The winter of the 10th year of Jianxing was much warmer than the winter of the 9th year of Jianxing.
Not only did the winter snow arrive later in Liangzhou than in previous years, but also in the Jianghuai area, there were much fewer icy areas than in previous years.
“General, spies have come to report that there seems to be a large army of Wu captives gathering at Ruxukou.”
In the Governor's Mansion in Shouchun City, a civil servant hurriedly delivered the intelligence sent from the front to Man Chong.
Man Chong took it with a calm face and asked:
“Do you know who is leading the army?”
“I heard that Sun Quan personally led the army.”
Man Chong listened and smiled strangely:
“Thief Sun has been trying to organize his army to invade the north for the past few years. I thought I would be able to settle down for a year this year, but I didn’t expect that he only took action in the last month of the year.”
In the spring of the third year of Taihe, we wanted to attack Xiyang.
In the winter of the fourth year of Taihe, we wanted to attack Hefei.
In the winter of the fifth year of Taihe, he pretended to surrender.
In the winter of the sixth year of Taihe, I originally thought I would be able to settle down for a year, but I didn’t expect that I would invade the north again in December.
Wu Lu mostly invaded the north in winter and early spring, because Wei had elite cavalry and went to war when the weather was cold, and their combat effectiveness would be reduced.
The Wu people are not good at land warfare, so they want to avoid the leader of Wei.
Wu Lu takes action in winter, and Man Chong has long been used to it.
I saw him commanding:
"Send someone to send the intelligence to the governor Wang so that he can be prepared and respond at any time."
Although he and Wang Ling were at odds with each other, they both served as officials in the same court and guarded the land of Huainan to guard against Wu captives.
Such a national matter, according to the rules, it is natural to inform you.
Wang Ling learned that Sun Quan wanted to personally lead the army to invade the north, and he immediately became furious and said:
"Last year, Thief Sun played a trick on me, causing me to lose face in front of all the old men. I was thinking about how to take revenge, but I didn't expect him to come to my door!"
So he reorganized Yangzhou's troops and troops and stationed in Hefei.
Man Chong continued to recruit soldiers and horses from Yu and Yang states in Shouchun, and at the same time summoned Yanzhou to be ready for support at any time.
Just when the Wei State was intensifying its troops and preparing to attack the Wu people head-on at Chaohu and Hefei.
An army of Wu State quietly set out from Wancheng, Lujiang County, bypassed Chaohu Lake, and quickly rushed towards Lujiang County of Wei State.
The commander of this army was none other than Lu Xun, the great general of the state of Wu who guarded Wuchang.
(Note: Lujiang is divided into two parts, one is Lujiang County of Wu State in the south, and Wei State has set up a Lujiang County in the north, located to the west of Hefei, opposite Lujiang County of Wu State.)
Lu Xun's plan to invade the east and attack the west was not only concealed from Wang Ling who was guarding Hefei, but also Man Chong, who was recruiting troops and horses in Shouchun.
Just when Man Chong and Wang Ling both thought that the Wu State was going to enter Chaohu Lake from Ruxukou and attack Hefei on the edge of Chaohu Lake, as in previous years, Lu Xun had already led his troops and attacked Lu'an City, Lujiang County, Wei State.
The defenders of Liu'an City were horrified when they saw the black Wu soldiers under the city. They quickly sent people to Hefei and Shouchun to report the news, and at the same time strengthened the defense at the top of the city.
Lu Xun, who was nearly fifty years old, although he had become a great general of a country and had led the army for many years, he still maintained the elegance unique to a scholar.
Lu Xun found Yihe Shanggao, looked at the Liu'an City in front of him, and ordered:
“Send people to persuade them to surrender, and at the same time ask the army to immediately cut down trees to use as siege equipment.”
As he spoke, he tightened his thick and long down jacket.
Compared to the riverside, Lu'an City, which is far away from the shore, seems to be colder.
