Chapter 88 Xu Huang's action

Cao Wei quickly ordered that Xia Houyuan, the general of the Western Expedition, was the governor, Cao Zhi, the general of Pingnan Zhonglang, as the supervisor, and the thirteen armies such as Zhang Hexu, Zhu Heng and Yin Gai. More than 30,000 people guarded Hanzhong. Cao Xiu, the general of Li Feng, led more than 10,000 people stationed in Jianmengguan and confronted Zhang Fei. Cao Hong, the general of Duhu, led the governor of Hanzhong to mobilized grain, fodder and weight for the army. At the same time, Cao Qian ordered Ping Kou General Xu Huang to lead the generals Xu Shang and Lv Jian to go down from the Han River, directly hit Xiangyang and Fancheng, and copy the back road of Guan Yu to relieve the pressure of Wancheng. He himself took people back to Guanzhong, went out of the customs from Hangu Pass, recruited people from various counties all the way, and rushed to Luoyang.

The war on the western front has entered a deadlock stage. Cao Jian left. Liu Bei was relieved, but he was not completely relieved. Cao's army had entered the heart of Bashu, and Xia Houyuan still maintained considerable pressure. After the war, Yizhou's financial resources had been exhausted and he could not organize a counterattack in a short time. What made Liu Bei even more angry was that Fa Zheng was terminally ill, bedridden, and one leg had stepped into the ghost gate.

What can comfort Liu Bei a little is only about Yu's victory in Nanyang. He was captured in the first battle, broke Fancheng in World War II, and Cao Ren was captured alive. This is tantamount to a shot of a boost for the morale of Yizhou's morale that has fallen into a trough. Liu Bei, who was freed, sent his adopted son Liu Feng, who had just made great achievements, to lead 5,000 people to Nanyang to help Guan Yu. Although there were not many people, it was also a heartfelt.

Soon, Liu Bei received another good news. Li Yan, the Taishou and the general of Xingye, led 5,000 county soldiers, and the thieves Ma Gao, Qin Sheng and others were in Zizhong County. The chaotic Qianwei County has been restored to pacification. Liu Bei was overjoyed and appointed Li Yan as the general of Fu 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 he spent a large amount of copper money on buying grain from Jiangdong, now there is not enough copper money in Yizhou to circulate, market prices are soaring, and people's livelihood is difficult. Cao Yue and Liu Ba in the west of General Zuo's mansion suggested casting a thousand yuan to alleviate the crisis. Liu Bei didn't say anything and agreed to Liu Ba's suggestion. Liu Ba's method has seen results last time, but this time it's just a repeat of the old trick.

In contrast, Sun Quan's son is the best now. He was not short of food and made a lot of money from Yizhou. Guan Yu's northern expedition, and his western line was no threat. Although Xiahou Dun in the north put a lot of pressure on him, his pressure was limited to the north of the north of the river. With the help of the Zhendan navy, the Jiangdong navy finally won the advantage. Zang Ba's Qingxu navy could only guard the village gate. He just sent more than 10,000 people from Sun Shao and Sun Gao, and he could safely watch the Cao and Liu families fight.

He really tasted the benefits of money. If he hadn't had been in Jiaozhou for 30 years of reserve, how could he be so stable that he not only made Liu Bei's money, but also made a human favor? He has made up his mind that when Sun Shao finishes the war, he will still let him go to sea to do business, so that he does not have to worry about Sun Shao's growth in trouble for him, but also to bring more wealth. At the same time, let him go to Liaodong to buy horses. Once he has enough horses, Sun Quan will be sure to defend the Jianghuai area. He doesn't have to worry about being driven by Cao's army at any time. Impact, falling into a passive beating situation.

