Cheng Niandong of Anqing City was uneasy at this time, while Bai Wang, who had fled back to Chizhou after the defeat, was panic-stricken. Two days ago, he was a hundred times more confident and thought of turning his back on the enemy. He would break Tongling City first and then send his troops north to surround Wei and rescue Zhao to relieve Anqing's crisis.
In one day, he was beaten back to reality by the little eunuch. His face was bruised and his face was swollen, so he ran away in embarrassment.
The reality is cruel. He only had more than 10,000 elite soldiers plus cannon fodder on the East Road. Less than half of them escaped, and they abandoned their armor and gave away all their combat supplies to the officers and soldiers.
There were less than 3,000 elite soldiers on hand, and the rest were cannon fodder. The morale of the whole army was low. In addition, the food and grass were in short supply, which almost caused Bai Wang to grow old overnight. He fought with Zuo Liangyu for several years without a single defeat. He just met the young eunuch and was killed in less than half a month.
Tong Bian, he felt very unconvinced.
Just think of yesterday's battle. If it was a serious head-to-head confrontation, even if the officers and soldiers were assisted by artillery, they might not be able to break through his defense line. Even if they succeeded, they would have to pay double the price.
However, the little eunuch didn't play according to common sense, and frequently used various underhanded moves in addition to frontal attacks. He used not one fist, but a series of punches, which made him unable to catch the moves in a hurry. In order to maintain his strength, he had to retreat south.
It must be said that Bai Wang was a ruthless man. After retreating to the south bank of the Qingtong River, he ordered his general Wang Yi'en to take the throne. He and Yuan Sanzhong went to Chizhou.
Passing by Guichi County (the first county of Chizhou Prefecture at the time), Yuan Sanzhong ordered Yuan Sanzhong to rush all the people in the city to Chizhou. Those who did not want to leave were killed directly, and then Guichi County was burned to the ground. He wanted to strengthen the walls and clear the country.
Leaving a little supply for the officers and soldiers also shows that they are panicking. We cannot maintain the illusion of hypocrisy and tear off the mask to reveal the ferocity and cruelty of the rebel army.
He rushed back to Chizhou overnight and began to prepare for the city's defense, establishing a last line of defense between Pingtian Lake and the Yangtze River. He then summoned the wealthy gentry in the city to begin forcing donations of money and food, because he was told that he would do whatever it took to defend Chizhou.
He thought that Chizhou was too important to him. It was the last barrier. If Chizhou was breached, there would be no decent city to the south that could resist the officers and soldiers going south. Once Chizhou was broken, Anqing on the other side would be in danger. He would be defeated by the officers and soldiers.
If we go back to the mountains again, the hard work of the past six months will be in vain, and all our dreams and expectations will come to nothing.
So he wanted to work hard in Chizhou and have a big fight with the young eunuch. Fortunately, Chizhou's geographical location is a perfect natural defense position.
To the west is the rolling Yangtze River, to the north is the turbulent Pingtian Lake, and to the east are the vast mountains connecting Pingtian Lake. The only narrow path he dug was cut off. The officers and soldiers wanted to attack the city, but they couldn't even touch the city wall.
arrive!
Unless you fly here with wings, Bai Wang's confidence that had just been defeated slowly returned to strength. He believed that three days was enough for him to arrange, provided that Wang Yi'en could hold the Qingtong River for three days.
However, reality slapped him in the face again. In the early morning of the day when he escaped back to Chizhou City, an urgent call came from the north. Officers and soldiers broke through the blockade, and Wang Yi'en was defeated and captured!
Bai Wang was extremely shocked at that time. He thought he could stay at least two days, but the messenger told him that he actually didn't last two hours!
The three thousand bandits at the rear were almost completely wiped out and even lost one of their generals, but they only delayed him for two hours.
But fortunately, after breaking through the Qingtong River defense line, the officers and soldiers did not advance overnight but rested on the spot. This made Bai Wang relieved and a little bit happy. It seemed that the officers and soldiers won the battle the day before but were still injured.
The muscles are shaking.
However, the loss of a powerful general still made him feel heartbroken. He knew that once Wang Yi'en was captured, there would be no chance of survival. He had to turn his grief into strength and seize the opportunity to consolidate the city defense while the officers and soldiers were resting, such as digging out the only road leading to Chizhou City.
