Chapter 676 I, the two emperors, are invincible in the world!
Also launching the attack at the same time as Er Zhujing was Ma Zhaoyuan, the general manager of the Pingshu camp in Jiangling Prefecture.
Xiangyang Prefecture and Jiangling Prefecture are relatively close to each other, making it easier to coordinate the time of the attack.
Therefore, on the seventh day of March, after Er Zhujing, the deputy general of Ping Shu, mobilized eight thousand infantry and cavalry to go upstream, Ma Zhaoyuan immediately ordered the army of Ping Shu camp to start setting off.
Ma Zhaoyuan personally took charge of Zigui, and with Du Lunchixin, the general manager of the waterway, as the commander of the march to pacify Shu, he mobilized more than 400 warships and sailed upstream from Zigui.
The section of the Yangtze River from Zigui to Baidi City in Fengjie, Meng Shu Kui Prefecture is the famous Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.
In later generations, before the Three Gorges Dam impounded water, the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River were majestic and dangerous, and were a beautiful tourist destination.
After the water was impounded, the water depth increased by more than 170 meters. Even Baidi City, which was once a natural hazard, became an isolated island in the river. The water flow slowed down, making it easier for navigation.
But at this time, the majestic and dangerous show represents not the beautiful scenery, but the harsh environment. Of course, it will not have the navigation capabilities that will be achieved after the Three Gorges is impounded in later generations.
Going up from Zigui, the water flow is very fast. There are many rocks in the river and the whirlpools formed by the turning water. It is impossible for the boat to go upstream just by relying on the sail of the boat itself.
Almost all of the nearly 400 miles of Yangtze River waterway must be completed by trackers.
The job of a tracker is not as romantic as sister, you ride on the bow, brother, I walk on the shore.
Especially in the Three Gorges section, not only are the currents turbulent, but there are not many places to set foot on both sides of the bank. Three Gorges trackers often have to put their feet in the water to track their boats.
A rough hemp rope can easily cut off the flesh from a person's shoulders and cut horrific scars on the palms of their hands.
At the same time, it is impossible to see clearly what one's feet are in the river, and it is common for feet to be scarred by sharp rocks in the river when boating.
Without a cocoon, you are not qualified to be a tracker.
Therefore, after learning about the actions of the Zhou army, Meng Shu Kui Prefecture's Ningjiang Army Jiedu Envoy Gao Yancuo, Jiedu Deputy Envoy Zhao Chongji, and Ningjiang Army Supervisor (Supervision Army) Wu Shouqian were not panicked.
Not to mention that they have already set up the stone cannon array at the entrance of Qutang Gorge, Baidi City also has the advantage of being at a commanding height, which is a natural hazard.
It is difficult for the Zhou army to walk up the Yangtze River channel alone, and the reason is because of the trackers.
Humans are very complex animals. Trackers wander on the edge of life and death all year round. Although their lives are extremely difficult, they are by no means a group of honest people, at least the leader among them is not an honest person.
Before Master Zhou arrived, the trackers on both sides of the Three Gorges dragged their families and ran into the mountains. Not to mention that Zhou Jun couldn't catch them, even if they did, they wouldn't use all their strength even if they put a knife to their necks.
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The simple reason is that these trackers are so poor that they can only have a full meal when they come to the ship. If they work hard to pull the trackers and exhaust all their strength, they will basically die when the Zhou army leaves and they can’t pull them on the next trip.
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Compared with being killed for not pulling the fiber hard, it is just the difference between dying early and dying late.
The Zhou army can offer a heavy reward, but this reward must be exchanged for life, and most of them are people of the Shu Kingdom. Whether you believe in the credibility of the Zhou army is unknown.
Sure enough, not long after, the Shu army's spies risked their lives to return the message that Zhou's division could no longer walk as far as Badong County in Guizhou.
They brought trackers from Jiangling, but they couldn't adapt to the harsh river surface here. After only a few dozen miles of trailing, the trackers fell ill on a large scale.
After receiving this reward, Gao Yanchou, who had been beating drums in his heart, finally felt a lot more at ease.
He had seen the ferocity of the Zhou army, and there was no way that the soldiers of the Ningjiang army could fight against it. Being captured in the Zhou state for more than a year also gave him a clear understanding of the gap between Zhou and Shu.
