"Of course there is no problem in attacking the enemy's main camp in one go," Xu Huai sat behind a simple wooden case and explained to General Yu Gong, "But if the casualties are not controlled well, even if the enemies on the west bank can be completely annihilated, it will be difficult to attack them again.
The enemy on the east coast continues to fight, so we will not take it..."
Yu Gong, Ling Jian and even Zhang Xin, they all still lack long-term strategic vision.
In the night battle, they captured two villages in a row with fewer victories and more. Their confidence grew, and they naturally hoped to go all out and completely defeat the enemies on the west bank before taking a rest.
Xu Huai could understand their mood, but they had not thought about the world situation and had not been relieved by last night's victory. They were still walking on thin ice in Taiyue Mountain at this time.
How many men are there now in the Tomb Guarding Army? If five or six hundred people were killed or injured in a fierce battle, how strong can it be in sustained combat capabilities? Once it is over-consumed, even if the Tomb Guarding Army can recruit enough new soldiers from Taiyue Mountain, it will still need three or four
It took months of training to get back on the battlefield.
The problem is that the window period that the mausoleum guarding army can seize in Taiyue Mountain at this time may only be three or four months.
The troops guarding the mausoleum must not take the risk of losing their ability to continue fighting by storming the enemy's main camp on the west bank.
Last night's victory in the battle for the ferry greatly boosted the morale of Qinshui soldiers and civilians, and the news would quickly spread to Jiang, Pu and other states west of Taiyue Mountain.
What they want to do is not only directly integrate the Qinshui garrison into the mausoleum garrison army, but also recruit rural soldiers and village warriors from the western foothills of Taiyue Mountain and Jiang, Pu and other prefectures on a large scale to expand the size of the mausoleum garrison army.
Even if it is possible for the enemy to raise enough boats from the lower reaches of the Qinshui River to pick up the enemies on the west bank, causing them to miss the opportunity to further expand their results, such results are not worth mentioning in the face of the precarious situation in Vietnam.
.
Xu Huaidai had to patiently explain to Yu Gong, Ling Jian and others. At this time, the guards came in and reported that Deng Gui accompanied Qinshui County Magistrate Zhong Yingqiu and led the county prime minister, county lieutenant, chief registrar and other officials and gentry representatives to greet King Jing.
Zhao Tuan entered the city.
Although the enemy army still has 3,000 soldiers on the west bank, they all huddled in the camp between the ferry and Qinshui City and did not dare to move; and the river valleys outside the enemy camp on the west bank were all under the control of the Yiqi Battalion.
At this time, the navy and civilians entered and exited from the west city gate on a large scale, and there was no big obstacle.
The generals had just returned to the camp and had not had time to have a hot meal. King Jing Zhao Tuan first asked Zhong Yingqiu and others to be invited into the camp to talk, instead of rushing into the city.
After the victory in the night battle, Zhong Yingqiu and other Qinshui officials were in a happy mood and their morale was boosted. They walked into the camp to congratulate King Jing Zhao Tuan first. When they sat down, they were most concerned about how to fight next.
King Jing Zhao Tuan happened to be looking for Zhong Yingqiu and others to discuss the construction of the west bank camp and the expansion of the mausoleum guarding army:
"We captured two forts in a row during the night battle, but the enemies on the west bank still couldn't be wiped out, and a large number of enemy reinforcements came from the east bank. Next, in addition to the two remaining camps to the west and southwest of the ferry, we will build two more camps to limit the
In addition to the enemy troops, the tomb-defending army also needs to recruit a group of brave men from Qinshui to make up for the shortage of troops, and the food for the men and horses also needs to be collected from Qinshui as soon as possible..."
Qinshui officials and gentry were filled with excitement that the siege had been solved. They thought that the imperial court would continue to send reinforcements and food supplies until the captive soldiers were completely driven out of Hedong. However, Qinshui troops may not be needed in the future.
Produce food.
For a while, many people fell silent.
Zhong Yingqiu, the magistrate of Qinshui County, had a clearer understanding of the seriousness of the situation. Seeing that everyone was silent in front of King Jing Zhao Tuan, he said unhappily:
“If His Highness hadn’t personally led troops and horses to help, Qin
The water overturn is just a matter of time. You have the opportunity to sit in front of His Highness and chat and laugh. What else are you unhappy about? In addition, the Hulu are fierce and stubborn, and they cannot be eliminated in one or two victories. Qinshui
The crisis has only been slightly alleviated for now, so do you think you can disarm and stop your troops now and enjoy your family relationship?"
