Chapter 12 Banner Unrolled Section 32 September Sixth, Yangzhou Jiujiang County, Shouchun (now Shou County).

After Cao Pi received Cao Cao's order, he gathered his army while waiting for Xiahou Yuan to lead an army from Liyang.

On the fifth day of the ninth month, after receiving a request for help, Cao Pi ordered the forward army to cross the river from the direction of Xia Cai (now Fengtai) and prepare to go north.

On the sixth day of the first month of September, when the Tu defenders urgently informed Cao Pi, the iron cavalry of northern Xinjiang appeared on the north bank of the Huai River, and Wukou and Yicheng (now Huaiyuan) were lost, asking for support.

Cao Pi was shocked and ordered the troops that had already crossed the river to withdraw quickly. On the evening of the sixth day of the first lunar month, the northern Xinjiang iron cavalry killed Xia Cai.

Cao Pi and Xiahou Yuan stationed on the embankment of the Ma River, looking at the iron cavalry of the northern frontier and the battle flag waving in the wind on the other side of the river, frowning and worried.

Who would have thought that the Northern Xinjiang Iron Cavalry would reach the Huai River so quickly, and its speed was incredible. They once thought that this was a small force of iron cavalry of the Northern Xinjiang Army, which was going deep into the rear of Xuzhou to disturb people's hearts, but when Tu Defender told them very resolutely, the soldiers who fled back from Wukou and Yicheng not only saw thousands of Fengyun Iron Cavalry, but also saw the battle flag of the Son of Heaven of Chang'an, which was definitely the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army.

"I wonder how Peng Cheng is now?" Cao Pi said with a sad face,

"How so? Where did so many troops come from in Northern Xinjiang? Could it be that Li Hong went south with the iron cavalry of Northern Xinjiang? Xiahou Yuan sighed in a low voice,

"Is there any news from Jiangdong?"

"Zhang Hong has just crossed the river, and it is estimated that it will take a few days for King Wu to send someone to deliver the news."

"Immediately send someone across the river to Jiangdong, and ask Sun Quan to support quickly." Xiahou Yuan waved his horsewhip and said urgently,

"Li Hong is going to lead the army to cross the Huai, once the whole territory of Jiujiang is lost, the world will be Li Hong's, quickly, quickly ......" On the tenth day of the ninth month, Pengcheng.

Zhang Yan paced back and forth in the big tent with her hands behind her back. Fu Gan, Wang Ling, Jiang Ji and others gathered around the case for a few days, whispering about the military situation.

To this day, all the armies of the southbound troops have arrived at their designated positions. Wei Jun led the Ula Iron Cavalry to Sikou and captured Sikou and Huaipu.

Huaiyin was located on the south bank of the Huai River, and its defenders decisively burned the pontoon bridge, so the Northern Xinjiang Army failed to occupy Huaiyin City.

The Son of Heaven led the army to the vortex mouth and the Xia Cai line, and blocked the northward road of the Jiujiang army in time. When Zhao Yun heard the news, he immediately changed the direction of his attack, and instead ran to kill An Fengjin and Yangquan.

Zhou Yu reacted very quickly and retreated to the south bank of the Huai River in front of Zhao Yun, and the idea of the Northern Frontier Army chasing and killing Zhou Yu failed to materialize.

Gao Shun's army and the Xiongnu iron cavalry surrounded Pengcheng, Lei Chong, Wei Xu, and Guan Yu's army surrounded Xiapi, Guan Hai's army surrounded Tancheng, and Lü Bu had already led his army south to the Huai River to join the Son of Heaven, and Chen soldiers were on the front line of Xia Cai and Yicheng, ready to attack the rebels in the north at any time.

Now 55,000 iron cavalry is located on the Huai River line to block the rebels, 40,000 infantry cavalry army surrounded Cao Cao in Pengcheng, 50,000 infantry army surrounded Xiapi, Guan Hai's 20,000 Qingzhou army is attacking Tancheng, the Han army successfully completed the intended attack target within ten days, and achieved absolute control of the Xuzhou battlefield.

