In the past year, the two sides have engaged in high-intensity confrontations along Fucha Mountain and Chuhe River. The strong vigilance and the strict military intelligence reconnaissance and communication system are far beyond comparison with the armaments and waste in peacetime.
Even if Han Qian assembled on the west bank of the Wushou River and no news of the mobilization of troops and horses was spread, no matter how slow the troops and horses of the Shouzhou Army stationed on the southern line were, they would not wait until the front vanguard of the first Tangyi Army crossed the border line agreed by both sides.
, from the east foot of Fucha Mountain to the north and to the southwest side of Wujian Mountain, you will definitely be alert.
Although he was alert, he might not be able to judge the exact intention of Tangyi soldiers' change at the first time.
Before the departure, Han Qian signed a military order to recruit more than 12,000 reservists who were working at many construction sites into various camps to supplement the lack of troops on the Chuhe River and Fucha Mountain lines during this period - whereas previously there would be thousands
In the name of repairing the post roads for weddings, young and strong men were recruited from various villages and large and small construction sites, and gathered on the post road on the south bank of the Chu River, in order to complete the service in the shortest time.
The husband's transformation into joining the army and becoming a soldier.
In order to further confuse the enemy, Puyang, Tangyi, Tingshan and other places simultaneously implemented corresponding attack plans; the wedding in Liyang City will also be held as usual and will not be interrupted.
At least on the surface, this raid seemed to be a gift for Han Qian and Wang Jun's wedding.
Of course, the more important thing is to raid troops and horses and adopt the method of "split attack". The branches quickly penetrate into the hinterland behind Chaozhou City from the gaps in different positions of the enemy's defense line, and then assemble at a certain point in the hinterland behind the enemy's rear.
Rendezvous to achieve the purpose of "joint attack operations".
Of course, all this is not expected to deceive the enemy for long, but even if it delays the enemy for a day or two and cannot accurately judge the combat intentions here, it can create more advantages for the surprise troops and horses in the early stage.
Apart from horses, there was no means of rapid assembly and mobilization of transportation in the world. Even if there were sufficient horses and sufficient reserves of horse feed such as beans and grass, this directly determined the distance the cavalry troops could advance and the length of time they would stay outside.
Once the enemy general makes a misjudgment and the direction of the cavalry troop assembly deviates, it will not only delay time, but also increase the consumption of limited combat supplies and increase the physical consumption of the generals and horses.
For a moment, there were only sticks of wolf smoke rising into the sky; fast horses hunched over to scout the messengers, facing the biting cold wind, galloping between Chaozhou City and Chuzhou City, conveying various true or false messages.
news.
In addition to Chaozhou City and Chuzhou City immediately raising their alert, the walled cities built by the Shouzhou Army along the middle and upper reaches of the Puyang River, on the southwest wing of Chuzhou City, on the north bank of the Tuogao River, and on the north side of Fucha Mountain are also proceeding with great fanfare.
Be prepared for war and take precautions.
The gates of the forts were closed tightly, restricting pedestrian access, and more scouts were sent out to watch the movements on the left and right. A large amount of sealed combat supplies, tung oil, iron caltrops, hammered wood and rolling stones, bundles of arrows, and newly made
Beds, crossbows, etc. were all mounted on the walls, and the young and strong men in the walled city were organized to strengthen the walls or send out the walled men to destroy the roads.
Although the Huaixi Forbidden Army behind the Lujiang defense line was temporarily silent, the Shouzhou Army stationed on the west bank of Chaohu Lake also did not dare to slack off and directly entered a state of war.
After all, no one knows whether this is just an extraordinary agitation by Tangyi soldiers on Han Qian's wedding day, or a comprehensive counterattack that has been secretly planned by the Chu court for a long time.
A dozen fast horses also galloped towards Huozhou and Guangzhou, reminding the garrison there to be careful that the Zuowu Guards entering Suizhou might kill Tongbai Mountain at any time...
In front of Fangzi Village in the middle reaches of the Puyang River, Wen Bo, surrounded by a group of cavalry, stopped on the river bank and frowned at the hundreds of Tangyi soldiers who were retreating south.
Tangyi's soldiers organized their soldiers in formation. Before, they only harassed Fangzi's stronghold on the periphery and did not spend any effort to attack the stronghold. The soldiers had sufficient physical strength and arrows, so they did not consume much. He led these few men to entangle them, and they would not take advantage of them.
Find out what's cheap.
