Chapter 73 A pot of porridge in troubled times (1)
On the Yuzhou battlefield, in early December, in the dead of winter, the cold wind was blowing.
Sun Ce was holding his spear, sweating like rain, and breathing heavily.
He lowered his head, and if a camera slowly lifted toward the sky from his perspective, he would see a shocking scene.
The vast wilderness was densely covered with countless bodies scattered, and the blood dyed the withered yellow weeds red.
Sun Ce was sitting on a hillside, with corpses piled up around him.
There are his personal guards and there are his enemies.
A majestic falcon flew across the sky and sang a loud and long cry.
It overlooks the ground. In the southeast direction, the remaining people dropped their weapons and ran away frantically. Cao Cao's troops were chasing after them.
On the front battlefield, some of the remaining people were lying on the ground, thankful that they were still alive, gasping for breath. Some were covering their wounds and moaning loudly, while others were cleaning the battlefield and groping for their belongings.
The auxiliary soldiers rushed up quickly, helped the wounded soldiers back for treatment, took away the corpses of their own side, and dumped the enemy's corpses randomly on both sides of the road.
This is a scene that happened on the banks of the Feishui River, twenty miles northeast of Shen County. Although Liu Bei's army led his army north, the total strength of Sun Cao's alliance still had an advantage against Yuan Shu, so they fought and won consecutively, and finally decided the outcome in one battle here.
Yuan Shu's army was defeated and fled. Cao Cao beat the drowned dog and took advantage of the victory to pursue him.
Sun Ce didn't understand why Cao Cao was so active in fighting Yuan Shu. He sat there and watched from a distance, but he was thinking about his father Sun Jian.
"Bo Fu."
Zhou Yu's shirt was stained with blood, and he was also dripping with sweat. He walked slowly and pulled Sun Ce up from the ground. The two stood side by side on a hill, looking at Cao Cao's generals who were chasing him in the distance.
"Why is Cao Cao so active? Looking at his posture, he seems to want to eliminate Yuan Shu today?"
Sun Ce asked the doubts in his heart.
Zhou Yu wiped the dust and sweat on his face with a silk scarf, revealing his fair skin, and said calmly: "Bo Fu, don't forget, Guangling Xiapi area is Cao Cao's territory. If Yuan Shu can be eliminated, guess what, Huainan and even Jiangbei area will be destroyed."
Whose hands will it fall into?”
"No wonder he pursued us so fiercely. We had been attacking with the main force before. He was ambushing us secretly. It turned out that he was conserving his strength."
Sun Ce coughed twice, and the Overlord Spear stood tall in his hand.
Zhou Yu smiled and said: "There is nothing we can do. We have slightly more troops and horses, and this battle is taking place in our Yuzhou. If we are not the main force, who will be the main force?"
"Damn it! Bah!"
Sun Ce had just touched his cheek in the chaos, and his gums oozed blood. He spat out a mouthful of blood on the ground, and looked fiercely in the direction of Cao Cao: "My father just fell ill, and Cao Cao took advantage of the situation. It was the same as before.
Here are the five kings of the world who are dining together hand in hand."
Zhou Yu shook his head: "The five kings in the world are just a joke."
Sun Ce saw that Cao Jun's pursuit of Yuan Jun had disappeared into the distance. He snorted coldly, regained his strength, and turned to go down the mountain.
Although Yuzhou is the foundation, Jiangdong is the hometown of the Sun family. If they can occupy the Yangzhou area on the prerequisite of occupying Yuzhou, the Sun family will sit on the territory of the two states. Why not?
It's just that the Sun family has just stabilized in Yuzhou, and the main force in this battle is the Sun family army. They suffered heavy losses and no longer have the ability to pursue.
Even the backbone of the army, Sun Jian, was seriously injured and was still recuperating in Qingzhou. Some time ago, Mrs. Wu wrote a letter saying that Sun Jian's condition was good and bad, and Sun Ce was unable to lead the Sun Jiajun and Cao Cao to fight for supremacy in Huainan.
Therefore, he could only stabilize the morale of the army first, gather the soldiers, and digest the results of this battle at the same time.
At this moment, Cao Cao ordered the entire army to pursue Yuan Shu.
One thing that many people may not know is that Xuzhou is the Huainan and Huaibei regions. The entire river runs through Xuzhou. Guangling County and southern Xiapi County belong to Huainan. Northern Xiapi County and Donghai County belong to Huaibei.
