Chapter 412: Lielie River winds up, burning half the sky
Gyeongju Guyang, as a city to strangle the Wu Kingdom from advancing into Gyeongju, Zhang Liao had garrisoned here before, but today it has become a military Important town.
The re-reinforced and raised city wall looked majestic and majestic in the vast night. On the city wall facing the south, the light of the torches stretched along the city wall for several miles.
You can see soldiers patrolling back and forth on the top of the city. Originally, the defense here was from the county soldiers in the city. Last month, two troops from Yizhou and Bingzhou came from Luyang and took over all the defense. Huai In the water village on the north bank of the river, there are even more large ships standing side by side, with more than thirty ships.
Fifteen of them are from private merchants. After all, it is impossible to build enough warships for 40,000 people to cross the river in a short period of time. It can be completed in one month.
However, the ability to recruit fifteen large ships was entirely due to Zhang Liao's reputation here and the effect of the Xia Emperor leasing merchant cargo ships and giving generous rewards when he conquered Wei.
And since the two years of great rule, the status of merchants has obviously improved a lot. The Central Plains and the North are stable and commerce is developed. The big merchants and gentry in the Huaijiang River area are very grateful for the kindness. When they heard that they wanted to charter a ship , without saying a word, he took the family's boats that were not bound for the Huai River to the water village, signed and pledged them, and then left with a smile.
It has been more than a month now. In addition to the military camps outside Guyang City, there are also camps of the Yizhou Army on both sides of the water village.
The stars in the sky are like a silver ribbon hanging across the night sky.
The bonfire was burning in the camp, and the patrolling Qingqi outside held the fire and ran back to the camp gate, bypassed the school yard, and then went out from the camp gate on the side camp to patrol the ferry along the river.
In the camp, many soldiers sat around the campfire, warming themselves up and talking, or sleeping with their pillows on stones. There was a fierce aura between their brows.
In the first battle in the northwest, the soldiers of Yizhou were extremely aggrieved. Many of them were not accustomed to the local environment. As a result, all the limelight was robbed by soldiers of the Qingzhou Army and the Tang Army.
After several months of recuperation, they are now lively men. Now they are stationed in Guyang, across the river from the Kingdom of Wu. Material resources are coming from the rear, and the craftsmen in the army are busy repairing the water stronghold and practicing shipboard operations. , these all showed one by one that the two generals would make big moves at any time.
The soldiers of both armies have been holding back their breath for a long time.
The wooden building built in the middle of the water village is brightly lit at this time, and teams holding torches frequently cross each other, indicating that this is the core of the two armies.
The atmosphere in the hall on the first floor of the wooden building is solemn. The weapon racks against the wall, swords, guns, swords and halberds exude a chilling atmosphere.
Generals from all levels of the two armies gathered here, looking at the hanging map of the Huaijiang waters and the map of the Wu army stationed on the south bank of the Huaijiang River, which the scouts brought back from the other side in the afternoon.
To the south, Wu Jun has begun to set up defenses.
"...The new emperor of the Wu Kingdom is just a puppet, but he is a member of these wealthy families. They are still very keen in their reactions. I don't know which big family introduced the generals to lead the army."
Lightings It was Zhang Liao who was the first to speak up and break the silence in the bright hall. He had a humble temperament and did not stand in the first place. Instead, he stood with other generals like a general.
But no one despised him.
Next to him was Gao Shun, who had a serious face and a short beard. Following Zhang Liao's words, he continued: "What's the use of having more people? The soldiers are fine, the generals are brave, and a group of devourers How capable can a general who is pushed up by pigs and dogs be? "
Gao Shun is the deputy general brought by Lu Bu, but he is good at foot combat. The trap he has trained in Fang Shidao has passed through several times. The war has reached most of the standards of the past, and it can fully stand on its own here.
But it is a pity that Su Chen once wanted to expand the army, but was rejected by Gao Shun. The soldiers he needed were almost one in a hundred, and they could not be veterans. They had to be recruits, so that they could be trained first-hand.