The problem facing the Han army now was to capture Pengcheng, Xiapi and Tancheng as soon as possible, so that all the infantry troops could advance to the Huai River line, and the iron cavalry army could return to northern Xinjiang before the snow fell.

"How many people have we besieged and annihilated in the four places of Fanghe, Xiaocheng, Dancheng and Xiangcheng?" Zhang Yan stopped and looked up at Fu Gan,

"Don't have a specific number yet?"

"After the battle, the various departments took the prisoners on the road, because the time was too tight, so ......" Fu Gan smiled helplessly,

"However, I met with Guo Jia, and he talked about the approximate number of troops in Xuzhou. If he hadn't lied to us, then after the four battles, we would have annihilated about 40,000 Xuzhou troops. In addition, Cao Pi and Xiahou Yuan of Jiujiang County still have about 20,000 people in their hands, so that when calculated, there are only 10,000 or 20,000 horses at most in Pengcheng, Xiapi and Tancheng. According to Guo Jia's estimates, the defenders of Pengcheng were at least 10,000 people, Cao Ren of Tancheng had about 5,000 men, and the number of defenders of Xiapicheng should be about 5,000. ”

"Hit Pi first?" Zhang Yan frowned tightly and whispered to herself.

"I also think that we should first defeat Pi, then Tancheng, and then concentrate all our forces to fight Pengcheng." Fu Gan said,

"Our speed is very fast, Cao Cao didn't have time to react at all, he must be in Pengcheng. Peng Cheng is the most difficult to fight, so it's better to play in the back. Zhang Yan thought for a while, pointed at Jiang Ji and said: "The book tells the three generals Lei Chong, Wei Xu, and Guan Yu to attack the city immediately, and take Xiapi first at all costs." "On September 12, the Han army began to attack Xiapi, and after seven consecutive days of attacking, Guan Yu personally led the soldiers of the first battalion to kill the city wall and took the lead in conquering the west city gate.

On September 20, the Han army captured Xiapi. Two days later, Lei Zhong led his army north to Pengcheng. Guan Yu led the army to kill Tancheng.

Wei continued to stay in Xiapi. On September 26, Guan Yu and Guan Hai attacked at the same time, and within a day, the Han army climbed the tower three times, and the Xuzhou army suffered heavy casualties.

Guan Yu saw that the morale of the enemy army was low, and commanded the army to attack overnight. Late that night, Guan Yu took the lead and took his personal guards to conquer the city gate, and the army immediately entered the city.

Cao Ren surrendered. On September 28, Guan Yu, Guan Hai and others led their troops to the Pengcheng battlefield. On the third day of October, Zhang Yan commanded an army of 80,000 to attack Pengcheng.

The defenders of Pengcheng put up a stubborn resistance. On the beginning of October, Chang'an. Great Sima Xu Rong, Prime Minister Li Wei, Shang Shu Ling Tian Chou and others received Sima Yi's good news.

After Ma Chao's reinforcements entered the Longnan battlefield, Sima Yi immediately commanded the army to launch a counteroffensive, but Zhang Fei and Zhang Ren could not resist and withdrew to Yangping Pass.

Sima Yi then pursued and attacked Zoumaling with heavy troops. Zhang Ren, who was stationed in Zoumaling, fled to Yangping Pass and lost the high ground guarding the pass.

Sima Yi ordered Ma Chaotun to march to Jinniu Mountain to block the reinforcements in the direction of Bashu, and ordered Pang Yitun to go to Maling, bombarding Yangping Pass with ballistas and stone cannons.

Chang'an did not provide much grain, grass and ordnance to the Longnan battlefield, so Sima Yi repeatedly complained to the imperial court and implored the imperial court to allocate grain and grass.

After discussing with Li Wei and Tian Chou, Xu Rong wrote to Sima Yi and asked him to temporarily suspend the war and stop fighting. With Sima Yi's current strength, the chances of conquering Yangping Pass before winter are slim.

