Chapter 181: Concealing the sky and crossing the sea
The wedding was held in Nancai City, which was not even in its infancy and only had a few complete houses. There was no bustle of banquets in the front yard. Wang Xuan could not bear her temper and followed Su Di and Xu Xiaohuan to the side yard.
Wang Xuan was shocked when she saw that her father was supposed to stay at Shuangliuzhuang to entertain guests, but was actually in Nancai City at this time. Then she saw Fan Zongqi, Xu Ling and others were all in armor, with solemn expressions on their faces, and did not participate in the slightest.
With the look of a banquet, no matter how stupid she was, she knew that a secret military operation was being launched here.
And her marriage to Xu Huai was the biggest cover for this military operation.
As for which enemy unit to target, it was not difficult for Wang Xuan to guess.
It has been three or four months since Wang Fan led the soldiers and horses from the north of Jing to return to Ezhou to aid Ezhou. However, the soldiers and horses from the north of Jing had previously participated in the battle of Huainan. They stayed in Huainan to rest for a short time before returning to Ezhou and Huangzhou all the way. It was the flood season again, and the journey was difficult.
Returning when it was the most muddy and difficult to walk, the general was exhausted.
The Jinghu North Road Supervisor did not dare to send troops rashly to clear out the bandits entrenched on both sides of the Han River. Instead, they sent the returning troops to Huangpi, Hanchuan, Jingling, Mianyang and other cities to strengthen the defense of these cities.
, giving the generals more opportunities to rest and recuperate.
It was not until mid-October that the soldiers and horses of Northern Jing joined forces with Zuo Xiao's victorious army to recapture Hanyang and other cities.
Of course, the main reason why the officers and soldiers were able to successfully regain Hanyang and other cities was because the Dongjing bandits had no intention of holding on to these cities and had withdrawn their main force from Hanyang and other cities before early October.
However, the Dongjing bandits had no intention of withdrawing from both sides of the Han River to their old nest of Dongting Lake. Until then, they were still entrenched in the sandbanks and islands in the lake and on the tidal flats near the water mouth, building water forts, trying to use the lake to build water forts.
The terrain and its own water warfare advantages make it a long-term confrontation with officers and soldiers.
The Dongjing bandit army expanded the large-scale Panlong Water Village on the basis of the original fishing village and fishing village at the entrance of Panlong Lake where the Jianshui River merged. It was one of the many water villages occupied by the bandit armies on both sides of the Han River. It gathered tens of thousands of people.
Thousands of thieves.
Panlong Village not only threatens the security of Hanchuan, Huangpi and other cities, but is also only more than 20 miles away from the newly built Nancai City. It is the biggest obstacle that needs to be removed to expand the farmland construction in Nancaizhi County to the east.
Unlike the large-scale naval drills on Jinghu South Road in the past two years, Jinghu North Road has mainly focused on the construction of armored infantry in recent years.
At the same time, Jinghu North Road also squeezed out a large amount of money and grain to strengthen the defensive measures in Yingzhou, Anzhou, Huangzhou and other cities to prevent the fall of Huaishang and Nanyang. The Red Husband Cavalry drove straight in from the Nanyang Basin.
These have restricted the development of the navy on Jinghu North Road.
At present, Ezhou Prefecture is the main force. The Jinghu North Road navy has only three to four thousand men and fifty or sixty small and medium-sized warships. The Jinghu North Road navy only has this few men and horses to control the Jingjiang waterway on the north side of Ezhou Prefecture.
, it’s a bit difficult not to let pirate ships invade, how can you dare to rashly fight deep into Qianchapo with complex water conditions and terrain?
However, in any case, the bandit army entrenched in Qianchapu, including Panlong Village, is still a threat to Huangpi, Hanchuan and other counties, and it also limits Nancai's further expansion of farmland and village construction to the east.
When appropriate, it must be removed.
However, Wang Xuan did not expect that the clearing of Panlong Village would be launched on the night of her wedding to Xu Huai. Looking at the confident looks of the generals, she guessed that this matter might have been secretly decided long ago.
For a long time, Chushan's elite soldiers and horses left behind in Nancai were extremely limited. In addition to the large number of tens of thousands of workers and troops involved in the reclamation of the encirclement and the construction of Nancai City, Chushan's official garrison in Nancai was mainly from the local area.
