Chapter 116: Offensive like fire
The 15,000 soldiers under the command of former General Man Chong marched south from Shouchun without stopping for a day. After arriving at Wuqiangkou on the afternoon of the 7th, they began to march westward early in the morning of the 8th and finally arrived at Zhugai's camp in Guache at noon on the 9th.
Man Chong had learned from the cavalry messenger sent by Zhu Gai to Guache that Wu's 50,000 troops were advancing all the way to Guache. Therefore, Man Chong's 15,000 men did not stop for a moment after arriving at Guache, digging trenches and piling up antlers on the west side of Guache, and extending to the west side of the north and south mountain passes to build a six-li long defense line.
Just as Man Chong's defense line was taking shape, the 50,000 troops led by Lu Xun were already approaching the trailer. However, as it was getting dark, Lu Xun did not rush to attack, but built a fortification on the spot and prepared to attack the next day.
In this era, night battles are indeed extremely difficult. In addition to the objective limitations of lighting and soldiers' unclear vision, a more important reason is that night battles are inconvenient to command and generals find it difficult to judge the battle situation of their own deployments.
Lu Xun's troops did not slack off at all. Even after nightfall, one-third of the troops were waiting outside the camp. The two armies were too close, only five miles apart, and the terrain was flat, so Lu Xun could not help but be cautious.
On the morning of the tenth day, before the Wu army was ready to launch a new offensive, Lu Xun summoned the generals of various armies to his banner.
Lu Xun was wearing full armor and said to his generals with a serious face: "The Wei army has occupied the trailer. We learned last night and this morning that the flags of Cao Xiu, Zhu Gai, and Man Chong are all here."
"Although Cao Xiu is the Grand Marshal, he is actually just a general in charge of the Yangzhou army. Man Chong and Zhu Gai are both under Cao Xiu's jurisdiction. In addition, Jia Kui's troops, whose whereabouts are still unclear, are just the military forces around Yangzhou."
"As for the Wei army's defense line, this commander-in-chief has already climbed up the mountain on the north side to observe it in the early morning. It is loose and long. Judging from the area of the camp, the Wei army is no more than 30,000, including cavalry that cannot be wasted in defending the camp. The infantry in the camp is no more than 20,000."
"And our army already has 50,000 troops. 50,000 versus 30,000, the Great Wu will surely defeat them! Moreover, Zhu Huan will soon lead his 20,000 troops and the Right General Bu Zhi's 10,000 troops to the battlefield this afternoon."
"The advantage is mine! Within two days, this governor wants you to capture the trailer and make contributions for the Supreme!"
The generals took orders and left.
When the number of soldiers exceeds ten thousand, they seem endless to those who have never received professional training.
Man Chong stood on a high point in the camp, looking at the Wu soldiers advancing towards the Wei army's position not far away, his eyebrows and eyes full of worry: "General Zhu, what are the results of your cavalry's reconnaissance this morning? I think the Wu army's offensive here, from south to north, has at least 10,000 people."
Unlike siege warfare, field fortifications are often built longer and wider, so the attacking party can often send more people at the same time.
Zhu Gai said, "The day before yesterday, Quan Cong's army had about 20,000 men, and yesterday Lu Xun led his army here, and the army he brought was obviously larger than Quan Cong's. From this, the total number of Wu's army should be 50,000."
Man Chong sighed softly: "I arrived here yesterday. There were only 15,000 people just now. I am afraid that we can't hold out for too long."
Zhu Gai was much more relaxed than Man Chong. After all, his cavalry did not need to participate in the defense behind the fortifications. "The reinforcements sent by His Majesty will arrive today, right? Perhaps in the afternoon?"
Man Chong replied: "Le Chen and Xu Shu's 15,000 men will arrive this afternoon. I'm afraid the Wu army will send reinforcements again."
"If your majesty is right, there are only 50,000 Wu troops here, and there are still tens of thousands who have not yet arrived."
Zhu Gai spread his hands and said, "It should be no problem to hold off the Wu army for another day and night, right? This morning, I received an imperial edict that His Majesty intends to have us retreat, but he has not confirmed when."
The six-mile-long defense line put a lot of pressure on Man Chong: "General Zhu, didn't your soldier named Zhou go to find Quan Cong before? After the Wu army's offensive is over, let him go back to the Wu army to delay them for a while."
Zhu Gai frowned: "Can Lu Xun see him? I'm afraid he will be shot to death before he even reaches the Wu army camp."
Man Chong shook his head: "If he dies, it can only be said that he was unlucky. Let him go, and in the name of the Grand Marshal, let the Wu army release the defenders of Wancheng, and we will withdraw our troops."
Zhu Gai didn't know what to say, so after bidding farewell to Man Chong, he went to look for his military officer Zhou Duo. The life of a military officer was so insignificant in the battle between tens of thousands of troops that he could be discarded as a bargaining chip at any time.
The Wu army was well-rested, and all the troops gathered at Wankou by boat, covering much less distance than the Wei army. In addition, their morale was high, making it difficult for the Wei army behind their fortifications to deal with them.
At noon, the sun was high in the sky, and the two waves of Wu's attacks in the morning came to a temporary end. Many Wu soldiers were left dead on the plains and trenches west of the trailer. The situation of the Wei army was also not optimistic. Although the casualties were slightly less than those of the Wu army, they still had a lot of work to do to repair the fortifications.
After Zhou Duo received the order, he went to the Wu army for the second time. However, this time the mission was far less friendly than the first one.
