In the mansion of Lincheng County, the three people were silent for a long time.

In the end, it was Sun Quan who made the decision and chased north.

But Zhou Yu still has reservations, and he believes that caution should be exercised.

Because there is no news from the north at present, if you rashly chase north, it is easy for Lu Meng to attack from both sides.

The situation in front of them now is actually very grim, and since they don't know Shen Chen's specific movements, once they make the wrong choice, it will cause very serious consequences.

"It's so passive for us to do nothing."

Lu Su analyzed: "Something should be done, at least someone should be sent down the green water immediately and enter Shushui to see the situation." ”

"Hmm."

Zhou Yu glanced at the sky outside, nodded and said, "You should indeed send the scouts out first." ”

Sun Quan hurriedly said: "Now that they have set off for a day, and they can reach Wuhu in just one day by going north along Jingshui, are we still sitting here waiting for news?" ”

Lu Su persuaded: "Wu Hou don't be in a hurry first, if you attack rashly, it will be easy to fall into Shen Chen's trap, and the most important thing now is to find out where the others are." ”

"What does Gong Jin mean?" Sun Quan looked at Zhou Yu and asked, "Do you think we still have to wait for news?" ”

Zhou Yu thought for a while and said: "Tonight we should occupy Lingyang first, and tomorrow morning, the army will go south first, part of it will hold the mouth of the river behind Qingshui and Jinghu, and part of it will enter Jinghu Lake to search for Shen Chen, and then let Lu Meng and Xu Sheng go north." ”

"Ordering Lu Meng and Xu Sheng to go north?"

Lu Su said strangely: "Why do you want to mobilize Lu Meng and Xu Sheng?" ”

Zhou Yu explained: "Zijing, think about it, if they really set up a suspicious formation, but in fact went south to Yixian, it is very likely that the target is Lü Meng and Xu Sheng, if we are stranded in Jinghu because of their suspicious soldiers, we can't support them in a short time, for fear that they will be attacked from both sides." ”

Lü Meng Xu Sheng is not in the city of Yixian, but in the wild mountains and forests near Yunxi.

Their army was only 8,000 people, while Liu Pan's army had more than 20,000 and Shen Chen also had more than 4,000, so it was still very easy to annihilate them.

Therefore, considering that Zhou Yu and the others really didn't know where Shen Chen's position was, and they couldn't act rashly, they had to put Lu Meng and Xu Shengbu in a relatively safe position.

Otherwise, if the other party used these suspicious soldiers to deliberately slow down Zhou Yu and them, but to annihilate Lu Meng and Xu Sheng, the situation would become very bad.

This is known as the dilemma.

If you go south to Yixian, you have to worry about whether Shen Chen didn't go to Yixian at all, but went north to Wuhu, once the judgment is wrong, Zhou Yu's main army goes to Yixian in the past few days, and everyone can kill Taihu.

But if you choose to go north to Wuhu, what if you go to Yixian? Lu Meng and Xu Sheng's forces were weak, and they were attacked by Shen Chen and Liu Pan from both sides, and I am afraid that they will be wiped out.

Therefore, the current situation is very bad for them, and only by judging Shen Chen's intentions correctly can they grasp the initiative and calmly arrange the war situation.

And if you make a wrong judgment, you will naturally lose the whole game.

But he couldn't do nothing, and he stayed in Lincheng and waited for the scouts to report the news.

After all, it is very far from Lincheng, whether it is from Jiangdong or Yixian, and it takes several days to take a boat.

When the scout gives the news, Shen Chen can kill Qiantang from the route of Jingshui, Zhongjiang, and Taihu Lake, and Liu Pan can also go to Qiantang County through Zhejiang.

Therefore, it is necessary to do something while investigating the news.

So what to do?

Zhou Yu pointed to the map and said: "Wu Hou, Zijing, you see, this place is the entrance to Jinghu Lake, we should first send someone to control this place, and then let Lu Meng Xu Sheng go north to control the passage between Shushui and Jinghu Lake." ”

Lu Su looked at it, nodded slightly, and said: "Well, if Lu Meng and Xu Sheng go north, they can also check Shen Chen's traces along the way, as long as they don't find Shen Chen, they can judge that Shen Chen at least didn't go south from Shushui to Yixian, but stayed in Jinghu, or has already gone north to Jingshui." ”

Zhou Yu said again: "Yes, as long as we control the entrances of the two rivers of Qingshui and Shushui to Jinghu Lake, we can take the initiative." Then send people to pursue along Jingshui in the north, as long as we can be sure that Shen Chen is out of Jingshui, we can immediately return to Jiangdong! ”

Sun Quan looked at the map, Zhou Yu and Lu Su said very simply, he naturally understood.

