In the summer of the sixth year of Jian'an, in May, with Gongsun Xun's raid on Baima and the successful crossing of the river, the war that had been brewing for a long time began in a way that most people could predict unexpectedly.

In May, Cao Cao first sent Xiahou Yuan to lead 5,000 cavalry north out of Chenliu and into Dongjun to try to rescue, and then because he heard that Gongsun Xun personally crossed the river and settled in Baima, he immediately dispatched the main force to go north in person, confronting Gongsun Xun on the one hand, and hurriedly mobilizing the soldiers and horses of the prefectures and counties behind him, and urging Liu Biao and Liu Bei to support quickly.

In other words, Gongsun Xun and Cao Cao, that is, the natural boundary between the Central Plains and Hebei is naturally the Yellow River, and the Yellow River goes east from Luoyang Sanjin to the Taishan area, and there are mainly five large-scale ferries that can pass through the army in these years.

From west to east, they are Yanjin in the north of Sujube City, Baimajin in the north of Baima City, Puyang Jiancheng's own ferry, Qinting side ferry, and Cangting side ferry.

Among them, Cangting was in the hands of Gongsun Xun at the beginning, but he did not cross the river from Cangting, nor did he cross the river on a large scale from Sanjin in Luoyang, which was sheltered and protected, and then led the army out of Luoyang after gathering an army of 100,000 people, but instead raided Baima, and personally led more than 20,000 soldiers and horses mixed with Ye Xia and Wei County to rush forward and station in Baima City.

This kind of forward attack is certainly unexpected, but from another point of view, it is natural to fall into the trap of the defensive chain that Cao Jun has prepared for a long time.

In fact, in order to monitor the Yellow River and clamp down on the white horse, after Xiahou Yuan saw Gongsun Xun's white horse banner, he immediately took the initiative to lead 5,000 cavalry into the area of Suzao City-Yanjin on the west side of the white horse, and ordered the county guards and soldiers of Dongjun, Chenliu and other places to gather in Yanxian, Wacheng, Kuangcheng, Pucheng, Changyuan and other cities in front of Baima to form a defensive chain. A strong and deep defensive chain existed, but it was only a clear lack of troops.

And by the middle of May, after Cao Cao personally led 30,000 main forces to Pingqiu behind this temporary defense line to take over the overall situation, in fact, in a sense, Gongsun Xun was already surrounded on one side and surrounded on three sides.

Moreover, it seems that the military strength has also fallen into a relative disadvantage - in the northern part of Chenliu and the western part of Dongjun, and in the border area of Hebei, Central Plains, and Jiusili on the south bank of the Yellow River, Cao Cao Tun has gathered nearly 50,000 soldiers, auxiliaries, and people, and one-sixth of the 300,000 army has been in place, and the corresponding Gongsun Xun is still the more than 20,000 mixed soldiers and horses of Yexia and Wei County.

However, whether it was Cao Cao, Xiahou Yuan and Le Jin on both wings, they had no intention of doing anything at all, but were extremely nervous.

Because they know very well that only looking at the local battlefield in the eastern section of the Central Plains, they certainly have an absolute strategic advantage, and although they have formed a surprising encirclement, if the scope of the battlefield is expanded, in fact, in Sizhou, further west of Xiahou Yuan, Cheng Pu must have heavy troops hidden behind the Tiger Pass!

The cavalry is fast, the old road of Luoyang and the waterway of the Yellow River are as wide as this, if you really do it, you may not know who is faster than whom!

Not only that, Cangting, Baimajin, and Luoyang Sanjin are all in the hands of Gongsun Xun, where is the army of Hebei gathered and what position is it currently in, and no one knows how many soldiers will emerge from these three places - in other words, on the surface and locally, Gongsun Xun is trapped in Baima, but in fact, the two sides are intertwined along the south bank of the Yellow River, and if it is enlarged to the entire Yellow River Valley, it is the northern area of Yanzhou controlled by Cao Cao, which is trapped in the dilemma of being surrounded by Hebei, Qingzhou, and Sizhou on three sides.

