Chapter 1191 Wang Jian and Li Xin

  Jingzhou Inspector Wu Qiujian, in his early years, when Cao Rui was just a Marquis of Pingyuan and was still not very popular with Cao Pi, he was already Cao Rui's literary master, and Cao Rui forged a deep friendship.

   It is precisely because of this that after Cao Rui ascended the throne, Guanqiu Jian won the trust of Emperor Wei, and his official career was extremely smooth, all the way to the top.

  Successively served as Shangshulang, Yulin Jian, Luoyang Diannong Zhonglang and other important positions, and then served as the governor of Jingzhou.

  Even without any military experience, he was later promoted to General Zhengnan, and at the same time supervised all the military forces in Jingzhou.

   Over the years, Guanqiu Jian has been guarding Jingzhou and has not moved his position.

  Because of the huge pressure of Ji Han on the western front, the Wei State, which would conquer Liao a few years earlier in the original history, could not only watch the Liaodong Gongsun family dance between Wei and Wu.

   Now even Youzhou, which is adjacent to Liaodong, is desperately shrinking its troops.

  While Guanqiu Jian, who really rose to prominence in the original history because of his conquest of the Liao Dynasty, was still just a governor without much military merit at this time.

  Even in the original history, Guanqiu Jian led the army to conquer Liao alone for the first time, but it failed.

  So when he learned that the famous bandit Feng personally led the army to Caoqiao Pass, he didn't dare to hesitate:

   "Come on!"

   "General?"

   "Prepare the horse immediately, I want to go back to Wancheng."

   "Also, send an order to Wancheng immediately to order the soldiers to regroup and go to Caoqiao Pass at any time."

  The Han-Wu alliance, intending to seek the great Wei, is a well-known fact in the world.

  Now the whole country of Wu is attacking Wei, and the north bank of the river is full of Wu soldiers.

   And what about Han?

   But there was a lot of thunder and little rain.

   It is hard to believe that Han, which has been forcing Wei Lian to retreat, will miss this opportunity.

  Getting the exact news from Feng Thief at this moment, Guanqiu Jian finally breathed a sigh of relief involuntarily.

   Feng Zei might be difficult to deal with, but at least he can be mentally prepared.

  If even Thief Feng didn't know where he was or what he was going to do, he would suddenly appear from nowhere, which would only make people more frightened.

   Feng thief led the army, always elusive, erratic, and extremely cunning.

   But this person is also the leader of the thief generals of the Han Dynasty, and he is extremely fierce.

  The first battle in Guanzhong, this impression reached the peak in the whole country of Wei, and it is simply unforgettable.

  Wan Qiujian, who has no experience in major battles in the military, and has no reputation, naturally had to be extremely careful when he heard Feng thief coming.

   "But general, what about the other side? Wu Kou is probably not willing to retreat easily."

  Hearing that the general was leaving Xiangyang and going to Caoqiao Pass, he could not help reminding him with some worries.

   Guan Qiujian could guess that Ji Han would take the opportunity to send troops from Wuguan, so how could he not be prepared for this situation?

   But seeing him sneer and said:

   "Since Wu Kou committed crimes in the north these days, although his momentum has been great, from my point of view, I'm afraid he hasn't done his best."

  Jingzhou's Wu Kou has roughly how many troops. After so many years, Guanqiu Jian is naturally able to do it well.

   "So what they want to wait for is probably this moment."

   This is a strategy, a half-hearted strategy.

  This is also the main reason why Guanqiu Jian did not mobilize all the soldiers and horses of Wancheng to cross the Han River no matter how urgent the battle in the middle of the country was.

  He himself has even been sitting in Xiangyang, and never led the army to Tengzhong.

   In case of being entangled by Wu Kou's army in the middle of the river, and Feng Bandit shows up at this time, Caoqiao will be in danger!

  Without Caoqiao Pass, Wancheng would have no danger to defend.

  Nanyang is all flat land. When the time comes, the Han army in Guanzhong will come and leave whenever they want.

  This is an unbearable burden for Chengwan City.

   "Zhuge Jin's name is General Wu Kou, but in reality he is just a scholar with nothing but fame."

