Chapter 334: One hundred thousand iron cavalry

Chengdu, Ma Yue's temporary official residence.

Jia Xu said to Ma Yue: "Lord, just now, the prefect of Hanzhong, Zhang Xiu, sent the news that Liu Zhang's family had arrived in Chang'an and sent it to Dong Fu in Mobei, and Zhao Wei's family had already passed Yangping Pass."

"Yeah." Ma Yue nodded and asked again, "How was the arrangement of the Sichuan Army going to Nanyang military farming?"

Fa Zhengdao: "Lord, the 100,000 Sichuan troops originally gathered in Zitong and Langzhong have already set out first. Now it is less than a short time to reach Shangyong. However, the remaining 50,000 Sichuan troops are mostly scattered in Yizhou counties. It will take some time to assemble from various places to Langzhong. According to the following estimates, it will take half a month to set off at the earliest."

Ma Yue said: "Where is the Hanzhong Army led by Zhang Wei, Yang Ren, and Yang Ang now?"

Fa Zhengdao: "The Hanzhong army has arrived in Linjiang (Jiangzhou), and is more than 300 miles away from Yong'an."

"Huh." Jia Xu breathed a long sigh and said relievedly, "Lord, you can go back to Luoyang in half a month. The ghost place in Xichuan is wet and cold. If you stay still, your old bones will be rusted."

"Yes, it's time for the team to go back to the court." Ma Yue said, "I have been away from Luoyang for more than half a year, and I feel uneasy."

"Master!" As soon as Ma Yue finished speaking, Li Su had already stepped inside quickly and gasped, "What happened!"

Ma Yue's heart thumped and asked in a deep voice: "Zi Yan, what happened?"

Li Su said: "Half a month ago, General Yuan Shao suddenly died!"

"Ah?" Ma Yue said in a lost voice, "Is Yuan Shao dead?"

"Die!" Li Su said in a deep voice, "It is said that he died of a stroke."

"It's broken." Jia Xu said, "Yuan Shao died violently and had no heirs. Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang each had their own ulterior motives. In order to inherit Yuan Shao's foundation, they were bound to fight. This was a good opportunity to take the opportunity to solve Yuan Shao's fat pig, but now the lord's army is far away in Xichuan, so maybe Zhou Yu will take advantage of the situation."

"Lord!" Fa Zheng said: "Xichuan can't stay anymore, you must work hard to return to Luoyang immediately!"

Ma Yue frowned and said, "If the troops return to the court now, the remaining 50,000 Sichuan troops..."

Jia Xu suddenly said, "Lord, Xu doesn't know if he should say anything or not?"

Ma Yue said, "But it's okay."

Jia Xu said: "Xu thought the lord should give the Sichuan Army enough trust!"

Ma Yue said: "Wenhe means..."

Jia Xu said: "The lord can choose one from the Sichuan generals to command the 50,000 Sichuan troops and General Zhang Xiu to defend Xichuan. This not only shows the lord's mind and trust, but after the army leaves Xichuan, Xichuan's defense will not be too empty. If we only rely on General Zhang Xiu's 15,000 elite soldiers, we may not be able to block Cao Cao's Jingzhou soldiers."

Ma Yue pondered for a moment and asked, "Who is competent?"

Jia Xu replied without hesitation: "Xu thought Zhang Ren was brave but not scheming, and was loyal and righteous, and was competent!"

"Zhang Ren?" Ma Yue shouted, "Come here, call Zhang Ren to see you quickly."

Ma Yue still trusts Jia Xu's eyesight when reading people. To be honest, Ma Yue has never seen anyone better than Jia Xu.

Hefei, the Central Army’s tent.

When Zhou Yu was summoning the generals to discuss matters, a small school suddenly stepped into the tent and knelt down and reported, "Grandmaster, someone outside the camp claimed to be General Yuan's envoy, and asked to meet the Governor."