Just when Sun Quan was satisfied, Lv Meng sent a good news. Xiahou Dun in Jiangbei retreated, and Qingxu Shuishi withdrew to Chaohu. Lv Meng believed that this was Sun Shao and Guan Yu attacking Wancheng, threatening Xu County and Luoyang. Xiahou Dun needed to withdraw to Yuzhou and protect the left wing of Xu County. In order to support Sun Shao and Guan Yu, he suggested that he should immediately attack Hefei and Shouchun, take all the two counties of Jiujiang and Lujiang, and include all the large areas south of Huaishui into the power of Jiangdong. Surrounding. In this way, Sun Quan can not only occupy Yangzhou, but also gain a foothold between Jianghuai, and the Yangtze River defense line will be more stable. Although there are few people in Jianghuai now, the land is familiar, which is very suitable for Tuntian, which will further enhance the strength of Jiangdong. After occupying Jianghuai, we can further plot in Yuzhou and Xuzhou.

Sun Quan was very happy. He ordered Lu Meng and Jiang Qin to prepare to attack Hefei. In view of the lesson in Hefei City last time, he decided to first eliminate the Qingxu Shuishi stationed in Chaohu, 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 Lv Chang, the number of prisoners reached 30,000, which was close to the number of his army, and the food consumption also increased sharply. Although he had sent some of the prisoners to Jiangling and the public security to settle down, the number of these prisoners was too many, far exceeding his It is estimated that the speed of food consumption has greatly increased, and the army is in danger of food shortage again. Although Jiang Dong has been subsidizing him, these subsidies are not free and need to be bought with money, and he is now out of money. It is a problem to keep the original amount, not to mention that he wants Sun Quan to provide more.

In this case, some people have suggested that killing some of the prisoners, especially those who are injured, can not only save part of the food, but also save valuable medicinal materials. Many of these people have become disabled, and it is impossible to become soldiers or farmers in the future. It is useless to keep them. No Like killing.

Guan Yu categorically refused. He was not allowed to kill any prisoners. In order to solve the food crisis, he asked Liu Bei for support, hoping that Liu Bei would buy another batch of grain from Jiangdong. On the other hand, he rushed to Wancheng and asked Sun Shao to help solve this problem. He hoped to use Sun Shao's power to buy it relatively cheaper from Jiangdong. Food to alleviate his crisis.

However, this is not the most nervous thing. The news that made him most nervous was sent to him when he was about to arrive in Wancheng - Xu Huang set out from Hanzhong with more than 10,000 people and went down the water. Now he has arrived in Fancheng. In order to ensure that there are enough troops, Guan Yu only left more than 5,000 people in Xiangyang and Fancheng. In the face of Xu Huang's attack, Sun Gao had no choice but to take the initiative and take his sailor to meet him. Although Xu Huang went down the river, he used a civilian ship without a warship. In the face of the Jiangdong navy, Xu Huang did not do much entanglement. He abandoned the boat and landed and conquered Fancheng before Sun Gao's effective response.

Now there is food, and Sun Zhuo can't be transported here. Xu Huang turned the war around as soon as he took action. Sun Shao and Guan Yu's tens of thousands of troops were facing a huge crisis. Sun Gao was very anxious, but he didn't have enough troops. On the one hand, he had to defend Xiangyang and sent a fast horse to send a message to Guan Yu, asking him to return immediately and recapture Fancheng.

Guan Yu is unwilling. He has arrived outside Wancheng. How can he retreat like this? But it doesn't work if you don't return it. If there is no food, he won't support it for long. At this time, Yin Guan suggested that Sun Shao should go back immediately. Xu Huang is a famous general. I'm afraid that Sun Zhao is not an opponent of Xu Huang even if he is not injured. Only when Sun Shao goes back can he block Xu Huang and reopen the lifeline.

Guan Yu feels the same way. He has a good relationship with Xu Huang and knows Xu Huang's ability. In addition to himself, only Sun Shao can 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. Cui Qian presided over the camp affairs. Zhou Xun was the deputy, but Sun Shao himself disappeared. Guan Yu was shocked. At present, there are more than 30,000 people in the army outside Wancheng and the rebel army, but the general Sun Shao is missing?

Cui Qian was very polite: "General Sun took the destroyer camp to Xiangcheng yesterday."

