Chapter 411 Water and Fire (5K Chapter, National Day)
Suiyang is the most important city on the Bian River.
The reason why Suiyang is important is because the Bianshui River is an important channel for water transportation. This channel is like the carotid artery of the giant Tang Dynasty. Once the Tang army in Guanzhong is cut off, it may be paralyzed.
As early as the Sui Dynasty, Jianghuai was already quite wealthy.
Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty once served as the general manager of the Jiangnan camp and was stationed in Jiangdu. He was deeply impressed by the prosperity of Jiangnan.
As the Jianghuai region becomes increasingly prosperous, the groundwater resources in the Guanzhong region are depleting.
In addition, Guanzhong had been cultivated for thousands of years at this time, and a lot of forests had been cut down, and the desertification of the land was becoming increasingly serious.
In the Sui Dynasty, Daxing City (later Chang'an City) was built, and hundreds of officials had to be supported in Daxing. The land in Guanzhong alone was no longer enough.
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty dug the Grand Canal to transport grain and wood from the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers to Guanzhong via land and water. This was also a practical need.
It was just that Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was eager for success, started multiple national-level super projects at the same time, and did not skimp on the people's strength to fight everywhere. In the end, the Second Sui Dynasty died.
The Tang Dynasty inherited the canal, the greatest legacy of the Sui Dynasty.
Originally, to transport grain from the south of the Yangtze River to Guanzhong, one only had to load and unload it from Yangzhou Wharf, go north along the Huai River, go west from Xuyi, and take the Tongji Canal dug in the Sui Dynasty to reach Chang'an directly.
Nowadays, Tongji Canal has been renamed Bianshui River, and Suiyang is the most dangerous section on the edge of Bianshui River.
If Suiyang fell into the hands of the puppet Yan, then the Tang Dynasty would not be able to extract taxes from Jianghuai to support the counter-rebellion war in Guanzhong.
With an army of hundreds of thousands, the puppet Yan thought it would be easy to capture the small Suiyang.
Unexpectedly, the puppet Yan army was blocked by Zhang Xun in Suiyang for eight months!
In the first seven of these eight months, Zhang Xun was even able to take the initiative to maintain the water transportation of the Bianhe River and obtain supplies from the Jianghuai River from the Bianhe River.
But after Yin Ziqi took full control of this army, the Puppet Yan army finally exerted its full strength and compressed the front line to Suiyang City.
Now Zhang Xun could no longer receive supplies from the Bianhe River. The puppet Yan army took control of the Bianhe River and cut off the Bianhe River water transport that had been supplying blood to Fengxiang Prefecture since the beginning of the war.
It's a pity that Yin Ziqi's movements are still a little slow.
During the Battle of Xiangji Temple, the Tang army recaptured Chang'an, and the puppet Yan Emperor An Qingxu abandoned Luoyang and fled to Hedong.
Now Cui Youqian leads the last troops of the puppet Yan in Guanzhong and confronts Guo Ziyi in Shaanxi Gorge.
If the Tang army wins again in this battle, the Tang army will be able to take advantage of the situation and regain Luoyang.
If Luoyang is liberated, Yin Ziqi's hundreds of thousands of troops will be embarrassed.
The Tang army in Luoyang and the Tang army in Jianghuai can form a pincer attack on Yin Ziqi's troops stationed in Henan (the area south of the Yellow River in Henan and Shandong provinces and north of the Huaihe River in Henan, Jiangsu, and Anhui provinces).
At that time, Yin Ziqi might have no choice but to flee back to Hedong in a hurry.
In the camp outside Suiyang City, General Yan looked at Suiyang City and hated Zhang Xun who was guarding the city!
If it hadn't been for this strong backbone! If the Tang Dynasty's water transport lifeline had been cut off earlier, the situation would not have collapsed to this point!
At this moment, a barbarian knight rushed into Yin Ziqi's account.
Yin Ziqi looked up and saw that his confidant and beloved general Tong Robida had come in.
Tongluobida was the leader of the Tongluo people in the army led by Yin Ziqi, and was also Yin Ziqi's cavalry general.
Tong Robida raised his hands and said: "Commander, the two armies of Suiyang and Pengcheng were dispatched at the same time, coming towards Suiyang!"
Yin Ziqi was stunned for a moment, then shouted: "Impossible!"
Yin Ziqi paced back and forth in the tent: "Xu Shuji and Helan Jinming are at odds with each other, and they are both afraid that the other party will swallow up their territory."
"Uncle Xu is greedy and Helan Jinming is jealous. We have besieged him in Suiyang for so long, but neither of them came to help."