Compared with Gao Yancuo's caution, Ningjiang Army Supervisor Wu Shoiqian was greatly reassured. Under such circumstances, even if Master Zhou went to Kuizhou, he would be exhausted both physically and mentally, and it would be impossible to resist the stone soldiers living on both sides of Baidi City. Artillery bombardment.
It cannot be said that Gao Yanchang and Wu Shouqian's understanding is wrong. In most cases, it is indeed the case, but Ma Zhaoyuan and Ma Yaozi have already thought of this problem.
Zhang Shengren specially transferred him from Xuzhou, either because he had nothing to do, or because he had taken a fancy to Ma Zhaoyuan, who was both rough and subtle.
Long before the army set off, Ma Zhaoyuan asked Zhang Yan to take over the command of the Jinyi Guards in Hubei and Hunan Provinces. The Jinyi Guards also sent a captain to assist Ma Zhaoyuan.
These trackers, who mostly belong to the Shu Kingdom, are very clumsy and it is indeed difficult to trust outsiders, but they trust one type of people, which are the merchants who specialize in their business.
These merchants were specially trained by the Hexi Chamber of Commerce for the Jinyi Guards, and they began walking in the vast Wushan Mountains a year ago.
They brought necessary local salt, tea, cloth, sugar and patent medicines to the trackers and mountain people. Some traders also cured some people's headaches and brain fever and treated diseases of large livestock.
More importantly, they act fairly and sometimes even agree to pay on credit, so they have great credibility among trackers and mountain people in Wushan.
Through their efforts, Ma Zhaoyuan successfully invited the leaders of these mountain people and trackers to Zigui County.
The Shu army spies saw that the fleet was unable to move, which was actually a smoke bomb released by Ma Zhaoyuan. The actual situation was that Ma Zhaoyuan personally went to Badong County to meet with these leaders.
After consulting Zhang Yan, Ma Zhaoyuan was extremely generous and released one hundred qualifications for the Forbidden Army Navy and three hundred qualifications for the Guards Army for these mountain people and tracker leaders to share the land.
He also promised that if other mountain people and trackers are willing to live in Kuizhou and other places, arrangements can also be made.
It may not seem like much, but in fact, the total number of these mountain people and trackers is only three to four thousand strong. Now that four hundred positions are released, the lives of one-tenth of them will change drastically.
With the trustworthy merchant's guarantee, the twenty-two mountain people and tracker leaders immediately knelt down on one knee and swore allegiance to the Great Zhou.
While Ma Zhaoyuan asked these twenty-two people to send their families as hostages, he pretended to be furious because the ship could not sail, and punished a group of generals and civil servants, in order to paralyze the Shu army spies.
He was afraid that Wu Shouqian sent several groups to investigate, but in fact Ma Zhaoyuan was overly worried, and Wu Shouqian sent two groups in total.
These two groups of people had long thought they had received detailed information and rushed back to receive the reward for the report.
And Wu Shouqian did not send any more spies to Badong County. They had to cross Wushan and Daba Mountains! The waterway also had to take the extremely dangerous Three Gorges waterway of the Yangtze River. The boat went down the river, and it would be difficult to go back.
This resulted in not many people in the Shu army being willing to do the job, and even if they were sent out, most of them did it perfunctorily.
So on March 16th, after the Pingshu army set off again in the early morning, Gao Yanchou and Wu Shouqian of Kuizhou didn't know at all.
On March 19, the Pingshu army moved up the river and was about to reach the mouth of the Wu Gorge. This was already the boundary of the Shu Kingdom. The Shu army had two military strongholds here, Wushan and Sanhui.
Among them, the Wushan Military Village was further east, near today's Wushan County, Chongqing City. The Sanhui Military Village was in today's Dachang Town, Wushan County. The first military village the Pingshu army encountered was Wushan Village.
This village stands at the mouth of Wuxia Gorge, one of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, and is divided into two villages, the north and the south. There are two wooden fences on the river, and large crossbows such as Fuyuan Nu and others are installed on both sides to support firepower.
Among them, Nanzhai has 300 soldiers and 20 small boats. Each boat can carry five crossbowmen, two sword and shield bearers, three gang fighters, and four boatmen.
Beizhai has 700 soldiers and more than 30 large and small ships, also equipped with crossbowmen.
