It was only about forty miles from Longzui Mountain to Fancheng. They set off at dawn. More than a thousand cavalrymen surrounded dozens of carriages from the Military Intelligence Department heading north. Traces of the fierce battle from a few days ago still remained on the Baihe Beach, and there were still brown blood stains on the river beach. Wash away the rain and snow.
Lin Fu took the scarlet cloak in his arms, looked at the burnt wormwood on the Baihe River beach and the corpses that had not been completely cleaned up, and then waded through the water on his horse.
The pontoon bridge on Baihetan was forcibly set on fire by the enemy navy four days ago. It was Su Tingzhan's navy who fled north from Shicheng. They used pontoons and large shields to rush into the river mouth and set fire to it. Fancheng could not completely block the river mouth - Baihetan. The pontoon bridge was destroyed, but there was a stone beam bridge thirty miles upstream on the Chi Road from Zaoyang to Xinye, which became the main channel for the Huaidong Army to enter Xiangfan. Lin Fu was anxious to go to Fancheng, so he naturally went directly Cross the river by wading in shallow water.
Although the water in the Baihe River is shallow, it does not cross the horse's belly. When crossing the river, his legs will inevitably be submerged in the cold river water, and they will be soaked up to the knees. After crossing the river, Lin Fu stops his horse, wrings his trousers dry, and puts on his trousers. Dry riding boots, from where he sat, he could see the Yan army warships patrolling the water above the Han River.
"It's a pity that our navy can't come up for a while!" Lin Fu pointed to the Han River outside the river mouth and said to Gao Zongting and Song Fu, "Otherwise, there is no need to risk crossing the river from the upper reaches..."
This is where the Han River turns. From the mouth of the Baihe River to the west, the Han River flows in an almost east-west direction. After the big bend, it flows from north to south and slightly to the southeast. A large silt bank has been accumulated in the northeast corner. This silt bank In summer and autumn, it is a flood channel. At this time, the Han River is thin and large areas of mudflats are exposed. The water surface is especially wide, and there are whirlpools as far as the eye can see.
Because the other side of the Han River is Lumen Mountain in the southeast of Xiangyang, the mountains are so steep when viewed from a distance, resulting in the overhanging wall on the south bank of the Han River. Many reefs born in the same vein as Lumen Mountain are scattered in the deep water channel on the south side. ——These special terrains cause the local people to call this bend of the Han River the Evil Devil's Turn, and boatmen who are familiar with the waterway must be very careful when maneuvering their boats across it.
After the sharp bend, Yanhu used the surrendered general Yang Xiong to command 200 warships and 6,000 naval troops for defense. Although the warships of the Huaidong Water Camp were powerful, they could not easily break through this defense line and enter the upper reaches of the Han River.
In order to prevent the enemy navy's pontoons from penetrating from the shallow waters of the Baihe River upstream to the hinterland between Zaoyang and Fancheng and affecting the flanks of the Huaidong Army moving westward, Huang Zuyu stationed a sentry soldier on the west beach of the Baihe Branch to build a beacon tower as a warning line of defense. .
When he captured Fancheng, he gained more than 5,000 civilians, which allowed Huang Zuyu to use his military force in Fancheng.
In just a few days, the beacon pier on the west beach of Baihe Branch was still quite simple, but it was still cut down to make a fence, with a thick layer of soil tamped in the middle, and an arrow tower erected on the four corners of the wood. There were also fences on the outside to prevent the enemy from directly attacking the fence wall. A parapet blocks the west beach of Baihe River.
Fancheng was only twelve or three miles away from here. After the cavalry had finished crossing the river, Lin Fu left for Fancheng surrounded by his cavalry.
The pontoon bridge at Feiyu Cape has been destroyed, leaving a small half of the iron cable hanging down into the Han River. Standing on the promontory stone, you can see the appearance of the water village in the northwest corner of Xiangyang City on the other side. Put the looking glass in front of you. The high flag raised has a big word "Yang" written on it...
On the 21st, Yang Xiong abandoned Hanjin and fled north. On the way to the north, he was ordered by Ye Ji Luorong to serve as commander of the navy in Xiangyang. The whole family followed Su Tingzhan to Yunguan in the upper reaches of Danjiangkou.
