In August of the nineteenth year of Xiande, Southern Chu formed an alliance with Dayong, the king of Qi on behalf of Emperor Yong and the lord of the country made a blood alliance, and the prince of De Zhao Jue worshiped as the governor of the capital, and was ordered to go on the expedition.

History of Chu in the Southern Dynasties: The Biography of Jiang Suiyun

Damn Zhao Jue, really let me join the army, I originally wanted to ask someone for help, but Zhao Jue is now the governor of the capital above 10,000 people under one person, so I had to hand over the work of the Hanlin Academy with tears in my eyes, and conquer Shu from the army, but what can comfort me is that Xiao Shunzi actually set off with the army, before leaving, the lord of the country sent Wang Hai, the celebrant supervisor, as the supervisor of the army, although the use of eunuchs to supervise the army is really an internal trouble of defeat, but thinking that Xiao Shunzi actually came with Wang Hai, I can't help but thank God for blessing, with Xiao Shunzi's protection, I shouldn't be in too much danger, but it's better to find a few more guards, I'm going to talk to Xiao Shunzi, and when I like the candidate, Xiao Shunzi will help me identify their martial arts, lest I find a bunch of wine bags and rice bags.

This attack on Shu, the Southern Chu soldiers were divided into two routes, one by water, led by Zhenyuan Marquis Lu Xin 10,000 water troops, out of the White Emperor Wuxia, tracing the river upstream, and the other route was led by Zhao Jue, the prince of Dadu Dude, led 50,000 troops, killing Benba Prefecture by land, and the two sides agreed to meet the city. I am a staff member under the account of Prince De, so I naturally have to follow the army, but I am resentful, and I have been hiding in the car of the superintendent Wang Hai during the march, Wang Hai and the Wang Steward of the Imperial Library are of the same clan, so they are not bad to me, and I also mentioned from time to time on the way that since the Wang Steward took the medicine I sent, my health has improved greatly. Naturally, I agreed to make him a similar medicine or two. Xiao Shunzi obediently served the two of us next to him, Wang Hai looked at Xiao Shunzi heartily, and said with a smile: "This kid is the slave that Zhuangyuan Gong once saved, Xiao Shunzi is good at everything, his hands and feet are diligent, his tongue is clever, he is literate and hyphenated, but he is not good at all, he is not motivated at all, other slaves can fight for a bad job, and he can't wait to surround the lord of the country, only this kid is willing to abandon that good errand and follow our family to suffer in the army." ”

I couldn't help but glance at Xiao Shunzi, a little guilty, this kid is all for my sake, Xiao Shunzi said obediently: "Where did the father-in-law say, the father-in-law and the old husband are relatives, and the princess always has a reward when he sees the slave, this time the father-in-law is appreciated by the lord of the country as the supervisor of the army, once he returns to the dynasty in victory, it is a great merit, and the slave will be stained with the father-in-law. Wang Hai laughed so hard that he couldn't open his eyes. The three of us were having a good time. At this time, a herald ran up to our car and said loudly: "Lord Jiang, the prince has summoned you to discuss the matter. I got out of the car helplessly, took the reins of the horse from the Ouchi guards brought by Wang Hai, and galloped forward. I finally came to Zhao Jue, who was waiting for me, and I immediately clasped my fists and saluted: "Lord Wang, the lower official is ordered to come." ”

Zhao Jue looked at my embarrassed appearance and said with a smile: "Master Jiang, you better learn to ride a horse more, otherwise it will be difficult to follow the army." ”

I almost gritted my teeth, was I willing to join the army? But under the eaves, I had to bow my head, so I had to say respectfully: "The lower official obeys the order." If there is anything to be done, please ask the prince to command. ”

Zhao Jue urged the horse to move forward slowly, motioning for me to follow him, and I hurriedly urged the mount. The two of us walked side by side for a while, and then Zhao Jue said, "Is Lord Jiang still resentful of this king?" I said with a smile: "The lower officials don't dare, the lower officials eat the Yulu of Southern Chu, how dare they resign from the appointment of the imperial court." Zhao Jue smiled bitterly: "It's not that this king is embarrassed, it's just that this time to attack Shu, we must preserve our strength while achieving the greatest benefits." Marching and fighting is the king's business, and he will not and dare not bother his lordship, but after Pingshu, we will inevitably have to discuss with Dayong how to distribute the results of the war, and if there is no person like Lord Jiang who understands the truth of our two countries and is wise and decisive, I am afraid that we will suffer a big loss, so we have to embarrass Lord Jiang. ”

