At the end of March in the fourth year of Yanxi, it was the end of spring and the beginning of summer, and the weather had begun to become slightly hot.
According to the custom of previous years, the cold was penetrating into the bones, and Sun Deng, the crown prince of Wu, who was invaded by the wind and cold, would get better when the weather gets warmer.
But what everyone in the Wu Kingdom did not expect was that Sun Deng's condition this year was very different from previous years.
Sun Deng, who had been suffering from the disease for a whole spring, had become skinny and skinny.
If I lose weight any more, I'm afraid I'll be skin and bones.
But at this time, the prince's condition was still serious.
The heavy smell of medicine permeated the prince's palace, like a heavy dark cloud, weighing on the heads of the people in the East Palace.
Most of the people in the East Palace had sadness and worry on their faces.
In the entire palace, except for the prince's cough from time to time, no one spoke, and the atmosphere was extremely depressing.
At this moment, footsteps sounded outside the hall.
When the palace guard guarding the door saw the person coming, he was about to speak out, but was stopped.
Sun Quan walked to the prince's palace, deliberately walked slowly, and then asked the palace attendant who served the prince:
"How is the prince's condition?"
"Back to Your Majesty, the doctor said that His Majesty's condition is still recurring and he needs to rest."
Although the words were spoken softly, it was probably because the palace was too quiet, or maybe Sun Deng was unable to sleep normally due to a long-term illness, so he was suddenly awakened:
"Who's over there?"
"Back to Your Highness, Your Majesty is here to visit Your Highness."
"Is His Majesty here?"
Sun Deng subconsciously wanted to stand up, but then he realized that his limbs were weak and he could only stretch his neck:
"My son has been ill for a long time and is unable to get up to greet me. I hope your majesty will forgive my rudeness."
"What are you talking about!" Sun Quan walked a few steps quickly and walked to the couch. He pressed his hands flatly and motioned for Sun Deng to lie down. "Why should you and I, father and son, care about these complicated etiquettes?"
The action just now seemed to have exhausted Sun Deng's strength, and he had to lie back.
Although he tried his best to concentrate, Sun Deng's eyes were dim and lifeless.
It was obvious that the disease had taken away all his energy and energy.
I only heard him ask weakly:
"Da Wu is sending his troops to the north this time. Doesn't His Majesty plan to lead the troops himself again? The day of sending troops is coming soon, right?"
"Your Majesty must be very busy with work, so why do you have time to come and see your son?"
Seeing the prince's extremely weak state, Sun Quan's heart ached.
Although he had many children, he devoted the greatest effort to Sun Deng.
If not, he would not be allowed to become the prince as a concubine.
Even this son, despite his own wishes, repeatedly got close to the Xu family who was demoted to Wu County.
Even this son kept admonishing and objecting to some of his decisions.
But in Sun Quan's view, these are the only way for the prince to become a wise king in the future.
But now, the successor he had worked so hard to cultivate has become like this. Why doesn't Sun Quan feel heartbroken?
"You're already like this, so you should take good care of your health first. Don't worry too much about external matters, so as not to worry about it."
When Sun Deng heard this, he noticed that Sun Quan's clothes were not the broad robes commonly used in the palace, but the tight-fitting military clothes.
He knew Sun Quan's purpose of coming here, so he managed a smile:
"Your Majesty is leading the troops north, so you came here to say goodbye to your subjects, right?"
When Sun Quan heard Sun Deng's words, he felt even more sad.
The smarter the prince became at this time, the more worried Sun Quan was.
He has reached the age of ears, and the prince has also passed the age of thirty.
If something unexpected happens to the prince at this time, then...
Sun Quan just felt that all his life-long efforts in cultivating successors were in vain.
This blow cannot be said to be heavy.
Because he knew that at this time, he no longer had the confidence, energy, or time to select and train a prince like Sun Deng.
