They formed a camp with chariots, lined up on both sides, forming a horn formation, and used large crossbows and strong bows to restrain the enemy soldiers from leaving the west gate. They also arranged the cavalry to line up in the southwest to prevent the enemy soldiers from coming out of the east gate to attack and harass.
He then dispatched civilian warriors to dig long trenches and walls along the west side of Hecheng Fortress three hundred paces away. From the beginning, Lin Fu assumed the posture of besieging Hecheng for a long time.
If it were someone else guarding Hecheng, Lin Fu might not have to go to such great lengths, but She Feihu regarded Hecheng as a soft threat to Jiangdong's left army, and he could not be expected to easily abandon the fortress and retreat under pressure.
Most of the Hecheng bandits were veterans of Jin'an. She Feihu had become famous for his skill in fighting in Eastern Fujian when he was young, and he also had many generals who were good at fighting and brave. To avoid the heavy losses that might be caused by a strong attack, Lin Fu's only safe strategy was to
It is better to build a wall on the outside to trap the enemy - even if it is to force the soldiers out of the fortress to fight in the field, it is better than to forcefully attack Hecheng.
Everything on the south bank was left under Cao Ziang's control. Lin Fu and Ao Canghai rushed to the north bank, found Zhang Yan and Mao Wenjing, and reminded them: "There are still three hours left, and the Yanyan River will be filled with the tide, and at that time the pirate ships will leave the north."
To fight at the gate, the salt guard army needs to build a simple wall along the north bank within three hours to prevent the pirate ships from attacking the north bank from the river..."
At this time, the tide had receded, and there was only two or three feet of shallow water in the salt-carrying river, which prevented Hecheng's pirate ships from leaving the north gate to fight. Its west gate was also controlled by Jiangdong's left army. Zhang Yan and Mao Wenjing led 2,000 salt-protecting troops in
Form an array on the north bank, so there is no need to worry about the enemy soldiers being able to launch a surprise attack for the time being.
Mao Wenjing was a warrior who was greedy and incompetent. When Lin Fu said that the tide would rise in three hours, he didn't believe it. He just knew that he couldn't delay building the fort, and he didn't argue with Lin Fu in person. He cursed and stared at his generals and rushed.
Building the camp----They recruited more than a thousand civilians from Chongzhou and a large amount of materials to build the camp, and they were not slow in their actions.
Lin Fu looked at the expression on Mao Wenjing's face and sighed inwardly: As a salt guard in the salt area, how can he lead troops to fight in coastal areas if he doesn't even understand the rise and fall of tides?
The ebb and flow of the tides are related to the movement of the sun and the moon. The most important astronomical calendar in the world can accurately predict the ebb and flow of the tides. It is not all based on experience. Lin Fu is too lazy to tell Mao Wenjing this. He just wants to help now.
The salt protection army built a camp on the north bank, built a strong defense line on the north bank, and restored production in the salt area.
Lin Fu and Zhang Yan stayed up all night last night to discuss secretly, and reached an agreement to join forces for defense.
With Yunyan River as the boundary, the Hecheng grassland area south of Yunyan River is designated as the defense area of Jiangdong Left Army. Jiangdong Left Army is responsible for counterattack, retaking Hecheng Fortress and garrisoning it. It is responsible for supervising the transportation of 8 million forage every year for Dafeng.
, used for frying the sea and boiling salt in Sheyang Salt District; Song Xiaobo performed his crime and continued to serve as the governor of Hecheng Division, supervising the grassroots administration, disbanding the original Hecheng Army and incorporating it into the Dafeng Salt District Guards.
***********
Seeing that the salt guard troops on the north bank rushed to build a parapet on the river embankment at noon, it was no big deal. Lin Fu rushed back to the south bank before the tide rose.
Lin Fu mobilized his troops on the northern front to advance eastward in the early morning. More than a thousand elite soldiers from the Chongcheng Infantry Camp, who had been strengthened, were divided into two teams and formed into car camps to attack the wall. It was only 300 steps away from the foot of the wall. Occasionally, there were one or two soldiers.
The large arrow with an extremely long range hit the guard plate on the front wing of the carriage camp, and it was nailed to the high plate and made a buzzing sound.
Six hundred elite cavalry covered the flanks of the chariot camp, but the larger number were the Chongzhou rural soldiers arrayed behind the chariot camp.
Lin Fu sent Feng Li camp back to Chongcheng yesterday, but he also transferred two thousand rural soldiers from Chongcheng, bringing the number of civilian and brave rural soldiers gathered on the northern front to more than 4,000.
Due to the previous victory, a large number of soldiers and armor were captured. The equipment of these four thousand rural soldiers is similar to that of regular soldiers, but they have less training. This is just affected by the previous victory, especially Lin Fu's reward for the recruited rural soldiers.
The pensions and salaries are the same as those of Jiangdong Zuojun, which is especially important at that time, so that the morale of the rural soldiers is quite useful.
In addition, more than 4,000 civilians were recruited, and they rushed to build walls and fortifications with some of the local soldiers who were drawn out under arrows, stones, swords and guns.
