After all, the cold season has not yet entered, and the afternoon sun is quite warm on his body. Xu Huaile stopped on a flat hill and looked at the surrounding wilderness.
Groups of armored soldiers approached Linying City and formed a formation. Groups of cavalry were also waiting on the flanks and rear wings of the A-seat array. Young and strong civilians and auxiliary soldiers were sent out with the army to cut down trees nearby to build horses, antlers, etc.
To remove obstacles, the four city gates along the Yinghe River should be initially blocked from the outside.
Linying City is the most common prefectural and county city on the Hehuai Plain. Similar to Xihua City, the city walls are less than two feet high, the stacked walls are incomplete, and there are no urns, towers, towers, war sheds, outer walls and other ancillary defenses.
Facilities, the gates of the four cities are only more than ten feet wide.
A preliminary blockade on the outside of the four city gates can prevent the elite cavalry of the Red Army from suddenly coming out.
In the fierce battle in the early morning, although the Red Husband Cavalry suffered heavy casualties, the Chushan Army did not gain the slightest advantage.
Including the cavalry troops led by Tang Pan who came to meet at dawn, the 10,000 Chushan troops suffered more than 2,000 casualties in the fierce battle in less than two hours. This was one of the few vicious battles since the rise of Chushan.
However, after paying such a high price, it was finally worth the money to successfully divide the enemy forces west of Xiaoquegang-Miaowanggou, especially to encircle the Red Husband Cavalry, which was the most powerful and threatening force in Linying City.
"It should be Prime Minister Hu Gong and his friends who have arrived!"
Wang Xian said when he saw a cavalry team of more than 200 people walking slowly from south to north.
Soon, several cavalrymen arrived at Pinggang and reported that Hu Kai, Yang Lin, Deng Gui, Zhang Xin, Xu Wuqi and others were coming to Linying City under the cavalry guard.
After large-scale enemy reinforcements are able or have the conditions to enter the south bank of Yingshui River, there will still be a long period of time available, but how to advance the subsequent war more steadily and how to reduce unnecessary casualties as much as possible?
Further discussion is needed.
Xu Huai needed to stay in Linying to supervise the war. He originally thought that Xu Wuqi would represent Chushan and discuss a new strategy with Hu Kai, Yang Lin, Deng Gui, and Zhang Xin, and get the permission of Emperor Jianji, who was in Wuyang to fight in person.
, all the soldiers and horses can act according to the plan, but they did not expect that Hu Kai would rush to Linying in person.
Yin Peng and Han Qi acted as frontline commanders and were responsible for keeping an eye on every move in Linying City. Xu Huai led Wang Ju, Xu Xin'an, Tang Pan and others on horseback to greet Hu Kai and others.
"Chu Shan made such a big move, but it was so hard to hide it from us!"
Seeing Xu Huai and others galloping towards him, Yang Lin dismounted with Hu Kai and others and said with a smile.
"At first I just wanted to move Yue Hailou's rebels away from the mountain and try to dig out the stone canal before the year. However, I never expected that Yue Hailou was so stubborn and wanted to take a piece of Chushan.
I am only willing to eat the meat, so I have to ask Your Majesty, the Prime Minister and the commanders to send troops to help..." Xu Huai bowed and accompanied Hu Kai on his horse to the Jian camp where he is currently stationed in the southeast of Linying City.
Introducing the situation of the two battles at Xiliu Xikou and Linying City since yesterday.
"Is there any chance to surround the enemy forces south of Yingshui this time?" Zhang Xin asked excitedly.
Since the fall of Bianliang, Dai Viet has not won any battles, but they are all partial.
Including Chushan forcing Yue Hailou and his troops to retreat from both sides of the Mingxi River at the beginning of the year, and annihilating tens of thousands of enemy troops before and after. Although it was a great victory, it was far from enough to fundamentally reverse the passive situation between Ruying, where the enemy was strong and we were weak.
.
On other battlefields, Dai Viet was retreating steadily.
Zheng Huaizhong's abandonment of Heluo was regarded as a last resort in the hearts of most of the generals at home and abroad, and thus gained the understanding of most people - Chushan had always been an isolationist.
Now that we have the opportunity to kill 40,000 to 50,000 enemy troops in one fell swoop, it will most likely be the most exciting victory since the fall of Bianliang. It will not only help further stabilize the Huaishang defense line, but also greatly boost the morale of the Vietnamese soldiers and civilians, and will greatly improve the morale of the Vietnamese army and civilians.
