Almost at the same time, the newly appointed Ningyuan General Xu Shu, also known as Xu Yuanzhi, marched south and arrived outside Xinye City, 150 miles north of Xiangyang.
Xinye was an important garrison of Jingzhou's troops north of the Han River, so the arrival of Xu Shu, the great general with imperial seals, was a natural move to notify the garrisons along the way.
"Finally I'm back in Xinye..."
Xu Shu looked at the Xinye city wall in the distance and actually felt a little sad.
When people are getting old, they should also cherish the past.
In the sixth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Cao and stationed in Xinye. Xu Shu came from Xiangyang to join him. In the small county of Xinye, Xu Shu planned, discussed, trained troops, and grew up, spending the most unforgettable seven years of his life.
It was not until the 13th year of Jian'an that Emperor Wu Cao's army came to attack Jingzhou, and Xu Shu led his family to go south with Liu Bei. However, during the journey, Xu Shu's mother was captured by Cao's army, so he went north to join Cao.
There was no point in arguing about right and wrong between Cao and Liu. Xu Shu himself married and had children in Wei, and was reused again. Over the past few decades, time has flowed like water. If he had not come to Xinye again, Xu Shu would not have thought that the memories accumulated in his heart would be so active and turbulent.
Old people, stories, old places.
The old friends have gone far away, the stories are only in my mind, only the old place remains.
"Meng Fang, report to the city for me." Xu Shu sat on his horse and looked at the man beside him. This man was called Zuo Shi, a cavalry captain in the central army camp, commanding 500 cavalrymen.
When Xu Shu was heading south from Yecheng, the emperor appointed this man to lead a hundred cavalrymen to escort Xu Shu south.
Xu Shu was arranged to travel south by car, but he refused before the trip. When the country is in trouble, one should arrive at full speed. How can one take time to take office just for comfort? Whether from a sense of responsibility or the urgency of the matter, Xu Shu was unwilling to go slowly.
I have to say, Xu Shu made the right bet.
Zuo Shi left with the seal in his hand. Less than half a quarter of an hour later, General Shen Danshen, who was in charge of commanding the troops in Xinye City, followed Zuo Shi out of the east gate of Xinye and came to Xu Shu who was waiting there.
More than ten riders galloped out of the city and stopped about ten feet in front of Xu Shu. The leader, a man in a Shu brocade robe, dismounted and bowed:
"My name is Shen Dan, and I'm here to meet Mr. Xu." Shen Dan was not arrogant and was quite respectful towards Xu Shu.
It must be said that the Wei Dynasty was established only ten years ago, and it still retained some surrendered ministers who were rewarded as generals for political reasons. Shen Dan in front of Xu Shu was the most famous one among them.
Shen Dan was originally a nobleman of Shangyong. In the 18th year of Jian'an, he was granted the title of general by Emperor Wu Cao Cao and was appointed as Shangyong Duwei. However, such a local warlord naturally had an unstable political attitude. They would be loyal to whichever force could occupy Shangyong.
In the 24th year of Jian'an, when Meng Da captured Shangyong, Shen Dan and his brother Shen Yi surrendered to Shu Han and were appointed as General of the Northern Expedition by Liu Bei. Later, Meng Da led his subordinates to surrender to Wei and attacked Liu Feng together with Xiahou Shang and Xu Huang at that time, and Shen Dan surrendered to Wei again.
After that, Shen Dan and Meng Da were summoned by the late Emperor Cao Pi, and were given the title of General Huaiji. They stayed in Nanyang to lead the troops, and there was no need to worry about his position.
In the early years, a series of generals who surrendered, such as Zhang Xiu and Liu Xun, proved the credibility of Wei in dealing with surrendered generals. In addition, Shen Dan had no direct lineage and was only a general who led troops under the order of the court, which made him even less threatening. After the garrison in Jingzhou gradually moved south, Shen Dan's station was also moved from Wancheng to Xinye.
Shen Dan had seen Xu Shu and recognized his face.
Xu Shu nodded slightly, dismounted and saluted Shen Dan: "General Shen, as General Wen of Jiangxia is in charge of the army, I am here to supervise the army under the order of your majesty. The imperial seal and imperial edict are all here, please check them out, General Shen."
"Mr. Xu is an important official in the court, so he would definitely not fake it. Why does he need me to see it?" Shen Dan said this, but it did not stop him from taking the seal and imperial edict from Xu Shu's arms with both hands to check them.
Good words need to be said and good things need to be done.
After returning the seal and edict respectfully, Shen Dan bowed again and said, "Jingzhou is in danger now, and Xu Gong has come with an imperial seal. I now have someone to make the decision."
Xu Shu gradually frowned: "What happened in Jingzhou?"
Shen Dan bowed slightly, made a gesture of invitation with his left arm, and said softly: "This is a confidential matter. I hope Mr. Xu will go into the city and rest for a while, so that I can explain it slowly."
"Okay." Xu Shu nodded and walked inside with Shen Dan.
I hadn't been to Xinye for more than 20 years, and the city wall was still similar to that of the past. Xu Shu didn't need Shen Dan to lead the way. The only difference was that many of the houses in the city were demolished and razed to the ground, and the military camp was rebuilt on top of them.
Deng Ai, who lived in Xinye at that time, was moved to Xuchang to cultivate land. Today, Xinye City has actually become a military city for garrisoning troops.
Shen Dan led Xu Shu to the general's mansion in the city, explaining everything carefully along the way. Before they even entered the mansion, Xu Shu already understood the whole story.
