Han Xiang

Chapter 539 Zhu Huan fell into the tiger's mouth at night

Long Xiang bid farewell to Lu Su and led his troops eastward along the river.

As he was traveling lightly without any baggage, he arrived at Yangxian (Yixing), three hundred miles east, in five days.

At this time, there was a large swamp in the north of Yangxian, so the population was not large. It was a small county in Wu County.

The county's garrison was less than a hundred men. They didn't know that the incoming army was the enemy, so Long Xiang easily captured Yangxian before Han Zong came forward to capture the city.

It's a pity that the people in Yangxian City are poor and the government has very little food in stock.

Long Xiang took a final rest here, and his next destination was Wuxian County, where he was governed.

Because Wucheng was heavily guarded, Longxiang was unable to supply supplies midway, so he had to be fully prepared in Yangxian.

There was insufficient food in Yangxian's official warehouse, and Long Xiang also ordered that he should not commit any crime with the people and would not plunder the people unless absolutely necessary.

Sun Ce's lesson was profound enough. Long Xiang tried his best to gain the favor of the people of Wu. Of course, it was mainly to become a local powerful man. After all, ordinary people did not have extra food.

Having passed through Shicheng, Wuhu and other places before, Liu Fu took all the food from the treasury and carried it to the warship. Liu Fu took the supply warship along with him by water.

After resting for half a day in Yangxian, Long Xiang faced a choice.

There is a vast swamp in the north of Yangxian, more than a hundred miles away from the prosperous Wuxi County. However, crossing the swamp is risky, so this best route is not feasible.

Secondly, in order to avoid Zhu Huan, Longxiang could ferry 6000 people to the east bank of Zhenze just like crossing the Yangtze River. However, there are few boats, many people, and the distance is long. It may not be possible to make a round trip in a day. It is conservatively estimated that it would take 20 days.

If there is not enough food, there are other options, but delaying the sun and the moon until the main force returns from Jiangdong is a risky attempt for Long Xiang, so he can only choose the most conventional route, which is to go overland along the southern part of Zhenze to Wuxian County.

If the march goes well, we can reach Wu County in eight or nine days.

If Zhu Huan finds out, if he can fight, he will destroy this resistance. If the damage is too great, he will retreat back the same way.

If you are lucky, the entire army will be able to withdraw to the north of the Yangtze River before Sun Quan returns.

Even if unfortunately, Sun Quan leads the main force to return early, Long Xiang can still use mobile warfare. With the land warfare capabilities of Jiangdong's soldiers, and under the suppression of the Hefei army's vision, the guerrillas still have a high chance of victory.

Long Xiang has always been known for his caution. If he didn't think about his escape route before starting the war, he wouldn't launch a sneak attack so easily.

Leaving Yangxian, all armies in Hefei advanced by land and water.

After walking for three days, we arrived at Wucheng County.

It was the end of winter, and the cold wind howled by the lake, like a knife cutting my face.

Except for the marching team along the lake, there were almost no other civilian activities, let alone Wucheng's scouts.

Although Long Xiang ordered a rapid march on this section of the road, 2 people passed by the lake in a mighty manner, and no matter how low-key they were, they would make some noise.

Wucheng County is located fifty miles south of Zhenze, and all the bandits in the surrounding areas have been wiped out long ago. Who would have thought that someone would attack Wuxian County at this time?
When the entourage presented the information to Zhu Huan, he was burning charcoal to keep warm at Wucheng's mansion.

"Tens of thousands of troops crossing the border?"

Zhu Huan stopped pounding the charcoal basin with a wooden stick and thought that it had only been a few days since his lord led his troops to the west, so why did he come back so soon?
And walking along the lake in the cold weather?It's not like the lord's behavior at all.

In Zhu Huan's impression, Sun Quan was not a person who liked hardship. Who would be willing to be wronged if he could enjoy it?
"Do you know who is leading the army?"

"They didn't raise a flag, and the scouts were far away, so I don't know."

"understood."

Zhu Huan waved his hand gently, then pinched the bridge of his nose and began to think, thinking that among the garrison troops left behind, he was the only one left with Han Dang's troops, but he should be in charge of the overall situation in Wanling at this time, and the number of troops was not adequate.

