Chapter 349: Successful Fishing, Dramatic Changes in Jingzhou
Chapter 349 Successful fishing, dramatic changes in Jingzhou
Author: Playing with Basilisk
In June of the 24th year of Jian'an, it was obvious that huge changes had taken place in the world's situation.
Liu Bei was finally defeated by Cao Cao after a stalemate for half a year due to the lack of elite main force and problems with grain and grass transportation on the Western Front battlefield, and retreated to Wudu County.
When Cao Cao was full of ambition and prepared to launch a massive attack on Hanzhong, a battle report suddenly came from the eastern battlefield. Shen Chen's seven armies were flooded and Cao Hong died in battle.
This made Cao Cao extremely sad, and he quickly retreated back to Chang'an. In July of the same year, he led his troops from Wuguan to Nanyang.
Shen Chen's side had just finished their victory over Cao Hong, but news of Sun Quan's back assassination came from the rear, so he immediately withdrew his troops, leaving only Lu Chang stationed in Wancheng, and the main force led his army south to rush for reinforcements.
Sun Quan encountered Waterloo outside Xunyang City, and then retreated to the official pavilion in the rear. After reorganizing, he became angry and surrounded Xunyang City.
By the end of June, Shen Chen sent his general Samoko with 15,000 Xi barbarians to rush south to aid Xiling and stationed in Xiling County.
Samoko, who was composed of 80,000 elite troops in Nanyang, was also among them, but he did not participate in the battle of the Seventh Flooded Army at that time, but was stationed in the Xinye area as a rear rear force.
The reason why we need to be in Xinye is because Xinye is the hub. To the north, we can rush to support Wancheng and Kunyang, to the west, we can go straight to Wuguan, to the south, we can go to Xiangyang, and to the southeast, we can go from Zhangling to Jiangxia and then to Xiling.
Therefore, this is the most suitable place for garrisoning troops.
Now that Sun Quan is attacking, Cao Cao storms Wuguan again. At the same time, he sends Xiahou Dun to bypass Luoyang from Jin and rush south to aid Zhao Yan. The entire eastern front battlefield is extremely severe.
If Shen Chen directly withdraws his troops back to Jiangxia, only 5,000 men from Wuguan Wenping and Zhang Quan and 8,000 men from Lu Chang will be left to garrison in Nanyang.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Shen Chen postponed his move south and retreated to Xinye for defense.
At the same time, a large number of soldiers' families were immediately relocated to Xiangyang.
On July 4, with Shamoko's support, Zhao Yun led his troops to break out of the encirclement at night and retreated to Qichun from the Dabie Mountain Trail north of Xunyang City. On July 8, they withdrew to Anlu and headed towards Nanjun.
Sun Quan's main force took advantage of the situation and occupied Xiling.
At this time, the forces of the enemy and ours were already intertwined. Jingnan, Nanjun along the Yangtze River, and Xiling County were occupied by Sun Quan.
The only place along the Yangtze River that Liu Bei Group did not miss was Xiakou, and then Jiangxia.
On the other side of Nanyang, Zhao Yan led the remaining troops to retreat to Dingling for reorganization. In mid-July, after Yu Jin and Xiahou Dun arrived, the two sides joined forces and marched into Nanyang again to the north of Wancheng.
Cao Cao personally led the army to help Wuguan.
Xu Huang in Wuguan originally had 20,000 people, and Wenpin's defense was already extremely difficult. When the main force of Cao's army arrived, he naturally had no choice but to retreat.
By the end of July, Shen Chen's power in Jingzhou had completely shrunk. Lu Chang and Wenpin retreated to Xinye, Zhao Yun and Shamoke retreated to Dangyang, and Shen Chen retreated to Xiangyang. Except for Huang She in Xiakou, almost everyone withdrew. To the Nanjun area.
Their military strength is also very limited. Shen Chen's main force is 50,000, Samoko has 10,000, and Lu Chang and Wenpin add up to more than 10,000 people, totaling more than 70,000, which is the original total force of 80,000 in Nanyang.
Including Zhao Yun and Huang Shebu, their income is only over one hundred thousand.
Because Su Fei and Chen Sheng were still trapped in Wan County and besieged by Zhang Liao, Shen Chen's army in Jingzhou was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of overall strength.
