Chapter 147: Bai Hong goes north, Han Bian is captured
In July of late summer and early autumn, just after Xia Houxuan, Cao Xi, and Yu Huan helped the governor Wang Xiong find the warrior Han Long in Youzhou, on Renyin day, the capital city of Luoyang also started taking action.
Cao Rui first sent General Qin Lang to lead 10,000 valiant cavalry and 10,000 fine cavalry, a total of 20,000 cavalry to Guanzhong. They went to General Sima Yi's tent to obey orders and continue the stalemate with Zhuge Liang. In addition, he arranged for the minister to order Chen Qun to stay in Luoyang. He drove a dragon boat eastward to Huaisi, making great noises along the way, intending to let everyone in the world know that he personally conquered Sun Quan.
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The morale of the defenders of Hefei New City has been greatly boosted since Man Chong, the general of the Eastern Expedition, came in person, burned the Wu army's equipment, and shot Wu general Sun Tai. Compared with the low morale before Man Chong came to the front line in person, Naturally, there have been huge changes.
Even Xincheng guard Zhang Ying, who had been extremely pessimistic before, seemed to have some confidence now.
But even so, the situation in Hefei New City was still very critical, because although Man Chong came personally, the court did not allow him to lead most of his troops to come to the rescue. Therefore, Hefei's supplementary combat power was only the five hundred warriors brought by Man Chong.
The Lord of Wu, Sun Quan, was very shrewd, and of course he understood this, so Sun Quan wanted to launch a fierce attack on Hefei before Cao Rui arrived at the front line.
Calculating carefully, this is Sun Quan's sixth attack on Wei's Hefei.
Twenty-four years ago, after the Battle of Chibi, it was his best chance to seize Hefei. However, he was sent a letter by Jiang Ji, who was still serving as Yangzhou's valet, with a letter saying "Emperor Wu of Wei has sent a hundred thousand troops back to aid Hefei." "I was scared off by the letter.
Nineteen years ago, it was the second time that he sent troops to capture Hefei, but unfortunately he was killed by Wei's fierce generals Zhang Liao and Zhang Wenyuan with an iron halberd and eight hundred warriors. He became a laughing stock of the enemy!
Fifteen years ago, Guan Yunchang went to Xiangyang in the north. He originally wanted to send troops with Guan Yu, echoing east and west, and capture Hefei. However, Guan Yu was arrogant and insulted himself, so he instead ordered Lu Meng to attack Guan Yu. Although he captured Jingzhou, he failed to do so. Once again the opportunity to capture Hefei was lost.
Four years ago, after he proclaimed himself emperor, he carefully planned to attack the border with large numbers of troops, attracting most of the reinforcements from Wei State's Yanzhou and Yuzhou, and then pretended that food and grass were no longer available and retreated on his own initiative. In fact, he wanted the Wei army to retreat and then killed himself. He turned around and took advantage of the disadvantages, but who could have imagined that his clever plan was discovered by Man Chong!
Last year, I raised my troops to march north again, but the Wei army had already established the new city of Hefei, and I had no chance to take advantage of it. I wanted to show off my power for a while and then retreat, but Man Chong had already ambushed his troops on the river bank, and he lost hundreds of men!
How can I swallow this bad breath!
At this moment, Sun Quan, the Emperor of Wu State, who was riding a Luan Yu, wearing the emperor's fine dragon-scale armor, and hanging the famous white rainbow sword at his waist, was leading tens of thousands of elites under his command, slowly marching towards the gate of Hefei City.
[Note 1: Emperor Wu has six swords, one is White Rainbow, the second is Purple Lightning, the third is to ward off evil spirits, the fourth is Meteor, the fifth is Qingming, and the sixth is Baili. This novel sets up that the Qingming Sword was given to Lu Yi. 】
"Soldiers, in today's battle, we must avenge our shame!"
Sun Quan's originally green eyes turned a little red due to excitement. He pulled out the "White Rainbow" sword from his waist with a clatter, pointed at the head of Hefei City where he had dreamed of countless times, and loudly encouraged his subordinates. Soldiers:
"Soldiers, capture Hefei!"
