In early September, outside Suiyang City in Songzhou, the autumn wind was blowing by, and scattered yellow leaves were already falling from the treetops, making people feel that the autumn mood was already strong.
Thousands of generals outside the city waved their flags and cheered thunderously.
The remaining fires were still burning on the dilapidated city walls, and the air was filled with the acrid burnt smell of kerosene, firewood, and corpses mixed together.
The gap torn open by the cyclone cannon was like a shocking wound on the city.
Pulling the field of view closer, there are broken soldiers, halberds, bows and spears everywhere, arrows stuck in the rammed earth city wall with huge cracks, broken limbs and arms, and corpses with arrows stuck in them, lying on the wall.
On the top, he fell into the gap in the city wall's collapse and fell into the city's moat, which was more than ten feet wide.
In order to overcome the dangerous walls and wide moat of Suiyang City, the attacking side recruited tens of thousands of able-bodied civilians outside the east city gate to transport baskets of soil to the city despite arrows and flying stones as dense as swarms of locusts.
Under the city, the trench that was more than ten feet wide was filled in, and a ramp that was more than ten feet wide was built. It was filled directly to the height of the city wall, so that thousands of warriors could pass through it.
A ramp leads directly to the top of the city.
For more than a month, in order to build this ramp to climb the city, countless civilians were shot to death by arrows and stoned, and their bodies were filled directly into the ramp to increase the height of the ramp.
The blood of the generals who died in the battle stained the entire nearly three hundred steps diagonally long ramp to the city black.
"Your Majesty, look!" A cavalryman rode his horse straight past the guarded array. He got off his horse only when he got close to the tent, and then threw a hunched corpse on the horse directly to the ground, stirring up excitement.
There was a burst of flying dust, and the cavalry general knelt on one knee in front of Zhu Yu and said, "Your Majesty wants to capture Feng Ting'e alive, but at the end of the day, he will lead his men into the courtyard where Feng Ting'e lives. The army will kill his wife, concubines and
The youngest son Feng Yanzhang and his two grandchildren under ten years old were strangled to death, and then they drew their swords and committed suicide. It was a pity that no one was caught alive..."
Zhu Yu, who was wearing brocade and brown armor, stood silently in front of the tent. Lei Jiuyuan took a step forward and saw Feng Ting'e's body with a wide wound on the neck, and the clothes and armor were stained with blood.
Feng Ting'e was the cavalry general who followed Liang Taizu in establishing the foundation of Daliang. He was also known as a famous Daliang general along with Qin Shixiong, Gao Jihai and Han Jian. Before Zhu Yu usurped the throne, he served as deputy privy envoy and commander of the Bianjing Horse Army. He was also the commander of Daliang.
The supreme commander of the Imperial Guards Cavalry, whose daughter is Princess Bo, has always been the most powerful advocate for King Bo to seize the throne.
Han Jian was killed by his nephew Han Yuanqi, and Feng Ting'e committed suicide. Two of the four famous generals who laid the foundation of Daliang have passed away. Although Qin Shixiong, the former Weibo Jiedushi envoy, was ordered to go to Bianjing to serve as the privy envoy, he was intoxicated with money, singing and drinking every day.
For fear that he would be killed if he crossed the border even slightly, Gao Jihai was the only one who was injured and wounded. At this time, holding on to his sick and disabled body, he still insisted on resisting the southern attack of the Jin army in Zhongmou City.
The older generation of Daliang can be considered as withered by this time.
The battle of Suiyang in Songzhou lasted for nearly three months, with more than 60,000 casualties among the generals on both sides. Even though the rebels following Feng Ting'e suffered much more casualties than Xuanjia, the losses were always the elite of Daliang.
All that was hurt was Daliang’s vitality.
Han Yuanqi, Chen Kun, Jing Zhen and others came on horseback, dismounted in front of the tent to see the new emperor Zhu Yu, and said: "Except for a few remnants, about seven or eight hundred people broke out and fled to Chenzhou. After meeting with King Bo, Feng Ting'e
This battle can be regarded as a complete annihilation of our troops - then the army will march to Chenzhou, and your majesty may be able to return to Bianjing before the end of the year."
"No," Zhu Yu suddenly recovered his thoughts at this time, shook his head and said, "Chen Kun led his troops to stay in Songzhou to recruit refugees to resume farming. Yuan Qi, you and Jing Zhen immediately led their troops to Xuzhou..."
"Xuzhou! Is the army heading to Xuzhou at this time?" Han Yuanqi and Jing Zhen both asked in confusion.
After Sima Dan, the defense envoy of Xuzhou, expressed his allegiance, he sent dozens of his family members to Bianjing to serve and live there. The loyalty of Xuzhou soldiers and horses should not be questioned, and in a short period of time, they should not take advantage of the victory to pursue them completely.
