Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Wind Rises from South County
The Sui army's grain ship was slowly forced to stop. Lu Zushang was extremely excited. He waved his halberd and ordered: "Get aboard and arrest people!"
At this time, the deputy general Liu Fangzhi admonished him in a low voice: "General Lu, why bother looking for trouble for himself? If you capture the Sui army's grain ship, you will inevitably be retaliated by the Sui army, and Nanjun will be in trouble."
Lu Zushang was furious and glared at Liu Fangzhi fiercely, "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will sacrifice your head to the flag!"
Liu Fangzhi is about thirty years old. He is also a general of Xiaoliang. He is a native of Jiangling. He has been in the army for more than ten years and has deep experience in the Jingxiang area. He has always been dissatisfied with the young Lu Zushang riding on his head. Today is a good word to persuade him.
, but unexpectedly Lu Zushang threatened to kill him.
Liu Fangzhi was also irritated. He took two steps back and glared at Lu Zushang. Lu Zushang snorted, pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and said coldly: "Are you trying to indulge the enemy?"
Liu Fangzhi's face turned red and white. He knew that he was in the wrong, and he was afraid that if he said another word, Lu Zushang would take the opportunity to kill him. He had no choice but to swallow it, bowed and said: "I don't dare to do this because of my humble position!"
"Hmph! I'm sorry you don't dare."
Lu Zushang turned his eyes back to the Sui ship and found that the Sui ship was sailing towards the south bank. He couldn't help but shouted: "Stop the fleet and don't allow them to dock!"
Hundreds of warships sailed towards the Sui army's grain ship together, firing arrows at the Sui army's fleet.
There were a thousand Sui soldiers guarding the Sui army grain ships, with an average of ten soldiers per ship. The leader was named Yuan Song, who was also an experienced veteran. He was on the first large ship.
When he heard that there was a Tang army intercepting ahead, he immediately ordered the fleet to dock, lit a fire on the mast, and issued a warning to the ships behind.
About twenty miles from the bow to the stern of more than a hundred grain-carrying ships, in the darkness, a ball of fire was extremely clear on the river. This was the warning signal sent by the leading ship in front. The ships behind them moved towards the shore one after another.
This chapter: Xiongba (Hand Fight)
They had a smooth journey and did not use the eagle. But at this critical moment, Yuan Song found the eagle cage. In the darkness, the eagle's eyes flashed with a sharp cold light. When Yuan Song opened the iron cage, he was caught.
The eagle's beak pecked hard, and blood immediately flowed from the back of his hand.
Yuan Song could no longer care about the bloodshed. He grabbed the letter eagle, stuffed a roll of paper into the mailbox on the eagle's leg, and rushed out of the cabin. He raised his hand and threw the letter eagle into the sky. The letter eagle spread its wings and soared.
Circle a few times and fly towards the east.
Yuan Song was relieved. At this time, the river was full of shouts of killing. The ships behind them were approaching the south bank one after another, while the dozens of large ships in front were intercepted by Tang army ships and could not dock.
Countless Sui soldiers simply jumped into the water and swam to the south bank a mile away. Tang soldiers rushed to the bow of the boat and fired arrows, and dense arrows were fired at the Sui soldiers in the river.
Yuan Song ran towards the stern of the ship, but the ship shook violently. He staggered and almost fell. The bow of the ship was hit by a Tang army warship. Dozens of Tang soldiers rushed onto the bow ship, waving their horizontal swords and shouting: "
Everyone kneel down!"
The ship's boss and more than a dozen crew members were so frightened that they knelt down. A Tang general discovered Yuan Song, pointed at him and shouted: "Catch him!"
More than a dozen soldiers of the Tang Army rushed towards us with swords. Yuan Song had already rushed to the stern of the boat, picked up a piece of driftwood and jumped into the river...
........
The news that the Tang Army's navy attacked the Sui Army's grain transport ship in the Jiangling section spread to Xiangyang and Jiangxia at a fast speed. Although in this incident, the Sui Army lost 20,000 shi of grain and 200,000 dans of hay, as well as nearly 100,000 pounds of hay.
Three hundred Sui soldiers were captured or killed, and the losses were not very heavy.
But in Jingxiang, where the clouds of war were thick, this incident was like a spark that burst into a gasoline barrel, leading the war in Jingxiang to Jiangling.
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It was the fifth day after Yang Yuanqing entered Jiangxia City. Tens of thousands of civilians had just unloaded the food and supplies carried by 500 ships. Yang Yuanqing had appointed a new governor. Chang Shi and other Jiangxia officials sent Wei Yunqi to the city.
He was freed from the heavy government affairs and concentrated on military affairs. More than a hundred people from the county, Yuanyang County and other local officials, from the prefect to the county magistrate, came to see the King of Chu.
In the government office of Jiangxia City, Yang Yuanqing was meeting with Xiao Yanqi, the governor of Changsha County, and Han Lu, the chief official of Changsha County. Xiao Yanqi also had a relationship with Yang Yuanqing in Dunhuang. He was the younger brother of Xiao Yinyin, the head of the Xiao family in Dunhuang, and also Yang Yuanqing.
The uncle of his confidant Xiao Jing was appointed as the prefect of Changsha County by Xiao Mian after he returned to Jiangling from Dunhuang.
After the Tang Dynasty captured Jingxiang, it was also out of consideration for stabilizing the south. Except for the reappointment of officials in a few core counties, officials in the surrounding counties and counties were not replaced. What the Tang Dynasty did not expect was that when the Sui army just arrived in Jiangxia, these officials
So they rushed to express their allegiance.
"Thank you, Your Highness. My sister has not been in good health in recent months and rarely goes out. However, the Xiao family has developed rapidly and is already the most famous family in Jiangling. I am very willing to serve Your Highness."
