On the 22nd, the setting sun shone over the Yangtze River.
At this time, it was less than four days before Fancheng fell; less than three days after Luo Wenhu of Lishan surrendered to Huaidong; Luo Xianyi led his troops to assist Lishan and was defeated at Zhangjiawan, Luodian, just yesterday morning; Tang Fuguan led his troops to pursue and defeat yesterday
It was only in the afternoon that the troops arrived at Suizhou City and captured the outer city. Luo Xianyi and Ma Zhen led the remaining troops to retreat to Changle Palace City and still resisted. Azige's troops and the reinforcements gathered in the east of Fancheng were also captured by Sun Zhuang at Baihetan at dusk yesterday.
Annihilate Huang Zuyu...
Ye Jiluorong rode on the war horse, his body like a solid statue, listening to Xinqi's incoherent report on the defeat of Eastern Hubei.
Although Ye Jiluorong was not as alert to Huaidong as Shewenzhuang and Chen Zhihu, and he was good at fighting in battles but not good at tactics, but after half a lifetime of fighting, Ye Jiluorong also had a keen intuition for danger - Chen Zhihu's
News of the fiasco between Mi Xin and Bai Hetan reached Jingzhou early this morning. Ye Ji Luorong could already fully guess Huaidong's entire plan to lure the enemy deeper, but it was too late.
The defeat of Eastern Hubei has become a fate that will come sooner or later.
Ye Jiluorong raised his head and made a silencing gesture. The post rider who delivered the message was also confused and didn't know the explanation. Two guardsmen came over from the left and the right and pierced his body with two sharp knives. He stopped immediately.
After struggling, the bloody body was dragged away from Ye Jiluorong's eyes.
Xinqi has been so frightened by the defeat in Hubei that he collapsed. Such people cannot stay. Fear is like a plague, it will spread quickly if you are not careful - Ye Jiluorong has been fighting on the battlefield for more than thirty years, and he knows that this moment
If you are not careful, it will lead to the collapse of the entire army.
Once the hearts of the entire army are filled with fear, the road to escape north will be doomed to be paved with corpses.
"Send word to Zhou Fan that Tian Chang is coming to see me," Ye Ji Luorong, his face ashen, ordered in a hoarse but firm voice, "Send out all the guards to block all roads from Jingmen, Changlin, and Shicheng.
Those who make false claims will be immediately executed without mercy, and there is no need to ask for further instructions..."
The tribes of Yandong established their clans and their country through war. The followers around Ye Jiluorong had experienced many dangerous and bloody battles with Ye Jiluorong. Even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of their eyes, they could hardly blink an eye.
.
After all, there are too few brave soldiers who can truly stand up to the mountains without losing their composure. Most soldiers cannot calmly face the news of the defeat on the Eastern Front. Before the senior generals have digested the bad news, Ye Ji
Luo Rong must do everything possible to prevent fear from spreading to the entire army.
Compared with eastern Hubei, one advantage of Ye Ji Luorong being on the west bank of the Han River is that there are only a few limited channels for news from the east bank to reach Jingzhou; it is much easier to control the spread of news than in eastern Hubei.
Furthermore, the main force of the Huaidong Army is still in the eastern Hubei area. Even if it has to go deep into Shicheng, cross the Han River from Shicheng to intercept them, or directly go deep into Xiangyang and Nanyang, it cannot be done in two or three days - this means
No matter how dangerous the situation of Ye Jiluorong and others on the West Bank is, they are not going to face catastrophe immediately. They still have some precious buffer time to deal with the current crisis.
****************
Zhou Fan and Tian Chang, surrounded by their cavalry, rode to the river bank to meet Ye Ji Luorong.
On the river bank, except for Hu Zongguo standing next to Ye Jiluorong, there was no one else, and the guards were scattered a hundred steps away.
This discussion was a matter of life and death. Zhou Fan and Tian Chang also withdrew their cavalry aside and walked towards the river bank.
The setting sun spreads over the river. There are more than a dozen warships in the south of Jingzhou City. It is the Jinghu navy trying to approach Jingzhou City. Although Jingzhou is teetering under the setting sun, it does not fall after all.
Ye Jiluorong stood with his sword in hand, Xu Gan turned around, looked at Zhou Fan, and Tian Chang came over, and said: "Huangpi, Hanjin, and Tiemen Mountain have all fallen..."
From Chen Zhihu's secret letter and the news of the Baihetan fiasco, Zhou Fan and Tian Chang could guess the outcome. When they really had to face this situation, even though there was a bone-chilling chill running straight through their vertebrae, they were not immediately panicked.
