The misty morning light shrouded the wilderness, and the surrounding Pinggang creeks and rivers were not yet fully visible, and their shadows were as thin as paper cuts stuck in the field of vision.
Yuehai Tower reined in his horse and stopped on a hillock on the south bank of Yingshui River.
Across the rolling Yingshui River, Xihua City is only fourteen or five miles away. The fire that has been burning in Xihua City for more than an hour is still so clear and dazzling in the morning light. You can even vaguely see someone climbing over the wall in the light of the fire. He came out, but was shot down like a rain of locust arrows, screaming to the ground...
"What exactly does Xu Huai want to do?"
Zhong Changqing stared at the unextinguished fire dragon on the north bank of Yingshui River, and swung his horsewhip angrily. His chest seemed to have been stuffed with a ball of thatch, and he seemed to have punched the empty space with all his strength. There was something indescribable. of discomfort.
Yue Hailou remained silent, his face gloomy.
News from Wanqiu and the northern part of Xihua City came through overnight.
In addition to storming Xihua City, they stood on the south bank of Yingshui River and witnessed the whole process. At this time, they knew that the Chushan Army north of Yingshui River slaughtered three to four thousand camels and horses overnight, as well as a large number of cattle and sheep seized from Bianliang and other places. , stored on site as meat.
This is nothing.
If the Chushan Army wanted to forcefully cross the Yingshui River, they might not even be able to transport two to three thousand war horses across the shore, let alone ordinary camels, horses, cattle and sheep. They might as well slaughter them in advance and store them as meat.
However, the news that Chushan scuttled all but more than fifty warships after nightfall yesterday to block the channels of Cai River and Ying River was really unexpected by Yue Hailou, Zhong Changqing and others. the expectation.
The preparation time for the creation of the Chushan Navy was not much earlier than that of the Yingzhou Navy.
Even though Chushan collected a large number of shipbuilding craftsmen and timber from Huaichuan, Huangchuan and other places, it would take time to build large warships.
The Chushan navy that entered Yingshui mainly had six large warships, twelve Mengchong warships, and more than thirty smaller ships, such as sea falcons and red horses, which were good for surface combat and reconnaissance.
These warships could carry two thousand oarsmen at a time, so the navy already had too many generals.
If there were no ready-made ferry terminals on both sides of the Ying River, and without the assistance of a large number of civilian boats, the Chushan Army would have no choice but to quickly transport nearly 20,000 men and thousands of war horses across the Ying River in a short period of time.
Chushan scuttled hundreds of boats collected from the people into the Cai River and Ying River, and in the early morning they attacked Xihua City regardless of casualties. All these signs meant that Xu Huai had completely given up on forcing the crossing. Yingshui's plan.
But, why is all this happening? What does Xu Huai want to do?
Yue Hailou also had countless questions raging deep in his heart.
At this moment, he had to admit that he had never been able to accurately capture Xu Huai's intentions and schemes since the beginning of the Lanzhou secret war.
"If Xu Huai leads more than 10,000 troops to defend Xihua and does not retreat, how will the war situation evolve?"
That Yanmu's red beard and hair were dyed white with frost, and the trauma left by long years of battles made his face look even older. However, his eyes were as sharp as a hawk. Through the hazy morning light, he seemed to be trying to tell what happened in Xihua City. See through everything.
Chushan soldiers and horses sneaked into Bianliang, causing seemingly small casualties, but causing great disturbance to Hehuai and other places.
If handled improperly, it will not only further increase the reputation of Chushan and make it more difficult for them to attack Huaishang in the future, it may also increase the arrogance of the resistance forces in Hehuai and other places, and may even increase the morale of the defenders of the Southern Dynasties, thus This brought the subsequent war to a stalemate.
In addition, in the pursuit and interception of the fleeing soldiers and horses south of Chushan on both sides of the Ying River, in addition to the Zhengzhou Jiedushi Mansion, the Bianliang Imperial City Division and the Privy Council directly participated in the three-way army.
In addition, it also involves the reinforcements mobilized by the Zhennan Zong Palace from north of the Yellow River and the troops requested from Songzhou, Bozhou and other places by the Pingyan Zong Palace.
