Chapter 265 Riding a tiger is difficult to advance and retreat
Xiangyang is the most important place in the world, where water and land rush together. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.
Luo Xiujin, the new governor of Sichuan and Huguang, and Sun Dingliao, the admiral of Huguang, stood on the bank of the Han River and were silent for a long time. Behind them, 600 cavalry and 3,030 infantrymen gathered from Henan for reinforcements, a total of 3,900 green battalion soldiers.
I can only look at the river and sigh.
"Xiangyang is such an important town, but the bandits actually destroyed the city without defending it. They are really rogue bandits!"
Luo Xiujin trembled with anger.
He couldn't help but said to the admiral Sun Dingliao, "The physical beauty of Huguang is in Wuchang? In Jingzhou? In Xiangyang? In terms of the world, the most important thing is in Xiangyang; in terms of the southeast, the most important thing is Wuchang; in terms of Huguang, the most important thing is in Wuchang.
Jingzhou."
The new governor, who had come to Manchuria as a scholar more than ten years ago, lamented, "The Xiangyang world has a waist and a waist, and it is found in the Central Plains. It can be merged with the southeast, and the southeast can be obtained, or it can be obtained from the northwest."
In his opinion, Xiangyang is a strategic location that no matter who wins it, it is impossible to give up.
This is why as soon as he heard that Xiangyang had been lost, he immediately grabbed Sun Dingliao and came with 3,900 troops, regardless of the fact that the handover had not been completed in Henan.
He originally thought that after Wang Guangen and others surrendered and rebelled and captured Xiangyang, the Ming army besieging the cities of Jingzhou and Wuchang might immediately divide their troops to reinforce and stationed in Xiangyang to isolate the Qing troops from Henan from moving south.
Unexpectedly, I traveled south day and night and finally arrived at Xiangyang. What I saw was an empty city, no, a ruined city.
There are no people in the countryside, there are no merchant ships on the Han River, the city walls have collapsed, and the moats are blocked.
How stupid a person must be to give up a strategically important place like Xiangyang.
Admiral Sun Dingliao was originally the deputy general of Dalinghe, and was highly valued after he was surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. This time he was promoted to the admiral of Huguang and was in charge of the Green Camp of a province.
We plundered money, food and people, but did not know how to defend the city. We recaptured the two cities of Xiangfan without any blood. We have already made a great contribution when we entered Huguang for the first time."
Luo Xiujin looked at the devastation and wanted to cry without tears.
"The two cities of Xiangfan and Xiangfan were so severely damaged. These thieves not only filled in the moat, but also blocked the Han River. Look at those huge rocks and it is impossible for large ships to navigate. If we want to repair the city walls, dredge the river, and clean the moat,
How much manpower time does this require?”
"But now, there isn't even a single ghost left here."
Even though they came in a hurry, they didn't bring much food and grass. Now it's impossible to collect them on the spot. The whole army will be hungry.
As an admiral, Sun Liaoyuan was only responsible for fighting the war, but as the governor, he had to consider more.
Xiangyang is an important city in the world. The Ming army can give up, but they can't.
But whenever she thinks about the difficulties of repairing this important town, Luo Xiujin gets a splitting headache.
In fact, now they can't even transport the 3,900 men and horses across the Han River. There are no boats and not a single piece of wood. The scouts who crossed the river to explore Xiangyang before still swam across the river. He couldn't bring the other few
Thousands of people are swimming there like this, right?
Xiangyang is a card and Fancheng is a boat.
Since the Tang Dynasty, the main channel of the Han River has gradually approached the north bank, so the two cities of Xiangyang and Fan on both sides of the river have their own emphasis. Xiangyang City is a military stronghold, while Fancheng has become a famous commercial city and an important water transport terminal.
But now, the military town of Xiangyang is in ruins, and the famous commercial city of Fancheng is completely gone.
Luo Xiujin was heartbroken.
