Three Kingdoms

Taixing eight years.

Spring, February.

In a mountain forest in the Wuxi waters of Wuling, many Nanman mountaineers were searching for and picking some buds and wild vegetables in the woods and shrubs.

For these Southern Barbarian people in the Wuling area, nature is their biggest farmland, and it does not require special care. They just need to calculate the time to harvest. If they miss the time, then The original buds will turn into old branches within a few days, and the delicate texture will turn into rough bark.

It is precisely because of this production model that does not carefully cultivate the land and plant crops that the number of people that can be supported per unit area is often lower than that of the Han people. Therefore, for these Wuling barbarians, their villages are very divided. Even if it is open, it will be difficult to support a larger population. Without improving the corresponding productivity technology, even if these Wuling barbarians give birth to a few more newborns at a certain stage, they will quickly be brought back to their original shape by limited food until they realize this invisible bottleneck and consciously Only by changing can we continue to expand the tribe.

In addition, the area of ​​their cultivated land is limited by mountains and rivers, and Zhuanghe's seeds are also very common. Coupled with the lack of knowledge about farm fertilizers, the actual living conditions of these Wuling barbarians are very average.

Since this year, there has been a shortage of food everywhere in Jiangdong, and Wulingman is no exception. Fortunately, they still have mountains to hunt and pick fruits. Although there are also dangerous bugs and wild beasts in the mountains and forests, it is more or less a way to survive.

Although the Wuling barbarians are said to have many brave men, the Jiangdong people are used to long-term battles with these Shannan barbarians. They are already very familiar with unarmored units such as Shannan barbarians, and they often use the method of forming formations and fighting in groups to deal with the Southern barbarians. Individual warriors in the mountains who are extremely brave.

These brave Wuling barbarian warriors may be able to deal with ten or more Jiangdong soldiers one after another in the mountains and forests, but when Jiangdong soldiers form an array, they may not be able to defeat even five Jiangdong soldiers forming an array... …

Therefore, one-on-one or chaotic battles are an advantage for these Nanman Shanyue warriors, but if they face the Jiangdong soldiers' array, it is these Shanyue warriors who will suffer. As Jiang Dongbing became more and more familiar with the Nanman Shanyue's tactics, the Shanyue barbarians felt more and more strenuous, and their range of activities was restricted smaller and smaller. This caused Wu Lingman and others to lose a lot of mountain and forest areas where they could hunt and gather fruits, which in turn affected their survival and development.

Then, the increase in taxes by the Jiangdong regime made the already difficult life of Nanman Shanyue and others even worse.

In order to survive, even the women and children who were supposed to stay in the village went out to collect more young leaves and wild vegetables in the forest. Some half-year-old children climbed up and down the trees to collect bird eggs. .

Suddenly, a sharp chirping sound passed through the air.

Suddenly everyone's actions seemed to have dropped the frame, and they were stunned!

Then there was another warning beep!

A mountain barbarian warrior rushed into the forest and roared loudly.

All the people in the forest suddenly became busy, and the sounds of crying came one after another. The Shanyue people who were gathering and hunting rushed out of the forest. Some of the wild vegetables or bird eggs that had been collected with great difficulty fell. No one cared to care.

The crowd was running through the mountains and forests. They were accustomed to life in the mountains. Although there were many women and children among them, running in such mountains and forests did not appear to be much of a difficulty.

Several warriors carrying shields covered with patterns waved their arms and urged something loudly. More mountains appeared from here or somewhere, and then they gathered into a flow of people, running hurriedly on the trails between the mountains and forests.

On the distant mountain stronghold, there were also figures moving.

After most of the South Vietnamese people fled into the stronghold, the gate of the stronghold was immediately closed. Those who had not yet had time to run into the stronghold or climbed in by pulling the ropes dropped from the stronghold wall. Or go directly around to the back mountain of the village.

At the foot of the mountain, among the sparse forest land, several flags were exposed. One of the general flags had a large word "zhu" written on it...

Knives and guns.

Killing.

Blood.

flame.

Although he captured the strongholds one after another, Zhu Huan was not very happy.

