Chapter 24: The Worst
Chapter 24: The Worst (Additional chapter for Alliance Leader Huanyue)
By the end of August and the beginning of September, the shadow of war had completely enveloped Luoyang.
On the sixth day of September, the leader of the group, Mi Huang, came to the military camp again - this time he stayed. With war imminent, the nominal supreme commander could not fail to be present.
He was accompanied by a servant from the palace named Pei Shiliu. From the name one could tell that he was Concubine Pei's concubine. He was about thirty years old, with a serious face and a humble look.
Mi Huang left first under the pretext of inspecting the military camp.
Pei Shiliu bowed and said, "Shao Dubo."
"Pei Dianji." Shao Xun returned the greeting.
"To make a long story short." Pei Shiliu whispered, "In two days, the prime minister and the princess will take refuge in the inner city, and they will be escorted by General He Lun and his troops. Mi Duhu and General Wang Bing's 1,500 men will not be able to enter the city in the short term. The princess cares about Du Bo, and asked me to pass on a message--"
"The enemy army is fierce and fierce, and many of them are desperate. The morale of the royal army is low, and the vanguard has suffered several setbacks."
"The food and grass in the city are only enough to last for half a year. If we continue to fight for a long time, we will definitely be defeated."
"Don't try to be brave, and don't try to take the lead. Wait for the situation to turn around."
Shao Xun waited silently for a while, and after confirming that he had finished speaking, he bowed again: "Thank you, Princess, for your love and care."
Pei Shiliu nodded and left.
Shao Xun watched his back disappear out the door, then he slowly stood up, stroked the tip of the bow with his left hand, and held the hilt of the knife with his right hand.
The news is not flowing smoothly.
As a junior officer, it is difficult to get a full picture of the battlefield.
This is like when tens of thousands of people are arrayed in a field battle, with the army stretched out for several miles, and the left cannot hear the right, the right cannot hear the left, the front does not know the back, and the back does not know the front.
Some phalanxes were already fighting with the enemy, while soldiers in other phalanxes were still sitting on the ground, eating and drinking to restore their strength.
The front line had been defeated, but the rear line was still advancing forward happily without receiving any news.
Just imagine, as a small soldier on a vast battlefield, how could you possibly know what was happening? You could only follow the orders of the flags and drums.
Once the flag falls and rumors spread, if the morale is low, I don’t care about you and will just run away. Don’t you know that “we have lost”?
Shao Xun is now facing such a situation. With the lack of information, he does not know the progress of the battlefield. He can only observe on his own, or make guesses based on news that is difficult to distinguish between true and false and the general historical process.
We can only make a rough guess, the details are hard to know, but sometimes it is the details that we fear. Because your body is too weak, even if the general direction does not change, a small fluctuation in the tide of history may cause you to capsize.
Hard to bear.
Fortunately, Mi Huang came back soon.
"Pei Shiliu is gone?" he asked.
"gone."
"Well, let me tell you now. I will tell you everything I can tell you. Don't ask me anything I can't tell you." Mi Huang sighed and said, "Don't worry. You and I are in the same boat now. I still have to rely on your ability to survive, so I won't cheat you."
"Let's talk about the first one first." Mi Huang sorted out his thoughts and said, "The troops from Guanzhong arrived very quickly, and part of their vanguard has already engaged the royal army in Yiyang. The royal army has more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry, led by Huangfu Shang. The military report says 'both sides won and lost', but anyone with a discerning eye knows that they probably suffered a big loss."
"The commander of the Western Army is Zhang Fang, with 70,000 men, and more than 20,000 men have arrived so far." At this point, he glanced at Shao Xun and said, "This Zhang Fang is from Hejian, a native of a very humble family. He is brave and talented, and he was promoted very quickly. He came last year to fight Sima Jiong, and he and Li Han led 20,000 soldiers. This time he can lead an army of 70,000, which shows that he is very trusted by the King of Hejian."
Shao Xun was moved when he heard this.
The King of Hejian was Sima Yong, who was stationed in Chang'an and had always been eyeing the treasures in Luoyang.
Although Zhang Fang had no family background, he was able to command an army of 70,000. On the one hand, this shows his talent. On the other hand, it also shows that if given the right opportunity, ordinary people can also rise to high positions, although such examples are extremely rare.
His life seems a bit inspiring.
"Zhang Fang is brave and formidable, but he is brutal and doesn't like to be disciplined. After entering Hongnong County, he looted wantonly and even killed people for rations. You—don't learn from him." Mi Huang continued, "Huangfu Shang should be in Yiyang at this time. If he is defeated, Zhang Fang can attack Luoyang directly. The Western troops are actually very close."
"Why didn't the Grand Commander reinforce Huangfu?" Shao Xun asked, "Ten thousand people is a bit too few. The Western soldiers are not made of clay. Do we really want to send them to Luoyang to fight?"
Mi Huang pondered for a while and said, "As far as I know, the Grand Commander is implementing the strategy of 'defending the west and attacking the east', that is, using a small army to resist the western troops and the main force to fight the Ye army."
"At this moment, shouldn't we concentrate our best troops and generals to first defeat the army in Guanzhong, and then take advantage of the momentum of a great victory to engage in a decisive battle with the army in Hebei?" Shao Xun asked puzzledly.