Sun Quan gave an order, and thousands of Wu troops rushed toward Hefei New City like a huge blue tide!
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On the broad water of the Huaihe River, the naval fleet commanded by Emperor Cao Rui of Wei was advancing towards the southeast in an orderly formation.
On top of the Huanglong Imperial Gunship, which is as tall as a pavilion and palace, and under the flags flying in the wind like a majestic bird with black feathers and yellow manes, Wei Emperor Cao Rui is wearing fish scale armor, with the Emperor's Sword hanging from his waist, standing on the bow of the ship with high spirits, looking out. The faraway land of Wu and Yue.
A group of casual cavalry regular attendants Liu Fang, Sun Zi, Gao Tanglong, Bian Lan, He Zeng, and Changping Marquis Cao Zhao, as well as Xia Houxian and others who were promoted to leading generals and were in charge of the palace guards, accompanied the emperor. aside.
At this moment, Cao Rui's mood was extremely agitated.
I think back then, my grandfather, Emperor Wu, Cao Cao, personally led his army to the south. He sailed boats thousands of miles, held flags in the sky, and wrote poems across the Chibi River. How heroic and heroic he was. And his father, Emperor Gao Zuwen, Cao Pi, also personally went south several times. Although he had no merit, he had the effect of forcing Wu Yue and eyeing Jing and Xiang.
Now he is carrying on the legacy of his ancestors and fathers and sailing the dragon boat south again. He feels quite satisfied and satisfied. He looks at the brave soldiers under his command, the wide water surface in the distance, and the endless Jianghuai plain, and feels a sudden feeling in his heart. He was so heroic that he couldn't help but become inspired by poetry. He ordered someone to fetch the Four Treasures of the Study. After pondering for a long time, he wrote down something in his heart:
"I will conquer the enemy and defeat the barbarians.
Train your master Jian Zu. Make your journey right.
A light boat sails through the river, and the first sightseeing is in Pu.
Huan Huan is fierce and determined. He is as fierce as a tiger.
The cannon fires like thunder and the breath exhales like rain.
旄挌 refers to the subordinates. Advance and retreat in accordance with the rules.
Hundreds of horses and bridles. Yu Yuzaofu.
Hugh off the six armies. Xian and Siwu.
Also Tu Xingmai and Liangzi were blocked.
The journey is far away. To the west is the capital.
The journey lasted for ten days, and then the soil was raised.
The bandits are frightened. No one dares to defend them.
If you have real power, you will be defeated. If you are prepared, you will be defeated.
The ghosts wandering in false qi, fish and birds keep company.
The tiger ministers and generals are depressed and full of anger.
Huaisi purges the Qing Dynasty and promotes the small areas.
Luck with virtue and glory. Only control and care.
Go back to the throne and return to the imperial family."
While Cao Rui was waving his hair and chanting, he was facing the wind and looking at the mountains and rivers. In the poem, he compared Sun Quan, the Emperor of Wu, to a "Shu Zi" and called Liu Bei, Emperor Zhaolie of the Shu Han Dynasty, a "dead prisoner", which shows that he was in a high mood at this time.
Two days later, Cao Rui's Emperor's dragon boat finally arrived in Xunyang.
Hefei New Town is only a few hundred miles away.
Cao Rui silently calculated the itinerary in his mind. More than once, he secretly thought about the scenario of sending his army south and defeating Sun Wu personally. He thought that in this way, he could really catch up with his ancestors and father's achievements. !
I think back then, the famous generals Zhang Liao and Zhang Wenyuan of this dynasty led 800 dead soldiers and held an iron halberd. They killed Sun Quan's 100,000 feathers in one battle and threw off their helmets and armor. What a powerful tiger!
Therefore, the great Sima Changping Zhuang Hou Cao Xiu and Cao Wenlie guarded Yangzhou for many years. They also defeated Dongwu several times and showed their power in the south of the Yangtze River, making the Cao family famous. Unfortunately, when he succeeded to the throne, Cao Wenlie became the best among the Wu people. A trick, trapped between rocks, defeated and defeated, and finally died in depression.
To this day, Cao Rui can still recall the lonely and unwilling look in his uncle Cao Wenlie's eyes.