"Is it a feint?" Wen Ruilin climbed off the horse panting, walked to Wen Bo's side, looked at the Tangyi soldiers leaving in the dust, and asked doubtfully.
Wen Bo nodded solemnly.
As the commander-in-chief of the Shouzhou Army in Chuzhou, Wen Bo was immediately worried that Han Qian might send troops to seize the many fortresses they had renovated and built along the Puyang River in the past six months when he learned that Tangyi's troops had moved.
Considering that there is an elite group of Tangyi soldiers who are extremely active deep in the Wujian Mountains, and it does not even require that all the fortresses along the Puyang River be lost, the connection between Chuzhou City and the outside world will become extremely fragile.
Therefore, Wen Bo immediately led the cavalry guards out of Chuzhou City and rushed to Fangzi Village, the most important terrain in the middle reaches of the Puyang River.
Puyang River flows from the west side of Fangzi Mountain Village, merges into Chuzhou in the south, runs through Shiliang County, and finally flows into the Shiliang River in Hongzepu. A tributary flows on the east side of Fangzi Mountain Village.
Although there was a battalion of elite infantry guarding Fangzi Mountain Stronghold, and although the Puyang River and Shiliang River were frozen solid at this time, and the warships of Tangyi Navy could not pass, Wen Bo was still worried.
However, he personally led more than 200 elite cavalry to rush over for reinforcements, and the hundreds of Tangyi soldiers who harassed Fangzi's mountain stronghold did not bother them, so they withdrew directly.
"I'm afraid that the villages along the Puyang River are not the targets of this Tangyi soldiers' movement..." Wen Ruilin said hesitantly. At this time, more intelligence from the eastern front had been gathered, and it was not clear where the Tangyi soldiers were going.
It looked like a big fight on the Eastern Front.
Wenbo pulled the reins, the horse underneath him turned around, and he looked towards the west.
The villages along the Puyang River are not the target of the Tangyi soldiers. Wen Bo does not believe that the Tangyi soldiers, whose strength has not increased much, will attack Chuzhou City this winter. So it is not difficult to guess the target of the Tangyi soldiers' change this time.
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Just how can Tangyi soldiers attack Chaozhou?
You must know that even though a considerable number of troops on the western front were transferred to Yiyang and other counties at the northeastern foothills of Tongbai Mountain to strengthen defense in response to the adjustment of the Zuowu Guards, the entire territory of Chaozhou was under the leadership of Xu Mingzhen's second son Xu Sizhao, except for
There are nearly 30,000 elite soldiers and horses guarding Chaozhou City and the strongholds on both sides. There are also 20,000 garrison troops in the northern hinterland who can be quickly organized and turned into soldiers to defend the stronghold and city.
Not to mention that it would only take two or three days for Shouzhou to assemble cavalry to reinforce Chaozhou.
After pondering for a long time, Wen Bo frowned and said to Wen Ruilin: "This change of Tangyi soldiers is definitely not to capture one or two cities in Chaochu, nor can it be expected to capture Chaozhou.
City, we must be on guard against the possibility that they will imitate His Majesty’s strategy of raiding Huaidong last year, slip through the gaps in the defense line, enter the northern part of Chaozhou, and violently attack our inner-line farming..."
"Tangyi soldiers are really so talented, so they are not afraid of being made dumplings by us?" a general asked rather disdainfully next to Wen Bo.
In any case, in the minds of ordinary generals, the Shouzhou Army, which has 80,000 soldiers and more than 50,000 garrison troops, is far superior to the Chu armies in the north of the Yangtze River in terms of pure strength; only in the past two years, they
Materials were too scarce, so we had to call a truce and recuperate.
It's a good thing they didn't attack Tangyi.
It is understandable that the Tangyi soldiers organized one or two offensives to attack the cities on the edge of their defense line, but if the Tangyi soldiers dared to penetrate long distances into their interior hinterland, weren't they looking for death?
First of all, the rivers north of Chaohu Lake were frozen solid, and Tangyi's warships were unable to go north via Nanfeishui and other streams upstream of Chaohu Lake.
Secondly, the scale of the elite troops that Tangyi soldiers can deploy to penetrate their inner hinterland at this time is limited - the size of the troops and horses is sufficient, the supplies are limited, and they will not penetrate long distances at will. They can just attack the city and defend the stronghold directly.
With limited troops and no warships to respond at any time, if you enter the inner line to the west and north of Chaozhou, you will be chased and intercepted by several times the elite troops. No matter how bold the Marquis of Qianyang is, this is not how the battle will be fought, right?