It can be said that with such a configuration, although it is impossible to completely block the Pingshu navy, it is entirely possible to repel the Pingshu navy forward and hold on for three to five days, waiting for the Ningjiang navy in Kuizhou to go south for reinforcements.
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But Ma Zhaoyuan did not give them this opportunity. After surrendering the Wushan mountain people and trackers, Ma Zhaoyuan ordered brothers Lin Renzhao and Lin Renhan to lead 300 elite troops, led by local mountain people, to attack Beizhai in the early morning and night.
The Shu army in Beizhai did not expect that the Pingshu army would appear at this time. They were not wearing any clothes or armor, and most of their weapons were not with them, so they were blocked in the military stronghold.
Lin Renzhao, wearing only a piece of chain mail and with his legs bare, rushed into the Shu army and killed many people. The soldiers under his command were inspired by him, and they all took the lead bravely.
The battle lasted only a quarter of an hour, and before the Shu army in the southern village could react, more than 60 of the 700 Shu soldiers in the northern village were killed, while the rest fell to the ground in panic and begged for mercy.
Then Lin Renzhao personally drove a small boat across the river, holding the armor and head of the Wushan Army's stronghold and the head of the Shu Army's capital.
The Shu army in Nanzhai was deprived of their morale, and saw hundreds of warships from Zhou Dynasty with their galleys sailing up the river. They surrendered very smoothly.
This Wushan military stronghold was supposed to be the eyes and ears of the Ningjiang army in Kuizhou. Even if it couldn't stop them for three to five days, it should at least serve as a warning. But in fact, they only lasted for two-quarters of an hour before falling.
After taking the Wushan Army Stronghold, Ma Zhaoyuan immediately followed the plan and ordered Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin to lead 300 elite troops each to attack Sanhui Stronghold under the guidance of local mountain people.
Sanhui Village existed as a supplement to the Wushan Military Village, and its role was to help stabilize the defense line when the Wushan Military Village could not support it and Kuizhou's army did not arrive.
Compared with the soldiers in the Wushan Army Village who could still collect taxes and fees from business transactions, they were even more lax in their training. After the 500 soldiers in the village were raided in the early morning, they immediately blew up the camp.
Not many people were killed. In panic, there were at least a hundred people who jumped into the river and drowned due to hypothermia and exhaustion.
After Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin took over Sanhui Village, they did not stay much. Du Lun Chixin was left to control the scattered soldiers in the village.
The two of them followed the guide of the Jinyi Guards, abandoned most of their baggage, and headed north, leaving only their armor and weapons.
Yunpan Ridge in the north is the key link between Wushan Military Village and Baidi City.
What's more funny is that 30% of the defenders in the Yunpanling military camp established by the Shu army were prisoners of the Zhou army in Guanzhong.
Many of them were taken as confidants by Gao Yanchou, the governor of the Ningjiang Army in Kuizhou who had the same experience as them, and were placed in Yunpanling.
With so many people in such a critical position, the results can be imagined.
After Guo Rong arrived at the foot of Yunpan Ridge, he only took thirty warriors with him for fear of disturbing the situation. With the help of internal support, it was not until they reached the military stronghold that the Shu army realized something was wrong.
But it was too late, Guo Rong started fighting on the stronghold, and the Zhou troops above and below also led by Zhao Kuangyin made noises and rushed upward, and the internal forces in the stronghold also began to boo.
More than 300 Shu troops did not even understand what was going on. They were driven out of the military camp in panic along with the flow of people. Later, most of them died in the pursuit of Zhou troops, and a few were captured.
Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin rested for a quarter of an hour and ordered the soldiers to unfurl the flag of the Shu army in the stronghold. The leader put on the clothes of the Shu army and rushed from Yunpanling to Baidi City under the cover of night.
They had been fighting at high intensity for two consecutive days, but no one felt tired. Along the way, the Shu army's combat effectiveness was low, completely beyond everyone's expectations.
Many soldiers who followed Zhang Gao in his campaign against the Southern Tang Dynasty said that the combat effectiveness of the Shu armies in Wushan, Sanhui, and Yunpanling was still far below that of the Southern Tang Dynasty, but the natural dangers were several times greater than those of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, they can move forward as if they are tireless, and the cowardly enemy will gain merit at their fingertips.
When Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin left Yunpanling, news finally came that the Wushan military stronghold had been breached.