Zhu Huan himself is relatively low-key and has always acted cautiously. As Jiangdong's current middle-level general, he has been avoiding the strife and struggles among Jiangdong's senior leaders in the Nanjun area, but this time, it seems that he is inevitably caught in the whirlpool. among.

Zhu Huan's troops were divided into two parts, the elite troops of his headquarters and the expanded guards.

This is also the basic configuration of Jiangdong General. If there is a temporary war, or when he is responsible for deploying more soldiers and horses, the elite soldiers of the headquarters will become his personal guards, and then the expanded guards will become heralds or commanders of the soldiers and horses. It's a field military police unit.

Zhu Huan's original idea of ​​​​being at Wuling in Nanjun was actually to train troops on the one hand, and to expand and strengthen his own soldiers on the other. Therefore, his strategy against the Vietnamese barbarians in Shanxi was not too harsh.

However, after Huang Gai came, the Shanyue villages around the river were directly uprooted, and instead of just capturing the population or defeating them like before, they killed them all.

No matter men, women, old or young, kill them all.

Zhu Huan initially said that such behavior would deepen the hatred between him and these Wuling barbarians, and would also make it difficult to implement Jiangdong's subsequent rule in this area. However, Huang Gai didn't seem to care at all and did not give Zhu Huan an explanation. He only asked Zhu Huan to carry out the order, and if he had any objections, he could submit a letter. For the rest, if he refused to carry out the order, he would be engaged in military law.

Therefore, Zhu Huan could only follow Huang Gai's order and attack the strongholds one by one. In the past few days, Zhu Huan felt that the combat power of these Wuling barbarians seemed to have improved significantly. At the beginning, Wu Lingman seemed to only have blood and courage, but now he will start to pay attention to skills and gradually have more equipment. When Jiangdong soldiers fight against each other, they are no longer as relaxed as before.

Huang Gai's order came from behind. In addition to urging Zhu Huan to march, he also told Zhu Huan that the Nanyue mountain barbarians in the entire Wuling area were now taking action one after another...

This is a dangerous sign.

The horn sounded and the drums roared, but Zhu Huan sighed softly. He had no confidence in the upcoming war, but he had no retreat. He could only take one step and watch one step.

"Huang Gongfu...or Zhou Gongjin..." Zhu Huan thought to himself, "What on earth is this... going to do?" 』

……(*Pan`)Sun Quan jumped on the bandwagon, did I just have no cards? Why didn’t I think that this strategy was arranged by me? ! …

Sichuan and Shu.

Chengdu.

A piece of information stamped with top secret was placed on Xu Shu's desk.

Xu Shu finished reading, then handed it to Zhuge Liang, and said calmly: "Jiangdong's army is clearing out the Manyue mountain stronghold in the Wuling area, killing everywhere it goes... This is a strong wall to clear the country..."

Zhuge Liang took the information, read it again, and then said: "Jiangdong's move is very clever, it is a strategy that kills two birds with one stone." 』

Xu Shu nodded, "But Jiangdong behaves like this... I guess there are a lot of Jiangdong's spies in Sichuan... We need to clean it up again." 』

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "I will also inform the leader of Wuling Mansha about this." 』

In fact, the dialogue between the two people has some jumps. It seems that they jump directly from one question to another, but in fact they are all related to each other.

When it comes to the art of war, everyone may know it, such as the idea of ​​​​moving soldiers and horses before food and grass are used, etc., but in practice, it is not simple. Just like Jiangdong's suppression of the Nanyue cottages, he uncharacteristically cleared out all the cottages near the river. This does not mean that Jiangdong and the Vietnamese barbarians in these mountains really have any deep hatred, but it means that Jiangdong is preparing for a big war, and a protracted war!

Jiangdong is good at naval warfare, and ships are the best means of transporting grain and grass. In order to ensure the safety of food transportation, these Manyue cottages on the flanks of the river are naturally an unstable factor. So before the real war begins, kill all the cottages on both sides of the river first, which is equivalent to ensuring the safety of the river. At the same time, it also increases the difficulty for the Sichuan and Sichuan Hussars. That's why Zhuge Liang said this The strategy is to kill two birds with one stone.

