, because they did not pay taxes, did not perform corvee service, and refused to be recruited as soldiers, they became the targets of the government's crackdown, and they were also commonly known as "black households".
And how far does it have to go from Chaisang to build a beacon tower all the way to Guiyang County?
"Huainan is also possible. If we can control Huainan, Wu Hou will be even more powerful."
Only Sun Quan noticed that Lu Xun's expression remained normal and asked, "Does Bo Yan have a plan?"
In the subsequent battles at Hefei, more than 100,000 men and horses were dispatched each time. Even during the last battle against Hefei, Zhuge Ke, the Taifu of Wu State, led 200,000 men and surrounded Hefei.
Sun Quan stroked his beard and frowned, this is indeed a serious problem.
Only Lu Xun below said nothing, sitting cross-legged on the end seat, smiling silently.
Lu Xun flattered Sun Quan a little, and then continued: "The second problem is that the food and grass baggage have not been transported completely yet. We transported the food from the mountains. Although it was hidden, it was slow after all, and the soldiers and horses were not completely transported.
With good training, it is expected that it will take at least June or July before we can forcefully send out troops."
Thinking of this, Sun Quan hesitated and said: "Hefei City has high walls and thick walls. I'm afraid it won't be that easy to capture."
Shen Chen asked craftsmen in Nanyang to try and make mistakes, and finally found the best paper formula using bamboo as raw material.
As soon as this question came up, Sun Quan was immediately stumped.
After Lu Xun finished speaking, Zhuge Jin also nodded and said: "That's the truth. It would be great if we could communicate with Cao Hong and hope that he can take the initiative to attack Shen Chen's main force."
Lu Xun smiled and cupped his hands and said, "I was about to report it to Marquis Wu."
"But forget about Huainan, let's talk about it later. It's more important to take Jingzhou first."
Although Sun Quan has repeatedly attacked Shanyue over the years, plundering their population and materials to supplement the losses in Jiangdong over the years.
After all, they can dispatch so many troops, which means that including the troops left behind, the total strength may have exceeded 400,000, and Cao Cao may have exceeded 500,000 to 600,000. Compared with them, they naturally appear to be far inferior.
Sun Quan nodded slightly, this is a good idea.
Lu Xun replied.
Sun Quan's attitude towards them was to kill, rob, plunder, and force them to become obedient people under his rule.
"Hahahahaha."
After Sun Quan thought for a moment, he asked: "If I send people to destroy Shanyue in that area, kill them all, and plunder their food and grass, is it enough?"
"Pigeon?"
Wouldn’t the appearance of pigeons solve this problem?
Sun Quan nodded: "Then let He Qi and Zhu Ran go."
The last time Lu Xun saw the Shanyue people using pigeons, he had an idea. He thought that if a light note was tied to the pigeon's feet to pass the message, wouldn't it be possible to deliver the message in a very short time?
So after thinking about this problem, he immediately went to do the experiment. Unexpectedly, the Shanyue man could really make the pigeons carry the letter back to the tribe in the southeastern hills.
Because the perfect recipe for paper has been around for over twenty years.
The purpose of doing this is of course to show submission to Liu Bei in order to confuse him.
"That's probably enough."
Lu Xun said: "When I was in Wu County, I saw a Shanyue man raising pigeons."
As a last resort, he had no choice but to compromise with the Jiangdong nobles, and this time it was half threatening and half compromising that made those wealthy families bleed.
But what now?
There was not much loss in the Battle of Hefei, but Sun Quan was definitely not having a hard time either.
Therefore, including the troops left behind and deployed in Jingzhou, at least before backstabbing his allies, Sun Quan's total military strength should be between 250,000 and 400,000, which is still very powerful.
Zhuge Jin and others around him also had troubled expressions.
Lu Xun stood up and held up his hands and said, "Reporting to Marquis Wu, Xun thinks we should just pretend."
Therefore, Sun Quan urgently needed to gather his troops, mainly in Ruxukou, Chaisang, Guiyang and other places. As long as he could quickly capture Jingnan and Xiling in Jiangxia, he would not have to worry about replenishing the army.