"Xiangcheng?" Guan Yu immediately understood Sun Shao's meaning. Xiangcheng is the general's office of Cao Jian's Diang Zhonglang in Yuzhou. At present, the autumn harvest has just been completed, and there must be a large amount of grain stored. Once Xiangcheng is taken, the food crisis can be alleviated. It can not only save the hard work of transporting grain, but also make Cao's army fall into a passive situation of food shortage because of grain.

It's a good idea, but isn't it too little to lead the destroyer camp? Even if the combat effectiveness of Xiangyang's Tuntian soldiers is not strong, how can Cao Qian sit back and watch Xiangcheng lose? When the army arrives, even if the destroyer camp can be one for ten, it can't be an opponent.

"General Sun left a message and asked General Guan to rush to Xiangcheng as soon as he arrived. At the same time, he took more people with him. There was a lot of food in Xiangcheng." Cui Qian said with a smile. He is very satisfied with Sun Shao's arrangement. In order to solve the food problem, Guan Yu must not stay in Wancheng more, so Wancheng's credit is Cui Qian's. There are only four or five thousand people in Wancheng, and there are nearly 30,000 troops outside the city. Although the combat effectiveness of those rebels is not strong, the momentum is very scary. It's not difficult to take Wancheng. It's equivalent to giving him credit for nothing.

Guan Yu is not a fool. He knows Sun Shao's little abacus, but he is really not interested in Wancheng compared with conquering Xu County. After a short stay, he immediately took the army and a large number of rebels to Xiangcheng to join Sun Shao. Although the rebels could not fight, it was more than enough to be a civilian.

Ten miles outside Xiangcheng City, in a small village called Yangrenju on the west bank of the Ru River, Sun Shao was talking about a rice straw with a fresh smell and looked at Sun Lang who hurried in. Sun Lang was originally a people of Lu Hun. Cao Yan attacked Hanzhong. Sun Lang and others were conscripted to Guanzhong for service. Guanzhong was too far away, and the war was fierce. He was afraid that he would not return. He simply entangled with some people to kill Lu Hun's main book and broke through Lu Hun County. Lu Hunchang Zhang Gu broke out with several defeated generals. He threw himself into Guan Yu in the south. Guan Yu gave him a seal of a righteous captain, and then gave him 200 people to go back to Lu Hun to recruit people. After Sun Shao arrived in Wancheng, he came with more than 3,000 people to vote, which was a powerful one of the rebels. This time, Sun Shao was going to attack Xiangcheng. He took a hundred and ten brothers and volunteered to be a guide.

Sun Werewolf, as his name is, thin and tall, with a long face, and his eyes are fierce. When he speaks, he always bites his teeth unconsciously, as if to bite the person opposite to death.

"General, Yan Kuang has been busy with the autumn harvest these days, and his defense is very relaxed. My brother went in several times, but they didn't find it."

"This is good." Sun Shao smiled, spit out the rice straw in his mouth with a "Bah", reached out and patted Sun Lang on the shoulder: "Brother Wolf, if you can succeed this time, you will be the first. If you hadn't led the way, I wouldn't have the ability to hide on the side of Yan Kuang's couch.

Sun Lang smiled and turned his head to look at Zhou Yu with a calm face: "This is the credit of Lieutenant Zhou. He is very proficient in use, and I, Sun Lang, am ashamed of myself."

Sun Shao smiled and turned his eyes to Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu arched his hand and said calmly, "There are more than 7,000 soldiers under Yan Kuang's hands. Now most of them are harvesting outside, and only 2,000 people are guarding Xiangcheng. As long as you can touch the city, it should not be a problem to occupy Xiangcheng.

"How about Yan Kuang?"

"He seems to have some complaints." Zhou Kun smiled quietly and said, "I often drink."

Sun Shao looked at Zhou Yu inexplicablely and said that the person you arranged was so powerful that he even knew that Yan Kuang liked to drink? However, this is also good. The more Yan Kuang is paralyzed, the greater his chance.

"Have all the surrounding fields been harvested?"

