Han Xiang

Chapter 451

Long Xiang was secretly doing trouble in Huainan, and Liu Bei and his new military adviser Zhuge Liang also quietly entered the village in the Handong area.

Cao Cao didn't know that Xu Shu was sitting in Wancheng, and before leaving Xudu, he sent Zhang He to Nanyang to test the situation, but Zhao Yun decisively sent troops to meet him.

The two sides encountered each other on the east bank of the Feishui River. Zhang Yun retreated to Bowang for defense after a small defeat, planning to stay for a while before returning to Xudu.

When the wheat in Nanyang was ripe, Xu Shu immediately used the tactics of suspicion and made a gesture of grabbing Bowang wheat.

Half of the young and strong in Bowang, Duyang, and Zhi counties were looted, and the current season's wheat production was less than [-]% of last year. Zhang Yun was not afraid of Zhao Yun leading troops to rob wheat, but he was afraid that the enemy's siege would cut off food and return.

Zhang Yun then led his troops out of the city to block them. During the battle, it was discovered that Zhao Yun's harvesting of wheat was false, but in fact he had laid an ambush in the wheat field.

After a fight, Zhang Yun was defeated by Zhao Yun and returned to Bowang, where he was stopped by the rain of arrows when he reached the city.

It turned out that Xu Shu took advantage of Zhang He's going out to fight, and ordered Shiren and Yuan Chen to use Zhang He's banner to deceive the defenders with 800 people and seize the city. Zhang He had to lead his troops to Duyang when he returned to the city.

The elite soldiers in Wancheng were transferred away by Liu Bei, and it would take a lot of money to swallow Zhang Yun's thousands of moves, so Xu Shu asked Zhao Yun to fight in a conventional way, and accept it when he sees it.

Xu Shu wanted to take advantage of Zhang Yun's opportunity to test the truth, get all the population of Bowang and Duyang counties, and cut off the other's wheat at the last.

When Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were not there, and thousands of elites were also transferred away, Xu Shu still played so abnormally and aggressively, which was entirely inspired by Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang believed that the more aggressive Xu Shu was, this active expression of his "guilty heart" state showed that Liu Bei's focus was shifted to fight against Zhang Lu, so that Cao Cao could rest assured to go to Yuan Shao for a decisive battle.

Zhang Yun had just retreated to Duyang, when Zhao Yun led his troops to Duyang County, and they came to harvest wheat again with sickles and agricultural tools.

Good guy, are you still coming?

Seeing Zhao Yun repeating his old tricks, Zhang He did not hastily send troops to stop him.

But watching the carts of wheat going west, although Zhang Yun could hold his breath, the county magistrate of Duyang couldn't sit still.

If Zhao Yun is allowed to take the wheat away, the soldiers and civilians in Duyang are in danger of starving to death.

Being repeatedly begged by the Duyang Order, Zhang Yun had no choice but to lead his army out of the city to drive Zhao Yun away. As a result, the ambush in the wheat field was still there, and there were more people than Bowang.

Zhao Yun led the soldiers to Duyang, and the families of the soldiers joined them at night. During the day, the soldiers hid in the wheat fields, and the family members were in charge of harvesting and transporting the wheat.

Xu Shu promised that half of the harvested wheat would go to the public and the other half to the harvester's family, so Liu Bei's new recruits in Runan, men, women, old and young were all very motivated, but the ones selected to harvest were all grown men.

Zhang He attacked again, and Zhao Yun ambushed again.

The soldiers of Wancheng waited for work with ease, and with the help of the family members who cut wheat, Zhang He felt exhausted soon after the battle, and then led his troops to withdraw to Ye County at the junction of Yingchuan and Nanyang.

Zhang Xi thought that since Zhao Yun had repeated his old tricks, Du Yang might have been lost too, so there was no need for him to do anything extra.

As long as the general is alive, there is no need to work hard.

Cao Cao's order was just a test. Zhang Xi thought he had completed the task. As for the life and death of the soldiers and civilians in Bowang and Duyang counties, he had nothing to do with him.

When Zhang He withdrew into Ye County, he immediately sent someone back to Xudu to report.

Due to different latitudes, wheat ripens at different times, usually gradually ripening from south to north.