"General Yuan? I'm afraid it was Yuan Tan himself who was granted it? Haha." Zhou Yu laughed twice and looked around the generals and said, "The time for the Northern Expedition is here! I will send you a messenger Yuan Tan to see you."

In less than a moment, under the murderous eyes of the generals of the Eastern Wu, a blue-clothed Confucian scholar entered the tent without being arrogant or humble, bowed slightly to Zhou Yu, and said proudly: "In the lower Xinpi, please see the Grand Commander."

"The noble man does not need to be too polite." Zhou Yu said casually, "I don't know what happened to Mr. Husband?"

Xinpi said: "Come to the Grand General for help."

"Seeking for help?" Zhou Yu smiled, "I have heard it wrong, right? If the envoy has not forgotten it, not long ago, you and me were still in a hostile relationship."

"This is the moment, and that is the moment." Xinpi said, "The first lord died suddenly, and Yuan Shang conspired to usurp the throne. Although the general had the will of the first lord, he could not support it alone, and he hoped that the Grand Commander could provide a helping hand. In this way, our army would be grateful. In return, the General was willing to give Xuzhou to the Eastern Wu as a gift."

"Xuzhou?" Zhou Yu said, "If this governor remembers correctly, Xuzhou is not under General Yuan's territory at the moment, right?"

Xinpi frowned and said, "So, does the Grand Governor disagree with the alliance?"

"No." Zhou Yu said loudly, "Please tell General Yuan immediately. This Grand Governor can agree to form an alliance with him on behalf of the Marquis of Wu. However, after defeating Yuan Shang, the General needs to send troops to support the Wu army in attacking Xuzhou!"

Xinpi was overjoyed when he heard this and bowed, "I have made a decision to convey the goodwill of the Grand Commander to the General and say goodbye."

Zhou Yu said: "No gift."

Xinpi bowed again, then turned around and left.

Watching Xin Pi's figure leave, Zhou Yu's expression suddenly became serious and shouted: "Taishi Ci, Ling Tong, Sun Yi obeyed the order!"

Taishici, Ling Tong, and the three generals of Sun Yi flashed out of the line, stood in the tent and held their fists and shouted: "The last one is here."

Zhou Yu said: "Lead five thousand light cavalry (the only cavalry in Eastern Wu) to set off overnight, crossed the Huai River north under the navy, went straight to Qiao County, and then rushed towards Chenliu with great fanfare!"

"Abide by the order!"

Taishici, Ling Tong, and Sun Yi took the order with a loud bang, turned around and left.

"Quan Cong, Xu Sheng obeyed the order."

"The last one will be there."

"Each of them leads 3,000 elite troops, and sets an ambush on the way to Pingyu and retreat to Chenliu after the naval army is in charge!"

"Abide by the order!"

Quan Cong and Xu Sheng also took the order and left.

Zhou Yu said again: "Lu Meng, Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin obeyed the order."

The three generals Lu Meng also stood up and clasped their fists and replied: "The last general is here."

Zhou Yu said: "Lead 8,000 naval troops from Chaohu Dazhai, first to pick up Taishici cavalry in Shouchun and cross the Huai River north, and then divide into two groups. Zhou Tai led a transport fleet to transport Quan Cong, Xu Sheng and the two armies went up the Ying River and set up an ambush together. Lu Meng and Jiang Qin led a boat to go up the Ying River and went to Pingyu to support Yuan Tan's army!"

"Abide by the order!"

The three generals Lu Meng also took the order and left.

Zhou Yu finally looked around the generals and said loudly: "The other generals control their own troops and horses. After three days, they will follow the generals' troops out of Qingniu Pass and head straight to Runan."

"Abide by the order!"

The generals agreed.

Runan, Pingyu.

After two tentative attacks, Yuan Shang's army changed its strategy and used the technique of long-term siege.

In a blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed. Seeing that the food and grass in the city were about to end, Yuan Tan was anxious. Xin Pi, who was sent to Lujiang for help, had not returned for a long time, which made Yuan Tan feel more and more uneasy.

