Funiu Mountain and Tongbai Mountain are both steep mountains spanning hundreds of miles. Together with the eastern chain of the Qinling Mountains, they surround the Nanyang Basin. In the north of the Nanyang Basin, the eastern foothills of Funiu Mountain and the western foothills of Tongbai Mountain confront each other.
Standing upright, the mountains in the middle subside, forming a trumpet-shaped graben that is narrow in the northeast and wide in the southwest. It is known as Fangcheng Pass in the world. The pass is about twenty to thirty miles wide from east to west, and about forty miles wide from north to south. Both sides are
High mountains.
Fangcheng is located on the inner side of the pass, built against Fangcheng Mountain at the southeastern foothills of Funiu Mountain. It is the only way to go south to Jingxiang and north to the Central Plains. Therefore, together with Juyong, Yanmen and other passes, it is also known as the nine fortresses in the world.
Because it is the main road from Jingxiang in the south to the Central Plains in the north, cars and boats meet. Under the stone cliffs on both sides of the pass, many historical cultural relics are left. When Liang Chengchong returned to the government of the Yuan Dynasty and accompanied Yue Lengqiu to cross the cliffs of Fogou, there was nothing
I am in the mood to see the carvings on the stone cliffs and the inscriptions of literati from past dynasties.
Further north, there are the ruins of the border wall left by the Chu State during the Warring States Period. Although it has experienced thousands of years of weathering, it still stands among the hills.
After Liang Cheng rushed to Nanyang, he stationed heavy troops in Fangcheng to guard against enemies in the north.
However, the wall of Fangcheng plus the outer city moat is no more than two miles wide. In addition, there are still passages in the mountains to the west of Fangcheng Mountain that can be passed through in a roundabout way, which is not enough to completely seal the pass and protect the Nanyang Basin on the inside.
Liang Chengchong used the old site of the old Chu border wall, built wooden fences and rammed earth blocks to renovate the square city border wall, which was more than thirty miles long.
Yue Lengqiu climbed up to the fortress city built on the cliff of Fogou and looked at the hills and plains in the east pass. The side wall was built according to the terrain, with strong fortresses embedded in the steep places, and connected with the square on the west side of the pass.
The cities and fortresses are connected to each other and integrated into one body, like a swimming dragon.
In other times, Yue Lengqiu would have appreciated Liang Chengchong's ability to restore Fangcheng Pass in just two or three years, but he was about to face the impact of hundreds of thousands of Yanhu soldiers and horses, and the side walls of Fangcheng looked so crude.
Follow thin.
If the Wuyang and other fortresses on the outside cannot be defended and a large number of Yanhu soldiers and horses are forced to rush closer, it will not be easy for the Nanyang soldiers and horses to rely on the border wall to hold on for a long time.
In addition to the more than 10,000 troops stationed in Wuguan, Danfeng County, Baiyangguan and other places to the west, Nanyang also deployed heavy troops in the lower reaches of the Weihe River and Xinye City to prevent any changes in Luo Xiancheng's troops in Xiangfan in the south.
In addition to the thousands of reserve troops and horses left in Nanyang, Liang Chengyi deployed less than 16,000 troops in Fangcheng and the surrounding Wuyang and other fortresses.
Yanhu's troops gathered in Ruyang were as high as 160,000. In addition to the partial division led by Chen Zhihu on the left wing to contain Huaixi, Yanhu could directly add troops to Wuyang and Fangcheng's troops were as high as 100,000.
Even if the fortresses can be relied on, the defenders of Fangcheng and Wuyang are not Huaidong's experienced soldiers. It is difficult to have confidence in trying to resist the 100,000 Yan and Hu Xiong soldiers with 16,000 soldiers.
Although Yue Lengqiu was worried, there was no worry on his face. Instead, he looked excited and said to Liang Chengchong, Yuan Guizheng and others beside him: "Before I came to Nanyang, I was deeply worried. I was worried about the iron heel of the Yan army.
It's hard to stop. Today, when I see Nanyang Guan Mountain is like iron, I realize that I have worried too much before. I am in Shouzhou and heard that the Huaidong grain ship has been shipped from Shanyang; the Privy Council has also gathered tens of thousands of elites in Luzhou, thousands of
The supply troops in Xinyang stepped up their efforts to renovate the post roads to connect the aid roads; Mr. Dong also personally led the troops to cross the Huaihe River to fight. I originally wanted to meet Mr. Dong before coming to Nanyang, but Mr. Dong took the lead and had one hundred thousand soldiers under his command.
, he actually fought with the enemy soldiers at great risk, suffered minor injuries, and rested in Guoyang. I couldn't bear the temper and came to Nanyang first..."
When people were in the water and saw straw floating by, they were also delusional and overjoyed. Yue Lengqiu's words made Liang Chengchong and others look up, and they felt that many of their previous worries were unnecessary.
Only when Yuan returned to power, he was still worried and asked Yue Lengqiu: "Does Governor Yue know about the fact that Yan Hu conferred Yuan Lishan and Chen Zhihu became the false king?"
