Vol 2 Chapter 2531: Xue Rengui defeated Deng Yu, Sun Ce fought against Wu Zhiqi

Chapter 2531 Xue Rengui defeated Deng Yu, Sun Ce fought against Wu Zhiqi

 Chapter 2527: Xue Rengui defeated Deng Yu, Sun Ce fought fiercely with Wu Zhiqi

 The formal war between Chu and Wu was naturally related to the war in Jingbei.

But he said that Guan Zhong relied on deceit and deception to get both Wei and Wu to send troops to help the Qin Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty joined in uninvited.

5,000 Qin troops, 10,000 Song troops, 30,000 Wei troops, a total of 45,000 coalition troops from the three countries, jointly stationed in Zhangling County

Liu Xiu was unwilling to go to war with Wei and Song, which made Qin a fisherman, so he stopped Wei Zhang's offensive, but still faced off against the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms.

 At the same time, Xue Rengui and Guan Zhong each led 15,000 troops, totaling 30,000 troops, to fight against Deng Yu's 55,000 Chu troops.

Deng Yu saw that Xue Rengui dared to divide his troops to fight with such a small force, so he thought of defeating them one by one, but he didn't realize that this was Guan Zhong's plan.

 Guan Zhong wanted Deng Yu to concentrate his troops. When the Chu army of 55,000 troops arrived in Yicheng, they found that they had to face not only Xue Rengui, but also Guan Zhong's troops.

Xue Rengui and Guan Zhong's 30,000 troops surrounded Deng Yu's army in a pincer attack from the east and west.

Although Deng Yu was a little frightened and angry about this, he still did not panic. After all, he had nearly twice as many troops as the Qin army. Even if he was outflanked, he could still win, but the casualties might be greater.

Deng Yu personally took charge of the generals and ordered Li Mi to take charge of the right wing and Song Que to take charge of the left wing. Then he led 55,000 Chu troops and 30,000 Qin troops to start a decisive battle on the border of Yicheng.

 The two armies fought fiercely for two days and two nights, but it was still difficult to determine the winner.

By the third day, Deng Yu couldn't stand it any longer. He guessed that Xue Rengui wanted to bring down the Chu army, so he moved in full force, preparing to defeat the Qin army in one fell swoop.

Deng Yu’s decision was opposed by Song Que.

Song Que felt that Deng Yu should be more patient. It had only been two days since the war began, and the situation between the enemy and ourselves was not yet completely clear. It would not be a wise move to go all out at this time.

Song Que objected, but Li Mi supported it. After two days of high-intensity fighting, Li Mi didn't think Xue Rengui had any trump cards, so he supported Deng Yu.

Deng Yu thought about it again and again, and finally decided to launch a decisive battle. Unexpectedly, all the troops were dispatched, and an enemy army appeared in the rear.

It turns out that before Xue Rengui entered Yicheng, Yang Zaixing had led 5,000 Qin troops to arrive in advance and hid in the eastern mountainous area, waiting for a fighter plane.

After learning that Deng Yu was out in full force, Yang Zaixing no longer needed to hide. He directly led his army to appear behind Deng Yu's army and raided its back.

It was only then that Deng Yu understood that he had been led by Guan Zhong, but it was already too late. Now he had no choice but to fight hard.

Xue Rengui and Guan Zhong saw that their cards had been played, so they did not hold anything back. The three armies joined forces and attacked in three directions, east, west and south, preparing to defeat Deng Yu's troops in one fell swoop.

During the melee, Deng Yu's central army was pierced by Xue Rengui's troops, and Xue Rengui, among the thousands of troops, shot and killed the Chu army general Deng Yu with one arrow.

 Deng Yu's death in battle exacerbated the Chu army's defeat.

Li Mi, the commander-in-chief of the left route army, and Song Que, the commander-in-chief of the right route army, both realized that the situation was over, so they both chose to withdraw their troops in a tacit understanding.

Xue Rengui naturally could not let them go. He commanded 30,000 Qin troops to pursue them at full speed, and completely defeated the Chu army in one fell swoop.

Li Mi and Song Que were gathering the defeated troops while retreating to Jiangling. However, as long as the number of troops gathered exceeded 5,000, they would receive special attention from Xue Rengui.

Li Mi's troops were chased by Jingzhou General Wenpin on the way to escape. In less than one round of fighting, he was beheaded by Wenpin.

As for Song Que's troops, they also failed to escape back to Jiangling. Instead, they were overtaken by generals Yang Zaixing, Luo Cheng, and Taishi Ci when they retreated to Dangyang.

Song Que is not only a fierce general at the level of the God of War, but also has half-step of the cultivation of a grand master. His overall combat power is definitely among the top three in the Chu Kingdom. However, this time he met three peak generals.

