It rained heavily right after nightfall on the 15th, and the downpour poured down, covering the sky and the earth. The Huaidong Buqi offensive was forced to stop and stopped in a valley at the southwest foot of Xiaozhu Mountain. Yi formed a single formation and advanced.
Take a look at the open area west of Xinyu City and north of Yuan River to guard against enemy soldiers from the west entering Xinyu City on rainy nights.
The heavy rain will stop in an hour, but the water in the streams and rivers has surged, and water has accumulated in the forest gullies to form pools. In the middle of the night when the sky and the earth are like ink, the trees are soaked by the heavy rain, making it difficult to make a fire. With only a few candles and wind lanterns, it is difficult to make a big fire.
The soldiers and horses entered and exited in an orderly manner. Naturally, they could only stop the attack on the main force of the Yuanzhou Army retreating at the southwest foot of Chitugang. They could not forcefully attack the remaining city of Xinyu that had been captured by a Yuanzhou Army, which gave the enemy soldiers a breath of relief.
In the early morning, after a burst of heavy rain, the night turned better. The sky was covered with thin clouds, but a mist-like light came down, and the surrounding hills and forests could be barely seen. Zhou Pu immediately led Chen Daozi and led more than a thousand cavalry.
We took a circuitous route back to the south bank of Xiatanggou and marched arduously to the eastern foot of Mengshan Mountain.
After a night's delay, the main force of Yuanzhou's army retreating to the southwest foot of Chitugang will be able to use the terrain to build defensive fortresses.
The place where the main force of Yuanzhou's army retreated was a shallow gorge in the southwest corner of Chitugang. Although the mouth of the gorge was quite wide, allowing soldiers and horses to attack, Yuanzhou's army erected a wall at the mouth of the gorge and dug outside the wall.
With a shallow trench and a large number of crossbows prepared behind the trench fence, the defense becomes tight. The vanguard of the Huaidong Army, which is mainly composed of cavalry and only one-third of the horse infantry, will have a difficult time attacking Chitu Hill.
, may even lead to unnecessary heavy casualties.
Zhou Pu knew that defeating Yuanzhou's troops was just a side dish, and he needed to conserve his strength for the next larger, more magnificent, and more difficult battle.
Zhou Pu immediately decided to wait for Zhang Jiheng and the main force of his infantry to arrive and rendezvous before attacking the enemy in Xinyu. Before that, he should prepare for Yuanzhou's army to withdraw from Xinyu to Xia Yuan, divide his troops to detour back to the eastern foot of Mengshan Mountain, and insert them into the red soil.
Behind the hillside, we peeked into the road on the north bank of the Yuan River, which was retreating west from Chitugang, to guard against Chen Zishou's escape to the west.
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At dawn, the sky was dim and the campfire was burning. Chen Zishou stood under the makeshift thatched tent and stared at the blurry scenery outside the mountain. The Yuan River in the distance was shining with sparkling waves.
Heavy rain interrupted the sharp offensive of the Huaidong Army's vanguard infantry and cavalry, but also made it difficult for them to withdraw from Xinyu to Yuan.
From Mengshan Mountain to the west, the road becomes rugged and steep, and the heavy rain last night also caused many roads to be washed away, pools accumulated in many places, or mud slopes slid down - whichever army is left will not give up after being cut off.
Huaidong Army was defeated? And Chen Zishou was not sure how much time he could buy by cutting off the rear troops.
In addition to the 16,000 soldiers and horses who retreated to Chitugang, Zhang Xiongshan was injured and retreated into Xinyu City. In addition, the remaining troops were routed, and there were still 6,000 troops and horses in Xinyu City. It is said that the number of Yuanzhou troops is far greater than that of Huaidong.
They were on foot in the vanguard, but the hasty contact before nightfall made no one confident in fighting the Huaidong Army in the field.
Zhang Xiongshan led Huang Binghao's elite guard camp, which can be said to be the most loyal to Huang Binghao. They were defeated so easily at the western foot of Xiaozhu Mountain. However, a considerable number of Yuanzhou's troops in Chitugang and Xinyu Cancheng were defeated.
The generals were afraid of angering Huaidong before the war and advocated accepting surrender. How could they be expected to fight hard against the elite of Huaidong's army regardless of their own safety?
Chen Zishou did not withdraw westward overnight, firstly because of the bad weather, and secondly because he was worried that once he retreated westward, he would have Huaidong's elite infantry cavalry chasing after him, and whether his morale and team would be able to maintain their morale and not collapse.
