Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 199 Withdrawing Troops
Chaisang County, on the verge of the Yangtze River, is the entrance of the Yangtze River into Penglize, guarding the passage of Jingzhou Jiangxia's invasion of Yangzhou Yuzhang.

In history, whether it was Huang Zu's attack on Yuzhang, or Sun Ce and Sun Quan's repeated attacks on Jiangxia, they could not do without Chaisang.

The two sides either fought around Chaisang County, or set out from Chaisang County to the north.

It can be said that this is the most crucial link between Yangzhou and Jingzhou. Like Xunyang County in Jiangbei, it is a strategic location that must be contested by military strategists.

However, the torrential rain in the past few days is something that people did not expect.

The torrential rain not only raised the water level of the Yangtze River a lot, but even the high-lying Chaisang County was poured into the river, and almost completely submerged the wharf outside the city in the north, that is, the urban area of ​​Jiujiang City later.

In the Han Dynasty, Saihu Lake and Bali Lake in the west of Jiujiang City were connected to the Yangtze River, and together with the urban area of ​​Jiujiang City, a natural port was formed.

At the same time, Chaisang City is surrounded by Mount Lu to the east, the remnants of Jiuling Mountain to the west, the mighty Yangtze River and Peng Lize to the north, and the overlapping hilly areas of Mount Lu and the remnants of Jiuling Mountain to the south. The geographical location is extremely advantageous.

But because of this, it also restricts the travel roads of Chaisang to the west and south.

If you go by land from Chaisang, you have to climb three consecutive mountains to return to Jiangxia, or go south to Nanchang and Changsha to return to Jingzhou. Therefore, boats have almost become the only means of transportation for people in the Chaisang area.

But under the extreme weather now, it is almost impossible for ships to leave the port. Even if they leave the port, it is difficult to sail on Peng Lize and the Yangtze River. Once the wind and waves get stronger, the entire army may be wiped out.

Therefore, after the ship transporting grain capsized in the Yangtze River, and it was not known how long it would take for the next batch of grain to arrive, Huang Zu had to consider the issue of retreating back to Jiangbei to find the sun.

On June [-]th of the tenth year of Jian'an, Huang Zu summoned the generals to discuss matters in the government office of Chaisang County, which was being shrouded in wind and rain.

There are many people gathered in the hall, including senior military officers Zhang Hu, Chen Sheng, Su Fei, Deng Long and other generals, plus some assistant officials such as chief secretary, Chang Shi, Cao Shi, etc., there are more than [-] to [-] people, large and small.

Sitting on the main seat, Huang Zu looked at the latest official document sent from Xunyang, with a serious expression on his face.

After a while, after everyone had entered the hall, saluted and sat down to him, he threw the official document on the table and said softly, "Xiangyang replied."

Many generals breathed a sigh of relief. Su Fei is the governor of Jiangxia, the chief military officer of Jiangxia County. His official position is only second to Huang Zu, but he is the second in command. Hearing this, he asked quickly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty agrees." Have we withdrawn our troops?"

"Your Majesty gave the Eldest Young Master full authority to deal with it. The Eldest Young Master agreed to our request to withdraw troops, and sent someone over to inquire about how we plan to withdraw our troops."

The wind and rain were still raging outside, and Huang Zu was not in a good mood. He said with a heavy face, "In the middle of last month, I asked the king to withdraw my troops and return to Jiangxia. The mud and rocks have been buried, it seems that it will not work to go back to Xiazhi from Fuyi Mountain, and then return to E County."

"Then we can only cross the river to find Yang by water. This is the best choice. Thousands of our large and small ships are still in Chaisang. If we go back by land and the ships are destroyed, we will almost never attack Jiangdong again." ability."

Su Fei thought about it.

In fact, it is not impossible to go back to Jiangxia by land. From Chaisang to the west is a large area of ​​hills. Although it is also a mountainous area, at least there is a road that can go all the way to Ruichang Pavilion, which is the later Ruichang City of Jiangxi Province.