Yang Yuanqing laughed, "The Xiao family of Dunhuang is a famous family with meritorious service in the Sui Dynasty. Among the eighteen scribes I took away from Dunhuang, there were three children of the Xiao family. Now they are the backbone of the Sui Dynasty. I have always been very grateful to the head of the Xiao family.
After I capture Gangneung, I will definitely visit you and thank my old friend."
Xiao Yanqi was moved by Yang Yuanqing's attention, but he understood that there was something behind Yang Yuanqing's words. He was probably asking the Xiao family to serve in the attack on Jiangling. He quickly bowed and said: "The Xiao family will do their best to help His Highness."
Yang Yuanqing saw that he was quite alert, so he smiled and nodded, turned to Changshi Han Lu, and asked, "What do Han Changshi think?"
Han Lu was a native of Changsha County. He seemed a little reserved. He said nothing after entering the room. When Yang Yuanqing asked him, he was so nervous that he stammered: "I'm a humble official... I don't have any ideas."
Seeing that he was quite nervous, Yang Yuanqing smiled and said, "I believe Han Changshi must be good at writing. I am looking forward to reading the memorial written by Han Changshi so that I can understand the customs and customs of Changsha."
Han Lu was grateful in his heart and said quickly: "I must write a memorandum for my humble position and send it to you as soon as possible."
Yang Yuanqing wanted to ask about the situation in Changsha County again. At this moment, there was a report outside the door, "Your Highness, there is military information!"
Yang Yuanqing smiled and nodded to the two of them, stood up and walked to the door. A soldier handed the eagle letter to Yang Yuanqing. Yang Yuanqing opened the scroll and read it again, and his face suddenly darkened.
.......
In the meeting hall, Xie Yingdeng and Lai Hong lowered their heads and stood in front of Yang Yuanqing without daring to say a word. This was Yang Yuanqing's first visit to Jiangxia and he was angry.
"Is this what you do?"
Yang Yuanqing slapped the table and angrily scolded the two of them: "You know clearly that there is a navy of the Tang Army in Jiangling County, but you only sent a thousand people to escort the fleet. What do you think? Isn't this sending a sheep into the tiger's mouth?"
Xie Yingdeng and Lai Hong were so frightened that they trembled. Xie Yingden explained in a low voice: "Because we are just sending supplies, we don't want to occupy too many troops. We are afraid that Jiangxia will not have enough troops. Moreover, we only have 300 warships. We also need to consider transporting troops across the river. We must
I wanted to leave two hundred large ships, and the other captain told me that I could pass through Jiangling at night without being discovered, so I believed him."
"Believe him?"
Yang Yuanqing sneered repeatedly: "You, a dignified general manager of the Jiangnan West Road, General Youwuwei, actually believe the words of a boatman, and you are a general in hundreds of battles!"
Xie Yingdeng knelt down on one knee and said, "I know my crime due to my humble position, and I am willing to take all responsibilities."
Lai Hong also knelt down on one knee and apologized: "Even with my humble position, I am responsible for this matter. Please punish me, Your Highness!"
At this time, Wei Yunqi next to him persuaded Yang Yuanqing: "Your Highness, they do have their own difficulties. They dare not spread their forces too far and can only use dangerous tactics. I heard that the Tang army also sent an additional 70,000 troops to Xiangyang. The Tang army in Xiangyang has reached 15.
With tens of thousands of people, General Xie dare not act rashly at this time."
At this time, Yang Yuanqing remembered Li Shimin's battle in the Central Plains. Since he did not have the right to mobilize troops, he was commanded by Li Yuan of Chang'an like a puppet. Xie Yingdeng should be the same now. Although he gave Wei Yunqi a certain amount of power, he did not dare to
Having made such an important decision, Yang Yuanqing's anger subsided a bit when he thought of this, and he waved his hand, "Get up!"
Yang Yuanqing walked a few steps with his hands behind his back. He looked back at Xie Yingdeng and asked him: "If you have the right to mobilize troops, what are you going to do?"
Xie Yingdeng said solemnly: "The humble post will transfer Du Fuwei's troops to Jiangxia County. Then we will concentrate our forces to sweep away the Jingxiang ships so that we have an absolute advantage on the water. Then we will replace the Yiling County cavalry with ordinary soldiers and use
The superiority of water surface and cavalry will lead to a decisive battle with the Tang army."
Yang Yuanqing nodded slowly and said to Wei Yunqi: "Send the order! Let Du Fuwei's army withdraw southward from Jiangxia County immediately."
Wei Yunqing understood what Yang Yuanqing meant. He not only accepted Xie Yingdeng's suggestion, but also withdrew the Sui army to the south of the Yangtze River and used the water advantage to launch an attack on the Tang army.
He immediately stood up and saluted and said: "I humbly obey my orders!"
.......
Three days later, groups of Sui troops withdrew from Yong'an County to the south, crossed the Yangtze River by boat, and concentrated on Jiangxia. At the same time, 500 Sui ships fully loaded with 30,000 Sui infantry and 10,000 cavalry left Jiangxia County.
Heading towards Jiangling City in Nanjun.
.......
Just two days after the Jiangling grain ship incident, Xiangyang City also received an urgent report from Lu Zushang. Li Xiaogong also realized that the grain ship incident was likely to attract the Sui Dynasty army, and he immediately sent Chai Shao to lead an army of 50,000 to the south for support.
Gangneung City.
In the midst of the storm in Jiangling City, a war between the Sui and Tang dynasties triggered by the Sui army's grain ship incident was about to break out in Jiangling City, thus kicking off the fight between the Sui and Tang dynasties for Jingxiang.