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

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

"Oh." Zhou Yu took a day to prepare.

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

Chen Hai and Ding Feng smiled and turned around.

"Uncle Wu, are you afraid?" Sun Shao looked at the motionless Sun Huan. Sun Huan smiled and said, "What's there to be afraid of? Fan Cheng has taken it down. We have not suffered any resistance all the way to Wancheng. It should not be a problem to take Xiangcheng." He paused and pondered for a moment and asked, "It's just that after taking Xiangcheng, will we still move forward?"

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

"I don't think I can move forward any more."

"Why?"

"If you move forward again, you will find Xu County, where the emperor is located. There is a prime minister's history camp outside the city, and the defense is much stronger than Xiangcheng. Moreover, there are many soldiers outside Xiangcheng City. We can't completely control it. The leakage of information is inevitable, and it is almost unrealistic to make a sneak attack. And..."

Sun Shao looked at the hesitant Sun Huan and smiled: "If you have anything to say, you are hesitant."

Sun Huan smiled shyly and then said, "If we attack Xu County, how can we bear this charge if there is any damage? If the emperor is safe and sound, I'm afraid it may not be a good thing.

Sun Shao nodded, and he also considered this issue. The emperor is now a double-edged sword. Of course, it is useful to take it, but there are many problems. Whether it is Liu Bei or Sun Quan, they all want to be the boss and take away the emperor. While occupying morality, they also put a curse on themselves, just like the current Cao, how to deal with it may be a big one. Trouble, there are too many relationships involved, far from being able to make the decision.

"Take Xiangcheng and talk about it later." Sun Shao waved his hand and put this question aside for the time being. He has to wait for Guan Yu to come and discuss it with Guan Yu before making a decision.

... Yan Kuang, the middle man of the farmer, looked at the young man standing in front of him with an impatient face. This little official named Deng Ai didn't speak well, but he talked a lot. In the past two days, he has spoken to him three times. It is said that there is something abnormal on the west bank of the water, and he is asked to send someone to check it, just in case. What's good to see on the west bank of Rushui? Although it is not within the scope of his field, patrols often pass by there. There has been no abnormal news in the past two days. How can there be anything wrong?

"Deng Ai, do you mean that there may be rebels coming to attack?"

Deng Ai nodded. Although he was a little nervous, he was very confident in his judgment. General... General, Guan Yu, Sun... Sun Shao marched into Wancheng. There were 30,000 to 40,000 people in the army and the chaos. Relying only on water to transport grain could not meet their needs. Guan Yuben... was originally short of food, but now there are tens of thousands more soldiers, and the situation of food shortage will be more serious. Although Jiang Dong can support them, how much can he support? Therefore, Xiangcheng with sufficient grain reserves must be the target of their attack. Please guard against it. He stabbled a little, so he spoke slowly. Every word seemed to be said after careful consideration. He presented a piece of bamboo slip in his hands: "This... This is my subordinate's statistics for the past two days, from the West Bank... The news is 30% less than usual."

Yan Kuang took a look at Zhu Jian and laughed. He thought that Deng Ai was talking nonsense. How could there be a big army there? If there was a big army, so many patrol soldiers would not find it? If it's a team, what if it comes? Can he take Xiangcheng? But if he doesn't agree, then this little stab will definitely haunt him. He thought for a moment, nodded and said, "Well, take something to have a look. If there are indeed rebels, report it to me immediately." After saying that, he waved his hand and let Deng Ai go out.

Deng Ai wanted to stop talking. He knew that he was humble, and Yan Kuang's ability to give him something was enough to give him face. He sighed secretly, bowed and thanked him, and turned around and went out. Outside the door stood a handsome young man of his age, who was his good friend Shi Fu.

"Shi Zai, how's it going?" Shi Fu asked with concern.

"General Yan, give me something and let me... check it out." Deng Ailiang Liang Liang's talisman in his hand.

"Is it only ten words?" Shi Fu was a little nervous, "If you really want to meet an ambush, won't you go back?"

