Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 238: The Danger of the Yellow River, the Confrontation between Wen and He

February, Puban.

The water of the Yellow River is mighty and powerful, rushing out of Longmen from the Loess Plateau. The river flows suddenly and slowly as it rushes through Puban, and then merges with the Wei River when it bends at Tongguan.

On the top of Boshan (Zhongtiao Mountain), Zhang Yu led his generals to climb the heights and overlook Guanzhong.

The Yellow River between Guanzhong and Hedong is more than 300 miles long. In fact, there are more than just the so-called Puban and Longmen sections where one can cross the river. The reason why military strategists of all dynasties were obsessed with the two ferry crossings of Puban and Longmen was actually determined by the terrain of Hexi.

The area west of the Yellow River is not flat land, but a tableland with a certain height, which cannot be directly connected to the Weibei area. In addition, the terrain in the tableland is complex and gullies are crisscrossed, which is very unfavorable for the deployment of the army.

Therefore, if you cross the river at the middle ferry, you still have to go south from the Pujin ferry in the west of the river to the north of Wei. Guanzhong built Linjin Pass in the middle area according to the terrain of Pujin Ferry. Linjin Pass is not steep, but it can prevent the troops from the east of the river from crossing the river from Pujin.

"Li Jue has stationed a large number of troops in Pujin, with a camp of more than ten miles. If our army wants to cross the river from Puban, it may be as difficult as climbing to the sky." Lü Bu pointed to the Guanzhong coalition forces on the other side of the river and said, "If we want to cross the river now, we may need to find another plan."

Guo Tu pondered for a moment and said, "Since ancient times, there have been three Hejin roads from Hedong to Guanzhong: Longmen, Puban, and Fengling."

"Longmen River is turbulent and far from Chang'an. Wu Qi and Han Xin crossed the river from Longmen to make achievements. Puban River is gentle and you can see Wei River after crossing it. Emperor Gaozu went out of Linjin and captured Sima Ang, the King of Yin. Fengling River has a wide beach. Although it is close to Chang'an, it cannot be crossed because it crosses Lintong Pass."

"From the map, if you want to make a feint to the east and attack the west, it is better to pretend to cross the river from Puban, but actually cross the river from Longmen. If you can gain a foothold in Hexi, you can lead your army across the river."

On the issue of crossing the river, Guo Tu unceremoniously appropriated Zhao Zi's idea and suggested that Zhang Yu make a feint to the east and attack in the west, pretending to leave from Puyang but actually leaving from Longmen.

Zhang Yu pointed to Guanzhong with his whip and said worriedly, "The strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking the west is feasible, but I am afraid that there are wise men among the rebels in Guanzhong who can figure out our strategy of crossing Longmen."

Li Song frowned and thought, and said, "When Song led his troops to attack the Qiang and Hu, there was another crossing point upstream of Longmen Ferry and downstream of Hukou, Caisangjin. Now your Excellency is worried that Longmen Ferry will be attacked, so why not cross to Guanzhong from Caisangjin?"

"Caisangjin is too remote. It is more than 400 miles away from Pujin, and there are many hills and gullies on both sides of the river. Even if we cross the Yellow River, if we want to take Guanzhong, we have to take the main road south to Guanzhong. There are many mountains along the way, which makes it inconvenient for the army to supply!" Xu Huang retorted: "It is more convenient to sneak across Longmen!"

"Han Xin sneaked across Longmen to Hedong, and Wu Qi used Longmen to seize Hexi. How can the enemy be unprepared now?" Li Song said.

Seeing that everyone had different opinions, Zhang Yu looked at the people accompanying him and asked, "What do you think?"

"My Lord, Yu thinks we can follow Gongming's strategy!"

Guan Yu could not hold back his desire to make a contribution, so he stepped out from behind Liu Bei, cupped his hands and said, "I am from Jie County in Hedong, and I know the water conditions of the river well. The river is dry in spring and flooded in autumn, so although the Longmen River is turbulent, it is not difficult to cross it."

Zhang Yu looked at other people, as if wanting to hear if they had different opinions.

If the others were on the west bank, Zhang Yu might dare to cross the river directly from Longmen, but now there is Jia Xu in the Guanzhong coalition army, and Zhang Yu is worried that his idea of sneaking across the river from Longmen will be discovered by Jia Xu.

