Why did Sun Jian stop attacking after Shen Ting intercepted Yuan Shu's front army?
It was because his army was on a hasty march and needed to rest.
If he immediately ordered an attack after meeting Zhang Xun, then both sides would actually be fighting against each other with exhausted troops.
Zhao Yun's troops originally numbered 10,000, while Sun Jian's numbered 25,000. Including Sun Ce's 5,000, the number was 30,000. Logically speaking, the two men combined had 40,000.
But in fact, they all went through more than two months of war, and each suffered varying degrees of damage. Sun Jian, in particular, lost more than 2,000 people due to the fierce attack on Xihua and Ruyang. Counting 2,000 wounded soldiers, currently
There are still 21,000 people.
Zhao Yun attacked Ruyang, Sun Ce fought against Ji Ling in Chen County, and attacked Chen Jian in Nanton. There were also casualties. In this way, the combined forces of Zhao Yun, Sun Jian, and Sun Ce only had a little over 30,000 troops.
More than 30,000 exhausted troops went to fight head-on with Zhang Xun and Chen Ji, who also had more than 30,000 exhausted troops. Even if they won, it would actually be a miserable victory, not to mention the main force of Yuan Shu behind them.
So Sun Jian's idea is very simple, that is, after intercepting you, I will rest on the spot and use the vehicles as obstacles to rest and eat.
On the other hand, Zhang Xun and Chen Ji were afraid that they would be attacked by the enemy if they continued to march, so they could only stay in Shenting to be on guard, waiting for Yuan Shu's army behind.
However, during this hour of waiting, Chen Ji made a tentative attack and lost his life.
Who would have thought that besides Sun Jian, the fierce tiger from the east of the Yangtze River, there would be a mad lion in Sun Jian's army?
It’s nearing the end of the Preserved Season, and it’s approaching sunrise, which is five o’clock in the afternoon.
At five o'clock in the summer evening in May, the sun showed no sign of setting and was still shining with scorching light. The cool summer wind blew across the river bank, bringing a little bit of coolness.
But at this time, Yuan Shu didn't feel any coolness at all. Apart from the heat, there was only rage caused by impatience.
"Trash, all trash! A bunch of incompetent people!"
When Yuan Shu entered the pavilion and learned about Chen Ji's defeat and death, he pointed at Zhang Xun and several of his lieutenants and Sima and cursed them.
At this time, "trash" was a very serious scolding. According to the "Wuyue Chunqiu" written by Zhao Ye of the Eastern Han Dynasty, if someone was scolded as a trash, it was second only to "X are you?"
From this point of view, we can see how angry Yuan Shu was.
Although he was scolded so badly, Zhang Xun did not dare to talk back. He knew Yuan Shu's temper, and the more he confronted Yuan Shu, the worse the outcome would be. He could only bite the bullet and explain: "Ming Gong, I am sorry to Chen Ji
I have said that Sun Jian is a veteran in the army and would not reveal such a big flaw for no reason. When he was lighting a fire to make rice, there would be an ambush nearby. But he didn't listen to me, so he must try. I thought about it.
, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to let him test it out. He could just provide support from behind at any time, and there shouldn’t be any big problems. Unexpectedly, he was stabbed to death by Sun Ce, the son of Sun Jian, which caused the morale of the army to be weakened and the soldiers to be defeated. These everyone
Everyone can testify, it’s not us who can do it.”
"Yes, it was Chen Ji who saw Sun Jian's army making fire and cooking, and thought he had an opportunity to take advantage of it, but he didn't know that Sun Jian had already ambushed him."
"I think when the war started, Sun Jian's army was still in chaos. It is estimated that only Sun Jian's son Sun Ce's army was on the side to support him. After all, it was Chen Ji who was incompetent. He led 5,000 men himself, while Sun Ce only had more than 4,000 people. Not only was Sun Ce's attack
He broke up the formation and defeated him, and was stabbed to death by him in the chaos."
"Ming Gong's matter is definitely not a trick by us. Chen Ji is really going to fight it himself. If Ming Gong doesn't believe it, you can ask all the soldiers present at the time. Everyone has heard it."
