Sixteen counties under the rule of Danyang County, in the heyday of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the population of the whole county once increased to more than 650,000, it is a large county under the rule of Yangzhou, but in the past 100 years, with the decline of the Eastern Han Dynasty, coupled with natural disasters and man-made disasters, the population of Danyang has been sharply reduced to 300,000 during the Pingping period of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, in the past two years, due to the stability of Danyang, many exiles in the north have taken refuge here, and the population has increased somewhat, but there are only more than 340,000 people, compared with the population of Danyang in its heyday, it is still almost half less.

According to Zhou Yan, the messenger who asked for help this time, Han Lie had a general understanding of Wu Jing and Sun Ben, the generals of the current attack on Danyang, and he could be regarded as knowing each other and knowing himself.

Wu Jing is the younger brother of Sun Jian's wife, Mrs. Wu, who has followed Sun Jian to fight for many years, and is definitely a battlefield general, and Sun Ben is the son of Sun Jian's brother.

This time they attacked Danyang, the nominal banner was to crusade against the Shanyue people in Danyang, and the beginning was indeed the same, after the Shouchun troops, Wu Jing and Sun Ben led the troops respectively, and at the same time launched an attack on Jing County, She County, where Shanyue activities were more rampant, because the two of them sent troops quickly, the troops led by them were all elite, and the two counties were pacified in a war.

Then the two took a short rest, based on the two counties, recruited troops, and in only half a month, the strength of the army expanded from the original 2,400 people to more than 5,000 troops, and sent a messenger to appease Danyang Taishou Zhou Xin, saying that this time into Danyang, only to recruit troops for the invasion of Yue, there is no intention of plotting Danyang.

Zhou Xin didn't check for a while, but he actually believed the words of the envoy, so he didn't miss the opportunity to send troops to drive out the two, and after Wu Jing and Sun Ben rested, Sun Ce led more than 300 people in the clan and his subordinates to Shexian County.

After the three parties discussed, they immediately divided the troops into three routes, and in just three days, they captured the four counties of Chungu, Shicheng, Yixian, and Lingyang, and it was only then that Zhou Xin came to his senses, and sent his brother Zhou Ang to command 6,000 elite soldiers to crusade.

When Zhou Ang led the army to Xuancheng, due to the light enemy's rash advance, he was attacked by the soldiers and horses led by Sun Ce, not only lost Xuancheng, but also lost most of the 6,000 soldiers and horses, Zhou Ang was also wounded and fled, and finally had to gather the remnants of the army and withdraw to Wanling City, the seat of Danyang County.

Sun Ce, Wu Jing, and Sun Ben, who pursued the victory, followed all the way, recruiting troops and horses along the way, and when they arrived at Wanling City, Sun Ce's three troops had reached more than 10,000 people.

Sun Ce, who originally wanted to capture Wanling in one go, because Zhou Xin was prepared, and Wanling was the seat of Danyang, and there were many Shanyue Yi people living around, in order to prevent the attack of Shanyue Yi people, since the Han Dynasty, the city of Wanling has already been built into a veritable fortified city.

Sun Ce and Wu Jing, Sun Ben's men and horses, although the rapid expansion, but after all, lack of training, and lack of siege equipment, although Sun Ce is brave and good at fighting, but besieged Wanling City for half a month, not only did not break through Wanling, but lost 3,000 soldiers and horses.

Seeing that the war situation was a tug-of-war, Sun Ce and his uncle Wu Jing and cousin Sun Ben discussed, so it was decided that Sun Ce and Wu Jing would continue to attack Wanling, Sun Ben led a partial division, continued to go south, down the Yangtze River, and captured the five counties of Dangtu, Wuhu, Moling, Jiangcheng and Jurong, which are important counties under the rule of Danyang County, not only have a large population, but also have a large population because they are located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, with convenient transportation, fertile land and prosperous economy, and are far stronger than the economic strength of the six counties in the north of Danyang that Sun Ce currently occupies.