When Lin Fu rushed back to the south bank, a breast fort nearly 400 paces wide had been built here, connecting the carriage camps on both sides, completely sealing off the west gate of Hecheng.
During this process, the enemy soldiers twice tried to launch a surprise attack out of the fortress, but the bows and crossbows prepared in the carriage camp were very dense. Almost 600 strong bows and powerful crossbows cooperated with a dozen catapult crossbows at the back of the formation to block the enemy soldiers' exit from the west gate from both wings.
, there were still obstacles such as resisting horses, and the bandit troops clashed twice, but failed each time, and were forced to give up the idea of attacking from the west gate.
The chest fortress built at this time was still very thin, only chest high and no more than two feet thick. If the Kou soldiers really wanted to force a breakout, such a chest fortress would collapse after a few charges, but it could help the inexperienced country soldiers stand behind the chest fortress.
Once the position is established, we can then calmly consolidate, thicken and raise the foundation on this basis. As more soil is taken, an inner trench can be formed on the inside of the chest until the enemy soldiers are completely blocked in Hecheng Fortress.
inside.
Confining the invaders to Hecheng Fortress and unable to attack will not affect the upcoming autumn grain harvest in Chongzhou. He still has some time to play with the Hecheng invaders. Lin Fu sat on his horse and looked at the top of the Hecheng Fortress in the distance.
, there are a few people over there with fine and colorful armor, I wonder if She Feihu is on the wall looking here, he smiled in his heart, and laughed with Ao Canghai beside him: "Maybe She Feihu really thought that if he occupied Hecheng Fortress, he would kill him if he didn't retreat.
It's stuck in our throats, but we don't know that this is a place of death!"
Ao Canghai stared at the far wall with a gloomy face.
He is not as relaxed as Lin Fu. The She family hates him for slaughtering the city and genocide. This is the main reason why he refuses to directly lead the troops - he is worried that hatred will blind his eyes, affect his judgment of the enemy's situation, and be harmful to leading troops.
.
At this time, Cao Ziang sent someone to report and asked him to go to the east gate to observe the enemy's situation.
When the soldiers approached the fortress, the invaders in the fortress were not active in attacking from the west gate. However, they sent a force of more than a thousand soldiers to form a formation outside the east gate. They also sent captured civilians to fight against the waves outside the east gate and the seawall.
A horizontal position was constructed on the field five to six hundred steps deep.
Lin Fu, Ao Canghai and others rode up to the seawall to observe the enemy's situation. Cao Ziang did not have any extra troops to deploy and block the east gate at the same time. Only Zhou Pu led two sentry cavalry to monitor and alert.
"They are afraid that after we have blocked the land passage, we will then completely block the mouth of the Yanyan River." Cao Ziang pointed to the movements of the Japanese soldiers in the distance. "They built a wall parallel to the river embankment. After we blocked the river, they could
Outside the east gate, there is also a land channel for dispatching troops on the south bank..."
The bandit soldiers detained not many civilians in the fortress, only three to four hundred people. Their movements were far less rapid than the Jiangdong Left Army's build up of fortifications outside the west gate, and they built a breast fort more than two hundred paces wide against the fortress wall. However, these two
More than a hundred steps away, they were under the cover of crossbows on the top of the wall, and the bandit soldiers who went out to cover the fortress were mainly in formations. The cavalry charge would have suffered a lot of casualties, so it was a confrontation before, and both sides were outside the east gate.
There is no action.
Lin Fu looked up at the sky and said: "In another hour, the tide will rise. I think that under this situation, the pirate ships will probably move outside the fortress to prevent us from being completely blocked in the Hecheng Fortress -
--Try taking turns to mobilize the rural soldiers to attack this side. Let Zhou Pu use the cavalry to hold down the position, and then organize a group of soldiers to go to the seawall to fight north. In this way, even if the rural warriors are defeated, there will be no big problems.
"
"Okay, I also want to fight. If the country soldiers don't go into battle, they won't be able to practice martial arts." Cao Zi'ang agreed.
After the victory at Hecheng, Lin Fu gathered all the heroes from Chongzhou and gathered more than 6,000 troops, which was almost as many as the Jiangdong Left Army.
These village warriors were private soldiers and social soldiers recruited by powerful clans in Chongzhou Township to protect the villages. They were mainly local warriors, but a considerable number of brave and strong men were also recruited from homeless households.
Even if these rural warriors are organized and trained, it is only a short-term training of one or two hundred people. When assembled, the army is strong and powerful, and the defensive walls can be used, but it is a bit hasty to go into battle to kill the enemy.
At this time, Lin Fu did not have the resources to calmly train an elite force comparable to the Jiangdong Left Army. If conditions permitted, as long as it would not cause a big chaos, it would be better to take these local warriors to the battlefield and train them first - risking
Amidst the hail of guns and arrows, if you can still hold the weapon in your hand and charge forward, you have passed the first level of elite soldiers. Maybe when this war is over, a considerable elite combat force can be selected. Even if there is
Large casualties - In this era, a general cannot ignore his troops, but if he is too concerned about casualties, he will not be a good general in leading troops in war.
