In today's troubled times, the world's situation is changing so rapidly.
Just when Yan Liang had just finalized the strategy of resisting the war, an urgent report came from Jiangxia, saying that Sun Quan's navy had begun to move upriver.
Yan Liang quickly made countermeasures and ordered Gan Ning and Xu You to lead the navy to retreat to the upper reaches of the Han River. He also ordered the abandonment of Jiangxia counties and concentrated his efforts on Xiakou.
At the same time, Yan Liang appointed Man Chong as the commander of Xiakou and ordered him to defend Xiakou with 7,000 infantry.
According to the strategy of defending in the south and attacking in the north proposed by Jia Xu, it is certainly impossible for Yan Liang to waste Gan Ning's precious navy in a head-on confrontation with Sun Quan's powerful navy.
The reason why Yan Liang asked the Gan and Ning navy to retreat to the upper reaches was to preserve the strength of the navy and prepare for a future counterattack in Jiangxia.
This also means that Yan Liang has completely given up the right to control water, and his hope of protecting Jiangxia is entirely pinned on Man Chong.
In the past, when Guan Yu attacked Fancheng from the north, Man Chong managed to withstand Guan Yu's ferocious attack with thousands of soldiers and horses without any navy. Therefore, Yan Liang had no doubts about Man Chong's ability to defend the city.
.
Yan Liang wanted to use Man Chong's good defense to pin Sun Quan to Xiakou City to buy time for him to defeat Yuan Tan.
As for Xiangyang City, Yan Liang decided to leave Xu You and Wei Yan behind and guard it with 7,000 troops to prevent Liu Qi from attacking Xiangyang from the north.
The defenders of the two cities, plus Gan Ning's more than 7,000 naval troops, and excluding the defenders of some key places, this means that Yan Liang only has 15,000 troops left to deal with Yuan Tan.
Yu Buqi.
The enemies he faced numbered as many as 40,000, including about 7,000 cavalry.
This is another battle with great disparity in strength.
Yan Liang had no choice but to fight the weak against the strong again.
…
The troops were about to be sent out the next day. That night, the general's residence was busy. Huang Yueying directed the subordinates to prepare marching supplies for Yan Liang, who was about to go on an expedition.
When everything is complete, the moon is already above the eyebrows.
Outside, his wife was busy. Yan Liang in the study was still reading the map at night, thinking about tactics to defeat the enemy.
The sound of footsteps sounded. A strong aroma hit his nostrils, arousing the slanderous insects in Yan Liang's mouth.
When he looked up, his wife Huang Yueying had already walked in with a bowl of steaming soup.
"My husband will go on an expedition tomorrow. You should have a good rest today. Why are you looking at the map?"
Huang Yueying removed the map on the desk and offered the bowl of soup with both hands, "My husband has been working hard for days, and I have made some nourishing soup with my own hands. Please drink it while it's hot."
His wife's concern warmed Yan Liang's heart, so he temporarily put down his duties and drank the steaming soup with a smile.
After finishing the bowl of soup and feeling a little more energetic, Yan Liang then laid out the map in front of the case again.
Huang Yueying saw that Yan Liang was working so hard. She couldn't help but said: "My husband is working so hard. It seems that this enemy is not easy to deal with."
"Madam, you don't know. Your husband and I are currently in the limelight, which has aroused the fear of the princes from all over the world. This time they are ganging up to besiege me."
There was a hint of self-deprecation in Yan Liang's tone. Although the situation was serious, his demeanor and tone were relaxed.
"Are they being besieged from all sides again..." Huang Yueying's beautiful eyebrows narrowed slightly, "Since my husband plans to go to Wancheng in person, it seems that the enemies along the North Road are the most powerful, otherwise I don't have to take action personally."
Huang Yueying is indeed as smart as ice and snow, and she lives in the inner courtyard of the deep mansion. But based on some signs, she can make this judgment.
Yan Liang was impressed by his wife's cleverness, but he smiled and said: "Yuan Tan is a defeated general under his husband, so there is nothing to worry about. However, his general Zhang He is a veteran general, and there are Xin Pi, Xun Chen and others."
He was advised by others, and the number of soldiers and horses was even more than 40,000. This time he came well prepared and could not be easily defeated like last time."
Historically, Zhang He was one of the five good generals of the Wei Kingdom, and was also a famous general in Hebei. Although Zhang He was not as famous as Wen Chou at this time, and his martial arts was inferior to Wen Chou, his ability to command and deploy troops was superior to Wen Chou.
Historically, it was this man who led the troops to capture Jieting, which shattered the bright prospects of Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition and made Zhuge Liang deeply afraid.
What's more, if Yan Liang is not a time traveler at this time, then the original body of this body may not be Zhang He's opponent.
Therefore, Yan Liang could despise Yuan Tan strategically, but had to pay attention to Zhang He's existence tactically.
Hearing that her husband spoke highly of the enemy, Huang Yueying couldn't help but feel a little worried. She thought for a while and said: "My husband used Yuan Rong's crossbows to defeat Ma Chao's army. This time I will deal with Yuan Tan. I wonder if I can follow the same example."
plan."
Yan Liang holds a magical weapon like the Yuan Rong Repeating Crossbow. How could he not think of making good use of it? However, although this repeating crossbow is strong, its weaknesses are also obvious.