As for Xu Shu's statement that there were Jiangdong spies in Sichuan, it was because Xu Shu suspected that the news that Samoko had arrived in Badong was leaked. Because Shamoko came to Sichuan and Sichuan and wanted to contact central Sichuan to send troops, Jiangdong was determined to carry out a strategy of strengthening the wall and clearing the country. Otherwise, once Shamoko and others returned, wouldn't it threaten the security of Jiangdong's grain road flanks?

As for what Zhuge Liang said about telling Shamoko about the attack on Manyue's mountain stronghold, he meant that he would further deepen the hatred between him and Jiangdong, causing Shamoko to completely turn to the side of the Hussars...

Xu Shu said slowly: "My lord has an order, you can try it." 』

Zhuge Liang's eyes moved and he repeated, "Try it?" 』

Xu Shu nodded.

Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment, and then said: "Your Majesty, I have been thinking about why Jiangdong sent Huang Gong to be the governor... Just now it suddenly occurred to me... What if this is also Jiangdong's "test"?" 』

Xu Shu frowned slightly, then stroked his beard and said, "Kong Ming, you mean Jiangdong...actually you mean Jiangbei?" 』

"Huang Gongfu was originally stationed in Chaisang and was confronting Cao Jun in the new city of Hefei. Now, although Cheng Demou has taken over..." Zhuge Liang smiled slightly, "But Cheng Demou is also good at riding..."

When Xu Shu heard this, his eyebrows jumped and he immediately began to ponder.

There are many generals who are good at Jiangdong water warfare, but as for cavalry, one is a hexagonal general like Zhou Yu, and the other is Cheng Pu who is somewhat famous. At that time, Sun Ce attacked Zulang and was surrounded by Zulang's army. Cheng Pu and a cavalryman protected Sun Ce. He drove the horses and charged fiercely, stabbing the enemy with spears. Zulang's army separated on both sides, and Sun Ce was able to follow. Cheng Pu broke out of the siege. It can be seen that Cheng Pu can be regarded as one of the few veterans in the Jiangdong Army who is good at fighting on horseback.

Huang Gai's naval combat ability was naturally stronger than that of Cheng Pu. Otherwise, in the historical Battle of Chibi, Cheng Pu might have been the one sent to pretend to surrender instead of Huang Gai. Now that Jiangdong has transferred Huang Gai from Chaisang to the Wuling area, and instead has Cheng Pu as Chaisang's garrison general, his ability to fight ships on the water can be seen as slightly reduced.

Previously, Cao Cao had to station naval forces in southern Jingzhou and Xincheng Hefei to serve as mutual horns to defend against raids by the Jiangdong navy. This clearly shows Huang Gai's threat to Cao's navy in the north of the Yangtze River. But now that Huang Gai has been transferred, this seems to be the case. This means that Jiangdong has given up on the strategy of Jiangbei...

"Is this Jiangdong trying to make peace with Jiangbei?" Xu Shu frowned and said, "In this case, Guanzhong..."

Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "If what I expected is true, my lord has already made up his mind, and then I will give you an order to give him a try." 』

Xu Shu nodded and said: "In this case, I will write to Guanzhong to explain this matter... In addition, the Badong trial battle will be handed over to Kong Ming and Xingba... Although I know that Xingba's naval command is not bad, we still have to be careful. For the best..."

In the following days, Sichuan and Shu began to transfer soldiers to Badong, and then transferred supplies and troops along the direction of the water flow to Zigui, and advanced the navy forward to the vicinity of Yi Dao, and began to build naval fortresses on Yi Dao in preparation for the advance. base.

Yi Dao was almost in ruins due to war and plague.

In addition, the location of Yidao itself is also a key point, so when Wei Yan came, Wei Yan occupied it, and then Cao Cao came, Cao Cao robbed it again. When Cao Cao left Jiangdong, he took the opportunity to seize it. When Jiangdong retreated, Chuanzhong came back. Already...

After several battles, Yidao, no matter how good a young girl she was, is now like a broken branch.

At the ferry, there are still many collapsed tile-roofed houses that have not been completely repaired. These ruins may be the previous checkpoints, or they may be the market at the ferry. I don’t know exactly which battle they were damaged in, or whether they were overheated. The remaining dark brown wooden piles are half exposed. Below are scattered piles of loess and incomplete green bricks.