On the other hand, Cao's army was mobilized in full force. Except for Zhong Yao's 20,000 troops stationed in Chang'an and Yu Jin, Xia Houdun, who took away more than 60,000 troops, his main force increased from 170,000 to 90,000. Together with Xu Huang's 20,000 troops,
That's 110,000.
This was only the troops led by Cao Cao himself, plus Xiahou Dun from Henan and the remnants of Zhao Yan, the total number of troops dispatched was about 240,000, which was a huge force.
Sun Quan in the south should not be underestimated. Although he only dispatched 140,000 troops, he still had 30,000 reserve troops at Ruxukou, as well as the 10,000 or 20,000 that Sun Jiao received in Jingnan.
The total number of soldiers can reach about 200,000.
For a time, Cao Cao and Sun Quan gathered a large number of troops in Jingzhou.
But Liu Bei's army was not unprepared. After Cao Cao's main force withdrew from Guanzhong and went straight to Nanyang in early July, Liu Bei personally led an army of 120,000. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei sent troops out of Chencang and Baoxie to take Chang'an.
Wuguan stole the taste of Cao Cao's ass.
Cao Cao had no choice but to order Yu Jin and Xia Houyuan to continue to intimidate Nanjun in late July. He led his troops back to Guanzhong and held a stalemate with Liu Bei in Ganting, fifty miles south of Huaili County in Youfufeng.
At the beginning of August, Lu Chang's and Wenpin's troops also withdrew from Xinye and retreated to Xiangyang, Nanjun, where Shen Chen's main force, about 70,000 strong, was assembled.
Since then, the situation between the two sides has gradually become clearer.
Shen Chen's main force completely retreated to Nanjun, while Yu Jin and Xia Houyuan went south to capture Xinye and Fancheng, stationed in Fancheng, and faced off across the river from Xiangyang on the other side of the Han River in the south.
However, Liu Bei used the strategy of surrounding Wei and rescuing Zhao to attack Chang'an, forcing Cao Cao's main force to return to the defense, which caused the pressure on the north to drop sharply.
However, Xia Houyuan and Zhao Yan's troops combined still had an army of 100,000, and Sun Quan had more than 100,000 troops in the south. Both sides were attacking. Shen Chen seemed to be alone at this time. Nanjun was like a lone boat in the wind and rain, and seemed to be charged by the flood at any time.
On August 4th, Sun Quan came to Xiakou in person. Because Xiakou city had high walls and thick walls, plenty of food and grass, and 30,000 troops, Lü Meng could not capture it in a short period of time. Therefore, they stationed at Shaxian and surrounded Xiakou.
area.
At this moment in Shaxian City, in the former residence of Huang Zu as the governor of Jiangxia, Sun Quan was at the top of the throne, with many soldiers and counselors sitting in rows on the left and right below, and there were many talents in the hall.
On the left are counselors Zhuge Jin, Gu Yong, Kan Ze, Sun Shao, Yan Zhen, and Lu Xun. On the right are Lu Meng, Quan Cong, Pan Zhang, Ding Feng, Cheng Pu, Jiang Qin, Lu Fan, and Song Qian.
, Zhu Ran, Zhu Huan, Zhu Cai and other generals.
Except for Xu Sheng and Yu Fan who are currently following Sun Jiao in Jiangling, He Qi who is cooperating with Zhang Liao in attacking Su Fei and Chen Sheng in Wan County, and Zhou Tai and Bu Zhi who died in the battle, the main forces in Jiangdong are basically present.
Everyone looked at Sun Quan above with serious faces.
Although they captured Jingnan, Xiling and Jiangxia, and even the most important city of Nanjun, Jiangling, the Xunyang battle was really ugly. Not only did they lose Zhou Taibu, but also their morale plummeted. If it weren't for Sun Yat-sen's
The war on Jiaolumeng's side was going smoothly, but Jiangdong was afraid that he would have failed in Xunyang.
Sun Quan was sitting on the main seat, and his mood could not be said to be good or bad. Although he lost Zhou Taibu Stallion and fought a humiliating battle in Xunyang, after all, he had obtained most of Jingzhou, leaving only Nanjun and Nanyang. No matter
I can't cry no matter what.
Thinking of this, Sun Quan calmed down, looked around and said, "Thanks to you guys, half of the big thing has been accomplished. Several counties in Jingzhou have been pacified, except for Nan County."
