Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 69: Repairing the plank road in the open, but crossing Chencang in secret

March 26th.

Three days had passed since Guan Xing and Yang Tiao led over a thousand cavalry out of Mount Qi.

Dozens of small wooden houses have been built around the emperor's camp at the northern end of Wuzhangyuan for the Huben Lang and Longxiang Lang to live in.

At the northernmost end of the emperor's camp, there is an earthen platform with a pavilion on it, which is the place with the widest view on Wuzhangyuan.

Every day when Liu Chan and Dong Yun had free time from handling military affairs, they would come here to gaze into the distance.

However, three days had passed, and Guan Xing's thousand-plus cavalrymen and the Xiongnu's two thousand-plus cavalrymen had been confronting each other from a distance across a wilderness of twenty or thirty miles, without any conflict.

To the west, Zhang He's tens of thousands of troops who had come down from the mountains of Longyou had surrounded Chencang.

Starting yesterday at noon, it seemed that a tentative siege was carried out.

It lasted for about two hours and stopped before dark. Due to the distance, Liu Chan had no idea about the specific situation of the battle.

On the day when Guan Xing was confronting the Huns, another team of about 40,000 to 50,000 people came eastward from Chencang to Meiwu.

According to the analysis of Liu Chan, Deng Zhi, Dong Yun, Zong Yu and others, it was most likely that the Wei people were evacuating their troops with great fanfare just to bluff.

Otherwise, Zhang He was short of food and moved the surplus laborers eastward to save food and fodder, and continued to drive the laborers to the east to help transport food.

All in all, everyone judged that the team that came east from Chencang to protect the grain had about 20,000 soldiers.

However, even if there were only 20,000 of them, it would still be a bit difficult for the Han Dynasty to cope with its limited military strength.

This was also something that could not be helped. After killing Cao Zhen in Xiegu, together with the 4,000 Tiger Guards, the Han Dynasty only had 24,000 troops left to continue fighting.

More than 6,000 captives from Xiegu were escorted back to Hanzhong, and 2,000 were taken away with the transport of food and fodder.

Feng Hu, who was stationed at Jieting, was given two thousand soldiers.

Zhao Yun and Fu Qian, who were stationed at Chencang, were given four thousand men.

Zhao Tong was stationed in Yuezhi and was given a thousand Tiger Guards.

Ten thousand people came out from the north bank of the Wei River.

One thousand people were left behind in Zhongzhou on the Wei River.

One thousand men were left behind on the south bank of the Wei River.

At Wuzhangyuan, there were still two thousand Tiger Guards and one thousand old and weak soldiers, who were responsible for guarding the civilians and prisoners in the rear and protecting Liu Chan's personal safety.

This is the entire military force of the Han Dynasty.

However, although the troops were small, Liu Chan was not as panicked as when he first arrived.

One is the boost in morale brought about by consecutive victories.

Second, the Wuzhangyuan-Weishui defense system had been successfully established. As long as there was no damage and food supplies were not cut off, it could be said that the area was invincible before Sima Yi led his army to attack.

The third is that the iron armor coverage rate of the 15,000 soldiers in Wuzhangyuan is close to 60%.

Such a high iron armor coverage rate is far ahead of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms, where the overall armor coverage rate was about 30%, and even caught up with the Tang and Song Dynasties, which had great development of productivity hundreds of years later.

Of course, this is because the base number of troops is too small and the spoils are too much.

Of course, after several consecutive battles in the past month, many armors and weapons have been damaged to varying degrees.

Liu Chan summoned the craftsmen from the Chi'an Warehouse in Jigu to Wuzhangyuan and built a simple workshop to recycle and repair the broken armor and weapons as much as possible.

"Your Majesty, nearly a hundred grain ships have arrived east of Wugong!" A tiger cavalryman came to the outside of the pavilion and reported to Liu Chan.

Liu Chan frowned slightly and asked: "How many troops are there to escort the grain this time?"

More than a hundred ships of grain, with about 30,000 to 40,000 dan, can provide for an army of 100,000 for ten days.

Cao Rui personally led an army of 100,000, and the food reserves in Guanzhong were almost exhausted, so the subsequent supply of food and grass should have been continuous.

If the Han army had not won a great victory outside Guanzhong, there would probably be hundreds or even thousands of grain ships traveling back and forth on the Wei River day and night.

"Your Majesty, there aren't many people coming this time. It seems there are only about 10,000 people, including the civilians. The number of Wei invaders protecting the grain is estimated to be around 2,000 to 3,000."

"Two or three thousand?" Liu Chan nodded slowly.

Zhao Guang then looked eastwards towards Wugong:

"Your Majesty, it seems that Hedong, Hongnong, and Taiyuan can only send a few reinforcements.

"The personnel protecting the grain this time might have all been transferred from Chang'an."

