Part Three Chapter Seventeen Strike Across the River 1
[69 Book Bar - www.] This time the Earth Army set out, I, as the front-line General Hengye, was responsible for taking the lead. Yang Yi was still injured, so I left two wounded soldiers to serve him in the imperial capital, and divided my troops into
Two large and two small units, Qian Wenyi and Cao Wendao each unified their troops in front, while the Ax Battalion and Arrow Battalion followed behind me.
Starting from the south gate of the imperial capital, when passing through Beining City, all we can see is a ruined city. Beining City was originally the residence of Tu Fang. The imperial army had a long stalemate with the Snake People here. After countless hard battles, they finally retreated due to defeat. In Beining City
There were so many soldiers killed. When the slaughter passed through Beining City, they asked the whole army to stop for a while.
, mourning for the dead soldiers. Strangely enough, the weather was originally sunny, but when we entered Beining City, there was a heavy wind and snow, and it suddenly became cold. Looking at the ruins of Beining City in the wind and snow, I didn’t know what it felt like.
I'm afraid Tu Fang wouldn't be in a good mood when he saw this scene.
In the past few years of war, first the Republican Army and then the Snake People have died in the flames of war. It is unknown how many innocent people have died in the war, and it is unknown how many more people will die in the future. When dragons fight in the wild, all life is devastated. Whether it is changing dynasties or resisting foreign enemies, as long as there is
In war, the most painful thing is still the common people in the world.
After leaving Beining City and continuing to march forward, what I saw along the way was still a road full of bones. Originally, the road from the Imperial Capital to Dongping was very busy, with villages on both sides, but now it is dilapidated. Before arriving at Beining City, I still saw a few villages.
, there are also a few sparse families living inside. After passing Beining City,
It was completely deserted. It was more than a thousand miles from the imperial capital to Dongyang City. If you rode a fast horse and rode hard, you could get there in three to four days, but if you marched, it would always take about ten days. In the wind and snow, 20,000 horses stretched out.
For several miles, the flag was fluttering. Looking back at Beining City, there was only an outline left in the heavy snow.
The ground troops moved faster. On the evening of the eighth day, our front troops had arrived at the foot of Dongyang City. After hearing the news, Deng Canglan and Bi Wei came out of the city to greet us. They had been fighting fiercely on the front line in the past few months, and both of them had lost weight.
Quite a bit. Bi Wei already had a big beard, but now his beard was even more messy, making his eyes look much bigger.
After Tu Fang's Chinese army entered Dongyang City, the four armies of the Earth Army also set up camp around it. There used to be many residents in Dongyang City, but now apart from the army, there are only civilians who transport food, grass and baggage. Although Dongyang City does not have Dongping
The city is large, but the city that originally had a population of three to four hundred thousand people now only has about a hundred thousand people, and it suddenly seemed empty.
After finishing the affairs of the forward camp, I took Qian Wenyi and Cao Wendao to Tu Fang's residence. The four generals of the Earth Army were all partial generals, the same as Deng Canglan and Bi Wei. As soon as Tu Fang arrived, he was naturally
Became the chief general of Dongyang City. When we arrived, Deng Canglan and Bi Wei were already there. We paid the Tu Fang
After the order, I sat down next to Deng Canglan and Bi Wei. Qian Wenyi and Cao Wendao stood behind me. I had practiced military training with Deng Canglan for several months in Xiongguan City, but he had always been taciturn and could not talk to me.
What kind of friendship is there? Although Bi Wei is more familiar with me, he just doesn't seem to want to pay attention to me.
After waiting for a while, the four generals of the Earth Army had arrived. In addition to the Four-phase Army, Bi Wei also brought nearly 40,000 ordinary troops, and the commanders of these troops also attended the meeting. However, the Four-phase Army was Marquis Wen
He formed it himself, so he was the main force. At this time, Shao Fengguan also came. Although he was also among the
One of the commanders of the Sixiang Army, with a military rank of just a junior general, could only sit next to me. Just after greeting Shao Fengguan, Tu Fang stood up and motioned to his soldiers to hang a city defense map behind him.
