The Huaidong Army crossed the Cao'e River in large numbers and chose Laotangpu for the first battle. This was a plan that Lin Fu, Fu Qinghe, Gao Zongting, Ye Junan and others worked out over several days.
Laotangpu is located at a large corner of the Cao'e River, allowing Huaidong Shuiying warships to land and attack from both the east and north sides of the Laotangpu Fangzhai.
The west bank of the Cao'e River near Laotangpu is a hilly terrain extending from the remnants of the Kuaiji Mountains. Laotangpu Village is built on a gentle slope with a height of more than ten feet. Although the hilly terrain on the west bank gives the defenders a condescending advantage
, but the terrain on the river bank is solid and there is no silt. Not only can warships be stationed near the shore, but also the advance troops can easily form formations to defend the beach after landing. The terrain is conducive to the deployment of troops.
Laotangpu is located between Shanyin and Kuaiji cities. To the east is Jinghu Lake, which accounts for almost one-third of Kuaiji County.
After the Zhejiang and Fujian troops fell in the Cao'e River, they directly filled up the waterway connecting Jinghu Lake and the Cao'ejiang River; the water from Jinghu Lake passed through the Puyang River waterway to the west and flowed into the Qianjiang River from the western border of Xiaoshan County.
As long as Laotangpu can be captured in one fell swoop, a large number of troops can even be mobilized to enter the west bank of the Cao'e River and re-excavate a waterway between Jinghu and Cao'ejiang to connect them. Jinghu is deep and wide, with a vast water surface that goes deep into Shanyin, Kuaiji, and Xiaoshan.
Three counties.
Unless the She family is willing to abandon the three counties of Kuaiji, Shanyin, and Xiaoshan, and conduct a second river closure on the Qianjiang waterway upstream of the Puyang River estuary, they will be forced to transfer the remnants of the East Zhejiang Navy to the Jinghu and Huaidong Water Camps to carry out the operation.
decisive battle.
According to the plan drawn up by Lin Fu and others before the war, Han Caizhi's elite troops crossed the river and landed first to establish a beachhead position. However, they directly built a trestle on the Cao'e River, which was about three miles wide, and transferred Chen Kuili and Mao Tengyuan to enter via the trestle.
On the west bank, advance towards Laotangpu Village, and use the tactic of encircling the point to call for reinforcements, forcing the Kuaiji defenders in other areas to enter Jinghu Lake, with the Cao'e River sandwiched in the middle, and the battle will take place at Laotangpu, which is relatively long and narrow.
Lin Fu did not expect that She Feihu, who was in Kuaiji, would become increasingly impatient after the war in southern Zhejiang. Before the Huaidong Army left the beach and entered the deep area of Laotangpu, he sent troops and horses over to force the disembarked troops.
??Hit him!" Someone spread out the map along the Cao'e River in front of the city, pointed at the map and said, "She Feihu wants to defeat our beachhead on the west bank, but there is no other plan except to pile up corpses! Send my military order quickly
, with Tang Fuguan guarding the west bank, if the beachhead of the west bank is lost, ask him to bring his head to me!"
"The beachhead is too small. We can only fill it with one more battalion of soldiers at most. Any more will be harmful rather than beneficial," Fu Qinghe said. "Since we are going to defend the beachhead on the west bank, it is useless for me to stay here. I will go to the west bank to supervise the battle and ensure that there is no
Take half a step back!"
She Feihu was already known for his bravery and fierceness. At this time, he lost patience and became impatient. This would be of great benefit to Huaidong, but his attack on the beachhead would be crazy and bloody.
Whether or not the beachhead can be held, apart from the bravery of the generals, the most important thing is the will to persevere until the end and the morale that will not yield to the enemy.
Fu Qinghe wanted to go to the west bank to supervise the battle. Although Lin Fu was worried about his safety, he thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. He was still worried that Tang Fuguan would waver when guarding the beach, so he ordered: "Before dark, the trestle must be erected, and there must be
Two bridges are connected to the beach on the west bank, one goes in and one goes out, there must be no mistakes!" He then said to Ye Jun'an, "Siming Jun'an, please draft a military order for me: When Zhou Tong receives the handwritten letter, he will immediately report it.
Zhang Jiheng's troops took advantage of the ship to enter the Qianjiang River to prepare for war! When Ao Canghai received the handwritten letter, he led three brigades from Shengzhou northward along the east bank of the Cao'e River..."
