Early the next morning, Lei Jiuyuan, Xu Mingzhen and others received news from Eyue and other places in Zhongli. At dusk the day before yesterday, eight large galleys entered the Yangtze River from the mouth of Dongting Lake in the west of Yueyang City.
The number of shipwrights, sailors and navy soldiers was estimated to be more than 3,000.
The sailboats built in Xuzhou have long been famous for their fast sailing in deep and wide waters. Counting the time, this fleet will reach Tangyi as soon as noon tomorrow.
Since it was speculated that Han Qian was most likely in Tangyi at this time, and it was also confirmed that there were signs of refugees gathering in Tangyi, Xu Mingzhen also sent a fast horse to the vicinity of Chuzhou City yesterday to deliver an order, requesting the scout cavalry that had already arrived at the departure point.
They gathered together and went to the northern and eastern areas of Tangyi City to harass and intercept the refugees who gathered in Tangyi City at night.
The latest feedback news was also sent back to Zhongli at noon. When more than 400 reconnaissance cavalry gathered on the southern front to raid the northeastern part of Tangyi City, they encountered a strong counterattack and were not allowed to withdraw, ensuring that only infantry was the main force.
, in addition to the Jiangzhou soldiers with ordinary combat effectiveness, there are more elite combat forces hidden in Tangyi City.
Since Tangyi City is not allowed to enter and exit, it is difficult for the reconnaissance cavalry to accurately estimate the number of soldiers and horses in Tangyi. However, in the past few days, the number of refugees who gathered in Tangyi was 70,000 or 80,000.
After initially understanding the situation in Tangyi City and the rapid advance of Xuzhou Shuiying, Lei Jiuyuan, Xu Mingzhen and others were also frightened.
After the successful ambush of the main force of the Nanchu Navy in Hongzepu, there were internal disputes among the Xuzhou Navy and the Lou Chuan Army about the follow-up combat plan.
Some people believe that since the main force of the Nanchu Navy has been destroyed, their water camp warships should pass through the Xinjin River, Shitang River and other rivers, penetrate south as quickly as possible, enter the Yangtze River waterway, and harass Jinling in response.
The posture of the Chaozhou garrison.
This will not scare the Southern Chu court from attacking Chaozhou City, but the greater advantage is that when the army goes south, more soldiers and horses of Southern Chu can be intercepted on the north bank for annihilation and consolidation.
Of course, there are certain risks involved.
The soldiers and horses of the Liang Dynasty had to wait for the Huaihe River to freeze solid before they could move south in a large scale. But at this time, the Huaihe River and the shallow and narrow rivers north of the Yangtze River would freeze solid. The navy, which mainly used light warships, could only stay in the Yangtze River waterway.
Before the troops and horses are connected, there is a window period of about ten days to half a month.
Some people think that the risk is not high. After all, after the destruction of the Nanchu Navy, the warships and naval forces that Nanchu could gather from surrounding prefectures and counties in a short period of time were all stragglers with little combat effectiveness. Even if the Louchuan Army and the Xuzhou Water Camp were in the Yangtze River waterway,
There are no large warships here, so there is no need to be afraid.
The water camp of Huaidong Xinwang Yang Yuanpu was also weak.
The reason why Chu Emperor Yang Yuanpu fell into the trap was because he was suspicious of Xuzhou. As long as he had a chance of capturing Chaozhou City, he and most of the princes and ministers in the Southern Chu Dynasty would not think of diverting Xuzhou Shuiying to the east.
.
Of course, some people mentioned Han Qian's actions during the Jinling Incident and believed that Han Qian would not necessarily wait for the rescue edict before sending troops when he learned the news of the destruction of the Nanchu Navy in Xuzhou.
Xuzhou Navy and Lou Chuanjun did not have large warships. Once exposed to the deep and wide Yangtze River waterway, they would not be able to compete with Xuzhou's large warships.
The soft-sailed pointed-bottom cabin boat was originally created by Xuzhou. Xuzhou was extremely familiar with its performance and would never make the mistakes of the princes and ministers of the Southern Chu court who talked about it on paper.
Therefore, some people advocate that it is not advisable to take risks, and the water camp warships should be retracted, and after the ice is frozen, the cavalry and infantry can go ahead.