At this time, how dare Cao Mengde move?

In the hinterland of the Central Plains, there are cities, and he did not expect to be able to block the other party at the crossing of the Yellow River, but the strength is the most critical bargaining chip in the decisive battle.

It's okay to lose, it's okay to lose the city, and it's okay to retreat strategically, but you must make sure that you have enough troops in your hands for a decisive battle - Gongsun Xun can fight, consume, and even replace troops, but he Cao Cao cannot.

Of course, Gongsun Xun didn't have the brains to use the more than 20,000 people in his hands to touch the dense city defense line in front of him, and he was also mobilizing troops, waiting for the army behind him to gather in Henan in Baimajin, while watching the fighters!

As a result, after the Battle of White Horse, Chen Liu and Dongjun fell into a strange confrontation that lasted for more than 20 days, but there was no war, but a fierce battle suddenly broke out in the eastern part of Yanzhou!

Gongsun Xun and Cao Cao have been in friction in recent years, but they are mainly concentrated in the eastern part of Yanzhou...... The reason is very simple, first, the rest of the places either have natural boundaries such as big rivers, or typical checkpoint boundaries around Luoyang, and only the eastern part of Yanzhou is convenient for troops; And secondly, it is because the main generals of the two sides in this area are Xiahoudun and Guan Yu.

Guan Yu, the governor of Qingzhou, used both military and political affairs, his personality was arrogant, and he had always been the main battle, so he had always been enterprising, and his subordinates had always let him go, as if he hoped that he could control all the places on the entire border before the war; As Cao Cao's most trusted and the substantive No. 2 person in Cao Ying's camp before Xun Yu entered the camp, Xiahoudun was naturally appointed as the governor of Dongyan and Beiyu in preparation for Guan Yu......

However, the interesting thing is that for many years, Guan Yunchang has been taking advantage of him...... His people not only gradually controlled almost more than eighty percent of Taishan County, but also successfully invaded the northern part of Lu State, which can be regarded as nine wins in ten battles, basically pressing Xiahoudun to fight...... But it has always been difficult to make a strategic breakthrough.

In other words, from a strategic point of view, Xiahoudun completely guarded Guan Yu.

Gongsun Xun was very surprised by this, and it wasn't until last year that Guo Jia was transferred from Guan Yu's side to Yexia and wrote a report of tens of thousands of words like a book.

It turned out that although Xiahoudun's tactical ability was indeed very questionable, he was absolutely qualified or even excellent as a front-ranking officer, and after he was ordered to deal with Guan Yu, he had been diligent and dedicated for many years.

He knew that he was not good at fighting, so he never pursued the initiative to attack, but always carefully armed, but once a subordinate was attacked, he would definitely fight to save it;

He knew that he was not good at martial arts, so he vigorously promoted and recommended young talents with courage and ability to serve as the chief officials of the border counties and counties to ensure that the defense line was not broken, and then put his attention on the construction of water conservancy and the reclamation of fields.

And the last key is that it is these three rivers and three rivers that made Xiahoudun successfully establish a natural elastic defense zone on the plains east of Mount Tai - Guan Yu's troops worked hard to cross the mountains, and it was really difficult to cross the swamps and rivers to achieve a big victory.

Guo Jia finally summed it up like this, saying that General Guan attacked and Xiahou defended; General Guan fights, and Xiahou ploughs; General Guan is strong with soldiers, and Xiahou is strong with people; General Guan is in the mountains, and Xiahou is fighting in the water!

The two seem to be strong and weak, but they are only strong and weak, which is not enough to become the basis for victory or defeat.

