The scale of the camp in the north of Nanyang City is larger than that in the south. The camps are close to each other for ten miles, extending to Dushan in the north of Nanyang City, and about eighty miles from Fangcheng in the north.
Dushan is the remnant of Funiu Mountain that extends into the heart of Nanyang Basin. The mountain runs from northwest to southeast, is several dozen miles in circumference, and is connected to Feishui River in the east. It is an important place for entering Nanyang City from Fangcheng southward.
Dushan is located in the heart of Nanyang. Although it is only 30 to 50 feet high, it has a wide view. It overlooks both sides of the Feishui River and the hinterland of Nanyang. It is almost unobstructed. Zhou Fan then set up the big account on the southern slope of Dushan.
Shewenzhuang, surrounded by Tian Chang, Azige, Hu Zongguo and others, rushed into the Dushan camp. Ye Ji Luorong greeted him in front of the main camp gate. Shewenzhuang saluted and said: "Your Majesty, Shewenzhuang, pays homage to Prince Mu." …”
"The King of Fujian is so polite," Ye Ji Luorong returned the gift in accordance with the Han custom and said, "The Holy One was very concerned about the King of Min in Yanjing. Knowing that the King of Min has been unwell recently, he specially sent two Laoshan ginseng on a fast horse... …”
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for being considerate of me..." Shewenzhuang bowed toward the northeast to show his gratitude, then straightened up and looked at Ye Jiluorong.
Ye Ji Luorong is wearing a vermilion armor. He is tall and tall, with a beard and big eyes. There are faint scars on his face from his early battles on the battlefield. The corners of his eyes are wrinkled. There are white hairs on his temples. His eyes are sharp after the killing. , when you walk up to him, you can feel the aura of an ancient sword.
She Wenzhuang has known countless people in his life and has a unique vision. He is called second. I am afraid that few people dare to be called first. He secretly said: Beiyan built a clan and a country through war. He has been fighting on the battlefield with his father since he was young. Ye Jiluorong, who has been fighting for more than thirty years now, can probably be regarded as a true veteran who has experienced hundreds of battles.
Although Ye Ji'er is the soul of Bei Yan, no one in Bei Yan can stand shoulder to shoulder with Ye Ji Luorong since Ye Ji'er. Ye Ji Duodi and Ye Ji'er's eldest son Ye Ji Baishi are both worse in terms of record. Ye Ji Luo Rong is on the front line. It is no wonder that Ye Ji Er is stationed in Yanjing and will hand over hundreds of thousands of troops and horses on the western front to Ye Ji Luo Rong's command.
Shewenzhuang also met Zhou Fan's generals one by one.
Zhou Fan was originally the commander-in-chief of Xuan Town. He was in his forties and had a strong physique and a military background. After surrendering to Yan, he joined Yuan Lishan and Chen Zhihu, but his record was slightly insufficient. Before the war, Beiyan conferred the titles of Chen Zhihu and Yuan Lishan as princes and princes. Zhou Fan was only granted the title of Marquis.
It was also because of this that Zhou Fan and his generals worked hard and attentively to attack Nanyang this time.
Zhou Fan piled earth on the southern slope of Dushan to build a viewing platform, and Ye Jiluorong invited Shewenzhuang and others to climb onto the viewing platform to better observe the terrain and military deployment around Nanyang City.
Under the setting sun, surrounded by camps as dense as fish scales, the Nanyang Camp, which stretches eight miles in circumference, is like a large piece of gray linen cloth attached to the west bank of Feishui River.
Although the camp in the north of the city only had 30,000 soldiers and horses stationed, in order to facilitate Ye Jiluorong's personal command, the 60,000 infantry and cavalry temporarily stationed in Fangcheng could enter at any time to participate in the storming of Nanyang City. The camp in the north of the city was built with additional troops. It is huge, extending from the southern slope of Dushan to behind the long wall outside Nanyang North City.
In fact, in the camp south of the city, preparations were also made to transfer the troops of the new attached army Sun Jichang.
In addition to the two armies of Chen Zhihu and Luo Xiancheng who attacked Huaixi from the north and south, Beiyan united with the She family and Ye Ji Luo Rong could mobilize as many as 160,000 troops in the Nanyang Basin and its fringe areas.
In Nanyang, there are only less than 30,000 garrison guards in Biyang left in total.
Taking Nanyang City is not a problem, the key is to take Nanyang City before Huaidong's troops move north.
"For several days, we have been testing the attack on Beicheng. The fighting will of the Nanyang defenders cannot be said to be firm." Standing on the viewing platform, Zhou Fan introduced the plan to storm Nanyang. "The east and west cities of Nanyang stand sandwiched between the Huishui River and Hexi.
