The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 180 Set Sail and Xu Huang Makes a Move
Cao Cao quickly ordered that Xia Houyuan, the general who conquered the west, be the governor, and Cao Zhi, the general of Pingnan Zhonglang, be the supervisor of the thirteen armies including Zhang He, Zhu Heng, and Yin Gai. More than [-] people guarded Hanzhong. He was stationed at Jiameng Pass and confronted Zhang Fei.Protector General Cao Hong led the prefect of Hanzhong to mobilize food, grass and supplies for the army.At the same time, Cao Cao ordered Xu Huang, general of Pingkou, to lead generals Xu Shang, Lu Jian and others to go down the Han River, directly attack Xiangyang and Fancheng, and copy Guan Yu's rear route to relieve the pressure on Wancheng.He returned to Guanzhong with his own people, exited from Hangu Pass, recruited troops from various counties all the way, and rushed to Luoyang.

The war on the western front entered a stalemate. Cao Cao left, and Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief, but he was not completely relieved. Cao Jun had entered the heart of Bashu, and Xia Houyuan was still under considerable pressure. After the war, Yizhou's financial resources had been exhausted. A counterattack cannot be organized in a short time.What made Liu Bei even more angry was that Fazheng was terminally ill, bedridden, and one leg had already entered the gate of hell.

The only thing that can comfort Liu Bei is Guan Yu's big victory in Nanyang. He was captured in World War I, Fancheng was defeated in World War II, and Cao Ren was captured alive.Liu Bei, who had freed up his hands, sent his adopted son Liu Feng, who had just made military exploits, to lead 5000 people to Nanyang to help Guan Yu. Although there were not many people, it was out of his heart.

Soon, Liu Bei received another piece of good news. Li Yan, the prefect of Qianwei and Xingye General Li Yan, led [-] soldiers from the county to smash the thieves Ma Gao, Qin Sheng and others in Zizhong County. The riots in Qianwei County have been restored.Liu Bei was overjoyed, and made Li Yan a general of the auxiliary Han, leading the county as before.

In addition to the good news, there is also a lot of bad news.Zhuge Liang urgently reported that because buying food from Jiangdong cost a lot of copper coins, there is not enough copper coins in circulation in Yizhou now, the market prices are soaring, and people's livelihood is difficult. Cao Yu Liuba, the west of General Zuo's mansion, suggested casting thousands of coins to alleviate the crisis. .Without further ado, Liu Bei agreed to Liu Ba's suggestion.Liu Ba's method had already seen results last time, but this time it was just repeating the old trick.

In contrast, Sun Quan's life is the best now.He was not short of food, and made a lot of money from Yizhou. Guan Yu's Northern Expedition, his western front was no longer a threat. Although Xiahou Dun in the north put him under a lot of pressure, his pressure was limited to the north of the river. With the help of the navy, the Jiangdong navy finally regained its advantage, and Zang Ba's Qingxu navy could only guard the gate of the village.He only sent more than 1 people from Sun Shao and Sun Jiao, and he could sit and watch the Cao and Liu families be beaten to death.

He really tasted the benefits of being rich. If he didn't have Jiaozhou's 30-year reserve, how could he be so stable, earn Liu Bei's money, and be a big favor?He decided that after Sun Shao finished the battle, let him go to sea to do business, so that he would not have to worry about Sun Shao's growing strength and cause him trouble, but also could bring more wealth. At the same time, let him go to Liaodong to buy horses. With enough war horses, Sun Quan is sure to defend the Jianghuai area, and he no longer has to worry about being attacked by Cao Jun's iron cavalry at any time and falling into a passive beating situation.

Just when Sun Quan was satisfied, Lu Meng sent good news that Xiahou Dun in Jiangbei had retreated, and the Qingxu navy had withdrawn to Chaohu.Lu Meng believed that it was Sun Shao and Guan Yu who attacked Wancheng, threatening Xu County and Luoyang. Xiahou Dun withdrew to Yuzhou to protect the left wing of Xu County. Take the two counties of Jiujiang and Lujiang, and bring all the large areas south of the Huai River into Jiangdong's sphere of influence.In this way, Sun Quan can not only occupy all of Yangzhou, but also gain a foothold between the Jianghuai River and the Huaihe River, and the defense line of the Yangtze River will be more stable.Although there are few people in the Jianghuai area now, they are familiar with the land, which is very suitable for farming, which will further strengthen Jiangdong's strength.After occupying Jianghuai, you can further plot Yuzhou and Xuzhou.