In fact, fur coats are more expensive than down jackets, and they are also warmer than ordinary down jackets.
But the down jacket Lu Xun was wearing was custom-made from Shu.
It is so thick and long that it can even be used as a quilt cover at night.
Compared with those fur coats that cannot be thickened, it is much warmer.
Nowadays, most of the aristocratic families in the Wu Kingdom wear fur coats when walking around the house, but when going out, they always wear thicker and longer down jackets.
For those small families, choose a more common down jacket.
After all, the lining and exterior of the down jacket are both made of silk, so compared to fur coats, it does not lose face.
Arrows were fired from the top of Lujiang City, obviously refusing to persuade them to surrender.
Lu Xun was not worried, because this was within his expectation.
But he led his people to inspect the camp again and urged each battalion to prepare for the attack.
Although the camp is relatively orderly, it is a bit noisy.
Lu Xun sighed, but did not make many requests. He just asked the generals of each battalion to come over and let them restrain the soldiers under their command.
Everyone in the world says that the Wu people are good at sailing, but not good at land warfare. In addition to historical traditions and the lack of horses in the south, they are not good at land warfare.
There is also the military system currently implemented in the state of Wu, which is also part of the reason.
Except for the Imperial Guards under His Majesty’s personal control, the most elite battalions in other armies are those hereditary troops in the hands of generals.
Therefore, the greatest task of the commander-in-chief of the army is to coordinate the generals and let them lead the battalions forward together, instead of fighting independently.
However, Lu Xun had a distinguished status and had always been highly respected, so under his supervision, the Wu army's camp was quickly built.
On the second day, Wu Jun sent out his battalions to attack the city.
Although the siege equipment was not ready, this did not prevent the Wu army from trying to fill in the moat of Lu'an City first.
Although Liu'an City is the county seat of Lujiang County, it is not actually a big city.
But because it was built near the Xian River, the moat is not only deep, but also very wide.
The soldiers carrying earth and rocks began to rush forward. They didn't even have leather armor on them, and some even had ragged clothes.
These are the soldiers at the lowest level, and there are also some dead soldiers.
The Wei army still had deer antlers on the other side of the moat. The Wei army's crossbowmen behind the antlers began to draw their bows and crossbows after the Wu army entered the shooting range, and arrows flew like rain.
Sergeant Wu breathed in the cold winter breath, then sprayed white mist from his mouth and nose, and kept his head down and just rushed forward.
Arrow feathers fell from the air, some stuck into the ground, and some stuck into the rocks and soil on their backs. Fortunately, Sergeant Wu escaped from the disaster.
But there were also arrow feathers that penetrated the soldier's body, and the soldier fell to the ground with him. The hot blood flowing out of his body quickly turned cold in this weather.
The blood that did not have time to seep into the ground quickly solidified and became as cold as the body.
What's more, the victim was not shot in the vital part and fell to the ground wailing. He tried to struggle to get up, but was kicked to the ground by his colleagues, and then trampled by another foot.
Then someone kicked the wounded soldier who was groaning, and he also fell down and fell on top of the wounded soldier. The rocks and soil on his back were scattered down, burying the wounded soldier's face...
Lu Xun was standing not far behind, looking at the dense arrows fired by the Wei army in the air in front of him, his face was calm, but there was a trace of gloom in his eyes.
Over the years, the Wu and Wei armies have been fighting in Hefei City.
The Wei thieves continued to reinforce Hefei, and at the same time deployed heavy troops in Hefei. According to Lu Xun's idea, he raided Lu'an City himself, and the Wei thieves must have been unprepared.
Judging from the fact that he arrived at the gate of Lu'an City very smoothly, the Wei thieves really didn't expect this.
But I also didn’t expect that Liu’an City seemed small, but from the reaction of the Wei thieves, it seemed that the city was filled with elite soldiers and strong generals!