I thought angrily, "It's just a share of the spoils after the robbers succeed, won't they wait until you win the battle to let me go?" Seeming to see through my thoughts, Zhao Jue said: "Moreover, I see that Mr. is so intelligent, Jue also wants to listen to the lessons every time, now that the country is in danger, I also hope that Lord Jiang will spend more time on military affairs, so as to contribute to the country." "After listening to Zhao Jue's words, it makes sense for me to think about it carefully, since I am already in the army, it is better to take advantage of this to learn more about military affairs, thinking of this, I bowed my head and expressed my acceptance of his opinion. Zhao Jue smiled slightly, added a whip to the horse, my mount seemed to want to gallop a little, impatiently twisted his body, scared me from side to side, fortunately a Zhao Jue's personal guard who followed me helped me, I thanked me red-faced, and vowed to learn to ride a horse.

Put down the pen in my hand, I rubbed my shoulders, after camping, I was dealing with these military affairs, since I talked to Zhao Jue, I began to participate in dealing with military affairs, from the beginning of the stumbling to the present ease, I did not spend too long, from how to set up camp, how to organize the army, how to reward and punish, of course, the most important thing is document processing and intelligence sorting, the difficulty of these military affairs is not easier than my work in the Hanlin Academy. Among Zhao Jue's staff, Rong Yuan, a Black Mountain Confucian who has been following him, is the most important, and often follows Zhao Jue's side as a counselor, as for these trivial military affairs, they are handled by other counselors, and my addition has reduced their workload, especially since I didn't take long to become familiar with most of the paperwork methods, relying on my strong memory and keen judgment, I soon became one of the leaders, especially in intelligence analysis work, originally they just let me try, but unexpectedly, it was my strength to verify from a few words, There is no need for pen and ink records, no matter how trivial the information, as long as I read it once, I can sort out the context in the middle, so later those staff members surnamed Suo handed over the intelligence analysis work to me, and I sorted out the documents and handed them to Zhao Jue for review. It was only at this time that I really became the highly regarded counselor by Zhao Jue's side, and in addition to Rong Lian, I already had the lead.

Look at the sky, it's late at night, I have to hurry tomorrow, I will collect the information that has been sorted out, and prepare to send it to Mr. Rong, I feel a little thirsty, I picked up the teapot on the small table, but it was empty, I smiled bitterly and shook my head, at this time, there was a cough from outside the tent, and then Xiao Shunzi walked in, holding a food box, and said lightly: "Lord Jiang, Wang Jianjun knows that you are busy with military affairs, so he asked me to send supper, and I want to thank you for the medicine you gave him yesterday." ”

As soon as I heard Xiao Shunzi's tone, I knew that there was someone outside, so I smiled and said: "Please thank Wang Jianjun for me, in fact, the prison army is just pampered and used to it, these people are too tired and not resting well, so I can't help but feel uncomfortable, my medicine is just to let the prison army rest better, and recover his energy quickly." Xiao Junzi put the things on the table and said, "Please eat it while it's hot." I shook my head and said, "I'll send the paperwork first, you go back and rest first, and you'll have to march tomorrow." Xiao Shunzi shoved a small note into my hand, and then bowed and withdrew.

I opened the note, and there was a line of small characters written on it: "It is inconvenient to come and go in the army, there are many masters around Zhao Jue, Rong Yuan seems to be a little jealous of the adult, and today he slandered Zhao Jue, saying that the adult has close contacts with the King of Qi, I am afraid that there is collusion, for the sake of safety, try not to let the adult approach the important military affairs, Zhao Jue is suspicious." ”

I smiled faintly, such things are always inevitable, I am so unavoidable, no wonder Rong Yuan is jealous, but if he succeeds in slandering, it doesn't matter, anyway, he has no reason to be reused by Prince De. I walked out of the tent, let the sergeant under the tent accompany me to the tent where Rong Yuan handled military affairs, handed over the paperwork to him, he accepted it, encouraged me a few words, full of trust and appreciation of my appearance, what a human being is unseemly-I sighed in my heart and left the tent. Outside the tent at this time, the moon is like frost.

