The pavilion in the east of Wei County is called Nanle Pavilion, and the later generation is called Jiuzhi Township, and then about ten miles to the northeast is where the county seat of Daming County, Handan City, Hebei Province is located.

There are several countryside around Nanleting, the villages are continuous, the roads are vertical and horizontal, the fields are open and the fields are strange, and there is the beauty of mulberry forest ponds.

The Han army came slowly from the official road in the direction of Yuancheng in the east, and the people in the houses on both sides of the road closed their doors and windows, not daring to look at the team outside.

Only when they arrived at the pavilion of Nanle Pavilion, there were several old people waiting on the side of the road with the support of the villagers, looking at the Han army.

Guan Yu came slowly at this time, he was old, his hair and beard were gray, but his tall body was still the same as before, giving people a sense of oppression.

It was not a red rabbit riding under the crotch, but a black and sturdy war horse, and the red rabbit horse was led by Zhou Cang next to it.

This BMW is forty years old this year, and the age of the horse is generally between thirty-five and sixty years old.

Therefore, the red rabbit horse is also old, thin, and can no longer carry Guan Yu, who weighs 200 catties, and even his back is pressed down with a concave bend.

But every time Guan Yu went out on an expedition and wanted to leave it in the rear camp and let the groom raise it carefully, the red rabbit horse lost his temper and went on a hunger strike without eating.

For this reason, Guan Yu can only keep it by his side all the time, so that he can accompany him all the year round.

Zhou Cang led the horse, Pei Yuanshao resisted the Qinglong knife, a group of old men and a few old horses, this is where the command system of the entire Eastern Front Han Army is located.

The generals of the Han army on the Eastern Front were generally of high age, and Guan Ping, the youngest of the senior generals, was almost fifty years old.

Because Guan Ping was born to Guan Yu before he ran away, Guan Yu was twenty-three years old when he ran away, which means that Guan Yu was born at the age of twenty-two at the latest. But now Guan Yu is sixty-eight years old, so it means that Guan Ping is at least forty-six years old.

The rest of Wei Yan, Zhou Cang, Pei Yuanshao, Liao Hua, and Zhao Lei are all in their fifties and sixties, and even Lu Xun, the right servant of the subordinate who has been promoted to the fourth rank as a staff officer of the army, is forty-five years old this year, and his aging population is serious.

A group of bad old men rode forward slowly, and the army slowly arrived at Nanle Pavilion, and after approaching the pavilion, Guan Yu turned over and dismounted, and walked towards the villagers.

In addition to being responsible for judging the moral standards of the township, the villagers also have to come up to inquire about the situation when they encounter officials above or the army along the way.

The Han Dynasty had a tradition of respecting the elderly, and basically no matter how bad Cao Jun was, he would not attack the elderly, but the villagers went up and saw a group of old men like them, and they didn't know what to say for a while.

Or the old man at the head spoke first: "This old general, don't you know your surname?" ”

"A certain is Guan Yuye."

Guan Yu stroked his beard and said.

The old man said in awe: "It turned out that General Yun Chang arrived, and the generals beheaded Yan Liang in the army of ten thousand people, and they shocked Hebei, and everyone in the world admired him." ”

"Hahaha."

Guan Yu laughed proudly, he belongs to the donkey, if you praise him along with him, especially when he talks about the most proud things, he will be more happy.

Seeing him laughing, the old man said cautiously: "General Guan is in Hebei, can there be enough grain and grass?" ”

The old man has seen the world, and knows that Guan Yu has come all the way from Jiangdong, and the journey is thousands of miles, if the follow-up grain and grass cannot arrive, the army may fall into the danger of lack of food, and if the army is short of food, then I am afraid that what will happen is.

Guan Yu naturally knew the other party's worries, so he said in a deep voice: "A certain person is from Jiangdong, and the grain and grass have been prepared for more than a year, how can it not be full?" When Xiahou Yuan withdrew from Qingzhou, he also plundered the people of Qingzhou, expelled and suppressed a certain expulsion, opened a warehouse and released grain to relieve the victims, so as not to have a tragic situation of cannibalism. ”

The old man was overjoyed, and an uneasy stone in his heart fell to the ground, and he said again and again: "General Xinyi is well known in the sea, and we and other small people naturally know that this time is because of the benevolence and righteousness of the Han army, and we are willing to serve the Han Dynasty. ”

Guan Yu smiled, knowing that the other party was talking about the scene, but Hebei was Cao Wei's base camp, and wherever the Han army went, the people were willing to submit one after another, which showed that Cao Wei had lost all the people's hearts, which was also a good thing for the Han Dynasty.

He pondered for a moment and said, "I wait for food and grass to be abundant, so I don't need your help." However, I don't know the situation of the Wei army in the city yet, can you know? ”

Several old men looked at each other and hesitated for a long time before the leader whispered, "I really know." ”

"Oh?"

