In November of the third year of Tianyou's reign, it was freezing cold and there was heavy snowfall in Huainan. Zhong Shao's troops who were stationed on the banks of Hongze Lake had all withdrawn from their outdoor camps to Sizhou City.
More than half a year has passed since Xiapi surrendered. During this period, Zhong Shao and Wang Maozhang have fought more than ten battles. The battle line has also moved south from Xiapi to Sizhou, and the entire Wu army has withdrawn.
Huainan territory.
In Sizhou City are the Cangzhou Army commanded by Zhong Shao and the Youyan Security Army of Zhao Zaili. Behind the Sizhou City are the Yanzhou Army commanded by Zhang Yanshou and Huo Cun on the left wing. Zhaoyi, dozens of miles away in the west, is stationed
Ding Hui and Yang Chongben's Yanzhou Army were on the right wing. The army totaled 70,000 people and faced off against 30,000 people from Wang Maozhang's army in Xuyi.
In the battle to attack Sizhou a month ago, the Sizhou city that Wang Maozhang had defended for three months was finally shattered like a paper shell in front of the large siege equipment arriving from the north. The earth-shattering thunder before the city was broken,
This frightened everyone in the Wu army. Until now, there are rumors circulating in the army that the Northern soldiers have divine help.
In the battle of Sizhou, Wang Maozhang lost 20,000 people, which can be said to have shaken the foundation. The Wu State, which was based in Huainan, did not have as many recruits as the northern princes. It lost 20,000 people at once, leaving Yang Xingmi in Jiangdu.
He was so angry that he vomited blood. But Li Shenfu had died in the Shangdang battle, and the whole of Huainan could only rely on Wang Maozhang, so Yang Xingmi did not criticize him in a word, but just desperately recruited troops and sent another 20,000 people to Wang Maozhang.
Wang Maozhang also understood that this was the national power of the entire Huainan. If Qian Jie, the Yue King in the south, was more bold, he would find that there was nothing that could stop him along the entire road from Qiantang to Jiangdu. Wang
What Maozhang needs to do now is to quickly repel the invasion of the northern soldiers, and then mobilize his troops back south to replenish and complete the southern front before his old enemy Qianjiu can react.
But, is this possible?
Thinking of that earth-shattering roar, Wang Maozhang felt his scalp numb. The sharp weapon in the hands of Beibing made the city wall no longer a barrier to rely on. Let alone repelling the Beibing, it was still unknown how he would defend Xuyi.
number.
If they go out to fight in the city, can they withstand the opponent with the few troops they have? Wang Maozhang knows that the opponent is the elite force of King Yan, Zhong Shao who once defeated the main force of Liang Army in Shangdang, and Zhong Shao can control it.
Not only the elite Yan army, but also the newly attached Taining army! Hmm. It seems that the northern soldiers on the opposite side are now called Tang army. There is no distinction between the Taining army and the Yan army. However, the Yan army is the Yan army, and the Taining army is still
Taining Army, changing its name will not affect the opponent's combat power at all.
The only difference is that the other party changed the flag, which seemed to have a considerable impact on the morale of his Huainan soldiers. Not to mention the soldiers, even Wang Maozhang himself sometimes fell into confusion. After all, he was from the Tang Dynasty.
Or a Wu person?
Fortunately, it snowed heavily. With God's help, the northern soldiers were temporarily blocked in the north of Hongze Lake, giving Wang Maozhang a good chance to breathe. But Wang Maozhang understood that the snow in the south is different from the snow in the north, and it would not take ten days.
In half a month, the snow will melt. What should we do then?
Unlike Wang Maozhang who was sighing in Xuyi City, Zhong Shao was sitting very calmly in Sizhou City. Although more than half a year had passed since he went south to now, which was a little longer, the battle in Sizhou was crucial. It not only opened the door for the southward march to Huainan
gate, and annihilated 20,000 veterans of the Wu Army. The recruiting systems of the Wu Army and the Yan Army were different. Without the veterans, the Yan Army could still rely on its good military training system to continuously cultivate high-quality soldiers suitable for battle, while the Wu Army lost this
Twenty thousand veterans will definitely not be able to recover within three to five years!
