On October 23, North Jingzhou, Nanxiang County, and Zhuyang County.

"The last general Hu Lie pays homage to King Ruyin."

"Xuanwu is exempt from gifts."

"King Xie. King, because Lu Kang in Xiling has frequently dispatched troops recently, General Zhennan (Yang Hu) was in Xiangyang and could not leave and could not come here to pay homage. Please forgive me."

"It's okay. Although I need Wu Gou's cooperation when I send troops to Jin this time, God knows what the group of mad dogs are trying to do. There are still some cautions to be taken."

"I will thank you for your magnanimity at the end."

"Haha, let's not talk about this anymore. Xuanwu, this time you went north to meet with me. How many soldiers and horses did you bring? How many supplies?"

"According to Luoyang's orders, the Mo General brought 10,000 Jingzhou troops to meet with the king. In addition, my uncle also asked the Mo General to bring two thousand civilians to transport food and grass, and a thousand craftsmen marched with the king."

"Two thousand people transport food and grass? Will it be too little?"

"The king should not be missing. This time, Shangyong suppressed the rebellion, and the court sent only 30,000 troops in total. One of them is that from Zhuyang to Xicheng and even Hanzhong, the Han River flowed through our army. Our army's food, weapons, and various materials can be transported throughout the water. Therefore, my uncle asked the king to tell him that the important thing now is not the number of civilians, but how to ensure the smooth flow of water."

"Well, I am in Luoyang and I have been very clear about this matter. My king means that the Northern Army is not familiar with water and cannot carry boats. So, I will leave all the transportation and protection of food and grass to Xuanwu?"

Oh my God, who said that this prince is the most generous? As soon as we meet, we handed me over such a difficult task that we can't see any results when we do it, and we will be particularly conspicuous when we do something? And it seems that it makes sense, and I can't object at all?

"No, please accept the order."

"Well, so, I will hand over my back to Xuanwu." Finally, the logistics matters that Sima Jun had worried the most before were arranged. At this time, King Ruyin was also in a good mood: "I ordered the entire army to rest for one day today, kill pigs and sheep tonight, and march to Shangyong County tomorrow!"

"Wow~~~!"

...

The next day, Sima Jun's entire army set out from Zhuyang and went upstream along the Han River.

"Xuanwu, I heard that more than thirty years ago, the former Grand Marshal of the Shu thief, named Jiang Gongyan, once formulated a strategy. It is said that he would board a ship from Hanzhong, conquered the three counties of Shangyong along the Han River, and then attack Jingzhou?"

"This is true, because Zhuge Liang returned in a desperate situation after five invasions, and it was too difficult to cross the Qinling Mountains to transport troops and food, so the Shu thieves had this proposal back then. However, it was convenient to attack, but it was not so easy to come back. Therefore, when the Shu thieves thought about it, they dared not implement it at all. Moreover, when the Han River reached the downstream, the water volume increased sharply and the waterway became extremely complex. If they were not familiar with the local water conditions, they could not fight at all."

"Well, I have heard of this. It is said that during the time when my uncle was in charge of Jingzhou, his main job was to manage the Han River?"

"Yes, the king. Nine disasters have occurred in the downstream of the Han River in ten years. If the Han River is not managed well, the people of Jingzhou will not be able to farm with peace of mind. All they think about is to escape to the Southern Jingzhou controlled by the Eastern Wu. So if the Han River is not managed well, our northern Jingzhou will not be able to achieve great governance. If the people cannot be stable, everything in Northern Jingzhou, such as raising troops, combat preparations, attacking enemy countries, etc. will be impossible to talk about."

"Good, I hope the Han River will be tamed as soon as possible, so that Northern Jingzhou can become a peaceful and prosperous life."

Two days before departure, Sima Jun was in a relatively relaxed mood and often pulled Hu Lie to talk about this and that. However, as the Jin army fleet deepened, all the generals and ordinary soldiers from Sima Jun became less and less beautiful.

There is nothing else, because along the way, let alone the enemy, even an ordinary citizen has not seen it. The four or five counties that set up the city next to the Han River and its tributaries have all become empty cities.

...

November 5th. Mulansai, Weixing County.

"King, we walked south along the tributary of the Han River, Zheshui, and arrived in Shangyong County. There was also an empty city. Everyone and food were all mentioned. All the wheat fields outside the city were burned."

"King, the scouts came out to report the rewards. According to this, Xicheng County, 120 miles west of Mulan Pass, there were flags and many people."

"Hey! I finally know that there are still living people in the three counties of Shangyong... It seems that Cao's thief concentrated all his troops in Xicheng to conquer our army. Have you ever found out how many troops there are in Xicheng? "

"Good king, we are shot by a crossbow before we even approach the wall of Xicheng, so..."

"Forget it, thank you for your hard work. Go and have a rest."

"Thank you for your magnanimity."

After retreating the scout, Sima Jun summoned the generals to the army to gather together with a gloomy face.

