"Please punish us!"

On the tenth day of the first month of August, when Zhou Chang arrived in Yan County, he saw such a scene: Lao Wu, Yuan Yong, Deng Zong and several other captains and Sima knelt in front of the generalissimo of the Northern Expeditionary Army and bowed their heads to ask for guilt.

"They are the military officials who lost the Battle of Wanshan, and now they are asking for their own guilt......" Xiao He's eldest son, Xiao Lu, who was listening to the order by Heifu's side, whispered to Zhou Chang.

From Xiao Lu's mouth, Zhou Chang almost understood the cause and effect of the defeat that happened a few days ago.

It's not that Heifu fell for Wang Ben, although there are emergencies everywhere, and there are signs of bluffing in Wang Ben's camp, but Heifu did not transfer a single soldier from Xiangyang and Yanxian County, and still vigilantly stared at every move on the other side.

But no matter how powerful the general is, with less than twice the inferior force of the opponent, he can't defend seamlessly. Wang Ben had been secretly moving troops from Fancheng to the upper reaches of the Han River last month, and tens of thousands of troops had crossed the river from the shallow waters of Zhuyang (Gucheng, Hubei), far upstream, and the Northern Expeditionary Army's boat division was not capable of controlling the river for hundreds of miles.

When the scouts found out, Wang Ben had personally led a large army and approached Xiangyang, but he did not choose to attack the city directly, but launched an attack on Wanshan, the commanding heights in the south.

The tragic Battle of Wanshan has officially begun!

Xiao Lu said in a low voice: "Originally, Wang Ben's army attacked Wanshan, and the advantage was on our side, the generalissimo sat in Yilu, and the Gongdu Lieutenant contained his troops in Xiangyang. ”

But after all, the number of people was relatively small, and the battle between the two sides around Wanshan fell into a stalemate, and the reserves of the Northern Expeditionary Army were sent up little by little to replace the soldiers who were tired of casualties.

But a surprise soldier suddenly appeared behind him and changed everything.

A group of 10,000 elites arranged by Wang Ben actually went to Fangling County in Hanzhong and touched the northern foot of Jingshan Mountain, which was theoretically impossible to march, and they wrapped themselves in the cliffs on the slopes and cliffs where cars and horses were difficult to pass, and finally appeared on the side of Yilu County, taking the Northern Expeditionary Army by surprise.

With 50,000 enemies and 100,000 troops, the Northern Expeditionary Army was already struggling, and the rear was attacked again, and the army's morale was even more chaotic.

Fortunately, Lao Wu took a thousand cavalry and desperately stopped the enemy for a moment, and after Heifu was shocked, he sent all the short guards to block the strange army, so that the main force on Wanshan withdrew in time.

However, when the army returned to Yan County, the number of people was counted, and after several days of fierce battles and hasty retreat, nearly 3,000 people had been lost.

The blood of 3,000 soldiers was sprinkled on the Ten Thousand Mountains in this way, and now the banner of Wang Benjun is erected there, and the banner of the word "Qin" is a little dazzling.

The Gongwei retreated to Xiangyang and defended the city with a crowd of 10,000 people, which has now been separated from the main army.

Wang Ben besieged Xiangyang with 30,000 people, and the 50,000 army marched to the south of Wanshan and camped on the back of the mountain, further compressing the activity space of the Northern Expeditionary Army......

Zhou Chang couldn't help smacking his tongue: "This is an unprecedented defeat since Marquis Wuzhong raised his army!" ”

Although the loss of manpower was not manpower, and there were no cities lost, the situation in Jianghan was completely different: Wang Ben's main force successfully crossed the Han River, and now only Yan County and Yan County, the west and the east, were the two cities that stopped him from penetrating into the hinterland of Jiang and Han.

Such a big defeat is unheard of, everyone understands that the situation is very bad, but Heifu has not punished the relevant personnel, and everyone is uneasy, and today they have come to ask for guilt.

They knelt for a while, and then the tent was lifted, and Hefu came out, not like an ordinary soldier, and there was not the slightest frustration on his face, only the bloodshot eyes caused by staying up late.

"Why do you act like a child?" He glanced at the generals, his voice serious.

Everyone bowed their heads: "We have lost ten thousand mountains, so that Xiangyang is surrounded, and the prince's plan is ruined, please ask the marshal!" ”

Heifu was noncommittal: "Junzheng." ”

Jun Zhengle immediately agreed.

