Han Shizu

Chapter 446
In the shade of the Huai River, across the Fei River to the north of Bagong Mountain, is the important town of Shouchun in Huainan.It's winter, and Huainan is already desolate and cold, and there are many dilapidated scenes at a glance.However, Shouchun is still a majestic city in the south, standing on the banks of the Huai River.

The importance of Shouzhou is needless to say. The thousands of years of war history and the dispute between the Jianghuai River and the Huaihe River fully demonstrate its status.It is also because of this that for three generations, the separatist forces occupying the Jianghuai River have changed from Yang Wu to the Puppet Tang Dynasty, but they have not relaxed at all in Shouzhou.

At this time, in Shouchun City, there is an army of Zuo Shenwei, which is the elite forbidden army of the Southern Tang Dynasty. In addition to the prefectural town army and the township army, the Tang army in Shouzhou has more than [-] troops. This is already after the loss. The strength of the defenders is also the reason why the main general He Jingzhu was able to defend the city.

However, at this moment, just outside this strong city, the Han army has laid down its troops, set up camp, and is calmly strengthening the wall.

At this time, at the head of the northern city of Shouchun, a veteran with gray temples was standing with a sword in his hand, looking at the camp of the Han army two or three miles away.This veteran is short in stature, only in his early five feet, and the female wall stack can almost reach his chin, and his appearance is extremely ugly, the kind that can hardly be seen.

However, such an ugly old man was the most calm and calm person in the city when the Han army approached the city, and he was also the backbone of the Shouchun more than 10,000 Tang army.

He Jingzhu, originally a famous general in Huainan, was a boy in his early years, and followed the predecessor of the Southern Tang Dynasty Li Min in his prime. He was the founding hero of the Southern Tang Dynasty.Although his appearance is declining, Nei Xiuzhong has a strong character, majesty, good command of troops, and reputation. He once served as a senior commander of the Jinling Imperial Army and once guarded places. He belongs to the mainstay of the Southern Tang Army.Of course, it is undeniable that because of his appearance, his official career has indeed been bumpy, and he has just reached the big town Jiedu in his sixtieth year.

"He Gong, the camp of the Han army is becoming more and more perfect and strong. It is better to let the last general lead the army out of the city and charge for a while to destroy the base of the camp. Otherwise, when they gain a firm foothold under the city and our army is trapped in the city, we will be completely trapped. Passive!" Beside He Jingzhu, several Shouzhou generals followed, and Xu Xiang, the commander of Zuo Shenwei, restrained himself and asked.

Hearing this, He Jingzhu directly turned his head away: "I have already tried the fighting power of the Han army before, and sending troops to attack will only increase casualties and weaken my strength to defend the city. Right now, the enemy's troops are in full swing, so don't take it lightly. We still wait for the reinforcements from the imperial court." Bar!"

Hearing what He Jingzhu said, Xu Xiang fell silent and couldn't help sighing.

Just three days ago, Si Chao, the training envoy of the Yingzhou Regiment of the Northern Han Dynasty, suddenly led [-] troops southward to build a pontoon bridge on the Huai River in the Zhengyang section southwest of Shouchun, which immediately attracted the attention of the Shouchun defenders.

When the Tang army attacked and resisted, the Han army from Suzhou moved, and Li Chongjin, commanded by the Guardian Army, led a surprise attack on Xiacai City.Xiacai is the northernmost city in Shouzhou, north of the Huai River, and consolidates the Xiacai Ferry.

But He Jingzhu had been prepared for a long time, that is to say, he sent troops to rescue.At this time, the main force of the Han army who had been hiding in the south early moved, wading from the shallows at the junction of Shouzhou and Haozhou.Repeated attacks from west to east caught Tang Jun by surprise. Although He Jingzhu had deployed some shallow troops on the south bank of the Huaihe River, the soldiers underneath were a little negligent and were defeated by one blow.

When He Jingzhu heard this, he still remained calm, that is, he personally led [-] soldiers, [-] warships, and more than [-] navy troops.When they arrived at the place where the Han master crossed the river, more than [-] Han troops had successfully crossed the river, and on the north bank, there were more Han troops waiting. Under the command of He Jingzhu, the Tang army quickly went into battle. A fierce confrontation.

Fortunately, the main force of the Jingjiang army of the Han army's navy was also here, covering the army to cross the river.Nearly 150 warships and more than [-] water troops fought against the Southern Tang army for the first time since the formation of the army.The result is not surprising, even if Xiang Xun tried his best to command, took the lead, fought on the board, outnumbered the few, and with the help of archers on the shore, and with the help of fierce fire oil, he was able to compete with the Tang Navy just now, and it took more than an hour. In the fierce battle, both sides lost hundreds of soldiers.

The loss can't be considered small, but the task of covering the army crossing the river was completed, and the Tang army's navy did not affect the army's crossing.On the shore, He Jingzhu's [-] soldiers persisted in the face of Murong Yanzhao personally leading the Xiaodi army to fight. Seeing that the Shouzhou navy was unable to break through the Han army, and the casualties were increasing, they had no choice but to retreat.

However, on the way to retreat, the Han army coach Wang Jun's killing move came.Thousands of guards, Hu Jie and cavalry who had already crossed the Huai River from the shoal, under the leadership of commanders Guo Chongwei and Shi Yanchao, made a surprise attack at the waist, allowing Tang Jun to deeply appreciate the power of the northern cavalry.

After the start of the war, Liu Chengyou sent many military academy soldiers in the Fengchen Camp to serve as officers in the Southern Expedition Army. Shi Yanchao was in the Hujie Army, and Wang Yansheng was in the Guardian Army.