In addition to Guangling, there is another place that also belongs to Huainan, that is Jiujiang County in Yangzhou. This county is the main place where Yuan Shu is entrenched, and his seat is Shouchun.
At the same time, Guangling and Jiujiang can also be called Jiangbei, that is, north of the Yangtze River, because these two counties are sandwiched between the Huai River and the Yangtze River, but the Huai River has many tributaries in the two counties, making them in the Huai River system. Therefore
Guangling and Jiujiang areas are widely called Huainan.
As for Jiangnan and Jiangdong, they are today's Yuzhang County, Danyang County, Wu County, Kuaiji County and other places. They are located to the south of the Yangtze River and east of the outlet, which is almost the southeast of Anhui, north of Jiangxi, northern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu in later generations.
area.
So in fact, Guangling and Jiujiang counties are actually connected together. They both belong to the Huainan region. They have the same terrain structure. There are not many large rivers and the soil is fertile. They were important granaries in the south of the Han Dynasty. Their geographical location is extremely important.
The main reason why Yuan Shu was able to support an army of hundreds of thousands was that the Jiujiang area was rich.
Talking about geographical factors, Jiujiang and Guangling are close to each other, making it easy to rule.
Now Cao Cao's strength is still very weak. Yanzhou has been in a mess since Lu Bu, and he no longer has the legitimacy to use the emperor to control the princes. As a result, he is not able to use the name of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to conquer and strengthen himself like in history.
Now Qingzhou and the northern part of Xuzhou are untouchable, he dare not touch Jizhou and Luoyang, and there is a risk of offending the imperial court and Qingzhou in Yuzhou, so he can only focus on the Huainan area to enhance his strength.
If the entire Huainan can be captured, then Cao Cao's territory will become very large, almost the same as before the Battle of Guandu in history, except that Luoyang and half of Yuzhou are missing, and the Huainan area can be used as a granary, then he will be very
Will rise soon.
Cao Cao pursued Yuan Shu for hundreds of miles and soon arrived at Xiacai County on the north bank of the Huai River. There were a large number of ferries to cross the river. After crossing the river, it was Yuan Shu's hometown, Shouchun.
Taking advantage of Yuan Shu's hasty escape and no time to reorganize his troops, Cao Cao planned to eliminate Yuan Shu in one fell swoop and expand his territory to the entire Huainan.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The winter wind was fierce, and Cao Cao, wearing a cotton coat, rode to the bank of the Huai River.
Both sides of the river bank are desolate, and the withered grass on the river bank is swaying in the morning wind. The originally fertile countryside near the river bank has been ruined due to years of war. The villages and pavilions near Xiacai County outside the city have long been depopulated and turned into a wilderness.
Xiacai County is located on the north bank of the Huai River. A hundred miles northwest along the Ying River is Shen County, where Sun Jian and Yuan Shu fought for several years.
The two sides used Shen County and Xia Cai as the front lines to attack each other, winning or losing each other, and fought for many years.
Because of the war, people in the surrounding area of hundreds of miles died. They were either moved away or took refuge elsewhere. The entire Xiacai County became a military town. Yuan Shu fled back here and entered the city to defend it.
Cao Cao was now on the bank of the Huaihe River to the west of Xiacai, about several miles away from the city. He looked at the city from a distance. On the plain, by the Huaihe River, he could only vaguely see a dark city standing on the ground.
His soldiers, waiting for work, suddenly rushed out and chased Yuan Shu for hundreds of miles overnight. They were much better than Yuan Shu's army who had been fighting with Sun Ce's army for a while and was finally defeated and fled for hundreds of miles.
Behind Cao Cao, the continuous army snaked like a snake, still retaining some strength in terms of morale and physical strength.
"Ming Gong, Yuan Shu fled in a hurry. He was killed and injured along the way. Countless people were scattered as he ran away. He was already a bereaved dog and was in panic all day long. At this time, we should take advantage of the victory to pursue him and destroy him in one fell swoop."
Guo Jia said with a smile beside him.
Yuan Shu had no choice but to flee into Xiacai County, because his troops and horses were not strong enough to cross the river at the ferry. What's more, Cao Cao chased him and held him tightly behind him. Once he crossed the river, after a slight delay, he was killed by Cao Cao's army.
