As the political, cultural and economic center of Jingzhou, Xiangyang City has been repaired and expanded a lot over the years.
The original old town was located on the Han River, like a huge floating island.
But now it has expanded to the plains to the south and west, probably in the Xiangcheng District of Xiangyang City in later generations, and has a population of more than 300,000 to 400,000.
Thousands of miles of fertile fields outside the city, it is early autumn and August, the weather is slightly gloomy, and at the beginning of the meal time, every house is filled with smoke.
The people in the city were much sparse. Because Cao Jun had reached Fancheng opposite, many people were resettled by the government in the Xian Mountain area in the south. The only people in the city were the families of soldiers.
In the Nanjun Prefect's Mansion, Shen Chen was sitting on the throne, and the other generals were stationed outside the city. There were camps in various places in the city. Below were only the four generals Gan Ning, Lu Chang, Zhang Xiu, and Wenpin, as well as Zhou Buyi and Deng Ai. , Cai Du and three clerical advisors sat down.
When everyone came in, they saw Shen Chen in the main seat staring at the map placed on the table.
As an architectural designer who was born in a design institute, drawing is the most basic skill. Although I used to draw on the computer, I studied art in high school and my skills have not been lost. I can quickly sketch with charcoal.
Therefore, after being stationed in Jingzhou for many years, maps of various places were drawn and placed in the Xinye war room. However, the war room was moved to Xiangyang at this time, so all strategic materials are now moved here.
On Shen Chen's desk is a map of the area from Xinye to Fancheng. Ancient map drawings often only drew a rough outline, but his map drawings were much more detailed. There were hundreds of topographic maps of Jingzhou alone. He had made them over the years. It was drawn by people who traveled all over the north and south, and it can be said to be extremely important strategic information.
After Gan Ning came in, he came closer and saw that Shen Chen's eyes were always on Fan City, so he wondered: "General, are we planning to raid Fan City?"
"No."
Shen Chen shook his head: "Now is not the time."
"When will that take place?"
"Wait a little longer."
"Wait a little longer?"
"Yes."
"All right."
Gan Ning licked his lips and sat aside.
After a while, everyone came. Shen Chen put away the map, looked around at everyone and said, "Everyone, Sun Quan has taken the bait."
"Very good."
Lu Chang raised his hands and said: "General, do you want to send the carrier pigeon immediately?"
"No."
Shen Chen shook his head: "It's not the time yet."
Gan Ning wondered: "Now that Sun Quan has occupied Yidao, Jiangling, Zhouling, Shaxian, plus Xiling and Jiangxia, he is surrounding us in the south and east. Why don't you call for reinforcements at this time?"
Shen Chen pointed to the north and said: "It would be good to call for reinforcements now and go south immediately to eliminate Sun Quan. But that will scare away Cao's army, so we can't kill two birds with one stone."
"oh?"
Zhou Buji rolled his eyes and said, "Senior brother, have you got a new plan?"
"Um."
Shen Chen nodded: "I have been thinking about one thing these days. If I send a message to Jiangzhou now, Kongming will immediately dispatch troops and generals to hunt Yi Dao and Jiangling with me. I have dug a secret road to Jiangling a long time ago. In the city, it is not difficult to eliminate Sun Jiao and Lu Meng with a flanking attack from two sides. However, Sun Quan will run away, as will Yu Jin and Xiahou Dun, so the results of the battle cannot be expanded."
Can't the results be expanded?
After everyone thought about it, they felt it made sense.
In fact this is the problem.
The fishing was successful, but so far I have only caught two medium-sized fish.
Sun Jiao's side had 30,000 to 40,000, and Lu Meng's side had 50,000 to 60,000, less than 100,000.
But Yu Jin and Xiahou Dun were still in the Xinye area of Fancheng.
If the message is sent now, then Huang Zhong will take a boat from Bodao and travel from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River to Jiangling. In only three or four days, he can reach Nanjun very quickly.
Sun Jiao's army is stationed in Yi Dao, and there are not enough ships to stop him. Shen Chen can cooperate with Huang Zhong to destroy Lu Meng first and then attack Sun Jiao.
With mental calculations and unintentional intentions, and with nearly 200,000 troops attacking less than 100,000, they can be easily defeated.
But what happens after the destruction?
When Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin saw this result, they would immediately run away.
Because they had seen that Liu Bei had not transferred his main force to Guanzhong at all, but had already set up an ambush in Yizhou, they must have guessed that this was a trap set by Liu Bei.