However, with the opening of the war, the judge resigned from the post of left minister and came to Qingzhou in mid-May to take up the post of Qingzhou pastor, and Lou Gui resigned from the post of right minister and came to Sizhou to take up the post of Sizhou pastor...... Unlike Sizhou Cheng Pu, who hid behind the Tiger Prison Pass, Guan Yunchang immediately left the hinterland of Qingzhou after taking over the affairs of Qingzhou, and went to Taishan County to sit down, and in late May, Liu Bei's main reinforcements entered Peiguo, and when the entire Cao Cao camp chief exhaled, he suddenly sent a force of 5,000 people, with Pan Zhang as the general, to storm the border town between Surabaya, Wenshui and Dayozawa, Ningyang, Dongping State.

Pan Wenqi personally took the double armor to climb the city, and directly beheaded the old opponent who was caught off guard at the head of the city, ending the grievances between the two sides that had been tug-of-war here for nearly three years, and successfully conquered Ningyang.

The offensive was so swift and the timing was so delicate that Xiahoudun, the chief officer of the eastern front of Cao's army, who had just returned from Chen County to Changyi in Shanyang County, Yandong, was a little stunned.

It must be known that the rain gradually rises in the summer, the mountain road goes south, and the water is flooded, especially in Xuzhou, which is directly affected by the plum rain, so according to experience, until the autumn harvest, the defense pressure on the eastern front should be the lowest period of time, which is also the reason why Xiahoudun did not apply for too many soldiers and horses from Cao Cao - Cao Cao prepared 300,000 troops for this battle, even if the troops of Liu Bei and Liu Biao were not yet in place, and there were more than 100,000 soldiers of various soldiers, auxiliaries, and armed men with the army, but Xiahoudun only brought 5,000 soldiers back to Shanyang from Chen County.

In essence, he still didn't want to affect Cao Cao's main decisive battle.

But who would have thought that Chen Liu and Dongjun had been facing each other all the time, but the eastern front was suddenly making waves?

"General Xiahou."

In the Chengguan Temple of Changyi, the envoy sent by Lu Su, the nephew of Yuan Shu's aunt, in order to avoid Yuan Shu's conscription, He Kui, a native of Chen County who fled to Huainan with Yuan Shu to avoid trouble, is also now engaged in Liu Bei's shogunate, and couldn't help but lean over and ask again, his height is more than eight feet, and he still looks tall and unmatched. "The governor of my family has a word, please ask how many reinforcements are needed here, and he will dispatch them immediately without delay......"

"Don't!" Xiahoudun, who was wearing a helmet and sitting in the middle of the lobby with his helmet in his arms, was silent for a moment again, but finally put on his iron helmet and looked up. "No reinforcements!"

"Why is General Xiahou here?" He Kui was puzzled for a while. "Our coalition forces are sufficient...... The governor of my family is leading a solid army of 100,000 to march in the territory of Peiguo not far behind, not to mention 20,000 or 30,000, 10,000 or 20,000 can always be sent over at any time......"

Xiahoudun still shook his head, but he stared at the tall He Kui seriously: "Still don't!" Because if you want it, even if you only need one soldier, you will fall for Guan Yunchang's strategy! ”

He Kui He Shulong was slightly stunned, but leaned over again: "Please General Xiahou for advice!" ”

"Foot down to Chenjun people?"

"Not bad."

"Have you ever been here in Shanyang?"

"When I was young, the world was not in turmoil, and I came once with my eldest brother who had not died at that time." He Shulong is frank and relative.

"Do you know that west of Mount Tai, between Surabaya, Wenshui, and Juyeze, there are several cities and counties in Changyi, where we are now?"

"I don't know ......"

"There are twelve counties, and twelve large cities that are well populated and well prepared." Xiahoudun opened his mouth and came, as if he was familiar with it. "From east to west, they are Chengxian of Taishan County, Wenyang of Lu State, Gangxian County of Jibei, Ningyang of Dongping State, Flawed Hill of Shanyang, Shouzhang and Dongping Lu of Dongping State, followed by Fan County, Rencheng and Kangfu of Renchengguo, and then Jinxiang and Changyi of Shanyang...... Exactly twelve cities! Now that Ningyang is lost, Guan Yu has four cities, but we still have eight cities! ”

He Shulong's heart moved slightly, as if he understood a little.