The Guanzhong army only had 70,000 soldiers, while the Yecheng army had more than 200,000 soldiers. If he were to take command, he would mobilize the main force to first defeat the 70,000 Guanzhong soldiers, and then use the high morale of the victorious army to fight the Yecheng army. Moreover, the Guanzhong soldiers arrived quickly, while the Hebei soldiers arrived slowly, so there was a time difference in between.
Why does Sima Yi fight like a chess game? The Western Army has fewer soldiers, so I send fewer troops to defend. The Ye Army has more soldiers, so I send more troops to intercept. Has he ever fought a war? Are all the decision-making bodies of his shogunate composed of nobles, without a single general?
"It's too risky for you to do this..." Mi Huang was a little surprised.
"We are already at a disadvantage. If we don't seize the opportunity, we will just be waiting for death." After saying that, Shao Xun took a deep breath and said, "However, there may be something inside that we can't understand."
Mi Huang nodded and continued, "The commander of Ye Division is Lu Ji."
After that, he introduced this person.
The grandson of Lu Xun, the prime minister of the Eastern Wu Dynasty, and the son of Lu Kang, the Grand Marshal. He was a rare talent at a young age, and his writings were outstanding. He once served as a military officer in Sima Lun's mansion, and was later appreciated by Sima Ying, the King of Chengdu, and served as the Internal History of Pingyuan.
In fact, Lu Ji had no experience in commanding a large army, and his military career was negligible, but this time he suddenly became the commander of an army of more than 200,000.
Even inside Yecheng, there were people who were dissatisfied, and General Wang Cui of the North (grandson of Wang Jun, the main general who led the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Wu Dynasty) was one of them.
Sun Hui, the governor of Baisha (a member of the Eastern Wu royal family and the great-grandson of Sun Ben, the prefect of Yuzhang), was from the same Wu clan as Lu Ji. Knowing that Lu Ji had limited abilities, he advised him to give up his position as commander-in-chief, but was rejected.
Shao Xun was shocked after hearing this...
Someone who has never had any experience in war, he immediately started to fight and led an army of more than 200,000. Is this such a joke?
Just because he comes from a noble family?
To be honest, he is not as good as Zhang Fang arranged by Sima Yong. Although he is cruel, he climbed up step by step from the bottom of the army, although he has the advantage of being a Hejian national.
What did Lu Ji have? At most, he commanded his family's troops, right?
"The Ye army is still north of the Yellow River. It may take another half a month for them to cross the river and head south." Mi Huang said, "So, if we want to fight, the first group we encounter will most likely be Zhang Fang's men."
"Half a month, ah." Shao Xun felt a little disappointed. This time difference could be fully utilized.
"Don't think too much." Mi Huang looked at his expression and smiled: "To be honest, I don't know how to fight, and I don't know if your strategy is right. But since the Grand Commander has made such an arrangement, the military order cannot be violated. As long as the Minister of Works supports the Grand Commander for one day, we must obey his orders."
After saying this, Shao Xun couldn't help but look at him.
Mi Huang laughed and said, "You are a smart man, you should know what I mean."
Shao Xun smiled bitterly and said, "This battle is inexplicable."
He spent a lot of effort stockpiling supplies, surveying the terrain, and formulating targeted tactics. He was so busy that he was exhausted. It turned out that some people did not intend to really fight.
Well, it’s better to listen to Concubine Pei.
"Don't force yourself to take the lead" and "wait for the opportunity to turn around" are all very clear and have a lot to say - however, if someone falls into his hands and the opportunity is right, he will not let it go.
"Who said it wasn't true?" Mi Huang said helplessly, "However, Mr. Shao does things in an orderly manner. I feel much more at ease with you around. To be honest, many of the soldiers in Sikong's mansion talk a lot and make a lot of sense. I didn't think it was a big deal before, but now it seems to be nonsense. Some of them have never even lived in the camp for a day, but they are treated as guests of honor and advise on military affairs. This is killing people."
Who can be blamed for a person who has never lived in a military barracks for a single day becoming a key figure in the military decision-making body, or even the commander-in-chief of the army?
It seems like no one can be blamed, this is the system.
If we really want to blame someone, we should blame the Nine-Rank System. It is really outrageous and unprofessional.
In the absence of heroes, young men become famous, and they fight each other, all of them are just competing to see who is worse.
"There is one last thing." Mi Huang said seriously, "In the next few days, the emperor, the commander-in-chief, and all the ministers will be inspecting the garrisons in various places, and they may pass by here. Don't slack off, tidy up the army and don't let people look down on you."
"Yes." Shao Xun replied.
Although he was called the Son of Heaven, he was actually the Grand Commander Sima Yi who was inspecting various places. He just wanted to use the title of the Son of Heaven to boost morale and strengthen the determination of the troops to defend.
In this matter, the emperor was just a tool.
Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.
On the tenth day of September, the streets of Kaiyangmen were lined with ceremonial guards like clouds, and flags blocked out the sky.
Emperor Sima Zhong, Empress Yang Xianrong, Grand Commander Sima Yi and hundreds of civil and military officials, surrounded by guards, marched south on an inspection tour.
At the beginning of the hour of Wei, we passed the Imperial College and walked outside Biyong.
(End of this chapter)