My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 279 Long Distance Attack

Hefei is not too far from Shouchun, only about 300 li away. If we calculate based on the normal marching speed of 30 li per day, Zhou Yu and his men can reach Shouchun in 12 or 13 days.

If we also consider that we can rest at Chengde along the way, the speed can be even faster.

Chengde is located between Hefei and Shouchun. It is Liu Ye's hometown. At this time, it still had tens of thousands of people. But in a few years, it will become like Pengcheng before.

The severe drought, coupled with the war, caused a near collapse in the population of Lujiang, with the remaining survivors fleeing and migrating to the surrounding prefectures and kingdoms.

After intense discussion, Liu Feng and his men finally decided to take action before Yuan Shu's army arrived in Chengde.

The distance from Hefei to Chengde is about 140 li, while the distance from Chengde to Shouchun is nearly 200 li. More importantly, if an operation were to take place between Hefei and Chengde, it would easily alert Chengde and send a warning to Shouchun and Hefei.

In this way, Liu Feng's army would be caught in a dilemma. Although the army would not collapse due to its strong military strength, the abundance of autumn harvest grains, and Liu Feng's presence in the army, these three factors would provide strong support.

However, the best-case scenario is to switch to siege warfare, which will inevitably result in heavy casualties and consume a lot of time.

Of course, there are reasons for this plan that cannot be ignored.

First, this is due to geographical factors.

If Zhou Yu and Sun Xiang wanted to go from Hefei to Shouchun, they had to pass through Chengde. In Chengde, there were two routes to the north. One was to go around Wabu Lake on the left and then go north along the plain between Wabu Lake and Shaopi, which would lead directly to Shouchun.

This passage was both smooth and safe. The march was on flat roads, with Shaopi on the left and Wabu Lake on the right, making it almost completely safe.

The second route is to bypass Wabu Lake on the right and continue north. This route runs along the river, with Wabu Lake on the left and a relatively flat, gently rolling hilly area on the right. This route is much more dangerous for the army than the first route.

The only advantage of this road is that it is relatively straight and is twenty or thirty miles shorter than the first road.

It's obvious that even a fool would choose the first path over the second.

The main point of contention in the heated debate was when to take over Chengde.

There are currently two main plans. One plan is for Zhou Yu's troops to lead the way, enter Chengde, quickly close the city gates, and control the city's defenses, while Liu Feng's army surrounds and annihilates Sun Xiang outside the city.

The second plan is to wait until Zhou Yu and Sun Xiang leave Chengde and continue north, then rely on Liu Ye's plan to launch a surprise attack on Chengde, and then continue north to launch a surprise attack from the rear, and then join forces with Zhou Yu to encircle and annihilate Sun Xiang.

Liu Ye is undoubtedly a staunch supporter of the second option.

Taishi Ci, however, felt that the first plan was more reliable.

Finally, after allowing them to discuss the matter thoroughly, Liu Feng made the final decision to implement the first plan.

Actually, there was some self-interest involved. Liu Ye himself knew that the first plan was more secure, but the credit for the first plan went to Zhou Yu, while the credit for the second plan went to him, Liu Ye.

How could he be willing to give up?

That's why Liu Feng let them argue, so that Liu Ye could see the bigger picture.

Liu Ye is a smart man, but he is a little too self-serving.

Liu Feng didn't care that he had selfish motives, but he couldn't let personal matters interfere with public duty.

After the decision was made, the entire army was immediately mobilized and prepared to depart in the pre-arranged batches, waiting only for Zhou Yu's letter before heading to Chengde.

Among them, Zhang Liao was the vanguard, Taishi Ci was the central army, and Xu Huang was the rearguard, leading the cavalry to set off first. Liu Ye was the military advisor who accompanied the army to contact spies, agents, and insiders in Chengde County.

Liu Feng granted Taishi Ci full command authority, allowing him to take action immediately if an opportunity arose without waiting for reinforcements.

Subsequently, Liu Feng used Xu Sheng's troops as the vanguard, and provided Jia Bin's cavalry with a large number of oxen, horses, and carts to improve their mobility and keep up with the cavalry.

Liu Feng personally led Pan Zhang's troops as the central army, while Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin escorted grain and four thousand laborers as the rearguard.

The entire army, consisting of 24,000 cavalry and infantry, set off from the east city and charged towards Chengde.

