Chapter 323: Two places to hold on
“It was me who arranged it...”
Wang Lang looked regretful, but Sun Ce had attacked fiercely in Jiangbei before, but there was almost no movement on the Chadu Road side. Moreover, no one has walked on the entire ancient road for many years, and even few local people know about it.
In this case, Wang Lang mobilized the troops stationed there to support Guling.
But who would have thought that just as the front foot transferred the troops, Sun Ce came over from the back foot.
If it had been a few more nights, wouldn't Sun Ce have been able to succeed in the sneak attack?
Even if they only block Sun Ce at Chadu Stronghold for a few days, Gu Ling's army can retreat to Shanyin intact.
But now, the original army of more than 20,000 people only has eight or nine thousand people left, almost half of it has been lost.
Initially, Wang Lang raised 16,000 Kuaiji troops, of which 2,000 stayed in Shanyin, 1,000 in Gaoqiantun, 3,000 in Chadu Village, and of the remaining 10,000, Five thousand people were stationed in Guling City, and three thousand were stationed outside Guling City, on the high ground along the river, echoing Guling City at a distance, leaning against each other.
Finally, two thousand naval troops descended to the water village along the river, where more than a hundred large and small warships were stationed, including ten main warships.
As a result, Sun Ce attacked Guling like crazy, landed on the south bank of the Qiantang River three times, and captured the water village along the river.
Although he was ultimately defeated by Yu Fan, he had to retreat to the north bank.
But Sun Ce's fierce offensive still put huge pressure on Wang Lang's Guling defense line, forcing Zhou Xin and Yu Fan to ask for help from the rear.
Wang Lang first transferred 1,500 people from Shanyin for reinforcements, leaving only 500 county soldiers and 500 county soldiers who hurriedly expanded the recruitment in Shanyin County.
However, 1,500 people could not withstand the consumption. Wang Lang then half-forced and half-asked for help, causing the gentry and powerful men from Shanyin, Shangyu and other counties to gather together another 3,500 people and send them to front.
However, the casualties on the front line were still too great. In half a month, more than 4,000 people were killed in the battle. Among them, more than 700 people were killed in battle alone and almost the same number were seriously injured. Even after recovery, they were still disabled. There is no way to go to the battlefield again.
Wang Lang is really forced to do so, and the powerful nobles in Bei Kuaiji are really trying their best. If it lasts long enough, such as half a year, and these powerful nobles are willing to spend their money, they will definitely be able to help Wang Lang. Ten to twenty thousand people came out.
But the problem is that there is no time now, and most of the powerful nobles will not spend their entire family fortune for Wang Lang.
Everyone praises you, Wang Lang, because you bring benefits and benefits to everyone. They are not bragging about you without any reason.
The person who doesn't want to come is Sun Ce, who may not be able to collect the money and food for these troops.
What you got in exchange was Liu Bei and Liu Feng. Believe it or not, the powerful nobles directly persuaded Wang Lang to surrender.
"Mingfu, you are confused!"
The person who fired the cannon was naturally Yu Fan and Yu Zhongxiang.
This indignant man is thirty-four years old this year.
But he never speaks in a roundabout way, let alone embellish it.
It seems that Zhou Xin and others have become accustomed to Yu Fan accusing Wang Lang of being confused in front of his face, and are not surprised at all.
You must know that Yu Fan should have intensified his actions in the future, directly pointing at Sun Ce’s nose and spraying you for not seeking death, and pointing at Sun Quan’s nose for spraying you for not fooling around.
Unfortunately, although Yu Fan is upright, no one he has ever sprayed seems to listen to him.
Wang Lang was defeated by confusion, Sun Ce died by committing suicide, and Sun Quan was defeated by Xilang.
“I was wrong.”
What's even more surprising is that Wang Lang actually admitted his mistake directly, while everyone else still looked normal.
You can’t blame them, that was the custom in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
This is all good for Wang Lang, and it is not an exaggeration to even praise a strong prefect.
You must know that Nanyang, the largest county in the world, even had an incident involving Xujun.
The so-called Nanyang Governor Cen Gong was filial, Hongnong was successful but he sat and whistled, this was a beautiful story that was sung all over the world in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty.
There are two people mentioned in this sentence, one is Cheng Jin and the other is Cen Hao.
At that time, Cheng Jin was appointed as the governor of Nanyang, and Cen Hao was a famous local in Nanyang.
Therefore, according to the rules, Cheng Yan honestly asked Cen Hao to contribute.