After Jingzhou gradually came to an end, the Yi Road, as a buffer zone, has never been fully restored, so the fields around it are mostly barren. The soldiers stationed here are all supported by materials transported from the rear. .

Nowadays, boats and ships are coming and going around Yidao, and after the construction of the water stronghold started, Cao Jun of Jingzhou, who had been paying attention to this place, was naturally worried and hurriedly sent the information to Xiangyang.

Cao Ren from Xiangyang put down the battle report he had just received, looked at Cao Zhen beside him, then handed the information to Cao Zhen, then rubbed his brows, feeling a little headache.

The situation of Cao Jun's army is not bad, but it's hard to say how good it is. Especially in Jingzhou, due to the heavy blood loss in the previous battle of Jingzhou and the population being divided among three families, Jingzhou's recovery speed is really slow...

This is also a reasonable thing. After all, although these rulers feel that the people are like grass and grass and can survive wherever they are thrown, the reality is that it takes more than ten years for these "grass and grass" to become a labor force. The kind of resource that can grow in a matter of months or days.

The massive loss of population in Jingzhou has almost destroyed Jingzhou's hematopoietic ability. Even though Cao Ren has not made any big moves during this period of time and tried his best to let Jingzhou cultivate and recuperate, he still cannot recover much.

"To the east of Yidao is Jiangling, and on the other side of Jiangling is Jiangxia..." Cao Zhen said slowly, "Although the Jiangling area is almost deserted due to the previous plague, but... we must take precautions." 』

Just like the Guangling area in Yangzhou has now become a buffer zone between Cao Jun and Jiangdong, the Jiangling area has also become a common and default buffer zone for the three companies.

In this area, Cao Jun has a relatively advantage, because Xiangyang is not far to the north of Jiangling, so Cao Jun occupied Jiangling as a stronghold and radiated to the surrounding areas, but at the same time, Cao Jun was not willing to invest a lot in the Jiangling area. After all, the Jiangling area has a rich water network. If it cannot have an absolute advantage on the boats, it will not be able to resist Jiangdong's harassment.

Therefore, except for the main city of Gangneung, other areas are actually like a white city. Basically, there are not many men, horses and soldiers stationed there, and we cannot expect these areas to be strong. It is probably the type where everyone surrenders when they come. It is precisely because of this that the squires who had received some news early were already rushing to Xiangyang...

As for why the gentry and gentry in Jiangling still sent some people to stay in those buffer zones? It's very simple. It's like a stock in the stock market that has been chopped in half, well, by the ankles. As long as you still hold it in your hands, you can still comfort yourself that it's a kidney deficiency... uh, a virtual loss. You really have to collect those hard-earned gains. If the territory is abandoned, then it is really gone.

Generally speaking, as far as the Jiangling area is concerned, Cao Jun has the advantage of strongholds, Jiangdong has the advantages of the navy, and the Hussars are known to have brave soldiers and sharp equipment. So if the three families are fighting in a melee, no one will be able to fight now. I can guarantee that whoever will win will definitely lose. You can only try your best to become the final winner.

Cao Zhen said: "At Jiangling, in addition to Jiangling's two thousand defenders, there are also five hundred Dangyang, one thousand Jingling, four hundred Huarong, and five hundred Zhijiang. In total, there are more than five thousand soldiers. The defense is acceptable. If we march into the army, there will be some shortcomings. In addition, although the surface boats are sufficient, the skilled navy is also lacking. If they encounter the Jiangdong navy... I am afraid it will be difficult to win or lose. 』

Cao Zhen's statement was really a "humble" statement, indicating that the outcome was indistinguishable. In fact, if there was no restraint from Hefei New City, what else could be said to be "inseparable"?

Although the Jingzhou navy did not experience the historical Battle of Chibi, it suffered a lot of losses in the Battle of Jingzhou. In addition, many ships were burned later, and many soldiers were captured or killed, and later they were also killed. There were several minor frictions with Jiangdong, which prevented the strength of the Jingzhou Navy from returning to its peak, let alone developing to a higher level.

Cao Ren was naturally aware of these situations, so he nodded and expressed his understanding, "Jiangdong said that he was preparing to conquer Sichuan and Shu, which makes sense from the beginning... But what exactly did the Hussar army want to invade Yi Dao?" 』