Between Dongcheng and Chengde, there are large hilly areas. These hills are not high, generally no more than one or two hundred meters in altitude, and the slopes are gentle and the land is large, so even cavalry can ride across them, and large armies can move without any difficulty.

However, the distance between Dongcheng and Chengde is not short, it is 280 li.

This is the fundamental reason why Liu Feng gathered cavalry in the eastern city.

Considering the five- to seven-day, or even longer, delay in information exchange between Zhou Yu and Dongcheng, even with Zhou Yu's advance planning, it would still be necessary to improve mobility.

Although infantry can set off earlier and enter the battlefield, how can such a large-scale battle involving tens of thousands of people be hidden?

Not to mention they also demanded that it be hidden for several days.

Infantry marched at a speed of 30 li per day, with a regular forced march of 40 li.

However, this is not the limit of infantry marching. If they really had to run, elite infantry could still manage the heavy task of 50 to 80 li a day. But the problem is that after completing this route, not only will a large number of people fall behind, but the organization will also experience moderate or even severe chaos.

This is the real-world basis for the saying in ancient military treatises that "those who rush for profit from a hundred li away will lose their generals, while those who rush for profit from fifty li away will see half their army arrive."

There was a claim in later generations that modern infantry could move faster than cavalry, but this was purely a misunderstanding and a rumor spread by word of mouth.

This rumor generally originates from the American Civil War, in the American West, where infantry companies would outpace cavalry companies when marching for five or seven days or more.

Actually, this statement is quite interesting. Why is it required to be more than seven days?

In reality, the western United States is all desert, with no supplies available. Horses can only eat and drink the supplies they carry, and their water and food consumption is quite large. In addition, warhorses also need to eat fine feed.

The so-called five to seven days limit refers to the maximum time that a cavalry company can carry with them, including the fine feed and water. It does not mean that the warhorses can no longer run after five or seven days.

The warhorse could still run at this point, but continuing would be suicidal. It had to stop, or even turn back to find its supply convoy.

The pinnacle of light infantry was the battle created by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, which marched 145 li (approximately 72.5 kilometers) in 14 hours, and that was on mountain roads.

However, there are many outstanding cavalrymen. Li Shimin pursued Song Jingang, covering two hundred li in a day and night, and even dismounted to fight eight times during the process.

The Mongols were even more extravagant. At their peak, each Mongol man rode five horses and could march at a speed of 180 to 190 li (approximately 90 to 50 kilometers) per day.

What can infantry use to surpass them?

It should be noted that even by the late Ming Dynasty, the Guan Ning Army cavalry, which was already in dire straits, was still able to travel 150 li a day when returning to reinforce Beijing.

Not to mention that cavalry can generally maintain more than 80% of their combat effectiveness when they arrive on the battlefield, and even if their horses are damaged, they can still maintain 80% of their human combat strength. Infantry, on the other hand, cannot possibly retain this level of stamina.

So the ancients weren't fools. Cavalry only fell from its status as a main force after the Maxim machine gun appeared, and it wasn't until the advent of armored forces that cavalry was truly sent to its grave.

Only the speed of cavalry could seize this fleeting opportunity.

The road from Dongcheng to Chengde is a smooth one, with fields full of crops everywhere, and you even have to cross a river called Yanjian River.

The river is neither deep nor wide; people and horses can cross it, and there are bridges across it.

Therefore, this long-distance raid can fully demonstrate the speed and endurance of the cavalry.

To this end, Liu Feng specially allocated a batch of money and silk to Taishi Ci for their emergency expenses on the road, such as purchasing grain and conscripting laborers.

If there is still a shortage, one can act first and report later, borrowing or buying on credit in Liu Feng's name.

In terms of military discipline, this is all Liu Feng can do. At this stage, it is impossible to expect soldiers to freeze to death rather than dismantle houses or starve to death rather than steal food.

Yue Fei's army did indeed achieve this, but their pay was far higher than that of the Xuzhou army—at least tens of times higher, and possibly even more than a hundred times higher.

Soon, Zhou Yu's letter arrived in Dongcheng.

In his mind, Zhou Yu gave a detailed account of his location, as well as the estimated time of departure from Hefei and the time of arrival in Chengde.