   "It's okay for this person to be a civil servant. If he joins the army, he can only join the army at most. An Neng can lead the army alone? And now that he is old and dying, why should he be afraid?"

  Zhuge Jin counted from the time when he became an official in Wu Kou, counting his merits in detail, most of them came from others, and gained the merits of others.

  He led the army alone, never won a single victory, and was repeatedly defeated by the Wei Dynasty.

  This is why Guan Qiujian knew that Wu Jun hadn't fully exerted his strength yet, but he didn't worry too much about the army led by the general of Wu State Zhuge Jin.

   "However, Bandit Feng is very different from Zhuge Jin. This bandit has never been defeated since he invaded the Great Wei. He is indeed the great enemy of the Great Wei."

   "So Feng's thief led the army to attack, and I will not go to Caoqiao Pass. How can I rest assured? In the war in the middle of the war, as long as the generals are ordered to guard the city, there will be no worries."

  Thinking about the early years, the soldiers of the Wei Dynasty could come and go freely between Xiangyang and Nanjun.

   Zhuge Jinneng in the south, who is the general of Wei?

  Now, Wei's troops in Jingzhou are outstretched, barely coping with the Wu Kou coming from the south.

   Rao is that Guanqiu Jian was single-handedly promoted by Cao Rui, and he is a diehard loyalist to Wei, so he can't help but feel a little bit of sympathy, only that the destiny is unpredictable.

  If it wasn't for the Han Kingdom in the west, why would the Great Wei have come here?

  Seeing that Guanqiu Jian's mind has been made up, he suggested another sentence:

   "When the Wu people came to attack, the general was more than capable, so there was no need to ask the court for help."

   "Now that the thief Feng is coming, the general looks like he is facing a big enemy. Jingzhou is under the enemy's back and belly. If the general doesn't ask the court for help, when will he wait?"

   "Xuchang..." Mentioning this, Guan Qiujian, who had always been confident, fell silent.

   There is indeed an imperial army in Xuchang.

   It was brought over from Luoyang when the first emperor visited the east.

   Later, when the Jianghuai war was urgent, the chief minister Zhao Yan was ordered in the face of danger and was appointed as the general of the hussars. He also led the forbidden army to the south to support him.

  After the death of the first emperor, this forbidden army has been defending the emperor in Xuchang.

  Wu Qiujian finally shook his head:

   "The battle on the Jianghuai side is far more intense than in Jingzhou. If His Majesty dispatches the forbidden army over, what if something happens to Jianghuai?"

  Of course, this is just a superficial reason.

  The deeper important reason is that Xuchang and Luoyang are still too close.

  The Forbidden Army in Xuchang is also responsible for defending against Sima Yi.

   Now that Feng Zei appeared in Wuguan, the pressure on Jingzhou increased sharply, but on the Luoyang side, it was greatly relieved.

   As one subsides and the other rises, Xuchang's forbidden army, I'm afraid, can't move lightly.

  Thinking of this, Guan Qiujian couldn't help but gritted his teeth:

  As a veteran of the three dynasties, Sima Yi didn't want to repay the country's favor, but supported the army in order to stand on his own. This can be said to be an old thief rather than a son of man!

   It's just that no matter how much you scold Sima Yi, it's useless now.

  Since Guan Qiujian had anticipated today's situation, he quickly made arrangements for his departure, and then immediately crossed the Han River to return north.

  After returning to Wancheng, he led the soldiers of Wancheng who had been prepared a long time ago without stopping, and rushed towards Caoqiao Pass for reinforcements.

   At this time, Feng Duhu had only gone halfway.

  Late spring and early summer, this is the rainy season.

  There was a severe drought last year, and God seems to want to make up for the rain this year.

  Although Wuguan Road did not encounter the extremely bad situation that Ju Fu said, the Danshui surged and indeed flooded many sections of the road.

  Fortunately, with Jufu’s reminder, Meng Yan was dispatched ahead of time as a vanguard. In addition, there was a special branch of the Han army: the engineering battalion.

  Although Feng Duhu does not have a complete engineering battalion in his hands at the moment.

