Chapter 171 Heading North Again
Zhuyang City, as the southernmost county seat of Nanxiang County, is adjacent to Xiangyang County and close to the Han River.
This is not a big city, and the population is not large. But this place is of great significance to Xincheng County, as it is a key logistical point for the entire Shangyong Front.
Normally, there are two roads into Xincheng County, one goes up the river from Zhuyang, and the other goes north from Suiyang Shunshan Road.
But Suiyang Road requires Linju, which is close to Xiedong City of Shuhan and does not have the ability to transport grain. Therefore, the Zhuyang Waterway has become an important logistics support point for Xincheng County.
At this time, there were more than 10,000 Wei troops resisting the Shu army on the front line of Fangling. It was very expensive for people to eat horse chews.
The local population of Xincheng County is sparse and does not have the ability to support so many soldiers and horses. Most of the grain and fodder must be transferred from Nanyang. Moreover, because Cao Wei implemented the policy of clearing out the border areas, Nanyang was unable to provide food, so most of the grain was transported from Huainan.
This also led to the fact that although the Jingxiang defense line was considered indestructible, in fact it could easily fall apart if several strategic pivots were lost.
Ma Su's goal was Zhuyang, the logistics hub of the Wei army in the new city.
According to Liu Yin's estimation, Xincheng County can only maintain enough food for the army for one month at most. As long as they stay here and cut off supplies for a month, Xincheng County can surrender without a fight.
After broadcasting outside Fancheng for more than half a month, Zhuge Dan had resigned himself to his fate. The Wei army guarding Fancheng retracted its defense lines across the board, assuming a posture of saying, "I won't be able to get out, but you will scold me to death if you have the ability."
In this way, the Xiangfan defense line could not stop the Shu army in an instant.
So, on a sunless night, Ma Su officially set off with Three Thousand Pieces.
"Xiuran, guard Xiangyang! Wait for me to come back!" Ma Di waved his hand to Liu Yin and gave final instructions.
"But Xiangyang is destined to be undefendable, so don't try too hard. Once you find that things are going against you, you can retreat to Dangyang to support the prime minister."
"Remember, soldiers are always the most important. Don't worry too much about the gains and losses of a city or a place. A sage once said that if you lose people when you gain land, you will lose both people and land; if you gain people and lose land, you will gain both people and land!"
"You must remember to wait for me when I come back!"
"General! Zhuyang went too deep into the enemy's territory, I still think I should be allowed to..."
"No need. If I don't go to such a dangerous matter personally, I won't be able to cut off the other party's food supply." Ma Su immediately waved his hand and refused.
See what this says, can I go if it's not dangerous?
After explaining Liu Yin, Ma Su resolutely mounted his horse and set off on the road with three thousand troops.
The original plan was to lead the entire army to raid Zhuyang, leading 7,000 soldiers and horses to attack this place. However, because Xiangyang was captured, Ma Di finally decided to divide his troops and stay here.
After all, it is a fortified city, so it is most appropriate to leave troops to defend this place.
Even if he couldn't hold it, it would be simple to retreat to Yi Dao with Liu Yin's ability. This can minimize the loss, and it is a risk-taking game with little loss.
At most, if something happens to me, it's just a minor problem.
Seeing Ma Di still moving forward, Liu Yin smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"General Fenwei always wants to do the most dangerous things on his own, charging forward without risking his life until the battle begins. But he has very low requirements for our subordinates, and always tells us that survival is the most important thing."
"But, General Fenwei, as the commander-in-chief, you risk your life to help the Han Dynasty. Who among us dares to survive?"
With a long sigh, Liu Yin shook his head gently, then took out a roll of paper from his arms and slowly began to record what Ma Su had just said.
"If you gain people and lose people, you will lose both people and land; if you gain people and lose territory, you will gain both people and land... General Fenwei's strategic vision is truly divine."
On those pieces of paper, there were densely recorded some of Ma Di's casual quotes.
Liu Yin was a knowledgeable general, and he had long been aware of the mysteries of some of Ma Su's theories. So since then I have been carrying a few pieces of paper with me to record Ma Su's famous sayings.
"This Longyou paper is indeed easy to use. It is more durable than the original Zuobo paper and is so much cheaper..."
…………
…………
…………
Ma Su didn't know it yet, but his lieutenant had already started to help him write the art of war. At this time, he led three thousand soldiers and horses to avoid Wei Jun's spies and headed north along the Han River.
Along the way, all Ma Su saw were dilapidated and deserted villages. Originally extremely prosperous, Nanyang County is now extremely dilapidated.
Who can tell that this is a large county of the Eastern Han Dynasty that once had a population of nearly two million.
The shock was much stronger than that of Longyou, and Ma Su felt some inexplicable emotions after watching it.
After one day's march, three thousand Shu troops had arrived near Zhuyang. The city head is only ten meters high and the city is not very thick.
When the Shu army arrived in Zhuyang, the Wei army here had actually discovered the Shu army's movements. But the city was in chaos, and no one organized effective resistance at all.
For no other reason, the magistrate of Zhuyang County and the Zhonghou who were guarding the place all ran away. The remaining military officers gathered together, thought for a while and ran away.
There is no other way. It is said that Ma Di, the coach of the Shu army, has the habit of killing and surrendering. With the small town of Zhuyang, it is impossible to block the powerful Ma Di from Longyou. Aren't you afraid that you should stay here and wait for death?
When Zhuyang was leaderless, the Shu army quickly launched an siege. After a token resistance, the Wei troops in the city all fled away.
Zhuyang was equivalent to surrendering without a fight, and the Shu army successfully took control of the small city.
After taking control of Zhuyang, Ma Su quickly surveyed the place.
After some exploration, we found that this place is backed by a river, and to the east is the endless Nanyang Plain. Once the Wei army realizes that Ma Di is besieging this place, they will inevitably encircle it from all sides. At that time, the pressure faced by the Shu army will be extremely huge, and it is not certain whether they can hold on for a month.
"Tsk... It looks like it's another street pavilion problem." Ma Di raised his eyebrows when he saw the summarized exploration results, feeling inexplicably familiar.
"Are there any mountains near here?"
"General, no." The scout shook his head helplessly and reported to Ma Su.
"North of the river is all plains, not even higher hills. There are dangerous places on the south bank, but they are not at key passes and cannot cut off the Wei army's food route."
"That is to say, my cavalry can't rely on heights to go down with overwhelming force?" Ma Di was a little disappointed, but soon he came up with another idea.
Although the cavalry cannot be used, it seems that the navy still has room to move?
At this moment, Ma Di recalled the composition of the remaining two thousand infantrymen in his army. Most of them are old troops from Jingzhou and have experience in amphibious operations.
In this case...
Ma Di put his eyes back on the long Hanshui beside Zhuyang, his eyes flickering several times.
"I feel like I'm seeking death... there's a chance!"