"Beijing and Xiang must have captured Huaichuan City long ago, but they have deliberately blocked the news these days, and continue to transport siege materials and troops to the outskirts of Huaichuan, and build forts. All of this is intended to paralyze us and prevent us from detecting it, so that they can
I can dispatch my troops and generals more calmly to attack Ruyin!"
Zhong Changqing has been feeling uneasy in recent days. He thought he was too suspicious, but now he understood that it was not that he was suspicious, but that there were indeed some clues, but they were not enough to allow him to spy on Beijing in advance.
Xiang's plan.
Yue Hailou stood in front of the long desk, his brows furrowed, and his slightly swollen eyes fixed on the troop layout map spread out on the long desk.
He didn't say a word for a long time, and he didn't respond to what Zhong Changqing said after he walked into the lobby.
No one was aware of it before, but at this moment, Jingxiang's plan has completely surfaced. Everyone here is not a kid who is new to the world, so how could they not think of this?
Yue Hailou's left hand was also pressed on the position marked by Ruyin.
Whether it is the Han Army in the west of Beijing or the Han Army in Heluo, they have followed the Red Husbands in the south and north in recent years, especially since the military household system was implemented. Even if their combat effectiveness is slightly less than that of the elite in Beijing and Xiangzhou, their military morale is quite stable.
The virtual south is the real north, the Huai River is virtual and the Ruyin, Jiaopi and Quan rivers are separated from each other to a certain distance from the coast of the Huai River to form a certain depth.
Weakening Jingxiang's advantage in the naval force and giving the red cavalry more space to play on the battlefield - even then, Yue Hailou still believes that his defensive strategy has no major problems as a whole, but the biggest flaw
, or the biggest weakness is the returning German army led by Sun Yanzhou and Hu Dangzhou who defected to Germany at the beginning of last year.
The Guide Army was originally the remnant of the Dongjing bandit army recruited for the Southern Dynasties. Regardless of how Sun Yanzhou and Hu Dangzhou selected the elite and eliminated the dross when accepting the recruitment, the ordinary soldiers were insufficiently trained, the armor and equipment were insufficient, and the generals and military officials were
It is an indisputable fact that they all come from wild backgrounds and their fighting prowess is mediocre.
After taking refuge, the families of a few generals such as Sun Yanzhou and Hu Dangzhou were able to go north, but the families of most of the generals were directly resettled in the counties of Jingnan when they were recruited. After the retreat north, the morale of the army was unstable.
Since then, soldiers have been fleeing southward.
It was also because of this that Yue Hailou did not dare to hand over the entire Yingzhou, including Huaichuan, Jiaopi, and Quanhe, to Sun Yanzhou for garrison.
Precisely because he did not want to expose his weakness to the test, Yue Hailou placed Sun Yanzhou's troops mainly in Ruyin City, north of the Jiaopi-Quanhe defense line.
Jingxiang's plan was clearly aimed at their weakness and to challenge their weakness.
"Nan Bing is really bullying!"
Jiang Zhaode was the first general of the former Western Army to follow Yue Hailou. At this time, he was responsible for military spying and other matters in the General Administration of Military Affairs and Horses of Western Beijing, which was equivalent to the positions held by Zhou Jing and Zhang Xiongshan of Beijing and Xiang earlier.
Although he only noticed the unusual movements of the troops in Beijing and Xiangyang just before dawn, and Yue Hailou did not reprimand him severely, Jiang Zhaode felt doubly embarrassed. When he saw Yue Hailou, Zhong Changqing, Mo Lihu and others, their expressions were unusually dignified and solemn.
You can bite the bullet and say something to boost morale.
"Sun Yanzhou and Hu Dangzhou should be reliable. Even if Jingxiang has hidden traps in Ruyin, there are only more than ten thousand cavalry that can be used to raid Ruyin on a snowy night. I don't believe they can really capture it in just two or three hours."
Ruyin City!" General Meng Jie also said unconvinced.
It has been snowing heavily for several days, and the snow is nearly a foot thick on both sides of the Ying River. In addition to the cavalry and horse infantry who can quickly march through the snowy night, the infantry, wearing armor and marching at night in such heavy wind and snow, can walk thirty miles in one night.
It's already extremely scary.
they can predict
Yes, this time Jingxiang sent troops to attack Ruyin on a snowy night, with a maximum of 20,000 cavalry and horse infantry.