Deng Ai smiled bitterly, "It's not good to give anything." As he walked, he said, "I... I also hope I'm too... too nervous. Look... I'm wrong."

Shi Fu nodded. To be honest, he also felt that Deng Ai thought too much. Although Sun Shao and Guan Yu surrounded Wancheng, Wancheng is still more than 1,300 miles away from here. How can there be a submarine army that is more than 1,000 miles deep? Whether it's Sun Shao or Guan Yu, there are not so many cavalry. If a large army comes, it is impossible to hide its whereabouts. If it is a small line of people, what role can it play in addition to scratching? Now most of the farmland has been harvested. When the gate is closed, Xiangcheng will be foolproof.

However, as Deng Ai's good friend, he did not attack Deng Ai. He felt that it was better to let the truth speak to Deng Ai. The two led a group of soldiers, went out of Xiangcheng, crossed the Ru River, and went all the way to the west. The ten people were a little unhate when they heard that they were stuttering to inquire about the military situation. These days, I was busy harvesting and half-deadly tired. I finally went back to the city to rest for two days and went out to patrol, so I kept complaining all the way. Deng Ai didn't say anything and took them to the villages where they thought they were most likely to ambush.

After the fall, they came to the Yang people's gathering. The hungry and thirsty soldiers saw that there was a village. They rushed forward without Deng Ai's order to rest. After running for a day, I can finally find a family to eat some hot food, drink some hot water, and then sleep peacefully. As for Deng Ai, they didn't pay attention to it from beginning to end. What can a small accountant do?

Deng Ai had no choice but to follow in dejectedly. After this day, he was not so sure of his judgment. Maybe the missing third was just a normal accident. After a few steps, Deng Ai suddenly felt a little strange. He stopped, pulled out the knife around his waist and looked around. Suddenly, he felt a cold air rushing straight along the spine to the back of his head, making him cold all over.

"Quick...stop!" Deng Ai shouted loudly.

"What's the matter?" The staggering stone bud casually looked at the nervous Deng Ai: "What's the problem?"

"No... can't enter, there is an ambush in the village." As Deng Ai shouted, he rushed up and grabbed Shi Chang. He pointed to the empty village and said, "There is an ambush."

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

"There is no one in the village." Deng Ai blushed and his eyes were wide open: "No one... no one."

Shi Chang had also fought a war before. When he heard Deng Ai's words, he also felt strange. Now is the autumn harvest season. In order to grab the harvest, farmers usually have to go home until dark. This should be a lively time, but the village is quiet. Not only can't see the farmers who go home, but also can't see the playing children, not even a dog.

"Withdraw!" Without saying a word, he immediately pulled out his knife and gave the order to retreat loudly. Although the Tuntian soldiers were reluctant, they did not dare to disobey Shi Chang's order. They all clenched their weapons, formed a loose small array around Shi Chang, and quickly withdrew out of the village.

Unfortunately, everything was too late. With a few noises, he jumped down a few from the big tree beside the village road, shook the long knife in his hand, and looked at them with a smile. Then, the grass next to him drilled out a few more people from the middle and surrounded the twelve people in the middle.

"Ky, although the words are not good, the vigilance surname is quite high." Chen Hai put his hands behind his back and slowly forced Deng Ai over. He glanced contemptuously at the ten soldiers with sweat on their foreheads: "Put down your weapons and surrender. You can't be our opponents."

Deng Ai glanced at Chen Hai and the seemingly loose queue behind him, and knew that Chen Hai was right. These soldiers with cold faces not only wore iron armor, but also stood in a clever position, blocking all their possible roads to death, leaving no chance at all. More importantly, he can see from the excellent equipment and plagiarism bodies of these people that these people are the elite of the elite, far from being comparable to them.

"Who are you guys?" Although Deng Ai was nervous, he was not panicked.

"They are my personal guard camp, called Destroyer." Sun Shao strode out, looked at Deng Ai and Shi Fu, and smiled, "Are you a patrol from Xiangcheng?"

(to be continued)