The Tuojiang River flows endlessly, passing by Yunxiang Mountain City at Jintang Gorge, and then flows down to Jianzhou, Zizhou, Fushunjian, and merges into the Yangtze River from Luzhou.
The New Year has just passed, and after the fall of Jianzhou, Zizhou also fell quickly.
Zhu Xusun, who appeased the envoys on Tongchuan Road and was also aware of Luzhou, hurriedly moved the manpower and material resources of Fushun Supervisor to Hutoushan City. At the same time, the Song army led Zhang Shi to cross the Tuojiang River to prepare for the battle against Niulin.
Both sides made their own arrangements, inquired about each other, and gradually figured out the strength of the other side.
Niulin claimed to have an army of 50,000, but in fact it had 15,000 troops and more than 200 warships. They defeated Jian and captured two cities. Their morale was high;
Zhang Shi claimed to have an army of 60,000, but for the time being he only mobilized 20,000 troops and more than 500 warships. Because he was located in the lower reaches and lost two cities first, his morale was inevitably a bit low.
Zhang Shi has no confidence in this battle...
It seems that he has not yet come out of the shadow of the defeat of Mahujiang, and is afraid of water battles. Niulin is far more cautious in using troops than Wulianghetai.
The Sichuan-Sichuan Song Army faced far more than Niulin's troops. Wang Dechen was launching a fierce offensive against Kuzhu Pass and Dahuo City, leaving Pu Zezhi stretched thin and without the troops to support Zhang Shi.
"Envoy Zhu Anping, can you mobilize troops from southern Shu?" Zhang Shi finally asked Zhu Susun that day, "I heard that during the battle in Chengdu, Li Xia, the magistrate of Qingfu County, made another contribution?"
Zhu Xusun said: "Wei Wenbo was worried about the Mongolian army attacking Xuzhou, so he transferred Li Xia to guard the Minjiang River a few days ago."
"Absurd!" Zhang Shi said: "Jian, the two prefectures of Zizhou have been captured, and the Mongolian army built ships on the Tuojiang River. They did not defend Luzhou first, but instead defended Xuzhou. Wei Wenbo had selfish motives, and Zhu Anping envoy did not blame him, but instead
Let him do whatever he wants?"
Zhu Xusun was dissatisfied and said: "My concerns are not unreasonable. There are still thousands of Mongolian troops in Chengdu. What if they attack Xuzhou secretly and hit Zhang Dutong in the back?"
"Yunding City is still there, how dare the Mongolian army abandon Chengdu?"
"The war is inconclusive, so be careful." Zhu Xusun said: "I have sent someone to ask Li Xia for his opinion on this matter, and he also thinks that it is safer for the Qingfu Army to defend Xuzhou."
Zhang Shi asked: "As long as Zhu Anping envoy issues a transfer order, can he still not mobilize any troops?"
Zhu Xusun finally became dissatisfied and asked: "Zhang Dutong, 20,000 people are not enough to defend the river. Is it less than this 1,000 people?"
Zhang Shi paused and remained silent.
Where Zhu Susun looked, he found that Zhang Shi's back was no longer straight and had become a little stooped, and he always avoided people's eyes when he spoke.
This Sichuan-Sichuan general no longer has the confidence he once had...
"Sigh." Zhu Xusun sighed and said slowly: "Zhang Dutong should also understand that Wei Wenbo and Li Xia are both disciples of Ding... Prime Minister Ding. Although I have been ordered to deal with the defense of Xulu, I should also consider their wishes. Li Xia wishes
I am guarding Xuzhou and do not want to come to Luzhou. Is it beneficial to the war if we emphasize that there are only a thousand people here?"
Zhang Shi smiled bitterly and said: "I thought of Shi Jun's failure to marry Wu Liang, and felt that this boy was a lucky general."
Zhu Xusun nodded and stopped mentioning Li Xia.
Of course he could see clearly that Wei Wenbo's unwillingness to support Luzhou was out of selfish motives.
As for Li Xia, maybe he was really worried about the defense problems in Xuzhou, maybe because he and Wei Wenbo were both members of the Ding Party... In short, it was a bit disappointing.
…
As the time gradually approached mid-February, Niulin ordered his general Wanyan Shizhu to be the vanguard and went down the Tuojiang River first, but was blocked by the Song army.
The two sides started a fierce battle, and the Mongolian army moved down the river, gaining an advantageous position and gaining better morale.
Most of their ships were small boats made of cattle and sheep skins, which were very flexible. The soldiers jumped on the Song army's ships and fought hand-to-hand.
During the fierce battle, another two thousand Mongolian cavalry rushed out from the valleys on both sides, attacked the Song army from both sides, and robbed the ships.
The first line of defense laid by Zhang Shi was torn apart by the Mongolian army, and he had to retreat to the mouth of the Yangtze River.
Niulin worked steadily, building pontoons along the way, advancing by land and water, hoping to take advantage of the victory and fight Zhang Shi...
For the Song Army, the situation was extremely unfavorable at this point.
