The gloomy sky seems to be covering the earth upside down, cold rain is falling, and the growing chilly north wind has blown the withered grass and yellow leaves, making the countryside look more and more desolate.
The coir raincoats of that time were extremely rudimentary. Thousands of generals had to trek through dozens of miles of muddy mountain roads and walk for a long time in the rain. Their clothes and armor were soaked by the cold rain, and they were shivering from the cold. Their bones were filled with indescribable fatigue.
Among the shivering generals, many of them had flushed faces, but their lips were pale without any blood red. Their bodies were swaying from time to time. It was obvious at a glance that they were suffering from the cold in the cold rain. At this time, they were just gritting their teeth to hold on.
Didn't fall down.
Yang Lin reined in his horse and stopped in front of the West Gate of Xiangcheng. He was heartbroken when he saw this scene.
These are the generals who have followed him through life and death for many years, and have survived fierce battles. How unfair it would be for God to die of illness after the cold rain.
However, this is a cruel reality that Yang Lin cannot solve.
The attrition caused by the epidemic was sometimes even more serious than the fierce and bloody fighting. He led his troops to reinforce Heluo and stationed at Gongxian and Yanshi front lines. In the early stage, the logistics and food supplies were uniformly allocated by Heluo, but they were severely deducted. In the later stage, he came from Xiangyang on his own.
Organizing transportation and thousands of miles of land transportation consumes more than one-third of the money and food, and supplies have always been very tight.
As for how many people would survive the upcoming war, Yang Lin was completely unsure. They had just arrived in Xiangcheng and had just met his son Yang Qiye. They had not yet had time to ask Huaishang for more details.
Case.
However, judging from the official letters circulated repeatedly by the Privy Council, Yang Lin could not see any reason for his optimism.
Although Xiangcheng was previously garrisoned by Zheng Jiang, a member of the Zheng clan and the second general of the Zuo Shenwu Army, Yang Lin, as the commander of Zuo Xiaosheng's army and the Marquis of Sheng'an, took the initiative to replace Zheng the moment he led his troops to Xiangcheng.
Jiang became the commander-in-chief of Xiangcheng.
At this time, Zheng Huaizhong led the main force of the Shenwu Army to stay in Luoyang, Mengjin, and Yanshi. At the same time, he transferred more Luoyang Prefecture troops to the upper reaches of Luoshui River, located in Lu County surrounded by the mountains and deep valleys of Xiong'er Mountain. It is obvious that Zheng Huaizhong has done this.
Fortunately, the war in Huaishang was unfavorable. After Ruzhou, between Funiu Mountain and Songshan Mountain, was invaded by the main force of Hulu, he led the main force of the Shenwu Army to prepare to withdraw to the upper reaches of Luoshui River.
However, Zheng Huaizhong had no intention of breaking up with the imperial court. At least on the surface, he repeatedly ordered Heluo troops stationed in Xiangcheng, Jiaxian, Ruyang and other cities to obey the control and dispatch of the general sent by Xiangyang and actively participate in the rescue of Xihua.
Military action.
Therefore, Yang Lin led his troops to enter Xiangcheng and take over the defense very smoothly without encountering any obstacles.
In addition, Yu Gong, the first general of Zuo Xuanwu's army, also led 3,000 cavalry to Xiangcheng the day before, and was also controlled by Yang Lin.
After all the generals settled in the barracks, Yang Lin met with Zheng Jiang, Yu Gong, Xiangcheng magistrate, county magistrate, county lieutenant, and military commanders of various ministries at the camp, before dragging his tired body back to Zheng.
The back house Jiang prepared for him.
However, Yang Lin did not have time to pause. After the hot tea brought by the military officer, he motioned for everyone to retreat. He stared at his only son Yang Qiye with burning eyes and asked in a deep voice: "What have you done to offend His Majesty? How could you do this to him?"
Are you sending me to Xiangcheng?"
When the Hu barbarians invaded the south, Yang Qiye and his father Yang Lin first followed Hu Kai to Caizhou to organize King Qin's troops and build the Caizhou Army, the predecessor of the Xiaosheng Army. Later, Yang Qiye directly led hundreds of elites to follow Emperor Jianji to defend Gong with Hu Yu.
County, and also participated in a series of wars such as reinforcing Bishui and attacking Taiyuan.
Although Yang Qiye's military exploits cannot be compared with those of Xu Huai and the main generals of Chushan, he is definitely among the best among the younger generation of generals.
