In order to spend the night in Fancheng on the north bank of the river, Si Xizi took a ferry across the Han River at dusk.
There are two pontoon bridges on the Han River, and heavy trucks transport grain and grass into Xiangyang at all times. Unless there are special circumstances, people traveling between Xiangyang and Fancheng, especially when crossing the river in the opposite direction to the north, need to take a boat. Although it is faster to take the pontoon bridge,
Transporting grain was a big deal, and Sixizi didn't dare to openly break Azige's rules.
It was only mid-October, and autumn was getting colder. As the ferry docked at the pier, there were yellow leaves blown off by the wind and falling on the bow of the boat.
"General Chen, what's the wind that keeps bringing you to the north bank?" The garrison military academy at the North Bank Pier came over to greet Si Xizi in a flattering way, and stretched out his hand to help Si Xizi walk across the trestle.
Si Xizi is a Han Chinese, and his family name is Chen. He was kidnapped as a slave by the Nahe family for three generations, and now he is a domestic slave of the Nahe family. Chen Xi grew up with Azige since he was a child. He was a companion slave and was trusted by Azige.
Jige led the army, and he also served on horseback and on horseback. He fought in the north and south for many years, and accumulated a lot of military merits. He was granted the official title of nomadic deputy lieutenant.
According to the official system of Yanjing, he was an eighth-grade military attache, not as good as the Fu Cha Cheng of the Military Academy who guarded the dock on the north bank. However, Chen Xi relied on his status as a domestic slave of the Xiangfan garrison general Azige to become the prefect of Xiangyang, Shen Haobo, and the garrison of Fancheng.
Puama, the assistant commander, wanted to give him a lot of respect. Chen Xi naturally accepted Tong Cheng's flattery calmly.
"The King of Xiangyang pushed back a few days ago, but this time he sent grain and grass and Lifu so straightforwardly. General Azige was afraid that the King of Xiangyang would take some old grain and ruin it, and the old, weak, women and children would come to deal with it, so he specially asked Chen to come over and inspect the school.
, If this is really the case, then send them back..." Chen Xi raised his head and said loudly.
"It turns out that General Chen came to the North Bank on the order of General Azige, brother, I don't dare to delay General Chen," Tong Cheng helped Chen Xi to the dock, held his arm affectionately, and kept his voice low.
He said, "After General Chen has finished his work, don't rush back to the south bank. Ask my brother to prepare a few bottles of wine on the dock, and then find some ditty singers from the prostitute camp to reminisce about the past..."
Setting up prostitute camps in the army and seizing women as captives was one of the methods used by Beiyan to seize the looted property from the generals to make up for the financial shortfall. Ordinary soldiers could have fun in the prostitute camps during a specified period of time, while officers had special privileges.
You can take the camp prostitutes out to stay overnight, but you will have to pay more money.
It's just that Azige was bent on pursuing military glory and was very strict. Chen Xi didn't dare to indulge in greed and pleasure too freely when he was around Azige.
Chen Xi chose to go to the river at this time, thinking about staying in Fancheng at night and having a good time, but thinking that Fancheng's guard general Puama would definitely entertain him, he thought how could Tong Cheng find anything good?
?But this road could not be blocked, so he said: "After inspecting the food and grass, we may have to discuss military affairs with the Puazuo leader. Let's wait and see what the weather looks like..."
"That's it, that's it, it's business!" Tong Cheng said, sending Chen Xi and eight soldiers to the south gate of Fancheng...
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In general, what Azig had expected in Xiangyang was not far off. The grain and grass transported from Chaishan and the accompanying three thousand people were indeed temporarily diverted from Suizhou to Fancheng.
Before the war, the king spoke harshly to Luo Xiancheng, which made Luo Xiancheng furious. He wanted to tie the king over and whip him severely. However, as the war progressed, almost all the supplies in Suizhou and the surrounding Lishan, Zaoyang, Xiaochang and other places were exhausted.
After being squeezed out, Luo Xiancheng had to think about the benefits of Wang Xiang again.
