Chapter 391 The Lu Family of Wu Commandery Welcomes the General
Chapter 391 The Lu family of Wu County welcomes the general
Author: Playing with Basilisk
Chapter 391 The Lu family of Wu County welcomes the general
By the time it got dark in the evening, Ruxukou was captured.
Guan Yu and Huang Shegan Ning cooperated with the navy and army to break through the camp gate in the southwest corner and rushed in.
Then under a chain reaction, Ma Chao's troops in the north also successfully broke through the northern camp.
Pan Zhang, He Qi, Zhu Ran, Lu Fan and others who were defending in the south were severely defeated. Pan Zhang and Zhu Ran were killed, He Qi and Lu Fan were captured alive, and a large number of Jiangdong troops surrendered.
When Sun Quan of Zheqi City looked far away at Ruxukou Wubao on the other side of the Shanxia River, he could not actually see the specific situation there because it was too far away. Battle reports often required He Qi. They sent people from the ferry at the southeast corner every day.
Only by taking a boat and reporting to him can we know what happened on the other side.
But it was no longer necessary to look at it. After the camp gate was breached and the defense was at an extremely disadvantageous position, and they were about to be wiped out, He Qi, Lu, Fan Zhuran and others chose to set fire to the camp and spilled all the fish paste and oil, intending to perish together with the enemy.
So at this time, blazing flames rose in many places in Wubao in Ruxukou.
In the past, Guan Yu's army wanted to burn down their camp, but failed because there were too many fire prevention facilities in the camp. But now it was Jiang Dong's army who set the fire on their own. It can be seen that Jiang Dong's army was at the end of its rope at this time.
Sun Quan stood on the city blankly and looked at the fireworks burning in the distance. His whole body seemed to have no bones. His legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground, muttering "It's over, it's all over."
By night, the Jingzhou Army had completely occupied Ruxukou, and the Jingzhou Navy's fleet appeared swaggering at the foot of Zheqi Mountain, heavily surrounding the mountains.
The next day, Sun Quan, who had not slept all night, saw that the fire at Ruxukou in the north had been put out after dawn. Although he was far away, it was still unclear whether the fire there had been occupied, but everyone knew that Ruxukou was probably gone.
People are stationed.
The river bank has been blocked by the Jingzhou Army, and not even a ship reporting the news can pass. The most terrifying thing is that the enemy has surrounded Zheqi Mountain and is beginning to attack the top of Zheqi City.
Zhu Huan knew that after losing Ruxukou, Zheqi City could not be defended. Because it was an isolated city, the enemy did not need to do anything. The main force went directly south to Jiangdong, and the rest besieged the city until the food was exhausted.
, they will naturally starve to death.
Therefore, Zhu Huan urged Sun Quan to abandon the city and flee. Zhuge Jin, Gu Yong and others in the city also suggested the same. Sun Quan was already without a master, but no matter how stupid he was, he knew that he was at the end of his rope and had no choice but to abandon the city and flee from the north.
On August 26, the 25th year of Jian'an, when Guan Yu had just occupied Ruxukou and had not yet launched a large-scale attack on Zheqi City, Sun Quan fled in a hurry, went to Wuhu by land, and fled to Yongping along the Zhongjiang River.
.
He dared not take the Yangtze River waterway.
Because the Yangtze River waterway has been completely occupied by the Jingzhou Army, if he returns to Jianye by water, who knows whether he will be intercepted by the Jingzhou Army halfway.
So he planned to follow the Guanjiang River from Yongping back to Moling.
When Liu Bei learned about Guan Yu's victory on the front line, he was very happy and went to Zheqi City with Shen Chen.
At this time, Guan Yu immediately went down the river, broke through Wuhu to take Danyang, and went straight to Jianye.
Zheqi City has been deserted. Except for a large number of captured Jiangdong troops who were imprisoned here, there are only a few thousand defenders.
After Liu Bei and Shen Chen arrived at Zheqi City with an army of 10,000 people, they stood on the top of the city and looked in all directions. They suddenly felt that the scenery of the country and mountains was picturesque and beautiful.
