When Xiao Yiqing crossed Hebei and returned to Yuzhou, Han Qian was at Hulao Pass.
At this time, Hulao Pass has completed preliminary repairs, and the city's defense system has been completed. Even if Shen Peng is transferred to the Xuzhou camp, Chen Kun only leads 5,000 elite troops to garrison Hulao Pass, and he is not afraid of the enemy's attack. Open the city gate of Hulao Pass.
This spring, the focus of defense east of Yiluo River is to build the defense to the mouth of Yiluo River, and at the same time push the naval defense line to the mouth of Yiluo River. In the future, we will also focus on repairing the embankment on the south bank of the Yu River east of the mouth of Yiluo River. Achieve the goal of completely shutting out the enemy outside Heluo.
"I was really overjoyed that Wuji could capture Chenqiao Village so decisively. Xiao Yiqing hurried south to meet Liang Shixiong, but they only had more than 20,000 remnant troops left to guard Xingyang. Whether to defend or flee, maybe he was still muttering in his heart. Here we go..." Han Qian held Zhao Ting'er's hand and climbed to the top of Hulao Pass.
"I've been worried that Wuji doesn't have enough experience in commanding large armies, and may not be thoughtful enough. I haven't slept well these days..." Zhao Ting'er said.
After Zhao Ting'er arrived in Luoyang, he rarely accompanied Han Qian out of Luoyang to inspect military affairs. This time, he was really worried about the fighting situation of the Xuzhou Army, so he followed Han Qian to Hulao Pass. At least he could know the fighting situation in Chenqiao Village faster. The heart in my throat finally dropped.
Han Qian smiled slightly, remembering that when Zhao Wuji followed him, he was only a fourteen-year-old stubborn boy who took a bow and killed people because of injustice. He smiled and said to Zhao Ting'er: "Wuji was pioneering south along the canals in Xuzhou. Territory, it seems that he encountered resistance from the Fanzhai forces with only a few hundred people at that time, but the situation was far more complicated than imagined. He already had the ability to stand alone at that time, It’s just that I need someone I trust enough by my side, so I haven’t let him go out to lead the army independently.”
Chen Kun received a letter and handed it over to Han Qian and said: "Your Majesty, it was indeed Xiao Yiqing who returned to Mengzhou just now surrounded by guards..."
Han Qian glanced at the letter, smiled and looked at Feng Liao, Gu Qian, Han Yuanqi, Zhou Daoyuan and others who accompanied him to Hulao Pass to inspect military affairs again, and asked: "Guess, Xiao Yiqing will return to Meng at this time." Zhou, how mixed the mood will be?"
"With the abilities of Xiao Yiqing and Liang Shixiong, I should be able to see what your Majesty is thinking about plotting against Xingyang this year. From Xiao Yiqing's standpoint, he must be counting on Liang Shixiong and Zhu Rang to defend Xingyang regardless of the cost; however, For Liang Shixiong and Zhu Rang, as long as they can easily defend Xingyang, that's all. But seeing that we have forced tens of thousands of elites from the east and south fronts and are determined not to return the army until Xingyang is defeated, they will not have the will to die. ——After all, for the Dongliang Army, Xingyang is not a place they must defend!" Feng Liao said with a smile, "Just as your Majesty said, it is not difficult for Xiao Yiqing to guess Liang Shixiong's thoughts and return by boat at this time. Mengzhou naturally has mixed feelings in his heart. And since the situation has become clear, it is better to directly spread the news that the emperor is determined to capture Xingyang and annihilate Liang Shixiong's troops before winter, which may further disturb the morale of the enemy generals... …”
Han Qian looked at the Yu River, which was choked by ice.
At this time, it was the peak flood season of the Yu River. In the Yu River in the north of Luoyang, the thick river ice had just begun to melt, but it had not yet completely melted.
The river water in the upper reaches has risen, and it can't wait to burst the river ice in many places. However, the broken river ice cannot be released downstream, and it accumulates to form raised ice dams, further aggravating the congestion of the river channel.
The upstream water mixed with broken ice floes cannot be discharged downstream, so it can only rush into the depressed areas on both sides, even destroying dikes and invading fields and villages.
Although the ice in the north of Xingyang seemed to be intact, Chen Kun and Wen Bo had ordered ten days ago to suspend their generals' cross-river operations or material transportation to prevent changes.
As an important figure like Mengwu, Xiao Yiqing directly stepped on the ice to cross the river at this time, which can be said to be a very risky behavior; and this can also explain Xiao Yiqing's anxious attitude towards the current situation.