Gao Yanchou was shocked and immediately ordered Zhao Tingyin's eldest son and deputy envoy of the Ningjiang Army in Kuizhou, Zhao Chongji, to lead 1,500 troops to guard the natural barrier and stone artillery array of Baidi City.
He and the supervisor Wu Shouqian led an army of six thousand to guard Kuizhou City to the west of Baidi City to support each other.
It has to be said that the Shu army's arrangements around Baidi City were in place. After Governor Ma Zhaoyuan arrived with his navy, he immediately ordered Du Lun Chixin to send 80 forward and large warships for a tentative attack.
As a result, before the warship reached Baidi City, it was blocked by the fence set up by the Shu army on the river. Baidi City and the stone cannons on Baiyan Mountain on the other side also opened fire suddenly, and large rocks rained down from the mouth of the basin. Du Lunchi was in a hurry
Order the forward fleet to retreat.
Wu Shouqian had often heard Gao Yanqian talk about how brave and invincible the Zhou army was, and he was a little worried in his heart. Now when he saw the Zhou army's forwards returning in embarrassment with "heavy losses", he burst out laughing, thinking that the Zhou army had nothing to fear due to such natural dangers.
But the moment of slap in the face soon came. It turned out that the terrain of Baidi City was very much like the head of a giant turtle leaning out to drink water. It was a peninsula extending from the shore to the middle of the river.
It is dangerous, but the area is not large, and at most five or six hundred soldiers can be deployed.
But as such an important natural barrier, tasked with blocking the Yangtze River, sometimes five hundred soldiers seemed insufficient.
Therefore, it was necessary to build a military camp on the west side of the tail of Baidi City as a supplement.
This military camp is a water fortress standing on the bank of the river, which is convenient for replenishing military strength for Baidi City from both land and water.
It's just that because of the natural danger of Baidi City, the Shu army habitually believed that danger would only come from the river. In addition, with the arrival of Zhou soldiers, the various departments of the Ningjiang army were mobilized frequently, and the information seemed a bit confusing.
Therefore, when Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin led 700 people to arrive under the banner of the Shu army, the Shu generals at Baidi City Water Village thought they were reinforcements sent by Gao Yanchou, and let them into the camp without distinguishing.
Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin repeated their old tricks. After entering the stronghold, they attacked and killed them. They came well prepared, and their number was equal to that of the Shu army in the stronghold. The Shu army could not resist, and the stronghold was immediately broken.
Guo Rong personally beheaded the Shu generals and led his troops to storm the west side of Baidi City. In an instant, the situation was reversed.
Baidi City was better than the river defense, and the land defense did not have much advantage. Zhao Chongji, the deputy envoy of the Ningjiang Army stationed at Baidi City, could only quickly send out beacons of smoke to ask for help.
In Kuizhou City, Gao Yanchou stood in despair on the south gate of Yidou Gate, muttering to himself, 'Here we are! Finally here!'
This was one of the three great military governors of Meng Shu. It seemed that his life as a prisoner had given him a huge blow, and he was actually a little afraid of the Zhou Dynasty.
Supervisor Wu Shouqian was furious, "How can a general be so fearful of the enemy? Once Baidi City falls, Kuizhou will not be able to defend it either. Please send troops to rescue, Commander-in-Chief."
Gao Yanchang came back to his senses immediately after being yelled at by Wu Shouqian, feeling ashamed, but he did not agree to rescue Baidi City now.
"The Northern troops came from a long distance. There must be something wrong with Yunpan Ridge. But Yunpan Ridge is dozens of miles away. This Zhou army is rushing towards us. The advantage is to fight quickly. It is better to wait for the enemy's energy to weaken before going to reinforce it."
Wu Shouqian had just witnessed the Zhou navy being repulsed, and had also seen Gao Yanchou's gaffe just now, and was at the moment when his confidence was bursting.
"What should we do if the Zhou soldiers capture Baidi City, as Commander Jie expected?"
Gao Yanchou had recovered somewhat at this time. He shook his head and said, "The Zhou army only has a few hundred soldiers. There are also hundreds of Zhao Chongji's elite troops in Baidi City. How can the Zhou army casually attack it?"
Wu Shouqian concluded that Gao Yanchang was afraid of the enemy. How could he trust Gao Yanchang's judgment? He roared angrily.
"Jie Shuai doesn't dare to go, so let's wait and see if a certain family makes meritorious deeds!"
