Chapter 111: More Haste, Less Speed
After Zhu Huan sat down, Lu Xun did not stop dispatching troops, but looked at the right commander Quan Cong who was also sitting in the tent.
Lu Xun said slowly, "General Quan, this commander-in-chief wants to select 20,000 men from your army and have them camp 30 miles east of the main camp at noon tomorrow."
"It's quite wide there, about eight miles wide from the foot of the mountain to the hill, and there's a small river blocking the way. I want your 20,000 men to set up camp west of the river to block this eight-mile-wide passage for our army."
"Can you do it?" Lu Xun asked, looking at Quan Cong's face.
Quan Cong stood up and bowed his hands to receive the order. His expression was obviously more submissive than Zhu Huan's just now: "I accept the order. If 20,000 soldiers and horses cover an area of eight miles wide, it can definitely be done. However, Grand Commander, what will happen after I set up camp there tomorrow?"
Lu Xun was silent for a moment and then said: "If the Wei army reaches 10,000 people, your troops will have to confront them across the river. If the Wei army exceeds 10,000 people, quickly report to this governor, and I will provide you with support."
"If we don't encounter a large enemy force tomorrow, we will march another thirty miles east and set up camp the day after tomorrow morning, and follow the same arrangements as before."
Quan Cong nodded in agreement, but then asked, "Grand Commander, I have 30,000 subordinates in total. Which 20,000 should I choose?"
Lu Xun looked straight into Quan Cong's eyes, and after a moment he said, "General Quan, since the King of Wu trusts you and appoints you as the commander of the right corps, I, the commander-in-chief, naturally trust you as well."
"This commander-in-chief has ordered the distribution to you. It is up to you to choose which 20,000 men to fight the enemy and how to set up the camp. How can you expect this commander-in-chief to dictate everything?"
Although there was some questioning in Lu Xun's words, Quan Cong was not annoyed. In the past, when they were in Yiling, Quan Cong did not fight under Lu Xun. Since this was the first time they cooperated, they should have used this little thing to test the waters.
Sure enough, Lu Boyan was as good at dispatching as the rumors said. He knew how to use people and dispatched them well. Quan Cong really thought so! As the general of Sui Nan, Quan Cong thought that this kind of task would not be difficult to execute, and Lu Xun should not interfere.
Quan Cong looked into the tent, and then said to Lu Xun: "Grand Commander, since I am in charge of the deployment, the 10,000 Changsha and Jiaozhou soldiers under the Right General should stay in the Wankou camp."
"I will lead my own troops and Jiujiang troops totaling 6,000, Chen Biao's Wu Nan troops totaling 10,000, and He Da and Zhu Ju's troops totaling 2,000 each, to march north tomorrow."
The right general was referring to Bu Zhi, who was stationed in Changsha. Bu Zhi had the highest rank among all the generals under Quan Cong's command, so leaving him in the main camp under Lu Xun's jurisdiction would save some trouble.
Bu Zhi nodded in his seat without saying anything. The three generals Chen Biao, He Da and Zhu Ju, whose names were called by Quan Cong, stood up and saluted to receive the order.
At this time, Zhu Huan was sitting in the tent and saw that Quan Cong had received the order and would set out to the north tomorrow. After all, Liu Shao, who was sent to investigate, was under his supervision, but Lu Xun let Quan Cong lead the troops first?
Although Zhu Huan agreed with Lu Xun's words that he was good at attacking, he had kneeled before Lu Xun at Wankou a few days ago, so he really shouldn't say anything at this time.
But Zhu Huan was still a little unwilling.
……
There is no strong mouth, the Wei army camp.
The Wei army set out from Shouchun, so naturally it took more time on the journey.
The 30,000 cavalrymen under the command of Grand Marshal Cao Xiu arrived on January 4, and the 5,000 cavalrymen of the Central Army led by the Emperor himself also arrived at Wuqiangkou on the evening of the 5th.
Almost at the same time as Lu Xun, Cao Rui also saw the battle report from the trailer department and Zhu Gai's troops.
After all, Wuqiangkou is 180 miles away from Wancheng, and the trailer is 90 miles away from Wuqiangkou, right in the center of the two places. Since the cavalry reported the news, the time was naturally about the same.
The camps without strong defenses were arranged from south to north, facing the water and backed by mountains. At this time, Emperor Cao Rui, Grand Marshal Cao Xiu, Minister of Works Sima Yi and other counselors were discussing matters in the big tent of the Emperor's camp in the middle.
A rather large map was hanging in the tent. Cao Rui was standing in front of the map with his hands behind his back, staring at the location of the trailer drawn on the map.
After watching for a while, Cao Rui turned to look at the ministers in the tent and said, "Since Zhu Gai has already occupied the important place of Guache and set up camp, how should our army use the troops in the future?"
Grand Marshal Cao Xiu stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Guache is a very strategic place. Now that we have occupied it, we must defend it to prevent the Wu army from attacking. Why don't we continue to send more troops to Guache tomorrow morning to help Zhu Gai defend it?"
Cao Rui stood in front of the map and listened to Cao Xiu's words in silence.
Cao Xiu was undoubtedly the main attacker. As early as ten days ago, when discussing military situation in Shouchun, Cao Xiu advocated the urgent attack on Wancheng, and did not agree with the plan of trying to attack Ruxu again.
If the Wu soldiers had already reached the trailer and no news came from Wancheng, it was natural that Wancheng had been surrounded by the Wu army.
