Riding and cutting down the imperial bandits of the Three Kingdoms 51. Mountains and rain are about to come (16K/20K for the leader of the delusional fox)
51. Mountains and rain are about to come (16K/20K for the leader of the delusional fox)
That night, two groups of troops were the first to rush out of the city. They were Pan Zhang's and Chang Xi's troops.
One day later, news came back from the west that there were not many troops stationed in Liangcheng County in front of Xiapi Station, so Pan Zhang almost surrendered without a fight.
However, according to what he learned from the soldiers in the city, this city has changed hands for the third time in a short period of time.
Not long ago, a group of troops from Yuan's army captured the city. Then, when the general led his men to pursue the remnants, they were captured back by Liu Bei's army in an instant. They did not stay for long after that, and waited for another group of troops to arrive.
, the two armies merged, and the army marched towards Xiapi again.
In just a few words, Wang Zheng had already sketched a picture in his mind. It must have been that this good city was actually a trap. When Yuan's army went to pursue the so-called defeated soldiers, it was already in danger.
But when he learned from the sentry rider that the commander of Yuan's army on that road seemed to be named Yan, Wang Zheng was startled, Yan? It couldn't be Yan, right?
As soon as this thought flashed through his mind, he faintly realized that it was as expected, and immediately sighed deeply.
Although Yan Xiang is not loyal to him and is indeed not good at military affairs, he is a rare adviser who has an overall view and is upright.
What Wang Zheng was sighing about was that without a critic to warn him, would Yuan Shu become more arrogant than in history?
On the second day, good news came from the east. After seeing the messenger, Wang Zheng immediately ordered the three armies to break camp and set off that night.
Under the starry night, we arrived at Liangcheng at noon the next day. As we moved forward, we could often see sentries spying in the distance along the road. It must have been that the message had spread throughout Xuzhou, and Liu Bei learned about it at the same time.
The news of the fall of Tancheng and the large-scale military expedition by Wang Zheng, the news returned from the Mi family, is also the same. In the past few days, fighting has been all over Xuzhou. Several cities captured by Yuan's army before seemed to have been captured by Liu Bei's army.
Recovered in a short time.
When Wang Zheng was only a hundred miles away from Xiapi City, the latest news was that not long ago, when the main force of Yuan's army was storming Xiapi, it encountered a surprise attack from Liu Bei's army from behind. Under the attack from both front and rear, they suffered heavy casualties and were completely defeated.
, after breaking camp, they retreated for more than forty miles!
Hearing this, Wang Zheng and everyone looked at each other and were speechless. Unfortunately, what he said was true. Before he arrived, Yuan Jun was defeated.
Wang Zheng immediately glared at Wu Sheng: "Are you sure that the sentry cavalry's report is correct? He has handed my letter to the general who stationed Yuan Jun in the lower minister's office?"
"I'm sure, I handed it in by hand!" Wu Sheng was so chilled by his glare that he hurriedly said, "If the general doesn't believe it, I'll call that person right now!"
Then why was Yuan Shujun still unprepared?
Wang Zheng waved his hands irritably. He couldn't figure it out even though he was thinking about it. He could only blame it on Qiao Rui being too incompetent. With a reminder, he could be attacked!
Skeleton King is also a waste!
What kind of cats and dogs are there under my command!
After another day of galloping, when they were less than forty miles away from Xiapi City, the entire army had just set up camp when some personal guards came to the commander's tent to report.
"General, the sentry cavalry in front has detected a group of about a thousand people. Judging from the armor and flags, it seems to be Yuan Shu's army."
"Oh?" Wang Zheng was startled. He was in the north of Xiapi. If he met Liu Beijun, he would have expected to pay more attention. But if he met Yuan Shujun... then there was only one possibility.
"How is the military's morale?" he asked, tilting his head.
"The flags are in chaos and it's quite embarrassing."
It turned out to be a group of remnants of defeated generals who were panicking. Wang Zheng shook his head secretly and asked, "Do you know who the leader of this group of troops is?"
"It's hard to see the general's flag clearly in the night..." The soldier recalled it and said, "According to what the sentry said, it seems to be the character Li."
No matter if there is someone who knows about it, Wang Zheng waved his hand and said: "Arrange people to prepare some food and fodder, send people to meet this friendly army, and then invite the general in."
"Here!"
After the soldiers left, Wang Zheng glanced at Wu Sheng, pondered for a moment and said: "You and the guards will retreat first later. You go to restrain the soldiers and supervise the construction of fortifications. Liu Bei has just won a big victory now. What's wrong?"
