The duration of the Battle of Waihuang was not very long, from the main force of the young marshal's army coming to the city to successfully taking the Waihuang city and annihilating the remnants of Li You, it took less than two days and two nights before and after, but the fierceness of the battle, the physical consumption of the soldiers was huge, but it was no less than experiencing a large-scale battle, plus the main force of the young marshal army in the Jiyang battlefield was a continuous battle, and he rushed to Waihuang to attack the city without any rest and recuperation, so even if he succeeded in victory, the main force of the young marshal army was still exhausted from top to bottom, Desperately need time to rest.

Xiang Kang originally liked to show his hypocritical face of loving soldiers like a son, after discovering this, Xiang Kang decisively gave up the planned plan to immediately return to the division to attack Jiyang, and ordered the young marshal to rest outside the Yellow City for three days, and then returned to the division to go north to Jiyang, reopen the connection with the main force of the Chu army, and at the same time poured everything in his hands, and rewarded the three armies with good wine and meat, in exchange for the chorus cheers and smiles of the young marshal soldiers and soldiers.

Xiang Kang may regret that he did not immediately take the army to the north, three days later, on the fourth day of the seventh month of the second year of Qin II, the main force of the young marshal army who planned to set off north the next day loaded all the grain, grass and ordnance early, and prepared to set off to the north early the next morning, but in the evening, the sky was gradually overcast, the stars and the moon were dark, and it rained heavily in the second half of the night, and it did not stop until the next morning, Xiang Kang took pity on the hard work of the soldiers, so he adopted Zhou Zeng's suggestion and ordered the army to continue to rest, I plan to wait for the rain to stop before sending troops north.

Xiang Kang was very dumbfounded by the result of waiting, the heavy rain stopped and stopped, sometimes big and sometimes small, and it rained for three days in a row without seeing the sky clear, and on the fourth day, it was still raining, and the road was soaked by continuous rain so wet and slippery that it was difficult to travel. Xiang Kang vaguely found that something was wrong, and hurriedly convened a military Chinese military meeting to discuss countermeasures.

"General Right, our soldiers' rain gear is insufficient, let's not wait a few days, anyway, the general didn't send anyone to urge us to go north, and our grain and grass can still support us for a while, we can't march in the rain and add hardship to the soldiers."

"Wait a little longer, I don't believe it, it's really going to leak this day, and it's going to rain like this all the time."

The result of the discussion was for the sake of the sergeants, most of the young marshals and generals thought that they should wait a few more days, although Xiang Kang did not want countless young marshals and soldiers to be drenched by the heavy rain, but there was a vague sense of foreboding in his heart, he always felt that such a continuous heavy rain was not a good sign, so after thinking about it, although Xiang Kang did not decide to go north in the rain immediately, he still sent messengers to the north to contact the main force to understand the current situation of the main force, and at the same time asked the soldiers to buy rain gear such as coats and hats as much as possible around Waihuang, In order to march in the rain if necessary.

In order to relieve the boredom, in the afternoon of the same day, Xiang Kang took advantage of the rain to temporarily turn smaller, and led a team of personal soldiers in the camp to inspect at will to understand the current situation in the army, but when he inspected the camp of Zhou Shujun, Xiang Kang inadvertently saw from a distance that two women actually entered Uncle Zhou's military tent with bamboo umbrellas, and in his heart, Xiang Kang also blurted out: "Women? How can there be women in our army? ”

"General Right, you are really a noble person who forgets things." Xu Ji, the captain of the pro-soldier next to him, said with a smile: "You forgot, it was you who personally promised General Zhou to bring two Wei women he knew into our army, and sent someone to send them a car." ”

I still had to be reminded by Xu Ji, and Xiang Kang, who had forgotten all about it, remembered that there was such a thing, and couldn't help laughing: "Yes, there is such a thing." I'm still wondering, how could Uncle Zhou, a thick-eyed and big-eyed person, betray the revolution and bring women to the army without permission. ”

Interested, and bored, Xiang Kang simply led his own soldiers directly to Uncle Zhou's military tent, and saw it directly without letting the guards pass it, and saw at a glance that a middle-aged woman in plain clothes was chattering in front of Uncle Zhou, but Uncle Zhou was full of embarrassment, and then before Xiang Kang could hear what the middle-aged woman said specifically, Uncle Zhou suddenly saw Xiang Kang, got up and asked, "General Right, why are you here?" ”

"It's okay to be idle, just come and take a walk." Xiang Kang replied casually, and asked curiously: "General Zhou, these two are the daughters of the Wei State Sect you said?" ”