His Majesty's ability to attack Huaidong last year mainly relied on the twelfth lunar month of winter, when streams and rivers were frozen, and the rapid maneuverability of the Liang cavalry allowed them to advance and retreat quickly. However, King Yang Yuanyan of Chu Xin did not have many cavalry available in Huaidong.
Chase and intercept.
The Tangyi soldiers wanted to imitate His Majesty's strategy, but they couldn't absolutely suppress the maneuverability of Shouzhou's elite cavalry, so why should they imitate it?
A general who can rely on Wen Bo is naturally not a fool, nor does he just accept what Wen Bo says. He first puts forward his own opinions.
Wen Bo didn't waste time to explain something to his generals. He immediately jumped off his horse and wrote a military order according to the horse's scabbard. He handed it to the bodyguards on horseback and passed it on, asking all the defense forces to do it as quickly as possible.
Follow his orders and mobilize elite troops to assemble on the west wing.
No matter what the intentions of the Tangyi soldiers were, since it was confirmed that their actions on the east flank were just feints, he should try his best to gather elite troops from various defensive positions and tilt them toward the west flank. This would also be prepared.
After dozens of military orders were passed, Wen Bo and Wen Ruilin, surrounded by more than 200 cavalry, rushed to join the 2,000 elite infantrymen who followed them from Chuzhou City without any rest.
, turn directly to the southwest.
Since Tangyi had built strongholds on both sides of Tingzi Mountain and Fucha Mountain, and an elite group continued to operate deep in the peaks of the southern section of Wujian Mountain to the north, the Shouzhou Army was unable to attack Chuzhou at the southwest foot of Wujian Mountain.
The upper reaches of the river stretch about thirty miles from east to west, and are based on an open area about twenty miles deep from south to south.
The westernmost Fangzhai in Chuzhou was built at the foot of Yanzi Mountain, the remaining branch of the southeastern foothills of Wujian Mountain.
Wen Bo led more than two thousand infantry and cavalry and rushed non-stop to Yanzi Mountain, which stretched only two miles from north to south and was only twenty or thirty feet high. It was already dark.
Today should be the wedding day for the daughter of the Marquis of Guizhou, Han Qian, and the Governor of Yangzhou, Wang Wenqian. Counting the time, the two of them should be going to the wedding hall to pay homage and enter the bridal chamber, right?
Logically speaking, Han Qian should not make any big moves on his wedding day, but when can Han Qian be able to speculate based on common sense?
At the beginning of Haishi, Chaozhou Commander Xu Sizhao sent a messenger from Chaozhou City to Yanzi Mountain and confirmed that from nightfall yesterday to noon today, there were seven groups of Tangyi soldiers, each with six to eight hundred people, starting from Fuchishan Mountain.
The two wings, that is, the open area of 70 to 80 miles on the east bank of Chao Lake and the eastern foot of Wujian Mountain, interspersed by the Chaodong defense line; in addition, there were two groups of Tangyi soldiers, which were transported directly to the northwest side of Chao Lake by warships after nightfall yesterday
, then land ashore and pass through the east side of Chaozhou City.
This group of soldiers and generals from Tangyi were all riding horses and war horses. They advanced very fast, passing from southeast to northwest. Chaozhou was in a hurry and could not muster enough horse and infantry to intercept them.
Of course, the more important thing was that they could not figure out the intentions of the Tangyi soldiers, and they did not even know whether this was a major counterattack that the Chu army had planned for a long time. Xu Sizhao and his generals did not dare to act rashly.
Before and after nightfall yesterday, it was Tangyi who was in Puyang, and the Tingshan cities had the most frequent military and horse attacks. When they were active, the passage from Chaozhou was blocked, and the scouts and horses could not get through. Therefore, Chaozhou had no way to make a second attack.
The latest news and reports were sent to Chuzhou at once.
"Tangyi's troops were divided into nine routes, bypassing the southern line of Jianzhai and crossing to the north of Chaozhou. Xu Sizhao also had no way to spread the latest news to the north in time," Wen Ruilin patted in a slightly troubled manner.
Forehead said, "If there are generals in the north who mistakenly believe that the Tangyi soldiers' movement is just for sneak attacks on one or two cities on the southern line, they may be careless and be taken advantage of by the Tangyi soldiers!"
"Just one or two places were careless and were taken advantage of by Tangyi soldiers. It doesn't matter." Wen Bo frowned and said.
Under the rule of the Shouzhou Army, Chaozhou and Shouzhou had ten counties under their jurisdiction, and Huozhou and Guangzhou in the west had eleven counties. They also had countless towns, ports, and villages under their jurisdiction.
