Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3511: Price Concerns

The sunlight fell through the gaps in the clouds, jumping playfully on the tricolor flags and the soldiers' armor, then twisted its waist and disappeared without a trace.

In the distance, smoke was rising.

The soldiers nearby were cold and indifferent.

After the successful raid, Li Dian began to move the soldiers and supplies from Hanzhong to Shangyong City.

Any general with a little military knowledge knows that "speed is of the essence in war", but "speed" is not necessary at all times and at all points.

Except for those wars that are forced to happen and there is no time to prepare, most wars require sufficient backup resources and adequate logistical support.

The success of the raid on Shangyong requires many prerequisites, and it is not something that can be accomplished simply by thinking about it.

In order to get closer to Cao Cao, the Shen family even betrayed the Di people who had originally gathered around them.

These Di people may not be able to recognize a few big characters, nor do they know how to read the Confucian scriptures, but one thing is certain: they definitely do not have the custom of turning the right cheek after being hit on the left cheek.

Trust is hard to build but easy to destroy.

The trust relationship that the Shen family had built up with the surrounding Di people over more than ten years, or even decades, was completely destroyed after the arrival of Cao's army, and almost all of the Shen family's original spies in the surrounding areas were also cut off.

Even if some Di people saw Li Dian sending troops, they would not alert the Shen family.

At the same time, Li Dian's policy of winning over the Di people gradually bore fruit.

For most of the lower-class people, whether they are Di people or Han people, the most important thing is still to have enough food.

Although having enough to eat is a bit too simple for some children of aristocratic families, not many people in the feudal dynasty were willing to do it.

Although some of Li Dian's experimental fields in Hanzhong were destroyed, some were preserved. The harvest from those preserved fields allowed Li Dian to open the "door of friendship" between the Di and Qiang people.

Having lost its tribe and its tentacles, the Shen family was like a tree without roots, which would fall down if pushed.

Therefore, in a sense, it was not Li Dian but Shen himself who caused Shen's self-destruction.

When the news of the destruction of Shangyong Shen clan reached Jingzhou, Cao Ren's hands could not help but tremble.

Of course, in the message delivered to Jingzhou, many remnants of the Shen family and scouts of the Cao army exaggerated the number of Li Dian's troops, and quite a few exaggerated the number of more than a hundred people into more than a thousand, and even more than a thousand people into ten thousand. As a result, what Cao Ren finally heard was that Li Dian had mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers in Hanzhong and headed straight for Jingzhou!

Who wouldn’t get their pants wet after reading this news?

Cao Cao originally planned that the Cavalry Army would not advance until next spring at the earliest.

Cao Ren held the urgent military report in his hand and remained silent for a long time.

But then more battle reports and military intelligence came one after another, so fast that it was hard to keep up.

Since the fall of Shangyong, hussars have been discovered on Yamaguchi Road!

There are also cavalry troops on Wuguan Road!

Cao Ren was angry, but somewhat helpless.

When Cao Zhen got the news and rushed back to Xiangyang, he saw Cao Ren facing a table full of urgent reports, with a look of resentment and helplessness on his face...

"General..." Cao Zhen asked, "This is..."

When Cao Ren saw that it was Cao Zhen, he did not hide anything and just gritted his teeth and shook out the urgent reports on the table.

"This one... our side will retreat!"

"This one! Encountered the enemy at the pass! Defeated!"

"The Cavalry Battalion!"

"Tens of thousands of Hussars!"

"Defeat!"

"Big collapse!"

"Another big collapse!"

A series of urgent reports were raised, which seemed to outline a terrifying beacon line, stretching out from Hanzhong and Wugu Pass, and heading straight towards Jingxiang!

It seemed that one could see thousands of hussars forming their battle formations, emerging from the mountains, following the road, bringing smoke, blood and fire to Jingzhou!

"How did Shangyong get lost?" Cao Zhen couldn't believe it when he saw the urgent news.

Shangyong is located between the Yangtze River and the Han River. "Its upper part is flat, so it is called Shangyong." Moreover, there are many mountain passes from Hanzhong to Shangyong, which are not so easy to walk. Some places are even plank roads carved out of cliffs and rocks. If you just block the intersection, even thousands of troops will not be able to move!

