On the tenth day of August, when Zhou Chang arrived in Yan County, he saw this scene: Lao Wu, Yuan Yong, Deng Zong and other captains, Sima, knelt in front of the tent of the Northern Expeditionary Army Marshal, bowing his head to plead guilty.
"They are the soldiers who lost the Battle of Wanshan, and now they have come to plead guilty..." Xiao He's eldest son, Xiao Lu, who was listening to orders beside Hei Fu, whispered to Zhou Chang in a low voice.
From Xiao Lu's words, Zhou Chang almost understood the causes and consequences of the big defeat that happened a few days ago.
It's not that Heifu fell into Wang Ben's trap. Although there were emergencies everywhere and Wang Ben's camp showed signs of bluffing, Heifu did not move any soldiers from Xiangyang and Yan County, and still kept a vigilant eye on the people on the other side.
Every move.
But no matter how powerful a general is, he cannot achieve a flawless defense with less than twice the opponent's troops. Wang Ben has been secretly moving troops from Fancheng to the upper reaches of the Han River last month. Tens of thousands of troops came from Zhuyang (Hubei Valley)
City) to cross the river at a shallow point, which is far upstream, and the Northern Expeditionary Army's boat divisions did not have the ability to control a river section that was hundreds of miles long.
By the time the scouts found out, Wang Ben had already led his army to approach Xiangyang. However, he did not choose to attack the city directly. Instead, he launched an attack on Wanshan, the commanding heights to the south.
The brutal Battle of Wanshan has officially begun!
Xiao Lu said in a low voice: "Originally, Wang Ben's army attacked Wanshan, and the advantage was on our side. The generalissimo was stationed in Yilu, and the captains were in Xiangyang to contain his troops. The boat division was on the water, and Wang Ben was going to be defeated.
I will tell you at the foot of Wanshan Mountain."
But after all, the number of people was relatively small, and the battle over Wanshan fell into a stalemate. The reserves of the Northern Expeditionary Army were sent up bit by bit to replace the wounded and exhausted soldiers.
But a strange soldier suddenly appeared behind him and changed everything.
An elite group of ten thousand people arranged by Wang Ben went to Fengling County in Hanzhong and reached the northern foot of Jingshan Mountain, which was theoretically impossible to march. They wrapped themselves in felt and descended the cliffs of the hillside that were difficult for vehicles and horses, and finally appeared in Yilu.
On the other side of the county, the Northern Expeditionary Army was caught off guard.
The Northern Expeditionary Army faced 50,000 enemies against 100,000 troops. It was already struggling, and the rear was attacked again, and the morale of the army was even more chaotic.
Fortunately, Lao Wu led a thousand cavalry and tried their best to hold off the enemy for a moment. After Hei Fu was shocked, he sent out all his short-range guards to block the unexpected force, and only then did the main force on Wanshan Mountain withdraw in time.
But when the army returned to Yan County, the number of people was counted, several days of fierce fighting, and the hasty retreat. In total, nearly 3,000 people had been lost.
The blood of three thousand soldiers was sprinkled on Wanshan Mountain. Now the flag of Wang Ben's army is erected there. The big flag with the word "Qin" is a bit dazzling.
The Gongwei retreated to Xiangyang and defended the city with ten thousand people. Now they are separated from the larger army.
Wang Ben envoy besieged Xiangyang with 30,000 people, and 50,000 troops marched to the south of Wanshan Mountain and camped on the back of the mountain, further reducing the activity space of the Northern Expedition. The 20,000 people from Dongjin also immediately marched south, and had already reached the
Yan County is separated by a river, which is why Wang Ben's army and cavalry dared to go deep into the south and wreak havoc hundreds of miles away...
Zhou Chang couldn't help but clicked his tongue: "This is an unprecedented defeat since Marquis Wu Zhong raised his army!"
Although the loss of men was not many and no cities were lost, the situation in Jianghan was completely different: Wang Ben's main force successfully crossed the Han River, and now only Yan County and Fuxian County were the only ones preventing him from going deep into the hinterland of Jianghan.
There are two cities, one in the west and one in the east.
Such a huge defeat was unheard of. Everyone knew that the situation was very bad, but Heifu did not punish the relevant personnel. Everyone was uneasy and came here to apologize today.
They knelt for a while before the camp tent was opened, and Heifu came out. He was not like an ordinary soldier. There was no trace of depression on his face, only his eyes were bloodshot due to staying up late.
"Why are you acting like children?" He glanced at the generals with a serious voice.
