Late at night on the 22nd, it was raining heavily and the sky and the earth were like ink. Several people rode fast horses and boats to land, galloping along the official road on the north bank of Changhe River.
The road was slippery due to rain, and the rider on horseback fell down many times before arriving at Fuliang City, causing his nose and face to be bruised.
The sound of fast horses galloping in the rain alerted the generals guarding the city. They watched several horses approaching the city gate and took out their wind lanterns to look at their faces.
The black-clothed rider on horseback, who was riding a panting horse, took out the token from his arms and threw it at the top of the city. He shouted impatiently: "There is a secret letter from the Governor's Office to be shown to the Fuliang generals.
You will open the city gate as soon as possible!"
The sky and the earth are like ink, covering a little distance and falling into darkness. Now the Qimen rebels are approaching from the east. Who knows if these horsemen are disguised as rebels? Who knows that there is something in the darkness behind these horsemen.
No ambush hidden?
Huang Biaozi listened to what was going on in the west city and walked over. Looking at the familiar faces under the lanterns outside the city, which were like dogs in water due to the heavy rain, he hurriedly asked people to put down the hanging baskets, and they would be pulled up to the top of the city and asked:
"What order did the governor of Zhou Meishan issue? Did he order the garrison troops from Fuliang, Ganzhou, and Yuzhang cities to immediately go to Shangrao's aid?"
Zhou Meishan and Huang Biaozi were both the attendant captains around Shewenzhuang. When Zhou Biaozi asked this question, he just smiled bitterly and did not answer his question. Instead, he asked: "Vice Governor Su, where is Han Li?"
The Grand Governor has a secret message for them..."
Huang Biaozi felt a chill rising up his back, and he didn't notice the rainwater seeping into his armor from the grass cover. He asked in surprise: "The Governor really wants to give up on Shangrao and not save him!"
"You are talking so much nonsense!" Zhou Meishan also had an evil fire burning in his heart. His tone was rough and irritable, and he urged Huang Biaozi to take him to see Su Tingzhan and Han Li.
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When Su Tingzhan heard that a special envoy from Jiangzhou came to the city overnight carrying a secret letter, he felt as calm as water when he tidied up his clothes.
He had too much blood on his hands in eastern Zhejiang, and there was no room for reconciliation with Huaidong, but it did not mean that he would definitely lead his troops to Shangrao to die.
By this time, the situation was very clear.
Jiangzhou was attacked from both sides by Jinghu and Chizhou, and it was impossible to mobilize the main force of the infantry battalion to assist Shangrao.
At this time, Huang Binghao and Chen Zishou had more than 30,000 troops in Yuanzhou, but how could they continue to hang themselves on this tree with the She family?
In the hinterland of Jiangxi, in Ganzhou, Yuzhang and Fuliang, the total number of foot soldiers loyal to the She family is more than 10,000. This is probably the last step that Shewenzhuang can mobilize to aid Shangrao at this time.
Even if the battalion's combat strength reaches Shangrao, it won't be enough to fill the gap between the Huaidong Army's teeth.
The ability of Jiangzhou navy to hold back Chizhou's navy and Huaidong's navy in Yijiang did not depend on how strong Jiangzhou's navy was, but more on the special terrain of Hukou.
At the mouth of Poyang Lake on the east side of Jiangzhou City, when the water rises, the water surface is only twenty or thirty miles wide, but a large area of it is still shallow and unfavorable for large warships to pass through. There are only three waterways that can truly enter Poyang Lake from the Yangtze River.
It's only four miles wide.
The topography of Hukou is conducive to the naval blockade of Jiangzhou, so Jiangzhou has the reputation of being the choke point of Jiangxi.
Once Shewenzhuang transferred the Jiangzhou navy southward into Xinjiang to aid Shangrao, it would mean that the blockade of the Poyang Lake entrance would be released.
The naval forces from Chizhou, Yijiang, and even Jinghu Lake will flood in from the mouth of the lake on a large scale, forming an absolute naval advantage on the vast surface of Poyang Lake, so that they can calmly and annihilate the Jiangzhou navy.
Even if the Jiangzhou navy can successfully bring the remnants of the eastern front from Shangrao back to Ganzhou and Yuzhang, the Zhejiang and Fujian armies in Jiangxi will be completely divided into isolated and helpless pieces, and the strategic initiative will be completely lost.
