Twenty-three years of Jian'an, November.

Guan Yutun soldiers fish Liangzhou, trapped in Xiangyang, besieged Fancheng.

Although Yan Xing is a brave general in the northwest, he is afraid of Guan Yu's soldiers and does not dare to camp near Fancheng.

Half a month later, on the order of Cao Cao, Yu Ban, who led the five armies south to help, finally arrived at Yancheng and joined Yan Xing.

Yancheng, the camp of the Wei army.

In the big tent, it can be seen pacing with a short beard, its body is lean, and its face is majestic, which makes it difficult to get close.

"Yanming, what is the situation in Fancheng today?"

Yan Xing sat on the chair and said: "General, Guan Yu led the army to march with victory, trapped Xiangyang, and besieged Fancheng, its momentum was huge, and there were 30,000 people under his command. At the end of the general's tent, there were few soldiers, and he was afraid of being attacked by the enemy, so he did not dare to enter Fancheng lightly, but stationed troops in Yancheng, thinking that it was for containment. ”

Yu Ban paced slowly and said: "On this trip to the south, Your Majesty advised, 'Guan Yu is wise and brave, so that our army must not underestimate the enemy, if it can win, it will be taken, and if it cannot be won, it should be fought carefully. 'It is the best policy for the general to consider the overall situation and show up to the enemy. ”

Yan Xing has led the troops to fight for many years, as a general under Han Sui's account, and once killed Ma Chao, in addition to bravery, he also has a good tactical strategy.

He led a large army to the south, and saw that Guan Yu's troops were in full swing, and there were many soldiers and horses, and he knew that he could not take it. Therefore, Yan Xing directly exposed his whereabouts, and declared that the army of the forbidden generals would come to help in the near future, thinking that he would contain Guan Yu's troops.

As he intended, seeing that Yan Xing was like this, and considering that Cao Ren and Niu Jin were defending the city, Guan Yu gave up the idea of storming Fancheng, and instead repaired the barracks, wanting to surround Fancheng with fortifications, and then led the army to fight against Yu Ban

Yu Ban turned his head to look at Yan Xing and asked, "What is the situation in the second city of Xiangfan today?" ”

Yan Xing replied: "According to the scouts sent by the Che Cai general, there are 5,000 soldiers in Xiangyang, which is for Zhangling to guard Lu Chang, and there is grain in the city that can be used for two years, and there is no risk of running out of grain; Fancheng has 3 or 4,000 soldiers, and the grain and grass can support 7 July, and it is defended by Cao Che and the general Niu Jin. ”

As he spoke, Yan walked to the side of Xiangfan Yutu and pointed out, and said: "Guan Yutun's troops are in Yuliangzhou, and they ride in the south of the city in 7,000 steps to go down to the village, cutting off the connection between the two cities of Xiangfan. At that time, the traitor Fu Fang recruited the old officials of Nanxiang with letters, and there were many commotions in Nanxiang County. ”

Yu Ban stroked his short beard and said: "Guan Yu is strong with soldiers, and has the ambition to win Xiangfan, and wants to shake the counties of Jingxiang, thinking that it echoes inside and outside. However, Guan Yu's disadvantage lies in the lack of soldiers, with 30,000 people, the troops are trapped in the south and the north, even if there is the advantage of boats, but it is difficult to eliminate the disadvantages of his outnumbered soldiers. ”

After a pause, Yu Ban said: "I want to take advantage of the fact that the reinforcements of the water thieves have not arrived, and lead the soldiers to the south to defeat Guan Yu's army to relieve the siege of Fancheng." Even if it is difficult to break through Guan Yu's troops, it can also encourage the morale of the Fancheng army and send grain into the city, which is for the purpose of long-term war. ”

"The words of the general are in line with the strategy of the soldiers." Yan Xing arched his hand and said, "I wish to follow the general's order." ”

Yu Ban smiled and said, "A certain general is a good general and a horseman, and now the water thieves went ashore to invade for the sake of fish entering the shallows. If you want to frustrate Guan Yu's prestige today, you need to rely on the generals to ride and ride him. ”

"No!"

Using cavalry to deal with the foot soldiers who went ashore, and the Southern Han who lacked cavalry, cannot be said to be a hundred tried, but it can be said to be a wise move.

Yu and Yan converged, and the 30,000 people of the Seventh Army went south and attacked Guan Yu's headquarters besieging Fancheng.

Although Fancheng is located across the river from Xiangyang, Fancheng was not actually built next to the Han River. Therefore, there is a narrow strip south of Fancheng and north of Hanshui, which is for Fanjin and is used to connect with Xiangyang.

After Guan Yu entered Yuliangzhou, the first thing he did was to send Shiren and Zhao Lei to occupy Fanjin and cut off the connection between the two cities.

Therefore, Yu Ban and Yan Xing led the cavalry south, and naturally the first thing they wanted was to seize Han Fanjin, or drive Guan Yu out of Yuliangzhou. First relieve the siege of Fancheng, and then open up the waterway communication with Xiangyang.

