Chapter 115 The war is approaching
Han Zong was fine, after all, he was Han Dang's son and could often see Wu Wang Sun Quan. Zhai Dan was just a general commanding a thousand men, but at this moment he knelt down and kowtowed in the tent.
Cao Rui said softly, "Don't be nervous. I won't eat you. Han Qing, I remember your father Han Dang was from Liaoxi County, right?"
The emperor was being polite to him, but he didn't dare to be polite to the emperor. Han Zong also quickly knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I am grateful for your concern. My father is indeed from Liaoxi."
Cao Rui said: "Why did the heroes of Liaoxi go to Jiangdong? Your father is from Liaoxi, so you are also from Liaoxi. It is only natural for you to return to Wei."
"Han Qing, the governor Sun beside you is from Zhuo County. He is from Youzhou like you, so we are from the same hometown. You two should interact with each other more often."
Sun Li cupped his hands in agreement, and Han Zong was about to burst into tears: "Your Majesty, thank you for your great grace."
Cao Rui waved his hand and said, "As long as you have made contributions to the country, I will not be stingy with rewards. Um, Mr. Zhai?"
Zhai Dan raised his head and answered.
Cao Rui said, "Han Qing and Zhai Qing, you two have a total of 5,000 infantrymen. In this battle, you will be under the command of Qingzhou Governor Wang Ling. Stand up."
Han Zong and Zhai Dan immediately stood up and bowed to Wang Ling. Wang Ling cupped his hands in response.
Cao Rui then said, "You two should return to your respective headquarters, and tomorrow morning, march westward with Wang Fangbo."
The two of them accepted the order and did not dare to ask more questions. They slowly backed out of the tent. At this time, only Man Chong, Wang Ling, Sun Li and Hu Zhi were left in the tent.
Today is January 7th.
This afternoon, 15,000 men led by former general Man Chong, 8,000 men under the command of Qingzhou governor Wang Ling, 5,000 men under the command of Langya prefect Sun Li, 2,000 men under the command of Dongguan prefect Hu Zhi, and 5,000 men led by two Wu rebel generals Han Zong and Zhai Dan, a total of 35,000 people arrived at Wuqiangkou.
Before Cao Rui walked to the map, what he personally explained at this moment were the truly important arrangements for this battle.
Cao Rui took a deep breath and pointed to the location of Guache on the map: "Wuqiangkou to Wancheng is 180 miles away, and Guache, 90 miles in the middle, is the most strategic. Now Zhu Gai's 10,000 cavalry have occupied Guache, but their strength is not enough, and more infantry are needed to go there."
"We will set out early tomorrow morning. I will give you one and a half days. You must complete the 90-mile journey and reach the trailer by noon on the 9th." Cao Rui turned around and looked at the others: "Grandmaster Sun."
"I'm here." Sun Li quickly bowed in response.
Cao Rui pointed to the large hills to the south of the trailer on the map and said, "From the map, if we go south of the trailer and cross the hills for a hundred miles, we can directly reach Wankou where the Wu army is dispatched."
"Grandmaster Sun, go and open up a road from Guache to Wankou for me. Go as fast as you can. This involves national affairs, so I'll leave it to you. If there are any follow-up orders, I'll have Wang Ling pass them on to you."
Sun Li bowed and replied, "I will definitely live up to your majesty's trust."
"Wang Fangbo." Cao Rui looked at Wang Ling's face and said, "I grant you the title of Grand Master and let you supervise the three divisions of Hu Zhi, Han Zong, and Zhai Dan."
"After you reach the trailer on the ninth day, your 8,000 men will head directly south to the hills and find a place to secretly camp. I will have you launch a surprise attack on the trailer later."
"Hu Zhi, Han Zong, and Zhai Dan have a total of 7,000 troops. They will march westward from your camp in the hills. They must block all Wu troops in the hills. If they are not enough, your own troops will provide assistance."
After Wang Ling heard the emperor's orders clearly, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty has trusted me so much that I am willing to die to repay my country."
Cao Rui shook his head slightly: "As a governor who has unified 15,000 people, don't say such unlucky words. In short, without my order, you will stay in the hills south of the trailer and block all Wu troops for me. Do not leave the mountains."
Wang Ling quickly agreed.
Finally, Cao Rui walked up to Man Chong and held both of his hands.
Man Chong was more than eight feet tall, with a strong body and a resolute face. He looked much bigger than the emperor. Cao Rui said to Man Chong: "General Man, your 15,000 troops will set up camp for me at the west entrance of Guache in nine days. The victory or defeat of this battle depends on you."
Man Chong had just heard the emperor's words to keep Wang Ling's troops in the mountains, and thought that the emperor wanted to use his own troops to stop the Wu army, so he said, "I will obey your order and stop the Wu army in the trailer."
Cao Rui interrupted Man Chong and said, "As for when to stop him and when to let him go, I will give you an imperial edict in a few days."
Several generals left one after another. Tomorrow, another 35,000 infantrymen will march west. The military strength on the front line will soon reach 45,000.
……
The next day, January 7th.
As Quan Cong expected, in the morning when Quan Cong was about to lead his troops to march eastward to complete the tactical task given to him by Grand Commander Lu Xun, Zhu Gai's cavalry appeared not far away on the other side of the river.
Quan Cong was not afraid of death, nor did he say that he could not defeat Zhu Gai's 4,000 cavalry. Moreover, under the harassment of Zhu Gai's troops, even if he could complete the task assigned by Lu Xun to move another 30 miles east, he would obviously not be able to set up camp like yesterday.
What's more, Quan Cong himself didn't sleep at all last night.