"Why do they want to risk sending troops when Suiyang City is about to be destroyed?"
Tongluobida said with a bitter face: "Commander, the army of Suiyang in Pengcheng has been merged into one and came to Suiyang along the Bianhe River. My subordinates personally interrogated the scouts. This news is true!"
Yin Ziqi sat down on the bed.
Regardless of the fact that Yin Ziqi led an army of hundreds of thousands to besiege Suiyang, it seemed that he was sure of victory due to the huge disparity in military strength.
The city of Suiyang has run out of food, but Yin Ziqi's army is about to run out of food.
After the defeat of Xiangji Temple, even the pseudo-Yan emperor An Qingxu had no confidence in the outcome of the war and fled Luoyang.
However, the daily consumption of food and grass for hundreds of thousands of troops was also a huge amount.
Originally, the food and fodder for the army were provided by Luoyang, and the Tang Dynasty built several huge granaries near Luoyang, the eastern capital.
Because Luoyang was lost so quickly, all these granaries fell into the hands of the fake Yan.
This was the food and grass that the Tang Dynasty had accumulated for several years during its prosperous period. It was only because of these granaries that the puppet Yan army was able to fight against the Tang Dynasty for so long.
Otherwise, how could we support this Central Plains war just by relying on the food from Hedong?
However, with the squandering of the puppet Yan court and the constant consumption of troops.
From Anlu Mountain to An Qingxu, there is only war but no development, and Luoyang's granary is about to bottom out.
At the beginning, Yin Ziqi's army had plenty of food and grass, but after several battles were fought, there were fewer and fewer food ships coming from Luoyang.
Yin Ziqi had no choice but to order his troops to plunder on the spot.
However, due to the corrupt situation in Henan Province, ordinary people have no food left in their homes!
Now that the entire Henan Province has been robbed, the people of Henan Province hate the Puppet Yan Army to the core. If Suiyang is not captured, I am afraid that this army will also disperse.
Yin Ziqi could not imagine why that idiot An Shouzhong could even lose Chang'an?
Yin Ziqi also thought of a retreat and returned to Hedong with an army of hundreds of thousands.
But now it's too late. Rumors have already spread in the army because of the loss of Chang'an. Now if Suiyang, which has been surrounded for eight months, is abandoned, the army still doesn't know what kind of rumors will spread.
At that time, I am afraid that the troops will be defeated as soon as they retreat. At that time, if I return to Hedong, I am afraid that I will be punished by An Qingxu.
For the current plan, I am afraid that the only option is to bite the bullet and capture Suiyang.
If it doesn't work, surrender to the Tang Dynasty?
As soon as this idea came up, Yin Ziqi couldn't help but think about it.
Can't surrender now!
If they surrender now, the Tang army will definitely order them to hand over their troops. In that case, wouldn't they become fish meat on the eucalyptus board?
If you want to surrender, you have to wait until Suiyang is captured!
At that time, he held the key water transportation route and had a large army at his disposal. If he asked the Tang Dynasty court for a key Jiedushi position and surrender, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty would definitely agree.
At that time, with the territory and military power in his hands, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty could not do anything to save Yin Ziqi's glory and wealth.
When he thought of this, Yin Ziqi said to Tong Robida: "How is the thing I asked you to do?"
Only then did Robida's colleague remember Yin Ziqi's previous military order, and he quickly said:
"I have arrested all the people who did not escape outside Suiyang City, and now they are all tied up behind the military camp. Does the commander really want to do this?"
Yin Ziqi frowned and said: "Is this the time for women to be benevolent? Drive these people to the front of Suiyang City and shout to the defenders inside the city. If they don't open the city gate, then don't blame me for shooting these people!"
Tong Robida accepted the order, but was also a little uncomfortable with Yin Ziqi's decision.
The Tongluo clan is a tribe among the Tiele people. During the Kaiyuan period, they annexed the Tang Dynasty from the grassland and were incorporated under the command of Anlu Mountain.
Even among the Tiele people on the grassland, old men and women are rarely slaughtered in inter-tribal wars.
Yin Ziqi used the people outside the city to threaten the defenders inside the city. This behavior is indeed a bit disgusting.
But the subsequent development greatly exceeded Tong Robida and Yin Ziqi's expectations.
The elderly, women and children arrested outside the city were driven behind the Suiyang city wall by the puppet Yan army.
There were bursts of crying from the city walls.
Suiyang City is not big, and the defenders are all young men selected by Zhang Xun from nearby areas.
And these people outside the city are the parents, wives and children of the soldiers guarding the city.