However, the voice of the opponents was not strong. In the end, Zhu Yuyujia arrived in Xuzhou in person and rejected the proposal of the navy to dispatch hastily.
The current situation is that if they had not hastily dispatched the navy into the Yangtze River waterway, even if they could dispatch more than 10,000 cavalry to the north bank of the Yangtze River as planned before tomorrow, they would not be able to suddenly capture the area along the Yangtze River in a short time.
In this city, the navy had no shore base to rely on. How could it face the Xuzhou Water Camp in the deep and wide Yangtze River waterway?
Not to mention that Han Qian had already gathered a considerable number of troops in Tangyi!
When the time comes, I'm afraid it will be their turn to pay a heavy price for their rash advances in order to achieve Han Qian's fame and power, right?
Considering that Han Qian himself was in Tangyi to win over Zhou Tan for his own use, and that he would be able to rendezvous with Xuzhou Shuiying before noon tomorrow, and that Li Zhigao was leading the main force of the Huaixi Forbidden Army to slowly retreat to the eastern Shuzhou area southeast of Qianshan,
Xu Mingzhen, Chen Kun, and Lei Jiuyuan summoned the generals to make a plan. In addition to the troops and horses reinforcing Chaozhou City, which continued to advance to join Wenbo, another cavalry force was sent to the vicinity of Chuzhou City to keep an eye on the people in Chuzhou City.
A small part of the defenders and the rest will not act rashly for the time being, and will make other decisions after the subsequent grain and grass shipments from Liang Kingdom arrive.
This is the so-called good fighter without great achievements, right?
Both sides are generals who are good at planning and fighting bravely, so it is destined that both sides must be careful enough and not dare to take risks at will; the war situation will then become dull and unremarkable, without any extraordinary achievements.
As far as the Shouzhou Army is concerned, it maintains a strong offensive on the southern front and has sufficient troops and horses, but it is really too poor.
Before the Jinling Incident, the population of the Huaixi states was only six to seven million, which was much lower than that of Huaidong. After the Jinling Incident, although a large number of people were forced to cross the river, the population loss in the Huaixi prefectures has been even greater since the start of the Huaixi War.
many.
Shouzhou currently controls the two core areas of Shouzhou and Huozhou. Including soldiers and refugees who fled north since the outbreak of the war, the total population is only over 500,000.
This small population base required 120,000 troops and horses. If Shouzhou hadn't been serving as the central support for Da Chu and hoarding a considerable amount of military rations, the supply of food and fodder would have collapsed long ago.
Don’t talk about the many uniforms, boots and hats that generals need to keep out the cold, don’t talk about the mules, horses, and carriages that ensure a certain degree of mobility and transportation, and don’t talk about the sinews, leather, leather, solid wood, and iron needed to build soldiers, armor, and weapons.
Not to mention the large amount of medicine and supplies for building the camp, there were only 120,000 soldiers and more than 30,000 mules and horses in the army. The annual rations and horse materials required almost 1.5 million dan.
Even though Shouzhou had some hoarding before, it has been two years since the Jinling Incident. Within two years, the area under their control has always been in a state of extreme shortage of food and grass.
Before receiving large-scale grass material support from Daliang, Shouzhou, even though it seemed that it could mobilize more than 100,000 troops, lost the ability to counterattack on a large scale. Even the mobilization of troops and horses in the past few days has left many soldiers frozen.
Dead road or camp.
Of course, as long as they get food and supplies from Daliang, the Shouzhou Army's combat effectiveness will definitely not be weaker than that of the Nanchu Forbidden Army after it recovers. What to do then, the initiative lies with them, and there is no need to go there at this time.
What a risk.
It's just that it takes time for the food and supplies to be transported and for the soldiers' health and morale to be adjusted.
It was agreed that Zhao Mingting would stay in Zhongli and obey Chen Kun's orders, while Xu Mingzhen, Niu Gengru, Wen Muqiao and others would follow Lei Jiuyuan and Wen Ruilin to Suyu to see Emperor Zhu Yu of Daliang.
The names of kings and ministers are settled with each other, so that everyone can do whatever they want...
