Chapter 333 The God of War sent out the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains
Chapter 333 The God of War is dispatched, Northern Expedition to the Central Plains
At the end of February of the 24th year of Jian'an, after releasing the carrier pigeon, Shen Chen looked at the order in his hand and pondered.
As a later generation, after realizing the inconvenience of communication in this era, Shen Chen naturally thought of carrier pigeons and began to arrange them.
But the training of homing pigeons did not go smoothly because Liu Bei's territory was so large.
From Yizhou to Jingzhou, it spanned eight provinces and one municipality, covering thousands of kilometers, and they were all areas with relatively harsh environments.
Later generations of homing pigeons that can fly thousands of kilometers are often the result of careful selection and breeding, scientific feeding and management, and continuous training.
The pigeons of the Han Dynasty were different. They were not as well-bred as those of later generations. If they were raised at home for a long time, the pigeons might lose their ability to fly long distances.
Moreover, as an area across the Yangtze River, Jingyi Land is affected by the rainy season for much of the year. Bad weather and breeding problems mean that pigeons can often only fly hundreds of kilometers.
Therefore, although Shen Chen has always wanted to establish a homing pigeon system, there are many difficulties. It is an extremely difficult task to start from scratch.
Fortunately, after many years of hard work, he finally successfully built this system in the past few years.
Taiting originally had some villages and fields, but the population has now moved to the rear. The front lines on both sides have been completely depopulated, leaving only some dilapidated villages and wasteland.
Gan Ning saluted excitedly.
Even though Cao Hong had deployed 80,000 Cao troops on the front line at this time, and there were still 20,000 troops left in the counties behind, he only had 50,000 troops.
For example, in the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao sent vanguard Yan Liang to clear out Cao Cao's cities south of the Yellow River to ensure that the main force could safely cross the river. Yuan Shao would not advance until he occupied Baima and other places.
The team continues to move forward.
His total force is about 100,000, and about 20,000 are left behind. If Yan Kuang's Diannong Army is included, the number of left-behind troops is about 40,000.
It's not that Liu Bei is flying pigeons on the front line of Tianshui County, and he will receive them here very quickly, but that he has adopted a short-distance flight mode, that is, delivering them one stop at a time.
Shen Chen handed him the letter in his hand and said: "My lord is confronting the main force of Cao's army in Longyou. His soldiers and horses are not elite, and it is much more difficult to supply food and grass than Cao Cao. If the stalemate lasts for a long time, it will be easy to lose the battle, so I hope we can get it done." Make some noise and ask Cao Cao to send reinforcements to Nanyang to relieve the pressure on my lord."
There are three places on the front line of Yecheng, one is the city of Yexian County, the other is the camp in the northeast corner of Yecheng, and the last place is at the foot of Mount Lu in the west.
Gan Ning even stood up and cupped his hands and said: "The last general is willing to be a pioneer!"
Everyone suddenly became excited.
After a while, Lu Chang, Zhang Xiu and Shen Tao arrived one after another.
Zhou Jian advised: "General, General Zuo ordered us to go to Taiting to occupy the camp immediately. Pursuing the enemy scouts at this time will waste time."
In this way, the comparison of the strength of the two sides is 80,000 against 50,000. The advantage lies with Cao!
Shen Chen asked: "Where is Gan Ning?"
Therefore, let alone horse racing, this place is enough for grazing. Scouts come and go like the wind, galloping freely on this vast plain. The scouts of Shen Chen's army and the scouts of Cao's army often have duels here.
"There is no need for a vanguard in this battle."
Gan Ning was riding on horseback and walking at the front of the team. Behind him was an endless army with flags held high and lined up in several long queues.
At this moment, Cao Jun's scouts discovered that the main force of Shen Chen's army was beginning to move north, and they did not dare to fight at all. After issuing a warning, they turned around and left without any hesitation.
It's time to let Cao Cao know how long he has been preparing for today!
"Let's go!"
The vast plains of Henan are vast and boundless, but those people and horses seem to occupy the entire horizon, extending towards the pavilion.
Gan Ning suddenly jumped up with excitement and said, "I have been waiting for this day for a long time."
Cao Jun's sharp whistle sounded.
Therefore, the number of people currently confronting Cao's army north of Yecheng exceeds 100,000.
"Beep beep beep!"
Shen Chen walked out of his back garden, walked toward the central hall, and said to Shan Yi who stood like an iron tower at the door: "Yide, beat the drum to gather the generals!"
"The end is here!"
"Uncle Xingba, don't be impatient. Sit down first."
"Where is Cai Du?"
But he didn't feel fear at all, instead he was full of eagerness to try.
"I order you to be the governor of Yecheng, responsible for the food and grass in the rear and assisting in defense."
The scout Pegasus came to report, turned over and dismounted and said: "Shen Chen's army is dispatched and coming towards Taiting."
The pavilion is facing the Nanyang Passage, and at that time there was a river flowing out of Funiu Mountain. It followed the Nanyang Passage to the east, passed twenty miles north of Wuyang County, merged into the Ru River, and flowed into the Huaihe River.
