Xiakou City in the Tang Dynasty (today's Snake Mountain in Wuhan City, Hubei Province) was located on the opposite bank of Jiangcheng, that is, on the north bank of the Yangtze River. It was built during the Three Kingdoms period and was built by Soochow.
During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, floods occurred in the lower reaches of the Han River for many years, and the dams breached many times, causing the Han River to change its course. Therefore, Xiakou City after the Ming Dynasty was changed to the south bank of the Yangtze River on the map.
Xiakou City is located in a hilly area. It is high up and has a long view. You can directly see the movement on the other side, so it is called the "Wangjie Stone" of Jiangxia.
Since Xiakou City was 57 feet long in the north and south respectively, it could only accommodate 5,000 soldiers, and it had no support behind the river. Therefore, it was abandoned by the Southern Tang army before the war started and became the main camp of the Northern Tang's southern expedition.
The West Route Army and the Middle Route Army met in Xiakou. Two hundred thousand troops were stationed along the coast of Jiangbei. There were endless camps. Looking down from the sky, the tents were like white dots, densely packed all over the land.
Li Siye, the commander-in-chief of the West Route Army, and Duan Xiushi, the deputy general, were at the Jiangkou camp at this time, discussing the next war arrangements with Guo Ziyi, the commander-in-chief of the Central Route Army.
Li Siye was seriously injured in the Battle of Fangshan. Fortunately, he was in excellent physical condition. Although his wounds were not fully healed, he was able to move freely.
After he walked into the tent and bowed in ceremony, the first thing he asked Guo Ziyi was: "When will troops be sent to attack Jiangcheng?"
As the deputy marshal of the world's troops appointed by the imperial court, Guo Ziyi was responsible for commanding the battle. Hearing Li Siye's question and knowing the latter's temper, he pointed to the map and said: "Jiang City is guarded by the natural dangers of the Yangtze River. Our army wants to cross the river.
To attack a city, the first step is to choose a location on the other side as a front camp."
Li Siye and Duan Xiushi looked at the map and saw Guo Ziyi's hand pointing to a ferry along the river city called Yaolu Ferry.
This ferry was originally used to transport people and goods between Xiakou and Jiangcheng.
Around the crossing, the river speed is relatively gentle, and there are few reefs and whirlpools.
However, the Southern Tang Dynasty also knew the importance of this crossing and set up camps, archery towers, wooden walls, horses, traps, etc. in the area of Yaolu Crossing.
Guo Ziyi: "The general Yan Dafu under Lai Qi is responsible for the defense of Yaoludu. This man has fought countless battles with the Yan Kingdom and is an experienced veteran."
Duan Xiushi asked: "Apart from the oar crossing, are there other places along the river city where we can land?"
Guo Xi on the side said: "Actually, there are some. For example, there is a beach on the north bank of Jiangcheng where ships can dock. However, the road there is difficult and the rocks are dense. The landing speed is very slow, and it is not conducive to the preparation of military forces."
Duan Xiushi: "So it seems that the rocking oar crossing is the best choice for our army to land on the south bank?"
Guo Xi nodded.
Li Siye: "Since there is only one choice, what are you waiting for? The Western Route Army has brought a lot of ships, and there are many shipyards on the north coast, so they can be collected for requisition. In short, we must first lay down the oar crossing, and then attack Jiangcheng."
Hearing this, Guo Ziyi stroked his beard and nodded.
On the second day, the army of the Northern Tang Dynasty selected five thousand soldiers who were proficient in water skills to form a forward army. They took sterns and fighting ships and set off from Xiakou to Yaolu Ferry.
When the ship arrived at a river bend not far from the ferry, war drums suddenly sounded in the oar crossing camp. The trebuchets and crossbows in the Nantang camp were aimed at the river and began wave after wave of attacks.
The soldiers of the Northern Tang Dynasty on board the ship hid under the netting while loudly urging the ship to speed up.