Moreover, according to Zhu Gai's report, he learned from the Wu prisoners that the first to arrive at the trailer were Liu Shao's troops stationed at Wankou, and they arrived near Wancheng on January 3. Moreover, a few days ago on January 1, Wu King Sun Quan also went to Wankou in person.
This is the only information we can get from the captured Wu army prisoners. As for the camps, layout, geography, etc., it is impossible for a soldier to know. Cao Rui thought for a while and asked, "Zhu Gai has already occupied a strategic position in the trailer. His troops are all cavalry. Whether they advance or retreat, the Wu army cannot stop them. Before that, the big strategy is the most important thing."
Cao Rui looked around at his ministers and asked, "I have previously discussed with you in Shouchun that we will finalize the specific strategy when there is no need to force anyone to speak."
"Now that the armies ahead are engaged, how and when should we attack? Please discuss this matter."
It was Cao Xiu who spoke first: "Your Majesty, why not wait until the 80,000 infantry led by the general arrive at Wuqiangkou before advancing south together? Besides, Zhu Gai has already guarded the carriage, and the carriage is only ninety miles away from Wancheng."
"We are advancing southward with more than 100,000 troops. No matter how many troops the Eastern Wu has, can they be as numerous as ours? Besides, this is a land battle, so why should we be afraid of the Wu soldiers? Strength comes from numbers, which is the right way of military strategy."
Cao Rui had already sighed in his heart when he heard what Cao Xiu said. From Wuqiangkou to Wancheng in the southwest, the flat land along the way was only ten miles wide at most. It was impossible for more than 100,000 people to move southward in a line at the same time. No matter how many troops there were, what was the use for a while?
At this time, Cao Rui finally understood why Cao Xiu in history suffered great defeats in Wancheng and Shiting, with the loss of nearly 10,000 soldiers.
Cao Rui looked in the direction of Sima Yi at this time. After the two looked at each other, Sima Yi did not speak.
Cao Rui stood there and coughed lightly, then said, "Grand Marshal, I think if more than 100,000 people were to move south at the same time, the roads would be narrow and they would not be able to maneuver. Let's decide on the order of priority."
Seeing that his words were refuted twice by the emperor, Cao Xiu bowed and sat down.
As early as the 15-day journey from Luoyang to Shouchun, Cao Rui and Sima Yi exchanged military strategies many times. It must be said that Sima Yi had some unique insights in military affairs.
According to Sima Yi, the most important thing in using troops to fight a war is to assess the generals and the enemy, as well as the situation.
In short, it is to get as much information about the enemy as possible, make judgments based on the enemy's generals, troops, and logistics, and force the enemy to slowly move into your comfort zone based on the situation and people's hearts.
Then use your own strengths to attack others' weaknesses.
Quite ingenious indeed.
Cao Rui had no military accomplishments. After understanding Sima Yi's theory, he combined the memories of Xu Chu and Cao Hong, two generals who had served in Cao's camp in the early days, and reviewed all the wars since the rise of Cao Wei.
To win, you must have something to rely on.
If you fail, there must be some shortcomings.
With the assistance of Sima Yi, Liu Ye and others, who are some of the top military advisers on the planet today, Cao Rui successfully summarized the reasons for victory in each battle into one sentence: that is, the troops must be correctly deployed within the scope of time and space, and then use the majority to defeat the minority.
The so-called deployment of troops within the scope of time and space means to be familiar with the situation of each unit and to achieve the effect of defeating the enemy with more troops by reasonable time and geographical deployment in every location where combat is required.
Of course, using the majority to defeat the minority does not necessarily mean having a majority in military strength, but rather a majority in combat power.
The "more" combat power can of course be achieved by more soldiers, or it can be determined by a higher armor rate, a higher level of skills and tactics, higher morale, better weapons, etc.
If we look at it this way, the most important thing at this moment is to know ourselves and our enemies, and to understand the deployment of Wu's troops.
Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi and said, "Sikong, I think the subsequent battle arrangements should be carefully arranged according to the 100,000 troops sent by Wu this time."
Sima Yi also took over the conversation tacitly: "Your Majesty is right. A lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit. Sun Quan's rebels have been a foreign threat for a long time. This time, I will defeat you with the force of thunder."
Although Cao Rui felt that the adjectives in Sima Yi's words were a bit exaggerated, he continued: "In this case, Zhu Gai should make some arrangements first."
Before he could finish his next sentence, Cao Xiu spoke up again, "It is indeed difficult to defeat the Wu army with 100,000 men. Why not let Zhu Gai's cavalry explore the way to Wancheng and the hills to the south? With the help of the cavalry, the Wu army will be helpless."
Cao Rui nodded. Regardless of whether Cao Xiu's strategy was correct or not, at the tactical level, Cao Xiu's arrangements were still very reassuring.
However, just when Cao Rui was satisfied with Cao Xiu's words and was about to end today's military meeting and decide to wait for Cao Zhen's troops to arrive before heading south, Cao Xiu said another sentence.
Cao Xiu said: "Your Majesty, with more than 100,000 troops heading south, it is equally important to repair the roads along the way. Since Jia Fangbo's troops have considerable experience in building camps at Wuqiangkou, why not let him lead his troops south tomorrow to repair the roads first."
After hearing Cao Xiu's words, everyone present had different expressions, but they all stared at Jia Kui, the governor of Yuzhou, who was sitting in the tent. At this time, the expression on Jia Kui's face was obviously a little stiff.
(End of this chapter)
