My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 699: A thousand gold coins are used to buy bones. In an emergency, Situ can make the final decision. Why ask for instructions?
It took Huang Zhong less than ten days to capture Rangcheng.

After the news came back, both Guan Yu and Cao Ren were naturally shocked.

Late at night on the ninth day of May, Zhuge Jin and Guan Yu, who were in the siege camp west of Wancheng, were the first to receive the news of Huang Zhong's victory.

"Report! Report to the Minister of War, General Wei, and General Huang Lao! Our army got help from the inside at dawn the day before yesterday and successfully broke through the south gate of Rangcheng. We took Rangcheng! We annihilated more than 5,000 enemies! Among them, 2,000 were killed or wounded, and more than 3,000 were captured or surrendered. We killed one Cao army captain and captured one, and the rest were countless, including Sima and Quchang! The enemy troops who broke through were no more than 2,000."

"Two days later, General Huang Lao took advantage of the victory and continued to advance westward, with the local noble Wei Kai as the vanguard, intimidating the counties and conquering Shunyang in one day. The other two counties, Xixian and Danshui, were shocked and terrified when they heard that Rangcheng and Shunyang had been quickly conquered. The army opened its cities and surrendered wherever they went."

When Guan Yu received these reports, he had already fallen asleep, but he hurriedly woke up and listened to them. After listening to them, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep at all and couldn't help slapping his thighs.

"Good! Huang Hansheng's attack is so fierce and swift. Liu Jingsheng's former subordinates also have many brave warriors. This is enough to make the people of Jingzhou proud!"

More than 5,000 enemies were annihilated, and only more than 2,000 escaped. Within two days, the remaining power was used to pacify three small counties in the surrounding area. One was conquered, and the other two were frightened into surrendering. The three counties combined were the result of at least two to three thousand troops.

Zhuge Jin, who was listening to the report with Guan Yu, was more concerned about civil affairs and local reception, so he asked a few questions about the local people.

Unfortunately, the messenger sent by Huang Zhong could not explain these questions clearly, so Zhuge Jin had to patiently ask more detailed questions, trying to catch more clues and piece together the whole picture.

In the end, Zhuge Jin really pieced together a lot of valuable information.

Zhuge Jin snapped his folding fan shut and shared with Guan Yu in a reasoning tone: "It seems that General Huang's quick capture of Rangcheng and forced surrender of several counties should have interrupted Cao's army's final stage of relocation plan, so quite a number of civilians who were temporarily recruited as auxiliary soldiers did not have time to withdraw.

The number of Nanyang residents that Cao's army originally planned to evacuate to Shangluo, Lantian and other places should be reduced as a result. And the proportion of the elderly, the weak, women and children who were forcibly relocated should be higher. "

This is also easy to reason. When relocating the people, the elderly, the weak, women and children will definitely be moved away first because they cannot carry things on their shoulders or hands.

While the young and middle-aged can still serve as labor, helping to push carts and sail boats to transport property, they will be temporarily conscripted as auxiliary soldiers or forced laborers, working for a few more months until the last batch of supplies are transported, and only then will they be forced to officially migrate.

However, this time Liu Bei's army arrived quickly, and local young and strong nobles who hated Cao Cao's rule started an uprising and interrupted the migration rhythm of Cao's army. As a result, the last batch of young and strong people who did not have time to go with the army were also left behind.

Zhuge Jin was unable to obtain specific data immediately, but after a rough investigation, he found that there were at least 10,000 young and strong auxiliary soldiers in the four counties including Rangcheng, who were left behind along with the 6,000 to 7,000 Cao troops who were annihilated.

According to the confessions of captured and forced-surrendered Cao generals, Cao's army had originally planned to relocate 20,000 to 30,000 households into the Wugu Pass in the twelfth month of last year and before the spring plowing this year, and to deploy them between Shangluo, Lantian and Chang'an to open up wasteland and resume farming.

Those places were almost ruined before Li Jue's fall. After Guanzhong was pacified about seven or eight years ago, they slowly began to recuperate and regain vitality. This time, Cao's army moved the people of Nanyang back to Guanzhong, which enriched the Wuguandao area.