"I order you to be the commander-in-chief of the front army and lead 10,000 people to camp at the head of the army!"
So simply put, homing pigeons are not very stable.
Shen Chen said with a smile: "This time we are going to have a decisive battle with Cao Hong."
"General, give the order!"
I saw on the horizon in the distance, a large group of people had slowly come over, a dense crowd.
Gan Ning was the general in the main camp in the northeast corner, and Lu Chang camped at the foot of Mount Lu. The three camps formed horns with each other, blocking Cao Hong's way south.
"only!"
At this moment, Shen Chen's army began to camp on the north bank of Lishui, five miles away from Cao's army.
However, for the Han Dynasty, which was seriously lacking in information technology, this was already a great improvement, enough to support nearly half of military communications.
Lu Chang stood up and cupped his hands and said.
But now that the main forces of the two sides have met head-on, there is no point in sending vanguards. Gan Ning cannot bring 5,000 vanguards to destroy Cao Hong's Taiting camp with tens of thousands of people. That is not realistic.
"only!"
At least in Cao Hong's view, in the distance, the north bank of Lishui River stretches for more than ten miles to the south, and is densely covered with human heads.
The strategic position of Nanyang Basin is extremely important, but it has been difficult to defend since ancient times because the road leading to Nanyang is extremely wide.
He saw Cao Jun's scouts far away at the end of the road ahead. Gan Ning suddenly became excited. With a roar, dozens of scout cavalry rushed out from the army and rushed forward behind Gan Ning.
Soon, Cao Jun's scouts had returned to Taiting and reported to Cao Hong.
As the front army, they did not carry any baggage. Their role was to cover the central and rear troops, arriving at the front line of Taiting first, and then seizing the place for setting up camp so that the central and rear troops could quickly start setting up camp after their arrival.
"The end will be here."
The next time, it took three days just to get the luggage, and it was not until early March that we finally set off.
"There's going to be a war."
But this does not mean that his total number is fifty thousand.
Gan Ning waved his hands impatiently. He felt that he was almost useless after staying in Nanyang every day for these years. If he could not go out to hunt occasionally, he really felt that he would die of idleness.
"I know, I know, I'm so annoyed."
"General Zhang and Lieutenant Colonel Shen will accompany me. I will lead 30,000 Chinese troops to accompany the front army and rear to cover the front army."
To the west is the Funiu Mountains and to the east is the Dabie Mountains, but there is a width of thirty to forty miles between the two mountain ranges.
If you include crossbows, crossbows, arrows, armor, and knives, the pile is like a mountain.
Nanyang's 80,000-strong army left about 30,000 troops behind.
They spread out on the ground, as if they were overwhelming and countless.
Moreover, this is only for the current equipment used by the army. Subsequent use will consume a large amount of storage in Yecheng and will continue to be sent to the front line.
Among the four major generals under his command and the leader of the special forces Huangmenzu, only Wenpin is currently resisting Xu Huang at Wuguan.
Shen Chen waved his hand.
At this time, the former camp had built a large number of fortifications, trenches, horse barriers, high forts, and stronghold walls.
Cao Hong's side is similar.
Gan Ning chased for three or four miles. Seeing that Cao Jun's scouts did not dare to fight, he came back again after a dusty journey. He regretfully said to his left and right lieutenants Zhou Jian and Wu Shuo: "These brats are really fearless rats. Cao Jun is afraid of us, no matter what." Dare to fight."
Because a large number of civilians and auxiliary soldiers were also recruited to help transport grain, baggage, and siege equipment.
Zhou Busu came over and asked: "Brother, what did the king say in the letter?"
Soon Gan Ning, Lu Chang, Zhang Xiu and Shen Tao arrived in the middle hall. As soon as Gan Ning entered the door, he shouted: "General, is there going to be a war?"
It is late spring, the spring flowers are blooming, and the warm afternoon sunshine shines on the earth. The buds grow tenaciously on both sides of the road from Yecheng to the north into Henan, facing the rising sun.
In the letter, Liu Bei told Shen Chen that since Cao Cao had the advantage in terms of number of troops, quality of soldiers, and first movers of food and fodder, it would be very disadvantageous for them to remain in a stalemate for a long time, so he hoped that Shen Chen could make some noise in Nanyang to relieve the pressure.
Soldiers came in and out of the city every day, large quantities of grain and grass began to be loaded onto trucks and transported to the front line, and there were countless types of siege equipment.
But there are still other factors in the middle, such as hawks, falcons, eagles and other natural enemies of pigeons, severe climate interference, or occasional magnetic field changes, hunters hunting and other factors. In addition, the pigeon base has to go to the front line, which often delays a few days. Sometimes delays of ten days and a half are common.
At that moment, Shen Chen stood tall and proud, with an extremely calm and confident expression on his face.
"only!"
In Cao's camp, Cao Hong is patrolling the camp.
Shen Chen led 50,000 people, of which 48,000 followed him to the battlefield, leaving 2,000 soldiers in Yecheng.
Everyone else is everywhere.