At a loss.
"Su Tingzhan fled from Shicheng first and took the navy with him. I am afraid that the soldiers and horses from eastern Hubei will no longer be able to join us or flee north," Ye Jiluorong said, "Although the king of Ruzhou should be able to lead his troops today.
Entering Nanyang, but the time left for us is very limited, I believe you two also understand this..."
Chen Zhihu and Tu An, with 60,000 troops and horses in hand, can now occupy the Xinye, Nanyang, and Xichuan lines. They can also threaten the Huaidong Army who entered Fancheng from spreading. They can also protect the Wuguan River and Danjiang River.
Directly threatened by the Huaidong Army, it can also leave a northward retreat channel for them.
Once the main force of the Huaidong Army is called north and more than 100,000 elites are gathered south of Xinye, if Chen Zhihu does not want to be divided and surrounded by the Huaidong Army, he will be forced to abandon Nanyang and go to Xichuan and Wuguan to shrink his troops.
By then, after the Huaidong Army in Fancheng has eliminated the flank threat, and then cooperates with the Shuiying warships heading north from the lower reaches, they will be able to cross the Han River directly from Xiangyang and cut off their northward retreat.
"After this battle, I swear to kill Su Tingzhan!" Tian Chang spat viciously.
Ye Jiluorong looked at Tian Chang and felt that he just said this to clear his relationship with Su Tingzhan.
If Su Tingzhan did not flee first, the defeated troops from eastern Hubei could still gather in Shicheng and attract the main force of the Huaidong Army to Shicheng for a period of time. If the defeated troops in eastern Hubei were to be surrounded by the main force of the Huaidong Army,
It was undoubtedly a fool's dream to cross the river from Shicheng to the west bank before, but at least it would allow Meng Anchan's men, who were the first to evacuate to Shicheng, to escape several thousand more cavalry.
If the naval forces in Shicheng and Hanjin can still obey the order, it can greatly delay the Huaidong water camp's opportunity to enter the Han River and buy more time for the west bank troops to withdraw northward...
It's a pity that no one is a fool, and no one wants to stay in the rear on the east bank and be surrounded and annihilated by the main force of the Huaidong Army...
Su Tingzhan was decisive and treacherous. He escaped so thoroughly that he even took his family and relatives with him in Shicheng. This shows that he should have sensed the signs of the collapse of the Eastern Front earlier, but he could not bear to say anything about it.
Zhou Fan was surprised that Su Tingzhan had fled first, cutting off the last channel for the soldiers and horses from eastern Hubei to escape to the west bank. This crime was not worthy of pardon. However, Sheyuan, the grandson of Shewenzhuang, was able to withdraw from Huangpi first and still led the way.
The eight surnamed people in Shicheng fled north together with Su Tingzhan. It can be seen that Shewenzhuang should have been alert to Huaidong's conspiracy when he ordered his grandsons to retreat north. Why did Prince Mu still keep Hu Zongguo, an important figure from the Zhejiang and Fujian sect, here?
around?
Ye Ji Luorong also had troubles that he couldn't tell. In fact, when he went south, Shewenzhuang was wary of Huaidong many times, but he did not arouse enough vigilance. At this time, Shewenzhuang was not sure whether he was alive or dead in eastern Hubei.
All the armies in eastern Hubei were in retreat. How could Ye Ji Luorong hold Su Tingzhan and She Yuan responsible for their escape too harshly?
Another thing is that if they want to cross the Han River and retreat north from the Wuguan River and Danjiangkou, they cannot do without the cooperation of naval warships. At this time, the naval warships are mainly in the hands of Su Tingzhan, Yang Xiong, Ye Jiluorong
At this time, we can only appease Su Tingzhan and Yang Xiong, instead of stimulating them to flee westward at all costs.
Furthermore, Tian Chang said that he would swear to kill Su Tingzhan, but what exactly he was thinking in his heart, Ye Ji Luorong could not guess clearly at this time.
Ye Ji Luorong breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Su Tingzhan's stay in Shicheng cannot reverse the situation on the eastern front. If he withdraws north first, he can rush to strengthen Danjiangkou, which is also what I want," and said to Hu Zongguo
, "Zongguo, please draft an order for me, and ask Su Tingzhan to go north first to take over the post of Baiyang Pass guard general, strengthen the defense from Danjiangkou to Wuguan River, so as to receive the main force of our army to withdraw northward..."
