Overlord!

Chapter 237 Chapter 31 Massive Attack
For the Battle of Fanan County, Jiangdong has been deployed for nearly two months, and all military deployments have been very clear.

After Sun Ce sacrificed three animals in Jiangxia and swore to go out for battle, the army immediately divided into three groups and attacked the strategic location of Nanjun.

General Taishi Cidu rode [-] troops on foot, and took a boat to go north along the Han River, directly taking Xiangyang, the important northern town of Nanjun.

Sun Ce personally supervised a fleet of [-] cavalry and boats, which went up the Yangtze River and passed through Dongting Lake to attack Xiaoling (later the Public Security Bureau) and cut off the connection between Jiangling, the seat of Jingzhou, and Wuling County.

Since the three counties in Jingnan rebelled and Nanyang was captured by Cao Cao, Liu Biao was forced to give up Xiangyang as his seat of government.

When choosing where to govern, an important consideration is where the powerful enemy will attack.

Xiangyang is too close to the north. It faces Nanyang County across the Han River and is an important defense town in the north.But it is too far away from the southern battlefield. No matter whether it is the army in Jingnan or the army in Jiangdong, once it attacks from along the Yangtze River, Xiangyang will be beyond its reach.

Therefore, Liu Biao could only move his seat from Xiangyang back to Jiangling after a few years.This will stabilize the southern front and at the same time consolidate the weak and fragile connection with Wuling that may be severed at any time.

As the only county among the four counties in Jingnan that has not launched a rebellion, it is Liu Biao's most important rear hinterland.Liu Biao sent his most capable nephew Liu Pan to lead an army of three thousand to guard Hanshou County in Wuling County.This was once the administrative seat of Jingzhou after Guangwu Zhongxing.

The purpose of Sun Ce's attack on Xiaoling was to cut off the intrusion from the direction of Wuling.

At the same time, in order to cut off Jiangling's supplies and assistance from other directions, Sun Ce sent his most trusted general Lu Meng to supervise four generals including Zhang Liao, Zhang Fei, Xu Huang, and Gan Ning, and led the most elite dragon and bird cavalry to reconcile the troubles. The army, with six thousand infantry and cavalry, dispatched troops from the Zhangshan line and moved westward to plunder Dangyang, Zhijiang, Yidao and other counties.

As long as these three counties can be conquered, Jiangling will become an isolated city.In the north were Lu Meng's elite troops, and in the south were Sun Ce's [-] boat divisions and cavalrymen in Xiaoling.With its isolated city, Jiangdong's army can besiege it from all sides and complete its success in one battle.

And Lu Meng did live up to Sun Ce's trust. He had already won the championship last year, and he was at the age when he was brave enough to win the championship.He also studied and learned the art of war in the army for many years, and his ability to make decisions when the opportunity arises makes him the best in the world.

He is one of those extremely spiritual generals. He has a talent for the art of war and military planning that is unique to famous generals throughout the ages. He can quickly master any art of war and draw inferences from one example.The beauty of application lies in one mind.

He was able to stand out among countless generals and become one of the 72 famous generals in the Martial Temple. His reputation was by no means in vain.

The saying "A hundred birds of prey are not worth as much as one osprey" refers to a peerless general like him who is good at conquering and fighting.

He can defeat stubborn enemy forces that others cannot defeat.He conquered the fortresses that other generals could not conquer.

He commanded the most elite [-] infantry and cavalry under Sun Ce. When he sent out troops, the sky was red with red flags, the sun was shining brightly, and the mountains and rivers were magnificent.

The army marched forward with great singing, and when they arrived at Dangyang, they stormed the city and defeated it in a single battle.

Lü Meng slaughtered dozens of the city's defenders, and then sent his army southward. Under the eyes of Jiangling City, he crossed the Nanzhang River and took the Zhijiang River directly.

After three days of fierce fighting, Gan Ning ascended the city first and led his dead men to seize the city gate. Xu Huang's Jiefan army filed in, defeated the enemy army, and killed the enemy defender Xi Zhen.

