Chapter 204 Chapter 31 Three Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 31 Three Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers On February 26th, at You time, Xiangyang. Under the setting sun, the Yong army gradually receded, Rong Yuan sighed softly, only feeling extremely melancholy in his heart, since the death of Prince De, he was recommended by the prince to become the general of Xiangyang, guarding the important town, but these years, he has Never a hint of joy.To Southern Chu's monarchs and ministers, Rong Yuan was just a humble scholar. Although he had some skills in defending the city, he was not a famous general, so he could only guard Xiangyang for more than ten years.He really wanted to win a few big victories, feel proud, and then enter the military center of Southern Chu, but no matter how hard he tried, he was still just a guard.What made him even more depressed was that Dayong had never placed heavy troops on Xiangyang since King Qi's two disastrous attacks on Xiangyang.Every time there is a war, 100,000 to 80,000 soldiers and horses are sent to besiege Xiangyang. In this way, although Xiangyang is safe and sound, the credit can't be said.Just like the war that just ended, Lu Can and Shi Guan received all kinds of awards, but he and Jiameng Guan Yumian didn't even receive any awards.Thinking that even though I didn't make great achievements in defeating the enemy army, there are countless Yong troops who died under the city of Xiangyang, and with only one city of Xiangyang, I was able to attract more than 100,000 Yong troops, which in itself is no small achievement.But after the war, he didn't get the slightest approval. With Rong Yuan's heart, how could he endure such humiliation.

Looking at the retreating Yong army, Rong Yuan slapped the stones on the city wall angrily. Changsun Ji, the bastard, almost regarded Xiangyang City as a place for military training, and sent troops to attack the city in turn every day to hone their combat strength. Didn't the Yong army know that if they don't get Xiangyang, they can't threaten Jiangling and Jiangxia, and even if they win Huainan, they won't be able to gain a stable foothold? February 26, Haishi, Suzhou. The night was hazy and the cool breeze was blowing. In a simple and unpretentious bedroom, the candles were flickering. There was a person sleeping on the couch with scars on his face. Even in his sleep, he was frowning deeply.Outside the door, the two guardian guards looked like eagles. Even under the protection of thousands of troops, they still did not relax for a moment.When it was almost midnight, the guards who were changing shifts came in a hurry, and they walked to the door. The two guards who were guarding the gate smiled at each other, and walked out lightly, preparing to change defenses.One of the guards inadvertently glanced at the face of the guard, but it was a strange face.Startled in his heart, he stopped and was about to ask questions when he felt a cold light flash in front of his eyes, and then a hand covered his mouth and nose, blood poured into his throat, he tried to shout, but he couldn't make a sound .And the other personal guard was almost completely defenseless, only felt his eyes go dark, and then lost consciousness.Those two pretending to be personal guards quickly put the two of them at the door and let them stand against the wall. Under the waning moon, if one looked at it from a distance, one would think that the two of them were just dozing off.Then one of the two pushed the door open and entered, while the other hid under the window, with a dagger in his hand that was as cold as snow.

Cui Jue's eyes were about to burst. He watched his best friend die in battle after being bathed in blood for many years. He couldn't help sweating, feeling ashamed and indignant. Then he woke up from the dream. He sat up, opened his eyes and looked around. But seeing a black shadow rushing towards him under the dim light, he turned over and rolled off the bed almost without thinking, blood burst out, and one arm fell to the ground, Cui Jue let out a painful cry, and shouted loudly: "There are assassins." The voice tore through the silent night sky.The assassin originally wanted to assassinate secretly, but who would have thought that the sleeping target would suddenly explode, and ended up cutting off Cui Jue's left arm.With Cui Jue's startled shout, there was an uproar outside immediately, and the lights and shouts came to this side.The assassin hesitated for a moment, then broke out of the window, joined his companions outside, and rushed out.But as a general, Cui Jue has a lot of personal guards around him. If Cui Jue had not always been conceited in martial arts and didn't like too many personal guards, the two of them would have no chance at all. After escaping, after killing several people, one assassin died in battle, and the other assassin was captured alive by the guards.Push down the steps.At this time, Cui Jue was already sitting on a chair with a pale complexion. Next to him was a military doctor who was bandaging his wounds. He suddenly broke his arm. Cui Jue was seriously injured, and now he was forcibly supporting the assassin to interrogate him.

