In the early morning of the first day of April, after a day's march, the Southern Expeditionary Army had arrived at Jin Township, ten miles east of Jiangling. They occupied the deserted township to set up camp (today's Shashi District, Jingzhou City), and joined forces with Feng Wuze's army stationed outside Ying County.
They were facing each other from afar, separated by seven or eight miles.
Decades ago, after the Qin State took control of Jianghan, the original Ying capital of the Chu State was divided into two. The Chu Palace in the northeast was called Ying County, and the residential area in the southwest was called Jiangling County. The county guard and the county magistrate were stationed there.
Jiangling, while the Nanjun commanders were stationed in Ying County, where the city was higher and easier to defend than to attack.
Let's put it this way: if Jiangling is the tooth, Yingxian is the lip, and if the lip is gone, the teeth will be cold.
Both sides had traveled more than ten days. From far away, their soldiers were exhausted and did not dare to engage in battle rashly. The commanders on both sides knew that this battle was a decisive battle, so they were very cautious and only sent scouts and cavalry to continuously test and engage.
.
The decisive battle was about to begin, but Hei Fu was walking around the fields outside Jinxiang Town with his hands behind his back like an old farmer, sighing.
"Wherever the army passes, thorns will grow. This sacred land may turn into a ghostly place filled with corpses."
He still remembered what he saw when he came to Jiangling as an official more than ten years ago: as Xia Road went south, the number of pedestrians on Tu Road gradually increased. There were traders going south and north, garrison soldiers serving as corvees, and unkempt prisoners.
There was an endless stream of hurried clerks, and sometimes they even had to move to the left side of the road before they could pass.
This area is also Yunmeng. On the bank of the river, the weather has warmed up. The rice fields on the roadside stretch as far as the eye can see. In the distance, there are hundreds of farmers and ministers scattered in the fields, driving their cattle to plow the fields.
…
But now, seeing that war is about to begin in their homeland, the people in Ying County and Jin Township have all fled, either to Jiangling or to Yunmeng. Many of the millet seedlings that have just sprouted in the fields have been trampled and fell down.
It was impossible for Heifu to order the army not to trample on the young crops. There were more than 20,000 people in the area. They needed to form a wide enough formation to compete with the enemy.
The same goes for Feng Wuze's army on the opposite side. Most of the people were also standing in the paddy field.
What is growing in the ground now is an army with bright armor, arranged as neatly as radishes. It is the copper and iron crops in their hands that have shown their sharpness and are shining brightly in the sun, only waiting for the nourishment of blood to water them!
After looking around and observing the terrain of the battlefield, Heifu confirmed to Wu Chen again:
"Today is April 1st, right?"
"It's the first day of April." Wu Chen glanced at the mark he recorded on the calendar and nodded affirmatively.
"That's good..."
Hei Fu nodded and looked at the rolling Yangtze River more than ten meters south of the battlefield, thoughtfully.
It was still early, and the land was already illuminated by the bright sun, but the river and Yunmengze were still shrouded in thick fog.
After Heifu waited for a while, several riders came out of the mist in the river and came to the car to report to him...
"about there."
Heifu breathed a sigh of relief, returned to the chariot, and gave instructions: "Send a few people to call for formation between the two armies!"
Dozens of cavalry roared out from Heifu's army formation. After the scouts from both sides clashed several times, at the default dividing line, they all held simple trumpets made of copper and shouted loudly:
“There were traitorous ministers and rebellious sons in the court, who robbed the First Emperor, chased out the virtuous sons, massacred loyal ministers and righteous men, and brought troubles to the court, so that in the temples, rotten wood was used as officials, and in the palaces, beasts and beasts devoured their salaries. The taxes in Kyushu were heavy, the corvee was numerous, and the people were suffering.
The pain of hanging upside down.”
"Today the emperor has lost his first emperor, and everyone is suddenly saddened. However, his majesty was killed by his rebellious son Hu Hai, treacherous minister Li Si, and Zhao Gao. He ordered the imperial physician to order Xia Wu to hide his clothes and belts with secret edicts, leaving behind the loyal marquis to raise troops to pacify him."
