At the same time that Sima Yi arrived at Wancheng, Lu Heng also rushed to Runan alone. Without saying a word, he immediately asked to see General Huang Zhong.
After meeting each other and greeting each other, Lu Heng took out the secret letter and handed it to Huang Zhong.
After Huang Zhong saw it, he laughed twice, stroked his gray beard happily, and said happily: "I have been in Runan for five years, and I thought the emperor had forgotten me."
"How could the Emperor forget the General, a man who has meritorious service? General, what is written in the secret letter?" Lu Heng asked.
Huang Zhongdao: "The emperor asked me to lead all the soldiers and horses in Runan to the new wilderness with lightning speed. Huang can finally be useful."
After hearing this, Lu Heng said: "Currently, the country is actively preparing for war. Food, grass, soldiers' pay, equipment, and horses are being mobilized one by one. The national war will be launched in a month at the latest. Now that the emperor has asked the general to go first, there must be far-reaching implications.
Xinye is the northern gateway to Xiangyang. Once Xinye is captured, it can be used as the front line for the southern expedition, laying the foundation for future military exploits."
Huang Zhongdao: "Without further delay, I have 50,000 soldiers and horses under my command, so I will mobilize 50,000 troops and rush to Xinye. Although the Han army has heavy troops in Jiangxia, they are used to defend Soochow, and Tian Yu does not dare to
It is easy to mobilize Jiangxia's troops and horses. Once Jiangxia's troops and horses are mobilized, Soochow's army in Lujiang will launch an attack on Jiangxia."
Lu Heng felt that Huang Zhong's analysis was very reasonable, and at the same time felt that Gao Fei was foresighted, so he hurriedly said: "General, if the 50,000-strong army advances together, it will inevitably attract the attention of the enemy. It is better to allocate a small force and attack Huyang at the same time."
, Xinye, Fuyang, Zhangling, Xiangxiang, and launch attacks in the counties. In this way, the enemy army will be unable to do anything. "
Huang Zhong thought about it for a while and felt that Lu Heng's suggestion was very pertinent, so he said: "Very good. Huyang, Fuyang, Zhangling, Xiangxiang, Suixian and other places do not have many troops. If they send partial troops to attack
, our army suddenly attacks, the enemy is unprepared and will inevitably abandon the city and flee. General Lu, you come with me to attack Xinye, and temporarily leave the remaining four areas to my generals to attack."
"I'm happy to oblige." Lu Heng agreed readily.
The two agreed, and Huang Zhong called over the five captains under his command and assigned five captains to capture Huyang, Fuyang, Zhangling, Xiangxiang, and Suixian respectively. Each captain took five thousand soldiers with him.
Ma Bujun. Later, Lu Heng asked to be Huang Zhong's vanguard. Huang Zhong could not withstand Lu Heng's repeated requests and reluctantly agreed. He gave Lu Heng 5,000 cavalry and marched to Xinye. He himself brought 20,000 troops to follow.
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Fifty thousand regular troops from Runan came out in full force. Wang Ling, the prefect of Runan, immediately mobilized local militia to fill the vacancy. Only 20,000 militiamen were recruited to strictly guard the border towns and counties to prevent any accidents.
In the fifth year of Huaxia Shenzhou, 196 AD, less than half a month after the National Day of Huaxia, the Huaxia army immediately launched a self-defense counterattack against Jinghan. General Zhang Liao of Huya led an army of three thousand and defeated them with lightning speed.
In Anzhong, Rangxian, Yinxian, Zhuyang and other counties, the Han army was caught off guard and had no defense. They lost the four counties that defended Xinye one after another. Xinye's western defense line suddenly collapsed.
At the same time, Huang Zhong, the fierce general of the Chinese Army, also achieved excellent results. His five lieutenants captured Huyang, Fuyang, Zhangling, Xiangxiang, and Suixian with absolute superiority, cutting off the
Xinye's eastern defense line.
In just two days, the Han army lost nine counties in a row, which shocked Guan Yu who was stationed in Xinye.
For two days, the defeated army continued to retreat to the new field. When Guan Yu learned that Zhang Liao had only defeated four counties with 3,000 light cavalry, for some reason, he suddenly regretted letting Zhang Liao go.
Back then, he fought alone with Zhao Yun, and finally lost to Zhao Yun with one move. Later, the more he thought about it, the more unconvinced he became, because he failed to use his "Ten Thousand Army Evil" at that time, so from then on, he practiced "
"Wanjunsha" finally achieved the state of sending and receiving freely.
Therefore, he was also looking forward to fighting Zhao Yun again. But that time he was deliberately let go by Gao Fei. In order to repay Gao Fei's kindness, he let Zhang Liao go. But he didn't expect that after letting Zhang Liao go, he would actually do it.
He left himself in so much trouble.
According to reports from the defeated army, Zhang Liao first attacked Anzhong County at night. Before the defenders knew what was going on, Zhang Liao's troops had already entered the city. The shouts of killing outside were loud and the fire was soaring into the sky. The defenders were helpless in the dark.
He recognized how many soldiers and horses were coming, so he abandoned the city and fled.
As a result, after Zhang Liao occupied Anzhong County, he did not stop there. Instead, he rushed to Rangxian County without stopping. When the defeated army from Anzhong fled to Rangxian County, Zhang Liao's army also arrived like a shadow. The defender of Rangxian County thought that
yes
Anzhong's garrison colluded with Zhang Liao and killed Anzhong's garrison without any explanation. However, the Rangxian garrison faced Zhang Liao's army and had no time to defend, so he abandoned the city with his garrison and fled.
After that, Zhang Liao followed suit and conquered two more counties.
After Guan Yu heard the report from the guard who had retreated from Zhuyang, he sighed heavily.
