Fight patience Sun Ce of course can't win Tao Ying, the Junzi Army was originally built specifically for field battles, in addition to bows and arrows, grain, grass and horse materials have very low requirements for logistics supplies, even if the grain is cut off, there is a bad taste but calorie-rich mare's milk to drink, and it is simply an invincible existence in the protracted war of attrition in the wild. And what about the poor Sun Cejun, the soldiers need military food, the war horses need fine horse materials, they have to consume a huge amount of grain and grass every day, and there is no logistical supply, how can they fight the gentleman's army that even produces grain for war horses?

So after fighting like this for a few days, Sun Cejun began to lose his breath up and down, and the cunning gentleman's army no longer directly attacked and harassed this time, but indirectly harassed through flags, slogans and war drums, which not only saved precious bows and arrows, but also forced Sun Cejun to slow down, and consumed a lot of grain and grass in the process of marching, and did not go out of one hundred and fifty miles for three days. The anxious generals of Sun Cejun asked for orders to pursue many times, but Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were afraid of the terrifying mobility of the Junzi Army, and refused to agree to anything, so they continued to march at a rapid pace. Fortunately, the Junzi Army was also afraid of Sun Cejun's strong crossbow formation, so he did not dare to rush close and release arrows, so Sun Cejun's casualties did not continue to expand.

In addition to the huge consumption of grain and grass, what worries Sun Ce and Zhou Yu more is the poisonous arrows of the Junzi Army, and they don't know what ghost poison the Junzi Army fed on the arrowheads, three or four days after being injured, nearly twenty percent of the wounded soldiers' injuries began to deteriorate, the wounds did not stop pus, the soldiers continued to have fever and convulsions of their limbs, and died of extremely painful and tragic deaths, the army was helpless, and even Sun Ce's wounds showed signs of deterioration, and a penetrating wound on his left leg flowed out of thick water, although Sun Ce was afraid of affecting the army's heart and did not dare to speak out, However, there were still people in Sun Cejun's ranks, rumors were spreading, and morale was devastated, and they were all afraid of fighting with the Junzi Army, and they were even more afraid of the Terror and poison arrows of the Junzi Army.

In the face of such a bad situation, no matter how tough Sun Ce was, he regretted in his heart that he chose Tao Ying's gentleman's army as the opponent of his first battle of reading power, this is a team of moral gentlemen? It's just a group of jackals that are more cunning than foxes, a nest of poisonous snakes that people can't guard against, and if you are not careful, you may be bitten by them, leaving fatal injuries! The plan to abandon the attack on Guangling and withdraw to Shouchun for rest and recuperation first also began to take shape in Sun Ce's mind.

If it weren't for an incident that happened later, maybe Sun Ce, who was in a dilemma, might have ordered the withdrawal of the army, but ............

On the seventh day of the ninth lunar month, when Sun Cejun approached Tangyi and officially stepped into the territory of Guangling County, Sun Cejun, who was advancing at a rapid pace, had just been harassed by a gentleman's army, and a team of light cavalry suddenly came from the rear, led by none other than Yuan Shu's cronies and younger brother Yuan Yin. As soon as they met, Yuan Yin took out Yuan Shu's handwritten warrant, and said to Sun Ce straight to the point: "General Bofu, the lord has a warrant, ordering you to return to the army immediately to Shouchun, and there are other important matters to discuss." ”

"The Lord ordered me to go back? Why? Sun Ce was very surprised, and Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others next to him also looked at each other, and said in their hearts, Could it be that our predicament has been known by Yuan Shu, so we are retired?

"Naturally, there is a big deal." Yuan Yin's expression seemed to be a little nervous, and he couldn't help but look left and right quietly, as if he was afraid that Sun Ce would suddenly move roughly, and urged: "General Bofu, please don't ask more, the lord has no malicious intentions, but he just thinks that attacking Guangling at this time will inevitably be suspected of taking advantage of the fire to rob, and will be laughed at by the world, so I will announce your withdrawal and attack Guangling, and give up for the time being." ”

It's okay if Yuan Yin doesn't say that, Sun Ce, who was already dizzy by the rogue tactics of the Junzi Army, may really retire, but what Yuan Yin said Yuan Shu is afraid of being laughed at by the world, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu and others just can't be suspicious, and they say together that Yuan Shu Lao'er also knows what courtesy, righteousness and shame are, and he is also afraid of taking advantage of the fire to rob and be laughed at by others? His virtue and character are probably only a little better than that Tao Yingxiao'er who is full of benevolence and morality, full of chickens and dogs, right?

