There are four major generals under the command of General Yuan Shu of Zuo, namely Ji Ling, Zhang Xun, Qiao Rui and Lu Mian, in the history books and romances of later generations, there are many accounts of Ji Ling and Zhang Xun, while Qiao Rui and Lu Mian are ignored, especially Lu Mian, who is simply missing.

In fact, if it comes to marching and fighting, Qiao Rui and Lu Mian's skills are not inferior to Ji Ling and Zhang Xun, just because Yuan Shu was finally defeated, so the four major generals under Yuan Shu are regarded by later generations as fish belly generations, and they cannot be compared with the five good generals of Wei and the five tiger generals of Shu, nor can they be juxtaposed with the "Top Ten Tiger Ministers of Jiangdong" and "Four Courtyard Pillars of Hebei".

However, regardless of Ji Ling and Zhang Xun's reputation, when they each led 50,000 troops to attack Xuzhou from two routes, they still made Xuzhou's millions of soldiers and civilians feel invisible pressure and a huge threat.

Last time, Cao Cao led his army to attack Xuzhou, but he brought 50,000 soldiers and horses, but it also hurt Xuzhou, and almost even the city of Tancheng was captured. This time, Ji Ling and Zhang Xun had twice the strength of Cao's army, and they were still dealing with Xuzhou after the war, which had not completely eased their strength, and the difference in strength between the two sides was even more obvious. If it weren't for a generation of Confucian generals Lu Zhi personally sitting in Xuzhou, I am afraid that the place where Ji Ling and Zhang Xun Bingfeng passed would have already been a rotten and collapsed, such as Cao Bao and Cao Hong, maybe they would have abandoned the city and fled.

Even if Lu Zhi sat in Xuzhou, the war was lost again and again, in less than a month, Cao Hong and Cao Bao had lost most of Pengcheng and Xiapi to Ji Ling, and now their forces were concentrated in the south of Geyi Mountain in the northwest corner of Xiapi, and they could only rely on Suishui to resist Ji Ling's army.

Pugupi, located on the south bank of Suishui, was originally an important area for grain production in Xiapi, but now it was trampled by the 50,000 army brought by Ji Ling, and the people who farmed nearby had fled north to the East China Sea when the Yuan army came.

The generals in Ji Ling's tent gathered and were discussing the strategy of crossing the water to defeat the enemy.

The deputy general Chen Ji (this Chen Ji has the same name as Chen Qun's father, but not Yingchuan Chen Ji) spoke first: "Cao Bao and Cao Hong's troops are assembled at the foot of Geyi Mountain north of Suishui. As long as the general gives an order, let the craftsmen in the battalion build some boats to cross the river, and the last general is willing to be the vanguard and go to the north bank to cut off the heads of Cao Bao and Cao Hong! ”

The military advisor Yuan Jian immediately stopped and said, "Absolutely not! The Xuzhou army on the opposite side occupies a favorable geographical position, and if our army dares to cross the river to attack, it is likely to suffer from the attack of the Xuzhou army on the other bank in the middle of the crossing, and such losses are too great. The subordinates suggested that the army should follow Suishui to the east, first seize the lower phase where Suishui and Surabaya meet, and then turn north. Bypass Mt. Geyi! ”

Adjutant General Xun Zheng also felt that Chen Ji's proposal was too risky, and he agreed with Yuan Lian's opinion, so he echoed and said: "General Zhang is still fighting in Guangling, and the last general thinks that our army might as well stay here for the time being and wait for General Zhang's troops and horses to occupy Guangling, and the left and right armies will march north at the same time, so that they can also take care of each other." ”

Ji Ling pondered for a moment, and finally made up his mind that the army would not cross the river to the north for the time being, nor would it march east along Suishui. Instead, they were stationed on the south bank of Suishui, waiting for Zhang Xun's right army to pacify Guangling, and the two troops marched together to attack Donghai County. Besiege Xuzhou Zhishu Tancheng!

Ji Ling's decision is not clever, nor can it be said to be a mistake, it can only be regarded as a steady arrangement.

The north shore of Suishui. Cao Hong and Cao Bao have always been worried, for fear that Ji Ling will rush to cross Suishui, so they sent a large number of fine works and spies to lurk near the riverbank. Observing the movements of Ji Ling's army day and night. When the two of them found that Ji Ling had stopped in the area of Pugupi, they finally breathed a sigh of relief, and they continued to send people to monitor Ji Lingjun's movements, while constantly sending emergency reports for help in the direction of Tancheng, urging Lu Zhi to send troops and reinforcements as soon as possible.

In fact, at this time, there were not many troops in Tancheng, and Lu Zhi had already sent Xu Sheng and Guan Hai out, and the two generals took 15,000 elite infantry after a year of repeated training, and the 15,000 troops brought by Zang Ba were grouped together, and Zang Ba personally led them to the next minister.

Zang Ba also went out of his way this time, not only sending 15,000 soldiers to support Lu Zhi, but also personally leading the team to fight, and even taking Sun Kang and Yin Li with two henchmen. Zang Ba thought clearly, if he couldn't fight the troops of Ji Ling and Zhang Xun sent by Yuan Shu to attack Xuzhou this time, there would be no peace in Xuzhou in the future, and he would not have a good life.

Zang Ba took 15,000 soldiers from Kaiyang's nest, made a detour to the east, and directly arrived at the area of Yushan where Guanhai and Xu Sheng were stationed, and then joined up with the 15,000 infantry here. Zang Ba marched like this, so that he could avoid the Yuan army scattered around Tancheng and hide his true marching route and intentions.

