Guan Yu stood on the flagship and looked at the Yangtze River in the distance.
The vast Yangtze River is rolling in waves. The river surface from Ruxukou to the other bank is several miles long and extremely wide.
In the rippling river, hundreds of Cao Wei's troop transport ships were rowing with all their strength and full manpower.
But firstly, they did not have the technology to paddle steamers, and secondly, their ability as sailors was far worse than that of the navy.
This resulted in their speed not being as fast as expected.
What's more important is that they are still facing headwinds.
The north wind was howling. How difficult was it for them to sail from the southwest to the northwest of the Yangtze River?
Seeing the enemy crawling like a tortoise slowly heading towards Ruxukou in the northwest, Guan Yu glanced at it with indifferent eyes and said: "The Chinese army will go straight in, outflank left and right, and kill them!"
"The general has an order. The Chinese army will rush in, surround us on both sides, and kill them!"
"The general has an order. The Chinese army will rush in, surround us on both sides, and kill them!"
"The general has an order. The Chinese army will rush in, surround us on both sides, and kill them!"
The messenger shouted loudly.
The flag bearer above got the order and kept waving the flag.
So the Guan Ping Army on the left, the Wei Yan Army on the right, and hundreds of ships broke away from the team, like the two pincers of a crab, and launched a pincer-shaped offensive.
With the support of the wind and paddle wheels, Guan Yu's troops of the Chinese army thrust straight into Cao Wei's troop transport ship like arrows.
Cao Wei's troop transport ships in the distance saw the mighty Jiangdong Navy rushing towards them, and fell into a huge panic. All of a sudden, many ships became extremely chaotic.
Some people desperately urged the sailors, ordering them to speed up and row to the shore before the enemy arrived. Some people changed direction and sailed towards the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in the south. There were even some teams that ended up closer to Zheqi City and simply returned home.
The entire Cao army was in chaos.
Soon, Guan Yu's army penetrated the center of the enemy's fleet like a sharp sword. Their naval vessels did not directly collide with the opponent, but approached and started firing arrows.
An overwhelming rain of arrows rained down, and then hooks, ladders, planks and other objects were used to close the distance between the two ships, and the soldiers boarded the ships one after another to fight.
It was not easy for the soldiers of Cao Wei to stand firm on the vast waves of the Yangtze River ships. As the speed increased, the ships swayed greatly, and countless people suffered from seasickness, let alone fighting with the enemy on the ships.
For a time, the whole situation fell into a one-sided situation.
Cao Xiu's face was ashen on the shore, and he watched helplessly as the soldiers on the river were either drowned, killed, or surrendered.
Countless Cao's warships were destroyed and people were killed, causing countless casualties.
When the war was over, Cao Xiu felt a tightness in his chest, a sweetness in his throat, blood spurted out, and he fainted to the ground.
The general was in a coma, and the morale of Cao's army was declining. Jiang Ji hurriedly ordered a retreat.
It won't work without retreating.
Because Cao Jun had 130,000 troops, 30,000 on Shazhou Island, 20,000 on Zhongzhou Island, and 30,000 here. Even in Liyang, there were thousands of troops on the banks of Xian River. Together, they had lost 70,000 horses.
Furthermore, morale was low, and a large amount of baggage, grain, ordnance and other supplies had been seized. It was meaningless to stand on the shore now.
When others free up their hands, they can be eliminated with a backhand.
So it's better to evacuate.
After the order was issued, Wei Jun left in frustration.
This battle was still too cruel for them.
The navy of Cao Wei cannot be called a navy, it can only be said to be a troop transport ship crossing the river.
When the Jiangdong Navy penetrated directly into their troop carriers from north to south, the outcome was already doomed.
Just like the scene in history where Cao Wei attacked Soochow countless times and was defeated, and a large number of Cao's soldiers fell into the water and drowned.
Groups of Cao's troops were knocked down into the rolling Yangtze River, and the river swallowed everything.
Fragments of ships, floating flags and floating flags sometimes appeared on the river surface, sometimes sank, and were finally submerged by the waves.