Just after passing Ruichang Pavilion, there are Lianyun and Mufu mountainous areas that stretch for more than 100 kilometers.You have to go through Yangxin County and Xingguo Town to get to Xiazhi.

Along the way, not only is the road difficult to walk, but it is also rainy and windy, and mudslides may occur at any time.

The most important thing is what to do with land ships?
They attacked Yuzhang with thousands of ships. Although some troops were stationed in Xunyang, Xiazhi, and E County, Chaisang had more than 3 troops and more than 1000 ships, covering almost the entire Jiangxia River. half the number of ships of the division.

Once they abandoned these ships, the number of ships in the Jiangxia navy would be inferior to that of the Jiangdong navy. At that time, if there was a water battle, at least [-] of Huang Zu's nearly [-] navy would have to watch on the shore.

So the ship cannot be lost.

Now they are short of food and grass, and if they need to withdraw to Jiangxia, they have to consider the issue of taking the ships away.

Huang Zu looked at the master book and asked, "How much food and grass are there in the city?"

"There are more than 6 stones."

The chief secretary replied: "It can still be eaten by the army for 20 days. If the portion is reduced, or fishing nets are deployed to catch river fish in the river, it can be used for more than a month."

Huang Zu said in a deep voice: "All of you here have been with me in Jiangxia for many years, and you should be aware that once the river enters the rainy season, it often rains continuously for many days. Although it has been falling intermittently for nearly a month from last month to now, who knows? It’s hard to say whether there will be another month, and there will be no more food at the end of the month, and the army will be hungry, so the top priority is to retreat, at least to Xunyang.”

Su Fei said: "But now is the time when the wind and waves are strong, and it is still too dangerous to sail at this time. I think we should send someone to inform the eldest son first, and ask him to transport some grain and grass to the north of the river. Wait a few days to see if the wind and rain are calmer. Cross the river."

"Ah."

Huang Zu nodded and said: "I think so too, Su Fei, I order you to lead a school of troops to station in Jiujiang Pavilion first, Deng Long, you lead a school of troops to station in Ruichang Pavilion, and move some of the luggage first. Go to the boat, wait for a few days, and see the wind and rain a little less, and then cross the river and return to Xunyang."

"only!"

Su Fei and Deng Long each took orders.

Liu Biao is not short of food now, Xiangyang Prefecture has tens of millions of grains in stock, so there is no shortage of food and grass for Huang Zu. The 50 army plus auxiliary soldiers will be equipped with at least three months' share every time, which is almost [-] stone look.

But the battle couldn't last for a long time. The confrontation lasted for more than a year, and the two sides were exhausted.Taking advantage of the torrential rain, Huang Zu also thought of going back to Jiangxia to rest and fight again in the future.

Anyway, the people in Chaisang, Pengze, and Xunyang were all moved to Jiangxia by him. Now that there is not much food in stock, this is indeed a chance to go back and rest.

After asking Su Fei and Deng Long to make preparations, Huang Zu asked all the generals to go back to the camp first.

He himself was still sitting in the hall looking at the official document.

In addition to asking him to plan the withdrawal of troops by himself, the eldest son Liu Qi also mentioned Shen Chen's suggestion in the letter, who is currently a guest at the Jiangxia County Prime Minister's Mansion.

The first suggestion is to hope that he will withdraw his troops and try not to go by land but by water.

The second suggestion is that if he takes the water route, he should divide his troops into three routes, one route from Ruichang Pavilion to Jiangxinzhou, the other route the main force back to Xunyang, and the last route to Huangmei Pavilion. Attack halfway.

The third suggestion is to ask him to carry some supplies and put them on the boat first, and then cross the river back to Xunyang when there is less wind and rain, and they will meet him in Xunyang City.

Shen Chen.