Among so many fortresses, there must be some who were careless and were taken advantage of by the Tangyi soldiers who marched straight in. However, as long as the Tangyi soldiers did not stay long, the damage they could cause was extremely limited.
Last year, the Liang army caused so much damage to Huaidong, mainly because 40,000 to 50,000 cavalry crossed the Huaihe River and were stranded in the hinterland of Yangchu for more than two months.
That's what he thought, but Wen Bo always felt that Han Qian's use of troops would not be limited to this.
"Yes. However, we still need to send someone to tell Xu Sizhao and ask him to be careful. The Tangyi soldiers may kill a carbine at any time. It is best for him to surrender his city walls, especially Zhao Mingting's navy camp.
Keep it tight," Wen Ruilin said.
The navy camp of the Zuolou Fleet Army was built in the north of Chaozhou City.
Although it is at an angle with Chaozhou City, the water in Shuiyingwu Port has frozen solid and the warships cannot move. At this time, it is easy to become the target of Tangyi soldiers' attack.
For the Tangyi soldiers, even if they could not finally capture the navy camp, if one of their troops could rush in and set fire to it during the attack, they would suffer heavy losses.
"The Second Young Master is thinking the same thing. He has immediately strengthened the defense of the water camp in the north of the city, but he also specifically asked me to come over and tell General Wen that the Tangyi soldiers may still withdraw into Wujianshan, and then use the power inside Wujianshan to
Passage, enter the side of Chuzhou City, and attack Chuzhou City." The messenger sent by Xu Sizhao said.
"Tangyi soldiers will not jump to Chuzhou via Wujianshan. The time is wrong."
Wen Bo was not familiar with Xu Sizhao. After all, before the Jinling Incident, the Xu family's descendants mainly assisted Xu Mingzhen in guarding Shouzhou, while he served in the bodyguard army. He heard that Xu Sizhao asked someone to send a message asking him to be wary of the Tangyi soldiers.
The carbine might come to Chuzhou City. He subconsciously frowned and said in deep thought,
"If they are like this, even if we are careless and lose one or two cities, Puyang and other rivers have just been frozen, and Tangyi's naval warships cannot pass. We have enough time before the beginning of spring to gather two to
30,000 elite soldiers and horses to launch a large-scale battle. If Han Qian's intention was just to fight a battle with us in Chuzhou, why would he bother to do so? At the same time, he would not expect to destroy the heavily guarded Zuo Tower.
The fleet and navy camps may stay in Chaoshou or between Chaozhou and Huozhou, relying on the Huaiyang Mountain in the west, constantly looking for undefended targets to attack. Xu Sizhao should not passively defend the city in Chaozhou, but should
Immediately gather elite soldiers and horses to entangle them and delay them as much as possible, forcing the Tangyi soldiers to not be able to advance and retreat freely between Huo Shou. Wait for reinforcements from all directions to surround them and annihilate them..."
"Tangyi soldiers moved out so fast, and the supplies they carried must be limited, and they could not carry heavy weapons. Many chariots went around. Therefore, no matter how fast they were, they could not gain much between Huo Shou.
Perhaps they are more looking forward to Xu Sizhao taking the initiative to lead his troops to entangle them?" Wen Ruilin asked hesitantly.
It is too difficult to storm a stronghold, so luring the snake out of its hole is a good idea.
Wen Ruilin felt that if he were Han Qian, the Marquis of Qianyang, the best strategy would be to lure the snake out of the hole and fight a quick battle of annihilation when the raiding troops and horses could carry limited supplies.
"Shuai Xu will not be slow in mobilizing elite cavalry between Huo and Shou. Qianyang Hou Han Qian should not take this risk, and there is no need to take this risk," Wen Bo said, "As for heavy combat equipment and many chariots, it is indeed a
question……"
In the cold winter, the rivers are frozen and sealed, and boats cannot be used for transportation. Not to mention disassembling the cyclone cannon into its long tip pole, piles and other bulky parts, a crossbow or scorpion cannon weighing hundreds or thousands of kilograms.
It is also not easy to transport.
In Chaozhou, on the slightly smoother Chi Road and Post Road, there are cities and fortresses built at strategic points, with garrison troops stationed there.
Even if a large amount of materials, heavy weapons and parts were transported by horse-drawn carriages along horse-drawn roads and post roads, the speed would not be fast, let alone bypassing the horse-drawn roads, post roads and traveling through rugged wilderness fields.