There will be far-reaching positive impacts on other battlefields as well.
"Whether we can completely annihilate the enemy forces on the Western Front depends on God's help!" Xu Huai pointed to the top of his head and said with a smile.
The most ideal situation is that the temperature is very high throughout the winter and the Yingru River will not freeze.
Then they only need to intercept the westward advance of the Yingzhou navy north of Miaowanggou and south of Xihua City, and then they can buy enough time to capture the fortresses and cities occupied by the enemy forces on the western front one by one.
If there is only one month left, there are still nearly 6,000 elite red soldiers and 2,000 infantry intact in Linying City, and there are veteran generals like Muchi and Yue Hailou in charge, how much price will it have to pay to attack by force?
Come down?
Linying City was the most important material transfer station for the enemy troops from Xuchang to the Yingnan company camp. There was no shortage of grain, various war weapons, and arrows stored in the city.
Therefore, Xu Huai advocated encircling Linying City instead of attacking it. The focus was to coordinate the southward retreat of Xihua City's troops and at the same time forcefully attack or persuade the scattered enemy troops stationed in the fortresses west of Miaowanggou to surrender.
At present, in addition to the enemy troops retreating to Linying City, the enemy troops divided on the western front are estimated to be nearly 50,000 surrendered troops and more than 20,000 strong men who were threatened by the surrendered troops and went south to build forts.
Even if these troops can be successfully wiped out, it will be the most glorious victory since the fall of Bianliang.
Of course, this also requires God’s blessing, the temperature remains normal, and the freeze period will not come early this year.
In addition, in addition to the main forces of Xuanwu Army and Zuo Xiaosheng Army participating in the battle as soon as possible, the Huai Palace Army and Heluo troops are also needed to hold back the enemy troops from the east and west lines as much as possible so that the captive troops cannot easily escape to reinforce Xuzhou.
, Chenzhou.
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The old Yingshui Road flows east through the south of Xuchang, enters Linying County, turns a big bend south, and then flows northeast from the north of Zhaoling, connecting with the Baling River, Qingmin River, Dalanggou River, Cai River, etc.
It merges in Xihua and other counties, passes through Wanqiu County, then turns to flow southeast, and finally merges into the Huai River.
At the beginning of the Dai Viet Dynasty, a new river channel was excavated between the old Yingshui River and Qingmin River, so that the new Yingshui river course passed through the north of Linying County to the east.
At this time, Chushan Army and Zuo Xiaosheng Army formed the siege of Linying City. In fact, nearly 50,000 surrender troops were divided between Linying and Miaowanggou. The only pity was that nearly 50,000 surrender troops were divided between Linying and Miaowanggou.
The Wanji surrender army was mainly composed of Xiao Qian and Yin Chao troops. The main force of Chenzhou army under Yue Hailou, as well as the Yanji surrender army who came from Bozhou and other places to reinforce Yanji's surrender army, were mainly divided by the floods in Xiaoquegang-
East of the first line of Miaowanggou.
This was mainly determined by the reinforcement route of the vassal troops sent southward.
Xiao Qian's and Yin Chao's troops both headed south from the western front, crossing Ying via Xuchang.
Yesterday, Xu Huai led his troops to penetrate Linying City overnight. It was too late for the enemy troops on the western front to wait until dawn and then withdraw into Linying City.
Currently, there are two main gathering areas of enemy troops in the area about 60 miles between Linying City and Miaowanggou:
First, Xiao Qian, the puppet envoy of Zhengzhou Jiedu, led more than 20,000 soldiers and garrisoned near Juling Town, 20 miles west of Linying City; second, seeing that there was no hope of retreating to the west, in the early morning, under the leadership of the surrendered general Zhong Changqing, he carefully
The west bank of Liuxi retreated eastward, and a part of the Chenzhou Army evacuated westward from the flooded area, totaling about 26,700 troops, were mainly stationed near Guanqiao Camp, about 11 or 2 miles east of Xiliu River.
Considering that the Chushan Army has been undertaking arduous combat tasks on the Huaihe River for a long time, Xu Huai led his troops to sneak attack Bianliang, Xu Xin'an led his troops to receive reinforcements, and Tang Pan led his troops to arrive at Linying City for the first time to participate in the fierce battle, which accumulated a lot.
Hu Kai advocated that in addition to besieging Linying City, the Chushan Army would mainly coordinate the southern troops and civilians to withdraw from Xihua City, and continue to block Yingshui; Zhang Xin and Deng Gui would lead the main force of the Xuanwu Army to siege Guanqiao.
