My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 358: Of course we have to take the opportunity to beat the fallen dog
"Is Yunchang all right now? How did he get shot again? Since the lord has entrusted you with the important task of being a prefect, why should Yunchang lead the troops and personally charge into the enemy's formation? You should think twice before doing such things in the future!"

The next day after Guan Yu arrived in Tancheng, he had just changed his medicine early in the morning when he met a very strong visitor who criticized his recklessness and aggressiveness, but Guan Yu had no way to refute him.

Without a doubt, the only person in Xuzhou who was qualified to give orders to Guan Yu was Zhuge Jin. He didn't even have to wait to enter the door; he could just barge in before anyone else could tell him what to do.

Zhuge Jin was very good at keeping himself safe, so in large-scale mobile warfare and pursuit warfare, he rarely went to the front line to command, and even rarely went to inspect. He often had to stay in the rear, waiting for the dust to settle in the front, and then he would come late like TZ in Hong Kong movies.

After all, when Zhang Liao pursued Xiahou Yuan, he had less than 3,000 cavalrymen with him. Even though Xiahou Yuan fled in defeat, he still had over 10,000 men with him. What if Xiahou Yuan suddenly turned around and attacked? Zhang Liao was a skilled warrior, yet he could still escape. Wouldn't it be troublesome for Zhuge Jin to personally go to the front line?

Guan Yu was clearly injured while performing meritorious service, and others had to coax him. When Zhuge Jin said this, Guan Yu was very humble and explained repeatedly:

"I won't do that again. Even if I lead the charge, I won't seek to break through the enemy lines and kill the generals. This time, Xiahou Yuan is the one who pissed me off. He has the nerve to say I've always been good at defeating the enemy with fewer troops, and that I've only ever bullied the weaker Southern Barbarians. I can't win against the heroes of the Central Plains. That's why I got so arrogant and killed a few of him to show off.

This great victory will surely resonate throughout the Central Plains. Next time we want to kill a general, I'm afraid the enemy general won't dare to lead the charge."

When Guan Yu said this, it was half explanation, half loneliness, and quite melancholy.

Zhuge Jin patted his arm and said, "Different ages have different ways of living. Yun Chang is a famous general in the world. Now that he is over forty, he should work hard on his military talent and follow the trend. What's wrong with that?"

Guan Yu also knew that Zhuge Jin was speaking the truth from the bottom of his heart, and he immediately expressed his willingness to learn.

Zhuge Jin asked again if the injury required Hua Tuo to come from the rear to see it in person. Guan Yu quickly said that it was not necessary and showed Zhuge Jin the bandage he had removed. There was no blood stain on it, which showed that it was healing quickly.

By the time Hua Tuo arrives, this injury will probably be completely healed.

After talking about his injuries, Guan Yu quickly became concerned about the deployment of the counterattack.

He had just regained lost territory and was feeling a little lost. He felt that there were too many targets for counterattack and the battlefield was too broad, so he didn't know where to focus.

Of course, if Guan Yu was given time to slowly sort out and plan, he would be able to figure it out, but he was just afraid of delaying the opportunity to fight.

Moreover, during his recovery, his mind was unstable and his overall efficiency was often low. Now that I finally have Zhuge Jin to ask, why not ask?

It’s always nice to save your brain and just copy the answers.

Zhuge Jin had obviously thought of everything before coming to Tancheng, and was very confident in his response:

"Don't worry about this, Yunchang. Didn't we agree before the battle that Zijing and Zhongda's troops were in a remote area of Mount Meng. Before Xiahou Yuan's main force retreated, they could not rush out of the Shushui River Valley to avoid being ambushed by the enemy. These more than 10,000 people were originally intended to be used as the main force in the counterattack.

That day, after Wenyuan and Gongjin defeated Xiahou Yuan and forced him to flee westward, Gongjin followed my orders and sent messengers to Juxian and other counties to inform them of the counterattack. In order to save time, Zhongda also used carrier pigeons.

