It is the coldest season of the year. The sunny weather lasts for more than ten days. Although it is impossible to melt the snow, under the strong and dry north wind that lasts for more than ten days, the ground cover becomes less likely to melt.
Compared with the wet snow that turned into mud and water before stepping on it, the dry snow provided more or less convenient conditions for marching and attacking, and the negative effects were greatly mitigated.
At this time, in addition to gathering nearly 18,000 elite soldiers and horses, Xu Mingzhen recruited tens of thousands of capable civilians from various counties, and a large amount of combat materials were also transported with difficulty from Huo, Shou and other places.
Of course, in addition to Xu Mingzhen personally organizing craftsmen in Gaocheng to urgently build a batch of shield carriages, side carriages and other war equipment, Xuzhou Jiedushi Han Yuanqi also brought a batch of bed crossbows, scorpion cannons and other in-demand sophisticated combat equipment from Sizhou.
The weapons were transported along the Huaihe River.
It is difficult to walk even if there is thick snow on the ice, but it is easier to walk than the snow-covered post road.
Seeing that the Tangyi soldiers were moving frequently in the Huaiyang Mountains, and unable to wait for the time to mature, Xu Mingzhen couldn't wait to lead her troops and advance towards Anfeng Village.
After organizing several counterattacks and interceptions, Tian Cheng saw that the Shouzhou Army was extremely resolute in its intention to encircle them. On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Tian Cheng simply abandoned Anfeng Village and withdrew with Han Donghu, Su Lie and other generals leading more than 2,000 elite troops.
Head to the Wujinling Valley (Shenjiaji) in the upper reaches of Nanfeishui River to meet up with Han Qian and others.
Not to mention that a large number of elite soldiers and horses have already dispersed into the Huaiyang Mountains. Even if the more than 7,000 elite soldiers stayed in Anfeng Village, there will be absolutely nothing once they are surrounded by the Shouzhou Legion with more superior strength.
Odds of winning.
The advantage of fighting on the inside allows the Shouzhou Army to continue to mobilize more troops and supplies in the future. This is not something that the Tangyi Army can completely compete with with some sophisticated war equipment.
In fact, the war weapons made by Xuzhou have not been substantially improved. No matter how sharp the bed crossbows and scorpion cannons made by Xuzhou are, the Shouzhou army can not only imitate them, but also build more and heavier shield vehicles.
, the side car resists and weakens.
The Shouzhou Army was eager to rescue Anfeng Village, and the light army came to help, but they fell into the trap here and lost some of their precious elite soldiers and horses.
The protective walls of Anfeng Village are thin and the depth inside the village is limited. Once the Shouzhou Army sets up the cyclone cannon, there will be absolutely no way for so many soldiers and horses to survive except for breaking out.
Shenjiaji is located on the inside of the valley pass where the Nanfeishui River passes through Wujin Ridge. The terrain on the outermost side of the valley is quite dangerous. The Shouzhou Army attacked from the north. On the one hand, they could not use their superior strength, and on the other hand, they were not afraid of being blocked by their retreat route.
Cut off.
Therefore, in Han Qian's original plan, the strategic point to intercept the Shouzhou Army outside Huaiyang Mountain was always the Wujinling Valley where Shenjiaji was located, not Anfeng Village.
The initial choice of Anfengzhai as the target of "separate advance and combined attack" was to confuse the Shouzhou generals and encircle the point for reinforcements. Only by severely defeating the Shouzhou army in the early stage could they prepare for their subsequent advance into Huaiyang Mountain.
Buy more time.
Now it can be said that Han Qian's intention of launching this raid has been completely revealed. Even without Zhu Yu's imperial edict from Weizhou, Xu Mingzhen knew very well that if he still wanted to spare his troops, he would not hesitate to do so.
The Tangyi soldiers will be annihilated or driven out at a price, not to mention Chaozhou, Chuzhou will not be protected, Shouzhou, Huo, Guang and other states will also be directly exposed to the front of the Tangyi soldiers, and there will be no peace again.