To eliminate the remnants of Bo Wang Zhu Gui who retreated to Chenzhou with less than 20,000 men, and to completely bring all the prefectures and counties in Daliang under the rule of Bianjing?
Why did the main force have to be transferred to the Eastern Front at such a critical moment, when it was necessary to give King Bo Zhu Gui some breathing space?
Could it be that Sima Dan sent his son to Bianjing as a hostage intentionally to conceal the truth? While he appeared to be surrendering to Bianjing, what other ambitions did he actually have?
Zhu Yu spread his hand and handed a secret letter to Han Yuanqi and Chen Kun, who had previously been dedicated to supporting the siege.
"Gu Zhilong surrendered to Yueyang, and Yang Zhitang fell over immediately. He also turned too fast, right?" Han Yuanqi took a breath, thinking that their progress was fast enough, but he didn't expect that the civil strife in Dachu would be like this at this time.
There are signs of calming down soon.
"Gu Zhilong surrendered to Yueyang, and the Xuanzhou soldiers merged with the Chishan army and Qiuhu Mountain, which meant that King Xin Yang Yuanyan and the Anning Palace completely lost the initiative in the south wing. Although Yang Zhitang did not have elite soldiers and generals, the main reason was that although Emperor Tianyou used the clan,
But he also deliberately prevented anyone from becoming powerful in the clan, but Yang Zhitang's ability to assess the situation is not bad. Together with Yang En, Yang Jian is the three main pillars of the Yang clan, and cannot be matched by that old guy Yang Tai," Zhu Yu said
Standing in front of the big tent, he said, "All these things mean that Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake and more than 20 states along the Ganjiang, Xiangshui and Yuanshui rivers will be merged into Yueyang in the next two or three months. If everything goes well
If so, Yang Yuanpu will probably be able to complete a new round of troop preparations before the end of October. By then, his three-pronged army will number 160,000 to 70,000 people. Yang Yuanpu will probably be able to attack Jinling City before the year...
"
"I led my troops to Xuzhou to force Yang Yuanyan to withdraw his troops from the south of the Yangtze River as soon as possible, so that Anning Palace could free up its hands to fight with Yueyang's troops and horses?" Han Yuanqi asked.
"I hope I can make it in time." Zhu Yu sighed.
"Maybe it's too late?"
As the captain-general in charge of Chengtian Division, Jing Zhen had a better understanding of the internal situation of Chu State, the deployment of troops and horses, and the mentality of local forces in various states and counties. He said,
"Gu Zhilong and Yang Zhitang have surrendered one after another. Yueyang's recruitment of She Rao, Fu Ji, Gansu and Shaozhou probably only requires a letter. Yueyang also predicts that a new round of troop build-up will be completed by the end of October. There is no exaggeration.
And Li Zhigao and Gao Chengyuan's troops could use troops against Jiangzhou in advance without waiting for the troops to be assembled. And in such a short period of time, Anning Palace was short of food and fodder for a long time, so there was no way to make such a big adjustment in the defense deployment.
Many troops gathered on the west flank of Jinling to resist Yueyang's troops, but it could not last long. Why didn't we let Yang Yuanyan stay on the south bank of the Yangtze River, but forced them to withdraw to the north bank of the Yangtze River? Yang Yuanyan wanted to be more headstrong, but for military purposes
The soldiers are definitely not weak. Even if the Chuzhou army is defeated in the end, it can still seriously damage the vitality of Yueyang's soldiers and horses, right?"
The Nanya Forbidden Army and the Shouzhou Army are on the western front in Jiangzhou and Chizhou, which currently total less than 30,000 troops to prevent Yueyang's troops from advancing eastward.
Before Yang Zhitang surrendered, although Yueyang could gather 40,000 to 50,000 troops in Ezhou and Huangzhou, he obviously did not dare to attack Jiangzhou easily. Now the situation is completely different.
Not only can Yueyang mobilize the maximum number of troops to gather in Ezhou, but Yang Zhitang is also likely to have assembled more than 40,000 troops in the south of Jiangzhou before the end of October and march north. How can the small Jiangzhou resist 120,000 to 30,000 troops by then?
Horses attacking from two sides?
Even if the Chuzhou Army chooses to withdraw northward at the first time, it is impossible for the 100,000 troops and a large amount of supplies to be completely withdrawn in three to five days. By then, there may be less than one time left for Anning Palace to adjust its deployment.
moon?
In just one month, how could Anning Palace ignore the constraints of Han Qian and Gu Zhilong's troops on the southern front, and transfer a large number of elite troops to Jiangzhou as quickly as possible to destroy the main force of Yueyang?
What is the combat intention of the soldiers and horses approaching Jinling City?
The situation in Chu State reversed so quickly that, let alone them, even An Ning Palace, who was in the middle of the situation, was caught off guard!