Now Zhongda and Zijing have led over 10,000 Danyang soldiers and local Xuzhou troops, marching lightly westward through the Mengyin Valley. The troops from various counties will take Dongguan in the west, and the troops from Ju County will take Yangdu in the west. Each of them carries half a month's worth of food, and without the heavy carts, they may be able to take the victory in one fell swoop.

Wenyuan, Guorang, and Yigong can rest for a while, then cross the Yishui River to the west and take Lanling, an important town in the east of the sea, located west of Yishui. Xiahou Yuan will definitely not be able to hold on after his recent defeat. "

Gao Shun and Lu Su were not able to catch up with the decisive battle between Guan Yu and Xiahou Yuan in Qu County. They were too far away from the main battlefield, and they had to fight their way out of the Mengshan Mountain area along the Shushui River Valley to reach the battlefield. It was too easy for Xiahou Yuan to defeat them one by one, so Guan Yu and Zhuge Jin reached a consensus before the battle to keep Gao Shun and Lu Su as a force for counterattack after the battle.

Now this force has finally been used, just in time to expand the results of the battle.

Guan Yu had no objection to this plan, but after hearing the marching route arranged by Zhuge Jin, he was still a little worried.

He felt that it would be safer for the defenders of Ju County and other counties to leave the Mengshan Mountain area through the Shushui River Valley, then turn west into the Yishui River Basin and attack Dongguan and Yangdu in the west of Langya. This would at least ensure that their food supply routes were unobstructed.

But the disadvantages of this are also obvious, that is, it requires taking a detour, is slow, and cannot carry out surprise attacks.

The plan that Zhuge Jin instructed Gao Shun and Lu Su to carry out was to go directly westward through the Mengyin Valley. There were no rivers or roads that could accommodate oxen and horse carts, so they could only march on foot.

Fortunately, the distance from Juxian to Yangdu over the mountains is not far, and it only takes two or three days to reach the destination. This is a far cry from the difficulty of Wei Yan's later "Ziwu Valley" plan in history. The steepness of the Yimeng Mountains is far from comparable to that of the Qinling Mountains.

The Han army was now doing better in terms of portable military rations. Zhuge Jin asked Gao Shun and Lu Su to bring as much dried fish and other high-calorie dry cooked food as possible. It was no problem for each soldier to carry an extra half month's worth of food on his own, so there was no need to separate half of the "food-carrying army" to carry food specifically, as Wei Yan did in the "Zimu Valley Strategy".

It is now late October in the lunar calendar, and the snow has not yet closed the Yimeng Mountains in Shandong Province, so it is a perfect opportunity to attack.

After hearing that Zhuge Jin had planned all these details clearly, Guan Yu thought that Lu Su's execution would not go wrong, so he was not so worried.

Finally, he just sighed:
"Everything else is easy to deal with, but I'm afraid that Yangdu, Dongguan and other places will hold out. If it takes more than ten days, and the food we brought over the mountains is eaten up, and the city is still not broken, then it will be difficult. I'm not worried about Zijing and Zhongda's ability to attack the city, I'm only worried that they won't attack fast enough."

Zhuge Jin: "Don't worry about that. The garrisons in Yangdu, Dongguan and other places are all old and weak soldiers left behind by Zang Ba, Sun Guan, Sun Kang and others. I have sent a small cavalry unit from Tancheng to the northwest, and they will be able to meet up with Zhongda and Zijing there in due time.

These cavalrymen do not need to participate in the siege of the city, just let them take the news of Xiahou Yuan's defeat as soon as possible and spread it widely to disrupt the morale of the defending enemy. In addition, I borrowed two things on my own initiative and did not have time to discuss it with you. Yunchang will not blame me, right? "

Guan Yu then asked curiously, "What did you borrow?"

Zhuge Jin clapped his hands with his fan bones and said proudly, "Heads of Zang Ba and Sun Guan. After the decisive battle in Qu County that day, the military judge in charge of commending the troops pickled the two heads that my brother chopped off with lime.

I've intercepted it, but there's no rush to send it back to Wuchang to be honored. It just happens to have another use: to dampen the morale of the garrisons in the western counties of Langya County."

