〖In August of the 19th year of Xiande, Southern Chu formed an alliance with Dayong, Emperor Yong of the Qi king made an alliance with the lord of the state, and Prince of De Zhao Jue worshipped as the great governor, and led the order to go on an expedition. Before leaving, Zhao Jue ordered Jiang Zhe When serving as a staff member in the army and a counselor for military aircraft, when the lord of the country was worried that the prince's authority was too great, he ordered the eunuch Wang Hai to supervise the army.
— "The History of Chu in the Southern Dynasties: The Biography of Jiang Suiyun"〗
Damn Zhao Jue, I really wanted to join the army. I wanted to ask for help, but Zhao Jue is now a commander-in-chief with more than 10,000 people under one person, so I had to hand over the work of the Hanlin Academy with tears in my eyes and join the army. Shu, but what comforts me is that Xiao Shunzi actually set off with the army. Before leaving, the lord of the country sent Wang Hai, the chief supervisor of the ceremonies, as the supervisor of the army. Thinking that Xiao Shunzi actually came with Wang Hai, I couldn't help but thank God for the blessing. With Xiao Shunzi's protection, I shouldn't encounter too many dangers, but it's better to find more guards, I I'm going to talk to Xiao Shunzi. When I see the candidates, Xiao Shunzi will help me identify their martial arts, so that I won't find a bunch of wine bags and rice bags.
This time to attack Shu, the southern Chu troops were divided into two routes. One route was by water. The 10,000-strong navy was led by Lu Xin, the Marquis of Zhenyuan, and the other route was led by the Grand Governor, Prince Zhao Jue, led by the 50,000-strong army. Killing Pemba by land, the two sides agreed to join forces with Luocheng. I was an aide under Prince De’s account, so naturally I had to follow the army, but I couldn’t hold back my resentment. During the march, I was hiding in the car of the supervisor Wang Hai. Wang Hai and the manager of the library in the imperial study were of the same clan, so I was very angry with me. It's not bad. On the way, I often mentioned that my health has improved a lot since Steward Wang took the medicine I gave. I naturally agreed to make one or two similar medicines for him. Xiao Shunzi was beside the two of us obediently serving the two of us. Wang Hai looked at Xiao Shunzi with a hearty smile and said with a smile, "This kid is the servant that Duke Zhuang Yuan once rescued. Xiao Shunzi is good in everything and works diligently. A clever tongue, literate and hyphenated, it is not good at all, not motivated at all, other slaves can fight for a job, they can't wait to surround themselves with the king, only this kid is willing to abandon that good job , followed our family to the army to suffer."
I couldn't help but glance at Xiao Shunzi, feeling a little guilty, this kid is all for my sake, Xiao Shunzi said obediently: "What is the father-in-law saying? The father-in-law has been appreciated by the lord of the country and served as the supervisor. Once he wins and returns to the dynasty, it is a great credit, and the servants will also be exposed to the father-in-law. opened. The three of us are having a good time talking. At this time, a messenger ran up to our car and said loudly: "Mr. Jiang, the lord has called you to discuss matters." I got out of the car helplessly, took the reins from the inner guard brought by Wang Hai, and shook it. galloping forward, my riding skills are not very good, I learned it by cramming these days. I finally came to Zhao Jue who stopped the horse and waited for me. I immediately clasped my fists and saluted: "My lord, the lower official is here as ordered."
Zhao Jue looked at my embarrassed appearance and said with a smile: "Mr. Jiang, you should learn to ride more horses, otherwise it will be difficult to follow the army."
I almost gritted my teeth, am I willing to join the army? But people were under the eaves and had to bow their heads, so I could only respectfully say: "Xiaguan obeys. If there is anything I need to do, please ask the lord to instruct."
Zhao Jue urged the horse to move forward slowly, motioning for me to follow him, and I hurriedly urged the mount. The two of us walked side by side for a while before Zhao Jue said, "Is Master Jiang still resenting this king?" I smiled and said: "Xiaguan dare not, Xiaguan eats Nanchu's salary, how dare you Refuse the appointment of the imperial court." Zhao Jue smiled bitterly: "It's not that this king is embarrassing your lord, it's just that in this attack on Shu, we must preserve our own strength while obtaining the best interests. Marching and fighting is the king's own business, and we won't do it either. I don't dare to bother your lord, it's just that after Ping Shu, we will have to discuss with Dayong how to distribute the results of the war. If there is no person like Master Jiang who understands the reality of our two countries and is wise and decisive, I'm afraid we will suffer a big loss, so we have to be embarrassed. Master Jiang."