Due to the deployment of a large number of soldiers and civilians from Suizhou, Lishan, Zaoyang, Xiaochang and other places during the war, farming in these places was seriously affected. In the summer, waterlogging occurred, and the waterlogging could not be drained in time. The weeds in the fields grew and could not be removed in time.
; When the autumn ripened, due to the lack of young and strong labor, even large areas of rice and wheat had no time to be harvested and rotted in the fields. The overall autumn harvest in Suizhou was less than half of previous years.
In the past, even if there was only half a harvest, the Suizhou soldiers could be called upon to sustain it for half a year, extracting more grain taxes from the people, and surviving the spring famine would not be a problem.
However, since the Battle of Jingxiang, the harvest south of Xiaochang has to support the consumption of Tiemen Mountain and Fengshan; the harvest around Dahong Mountain has to be exported to Shicheng; the autumn grain of Zaoyang has been sent to Xiangyang;
The troops and horses had to rely on supplies from around Suizhou City and Mount Li. They were extremely tight, and even the grain reserves at the military fortress at the northern foot of Huaishan Mountain were insufficient for more than a month.
The grain reserves are insufficient. Once the Shouzhou Army and Fengli Army are encircled, how will the soldiers in the military fortress at the northern foot of Huaishan Mountain be supported?
Luo Xiancheng had to be ashamed and ordered the king to send an additional 100,000 shi of grain and grass from Chaishan to support Suizhou in addition to the grain rations he should pay.
Geographically, Chaishan Mountain is closer to Fengshan Mountain and Tiemen Mountain. The straight-line distance is only more than a hundred miles, but this hundred miles lies across the Siliu Mountain, a branch of Huaishan Mountain.
Silu Mountain is high and dangerous, and there are occasionally dangerous trails that can be walked. There is no channel for large-scale transportation of grain. It is simply practical to transport grain directly from Chaishan to Fengshan and Tiemen Mountain. After Wang Xiang took control of Chaishan, he vigorously opened up a connection to the northwest.
The access to Lishan is quite convenient from Chaishan to Suizhou via Lishan.
Wang Xiang, Zhou Bin personally led two thousand soldiers and recruited three to four thousand civilians to escort the first batch of grain and grass to Suizhou. Their original intention was to capture Suizhou City and cut off Luo Xiancheng's retreat; before entering Suizhou City, he learned that Ye Ji Luorong
Envoys were sent to Suizhou to collect food and important people. Wang Xiang and Zhou Bin contacted Cao Zi'ang who was lurking in Lishan. Zhou Tong contacted them and changed the plan temporarily.
At that time, Luo Xiancheng was personally supervising the war at the northern foot of Huaishan Mountain, and the political affairs of Suizhou were presided over by Ma Zhen. Ma Zhen could not make a decision and wanted to send someone to the northern foot of Huaishan Mountain to ask Luo Xiancheng for instructions, but Wang Xiang arbitrarily advocated handing over the grain and grass transported from the mountain.
come out.
Ma Zhen originally refused to comply, but Wang Xiang promised that Chaishan could replenish a batch of food and grass, and Ye Jiluorong's messenger was extremely vicious and urged him very urgently, so he reluctantly agreed to give up this trip of food and grass.
Prime Minister Wang and Prime Minister Zhou originally wanted to take the opportunity to attack Shicheng.
Although Shicheng is closer to the Eastern Hubei defense line and the Jingzhou battlefield, and Shicheng is only more than 200 miles away from Suizhou, Shicheng and Suizhou are separated by Dahong Mountain. For a long time, Dahong Mountain has been the peripheral area of Suizhou, and it was still affected by Jingzhou at that time.
When the Lake Army controlled the confrontation in Shicheng, how could the road conditions through the Dahong Mountains be good?
It is possible to pass through Dahong Mountain on foot, but it is much more difficult for a grain and grass cart carrying more than ten stones to pass.