Not only that, Da Sima’s beloved son and his right-hand man, Cao Zun and Cao Desi, was also captured and killed by Soochow!
Cao Rui secretly swore in his heart that he would lead the dragon boat to sweep across Wuyue this time. Sun Quan, who was killed again, threw away his helmet and armor and fled in panic to avenge the old commander Cao Wenlie and the old school official Cao Desi!
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Sun Quan originally thought that with the few defenders in Hefei City and a dying Man Chong, he would be able to defeat him in one fell swoop, but what he didn't expect was that Zhang Ying, the little-known defender in the city, actually refused to defend and fought hard. He blocked the attack of Lujiang Shangjia and Danyang Qingjin, but he didn't take any advantage at all!
It seems that this time I am going to suffer defeat here again...
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Just as Cao Rui's army was about to leave Xunyang and continue to march towards Hefei New City, not far from Cao Rui's dragon boat, there seemed to be a small boat coming quickly on the river in the distance. Judging from its flag number, it was a small boat. It was only the messenger boat for the navy scouts of the Wei army.
How could the new school officer recognize at a glance that this was a school officer under his command? He hurriedly ordered someone to drive a boat to greet the man.
After the meeting, He Zeng learned that the man had brought an urgent military report from the front: Sun Quan had led his army to retreat!
He ever frowned:
"Send someone quickly to the dragon boat to inform His Majesty!"
After hearing the order, the two school officials immediately drove their small boat towards Cao Rui's dragon boat.
Not long after, a soldier next to Cao Rui boarded the building, knelt on the deck and said: "Your Majesty, a message came from the southern line that Sun Quan has led more than 100,000 Danyang Qingjin under his command, and the Lujiang Shangjia troops have withdrawn southward. ! ”
"What!"
When Cao Rui heard the news, he felt mixed emotions in his heart. He didn't know whether it was the joy of defeating the enemy or the loneliness of unfulfilled ambitions. Maybe it was a combination of both.
"Okay, I understand..."
Cao Rui let out a long breath, and the casual knights accompanying him didn't know whether the emperor breathed a sigh of relief or sighed.
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At this time, they were stationed at Miangkou in Jiangxia, preparing to attack Xiangyang, the capital of Wei State's Jingzhou. The Western Front Northern Expedition army led by General Soochow, Marquis of Jiangling Lu Yi, and General Zhuge Jin, Marquis of Wanling, also I heard the news that Emperor Sun Quan had withdrawn his troops.
Among Jiangxia's commanders, the commander Lu Yi was wearing a white sleeve armor, hanging on his waist was the "Qing Ming" sword gifted by Sun Quan, Lord of Wu. He was studying the march map in front of the case. He was fully clothed and did not feel any difficulty at all.
After a while, he seemed to have an idea, so he shouted:
"Someone is coming!"
After hearing the general's order, the private soldier Han Bian immediately came into the tent.
"Hurry to the direction of His Majesty's withdrawal and take this memorandum with you. Be sure to deliver it to His Majesty before he withdraws to the south of the Yangtze River!"
"As you command!"
Han Bian immediately went out of his tent to deliver the message.
He knew that the matter was urgent and did not dare to delay, so he chose the shorter north road.
However, although this road is closer than the southern route, it happens to pass by the Wei army station. Coincidentally, the person on duty in the camp that day, commanding the scouts and patrols, is Xiahou Xuan's cousin, the new leading general Xiahou offer.
Xia Houxian was a smart and capable man, and he was also proficient in martial arts. With his extraordinary eyesight, he saw Han Bian trying to hide and escape at a glance.
"Hey! Who are you? Come forward quickly!"
Seeing that his whereabouts were exposed, Han Bian screamed in his heart. He was about to run hastily before he ran twenty steps when he was overtaken by Xia Houxian who came from behind.
Xiahou Xian was so sincere that he knocked Han Bian down with a single strike of his sword. He laughed and said:
"You bastard, you're running away! Do you really think that my family's "Cloud Walk and Rain Step" was practiced in vain!"
Han Bian's face turned pale at this time, his brows were furrowed, and he didn't say a word.