Under the suspicion, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu quietly exchanged a look, Sun Ce saluted Yuan Yin and said: "General Yuan, please wait for a while, wait for the last general to discuss with everyone, and then negotiate with you about the withdrawal of the army. ”

Sun Ce's personal soldiers agreed, came over and invited Yuan Yin to the convoy for dinner, Yuan Yin saw that Sun Ce had a kind attitude, and saw that Sun Cejun had no signs of using force, so he relieved his heart and followed Sun Ce's personal soldiers to the convoy to eat. As soon as Yuan Yin walked away on the front foot, Zhou Yu immediately lowered his voice and reminded Sun Ce: "Bo Fu, something is wrong, Yuan Yin is only afraid that he will not be good, and he keeps peeking left and right, and seems to be very wary of us." ”

"I'm paying attention, too." Sun Ce nodded, and wondered again: "What happened to Shouchun?" Why did Yuan Shu suddenly order me to withdraw my troops? ”

"I don't know." Zhou Yu shook his head, gritted his teeth and said: "But I can see that Yuan Shu Lao'er will definitely not have any good intentions when he summons you back to the teacher this time, but I am afraid that when you withdraw to Shouchun, it will be when you are in great trouble." ”

Sun Ce's heart sank, and he also felt that Zhou Yu was reasonable, although he was friendly with Qiao Rui, Zhang Xun and others under Yuan Shu's account, and Yuan Shu's adviser Lu Fan secretly helped, but he also did not deal with Ji Ling, Yang Hong, Yuan Yin and many other Yuan Shu army civil and military, especially Yuan Shu's two major cronies Chen Ji and Liu Xun, because of the competition for the position of Jiujiang and Lujiang Taishou, they had a great enmity with themselves. Now that Yuan Shu suddenly summoned himself back to the army inexplicably, he must have become suspicious of himself, if he withdraws his troops now, he is afraid that there may be a catastrophe soon.

"Bo Fu, as you said that night, since you have reached this point, it is a dead end to turn back." Zhou Yu also deserved to be Sun Wu's chief thinker in the early stage, he saw through the current situation at a glance, and said to Sun Ce in a low voice: "The only way to survive is to continue to move forward, take Guangling as a foothold, and then try to make a big cause!" ”

"Moving on?" Sun Ce hesitated.

"Gong Jin, isn't it too dangerous for you to let the young general do this?" Cheng Pu next to him objected: "Yuan Shu's announcement of our army to return to the division, although it was sudden, it may not necessarily be malicious. If the major general does not obey the order and insists on moving forward, and he can't take Guangling, what can the young general do in the future? ”

"If Yuan Shu doesn't have malicious intent, it's not easy to do." Zhou Yu said calmly: "Bo Fu can tell Yuan Yin, just say that the general will not be subject to the foreign monarch's order, at present, our army is less than two hundred miles away from Guangling, it is a pity to give up, please Yuan Yin reply to Yuan Shu, the military situation is like fire, there is no delay, please forgive the crime of disobeying the order." In this way, if Yuan Shu has no malicious intentions, it is an explanation to him, if Yuan Shu has bad intentions, or has been suspicious of Bo Fu, then there must be a move, and Bo Fu can not only adapt to the situation, but also take precautions, to avoid withdrawing the army and returning to the tiger's mouth. ”

"Gong Jin is very good, so he acts like this." As soon as Sun Ce heard that he was right to his appetite, he immediately agreed to Zhou Yu's suggestion. At that moment, Sun Ce led Zhou Yu and Huang Gai and others to the convoy, found Yuan Yin who came to give the order, and explained the reason to him in person, saying that the army was less than two hundred miles away from Guangling, and it was a pity to withdraw the army, and refused to withdraw the army under the pretext that the general would not be subject to the orders of the kings abroad, and asked Yuan Yin to explain on his behalf and beg Yuan Shu's forgiveness.

