Riding and cutting the imperial pirates of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 645 Soldiers are like knives, and the general holds the sheath

At this time in Linxiang, Zhang Xian, the prefect of Changsha, was inspecting the city.

This is a man in his prime, about forty years old. He is quite ordinary in stature and appearance. If he takes off his brocade armor and throws it into the crowd, no one will notice it at first glance. It can be concluded that this person is actually an official in charge of all military and political affairs in Changsha, and his influence even involves most of Jingnan.

There are not many words related to Zhang Xian in the history books of later generations, but his personal characteristics can be summed up in three sentences.

Qu Qiang means stubbornness. It is actually quite normal for a person with such a personality to appear "very popular" but "disharmonious with Liu Biao".

Because to put it bluntly, when facing people with a lower status than yourself, if you show a "flexible" side, that means you are resolute and extremely assertive, but if you face your superiors, you also show "flexible" On the one hand, it will only be considered as ignorant, not knowing how to advance or retreat, or even disregarding superiority and inferiority.

But having said that, if you only dare to insist on your own opinions in front of your subordinates, but submissive to your superiors, it is actually not considered a real condescending character.

Characters like Zhang Xian were actually quite common in the Han Dynasty. Guan Yu, who was arrogant and could not bear to be inferior, was one of the representatives. However, compared with Guan Yu, Zhang Xian's behavior was actually more like that of the famous general Li Guang in the Western Han Dynasty. It is suitable to be described as "proud and flattering".

And his style of governing the army is also very similar to Li Guang's. Li Guang governs the army, and the soldiers are happy to use them.Zhang Xianzhi's army is almost like this. The requirements for his subordinates are not strict, but very loose. Under such circumstances, the combat power of the Changsha army is not bad, but the military discipline is not strict.

When Zhang Xian came to inspect the city, many of the soldiers guarding the city were standing loosely, some held their spears in their arms, and stood lazily against the wall; some simply sat in the crenel, in small groups. , Chatted noisyly, Zhang Xian passed several crenels, some stood up, some didn't, but no matter who it was, they talked to Zhang Xian casually and intimately, which was very unusual among generals and soldiers.

The soldiers are like this, so is Zhang Xian. When he looks at familiar people and meets those who are down-to-earth and willing to do things, Zhang Xian will comfort him a few words; It was placed extremely low, as if enjoying being one with the soldiers.

Some bold soldiers shouted from a distance: "General, I heard from the brothers on the front line that the fight in Jianchang is in full swing and it's about to become a mess?"

Another person said: "Yes, I also heard that the one who attacked Jianchang this time was our former Jingzhou traitor Gan Ning, if we go to save Jianchang, maybe we can capture this person, wouldn't it be a great achievement?"

Hearing this, Zhang Xian followed his reputation and recognized him immediately. He was a powerful Dubo under his command, and immediately scolded him with a smile: "Although Gan Xingba is a rebel general, he is extremely brave, and he is a tiger general." , why? Even a fool like Han Er, you want to trade him for military merits?"

"Why does the general underestimate people?"

The Du Bo surnamed Han was very annoyed, and shouted: "Don't forget, I can be this Du Bo, but it's only in exchange for my head!" Then he drew out the steel knife and flicked it, "See? ? Just this knife, the heads of enemies that have been chopped off are really countless, at least over a hundred."

"I heard that Gan Ning is now a high-ranking official in Yangzhou, and he is using his head to replace me with a captain!"

As soon as the words fell, before Zhang Xian could speak, there was booing around, and someone shouted: "Uncle Han, the general said you are a muddleheaded person, I see you are not muddled at all, but you are smart," said He squeezed his throat, imitating his voice and said: "See? With this knife, the number of enemies' heads beheaded is really countless, at least it's over a hundred, bah!"

"You can't count, let me help you count. Let me start with the most recent battle. Last year, the water bandits at Dongting Lake made trouble. The general ordered us to attack. We fought three times. In the first battle, you killed two people. In the second battle, you killed two people." array, you cut a half"

Someone heard this and asked jokingly, "Why is there still one and a half?"

"One knife went down, but he didn't cut off the thief's head. He was hit by a pocket knife, bounced back, and almost wiped his own neck. Killing a thief almost lost half of his life, isn't it just one and a half?"

There was a lot of laughter on the top of the city, and Uncle Han became angry from embarrassment, he glanced at the person who spoke, he is just a senior, dare to arrange for me, the Shangguan, to come?It's really big or small!He wanted to scold him sharply, but thought that Zhang Xian was right in front of him, he, the prefect, and the general didn't put on any official airs, how could he put on himself?
I could only snort coldly and sneer: "Hey, even if Nai Gong chopped off half of it, it will still cut off the thief's head. I'm afraid your knife with three-inch nails can only touch the thief's waist at most, right?"

