The beginning of the Three Kingdoms Cheng Yuanzhi

Chapter 245 Another Fire
Yan Liang led some soldiers and horses to rush out of the sea of ​​flames, and was intercepted by Zhang Fei again. After dozens of rounds of fierce fighting, Yan Liang did not want to fight, so he shot a feint and was defeated in the same direction.

I don't know how much the soldiers and horses have lost.

As soon as the smoke burst into flames and he didn't go very far, a red-faced general came out from the oblique stab, and he chopped it down with a single knife.

Yan Liang was caught off guard and died on the spot, and the rest of the troops knelt down and begged for surrender.

So far, the former army of 5 horses has almost been wiped out.
Outside Bowang Slope, Wen Chou saw that the situation was not going well. He only heard the flames in the mountain and the shouts of killing everywhere. He didn't know how many people were ambushing inside. He thought it was Jingzhou soldiers and horses who came to reinforce him, so he hurriedly left a small team to respond and retreated the main force Set up camp in fifty miles.

Looking back at Bowang City, he saw fires all over the hillside, except for the scattered defeated soldiers turning back, there was no news of Yan Liang.

At dawn, the last few scattered defeated soldiers reported: the former army was gone, and Yan Liang was beheaded by Guan Yu.

Hearing this, Wen Chou was shocked and did not dare to enter lightly, so he had to set up camp and wait for the rear army.

On the other side, Liu Bei's army didn't withdraw until dawn, and killed Bowang Slope, with corpses strewn across the field and blood flowing like rivers.

After taking over the army, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei looked at each other, and the former said, "Third brother, the military advisor is really amazing! I am convinced, how about you?"

Zhang Fei nodded heavily: "I am the same, convinced!"

The two of them hadn't traveled for several miles, when they saw Mi Zhu and Mi Fang leading an army surrounded by a small cart.There is one person sitting in the car.

Guan and Zhang Ji looked at it, and saw that it was Zhuge Liang.The two hurriedly got off their horses and bowed down in front of the car.

In a short time, generals Xuande, Chen Dao, Liu Feng, and Guan Pingping all arrived. They all looked at each other and laughed, and then they took the army back to Xinye and distributed all the supplies and weapons they had obtained to the soldiers.

When the army arrived in the city, Zhuge Liang said to Liu Bei, "Although Yan Liang was beheaded this time and Wen Chou retreated, Yuan She will definitely lead the army to come."

Liu Bei frowned and said, "What should I do?"

Zhuge Liang said: "This is the second tactic. Once this tactic comes out, the Northern Army will make another [-]% discount!"

Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard the words, and asked about the detailed plan, so he prepared it himself.

……

The news of the defeat of the front army spread to the rear army, Cheng Yuanzhi was furious, and said to the crowd: "When Yan Liang left, I told him several times to 'go straight to Xinye from the main road', but he refused to listen, so he lost his fortune and lost [-] yuan. Elite soldiers!"

Tian Fengjin said: "Our army has always been victorious in every battle, and the pride in the army has been rising. This time, it was suddenly defeated. The morale of the former army was frustrated. Prime Minister Yi personally led the troops to fight in Xinye to boost morale."

Cheng Yuanzhi bowed his head, removed Wen Chou's vanguard post, and ordered Xu Huang to replace him in the former army. Yu Jin and Li Dian were deputy generals, leading the troops to Xinye.

Before leaving, he told Xu Huang: "Liu Bei is the hero of the world, and now he also serves as Zhuge Liang's military advisor. You must not underestimate the enemy when you leave."

Xu Huang has always been cautious in using troops, and asked after hearing the words: "Who is this Zhuge Liang? He has made the Prime Minister think so highly of him!"

Xu Shu came out and said: "The bright name is Kongming, and the Taoist name is Wolong. He has the talent to know the world, and he is a genius in the world. He should not be underestimated."

Xu Huang asked, "How is Bi Gong?"

Xu Shu replied: "Shu is like the light of a firefly, and its brightness is like that of a bright moon. They cannot be compared."

Xu Huang had fought against Xu Shu before, and he knew how powerful the latter was. Seeing that Xu Shu also praised Zhuge Liang so solemnly, he was instantly taken aback, and asked for instructions:

"Prime Minister, what should we do when our army arrives in Xinye?"

Cheng Yuanzhi thought for a while and said: "When you arrive in Xinye, you can only enter if there are people in the city; if there is no one in the city, just ask the army to camp outside the city, and rest if you don't enter the city!"

Xu Huang took the command, and hurried to the front army to replace Wen Chou.

After Xu Huang left, Cheng Yuanzhi noticed that Jia Xu opened his mouth and stopped talking, and his heart skipped a beat.