"General Huiright, yes." Uncle Zhou nodded, and hurriedly introduced Xiang Kang: "General Right, this is Wei Yuan, the old friend of the last general when he was in Linji, this is her daughter Miss Bo. Wei Yuan, Bo's niece, haven't you seen the right general of our Chu State soon? ”

Wei Yuan and her daughter still knew some etiquette, and immediately bowed down to Xiang Kang Yingying together and saluted respectfully, but it was only at this time that Xiang Kang saw Wei Yuan's appearance clearly, nearly forty years old, her appearance was quite good, but her temperament was very shrewd and capable, and she was a middle-aged woman who was not easy to mess with. When he saw Wei Yuan's daughter clearly, Xiang Kang, who had not seen the Yu family sisters for a long time, moved in his heart again, it turned out that Wei Yuan's daughter turned out to be a beautiful girl with a rather moving appearance, although her appearance was not as good as that of the Yu sisters, but she also had clear eyebrows and beautiful eyes, red lips and white teeth, which was rare to see among the people.

Fortunately, although Xiang Kang's scumbag level is one of the best in this era, his self-control is not bad, even if his heart is slightly shaken, he doesn't show any pig brother appearance, just smiled and said to Wei Yuan's mother and daughter: "You don't have to be polite, get up, Wei Yuan, are you still used to living in our army?" ”

"General Right, the little girl is here for this." Wei Yuan was not polite, and said very aggrievedly: "It rains heavily every day, and the floor of the tent where the little girl and daughter live has long been soaked, so she can only sleep on the wooden shelf. ”

"This woman is amazing, no matter how old she is, she is definitely a square dance organizer, Uncle Zhou is only friends with you, and he doesn't covet you for anything, just arrange a place for you to live in the army and take care of you and your drink, and even have to inch in."

Xiang Kang muttered in his heart, but his face did not show dissatisfaction, he just smiled and said: "Wei Yuan, don't blame General Zhou for not helping you, I have an order, except for the army defending the city, no one is allowed to enter the city." Besides, the big battle a few days ago burned down the city of Waihuang, and there are not even a few decent houses in the city now, even if General Zhou wants to arrange a place for you to live in the city, he can't find a decent place, so you should be wronged. ”

Wei Yuan was disappointed when she heard this, and begged again: "General You, can you arrange a bed for us, and sleeping on a wooden shelf with a few hard wood nails is really uncomfortable." ”

"Wei Yuan." Uncle Zhou couldn't bear it anymore and said: "There is no bed collapse in our right general's sleeping tent, and he also sleeps on a wooden shelf. ”

"The right general also sleeps on a wooden shelf?" Wei Yuan couldn't believe it, and said, "General Right, how can a noble person like you be so wronged by yourself?" If you want a bed, you can just open your mouth, how much do you want? ”

"Get used to it." Xiang Kang smiled, and said casually: "That's it, I still have a few furs there, and I'll ask someone to send them to Wei Yuan in a while, so that you can rest more comfortably at night." ”

When Wei Yuan heard the great joy, she hurriedly thanked Xiang Kang for her kindness, and then quickly said goodbye and left, leading her daughter back to the account to wait for Xiang Kang to send someone to send the fur, and Xiang Kang and Uncle Zhou did not keep it. Unexpectedly, after Wei Yuan's daughter walked out of the military tent, she suddenly returned to Xiang Kang and Uncle Zhou to salute quickly, and said in a sincere tone: "General Right, Uncle Zhou, thank you, in fact, the little girl doesn't like to be exquisite, if it is inconvenient for you, you don't have to take care of the little girl and her mother." ”

After saying it quickly, Wei Yuan's beautiful daughter saluted Xiang Kang and Uncle Zhou again, and then turned around and went out quickly.

It was only after Wei Yuan's daughter left that Uncle Zhou said to Xiang Kang with an apologetic face: "General Right, I'm really sorry, I'm really sorry, I'm causing you trouble, I knew that Wei Yuan was so difficult to serve, I shouldn't have been kind enough to take her in Jiyang in the first place." ”

"It's a small thing." Xiang Kang smiled, and asked curiously: "General Zhou, who is this Wei Yuan?" Why are you taking such good care of her, and she is still not greedy? ”

"She's really just an old friend of mine." Uncle Zhou was afraid that Xiang Kang would misunderstand, so he hurriedly explained: "But she is indeed the royal family of our Wei State, and the man died in Jiangdong again, helpless, my family has been Wei people for generations, thinking of the clan affection of Wei State, I saw that she was pitiful, so I took her in." ”

"General Zhou is really a kind gentleman." Xiang Kang smiled, added in his heart, and said secretly: "If it's me, it's okay to take care of it, but you have to send her good-looking daughter to repay her first, and help me cover my feet at night or something." ”

