Chapter 159 Bo Fu made a decision
The discussion was decided, and two days later, Guo Gong took the remaining 8,000 pieces of music and began to return to the army.
The Yuzhou soldiers led by Guo Gong returned to the army very quickly, but their choice of direction was unique.
He did not return from the original route, but passed through Rencheng State, intending to return to Liang State by water via Surabaya.
At this time, there was no Prime Minister in Rencheng Kingdom. It was a coincidence that Rencheng Kingdom was really close to Liu Bei.
In addition to being indispensable geographically, Ren Chengguo's most recent prime minister was Xun You, whom Liu Bei and his son were eager to see through.
On that day, Xun You participated in the murder of Dong Zhuo in Chang'an, but was reported and imprisoned.
The co-conspirators He Yong and Xun You were imprisoned at the time, but He Yong's psychological quality was so poor that he was afraid of committing suicide.
Completely different from He Yong, Xun You talked and ate leisurely in prison, as if he was just on vacation. However, when Wang Yun killed Dong Zhuo, he was immediately released from prison and restored to his original position.
But after Xun You was released from prison, he decisively realized that Wang Yun was stubborn and incompetent, anxious and short-sighted, and was not a person worthy of assistance.
Therefore, within a few days after being released from prison, Xun You, who had not yet fully enjoyed the praise of the gentlemen, decisively abandoned his official position and fled directly back to his hometown of Yingchuan.
Sure enough, Wang Yun soon failed due to the stupidity of his policies, and eventually died.
Xun You was recruited by the government again in his hometown, and the official position he was given was to serve as the city prime minister.
Xun You's appointment as city minister was the successor after the previous city minister Zheng Sui died at the hands of the Yellow Turban Army. The person who served as the Prime Minister before Zheng Sui was also in Xuzhou at this time, and it was Xu Qiu who served as the Prime Minister of the East China Sea.
Although Rencheng Kingdom was destroyed by the Yellow Turbans and the Prime Minister was executed, the people were not greatly harmed. It was just that they lost their Prime Minister and all the nobles in the area fled. As a result, Rencheng Kingdom was purely relying on Local powerful men and heroes are in charge of order.
It just so happens that Zang Ba is also very good at dealing with these people.
Guo Gong's Yuzhou Army entered Rencheng four days later and encountered little resistance.
On the day after entering Rencheng County, Guo Gong declared Zang Ba as the Prime Minister of Rencheng State.
One day later, Zang Ba led the Taishan Army to Rencheng County, formally took office and took over Rencheng.
According to the plan discussed with Liu Bei, Zang Ba led his main force of 3,000 people to sit in Rencheng County and provide support from the center. The Sun brothers led 500 people and stationed in Fan County, and Chang Xi led 500 people and stationed in Kangfu County.
Later, Guo Gongcai led the Yuzhou army to Peiguoliu County by waterway, and then returned to Liangguo by land.
When we came, we had an army of 10,000, but we got a 20% discount when we went back. It was a defeat anyway.
However, Guo Gong's mood is much better than when he came. This is mainly due to his mentality.
Before coming, Guo Gong was very worried. He felt that he was surrounded by jackals, tigers and leopards. If he was not careful, he would be taken over by others and become prey for others.
But now, Guo Gong feels that he is confident. In any case, at least the three countries of Yuzhou are nominally obeying him, and they also have a stable and powerful strategic ally like Xuzhou.
Even if Cao Cao and Lu Bu decide the winner in the north, no matter who wins or loses, they won't dare to touch him easily, right?
After his mentality changed, Guo Gong's feelings towards Liu Bei also changed greatly.
I used to think that Liu Bei, a first-level border commander warrior, was worthy of being the shepherd of Xuzhou?
I was just the governor of Yuzhou, but an ignorant soldier unexpectedly became the governor of the state. Tao Qian was really in a coma on his deathbed.
Now I feel that Liu Bei really lives up to his name, and is indeed as kind as the rumors say.
It's no wonder that Guo Gong has changed so much. He has gained too many benefits.
Except for Liu Bei, who could not take the opportunity to annex Guo Gong's tribe and take over the entire Liang Kingdom in his name after annihilating Guo Gong in the first battle? Is the alliance repaired?
On this point, Guo Gong identified Liu Bei as his ally.
After returning to the capital of the Liang Kingdom, Guo Gong immediately opened his treasury and distributed 20,000 shi of grain, 800,000 coins, 500 sets of leather armor, and a total of 400 pieces of linen, silk, and satin, and sent them to Tancheng, let’s express our feelings.
