Chen Mu placed the final decisive battle in the mountainous areas of Wu'an area.
Why put it here?
This is because heavy cavalry is inherently bulky and has far less maneuverability than light cavalry.
Once a battle breaks out in the wild, if 5,000 infantry and 1,000 heavy cavalry fight, the heavy cavalry will definitely have the advantage.
But the other two thousand light cavalry can kite the heavy cavalry to death.
Therefore, even when Chen Mu defeated Hua Xiong's light cavalry, he actually chose to do so in a mountainous area with narrow terrain.
As for why Hua Xiong's light cavalry troops were annihilated without a single battle, there were many considerations.
First of all, although the heavy cavalry has an advantage, since they are small in number, there will inevitably be casualties.
Secondly, Hua Xiong must be left to go back and report the news to Xu Rong.
Thirdly, he had to whet Xu Rong's appetite and couldn't push Xu Rong too hard.
If all Xu Rong's light cavalry were annihilated and Dong Zhuo became furious and sent out heavy troops to encircle and suppress them, the gains would outweigh the losses.
Because at least for now, Dong Zhuo's move to depose the emperor has not been resisted by the people of the world due to the endorsement of Empress Dowager Dong, and he has not been able to block the sky with one hand for the time being.
So at the moment, Dong Zhuo has only replaced He Jin as a senior official in the central government. It has not yet reached the point where he has all the power and everyone wants to be beaten.
Even Cao Cao did not assassinate Dong now. He was still a junior military lieutenant and obeyed the orders of Dong Cheng, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army.
In this way, the imperial court will have its legitimacy, and local governments will obey its orders.
Chen Mu is now a wanted criminal. If he runs all the way to Qingzhou and is hidden by Liu Bei, it will be nothing.
Because this kind of thing was normal in the late Han Dynasty, Empress Dowager Dong had Wang Jun by her side to help her talk, and considering Liu Bei's two life-saving graces, she most likely wouldn't care about it.
But if these two thousand light cavalry were annihilated, the nature would be different. That would be resisting the royal order and embarking on the path of rebellion.
Under Dong Zhuo's rage, Queen Mother Dong probably would not speak up for Liu Bei anymore.
Because in this matter, Chen Mu did something wrong.
Chen Mu first opposed Empress Dowager Dong's monopoly on deposing the emperor, which already made Empress Dowager Dong feel uncomfortable. For Liu Bei's sake, at most she turned a blind eye.
But if the regular troops sent by the central court were killed, then Empress Dowager Dong's favorability would probably fall to a negative value.
Even if Big Brother helps to protect him, it will be meaningless and Liu Bei may be implicated.
So this time, even if Chen Mu wanted to fight Xu Rong decisively and defeat Xu Rong completely, he couldn't strike too hard. He had to use a good sense of proportion. He wanted to hurt Xu Rong but not make Dong Zhuo too angry.
It sounds very fucked up. It seems very frustrating to be chased around like a rabbit and not be able to kill someone when you fight back.
But there is nothing we can do.
This is the benefit of mastering the right name.
During the period when Cao Cao took advantage of the emperor to order the princes, the system collapsed and many princes no longer obeyed the central edicts.
But even so, Cao Cao also used Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to gain countless benefits from it.
But now is not that time, but a normal time.
It is somewhat similar to the situation where both sides suffered losses after Dou Wu and Chen Fan fought with the eunuchs. Empress Dowager Dong controlled the government in the name of the Empress Dowager.
Such a unified dynasty has its legitimacy, and wanted criminals have no say.
Not to mention that a strong man with high martial arts value like Guan Yu and Zang Ba could only live in anonymity after being wanted.
When talking about the disaster caused by party imprisonment, those party members who were arrested were not ordinary people, but famous gentlemen in the world.
As a result, Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty issued an edict that the three monarchs and eight heroes who were "models for the world" were either captured or killed. Except for Zhang Jian who escaped, many party members and relatives were arrested and imprisoned.
Scholars and common people had no choice but to sympathize with them.