To the north is the vast and turbulent Yangtze River. It is the end of August, the north has entered late autumn, and the weather is getting colder. However, Jiangdong feels neither cold nor hot. The warm sunshine shines on the earth, making the rivers and mountains sparkle.
To the south are endless mountains and rivers, with undulating mountains and towering peaks. To the east is plain land, and you can follow the land to the north to Wuhu County.
Liu Bei looked at the scenery and sighed: "Xiaoqing, this river is very beautiful."
Shen Chen smiled and said: "All the north and south of the country belong to the Lord."
"yes."
Liu Bei smiled and nodded: "Since Sun Quan is destroyed, we will divide the north and south with Cao Pi to rule."
"But this is not the end."
Shen Chen agreed.
"good."
Liu Bei looked to the north and saw Luoyang, the weather-beaten capital of the Han Empire, as if thousands of miles away, and said softly: "I will attack Cao Pi in the north, revive the Han Dynasty, and return the old capital!"
The sky gradually darkened, and the sun set in the west, reflecting the red glow of the sunset on the banks of the Yangtze River.
Shen Chen and Liu Bei stood on the city and looked out over the south of the Yangtze River.
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Just when Guan Yu had a great victory at Ruxukou and was marching straight towards Jianye, Liu Bei arrived at Zheqi City in the morning.
At this moment, in Wu County in the east of Jiangdong, Wei Yan and Pang De divided their forces into two groups. After breaking through Qian Tang, the last barrier in Jiangdong, one of them attacked Wu County and the other attacked Danyang.
Wei Yan followed Qian Tang and went north to Wucheng and Jiaxing areas, and went straight to Wu County, the seat of Wu County.
There were almost no Jiangdong soldiers guarding the route.
According to the past, the number of troops sent by various countries and princes was not the total strength. For example, Liu Bei was defeated in the Battle of Yiling and almost the entire army was wiped out. However, Zhuge Liang still organized tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to immediately go to Baidi City to rescue.
This is because the total military strength at that time was like 200,000, and some soldiers and horses were often left behind when going on an expedition. It was impossible to use all the country's troops to fight like in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, there should be county soldiers behind Jiangdong to suppress rebellions and guard against small groups of rebel forces such as bandits, pirates, and rogue bandits.
But now the counties are defenseless, and the government offices are in vain. What follows is the devastating collapse of public security, economy, and agriculture. A large number of people are fleeing everywhere. Many people simply rise up and loot everywhere. Everyone in the Jiangdong family is in danger, and Jiewu Fort Manor Defense.
Wherever Wei Yan's army passes, you can either see a large number of refugees wanting to join them, or the wealthy families are treating them strictly in their manors, sending people to contact Wei Yan's army while carefully preventing them from being exterminated.
After all, most of the aristocratic families in Jiangdong do not welcome Liu Bei's group, so even if Qian Tang is defeated, they do not want to surrender so quickly, but hope that Cao Wei can come to rescue them.
Wei Yan ignored the wealthy families along the way. He had only one goal now - to capture Wuxian and then immediately go straight to Jianye.
Therefore, he marched hastily, not even the lower-class people who started the rebellion, leaving only a few hundred people to lead them to occupy various county towns, while the main force went all the way north towards Wuxian County.
Wuxian County was the Suzhou City in later generations. If I had to use one word to describe this place, it would be a lake like a sea of stars.
As the estuary of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Wu County is bounded by the Yangtze River to the north, the East China Sea to the east, and Taihu Lake to the west.
It is very close to the East China Sea.
Because the water level of the East China Sea in the Han Dynasty was much higher than that of later generations, Shanghai, Nantong City, Qidong City and Chongming Island in this area are now blowing bubbles in the East China Sea.
If you go east from Wu County to Lou County, which is later known as Kunshan District in Suzhou, you can see the sea.
Therefore, Wu land should have been part of the sea many years ago. After the sea water receded, it left lakes as numerous as stars and the vast Taihu Lake as vast as smoke.
