LRAB Chapter 741: Shield Reveals Its Prominence, History Reappears
Chapter 741: Shield Reveals Its Prominence, History Reappears
Chapter 741: Shield Reveals Its Prominence, History Reappears
It was a day in late August, the sixth year of Zhangwu in the Han Dynasty.
Just as the people of Jiangling City were falling asleep under the influence of the night, the gate of Jiangling City was slowly opening.
With the help of the surrounding firelight, one could see an elite Han army walking out of the city gate of Jiangling City.
When the Han army of several thousand men had all walked out of the city, Wei Yan came to Chen Dao with a cup of strong liquor in his hand, bowed to him and said:
"The mountains are high and the road is long. I hope Mr. Chen will take care of himself."
Looking at the farewell wine in Wei Yan's hand, Chen Dao laughed, took the glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.
"Good wine!"
Chen Dao couldn't help but praise it after he finished drinking it.
It is almost September and the weather in Jingzhou has gradually become colder at night.
On this slightly chilly night, it is indeed a very pleasant thing to have a glass of strong liquor to warm your stomach.
After savoring the lingering fragrance between his lips and teeth, Chen Dao also bowed to Wei Yan and said:
"The plan of the Grand Marshal will now depend on Wen Chang!"
Chen Dao led his troops out of the city under the cover of night in order to lure Xu Sheng.
Compared to himself, Wei Yan, who stayed in the city, had a task that was not easy at all.
Chen Dao's instructions made Wei Yan's expression become more serious.
Wei Yan knew that Chen Dao was using his life to create opportunities for him.
"Don't worry, Mr. Chen, Yan will definitely die!"
After death!
After hearing these four words, Chen Dao's expression relaxed a lot.
To Ji Hanzhong, these four words are not a slogan, but a pledge.
"If the article is this long, there will be no worries."
After saying this, Chen Dao jumped on his horse under the cover of night, and then quickly left towards the south with thousands of Han troops behind him.
The pitch-black night made Chen Dao's figure quickly disappear from Wei Yan's sight.
Only when he could no longer hear the sound of the marching troops did Wei Yan turn around and return to Jiangling City.
As soon as he returned to Jiangling City, Wei Yan asked his deputy general Liu Yin:
"How are the preparations for the items that Da Sima ordered going?"
Liu Yin knew that this matter was of great importance, so he immediately replied:
"Everything is ready, just waiting for the right time."
Liu Yin's answer made Wei Yan nod, and then he walked towards the military camp with his hands behind his back.
The time will come soon!
Chen Dao set out under the cover of night and, leading thousands of Han troops, arrived at a port dozens of miles outside Jiangling city when the first light of the morning appeared.
Judging from the appearance of this port, even if it cannot be said to be abandoned, it has not been used for many years.
This is because the Yangtze River changed its course.
The courses of today's major rivers do not remain unchanged due to natural disasters and natural disasters.
However, a change in the course of the Yangtze River several years ago caused the river channel connecting this port to become narrower, making it no longer convenient for large ships to enter.
This is also the reason why Xu Sheng’s navy never stationed here.
But the reason why this port still exists is that although it is no longer suitable for large warships to dock, it has little impact on small warships.
After Chen Dao led his troops to the port, he immediately ordered his soldiers to board the warships one after another.
The troops Chen Dao brought with him were all the elite of the Han army.
With Chen Dao's good command, it didn't take long for thousands of Han troops to board the warships.
But Chen Dao did not command the Han army, but went directly to the south bank of the Yangtze River.
Chen Dao knew very well that all the important ports on the south bank were probably under Xu Sheng's control.
In order to avoid falling into a trap, Chen Dao ordered his soldiers to paddle upstream and head towards Yidao.
Chen Dao had guarded Yufu for many years, and Yufu was not far from Yidao. Chen Dao knew that there was a land road outside Yidao City that could lead directly to Gong'an City.
Chen Dao's thoughts were meticulous, but Xu Sheng was not someone he could easily deal with.
Although as Wei Yan said, Xu Sheng could not send troops to garrison every waterway outside Jiangling City, it did not mean that Xu Sheng could not send out scouts.
At dawn, a large number of Wu army scouts were active on both sides of the river outside Jiangling City.
Some scouts soon discovered signs of the Han army.
The Wu army scout returned to Xu Sheng as quickly as possible and reported the matter to him.
When Xu Sheng heard that Han troops had emerged from Jiangling City, his first reaction was surprise.
"The shield of Jiangling is actually quite powerful!"
After the Battle of Gong'an, Chen Dao was sent by Liu Bei to garrison Jiangling.
Given Sun Quan's desire for Jingzhou, the Wu army had secretly done some things that were detrimental to Jiangling City in the past few years.
