The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Zang Ba summoned pottery merchants to meet him, and asked for rations to prepare the army for the south.

This does not need to be said much, but it is said that Zhao Yun led his troops to attack westward, three battles and three victories, and rapid advance to Xiangcheng.

There are two natural dangers in Xiapi County, one is Huai River and the other is Si River.

The so-called "Huaisi" means that Sishui is the largest tributary in the lower reaches of the Huai River, so these two rivers are often referred to together to refer to the Xuzhou areas such as Pengcheng, Xiapi, Donghai, and Guangling where the two rivers meet.

Huai River generally runs from west to east, and Sishui generally runs from south to north. In other words, Huaishui runs through Xiapi County in an east-west direction, while Sishui runs through Xiapi County in a north-south direction. of the northern region.

When Xu Zhong and others entered Xiapi County from Dongyang, they first faced the danger of Huai River. After crossing the Huai River, because Xiapi County, the county seat of Xiapi County, was on the northeast bank of Sishui, if they wanted to attack Xiapi County, they had to Need to cross Surabaya. This is also the main reason why Xun Zhen sent Zhao Yunyi all the way, starting from Ling County, the most northwestern part of Guangling, in addition to Xu Zhong's group, and attacked Xiapi County.

Because Ling County is not only in the north of Huai River, but also in the east of Si River. From Ling County, there is no need to face the natural dangers of Huai River and Si River. Xiang County, you can directly attack Xiapi County.

——Then, why didn’t the entire army simply set off from Ling County? This is because Ling County is the only county seat in Guangling County that is located on the north bank of the Huai River and adjacent to Xiapi, except for Haixi County in the northeast corner of Guangling County. Apart from the Huai River, there is also a group of lakes separated by Hongze Lake, which is really inconvenient for the transportation of troops, military supplies, etc. Therefore, this place can only be regarded as a place where "special soldiers" can be produced, and it is impossible to send the main troops from here. Shipping out here.

In a word, Zhao Yun's troops and horses are actually the "strange soldiers" of Guangling. His main task is to occupy the lower phase, so as to relieve the pressure of Xu Zhong et al. Cross Surabaya.

Zhao Yun was very clear about his mission, and he knew in his heart that the next phase had to be shot down.

If he is unable to capture Xiang Xiang, it will not be a gain or loss for one city and one place, but will disrupt Xun Zhen's overall deployment, which will inevitably affect the entire battle of Xiapi, and even the entire battle of Xuzhou.

And Xun Zhen was able to hand over this important task to Zhao Yun, which actually represented her trust in Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun would never fail Xun Zhen's trust in him.

Therefore, after sending troops from Ling County, from the time he entered the territory of Xiapi County, Zhao Yun worked hard to boost his morale along the way. The next picture is already in sight.

Because Xiaxiang is close to Xiapi County, the terrain is important, so the defenders in the city are not comparable to Huailing and other places, not only the county army in Xiapi, but also the Xuzhou army and Danyang army sent by Tao Qian earlier. Among the three military horses, the most powerful is of course the Danyang Army.

Xun Zhen had also recruited soldiers from Danyang, and Zhao Yun knew that Danyang soldiers were capable of fighting and should not be underestimated.

For this reason, seeing the lower part in sight, although he is fierce and excitable on the outside, he is actually more cautious in his heart.

When he was twenty miles away from Xiaxiang, he sent out elite scouts one after another to carefully scout out the enemy's ambush ahead. After getting the report, he still didn't dare to be careless, and he was very careful, ordering the soldiers to maintain an array in the march, and scattered the rangers to be vigilant at all times. With all the precautions, this afternoon, he led his troops to the outside of Xiaxiang City. Outside the city, he decided to build a camp.

At the same time as the camp was being built, the city was still vigilant, and the defending army took the opportunity to burst out.

But it was: until the fort was thick, the defenders still did not come out, but the defense on the top of the city was much tighter.

Only then did Zhao Yun breathe a sigh of relief, and summoned the officers of the Ministry to discuss matters concerning the siege of the city.

There is a stream of water in the territory of Pei of Xiaxiang, and the west flows here. This is the origin of the name "Xiaxiang". Different from Xu County, because the defenders had sufficient strength, in the north of Xiaxiang City, a battalion of defenders was stationed. In order to attack the city, the enemy had to be destroyed first.

The scouts had already figured out that there were more than 800 defenders outside the city, more than 600 foot soldiers, and more than 200 cavalry soldiers.

