Chapter 368 Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun plan to gain Xiahou Dun
Author: Playing with Basilisk
Chapter 368 Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun plan to gain Xiahou Dun
October 7th, early in the morning at the end of Pingdan.
When Shen Chen made an appointment with Xiahou Yuan for a battle, and both sides were mobilizing troops and horses, Xiahou Dun in Xiangyang City was also mobilizing troops and horses.
He was not stupid enough to take all the soldiers and horses out, but left Zhao Yan to lead 12,000 people to continue to garrison Xiangyang, while he took 30,000 people to take a small boat out of the city in the early morning when it was still dark.
There are not many small boats in the city. In order to send all 30,000 people out, from Pingdan to sunrise alone, dozens of small boats made seven or eight trips back and forth.
The soldiers brought dry food for five days and left most of the food and grass for Zhao Yan to hold on. This way Zhao Yan could hold on for a long time. After he reunited with Xia Houyuan, he could counterattack Fancheng and reoccupy the important area of Xiangfan.
By the end of the sunrise, 30,000 troops had already gathered outside the city and began to move northwest along the Han River.
Naturally, the Jingzhou Army scouts on both sides of the river had discovered their movements long ago. There were constant sounds of horns, whistles, gongs and drums from all directions, as if they had been awakened from a deep sleep. Even on the Han River, there were many ships following them.
However, Xiahou Dun was not afraid. He knew that these were the scouts arranged by Shen Chen on the Han River.
Although Shen Chen's troops are in the Fancheng area of Jiangbei, Shen Chen's main force is currently confronting Xia Houyuan on the front line. The distance between the two sides is already very close. Unless Shen Chen can win a big victory and then return to the army, he will not be able to catch up.
After he arrived in Zhuyang, it didn't matter even if Shen Chen withdrew his troops and returned to the camp, then immediately boarded the ship and organized a fleet to attack him.
Because Xiahou Yuan could immediately go to Yin County to fight Xiahou Dun across the Han River and Shen Chen's army on the river. Fu Fang built walls on both sides of the river. Moreover, the terrain of Jiangxin Island was narrow and the river was fast. They had a favorable location, so they were not afraid. .
Soon after dinner time, the Jingzhou cavalry stationed in the Longzhong area to the west roared and fled. Although Huo Yang and others killed many Cao army scouts here, they could not go head-to-head with the regular army.
Xiahou Dun was riding on horseback and glanced at the cavalry in the distance with one eye. Without saying anything, he directed the troops to walk towards the hilly mountainous road in the northwest.
By afternoon, they had already passed Longzhong.
This is the only way to cross the Han River by land from Xiangyang. The Han River in other places is fifty wide at its narrowest point, and the average width of the entire river section is more than a hundred feet.
Moreover, it is still the dry season, and the flood season has to be twice as wide.
Therefore, they could only go to the relatively narrow upper reaches of the Han River, pass through Jiangxin Island, and build pontoon bridges on both sides of the river to cross the river.
But the road to Zhuyang is extremely long. You have to walk 180 miles just to Zhuyang, and many of them are mountainous terrain. Even if the army travels lightly, sets out early in the morning, and sleeps in the open air, it will take at least until tomorrow night. Only then can we get to Zhuyang.
Among them, there is another city between Zhuyang and Xiangyang, named Shandu County, which is probably located in Miaotan Town, south of Gucheng County in later generations, and in the area of Taipingdian Town, Fancheng District, Xiangyang.
This is also a river crossing point, later called Taiping Ferry. There is Jiangxinzhou on the river and is connected to the other side.
However, this area had long been occupied by Shen Chen, who sent Huo Yang, Wudang, Wu Tao and others to seize Shandu County. Using Shandu County as the base, they blocked all sides of the Han River from Shandu to Xiangyang.
As for why it is not radiated to Gucheng and Yinxian Ferry, it is also very simple.
Too far.
The straight-line distance from Xiangyang to Gucheng is about 50 kilometers, and the journey north along the river is more than 70 kilometers, especially in the upper reaches of Jiangxin Island, where there are countless floating islands and reefs, and the river is extremely narrow and is not suitable for large ships, so you can only go by small boats. .