Xiangyang City was built on the south bank of the Han River at the junction of the Qinba Corridor and the Dahong Mountains. Xian Mountain stands in the southwest like a green screen, and the Han River surrounds the northeast like a jade belt. Such a terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Between Xianshan, Hanshui River and Xiangyang, there is a plain that is impacted by the Han River, which is less than ten miles long and five miles wide. Xiangyang City is guarded in the northeast corner of this small plain, with the Han River as a natural moat in the north and dug out on the east, west and south sides.
The moat, which is more than 100 feet wide at its widest point, introduces the flowing water of the Han River.
To the west, there is Tanxi Lake, which serves as a several-mile-long natural obstacle from Wanshan to the west moat of Xiangyang City. In addition, Fancheng can also be used as a wing.
But Xiangyang City was lost, and the process of losing it was unbelievable.
What is even more unacceptable is that after Wang Guangtai and others captured Xiangyang, they evacuated the city and destroyed it.
He would rather they stay here to guard it. Although such a city is difficult to attack, the people around it are still there, and if some people have food, they can supply and support the army.
And Xiangfan will become a cage, luring the Ming army here, trapping them here, allowing them to gather and annihilate them.
Now, they are running to the Yunyang Mountains, Fangxian, Junzhou, and Wudang Mountains. In the continuous mountains and valleys of the Qinling Mountains and Daba Mountains, it is harder to conquer them than to climb to the sky.
"wrong."
Luo Xiujin frowned.
"No, these people surrendered in Yunyang, then captured Xiangyang, then recaptured Yunyang, and then destroyed Xiangfan, moved the population, and transported supplies. They destroyed it so thoroughly and acted so quickly. This is not like the behavior of ordinary thieves.
, this is not simple.”
Sun Dingliao felt that he was being suspicious, "Brothers Wang Guangen were originally bandits, and looting is very normal for them. They know that they cannot defend Xiangyang with few soldiers, so isn't it normal for them to loot and escape?"
"Isn't it true that thieves are always like this?"
"No, something is wrong, something is definitely wrong. We have to connect the events together. There is something weird here. I originally thought it was just their thieving habits, but now I see that there is something fishy here."
"I suspect that there is a very powerful person who is secretly controlling the bureau. What happened this time is definitely not some deprivation of food rewards and money, which led to the surrender of troops and mutiny. This may have been a bureau in the first place."
"They first used Yunyang as a bait to feign surrender and lured away the main force of the green battalion guarding Xiangyang City. Li Daitao sent thousands of soldiers from Yunyang to Xiangyang, and then looked for an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and capture the two cities of Yunxiang. After success, they quickly
They demolished the city walls, relocated the population, transported supplies, and finally did not forget to block the river leading upstream. These actions were so intensive that they must have been planned in advance."
"If you look further afield, the siege of Jingzhou and the siege of Wuchang seem to be a bigger deployment!"
Sun Dingliao was a little impatient with Luo Xiujin's nagging. He just wanted to know what to do next.
"Scatter the cavalry out to see if you can find anyone who stays, and then send the infantry to the cities and villages to collect house wood to make rafts across the river."
"Master Bu Tang, we only have three days of food. We can't get any replenishment now. Should we return to Dengzhou first? We can collect ships in Dengzhou to replenish food and grass, and we can also gather more soldiers and horses there. Everything is ready.
Go south again.”
"Anyway, Xiangfan has been destroyed and abandoned. It is a dead city and an empty city. It won't affect us if we come later."
Luo Xiujin sighed, "But Jingzhou and Wuchang can't wait any longer. Yunxiang has already been lost, so we can't lose Jingzhou and Wuchang again!"
"But now there are no boats and no food. After crossing the river, it is difficult for our brothers to move forward. If they are attacked by thieves again, the whole army will be wiped out. Therefore, I still propose to withdraw to Dengzhou for rest. Although Jingzhou and Wuchang are urgent, we have to
To ensure your own safety, you can’t take yourself in first, right?”