Yunguan has "the head of Qin and the tail of Chu, and is divided into counties in Yiyu". Although the terrain is adjacent to Xiangfan, it was formerly under the jurisdiction of Hanzhong Prefecture.
She Fei Xiong's Sheyuan is at Yunguan at this time. He should be sitting on the wall and watching. He can go north to Guanzhong or west to Hanzhong.
However, Hanzhong City is far to the west of the Bashan Qinling Mountains, and it is nearly a thousand miles away by going up the Xiajiang River waterway.
Although the Cao family gathered nearly 20,000 troops and horses in Hanzhong, it would take at least seven or eight days for the news of the Battle of Jingxiang to reach Hanzhong. Lin Fu thought that the Cao family might not know the scale of the Battle of Jingxiang until now. They were
There was simply not enough time to intervene in the Battle of Jingxiang.
Another is that the upper reaches of the Han River are sandwiched between high mountains and ridges. The water channel is extremely dangerous and there are dangerous shoals everywhere. No matter how many soldiers and horses the Cao family has on the Han River, there is no way to go straight down to Jing along the Han River in a short time.
Xiang.
Lin Fu entered Fancheng and first summoned Zhou Tong, Liu Zhenzhi, Chen Zhi, Huang Zuyu, Zhou Bin, Chen Daozi and other generals above the brigade commander to discuss matters; Ao Canghai, Yu Wencheng, Gao Zongting, Song Fu, Zhou Pu, Sun Zhuang, Tang Xitai, Zhao Bao,
Luo Wenhu and others also attended the military meeting and gathered together to make their stars shine.
There were not many defenders in Fancheng, only more than 5,000 men. Both Chen Zhi and Liu Zhenzhi left Fancheng: one went west along the north bank of the Han River, and the other went northwest along Shiqiao Ridge in the northwest of Fancheng, which was not far enough from the enemy's new field.
Forty miles, Dengzhou is less than fifty miles.
"In addition to the troops and horses covering the flank in the northwest of Zaoyang, Zhang Jiheng and Yu Wencheng have gathered at the Shiqiao Ridge line, and all the troops of the Third Cavalry Brigade have also been transferred there. Canghai, you go to Shiqiao Ridge to take charge and raise the flag.
Get up," Lin Fu said, "draw Chen Zhihu's attention there..."
Even if the shielding troops and horses are left on the flanks, after Zhang Jiheng and Yu Wencheng go north, plus Liu Zhenzhi and Zhang Zhuang's troops before them, the number of troops gathered on the Shiqiao Ridge line will exceed 50,000 elites. There is no doubt that when the time is right,
, the Huaidong Army attacked the two cities of Dengzhou and Xinye on the north side with thunderous force...
At this time, Dengzhou was guarded by Chen Zhihu's general Gao Yi, and Xinye was guarded by the Liang family's rebel general Tu'an.
Regarding how to fight the final battle of the Jingxiang Battle, the Military Intelligence Department and the various ministries have fully demonstrated. At present, they are just making some adjustments based on the actual situation. The military meeting was very short. After the military meeting, Lin Fu and the generals were in Fancheng.
After a brief meal, Ao Canghai, Sun Zhuang, Yu Wencheng and others went north to Shiqiao Ridge; after a short rest, Lin Fu also left Fancheng and headed west along the north bank of Han River to Huanglongtan to inspect the army. Zhou Pu, Gao Zongting, Chen Zhi,
Huang Zuyu, Tang Xitai, Luo Wenhu and others accompanied him, while Zhou Tong stayed in Fancheng to take charge.
Huang Zuyu's troops were merged into the First Town Division of the Chongcheng Army, bringing the strength of the First Town Division of the Chongcheng Army to more than 24,000. Huang Zuyu served as deputy commanding officer under Chen Zhi, and Chen Zhi led his troops to the south bank. Huanglong
The base in front of the ridge is presided over by Huang Zuyu.
The road from Fancheng to Huanglongtan has been repaired. Compared with the lofty mountains in the Longzhong Mountains west of Xiangyang City on the south coast, the hills on the north coast are much gentler. Because the terrain is relatively gentle, a wider range of mudflats have been deposited than on the south coast. These
It is difficult for the enemy navy to land on a large scale on the mudflat. However, for more than 40 miles from Fancheng to Huanglongtan, we should follow the example of the Baihetan. Every seven or eight miles, we will set up beacon towers and defensive villages at dangerous locations.