In Lin Fu's view, the temporary defense line built by the salt protection army on the north bank was still too weak. When the tide rose, the pirate ships could go out to fight. In order to prevent She Feihu from sending troops to attack the salt protection army arrayed on the north bank, he had to deploy on the south bank.
Offensive, applying pressure.
*************
Near noon, the tide gradually rose, forming a large wave in the Yanyan River, which had been blocked for only four or five miles.
At this time, the Jiangdong Left Army also launched a moderate offensive against the positions outside the East Gate, preventing them from building a breast fort connected to the seawall to ensure a land passage to the sea outside the East Gate.
Qin Zitan stood under the war tent in the northeast corner of Hecheng Fortress. Since he could see the peaceful fighting outside the east gate, he could also observe the rising tide of the salt-carrying river.
Qin Zitan frowned and looked at the river less than two miles long from the mouth to the sea, with a layer of worry in his heart. Hearing the sound of footsteps behind him, he looked back and saw the second young master walking over, accompanied by Du Cheli.
Turning to look at the east gate, the Jiangdong Left Army's offensive had been repelled. Qin Zitan said: "For Linfu Fortress, it is impossible to ignore the tide changes. The Jiangdong Left Army should be able to attack the tide before the tide rises.
Blockade the river mouth, but at this time, no warships from the Jiangdong Left Army appeared in sight, doesn’t the Second Young Master find it strange?”
The sky was clear and cloudless, and the high sentry tower could overlook the distant sea twenty miles away. At this time, no warships from the Jiangdong Left Army appeared. It seemed that Lin Fu had no intention of blocking the river and restricting the warships from going to sea -
---Of course this cannot be explained by Lin Fu's negligence.
She Feihu smiled and said: "It's just a strategy to surround three towers - I have four thousand elites in hand, and I can hold on to the grain and grass for a month, but the pigherders really dare to surround me for a month?"
Cheng Yiqun wore armor and climbed up from the dock at the foot of the wall on the city road. Hearing the conversation here, he said: "That's it! In one month, it will be enough for the eldest son to eat the eastern Zhejiang soldiers until there are no bones left. By then,
The eldest son sent more than 10,000 troops to the north. Is it better for the swineherds to relieve the siege or not to relieve the siege? The salt guard army is weak, how many fighting troops can Lin Fu draw in Chongzhou? Second Young Master Zhuo Jian, I think Lin Fu also deliberately let go
If we find this way out, we are forced to retreat. Even if we divide our troops and go out, it will be convenient to reduce the pressure of his attack. The current plan is to concentrate our forces to defend Hecheng. As long as the situation in eastern Zhejiang is opened, Hecheng will
That’s when it really makes a difference.”
After hearing what the second young master and Cheng Yiqun said, Qin Zitan still had doubts in his heart and asked Du Cheli: "Cheli, what do you think of this matter?"
"A safe strategy is to send warships out of the enemy's territory..." Du Cheli is a younger brother of the Du Rong clan and was originally a military general in Jin'an. After sneaking to Jiangdong with Du Rong and changing their identities, he has been responsible for commanding the military guards of Qingfenghang. Du Cheli
After Rong died at the hands of Lin Fu in Meixi Lake, he took Du Rong's place. However, under the suppression of various forces, Qingfengxing could no longer do anything. This time, Qingfengxing secretly arranged for Qingfengxing's military guards to escort She
Feihu sneaked out of Jiangning and followed him out. The truly elite and loyal fighting force on the fort was the Qingfeng Xingwu Guards and She Feihu's personal bodyguards of four to five hundred people.
Qin Zitan nodded slightly, after all, he could not place his hopes entirely on the eldest son.
"Here we divide our troops and go out to sea, and then let Lin Fu seal the river, and the two sides will be isolated... How do we know that the warships of the Jiangdong Left Army are not waiting for us in the open sea?" Cheng Yiqun said, he still hopes to concentrate on defending.
"The warships have to go out to play their role," She Feihu said. "Haizizi walks in shallow water and has a fighting strength of two thousand. He doesn't dare to have the boat division of Jiangdong Zuojun come to fight. Two thousand elite troops are enough to guard the fort!"
Cheng Yiqun said: "Then I will lead the ship to sea. As long as I have a thousand troops, it will be enough to deal with the Jiangdong Left Army's boat division!" Cheng Yiqun was better than Xu Zhong and Du Cheli were both good at water warfare. Since he decided to send a ship out, he could not
Huddle behind.
"I thought it would be better for the Second Young Master to support the situation outside," Qin Zitan said, "I will stay to assist General Xu in defending the fortress."
She Feihu knew what Qin Zitan meant. Whether he was defending the fortress or going to sea, there were certain risks. If he was trapped in Hecheng, and the situation in eastern Zhejiang was not as smooth as expected, Cheng Yiqun would not be able to mobilize the Shengsi Islands at all.