Deng Yu's troops arrived at Huating first. When the Huaidong raiding fleet appeared in sight, the front troops had already arrived at the foot of the eastern foot of Huating Ridge. (_Paul&δΉ¦&Bar)
Huating Ridge is the remaining ridge of the southwestern foothills of Huaiyu Mountain. The mountain lies like a sword ridge, cutting the Shangrao Valley Plain on the north bank of the Xinjiang River in two.
Huating Ridge meanders from the north, and the mountains invade the Xinjiang River to the south. The cliffs and rocks stand out above the river, like a swallow's mouth. It is the most dangerous Yanzui Rock in the middle reaches of the Xinjiang River.
Standing on Yanzuiji and looking down from the cliff, you can see that the river is flowing rapidly and the rocks are hidden in it. Although the river is still more than 300 paces wide, due to the restrictions of the rocks and dangerous shoals, the river flow is too fast and one ship can pass through it at a time.
All be careful.
There is a gap in the ridge a few hundred steps north of Yanzuiji, which almost splits the entire Huating Ridge in half. The post road from Hengxi to Guixi passes through it, and it is also where the Chongcheng Army and Deng Yu headed.
The contested Huating Pass.
The previous dynasty once set up Huating Pass here, hence the name Huating.
Guancheng was abandoned long ago, and the ruined buildings of the city are also submerged under vegetation. However, passing through Huating Pass is the branch mouth where Huating River flows into Xinjiang River. Goods and business travelers traveling from east to north stop here.
Towns and ports have arisen, and nearly a thousand households have gathered there, which is no more lively than an ordinary small county.
Entering Huating Pass first could be said to have a geographical advantage, but Deng Yu was not at ease.
Entering Huating Pass first does not mean that we can stand firm, nor does it mean that we can successfully repel the Huaidong Army.
There is no fort at Huating Pass and there are bare stone ridges on both sides. However, after passing Huating Pass, the town port at the foot of Xilu Ridge is close to the river and stands next to the stream. It is open in all directions. There is no wall to rely on on the outside, so it is directly exposed.
Under the attack of the Huaidong warships. Therefore, in a short period of time, the Zhejiang and Fujian armies had to deny the Huaidong army outside Huating, and the terrain advantage they could occupy was not obvious.
In addition, Deng Yu knew that Huaidong's fleet was approaching, so he led his troops out of Hengfeng City and rushed here. They traveled for more than 40 miles on a rugged road for half a day. By this time, all the soldiers were exhausted, but Huaidong's soldiers and horses came rushing in on warships.
, the situation is obviously much better than them.
The most critical thing is morale... How much fighting will do the Bamin soldiers have left at this time?
Deng Yu's mouth was bitter and he stood on the cliff with his sword.
The frost-white beard under his chin was messed up by the mountain wind and brushed against his face. Deng Yu smoothed over his white beard and pressed it under his breastplate. He watched the Huaidong fleet split into two teams from the side and the rear. His scalp was numb and secretly
Complain.
In the blink of an eye, the Huaidong fleet was divided into two: one group was mainly warships, and without stopping at all, passed directly through the Yanzui Gorge and went downstream, intending to enter the Huating River branch first;
The first group was mainly composed of large-winged boats, which came ashore directly from the eastern slope of Huating Ridge. There were only a few boats, and the fast-winged boats were scattered on the front and two wings. Presumably they were to cover the cargo carried by the large-vented boats.
The soldiers rushed ashore directly from their side and rear.
Deng Yu looked eastward and saw more than 10,000 soldiers and horses following him out of Hengfeng City and rushing towards Huating. The team of more than 10,000 soldiers and horses was stretched extremely long due to the rapid march. The front group had entered the Huating Pass and formed a formation.
The rear was still five or six miles away, and the rear flanks would be exposed to the attack of the Huaidong Army's landing soldiers. Deng Yu felt bitter in his heart. He felt that this battle was extremely difficult, and he might not be sure that his fate would be dealt with.
it's here.
