My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 379: Crossing the Huai River to the North and Attacking Cao Ren

Among all the generals under Liu Bei, Zhao Yun must be the most flexible and adaptable one.

It was precisely because he was emotionally stable, calm, and able to deal with things rather than people, that Liu Bei would let Zhao Yun go first whenever there was a mission to feign an attack or pretend defeat.

With Guan Yu's arrogance and Zhang Fei's violent behavior, even if they were to carry out this mission with all their might, they would still reveal many flaws, and their acting skills would definitely not be up to par in the end.

Fortunately, the mission this time was just a feint attack, and then pretending to retreat if the fortified city could not be conquered, so as to attract the enemy troops. So after Zhao Yun sorted out his thoughts, he no longer complained, and would not leak the secret. He just kept the secret in his heart and prepared to execute it conscientiously.

Only by deceiving even the ordinary soldiers in one's own army can the morale and spirit of the troops be high when performing tasks, the acting skills can be realistic, and the mobilization of the enemy can be more effective.

……

Since the troops had already adjusted their status and were fully equipped during the review and oath-taking, no additional preparations were needed before going on the expedition.

Just two days after receiving the mission, Zhao Yun led the largest cavalry unit in Liu Bei's army, as well as several infantrymen and Gan Ning's navy, totaling more than 30,000 people, and set out from Hefei, heading north along the Fei River to Shouchun.

Among these troops, the cavalry size reached an astonishing number of more than 6,000, the infantry more than 20,000, and the navy more than 10,000.

Although the Hefei theater has 50,000 to 60,000 main forces that can be used for the attack, there are still 10,000 to 20,000 reserve troops reserved for follow-up, and they have not been put into the first wave of attack for the time being.

Instead, he planned to wait until the first wave of offensive mobilized the enemy, and then Liu Bei's army's reserve troops would immediately move westward, go up the Huai River and attack Runan. Those people were reserved for Runan.

After Zhao Yun arrived in Shouchun, his troops turned from the Feishui River into the Huaihe River, and moved slightly downstream along the Huaihe River for more than a hundred miles, passing Xiacai and reaching Yicheng (Bengbu), then turned north into the Woshui River, a tributary of the Huaibei River, and rushed towards the important town of Longkang in Qiaodi, officially kicking off the Northern Expedition against Cao Cao's bandits.

The troops set out from Hefei on July 12, arrived in Shouchun on the 14th, reached Xiacai on the 15th, reached Yicheng on the 17th, and attacked the Cao army-occupied area in Huaibei on the 18th.

The troops were in high spirits and full of fighting spirit. Everyone thought that they were really going to have a decisive battle with Cao Ren's main force.

Due to the suddenness of the advance, Zhao Yun did not encounter any decent resistance from Cao's army on the first day after entering Huaibei.

It was not until the early morning of the 19th, when Zhao Yun's cavalry vanguard penetrated 70 miles into enemy territory and arrived at Longkang County, that they encountered Cao's army defending the city.

Zhao Yun first sent people to persuade the defenders to surrender, hoping to try to reason with them.

But most of the officials in Qiaodi had close ties with the Cao family. The magistrate of Longkang County, Li Zhi, seemed to have married a distant relative of the Cao family. So even though there were only less than 2,000 soldiers and some temporarily recruited militiamen in the city, as well as a military commander, he was unwilling to surrender and tried to delay the city even though he knew he couldn't hold it.

The cavalry was unable to attack the city, so Zhao Yun left a few thousand men to camp outside the city and sent out patrols to monitor. By the afternoon of the same day, the main force of the infantry also arrived at Longkang, entered the semi-ready-made camp, continued construction, and attempted to besiege the city.

After most of the cavalry units handed over the siege mission to the subsequent infantry and sailors, they split into two routes.

One group left the Woshui River and headed north to search deep into the Huaibei Plain, approaching Qi County in the north. The other group continued upstream against the Woshui River and approached Shansang County in the northwest upper reaches.

It seems that their ultimate goal is the two twin cities of Fuli and Zhuyi where Cao Ren himself is stationed.

However, the cavalry led by Zhao Yun heading due north attempted to pass through Qi County and then go straight to Fuli.

The troops that went deeper into the upper reaches of the Woshui River in the northwest wanted to make a more detour, and then pass through Shansang and Zhixian, and go around to the upper reaches of the Suishui River behind Zhuyi, cutting off the retreat of Fuli Cao's army.

