Liu Tingzhou went south from Shouzhou and passed through Luzhou to meet Cao Ziang. However, Chen Huawen, the prefect of Luzhou, told Liu Tingzhou that Cao Ziang had asked Lin Fu to summon him to Qichun.
Liu Tingzhou did not delay in Luzhou, and rushed to Qichun via Lujiang, Yicheng, Songyang, Huangmei and other cities without stopping.
When Liu Tingzhou arrived at Qichun, Lin Fu had already gone to Huangzhou with his army. In Qichun, he only saw Yue Lengqiu, who stayed in Qichun to supervise the Chizhou Army's operations. Yue Lengqiu and Lin Fu formed two groups and attacked.
The enemy's eastern Hubei defense line decided to attack the rebel general Chen Hansan's headquarters from Qichun to the northwest, which became the responsibility of the Chizhou Army.
Qichun has now become the main camp for the Chizhou Army to attack Fengshan. Yue Lengqiu is personally in charge of Qichun City. Deng Yu is also temporarily in Qichun City. Yue Zhi has led 8,000 troops and horses and has crossed the Qishui River and entered Xima.
, Ceshan and other places, the soldiers have penetrated into the east bank of the Xishui River, surrounded the Xishui River, entangled with Chen Hansan's soldiers and horses on the periphery, and fought for control of the upper reaches of the Xishui River.
Even if Chen Hansan retreats to Fengshan and Bailian River, he will never be able to easily give up control of the upper reaches of the Xishui River, especially the west bank area. If the main force of the Chizhou Army can be effectively restricted from entering the west bank of the Xishui River on a large scale, Fengshan can be avoided.
The two villages in Bailianhe were directly attacked.
Even if it means delaying the opportunity, it is still necessary to compete for the peripheral areas.
Obviously, the road from the upstream direction on the west bank of the Xishui River was destroyed, and there was no bridge before the river. The advance troops and horses could not enter quickly, and the enemy would be expelled from this area. They could not quickly build bridges and roads, and the main troops and horses could not quickly build bridges and roads.
It is difficult to come up and directly surround the enemy's stronghold.
"How strong is Chong Guogong's determination to fight the Yanlu in Jingxiang?" Liu Tingzhou asked Yue Lengqiu in a low voice when he saw that there were no other irrelevant people except Deng Yu when he stood at the top of Qichun City.
Although Yue Lengqiu made mistakes in his judgment on the Nanyang matter, Liu Tingzhou was still willing to listen to Yue Lengqiu's judgment this time when the Chizhou Army was involved.
"After the defeat of Congyang, although the Chizhou army entered eastern Hubei to confront the rebel general Chen Hansan, they only rested in Huangmei and Congyang. Because Huangmei and Jiangzhou depended on each other across the river, they were not afraid of Chen Hansan and Lu She
If anyone dares to attack from a flank," Yue Lengqiu said, "Although they have to rest, they only have three months, which is only enough to recuperate their soldiers. Tingzhou, look at the Zhaiqiao dock boats around Qichun. They are the Chizhou army's
What can be done at this time?”
Qichun is still far away from the river bank, more than 20 miles from the river beach, but it is built near the Qishui River, and to the east of the city are the hills and mountains at the southwest foot of Wanshan Mountain (the southern vein of Huaishan Mountain). Although when Chen Hansan withdrew,
Qichun City was set on fire, but to attack Fengshan from Qichun, there was no more suitable place to serve as the rear camp for the troops on the eastern front.
Now, after clearing obstacles such as shipwrecks and wooden piles in the Qishui River, boats in the Yangtze River can sail directly into the Qishui River. At the inland river dock outside Qichun West City, Liu Tingzhou and Yue Lengqiu
Standing at the top of the city, you can see with the naked eye that dozens of warehouse ships, which are common on the Yangtze River, are parked there, and thousands of workers are busy unloading supplies from the ships.