The Yuanrong Repeating Crossbow weighs twice as much as an ordinary crossbow machine, which makes it difficult for the crossbowman to move. It can only be used on a large scale in ambushing battles and head-to-head confrontations in the field.
After Yan Liang defeated Ma Chao, the power of Yuan Rong's crossbows spread throughout the princes. Yuan Tan must have taken precautions. If he wanted to catch the enemy by surprise again, it would not be that easy.
"Mr. Ziyuan's meticulous work has long been rewarded. It is said that Yuan Tan sent troops this time, and the army was equipped with a large number of strong shields. It was obviously to guard against our Yuan Rong's crossbows. I am afraid that this time I will not be able to complete the battle with this weapon.
.”
After hearing Yan Liang's explanation, Huang Yueying fell into silence. After a while, her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Husband, please wait a moment, I have something to show you."
Huang Yueying ran to the inner room as she spoke. After a while, she came out with a roll of silk paper in her hand.
Yan Liang's head suddenly shook, and he had a strong premonition, and a hint of excitement immediately surged between his brows.
Huang Yueying put the picture scroll on the case, and unfolded it with a "wow", and the pictures of the mechanism appeared in front of Yan Liang's eyes.
Sure enough, as Yan Liang expected, it was a design drawing of a crossbow machine, and its complexity was much more complicated than the previous Yuanrong Liannu. Yan Liang looked at it carefully for a long time, but he still couldn't figure it out.
"Madam, this is..."
Huang Yueying said slowly: "This is a new crossbow machine that I have recently designed. To be precise, it should be called a crossbow machine. This crossbow is made of a full copper frame and can withstand five times more than the previous crossbow machine."
The strength of the stone is left and right; and the shape is changed to a backward inclined trapezoid, and eight movable wheels are installed on the base, which improves the ability to move and adapt to the terrain; I also designed an additional one between Wangshan and Qixian
Twisting the rudder can improve shooting accuracy by 50%."
After taking a breath, Huang Yueying finally said: "In short, this all-copper crossbow cart is completely different from wooden crossbows such as the Yuanrong Liannu. The power is several times higher. I just thought that this kind of crossbow cart might be able to
It will help my husband win this battle."
Yan Liang was overwhelmed by his wife's series of "professional terms" and his mind raced for a long time before he digested them all.
Gradually, Yan Liangyingwu's face began to show excitement. He seemed to have seen the blueprint for defeating the enemy from his wife's brand new design.
Snap!
Yan Liang slapped the table fiercely and said excitedly: "Madam, you are such a ballista, you are really helping me in times of need."
Seeing Yan Liang's excitement, Huang Yueying became happy too.
But that faint smile only lasted for a moment, but quickly faded away quietly.
"Although this crossbow is powerful, its production process is several times more complicated than that of the Yuanrong Liannu. I'm afraid it will be difficult to manufacture on a large scale in a short period of time."
Yan Liang also calmed down and asked: "According to Madam's estimation, with our existing manpower and material resources, how many of these ballistas can be built in a day."
Huang Yueying estimated with her fingers for a while, with a look of helplessness on her face, "It's not that we can build a few units in a day, but it takes five or six days to build one."
Yan Liang fell into silence.
He should have wanted it for a long time. With such a complicated weapon, it was not easy to build one in five or six days under the current purely manual technical conditions.
This means that even if we start building them overnight now, we can only build less than twenty units in two months.
"Twenty units, if used properly, can produce miraculous effects..."
Yan Liang paced in the study, frowning in deep thought. Gradually, a look of confidence once again appeared on his face.
When he turned around suddenly, he said happily: "Then I will buy two months for you, madam. Madam, you can make as many as you can."
Seeing that her husband had made up his mind, Huang Yueying also said seriously: "Don't worry, husband, I should do my best to share my husband's worries."
At the critical moment, Yan Liang was relieved and touched that his wife once again shared her worries, so he couldn't help but lower his head and kiss his wife gently on the face.
Huang Yueying lowered her eyebrows shyly and blushed suddenly.
Although he and his wife have been married for some time, the lovely wife in front of her still retains the charm of a young girl in her spring, and she looks even more charming at this time.
When the moon was about to end, with his beloved wife in front of him, the fire in Yan Liang's head quietly grew.
Unable to resist, he took his wife into his arms and kissed her wildly.
Huang Yueying closed her eyes tightly, hummed softly, and twisted her body to meet her husband's kiss and caress.
Just when spring was coming, Huang Yueying suddenly pushed Yan Liang away, rushed to the door and started retching.
Yan Liang was startled, and hurried over to caress Huang Yueying's back, and asked with concern: "What's wrong, madam? Why did you suddenly feel nauseated? Is there something wrong? I'll ask them to call the doctor."
"I'm fine."
Huang Yueying shook her hand, retched for a moment before she straightened up, and soon returned to normal. Looking at her face, she didn't look like she was ill.
The wife's demeanor was a little strange, as if she had something on her mind and hesitated to speak.
Yan Liang felt suspicious and was at a loss for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up.
"I suddenly retched for no reason, and I didn't seem to be sick. Could it be..."
Yan Liang couldn't help but look surprised and asked urgently: "Madam, are you happy?"
Huang Yueying did not answer, but only caressed her chest, turned her head to one side, lowered her eyebrows and smiled, and nodded gently.