Sun Quan was very happy, and he ordered Lu Meng and Jiang Qin to prepare to attack Hefei.In view of the lessons learned in the Hefei city last time, he decided to eliminate the Qingxu navy stationed in Chaohu first, so as to relieve his worries, and then fight steadily.

Just when Sun Quan and Liu Bei were full of confidence and relieved, Guan Yu encountered a major problem.

After capturing Xiangyang and Fancheng, after he took over the defeated troops of Yu Jin, Cao Ren and Lu Chang, the number of prisoners reached [-], which was close to the number of his army, and the food consumption also increased sharply, although he had already sent some of the prisoners to Jiangling However, the number of these captives was too many, far exceeding his pre-estimates, the rate of food consumption increased greatly, and the army was once again in danger of running out of food.Although Jiang Dong has been giving him subsidies, but these subsidies are not free, they need to be bought with money, and he has no money now, and it is a problem to keep the original amount, not to mention that he wants Sun Quan to provide more .

Under such circumstances, some people suggested that some of the captives be killed, especially the wounded ones. Killing them not only saves some food, but also saves valuable medicinal materials. Many of these people have become disabled. It is impossible to become a soldier or a farmer again, and it is useless to keep it. It is better to kill it.

Guan Yu flatly refused. He was not allowed to kill any captives. In order to solve the food crisis, he asked Liu Bei for help, hoping that Liu Bei would buy another batch of grain from Jiangdong, and rushed to Wancheng to ask Sun Shao for help to solve this problem. He hopes to use Sun Shao's power to buy relatively cheap grain from Jiangdong to alleviate his crisis.

However, this is not what made him most nervous. The news that made him most nervous was delivered to him when he was about to arrive in Wancheng——Xu Huang set off from Hanzhong with more than 1 people, went down the river, and now he has arrived In Fancheng, Guan Yu only left more than 5000 men in Xiangyang and Fancheng in order to ensure sufficient troops. Facing Xu Huang's attack, Sun Jiao had no choice but to take the risk and take the initiative to take the initiative, leading his navy to meet him.Although Xu Huang went down the river, he used a civilian boat instead of a warship. Facing the Jiangdong navy, Xu Huang didn't make too much entanglement. He abandoned the boat and landed, before Sun Jiao made an effective response. Conquered Fancheng.

Now that there is food, Sun Jiao can't bring it over. Xu Huang turned the tide of the battle as soon as he made a move. Sun Shao and Guan Yu's tens of thousands of troops are facing a huge crisis.Sun Jiao was very anxious, but he didn't have enough troops, so he could only defend Xiangyang, and at the same time sent a fast horse to send a message to Guan Yu, asking him to return to the army immediately and recapture Fancheng.

Guan Yu was not reconciled, the others had already arrived outside Wancheng, how could they just retreat like this?But it won't work if you don't return it. If there is no food, he won't be able to support it for a long time.At this time, Yin Guan suggested to let Sun Shao go back immediately. Xu Huang is a famous general. Even if Sun Jiao is not injured, he may not be Xu Huang's opponent. Only when Sun Shao goes back can he be able to stop Xu Huang and open up the lifeline again.

Guan Yu felt the same way. He had a good relationship with Xu Huang and knew Xu Huang's ability well. Besides himself, probably only Sun Shao could be Xu Huang's opponent.So he hurried to Wancheng to discuss with Sun Shao.However, when he arrived in Wancheng, he did not see Sun Shao. It was Cui Qian who was in charge of the affairs of the camp, and Zhou Xun was his deputy, but Sun Shao himself disappeared.Guan Yu was taken aback. Right now there are more than 3 troops outside Wancheng plus the rebel army, but the main general, Sun Shao, is missing?
Cui Qian was very polite: "General Sun took the Fengfeng camp to Xiangcheng yesterday."