To the surprise of Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and others, after hearing Sun Ce's reply, Yuan Yin not only did not get angry because of Sun Ce's resistance, but agreed to intercede in front of Yuan Shu for Sun Ce, and immediately offered to leave.

It wasn't until Yuan Yin was sent away that Sun Ce finally came to his senses and exclaimed, "Not good! Yuan Shu must have doubted me, otherwise, if I disobey the order, how can Yuan Yin, who is not in harmony with me, give up? Yuan Yin agreed to my request, and hurriedly left, because he was afraid that I would harm him, and he was very wary of me. ”

"Reasonable, it seems that there must be a villain who is slandering Yuan Shu." Zhou Yu echoed, and suggested: "Bo Fu, without further ado, we must march immediately, the sooner we arrive in Guangling, the better, Tao Yingxiao'er did everything possible to delay the advance of our army, thinking that his Guangling City defense is not ready, the sooner our army arrives in Guangling, the greater the certainty of capturing Guangling." ”

"That's all there is to it." Sun Ce immediately made a decision, turned to the generals and ordered: "Order the whole army, accelerate the advance, the soldiers can't stop, the horses can't stop, rush to Guangling at full speed!" ”

The generals sang the promise, and Sun Ce instructed Cheng Pu again: "General Cheng, from now on, I will hand over all the cavalry of 900 people to you, Tao Yingxiao'er will come to disturb again, you will immediately lead the army to pursue, suppress his bow and arrow with a strong crossbow, and expel him away." But remember, the pursuit should not exceed ten miles, chase out ten miles, and return to the army immediately, as long as you contain Tao Yingxiaoer's gentleman's army, our infantry can take the opportunity to march! Cheng Pu clenched his fists and sang loudly.

The order was conveyed, Sun Cejun finally gave up the well-guarded turtle formation, and marched eastward with foot and horses, and the Junzi Army scout fed back the news to Tao Ying, Tao Ying was overjoyed, knowing that Sun Ce was finally unable to hold his breath and marched at full speed at any cost, and immediately led the Junzi Army to attack, and once again killed the flank of Sun Ce's army to disturb it, and the cavalry of Sun Ce's army, which had been waiting for a long time, also quickly attacked under the leadership of Cheng Pu, and launched a cavalry battle in the open area in the west of Guangling County - to be precise, It should be a cavalry battle beyond this era, there is no common military generals in this era, there is no cavalry melee, mixed together with knives and slashing each other, some are just strong bows and crossbows, constantly interspersed with roundabouts, looking for victory in the sports war.

Fighting this kind of cavalry warfare beyond the times, the gentleman's army that has been trained to fight this kind of cavalry warfare since the day it was established is of course a big advantage, although the strong crossbow of Sun Cejun's cavalry does have a range of more than the bow and arrow of the Junzi army, and it can also be done with one hand holding the reins and the other hand lifting the crossbow to shoot, but the shooting frequency of the strong crossbow is too slow, and you have to strangle the war horse and load the arrow and crossbow with both hands, which is far less flexible than the bow and arrow of the Junzi army, so the Junzi army basically only needs to avoid the first wave of Sun Cejun's strong crossbow, and then you can rest assured that you can boldly approach the arrow and kill people, After the first cavalry battle, Sun Cejun paid the price of nearly 100 cavalry to drive the Junzi army out of ten miles away, but the Junzi army also lost ten soldiers who were more expensive than gold.

When the cavalry battle was launched again, Deputy Director Tao divided the troops into two ways, first let a team of gentlemen attract Cheng Pu's cavalry, and diverted the tiger from the mountain to lure Cheng Pu away, and the other team took the opportunity to sneak attack Sun Cejun's infantry, while the ants gnawed bones and shot Sun Cejun's infantry, while delaying Sun Cejun's advance speed, forcing Sun Cejun's army to stop advancing and fight back. At the same time, the plan to let some of the gentlemen's army be equipped with strong crossbows to make up for the lack of range of horse bows also began to appear in Tao Ying's consideration plan.