"I'm a smart man, and I should think of it." Seeing this, Xiahoudun continued to sit upright on the Taiwei chair, talking with both hands on the knife. "It's good for Guan Yu to hold Qingzhou, but how many soldiers can he have? Can 10,000 sailors go ashore? Langya Zang Ba has just surrendered, like a warlord, can you move and not say, is Zhou Gongjin, the beloved general under the command of General Zuo, a decoration, and can't look down on a Zang Ba? And don't be stationed in Qingzhou all over the country? So in my opinion, if Hebei doesn't increase Guan Yunchang's troops, his people can only dispatch 15,000 people to the west of Mount Tai to suppress me, which is already the limit! In fact, I did find out that in addition to Pan Zhang's 5,000 people, Guan Yunchang only brought 10,000 people to echo Wenyang Yao behind! ”

He Shulong was already relieved.

"However, if he wants to achieve great things and make a big difference in the overall situation, he must break through my defense line and go around behind Xuzhou or Meng De, in other words, he Guan Yunchang must use 15,000 soldiers to penetrate my remaining eight cities!" The more Xiahoudun spoke, the faster he spoke. "But he goes out of bounds to fight, doesn't he have to defend the back? Five thousand men fought in a fierce battle, but did they not hurt? Starting from Ningyang and ending in Changyi, if one city is obtained, a thousand people must be left...... So let him be fierce and cunning, but we only need to resist layer by layer, and when he comes to the city of Changyi, he will inevitably become the posture of the end of the crossbow, what is the use at that time? ”

"Then he sent troops this time...... "He Kui has completely woken up." Is Xiang Zhuang's sword dance intended for Pei Gong? ”

"Not bad!" Xiahoudun sat still, looking directly at the other party's words. "Guan Yunchang is a military and political strategist, and he is an all-rounder, it is impossible for him not to understand this, and it is impossible not to know that with his arrogance, he will not be able to make a difference in the short term...... At this time, he suddenly sent troops and made a fierce gesture, it must not be for the twelve cities on the eastern front, but for the 100,000 troops of your army that marched to Peiguo and could not be concealed at all! It must be known that the key to this battle is only between Meng De and Gongsun Wenqi, the winner and loser are the winners and losers, and the rest are just supports. Therefore, what Guan Yunchang asked for was simply to ask us to panic for a while, and then send troops to reinforce here! ”

"The foreign minister has understood exactly what General Xiahou meant." He Kui bowed his head earnestly and was completely convinced. "The general really deserves to be a pillar-like figure."

"So go back and tell your governor." Xiahoudun stood up and spoke. "I don't want a single soldier here, just 20,000 original auxiliaries, civilian husbands and the like, plus 5,000 elites can support it! Please make sure that he brings all the 100,000 troops to Chenliu! In order to fight a decisive battle! ”

He Shulong didn't say much, leaned over and retreated, he was going to go back directly to restore his life, and Xiahoudun did not hesitate, immediately got up and came out with his knife, and took Lu Qian, Zhao Yan and other generals who were waiting outside the hall out of the city one after another, as if they were preparing to transfer troops to support the cities of Fangqiu, Dongpinglu and other cities after Ningyang.

At the end of May, the Yangtze River basin began to gradually withdraw from the rainy season, but the Yellow River basin began to rain frequently, either the kind of heavy rain that caused floods and the normal summer rains that came and went quickly.

It is cold in winter, hot in summer, and easy to get sick in spring and autumn.

As time passed, the density of troops in the areas of Chenliu and Dongjun became more and more dense, and almost every rain would cause the opposing soldiers to encounter something that was not a problem, but was bound to be annoying.

For example, for the Yan Army Headquarters near the left side of White Horse City, a considerable proportion of the cavalry must pay attention to the hygiene of the horses after every rain - not only to drink clean water for the war horses, but also to frequently clean the stables in the barracks, bathe the war horses, and shovel manure for the war horses!