Everyone bowed their heads: "We lost Wanshan, caused Xiangyang to be surrounded, and ruined the king's plan. Please ask the commander to punish us!"
But Hei Fu was noncommittal: "The military is upright."
Jun Zhengle immediately agreed.
"Are they guilty?"
Le opened the record of rewards and punishments in the army: "No crime, the scouts found the enemy invading within the prescribed number of miles; before the drum beat stopped, none of the soldiers dared to retreat even half a step from Wanshan Mountain; the order to retreat was given by the commander-in-chief.
, there was no fight between the three armies when they retreated.”
Heifu nodded: "Yes, the Battle of Wanshan lasted for four days. We faced twice as many enemies and repeatedly fought for positions nine times. Our army repelled more than twenty enemy charges. The soldiers of the three armies did a good enough job.
.”
"The same goes for scouts. Lao Wu once said that ten southern cavalry could not defeat five northern cavalry. This is true. But a few days ago, he risked being ridden several times by the rebel army and went deep into the upper reaches of the Han River to conduct reconnaissance.
After informing the enemy of their advance in advance, he discovered the enemy's surprise troops before they attacked Yilu. Lao Wu personally led his troops to attack them, using thousands of men to attack ten thousand, just to stop them for a few more moments..."
Lao Wu wiped his tears. In that charge, Sanbai Paoze was killed, and the bodies of both men and horses could not be recovered.
"The short-range personal guards, no matter what the battle situation is, are always guarding me. No one leaves their post without permission. After receiving my order, they immediately go to stop the enemy's surprise troops and buy time for the main force to withdraw from Wanshan Mountain."
Yuan Yong gritted his teeth. Many Anlu friends he had played with since childhood died in that battle.
"The rear army made even greater sacrifices. When the army retreated from Wanshan Mountain, Mu was ordered to lead the rear army and cut off the rear for me. He was extremely brave and killed dozens of people himself. Seven of them were hit, but he didn't make a sound. He only fell down after returning to camp.
…”
Thinking of the scene where the tall flag-bearing officer suddenly fell to the ground, Heifu could not help but feel a sore nose. At that time, he pulled out every arrow on Mu's body. After pulling out an arrow, he gave him a cup of wine.
Fortunately, Mu was strong and managed to survive under Chen Wujiu's diagnosis and treatment. Now he is lying in the city recuperating from his injuries.
This feeling has not been felt for a long time. The last time Heifu saw the casualties of Paoze's subordinates and felt helpless was when he saw the locust tree leaning against a tree and losing its breath during the Battle of Linyang more than ten years ago.
I thought that I was no longer a fledgling military officer back then, but a powerful and invincible general. I had exhausted my plans and could wait for the opponent to make mistakes...
But this time, Heifu met an opponent who could not make mistakes!
At this moment, Heifu controlled his emotions, clenched his fists and said:
"In this battle, everyone fought to the death with all their strength. No one made any mistakes. We were just outnumbered and at a disadvantage."
He said that no one was at fault, but deep down, Heifu knew that if he was to be held accountable, he himself would be the main culprit for this defeat.
"I insisted on dividing my troops and defending them in various places, hoping to outflank them. As a result, fifty thousand enemies were against one hundred thousand, and I faced a general like Wang Ben who had fought many battles. This was me, but I was too careless and underestimated the enemy..."
People will eventually have to pay the price for their own arrogance.
But then again, the troops are already twice as small. If they really concentrate their troops, Wang Ben may be able to march in from other places, and the result may not be better than now.
Heifu also feels very powerless. Sometimes you work hard and don't make any mistakes, but you just lose. At this time, any reason you find is like an excuse because your skills are not as good as others.
After a battle, Heifu finally understood that Jiang was still old and hot, and he was still slightly inferior to Wang Ben in terms of micro-management of military tactics.
Because the general's insight and the execution ability of his men are the key to determining the outcome of a battle, it would have been okay for Heifu to form a stronghold and fight poorly, or to send emergency troops to torture the lower-level generals.
But when they met Wang Ben, who had destroyed four kingdoms in four battles, his opponent had twice as many troops as him. Even with the favorable geographical location, he still suffered a heavy defeat.
As a general, the three armies are courageous. Heifu could admit defeat in his heart, but he could not say it. Seeing everyone bowing their heads and feeling unhappy, he immediately showed his revolutionary optimism and said with a smile:
"What, you can't afford to lose?"
"As I said, no one is to blame for the defeat of Wanshan. It's just that our army's strength was slightly inferior, so Wang Ben took a small advantage and retreated to give him a way."