In deeper places, such as the large area around Huangshan City in Anhui Province in later generations, there are still many mountains and mountains inhabiting it.
"That's right, Marquis Wu, ignore Liu Bei's words and wait patiently until the food, grass, soldiers and horses are almost transported, and then you can start the attack."
But this does not mean that the Han Dynasty people did not know that pigeons have the ability to navigate.
Sun Quan hurriedly said: "Speak quickly."
After the emergence of new paper, this situation naturally changed.
If we use the attack on Hefei as an excuse to leave Ruxushui and enter Chaohu Lake, and attack Xunyang from the land route south of Chaohu Lake, this way we can advance both by water and land, and the navy and army can cooperate with each other.
"Wu Hou Yingming."
If the aristocratic family does not cooperate this time, it is estimated that Sun Quan's total troops will only be more than 100,000, and the number of troops that can be dispatched may be less than 100,000. When confronting Liu Bei and Cao Cao, under the condition of ensuring that there are troops left behind in the rear, two troops will be dispatched for each person.
Compared with an army of 300,000, it is as shabby as it is.
"Yes, Jingzhou is empty, so Wuhou can take advantage of the situation."
The Battle of Yi County was flooded.
Now they are facing communication problems.
But more importantly, Cao Cao's Huainan was really empty at that time. There were only 7,000 people in Hefei. Moreover, Cao Cao was in Xiliang, in the middle of the Kou Lue Pass. An unguarded Huainan would be a waste.
Now the Guiyang front line is mobilizing troops. According to Sun Quan's wishes, sending troops to Xiling requires at least 100,000 troops. If Jingnan is captured, Yidao Yiling is blocked, and then the eastern front army attacks Jiangxia, then Guiyang will also
It needs to be at least 40,000 to 50,000 people.
But that method is not concealable. If the enemy sees it, they will definitely become suspicious.
"Um."
Therefore, communication means is indeed a big problem.
But no matter what, since they want to attack from Jingnan and Yuzhang, they need to prepare a large amount of food and grass, and the private soldiers handed over by the famous families also need to be divided and retrained.
The Battle of Hongkou was burned by fire.
The Shanyue Rebellion was not completely eliminated until the destruction of Soochow.
Sun Quan was immediately overjoyed and said happily: "Even God is helping me. I have Boyan, and I can defeat an army of 100,000 people."
Lu Xun said with a smile: "We are not attacking Hefei, but under the guise of attacking Hefei, we will launch a surprise attack on Xunyang from the north of the Yangtze River, cooperate with the navy to seize Xiling, and then go straight to Jiangxia!"
Lu Xun responded.
In later generations, a large number of pottery pigeons and bronze pigeons from the Western Han Dynasty were unearthed, as well as some documentary records, which prove that pigeons gradually became a kind of domestic animal among the people at this time.
Lu Xun humbly lowered his head and smiled, cupping his hands and saying, "This is the destiny of Marquis Wu!"
"only."
"oh?"
"oh?"
"You mean, this pigeon has the ability to go home?"
If it was Sun Quan in history, he would naturally have these troops. Because before and after the Battle of Chibi, his total military strength had exceeded 100,000. During the confrontation on the Xiangjiang River, he led 80,000 people to confront Liu Bei's 50,000 troops.
.
Lu Xun explained: "Every move we make is in the eyes of Huang She and Zhao Yun. If we don't take action, they may be suspicious of us."
After several disastrous defeats, Sun Quan's total military strength suffered heavy losses.
At the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang believed that pigeons were auspicious, so he kept a lot of them in the palace.
When Sun Quan saw that he was acting strangely, he curiously asked, "Bo Yan, everyone expresses their opinions, why are you silent?"
At that time, communication methods were extremely backward, and beacon fire and smoke were already the most advanced means of transmitting messages at that time.
Kan Ze said: "Now that Cao Cao and Liu Bei are trying to win over Wu Hou, this is a good time for Wu Hou to make contributions. Maybe after this battle, Wu Hou will be able to rule the roost in the south."
Everyone looked sad.
But things are different now.