Zhang Liao thought for a while and said, "Sir, if you don't have a good plan, why not try to sneak across from Longmen? If we are discovered by the enemy army, we can find another plan."

After looking at Guanzhong for a long time, Zhang Yu suddenly asked, "Bo Ning, do you have any opinions?"

Man Chong shook his head and said, "I have no opinion at the moment!"

Seeing no particularly good suggestions, Zhang Yu thought for a while and decided to try the strategy of sneaking across Longmen. After all, many things in war are uncertain events. Even if Zhang Yu is worried that the strategy of sneaking across Longmen will not work, he must send his generals to try it when no better strategy appears.

Looking around at his generals, Zhang Yu said, "Who is willing to lead the elite troops to sneak across Longmen?"

"Since I have offered this strategy, I am willing to lead the troops as the vanguard!" Xu Huang volunteered.

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment, then looked at Liu Bei and said, "Xuan De's subordinate Guan Yu knows the water conditions of the river. I would like to borrow Guan Yu to serve as Gong Ming's deputy general. What do you think?"

Liu Bei looked serious and said, "Your Excellency is the commander of the army, how dare I disobey you? Now that General Xu is the only one to lead the army, I am afraid that the troops are too weak. I am willing to lead my troops and go with General Xu to cross Longmen Ferry and serve as the vanguard of the army."

Now that he can perform on the stage, how could Liu Bei be content to just sit back and watch? He will naturally strive to make more contributions.

Seeing Liu Bei's request to fight, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Since Xuande is asking for battle, you and Gongming should advance together and lead 3,000 elite soldiers to sneak across Longmen. I will build a floating bridge at Pubanjin to confuse the likes of Li and Guo."

Zhang Yu then added: "If the enemy troops are well prepared at Longmen, we should not take it by force."

"As ordered!"

Zhang Yu was troubled by the problem of crossing the river and decided to try to sneak across Guanzhong from Longmen. When Li Jue learned that Zhang Yu had ordered people to build a floating bridge, he immediately summoned all the generals to discuss.

Inside the big tent, Li Jue looked around at the generals and asked, "Zhang Yu is repairing the floating bridge and wants to cross the river from Puban. Do you have any strategies to resist the enemy?"

"Haha!" Guo Si laughed a few times and said, "Zhi Ran is too worried. Zhang Yu is going to build a floating bridge from Puban, so let him do it. When he leads his troops across the river, our army will attack him halfway across the river and defeat Zhang Yu. Then we will march eastward, occupy Hedong County, and divide up the benefits of salt and iron."

Seeing Guo Si calling him by his given name in front of everyone, Li Jue was secretly annoyed. However, considering the current situation, Li Jue could not get angry and could only smile and say, "When the Prime Minister was alive, he praised Zhang Yu's military strategy. Moreover, Zhang Yu's reputation was so great in Hebei that we should not underestimate him now that we are in a stalemate."

Zhang Ji pondered for a moment and said, "Why not send scouts across the river to investigate Zhang Yu's military movements? Or send another army across Fenglingjin to harass Zhang Yu's food supply route."

"Zhang Yu has many cavalrymen under his command. If he sends a small force across Fengling, I'm afraid he will advance without retreating!" Dong Yue said, "Ma Teng has stationed his troops in Mei County. I'm afraid he will join forces with Zhang Yu and Yuan Shu, or launch a surprise attack on Chang'an."

Guo Si said coldly: "If Ma Teng joins forces with Zhang Yu, he will probably be courting death!"

Li Jue frowned slightly, looked at the silent Jia Xu, and asked, "What do you think, Wenhe?"

Jia Xu stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then said, "Zhang Yu knew that our army was stationed in Puban, but he built a floating bridge. He must have other plans. In my opinion, Zhang Yu might be making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, and he has sent troops to sneak across the river from somewhere else!"

"Founding in the east and attacking in the west?"

Li Jue muttered for a moment and asked, "Where will Zhang Yu cross the river?"

Jia Xu said, "When Han Xin conquered Wei, Wei blocked Puban, preventing Han Xin from attacking Anyi in the west. However, Han Xin acted as a bluff, pretending to leave Puban to cross the river, but actually crossed the river from Longmen with a wooden urn. So Xu's prediction was correct. Zhang Yu should follow Han Xin's strategy and send elite troops to occupy Longmen."

"Smuggling through Longmen?"