Liu Chan nodded again.

According to the captives a few days ago, almost all the soldiers from Hedong and Hongnong counties were brought here by Guanqiu Jian and Linghu Yu.

With tens of thousands of corpses floating in the Wei River, it was impossible for Cao Zhen’s defeat to be concealed.

It is conceivable that, except for the Jia and Pei families, who were die-hard supporters of the Wei State, most of the powerful families in the two places should have started to wait and see. It is unlikely that they would easily send their own troops to be cannon fodder. At most, they would provide some support with food and grass as a token of their appreciation.

The tiger cavalry left.

Liu Chan's gaze returned to the direction of Meiwu.

There, all the Wei people's food had been unloaded from the grain ships and returned downstream.

But strangely, the Wei army in Meiwu did not seem to plan to transport grain directly along the official road, but instead sent people to the northern wilderness to open a road.

First they went north for more than twenty miles, and then continued to fight their way westward, as if they were preparing to bypass the Han army of 10,000 troops north of the Wei River.

"Your Majesty, it seems that Zhang He's troops are also going to the northern wilderness to clear a path!" Lang Xi (xì), the secretary standing behind Liu Chan, suddenly spoke.

Liu Chan then looked west.

I saw that seven or eight miles west of Dong Yun and Deng Zhiwei's northern camp, there was indeed a large group of people heading north from Zhang He's camp.

This batch of reinforcements from Wei arrived yesterday evening.

Liu Chan had just thought that after they built the fortifications, they would probably lead their troops to attack the Han camp in Weibei in order to clear the grain route.

Unexpectedly, Zhang He also went to the wilderness to clear a path?

"Are the Wei invaders really planning to bypass our Weibei camp?" Zhao Guang asked in surprise.

With forty to fifty thousand laborers working together to clear the way on the plain, the speed was undoubtedly very fast.

The land in the wilderness is mostly compacted, and as long as it doesn't rain, it can be leveled and used by baggage carts and food carts to pass through.

"Maybe it's to avoid the threat from my Zhongzhou people." Liu Chan said suddenly.

“The waterways in Zhongzhou are narrow, no more than a hundred steps wide.

"Even if we succeed in driving our Weibei army back to Zhongzhou, it will still not be difficult for our army to force a crossing.

"So, if the Wei invaders want to transport food via the official road, they still have to be on guard against our Central Continent army day and night.

"Once they are far away from Central China, they will be able to move more easily and send more troops to besiege Chencang."

I have to say, this is indeed a solution.

The difficulty of attacking across a distance of seven or eight miles is incomparable to the difficulty of attacking across a river that is only a hundred meters wide.

"So, have they completely given up on transporting grain by water?" Zhao Guang was still puzzled. After all, if they could drive the Weibei army back to Zhongzhou, they would have the opportunity to dredge the blocked Wei River.

Once the Han Dynasty builds a solid camp in Weibei, the cost of taking it down will be too high.

In the long run, it is obviously most appropriate to attack the camp now while it is still unstable.

"Could it be a feint to the east and attack in the west?" Liu Chan suddenly thought of something and his heart beat faster.

"Pijiang, go and invite Minister Dong and Deng Yangwu!"

...

...

Half an hour later.

Dong Yun and Deng Zhi arrived one after another.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Deng Zhi, who was exhausted from traveling, dismounted from his horse at the wooden pavilion and asked directly without any greetings.

"Minister Dong and Deng Yangwu, you two should have seen that the Wei bandits coming from Chencang have also gone to the wilderness to clear a path." Liu Chan said frankly.

Dong Yun and Deng Zhi both nodded.

Although the two were also confused, they actually felt a little relieved when they saw that the Wei people did not come to attack them.

The task given to them by General Zhao was to force Zhang He to divide his troops and prevent them from going all out to Long.

Now that this has been achieved without fighting, it is undoubtedly a strategic success.

In any case, facing Zhang He's tens of thousands of elite troops, without Zhao Yun as the backbone, Dong Yun, Deng Zhi, Zong Yu and other Confucian generals who did not have much battlefield experience were still a little guilty.

"I'm wondering if this is a trick by the Wei invaders, a deceptive attack to the east, a deception tactic, a plank road to repair the plank road in the open, a sneak attack to Chencang?" Liu Chan expressed his concerns. "A feint to the east, a sneak attack to Chencang?" Deng Zhi couldn't imagine how the Wei invaders could sneak into Chencang.

Liu Chan stood with his hands behind his back, looking northwest towards Zhang He's camp:

"Our Weibei camp is not yet firmly established. To the west we have 20,000 to 30,000 Wei invaders, and to the east we have another 14,000 to 15,000 Wei invaders.

"With such a large force, they didn't even test me, but instead went straight into the wilderness to open a path, showing me their weakness. Isn't this suspicious?"