The assassin remained silent. Cui Jue asked several times and saw that he refused to speak, and lost his patience. Just as he was about to have someone imprison him, suddenly there were exclamations and shouts of killing in the distance, and then came the north gate. Light up a raging flame.Cui Jue was startled, stood up, but staggered, at this moment, a sergeant rushed in, and said: "The general is not good, it is the Southern Chu army who came to attack the city, the north gate was opened by spies, now The Chu army has already entered the city. Cui Jue said bitterly: "What a vicious method, the Chu army just occupied the north gate, and sent me an order to fight the enemy in the street." After saying that, he reached for the weapon, but felt dizzy, and fell on the supporter. Cui Fang, the nephew of the family, is in his arms.At this time, most of the generals in the city had rushed to Cui Jue's residence, but they only saw Cui Fang holding Cui Jue and crying.Seeing this, Cui Jue's deputy general said loudly: "The general has been seriously injured, and our army is not prepared. If we fight with the enemy, I am afraid that tens of thousands of troops will be buried in Suzhou. Why not abandon the city and retreat to Xiao County? Defend, and then ask Xuzhou for help." Cui Fang nodded again and again, and said in a loud voice: "Deputy general, please pass on the order for the general, and I will escort the general to go first." The general said with emotion: "I will cut it off myself, generals. Hurry up and gather people to retreat, the enemy army is coming from the south, but they have sealed the north gate, just to be on the safe side, we retreat from the west gate."

Hearing this, Cui Fang didn't care about anything else, carried Cui Jue on his horse, and rushed towards the west gate under the protection of the personal guard camp.Not far from the gate of the mansion, I saw a troop of cavalry rushing towards us on the long street, led by two young generals in white robes, with two silver spears flying like silver dragons, taking the lives of the generals of the Yong army.In a blink of an eye, their figures were overwhelmed by the surging Yong army, Cui Fang rushed towards the west gate recklessly, and when he was about to rush out of the city gate, he turned his head inadvertently, and there was already a sea of ​​flames behind him.Cui Fang wiped away the hot tears from the corners of his eyes, and plunged into the vast night.

The battle didn't end until dawn. Half of Suzhou's 30,000 soldiers and horses died in the sea of ​​flames. The lieutenant general died in the battle. The Flying Cavalry Battalion led by Lu Yun and Shi Yujin chased for twenty miles, defeated the Yong army, and retreated to Xiao County. Cui Jue was seriously injured and fell into a coma. On February 27th, at the end of Yinshi, Sizhou. Before dawn, the fog was cold and the water was cold. On the torrential Huai River, there were ferry boats sailing to the opposite bank in the dark, and quietly touched Sizhou City. Sizhou City was only two miles away from the Huai River. The sergeants all wore dark clothes similar to the night, the sky was dim, and the fog blocked the Huaihe River, until those gray figures arrived at the Sizhou city, they were still not noticed by the Yong army.

When they got to the bottom of the city, a dozen or so black shadows covered the bottom of the city and climbed up the city with hands and feet. These people were agile, and they were able to climb up like apes just by relying on the slight unevenness of the city wall.Before approaching the top of the city, someone on the city whispered: "You are here." After saying that, they let go of the rope, and these men in black climbed the wall of the city with the help of the rope, and fell into the darkness.After less than a stick of incense, the city of Sizhou suddenly burst into flames, and then there were chaotic shouts of killing from inside the city gate, and after a while, the city gate opened.

The general of the Southern Chu army who was lying in the dark saw it, and knew that the strategy of cooperating with the inside and outside to defeat Sizhou was half done. Waving the flag, the sound of killing shook the sky, and the soldiers of the Southern Chu army rushed to the gate of the city. Seeing the fireworks in front of his eyes, and the person who led the way quickly disappeared in the martial arts, the general frowned and shouted: "Don't go deep, control the city gate." At this moment, shouts of killing suddenly came from both sides, the general was taken aback for a moment, and saw the Yong army rushing up from both sides, and the city gate behind him was suddenly closed, the general didn't know well, and shouted: " It's a plan, kill me out." But before he could take two steps, he was shot dead by a sharp arrow.

On the other side of the Huai River, Yang Xiu, who had been looking at Sizhou from a distance, had an ominous premonition in his heart. It had been half an hour and he hadn't received any reward. When he was anxious, he saw the gate of Sizhou on the other side of the river suddenly opened, and a general of the Yong army He rode his horse to the river, laughed loudly and said: "Thank you for your generous gift, this general accepted it with a smile." After finishing speaking, he waved his hand, and the soldiers around him dropped dozens of heads, and the general said loudly: "General Zhang Destiny, all the rebels who collude with the Chu army and intend to seize Sizhou have been executed, and the leader ordered me to give it to Lord Yang." After saying that, the Yong army galloped back.At this moment, the smoke on the river had just dissipated, revealing the turbulent Huai River and the impregnable city on the other side.

There was a sharp pain in Yang Xiu's heart, knowing that the insiders who worked so hard to contact and the warriors sent to capture the city were all martyred. Zhang Wenxiu standing at the top of the city of Sizhou at the moment is also sweating coldly. If he hadn't received a secret report yesterday that the aristocratic families in the city were showing signs of instability, and at dusk he had received a secret order from Pei Yun telling him to desperately arrest the wealthy families in the city. If it weren't for this, Sizhou City would soon be lost.Now the 50,000 troops in his hands are guarding Sizhou and Xucheng respectively, while the Southern Chu army has set up a camp in Duliang on the opposite bank, and the Huaidong Chu army has taken the initiative to go north. It is self-evident that this battle is hard.

On March 2, inside Xiangyang city.Looking at the secret report in his hand, Rong Yuan almost gritted his teeth. In the past two days, the Yong army suddenly slowed down their offensive. Rong Yuan felt uneasy, and sent people out to investigate, only to find that most of the Yong army had left outside the city, only tens of thousands of soldiers were left. People are feinting there.Confused, some soldiers of the Yong army were captured and interrogated, only to learn that the battle on the Jianghuai battlefield had begun, and Pei Yun's letter for help had arrived in Xiangyang.After Rong Yuan learned about it, he felt great hatred in his heart. He didn't even know about such a big event, and Lu Can was too deceptive. Mobilizing all the secret agents, Rong Yuan soon learned about the situation in Jianghuai. On February 26, Cui Jue was assassinated, Suzhou fell, and Cui Jue retreated to Xiao County. On February 27, Yang Xiumou was defeated in Sizhou and crossed the Huaihe River to attack Xucheng. The two armies fought several battles between Sizhou and Xucheng, winning and losing each other. On February 28th, Yang Xiuliu's troops will attack Sizhou and lead the navy to attack Chuzhou from the Li Canal. On February 29, the Chu army broke through Xucheng and decided to flood Sizhou with Hongze water. Zhang Wenxiu was forced to retreat to Chuzhou to block the way for Yang Xiu. On March 1st, after Zhang Wenxiu fought hard all day and night, Pei Yun left Chuzhou to meet the Sizhou army, and the two armies retreated into Chuzhou, trapping Yang Xiu. On March 2, after a five-day fierce attack, the city of Xiao County was broken, and the Huaixi Army and Feiqi Battalion pursued the Yong Army. However, this battle has nothing to do with the Xiangyang Army, every time Rong Yuan thinks of this, he feels like a knife is piercing his heart, and he is filled with jealousy.He was originally a narrow-minded person, but the last time Lu Can won a big victory, he didn't even work hard. This matter has already become an ironclad proof of Lu Can's jealousy among people with ulterior motives.Now Lu Can doesn't think about the Xiangyang army at all, and launches the Jianghuai battle on his own. He is even busy with naval battles in Wuyue, and only entrusts the battle to Yang Xiu, Shi Guan, and the young Lu Yun and Shi Yujin. He didn't see Xiangyang at all. Army's strength.This kind of contempt made Rong Yuan want to fight for merit. On March 6th, on the top of Xianshan Mountain, I was enjoying the cliff carvings from the previous dynasty. Yuan has already gone to Nanyang." I sighed softly when I heard the words, and said: "Rong Yuan is an old acquaintance of mine. This person has learned a lot, but he is too narrow-minded. Last time he didn't get a reward for building a career, and he was already jealous. This time Lu Can Xingbing has nothing to do with him, so why not annoy him, the so-called profit makes the mind stunned, just set up a trick to make him think that General Changsun is really going to rescue Huaidong, he will definitely find an opportunity to fight, and make great achievements, compared with the great achievements of regaining Huaibei , if he can capture Nanyang, he will have the opportunity to attack Wuguan and approach Guanzhong, if he is not tempted by such a great achievement, he will not be Rong Yuan." Hu Yanshou said with a smile: "The strength of Lord Hou's strategy is that all the news is true, but he managed to let Rong Yuan know more. General Changsun's strategy of reducing troops and increasing stoves made Rong Yuan treat Nanyang There is no doubt about the army's eastward advance, so they are greedy for merit. It's a pity that General Changsun has deployed heavy troops in Nanyang, and I'm afraid that Rong Yuan will not be able to go." I smiled lightly, and said: "Rong Yuan went to attack Nanyang, and he only wanted to get some credit. He must be suspicious and retreat along the way. If there is a slight disturbance, he might run back to Xiangyang, so he must be lured to Nanyang. He will return to Xiangyang in a hurry only when he is frustrated in Nanyang. At that time, our army will set up an ambush on the way to stop his return. When Rong Yuan attacked Nanyang, Qingqi must go north, and there will still be garrison troops in Xiangyang. Therefore, our army needs to trap Xiangyang. If the main force brought by Rongyuan is destroyed, Xiangyang will not be able to attack from now on. If we take advantage of the situation and attack Xiangyang, we will win a big victory. As long as Xuzhou is still in our army's hands, Even if we lose the whole of Huainan, it's not a big deal." Hu Yanshou said in admiration: "Master Hou's plan to attack the heart is the most difficult to guard against. I never thought that Rong Yuan would leave Xiangyang and go north." I heard this and said: "It's not just that you didn't expect it. According to my original plan, I just used rumors to provoke Rong Yuan to fight, let him win a few games in a row, and then trap and kill the main force of the Xiangyang cavalry. But I didn't expect that the Jianghuai war would break out early. I It just occurred to me that we could take advantage of this opportunity and Rong Yuan's narrow mind to trick him into attacking from a distance, and we took the opportunity to capture Xiangyang. Whether this move is successful or not, Xiangyang will no longer be the thorn in Dayong's throat." After finishing speaking, he ignored Hu Yanshou's deep thinking there, standing on the top of Xian Mountain and overlooking Xiangyang City, Han River, Yuliang Island, and Lumen Mountain on the other side of the Han River, he could vividly remember it. The flames of war have risen again, and the city of the general has been lost. I don't know if it can still be as strong as gold. In the next half month, the situation changed extremely rapidly. At the beginning, I never thought that the second war between Yong and Chu would start so soon. On March 7, Changsun Ji sent general Mo Ye to attack Xiangyang and cut off the passage between Xiangyang and Nanyang. On March 8th, Rong Yuan broke Xinye. On March 9th, Rong Yuan failed to attack Nanyang, and learned that Changsun Ji had not rushed to rescue Jianghuai. On March 11, Rong Yuan fought Changsun Ji in Xinye, and the situation was unfavorable. On March 12, Rong Yuan suffered heavy losses and succeeded in breaking out. On March 13th, Fancheng fell, and Rong Yuan was blocked by the Han River. On March 14th, the Xiangyang defenders went out of the city to meet Rong Yuan but failed. On March 15th, Rong Yuan and Changsun Ji fought Tang Baihe again, but Changsun Ji was defeated slightly. On March 16, Rong Yuan made a detour to the west of Fancheng, intending to cross the Han River and enter Xiangyang, but was blocked by Moye. On March 17th, the city of Xiangyang was destroyed. Rong Yuan saw that there was nothing he could do, so he crossed the Han River with his remnant army and retreated to Yicheng. During the fierce battle in Xiangyang, the Jianghuai battle was also extremely fierce. Because Cui Jue was unable to fight, Pei Yun sent Zhang Wenxiu to aid Cui Jue's troops on March 4th. Until March 19th, the Huaixi Army and Zhang Wenxiu fought a total of 17 battles between Xiao County and Jiuli Mountain. Changing hands many times, both sides suffered heavy losses. Zhang Wenxiu was exhausted and had to retreat to Xuzhou.The Huaixi Army stormed for two days and failed. On March 22, Jing Chi, the vanguard general of Great Yongnan's expedition to Xuzhou, was defeated by the Flying Cavalry Battalion at the foot of Xuzhou City. The Southern Chu Huaixi Army retreated to Suzhou overnight. On March 24th, Jing Chi failed to attack Suzhou, so he turned to Chuzhou. At that time, Pei Yun had been defending Chuzhou for nearly a month, and Chuzhou was in danger. On March 25, Yang Xiu learned that Xiangyang had fallen and Xuzhou reinforcements had arrived, so he had to retreat to the Huaishui River, but Dayong had only one city in Chuzhou in Huainan. So far, the one-month Yong-Chu War has finally come to an end, but the misfortune of Southern Chu has not ceased. Occupying Jianghuai and losing Xiangyang, regardless of gain or loss, but the great changes in Sichuan are even more shocking. As early as the beginning of the year, there were rumors that Yu Mian deliberately betrayed him because he had not received the reward. Although the rumor was refuted by Lu Can, Shang Weijun felt uneasy. Although Lu Can was dissatisfied with Chu's routine, there was nothing he could do about it.Unexpectedly, the servant was unsuccessful in extorting bribes, and repeatedly slandered and accused Yu Mian of having two intentions. Although it was all due to Lu Can's reason, it didn't work, but Shang Weijun became more and more suspicious, and finally handed over the food and wages of Jiameng's guards to the prisoner. The army controlled it, and