Cao Zhen had previously led his troops to attack Hanzhong, and he had a deep understanding of this!

But why couldn't he enter Hanzhong no matter what, and then Li Dian attacked and conquered Shangyong? !

Doesn't this comparison make Cao Zhen seem incompetent?

However, the current situation made Cao Ren and Cao Zhen have no time to think about their own face. Instead, they felt that two knives were pointed at them, one above and one on the side!

The upper road, that is, the direction of Wugu Pass, is connected to Wancheng and threatens the north of Xiangyang, Jingzhou.

The Shangyong route directly attacked the flank of Jingbei!

Historically, Shangyong can be regarded as the last private land of local princes. Shen family and later Meng Da were in a "neutral" state in Shangyong area for a long time. It is not that the three parties in history could not swallow Meng Shen, but because conquering a city is not simply occupying a city.

After the city was built, it was necessary to support the civilians and then to build a stronger army. However, because Shangyong was located in a mountainous area, the arable land was much less than that of other cities in the Central Plains. There were few acres of cultivated land, and it was difficult to continue to open up wasteland under the conditions at that time. Therefore, the number of people that could be supported would be small, and the taxes would be correspondingly less. At the same time, in the Shangyong area, the Di people and the Qiang people lived together, and there were many conflicts and frequent fights. From time to time, it was necessary to send troops out to mediate or suppress them.

Therefore, if one has strong capital, taking Shangyong will certainly give one certain military advantage, and it can be used as a frontier position to more conveniently attack other directions. However, if one needs to garrison there for a long time, then Shangyong may require long-term and large-scale cost expenditures.

One or two years might be okay, but over time it's like a bottomless pit. Just like some areas in Central Asia in later generations, it's OK to occupy them for a short time, but over time, even great empires were dragged into the abyss, and the fat ones became thin, and the thin ones collapsed...

It was for this reason that Cao Ren and Cao Zhen believed that there was no need to station troops in Shangyong.

The supply line from Hanzhong to Shangyong is very long, and it is not easy even with the help of the Han River.

Cao Ren and Cao Zhen felt that Li Dian had only taken over Hanzhong for a short time, and Hanzhong might not be very stable internally. If Li Dian occupied Shangyong, he would have to move troops, food, etc. to Shangyong, and might lose control of the Hanzhong area. If the time was delayed a little longer, he might end up losing both ends, and Hanzhong would also be in ruins.

As a result, neither of them expected that Li Dian actually launched an attack on Shangyong at this time, and now he is directly approaching Fangling!

It is not surprising that West City lost. After all, West City is rotten, just like a bus, anyone can get on it.

But why was Shangyong so easily captured?

Cao Ren Cao really couldn't figure it out, and in the end he could only say, "Shen is a waste!"

Since the Shen family has become a waste, the Shen family members who were originally promised and stayed in Jingzhou are no longer of any use...

"Tell that Shen family son to behave himself! Stay at home and don't go out and cause trouble!" Cao Zhen ordered, "If he jumps up and down again, shouting and making trouble, he will be executed for the crime of disturbing the army!"

The reason why we don't kill them now is to see if the Shen family's banner is still useful when we have a chance to fight back in the future. If even the name is useless, then the Shen family will die quietly.

After hearing this, the guard looked at Cao Ren.

Cao Ren didn't look up, just waved.

The guard took the order and left.

Cao Ren swept all the urgent reports on the table to the ground, then took out the map of Shangyong and spread it out on the table.

Cao Zhen also stood up.

The two of them stared at the map together in silence for a long while.

Now it is meaningless to continue studying why Cao Zhen couldn't defeat Li Dian and why he could defeat him easily. Now we can only see how to deal with it first...

This time, Xiangyang was in trouble. In history, Xiangyang was also in danger and was almost stabbed through by Guan Erye.

Xu County held a court meeting to urgently discuss whether to take refuge in Yecheng...