"I would rather Liang Shixiong defend Xingyang City, and if we can completely annihilate Liang Shixiong's troops in this battle and capture Liang Shixiong under Xingyang City, we can also comfort Brother Zhu Yu's soul in heaven." Han Qian sighed softly and said.
"Your Majesty, Chen Kun has nothing to ask for. I just hope that when we finally attack Xingyang City, Chen Kun can personally lead an elite force to be the first to kill the city, so that the thief Liang Shixiong doesn't have a chance to escape!" Chen Kun requested generously.
To complete the preparations for the attack on Xingyang, Zhao Wuji must first capture Mi County as soon as possible, and the troops and horses can approach Xingyang City from the south. At the same time, elite navy brigade must be able to cut off the communication between Xingyang and Mengzhou on the north bank of the Yu River.
After completing these two steps, the final preparations before attacking Xingyang are almost completed, but as long as Xingyang City is not surrounded tightly, even if Xingyang City can be finally captured, the possibility of catching Liang Shixiong is not high.
It is almost necessary to be the first to enter the city to fight, and to directly aim at capturing or killing Liang Shixiong at the beginning of the attack, so as to have a greater chance of preventing Liang Shixiong from escaping.
Of course, capturing Xingyang City is the most fundamental core battle goal. As the commander-in-chief of Hulao Pass, Chen Kun wanted to personally lead the elite troops into Xingyang City to capture Liang Shixiong, so he naturally needed Han Qian's permission.
"When Wuji captures Mi County, Lin Jiang and the others blockade the Yu River, and when the conditions for the final attack on Xingyang City are truly mature, we can discuss the arrangements for the attack on Xingyang City." Han Qian patted Chen Kun on the shoulder and said.
Taking the lead in attacking the city with elite troops is the most risky, not to mention that after entering the city, Liang Shixiong's direct guards will bite him in the chaos and chase him. Han Qian did not want to directly refuse Chen Kun's request to fight, nor did he want to reach the last moment of capturing Xingyang City.
, just to catch Liang Shixiong and let him take such a big risk.
The atmosphere was a bit gloomy. Feng Liao changed the topic and said: "In five or six days, the river ice will completely melt. By then, our naval warships will be able to enter the Yu River from the mouth of the Yiluo River. It should be called Mengzhou Water."
The military commander taught me the majesty of the Daliang Navy warships..."
The Xuzhou Army captured Chenqiaozhai, but the passage south of Chenqiaozhai to Changge County was narrow, and there was no risk of flooding during the flood season. Roads needed to be repaired in the early stage to ensure that subsequent troops, materials and energy could continue to flow to Chenqiaozhai.
After gathering, the next step will be to attack Mi County.
At the same time, although the Luoyang Navy's goal this spring is to ensure that no enemy ship can invade the Yiluo River, it will never be a pure defense. It will still have to gradually compete with the Mengzhou Navy for the Yiluo River.
Control of the Yu River waterway from the mouth of the river eastward to Wuzhi.
However, as new warships were built and the warships of the Mengzhou Navy were suppressed on the north bank of the Yu River, they were unable to assist Xingyang on the south bank, so they had the conditions to finally attack Xingyang.
Now it is necessary to dig an artificial lake on the west side of Hulao Pass and build a naval camp. In this way, when the Yuzhou Navy is dispatched, they can dispatch naval warships as quickly as possible to divert the Yuzhou Navy's warships.
The ship was suppressed on the north bank, unable to go south, and attacked the enemy's navy barracks along the river.
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Xiao Yiqing rushed to Mengzhou and met Zhao Mengji. His mood was extremely heavy. When he saw Zhao Mengji and deputy general Xiao Siqing coming out of the city to greet him, he didn't say much. Surrounded by many cavalry, the cavalry went to Zhao Mengji's Mengzhou first.
The governor of the state went to the government office.
"Han Qian should be at Hulao Pass at this time!"
After the Heluo War, Lu Qingxia did not go directly to Taiyuan with Wu Su Dashi and Xiao Yiqing. Instead, with Wu Su Dashi's permission, he stayed in Mengzhou with Yao Xishui and others to rebuild the Wanhong Tower.
Of course, the Wanhong Tower is not only a tower and palace, but also a spy agency that recruits and trains disciples to spy on the Mongol people and monitor the movements in Hedong, Guanzhong, and Heshuo. It is a spy agency affiliated with the Privy Council of the Great Mongolian South Academy.
Xiao Yiqing also had high hopes for them and did not directly place Wanhonglou under Wang Jinrong.
