Chapter 34: Flying the tiger flag against the odds
Two days later, the Han army had crossed the Surabaya River. The reconnaissance cavalry reported: The rebel army retreated more than 20 miles to the west, occupied Kongshan, and formed formations on the Zhaishan. The army was extremely powerful, and the company camp was continuous for 20 miles.
They all used horses and donkey carts to carry the load, and the carts were connected with iron ropes, and the army horses were enclosed among them; and the infantry was numerous.
The fort is well-kept and neat, and there are many sergeants and Han Chinese and Huns who speak with Kansai accents. It seems that all the Baibo troops have arrived.
That night, Liu Bei secretly discussed with his staff what to do. Xu Shu, Fazheng, Xun You, Guo Kai, Shejian and other tyrants and ministers arrived. They all said: Now the bandit army is arrayed in the mountain, waiting for work. If our army challenges us, I was afraid that there would be no good results, so I suggested that Liu Bei first move to Xiaohongshan and Hushan areas, which are thirty miles north of Kongshan, and confront the rebels from the north to the south, and plan for them slowly.
There was nothing wrong with the plan, but Liu Bei was not satisfied. He said to everyone: "Do you still remember what I said before?"
"Ming Gong said that he wants to mobilize the enemy for a decisive battle?" The first person to react was Xun You. He shook his head and said: "If Ming Gong has any adventurous ideas, please pay more attention to the lives of the soldiers. Our army has penetrated deep into the enemy's territory. In a moment,
If you are not careful, it may lead to defeat. I hope you will be careful."
Liu Bei laughed. He pointed to Surabaya behind him and the foothills in the distance, and said slowly: "Gongda, this is enemy territory for you, but not for me. I stationed troops in Dongping and went back and forth to suppress the rebellion.
It can be said that for four years, I have known the landscape of Xuzhou by heart.
I’m not taking risks out of thin air.”
"What does Ming Gong plan to do?"
What Liu Bei said next shocked everyone: "I plan to form a formation with my back to the water and use my own formation as bait.
Lure the thieves to attack."
Everyone thinks that since ancient times, forming a formation with your back against the water has been an extremely disadvantageous move. If the enemy forces squeeze with infantry formations and drive some of our soldiers into the water, then the entire army will be cut into several pieces, making it difficult to counterattack.
Those who fight and win are all celebrities who can leave their names in history.
And using this formation as a bait is even more unwise. The leader is the courage of an army, and when he dies, the army will be in chaos. Therefore, once there is a battle, the enemy army will definitely attack with all its strength, with all its units taking turns to attack one unit.
, no matter how good the army is in fighting, it is often difficult to resist, and the result is that one of the generals will either die or be captured, and the entire army will collapse.
Liu Bei explained: "Our army has elite soldiers and brave generals, and we have far more food and fodder than the enemy.
If you are not at a slight disadvantage,
The thief army will not decide to fight. Wait until the thief army comes to fight.
When you attack me with all your elite troops, you can suddenly send out surprise troops on both wings to destroy the elite troops. Once the elite troops are lost, the bandit army will be frightened and routed."
However, these words could not persuade everyone. Fazheng also advised: "Ming Gong, since there is a perfect law in the world, why should we abandon the superior and seek the inferior? Now the rebel army is besieged from the north to the south. As long as our army moves steadily towards
To the east, move slowly, and the two states will be available sooner or later."
Liu Bei was silent, and the atmosphere in the military tent was slightly tense for a while. After all, Liu Bei's eyes contained persistence, showing his true intention: he still wanted to fight against the enemy.
Everyone finally looked at Xu Shu. He was the long history of the Ba family and a disciple of Chen Chong. Therefore, his opinions were very important. If he persuaded Liu Bei, Liu Bei would not be able to disobey him. Unexpectedly, Xu Shu actually supported it and said: "The world is in turmoil.
For several years, if the moth thieves cannot be defeated early, the north and the south may not be able to return home. Although Ming Gong's strategy is risky, it still has a six-point chance of winning. If we plan carefully, we can achieve a seven-point chance."