He has a strong military advantage here. As long as the heavy snow melts, he can continue to go south. If Wang Maozhang sticks to Xuyi, the scene of Sizhou City's destruction will happen again. If Wang Maozhang dares to fight with him in the field -
Zhong Shao's only worry is whether he can completely annihilate Huainan's last military force in the field. After this battle is over, there will be no resistance north of the Yangtze River, and the remaining problem is to cross the river.
Nowadays, what Zhong Shao and the staff discuss most is the issue of how to cross the river. However, Zhong Shao is not too worried about this. His Highness King Yan began to build a shipyard in Jin County several years ago. After these few years,
The ships built by Jinxian are taller and stronger than those of Wu Jun's navy. But the hulls are built according to sea-going standards. Can they be compared with the ships on the rivers?
There is no other way to fight on the water. Big ships are better than small ones. More ships are better than fewer ships. This is the original words of His Highness King Yan, and Zhong Shao regards this as a guideline.
When they were making arrangements and preparing to attack Xuyi after the snow melted, an urgent military report came to Zhong Shao's desk - the Weizhou Army had arrived in Xucheng!
It was less than 200 miles from Xucheng to Sizhou. Zhong Shao only waited for four days before the entire Weizhou army arrived in Sizhou. The commander of the Weizhou army, Liu Jinhou, was a veteran brought out by Zhong Shao. Although he is now under the control of one army,
In the military, where seniority is valued, military salutes must be given first when meeting Zhong Shao.
The senior officers of both sides met, exchanged blows and braggadocios, and happily entered Sizhou City. The Weizhou Army came to reinforce them. It was an order from the Privy Council. General Liu Jinhou handed over the order. Zhong Shao was a little puzzled after reading it.
He did not regard Liu Jinhou as an outsider, and frowned directly: "There are already 70,000 troops here, enough to destroy the country, why do we need to send you to reinforce?"
Liu Jinhou replied: "Before leaving, Privy Council Zhang asked me to tell you that Jiangdu must be captured before the end of the year! What the Privy Council wants is to lead the Weizhou Army eastward, bypass Hongze, take Gaoyou directly, and attack Jiangdu from the east."
"Why are you in such a hurry? We have many soldiers, so we can fight steadily, so why take risks? Wang Maozhang is good at using his troops. If he is not defeated, I really can't worry. If he moves in danger, abandons Xuyi, and hits you in the middle,
Then the gains will outweigh the losses.”
A smile suddenly appeared on Liu Jinhou's face, and he whispered: "The Privy Council wants to quickly capture Jiangdu, and give His Highness the King of Yan a generous gift before the first day!"
"A generous gift?" Zhong Shao thought about it for a while, then suddenly realized, with a slightly trembling voice, he asked: "Is Your Highness ready to be promoted to the Ninth Five-Year Plan?"
Liu Jinhou shook his head: "Your Highness didn't say anything, but the Privy Council has made a decision. This first memorial to persuade people to join us will be submitted in early December."
After hesitating for a moment, Zhong Shao asked: "Is this... in compliance with the rules?"
Liu Jinhou said with a smile: "Your Highness's ascension to the throne is the general trend. Li Tang's resurgence is today! To be honest, if the Privy Council had not taken action earlier, this first prize would have been taken away by others. I heard that Zhang Jun and Wang Shifan of the Political Affairs Hall
Several people are already planning this matter, but Feng Dao has not said anything, so there is no result yet. In addition to the political affairs hall, Li Maozhen is conspiring to incite the censors to file a memorial - you said that the various observation envoys have not given up on the Yamen, so he is so anxious
, isn’t it just for this first achievement? By the way, there is also Wu Zhongzuo, who claims to be upright. Do you know what he is doing? The draft of the constitution he drafted has been exposed, and there is one article in it - the prince is less than ten years old.