I will seize the opportunity to pursue the victory, but my camp is not secure yet, and there are enemy sentries watching by, so we need to be on guard against him sending men and horses to sneak attack at night."
The defeated general is already sensitive, so it is better to talk alone.
After Wu Sheng withdrew, a man covered in blood and dejected walked into the commander's tent not long after. Wang Zheng took a closer look and saw that he was an acquaintance.
He quickly stood up and hurriedly greeted each other, shouting: "Brother Li?"
He immediately shouted: "Send a medical officer immediately to treat my best friend."
The person who came was none other than Yuan Shu's general Li Ren. Speaking of which, although the two met only a few times in Yangzhou, they had a good relationship. After all, they drank flower wine together at Hongxiu Tower.
Isn't it said that men are the four great men? They carried guns together, shared the same window, shared the stolen goods together, and coughed together.
Seeing his sincerity, Li Ren was quite moved, but said with a wry smile: "Don't worry, Governor, I actually have no injuries on my body."
Wang Zheng personally helped him sit down. He first comforted him a few words. After Li Ren's expression softened, he asked: "Although victory or defeat is a common thing for military officers, how could the tens of thousands of Zhou Mu's army be so defeated in an instant?"
"Hey." At this time, Li Ren was sitting in a restrained manner, with his legs together and his hands squarely placed on his knees, like a student in front of his teacher. He was not as heroic as he was in Yangzhou that day.
He sighed: "Liu Xuande is both wise and brave, and his two brothers are even more courageous than anyone else. Although this battle was defeated by a sneak attack, the soldiers are cunning, and I, Li Ren, am still convinced."
He then looked at Wang Zheng and said with an excited expression: "However, despite the huge defeat and General Qiao missing from the battle, Governor Wang arrived in time. Although the situation is critical, there is still a chance to reverse it."
Even Qiao Rui is dead?
Wang Zheng was completely speechless. There was no need to ask whether Yuan Jun was dead or injured. After thinking for a while, he looked at Li Ren, frowned and asked, "This is also what Zheng doesn't understand."
"The soldiers of your army are far more powerful than Liu Bei's army. I have also written a letter to remind you to be careful of Liu Bei luring the enemy and making a surprise attack. No matter how heroic Liu Bei is, no matter how powerful Guan and Zhang are, how can he be defeated like this?
speed?"
"Letter?" Unexpectedly, Li Ren was startled when he heard these words: "Wang Prefect, have you ever sent a letter to Qiao Rui?"
"That's right." Wang Zheng nodded: "After I got to Tancheng, I learned from the civil and military officials in the city that in the previous battle at Huai Ling, Liu Bei ordered his brother Guan Yu to fake defeat in order to lure your army to go deeper and make a surprise attack in Xia Pi!
"
"Zheng and Yuan Zhoumu have been in alliance for a long time, and they have a sense of support. After hearing about it, they immediately ordered their horses to gallop through the night, hoping that your army and General Qiao would be alert and beware of surprise attacks."
"But I've never heard of a letter from Governor Wang being passed on to the formation." Li Ren's eyes widened: "Prefect Wang, who did your people give the letter to? Qiao Rui?"
"Isn't that true?" Wang Zheng saw Li Ren's reaction and was moved in his heart: "If it were passed directly from Tancheng, I'm afraid Liu Bei's sentry cavalry would intercept it. Didn't the Prime Minister have noble soldiers and horses stationed there at that time? Zheng would be very upset.
This is the way to go.”
"The Prime Minister? Yuan Yin?" Li Ren frowned more and more: "Yuan Yin was in charge of logistics at that time. The Prime Minister and my army had frequent exchanges of people in the camp that day, and it was easy to deliver letters. It stands to reason that the governor's letter reached Qiao Rui.
Nothing will go wrong in your hands."
"But why have I never heard Qiao Rui say this?"
When he was surprised and puzzled, Wang Zheng changed his mind and asked him to sit down with a smile. He called the guards to serve tea and said casually: "Victory or defeat has been decided. It would be unintentional to advance things any further."
As he spoke, he asked casually: "Speaking of which, although I had never met Duke Qiao when I was in Yangzhou that day, I heard from Ji Junwei that General Qiao was very majestic and brave, and he was a great general.
Zheng admires his talents very much. He expected to see them this time, but unexpectedly..."
Before he finished speaking, Li Ren burst out laughing and said, "Is Ji Ling drunk too much? How could he talk such nonsense in front of the governor?"
"Strong? Brave?" Li Ren shook his head repeatedly: "This kind of evaluation can't be compared with that of Qiao Rui. If you say that the army is well-organized and has rich experience, it is certainly not bad. But in our Yangzhou army, the number of people
As everyone knows, Qiao Rui’s greatest strength is her stability, and her greatest weakness is her caution!”