Is there something wrong with my arrangement?

Cheng Yuanzhi thought about it from beginning to end.

At this time, the front army has arrived at Bowangpo, but the rear army is in the ancient city [-] li away.If there is a change in the front army, it will be difficult for the rear army to support it in a hurry.

Thinking about this, after the crowd dispersed, Cheng Yuanzhi left Jia Xu alone and asked, "Wen He seems to have something to say?"

Jia Xu frowned, and said carefully, "Prime Minister, this change of general...seems to be inappropriate."

It has always been a taboo for military strategists to change generals before the battle, because latecomers do not understand the situation on the front line and can easily make wrong judgments.

This is an old saying.

However, considering that Zhuge Liang must use the empty city as a bait to attack with fire, and he had already instructed Xu Huang, Cheng Yuanzhi heaved a sigh of relief, waved his hands and said:

"Don't worry about Wenhe, Gongming has always been stable, and this time he will definitely not fall into Zhuge Liang's plan again."

Jia Xu nodded and said, "I hope so."

Having said that, there was no trace of worry on his face.

……

In Xinye City, the group is beaming after a big victory.

The soldiers in the hall raised their wine bottles to celebrate their triumphant return.

The atmosphere was strong, and suddenly there was a flying report of horse scouting; the former army of the Northern Army had arrived at Bowangpo.

Liu Bei hurriedly discussed with Zhuge Liang how to resist the enemy.

Zhuge Liang waved his fan and said with a smile: "My lord, don't worry, the previous fire burned half of the northern army's forward troops; this time I come again, I will teach him to fall into this trick again!"

"However, Xinye is too much to live in. It's better to cross the river and take Fancheng to avoid the sharp edge."

Xinye is north of the Han River and east of the Baihe River; Fancheng is also north of the Han River, but west of the Baihe River; and Xiangyang is at the confluence of the three rivers, south of the Han River.

Previously, Fancheng was under the control of the Northern Army and was guarded by heavy troops. When Cheng Yuanzhi captured Jiangdong, the two sides fought a battle.

In this Southern Expedition, considering that Fancheng and Xiangyang are across the water and it is not easy to defend, Cheng Yuanzhi transferred most of the soldiers and horses from Fancheng to serve as the front army.

At this time, Fancheng was empty.

Zhuge Liang's strategy coincides with the art of war of "avoiding the world and being empty".

Liu Bei was overjoyed, and immediately sent four people to put up a list and announced to the people: "The Northern Army is coming, no matter old or young, men or women, those who are willing to follow, will follow me to Fancheng today for temporary shelter, and those who do not want to go, can stay."

He also ordered Sun Qian to send boats to the river to welcome the people across the river; he sent Mi Zhu to escort the officials' families to Fancheng.

At the same time, gather the generals and issue military orders:
He ordered Guan Yu to lead an army of [-] troops to ambush in the upper reaches of the Baihe River.Each brought a cloth bag, filled with more sand, and contained the water of the Baihe River. After the third watch in the next day, only the low-class people shouted and neighed.

He ordered Zhang Fei to lead a thousand troops to ambush at Boling Ferry.The water here is the slowest, and Cao Jun was flooded, so he must flee from here, but he took advantage of the momentum to fight to meet him.

He ordered Chen Dao to lead an army of [-] people, and divided them into four teams. He led one team to lie in wait outside the east gate, and the other three teams lay in wait outside the west, south and north gates, waiting for the fire to start.

Prior to this, people in the city hid more fire starters such as sulfur, flames, and salt on the houses and homes of the people in the city.If the northern army enters the city, they will rest in civilian houses.After dusk the next day, but seeing the wind blowing, he ordered the west, south and north gates to shoot rockets into the city; when the fire broke out in the city, they shouted and cheered outside the city, leaving only the east gate to let him go.But the crowd attacked from behind outside the east gate. After dawn, they will meet up with Guan and General Zhang, and withdraw their troops back to Fancheng.

Then let Mi Fang and Liu Feng lead two thousand troops.Half of the red flag, half of the green flag, went to live in front of Quewei Slope, thirty miles outside Xinye City.When the Northern Army arrived, the Red Banner Army walked on the left, and the Green Banner Army walked on the right.To be a suspicious soldier.The Northern Army suffered a defeat last time, so the main general would not dare to rush in to investigate the truth.The two only hoped that the fire would start in the city, and then split up to ambush to respond, so they could win a big victory.

After a while, Zhuge Liang's allocation had been decided, and he and Liu Bei ascended the heights to look far away, and led his troops to withdraw from the city, waiting for the news of victory.


(End of this chapter)