   But even if they send twenty or so skilled backbones and dozens of interns, they can still help a lot.

  Thus, although the journey was difficult and the march was not fast, after five days, Feng Duhu finally led the army out of the mountains and entered the small valley basin where Caoqiao Pass was located.

  Meng Yan, who came here two days in advance, greeted him at the mouth of the valley:

   "Zhongduhu!"

  Feng Duhu nodded, walked to the water's edge, first rubbed the soles of his boots a few times, then stretched out his feet in turn to immerse in the water, and shook them vigorously a few times.

  Walking this way, I encountered a rain, the road was muddy, the soles of the boots were full of mud, and it was still that kind of thick sticky mud.

  Each boot seems to weigh several kilograms. Not to mention uncomfortable, even when walking on the road, every step I feel that the soles of the boots will stick to the ground, and I have to use force to lift my feet, which is extremely inconvenient.

   "What happened to the Wei thief on the other side?"

   Feng Duhu saw that the thick layer of mud on his boots had not been shaken off, so he simply squatted down, picked up a thin stone, and began to shovel off the mud with water.

   "The scouts sent by the general at the end of yesterday saw that there were Wei thieves, and it seemed that reinforcements had arrived."

  Meng Yan didn't feel that Feng Duhu's informal appearance was deliberately rude to him.

  In the early years, he worked with Feng Duhu in Yuexuan, and he knew very well that this person's reputation of "speaking and seductive" was not just a name.

  If he is polite to you, then he doesn't treat you as his own.

  Like the time of the Northern Expedition to Longyou, it was so nice to say at that time, thanking myself for helping to find some poisonous weeds to make poisonous juice.

   Who would have thought that as soon as he turned around, he would lead the army and sneak towards Hanzhong. When he realized it, he was almost at Jincheng!

   Alas, forget it, don’t mention it, it’s all a thing of the past.

  Feng Duhu didn't care about Meng Yan who was thinking wildly, he shoveled off the thick mud on his boots, and put his feet in the water again to rinse them off.

  Well, it’s clean, my feet feel comfortable, and my heart feels comfortable too.

   Then Feng Duhu turned around, with a relaxed smile on his face:

   "Oh? Speaking of which, the reaction of the traitor Wei on the other side is quite fast. Who is the guard, have you found out?"

  The boots entered the water, and when I stepped on them, they creaked, but it felt much better than before.

  Meng Yan followed behind and quickly replied:

   "I'm not sure yet, but I heard from the scouts that the big flag on the top of the city seems to have been replaced with the word 'Wu'. Could it be Wu Qiujian, the Jingzhou guard of the Wei thief?"

   "Wuqiu Jian?" Feng Duhu paused, with a strange expression on his face, "If it's really him, then it's no wonder."

  Meng Yan was a little surprised when he heard the words:

   "I didn't expect the Central Guard to know this person?"

   "I don't know him, I just heard his name."

  Although Guanqiujian was not well-known at this time, Feng Duhu still had some impressions of such major events as the biggest rebellion in the history of the Three Kingdoms—the Huainan Three Rebellions.

   Among the three rebellions in Huainan, Wang Ling in the first rebellion surrendered without a fight, and Zhuge Dan in the third rebellion has been besieged.

  Only Guanqiu Jian, the second rebel, was able to lead the army northward, forcing Sima Division to mobilize most of Wei's troops to encircle and suppress.

  At the same time, this battle also achieved the name of Wen Qin's son Wen Yang as a brave general.

   "Whoever can enter the ear of the guardian of the capital, could it be that this person is really superior?"

  Feng Duhu smiled lightly:

   "Even if he is superior, so what? Can he still stop the menacing world?"

  After speaking, he turned his head and ordered: "Come here, bring the horse over here."

   "General Meng, how about accompanying me to observe the other side?"

   "How dare the last general disobey his orders?"

   There is no need for Feng Duhu to worry about things like setting up camp, and Ju Fu's ability can still be trusted.

  Under the **** of the personal guards, Feng Duhu and Meng Yan rode to the west bank of Danshui, looking at the Caoqiao Pass on the opposite bank.