Precisely because Mengzhou was too important, and also to facilitate spying on Luoyang's military situation, Xiao Yiqing asked Lu Qingxia to stay in Mengzhou to rebuild the Wanhong Mansion. At the same time, he also made Zhou Yuan the deputy minister of Dushui of Nanyuan Taifu Temple and merged with it.
He led Mengzhou Gongcao to join the army and took charge of Mengzhou's engineering and shipbuilding.
Zhou Yuan did not seem to have any conspicuous achievements in the Chu court. Before the palace coup, he served as the minister of the Ministry of Industry and failed to enter the political hall. However, he defected to the Mongol people and had to find someone in Heshuo, Hedong and other places who was more powerful than him.
Those who are good at craftsmanship may not be able to spare a hand.
Whether it was Wang Jingrong in Dingzhou or Xiao Yiqing who started construction in Yanyun, they initially obtained the latest construction techniques in Xuzhou from the late Honglou. Zhou Yuan was in Xinchang Mansion, and later served as Minister of Works in the Chu court.
I am deeply immersed in these...
Lu Qingxia and Yao Xishui were unwilling to appear in front of the world with their true colors at this time. Their faces were covered with black veils, and they each drove a big bay-red horse to welcome Xiao Yiqing into Mengzhou City. On the way into the city, they reminded Xiao Yiqing that
Han Qian was at Hulao Pass at this time.
Although the scout stakes were unable to penetrate very deeply, the carriages and horses that Han Qian entered into Hulao Pass still had distinctive characteristics. Lu Qingxia still had a basic understanding of Han Qian's general movements in the Heluo area.
Xiao Yiqing just sighed lightly. Han Qian was at Hulao Pass at this time, always paying attention to the changes in the situation in Xingyang. This only further proved that his previous guess was correct.
Zhu Rang may not be willing to send more reinforcements to defend Xingyang, and it is inconvenient for him to directly send troops and horses from the north bank to cross the river south. The only thing he can do is to ensure that when Liang Jun starts to attack Xingyang, Zhao Mengji can reinforce Xingyang on the south bank at any time in Mengzhou.
Of course, this requires the Mengzhou navy to have stronger combat effectiveness.
Although the Mengzhou Navy still had an absolute advantage on the Yu River before winter last year, Xiao Yiqing is really not sure how much advantage the Mengzhou Navy can maintain now that winter has passed.
Even if Zhao Mengji and other generals still maintain a relatively optimistic attitude, Xiao Yiqing is not sure whether it will be possible for the Mengzhou navy to continue to maintain its relative advantage on the Yu River until this autumn.
Once the Mengzhou navy is on the Yu River, it loses its advantage in the face of the newly formed Luoyang navy and is even suppressed on the north bank. This means that during the long non-ice period of nearly ten months every year,
The connection between Mengzhou and Xingyang will be severed.
In the future, let alone sending troops to reinforce Xingyang, how to transport food and grass for the more than 25,000 defenders in Xingyang will still be a problem - Liang Shixiong currently faces the superior Liang Army on the east and south flanks, and his troops can only defend Xingyang.
The two cities in Mi County lost control of the vast countryside outside the city. More than 20,000 shi of grain per month could only be transported from Wuzhi through the river to Xingyang City.
Although the Luoyang|Navy Army is newly established, and the government-run Yique Shipbuilding Yard in Luoyang only successfully built its first warship in the middle of last year, it would be a big mistake to think that the combat effectiveness of the Luoyang|Navy Army is vulnerable to a single blow.
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No one can deny that Liang Chu was finally able to reach a peace agreement. The most direct and critical point was that Han Qian had an overwhelming naval force on the Yangtze River, which finally forced Chu Ting to choose to compromise.
Although the waterway was impassable and Han Qian was unable to transfer the Jianli warships under the jurisdiction of Nannei Shifu into the Yu River, Liang Jun definitely did not lack the most brilliant and familiar shipbuilders in the world, nor did he lack naval forces who were familiar with water warfare.
Generals and soldiers.
Luoyang | How can the navy's battle be weak? The subsequent replacement and abandonment of warships will only become faster and faster.
It was with this in mind that he suggested that Zhu Rang and Liang Shixiong build the wading weir road between Wuzhi and Xingyang as soon as possible, but he did not want Zhu Rang and Liang Shixiong to ignore his suggestion.
After all, Xingyang is not a must-defend place for the Dongliang Army, and they are unwilling to invest their limited resources in Xingyang.