At this time, Sun Quan turned into a father who loves his son eagerly. He held Sun Deng's withered hand and exhorted earnestly, as if pleading:
"When I go north this time, I will definitely wipe out the traitors. I only hope that one day I will lead the army to victory, and my son will be able to lead the Chinese and military officials of the court to greet him outside Jianye City."
"How dare your sons and ministers disobey your father's orders?"
"This is not an order from the emperor, this is an agreement between me and my son."
Sun Deng, who had always had no energy, finally had a rare light in his eyes when he heard what Sun Quan said.
Just like the flame that suddenly bursts out before the candle is extinguished.
"Kid, you must remember this!"
"Okay, okay, then my son will take good care of his health and wait for my return."
Sun Quan patted Sun Deng's hand and said, "I will lead the army north now and wait for good news with peace of mind."
"Farewell to Your Majesty."
After leaving the East Palace, Sun Quan exhaled a long breath, as if to clear out the depression in his chest:
"Someone's coming!"
"Your Majesty, please give me your orders!"
"Send the order and go to war!"
"Here!"
Carrying military orders, the knights began to gallop out of Jianye City and rushed toward Stone City.
"Woooo..."
The long trumpet sound began to sound.
The Stone City garrison, which had received military orders in advance, also started to make a noise under the call of the trumpet.
Then, I saw the pier sluice of Stone City being opened, and Mengcheng and fighting ships filed out of the city one after another.
From the intersection of the Qinhuai River and the Dajiang River, enter the Dajiang River.
For a time, the broad river was actually filled with warships, as densely packed as fish scales, with their bows and sterns connected, making it dizzying to look at.
To an outsider, these countless warships would appear to be a mess, floating haphazardly on the river.
But in the eyes of Ji Han's students who were already familiar with Wu's warships, they looked busy but not chaotic, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner.
This is a real battle that they can personally participate in.
Everyone's eyes flashed with excitement.
Wu State sent troops this time and specially allocated three fighting ships to them.
Mengchong and fighting ships are the main battleships of the Wu Kingdom.
The Mengchong boat has a long and narrow hull and a sharp knife-shaped bow. It is highly maneuverable and can easily collide with enemy ships.
Many times, Mengchong would cover the back of the boat with rawhide, with hatch holes on both sides, and spear holes on the left and right, so that the enemy could not enter and could not be defeated if they lost stones.
Fighting ships are different from Mengchong.
The fighting ship is larger than Mengchong, with half-height parapets installed on the sides of the ship, and oar holes under the two bulwarks.
A shed is built five feet inboard, as high as the parapet, and a parapet is built around the shed.
Mengchong is used for close combat, so the back of the boat must be covered with rawhide to protect it from enemy bows and arrows.
Fighting ships, on the other hand, use long-range bows and arrows to suppress the enemy and cover Meng Chong's charge.
Therefore, fighting ships are generally not covered.
Instead, they set up banners and flags, and set up golden drums for commanding offensive and defensive advance and retreat.
Further up the Mengchong and Fighting Ships, there are even larger building ships.
The building ship is named after its tall ship and wide stern, which looks like a building. Because of its high building, it is suitable for both long-range and close combat.
Generally speaking, building ships used in combat have at least three floors.
The first floor is the hut; the second floor is the flying hut; and the top floor is the noble chamber.
Each floor is equipped with a protective parapet to defend against enemy bows and arrows and lost stones.
There are arrow holes on the female wall for firing crossbows.
Tower ships are also the main ships in water battles, but they are mostly used as commander's ships.
Wu's boat division was extremely powerful, and the built ships could carry 3,000 soldiers.
There are so many ships pouring out of Stone City, but none of them are sailing randomly. Most of them are commanded by the tall ships that live among them.
This time the student army went to war with the Wu army, and the three ships they commanded were assigned to Zhuge Ke, the Weibei general of the Wu state.
Zhuge Ke was once appointed as General Weibei by Sun Quan and made the capital of Xianghou because of his meritorious service in pacifying Shanyue.