Therefore, this is why Xiahou Dun dared to cross mountains and ridges, walk two days on the mountain road to Zhuyang, then cross the river from Zhuyang, and then walk two days back to Yancheng where Xiahou Yuan was located.
As long as Fu Fang defends Zhuyang and Yin County, Shen Chen's big ship cannot pass by and the small ship cannot stop him, but he can pass by with great arrogance.
Soon in the evening, Xiahou Dun could already see Shandu County in the distance.
They came from Longzhong Township, climbed several hills and mountains, and walked for six hours, almost ninety miles, about forty kilometers, with an average speed of three kilometers per hour, excluding the time to rest and eat. , the average speed is about four kilometers.
From this point of view, the journey of Cao Cao's soldiers was quite difficult, but the journey was relatively smooth, except for the occasional appearance of Shen Chen's army scouts, which was a bit annoying.
"Just rest where you are."
Xiahou Dun saw that the soldiers had been walking for a day and had not rested much except for a three-quarter-of-an-hour break at noon. The soldiers were quite tired, so he ordered them to be stationed in the field.
Of course you don't have to set up camp, just lie down and sleep.
The sun was setting in the west, and except for the soldiers who arranged to keep watch, most people found a tree to lie down in the jungle at the foot of the mountain.
By dusk, when the sky had darkened, several horses suddenly appeared in the distance.
"Beep beep beep!"
The sharp whistles of the peripheral scouts quickly aroused the vigilance of the surrounding soldiers.
But a moment later, the bone whistle also belonging to Cao Jun sounded, causing them to quickly calm down from agitation.
The knights were quickly brought to Xiahou Dun. They dismounted, knelt down on one knee and said, "Report, general, the enemy is attacking Zhuyang and Yin counties."
"How many people did they go to?"
Xiahou Dun frowned. He was not surprised that Zhuyang and Yin counties were attacked.
Because the news of his departure from Xiangyang in the morning must have reached Shen Chen. Unless Xia Houyuan failed to complete the task of entangling him, Shen Chen would definitely not be able to walk directly to Yin County by land.
However, there is still no problem in sending a small group of troops to go north along the river by boat. It is difficult for large ships upstream to pass, and it is still very easy for hundreds of small troop transport ships such as Luangang to rush out.
The messenger replied: "There are no less than 5,000 people and hundreds of ships. General Fu only has more than 1,000 people. He is worried that it will be difficult to withstand the enemy's offensive."
"Five thousand?"
Xiahou Dun began to think deeply.
Zhuyang and Yinxian are just two small cities with very few troops stationed there.
Because they are not strategic locations in themselves, there are too many places where the Han River crosses the river, and they are far away from the Xiangfan battlefield. It is inconvenient for Shen Chen and Xia Houyuan to send troops there.
Therefore, at that time, soldiers and horses were only stationed in various counties on the north bank of the Han River on a regular basis, and the number was not large.
"Didn't Miaocai send someone to respond?"
Xiahou Dun asked.
The messenger shook his head: "I sent it, but it's still on the way. Your Majesty said you were afraid that Shen Chen's scouts would find out and make him aware of something strange, so he sent a large army to attack Zhuyang Yin County, so he notified General Fu and asked him to build the wall first. , wait until General Zhengxi engages the enemy, and then take a detour from the rear to Yin County, but the journey is long and we will not be able to arrive until at least tomorrow."
Now both sides of the Han River belong to Shen Chen, Zhuyang is in the southwest of the Han River, and Yin County is in the north of the Han River, both on the riverside.
When communicating with each other, Xiahou Dun and Xia Houyuan only dared to send messengers on foot in the middle of the night, and did not dare to ride horses, just for fear of disturbing the scouts of Shen Chen's army along both sides of the river.
With the naval force, Shen Chen could almost do whatever he wanted. He fought head-on with Xia Houyuan's tribe and closely monitored the movements on both sides of the Han River. If he sent reinforcements in advance, he would definitely be noticed.
Therefore, according to Guo Jia's wishes, in order to prevent Shen Chenjun's scouts from discovering their move to Yin County, they would wait until the day of the operation to send reinforcements there.
