nycdaug Chapter 201 The whole situation
Chapter 201 The whole situation
"If you insist on continuing, I will obey your orders. However, I believe we should wait for the reinforcements to arrive before proceeding, as your safety is of utmost importance."
Zhao Yun knew Chen Er's temperament. Since Chen Er had said so, he certainly wouldn't back down at this time. Even if there were many dangers ahead, he wouldn't retreat even a step. However, as a general in charge of troops...
Zhao Yun wouldn't fight blindly. Right now, they only have a thousand dragon cavalry with them, and another three thousand cavalry about a hundred miles behind them. This number of troops is not enough, and they don't have accurate intelligence about the enemy at the moment.
Zhao Yun dared not be careless. The safest approach was to have the two infantry divisions follow up immediately, and to send a message to Xiahou Dun and Man Chong, mobilizing the remaining main forces of the Fifth and Sixth Organization Regiments to prepare for battle and to immediately reinforce the front lines should the situation escalate.
Chen Er was not a reckless person. Zhao Yun's suggestion was very reasonable. As his lord, he naturally had to listen to such advice. Moreover, he couldn't risk his own life, no matter who he was at odds with.
Chen Er said to Wang Hui beside him, "Immediately send a message to Xiahou Dun and Man Chong to mobilize the Fifth and Sixth Organization Regiments, hand over the defense tasks to the local garrison regiments and reserve organizations, and at the same time, have the two infantry divisions that have already assembled move towards Shiyang."
At the same time, Chen Er also ordered the three thousand cavalrymen following behind to prepare for battle. If the battle broke out ahead of schedule, they must fight together with the dragon cavalry to cover his retreat.
Since Liu Bei was the chosen one, Chen Er still decided to meet him. Although Liu Bei gave him a big gift as soon as he arrived, Chen Er did not mind. On the contrary, he felt that Liu Bei was a very resourceful person and he admired such a smart person.
With the increasing strength of the district he had been governing in recent years, he rarely encountered such challenges. Since Liu Bei had issued a challenge, how could he back down?
The only question was whether the Sun family of Jiangdong was also involved. Thinking of this, Chen Er immediately instructed Wang Hui to add a sentence to the order sent to Xiahou Dun: "Closely monitor the movements in Jiangdong; any unusual activity must be reported to him immediately."
"Wang Hui, order us to find a sheltered place nearby to set up camp and have the cavalry follow to strengthen our defenses."
After Wang Hui released the carrier pigeon, Chen Er gave another order. He said to Zhao Yun and Wang Hui, "Have the cavalry expand the warning range to a hundred li. The surrounding area is hilly. If the enemy intends to ambush us, they will definitely be able to find some hiding places. Pay close attention to the movements around us. Tell all the brothers that we should consider ourselves to have entered enemy-occupied territory and enter a state of first-level combat readiness."
"Yes, my lord!"
On the other hand, after receiving Wang Hui's message by carrier pigeon, the once peaceful city of Shouchun immediately erupted into chaos. Xiahou Dun and Man Chong learned that Chen Er was likely in danger and that Chen Er himself was unwilling to retreat immediately.
The mobilization order was issued immediately, and the first to assemble were the three organizations of the Fifth Organization Regiment. Compared with the Sixth Organization Regiment, the Fifth Organization Regiment had rich combat experience.
At this time, Xiahou Dun had no idea about whether they were loyal or not. Ensuring Chen Er's absolute safety was the issue he should be considering. More importantly, the Sixth Organization Group had not yet formed an effective notification system.
Xiahou Dun did not dare to entrust them with such an important task. The main task of the Sixth Organization Group was to be responsible for subsequent support missions.
At the same time, Xiahou Dun personally took command of the Fifth Organization Regiment while Tian Yu was still at large. The Sixth Organization Regiment and the remaining reserve local garrison troops were placed under the unified command of Man Chong.
At the same time, Shen Cheng, who had received direct orders from Chen Er, also intensified his intelligence gathering in Jingzhou. More detailed intelligence was being compiled, and a report on the latest developments of Liu Bei's organization was placed on Shen Cheng's desk.
"Three days after Liu Bei left Ba County, a large organization of 20,000 elite troops was formed in Ba County. According to the information that Lao Li spent 20 taels of silver to find out, this large organization of 20,000 troops was an elite force formed with veterans who followed Liu Bei in battle as its backbone."
"All soldiers have participated in actual combat, and their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated."
Shen Cheng picked up the intelligence report on the table and read it to Qiu Min. Qiu Min was a little surprised, but he quickly calmed down and said to Shen Cheng, "If there are only 20,000 men, the lord can still handle it."
"Don't let your guard down. We still don't know how many troops Liu Biao has sent. You should know that our lord is only followed by two infantry divisions. It will take at least five days for the main force of the Fifth Organization Regiment to mobilize, assemble, and arrive at the battlefield."
"This is still the most optimistic estimate. We must find out exactly how much power Liu Biao has mobilized, and whether the Sun family of Jiangdong, which our lord mentioned, is also involved."
"The Jiangdong area is not under our jurisdiction, so we are unaware of that situation at the moment," Qiu Min replied.
Shen Cheng said, "I know that. We just need to do our job well."
On April 3rd, on the eve of the Qingming Festival, the messenger of the King of Wei arrived at the place agreed upon by Liu Bei, the Grand Prefect of Ba Commandery, outside Shiyang, and discussed in detail the specific meeting time between the three parties with Liu Bei's messenger and the messenger from Jiangdong.
The agreement also stipulated the number of attendants each party could bring to the meeting. The three parties agreed that each party could bring no more than 500 attendants into the meeting, and that no organization could be stationed within ten miles of the meeting.
The three parties, each with their own ulterior motives, did not mention the other's troop movements. Meanwhile, Chen Er had actually figured out Liu Bei's side's actions and formed an alliance with Jingzhou.
Liu Bei's side prepared at least 50,000 troops on the south bank of the river, and Jingzhou's side also prepared hundreds of warships that could transport troops across the river at any time. Regarding this matter, Chen Er's messengers were completely unaware of it and were negotiating the alliance with the other two parties.
However, since they had come to bully him this time, Chen Er did not sit idly by. After waiting for these days, the main force of the Fifth Organization Regiment had made preparations for battle and was hiding two hundred miles north of Shiyang.
The first two infantry divisions were even within a hundred miles of the meeting place, ready to support Chen Er at any time. If it weren't for the fact that they were close to the river and the naval forces of the southern organization area were not yet fully formed, they would have been able to achieve this.
Chen Er was determined to use all his naval forces to encircle Liu Bei, but there was no way to do so now, since the Southern Organization District had only been established for a short time and its navy was not yet fully formed.
"My lord, a message has been sent by carrier pigeon."