The fighting continued until evening.
In the next few days, Guan Yu sent troops to conduct an inventory along the left bank, chasing the scattered Cao army and defeating them. The remaining troops sent prisoners and supplies to Jianye.
It was not until the beginning of November that all the aftermath of the war had been dealt with and the rear had completely calmed down. Only then did Guan Yu lead his troops northward.
By this time, Cao's army had already withdrawn, leaving behind a messy Huainan area.
However, the Huainan area was already depopulated, the city of Hefei was completely burned, and Guan Yu had long wanted to build a new city of Hefei, so compared to the results of the battle, this loss was almost negligible.
After Guan Yu's main force marched northward into Hefei, he did not even stop. He sent Wei Yan to stay in Hefei and began to build a new city. The troops and horses actually followed the water and marched northward into Shaopi.
The area of Shaopi Lake was comparable to Chao Lake in the Han Dynasty. To the north is Shouchun. The most important thing is that Feishui flows from the east of Shaopi. In Chengde County, there is a tributary of Shaopi that flows into Feishui.
This means that Guan Yu's fleet can directly follow Feishui and fight all the way to Shouchun City.
At that time, Cao Xiu was seriously ill with vomiting blood, and the Wei army was so panicked that they simply abandoned Shouchun and fled back to Runan, handing over the entire Huainan.
If Guan Yu's logistics hadn't kept up, I'm afraid he would have started the Northern Expedition directly.
Soon the battle report here was sent to Xiangyang via carrier pigeons. On October 26, almost the second day after Guan Yu defeated Cao Jun, Xiangyang got the news.
In the Deyang Hall of the Xiangyang Imperial Palace, Liu Chan sat high on the throne.
Below, Pang Tong, Xu Shu, Jiang Wan, Yang Yi, Yin Mo, Fei Yi, Dong Yun, Huo Yi, Zhuge Jin and others were sitting on the left and right.
This time Zhuge Liang went to Wancheng and brought Ma Liang, Huang Quan, Zhou Buyi, Cai Du, etc. These people were the ones he focused on training, and the rest were in the center.
Fa Zheng is not among them because Fa Zheng's health has been getting worse and worse recently.
Historically, he died long ago, but he lived for seven more years. However, his bad health could not be changed, so he became very ill and could not participate in political discussions.
Pang Tong, who was in charge of the Chancellery at the moment, had just received an official document from Yangzhou. After receiving the news, he quickly reported it to Liu Chan.
Liu Chan then summoned all ministers to discuss the matter.
The little fat man's face was rosy, he looked around and said cheerfully: "Everyone, Jianye just sent an urgent message. My second uncle used Lu Xun's strategy to lure the enemy deep into the Yangtze River and led Cao's army to the Yangtze River. Within two days, they defeated Cao's army on the sandbank island.
, Zhongzhou Island and Ruxukou, Cao Jun suffered 70,000 casualties and captured 70,000 people, and we won a great victory!"
"Seventy thousand? Oh my God! This must have broken Cao Wei's bones, right?"
"The great general is mighty, God bless the great man."
"In this way, the strength of Cao's army in the Huainan direction has almost instantly weakened to the extreme. We will soon be able to launch the Northern Expedition."
When the news came out, everyone was refreshed.
Because the result is so good.
The last time we achieved this result was the Battle of Guanzhong and the Battle of Xiangfan. Together, the two battles killed and captured nearly 150,000 people from Cao Wei.
Although there were achievements like the Battle of Chang'an, the Battle of Hefei, and the Battle of Ziyun Mountain after that, the number of casualties and prisoners killed each time was only 20,000 to 30,000, far from being compared with this time.
What's more important is that after this battle, Cao Wei's military strength will be stretched thin. Even if they recruit new troops again, their training level in a short period of time will be far less than the old elite soldiers.
This is great news for the big men in the south.
The pace of the Northern Expedition and reunification is not far away.
Xu Shu was now almost sixty years old. He said with a smile on his face: "Congratulations, Your Majesty. After this battle, Cao Wei's strength has declined, and the three-pronged Northern Expedition is just around the corner."