They had been delayed by heavy snow for more than 20 days before, and they could not delay it any longer, at least they could not delay the war beyond April or May. By then, there would be abundant rain in the Huaiyang Mountains and the water levels in the streams and rivers would surge. Even if the Tangyi Navy warships were not considered,
Even if they kill them, it will be difficult for them to attack the mountains from the lower reaches.
The mouth of the valley where the Nanfeishui River leaves Wujin Ridge, together with the river channel in the middle, and the river floodplain are about three miles open. The river floodplain is relatively stable and open, which is convenient for the use of troops. However, at this time, from the steep slopes on both sides to the river channel, there are
It is filled with tall fence walls that are densely covered with stubble.
Every thirty or fifty steps behind the barrier wall stood a tall sentry tower, which housed crossbows, ballista cannons and other war equipment, and more than twenty cyclone cannons were placed directly behind the barrier wall.
The turret gun mount is blocked by the fence, but the long gun tip sticks out high.
Shenjiaji was originally a medium-sized village built along the hillside and valley on the east side of the river valley. Xu Mingzhen, Wen Ruilin and others, surrounded by guards, climbed up to the north side at the risk of Tangyi soldiers attacking and intercepting them.
There is a low ridge, and if you look over the fence wall, you can see that on both sides of the river valley to the south of the fence wall, there are densely populated camps and newly built houses.
These barracks are also divided into different areas by fences and walls.
In addition to the valley in front of you, you can also see the fortifications built by Tangyi soldiers and the figures of their generals on both sides of the gap where the mountainous terrain is relatively easy to climb.
A hasty attack is definitely not possible. There is no room for their superior troops to launch an offensive, let alone using heavy war equipment to fight against heavy war equipment.
Xu Mingzhen first led hundreds of elite soldiers and horses to attack a short ridge called Meitang Mountain on the northeast side of Shenjiaji, and established an outpost on the west side of Meitang Mountain to first contain the large-scale Tangyi soldiers from Shenjiaji.
Possibility of being killed.
Xu Mingzhen then mobilized tens of thousands of able-bodied civilians from Shounan and Huodong counties, cut down trees, built a larger camp on the relatively open river beach on the west side of Meitang Mountain, and braved the severe cold weather to expand the area.
The passage between Yongfeng Village and Xujiaji was used to transfer more soldiers, horses, and war equipment to build heavy war equipment such as cyclone cannons.
Xu Mingzhen made up her mind this time to fight tooth and nail regardless of casualties until the Tangyi soldiers in front of her were annihilated or forced to withdraw from the Huaiyang Mountains.
In addition to holding down positions at the western foothills of Meitang Mountain and building camps to prepare for the subsequent large-scale attack on Shenjiaji from the front of the valley, Xu Mingzhen also continued to send small groups of elite soldiers and horses to directly climb through the relatively easy-to-climb gaps on both sides of the valley.
Launch an attack.
The war suddenly became brutal, with only tentative penetrations and attacks launched from both wings. In ten days, the total casualties of Tangyi soldiers exceeded 500.
Of course, there were some casualties here, which were caused by the Tangyi soldiers trying to attack Shenjiaji head-on, harassing and delaying the Shouzhou army from building a camp at the foot of Meitang Mountain, and the two sides fighting in the river valley.
Although the Shouzhou Army suffered greater casualties, on the northeastern slope of Huaiyang Mountain, the Shouzhou Army could mobilize ten times more men, horses, and supplies than the Tangyi Army.
Xu Mingzhen was obviously willing to pay two to three times the casualty price in exchange for this battle that Shouzhou could never lose.
As long as they are human beings, they all have the instinct to fear life and death.
The tug-of-war in the valley on the north side became increasingly fierce. The poor people at the bottom were mobilized in the mountain village on the south side, and slaves opened the warehouses to store grain and distribute the fields. The enthusiasm did not fade much, and the war was generally going on as usual, but the number of young men recruited into the army decreased rapidly.
Han Qian had previously assembled a horse infantry army near Shenjiaji, with eight battalions of 5,000 soldiers and three battalions of 2,000 auxiliary troops. More than 4,000 of them had been recruited in the past 20 days. On average, more than 200 people were recruited every day.