Zhou Duo had just walked two miles and was about one mile away from the Wu army camp when a volley of arrows was shot from the front and hit about ten or twenty feet in front of Zhou Duo's horse.
Zhou Duo did not dare to be careless and quickly waved a small flag he was carrying. Then a group of Wu army knights came out at full speed, tied Zhou Duo up and put him behind their horses, and took him directly to the camp.
What kind of person is Lu Xun? Although the Wu army's offensive was suspended at this moment, it was just a normal deployment and rest. Lu Xun was not going to stop the urgent attack today, but the Wei army sent an envoy to meet him, which would not delay him for long. After a while, Lu Xun's guards threw Zhou Duo in front of Lu Xun's hall. Lu Xun sat in the hall and looked at Zhou Duo coldly. There were more generals around him than in Zhu Huan's formation the day before, and their eyes were quite fierce.
Zhou Duo smiled bitterly and got up from the ground, but his hands were still tied behind his back: "I am the Grand Marshal Zhou Duo, I come to pay my respects to the commander of the Wu army."
Lu Xun glanced at Zhou Duo and asked, "Why did Cao Xiu send you here? To delay time?"
Zhou Duo said: "You are General Lu, right?"
Quan Cong at the side interrupted and said, "This is our Grand Commander, why don't you show your respect?"
Zhou Duo glanced at Quan Cong and said, "My hands have been tied by your army. I cannot salute even if I want to."
Lu Xun looked at the guard and raised his chin. The guard knew what his general meant and immediately untied Zhou Duo.
After Zhou Duo's hands were freed, he bowed to Lu Xun and said, "General Lu, the Grand Marshal sent me here to make peace with you."
Lu Xun raised his eyebrows and said, "I'm almost conquering your camp, what's the point of talking about stopping the war and making peace?"
Zhou Duo replied: "The Grand Commander's attack was indeed fierce, but didn't your army also suffer heavy casualties? My Grand Marshal said that if the Grand Commander can return the defenders of Wancheng to Wei, then the Grand Marshal is willing to stop fighting and make peace with the Grand Commander. Even a piece of land with a trailer can be given to the Grand Commander."
Lu Xun asked softly, "Is this Cao Xiu's personal opinion? Or is it your court's opinion?"
Zhou Duo said: "The Grand Marshal is in charge of the military affairs of Yangzhou. What is the difference between his personal opinion and the opinion of the court?"
Lu Xun sneered. How could the Wei court negotiate peace with the Wu army and even abandon the city of Wan? It must be that Cao Xiu had just taken office as the Grand Marshal and had no choice but to make peace with Lu Xun in private in order to monopolize power and keep his position.
But Lu Xun knew that no matter whether it was a contract signed verbally or on paper, which one would be truly effective? It still depended on how the war was fought!
Lu Xun looked at Zhou Duo and said, "I understand what you mean. Go back and tell Cao Xiu. I will consider it."
After Zhou Duo saluted, he was dragged out of the camp by the guards before he could say anything. The horse Zhou Duo rode when he arrived was nowhere to be seen, apparently it had been confiscated by the Wu army.
Zhou Duo hurriedly walked towards his own position. However, just when Zhou Duo walked less than a mile away, the golden drums in the Wu army's formation sounded again. Zhou Duo did not dare to hesitate and hurriedly ran eastward, while a new wave of Wu army's offensive behind him attacked the Wei army's position again.
Just as Le Chen and Xu Shu led the remaining 15,000 foreign troops from Yangzhou to arrive at the trailer, doubling Man Chong's reinforcements, Zhu Huan also arrived here with 30,000 men.
The Wu army had 80,000 soldiers against the Wei army's 30,000 infantry. Although it was impossible for all 80,000 soldiers to rush in at once, there were enough troops to allow the Wu army's offensive to rotate every hour, like waves hitting rocks, shaking the Wei army's temporary positions.
At this time, on the afternoon of the 10th, Emperor Cao Rui and Grand Marshal Cao Xiu, with a total of 35,000 cavalry, also arrived at a place 30 miles east of the trailer.
These 35,000 cavalrymen were the Wei Kingdom's garrison troops. The emperor, Cao Xiu, Sima Yi and others were busy dispatching troops to fight in the front.
Cao Rui said, "Grand Marshal, Le Chen and Xu Shu's 15,000 men should have arrived by now, right? Zhu Gai sent a message saying that the Wu army's offensive was extremely fierce from early morning to afternoon today, and they were about to be unable to resist."
Cao Xiu nodded and said, "It must be here by now. I have been to this place several times. If Wu's army of 50,000 attacked Man Chong's army of 15,000, it would be extremely dangerous. But if Man Chong's army received another 15,000 reinforcements, it should not be a problem to hold out for another two days."
"Although it takes two days, I don't want to wait any longer." Cao Rui sighed softly and looked at Sima Yi: "Sikong, if we follow the previous plan, how many casualties will Man Chong, Le Chen, and Xu Shu's 30,000 men suffer?"
Sima Yi was silent for a moment. "Your Majesty, this is not the time to worry about casualties. When the Wu army attacks tomorrow morning, all the troops at the trailer will withdraw. No matter how many casualties there are, as long as the strategic goal can be achieved, it will be completely worth it."
Cao Rui looked at Cao Xiu and said, "Grand Marshal, follow the previous plan and give Man Chong an order to withdraw eastwards after dawn tomorrow."
Cao Xiu nodded in agreement with a serious face, and then arranged for someone to deliver the message.
(End of this chapter)