Later, Zhuge Ke took the initiative to ask to lead his troops across the river to garrison, so Sun Quan asked him to garrison troops at Wankou.
As soon as he crossed the river, he sent light troops to attack Shu County, captured the people of the county, and gave Wei a powerful blow.
Later, he followed Sun Quan and participated in the Northern Expedition to attack Hefei.
Over the years, he has been sending scouts far away to observe the key points of the northern route.
After becoming familiar with the terrain of Huainan, he even suggested to Sun Quan to bypass Hefei and attack Shouchun directly.
Of course, this risky suggestion was rejected by Sun Quan, who was in love with Hefei.
Zhuge Ke was able to continuously send out detailed troops to explore the dangerous areas in Huainan. Naturally, the governor of Yangzhou of the Wei State who guarded Huainan never relaxed his surveillance of the old enemy in the south.
The Wu Kingdom's naval vessels were densely packed across the river, and it was naturally impossible for such a large-scale military mobilization to be concealed from the Wei Kingdom.
By the time Sun Quan arrived at Chaokou by boat, Wang Ling, the governor of Yangzhou in the Wei state, had already received the news that the Wu army wanted to divide its troops into two groups and invade Huainan.
But Wang Ling didn't panic at all. Instead, he smiled and said to the left and right:
"The Wu invaders only experienced famine last year, and they dare to invade this year. They really don't know whether to live or die."
But there are sober people on the left and right:
"Shu and Wu colluded with each other to plot against our great Wei. I heard that last year, Shu captives transported a lot of grain from Shu to Wu."
"I think it was precisely because of the support of the Shu captives that the Wu invaders dared to invade the Wei Dynasty after the great famine."
"Commander, the Wu invaders are at least divided into two groups this time. They are quite powerful and have the support of the Shu captives. They should not be underestimated."
Wang Ling nodded when he heard this:
"How dare I take things lightly before the formation?"
He clicked on Hefei and Lu'an on the map and said:
"Looking at the direction of the Wu invaders this time, it seems that they are still following the old path, either to attack Lu'an or Hefei."
"Needless to say, Hefei. This thief, Sun Quan, personally led the army and failed to attack it repeatedly. Can we still be afraid of him this time?"
"On the other side of Lu'an..."
Wang Ling mentioned Lu'an and pondered for a moment, then his brows began to wrinkle and a look of disgust appeared on his face:
"Wen Zhongruo (also known as Wen Qin), the prefect of Liu'an, is brave and brave, but he is greedy and cruel, but I am a little worried about him."
Wen Qin was the son of Cao Cao's cavalry general Wen Ji. He was known for his talent and martial arts at a young age. His hometown was Qiao County, Pei State, the imperial hometown of Wei State.
As we all know, since the founding of the Wei Dynasty, the Cao family has placed great trust in their fellow villagers.
Taking advantage of his status as a hero and a fellow countryman of the emperor, Wen Qin was still employed by the Cao family even though he was violent and rude, lived in the proud mausoleum and did not follow official laws.
When Cao Rui was still there, Wen Qin was the prefect of Lu'an County. Wang Ling once wrote to the court, bluntly saying that Wen Qin was corrupt and cruel, and it was not appropriate to care for the border, and he requested that he be removed from office and punished.
The imperial court followed Wang Ling's advice and recalled Wen Qin to the court.
Therefore, there is actually quite a bit of conflict between Wang Ling and Wen Qin.
Unexpectedly, after Cao Shuang came to power, in order to win over people's hearts, he took over the power alone. In addition, Wen Qin was a fellow countryman and had a reputation for bravery.
So Wen Qin once again served as the governor of Lu'an County, and was also named the champion general.
Although Wang Ling was not happy with this arrangement, he also knew that for every governor of Yangzhou, the court would arrange a general who was at odds with him to guard the place.
Just like his relationship with his former governor of Yangzhou, Man Chong.
Even the previous governor of Yangzhou, Cao Xiu, was still at odds with Jia Kui even though he was a relative of the Cao family.