"Nanjun is a tough nut to crack."
Zhuge Jin sighed: "Shen Chen retreated to Nanjun and moved a large number of people and soldiers' families. At this time, Nanjun had more than 100,000 people. If he wants to get Liu Bei's help, he must first go south and take Jiangling directly."
"Um."
Lu Meng nodded in agreement and said: "And Liu Bei will never sit idly by and ignore it. He will definitely send troops."
Sun Quan said: "Cao Cao has written to me. Liu Bei planned to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao. The main army was sent to attack Chang'an. Therefore, Cao Cao had led his army back to defend. However, he left Xiahou Dun in Yu Jin and stationed Xu Huang and Xia Houyuan in Shang. Luo, rush to help at any time."
"Not expected."
Lu Xun said: "Liu Bei's people are in Hanzhong. It is too far to rush to Jingzhou from Hanzhong. It is not as convenient as Cao Cao's southward journey from Wuguan. After receiving the news, he probably had no choice but to send troops out of Guanzhong to surround Wei and rescue Zhao."
Gu Yong said: "Wuhou still needs to be careful about Liu Bei sending people to the south from Hanzhong for reinforcements. Although it is far away, Sun Jiao's side now has insufficient troops. He is afraid that Liu Bei will send people to support him. In addition, Shen Chen will definitely attack Jiangling. If Jiangling is lost, , Liu Bei and Shen Chen attacked Yiling from the east and west, and Liu Bei's army was able to return to Jingzhou to aid."
"Wu Hou."
Lu Meng stood up and said in a deep voice: "Jiangling will be the top priority next. Meng is willing to lead the army to garrison. Only by repelling Shen Chen can he cooperate with Cao's army to annihilate Liu Bei's army in Jingzhou in one fell swoop."
"Um."
Sun Quan stroked his beard and thought, and after a moment he nodded slightly and said, "Okay, Ziming, I'll leave this matter to you. That man is in Shaxian, besieging Huangshe."
"only."
Lu Meng bowed heavily with his hands raised, his face solemn.
This battle is a life and death battle in Jiangdong. If he wins, he will dominate the south with the territory of Jingyang and the Three States. If he fails, he will die and the country will be destroyed. Therefore, he will go all out in this battle and fight to the death with Shen Chen.
The hall was dark, and the candlelight reflected Sun Quan's bright and dark face. He stood up and looked around, then slowly bowed his hands and bowed, and said in a deep voice.
"The rise and fall of Jiangdong depends entirely on the princes. We must win a big victory this time to be able to conquer the south."
"I am willing to die for Wu Hou."
Everyone stood up and returned the salute, with extremely solemn expressions on their faces, because everyone knew that this was the final decisive battle, and victory and death were only a few steps away.
At that time, Sun Quan announced the adjournment of the meeting, and later summoned Lu Meng to discuss the details before re-arranging the army and horses.
Sun Quan himself was stationed in Shaxian and led 50,000 men to besiege Huangshe.
Lü Meng went upstream along the river, passing through Zhouling, Baqiu, Huarong, and Xiaoling to Jiangling, where he garrisoned the city defense of Jiangling.
Sun Jiao was stationed in Yidao to guard against Liu Bei's reinforcements from Yizhou from the west.
Historically, it took only one month for Guan Yu to go from shocking China to defeating Maicheng. Coupled with the information gap and lag, it might only take half a month. The good situation suddenly turned negative.
Liu Bei had just received the news that Guan Yu had flooded the Seventh Army and shocked China. Within a few days, he received the news of Guan Yu's death, leaving him with no time to respond and send reinforcements.
Therefore, Liu Bei in history was completely unable to rescue Guan Yu. Guan Yu fell too quickly.
But it's different now.
Shen Chen delayed it long enough. From June to August, the two months in between were enough for Liu Bei to get the news.
Although Liu Bei's "main force" was still in Hanzhong at the time, it would take at least three or four months to dispatch troops from Hanzhong and return to Jingzhou to aid Jingzhou, even if the information was transmitted. In other words, Yizhou reinforcements would not be seen until at least October at the earliest.
However, Shen Chen was not a free man, especially with 100,000 troops stationed in Nanjun. Even if Sun Quan and Cao's army combined had 300,000 troops, there was no guarantee that Shen Chen could be defeated in just two months.