As a result, Cen Hao's reputation was too great and his background was too strong, which directly eclipsed the former. A meritorious officer became the de facto governor of Nanyang, while the real governor, Cheng Jin, just sat there and made promises. It became a humanoid stamp.
In the end, he was tricked to death by Cen Hao and imprisoned to death under Emperor Huan.
Therefore, Yu Fan angrily complained that Wang Lang was confused, which was really a big deal.
But Wang Lang's courage to admit his mistakes will only be praised by the gentry and literati.
"Brother Daming and Brother Zhongxiang, we are in such a difficult situation, please give us some advice."
Wang Lang looked pale, and looked as if he had aged several years, with his brows furrowed. With.
He was completely at his wits end. Although there was a lot of supplies stored in Shanyin City, there were really no soldiers left.
That's eight or nine thousand people. Among them, the only ones who are really capable of fighting are probably only six thousand five hundred.
The remaining defeated troops have lost all morale and will be of no use for the time being without some reorganization.
"The Ming Dynasty is waiting for the official on the sea!"
Yu Fan was still the first to speak and directly persuaded Wang Lang to take the sea route to wait for the official.
Wang Lang was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly asked: "What should we do about Shanyin?"
Yu Fan said impassionedly: "Fan is willing to guard it for the Ming Dynasty!"
Shanyin has become an isolated city at this time. Although there are many counties and cities around it, there are no soldiers and horses to dispatch.
Yu Fan was willing to defend the isolated city instead of Wang Lang, and to go out to wait for the official position instead of Wang Lang. It can be said that Yu Fan was loyal and courageous, and Wang Lang was actually deeply moved.
In the original time and space, Yu Fan could not be so heroic at this moment. He was trying to persuade Wang Lang to surrender to Sun Ce for the second time.
The situation of Wang Lang, Yu Fan and others in the original time and space was much more tragic than now. Zhou Xin and his army of more than 10,000 were directly defeated by Sun Ce in a battle. Zhou Xin himself was killed by Sun Ce's formation, and his army of 10,000 was defeated. completely annihilated.
Yu Fan took a detour by sea before returning to Shanyin before Sun Ce.
The most important thing is that Liu Feng's heavy troops did not exist in the northern part of Wu County in the original time and space.
But it's completely different now. There are still eight or nine thousand people in Shanyin City, and there are enough food and military supplies. In addition, Liu Feng is attacking southward, rushing into Sun Ce's back.
There was no way Yu Fan could persuade Wang Lang to surrender, but he was still eager to defend Shanyin for Wang Lang.
"Mingfu, I have a blood feud with the Sun family and we are irreconcilable. Xin is willing to defend Shanyin for the Mingfu. Please don't worry, Mingfu!"
Zhou Xin also stood up at this time, and promised with a firm look: "Xin is in the city, Xin is dead, the city is dead!"
The Zhou family and the Sun family are already mortal enemies. Since the battle of Yangcheng In the beginning, there was more than one bloody battle between the two sides?
In the Battle of Yinling in Jiujiang, Zhou Xin's second brother Zhou Ang was killed in the battle, and his third brother was also killed by Xu Gong on the way back to his hometown because of his defeat.
Of the three Zhou brothers, only Zhou Xin is left.
In the original time and space, the Zhou family was also wiped out by the Sun family. This is also the root of the estrangement between Jiang Dong and Sun Ce.
Wang Lang was so moved that he looked at Zhou Xin and Yu Fan just about to say something.
But suddenly a messenger came with a message. It turned out to be the defeated troops outside the city, telling them that Sun Jun was less than five miles away from Shanyin City.
The expressions of Wang Lang and the three men changed drastically. They did not expect that the Sun family army was almost chasing them to the Shanyin line. Yu Fan and Zhou Xin's troops had just entered the city less than two hours ago.
Wang Lang exclaimed: "How fast are the thieves coming!?"
In Wang Lang's eyes, the Sun Army who expelled the Wu Commandery governor and obeyed Yuan Shu's orders was as good as false. of thieves.
Yu Fan and Zhou Xin were also shocked. Both of them were talented and had truly led troops. Zhou Xin had even commanded several battles involving tens of thousands of people on his own.
They were keenly aware that Sun Ce would rush to Shanyin City so quickly only if he made an immediate decision to pursue them.
Yu Fan reacted quickly and persuaded Wang Lang to run away.
"Ming Mansion! Leave Shanyin immediately!"
Zhou Xin said nothing. He neither agreed with Wang Lang's escape, but did not stop him either.
