"How is Zhao Kuangyin's progress?" Liu Chengyou's eyes moved eastward, landing on the eastern Sichuan area.
Just like the strategic plan, this time the attack on Shu was divided into two routes: the north and the east. The north road was the main road and the east road was the supplement. Compared with the heavy troops of the Shu army in the north, which were equipped with soldiers, food and equipment, and convenient support, the Shu army in Sichuan was The strength of the east road is much weaker. However, the road marching from the east road is much longer and has many dangers. What can be said to be convenient is the Yangtze River waterway, the transportation of troops, grain, and equipment. It is really much more convenient, but it is also It is necessary to cross the danger of the Three Gorges.
As for the commander-in-chief of the East Route Army, Liu Chengyou chose Zhao Kuangyin, the Marquis of Yu in front of the palace, supplemented by the Forbidden Army generals Liu Guangyi, Zhang Yongde, Dang Jin and Jingbei Prefecture soldiers, plus the Jiangling Navy.
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When the emperor asked, Chai Rong said: "The march on the east route will take place later. According to the latest military report, Zhao Kuangyin sent troops from Zigui on the 18th, leading an army of 20,000 land and sea troops, leaving Badong County and heading west to Kuizhou. There is no new progress at the moment, but since the achievements have been made on the north side, good news on the east road should be in the near future!"
"Tell your ministers about the situation of the Shu army in eastern Sichuan!" Liu Chengyou ordered.
Li Chuyun answered the conversation and introduced: "According to the investigation, the Shu Kingdom has not many troops stationed in the eastern Sichuan area. The total number is less than 40,000. The battle formation has been sparse for a long time and the combat power is low. In recent years, the Shu territory has been unstable and scattered in various places to suppress and guard. At first, , there were only more than 10,000 men stationed in Kuizhou. After our government captured Jinghu, we added ten battalions. Counting the soldiers in villages and towns, the number was less than 20,000.
Kuizhou is the gateway to the east of Sichuan, spanning both sides of the Wu Gorge. If you want to advance westward, you must attack Kuizhou. The Shu army deployed defenses, mainly around Wushan and Fengjie, Wushan as the mainstay, relying on the dangerous points of Wu Gorge, and built pine trees and Sanhui along the coast. , Wushan and other villages, divided their troops to defend.
The governor of Kuizhou in Shu is Pang Fucheng, an old general of Meng Zhixiang. He has military strategies and has been guarding the festival for a long time, but he is over sixty years old. Looking at the Shu army, they are all veteran generals, with an old man in his sixties guarding the house. It can be seen that in the middle of Shu unmanned!
Therefore, I believe that the east road should be worry-free!"
"There is no one in Shu. It's just that since Meng Chang took charge of Sichuan and Shu, he has eliminated arrogant generals, eliminated old ministers, promoted culture and education, but vigorously suppressed military ministers. It is difficult to promote young talents in the army, and it is difficult for strong men to expand. We can only hope that these old and old generals can guard Guan Baotu!" Zhao Pu found an opportunity to express his opinion.
"Pang Fucheng has no reputation. Even if he has military strategies, he can hardly be Zhao Kuangyin's enemy!" Murong Yanzhao commented: "Therefore, when marching from the east, there is only one battle, which is the battle of Kuizhou. If Kuizhou goes down, Then the army on the east route will be able to march straight in and destroy everything. The prefectures and counties in the hinterland of eastern Sichuan will be invincible, and they can send a message to decide. And they will go straight to Chengdu along the water route. If a breakthrough is made on the east route, even if the north route is blocked, Meng and Shu will not be able to escape the destruction. Game!"
"As the ministers said, I can sit firmly in Tokyo and wait for the good news?" Liu Chengyou smiled lightly.
"Your Majesty has been planning for many years and is fully prepared. He knows himself and his enemy. It is the general trend of the king's army to decide Shu. How can he not win?" Fan Zhi responded.
"How did Chengdu react?" Liu Chengyou asked.
"The mountains are high and the roads are far away, and there is traffic jam. No news has spread north yet, but it is expected to be in a hurry!" Zhao Pu said.
After pondering for a while, Liu Chengyou said to Chai Rong: "Today we are launching a large army to attack Shu. The imperial court will focus on the southwest. However, we must not relax on the other fronts. We must be vigilant in front of the garrison troops and horses to avoid laxity!"
"yes!"
...
In Kuizhou, more than forty miles east of Wushan County, on the slightly compact Yangtze River waterway, a huge fleet of ships is moored, stretching for more than ten miles, surging on the river like a dragon.
On the main ship, the flags of "Han" and "Zhao" were flying high in the wind. This was the army commanded by Zhao Kuangyin to attack Shu on the east. In addition to two hundred naval warships of various types during this march, the Han army More than 700 large and small ships were recruited to transport troops, food, and ordnance. Fishermen and sailors who were good at boating in the three states of Jingnan were all recruited to accompany the army.
It was late July, and the autumn wind was stirring the waves. The green mountains on both sides of the bank were covered with mountains and shadows, and the fallen leaves were falling, flowing eastward along the river. Five miles away from the brigade, a fierce water battle was in progress.
Zhao Kuangyin led the army from Zigui and marched steadily. After more than two days, they invaded the territory of Kuizhou. Upon hearing the arrival of the Han division, the Kuizhou navy was ordered to attack. Zhao Kuangyin immediately sent Zhang Yanqing, the commander of the Jiangling navy, to lead two thousand navy troops. Move forward to attack and start the first battle of the westward march.
The terrain of Wu Gorge is actually not conducive to large-scale naval maneuvers, so the confrontation between the two sides quickly evolved into a close-quarter battle. The cliffs sandwiched the banks, and the sound of killing echoed on the river. More than two hundred warships from both sides were intertwined. Together, thousands of sailors fought in a bloody battle, which lasted for nearly two hours before retreating.
