On May 4, the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an, at the end of the morning, Liu Bei's main ship docked outside Xiakou City.
Strategically speaking, the strategic significance of Xiakou is actually higher than that of Jiangling.
Because Jiangling only holds the road from Jingzhou to Yizhou, while Xiakou is located in the triangle area of Yizhou, Jingzhou, Yangzhou and Nanyang in the north.
From Xiakou, you can go to Xiangyang and Nanyang in the north, Jiangdong in the east, Jiangling and Yizhou in the west, and Jingnan and Jiaozhou in the south, which are thoroughfares.
Convenient transportation is also the reason why this area was able to develop an international first-tier metropolis like Wuhan in later generations.
As preparation for the war against Wu, Shen Chen designated Xiakou as the rear supply base.
The main reason is that to the north, the Han River can transport supplies from Nanyang and Xiangyang, to the west, the Yangtze River can transport supplies from Yizhou and Jingnan, and to the east, the Yangtze River is the point of attack.
In addition, when Liu Bei and Sun Quan maintained a superficial alliance, Xiakou was the commercial center of the three states of Jing and Yiyang, and many warehouses were built.
Therefore, whether it is defense or offense, it can serve as a transit area for this war and escort the frontline attack.
After Liu Bei's fleet entered Xiakou Pier, many small boats were rowed out on the pier, and the ropes thrown from the boats were brought to the shore. Then the trackers began to pull the boats to the shore.
Soon hundreds of ships were towed into the port, and Liu Bei, Guan Yu and several other courtiers slowly stepped down from the ships.
Below, Shen Chen, the governor of Nanzhou, Zhao Yun, the general who conquered the east, Huang She, the general who Zhendong, Gan Ning, the general who conquered the north, Guo Mu, the governor of Xiling, and Deng Fu, the new governor of Jiangxia, were already waiting.
Liu Bei only brought 20,000 troops this time, and the senior generals only brought Guan Yu, Ma Chao, Wei Yan, Pang De, and more than a dozen famous lieutenant-level generals.
He didn't bring any of the top counselors.
The Liu Bei Group's current lineup of generals and counselors is still very luxurious. In terms of generals, it goes without saying that there are five tiger generals who are above the first line. The first line also includes Gan Ning, Wei Yan, Pang De, Guan Ping, Shamoko and others. The rest will not be counted. Its number.
In terms of counselors, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Fazheng, Jia Xu, and Xu Shu are all at the top level. The second-line counselors also include Ma Liang, Huang Quan, Liu Ba, etc.
Among them there is even Shen Chen, who is both civil and military.
Although Shen Chen has been on the battlefield less often now, his force value is only slightly weaker than that of the five tigers, between the first line and the first line.
Not to mention strategy, he was the earliest proposer of the strategy of dividing the world into two parts.
Therefore, Liu Bei Group can be said to be full of talents.
However, it is the same as the situation faced by Cao Wei. Now that the territory is larger, there are more places to manage, defend and guard.
Zhang Fei is currently guarding Xiliang, and Huang Zhong is in Hanzhong.
Zhuge Liang sits in Jiangzhou to handle affairs in the two states, Pang Tong manages the entire Chengdu Plain in Shu County, Xu Shu assists Huang Zhong in Hanzhong, Fazheng is not in good health this year and is recuperating in Jiangzhou, and Jia Xu is too old to travel around.
Therefore, Liu Bei did not lead many people.
However, as the saying goes, people are better than too many. These few generals alone are enough to control the situation. What's more, there are so many civil servants and generals in Jingzhou, which is enough to deal with Jiangdong.
After everyone got off the boat, Shen Chen came up with all the soldiers from Jingzhou, bowed his hands and saluted, "Greetings to the king!"
"Meet the King!"
Everyone saluted and shouted in unison, which was quite impressive.
Liu Bei, with gray hair and beard, looked at his son-in-law with satisfaction, stepped forward to support him, looked up and down with a smile, and said: "Xiaoqing, you are strong again, how are you doing in daily life?"