Although Dangyang and Zhijiang are famous, they are not really important places for military strategists. Dangyang, in particular, is very famous because of the Battle of Dangyang between Liu Bei and Hubaoqi.But in fact it was just Liu Bei who had no choice but to fight after he was caught up.As long as the terrain in Dangyang is a bit dangerous, Liu Bei will not be beaten so badly, and he will only ride away with dozens of Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun and others.

This kind of ordinary county, Liu Biao did not station many troops in it, but when he arrived in Yidao County, the situation suddenly changed!
Liu Biao sent his most trusted general Cai Mao, the governor Li Yan, Wang Wei, Huo Du, Wu Ju, Kuai Yue, Pang Ji and dozens of other generals here, leading more than [-] infantry and cavalry to defend the place to the death!

The mountains here are high, the water is wide, and the city is high and the pond is deep. It is the gateway to the west of Jingzhou and the military center of Nanjun.

The Battle of Yiling is famous for Lu Xun's counterattack in Yiling. In fact, the barrier to the battle between Wu and Shu was within the territory of Yidao, where Lu Xun's defense line against Liu Bei was located.

It was Sun Huan, the master of Soochow, who led an army of five thousand to defend here, blocking the front of the Shu army.

At that time, Liu Bei was marching eastward. The army was very large and the mountains were full of valleys. Sun Huan threw his sword and fought hard with Lu Xun, but Bei was defeated.Sun Huan cut up the path and cut off its key points.Liu Bei crossed the mountain and crossed the danger, but he was saved. He sighed angrily: "When I first arrived in Jiangdong City, Sun Huan was still a child, and now I am forced to be alone and end up like this!"

This is indeed an important military town and strategic location for controlling dangers. Liu Bei has tens of thousands of people and cannot attack them. It is naturally extremely difficult for Lu Meng to capture this place.

But this is a battleground for military strategists that Jiangdong's army is bound to capture. If Yidao is not breached, materials and troops from the west of Nanjun and the west of Wuling can be continuously sent to Jiangling via the Yidao waterway.

From Yidao to Jiangling is a smooth golden waterway.

Li Bai's speech "Bai Di" is a bit exaggerated.

But from Yidao to Jiangling, it really doesn’t even take a day to go down the river.

As long as the barbarians persist, Jiangling cannot be completely besieged. Water supplies and soldier reinforcements from the upper reaches will continue to strengthen Jiangling's defenders.

Even the main force of the Jiangdong army and the navy ships that besieged the city may be raided by the upper fire ships, causing the main force of the army to be damaged and the water stronghold to be destroyed.

Therefore, after the Battle of Fanan County began, within ten days, Lu Meng personally supervised the elite army to surround the Yi Dao.

The most elite Jie Fan army stormed the city for three days, but could not stand on the city wall. Lu Meng's face was already covered with a layer of frost.

Gu Ti, a member of the army who was accompanying the army, said to Lü Meng: "Lü Zhonglang, the situation in the city is complicated, and the defenders may not be less than ten thousand people. Cai Mao's army defended with thousands of people, and at the same time, Huo Du, Wu Ju and other Jingzhou big clans each had hundreds of troops to help. Defending the city may be extremely difficult to capture in a hurry.”

Gu Ti, whose courtesy name was Zitong, was the younger brother of Gu Yong, the prefect of Danyang. He was smart and talented since he was a child, and was famous in the county for his filial piety to his brother.

He is a typical representative of the Gu family in Wu County who became officials in counties and counties. Since Wu County became stable and education flourished, hundreds of Gu family's children passed the scientific examination and became officials in counties and counties.

Lu Meng treated him with special courtesy to a member of a noble family like him. He frowned and said, "Gu Zhengyi is also from a wealthy family. What do you think of the current situation in the Yi Dao?"

"The situation of the barbarians?" Gu Ti didn't understand what Lu Meng meant.

Lu Meng walked to the camp, looked at the fierce battle in the distance, and said, "There are tens of thousands of soldiers in Yidao City. Is this really in line with human sentiments?"

"Standing to Yi Dao, we have a good location in the city, but can anyone make peace with it?"