Dong Yun and Deng Zhi both frowned slightly when they heard this.

Hearing what Your Majesty said, it does seem a bit suspicious.

"Shizhong and Yangwu, is there such a possibility?" Liu Chan expressed his speculation.

"Could it be that the Wei invaders have prepared flammable materials upstream, loaded them onto boats, and then sailed down the rapids of the Wei River to burn our floating bridge?
"In this way, the Wei invaders can cut off the retreat route of our Weibei army. Once the retreat route is cut off, the morale of the army will inevitably be greatly disrupted.

"If the Wei invaders take advantage of this opportunity to encircle us from the east and west, they may be able to defeat our main force in Weibei."

Liu Chan's worries were not groundless.

The situation in Zhongzhou is very similar to the Zhongyu City built on the sandbar of the Yellow River in later generations. Both use floating bridges to connect the north and the south.

What Zhongyu City feared most was fire attack. Now the Wei army was behaving strangely, and Liu Chan couldn't help but be on guard.

Dong Yun and Deng Zhi were both shocked.

The water flow is fast where the floating bridges are built in the north and south of Zhongzhou. If dozens of fireboats loaded with flammable materials really attack, it will be absolutely difficult to deal with it without the personnel and tools prepared in advance.

"Your Majesty, the Wei invaders came down from Longshan, where did they get the ships?" Dong Yun frowned and asked in confusion.

The Han Dynasty had cleared all boats on both sides of the Wei River some time ago, so no one thought that the Wei invaders might attack the pontoon bridge with fireboats, so the pontoon bridge was not fireproof at all.

In fact, a floating bridge made of wooden boards and hemp ropes cannot be fireproofed.

If you want to defend against enemy fire attacks, you can only do some things upstream of the pontoon bridge.

"We certainly don't have any large ships, but ordering the artisans accompanying the army to build some small boats and rafts that can only carry two or three people is definitely not a problem.

"Furthermore, have the Minister of the Interior and Yangwu forgotten how Han Xin gathered his large ships at Puban to lure the enemy, then led tens of thousands of troops upstream using wooden rafts to secretly cross the Yellow River and destroy Wei in one fell swoop?"

Wooden poppy sneaking across?

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Dong Yun and Deng Zhi were both shocked.

How could I forget?!
"The story of Marquis Huaiyin is so well-known, how could we forget it?" Deng Zhi, who was in his forties, cast his gaze on the emperor, his gray and black mottled beard trembling slightly.

“Although I remember it, I cannot think of it as often as Your Majesty does.

"Your Majesty previously employed the Marquis of Huaiyin's strategy of blocking the flow of water and thus defeated Cao Zhen.

"This time, because the enemy is so powerful but does not come to attack, it is inferred that the enemy may be practicing the strategy of 'openly repairing the plank road and secretly crossing Chencang'.

"As the Art of War says, 'The secret of command lies in the heart,' isn't that true?"

"If the enemy really carries out this plan, what should I do? If he attacks us tonight, how can my army be prepared?" Liu Chan did not react to Deng Zhi's seemingly sincere flattery, but just asked directly.

It is not certain that Zhang He would really use this fire attack strategy, nor is it certain that he really had flammable materials such as ointment and sulfur to implement this fire attack strategy.

But according to the original historical trajectory, people like Deng Zhi and Zong Yu became generals in Shu only after the death of the prime minister, and Dong Yun had never been heard of as a talented general.

If I don't be more careful, I might become the first emperor in history to be laughed at by others, and become a laughing stock for all eternity.

Deng Zhi pondered for a while, then said in a daze:

"If the Wei invaders really use fireboats to burn our pontoon bridge, our main force of 10,000 in Weibei will not be able to cross south.

"Furthermore, if a fire breaks out, the thick smoke will be blown upstream by the east wind, obscuring vision. Wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity for the Wei invaders to sneak across the Wei River using wooden rafts or floating bridges?"

When this was mentioned, all the ministers in the pavilion, including Deng Zhi himself, paled slightly.

If this strategy is to succeed, it can only be done by using the prepared to attack the unprepared. If the emperor does not mention it today, then wouldn't the Han Dynasty really be unprepared?
Zhao Guang immediately frowned:

"Could it be that the Wei invaders have discovered that our forces at Wuzhangyuan are weak and want to intercept our main force in the north of Wei?

"Then the army directly sneaked across Weinan and attacked Your Majesty's carriage at Wuzhangyuan?"

Wuzhangyuan is indeed easy to defend but difficult to attack, but if there are only the current three or four thousand people defending the plateau, it may not be that difficult.

Especially when the battering rams and rolling logs on the plateau are not yet fully equipped.

Once the pontoon bridge was burned, the northern army would not be able to cross the river to the south, and might also be held back by the Wei invaders from the direction of Meiwu. With the morale of the Han soldiers north and south of the Wei River in chaos, the Wei invaders might not be without a chance.