In the past two years, except for garrisoning in Gyeongju, Luyang, Xirong and Northwest, the three battles have not been successful. It can’t be seen on the face, but the fighting spirit has been early in the heart.
"The battle of crossing the river will be handed over to the Yizhou army of the princes. When they reach the ground, all the two troops and horses of Wu will be handed over to Shun."
Gao Shun stretched out his hand and put his finger on the map On the south bank of the Huaijiang River, there are two points in the southeast and due south directions. Here are two groups of Wu soldiers and horses stationed.
"These two groups... total 17,000 people." Zhang Liao frowned.
Gao Shun did not answer directly, but used actions to prove that he wanted to take these two Wu armies. He raised his hand and pulled down the two small flags representing the Wu armies inserted on the map. , hold it in your hand.
“I want it too!”
Zhang Fei took a sip of wine, then put the wine jar into his son Zhang Bao's arms, strode forward, pulled away the flag of the Wu Kingdom's soldiers and horses in the southwest, and waved it in his hand: "No one can argue with me!"
"Okay."
Guan Yu stood up after the first long case and walked to the map, "Although the Emperor of Wu is a puppet, the aristocratic families in Wu can still be considered strong if they join forces, such as Prime Minister Gu Chongwen , Taiwei Fan Li... and others, the generals under their command are mostly from their sects, or young talents from the clan... Well, I really can't face the enemy seriously."
Originally, I wanted to face the enemy seriously. But when he saw the enemies scattered on the map, Guan Yu's tense face suddenly laughed.
"Let's fight according to our own situation. Guan will bloom everywhere in Wudi. After taking Yaozhou, he will attack the surrounding states, such as Ningzhou, Hezhou, Zhaoyang... and use the brains of aristocratic families like Wudi to Stir it up, drag out the war, make them busy, and spread out the army."
Guan Yu pointed his finger to the east of Shengkang: "I heard that Zhou Yu and Gan Ning are here. With them joining Zheng Du Gong's fleet, their combat power has been greatly improved. They can launch an attack on the capital of Wu from the sea. Once the troops reach the city, these will not A family that has fought a war will definitely panic and pull back the scattered troops. In this way, we can take advantage of the victory and kill Shengkang in one go!"
The lights in the hall were flickering.
Zhang Liao, Zhang Fei, Gao Shun, Guan Ping, Zhou Cang, Wei Yan, Zhang Bao...as well as the middle and lower-level generals in each battalion of the two armies. This is what Su Chen requires. The grassroots generals in the army must We also need to know the strategic deployment and the strategic goals that need to be accomplished.
Such a request puzzled many Chinese generals at first. Later, when they conquered Xirong, Qi, and Liang, the teams fighting on the front line lost contact and could still proceed according to the previous strategic purpose. After that, such military discussions spread without any hindrance among the armies.
Seeing Guan Yu holding one hand in front of the map and stroking his beard with the other, he stopped talking. Among the people, Wei Yan felt as if he had returned to Jingzhou. He felt very happy, "Junhou, can you allocate a battalion of troops and horses to us at that time?" Me? "
In the light, Guan Yu turned his head and looked at him. He had heard about the other party from Liu Bei and Su Chen after he came to this world, and he felt a little sorry for what happened to him.
At this time, he stroked his beard and nodded, making a heavy sound.
"Wen Chang wants a battalion, yes!"
"Thank you, Lord!" Wei Yan smiled broadly, "It would be more satisfying to fight with the two generals Guan and Zhang!"
The few times he followed Zhuge Liang in the Northern Expedition were actually very frustrating. After losing Liu Bei's support, he rarely commanded operations like a general. Instead, he had to consult Zhuge Liang on everything.
Moreover, he mentioned Ziwu Valley’s strange plan more than once, but unfortunately it was rejected.