Zhou Yu promised to try to arrive in Chengde in the afternoon, which would both exhaust Sun Xiang's army, increase their fatigue, and lower their morale, while also ensuring sufficient light to prevent any from escaping. On September 16th, the date Zhou Yu had set, Liu Feng ordered the troops to march.

Long impatient and thirsty, Liu Fengjun charged westward like a tiger unleashed from its cage.

Led by a guide who had been prepared in advance, they traversed terrain suitable for cavalry.

Many village leaders along the way were terrified by this army. Farmers even abandoned their crops and fled back to their villages, wanting to die with their wives and children.

However, they soon discovered that this army, which was flying the red flag with the character "Liu" on it, was quite different from others. Not only did they not rob grain or money, but they were also very cautious during their march and rarely trampled on farmland.

If there was any damage, some money would be left to compensate the landowner, which was like a dream come true.

Gradually, the local strongmen and common people along the way stopped being afraid of these troops. Instead, they offered beef, mutton, wine and meat to reward the soldiers and inquire about where the army came from.

The army took the meat, but returned the wine.

Fortunately, everyone finally found out that the army belonged to General Liu Bei.

The commander-in-chief was none other than Liu Feng, the eldest son of General Liu Bei and the Grand General Who Conquers the South.

They came here on imperial orders to punish the traitor Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu's titles of General of the Left and Marquis of Yangdi were erased by the court, and he was declared a traitor to the court, which was announced to the world.

The news caused an uproar among the powerful clans and wealthy families along the route to Jiujiang.

It must be understood that Yuan Shu was, after all, a skeleton king. Although he learned from the lessons of Nanyang when he arrived in the Jianghuai region, he changed his approach from the Nanyang policy of draining the pond to a sustainable policy of draining the pond to drain the pond.

However, his exorbitant taxes and levies still made him the most tyrannical warlord in the world, and perhaps only the Western Liang warriors in Guanzhong who did not farm were more tyrannical than him.

The powerful clans and gentry of Jianghuai dared not speak out against him, and could only protest by refusing to cooperate with him.

But Yuan Shu didn't care. If you won't help me, then I'll just recruit mountain bandits and river pirates.

It's hard to find a three-legged person in this world, but isn't it even harder to find someone who wants to be an official?

Therefore, Yuan Shu's relationship with the local gentry and powerful families in the Jianghuai region remained extremely poor. It was just that Yuan Shu had a large army and many generals, so these local gentry and powerful families were unable to resist him.

As early as after Liu Bei recovered Guangling, people from Jiujiang kept sending messages to Xuzhou, hoping that Liu Bei would send troops south. They were willing to welcome Liu Bei with food and drink.

However, at that time, Xuzhou's attention was focused on the emperors in Jiangdong and Hedong, and they could not pay attention to the Jianghuai region.

Although he tactfully reassured them, Liu Feng did not give up on them. Instead, he sent Liu Ye and Lu Su, people from the Jianghuai region, to maintain contact with them.

This is where it comes in handy, isn't it?
Taishi Ci led his army forward, deep into Yinling. When they reached the border between Yinling and Chengde, they were greeted by powerful local gentry and clansmen.

"Is the visitor General Taishi?"

A group of several hundred people waited by the roadside. The leader was an old man with white hair, while a scholar and a burly man stood on either side of him.

The vanguard was led by Zhang Liao. He did not go forward to inquire, but instead sent someone to report to Taishi Ci and then sent someone forward to tell him that General Taishi was still behind before continuing to advance.

Taishi Ci had given an order that no one should linger without a valid reason.

Although Taishi Ci loved his soldiers like his own children, Liu Bei and Liu Feng would always distribute the rewards to the soldiers. He also disliked corporal punishment and was well-liked by his soldiers.

However, he was also very strict in disciplining his troops. Anyone who disobeyed orders or violated military regulations would be punished, or even executed, depending on the severity of the situation.

Zhang Liao, now holding the position of vanguard, is full of ambition and ready to make a name for himself. However, he unexpectedly suffers punishment from Taishi Ci for some inexplicable reason, becoming the chicken in the story of killing the chicken to scare the monkey.

Zhang Liao led his army north, and about half an hour later, Taishi Ci's central army also arrived at the same location.

Taishi Ci received a report from the vanguard that there was such a group of people here, so he led Liu Ye and his personal guards away from the main army and rushed towards the old man's location.