After sitting down and continuing to gossip a few words, Xiang Kang casually brought the topic to the current battlefield situation, and said: "General Zhou, today's account is being raised, and everyone advises me to stay in Waihuang for a few more days, and wait for the rain to stop before entering the army, and I have no objection." But I'm always worried in my heart, you say that if we don't hurry north to join the main force, will our main force be in any danger in Puyang? ”

"Don't hide it from the right general, in fact, the last general also has some apprehensions in his heart." Uncle Zhou said: "Although our main force has won consecutive battles, it has forced Zhang Handpifu to defend Puyang. But I have been doubting in my heart, Zhang Handpifu insisted on Puyang and did not come out, I am afraid that he may not really have the strength to fight back, if the fighter plane appears, it must not be ruled out that Zhang Handipfu is like Xiangben, highlighting the surprise soldiers, and killing our main force by surprise. ”

"This is Zhang Handpifu's forte." Xiang Kang nodded, and said: "Then our long-term delay in Waihuang because of the heavy rain, will it cause the main force to fall into danger?" Do you want to march in the rain and withdraw to Puyang as soon as possible to return to the main force? ”

Uncle Zhou didn't answer immediately, and only said after a while: "General Right, don't blame the last general for being disrespectful, if you are sure that you can influence the general's decision-making and make the general obey you, then we don't have to hesitate, no matter how hard it is, we should return to Puyang as soon as possible." If you don't have this certainty, General You, then we don't have this need, because even if our army returns to Puyang, it won't play a decisive role. ”

It was Xiang Kang's turn to be silent, and after a while, Xiang Kang sighed and said: "If General Zhou didn't really think about me, he wouldn't have said such a thing, yes, I didn't have the confidence to persuade my uncle to adopt my suggestion, even if our more than 20,000 troops returned to Puyang immediately, it would not play a decisive role, on the contrary, it might be affected by the main force and lose all the capital we had accumulated so hard." ”

Having said that, two days later, seeing that the heavy rain in the Waihuang area was still continuous, Xiang Kang, who had a great view of the overall situation, was more and more uneasy in his heart, but he still made up his mind, regardless of the rain and muddy roads, insisted on returning to the division with more than 20,000 handsome troops to the north, and returning troops through Jiyang to reinforce the main force.

The sky is indeed leaking, during the northward period, the heavy rain is still falling and stopping, and there is no stop at all, which not only causes the main force of the young marshal's army to have difficulty marching and huge physical exertion, but also makes Xiang Kang himself contracted a wind chill during the return to the army, and he has just arrived at the south bank of Jishui and has a high fever. However, Xiang Kang did not dare to rest, and still took the illness to command the army to build a bridge over the swelling Jishui River, and at the same time sent someone to send the surrender letter into Jiyang City, persuading the Jiyang defenders, who had become a lone army, to take the initiative to lay down their arms and surrender.

On the morning of the second day after arriving in Jishui, two simple bridges were built on the Jishui River, but before Xiang Kang could order the army to cross the river, the entourage of the young marshal's envoy who had been sent to Jiyang City to persuade the defenders to surrender returned to Xiang Kang crying, not only bringing the reply that the defenders of Jiyang categorically refused to surrender, but also brought the head of the young marshal's envoy.

The two countries compete with each other, do not kill the envoy, this is an unwritten rule since ancient times, even if Xiang Kang sent an envoy to contact Zhang Han himself, Zhang Han has never poisoned the envoy of the young marshal army. The defenders of Jiyang, who had become a lone army, did so ruthlessly, and of course the young marshals and generals present were all furious, and they roared angrily: "What a bold man, dare to kill our messenger!" Cross the river, cross the river right away! After crossing the river, he immediately attacked the city, and slaughtered all the violent Qin troops in the city, leaving no one behind! ”

Roaring, the young marshal's generals also rushed to ask Xiang Kang for orders, asking to be the vanguard to launch an attack on Jiyang City. However, although Xiang Kang, whose cheeks were burned red, was dizzy, he was very conscious, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Everyone, don't you find this thing a little strange? Although Jiyang is more than a hundred miles away from Puyang, it is impossible for the tyrannical Qin army in the city not to know that Zhang Handpifu has no way to send troops to reinforce them, and Li You has been completely annihilated, and they are already isolated and helpless, in such a situation, how dare they behead our envoy and deliberately provoke us? Aren't they afraid that we will break through Jiyang and kill them to the ground? ”

The young marshal's generals were stunned, only then did they realize that there was something wrong with the situation, and then Chao Zhi asked suspiciously: "General Right, so to speak, do you suspect that the tyrannical Qin army in Jiyang is trying to deliberately provoke us and lure us to cross Jishui as soon as possible?" ”