If he catches up, a large number of Yuan's soldiers may be blocked at the ferry, in a dilemma. At that time, except for him and a small number of soldiers and horses, most of the soldiers and horses will be wiped out.
So he had to flee into Xiacai County, firstly to use the city to hold on, and secondly to take a rest first. After all, he actually had more troops than Cao Cao. If he could adjust as quickly as possible in a short period of time and restore a certain amount of morale, even if he
Caichengchi is not as rich in food and supplies as the old Shouchun city, but it is enough to repel Cao's army with the help of many years of building a military frontier town.
This is why Guo Jia suggested attacking the city immediately. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that Yuan Shu had just escaped into the city and all the soldiers were far inferior to Cao Jun in terms of physical strength and morale. He wanted to attack as soon as possible so that the enemy could not breathe, and Yuan Shu could be defeated in one fell swoop.
defeated.
Cao Cao has been fighting in the north and south for many years now, and his commanding ability has been greatly improved. He is no longer the young boy he was before. Hearing Guo Jia's words, he nodded in agreement: "Yes, although our army did not rest all night, but before, it was easy to wait for work, and it was
One side has been defeated. However, Yuan Shu's army fled in a panic, with no fighting spirit. Our army's morale is at its peak. Even if Yuan's army still has tens of thousands of troops, they are nothing more than local chickens and dogs."
"It's just that Yuan Shu has a city to rely on after all, but our army still lacks siege equipment. It will take some time to make a ladder."
Cao Hong on the side hesitated.
Cao Cao had already led the vanguard to approach Xia Cai, stood on a slope and watched, saying: "It doesn't matter, let's wait and see the terrain here first, while you and others will go to cut down the trees immediately and make ladders, and some of the troops will come outside the city."
, bluff, don’t let them have a good rest.”
"good."
Cao Hong took the order and left.
Cao Cao and Guo Jia, protected by a small team of cavalry, began to inspect the area around Xia Cai.
Now Cao's army is also divided seriously. Xi Zhicai and Xiahou Yuan are guarding Yanzhou, Cao Ren and Chen Gong are in Xiapi, Xiahou Dun and Cheng Yu are in Guangling. Later, Guangling was unable to withstand Yuan Shu's fierce attack and had retreated to Pengcheng with Cao Ren and Chen Gong. The four of them plus Liu Bei
Dian Wei, who was sent to rescue, only had more than 20,000 people in total, but he withstood the Liu Xun and Ji Ling troops sent by Yuan Shu, who totaled more than 40,000 troops.
At present, Cao Jun only has 20,000 troops in his hands. Although Yuan Shu was defeated and suffered heavy losses, he still had a big family and a huge army. When he sent out troops, he had a mighty 100,000 troops. He lost consecutive battles and suffered 20,000 to 30,000 casualties. He still had 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers left. Even if
No matter how low morale is, relying on the city to defend it will still be a problem for Cao's army who has no siege equipment on hand.
And the most important thing is that Yuan Shu defeated Liu Yao and occupied Danyang. Before attacking Runan, he deployed tens of thousands of troops in Lujiang to deal with Liu Biao. Therefore, he had spare strength at this time. If he was allowed to delay for a few days, he would be able to wait for a few days.
When Yuan Shu's reinforcements arrived in the Danyang area of Lujiang, Cao's army had no choice but to retreat.
Therefore, in order to directly eliminate Yuan Shu here and decide the outcome in one battle, Cao Cao adopted the strategy of sending people to harass and create the illusion of attacking the city, while at the same time sending people to build ladders to prepare for the siege.
At this moment, Yuan Shu's army was already frightened. He saw that Cao's army outside the city had begun to besiege the city. He was in panic all day long, and his pale face was full of panic.
Military advisor Yan Xiang advised: "Ming Gong, the soldiers are all exhausted at this time and can only stay in the city. But we cannot sit still and wait for death. We must find a way to survive."
"Didn't I already send a message to the Lujiang garrison? As long as they arrive, everything will be fine."
Yuan Shu patted the top of the city wall and tried to cheer himself up.
Then Yan Xiang smiled bitterly and said: "Although the Lujiang River is close, the armies are thousands of miles apart. It will take more than ten days to rescue them every time. Not to mention that they will have to cross the Huai River by then, and Cao's army will be halfway across.
Due to the danger of attack, we must seek faster reinforcements."
