It was already April, and the vegetation was flourishing. Located on the north bank of the Sanggan River near Xijin Prefecture, it is not too far to the north and has a typical climate with four distinct seasons. Moreover, the terrain here is not a flat land, but hills and hills.
Vertically and horizontally. This kind of terrain is the most troublesome, because even if you climb to the top of the hill, you can only see the situation within a few miles around, and you can't even see the situation within these few miles carefully. Everything is lush and green.
There are trees and rolling hills everywhere, completely blocking your view.
When soldiers and horses travel through such terrain, even if they are only a few hundred steps apart, but are blocked by hills and trees, you will not know the existence of the other party at all. You will not see your enemy appear in front of you until you both turn around and face each other at the same time.
The lush trees absorbed a lot of noise. The horses' hooves made almost no sound when they stepped on the grassy paths, so they couldn't find each other at all.
Lin Jue and others had to lurk under a hill to confirm safety before setting off, because in this case, the danger of encountering the enemy was unpredictable. Facts have proved that the caution of Lin Jue and others was necessary. In the lurking forest
In the few hours between, several armies of soldiers and horses flew past the narrow path on the side of the hill. They could not get closer than a hundred steps to Lin Jue and others who were lurking between the trees. Several times, everyone could not restrain themselves and wanted to take action.
The ambush was resolutely stopped by Lin Jue. Although an ambush in this kind of terrain could be successful, it would expose his whereabouts. Lin Jue would never do this. Lin Jue had to wait patiently for these soldiers to leave on their way.
, followed quietly, approached the central area from behind, and explored the situation.
It was not until noon that no soldiers and horses passed by for half an hour. Lin Jue then ordered to send out scouts to investigate. After confirming that no more soldiers and horses passed by, Lin Jue ordered everyone to follow the path of a group of soldiers and horses to the west.
Go. Lin Jue believed that at this moment, their position should be behind the Liao army gathering troops and horses, and this would make it easier for Lin Jue to grasp the opponent's plan and judge whether these people were going to set up an ambush in the mountains or directly reinforce Xijin Mansion.
The spring sun is shining brightly, and the wild flowers and trees are flourishing and the trees are lush. The warm wind makes people feel warm all over. When walking among the mountains and fields, it seems that the air is filled with a fragrant fragrance and the refreshing smell of green leaves and flowers. This is pleasant.
During the outing season, walking among such mountains and fields will make people feel relaxed and soothed involuntarily. However, for Lin Jue, the tension and depression in his heart made them completely ignore the beauty of spring in the mountains and fields.
"It's already afternoon, I'm afraid Yang Jun has already started to cross the river." Lin Jue looked at the bright sun above his head and thought in his heart.
…
As Lin Jue thought, a large-scale river crossing operation was underway at the Sanggan River Gorge Ferry. Yang Jun's army set off in the morning and arrived at the ferry at noon. Bai Qi and others, who had controlled the ferry in advance, were already ready to cross the river.
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Crossing the river with nearly 300,000 troops, thousands of vehicles, horses, materials, catapults, and other heavy siege equipment is no easy task. What’s more, it is impossible for the Liao army on the opposite side to organize a counterattack to prevent the army from landing. Therefore, crossing the river is not just a matter of words.
Just talking about it.
However, Yang Jun had already planned this, and these three months of preparation were not in vain. Since the target was directly aimed at Xijin Prefecture and even the hinterland of the Liao Kingdom, it was impossible not to consider a way to cross a large river like the Sanggan River in advance.
Therefore, Yang Jun formed an engineering battalion composed of tens of thousands of people. The main responsibilities of this engineering battalion, mainly composed of craftsmen, were to build roads and bridges across mountains and rivers, repair vehicles along the way, and repair siege equipment in time during war.
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Regarding crossing a large river like the Sanggan River, Yang Jun had already obtained the method of crossing the river from the engineering camp. The reason why Yang Jun was not in a hurry to seize the ferry was that he hoped to observe the enemy's movements and judge whether they were making any major moves on the other side.
Setting up an ambush. Another main reason is that Yang Jun actually does not need the boats at the ferry. Those dozen large boats and dozens of small boats are actually not of much use to Yang Jun's entire army to cross the river. Those boats
At most, more than a thousand men and horses can be transported in one trip, and it takes dozens of back and forth to transport all the troops and horses across the river. This is undoubtedly unworkable. If the other side is well defended, this method of crossing the river is tantamount to suicide. Moreover, the troops and horses can
Crossing the river, what should we do with heavy and huge siege equipment such as catapults, catapults, siege trucks, and oil trucks? How can we cross the river with a large number of grain, grass and baggage vehicles? Therefore, it is obvious that large armies cannot be used to cross the river.
This method of crossing the river is only feasible unless there are a large number of ships and large ships that can carry heavy equipment. However, it is impossible for a large army to drag the warships of the Zhou navy, let alone
The earth made a great ship.
Therefore, there is only one way to allow the army to cross the river smoothly and quickly, and to quickly occupy the north bank without fear of resistance from the other side, and that is: build a bridge.
Of course, it is not to build a bridge across the two sides of the river. That is not feasible and does not have the ability. What is to be built is a pontoon bridge. The use of pontoon bridges is relatively common in the military, but this pontoon bridge must be both wide and large, stable and broad.
