Zhang Jun was pacing back and forth in the big tent with his hands behind his back, looking distracted. There was only one word in his mind right now: a boat. He wanted to get a boat to cross the Yangtze River. He wanted to return to Luzhou and Shouchun.
At this time, Yang Shi hurriedly walked into the tent, bowed and saluted, "See you, Your Majesty!"
Zhang Jun said with some dissatisfaction: "What have you been busy with these two days? Why are you missing?"
"Replying to the prince, I am working in Zhenjiang City to check military rations and collect carts!"
Zhang Jun's face softened and he asked again: "We are currently in a dilemma. Sir, tell us where we should go?"
"Your Majesty, I am also considering this issue. In fact, we don't have much choice now. We can't cross the river to the north, and there is a vast sea to the east. In fact, we only have two choices: west and south."
"Is there still a chance for Xiangnan?"
"What we face to the south is the imperial court's 100,000-strong army. If the prince is sure that they will be completely defeated within two or three days, going south is a way out. Of course, the soldiers may not be willing."
"Why?"
Yang Shi sighed and said: "The families of the soldiers are all in Shouchun and Jianghuai, and they are getting farther and farther south from their families. How could they be willing? And if the imperial army cannot be defeated in a short time, once Chen Qing's cavalry comes from the north.
, we will face a serious situation of being attacked from both sides, and it is very likely that the entire army will be annihilated."
Zhang Jun hesitated for a moment. He really didn't have the courage to go south. He asked again: "What if we go west?"
"If the prince retreats to Jiangnan West Road, one will have more room for maneuver, and the other will be to join Zhang Ziqi's 80,000 troops. The third advantage is that there are many rivers on Jiangnan West Road, and the prince can get ships there.
Even if the ships are not big, as long as they are large in number, it will take several days and nights to send the army across the Yangtze River."
Speaking of getting a ship, Zhang Jun suddenly remembered Dangtu County. Didn't the Western Army have ships in Dangtu County? How could he have forgotten this key point?
"Then evacuate westward and go to Dangtu County first!"
Yang Shi hid in Zhenjiang City on the pretext of preparing military rations.
That night, Zhang Jun led an army of 100,000 men and marched westward.
At this time, Chen Qing's 80,000-strong army had been deployed in Jiankang Prefecture, waiting for Zhang Jun's army to surrender.
At this time, Chen Qing was in the Niutoushan area in the south of Jiangning County. This area has dense woods and open terrain, which is very suitable for cavalry ambush and pursuit. Niutoushan is like the mouth of a bottle, guarding the official road.
The key is that the Niutou Mountain area is a valley terrain, dozens of miles long, which is the best terrain for an ambush.
At this time, Chen Qing had received accurate information. Zhang Jun's army had appeared fifty miles away and was marching westward along the official road.
Those walking in front must be the spies and scouts of the Huaixi Army. Zhang Jun was also on guard against ambushes. Chen Qing's ambush troops had already retreated nearly a mile into the dense forest. No matter how careful the enemy's spies were, they would not be able to spot them.
One hundred thousand troops were winding along the official road, stretching for more than ten miles. Behind them were thousands of carts, loaded with grain and grass. The carts were collected from all over Zhenjiang Prefecture, and all the grain in the official treasury was carried away by them.
.
Zhang Jun rode in front of the team. He looked at the surrounding environment. Decades of military career have made him more sensitive to the environment. The Niutoushan area is obviously a good place for an ambush. There are two hundred hills and woods stretching for more than ten years.
Here, a wide and flat official road passes through the middle of the hills.
At this time, more than a dozen scouts brought an old man who was picking mountains. The so-called mountain picking means going up the mountain to look for various mountain products, such as mushrooms, berries, yams, polygonatum, etc. The old man looked to be in his fifties or sixties and was thin in stature.
, his face was wrinkled, his hair was gray, and his clothes were shabby. He carried a bamboo basket on his back. In the bamboo basket, there were half a basket of ripe persimmon fruits, a few yams and a small hoe.
The old man tremblingly stepped forward and knelt down to kowtow, "Little old man, I kowtow to the prince!"
"Get up and I'll ask you something!"
The old man stood up and Zhang Jun asked: "Is your home nearby?"
"In Gewan Village, two miles away to the north, the young man's surname is Ge!"
It sounds like he is a local, and he must have seen some of the world. The old man speaks more clearly.
Zhang Jun nodded and asked: "Have there been any military activities in this area recently?"