Huang Zu looked at the distant sky and suddenly sighed.

It turned out that before I knew it, more than ten years had passed. The child who followed his uncle to Jiangxia to see him had grown up and was about to be crowned.

.

.

After noon, the pouring rain was still falling, and the pattering raindrops hit the forest at the northern foot of Fuyi Mountain, and there was a crackling sound in the lush forest.

Fuyi Mountain is at the eastern foot of Jiuling Mountains, south of Chaisang County, north of Liling County, which is the true north of De'an County in Jiangxi later.

In the north of the mountains near Chaisang County, in a small hill called Minshan by the locals, there is a house.

There used to be a village in the mountain, and dozens of people were moved away. Only some hunters’ huts remained in the mountain. Many of them collapsed due to disrepair. The one on the top of the mountain was recently renovated. .

The newly renovated house is made of bamboo. The raindrops hit the leaves and fell on the bamboo house, making a crisp sound.In addition to the wind and rain, you can even hear the sound of the strings being plucked.

At this time, a man in a brown coir raincoat climbed up the rugged and difficult mountain path to the top of the mountain, and came to the front of the bamboo house.

The bamboo house was hidden under the forest, surrounded by towering trees, almost the moment the person came over, someone stood out from the surrounding trees and bushes.

They are all wearing coir raincoats, so it is difficult to judge whether they are friends or foes from their appearance.

"It's Captain Peiping."

Behind the man were a few soldiers in coir raincoats, who immediately shouted.

Lu Meng went to the bamboo house, took off his coir raincoat on the porch, listened to the sound of the zither at the door, and said softly, "Captain."

"Come in."

A gentle voice came from the door.

Lu Meng opened the door and walked in, and saw a handsome young man in his thirties sitting cross-legged on the mat in the spacious bamboo room, stroking the Yaoqin.

"The governor is very elegant."

Lu Meng said something with a smile, and finally said: "Two schools came out of Chaisang City, one went north to Jiujiang Pavilion, and the other went west to Ruichang Pavilion."

The man playing the qin was Zhou Yu. Hearing these words, his slender hands stopped and lightly pressed on the strings. The sound of the qin in the room stopped immediately. There was no other sound.

Zhou Yu lowered his head and looked at the surface of the piano. After nearly half a minute, seeing that he didn't speak, Lu Meng was puzzled and said, "Captain?"

"Ah."

Zhou Yu shook his head and said, "I was just thinking, why are they going to Jiujiang and Ruichang?"

Lu Meng said: "Perhaps they intend to cover Chaisang back and forth."

Zhou Yu pondered for a moment, then said, "The old thief Huang Zu is probably planning to withdraw his troops."

"withdraw troops?"

Lu Meng was surprised: "Is this the time?"

Zhou Yu said with a smile: "Do you still remember the debris from the sunken ship that we caught a few days ago? There is a lot of grain and grass in the cabin. It is probably because the grain ship was overturned by the wind and rain. The grain in Chaisang City may have bottomed out."

Lu Meng rejoiced and said: "This kind of wind and rain cannot travel by water, but by land. He sent troops to Ruichang, compared to intending to return to Jiangxia over the mountains. Then we mobilize troops to ambush him while he is withdrawing troops. Isn't it necessary? Big victory?"

"not that simple."

Zhou Yu pondered and said, "Immediately send someone to take the path to the west of Ruichang, and check the roads from Chunshan and Tianyueshan to Jiangxia."

Chunshan and Tianyue Mountains are the names of the Lianyun Mountains and Mufu Mountains in the Han Dynasty. If you want to go back to Jiangxia from Chaisang, you must first go to Ruichang Pavilion, then cross the Lianyun Mountains, and then cross the Mufu Mountains to reach Hubei. County, that is, Huangshi City in later generations.

In the past, the straight-line distance of this road was more than 100 kilometers, not to mention the steep mountains and rough roads, almost all mud trails, not even a main road, and it was very difficult to climb mountains and ridges.