"At this time, the two of them have not yet fought, but are facing each other more than twenty miles apart. If Jingzhou is attacked, Shen Chen will definitely leave some troops behind to come to the rescue. His soldiers are all elite men. If he rushes to help Xiakou, we will deal with Jiangxia
It will be difficult for the navy."
It’s just that bamboo slips were used for writing at that time instead of paper, and pigeons could not carry bamboo slips. Therefore, it is reasonable to wait until paper became popular among the people in the Tang Dynasty before carrier pigeons appeared.
"Um."
Zhang Zhao is not here, he is sitting in the rear.
Because Sun Quan's forces completely retreated to Jiangdong and had no control over Huainan, they could only send troops from the water.
Sun Quan said: "Then this matter will be handled by Gu. Gu will write a letter in his own hand and tell Cao Hong that it was Cao Cao who asked Gu to help send troops. I hope he can cooperate."
Lin Lin gathered together more than 200,000 men and horses. Counting the troops left behind, he could dispatch only about 140,000 to 50,000 men and horses, and the fight was very reluctant.
Lu Xun continued: "There are still three problems before us now. The first is Shen Chenjun."
Sun Quan asked.
When Sun Quan heard what Lu Xun said, he hurriedly asked: "Is this definitely feasible?"
They used to only think about advancing with two armies, but they temporarily forgot about the coordination issue.
Sun Quan stretched out his hand and said, "Speak in detail."
"Although Shen Chen's army faced off with Cao Hong at Taiting, last year he burned a lot of Cao Hong's food and grass, and then marched to Chendu, which created a lot of power and dealt a blow to the morale of Cao Hong's army."
However, the southeastern hills stretch for hundreds of thousands of square kilometers. Sun Quan sent troops many times, but only the outer areas near Jiangdong were attacked.
Lu Xun finally said: "The last problem is also the most difficult one to solve. To fight a war, you need to look at the right time, but we are advancing in two directions. How can Guiyang's army attack at the same time as us? Even if the time is agreed upon, if the time is not right, Well, maybe if God doesn’t do his best, wouldn’t it mean that all the previous efforts have been wasted?”
Sun Quan thought about it, and he remembered that it was Lu Su who suggested that he accept Liu Bei's request to send troops to Hefei.
Sun Quan laughed heartily and said: "Nowadays, Cao Cao and Liu Bei are fighting each other. Everyone says that Gu is the weakest and will be taken over by them in the future. But now Cao and Liu have to ask for help from Gu. Whoever Gu helps will be destroyed. They There is also today!"
"this"
However, it was not easy to store grain in ancient times. Granaries must be built to be moisture-proof and ventilated, and the grain had to be taken out to dry frequently. It would be difficult to store grain for only one or two years, let alone three or four years.
And this is under the circumstances of bloodletting from aristocratic families.
Lu Xun nodded seriously: "It's feasible, Xun has already tried it."
However, homing pigeons were not clearly recorded in history books until the Tang Dynasty. After the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, they appeared widely in the history books of the Northern Song, Liao, Xixia, Jin, Southern Song, Yuan and other countries, and were truly used in wars.
Therefore, there is never enough food and grass in Guiyang. They usually rely on plundering Jiaozhou to supplement it. But when there is a big battle, a large number of soldiers and horses are dispatched, and there are so many civilians and auxiliary troops to take care of, which affects dozens of troops and population. The food and grass needed also cost hundreds of millions of dan. How can it be so easy to gather them all?
Lu Xun nodded: "Exactly, it is said that Zhang Qian and Ban Chao used pigeons to send messages when they were envoys to the Western Regions, and tied ropes around the pigeons' feet. The color of the rope represents a meaning. Although I don't know whether the rumors are true or false, But now that paper is lighter, if you tie it with a note, wouldn't it be able to convey military orders?"
"Hmm"
After the aristocratic families were afraid of being annexed by Liu Bei because of their own interests, the Jiangdong gentry were liquidated. Liu Bei forced them to hand over their population and land, and had no choice but to tie them to a warship with Sun Quan, so he sent people to help.
"Hahaha."
Sun Quan laughed and said, "Then let Boyan handle this matter."
"only."
Lu Xun bowed again.
All three problems have been solved, and Jiangdong is prosperous, all in one fell swoop!