October 23, North Jingzhou, Nanxiang County, Zhuyang County.

"The last general, Hu Lie, pays a visit to King Ruyin."

"Xuanwu is exempt."

"King Xie. The king, due to the frequent transfer of troops by the land resistance in Xiling recently, the general of Zhennan (Yanghu) could not leave Xiangyang and could not come here to meet him. Please forgive me. ”

"It's okay, although this time I sent troops to the Great Jin, I need Wu Gou's cooperation. But God knows what these mad dogs have in mind. There are still due precautions. ”

"The last general, thank you for your magnanimity."

"Hehe, let's not talk about that. Xuanwu, this time you went north to join this king, how many soldiers and horses did you bring? How many supplies? ”

"In accordance with Luoyang's instructions, the last general brought 10,000 Jingzhou troops to join the king. In addition, the uncle also asked the last general to bring 2,000 people to carry grain and grass, and 1,000 craftsmen to march with the king. ”

"Two thousand people carrying grain and grass? Will it be a little too little? ”

"King, there should be no less. In this rebellion, the imperial court only sent a total of 30,000 soldiers and horses, one of them. Second, starting from Zhuyang, all the way to Xicheng and even Hanzhong, there are Han rivers flowing through, and our army's rations, weapons, and all kinds of materials can be transported by water throughout the whole process. Therefore, the uncle asked the last general to tell the king that the important thing now is not the number of people, but how to ensure the smooth flow of water transportation. ”

"Well, this matter is in Luoyang, and the general's teachings are already very clear. What this king means is that the northern army is not accustomed to water and cannot operate boats. So this matter of transporting and guarding grain and grass will be handed over to Xuanwu, okay? ”

God, who said that this prince is the most generous? As soon as we met, you handed over to me this kind of drudgery that you can't see a little achievement and something is particularly conspicuous when something happens? And it seems to make perfect sense, I can't object to it at all?

"No, I am here-inspired."

"Well, in this case, this king can hand over his back to Xuanwu." Finally, the logistics matters that worried Sima Jun the most were arranged, and the king of Ruyin at this time was also in a good mood: "Order the whole army, rest for a day today, kill pigs and sheep at night, and march to Shangyong County tomorrow!" ”

"Huh~~~!"

……

The next day, Sima Jun's whole army set out from Zhuyang and went upriver along the Han River.

"Xuanwu, this king heard that more than thirty years ago, the predecessor of the Shu thief, the great Sima named Jiang Gongyan, once formulated a strategy. Said that he got on the ship from Hanzhong, captured the three counties of Shangyong along the Han River, and then attacked Jingzhou? ”

"This is true, because Zhuge Liang returned from five invasions, and it was too difficult to cross the Qinling Mountains to transport military rations, so the Shu thieves had this discussion back then. However, it is convenient to attack by going downstream, but it is not so easy to come back. Therefore, the Shu thieves just thought about it back then, and they didn't dare to implement it at all. In addition, when the Han River reaches the lower reaches of the river, the amount of water increases dramatically, and the waterways become extremely complicated. If you are not familiar with the local water conditions, you will not be able to fight at all. ”

"Well, I've heard about that, too. It is said that during the period when the uncle was in charge of Jingzhou, his main job was to control the Han River? ”

"Yes, King. Nine disasters in ten years in the lower reaches of the Han River. If the Han River is not properly controlled, the people of Jingzhou will not be able to farm with peace of mind. All they thought about all day long was to flee to Southern Jingzhou, which was controlled by Eastern Wu. Therefore, if we don't manage the Han River well, we won't be able to govern Jingzhou in the north. If the people could not be stabilized, everything in Northern Jingzhou, such as raising troops, preparing for war, and attacking enemy countries, would be impossible to talk about. ”

"Good, I hope that Hanshui will be tamed as soon as possible, and Northern Jingzhou will be able to live and work in peace and contentment."

In the first two days of departure, Sima Jun's mood was still relatively relaxed, and he often pulled Hu Lie to talk about this and that. However, with the deepening of the Jin army's fleet, from Sima Jun onwards, all the generals, including ordinary soldiers, became more and more unsightly.

Without him, because along the way, not to mention the enemy, even an ordinary person has not seen it. The four or five county towns that stood next to the Hanshui and its tributaries were all empty.

……

November 5th. Weixing County, Mulan Sai.

"My lord, we will follow the tributary of the Han River, Zheshui, all the way south to Shangyong County, which is also an empty city. People and food are all said. All the wheat fields outside the city were burned. ”

"King, the scouts reported back to the front, according to this, Xicheng County, one hundred and twenty miles west of Mulan Sai, is waving flags and shadows."

"Hey! I finally know that there are still living people in the three counties of Shangyong...... It seems that Cao Thief has concentrated all his forces in Xicheng and wants to cage the city against our army. Have you ever found out how many men and horses are stationed in the West City? ”

"The king forgives me, we were shot with a crossbow before we reached the wall of the West City, so we ......"

"Well, you've worked hard. Go down and rest. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your magnanimity."