In addition, everyone knows that Jingxiang makes good use of hidden objects.
For example, before the battle at the mouth of the Peishui River, no one thought that Gu Fan and Deng Gui, who were in charge of Huaidong's military and political affairs, had already secretly defected to Beijing and Xiangzhou. They were the key to Xu Huai's annihilation of their rear troops in the later stages of the second Huainan battle.
Xu Huai was the key to completely controlling the military and political affairs of the Southern Dynasties.
Jingxiang tried every possible means to conceal the news of the capture of Huaichuan. At this time, they sent a partial division to Ruyin City for a surprise attack. They could also conclude that Jingxiang must have laid a secret plan in Ruyin City to cooperate with the capture of the city.
However, Meng Jie didn't think that Sun Yanzhou and Hu Dangzhou would have any problems, and he didn't think that if Jingxiang sent 20,000 cavalry and horse infantry, they would be able to completely capture Ruyin with the cooperation of Anzi before they could react.
city.
You must know that it is only more than twenty miles from the Jiaopi-Quanhe Camp Area, where reinforcements were recently sent to Ruyin City.
Even if they waited for dawn to clarify the situation of Ruyin City and then dispatched elite cavalry reinforcements, they would not be able to reach Ruyin City later than mid-afternoon.
Beijing and Xiangxiang could send at most 20,000 highly mobile partial troops to attack Ruyin on a snowy night. They could really defeat Sun Yanzhou before the sun and with the cooperation of the secret agents.
Dangzhou's direct troops captured the entire Ruyin city?
In Meng Jie's view, no matter how exhaustive Xu Huai was, there was no way he could have everything under his control.
At present, in addition to the Ruyin garrison, they have assembled 80,000 cavalry in Jiaopi-Quanhe. On the east wing, with Yingshang-Luhe as the center, the Pingyanzong Palace has also reinforced 40,000 cavalry gathered there.
Among them, there are more than 40,000 cavalrymen who are good at field battles in the snow. Both in size and combat effectiveness, they far exceed the cavalry and horse infantry that Beijing and Xiangzhou can currently assemble.
Now may not be a good opportunity for them to eat up the partial divisions rushing to attack Jingxiang!
Seeing Jiang Zhaode and Meng Jie being so optimistic, Zhong Changqing was filled with bitterness and said: "Beijing and Xiang have been plotting for a long time, concealing the truth from the truth, and only then sent troops to attack Ruyin. It is not just to wait for the Yingshui to freeze..."
Mo Lihu frowned tightly and said: "For the past half month, Jingxiang has been continuously dispatching troops and horses from Biyang, Xiangyang, Yunyang and other places to fill the outskirts of Huaichuan, but we have been mistakenly thinking that they are...
The intention is to besiege Huaichuan for a long time and prevent us from helping the Huaichuan defenders to escape. If the prediction is good, the real main force of Beijing and Xiangxiang will most likely come out after dawn and fight towards Jiaopi-Quanhe.
!”
Zhong Changqing nodded painfully in agreement with Mo Lihu's judgment.
They previously judged that Jingxiang had assembled about 100,000 garrison troops and 100,000 supply troops outside Huaichuan. The supply troops were usually regarded as service personnel and would not be included in the combat troops.
Those gathered outside Sichuan may be defenders who can go into battle.
You must know that two or three years ago, Xu Huai was able to mobilize nearly 300,000 troops in one year when he occupied Beijing and Xiang.
At this time, Xu Huai was in charge of the military and political power of the Southern Dynasties in the Sikong Mansion. He had already made such good intentions and assembled 200,000 combat troops in Huaichuan. Isn't it unimaginable how difficult it would be?
Zhong Changqing estimated that after deducting the troops who raided Ruyin, Xu Huaiji might personally lead 200,000 defenders from the camps along the Yongjin River to fight directly towards Jiaopi-Quanhe.
From the camp along the Yongjin River to the camp on the southernmost side of the Jiaopi-Quanhe camp, the straight-line distance is less than forty miles.
In comparison, if the reinforcements gathered by Prince Ping Yanzong in the Yingshang-Lugou area wanted to reach the easternmost camp in Jiaopi-Quanhe for reinforcements, they would have to move at least eighty miles through the snow.