It allows soldiers and horses to walk on level ground and vehicles carrying supplies and equipment to pass smoothly.
The engineer battalion's plan is to build a huge pontoon bridge two feet wide, floating on the river. The materials used to build the bridge have been shipped with the army, which are logs as thick as a sea bowl loaded in nearly 280 carts. Each day
A noose chain is nailed to each log, which can be hinged and fixed to each other. The construction method is also simple and easy to understand. Two rows of logs extend to the opposite bank in a hinged manner, and the rear is firmly fixed with thick wooden boards and long nails.
Once formed, it becomes a smooth road.
Of course, this method of building a pontoon bridge must have auxiliary means, because the river is fast and the pontoon bridge will drift with the waves when it is built. Therefore, in order to fix the pontoon bridge, anchoring measures are required. The piling method is no longer available because the current is fast and the river water
It is deep and cannot be operated at all. But there is another simple and easy way to replace it, which is to anchor. The pig iron ingots and giant bluestones transported with the army are the most ideal anchoring devices. The weight and weight can be adjusted according to the urgency of the water flow.
Anchor chains are used to fix the anchor points of these bluestones and iron ingots at both ends of the logs. After being put into the water, they can greatly offset the impact of running water, allowing the entire pontoon to extend forward in a relatively stable manner.
Therefore, human wisdom is still infinite, and the large-scale pontoon-building operation started in this way is progressing smoothly. If it is carried out at a speed of twenty steps every half hour, by the evening, the entire pontoon bridge will be built.
The pontoon bridge can be connected to the other side. And after it is built, the pontoon bridge will be the same as the ground except for some slight shaking when people and horses walk on it.
As the pontoon bridge progressed smoothly, the soldiers were in a good mood. Some people optimistically estimated that the pontoon bridge would be completed halfway through the construction period. But Yang Jun knew that things might not be that simple. Although the first half of the pontoon bridge construction went smoothly,
But the closer the second half is to the north shore ferry, the more difficult it becomes. The other party cannot remain indifferent and will definitely obstruct the construction of the pontoon bridge in every possible way.
In fact, the opponent has already made moves. All the boats on the opposite ferry have spread out on the river, and they are all concentrated in the upper reaches, which makes people feel a hint of conspiracy. Moreover, the soldiers and horses on the cliff on the other side are also dispatching back and forth. Yang
Jun has reason to believe that there are probably tens of thousands of archers preparing to release arrows up and down the cliff. Building a pontoon bridge on a dangerous river is already very dangerous. Once within the range of bows and arrows, there will be a swarm of arrows flying overhead.
With the rain of arrows, none of the engineers who built the bridge would survive.
When the pontoon bridge was halfway built and still about 300 steps away from the other side, Yang Jun stopped the bridge construction operation. Although it was still early in the day, Yang Jun believed that there was no need to take risks. After dark, it would be unfavorable for his own troops.
It is impossible to discredit crossing the river, which will increase unnecessary risks. In this case, the pontoon bridge should not continue to be built. It will be built in one go tomorrow, and then quickly charge across the river and fight the enemy.
In order to protect the long pontoon bridge that had been built to prevent sneak attack and damage by the Liao people, nearly 5,000 people were arranged to guard the pontoon bridge that night. It was like guarding a section of city wall on the water to prevent the other party from destroying it. Because Yang Jun always felt
, the opponent’s dozens of ships were scattered on the river for some purpose. Logically speaking, they should have stopped them on the shore. Until it got dark, those ships were still patrolling back and forth far upstream. This was obviously to do something.
What.
However, Yang Jun was not very worried. The pontoon bridge was impassable, and the soldiers and horses on the other side could not pose a threat to the unfinished pontoon bridge. Therefore, how much could the more than a thousand Liao troops on dozens of large and small ships do?
Nearly 5,000 people were deployed to guard the pontoon bridge, but they were unable to cause any damage to the pontoon bridge.
That night, Yang Jun slept soundly. Yang Jun had not slept so peacefully for a long time. Although he held a high position in the court, Yang Jun could rarely sleep peacefully. Because he did not care about matters above the court.
He couldn't fully control it, so he couldn't feel completely at ease. But once on the battlefield, when everything was under control, Yang Jun could eat and sleep without any distractions.
However, in the middle of the night, he was awakened by the panicked shouts of his guards.
"My lord, my lord, it's not good, something happened to the pontoon."
Yang Jun sat up in shock and shouted loudly: "What happened? What happened?"
"You...go and see for yourself, it's all ruined...it's all ruined..." The guard's voice was filled with great frustration and horror.
Yang Jun immediately got up and finished dressing and rushed outside. There was already a buzz of people outside. Bai Qi was rushing in with a dozen generals.
"Marshal Yang, it's over, we've fallen into a trap. The bridge is destroyed!" Bai Qi shouted in frustration.
Yang Jun's heart froze. The words coming from Bai Qi's mouth were probably true. He led everyone quickly towards the ferry. When they came to an open space, Yang Jun saw the light of fire rising to the sky on the river.
At that moment, Yang Jun suddenly realized that he had made a huge mistake.