"Is that so?" Wang Zheng smiled, waved his hand and said, "Maybe Zheng's memory is wrong."
As he spoke, his eyes suddenly turned cold.
Cautious? Then it is impossible for Qiao Rui to make his own decisions and be arbitrary. Even if Qiao Rui does not believe Liu Bei's fraud, according to his character, he will summon the generals to discuss it.
"By the way, Governor." At this time, Li Ren recalled what he saw when he entered the camp and asked hesitantly: "You led the army to come for reinforcements. My subordinates are all aware of it, but I don't know how many troops you brought with you?"
"Twenty thousand tigers." Wang Zheng replied casually. Seeing that Li Ren hesitated to speak and showed disbelief on his face, he thought for a moment and understood. He couldn't help laughing and said: "Brother Li is a member of his own family. How can I talk nonsense in front of you?"
bully?"
"This battalion only has 6,000 troops, but before I took out Tancheng, I had already ordered Langya and Pengcheng to go out in two directions and go straight to Xiapi. One line will capture the nearby city for logistics turnover."
"That's it." After hearing this explanation, Li Ren suddenly realized, and his expression became excited: "The governor's subordinates are all elites who have fought in hundreds of battles, 20,000 elites... plus our army, they will definitely be able to avenge themselves!"
"But I don't know how many steps and riders there are?"
"Twenty-five thousand on foot, five thousand on horseback." Seeing that Li Ren wanted to ask again, Wang Zheng didn't want to continue talking about his own situation, so he directly cut it off: "Brother Li, how many troops are left in your army now?"
How do I know?
Li Ren opened his mouth. It was hard to just say that before, he was only focused on escaping and didn't care about anything. After thinking about it, he said uncertainly: "I still have ten thousand."
"That's very good." Wang Zheng clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Brother Li just said what he said is absolutely true. Zheng came to attack Liu now. Before, it was to help each other, but now he also wants to attack Liu! Why?"
"The hatred for General Qiao's death, the hatred for brother Jiangdong's death, and even the shame of defeat that you are bearing at this time, Brother Li, how can the government not help Xue Zhi?"
"General Gaoyi!" Hearing this, Li Ren burst into tears of gratitude.
"It's just..." Wang Zheng didn't blink. He changed the topic suddenly and gave a top hat first: "Jiangdong Erlang is so brave that he was defeated by Liu Bei. It shows that this person should not be underestimated, and Zheng is also afraid of it."
With only 20,000 troops, it is difficult to be sure of victory."
"Um..." Li Ren was stunned and said, "What does the governor mean?"
"We are facing a formidable enemy. It is up to you and I to work together." Wang Zheng stared at Li Ren and said seriously: "Brother Li, what Zheng means is that I will continue to advance to Xiapi, and you will be responsible for gathering our scattered Yuan Jun brothers.
, how about waiting for the three armies to gather together and all the generals to arrive, and then defeat the enemy in one fell swoop?"
"this..."
To collect the remnants, wouldn't it mean that we have to return to Xiapi and other dangerous places?
Li Ren wanted to refuse, but when he looked up, he saw that although Wang Zheng was smiling and talking, his eyes were staring at him with an unspeakable meaning, and he still dared not blurt out the next words.
Seeing that he was silent, Wang Zheng did not urge him, but just looked at him quietly. Li Ren felt that the chill in the tent was getting stronger every moment, and his expression became more and more miserable. After a while, he finally couldn't bear it anymore, and secretly
After scolding Zhuzi for turning away too quickly, he finally spoke again: "As it should be."
"Okay." Wang Zheng clapped his hands and smiled, then loudly called for his guards: "Go and invite the generals to come!"
After all the generals had gathered, Wang Zheng looked around at everyone with his sword in his hand and shouted: "Pack up the fortifications, no more digging trenches, no more building camp walls, mobilize the whole army, make food at the third watch tonight, eat at the fourth watch, and break camp at the fifth watch!"
"
"Bring up camp at five o'clock?" Wu Sheng was startled when he heard this: "Where to go?"
"I just learned that the Allied troops outside Xiapi City are being massacred by Liu Bei's army. When there is no room for action, our army immediately rushed to the front line and vowed to fight the traitors to the death!" As he said this, Wang Zheng looked around and looked at Li Ren: "This,
That is Yuan Zhoumu’s general, General Li Ren.”
After everyone was polite, Wang Zheng asked again: "Brother Li, I will arrive outside Xiapi City before sunset tomorrow. When will you arrive after gathering your team?"
