Han Shizu

Chapter 1009 It is really useless for the enemy
When the situation in the downstream is changing, the battle in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is also unfolding, and the movement is much greater than that in the downstream.From September [-]th, the land and water army led by Cao Bin began to attack Ezhou according to the original plan.

The core of Ezhou's defense lies in the two cities of Hanyang and Jiangxia. Since the Huainan War, in order to relieve the pressure from the Han army in the middle reaches, the Jinling court invested a lot of people in Ezhou to strengthen its defense, so as to consolidate the downstream counties and Jinling safety.

In addition, the general who guards Ezhou all the year round is Liu Renshan, who is a good defender. He has built a whole set of defensive facilities around Hanyang and Jiangxia, and the city has been well repaired.There are more than [-] fortresses along the river, each of which is solid, easy to defend but difficult to attack, forming horns with each other, and defending the main city together.

When Liu Renshan passed away, the veteran who succeeded him, Lu Jiang, also continued to fortify the city, repair ordnance, train the army, and practice the method of defending the city on the basis of Liu Renshan's defense.

By the 14th year of Qianyou, the garrison force in Ezhou had reached 10,000. Although most of them were prefectural and county soldiers and township soldiers, there were still more than [-] strong soldiers, who were trained all year round. , This is not a weak force.

Therefore, Ezhou's defense force is actually quite sufficient. If it can be used well, even if it is not defended, it will always cause a lot of trouble for the Han army. This is also to fight Ezhou, and the imperial court will prepare [-] troops. reason.

However, the problem is precisely that the defenders of Ezhou cannot fully play their role. The reason is that its new coach, the new Ezhou Jiedu Envoy and the Xiongwu Commander Huangfu Jixun.

Under the pressure of the imperial court, Li Yu replaced Lu Jiang, a veteran who thought he was too old, and wanted to rely on Huangfu Jixun, a son of a loyal and famous general, to be a great leader.However, it was precisely this Huangfu's succession that made the two old generals Liu and Lu carefully build defenses, which turned out to be decorations.

The arrival of Huangfu Jixun is actually a disaster for the defense of Ezhou. The biggest blow is the weakening of the morale of the army.As mentioned earlier, Huangfu Jixun was sheltered by his father, but he was a general, but he himself had no general talent.

That's all, if you can unite the soldiers, accept advice humbly, make the whole team work together, and persist in resisting, it will also cause trouble for the Han army.However, what Huangfu Jixun did was exactly the opposite.

After he went to Ezhou, he didn't put his mind on military defense at all. He liked to show off, put on airs, indulge in sensuality, inquire about the enemy's situation, city defense, army morale and other matters, all of which he ignored.

He also has a clear attitude towards resisting the Han army. He feels that the Northern army is so strong that it cannot be stopped.Even at the military meeting, Huangfu Jixun advised the generals that if they resisted stubbornly and offended the court severely, they would only harm themselves in the future.

Why did Huangfu Jixun dare to take over the defense mission of Ezhou? Because from the very beginning, he did not have the determination to be loyal to the country and to serve the king to the death. All he thought about was to keep his status and wealth.

As the commander-in-chief, Huangfu Jixun, has such a negative attitude. Affected by it, how can the situation of the defenders in Ezhou be better?In less than two months, the Ezhou defenders were separated from each other, and their morale was gradually declining.

And Cao Bin, who was sharpening his sword in Yuezhou, also had a clear understanding of the situation of the defenders in Ezhou, and he completely knew himself and the enemy.Originally, he had some scruples about his defense, but after news of Huangfu Jixun's performance after he took office, Cao Bin himself was shocked and couldn't understand it at all.

In fact, the torrent of history is rolling forward, driven by the cooperation of hostile forces in addition to the great Han monarchs and ministers who control the general situation. Judging from the development of things, this is the case.

In any case, Cao Bin is happy to hear about the situation of the defenders in Ezhou. The worse the enemy's situation is, the more problems there are, and the more beneficial it is for him.As a mature and prudent general, Cao Bin has always considered how to obtain the greatest results at the lowest cost. It would be great if the opponent took the initiative to give him a chance.

When the edict came, Cao Bin and Liu Guangyi immediately led the army and rushed to Ezhou.Liu Guangyi is also a relatively young general, known for his rigorous military management. During the Pingshu War, he entered Sichuan with Zhao Kuangyin on the East Road. He made great military exploits and participated in the Northern Expedition.This time he was sent to Pingnan because he had experience in fighting in the south.

Cao and Liu divided their troops into two groups, with a total of 5000 people, led by Cao Bin. They set out from Baling, marched by land and water, and marched along the river. After crossing Chibi, Jiayu surrendered without a fight, and then headed north with a naval force. , Defeated the thousands of naval forces in Ezhou head-on, thus cutting off the connection between Hanyang and Jiangxia. After that, Cao Bin gradually pulled out the fortresses around Jiangxia.

Liu Guangyi led an army of [-] and went south from Xiaogan to attack Hanyang. According to the battle plan drawn up by Cao Bin, he also first removed the fort towns around Hanyang.It took only three days before and after, and the two Han armies gradually removed all the surrounding garrisons and towns, and then came to the city to cut off the water and land transportation, making Hanyang and Jiangxia an isolated city.

During this process, the response of the Ezhou army was slow and chaotic.The group of soldiers trained by Liu Renshan still had a certain fighting ability and will, especially in the first battle, they still carried out some tenacious resistance.

However, this is a lack of organization and coordination after all. Only relying on some low-level officers, who are brave and have no cooperation at all. When the entire defense system is split, the resistance of several fortresses can only be buried by the Jiangnan court. , It is useless to add a bit of desolation and tragedy.