The Shu army had more men and ships. In the early days of the battle, there was a stalemate for a while, but as time went by, it began to be suppressed by the Han army. The Jiangling Navy was based on the original Jingnan Navy. After eliminating and reorganizing, replenishing healthy soldiers, and practicing for a long time, most of the sergeants have experienced actual water warfare.
In comparison, the navy of the Shu Army, just like its land division, had little battle experience, lacked training, and did not collapse quickly upon contact. This was all due to the confinement of the Wu Gorge.
On the Han army's side, Zhang Yanqing lived up to Chai Rong's recommendation. He had outstanding commanding skills in water warfare. He personally commanded from the front. The Han army under his command constantly boarded the ship's side to drive away the Shu army. The Han army rushed into the boat, found gaps, and attacked in a small area. Kill them and fight quickly. After two hours, they have captured more than 20 Shu ships and killed thousands of Shu soldiers.
Arrows flew across the sky, swords clashed, blood soaked the clear river red, and several burning ships, emitting black smoke and flashing fire, gradually sank...
In the prime of life, he stood under the general's flag with a serious expression, guarded by several shield soldiers, staring at the battle ahead. Under his feet was a captured Shu army ship, and several flag soldiers around him were ready to fight at any time. Ready to obey orders and wave the flag to command.
"The defeat of the Shu army has been determined!" His stern eyes surveyed the fighting situation in front, his serious face flashed with joy, and he said loudly: "Send the order, the front team will continue to strengthen the attack and completely defeat the Shu army, the squadron Provide cover and support, and the rear team will clear out and collect prisoners!"
"Yes!" The command flag beside him waved quickly and repeatedly.
"Although it is difficult to deploy formations here, it is not conducive to encirclement and annihilation. The Shu army wants to evacuate, but it is not that easy! Congratulations, general, this battle must be a complete victory!" Beside Zhang Yanqing, a navy commander said with a smile.
Seeing that the victory was decided, Zhang Yanqing relaxed a little and said easily: "There are less than four thousand naval forces in Kuizhou. This time, they are all here, just in time to annihilate them in one fell swoop. With no naval forces to rely on, our army can calmly blockade both sides of the strait."
, eradicate the military strongholds along the coast! Send people to show victory to the commander-in-chief of Zhao!"
"yes!"
The center of the Han army stood on the flagship and heard the sound of fighting coming from the front. Zhao Kuangyin's face looked calm and calm, not moving at all. A pair of tiger eyes revealed a smug mood.
After the Huainan War, Zhao Kuangyin had not led the army on the battlefield for more than five years. During these years, he had been serving in Tokyo as a senior general of the Dianqian Division. Although he inspected border affairs on behalf of Tian twice,
It can be said that he was deeply trusted by the emperor, but at the same time, his career also entered a stable period.
For Zhao Kuangyin, he was naturally dissatisfied, and if he wanted to break the shackles, he could only achieve military exploits, and only on the battlefield, just like during the conquest of Huaihe, he had achieved fame through successive military exploits.
Although Zhao Kuangyin had the experience of leading an army alone and fighting independently back then, this time, as the commander-in-chief of an army, it was the first time he took charge of matters.
From the moment he was ordered to go south to unify the army, Zhao Kuangyin made up his mind to establish meritorious deeds and leave his own mark in the process of the Han's unification of the world. Even now, Zhao Kuangyin is only in his early thirties, but for him, there is always a sense of belonging.
The feeling of “no time waits for me”.
The fighting was going on in front, but Zhao Kuangyin's attention seemed not to be on top. Instead, he was observing both sides of the river gorge and sighed slightly: "The closer you get to Wu Gorge, the more dangerous the terrain becomes!"
"In the seven hundred miles from the Three Gorges, there are mountains on both sides of the river, with no gaps, and heavy rocks and mountains, hiding the sky and blocking out the sun. It never stops at midnight, and there is no bright moon..."
As an old brother who worked hard with Zhao Kuangyin in Huainan, Dang Jin was following him at this time, listening to his murmur, and couldn't help but curiously asked: "What are Du Shuai thinking about? Are you making a fuss?"
Seeing his carefree look, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but feel happy and said: "I have advised you on weekdays to read more and become more sensible. What I read is taken from Li Daoyuan's "Shui Jing·Jiang Shui Zhu", which refers to the Three Gorges
The geographical situation and water situation, if it is what it says, there are mountains stacked on top of each other, blocking out the sky and the sun, are actually an obstacle to my advance. Not far ahead is the Wuxia Mountain, which is the first obstacle we need to overcome, and it is also the most important one.
!”
After listening to what he said, Dang Jin nodded subconsciously and said: "No matter what obstacles he has, the army is here, just crush it!"
"Brother Dang is still as heroic and courageous as ever!" Zhao Kuangyin smiled, admiring Dang Jin's spirit.
"For these years, I have been in the army, except for training, and doing rotations. It has been too boring. This time, the commander-in-chief takes me with him, and I will definitely kill the enemy and make achievements in return!" Dang Jin said.
Hearing what he said, Zhao Kuangyin felt happy in his heart, but he still shook his head: "What you said is wrong! Killing the enemy and making meritorious deeds is for the great man, for His Majesty, not for me!"
Seeing his lesson, Dang Jin chuckled: "Yes!"
"The killing sound ahead has weakened!" Dang Jin reminded with his forward finger.
Listening carefully, sure enough, the originally noisy shouts of killing were almost inaudible. Zhao Kuangyin said calmly: "It seems that Zhang Yanqing has made a contribution!"