I thought indignantly, "It's just the robber's share of the spoils after the success, won't you let me go after you win?" Seeing to see through my mind, Zhao Jue said, "Besides, I see that Mr. is so intelligent, Jue also wants to listen to the teachings every day, and now that the country is in crisis, I also hope that Mr. Jiang will spend more time on military affairs, so as to contribute to the country." After listening to Zhao Jue's words, I thought about it carefully, and since I was already in the army, I might as well take advantage of Let's learn more about military affairs. Thinking of this, I bowed low and expressed my acceptance of his opinion. Zhao Jue smiled slightly and gave the horse a whip. My mount seemed to want to gallop a little too. I twisted my body impatiently, causing me to sway from side to side. Fortunately, one of Zhao Jue's personal guards who followed me helped me. With one hand, I thanked my face red and swore to learn to ride a horse.
Putting down the pen in my hand, I rubbed my shoulders. After the camp was set up, I was dealing with these military affairs. Since I talked to Zhao Jue, I began to participate in handling military affairs. From the beginning of the stumbling and stumbling to the present, I did not spend much time. Chief, from how to set up camp, how to organize the army, how to reward and punish, of course, the most important thing is document processing and intelligence sorting, the difficulty of these military affairs is not easier than my work in the Hanlin Academy. Among Zhao Jue's staff, the Montenegrin scholar Rong Yuan, who has always followed him, is the most important, and often follows Zhao Jue's side as counselor. As for these trivial military affairs, other counselors deal with them. My participation has reduced their workload. In particular, I was familiar with most of the document processing methods in a short time. With my strong memory and keen judgment, I quickly became a leader among them, especially the intelligence analysis work. Originally, they only asked me to try them. I tried to test it out, but it was my forte to verify the facts from just a few words. I didn’t need pen and ink records. No matter how trivial the information, as long as I read it once, I would be able to understand the context in the middle, so later those aides simply handed over the intelligence analysis work to I was asked, and I sorted out the documents and handed them over to Zhao Jue for approval. It was only then that I truly became a much-used counselor by Zhao Jue's side. Except for Rong Huan, I already came out on top.
Look at the sky, it's already late at night, and I'll be on my way tomorrow. I'll collect the information I've sorted out and prepare to send it to Mr. Rong. I feel a little thirsty, so I pick up the teapot on the small table, but it's already empty. He shook his head with a wry smile. At this moment, there was a soft cough from outside the tent, and then Xiao Shunzi walked in, holding a food box, and said lightly, "Mr. Jiang, Wang Jianjun knows that you are busy with military affairs, and asked me to bring it here. Evening supper, and I want to thank you for the medicine you gave him yesterday."
As soon as I heard Xiao Shunzi's tone, I knew there was someone outside, so I smiled and said, "Please thank Wang Jianjun for me, in fact, the superintendent of the army is just used to being pampered. These days I'm too tired and I can't rest well, so I can't help feeling unwell. The medicine is just to let the supervisor rest better and recover his energy quickly." Xiao Shunzi put the things on the table and said, "Please eat it while it's hot." I shook my head and said, "I'll put the things on the table first. The documents have been delivered, you should go back to rest first, you will have to march tomorrow." Xiao Shunzi shoved a small note into my hand, then saluted and retired.
I opened the note, and there was a line of beautiful small words on it, "It is inconvenient to communicate in the army, Zhao Jue is surrounded by many experts, Rong Yuan seems to be a little jealous of the adults, and today I slandered Zhao Jue, saying that the adults and the King of Qi have close contacts, I am afraid there is collusion. , For the sake of safety, try not to let the adults approach important military affairs, Zhao Jue is dubious."