"Everyone, I don't know about the army, but I can understand such an obvious situation. The Cao bandits lacked enough troops and could not fight head-on with our army. So they could only concentrate their strength to shrink. The reason why they gave up many counties along the Han River and defended the Xicheng City was nothing more than to lengthen our supply line so that they could start from it."

"The king is so proud! I will wait until I can accept it."

"Hey, don't say that these useless things are useless. Such simple strategies can be seen through almost everyone. But seeing through is the key, how to deal with it is the key. Do you have any advice?"

The so-called conspiracy is shameless because it will fail when you see it. But the open conspiracy is different: So what if you see it through? This is the general trend, even if you know it is a pit, you have to jump into it.

For Sima Jun, how can this battle be considered a victory? Getting Cao Ti's head is the most perfect. Not bad, getting Zhang Hu and Zhang Xiong and other veterans who still have a lot of connections in the Jin court today is also good. But if you don't fight a battle, you will take over Shangyong and Xincheng counties directly, and then send a report: After our army fought bravely, we successfully recovered Shangyong and Xincheng counties. The enemy was huddled in Weixing County and shivered? Yes, but the consequence of this is that the family in the Central Plains despises the Sima royal family even more. The family is severely alienated, can Jin exist?

Besides, Shangyong and Xincheng counties are really not going to say that there is no one in the two counties. But at least the population in the government’s civil order has been concentrated in Xicheng. If Xicheng is not taken down, Shangyong and Xincheng will only occupy the territory of Shangyong and Xincheng. Without the people providing food and taxes, how can these two places be guarded? Moving the population from Jingzhou to fill here? Then if the Shu thieves provoked a war in the west in the future, the heavy troops here will be forced to move out. What should we do if the remnants of Cao Wei in Xicheng are killed again?

So, there is no choice. Even though I know what the enemy is going to do, I can only jump into the pit.

"In this way, the central army continued to advance, and the Jingzhou army paid attention to protecting the food road."

"Abide by the king's order."

On November 10, Cao Ti led 20,000 Luoyang Central Army to the city of Xicheng.

On the one hand, cement is one of the most important strategic materials for Ji Han at present. On the other hand, Guanyi built the castle too hard in Mei County two years ago, which caused Sima Wang or Shi Bao to attack again after a large-scale attack. As a result, the main force of the Jin army did not lose much in the expected flesh and blood millstone in Guanyi, the expected blood and flesh mill in Guanyi, and further led to Jiang Wei's decisive battle in Maoling. So this time, the city wall of Xicheng did not harden cement. It was just that according to the appearance of Mei County, it was castle with rammed earth around the city wall.

Looking at the familiar rammed earth city wall instead of the legendary gray-white stone city wall, Sima Jun and others all breathed a sigh of relief.

Nodding at Gou Xi, Gou Xi went out to the crowd: "Who is in charge of the city? Come out to answer?"

After a sound of armor collision, a voice sounded: "King of Wei Cao Ti is here, who is the one who led the army in Jin Ni? Let's sign up!"

"Boldly rebel, King Ruyin of the Great Jin Dynasty is here, how dare the thief usurp the title of King of Wei? But did he know that Wei Tianming has ended and abdicated to Jin?"

"Stop talking! Why do you have such shameless words!"

...

On the city and under the city, both sides were very cursing for the so-called orthodox for a while, and they both felt that it was meaningless. Then they stopped talking: if you can't explain things with your mouth, then just talk with your fists.

However, this Xicheng looks very well-defended. Can it be eaten by 20,000 people?

"King, the last general has been watching the city for a long time today. I won't talk about the flags waving on the city. The key is that there are very many people on the four gates in the southeast, west and north. So, if you want to attack the city, I'm afraid..."

"Well, after all, the thief gathered all the people of Shangyong County into the city. And it's hard to say that the thief in Shu is likely to send reinforcements to the city. Xiuchu (Yang Zhao), how much time does it take for you to build siege and other siege equipment?"

"Report to the king, the thief has cut down all the woods around the West City. Finally, I estimate it and cut the woods from the nearest camp to the nearest woods, at least thirty miles back and forth. Therefore, it takes about a decade to create enough siege equipment."

"It's okay, I have learned that the Han River will not freeze in winter. As long as the Han River is in hand, our army's logistics can be safe. So Xiuchu, you are working hard on your side. The troops we bring this time are limited, and it's always good to be able to have less casualties."

"I would like to thank the king for his understanding. Please rest assured that within ten days, at least the siege equipment will not drag down the entire army."

"Shan, everyone, then the next thing is to choose a place to set up a camp. I don't understand this very much, so, Mao Bo, I'll ask you for this."

"Please rest assured, I will definitely do this."

On the other side, in Xicheng City.

"General Wei, Jin Ni has begun to camp. When will they attack the city?"

"The general of the Wai Mo looked around the city wall today. The number of people in this army is about 20,000 to 30,000. This number of people is impossible for an ant to attack the city. So no matter what, it will take a lot of time to build siege equipment. It is estimated that a large-scale siege will be siege at least ten days later."

"Oh, then our guard?"
Chapter completed!