However, from the time the Shouzhou Army approached Wujin Ridge, only thirty or fifty men were recruited every day.
On January 22nd, the riverbank camp at the foot of Meitang Mountain was almost completed. More than 20,000 main troops of the Shouzhou Army were stationed from the outside. Facing the Shenjiaji fortress from the front, the attack was finally launched.
One after another, bulky shield cars, rushing cars, and side cars were pushed out from behind the camp surrounded by generals. They formed a formation closer to the Shenjiaji defense fortress. Groups of civilians were driven over, and in the cave house car
Under the cover of the enemy, they braved the stone bullets thrown by Tangyi soldiers from behind the fence wall and the freezing weather to dig trenches, transported the separately built cyclone cannon parts to the front line, assembled them, and blasted them against the opposite fence wall.
past.
To put it simply, the cave house cart is to place the roof frame made of thick wood on the wheels and push it forward.
Generals can hide in them to avoid arrows and shotguns, and civilians can also hide directly under cave houses and carts to build fortifications.
Of course, if a stone bullet weighing more than a hundred kilograms is hit by a heavy cyclone cannon from four to five hundred steps away, the cave house car will be smashed into pieces.
However, in the early confrontation, both sides focused on blasting the opponent's cyclone cannon as much as possible in order to gain a greater advantage on the battlefield.
The Tangyi soldiers placed the cyclone cannon behind the barrier wall, and the barrier wall protected them. They would undoubtedly have a greater advantage. However, the Shouzhou army fought hard regardless of casualties, especially when the requisitioned strong civilians were completely regarded as consumables.
When they reached the front line, the whole battle became extremely cruel and bloody for the Tangyi soldiers...
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In previous years, the weather in Jinling City would almost get warmer in late January, but last night the north wind blew hard all night, and when it got bright, the sky was hazy, and there seemed to be signs of snow again.
It has snowed several times before and after the New Year. In the early spring of late January, the river ice showed no sign of melting. It was so cold that people wanted to wear all their clothes at home. Now it looks like it is going to snow again.
It looked like I had seen a ghost.
After attending the wedding ceremony in which the newlyweds were absent, the old man Han Wenhuan did not stay in Liyang after all, but returned to Jinling City with Han Daoming, Han Daochang and other Han family children.
Han Qian led the elite Tangyi soldiers directly into the depths of Huaiyang Mountain, hoping to take advantage of the rare opportunity to fundamentally reverse the confrontation in Huaixi.
At this time, what the Han family needs to do most in Jinling, or what they can do, is to use all possible influence to urge Jing Xiang, Huaidong and Li Zhigao to personally station the Zuo Longque Army in Shuzhou on their respective defense lines to attack Liang
The Shouzhou Army and the Shouzhou Army launched a counterattack.
Only in this way can the enemy be more restrained, the pressure on the Tangyi soldiers be effectively relieved, and they can finally gain a foothold in the hinterland of Huaiyang Mountain.
The second is to guard against someone in the court secretly holding back.
Since Yang Yuanpu ascended the throne, except for the enthronement ceremony and the two empress canonization ceremonies, Han Wenhuan has not been to the court again. Han Wenhuan, who has participated in court meetings, returned to Jinling from Liyang this time. For more than a month, Emperor Yanyou and the Queen Mother convened
No matter how weak he was, Han Daoming always supported him to participate in all the court meetings.
Even though Han Wenhuan did not have a serious job and was recuperating at home, he was awarded the title of Prince Taishi after he was granted the title of Marquis. He was also the Marquis of Qianyang, the grandfather of Han Qian, the general manager of Tangyi's business capital, and the Minister of Household Affairs. The father of Han Daoming, who was a political advisor, insisted on attending court meetings despite his old age and contributing his last effort to the great Chu state. Neither Emperor Yanyou nor the Queen Mother, nor all the political officials including Shen Yang could do so. Blatantly obstructing.