Use elite soldiers to guard against attacks on the north bank by the enemy forces controlling the Han River...
Although Huanglongtan is called a beach, it is actually a low stone ridge that reaches directly to the north bank of the Han River. The front base responsible for the first town division of the Chongcheng Army is on the west side of Huanglongtan. Further ahead is the enemy general Su
Tingzhan was guarding Zanyang and Baiyang Pass. The branch where the Danjiang River flows into the Han River is right behind Baiyang Pass.
Since Yanhu did not have enough transportation capacity to transport the soldiers and horses from Xiangyang on the south bank directly to Wuguan in the upper reaches via the Danjiang Waterway, or even further to Danfeng County or Shangzhou Fucheng, most of them landed at Baiyangguan and then along the Danjiang Pass at Baiyangguan.
Walk along the east bank of the river towards Xichuan.
Because the road on the east bank of the Danjiang River was so bad that it was no better than going from Huanglongtan to Chanyang, the enemy at Baiyangguan moved very slowly towards Xichuan. As a result, the number of enemy troops gathered at Baiyangguan at this time even exceeded that of Xinye. Deng
Two cities in the state.
Huanglongtan faces the Han River and is a headland called Dragon Claw Rock. The headland is more than two hundred feet deep, like a dragon's claw protruding into the Han River, and is more than ten feet high from the water. Lin Fu walked up to Dragon Claw Rock.
Looking at Miaotan Ridge, which looks like a dragon lying on the other side, the two sides are so close that you can clearly see the trees on the other side.
Miaotan Ridge is a waterfront ridge between Xiangyang and Gucheng County. It is the remnant of the northern foot of Jingshan Mountain. It stretches for twenty miles and has several main peaks 1670 feet high. It is the valley west of Xiangyang.
To the east of the city, the largest mountain range on the south bank of the Han River besides Long Mountain is the Shanmen Rock on the opposite bank that Lin Fu is looking at. It is already considered the northwest foothills of Miaotan Ridge. The height of the mountain is only about twenty feet, which is the same as here.
The Dragon Claw Rock stands on the Han River, only three hundred steps away.
Tang Xitai came to Fancheng as early as the 21st, touched the hydrological topography twice, and said: "The Han River comes from the upper reaches, and is blocked by the Dragon Claw Rock and is forced to flow in a semi-isolated shape to the temple on the other side of the river.
At the Shanmen Rock on the outside of the beach ridge, the water flow was blocked by the Shanmen Rock and refracted, and rushed directly to the Tianma Rock on the west bank. The water flow became extremely dangerous. When we sent people to dive, we could even see empty pots formed under the water, but they were not deep enough.
end……"
Lin Fu nodded. Along the way, there were enemy sentry ships stationed on the Han River to monitor the Han River. Only this section of the water was extremely dangerous. Even if the enemy sentry ship wanted to anchor, there was a high possibility that it would cause trouble.
The water was wrapped around the rocks and hit the rocks, making it impossible to patrol frequently.
Of course, although the water here is only two to three hundred paces wide, such rapid water makes it impossible for the Huaidong Army to arrange an armed crossing here...
Huang Zuyu said: "About every two hours, the enemy will have a sentinel ship passing by. However, after hearing the news at the water village of Xiangyang City, they will send a large number of warships against the water flow. It will take at least a day; on the contrary, the enemy water village will
The navy in the west of Gucheng and Baiyangguan came faster, but the enemy did not consider that there would be opponents upstream, so there were mostly ferries for generals to cross the river. In addition, at most they were small patrol boats, which could not be stationed in front of such turbulent water.
…”
"How many people have we lurked in Miaotan Ridge?" Lin Fu asked, "How long can we hold on if we are discovered by an enemy sentry?"
"There are sixty-one people lurking in Miaotan Ridge at this time; once the ropeway is set up, an elite battalion including armor and weapons can be sent over before dawn," Huang Zuyu said, "The enemy's post road from Xiangyang to Gucheng is in the temple
To the south of Tanling Mountain, they considered using the valley between Miaotan Ridge and Jingshan Mountain to block my troops pursuing from the south, so their camp was built at the mouth of the valley at the southeastern foot of Miaotan Ridge, while the river-crossing cableway we wanted to build was
At the Shanmen Rock in the northwest corner of Miaotan Ridge, the enemy troops came overland after hearing the police and had to go around forty miles. In such a long time, we were able to send an elite battalion over and set up a camp at Shanmen Rock.