With Xu Shu's support, Liu Bei was overjoyed and said with a smile: "Seven points is enough."
"It's just that it's not necessary to form a battle array." Xu Shu said: "Ming Gong can build a fort along the water. When the bandits come to attack, there will be a fort as a basis, and the battle array will not be easily overwhelmed. Naturally, there is no need to worry about being breached in a hurry.
”
Liu Bei hesitated after hearing this, and asked: "But if this happens, will the bandits come to fight again?"
"Why did Ming Gong forget? You have sent a letter to General Zuo and General Zhennan, asking them to go south to cut off the return of the traitor army!"
"It's just news. Send it to Mengde and wait for them to lead the army south. It may take a month. When they haven't reached the halfway point, they may abandon this place and sit in the city."
Xu Shu smiled and said: "But the moth thief doesn't know."
Liu Bei said "Ah", and then heard Xu Shu say: "Don't you hear the bluff and make something out of nothing? Our army can send a cavalry army, under the name of Cao Shijun, to surprise Lanling in the East China Sea at night. Now,
The main force of the rebel army is here, so Lanling must be empty. If it is best to capture it, our army will cut off the enemy's return route in advance. Even if they cannot capture it, the rebel army will think that Cao Shijun has arrived when they see the flag.
Panicked, the only choice was whether to withdraw or fight."
"It's just that the bandit army must have hastily to withdraw like this. Ming Gong will lead the knights to pursue it in large numbers, and there will be many gains. If the bandit army comes to fight, it means they have fallen into our army's trap. Our army will be in an invincible position." After listening to Xu Shu's words, everyone present was impressed, and Liu Bei couldn't help but admire: "Yuan Zhi is really my think tank and the planner!"
So he arranged according to Xu Shu's instructions and ordered each tribe to build forts along the river. On the 26th, when the forts were completed, Liu Bei ordered Zhang Fei to lead three thousand knights to attack Lanling at night.
In the evening of the same day, Zhang Fei had just set out, when suddenly an autumn and winter rain fell on the Qilu land. Looking at the Sishui River in the distance, in the gloom, the cold smoke and mist covered it like a gauze curtain. The geese and gulls and herons that were originally whining suddenly suddenly
All disappeared without a trace, leaving only the endless gray-yellow reeds by the water, swaying in the drizzle.
In the Qi and Han army's camp, the humidity was overwhelming. Although they all brought winter clothes, the cold that soaked into their bones was unstoppable. Many soldiers were so frozen that they could not sleep. The next day, the rain was still falling, and coupled with the lack of food,
Many soldiers fell ill. When Guan Hai heard that the Han army was building camps along the Si River, he couldn't bear it any longer, so he summoned the generals to discuss matters.
During the meeting, Da Shan Yu Dugu went to Bei, and Da Sima Prefect Shi Tao Qiuxiu was ill and could not come. Hearing raindrops hitting the tent made people inevitably feel uneasy.
Only Teng Dan, the military advisor of the Grand Sima Mansion, did not look sad. He suggested: "We are not the only ones who are troubled by this kind of weather. The enemy has built camps along the water, obviously transporting grain and fodder for follow-up. We should take advantage of the enemy's
The military camp is not strong. If we lead the army to attack the camp on this rainy night, the puppet government will be unprepared and they will be able to attack it with a single drum."
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Guan Hai heard this and agreed. However, the generals were hesitant, especially the two Baibo coaches, Han Siam and Yang Feng, who objected. They said that in a fierce battle late at night, the outcome was unpredictable. After all, the enemy had camps, and it would not be easy to defeat them.
It was difficult to decide the opinions of others, so Guan Hai couldn't help but hesitate. So the day passed again.
After dawn on the third day, the rain stopped. Although the sky did not clear up, it was still obscured by clouds. But now that the rain had stopped, the moisture gradually weakened, and the earth became somewhat alive.
At Shen Shi, the Chinese army sent an order. The captains and sergeants gathered in the camp to wait for the order. They were not allowed to move around without permission in the camp. All military equipment, armors and horses were checked and prepared for use. After hearing this, the sergeants secretly discussed that the Chinese army had not prepared for war before.