"Xiangcheng?" Guan Yu immediately understood what Sun Shao meant.Xiangcheng is Cao Cao's administrative office of Diannong Zhonglang in Yuzhou. The autumn harvest has just finished, and there must be a large amount of grain in storage. Once Xiangcheng is captured, the food crisis can be alleviated, not only can save the hard work of transporting grain , It can also cause Cao Jun to fall into a passive situation of lack of food because of the enemy's food.

Good idea, but, isn't it too little to bring only the Destroying Front Battalion?Even if Xiangyang's garrison soldiers are not strong in combat effectiveness, how can Cao Cao sit back and watch Xiangcheng fall?When the army arrives at that time, even if the Destroying Front Battalion can stand against ten, it is impossible for them to be opponents.

"General Sun left a message, please rush to Xiangcheng as soon as General Guan arrives, and at the same time bring more civilians, as Xiangcheng has a lot of food." Cui Qian said with a smile.He was very satisfied with Sun Shao's arrangement. In order to solve the food problem, Guan Yu must not stay in Wancheng for too long, so Cui Qian should be responsible for Wancheng.There are only 5000 people in Wancheng, and there are nearly [-] troops outside the city. Although the combat effectiveness of those rebels is not strong, the momentum is very scary.It is not difficult to win Wancheng, it is tantamount to giving him credit for nothing.

Guan Yu is not a fool either, he knows Sun Shao's small plan, but compared to conquering Xu County, he really has no interest in Wancheng.After staying for a while, he immediately rushed to Xiangcheng with a large army and a large number of rebels to join Sun Shao-although the rebels were not good at fighting, they were more than enough to be civilians.

Ten miles outside the city of Xiangcheng, in a small village called Yangrenju on the west bank of Rushui, Sun Shao was looking at Sun Lang who hurried in with a straw of fresh rice in his mouth.Sun Lang was originally a commoner of Lu Hun. When Cao Cao attacked Hanzhong, Sun Lang and others were conscripted to serve in Guanzhong. Guanzhong was too far away, and the war was fierce. He was afraid that he would never return, so he simply gathered some people to kill Lu Hun. The master book broke through Luhun County.Zhang Gu, head of Lu Hun, broke out with a few defeated generals, and he went south to Guan Yu, who gave him the seal and ribbon of a captain of Xingyi, and then gave him 200 men, and asked him to go back to Lu Hun to recruit troops.After Sun Shao arrived in Wancheng, he brought more than 3000 people to vote, which was quite a powerful force among the rebels.This time Sun Shao was going to attack Xiangcheng by surprise. He took a hundred brothers and volunteered to be the guide.

Sun Werewolf, as its name suggests, is tall and thin, with a long face and fierce eyes. When speaking, he always grits his teeth unconsciously, as if he wants to bite the person opposite to death.

"General, Yan Kuang has been busy with the autumn harvest for the past few days, and his defenses are very lax. My brothers have gone in several times, but they haven't noticed."

"That's good." Sun Shao smiled, spit out the straw in his mouth with a "pooh", reached out and patted Sun Lang on the shoulder vigorously: "Brother Wolf, if you can succeed this time, you are the first Gong. If you hadn't led the way, I wouldn't have the ability to hide beside Yan Kuang's couch."

Sun Lang grinned, and turned to look at Zhou Dory, who looked calm: "This is thanks to Captain Zhou. He is very proficient in using time. I, Sun Lang, feel ashamed."

Sun Shao smiled and turned his gaze to Zhou Bing. Zhou Bing cupped his hands and said calmly: "Yan Kuang has more than 7000 field soldiers, and most of them are harvesting outside. There are only 2000 guarding Xiangcheng. As long as they can touch Entering the city, it should not be a problem to occupy Xiangcheng."

"How about Yan Kuang?"

"He seems to have some complaints." Zhou Dory smiled calmly, "He often drinks."

Sun Shao gave Zhou Dory a puzzled look, thinking that the person you arranged is so powerful that even Yan Kuang knows that he likes to drink?But that's fine too, the more careless Yan Kuang is, the better his chances will be.

"Has the surrounding fields been harvested?"

"Not yet, but more than half of it is completed. It is estimated that in two days, it will basically be over."

Sun Shao nodded: "Then do it tomorrow morning."