However, Wen Qin became more and more arrogant after receiving such courtesy from Cao Shuang. He was named the "champion" and considered himself to be braver and superior to others.
Under this situation, even though Wang Ling was nominally in charge of all military affairs in Yangzhou, in fact he had no way to restrain Wen Qin.
Seeing Wang Ling's hesitation and embarrassment, he persuaded him:
"Commander, it is three hundred miles from Hefei to Lu'an. Even if Lu'an is lost and the Wu invaders want to drive their troops from the west and attack Hefei from a flank, it will still take five or six days."
"As long as the governor has stationed heavy troops around Hefei, used the terrain as a defense, and taken precautions early, what is there to fear?"
"Moreover, although Wen Zhongruo has a false reputation, he is indeed a brave man, and the city of Liu'an is so strong that the Wu invaders Lu Xun personally led the army to attack it, but they still can't attack it."
"As long as we remind Wen Zhongruo and ask him to pay more attention, nothing serious will happen."
What you said about Lu Xun being unable to capture Liu'an is actually putting it lightly.
In fact, when Lu Xun attacked Liu'an, he was forced to retreat by Man Chong, who was at odds with Wang Ling, and escaped by boat overnight.
It's just that the people below didn't dare to mention Man Chong too much in front of Wang Ling, who was pushed out to the imperial court for retirement, so they just mentioned it in one word.
But others didn't dare to say it, but one person dared to speak out.
This person is Tian Yu, the governor of Runan.
Although Runan belongs to Yuzhou, it is adjacent to Shouchun. Whenever there is a military operation in Yangzhou, Runan will basically send troops to cooperate.
This time the Wu State sent troops to invade the north, and the momentum was so great that Yangzhou was shocked.
As soon as Tian Yu got the news, he led his troops to support early.
At this time, after hearing Wang Ling's words, he finally couldn't help but said:
"As long as our army can hold Hefei, if the governor can send another branch from Shouchun to go around the west, it will cut off the retreat of the Wu invaders who attack Lu'an."
"When the time comes, even if the Wu invaders will not be forced to retreat, they will not dare to attack Lu'an City with all their strength."
This strategy is actually Man Chong's old plan.
Man Chong had used this strategy to force Lu Xun to escape overnight. This strategy was indeed considered sophisticated.
Although Tian Yu did not mention Man Chong's name at this time, how could Wang Ling not know about this old incident?
Wang Ling is only one year younger than Tian Yu, so they can be said to be of the same age.
It's just that Wang Ling is now the commander-in-chief of Wei State with a heavy army, while Tian Yu is just the governor of a county.
The identities of the two people are really completely different.
At this time, Tian Yu brought up Man Chong's old plan, which was in danger of violating Wang Ling's taboo.
Everyone on the left and right held their breath.
Wang Ling, on the other hand, took a deep look at Tian Yu, but his face didn't change much.
Unexpectedly, he even nodded and agreed with Tian Yu's words:
"Prefect Tian's words are very reasonable. However, although this is a partial army, it has a heavy task. Whoever leads it must choose a good candidate."
Tian Yu took the initiative to invite Ying and said, "I will go there eventually."
Wang Ling shook his head:
"I will lead the army to Hefei in the near future. Shouchun is the capital of Huainan County and needs someone to guard it. Prefect Tian is familiar with military affairs. If not, please guard Shouchun for me."
Everyone on the left and right was silent, and some even showed an expression of anticipation.
Shouchun was in the rear area, and Governor Wang pinned Tian Yu there because he obviously did not want him to make meritorious service in this battle.
They were both prefects, and the governor Wang couldn't do anything to Wen Qin because of Wen Qin's background.
What is behind your Tian Yu?
The back view?
How dare you bring up the matter of Man Chong in front of Governor Wang.
Tian Yu sighed slightly when he heard Wang Ling's instructions, and finally could only clasp his fists and say:
"The last general takes orders."
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