Liu Tingzhou did not know the specific situation of Deng Yu and Yue Zhi leading their troops into Xima, Ceshan and other places. However, in front of him, in addition to hundreds of craftsmen repairing the ruins of the city at the head of Qichun City, on the west bank of Qishui River, in Huashan Mountain,
, the two strategic points of Yaoying Ridge, you can see that two forts have been erected between the forest mountains, and they jointly control the lower reaches of the Qishui River with Qichun City. Although it is only two miles upstream of the inland dock, there are four trestles across the Qishui River.
Above, communicate with both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
On the other side of the Qishui River, there are several simple sheds with smoke pillars rising into the sky. Looking at the river beach near the bank, there are piles of black coal and stone. It seems that bricks are being fired in kilns on the other side of the river.
"Is the brick city built on the cliff across the river?" Liu Tingzhou asked.
"Build the fence first, then mend the brick wall..." Yue Lengqiu said.
Like Yue Lengqiu, Liu Tingzhou was also very familiar with military matters.
It only takes three or five days to cut down the wood for a fence and build a fence camp according to the dangerous mountains and rivers. Burning bricks and building walls is a big project that cannot be completed in a single day, but its sturdiness is far beyond that of the fence camp.
After the defeat of Songyang, although Lin Fu did not lay off the Chizhou Army, the money and food provided to the Chizhou Army was sharply reduced to 600,000 taels per year. Yue Lengqiu's words are very clear.
After the disastrous defeat in Songyang, the money and food allocated were not enough to rest and recuperate, and there was no ability to carry out such a large-scale construction in Qichun while Deng Yu and Yue Zhi led the front troops across the Qishui River and advanced towards the Fengshan line.
defense system.
The way of attack and defense is to hide the defense in the midst of attack, and to attack in the middle of defense.
No matter how well Deng Yu and Yue Zhi fight in the front line, the defense of the camp must be solid and stable. In this way, even if Deng Yu, Yue Zhi and other front troops are frustrated, they can quickly retreat to rest and wait for the recovery to continue.
Attack in the direction of Fengshan instead of pinning all your hopes on one attack.
The defeat of Congyang was attributed to Shewenzhuang. Yue Lengqiu sent his son Yue Duming to lead the army to attack Huanglongling too hastily, which was naturally the main reason. However, the Xiaocangshan camp was too weak. After Yue Duming was defeated in the field, Yue Lengqiu
The inability to defend the Xiaocang Mountain camp was the main reason why casualties were difficult to control. If Yue Duming had been defeated when he attacked Huanglongling, and Yue Lengqiu could have defended the Xiaocang Mountain, at least it would have ensured that the defeat of most of the troops would not have resulted.
Chen Hansan and the She family teamed up to cover up the murder.
The same principle applies to attacking the enemy's defense line in eastern Hubei.
Thinking about defeat before victory is the most basic requirement for a general to lead an army.
No matter how weak the enemy's troops on the defense line in eastern Hubei are at this time, whether it is the Chizhou Army or the Huaidong Army, which is the most elite in the world, before the battle begins, there is no certainty that they can capture Hanjin and Huangpi in one go.
, Tieshanmen, Fengshan and other places to open the enemy's flank gap in eastern Hubei.
While attacking, you must consider how to deal with unfavorable offensive situations.
Furthermore, it is now judged that Yanhu's main attack direction is Jingzhou, so the Huaidong Army and Chizhou Army gathered nearly 100,000 troops to cross the river to the north bank, attack the enemy's east Hubei defense line, and use all their strength to contain Yanlu's flanks, so that they cannot
Try your best to attack Jingzhou. If the main force of Yan and Hu abandons Jingzhou and goes straight to the east of Hubei from the east bank of the Han River, will the Huaidong Army and Chizhou Army on the north bank of the Yangtze River advance or retreat?