What they meant was that although they didn't know the other party's intentions, they could temporarily shrink the encirclement first, and Xu Sheng and Lu Meng would advance to the north, and they would advance to the south.

In this way, if Shen Chen chooses to go south, when he arrives in Yixian, Xu Sheng and Lu Meng will know about this situation, and they can intercept it immediately, and then send someone to notify Zhou Yu and Lu Su to mobilize the main force to come over to encircle and suppress.

If he chose to go north, they could also join Xu Sheng and Lu Meng, and then immediately go north from Jingshui to Jiangdong.

There is just one more problem.

Sun Quan pondered for a moment and said: "Shen Chen is going by boat, if he chooses to go south, he will be able to reach Yixian County in less than a day, and we will send someone to inform Lu Meng and Xu Sheng, I am afraid it will be too late in time." ”

"Wu Hou may not know."

Zhou Yu smiled and pointed to the part of Shuxi on the map and said: "Shushui is a river that flows into Jinghu Lake from south to north, its upstream is very narrow, big boats cannot pass, and it does not flow into the county seat of Yixian, but only into the territory of Yixian, so their speed will not be too fast, after arriving here, they must get off the boat and walk, or take a small boat." ”

Sun Quan looked in the direction pointed by Zhou Yu on the map, and saw that the name of this place was Wuli Pavilion, so he asked, "How far is this place from Jing Lake?" How many days does it take to get there from Lincheng? ”

Zhou Yu said: "It is more than 150 miles away from Jing Lake, and it will take at least three to four days to go against the trend, but if you order someone from Lincheng to go upstream from the river to Yunxi, and then return to Lincheng from Yunxi, it will take three days at most, so if we send someone to inform Lu Meng Xu Sheng, the time must be in time." ”

This is the reason why Zhou Yu thought that this encirclement plan could be implemented, because Shushui, that is, the upper reaches of the Shuxi River in later generations, became a small river, and the width of the river was even only seven or eight meters, and it could not accommodate a troop carrier like Da Fang.

Small boats such as scouts, yachts, and flying boats can pass, but the torrent is very fast, and the speed of the boat is even worse than walking.

On the other hand, if Zhou Yu sent someone to inform Lu Meng, he could take the Yangtze River upriver first, and then enter the Yunxi River, and it would only take two days to inform Lu Meng by water.

Lü Meng's side went down the river all the way, coming out of the Yunxi River, and relying on the speed of the water all the way, he was able to quickly reach Lincheng County.

So in terms of time planning, Zhou Yu thinks it must be in time.

Seeing that this plan was cautious and thorough, Sun Quan nodded approvingly and said, "Yes, Gong Jin and Zijing's plan is indeed detailed and thoughtful, so let's do it according to your wishes." ”

"Yui!"

The two bowed their hands and immediately went to decorate.

Out of the door of the county mansion, Zhou Yu and Lu Su glanced at each other, both a little helpless.

"Gong Jin, with this cane responsibility, your prestige is about to plummet."

Lu Su said.

Zhou Yu shook his head and said, "This is something that can't be helped, we must maintain the majesty of Wu Hou." ”

"Ugh."

Lu Su sighed and said, "This matter is indeed our fault. ”

"Hmm."

Zhou Yu said: "For the sake of today's plan, only by capturing Shen Chen alive can we wash away Wu Hou's humiliation, otherwise if he is allowed to escape, in the future, I am afraid that Wu Hou will become the laughing stock of the world." ”

Lu Su said: "This person is scheming, and it is indeed difficult to deal with. However, Gong Jin's plan is cautious, and he should be able to capture him. ”

"It was better to do so."

Zhou Yu nodded, separated from Lu Su outside the county office, and went to the barracks to give orders.

It's just that after leaving, the originally confident face unconsciously showed a trace of sadness, raised his head to look at the bright and bright moon sky in the sky, and his heart was inevitably a little melancholy.

In this battle, they are indeed very passive, and they don't even know where the enemy's shadow is, and the unknown makes people feel worried and terrible.

Only hopefully. All the best.

Soon night came.

The Jiangdong Army in Lincheng began to act.

When Shen Chenjun left during the day, Zhou Yu ordered Ling Tong and Dong Xian on the front line to start cleaning up the rolling logs that Shen Chenjun had placed on the river to block them.

It turned out that these logs were tied with ropes and rattans, etc., and fixed to the shore to intercept their ships.

Now all it takes is to cut the rope and they float away.

The main force of the Jiangdong Army of more than 10,000 people was stationed in Lingyang, and when it was daylight the next day, the army officially entered Jinghu, some people stayed at the entrance of Jinghu, and some people went deep into Jinghu to find Shen Chen's traces.

