The riverside in June is sultry and humid, and the heat is steaming like a steamer.
The rebel camp outside Baling City stretches for more than ten miles. Standing on the top of the city, you can barely see the border. Under the scorching sun, there are few people walking around in the camp, and the entire camp is filled with a pungent smell.
The rancid smell.
The smell was not caused by the fish and turtle silt in the river, but by the rotten corpses that could be seen everywhere in the camp.
As early as the middle of last month, the rebel army had run out of food and fodder, but Baling City, surrounded by them, was still rock solid. In addition, the season turned to midsummer, and the epidemic became prevalent in the army, so that the chaos
A large number of soldiers died in the military camp.
The rebel army did not strictly enforce camp laws, because too many camp soldiers died of hunger and disease, and many corpses were just discarded in the camp. In the hot and hot environment of midsummer, those corpses rotted quickly, and at the same time
It attracts and breeds a large number of mosquitoes and flies, which circle around the camp all day long and never disperse, further aggravating the spread of the epidemic.
There were many casualties in the army and morale was low. Hou Jing did not live up to his previous high spirits when he conquered Yingzhou. He sat and drank in his tent every day and no longer ordered his soldiers to attack Baling City.
The Western Expedition army has advanced to this point, and is only one step away from Jiangling. If this largest military town in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River can be conquered in one fell swoop, then a corner of Shu and other sporadic rebellions will not be enough to cause trouble, and Hou Jing can spread it among the
After calmly packing up and recharging his strength, the general will cross the Yangtze River again in the next year, and it is unknown whether his army will enter Huaibei.
However, if we are trapped in the current situation and unable to make new breakthroughs, then not only will Jiangling's stubborn problems be difficult to eliminate, but the situation downstream will also become turbulent again. By then, it may be impossible to mobilize such a large-scale military force, or even require
suffered a huge counterattack.
At this point, Hou Jing really doesn't want to give up. But now that the army is exhausted and morale is low, a strong attack on Baling will only accelerate the consumption of manpower, and even if the small city of Baling is captured, the gains will not be able to make up for it.
Attrition, the divisions are tired and old, and it is no longer enough to sustain a series of battles.
At this point, Hou Jing can only hope that Ren Yue, who led his elite troops to the west first, can make a big breakthrough in Jiangling and repeat the reversal of the previous battle of Yingzhou. As for Baling, the current situation can be maintained.
, which is really not easy.
However, Hou Jing's good luck seemed to have ended here. Soon, numerous riders rushed into the camp, extinguishing his last hope.
"Qi, Qi, your Majesty, our army, our army was defeated in Chiting, and General Ren was also captured by the enemy..."
After several of the vanguard's defeated soldiers escaped back to the camp, they were ushered into Hou Jing's tent, and immediately reported the news of the great defeat of the divisions in a trembling voice.
When Hou Jing heard this, his eyes suddenly blurred. He needed both hands to support the table before he could sit firmly. He said in a deep voice: "Even if Ren Yue is not a rare and famous general, he has made many achievements by fighting with me in the north and south, but I don't want to lose."
At the hands of the silent Wu Er, could it be that God still pities the Liang family?"
The defeat of Ren Yue can be said to have destroyed the remaining hope and possibility of Hou Jing's western expedition. Although Hou Jing was discouraged and disappointed at this time, he also knew that the situation had suddenly become dangerous. If he responded incorrectly, he might not even be able to survive.
It was difficult for him to return to Jiankang safely.
So he steeled himself, pondered for a while, and then ordered: "Gather soldiers from all camps immediately to attack Baling City!"
At this time, the situation in Baling City was also not very optimistic. The difficulties faced by the enemy forces outside the city were also tormenting them. They also had a sense of panic that they were trapped in an isolated city and did not know when reinforcements would arrive.
Prior to this, Hou Jing's rebellious army had caused heavy casualties to the defenders in the city during the consecutive days of attacks. It was only thanks to General Wang Sengbian that he was not afraid of his own danger, risked his own life and patrolled the city day and night to boost morale, and coupled with his exquisite command, the victory was finally achieved.
Defeated and disrupted the enemy's offensive time and time again, and persisted all the way until now.
But even Wang Sengbian could not solve the problem of dwindling food and grass in the city and the spread of the epidemic. Although the enemy's offensive was gradually weakening in the past period, the large number of non-combat attrition in the city also made morale extremely low.
At this time, the fierce sound of drums and horns sounded again from the enemy camp outside the city, which immediately frightened the soldiers and civilians in the city. Some people even couldn't help crying in despair. The siege for days had caused them severe torture.
I am afraid that my current state is no longer enough to withstand the enemy's ferocious wolf-like attack.
At this time, high-pitched drums also sounded in the city lord's palace. Under the guards of honor, the general Wang Sengbian once again appeared in front of the frightened soldiers and civilians in the city, shouting to the people: "The rebel soldiers are exhausted.