When Zhao Yun led his troops to arrive, although the defenders outside the city did not take advantage of the arrival of the other side and their foothold was not stable, they did not launch a surprise attack, but they also strengthened their defenses just like in the city. There are strong barriers outside, guarding soldiers inside, and the defenders in the city may come out at any time. If you fight hard, it may not be easy. Then, you can only find a way to call them out and fight them in the wild to win.

How to call it out?

There is only one way: attacking the enemy will save you.

Hit where it has to save, it has to come out.

At present, there are two places that the defenders in Xiaxiang County must save.

One is Xiapi County. This is the county government, where Zherong is located. If Xiapi County is attacked, the defenders of Xiaxiang must be rescued. The other is to the northwest of Xiaxiang, a ferry crossing in Sishui. This place is also the place that the Xiaxiang defenders must defend and cannot lose, because if this ferry is lost, then Xu Zhong's troops can drive across Si, and the consequences are unimaginable.

Xiapi County is not an option for Zhao Yun. His troops are not enough, so he is going to attack Xiapi County, and the defenders of the lower minister can definitely see that this is his plan to "move the tiger out of the mountain", so he can only use the momentum. Attacking the Surabaya Ferry is an option.

Zhao Yun said to the officers in the division: "After building the fort today, our division will not take the offensive, but the defensive, and then send troops out of the camp tomorrow, and go to the Sishui Ferry to the northwest of Xiaxiangcheng to make our division." I'm here not to attack the city, but to seize the ferry's posture, so as to confuse the defenders in the city and outside the city, transfer them out, and attack them halfway! Then, attack the city with all my strength!"

The officers responded, "No!"

The plan was finalized, the camp was built that day, and as expected by Zhao Yun's orders, the entire soldiers were only on the defensive, not attacking, and they set up a lot of horse resistance outside the built camp overnight, and dug a trench.

Zhao Yun's movements outside the city were clearly detected by the defending generals in the city.

The commander of the garrison was named Zhang Kai, but he was not a subordinate of Zhe Rong, but a subordinate of Tao Qian. He was currently the commander of the army and was one of the senior officers in Danyang's army. ——The real name of "Captain" is "County Commander", which is the military power of the first county. After Guangwu's rejuvenation, the troops of various counties and states in the inland were reduced. Since then, there are many regular troops in the inner counties, and the post of "Captain" will be cancelled. Now, this position is only preserved in Bianjun. Before the rise of the Yellow Turbans in Xuzhou, in order to enable the generals under the tent to better exercise military power, Tao Qian appointed several "captains", and presented them to the court. With the approval of the imperial court, Zhang Kai was one of the officers of the Danyang Army who was appointed as the "captain" at that time.

At the same time, Zhang Kai was also the chief general of the first batch of Danyang soldiers and Xuzhou soldiers to assist Xiapi.

Not far to the west of Xiaxiang County is Xiapi County, to the south is Sishui, to the east is Ling County of Guangling County, and 140 miles to the north is Tan County, the prefecture of Xuzhou. After Kai arrived in Xiapi County, he settled in this city.

Zhang Kai summoned the generals to discuss the military at night, and said: "Since Zhao Yun entered the country, he has fought and won many battles and defeated my three colonies. There must be something strange about it.”

The generals will agree.

Someone asked suspiciously: "Is it because of him that I am under the city and do not attack the city?"

"how?"

"Could it be that he didn't come to attack my city?"

"Why did you come here without attacking my city~www.wuxiaspot.com~?"

"Don't forget, Commander, I have the responsibility of not only guarding the city, but also guarding the Si!"

Zhang Kai was taken aback and said, "Are you saying that he didn't come to attack the city, but to attack the Sishui Ferry?"

"It must be guarded!"

Zhang Kai pondered for a while, then said, "Let's watch his actions tomorrow. He really came to take the Sishui Ferry, but my department can't sit and watch." He added, "I immediately order the ferry guards and order them to be on guard!"

The generals agreed, and they sent their troops down by the city wall and rushed to the ferry port to send orders.

Zhao Yun's camp.

Although Zhao Yun did not encircle the city, there were scouts and rangers scattered all around the city. At two watch in the night, a ranger sent a prisoner. Zhao Yun personally tortured him. Then he laughed with the left and right: "I heard that Zhang Kai is always greedy for money and has no plans, so he can be the commander of Danyang, but it is because of the friendship with Tao Xuzhou. Now I have a plan!"