Over the years, the Huaidong Army has harassed the coasts of Zhejiang and Fujian, and has become very proficient in the combat tactics of beach landing; if the river beach is steep and narrow, the large and medium-sized war weapons such as bed crossbows and rip-rap crossbows installed on the Huaidong warships can also directly cover the shore.
Go to the beach.
Over the years, the Huaidong Army's attempts to land on the beach have caused the Zhejiang and Fujian armies to suffer a lot. Apart from building fortifications along the coast, there is no means to effectively suppress the Huaidong Army's efforts to land on the beach.
At this time, Deng Yu's troops were not in a neat formation. The generals were exhausted after running for half a day. There were no crossbows, catapult crossbows or other large war weapons to suppress the troops. Deng Yu did not have the confidence to use the scattered formations to suppress the Huaidong Army.
Land on the beach from the side and back.
The Huaidong fleet was moving very fast down the river. From the moment the Huaidong fleet appeared in sight, it was no longer possible to gather all the soldiers and horses at the rear to form a formation at the foot of the eastern foothills. In order to avoid the exposed flanks and rear being sharply attacked
To attack, Deng Yu ordered the rear troops to withdraw deep into the right wing and form a formation, but he also sent a large number of archers and crossbowmen to break up the formation and approach the river bank to prevent the Huaidong generals from seizing the beach.
Chen Zhi jumped off the trestle and stood on the huge rock extending diagonally into the river. He watched the armored soldiers who landed first spread their wings to protect the landing beach.
The Zhejiang and Fujian troops came out of Hengfeng City in a hurry. They did not have large or medium-sized war weapons to accompany them. They could only use bows and crossbows near the shore to hold the Huaidong Army on the beach.
"Put your head down, hold your front shield close, and look at your feet!" The front sentry officer, with his armor attached to his iron forehead, stood on the river beach and looked up to observe the situation on the shore, roaring at the top of his lungs, trying to keep his troops in formation.
Some new soldiers who have just joined the army are always not reassuring. If their shields are crooked or their feet are tripped, they will leave a big gap, which cannot block the rain of arrows fired by the enemy from the shore.
The area to the west of Hengfeng is rugged and remote, making the cliffs extremely precipitous. Chen Zhi's troops chose three places to grab the beach. They are all places with relatively easy terrain, but they are much more difficult to attack than the river bank to the east of Hengfeng. Fortunately, the
The soldiers were so brave that they couldn't bear to care about the sharp arrows raining down on them. They raised their shields to suppress the attack and tried hard to climb ashore. After all, the river beach was narrow and the terrain was low. They only occupied a beachhead and were far from being able to stand firm.
foot.
The place where Chen Zhi disembarked was one of the three beachfront positions. It was a natural stone embankment extending into the river from the north bank. It was shaped like a crab claw. The locals called it Crab Claw Rock, just like a natural long embankment in Xinjiang River.
pier.
The two Jiyun-class warships left by Su Pinxiao were ordered by Chen Zhi to drag them directly to the river beach from the flanks of Crab Claw Rock, one on the left and the other on the right. As a result, the height of the stern deck of the warship was only higher than the river embankment at the beach.
Slightly shorter. In addition to four three-bow bed crossbows, Chen Zhi also arranged more than sixty Zhangzhang crossbows to line up on the stern cabins of two Jiyun-class warships to shoot at the Zhejiang and Fujian troops on the river embankment and cover them.
Huaidong Jia soldiers went to the shore to suppress the attack.
After the Huaidong generals landed ashore, the two counterattacks of the Zhejiang and Fujian troops were stubbornly defeated by the Huaidong soldiers on the shore. Perhaps Deng Yu had no intention of a decisive battle and ordered the soldiers near the shore to withdraw and move towards the foot of the eastern foot of Huating Ridge on the left wing and the
The deep hinterland to the north retreated and contracted into formation.
Chen Zhi squinted at the setting sun on the top of Xiling Mountain, and ordered the large-bellied wing-winged boat that had already dismounted its armored soldiers and weapons to return immediately up the water.