, the army is approaching, so I won’t attack for a few days. If I attack again today, it will definitely not be a sign of regaining my courage, but it will be a desperate attempt to escape. I am afraid that I will pursue you and it will be just a show of pretense. Now I only need to hold on to the city, and the siege will be lifted soon.
!”
When the soldiers heard Wang Sengbian's words, hope gradually rose in their hearts, and under Wang Sengbian's distribution and dispatch, they each went to the city to fortify themselves. Wang Sengbian also used practical actions to express his determination to stay with the city.
, directly displaying his guard of honor in front of the enemy's attack, and wearing battle armor to face the enemy's offensive.
The sound of military drums outside the city continued for more than half an hour before the troops from all the battalions gathered together one after another, and under the leadership of the generals, they went to the Chinese army's tent, and were soon dispatched to the siege front line.
Hou Jing was not at the city to supervise the battle this time. Just as Wang Sengbian guessed, his main purpose of attacking the city was not to try again to see if he could capture Baling City, but to withdraw his troops.
bedding.
The rebel army was so disorganized that even Hou Jing himself couldn't fully understand it. Especially after being trapped here for many days, Hou Jing no longer knew how many fighting soldiers were left in each camp. If he evacuated hastily, the situation would be chaotic and difficult to control.
Coupled with the counterattack and pursuit by the defenders in the city, the army will inevitably collapse and be difficult to defend.
That's why he wanted to use the siege as an excuse. On the one hand, he wanted to intimidate the defenders in the city so that they would not dare to attack without authorization. On the other hand, he wanted to check the strength of the battalions and evacuate the battlefield as organized as possible.
The generals themselves had no fighting spirit, so the offensive this time was naturally weak. The soldiers and civilians in the city had long been encouraged by Wang Sengbian. At this time, the intensity of the enemy's offensive was indeed not as strong as before, so they were all calm and courageous.
Don't let the enemy have any chance to break through the city defense.
Several attacks failed, and the rebels gradually retreated to the camp. In the evening, stoves were lit in the camp, but except for a small number of stoves dedicated to the governors' diet, the other stoves were just cooking water plants salvaged from the river.
Even if you can satisfy your hunger, the taste is hard to describe.
After nightfall, Hou Jing took the lead in leading thousands of his elite troops to evacuate the camp and headed east along the river. Then all the generals also led their troops to evacuate one after another. When the last group of troops evacuated, they set fires everywhere in the camp.
, some remaining tent armor and corpses of camp soldiers immediately burst into flames.
When Wang Sengbian in the city heard the report of the sergeants, he hurriedly climbed to the top of the city. When he saw the fire spreading from all sides outside the city and the thick smoke billowing from the enemy camp, he couldn't help but smile and wave.
He hit the city battlement with his fist and laughed loudly: "This battle is decided!"
With the defeat of Ren Yue, the vanguard of the rebel army, Hou Jing burned his camp outside Baling City and left. Not only did Baling City get out of trouble, but it also meant that Hou Jing's western expedition ended in failure.
When the news spread, the soldiers and people in Jiangling City couldn't help but be ecstatic, and the gloom that had been gathering above their heads for the past few days instantly dissipated.
The King of Xiangdong was also overjoyed, and directly gave Wang Sengbian, who was stationed at Baling and blocked the main force of the rebel army from invading Jiangling, the title of Shangshu, and the honorary title of General of the East Conquest. As for the other generals, they also received rewards and issued orders.
Under the leadership of Wang Sengbian, the army launched a counterattack eastward, intending to regain the lost territory in one fell swoop.
After hearing the news, Liang Wang Xiao Qing, who was mourning his sixth uncle in Xiangyang, couldn't help but feel mixed emotions in his heart for a while, including happiness, unwillingness, jealousy, etc.
He did not expect that when Wang Sengbian's army was defeated in Yingzhou and trapped in Baling by the rebels, Jiangling still had enough power to defeat the rebel forward and ensure Jiangling's safety. This shows that Jiangling's military power is far greater than he imagined.
Even more powerful, if he had not listened to Li Tai's persuasion at that time, but insisted on continuing to march on his own, there is a high probability that he would have hated Jiangling City.
At the same time, he also knew that after such a great victory, the prestige of the King of Xiangdong would inevitably rise to the sky, and he would have no chance of competing with him. He couldn't help but sigh angrily: "The family and country are suffering, and the south of the Yangtze River is in catastrophe.
Unexpectedly, in the end, it just made this slave become famous!"
Compared with King Liang, who was full of envy, jealousy and hatred, Li Tai's thoughts were much simpler. He still stayed in Shicheng just to wait for this turning point. When Wang Sengbian and other people went east along the river, he
Then he also led the Jingzhou and Xiangyang naval forces to go south along the Han River. After Wang Sengbian conquered the cities and regained the lost territory, he immediately took over the results of the battle.
Of course, in order to prevent Xiao Laoqi from going back on his word, he also ordered Gao Le, He Ruodun and other generals to lead five thousand elite cavalry and follow Liang Shiyan to station in Wuning City, leading directly to the Tianling Gate in Jiangling.