Chapter 39 Ling Cao, the hero on the river

Author: Yang's Liangjiazi

Chapter 39 Ling Cao, the hero on the river

The grass market was implemented for the first time and achieved remarkable results in Liyang and Shicheng counties. People who had been plagued by war for a long time and whose livelihood was in decline actively participated in it and purchased utensils that were in short supply at home. Rattan baskets, bamboo mats, straw shoes, and hand-polished pottery were made by the people.

, woodware, furniture, fruits and vegetables were all popular.

The most important thing was the coarse salt sent to Caoshi by the military officials in Sun Ce's camp, which amounted to thousands of stones.

Coarse salt is not something that ordinary people can produce by hand at home. Even those powerful men who gather thousands of people to smelt it privately cannot obtain table salt without the right location.

The person in charge of the coarse salt trade was Yuan Xiong. He personally reported to Sun Ce: "The coarse salt in the camp has been sold out in Liyang and Shicheng counties in the past few days. We have obtained more than 4,000 shi of grain from the people of Liyang.

More than 2,000 pieces of ironware were exchanged in Shicheng County."

After hearing this, Sun Ce sighed with emotion: "The price of food has skyrocketed so seriously. In the era of peace, the price of grain can only reach 80 yuan, and it cannot decrease by 30 yuan. A rock salt of 800 yuan is usually enough to exchange for at least 8,000 yuan or even 20,000 yuan.

Stones of grain are now only exchanged for a mere four thousand stones."

Yuan Xiong nodded: "Now the country is in chaos, the people have lost their homes, fertile fields have been left uncultivated, and countless people have wandered into the ravines. But this more highlights the benevolence and righteousness of the generals in releasing food for relief. I saw it with my own eyes in Liyang, and the people from all over the world dragged their families with them.

"Those who arrive with their swaddling clothes on their backs will never stop on their way."

Before Sun Ce had time to reply, Chen Wu suddenly strode to the tent, raised his hands and said, "General, there are heroes outside the camp leading thousands of people, and they have come to seek refuge."

Yuan Xiong said with a smile: "The general has opened a warehouse to store grain. He is already a high-ranking official. He is a hero from far and near. He will return home with great expectations."

Sun Ce also stood up. There were heroes and wise men who agreed with him, so he had to go out of his way to treat them.

But recently, he has really felt that the world has returned to his heart. When Zhou Gong was alive, wise men from all over the world gathered together. He washed his hair three times and vomited food three times.

After Sun Ce opened a warehouse to store grain, heroes from far and near came to join him one after another. Every day he received a group of heroes, knights, and even forest heroes and water bandits.

However, when Sun Ce walked out of the camp, he discovered that the heroes who had defected this time were very different from before.

This time, those who led their troops to seek refuge actually stayed in the naval camp at the foot of Niuzhu Mountain.

Cheng Pu, who was in charge of the capital's navy, approached and said to Sun Ce: "General, this hero has come with a thousand men and more than fifty ships, large and small."

Sun Ce looked at the fleet of boats lined with hundreds of sails on the river outside the navy camp, and said with a smile: "The hero who came here this time is a hero from the river. Please come to the camp and talk about it."

Soon a tall and fierce general entered the boat alone and approached the shore.

When he saw Sun Ce, who was wearing a brocade robe, he jumped off the boat without waiting for the boat to stop, strode up to Sun Ce, bowed his hands and said, "Lingcao, Wu Commandery, pays homage to General Sun. I heard that the general raised his troops to quell the chaos, so I led him to quell the chaos."

The troops are here to do the work of dogs and horses for the general."

Ling Cao!

Sun Ce raised his eyebrows, this is a famous general from Soochow!

There is no need to mention his bravery, and he is rated as a regular champion!

This is something that other Soochow generals such as Huang Gai, Han Dang, Sun He and others have never achieved.

The title of champion is equivalent to Pang De of Xiliang and Huang Zhong of Shu Han.

But unfortunately, maybe Soochow has always been unlucky in this regard. The most capable generals in the army and the most brave generals in the world will inevitably die from random arrows. For example, Sun Jian, Sun Ce, Xu Kun and now Ling Cao.

The way Ling Cao died in battle in history was exactly the same as that of Sun Jian. Sun Jian rode alone on horseback, while Ling Cao traveled alone in a light boat.

