During the period of separatist power like the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were generally not many taboos about garrisoning troops outside the capital. In many cases, the main army of the country was stationed in the capital to prevent changes. However, even so, given the size of Jiankang Mansion,
There was still no way to accommodate too many troops, so the armies of the Southern Dynasties were generally stationed at Jingkou.
Jingkou is the choke point along the river from Jiankang Prefecture. From here, you can point to Huainan to the north, to the sea to the east, to Jiangnan to the south, and to the west, it shields Jiankang.
The location of the fortress that has not been abandoned is a battleground for military strategists.
The famous Beifu soldiers of the Eastern Jin Dynasty were stationed in Jingkou, and Liu Yu, who single-handedly founded the Liu Song Dynasty, also made his fortune from Jingkou. It can be said that Jingkou has witnessed the changes of the Southern Dynasties for three hundred years, and has also witnessed the rise and fall of the Southern Dynasties from generation to generation.
According to Chen Xu's order, the main force of Nanchen originally stationed in Zhongli will move south from Huainan and then turn directly to the west. This army will be temporarily led by veteran general Ren Zhong, while Xiao Mohe will lead the Jingkou army.
The new army followed the navy up the river and joined the main force in Xiangzhou.
Before the Luliang War, Nanchen had already started a new round of recruitment of soldiers. After more than 20 years of recuperation, Jiangnan has now recovered from the Hou Jing Rebellion. In addition, compared to the number of troops in Nanchen,
It pays more attention to the quality of soldiers, so there is no need to worry about insufficient troops.
In total, Nanchen has trained more than 25,000 new soldiers in the past few months. In addition to the 50,000 soldiers Ren Zhong can dispatch, as well as nearly 10,000 naval officers, Nanchen has prepared 80,000 soldiers for the attack on Xiliang this time.
The army, this is just the army responsible for fighting, plus the corresponding civilian workers, transport teams, etc., the number has reached nearly 200,000, it can be said that a lot of money has been spent.
I am afraid that it is precisely for this reason that Xiao Mohe's expression has been quite solemn since he came out of the palace. Although he still has a good chance of winning this battle, after all, he is the one who controls the national destiny of Nanchen, and
It was actually the first time for him to command such a large army. It was impossible to say that he was not under pressure or nervous at all.
Fortunately, even if Chen Xu was bold, he was not really bold enough to let Xiao Mohe take charge of it alone. In addition to Xiao Mohe taking charge of the main force and launching an attack on Jiangling from Xiangzhou (now Changsha), Jingzhou
Fan Yi, the governor, would also lead Jingzhou's garrison to launch a feint attack from the Yidu area (today's Yidu, Hubei).
At the same time, for the sake of safety, Chen Xu also sent the cavalry general Chun Yuliang to lead another new army of nearly ten thousand people to station in Yingzhou (today's Wuhan), in order to deter Yuchi Jiong in Xiangyang as much as possible.
As a long-established veteran of Nanchen, Chun Yuliang may not be suitable for fighting on the battlefield due to his age, but his illustrious military exploits are enough to scare the enemy. What's more, Yingzhou is located in the northwest of Jiangling, and is embedded in Nanchen.
A nail between the Western Liang Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
Once Xiao Mohe's attack on Jiangling was frustrated, Chun Yuliang could act according to the situation. He could block Northern Zhou reinforcements to the north, and outflank the Western Liang's rear route to the south, forcing them to be unable to pursue.
Obviously Chen Xu also understood that if he could not seize this opportunity, he might not be able to wait for another opportunity in his life, so he also called Xu Ling, Wu Mingche and others into the palace overnight to discuss all night before formulating such a plan.
At least it seems to be a foolproof plan.
The day after Chen Xu's order was issued, Xiao Mohe, Xiao Shilian, Li Xingchen and others rushed to the Jingkou camp first, while Pei Zilie went to Jiankang Prefecture outside the city on Xiao Mohe's order, and from the right guard general Mao
Xi took over the command of the newly trained group of troops. This army also has four to five thousand people. They are the new recruits that will be added to the Jingkou camp. Because of the emergency of the war, they can no longer bother to mobilize to Jingkou at this time.
You will board the boat directly at Jiankangfu Pier.
After all, Xiao Mohe didn't have any trustworthy subordinates in Beijing, and Pei Zilie, as a powerful general, was qualified to command the partial army alone, so Xiao Mohe simply gave this task to him, which could be regarded as a training for Pei Zilie.
"I have finally waited for this day." Xiao Shilian didn't pay attention to his father's solemn look, and whispered, with excitement that could not be concealed in his tone. Compared with the intrigues in Jiankang Mansion, this kind of joyful and heroic
The battlefield fighting interested Xiao Shilian.
Although Li Xingchen didn't look as gloomy as Xiao Mohe, there was a somewhat worried look on his face. Part of it was because he didn't have full confidence in how Xiao Mohe would arrange his troops, and the other half was because Li Xingchen knew clearly.
, I must achieve fame in this battle and completely get rid of my identity as Xiao Mohe's aide.
There was pressure on his shoulders, and Li Xingchen wanted to laugh without caring about anything, but it was naturally impossible.
"Bo Qing, I think we have to wait a day here at Jingkou," Xiao Mohe turned around and said in a deep voice, "You have nothing to do, go and take Shi Zhong to his camp. At any rate, Shi Zhong will be the same in the future.
Those who lead the army must be familiar with their own territory."
Xiao Shilian was looking around and nodded hurriedly: "My boy, take the order! Shizhong, come with me."
Li Xingchen nodded slightly and followed Xiao Shilian.
And Xiao Shilian was completely relieved without Xiao Mohe by his side. He pointed around and said: "This Jingkou camp was built by Emperor Gaozu later. It has been operating since the founding of Zuo by Emperor Gaozu to this day. It is my great master."
The largest barracks and the strongest fortress."
The tall city wall spreads along Beigu Mountain and Jinshan Mountain, and eventually extends to the Nanshan area. Compared with other towns, most of Jingkou City is filled with grain farms that store grain and grass and various yamen that manage large camps, including South Xuzhou.
The government office, the government office of Donghai County, and the government offices of the generals in the army are all in the city. Most of them have high walls and deep courtyards, and many even have watchtowers and arrow towers built at the four corners.
The roads in the city are also different from the avenues extending in all directions such as Jiankang Mansion. Most of them are T-shaped roads, dead ends, and even many detours. The purpose is naturally self-evident. Even if the enemy attacks the city, the defenders in the city will
You can still rely on the houses and the roads that are difficult to figure out for layer-by-layer defense.
It can be said that what was displayed in front of Li Xingchen was a city that was designed as a fortress. And outside the city, it goes without saying that there were endless military camps with no end in sight, and the fluttering flags extended all the way.
horizon.
"Let's go this way!" Xiao Shilian was obviously familiar with the roads here. He directly rode his horse and led Li Xingchen down the hillside and galloped towards a large camp.
Xiao Mohe's military tent was set up there.
Li Xinchen stretched out his hand to tug on the horse's reins and looked at the camp with bright eyes.
There are soldiers and horses belonging to him there.