The main city, about eight miles away, is seven or eight times the size of the small town in Hedong. However, Liang Chengchong has deployed troops in the small town in Hedong in recent days, which is not weaker than that in Hexi. It can be seen that Liang Chengchong has the backup to break through Biyang. As long as I
The army will launch fierce offensives from the south, west, and north at the same time, causing the casualties of the Nanyang defenders to exceed a certain limit, and then Liang Chengchong can be forced to abandon the city and flee..."
"How many casualties can the Nanyang garrison withstand?" Ye Jirorong frowned and asked, "If we want to capture Nanyang, how many casualties can we bear at most?"
Shewenzhuang secretly pointed out that Zhou Fan introduced the plan to attack Nanyang, but his words were still vague.
Everyone knows that there is a limit to the extent to which an army can withstand casualties, but different armies have very different levels of endurance.
Liang Chengchong was also a veteran general who had been on the battlefield for a long time. Although his garrison was not elite, the generals were loyal to the Liang family and could still defend the city. He wanted to defeat it, repel it, and finally capture Nanyang City.
It is much more complicated and difficult than field battle.
Even if the siege tactics improve further, the defending side will still have a big advantage. If the Nanyang defenders are determined to defend the city and refuse to give in even if there is only one soldier left, then what will happen in order to capture Nanyang City?
The price paid will be too high to bear.
It's just that it was difficult for Zhou Fan to answer Ye Jiluorong's question. As a general, he could only test the weak points of the defenders and then launch a fierce attack on them. But how weak would the defenders be?
How strong the offensive was and how it collapsed was not something Zhou Fan could answer accurately.
However, Zhou Fan also gave a rough answer, saying: "Liang Chengchong has 8,000 guards in Hexi, and 20,000 civilians have come to the city to help defend. From what I can see, as long as the cumulative casualties on the city exceed 5,000,
It’s enough to tell Liang Chengchong to evacuate..."
Ye Jiluorong looked sideways at Shewenzhuang and asked, "What does the King of Fujian think?"
"What General Zhou said is reasonable," She Wenzhuang said. "Liang Chengyi's 30,000 soldiers and horses defeated the Ruzhou County King's 3,000 soldiers and horses in Ruyang. He lost his helmet and armor and was defeated. He has a younger brother. It can be seen that his brother may not be able to do it."
"Jia, if you say that the Nanyang garrison can withstand five thousand casualties, you are overestimating Liang Chengchong..."
Ye Jiluorong laughed, but when he turned his head and looked away, he narrowed his eyes and said secretly: They all say that Shewenzhuang is an old fox, and it seems true. Originally, the attack on Nanyang was led by Zhou Fan's troops and the She family's troops.
At the same time, the main attack was from the north and the south, but She Wenzhuang mentioned Chen Zhihu's victory in Ruyang, intentionally or unintentionally, not to stimulate Zhou Fan to attack Nanyang with all his strength in the north of the city, so that the She family could pay fewer casualties.
However, it was Ye Jiluorong's original intention to encourage Zhou Fan to attack Nanyang with all his strength. Moreover, since the She family was newly attached, it was necessary to borrow the power of the She family to wipe out Jiangnan. Ye Jiluorong would naturally not expose She Wenzhuang's intentions.
However, Shewenzhuang keenly noticed Ye Jiluorong's abnormality that no one else could notice, and there was no one on the viewing platform. He asked bluntly: "I dare to ask Prince Mu, is there someone in Yanjing who does not agree with the attack on Nanyang...
…”
Ye Jiluorong frowned slightly and told him frankly, "It's not that Yanjing has any objections, but Nahe Xiongqi, the garrison envoy of Qingzhou, thought that he should encircle Nanyang and lured Huaidong soldiers and horses to attack northward. King Khan sent a special horse to deliver the message yesterday.
come over……"
Shewenzhuang is no stranger to Nahe Xiongqi. The She family first came into contact with Beiyan through Nahe Xiongqi. Nahe Xiongqi was also the first general of Beiyan to advocate uniting with the She family. At that time, the She family still dominated Fujian and Zhejiang.
, at this time, it can only rely on Beiyan.
Nahe Xiongqi was a veteran general of Northern Yan. Although he was not from a royal family, his status in the Northern Yan army was only below that of a few princes and county kings. Ye Jier made him sit in Qingzhou and actually rule Qingzhou and Denglai.
The military administration in Linzi and other places controlled more than 50,000 horse and water troops.