"Where did the reinforcements come from?"
In this situation, Yuan Shu had no extra time to think, and his whole mind went blank. He was just praying for reinforcements from Lujiang and Danyang to arrive as soon as possible.
But Yan Xiang looked to the north and said, "Ming Gong, don't forget that Xiapi and Pei are very close."
"Liu Xun and Ji Ling?"
Yuan Shu opened his eyes wide, slapped his forehead and said: "Yes, there are them, they are closer than the Lujiang defenders."
Jiujiang is surrounded by Lujiang, Danyang, Peiguo and Guangling from three sides.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! So in terms of geographical location, the four places are very close to Jiujiang.
But there is a big problem, that is, the two counties of Lujiang and Danyang are very large. To the west of Lujiang is the Dabie Mountains, and Liu Biao's army cannot cross them, so they can only go south along the Yangtze River and enter Penglize to attack Yuan Shu.
Penglize was later known as Poyang Lake, located in the southernmost part of Lujiang County and the northernmost part of Yuzhang County. Yuan Shu deployed garrison troops nearby to deal with Liu Biao.
From a geographical point of view, it is not difficult to find that this place was Jiujiang City in later generations, and Xiacai, where Yuan Shu was located, was Huainan City. Both places belonged to Yangzhou in the Han Dynasty, but in later generations, one was Anhui and the other was Jiangxi, which were more than 400 kilometers apart.
, Yuan Shujun would have to walk for ten days and a half even if he had iron legs.
Danyang County is a little closer, almost the distance from Nanjing to Huainan in later generations. The problem is that Danyang is already Yuan Shu's hinterland. After Liu Yao is eliminated, there are a large number of local powerful people in Jiangdong behind, such as Yan Baihu and his like, and no one can threaten him.
Therefore, the garrison deployed by Yuan Shu in Danyang was very small. Even if it came over, it would be difficult to pose a threat to Cao's army, and there was even a risk of being attacked halfway across the border.
In this case, it is actually not a reliable strategy to mobilize defenders from two places to come and provide assistance.
But Peiguo and Xiapi are different. It is equivalent to the distance from Suzhou City to Huainan City, about 300 Hanli. If you add an emergency march, you can get back within two or three days. Unlike Lujiang and Danyang, where there are a large number of people
The water system delays marching time.
Yuan Shu raised 100,000 troops and divided them into three routes to march north. He had already suffered a disastrous defeat on his own route, so the remaining two partial armies might become a life-saving force.
At that moment, he no longer hesitated, and following Yan Xiang's suggestion, he immediately sent messengers to the north to ask for help.
After sending out troops to ask for reinforcements, Yuan Shu also mustered up the courage to survive and divided the soldiers into groups. Some people stayed in the city, some took a break, and others were in reserve. They had to defend the city for at least several days before they could solve the problem.
crisis.
"It's a pity. That Lu Bushu is abominable. If he hadn't refused to save him, how could I be here today?"
After Yuan Shu completed the arrangement, he cheered up and patrolled the tower to boost morale while cursing Lu Bu for breaking his promise.
During the war, Lu Bu was in the north, not far away, but the letters he sent for help fell into the sea. It was obvious that Lu Bu was afraid of the strength of Sun Cao and Liu's coalition forces and did not dare to come.
Yan Xiang was distracted when he heard this, and suddenly froze on the spot, and said in surprise: "Lü Bu has sent troops from Yanzhou, and Liu Bei's army is moving south. He must not dare to stay in Yanzhou, nor join us to attack Yuzhou, so where will he go?"
Woolen cloth?"
Where will Lu Bu go?
Yuan Shu really hasn't thought much about this issue.
He didn't bother to think about it and said disdainfully: "This beast is cunning and changeable. I'm afraid he has surrendered long ago."
"Lü Bu, the Liu, Cao, and Sun families all have great enemies, and there is no way they will surrender."
Yan Xiang shook his head.
Yuan Shu wondered: "Then where can he go? There is no place for him to stand in this land of Henan."
"There's still a place to go."
Yan Xiang looked to the north, his eyes regained a little sparkle, and said with a smile: "If this is really the case, I am afraid that within two days, we will be able to turn the crisis around."
Yuan Shu didn't know why, so he and Yan Xiang looked to the north - that was the direction of Piguang Ling and other places in the country of Pei.