Not only could they not refuse, but they were also given a seat at the court meeting and enjoyed the same treatment as the longevity king Yang Zhitang and the prime minister Shen Yang. Emperor Yanyou and the Queen Mother were worthy of their meritorious ministers.
Han Wenhuan didn't speak much when he attended the court meetings, but as long as he was there, he would act as an invisible deterrent.
At least Zheng Yu, Zheng Chang, Zhang Chao, Du Chongtao, Zhou Bingwu and others would not think of following a man who is nearly eighty years old and seems to be excited to death at any time, but has the support of the entire Han family, Xuzhou and Tangyi behind him The old man got into a heated argument in the court.
Han Wenhuan represents the Han family, and Han Daoming represents the Han family standing in the court, and their subtle effects on people's hearts are completely different.
In addition, Han Wenhuan also went to Prince Shou's Mansion to have tea with Yang Zhitang every now and then.
Yang Zhitang is currently the most important figure in the clan, but in terms of seniority, he is only the distant cousin of Emperor Yanyou and King Xin. He may not need to be too polite when facing Han Daoming, but in front of Han Wenhuan, he can only treat him as a junior. Self-proclaimed.
Han Wenhuan's actions at least ensured that in the past month or so in Jinling City, no government orders that were obviously detrimental to Tangyi or restrained Tangyi were issued. It also ensured that there were no cracks in the covenant between Prince Shou's Mansion and Tangyi at this juncture. Huaidong and Although the Huaixi Forbidden Army did not launch a more active offensive against Zhongli, the Liang Army in Sizhou, and the Shouzhou Army west of Chaohu, they did not deliberately shrink their troops at this juncture.
It's just that it's the end of January now, and it's still freezing cold, which is really worrying.
Han Wenhuan woke up early in the morning and stood in the yard. He looked up and saw Han Chengmeng walking in from behind. He said: "At this time in the past, even if the ice on the river has not melted, it will be much thinner - every household will grab the naughty children. Ears, please don’t run onto the river ice - the start of spring this year may be delayed by ten days and a half compared to previous years..."
In order to ensure that the Huaidong side would not maliciously withdraw their troops from the defense line at this juncture, Han Chengmeng was personally responsible for the money and food sent to Huaidong twice.
He also just came back from Yangzhou yesterday. Hearing his grandfather's emotion, he knew what he was worried about.
According to the situation in previous years, even if the river ice has not completely melted, as long as it becomes thinner, Tangyi naval warships can be ordered to break through the river ice and directly enter the upstream river to the west and north of Chaohu Lake. The situation will become worse for Tangyi. favorable.
Although before the summer and autumn rainy seasons come, the water levels in the upper reaches of Longtan River and other streams are very shallow, making it difficult for Tangyi Navy warships to directly contact Tangyi soldiers entering the hinterland of Huaiyang Mountain. It is extremely capable, even if it enters the lower reaches of these rivers and attacks along the river, it can force the Shouzhou Army to invest more troops to block and cut off these rivers.
This will greatly alleviate the pressure on the raiding troops and horses in the Huaiyang Mountains.
This was also a factor taken into consideration when the combat plan was initially drawn up.
However, the temperature in early spring this year is much colder than in previous years, which means there are unexpected factors.
Han Qian led his lone army to fight deep into enemy territory, most afraid of unexpected factors.
At present, Xu Mingzhen has not only assembled more than 30,000 elite soldiers and horses in Gaocheng, but also ordered Wen Bo to abandon the defensive stronghold outside Chuzhou City, asking him to gather more soldiers and horses and move them to the west flank of Chuzhou.
With this order, Xu Mingzhen obviously wanted to further strengthen the defense blockade in the area east of Huaiyang Mountain with Chaozhou City as the core, and then use his superior troops and horses to the north of Huaiyang Mountain to raid and exhaust the Tangyi soldiers.
"Fortunately, the princes in the imperial court still understand the overall situation, and Huaidong didn't hold back anything." Han Chengmeng said with emotion.
"They don't understand the overall situation. They just don't dare to imagine the dilapidated situation that Han Qian will be in after his defeat at Huaiyang Mountain." Han Wenhuan said, stroking his long snow-white beard.