Today's situation is similar to the time when the Party was in power. At first the Party members were against the eunuch dictatorship, but now the Party members are against Dong Zhuo and Empress Dowager Dong's dethronement of the emperor.
So in fact, not only Chen Mu was wanted, but also all the officials in the palace who opposed the dictatorship of Empress Dowager Dong at that time were wanted.
This is true including Xun He and others.
The only ones who are not wanted are Yuan Shao and He Yong.
He Yong defected to Dong Zhuo to act as an internal agent based on the results of the party's internal meeting.
And Yuan Shao is because he has a good family background.
Chen Mu did not seek refuge with Dong Zhuo and had no background or family background, so the consequences of this fight for fame would be very serious.
Although his fame is increasing day by day, his reputation is rising, and he is famous all over the world, but the pursuit is not light, and it is a very troublesome thing.
Therefore, Chen Mu now plans to completely solve this trouble and defeat Xu Rong in one fell swoop.
The reason why I didn't do this before and took Xu Rong in circles was firstly to tire out the enemy, secondly to prevent Xu Rong from mobilizing the army, and thirdly to buy time for Gongsun Zan and his clan to prevent Xu Rong from heading north regardless.
Now he has been carrying Xu Rong for three or four days, and it has been delayed for a long time. His soldiers have had enough rest, and Xu Rong is already exhausted. The soldiers from various counties he mobilized have also been seriously out of touch with his troops.
Xu Rong's troops now sleep during the day and march at night. However, the soldiers from various counties march during the day and sleep at night. The two sides have reversed day and night, and their work and rest are chaotic, making it difficult to form a unity.
In this way, the situation of the enemy's and our own forces is reversed. Even if Xu Rong's main force is 7,000 against his own, 1,000, with the bonus of geographical advantage, the advantage still lies with us.
At present, following the upper reaches of the Zhang River to the mountainous area south of Wu'an, Chen Mu arranged for the soldiers to light a fire to cook, eat and rest, while he, Zhang Fei, Da Aer and others went to observe the terrain nearby.
"Four Generals, this is Longfeng Mountain, Fengshan is to the north, and Longshan is to the south. The terrain is difficult, and the valley in the middle is Baihu Valley. It is named because it is surrounded by mountains on all sides and looks like a pot."
Hu Yong, who had been following Liu Bei since Handan and was eventually assigned to the Black Armor Heavy Cavalry because of his loyalty, introduced him to Chen Mu.
When Liu Guan, Zhang Chen led his troops all the way south to defect to Lu Zhi, they encountered a group of Luo Shi thieves at the fork in the road to Yiyang. The group of Luo Shi thieves were the rebel thieves who had come from the direction of Wu'an and were preparing to defect to Zhang Jiao.
Hu Zhi, Hu Ping, Hu Yong and his son were among them, and they have been fighting with Liu Bei since then. Hu Zhi was already in his forties at that time. Five years later, he was nearly fifty, so he was naturally not suitable for fighting.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! As the eldest son, Hu Ping was already nearly thirty years old, so he had to shoulder the obligation to support his father. So Liu Bei gave their family land in Jinan and gave them official positions.
.
Hu Yong is the second son. He is already in his twenties this year and is in his prime. Naturally, he has been fighting with Liu Bei and is now a captain of the Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry.
He is a native of Wu'an. Chen Mu chose to ambush in the Wu'an Mountains, and Hu Yong's usefulness was reflected.
Chen Mu looked around and saw that this place has high mountains and lofty mountains. There are mountains to the south, mountains to the west, and Longfeng Mountain to the east. Only the valleys between Longfeng Mountain and roads to the north have access. The mountain is probably an LI shape, and it does look like an
pot.
"A good place for an ambush."
Chen Mu nodded: "Send the order to set up camp here, set up secret sentries, and wait for the enemy at ease."
"only!"
Hu Yong took the order and left.
Zhang Fei worriedly asked: "What if Xu Rong doesn't fall for the trick and doesn't come?"
"If you don't come, we'll leave."
Chen Mu rolled his eyes, is there any need to explain such a simple truth?