Wei Yan's army appeared on the south bank of Taihu Lake, on the wilderness plain. It was a land of fish and rice. Rice fields were neatly spread out on the vast land divided by ridges. Villages were spread all over the lakeshore, and smoke was curling up from cooking stoves.
The lake is covered with dense aquatic plants, and groups of wild ducks, wild geese, and red-crowned cranes swim in the lake wetlands. Passing a lake on the roadside, you can also see schools of fish in the clear lake water.
Every household here has a fishing boat, and many people even live on boats. If there is barely a main road among the criss-crossing lakes, Wei Yan's army may have to build boats to travel.
After arriving in Wuxian County, everything seemed to be much peaceful. There was no chaotic scene like in other counties, and there were no uprisings by a large number of people, rebellions, burning, killing and looting everywhere.
When the common people saw the Jingzhou Army, they just looked at it curiously, then stood on the edge of the fields and watched from afar on fishing boats, or continued to do their own things.
No one came up to ask for their surrender, it was as if they were just passers-by and nothing happened to them.
Wei Yan was confused at first, but as he walked, he probably understood the reason.
There are too many lakes around Wuxian County, and the waterways are extremely developed, but the land conditions are very poor. The dense and crisscrossing network of waterways is the protection umbrella of the local people.
Even if there is an invasion by foreign enemies, the common people only need to drive their boats to the lake to hide in the reeds, and no one will be able to find them.
Therefore, they do not need to rely on the Jingzhou Army to ensure peace.
Seeing this situation, Wei Yan ignored them. As long as the people did not organize troops to attack them, they would pretend they had not seen each other.
His current task is to defeat Wuxian and then immediately take Jianye directly.
The military regulations of Liu Bei's group are very strict. The most important one is that they are not allowed to plunder the people. If they are found, they will be beheaded.
Therefore, Wei Yan traveled lightly and quickly. After replenishing the last wave of food and grass from the Shanyue people before coming out of the southeastern hills and mountains, each person only carried twenty days of dry food.
Without being able to plunder the people on the spot to replenish food and grass, they had to kill from Qiantang to Wuxian, and then from Wuxian to Jianye within twenty days. It can be said that time was urgent and the task was urgent. Wei Yan naturally had no time to waste extra time on other things.
on relevant people.
Now he was at the front of the team, hurriedly moving along the road.
Not only are there paddy fields, lakes, and wetlands on both sides of the road here, but even the air is moist. The soil under your feet seems to have never dried, and is full of a soft texture that is very unsettling.
But fortunately, everything went smoothly. He passed through dense lakes and swamps, crossed the flowing Lou River and Songjiang River, and crossed the dense forest wilderness. At the end of August or early September, Wei Yan finally arrived outside Wu County.
Wuxian County was located in Wuzhong District, Suzhou City in later generations, but its area at this time was not one-tenth as large as that in later generations. It was only a small city of two or three square kilometers.
The waterways outside the city crisscrossed each other. Although the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal had not yet been excavated, there were already many rivers passing through the city. Following the tree-lined path to the north, Wei Yan saw the city.
The pavilion is right on the edge of the river, and there is a wooden bridge connecting the two banks. There are many people standing near the pavilion. It is too far to see clearly, but I can only vaguely see the shadows of people there.
Wei Yan's face suddenly became serious. He waved his hand to signal the soldiers to stop, then roared, and several scouts immediately rushed out and ran quickly towards the front.
Soon the scouts arrived at the river, found a field ridge as a cover, and watched from a distance of more than 20 feet.
I saw that the people standing beside the pavilion were not the soldiers who were being treated seriously, nor were they the rebels composed of Jiangdong people who came to seek refuge with Liu Bei's group, but a group of people wearing large silk robes, crowns, and
A scholar with jade and sword.
Scholar?
When he heard the reports from the scouts, Wei Yan couldn't believe his ears.
The Liu Bei Group is relatively strict with aristocratic families. It does not restrict aristocratic families from being officials, but it restricts the population and land owned by aristocratic families.
For the Jiangdong family, this is tantamount to killing them.