Nearly three thousand young men were recruited for training.
These troops have never experienced war. No matter how hard they train and are diligent, their combat effectiveness is extremely limited. Before, they were mainly responsible for protecting the construction of Nancai City and surrounding fortresses and resisting the harassment of the bandits. They had not even taken the initiative to enter Qianchapu.
Deep down, I fought head-on with the bandits.
Wang Xuan suspected that the previous marriage proposal, the offer of marriage, and this large-scale wedding reception were all about concealing the truth and secretly transferring a large amount of combat materials and elite troops to Nancai under the eyes and noses of the bandits.
Come.
"You're not going to personally lead the troops to attack Panlong Village, are you?" Wang Xuan looked at Xu Huai pitifully and asked, thinking that if it was really the wedding night, she would have to stay alone in the bridal chamber.
It was a bit too pitiful to be worried and not know whether the storming of Panlong Village would go smoothly, but at the same time I didn't know if I was too ignorant of the rules when I proposed to go with Xu Huai to supervise the battle.
Wang Xuan also secretly glanced at her father.
"On your wedding day, how could Xu Huai be willing to leave you alone?" Su Di said with a smile, "After the troops are dispatched here, the banquet will continue as usual..."
Before Wang Xuan came over, the final combat deployment had been arranged, and the combat troops and horses had been assembled at several fortresses east of Nancaicheng.
After Fan Zongqi, Xu Ling and other generals left, everyone formally went to the lobby to have a banquet. At this time, Wang Xuan was not asked to return to the bridal chamber alone according to the customary etiquette. Xu Huai took her soft little hand and went together.
Walking to the lobby, he explained to her the reason for secretly planning the attack on Panlong Village:
"The Red Husbands have assembled an army of 200,000 to 300,000 people. They are attacking the Dangxiang people from the west and the north. Their troops in Heluo, west of Jingdong and east of Jing are temporarily stationary, leaving Dai Viet to quell the bandit rebellion.
The time to further consolidate the defense line is very limited - not only must we capture Panlong Village as soon as possible, but we must also clear out the bandits on the south side of Qianchapu near Jingjiang River as soon as possible, so we have to be careful..."
The Dongjing bandit army is located on the north side of Qianchapu, with Panlong Village as the main force. On the south side is close to the Jingjiang River, and there are several large water villages, but they are basically surrounded by water on three sides. Even if they are connected by land, they are mostly on tidal flats.
The land is covered with swamps, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
This is the main topographic feature of the intersection area of Han River and Jing River.
This is not only true east of the Han River, but also in Hanyang, Jingling and Mianyang counties west of the Han River.
This allowed the rebels to continue to stay in these areas after withdrawing from Hanyang and other cities, taking advantage of water warfare and familiarity with the terrain.
Even though Wang Fan pushed hard and repeatedly emphasized that the rebels had the intention to cut off the Jingjiang-Hanshui shipping, Jingbei transshipment envoy Kong Changyu and others were still reluctant to use Jingbei troops and stormed Panlong Village regardless of casualties.
In the memorials to the imperial court in Jingbei, it was also emphasized many times that clearing out the bandits within the Qianchapu area was the responsibility that Chushan should undertake after it was assigned to Nancai County.
As for Chushan's every move, the enemy forces in the west of Beijing and Heluo were closely watching. Xu Huai could only take advantage of the wedding to conceal it, and transferred some of his elite troops to Nancai to undertake the attack on Panlong.
The task of attacking the stronghold.
Except for Wang Fan who personally rushed to Nancai to discuss the final combat deployment, the only guests attending the banquet were Zhu Zhi and Zhu Tong brothers who came to congratulate each other on behalf of the court and the Zhu family, and Hanchuan County, which represented local officials.
Ling Yin Yaozhi and others - in addition, those who came with Xu Huai from Huaiyuan, Wuyang and other places to welcome the bride were Fan Yong, Xu Wukun, Xu Wuliang, Xu Wujiang, Su Di and his wife, not to mention Shi Zhen, Su
Lao Chang and others could not escape, and Wang Ju had to lead the Xuanfeng Army to stay in Xiangcheng to guard against any changes in the enemy forces in the west of Beijing and Heluo.