Guan Yu suddenly became interested and said, "What's the matter?" ”

The old man explained the situation.

It turned out that there were still more than 40,000 people left in the Wei army, which were stationed in Wei County, Fanyang, and Qiuqiu.

Since most of these Wei troops were from Hebei, there were many soldiers who went out from this area, and when they returned to their hometowns, they would naturally contact their families.

It happened that there was a Wei army officer in a village below Nanleting who passed by his village when he was retreating to Fanyang, so he went back.

If it was an ordinary soldier, he would definitely be punished, but that person was the military commander who led the team, and the 1,500 people were under his control, so no one was in charge of him.

After returning home for a long time, the military Sima casually told his family about their subsequent deployment and movements, and the elders of the clan in the village happened to accompany them at that time, so they naturally knew about it.

Now Xiahou Yuan's main force is arranged in Wei County, because Wei County is not a big city, it can't accommodate so many people, so there are about 10,000 people in the city.

In addition, about 10,000 Cao troops were stationed on the other side of the Qing River between Wei County and Qiqiu in the north.

Then there is the sun to the south.

It probably took on a triangular shape to defend the Han army attacking from the east.

At the tip of the triangle is Wei County, the main front line for the defense of the Han army, and on both sides are Fanyang and Qiuqiu.

According to Xiahou Yuan's deployment, once Guan Yu launched a fierce attack on Wei County, then it was up to him to resist Guan Yu's attack, and the soldiers and horses of Fanyang and Qiuqiu on both wings found the right time to launch a surprise attack, forming a situation of outflanking the two wings.

This is a very conventional tactical play, and in a head-to-head battle, as long as the general has a little ability, he will generally deploy it in this way.

For example, Qin destroyed Chu and Zhao, and Liu Bang and Han Xin destroyed Zhao, all launched such offensives.

It's just that whether it will succeed or not is another matter.

Because this tactical style of play extremely tests the generals' on-the-spot command ability, the generals of the Qin Dynasty, Wang Qian, Yang Duan, Li Xin, and Meng Tian are all masters.

Liu Bang and Han Xin needless to say, many people think that Liu Bang is very good, but Liu Bang's actual ability is probably not as good as Han Xin, Xiang Yu and a few other people, and he is still a relatively powerful existence at the end of Qin.

Therefore, this style of play is like a fish in water in the hands of masters, including Shen Chen, who has also used such tactics many times.

Xiahou Yuan, as a general who followed Cao Cao in the early days, still has the ability, and it is also very reasonable to try to use such a defensive counterattack to block Guan Yu's soldiers and horses.

Guan Yu was very happy to get this information, and chatted with the villagers for a while.

By this time, the Han army had arrived outside the eastern city and began to build a camp on an open plain, and by the afternoon a simple camp had begun to take shape.

However, the camp was naturally not perfected in a day or two, so now it is only the outer fences and tents that have been erected, and the camps that are scattered and horned by each other have not formed a complete defensive position.

After pacifying the local people, Guan Yu returned to the camp, and the generals at all levels were now in full swing to repair their own camps, so he did not hold a meeting of the army, but only summoned a few important generals.

Soon, several generals and staff officers such as Lu Xun, Wei Yan, Guan Ping, and Liao Hua gathered in Guan Yu's commander's tent.

Guan Yu sat on the main seat, looked around, and then said in a deep voice: "Under the offensive of our army, Xiahou Yuan has retreated in defeat and retreat, and has retreated into Wei County, and now the prime minister and the hussar general are besieging Yecheng in Hanoi and Bingzhou, and we can't lag behind, today's army has just arrived in Wei County, but we have obtained some useful information." ”

As he spoke, he informed everyone of the news he had received from the old man before, and finally said: "I have sent scouts to investigate and verify whether what he said is true, if it is true, it means that the deployment of the Wei army has been fully known to us, what do you think?" ”

Being able to obtain the full disposition of the enemy during a war is very important information. This is key information even in the 21st century, otherwise there would not be so many satellites in the sky.

Hearing these things, Wei Yan was surprised: "Junhou, this is too coincidental, we have just arrived in Wei County, and we can know all the other party's deployments, will there be any conspiracy here?" ”

Liao Hua said with a smile: "The benevolent and righteous division of our army, everywhere it passes, the people all welcome the king's teacher, and all the people respect the majesty of the monarch and the marquis, which is not what the people want?" ”

Guan Ping also nodded in agreement: "Now that Cao Wei's general trend has gone, the people should naturally know what to do." ”

"What if it's a deliberate plan set up by Xiahou Yuan?"

Wei Yan asked rhetorically.

"Amount"

Liao Hua and Guan Ping looked at each other.

What Wei Yan said seems to have some truth.

The common people may indeed turn their heads towards the Han army, but if Xiahou Yuan deliberately sent that military Sima to spread false news and mislead the Han army, that would be another matter.