After Emperor Jianji ascended the throne in Xiangyang, Yang Qiye, as one of the most trusted military generals, and Yu Gong and other generals were responsible for rotating palace duties. It can be said that they were the direct descendants of the emperor with a bright future.
This time, Yang Qiye only led two or three hundred horses to Xiangcheng to receive control and dispatch. Of course, Yang Lin suspected that Yang Qiye had committed something and was kicked to his side to perform meritorious service.
"I was entrusted by the Prime Minister to send a secret letter to your father." Yang Qiye smiled and took out the secret letter hidden close to him and handed it to Yang Lin.
"What secret letter?" Yang Lin asked in surprise.
Yang Qiye is the Marquis of Du Yu, a military commander at the level of Du Yu. If, because he is his own son, he is allowed to temporarily put aside the important task of commanding troops and horses and temporarily act as a messenger, how important will this secret letter be?
,How can you tell Yang Lin not to be surprised?
Has anything changed in Xiangyang?
Or maybe His Majesty can no longer tolerate Mrs. Zheng?
Countless thoughts went through Yang Lin's mind instantly. The hand that took the secret letter was as heavy as a stone, and his face was extremely solemn. He almost held his breath and opened the secret letter.
"What? How to intercept and flood the enemy's army?" Yang Lin read the secret letter and could hardly suppress the scream in his heart. He stared at Yang Qiye and asked, "What is all this going on?"
"... I was also ordered to follow the Prime Minister to the Shuishui River, and I didn't know all this," Yang Qiye told Chushan's deployment on the front line of the Shuishui River, and said, "Yesterday morning, it was raining continuously in the upper reaches of the Shuili River, so the Prime Minister decided
Cut off the Shuan River in advance. Therefore, my father needs to overcome all difficulties within three days and lead his troops to cut between Xuchang and Linying to intercept the enemy troops that may withdraw from Linying to the west!"
Thousands of Yang Lin's troops withdrew from Gongxian and Yanshi in just ten days, walked hundreds of miles non-stop in the cold season to Xiangcheng, and rushed directly to the scheduled interception battlefield without rest. This was a very test for the generals.
of will.
Before entering the scheduled interception battlefield, the real combat plan cannot be disclosed to the middle and lower-level generals, and even the Zheng Jiang Division of the Zuo Shenwu Army stationed in Xiangcheng must be kept strictly confidential.
At this time, thousands of Zuo Shenwu Army generals continue to defend Xiangcheng comfortably, but Zuo Xiaosheng Army has to drag their exhausted and injured bodies non-stop to a new battlefield. How can the middle and lower-level generals not be resentful?
soaring?
At this time, Yang Lin's control over the entire army was tested.
"What the Prime Minister means is that before leaving the city, this matter will only be announced to the first-level generals of Duyuhou; after leaving the city, it can be spread to the commander-in-chief and the first-level generals," Yang Qiye said, "However, the enemy is on the left wing near Linying.
There are ten thousand cavalry in total to intercept
Fighting is still difficult..."
After the news of Emperor Jianji's personal expedition spread, the Japanese soldiers also quickly further strengthened the concentration of soldiers and horses on the right bank (south bank) of Yingshui River. In addition to the Xinzhou Army under Yinchao's emergency mobilization from Puzhou and other places, they further crossed the Yingshui River and headed south.
After joining up with the Zhengzhou Army under Xiao Qian, the Chenzhou Army under Yue Hailou, and some of Yanji's vassal troops, there were more than 80,000 infantry in total, and 10,000 red cavalry each entered the east of Linying and the west of Shangshui.
area, together forming a blockade that is hundreds of miles long.
In addition, in addition to the 10,000 garrison troops stationed in Xuchang, the enemy also deployed more than 10,000 cavalry in northwest Xihua to prevent Xu Huaiqin from leading his elite troops from Xihua City to advance westward; there was also a large number of garrison troops in Wanqiu to blockade Xu Huai
Lead the sneak attack troops and horses and cross the Cai River eastwards.
This means that Chushan has successfully attracted a total of 140,000 enemy troops to Ruying.
Chushan did not expect to eat up 140,000 enemy troops in one go.
The general combat policy is to use flooding to divide the 100,000 enemy troops south of Yingshui River into east and west parts. The Chushan Army will combine the main forces of the Xuanwu Army on the left and right that have entered the shores of the Yingshui River, and plan to move northeast from Xiangcheng.