However, the most difficult part of the road is the two mountain ranges, many of which have valley trails, as long as they pass through the high mountains, it will be much easier to walk, so it is not impossible for an army of tens of thousands of people to walk.

To be on the safe side, Zhou Yu decided to send someone over to check the situation.

A few days later, the people sent there came back and reported an important news to Zhou Yu, that is, the road from Ruichang to Xiazhi, which is later known as Yangxin County, was blocked by mountain torrents, and the only way to go by land was to go south to Nanchang , Go Jingnan back to Jiangxia.

Upon hearing the news, Zhou Yu immediately sent someone to Lingyang, which is later Qingyang County, Anhui, to inform Sun Quan and Huang Zu, who was sitting there, that he was planning to withdraw his troops, so that he could prepare in advance.

By June [-]th, Sun Quan learned of the news, and he summoned Lu Su, Zhang Zhao, Qin Song, Zhang Hong and others to discuss the matter.

After analysis, everyone believed that Zhou Yu's guess was very likely to be true.

In the history of the battle between the Jin Dynasty and the Eastern Wu Dynasty, Wang Jun built warships in Bashu, and a large number of broken wood flowed down the river, all the way to Jingzhou.

However, the grain transport ship dispatched by Liu Biao went all the way southward from the Han River, entered the Yangtze River from Shaxian, and encountered wind and waves capsized at Xiakou, which is the Yangtze River Basin around Wuhan in later generations.

Many grains, rice, and ship wood fragments were found by the Jiangdong Navy when they passed through Zongyang Anqing.

Therefore, everyone agrees with Zhou Yu's judgment that Huang Zu's follow-up food and grass have not arrived due to the weather, and there is not much food in Chaisang City, so they are about to withdraw their troops.

Everyone believed that if the troops were withdrawn, Zhou Yu had already seen that it would be impossible to go by land, so they could only go by water, cross the river, go to Xunyang County in the north of the river, and then retreat into Jiangxia County.

The direct reason why the Jiangdong Navy was unable to compete with Huang Zu on the river was that Huang Zu had a large number of soldiers and ships, and they suffered from this loss.

But if they get off the boat and fight the Jiangxia Navy on land, the Jiangdong Navy will definitely be able to defeat the Jiangxia Navy.

So Sun Quan finally took great courage and decided to put all his eggs in one basket and ambush Huang Zu!

On June [-]th, Zhou Yu secretly returned to Anqing.

He issued an order, and the army can go east and station in Wan County, which is later Qianshan City, Anhui.

The heavy rain is still falling.

It's just that no one knows that a conspiracy that has been brewing for a long time is quietly moving.

a few days later.

In late June, the weather finally got a little better.

Although the Yangtze River is still rolling with waves and the floods on both sides of the river are surging, the rain is much less and the wind is also much less, and it should not be far from clearing up.

After seeing the weather, Huang Zu of Chaisang decided to withdraw his troops immediately.

No one knows what the climate of the Yangtze River will be like in the next second.

Maybe the rain is less today, and it will be pouring rain tomorrow, coupled with the vast waves on the river, it is still difficult for the grain transport fleet to come, so temporarily withdrawing troops and waiting for the weather to improve is the best choice.

On June 21, the Jiangxia Navy officially prepared to withdraw its troops!

　I have been really unwell for the past two days. I took the medicine today and my symptoms have improved a little. I dare not go to the hospital recently, but my head is still dizzy. The efficiency of coding and thinking are fragmented, and I feel self-conscious about writing. Much worse.Originally, these chapters are more important, because it will be the main event soon, including Liu Biao proclaiming the emperor, fighting Jiangdong, and Bashu. At the critical point, I am in such a bad state and feel a little uncomfortable. Maybe I will write 4000 words in these two days and wait for two days. I have recovered, and after I recover from my illness, I will write again.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)