But after Huang Zhong's interference and interception, six or seven thousand combat soldiers and more than ten thousand civilians were left behind, which was considered a small weakening of Cao's rule in the Wugu Pass area.

However, Wuguan Pass was still strong, and the Qinling Mountains on both sides were steep. As one of the four passes of Qin at that time, Liu Bei's army would not intend to attack Guanzhong through Wuguan Pass in the next few years.

Huang Zhong's battle completely drew a clear geographical dividing line between Liu Bei's army and Cao's army in the Guanzhong-Nanyang area. The two sides were strictly separated by Wugu Pass, Qinling Mountains and Funiu Mountains.

The land west of Wuguan Pass and north of Qinling Mountains and Funiu Mountains belonged to Cao Cao, while the land east of Wuguan Pass and south of Qinling Mountains and Funiu Mountains belonged to Liu Bei.

In the future, the further struggle between Cao and Liu will only start from other places where the geographical dividing line is not so obvious. Because those places are not so easy to defend and difficult to attack, the punishment for the attacker is relatively not obvious.

……

Zhuge Jin and Guan Yu spent half the night sorting out the gains and long-term impact of the Battle of Rangcheng.

With the dust settled on the western front of the Nanyang battlefield, Huang Zhong's troops only needed to rest for two or three days before turning east again and attacking Cao Ren together with Guan Yu.

Guan Yu naturally thought that he should learn some lessons from the battle of Rangcheng and adjust the strategic and tactical deployment of Wancheng in a timely manner to better play his own advantages and avoid weaknesses.

The first and most obvious point that comes to mind is, "Since Rangcheng can produce a Wei Kai who hates Cao Cao's relocation of people and is willing to help the king's army in the rebellion, then is it possible that there will be more Wei Kai in Wancheng, Luyang, Bowang and other places? If we can make good use of them, can we deal with Cao Ren and Xu Huang faster?"

The more Guan Yu thought about it, the more he felt that this trick was feasible, and he couldn't help but admire Zhuge Jin sincerely:

"Zi Yu is really a man of great foresight. Before Huang Hansheng left, you told him to make use of the resentment of the people of Nanyang against Cao Cao, which might have a miraculous effect. Unexpectedly, your words came true, and a Wei Kai really appeared in Rangcheng.

Later, many local nobles in Xixian and Danshui also forced county officials to surrender. Ziyu, your insight into human nature is truly amazing! In this way, if Wancheng, Luyang, Bowang and other places can also produce a few similar heroes to support us, wouldn't Nanyang be pacified overnight? "

Guan Yu's tone was extremely sincere when he said this. After all, Zhuge Jin's casual words earlier had actually hit the mark.

Given the credibility accumulated by the Zhuge family, Guan Yu would of course regard all of this as Ziyu's divine calculations.

The reason why she was so ambiguous at the beginning was simply because Tzuyu was being modest. She was obviously very sure, but she was unwilling to say it with certainty.

Anyway, at this moment, Guan Yu was extremely confident in his heart that there would definitely be more "Wei Kai" who would come out with food and drink to welcome the royal army.

What Tzuyu said is what she meant, and it will definitely come true!

Zhuge Jin was overwhelmed by his enthusiasm and expectations, which could not be extinguished no matter how much cold water was poured on him.

He clarified again and again: "At the beginning, I just had a feeling at the time, so I reminded Han Sheng a few words. This kind of thing can only be encountered by chance.

Yunchang, we should just do our best and leave the rest to fate. Make good preparations, create as much momentum as possible, and try to make the enemy army lose their composure. That would be the best, but if there is nothing else, there is nothing we can do. "

Guan Yu was extremely confident: "There will definitely be more! Ziyu! Just tell me, do you think the next insider is more likely to appear in Wancheng, Luyang, or Bowang?"

Zhuge Jin was stared at by Guan Yu, and there was nothing he could do. He pondered for a while and could only compromise and say:
"How can I predict this kind of thing? I'm not a god. But Cao Ren is harsh and Xu Huang is strict in his military discipline. Even if there are righteous men in Wancheng and other places who are resentful of Cao Cao, I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to take action.