On the contrary, Wang Lang, after thinking carefully, made up his mind and said: "Lang is the prefect of Kuaiji appointed by the imperial court, and the county government is at my feet. If Lang leaves Shanyin, where else can he go? I have made up my mind! I will work with the two kings Let’s defend Shanyin together.”
Both Yu Fan and Zhou Xin were a little shocked at Wang Lang’s decision, but then they turned into secret joy.
If Wang Lang really stayed and did not run away, the success rate of defending the city would be at least 30% higher.
Just the morale of the officers and soldiers has been greatly enhanced, not to mention the will of the soldiers and civilians to persevere.
So Yu Fan and Zhou Xin no longer tried to persuade Wang Lang, but directly resigned and rushed to the west gate of Shanyin.
The Sun Army's attack was fierce, and they began to set up camp and build siege equipment that day.
Food in the rear is also being transferred, but the quantity of this food is really not large.
Even if the proceeds from the seizure of Gaoqiantun are included, Sun Ce's troops may only be able to sustain themselves for less than a month. Sun Ce, on the other hand, has regarded Shanyin as a target that must be captured. ********
Xu Kun's troops were unable to escape all the way. The original strength of 10,000 troops was reduced to only more than 7,000 when they returned to Wu County.
Because they retreated in time, Xu Kun's troops did not lose any troops along the way.
But Liu Feng's southern conquering army made fierce attacks every day, which put huge pressure on Xu Kun's troops. In just a few days, more than 2,000 people were killed and wounded in battle.
This battle destroyed Xu Kun’s troops.
With more than two thousand casualties, if it had been replaced by a worse army, it would have collapsed long ago. The greater trauma was the blow to the morale and spirit of the entire army.
Xu Kun escaped at night, which was tantamount to bowing his head and admitting defeat in disguise.
Ten thousand people defend the city, and there are sufficient supplies such as food and weapons. They should wait until the food is gone before considering withdrawing the troops.
Withdrawing early, abandoning the wounded, and not even daring to burn supplies, isn't this a complete surrender in disguise?
However, being able to escape under the cover of night fully proves the eliteness of Sun's army.
Many people think that once there is a war, scouts are available 24/7.
In fact, this is simply impossible.
The weather in Wudi is as cold as minus ten degrees in winter. Even cotton is a rare commodity at this time, and cotton is even more of an ornamental item.
Scouts cannot light fires to keep warm in the wild, so they can easily freeze to death and suffer frostbite.
The scouts who can control the army are all the best among the best. They are not only able to fight and dare to fight, but also have certain technical abilities. They are technical arms that are difficult to replenish.
Who would be willing to send out scouts every day in the middle of the night, unless it is an extremely important battle and one side is determined to eat its opponent at all costs.
In addition, the advantage of the defenders in this era is very huge.
Sun Jun fled through the south gate. Even if the scouts discovered it, it would take at least half an hour to send the news back to the camp in the north.
When the news from the scouts arrived, the soldiers had to get up and put on their leather armor. By the time the assembly was completed, they would have gone many miles away.
In the classical war period, during the confrontation between armies, if one side wanted to leave the battle line, most of them would do so at night. There were countless similar battles.
The reason is naturally very simple, because if you want to run during the day, the probability of success is too small, and you may even have to pay a huge price.
This is how idioms such as hanging sheep beating drums and hungry horses lifting bells come from.
Even a few days ago, when Sun Ce used an urn to light a lamp to confuse the Kuaiji troops south of Qiantang, he used the same trick.
Liu Feng was not determined to eat Xu Kun in Wuxi, he wanted the city of Wuxi.
It may not be a bad thing to drive Xu Kun further south.
The more people there are in Wuxian County, the more complicated their hearts become.
What makes Liu Feng a little regretful is that the two old revolutionaries Cheng Pu and Huang Gai clearly broke through from the north gate. Instead of going north to Wuxian, they went south in a circle to join Sun Ce. Otherwise, Wuxian It could be livelier inside.
"Wuxian County can't hold it!"
This was Xu Kun's first sentence when he saw Wu Jing.
Wu Jing was stunned and looked at Xu Kun with a puzzled expression.
Although Xu Kun has experienced many battles, he recalled his last few days in Wuxi.
A wide variety of siege weapons with great power are available in turns, and they can be freely combined and matched.
If the Wuxi garrison hadn't been expanded from their old troops and had enough loyal and reliable middle- and lower-level officers, Xu Kun wouldn't have been able to guarantee that he would be able to escape.
Thinking of the collapsed towers, the battlements razed to the ground, and even the walls had cracks.