After more than half a month of marching, we arrived at the border of Shu, and then the siege was very smooth, but I arrived at Ba County in the middle of the day, I began to wonder why Shu resistance is so weak, and then asked to know that Shu is short of soldiers after all, so in addition to the key and dangerous passes, other places do not arrange heavy troops, and Ba County, is the first checkpoint we face, after Ba County, the front is a difficult path, more than 20 passes in a row, are easy to defend and difficult to attack the pattern, the big war, is about to begin.

On August 23, the Southern Chu army arrived at the city of Ba County, I rode the docile horse specially selected for me by Prince De, looking at the city of Ba County with high ponds and deep pools, the city tower was like a forest of swords and guns, and countless Shu troops stood on the city with a solemn expression, and it was a strong force at first sight. Prince De led his horse slightly, stood in front of the army, and looked coldly at the city wall. Among the many sergeants in the city stood a general in red iron armor, and by my eye I could see that this man was about fifty years of age, and that he was of a heroic appearance, of short stature, and full of beard. This person shouted: "Nanchu and my Shu Kingdom are allies, why did you tear up the alliance for no reason and come to attack." ”

Prince De smiled faintly, and raised his voice: "Shu is a corner of peace, secession of the world, now said Dayong Longxing Central Plains, Shu has so far refused to be a minister, what is the heart, I Southern Chu is a subordinate of Dayong, ordered to attack, one respects the emperor's orders, and the other is to wash the hatred of Shu oppression over the years, my Southern Chu children listened, Shu relied on the terrain, often bullied my border people, and took advantage of the trade to raise prices, loot the gold and silver of my people, now I say that I Southern Chu Xing soldiers, must succeed in a battle, revenge. After that, the long whip pointed forward, the Southern Chu army shouted in unison, the military drum thundered, a thousand people began to shout forward, everyone held a shield and a ring head knife, protecting the multi-drive ladder to the city wall, taking advantage of the city wall on the archers can not stick out their heads to shoot arrows downward, the Southern Chu army leaned those ladders on the city wall, began to climb upward, and another twenty or thirty people pushed the cart to the city gate, and the huge impact overwhelmed the sound of war drums and horns. Before they hit it a few times, the war drums in the city sounded, the rolling logs and rocks fell like rain, those cloud ladders were also pushed by the rejection poles, the body of the Southern Chu sergeant fell from mid-air, the flesh and blood were blurred, and the rushing car was also smashed by the boulders.

I was apprehensive, but I saw that Prince De and the other generals' staff were looking at the battlefield with indifferent expressions, without the slightest nervousness. Then the sound of gold sounded, and those sergeants gradually retreated, and I looked carefully, most of the sergeants had not yet climbed up, so the wounded people were not as many as I imagined, and after a while, the second wave of siege of the Southern Chu army began, and the city also began to fight back.

On this day, the Southern Chu army attacked more than 20 times, all of which were superficial, and the defenders in the city were also very cautious and did not abuse wood and stone. When it was almost dusk, the Southern Chu army launched a fierce attack, the offensive was in full swing, and the soldiers sacrificed their lives to climb upward, and even climbed the city wall and launched a bloody battle in the city, but in the end the Southern Chu army was still defeated and retreated.

I looked at my heart and wavered, there should have been two or three thousand dead and wounded in the siege today, and the losses were not very large, but that terrible momentum made me unable to calm down for a long time. That night I tossed and turned in the camp, and the siege was so bad, and I heard that there were so many cities below, and that every city was like this.