However, under the command of Murong Yanzhao, the infantry of the Han army who crossed the river did not pursue, and the Tang army, who lost its police, was defeated at the first touch and fled in all directions under the surprise attack of the Han cavalry.Veteran He Jingzhu tried his best to gather the defeated army, retreated more than 2000 li, and was driven into Feishui.In the end, only [-] defeated soldiers were collected and returned to Shouchun City, and more than [-] of the Tang army who attacked were captured and killed, and many died, and hundreds of people died of freezing and drowning in Feishui.

After experiencing the combat power of the Han army for a while, He Jingzhu knew that field battles were definitely not his opponents, so while appeasing the soldiers, all the Tang troops in the state were gathered in the city, recruiting young and strong, and increasing food and grass.Very simply, be prepared to stick to the city.

On the side of the Han army, Wang Jun's original plan was to attract the Tang army, wipe them out in one battle, and then calmly cross the river.Although it was not possible to achieve full success in one battle, the effect was still very satisfactory. The Tang army retreated, and the whole army was divided into two groups.Riding all the way to cover on the shore by land, all the way through the water, escorted by the navy to take the Huai River, straight to Shouchun.

The soldiers approached the city very smoothly, and immediately sent auxiliary soldiers and conscripts to set up the giant trees that had been prepared early, and set up camp.

At this time, Xu Xiang, the commander of Tang Zuo Shenwei, gathered two thousand elites and went out of the city to make a surprise attack.But the generals of the Han army, from top to bottom, have too many experienced combatants, so how could they be unprepared.In a small ambush, more than half of the elite soldiers in Shouzhou were killed.

"Being defeated by the Han army in a row, the morale of the soldiers and civilians in the city has plummeted. Could it be that they are passively defending?" Xu Xiang couldn't help but said, a little bit reluctant.

He Jingzhu frowned, and stared at him with his head tilted: "For the general, fight on the spur of the moment. Now is not a good opportunity. It is a foolish move to attack rashly!"

Being reprimanded like this, Xu Xiang's face was displeased, and he said angrily: "He Gong won two defeats, so he was afraid of the Han army!"

"Xu Xiang, do you dare to insult me?" He Jingzhu's eyes widened, his ugly face congealed, combined with his imposing manner, it was even more frightening.Xu Xiang immediately became honest, he was not sure if the short, ugly old man would kill him with a sword.

Withdrawing his contemptuous eyes, he looked north slowly, the Fei water was flowing, and the Han army's fortress was formidable.Thinking of the situation in the city, a deep worry loomed in his old eyes.

"Pass down the order, the guards of all gates, guard the city strictly, do not attack, and those who dare to violate it will be dealt with by military law. The staff of the military government, continue to prepare the defense equipment, rolling stones, wood, golden soup and fire oil. Also, prepare more large shields , Bamboo rafts, sandy soil, the fierce fire oil of the Han army, it is too cruel!" Taking a deep breath, He Jingzhu ordered sternly.

"As ordered!"

"I hope the imperial court's reinforcements will arrive as soon as possible!"

Compared with the tension and oppression in Shouchun City, the Han army camp is equally solemn, but thanks to the relaxed meaning.Came here by wading, won both battles, and neither lost nor won in the water battle, which can be regarded as a good start for this southern expedition.

In this mobilization, Wang Jun commanded the Huainan Front Battalion, Xiaodi, Husheng, Fengguo, and Hujie with [-] cavalry troops, plus Su and Yingzhou's regiment training troops. The Han army had nearly [-] troops. There are [-] horsemen, plus the conscripted labor, which is directly called [-].

In the Han camp, horses neighed and animals blew, it was very lively.Uncle Gao Huaide, who is serving as Marquis Yu of the capital of the Xiaodi army, is accompanying Sun Li, the commander of the capital, to inspect the camp.

Even after many years, Sun Li still has the same style as before, with a rude manner and a tough style.He gave two whips to a sentry who shrank because of the cold weather, and cursed: "If you dare to be lazy, I will cut you off."

He scolded fiercely, but ordered people to go to the back camp and get another pot of charcoal for the soldiers in the sentry post to keep warm.

"Winter is here, the weather will only get colder and colder, but we have to fight hard." Sun Li muttered in his mouth, he has always been like this, what to say.

Gao Huaide was born in a noble family, with a high starting point and extensive knowledge. He never regarded Sun Li as a fellow general who started at the end of the millennium.However, after successive military positions in the various armies, they have also seen many rough people like Sun Li, and learned a lot of alternative methods of leading troops from these people.

Hearing the words at this time, Gao Huaide said: "Although winter is cold, my soldiers in the north are not unbearable. If it is summer and the south is hot, it will be difficult."

"According to what you said, we have to take all of Huainan before the summer next year?" Sun Li said.

"If the war drags on until next summer, the climate will be hot and humid, which will really be unfavorable for combat!" Gao Huaide said.

Sun Li nodded, waved his hand randomly and said, "I said, Uncle Gao, we've only reached Shouchun now, and it's still early when winter is over, so what are you talking about in midsummer tomorrow!"

The corner of his mouth twitched, and Gao Huaide smiled: "The general is right, breaking Shouchun is the most important thing right now."

In the Chinese army tent, there were sixteen guards in bright armor standing guard. These people were all from Wang Jun's personal army. He coerced the generals of the Southern Expedition.

Inside the tent, the stove is warming the fire, the carpet is laid horizontally, on the couch, Wang Jun is wearing a brocade suit, playing chess with Murong Yanzhao.His back is straight, his long beard is stroked from time to time, his eyes are confident and clear, and there is a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, showing the demeanor of a Confucian general.

To use a simpler word to describe Wang Jun at this time, that is, pretend to be 13.

(End of this chapter)