Zhuge Liang was on the side. After hearing this, he also felt a burst of emotion and said: "Zhang Liao is both civil and military. He failed last time, but this time he won. He completely mastered the rapid maneuverability of the cavalry and displayed the art of command so superbly. He is indeed a great leader."
character."
After hearing this, Guan Yu regretted letting Zhang Liao go even more, and immediately shouted: "Assemble your troops and horses, and I will personally lead the troops to kill Zhang Liao and regain the lost territory."
Zhuge Liang hurriedly dissuaded him and said: "Zhang Liao's sword took a sideways approach and attacked the city and territory. Although he was very brave, with Zhang Liao's personality, he would never take such risks. In the previous battle, Zhang Liao lost his troops and generals, leaving only 7,000 of the 30,000 Wancheng garrison.
There are many people, including Wenpin, who is stationed in Yuyang, but only four thousand.
There are many people. Zhang Liao dared to take such a risk to capture the city. There must be someone cooperating with him. If I am not mistaken, Huang Zhong, the fierce general of the Huaxia Kingdom, has already led the army on the way to Xinye, and Huyang, Fu
Yang, Zhangling, Xiangxiang, Suixian and other places have also been lost."
After hearing this, Guan Yu did not believe it and was about to refute when he saw a report from a scout saying that Huyang, Fuyang, Zhangling, Xiangxiang and Suixian had all been captured by the Chinese army, and Huang Zhong led 25,000
The army is less than fifty miles away from Xinye.
Upon hearing the news, Guan Yu was shocked and turned his face to look at Zhuge Liang. It was just as Zhuge Liang said. But he was wondering why the defeated armies in Huyang, Fuyang, Zhangling, Xiangxiang and Suixian did not come back to report.
Zhuge Liang saw Guan Yu's doubts and said slowly: "Huang Zhong is different from Zhang Liao. Zhang Liao has no troops and can only attack quickly, but Huang Zhong has 50,000 troops in Runan and has strong troops and horses. He must attack Wu."
The counties launch an attack at the same time. The five counties have few soldiers and they will definitely be captured by Huang Zhong. How can we come back and report?"
Guan Yu asked again: "Huang Zhong's 25,000 troops are approaching Xinye, why didn't the scouts notice them? What do they do for food?"
Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "General, don't be angry. I can only say that the Chinese military strategy is very clever. Zhang Liao was first used to launch a quick attack to attract our army's attention, so that our army focused all its attention on Zhang Liao, thinking that it was Zhang Liao's attack on him last time."
The crazy revenge after the defeat in the battle made us ignore Huang Zhong on the Eastern Front. With a two-pronged approach, this war is becoming more and more interesting."
Guan Yu said: "The troops are approaching the city. Our army was also damaged in the previous battle. Today we are facing Huang Zhong's 50,000-strong army. How should we retreat from the enemy?"
Zhuge Liang said: "Abandon the city!"
"Abandon the city?" Guan Yu said in surprise, "Guan has a lot of troops and was about to fight Huang Zhong to the death, but you asked Guan to abandon the city?"
"General, Huang Zhong is watching eagerly. The 25,000 forward troops are about to arrive at the foot of Xinye City, and the follow-up troops are also on the way. For the past five years, the Chinese nation has been on the defensive. Today, it suddenly turned to the offensive. It must be to mobilize the army to march south.
Xinye City is small and it is not suitable to hold on. It is better to temporarily retreat to Deng County and have the capital at your back. Not only will the supply line be short, but the soldiers will also fight bravely to protect the homeland and the country."
After Guan Yu heard this, he glanced at Zhuge Liang and said, "Let Guan think about it again!"
"The enemy is close at hand. If you abandon the city at this time, you can still retreat unscathed. If you delay it any longer, I'm afraid it will be besieged. General, don't worry, I have made arrangements. Even if you retreat, you will have to give China another chance.
This is a painful blow to our army, so that the enemy does not dare to pursue our army." Zhuge Liang said hurriedly.
Guan Yu saw the confidence on Zhuge Liang's face. Judging from the last battle, Zhuge Liang performed very well. Guan Yu also looked at Zhuge Liang's resourcefulness in a different light. Seeing that Zhuge Liang was full of confidence today, he finally nodded and agreed, saying: "Okay
Well, send an order to the three armies to temporarily withdraw to Deng County."
Zhuge Liang said again: "Wait a minute! General, we need to take away more than 100,000 people from Xinye, leaving only an empty city for the enemy."
Guan Yu was suspicious for a moment and asked, "If you take the people away, wouldn't that be causing trouble for yourself?"
"The people of Xinye are the foundation of the emperor. When the emperor ordered Xinye, the people of Xinye supported the emperor very much. Those who win the hearts of the people will win the world, so they should be brought to Xiangyang for resettlement. The general only needs to give me three thousand soldiers and horses.
I can hold off Huang Zhong's army and give the general and the people in the city time to retreat."
Guan Yu said: "Du Xi, you lead three thousand Qingqi to stay, and the rest retreat. Immediately inform the people in the city that the Chinese army is coming, mobilize all the people to evacuate, and take away everything you can, including food."
Not a single grain will be left to the enemy."
After giving the order, Xinye City suddenly seemed to explode. Tens of thousands of people in the city immediately pulled out their families and their families. The Han army also mobilized more than a dozen villages near Xinye City. More than 100,000 Xinye people were there.
Under the protection of the Han army, they retreated southward.
Guan Yu was not at ease with Zhuge Liang and asked Dong He and Wang Fu to lead the people first. He ordered two thousand Qingqi to lead Huo Jun and Lü Chang to stop the rear to prevent any unexpected events.
Zhuge Liang and Du Xi led three thousand soldiers and horses to meet Huang Zhong, and a new battle was about to begin.