Until the afternoon, the cavalrymen on the other side of the river with the flag of "Wei Grand Marshal Cao" were still staring at Quan Cong's troops. Quan Cong knew that his military orders had been lost and he could no longer delay, so he ordered the messenger to quickly send a message to Lu Xun in the Wancheng camp, asking him to come to the rescue. When Lu Xun received the message, it was already the evening of January 7th.
In the central army tent of the Wancheng camp, Lu Xun and the generals of the Eastern Wu were discussing military affairs. At the end of the discussion, Lu Xun said decisively: "In my opinion, the Wei cavalry is waiting for the infantry to arrive!"
"The key point of this battle is at the trailer ninety miles east of Wancheng! The entire Cong army is still sixty miles away from the trailer. My intention is to seize the trailer and then decide whether to release the Wei army to the vicinity of Wancheng."
Lu Xun stood up from behind the desk, put his hand on the hilt of his sword and looked around at the generals in the tent: "Everyone, tomorrow I will personally lead 30,000 troops to the east to assist Quan Cong's troops! If anyone has different opinions, you can speak up now."
The generals in the tent fell silent. The King of Wu asked you, Lu Xun, to be the Grand Commander because he wanted you to lead the troops. Leading the troops eastward is what you should do. Why do you have to ask us?
However, Zhu Huan looked at the people around him and said in a very cautious tone: "Grand Commander, I have something to ask you."
"Tell me!" Lu Xun narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Zhu Huan, saying only one word.
Zhu Huan bowed carefully and asked, "General, I am willing to be the vanguard. Can I march with you tomorrow?"
Lu Xun said expressionlessly, "The 30,000 troops led by me will set out tomorrow. As for the 30,000 troops under General Zhu, 10,000 will be left here to lock down Wancheng. The remaining 20,000 troops and the troops under Right General Bu Zhi will set out eastward the day after tomorrow."
"General Zhu, which one do you want to choose in Wancheng?"
The question was thrown back into Zhu Huan's hands. This scene was exactly the same as when Lu Xun asked Quan Cong to lead his troops eastward a few days ago.
At that time, Quan Cong looked around at the generals under his command, left the highest-ranking right general Bu Zhi in the Wancheng camp, and set off with the remaining 20,000 people.
Zhu Huan replied: "Grand Commander, why not let the Left General Zhuge Jin's troops lock down Wancheng here and serve as backup for our army."
Lu Xun looked at Zhuge Jin, who was also quite helpless at this time. Since his official position was higher than Zhu Huan, it was inevitable that he would be thrown here by Zhu Huan.
After the generals of Eastern Wu agreed to send troops, as Wei and Wu simultaneously sent heavy troops in the direction of the trailer, a bloody battle became inevitable.
On the morning of January 8, Grand Commander Lu Xun personally led 30,000 soldiers of his army to advance to the northeast.
In the afternoon, Lu Xun's 30,000 men arrived at Quan Cong's camp and stopped to build a camp. The arrival of Lu Xun's 30,000 men was also enough to prevent the harassment of Wei cavalry.
Therefore, on the evening of the 8th, Quan Cong, the right governor of Wu and general of Sui Nan, finally slept well.
On the morning of January 9, the 20,000 people led by Quan Cong, or 19,000 people to be exact, as the vanguard finally crossed the river and formed a formation and marched towards the trailer.
Quan Cong was in front and Lu Xun was behind. Under the pressure of nearly 50,000 infantrymen, Zhu Gai's cavalry did not dare to approach at all. By the evening, 50,000 Wu soldiers had arrived in front of the Wei army camp.
At the same time, Song Wei, the Sima of another army who was sent by Zhu Gai to report the news to the defenders of Wancheng, also arrived at the foot of Tianzhu Mountain.
The mountain road was winding and steep. Although the straight-line distance was only thirty-five miles, in order to avoid being discovered by Wu army scouts, Song Wei walked north for more than ten miles to the deep mountains after leaving Zhu Gai's team, and then led two hundred people westward.
It was winter at this time, the climate in the mountains was cold, and the roads were rugged and dangerous, so those who had sprained their ankles or fallen were gathered together by Song Wei to be cared for.
On the 7th, nearly twenty people were injured and left behind.
On the 8th, the casualties were greater than the day before, with nearly forty people injured and left behind.
On the evening of the 9th, when Song Wei led his troops to Tianzhu Mountain, only a hundred of his trusted followers were left. The rapid march through the mountains had reduced the number of casualties by half in three days.
After arriving at the agreed place, Song Wei did not delay at all. He immediately took out the fire starter and started to set fire to the hilltop closest to Wancheng.
There was no such thing as "staying in jail for life" at this time. The north and south ends of Wancheng were surrounded by Wu army camps, and the 5,000 defenders in Wancheng were also anxiously waiting for the Wei army to come to their aid.
Wu's troops had been besieging Wancheng for seven days, and during these seven days, about two thousand of the five thousand soldiers in the city had been killed or wounded.
General Guo Yu, who followed Jia Kui to Huainan to fight and led 4,000 Yuzhou soldiers to station in Wancheng, was inspecting the city defenses on the top of the city wall at this time, dispatching soldiers to repair the damage caused by the day's fighting.
Just as Guo Yu was patrolling, the guards beside him shouted, startling Guo Yu: "General, General, look! The mountain to the north is on fire!"
How could Guo Yu not understand? Looking from the top of Wancheng City, there were Wu army fortifications to the north and south, and the Wu army camp to the east stretched for dozens of miles, so the Wei army could not get through at all.
And this fire must be someone sent by my own governor to deliver a message to me!
Guo Yu's eyes became more determined, and he suppressed his emotion and said to the soldiers around him: "The reinforcements from the Wei Dynasty are coming! Brothers, hurry up and build, the reinforcements will come to rescue us!"
(End of this chapter)