"Sir, do you want to capture Kuaiji in one fell swoop?" Gao Zongting asked. He urgently mobilized the elite of the fifth brigade from Yongjia and Shengzhou to go north. Even if the water camp's combat strength is not included, the infantry assembled in Shangyu will be more than twice that of the Kuaiji defenders.
"The beachhead on the West Bank is so narrow that we can only increase our troops in small groups. She Feihu is eager to win, and he should also be able to see that as long as he can gather 10,000 troops at Laotangpu, he can always maintain control of the West Bank.
The military advantage at the beach - do you think he will give up the opportunity to fight against our army in the depths of Yicheng and Zhai, and the main force of the defenders will go out of the city to Laotangpu to fight with me?" Lin Fu asked
road.
"He is so impatient. He has the opportunity to split up and eat my infantry on the beach. How can he not try?" Gao Zongting instantly figured out what Lin Fu's plan was!
"I didn't expect that the Huaidong Army's opportunity to break the stalemate on the eastern front would come from She Feihu," Lin Fu laughed and said, "As long as we can inflict heavy losses on the Kuaiji garrison on the west bank of the Cao'e River, we will
Before She Feixiong dispatches large-scale reinforcements from Fuyang and Linshui into Kuaiji, we have the opportunity to attack Shanyin first and form a siege on the city where the defenders have been weakened the most among the two cities in Kuaiji..."
Gao Zongting prided himself on having strategies, but he was nowhere near as decisive as Lin Fu in making decisions.
Ye Jun'an wrote good calligraphy, listened to Lin Fu's dictation, drafted military orders, read them again, showed them to Lin Fu, and after using the seal, he sent people to Yongjia and Shengzhou.
The Kuaiji garrison garrisoned the city, forming a defense system that acted as horns and supported each other. Dongyang and Fuyang both stationed large numbers of Zhejiang and Fujian troops, which were close to Kuaiji and provided quick support. Although the Huaidong Army
The soldiers and horses assembled in Shangyu were much larger than the defenders of Kuaiji, but there was no chance of entering the hinterland of Kuaiji to storm the walled city.
Lin Fu chose Laotangpu Village, which is closest to the river bank, for the Huaidong Army's first battle on the west bank of the Cao'e River. This was to avoid going deep into the hinterland of Kuaiji, and he had no determination to defeat Laotangpu Village.
Only when the main force of the Kuaiji garrison comes out of the city can there be a chance to severely damage the Kuaiji garrison in the field. Only if the Kuaiji garrison is severely damaged in the field, before reinforcements from Fuyang or Dongyang arrive, will the defenses of Shanyin or Kuaiji cities be empty.
But Yi was captured by the Huaidong Army.
Lin Fu then said to the accompanying guards: "Call Mao Tengyuan and Han Caizhi over..."
Mao Tengyuan and Han Caizhi led their troops to prepare to cross the river in front of Lihai Village. When they heard Lin Fu's call, they quickly climbed to the head of the village to see them.
Lin Fu said to them: "You two are resting on the spot for the time being and will not cross the river tonight; but tomorrow you two will wear armor and go into battle and be prepared for a tough battle!"
"Yes!" Han Caizhi and Mao Teng were far from knowing that the battle plan had completely changed, but they all responded in unison and went down to the city to make preparations.
She Feihu's idea was simple. The beachhead established by the Huaidong Army on the west bank was less than two hundred steps deep. No matter how strong the beachhead was, it was far from being comparable to an impregnable city.
As long as the beachhead established by the Huaidong Army on the west bank is defeated, the Huaidong Army's attempt to cross the border will fail.
From the Kuaiji Mountain to the bank of the Qianjiang River, it is only more than 40 miles wide. There are two cities and three villages guarding key points. Although the Zhejiang and Fujian Army's garrison in Kuaiji is not as sufficient as the Huaidong Army, 24,000 people guard the city.
The stronghold is enough to stop the Huaidong Army east of the Cao'e River.
However, the defeat in the war in southern Zhejiang was not only a heavy stone that weighed heavily on She Feihu's heart, but also a pessimistic and disappointing mood pervaded the Zhejiang and Fujian armies, and their morale was low.
If there is a stalemate in Kuaiji, and the defenders can only defend passively, it is hard for She Feihu to imagine how his morale will be maintained in the long run.