Seeing that Yue Hailou remained silent and did not say anything
At the sound of the sound, Zhong Changqing was no longer timid, picked up his pen and ink, and directly drew on the layout diagram of the troops and horses while saying:
"Commander Yue immediately ordered General Na Yan, and General Shan Xue led 20,000 cavalry out of the camp to assemble along the Yingshui River north of Quanhe River. After daybreak, Ruyin City will be rescued if it can be rescued, and if it cannot be rescued, it will guard the two Zhangzigou
On the pontoon, our military has the opportunity to stand still and wait for reinforcements..."
In a hurry, Zhong Changqing knew that his plan may not be comprehensive, but the military situation was fierce, so he must express his opinions for Yue Hailou's reference in order to make a decision as quickly as possible.
Under normal circumstances, Jingxiang can only gather at most about 20,000 horse infantry and cavalry near Huaichuan, but this is not a normal situation.
If Xu Huai used the Jingxiang Road for farming and the horses for transport to Huaichuan in advance, this means that the 200,000 troops from Jingxiang gathered in Huaichuan would not be able to maneuver in the snow.
Far higher than their previous estimates.
Jingxiang and Xiang tried their best to plot such a plan. How could Sun Yanzhou and Hu Dangzhou's 20,000 soldiers and horses in Ruyin City be able to satisfy their appetite?
The target of this battle between Jingxiang and Jingxiang is the 80,000 cavalry they gathered in Jiaopi-Quanhe!
Even the 20,000 elite cavalry led by Mo Lihu and Shan Xue came and went like the wind, and were not afraid of being chased or intercepted by the Beijing and Xiang soldiers, nor were they afraid of the Beijing and Xiang soldiers.
The Horse Club set up an ambush there in advance - the Hehuai Plain at this time was completely unobstructed for the cavalry. As long as they were not surrounded, it was extremely convenient for the cavalry to kill them.
However, how can a total of 60,000 infantrymen under the jurisdiction of the General Administration of the Military and Horse Capital of Western Beijing, as well as reinforcements from Xiangzhou, Huaizhou, Zezhou, etc., escape and ascend to heaven?
They must make two plans now, but the prerequisite is Molihu. Shan and Xue immediately led 20,000 garrison cavalry to gather along the Yingshui River north of Quanhe River.
If the attacking troops and horses sent by Jing and Xiang have not captured the city of Ruyin and Mo Lihu by the time of the attack, Shan Xue can lead the cavalry to harass the main force of Jing and Xiang's northward march and delay their reinforcements in the direction of Ruyin.
Cooperating with Sun Yanzhou as quickly as possible, Hu Dangzhou's troops repulsed and defeated the strange troops from Beijing and Xiangzhou that rushed to attack Ruyin.
Normally, you only need to repel the attacking troops from Beijing and Xiangzhou.
In this way, they can defend Ruyin City, receive reinforcements coming from the north, east, and west, and form a corner with the Jiaopi-Quanhe camp on the south bank. There is no need to worry about Beijing and Xiangxiang being able to take the stronghold.
The city was fortified and defended, with 60,000 infantry soldiers at its back.
If Ruyin City unfortunately falls after daybreak, or fails to hold back the main force of Beijing and Xiangxiang from advancing northward, the two pontoon bridges north of Quanhe River and west of Ruyin will be their must-defend positions.
Not to mention that the flood plains and Yingshui are now frozen solid, but facing the fierce attack of 200,000 main troops from Beijing and Xiangxiang, the 60,000 infantrymen in the Jiaopi-Quanhe camp had no way to evacuate in a hurry.
Grit your teeth and defend the city wall to the death.
Only by holding on to the Zhennan Palace and the Pingyan Palace gathering superior troops and reinforcements from Hehuai, Heluo, Hedong, Hebei and other places can it be possible to force the main force of Beijing and Xiangxi to withdraw from Jiaopi and Ruyin.
In this case, they can retake Ruyin City.
Ruyin is the most important connection point between the two prefectures north of the Huaihe River, and it also controls the lower reaches of the Yingshui River, so it cannot be missed.
Of course, in addition to Mo Lihu, Shan Xue should immediately lead his cavalry out of the camp to assemble, and he should also immediately send envoys to Yingshang-Lugou, and ask Ping Yanzong's general Meng He to lead his cavalry north and circle around Ruyin to wait for an opportunity.
Attack the troops and horses of Jingxiang and Ruyin.
Meng He's troops must not go directly to Jiaopi-Quanhe for reinforcements, otherwise they will most likely run into the strong interception organized by Jingxiang on the flanks.