This is something to talk about later, let’s not mention it for now.
The camera turned back to Jiangdong, where Sun Ce was interrogating the soldier Liu Yao in front of him with an angry look on his face.
At this time, Sun Ce had successfully broken through the city and entered Qu'a.
Although the morale of Qu'a's Yangzhou Army soldiers was not high, the level of their commanders was not low, which made Sun Ce think that Liu Yao was in the city.
Unexpectedly, they learned after breaking the city that Liu Yao had already left Qu'a. There was only one captain in the city, Zhao Fan, commanding him. After the city was broken, he broke out from the east gate and left.
Sun Ce was also happy.
He really wanted to catch Liu Yao, so he acted so steadily. He first cut off Qu'a's external access, and then recruited civilian craftsmen from Dantu to build siege equipment, hoping to capture Liu Yao alive in one fell swoop.
Now it seems that all of this has become a waste of precious time.
Liu Yao ran away a long time ago, and Qu A was leaderless. It is very likely that on the first day he arrived, as long as he launched a strong attack, even if it was just a ladder attached to the city, the leaderless city might fall apart.
My own prudence gave the young general named Zhao Fan a chance to calmly rectify people's hearts and settle the city's defenses.
“Liu Zhengli pretends to be a celebrity and is incompetent.”
Sun Ce angrily scolded Liu Yao for being as timid as a mouse to vent his frustration.
But it wasn't all bad news he received.
The good news is that reinforcements from Li Yang have also arrived. Just today, they will begin to land on Dantu, and they will arrive in Qu'a tomorrow.
There are two ways to go before Sun Ce.
One is to go eastward, passing through Piling, which is Changzhou in later generations, passing through Wuxi and going down to Wuxian County.
This road is the essence of Wu County. Wuxi was the capital of Wu State in the past. Both Wuxi and Wu County have fertile land that has been developed for a long time. It has a large population, fertile land, and numerous products.
On the other way, they left Piling alone and did not take it. Instead, they turned around and headed west to meet Liu Yao's foreseeable counterattack.
Both paths have their own benefits.
The advantage of advancing eastward is that there are not many troops in Wu County at this time. Xu Gong is quite supportive of Liu Yao. He provides money, food and soldiers, and his remaining troops are not Too many, not enough to resist Sun Ce head-on.
If we advance eastward at this time, we are very likely to expel Xu Gong, capture Wu County, and obtain the essence of Wu County, which is rich in products.
The price is to completely offend Xu Gong and have to fight Xu Gong. If Xu Gong blocks him and Liu Yao leads Niuzhu's elite eastward, he will be attacked from both sides.
But the benefits are also quite obvious. Not only can you get the best territory and obtain various supplements such as materials, money, and manpower, but you can also defeat Xu Gong first and deal with the enemies on one side.
Xu Gong clearly sides with Liu Yao. He will not think that there is peace with you just because Sun Ce doesn't fight him.
Once Sun Ce's back is exposed, Xu Gong will attack Sun Ce without mercy.
The first way is to concentrate the troops to deal with Liu Yao first. In this case, Liu Yao will be surrounded by enemies from both sides.
It is indeed quite doubtful whether Liu Yao can withstand this pressure while defending Yuan Shu's army in Liyang on the other side of Niuzhu, and also facing Sun Ce's army who is advancing westward with all his strength.
Once Sun Ce is able to defeat Liu Yao in the field and capture Niuzhu, he will immediately be able to establish contact with Yuan Shu in Jiujiang, obtain a steady stream of supplies from Yuan Shu, and then sweep across Jiangdong. There is only a matter of time left. .
Sun Ce waved his hand and asked people to take the Yangzhou soldiers down.
Because a lot of time was wasted in Qu'a, Sun Cejun now needs to make up his mind immediately whether to advance eastward or westward.
Sun Ce looked at Wu Jing, Xu Kun, Cheng Pu and Huang Gai in the hall, and humbly asked for advice: "Uncle, cousin, two uncles, if you have any suggestions, feel free to speak up."
This time, Sun Ben did not come to help, only Wu Jing came.
This is not because Sun Ben is unwilling to come to help, or because he has any objections to Sun Ce, but it is something that has been discussed before.
Sun Ce currently only has two counties, Dantu and Qu'a. Dantu County is just a small town. Not to mention, even Qu'a County does not have much grain reserves.