In Sun Ce's words, if you get the five counties in the south of the Yangtze River, you can recruit 10,000 soldiers, and at the same time, the problem of food, grass and military salaries can be solved, and if you get the five counties, it will be equivalent to really cutting off the left and right arms of Danyang, and Zhou Xin, who is sticking to Wanling City, will completely lose the barrier and become a real lonely city, then for him, Danyang County will really be at your fingertips.

If Sun Ce's strategic intention is realized, it is indeed only a matter of time before he captures Danyang County, but the reality often does not go as he imagined, because just when Sun Ben led his army to capture Dangtu and Wuhu, and marched all the way to capture Jiangcheng, the 8,000 Red Flame Army led by Han Lie was stationed in Moling City, which was only fifty miles away from Jiangcheng.

After entering Moling City, Han Lie immediately ordered Xu Huang to lead the forward battalion to seize Moling Pass, and sent envoys to Jiangning and Hushu to tell the counties to hold on, and to report the military situation at any time, and if there was any dereliction of duty, they would be severely punished according to the Han law.

Jiangcheng County Commander's surname is Chen Mingheng, Wu County was born in the down-to-earth Shi clan, because he studied private school at a young age, and then abandoned literature and martial arts, and spent money to buy an official position of Cao Peng, a thief under the county door when he became an adult, and later had the honor to make friends with Zhou Xin's brother Zhou Ang, who was recommended by him and appreciated by Zhou Xin, so that he was promoted to the county lieutenant, and then promoted to Jiangcheng County Commander.

Feeling the grace of Zhou Xin's acquaintance, although Chen Heng knew that he was invincible, he also led the people of the county to resist vigorously, resisting Sun Ben's 5,000 men and horses, and attacking for two consecutive days and nights.

"It's over, the enemy has reinforcements again......" When he saw another army appear in the smoke and dust, Chen Heng was shocked and sat down on the ground in a panic.

Compared with the frightened Chen Heng, Sun Ben, who led the army outside the city to supervise the battle at this moment, was much calmer, and when he found that a large army appeared behind him, he immediately issued three military orders, one was to immediately order the troops besieging the city to retreat, the second was to let the rear army become the front army to deploy a defensive formation, and the third was to gather the men and horses of each department and concentrate the troops.

The reason why Sun Ben was able to deal with it calmly was not unrelated to his years of fighting in battle, and secondly, he was able to judge in time that the incoming soldiers and horses were enemies rather than friendly troops, because he and Sun Ce and Wu Jing kept the information flow, so he knew that there were no friendly troops at the moment.

Soon Sun Ben saw clearly the banner of the invading enemy, and learned that the 6,000 men and horses that appeared in front of him were the Red Flame Army of Han Lie, the Taishou of Guangling.

When Sun Ben went south from Wanling, he only brought 2,000 men and horses, and captured several counties along the way, and the number of troops increased to 5,000 people, but the combat effectiveness was not greatly improved.

So when he saw the Red Flame Army with a prosperous army and a strong army, Sun Ben's first thought was not to fight, but to flee quickly. It's not that he's incompetent, it's not that he's lacking in courage, it's just a sign of his experience in the way of battle.

As a commander general, you must know how to judge the situation, if you are facing a miscellaneous army at this time, then the number is doubled, Sun Ben will not hesitate to meet the attack, but the soldiers and horses in front of him are not only an elite army, but the commander is Han Lie, a partial general who was able to fight with Lu Bu in the past, which is not something he can compete with in any case.

The reason why Sun Ben was afraid of Han Lie was not because he was frightened by Han Lie's prestige, but because he knew Han Lie, in the past, when he was in Bishui Pass and Tiger Prison Pass, he had seen Han Lie, although they didn't have any friendship with each other, but because Sun Jian and Han Lie had a good relationship, Sun Ben and Han Lie also drank once.

For Han Lie's command ability and combat effectiveness in the military array, he has witnessed it with his own eyes, even if Sun Ben usually thinks he is brave, but in front of Han Lie, he does not dare to hold it up at all, not to mention that he also knows that there are two generals under Han Lie's account, both of whom are first-class generals at that time.