"General Su led the water camp warships to advance along the west of the Yangtze River and go around the Huating River. At this time, he asked the troop ships to go back. Just in case, the problem would be troublesome..." The Chongcheng Army accompanied the commander in charge of the tactical staff to join the army.
Tao Bingde dissuaded him.
"The ancients could play a last-ditch battle, why can't we play it?" Chen Zhi said, "Tell the turtles on the beach that the boats have left. If they hadn't been unable to hold on in front, there would be no warships to pick them up and evacuate.
, even if I climb into the city, I will be driven down the Xinjiang River like them and be buried in the belly of a fish!"
The commander of the army smiled helplessly and sent messengers to contact the generals in the front line.
In the past three months, the Huaidong Army secretly built a ship at the western foot of Guanxiling. Although the shipbuilding materials were secretly transported from Chongzhou, the Huaidong Army invested so many resources that the new ships built
It's almost all here.
To hide it from the eyes and ears of the Zhejiang and Fujian armies, the Huaidong Army was able to secretly build a fleet carrying more than ten thousand elite troops in the upper reaches of Shanxi River to attack a long distance by water. It can be said to be a quite remarkable achievement.
It's just that if the Huaidong Army wants to achieve a glorious victory, it's not enough for Chen Zhi's troops to intercept them at the front. The main force of the Chongcheng Army and Changshan Army must also be at Guanxiling, Jiankou, and Litang.
By bringing them in together, we can ensure that the main force of the Zhejiang and Fujian armies on the eastern front can be completely annihilated without any risk.
In order to enable the soldiers behind to enter the hinterland of Shangrao as quickly as possible, there is no more convenient way than taking a boat - these big-bellied wing boats must return to the Guanxiling camp to pick up more soldiers to come along Jiangxi
.
Whether the troop transports are withdrawn or not, and whether they assume a last-ditch attitude, will not have much impact on the generals who rush to the beach. They have their glory. They cannot board the beach, or they are chased down by the bereaved dogs.
, which is difficult for them to accept.
As the number of troops ashore increased, a short ridge along the river from Crab Claw Rock had been captured by the Huaidong Army, and hundreds of crossbowmen from the Zhejiang and Fujian Army were quickly fleeing north.
Chen Zhi landed ashore surrounded by soldiers. By then dusk had set, and the mountain wind was blowing across his face.
After listening to a detailed battle report from a battalion general who had landed in front of the front line, Chen Zhi learned that Deng Yu's troops, about 12,000 men, had abandoned the shore and their troops were mainly heading towards the eastern foot of Huating Ridge and several towers in the north.
Xieling formation.
"The beggar Dezi went to lead the right wing and held it for me; the other tribes gathered together to attack here." Chen Zhi stretched out his finger and vigorously poked in the direction of Huating Pass, and suddenly marked a point on the map.
Da Dong said, "Don't look at the Zhejiang and Fujian troops who are still squatting there baring their teeth and barking. They have actually become a lost dog. When we hit it with a hammer, it must be so fast and hard that they will not be able to breathe!"
Chen Zhi had a rude temper. He had attended several battle training schools, but under Lin Fu's personal pressure, he could barely read a few hundred words. He could generally understand briefings and military orders, but he had been struggling on the battlefield for many years.
, inspiring a kind of almost innate vigilance.
The two armies have been facing each other for nearly half a year. No matter how pleasant General She Feixiong's words are, the morale of the soldiers from Fujian and Fujian will inevitably turn from high to low from the moment they abandon the defensive fortress. Chen Zhi knows that the morale and fighting will of the Zhejiang and Fujian troops in front of him have already declined.
On the verge of collapse, only the last breath of life is still hanging on. In contrast, the morale of Huaidong soldiers is as high as a rainbow. Every general is staring at the military exploits at his fingertips, regardless of life and death. At this time, no matter what,
Fighting fast with speed and fighting fierce with fierceness will only delay the fighter opportunities on other battlefields!