……

With Zhuge Jin arranging everything clearly, Guan Yu was happy to rest and recuperate, and to completely heal the last minor problem before making long-term plans.

While Guan Yu was recuperating from his injury, Gao Shun and Lu Su indeed made the fastest progress.

The Battle of Qu County ended in mid-October. Xiahou Yuan was chased and escaped across Yishui, which was exactly halfway through October.

Gao Shun attacked Yangdu from Ju County. He set out on the march on October 16, crossed the Mengyin Valley Road, and arrived at Yangdu County on the 18th.

Yangdu County is a place that future readers should be familiar with. After all, the first sentence of "The Biography of Zhuge Liang" is "Zhuge Liang, courtesy name Kongming, was a native of Yangdu, Langya." Because of the relationship between the Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang brothers, those members of the Zhuge clan who remained in their hometown had a difficult time during Cao Cao's rule in the past three years.

However, Zang Ba was a semi-independent force under Cao Cao, and Cao Cao's men could not interfere in the internal governance affairs of Langya.

In order to ensure the stability of his own territory, Zang Ba did not dare to rashly massacre the local nobles for no reason. Instead, he preferred to use Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang's "rebellion" as a bargaining chip to force the Zhuge family of Langya to submit and cooperate.

The Zhuge clan members who stayed in Langya were actually quite distantly related to Zhuge Jin, and none of them had a grandfather.

Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang's grandfather only had two sons, Zhuge Gui and Zhuge Xuan, to carry on the family line. Zhuge Gui himself had passed away, and Zhuge Xuan's family went to Yuzhang to serve as prefects. The only people left in Yangdu County were those who had the same great-grandfather as Zhuge Jin.

When Zang Ba put pressure on them, Zhuge Jin's distant cousins who stayed in Yangdu also cooperated obediently. They were supposed to serve as officials in the county, so they did it and helped Lord Zang raise money for food and labor service.

When Gao Shun and others attacked this time, Yin Li, the defender left behind by Zang Ba in his old nest, became very nervous and tried to take all the Zhuge clan members as hostages.

Seeing this, Zhuge Jin's distant cousin Zhuge Li had no choice but to negotiate with Yin Li on behalf of his family and argue with him:
"Everyone has his own responsibility. Our Zhuge family has many branches and leaves. The two branches of Zhuge Gui and Zhuge Xuan who fled south have not been in contact with our family for many years. Why did the general do such a foolish thing to cut off his own arm?
If you are innocently implicated, aren't you afraid that the people in the city will panic and be in danger? Who will defend the city for you then?"

Yin Li was also a bandit from Mount Tai. He had little education and only knew how to use force. He was suspicious by nature and did not take this defense seriously.

"You all have the surname Zhuge, and there are so few of you with the surname Zhuge. You must be closely related. Who knows if you might be colluding with me? As long as you stay put and don't pose any threat, I will naturally not harm your lives."

Zhuge Li was unwilling to be exploited, so he tried to fight for it: "General, you are so rude to us, aren't you too impatient? Gao Shun and Lu Su were besieged for more than two months. Although they were relieved later, they still hid in Mengshan.

Could it be that the situation outside the mountain has changed drastically with this sudden attack? If there truly is a major change, the general will still have to rely on our Zhuge clan. Zhuge Jin and I, at the very least, share a common ancestor. Using us as hostages, the general poses no threat to Zhuge Jin. If Guan Yu truly launches a full-scale counterattack, he will definitely not slow down for us.

"General, why don't you wait and see! We have also contributed to the court, there is no need to go this far so quickly!"

Yin Li hesitated after being reminded by the other party, so he decided to put all the Zhuge clan members under house arrest with good food and wine, and then sent scouts out to inquire about the battle situation.

In a nutshell, freedom must be temporarily deprived, but living conditions can be improved, and the relationship should not be completely broken.

It was really thanks to Yin Li that he listened to the advice and became a little more careful. After another day and a half, Yin Li realized that something was not right and the situation was hopeless.

The troops sent by Gao Shun to attack the city had completely surrounded Yangdu County within a day and a half. Finally, they took out two heads, placed them on long poles and displayed them outside the city.