Asking about daily life is a way of greeting the Han people, which is similar to the meaning of how the descendants are doing recently.
Shen Chen smiled and said: "King Meng is worried about you. Your daily life is very good."
"Hahahahaha."
Liu Bei patted Shen Chen on the shoulder and said to Guan Yu behind him: "Yun Chang, do you remember? Xiaoqing was very thin back then, but now she is so strong, but we are so old that we are almost skinny."
Guan Yu's hair turned white, he narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard and said: "Time is not forgiving, the future will belong to their young people."
"Uncle Yun Chang defeated Cao's army, and his sword is still young. This attack on Jiangdong is exactly what Uncle Yun Chang needs."
Shen Chen replied with a smile, and then said: "Your Majesty, please go to the city first."
"Okay, let's go into the city."
Liu Bei nodded.
Now, led by everyone, they entered Xiakou City.
Entering the county government residence, Shen Chen suggested that Liu Bei and the others had been traveling from Jiangzhou for several days and should rest first and inspect the military affairs tomorrow.
But Liu Bei insisted on seeing Shen Chen's tactical plan for this battle and wanted to hear his overall plan for defeating Wu.
Because Liu Bei didn't bring any of his five great advisers, he only brought Dong He, the commander-in-chief, Ma Liang, the minister, Yang Yi, the minister, and others.
Moreover, they often live in Yizhou and do not know much about the situation in Jiangdong.
Therefore, Liu Bei gave full power to Shen Chen to take charge of this strategic and tactical planning. They all obeyed Shen Chen's arrangements. Therefore, the entire strategic and tactical layout of this war rested solely on Shen Chen.
Naturally, they wanted to hear Shen Chen's plan.
Shen Chen couldn't defeat him, so he had to take them to the main hall to explain his tactics this time.
In the hall, Liu Bei was also sitting below. Shen Chen had his seat removed and a wooden board was erected on the seat, on which he hung the map of Jiangdong he had drawn.
All the soldiers below are seated.
Shen Chen stood above, pointed at the map and said: "I don't need to elaborate on the strategic mission of this battle. Eliminate Sun Quan, occupy Yangzhou, and even drive Cao Wei's forces out of Huainan and use the Huaihe River if necessary. To achieve our goal of dividing the world into two parts."
"Um."
Liu Bei nodded slightly, this was the strategy that Zhuge Liang had set down in Shen Chen more than ten years ago.
Shen Chen continued: "As for the tactical mission, I think the troops should be divided into two groups, with the main force advancing along the waterway from the south of the Yangtze River. We can break Ruxukou first from the near side, and besiege the Ruxukou garrison from the far side first, and then move from the land north of the river. Bypass Ruxuwu, cross the river from Liyang and go straight to Jianye, but I don’t recommend this."
"The river is difficult to cross. Is there any problem with transporting grain?"
Ma Liang asked.
Shen Chen glanced at him approvingly: "Yes, the river stretches for several miles from north to south and is as wide as the sea. The army lacks large ships and cannot cross the river. Moreover, since we have traveled a long distance from Jingzhou, the best way is to transport food and grass by ship. It’s really not easy to transport food by land.”
In the battle of Jin to destroy Dongwu, Jin's main force first destroyed Dongwu's Jingzhou forces, and then sailed south to capture Jianye. On the contrary, Huainan was so close, but only Wang Hun and Sima Mian were sent across the river. and the issue of food transportation.
Guan Yu stroked his beard and said: "This battle is to defeat Ruxukou from the north of the Yangtze River. Wenyuan is currently stationed in Hefei. Do we need to arrange troops to defend Cao's army?"
"Cao Pi has too much time to take care of himself. How can he have the courage to come to rescue Jiangdong?"
Shen Chen smiled and said: "I heard that after Cao Cao's death, many sergeants in the army mutinied and dispersed. Cao Pi was overwhelmed just dealing with the civil strife and suppressing the rebellion. The Hefei Zhang Liao Department can only watch the show and ignore it."
Historically, as soon as Cao Cao died, Qingzhou soldiers rebelled.