Therefore, even if they defeated Qian Tang, the aristocratic families everywhere they passed would treat them with an uncooperative or even hostile attitude.
That is to say, the aristocratic family has experienced many failures of Sun Quan's regime, and has given a lot of population and food to Sun Quan, leaving them seriously lacking in troops and troops.
Otherwise, it is hard to say privately that a large number of aristocratic families will join forces and organize troops to go to war with Wei Yanpangde and others.
But even if the aristocratic family is weak and dare not stir up trouble, at least their attitude is unfriendly.
After all, they didn't know yet that Ruxukou had been breached and Cao Wei's reinforcements were far away, so naturally they were still looking forward to the return of the king's division of Cao's army from the north.
Under such circumstances, a group of nobles suddenly greeted them outside the city. What would Wei Yan think?
Fraud?
This was Wei Yan's first thought.
But then he shook his head and shook the thought out of his mind.
The surrounding rice fields stretch as far as the eye can see, and besides lakes are rivers. The forest outside the city has long become sparse after years of deforestation, making it difficult to hide people.
When the field of vision is relatively wide, it is almost impossible to ambush.
It's impossible for the enemy to just send those dozens of scholars to die, right?
Thinking of this, Wei Yan suppressed the doubts in his heart and ordered the soldiers to move forward.
Soon they arrived at the small bridge. When dozens of scholars on the other side saw the arrival of the army, they suddenly became excited and waited under the pavilions by the bridge.
Because the other side of the river was narrow, the army could not cross at once, and Wei Yan also wanted to know what the other side was doing, so he only took dozens of personal guards, crossed the bridge alone, and came to the other side of the bridge.
Then I saw a scholar in his thirties walking forward slowly, reaching in front of Wei Yan, bowing his hands and saying: "The Lu family of Wu County, welcome the general."
Immediately afterwards, another person came up, cupped his hands and said: "Gongsun of Wu County, welcome the general."
"Mr. Zhang from Wu County, welcome the general."
"Gu family from Wu County, welcome the general."
The four surnames of Wuzhong, Lu, Zhu, Gu and Zhang, except Zhu, were all present.
Wei Yan was quite surprised.
The Jiangdong gentry are especially represented by the four surnames of Wuzhong.
He wouldn't be surprised if Zhu didn't come.
After all, the Zhu family used military force to conquer Wu, and Zhu Huan and his son were loyal to Sun Quan. They were still helping Sun Quan garrison the city, so it was impossible for them to come and submit.
But all the other surnames are present. Are they willing to follow the King of Han and voluntarily reduce their land and population?
Wei Yan was very puzzled and asked: "Are you all willing to submit to the King of Han?"
"good."
The leader of the Lu family in Wu County, whose name was Lu Mao, was Lu Xun's younger brother. He stepped forward and said, "We are willing to surrender."
"It's quite strange."
Wei Yan smiled and said: "Wherever our army passed, the people were in high spirits, but the aristocratic families were afraid to avoid us. Unexpectedly, when they arrived in Wu County, all the aristocratic families were willing to submit."
"This is all because of Governor Shen's kindness back then."
Lu Hao said.
"The favor of the Grand Governor?"
Wei Yan was puzzled and asked: "What is it?"
Lu Mao said: "In the first year of Xingping, Cao Cao massacred Xuzhou. The governor went south from Xuzhou to Jingzhou to avoid the disaster. He passed by Huainan and wrote to my ancestor Jining Gong in the name of the Deng family of Xinye, asking him to be careful about Yuan Shu.
At that time, all the Lu family were following Duke Ji Ning in Lujiang. After gaining trust from my ancestors, he sent my brother and dozens of my father back to Wu County. Soon after, Yuan Shu sent Sun Ce to attack Lujiang. There were more than a hundred members of my Lu family.
Because most of that letter survived!"
The whole town had a power outage, and the Internet cafes had no electricity. I didn’t get a call until the afternoon. I tried my best to code out the second chapter, but there was nothing I could do if I couldn’t make it in time. In addition, this little foreshadowing comes from Chapter 27. Friends who have forgotten it can go back and read it.