"This old man, Zhu Zheng, greets the general."

Upon seeing Taishi Ci, the white-haired old man immediately introduced himself and led the people behind him to bow: "I have been ordered by Masters Ziyang and Zijing to prepare several campsites for the army and have prepared wine, meat and food in these places."

"You're too polite, sir."

Taishi Ci dismounted, quickly stepped forward to help Zhu Zheng up, and said gratefully, "Thank you for your trouble, sir."

Zhu Zheng was the most powerful family in Chengde County. The scholars and burly men behind him were also powerful families and gentry in Chengde County, and they were among the top three families in Chengde.

The three families usually had a good relationship with the Liu family, and they even helped a lot when Liu Ye's family was taken to Xuzhou.

Liu Ye then contacted the other party, asking them to replenish supplies for Taishi Ci's cavalry and prepare hiding places.

Taishi Ci's army of six thousand men was not easy to hide well within Chengde territory. But with the help of Zhu Zheng and others, this difficult task immediately became simple.

"In this campaign, our lord has been ordered to suppress the rebels and strike back with righteousness. Once the campaign is successful, the court will surely bestow rewards upon him."

Although Liu Ye was quite self-serving, he was a man of exceptional political and strategic abilities, and immediately began to make empty promises to Zhu Zheng and the others.

"Our lord is good at recognizing and employing people, and he is fair in rewarding and punishing them. He is highly valued by the Emperor and is relied upon as a pillar of the imperial family. You gentlemen have contributed to the country this time, and our lord will not forget your hard work. You will be richly rewarded in the future. You can rest assured."

After Liu Ye finished speaking, Taishi Ci nodded at the opportune moment and said, "I will immediately send a message to the young master to report on everyone's performance. You can all rest assured."

Upon hearing Taishi Ci's words, Zhu Zheng's face immediately broke into a wide smile. Zheng Dang and Song Zhu behind him were also beaming with joy. What was the point of all this hard work?
Isn't it all because of what Liu Ye and General Taishi said?
"I dare not accept the praise from the General and Mr. Ziyang. The General and Mr. Ziyang have worked hard on their journey. The locations arranged are divided into seven places, all of which are villages that we can influence, as well as places of great strength in the wild. One plateau can accommodate two thousand people, and another riverside can accommodate more than a thousand people. Sufficient wine and meat, as well as more than a thousand bushels of grain, salt, eggs, and soybeans have already been prepared for the warhorses."

"In that case, thank you all very much."

Taishi Ci turned around and gave the order, while also instructing Zhu Zheng and his guides to follow his own cavalry.

Subsequently, based on the information provided by Zhu Zheng and others, he began to allocate troops.

Zhang Liao was appointed as the vanguard and stationed on the riverbank. Once the follow-up operations were launched, Zhang Liao's troops could immediately cross the river and serve as the vanguard.

Taishi Ci's central army was stationed on the platform, where he commanded all the armies.

Xu Huang's troops were scattered and stationed in various villages to provide cover for the main army.

This place is only 120 li away from Chengde County.

With their cavalry galloping at full speed, they could reach the city walls in just one day.

Liu Ye secretly sent someone across the river to contact Zhou Yu and inform him of the army's movements so that the two sides could coordinate.

Taishi Ci's troops began to move into various camps to rest and recuperate, while preparing to cross the river and launch a surprise attack on Sun Xiang at any time.

So far, Taishi Ci's troops have penetrated 160 li into Jiujiang territory, yet they have managed to remain secretive.

Taishi Ci's prudence and Liu Ye's coordination and arrangements were of great merit, but the Skeleton King's negative contribution cannot be ignored.

The people of Jianghuai hated Yuan Shu to the core, and even if they saw Taishi Ci's army, they would not have the thought of reporting it. This merit could not be ignored.

*******
Zhou Yu had already left Hefei and was heading towards Chengde.

When Zhou Yu saw the letter from Liu Ye that clearly stated the battlefield was south of Chengde City, he clapped his hands in delight.

Because Zhou Yu also happened to send a letter, and he also suggested to Liu Feng and his men that the battlefield be set up here.

Just as Liu Feng and the others had analyzed, Sun Xiang indeed firmly chose to take the left passage, a decision that even Zhou Yu could not change.

(End of this chapter)