It doesn't have such a big impact now, because most of the rebel Qingzhou soldiers have now become his prisoners and are currently being detained in Jiangxia farmland.
But even if only a few soldiers mutinied in the rear, it would still be a huge headache for the severely weakened Wei State.
Unless Cao Pi was crazy, he probably wouldn't be so bold as to send troops.
And even if he dares to send troops, he is not afraid. Nanyang has so many soldiers and horses. If he dares to send troops to Huainan, Zhou Buyi will dare to send troops to Henan. Let's see who can't hold back first.
Dong He, the commander-in-chief of the army, said: "Captain, I have a question."
"you say."
"Why not transport the soldiers to the south bank of the river first and attack from the south bank?"
"Good question."
Shen Chen pointed at the map with a smile and said: "The terrain to the east of the Yangtze River belongs to the northern plains, and to the south are hills and mountains. The mountains are connected to the river. The only attack point south of the Yangtze River is here, called Tongguan Township. To the north is Yanzai Township. You can get directly to Jianye by land."
Everyone saw a few points marked on the map. Since the map only briefly marked the positions of the enemy and ourselves, and only drew some hill figures in the southeastern hills, Dong He had no idea about the terrain here.
In fact, during the Han Dynasty, the Yangtze River in this area was still very wide, almost connected to the southeastern hills. To the west and north of the mountains was the mighty Yangtze River, and there were no roads on the south bank.
The only place that could be attacked from land was Tongguan Township, which was probably located east of the urban area of Tongling City in later generations, that is, in the Tongguan District area.
Dong He asked: "Since there is a road, why not use this place as an attack point?"
Shen Chen explained: "It's not that I want to fight Sun Quan at Ruxukou, but after Yanzai Township is Zheqi City and Chungu City, and the rivers here are overflowing and full of swamps, making it difficult for infantry to attack and transporting food and grass. , there are Wuhu, Yuhu, Danyang and other important towns in the rear. It would be as difficult as climbing to the sky to attack from here."
The urban area of Tongling City was also connected to the Yangtze River in the Han Dynasty. The Tianjing Lake, Nan Lake, Tongling West Lake and other places in the urban area were natural lakes formed after the Yangtze River broke out of the dam land and the river water slowly receded.
Yanzai Township is the Fanchang District of Wuhu City in later generations. It was established in the Qin Dynasty. It is surrounded by large mountains to the west and large mountains to the east. There is only a road to Wuhu to the north.
But Jiangdong's key defenses are also located here.
Because in later generations, there was a mountain called Zheqi Ridge to the west of Fanchang District. This Zheqi Ridge was the place where Zheqi City was built in the Han Dynasty. It guarded the Yangtze River in the north, Yanzai Passage in the south, and Chungu County in the middle. They were all choke points. place.
Therefore, it is not that Shen Chen insists on fighting the Battle of Ruxukou, but that this place is indeed the last line of defense for Jiangdong, and it is also a pass that Sun Quan must defend to the death.
Ruxukou controlled the enemy's attack on the north bank of the river, while Zheqi City controlled the enemy's attack on the south bank of the river.
From the terrain point of view, unless Liu Bei's group can fly over, even if it has occupied the entire north bank of the Yangtze River like the Western Jin Dynasty, it will have to rely on the navy to force a breakthrough to reach Jianye.
Liu Bei understood this, frowned and said: "Then according to Xiaoqing's wishes, wouldn't we have to fight a tough battle with Sun Quan at Ruxukou and Zheqi City? I remember that when Huang Zu sent troops to Jiangdong, he was stopped here by Sun Quan Yeah."
"Yes."
Shen Chen nodded: "Sun Quan occupies a favorable location. This place is indeed an insurmountable obstacle."
"If the terrain is difficult to break, is it possible to disintegrate the enemy from within?"
Ma Liang asked: "I heard that after Sun Quan's defeat in Jingzhou, people in Jiangdong were impetuous and unstable, and the army probably had no fighting spirit."