She Feihu's heart was full of anger and he wanted to vent it. The generals needed a bloody victory to boost their morale, which ultimately prompted him to smash the beachhead established by the Huaidong Army in front of Laotangpu Village regardless of casualties.
It was precisely because of this that Su Tingzhan, Tian Chang, Yu Wenshan and others did not dissuade She Feihu.
As long as the beachhead is broken into pieces and becomes untenable, the pontoon bridge built by the Huaidong Army behind it is meaningless. It can be destroyed by a fire.
Su Tingzhan went to the battle in person to supervise the battle, while Tian Chang and Yu Wenshan accompanied She Feihu to watch the battle at the head of Laotang Puzhai City.
"We don't have enough troops!" Tian Chang said, "Our troops in Laotangpu only have more than 3,000 people. If we can't smash them in front of the beachhead in one attack, the Huaidong Army will easily pass through the battle."
The ship transported more soldiers..."
"The Huaidong Army rushed to build the pontoon bridge. Depending on the situation, they must defend the beachhead," Yu Wenshan said. "Is it possible for them to invest more troops on the beachhead and carry out the battle?"
She Feihu was eager to win a victory to boost his morale and vent the depression stuck in his chest. After Yu Wenshan reminded him, he held on to the wall and stared at the beach at the foot of the slope.
The beachhead on the west bank is restricted by the narrow terrain, so although the Huaidong Army has assembled superior forces on the east bank, they can only transport them in batches via ferries and pontoons - as long as the Huaidong Army does not give up the beachhead on the west bank, it will actually give them
Opportunities to divide and attack.
Mentioning this kind of battle situation, She Feihu thought of Song Fu once giving him an oil lamp as a metaphor. It's like refueling an oil lamp. One time is not enough. Adding more oil is not enough. Adding more oil will not be enough. The result is that it is not enough every time - She Feihu.
Sometimes I see the possibility of greater victory here, and my eyes flash with a strange light.
Lin Fu designed flying contradictory chariots in Jinan, mainly hoping that infantry could rely on chariot formations to resist the impact of cavalry in field battles.
Later, several field battles in Yannan were successful, which also proved that this kind of easy-towing shield vehicle, combined with strong bows and powerful crossbows, had a very good effect in limiting the impact of cavalry in field battles.
Zhejiang and Fujian have narrow mountains and steep hills, and every time we fight for a place, we have to fight hard in a small space. Even in street fighting, the use of flying contradiction vehicles is not as convenient as that of large shields, so it does not shine with the brilliance of being able to withstand impacts in open terrain.
.
On the beach, the shield cars are interlocked two by two to form one body, and the shafts of the cars are blocked with solid wood, so it cannot be broken through by manpower. Once there is a need to send troops, just remove the solid wood and remove the iron hooks on the inside.
By pushing it aside, a channel for attack can be quickly formed.
Standing at the head of Laotangpu Village, the arc-shaped car formation that looked extremely thin turned out to be a ferocious wall of cars that devoured the flesh and blood of the Zhejiang and Fujian troops. They were blocked in front of the car formation and could not move forward, and arrows and flying rocks hit the car formation like a violent storm.
Later, hundreds of soldiers advanced and retreated, suffering heavy casualties.
After several unsuccessful attempts to force the charge, Su Tingzhan transferred a charging vehicle from the Laotangpu defense village or used people to carry huge logs up, wrapped up in the charging formation, and forced the Huaidong Army's armored soldiers to attack from both wings of the vehicle formation.
Fighting on a narrow beach. But on a narrow beach, the Huaidong Army's crossbowmen can launch crossbows based on the chariot formation. The armored soldiers who come out of the chariot formation also fight based on the chariot formation, tenaciously intercepting heavy weapons such as rams.
Approaching the car formation, they had a greater advantage, and the casualty ratio was seriously skewed from the beginning.
The pontoon bridge was paved before nightfall, but only the outposts with heavy casualties were withdrawn, and some outposts with full combat capabilities were replenished to accept the command of Fu Qinghe and Tang Fuguan on the west bank. However, the narrow beachhead restricted the Huaidong Army from the east bank.
More troops were mobilized, but the total number of troops entering the beachhead position on the west coast never exceeded three battalions of armored soldiers.