After Sun Ce's army entered the territory of Yuguo County, all the feather and arrow reserves of the Junzi army were also exhausted, and they were forced to end this not very successful guerrilla operation, throw off Cheng Pu's pursuit and rush back to Guangling City, and return to Guangling to preside over the defense of Guangling.

Why is it said that this battle of the Gentlemen's Army was not very successful? Because the purpose of the Junzi Army was to contain Sun Cejun for ten days and half a month, as a result, he was forced to return to Guangling on the ninth day of September, although Sun Cejun needed at least one day to reach Guangling, but it only restrained Sun Cejun for a total of ten days, and could only barely complete the task, and at the same time paid the precious lives of more than 60 soldiers of the Junzi Army.

Relying on the perverted endurance of Mongolian horses, the Junzi Army returned to Guangling City on the night of the ninth day of the ninth month of September, and Tao Ying, who was already exhausted, was relieved that the Junzi Army was not working in vain these days, and the people of the neighboring Yuguo and Jiangdu counties had all withdrawn into Guangling City, and at the same time transferred all the grain in the two counties, leaving not a single rice and a grain of grain for Sun Cejun, and successfully completed the task of clearing the wilderness. At the same time, the city defense of Guangling City has also been greatly improved, the places that should be reinforced have been reinforced, the trenches that should be dug have also been dug deep, and the Zhongdu River has also been introduced to fill the water, making it difficult for Sun Cejun's siege vehicles and ladder vehicles to approach directly.

After entering Guangling City, Tao Ying first arranged for the injured Junzi soldiers and war horses to go to Langzhong and the veterinarian for treatment, and then took the trouble to explain to the Xuzhou generals to prepare high-protein and vitamin-rich food for the Junzi Army soldiers, and then led Lu Su back to Guangling Taishou Mansion with Zhang Ji to discuss the next military situation. And after returning to the Taishou Mansion, the philanthropic Deputy Director Tao had to ask Zhang Zhen about someone's situation, "General Zhang, that little girl in Lin Qing, why didn't you come to greet me in triumph?" ”

"It was supposed to be here." Zhang Zhen smiled and said: "Seeing that Gongzi is safe and sound on the city tower, she will go back to rest, and said that as long as you are not dead, she will not have to worry about the trouble of collecting your body." ”

"This little girl is really unlucky to speak." Tao Ying smiled bitterly, there was nothing she could do about this arrogant girl, so she had to put her affairs aside for the time being, and pulled Lu Su to Zhang Zhen to introduce her, Lu Su and Zhang Zhen greeted each other politely, which was regarded as a formal partnership.

"Childe, how is it?" After being polite with Lu Su, Zhang Yu couldn't wait to ask: "What are the results of this expedition?" ”

"Killed Sun Jian's old department Han Dang, Sun Cejun's foot cavalry probably killed hundreds of thousands of people." Tao Ying replied lightly.

"Killed Han Dang?" Zhang Zhen exclaimed, "That Han Dang, who defeated Dong Zhuojun with Sun Jian, was killed by you, Gongzi?" ”

Tao Ying nodded, and said with a straight face: "General Zhang, it doesn't matter how many results the Junzi Army has, the key to deciding the defense of Guangling is the six thousand infantry under you, and the next battle to defend the city will depend on you." ”

"Please rest assured of this." Zhang Zhen replied confidently: "The soldiers under the command of the last general, the field battle may not be as good as the veterans of a hundred battles under the command of Sun Ce Xiaoer, but in the city defense battle, the last general has the confidence to compete with Sun Ce Xiaoer." ”

"General Zhang, with all due respect to the juniors, the juniors dare not rest assured." Tao Ying shook his head and said in a deep voice: "The combat effectiveness and organizational ability of Sun Ce's children's army, the younger generation has already witnessed it with their own eyes in the past few days, to be honest, it is too different from our ordinary army in Xuzhou. Let's put it bluntly, a soldier of Sun Cejun can be worth three of us Xuzhou soldiers in the field, and in the siege battle, he can also be worth two of us Xuzhou soldiers! And when it comes to the battle in formation, three hundred veterans of Sun Ce's army are enough to break our thousands of Xuzhou troops! ”

"Sun Ce is so powerful? Is Childe exaggerating? Zhang Zhen was a little surprised.