The route from Suizhou to Fancheng has always been the hinterland controlled by Suizhou, and the roads are in good condition. Therefore, it is more convenient to transport grain and grass to Fancheng via Zaoyang, and then follow the waterway to Shicheng than to transport it directly to Shicheng...
Therefore, Wang Xiang returned to Chaishan to transfer grain and grass to "support" Suizhou. Zhou Bin and Huang Zuyu took the opportunity of escorting grain and grass, leading 2,000 Chaishan troops and 3,000 "civilians" to escort more than 2,000 carts of grain and grass to the gate of Fancheng smoothly.
Since the Nanyang War, Yanhu and the newly attached She family, Suizhou troops and horses have been busy with the war, leaving Ye Jiluo Rong with no time to integrate the She family and Suizhou troops, let alone sort out the Jingxiang area, and analyze the Jingxiang area.
The control of the occupied area is generally divided into three areas: Shejia, Suizhou and Beiyan.
Ye Jiluorong was good at military affairs, but not civil affairs. He did not organize the Jingxiang area in time, which resulted in different jurisdictions in the hinterland of Jingxiang and the issuing of government orders. There was also no unified communication system, and there were serious errors and delays in the transmission of documents from various places.
It has become the norm, and Azig is also troubled by it, but there is nothing he can do.
Therefore, Azige did not receive an official letter from Luo Xiancheng in Xiangyang, and Chaishan Lieutenant Zhou Bin had already rushed to Fancheng to deliver grain and grass and the people. He was not surprised, and just sent Chen Xi to the north bank to supervise Fancheng guard Puama.
Strict review was carried out during the delivery, fearing that Luo Xiancheng would casually get some old and rotten grain to deal with him.
Delivering grain and grass is not that simple. First of all, the defender will not be stupid enough to directly send the two thousand soldiers and horses escorting the grain and grass into the city. As for the civilians, it is possible to enter the city directly after the delivery, but they will also be subject to strict temporary control, thus losing the opportunity to contact weapons.
.
The convoy and escorting soldiers and horses were stationed ten miles away from the east gate of Fancheng. Puama sent more than a dozen military disciplinary officers to monitor and restrain them. It was not because they were suspicious, it was just a necessary procedure.
Zhou Bin first took the grain transporter Bo Guan into the city to see the guard general Puama, and presented him with the document signed by Ma Zhen in Suizhou, making an appointment for the inspection and delivery time. The direct generals of Yan and Hu generally despised the surrendered general.
, after negotiation, Zhou Bin left the city directly and returned to the temporary camp outside the east gate.
Huang Zuyu, pretending to be a leader of the people, was squatting at the edge of the field. When he saw Zhou Bin riding over, he stood up, causing the people around him to disperse and be alert, and asked: "How is the situation in the city?"
"I'm not alert at all," Zhou Bin dismounted and said, "I have made an appointment to send someone to deliver the goods before noon tomorrow..."
"Okay," Huang Zuyu clenched his fist and said, "We will camp temporarily outside the city and equip the generals with armor at night. Tomorrow I will lead the team to fight the bridge crossing. Mr. Zhou, you will be responsible for attacking Fancheng.
In addition, I sent them to bribe the enemy troops guarding the city gate, saying that my brothers have worked hard all the way and it is rare to encounter a big city. If I want to go in to eat, drink and have fun, I will send a group of people in first and cooperate with us to seize the city tomorrow morning!"
The soldiers and armor were all hidden in the baggage vehicles, including the two thousand escorts, who were wearing ordinary military uniforms and long guns. Only a few of them were armored so as not to cause unnecessary alarm. Obviously, the troops escorting the grain and grass were better equipped than the soldiers.
It also needs to be sophisticated, and cannot be hidden from the eyes of interested people. Everything must wait until the city is under the city to change the clothes.
Zhou Bin nodded and sent one person to lead thirty or forty men into the city to eat, drink and have fun. Together with Huang Zuyu, he carefully observed the situation around the camp to prevent any accidents.