Today, at the southwest foot of Chitu Gang, there is still steep terrain that can be defended. The rocky slopes on both sides of the canyon are quite steep, making it difficult for the Huaidong Army outside the mountain to enter. However, at the mouth of the gorge, felling trees for fences and digging earth for trenches, not only can they use the danger to defend
Defend, when the troops and horses are restrained in the camp, the morale of the army can be maintained, and the morale will not collapse immediately.
Zhang Xiongshan's soldiers and horses in the remaining city of Xinyu did not dare to fight out, and Chen Zishou did not dare to leave Chitugang easily. The soldiers had no fighting spirit. Whether they marched eastward to Xinyu or retreated westward to Xiayuan, they would be exposed in the open river valley.
In the meantime, the elite cavalrymen of Huaidong were asked to find an opportunity to attack.
Although it is only thirty miles from Chitugang to Xinyu, the valley in the middle is wide. Huaidongjia's elite cavalry and horse infantry stamped their feet on the southwest slope of Xiaozhu Mountain slightly to the north, as if a spear was piercing them.
Don't let people pass by force.
The previous plan of Chen Zishou and Huang Binghao was just to enter Xinyu City before the Huaidong Army could react. They did not want to fall into the danger of losing ground. But for now, Chen Zishou could only hold on to the mouth of the gorge and move his confidants
Confidants dispersed into the army to stabilize the morale of the army and prevent restless generals from mutiny and causing trouble.
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Although hindered by heavy rain, Lin Fu personally led Zhang Jiheng's fourth brigade of infantry and entered Xinyu before nightfall on the 17th.
From Yuzhang to Xinyu, along the west bank of the Ganjiang River, the biggest obstacle along the way is the Jinshui flowing from the mountains in the west of Yangle. However, as early as early June, the Huaidong Army entered the branch of the river that merges into the Ganjiang River at Jinrui.
After setting up a pontoon bridge at the entrance, the entire road to Yangle is complete.
Before the 17th, Zhang Xiongshan and Chen Zishou did not dare to make any changes in Xinyu and Chitugang. They just desperately used the resources at hand to strengthen their defense.
Huaidong's 12,000 elite soldiers passed through the Xiatang Valley from the pontoon bridge that was carefully built, followed the road trampled by Zhou Pu's front, divided into two teams and advanced along the eastern foot of Mengshan Mountain and the western foot of Xiaozhu Mountain to attack the north bank of the Yuan River.
The enemies guarding Chitugang formed a pincer attack.
Although Chen Zishou cut down trees for a stronghold at the western foot of Chitu Hill, dug soil for trenches, and built a simple fort in two days to block the Huaidong cavalry from Chitu Hill, making it difficult for them to effectively advance in front of the fortress, but with the forest binding,
They came with scorpion crossbows, spear crossbows and other war weapons, as well as charging chariots, cave chariots and other equipment and were quickly assembled in front of the formation. Yuanzhou's army's camp in Chitugang seemed very thin.
Zhou Pu led the troops and entered Xinyu in two batches with elite cavalry. The first was to attract the main force of Yuanzhou's army to the area around Xinyu, and the second was to keep the main force of Yuanzhou's army outside Xinyu. At this point, it seems that both goals have been accomplished.
Very beautiful.
Accompanied by Gao Zongting and others, Lin Fu galloped into Zhou Pu's temporary camp at the southwest foot of Xiaozhu Mountain, jumped off his horse, and said to Zhou Pu: "I have brought you 12,000 troops and horses.
, when will we see you marching towards Xianyuan?"
"The one who took refuge in Xinyu City was Zhang Xiongshan. His loyalty to Huang Binghao is no less than that of Chen Zishou. If we attack Chitugang, Zhang Xiongshan will most likely send troops from Xinyu City to risk his life and hit us in the rear," Zhou Pu said,
"If there are stars and moon tomorrow night, then we will hit Chitu Hill tomorrow night!"
The Huaidong Army is stronger than fighting at night, and the part of Yuanzhou's troops and horses in Xinyu City will be restricted at night, thereby reducing the Huaidong Army's defensive strength south of Xiaozhu Mountain, and allowing them to concentrate their forces to attack Chitugang at night - Zhou Pu suggested that the troops
The horses came here to rest for a day, and then attack Chitugang tomorrow night.