He also said that if the defenders did not believe it, they could send someone to take it away for a closer look.

Yin Li was shocked when he heard the news, and he really sent people to use a hanging basket to drop down from the city wall to take down the heads. He looked at them and found that their faces were vaguely those of Zang Ba and Sun Guan.

Yin Li was very clear about the strength of Zang Ba and Sun Guan, as they had worked with Zang Ba for fifteen years. (From 187 to 202)

While Yin Li was still in doubt, Gao Shun's scolding continued to shout:

"Listen, fellow thieves! Zang Ba and Sun Guan were willing to serve as Xiahou Yuan's vanguard, but were killed by General Guan in one battle! All 20,000 Taishan and Langya thieves were wiped out, and the rest surrendered! You are just a few thousand old and weak, don't make mistakes.

We see that Yangdu County is the hometown of the princes, and we do not want to kill them all. As long as you surrender, we will not harm you at all and pardon all the crimes of the enemy soldiers in the city!"

Yin Li was in a state of confusion. After struggling for a long time, he chose to open the city and surrender. He only had more than 2,000 soldiers in the city to defend it. The rest were old and weak people who were captured temporarily, as well as the families of the Taishan bandits, who had no fighting power at all.

Most of the main forces of the Taishan bandits and the Langya bandits had been withdrawn by Zang Ba and Sun Guan. Now, facing the counterattack, the western part of Langya was extremely empty.

Gao Shun entered Yangdu County smoothly, but he did not dare to be arrogant. The next day, he sent troops to take Yin Li with him to persuade the surrender or take over Kaiyang County, the county seat not far to the south. Kaiyang County was also the defense area under Yin Li's personal charge, so there was basically no disturbance.

Lu Su and Zhuge Jun also successfully captured Dongguan. In just over half a month, all the counties in the western part of Langya were conquered by a simple order.

The rapid advance of Liu Bei's camp in Langya also made Xiahou Yuan increasingly nervous. He was afraid that the more troops he set up defenses and dispersed around the periphery, the more people would be forced to surrender and the greater the losses would be.

He had no choice but to withdraw the defenses from those small counties that had little hope of being defended, and to relocate the population as much as possible, retreating to important hub cities such as Pengcheng.

In early November, on the Huaibei front, Zhao Yun also raised the banner of the Runan bandit Gong Du, and harassed Huaibei and the banks of the Woshui River with cavalry and navy, making a gesture of threatening Pengcheng from Yicheng and Xiacai to the north.

Zhao Yun certainly would not take the thankless task of attacking the city, he just bypassed the city and focused on harassment and attack. However, this also forced Xiahou Yuan to shift the defense force of Pengcheng County to the south, which made the north side even more empty.

From Xiahou Yuan's point of view, this was something he had to do.

Because Guan Yu's side had already won a great victory by advancing westward, if Zhao Yun went north again, one heading west and the other heading north, it would be entirely possible to form a pincer attack - although the pincer on Zhao Yun's side was not very stable and the logistics route was difficult to guarantee for a long time.

But Xiahou Yuan could not afford to take the risk, so he could only retreat.

Under Xiahou Yuan's contraction, Zhang Liao and Han Dang also successfully crossed the river from Tancheng and moved westward. In cooperation with Gao Shun, they captured Lanling in the west of Donghai County in November.

At this point, Guan Yu's defensive counterattack reached its peak.

The entire Langya County was recovered, and most of the six counties in Yixi of Donghai County were also recovered.

The only stronghold of Cao's army in Xuzhou left was the complete Pengcheng County and a small area of Donghai County that was closely bordered by Pengcheng.

In December, Guan Yu also launched some tentative counterattacks on Pengcheng, but Xiahou Yuan concentrated all his forces, switched to a defensive position and stabilized the front line. Guan Yu was helpless and could only wait for the enemy to give him another chance next time.

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PS: I will reduce the word count in the next two days, and it will be a big chapter... I am a bit stuck when changing maps. And I have to go to some places during the winter solstice.

(End of this chapter)