Attacking Xuchang from Nanyang is not difficult along the way.
To the southwest of Xuchang, there is Xiangcheng County (today's north of Pingdingshan) to the north and Dingling County (today's south of Pingdingshan) to the south, which together form the gateway of Xuchang facing Nanyang, just like two gates.
And between Xiangcheng County and Dingling County is the famous Kunyang (today's Ye County in Pingdingshan).
It was in this magical place that Liu Xiu, who was just a partial general at the time, showed his true strength as the "Son of the Plane". Meteors fell from the sky, accompanied by violent storms. Liu Xiu led his army to attack from both inside and outside, and finally defeated 20,000 soldiers.
The horse defeated 420,000 enemy troops, laying a solid foundation for his later establishment of the empire, and also achieving one of the few typical battles in history where a small number defeated a large number.
The Battle of Kunyang also caused Wang Mang to finally lose the capital to fight the decisive battle with the Gengshi Han Army. This hero, who was dubbed the "traveler" by later generations, eventually became Liu Xiu's stepping stone.
The Battle of Kunyang happened more than five hundred years ago.
And now, the army under the banner of the Han Dynasty once again arrived at this small town guarding the gateway to the Central Plains.
Kunyang is no longer the Kunyang it used to be. When Liu Xiu participated in the Battle of Kunyang, although Kunyang was a small city, it was high in the city and deep in the pond. It was backed by hills and rivers, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. But now Kunyang is difficult to attack.
Yang, its status has been replaced by Xiangcheng County in the north and Dingling County in the south. Although it still controls road traffic, the city is basically in a semi-abandoned state.
This is mainly because the traffic between the north and the south has been cut off for too long. The passage where Kunyang is located was supposed to go south to Nanyang and then to Jingzhou and the entire southern region, but there is nothing between the south and the north.
For communication and exchange, even in the later Xiliang period, envoys and caravans were sent directly to Guanzhong and would not pass through this road again, so it was naturally abandoned.
In addition, although the line from Nanyang to Xuchang was the original border line between the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty, it was not the main place of confrontation, so it is reasonable for the city to be in disrepair for a long time.
There is water in the north of Kunyang City. The water (today's Shahe River) was one of the main tributaries of Ru River in this era. The water flow is not considered fast. After flowing out from Lushan in Luyang County, the area it flows through is just these counties.
Because there is a lot of sand in the river, it is called "", which means the sand content is large.
Today's Northern Zhou army would certainly not foolishly defend the dilapidated city of Kunyang. Even the Han army had reason to suspect that the last time Kunyang was renovated was hundreds of years ago and they lined up directly on the waterfront.
And Chen Zhishen was not polite to the Zhou people. The Han army swept across Kunyang, so he directly placed the Chinese army's tent in Kunyang. Since you didn't want to defend it, it was just a place for someone to stay. No matter what
After all, a city surrounded by earthen walls, with a little repair, would be stronger than the walls of a fortress.
"After passing the water, there is Ru River, after passing Ru River, there is Ying River, and after passing Ying River, we are Xuchang." General Shi of the Han Dynasty's Eastern Expedition, and Zhao Xuan, the general of the Pingchi invaders, pointed at the complicated enemy and enemy situations on the map, helplessly.
Said, "At this time, General Lu set out from Huaixi and has surrounded Xuanhu City in Runan. After taking Xuanhu City, he should be able to quickly advance northward, but now he is still some distance away from us."
The situation in Huaixi is really a bit troublesome.
It’s not because Chen Zhishen and Lu Zicai don’t cooperate well, but because of the naturally limited terrain of the Ru River. Ru River goes from Rukou to the north. Although the main direction is from southeast to northwest, it really looks like from the map.
You will find that it is actually almost tilted towards true north.
Therefore, the geographical location of several important towns along the Ru River is actually arranged from south to north. At this time, the Xuanhu City in Runan that Lu Zicai was attacking was almost directly south of Kunyang City where Chen Zhishen and Chen Bing were, so now the Han army
Although the attack was to the north, the front points of the two troops and horses were pointing east.
If it weren't for their understanding of the geography and terrain, I'm afraid the generals would have lost their bearings.
"Send a partial division south to attack Linying and join General Zhenbei," Chen Zhishen said after careful consideration. "Now, although our Huaixi troops are targeting Xuchang, the battle line is too long, especially for General Zhenbei.
The troops and horses are moving too far south, and we cannot have so much time to wait for them to move closer to the north, so we must seize Linying as soon as possible and open up the Ru River so that the navy's ships can go north."
"No!" Zhao Xuan responded hurriedly.
As a former member of a Guanzhong family, he has always been eager to go to the battlefield. This time he finally got the opportunity. At that moment, Zhao Xuan immediately asked himself: "General, I would like to lead a partial division to sweep Ru River and clear the river.
!”
Chen Zhishen glanced at him: "Why are you, a long history officer, joining in the fun! Are you going to throw all the matters related to the march of the army to someone?"
Zhao Xuan suddenly smiled.
As a general who marched to the east, he had to think about the matter of leading an army alone.
"Where is Yang Shangxi?" Chen Zhishen turned his eyes.
"The general is here!" Yang Shangxi walked out of the queue quickly, also a little excited.
Although he once participated in the battle of the Han Dynasty entering Guanzhong, he did so as a small general at that time. Later, he was left to garrison Wuguan and had no chance to participate in the battle of the Han Dynasty sweeping the entire Guanzhong. Therefore, he was also eager to pass the battle.
This battle was a great success.
"Do you have the confidence to lead your army south to attack Linying and open up the connection with our army outside Xuanhu City?" Chen Zhishen asked directly.
"The general will definitely fulfill his mission!"
Chen Zhishen nodded and looked at Zhao Xuan, who was a little unhappy: "We will launch an attack on the enemies along the water later. You will be at the forefront. If we can't win, let's see how I deal with you!"
Zhao Xuan immediately trembled and solemnly handed over his hand: "I obey!"
Chen Zhishen stretched out his hand and clicked on the map, looking around at the generals: "The Zhou people's guard along the water bank was Cui Jingsong, who was under Wang Gui's command. This man was from the Cui family and was originally a civil servant. He secretly surrendered to Wang Gui during the Battle of Jinzhou.
As an internal liaison, internal and external cooperation helped Wang Gui capture Jinzhou, thus making Wang Gui what he is today. Wang Gui led the army in Huaixi with this person, obviously he wanted to use this person's courage, hoping to use the city and river to block our attack
Way to go.”
After a pause, Chen Zhishen's voice rose a bit: "I have been a soldier for so many years and have followed His Majesty in the north and south, and no one has ever been able to stop me. Today, Cui Jingsong is acting as a chariot. What should we do?!"
"Destroy the enemy!" the generals shouted in unison.
Everyone looked at Chen Zhishen together, with every pair of eyes eager for merit.
"Okay, send the order, go to war! I will lead the Chinese army directly to the water!" Chen Zhishen waved his hand decisively, "The left and right wings will surround us. We will first bombard with artillery, then use muskets to clear the way, and break through the enemy's camp on the south bank!"