Chapter 907 War Shou
Dozens of riders followed the galloping road all the way to the Xingyuan Gate. After handing over the talisman, Dou Tai and others dismounted here.
The remaining knights stayed in the nearby tents to rest, while Dou Tai went to the Chinese army camp under the guidance of General Yamen.
After passing through the tight halberd gate, Dou Tai and others had just arrived outside the tent when they heard a sound coming from inside.
First a clear voice said:
"The enemy army is similar in number to our army and has a strong fighting spirit. They attack our army from both front and rear. Once our army's defenders at the Linzi camp in the rear are unable to withstand the enemy army on the Linzi side, if our army attacks rashly again, I'm afraid something unexpected may happen."
This man's voice sounded familiar to Dou Tai, but for a moment he was not sure which general's voice it was.
But then there was a rough shout:
"What does it mean to be attacked from both sides? That is our army embracing the left and the right. Why are our Taishan Army afraid of the enemy's strong will to fight? It was Cao Cao who ran away, and now is the time to catch them all."
Now Dou Tai recognized it, because the person who said this was none other than his immediate boss Zhang Heizi, now named Zhang Hao. .
As expected, he was a member of the royal family, and his words were bold and encouraging.
Dou Tai’s blood boiled even when he was standing outside the tent.
But no matter how heroic Zhang Heizi said, following his objection, two completely different voices appeared in the tent.
In fact, Dou Tai outside the tent at this time did not know that after annihilating the Cao army's attacking team last night, five important generals in the army gathered in Ding Sheng's camp.
They are Xuanwei General Zhang Hao, Mighty General Huang Yong, Wuyi General Jin Quan, Guangwu General Zhao Liang, Guangwei General Xie Hui.
In today's Taishan military system, these five generals are all fourth-rank, among which Xuanwei is the upper-rank fourth rank, Weiwu and Wu Yi are the middle-rank fourth-rankers, and Guangwu and Guangwei are both the lower-rank fourth rank .
Among these five generals, Huang Yong and Jin Quan are Ding Sheng’s old subordinates, Zhang Heizi is Dong Fang’s general in the army, Zhao Liang and Xie Hui are both heroes who Zhang Chong took over from Taishan in Yanzhou. Yi Cong, but Zhao Liang was under Ding Sheng's command, while Xie Hui was under Dong Fan's command.
In fact, the current composition of Ding Sheng’s army can also be seen here.
In the early years, he had many generals under his command, and both Guo Liang and Wei Zhou were the leaders for a while, but these people were all assigned to the camp one after another. Now the only real old brother who was with him back then is Huang. Yong and Jinquan.
But if we take a closer look at the expedition list, we can discover Ding Sheng’s little thoughts.
Among these five generals, there were only three of his subordinates, and even among the other two, one Zhang Heizi was a kinsman, so he must have had such military exploits, and the other was Xie Hui, who was also an old man back then.
As for the other two generals in Dong's army, they were appointed to guard the Linzi camp.
It can be seen how meticulous Ding Sheng’s arrangement was.
It is these five generals and Ding Sheng's own central guard Ding Wu who together form the main force of the current camp on the north bank of Zishui River.
These five people, together with Ding Sheng, Ding Wu, Chen Qin, and Zhao Da, a total of nine people, discussed the war in this big cowhide tent.
The nine people took stock of the battlefield situation in the big tent. Because they didn't sleep much last night and had intensive discussions on military affairs very early today, they were actually very tired.
It can be seen that meetings are no easier than fighting. They are both tiring.
In fact, the opinions of the seven people present were very clear.
Like Zhang Heizi, he is the most determined to fight. In his words:
"I think Cao Cao is a thief, but the bones in the grave can be broken with a push, so what do you think about it? ? As for the risks involved, so what? How can we be safe in a war? If we wait for others and rely on others, we will still be in Taishan. ”
Zhang Heizi's view was the same as that of Jin Quan. They both believed that now was the opportunity to start a war. Cao Cao came all the way and was caught in a heavy rain in the wild. His morale must have plummeted.
If we don’t fight now, when will we fight?
But that's it. The rest of the army, whether they are long history or generals, will not agree with this.
Among them, Chen Qin’s view is the most representative. The clear voice before was made by Chen Qin.
Chen Qin’s plan is actually a word “drag”.
He believes that time is now on the side of the Taishan Army. In the current Qingxu battlefield, there are actually four forces.
Cao Ren's army in Linzi City, Ding Sheng's and Dong Fang's armies outside the city, Cao Cao's army on the south bank of Zi River, and finally Guan Yu's army in Beihai.
Once this fact is clarified, the situation is actually very clear.