"Nanyang is more suitable for cavalry to kill in the wild, but south of the Han River and all the way to Jingzhou, hundreds of miles in between, the ditch and river network is relatively dense, which restricts cavalry operations," She Wenzhuang said, "Then
General He advocated encircling Nanyang and bringing reinforcements, which is indeed a policy..."
In addition to Chen Zhihu and Luo Xiancheng, who combined had more than 100,000 troops to attack Xinyang from the north and south, Ye Jiluo Rong was able to mobilize 160,000 troops on the outskirts of Nanyang.
In addition, Sun Jichang had 20,000 soldiers and horses in Shangzhou (Wuguan), the She family was in Xiangyang, 20,000 infantry under Su Tingzhan and 5,000 cavalry under Azige were also stationed in Fancheng, and Luo Xiancheng was also stationed in Suizhou.
There are 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and horses. There are more than 30,000 soldiers and horses in Hanjin, Qichun, Chen Hansan and Yang Xiong's troops.
The entire Nanyang Basin, except for the two cities of Nanyang and Biyang and Tongbai Mountain east of Biyang, other areas, especially the peripheral Fangcheng, Wuguan, and military key points such as Xiangyang and Fancheng in the south, are all under their control.
If the main force of the Huaidong Army really dares to come to Nanyang to aid, Nanyang is indeed a battlefield that is extremely conducive for them to fight.
"It's a good strategy to encircle the point and call for reinforcements," Ye Ji Luorong said with a smile, "It's a pity that Lin Fu is not a person who easily falls into trouble. How could he go to the northern foot of Huaishan Mountain to help Nanyang?"
The Huaidong Army wants to assist Nanyang, but it cannot come from the south. Even if the Huaidong Army captures Hanjin, Qichun, and the north along the Han River, the big city of Xiangyang will still be blocked from the Nanyang battlefield. The main force of the Huaidong Army wants to assist Nanyang.
, the only way to aid Nanyang is from the northeast of Huaishan, and from Xinyang in the west of Huaixi, passing through Tongbai Mountain.
She Wenzhuang smiled and said: "Prince Mu is really wise. Unless Donghaihu is a good man who is willing to ask the main force of the Huaidong Army to enter Nanyang and risk a deadly battle, while letting Dong Yuan sit back and enjoy the gains in Huaixi, otherwise he will not ask the main force of the Huaidong Army to follow
Xinyang borrowed the road to assist Nanyang. At this point, the situation has become very obvious. Lin Fu has no intention of calling the main force of the Huaidong Army to assist Nanyang."
Azige was trained by Nahe Xiongqi, so in the Western Route Army, he was one of the few generals who supported Nahe Xiongqi's strategy of siege and reinforcements. Ye Jiluorong and Shewenzhuang both refuted this strategy and asked: "
Lin Fu would never have thought of aiding Nanyang from the beginning, but in July he went to Luzhou to reinforce 30,000 elite troops, what was his purpose?"
"From what I can see, Luzhou and Shouzhou are closely related to each other, and Luzhou is the center of Huaixi. Donghaihu went to Luzhou to increase his troops, with the intention of abandoning Nanyang and protecting Shouzhou. Only Shouzhou was not lost, and Huaidong was not lost.
Only in Xu Si's defense line and its fundamental place Huaidong will the flanks be exposed." Su Tingzhan, who came to Nanyang with Shewenzhuang to meet with the Beiyan generals, said eagerly at this time, "Now Huaidong is in the mountains
Yang's water camp has also moved westward. Although it has not entered the Haoshou area, it is still ready to support Haoshou. To put it bluntly, Donghai Fox's military deployment in Luzhou and other places is not to aid Nanyang, but to guard against us.
After capturing Nanyang, we took advantage of the situation to attack Huaixi..."
Ye Ji Luorong nodded and looked at Su Tingzhan seriously.
Seeing that Su Tingzhan wanted to join the new master, She Wenzhuang felt sad, but he also surrendered to Yan as a minister. When Su Tingzhan wanted to leave the She family and establish another family in Beiyan, he had no way to stop him, fearing that Tian
Chang and Yang Xiong would also have such thoughts.
Even if they are slaves, how many people are willing to be slaves of slaves? How many people don’t want to fight for the status of being inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people?
Ye Jiluorong signaled Su Tingzhan to continue.
"Except for transferring Tang Fuguan and Liu Zhenzhi's troops to Luzhou in July, the rest of the Huaidong Army remained unchanged," Su Tingzhan said. "It can be seen that Lin Fu had decided to abandon Nanyang before July.