Waving off the scouts, Sima Jun summoned the generals with a gloomy face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this king does not know soldiers, but such an obvious situation can also be seen. Cao Thief's troops are insufficient and cannot fight our army head-on. Therefore, we can only concentrate on one place. And the reason why we abandoned the many county towns along the Hanshui and stuck to the city of Xicheng was nothing more than to stretch our supply line so that we could start from it. ”

"The Great King! The last will wait for the bow. ”

"Eh, don't talk about these useless schemes, such a simple scheme, almost anyone can see through it. But how to deal with it is the key, do you have to teach me? ”

The so-called conspiracy will not see the light of day, because when it sees the light, it will be invalid. And Yangmou is different: what if you see through it? The general trend is like this, you have to jump into it even if you know it's a pit.

For Sima Jun, how can this expedition be considered a victory? Getting Cao Yi's head is the most perfect. At worst, it is not bad to get the heads of Zhang Hu and Zhang Xiong, who still have a lot of contacts in today's Jin court. However, if a battle is not fought, it will directly take over the two counties of Shangyong and Xincheng, and then issue a report saying: After our army fought bravely, it successfully recovered the two counties of Shangyong and Xincheng. Is it okay for the enemy to huddle in Weixing County and tremble? Yes, but the consequence of this is to make the families of the Central Plains despise the Sima royal family even more. The family's centrifugation and detachment from morality are serious, can the Jin Kingdom still exist?

Besides, now Shangyong and Xincheng counties really want to say that there is no one. But at least the population on the government's register is all concentrated in Xicheng. If you don't take Xicheng, you will occupy the territory of Shangyong and Xincheng. Without food and taxes from the people, how can these two places be guarded? Migration from Jingzhou population populated here? If the Shu thieves provoke a big war in the west in the future, the heavy troops here will be forced to move out. What should I do if the remnants of Cao Wei in Xicheng are killed again?

So, there was no choice. I knew what the enemy was going to do, but I had to jump into the pit.

"In this way, the Chinese army continues to advance, and the Jingzhou army pays attention to guarding the grain road."

"Do as the king commands."

On November 10, Cao Yi led 20,000 Luoyang Chinese troops to the city of Xicheng.

On the one hand, cement is one of the most important strategic materials in Jihan. On the other hand, the year before last, Guan Yi built the castle too hard in Yixian, resulting in both Sima Wang and Shi Bao refusing to attack the city again after a large-scale siege. As a result, the main force of the Jin army did not lose much in the flesh and blood mill expected by Guan Yi in Yixian, and further caused Jiang Wei's decisive battle in Maoling to almost fall short. So this time, the walls of the West City were not hardened with cement. However, according to the appearance of Yixian, it was fortified with rammed earth around the city wall.

Looking at the familiar rammed earth city wall instead of the legendary gray stone city wall, Sima Jun and the others all breathed a sigh of relief.

Nodding at Gou Xi, Gou Xi came out of the crowd: "Who is in charge of the city?" Come out and answer? ”

After a burst of armor collision, a voice sounded: "Cao Yi, the king of Wei, is here, who is the leader of the Jin rebellion, report your name!" ”

"Bold and rebellious, the king of Ruyin of the Great Jin Dynasty is here, and the thief dares to claim the title of King of Wei? As everyone knows, Wei's destiny has ended, and Zen has given Yu Jinhu? ”

"Shut up! How can you say such shameless words! ”

……

Up and down the city, after scolding the so-called orthodoxy for a while, both sides felt that it was not interesting. Then each of them stopped talking: what he couldn't say with his mouth, then he spoke with his fists.

However, this western city seems to be very well defended. Is it really something that 20,000 people can gnaw on?

"Great king, the last general has been watching under the city for a long time today. Not to mention the banner display in the city, the key is that there are a lot of people on the four gates of the southeast, northwest and northwest. Therefore, if you want to attack the city, I am afraid that it will ......"

"Well, after all, the traitors gathered all the people of the three counties of Shangyong into the city. And I can't say it, the Shu thieves are very likely to have sent reinforcements to the city. Xiuchu (Yang Zhao), how much time do you need to build trebuchets and other siege equipment? ”

"Your Majesty, the traitors have cut down and burned all the woods around Xicheng. The last general estimated that it would be at least thirty miles back and forth from the vicinity of the camp to the nearest woods. Therefore, it will take about ten years to build enough siege equipment. ”

"It's okay, this king has learned that the Han River will not freeze in winter. As long as Han Shui is in hand, the logistics of our army can be safeguarded. So Xiuchu, you just have to work hard here. The forces we bring this time are limited, so it's always good to have fewer casualties. ”

"The last general thanks the king for your understanding. Please rest assured that within ten days, at least on the side of the siege equipment, the whole army will not be dragged down. ”

"Good, everyone, then the next thing is to choose an important place and set up camp. This king doesn't know much about this, so, Mobo, I'll leave this matter to you. ”

"Please rest assured, the king will definitely get this done."

On the other side, inside the city of Xicheng.

"General Wei, the Jin rebellion has begun to camp, when will they attack the city?"

"The outer general watched from the city wall today, and the number of this army was about twenty or thirty thousand. With this number of people, it is impossible for ants to attack the city. So in any case, it will take a lot of time to build siege engines. It is estimated that a large-scale siege will be carried out in at least ten days. ”

"Oh, what about our garrison?"

"Hehehe, don't worry, the king. Twenty or thirty thousand people want to capture the city that I am guarding Luo Xian? It's just wishful thinking. ”