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Knowing that a large group of Liang soldiers were moving northeast of Hongzepu, Wang Wenqian and Zhao Zhen guarded the western gate of Yangzhou, and he and Yin Peng rushed to Chuzhou.
Following the letter, King Yang Yuanpu boarded the North City Gate Tower of Chuzhou and could see several groups of Liang Jun's scouts wandering on the ice of the frozen Huaihe River to the north.
On the north bank of the Huaihe River, several camps have been set up. Groups of soldiers and horses are heading here from the direction of Suyu City and stationed in the camps on the north bank.
"What does Liang Jun mean? Do you think Huaidong is weak and easy to bully?" Yang Yuanyan stared at Liang Jun's movements on the north bank. His thin face was blown by the cold wind, but he looked determined, and he gritted his teeth every word.
asked.
"Liang Jun should have been convinced that Han Qian was in Tangyi, and Liang Jun could adjust the combat deployment so quickly, so cleanly, and on such a large scale. Liang Emperor Zhu Yu is probably in Suyu City." Wang Wenqian said with a breath of cold air.
.
Such a large-scale and intensive adjustment of the direction of the battle is not only a change in the direction of tens of thousands of troops on the front line, but also involves a series of thorough adjustments in the follow-up logistics support. If Zhu Yu himself stayed in Bianjing to coordinate,
It may take at least a month to adjust.
The only possibility is that Zhu Yu has secretly arrived at the front line and directly directed the entire war process.
The main reason why Liang Jun adjusted his combat deployment was not that Huaidong was weak and could be bullied. It was actually the fact that Han Qian was in Tangyi, which made Liang Jun feel that if he continued to implement the original combat plan, there would be no advantage to be taken in a short period of time, and it was even possible.
You will suffer the consequences of rushing in and underestimating the enemy.
Fortunately, although Huaidong had previously mobilized troops to the west and southwest flank, it did not ignore the defense of the northern line.
They are now adjusting their defensive deployment on the inside, and their movements are faster than Liang Jun's in the north.
"Is it possible for Liang Jun to attack Chuzhou City?" According to the news from the scouts, the scale of Liang Jun's gathering in Suyu was the largest in ten years. Ruan Yan couldn't help but asked worriedly.
"If Emperor Liang refuses to chew Han Qian's bones, how can he think that His Highness is easy to bully?" Wang Wenqian shook his head, feeling that Ruan Yan's worries were unlikely to happen, and said, "Liang Jun was in Chu more than ten years ago.
After the state was defeated by Li Yu, the king of eastern Zhejiang, the focus of the attack on Da Chu shifted to the central and western fronts. The eastern front was supported by Xuzhou, which was actually in a state of shrinking defense. However, the defection of the Shouzhou Army
Not only did it fundamentally reverse the unfavorable situation that Liang Jun had long faced in fighting for the south bank of the Huaihe River, it also enabled Liang Jun to once again have the conditions to deploy the forward troops directly along the north bank of the Huaihe River on the eastern front. Those who are good at fighting have no outstanding achievements, and Emperor Liang is good at it.
It was a true plan, but he was more aware of the general trend. What he was thinking was that he might first capture Haizhou and adjust the situation along the Middle East, and then look at Tangyi, Huaidong and Shuzhou to find out the flaws first.
, let’s make further arrangements?”
"You mean, the Liang army is like locusts swarming under the Chuzhou city, but their intention is in Haizhou?" asked Ruan Yan, the Prime Minister of the country.
"Yes, His Majesty ordered Haizhou to evacuate. We can more or less evacuate some people back now. If we delay any longer, it may be too late..." Wang Wenqian said with a hint of bitterness.
Although the military and civilian scale of Haizhou was not large, it was the main territory that Yang Yuanyan successfully developed across the Huaihe River to the north since he took office in Chuzhou.
Especially after receiving the new salt-drying method given by Han Qian, they have verified it on the Haizhou coastal beach and it is indeed feasible. They are also preparing to make a big splash there after this wave of offensive.
At this time, we must resolutely abandon Haizhou and evacuate the soldiers and civilians there to the south bank of the Huaihe River as soon as possible. It is difficult for anyone to make this determination!