The dozen or so military discipline officers sent by Puama to monitor and restrain the grain transport team had already asked Huang Zuyu to send people to the camp to eat and drink. Enough people were also deployed outside the camp where the food and drink were being eaten; the generals and "civilians" who were escorting the transport team were
"In conjunction with setting up camp, nearly two thousand grain transport vehicles surrounded the camp. The scale of the camp was very large. Secret sentries had been sent out to guard against anyone else approaching the camp unintentionally and discovering the secrets in the camp.
Zhou Bin and Huang Zuyu moved to a higher slope to talk. They called the generals above the battalion general to come over. They further studied the terrain around Fancheng based on the map and discussed tomorrow's tactical arrangements.
Fancheng was not built near the water, but it was only two miles away from the river bank.
There are four battalions of cavalry stationed in Fancheng on the north bank, and the third battalion of cavalry is stationed directly in Fancheng. However, the iron pile wharf and the pontoon bridge upstream to cross the port are the key guard locations on the north bank. There are two small forts built on the east and west wings.
, guarding the entrance, a battalion of elite troops was stationed.
In order to prevent the lurking spies from Vietnam and North Korea from causing sabotage, the defenders of Qiaodu were very vigilant and strictly prohibited civilians from approaching. Ordinary military horses passing through Fancheng could not approach the Qiaodu area without Azige's warrant.
In addition to these, there is a water village in the upper reaches of Qiaodu, at the northwest corner of the branch where the Tuohe River merges into the Han River, with more than a thousand naval troops and thirty warships.
The water stronghold located upstream of Qiaodu was naturally designed to prevent the Cao family's troops in Hanzhong from descending the Han River to attack Xiangyang. However, Xiangyang's main line of defense against the Hanzhong troops was the Danjiangkou and Baiyangguan lines further upstream.
There are three thousand water infantry. In addition, Danjiangkou and Baiyang Pass are also important places where the Han River connects with the Danjiang River and the Wuguan River, and connects Wuguan to the north and Danfeng County of Shangzhou Prefecture.
Fanxiang is the key link between Jingzhou and Beidi, but it does not mean that occupying Fancheng can completely close the door to Jingxiang. The actual gap starts from Danjiangkou and Baiyangguan in the west, and ends at
Only when Zaoyang in the east completely controls more than two hundred miles can the gate of Jingxiang be completely closed.
Huang Zuyu squatted on the ground, sipping the leaves, and said: "If we can take down Baiyang Pass and Danjiangkou, the closing plan will be perfect!"
"It's difficult," Zhou Bin said, "from Fancheng to the east all the way to Baiyangguan and Danjiangkou, they are the defense areas of Azige, the direct line of Yanhu; and from Fancheng to the west, along the Han River, the terrain on both sides is narrow and dangerous.
It's a waterway connection. It's very difficult to send people to climb mountains and sneak through Baiyang Pass to attack Baiyang Pass. If Mr. Ganzi can lead his troops to arrive in time, he may even attack Baiyang Pass a dozen times..."
Huang Zuyu pointed at the map and said: "Go west from Xiangyang. The terrain on both sides of the Han River is extremely dangerous. The enemy troops in Jingzhou want to withdraw westward on a large scale and escape from Danjiang and Wuguan Rivers to Guanzhong. They can only go up the Han River.
.If we keep the pontoon bridge between Fancheng and Xiangyang and not burn it down, then the pontoon bridge will be a direct obstacle to the enemy's westward escape along the Han River..."
"Is that so..." Zhou Bin frowned. If the pontoon bridge had not been destroyed, after they attacked Fancheng by surprise, the defenders of Xiangyang City on the south bank would have used the pontoon bridge and ferry to launch a crazy counterattack on the north bank...
Zhou Bin didn't have time to think too much. At this time, a group of people came from the east gate of Fancheng. There seemed to be more than a hundred people. Zhou Bin stood up and asked Huang Zuyu and other generals to go back to the camp to prepare. He led
Two guardsmen went over to greet him to see what was going on.