Zhu Xusun obviously did not expect that the Tuojiang defense line would be broken through so quickly. Once the Mongolian army defeated Zhang Shi, they would be able to advance directly to Chongqing and shake the entire Sichuan-Sichuan defense line.
He no longer cared about the possibility of the Mongolian army attacking Xuzhou, and strictly ordered Xuzhou to send troops to support Luzhou...
~~
Xuzhou.
"What did Zhizhou say? Li Xia's troops are missing?"
Jiang Chun asked in confusion, not understanding what this meant...
After the Lantern Festival, Wei Wenbo transferred Li Xia to assist in the defense of Xuzhou. Soon, Li Xia happily accepted the order, and he and Zhu Cheng led 600 Qingfu troops and 600 Changning troops northward to Xuzhou.
At that time, Wei Wenbo was overjoyed and hosted a banquet for Li Xia. Together they praised Ding Daquan and decided to defend Xuzhou. Li Xia then led the 1,200 men to garrison in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River.
Unexpectedly, someone came to report today that the troops and horses were missing.
"Yes." Wei Wenbo said with a worried look on his face, "Someone saw him leading his troops up the river."
"Going up the river? Where to go? Jiading? Meishan? Chengdu?" Jiang Chun was very surprised and said: "Could it be that he discovered the traces of the Mongolian army and went to pursue it?"
"Ask me, how do I know?" Wei Wenbo was very unhappy and said: "You are familiar with Li Feiyu, do you know why he is like this? In the past, he did not listen to orders and made decisions without authorization?"
Jiang Chun shook his head hurriedly and said: "Feiyu has always... listened to the orders of his superiors and would never make his own decisions. This time, there must be a reason for it."
"Are you being deceived?" Wei Wenbo suddenly leaned forward and asked in a low voice.
Jiang Chun was stunned, feeling that his tone was not right.
This sentence should have been a serious rebuke, but Wei Wenbo's tone had a hint of... probing inquiry.
"No, Feiyu is not this kind of person. His family was still in Qingfu County when he was young." Jiang Chun responded, already feeling sad in his heart.
This Li Xia, knowing that the Mongolian army was marching south, did not go to defend Luzhou or garrison Xuzhou, and led his troops to leave without authorization. It would be a serious crime anyway, so it would be better not to be implicated.
Wei Wenbo was so worried that he almost stroked his beard bald, and he couldn't help but murmured: "Where have you gone... At the moment, Zhu Anfu ordered me to send troops to support, but the Syrian army only has 3,000 defenders in total. In case of defeat,
…”
"Zhizhou, the pacification envoy has been transferred, I'm afraid he will have to obey."
"This is Li Feiyu!"
Wei Wenbo cursed in a low voice, and finally could only mobilize a thousand defenders to support Zhang Shi along the north bank of the Yangtze River...
~~
On February 21st, late at night, Zhang Shi looked at the intersection of the Tuojiang River and the Yangtze River, listening to the sound of the surging water, his face became increasingly sad.
He has been unable to sleep for several days.
In the past, Zhang Shi made extraordinary achievements when he was under Yu Jie's command, but he always suffered setbacks when he became independent. Now he can't figure out how to defeat the enemy in such terrain.
Suddenly, a soldier trotted over and whispered: "General, someone wanted to see the general, and he gave this..."
Zhang Shi looked down and said in surprise: "Is it him?"
…
Half an hour later, Zhu Susun was awakened.
"Zhang Dutong? What's going on? The Mongolian army has attacked the camp."
"No." Zhang Shi said with excitement in his voice, "I have a strategy to defeat the enemy."
Zhu Xusun was overjoyed and listened to him speak slowly.
"I have a brother of the same clan named Zhang Wei who has been stationed in Yunding City for many years. He was forced by Yao Shi'an last year and surrendered to Mongolia in desperation. However, he is loyal to the Song Dynasty and does not want to serve the Tatars for a long time. He is willing to bring order to the chaos.
.”
The joy on Zhu Xusun's face gradually faded, and he asked suspiciously: "So what if the Mongolian army used a trick?"
"I have been fighting with the Mongolian army for many years, but I have never seen these barbarians using tricks." Zhang Shi said: "Besides, Zhang Wei and I are brothers who grew up together, so I trust him."
"Zhang Dutong."
"How about envoy Zhu Annui trust me once?" Zhang Shi said: "I would like to ask envoy Zhu Annui to temporarily take over the military affairs tomorrow. I will meet Zhang Wei in person to discuss the plan of internal and external cooperation to defeat the Mongolian army."
Zhu Xusun just woke up, his mind was still a little confused, he couldn't help but rub his face and think.
"The pacifier doesn't believe me?"
"No, but this matter..."
Zhang Shi said resolutely: "The defeat of Mahujiang is a great shame and humiliation in my life. Commander Meng Pu will not give up and will continue to keep me to guard Xulu. If we cannot defeat the enemy this year, how can I lead the army again? I am knowingly taking risks. I
I don’t want to miss this opportunity and hope it will come true.”