Zuo Xiaosheng's army, which was advancing in this direction to intercept the enemy's defeat, used nearly 70,000 superior troops to attack the enemy forces that were divided by floods to the west of Miaowang Valley and south of Yingshui River from four directions, in order to seize the Chi Hu and invade south.
Since the fall of Bianliang, this may be the most important and brilliant victory!
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Even in the dry season, it is quite difficult to completely cut off one of the four major rivers, the Jing River, between the Huai River and the Huai River.
However, Chushan had been secretly planning for this moment for half a year, and almost every grain of rice that Chushan could squeeze out was invested in the deployment along the Shuishui River.
First, in July and August, when the water was at its strongest, Chushan used the excuse of intercepting enemy ships downstream to sink thousands of boulders and lay a large number of wooden piles in the river east of Xiaoquegang.
Although most of the wooden piles and boulders were washed away by the rushing water, some were left behind. This also caused a large amount of silt and gravel carried from the upper reaches to be deposited in the river near Xiaoquegang, making the river shallow.
Although it seems that the water flow near Xiaoquegang has become much gentler and less turbulent as a result, this abnormality is far from enough to cause alarm. The enemy will only mistakenly think that this is caused by changes in the water volume after autumn.
The Chushan Army had already secretly built a batch of specially-made small boats near Xiaoquegang.
Some boats have cabins at both ends. They can be filled with sand and gravel and then driven into the center of the river. The bottom plate of the middle cabin can be opened and the boats can be filled with water and sunk directly into the river. Some boats are hollow and can be driven into the river and loaded with water one by one.
After being filled with rubble, the bamboo cage weighed more than a thousand kilograms, and even three to four thousand kilograms sank into the water.
Shipwrecks and large bamboo cages filled with rocks are the key to quickly building a dam foundation.
In fact, as long as you are well prepared, building a dam to intercept the flow is far less difficult than imagined.
What's more, after the stone canal on the north bank is completely opened, the river water will be diverted to the north bank in time, which will greatly reduce the impact of the water flow and will not significantly raise the water level to create unimaginable huge pressure.
In order to speed up the construction of the Xiaoquegang earth-rock dam, Chushan also organized thousands of soldiers and civilians to dump tens of thousands of stones or hundreds of thousands of stones directly into the river along the Shuishui River west of Xiaoqueshan, allowing the current to wash away the sand and gravel.
Rush towards the weir and dam and try to reduce the amount of construction work near Xiaoquegang as much as possible.
Although a large amount, or even most of the sand and gravel will be deposited in the river channel west of the weir dam, it is Chushan's original intention to raise the river bed west of Xiaoquegang so that it is flush with the stone canal.
Chushan sent out a large number of scouts and reconnaissance cavalry scattered around Xiaoquegang to prevent enemy troops from infiltrating, but it was impossible to block the entire Ru River downstream for hundreds of miles.
As the earth-rock dams are raised layer by layer, the water level of the downstream river suddenly drops or even stops flowing, which may alert the enemy at any time. The faster the dam is closed, the more advantageous it is.
As the commander-in-chief, Hu Kai went to the camp on the north bank of the Kwan River to supervise the battle, and he insisted on putting on heavy armor. At this time, he stood in the cold rain wearing a large cloak, looking at the earth-rock dam that had emerged from the water in just two days, and felt excited
Surging.
Although the earth-rock dam is less than 200 steps long through the stone beams extending into the river from Xiaoquegang, it was something he could not imagine before to achieve the interception of the Shui River in such a short period of time; it is also conceivable that
Chu Shan was secretly prepared for this moment.
After the closure of the Shuishui River, the upstream water has also flooded away from the stone canal to the north bank. The water potential at this time cannot be said to be very big, but the good news is that the rainy weather in the upper reaches of the Shuishui and Lishui Rivers has been continuous for days, and there is currently no sign of interruption.
Of course, the water flow in the upper reaches is slower, which is also related to the garrison in the upper reaches dumping a large amount of earth and rocks into the Shuili River and its tributary streams.
However, the Juishui River has now been cut off, and the water from upstream will flood to the north bank through the stone canal. It will flood the Miaowang ditch forty or fifty miles away at a faster speed and with greater water potential than expected.