When Ji Ling garrisoned Pugupi, Cao Bao and Cao Hong stayed at the foot of Geyi Mountain, and Zang Ba led the army to quietly approach Xiaxiang, the territory of Guangling was already full of blood and wars.

As Chen Qi speculated, Lu Zhi had long been uninterested in the Guangling Chen clan's practice of controlling Guangling County for hundreds of years, and this time he just took the opportunity of Yuan Shu to send troops to attack Xuzhou to push the Guangling Chen clan to the front, consuming the Chen family's accumulated heritage over hundreds of years. What can be predicted is that regardless of whether the Chen family holds Guangling in the end or not, after this battle, Lu Zhi will rearrange Guangling County.

Although Chen Jue saw through Lu Zhi's thoughts, he couldn't completely resolve it, after all, the foundation of the Chen family was in Guangling, and if Yuan Shu wanted to occupy Xuzhou, he had to take Guangling first, so the Chen family had to fight this battle no matter what.

When Zhang Xun led the army to capture the two counties of Dongyang and Tangyi in Guangling County, Chen Qi and Chen Deng, father and son, collected 30,000 private soldiers related to the Chen family in Guangling County, Jiangdu County, Hailing County and Gaoyou County, and then set up a position with Zhang Xun's army in the area of Yuguo County.

Although the Chen family does not have a military general with a super high military value, Chen Qi's father and son are both resourceful and skillful, and they are also familiar with how to arrange the troops. Under the transfer and command of Chen Qi's father and son, although the troops on Guangling's side were obviously less than Zhang Xun's, they were fighting fiercely around Yuguo, and the two anti-anti forces were unable to advance or retreat when they each paid nearly 10,000 casualties, and they were deadlocked in Yuguo County.

Zhang Xun was very annoyed when his attack on Guangling County was blocked, but because of face problems, he was embarrassed to send someone to contact Ji Ling and ask Ji Ling to send troops to assist him in attacking Guangling together. The Chen family's stubborn defense of Guangling is also extremely hard, not enough for the Chen family to have a face problem, after paying enough lives and sincerity, Chen Qi sent people to Tancheng again to ask Lu Zhi to send troops to support Guangling. At the same time, Chen Jue also sent people to cross the river to contact Zhu Hao, the Taishou of Wu County, and asked Zhu Hao to send troops to reinforce Guangling.

Zhu Hao is the son of General Wei and Henan Yin Zhujun, and the Wu County he governs is located in the easternmost part of Yangzhou, and the specific location is the Yangtze River Delta in later generations.

Zhang Xun was unable to attack Yuguo for a long time, and Yang Hong, a strategist with the army, advised him to give up the attack on Yuguo, and instead attack Ping'an County and Sheyang County in the north of Guangling, and then marched into Xiapi and pocketed Huaiyin, Xuxian and Huaipu. In this way, even if Yuan Shu blames him afterwards, it has nothing to do with the overall situation, at most, it will make the Guangling Chen family linger.

Zhang Xun was uncomfortable by Chen Qi's father and son, and he was unwilling to force the Guangling Chen family to death, so he sent someone to send a letter to Chen Qi, asking the Chen family to withdraw their soldiers to Guangling and Jiangdu. As compensation, Zhang Xun will withdraw from the state of Yuguo and not occupy Gaoyou, while leaving the Chen family with the three counties of Jiangdu, Guangling and Hailing.

In Guangling City, after Chen Qi and his son received Zhang Xun's secret letter, they were silent for a long time.

"This Zhang Xun really doesn't cry when he doesn't see the coffin, and he is willing to take a detour only after being broken by our Chen family!" Chen Deng said hatefully.

"After this battle, our Chen family also suffered heavy losses, and there were more than 12,000 dead and wounded family soldiers alone, which can be described as an unprecedented loss." Chen Ying said with some sadness.

Chen Jue's face was expressionless, and he said slowly: "In this chaotic world, if you want the family to continue, you must either make the necessary sacrifices, or advance and retreat together with the master who can win the world, and there is no other way." The blood and tears that the Chen family has paid today are precisely for the sake of being more prosperous in the future, and although these sacrifices are heavy, they are worth it and necessary. ”

"Father, since the Chen family has paid so much, shouldn't the surnamed Lu also do something for our Chen family?" Chen Deng asked.

Chen Qi said indifferently: "Yuanlong, don't be impatient, Zhang Xun is going to raise troops to the north, this time Lu Zhi will not sit idly by, our Chen family has been greatly injured, and then it depends on how Lu Zhi responds." ”

"Well, if Lu Zhi can't resist Ji Ling and Zhang Xun's army, he will lose the hearts of the people in Xuzhou, and then our Chen family will be able to ascend and shout and hold the dominance of Xuzhou in his hands!"

Chen Deng finally understood his father's plan, clenched his fists, and showed an expectant look on his face.

More than 300 miles away in the north of Xiaxiang City, Zang Ba had just received news from the direction of Guangling, and learned that Zhang Xun and Chen, who had fought fiercely, had suddenly ceased their troops, so he immediately ordered the army to set up camp and march in the direction of Xiaxiang City.

In the front army, Guan Hai asked Xu Sheng in a low voice: "Wen Xiang, we could have arrived at the next minister a few days in advance, but General Zang asked us to stop in the Siwu area a few days ago. Now who is so good and impatient, but wants the army to enter Xiaxiang City within two days? ”

Xu Sheng patiently explained to Guan Hai: "The reason why the army stopped in Siwu a few days ago was because we were worried that Ji Ling and Zhang Xun would detect our intentions, and now we are rushing to the lower minister, but because the situation on the battlefield has changed significantly, we must seize a favorable position and city before the arrival of Yuan's army!" ”

Guan Hai nodded, understanding Xu Sheng's explanation. (To be continued......)