Therefore, when the time comes, he will definitely not wait for Cao Cao's order, but will immediately run away and bring Cao Cao's army back to Henan.
Not to mention Sun Quan, he probably ran faster than anyone else.
Although the elimination of these two forces, Sun Jiao and Lu Meng, will further weaken Jiangdong's strength, almost cutting Jiangdong's current total military strength in half.
But at best it would only be a hamstring, and it would not be able to completely eliminate Jiangdong's vitality.
Sun Quan still has 50,000 people in Zhouling, Shaxian area, 10,000 or 20,000 people in Jiangxia area of Xiling, plus 30,000 people in Ruxukou, as well as county soldiers stationed in various places in Jiangdong. It is not a big problem to gather another 100,000 people to resist. .
Even if Sun Jiao and Lu Meng's troops are successfully eliminated and Liu Bei's group launches a large-scale attack on Jiangdong, Sun Quan will still be able to organize some defensive forces. Cao Cao's strength will not be damaged, and he will definitely spare no effort to rescue Sun Quan.
If he had to go through such a big effort to achieve this result, he might not even be able to destroy Jiangdong in the next action. Naturally, this was something Shen Chen was not happy to see.
So we have to find ways to expand the results.
At least Yu Jin and Xia Houdun must be eaten. The best result is to kill Sun Quan in Shaxian as well.
In this way, the active forces in Jiangdong were completely wiped out, and Huang She's Jiangxia navy could attack Huanglong directly, go down the river, and easily capture the Yangzhou counties.
By then, there may not even be a need to fight. Jiang Xia's naval forces surrendered countless people wherever they went. When the families of various counties heard about Sun Quan's downfall, most of them either moved to the north or chose to submit.
As soon as Sun Quan died, Jiangdong sent a message to determine the outcome.
So how can we not only severely damage the Cao Wei Group, but also take advantage of the situation to destroy Jiangdong's effective forces, and then annex Jiangdong?
Gan Ning asked this question: "Then how can we expand the results?"
Shen Chen unconsciously put his forehead on his temples and said softly: "There is a way, but the price will be a bit high."
"What can I do?"
Everyone was busy asking questions.
Shen Chen said: "I thought that since we wanted to fish, we should fish thoroughly. I led 50,000 people south, pretended to attack Jiangling, and opened the road back to Yizhou from Yidao. I sent a general to stay in Xiangyang, and Houdun of Jinxia met me. If we leave, Xiangyang will have few soldiers, so we will definitely launch a massive attack. We only need to resist for a few days, abandon the city and run away, leaving Xiangyang to them."
"Give them Xiangyang?"
Lu Chang said in shock: "General, there is no room for error in Xiangyang. Even if we lure them into taking the bait, how can we use Xiangyang as bait? If by then, even if Sun Quan is eliminated and Cao Cao gains Xiangyang, we may not be able to defeat them."
"yes."
Zhang Xiu also advised: "Xiangyang is the strongest city in Jingzhou. It is surrounded by water and the city is tall. It only needs 10,000 people to garrison it, and even 100,000 people cannot defeat it. After Cao Cao won Xiangyang, he used Nanyang as his foundation and Xiangyang as his base. On the front line, if Xiangyang is lost, the gain outweighs the loss."
Zhou Buyi also frowned and said: "Senior brother still wants to use a trick to lure the enemy, but as General Zhang said, losing Xiangyang is not worth the loss. With Cao Cao's strength, Xiangyang will be able to hold it. With Xiangyang in hand, Nanyang We can hold it now. One-third of the population of Jingzhou is now in Nanyang. Even if Sun Quan is eliminated, it will not be considered a great victory unless..."
"Unless, unless, Shi. Master, you have a way to recapture Xiangyang."
Deng Ai suddenly spoke.
Due to his stuttering problem, he seldom speaks.
Over the years, Shen Chen has been encouraging him to speak more and move his mouth more to correct his stuttering problem. Now his speaking is actually much better than before.
"Is there a way to take back Xiangyang?"
Everyone looked at Shen Chen in surprise.
Shen Chen nodded slightly: "There is a way."
"What can I do?"
Zhou Busuo asked hurriedly.
Shen Chen pointed his finger at the sky with a smile and said: "Jingzhou has entered the rainy season in May and June, but it has been sunny weather in the past two months from June to August. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
Everyone was puzzled.
