Chapter 11 Mans calculation is not as good as Gods calculation
At the end of May in the first year of Zhangwu, summer entered, and the climate became increasingly hot. The average temperature in Luoyang was above 20 degrees every day.
Thanks to the construction of canals, trenches and dams in Henan Yinhenei County and other places starting seven or eight years ago, when summer came, there was no drought caused by the sudden rise in temperature.
The people are working enthusiastically in the fields. As the saying goes, farmers have less leisure in the month, but people are twice as busy in May.
The harvest seasons are different between the north and the south. In the North China Plain area of Hebei Province, wheat has been grown since the Han Dynasty, and this has remained the same even for thousands of years.
Sumai is winter wheat. It is sown in September or October last year and harvested in May or June next year. The growth period is about 230-270 days. Therefore, when Luoyang dispatches the army, you can see a bright yellow wheat field outside the city.
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Lines of troops slowly walked out of the city. Chen Mu was riding on his horse, feeling the gentle breeze blowing in the summer. The sun was shining brightly, shining warmly on his face. The endless wheat fields in the distance were full of vitality.
Countless farmers are busy in the fields, with scarecrows standing in the fields. Birds flying from Mang Mountain are hovering in the sky. They can always peck a few grains of wheat left over from the harvest when people are not prepared.
Chen Mu looked around, squinting his eyes slightly to enjoy the cool breeze. On his left and right were Xu Chu, Ah Da Ah Er, Zhang Long, Zhao Hu and other generals, and behind him were thousands of troops.
Before Liu Bei left, he left Xu Chu with him and asked Xu Chu to protect Chen Mu personally.
When Xu Chu joined the army, his combat effectiveness was not strong. In addition to his strength, he was seriously lacking in skills. He was outmaneuvered by the battle-hardened Zhang Fei.
Now that he has been in the army for many years, he is often encouraged by many generals in the army, and his force value has skyrocketed. If his force value was only 70 or 80 when he debuted, it is now around 94, which is very close to the strength of a top-notch general.
What's more important is that he is still young. He has just turned thirty this year. In a few years, when he is about thirty-five, he will reach his peak as a military commander and be on par with the Five Tiger Generals. It will be a matter of time.
In addition to Xu Chu's eldest brother, Zhang Long, Zhao Hu and a thousand Xuanjia heavy cavalry, there are two generals, Feng Kaiwen and Su, who serve as troop commanders, as well as Yu Du, Liu Shi, Deng Sheng, Xia Zhao and others.
He was named the Black Mountain Army or Yuan Shao's surrendered general and served as a partial general, leading an army of 10,000 to the south.
If the original military system is followed, then Feng Kai and Wen Su can be regarded as captains, each commanding a man, that is, five thousand people. Yu Du, Liu Shi, Deng Sheng, Xia Zhao and others can be regarded as military commanders, each with
People lead five songs, that is, 2,500 people.
Now after the restructuring, generals can be regarded as captains, and generals can be regarded as army commanders.
In fact, by the end of the Han Dynasty, all the princes had basically reorganized their structures. For example, after the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao regarded the partial generals and the assistant generals as army adjutants, equivalent to the captain and army commander. These two positions were basically no longer provided.
.
Therefore, the current restructuring is only in the preliminary stage. In the future, when the country is gradually unified and the number of troops begins to increase, plans will be made again to fix the number of soldiers owned by generals at all levels of the army.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang He is also among them.
Many of Yuan Shao's generals surrendered to Liu Bei. Naturally, these generals could not hold high positions from the beginning. Even if Zhang He led tens of thousands of people to surrender to Cao Cao in history, he was only assigned as a partial general, so Chen Mu was also
He was appointed as a partial general and followed him to participate in the battle.
The sources of these 10,000 horses were 3,000 transferred from Hongnong, 2,000 from Henan, and 5,000 from Hanoi. Half of them were elite veterans, and the 5,000 transferred from Hanoi were new recruits from Ju Yi.
The trained recruits may not have strong combat effectiveness.
However, attacking Nanyang is not very difficult. Zhao Yun's soldiers are all elite, so Chen Mu doesn't care about the quality of the soldiers. He is now thinking about the reply Jia Xu gave him a few days ago.
Yan Zhong had recruited Jia Xu in his early years and asked him to follow him to Qingzhou. However, Jia Xu had many concerns at the time and finally politely refused and stayed in Zhang Ji's army.
The main reason is that Jia Xu and Chen Mu are the same kind of people. To put it nicely, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, but to put it worst, he is greedy for life and afraid of death.
What was Jia Xu's identity back then?
He was from Xiliang who followed Dong Zhuo in rebellion, and he was also a lieutenant in the auxiliary army under Dong Zhuo. He had a hostile relationship with Liu Bei's forces.
Unlike Yan Zhong, he had already taken refuge in Qingzhou, so he had no worries in the past.