"Han Ziyang has actually been involved, and the road ahead is difficult." Sun Ben sighed with emotion, and then said to his younger brother Sun Fu: "Gather the soldiers and horses, suppress the defense line, and I will go and talk to Han Ziyang." ”

"Brother, no, you are now the commander of the three armies, and you rashly went to meet the enemy general, if there is a mistake, won't our three armies be in danger?" Sun Fu was more than ten years younger than Sun Ben, and he was only nineteen years old, although he had heard his brother Sun Ben say Han Lie's name many times, but he would hear his brother shout in surprise since he was going to see Han Lie alone.

"Han Ziyang is a gentleman, even if he belongs to a different camp today, he will not categorically plot to kill the former robes." Sun Ben remembered Han Lie's impassioned enthusiasm in the past, and while his mood was agitated, he couldn't help but think of his uncle Sun Jian and the difficult situation of the Sun family, and couldn't help but sigh lightly: "If my uncle is here, why are the children of my Sun family here?" ”

Han Lie, who arrived with the army, saw that Sun Ben quickly gathered the military formation and made a defensive formation, so he couldn't help but nod and praise: "Boyang, worthy of being a veteran on the battlefield, has made a response in such a short time, and has the demeanor of an ancient famous general." ”

"Although the response is good, in Jia's opinion, under the order of the lord, the three armies will be launched in unison, and it is enough to defeat this army of soldiers and horses." Guo Jia, who was standing beside Han Lie on a horse, narrowed his eyes slightly, stared at Sun Ben's military array in his sight, and said disapprovingly.

"What the military advisor said is reasonable, lord, please Rong Mou kill into the enemy formation and save Sun Ben Xiao'er to be captured alive." Dian Weicai doesn't care if he wins or not, as long as he can charge into battle, even if he loses, he will not hesitate to rush forward, this is a typical fierce general character.

"Lao Dian, since you said that what the military advisor said is reasonable, then you can tell everyone, what kind of reasoning is it, if you are right, how about your department is the vanguard?" When Han Lie said this, he was not ridiculing Dian Wei, but deliberately suppressing Dian Wei's belligerent momentum, after all, commanding troops to fight is not something that can be won by relying on courage alone, sometimes resourcefulness is more important than bravery.

"This, this, I know, doesn't the lord often warn us to listen to the military advisor, the military advisor also said just now, one blow, you can defeat the enemy, since it was the military advisor who said it, then you are reasonable?" Facing everyone's gaze, Dian Wei smiled.

"Haha......" In the face of Dian Wei's quibble, Han Lie had to laugh loudly, looked around at the generals and explained: "The military division said that it can be determined, one is because the enemy army is tired after fighting for many days, the second is that although the enemy army has laid out a military formation, the formation is loose, and it is obviously a lack of training of recruits, and the third is that this enemy army is very miscellaneous, it can be seen that it is a newly formed army of soldiers and horses, such an army is bound to have poor cohesion, and the combat effectiveness that can be exerted must be relatively weak, there are these three weaknesses, with the combat effectiveness of our army, if you want to defeat the enemy army, It's a no-brainer. ”

"Indeed, it is as the lord said." Guo Jia nodded his head.

"Lord Qiqi, there are two horsemen holding the battle flag and galloping towards our army formation, whether to intercept it." At this moment, the outpost scout horse galloped to Han Lie's war horse and reported in a loud voice.

"No, just invite someone over." Han Lie pondered for a moment before speaking.

After a while, the two horsemen came in a hurry, and twenty steps away from Han Lie, Sun Ben turned over and dismounted, and saluted as he walked in: "General Han, don't you remember the old people for a few years?" ”

"Brother Boyang, after years of not seeing, the style is better than in the past." Han Lie saw that the person who came was Sun Ben, although he was surprised, but he was not too surprised, seeing that the right clothes stepped forward on foot, Han Lie immediately turned over and dismounted, and returned the salute.