"Because the weather has been affected in some way, the plum rains that were supposed to last for two months did not come. Although I don't know the specific impact, I can conclude that from August to October, the big one is coming. .”
Shen Chen said calmly.
Is the big one coming?
Everyone was confused and had no idea what he was talking about.
Only Shen Chen smiled and said nothing.
When the Yangtze River flooded his hometown, he went to learn some knowledge about meteorology.
I have heard about "El Niño" and "Peru Cold Current". Although I have only a partial understanding of it, I also know that this is an extreme weather event that only occurs once in a century.
The Battle of Xiangfan in history falls into this category.
After all, there is no normal weather that can cause the Han River to rise to a height of more than five to six feet and ten meters, almost flooding the entire city.
And he happened to have watched "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and knew the time when the Seven Armies were flooded.
Therefore, he knew that in another month, by the end of August, heavy rains would fall in Jingzhou, causing the water volume of the Han River and the Yangtze River to surge, flooding the entire Xiangyang and Fancheng.
If he chooses to go south at this time and only use a small number of soldiers to garrison Xiangyang, then Yu Jin and Xiahou Dun will definitely seize Xiangyang.
At this time, the Xiangyang garrison could lure them into the city by pretending to be defeated.
After Yu Jin and Xia Houdun fell into the trap, Shen Chen could immediately release the carrier pigeons and arrange for Huang Zhong to attack. The army rushed straight to Nanjun, killing Sun Jiao and Lu Meng first, and then divided the army into two groups, taking Sun Quan all the way and heading north to Xiangyang.
At that time, when autumn came on September 8th, heavy rains continued to fall in Jingzhou. The Mian River surged and flooded Fancheng, so they brought Cao's army to kill. It could be said to kill two birds with one stone, a perfect trick to lure the enemy.
The only problem is...
"Senior brother, do you mean that a heavier rain is coming than the last heavy rain in Kunyang?"
Zhou Buji said.
"Um."
Shen Chen nodded and said: "Everything in the world is flowing, and the water vapor in the world is also condensing. The rainy season in Jingzhou is supposed to be from May to October, but if it doesn't rain for two months, it means that the farther you go, the harder it will rain. It's so big, I expect the Mian River to rise several feet high."
"Really?"
Gan Ning said happily: "If this is the case, we can take advantage of the situation and take back Xiangyang."
"good."
Shen Chen said: "There is just a problem."
"What's the problem?"
Gan Ning was puzzled.
"The city is full of people."
Deng Ai said.
"right."
Shen Chen said: "Although it is caused by the strange weather, the people of Xiangyang will suffer. I want to move the people of Xiangyang to Zhonglu in the south, in the area of Cangxiang. It is backed by Jingshan Mountain, the terrain is high, and the water cannot be flooded. When people leave their homes and families, they will inevitably suffer."
Zhou Buji said: "If this is really the case, by relocating the people, Senior Brother is also protecting the people from disaster. Presumably, even if they are resentful, they will be grateful to Senior Brother when they learn the truth later."
"Um."
Shen Chen looked around and said: "I think so too, so in the next month, we have things to do, and the generals will obey orders."
"The end is here!"
Gan Ning, Zhang Xiu, Wenpin, and Lu Chang stood up quickly.
Shen Chen said: "Gan Ning, I will make you the vanguard general and lead 10,000 people south to Dangyang. They will join Zhao Yun's Shamoke tribe and arrive at Ma Fu Ju to pretend to attack Ji Nan."
"promise!"
Gan Ning was overjoyed to receive his order.
To the south of Dangyang County is Ma Fuju, and to the north of Jiangling City is Ji Nan Pavilion.
At this time, Dangyang was occupied by about 20,000 people from Zhao Yun and Shamoko, and they were facing each other more than 100 miles away from Lü Meng's tribe in Jiangling.
After Gan Ning went to join Zhao Yun, he wanted to take action against Jiangling.
Shen Chen looked at Wenpin again and said, "Where is Wenpin?"
"The end will be here."
"I order you to lead 5,000 men to garrison Xiangyang. There is no need to defend Xiangyang to the death. Just cover the evacuation of the people around Xiangyang."
"only!"
Wenpin accepted this order silently.
"Lü Chang, Zhang Xiu, you two will retreat with me to Yicheng and be responsible for relocating the people. When all the people are settled in Zhonglu and Cangxiang, you will follow me south to Jiangling."
"only."
Lu Chang and Zhang Xiu cupped their hands.