But he didn’t blame Zhuge Liang. After all, there was nothing wrong with using the troops prudently. It was just that the generals and prime ministers could not get along.
"Okay, let's defeat the warships in the river of Wu State first before we conquer the land!"
Guan Yu pressed down the restless generals, raised his face, and looked at the night sky outside the window lattice, "Tonight the stars and moon are bright, and things can be seen on the river. It's a good time!"
In fact, long before the military meeting, the strategy of crossing the river at night and burning the opponent's warships had already been finalized!
As Guan Yu spoke, everyone present looked indifferently, but they all grinned, and their smiles were full of ferocity.
Zhang Fei, who was already impatient, took the wine jar from his son's hand, raised his head and took a sip.
"Then what are you waiting for? I want to watch the Red Cliff burn."
Zhang Liao forced out a smile in embarrassment.
...
The stars and rivers were turning, and the night was gradually getting deeper. In the second half of the night, the water village with the flags of "Guan" and "Zhang" gradually became quiet, and the long bonfires gradually extinguished and decreased.
Amidst the sound of rushing water waves rolling against the shore, at the Shuizhai Ferry, among the large boats lined up side by side, speedboats were pushed into the water one after another with the sound of "swishing" water.
Soon more than forty boats and small boats took advantage of the darkness and sailed across the river reflecting the moonlight. They could see the twenty-five boats in front carrying kerosene, cloth, silk and other flammable materials.
Only two soldiers were operating the boat above, while the boat behind had only fellow oarsmen. There were no flammable objects in the boat.
It was the middle of the night, and the river was rippling with these fast-sailing boats rising and falling on the water. Half an hour later, in the darkness in the distance, one could vaguely see the firelight of the Wu Kingdom Water Village on the south bank of the Huaijiang River.
On the twenty or so fast boats that were ahead, the soldiers paddled faster and rushed forward.
In the water village on the south bank, the soldiers on the archery tower looked at the river. Occasionally they would be lazy, close their eyes and rest for a while. In the summer night, they would quietly listen to the sound of the water waves by the river, and sometimes they would A comfortable experience.
However, this time the soldiers on the archery tower vaguely heard the rushing sound of water slurry. As soldiers on duty, they are all people with keen nerves. They immediately felt that something was wrong and fired rockets towards the river. .
The firelight hadn’t illuminated anything yet. The first thing I saw was the speckled firelight lighting up the river surface.
"Enemy attack!" He shouted at the top of his voice from the archery tower, quickly took up his bow and shot another arrow into the night sky.
Phew!
While the sound of arrows resounded clearly in the night, on the river, the speeding boats ignited flames in the night, and rows of boats were moored at the ferry in front of the other side's water village. When the boat was on the way, the Yizhou Army soldier above jumped into the water and swam hard to the empty boat behind.
Getting on the waiting boat, many people looked back at Wu Jun's water village. One after another, the fast-moving boats had hit the Wu Jun ship over there. The kerosene tanks tied to the front of the boats were on the water. It shattered the moment it touched the big ship.
The burning flames on the boat quickly spread to the hull of the warship along with the flowing oil stains. When the Wu soldiers guarding above heard the sound of arrows and shouts, they came out of the cabin in a panic, holding the clothes that they had not yet put on in panic. Their uniforms were waving wildly and beating the flames that burned onto the side of the ship.
A strong wind blows from the river.
The wind helped the fire, and the night sky instantly turned red.
After hearing the news, General Wu and the commander-in-chief of the Wu army came over. When they saw the flames rising from many warships on the river bank, they turned over and dismounted with pale faces, their feet and stomachs trembling.
“Get the ones that are not on fire out of the ferry quickly, and send some people up to save the ones that are not completely burned!”
The coach of Wu Jun was so angry that he stamped his feet and shouted, his voice seemed like he was about to cry. .
Before the war even started, part of the ship was burned, and the news came back to Shengkang that the coach was not even sitting in the position, and he was probably about to be removed.
(End of this chapter)