Therefore, the most likely place to have problems is Bowang, where Cai Mao is stationed. Cai Mao's military management is far inferior to the other two generals, and as an old friend of Liu Biao, he betrayed Liu Biao when he died. This makes him unpopular, and when the crisis comes, he is naturally the most likely to be backlashed. "

Zhuge Jin was forced to make such a conclusion by Guan Yu. In fact, he was thinking that Cai Mao's route was relatively the most vulnerable, and if Zhang Fei advanced northward along the Ru River from Runan and threatened Cao's rear route on the north side of Tongbai Mountain, then Cai Mao's route would be the easiest to be cut off.

Even if the break does not occur with Cai Mao himself, as long as Zhang Fei is strong enough, a new breakpoint will appear behind Cai Mao, or at least there will be a trend of a new breakpoint appearing.

At that time, Cao's army would definitely be forced to retreat in panic, and our goal would be achieved.

And if some other accident happened at Bowang, the node where Cai Mao was stationed, it would accelerate all of this and add icing on the cake.

Zhuge Jin thought that no matter whether this guess was accurate or not, at least he had Zhang Fei to back him up, so he felt at ease and made such a bold guess.

Guan Yu didn't know Zhuge Jin's true thoughts. Because he had calculated the Wei Kai incident accurately, Guan Yu's trust in Zhuge Jin was at its highest point, so he made the decision without hesitation.

"Since Ziyu thinks so, after Han Sheng returns, our army will have sufficient manpower and can immediately divide its troops to bypass Wancheng and attack Bowang directly. Bowang is likely to be lured out by the insider, and by then one of Cao Ren's two escape routes will be cut off. He can't retreat slowly and can only escape lightly. Our army will chase after him and annihilate some of the enemy's rear troops."

Guan Yu explained his plan in this way and was about to issue a military order.

Zhuge Jin did not stop him, but just stepped on the brakes for Guan Yu and asked him to pay attention to a few rhythm points:

First of all, we must wait until Huang Zhong returns and our own troops are sufficient before doing this. Otherwise, if Guan Yu divides his troops now, Liu Bei's troops under Wancheng may be weaker than Cao Ren's. If they are divided, they will be weaker, which will not be good for Cao's army to have a short window of opportunity to defeat them one by one.

Since we are sure to win, we should not leave any chance to the enemy, and we don't care about losing a few days.

Secondly, since they have to wait for Huang Zhong, Zhuge Jin suggested paying attention to Zhang Fei's movements in the next few days, while also intensifying the propaganda offensive.

For example, we could send out sufficiently elite and fast cavalry scouts to go around to Luyang and Bowang, and spread the word that our army had easily captured Rangcheng and that "the people in all the counties of Nanyang hate Cao Cao for relocating people, and wherever the royal army goes, the people are all fed and well-fed."

In this way, it would also help to shake the determination of Xu Huang and Cai Mao, and when the time comes, it would be easier to help Guan Yu's troops take advantage of the situation.

Moreover, the idea of an insider is originally in a state of wavering "superposition". Many people hate Cao Cao in their hearts, but they may not have the courage to make up their mind to do something about it immediately.

At this time, if the potential anti-Cao people in various counties heard about the "advanced deeds" of Rangchengwei, and knew that someone had taken the lead and become the first to try it, and that they had received good rewards, such as high positions and generous salaries from Liu Bei, and that their ancestors and descendants would be honored, then the remaining hesitant anti-Cao righteous men would most likely make up their minds to take action in a chain reaction.

After hearing this, Guan Yu thought it made sense, so he took advantage of the next two or three days to quickly send out cavalry teams to infiltrate the counties in the rear. They did not seek to enter the city, but just circled the city, shouting and cursing in unison, and told the bad news to the commanders of the counties under Cao Cao's rule, making them feel insecure and panic-stricken.

After sorting out these details, Guan Yu praised sincerely: "This is a very good idea... But since you want to publicize Wei Kai's deeds, shouldn't you send someone back to Xiangyang immediately to meet with my brother and ask him to grant Wei Kai an official position and title? This will also make it easier to lure other wavering people."

Zhuge Jin hastily stopped him, saying, "At this time, any move to spread the people's support for the royal army is just a race against time. We will send someone to consult the lord, and it will take another two days to discuss it.