After all, Dong Zhuo's deeds were really outrageous and hated the Kwantung Army. Jia Xu was afraid that Liu Bei would be liquidated after he invaded Chang'an.
Therefore, after Dong Zhuo's death, he immediately encouraged Li Jue and Guo Si to cause trouble, and did not dare to follow Yan Zhong to Qingzhou.
Finally, after going round and round, I went to Zhang Jibu and came to Nanyang.
The reason why he chose Zhang Ji was not only because Zhang Ji and he were from the same hometown of Wuwei, but also because Jia Xu knew people very well. He knew that Duan Xuan would be suspicious of him and was afraid that he would seize his army. But Zhang Ji would not, so he chose Zhang Ji.
Zhang Ji is even weaker.
After following Zhang Ji from Wuguan into Nanyang, Zhang Ji's troops had a very difficult time. As a last resort, they chose to attack Liu Biao. As a result, Zhang Ji died and Zhang Xiu took over.
Under Jia Xu's planning, Zhang Xiu finally made peace with Liu Biao, received Liu Biao's funding, and temporarily gained a foothold in Wancheng, Nanyang.
But everyone knew that Liu Biao only used Zhang Xiu to guard the door for him.
Although Jingzhou was stable, Liu Biao still had many internal problems. He not only coveted Jiangdong, he once sent Huang Zu to attack Yuan Shu, hoping to capture Jiangdong. He also had to deal with the various rebel forces in Jingnan, and he was unable to do anything at the same time.
Therefore, Zhang Xiu was left in Nanyang to serve as the gateway to the north. In this way, Liu Biao could deal with the rear and send troops to the east of the Yangtze without worrying about the princes from the north going south.
Chen Mu has also written many letters to Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu these days. The replies from the two are quite intriguing and the content is meaningful.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Thinking about the intention conveyed in the letter, before you know it, you have arrived at Yinque Pass. If you go further south, you will enter Ruzhou City in later generations.
, we should be able to arrive in Jiaxian County and officially enter Yingchuan territory tomorrow.
When we arrived at Yinque Pass, it was already dark, and the army rested in the pass for a day.
Chen Mu ordered the generals to have a good rest and there was no need to arrange patrols. Yinque Pass itself had defenders, and this was the hinterland of Luoyang. Zhao Yun's 30,000 troops were in Yingchuan County in front. There was no possibility of an enemy appearing. If they were on alert,
Naturally, there are patrol guards from the Yinque Pass garrison.
After the order was issued, Chen Mu summoned Zhuge Liang, Yang Xiu, Chen Qun and several other young men who had been following him to discuss matters. In a mansion in Yinque Pass, everyone sat down and the room was filled with candles, which was brightly lit.
"I have called you here today for two things. One is to discuss with you how to deal with Zhang Xiu. The other is, take a look at this."
After saying that, Chen Mu handed an official document to Zhuge Liang who was nearest to him.
After Zhuge Liang read it first, he passed it on to Yang Xiu, Chen Qun, Yao Bo, Huang Qi, Kong Jian and others. They read it one by one. Except for Zhuge Liang and Chen Qun, everyone showed obvious joy.
The content of this official document is very simple. Cao Huanjie, the commander of Changsha County, reported to the court that he had persuaded Zhang Xian, the governor of Changsha, to surrender to the court. Zhang Xian planned to raise soldiers from Changsha County, Guiyang County, Lingling County, and Wuling County.
Ma raised an army to fight against Liu Biao and sent an envoy to Luoyang to ask the court's opinion.
"What do you think?"
When Chen Mu saw that everyone had finished reading, he asked.
Yang Xiu immediately said: "This is a good thing. If it succeeds, Liu Biao will have no time to support Zhang Xiu, and we can easily capture Nanyang. After defeating Zhang Xiu, we can attack Liu Biao from the north and south with Zhang Prefect, and hopefully
Recover Jingzhou."
"not that simple."
Chen Qun shook his head and said: "Liu Biao has been running Jingzhou for ten years and has deep roots. The city of Xiangyang is as solid as a rock. How can it be so easy to shake? Moreover, if we attack Xiangyang directly, Cao Cao and Sun Jian are afraid that something will happen. Although Sun Jian expressed his loyalty to the court, they can't
His son has been eyeing Jiangdong in Shouchun, so he may not have the ambition to dominate."
"oh?"
Chen Mu smiled and said: "It seems that the long article has profound meaning. Tell me what you think."
"Master Shi, I think we can push the boat forward and let the court respond to Governor Zhang's envoy in the name of the emperor and agree with him to mobilize troops from the four counties to fight against Liu Biao."