I smiled lightly, this kind of thing is always inevitable, it's no wonder Rong Yuan is jealous, but if he succeeds in slandering, it doesn't matter, anyway, he has no reason to be reused by Prince De. I walked out of the tent and let the sergeant under the tent accompany Rong Yuan to the tent where Rong Yuan was handling military affairs. I sighed and left the tent. Outside the account at this time, the moon is like frost.
After more than half a month of marching, we reached the border of Shu Kingdom. After that, the siege operation went very smoothly. However, we arrived in Ba County within ten days. I began to wonder why the resistance of Shu Kingdom was so weak. Later, I asked people to know that Shu Kingdom has soldiers after all. Insufficient, so no heavy troops are deployed in other places except for the critical and dangerous passes, and Berkshire is the first checkpoint we face. After passing Berkshire, there are difficult and dangerous paths ahead, and more than 20 successive passes are easy. The pattern is difficult to defend, and the battle is about to begin.
On the 23rd of August, the Southern Chu army arrived at the bottom of Bajun City. I rode a docile horse specially selected for me by Prince De, and looked at Bajun City, which was high and deep. With a solemn expression in the city, it can be seen at first sight that it is a strong team. Prince De led his horse slightly, stood in front of the army, and looked at the city wall coldly. Among the many sergeants in the city stood a general in red iron armor. With my eyesight, I could see that this man was probably in his fifties. The man shouted loudly: "Nan Chu and our Shu Kingdom are allies, why did you tear up the covenant for no reason and come to sneak attack."
Prince De smiled lightly, and said in a loud voice: "The kingdom of Shu is in one corner of the country, and it is divided into the world. Today, Dayong Longxing the Central Plains, and the kingdom of Shu has refused to be a minister. Why is it? Respected by the emperor's order, Er Zexue washed away the hatred of Shu's oppression for many years. My sons of Nanchu heard that. Shu, relying on the terrain, often bullied my border people, and took advantage of the trade to raise prices and loot my people's gold and silver. Today, I am raising troops in Nanchu, and I must succeed in a battle and avenge my revenge.” After speaking, the southern Chu army shouted in unison, the army drums thundered, and a thousand troops began to shout and advance, everyone holding shields and rings. The first knife, protecting Duo Cao Yun Ladders, rushed towards the city wall. Taking advantage of the fact that the archers on the city wall could not extend their heads to shoot arrows down, the Nanchu Army leaned those Yun Ladders against the city wall and began to climb upwards, while another 20 or 30 people pushed them. The chariot came under the city gate, and the sound of the huge crash overwhelmed the sound of war drums and horns. Before hitting a few times, the battle drums on the city sounded, the rolling wood and falling rocks fell like rain, the cloud ladders were also pushed down by the rejection pole, the body of Sergeant Nan Chu fell from the air, blood was blurred, and the rushing car was also smashed by the boulders. Eight falls.
I looked worried, but I saw Prince De and other generals' staff looking at the battlefield with indifferent expressions, without any nervousness. Then there was a sound of gold, and the sergeants gradually retreated. I looked carefully, and most of the sergeants had not climbed up, so the number of injured people was not as many as I imagined. After a while, the second wave of the Nanchu army began to siege the city. also began to fight back.
On this day, the Southern Chu army attacked more than 20 times in total, all of which were only shallow, and the guards on the city were also very cautious and did not abuse wood and stone. When it was almost dusk, the Nanchu army launched a fierce attack, and the offensive was in full swing.
I looked at my heart and my mind was shaken. Today, two or three thousand people were killed or injured in the siege. The loss was not very big, but the terrible momentum made me unable to calm down for a long time. That night, I tossed and turned in the camp, and the siege lost so much. I heard that there are so many cities below. Isn't it too miserable for every city to be like this.