"Now Marquis Wu Zhong wants to restore Jiangling, and orders Jianghan to go north to fight against traitors. As a minister of the First Emperor, he must uphold morality, act faithfully, and cherish his reputation. The three generations of Feng family have been loyal and loyal. They should help the country. How can they help the traitors?
, conspired to usurp the throne? I hope that Marquis Wu Xin will know his way back, and will not be deceived by traitors and make a big mistake. You and I, Wu Xin and Wu Zhong, will work together to uphold the righteousness!"
…
"This rebellious traitor still dares to call himself 'loyal'?"
Listening to the shouting from the opposite side, Feng Wuze was extremely angry.
He knew that Hei Fu wanted to confirm the fact that "the First Emperor had died" in order to disrupt the morale of his own army.
What a clumsy plan!
But there are still imitations. Many people in Guanzhong felt that Fusu suddenly ran away, Meng Tian was imprisoned, the imperial court sent troops to suppress the Southern Expedition, and Wu Zhonghou first died and then resurrected to cause chaos...
Over the past few months, what happened has been a blur. The public is right and the mother-in-law is right, and ordinary soldiers are also a little frightened and at a loss.
However, under the strict oppression of the Qin army's laws, everyone could only grit their teeth and stick to their posts. After all, they are Guanzhong guards, lieutenants and elites drawn from the two armies. Even if they have doubts in their hearts, there is no problem in holding on to their position. Everything is waiting for the attack.
Let’s talk after the battle is over.
After Feng Wuze was angry, he thought about it, and the reason why Heifu did this psychological trick was simply because he was in a weak position...
At present, Heifu has about six to seven hundred chariots, more than a thousand cavalry, and twenty-five thousand soldiers under his command.
On Feng Wuze's side, there were thousands of chariots, more than 2,000 riders, and 20,000 soldiers. Just looking at the numbers, there was not much difference between the two sides.
There is no way, those who can make a profit in a hundred miles will defeat the general, and those who can make a profit in fifty miles will have half the army. When he originally set out from Anlu, Feng Wuze still had 30,000 followers, but he dropped 10,000 in the counties along the way.
He happened to be dealing with thousands of people sent by Heifu to attack the county and township.
In terms of combat effectiveness on paper, Feng Wuze still had the upper hand. On Heifu's side, except for the thousands of elite soldiers, the rest were either veterans who had been farming for two years in the Wuchang camp, or young recruits from Anlu.
At this time, Yang Xiong came to the army and suggested: "General, if he wants to mess with the morale of our army, I can also mess with the morale of his army!"
Therefore, Feng Wuze followed suit and asked people to call for war.
"The traitor, the black man, takes the name of military loyalty in vain, but is actually a traitor."
"Fake your own death to deceive the emperor, in order to deceive the people of the world, with ulterior motives."
"With the subsequent conspiracy, the three tribes of the Bi clan will be killed. If they rebel against the enemy and behead their dogs, they will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins!"
But their scouts didn't have copper trumpets. They got a little closer, and before they could shout a few words, they were shot to death by the enemy's crossbows. Only the horses ran back.
However, Heifu sent someone over to apologize, saying that it was a "mistake" by his troops, but he declared war justly:
"Since Marquis Wu Xin insists on going his own way, you and I can only hunt here. How about having the two armies play in front of the formation at a quarter of noon tomorrow?"
"There will be a battle tomorrow?"
After receiving this formal letter of challenge, Feng Wuze immediately made a judgment: "Hei Fu is deliberately delaying!"
The captains of the capital were puzzled: "Although our army has abandoned its baggage, it is backed by Ying County and Jiangling, has reinforcements from the city, and has endless food. However, they can only have food for a few days at most. Once they run out, they will only be able to survive."
Why does he want to drag us back to Huarong County? Could it be that he saw that the situation was not good and wanted to run away?"