"Humble."
After the war begins, it will be packed into trucks and transported to the front line.
Gan Ning's army led its troops to line up four miles away, and the Chinese army in the rear immediately prepared to build a camp. In addition to the 30,000 people in the main army, there were tens of thousands of civilians, auxiliary soldiers, and craftsmen who were cutting down trees.
"What!"
Those troops finally stopped opposite Cao Ying and occupied the upper reaches of the river.
Everyone stood up in unison.
Shen Chen is currently at the government office in Yecheng City, sitting at the rear.
Shan Yi ran out quickly.
I have been sitting in Nanyang for too long.
In the government office in the city, Shen Chen was sitting high on the throne, with his junior brother Zhou Buyi sitting cross-legged on the left, and Cai Du, Cai Mao's nephew and brother-in-law of Deng Hong, sitting on the right.
After the carrier pigeons fly out, they first go to Hanzhong Pigeon Base, then to Hanchang, Danqu, and Jiangzhou, and then send letters from Jiangzhou to all parts of the country. Each stop is basically about a hundred kilometers away, usually from Wudu to Jiangzhou, it can be delivered within one day.
"Where is Lu Chang?"
Sending the vanguard is more suitable for long-distance and small-scale battles. The vanguard needs to go to the front to clear obstacles, and then the main forces of both sides meet and then engage in a head-on confrontation.
"Report!"
After Shen Chen gave the order, Nanyang's war machine immediately began to rumble.
Wu Dang and Shan Yi were two apprentices at the gate, acting as guards.
In the Han Dynasty, this river had the same name as the Lishui River in the south, and was also called Lishui, but in later generations it was called Lihe River and was an important tributary of the Huaihe River.
God knows how many catapults, wooden curtains, nest carts, ram carts, ladders, and cloud towers Shen Chen prepared for the Northern Expedition.
As for mid-level school officials like Zhou Tai, they are definitely not qualified to participate in such high-level meetings, so they all stay in the camp.
Therefore, the most stable way of fighting is for the three armies to press forward and beat the gongs and drums in front of Taiting and Cao Hong's main force.
As the north-south hub, the wide official road should have people coming and going.
The order in Shen Chen's hand was sent by Liu Bei from Hanzhong half a month ago. It traveled to the carrier pigeon base several times and finally landed in Wancheng, Nanyang. It was then sent to the front line from Wancheng. It took twelve days, which was much longer than originally needed. At least the journey of more than two months went much faster.
Shen Chen shook his head and said: "Cao Hong will not take the initiative to send people to attack. He will only set up camps in Kunyang Wuyang and Taiting to defend himself, so we will advance steadily. In the past, the three armies at the center and rear can attack Taiting."
"Actively attack Cao Hong?"
Cao Hong's expression suddenly changed and he said, "Send orders to all camps to be on guard. I'll go take a look."
Just used other methods.
The front-line Taiting camp has a main force of 50,000 people, Kunyang and Wuyang each have more than 10,000 people, and the combat troops are about 80,000.
He immediately transferred to the front camp.
"only."
The other half still has to rely on scouts, and animals are still not as reliable as people after all.
"I order you to be the commander-in-chief of the rear army and lead eight thousand people to transport food, grass and baggage."
"Very good."
Zhou Buyi was so smart that he immediately understood what Liu Bei meant.
What a scene with nearly 100,000 people in action.
After everyone had arrived, Shen Chen said: "Everyone, due to the great epidemic the year before last, the Northern Expedition that I was well prepared for was ruined. But this is not a bad thing. The more time you have to prepare, the more complete the conditions for victory will be. , now that the epidemic has gradually subsided, it is time to start the Northern Expedition again."
Shen Chen nodded: "I guess it was Fa Xiaozhi's idea, but it doesn't matter, Cao Hong can't defeat me!"
However, after years of confrontation between the north and the south, the Yecheng area had long been turned into a military town, and the people had been relocated. The original villages were reduced to ruins, and the fields were deserted, gradually turning into a land of lush weeds.
At this moment, Shen Chen was beating drums to gather the generals. After receiving the news, Gan Ning, Lu Chang, Zhang Xiu, Shen Tao and others immediately left their respective lieutenants in the army to look after the camp, and they immediately rushed to Ye County.
After all, Liu Bei had already put a lot of his troops into Sun Quan's sneak attack on Jingzhou, resulting in insufficient combat effectiveness on the front line. If Hanzhong was lost in order to defend Jingzhou, it would be more of a loss than the gain.
The ones at the front were naturally Gan Ning's front army, and not far behind them, about two or three miles away, was the Chinese army led by Shen Chen himself.
Cao Hong climbed to a high observation tower and watched.
Pieces of forest fell down, and countless logs began to be carried towards the military camp.
Cao's troops within a radius of more than ten miles just watched, and no one dared to attack.
It was getting dark, and Shen Chen's army was still building camps continuously. The vast plain was as lively as a construction site.
The lights were bright and people were buzzing. The forest that stretched for more than ten miles on the north bank of Lishui was almost cleared.