At the end, Shen Chen looked at Zhou Buyi and said, "Ming Li."
"I?"
Zhou Busuo stood up in confusion, cupped his hands and said, "I'm humble."
"I order you to lead 10,000 men and station them on Yuliang Continent. They will be at the horns of each other with Xiangyang. They will hold off Cao's army for at least twenty days. Do you dare to agree?"
Shen Chen looked at him seriously.
Zhou Buji suddenly became solemn, and after thinking for a moment, he responded: "Dare."
"good."
Shen Chen looked around and said: "I ordered General Buyi to garrison Yuliang Continent because you are all veteran generals and the location is advantageous. Yu Jin and Xiahou Dun will definitely attack tentatively and will not dare to invade in a large scale. Only You Buyi has a low reputation. I heard that he is the chief general and occupies a dangerous place like Yuliangzhou. He will definitely attack Zhoudao first and attack Xiangyang slowly. This will buy time for us to relocate the people, and at the same time, it will also make them doubtless. With it, we can successfully occupy Xiangyang, but this strategy still needs to be stable."
After saying that, he turned to look at Zhou Buyi and said seriously: "Buyi, I watched you grow up and you have been with me since you were a child. I have already taught you almost everything I can teach you about military tactics and strategies. At that time, you were still You're too young. I didn't take you to fight in the north. Only in the past few years have you had some actual combat experience with me. But if you stay with me all your life, you won't grow up. I hope you can become a famous general in the future, not with me. Be a counselor and don't let me down."
Zhou Buyi said with a solemn face: "General, if you don't doubt it, you will die. Within twenty days, Cao Jun will never be allowed to go to the island, unless they can step over my body."
"Um."
Shen Chen looked at Deng Ai and Cai Du again and said: "Shizai, you also stay, I will order Zhou Tai to lead a Huangmen soldier to obey your orders, I hope you can play their role. Zimu, you As a deputy general, I will discuss important matters with Buyiduo. This battle will also be a test for you. Remember, you must stop Cao's army for twenty days!"
"only!"
Deng Ai and Cai Du also bowed their hands seriously.
Seeing that the three of them were very serious, Shen Chen was still a little worried and gave a few more instructions.
This is actually like Zhuge Liang arranging Ma Su to guard the street pavilion.
However, the difference is that Ma Di cannot let the street pavilion fall, but they need to block it for at least twenty days, then pretend to be defeated and let Xiangyang "fall".
Strictly speaking, even if they fail, the consequences will not be as serious as the failure of Ma Di's overall strategy.
Because Shen Chen himself wanted to deliberately lure Yu Jin and Xiahou Dun to settle in Xiangyang, their result required failure rather than successfully repelling the enemy.
At the same time, he also arranged for Wenpin to be stationed in Xiangyang City to help them find out.
The problem is that these twenty days are actually the time for Shen Chen to successfully migrate the people of Xiangyang and for the army to go south and take Jiangling directly.
If they lose too quickly, they will fall within a few days, and all the pressure will fall on Wenpin.
In other words, Zhou Buji, Deng Ai, Cai Du and the others are the first line of defense, while Wenpin is the insurance placed by Shen Chen in Xiangyang. It is also the first time for them to lead an independent army and give them the opportunity to accumulate experience. .
They were afraid that if they could not hold up the wall, they would lose too quickly, and it would also affect the civil service, causing Shen Chen's plan to relocate the people to fail, which would lead to the historical result of Liu Bei leading his people southward and being chased by Cao Jun.
It's just that this is the worst case scenario. With two insurances, according to Shen Chen's guess, it shouldn't lead to that kind of trouble.
Therefore, it can be said that Zhou Buji's mission is not important, but it is also very important. What is needed is that Wenpin can withstand the pressure, successfully block Cao's army and delay their attack.
However, even if Wenpin took the lead, Shen Chen would be very sad if Zhou Buji and the others failed to complete their mission and were quickly defeated by Cao's army.
Just like Zhuge Liang had high hopes for Ma Di.
He also had high hopes for Zhou Buji, Deng Ai and Cai Du, hoping that they could become generals guarding a side in the future, instead of being eagles who would always hide under his wings.
Therefore, this battle is both a test and an expectation.
After handing over all the tasks, Shen Chen looked around and said solemnly: "Everyone, the rise and fall of Jingzhou depends on this battle. Don't slack off and be attentive."
"only."
Everyone bowed their hands in unison.
Shen Chen looked outside the hall, as if looking towards the south.