While Gu Ti was thinking, Lu Meng continued: "In recent years, Liu Biao has suffered consecutive defeats and lost no less than [-] troops. The rebellion in Jingnan further weakened his power."

"But now in Nanjun, there are thousands of soldiers in Yi Dao, there are no less than [-] soldiers in Jiangling City, and there are thousands of followers in Xiangyang City."

"Based on this, there are still [-] troops in Nanjun! Isn't this an act of aggression?"

Gu Ti reacted immediately.The two counties of Nanjun and Wuling, especially in the hands of Liu Biao, are already overwhelmed!
Although Wuling County has a vast territory, its population is sparse. Even at the peak of the Han Dynasty, the population was only 25.

After the raging rebels and the invasion of Wuling barbarians, Wuling County may not be able to control the population and farmland as much as a large county in the Central Plains with a household registration of over [-].It can be said that Liu Biao was entirely in Yinan County to support his military power.

This situation is just like when Jiangdong was completely supported by Wu County, and it just expanded its territory and conquered a large territory.

If he can win repeated battles and bring a large number of counties under his command, the local aristocratic families will naturally be happy to support him, because a large number of official positions and wealth in the Xinna counties will be occupied by the nobles of Wu County.

For example, why could Gu Yong serve as the governor of Danyang?It's not because they benefited from following Sun Ce.

If they don't expand their territory, these nobles in Wu County will probably be no more than county officials at most.

But this kind of funding for a prince is inherently high-yield and high-risk.

In the war with Jingzhou, Sun Ceruo suffered repeated defeats and lost [-] soldiers from Wu Commandery. Then he went on a rampage and continued to recruit troops in Wu Commandery to prepare for war.

I'm afraid that the big clans in Wu County must be undercurrents, scheming and launching a rebellion.

And Liu Biao's current situation is probably even worse. He is surrounded by external enemies and has suffered repeated defeats.Internal prestige was in disarray, and the nobles were resentful.

Under such circumstances, he was particularly aggressive and mobilized more than [-] troops. How could he not arouse resentment?

As a member of a wealthy family, Gu Ti knew it all too well and said decisively: "Liu Biao's actions, although in the name of protecting Jingzhou, will inevitably lead to damage to the interests of the wealthy family, and there will be secret resentment among the nobles and nobles."

"Could it be that Lu Zhonglang wants to contact the wealthy families in the city to initiate trouble?"

Lu Meng nodded and said: "I broke the city before and slaughtered the generals today. The army surrounded them and surrendered without mercy. How many of the generals in the city are willing to die for Liu Biao?"

Gu Ti frowned and asked, "Is Lu Zhonglang trying to force the enemy to flee in terror by encircling three and missing one?"

Lu Meng said with a serious look on his face: "That's not the case! I want to dig three levels of trenches, surround the city, and attack day and night. The situation in Yi Dao will be defeated in one battle."

Gu Ti took a deep breath and asked in disbelief: "Isn't this a taboo for military strategists? Seeing that we are trapped in the city, we are afraid that the city will be broken and we will be killed, so we will fight to the death."

At this time, general Xu Huang, who was covered in blood, returned from the front line. He was the commander-in-chief of the Jiefan Army. He went to Shishi in person to participate in the siege. The two layers of heavy armor on his body had been gathered like a hedgehog, but he was still roaring with fierceness.

He pulled off the arrows from his armor with his own hands and said to Lu Meng: "I think Governor Lu's method is feasible. The defenders in the city have weak arrows and weak swords. They are not elite soldiers. They are inherently determined to fight to the death, so they are inevitably shocked."

Lu Meng and Xu Huang looked at each other, and seeing his determination to fight, they immediately said: "According to Xu Zhonglang's words, I know that Jie Fan's army must defeat the enemy!"

Lu Meng then looked at the withered garrison flags on the city wall and the sluggish garrison with no morale at all, and said solemnly: "Liu Biao went on a military rampage. After repeated defeats, he had no time to recuperate, and he recruited [-] more troops. How could he not be ignored?" Its impact?”