"Compared with General Han, do you dare to call yourself stylish?" Three steps in front of Han Lie, Sun Ben stopped, shook his head and sighed: "Ziyang can call a certain young brother, compared to still remembering the love of the old robe, it is not a secret, my Sun family, since my uncle was martyred, every day is declining, recently my brother's filial piety period has expired, and he is interested in avenging his father, and he has to be approved by General Yuan Shu, and take Danyang as the foundation. ”

If Han Lie didn't have the memories of the afterlife, or if he was a rat-eyed person, this would probably be moved, but as a traverser, Han Lie knew how fierce Sun Ce's Sun Quan brothers were, and if they were allowed to gain a foothold in Danyang, then he would not only become a fantasy after the strategic deployment of Jiangdong, but also cultivate a powerful enemy for himself.

So in the face of Sun Ben's request, Han Liezhi did not express a shameful smile, but refuted with a serious expression: "General Wentai is also a respected ancestor of Lie, it stands to reason that he should not refuse the request of his juniors, but Danyang is the city-state of my Han court, and Zhou Taishou is the county guard of His Majesty's own personal seal, today your department is attacking privately, it is already a rebellion, I am deeply favored by the emperor, and I have to be urgently asked for help by the envoy of Zhou Taishou, and now if I withdraw from the army with Brother Boyang's words, where will I be in the law of the Han Dynasty?" ”

"Haha, what a loyal minister of the Han family, it seems to be a whimsical." Sun Ben smiled miserably and said: "Since General Han doesn't miss the old friendship, but for the sake of the heavy treasure that my uncle once gave under Luoyang City, please open the net, Rong Mou quit Jiangcheng, and then fight or retreat, each according to the mandate of heaven." ”

"Okay, I'll give you a day to retreat, and before noon tomorrow, my army won't go out of the river to take a step." Han Lie's eyes sank, stared at Sun Ben, and bowed slightly.

"Thank you, farewell." Sun Ben stopped talking nonsense, and then turned around and got on the horse and went back.

......Seeing that Han Lie actually promised to let Sun Ben lead the army to leave, all the generals looked at Han Lie in confusion for a while, and in the face of everyone's doubts, Han Lie raised his hand to interrupt everyone: "I have my own opinions on this matter, all armies strictly abide by military orders, and after Sun Ben's army retreats, they will immediately enter Jiangcheng." ”

When Zhou Yan, who was with the army, heard this, he frowned and said: "General Han, let the tiger return to the mountain, there will be endless troubles, the children of the Sun family have always been brave and good at fighting, if you don't leave Sun Ben at this time, wouldn't you miss the opportunity?" ”

"The tiger can't escape the hunt of the hunters, since I promised you to rush to the aid of Danyang, I will not let Danyang fall, you have to say more." Han Lie replied lightly to the other party, and then ordered the army to start slowly moving forward.

That night, Han Lie refused the invitation of the county commander Chen Heng and led the army to camp under the city, without committing any offense to Minqiu.

After dinner, Han Lie summoned Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, Guo Jia, and Xiahou Lan to the big tent, Xu Sheng and Ling Tong, two young generals, were responsible for patrolling and guarding outside the tent, and the two thousand forward battalions led by Xu Huang were left by Han Lie to garrison the Moling Pass in the rear, responsible for collecting military funds and salaries from the three counties of Moling, Jiangning, and Hushu, and bringing the three counties under their control.

After everyone arrived, Han Lie said slowly: "You must be curious, why did I let Sun Ben leave, what is the purpose, in fact, the reason is very simple, because a certain person has indeed received a heavy treasure from Sun Wentai, and this treasure is the jade seal of this country." Han Lie said, then took out a jade seal with gold horns from the bag on the table and said: "This jade seal was accidentally obtained by Sun Wentai when he invaded Luoyang in the past, and because of the leakage of news, he was coveted by Yuan Benchu. (To be continued.) )