Although our army seems to be between Cao Ren and Cao Cao and is being surrounded, in a larger geographical space, it is Cao Cao who is surrounded by our army and Guan Yu.
Before, Cao Cao's traces were uncertain, and it was still difficult to encircle and annihilate him. But now that Cao Cao has appeared on the south bank of Zi River, the safest plan for our army is to delay.
On the one hand, the Linzi camp blocked Cao Ren's breakthrough in the city, and on the other hand, the 30,000 people on their side confronted Cao Cao at Jiahe.
As long as Cao Jun tried to cross the river, their side would launch an attack and push the other side back.
Both of these goals are not difficult to achieve.
The Linzi camp has a complete system of trenches and military fortresses, and the number of troops is not less than that of Cao's army in the city. It will definitely be no problem just to hold the defense line.
This is even more true on the Zishui side. They have 30,000 elite soldiers. Even if they directly fight Cao Cao, they have an advantage. What's more, they use Zishui to defend it?
Once these two goals are completed, it will buy time for Guan Yu to go north.
At that time, they and Guan Yu attacked Cao Cao together.
It can be said that as long as Guan Yu leads his troops, the situation in Qingzhou will be completely won.
Is Chen Qin’s strategy correct? Of course, and it's very good.
This method not only ensures the final result, but also allows the generals to have military exploits. The only drawback is that they have to share this glory with Guan Yu's army.
Although they were not so willing, the generals felt relieved when they thought that it was Guan Yu, the number one commander in the army.
Because of this, among the seven people present, except for Ding Sheng and Ding Wu, they have not expressed their stance, and five of the remaining seven have already agreed.
According to the principle of group decision-making in the military, more than half of the people agreed with this plan at this time. Logically speaking, Chen Qin's strategy should be adopted.
But it is precisely Ding Sheng who disagrees.
Yes, Chen Qin's strategy is logically the best, but this is just a theory. He did not take into account his own emotions as the coach.
Why did Zhang Heizi specifically say, "Wait, damn, want it?"
Isn’t that what you’re talking about? Could it be that I, Ding Sheng, had to wait for Guan Yu and rely on Guan Yu to achieve my military exploits, and in the end I had to humbly compete with Guan Yu for military exploits?
Ding Sheng is also one of the five great commanders. How can he be willing to be a match?
In addition, Ding Sheng has been wasting away in Pingyuanjin in recent years, missing out on the subsequent series of wars.
That’s how people are.
Once there is such a gap in his heart, he cannot accept that he will earn slowly, and he must win a big one at once and catch up with those who are lagging behind.
Such emotions were like a knife scratching Ding Sheng's heart.
Although he has not expressed his position so far, he already has an idea in his mind. However, a majority opinion has been formed at this meeting, and he cannot rashly object with the authority of the coach.
Otherwise, if he insists on having his own way, Ding Sheng will have to bear all the responsibilities once he loses. It was at this time that he saw the figure wandering outside the tent. His heart moved and he asked:
"Who is outside the tent?"
Jiang Ya hurriedly replied:
“It’s Colonel Dou who crossed the river to attack the camp last night and is back.”
Ding Shengsheng was so happy that he shouted:
"Let Dou Tai come in."
Dou Tai, who had been waiting outside the tent, heard this and calmly adjusted his coat, epaulettes, and skirt, then bowed and entered the tent.
As soon as they entered the tent, they were greeted by a turbid atmosphere. It was obvious that the nine people present had been in the tent for a long time.
Dou Tai performed a military salute to Ding Sheng, who was in charge, and then bowed:
"Go back to the commander-in-chief. Dou Tai led the sixty-four knights in the team back to the camp. I pay special tribute to the commander-in-chief. Order."
With that said, Dou Tai took off a silver arrow from his belt and gave it to Ding Sheng with both hands.
But Dou Tai's words shocked those who knew the situation.
I saw Zhang Heizi Dou Sui said:
"You left the stronghold last night with only eighty horses, right? Now you have returned with sixty-four, and you have lost sixteen? Last night on the other side We have also seen the excitement. You can make such a big noise and only suffer this little loss?”
Here Zhang Heizi didn’t feel that there were fewer casualties, but he had doubts about the outcome of the battle and the casualty ratio. .
Dou Tai looked up at Zhang Heizi, then looked at Ding Sheng who was looking up, and finally explained:
"Back to the general, this is also the situation of Cao's army that the last general and the commander-in-chief and several generals are going to report."
Ding Sheng had already realized something. He pursed his lips and motioned for Dou Tai to elaborate.
After that, Dou Tai told them everything they saw and encountered last night, none of which was his own speculation or hysteria.
Last night, eighty of them rode ford a brief talk, took a short rest, changed into clean clothes, and then went to look for Cao Jun's camp in the moonlight.