In fact, at this time, a large number of captives were entering the vicinity of Shicheng at the western foot of Dahong Mountain along the east bank of the Han River. When the captives entered Shicheng (located in the upper reaches of the Han River, northwest of Hankou, Wuhan, today's Zhongxiang), they could cross the Han River from Shicheng to surround the city.
To attack Jingmen in the north of Jingzhou, you can also directly penetrate into the east of Hubei, and cooperate with Yang Xiong, Sun Jichang, Zhong Rong, Chen Han and other enemy troops who were on the defensive line in eastern Hubei to attack Huaidong and Chizhou troops who crossed the river in advance.
At this time, the troops of the Huaidong Army and the Chizhou Army that had crossed the river in advance could no longer think about deploying in a hurry, but had to consider shrinking, so as not to eat the Yanlu cavalry in the hilly areas south of Chajunshan and Qishan.
deficit.
At this time, along the north bank of the Yangtze River, with the two cities of Qichun and Huangzhou as the core, multiple defensive fortresses were quickly built. If the main force of the Yanlu were really attracted to the east of Hubei, the Huaidong Army and the Chizhou Army would shrink.
In the fortifications along the river, with the Yangtze River as their back, they will consume the Yanlu troops and fighting spirit. If the Yanlu's plan to attack Jingzhou remains unchanged, then the Huaidong Army and the Chizhou Army can rely on the fortifications along the river to attack the enemy in eastern Hubei.
Attack the defensive line to save the possibility of penetrating its flanks and relieve the siege of Jingzhou.
Even if Jingzhou is unfortunately lost, it will be relatively easy for the Huaidong Army and Chizhou to finally withdraw from the north bank with the support of fortifications along the river.
Only in this way can the Huaidong Army and Chizhou Army slightly grasp the initiative in the Jingxiang Battle and avoid falling into complete passivity.
Of course, in order to gain such initiative, it means a huge investment of manpower and material resources...
Without the Huaidong Army, how could Yue Lengqiu build two strong fortresses on the west bank of the Qishui River while repairing the ruined city of Qichun, relying only on the Ministry of Household Affairs' annual allocation of 600,000 taels to the Chizhou Army?
At this time, a civil servant wearing a green robe came to the city. He had a large spot on the right side of his face and was ugly. He looked so familiar that Liu Tingzhou couldn't remember who he was for a moment.
Yue Lengqiu introduced: "Tingzhou, this is Zhu Ai, the left lieutenant of the Privy Council camp. Under the order of the Privy Council envoy, he has the authority to know Qichun and leads five thousand troops into Qichun. The bridges, docks, ships and other matters in this village are handled by
Under the jurisdiction of Mr. Zhu..."
"Oh, why did I look so familiar?" Liu Tingzhou thought of who Zhu Ai was, but he didn't expect that the cowherd in his early years would now be appointed as the Qichun Order by Lin Fu.
Although Liu Tingzhou failed to promote him as an official in the end, he was the one who recognized his talent in the first place, and Zhu Ai was very kind to Liu Tingzhou.
"Zhu Ai pays homage to Master Yue, Master Liu, and General Deng!" Zhu Ai came over to salute Yue Lengqiu, Liu Tingzhou, and Deng Yu.
"You're welcome, Mr. Zhu." Liu Tingzhou replied, thinking that Lin Fu sent Zhu Ai to lead 5,000 troops into Qichun, and invested a lot of materials in Qichun to help the Chizhou army quickly build the rear defense fortifications. Without this
It further shows his determination to fight against Yanlu in Jingxiang.
Lin Fu invested a lot of resources in Luzhou early on, with the intention of guarding against Dong Yuan, but he also had the intention of relying on Shouzhou Chun to resist the main force of the Yanlu troops from entering Huaixi. However, the Yanlu troops in Nanyang had already begun
Going south, it is natural for Lin Fu to transfer Luzhou's resources here.
Although in Qichun, most of Liu Tingzhou's worries disappeared, but since he came here, he couldn't go back to Shouzhou without seeing Lin Fu - how could Huaixi contain Yanlu's troops on the northern front, Huaidongning
Whether the minister's troops should march westward along the Huaihe River or not, these key issues must be discussed with Lin Fu in person.