Xu Kun felt that Wu County might not have any good results.
Although Wuxi is not as tall as the city wall in Wu County, Wuxi can definitely be regarded as a strong city.
To put it more carefully, Wuxi's defense is really not much worse than Wu County. Even if Wu County is slightly stronger, the difference is only 60 steps and 50 steps.
"You want to give up Wu County?"
Wu Jing is also a veteran of war, and he immediately realized the hidden meaning of Xu Kun's words.
Xu Kun nodded without any concealment: "Since you can't hold on, what can you do even if you refuse to give up?"
Wu Jing frowned deeply, but didn't Against Xu Kun's words.
Xu Kun continued: "It's just not now."
"Although Wu County can't hold it, we can't give up now."
Xu Kun's face turned red and he said with some excitement: "With the speed at which the Southern Army can build siege equipment, it will take at least ten and a half days. It will take months to build the first batch.”
Although the road from Wuxi to Wuxian is clear, no one will transport the siege equipment.
Because the cost is too expensive, even more than re-building with local materials outside Wu County.
The wheels of this era were all made of wood and had no shock-absorbing properties.
Along the way, the wheels have been damaged countless times, requiring countless carpenters to build the wooden wheels, not to mention the damage to the internal structure of the long-distance transport team's siege equipment.
As for waterways, the Southern Conquest Army currently does not have ships capable of transporting such huge siege equipment.
“Wuxian must hold on, but we must also be prepared to withdraw our troops, arrange the route southward after the withdrawal, and send people to notify the Youquan garrison to be ready to respond to us.”
Xu Kun stared at Wu Jing closely, feeling extremely nervous for the first time in his heart.
Because what we are talking about now may very well involve their lives.
Hearing Xu Kun talk about Youquan, Wu Jing showed a wry smile, which made Xu Kun a little surprised.
Xu Kun guessed with some stuttering: "Could it be that... Youquan... was lost!?"
"It has been lost for nearly ten years."
Wu Jing answered honestly: "I gave the order to prevent this news from spreading northward."
Xu Kun accepted this very well. He also knew that if the news reached Wuxi, he would really come back. Not coming anymore.
Even if he is lucky enough to survive, he is just a polished commander.
So Xu Kun didn't care about Wu Jing's suppression of military intelligence.
He just asked nervously: "Where is my cousin now?"
Sun Ce went south and had just won Youquan, but now he lost it again. Xu Kun was naturally worried about Sun Ce himself. safety.
Looking at Wu Jing's appearance, Sun Ce should be fine, but if the main force Sun Ce brought to Wu Nan was damaged or even wiped out, then they would really be unable to continue the battle.
After hearing this question, Wu Jing laughed: "This is good news."
Xu Kun's eyes lit up. What he wanted to hear most now was good news.
"What's the good news?"
"Bo Fu has already crossed the Qiantang River, won consecutive battles, wiped out nearly 10,000 Kuaiji troops, and has successfully captured Guling and Gaoqian. Pavilion."
Wu Jing was a little excited at first, but when he said this, his voice dropped again: "Bo Fu has made up his mind. He will continue to attack Kuaiji. He has continued to send troops to the east and surrounded him. Kuaiji County governs Shanyin County.”
Shanyin was Shaoxing in later generations, a victim of the Hangzhou-Ningbo No-War Treaty.
But at this time, his status was much higher than that of Hangyong. He was the official seat of Kuaiji County.
Sanin is located on the shore of Jingruo Lake. Due to the topography, it is bordered by water on almost three sides.
The south, southeast and southwest of Shanyin County are surrounded by Jingruo Lake. Only in the north is there a large open space. At the same time, the water of Jingruo Lake can be used as a moat. It can be said that it is an easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack stronghold. city.
At this time, almost all the senior generals of the Sun Army were from Wu County, and Wu County was separated from Kuaiji County.
Therefore, the two places are not actually separated.
Although the powerful nobles in Wu County have begun to discriminate against their counterparts in Kuaiji County, the exchanges between the two sides are still quite high, and the powerful nobles in the two places also understand each other's terrain quite well.
Sun Ce and others also knew a lot about Kuaiji. Xu Kun immediately asked: "How many remaining soldiers are there in Shanyin?"
Wu Jing replied directly: "At least six thousand. "
Xu Kun frowned immediately and fell into deep thought.
Wu Jing didn't rush him. Anyway, there were only two of them in the hall.
After a long time, Xu Kun finally woke up from his meditation, raised his head, looked at Wu Jingdao: "Uncle, why don't you take people south first."
(End of this chapter )