It was just that at that time, Liu Bei let Liu Feng lead the army to attack Shangyong, which was really a failure. Liu Feng actually knew that he could not inherit Liu Bei's position, but he was very unwilling. After all, when Liu Bei had no son, Liu Feng served him tea and water every day. Now that he has a new son, he forgets the old son. Who would be happy?

Moreover, Liu Feng was pushed to Shangyong, a poor and barren land, and on the front line. He had to rely on the support of the rear for everything. If he made any unusual moves, he would either be caught by Meng Da's arm or held back by the rear. So when Guan Lao Er asked Liu Feng to send troops to cooperate, on the one hand, Liu Feng was not strong enough to defeat Meng Da, the old fox. On the other hand, it was possible that Liu Feng felt that if he sent troops too early, he would just be Guan Lao Er's foil. So even if he wanted to send troops, he had to wait until Guan Lao Er was in danger...

Of course, the short intervals between battles and insufficient preparation are also objective reasons.

In addition, Guan Er had a bad temper, and he might be a little rude when he saw Liu Feng didn't take any action. But for Liu Feng, he had lost his position as the crown prince, and his father didn't want him anymore, so it was meaningless to recognize him as his second uncle.

Therefore, in the Battle of Xiangyang in history, the two armies actually only moved one direction, and Cao's army only needed to resist one direction. But now, there is Wugu Pass in the north and Shangyong on the side, and there is no situation of mutual restraint and suspicion. Instead, they will cooperate with each other to a certain extent.

unless……

The gazes of both people almost always lingered on Fang Ling.

Cao Zhen took a breath and pointed his finger at a certain place on the map. "The current strategy is to quickly support Fangling!"

"Why not Yunguan?" Cao Ren asked.

The reason why Shangyong is important is not only because it is located in the middle of the three eastern counties, but more importantly, Shangyong is a key node. By going north through the Wudang Mountain area and capturing Yunguan, you can go straight into the Nanyang Basin and directly connect with Wugu Road and Wancheng.

If we go south and capture Fangling, we can reach Jingshan, and then capture Zhuyang, which is equivalent to kicking open the side door of Jingzhou!

So what Cao Ren meant was that Li Dian would go north to attack Yunguan or Fangling next.

Cao Zhen judged that Fangling was more likely, so the next step was to send reinforcements to Fangling rather than to Yunguan.

"Li Mancheng attacked Shangyong by surprise, and passed through Xicheng without alarming Shangyong," Cao Zhen said, "there must be soldiers who are good at rushing through the mountains and forests... If they go through the Han River and encounter our Jingzhou navy... it is undoubtedly giving up their strengths and taking advantage of their weaknesses..."

Cao Ren nodded slowly.

Cao Ren raised his head and looked at Cao Zhen, "Do you know...the key to Fangling..."

"Fang Ling is a Di general..." Cao Zhen said slowly.

Cao Ren nodded, "So..."

Cao Zhen replied, "So we should rush to help, and not enter the city!"

……

……

Fangling.

If we rank the three counties of Shangyong, Shangyong would undoubtedly be ranked first, followed by Xicheng, and Fangling has long been ranked third. Moreover, for Shangyong, the three counties are actually just three counties.

Fangling County, also known as Fangling County, can even be said to be the Fangling Basin.

The three counties of Shangyong are three small basins in the mountains east of Hanzhong.

General Puda was stationed here with more than a thousand of his men.

These soldiers of his were half farmers and half soldiers. They were both his tenants and his soldiers.

The news of the fall of Shangyong naturally reached him, but at the same time he received the news, the hussars also appeared before him!

Although it's just a scout team, it's still amazing!

This was certainly due to the low ability of Shen's soldiers in the Shangyong area, but it also proved that the speed of the cavalry's advance was truly jaw-dropping!

The cavalry vanguard appeared in Fangling along with the news of Shangyong's defeat. The leaders of the cavalry and their subordinates were in a panic. According to the report of the defeated soldiers, Shen Shi had almost no decent resistance and was defeated by Li Dian with one shot...

It was difficult for Puda to imagine the scene at that time, because in his eyes, the Shen family was already a powerful Han local tyrant, with soldiers and horses three or four times more than his. How could they be defeated and killed so easily?