The man who spoke was surnamed Sun, and his stature was quite short, so Han Dubo said he was a three-inch nail, but Sun Shichang didn't make trouble, he just laughed and said, "Oh, I just suffered from this figure." , Killing more thieves than you, but not harvesting as many heads as you, isn't that why you get Dubo's advantage?"

"you"

These soldiers started bickering, completely different from those celebrities and scholars, but they also had a different kind of humor. Zhang Xian listened with relish, and laughed, and it took a long time before he led people to pass by and walked away.

Linxiang is the capital of Changsha. The area of ​​the city is not small, and there are sheds on the inside, which are usually used for generals and soldiers to rest. After a long inspection, Zhang Xian and his left and right entourages moved into a shed for a while. rest.

Through the shed door, you can see the blue sky and white clouds. Looking far away, you can vaguely see the towering Yunju Mountain in the distance, which goes straight into the clouds.

At this time of day, the visibility of the light is very good.Looking intently into the distance, Zhang Xian seemed to be able to vaguely see some fireworks rising straight up in the direction of Yunju Mountain. When he listened carefully, he seemed to be able to hear the sound of killing and fighting, and the sound of gold and iron horses.

Of course, this is impossible in fact. Such a long distance, not to mention Zhang Xian, even a monster with extraordinary physique like Wang Zheng would definitely not be able to do it, so he laughed dumbfounded after a while, shook his head, He took the water bowl handed by the soldiers, drank it happily, hiccupped loudly, walked back to the seat in the shed, called everyone to sit down, and asked: "Is there any latest news on the front line today?" Military return?"

"Report to the prefect."

The county captain Fan Ling said: "Yangzhou Ganning's troops continued to attack the city. They launched six offensives in a row within a few days. Hua Xin, the prefect of Yuzhang, once again sent for emergency, saying that many parts of the west wall had collapsed. If our army still If you just sit on the sidelines and don't send troops to rescue, I'm afraid the city will be destroyed in a few days."

"Scaremongering is a common trick used by Confucian scholars."

Zhang Xian shook his head slightly: "Is this the third wave of messengers sent by Hua Ziyu?" Seeing Fan Ling nodded, he said, "Jianchang's terrain is inherently narrow. If the Yangzhou Army's offensive is really so fierce, how can we let it go?" His messenger broke through so easily?"

"Besides, Jianchang is a mountain city. If you want to overcome it quickly, you can only seek a surprise attack and win the first battle. Since Huaziyu has supported the offensive in the first few days, no matter how hard the Yangzhou army attacks it now, At least it will take a full month of work."

Speaking of this, Zhang Xian paused, then asked sideways: "Has our messenger arrived in Xiangyang now?"

"Probably not yet." An assistant officer on the side replied: "Calculating the distance, it will take at least two days to arrive. Every time I go back and forth, it will take ten days."

"Even if the messenger can return in ten days, it is impossible for General Cai's soldiers and horses to arrive together. According to my calculations, it is estimated that they will not arrive until the end of April."

"It's enough." Zhang Xian said: "As long as we can hold on, Linxiang will not suffer any losses. According to my calculations, Jianchang can last at least ten days and a half months because of its favorable location. After pulling out this nail, the main force of the Yangzhou Army Only then can we go out of the mountains in a big way, set up camps on the plains outside the city, and lay supply lines, and when they are ready, I am afraid it will be the end of April."

"What the prefect said is true, but"

Fan Ling hesitated for a moment, and then said: "If we send troops to help, keep Jianchang, and don't give the Yangzhou army a chance to cross the Yunju Mountains, wouldn't it be better? Isn't that what General Cai said?" Keeping enemies out of the country's gates?"

"And Jianchang is the right way. The ancients said: One man is in charge of the gate, and ten thousand men are not allowed to open it. Isn't it a pity that such a city voluntarily abandons its defense?"

His analysis was reasonable, and everyone at the side couldn't help but think it was true, but Zhang Xian shook his head with a smile: "No, no, you only saw this point, but ignored the other point."

"Oh?" Fan Ling asked in surprise, "What is the prefect referring to?"

"Gan Ning was attacking the north of Yuzhang to pull out the fortress. He was triumphant all the way, but when he saw the success, he withdrew his troops halfway and went south to attack Jianchang. Why?"

Zhang Xian said solemnly: "It is clear that I have received the instruction from the superior and adjusted the military strategy. In my opinion, it is very likely that it was personally instructed by Xuzhou Mu Wangzheng. Do you all agree?"

