On June 12, the second year of Yuanzhen in the Tang Dynasty, the Tang army surrounded Chengxiu.
Chengxiu is located at the east foot of Funiu Mountain, more than a hundred miles away from Luoyang in the north. If you don't take the Hulao road, this is the only way to go from the Huaihe River to Luoyang.
Is it important? Of course it is. In terms of geographical location, it can also be regarded as the gateway to Luoyang.
But Luoyang has been called the place of the Four Wars since ancient times. This is no exaggeration at all. It is located in the heart of the Central Plains. Except for the Hulao in the east, the danger of the Yellow River in the north can only be said to be average.
No matter from the Sanqin land in the west or the Lianghuai River in the south, there is almost no danger to defend.
Chengxiu took over the project of connecting Jianghuai River to Luoyang without any embarrassment. At that time, Yang Guang went crazy to build the canal highway, and the construction of Tongji Canal and Yongji Canal started.
Therefore, the water transport from Lianghuai to Luoyang did not have to go through the road, but could be reached by water transport, which indeed made the transportation between the north and the south more convenient, so Luoyang became more and more prosperous.
Chengxiu's position became increasingly embarrassing, but now that Jiangdu was occupied by Du Fuwei, Qiu He's east-route army could only go northward by land, and Chengxiu became the last stop from Jiangzhou to Luoyang.
Chengxiu is sandwiched between Songshan Mountain and Funiu Mountain. It has higher terrain and many hills and water systems. It has never been a battleground for military strategists, but now Xiangcheng County is like a thin neck, stuck between the north and the south.
Whether coming from Nanyang or Jiangzhou, they have to pass through this place. The Tang army grabbed it and pinched it hard, thus cutting off the Luoyang Liang army's return route.
But similarly, the Tang Army will also be threatened by the Liang Army from Nanyang and Luoyang, and even the Xia Army.
It wasn't so complicated when Wang Shichong and Li Mi were entangled. Whoever got Luoyang would win. It didn't matter how much territory you occupied outside. As long as Luoyang didn't win, you wouldn't have a firm foothold in Henan, let alone any legitimacy.
Nowadays, everything has changed. No matter the Tang army, the Liang army, or the Xia army, Luoyang is no longer the ultimate war goal. Especially the Tang army, their main goal is to severely damage the Liang army in Henan.
In fact, only a small part of the strategy formulated by Tang Jun was realized at this time. Liang Jun stuck his head into Henan, but his body remained outside.
Therefore, for Tang Jun, it is not without any risks.
This is also the charm of war. Before the result is seen, anything can happen. Although the opponents have high or low IQs, they are all living people, and unexpected situations can happen at any time.
Those who think they have a chance to win may be knocked to the ground in the next moment, while some people fight with their last legs and still survive in death.
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The Chengxiu garrison was not that small, with seven or eight thousand men. It was not the standing army of the Liang army, but an army of government soldiers, still maintaining the organization of the former Sui Dynasty.
They were responsible for escorting grain and grass to Luoyang. Nearly half of them were restricted by the cavalry of the Tang Army. They originally planned to wait until more people gathered, or when the Luoyang army came to help, then transport the stranded grain and grass to Luoyang.
But the food teams disappeared one after another, which made them realize that the situation was getting worse. How many people would be needed to compete with so many cavalry on the flat ground?
When the Tang army surrounded Chengxiu, Liang Jun had no other plans but to defend the city.
The morale of the Liang army was not bad. Even though they were afraid of the Tang army's momentum and did not dare to go out of the city to compete with the Tang army, they had no intention of surrendering without a fight.
The Tang army arrived a little late, so they did not rush to attack the city. Instead, they set up a simple camp outside Chengxiu City. According to the custom of war, they sent people out to shout for Liang Jun to surrender quickly.
Liang Jun was very courageous and ignored it. They also wanted to spread the news to Luoyang that the Tang army was surrounding Chengxiu. Unfortunately, layers of obstacles had been set up between Chengxiu and Luoyang, and it would not be that easy to get past it.
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In the evening, the Tang Army's army.
Bu Qun was pacing back and forth in the Chinese army tent, feeling very bad.
Yuchi Gong looked at him under the dim light, a little funny. From time to time, military generals came in to ask for orders, but Yuchi dismissed them with a few words.
"There are more mountains than expected. The Nanyang side is said to be flatter, but it is surrounded by mountains on three sides. There is no place for the cavalry to enter. Although Zhou Faming has no courage, he has a good vision and has chosen a good place..."
In fact, the cavalry stopped after entering Xiangcheng County. The news returned by the scouts was not optimistic. The mountains and terrain were much more severe than previously imagined.
To the west, Xiong'er Mountain and Funiu Mountain lie across it, and they are continuous. The main mountain is gradually slowing down, but it has spread into densely packed hilly areas. No matter how tough the cavalry is, it is impossible to exert its power in such a place.
Yuchi Gong did not laugh at him, "I told you a long time ago that we will wait until some time before launching troops. How could Zhou Faming hide in Nanyang at that time? Even if he could calm down and not compete with Qiu He for credit,
But Xiao Mian must urge him to lead his army to Luoyang.
But you just don’t listen… Now we have to work hard to reach far away, and the food road is also stretched, why do you think we are doing it?”