They are in Wu'an now. If Xu Rong doesn't dare to come, then they can cross the river directly from Su Renting and go north. Anyway, they have left Xu Rong far enough. Even if the two sides race to Puyin, they will still have too much advantage.
"Oh, that seems to be the case."
Zhang Fei scratched his head. He wanted to fight so much that he forgot that he still had other important things to do.
How to know Xu Rong's movements is also simple. Pang Bo, the governor of Yecheng, and Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou, are party members. Chen Mu has a good relationship with the party members. They not only help replenish supplies, but also help spread the news.
Chen Mu had already asked them to report to Xu Rong, saying that he had passed Yecheng and moved to Wu'an, and then asked Xu Rong how to arrange it on the grounds that Weijun's soldiers were ready.
If Xu Rong is sure to come to Wu'an, people from Yecheng will be sent to report the news. At the same time, Hu Yong contacted his Hu clan members in Wu'an and asked them to help monitor. Once Xu Rong's team is discovered in the direction of Wu'an, he will
Provide them with information.
This is the advantage of mobilizing the masses and local officials. After all, Chen Mu is also a Jizhou native, and he has a harmonious relationship with the party members. He also has local people under his command. In terms of the right time, place and people, he is much better than the Xiliang army who came from afar.
When Chen Mu was getting ready, Xu Rong had also received the news from Pang Bo. He chased him all night in vain, but he didn't catch anything. He was tricked again, and Xu Rong almost died of anger.
"hateful!"
Xu Rong sat on the horse, gritting his teeth, his face already very ugly.
He never expected that the clue he had spent a long time finding would be another enchantment formation.
A plan within a plan within a plan, a series of endless matryoshka dolls, Chen Mu played around in circles.
But now was not the time to be angry, so he ran all night and arrived at Quliang. He was more than a hundred miles away from Wu'an, but Chen Mu was far away again.
So the top priority is to determine what to do next.
Hua Xiong asked: "What should we do now?"
Xu Rong did not answer, but thought quickly for a moment, and suddenly asked the envoy: "How did Prefect Pang know that I was in Quliang?"
The messenger hesitated for a moment, and when he saw the fierce look on Xu Rong's face, he hurriedly said: "The rebel army sent an envoy to come. It was almost dawn at that time, and the city gate was not opened. The rebel army passed by Yecheng in a big way, and they sent a messenger to inform the prefect.
Let us immediately send people to Quliang and tell the general that they will wait for the general for one day."
Hua Xiong's face darkened and he said, "Is this Chen Zigui trying to humiliate us, or is he trying to raise suspicion?"
"no."
Xu Rong's eyes flickered and he said: "He is telling me that if we don't go to him immediately, he will cross the river and go north to Puyin tomorrow."
"What's the meaning?"
Hua Xiong was a little confused. Could it be that the enemy would still stay where they were and wait for them?
Xu Rong said: "It means we have the choice to either fight with them or they will take the first step."
"But after a night of galloping, the soldiers were tired and sleepy."
"This is exactly what he wanted."
Xu Rong's face became darker and darker: "Maybe at this time, his people are sleeping soundly. When we arrive, they will attack us while our troops from afar are very tired.
.”
"What if we don't go?"
Hua Xiong asked again.
"If you don't go, you can go back to Luoyang to resume your life. He has left us too far away, and we can't catch up with them to Puyin. Even if Li Qian controls the Chen clan and the army is approaching, he will still have to obey.
"
"Then let's pretend to go and take a nap halfway to recharge our batteries before fighting him again."
"You are truly a god."
Xu Rong looked at Hua Xiong as if he were a fool. He would leave tomorrow. He would have to travel for a whole day and then sleep. When he got up, he would have almost entered Changshan Country. Where would he have time for them?
.
Chen Muming made it clear that he wanted to force them to make a decision now. Either you come over and have a fight with me, or we leave tomorrow and you decide on your own.
However, Xu Rong's army has been running around all night and is very tired. They are waiting for work. This battle cannot be fought and they will lose if they go there.