Seeing their parents, wives and children being driven away by the rebels and about to die from random arrows, the defenders on the city wall could only shed tears.
But what the puppet Yan army did not expect was that an old man among the expelled people suddenly straightened his back and shouted towards the city wall:
"Da Lang! Don't cry like a little girl! Your mother and sister both died at the hands of the rebels. Father, I don't want to live for a long time!"
"If you can't defend Suiyang City, then you won't want to see me or my ancestors under the Nine Springs!"
After saying this, the old man actually picked up the stone on the ground and hit his head hard.
Only blood and brains were seen sputtering out, and a miserable wailing sound came from the city wall: "Father!"
After the old man committed suicide, several more people in the ranks of the people shouted at the city wall and then committed suicide.
Some civilians rushed towards the rebels in the opposite direction and were killed by the rebels' weapons.
There were constant cries on the city wall, and the painful cries were mixed with outright hatred for the rebels.
As the saying goes, the sad soldiers must win. Yin Ziqi saw that his strategy failed to make the Suiyang defenders surrender, but instead made them more determined to defend the city.
The rebels who were on the side of the massacre had their morale even lower.
Yin Ziqi sighed and had no choice but to withdraw his troops.
In this way, Suiyang gained another day.
Zhang Wuze led the army westward along the Bian River and marched all the way to Suiyang.
The closer he got to Suiyang, the more restless Nan Jiyun became.
I don’t know what’s going on with Suiyang? I don’t know if Zhang Shuai can wait until he comes back.
In comparison, Zhang Wu was much more relaxed.
Finally, twenty kilometers away from Suiyang, the troops learned that Suiyang City had not yet fallen.
Now Nan Jiyun finally relaxed a little, and rushed into Zhang Wu's handsome tent, preparing to request a fight.
But Zhang Wu looked at the map on the battlefield and said to Nan Jiyun: "General Nan, wait a moment, the chance to defeat the enemy is tonight!"
"General, please rest first and wait for my order before attacking!"
Nan Jiyun had no choice but to take the soldiers to camp and rest, while Zhang Wu looked at the continuous camps along the Bian River.
Suiyang City was an important node in the water transportation of the Tang Dynasty.
The most important purpose of Yin Ziqi's attack on Suiyang was to cut off water transportation.
When Yin Ziqi first laid siege to the city, it only lasted for eight months because he failed to cut off the water transportation of the Bian River and the Suiyang defenders could still supply food through the river.
In order to completely control the Bianshui River, Yin Ziqi ordered to collect all the ships near Suiyang City and sink them all into the Bianshui River.
In this way, the water transport ships from the Jianghuai River cannot deliver food to Suiyang City through the Bianshui River.
This month's siege left Suiyang City without food, and the defenders finally couldn't hold on any longer.
Yin Ziqi's camp was naturally located on the edge of the Bian River, so that he could monitor the dynamics of the Bian River.
On the other hand, Yin Ziqi's army also had to pass through Bianshui River to obtain food supplies from Luoyang.
The grain is loaded onto the water transport ship at the dock in Luoyang, and then flows directly down the Bian River. After passing through Bianzhou (Kaifeng), it can be sent to Suiyang.
Yin Ziqi built a wharf by the Bian River and built a camp around the wharf.
The waterway from Suiyang to the lower reaches has been blocked by Yin Ziqi with sunken ships, so Yin Ziqi is not afraid of Jianghuai's ship captains coming up the river.
With the camp at the dock as the core, Yin Ziqi continued to expand the scope of the camp.
Gradually, Yin Ziqi's camp controlled all the passages in Suiyang City, thus trapping Suiyang City.
With such a steady and steady strategy, even a city defense master like Zhang Xun could only watch Suiyang City being trapped bit by bit.
As for the army coming from Linhuai, the threat to Yin Ziqi's army is not that great.
Although the 20,000-strong army was large, Yin Ziqi's camp was so strong that the Tang army would definitely not be able to capture it in a short period of time.
As long as Suiyang is besieged for another ten days, the defenders in the city will definitely not be able to hold on.
As long as Suiyang is captured and there are strong camps outside the city, the 20,000 troops will not be able to threaten Yin Ziqi's hundreds of thousands troops.
Yin Ziqi adjusted his mentality and continued to besiege Suiyang City. He also asked the army to hold on to the camp and refused to go out to fight Zhang Wu's 20,000 troops.
However, Zhang Wu's army suddenly stopped when they reached a place more than ten miles away from Suiyang, and seemed to have no intention of attacking Yin Ziqi in a hurry.
