It is also winter. Compared with the north, the climate in Shaozhou is obviously better, and the frost period has not yet arrived. This is good news for the Southern Expedition. There are five consecutive ridges and hundreds of thousands of mountains, which is very good for the soldiers of the Han army.
It's quite a challenge.
Of course, thanks to the sufficient preparations of the imperial court and the millennium of development, the troops marching into Lingnan are no longer to pioneer wasteland, but to recover and make progress, realize the unification of the empire, and establish immortal achievements. With positive aspirations and heroic slogans, tens of thousands of soldiers
, came over the mountains, and the morale remained very high.
However, there are still difficulties in advancing troops, one is logistics, and the other is obstruction. In terms of transportation of baggage, regardless of Hunan, if it were not for the continuous accumulation of support from the imperial court for many years, there would still be a lot of pressure to support the war of annihilation.
, coupled with the inconvenience of the road, made it even more troublesome. Fortunately, Lu Huaizhong, who was in charge of transporting the army, was a capable general, so Pan Mei had no worries.
As for the barrier, it refers to Shaozhou. The prefecture of Shaozhou, named Qujiang County, is famous for its meandering rivers. It is the gateway to Lingnan and the north gate of Guangzhou. From then on, it is the most time-saving and provincial road.
During the Han-Guangdong conflict caused by Liu Yu's proclaimed emperor, Cao Bin once led his army to attack Shaozhou, but was blocked at the gate of Qujiang City, and finally had no choice but to transfer to Lianzhou.
At that time, the failure to capture Shaozhou was due to the fact that the army was exhausted after the early battles, the troops were insufficient, and the most important thing was that the defenders had some skills. Now, it was Pan Mei who led the army back and arrived at Shaozhou.
Then he is still blocked by the enemy city.
Pan Mei still divided the 50,000 troops sent by the imperial court into two groups to attack southern Guangdong. Cui Yanjin led the troops from eastern Sichuan, starting from Guizhou and heading to the western part of Guangnan such as Lue Zhao, He, Liu and Xiang.
In the area, Pan Mei led the main force to attack Shaozhou, aiming directly at Prince Xing's Mansion.
Marching troops in two directions is also a way to take care of Cui Yanjin's mood. After all, Cui Yanjin is superior to Pan Mei in terms of merit, qualifications and previous military positions. As a result, Pan Mei is the leader of the Pingyue army. Anyone would have some thoughts.
of.
Pan Mei was aware of this, and although she didn't particularly care, she still decided that you would attack Guangxi and I would attack Guangdong. It would be a two-pronged approach, advancing on both sides to avoid conflicts. As for the fact that the enemy's capital is in the east, it was also the prerogative of the head coach.
However, after raising the army, the troops were stationed under Qujiang City for more than half a month, unable to advance an inch, and the morale of the army inevitably changed slightly. Cui Yanjin, on the other hand, had captured two states in a row in the west and was making good progress. Although Pan Mei was stable, she still felt uneasy in her heart.
It is also inevitable that some anxiety will arise.
Qujiang City was built between the water, and the Han military camp was five miles away from the city and stood near the water. Being in the camp was a bit difficult for the fourth prince Liu Fang. In the past few years, he followed Emperor Liu on several tours.
During hunting, he had seen the solidity of Yanshan Mountain, the vastness of Taihang Mountain, the majesty of Songshan Mountain, and the steepness of Huashan Mountain, but he only had one feeling about the Nanling Mountains.
Growing up, Liu Fang had spent a lot of time in the military camp. This time in Pingnan, he came to the army with a kind of expectation and curiosity. Although it had only been more than ten days since he arrived in front of the army, after this time
, his imagination was completely shattered, the two armies were facing each other, fighting each other, there was nothing at all, and all he did every day was to accompany Pan Mei on patrols.
It is said that since the village was launched, not even a tentative attack has been launched towards Qujiang City. Tens of thousands of people are restrained by strict military laws and stay together day after day in a depressing atmosphere.
This seems to be the normal state of war. Although Liu Fang accompanied him in the Northern Expedition, he had never really experienced a battle formation. This was probably Liu Fang's new understanding of marching and fighting.
It is absolutely impossible for Pan Mei to say welcome to the fourth prince arranged by the emperor. This is a trouble. The most important thing is that the battle formation is dangerous and the sword has no eyes. If something goes wrong with Liu Fang, no matter how great his achievements are,
It is difficult to offset the guilt.
Therefore, Pan Mei originally planned to keep Liu Fang behind, and planned to praise the fourth prince and share some of the credit in the subsequent report, so that everyone would be better off. However, although Liu Fang was young, how could he accept it?
This kind of fooling was directly brought up by Emperor Liu and pointed out the bright spot, serving as a guard in front of the army and Pan Shuai.
Faced with your young and ambitious fourth prince, Pan Mei had no choice but to keep him by her side and serve as a bodyguard. She originally thought that it would cause some headaches for her, but in the end, Liu Fang's performance was somewhat unexpected. Although she was eager to give it a try,
I hope to actually experience the battle, but in the position of guard, I stay very calm and do not act arbitrarily or cause any trouble. Moreover, I also adopted a pseudonym, Liu Si.