During the process of the Han army's removal of the forts, the performance of the coach Huangfu Jixun was not too unexpected, but he did nothing, sitting in the city, neither giving orders nor rescue, and some generals were even willing to fight with the Han army. He was also stopped.

The Han army, under the command of Cao Liu, calmly attacked the forts and pulled out the fortresses, and completely removed the obstacles to advancing the city.Except for some losses suffered by the stubborn resistance of the Hubei army at the beginning, the fortresses behind were all desperate and surrendered one after another. In short, the Han army fought very easily.

After the soldiers approached the city, Cao Bin ordered to set up camp, rest on the spot, and prepare for the siege.In the same combat arrangement, Cao Bin attacked Jiangxia in the south of the Yangtze River, and Liu Guangyi attacked Hanyang in the north of the river.In fact, this is a bit of an overstatement. The combined strength of the remaining defenders in the two cities is still no less than [-]. However, the poor situation of the defenders gave Cao and Liu the confidence to make bold arrangements.

"General Cao, this progress is a little too smooth!" Liu Guangyi came across the river by boat to discuss military affairs with Cao Bin. He still had some disbelief on his heroic face, and said, "I thought that it would be impossible to wipe out the fortresses. It will take seven days, and it may be winter after the city is broken, who would have thought that the defenders' will to resist is so weak, it is almost destroyed!"

"General Liu, we have to thank Huangfu Jixun!" The two walked by the river, observing the surrounding terrain, and Cao Bin also said with a smile on his face: "According to the current situation, there is no need to enter winter, Ezhou You can take it!"

"The letter of persuasion has already been shot into the city, so it can continue to severely dampen its morale. However, although the enemy army is weak, the strength of the city cannot be faked!" Liu Guangyi said: "A strong attack may also be able to break it quickly, but it will inevitably increase. casualties!"

"What General Liu said is true!" Cao Bin nodded, pondered for a while, and said: "It is better to prepare for the siege first, continue to disturb the morale of the army, reduce their will to resist, and then act according to the situation. It is best to subdue the enemy!"

"Oh..." Liu Guangyi couldn't help but sighed, and said: "I have experienced some bitter battles and fierce battles before. Now the march is smooth, but I am not used to it. This battle is a bit boring!"

Hearing Liu Guangyi's words, Cao Bin couldn't help but smiled: "I will follow the order of the emperor, lead the king's division, and carry out righteous deeds. Naturally, we will be invincible. Those who are fighting with their arms will be wiped out in ashes! However, we still can't relax, after all, there are still enemy troops." Tens of thousands of people!"

Cao Bin is still like this, calm and prudent, not daring to slack off, let alone arrogance.

Liu Guangyi nodded, and immediately cupped his fists and said, "I'm going back to Jiangbei to sit in town first!"

When Cao and Liu were surprised by the smooth progress of the war, people in Jiangxia City were already panicked, and morale continued to decline, almost falling to the bottom.

Under a water gate in the northern city, a group of people gathered together. They were all military officers. The highest rank in the military was a Marquis of Du Yu.

It was also Marquis Yu of Du who spoke, without concealing it, he said directly: "The lord of the country is stupid, he doesn't use veterans, but villains, Huangfu Jixun has no talent and no virtue, and he only ranks above us because of his family background. Military is child's play, and soldiers are like oxen and horses. The Han army came to attack in a large scale, neither to defend nor send troops to rescue, just sit and watch the castles fall. With such a commander, if we don't make plans sooner, we will be buried with him sooner or later!"

"Zhu Yuhou is right. Huangfu Jixun, an incompetent person, will be killed if he follows him. I will find another way to make a living!" A general answered immediately, gnashing his teeth.

"The Han army has already approached the city, the traffic is cut off everywhere, and reinforcements are difficult to come. It is already an isolated city. Even though the city is high, but the people are not in harmony, the commander is incompetent, and it must not be able to hold it. If you revolt, kill Huangfu Jixun, and surrender to the Han army, you will not lose. A credit!" Another officer followed up and asked questions directly.

In fact, when these people got together, they all knew what was going on and what to do, so when they said this, they were all eager to try.Soon, everyone turned their attention to Du Yuhou surnamed Zhu, after all, he had the highest military rank.

At this time, there was a burst of footsteps outside, an officer rushed in, and a group of people quickly drew their knives, and it was Zhu Yuhou who said "my own" before calming down.

The person who came said: "Huangfu Jixun is already ordering people to pack their bags, and he might abandon the army and flee!"

"This trash!" Suddenly someone scolded.

Zhu Yuhou looked around, lowered his voice, and said murderously: "Everyone, we raise troops, kill Huangfu, and return to the court. Do you have any objections?"

"Kill Huangfu!"

"Kill Huangfu!"

"."

A group of military officers all echoed viciously. It is quite rare for the coach Huangfu Jixun to do this.

"Okay, I'll take the oath of the blood alliance and raise troops tonight. Each will lead his subordinates to enter the commander's mansion, take the head of Huangfu Jixun, and return to the imperial court!" Zhu Yuhou said.

"Yes!"

That night, in Jiangxia city, thousands of powerful troops, led by Duke Yuhou Zhu Jun, suddenly rioted, entered the Jiedu government office, and beheaded the chief general, Huangfu Jixun.Because of the sudden chaos and the cold night, Cao Bin did not move rashly until the morning of the second day, when the gate of Jiangxia City was opened wide, and more than [-] defenders chose to surrender.

As soon as Jiangxia surrendered, the news spread, and Hanyang followed suit. In this way, Cao Liu and his troops came to the city, and they took Ezhou without bloodshed.At the cost of 430 casualties, Jiangxia and Hanyang were all taken, and more than [-] troops were surrendered.
(End of this chapter)