"It would be great if we could persuade Xinjin Marquis Li Zhigao and Zhou Shu to send troops from Shuzhou and Suizhou." Han Chengmeng said.
"It's not that simple, unless you agree to their conditions..." Han Daoming walked in from outside the yard at this time, took over what his son Han Chengmeng said, and said.
"What conditions did they put forward?" Han Chengmeng heard his father say this, and of course he thought that Wanhonglou had probably sent news to his father, so he asked eagerly.
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"Although the Tangyi soldiers fought extremely tenaciously in the Wujinling Valley, the Shouzhou Army launched a large-scale attack from the front of the valley, and the cumulative casualties exceeded 2,000 people in twelve or three days; if they were removed from Fucha Mountain
Counting from the time when the front line crosses north, the cumulative casualties of Tangyi soldiers will not be less than 3,500 or 600. Even if Han Qian went to Huaiyang Mountain to encourage untouchables to join the army, compared with the surprise attack of Tangyi soldiers from Chuzhou and Fucha Mountain
strength, the casualties are already quite high. Although the Shouzhou Army suffered more heavy casualties, the Shouzhou Army mobilized a large number of troops on the inside and took turns in the battle. It was also able to evacuate the sick and wounded soldiers to the rear in time, allowing the soldiers in the front to move forward.
Their morale has not been greatly affected. Currently, more than 30,000 soldiers and horses are assembled at the northern foot of Wujin Ridge, and they are getting stronger and stronger. According to what I can see, if this severe cold weather continues for another ten days and a half, Tangyi soldiers will be more elite.
, no matter how strong the resilience is, no matter how many two to three thousand casualties are accumulated, it will not be able to sustain it anymore..."
Under the main hall of Cishou Palace, the candlelight was flickering, and it was unknown which crack in the hall the breeze was coming in from. Yao Xishui and the others had spies from the Weaving Bureau lurking at the northeastern foot of Huaiyang Mountain to send back the latest information at any time. She is now
Han Qian led the elite troops of Tangyi to attack Huaiyang Mountain, and he was not optimistic about the final result.
Of course, she rarely gloated this time.
"Today's late spring cold is really cold. My hands and feet are still freezing even when I go out. The pond in the palace is still frozen solid, not to mention the streams on the north bank of the Yangtze River." Chun Shisanniang frowned slightly
Said, "Han Qian, the Marquis of Qianyang, may have misjudged the changes in the weather this year. If the weather can get warmer as expected in previous years, not only will the Tangyi navy be able to take advantage of it west of Chaohu, attracting enemy troops, but also Nanfei
After the water and river ice thaws, even if the water level is not very high before the rainy season, it will greatly suppress the Shouzhou Army's attack from the lower reaches..."
"You are worried here. Is it possible that Han Qian lost his troops in Huaiyang Mountain this time, and even the most elite Tangyi soldiers were annihilated by Xu Mingzhen. Isn't this what you are looking forward to?" Wang Chan'er said lazily.
Sitting on the gorgeous phoenix couch, her beautiful eyes glanced sideways at Lu Qingxia, Yao Xishui and others sitting opposite, and asked lazily.
"You also know that we bear the hatred of the destruction of our family and the country. We do not want to embarrass you or have trouble with His Majesty, nor do we want to be disadvantageous to Da Chu. In fact, we don't want to see the destruction of Da Chu at the hands of Liang Jun more than anyone else.
.”
Lu Qingxia looked over and said with neither happiness nor annoyance.
Wang Chan'er smiled disdainfully and said: "It's useless for you to comfort me with these words at this time. You should still think about how to deal with the situation after Tangyi's raiding troops were annihilated by Xu Mingzhen..."
"The Marquis of Guizhou Yang acted rashly this time, and it may be inevitable that he would suffer setbacks. However, his elite soldiers and horses were accustomed to fighting in the mountains when they were in Xuzhou. Escorting him to escape back to Tangyi should not be a big problem. Even so, the Tangyi soldiers will not be able to escape this time."