He said: "Generals, I have been ordered to provide reinforcements. Please first ask General Deng to tell you about the situation of the battle."
Deng Canglan stood up and said: "General, I obey." He walked to the city defense map and said: "Generals, there are currently more than 83,000 troops in the city, and the number of snakes is about 40,000. Since the end of June,
Since then, we have been at odds with the snake people for half a year, but we have still made no progress, and the number of casualties has reached more than 20,000. This battle is so difficult to fight, we did not expect it, and Canglan feels guilty in his heart."
When the snake people's siege of the imperial capital was broken in May, the whole country rejoiced and felt that victory was just around the corner. When Bi Wei led his army in pursuit, good news came frequently all the way, but when the snake people were driven back to Dongping City, the good news came
There were fewer and fewer soldiers, but wounded soldiers continued to return to the imperial capital. For a while, people were panicked, as if the end was coming again. Fortunately, although Deng Canglan and Bi Wei could not make much progress, the snake people also failed to fight back across the river.
Only then did people settle down. If they had not been able to stop them at that time and the snake people had successfully counterattacked, Marquis Wen would not have been able to launch a second siege of the imperial capital even if he had great abilities. Although Deng Canglan said it modestly, we did not
One person looked down upon him. Tu Fang also said: "General Deng's words are serious. The snake people's combat power is extraordinary. Being able to confront them without losing is truly a victory. The two generals of water and fire are worthy of being the elites of the world."
.”
Although the confrontation between Dongping City and Dongyang City put a heavy burden on the empire, it was still bearable. Marquis Wen was able to continue training, dispatching troops, and continuously replenishing new soldiers. But when Tu Fang said this, Deng Canglan just smiled bitterly.
After a moment, he said: "Your Majesty is so complimentary, Canglan feels guilty. Now that your Majesty has come with his troops, it is like the rain after a long drought. I hope we can win the battle."
He said, pointing to the Dongping City Road on the map: "Generals, please see, the north of Dongping City faces the river. Our army can only attack from the north gate now. The river is several miles wide. Fortunately, the snakes' ships
Very few, and now it seems that there is no intention to advance north, otherwise with the strength of our army, it is difficult for us to withstand the full counterattack of the snake people."
At this time, Qi Yahui suddenly said: "General Deng, the snake people built dikes to collect water to flood Dongping City, forcing our army to abandon the city and go north. Now, will our army repeat this strategy to let the snake people have a taste of it?"
Deng Canglan said: "Originally, we also thought about whether it was feasible. Although most of the dams built by the snake people collapsed and fell into ruins, it is not impossible to repair them. It was only after we took a boat to see it on the spot that we realized that time has changed and this plan has already worked.
No connection. The snake man is at the east gate of Dongping City.
A ditch more than a mile long was dug outside. Even if our army built dams upstream and downstream, the accumulated water would only leak from the ditch into the stormy sea. Even though this large ditch is short, it is still a full mile long, and it is
On the south bank of the river, everything is under the control of the snake people, and our army cannot block it."
In the north of Zhijiang Province, adjacent to the river, there is a huge lake called Fengbohai. This Fengbohai is the largest lake in the empire and stores a lot of water. Even if the snake people dig the ditch outside Dongping City, even if we build
If the embankment accumulates water, the river water will flow southward along the ditch.
, looking for a way to flow into the sea of storms, unable to pour back into the city. The snake people are very powerful, so it is not surprising to dig such a large ditch. When they were in Fudun City, they also wanted to attack the city from a hole. But digging this ditch is not easy.
Things need to be carefully planned according to the terrain
In order to succeed, all the people from the Ministry of Industry and Water Mansion must come together. I am afraid that it will also take several months to complete the survey and summon tens of thousands of people. The snake people can dig out such a thing in a short time.
Ditch is actually a way to prepare for a rainy day and have foresight.
With this ditch, the northeastern sides of Dongping City become waterfront. If we want to attack from land, we can only attack from the southwest. With our current strength, this is simply impossible. After hearing what Deng Canglan said, Qi Yahui remained silent.