"No exaggeration." Tao Ying shook his head and said solemnly: "It's not that the younger generation is boasting, in the face of the continuous harassment and sneak attack of the younger gentlemen's army, there are not many armies in the world that can do everything without panic and chaos, but Sun Ce Xiaoer's team not only did this, Sun Ce Xiao'er was also able to adapt to local conditions, and in turn designed to surround our army, and even learned to create a crossbowman who restrained the gentleman's army while fighting, such an army and such a commander are absolutely rare in the world." Our poorly disciplined and elite Xuzhou army is really no match for them. ”

General Zhang was skeptical and a little unconvinced, but considering that the main force of the Xuzhou army was lost, and two-thirds of the Guangling defenders were surrendered from the Zhenrong rebels, the overall combat effectiveness and individual combat effectiveness were definitely not as good as those veterans of a hundred battles under Sun Ce, and finally reluctantly agreed with Tao Ying's views. At that moment, Zhang Zhen asked again: "Childe, then in your opinion, how should we fight the defense of Guangling?" ”

"The younger generation has been thinking about it for a few days, and after careful discussion with the Lu Su military division, after repeated discussions, it was decided to adjust the operational strategy of the Guangling Defense Battle." Tao replied: "First, the Junzi Army changed its established plan, temporarily did not leave the city to contain Sun Ce'er, and stayed in Guangling City to help the old general defend the city." Second, first fight a small victory with certainty in the defense of Guangling, boost morale, boost the morale of the army, first build up the confidence of the Guangling army and people to defend the city, and then try to break the city. ”

"A small victory with certainty?" Zhang Zhen was a little confused, and couldn't help but say, "Childe, you won't be a nerd again, right?" Is there a battle to be won in the world? Besides, Gongzi, you also said that Sun Ce'er's veterans of a hundred battles are far better than our Xuzhou army, and it is more difficult to defeat them? ”

"Yes." Tao Ying smiled and said, "I have a plan with the military advisor, and we can definitely defeat Sun Ce, and we can also severely damage the group of veterans under Sun Ce's command." ”

"What's Childe's plan? Can you teach? Zhang Yu asked curiously.

"It's simple." Tao Ying said with a smile: "Please ask General Zhang Lao to send someone to secretly visit Sun Ce Xiao'er, just say that you are angry with your younger generation, and you are ready to dedicate Guangling City to Sun Ce Xiao'er, and then quietly open the north gate of Guangling in one night to welcome Sun Ce Xiao'er's army into the city, and when Sun Ce Xiao'er's army enters the urn city at the north gate of Guangling, we will immediately put down the iron gate of thousands of catties, and lock Sun Ce Xiao'er's forward in the urn to catch turtles in the urn city, and then set fire to it, and all the Sun Ce children's team in the urn city can be burned to death." ”

"Childe let the last general surrender?" Zhang Xu's eyes lit up, and he said worriedly: "Sun Ce'er is not an ordinary person, can he easily believe that the last general will surrender?" ”

"Absolutely!" Tao Ying waved his hand and said categorically: "First, Sun Ce Xiao'er doesn't have much food and grass, and he has been delayed on the road for more than ten days, he must be in a hurry to break through Guangling City, the old general, you deceive and surrender the city, Sun Ce Xiao'er has to be moved!" Second, the old general, you are a veteran of Xuzhou, it is normal for you to disagree with the younger generation, this young man is new, it is reasonable for you to deceive and surrender, even if Sun Ce Xiaoer does not believe it very much, he must feel that things are normal. ”

"As for the third......." Speaking of this, Tao Ying smiled slightly, and said: "I also prepare something for the old general to help you win the trust of Sun Ce Xiao'er, no matter how suspicious Sun Ce Xiao'er is, as long as he receives such a thing from you, he must believe that you are sincere in dedicating the city!" ”