"Twenty thousand soldiers! With such a scale, even the power of Jiangdong cannot be taken suddenly. How can Liu Biao be so virtuous that he can achieve such a military strength?"

"I can tell you that all the people in the city are just followers. They are a ragtag group of people with nothing to rely on. They are especially able to hold on when they are idle. When in danger, if swords and halberds are added to the city, people will have different thoughts."

"I, the warrior from the east of the Yangtze River, are brave and good at fighting. I use force to intimidate them. They will be frightened, frightened and think of life."

This is Lu Meng's decision-making on the battlefield. The situation is different and it is not bound to the art of war at all.

If there were nearly ten thousand elite soldiers in the city, Lu Meng would not choose to besiege them anyway.One man must die, but ten people cannot bear it; one hundred people must die, but thousands cannot bear it; one thousand people must die, but ten thousand cannot stand it; ten thousand people must die, and he is rampant in the world.

If the defenders in the city are well-trained, they will fight to the death.Even if Lü Meng arrives with an army of [-], he may not be able to defeat him.

But what is the standard of the defenders in the city?It is a tribe of young men and powerful men from all over the country who were forcibly recruited by Liu Biao.

Are these people willing to fight and die for Liu Biao?

Moreover, the Nanjun garrison is not limited to the thousands of people in Yidao. The entire Nanjun garrison has nearly 2 people!
This scale is absolutely extraordinary.

No prince can raise so many troops in a hurry without being affected.

As powerful as Sun Ce was, he could only have more than [-] cavalrymen and boatmen combined.

Due to Cao Cao's brutality, he also occupied the Central Plains, established large-scale farming and water conservancy projects, and had only [-] troops under his command.

Why did Liu Biao gather [-] troops on the land of Nanjun?

It can be said that the size of this [-]-strong army is Liu Biao's biggest reliance on resistance, but it is also Liu Biao's biggest flaw.

His aggressive military tactics and the forced recruitment of such a large force will inevitably lead to boiling public dissatisfaction.

Lu Meng could even go further and assert that at this time, Liu Biao had been abandoned by the Jingzhou clan.

His current situation is just that of a strong man who has divided counties and counties and has tens of thousands of people.

As long as Lu Meng was willing to bear casualties and sent his most elite soldiers to storm the city, the mob in the city would be absolutely frightened by this rapid and violent attack, fearing that they would die when the city was breached.

After all, Lu Meng's soldiers are still strong and their offensive is fierce enough!
Everyone in Jingzhou really underestimated this elite warrior formed by Jiangdong through the recruitment system!

In particular, the Jiefan Army was an elite force formed by the brave and heroic people selected by the counties in the east of the Yangtze River and sent to Jiankang.Sun Ce increased the number of his troops by three times, and renewed his troops' saddles, armor, and armor, and trained them with good generals.The entire army's sergeants are elite and well-equipped, which is far beyond ordinary.The generals are all brave and good at fighting, one is worth a hundred.

To defeat the enemy head-on, a force of four hundred can defeat thousands of enemy troops.

Even if Yidao City defends itself against all odds, the ragtag mob in the city cannot stop the attack of thousands of well-equipped, brave and skilled professional troops.

Xu Huang then continued his admonishment: "Liu Biao has not been defeated, and those who have not conquered the cities in Nanjun are listening. Today we will destroy the Yi Dao, and tomorrow we will defend it to the death, for fear that there will be no time in Jingzhou. I would like to ask the Lord to surrender to the Yi Dao together with Governor Lu. To show the cities, everyone should look to the wind."

When Lu Meng heard this, he greatly appreciated it and immediately said: "Yes. You and I will write to the general and ask the general to reward those who surrender after opening the city as a token of appreciation to the other cities in Jingzhou."

Yidao is only half a day's journey from Jiangling, and even Chiling can be reached in one day.

The next day, Sun Ce responded and ordered all the Yidao generals and soldiers who presented the city to surrender to be rewarded with a thousand gold coins, moved to Nanyang Prefecture, and granted the title of Marquis within the Pass!
(End of this chapter)