Thinking about this, and then seeing the auxiliary soldiers who rushed to fill the moat disintegrating back at an extremely fast speed, the gloom in his eyes became even stronger.
“Come here, pass the order, tell the army to speed up, don’t pity the soldiers, the moat must be filled in tomorrow!”
“Also, by the day after tomorrow at the latest, all the ladders must be built and the official siege of the city begins.”
“No!”
The killing cries and screams from ahead still vaguely reached Lu Xun's ears, but he was no longer in the mood to listen.
His eyes looked eastward.
There, it is in the direction of Hefei.
As long as Liu'an City can be captured, Wu will have a foothold in Jianghuai and can also threaten Hefei's flanks and rear.
By then, no matter how strong the city and walls of Hefei are, the Wei thieves will have no choice but to give up.
Lu Xun thought of this and sent out elite soldiers to be on guard against the Wei thieves coming from the direction of Hefei.
As for the rear of Lu'an City, there is Shaopo Lake. It was a water conservancy project built by Sun Shu'ao, Prime Minister of Chu in the Spring and Autumn Period, to irrigate the surrounding fields.
Shouchun and Lu'an City face each other across the lake.
Wei Guo never thought that Wu Guo would bypass Chaohu and attack Liu'an City.
Hence, no navy was deployed at Shaopo Lake.
If the Wei army wants to reinforce Liu'an City, it must either send troops directly from Hefei, or send troops from Shouchun in a large circle around Shapo Lake.
"Lu Xun is indeed a good man with weapons. He caught us by surprise."
Man Chong received the news of the critical situation in Liu'an City and quickly summoned the generals for a meeting.
Looking at the map in front of them, all the generals were extremely anxious:
"Former General, Lu'an City is small and I'm afraid it will be difficult to hold on to it. We will send reinforcements as soon as possible!"
Man Chong’s eyes flickered and he stared at the map, but he did not speak immediately.
If Lu'an City falls into the hands of Lu Xun, then the Wu captives can enter Shaopo Lake from Lu'an City and invade Shouchun.
This is a complete replica of entering Chaohu from Ruxukou to attack Hefei.
The only difference is that the Yangzhou defense line that the Wei Dynasty had worked so hard for so many years completely fell.
At that time, most of Yangzhou will fall into the hands of Wu Lu.
The door to the Central Plains is now wide open!
"We must rescue, but we cannot send reinforcements directly from Hefei. After all, who knows whether Sun Quan will really lead the army over from Ruxukou?"
After thinking for a long time, Man Chong said slowly:
“The governor Wang is a brave general, so there is no need to worry about letting him guard Hefei to block Sun Quan. Shouchun City has gathered a lot of troops, and it is time to send reinforcements now.”
Speaking of this, Man Chong paused for a long time before continuing:
"It's just that the reinforcements cannot go to Hefei. Since Lu Xun dared to attack Lu'an City, he couldn't be prepared for Hefei to send reinforcements."
When the subordinates heard this, they were even more anxious and puzzled:
"General, if you want to reinforce Liu'an City, the fastest way is to Hefei. If you don't go there and delay for too long, Liu'an City will be in danger!"
Man favored but unmoved:
"Although Liu'an is small, its walls are strong and the soldiers in the city are well-equipped. As long as the soldiers are united and wait for reinforcements, they can defend it for a long time."
"Although Lu Xun is good at using troops, Wu soldiers are not good at land warfare, let alone attacking cities, so there is no need to worry about Lujiang for the time being!"
As he spoke, his eyes flashed with cold light, "Wu Lu is good at boat battles. Before he didn't come, he wanted to lure him. He abandoned his boat and came two hundred miles away. It's time to destroy him!"
"Immediately send out fast horses and say that I will personally lead the army to rescue, so that the Lujiang soldiers can defend the city with peace of mind."
After urgently reorganizing the troops and horses in Shouchun City, Manchong personally led the army westward against the Huai River. Then at the intersection of Jueshui and Huai River, he went south along Jueshui and circled to the west of Lujiang River.
