Chapter 440 Liu Xun Saijiang
To put it simply, they must first wipe out the Jiangxia navy on the Yangtze River, either completely destroying the opponent, or shrinking the opponent into the Xia River and Mian River, and then sealing Xiakou.
At the same time, the Jiangxia naval defense line on the Yangtze River must be cleared.
The defense line on the river not only consists of warships, but also an iron chain net, made of chains made of a large amount of refined iron, to block the river defense.
This is the meaning of the so-called iron rope crossing the river.
Zhou Tai's mission is actually quite heavy. Not only is the mission important, but it is also extremely cumbersome and troublesome. Because in this era, Yunmengze was still quite large, with quite a lot of places bordering the Yangtze River waters.
Therefore, the best way is to destroy the opponent's navy in one battle.
Xiakou is at the mouth of the Mian River and Xia River. Once he loses his navy, Huang Zu will either leave Xiakou and flee inland, or he will be trapped in the dead city, losing contact with all the counties and cities in Jiangxia County.
Zhou Tai and others were well aware of this situation and had already made preparations.
"Please rest assured, general, our navy headquarters has been replenished and can be deployed at any time to open a channel for the army."
Zhou Tai was very confident this time. There were six naval forces assembled in Liyang City alone. In addition, after the army set off, it would join Chen Wu and Huang Gai in Chaisang, with a total strength of 32,000 people.
The number of people in the navy headquarters alone is not much less than that of the Jiangxia Huang Family Army.
"Good!"
Taishi Ci was good at fighting, and was proficient in mounted warfare, infantry warfare, and mountain warfare, but he really knew nothing about water warfare. Moreover, at this time, he was just giving orders on behalf of Liu Feng. When it was time to go to war, Liu Feng would definitely fight in person, and he only needed to replenish and prepare the navy first.
Immediately afterwards, Taishi Ci arranged the sequence of actions of various ministries and inquired about the preparations of the transport ships.
After receiving all the appropriate reports, Taishi Ci stood up proudly: "Liu Jingsheng of Jingzhou has gained the power of the state. He is arrogant and has no intention of respecting the Lord and protecting the people. The conquests of the princes have caused great harm to the people. They are not loyal ministers." Yes. Jingnan raised his troops and rebelled, exposing Liu Jingsheng's crimes."
"Today, Liu Xun, the traitorous general under his command, also killed our famous people in Yangzhou and brutally tortured the people of Lujiang. He starved to death for hundreds of miles, which is extremely vicious. Our Lord is the Xingyi division, and the people of Jingxiang will eat pots of milk to welcome the king's division."
Taishi Ci glanced at the generals in the hall: "In this battle, Ci will work with you all to make contributions and serve your lord. The time is right before you. I am a righteous teacher, conquering rebellion and violence. Do you dare to die if you don't serve me?"
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The generals in the hall were already excited. They stood up immediately and followed Tai Shici and roared loudly: "I am a righteous teacher, conquering rebellion and violence. I am willing to die in service to your lord and general!"
Taishi Ci gave an order, and Li Yangcheng's army quickly woke up from its slumber like a giant beast.
Four days later, the warships stationed in Jiangdu, Jiangcheng, Dantu, Liyang, Niuzhu and other places gathered together, totaling more than 24,000.
However, although the number of people was large, the number of battleships was very small.
Compared with Jingzhou's thousands of large and small warships, Liu Feng's Yangtze River navy only had more than a thousand warships.
It's just that unlike Jiangxia's navy, Liu Feng's navy is not large in number, but its scale is terrifying.
There are as many as twelve large-scale ships that can carry hundreds of people, with an average of two in each water camp. Secondly, there are a total of 240 warships that can carry fifty people, are sturdy, fast, and have medium-to-high attack power, with an average of forty ships per water camp.
The rest are all red horses that can carry ten people, early boats that can carry five people, etc., and there are thousands of them.
This is not because Liu Feng is reluctant to invest and retain so many small boats, but also because river warfare is different from ocean warfare. There are a large number of tidal flats, creeks, reed swamps, swamps and other areas that require small boats to enter and exit.
At the same time, large ship operations also require the protection of a large number of small ships. After all, although large ships are strong and have strong attack power, their maneuverability is really a headache. Especially when changing direction, without the cover of a small boat, you will inevitably become a target for the enemy.
Zhou Tai set out from Liyang City, led his navy into the Yangtze River, then went upstream, crossed the Lujiang River without entering, and headed straight for Jiangxia County.
At the same time, the alarm spread westward.
Liu Xun rushed westward in a hurry while passing the police information to Huang Zu in Xiakou.
At this time, Liu Xun still had seven or eight thousand troops, but some of them were scattered in various counties and could not be gathered together for a while.
Seeing that the Yangzhou Army was about to launch troops, Liu Xun had no extra time to wait for them. He could only send a message to these soldiers and horses, asking them to go west to meet up, and then led more than 4,000 people in his army to rush westward until they escaped to Xunyang breathed a sigh of relief.