The officers and soldiers shirked their responsibilities and passed the blame to Chen Ji.
In fact, it was not a shirk of responsibility. It was indeed Chen Ji who wanted to go on his own, but he was killed in the end. There was no one to blame.
What's more, since everyone is dead, it's normal to bear the main responsibility. Who says the dead can't speak?
After hearing everyone's excuses, Yuan Shu barely suppressed his anger and looked at Sun Jian's camp in the distance with resentment in his eyes: "Then Sun Jian set out from Yuzhang to attack Dong. When he passed by me in Runan and followed me northward, it was just me.
You are a slave. Now you are not following me, but you are following Liu Xuande, and you are trying to stop me from returning to the army today. It is so hateful that I will cut him into pieces!"
Seeing that Yuan Shu's anger turned towards Sun Jian, Zhang Xun couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly: "It's just that Sun Jian arrived two hours earlier than us, so he could rest early and wait for work. We didn't dare to go in front of him for fear that he would attack from the flank.
So that we have to deal with it sternly, Ming Gong thinks, how should we deal with the enemy?"
As mentioned before, Yuan Shu's army moved along the river from the northwest to the southeast, and Sun Jian's position was to the north, just on the side of Yuan Shu's army. Once they continued to move forward, Sun Jian could attack their flank and directly break through.
Drop their formation.
The current formation is a bit like Yuan Shu's army is fighting a last-ditch battle, and Sun Jian's army is also very smart not to attack directly, but just watches from a distance, making you unable to advance or retreat, which is particularly uncomfortable.
Let Yuan Jun continue to move forward in a marching posture. The formation will disperse and Sun Jian can attack.
If you do not continue to move forward, but form a formation on the spot, preparing for a battle with Sun Jianjun, then they will adopt a defensive posture instead of fighting you, and continue to slow down your pace, creating time for Chen Wen to attack Pingyu.
For a while, Yuan Shu was in a dilemma.
After hesitating for a moment, Yuan Shu stood on the upper floor of the pavilion and watched, and asked: "How about outflanking it from the left and right wings?"
Zhang Xun said: "We thought so too, but we were marching in a hurry and never took a breath. Sun Jian's army not only arrived early, but also rested all the time. He also ate hot food during the period. Our army only had dry food. The soldiers
We are all exhausted and may not be able to attack."
Yuan Shu glanced around and saw that the guards around him were indeed as Zhang Xun said. It was midsummer after all. In ancient times, May was counted in the lunar calendar. In later generations, it was June in the Gregorian calendar. Everyone should know how hot it is in June in Henan. On average,
The temperature is generally above 30 degrees. Although it is the Han Dynasty, the temperature is basically maintained between 20-30 degrees, and the heat is unbearable.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! And according to historical records, in 193 AD, a large-scale drought occurred in Yuzhou, Yanzhou and other places. Except for some rain in April and May, after June, within a few months
It rains steadily. It rained heavily at the beginning of the month. Now it is the middle of the month and it has not rained in Yuzhou for more than ten days.
Marching in such weather was very stressful for the army. Yuan Shu did not have Cao Cao's ability to look at the plum blossoms to quench his thirst. He hesitated for a while and said: "If Sun Jian cannot be defeated as soon as possible, Pingyu may be in danger, so he must attack by force.
.”
Even though he knew that the soldiers were tired, hungry and thirsty, Yuan Shu still thought of defeating Sun Jian as soon as possible. After all, he had nearly 80,000 troops, while Sun Jian only had more than 30,000 people. With the flying dragon riding on his face, he should win no matter what.
But even though he thought so, the counselor Yan Xiang said: "Ming Gong, if we attack at this time, even if we have the advantage of troops, the victory or defeat is probably only 50 to 50. What's more, even if we defeat Sun Jian with difficulty, we will drag his exhausted and painful body to fight again."
If we go to Pingyu to fight with Chen Wen's 20,000 troops, I'm afraid that the army will be on the verge of collapse. If we want to secure victory, the best plan is to wait for the soldiers to rest for a night and have enough to eat and drink."
