Two days later, the Liyang army of 150,000 troops led by Zhao Kai, the Qingzhou army of 100,000 including Qingzhou navy led by King Zhao Xun of Jingan, the Huainan army of 30,000 soldiers led by Zhao Ying, the king of Huainan, the 10,000 Shu army of Chen Zhibao, and
Once again, with 50,000 troops totaling 150,000 strong soldiers from southern Xinjiang, a total of 450,000 troops simultaneously launched a general attack on Western Chu.
This is already the largest war launched by Liyang in the past twenty years. Hundreds of thousands of troops have also made Guangling Road a little crowded. The countless troops are advancing forward like a torrent.
The scene was huge. The Liyang Army in the middle route consisted of 150,000 troops, with Zhao Kai as the commander, vanguard general Lu Shengxiang, and military advisor Zhang Bianguan. With thousands of ships lent by the Xuanyuan family, they crossed the Guangling River and penetrated into the hinterland of Liyang.
The three kings, Zhao Xun of Jing'an, Zhao Ying of Huainan, and Chen Zhibao, also joined forces with an army of nearly 150,000 to attack the west, and the vassal kings fought independently.
The 150,000-strong army in Southern Xinjiang mainly attacks the south. There are many famous generals like Wu Chongxuan and Wang Tongshan under their command. The 150,000-strong army is already close to three-quarters of the strength of Southern Xinjiang. Of course, if the Qingzhuang army is forcibly recruited,
, and more.
Compared with the Liyang side, they have more soldiers, better equipment, and sufficient supplies of food and grass. The Xichu side seems to be much worse. The number of combatable troops in the country does not exceed 200,000, and they are all temporarily formed.
Obviously, such strength cannot compete head-on with Liyang's 450,000-strong army.
The three armies were like tridents, each attacking and supporting each other. They mainly followed Zhao Kai's orders. Of course, it was unclear whether the vassal kings would listen to Zhao Kai's orders.
The forceful crossing of the Guangling River by the army on the middle route was quite smooth. As expected, within one day, the Liyang army won a complete victory and advanced another twenty miles forward. The 150,000-strong army successfully crossed the Guangling River.
After passing Guangling General and heading towards the hinterland of Western Chu, the ships of the Xuanyuan family were also constantly transporting grain and supplies to ensure logistical supplies.
The other two groups also gained a lot from the beginning, completing the army's advance mission and constantly compressing Xi Chu's living space.
The next day, the army on the middle road where Li Yang was located once again advanced twenty miles, passing through two counties and cities. It did not encounter particularly fierce resistance along the way, which was equivalent to pushing forward all the way.
As for the other two routes, the battle situation was not as smooth as expected.
First, the army in the west was ambushed by the Xichu Navy led by Cao Changqing. After several battles, the two sides won each other's battles. Although General Guang also made some achievements due to the large number of soldiers, the speed of the advance slowed down obviously, despite Zhao Kai's repeated orders.
The attack order had little effect.
As for the southern Xinjiang army in the south, Cao Changqing did not hesitate to send his disciples Xie Xijie and Kou Jianghuai to take charge. Xie Xijie coordinated the battle and commanded the main army of Western Chu.
Kou Jianghuai's army was as elusive as a ghost, constantly harassing and sniping, intercepting and harassing. Even the powerful southern Xinjiang army and the experienced southern Xinjiang generals still couldn't take advantage. For a while, the army on the southern front also couldn't take advantage of it.
caught in a stalemate.
As a result, as time went by, the battlefield began to develop into a strange situation. On the one hand, the army in the middle was overwhelming. Wherever it went, it did not encounter any fierce resistance. When it encountered a slightly larger city,
It didn't take much effort to attack it.
This boosted the morale of the already sluggish army. Originally, they were beaten to disgrace by the double wall of Xichu, not to mention suffering heavy losses and losing a large territory. However, they did not expect that after Zhao Kai's personal expedition, they would win consecutively.
, basically did not encounter any decent resistance, even a veteran of the Spring and Autumn Period who had been fighting for many years could not help but sigh, "The Emperor's division is indeed extraordinary."
The remaining two armies received the focus of Xi Chu's care. The battle situation was very anxious. Within a few days, they could hardly advance. Even the southern Xinjiang army suffered a lot of losses due to the combined efforts of the two walls of Xi Chu.
More than 10,000 infantry were lost in one fell swoop.
Even though their strength is nearly twice that of the enemy, they are still timid.
The originally vigorous three-front push turned into a unique force of the middle army. In half a month, the army advanced hundreds of miles in a row. At this speed, it only takes another half month to reach the capital city of Western Chu.
Phoenix City.
In front of the general's camp, military advisor Zhang Bianguan frowned. He didn't feel the joy of winning consecutive battles. He looked at the battle map in front of him and said with some worry:
"Your Majesty, although our army has been victorious in consecutive battles, in fact, some lone troops have penetrated deeply, and there are no reinforcements on the left and right. If the retreat is cut off again, it will really be isolated and helpless. Wei Chen suggested that we should postpone the march.
It would be best to wait until the other two armies have made achievements before making deployment."
Zhao Kai's army seemed to have entered a huge pocket at this time. This was extremely risky in military terms and could easily fall into danger.
But it is also a good time to attack Huanglong directly. As long as Shenhuang City is defeated, Xi Chu will also be defeated on the other two fronts. If the imperial city is gone, why fight?
As a military advisor, Zhang Bianguan was a little hesitant at this time. After all, Zhao Kai was still in the army. If he was put in danger, he would really die.
"I don't know what those princes are doing for a living. They are obviously far more powerful than them. We have been fighting for so long, but there is no result at all! They are still lingering in the same place."
Zhao Kaixin said:
Do you still expect them? If we don’t move forward, they can fight for a year... no, half a year, do you believe it?
Looking at the sand table in front of him, he looked calm and said with a smile:
"Xi Chu's full strength is only 200,000 elite soldiers. The west and south roads must have consumed more than 150,000. In addition to the 20,000 to 30,000 we have killed prisoners these days, the people who are left to guard Divine Phoenix City at this time, even if they are added
There are absolutely no more than 70,000 young men in the upper city, but I want to see how Cao Changqing will respond when our troops approach the capital!"
Zhang Bianguan was still a little hesitant. He wanted to capture a capital city for less than 150,000 yuan, but it seemed a bit difficult no matter how he looked at it.
"Your Majesty, do you want to send an order to the other two armies and ask them to send some of their troops over?"
Zhao Kai shook his head and said:
"No need, the fighting opportunity is fleeting, don't miss it! According to my decree, starting tomorrow, except for the 30,000 people who stayed behind to occupy the city, the remaining 120,000 troops will follow me to capture Shenhuang, the capital of Western Chu.
city.
In addition, send an order to the other two generals, asking them to hold back the main force of Western Chu, and must not let them return to defend the capital, and tell them that I am waiting to celebrate their victory with them in the Divine Emperor City."