"Why is Brother Zhongxuan here?"

After a rain, in the barracks stable in the north of White Horse City, Zhuge Liang, who was shoveling dung in a short green coat, raised his head, but saw a figure that made him a little puzzled, so he quickly put down the dung shovel and bowed in the stable.

"Why did Ah Liang do this?" Wang Cang, who was carrying a wooden bucket and a dung shovel, couldn't help grinning embarrassedly when he saw Zhuge Liang. "Our brothers, you can ...... whatever you want"

Zhuge Liang nodded, and didn't ask any more questions, but took advantage of the situation as a person who came over to remind: "Brother Zhongxuan, it's better to pull up your trouser legs...... Otherwise, you will splash all over! ”

Wang Cang was stunned for a moment.

"And the third horse on the left, the short, thin one, who seems to be weak and barks like a donkey, but in fact it is very strong and bites...... It is the spare mount of the Pang Protector. Zhuge Liang was about to bow his head and continue to work, but he remembered something again, and hurriedly reminded him again.

Wang Cang looked at the horse that had not been cleaned up, it was still a green horse's mount, and then looked at the horse urine and rain filth all over the ground, and he didn't have the courage to start working for a long time, and after a long time, he sighed: "Why do you say stupid brother and I am stupid to write poems?" As a result, I angered Yan Gong and brought me here to wash the horse with you! ”

Although Zhuge Liang didn't know what was going on, he didn't have any curiosity, so he didn't answer, just continued to bow his head and shovel dung...... Just as Emperor Fu Song recommended him to come to the army to 'wash horses', but when Yan Gong agreed, he really let him wash the horses, without any waves.

"You are all elites in Yexia University, I let you join the war to have some experience, and you will become a great weapon in the future, but the military has its own military rules, no matter what, you can't learn from Wang Zhongxuan, this kid, just bragging, and actually regard the military as a coquettish thing for literati." At the same time, inside the big tent of the barracks, the atmosphere was almost frozen, and Gongsun Xun, who was obviously in a bad mood today, was still sitting there with a black face and teaching the new recruits in front of him. "Hundreds of thousands of troops are about to gather, I asked him to participate in the military strategy with the army as a confidential text, but he gave me what "From the Army" on the military order raft to show my loyalty?! Soldiers, the major affairs of the country, the matter of life and death, is it a place for him to show off his talents? If you want to write poetry, can't you write it on your clothes? If you want to write a poem, can't you go back to the Tongque Platform to write after the big victory? It has to be here, at this time?! ”

The young servants in the tent were all silent, and even the generals and military advisors standing on both sides were also in a trance...... It's been a long time since they've seen Gongsun Xun so angry.

After scolding for a long time, Gongsun Xun was angry, but he looked at Pang De beside him again: "What did Ling Ming say before?" ”

Pound stopped talking.

"This is the big account of the Chinese army, no matter how confidential it is, it can be said!" Gongsun Xun couldn't help frowning.

"In the morning, when General Zhang Liao's headquarters and the troops recruited from Hejian and Anping crossed the river, Ye brought a sentence from the Guogong Mansion there, saying...... It's time for the son to tie his hair! Pang De reluctantly spoke, and the surrounding generals and staff quickly turned a deaf ear.

Gongsun Xun was slightly stunned, but immediately woke up...... He naturally knew that this was his wife's words, and he also knew the meaning and reason of his wife's words.

So, the person thought for a while, and sighed: "This is because my family is worried that I will continue to march outside, and I have mistaken Ah Ding's hair, after all, I have already mistaken Ah Li's and Lu before...... Anyway, men and women are different after all, girls and Lu Yan will be fine for two years, but this kind of thing should not hinder the teenager to tie his hair, so let Ah Ding tie his hair in the army! After three days later, Gao Suqing crossed the river after the mixing was completed, so he asked him to set off with him, cross the river from Baimajin to come here, and then ...... Then go to the stable to wash the horses with the treatment of a people! Ling Ming watched it personally, if he didn't work, he wouldn't have anything to eat, so he must be made to suffer! ”

Everyone was stunned, that is, Jia Xu and Xun You were rarely stunned, but no one dared to say more.