It only takes about three or four days to form a flooded area stretching for thirty or forty miles from east to west and eighty or nine miles wide from north to south to the north of Miaowang Valley and south of Yingshui Long Causeway; until west of Shangshui County, the terrain is
It slowly rises again, blocking the flooding from continuing to extend eastward.
"...I report to the Prime Minister that the construction of the Wuyue Gang Floating Bridge has been completed. Ling Jian, the third general of Zuo Xuanwu Army, can lead his troops across the Shuishui River at any time and head north, just waiting for the Prime Minister's order!"
"...I report to the Prime Minister that the pontoon bridge at the mouth of the Mahuang River has been built, and Xuanwu Army is under the control of the right. Nanye Marquis Deng Gui can lead his army across Sui to the north at any time, just waiting for the Prime Minister's order!"
One after another, fast horses galloped on both sides of the Nishui River, summarizing the movements of the left and right Xuanwu troops who had entered the bank of the Nishui River, and reported them to Hu Kai.
Behind Hu Kai, 20,000 Chushan elites were in various camps, ready to go.
Hu Kai's vision went beyond the continuous barracks on the north bank, through the continuous cold rain, and towards the hazy sky in the north.
Although they are only fifty or sixty miles apart, they seem to be separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.
He didn't know whether the enemy was already alert at this time, nor whether the scouts got through the enemy's blockades in time, sneaked across the Ying River, and relayed the final battle time to Xu Huai's ears; he didn't know either.
In what way will Chu Xuhuai participate in the general attack on the enemy forces on the south bank of Yingshui River, or will he simply defend Xihua City...
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The Prince of Zhennan Zong finally transferred Yinchao's troops from the north bank of the Yellow River southward to the south bank of the Yingshui River to join Yuehailou.
Although Yue Hailou expected Cao Shixiong to lead his troops to come for reinforcements, Zheng Huaizhong was about to abandon Heluo. No matter from every aspect, Cao Shixiong and his troops were the best choice to cross the river and take over Heluo.
Yin Chao's fear of the enemy and his cowardice in the battle in Taiyuan was an important reason why Xu Huai successfully rescued 100,000 soldiers and civilians in Taiyuan. The Zhennan Zong Palace did not deal with Yin Chao harshly, but his department should also assume greater responsibilities.
Redeem his fault.
Therefore, Yin Chao was appointed governor of Xuzhou and accepted Yue Hailou's control.
Yin Chao was more or less dissatisfied with this arrangement.
Even though he could not violate the order of the Prince of Zhennan Zong, Yin Chao led the main force to go south first. He himself slowly escorted the looted goods and slaves in the past few years and rushed to Xuchang City to rest for a few days.
On the same day, finally at the urging of Muchi and Yue Hailou, he rushed to Yingnan Camp to meet up with Muchi and Yue Hailou.
The cold drizzle continued.
Even though they knew that the reinforcements from the Southern Dynasty had arrived along the Shuishui River, and that more than ten thousand soldiers and horses were entering Xiangcheng, and they only rested for a day before continuing to advance towards the western border of Linying County, Mu Chi and Yue Hailou were not in a hurry to adjust their troops and horses.
On the one hand, they suspected that the Southern Dynasty intended to attract their main force to the Western Front, so that Xu Huai could lead the elite sneak attack on the Eastern Front and forcefully cross the Yingshui River in Shangshui County to break through to the south. On the other hand, they were waiting for the main reinforcements of the Southern Dynasty to arrive.
After crossing the Juishui River and completely entering the southern area of Linying east of Xiangcheng, this is the best time to mobilize troops and horses to encircle and annihilate the main reinforcements of the Southern Dynasty.
From Yue Hailou's point of view, if there was really a chance to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Southern Dynasty's reinforcements on the north bank of the Nian River, it would not be unacceptable even if Xu Huai led a small number of Chushan elites to flee south.
Continuous rains and blind spots in thinking caused Chenzhou Army's scouts located on the periphery of the Chushan company camp to discover local flooding in the area south of Miaowanggou, but they did not raise alarm.
At the same time, the rainfall in different areas is not uniform. It rains continuously in Miaowanggou. It is not unimaginable that there are occasional heavy rains in Xiangcheng, Zhaoling and other places after winter. The scouts will habitually think that there are localized rains south of Miaowanggou.
The flooding was caused by heavy rains in the south and west that they could not detect.
Who would have thought that the Shuishui River would have been closed at this time?