The next day, the battle of the siege was very fierce. The sun had just risen. The sergeants rushed out with a dozen catapults. With an order, huge boulders rose into the air and smashed heavily on the city wall. Up, although the city walls were not shaken because of the depth of Berkshire City, the gravel splashed on the city tower, and the city walls trembled in the whistling sound. The defenders in the city also began to penetrate the stone downwards despite the arrows. The trebuchets on the city were powerful and smashed into the battlefield of our army. Although it was difficult to aim, only half of our trebuchets were broken, but our front position was destroyed. When it was smashed into pieces, the flesh was blurred, the bones were piled up, and the slinging battle lasted for two incense, my hands and feet were cold in this short period of time, and my eyes were full of blood and mud. My eyesight is so good, even See the bleak and mournful expressions of those sergeants before they died. Then, probably due to the lack of stones, the offensive of both sides slowed down and gradually stopped. The Nanchu army pushed the arrow tower and carried the cloud ladder to attack the city again. Although the height of the arrow tower was not as high as the city wall, it was barely able to withstand the counterattack in the city. The sharp quills and arrows of both sides crossed beautiful arcs in the air, passing through the strong body, splashing dazzling blood flowers, and the blood of both sides swayed in front of the city wall. When the Nanchu army charged up again under the rain of arrows, this time the city wall was scorching hot oil and lime. When the battered Nanchu sergeant fell, countless straws and torches were dropped on the city wall, and the city suddenly became There was a sea of fire, only a few of the agile sergeants fled back, and the rest of the sergeants were surrounded by the sea of fire, and the burning was terrible.
When I saw this, I really hated that my six senses were so sensitive. I couldn't bear it any longer. I hurriedly rushed to the back and found a secluded place. When I straightened up and saw Xiao Shunzi in a sergeant's armor standing in front of my horse, he handed me a pot of water and told me to rinse my mouth, and when I calmed down, I asked, "Why are you here? Didn't you accompany the prince?" Xiao Shunzi said in a low voice, "I told the prince that I didn't know what was going on on the battlefield, so I came out to see. The prince was also very worried, so he agreed." Wang Wangyuan In the battlefield where I was at, I had lingering fears and said, "It's terrible, I'd better go back." Just as he was about to ride the horse, Xiao Shunzi grabbed the reins of my horse and said, "Sir, no, although I am ignorant, I know that if your I am timid at this time, and I will no longer be able to raise my head in front of the generals in the army in the future, and the adults will go to the battlefield in the future, why do you avoid them again and again?"
I was a little ashamed to hear that, thinking that my mind was far less tenacious than Xiao Shunzi, I glanced at him gratefully, and rode back to the front line. When I returned to Zhao Jue's side again, the generals and staff around him all looked at me, who was as pale as paper, with approving eyes. Zhao Jue praised: "Suiyun's courage is really good. When this king first entered the battlefield, he was even worse than you. Don't worry, just fight a few more battles." I immediately bowed and saluted, and asked: " My lord, I don't know how to use the military, it seems that our siege is not going well, doesn't it?"
Zhao Jue smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, Ba County is an important town in the Shu Kingdom. Not only are the generals good at fighting, but also the sergeants are brave and have sufficient equipment and provisions to defend the city, so it is very difficult to attack, which makes this king's heart aches. Fortunately, if Ba County is captured, The twenty or so cities below will be much easier."
I asked again: "Then, according to what the lord sees, we need to attack for a few days."
Zhao Jue thought about it and said, "If we can attack Ba County within half a month, it will be good."
I figured out that Dayong would have to go through several dangerous passes from Yangping Pass via Dongchuan to attack Jiameng Pass. However, Dayong’s army is full of fine grain. If we want to take the lead in Nanchu, we must use strategies. How can we resolve the current impasse
I couldn't think of it for a while. I recalled the information about Berkshire, and I recalled one after another. Looking at the city wall, the red-armored general was commanding on the city. Chu had a slight flaw, and he saw through it at a glance, and then chased and beat him without mercy.
Wait a minute, I pursued and fought fiercely, without mercy, and I remembered the information about the generals defending the city: Tian Wei, who controls the army rigorously, is brave and good at fighting, is good at defending the city, defends like a mountain, and is especially good at intercepting villages. No wonder Prince De kept the tent so tightly, it turned out that this man was good at intercepting villages. Slowly, a trick takes shape, but does it work? After thinking about it, I rode to Prince De's side and whispered my opinion to him. Prince De hesitated at first, and gradually became interested. After a long time, he nodded with a smile, and then ordered to withdraw his troops. The bloodiest day of the Battle of Berkshire has finally come to an end.