Everyone thought for a moment, then nodded, "But what does this mean?"

"Wang Yukou is such a character, how can he not know that changing orders from day to day is a taboo for military strategists?"

Zhang Xian said: "So there is only one explanation. Originally, he planned to attack Jingxiang by taking the road of Jianchang. Before that, he just made a suspicious formation and shot a feint. Then it means that he must have prepared well and has great confidence that this is the case. Marching is more conducive to the battle situation."

"He came prepared, and his trilogy is a powerful army in the world. Even though Jianchang's terrain is dangerous, after all, it is just a small county town. How can it resist it? So I can only explain one thing, that is, we are attacking Jianchang. , the Xuzhou army is not going all out!"

Speaking of this, Zhang Xian looked at the crowd, smiled and asked: "You want to attack the city, but you don't go all out, why?"

"The prefect is saying." Fan Ling thought for a moment, uncertain: "Is the Xuzhou army intending to "surround the spot for reinforcements"?"

"Of course." Zhang Xian said, "The enemy is already better at land warfare and has a strong army in the world. Even though I have gathered more than [-] troops in Linxiang City, if I go out of the city to fight with them in the field, the chances of winning are not great. I will take the initiative. Giving up the geographical advantage is to 'take advantage of my weaknesses and confront the strengths of the enemy'."

"So even if I have a personal relationship with Hua Xin, for the sake of the overall situation, hey, I can only die!"

Zhang Xian laughed at himself and said: "I have made up my mind. Before the reinforcements from Xiangyang arrive, I will not send a single soldier, but will not send a single soldier. I will stick to the city's ears. Linxiang City has a high wall and a moat to rely on. If there are enough soldiers, even if Jianchang falls, Wang Zheng will raise a large army, gallop out, and the soldiers will approach the city.

Hearing Zhang Xian's analysis, everyone was convinced and responded in unison: "What the prefect said is true!"

"Great kindness." Zhang Xian nodded slightly, thought for a moment, then turned his eyes to Fan Ling, and reminded again: "Although Wang Zheng is young, he is already a famous general in the world. Looking at his use of troops in recent years, he is quite deceitful." Liu Bei and Sun Ce are all heroes of the world, and they were all defeated by him, which is obvious, so we must not be indifferent to such cunning enemies!"

"You are my Linxiang county lieutenant. When you meet the enemy in the future, you must remember three points."

Fan Ling nodded solemnly: "The eunuch please show me."

"First, there is no room for loss in Linxiang. Once this city is lost, the entire county of Changsha will be ruined, and the overall situation in Jingxiang will become out of hand!"

Zhang Xian said solemnly: "Secondly, the Xuzhou Army's hundred-fighter division is very sharp. In addition to its outstanding performance in recent years and high morale, the first battle is extremely critical. It is better not to hold on to it than to fight in the wild easily. Either you don’t fight, or you have to win if you want to fight!”

"As for the third one, it's still the same sentence, make use of strengths and avoid weaknesses. Xuzhou's army is strong in land warfare, and we are strong in water warfare. Changsha has many waterways. Think more about how to use our local warfare!"

"Yes!"

Fan Ling accepted the order awe-inspiringly, but hesitated for a while, and asked: "General, the last general naturally dare not be careless, but today when he patrolled the city, the men from all ministries are quite enthusiastic. Excited, what can I do if I take the initiative to fight?"

Since Fan Ling can be a county lieutenant, he is naturally not an incompetent person. There is no problem that he can't even control his own soldiers. It's just that there are more than [-] people in the city, not only Linxiang's original defenders, but also Zhang Wei. The number of soldiers and horses Xian transferred from other places is even increasing.

"The hearts of the children are happy, which means that their morale is high and they are eager to fight. Isn't this a good thing?"

Hearing the words, Zhang Xian glanced at Fan Ling, smiled lightly and said, "Soldiers are like knives, and running an army is sharpening knives. The more morale is boosted, it means that our hard work in the past is not in vain. Then what is the commander of the three armies? That is the person who holds the scabbard. The general holds the scabbard. When he wants to kill, the blade will come out of the scabbard. Since I ordered all the soldiers and horses from all counties to enter Linxiang, I naturally have the ability to coordinate the various ministries and appease the soldiers. They can not only keep their morale high, but obey orders, otherwise how can they be the governor of Changsha and live above all of you?"

These words are domineering and coercive. In fact, they didn't say how to appease or coordinate at all, but the generals all promised loudly, obviously not worried, and had no doubts in Zhang Xian's ability.

(End of this chapter)