The Emperor of Han is here, so it is definitely worth their gamble.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Liu Chan couldn't help but snort coldly and rolled his eyes at Zhao Guang.

“It’s just speculation.

"Not to mention that the Wei invaders may not really want to carry out this strategy of secretly crossing Chencang.

"Even if he really intended to burn our pontoon bridge and lead the masses to seize the plateau, you are all on guard. Can't you think of some way to restrain him?"

Everyone looked at each other for a moment.

General Zhao was not there, and the one leading the Wei invaders might be the veteran general Zhang He.

In addition, the enemy is numerous and we are few, and the emperor is leading the army in person, which makes it easy for people to lose their composure.

"In this case, it would be better to withdraw the main force in Weibei back to Zhongzhou and the south bank to defend it." Dong Yun pondered for a moment and proposed the safest solution.

We only need to withdraw the 10,000 troops from Weibei, and then the Wei invaders will have no chance at all, so there is no need to worry.

Everyone nodded.

However, Liu Chan pondered for a long time, took a deep breath, and sighed: "If you really can't think of a better way, this is the only way.

"But I don't know whether the Wei invaders will implement this strategy. I am unwilling to let tens of thousands of Wei invaders return to Chencang so easily. I can't put all the pressure on General Zilong, can I?
"Furthermore, if we can come up with some methods to restrain them, we might be able to turn their tactics against them and catch the Wei invaders off guard."

The Wei army obviously saw that the Han wanted to disperse their troops in Chencang, and their subsequent response was to fight back against the enemy with their own strength and to flood the water with their own land.

If we cross the river south easily, won’t we let them succeed?
"It's better to remove the pontoon bridge and rebuild it when the Weibei army engages in battle with the bandits." Zhao Guang's eyes lit up after he pondered for a long time.

Liu Chan shook his head and said, "No, once the pontoon bridge is withdrawn, it will be a battle with our backs to the river.

"There is no Han Xin here, and not all soldiers are fearless."

As history has shown, most people who want to replicate the Last Stand have died miserably.

Furthermore, the floating bridge on the Wei River today is not the simple floating bridge built with boats during the day and night attacks, but a real floating bridge.

The floating bridge built with boats is shaky and too prone to falling into the river, making it unsuitable for large-scale evacuation of troops.

You must know that crossing the river that night was to pursue the victory, and the mentality was different from being pursued by the enemy.

However, building a real floating bridge is not easy and it takes at least one or two hours to complete.

Who can guarantee that the Weibei troops can hold out for an hour or two when they really need to evacuate?

"It's really not possible." Deng Zhi shook his head.

"If the time comes to evacuate, the army will be in a state of panic. If the Wei invaders take advantage of this opportunity to send fireboats down the river and burn the bridge, the army will be further thrown into disarray."

The two generals in charge of the military affairs in Weibei were Deng Zhi and Zong Yu. No one knew better than Deng Zhi whether it was feasible to build a temporary bridge and whether the army's morale was in chaos.

"What about the iron chains across the river?" Liu Chan told the method he had thought of at the beginning.

"Even if we can't stop the incoming ships by using iron chains across the river, we can significantly slow down their drifting speed, and the soldiers on the pontoon bridge will be able to cope better."

The small boat had too shallow a draft, and the previous group of ships that had sunk their boats carrying rocks probably couldn't intercept the small boat. Liu Chan could only think of the famous iron chain across the river.

Deng Zhi's eyes lit up when he heard this, but after thinking for a moment, he shook his head again:

"Your Majesty, if you want to use iron chains to cross the river, the chains must be large, otherwise there will be no way to stop them.

"But a chain over a hundred paces long wouldn't be built in three or five days. Furthermore, such a long chain would be incredibly heavy and would have to withstand the impact of a collision with an incoming ship.

"If we want to keep it firmly across the river, the banks must be several feet above the river surface, and they must be built on giant piles or rocks. The soil on both sides of the Wei River is so soft that it might not be feasible."

The situation was deadlocked again.

Although Liu Chan knew about the iron chains across the river and even saw in history books how to break the iron chains across the river, he had never thought about the difficulty of practical operation.

After all, who would have thought that they would travel through time? If they hadn't traveled through time, who would have had nothing better to do than think about how to put it into practice?

After a moment, Zhao Guang's eyes lit up. "What if we use boats to carry them, share the weight, and then place them across the pontoon bridge? Didn't our army use iron chains to connect the boats a few days ago?"

Deng Zhi shook his head again: "Once the fire ships arrive, won't the boats be burned and the iron chains sink into the river?"

Zhao Guang was immediately displeased when he heard this.

However, Liu Chan suddenly thought of something, as if struck by something, and looked at Zhao Guang: "I think Pijiang's words are correct."

(End of this chapter)