But soon after, a letter came from the east, and the Yangzhou army in Liyang City began to mobilize. Liu Xun was so frightened that he did not dare to stay in Xunyang anymore, and immediately continued to flee westward.
There were only a thousand Liu Biao's troops in Xunyang City at this time. The previous army of more than ten thousand had already withdrawn to Xiangyang, and then followed Kuai to Vietnam to put down the rebellion.
These thousand people were originally very happy to be accepted into Liu Xun's command, but they didn't expect that these guys wanted to run away after they were full, and even asked for military rations from them.
When Liu Biaojun was slightly dissatisfied, Liu Xunjun's subordinates directly kidnapped people and robbed the grain depot completely.
After daybreak, they continued to flee westward, fleeing along the north bank of the Yangtze River to Qichun County before they ran into Huang Zu's people.
"Qichun cannot be guarded!"
Liu Xun took the hand of Huang Zu's nephew Huang Dao: "There are tens of thousands of naval forces in Liyang City alone, and there are at least thousands of large and small warships. How can we defend Qichun with how few soldiers and horses we have?"< br>
Director Huang was shocked. He was just sent by Huang Zu to verify the situation after receiving the alarm.
The Yangzhou Army came to kill them wherever they thought they could.
In Director Huang's mind, the Yangzhou Army would have to be mobilized for at least a few months.
Take the elite navy under Huang Zu's command as an example. If you want to send troops, except for a very small number of elites who can set off within seven to ten days, other troops will need at least half a month to a month to mobilize. Otherwise, it is not that we will not be able to set off, but it will be difficult to ensure the combat effectiveness of our troops.
The tighter the departure time, the greater the discount in combat effectiveness.
This Yangzhou army actually gave the order and immediately dispatched. Could it be that they were here to die?
Liu Xun saw Director Huang's face and guessed what he was thinking, and hurriedly explained: "The Yangzhou Army has been ready to move for a long time. All the troops in Liyang City are prepared for war. Therefore, with one order, the army can set off. ”
Director Huang was shocked again and said with trembling lips: "Our state and Yangzhou are allies, how can we act like this?"
Liu Xun secretly cursed in his heart what kind of ally, could Liu Biao, his true ally, accept him?
Even if Liu Biao regarded Liu Feng and Liu Bei as allies, after accepting his surrender, Liu Feng and Liu Bei and his son could no longer regard Liu Biao as their allies.
"Liu Bei and his son are extremely ambitious. Within a few years, they have swallowed up the southeast. How can they have any doubts about their secret ambitions towards General Zhendong and Jingzhou?"
Liu Xun still had some talents, and he immediately suggested: "Qichuncheng cannot be defended. Our army can only retreat quickly and garrison on the Xisai Mountain in the south of the Yangtze River, which may prevent the Yangzhou army from advancing westward."
Xisai Mountain is east of Huangshi City, Hubei Province and southeast of Echeng County in later generations. On Xisai Mountain, defense fortifications have long been built, and they have always been Jiangxia County's frontline position to defend against threats from Yangzhou. The specific location of the Xisai Mountain Fortress happens to be the later Huangjiawan Reservoir. The river here just turns, and the mountain of Xisai Mountain protrudes from the Yangtze River just here, thus forming a bend of the Yangtze River. Standing on the top of the mountain, It feels like being in the middle of a river, so it is called "Wu Tou Chu Tail".
The Xisaishan Fortress not only blocks the Yangtze River, but is also surrounded by lakes, making it a pass.
Liu Xun's ability to choose here shows that he still has a good level of military ability.
Director Huang was a little hesitant, but Liu Xun kept urging him.
This is not because Liu Xun valued the other party. Liu Xun wanted to drag Director Huang into trouble. As long as Director Huang agreed, the thousand Jingzhou troops captured from Xunyang, the two thousand guards in the Xisai Mountain Fortress and the Qi A thousand Jingzhou troops in Chun County can be used by him.
So far, not even a single soldier has been seen among the four thousand old subordinates in Lujiang. I don't know if these people didn't have time to catch up with me, or... they simply surrendered to the Yangzhou Army.
Liu Xun, who only had more than 4,000 soldiers in his hand, decided to block the Yangzhou Army on Xisai Mountain, so he naturally had to find ways to strengthen his bargaining chip.
As for why Liu Xun didn't go directly to Xiakou to join Huang Zu, the reason is naturally simpler. He currently only has 4,000 troops. When he went to Xiakou, he was eaten alive by the opponent within minutes.
In this case, it is better to take a gamble in the Xisai Mountain Fortress. Firstly, you can maintain your independence. Secondly, if you can defeat the Yangzhou Army, you will have a chance to pull Jiangxia County to counterattack Lujiang.
Director Huang naturally didn't know what Liu Xun was thinking about Xiao Jiujiu, but on the surface, Liu Xun's opinions were not only correct, but also quite excellent.
Please...you...collect 6...9...books...!
