Chapter 865 Spring Water
On the twelfth day of the second lunar month in the spring, the floods were also flowing along the river. Xu Huang led an army of ten thousand and sailed southward in three hundred large ships. They sailed for dozens of miles, covered the sky with flags, and made a huge noise.
At this time, in Shouchun City, Wu Jing, who had lost all his elite troops, was unable to defend the Huai River defense line and could only burn down all the barriers and outposts along the coast.
The common people and nobles throughout Shouchun City could see the thick smoke covering the sky in the north, and their hearts were in panic. Those with some connections wanted to leave Shouchun as soon as possible and escape to the rear.
And Wu Jing had no confidence in Shouchun. How could the city be defended by relying on the new soldiers who had just picked up swords?
Therefore, in private, Wu Jing had prepared a retreat. Once things went wrong, he would immediately take Sun Quan straight to Jiangdong.
After all, no matter how important Huainan is, it is not as important as his and Sun Quan's lives.
But Wu Jing did not dare to give up Shouchun without any resistance. Even though he was Sun Jian's brother-in-law, a veteran general in the army, and the core of power, once he violated Sun Jian's art of war, there was no doubt that he, Wu Jing, would be defeated. There is only a dead end.
It's hard to say whether Sun Jian is a descendant of Sun Tzu, but in terms of military management, Sun Jian must be more harsh and cruel than Sun Tzu himself.
Wu Jing wanted to live, but he also didn't want to die in humiliation at the hands of Sun Jian. In this case, he could only sit in Shouchun, hoping that reinforcements from the rear would arrive quickly.
It was against this background that Xu Huang led his army to the south bank of the Huai River.
This was the beginning of the battle that was the first aspect of his life.
……
Xu Huang stepped on the land of Huainan and watched the team behind him continue to carry the carriages, horses and weapons from the ship, each performing their duties in an orderly manner, and felt very satisfied.
This time when he went south, in addition to his own Flying Tiger Army headquarters, he also brought four more important units, namely, Ren Jun, the captain of the bridge building, Ding Yao, the rebel general of Pei State, He Gao, the volunteer general of Runan, and Decant the prunes.
Needless to say, among these four generals, Ren Jun is considered an old man in the army. He joined the army only a few months later than Xu Huang.
Moreover, he is a professional, especially good at civil engineering. He is the person Xu Huang must rely on when he goes south to Huainan to fight the tough battle.
In addition, Ren Jun also made a great contribution this time. If he had not accidentally attacked Long Kang, the main force of the Huainan Army would not have risked going north, and the battle would not have been so smooth.
Although Xu Huang still doesn't know who is trapped in Longkang, so much so that Wu Jinghuo rushes to rescue him, it is no longer important.
At this moment, the outcome is decided.
In addition to Ren Jun, whom he relied on, Xu Huang also discovered two talents:
That is Ding Yao, the righteous general of Pei State, and He Gao, the righteous general of Runan.
Ding Yao is a wonderful man. He calls himself a tribesman of Ding Sheng. Ding Daqi is from Shanyang in Yanzhou, and Ding Yao is from Pei. They are both incompatible with each other, and they can be from the same tribe. ?
But Xu Huang saw this man's serious look and was doubtful. After all, it was said that Ding Sheng's clan was quite large, and some of them might have spread to Pei State.
Of course, Xu Huang discovered Ding Yao not because he had an inexplicable relationship, but because Ding Yao was indeed a powerful general.
In the past, this man was a hero in his hometown, but he was unwilling to join Yuan Shao's army. Instead, he led a group of brothers to plunder and live happily in the Pei and Si areas. The governors of Yu, Yan, and Xu could not control him. .
This time the Huainan soldiers went on an expedition to the north and burned, killed, and looted in the Pei Kingdom. Ding Yao led a group of core disciples to raise the flag to fight against the Huainan soldiers. When they were absorbed by the Taishan Army, they were already quite powerful.
But in order to join the Taishan Army, Ding Yao showed no regrets and directly dispersed the gathered team, leaving only twelve companions with him.
When Xu Huang first heard about Ding Yao's story, he cherished his talents and summoned Ding Yao to take a look. He was a strong and powerful warrior.
After that, Xu Huang approached the mouth of the vortex again, and some remnants of the Huainan soldiers were defending the stronghold. Ding Yao took the initiative to attack, and with only twelve of his own men, he crossed the trench and climbed to the city to attack and capture his general.
Even Xu Huang couldn't help but be surprised by this level of courage and exclaimed that he had found a treasure.
In this way, Xu Huangte appointed Ding Yao as the general of Pei State.
The Runan rebel generals He Gao and Ding Yao were similar. They both took advantage of the chaos in Runan.
It's just that He Gao has a special relationship that is more complicated than Ding Yao, that is, He Gao was previously a general of He Man, the Yellow Turban in Runan. He fled back to his hometown after He Man died in the battle, and has remained anonymous since then.
