In the grass on the roadside, insects are chirping, like a series of small bells ringing, urging the sun in the west to go faster.
Soon after, twilight submerged everything like water, and night had arrived. At this time, the guards at the top of the city also happened to change their defenses, and they all started lighting torches.
County Lieutenant Fan Ling was sitting in the small pavilion of the watchtower, drinking a small drink while looking at the Yangzhou Army's camp in the distance. In the dim dusk, he couldn't see how many camps there were. Two or three camps were lit with lights in the middle.
There were branches of pine trees and dots of stars. He quickly counted them and found that there must be nearly a thousand.
In addition to the enemy troops on the other side of the river, there are only more than 10,000 troops. This is obviously not the full strength of the Yangzhou Army. So how many remain in Nanchang or are hiding in the dark?
And just like this, they have been forced to stick to the city and dare not leave the city. Even Wenpin at the rear has not moved lightly.
If the Yangzhou Army goes all out, and if Wang Zheng comes to the front line in person, can they still be able to resist it?
Thinking of this, Fan Ling felt a wave of hesitation in his heart.
He was lost in thought when suddenly, there was a burst of human voices in the dusk. Fan Ling was startled and immediately stood up and shouted: "What's the noise?"
Not long after, the response from the soldiers came from below: "County Lieutenant, the green ox is missing!"
It was dusk when Zhang Xian came to watch. At that time, the Qingniu disappeared outside the city, but not long after, it returned to Linxiang with the night. Fan Ling did not dare to be careless, so he specially asked one person to keep an eye on it.
Suddenly it disappeared.
Fan Ling went to see it, and sure enough, the cow was gone. He held the torch high and looked around, but still couldn't find any trace of it.
Linxiang is the capital city. Although the cattle are large, they are actually very small in the wild in such a big city. It is also at night. If no one is paying attention, they will go to some remote corner that cannot be seen, or go further away.
It was normal for him to walk away and disappear from the sight of the defenders.
Zhang Xian was eating, and after hearing the news, he went to the city again to watch.
"You are right," Fan Ling also stepped forward and said, "Prefect, what if this is the case?"
However, there was no time to think too much at this time. Zhang Xian immediately called for the guards, put on his cloak, and climbed to the top of the city three times. He went up to the watchtower with Fan Ling and other generals. Looking from a distance, he saw only the enemy camp in the southeast. At present,
Not only were there loud voices that could be heard by the wind, but there were also flames rising into the sky, with a hint of blood. The people present were all veterans of the battlefield, and they almost immediately came to the same conclusion as Fan Ling.
"Sir, you just said it, he's just a beast." Someone from the guards around him laughed and said, "Why are you so cautious?"
"Exactly."
"how"
The night watch in the city was beating the drums. Since they were guarding the city, Zhang Xian implemented a night ban. No one was walking on the streets. Only the sound of the drums resounded throughout the city. There was a strong enemy outside, and although reinforcements were coming from the rear,
Zhang Xian, however, could not sleep at night. He heard the sound of the first watch drum, and it seemed that not long after, the second watch drum sounded again.
"Yes, yes." The people on the side were convinced and agreed one after another. Zhang Xi and Zhang Xian turned a deaf ear and just stared into the distance, thoughts racing in their minds.
"I know." Zhang Xian was shocked, but he didn't show it on his face. He just said calmly: "Let him come in." After saying that, he put away the map, walked back to the hall, sat down and waited.
This was an excellent way to deal with it, but Zhang Xian still didn't agree immediately. He just frowned slightly and kept thinking in his mind.
Turning back to the mansion, Zhang Xian, who had been thinking about it, suddenly had a thought in his mind: "Could this green bull be used by thieves to shake the morale of the army?"
"It's still wrong." Zhang Xian thought for a moment and shook his head: "If the generals don't get along, how could Wang Yukou allow them to join forces? Although this son was born a bandit, he is a famous general in the world, so he will not make such a mistake."
"Report to the prefect," Fan Ling said hurriedly: "At around two o'clock in the morning, the bandit camp in the south of the city suddenly became noisy. It seemed that there was a camp roar."
Zhang Xian shook his head and said solemnly: "In the past, when Tiao Hou was pinging Wu, the appearance of foreign objects caused night terrors in the three armies, and almost the whole army collapsed. Now that the thieves are approaching the city, the morale of our garrison is unstable.
If you are careless, you may not be able to suppress it, so you must be on guard against this."
He understood the meaning behind Fan Ling's words as soon as he heard it. Changsha County had actually maintained a semi-independent state since Liu Biao was the pastor of Jingzhou. This was naturally because Zhang Xian and Liu Biao were at odds and now their relationship had changed.
With the friendly Cai Mao in power, the situation seems to have improved, but this may not be the case.
He has been in a high position for a long time and has accumulated great prestige. However, his expression changed slightly. Fan Ling felt a thump in his heart and did not dare to continue. Anyway, Zhang Xian heard these words, which was enough, so he raised his hands and said: "The general will know.