But if you don't go north, the mission will fail.
If you go to defeat the battle, if you don't go, you will fall behind in time and distance, and you will be unable to complete your mission.
This is called a dilemma.
Some people may say that you can sleep first, get up in the middle of the night and rush on the road. When you arrive the next morning, won't you just meet Chen Mu who is about to set off?
Or you can march quickly, arrive at Wu'an in the middle of the night, take a nap, and then attack Baihu Valley the next morning.
Let’s not talk about these two methods, which are a bit taken for granted, because others may not follow your wishes, and the initiative is now in Chen Mu’s hands.
Just talking about time, you can't grasp it so precisely. It's more than 70 kilometers, and it takes five or six hours to march in a hurry. It's already afternoon, and I've slept for four hours, so I got up at midnight and started on the road.
The march time of five or six hours would not arrive until noon the next day, and by the time we arrived, everyone would have already left.
Even if you let the army sleep for only three hours and arrive earlier, even if the people have not left, the lack of sleep and the long march will make the army's combat effectiveness worrisome.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! So in this battle, except for the strength of the troops, no one has an advantage due to the right time, place, and people.
Xu Rong was not only defeated because of his lack of intelligence and was fooled by Chen Mu, but he was also defeated because he was completely unfamiliar with this terrain and distance, and suffered the disadvantage of not being a local.
"Then according to your opinion, you will lose if you go, and you will lose if you don't go. So it's better not to go. At least if you don't go, you won't have to fight."
Hua Xiong thought for a while and felt that it was better not to go. Anyway, he was not the commander in chief, and the mission failed, so his guilt was much lighter. The person who was mainly responsible was still his boss Xu Rong.
After hearing his words, Xu Rong's face became even uglier.
Xu Rong's status in the Xiliang army is actually not low. He is still above Li Jue, Guo Si and others, and second only to Niu Fu, Dong Yue, Duan Xuan and Hu Zhen.
Because at present, five of them have been appointed as Zhonglang generals, and the others, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji and others, are just captains.
As for Hua Xiong, Li Meng, Wang Fang, Yang Zhengxiu and others, they are military generals at a lower level, equivalent to military commanders.
If Lu Zhi's deployment of generals in the Yellow Turbans was followed, then the status of Xu Rongniu, Dong Yue, Duan Xuan and Hu Zhen would be Lu Zhi's.
The status of Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and Zhang Ji is that of Prince Bao Hong, Wu Fu, and Wu Lan, the fifth lieutenant.
Huaxiong, Li Meng, Wang Fang, Yang Zhengxiu, etc. are equivalent to Ma Mengzhen, the military commander under Xiaowei.
There is a whole two levels difference between Xu Rong and Hua Xiong.
Therefore, if this mission failed, it would not be middle-level generals like Hua Xiong who would be implicated, but high-level generals like Xu Rong.
If you are not careful, you may be demoted, from your superiors like Li Jue, Guo Si, etc., to colleagues or even subordinates.
This is something Xu Rong, who is proud and arrogant, cannot allow.
So he thought for a while and suddenly said: "Go, why not go? Let's make a plan."
"Just follow the plan?"
Hua Xiong was confused and asked: "How to fight?"
Xu Rong turned to look at the messenger and said, "You said Governor Pang has prepared the troops of Wei County?"
When he mobilized soldiers from surrounding counties before, only Pang Bo refused to admit that the young men of Wei County had been transferred away by Zhu Jun. The conquest would take some time, but he did not expect that the assembly was finally completed.
"yes."
The messenger replied: "The prefect said that when the imperial order was issued, the conquest was already underway. They just gathered yesterday and there were four to five thousand people."
"very good."
Xu Rong nodded with satisfaction and said to the messenger: "Send my general order to Prefect Pang and order him to take his people to Wu'an to station them first, and then listen to my dispatch after my army arrives."
After saying that, he looked into the distance.
The sun is scorching and the summer wind is blowing.
These four to five thousand troops will give Chen Mu an unexpected surprise.