At this time, the offensive and defensive battle in Lu'an City had reached a fever pitch.
The moat has long been filled in, and a layer of corpses has been laid under Lu'an City.
Lu Xun’s initial fears became reality.
Although Liu'an City is small, it is difficult to attack.
Now we have begun to send all the generals in the army to fight in person, but no one can still stand firm on the wall.
The closest we got was that we were able to storm the city and then be driven back.
Lu Xun did not care about the situation below Lu'an City. His eyes turned more and more to the east.
As long as there is enough time, Liu'an City can definitely be taken.
But the east side in the direction of Hefei is really too quiet.
It's so quiet that it's a little unnerving.
After all, based on days, if the Wei thieves wanted to reinforce Lu'an, there would have been movement by now.
This somewhat abnormal situation made Lu Xun feel a little uneasy.
Lu Xun felt helpless when he remembered that His Majesty was still stationing troops in Ruxukou and had not entered Chao Lake at all.
Although it is said to be luring the enemy, the fighting situation in Liu'an City is so fierce. It would be better if someone could lead the troops into Chaohu, advance to Hefei, and put pressure on the Wei thieves.
While thinking, he loosened his down jacket a little warmly.
Unusually calm, an opponent that cannot be underestimated, and the sensitivity of a perennial leader, Lu Xun's uneasiness turned into suspicion.
“Comer.”
“Come on to the great general.”
“I’m sending you the order to attack the city today and withdraw your troops in advance.”
“No!”
When the siege of the city was in full swing, it suddenly slowed down, which was a good thing for the defenders, because they could seize the time to repair the city wall and give the tired soldiers some breathing space.
But for the Wu army who was eager to capture Liu'an City, it was like using more lives to fill the gap later.
“General, the thieves in the city seem to be exhausted. Why do they suddenly withdraw their troops?”
“I’m afraid the thieves have some agenda.”
“Could it be that there’s something going on over there in Hefei?”
“It is precisely because there is no movement in Hefei that I am worried.”
“Why worry, general?”
“How can I not worry if there is no trace of Man Chong in Hefei?”
Lu Xun sighed and looked at the scarred walls of Liu'an City, inexplicably reminded of the Battle of Xiaoguan the year before last.
I heard that after Feng Yong led his army out of Xiaoguan, he defeated several cities in succession, and after annexing Anding, he was able to turn around and win with a small number, defeating a large number of Cao Zhen.
The Shu people have continuously expanded their territory over the years, and now they have opened the gate to Guanzhong and are advancing in full force.
On the Wu side, although Shiting had a great victory, it was still pinned down by Hefei in the south of the Yangtze River and could not break through.
Lu Xun felt depressed and anxious.
How did Feng Yong manage to defeat several cities in a row?
“Is it possible that your Majesty has attracted the Wei thieves in Chaohu and made them afraid to divide their troops?”
Hearing this, Lu Xun twitched the corner of his mouth and glanced at the general who said this.
Others may believe this, but how could Lu Xun not know the truth?
Ever since His Majesty was forced by Zhang Liao to "walk to the high tombs" and "jump horses to go to the Jin" in Xiaoyaojin, he really hates and is a little afraid of Hefei in his heart.
Those whom I hate, I don’t want to go to Hefei every day.
Those who are afraid of it will not dare to approach Hefei without an army of 100,000.
Now Ruxukou is just to lure the enemy. Where can we get a hundred thousand troops?
That’s why Your Majesty stayed at Ruxukou and did not enter Chaohu Lake.
On the second day, Wu Jun finally arrived and brought Lu Xun the news he wanted most:
“Urgent report! General, there seems to be Wei troops in Anfeng County to the west!”
Before the spies could tell the details of the news, Lu Xun suddenly woke up:
"No! You are so favored that you want to cut off my future!"