"Ke Pingyu..."
Yuan Shu was still worried about the situation in his old lair.
Yan Xiang smiled and said: "My lord, please don't worry. According to the report from the detective, Pingyu has not been breached yet and can still hold on for two days. Shen Ting is not far from Pingyu. It would be better for my lord to send seven or eight thousand people to go first."
To support, the army will first surround Sun Jian's army and cover the arrival of the reinforcements. Once the reinforcements arrive at Pingyu, Pingyu will be safe. In this way, we will have enough time to slowly deal with Sun Jian."
"Um."
Yuan Shu nodded, feeling that what Yan Xiang said made sense.
It has to be said that Yan Xiang is still a bit skilled. Now Sun Jian wants to rely on the small number of people to fight in defensive positions and delay Yuan Shu's return of reinforcements, which is very heartbreaking. Yan Xiang proposes to let the large force cover the small force first.
Rescue Pingyu.
Because Pingyu's problem is that there are too few defenders in the city, only a few thousand people. If we can reinforce with seven or eight thousand people, then the gap between Chen Wen's 20,000 people will be narrowed, and the city may not be broken even if we fight for several months.
At this time, Yuan Shu's main force here was resting and recuperating. They set up camp on the same spot and faced off against Sun Jian. After the soldiers had rested, they defeated Sun Jian in one fell swoop.
This can avoid the problem of the army continuing to rush to aid Pingyu, the soldiers being hungry and exhausted, and the formation being disorganized.
Secondly, it can temporarily keep Pingyu safe and prevent Yuan Shu from losing his hometown.
At that moment, Yuan Shu immediately followed Yan Xiang's suggestion and sent General Lejiu to lead eight thousand elites to rush to aid Pingyu. At the same time, the main force of 50,000 troops surrounded Sun Jian's army. The two sides were separated by two miles and faced each other at a distance. The other 20,000 people
Then rely on the Shen Pavilion to build fortifications and camps on the spot.
In the evening, Yuan Shujun busily shuttled through the woodland on the river bank, constantly cutting down trees, and erecting tents and fences. It was not realistic to build a camp in a short time, so he could only repair the simple outer fortifications first and build some
Just a fence.
What is more interesting is that since Sun Jian planned to fight Yuan Shu in a positional battle, he did not build a camp. He only placed vehicles on the outside as a barrier net, and the soldiers rested in the open without even setting up tents.
Seeing this scene, Yuan Shu sneered and said: "They say that Sun Jian is a tiger from the east of the Yangtze River and a veteran general in the army. How come he doesn't even understand the principle of setting up a stronghold during a confrontation?"
Yan Xiang also felt a little puzzled and asked in surprise: "Could they be preparing to attack tonight? So they simply didn't prepare to spend the night?"
Yuan Shu glanced at the fences that were being erected in the endless camps. Although the important fortifications had not yet been built, some simple barriers, iron edges, and ground were already being laid. The camp already had some defense capabilities, and he laughed.
He said: "Then Sun Jian is probably crazy. Not to mention our camp of 70,000 people, even if it is 40,000 or 50,000 people, plus these defense equipment, how can we attack tonight?"
"Forehead......"
Yan Xiang also thought about it. Marching and fighting is not a simple matter. Although Sun Jian's army is fierce, there are few people after all. In addition, his own army is already building fortifications and camps. If Sun Jian thought that his brave fighting could offset the strength of the troops.
Considering the number of people and the defensive strength of the camp, it is obvious that they are overthinking and it is impossible to attack the camp.
Therefore, Yan Xiang stopped thinking about why Sun Jian didn't camp on the spot, and instead returned to the camp, assisted some generals who were camping, and began to follow Yuan Shu's arrangements to arrange the tasks and tactical personnel of the generals during today's rest.
arrange.
As night falls, fences are being erected outside Yuan Shu's camp. It is impossible to build a complete camp within an hour or two. At most, it is just a matter of cutting down some trees and erecting some fences and wooden walls. However,
This is already very good. After all, there is a defensive fortification. It can also act as a buffer when the enemy attacks, giving the generals time to react.