"Yes." Hu Zongguo responded calmly. Ye Jiluo Rong gently revealed that Su Tingzhan's crime of fleeing north was not investigated, indicating that there was still room for saving the situation on the Western Front. If Ye Ji Luo Rong lost his mind, then he
Yoda Tsune mainly considered his own way out.
A gust of cold wind blew, and Ye Jiluorong felt a chill penetrate his body. At this time, he realized more and more the power of Huaidong's plan. In fact, he was completely defeated the moment he decided to lead his troops south from Nanyang to attack Jingzhou.
.
In addition to being too hasty to go south to attack Jingzhou, what is more important is that after 300,000 troops went south, the Han River was actually cut into east and west parts. The Shicheng pontoon bridge was not built for half a month, and only one or two hundred ships were needed.
, we end up ferrying thousands of people back and forth every day.
Even if they were alerted to the existence of the Chaishan ambush in advance, the 160,000 to 70,000 soldiers and horses gathered on the east bank of the Han River would have to deal with the elite Huaidong Army in a hurry, with the total number likely to reach 200,000, plus three additional troops.
Wanchizhou Army?
It would only take two or three days for the main force of the Huaidong Army to pursue from Huangpi to Shicheng. Even if Su Tingzhan did not escape, how many soldiers and horses could be picked up from the east bank?
Starting from Nanyang, everything was a big conspiracy by the Huaidong Brigade to go deep into Jingxiang. Jingzhou was just a bait released by Huaidong, but he didn't even notice it!
Ye Jiluorong felt the shock of regret in his heart - but no matter how painful his heart was, he had to hold back and restrain himself. He had not completely lost yet: the main force of the troops on the Western Front had not been dispersed, including his own cavalry and other troops.
The three newly attached Han troops, Zhou Fan, Chen Zhihu, and Tian Chang, are the essence of the troops on the Western Front. As long as they can keep these troops and retreat northward, they will have a chance to make a comeback in the future.
It was precisely because Chen Zhihu led his troops into Nanyang decisively that although they could not recapture Fancheng, they could secure the Wuguan River and the northern evacuation channel around Danjiangkou to the west of Xiangfan. This made Zhou Fan and Tian Chang less panicked.
"When Duke Wenzhuang was there, he once said that Dong Yuan was not a henchman. At this time, he evacuated the soldiers and horses in Xinyang and let the king of Ruzhou lead his troops into Nanyang. This shows that he was unwilling to give in to Lin Fu," Hu Zongguo said, "
The top priority is to immediately send people to sneak into Lishan Mountain and secretly order Luo Xiancheng to surrender to Dong Yuan..."
"There is no room for two tigers in one mountain, how could Dong Yuan keep Luo Xiancheng?" Ye Ji Luorong asked.
Luo Xiancheng surrendered to Dong Yuan, and he still had 50,000 or 60,000 direct soldiers and horses under his command. Even if Lin Fu could not hold Dong Yuan accountable for the crime of indulging the enemy for the time being, could Dong Yuan be stupid enough to allow Luo Xiancheng and 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers and horses to rest beside his bed?
"Since one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, then send envoys to assassinate Luo Xiancheng and make Zhong Rong and other generals surrender to Dong Yuan..." Hu Zongguo said word by word.
Zhou Fan's heart skipped a beat and he secretly thought that Hu Zongguo's plan was so vicious! He didn't expect that under such circumstances, Hu Zongguo could think of such a vicious plan. He was decisive and worthy of being the most important adviser around Shewenzhuang.
Luo Xiancheng would not be prepared at all for the special envoy sent by Ye Jiluorong to assassinate him, and the probability of the assassination being successful was extremely high.
At this time, Luo Xiancheng was entangled by Dong Yuan at the northern foot of Huaishan Mountain. He did not pose a threat to the main force of the Huaidong Army in the hinterland of Jingxiang. On the contrary, the most taboo in Huaidong at this time was Dong Yuan in western Huaixi. In fact, when the situation reached this point,
Luo Xiancheng's troops were blocked by the Huaihe River, and there were no supporting troops north of the Huaihe River, so there was no possibility of escaping.
Whoever is cheaper is worse than Dong Yuan who is determined to confront Huaidong.
Dong Yuan naturally did not care that Luo Xiancheng surrendered to him. What he cared about was the 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers and horses under Luo Xiancheng.
At this time, Ye Ji Luorong sent people to kill Luo Xiancheng, sent Dong Yuan to remove the main obstacle to the Suizhou army, and ordered Zhong Rong and other generals to surrender Dong Yuan immediately, which would suddenly increase Dong Yuan's troops in Huaixi.