For the Zhejiang and Fujian armies, the situation in Jiangxi has completely collapsed. Rather than replenishing the troops on the eastern front, it is more important to avoid all chips being trapped in Jiangxi and being eaten by the Huaidong army.
If the Zhejiang and Fujian armies wanted to risk their lives and survive, there was only one feasible strategy, which was to decisively abandon Jiangxi before Yue Lengqiu and Hu Wenmu could react, cross the Yangtze River and flee north, jumping out of the encirclement of the Huaidong Army.
If the news of the collapse of Shangrao's defense line reaches Chizhou, Ezhou, Yue Lengqiu, Hu Wenmu and others react and completely block the Zhejiang and Fujian Army's crossing channel on the north bank, it will be a complete defeat for the Zhejiang and Fujian Army.
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If they cannot cross the river, the Zhejiang and Fujian troops in Jiangzhou can only wait for the main force of the Huaidong Army to come and encircle and annihilate them.
Su Tingzhan walked into the Mingtang with a serious face. Jiangzhou special envoy Zhou Meishan had already asked Huang Biaozi to lead him in. Han Li and Tian Weiye also walked in hurriedly. Han Li rushed to Zhou Meishan impatiently and yelled
He said: "Whether the Yuzhang faction sends reinforcements or not, whether the Ganzhou faction sends reinforcements, how will the Jiangzhou navy cooperate with us?"
Seeing Su Tingzhan come in, Zhou Meishan took out the secret letter wrapped in oilcloth from his arms and said: "This is the secret letter of the Governor. I want General Su to open it and read it in front of the Fuliang generals..."
Su Tingzhan took the secret letter, opened it, and handed it to Han Li without saying a word: "General Han, please read the secret order of the Governor..."
Han Li looked at it, kicked the sandalwood chair next to him to pieces, and yelled angrily: "Why?"
Huang Biaozi, Tian Weiye and other generals have all read the secret letters one after another, as if they were mourning their heirs. Although everything was explained to Su Tingzhan yesterday, it was still difficult for the generals to accept it when they actually faced this moment.
Although there were many disadvantages in fighting the Huaidong Army on the Eastern Front, the Zhejiang and Fujian Army was unfavorable on the Western Front, annihilating tens of thousands of officers and soldiers. Before the Shangrao War, the Zhejiang and Fujian Army still had only 160,000 to 70,000 troops.
Ju, how did the situation get to this point? To the point where even Jiangzhou doesn’t dare to defend it?
This is something that middle-level generals like Han Li, Huang Biaozi, and Tian Weiye cannot figure out.
Su Tingzhan ordered in a terrifyingly gloomy voice: "Han Li led his troops to station in Nangang, and Tian Weiye, Huang Biaozi led his troops to raid Fuliang, focusing on food, iron, salt, and medicine. There is no need to restrict military discipline too much.
, but remember, the withdrawal before nightfall tomorrow must not be delayed for even a moment..."
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Under the night rain, the waves on the Yangtze River were huge. A stern boat came out of Qiupu and sailed towards Songyang on the north bank.
To the southwest of Songyang, Yangui Lake, which is connected to Xiaocang Mountain, is the main stronghold of the Chizhou Navy on the north bank. The mouth of Yangui Lake is a shallow water pool with wooden fences like walls, and there are several water towers standing on the water pool on both sides.
among.
The wind lantern in the water tower hangs alone, like distant stars on a rainy night.
On a rainy night, the mouth of Yangui Lake seemed to be an undefended place. However, as if uninvited guests broke into the warning circle outside Yangui Lake, several fast paddle boats came around from the shallow water.
"The Privy Envoy has a secret letter that he must immediately forward to the Jiangxi Envoy and Chizhou Generals for their reading!" the messenger stood at the bow of the ship and said loudly.
The incoming ship was accompanied by people from Chizhou, so they did not dare to delay. They picked up the messenger on a fast oar warship and sailed to the west bank. They were immediately sent to the main camp of the Chizhou Army in Xiaocang Mountain to meet Yue Lengqiu.
Yue Lengqiu stood up in his clothes and saw the secret letter from Lin Fu passing through Quzhou and Huizhou's inner line. After being stunned for a long time, he came back to his senses and asked General Deng Yu: "This is how the Huaidong Army captured the She family in
Shangrao's defense line that has been maintained for nearly a year has been pierced?"