For more than two hundred years since the Yuan Dynasty was established, the Cao family was the only exception among those with different surnames who were granted the title of king. When the Liang family was in power, they were only granted the title of Duke. However, Yanhu chose this opportunity to grant the title of Yuan Lishan, and Chen Zhihu and Chen Zhihu became kings with different surnames.
, is nothing more than a seal to Shewenzhuang, Luo Xiancheng and other rebels.
Nowadays, Nanyang is in the west and in the north, and it seems to be somewhat defensive, but in the south, only Xinye City stands in the lower reaches of the Tuihe River, with thousands of soldiers and horses stationed there.
If the remnants of the She family or Luo Xiancheng go all out and use tens of thousands of troops to bypass Xinye and directly penetrate into the heart of the Nanyang Basin, how should they be treated?
Especially from Suizhou through Tongbai Mountain, there is a direct access to attack Xinyang, which will then cut off the access to Nanyang from the northwest foothills of Huaihe River.
Before Yue Lengqiu went north, he believed that Lin Fu would not refuse to save Nanyang. However, after arriving in Huaixi, this confidence began to waver. After arriving in Nanyang, this confidence almost collapsed.
Yue Lengqiu didn't care what he thought in his heart, but he kept a calm expression on his face and said in an understatement: "Yuan Lishan and Chen Zhihu do not care about the court's kindness. They regard thieves as their fathers and work as tigers' accomplices. Sooner or later, they will destroy themselves. Whether they can be crowned king or not is just a matter of time.
No need to pay attention."
Yuan Guizheng signaled everyone else to stop. He and Liang Chengchong accompanied Yue Lengqiu and continued walking up a flight of stairs. They said in a low voice: "Even if Jinghu and Huai are thrown away, Chong Guogong can still draw the river to rule.
, Governor Yue is really not worried, Huaixi really firmly believes that Huaidong reinforcements will definitely send troops from Luzhou?"
Yue Lengqiu glanced at Yuan Guizheng and thought to himself: Liang Chengchong may be brave, but Yuan Guizheng is deep in the city. Is it possible that even though he lost Nanyang, he still wanted to retain a remnant of his troops for the Queen Mother?
"The Marquis is overly worried. Duke Chong Guo is so dedicated to running Xuzhou, how could he easily throw away the land north of the Yangtze River?" Yue Lengqiu said.
"But Chong Guogong also manages Luzhou with great care," Yuan Guizheng said. "Even if Jinghu falls, Luzhou can still be used as a support to the east of Huaishan Mountain to prevent the situation in Huaixi from collapsing immediately. Now Chong Guogong has already
To hold the land south of the Yangtze River in your pocket, instead of throwing hundreds of thousands of Huaidong elites into Nanyang for danger, it is better to use a knife to cut off dissidents and then calmly clean up the rivers and mountains."
Yue Lengqiu sighed inwardly, Yuan Guizheng was decisive and could see things more clearly.
After the fall of Nanyang, the remnants of the She family and Luo Xianchengdu will surrender to Yanhu, causing Yanhu's troops on the western front to suddenly increase to nearly 400,000. This situation is of course very detrimental to the Huaidong Congress.
However, even if the Yan and Hu armies were allowed to enter Nanyang, Xianghan and other places, at the northern foot of Huaishan Mountain and in the upper reaches of the Huaihe River, there was still Dong Yuan who could barely maintain the situation in Huaixi. Before the Han River, in Jingzhou, Hu Wenmu was still struggling to support the Huaihe River.
As long as the two key points of Jiangzhou and Luzhou are defended on the east and west fronts, the resources of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian can be easily integrated.
Jiangnan has jurisdiction over hundreds of millions of people and tens of millions of people. With Lin Fu's political and infiltration capabilities, for two or three years, he will not have to worry about raising two to three hundred thousand elite troops to compete with Yan and Hu on the western front.
The further this situation goes, the weaker Huaixi and Jinghu will become, while Huaidong will become stronger - as long as Yan Hu cannot capture Jingzhou, Huaixi, and Lin Fu in the Yuan clan's place, it will be a foregone conclusion. Even if Huaidong and Xu
The Si area will be turned into wasteland due to the war, but for Lin Fu, at least he can make a profit and rule the river.
Is this really what Lin Fu had in mind?
Yue Lengqiu thought silently in his heart.
No matter what, even if Nanyang was really regarded as an abandoned son by Lin Fu as Yuan Guizheng suspected, Yue Lengqiu also knew that he could save this situation.
Yue Lengqiu was thinking this in his heart, but he said: "Master Hou, you are worrying too much. If Nanyang is lost, the She family and the Changle bandits will inevitably surrender to Yan. How can Duke Chong sit back and watch Yanhu gain momentum on the western front?"
"He laughed again and said, "I visited Nanyang today, and will go back to Shouzhou and Luzhou tomorrow to supervise the supplies and troops sent to Nanyang in a steady stream, so that the worries in Lord Hou's heart will be gone soon..."