Although this was Shen Dan's general's residence, when Xu Shu arrived, Shen Dan could only sit in the second seat. "That's how it is." Shen Dan looked at Xu Shu very carefully: "I have said everything I should say to Xu Gong."
"Mr. Zhao is in Xiangyang, and the Han River is blocked by Wu's warships, so they cannot travel north or south. The court has not yet replied, and Mr. Xu is here with the imperial seal." Shen Dan bowed and said, "If Mr. Xu has an order, I will obey it."
Seeing Shen Dan's respectful attitude, Xu Shu stroked his beard and thought for a few moments, then said, "The invasion of the Wu army is indeed a dangerous time. I have come here with the imperial seal. Although your majesty ordered me to rush to Jiangxia to lead the troops, General Xiahou has already gone to Jiangxia, and there is a war ahead, so there is no need for me to go to Jiangxia again."
"Since General Shen is willing to listen to my orders, I have something to clarify first." Xu Shu raised his eyes and looked at Shen Dan: "Xinye is said to have 10,000 troops stationed there. If we send troops now, how many people can we send out?"
Shen Dan was confused for a moment: "Report to Lord Xu, there are 7,600 people who can be sent."
"Seven thousand six hundred people?" Xu Shu frowned. "What about the remaining two thousand people?"
"It is indeed more than 7,000." Shen Dan explained carefully, "Since the third year of Huangchu, there has been no major battle in Jingzhou. Since Taihe, many soldiers have been transferred from Jingzhou to Longyou and Guanxi. Xinye is not the front line of Jiangxia, nor is it the Xiangfan garrison of Lord Chen and Lord Zhao. All the old and sick soldiers who have not been eliminated have been transferred to Xinye."
"It's barely enough to let them defend the city, but it would be difficult to fight Wu soldiers in the field. It's better not to send them and leave them all here."
Xu Shu nodded helplessly.
Xu Shu believed Shen Dan's words just now. In recent years, the imperial court has paid the least attention to Jingzhou, and Xinye is the farthest place for troops to be stationed in Jingzhou from the enemy.
With the military discipline of the Wei Dynasty at that time, and the ability of Chen Qun and Zhao Yan, it would not be possible to have such a vicious incident as empty pay. However, it was possible to move the old and weak soldiers to the rear.
"How about Mr. Xu send someone to check it out?" Shen Dan thought Xu Shu was dissatisfied, so he carefully put on a smile.
How could such a thing be investigated? Besides, Shen Dan was so kind, Xu Shu did not want to have any quarrels with him.
"No need." Xu Shu shook his head gently. "How can I not believe what General Shen said? It is already evening now. If we send troops today, it will be too late. Let's just use 7,600 soldiers. Can we send troops tomorrow morning?"
"As ordered! We will certainly be able to dispatch troops tomorrow morning!" Shen Dan stood up and bowed respectfully: "May I ask Lord Xu where we will dispatch troops tomorrow?"
"Deng County, north of Fancheng!" Xu Shu said these words with confidence.
If Xu Shu were to lead troops somewhere else, he might have to carefully study the geography of mountains and rivers, and look at information such as hydrology and roads.
But this is Xinye in Jingzhou, which is near Xiangfan.
Xu Shu came to Xiangyang in the second year of Chuping. Including the seven years he spent in Xinye under Liu Bei, Xu Shu lived in Xiangfan and Xinye for a total of seventeen years. His old house is still well preserved in the north of Tanxi River, west of Xiangyang!
The garrison commander of Fancheng was called Lu Shi, and he was also a capable general. He came here with the former Grand Marshal Cao Ren in the second year of Huangchu, and then stayed in Jingzhou. He was also a direct general under Cao Ren, but his qualifications were less than Niu Jin.
On the tenth day, when the Wu army captured the Wei army's naval camp west of Fancheng, Lu Shi had already sent messengers to quickly send military information northward in the direction of Luoyang. Xiangfan is nearly 900 miles away from Luoyang, and the fastest way to transmit military information is three days.
At noon on September 13, in the study room of the Northern Palace in Luoyang, the newly appointed Right Supervisor of the Privy Council, Liu Ye, hurried in from outside to ask for a meeting.
"Your Majesty, there is an alarm in Xiangyang." Liu Ye had just stepped into the study when he spoke anxiously, "Your Majesty, Sun Quan of Wu led the navy to approach Xiangyang and has cut off the Han River."
"This is an urgent military report sent by Fancheng garrison commander Lu Shi."
"Show it to me!" Cao Rui suddenly stood up from the recliner and took the military report from Liu Ye with a frown.
Cao Rui remained silent, reading carefully word by word. Liu Ye also whispered, "The Han River is overflowing. Sun Quan will definitely take this opportunity to attack from the north. I am afraid that Xiangyang is in danger of being overthrown."
"How dare you, thief!"
Cao Rui threw the report to the ground and said coldly, "Sun Quan has violated my bottom line again and again. It has only been a few years since the defeat in Wancheng. Has he forgotten everything?"
"I was thinking of doing good to him for a few years to accumulate some national strength for Wei. This man is used to sneak attacks. If I don't take action now, I'm afraid Sun Quan will become more and more daring!"
Liu Ye cupped his hands and advised: "Sun Quan's evil heart is hard to change. Your Majesty, please do not be angry about him. When the evil invades the border, the king's army should send troops to conquer him and show his wrath."
"Of course we have to fight." Cao Rui sneered, "Since Sun Quan has started the war, it is not up to him to stop it. Liu Qing, summon the West Pavilion, East Pavilion, Privy Council, and Palace Attendant to come here together!"
"As you command!" (End of this chapter)
