The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 86: First Battle a Victory, But Doubts Remain

Guan Yu is about to launch a three-pronged northern expedition!

Upon seeing the conscription order, Mi Wei was so shocked that he almost dropped the bamboo slips in his hand.

He once wondered if his previous cleverness had backfired, leaving Guan Yu with no more constraints and allowing him to act recklessly.

Although he has been advocating the view that Xiangfan has an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

But he only harbored the idea of ​​taking advantage of the situation to steal the city.

It's not that they really think that just a year after the great war, they can turn around and send tens of thousands of troops north to fight head-on again.

Is it true that Cao Cao cleansed Hanzhong?

Is it a lie that Nanjun and Jiangxia are in dire need of reconstruction?

Why did Liu Bei set the tone at the beginning of the year to maintain a stable position for two years?
Why did Cao Ren only dare to suppress bandits around Xiangfan, but had no intention of going south, thus allowing Mi Wei to help Guan Yu's inland river fleet recover most of its strength?
It's because at this time, with the autumn harvest approaching, nobody wants to raise a large army again!
Let alone the Cao and Liu families.

Take, for example, the Jiangdong rulers and their ministers who had been secretly bottling up their feelings all year.

After the start of spring this year, won't we have no choice but to obediently go home to farm and lick our wounds?

Without first developing and operating the mines economically, how can you expect to be overtaken by flying dragons?

Fortunately, facts have proven otherwise.

Although Guan Yu is widely recognized as one of the most outstanding generals in history.

However, its military strategy was anything but careless.

More specific orders to advance soon came from Jiangling.

First, Wu Ban Chen Shi, who lived on the Juzhang River, took advantage of the high water levels at the end of summer to officially march north and capture the two cities of Linju and Zhangxiang.

Those two cities originally belonged to the traditional territory of Nanjun.

After a summer of flirting, they've already found an inside man.

At this point, it's simply a matter of going with the flow.

It is said that Poon Chun contributed greatly to this matter.

In order to support the navy on the Juzhang River, Guan Ping's troops in Dangyang also had to move north along the trail.

After passing through Changban and Bianxian, we arrived at the southern part of Yicheng.

If there's an opportunity in Yicheng, we might as well give it a try.

If not, this will serve as a deterrent to the enemy and cover the surprise attack on the Juzhang River.

It's even simpler in Jiangxia.

Mi Wei commanded his troops to escort the supplies needed by Guan Ping's army along the Han River.

At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the task of protecting the eastern flank of Guanping.

However, there were no large Cao army strongholds along the Han River before reaching Yicheng.

So the main business is still transportation.

In short, Wu Ban and Chen Shi supported the three eastern counties.

Guan Ping supported Wu Ban and Chen Shi.

Miwei was simply a gofer; he couldn't even provide support.

It was really not a large-scale military operation.

It was simply because the attack was launched from three directions simultaneously, and Guan Yu subsequently went north to Dangyang to oversee the army, which made it seem a bit frightening.

In reality, the actual number of regular soldiers deployed was only slightly over ten thousand.

It's nothing compared to the grand scene last winter when 100,000 troops from the four prefectures of Yi, Jing, Yang, and Jiao gathered in Jingzhou.

If things go quickly, we could probably finish in half a month.

They didn't even miss the autumn harvest.

In short, once the military order was given, Mi Wei immediately prepared his troops and deployed his supplies.

After a summer of expansion, its unit has grown to four sections, with approximately two thousand members.

In addition, there were several thousand auxiliary soldiers in charge of military settlements, who came from surrendered soldiers, vagrants, bandits who surrendered, and gifts from Ma Liang or Sun Quan.

Mi Wei led the two main troops.

Two officials, Pan Mi and Xi Hong, each led a song.

Zhan Sifu's half of the barbarian cavalry was also replenished, reaching a full strength of fifty men, equipped with bows, crossbows, and armor.

Of course, it can still only be used as an auxiliary cavalry unit.

In addition, Yang Yi continued to serve as "Military Advisor to the Western Commandant of Jiangxia," responsible for military planning and coordination.

Meanwhile, the general Xiang Chong and his troops were supposed to return to Jiangling after the autumn harvest.

Because he was from Yicheng, Xiangyang, he was familiar with the geography.

He was temporarily conscripted to Mi Wei's command to serve as the vanguard "guide" in this operation.

In short, after all preparations were completed, Mi Wei and his men, with the personal escort of Prefect Deng Zhi, officially marched along the Han River.

……

Two days later.

"Commander, report to Commander Chong that the garrison in Ruo County is less than two garrisons. Inquire whether we should attack the city immediately?"

On a warship, Mi Wei sometimes gazed at the riverbank, sometimes consulted a map, his brow furrowed and silent.