At the same time, Zhou Yu sent a large number of scouts to Bei'anwu, Xuancheng, and Jing County, and south to Yixian, tracing Shen Chen's footprints, and he must find a way to find his location.

On the fourth day, Lu Meng replied that he and Xu Sheng had begun to move north, moving from the deep mountains and old forests to Shushui.

And the scouts in Anwu and other places also reported that these places were guarded by a small number of Jiangxia sailors, and as soon as the scouts approached the city, they were shot back by random arrows, and it seemed that all signs showed that Shen Chen had gone north to Wuhu.

When Sun Quan learned of this, he immediately asked Zhou Yu to pursue, but Zhou Yu was unmoved, he had already sent someone to Wuhu to inquire about the situation, although because Wuhu was too far away, it would take two days to go around the Yangtze River, and it would take at least three or four days to come back, but he didn't want to blindly pursue.

Until July 12, five days after Shen Chen left Lingyang, Lu Meng and Xu Sheng sent news that they had walked north along Shushui for three days, but they had not seen any trace of Shen Chen.

"Chase!"

After this information was summarized to Zhou Yu, after consulting with Sun Quan, Zhou Yu immediately gave an order and began to pursue north.

There were very few Jiangxia sailors left behind in Anwu, Xuancheng, Jingxian and other places, and when they saw the arrival of the main force of the Jiangdong Army, they abandoned the city and fled, and they disappeared into the mountains and forests in the east.

Sun Quan ignored them and went down the river, and on the 14th of July, when he was about to reach Wuhu, the defenders of Liyang came to report that they saw the ships entering Jushui.

Jushui is the Shuiyang River of later generations, but it is not all. Both the Shuiyang River and the Jushui River originated in Jixi County in later generations, but in the lower reaches, one flows northwest and the Qingyi River into the Yangtze River, and the other flows due north into the Zhongjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River at that time.

Therefore, at that time, if you went east from the Yangtze River along the Zhongjiang River, there were two forks in the road that could go deep into the southeast hills, one from Jingshui, that is, the Qingyi River in later generations. A subordinate sentence water, that is, the later Shuiyang River.

Upon learning of this, Zhou Yu was shocked, and immediately realized that he was being placed by Shen Chen, so he immediately returned to the voyage, and at the same time sent someone to immediately notify Lu Meng and Xu Sheng, who had already arrived at the mouth of Jinghu Lake, to pursue.

"By Land!"

On the Jiangdong boat, Zhou Yu clenched his fists and smashed his fist on the side of the ship, he already knew how Shen Chen got rid of his scouts.

I am afraid that when they entered Shushui, they sent a small force to drive several large boats south, deliberately crossing Wuhu slowly to delay time, while the main force was going south by land along the right bank of Shushui.

Although Lu Meng and Xu Sheng also took the land route, they took the left bank of Shushui, and Shushui flowed from south to north, so the west was left and the east was right, and the two sides were perfectly staggered.

Lu Su comforted Zhou Yu and said: "Gongjin doesn't have to worry, I know that it is raining lightly in Yixian and other mountainous areas these days, and Lingyang is more than 300 miles away from Yixian. ”

"I know!"

Zhou Yu said in a deep voice: "It's just that being played by this thief makes me very bored." ”

Lu Su said: "At least we haven't fallen for him, we ran directly to Jiangdong, if we chased Jiangdong before, I'm afraid it's too late to chase now." ”

"Chase!"

Zhou Yu looked around and gave an order: "Day and night, take turns rowing, you must catch up with them!" ”

"Yui!"

The soldiers agreed.

When the fleet began to travel day and night, it returned to Jinghu Lake.

．

．

A few days ago, July 12th.

On this day, Lü Meng and Xu Sheng's troops had already passed through Wushan and headed north.

At this time, Shen Chen was still nowhere to be seen, and Zhou Yu was heading north to Wuhu.

More than 300 miles away, in a deep mountain, Liu Qi was meeting with several guests.

This mountain was called Wushan in the Han Dynasty, and its approximate location was in the area of Fangjialing, Wushi Town, Huangshan District, Huangshan City, Anhui Province in later generations, about 30 kilometers away from Yixian County, and more than 70 or 80 kilometers away from Jinghu Lake.

The mountains here are steep, the mountains on both sides are densely forested, the only road that can be passed is the two banks of Shushui, Wushan is on the right bank of Shushui, and it is only less than a mile away from Shushui.

In a Shanyue tribe deep in Wushan, Liu Qi met Chen Fu and Zushan, the leaders of the two strongest Shanyue tribes around Yixian, in the hut under the tree.