Bu Qun rolled his eyelids and replied: "This is not what the commander of the first army said. Why didn't you say it when the troops were mobilized, but now you come to complain? Do you want to call them all to comment?"
The two of them had a habitual quarrel, but they both controlled their tempers and did not get angry. In fact, both of them understood that the army had reached a point where it could no longer move.
The generals could no longer restrain themselves. Their subordinates and even the soldiers were impatient. In April, they tried to force Yuchi Gong to send troops, but they were reluctantly suppressed.
It's June now, and Liang Jun has also entered Henan. If they don't send troops again, a flurry of memorials will be sent from Tongguan and Hongnong to Chang'an. Even if the emperor understands and agrees with their strategy, he will not make it easy for them, because it is almost the same.
It means that they have lost control of the army.
So it's pointless for them to complain to each other now, and they don't even dare to let people hear it, which will make them the laughingstock of the military.
Yu Chigong snorted at this time, "It's not that I'm complaining... You also saw that before Zhou Faming left Nanyang, he was like a turtle huddled in its shell. We have to go over and break it bit by bit. It will cost a lot of money."
A lot of work.
It’s hard for the cavalry to be used there, so in my opinion, you shouldn’t go and stay here to trap Qiu He. The merits are still considerable..."
Bu Qun ignored the black guy and thought aggrievedly that he had been staying in Hongnong for two years. At that time, the Supreme Leader told him to be patient and wait until Henan was regained before they had the opportunity to make meritorious deeds.
Now, the main attack seems to have nothing to do with him, but this gangster has taken the lead. Where can you find the reason?
Thinking of this, I felt even sadder... So I ignored Yuchi Gong, went out and left with my followers.
Yuchi Gong looked at his back and smiled proudly. He had been fighting with Bu Qun for many years, and he knew Bu Qun's character very well. Looking at his depressed look, you knew that he had no confidence to compete.
Early the next morning, the army had breakfast and began to line up in Chengxiu City amidst the long and desolate sound of trumpets.
The wall of Chengxiu City is not high, and it does not require high-end siege equipment. Even the cavalry can actually try to attack it, and the infantry does not need to make too many preparations.
It's enough to just build some ladders to climb the city and make a few bumps. However, it will take some time to fill in the moat because it is located on the edge of Ru River.
Still trying to persuade them to surrender first, but to no avail. Then, under the orders of the officers, the soldiers carried earth bags and moved forward against the wooden rafts. When they reached a certain distance, the people on the city shot arrows, and many of them fell on the wooden rafts.
Above, occasionally someone would be hit by an arrow and fall to the ground.
This can be said to be the first real confrontation between Tang Jun and Liang Jun, including Mianchi and Yiyang.
In one morning, the Tang army filled up Chengxiu's moat at the cost of more than 30 casualties, and began to enter the real siege stage.
The flags of Yuchi Gong, Bu Qun, Chen Yuan, Yuchi Kai, Zhang Shigui, Zhao Shixun and others were all moving forward. This was not to boost morale, they all wanted to observe Liang Jun's performance.
What made their eyes almost fall to the ground was that they were attacking the city from two sides. The Tang army followed the established siege rhythm and tried it first, but it almost made people's jaws drop. In the first wave of attack, the Tang army had already climbed onto the city.
He watched the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty avoid the rain of arrows, watched them go to the bottom of the city, watched them put up ladders, watched them climb up to the top of the city, watched them kill Liang Jun like herding sheep.
, and watching... the city gate opened...
Even though they knew that the defenders of the city were not elite Liang troops, it still made the generals of the Tang army feel imaginary. Chengxiu, who was garrisoned by seven or eight thousand men, fell without even being able to defend the first wave of offensives.
Almost all the generals of the Tang Army had only one thought: Is this what the hell is called siege?
It can be said that both armies, which had not had much contact with each other, misunderstood the enemy. Liang Jun was too optimistic, thought he was too strong, and underestimated the strength of his opponent.
The Tang Army was just the opposite. Subconsciously, they had already treated Xiao Mian as Li Yuan, so they seriously overestimated Liang Jun's combat effectiveness.
The Guanxi army has always been known to dare to fight, and they certainly live up to their reputation for being tough. However, when comparing Liang Jun to the Guanxi army, there is no comparison.
The Southern Army was good at water warfare, and its elite troops could defend the city fairly well, but most of them were no match for the Northerners in field battles.
Like the Tang army, which fought its way out of the troubled times, and the army was full of elite troops, the scene presented when attacking Chengxiu was actually not surprising.
Someone opened the city gate on the south side and tried to jump into Ru River to escape, but was driven back by the cavalry.
The Tang army slowly entered the city and captured more than 7,000 people. The Tang army and Liang army only lost more than 100 people in total. After hearing the report from his subordinates, Yuchi Gong fell into silence for a long time.
If Liang Jun is like this... then it doesn't seem like it will take long to get from Nanyang to Xiangyang and then to Jinling, right?
Of course, he quickly gave up this unrealistic idea. A group of food transport soldiers cannot be compared with a regular army. If you underestimate the enemy, you will suffer a big loss...
(I checked some terrain information and changed it from the previous chapter)
This chapter has been completed!