Shen Chen smiled and said: "Ji Changwen got the idea right. In this battle, I believe that attacking the city is the priority and attacking the heart is the priority. If we want to eliminate Jiangdong as soon as possible in a short period of time, we must start from within the enemy."
Liu Bei hurriedly asked: "Does Xiaoqing have any countermeasures?"
"some."
Shen Chen nodded, clicked on Nanchang at the bottom of the map and said: "Sun Quan's main force is now dominated by the aristocratic family's troops. The aristocratic family resists us and only wants to surrender to Cao Cao but not return to the Han Dynasty. Therefore, the aristocratic family's troops must fight to the death, and Ruxukou will change. It has become a hard nut to crack, but we have the advantage in the south."
He drew a circle in the southeastern hilly area: "The Shanyue people have had a long-standing grudge with the Sun family. The Sun family wanted to enslave Shanyue and force them to pay exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes. The Shanyue people rose up to resist, and the rebellion continued. But we are strict with the gentry and treat the people well, and Shanyue and The heads of Jiangdong and Guizhou are all interested in us."
"At least in the past six months, the leaders of the Shanyue tribe in the southern part of the Yangtze River have submitted countless letters to us. There are also many officials and generals from poor families who are also planning to join us. There are even a dozen aristocratic families who are willing to submit to us. meaning."
"So from Jingnan to Yuzhang Nanchang, and then from Nanchang to Yuhan, Geyang, Shangrao, Dingyang, Xin'an, Wushang, Zhuji and other places, all the mountains and mountains along the way are looked at. Although the road is thousands of miles away, people's hearts are still there. We don’t know how many soldiers and horses will join us here, so there is no need to worry about food and grass issues.”
"At that time, all we need to do is send a general to attack Qiantang for thousands of miles. There are not enough defenders in Qiantang, and people's hearts no longer belong to Jiangdong. Qiantang can be easily defeated. At that time, they will fight all the way from Kuaiji to Wujun, destroy Sun Quan's lair, and then go straight to To seize Jianye, we should cooperate with the frontline troops inside and outside, so why worry about the injustice in the east of the Yangtze River and the failure of the Lord's great cause?"
By the end of the sentence, Shen Chen had a smile on his face and looked at everyone in the audience with a smile.
The world is constantly in turmoil, and the three pillars of history stand out. Wei, Shu, and Wu jointly outline a magnificent heroic epic.
But now the situation has changed drastically, Jiangdong is about to be destroyed, and Soochow is about to completely disappear in the long river of history.
Mr. Qian Mu, a famous historian of later generations, once analyzed that the Liu Bei Group of the Three Kingdoms treated the people well, fought with the nobles all the time, and did not liaise with the aristocratic families, so it became the first target to be eliminated.
The Cao Wei Group was at odds with the aristocratic family, sometimes suppressing and sometimes cooperating, thus becoming the second regime to be eliminated.
Only the Sun Wu Group, which has always been bound to the aristocratic family and has received the full support of the aristocratic family, coupled with the favorable geographical location and harmony, was able to persist for so long and finally perish.
This shows how powerful the family was at that time. The Jiangdong gentry almost controlled a large amount of property, population, and land, so they were able to send troops for the Sun family, and they have been the main force resisting the Liu Bei Group and the Cao Wei Group.
But now that Sun Quan has suffered several disastrous defeats, even the wealth of the Jiangdong nobles has been nearly exhausted, the population and food have been exhausted, and the people of Jiangdong are inflamed.
At this time, Liu Bei's group, who was kind to the people at the bottom, came to attack Sun Wu. Naturally, the people in Jiangdong rushed to tell each other. Everyone was looking forward to the return of Master Wang. Wherever he went, the people would welcome him wholeheartedly. The people ate pots of wine to welcome Master Wang.
, it can be said that it takes over all the people.
The ancients said that the weather is not as good as the favorable terrain, and the favorable geographical conditions are not as good as the people.
The Jiangdong Group's men and women are almost exhausted, but the Liu Bei Group's men and women have already begun, so this battle is naturally a matter of course!