Yue Lengqiu also happened to be going to Huangzhou.
Huangzhou is located to the west and north of Qichun, opposite Ezhou City across the river. Geographically, Huangzhou happens to protect Qichun's flanks - relatively speaking, the Chizhou Army is responsible for sending troops from Qichun to attack Fengshan.
The military pressure is much less than that of the Huaidong Army.
After Yue Lengqiu left Qichun, Deng Yu stayed to take charge of the military affairs. There would be no serious problems.
Because the west bank of the Xishui River was not safe enough, after the Yanlu captured Wuguan, their main cavalry did not come over. However, a large number of war horses were mobilized to supplement Chen Hansan's troops, which made the cavalry controlled by Chen Hansan's troops closer.
Doubled to enhance its mobility in hilly areas.
However, the Huaidong water camp had to first transport people and necessary materials to the north bank in the early stage. The cavalry camp and a large number of war horses were somewhat delayed, so that in a short period of time, the ability to penetrate the buffer zone was no more than that of the enemy.
Yue Lengqiu accompanied Liu Tingzhou to Huangzhou. It was not safe to go by land, so he could only go to Huangzhou by boat.
After boarding the ship from Qichun and descending the Qishui River into the Yangtze River, Liu Tingzhou discovered that thousands of boats were racing across the Yangtze River, almost covering the entire river. On the river, in addition to the warships of the Huaidong Water Camp, troopships and large hulls temporarily requisitioned,
In addition to merchant ships, there are also a large number of small fishing boats such as galleys and awning oars, some of which still have uncollected fishing nets hung on their bows.
Liu Tingzhou looked puzzled. What were the fishermen doing in Huangzhou?
Looking at Liu Tingzhou's suspicion, Yue Lengqiu said: "Tingzhou came all the way from Shouzhou. Some of the latest situations are not clear yet. Before leaving Qichun, the privy envoy invited me to sign a land granting order with Zuo Xiang: People of Jianghuai River
Those who cross the river on their own and follow the army to the national calamity will be granted thirty acres of unowned land to those who have made meritorious deeds. Those who have moved with no merit will be granted one tael of silver and one acre of land to purchase permanent land in exchange for thirty acres of land after two years.
Fields are limited! In addition, the privy council also issued an order to recruit Confucian scholars to join the army and fight in the war. If they accumulate merit, they can be replaced as officials. Or they can serve in the army for two years and they can also be replaced as officials..."
Hearing this, Liu Tingzhou was stunned for a moment.
The Jingxiang Rebellion has been going on for several years, and land has been destroyed everywhere. After Jingxiang is recovered, there will be countless ownerless fields, and reclaiming wasteland for farming will be a headache. At this time, the land grant order is issued, and only
The future land grant can be used to recruit soldiers and civilians to assist in the battle.
However, recruiting Confucian scholars into the army is not that simple.
After Emperor Yongxing ascended the throne in Jiangning, the imperial examination was forced to be suspended due to the war, which cut off the way for Confucian scholars all over the world to enter officialdom.
Now Jiangxi, East Fujian, Zhejiang and Zhejiang, Xiangtan, Guangnan and other places have been restored to peace one after another. No matter how the battle of Jingxiang goes, as long as the Yangtze River can be defended, the resumption of scientific research is the general trend.
Lin Fu recruited Confucian scholars to join the army, and some Confucian scholars would be dismissive of it. However, some Confucian scholars, especially some young Confucian scholars, were furious about the massacre in Nanyang. At this time, their blood was boiling because of the national calamity, and they wished they had not had the opportunity to join the army——
Lin Fu's move opened a door of convenience. Although some of these Confucian scholars would join the Chizhou Army and the Huaixi Army, most of them would join the Huaidong Army and fall under Lin Fu's control.g@.