But as expected, those things were all resolved invisibly by the steady character of Chen Dao, so people often believed that the Jiangling area has always been peaceful.
A good warrior may not have great achievements, this describes people like Chen Dao.
To be honest, Jingzhou was originally short of military forces, and Lu Xun did not necessarily have to make Gong'an his primary target.
From a strategic perspective, if they could capture Jiangling by surprise, the benefits to the Wu army would be the greatest.
But why didn't Lu Xun set his sights on Jiangling?
The reason lies with Chen Dao.
Lu Xun felt that with Chen Dao's all-round character, no one in the world would be sure to capture the Jiangling City he was guarding in a surprise attack in a short period of time.
Because they were afraid of Chen Dao, some generals in the Wu army privately called Chen Dao "the Shield of Jiangling."
But what Xu Sheng did not expect was that Chen Dao, who had always been steady and cautious, would actually face challenges head-on and show his prowess one day.
Surprised, Xu Sheng asked the scout again with suspicion:
"Did you see clearly that it was Chen Dao who led the troops out?"
Xu Sheng's suspicion made the scout look sad.
How should he respond?
"The enemy general is cautious, and has deployed many elite soldiers around to strangle the scouts.
It was only with the protection of my comrades that I managed to save my life at the risk of my life, and was fortunate enough to come back and report to you, General.
I can only say that what I saw from afar was Chen Dao’s general flag.”
When the scout explained, I really wanted to cry.
As a scout, his eyesight was naturally good, and he had also seen Chen Dao's portrait.
But the problem is, no matter how good his eyesight is, he has to get close to the Han army to be able to "see clearly", right?
With his many years of experience, how could he allow the enemy scouts to get too close and spy on his strengths and weaknesses?
The scout's answer and expression made Xu Sheng react.
He is being a bit unreasonable.
But at this time, Xu Sheng already believed the scout's words about 70%.
Because from the scout's words, it can be judged that it is indeed very similar to Chen Dao's style.
As for the remaining two or three points of hesitation, it disappeared silently after Xu Sheng finished looking at the map of Jingzhou.
"Yidao!"
Xu Sheng slammed his fist heavily on Yidao City on the map.
It was naturally impossible for Chen Dao to lead his troops upstream in order to escape back to Yizhou. However, according to the description on the map, there was a land road outside Yidao City that led to Gong'an.
When he thought of this, Xu Sheng lost his composure.
Why did Lu Xun let him lead his troops outside Jiangling City? One purpose was to intimidate Chen Dao. Another purpose was to prevent Chen Dao from leading his troops out of the city so that he could block Chen Dao's reinforcements.
You should know that before he left, he signed a military order to Lu Xun.
Now, if the situation happens, it is obvious what he should do next.
Xu Sheng immediately summoned his deputy general Liu Lue and said to him, "You lead 10,000 naval forces upstream and pursue Chen Dao from behind."
Although Chen Daoxian took quite some time to set off, Xu Sheng was confident in his own warships.
With the advanced nature of their own warships, it was not impossible to catch up with the Han army while going upstream.
Of course, Xu Sheng would not pin his life on the word "possibility".
After Liu Lue took the order and left, Xu Sheng sent people to recruit the remaining Wu troops.
For the Wu army, which has the advantage of boats, there are plenty of ways to get to the Yidao road leading to Gong'an as soon as possible.
If everything goes well, he and Liu Lue will be chasing Chen Dao from both sides in the near future.
By then, what’s the use of Chen Dao’s ability to defend?
After a period of trekking, Chen Dao led his troops safely to the outskirts of Yidao County.
At this time, Chen Dao also received news that the Wu army was pursuing him from behind.
More importantly, Chen Dao, who was of steady character, had sent scouts to check the area before entering the mountain road outside Yidao County.
According to the news reported by the scouts, the thing Chen Dao was most worried about had happened.
Another elite Wu army had already arrived at the dangerous area outside the Yidao Mountain Road before him.
Perhaps the Wu army has already set an ambush, waiting for him to fall into the trap.
Being attacked from both sides, Chen Dao frowned as he thought about the tricky situation.
Chen Dao was not afraid that he would be in danger, but he was afraid that he would not be able to complete the task.
Under normal circumstances, when facing an attack from both sides by the enemy, it is safest for the army to rely on the city.
Although the defenses of Yidao City were not strong, Chen Dao was confident that he could defend Yidao City firmly with the thousands of Han troops under his command.
But this is of no use to the current battle situation.
Chen Dao knew very well that once Xu Sheng learned that he led his troops to defend Yidao City, Xu Sheng would not lead his troops to attack Yidao City.