"The enemy situation is unknown, and we have lost contact with the main force, so we must be careful." Xiang Kangqiang said with spirit: "And we want to capture Jiyang, now it is not so easy, it has been raining heavily for several days, our bow and crossbow tendon strings have been soaked in water and gas, there is no way to open the bow and release arrows, we can only rely on ants to attack the city, and it is very difficult to break the city smoothly." Once the attack continues for a long time, and the battlefield suddenly changes, it will definitely be difficult for us to guard against it. ”

Chao Zhi nodded and asked again, "Then what should we do?" ”

"Don't cross the river for the time being, first hold the bridge, send more people north, find out the situation of our main force, and then ......." Before he finished speaking, Xiang Kang, who was burning and his eyes were red, suddenly tilted his head, and then he didn't know anything.

…………

When Xiang Kang woke up, he found that he had returned to the military tent, lying on a makeshift bed, covered with two thick furs, and then Xiang Kang moved again, and a crisp woman's voice came into his ears, "Wake up, wake up!" General Xu, General Right is awake! ”

Xu Ji, who was sitting next to the stove, jumped up and hurriedly came over to check Xiang Kang's situation, first touched Xiang Kang's forehead, and then asked about Xiang Kang's situation, and after confirming that Xiang Kang had woken up, he hurriedly sent someone to inform the young marshal's generals. Then Xiang Kang found out that Wei Yuan's daughter, who had a relationship with him, was also in the tent, and brought a bowl of hot soup, scooped it with a spoon, carefully blew it cold, and fed herself water with the help of Xu Ji.

His mouth was so thirsty that it wasn't until he drank most of the bowl of boiling water that Xiang Kang asked in a hoarse voice, "Miss Bo, why are you here?" ”

"Uncle Zhou called me here." Wei Yuan's daughter's cheeks were slightly red, and she said, "Uncle Zhou said that you are sick, and the girl should take care of people carefully, so he asked me to help take care of you." ”

"Thank you for your hard work." Xiang Kang nodded slightly, and asked again, "What time is it now?" ”

"General Right, it's almost three shifts." Xu Ji hurriedly answered, and couldn't wait to say: "General Right, we have contacted the main force of the general, fortunately you did not let us cross the river, our main force is no longer in Puyang." ”

"Our main force is no longer in Puyang?" Xiang Kang was taken aback when he heard this, and hurriedly asked, "Then where did our main force go?" ”

Without waiting for Xu Ji to answer, Chen Ping, Xiang Guan, Uncle Zhou and other young marshals had already come to Xiang Kang's front together, and asked Xiang Kang about his physical condition, Xiang Kang replied casually, and quickly asked: "We are in contact with the main force?" What's going on? ”

"Right General, that's right." Chen Ping replied: "It was the messenger sent by the general who took the initiative to contact us, in fact, four days ago, because of the heavy rain, there was no way to continue to launch a strong attack, the general had already given up attacking Puyang, and took our main force south, preparing to take Dingtao to establish a Jishui defense line, and then find a way to annihilate Zhang Han's main force after the weather improved." In addition, the general also told us to move to Dingtao as soon as possible to join his main force. ”

"Four days ago?" Xiang Kang heard that the situation was wrong, and hurriedly asked, "Why did my uncle evacuate Puyang four days ago, and his messenger only contacted us today?" ”

"The road to contact us is tightly blocked by the tyrannical Qin army in Jiyang, and our messengers can't go south directly through Jiyang." Chen Ping replied: "I had to take a detour to Wanyu, from Wangu directly south to Waihuang, to Waihuang only to know that we have gone north, and then chased up to contact us, plus the road is difficult to walk, so it delayed time." ”

Xiang Kang was speechless, and after careful calculation, Xiang Kang found that the situation was not right, and hurriedly ordered: "Quick, order the generals of all battalions of the whole army to pull out the camp and march east early tomorrow morning, and go to Dingtao to meet our main force." ”

"Brother, you're so sick, rest for two more days." Xiang Guan persuaded: "If your uncle asks, I'll explain it for you." ”

"Can't rest." Xiang Kangqiang said in spirit: "Dingtao is on the south bank of Jishui, our army must first cross Jishui if it wants to attack the city, and now the water level in Jishui is rising, and it is difficult to cross the river. We can't afford to delay any longer, we must immediately march eastward and go over to meet my uncle with reinforcements. ”

Note: The heavy rain in the Central Plains in July of the second year of Qin II was not made up by the author, and the "Historical Records" recorded that it was raining heavily at that time, and there were no stars in March!