Tang Qian captured one thousand and fifty cargo ships by the river. They were all flat-bottomed boats with five hundred stones. The cargo ships were not big, but they were very capable of loading. In the afternoon of the next day, a fleet of ships and a fleet of five thousand camels came from Caizhou.
Arriving in Xiangcheng County, eight thousand Song troops worked together to load 200,000 shi of grain, 100,000 dans of fodder, and a large amount of military supplies onto ships and camels, and transported them back to Caizhou.
On the third day after the Song army left Chenzhou, Jiedushi Li Qiong personally led an army of 20,000 to Xiangcheng County, Chenzhou. He came to support Yingchang Prefecture on the order of Wanyan Wushu.
Li Qiong's face was very ugly. The food and supplies had been looted and nothing was left. Some of these supplies were his own, but most of them were left by Li Cheng as one of the conditions for his rescue of Li Cheng. Wanyan Wu
Shu also agreed immediately.
But now that he has sent troops, the food and supplies have been taken away by the Song army. How will he rescue them next?
He was careless and sent too few escort troops. Li Qiong felt regretful in his heart.
At this time, Lieutenant General Pan Gui stepped forward and said: "Jiedu Envoy, I have just asked the government and the people around me. They said that there are at least seven or eight thousand troops, far more than a thousand."
Li Qiong nodded, "I know, there must be more than a thousand people. How can more than a thousand people move so much food and supplies in just two days?"
"Could it be that Chen Qing sent troops to Caizhou?" Pan Gui asked in surprise.
"It stands to reason that no troops should be sent."
Li Qiong thought for a moment and said: "It should be a flexible cavalry that can go wherever it is needed. Before Yingchang Mansion is captured, Chen Qing will not easily expand and disperse his troops."
"Jiedu Envoy, what should we do now?" Several generals looked at him eagerly.
Li Qiong gave a wry smile, he had already agreed to Wanyan Wushu, could he still withdraw his troops?
He thought for a while and said: "I guess there is still some food in the people's warehouse. Collect some and take away whatever you can. Yingchang Prefecture is a major grain-producing area, and there should be food over there in Yancheng."
Li Qiong's army plundered various places in Chenzhou and obtained more than 30,000 stones of grain and more than 200 ships. A few days later, the army marched towards Yingchang Mansion in a mighty manner.
At the same time that Li Qiong's army arrived in Chenzhou, Chen Qing personally led an army of 100,000 to attack Xuchang.
On the official road to the east of Yingchang Prefecture, a mighty army of 100,000 could not be seen at a glance, with sharp spear points, shining armor, and flags like clouds. There were more than a thousand ships in the river next to it, and hundreds of trackers were on the shore.
Pull the fiber.
Thousands of scout cavalry patrolled within twenty miles of the team to prevent enemy sneak attacks.
There are more than 30,000 camels in the middle of the team, running alongside the army, carrying heavy supplies, and walking proudly.
Xiangcheng County is not far from Xuchang City, only more than a hundred miles away. Mainly because Xiangcheng County is close to Yingchang Prefecture, and basically a few miles to the east is Yingchang Prefecture.
Chen Qing rode in front of the team, with big flags fluttering in the wind behind and to his left and right. Chen Qing was listening to the report from the commander Cheng Feng. Cheng Feng was Tang Qian's deputy general and sent a thousand ships and a large amount of grain and grass.
Materials.
"Bizhang also just received the news. On the third day after we left, Li Qiong led an army of 20,000 people and rushed to Chenzhou. We were worried that he would withdraw to Bozhou without food and grass, but we still collected some food and grass.
, continue to march towards Yingchang Prefecture, we should be in Yancheng County of Yingchang Prefecture now."
Chen Qing turned back to Zhang Xiao, the military advisor who had just arrived in Xiangcheng, and said with a smile: "It seems that I worried too much and tried every means to lure Li Qiong's army to Yingchang Mansion. Now it seems that it is not necessary at all and it is completely unnecessary."
Zhang Xiao smiled slightly and said: "It should be Wanyan Wushu's order. Li Qiong dare not disobey. I estimate that Wanyan Wushu will also send 10,000 to 20,000 Jurchen cavalry south to look for opportunities."
After thinking about it, Zhang Xiao continued: "Actually, I think it was a failure for Li Cheng to defend Xuchang County. If he had not defended Xuchang County and then joined forces with Li Qiong and the Jurchen cavalry, he would have had 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers.
We can definitely fight to the death."
Chen Qing shook his head, "Li Cheng has no way to control this plan. The Jurchen army came late, and Li Qiong's army came too late. Li Cheng must either defend Xuchang County or abandon Yingchang Prefecture. I will never give them a chance to join forces."
