Accompanied by Su Tingzhan, Tian Chang, Yu Wenshan and other generals, She Feihu climbed to Xianglu Peak and looked to the east. He could see the warships of the Huaidong Army patrolling the Cao'e River, their sails and masts shining in the sun.
It shines brightly, reflecting the ripples of the river.
"The Huaidong Army has been gathering troops and horses at Shangyu for ten days," Tian Chang said. "The Huaidong Army's movements at this moment must be guarded against!"
She Feihu's face was expressionless and as tense as iron. The situation in Kuaiji has been critical in the past ten days, so She Feihu personally came to Kuaiji from Dongyang County. Obviously, to change the situation in Kuaiji, She Feihu can't just come here.
as.
Su Tingzhan stood silently behind him - Huaidong was massing troops on the east bank of the Cao'e River. If he wanted to avoid a repeat of the defeat in southern Zhejiang in Kuaiji, he could only draw troops from western Zhejiang to make up for the lack of defenders.
Defending Kuaiji is far more than just defending a few cities.
After Mingzhou Prefecture and the coastal counties of Taizhou and Yongjia Prefectures fell one after another, the only grain-producing areas controlled by the Zhejiang-Fujian Army in Zhejiang County, starting from Dongyang County and centered on Quzhou Prefecture, were Guyuan in central Zhejiang and
There are two places in the Kuaiji Plain, mainly the counties of Kuaiji, Shanyang, Zhuji, and Xiaoshan.
Especially in the counties located on the Kuaiji Plain, there are nearly two million acres of paddy fields alone.
Before Mingzhou Prefecture fell, the She family's grain tax from Kuaiji counties amounted to 300,000 dan.
After the fall of Mingzhou, in order to support the increasingly heavy military expenditures on the east and west fronts, the She family doubled the grain tax they drew from Kuaiji counties in the past year to 600,000 shi.
If they only defend a few cities and the rural areas are unscrupulously penetrated and controlled by Huaidong, the She family will naturally not be able to collect another grain of rice from Kuaiji; but once they lose their annual income of 600,000 kilograms of rice grain, the Zhejiang and Fujian troops will
There are 130,000 troops on the east and west fronts in Zhejiang. It is probably difficult to even have a full stomach, let alone take back the initiative.
In the past, the Huaidong Army's soldiers and horses in Mingzhou were mainly concentrated in Shengzhou, forcing the Zhejiang and Fujian Army to establish defense lines in Dongyang County to the west of Shengzhou and Tiantai County to the south. The troops stationed in Shangyu on the east bank of the lower reaches of the Cao'e River camped in eastern Zhejiang
The troops and horses belonging to the Jinghai Army and the Third Water Battalion were mainly composed of only more than 10,000 people, so the pressure on the Kuaiji defenders was not great.
However, after the war in southern Zhejiang ended, Huaidong's troops gathered in Shangyu continued to increase, and the pressure on Kuaiji became heavier day by day. Although as a precaution in advance, troops from surrounding Fuyang, Linshui, Dongyang and other places were
Troops and horses were mobilized to supplement the troops in Kuaiji, which increased the garrison of Kuaiji to 40 battalions and more than 24,000 men, but there was still a shortage.
Because when the Huaidong Army attacked eastern Zhejiang last year, they snatched the mouth of the Cao'e River almost immediately, and all the warships of the Zhejiang Water Camp hiding in the Cao'e River were destroyed. The Cao'e River, as the boundary river between Mingzhou Prefecture and Kuaiji Prefecture, has been given to Huaidong since then.
Full control of the water camp warship.
Such a defensive situation was extremely unfavorable to the Zhejiang and Fujian armies. The Huaidong Army controlled the Cao'e River waterway and could cross the Cao'e River from anywhere, enter the west bank, and invade Kuaiji.
The Zhejiang and Fujian armies could only clumsily build dense fortresses and defensive villages on the west bank of the Cao'e River to prevent the Huaidong Army from penetrating to the west bank.
The Xianglu Peak of Kuaiji Mountain where She Feihu and others were located was the most important defensive position of the Kuaiji garrison in the southeast of Shanyang County.
Kuaiji Mountain is located between Kuaiji, Zhuji, Shengzhou and Dongyang counties. It is the watershed of Puyang River and Cao'e River. The mountainous area runs from southwest to northeast and is the backbone of the topographical skeleton of Kuaiji Prefecture. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Yue Kingdom was established in Kuaiji
Fortresses form a group of fortresses located in the hinterland.