Feng Wuze shook his head: "The two armies are too close. He cannot escape, or he is waiting for the situation to change."
The captains were puzzled: "Where are the variables?"
At this moment, a scout came to report: "General, there is a rebel army of two to three thousand people appearing more than ten miles north of Xia Dao! It is the same person who harassed Jingling before and blocked our rear army's supplies!"
Feng Wuze smiled: "So, Heifu is counting on the rebels who have penetrated into the counties of Nanjun to come for help..."
Even so, Feng Wuze still felt a little uneasy in his heart.
Changsha County, still no news!
But a general must not hesitate. He made a decisive decision: "Ask Jiangling and Yingxian guards to mobilize three thousand people and form an array on the north bank of Yangshui River to protect my flanks and prevent rebel reinforcements from crossing the water to attack!"
Then, Feng Wuze asked people to wave his flag, with the flag pointing directly to the east!
"You don't have to wait until noon tomorrow, line up now and fight the traitors decisively!"
Feng Wuze believed that he had completely defeated Hei Fu's trick of seducing people in the east and attacking in the west.
The Xiakou Marine Division has been sent to rescue Zhu City. They don't expect to defeat Heifu's more than 10,000 partial troops, but at least they can block the waterway and delay it for a while.
As long as Heifu's main force is eliminated here, or even he himself is captured, and then he marches eastward and sweeps across the south of the Yangtze River, this great rebellion will gradually subside...
Following Feng Wuze's order, more than 10,000 people in the front line formed a square formation, with shields in front, bows and crossbows in the middle, and spears and halberds in the back.
They formed a formation and marched slowly eastward to the sound of war drums. Chariots and cavalry rattled, and soldiers' armor and armor clattered. The soldiers under the command of Marquis Wu Xin stepped on the ravines and acres of millet fields, leaving the knot.
The Heifu army in defense is getting closer and closer!
"Your Majesty?" Wu Chen was participating in such a large-scale battle for the first time, so he was inevitably a little nervous. Seeing the "dark clouds" on the opposite side getting closer and closer to five miles away, Wu Chen couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
As for the Southern Expedition Army, except for thousands of elites, their mouths were dry with saliva, and they could hardly hold the spear shafts in their hands. They had never experienced such a big scene...
Whether it's Wuchang or Anlu, they use the crowd to dominate the weak, rely on black men to create miracles, and win smooth battles.
But in this battle with a 50-50 ratio, can we win a head-on confrontation with the Guanzhong Division?
Heifu was not completely sure either. He stood up straight in the car, not only looking at the approaching enemy troops and calculating their distance, but also looking at the densely populated big city Jiangling ten miles behind them...
After gazing for a long time, when I saw a beacon smoke rising over the city as the agreed signal, my face finally changed from solemn to relieved.
"Han Xin is here!"
…
"Marquis Wu Xin, look behind you! Jiangling!"
Feng Wu chose his place, and the military officer in charge of "watching the sun" also loudly reminded him to pay attention.
The old general turned his head and saw a huge column of smoke rising from Jiangling City. Judging from the location, it must be in the Linjiang area...
Now he knew where his uneasiness came from! Suddenly he threw a whip and cursed:
"Li You mistook me, Li You mistook me! Linxiang must have been lost, and the Changsha County rebels are heading north!"
At this time, Prince Cheng of the Marquis of Changwu, who was ordered to stay in Jiangling, also sent someone to ask for help:
"General Feng, there are tens of thousands of rebels who came upstream from the river in boats in the early morning fog, broke through the navy's defense line, and are attacking Jiangling!"
The already nervous Qin soldiers discovered that there was a fire in the rear and there was some commotion in the array. Before Feng Wuze could respond, Heifu, who had been talking all day and kept talking about "the battle tomorrow at noon", had already issued the order to counterattack.
Order!
The cannon cavalry was the first to go out, holding bronze trumpets and leading the soldiers forward while shouting loudly:
"Jiang Ling has switched sides anyway!"
"The Southern Expeditionary Army of 100,000 troops has arrived!"