Judging from the distance, Xiahou Dun will arrive at Zhuyang Ferry tomorrow afternoon, and the reinforcements will almost arrive.
At that time, even if Shen Chen sent troops, he could not stop them from evacuating.
But obviously Guo Jia still underestimated Shen Chen's ability.
Xiahou Dun guessed that when Shen Chen learned that he was going to evacuate Xiangyang for the first time, he had already sent a fleet to go north along the river to Zhuyang and Yin counties.
After all, Shandu County is controlled by Shen Chen, and it is impossible for him to cross the river from Shandu.
It happened that at that time, the south of the Yangtze River in the Shandu section of the Han River was covered with continuous mountainous areas, so Xiahou Dun's army did not go along the river, but in the mountains more than ten miles away from the Han River.
Therefore, when Shen Chen received the intelligence in the morning, he immediately sent a fleet northward. They could not see the movements of the other party's ships at all, and they did not know how many people on the other side had gone, let alone what the situation was like in Zhuyang Yin County now.
But now that Fu Fang has sent people to deliver the message, it seems that the situation in Zhuyang and Yin counties is very bad. Maybe the five thousand people are just the first wave of vanguards, and there will be a large group of people following behind.
If this is the case, it may indeed not be a good idea for Fu Fang's more than a thousand people to be stationed in two cities in Yangyin County.
Thinking of this, Xiahou Dun felt that he could no longer hesitate.
If Shen Chen captures Zhuyang and Yin counties, his situation will be in trouble.
When Shen Chen returns from the front line to Fancheng and takes a boat from Fancheng to intercept him halfway, he will be completely isolated and helpless.
Xiahou Dun then asked: "How far is it from Zhuyang?"
"More than ninety miles."
"Can you be there at noon tomorrow?"
"Probably we can get there."
replied the messenger.
"good!"
Xiahou Dun gritted his teeth, turned his head and looked at the messenger and said: "Send the order, gallop through the starry night, we will rest in Zhuyang City tomorrow!"
"General."
The deputy general guarding the army, Wang Tu, advised: "The soldiers have been gone for a day. If we leave again, even if we arrive at Zhuyang tomorrow, we will not have the strength to fight the enemy. Why don't you lead five thousand people to Zhuyang to defend it? General Lead the army to rest for a night and set out again tomorrow?"
"this"
Xiahou Dun hesitated and said: "Fu Fang only has more than a thousand soldiers in his hands, Zhuyang and Yin counties each have hundreds of soldiers. The enemy is powerful, and I am afraid that Fu Fang will not be able to resist and lose Zhuyang and Yin counties. We Rush over as soon as possible, even if you encounter the enemy, don't get entangled, go into the city to rest as soon as possible, and it will probably be better to cross the river tomorrow."
Wang Tu thought about it and realized that it did make sense, because Fu Fang's troops were really too small, so he had no choice but to say: "Then the general is willing to be the vanguard, lead his troops to march lightly, and march straight to Zhuyang."
"Um."
Xiahou Dun nodded and said, "That's it."
The messenger's face changed slightly. Fortunately, the sun was setting in the west and it was getting late, so we couldn't see the change on his face.
He was a close confidant of Fu Fang, so he naturally knew that Fu Fang had surrendered.
Now Zhuyang and Yin counties are all occupied by Jingzhou troops, waiting for Xiahou Dun to fall into the trap. If Xiahou Dun first sends Wang Tu to explore the road and discovers the ambush circle, wouldn't all the previous efforts be wasted?
After thinking about it, the messenger quickly said: "General, we are willing to lead the way, but we still need to send someone back to inform General Fu to boost the morale of the troops in the city."
"good."
Xiahou Dun did not doubt that he was there and said: "Then you two of you should go back immediately and the others will lead the way for Wang Tu."
"yes."
The messenger shall proceed.
They actually have their own guides.
But if the troops are divided now, the leader does not have the ability to clone himself.
It would be great if Fu Fang sent a messenger to lead the way.
At that moment, Xiahou Dun ordered the soldiers to rest for an hour, and asked Wang Tu to lead five thousand men lightly armed and go straight to Zhuyang.