Can Han Dang support these tens of thousands of people?

The prefect Sun Yi was assassinated, the governor Gui Lan and the county magistrate Dai Yuan fled, leaving Danyang without a leader.Could it be that Han Dang took advantage of the situation and made a fortune?
The more Zhu Huan thought about it, the more reasonable he became. Zhu Zhi, the governor of Wu County, started in Danyang. Could it be that Han Dang borrowed his influence?
At the end of the year when he led his troops to Wu, was Han Dang sending troops to Zhu Zhi?
Ordinary generals are not qualified to expand their troops privately without Sun Quan's permission.

However, Zhu Zhi was the elder of the Sun family and had a high status, so there was nothing wrong with raising more tribes. His adopted son Zhu Ran had a close relationship with Sun Quan. At this time, he was the Order of Shanyin in Kuaiji, and Shanyue was in trouble at that time in Kuaiji.
Han Dang and Zhu Zhi were colleagues in Sun Jian's era, but their status was very different.

After some brainstorming, Zhu Huan believed that Han Dang was taking advantage of Sun Quan's absence to deliberately recruit troops to send him off.

It not only consolidated the friendship with Zhu Zhi, but also did not need to spend more money to support the tribe. He was a master of smooth sailing.

Han Dang has deep qualifications in the military. If Zhu Zhi strongly recommends him, he may be more important in the future.

When Zhu Huan thought of this, he couldn't help but stood up and murmured: "Han Yigong, you have finally enlightened. But you passed through Wucheng and didn't say hello to me. What's the point?"

"General, are you going to stop the general?"

"Stop? No need to."

Zhu Huan waved his hand to interrupt the guard's suggestion, and said in a deep voice: "It's the New Year's Eve soon, and I have to go back to Wu. You hurry up and prepare the horses, and you and I will chase Han Yigong later."

"only."

Watching the guard leave with his fists clasped, Zhu Huan then picked up the stick and picked it a few times in the charcoal basin.

I thought that Han Dang was very skilled with bows and horses and was the best among the Jiangdong generals. If I stayed with him for a few days, it would be a good time to ask for some advice.

Now that Han Dang has enlightened himself, he will not refuse his kindness.

There were many ships and few horses in Jiangdong. Although Zhu Huan had more than [-] troops, he only had less than a hundred horses in the army. Finally, he ordered thirty cavalry retinues and chased Han Dang in the direction of Zhenze.

Wucheng was fifty miles away from Zhenze. Zhu Huan originally thought he would catch up soon, but when he arrived at the lakeside at dark, it was all lonely.

"Han Yigong is really impatient and can march very fast."

Zhu Huan complained a few words by the lake, and hurriedly ordered his followers to light torches and continue their night journey.

He traveled lightly and took nothing with him. He would rather rush to the 'Handang' camp to rest overnight than sleep in the wild.

At midnight, after traveling thirty miles at night, I finally saw the light of the campground fire.

Zhu Huan was shivering from the cold. When he arrived at the place, he found that the camp was very crude. The tents were not set up according to rules, but mainly to protect them from the wind.

It was already midnight, and several groups of soldiers were still patrolling outside the camp. Zhu Huan secretly scolded Han Dang for not being considerate of the new recruits.

Just when Zhu Huan was about to let someone pass the news, a familiar figure appeared in front of him.

"General Zhu, why are you here?"

"It turns out it's Brother Han. Your Majesty is really stranger. We all share the same palace and serve as ministers. We passed by Wucheng and didn't even know what to say. Zhu had no choice but to pay a visit in person. Is the old general resting now?"

"Uh, not yet. 'Father' is at the tent. I'll lead the general there."

Han Zong was followed by the Tiger Guard and had to lead Zhu Huan into the tiger's den.

He once imagined that Zhu Huan would lead his troops to intercept and Long Xiang would encounter a bitter battle at Wucheng, but he did not expect that Zhu Huan would fall into the trap himself.

Zhu Huan followed Han Zong to the big tent to meet Han Dang. His entourage and horses were also greeted warmly, just like visiting a neighbor's house.

"Old General Han, you are really not satisfied."

Zhu Huan opened the curtain, looked up as soon as he stepped into the tent, and immediately froze on the spot.

(End of this chapter)