No matter how light the chariot is, it is still heavier than an ordinary carriage. If it is dragged by military horses through the bumpy fields, even if the general's horse is exhausted, how fast can it go?
Without various chariots and heavy war equipment, the Tangyi soldiers who entered between Huo Shou would have their combat effectiveness weakened by at least half.
At this time, Wen Bo couldn't help but wonder to himself, was he too suspicious?
Even so, apart from ordering scouts to inspect horses and strengthen reconnaissance of the Yifengling area southeast of Wujian Mountain, and ordering the elite soldiers and horses recruited from various villages to return to the defense villages, Wen Bo did not immediately lead the two men who followed him directly into Yanzi Mountain.
More than a thousand troops returned to Chuzhou City, and Wen Ruilin decided to rest at Yanzi Village for a day or two to observe the situation and wait for further clear news to come before talking about anything else.
Wen Bo was busy until early in the morning and went to sleep with his clothes on, but he didn't feel that he had slept for much time. He suddenly woke up from his sleep and sat in front of the bed for a while. In the cold morning, he felt that his back was soaked with sweat, and he felt a little tired.
In panic, he sent the bodyguard general Wen Ruilin, his generals and the messenger sent by Xu Sizhao to call over.
Wen Ruilin arrived earlier than he expected, with a solemn look on his face.
Seeing this scene, Wen Bo's heart sank even more and asked: "Mr. Wen also thought of it?"
"Tangyi soldiers raided the hinterland of Huoshou, and suddenly it was impossible to attack the city and defend the stronghold all the way. The post roads and Chi roads were impassable, but the rivers were frozen, but their baggage chariots could travel on the ice and quickly move westward and northward! Tangyi
The troops are divided into a combined attack. The location of the combined attack must be a target along the Nanfeishui River or the Beiye River!" Wen Ruilin said in panic as if something was not going well, "If not for this, there would not be two groups of Tangyi soldiers.
I was superfluous and took a boat to the northwest side of Chaohu Lake. I landed near the mouth of Nanfeishui and Beiye River and crossed to the northwest..."
It was only then that they realized what the problem was. By this time, a day and a night had passed since Tangyi soldiers made a surprise attack and moved around to the rear of Chaozhou.
"Yongfeng Village!" Wen Bo spread out the map, pointed at a point between Nan Feishui and Bei Feishui, and said.
Both Nanfeishui and Beifeishui originate from the northeastern foothills of Huaiyang Mountain, located in Jiangjunling at the junction of Huo, Chao and Shou prefectures.
The South Feishui River leaves the east mountain of Jiangjun Ridge and flows southeast, five or six miles away from Chaozhou City, and flows into Chaohu Lake through the northwest bank; the North Feishui River leaves the north bank of Jiangjun Ridge, flows two hundred miles north, and flows into the Huaihe River from the west of Shouzhou City.
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The North and South Feishui Rivers are not directly connected, but in the early stage, in order to strengthen the connection between the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River in the central region, a main canal with a sluice and a length of about 20 miles was excavated on the east side of Jiangjun Ridge to connect the two rivers.
Chidao was also built.
Yongfengzhai is a town and port located at the mouth of the main canal and the Nanfeishui River. It is a water and land transportation hub from Chaozhou to Huozhou and from Huaiyang Mountain to Shouzhou.
The location of Yongfeng Village is very critical. It is garrisoned by the elite direct descendants of the Shouzhou Army, but the protective wall is too thin.
If the Tangyi soldiers who had penetrated in had not carried heavy weapons and various chariots, there would have been no problem in Yongfeng Village even if there were only a few hundred defenders until reinforcements came around, but it was hard to say now.
Wen Ruilin also thought of a problem. If the Tangyi soldiers used Anfeng Village as bait, the Shouzhou army in the north and west did not realize that the Tangyi soldiers who were interspersed could use the frozen river to transport them quickly.
War weapons and chariots, if reinforcements rush over, will there be a head-on attack?
"Immediately gather all the guards and cavalry and prepare to follow me to Chaozhou!" Wen Bo said decisively.
From Yanzi Mountain to the west to the northern foot of Fucha Mountain, it is an area controlled by Tangyi soldiers. Scattered scouts and scouts are extremely easy to be intercepted and may not be able to spread the news to Chaozhou in time.
The best way is for him to personally lead two hundred elite cavalry to kill them.
It is also very simple to confirm whether their guess is correct. Hundreds of vehicles rolling over the ice will inevitably leave traces on the ice.