Zhong Yingqiu had served in Qinshui for many years and was an honest and upright official. During the invasion of the south by the Red Husbands, he decisively organized the county soldiers and townships to bravely defend the city. Not only was his reputation unmatched, but he was also extremely familiar with the local area.
At this time, seeing Zhong Yingqiu's strong support, King Jing Zhao Tuan was not worried about recruiting troops and food from Qinshui.
After the generals had filled their stomachs early, Zhang Xin, Qiao Jien, Zhong Yingqiu and others accompanied King Jing Zhao Tuan into Qinshui City.
Xu Huai did not enter the city with King Jing and others.
The generals of the Qinshui garrison and the garrison garrison all returned to camp to rest and recuperate after a night of fierce fighting. The Yiqi battalion was now responsible for guarding and suppressing the enemy's west bank camp and the ferry. He was worried and wanted to stay outside the city and keep an eye on it personally.
With.
After sending King Jing Zhao Tuan and others away, Xu Huai, surrounded by Niu Er, Wang Zhang, Shi Hu and others, rode his horse to the bank of Qinshui River to observe the enemy's situation.
At that time, there were almost 4,000 enemy reinforcements from the east bank, but they had no chance to cross the Qinshui River at this time. They were sending a large number of men to cut down trees and build camps and rafts on the east bank.
"Why didn't you go into the city with His Highness? Are you afraid of stealing His Highness's limelight?"
Xu Huai turned around and saw Xu Wuqi and Xu Xin'an approaching on horseback. He shook his head and said:
"When I enter the city with His Highness at this time, I will naturally be warmly welcomed by the people in the city. They will also reward us with delicacies that they are reluctant to eat in the most difficult times. With the full support of officials such as Zhong Yingqiu, Qinshui will
Thousands of Chicheng's disciples have joined the camp and fought in the war. However, the more this happens, the harder it is for me to imagine how I can bear to give up Qinshui and retreat southward after three or four months..."
Xu Huai understood other people's unrealistic expectations and fantasies about the future. He himself even expected that pushing King Jing to lead the tomb-defending army to cross the river and march north would bring about some changes.
However, after intercepting the Chihu people's messenger at Sushui Canzhai, Xu Huai learned that the Red Army's Western Route Army had hidden elites in Hanxinling and had been waiting for the Western Army to move north along the Fen River to relieve the siege of Taiyuan. Xu Huai knew that the established historical trajectory had not yet been established.
get reversed.
In the next three or four months, even if the atmosphere in the DPRK and China is more inclined to the main battle, and even if they can successfully push the main force of the Western Army northward to relieve the siege of Taiyuan, the Western Army will be in Fenshui River Valley or Taiyuan Basin.
If the main force of the army fights to the death, what is the hope of victory?
Therefore, no matter what changes will happen next, Xu Huai always takes the Chihu people's destiny to launch a second southern invasion in the autumn as a major premise, and infers the choices they will make next.
If the Chihu people invaded the south for the second time, the outcome of the fall of Bianliang could not be changed. By then, the cities in Hedong and Hebei that had not yet fallen would be reduced to isolated cities that could not wait for reinforcements.
This also destined the tomb-defending army to withdraw from the hinterland of Hedong before the Chihu people launched their second southern invasion, so as to avoid staying too long in Qinshui, Yangcheng and other places and becoming a lone army trapped in the enemy's siege.
At this time, Xu Huai was looking for excuses not to accompany King Jing Zhao Tuan into the city. Not to steal King Jing's limelight was just one thing. On the other hand, he didn't want to have too much contact with the locals, let alone recruit Jian Rui from Qinshui.
Yiqi camp, so as not to have to withdraw from Qinshui in three or four months, and it would be difficult to face the generals recruited from Qinshui.
In the final analysis, the purpose of crossing the river and going north this time was mainly to build momentum for King Jing Zhao Tuan to fight for his heir. Apart from that, Xu Huai did not expect it to really help improve the current situation.
Xu Wuqi is calm
Sitting on the saddle, looking at the enemy troops on the other side; Xu Xin'an got off the horse, whipped and broke a few willow branches...