Both of them wore different costumes from the Han Chinese, one was about thirty years old, and the other was about forty years old.

They have a grudge against Jiangdong, which was historically exterminated by Sun Quan's He Qi, which shows that they have always been in a hostile relationship.

It's just that Jiangdong is powerful, and they didn't dare to take the initiative to attack Jiangdong in history, and now Sun Quan has taken revenge on the Shanyue tribe who led the way for Liu Pan at the beginning, so no matter how Liu Qi lobbied, they didn't dare to send troops to help.

"Chen Dazong Marshal, Zu Dazong Marshal."

Liu Qi looked at the two of them and said with a smile: "Jiangdong and your Shanyue people are like fire and water, the so-called cold lips and teeth are dead, and now they are not attacking you because the Jingzhou army is at war with Jiangdong, once we are defeated, you will be next." ”

Zu Shan shook his head and said: "I know what the eldest son means, but we have all hidden in this deep mountain, Jiangdong is strong, and we dare not fight with them, if the general wants us to send troops, forget it." ”

Liu Qi thought for a while and said, "How did you think about things before?" I have sent a large number of ships to bring grain and grass from Wuxi to your tribes, and if I promise this, I will give it to you. ”

"Hmm."

Chen Servant groaned.

Liu Qi smiled: "Haven't your people been monitoring the Jiangdong Army? Lu Meng and Xu Sheng are gone, what else do you have to worry about? ”

"Let's wait."

Zushan said: "These days, Jiangdong has also sent people to our tribe to warn them, and before you see anything, you still have to be cautious. ”

"That's just as well."

Liu Qi said: "Chen Dang and Zu Miao should be back soon." ”

After a while, Chen Dang hurriedly ran in and said, "Big brother, I've seen it, the Wuxi tribe more than twenty miles away from us does have a lot of food. ”

Zu Shan's son Zu Miao also came in and said, "Father, what the Han people said is right, I also saw a lot of ships of grain and grass. ”

Chen Servant immediately said, "Since this is the case, we agreed." ”

"Wait!"

Zu Shan suddenly looked at Liu Qi and said with a smile: "The grain and grass have been transported to our tribe, aren't you afraid that we will regret it?" ”

"Chen Zongshuai, little ancestor Zongshuai, when you saw the grain and grass, what was the ship like?"

Liu Qi looked at Chen Dang and Zu Miao with a smile.

Chen Dang scratched his head and said, "I was tied together by a rope and blocked Wuxi." ”

"It looks like there's grease on it."

Zu Miao said.

Liu Qi looked at Chen Fu and Zu Shan and said, "If the two of you break your promise, it will be a matter of fire, and your small tribe can still stop our tens of thousands of troops?" ”

Their faces changed slightly.

Liu Pan sent more than 10,000 people over this time, and with Liu Qi's army, the Jiangxia army was also close to 20,000.

Although their tribes each numbered in the tens of thousands, that was with the elderly, the weak, women and children.

Moreover, the technology of the Shanyue people is not developed, and the iron tools, bows and arrows are far behind the Han people, even if the number is large, if they confront the Jiangxia naval army head-on, they will definitely be defeated.

Historically, He Qi pacified hundreds of thousands of Shanyue, and the number of soldiers with him did not exceed 8,000, and Shanyue was still stationed in the mountains that were easy to defend and difficult to attack.

This shows the huge strength gap between the Shanyue forces and the Han people.

So if they don't agree to this deal, then Liu Qi can completely let the soldiers on the Wuxi side burn the grain, and then lead the army to retreat back to Nanchang, anyway, they don't attack the Shanyue people, and the Shanyue people will be sent to death if they come to intercept them.

Zu Shan immediately changed his face and said with a smile: "Shicai is playing with the general, and please don't take the general to heart." ”

"Of course."

Liu Qi raised his head and said: "Zhou Yu was transferred to Wuhu by General Shen, count the days, presumably they will come in four or five days, within three days, can the two of you I want do it?" ”

The two of them glanced at each other, nodded seriously, and said, "We will gather all the young people in the tribe to come over, 20,000 people, and we can do it in one day!" ”

"Good!"

Liu Qi said: "Then I will conclude an alliance with the two, if it can be done, there will be a great reward in the future!" ”

"Then high-five!"

The three clapped their palms on each other and concluded a covenant.

Two days later, the flow of water had been reduced a lot due to the mountain floods, which were like a big river.

And Shen Chen, who was still wading through mountains and rivers and shuttling through the mountains and forests, had already noticed this.

He stood on the edge of Shushui and smiled as he watched the river drop significantly.

This time, it will definitely give Jiangdong a surprise!

(End of chapter)