I don’t know who cut out the thin leaves. The spring breeze in February is like scissors.
As the envoys entered February, Geng Si began to frequently deliver news back to Jiangdu. The Yuan army was mobilized frequently, and the smell of war had drifted over from the north.
Since ancient times, wars have often occurred in early spring, because early spring is the farming season. When attacking others, it can also affect the enemy's spring farming. Even if the attack fails, it can weaken the opponent.
In order to prevent early rice seeds from falling into the hands of the enemy, Zhang Yangquan could only let the people continue to plant Champa rice. Even if the rice was lost, the loss would be controllable.
In recent days, news has spread in the city that the Yuan army is about to attack, and many foreign businessmen and refugees have begun to flee.
Fortunately, the local people and businessmen have experienced the baptism of the battle for Jiangdu and have great trust in the General Administration, which did not cause too much population loss.
Not only that, due to refugees fleeing southward in Gaoyou, Shanyang, Baoying and other counties farther north, the number of people entering Jiangdu City every day is more than the number of people fleeing Jiangdu City.
On this day, Zhang Yangquan stood on the north gate city wall, looking at the more than 60 artillery pieces neatly arranged on the city wall, and he was filled with emotions.
From the time he captured Jiangdu in May last year, he had been preparing for this war for nearly nine months.
Today, Jiangdu's army possesses tens of thousands of kilograms of gunpowder, more than 80 cannons, more than 20 warships, and the city wall has been built more than ten feet high.
There are more than 30,000 defenders in Jiangdu City and 20,000 reserve troops. There are 20,000 defenders in Zhenzhou and 30,000 defenders in Tongzhou. The total number exceeds 100,000.
All soldiers are equipped with weapons. Among them, 20,000 of the 30,000 Jiangdu troops are equipped with armor, and the other 10,000 are also equipped with leather armor. There are more than 10,000 horses.
There are nearly a million stones of grain stored in the warehouse of the General Manager's Mansion. Even if the city is besieged, it can last for about two years.
With such full preparations, Zhang Yangquan would be confident to handle even if something unexpected happened in the Battle of Gaoyou.
While I was thinking, a gust of north wind blew, and a cloud of smoke and dust rose in the distance.
In the yellow sand, dozens of riders were seen galloping along the official road. The leader was a heroic woman wearing white clothes and a white cloak, none other than Qin Lingjun.
Li Er and Monkey followed behind.
Not long after, the three of them reached the city wall. Qin Lingjun walked over quickly and said, "Husband, the Yuan soldiers are out!"
Zhang Yangquan felt a shiver in his heart and said: "Let's go to the tower to talk."
There is a sand table in the tower. The sand table is centered on Gaoyou City, and the surrounding environment of Gaoyou City is simulated with stones, water, and clay figures on the side.
When the three of them came to the sand table, Qin Lingjun said: "The Yuan army sent out the left army, the front army and the right army. The three armies went south and occupied Shanyang."
Shanyang is located in the north of Gaoyou. If Baoying is the first layer of barrier for Gaoyou, Shanyang County is the second layer.
However, Zhang Shicheng did not leave any troops in Shanyang, so it was normal for him to be captured by the Yuan army.
"Where are the central and rear armies?" Zhang Yangquan asked.
Qin Lingjun stretched out his hand and pointed, saying: "Tuotuo's Chinese army is located about a hundred miles behind Shanyang. The rear army has been dispersed and is responsible for the escort of grain and grass!"
Zhang Yangquan nodded, glanced at Shanyang County on the sand table, and said: "So, the Yuan army is now stationed in Shanyang County?"
Li Er hurriedly said: "According to the latest news from the scouts, the Yuan army has divided its troops in Shanyang County."
"How to divide the troops?"
Qin Lingjun pointed to Shanyang County on the sand table, drew a straight line forward with his finger, and said: "One hundred thousand Chinese troops, led by King Jing, went straight to Baoying."
Then he pointed to a thin waterway and said: "The 80,000 Right Route Army took the waterway, went south along the Hangou Canal, and turned from Huangpu Town into Gaoyou Lake."
Then he put his two fingers together, pointed to a winding road to the left, and then separated with a snap, saying: "The 130,000 left route troops bypassed Sheyang Lake and divided into two groups to attack Yancheng and Xinghua respectively!"
Zhang Yangquan stared at the three routes for a while, nodded and said: "Sure enough, it is coming fiercely. How should Zhang Shicheng respond?"