By building a large-scale fortification in Kuaiji Mountain and stationing elite troops, we can use our commanding position to suppress the Cao'e River head-on, regaining some of our terrain advantage.
"It looks wrong in the direction of Laotangpu..." Su Tingzhan has good eyesight. He can see far from the height and can see the corner of the lower reaches of Cao'e River.
The Cao'e River forms a zigzag shape when it reaches the lower reaches. After passing Shangyu County, it turns west towards Shanyang County. It turns north about ten miles northeast of Shanyang County and merges into the Qianjiang River from the northeast corner of Kuaiji County.
.
Laotangpu is the corner of the Cao'e River in the northeast corner of Shanyang County. Su Tingzhan said that something was wrong with the direction of Laoyongpu. She Feihu, Tian Chang and others all tried their best to look at the river, and there were dense black spots gathering on the river surface——
Anyone with a discerning eye can imagine that the warships from the Huaidong Water Camp were gathering on the river there...
She Feihu subconsciously thought that the Huaidong Army might forcefully cross the Cao'e River at Laotangpu.
In Laotangpu, the Zhejiang and Fujian troops requisitioned a village to build a fortification and stationed a battalion of elite soldiers. However, depending on the concentration of the Huaidong water camp on that river, it was possible to send five to six thousand soldiers across the Cao'e River at one time.
The troops stationed in the Laotangpu defense village were far from enough to resist Huaidong's attempt to ascend the west bank from Laotangpu.
There are two main military significances of fortifying defense lines: one is to prevent small groups of enemy troops from infiltrating and crossing the border; the other is to prevent large-scale enemy troops from attacking by blocking and delaying them, so as to obtain large-scale troops for one's own side.
Time for the horses to gather.
She Feihu, Su Tingzhan, Tian Chang and others mobilized their troops and generals, and at the same time, surrounded by their retinues, they personally rushed to Laotangpu to supervise the battle.
Waiting for the flying tiger, Su Tingzhan arrived at Laotangpu. The Huaidong Army had already landed on the west bank. Thousands of soldiers lined up along the river embankment. Nearly a hundred flying chariots lined up in front of the formation. Shield chariots
The strong bow and crossbow flashed with cold light in the middle.
After the Huaidong beach formation, dozens of warships lined up in a row, seemingly setting up a pontoon bridge directly on the Cao'e River, which was about three miles wide. On the other side of the river, the Huaidong Army had a large number of soldiers and horses.
gather.
The defenders of Laotangpu Fort initially sent out hundreds of soldiers, hoping to take advantage of the Huaidong Army's unstable foothold on the west bank to launch a surprise attack.
However, the Huaidong Army deployed two battalions of warriors from the very beginning when they seized the beach on the west bank. Their strength far exceeded that of the troops stationed at Laotangpu Defense Village, and they defeated the hundreds of soldiers who attacked Laotangpu.
When She Feihu and others led their retinue to Laotangpu, reinforcements from the left and right also gathered, which increased the strength of Laotangpu to more than 3,000 people, but the Huaidong Army's beach grabbing troops had already established a foothold on the west bank.
More than a thousand armored soldiers are waiting along the river embankment, and more than a dozen warships have been assembled on each wing, ready to send troops and horses ashore at any time to support the flanks. After the formation, a pontoon bridge is being built, and more troops and horses are waiting to cross the pontoon bridge directly to the west bank.
Come.
"Is the Huaidong Army going to start another war?" She Feihu asked earnestly.
I can’t blame the flying tiger for being frightened—the war in southern Zhejiang has only been over for less than a month.
Even if the Zhejiang and Fujian Army suffered more than 15,000 casualties in the war in southern Zhejiang, the Huaidong Army's casualties would not be less than 10,000. The continuous siege of cities and strongholds, in addition to cruel and bloody heavy casualties, also meant
Materials are being consumed on a large scale.
The material consumption of the attackers was often much greater than that of the defenders. In the letters left by Qin Zitan, he wrote that the Huaidong Army attacked Yongjia, and the arrows covered the sky and closed the sun. There was no day or rest, and no arrows could be fired for more than a month.
With millions of feathers, there is almost no place to stand in the city.
During the attack on Yongjia, the Huaidong Army destroyed hundreds of large equipment such as stone-throwing crossbows and bed crossbows...
According to the general situation, in such a short period of time, the Huaidong Army should not have made a large-scale use of troops.