It was late at night.

Yuan Tan was in panic all day long when Xin Ping suddenly came in with Xin Pi.

"George (Xinpi Biao)!" Yuan Tan rushed forward and grabbed Xinpi's arm and asked, "What is the result of the trip to Lujiang?"

Xinpi said: "Lord, Zhou Yu has agreed to form an alliance!"

"Oh? That's great!" Yuan Tan was overjoyed and asked repeatedly, "What are the conditions for Zhou Yu? When will he plan to send troops? How many troops are he going to mobilize?"

"Well……"

Xin Pi was stunned and didn't know which question to answer Yuan Tan for a while.

Yuan Tan patted his forehead and said self-deprecatingly: "I'm so anxious, George said slowly."

Xinpi took a breath and said, "Lord, Zhou Yu only agreed to help the lord repel Yuan Shang's rebels and capture Yan and Yu states, but did not agree to help the lord recapture Ji, You and Qing states. Moreover, Zhou Yu also put forward conditions. After repelling Yuan Shang's rebels, the lord needs to send troops to support the Wu army's attack on Xuzhou!"

"This was long as Gu expected." Yuan Tan said, "Originally, Gu had no hope of recapturing Ji, Qing and You, and defending Yan and Yu, and Yu, it would be good if Zhou Yu sent troops. But when would Zhou Yu send troops? Don't wait a few months before sending troops. Pingyu City had long been captured by Yuan Shang's rebels."

Xinpi said: "Lord, don't worry. In fact, the Wu army's navy has arrived outside Pingyu City!"

"Huh?" Yuan Tan said in surprise, "Wu army has arrived outside Pingyu City?"

"That's right." Xin Bi said, "If it weren't for the help of the Wu army's navy, I wouldn't have entered the city!"

"I'm talking about it." Xin Jing said, "Yuan Shang's rebels have surrounded Pingyu City so that they are not open. How could George still enter the city? It turns out that he came in from the waterway, haha."

Xinpi said: "Lu Mengrang, the governor of the Eastern Wu naval army, told the lord that the Eastern Wu naval army would launch a raid on Yuan Shang's camp outside the east gate before dawn. At that time, it would raise a fire as a call. I hope that the lord could send an elite army out of the city and cooperate with the Eastern Wu naval army to attack Yuan Shang's camp on both sides."

"Good plan!" Xin Ping said, "The rebels did not know that the arrival of the Eastern Wu navy would suffer a severe blow without any defense."

Outside Pingyu City.

The earth is in chaos, and it is the darkest time before dawn.

On the banks of Yingshui River, Jiang Qin stood with his sword.

In front of Jiang Qin, there were five hundred strong men neatly arranged. The five hundred strong men were all wearing straight bodies, holding a single knife in their hands, and carrying a hat behind their shoulders. The typical Jiangdong water army makeup bundle! The cold wind blew the scarf on Jiang Qin's head, making a lot of noise. Suddenly, Jiang Qin beheaded his thick back in his hand and pulled forward.

"kill!"

The thunderous shout shattered the quiet and dark night sky.

Almost at the same time, a fire ignited outside the east gate of Pingyu City, which seemed particularly abrupt and eye-catching under the dark night sky! In a daze, the tightly closed Pingyu East Gate slowly opened, and a group of black soldiers swept across the slowly descending suspension bridge and swept towards Yuan Shang's camp outside the city.

Yuan Shang Daying.

In the central army's tent, Yuan Shang was awakened from his sleep by the huge shouts of killing. He turned over and sat up and asked his side: "What's going on? What's wrong?"

The disheveled Shen Pei stumbled in from outside the tent and gasped, "There are people robbing the camp!"

"Captain robbery?" Yuan Shang frowned, "Aren't Yuan Tan's rebels surrounded in the city? Where did the army that robbery emerge from?"
To be continued...