No one dared to disturb them, and they waited quietly.

Besides Yang Yi:

"Is the Commandant worried that there might be a trap in the city?"

Miwei nodded:
"Ruo County is a small town on the east bank of the Han River."

"But its location is directly opposite the confluence of the Yi River and the Han River on the west bank."

“The Yi River flows westward to the southern suburbs of Yicheng, acting like a moat.”

"Once we lose the cover of Ruoxian, our army can move into Yishui without restraint and head straight for the walls of Yicheng!"

"Logically speaking, the garrison shouldn't be so weak." Yang Yi chuckled upon hearing this.

"The commander's cautious approach to military affairs is certainly a good thing."

"But if the concern is merely that it's a trap, there is a solution!"

Mi Wei: "Please enlighten me, Master Yang!"

Yang Yi: "Why don't you, Commandant, order Xiang Chong's troops to surround the city without attacking, while my troops quickly follow up and raise General Guan's banner to intimidate the enemy in the city?"

Mi Wei's eyes lit up: "Which General Guan?"

Yang Yi declared in a resounding voice: "Of course it's General Guan Yu!"

"This is a classic case of 'borrowing the tiger's power'!"

Mi Wei suddenly realized.

Last year, Guan Yu marched along the Han River, besieged Xiangyang and Fancheng, and his might shook the land.

Because of Mi Wei, they turned back to Jiangling before Xu Huang could launch an attack.

Therefore, at this time, Guan Yu was in Jingzhou, in the Xiangfan area.

He remains an invincible enemy of ten thousand men.

The degree to which it can stop a child from crying at night.

The two garrison troops in Ruo County could stand still if they saw Guan Yu's banner.

This only shows that the garrison is quite extraordinary.

Then we really need to think about it carefully.

As for the former general's flag, Mi Wei, as the chief logistics officer, naturally had a backup.

Soon, the five warships changed their flags and led dozens of small boats and light vessels in a grand procession toward Ruoxian County.

This city stands on the banks of the Han River.

There is also a small river on the side whose name I don't know.

Xiang Chong had already occupied that river channel.

Once Mi Wei's army arrives, they will launch an attack simultaneously from both sides of the river.
After the drumbeat, nothing unexpected happened.

Ruoxian County has been cracked!
……

An hour later, Mi Wei sat down in the main hall of the county temple.

The initial victory greatly boosted the morale of the troops.

Even Yang Yi, who successfully offered his advice, was already boasting about his strategies to younger generations like Pan Mi and Xi Hong.

But Miwei looked at the excited crowd, though his smile remained indifferent.

I still had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

There are too few defenders.

The siege went too smoothly.

And he never overestimated himself.

How could I not think about it more?
The only problem is that this is just a small, peripheral town, so gains and losses don't affect the overall situation.

To say that there's some earth-shattering conspiracy hidden here is just scaring yourself.

We can only put aside our doubts for now, and focus on preparing the city's defenses and moving supplies.

Meanwhile, they waited for Guan Ping's army to catch up.

It's a bit of a funny story.

After a summer of hard work, Guan Yu's army's warships were restored to 70-80% of their original strength.

Furthermore, once the dock is established, both upstream and downstream routes are connected, ensuring unimpeded flow.

The fact that Mi Wei was able to quickly capture Ruoxian is the best proof of this.

But this also brought about an unexpected little situation.

Because Miwei moved too fast and too smoothly.

So even though Jingling and Dangyang launched their attacks simultaneously...

Miwei has already captured a small town.

Guan Ping's central infantry had only gone a little over halfway.

In order not to become separated from the main force, Miwei had no choice but to stop and wait for the friendly forces.

Fortunately, Guan Ping did not keep Mi Wei waiting for long.

The next day, after breakfast, Guan Ping's messenger arrived in Ruo County.

It also brought a startling piece of information.

"The garrison in Yicheng is less than a thousand?"

"Can we take it directly?"

Mi Wei looked at Guan Ping's letter, then at his subordinates beside him, and fell into deep thought once again.

If the reason why Ruoxian had few soldiers could be explained by the fact that Cao Cao's army underestimated such a remote town.

Then Yicheng absolutely cannot simply brush it off.

As is widely known, Yicheng is the southern gateway to Xiangyang!
The "Xiangyang" here can refer to either Xiangyang Prefecture or Xiangyang City.

In any case, Yicheng is equally important on both levels.

"Have the scouts gathered all the information?"

Miwei was somewhat incredulous.

But the messenger spoke with absolute certainty:
"This information was obtained by Guan Dangkou personally leading a light cavalry unit northward for reconnaissance!"

Mi Wei was speechless for a moment.

(End of this chapter)