Yuan Yong and others bowed their heads: "I just feel aggrieved... Commander, please let us rescue Xiangyang!"
Heifu flatly refused everyone's invitation to fight.
"Guard Yan County and Xiangyang, you can only rely on yourself!"
The current situation is that Wang Ben has occupied Wanshan, 30,000 people are surrounding Xiangyang, and the remaining 50,000 are waiting aside, obviously to encircle and rescue Xiangyang. If Heifu is in a hurry and uses inferior troops to rescue Xiangyang, he will definitely be the king.
Ben was defeated.
Furthermore, Wang Ben also suffered at least 5,000 casualties in his attack on Wanshan. This was also the reason why he did not directly attack Yan County after his victory. In the battles in the past few days, Wang Ben also felt the impact of the Northern Expedition.
Due to the tenacity of the army, Siyuan (si) City, the twin cities of Yan County, is not easy to defeat.
Moreover, the Han River was still in Heifu's hands, so he took advantage of the fierce battle on land. He sent his boatmen to burn Wang Ben's water stronghold in Yuliangzhou.
This means that the opponent's military rations have to be transported far upstream of the Han River before the pontoon bridge is built, or the cavalry from Dongjin plunders Han Dong's rations to support the war...
That's right, the 20,000 people Wang Bi arranged in Dongjin and Lumen Mountain are Heifu's biggest worry. According to the reports from Chen Ying and Zhou Chang, it is obvious that the target of that army is Fuxian County in the south!
Fuxian County was once the capital of the Chu State and the granary east of the Han River. Once the enemy's partial troops captured it, they could march straight in, go south and penetrate deep into the Han River, and even cross Han to threaten Jiangling!
If things really come to that point, Heifu is really in a dilemma.
How long Xiangyang can hold on, whether Yixian can resist the attack of Dongjin's soldiers, and whether Wang Ben will follow his old plan and flood Yanxian. These are the three points that determine the direction of the war.
The matter has reached a life-or-death moment, but Heifu must chat and laugh with the captains and commanders, and cannot let the worry of failure bury themselves in their hearts.
He helped everyone up one by one and encouraged them: "Every time you win, you lose. It's common for a military strategist to get up wherever they fall!"
"What's more, they lost a small battle, but the Northern Expeditionary Army will definitely win the whole war! I received news today that the autumn harvest in the south has ended, and reinforcements and food from Governor Xiao will be arriving in the near future. By then,
Then we can fight the rebel army again!"
Sure enough, as soon as these words came out, everyone immediately became energetic.
Heifu handed over the entire rear area to Xiao He and Xiao Tao. Xiao He was in charge of the autumn harvest and conscription matters. He promised to immediately send troops and food northward to support after the autumn, led by the most prudent Xiao Tao.
According to Xiao He's report, at the end of August, Xiao Tao Ke arrived south of Yan County with 30,000 people!
Heifu is in urgent need of this new force now.
"Ten days, I need to persist for at least ten days before the two sides can return to the balance of confrontation."
And if he wants to win the war, he may have to wait even longer.
Long before the battle with Wang Ben began, Heifu had arranged three back-ups, but whether they could work one by one depended on both God's will and manpower...
First, it depends on the situation on the Bashu side. Heifu has learned that Ye Zijin has returned safely. Lu Jia has entered Ba to encourage the Ba people to join the Northern Expedition. Zhao Tuo, who Heifu arranged in advance, has also entered Ba from the trail. Zhao Wu
The two men, plus the Ba people, had forced Feng Jie to retreat to Jiangzhou. The two sides faced off in Ba County and fell into a stalemate.
If we want to break this deadlock, we still need the most critical opportunity.
"Lu Jia, Lu Jia, success or failure depends on your sharp tongue..."
Counting the time, the latest letter sent by Heifu is almost in the hands of Lu Jia who is in Bazhong!
The second is Suixian. Heifu's plan in Suixian is a trap. According to Zhou Chang's report, 30,000 Northern troops have already stepped into it. This means that the East Gate is eyeing him in the south.
Baohu, it’s time to take action.
But the situation has changed. After the defeat of Wanshan, even if both of these two places are victorious, it will not help the overall situation. Heifu can only count on the third and most critical point...
"My most capable general is not here!"
…
In mid-August, geese fly south. They have to cross the Three Passes of Ming'e (Xinyang, Henan) between Tongbai Mountain and Dabie Mountain to spend the winter in the warm south.
But an army of 20,000 people was heading northward, leaving Ming'e and entering the vast Runan Plain...
Han Xin stood on the rumbling chariot, high-spirited and pointing his flag north:
