Three Kingdoms: I, Liu Feng, do not want to die

Chapter 122: Liu Feng decides on the matter of Jingbei
Cao Ren acted quickly.

In order to eliminate Guan Yu's stronghold in Maicheng, Cao Ren ordered Xu Huang, who was good at charging, and four generals, Xu Shang, Lu Jian, Yin Shu, and Zhu Gai, to lead 5,000 infantry and cavalry as the vanguard to march south.

At this time, Bai Shou and Ma Yu of the Jingshan volunteers had led the volunteers back to Jingshan. Those stationed in Maicheng were the governor Zhao Lei, lieutenant Lu Wen and lieutenant Niu Xian. They had only more than 3,000 people under their command, and some of them were wounded.

Zhao Lei did not dare to be careless after learning that the vanguard of Cao's army was Xu Huang, who had marched straight into Fancheng and killed the surrendered generals Hu Xiu and Fu Fang.

On the one hand, he sent people to deliver a message to Guan Yu in Jiangling, and on the other hand, he dug deep trenches and placed many deer horns outside Maicheng.

When the messenger reached halfway, he met Liu Feng who was returning to Fangling.

Liu Feng was also quite surprised to learn that Cao Ren, with Xu Huang as the vanguard, would arrive at Maicheng soon.

"Come so fast!"

Liu Feng immediately changed his original plan to return to Fangling and decided to take a detour to Maicheng.

Although he was worried about the three counties of Shangyong, the current situation did not allow Liu Feng to have any hesitation.

It would take at least twenty days to return to Fangling from here and then have Guan Ping lead his troops from Fangling to Maicheng.

Twenty days was enough for Xu Huang to capture Maicheng.

At present, the troops in Jiangling City have not yet been reorganized, and Guan Yu's elite soldiers and generals have been sent to Lukou, Miankou and Zhijiang respectively.

It is difficult to send elite troops to support Maicheng in a short period of time.

Liu Feng had to block this first wave of powerful attacks for Guan Yu.

"Xu Huang is brave and disciplined, and his soldiers are also brave. Lord Zhongxiang can go to Linju with Fan Cheng to take shelter temporarily. I will help the governor of Zhao defend Maicheng, and then we will meet up in Linju."

Liu Feng didn't want anything to happen to the newly recruited Yu Fan, nor did he want Fan Jun's son to die in Maicheng, so he decided to send Yu Fan and Fan Cheng to Linju first.

Unexpectedly.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Fan heard it and said angrily: "General, do you think I am too old? Even if I can travel 300 miles a day, I can still draw the bow and wield the spear. How can I avoid danger?"

Liu Feng was stunned.

It occurred to me that historical records showed that Yu Fan had also boasted like this to Sun Ce.

Other famous officials boasted about their talents, but Yu Fan directly boasted about his strong physique, his ability to draw a bow, wield a spear, and his fast running speed.

Although it is a bit exaggerated, the fact that Yu Fan was able to live to the age of seventy after being exiled to a wild place like Jiaozhou shows that his physique is indeed beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Fan Cheng also said: "I know the general's heart to protect me, and he is afraid that I will die in the battlefield and will not be able to explain to my father. My father has long warned me that 'it is not shameful to be inferior to others in talent and learning; it is shameful to be greedy for life and afraid of death'. If the general allows me to go to Linju to take refuge temporarily, I would rather commit suicide than accept humiliation!"

He was refuted in public by Yu Fan and Fan Cheng.

If this were someone with a smaller mind, they would have scolded Yu Fan and Fan Cheng for being ungrateful. I'm not trying to harm you, so why are you talking so much?
Liu Feng was not angry but happy instead.

Yu Fan had just surrendered, so there was no need for him to work hard for Liu Feng. He just needed to be a guest of honor and fulfill his current duties.

However, Yu Fan was a person who was unwilling to go against his conscience.

Although Yu Fan served under Wang Lang, Sun Ce and Sun Quan successively, no matter who he served under, Yu Fan was always dedicated and tried his best to do his best.

Now that I am following Liu Feng, it is still the same.

Fan Jun was a man who liked to point fingers at others and think he was the best in the world, but he didn't have much real talent or knowledge. Once he hosted a banquet to entertain scholars from Jingzhou, but the meal didn't even start at noon, which made more than a dozen scholars so angry that they left hungry.

Pan Jun even mocked Fan Jun, saying that "a dwarf can tell the length of a person by looking at one section."

Today, Fan Cheng's words, "My father has long warned me that 'it is not shameful to be inferior to others in talent and learning, but it is shameful to be afraid of death'", as well as Fan Cheng's attitude of preferring to commit suicide rather than temporarily taking refuge in Linju, made Liu Feng have a higher evaluation of Fan Cheng and his son.

Liu Feng laughed and immediately apologized to Yu Fan and Fan Cheng.

When the officers and soldiers saw that Yu Fan and Fan Cheng were not afraid of death, their morale was greatly boosted.

"I've often heard Lu Yi and others praise Xu Huang for his bravery, saying that he was able to break through the camp and kill Hu Xiu and Fu Fang in one fell swoop despite the deep trenches and ten layers of antlers. Whenever Lu Yi and others mentioned him, they were afraid. I want to see if Xu Huang really has such ability."

"The general also led us to fight in the snow and kill Han Dang. The difficulty was no less than Xu Huang breaking into the camp and killing Hu Xiu and Fu Fang. Who is more powerful will only be known after the fight."

"Since we followed the general to save Jiangling, we have fought nearly ten battles, big and small. Why should we be afraid of Cao Cao?"

"Xu Huang is a leader, and so am I. If we lose our leaders, we will all die. We are not the monsters rumored in the countryside, so why should we be afraid?"

"."

Seeing that the morale was good, Liu Feng no longer hesitated and gave the order with a solemn expression.

For example: General Li Ping was ordered to lead a thousand men as the vanguard to set up camp in a dangerous place east of Maicheng, and to lower their flags and drums to create confusion.

For example: Order the messenger to go to Linju and order the chief of Linju to guard the city carefully to prevent Wei soldiers from launching a surprise attack through the mountain roads.

For example: Order the messenger to go to Jingshan, and let Bai Shou and Ma Yu lead the Jingshan volunteers to assist in the defense of the three counties of Shangyong.

For example: order messengers to go to Fangling, Shangyong and Xicheng counties to deliver letters to Fangling prefect Deng Fu, Shangyong prefect Shen Dan, Xicheng prefect Shen Yi and chief clerk Deng Fan respectively.

and many more.

The reason why Liu Feng sent letters to Deng Fu, Shen Dan, Shen Yi and Deng Fan was that he was afraid that the local nobles in the three counties would secretly defect to Cao Wei when they saw that the situation was not right.

With Guan Ping's current influence, it is not enough to intimidate and subdue the local nobles in the three counties.

Sending a letter to Deng Fan is to test the results of Deng Fan's work over the past few months.

If the defense of the three counties is weak, it is also very important whether Deng Fan can gather the mountain people and barbarians of the three counties to assist in defense.

Bai Shou and Ma Yu's Jingshan volunteers had fought several battles with Pan Zhang, Xu Sheng and Ma Zhong respectively, and they also had captured armor and weapons from the Wu soldiers, making them a force that should not be underestimated.

After the military orders are issued item by item.

Liu Feng led his troops to Maicheng.

Upon learning of Liu Feng's arrival, Zhao Lei and others in Maicheng were greatly encouraged.

Today, Liu Feng is well-known in the Jingzhou army.

His deeds of defeating the generals of Jiangdong in a row, beheading Han Dang in battle, taking off his hat and repelling Xu Sheng, and bravely capturing Jiangling City were also passed on by word of mouth.

The most talked about stories are Liu Feng's "a ring-handled sword, slashing from the south gate to the north gate", "killing a Wu soldier with a roar", "grabbing Wu soldiers as weapons, killing dozens of people with his own hands", and the most exaggerated "Qiongqi reincarnated, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed a Wu soldier alive". It is no exaggeration to say:

In the current Jingzhou army, Guan Yu's reputation ranks first, Liu Feng's reputation ranks second, and even Guan Yu's own son Guan Ping is not as famous as Liu Feng.

Even if Liu Feng came to Maicheng alone, it would be enough to dispel Zhao Lei and others' fear of Xu Huang, not to mention that Liu Feng also brought three thousand elite troops.

A general is the courage of a soldier.

This sentence was clearly demonstrated in Liu Feng!

a few days later.

Dangyang.

Xu Huang led his troops to arrive.

Xu Huang became suspicious when he learned that there was a camp in a strategic location east of Maicheng but no flags were seen.

The brave general Yin Shu said: "Guan Yu is fighting with Sun Quan, so he must not only divide his troops to seize Lukou and Xiakou, but also to deal with Lu Xun in Yidu. In Jiangling City, there are 20,000 surrendered soldiers under the command of General Zuo who need to be suppressed, so the troops allocated to Maicheng will not be too many.

Looking outside Maicheng, we can see many trenches and antlers. This must be because they have sensed the general's arrival and are afraid.

I think this is a trick of the Maicheng defenders to confuse the enemy. They deliberately set up a camp in a dangerous place outside the city, but they were afraid that the general would attack the camp, so they stopped their activities and dared not reveal their identities.

General, you don't need to pay attention. Lead us to attack Maicheng and approach Jiangling. This will surely scare Guan Yu so much that he won't dare to leave the city to fight. It will also make Guan Yu feel the humiliation of being surrounded."

Generals Xu Shang, Lu Jian and Zhu Gai also agreed.

These four generals followed Xu Huang to rescue Fancheng after Guan Yu flooded the seven armies. Although they had heard how Cao Ren and Yu Jin were severely beaten by Guan Yu, they also repelled Guan Yu when they followed Xu Huang, so naturally they did not have much awe for Guan Yu.

Only when the soldiers and generals are fearless can they act with swiftness.

Cao Ren also had this consideration when he asked Xu Huang to lead four generals as the vanguard.

If Yu Jin or Lu Chang were allowed to be the vanguard, they would probably have to be cautious all the way and would not dare to advance easily.

In other words: Xu Huang's five thousand men, from generals to soldiers, were equally high-spirited and fearless.

"Don't be careless!"

Xu Huang did not despise this camp because of the high morale of his generals.

"Yunchang was no mediocre general, and it was impossible for him not to know that the General Zhengnan was lurking in Xiangyang; but even so, Yunchang used tough means to demand Changsha and Guiyang counties, as well as the intact Lukou and Xiakou from Sun Quan.

Based on my understanding of Yunchang, he must have firmly believed that even after threatening Sun Quan, he could still stop the General of the Southern Expedition's army from advancing southward.

General Wen sent someone to report that Liu Bei's son Liu Feng was good at using tactics and was extremely difficult to predict. He fought four times at Jiangjinkou alone, nearly ten battles in total, and gradually eroded Sun Quan's advantage in Jiangling.

If Liu Feng is also in Maicheng and this camp was set up by Liu Feng, if we attack Maicheng rashly, we will fall into Liu Feng's trap."

Yin Shu was dissatisfied and asked, "General, if you are worried that there will be bandits in this camp to cut off our retreat when we attack Maicheng, why don't I lead a battalion of soldiers to ambush outside this camp? If we see the bandits coming out, we will lead the troops to destroy them."

Xu Huang frowned and rebuked: "Knowing yourself but not the enemy is a taboo in the military. You don't even know how many soldiers there are in this camp, how dare you talk about destroying it? If Maicheng is the decoy, then aren't you destroying my prestige?"

Yin Shu was stunned.

Yin Shu had never thought about the possibility that Maicheng was the decoy enemy.

If it was true as Xu Huang guessed, then Yin Shu's battalion of a thousand men would be going to die if they went to ambush.

Think of this.

Yin Shu couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Zhu Gai asked, "General, you are the vanguard. If you are blocked in Maicheng, you will be blamed. I see many deep-rooted deer horns outside Maicheng, which makes it difficult for our army to enter and the enemy army to leave. Why not gather three battalions of elite soldiers to break into the camp, one battalion to stay in the main camp, and one battalion to keep an eye on Maicheng? Is this a safe way?"

Xu Huang pondered for a while, agreed to Zhu Gai's proposal, and ordered: "Xu Shang stays in the main camp, Lu Jian keeps an eye on Maicheng, Yin Shu and Zhu Gai will help us break into the camp."

Xu Huang's military orders were executed very quickly.

In just a moment, Xu Huang, with Generals Yin Shu and Zhu Gai, led three thousand elite troops to the camp where Liu Feng was.

Liu Feng stood at the top of the hill and looked out. Seeing the neatly-organized troops led by Xu Huang, he could not help but praise: "Xu Huang is indeed worthy of being called 'big brother' by the Lord. Xu Gongming lives up to his reputation."

Military appearance is a very important indicator to measure the ability to lead troops.

A well-organized army means that the commander is rigorous and disciplined and enforces discipline.

Facing such a commander, it is very difficult to defeat him head-on.

"General, should we raise the flag?"

Kou Anguo stood on the left, eager to try.

Kou Anguo was a young and inexperienced man who was not afraid of a tiger. Naturally, he was not afraid of an old veteran like Xu Huang.

Who would admit that they are inferior to others before they actually fight?

Being afraid before fighting is also a big taboo in military strategy.

"No hurry, let it dry for a while."

The reason why Liu Feng set up a camp here was not to defeat Xu Huang, but to delay time.

The longer the delay, the more beneficial it will be to the entire Jingzhou battle situation.

Just like Ma Su's mission in Jieting, defeating Zhang He was not the core, and defending Jieting was not the core either. The core was to delay time for Zhuge Liang to capture the four counties in Longyou.

Only someone like Ma Su, who does not distinguish between priorities, would repeatedly violate military taboos in order to gain merit.

Liu Feng is not Ma Su, so he would not be stupid enough to confront Xu Huang head-on just to gain merit.

A knife is most deceptive when it is not unsheathed.

As long as it is not unsheathed, you can't guess whether my sword is three inches or three feet long, or whether I am hiding a fifty-meter-long sword that can be freely extended and retracted.

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Feng couldn't help but exclaimed, "So strong? Are you going to force an attack now?"

(End of this chapter)