The Zhejiang and Fujian Army was also limited by the terrain and could not invest more troops at once. The impact on the beachhead formation was not enough. Several strong attacks were repelled, and they suffered heavy casualties. After nightfall, the Zhejiang and Fujian Army suspended the offensive and requisitioned civilian generals.
The steep slope on the northeastern flank of Laotang Puzhai was flattened, so that we could invest twice as many troops in each attack the next day to storm the vehicle formation...
When She Feihu mobilized more than ten thousand troops from Kuaiji, Shanyin, and Zhuji overnight and gathered in Laotang Puzhai, he fully planned to drag the Huaidong Army to the beach on the west coast and eat it in batches.
At the same time, She Feihu was worried about the shortage of troops in Kuaiji. On the one hand, he recruited two thousand soldiers from Dongyang County to supplement Kuaiji. On the other hand, he sent Tian Chang to go to Chun'an in person to meet with the boss and state the Kuaiji fighter plan, hoping to persuade the boss to agree to join Fuyang.
Linshui mobilized troops to reinforce Kuaiji to ensure that the Battle of Laotangpu could become a key battle to reverse the situation on the Eastern Front.
At this time, Mao Tengyuan and Han Caizhi, who were moving upstream and downstream of the Cao'e River at night, crossed the Cao'e River from Daoxubu upstream of Laotangpu and Hutangtou downstream.
Since the main force of the Kuaiji army led by She Feihu was exposed in the wild, the defenders at Hutangtou and Daoxubu could not just defend the stronghold. They had to prevent the main force gathered in Laotangpu led by She Feihu from being attacked by the Huaihe River.
The main force of the Eastern Army was attacking from both wings and must resolutely intercept the Huaidong Army trying to land.
When the car array and pontoon at Laotangpu Beach attracted the main force of more than 12,000 Kuaiji garrison troops, the garrison forces at Hutangtou and Daoxubu on both wings were seriously insufficient, less than one battalion. And Lin Fu
Taking advantage of night cover, he adjusted the deployment of troops on the east bank. Mao Tengyuan forcibly crossed the Cao'e River at Daoxu Port, devoting six battalions of troops; Han Caizhi forcibly crossed the Cao'e River at Hutangtou, devoting eight battalions of troops. On the east bank, Lin Fu
He personally held the reserve strength of twenty battalions of infantry.
She Feihu was unable to completely defeat the Huaidong Army's beachhead formation at Laotangpu that night. After a night's delay, the Huaidong Army was able to take advantage of its control of the river and its strength twice that of the Kuaiji defenders.
Mao Tengyuan and Chao Caizhi both went into battle. They led Jianrui to seize the beachhead first and fought hand-to-hand with the defenders who came to intercept them. They did not use bows and arrows to stop the formation. When the two armies met, they met directly with swords and guns.
Braving arrows and flying stones, they fought to the same place.
Knives chopped and spears stabbed, arrows shot and crossbows killed, fire oil splashed, and fire burned the body - every inch of the beach battled meant that both sides lost several lives. The blood seeped into the pebbles and sand on the river beach, and soon seeped into the river water.
Inside, it was dyed red, and soon it was diluted and disappeared by the turbid river water after summer.
Only then did She Feihu realize that in his eagerness to win, he exposed his fatal weakness that could be attacked from both sides, causing Su Tingzhan to supervise the battle and break the beachhead formation. He asked Yu Wenshan and another close confidant to lead an elite team to
Aid Lake Tangtou and Daoxu Port.
Lin Fu, Gao Zongting, Ye Junan and others stood at the head of Lihai Village, watching the battle on the other side.
It is said that Huaidong completely controlled the waterway and had superior military strength, so it had the absolute advantage of breaking through the Kuaiji garrison's river defense at multiple points.
But in fact, on the west bank of the Cao'e River, the frontal width that the Kuaiji defenders had to defend was only more than thirty miles. The Kuaiji defenders formed a two-city and four-walled defense system on the west bank of the Cao'e River. The walls were the farthest apart.
Only eight miles.
The fastest time to support each other was less than a stick of incense, which limited the Huaidong Army's ability to exert its military superiority and control of waterways.
Lin Fu couldn't feel relaxed for a moment. Even if he had an absolute advantage and ended up being carelessly defeated, there were countless examples. Lin Fu didn't have the confidence to win. Especially the two battlefields of Daoxubu and Hutangtou were forcibly defeated.