"It will be too late to put it off until tomorrow," Lin Fu shook his head and said, "Xinye City has been captured by Shewenzhuang, and Nanyang is on the verge of collapse. Saying that Nanyang can't survive for three to five days is not the most pessimistic estimate. Yuanzhou is going to be overcast.
We must fight. If it drags on until tomorrow and there is another heavy rain, we can’t drag it on for three to five days. I have seen tonight and will attack Chitugang at dawn..."
The sky will be fine tonight, but it is difficult to predict what the weather will be like tomorrow night. Lin Fu requested to attack Chitugang tonight.
"It's a bit hasty to attack by force after tonight," Zhou Pu pondered for a moment, then turned to ask Zhang Jiheng, "Your men have traveled three hundred miles in four days. Can they be ready to attack Chitugang before dawn?"
The original plan was to arrive at Xinyu yesterday, but heavy rain delayed the journey for a day. Although the journey was delayed for a day, the generals were even more tired. Leaving Jinshui in Yangle County and heading south, the road was washed away by the rain, and the number of soldiers increased.
The difficulty of marching.
Zhou Pu was worried about whether Zhang Jiheng's generals could withstand continued fighting.
Zhang Jiheng touched his nose and said, "No problem."
"The war here cannot be delayed," Gao Zongting said. "We must completely assemble our troops and horses before the Yanhu army crosses the Han River and attacks Jingzhou. The time left is very tight. If the battle at Chitugang is likely to be delayed,
, Xia Yuan, Yuan Zhou may not have time to pick it up!"
"Then we will attack Chitugang after dawn. In addition, we will replace the cavalry camp and rest for a night to prepare for the pursuit." Lin Fu made a decision and said, "Capture Chitugang and defeat its main force. Xinyu side
Temporarily leave three to five thousand soldiers and horses to monitor and persuade him to surrender. The other soldiers and horses will follow the defeated troops and directly take down Yuan!" He asked Zhou Pu again, "Is there any news about Wu Jingze?"
"Wu Jingze followed Zhou Zhizheng to escort the grain and grass to Yuancheng before sunrise. After knowing that the two armies were fighting, he and Zhou Zhizheng stopped at the northeastern foot of Xiaoping Mountain. I told them to wait for the opportunity and not to make Huang Binghao suspicious..." Zhou Pu
said.
"Okay," Lin Fu said, "The Zhou family is willing to put an end to the chaos, so we can set an example for the Jiangzhou generals and send someone to inform Wu Jingze. Don't ask the Zhou family to take risks..."
After taking Yuanzhou, Lin Fu could not stay in Yuanzhou for too long. If he wanted to stabilize Yuanzhou's situation as quickly as possible, he needed someone to clean up the mess for him and calm the defeat.
Zhou Pu added: "Huang Binghao was in chaos. Yesterday morning he wanted to lead Yuan's last five thousand soldiers and horses to aid Xinyu, but after walking less than ten miles, he retreated to Yuan City."
"Being greedy will lead to loss." Lin Fu made a conclusion to Huang Binghao, and without saying anything else, he went out to the camp in Zhoupu, accompanied by Gao Zongting, to visit the generals who had been fighting the enemy for many days in Xinyu.
************
After nightfall on the 17th, it started to rain again. In the early morning, it cleared up and the sky was full of stars.
Chitugang is a grassy slope, which becomes slippery after rain, and water accumulates in the forest ravines to form pools. The rainy weather also makes the crossbow strings loose, so there are many inconveniences in fighting after the rain. Yuanzhou's army thought that the Huaidong Army would not
We choose to attack after the rain, and usually take refuge inside the canyon to rest in the early morning.
At dawn, the bright moon converged, and a faint blue light appeared on the horizon, illuminating the earth at the eastern foot of Mengshan Mountain as if it were covered with thick mist. The Huaidong Army pushed rams, cave-house carts, scorpion crossbows, tip crossbows, etc. from the starting position.
War weapons stormed up from the east wing and southwest corner, and most of the generals of Yuanzhou Army fell asleep.
Of course, the outer sentry posts blew the warning whistle of enemy attack, and the enemy camp inside the gorge mouth became uproar and commotion.
In addition to the infantry attacking from the front slope of the gorge, more than a thousand light troops from each side climbed up the cliff and attacked the soldiers and horses deployed on the cliff with Yuanzhou's army to cover the camp at the gorge.
The red soil hillock is not high, with the highest point on the north ridge being only over 50 feet. In just three or four days, it was impossible for the Yuanzhou Army to build the trench fence around the red soil hillock. Before the sky was completely bright, the Yuanzhou Army deployed in the mountains and forests on the left wing.