Unlike Cheng Niandong who dug a river embankment that was only three feet wide, he ordered it to be dug five to six feet wide and more than one foot deep, just like a big river.
Then they piled rubble and buried sharp wood on the south bank, creating a 20-meter-wide sinking position. Even if the officers and soldiers crossed the water to attack here, they still had to go through the 20-meter position with a lot of trouble.
However, you think that's all. Bai Wang goes beyond this and builds a high platform with earth after sinking into the position. The project target is scheduled to be three meters high and 100 meters long from the lake in the east to the river in the west. This is a small platform.
The city wall will be covered with archers, trebuchets and other firepower to block the intersection. If the officers and soldiers want to attack forcefully, they will have to sacrifice their lives.
At the same time, he went around to seize all the fishing boats and plundered the inside and outside of Chizhou City, totaling more than 500 boats, and formed a naval force in Pingtian Lake. This is also an extremely important force that can attack and defend. For example, while the officers and soldiers
At the moment of attack, we will sneak around you from the waterway and attack...
It can be said that Bai Wang maximized the use of these two days to mobilize the entire Chizhou City army and civilians to work day and night to consolidate the defense line, because this may be his last barrier! The officers and soldiers have touched his bottom line, and there is no way to retreat!
But what is Chang Yu doing?
While crossing the Qingtong River, they took the lead in eating, drinking, and having fun. They ate meat, drank soup, and fought for money. This gave tens of thousands of officers and soldiers the illusion that they were not here to fight, but to have an outing.
It’s time to play and have fun, serious things still need to be done.
That night the entire army crossed the river and camped on the south bank to rest and recuperate. Although the baggage was still crossing the river one after another, Chang Yu had already summoned the generals to discuss the war. With the in-depth reconnaissance of the scouts ahead, more and more intelligence was sent, and the rebel army
The activities and arrangements there are also more detailed.
"The bandits dug up Pingtian Lake and the Yangtze River, cutting off our only access, and piled earth on the other side to make a wall about 100 meters long. We have no boats and no wings. We have no other choice but to attack hard. Originally, our sect
Soldiers with water access can swim from the waterways on both sides to outflank the thieves, but the thieves have formed a naval army with four to five hundred ships. Can you tell me how to fight?" Chang Yu smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Generals, you look at me, I look at you.
Bai Wang also had a bitter look on his face. Bai Wang had made full use of the terrain. This pass was more difficult than the one south of Tongling City.
"The Governor also said that there is no other way but to attack hard, and I am afraid that we will suffer heavy losses in the attack, and we may not be able to defeat it, because according to the scout information, the area is extremely narrow! It is impossible to invest too many troops, both sides
There is no place for water to stand." Lu Daqi shook his head and said, "Xiaguan feels it is necessary to open up a second road and see if we can make a detour from the mountains to the east."
Everyone looked at Wang Tizhong, who had previously been based in Chizhou and knew the surrounding terrain best.
Wang Tizhong pondered for a while and said: "Pingtian Lake is about twenty miles long from east to west. The easternmost part of the lake is at the foot of the mountain. The terrain is steep and the mountains are high and the forests are dense. I am afraid there is no way to go, but the specific final general is not clear, but even if you go around,
In the past, there was Qishan Lake connected to Pingtian Lake in the east of Chizhou City. In addition, there was Qingxi River in the east of the city, Baiyang River and Qiupu River in the south of the city. They are all big rivers. How can we cross them?"
Everyone felt a headache when they heard this, and Chang Yu couldn't help but cursed: "What the hell, why are there so many rivers and water!"
Wang Tizhong smiled bitterly: "There are many mountains and rivers here. The water surrounds the mountains and the mountains surround the rivers. It just so happens that Chizhou City is located among these mountains and rivers, but it is also the only way to go south."
"After all, we have to gnaw a hard nut this time." Chang Yu sighed: "It's just that this kind of fighting method is so damn frustrating." Ma Ke echoed from the side: "It's really not as fun as if we went north."
"Lord Governor, I have a plan at the end, I don't know if it is feasible." Just as he was frowning, Wu Sangui suddenly spoke. Chang Yu hummed, and Wu Sangui whispered in his ear.