Although the hussars that appeared around Fangling were only the vanguard, or not even the vanguard, they were scouts sent far away in small teams. Moreover, whether it was from Hanzhong to Shangyong or from Shangyong to Fangling, they had to cross mountains and ridges in between, and it was not a well-connected road. It was not easy to march in winter. In addition, after Li Dian's army raided Shangyong, it must have a short time to repair, deal with the Shen family's fortress around Shangyong, and eliminate the remaining forces of the Shen family, so that Shangyong could be truly controlled...

Otherwise, it would be really funny if the remnants of the Shangyong Shen clan rebelled right after they marched into Fangling.

But no one knows how long it will take Li Dian to clean up these remnants. Maybe it will take one or two months, or maybe ten or twenty days, or even shorter...

The cavalry scout teams that now appear around Fangling are the best proof.

Today, the Cavalry Army seems to be just a small team, but perhaps tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or any day at any time, the small team may become a large group of troops, appearing at the foot of Fangling City in a black mass!

The shadow of despair has hung over the heads of everyone in Fangling.

attack?

dare not.

Don't have that ability either.

The Di general knew the level of his soldiers. If they really left the protection of the city wall and fought the cavalry head-on, they would definitely be pinned to the ground and rubbed to death...

Defense?

No confidence.

Shangyong has been conquered. The walls of Fangling are even worse than those of Shangyong. They are shorter and thinner, and there are even fewer soldiers. How can we defend it?

If Li Dian's men came with a few hundred men, the Di people would feel that they could still resist. But if Li Dian himself led a large army, who could stop them?

Even though on weekdays, the Di people's favorite thing is to drink and brag about their bravery before and after drinking, but bragging is one thing and when it comes to fighting, they have to rely on real skills, not just their mouths.

escape?

Returning to the mountains and forests may be a way out for ordinary Di people, but it is definitely not a good place for Di generals.

The Di general has become accustomed to living in Fangling, to the houses here, to controlling the surrounding land and getting a good harvest every year, and to exchanging more mountain products from the surrounding Di tribes for wealth every year. If he is asked to return to the mountains and give up all the property in Fangling, he will be reluctant and unwilling to do so.

Then, perhaps all that remains is to surrender...

The question is to whom?

Just these cavalry squads in front of us?

Moreover, there is another point. What if Li Dian does not go through Fangling, but goes through Yunguan in the north?

After all, once you pass Yunguan, you will reach Nanxiang, which is accessible by land and water, and can also be connected with Wuguan and Wancheng in the north!

Therefore, after Li Dian took Shangyong, he had to take Yunguan, otherwise his flank would be threatened...

The Di people gathered a group of leaders, both big and small, and argued endlessly. The final question was whether Li Dian would take Yunguan first or attack Fangling first.

At the same time, Li Dian hasn't appeared yet. Wouldn't it be too rash for them to surrender directly to these cavalry squads in front of them?

After all, Li Dian hasn't given out any chips yet.

The Di general even hoped that the cavalry teams would send a few people to negotiate, and then bargain with each other, and then sigh, saying that they had suffered a great loss. If they did not respect the cavalry general and General Li Dian, they would never surrender. In this way, they would show how much they had sacrificed and demonstrate the value of their loyalty.

Unfortunately, the Hussar team had no intention of contacting us, but we couldn't just go after them with a shameless face, right?

What a bargain!

The Di general, who was used to doing business between the Di and Han people, felt that his price could not be any lower.

If you want to sell it, you have to sell it at a good price, right?

He was used to waiting for guests in houses with carved beams and painted rafters, and was no longer used to standing on the street and eating dust.

The Di general was worried and distressed. He had no good plan to turn the situation around. In addition, a bunch of leaders were chattering and had no idea. Finally, he could not help but roar and slam the table. "First send people to Jingzhou to urgently ask for reinforcements! If reinforcements don't come, and the Hussars come, we will surrender! Then the Cao army can't blame us!"

The subordinates, both big and small, looked around and felt that what the Di general said made sense, so they all agreed...