In order to better make the generals obey the orders, Nayan Muchi, as the deputy marshal of the capital, was ordered by the second prince Wu Lulie, and he personally came to Shangshui a few days ago to take charge.
After sinking hundreds of boats and storming Xihua City in the early morning regardless of casualties, it would be easy for anyone to guess that Xu Huai would defend Xihua City against the water. However, with Yue Hailou, Zhong Changqing and others, the previous
The speculations were so different that they were so shocked that they had not yet carefully deduced how the subsequent battle situation would change. They had not had time to think about how far-reaching this incident would have on the situation in Huaishang, Heluo, and Hehuai.
.
At this time, hearing Mu Chi's question, Yue Hailou, Zhong Changqing and Yao Chengxiao, who were ordered by Xiao Qian to go to Shangshui to coordinate the dispatch of troops and horses, were ordered by Wu Chi, the governor of Songzhou, to lead a cavalry group in Miaowanggou.
He Qin and others who obeyed the order in the camp fell into deep thought for a while...
Soldiers and horses, as well as scarce supplies such as grain and fodder, crossed the Ying River through Xuchang and Ruyin, and continuously entered the right bank of the Ying River for reinforcements, causing such a big movement; especially Xu Huai did not abandon the rebel army and return.
The righteous generals ignored the soldiers and instead led tens of thousands of horses all the way south along the Cai River, and met up with the reinforcement troops and horses that had previously set off from Xinyang and other places and went up the Ying River in Chenzhou, north of the Ying River.
It was destined that their ultimate goal in this battle was no longer limited to intercepting Chushan's sneak attack troops along the Yingshui River and annihilating them.
According to the established plan, if they can successfully annihilate the Chushan army along the Yingshui River in early September, even if Xu Huai escapes in the end, it will severely damage the strength and resistance of the Chushan army and people.
This will not only greatly shake up the Huaishang defense line that stretches for nearly 600 miles from east to west, but will also create the most favorable conditions for them to seize Xiangcheng, Yexian and other cities, thereby blocking the way for Heluo soldiers and civilians to escape south through Ruzhou.
aisle.
Yes, various signs and various insider news from Heluo indicate that Zheng originally planned to organize millions of Heluo Han people on a large scale after entering August, and first pass through Songshan, Funiu and Funiu Mountains.
Flee south through the gap between Tongbai Mountain and Tongbai Mountain.
However, Xu Huai led his troops to sneak attack Bianliang. Yue Hailou did not rush his troops to the north for reinforcements. Instead, he concentrated a large number of elite troops to the south of Yingshui River between Linying and Shangshui River, and also sent a large number of reconnaissance cavalry.
The scouts penetrated into the eastern area of Ruzhou between Funiu Mountain and Songshan Mountain, interrupting the Heluo people's plan to escape to Nanyang Prefecture via Ruzhou.
Yes, the more optimistic generals in the army all believe that if they can successfully inflict heavy losses on the Chushan Army along the Yingshui River in early September, making them no longer a threat for the time being, they will not only be able to successfully capture Xiangcheng, Ye County and other cities in the future, but also block the
Millions of Heluo people fled south, and they could directly dispatch tens of thousands of elite cavalry to quickly move westward through the gap between Funiu Mountain and Songshan Mountain, and enter the upper reaches of Yishui and Luoshui before the Zheng family retreated south.
In this way, a total of 60,000 to 70,000 Heluo soldiers and horses can be blocked in the middle and lower reaches of the Yiluo River (central and northern part of Luoyang Prefecture) and annihilated.
This will greatly speed up the eradication of the Southern Dynasties.
"Does Marshal Yan feel that Xu Huai has lost the confidence to break through Yingshui and return to Tongbai Mountain, and is afraid that we will be annihilated by our superior troops along the Yingshui River, so he has to put on a last-ditch attitude and defend Xihua City?" Yao Chengxiao?
asked hesitantly.
"You can no longer underestimate Xu Huai at this time!" Yan Muchi shook his head and did not agree with Yao Chengxiao's guess. He looked at Yue Hailou and asked, "If Xu Huai doesn't destroy the boat and kill the horse, what will happen in these two days?
If they can directly cross the Yingshui River to break out of the encirclement, how sure is Commander Yue of being able to intercept them?"
Mu Chi came to Shangshui to take charge, but he did not fully grasp it.