Qin Lingjun pointed to Baoying and said: "Baoying should have 20,000 defenders, guarded by Lu Zhen." He also pointed to Xinghua: "He sent Bian Yuanheng to lead 10,000 people to guard Xinghua."
Zhang Yangquan was stunned and said: "Where is Yancheng?"
"Give up!"
Zhang Yangquan nodded, Gaoyou had few troops, and it was a helpless move to abandon some cities.
"Then how is he going to deal with Chahan Timur's 80,000 navy army?"
The monkey laughed and said: "He is quite brave. He sent out his 10,000 navy troops, and it seems that he intends to intercept Chahan Timur!"
Zhang Shicheng is not as wealthy as Jiang Dujun. Although he has temporarily formed a navy, they are all fishing boats from Gaoyou and Xinghua, and the main force of the navy is also fishermen.
Zhang Yangquan didn't think the fishing boats were inferior. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang defeated Chen Youliang's big boat by relying on small boat tactics.
"Who will lead the navy?" he asked.
"Zhang Shide!"
Zhang Yangquan suddenly admired Zhang Shicheng. In any case, when faced with an army of more than 300,000 yuan, he dared to take the initiative to attack. This courage is extremely valuable!
At this time, a personal guard led a scout from the Military Intelligence Agency into the tower. The scout raised his hands to the three of them and said: "I have the latest military information!"
"Say!"
"The news just came that Tuotuo sent an envoy to Gaoyou Mansion to persuade him to surrender!"
Zhang Yangquan's heart tightened. He knew Zhang Shicheng would not surrender, but he couldn't help but feel nervous.
"What was the result?"
The scout said: "Zhang Shicheng killed the envoy and hung his head on the north gate!"
Li Er laughed loudly and said: "I didn't expect this person to be really brave!"
Zhang Yangquan and others also showed admiration. Zhang Shicheng's doing this is tantamount to cutting off his own escape route. If the war is not going to be good in the future, people who want to surrender will not agree!
Qin Lingjun asked: "Where are the frontline troops now?"
The scout said: "When we got the news in the morning, we had arrived at Pingqiao Town."
Zhang Yangquan looked to the north and murmured: "Judging from the time, the Yuan army is probably already attacking Baoying City!"
……
"Father, King Jing should have started attacking Baoying, right?"
On the water of Gaoyou Lake, a huge fleet of boats was sailing through the water. On the big boat at the front, there were a middle-aged man and a young man standing. It was the young man who spoke.
The middle-aged man glanced in the east direction and said: "King Jing's men are all cavalry, and they are marching very fast. They should have been fighting for more than half a day!"
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This man is none other than Chahan Timur, the commander-in-chief of the Yuan Army’s right-leg army.
For the rebels, this name represents a nightmare. Many rebels in Henan were defeated at his hands. Even Liu Futong, who was at the height of his power, was defeated by Chahan many times.
However, in the Yuan court, Chahan Timur did not receive much attention, which can be seen from the fact that he currently only has the position of fifth-rank Zhongshun doctor.
The young man next to him is his nephew Timur, who was adopted as his adopted son and has been fighting beside him for many years.
Chahan once said to the people around him many times: "This son's future success will be determined by me." This shows that he attaches great importance to expansion.
Kuo Kuo took a breath into the lake breeze and said, "Father, do you think King Jing can capture the treasure?"
Chahan thought for a while and said: "The Mobei army is brave and good at fighting, and King Jing is famous for his bravery. I believe he will actively attack the city. However, it will not be easy when there is a lack of siege equipment. If we want to capture Baoying, it will take at least as long as
Five days, sometimes ten days!"
Kuang Kuo said: "Then he should wait for the siege equipment to arrive before attacking the city, otherwise the losses will be heavy!"
Chahan glanced at him and said: "King Jing, like other Mongolians, is impatient. He would rather lose more than capture the city as soon as possible."
Kuo Kuo smiled and said: "In other words, he is another reckless man?"
Chahan neither admitted nor denied it.
Kuo Kuo added: "The prime minister's order to us is to go around to the south of Gaoyou and block the connection between Jiangdu and Gaoyou. Does my father think the Gaoyou army will just sit back and ignore it?"
Chahan said: "No."
Kuo Kuo smiled and said: "I don't think so, so we estimate that we will encounter a Gaoyou navy soon. I heard that Gaoyou's fishing industry is booming, and I expect that the enemy will have many fishing boats. Do you have any countermeasures?" Chahan said: "No."
Kuo Kuo was stunned and repeated: "No?"