Chen Qun said: "Our army is small and it is very difficult to attack Nanyang. We may even be attacked by Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao. Therefore, after Zhang Prefect raises his troops, he can help us share Liu Biao's pressure. There is a fire in Liu Biao's backyard, so we can only send
The people went to suppress it and had no time to take care of Zhang Xiu. We can take the opportunity to seize Nanyang and occupy Wancheng to guard our throat."
"you mean?"
Yang Xiu looked surprised and said: "Inciting Governor Zhang to raise troops, but only using him to attract Liu Biao's troops. In fact, after we captured Nanyang, we stood still and watched Governor Zhang fight with Liu Biao?"
"There's nothing we can do about it."
Chen Qun shook his head.
Yang Xiu's idea was to agree with Zhang Xian to raise troops and let Zhang Xian contain Liu Biao first. At this time, Chen Mu's army went south and captured Nanyang, and then attacked Xiangyang and captured the entire Jingzhou.
However, Chen Qun believed that it was difficult for them to do this with their current strength, and there were two powerful princes, Cao Cao and Sun Jian, in Henan. Attacking Nanyang might not cause them to rebound.
Because Nanyang was too close to Yingchuan, and the troops of Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci, Zang Ba and Cai Yang were also around them, they did not dare to take action easily.
But if we attack Xiangyang in Jingzhou, we will have to fight deep into the enemy's heartland. It is too far away from Yingchuan, and Zhao Yun and others may not be able to support them so quickly.
Sun Jian, however, could directly cross over from Zhongyang Mountain. Zhongyang Mountain was located in the northeast of Biyang County and southwest of Zhumadian City. There was a large plain area dozens of miles wide between it and Boshan. The road was very easy to walk, and it was only two miles away from Nanyang.
Hundreds of miles.
Therefore, Chen Qun felt that it was no problem for Zhang Xian to raise troops, which could just help them contain Liu Biao's army. As for going south to attack Xiangyang, that was obviously a bit too idealistic. Sometimes you have to sell your teammates.
After listening to Chen Qun's words, everyone felt that it made sense. But after thinking about it, they felt that it was unfair to Zhang Xian. After all, he was a loyal minister of the imperial court and planned to raise troops to help the imperial court regain Jingzhou.
As a result, you sold someone in the blink of an eye. What will the world think?
Thinking of this, Kong Jian said: "Our army is indeed weak in strength, but if we leave Governor Zhang alone, I am afraid that it will chill the rest of the loyal ministers in the world who want to serve the imperial court. I think it is not advisable."
"It's difficult to go deep into the hinterland of Jingzhou."
Chen Qun sighed: "Xiangyang is located to the south of Hanjiang River and north of Xiangjiang River. It is surrounded by water and has Xianshan Fortress. The city has high walls and thick walls, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if our army easily defeats Zhang Xiu's army, how can we defeat it?"
Can we go south to meet Governor Zhang? The plan of a pincer attack from the north and south will not work at all."
"Then why do we still want to fight Nanyang?"
Zhuge Liang suddenly asked.
"oh?"
Chen Mu became interested, looked at his young apprentice and asked, "What's Kong Ming's opinion?"
Zhuge Liang then said: "The emperor is now attacking Youzhou in the north. Zhang Yan has come to surrender. Xian Yufu has recruited more than 100,000 troops. It would be easy to quell the rebellion in Wuwan and Xianbei in the north. Even Gongsun Zan cannot compete with your majesty. So.
I think Youzhou can be pacified within a year at most."
"After Youzhou is calmed down, Your Majesty can immediately lead the army southward. At this time, we will attack Nanyang again, lure Liu Biao's main force to attack, and confront us in Nanyang. Then we will incite Governor Zhang to rise in Changsha and let Liu Biao's backyard catch fire."
"At this time, Liu Biao's army is all in the north of the Yangtze River, and the rear has no time to take care of itself. The army will definitely be in chaos. If His Majesty, Tianwei, takes advantage of the victory and pursues him, he will definitely be able to defeat Liu Biao, and it will be easy to capture Jingzhou."
These words fully demonstrated Zhuge Liang's strategic stability and excellent vision.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! What Chen Qun and Yang Xiu did was still at the tactical level, which was to use Zhang Xian to attract Liu Biao's main force and create opportunities for them to capture Nanyang.
Their eyes still stayed on Nanyang.
Zhuge Liang, on the other hand, obviously has a longer-term vision, and he is looking at the entire Jingzhou.
Xiangyang is indeed difficult to defeat. Historically, the Mongolian Yuan attack on Xiangyang was delayed for six years because Xiangyang's geographical location is so excellent.
To the north is the Han River and to the south is the Xiangshui River. It is sandwiched between the two rivers. Especially the Han River is so majestic that it is like a natural chasm that is insurmountable. Without a strong navy, even the walls of Xiangyang City may not be able to defeat it.
Therefore, Yang Xiu's plan was eliminated first, and Chen Qun's plan was indeed effective. However, doing so would indeed chill the hearts of some loyal ministers who admired the Han Dynasty, and would disappoint the imperial court.