Those who are suspicious in the prefecture are simply that the bandit camp roar is just a fake to lure our troops out of the city. The general asked for an order and is willing to lead 500 cavalry out of the city immediately. We will wait and see nearby and do a test at the same time!"
But the problem is that Fan Ling is someone to stare at. Of course, people's energy and attention are limited, and it is impossible to stare at them all the time, but a cup of tea is sure to be glanced around. In other words, the disappearance of this cow is exactly
It happened during this cup of tea!
Cows are not horses. How far can they go with a cup of tea? Besides, this kind of livestock is relatively quiet in nature. April is the night when the grass is rich. It stands to reason that if you just graze in place, you can easily eat for an hour or two.
How come it disappeared?
Fan Ling pondered for a moment and then said immediately: "There is something fishy, and I have to report it to the prefect."
"Are you sure?"
The so-called one moment, the other moment, Cai Mao had a good relationship with him in the past, because the two had no actual conflict of interest, and besides being the governor of Changsha and the military advisor of the general Zhengnan, the two of them had another identity.
They are all from wealthy local families in Jingzhou.
Not long after, Fan Ling was seen walking quickly into the room with sweating profusely. Zhang Xian glanced at him and saw his excited expression. He couldn't help being startled and asked in surprise: "What's the matter?"
"Although the bandit army was lucky enough to defeat me for a while and defeated three cities in a row, they were no more than Xiaoyi. When facing me in Linxiang, they haven't made an inch of progress in more than ten days!" Fan Ling said with a smile: "And the bandits will be around.
Tai, Huang and Zhong are all vulgar people with only the courage of ordinary men. These people may be able to charge into battle, but how can they compare with the prefect in running an army?"
"What?"
Before he finished speaking, Zhang Xian waved his hand to interrupt his continuation: "Fan Ling, please tell me, how could the rebel army roar without any reason?"
"Huh?" Zhang Xian turned his head sharply when he heard this, stared at him closely, his expression turned cold, and he said calmly: "What do you mean by this?"
"You go and come back, and then disappear again. What kind of trick are the thieves playing?"
"A famous general in the world?" A captain said with a disapproving smile: "It's just a land of Qingxu. There are no heroes. Fang Ling Shuzi became famous by luck. Besides, what about a famous general in the world? Can he be more famous than Sun Jian? This
Didn’t the fierce tigers from the east of the Yangtze conquer our land in Jingzhou and die in defeat?”
Things are different now. Cai Mao has become the sometimes unknown lord of Jingzhou and has become a leader. Will he still be willing to let Changsha continue to maintain the status of "only knowing the governor but not knowing the state pastor"?
"Here!" the herald took the order and left.
Although this guess is inconsistent, it is actually not unreasonable. The local defenders were generally from farmers. The theory of ghosts and gods was already popular in the Han Dynasty, and there were countless legends in the countryside. These soldiers were illiterate and had not read any books. It is inevitable to be superstitious. If you see strange things, especially when the enemy is approaching, you will definitely become suspicious, and rumors may spread.
Zhang Xian couldn't help but mutter to himself. From the very beginning, he had guessed that this "green cow" was a treacherous plot of the Yangzhou Army. You must know that the Yangzhou Army had besieged the city for many days, and most of the people in the villages outside the city had already been moved into the city. There was no relocation. Those who have entered the city have already fled elsewhere, and the bandit camp is only ten miles away, within a radius of twenty or thirty miles. I am afraid that there are no people around it for a long time, and the people have disappeared, so how can one appear inexplicably? Where's the green cow?
Tiaohou was Zhou Yafu, the Western Han Dynasty general who quelled the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion. He was always known for his strict military management. However, even such a famous general had a "night terror" incident during his campaign against Wu King Liu Bi, which shocked later generations. The generals took this warning seriously and were extremely vigilant about controlling speech in the military.
But until now, he still didn't understand what this treacherous plot was, so he never told it to his mouth. He noticed that some of the soldiers on the left and right were already muttering, and his face darkened, and he ordered: "No matter whether he is a green ox or a yellow ox, he is just a beast after all. That’s all, what’s all the fuss about? Send an order to the three armies not to discuss it!”
Seeing that Zhang Xian seemed to be making a move, Fan Ling quickly continued: "Since the battle with the bandit army, our army has been defeated in consecutive battles, lost in southern Hunan and Liling, and was ambushed. If we can defend ourselves in the city and wait for reinforcements to defeat the bandit, then After defeating the thief, how can we deal with ourselves?"
"That's not right!" Zhang Xian shook his head: "The thieves are now having a winning streak and their morale is high. How can they have night terrors because of a beast?"
"From the general's point of view, it is probably because of the strange green bull in the evening." Fan Ling said: "It caused the rebel soldiers to talk a lot, and the soldiers were frightened. As a result, they had nightmares and night terrors, which caused the camp to roar."