For example, She Fei Xiong forced Dong Yuan to retreat and won the great victory in Fuyang; but after the Battle of Fuyang, She Fei Xiong's troops entered Fuyang. The soldiers and horses in Linshui suffered heavy casualties, and the supplies and grain were exhausted, and they had to wait to be mobilized from the rear.
.Thus losing the possibility of attacking Anji from Linshui, Ningguo from Dusong Pass, and Huizhou from Qianqiu Pass in one go.
Su Tingzhan said: "The Huaidong Army had earlier planned to engage in a long-term confrontation with our army in southern Zhejiang, so it should reserve sufficient supplies; the war in southern Zhejiang has subsided and lasted only more than two months, which should be longer than the Huaidong Army.
It was expected to be shorter in advance, so the Huaidong Army should have some supplies saved in southern Zhejiang..."
"..." She Feihu frowned and remained silent.
He, the Governor-General of Southern Zhejiang, was assigned the task the year before last when he was in danger, so he almost went to the post alone. Almost all the soldiers in southern and eastern Zhejiang, including Yu Wenshan, Su Tingzhan, Tian Tang, Wen Tingrui, and Anxiajiang generals, were almost all his eldest brother She Fei
Xiong's subordinate. But no matter what, the disastrous defeat in southern Zhejiang must be blamed on him. Not to mention the lack of honor and the even more difficult situation, Qin Zitan, as She Feihu, was the only one he could trust and rely on in southern Zhejiang.
She Feihu's confidant was unfortunately captured in the battle of Nanxiyuan Valley and finally hanged himself to death, which made She Feihu feel the real pain to his bones.
After a while, She Feihu gritted his teeth and said: "No matter how much it costs, we must drive the Huaidong Army off the Cao E River!"
Su Tingzhan and Tian Chang looked at each other. Tian Chang nodded slightly and signaled Su Tingzhan to do as She Feihu said.
Su Tingzhan lamented in his heart that the Huaidong Army was extremely capable of fighting for the beach, and the first troops sent to fight for the beach were definitely the elite of the Huaidong Army. Once the Huaidong Army gained a foothold on the beach, they would have shields, chariots, crossbows, and so on.
With a dense formation in front to guard against an attack, and warships on both wings to cover the shore, it would be extremely difficult to drive the Huaidong Army off the Cao'e River.
A better strategy is to lure the Huaidong Army to penetrate deeper, where they can rely on river bank defenses to attack the stronghold.
Su Tingzhan knew that a direct attack on the Huaidong Army's beach defense array would be extremely disadvantageous, but at the same time he knew that She Feihu had become more and more irritable and impatient after the defeat in the southern Zhejiang War - he could only
Bite the bullet and send troops to attack the Huaidong Army's beach formation, and drive the more than a thousand Huaidong Army soldiers who boarded the west bank down the Cao'e River.
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Lin Fu stood at the head of the Lihai Fangzhai on the east bank of the Cao'e River, looking at the battlefield to the west.
In order to fulfill his promise with Chen Xiyan, Lin Fu resolutely decided to send a large number of troops to cross the Cao'e River and use a large number of troops against Kuaiji, although the preparations were not sufficient.
Huaidong will also find it difficult to prepare for the use of troops at this time. After all, a lot of supplies are consumed on the battlefield in southern Zhejiang and cannot be replenished at once, but there are obvious benefits.
The Zhejiang and Fujian armies were highly dependent on Kuaiji's grain tax. It was the wheat and rice harvesting season in southern Zhejiang. At this time, sending troops across the Cao'e River to start a war would naturally seriously interfere with the Zhejiang and Fujian armies' summer grain collection in Kuaiji.
In order to use troops on a large scale against Kuaiji, Lin Fu made large-scale adjustments to the deployment of troops and horses on the southern front after the war in southern Zhejiang. Not only did he formally incorporate most of the new southern Zhejiang Army into the marching army in eastern Zhejiang, he also transferred large-scale reinforcements from the engineering camps.
The addition of the Marching Army in East Zhejiang and the Third Water Camp in Jinghai increased the size of the Marching Army in East Zhejiang by sixty battalions, and the size of the Third Water Camp in Jinghai also increased by twelve battalions and more than 12,000 men.
As of early June, the total number of troops stationed on the Shangyu front line had suddenly increased from more than 10,000 to more than 50,000. Not to mention the more than 10,000 elite troops on Changshan Island in Shengzhou, located in the upper reaches of the Cao'e River, who could go down the river at any time.