Under Liu Xun's repeated urging, Director Huang decided to adopt Liu Xun's opinion, but at the end he said: "I still need to go back and question my uncle. In this case, Xisai Mountain will be entrusted to Governor Liu."
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When Liu Xun heard this, he was secretly happy and repeatedly promised: "My nephew has an important mission. He should go back as soon as possible to let Taishou Huang know everything. Where Xisai Mountain is located, Xun should fight the thieves to the end."
The two hit it off, and Director Huang mobilized ships in Qichun to transport Liu Xun's troops and two thousand Jingzhou troops across the river to the Xisai Fortress.
Then he went upstream and rushed to Xiakou. At the same time, he sent a letter to Xiling to let the Xiling defenders also prepare for precautions.
Although Xiling is no longer the seat of Jiangxia County, it is a fortified city with a high city, deep pools and a large population. It is still the largest city in Jiangxia County.
If Xiling City is destroyed, the shock to Jiangxia and Jingzhou will be quite large.
After Liu Xun crossed the river, he led his troops to the Xisai Mountain camp.
With the official documents from Director Huang and the evidence from the Jingzhou Military Academy, the Xise camp quickly accepted Liu Xun's troops.
Xisai Camp was originally designed to block the Yangtze River. Not only did it have a large number of equipment and stones, but it also had camp barriers that could accommodate ten thousand people.
Liu Xun's troops were only 6,000 men, so there was no problem.
After Liu Xun entered the camp, he became ruthless for his own life.
Day and night, the number of ordnance and equipment, food and baggage, as well as trebuchets and stone bombs in the camp were counted. At the same time, the sergeants of the camp were ordered to make more antlers.
Liu Xun believed that the first wave of offensive at the camp was likely to come from land.
Xisai Camp stands on the top of Xisai Mountain. The altitude of Xisai Mountain is only over 170 meters, not very high. But even so, the threat from the fleet on the river is almost zero.
Only by landing can we truly threaten the Xisai Mountain Camp.
Zhou Tai set off from Liyang naturally. After arriving at Chaisang, Chen Wu and Huang Gai's navy also joined the brigade, as well as an army of 20,000 personally commanded by Zhou Yu.
Not all of the 20,000 troops were under Zhou Yu's command. Among them, 14,000 were from Zhou Yu's old troops, and the other 6,000 were stationed at key points in Poyang County. The extra 6,000 people were Shanyue people under Zulang and Zuxuan.
During this Western Expedition, Zulang and Zuxuan heard that it was Liu Xun who killed Zhou Yu's father. They were immediately furious and asked for battle one by one. They were willing to avenge their family's revenge for Zhou Taishou and to fight against Liu Fangbo's rebellion.
Regarding Shanyue's enthusiasm, Zhou Yu, who had already understood Liu Feng's thoughts, naturally would not refuse.
Twenty thousand troops boarded the ships that had been prepared and arrived in Jiangxia County in just one day and night.
At this time, there were no troops stationed in Qichun and Xiazhi counties. Even if there were, they would be frightened by the sight of thousands of sails on the river and immediately open the city to beg for surrender.
Zhou Yu ordered to use Qichun and Xiaji as advance bases to stockpile food, ordnance and other supplies.
Afterwards, the army continued to move westward, and arrived in front of Xisai Mountain in the early morning of the next day.
Zhou Yu had already discovered the terrain near here, and Zhou Yu's troops landed in front of the mountain in an orderly and unstable manner.
Liu Xun stood on Mount Xisai and looked far away. He saw thousands of sails on the river like stars and clouds of soldiers on the shore. He couldn't help but feel a little desperate.
But where can I go if I run now?
They could only defend Mount Xisai and wait for the rescue of Huang Zu and Liu Biao.
After Zhou Yu's troops landed, dozens of cavalry led by Zhou Jun bypassed the Xisai Mountain camp and headed toward the west of Xisai Mountain. At the same time, they were followed by more than 2,000 soldiers.
This move of dividing the troops made Liu Xun puzzled.
Although the area of Xisai Mountain is not large, Liu Xun is not the only one who has a piece of land.
The entire east of Yellowstone is actually the Xisai Mountains, and the land occupied by Liu Xun is only one-tenth of the size of the entire Xisai Mountains. It just happened that this one-tenth was in an excellent location, penetrating deep into the Yangtze River and creating a bend in the river, which turned it into a strategic military pass.
Now Zhou Yu divided his troops and headed to the west of Xisai Mountain, which attracted Liu Xun's attention, but he couldn't understand it.
This Yangzhou army only has about 2,000 troops. It would be a fool's errand to attack Hubei City. There are a thousand defenders in Echeng. If you want to win with two thousand people, you are looking down on the combat power of the Jingzhou army.
But if the other party is not going to E City, what does he want to do?
Is there any conspiracy inside?
But soon, Liu Xun could no longer care about this divided army.
Because Zhou Yu's general flag appeared on the shore, it meant that Zhou Yu's headquarters had landed.
The Xise camp is about to face its biggest test.
(End of chapter)