Deng Yu could not suppress the shock in his heart for a long time. Their previous most optimistic estimate was that the Huaidong Army could not break through the Shangrao defense line before autumn. The Zhejiang and Fujian Army's garrison in Shangrao, She Feixiong, Deng Yu
They are all veteran generals who have experienced hundreds of battles and will not reveal too many flaws in Shangrao.
To the east of Shangrao, there are mountains and mountains, which has always been an easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack area. The Zhejiang and Fujian Army had 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers and horses guarding several key passes. No matter how strong the Huaidong Army was, it would be difficult to take advantage of it.
"Will Huaidong use tricks to defraud Chizhou?" Yue Duming asked. If Lin Fu hadn't sent people here, they wouldn't have known what happened in Shangrao. Everything happened too fast and the news hadn't spread yet.
Yue Lengqiu and Deng Yu had been in contact with Huaidong over the years, and they had always been shrouded in Huaidong's halo, and their hearts were almost filled with shadows. On the contrary, Yue Duming, a newborn calf, was not afraid of tigers, and subconsciously questioned what was written in the secret letter.
authenticity.
"How do you say it?" Yue Lengqiu asked.
"Based on the situation described in the letter, Huaidong should urge our navy to entangle the Jiangzhou navy and prevent it from aiding Shangrao, instead of reminding us to prepare for the Jiangzhou army to cross the river." Yue Duming has been with the army for many years, and he also
He prides himself on his experience and his strategies are unparalleled in the past, and he speaks with an overflowing confidence.
Yue Lengqiu looked at Deng Yu.
Deng Yu shook his head and said: "As stated in the letter, the situation of the She family in Jiangxi has been completely out of control. Shewenzhuang driving the Jiangzhou navy to aid Shangrao will only sink deeper and deeper into the hinterland of Jiangxi, and will eventually be completely destroyed."
It's hard for him to extricate himself. If he were a low-ranking general, he could endure the pain and cut off his stumps, but he might be able to get a chance to survive." In the eyes of Deng Yu and others, the matter of abandoning a son to save his life was nothing.
"It depends on the truth of what Lin Fu said, but you can tell by looking at the movements of his main force in Yijiang Water Camp." Yue Duming said.
Yue Lengqiu nodded and said: "If Huaidong really wants to prevent the Zhejiang and Fujian troops from crossing the river and escaping north, the Jinghai No. 3 Water Camp stationed in Yijiang in Huaidong will definitely have to go all out to move westward against the current - maybe we will wait and see for another three to five days to see what the situation is.
Then things will become clearer.”
The shadow left by Lin Fu on him was too deep. He could not comprehensively adjust the Chizhou Army's military deployment outside Huangmei County just because of Lin Fu's secret letter.
It would take almost three or four days for the main force of the Third Water Battalion of Jinghai to set out from Yijiang and go upstream to the outskirts of Jiangzhou. In addition, three or four days would be enough time for the Chizhou Army's spies in Shangrao to send back more accurate information.
news comes.
Yue Lengqiu spread the map on a long table, invited Deng Yu's generals to gather around and watch, and said: "Now there are 30,000 troops in Jinghu directly threatening the west flank of Jiangzhou from the direction of Ezhou, and even if Shewenzhuang wants to give up,
If Shangrao doesn't save him, Huang Binghao may no longer be ordered by the She family to defend Yuanzhou alone. However, the She family is in Ganzhou, and there are nearly 10,000 elite troops in Henan and Gansu. They also need time to withdraw to Jiangzhou. If the Zhejiang and Fujian troops give up this time,
In Jiangxi, it will take ten or eight days at the fastest to cross the river from Jiangzhou to the north. Maybe in another three to five days, the situation will become clearer. Deng Yu, what do you think?"
Three or four days would not bring much change to the situation. Deng Yu thought about it and felt that he should wait and see, and should not make hasty changes in military deployment just because of Lin Fu's secret letter.
Yue Lengqiu thought for a long time and decided to wait another three to five days to see how the situation would change, so as not to fall into Lin Fu's trick - Yue Lengqiu had always been known for being steady, so it was not surprising that he made such a decision.