The Suizhou Army's surrender to Dong Yuan would also allow Dong Yuan to control the northern foot of Huaishan Mountain and the passage into Jingxiang. Lin Fuzhen would dare to lead the Huaidong Army northward and completely expose his retreat to the Huaixi Army's front?
As long as Lin Fu left some troops in Suizhou to defend Dong Yuan, even if he only left 30,000 to 50,000 troops, it would greatly reduce the pressure on them to retreat north.
After hearing this plan, Ye Ji Luorong was very excited and said: "What a good plan."
"Mr. Wenzhuang sent a private letter to my subordinates yesterday," Hu Zongguo said after seeing that Ye Jiluo Rong agreed to remove Luo Xiancheng, and then continued the topic, "It's just that what Wenzhuang said in the letter was too shocking.
The official didn’t take it seriously, but now I think about it, there may be some merit..."
Ye Ji Luorong raised his eyebrows, looked at Hu Zongguo, and thought to himself: If he were to hold Su Tingzhan responsible for escaping, Hu Zongguo would probably not mention this letter, right?
"What did the King of Fujian say in the letter?" Ye Jiluorong asked. The life and death of Shewenzhuang in eastern Hubei was unknown at this time. Ye Jiluorong also wanted to know what other plans Shewenzhuang had left and asked Hu Zongguo to tell him. He wanted to send
The assassination of Luo Xiancheng should be Shewenzhuang's legacy...
"Dong Wenzhuang said in the letter that after the battle between Jingxiang and Huaidong, Huaidong will have the upper hand." Hu Zongguo seemed unable to see the suspicion in Ye Jiluorong's eyes. "Dong Wenzhuang thought that the court should adjust its strategy towards South Vietnam and change it immediately.
To fight for peace, immediately send people to ask for peace from the Southern Dynasty, even if the land of Henan is ceded to the Southern Dynasty, in exchange for the opportunity to recuperate. At the same time, it is also necessary to immediately secretly win over the Cao family, Dong Yuan and the Southern Dynasty imperial party.
Officials, the best strategy is to let the Cao family, Dong Yuan and the Southern Dynasty Emperor consume Huaidong's strength...Assassinating Luo Xiancheng and making the Suizhou army surrender to Dong Yuan is only the first step, otherwise no one will be able to control Huaidong."
Zhou Fan was secretly shocked after hearing this, and at the same time he was wondering: Since Shewenzhuang saw the signs first, why didn't he escape?
Tian Chang said: "No matter what, Jingzhou City must be captured now. The general asked Prince Mu to open the channel for Jingzhou's remnant army to escape south into the river. The general led his troops to attack it from the north, vowing to capture Jingzhou City before tomorrow.
…”
Ye Jiluorong looked at the dilapidated Jingzhou City, but he didn't expect that Hu Wenmu blocked them for more than half a month based on the city.
At present, Hu Wenmu is still leading the remnant army to defend the inner city of Jingzhou and not surrender. However, if they do not completely defeat the city, the Huaidong Army will be able to send an elite force to land quickly from Jingzhou in three to five days. Once the Huaidong Army arrives,
After the elite troops and the Jinghu army reunited in Jingzhou, who should be sent to lead the troops to the rear? Who is willing to stay and serve as the rear?
Only by capturing the city of Jingzhou can the northward retreat become more leisurely; even if the route of northward retreat is completely blocked by the Huaidong Army, they can still fight the Huaidong Army across the entire territory of Jingzhou.
Of course, the defenders of Jingzhou already knew Huaidong's overall plan. They were trapped in the inner city of Jingzhou and were very determined. They fought very tenaciously and no one wanted to give up at the last moment.
Beiyan was about to be defeated. For the Jingzhou defenders, even if they surrendered, they would only have a few more days to live. They would not be able to escape the purge of Huaidong after the war. Instead, they would be charged with defeat and defection to the enemy, which would hurt their families. It would be better to die in Jingzhou heroically.
in the city.
But by opening up the access to the river from the south of Jingzhou City, Hu Wenmu would have the opportunity to lead his remaining troops to withdraw to the Yangtze River. Hu Wenmu and the Jingzhou garrison might not decide to fight off every last soldier——
Hu Wenmu has been holding on to Jingzhou until now, and he has been able to explain everything to the opponent. At the last moment, he died in Jingzhou. What good will it do to him if the last elite of his direct lineage are wiped out in Jingzhou? Anyway, after the Northern Yan troops withdrew northward, he