"Here." Zhou Dory answered for a day and started to prepare.

Sun Shao turned his head and said to Chen Hai, Ding Feng and others: "Let the brothers have a good meal, and then sleep well, and go to Xiangcheng for breakfast tomorrow morning."

Chen Hai and Ding Feng laughed, turned around and left.

"Shu Wu, are you afraid?" Sun Shao looked at the motionless Sun Huan.Sun Huan smiled: "There is nothing to be afraid of. Fancheng has been taken, and we have not encountered any resistance all the way to Wancheng. It should not be a problem to take Xiangcheng." He paused, pondered for a moment and asked Said: "It's just, after taking Xiangcheng, will we still move forward?"

Sun Shao glanced at him, then snapped off a new straw and bit it in his mouth: "What do you think?"

"I don't think I can go any further."

"why?"

"Going forward is Xu County, where the emperor is. Outside the city is the Prime Minister Changshi's battalion. The defense is much stronger than that of Xiangcheng. Moreover, there are many field soldiers outside Xiangcheng. It is impossible for us to completely control them. The news Leakage is inevitable, and it is almost unrealistic to think about a sneak attack. And..."

Sun Shao looked at the hesitant Sun Huan and smiled: "Just say what you have to say, you are hesitating."

Sun Huan smiled embarrassedly, and continued, "If we attack Xu County, if the emperor is injured, how can we bear the charge? If the emperor is safe and sound, I'm afraid it may not be a good thing."

Sun Shao nodded, he had also considered this issue.The Son of Heaven is a double-edged sword now. Of course it is useful to seize it, but there are also many problems. Whether it is Liu Bei or Sun Quan, they all want to be the boss by themselves. Putting on a tight spell, just like Cao Cao now, how to deal with it may be a big trouble. There are too many relationships involved, and it is far beyond his ability to decide.

"Let's talk about taking down Xiangcheng." Sun Shao waved his hand, putting this question on hold for the time being.He had to wait for Guan Yu to come and discuss it with Guan Yu before making a decision.

……

Diannong Zhonglang General Yan Kuang looked at the young man standing in front of him with a look of impatience.This little official named Deng Ai couldn't speak well, but he talked a lot. In the past two days, he has spoken to him three times.He said that there was something abnormal on the west bank of Rushui, and asked him to send someone to check it out, just in case.What is there to see on the west bank of Rushui?Although it is not within the scope of his farming, there are often patrols passing by there. There has been no unusual news in the past two days. How could something happen?

"Deng Ai, you mean, there might be a sneak attack by rebels?"

Deng Ai nodded, although he was a little nervous, but he was very sure of his own judgment. "General...General, Guan Yu, Sun...Sun Shao marched into Wancheng. The army and the rebels totaled 4 to [-] people. They cannot meet their needs by relying solely on the... Food, now there are tens of thousands more soldiers, and the food shortage will be even more serious. Although Jiangdong can support them, how much can they support? Therefore, Xiangcheng, which has sufficient food reserves, must be their target. Please Take precautions, general." He stuttered a little, so he spoke very slowly, and he seemed to say every word carefully, and he presented a bamboo slip with both hands: "This... this is the statistics of this subordinate for the past two days , the news from the West Bank... the news is [-]% less than usual."

Yan Kuang took a look at the bamboo slips, and burst out laughing. He felt that Deng Ai was talking nonsense. How could there be a large army there? If there was a large army, so many patrolling soldiers would not be able to find it?If it's a small team, what if it comes?Can he take Xiangcheng?But if he disagrees, then this little stutter will definitely haunt him.He thought for a while, nodded and said, "Well, take something with you to have a look, and if there are indeed rebels, report to me immediately." After speaking, he waved his hand and let Deng Ai go out.

Deng Ai hesitated to speak, he knew that he was humble, and Yan Kuang could give him some face if he could do anything to him.He secretly sighed, bowed his thanks, turned and walked out the door.Standing outside the door was a handsome young man about his age, who was his good friend Shi Bao.

"Shi Zai, how is it?" Shi Bao asked with concern.

"General Yan give me something, let me go...to check it out." Deng Ai lit up the order talisman in his hand.

"Only ten words?" Shi Bao was a little nervous, "If we really encounter an ambush, wouldn't it be impossible to return?"