"Um."
Liu Chan said refreshingly: "This good news must be informed to the Prime Minister and the General Hussar as soon as possible. I have inherited my father's legacy and am committed to reviving the Han Dynasty and unifying the world, so I must not slack off."
Never slack off?
Next to him, the corner of Huo Yi's mouth twitched slightly. He had been accompanying Liu Chan as the Emperor's personal attendant.
At least before the political meeting, Liu Chan had been watching the singing and dancing.
Although Zhuge Liang went to Nanyang, Pang Tong and Xu Shu were also good at handling government affairs, so Liu Chan also became the boss.
In addition to the necessary reading every day, in his free time, he is either playing or having fun, which really embarrasses his father.
However, Pang Tong, Xu Shu and the others did not know this, and everyone was very happy to hear what they said in this scene.
Pang Tong said with a smile: "It would be great if your Majesty has such ambitions. The most urgent task now is to collect this year's new grain as soon as possible. Now that the general has defeated Cao's army, the entire Huainan will probably be restored."
Han soil."
"good."
Xu Shu nodded and said: "Although we had most of the land in Huainan before, the north of Hefei was still held by Cao's army. The general has achieved such great results in this battle, and it is time to take back the entire Huainan. Jiangdong is not a place where there are many people but little land.
Really? If we can move people to farm in Huainan, why worry about the lack of food on the front line?"
Liu Chan said: "The words of my subordinates are in my heart. Then I will send an official document from the three provinces to my second uncle, asking him to help arrange the resettlement of the people. Lu Xun has made the greatest contribution in this battle. Isn't he from Jiangdong? This
Can I just let him handle this matter?"
Pang Tong shook his head and said: "Lu Xun has made great contributions and cannot stay in Jiangdong. Your Majesty, as he inherits the Han Dynasty, should strictly abide by the "Three Mutual Laws". He can go to Jingzhou and Yizhou, but he must not be in Jiangdong."
"I almost forgot."
Liu Chan slapped his forehead and then remembered.
Before, Lu Xun was actually a mid-level official in Shangshutai. He was a Shangshulang at first, from the seventh rank, and later he was promoted to Shangshu Zuocheng, from the fifth rank.
But this time his contribution was too great, Liu Chan thought of simply letting him be a fourth-rank Yangzhou shepherd to assist Guan Yu and help with the work of migrating people.
For a while, I forgot the strict rules and regulations for officials to serve as officials in the local area.
The main reason is that Liu Chan has not been appointed to many official positions.
Before Liu Bei's period, Zhuge Liang was in charge of appointing officials. After Liu Bei died and Liu Chan succeeded to the throne, it was Zhuge Liang who was in charge.
Now Zhuge Liang has gone north to Nanyang to lead his troops, and these things have fallen on Pang Tong, Fazheng, Xu Shu and others.
So this is the first time Liu Chan wants to appoint someone as an official.
However, Lu Xun could not serve as an official in Yangzhou, and the previous Yangzhou Mu Wangfu also made great contributions in quelling Sun Quan's rebellion this time.
Including the burning of Taicang and the plot to eliminate Sun Quan, Wang Fu was the mastermind behind the scenes.
Wang Fu wanted to be promoted, and Lu Xun also had to be promoted. Then someone would be needed to help Guan Yu with management work in the rear.
Liu Chan thought for a moment and said, "Who should we send to Yangzhou?"
"I recommend Li Yan."
Pang Tong said.
Li Yan was previously the prefect of Hanzhong.
Because of his meritorious service in assisting Shen Chen in conquering Chang'an, he was transferred to Yizhou Mu.
Historically, he was one of the ministers who took care of life left by Liu Bei.
But now he basically has no role, that is, he has to follow Liu Bei early, otherwise he will not be able to become a shepherd in Yizhou.
The main reason is that he has an arrogant temperament and has difficulty getting along with others. Except for a few people such as Zhuge Liang, Shen Chen, and Guan Yu, who can suppress him, no one else is convinced.