Hui's vitality will be severely damaged," Lu Qingxia said. "No matter how jealous the princes in the court were in the past, they dare not imagine the situation of Qianyang Hou being defeated and killed. Therefore, the Queen Mother sent Zhigao to Suizhou at this time, and the governor
Ying followed Deng and Xiang to coordinate the military affairs of the various states, and led the Zuowu Guards and the troops from the five prefectures out of the three passes of Jingbei and into the western part of Huozhou. He became the Marquis of Qianyang to contain the main force of the Shouzhou Army. I believe that the princes in the court will not object..."
In the later period of Emperor Tianyou's reign, he deliberately limited the military power of the generals who commanded the army. In addition to conferring defense envoys, general managers of camps and other powers to control local power, there was no longer a Jiedushi envoy who had greater power over local areas.
This is also a practice followed by Emperor Yanyou since he ascended the throne.
Even if Lu Qingxia secretly reached a deal with the Zheng family to exchange defense zones, it would not be easy for Li Zhigao to take full control of the military and political affairs of the five states in northern Xiangyang with the authority of the Jiedushi.
However, at present, Li Zhigao is leading his troops to send troops from the gap between Tongbai Mountain and Huaiyang Mountain, and rush into the western part of Huozhou to contain more Shouzhou troops for the Tangyi soldiers trapped in Huaiyang Mountain. It seems that there is no time left.
However, for them, it was an excellent opportunity for Li Zhigao to directly supervise the military affairs of the states as the commander-in-chief and control the local military power of the five states in north Xiangbei.
"The Ai family speaks softly. Even if they strongly recommend the Marquis of Xinjin, Your Majesty and the princes in the court will not listen to the Ai family." Wang Chan'er said lazily.
The princes of the imperial court are not stupid. Han Qian may not be able to survive more than half a month in the Huaiyang Mountains. Now that Li Zhigao has been ordered to transfer the military commander of the five Xiangbei states, it will take a month before it is possible to control the military of the five Xiangbei states.
The state soldiers gathered in Yingshan County and Lishan County, and then entered the western part of Huozhou from Jiuliguan, Pingjing Pass, and Wusheng Pass. How about getting the year of the donkey and the month of the horse?
If it were just to mobilize the Zuowu Guards to march into the western part of Huozhou first, and the capital commander Zhou Shu would be in charge, why would Li Zhigao need to go to the military governor of the five states in Xiangbei?
Logically speaking, Li Zhigao was in Shuzhou and led the Zuo Longque Army to set off directly from the Lujiang defense line and fight to the west bank of Chaohu Lake, so that he could contain the Shouzhou Army for Tangyi.
Of course, Wang Chan'er could also guess that Lu Qingxia might use this as a condition for sending troops and secretly negotiate a deal with the Han family, but why would she, Wang Chan'er, go to such troubled waters?
Is it possible that she is just a puppet who obeys their orders and is manipulated by them in everything?
"After Empress Li was demoted to Mingyang Palace, the palace became damp and her skin developed a lot of rashes. She was worried about infecting the second prince. Some time ago, the Queen Mother specially asked the second prince to be taken care of by Zhao Guiren, who had just entered the palace," Lu Qing
Xia said, "To be honest, a child who is just babbled and can't walk yet has a decent appearance. Even if there are one or two birthmarks suddenly appeared on his body, Queen Li will be in a state of confusion after being demoted, so she probably won't be able to tell the difference.
Come on?"
"What do you mean by this?" Wang Chan'er suddenly stood up straight, staring at Lu Qingxia with her beautiful eyes like cold knives and asked.
"I mean, the second prince under Zhao Guiren's care has a red mole the size of an incense head growing out of his left thigh for some reason. I think Queen Li will probably not care about it," Lu Qingxia said.
"You will take over the second prince and let the Ai family raise him personally. The Ai family can promise you everything else." Wang Chan'er's hand holding the armrest of the Feng couch could not help but tremble slightly, and she stared into Lu Qingxia's eyes and said.
"Then the Queen Mother made the order so that we can act in accordance with it." Lu Qingxia bowed slightly and said.