The more than a thousand defenders were the first to be defeated. After Zhang Jiheng saw that he had captured the high ground on the left wing, he used mules and horses to transport a dozen Scorpion crossbows up the mountain, set them up on the cliff on the left side of the canyon, and bombarded the enemy camp.
Although it had rained before dawn and the enemy camp was very wet, the fire oil cans were thrown down to set the tents on fire, causing clusters of fires to burn in the enemy camp. Although the fire was not big, only ten people could be dropped at each time.
Several stone bombs were fired, but it was enough to make the enemy camp more chaotic, making it difficult to organize their formation in the valley and move to the gorge mouth in batches to resist the Huaidong Army's frontal attack.
In the mouth of the gorge, Yuanzhou's army had more than 16,000 soldiers and horses. Although a considerable number of the troops were unstable, Chen Zishou still had more than 5,000 direct soldiers and horses at his disposal.
Chen Zishou drew out some of his elite soldiers to supervise the battle team. They stood behind other uneasy soldiers and horses with swords and axes to supervise the battle. He also deployed the main soldiers and horses of his direct family on the inside of the gorge gate wall, directly responsible for the frontal defense against the Huaidong Army.
offensive.
The timing of Huaidong's army entering Xinyu was so coincidental that Chen Zishou understood that his and Huang Binghao's plans had long been seen by Huaidong. Maybe there was a way out for others to surrender to Huaidong, but he and Huang Binghao were bound to die - in order to obtain the
Guaranteed, Chen Zishou must invest all his direct soldiers and horses in the fight to the death.
As Chen Zishou's direct descendants, the generals and commanders were either promoted by Chen Zishou, or they were from the same clan or hometown as Chen Zishou. They were both prosperous and declining with Chen Zishou, so they could advance and retreat together, and live and die together. But under the current situation, even Chen Zishou
When the direct descendants of the Huaidong Army saw the soldiers of the Huaidong Army pouring in like a torrent, they were also frightened and their morale was low.
The fierce battle at the mouth of the gorge continued until the end of the day. After the trenches were filled, the dozens of scorpion crossbows and tipped crossbows accompanying the Huaidong Army were pushed in front of the enemy fence. Together with the synchronous bows and hard crossbows, arrows and stones covered the enemy camp like locusts.
The mouth of the gorge is wide open. The blood seeps out from the fence wall and overflows everywhere. It mixes with the trampled mud and is indistinguishable.
When the sun rose above the treetops, Chen Zishou's direct soldiers and horses had accumulated heavy casualties behind the fence and filled up the trench. The simple fence also allowed the Huaidong Army to break through two dozen-foot-wide gates.
As soon as there was a big hole, hundreds of soldiers from the Huaidong Army rushed in to fight hand-to-hand, so that the Yuanzhou Army could not breathe for a moment.
Close hand-to-hand combat can better reflect the differences in morale, fighting spirit, battle training, bravery, weapons and armor of the soldiers on both sides.
Huaidong Mo Dao's hand is protected by two wings of sword and shield soldiers. He wears heavy armor and holds the sword in both hands. There is almost no enemy that can stop him from the front. He must have a large shield to block Mo Dao's chops. The sharp and thick Mo Dao blade
, swung it, splitting the head, shoulders and arms of the armored generals, blocking them with large shields, and stabbing them with spears, making the Yuanzhou Army's defense line at the mouth of the gorge like cracks on porcelain. Under the powerful military attack, the cracks became more and more
Deeper and bigger, it can no longer be compensated and is about to disintegrate into pieces.
Chen Zishou finally understood that the Huaidong Army was beyond his control, so he reined up his horse and galloped towards the right wing. There was a gap in the ridge on the other side that allowed him to go west out of Chitugang, but it had not yet been captured by the Huaidong Army.
To break through, that's his last chance.
Chen Zishou no longer filled the gorge with the limited number of direct troops and horses he had in hand to resist the Huaidong Army's frontal offensive, but took the lead in breaking through the gap on the right flank. The news reached the front line and almost instantly defeated the fighting spirit of the defenders. When one man turned around and fled
, the infection quickly spread, and the defense line collapsed along with the fighting spirit. Countless people followed Chen Zishou's soldiers and fled from the gap to Chitu Gang Mountain and fled to the west. More people abandoned their weapons and surrendered without resistance.