On the other hand, Zhuge Liang's plan was much grander. He thought that since Nanyang was not easy to fight, he would simply not fight it yet. He would just march into Ye County and pretend to attack Nanyang, putting Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu on guard, thus allowing Liu Biao to attack the new fields in Jiangbei.
Increase troops in counties, Jiyang and other strategic places to attract firepower.
When a year passes and Liu Bei pacifies Youzhou, Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu will also relax their vigilance because there has been no war for a long time. When Liu Bei's army suddenly goes south and takes Nanyang, it will inevitably be overwhelming and fight all the way to Xiangyang City, attracting all Liu Biao's troops.
troops.
At this time, Zhang Xian calmly raised his troops and plunged the south of Jingzhou into civil strife. In this way, a pincer attack from the north and south could quickly capture Jingzhou.
At the same time, there is no need to worry that Cao Cao and Sun Jian will come to help, because Liu Bei's main force is more than 100,000 troops, and there are also Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci, Zang Ba, Cai Yang and nearly 100,000 troops stationed in Jizhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou and other places to monitor Yanzhou and Yuzhou
The total number of troops reached more than 200,000, which was enough to deal with Sun Cao.
The most important thing is that they raided Nanyang, guarded the throat of the south and the north, and cut off the three alliances of the Sun, Cao, and Liu alliances. If the three wanted to unite, they could only form a coalition from the Dabie Mountains or along the Yangtze River into Jiangxia County, which was inevitable.
Take the long way around.
From the overall macro-strategic point of view, Zhuge Liang's plan was very sound and perfect. Firstly, it destroyed the possibility of an alliance between Sun, Cao and Liu, and secondly, Zhang Xianmu delayed raising troops again for a year, so that he could suddenly stab Liu Biao in the back at a critical moment.
Liu Biao is surrounded by enemies from both sides and will be wiped out soon. After capturing Jingzhou, he can quickly attack Henan, and then move down the river from Henan and Jingzhou to capture Yangzhou.
As a result, coupled with the fact that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei should have captured Guanzhong at that time, only Bingzhou, Liangzhou and Yizhou were left in the world.
It can be said that Zhuge Liang's plan is very dazzling, and it is a strategy with an extremely long-term vision.
However, Chen Mu sighed and said softly: "What Kong Ming said is very good. But time does not wait for me. According to what the long article said, I will send the envoy back to deliver the message and let Zhang Xian raise his troops. Let's take Nanyang first."
"Master, why?"
Zhuge Liang looked surprised. Chen Qun's plan could only help them get Nanyang, but it lost people's hearts. How could it be compared with his plan?
But Chen Mu waved his hand and said: "Of course I understand that Kong Ming's strategy is very good, but... you will understand it in a few months."
"this......."
Seeing Chen Mu's insistence, Zhuge Liang stopped saying anything and said, "I know, it's all up to the master to make the decision."
The plan is finalized and the recovery of Nanyang is just around the corner.
There was no trace of joy on Chen Mu's face, and a hint of melancholy flashed through his eyes.
If possible, he certainly hopes to choose Zhuge Liang's plan.
but........
How can human calculations compare to heaven's calculations?
When I read through "The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms" and "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty", I forgot many things and couldn't recall some details at all.
However, because he was curious about the military strength of various princes in the late Han Dynasty, he once looked up the information.
There is such a sentence in "Three Kingdoms" and "Book of the Later Han".
"Xian died of illness, and his son Yi was re-established in Changsha. He then attacked and merged with Yi, captured Ling and Gui in the south, and occupied Hanchuan in the north. The area was thousands of miles away, and he had more than 100,000 soldiers."
In other words, Zhang Xian died of illness not long after he raised his army. His son Zhang Yi succeeded him, but Liu Biao quickly defeated Zhang Yi and regained the entire Jingnan.
Therefore, the plan of rejecting the plan for a year is not feasible at all, because Zhang Xian is about to die, and his son Zhang Yi is very poor. When Zhang Xian was alive, he had a back-and-forth fight with Liu Biao, and he was not afraid of Liu Biao at all.
As a result, after Zhang Yi came to power, he was quickly defeated by Liu Biao.
If Zhuge Liang's plan is really implemented, after Zhang Xian suddenly dies of a malignant illness in a few months, even Zhang Yi may not be able to ascend to the throne.
Once Zhang Xian dies, Liu Biao can send someone to serve as the new governor of Changsha at any time, such as his Han Xuan.
The final result is to draw water from a bamboo basket and achieve nothing.
Therefore, knowing that Zhang Xian would die of illness soon, Chen Mu could not place his hopes on him at all. He could only use the last bit of value Zhang Xian had before his death to help him hold off most of Liu Biao's main force.
Let him get to Nanyang smoothly and prepare for his future journey south.