Yin Ziqi secretly thought that as expected, Xu Shuji and Helan Jinming were just showing off to the Tang court, and they would definitely retreat as soon as Suiyang city was defeated.
After thinking about this, Yin Ziqi finally felt relieved. It seemed that Tang Jun's rescue this time was just a show.
Just as night was about to fall, a ship carrying grain sailed into the dock of Yin Ziqi's camp.
The grain inspector under Yin Ziqi looked at the grain unloaded from the water transport ship and said dissatisfiedly to the officer escorting the grain and fodder:
"Why only one grain ship? Shouldn't there be five grain ships today?"
The officer escorting the grain ship said cheerfully: "The ship behind has run aground and blocked the river. Now it has been pulled by trackers. It will arrive at night."
The grain inspector cursed: "I have to stay on guard until night again! Why are the grain ships always blocked these days?"
The officer guarding the grain said: "Aren't the people in the upper reaches of Suiyang also imitating Yin Shuai's shipwreck? They sank their ships into the Bian River in order to block our army's grain transportation."
"However, these people's boats are small and cannot block the water transportation of Bianshui River. They only need a few trackers to pull them out."
The grain inspector was silent. He knew that he, a rebel, was unpopular, but he never expected that he would be so unpopular.
For the people living along the river, boats are their means of survival.
People who make a living by water transport cherish their boats just like farmers cherish their cattle.
Unexpectedly, these people actually sank their own boats to the bottom of the water in order to hinder the army from transporting food.
The determination of the people of Henan to fight against the puppet Yan was so great that it even chilled the grain inspector.
The officer guarding the grain said: "Stop complaining. You have to wait for the ship, and I have to wait for the ship. I am also waiting to finish this errand and return to Luoyang."
Yin Ziqi finished inspecting the camp and finally returned to the Chinese army's tent.
Today was another day of futility. Yin Ziqi admired the will of the Suiyang defenders. Even though they had been without food for so many days, Zhang Xun still kept the Suiyang city watertight.
Hearing that cannibalism had begun in Suiyang City, Yin Ziqi counted the days and gave him ten more days to capture Suiyang.
As long as Suiyang is occupied, Yin Ziqi can advance, attack, retreat or defend.
If Puppet Yan regains its strength, he will still be a general in the Puppet Yan court.
If the war situation of the Puppet-Yan Dynasty deteriorates, then Yin Ziqi can rely on the army in his hand and the occupied Suiyang to ask for the position of Jiedushi from the Tang Dynasty.
Just take Suiyang City!
On the pier, lights finally appeared on Bianshui River.
The grain officer smiled and said, "Look, I said we'd be there soon, right?"
Yin Ziqi's grain inspector spat and said, "It's getting dark after waiting!"
"It will be great if this food can be transported. Hurry up and let the brothers go to the dock to move the food!"
The grain officer suddenly held his stomach and said, "Oh, no, I have a stomachache!"
The grain inspector said with disgust: "You just pull me into the Bian River. This is how the brothers deal with it."
But the grain officer said: "No, no, I have a problem that others can't seem to pull out. I'm going to deal with it in the grass."
After saying that, the grain officer ran down the pier and rushed into the grass in the distance.
The grain inspector cursed and said, "It's just the lazy donkey that grinds his hands and urinates a lot!"
"Let the brothers go to the dock. It's already so late. Hurry up and unload the food and go back to bed!"
The soldiers responsible for loading and unloading food walked to the dock and saw only one ship floating into the port.
The grain inspector was a little strange. Didn't he say there were four ships behind him? Why only one came?
And why is it so dark on this boat? Where is the person driving the boat?
It would be easier for the grain inspector from Luoyang to run into the bushes, but it would not be easy for the grain inspector to catch him in the bushes and question him.
Maybe there are other ships behind?
After the dark water transport ship docked, the soldiers unloading the grain had just boarded the ship.
With a loud bang, the water transport ship exploded at the dock!
Before the grain inspector could react, the iron nails from the explosive barrel flew out and beat him alive into a hedgehog.
The soldiers who boarded the water transport ship were even worse, they were blown to pieces.
The Puppet Yan soldiers on the dock were bombed to death and fled.
The grain officer from Luoyang walked out of the grass with a smile.
He boarded the blasted pier and watched three shipping ships filled with rosin and oil being set on fire.
The officer who was guarding the grain was none other than Shan Tao, a guard player who had sneaked into Luoyang.
Shan Tao looked at the burning transport ship, plunged into the water, and swam upstream against the river.
The burning transport ship followed the current and crashed into the dock.