Xu Sheng would only lead his troops to block all the important roads outside Yidao City, preventing him from going to support Gong'an.
During this period of time, facing the pursuit of Wu Jun, Chen Dao realized more deeply how advanced Wu Jun's warships were.
He set out early, but was still caught up by Wu's army in a short time.
Given the speed of the Wu army's warships, Mi Yang's next plan would be very risky if they were not completely lured away from the Yangtze River.
Thinking of this, Chen Dao took a deep breath.
There is a wolf in front and a tiger behind him. He encountered this familiar situation again.
Just when Chen Dao was thinking about how to break the impasse, the deputy general came to report that several elders in the city came to visit him.
If it were an ordinary person, he would not be in the mood to see the old man in the countryside at this time.
But Chen Dao was deeply influenced by Liu Bei, so he did not intend to refuse.
Soon after, several elders in Yidao City were brought to Chen Dao.
Chen Dao thought they were here to entertain the troops and was about to politely decline, but unexpectedly, the words of an old man in the lead made Chen Dao stunned.
"General, are you worried about how to get to the Public Security Bureau?"
As a local elder, it was not surprising that he was the first to know about Chen Dao's arrival.
However, local elders during the Qin and Han dynasties were often not regarded as ordinary country folk.
Seeing that the elder in the lead had expressed his concerns, Chen Dao quickly stepped forward and asked:
"Since you asked this question, you must have a good idea in mind.
I hope my father-in-law will teach me.”
Seeing Chen Dao's humble attitude, the old man in the lead showed a look of satisfaction on his face.
He stroked his beard and said:
“People in the mountains and wilds can’t be said to have any clever ideas.
But even if you are a man from the mountains, you will always respect loyal and righteous people.
The death of Lady Wang is a pity, and it also makes us see the brutality of the Wu army.
For the sake of our homeland and our hometown, we do not want the Wu army to occupy Jingzhou."
The elder who was in the lead slowly explained the reason why he was willing to help Chen Dao.
For decades of turbulent times, there have been constant wars across the country, which has long changed the views of most people in the world.
It is basically nonsense for many local people to say that they will be completely loyal to a certain court before they get definite benefits.
Originally, given the status and knowledge of these elders, they maintained a neutral attitude towards the invasion of the Wu army.
Anyway, no matter who is in charge of Jingzhou, there is a high probability that they will be won over in the end.
But when the news of Wang Hong's death reached Yidao, these elders immediately changed their minds.
You have to know that in today's world, even bandits might not dare to harm a loyal and righteous person.
The moral integrity of Wu Jun is not even as good as that of the bandits.
So how could the Wu army be allowed to take control of Jingzhou?
After explaining the reason, the elder in charge continued to say to Chen Dao:
"Don't worry, General. My family and I have been in Yidao for generations. We know that there is a mountain road in Yidao that leads to Gong'an!"
As soon as the old man finished speaking, Chen Dao was overjoyed.
Chen Dao did not doubt the old man's words.
Never underestimate the power of local tyrants.
Besides, the fact that these elders came here must have helped them to find out about the predicament he is facing.
If these elders wanted to harm him, they only needed to wait for the situation to develop and there was no need to risk coming to him.
Chen Dao, who was anxious to escape, bowed again to the Yidao elders and said:
"I hope you guys can help me out of this predicament."
Chen Dao's humble attitude made these elders very satisfied, which made them more determined to help Chen Dao.
Unconsciously, the elder who was in the lead said:
"The hidden mountain path we know of not only leads to Gong'an, but also goes around to the back of Wu's army."
This old man has a very good sense of propriety.
He stopped talking halfway through.
Chen Dao is a veteran with many years of experience, so how could he not understand the meaning of the old man's words?
There was excitement in Chen Dao's eyes.
"Wonderful, wonderful!"
Liu Lue marched quickly along the way and finally arrived outside Yidao City soon after.
However, when Liu Lue led his troops to arrive, he found no signs of the Han army.
Subconsciously, Liu Lue asked someone to call a few local elders to ask questions.
These local elders were quite "sensible" and they almost said to Liu Lue in unison:
"The Han army has already headed to Gong'an."
After hearing the words of several local elders, Liu Lue couldn't help but be overjoyed.
Liu Lue knew that Xu Sheng was leading his troops and waiting at the exit of the mountain road outside Yidao City.
Thinking of this, Liu Lue enthusiastically followed Chen Dao into the mountain road outside Yidao City.
Looking at Wu Jun's anxious back as he left, the elders sighed and shook their heads.
Don’t the Wu generals read history books?
Don’t they know that Xiang Yu, the predecessor of Jiangdong, once asked a local elder for directions?
How stupid!
(End of this chapter)