The purpose of Zhang He's report was clear. If Zhao Yun led the harvesting team northward to Yingchuan, Xu Du would need to send troops to stop the enemy.

Zhao Yun led the thousands of soldiers, unable to pose a military threat to Xu Du.

At that time, the Huainan battle report happened to be sent to Xudu, and Meicheng burned the Shaopi rice fields like a huge boulder on his chest, which made people angry and breathless.

If Zhao Yun also destroys the Yingchuan wheat fields, it will affect the interests of the Yingchuan family and the Cao army's food and grass needs, so Xun Yu and Xiahou Dun attach great importance to it.

The two decided that Xiahoudun would lead troops to station in Kunyang, but in order not to affect Cao Cao's mentality of using troops, he did not report the news of Bowang and Duyang's capture immediately.

After Xu Shu seized Duyang, he accepted it as soon as he saw it. Although he was confident to continue to take Ye County, it might irritate Cao Cao.

If Cao Cao's attention is drawn to Nanyang, then Zhuge Liang's plan to guard Nanyang and seize Guanzhong secretly will be subject to great uncertainty.

At the end of July and early August, Cao Cao withdrew to Guandu from the south bank of the Yellow River.

At this time, Shi Huan also returned from Shouchun, bringing with him the most real situation in Huainan.

Cao Cao returned sullen after failing to achieve anything, and Shi Huan became even more angry after hearing Shi Huan's report.

He clattered the case, and told Shi Huan: "If it wasn't for Yuan Ying's frightened bird, how could Yuan Shao have been on guard? It really ruined my big business. In the future, you have to be careful about the battle reports, especially in battle. When you receive a letter from a non-military general, try to suppress it as much as possible, and wait for the news."

"Wei." Shi Huan clasped his fists in response.

"Long Yunqi, Long Yunqi"

Cao Cao repeated it several times in a row, and suddenly half-closed his eyes and said to himself: "This guy has led the prefect of Lujiang, and also helped Taishi Ciqiang to get ahead. What is he trying to do?"

Guo Jia had to speculate: "Maybe he is worried that his lips will die and his teeth will be cold? If Tai Shici is destroyed by General Zhang, his Hefei will be surrounded in the center."

"The summer harvest has already been completed, and there are still two months to plant in autumn. Can we take advantage of the time difference and go to Huainan to attack Hefei? Only by controlling Hefei, the important city, can we rest easy in Huainan, otherwise we will always feel cold behind us." Cao Cao said Stop squinting your eyes.

After Xun You heard this, he quickly got up to remonstrate: "Duke Ming must not do it. We must pay attention to timing when we attack Hefei. Now the Jiangxia battle is over, and Jiangdong's soldiers and horses are now idle. If Duke Ming comes to Huainan at this time, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu will surely come." draw troops to resist;

Long Xiang has been operating in Hefei for many years, and I'm afraid it will be extremely difficult to conquer in a short time. Now that General Zhang has divided his troops to garrison Lu'an, it has already played a role in defending Shouchun. Our first task is to take Hebei. "

Cao Cao nodded and replied: "The strategy of taking Hebei first is not a problem, but Huainan has restrained the army three times, which makes me really annoyed. I really want to change my strategy."

"As the saying goes, good things take time. General Zhang killed Mei Cheng and divided his troops into Lu'an, which gradually made the situation in Huainan more favorable. As long as he can continue to contain Jiangdong, Huainan will have no problems. Although he failed to cross Hebei this year, the soldiers will be rewarded. In order to get enough rest, coupled with the abundant grain harvests in various places this year, it will be more secure for the next expedition.”

Before Xun You finished speaking, Cao Cao sighed: "Sun Quan, Zhou Yu and Huang Zu fought back and forth, and each other suffered a lot of losses. It is estimated that they will not fight again in a short time, so Huainan is still at risk of being hindered."

Guo Jia added: "Ming Gong, don't worry. I heard that the reason why Sun Quan withdrew his troops in Jiangxia was because the counties and mountains in the east of the Yangtze River were in chaos. Mountains and mountains have always been a chronic disease in Jiangdong. It is not so easy for Sun Quan to cure quickly. In short, all difficulties must be overcome. Destroy Hebei first, otherwise let Jiangdong completely pacify Shanyue, and Huainan will have no peace."

(End of this chapter)