Therefore, Xu Rong told Sima Yi in the book that the armies of Yu Yigen and Liang Baiwu had conquered Fangling, Shangyong, and Xicheng, and successfully broke through the defense line of the eastern flank of Han, and waited until next spring, depending on the development of the situation, the imperial court would appropriately increase troops in Yu Yigen, so that he and you could fight and take Hanzhong together.

At present, the focus of the imperial court is to do its best to support the two battlefields of Nanyang and Xuzhou, neither of which can afford to lose, and the imperial court has no choice but to temporarily abandon the Longnan battlefield.

At present, the situation on the battlefield in Xuzhou is not good. Information from various sources confirmed that Sun Quan, Zhou Yu, and Cao Pi had assembled an army of about 100,000 on the south bank of the Huai River, and although there was no sign of them attacking north in the short term, if the Han army could not conquer Pengcheng for a long time, they would definitely cross the river north in winter.

If Pengcheng could not be conquered, the Iron Cavalry Army would not be able to return to the north in time, and the Hu tribes would soon stop supplying livestock and forage to the front-line army because of the onset of winter.

In this way, it was difficult for the imperial court to support its financial endowment, and the security of northern Xinjiang became a problem. Zhang Yan expressed the same concern in a letter to the imperial court.

Since Cao Cao and the main civil and military officials of Xuzhou and their families were in Pengcheng, Pengcheng's defense was very tenacious.

It will be very difficult for the army to capture Pengcheng before November. In addition, once the iron cavalry returned to the northern frontier, the Han army needed enough troops to garrison the Huai River line, and if the losses were too great when Pengcheng was forcibly attacked, the Han army might not be able to block the fierce counterattack of the rebels in the future.

The great Sima Xu Rong categorically decided that the Xuzhou battlefield was temporarily suspended, and ordered the army on the Nanyang battlefield to launch an attack, take Wancheng, and then quickly transfer part of the troops to reinforce the Xuzhou battlefield.

The great Sima Xu Rong wrote to Jade that before the end of October, it was necessary to conquer Wancheng and occupy Nanyang. On the end of October, Nanyang.

Liu Biao of Jingzhou weighed it again and again, but decided to send troops north to contain the Northern Xinjiang Army on the Nanyang battlefield, so as to give Cao Cao in Xuzhou the opportunity to win a counterattack.

If the Northern Xinjiang Army on the Nanyang battlefield reinforces Xuzhou, Cao Cao will be completely finished. Cao Cao is finished, and Xiangyang is in danger.

However, the Jingzhou army was very afraid of the Northern Xinjiang Iron Cavalry, especially Xuzhou Cao Cao, under the attack of the Northern Xinjiang Iron Cavalry, had no power to fight back, and was defeated, which made the Jingzhou soldiers even more frightened, lest they be eaten by the Northern Xinjiang Iron Cavalry like the Xuzhou Army.

After Liu Qi crossed the Han River with his army, Mustafa and Sai Feng's iron cavalry attacked repeatedly, and the Jingzhou army could not move an inch and did not dare to leave Xiangyang too far.

At this moment, the situation in Wancheng is precarious. Wancheng was besieged by the Northern Xinjiang Army for eleven months, and due to the large number of defenders in the city, the time of siege far exceeded the original estimate, and the food in the city was very tight.

Although the soldiers were still able to eat one meal a day, the people in the city had long since run out of food, and many were starving to death.

When the Northern Xinjiang Army attacked Nieyang, they deliberately let Ma Liang flee into Wancheng with the army, just to increase the consumption of food in Wancheng, and their goal was achieved.

There were too many rebels on the battlefield in Nanyang, forty or fifty thousand people concentrated in Wancheng, no matter how many sharp siege equipment the Northern Frontier Army had, it would not be able to easily take the city.

Besieging but not attacking is actually a helpless move by the Northern Xinjiang Army. Eleven months of long time caused the defenders in the city to gradually lose confidence and morale.

Especially after the people of Wancheng began to die in large numbers, the morale of the army was completely chaotic. The army was in turmoil, the soldiers were in panic, and everyone gradually neglected to guard against the Northern Xinjiang Army, and the Northern Xinjiang Army slowly dug the tunnel under the city wall at this time.