Unknowingly, he arrived in front of the governor's office of Mengzhou. Thinking of these things, Xiao Yiqing let his guards lead the horses away, turned his head to look at Zhou Yuan, and asked about the trial production of the new warship.
Zhou Yuan felt a little bitter and didn't know how to reply to Xiao Yiqing's words.
Because natural bent wood for making ship ribs is rare, and large pointed-bottomed boats, in addition to needing a large wood as the keel, also inevitably require a large number of ship ribs to strengthen the structure of the hull.
Xuzhou has long directly used refined iron castings instead of natural bent wood to make ship ribs.
The galleys sold by Xuzhou to Youlong Wujun were also made of iron and wood, commonly known as iron-framed and wooden-hulled ships. Zhou Yuan knew all the structural details.
Xiao Yiqing also wanted to build iron-frame warships with fast speed and solid structure as soon as possible to strengthen the combat effectiveness of Mengzhou Navy.
The Mengzhou Iron Smelting Factory can be regarded as gathering a group of the most sophisticated craftsmen from Heshuo and Hedong. They have been trial-making for three or four months, but they still have not been able to cast a suitable iron ship rib.
"According to what I see, the king of Longyou County should build an iron cable in Yongzhou to block the Wei River, and it is not an exaggeration to gather all the naval warships to Mengzhou." Lu Qingxia said to relieve Zhou Yuan.
Xiao Yiqing sighed slightly in his heart. He knew that some things are easy to say but extremely difficult to do.
This cast an even darker shadow on his mind.
At this time, a group of chariots and horses rode into Mengzhou City against the cold wind of early spring.
Listening to the ruts and the sound of horse hooves galloping this way, Xiao Yiqing looked at Zhao Mengji doubtfully, and Lu Qingxia said: "Maybe Wang Chi has returned to Mengzhou..."
"Oh," when Xiao Yiqing was in Xingyang, Wang Jingrong, the adopted son of Guanjiang Tower and the head of Guanjiang Tower, sent someone to Xingyang to report that there was a very important item to be presented, but he did not say what it was.
I don’t know what kind of mystery Wang Chi is selling.
Xiao Yiqing, Zhao Mengji, and Xiao Siqing walked to the government office, waiting for Wang Chou to come over.
Soon he saw a group of carriages and horses stopping in front of the Mengzhou governor's office. Wang Chou jumped off the yellow horse and handed it to the people behind him to hold it. He personally opened the curtain of the carriage and carefully guided the four strong men.
He took out something wrapped in linen and walked to the governor's office of Mengzhou.
Xiao Yiqing and the others stood in the yard and watched Wang Zhao uncover the linen cloth, only to find a broken crossbow nearly ten feet long.
All that is left of this remnant crossbow is the crossbow arm and arrow trough, the base frame, the crossbow string and the string opening device, all of which have been destroyed.
Seeing this object, Xiao Yiqing was shocked and asked: "Is this the new divine machine giant crossbow used by Liang Jun?"
"Yes, the Shouzhou Army finally captured one, but Xu Mingzhen refused to hand it over alive and dead. I had to bribe Xu Mingzhen's men to steal this giant crossbow and present it to you," Wang Chou said.
"How much stone power does this crossbow arm have?" Zhao Mengji asked, staring at the giant crossbow with bright eyes.
"I haven't tested it specifically, but it can only be pulled apart with two strong horses. Liang Jun used a special gear winch to open the string..." Wang Chou explained.
Measuring the arms of the bow requires only using your hands, but it is quite simple. Zhao Mengji, as a former Shu general, also attaches great importance to the manufacture of ordnance. He immediately carried the broken crossbow to more accurately measure the time when the arms of the crossbow were fully opened.
bending tension.
After a stick of incense, the guard in charge of measuring dragged the broken crossbow back and reported back: "The hanging stone was increased to seventeen stones, and the crossbow arm was fully opened..."
Xiao Yiqing, Zhao Mengji, and Xiao Siqing were all stunned. They didn't expect that this new crossbow arm was almost three times as powerful as the traditional crossbow. No wonder it could shoot a short spear-like crossbow arrow four hundred paces away.
Many of the previous rumors were not exaggerated at all, right?
"Except for approaching victory with enough warships, it is difficult to imagine that the Mengzhou navy would compete with the Luoyang navy for victory on the Yu River." When he learned that Liang Jun was assembling a new crossbow, Lu
Qingxia had never doubted the authenticity of the rumors. At this time, Zhao Mengji frowned and once again mentioned the suggestion she just mentioned in front of the government office.