It is for this reason that Xu Huang felt that this man was unfaithful and was living an ignoble existence after his leader died. And you are just living a casual life, but when their Taishan Army appeared in Runan, they brought people to join the army. .
Isn’t this greed for glory and wealth?
How could Xu Huang like this kind of person who lives an ignoble life and covets wealth?
So at the beginning, even though Xu Huang thought that this person was indeed brave, talented in changing situations, and had rich combat experience, Xu Huang still wanted to throw this person to Le Jin in the Runan War Zone and let him use him.
But it was Ren Jun who persuaded Xu Huang later, thinking that he had prestige among the Runan volunteers, and such suspicion might hurt the feelings of the volunteers.
Finally, Xu Huang thought about it and decided to use it. If he didn't worry about it, he would just use it sparingly.
But neither Ren Jun, Ding Yao nor He Gao is the key to this battle. In Xu Huang's view, what is really important is the surrendered general Mei Gan.
Mei Gan was the younger brother of Mei Cheng, the handsome commander of the Huoshan bandits. Unlike his brother who stayed behind, Mei Gan joined Wu Jing's shogunate and served as an official for his account.
Yes, Fang Fang's handsome younger brother became a civil servant under Wu Jing, and he was quite underappreciated.
When Xu Huang defeated the main force of the Huainan army on the east bank of the Whirlpool River, most of Wu Jing's shogunate fell on the battlefield and were eventually captured by Xu Huang.
But no one among these people is more important than Mei Gan, not only because he is familiar with the geography of Huainan, but more importantly because he is the key figure in contacting the Huainan bandits.
With the help of prunes, Huainan’s geography and human relations can be seen in the palm of your hand.
And now the prunes are with Xu Huang. At this moment, he is pointing Xu Huang to the beautiful places near Shouchun.
Although the Mei family was a bandit from the Dabie Mountains, she was not an illiterate person. This Mei Gan was a well-read person, otherwise she would not have been sent as a clerk by Wu Jing.
So the first sentence Mei Gan spoke at this moment was an allusion:
"Shouchun, the other capital of ancient Chu, controlled the Huaihe and Ying rivers in the sky, and led the Jiangtuo in the front. It was the key hub of the northwest and the shield of the southeast. If the general wants to control the east of the Yangtze River, he must first use Shouchun. This is the overall situation. Also.”
Regardless of what Mei Gan said at this time, Xu Huang had heard it from Xun You's advisers, so he thought that Xu Huang would not be surprised.
Because Xu Huang knew that prunes came from local bandits, it was not easy to read Braille. How could he still have such knowledge?
Just relying on the opening sentence, Shouchun was the different capital of the ancient Chu country, which is not simple.
This kind of knowledge from hundreds of years ago is impossible to know without instruction.
It seems that this prune is not without its origin. Of course, Mei Gan didn't know Xu Huang's surprise. At this moment, he was like a job seeker showing his value to his benefactor.
Then, Mei Gan pointed to the east and preached:
"As far as the two Huaihei are concerned, Shouchun is more important. Since ancient times, the two Huaihei have been divided into east and west by Fuling Lake and Zhangbaling. The land east of Huaihei is a coastal depression with intersecting water networks and scattered lakes, which is not conducive to Beiqi University. The scale goes southward. The land of Huaixi is half as big as mountains and rivers, and the terrain of Shouchun is gentle, which is where the army can pass."
While Mei Gan was speaking, Xu Huang kept nodding. He is from Hedong and has never been to the Huainan area in his life. He is as blind as a blind person to the geographical conditions here.
What's more, what makes Xu Huang uncomfortable is the climate and precipitation in Huainan. It's humid and wet. His clothes are wet all day long, which makes people feel uncomfortable.
It is still spring in February, and I heard from the locals that after April and May, there will be heavy rain in the Huainan area, because it is the time when the plums are ripe, which is also called plum rain.
Meiyu, Meiyu, as a Hedong native, he would be really unlucky if he encountered such a world.
Therefore, in Xu Huang's plan, he must capture Shouchun City before the Meiyu arrives, otherwise they will have to withdraw their troops.
More than half of Xu Huang's flying tiger army were officials north of the river. How could these people have ever seen such a situation where it rained continuously for half a month? If you only camp in the wild at that time, you will definitely get diseases.
But even though he was anxious, Xu Huang still smiled and looked like he had a chance to win.
And his gesture fell into Mei Gan's eyes, making Mei Gan even more grateful for her choice.
At this moment, Mei Gan pointed directly at Shouchun City and continued:
"General, this Shouchun weapon is all in my humble belly, and now I come here to report it to the general."
At this moment, Xu Huang knew that the good stuff had finally arrived, so he stopped twirling his beard and bowed directly to the prunes:
"Sir, please give me some advice."
This is Xu Huang. As long as you really have something and can help him, he will definitely save the corporal.