Seize the beach, be vulnerable to attack and interception, and the outcome of the battle is extremely critical to the subsequent development of the battle.
It's just that these two battlefields are far away from Lihai. Standing at the top of Lihai City, you can only see vague shadows and cannot see the details, so you can only send officers from the General Intelligence Department to both sides to observe the battlefield closely.
The Kuaiji garrison detached two support armies from Laotangtou and went to Daoxu Port upstream and downstream. Lin Fu could naturally see clearly from the other side of Hutangtou. The two support armies ran along the road along the river, and they would not need it at the earliest.
They can be divided into two battlefields in half an hour. Mao Tengyuan and Han Caizhi led their troops if they could not end the bloody battle on the beach in time and brought their troops into the open terrain, and they were in danger of being defeated by the rushing defenders and reinforcements...
The military officer who was observing Daoxu Port galloped back, raised his head at the bottom of the city and reported back, saying: "Captain Mao has defeated the defenders of Daoxu Port, and is organizing the formation on the beach to meet the reinforcements..."
Lin Fu frowned and ordered: "Order Mao Tengyuan to lead his troops away from the beach quickly. If we can't find an open space to straighten the terrain, it will be easy to directly confront the enemy. If the enemy comes rushing to help, the formation should be even more unorganized!"
The beachhead of Daoxubu is not a good terrain. It is narrow and has many silts. On the west side is the high slope extending from Kuaiji Mountain. Only because that river channel is located above the narrow mouth of Cao'e River and the water is gentle, it was designated as the second beach.
Location, he did not expect Mao Tengyuan to hesitate at this critical point...
Mao Tengyuan hesitated, but the garrison reinforcements rushing to Daoxu Port did not hesitate at all. Regardless of the volley of crossbows from the offshore warships, they directly attacked Mao Tengyuan's formation on the narrow beach. Since Mao Tengyuan's troops were rushing to board the
On the beach, there were no flying conflict vehicles accompanying the position to support the position. When the position was finally loosened by repeated attacks from the defenders and reinforcements regardless of casualties, the rout was just a matter of the blink of an eye.
Behind the formation was the river, with no way to retreat. Except for a few people who rushed up the steep slope on the west side, more infantry were entangled in the chaotic and collapsed formation and were driven down the river...
The six battalions of infantry, with more than 3,000 lives, were unable to hold their position due to the general's hesitation, and most of them were driven off the Cao E River alive - Lin Fu's face was so painful that the muscles on his face twitched.
Dozens of water camp warships transporting infantry camps across the river were still on the near side and quickly gathered around to rescue the soldiers who fell into the water. However, countless others were dragged directly into the whirlpool of the Cao'e River and sank because of their heavy armor.
A brigade of the Zhejiang Marching Army was completely crippled in just a little more than a stick of incense. Lin Fu was so heartbroken that he wanted to take a knife to cut off the wall. Fortunately, Han Caizhi at Hutangtou did not make any stupid mistakes.
, after the troops defeated the defenders who arrived at the beach to intercept, they spread out directly along Hutangtou Avenue and the wheat fields on both sides, colliding with the defenders' reinforcements and fighting each other.
In order to gain more time, the defenders and reinforcements rushed to the battlefield to receive reinforcements after the beachhead interception defenders did not collapse. It took a little more than a stick of incense to travel nearly ten miles. The beachhead interception defenders collapsed first, and the defenders' reinforcements were slow.
As soon as we arrived at the head of the lake, most people's feet were weak and their hearts were beating like war drums.
When Han Caizhi's troops rushed to the beachhead, most of them did not directly participate in the battle. They conserved their physical strength and had a great advantage in strength. They soon formed an overwhelming advantage at the head of the lake and defeated the defenders and reinforcements.
Step back.
Lin Fu sent Han Caizhi and Mao Tengyuan to lead their troops to land from different locations. The ultimate goal was to form a pincer attack on the main force of the Kuaiji garrison gathered in Laotangpu - Han Caizhi led his troops to suppress the enemy troops and attack in the direction of Laotangtou.
, Lin Fu asked Fu Qinghe and Tang Fuguan to immediately launch a counterattack at the Laotangpu beachhead to open up a larger space for more troops to be invested. At the same time, Lin Fu ordered Zuo Guangying to lead his troops to open up another landing point to ensure that they could land at Laotangpu beach.
The Tangpu battlefield deployed an absolutely superior force for the battle.