Plan, why did you suddenly make up your mind? Moreover, the tone of the messenger who conveyed the order was quite serious. It seemed that he was ready to complete the battle. Could it be that something happened?
Some people who know some secrets said that I heard in the east that there was a vanguard of the Han army, not far from Lanling. After the officers and soldiers learned about it, they were as nervous as if they were facing a powerful enemy. They all said: If this is the case, it is really impossible.
No more fighting. For the first time, the Japanese army had three meals, including meat, but this further confirmed their suspicion that most of them could not sleep.
In fact, Lanling had indeed been captured by Zhang Fei. Just to prevent the morale of the army from being chaotic, Guan Hai only said that there were Han troops. In the middle of the night, Guan Hai called the generals again for discussion. All the generals knew that they had to fight.
In the desperate situation, Guan Hai no longer held any objections, and the camp was silent. At this point, Guan Hai hesitated again. He invited an old Fu Zhu who had joined the religion in his early years to come out and said to him: "We will fight with the whole country, hoping that the gods will
Let Huang Tian point out the ending for us! Regardless of success or failure, we will be happy with it."
Lao Fu Zhu respected the order, and asked people to bring in the zodiac sign and the Book of Changes, and bowed to the sky. After praying, he divined the hexagrams according to the lotus. In order, he got: Yin, Yin, Yin, Yang, Yin Yang, that is, the sixth day of the lunar month, the sixth day, the sixth day, and the sixth day.
Three, ninety-four, sixty-five, and nine on the top, a total of six lines. Fu Zhu said: "This is the hexagram of Jin where Kun is at the bottom and is above the ground, and fire is on the ground." After saying this, he checked the Book of Changes to look for the lines, waiting to be read.
After that, he couldn't help but look happy, cleared his throat and said loudly: "This is an auspicious hexagram! Jin means advancement and ascension. The line says 'Jin. Jin means that the light comes out of the ground, and it is as smooth and beautiful as the Ming Dynasty!'"
Seeing that everyone was puzzled, he explained: "Kun is the earth, and Li is the disaster. When Kun is below and Li is above, the sun rises from the ground, crosses the earth and flies into the sky, which means to encourage progress. Sixty-five means changing Yao, Yao Ci
It is said, 'Repent and lose, and don't be sorry for gains and losses. Go forward to good luck, and there will be no disadvantages!' That is to say, if there are no gains and losses to regret, progress will be good, and no future will be disadvantageous!"
At this point, Guan Hai waved his hand to interrupt him and said: "You are bound to win if you go forward, don't worry, so as not to miss the opportunity, right?" Fu Zhu nodded in agreement. Guan Hai was overjoyed and said to the generals: "It seems that God's will
If you are still waiting for me, then what are you waiting for?" He selected about 20,000 elite cavalry and 40,000 horses from all armies to be the vanguard and ascend the Han camp in Surabaya first, and the rest of the infantry and cavalry people responded later.
After all the accompanying generals and staff were gathered together, Guan Hai slowly came out of the tent and found that the sky was already turning hazy and white. He unconsciously stamped his feet and sighed: "If we leave now, we will reach the edge of the camp.
Is it already dawn? It’s too late. We have to order a temporary lifting of martial law and rest.”
Another day passed like this, and at Shenshi the next day, the whole army was ordered to eat and rest. Just after Shenshi, the vanguard cavalry selected yesterday had already begun to form the team. Guan Hai left the camp wearing a Mingguang armor painted black, with only his close friends around him.
In addition to dozens of horses, the captain also brought a dozen strong pack horses, which were led by Cang Tou. These horses were bundled with heavy packages containing gold, silver, silk and other items, which he brought out from Linzi.
, prepared to reward soldiers before battle.
There were no stars or moon in the sky under thick clouds late at night, the surrounding areas were pitch black, and the air was cold and crisp. In the lightless night, Liu Bei's flying tiger flag fluttered in the wind, baring its teeth and claws in the wind that no one could see.