While protecting Huaixi, Lin Fu was more focused on keeping the four counties in the south of the Yangtze River firmly in his hands. At this time, Yuanzhou was conquering, and all the land in Jiangxi was in his hands. At this time, in Lin Fu's heart, he did not want to risk going north to aid Nanyang.
, it is better to plan the rule of Jiang..."
Ye Ji Luorong and She Wenzhuang said with emotion: "Zhejiang and Fujian have produced many heroes since ancient times. I have heard of General Su's name for a long time..."
"Tingzhan indeed has the appearance of a famous general and a great talent." Seeing that Su Tingzhan had completely touched Ye Jiluorong's heart, She Wenzhuang could only praise him casually.
Ye Ji Luorong laughed and said: "It should be said that the King of Fujian has many talents under his command..."
Even if he wanted to win over Su Tingzhan, he would not go too far. In fact, both Shewenzhuang's sons had died in the battle, and they were also old and frail. They simply did not have the ability to suppress Su Tingzhan. Tian
Chang, Yang Xiong and other brave generals.
This is also the fundamental reason why Emperor Tianming canonized Shewenzhuang as the King of Fujian and allowed him to secede the Fujian land to become independent in the future. If either She Fei Xiong or She Fei Hu is alive, then the She family will not have a chance to return to Fujian.
Ye Ji Luorong said to Su Tingzhan again: "General Su, please continue."
"Lin Fu plans to govern Jiang. The focus of his plan is not Nanyang, but Jingzhou and Hanjin," Su Tingzhan said. "Although Jingzhou is under the jurisdiction of Hu Wenmu, Hu Wenmu is still a minister of the Yue court after all. Furthermore, we have to wait for our army.
Going south, if Hu Wenmu wants to hold Jingzhou, he must rely on Huaidong. If our army delays in Nanyang for too long, ask Hu Wenmu to complete the deployment in Jingzhou, and ask Huaidong to gather the main troops to Jiangzhou, or even go further and replace them.
The Chizhou Army crossed the river from Jiangzhou and entered the eastern Hubei region, threatening Qichun and Hanjin, and even captured Hanjin, and the trend of crossing the river became..."
Jingzhou is the geographical center of the two lakes, guarding the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and is as important as Xiangyang to the north and south of Jingxiang.
And Hanjin is where the Han River flows into the Yangtze River. If the main force of the Huaidong Army were to capture Hanjin first, and Beiyan wanted to attack Jingzhou, the entire flank would be exposed to the main force of the Huaidong Army.
At present, Shewenzhuang uses Chen Hansan to guard Qichun, and is facing off with the Chizhou Army led by Deng Yu and Yue Zhi in the eastern Hubei area. The Chizhou Army has no navy, so it cannot cross Qichun to attack Hanjin.
Shewenzhuang used Yang Xiong to guard Hanjin and blockade the Han River branch. However, the Huaidong Army had an elite water camp stationed in Jiangzhou. There were a large number of warships and ferries, and the main force of the Huaidong Army's infantry camp could be crossed directly from Jiangzhou.
Attack Hanjin on the north bank.
In fact, even if the Huaidong Army did not attack Hanjin, just inserting tens of thousands of elite troops between Hanjin and Qichun along the Yangtze River would be enough to destroy their plan to capture Jingzhou in one go after taking Nanyang.
How the situation of the North-South confrontation will develop next, the key point is not in Nanyang, and it is simply impossible to induce the main force of the Huaidong Army to come to Nanyang to aid Nanyang and fight with it in Nanyang. The key point of the North-South confrontation is in Jingzhou and Hanjin.
For Beiyan, it is necessary to capture Nanyang as soon as possible, and the main troops and horses will quickly move south. While strengthening the defense of Hanjin, they will besiege Jingzhou, and finally capture Jingzhou, so that they can share the geographical advantage of the Yangtze River with Huaidong. In the future confrontation between the north and the south,
Take the initiative.
Once Hu Wenmu is asked to strengthen the defense in Jingzhou, and the Huaidong Army crosses the Yangtze River and directly threatens Qichun and Hanjin, they will have to reinforce troops and horses on the front line of Hanjin to fight, and lose the opportunity to attack Jingzhou in one go.
The power fell into the hands of the Huaidong Army.
When the battle situation in Jingxiang stabilizes, and when the Huaidong army takes a breath and frees up its hands and feet, Beiyan will have a headache as Huaidong launches sea-based offensives against Yanliao and other places.
For Beiyan, the main goal was to capture Nanyang before the main force of the Huaidong Army could complete its assembly in Jiangzhou, quickly cross the Han River and go south to attack Jingzhou. The time to stay in Beiyan was only about a month.