In addition to Fan Zongqi and Xu Ling who are responsible for commanding the troops in combat, Han Gui, Xu Sheng and others are also responsible for transporting combat supplies, rescuing casualties, etc. It is impossible to sit down for a banquet at this time.
However, Lu Xiong, Zhao Heng and others no longer participated in military and political affairs for a long time. They followed the wedding procession from Shuangliu Village to Nancai for a banquet. It was only at this moment that they learned about the use of troops against Panlong Village.
Everyone was sitting in the hall having a banquet, but their hearts could not be completely free of worries.
Although Panlong Village is mostly composed of mobs, it is true that there are tens of thousands of people.
In addition, the access to Panlong Village from the land route is extremely narrow.
The rebel army may still be completely in the dark at this time, but seeing thousands of people marching eastward with fire, it is impossible for the Chushan Army to be unwary. At most, the Chushan Army will take advantage of the rebel army's lack of time to adjust their deployment and cover their ears with lightning speed.
The rapid capture of the strongholds outside Panlong Village may also prevent the rebels from seeking reinforcements from other strongholds. However, until tomorrow morning or later, before the soldiers and horses actually advance to Panlong Village, a bloody battle will still be inevitable.
To fight.
Who dares to guarantee whether Panlong Village can be successfully captured by then?
Wang Fan was not very confident about the raid on Panlong Village, and he felt a little uneasy while drinking; Xu Huai, on the other hand, was indifferent...
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Panlong Village is not a single village. It was actually formed after the Dongjing Allied Forces occupied the estuary where Jianshui River merged into Panlong Lake and built a fence to surround five small fishing villages and fishing villages on the left and right.
Panlong Village is backed by Panlong Lake and the east bank of Jianshui River. There are also several rivers and alleys that pass through the village and flow into Panlong Lake. Most of the houses are built on wooden piles and elevated, so they are not afraid of flooding;
Even after winter, nearly half of Panlong Village is still submerged in shallow water. There is a water gate facing Panlong Lake for boats to enter and exit. It can be said to be a veritable "water" village.
Panlong Lake extends a body of water in the west of the village. Only the north side is connected to the land, but most of it is shallow silt depressions.
In the big tent, several oil lamps were dimly lit. Hu Danzhou rarely relaxed and drank with the generals, but Jiang Ang murmured dissatisfiedly:
"Jingsheng Hou, the ghost boy, rushed to Hanchuan to marry his beautiful wife. There are so many of us, but we still don't dare to join in the fun, have a bridal chamber or something like that. What's the point of just staying in this place? It's not as good as hemp.
Hurry back to Dongting Lake and be happy!"
Many generals of the Dongjing Alliance Army, like Jiang Ang, were puzzled: since they didn't defend the city they fought so hard to capture, why did they still defend Hulangzi and not retreat to Dongting Lake?
Especially today is the day when Marquis Jingsheng marries the only daughter of Wang Fan, who is stationed in the Jinghu North Road Military and Horse Command. The wedding is being arranged in Nancai City right in front of him. Jiang Ang doesn't think they can take advantage of Nancai City, which has just taken shape.
But we can't just huddle silently in Panlong Village and do nothing, right?
If this is really the case, when will the bad reputation of being killed by dozens of horsemen in Chushan District half a year ago be eradicated? When will they not bring this up and laugh at him?
Hu Danzhou put down the wine bowl, glanced at Jiang Ang hesitantly, and finally decided to ignore him and let him complain.
"This bird wine is very sour, as if it was mixed with his mother's urine. I really don't like to drink it!"
Jiang Ang felt that the meal was boring, so he stood up irritably, pushed aside the long case and walked out of the tent.
Jiang Ang walked to the watchtower outside the big tent and climbed up like an ape. He thought about taking a nap in the corner of the watchtower to recuperate his energy before knocking on the door of Widow Li's house late at night. He accidentally caught a glimpse of something in the distance.
The fire seemed to be moving, and I was suddenly startled. The slight drunkenness disappeared, and I kicked the guard beside me and cursed:
"Open your dog eyes. There are so many enemy troops moving and you didn't even see them!? Blow the horn quickly!"