The infantry and cavalry are fighting fiercely in the field. There are thirty or fifty war crossbows in the Liang army's battle formation, which may not pose a fatal threat. After all, such war crossbows are opened with gear winches and the rate of fire is quite slow. Elite cavalry can be used to quickly
Attack its crossbow array.
The fact that the Shouzhou Army was able to capture such a crossbow on the battlefield also proves this point. However, the warships built by the Liang Army were very fast. If they were equipped with such a crossbow and were able to fight on the lakes and rivers, the advantage would be too obvious.
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Of course, currently on the Yu River, with all the warships from the Wei River and the upper reaches of the Yu River gathered together, they still have an absolute advantage in terms of number and scale.
Furthermore, even in summer and autumn, the water surface of the Yu River is far less open than that of the Yangtze River. The advantage of the Liang Army's warships in terms of speed will be suppressed in the relatively narrow waters.
At this time, if the Mengzhou Water Camp can take advantage of the large number of warships, not be afraid of fighting on the side, and use fire attacks as much as possible, it may not lose control of the Yuhe waterway, and it is possible to continue to maintain contact with Xingyang on the south bank.
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Although Lu Qingxia is a female, Zhao Mengji does not dare to look down upon such a female and seriously considers what she said...
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No matter how much Xiao Yiqing and Zhao Mengji are thinking about transferring their warships and naval forces in the upper reaches of the Wei River and Yu River to Yuzhou to prevent and suppress Luoyang|Navy Army, this year's cold flood will be completely over in late February, and the Yu River
After the water situation became relatively stable, all the new naval forces of the two brigades were transferred to Gong County and accepted Chen Kun's control.
Although the Mengzhou Water Camp still had an absolute advantage in the size of warships and naval soldiers at this time, the naval brigade relied on the defenses at the mouth of the Yiluo River to frequently attack from the mouth of the Yiluo River.
A small group of enemy ships wandered on the Yu River, and the navy warships went down the river. After approaching the enemy ships at the mouth of the river, they relied on spring-arm bed crossbows and scorpion crossbows to attack the enemy ships from a long distance. The enemy ships were dispatched in large numbers, and the navy warships were dispatched in large numbers.
The warships relied on their speed to quickly shrink into the Yiluo River mouth, and relied on the defenses on both sides of the river mouth to block enemy ships outside the Yiluo River.
In order to achieve this, in the cold winter and early spring, Han Qian directly ordered that special fusiform box ships be filled with sand and gravel mined from the western foot of Songshan Mountain, and hundreds of trackers were used to skate and drag them to the two sides of the river mouth.
On the river beach, the bilges of the box ships were drilled through.
When the river water rises and these box ships sink into the water, they can be used as bridge piers to erect iron beams to form an iron beam bridge extending into the estuary waters to ensure that light vehicles and crossbows entering the iron beam bridge can attack those at the mouth of the Yiluo River.
Every body of water.
In March and April, the navies of both sides fought repeatedly around the Yu River waterway outside the mouth of the Yiluo River. Almost hundreds of warships in the Mengzhou Water Camp were destroyed and sunk in the Yu River, while the casualties of the Luoyang |
Then there are only one-tenth of the enemy's army.
In mid-May, the six newly built armored Mengchong warships in Dazhai, Yique Shuiying, were gradually incorporated into the navy, causing Mengzhou Shuiying to suffer a lot.
Traditional Mengchong warships have two to three levels of cabins built above the freeboard. The bottom layer has an opening, and sixteen, twenty-four, or thirty-six oars extend into the water.
When encountering an enemy, the cabin roof can be detached, and the sails and masts that are easily attacked by enemy ships will be lowered. The boatmen and sailors can row oars in the lower cabin to advance and retreat quickly; the upper cabin has crossbow windows and spear holes on all sides, so that enemies from all sides can be attacked.
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In addition, the cabin roof was covered with rawhide to prevent enemy ships from pouring oil and setting the ship on fire.
The newly built iron-armored Mengchong warship in Dazhai, Yiqueshuiying, uses fine iron components as the keel and hull. The upper cabin roof, bow and sides are no longer covered with rawhide, but are directly covered with a layer of iron armor.
These six armored Mongolian warships, as the main warships, were incorporated into the naval brigade's ship formation and shouldered the heavy responsibility of charging into the battle. At this time, even if enemy ships three or four times the size came to attack, the naval warships would still be overwhelmed.
Being able to persist in fierce battles with the enemy on the Yu River, instead of retreating to the mouth of the Yiluo River to temporarily avoid the enemy's edge...