What kind of person was Yuan Guizheng? How could he dismiss Yue Lengqiu with just one sentence? Yue Lengqiu's eagerness to leave Nanyang made him even more worried.
At this time, a group of Hu cavalry came from the north and chased and killed the villagers who had no time to escape into the city fort. A group of ten cavalrymen gathered and dispersed, looting the villages on both banks of the upper reaches of the Kuaihe River, chasing and killing the refugees.
Clusters of blood stains looked like blooming flowers on the dry and cracked ground.
To the north of Fangcheng, although Wuyang City still stands at the northern foot of Tongbai Mountain, supporting the outer perimeter of Fangcheng's pass. But three days ago, Yanhu's 5,000-horse cavalry vanguard crossed the Shahe River and the Wuyang garrison was blocked.
Unable to fight in the city, Yanhu's outpost cavalry was able to bravely penetrate directly in front of Fangcheng's border wall to provoke. Between Fangcheng and Wuyang, some villages that did not evacuate south in time suffered a major disaster.
Liang Chengchong, Yuan Guizheng and Yue Lengqiu all turned a blind eye to the killings outside the border wall.
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The Juihe River traverses the Nanyang Basin, from Xinye to the south, and flows east of Fancheng into the Han River.
Fancheng and Xiangyang stand between the Han River and are collectively called Xiangfan.
Xinye, the southern gateway of Nanyang, is only a hundred miles away from Fancheng. It is connected by the Meihe River in the middle, and there are no mountains or ridges to block it.
On the one hand, Luo Xiancheng focused on running Suizhou, and on the other hand, he also weakened the hostility of Nanyang and Jinghu. There were not many troops stationed in Xiangfan. Although the Changle army had nearly 80,000 soldiers, most of them were concentrated in Suizhou, and the troops stationed in Xiangfan were
There were only more than 10,000 troops, and there was no sign of adding more troops here. Therefore, Nanyang's defense situation in Xinye was relatively loose. Some people in Nanyang thought that Luo Xiancheng did not have the courage to cooperate with Yan and Hu to attack Nanyang.
Yanhu's secret envoys have entered Fancheng, and Luo Xiancheng also entered Fancheng quietly yesterday. Except for Wei Zhang, Hu Zongguo, and Ma Zhen, only a hundred cavalry escorted them into the city, leaving Nanyang's spies in Fancheng unaware.
After the Cao family abandoned Guanzhong, although Nanyang stationed heavy troops in Wuguan, the Danjiang River and many rivers west of the Danjiang River that originate deep in the Qinling Mountains were all tributaries of the upper reaches of the Han River. As a result, there were many rivers from south of Chang'an or Shangzhou Prefecture.
This dangerous trail can bypass Danfeng County, Wuguan, and directly connect with Xiangfan. Although it is difficult for large groups of soldiers and horses to pass, it is not difficult for thirty or fifty people to pass through, and it can become a channel connecting Guanzhong and Jinghu Lake.
The secret envoy of Yanhu, Nahe Azige, was the younger brother of Nahe, the favorite concubine of Lord Yejier of Yan, and the chief cavalry commander of Yanhu's troops stationed in Chang'an.
When they left Shangzhou to attack Danfeng County and Wuguan, the mountains along the way were so steep that they could only attack with infantry, and the cavalry was of little use. Beiyan lacked envoys who were familiar with the She family, so Azige followed Na Hexiong in his early years.
When Qi was sent as an envoy to Goryeo, he had contact with the She family. This time, regardless of his identity, he personally braved the dangers and crossed the mountains to Fancheng to meet with the rebels from Jinghu.
The deputy envoy who accompanied Azig to Fancheng was Shen Zhi, the former magistrate of Jihe County. Before the war in Xuzhou, he had been envoyed to Suizhou to persuade Luo Xiancheng to surrender. Naturally, he was also selected to be envoy to Fancheng this time.
When Azig came this time, he brought with him the imperial edict of Yan. In addition to conferring Shewenzhuang the title of King of Linjiang, Luo Xian was also conferred the title of King of Xiangyang. The condition was that Luo Xiancheng would give up Xiangfan so that the troops and horses of the She family could move along the Han River. They went north to attack Nanyang, while Suizhou soldiers and horses sent troops from the middle section of Tongbai Mountain to attack Xinyang north.
Although the remnants of the She family have to guard against the Chizhou Army and the Jinghu Army from cutting their way back, the She family controls the Han River and can quickly mobilize 30,000 elite troops to move north. With Xiangfan as a foothold, it will be very convenient to send troops north to raid new areas.
Once Xinye is captured, the southern gate of Nanyang Basin will suddenly open, and the defenders on its northern and western fronts will be separated. Whether it is Wuguan in the west or Fangcheng in the north, as long as one place is captured, Yanhu will Integrated with Xiangfan.
By this time, even if Huaidong troops and horses came from Luzhou along the northern foot of Huaishan Mountain to aid Xinyang and Nanyang, they would no longer be able to gain a strategic advantage.