On the middle level of the cabin, there are side gun ports. The range of medium-sized long guns can reach 900 meters. Dozens of them aimed at the camp and bombarded them wildly. The defenders in the Nantang camp suffered heavy casualties in a short time.
On the high platform in Xiakou City, Li Siye saw that the Northern Tang army had the upper hand and would soon arrive at the ferry. He laughed and said to Duan Xiushi: "Jiangnan is not good at land warfare. Now they have abandoned the navy and want to fight us at the ferry."
, is there any reason to be invincible?”
Before Duan Xiushi could speak, he suddenly saw soldiers from the Southern Tang Dynasty lifting off the reed camouflage on the shore at the oar ferry, revealing a speedboat below. A team of twenty people rode one boat together and quickly entered through the waterway in the camp.
The river bend.
Since the ships of the Northern Tang Dynasty were large and close to the ferry, it was inconvenient to turn and observe. Therefore, the clippers of the Southern Tang navy could use their compactness and flexibility to quickly sail into the attack of the Northern Tang fleet during close combat.
In the blind spot, directly close to the ship's side hatch.
I saw the soldiers of the Southern Tang Dynasty on the small boat lighting the fire oil cans they carried and throwing them into the muzzles or oars of the Southern Tang ships.
Caught off guard, the interiors of several large ships suddenly burst into flames. One of them even ignited the gunpowder barrel behind the muzzle, causing an earth-shattering explosion.
The army of the Northern Tang Dynasty was surrounded by dangers for more than ten seconds, and considerable chaos began to appear in the army.
After discovering this situation, the general in command of the Northern Tang Army quickly issued a semaphore and asked the ships to carry out approaching attacks to destroy the approaching small speedboats.
There are shooting poles on the sterns and fighting ships. The principle is similar to that of a crossbow. After accumulating momentum, it can hit the approaching ship with great force. It is very effective against this kind of Southern Tang fast ship.
In addition, the artillerymen responsible for bombardment on the middle level of Beitang's ships withdrew the medium-sized long guns into the retreat openings, pushed the tiger squatting guns to the offensive position, and began to use cannonballs to attack the approaching small boats.
Along with the racket attack and shotgun scattering, dozens of clippers in the Southern Tang Dynasty were almost completely destroyed.
Most of the more than a thousand soldiers of the Southern Tang Dynasty who were responsible for the attack died on the river. Many of the few hundred remaining soldiers were killed by random arrows, and only a few made it ashore alive.
Seeing this scene, Guo Ziyi said: "Our ships have long guns. If there is a water battle on the river, the Puppet Tang Navy knows that there is no chance of winning. The only way is to put our ships near the river bend."
location, and then use the small boats that have been ambushed in advance to conduct a surprise close attack."
Duan Xiushi nodded and said: "Those people in Jiangnan have studied our army's tactics and started to learn how to prescribe the right medicine."
Seeing that the army had arrived at the shore and started forming up, Guo Ziyi said: "Lai Ai has always been known as a good fighter. His generals have fought many battles with puppet Yan, pirates and Lingman.
, regardless of fighting will or experience, looking at the entire Jiangnan, he is one of the best."
Duan Xiushi nodded and said: "Li Yu, the puppet emperor of Jiangnan, before the war started, he led Qu'a Army, Junshan Army, Wangting Army, Sui'an Army... almost all the veterans in the country who had experienced the war, a total of more than 70,000 people, all of them
They were transferred to Lai Gui's command. They also sent Xue Nanyang, Mu Fan, Yan Dafu, He Feng and other generals. If Shi Siming's 30,000 troops are added to this, then all the elite soldiers in Jiangnan are gathered together.
On the front line of Jiangxia."
While he was talking, the faint sounds of fighting could be heard from the Yaodu Camp on the other side of the river.
The troops of the Northern Tang Dynasty completed their landing and began to attack the positions of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
This chapter has been completed!