"Is he guilty?"

Le opened the record of rewards and punishments in the army: "There is no crime, the scout found the enemy army to commit the crime outside the prescribed mileage; When the drumbeat did not stop, none of the soldiers dared to take half a step back from the mountain; The order to retreat was given by the commander-in-chief, and when retreating, there was no contention between the three armies. ”

Heifu bowed: "That's right, the Battle of Wanshan lasted for four days, facing twice as many enemies, repeatedly fighting for positions up to 9 times, our army repelled more than 20 enemy charges, and the officers and men of the three armies did a good enough job." ”

"It's the same with the scouts, the old five once said that ten southern cavalry can't beat five northern cavalry, which is true. However, a few days ago, he risked being ridden by several times the anti-army chariot to go deep into the upper reaches of the Han River to reconnoiter and inform the enemy of the news of the advance in advance. Later, they were discovered before the enemy soldiers attacked Yilu, and Lao Wu personally led his troops to rush up and kill them, rushing thousands of people to thousands of people, just to stop them for a few more moments......"

Lao Wu wiped his tears, that charge, three hundred robes died, and the corpses of people and horses could not be recovered.

"The short guards, no matter what the battle situation is, are all guarding me on my side, and no one has left their posts without permission, after getting my order, they immediately went to stop the enemy's surprise soldiers, and bought time for the main force to withdraw from the ten thousand mountains."

Yuan Yong gritted his teeth, many of An Lu's partners he had played with since he was a child died in that battle.

"The rear army is a huge sacrifice, when the army retreats from the ten thousand mountains, Mu was ordered to take the rear army, for me to break the queen, he is extremely brave, personally beheaded more than a dozen people, hit the arrow seven, but did not snort, only to fall after returning to the camp......"

Thinking of the scene when the tall flag officer fell to the ground with a bang, Heifu couldn't help but have a sour nose, and he pulled out every arrow on his body for Mu at that time. Draw an arrow, and give a cup of wine.

Fortunately, Mu has a strong body, and under Chen Wuyi's diagnosis and treatment, he was lucky enough to pick up a life, and now he is lying in the city to recuperate.

This feeling has not been felt for a long time, and the last time Heifu witnessed the casualties of Paoze's subordinates and was helpless, was during the Battle of Liyang more than ten years ago, when he watched Huaimu leaning against a tree and lost his breath.

I thought that I was not a fledgling little military official at the beginning of the year, but a commanding and invincible general, who had no last resort and could wait for the other party to make a mistake......

But this time, Heifu met an opponent who would not make mistakes!

At this moment, Heifu controlled his emotions, clenched his fists and said:

"In this battle, everyone tried their best to fight to the death, no one made a mistake, we just outnumbered and fell behind."

said that no one was wrong, but deep down, Heifu knew that if he wanted to be investigated, he was the culprit of this defeat.

"It was I who insisted on dividing my troops to defend everywhere, hoping for outflanking in the corners, but as a result, 50,000 enemies and 100,000 enemies, facing a general like Wang Ben, who fought a hundred battles, this is me, too careless to underestimate the enemy......"

After all, people have to pay the price for their fluttering.

But then again, the number of troops is already doubled, and if the troops are really concentrated, I am afraid that Wang Ben will be able to drive straight in from other places, and the result may not be better than now.

Heifu also feels very powerless, sometimes you work hard and don't make any mistakes, but you just lose, at this time, looking for any reason is like an excuse, your skills are not as good as others.

After a battle, Heifu understood that Jiang was still old and spicy, and he was still slightly inferior to Wang Ben in terms of tactics and micro-manipulation of soldiers.

For the insight of the generals, the execution of his subordinates, this is the key to determining the outcome of a battle, and it is okay for Heifu to be stubborn in the past, fight in a daze, or send out urgent troops to abuse lower-level generals.

But when he met Wang Ben, Wang Ben, who destroyed the four countries in four battles, the other party's troops were twice as many as him, and even though he had the advantage of geography, he still suffered a big defeat after all.

For the general, the courage of the three armies, Heifu can admit defeat in his heart, but not in his mouth, seeing that everyone is hanging their heads and unhappy, he immediately exerted the spirit of revolutionary optimism and said with a smile:

"What, you can't afford to lose?"

"I said, the defeat of Wanshan, no wonder anyone, it's just that our army is slightly inferior, so Wang Ben took a small advantage, which can be regarded as retreating and letting him go."