"For Wei Kai's merit, at most he can be given the title of Guannei Hou or Duting Hou, which is not a high position. I made the decision to confer the title on him. It is considered as an emergency and a huge sum of money. I will inform the lord later. This is not my abuse of power, and the lord can understand it."

Zhuge Jin acted promptly and told Guan Yu not to waste time on such trivial matters.

Firstly, the relationship between Zhuge Jin and Liu Bei had reached that level. He could make decisions on his own when appointing people to minor official positions, and Liu Bei absolutely trusted him.

Secondly, Zhuge Jin also knew that in history, whether it was Sun Lang from the "Luhun Bandits" or Hou Yin and Wei Kai from Wancheng, after they raised troops to respond to Guan Yu, Guan Yu would immediately send people to deliver seals and ribbons in his own name, allowing these people to remotely take up official positions.

It can be seen that Guan Yu, who was originally in charge of the Jingzhou war zone in history, was fully authorized by Liu Bei. He could appoint anyone he wanted without having to travel thousands of miles to Sichuan to ask Liu Bei for permission.

Of course, the problem that Zhuge Jin is facing at this moment is very different from the situation in history when Guan Yu granted official titles to generals behind enemy lines during the battles of Xiang and Fan.

In order to achieve a great publicity effect in a short period of time, Zhuge Jin planned to directly give Wei a lowest-level marquisate and buy his bones for a thousand gold coins. However, in history, Guan Yu did not give any title to anyone among the "responding bandits".

On the other hand, in history, Guan Yu could not ask for permission because Liu Bei was too far away in Hanzhong. But now Liu Bei is in Xiangyang. It is only 300 miles from Wancheng to Xiangyang. It is a bit arbitrary to rush to travel such a short distance without asking for permission.

If Zhuge Jin was not so trusted, no one else would dare to do this. Including Guan Yu himself, because he was a military general, and the official title granted by the court was General of the Guards, so he could not interfere in the topic of conferring a title of nobility on surrendered generals.

Only Zhuge Jin, the prime minister, as one of the Three Dukes, could nominally control the internal affairs of the court. It was reasonable for him to say this.

Therefore, Zhuge Jin made a prompt decision and called his chief clerk Deng Zhi to help draft the document, go through the formalities and use the seal, and give Neiyingwei the title of Guannei Hou and the official position of Military Sima.

The meritorious people in the other two counties who took the initiative to assist were also rewarded, either with gold or silver, which was immediately redeemed, or with a minor official position such as county magistrate or county lieutenant.

These decisions were immediately sent back to Huang Zhong's army by express horses and widely publicized in Rangcheng, Danshui and other places to inspire people.

At the same time, he also sent people to Luyang and Bowang to spread the news, and sent a messenger back to Xiangyang on horseback to report the situation to Liu Bei for record.

Just one day later, Liu Bei, who was in Xiangyang, learned that Zhuge Jin had made a prompt decision to appoint a Marquis of Guannei and several minor officials on his own in exchange for a huge sum of gold.

Liu Bei did not mind at all, and said with a smile in front of all the civil and military officials in Xiangyang City:
"This is a good thing. When the rebellious army marched north, righteous men came to welcome them with food and drink so quickly. They are willing to be the traitors, so they should be rewarded generously. As the prime minister, why should Ziyu ask for instructions on these powers? If there are any similar emergency rewards in the future, let Ziyu make the decisions on his own. We can report them to the end of the Nanyang battle."

……

While Liu Bei approved Zhuge Jin's measures, the elite cavalry scouts sent by Guan Yu had also arrived in Bowang and Luyang successively.

They began to shout and spread rumors to the enemy troops in the city, saying that Rangcheng had been quickly captured and that righteous men from various counties in the western part of Nanyang had responded to the king's army and defected to help.

When Xu Huang, Cai Mao and others heard this kind of propaganda, their first reaction was naturally to ask the soldiers not to believe in rumors, not to listen to, not to believe in, and not to spread them. Anyone who dared to speak nonsense would be subject to military law.

However, the people of Luyang and Bowang were still a little shaken by this.

And just a few days later, Cai Mao was the first to receive another even worse news - Zhang Fei's troops in the direction of Runan County had attacked upstream along the Ru River and achieved considerable breakthroughs. The news even reached Bowang.

(End of this chapter)