Guan Yu thought for a while, turned his head and asked Lu Xun, "Joining the army, what do you think?" ”

Now Lu Xun is not only a servant of the door, but also a generalissimo to join the army, because he designed to kill Cao Xiu and made great contributions, so from the original from the seventh rank of Shang Shulang, all the way soaring, in the court status is the deputy of the three ministers, and he is also the chief of staff in the army.

Lu Xun pondered for a moment and said, "Junhou, I don't think it's like a plan set up by Xiahou Yuan. ”

"Oh?"

Guan Yu asked, "How can you see it?" ”

Lu Xun said: "If it is a plan set up by Xiahou Yuan, then what does Xiahou Yuan want to deceive the monarch?" Lure the enemy deeper? Give the dummy? Or just trying to stall? In the face of absolute power, these strategies would pale in comparison. ”

"Amount"

This time it was Wei Yan's turn to be speechless for a while.

Because the Han army under Guan Yu is too strong now, it is not an exaggeration to describe it as strong soldiers and strong horses.

An army of 100,000 people, all of them are elites.

This group of troops once eliminated Sun Quan in Jiangdong, and then went north to fight Hefei, eliminated Cao Xiu, Zang Ba Lu Qian and others, and they were all defeated by them one by one.

It can be said that it is not only a division of a hundred battles, but also an elite division that has hardly lost.

And what is the situation of Xiahou Yuan's Wei army now?

40,000 remnants of the army were defeated.

The numbers, morale, and morale of both sides are in the sky and the ground on the ground.

In the past two months, the Han army has left Huainan, and wherever it passed, this Cao Wei army can be said to have fled in despair, and almost did not dare to engage Guan Yu's army head-on.

So here's the problem.

What strategy should an army of 40,000 demoralized and very small numbers devise to defeat an elite army with high morale, high morale, and large numbers?

At least Lu Xun felt that if he put himself in Xiahou Yuan's position, unless there was a natural danger like Bashu or Jiangdong, it would be impossible to beat.

"Bo's words are very reasonable. Even if Xiahou Yuan designs, what can I do! ”

Guan Yu stroked his beard and laughed.

Wei Yan scratched his head and said, "Could he just take advantage of our contemptuous psychology to set a trap?" ”

"The premise of the destruction of the arrogant is to bully the weak. It is because of the greatness of the country, the people of the people, and those who want to see the enemy, they are called proud soldiers, and those who are proud of the soldiers are destroyed. ”

Lu Xun said: "However, my Han defeats the strong from the weak, and dominates the world step by step, which is the desire of the people, not to bully the weak, but to uphold the right and drive away the evil and set things right." The military spirit is unmatched, and he knows what he is fighting for, and he is invincible. ”

This is the difference between a proud army that will be defeated and a victorious army.

The soldiers have a mentality of being high up and looking down on each other, so they go to bully other weak countries and despise their opponents, and they may naturally be taken advantage of by the opponent to defeat the opponent.

But the victorious army is that the soldiers know what they are fighting for, so they will not have this kind of lofty posture, but will pay more attention to the opponent, and naturally will not be defeated by the enemy because of contempt.

Guan Yu felt that Lu Xun's analysis was very correct, so he said: "Well, I thought it was true, but then Bo Yan thinks, how should I attack?" ”

Lu Xun said with a smile: "Since Xiahou Yuan wants to use Wei County as a foundation to block the prince, and then let the armies of Qiuqiu and Fanyang wait for the opportunity to attack us from both flanks. Then we might as well attack its heart, break its two wings first, and then concentrate on eliminating Xiahou Yuan. ”

"A plan to attack the heart?"

Guan Yu hurriedly asked, "What is the explanation?" ”

Lu Xun said: "I see that along the way, the Wei army is not high, and now they are guarding Hebei, and they are afraid that the Han army will cause chaos in their hometown, so they are willing to fight." However, if you collect the letters of the enemy's soldiers, throw them into the camps of Fanyang and Quqiu Wei, and then win over their army captain Sima to break their military morale, then the two places will be destroyed. ”

"Wonderful."

After thinking about it for a while, Guan Yu felt that it was very good, and nodded slightly: "Then act according to the plan." ”

At present, the Han army was stationed outside the city of Wei County.

More than ten days later, the scouts sent by the Han army did detect the Wei army in the area of Quqiu and Fanyang, so Guan Yu ordered Guan Ping and Liao Hua to lead 20,000 men respectively, and each went to Quqiu and Fanyang to surround the enemy in the two places.

At the same time, Lu Xun was responsible for sending people to the township pavilions and villages in several nearby counties to explore the families of soldiers in the Wei army and collect their family letters.

Those who are willing to write about their families and persuade their families to abandon the camp and flee or submit are rewarded.

For a time, the Han army surrounded the entire perimeter of Wei County.

(End of chapter)