Song Que fought against three generals with one man's strength. He refused to surrender even to the last soldier, and eventually died under Yang Zaixing's gun due to exhaustion.

Poor Song Que, he was talented, both civil and military, and even had the potential to surpass the great master, but he finally got Liu Xiu's trust, and before he had time to shine, he succumbed to Guan Zhong's calculations and died in battle.

At this point, the Western Route Army, one of Chu's two Northern Expeditionary armies, led by General Deng Yu, and deputy generals Li Mi and Song Que had all been killed.

Xue Rengui led 35,000 Qin troops to face Chu's 55,000 troops, and defeated them head-on after two days of fierce fighting.

Statistics after the war showed that the Qin army killed 30,000 enemies, captured 15,000 prisoners, and suffered 8,000 self-inflicted losses.

 The 55,000 Chu troops who invaded were defeated by the Qin army, and only nearly 10,000 defeated troops were left. Under the leadership of generals such as Ma Yuan, Cao Shen, and Zeng Guofan, they fled back to Jiangling with great difficulty.

After Xue Rengui defeated the Northern Expeditionary Army of Chu State, he even led his army to pursue Jiangling City, promising to recapture Jiangling in one fell swoop.

At this moment, Ma Yuan, one of the guards in the city, pretended to be willing to open the city and surrender to Xue Rengui, but in fact he was stalling for time.

Although Xue Rengui suspected that there was a false surrender, his army pursued for three days and were exhausted, so they needed to rest and recuperate, so they gave Ma Yuan one day.

 One day later, Ma Yuan claimed that he had convinced most of the people, but there were still a few generals who were unwilling and hoped that Xue Rengui could give him another three days.

Although Xue Rengui agreed on the surface, he actually gave up hope and was secretly building ladders and other siege equipment.

Xue Rengui naturally would not wait three days honestly. On the second day, he ordered the army to attack Jiangling.

Following Ma Yuan's delay, the Jiangling garrison was ready to respond, and under the command of Ma Yuan, Zeng Guofan and others, they conducted a city defense battle in an orderly manner.

Jiangling City is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Xue Rengui fought fiercely for three days and lost nearly 2,000 soldiers, but was unable to shake Jiangling in the slightest.

“No wonder Yue Fei attacked Jiangling City three times.”

Xue Rengui sighed in his heart. Only now did he realize Yue Fei's helplessness.

Jiangling City, which has been expanded many times, is no less defensive than Xiangyang City.

Without the support of the central government and relying solely on the Jingzhou local army, it would be difficult to capture a strong city like Jiangling.

Xue Rengui's forceful attack on Jiangling was frustrated. He had no choice but to temporarily withdraw his troops and prepare to stabilize the rear before leading his army to seize Jiangling again.

 At the same time, Liu Xiu of Jiangxia also received the news that the Western Route Northern Expeditionary Army was defeated by Xue Rengui and that its leader Deng Yu was killed in battle.

"What? Deng Yu, Li Mi, and Song Que were all killed in the battle? Impossible, this is absolutely impossible."

 Liu Xiu looked in disbelief. Li Mi and Song Que died. Although Liu Xiu was sad, he was not too sad.

 But Deng Yu died, and Liu Xiu was extremely sad.

Deng Yu was not only the commander-in-chief of the Western Route Army, but also the prime minister of the Chu State, and was Liu Xiu's first schemer.

Although Deng Yu's status as the mastermind has been greatly reduced with the addition of Pang Tong, Liu Ba, Liao Li, Zhufu Yan and other advisers, he is still Liu Xiu's most trusted person, so he was allowed to serve as the prime minister of Chu. .

 Liu Xiu and Deng Yu have supported each other and achieved each other's achievements for so many years, and they have gradually built up the current foundation of Chu State.

 For Liu Xiu, Deng Yu was no longer a minister, but a brother who shared weal and woe, so it was naturally difficult to accept the news of Deng Yu's death in battle.

Deng Yu lost nearly 50,000 elite soldiers in this defeat, which directly caused the Chu State to lose one-fifth of its elite soldiers. It was a huge trauma to the Chu State.

However, death is a big deal, and coupled with the relationship between Liu Xiu and Deng Yu, it is difficult for the Chu officials to hold Deng Yu accountable.

“My lord, please forgive me. People cannot be resurrected. The most important thing at the moment is to resist the allied forces of Qin, Wei, Wu and Song, and protect Jiangxia and Jiangling...”

"No."

Before Pang Tong finished speaking, Liu Xiu roared with grief and anger, and then ran out and hid alone. He needed to be quiet.

The next day, Liu Xiu, who had calmed down, took the initiative to show up. At this time, he no longer had the sadness of yesterday, but looking at his red eyes, you can see how hard Deng Yu's death had affected him.