In mid-October, Yu Shi and Yan Liang commanded an army of 130,000 to attack Wancheng. More than 3,000 stone cannons, more than 10,000 ballistas, all kinds of giant vehicles, indignation, and repair of oars went into battle at the same time, and the attack of the Northern Xinjiang Army was like a raging storm, and the soldiers guarding the city were beaten bitterly.

Seven days later, the tunnels dug by the Northern Army came into play, and a hundred-pace-long section of the city wall collapsed.

The main body of the city wall of Wancheng is made of rammed earth, and its hardness cannot be compared with the stone wall of Luoyang, coupled with the bombardment of dozens of heavy stone cannons of the Northern Xinjiang Army for five consecutive days, this section of the city wall is like fluffy sand.

The soldiers of the Northern Xinjiang Army slaughtered it like a tide, and the earth-shattering sound of killing shook the heavens and the earth. The officers and men of the Jingzhou army were heartbroken and surrendered one after another.

Kuai Liang, Wen Ping, Xu Shu, Ma Liang and other Jingzhou generals were all captured. On October 22, the general of the chariot cavalry Yushi and the general of the right guard, Yan Liang, walked into Wancheng.

On October 23, Jade reported to Chang'an and the Son of Heaven Xingtai. On October 24, Yan Liang led an army of 50,000 to the battlefield in Xuzhou day and night.

At the end of October, the Son of Heaven rushed to Pengcheng with the Tiger Benyu Forest Battalion, shot in the city, and persuaded Cao Cao to surrender. Cao Cao ignored it.

On October 25, the Son of Heaven was overjoyed when he received the news of Nanyang's victory, and immediately ordered the soldiers of the army to be informed.

For a time, the war drums were like thunder, and the deafening cheers resounded throughout Pengcheng. The Son of Heaven invited Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xiahou Dun, and Cao Chun to talk about the victory in Nanyang.

"The four of you will discuss it, send someone into the city, and persuade Cao Cao to surrender immediately." Cao Ren entered Pengcheng with the Son of Heaven's holy decree, and when he saw Cao Cao, he was stunned.

Cao Cao had fallen into a deep coma because of a head wind attack, and even if he was awake occasionally, he was delirious and babbling nonsense.

"How so?" Cao Ren knelt beside Cao Cao, hugging his head and crying.

"He's desperate, completely desperate......" Xun Yu sighed miserably,

"Eighteen years, eighteen years of fighting, but in the end it was a failure, who can bear this kind of pain?" On the first day of November, Cao Cao died of illness.

On the second day of November, Cao Ren led the civil and military officials of Xuzhou to surrender. On the fifth day of the first month of November, the Son of Heaven led an army of 80,000 to the south of the Huai River.

On the eighth day of November, Yan Liangtong led a large army to Xuzhou. On the tenth day of November, the Left Guard general Lü Bu led the Fengyun Iron Cavalry, the Duliao Iron Cavalry, the Wula Iron Cavalry, and the Xiongnu Iron Cavalry to quickly evacuate Xuzhou and return to northern Xinjiang.

On the same day, Jiang Wutong, the general of Zhenxi, led the Xiliang Iron Cavalry back to Western Xinjiang. On November 12, Yan Liang and Zheng Bao rushed to Xia Cai with the forward army to meet the Son of Heaven.

"General Tiger Head, when do you think we will cross the river?" Xiao Tianzi stood on the embankment of the Ma River, pointed to the other bank, and asked proudly.

"In the opinion of the minister, it is better to rest for a while." Yan Liang said with a smile,

"General Guan Yu has crossed the river from the direction of Sikou and entered Guangling, if he can capture Guangling City before the end of November, we can attack Jiujiang County on both sides. In this way, His Majesty will soon be able to drink the Yangtze River. ”

"No, cross the river immediately......" Xiao Tianzi waved his horsewhip vigorously and roared wildly,

"Who can stop what my sword is pointing at?" Jump to