When Jia Xu said this, the expressions of the generals in the tent changed slightly. If Zhang Yu really occupied Longmen, the river would no longer be dangerous, and they would have to confront Zhang Yu in Guanzhong. Once Zhang Yu arrived in Guanzhong, the potential loyalists in Guanzhong might lean towards Zhang Yu.

Li Jue thought for only a moment, then immediately ordered: "Guo Duo, you lead your troops to Longmen. If you encounter Zhang Yu's troops, be sure to stop them at Longmen and don't let them enter Guanzhong."

"it is good!"

Faced with a powerful enemy, Guo Si did not care about gains and losses and just took the order and left the tent.

After Guo Si left the tent, Li Jue asked, "Now that Ma Teng has stationed his troops in Mei County, what should we do?"

Jia Xu thought for a moment and said, "Ma Teng has a kind personality and is not a man who would rebel without reason. If the general is suspicious of Ma Teng, I have two strategies for the general to choose from to prevent Ma Teng from attacking Chang'an."

"First, issue an edict in the name of the emperor, asking Ma Teng to lead his troops back to Longyou. If Ma Teng disobeys, you can send troops to attack him. Second, transfer Ma Teng to Wuguan. If Ma Teng disobeys the military order, you can immediately send troops to attack him. If Ma Teng hesitates, then Ma Teng must be plotting something unlawful."

Li Jue nodded slightly and said hesitantly: "Let me think about it for a while!"

Seeing that Li Jue had his own opinions, Jia Xu stopped talking. In his opinion, talking too much would be useless, and it still depended on whether Li Jue was willing to listen.

After talking about the arrangements, Jia Xu and the others left the big tent. However, after leaving the big tent, Duan Wei secretly approached Jia Xu.

"Wenhe, our army is now in a standoff with Zhang Yu. I wonder who will win or lose?" Duan Wei asked.

Duan Wei, courtesy name Zhongming, was from the same hometown as Jia Xu, so he was the younger brother of Grand Commandant Duan Jiong. Because he was born into a noble family and with the support of his elder brother Duan Jiong, Duan Wei was highly valued in the Eastern Han army, so he was not a trusted subordinate of Dong Zhuo.

In the struggle between the imperial court and Dong Zhuo, Duan Wei had always been neutral, so he was not valued by Dong Zhuo and stationed troops in Huayin for a long time. After Wang Yun killed Dong Zhuo, Duan Wei surrendered to Wang Yun, and when Li Jue and Guo Si swept Guanzhong, he turned to the Guanzhong rebels.

Now Zhang Yu has convened a meeting with the princes and stationed his troops in Puban. Duan Wei does not know who will win or lose, and is afraid that if he puts too much effort in, Zhang Yu will settle accounts with him after the victory.

Jia Xu seemed to see what Duan Wei was thinking, and asked with a smile, "General Duan, do you not want to make an enemy of Zhang Yu?"

Seeing his thoughts exposed, Duan Wei smiled awkwardly and said, "Wenhe is very smart and resourceful. I admire him very much!"

"Li Jue and Guo Si are brave but not wise, and are far inferior to Dong Gong. The reason why the two of them got together is that Zhang Yu had a large number of troops outside, and with his despicable views, the two of them might not last long. However, Zhang Yu was powerful in Hebei and obeyed the imperial edict to fight against the bandits, hoping to emulate the story of Ji Zhou's restoration, which won the hearts of the court officials."

Zhang Yu's political idea of "following the story of Ji Zhou's revival" not only won the approval of the princes, but also the court officials were reluctantly satisfied. After all, the Han Dynasty has declined until now, and it is not unacceptable if it can continue to survive.

Jia Xu stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Yuan Shu is aiming at the Central Plains. His current expedition to Wuguan is nothing more than a response to Zhang Yu's use of force. General, you have no intention of clashing with Zhang Yu, so why not ask General Li for permission to lead troops south to Wuguan to prepare for Yuan Shu's surprise attack on Chang'an."

Hearing this, Duan Wei suddenly understood and said with a smile: "Thank you Wenhe for your guidance. I am very grateful."

"Don't dare!"

Jia Xu helped Duan Wei to leave the dispute, but he also had plans for himself. If Guo and Li were defeated, then he would surrender to Zhang Yu, which would give him a chance to advance.

(End of this chapter)