The mountain capital is more than ninety miles, or forty kilometers, from Zhuyang. Even if Wang Tu marches in a hurry and advances at a speed of five kilometers per hour, it will still take four hours.
It's now three quarters to dusk, about eight o'clock, and we don't expect to arrive until four in the morning, and this is still a relatively optimistic situation.
Humans are not made of steel. They need to eat and rest. They have been walking for a day since they set off this morning. The soldiers are extremely tired. Therefore, even if Wang Tu sets off first, whether they can arrive before eight o'clock in the morning is still a problem.
The messenger sent by Fu Fang rode a horse. Although the horse also had to rest, horses were still better than humans in short-distance racing. Even if they stopped and stopped, they could return to Zhuyang in about two hours.
At the end of the night on the 7th, in Zhuyang County, Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, and Fu Fang were discussing at the county government office the matter of ambushing Xiahou Dun tomorrow.
In terms of official positions, Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun were actually on the same level, and Fu Fang's status as a demoted general was certainly not higher than theirs.
However, Shen Chen arranged for Huang Zhong to take the lead and resolve issues of priority, so Huang Zhong sat in the chair and discussed tomorrow's arrangements with the two of them in detail.
In fact, the layout has been completed.
But they were all waiting for the messenger's reply, so they kept waiting.
Near midnight, the messenger sent to report to Xiahou Dun finally came back. After entering, he hurriedly reported to them: "The three generals are not in good condition."
"what happens?"
Huang Zhong asked hurriedly.
The messenger said: "Xiahou Dun sent Wang Tu to lead five thousand people ahead. If he notices, he will definitely send someone to inform Xiahou Dun."
"What should I do?"
Fu Fang suddenly became confused and panicked.
Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun thought for a moment, and Zhao Yun smiled and said: "This is easy, just prevent them from entering the city."
"good."
Huang Zhong also nodded and said: "We originally deployed five thousand soldiers and horses outside the city to pretend to attack the city and deceive Xiahou Dun. When Wang Tu comes, we just attack him and block him outside the city. Fu
The general can pretend to be a Wei soldier on the city and watch the battle. This battle will definitely destroy Cao's army. At that time, the King of Han will reward the general for his merits and will not forget the general."
Fu Fang said happily: "Thank you two generals very much."
"It won't be too late."
Huang Zhong looked at Zhao Yun and said: "Zilong, go out of the city immediately, organize your troops and horses, and stop the king tomorrow."
"good."
Zhao Yun nodded.
The two of them then made arrangements.
They have more than 30,000 troops, which is about the same number as Xiahou Dun's side.
But they deliberately pretended to take a boat north to Zhuyang first, and then asked Fu Fang to call for help, leaving Xiahou Dun to travel at night without rest.
When the time comes, the Jingzhou army of more than 30,000 people with high morale will be as easy as chopping melons and vegetables against the 30,000 Cao army with low morale and having traveled a day and night.
Although Shen Chen had told Guo Jia about Fu Fang's defection at the front line today, Guo Jia also informed Xia Houyuan.
But it was not that easy for Xia Houyuan to inform Xiahou Dun.
Let’s not talk about whether the scouts can break through the Han River blocked by Shen Chen and reach the other side of the river. Even if they can sneak across, the journey from Yancheng to Zhuyang, and then from Zhuyang to where Xiahou Dun is, is more than 100 kilometers and takes two days on horseback. , it’s simply too late.
So now, although Xiahou Yuan has sent a large number of scouts to cross the river to inform Xiahou Dun about this matter, the long journey and the interception of Shen Chen's army's scouts on the way mean that almost no one can successfully reach the other side.
So in the early morning of the next day, Wang Tu, who had been traveling all night, finally climbed over the mountains and crossed the large hills and mountains in the south of Gucheng County. What he saw was the military camp of the Jingzhou Army south of Zhushui, and The Zhuyang City is located north of Zhushui and west of Hanshui.
Some friends like strategizing literary drama, and some friends like fighting martial arts. As Cao Cao's first general, Xiahou Dun gave him one chapter for literary drama and one chapter for martial arts. It's not too much, it's not too much. As for Sun Quan, don't worry, let's take care of it first. Cao Jun turned around to attack him again.