But character is one thing, his talents are still pretty good.
In history, when he was the governor of Qianwei, he showed his excellent governance ability: he dug through Tianshe Mountain, built roads along the river, carried out large-scale construction projects, and renovated the county and city, so that "the officials and the people were happy with it" and "the towers were magnificent, which was a win for the state." Yu".
Therefore, although Pang Tong had no friendship with Li Yan and even had some disagreements, he still recommended Li Yan to go to Jiangdong.
Liu Chan nodded and said, "Then let Li Yan go."
Later, rewards were issued.
For example, Guan Yu was given the title of Grand Marshal of the World's Soldiers and Horses, and he was promoted to the Zhu Kingdom. Wei Yan was promoted to the General of the Zhenjun Army, Guan Ping was promoted to the General of the Eastern Conquest, and all other generals, big and small, were given rewards.
The main reason why Guan Yu was made the Grand Marshal of the Army was that he was almost unblockable.
In terms of his position, he was a general and had the highest status. He could not be granted the title of marquis because his title of Han Shouting Marquis was personally conferred by Liu Xie, so Guan Yu had always wanted the title of Ting Marquis.
This way you can only create new positions.
As for Wei Yan, Guan Ping and others, there are now generals, generals of hussars, generals of chariots and generals, generals of guard, front, rear, left, right, four expeditions, four towns, and four levels.
They themselves are among them. For example, if Wei Yan is the general of the left, it will be difficult for them to improve their positions if they are a carrot and a pit.
Unless the previous senior general dies or is demoted, it will be difficult to get promoted.
So I can only find new positions.
Shen Chen had discussed this issue with Zhuge Liang before. He believed that generals could be divided into several grades just like they did during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
For example, the rank of General, General of Hussars, General of Chariots and Generals, and General of Guards can be collectively referred to as Generals.
Behind him are the generals.
Four expeditions and four towns in Siping are called lieutenant generals.
The other miscellaneous generals are major generals.
Then create a marshal position above the general.
This makes it easier for officials to get promoted.
For example, if someone has made great contributions and has been promoted to the first four general levels, but cannot be promoted due to his position, he can be promoted as such, such as the general of the auxiliary country, the general of the suppressing army, the general of the military guard, etc.
Although these generals are miscellaneous, their status is the same as that of the original Wanshi generals such as the general, the hussar general, the chariot general, and the guard general.
Historically, Shu Han and Sun Wu did this, and it existed as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
It was just that Zhuge Liang did not adopt it at the time for some reasons.
Now after everyone's discussion, this matter came out again, and Liu Chan made new job arrangements.
In this way, Guan Yu's position became the Grand Marshal of the World's Military and Horses, which only appeared in the Tang Dynasty.
After making these arrangements, Liu Chan announced the disbandment of the dynasty.
Everyone then left.
After everyone left, Liu Chan was filled with excitement and walked around the hall happily.
Huo Yi stayed with him as a close servant. Seeing that he was happy, he said: "Your Majesty, we have defeated Cao's army and are one step closer to regaining the Han Dynasty."
"Yes, if my father knew about it, he would definitely be very happy."
Liu Chan said excitedly.
He jumped up happily with light steps, like a child weighing more than 200 pounds.
Huo Yi took the opportunity to advise: "At this time of joy, why don't your Majesty be diligent in political affairs and work hard for yourself?"
"Yes, yes, you reminded me."
Liu Chan slapped his forehead, and then said to the eunuchs on his left and right: "Let the singing and dancing come up."
Huo Yi felt numb at that time and said: "Your Majesty, I want your Majesty to be diligent in political affairs, not in singing and dancing."
Liu Chan curled his lips and said: "What do you know? Nowadays, political affairs are managed by three provinces and ministries. Wouldn't it be more trouble for me to interfere? I am diligent in singing and dancing, which is the best help to political affairs. Come on, keep playing music and keep dancing!"
After that, he returned to his seat, sat down, and began to lie down, completely ignoring Huo Yi's face that was already covered in black lines.