At this point, Gongsun Xun suddenly remembered something again, but couldn't help but look at Xu Huang, who was standing on the side like a puppet: "Gongming, ask you something." ”

"Your Highness, please." Xu Huang immediately came out of the queue to salute.

"I heard that Sima Yi did not perform well in your army, and in the battle of the White Horse, his team's combat merits were ranked last among your direct subordinates?" Gongsun Xun frowned.

"Your Highness is right." Xu Huang immediately responded, but inevitably explained two sentences. "The main reason is that he just joined the army, and he participated in the battle as a team leader, and when he ran and marched, he was not familiar with the military orders, and the result was in the end, and after Bai Majin, he didn't touch a single battle......

"It's me who thinks highly of him." Gongsun Xun shook his head more and more. "I also look up to this group of young people, all of them are high-handed, but the big war is imminent, and these newcomers must not be messed around...... According to the rules of mixed formation, your troops will be mixed with Wei Jun and Hanoi soldiers to form a 10,000-strong army, and the team rate will be at least promoted to Qu Commander, right? ”

"Yes." Xu Gongming was concise and to the point. "The last general Ben only promoted him to make a song length."

"This battle is about the fortunes of the country, and we can't let these showmanships miss the big thing." Gongsun Xun is right. "On the grounds of the battle of the white horse, by order in my name, he was removed from his post, punished as an accompaniment, and went to the stable to wash the horses! In this battle, it is not their turn to be so calm! ”

"Whoa!" Xu Huang leaned over calmly.

The atmosphere in the tent eased slightly, but at this moment, suddenly another officer on duty entered in a panic, and saluted and reported: "Your Highness, Wang Senjun was bitten by General Pang's strange horse!" ”

"It's to accompany Wang Cang, not Wang to join the army!" Without waiting for Pang De to speak, Gongsun Xun, who had just calmed down, became more and more angry. "What does it mean for an escort to be bitten by a war horse and report to the military account?! You go out with me to wash the horses, too! There has been no big war in the army for several years, is it arrogant to such a point?! ”

Everyone in the tent was silent again, but Jia Xu and Xun You couldn't help but glance at each other secretly.

The tent was quiet for a long time, and Gongsun Xun spoke again, but there was no emotion in his voice: "Yun Chang has failed to lure the enemy, and the eastern front of the Central Plains Coalition Army is still more than 20,000 people from Zhou Yu and more than 20,000 people from Xiahou Dun, a total of barely 50,000, and Cai Mao has also been arranged in Nanyang...... Sun Ce has also arrived in Chenjun and is about to arrive in Yingchuan...... Cao Mengde is about to obtain absolutely sufficient troops to deploy defenses in front of him, and can maintain a field elite of nearly 80,000 people...... Can't wait, it's time to do it! ”

"Where is Your Highness going to start?" Jia Xu asked in the right line. "Puyang Lejin or Yanjin Xiahou Yuan?"

"Of course it's Xiahou Yuan!" Gongsun Xun's face does not change color. "Eat him! Let Cao Mengde lose all his heart! As soon as Gao Suqing arrived, he immediately sent troops! ”

The whole tent was solemn.

—————I'm the dividing line of silence—————

"Chaofa Yedu Bridge, Duji Baimajin.

On the embankment of the river, look left and right at our army.

There are more than 10,000 ships and tens of millions of people.

Lead the original road, will be a meritorious move.

Strategize, one by my holy monarch.

Hate me for having no time to plan, such as officials and ministers.

Bow to the backbone, and the miniature painting has nothing to show.

Xu Li is a complete soldier, and he still defeats Qin in a word.

I have the responsibility of vegetarian meals, and I am ashamed of the Tan people.

Although there is no lead knife, it is a few hard to thin the body. - "From the Army. Part 2". Yan. Wang Cang