The two troops, one is the regular and the other is the surprise, one is the main attack and the other is to cut off the reinforcements, and they both look quite capable.

However, these attempts to infiltrate and fight were all at the pure cavalry level. Zhao Yun's infantry did not dare to go too far into the enemy territory before Longkang was captured and the logistics supply roads were opened.

Gan Ning's navy could only provide some assistance along the way upstream along the Woshui River to Shansang County. Once Shansang County was taken and the army had to leave the Woshui River system to fight, Gan Ning's navy would be of no help.

……

Zhao Yun's army quickly infiltrated, surrounded and bypassed the fortified city to penetrate deep into the city. Such a large-scale action could certainly not be concealed from the Cao army generals.

Just one day after Zhao Yun entered the country, the urgent news was delivered over a distance of 200 miles to Cao Ren's headquarters in Fuli County.

"Liu Bei finally took action?! I knew that this villain Liu Bei would not just sit there and watch Sikong pacify Hebei! He is just like a fly. As soon as we took action on the northern front, he came to try to take advantage! The vanguard general leading the troops is Zhao Yun? Scout again and report back! Let all the counties along the Huai River, including Anfeng, Shenxian, Ping'a, Longkang, Xuxian, and Hongxian, be alert and make sure to find out the main attack direction of Zhao Yun. Report back immediately if there is any new movement! The farthest defense zone in the entire Huaibei is only three or four hundred miles away. We must arrive within one day!"

Upon hearing the news, Cao Ren, regardless of the battle situation, first cursed Liu Bei viciously, and then instructed his subordinates to pay attention to finding out the specific enemy situation.

After all, the Huai River defense line is very long. Even if the section of the river where Liu Bei's army borders Cao Cao's army and is suitable for sending troops is only about 400 miles, Cao Ren still needs time to further determine the enemy's main attack direction.

The first wave of urgent reports he received at this moment was only saying that Zhao Yun had crossed the river, but where he would attack was still a mystery.

In fact, Zhao Yun had already arrived at Longkang at this moment, but the urgent report received by Cao Ren was sent a day ago, and at that time Zhao Yun had not yet shown any intention of attacking Longkang.

Naturally, Cao Ren also wanted to demonstrate his military talent and foresight, so he immediately sent people to find Man Chong, who was also in Fuli City, and Lü Qian in Zhuyi County on the opposite bank, to discuss the enemy situation with them.

Because Guo Jia was still in Pengcheng, working with Zhang He, his leg injury had not yet fully healed, so it was not suitable for him to move. Cao Ren was stationed in Fuli, so he could only use Man Chong and Lu Qian as his main civil servants and counselors. When Man Chong could not make a decision, Cao Ren would send someone to Pengcheng to discuss it with Guo Jia.

In just two hours, Man Chong was found, and later that day, Lu Qian also arrived from Zhuyi.

The geographical layout of Fuli County and Zhuyi County is similar to that of Xiangyang and Fancheng in Xiangyang County of Jingzhou. Xiangyang and Fancheng are twin cities facing each other across the Han River, while Fuli and Zhuyi are two county towns facing each other across the Sui River.

Fuli is on the south bank of Suishui, and Zhuyi is on the north bank, so it only takes a short boat ride to get there, and it would only take a few hours to get back from looking for Lu Qian.

Cao Ren did not chat with his staff, but asked briefly: "Have you heard about this? Liu Bei is finally getting impatient! He sent Zhao Yun with cavalry into the country. Where do you think the enemy will attack?
From the military situation, they actually went down the river from Shouchun and passed Xiacai the day before yesterday. Unfortunately, our army thought it was just a routine feint along the Huai River, and did not expect that they would launch a large-scale attack. From this route, it seems that they are going to go north along the Woshui River? Isn't Liu Bei afraid of going deep into the enemy's territory alone?
If he wanted to attack Runan or Pengcheng, I could understand, but why did he give up the left and right wings and choose to break through the center directly? "

After listening to Cao Ren's retelling and looking at the map, Man Chong and Lu Qian were also puzzled at first.