The next day, the siege battle was very fierce, the sun had just risen, the sergeants pushed a dozen catapults rumbling out, an order, a huge boulder rose into the air, smashed heavily on the city wall, although because of the high pool of Bajun City, the city wall did not shake, but the city tower on the gravel splashed, the city wall trembled in the whistling, my eyes contracted, I saw the flesh and blood flying under the impact of the boulder, and then those defenders in the city braved the arrows and stones also began to penetrate the stone downward, the city trebuchet on the city was violent, smashed into the battlefield of our armyAlthough only half of our trebuchets were smashed because it was difficult to aim, but the positions at our front were smashed to pieces, the flesh and blood were blurred, and the bones were piled up, and when the battle of the stones lasted for two incense, my hands and feet were cold in this short time, and my eyes were full of blood and flesh, and my eyesight was so good that I even saw the dismal and miserable expressions of those sergeants before they died. Then probably the lack of stones, the offensive of both sides slowed down, and gradually stopped, the Southern Chu army pushed the arrow tower, carrying the ladder to attack the city again, although the height of the arrow tower is not as high as the city wall, but it can barely resist the counterattack in the city, the sharp arrows of both sides crossed the beautiful arc in the air, passed through the sturdy **, splashed out of dazzling blood, and the blood of both sides was sprinkled in front of the city wall. When the Southern Chu army charged upwards again against the rain of arrows, this time the city wall fell with hot oil and lime, when the anxious Southern Chu soldiers fell, countless straws and torches were thrown on the city wall, and the city suddenly became a sea of fire, only a few agile sergeants fled back, and the rest of the sergeants were surrounded by the sea of fire, burning miserably, and the miserable cry in the sea of fire was earth-shattering.

When I saw this, I really hated that my six senses were so sensitive, and I couldn't bear it anymore, so I hurriedly rode my horse to the back, found a secluded place, and vomited loudly, until I vomited bitter bile. When I straightened up and saw Xiao Shunzi in sergeant armor standing in front of my horse, he handed me a pot of water and asked me to rinse my mouth, and when I calmed down, I asked, "Why are you here, aren't you accompanying the prince?" Xiao Shunzi said in a low voice: "I told the prince that I didn't know what the situation was on the battlefield, so I came out to take a look, and the prince was also very worried, so I agreed." Looking at the battlefield in the distance, I said with trepidation: "It's terrible, I'd better go back." Just as I was about to ride my horse, Xiao Shunzi grabbed the reins of my horse and said: "My lord, no, although I am ignorant, I also know that if the adult is timid at this time, he will never be able to raise his head in front of the generals in the army in the future, and the adult will go to the battlefield in the future, can he dodge again and again." ”

I was a little ashamed to hear this, thinking that my mind was far less tenacious than that of Junko, and I looked at him gratefully, and rode back to the front. When I returned to Zhao Jue's side again, the generals and staff around him all looked at me with approving eyes. Zhao Jue praised: "Suiyun's courage is really good, when this king first went to the battlefield, he was even more unbearable than you, don't worry, just fight a few more battles." I bowed on my horse and asked, "My lord, my subordinates are not familiar with military affairs, it seems that our siege of the city is not going well, right?" ”

Zhao Jue smiled bitterly: "Yes, Ba County is an important town in Shu State, not only the generals are good at fighting, but also the soldiers are brave, and the equipment and grain and grass to defend the city are sufficient, so it is very difficult to attack, which makes the king heartbroken, fortunately, if you capture Ba County, it will be much easier to have more than 20 cities below." ”

I asked again, "Then, according to the king's observation, we need to attack for a few days." ”

Zhao Jue pondered for a moment and said, "If we can capture Ba County within half a month, it will be good." ”

I calculated, Dayong from Yangping Pass through Dongchuan to attack Jiameng Pass, but Dayong soldiers are full of food, if we want to take the lead, we must use strategy, I recall in my mind the battle examples I have seen, how to solve the current stalemate?

I couldn't think of it for a while, I thought back to the information about Ba County, one by one memories, looking at the city wall, the red armor general was commanding in the city, I saw that he commanded Ruo Ding, and the defense of Ba County was not leaky, and I Nan Chu had a slight flaw, and he saw through it at a glance, and then chased and beat fiercely, without mercy.

Slowly, chasing and fighting, without mercy, I remembered the information about the generals defending the city: Tian Wei, the army is rigorous, brave and good at fighting, good at defending the city, defending like a mountain, especially good at intercepting the village. No wonder Prince De guarded the camp so tightly, it turned out that this person was good at intercepting the village. Slowly, a ruse took shape, but did it work? After thinking about it, I rode to Prince De's side and whispered my opinion to him. Prince De hesitated at first, but gradually became interested, and after a long time, he smiled and nodded, and then ordered the troops to be withdrawn. The bloodiest day of the Battle of Ba County has finally come to an end.

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