The light boat was not a warship, and it did not even have any cover. Therefore, after Ling Cao defeated the enemy's vanguard, he was shot dead by Gan Ning's elite troops during the pursuit.

No matter what, this is a water battle, a land battle, and a fierce general who can overwhelm thousands of people.

Sun Ce helped him up and said with a smile: "I am not happy to have thousands of troops, but I am happy to have a strong general like you. You came just in time. I am about to break camp and go north, and I need a good general to guard the river, transport food and grass, and fight with the enemy.

My army marches on both land and water."

Ling Cao didn't expect that he would be able to take on this important task as soon as he entered the camp. He excitedly handed over his hands and said, "How dare you disobey me!"

Sun Ce took him to Niuzhu Mountain, overlooking the mighty blue Yangtze River, and asked: "How did you trek all the way from Wujun to Danyang? Are you familiar with the Yangtze River waterway?"

Ling Cao was full of pride and immediately replied: "General, since the world has been in chaos and heroes have risen together, I have gathered young people with chivalry and won more than a thousand people, and they have circled the land of Wu and Chu. I travel to the Yangtze River several times a year, everywhere.

The terrain is well understood. Regarding the Yangtze River defense line, besides Niuzhu, the second important garrison location is Shakou Weir."

"Shakou Weir?" Sun Ce had never heard of this place.

Ling Cao introduced: "This place is also called Yangpu, where the Dangli River flows into the Yangtze River. Liu Yao's general Zhang Ying led his troops to station here to prevent Yuan Shu's navy from sailing down the river here."

Speaking of Dangli Shui, Sun Ce suddenly guessed where this place was. It should be the famous Danglikou in later generations.

Zhang Ying led his army to guard this place, which was an extremely wise military deployment.

Zhang Ying's name is not famous in history books, but he must not be underestimated because of this. He was just directly crushed by Sun Ce and had no chance to show his talents.

In fact, his military vision was very outstanding, otherwise he would not have been able to stop the successive attacks by Wu Jing, Sun Ben and others.

In particular, the Yangpu garrison location chosen by Zhang Ying was a crucial military location, coinciding with Wang Jun, the famous martial arts general of the Jin Dynasty.

It was here that Wang Jun, the Longxiang general of the Jin Dynasty who presided over the entire Pingwu War, sailed down the river and broke through the entire Yangtze River defense line, and then renamed it Danglicou.

As the saying goes, "Wang Jun's boat sailed down to Yizhou, and the king of Jinling lost his temper. Qianxun's iron chain sank to the bottom of the river, and a flag fell out of the stone."

Needless to say, Wang Jun's talents are natural. He was the founding general of the dynasty and a famous official of the martial arts temple who dominated the world.

Zhang Ying made the same arrangement as him, guarding Yangpu and resisting Huaisi's elite troops for many years. His military ability should not be underestimated.

Sun Ce said: "If Zhang Ying is not removed and the move continues for a long time, if he is allowed to build forts and forts in the local area, he may eventually become a serious problem for me."

Ling Cao immediately suggested: "I heard on the river that the general's army was sweeping out the rebels in Danyang. It was overwhelming and powerful in the east of the Yangtze River. I knew that the main force of the general's army was in the south and it would be difficult to break camp and go north in ten days. So I led my troops to help in the battle.

, help the general defeat the enemy."

Sun Ce raised his eyebrows: "Do you have a strategy to defeat the enemy?"

Ling Cao nodded heavily, with great ambition, and pointed to the water of the Yangtze River: "General, Liu Yao has just conquered the east of the Yangtze River, and the navy is not strong. The main force is here at Niuzhu Camp. I led my troops to explore Yangpu for several days, and determined that Yangpu is

There are not many naval forces. Therefore, Zhang Ying used the method of crossing the river with iron cables to guard this place, using several thick iron cables to lock the surface of the Dangli River to prevent the naval forces from flowing down the river."

"As long as I lead the navy to surround the river, they will definitely be worried that we will rush into the Dangli River and cut off its eastern grain route. At this time, the general led his troops to appear from the south, even if there are only a few hundred men, threatening the iron ropes tied to the south bank of the Dangli River. Zhang Ying could not sit still and had to send troops to fight."

Hearing this, Sun Ce raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a relaxed smile.

This deployment is very simple, but very deadly, even sharper than Wang Jun's military front.

Is Ling Cao far more talented than Wang Jun?