Also because of continuous rain, the Ru River's tributaries east of Xiaoquegang still have a large amount of water flowing into it, so the Ru River's river channel east of Zhaoling has not been cut off due to the closure.
The water volume and water level of the Rushui River east of Xiaoquegang decreased, which did not arouse the vigilance of the scouts.
Yue Hailou and his troops have occupied Xuchen and other places for less than two years. Even Yue Hailou and others do not have a complete understanding of the water conditions of Ru, Ying and other rivers in different seasons, and they expect how high the scouts and cavalry can be.
Wary?
In short, the day after Xiaoquegang completed the interception, when Mu Chi and Yue Hailou met with Yin Chao, who had just arrived from Xuchang after repeated urging, they were all thinking about how to completely lure the main force of the Southern Dynasty's reinforcements to the north of the Shuishui River.
to carry out encirclement and annihilation.
"Marshal Yan, Commander-in-Chief, the enemy troops have moved out from Xihua City," several fast horses came galloping in the rain, got off their horses and walked to Muchi, Yue Hailou, Yin Chao, Zhong Changqing and others to report, "
The enemy warships, loaded with generals and soldiers, have entered the Ying River and are heading upstream, seemingly trying to find a beach on the south bank to land on!"
"Going upstream?!" Yue Hailou asked in shock.
In the end, the Chushan Army only retained more than fifty warships near Xihua City, and they could carry up to two thousand soldiers across Ying at one time. Yue Hailou had previously predicted that Xu Huaiji might take advantage of the reinforcements from the Southern Dynasty to move north to abandon the soldiers and civilians in the south.
, led a small number of elites to cross the Yingshui River from the ordinary gap on the east line to break through to the south, but how could they go against the current to find a landing point to the west?
"Get your horses ready quickly!" Yue Hailou ordered.
Because from Linying to Shangshui, they have fifty or sixty camps of different sizes scattered on the south bank of Yingshui River, with 80,000 soldiers stationed among them. On this defense line, they can quickly mobilize three or four camp defenders nearby, which is enough to stop a small number of Chushan soldiers.
The horse landed on the south bank.
Therefore, Yue Hailou was not in a hurry to dispatch troops, but first confirmed the intention and landing point of Chushan's troops.
Surrounded by two to three hundred horsemen, Yue Hailou, Mu Chi, Yin Chao, Zhong Changqing and others galloped directly to Yingshui. Soon they saw more than fifty warships slowly heading west against the current.
While Yue Hailou sent orders to the garrison troops along the coast to enter combat readiness, he rode his horse to follow the fleet to the west. Finally, he saw the fleet of the Chushan Navy about thirty miles northwest of Miaowang Valley, along a road called Xixi.
Landing on the west side of the branch of Liuxi River.
Xiliu River is a seasonal small river, so it has been raining for days and the mouth of the river is still deep. However, the river channel three or four miles away from the mouth of the river can be crossed directly by horse.
Yue Hailou ordered the garrison on the left and right to gather at Xiliu Creek, and at the same time, surrounded by his cavalry, they directly flowed to the west bank of Xiliu Creek. At this time, Yue Hailou discovered that the terrain at the branch of Xiliu Creek was flat, the beach was hard, and the mountains and rivers were clear.
After the army's warship docked, more than 20 elite tanks had already boarded on the pallet and completed the preliminary formation, making it impossible for the two to three hundred horsemen around him to launch an attack directly.
In order to ensure the safety of Deputy Capital Marshal Muchi, Yue Hailou and the others stayed more than a thousand steps away from the landing position on the river branch, monitoring the movements of the Chushan Army while waiting for soldiers and horses from the left and right camps to arrive for reinforcements.
As more and more Chushan Army generals landed, soon exceeding a thousand, Yue Hailou's heart was completely shrouded in a shadow. He couldn't guess what Xu Huai wanted to do.
They can gather tens of thousands of armored soldiers and light cavalry as quickly as possible near Xiliu River, and can even mobilize elite armored cavalry for reinforcements.
The Southern Dynasty's reinforcements, including the soldiers and horses of the Chushan Army on the north bank of the Shuishui River, were thirty-four to five miles away from the Xiliu River, and were separated by more than a dozen of their camps.
Could it be that Xu Huai was so arrogant that he wanted to use one or two thousand elites to break away from their layers of siege on the south bank of Yingshui River and escape to heaven?