Chahan glanced at him sideways and said, "Have you followed me in a water fight?"
Kuangkuo shook his head violently.
"That's it. Our army is not good at water warfare, so there is no need to attack with short attacks and attack with long attacks. We will reach Ma Sheng Bay soon ahead. Let's disembark there!"
"But!" Kuai Kuo frowned and said, "The Prime Minister wants us to go around to the south of Gaoyou. How can we go around without taking the waterway?"
Chahan said: "The same goes for taking the land route. As long as Baoying is lost, the Gaoyou thieves will only have one option: to be trapped in the city. They will not leave the city to hinder us!"
Extension nodded.
Not long after, there was indeed a bay mouth ahead, and next to it was a village. All the people in the village fled, leaving only a pile of abandoned houses.
Chahan issued an order to the army not to damage the house, and then buried the pots to make rice. It seemed that he planned to stay here for a while.
That night, the two stayed in a farmhouse and asked, "Father, how long are we going to stay here? Aren't we going to march to Gaoyou City?"
Chahan sat on a chair, waved his hands and said: "Don't rush now, it won't be too late to advance after Baoying's defenders have been eliminated."
Kuo Kuo nodded, and when the Baoying bandits were about to lose their defense, they would retreat towards Gaoyou City and escape, and then they would block their way back.
"Although we help King Jing by doing this, he may not appreciate it!"
Chahan waved his hand and said: "I don't expect him to appreciate it, as long as we can recover Yangzhou as soon as possible!"
"Are you worried that Liu Futong will take the opportunity to make the Northern Expedition and Li Siqi won't be able to stop him on his own?"
Chahan said: "This is only one reason. I am also worried that the Jiangnan Army will stay here for too long and Xu Shouhui will come back to life again!"
Kao Kuo was stunned for a moment and sighed: "There are more and more holes in the world. Can you mend them all by yourself? It's better not to think so much and just let nature take its course!"
Chahan glared at him and said: "What are you talking about! As officials of the Yuan Dynasty, we naturally have to be loyal to the court and share your Majesty's worries!"
Kuo Kuo sighed: "Father, I think if you want to be truly loyal to the court, you can't be too upright. Sometimes you should be more flexible!"
Chahan glanced at him: "Is it your idea of "let yourself climb to a higher position first" again?"
Kuo Kuo said seriously: "My child thinks this is the only way. If you can't hold a high position, no matter how good your idea is, you won't be able to implement it. You can only sit back and watch the treacherous ministers control the government!"
Chahan was silent for a while and said: "My child, don't be anxious, as long as you continue to win the battle, your Majesty will reuse us sooner or later."
Kuo Kuo smiled bitterly and said: "In today's court, it is useless to just win the battle. The most important thing is to hold power! Haven't you seen Dong Tuanxiao's fate?"
"In your opinion, what should we do?"
Kuangkuo said: "We are military generals, and all we can rely on are the soldiers and horses in our hands. I think we should learn to conserve our strength. When our soldiers and horses are strong enough, His Majesty will listen to us!"
Chahan said angrily: "You are supporting your troops and respecting yourself!"
There are three vellus hairs on his left cheek. When he is angry, the vellus hairs stand up, which is very powerful.
Kao Kuo was not afraid and said proudly: "Being selfish is the way to support your troops and respect yourself. Only those who have a public mind, clear the emperor's side, and straighten out the court regulations can be a truly loyal minister!"
Chahan stared at him for a long time, sighed, and said: "I won't do this kind of thing. When I die in the future, you can do it again!"
Kuangkuo also sighed and said nothing more.
In the next few days, the Right Army was stationed at Mopeng Bay.
Chahan issued an order to block all the road sections between Baoying and Gaoyou. After five days of this, the scouts received news that the north gate of Baoying had been breached and the two armies were fighting in the streets.
Chahan immediately sent an order for the army to set up an ambush in the woods north of Mopeng Bay, waiting for Baoying's bandits to arrive.
However, after waiting all night, no one was seen.
"Could it be that all the Baoying bandits have been wiped out by the frontline army?" Kuo Kuo asked strangely.
Chahan said solemnly: "It's impossible. The front army marched all the way and attacked the city for five days. The soldiers are already tired. Even if the city is captured, it is impossible to surround and annihilate the enemy!"
He expanded and said, "Then why can't we see a single traitor?"
Chahan looked into the distance and said slowly: "This shows that the battle situation has changed! I will immediately lead 30,000 people to inspect the situation. You continue to stay here!"
He raised his hand and said, "My child takes orders."