"Yes, if we force the Chuzhou Army to withdraw northward at this time, it will only prompt the local forces in Huhang to take advantage of the situation and quickly defect to Yueyang, right?" Han Yuanqi thought about it, and he led the main force of the Caizhou Army to move in at this time.
Xuzhou would only say that the situation was more conducive to Yueyang and Yang Yuanpu, but he couldn't help but sigh and said, "But speaking of it, no one thought beforehand that Han Qian could gather a group of rabble and be able to do it in such a short period of time.
, reversed the situation outside Jinling."
"Han Qian is too powerful. Before June, who would have thought that Yueyang would have such an opportunity?" Chen Kun couldn't help but sigh. He once judged that the situation in Chu State was much more chaotic than theirs in Daliang.
To think that such an insignificant chess piece as the Chishan Army could play such a big role?
Yang Zhitang, the grandson, was too unprincipled and unpersistent. They originally expected Yang Zhitang to have greater ambitions and mess up the situation in Chu State even more!
"It's not that Yang Yuanyan didn't have the opportunity to curb the Chishan Army's expansion. In fact, he missed two excellent opportunities - Yang Yuanyan was still too stubborn after all." Lei Jiuyuan said thoughtfully.
Lei Jiuyuan admitted that Han Qian was powerful, but the intelligence collected so far also showed that Han Qian was not so powerful that he was completely uncontrollable.
"No," Zhu Yu shook his head slightly and said with his hands behind his back, "Yang Yuanyan is definitely not weak with Wang Wenqian's help, but Han Qian is too strong. Yuan Qi led the main force of Caizhou Army to Xuzhou, which can help Yang Yuanpu win Jinling more easily.
But Yang Yuanpu succeeds to the throne as Emperor of Chu, and I don’t care about it. The only person in the world who can really threaten me in Daliang is probably Han Qian, except for the Mongols who defeated the Jin army from the north.
Qian gathered 300,000 to 400,000 old, weak, women and children in the north of Xuanzhou and called the Chuzhou Army. Anning Palace was at a loss as to what to do. We can't give Han Qian enough time to digest these 300,000 to 400,000 old, weak, women and children."
"Ah!" Han Yuanqi, Chen Kun, Lei Jiuyuan, Jing Zhen and others were all startled. They did not expect that the most fundamental purpose of His Majesty's arrangement was to prevent Han Qian from having enough time to digest and gather together in Fuyu Mountain and the world.
The old, weak, women and children among the mountains even did not hesitate to send troops directly to force the main force of the Chuzhou Army to withdraw to the north bank, helping Yang Yuanpu regain the Jiangnan area as quickly as possible.
After Zhu Yu pointed it out, the more Lei Jiuyuan, Han Yuanqi, Chen Kun, Jing Zhen and others thought about it, the more they realized this:
Both the Dragon Bird Army and the Chishan Army have transformed from a ragtag group of mud-footed soldiers into elite warriors that astonished everyone in heaven and earth. However, the burden of the Chishan Army is too heavy and too heavy, and they are on the side of Jinling's bed. As long as they
It can help Yang Yuanpu recover the gold insurance as quickly as possible, and help Yang Yuanpu gather the influence of Jiangnan local families under his command as quickly as possible. When the time comes, it will be impossible for the kings and ministers of the Chu State to tolerate Han Qian being only a hundred miles away from Jinling.
Those who have laid down the foundation can also force Han Qian to hand over the military power of the Chishan Army.
Not to mention that Yang Yuanpu was already suspicious of Han Qian at this time.
And if the time was delayed for a year and a half, or if the main force of the Yueyang Army was severely beaten by Yang Yuanyan, then everything would be really hard to say.
"Besides these, our troops and horses also need time to rest and recuperate!" Zhu Yu then said with emotion.
Han Yuanqi turned his head and looked at the piles of corpses all over Suiyang City in the distance. He knew that Daliang's vitality had been severely damaged by the successive battles, and the situation was actually more serious than that of Chu State.
Not only has the army suffered heavy casualties so far and needs to rest and recuperate, but more importantly, winter will begin in the Central Plains in less than a month.
For the time being, they are not sure that they will be able to finish wiping out the remnants of Bo King Zhu Gui within a month. When the wind and snow come, it will become more difficult for the generals to attack the city, and the uncertainties will also increase greatly.
Compared with the past when large armies invaded Jingxiang, Shouhuai and other places, they could requisition food on the spot and conduct large-scale plunder to solve a considerable part of the supply problem. Now they are fighting within the country, and not only the generals' grain must be transported in other ways.
They have to bear the responsibility of resettling and rescuing refugees. In the cold winter when roads and rivers are blocked by heavy snow, the supply of food and fodder will also become even tighter.
After many years of fighting and the internecine fighting within Daliang in the past year, the Jin army has also stepped up its offensive against Daliang in Zhongmou, Weibo, Hedong and other places in the past year. Daliang has been under great pressure, and it does take time to relieve it.