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Zhang Xiao added: "Your Highness has considered besieging the city and calling for reinforcements. Who should we deal with first?"
"I want to hear the military advisor's opinion!"
Zhang Xiao pondered for a moment and said: "The Jurchens are cavalry and are difficult to fight. Li Qiong's army is infantry. We can defeat them with 30,000 cavalry. But Li Qiong will definitely rely on the city to fight against our cavalry. The key here is to
Li Qiong's army led away from the fortified city. At present, Yingchuan Prefecture only has two cities that can be defended. The others are small counties and vulnerable to attack. One fortified city is Xuchang County in the north, and the other fortified city is Yancheng County in the south.
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Chen Qing smiled and said: "Leading Li Qiong's army out of Yancheng County is the top priority, but Wanyan Wushu will definitely help us achieve our wish. Wanyan Wushu asked them to come to Xuchang, not to let them stay in Yancheng
Rest must put pressure on Li Qiong and force him to send troops northward, just like he was forced to come to Yingchang Mansion."
Chen Qing said to Cheng Feng again: "You should go back immediately and tell Tang Zongzhi to keep an eye on Li Qiong's army. Once his army leaves Yancheng and goes north, immediately cut off his retreat and prevent his army from returning to Yancheng.
Then the army will follow you from a distance, don’t act rashly.”
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Cheng Feng turned his horse's head and led his men south.
At this time, Gao Ding asked in confusion: "Could it be that Wanyan Wushu didn't expect that we would besiege the city for reinforcements, and he forced Li Qiong's army to go north?"
Chen Qing nodded, "Of course he wants it, but some things must be done, such as support. Either the Jurchen army will come to support Xuchang, or Li Qiong's army will go north. He must have the signing army go north. According to the intelligence we got
, Wanyan Wushu is recruiting soldiers for the signing army on a large scale again, and Zhang Zhongxiong is training the army in Kaifeng Mansion. Do you understand? Every Jurchen soldier is precious, but the same cannot be said for Han soldiers. As long as Li Qiong can escape, it will be over.
Yan Wushu will immediately add new troops to Li Qiong."
Gao Ding sighed, "I understand, I understand!"
At noon the next day, Chen Qing led the army to Xuchang County. Xuchang County was the old name of the Song Dynasty and was renamed Changshe County in the Jin Dynasty. The city was very tall and strong, with a circumference of thirty miles. The city head and moat were very wide, and the city head could accommodate three vehicles.
The carriages drove side by side, and the moat was three feet wide.
There are about 200,000 civilians in the city and 25,000 defenders. The food stored in the city is enough to feed the entire city's soldiers and civilians for half a year.
This is also due to the effective governance of Zhao Yuan, the prefect of Yingchang, which has made it the first grain-producing state in the Central Plains for seven consecutive years. It is the only state without fleeing farmers. The people live and work in peace and contentment. The amount of grain stored in Xuchang County is nearly 500,000 shi.
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The Western Army spent three days building a city-like plank military camp on the other side of the Ying River in the west of Xuchang County. They also dug a ditch to divert water into the military camp and built a wide bridge across the Ying River.
While the military camp was being built, hundreds of craftsmen began to install heavy trebuchets.
On the top of the city, Li Cheng looked at the military camp three miles away. Tens of thousands of troops were busy building military camps. They actually built plank military camps, which showed that the Song army did not want to rush to attack the city.
"Jiedushi, the Song army did not surround the city. Can we withdraw at any time?" A general asked in a low voice.
Li Cheng glared at him, "If I could withdraw, I would have withdrawn long ago. Chen Qing also knows that I will not withdraw, so there is no need to surround the city. But if you withdraw at this time, can you avoid being chased by his cavalry?"
Another general next to him said: "Chen Qing did not besiege the city because he probably wanted to create opportunities for our reinforcements. But his real intention was to besiege the city and call for reinforcements!"
Li Cheng nodded, "General Wang is absolutely right. Chen Qing's real target is Li Qiong's 20,000 troops, but we must have reinforcements arrive so that the soldiers can see hope and maintain morale. If we lose hope, our
The city will soon be lost, and Chen Qing knows this very well."
"Can you tell the soldiers that reinforcements will be coming soon, like a kind of friendly deception?"
Li Cheng smiled bitterly and said: "Li Qiong can be deceived. They shouted to go north for support, but the army stayed in Yancheng. But we can't deceive the soldiers. We must keep sending people to ask for help from the fourth prince. As for whether Li Qiong will come or not."
, it depends on what the fourth prince chooses."
At this time, Li Cheng's eyes fell on the Yingshui River two miles away. He saw the soldiers of the Song Army carrying the huge trebuchet parts to the safety. His heart sank. The most worrying thing in the past few days had come. Chen Qingzhen was carrying