This is not because Liu Yao had foreseen it, or because Zhao Fan burned the food and grass before leaving, but because of the current special situation in Yangzhou. Yangzhou's elite main force is all in Niuzhu, so all military rations are stored in Niuzhu warehouse for the Yangzhou army on the Niuzhu defense line.
At present, in Yangzhou, although Liu Yao is the state shepherd, he is essentially the leader of the Yangzhou gentry and powerful people. All parties sell him face and are willing to obey his dispatch to a certain extent and provide him with military provisions and soldiers.
Therefore, it is impossible to be like other state capitals, where the largest inventory is located in the state treasury.
In Yangzhou, there is no state treasury at all.
There are only two to three thousand soldiers in Qu'a, and the grain stored in Qu'a is only ten thousand shi.
Therefore, Sun Ce did not seize much military rations after occupying Qu'a.
Now the rations that Sun Ce's army relied on to support his army still had to rely on Li Yang's continuous water transport of food to Dantu.
In this case, more troops are not always better.
Sun Ce’s headquarters plus Wu Jing’s tribe already have 12,000 people, which is enough. If Sun Ben’s tribe is added to it, the scale will be 20,000. Even water transportation will require a large number of ships, which is very easy. He was harassed by the Yangzhou army.
Not to mention cutting off the supply line, just harassing him several times a day would make Sun Ce hungry.
Instead of everyone starving together in Jiangdong, it is better to leave Sun Ben in Liyang, which can also contain part of Niuzhu's troops, and even see if we can find a suitable fighter plane to stab Niuzhu directly. Nagisa Line of Defense.
If even Sun Ben comes to Jiangdong, can we still expect Yuan Shu's army of trash to threaten Niuzhu's defense line?
"Since Liu Yao has escaped for seven days, I think it is safer to march westward. Each of Dantu and Qu'a left 1,500 troops and horses, and we will march westward with the main force of 9,000. "
Wu Jing waited for a while and saw that Xu Kun and Cheng Pu and Huang Gai were looking at him without speaking. When he understood what these people meant, he spoke directly: "Liu Even if Yao comes back with 20,000 people, we can still defeat him head-on."
Wu Jing is really not bragging. He could not attack Niu Zhu before because Niu Zhu had long since become a hedgehog. , and the most elite Yangzhou Army is stationed there.
Sun Ce had to cross the Yangtze River first. After landing, he did not have large-scale siege equipment, so he was often forced to retreat by the Yangzhou army.
In frontal combat, when had Sun Jiajun ever been afraid of others?
Wu Jing's words were a bit conservative. From the perspective of Xu Kun, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others, even if Liu Yao brought back 30,000 people, it would just make them spend more effort.
Sun Ce looked at the map and nodded repeatedly, but said nothing.
After listening to Wu Jing's opinion, he fell into silence again, his eyes fixed on the map, motionless.
Wu Jing was quite patient and did not get angry because of his nephew's weirdness. Instead, he calmed down.
Suddenly, the hall became silent, and even the footsteps of the patrolling soldiers outside could be clearly heard.
After about a full cup of tea, Sun Ce suddenly asked: "Uncle, if you are asked to march eastward and capture the three counties of Piling, Wuxi and Wucheng, how many troops and horses will you need? How long will it take? How long?”
Wu Jing was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion: “Bo Fu, do you want to divide the troops?”
When Wu Jing said this, Cheng Pu and Huang Gai were also anxious. He hurriedly admonished: "Lord, our army is small and Liu Yao has a large army. It is unwise to divide our troops at this time."
Sun Ce laughed and comforted: "What my uncle and uncles said , I know that I have a different plan in mind, so don’t be impatient.”
Go ahead and look at Wu Jing again, obviously asking Wu Jing to answer the question he just asked.
Wu Jing knew that his nephew had big ideas, so he could only suppress his anxiety and make careful calculations.
After thinking for a while, he said: "I only need to bring my headquarters, and the siege weapons are all ready-made. This place is not far from Piling, and there is a road to go, and it can be transported directly from the city. Past. If there is no accident, I will break through Piling in ten days, go to Wuxi in the same month, and capture Wu County within two months. However, I will need to mobilize more ships, otherwise it will be difficult to travel at this time." The Jiangdong of Jiangdong is not the Jiangsu of the future. It is full of swamps and lakes, and there are no ships. It is not only difficult to move even an inch, but it is also half the result with twice the effort.
Sun Ce didn't care and laughed loudly: "This is easy. Some time ago in Dantu and today in Qu'a, many ships were captured. The big ships were incorporated into Li Yang's fleet, and the small ones were You can give them all to your uncle.”