The defensive position established on the south side..."
"Well, I will wait for your victory in Fancheng!" Lin Fu said, looking at Gao Zongting, "What else is Zongting worried about?"
Gao Zongting smiled and asked Luo Wenhu and other commanders from the Military Intelligence Department to join the army and stay. He and Zhou Pu accompanied Lin Fu back to Fancheng. Lin Fu came to inspect the front base, and maybe the enemy had scouts lurking around the perimeter. He
If you and Lin Fu stay here for a long time, it will easily cause unnecessary alertness to the enemy.
Lin Funan returned, Chen Zhi, and Huang Zuyu returned to the front base camp on the west wing. Luo Wenhu stayed with Tang Xitai in the mountain col on the north side of Longzhao Rock. It looked like the camp of Huanglongtan front base, but in fact thousands of people were there.
Preparations were made for several days to erect a suspension bridge over the Longzhaoshi River section.
The reason why the Shanmen Rock Frame Suspension Bridge was chosen for the confrontation was that, in addition to sparing the enemy's sight and the turbulent water making it difficult for the enemy naval warships to stay for a long time, there was also a key reason that there were many things in the dense forest behind Shanmen Rock.
The giant wood that can bind the suspension rope is a natural fixation to lock the suspension rope.
In order to accommodate the terrain on the other side, the only choice was Dragon Claw Rock on the north shore.
There is no grass growing on Longzhao Rock, and there are no giant trees to fix the suspension ropes. Drilling holes into the hanging rocks on the river side will easily attract the attention of enemy patrol boats on the water. Therefore, iron piles are inserted into the gaps behind the giant rocks, and tens of thousands of kilograms of molten iron are slowly melted.
Pour it into the stone gaps and connect the iron piles to the huge rock as if they were rooted.
Walking down the back of the rock, thirteen I-shaped iron pillars about four feet high stood there like roots. Luo Wenhu secretly sighed: If it were another power, let alone building a suspension bridge, in just seven or eight days, these thirteen
It is impossible for an iron pillar to take root and stand here.
It's ridiculous that Luo Xiancheng wanted to cede Suizhou to become the king before he died!
With such a turbulent current, even if there are fixed objects on both sides, it is extremely difficult to directly erect a pontoon bridge; even if the current does not destroy the pontoon bridge, the enemy has built several boats upstream filled with earth and rocks, and they will be destroyed in one stroke; however, on the water surface and
The other side is controlled by the enemy, so how easy is it to build a suspension bridge suspended above the water?
When building cableways or suspension bridges between gorges and rivers in that era, hemp ropes were generally not allowed to be used. The hemp ropes were too soft. If the hemp ropes were stretched for three to four hundred steps, the ropes would swing directly to the water, which would become a pontoon bridge. It was also impossible to use iron cable chains.
, the chain of iron rings is too heavy.
Suspension bridges and pontoon bridges have completely different concepts of the pulling force on the iron cables. The pontoon bridge has a pontoon as the bottom, which holds the iron cables, mainly to resist the impact of the water flow on the pontoon bridge; while an iron cable weighing several thousand kilograms hangs directly on the water.
On the other hand, the direct pulling force of the iron cables on the lock bridges on both sides of the bank will be astonishingly large. It is also doubtful whether the strength of the iron cables themselves can withstand such a strong pulling force. Not to mention that humans and animals can walk on it, which is very difficult.
It is easy to directly collapse the cable bridge.
When people built cable bridges over streams and rivers, they usually used bamboo cables that were light in weight but strong in strength and rigidity. However, even if a bamboo suspension cable could be erected overnight from Longzhao Rock to Shanmen Rock on the other side, even if the suspension
The rope is stretched extremely straight and does not swing down at all. It is only 14 to 50 feet away from the water. The enemy controls the water and the boat passes under the bamboo ropeway. It can be burned with fire...
Before seeing the iron wire rope produced in Huaidong, Luo Wenhu could not imagine that the Huaidong Army could first build a cableway and then a suspension bridge between Longzhao Rock and Shanmen Rock...