"There was a military garrison two years ago, but we haven't seen any troops in almost two years."
The garrison two years ago was Zhang Jun's subordinate. Of course he knew. Zhang Jun asked the scout again: "Have you ever gone into the dense forest to explore?"
"Reporting to the prince, I went to investigate. I went three hundred steps into the dense forest and found nothing suspicious. There were no footprints or hoof prints of a large group of people on the ground."
Zhang Jun was relieved and ordered his soldiers: "Give him a few hundred coins and let him go!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The old man took a few hundred copper coins and left with many thanks.
Seeing that it was still early, Zhang Jun immediately ordered, "The whole army should speed up and rest after crossing Niutoushan!"
The 100,000-strong army accelerated and entered the Niutou Mountain area with a radius of hundreds of miles.
The 100,000-strong army was divided into three armies. The first to enter the Niutoushan Mountains were the front army of 20,000 people, then the middle army of 50,000 people, and the rear army of 30,000 people. The three armies were separated by about two miles. This advantage
That is, if one army is ambushed, the other two armies can quickly gather and retreat, thereby avoiding the entire army being annihilated.
But there are advantages and disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage is that they are too far apart and can easily be defeated by each one.
Chen Qing's target was the central army and the rear army. Both the front army and the central army entered the mountainous area. Gradually, the rear army also entered the mountainous area. Suddenly, a low horn sound sounded in the forest, "Woo——"
Zhang Jun suddenly turned around, looked behind him, and secretly shouted in his heart, "Oh no!"
A cavalry force of 10,000 people was divided into three groups, fought out from the front of the valley, and entered the rear army. Three thousand cavalry took the lead in cutting off the Huaixi Army's rear army and front army at the entrance of the valley. The two cavalrymen behind them cut the rear army into
Three sections.
The 30,000 rear army was in chaos. They were unable to organize effective resistance. The soldiers were scattered and scattered. They only held out for a moment before collapsing. The 30,000 soldiers desperately ran back, but were chased by the Western cavalry. The soldiers could not outrun the cavalry and surrendered on their knees.
There are countless of them.
At the same time, the 50,000-strong Chinese Army was also attacked by 20,000 crossbowmen. Thousands of arrows were fired from the dense forests on both sides, shooting at the Huaixi Army like a storm. Although the soldiers raised their shields, they still could not withstand the arrows.
The arrows violently attacked, and countless soldiers fell down screaming.
Immediately afterwards, hundreds of large logs rolled down from the top of the mountain and smashed into the crowd. Then hundreds of barrels of kerosene rolled down, the barrels broke, and dark kerosene flowed everywhere on the official road.
"Boom!" The fire started burning, and the soldiers were frightened and shouted hysterically, "The Western Army is going to burn the mountain!"
The extreme fear of the burning mountain made tens of thousands of soldiers feel as if the mountain was collapsing. All the soldiers ran desperately, scrambling, trampling on each other, throwing away everything they could throw away, including swords and armor, and ran away shouting.
Zhang Jun also saw that the situation was not good, and under the protection of hundreds of soldiers, he fought hard to escape, and soon caught up with the former army.
In fact, if you think about it for a moment, you will know that it is impossible to prevent the fire from burning the mountain. There are so many Western soldiers in the woods, and they will not be able to escape if they set the mountain on fire.
This is just a psychological tactic, using the method of burning fire to create panic. In addition, there are woods all around. The soldiers made up their own minds and concluded that the Western Army was going to burn the mountain with fire. The thought of the miserable death was even more frightening.
They were so scared that they just wanted to escape.
Of course Chen Qing would not want to burn them to death. No ruler would massacre the young laborers in his own land. He is already the master of Jianghuai. Of course, these Jianghuai soldiers are his people. One hundred thousand soldiers means one hundred thousand
household, which is crucial to the recovery of the Jianghuai economy.
At this time, Chen Qing got the news that Zhang Jun had fled far away, and there were only dozens of people around him. Chen Qing nodded, Zhang Jun was at the end of his rope, and he should be ignored. Zhang Ziqi's army should also be captured. In fact, Zhang Jun was alone.
Chen Qing was more concerned about the army trapped in Niutoushan. He immediately ordered: "Ask Li Dutong to persuade the enemy to surrender. Just tell King Yong that he promises that as long as he puts down his weapons, he can release them all back home."
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[Today Lao Gao is going to have his car serviced and get car insurance. There are only two chapters today.]