Time passed by minute by second, and it gradually became dark. When Sun Jian's entire army rested for dinner, it was at three quarters of the time, which was almost four o'clock in the afternoon. When Yuan Shu arrived, it was almost five o'clock.
After one or two hours of casting camp, at three quarters of dusk, that is, around eight o'clock in the evening, Yuan Shujun finally established a simple camp.
The camp's fence wall only faces Sun Jian's army on one side. There are no walls on the left and right sides and in the direction of the river bank at the back. There are no sentry towers, watchtowers, low walls, or trenches. There is no time to build all the necessary defensive facilities, and there are only some temporary structures.
Horses and iron caltrops kept by the army were scattered around the camp.
There is also a small hillside in the north, about 20 to 30 feet above the ground and about 60 to 70 meters in height. Yuan Jun set up the only sentry tower here and selected several soldiers without night blindness to observe Sun Jianjun's every move.
.
Le has been sent out, and Pingyu City should be worry-free in the short term. Yuan Shu is going to have a good rest today, and tomorrow when the soldiers have finished resting and are strong enough, he will use the advantage of the army to defeat Sun Jian, and then return to Pingyu.
, kill Chen Wen, and thus eliminate the two most powerful forces in Yuzhou and Yangzhou, and he will be able to completely occupy the two states, then surround Liu Biao and control half of the world.
With longing for the future, Yuan Shu lay down in his camp tent. As the night got darker and darker, the entire camp was immersed in darkness. He couldn't even hear the password or cough, as if there was no one here at all.
of silence.
Except for the occasional snort of livestock, there were only small insects lying in the grass everywhere that kept chirping. Groups of mosquitoes hummed and circled around Yuan Shu's ears, driving them away.
Don't leave.
On the hillside to the north, the nine elite veterans sent by Yuan Shu were divided into three squads. The soldiers from the other two squads set up a simple tent camp to sleep under the watch tower. There were only three soldiers on duty above the watch tower.
The people were chatting while looking at the countless torches erected in Sun Jian's camp in the distance.
Suddenly, a long and mournful cry of a nighthawk suddenly sounded in the night sky, lingering like the ripples caused by a stone thrown into a stagnant pool, making the deathly silence even more terrifying and desolate.
"This nighthawk is really scary. If it were during the day, I would shoot it down with my bow and arrow."
A soldier was startled by the long cry of the nighthawk. He turned to complain and at the same time, he tightened his grip on the longbow in his hand and continued to patrol the distant forest.
These soldiers assigned to guard duty are all archers. Not only are they skilled in archery, they must also have excellent eyesight, including shooting eagles and eagles.
"Okay, just watch carefully, a nighthawk will scare you so much."
Another veteran waved his hand, holding his own bow in his arms, lying on the sentry tower of about three to four square meters, leaning against the wooden wall and closing his eyes to rest. There will be a fierce battle tomorrow, and everyone needs a good rest tonight.
"I don't know why, but I always feel like there's someone over there."
The soldier was patrolling the forest. I don't know if his eyesight was dazzled. Under the bright moonlight, he seemed to vaguely see a figure walking through the forest.
The veteran yawned and said, "Maybe it's a bird returning to the forest. Don't make a fuss anymore."
While the two were talking, another soldier who had been silent suddenly looked to the distant south and whispered: "Something's wrong."
"What's wrong?"
The veteran stood up suddenly like an awakened wild leopard, searching around with sharp eyes.
The soldier pointed in the south direction: "Look at the river south of the camp, there seems to be a faint torch shining."
There were torches everywhere in the camp, but the direction of the fire here was from the south.
This sentry post is on a hill to the north of the camp, separated from the entire camp. It's not that the eagle eyes of these soldiers can really see thousands of miles, but in the dark night, the light of the fire is particularly conspicuous.
The veteran squinted his eyes, and he did see the rippling fire, and the fire was getting closer and closer, and it was coming towards the camp quickly.
"Enemy attack?"