Camp the enemy; Yang Lin will take the main force of Zuo Xiaosheng's army and control the Xiangcheng garrison Zheng Jiang's troops to besiege the enemy in Juling Town.
Hu Kai also planned to have the Chushan Army take over the defense of Xiangcheng in advance and gather more troops and horses in the north of Xiangcheng to guard against the possibility of enemy reinforcements crossing the Ying River from Xuchang to the south.
Yang Lin, Zhang Xin, Deng Gui and others did not refuse to assume the main combat tasks in the next stage of the war, and even felt that they were stealing the military merits of Chushan. As for the Zheng Jiang Division of the Xiangcheng garrison, Hu Kai did not accept it at all.
It was considered that they would refuse to accept Yang Lin's control at this time and participate in the siege of the enemy forces in Juling Town.
Although the main offensive force is not particularly advantageous in terms of strength, the camps occupied by the enemy are basically a bit crude; and as a surrender army, it is impossible to be divided and surrounded in Juling Town and Guanqiao Camp at this time.
What a high morale and strong will.
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The Juishui River is intercepted at Xiaoquegang and goes northward through a stone canal. There are no ready-made streams and rivers to the north. The flood mainly floods northward along a narrow depression zone about four to five miles wide.
The flooded water reached the north of Miaowang Valley. Due to factors such as the high terrain of the remaining embankments and coastal areas on the south bank of Yingshui River and the abandoned canal between Ruying and Ruying, there was no way to discharge it directly into Yingshui. Instead, it turned to Shangshui County to the east.
spread.
In just four or five days, a flooded area ranging from several to ten miles north to south was formed south of Yingshui River, extending for thirty or forty miles from east to west.
This also forced the enemy troops on the eastern front to retreat again and again, and finally retreated into Shangshui County in embarrassment.
On the one hand, the terrain to the east of Shangshui County is higher. On the other hand, although heavy flooding continues to occur in the upper reaches of the Lisui and other rivers, as the flooding gradually increases, people can gradually recover from the gaps in the remaining embankments on the south bank of Yingshui River and some areas.
The abandoned creek channel flows into Yingshui, and the flooding basically stops in the area west of Shangshui City and does not expand further.
Of course, the more important reason is that after winter, the water volume in the upper reaches of the Shuili River and other rivers is limited. However, during the heavy rains in summer and autumn, it is basically impossible for the enemy troops north of Miaowanggou to have time to withdraw.
From Xiaoquegang to the north, the water was flooded and was far from being able to form a navigable river. The Chushan Army prepared a large number of small and light bamboo rafts at Xiaoquegang.
While blockading Linying City, the Chushan Army passed these bamboo rafts through the shallow flooded area and dragged them into the Ying River with cattle and horses. At this time, Xu Xin'an led thousands of elite soldiers to cross Ying north.
While Xu Huai was guarding Xihua City, some rebels and their families continued to retreat south along the Cai River from Yanling, Weishi, Fugou and other counties. By this time, the number of soldiers and civilians in Xihua City had increased to more than 20,000.
In addition, there were more than a thousand prisoners of war and more than five to six thousand people of Xihua County.
Xu Xin'an led thousands of Chushan elites and seven or eight thousand southern rebels and Guiyi generals as cover, and supplemented them with a large number of small bamboo cuttings. Thirty thousand soldiers and civilians quickly withdrew to Xiaoquegang for rest and recuperation.
At the same time, Shi Zhen started the construction of Zhaoling New City in Xiaoquegang.
Due to time constraints, in order to intercept the water in Lisui and other rivers northward in advance, the depth and width of the stone canal on the north bank were dug far lower than expected. In the dry season, the water volume in the upper reaches is small, so it does not matter. However, in order to ensure the high water season in summer and autumn, the Shun
The water flowing upstream of the Li and other rivers was directed to the north bank, rather than to the north of Wuyang, causing flooding in Zhaoling County. Subsequently, it was necessary to build a ten-mile-long embankment on the south bank of the Shuishui River west of Xiaoquegang and dig two water-dividing canals.
, water comes from a part of the upper reaches of the Li River, flows from Wuyang County, south of Zhaoling County, and is reintroduced into the main river channel of Ru River.
The construction of Zhaoling New City will not only ensure that subsequent water conservancy projects can be completed before next summer, but will also work with Xiangcheng to the west to ensure control of the upper reaches of the Sishui River.