During the process, Cao Jun was indeed on guard, but it was not strict. There were only two rounds of sentry posts for probably ten miles.
Dou Tai and the others were all warriors. They cleared the sentry posts easily and then reached a large camp along the way.
The big camp was very roughly set up, and the trenches were dug shallowly.
After Dou Tai and the others entered the camp gate and killed the sleeping Cao soldiers, eighty horses rushed into Cao's camp.
After that, they charged and killed them twice. The enemy's resistance became stronger and stronger. In the end, there was not much victory left, so Dou Tai led these people and fought out of the camp again.
In this process, entering and exiting is like entering a no-man’s land.
Finally, after Dou Tai finished talking about these experiences, he came up with the last sentence of his judgment on Cao Jun:
"Judging from last night's battle, Cao Jun's morale is low, his people are irritable, and there are many sick and wounded in the army. On the way, General Guang Mo saw many sick Cao soldiers in the camps, but General Mo was worried about being infected, so he did not take a closer look. "
Dou Tai’s words were a great help to Ding Sheng. After Dou Tai finished speaking, he solemnly said to Chang Shi Chen Qin:
“Chang Shi, what do you think? Where is Commander Dou's information? "
Chen Qin glanced at Ding Sheng complicatedly. How could he, a first-rate smart man, not know what Ding Sheng meant.
He secretly lamented that the current Commander-in-Chief Ding Sheng was becoming more and more sophisticated and cunning, and he was becoming more and more familiar with political tactics.
In fact, the superior person must also be like this. His behavior is never superficial, but will be regarded as a signal to amplify.
And Chen Qin understood Ding Sheng’s signal.
When five of the group have already agreed to deal with it with delay, Ding Sheng has yet to express his stance at this time, which means he has already expressed his stance.
He does not agree with this opinion.
When Dou Tai from outside came in and told the information about last night, Ding Sheng did not directly express his opinion, but came to ask for his own opinion.
Then the signal is even stronger.
That is, Marshal Ding not only disagrees, but also wants you to take the initiative to propose this, so that Ding Sheng will not leave any trace of cause and effect.
Chen Qin was silent and turned to look at Dou Tai, looking up and down.
To be honest, he did not know this general who was born as a Huns bastard, and knew nothing about his character and personality. He could only view this person based on stereotypes.
In the opinion of Chen Qin, who comes from a Central Plains family, what is the character of the Huns on the grassland?
Greedy and rude, untrustworthy, ungrateful, both snake and rat, tiger and wolf heart.
This is not just a simple prejudice, but a real history.
Since the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the Huns have been the grassland ethnic group that the Han people have had the most contact with. Their character and behavior are clear to anyone who has read a little bit of books.
Let’s just say that before Emperor Wu, the Han family adopted the policy of making peace. It should have been the in-laws’ family, but the Huns invaded the border almost every year. Isn’t this untrustworthy?
Later, when the Huns were in civil strife, it was the Han family who supported the Southern Huns. It can be said that they had the grace to rebuild, but what about the future? Or is it the other way around?
What is this but ungratefulness?
Then in this dynasty, they repeatedly jumped between them and Xianbei. What is this if it is not a snake and a mouse?
So Chen Qin immediately branded Dou Tai with this prejudice. Do you think Chen Qin would believe what he said?
Chen Qin had reason to suspect that this person had just stood outside the tent for a long time, heard the discussion inside the tent, and knew the current attitude of the higher-ups.
This person is also Zhang Heizi's general. Doesn't this increase the suspicion that this person is a lucky guy?
So Chen Qin began to question Dou Tai repeatedly about what happened yesterday.
Yes, it is questioning.
After all, Dou Tai is a hero who can stand out from tens of thousands of Ping and Dai Hu people. Faced with the interrogation of Chang Shi, the deputy of the first army, he calmly answered every question.
In fact, Dou Tai was not panic at all, because he was telling the facts as he saw them.
These things will be clear to you just by asking the brothers who came back last night.
Of course Chen Qin also knew that what Dou Tai said were detailed facts, and he knew that these things could not be fake. After all, there were so many people coming back, and he could verify it with just a few questions.
So Chen Qin was speechless.
He sighed and said to the superior Ding Sheng:
"Cao's army was caught in the heavy rain the day before and lacked medicinal herbs. There is probably an epidemic in the army. We shouldn't do this at this time. Take the initiative to attack.”
But if Chen Qin can understand Ding Sheng's signal, can the other generals not receive it?
But unlike Chen Qin who continued to insist, they all said to Ding Sheng:
"Commander, we think this is a good time to send troops. Commander, please give the order."
Ding Sheng looked around, touched his beard, and finally said with satisfaction:
"Then go to war!"
(End of this chapter)