Therefore, in order to block Liu Bei's reinforcements, stationing a large number of soldiers and horses in Yi Dao was an inevitable result.
In this way, Sun Quan's military deployment will be very clear.
There are about 30,000 Sun Jiao in the Yiling direction, about 60,000 Lü Meng in the Jiangling area, and 50,000 Sun Quan in Shaxian. In addition to a small number of soldiers stationed along the river and in Xiling, Jiangxia and other places, the total is 150,000 to 60,000. Public.
The number of people on Cao Cao's side in the north was relatively small. Since Liu Bei chose to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao, Cao Cao himself led 80,000 people to the north to help, leaving four people from Yu Jin, Xia Hou Dun, Xu Huang and Xia Hou Yuan.
Among them, Yu Jin and Xiahou Dun led the largest number of people, with 60,000 in their own army and about 60,000 or 70,000 in Zhao Yan's remnant army.
At the beginning, Cao Hong had 100,000 people in Henan, but at that time, only 80,000 people faced off against Shen Chen's 50,000 troops. Although seven armies were flooded, only 20,000 to 30,000 people were killed or wounded. The remaining defenders of Kunyang, Wuyang and Dingling County were The army is still there.
Therefore, there were approximately 130,000 people on Yu Jin and Xiahou Dun's side.
Xu Huang and Xia Houyuan were farther away, with about 40,000 people in Shangluo. They could rush to help Chang'an at any time, and they could also go south from Wuguan to Nanyang.
So to a certain extent, both sides have their own arrangements, and they are basically very reasonable, to attack Shen Chen's tribe in Nanjun from the north to the south.
Relatively speaking, Shen Chen's current situation is more serious.
There are more than 100,000 enemies in the north and more than 100,000 enemies in the south. He is surrounded in Nanjun. For the soldiers at the bottom who don't know the truth, the morale must be low.
The only good news is that Shen Chen had already planned and arranged for the soldiers' families and related relatives to move to Nanjun in advance.
Including the elders of Huangmenting Township, all abandoned their homes, carried dry food, and fled to the new wilderness.
Perhaps this fishing operation will pay a huge price. For example, many people will be moved from their hometowns to the relatively safe Nanjun, and many counties in Jingzhou will be occupied by enemies, and even a lot of the population will be relocated.
But it is undeniable that there is no way around this.
Because if you want to really capture Jiangdong, you can only choose to fish to lure Sun Quan to attack, but you can't take the initiative to attack.
If this is a fantasy story, it might work, but the reality is that it is difficult to take the initiative to attack Jiangdong. Even if Shen Chen wins twice and Jiangdong declines, it will be difficult to work.
There are three reasons.
First, due to his righteousness, he had no excuse to attack Jiangdong. Liu Bei established his world with righteousness. If he lost his righteousness, he would lose the reputation and credibility he relied on.
The second is that the time, place, and people are favorable. Jiangdong is strong in the navy but weak in infantry. Liu Bei's navy is not the main force. It only has 50,000 people in total. It is a forced attack. With the natural danger of the Yangtze River, Sun Quan has the right time, place and people. There is a possibility of failure. Great sex.
After all, even Cao Cao's several personal expeditions to Ruxukou failed without success, let alone Liu Bei, who was still weaker than Cao Cao.
The third is external forces.
Liu Bei took the initiative to attack Jiangdong, and Cao Cao would not sit idly by.
Once the strongest Cao Cao joins the battlefield, Liu Bei's group will be attacked from both sides, and the situation will definitely be at a great disadvantage.
Therefore, based on these three points, it is unwise to take the initiative to attack Jiangdong. You can only lure the snake out of its hole and beat the dog after closing the door.
And in order to achieve results, it is inevitable to pay some price.
Fortunately, the price won't be too high.
Because Cao Cao and Sun Quan were eager to destroy Shen Chen who was entrenched in Nanjun, they would not disturb the people.
What's more, both sides have regarded Jingzhou as a forbidden area. Killing the people is tantamount to killing their own people. Neither Cao Cao nor Sun Quan would do such a stupid thing.
Therefore, the only price is that a large amount of territory is currently occupied by Cao Cao and Sun Quan, and the rest of the losses will probably not be too much.
At this time in Xiangyang City, Shen Chen also summoned the generals to discuss matters and prepare for mobilization on the eve of the war.