The wilderness from Tanghe to Zaoyang is covered with residual snow, and the early morning mist has not dispersed yet, like white clouds rolling over the earth.
This once prosperous place on earth has been destroyed by frequent wars in recent decades. The world is silent, and a large group of birds fly in like dark clouds and land on the snow to peck at grass seeds.
The Tongbai Mountains in the northwest look like a group of giant beasts squatting in the morning mist, quietly gazing at the world.
More than a hundred cavalry appeared on the far side of the horizon. Regardless of the cold weather, they crossed a stream and broke through a thin layer of river ice. The waves covered the chests of the yellow-brown or black horses, forming a thin layer of ice.
The mist was even more shattered.
The war horse sprayed hot mist from its nose and mouth. It had obviously continued to run for a long distance. At this time, its blood was boiling. When it stepped into the cold stream, it neighed loudly, as if several times.
The sharp war blade ruthlessly tore apart the silence of the surrounding fields.
The knights on horseback were wearing black armor and had rough looks. Most of them had messy beards and hair. Only their determined eyes revealed a murderous iron-blooded aura.
In the withered grassland on the south bank of the stream, several Tanzhou scouts watched all this with vigilance.
The Crown Prince, who was the vanguard of the right front, had abandoned the remaining Tanghe city in the north ten days ago and withdrew all the soldiers and horses belonging to the right front into the vicinity of Zaoyang City in the south. At this time, a large group of Liang troops appeared nearby.
Scouting is not something to make a fuss about.
The Tanzhou scouts just hid in the grass and quietly stared at the stream to the north.
That stream becomes very shallow after winter, but it is the boundary river between Tanghe and Zaoyang - Zaoyang City is more than fifty miles away to the south.
Soon another group of more than a hundred cavalrymen crossed the low ridge to the north and appeared on the north bank of the stream.
Seeing that more than two hundred war cavalry did not continue to advance south, but repeatedly crossed the river, the experienced scouts quickly realized that Liang Jun was actually looking for the most convenient passage to cross the river.
Tonight, a large number of Liang troops will cross the river and head towards Zaoyang City behind them?
This question did not disturb the experienced old scouts of Tanzhou for a long time. Soon they saw hundreds of cavalry, like giant black waves, crossing the hills and swarming towards the river.
The Tanzhou scouts looked at everything in front of them with their mouths open. The remaining city of Tanghe in the north was composed of more than 3,000 Liangjun troops. But when did so many elite Liangjun cavalry appear in Tanghe?
Seeing two groups of Liang Jun cavalry wading across the river and galloping towards this side, these dozen Tanzhou scouts crawled and rolled into the woods behind them, got on their horses, and galloped towards Zaoyang City like crazy.
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"..."
Ma Xun, the crown prince of Tanzhou Jiedushi, pressed his hands tightly on the crossbar in front of the wall, his knuckles turning white. He looked solemnly at the thousands of elite cavalry that seemed to be divided into two groups like a black torrent, bypassing Zaoyang City.
Go straight south.
At this time, there was a group of about 500 soldiers on the southeast wing. They had learned about the enemy an hour ago and wanted to evacuate a sentry fort in the south and avoid entering Zaoyang City. However, they did not expect that Liang Jun’s cavalry would attack.
The advance was so fast that in front of a stick of incense, in front of a hill less than ten miles away from Zaoyang City, he was entangled by two groups of cavalry scouts from the Liang Army and was unable to advance or retreat.
At this time, large groups of Liang Army cavalry swarmed over like huge waves, and the shouts shook the heaven and earth. Even the defenders of Zaoyang City, who were guarding the city behind closed doors ten miles away, still felt frightened when they heard it.
Watching helplessly, the group of 500 infantry who had retreated to form a formation at the foot of the mountain were killed by more than a hundred heavy cavalry in a single charge. Then hundreds of cavalry swarmed forward, with swords, axes, spears and halberds interlaced with blood.
, charging back and forth repeatedly, constantly cutting up, scattering, and driving the Chu army into pieces. They ruthlessly killed each living life in front of the horse, with blood splattering and limbs flying everywhere.
In just two cups of tea, more than 500 infantrymen were like crops that had been torn apart by the strong wind, and few of them could still stand in place.