Of course not, he is just a brave general who has won all three armies, and he is still far from being comparable to a famous general like Wang Jun.

The only reason why his deployment was more powerful and incomprehensible than Wang Jun's was that the main force of Sun Ce's infantry and cavalry had successfully broken through the Yangtze River defense line.

Danyang Prefect Zhou Shang's change of flag caused an irreparable hole in Jiangdong's iron-clad defense line.

As long as Sun Ce leads his army to the south bank of Dangli River, threatens the iron cable across the river from land, cuts it off and sinks it to the bottom of the river, Zhang Ying on the north bank of Dangli River will be in a strategic disadvantage. The navy can easily move down the river. Surround them in camps beside the Yangtze River.

When the enemy flags stand everywhere below the fortress and hundreds of naval forces cross the river, Zhang Ying's men, who are surrounded, will deeply feel the despair of the overlord Xiang Yu at Gaixia. They don't have to wait for the army to attack, and their hearts are scattered.

This time Sun Ce didn't have any pressing pressure and could easily besiege them for a month or two.

The lack of food and fodder was enough to defeat all the will of the defenders.

Seeing Sun Ce's expression, Ling Cao knew that his opinion had moved him, and he immediately continued to persuade: "General, with the help of the navy, our army occupies a favorable location on the south bank of the Dangli River, where we can wait for work. There is no need for the army to return from Danyang, as long as we A thousand men on foot and on horseback are enough to win."

Sun Ce held his sword and looked into the distance. Now the mountains and rivers in the south of the Yangtze River were green, and the spring breeze was blowing in front of him. He was also full of pride: "Yes! I will deploy according to your instructions, and advance both by water and land. I will personally carry more than a thousand infantry and cavalry, and go north to defeat Zhang Ying." .”

The Lieutenant Generals of Niuzhu Camp have been reorganized for more than half a decade. The three armies have sent troops from Fan Neng, powerful tribes, and recruited a large number of young men from the common people. The size of the army now exceeds 4,000. The generals are doing their best to purchase uniforms, flags, and banners. Each department Sima was also giving lectures on martial arts and training soldiers. He especially focused on training the Yuanyang Formation and the Three Talents Formation.

Because it involves the transformation of tactics, the reorganization and training progress of each unit's soldiers is different.

Sun Ce decided not to bring Cheng Pu's Huaisi veterans and Xu Yi, a completely new organization, this time.

In the end, the two troops he chose to send troops northward were Jiang Qin's and Xu Kun's.

There were only three troops that had practiced the Yuanyang Formation before, namely Jiang Qin, Xu Kun and Zheng Bao's men.

In the Battle of Niuzhu, Zheng Bao's troops defended the Chinese army and suffered heavy casualties, so Sun Ce left them in the camp to rest and recuperate for a while.

In addition to these 1,200 disciples, Sun Ce also brought three entire groups of bowmen and crossbowmen!

After capturing the Niuzhu camp and seizing a large number of weapons, Sun Ce also had enough bows and crossbows. During the surrender, more than 600 soldiers were selected among the heroes who were good at bows and crossbows.

The heroes came with their troops to seek refuge, all armed with crossbows. Many of them were able to fire strong bows and hit targets at sixty paces. Their shooting skills were much better than those of the archers in Sun Ce's army.

Most of Fan Neng's nearly a thousand crossbowmen survived and surrendered to Sun Ce after the war.

This caused the number of crossbowmen under Sun Ce to expand rapidly.

Fire gunners and crossbowmen are placed in front and behind the Yuanyang Formation to enhance their long-range projection capabilities, which is the standard tactics of the Yuanyang Formation.

With the help of these three tuns of elite archers and crossbowmen, as well as 1,200 Yuanyang Formation soldiers, the total is 1,500 frontal infantry.

These were the elites Sun Ce selected from the three armies, equipped with sophisticated armor and equipment, and used a battle formation that was most suitable for the hilly terrain of Jiangnan.

It should be easy to smash three thousand enemy troops head-on. If they can't defeat them in a crushing way, they will be ashamed of the abundant food provided by Sun Ce!

And Sun Ce had high hopes for them, being able to defeat 6,000, 9,000 or even 15,000 people.

Li Shimin once said boldly: "I have a thousand soldiers, but I can defeat tens of thousands of horsemen."

Sun Ce also had great ambitions and hoped that his infantry would not be weaker than him, or even better.
To be continued...