Mei Gan was also frightened by this sincerity. After even saying that he did not dare to accept it, he quickly began to tell what he knew about the defense of Shouchun City:
"General, look at this mountain to the north of Shouchun. This mountain is called Bagong Mountain. Together with the Zijin Mountain and Xiashi Mountain next to it, it is the outer line of defense of Shouchun. Previously, the Shouchun soldiers relied on this dangerous mountain. Set up a city garrison and ask the general to take out the stronghold first and look down on it."
There is no need for Mei Gan to teach this. Xu Huang, as a veteran who has fought in battles for a long time, certainly understands the importance of the commanding heights on the battlefield.
In fact, as soon as Xu Huang got off the ship, he had already sent two units of the Flying Tiger Army to attack Bagong Mountain. He thought that there should be results by now.
Sure enough, before Na Meigan could say his second sentence, a rider came running from the east and shouted:
"Gao and Zhang, who pulled out six walls of Bagong Mountain, are here to see victory!"
Xu Huang laughed and looked at Mei Gan's somewhat shocked expression. He felt happy and replied loudly:
"Okay, I'm very energetic! Let the Second Division reject Bagong Mountain, and I will move the banner to them later!"
The sentry rider was overjoyed, knowing that this was an honorable matter. He shouted "O" and ran straight back.
Mei Gan was indeed shocked here, but he still calmed down and said to Xu Huang:
"The general's troops are really as fast as fire. Our troops in Huainan were defeated unjustly!"
Xu Huang has long been immune to this kind of flattery. He only cares about other city defenses in Shouchun, so he smiled and said:
"What's the point of this? There are countless soldiers like me in our army. Sir, please finish talking about the other aspects of defense first."
This sentence made Mei Gan even more defensive. He finally managed to maintain his mood and continued:
"In addition to the defense line of Bagong Mountain in the north, there was originally a small town of Xiashi 20 miles northwest, on Xiashi Mountain. The two sides of the mountain face each other, and the Huai River flows through it. Therefore, Wu Jing built two villages on both sides of the mountain to prevent The Huai River is about to be attacked, but perhaps because Wu Jing's elite troops were exhausted, when we crossed the river, the two villages were empty, and the Huai River was surrendered."
Xu Huang began to touch his beard again. At this moment, he was thinking in his heart, listening to the meaning of this prune, this Wu Jing should not be underestimated. Not to mention what the battle is like, at least this defense is still very thoughtful.
From the Huai River to the Bagong Mountain for defense, it can be said that if there is water, use water, and if there are mountains, use mountains. We must defend every step and no one will be left behind.
Here Mei Gan continues:
"And in the west of Shouchun, there are several important places. Because it is from the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains to the plains, many rivers flow through it and flow into the Huaihe River. Therefore, the water network here is densely covered and there are many ponds."
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"And it is these ponds that I would like to ask the general to pay attention to. I once heard Wu Jing say that if things go wrong, these ponds will be dug to submerge the roads and cut off land transportation. So Wu Jing was also complacent and said that he It can be said that "there are obstacles from the rivers and lakes on the outside, but the strength of Huaihe River is protected inside".
Hearing this, Xu Huang, who had always acted confidently, was stunned for a moment, and even stopped stroking his beard.
Xu Huang asked hesitantly:
"This place is so flat. How much water can be raised even if we dig a pond and release water? I'm afraid it's a scam."
At this time, Mei Gan looked at Xu Huang in surprise, and then suddenly said:
"General, you are not from Huainan and don't know the situation of our Huai River. Every spring, the Huai River will rise sharply. This is only February. After March, the Huai River will surge another six or seven feet. By that time If the embankment breaks again, the water will flow into the sea. ”
Xu Huang was stunned.
Six or seven feet? Isn't that just to increase one's height? Huang Tian must pity him, he is from Hedong, why did he come to Huainan!
At this point, Xu Huang was still a little lucky. He pursed his lips and asked in a low voice:
"Such a huge amount of water shouldn't last long."
But Mei Gan shook his head and broke his last bit of luck:
"General, the water rises and falls until autumn and August, and then the Huaihe River enters the dry season."
At this time, Xu Huang's hands and feet were a little cold, and his voice was a little dry:
"Do you southerners always dig ponds when fighting?"
Mei Gan smiled bitterly and did not answer directly. Instead, she told Xu Huang in a very positive tone:
"Whether all southerners will be like this is hard to say, but Wu Jing will definitely do it. Once the general cannot break Shouchun this month and wait for the Huaihe River to rise, then Wu Jing will definitely dig Shaopei and other ponds. At that time, the general will have no choice but to return north. ”
Xu Huang forced a smile and said to Mei Qian:
"It doesn't take a few days for someone to break this longevity!"
With that, Xu Huang ended the topic, took the canopy, guard of honor, and retinue, and moved the banner to Bagong Mountain.
That night, Xu Huang stayed at Bagong Mountain, looking at Shouchun City, and stayed up all night.