Even the survivors were lying on their stomachs in the muddy ground watered with blood, begging for surrender, but Liang Jun didn't seem to be slowed down by his prisoners at this time. He waved his swords, guns, swords and halberds and mercilessly slashed at the Chu army who was begging for a living.
Stab away.
"What are they going to do?"
This elite cavalry did not go straight to Zaoyang City, like a swarm of locusts, killing the Chu army on the southeast wing that had not had time to escape into Zaoyang City. They also had no intention of stopping and continued southward like a torrent.
But because of the iron-blooded momentum of this cavalry, which was like a torrent of iron and blood, Ma Xun was speechless when he spoke. He looked at the general beside him and asked.
"They are going straight to Yingzhou." Ma Rong, the lieutenant general of Langzhou Army Sima, Si Bing joined the army, and was also the reinforcement of Tanzhou's horse assistant to the crown prince Ma Xun, said with a stern face.
Although Zaoyang City was much more dilapidated than Yingzhou City, even the troops stationed on the outer city fortress were devoured by Liang Jun like a swarm of locusts passing through. There were still nearly 10,000 reinforcements from Tanzhou and other states gathered in Zaoyang City.
Liang Jun only relied on thousands of elite cavalry to attack Zaoyang City in a short period of time, but Yingzhou City was different.
It was not until eight years ago that Yingzhou Tianyou was included in the territory of Dachu. The war was chaotic before, the people were in dire straits, the number of households in the prefectures and counties was greatly reduced, and a large number of copycat forces were outside the prefectures and counties. This time, five to six thousand state soldiers were recruited, and the people of Yingzhou were strong.
Local garrison troops and horses became extremely limited.
Besides, before everyone believed that the defenses along the line from Xiangzhou to Zaoyang had not been defeated, Liang Jun would at most send a small group of troops into Yingzhou to raid Suizhou, because the local garrison troops in Yingzhou and Suizhou were scattered in
Within the state and county.
There is not enough preparation for the large-scale invasion of Liang Jun to the south. The garrison in Yingzhou City will not exceed 2,000, and it is very likely that they will not be able to withstand the attack of Liang Jun's elite wolves and tigers.
"Liang Jun intends to target the whole of Jingxiang this time!" Wen Ruilin said with a pale face.
Ma Rong immediately wanted to understand.
If the Liang army's main intention on the west flank was to contain the Chu army, they would not have used thousands of elite cavalry to cross and take risks southward.
The cavalry seems to be moving quickly, but they travel hundreds of miles. Once they are blocked at the foot of Yingzhou City, they will be unable to attack the city and defend the stronghold in time to repair and obtain supplies, and they will be in a dilemma.
After all, in the cold winter, war horses cannot eat grass in the wild, and the horse feed consumption is more than ten times that of the generals.
At this time, if the Xiangzhou Army blocked the passage at the northern foot of Dahong Mountain, the elite cavalry of the Liang Army going south might suffer heavy losses.
Under normal circumstances, Liang Jun would not risk his elite cavalry unless Liang Jun's strategic intentions on the west flank far exceeded their initial expectations.
Liang Jun's forceful capture of Yingzhou on the east bank of the Han River will cut off the connection between Deng and Xiang and the rear. When more troops of Liang Jun enter the Nanyang Basin, they can storm Xiangzhou City - Xiangzhou City, Liang Jun along the Han River
If you go south along the west bank, you can take Jingnan, and if you go south along the east bank of the Han River, you can take Jiang'e. Apart from taking advantage of the natural dangers of the Yangtze River, the Chu army has no invincible place to contain the Liang army's advance.
"Your Majesty, let's go to the city tower to discuss..." Ma Rong whispered to Ma Xun.
There were not only reinforcements from Tanzhou in Zaoyang City, but also more than 4,000 reinforcements gathered from Suizhou, Ezhou and other places. They were all controlled by Ma Xun, the vanguard general on the right front - Ma Xun also knew that there were some words that foreign generals should not listen to.
He forced himself to calm down and walked towards the city gate tower.
The so-called city tower is a shack built with palisade wood at the west city gate so that the generals can protect themselves from wind, rain and stone arrows when they are commanding operations on the city wall.