Yuan Yong and others said: "I just feel aggrieved...... Dashuai, please let us go and save Xiangyang! ”

But Heifu flatly refused everyone's invitation to fight.

"Defend Yan County and Xiangyang, you can only rely on yourself!"

The current situation is that Wang Ben occupies Wanshan, 30,000 people will surround Xiangyang, and the remaining 50,000 will wait aside, obviously to encircle the point to send reinforcements, if Heifu is in a hurry, with inferior troops to save Xiangyang, will be defeated by Wang Ben.

Moreover, attacking Wanshan, Wang Ben also paid at least 5,000 casualties, which is also the reason why he did not directly attack Yan County after his victory.

Moreover, Hanshui was still in the hands of Heifu, and in a fierce battle on the landing, he sent a boat master to burn Wang Ben's water village in Yuliangzhou.

This means that the opponent's military rations, before building a pontoon bridge, have to make a long detour to the upper reaches of the Han River to transport them, or the cavalry of Dongjin will plunder the grain and straw of Handong to feed the war......

That's right, the 20,000 people arranged by Wang Ben in Dongjin and Lumen Mountain are Heifu's biggest heart disease, according to Chen Ying and Zhou Chang's reports, it is obvious that the target of that army is Junxian in the south!

Once the enemy's partial division captured there, it could drive straight in, go south deep into the Han River, and even cross the Han Dynasty to threaten Jiangling!

If things do get to that point, Heifu is really in a dilemma.

How long Xiangyang can hold out, whether Xiangxian can block the attack of Dongjin's troops, and whether Wang Ben will make a plan to irrigate Yan County with water are the three points that determine the direction of the war.

The matter has come to a life-and-death point, but Heifu must talk and laugh with the commanders, and not let the fear of defeat bury in their hearts for a long time.

He helped everyone up one by one and encouraged: "The husband wins and loses, soldiers are commonplace, where to fall, where to get up!" ”

"What's more, if you lose a small battle, but in the whole war, the Northern Expeditionary Army will definitely win! I received news today that the autumn harvest in the south has ended, and the reinforcements and food of Xiao Junshou are coming soon, and at that time, we can fight the rebel army again! ”

Sure enough, as soon as these words came out, everyone suddenly became energetic.

Heifu handed over the entire rear to Xiao He and Xiao Tao, Xiao He was in charge of the autumn harvest and conscription, and promised that after the autumn, he would immediately send soldiers and food to the north to support, led by the most stable Xiao Tao.

According to Xiao He's report, at the end of August, Xiao Tao Ke arrived south of Yan County with 30,000 people!

Hefu is now in dire need of this new force.

"Ten days, I need to hold out for at least ten more days before the two sides can return to the balance of confrontation."

And if he wants to win the war, he will have to wait a long time.

Long before the start of the battle with Wang Ben, Heifu arranged a total of three back-up hands, but whether they can work one by one depends on both providence and man-made ......

First, it depends on the situation in Bashu, Heifu has learned that Ye Zijin has returned safely, Lu Jia has entered Ba to encourage the Ba people to join the Northern Expeditionary Army, and Zhao Tuo, who Heifu arranged in advance, has also entered Ba from the small road, Zhao Wu and the Ba people, have forced Feng Zheng to retreat to Jiangzhou, and the two sides confronted each other in Ba County and fell into a stalemate.

If we want to break this deadlock, there is still one crucial opportunity missing.

"Lu Jia, Lu Jia, success or failure, it depends on your three-inch tongue......"

Calculating the time, the latest letter sent by Heifu is almost in the hands of Lu Jia, who is in Bazhong!

Second, it is Suixian's side, Suixian's plan in Heifu is that it is a trap, according to Zhou Changyu's report, at present, 30,000 northern troops have stepped into it, which means that the Dongmen Tyrant Tiger, which is eyeing it in the south, can act.

But the situation has changed, and after the defeat of Wanshan, even if both are victorious, it will not help the overall situation, and Heifu can only count on the third, and most crucial point......

"The best general under my command is not here!"

……

In the middle of August, the geese fly south, and they have to cross the three passes of the underworld (Xinyang, Henan) between Tongbai Mountain and Dabie Mountain, and go to the warm south to spend the winter.

However, an army of 20,000 people was heading northward and entering the Runan Plain......

Han Xin stood on the rumbling chariot, full of spirit, and pointed to the north with a flag:

"Nanyang!"