Otherwise, if this area falls into the hands of the Japanese soldiers, it will be easy for the Shuili River and other waters to return to the Ru River. In the future, it will no longer be possible to create a large-scale floodplain along the Ying River to shield the Huaishang defense line.
strategic purpose.
The left and right Xuanwu Army, Zuo Xiaosheng Army and part of the Zuo Shenwu Army simultaneously launched a strong attack on the enemy troops gathered in Juling Town and Guanqiao Camp.
The frightening rescue battle suddenly turned into a divided and encircled attack on tens of thousands of enemy troops. While everyone in Xiangyang was stunned, their morale was naturally boosted.
The most direct manifestation is that hundreds of thousands of stones of grain and fodder were transported northward at a faster speed to Xiaoquegang, Xiangcheng and other places, and then transferred to various battlefields via Xiaoquegang and Xiangcheng.
Zheng Huaizhong, in addition to actively resisting the enemy forces such as Cao Shixiong and others who went south after capturing Lingbao (Hangu Pass) and other places in Mengjin, Yanshi, and Luoyang, also sent his subordinate Zheng Cong to lead 3,000 elite cavalry through Xiangcheng.
He entered the north bank of the Shuan River and participated in the siege of the enemy forces in Juling Town. He even fought extraordinarily bravely against the Xiangcheng defenders led by Zheng Jiang in an attempt to make up for the old losses.
At the same time, in order to rescue the soldiers and horses besieged on the south bank of Yingshui River, the second prince of Chihu, Ulullie, arrived in Chenzhou to govern Wanqiu, and personally took over the military and political affairs of the Hehuai River. Reinforcements were constantly dispatched from various places to Xuchang, and Wanqiu gathered
.
Under the supervision of Uluru Lie, soldiers and horses on both sides of the Yingshui River worked day and night to clean up the sunken ships in the Yingshui River, so that the Yingzhou Navy could move westward along the Yingshui River and fight the Chushan Navy.
Although the Chu Shanshui Army fought extremely bravely and occupied the upper reaches of the river, when they entered the Ying River under the leadership of Xu Xin'an and Xu Ling, no new warships were added; the warships were damaged and could not be repaired in time.
.
In comparison, although the shipbuilding capabilities of the Yingzhou Navy are limited, they have been building new ships regardless of cost in the past three or four months. At least in the Yingshui, the warships of the Yingzhou Navy have an absolute advantage.
Chushan's newly built warships in Xinyang, Zhouqiao and other places were unable to enter the Ying River to participate in the battle due to the lack of ready-made naval officers.
By mid-November, seeing the heavy casualties suffered by Chushan's naval forces, Xu Huai had no choice but to order Xu Ling to lead the last few hundred naval forces to withdraw into the shallow Xiliu River, losing control of the main channel of Yingshui River.
Juling Town was far away from the Yingshui River. Yang Lin led his troops to complete the encirclement of the enemy. However, it was Zhong Changqing who realized that the westward retreat route to Yingshui was blocked and led his troops to withdraw to the east bank of the Xiliu River.
The control of the highlands near Yingshui.
Of course, Xu Huai could not give Zhong Changqing a chance to wait for reinforcements to land.
On the eve of Xu Huai's order to withdraw the remnants of the Chu Shanshui Army into the Xiliu River, Chen Zixiao led his troops to participate in the Xuanwu Army's general attack on the enemy forces in Guanqiao Camp.
In addition to the necessary reserve troops and horses, a total of 30,000 soldiers were mobilized to attack the enemy camp at Guanqiao Camp from three directions.
Although the enemy saw that reinforcements were in sight, their ambition and will to resist were greatly improved. There were even a small number of elite enemy soldiers who had landed early and entered the Guanqiao Camp for reinforcements after the Yingzhou Navy gained the upper hand. However, in the first half of the battle,
After the siege of Yue, the defenders suffered heavy casualties and were unable to recover.
After a day and night of fierce fighting, the Xuanwu Army and Chen Zixiao's troops continued to tear apart the layers of defense deployed by the enemy in the camp area and captured one camp after another.
Amidst the flashes of swords and shadows, arrows rained like locusts. The enemy troops who tried to resist were constantly cut and defeated, and fell into a pool of blood one by one. In the end, thousands of enemy troops had nowhere to escape and were forced to jump into the turbid and cold Yingshui...
…
Although Zhong Changqing, Mo Lihu, Kuo Ti and other generals, surrounded by bodyguards and soldiers, fled to the responding navy warship first, they watched thousands of soldiers sinking and floating in the turbid and cold Yingshui.