"Do you want a warning?"
The other two soldiers looked at the veteran at the same time.
The veteran stared at the gong at his feet. Lying about military information was a serious crime. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Wait a minute, wait a minute."
At this time, Yuan Shu was disturbed by the noise of mosquitoes and found it difficult to fall asleep. Just when he was in a hazy state and about to fall asleep, a sudden noise outside the tent woke him up.
Someone shouted outside the tent: "Master, something big has happened, Master!"
Yuan Shu heard the voice of a personal guard next to him and a servant of the Yuan family, so he asked in a deep voice: "What happened?"
The visitor said outside: "Li Xiaowei led his troops and horses to help Pingyu, but was ambushed on the way."
"What?"
Yuan Shu was shocked and hurriedly put on his coat and shoes and rushed out of the tent.
At this time, Zhang Xun, Yan Xiang and other important generals and advisors also came over. More than ten people gathered together and saw Yuan Shu walking out of the tent. None of them knew why. They only heard that something happened, but they didn't know what happened.
When the servant of the Yuan family saw Yuan Shu coming out, he hurriedly knelt down on one knee and said, "Master, Yue Xiaowei was killed by Zhao Yun. The remaining soldiers retreated less than two miles outside the stronghold. A mounted scout came back first to report."
"Send the scouts over."
Yuan Shu's face turned pale. He never expected that Zhao Yun would actually lurk in the center between Pingyu and Shenting, just to prevent him from sending a small force to support Pingyu.
Since Pingyu was still thirty or forty miles away from Shenting, almost seventeen or eighteen kilometers, even if they were ambushed, they would not be able to rush to rescue in a short time.
A moment later, the scout, covered in blood and obviously fighting his way out of the enemy's encirclement, was carried over with wounds all over his body.
When the scout ran to the front of the camp, he almost fell off his horse due to fatigue and excessive bleeding due to trauma. Fortunately, it was only a flesh injury and no damage to the internal organs or aorta. After a simple bandage by a military doctor, he did not die.
Yuan Shu came over and asked in a deep voice: "What happened?"
The scout looked pale and reluctantly said: "Ming Gong, after we set off from Shenting, more than an hour later, we were only more than ten miles away from Pingyu. Lieutenant Yuexiao ordered us to step up our march and enter the city to rest as soon as possible tonight. The sergeants dragged As we continued marching with our tired bodies, a large group of troops suddenly appeared from the river bank. We were caught off guard and were ultimately defeated. Lieutenant Yue Xiaowei was also beheaded by the enemy general, who said he was Changshan Zhao Zilong."
"The ambush is Zhao Yun's ambush!"
Zhang Xun's eyes suddenly opened wide, and his pupils suddenly shrank.
He remembered that Chen Ji had mentioned before that the sound of horns could be heard faintly on the river bank, and that he had sent scouts to investigate at that time.
It seems that there was an ambush in the direction of the river bank, but Zhao Yun did not ambush around Shen Ting at that time. Instead, after they arrived, he immediately evacuated and headed towards Pingyu, ambush between Shen Ting and Pingyu. On the main road.
"hateful!"
When Yuan Shu heard that Lejiu's army was defeated, although the entire army was not wiped out, most of the soldiers fled. It was obviously impossible to support Pingyu again, and he couldn't help but feel angry.
"Enemy attack!"
Almost at this moment, when Yuan Shu and many other generals were still angry about Lejiu's experience, a shrill scream pierced the night sky, accompanied by the clear sound of tinkling gongs.
On the hill to the north, the soldier who was startled by the nighthawk did not misunderstand. In the woods to the north, a group of people did come around.
Under the cover of darkness, Sun Jian's general Huang Gai led a group of people and quietly came to the north.
Sun Jian himself led his troops and Sun Ce to attack from the front.
In the south direction.
Another Zhao Yun tribe, after defeating the Lejiu tribe, quietly went north and also arrived outside Yuan Shu's camp.
At this moment, Yan Xiang suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
A prophecy.
Sun Jian did not build his own camp. He was not stupid, but he really wanted to attack at night!