After a while, Man Chong was more politically conscious and said in a tone of consideration: "Although it is easy to advance alone along the Woshui River, Liu Bei is good at water battles, and Gan Ning has the absolute advantage of the Huaihe River navy. Don't you think that as long as we march along the Woshui River, we can ensure that the army can advance and retreat freely?

The middle reaches of the Wo River, after passing Longkang and Chengfu counties, are Qiao County, a journey of only 200 li. Qiao County is the hometown of Sikong and the foundation of the Cao family.

Could it be that Liu Bei was planning to attack Cao's hometown directly, taking advantage of the fear of officials in Yan and Yu that "once Sikong's hometown was destroyed by Liu Bei, Sikong would bear hatred for the surrounding officials in the future", thereby forcing the imperial troops in Yan, Yu and Xu to come to the rescue, thus forcing our army to fight a field battle?

Liu Bei should have also discovered that the main force of the imperial court was now in Hebei, and Sikong was determined to achieve his goal in one battle and destroy Yuan as soon as possible. The imperial court's military strength in Xu and Huai was indeed slightly less than Liu Bei's.

The enemy must want to take advantage of this opportunity to concentrate their forces, use their numbers to defeat the minority, and severely damage the imperial army in Huaibei. In this way, even if the prime minister pacifies Hebei and returns to the south, he will not be able to attack Liu Bei in the south. "

Cao Ren listened with a fierce look in his eyes, and rubbed his steel-like beard vigorously, not feeling the pain at all. After a long time, he made his own judgment:
"I don't think that's true of what Bo Ning said! It's true that Liu Bei's troops in Xu Huai are now larger than ours, but I'm defending Fuli and cutting off the enemy's communication from the north and south. How dare Zhao Yun march alone 200 miles deep into the enemy's territory and hope to capture Qiao County along the Wo River?
If he goes this deep, or goes to the northwest, he is doomed to not get support from Guan Yu's troops in Xiapi and Donghai. If he is divided, his strength will be weak. He has only 30,000 people at most, and his infantry and cavalry will be out of touch. If Zhao Yun really dares to go to Qiao County, I will concentrate my forces to fight him in the field! And annihilate him in one fell swoop!
By then, the imperial army will be gathered together, and our army will be everywhere. Zhao Yun will not be able to escape even if he has wings! Can Guan Yu still fly over five or six hundred miles to Qiao County to rescue him?"

After hearing Cao Ren's rebuttal, Man Chong couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Indeed, his military experience was not as rich as General Cao's. He only thought that Liu Bei's army in Xu and Huai directions had a slightly stronger total force, but he didn't notice that this strength was separate.

Zhao Yun and Guan Yu should either cooperate with each other or extend to the two wings respectively. There is no reason for them to advance alone.

Seeing Man Chong's embarrassment, Lü Qian, who was standing by, also helped to gather ideas and deduced from a clear perspective, "Could it be that... after Zhao Yun went deep into the Woshui River and captured Longkang, he would turn around? For example, turn around and cooperate with Guan Yu?"

Cao Ren was slightly stunned: "Isn't that coming for me? Liu Bei wants to attack Fuli directly? I have tens of thousands of troops, and I have Fuli and Zhuyi to rely on. The upstream Suishui waterway is unobstructed, and the supply and reinforcements cannot be cut off. Why does Liu Bei think he can capture Fuli?
It is true that Liu Bei has the advantage of naval forces, but his naval forces are located between the Huai River and the Wo River, and it is impossible for warships to fly from the Wo River to the Sui River by land! Liu Bei cannot cut off our army's food supply and reinforcement channels in the Sui River. Will he attack two strong cities with tens of thousands of people facing each other across the river?"

Cao Ren asked questions repeatedly, but no one else could give a better explanation because there didn't seem to be any other choice.

Cao Ren did not dare to confirm it that day, but simply sent messengers and cavalry patrols south to instruct Longkang and Qixian to fortify their defenses and clear the fields, waiting for further news.

As a result, in the middle of the night, the news that Longkang was surrounded by Zhao Yun was sent to Fuli. Cao Ren looked like he was still sleepy and was still shocked and confused after hearing it.

At daybreak, the latest intelligence arrived, indicating that Zhao Yun's cavalry had left the banks of the Wo River and headed directly north, apparently heading towards Qi County.

At this point, Cao Ren had no choice but to believe it.

"Is Zhao Yun really coming for me? How brave!"

(End of this chapter)