Zhang Xian wanted to say how could it be possible, but he swallowed it back. Just now he was worried that the enemy wanted to disrupt the morale of the defenders in Linxiang, but now it was the enemy who was confused. He lowered his head and thought for a moment. He murmured to himself: "Didn't the thief release the green cow intentionally? It just happened by chance?"
But no one agreed with these words. You said that Wang Zheng became famous by luck, so how come he didn't appear on the front line, but just sat in Nanchang, so Zhang Xian and Wenpin didn't dare to act rashly?
Fan Ling quickly changed the topic: "Prefect, Wang Zheng is not an incompetent person, but after all, he is still young, and there are always times when he thinks poorly. And after all, he is not on the front line now. The coach is Xu Fang, who is not well-known. He is also young, and if night terrors occur in the bandit camp, no one will listen to him even if he wants to suppress them."
"You can hear loud noises from a great distance, including the faint sounds of fighting. Although you can't see the specific situation clearly, there is no doubt that it is "camp roaring"."
"Prefect, now that General Wen has arrived in Hanshou, even though it is said that Jingzhou troops and horses have been mobilized and reinforcements are coming, have you thought about anything?"
Zhang Xian was looking down at the map when he heard the footsteps and raised his head hurriedly. The soldiers outside came to report: "Master, the county captain Fan Ling is here to say that there is an urgent military report."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Xian stood up suddenly, "You said there was a camp roar among the rebels?"
"Otherwise, when the two armies are facing each other, any differences will not be trivial!"
The night is getting darker.
"This is not right." He walked around the room a few times, becoming more and more alert. He immediately summoned the herald and gave the order, "Order the garrison to search the city and prohibit the soldiers from discussing the green cow in the evening. If there is any violation,
Whoever, kill!"
"Hmm." Zhang Xian looked toward the southeast of the city and murmured, "There is some truth to this."
"If the 'camp roar' of the rebel army is true, fireworks will be set off as a signal, and the prefect can immediately lead the main force out of the city and seize the opportunity to raid the camp! If the 'camp roar' of the rebel army is false, the cavalry led by the general will move around quickly.
Just go back to the city."
"Wonderful!" A captain became more and more excited as he watched. He couldn't help but clapped his hands and shouted: "Prefect, there is a roar in the enemy camp. If we attack at this time, we will definitely win a battle!"
There were clouds tonight, covering the starry sky, and everything near and far was dark. With the light of the torch, you could see two or three miles outside the city. Zhang Xian squinted for a long time, but the cow was really gone.
The enemy indeed roared!
Fan Ling smiled and said: "General, I heard that there are many factions in Wang Zheng's army, and all the generals are at odds. For example, the two leaders here, Zhou Tai was originally a subordinate of Sun Ce from Jiangdong, and Sun Ce died here at Huang Zhong."
In his eyes, it seems that the two of them also had a grudge against each other. It was just a matter of winning consecutive victories before, but now that they could not attack the city, they were inevitably anxious. The disagreement between the two sides could no longer be suppressed. Moreover, Qing Niu happened to appear, which caused panic in the army. Finally,
Causing 'night terrors'."
Just at the third watch, a rush of footsteps broke the silence of the county mansion.
As for Zhang Xian, he dared to challenge Liu Biao. In addition to having an independent army, more importantly, he was "prestige and popular among the people" in Jingnan. But now, since Yangzhou troops have entered the country in large numbers
Since then, the Changsha Army has been in a state of passive defense. The key is that it has not yet been defended. Not only that several wealthy Uburgs on the border have been uprooted, but also Liling and Shonan have fallen one after another.
Nowadays, many people blame Zhang Xian for the fall of the city and the loss of territory. When he was attacked in Jianchang, he sat on the sidelines and watched, letting the Yangzhou army defeat them one by one, and easily took over this choke point to the south.
Under such circumstances, it is inevitable that Zhang Xian's prestige will plummet. The reason why he can still barely stabilize the army and defend the city is that firstly, everyone knows that it is not the time for internal fighting when there is a powerful enemy, and secondly, Zhang Xian is still able to survive after all.
If you firmly control this military power, some people will be dissatisfied, and you will have to weigh the consequences of making mistakes.
But if Wenpin leads the reinforcements to relieve the siege, then these tens of thousands of soldiers and horses will inevitably enter Linxiang. Zhang Xian, who is no longer dominant in strength, will no longer have the initiative. If there is a crowd to attack, Cai Mao will be pushed forward.
excuse
Thinking of this, Zhang Xian turned his eyes and looked at the surrounding soldiers. Under the light of the torch, the faces of these people were bright and dark, as if they were similar to their positions. He was frightened in his heart, and after pondering for a moment, he made a decision.
"Okay, then you go and test it out. If Yingxiao is true, the day to break the thief is today!"