Wu Jing's Bu Qu was originally from Jiangdong, and handling boats and water was almost instinctive. Even if it was a bunch of small boats, he would not be afraid of not being able to get enough sailors.
"Then there's no problem."
Wu Dingding nodded and heard what Sun Ce was thinking. He frowned and asked, "Bo Fu, do you really want to divide your troops?"< br>
Sun Ce suppressed the smile on his face and nodded seriously towards his uncle: "Uncle, it's not that I want to divide our troops, but this is the best time to divide our troops."
"Uncle, please Look.”
Sun Ce's words attracted the attention of Wu Jing, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Xu Kun. Sun Ce pointed at the map and explained: "Our army's occupation of Dantu and Qu'a is like a sharp blade, cutting off all the connections between Wu County and Danyang County." For two. "
Sun Ce's words will definitely not be understood by future generations. How could Dantu have severed the connection between Wu County and Danyang County when he was only twenty miles away from Qu'a.
But in fact, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the reason why Qu'a was important was because it was an important hub connecting Wu County and Danyang County.
Below Qu'a is a swamp and silt area with a radius of several hundred miles, and further below this swamp and silt area is Zhenze, the largest lake in Jiangdong at the time.
The famous Taihu Lake in later generations was the name of Zhenze in later generations.
Although Taihu Lake inherited the name Zhenze, its area was much smaller than Zhenze, which shows how big Zhenze was at this time.
In this way, if Wu County does not go through Qu'a, it can only detour from the south bank of Taihu Lake to Wucheng County, to Guzhang County, and enter Danyang County.
The distance of this detour is more than a few hundred miles.
"Our army is short of food, but Liu Yao's army has Niuzhu granary, so the situation will be much better than ours."
Sun Ce frowned and patted the banks of the Yangtze River. Around Niuzhu, there is Danyang. There are more than a dozen county towns in the county.
Even facing Qu'a, there are five cities: Jurong, Hushu, Moling, Shicheng, and Danyang.
"If we resolutely advance westward, logistical pressure will be secondary. If Liu Yao cannot retreat and rely on these cities to fortify and delay us, do we really want to go through one city after another? "
Sun Ce took a picture of the map: "We only have 10,000 people, but Liu Yao has at least 40,000 people. Xue Li and Zuo Rong are indeed not direct descendants of Liu Yao, but they are stationed in front of us. , Xue Li is in Moling, and Zuo Rong is also in Hushu. Shouldn’t we hit them when we pass by? Or will they just watch us pass by?”
“So, we must take a long-term approach and take advantage of Wu County first. , in turn, forced Liu Yao to leave Niuzhu and take the initiative to attack us."
Sun Ce showed a confident look and clasped his palms together: "When the time comes, we will defeat it in one fell swoop. In this way, the Danyang counties will be defeated. It will also be determined by the message, and it will be destroyed if it is not attacked."
Wu Jing and others suddenly realized that Sun Ce had such a plan.
They thought carefully and recalled Sun Ce's overall layout. They had to admit that Sun Ce thought about the problem more comprehensively and at a higher level than them.
None of Wu Jing and others thought about what Liu Yao would do if he chose to avoid the battle and could not escape.
Although they didn't know exactly how much savings there were in Niuzhu's granary, they knew that there was at least a year's worth of savings in it.
So Liu Yao is not short of food now.
Even if he cut off contact with Wu Jun, he could persist for at least more than a year.
But if Sun Ce and the others don't take Wu County, how can they hold on for a year?
The river does not belong to the Sun family. Liu Yao's ships can also go down the river. Do you really expect that the supply fleet will not have problems for a year?
But even then, it was just a tie, and it did not improve the situation in any way.
Wu Jing was silent for a moment, half asking a question, half reminding: "Bo Fu, if I really go, you will only have less than five thousand available troops."
Sun Ce had no more than 6,000 troops, so he had to leave at least 1,000 men in Dantu, and Qu'a also had to leave 1,000 men. The maximum number of troops he could use freely was only 4,000.
Even if he squeezed the defenders to the limit, he could not exceed five thousand.
"Don't worry, uncle. I expect Liu Yao to be as timid as a mouse. By the time he makes up his mind to march eastward and regain Qu'a, my uncle will have already captured Wu County and returned in triumph."
Sun Ce was quite confident, and proactively mentioned: "My uncle can also take away more than 2,000 Yangzhou troops captured by Dantu and Qu'a. They can be used as auxiliary troops or select their elite troops." , to make up for the loss”
(End of this chapter)