Li Rennuonuo waited for a while and said: "Within four or five days."
Wang Zheng frowned and suddenly looked at Wu Sheng. As his heart moved, the system immediately sent out a message.
Then Wu Sheng spoke again: "General, think twice. Liu Bei's army has just won a great victory and has a favorable geographical position. If our army rushes to the territory in a hurry, it has no fortifications, is not familiar with the terrain, and is tired of chariots and horses. If the enemy
Taking advantage of my unstable footing, I took the initiative to attack before I set up camp. In the field battle between the two sides, our army may be in danger."
"Absurd!" Wang Zheng sneered: "Since the general's uprising, I have been traveling across Qingzhou, passing through Langya, conquering Pengcheng, and trying my best to conquer Mount Tai. How have I ever experienced a single defeat?"
"Liu Bei is just like a chicken and a dog, how can he withstand a single blow?" As he said this, a green light suddenly appeared and he killed the murderer with one sword. "If you try to persuade me again, this is the way to go!"
Charming was activated again with all his strength, and the power of the sword silenced the generals. Li Ren even turned pale with fright from the murderous aura.
Unexpectedly, Wu Shenghun had no eyesight and actually hit the gun again: "General, our army is moving in a hurry, and the subsequent supplies of food and supplies will move slowly. If we are far apart, we are afraid that the enemy will interrupt our logistics."
"presumptuous!"
Wang Zheng stared at him with a fierce look in his eyes, and without any nonsense, he gave the order directly.
"Drag it out and chop it!"
Are you going to kill someone? Li Ren was startled when he saw the rustling of armor and all the generals in the tent fell to their knees, everyone begging for mercy.
"General, calm down. Major Wu's rebuttal is indeed rude, but it is quite reasonable."
"Major Wu has made many military exploits, not to mention that he has a close friendship with the general. The general should spare him this time."
Faced with the sincere sentiments of the crowd, Wang Zheng ignored them and just urged his soldiers to pull Wu Sheng out. Li Ren murmured, and kept cursing secretly in his heart, is this person still Wang Zheng's boss?
This Zhu Zi is also so ruthless, he really has the nature of a tiger and a wolf!
He was willing to persuade, but he was afraid that Wang Zheng's anger would be transferred to his own family, so he hesitated and finally kept silent.
When Wu Sheng was about to be pulled out of the tent in front of him, he seemed to be frightened, and he quickly surrendered: "General, I have finally found out my guilt. Please, for the sake of my having sacrificed my life for you in the past, please give me a chance to plead guilty and meritorious service?"
After hearing this, Wang Zheng's expression finally relaxed. After a slight hesitation, he finally sheathed his sword and said in a deep voice: "Forget it, I'll spare you this time!"
Then he turned to look at Li Ren and asked, "Brother Li, how long did you just say it would take?"
"Four days!" Li Ren instinctively said hurriedly: "I will set off tonight. Within four days, I will gather all the troops and horses to go to Xiapi to meet the general!"
"Okay!" Wang Zheng said with a smile: "Then Zheng will be waiting for you in Xiapi!"
...
After Li Ren's figure had completely left, all the generals in the tent laughed at the same time. They were all members of the system, so they naturally knew that they were acting together.
Wu Sheng even touched his neck and muttered: "This guy really has no eggs, yet he never asked for mercy."
"I was forced to shout by myself, and I almost couldn't get off the stage."
Wang Zheng also shook his head repeatedly: "Yuan Shu's tent is full of such rats, no wonder...hey."
"The general is doing this to establish his authority. I'm afraid this guy will be frightened out of his wits," one of the guards joked: "He just ran away."
"Where to go?" Wang Zheng said disdainfully: "The nearby cities are not in my hands, but in the hands of Liu Bei. If Li Ren gathers the remnants, comes to fight with me, and defeats Liu Bei, he can return to Yangzhou and enjoy the blessings for a few more years.
."
"If you really run away, you will let him escape from the hands of my general, Liu Bei. If Yuan Shu learns about this in the future, will he be able to let him go?"
"Scaring him is just to make this guy pay attention and don't let anything happen again that will delay the fight."
"That's right." Wu Sheng nodded and asked, "Are we really going to break camp tonight and go straight to Xiapi?"
Wang Zheng smiled and did not answer, but just ordered: "Spread the news first so that all the brothers in the ministries know it, so that we can prepare for war."
"The infantry on the left and right wings advance five miles first, raise the flag, and enter the territory of Xiapi within three days."
"The reconnaissance cavalry is scattered, first determine the terrain and the actual situation of the enemy."