, struggled, but also wanted to cry without tears. He just screamed and urged the Yingzhou Navy to drive warships to rescue as many of these drowned soldiers as possible.
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The outer fortresses of Juling Town guarded by Xiao Qian's troops have fallen under the siege of Zuo Xiaosheng Army and Zuo Shenwu Army for half a month. Currently, only the main town camp is still under the control of Yunzhou soldiers and horses.
Although at the beginning of the Dai Viet Dynasty, in order to reduce the flood disaster in the upper reaches of the Yingshui River, new river channels were dug and straightened. The old river channels quickly became shallower and narrower due to the loss of upstream water sources. Farmland was also reclaimed on the old river beaches, but it was still a temporary river.
The most important seasonal river in Yingxian County.
Juling Town, located on the bank of the old Yingshui River, is well-known as a hometown of fish and rice. Several families with big surnames gather here to live together. The buildings and houses are all solid, and the buildings are dense and complex.
Because the streets and alleys in the town are complex and it is the main camp run by Yue Hai Tower in the south east of Linying City, it was guarded by Xiao Gan after he led his troops.
Zuo Xiaosheng's army and Zuo Shenwu's army invaded Juling Town several times, but they had to withdraw temporarily due to heavy casualties.
However, although the Zuo Xiaosheng Army and Zuo Shenwu Army were repelled several times, and although the Yingzhou navy had controlled the Yingshui River, the Juling garrison did not cheer up.
Guanqiao Camp was twenty miles away from Juling Town. Although the details are difficult to see clearly, Guanqiao Camp was captured in just one day and one night. The last few thousand remaining soldiers of the defenders were forced to jump into the bitterly cold Yingshui River.
, the Juling garrison can still generally see clearly.
After the Xuanwu Army captured Guanqiao Camp, in addition to a large number of injured and wounded, they immediately moved to the Zhaoling line. In addition to leaving a large number of cavalry troops on guard along the Yingshui River, tens of thousands of elite troops came to Juling Town for reinforcements.
The old Yingshui Road has long been a seasonal river. After winter, there is almost no river water, and the flow even stops in many places. The warships of the Yingzhou Navy cannot directly reinforce it.
Juling Town is 16 or 16 miles away from the remaining embankment on the south bank of Yingshui River. The Southern Dynasty gathered a large number of cavalry troops on the north side of Juling Town. Before the Yingshui River was frozen, the elite cavalrymen stationed on the north bank of Yingshui River were unable to attack the enemy.
Large-scale landing support.
Otherwise, Guanqiao Camp, which is almost next to Yingshui, would not have been captured.
Although there were some light snowflakes falling from the hazy sky, and thin ice began to form on the nearby ponds, it would take more than three to five days for the vast Yingshui River to be frozen enough for a large group of cavalry to cross the river directly.
Xiao Xuan held the knife and looked at the vast wilderness covered with a thin layer of snow. He couldn't help but ask himself, could they withstand the final general attack launched by the soldiers and horses of the Southern Dynasty?
"General Xiao Xun, the Southern Dynasty will launch a general attack at any time, and there is no chance to hesitate - the fall of Guanqiao Camp is right in front of us. Does General Xiao Xun still hope to have the opportunity to defend Yingshui until it freezes?"
A captain of ten stood next to Xiao Xuan and said in a low voice,
"General Xiao Xun, you have to think carefully about the last two thousand people in Juling Town. Only by giving up resistance can Marquis Jingsheng hand you over to Marshal Xiao as prisoners - and don't doubt Marquis Jingsheng.
Sincerely, Marquis Jingsheng does not need to play such little tricks with you. Facts have also proved that Xiao Qian, Yue Hailou and even Muchi are no match for Marquis Jingsheng; Marquis Jingsheng has always been firmly opposed to the Southern Dynasty's Northern Expedition to Yanyun.
We have always been supporting each other with Xiao Shuai, otherwise we would not have the opportunity to play for Chushan..."
"If I take action and my wife in Yunzhou is massacred, how can I bear it?" Xiao Xun gritted his teeth and said.
"Xiao Qian died in the rebellion, or General Xiao Xun was able to make Xiao Qian die quietly tonight. Who can blame you, General Xiao Xun? General Xiao Xun is just a poor man who has no way to save himself.
"The tenth captain lowered his voice and said, "If General Xiao Xun is still worried, we can also arrange for Xiao Xun to change his name from now on. No one will find out the truth about General Xiao Xun's death..."