Deng Ai smiled wryly, "It's not... not bad to be able to give anything." He said as he walked, "I...I also hope that I'm too...too nervous, see...wrong."

Shi Bao nodded. To be honest, he also felt that Deng Ai was thinking too much.Although Sun Shao and Guan Yu surrounded Wancheng, Wancheng is still more than 300 miles away from here. How can the submerged army penetrate more than 1000 miles?Whether it is Sun Shao or Guan Yu, there are not so many cavalry.If it is a large army, it is impossible to hide their whereabouts. If it is a small group of people, apart from harassment, what role can it play?Now that most of the farmland has been harvested, when the city gate is closed, Xiangcheng will be safe.

However, as Deng Ai's good friend, he didn't hit Deng Ai, he thought it would be better to let the facts speak for Deng Ai.The two of them led a group of field soldiers, left Xiangcheng, crossed the Ru River, and headed west.Those ten people were a little unhappy when they heard that they were going to inquire about the military situation with this little stutterer.Busy with harvesting these days, he was exhausted, so he finally returned to the city to rest for two days, and then went out to patrol again, so he complained constantly along the way.Deng Ai didn't say a word, and led them one by one to the village that he thought was most likely to ambush people.

After sunset, they came to Yangrenjuwai.The hungry and thirsty soldiers saw a village, and before Deng Ai ordered to rest, they rushed forward.After running for a whole day, I can finally find someone to eat some hot food, drink some hot water, and then sleep peacefully.As for Deng Ai, they didn't pay attention to him from the beginning to the end. What's the use of a small official who settles accounts?

Deng Ai had no choice but to follow in dejectedly.As the day went on, he was not so sure about his own judgment, maybe the missing third was just a normal accident.After walking a few steps, Deng Ai suddenly felt something strange. He stopped, pulled out the knife from his waist and looked around, and suddenly felt a chill rushing along the spine to the back of his head, making him feel chills all over his body.

"Quick...stop!" Deng Ai yelled.

"What's the matter?" Shi Bao, who was staggering a little, looked at the nervous Deng Ai casually: "What's the problem?"

"No...you can't go in, there's an ambush in the village." Deng Ai shouted, rushing up to grab the elder, pointing to the empty village and saying, "There's an ambush."

"What's the ambush?" Shi Chang shook off Deng Ai's hand impatiently.

"There is...no one in the village." Deng Ai blushed anxiously, his eyes opened wide: "There is no one...not at all."

Shi Chang also fought in war before, and he also felt strange when he heard what Deng Ai said.Now is the autumn harvest season, farmers usually have to be busy until dark before returning home in order to grab the harvest. This time should be the bustling time, but this village is quiet, not only can’t see the farmers returning home, but also Not even children playing, not even a dog.

"Retreat!" Without further ado, Shi Chang immediately drew his knife and gave the order to retreat loudly.Although the field soldiers were reluctant, they did not dare to disobey Shichang's order. They all clenched their weapons, formed a loose formation around Shichang, and quickly withdrew to the outside of the village.

Unfortunately, it was too late. With a few "swish" sounds, a few jumped off the big tree beside the road into the village, waving the long knife in his hand, and looked at them with a smile. A few people got out and surrounded the twelve people.

"Boy, although you don't speak well, you are very alert." Chen Hai put his hands behind his back, and slowly pushed towards Deng Ai, and glanced contemptuously at the ten field soldiers whose foreheads were covered with sweat: "Put it down." Surrender your weapons, you cannot be our opponents."

Deng Ai glanced at Chen Hai and the soldiers behind him who seemed to be in a loose formation, and knew that Chen Hai was right.These cold-faced soldiers not only wore iron armor, but also stood in clever positions, blocking all possible paths for them, leaving no chance.More importantly, he could see from the excellent equipment and sturdy bodies of these people that these people were the best of the best, and they were far beyond what they, the field soldiers, could match.

"Who are you...?" Although Deng Ai was nervous, he didn't panic.

"They are my personal guard battalion, called Destroying Feng." Sun Shao strode out, looked at Deng Ai and Shi Bao, and smiled: "Are you the patrol team from Xiangcheng?"

(End of this chapter)