"There are still 20,000 defenders in Jiangling City. If our army defends the city, with Xue Li's current strength, even if all the troops are deployed, they can hold on for two or three months. This time will be enough for Jingnan's reinforcements to come forward. Went to support.

Jianling’s top priority is to select a suitable garrison.

I wonder who you gentlemen think is suitable for taking on this important task? Liu Xiu asked.

Kuai Yue was the first to stand up and said: "Zeng Guofan once served as the governor of Wuling and is good at defense. He has defeated the Wuling barbarians many times with a small number of troops. He should be able to defend Jiangling for our Chu country."

As soon as these words came out, Pang Tong stood up and objected: "Master Kuai may have forgotten how brave Xue Rengui is. Let Zeng Guofan, a scholar, guard Jiangling. He may not be able to stop him.

 Master, Zeng Guofan can be a deputy general, but not the main general. "

Hearing what Pang Tong said, Liu Xiu asked: "Who does Pang Tong think can be the commander-in-chief?"

 “Ma Yuan.” Pang Tong said firmly.

Liao Li quickly stood up and said, "No, Ma Yuan is Ma Teng's younger brother. Ma Chao, Ma Teng's son, has surrendered to Qin. What if Ma Yuan also surrenders to Qin after taking charge of the army?"

 “That’s right, that’s right.”

 Liu Ba and Kuai Liang also followed suit.

 After hearing this, Liu Xiu frowned slightly and began to feel entangled in his heart.

Pang Tong said: "I think Ma Yuan is a loyal and righteous person. If my lord can use him and trust him, how can Ma Yuan not sacrifice his life to repay him?"

As for Ma Chao, that reckless man who can only show the courage of an ordinary man? Little do your Lords know that the previous relationship between their uncle and nephew has long since broken down.

　　When Ma Teng died in battle, Ma Yuan assisted Ma Chao in succeeding to the throne. However, after Ma Chao succeeded to the throne, he repeatedly fell into Yang Guang's counter-intentional schemes due to his suspicion, and even had the idea of ​​​​murdering his uncle.

This also made Ma Yuan completely disappointed with Ma Chao, but he was unwilling to fight with Ma Chao's uncle and nephew, so he took the initiative to leave and join the Chu State.

 Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for Ma Yuan to surrender to Qin for Ma Chao.

If the Lord is really worried, he can also send a supervisor over to supervise Ma Yuan. "

Hearing this, everyone realized that Ma Yuan was indeed unlikely to rebel.

Liu Xiu also nodded. He was already more inclined to Ma Yuan. After hearing Pang Tong's words, he no longer had any worries and ordered:

"In this case, Ma Yuan will be appointed as the prefect of Nanjun and also the governor of Jiangling, and Zeng Guofan will be the deputy governor."

After finishing speaking, Liu Xiu looked at a young man at the bottom and said: "Lu Xun, I have appointed you as the supervisor of the army."

Lu Xun stood up, cupped his fists and said, "The last general respects your order."

“The Jiangling issue has been resolved. As for Zhangling County, the armies of Wei and Song will not fight to the death for Qin and our army, so we only need to let Wei Zhang hold on.

 Now for our country of Chu, the only thing we need to worry about is the Wu army stationed in Lujiang. Liu Xiu said with a serious face.

Different from the Qin, Wei and Song Dynasties, once the Wu State goes to war with the Chu State, it will most likely be a national war.

If it were just a one-on-one challenge with Wu, then Chu would naturally not be afraid.

But now the Chu State had just experienced a disastrous defeat in Yicheng, and was constrained by the Qin, Wei and Song Dynasties and lacked military strength. If it wanted to go to war with the Wu State, it would obviously be very dangerous, so Liu Xiu had no choice but to be careless.

"Report...to report to my lord, Sun Ce, the crown prince of the Wu Kingdom, has led a waterway army of 80,000 Wu troops to invade our Lujiang County. Guo Ziyi, the prefect of Lujiang, is asking for help."

As soon as these words came out, the whole hall was shocked.

Wu Guoxuan came over at this time. He undoubtedly knew the news of the Chu army's defeat in Yicheng, so he deliberately sent troops at the most difficult time for the Chu army.

“Fellow strategists, Sun Ce is coming with great force. How should we, the Chu State, respond?” Liu Xiu asked.

Pang Tong said seriously: "My lord, this battle can only be fought with wisdom, not with force."

 “How to outwit?”

  “The hidden trap laid can be activated.”

 Hearing Pang Tong's words, Liu Xiu's eyes flashed with a strange color.

On the other side, Sun Ce who was stationed in Xiang'an, after receiving the news of Deng Yu's defeat, immediately led 80,000 Wu troops to attack Chu's Lujiang County, and encountered Guo Ziyi and Wuzhiqi in the first battle;

   Sorry, there was a party last weekend and I was delayed.

　　

　　

 (End of this chapter)