Due to all the complicated circumstances, he did not directly take over the battlefield command.
Yue Hailou pondered and said: "Yue has a very high self-esteem in his life, but he has to admit that if Xu Huai did not destroy the boat and kill the horses and directly cross the Ying River by force, he would have 20,000 elites on the shores of the Nishui to support him. Yue would kill him
The possibility of intercepting the troops and horses along the Yingshui River will never exceed 50%; the most likely possibility is that both sides will suffer losses! However, in order for the Red Guards cavalry to pacify the Central Plains as soon as possible and unify the world, Chenzhou troops and horses will fight to the end.
We will not hesitate to fight every soldier."
"I don't doubt your determination. Maybe Xu Huai understands your determination and deliberately avoids a premature decisive battle with you along the Yingshui River."
Mu Chi pondered and said,
"Before I came to Shangshui, the Second Prince also hoped that I could encourage the generals to do their best to inflict heavy losses on the Chushan Army between Ruying and Ruying at all costs, even if both sides suffer losses. As long as this step can be achieved, the Second Prince will do his best.
Convince the third prince to shift the focus of the winter offensive from the east to Huaishang. In addition to blocking the passage for Heluo soldiers and horses to escape south, they should also strive to open a gap to march to Jingxiang before next spring. Xu Huai temporarily
Giving up the forced crossing of Yingshui River and holding on to Xihua with our backs to the river will actually disrupt many of our plans!"
"Based on what Marshal Yan sees, what should we do?" Yao Chengxiao asked.
"We have to eat our food one bite at a time. We can't say that because some of our plans have failed, we won't fight this battle!" said Yan Muchi.
"If we delay this, there will be more variables!" Yue Hailou said with a frown.
Xihua County's strategic position is not very prominent, at least it is far from comparable to Wanqiu and Xuchang. However, if it fell into the hands of the Chushan Army, Yuehai Tower suddenly felt like it was stuck in its throat.
The foundation of his tribe's rule over Xu Ru and other places was originally very weak. Forty to fifty thousand soldiers and horses could support the south bank of Ying River for a short period of time. They also wanted to dig up the ground three feet from Xu Ying and other places to barely scrape together some grain.
If the war drags on indefinitely, even if the Zong Palace can requisition grain and fodder from Hedong, Hebei and other places to make up for the shortfall, because water transportation has been completely cut off, the difficulty of transportation has increased, and it cannot be simply described as "doubling".
At this time, Chushan had assembled more than 20,000 elite reinforcements along the Shuishui River. As time went on, the Southern Dynasty would most likely send reinforcements from Xiangyang and Nanyang to the north. It was also possible that the Shenwu Army on the left and the left on the left.
Xiao Shengjun and other elite troops were transferred to Xiangcheng and Ye County, located upstream of Ruying.
At that time, their 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers and horses on the south bank of Ying River will be at a disadvantage, and they may even fall into the encirclement of the armies of the Southern Dynasties.
More importantly, Xu Huai led more than 10,000 elites to defend Xihua. If he did not want him to raid the eastern and northern areas of Xuzhou from the gap northwest of Xihua City and cut off their southward passage of soldiers, horses, food and grass on the western front, at least it would be necessary to
Only by gathering 15,000 to 20,000 armored soldiers and cooperating with 5,000 to 6,000 elite cavalry can we be sure to seal the gap in the northwestern part of Western China.
The question is where can we mobilize so many elite soldiers and horses at this time?
Or should they take the initiative to retreat from the south bank of Yingshui River and let Xu Huainan return?
As soon as this thought came to mind, Yue Hailou was suddenly startled and wanted to slap himself. He thought to himself, if he didn't have the determination and courage to fight to the death with Chu Shan, what would he be like sitting in Chenzhou?
Yue Hailou secretly trembled, and gritted his teeth and said to Mu Chi: "We have to ask the Zong Prince's Palace to decisively mobilize Cao Shixiong's troops and horses to go south. At the same time, we also ask the Zong Prince's Palace to dispatch a group of cattle and horses to go south to make up for the lack of food and fodder. We have the advantage at this time.
, but still can’t destroy Xu Huai in Xihua City, I’m afraid it will be even harder to restrain him in the future!”