"Zuoying reported that a soldier is infected with wind and cold. Go and check how many soldiers there are in the whole army, and send an order to gather together for treatment. Then inform Lu Huaizhong that there must be no shortage of medicinal materials!" In the commander's tent, he studied the military situation for a long time.
Pan Mei raised her head and noticed a shorter figure standing in front of the commander's tent. She ordered the officer in the military record room: "Also, call Liu Si in!"
"yes!"
Shangguan Zheng didn't dare to neglect Pan Mei's order and hurried away. Soon, Liu Fang entered, saluted Pan Mei and his party, and said with full force: "I pay my respects to the Commander-in-Chief. I wonder what the Commander-in-Chief has ordered?"
"It's cold outside the tent, let's have a sip of hot soup!" Pan Mei looked at the heroic fourth prince, secretly praising him in her heart and saying with concern.
Unexpectedly, when Liu Fang heard this, he frowned and said firmly: "We are both guards, and we are still waiting outside the tent. If the commander summons me alone for this matter, please forgive me for not obeying my order!"
Seeing this, Pan Mei said: "Do we have to let the guards outside the tent come inside to drink the soup?"
"The commander-in-chief has orders, so I dare not disobey them!" Liu Fang replied.
Pan Mei smiled, pointed at the bowl of ginger soup on the handsome desk, and said, "My military order is for you to drink this ginger soup!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Fang was stunned for a moment, then said in a serious voice: "Yes!"
After saying that, he walked forward, picked up the still warm ginger soup, and drank it in one gulp. Then he looked at Pan Mei, waiting for his next order. Pan Mei looked at Liu Fang's performance and sighed secretly in her heart.
, this should be the royal horse.
She stood up and waved to him. After a period of contact, Pan Mei lost some of the unfamiliar awe towards Liu Fang that she had towards the prince at first, and said very naturally: "Come on, let's check the city defense of Qujiang!
"
"Yes!" Liu Fang's voice subconsciously became louder.
The group of people rode their horses south. Although most of the Shaozhou area is covered with mountains, the town is located on a plain where two rivers meet, so it was a smooth ride. As for the defense of Qujiang City and the surrounding terrain, Pan Meishi
I had already understood it in my mind, and said it was a survey. I just went out for a horse race to change my mood and see if there were any changes in the enemy's situation.
"Your Highness is also very eager to fight now, right?" After warming up, Pan Meiwen followed beside him alone, like Liu Fang getting out of the cage.
To be honest, when I was in the palace before, I felt that the confinement was very strict and there were too many rules, so I couldn't feel comfortable. However, after actually staying in the army for a while, I realized what restraint is. Of course, Pan Mei was also strict in governing the army. Although there was no battle yet, this
Over a period of time, many officers and soldiers were executed by Pan Mei under military law.
When asked, Liu Fang first replied, "My name is Liu Si", and then said: "Who in the whole army does not have this intention, and wants to kill the enemy and break the city to perform meritorious deeds! I just don't know why they always endured without using a single soldier.
Not a single shot fired?”
Looking to the south, Pan Meihu's eyes reflected the outline of Qujiang City in the distance. She pointed with her hand and confidently said: "Although Shaozhou is the gateway to Lingnan, its city is not necessarily solid and its defense is strong.
.
Although Lu Guangtu, the governor, was popular, gathered warriors, and won the hearts of the people, he was still a scholar and had no ability to control troops. The enemy general Zhi Tingxiao was quite capable of generals, but it was a pity that there were not many troops in the city.
I can safely say that with the strength of our Han army, we will attack this city with force within three days!"
Listening to Pan Mei's description, Liu Fang felt a sense of passion in his heart and couldn't help but ask: "Then why not attack?"
"Casualties!" Pan Mei confided in two words: "Although most of the people in Guangdong are weak, they still have a hundred thousand people. If we attack Shaozhou, the casualties will be too high in the first battle. When we reach Panyu, we will probably be exhausted."
At that time. Moreover, the Lingnan area is quite vast, inhabited by Han and barbarians, and the folk customs are complex. In the future, sufficient force will be needed to suppress and defend, and it is even more necessary to conserve strength."
"But after all, casualties are inevitable in battle!" After hearing this, Liu Fang immediately said: "Does the commander-in-chief want to win?"
"Exactly!" Pan Mei nodded, looked at Liu Fang, and asked curiously: "Your Highness, do you think there is any way to defeat Qujiang while reducing the casualties of soldiers?"
Liu Fang thought about it seriously, frowned and replied: "To be honest, Du Shuai, I have read a lot of military books on weekdays. However, when facing the enemy, I don't know how to use it..."
Liu Fang didn't show any nonsense, which made Pan Mei take a higher look. Just as he was about to say a few words of comfort, Liu Fang continued: "The enemy is stubbornly defending. If we can try to lure them out of the city, they will be able to break it in the field!"
However, how can they come out?"
Pan Mei was slightly surprised, with a smile on her face. She noticed it, and Liu Fang immediately handed over his hand: "I think Du Shuai has a plan in mind, please teach me!"
Turning the horse's head and preparing to return to camp, Pan Mei said calmly: "I have been stationed in Hunan for seven years, and there is only one thing that impressed me the most, patience! If you wait a little longer, the fighter planes will appear!"