  At this time, the wooden bridges that were originally erected on the two banks had already been demolished by the Wei army, and even the bridge piles were burned.

   Coupled with the swell of Danshui, the water surface is much wider than usual.

  The roaring water flowed out from the mountains in the west, turned a nearly ninety-degree turn south here, and rushed straight to the mountains in the south.

   Then it was blocked by the mountains in the south, and turned again to the east, forming a notch.

  Caoqiao Pass, just sits inside the notch, stuck in the throat of Guanzhong and Nanyang.

  Looking at Feng Duhu stationed at the waterside of Ma, without speaking for a long time, Meng Yan took the initiative to say:

   "Chuhu, according to the general, Caoqiao Pass is not as dangerous as Wuguan, but it is easy to defend and difficult to attack."

   "In addition, we are not familiar with the water flow in this place. If we want to cross the water, we need to be careful and make more preparations."

  Feng Duhu nodded:

   "What General Meng said is true."

   As they spoke, the two rode their horses and walked along Danshui for a while.

  The location of Caoqiaoguan City is estimated to be the easiest place to cross the water. The terrain is flat and the water is slow.

   Otherwise, the original wooden bridge would not have been built there.

  That's the case, the Wei thieves are on the east bank, still centered on Caoqiaoguan City, and built a line of defense along the bank.

  Every distance, you can see a dock.

   The more easily crossed the water, the bigger and denser the dock.

  Feng Duhu circled around, came to the former site of Caoqiao again, looked at the Guancheng towering opposite, and said:

   "General Meng, I would like you to send a letter to General Wei on the opposite side in my name."

  Although I don’t know why Zhongduhu can’t write it himself, but if he can write a letter for Zhongduhu, how can Meng Yan refuse to do so?

   "The last general is in command, dare to ask the Central Commander-in-Chief, what should be written in the letter?"

   "Just write a sentence: Do you know the old story of Qin Wang Jian's troops leaving Wuguan and destroying Chu?"

  Meng Yan couldn't help but her heart skipped a beat when she heard this: "Here!"

  Wan Qiujian, who arrived at Caoqiaoguan one day earlier than Feng Duhu, sneered after receiving the letter from the other side:

   "Feng Thief speaks so loudly, how dare he compare himself to Wang Jian!"

   It is said that Feng Zei is the top both civil and military in the world, but looking at the handwriting now, it is nothing more than ordinary, far from being famous.

   Guan Qiujian wrote on the spot:

   "Wang Jian led 600,000 soldiers, but I think Feng Jun's soldiers are only 20,000. How dare you compare yourself to Wang Jian?"

   "Frugal but not talented, I still remember that Li Xin led an army of 200,000, and finally led the disabled soldiers back."

   When Qin Shihuang wanted to destroy Chu, veteran general Wang Jian bluntly said that "600,000 people must be used", while the new cutting-edge Li Xin believed that "no more than 200,000 people" would be enough.

  Qin Shihuang thought that Wang Jian was old and cowardly before fighting, while Li Xin was strong and brave.

  So they sent Li Xin and Meng Tian to lead 200,000 troops to attack Chu in the south.

  Unexpectedly, Li Xin won first and then lost. Xiang Yan, the general of Chu, defeated the two battalions of the Qin army and beheaded seven captains of the Qin army.

   Qin Shihuang knew his mistake, so he went to Wang Jian's hometown in person, asked Wang Jian to come out of the mountain again, and entrusted 600,000 soldiers from all over the country.

  Wang Jian lived up to everyone's expectations, and he really destroyed Chu, and even Xiang Yan was defeated and killed.

  Feng Duhu wrote a letter saying about Wang Jian's affairs, just to tell Guanqiu Jian that the destruction of Wei State is inevitable.

  But Guan Qiujian's reply was that Feng Duhu was too arrogant, but he was just like Li Xin.

   "Chuhu, this thief is really too arrogant, he doesn't know the current situation!"

  When Jufu and Meng Yan learned of the content of Guanqiujian's reply, they were all full of anger.

  Feng Duhu didn't care, his gaze paused for a while on the signature of the letter, and then he said in a flat tone:

   "It really is Wuqiu Jian!"

  (end of this chapter)