Chapter 551: Five hundred thousand troops suppress the border
The north wind in mid-November made the military flags on the city top whistle, and the lead-gray clouds were low and oppressive.
As the cold current moves southward, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in a subtropical climate have seen traces of snow for the first time in a long time. Raindrops mixed with snow particles crashed onto the ground, turning into mud as soon as it hit the ground.
"This damn weather is delaying our army's crossing of the river." Le Jin complained angrily.
"Wen Qian, don't be upset. A decisive battle with the enemy in winter will be beneficial to our army. As soon as the rain and snow stop, we will cross the river immediately." Guan Yu stroked his beard, which was more than two feet long, and showed no signs of anxiety.
He had been at odds with the people in the south of the Yangtze River for several years, and he liked to cool down the most. The northerners were not good at water, and the southerners were not cold-tolerant. The most important thing was that the soldiers of the imperial army had jackets, boots, and felt hats to keep warm.
What do people in the south have?
Linen singlet.
At most it's thick linen, but it's still a single garment.
According to His Majesty's words, what we are fighting for is the overall national strength.
At this time, 70,000 troops gathered in Xunyang, and 40,000 troops from Guan Yu and Le Jin were stationed on the riverside outside the city, ready to cross the river at any time to capture Chaisang.
Liu Xiang led the Yulin Army and the Shesheng Battalion to enter the city and defended the city together with the Wudang Fei Army.
Taishi Ci and Zhou Tai led 320 sharp-bottomed warships and 400 patrol boats, marching hundreds of miles forward, preparing to delay the enemy's navy that might advance eastward.
Ling Cao led six large ships and about twenty fighting ships to cover the army's crossing of the river.
"The river in the Chaisang section is more than four miles wide. Our army has not built a pontoon bridge, mainly because it is afraid of damage by the enemy's navy." Zhang Ren looked at the river in the distance inside the tower and talked with Wang Ping.
I really like this young man and wouldn’t mind teaching him:
"Previously, more than 700 large and small ships have been collected, and 500 large cargo ships from Yunfan Camp have participated in the transportation. More than 15,000 troops can be transported in one round trip. In just two hours, 40,000 troops and the necessary
With all the baggage and equipment, we can cross the river, and this battle will be foolproof."
Speaking of this, he sighed: "It's a pity that we have to stay to defend the city and cannot participate in the cross-river battle. It's a pity!"
"It's more important for us to stay and protect the emperor." Wang Ping felt that this task was more glorious and more important than crossing the river to perform meritorious service.
His idea is also the idea of Wu Dang Feijun's soldiers, old people and Qiang soldiers.
The elite soldiers of the Yulin Army and the Shesheng Battalion appeared in Zhang Ren's mind, and he patted Wang Ping on the shoulder: "What Zijun said is true. Go tell the brothers on duty. Our army's mission is extremely urgent. Your Majesty is in the city.
Watch it, don’t slack off.”
If you stretch your hips at this moment, you will lose all face and your future will be bleak.
His Majesty the Emperor, who controls Zhang Ren's future, is holding a request from Liu Ye, the chief of the nest, to allocate warm clothes. These two days are rare days of cooling in the south. The emperor is looking for trouble and does not allow anyone to die of cold or starvation among the victims.
So Liu Ye was very nervous and directly wrote to ask for supplies.
"You are so clever." Liu Xiang was very dissatisfied. More than 200,000 troops gathered on the Yangtze River, and there were 80,000 civilians transporting baggage. Materials were in short supply. There was really no spare warm clothing to allocate to the victims living in the nest.
[A book-chasing book recommended to me by an old book friend I have known for ten years,@
If Zhang Xian's main force in Chibi advances eastward, it will have to go south to Wuling, peek into Changsha, and threaten Zhang Xian's retreat. Xiangyang will have to mobilize troops to strengthen Jiangling city defense.
Xiling City in Jiangxia County has 30,000 people under Zhang He's command. This is the road closest to the enemy in Chibi and is responsible for containing the enemy.
Then there is the main battlefield, Xunyang, which is more than 500 miles away from Chibi by water. There are more than 60,000 infantry and cavalry troops and 39,000 naval troops.
Further east, there are two groups of people who have crossed the river for more than half a month.
Zhao Yun's troops who entered Danyang County have 34,000 infantry and cavalry. They have captured Jiangcheng and Hushu and are besieging Moling.
Zhang Liao's troops, which entered Wu County, numbered 30,000 people and were renovating in Wu County.
These are 216,000 people on the frontline battlefield.
There are 50,000 troops and 80,000 civilians behind them, responsible for suppressing the newly occupied three counties, clearing out bandits and defeated troops, intimidating the wealthy families in the territory, guarding the grain roads, and transporting supplies. They also need to cooperate with the 160 officials who went south.
, take control of the local area, divide the fields, and build a militia.
Liu Xiang has been under a lot of pressure recently. He mobilized nearly 350,000 people for the battle of overthrowing the country. It was the largest battle he had ever commanded. No matter whether it was the Sixth Route Army on the front line or the 50,000 soldiers stabilizing the rear, there was no room for any chance.
negligence.
It is said to be an army of 500,000 people, but I don't know if it can scare the enemy to death.
Looking out the window, the weather has turned from sleet to light rain, and the originally leaden clouds have turned into gray-white. The rain is about to stop, the sky is about to clear up, and the war is about to begin.
He is not too worried about battlefields on land; he is worried about water battles.
Three hundred and twenty new warships were cruising a hundred miles upstream from Xunyang. He was not sure whether the sharp-bottomed warships made entirely of iron and wood could meet his expectations.
This fleet has no experience in large-scale battles. It has 13,000 oarsmen, 4,400 sailors, 11,000 soldiers, and 2,000 scouts. Can it entangle the enemy's 80,000 to 90,000 soldiers?
He didn't know about the attack.
After all, the enemy troops stationed in Chibi have more than 20 large ships, more than 300 battleships, and nearly 800 stern ships. The number of battleships alone is three times that of our own. They also have more than a thousand auxiliary ships, and their strength is
The difference is nearly three times.
Liu Xiang frowned, hesitating in his heart whether to send the tower ships and fighting ships parked in the Xunyang waters. These eight thousand people were also a powerful fighting force.
But then I thought about it, the speed of the building ships and fighting ships could not keep up with the pace of the new warships, so sending them over would probably be a hindrance.
The swordfish warship is twenty meters long and has ten pairs of oars. It is bigger and faster than the cockroach, has more people than it, and is stronger than it. It should be able to cope with four times the enemy and ensure that the main force will not be besieged.
The forty-six-meter-long swordfish battleship has sixteen pairs of oars. It is slightly longer and narrower than a fighting ship. It has a full capacity of 150 people, which is fifty fewer than traditional fighting ships, but it is faster and more flexible.
It's much more than that. If you face three times the enemy, even if you can't defeat it, you can at least run away, right?
The fighting ideas of the two sides are also different.
What the outcome will be, you really can only know after playing it.
Liu Xiang rubbed his temples, feeling distressed.
He was not the only one who was distressed, Zhou Xin and Zhang Xian were even more distressed.
"An army of five hundred thousand, half a million! How to fight?" Zhou Xin's facial features twitched like a bitter gourd.
"..." Zhang Xian was silent, not knowing how to boost morale.