As the supervisor, Wu Shouqian also had 2,000 men in his hands. Seeing that the Zhou army only had a few hundred, he expected that it would not be difficult to defeat, so he ignored Gao Yancuan's words and directly mobilized his troops directly to go out to Yidoumen to rescue Baidi City.
Guo Rong was overjoyed when he saw that only more than two thousand Shu troops came out of Kuizhou City.
It turned out that his attack on Baidi City just now was just a feint attack. The real purpose was to mobilize the Kuizhou City defenders. Now only more than 2,000 people have come, which is exactly what he wanted.
Immediately, Guo Rong ordered Zhao Kuangyin to be on the left, Shi Yanchao on the right, and he led a hundred personal followers in the middle, wearing armor and sharp weapons, and preparing for the attack in strict formation.
Wu Shouqian thought that this Zhou army should be defeated quickly, and thinking that it would only take seven or eight miles, he simply ordered his soldiers to march in armor.
As a result, when they arrived out of breath, before they even started forming their formation, Guo Rong, Zhao Kuangyin, and Shi Yanchao fired three arrows at once.
The Zhou army was all elite soldiers, and their combat effectiveness was not comparable to that of Wu Shouqian's two thousand soldiers. Although they were running, they could still draw their bows skillfully.
Following Guo Rong's roar, six hundred troops from the Zuo Long Xiang Guard and the Right Bao Tao Guard first fired two rounds with their long-tip bows, then switched to a short bow to shoot directly. Then they put down the bows in their hands and rushed towards them with a roar.
Go up.
At this time, the Shu army was still marching in a long snake, with only two to three hundred people in the front row. Within a dozen breaths, they suddenly received three rounds of volleys from at least 500 bows, and were immediately shot and collapsed.
Before the soldiers in the middle understood what was going on, they saw the vanguard crying and retreating, and their morale suddenly dropped.
Wu Shouqian was riding on his horse and wanted to stabilize his position. As a result, the Zhou army rushed towards him with heavy swords and bones, and defeated the Chinese army that was still able to hold its ground.
Shi Yanchao drew his bow and arrow in the midst of the rebel army, and fired at Wu Shouqian, who was riding a horse in a very conspicuous position. The arrow hit Wu Shouqian's chest.
Although Wu Shouqian was wearing a pair of armor, Shi Yanchao used a powerful bow that killed two people with one stone. The powerful impact immediately blinded Wu Shouqian's eyes and caused him to fall directly from his horse.
Suddenly, the Shu army was in an uproar, and even the rear army collapsed. The two thousand people basically did not join the formation and were directly defeated.
For a time, the army was completely defeated. Several of Wu Shouqian's confidants desperately supported him and retreated to Kuizhou City among the defeated troops.
Guo Rong immediately ordered Shi Yanchao to lead 200 men to chase and kill him, while he led Zhao Kuangyin to turn around and fight again.
It turned out that when Zhao Chongji in Baidi City saw reinforcements coming, he also mobilized 300 elite soldiers in Baidi City, hoping to come and attack the Zhou army.
As a result, Wu Shouqian was defeated before they arrived. Zhao Chongji was frightened and quickly ordered his soldiers to retreat to Baidi City.
It was a pity that the military orders changed continuously in such a short period of time, and the soldiers and generals were even more panicked when they saw that Wu Shouqian was defeated so quickly and miserably.
Zhao Kuangyin had just snatched Wu Shouqian's mount. As soon as he got on the horse, he felt like he was galloping in Hexi.
He galloped ahead on horseback, holding the divine arm bow given by Zhang Gao in his hand. He roared on the horse and shot an arrow from a hundred and fifty paces away.
Zhao Chongji only felt a strong force coming from his right shoulder. He quickly turned his head and saw that under the fluttering flesh, a blood hole was spitting out blood. Then severe pain came. Zhao Chongji screamed and the world was spinning.
It fell down immediately.
Three hundred Shu troops were horrified, and one of them cried out, "We are defeated!" Hundreds of people threw away their weapons, took off their armor, and rushed towards the surrounding areas.
Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin took advantage of the situation to attack fiercely and captured Baidi City in an instant.
Most of the stone cannons deployed by the Shu army along the river were in and around Baidi City. Once Baidi City fell, the navy had no resistance and marched directly to Kuizhou City.