In December, Yu Ban and Yan Xing sent the Seventh Army to camp in the north of Fancheng and get in touch with Cao Ren.

The next day, Yu Ban and Yan Xing raised the elite of the Seventh Army and attacked the Fanjin camp.

Yu Ban and Yan Xing led 20,000 cavalry and besieged the Fannan camp on three sides. However, the two of them were generals, and they did not directly send troops to attack, but built a long fortress and tried to counter-surround the Fannan camp.

In the big tent, Guan Yu discussed military affairs with Liuzan, Zhou Cang, Guan Ping, Ma Liang and others.

"Report!"

The scout stepped into the tent, interrupted everyone's discussion, and said: "Qi Yu Junhou, Yu Ban and Yan Xing led 20,000 cavalry, besieged the Fannan camp on three sides, and the sergeants entered the three layers and built a long base, which seems to have the meaning of encircling the Fannan camp for a long time. ”

As soon as these words came out, there were many voices of discussion in the account.

Guan Ping didn't understand Yu Ban's meaning, and asked: "Father, what does Yu Ban mean by not attacking the Fannan camp, but building a long base?" ”

"That's right!"

Liuzan was confused and said: "If you don't break the camp of Fannan, how can you get through Fanjin?" If you don't get through Fanjin, how can you contact Xiangyang? What is the meaning of the forbidden technique? ”

Regarding the doubts of the two, Guan Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, and Wei Se suddenly rose.

Holding his long black and white beard, Guan Yu sneered and said: "Yu Ban's move is to focus on anti-guest, build a long base, and oppose Fannan. When the long fortress was built, the Fannan camp would hardly endanger Fancheng. Now in the ban, we must observe the movements of our army, and apply a strategy to deal with it. ”

Saying that, Guan Yu speculated: "Fannan is low-lying, and when the Han River is in full bloom, it often floods Fannan. Today's forbidden policy is to force our army to withdraw and go down to Fanjin without attacking. ”

I have to say that Yu Ban was smart, and in the face of Guan Yu's siege and reinforcements, he surrounded Fan Nan's camp with his backhand. Once the Fannan camp was surrounded, it lost its role as a threat to Fancheng. Guan Yu's encirclement of the east and south sides of Fancheng was instantly collapsed.

In addition, the area of Fannan is low-lying, and during the rainy season, the Han River often floods Fannan. Now Yu Ban is not impatient or impatient, and chooses to build a long fortress, not only to eliminate the threat of the Fannan camp, but also to use the Han water to force Shiren to move the camp, and the intention of going down to Fanjin without a fight, can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

Guan Yu got up from the couch and sighed: "Yu Ban has been in the formation for more than 30 years, and he has experienced countless wars for a long time. Today's strategy is of far-reaching significance, and it is a general that Cao Cao attaches great importance to. ”

People always make progress in confrontation, and after twenty or thirty years of fighting, not only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei have made progress, but also Cao Wei's Yu Ban and Xiahoudun are improving. After all, Yu Ban can be valued by Cao Cao, and there are always a few brushes.

"Since as my father said, building a long fortress in the ban has the meaning of anti-guest, then how can our army deal with it?" Guan Ping asked.

"How so?"

Guan Yu glared at the ignorant eldest son, and said in an accentuated tone: "Today, it is forbidden to build a long fortress, unless you send troops to destroy it, there is no other way to break it!" ”

For his eldest son Guan Ping, Guan Yu was angry and indisputable.

has followed him for more than ten years, and Guan Ping is almost uneasy in military strategy. With Guan Ping's talent, Guan Yu felt that he could only be a general, obeying the orders of the master to engage in it, and could not lead the army to fight alone.

On the other hand, his younger brother Guan Xing, young and knowledgeable, full of stomach and economy, won the respect of the military advisor Zhuge Liang, and Zhang Zhao praised Guan Xing for being able to rank as the third prince in the future.

Guan Xing, who has been appreciated by so many people, was recommended by Jiang Wan as filial piety this year, and was promoted by Liu Bei as a waiter, walking in the palace.

Gai felt Guan Yu's mood, Guan Ping smiled and said, "The kid is shallow, thank you for your father's teaching." ”

"Prince!"

Ma Liang arched his hand and said: "Yu Ban will attack the Seventh Army, our army is divided into north and south, and the enemy is outnumbered, so we can't fight it now." In good opinion, why not ask the king for help. And the reinforcements arrive, and the combined army hits it, then it will be defeated in the ban! ”

Guan Yu pressed the hilt of the sword with his hand and said indifferently: "Yu Ban builds a long base, if our army does not fight, it will not only hurt the morale of the army, but also greatly increase the morale of the thief army." If you go out to attack it today, you may not dare to say that you will win a big victory, but you can break the enemy's plan to build a long base. ”

(End of chapter)