"Does Mr. Wen conclude that Liang Jun is actually attacking the east and west this time, with the intention of attacking the whole of Jingxiang?" Ma Xun looked at Wen Ruilin with a pale face and asked.
Although thousands of elite Liang cavalry did not attack Zaoyang City directly, they also cut off their retreat southward.
If Liang Jun's intention in this battle is to invade the entire Jingxiang, then not only will their retreat to the south be cut off, but they will also worry that a large force of Liang Jun will attack Zaoyang City from the north at any time.
"Depending on the situation, this should be the case." Ma Rong was also shocked by the speed and determination of Liang Jun's advance on the right wing. Only in this way can he explain why Liang Jun made such a large-scale detour on the right wing.
"Then should we send people to see Commander Liang Jun to discuss peace now?" Ma Xun asked.
Once Liang Jun controls the entire Jingxiang area, Chu Ting's control over Tanzhou will be weakened to the extreme, and Tanzhou will actually be qualified to compete with Chu Ting in the Jingxiang area controlled by Liang Jun.
Ma Xun never thought about fighting to the death for Chu Ting. He only thought about secretly negotiating peace with Liang Jun. When Liang Jun occupied Jingxiang, Tanzhou on the south bank of the Yangtze River would be out of Chu Ting's control.
"It is too early to make peace with Liang Jun at this time. The commander-in-chief in Tanzhou is not well prepared!" Wen Ruilin advised the prince not to act rashly at this time.
Ma Rong also nodded in agreement with Wen Ruilin's opinion.
Tanzhou did not expect Liang Jun's strategy of seizing the east and attacking the west. Not only did he not make preparations for separatist rule, he even dispatched tens of thousands of troops and capable civilians to reinforce Xiangzhou.
At present, Tanzhou only has 15,000 or 6,000 soldiers and horses, and no more extensive mobilization has been carried out.
Once they make any rash move here, Jinling would rather let Jingxiang be invaded by the Liang army, and would immediately send an army to conquer Tanzhou.
After all, even if the Liang army captured Jingxiang in a short period of time, they would not be able to cross the Yangtze River by force. At the same time, they would even have to consider the threats from the Shu army in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and Han River.
Even if Tanzhou wanted to break away from Chu, it would have to wait until Liang Jun established a foothold in the Jingxiang area.
"Then what should we do? Should we really defend Zaoyang City, or should we cross the Han River to Xiangzhou City?" Ma Xun asked anxiously.
Liang Jun intended to target the entire Jingxiang area, and Zaoyang was a must-win area, and only after Liang Jun captured Zaoyang could he have the conditions to organize his troops to cross the Han River and attack Xiangzhou.
If they don't withdraw, it will definitely be a bloody battle to meet them.
Ma Xun knew that it was still early for him to seek peace with Liang Jun, but he did not want to end up here with the five thousand athletes from Tanzhou.
"If we go to Xiangzhou City, we may encounter an ambush by Liang Jun. We should withdraw to Suizhou." Wen Ruilin said.
"If we withdraw from Suizhou, there won't be an ambush?" Ma Xun asked doubtfully.
"If I were the commander-in-chief of Liang Jun and didn't send someone to persuade us to surrender at this time, I would let us go to Suizhou to wait and see. Otherwise, if they use their limited elites to fight us first, what good will it do to them?" Wen Rui
Lin asked.
Wen Ruilin's idea was very simple. Liang Jun would definitely not let them cross the Han River to Xiangzhou City, which would greatly increase the difficulty of their later attack on Xiangzhou City.
Ma Xun looked at Ma Rong, who was more experienced in using troops.
Ma Rong also agreed with Wen Ruilin's opinion, but this time Liang Jun's strategy of attacking in the east and attacking in the west was too unexpected. He frowned and said: "Even if there is an ambush, they should be halfway there at this time, waiting for this Liang army."
After the army passes, we will send reconnaissance cavalry to the northeast and northwest. It will be clearer which direction we should retreat to when the time comes."
Wen Ruilin glanced at Ma Rong with disdain. At this time, the soldiers were very quick and sent out reconnaissance cavalry to explore the road. It would take at least half a day.