as a result, the servant embezzled most of the food and salary, leaving the guards at Jiameng Pass without food and salary, and people's hearts fluttered.After Lu Can learned about it, he wrote to Jianye, requesting to recall his servant for questioning. When the servant heard about it, he was afraid of adding crimes and secretly surrendered to Dayong. . Perhaps the only thing that can reassure the Southern Chu court is that under Lu Can's personal supervision, the Wuyue Rebel Army has stabilized the coastal defense, and the Yong army can no longer easily enter Hangzhou Bay.However, Wu Yue's small victory was not worth the defeat in Xiangyang and Shuzhong.In mid-April, Qi Wang Li Xian's army arrived in Xuzhou, and the establishment of Jiangnan Xingyuan made the Southern Chu court even more uneasy.At that time, Lu Can had received the military report, and the Wuyue War Committee was appointed by the generals, who rushed to Jiangxia to command the battle. After Li Xian arrived in Xuzhou, he sent Changsun Ji down from Xiangyang to attack Jiangling along the Han River Valley. On April 21, Rong Yuan received an order from Lu Can to abandon Yicheng and defend Jingling. gram.Lu Can sent troops from Jiangxia to aid Jingling along the Han River, and defeated Changsun Ji at the foot of the city. Changsun Ji was defeated and retreated to Yicheng.Rong Yuan pursued to Fenglin Pass, but the Yong army repeated their old tricks and set up an ambush again.Rong Yuan retreated.Lu Can's reinforcements rushed to Fenglin Pass and raided again. Yong's army was caught off guard and Fenglin Pass was broken. Yong's army suffered heavy losses and retreated to Xiangyang.Lu Can knew that Xiangyang could not be attacked, so he stopped. At that time, Qin Yong fought against Jiange for a long time, so he took a detour to Yinping Road, and wanted to pass through Long'an and Jiangyou to Mianyang. With the help of reinforcements, Pei Yun stormed Huaidong. Yang Xiu relied on his navy to travel to and from the Huai River and the canal.Shiguan in Huaixi defended Suzhou personally, Yong general Jing Chi attacked fiercely for more than a month, the city was destroyed, Shiguan retreated to defend Zhongli, before going to burn Suzhou, leaving only a piece of scorched earth.Yong's army was exhausted from the long battle, Zhongli's line of defense was solid, and there was a flying cavalry battalion to assist in the battle, so Yong's army was not allowed to enter Huaixi. Yong and Chu fought for half a year, and they were all exhausted. The East China Sea Navy repeatedly plundered Wu and Yue. Although the Yuhang Water Camp was assisted by the rebels, there was no major loss, but within 30 miles of the sea, no civilians dared to live. lost heavily.Although the Yong army had many victories, the Chu army also fought steadily and the battle lines were cemented, and none of them could win a decisive victory. In the golden autumn of October, Shang Weijun sent envoys to Xuzhou to negotiate a peace. Emperor Yong and his ministers also suffered from the tenacity of Southern Chu and agreed to a truce to negotiate a peace. The peace negotiation lasted for April. Can resolutely refused. After several months of disputes, the peace negotiation failed. The following year, the war broke out again. Qin Yong entered Shu from Mi Cang Road, passed through Bazhong and took Bajun. Although Shuzhong has been operated by the Lu family for many years, it is still the old Shu , Ming Jiansi Xiahou Yuanfeng personally went to Bajun, and within a few months, Bajun was stable. During the period, the Kuizhou Army of Southern Chu and Jiange Yu and Mian attacked on both sides. Qin Yong retreated, and the road between central Shu and the southeast was cut off. In August of the ninth year of Longsheng, Li Zhi accepted Jiang Zhe's suggestion and proposed a peace agreement, exchanging Jiange and various parts of Chengdu for the Chu army of Berkshire and Yu Myanmar. In September, the peace agreement was successful, and Southern Chu lost most of the territory in central Shu that had been occupied for many years.Lu Can resisted all opinions and ordered Yu Mian to guard Bajun, and set up heavy troops in Kuizhou as Bajun's backup. In the next year, the Yong army made no further progress, and Yu Mian defended Bajun without omissions, and the Yong army did not get the opportunity to go down the river.Jiangling and Jiangxia were also as stable as Mount Tai. The Yong army attacked Jingling and Suizhou several times but failed. Although the battle lines in Huaixi and Huaidong changed from time to time, the Yong army still could not completely capture the land of Jianghuai.In the three consecutive years of war, the Southern Chu Army became stronger and stronger under the command of Lu Can. With the danger of the Jianghuai River and the benefits of the navy, the war fell into a stalemate.