…………
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After the ferry was lost, Liu Jinzhong knew very well that he had to hold on to the west bank camp to avoid the fate of the entire army being destroyed.
On the one hand, the main camp village near Qinshui has rugged rocky shores, with a height difference of five to six feet from the water surface. There is no way to build a ferry wharf for multiple ferries to dock at the same time. In early summer, Taiyue Mountain also enters the rainy season, and the streams and rivers converge.
Entering the Qinshui River, the water surged so much that it was impossible to build a wooden bridge in the turbulent water that was thirty to forty feet wide.
If boats and rafts were used to transport people across the river, even if Liu Jinzhong personally led his elite rearguard, there was no guarantee that the morale of the army would not collapse.
Fortunately, more than 4,000 reinforcements have set up camp on the east bank, and supplies can also be transported by rafts and boats. 3,000 troops are guarding the main camp on the west bank, which is relatively strong, and people's hearts are relatively stable.
During this period, the Ling Guard Army not only incorporated the Qinshui defenders, but also recruited nearly 2,000 warriors from hundreds of villages at the western foot of Taiyue Mountain. Including Yangcheng and Runcheng, there were many soldiers east of Qinshui.
The walled city fell, and many soldiers and civilians fled into the deep mountains and old forests at the eastern foot of Mount Taiyue. When they heard that King Jing Zhao Tuan led the tomb-defending army to confront the captive soldiers in the Qinshui Valley, they all tried to find a way to cross the Qinshui River and rush to Qinshui City.
He led the troops guarding the mausoleum to cross the river and go north to Qinshui to win the first battle, capturing nearly 2,000 enemy heads. It was also a rare victory achieved by Dai Viet since the Red Hu people invaded the south. King Zhao Tuan of Jing Dynasty also sent out post cavalry from Zheng Er Ba Jing to catch up with the enemy.
Go to Bianliang to report victory.
As the news spread further, Jiangzhou, Puzhou, Shaanzhou, Jinzhou and other places west of Taiyue Mountain were harassed by captive soldiers. Self-organized rebels also came to join forces, and the tomb-defending army soon expanded to nearly 10,000 people.
.
While recruiting new soldiers, the defending army relied on Qinshui City and Dukou West Village to launch a siege on the enemy Liu Jinzhong's troops on the west bank.
Not only did the generals get the most direct training in the alternating offensives, the tomb-defending army also recruited craftsmen from nearby areas to make catapult crossbows, sidecars, rams and other war equipment, and strengthened their attack on the enemy before they were transported to the enemy camp.
.
In order to control casualties, the troops defending the mausoleum continued to carry out an offensive that was not too fierce. However, by the end of May, the cumulative losses of the enemy troops on the west bank would be eight or nine hundred. They were trapped in a tight siege, with no hope of breaking out, and the morale of the army was completely shaken.
During this period, Yue Hailou tried several times to build a pontoon bridge to connect the camp on the west bank, but all of them were washed away by the tomb-guarding army's logging and drainage upstream.
Liu Jinzhong realized that it was impossible to retreat from the west bank of Qinshui River, and the situation did not allow Xiao Qian. Yue Hailou and other tribal affiliated troops stayed in Zezhou. Finally, on the first night of June, Liu Jinzhong led more than 200 soldiers.
The famous direct descendants fled to the east bank of Qinshui River on rafts.
The soldiers guarding the mausoleum noticed the unusual movement, immediately lit piles of bonfires, beat war drums, and once again launched a night battle attack on the enemy forces on the west bank.
The generals took the lead in escaping on rafts. Who among the enemy strongholds on the west bank wanted to resist the tomb defenders?
Hundreds of people and horses climbed over the Dongzhai Wall at night, but there were only three or four boats left under the rugged stone shore. Everyone was fighting for them, and an unknown number of them climbed down the stone shore and fell into the water.
Even though they were squeezed into the raft, no one was using the pole paddle to control the raft, and it quickly capsized in the rapids.
In the chaos, more people took off their armor, threw away their swords and bows, and jumped into the fast river, trying to swim and escape to the east bank.
However, these people come from the Yunshuo area, which lacks streams and rivers. Most of them are not good at water, and they are pulled against each other in the chaos and darkness. How many people can jump into the fast river and swim to the east bank alive?