Five, you cannot occupy the position of the Son of Heaven! This is clearly to let the current emperor take the Zen position!"
Zhong Shao thought silently for a moment and stood up resolutely: "I will submit a memorial now to support King Yan on the throne. Well, let Zhang Yanshou, Ding Hui and others from the Yanzhou Army also sign their names. How about we jointly sign?"
"
Liu Jinhou chuckled: "When I came out, the memorial had already been submitted to the Privy Council. Privy Council Zhang said that it would be submitted together with the memorials from all the armies. You are far away here, so you have to hurry up... But there is one thing.
Jiangdu must be captured before His Highness ascends the throne!"
On November 15th, the heavy snow gradually disappeared. Liu Jinhou led the Weizhou Army with 12,000 men out of Sizhou, bypassed Hongze Lake, and quickly advanced eastward. On November 20th, the Weizhou Army made a surprise attack on the people beside the Grand Canal.
In the important town of Anyi, more than a hundred well-preserved ships were captured. Liu Jinhou made an immediate decision and took the left compartment of the Weizhou Army as the front and took the boat southward to Gaoyou.
On the same day, Zhong Shao mobilized the Cangzhou Army and the Yanzhou Army, a total of 60,000 people, to surround Xuyi. At the same time, the cavalry group of the Youyan Security Army cruised around Xuyi to prevent Wang Maozhang's troops from breaking out in the chaos.
Yang Chongben led eight thousand people from the right wing of the Yanzhou Army to block the south gate of Xuyi. Looking at the heavily guarded Wu Army on top of the city, he lost consciousness for a while. When everything was arranged, a general came forward to ask when the city would be attacked.
Yang Chongben shook his head and said: "There is no need to force the city to enter now, we are responsible for intercepting and killing. With that medicine, no matter how high the city wall is, it will be of no use."
Yang Chongben's confusion was not that he was thinking about how to attack the city. He was confused about how to fight the city defense battle in the future. After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out. It seemed that the roar had almost no solution for the city defenders.
"The situation of the war has changed..." Yang Chongben murmured.
The sound of fighting at the north gate began. Huge stones fell on the city wall, and the smashing sound of the impact reached the ears of the soldiers in the right wing of the Yanzhou Army at the south gate. According to Yang Chongben's instructions, the right wing of the Yanzhou Army did not prepare anything.
Instead of using equipment to climb the city, they set up a defensive formation outside the city gate and made preparations to defend to the death.
The sound of fighting continued until the afternoon. Suddenly, Yang Chongben felt dizzy. The war horse under his crotch staggered back and forth a few steps, seeming to be a little unstable. Not only Yang Chongben, but also many soldiers on the right side felt the moment under their feet.
Vibration. Immediately afterwards, a huge roar came. At that moment, Yang Chongben seemed to feel that the entire Xuyi City in front of him was shaking.
Following Yang Chongben's gesture, the flag officer immediately issued the flag order, and the sergeants in each unit immediately tensed up, waiting for the enemy to break through.
After a long time, the closed south gate suddenly creaked open, and a group of soldiers and horses rushed out with all their strength.
There was a sound of clappers, and a shower of arrows flew over, shooting the Wu army who rushed out so hard that they fell on their backs. The Wu army rushed for a while, but when they saw that they could not hit the Yanzhou army's large formation on the right wing, they fled back with a roar. They ran in such a hurry that even
The south gate didn't even have time to close.
Yang Chongben looked back and made a gesture, and a thousand infantrymen who had been prepared for a long time rushed into the south gate under the leadership of the regiment commander. Yang Chongben looked at the soldiers rushing in, and once again thought about the question that troubled him.
A question that has been asked for many months: How should we defend the city in the future? (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!