Han Shizu

Chapter 705: No War in Hunan

The early morning in summer was extremely dry, the sun was slowly rising, and the bright sunshine was falling in strands, falling on Chuying in Chengling Pass. It could be seen that the weather would be fine.

The Chu camp was in a mess, devastated and smoky everywhere, with some corpses scattered around, and the smell still permeating was very pungent.In order to retreat safely, Zhou Xingfeng also made sufficient preparations. Apart from leaving an army behind, the camps and passages were covered with hay and sprinkled with grease.After an ambush, a fire delayed the pursuit of the Han army.

Stepping onto the Chengling Pass, Han Tong's face was full of exhaustion. Looking at the low earth wall under his feet, he couldn't help cursing: "This Zhou Xingfeng really doesn't stop at all, and doesn't let me sleep well. !"

"Captain, although the Chu army had made preparations, they withdrew in a hurry!" A side general beside him reported the night's battle to Han Tong: "Although he was hindered by the fire and ambushes, he was still chased by General Du. During the chaotic battle last night, we killed and captured nearly [-] enemy soldiers, but except for the two remaining battalions, they were all old, weak and wounded soldiers, abandoned by Zhou Xingfeng."

"This person is ruthless enough!" Han Tong sighed and asked, "Where is General Du?"

"Zhou Xingfeng retreated to Baling, and General Du has already left behind, chasing him to the foot of Baling city!" the general replied.

"How's the battle going on at Junshan?" Han Tong asked again.

"No news yet!"

"Send someone to investigate immediately!"

On the Chengling Pass side, the Han army reacted faster because it was close in front of them, but on the Junshan side, it was more than half an hour late before they received the report, and immediately sent Wei Lin to lead the navy to encircle and suppress it and disrupt its retreat. .At the beginning of discovering the change of the Chu army, Zhang Xun, the Han general who commanded the troops, also chose to attack tentatively. After clarifying his intention to retreat, he concentrated his elite troops to attack.

Without waiting too long, Junshan's battle report came.Although the Chu army over there withdrew suddenly, they eventually withdrew across the lake.Even if you cross the river normally, you need to prepare a lot of time, and what's more, it's dark at night when you are ordered temporarily.

In Junshan, Zhou Xingfeng directly invested half of his troops there, led by Zhang Chongfu, the deputy envoy of the Jingjiang Army Jiedu appointed by Zhou Xingfeng, to take charge of the attack.

Excluding the previous offensive and defensive losses, under Zhang Xun's attack and the support of Wei Lin's boat division, less than 5000 people successfully retreated across the lake from Junshan.And Wei Lin made some contributions. In the final cover process, the Chu army's navy was basically wiped out, dying and surrendering.

". In the night battle at Junshan, General Zhang led his troops to fight and pursue them with all their strength. They wiped out more than [-] enemies, and the Chu army's navy was wiped out. It can be regarded as a great victory!" The general reported to Han Tong: "However, from the mouth of the captives, I learned that the enemies we annihilated were mainly weak brigades, and the soldiers who evacuated across the lake to Baling were all the best and strongest soldiers in their army!"

"Oh!" Han Tong couldn't help but sighed: "It's ruthless and decisive enough. Concentrate on the strong, shrink the troops, and discard the old and the weak. I'm afraid it won't be so easy to deal with the strong and strong pawns who have been rectified a little and rely on the city of Baling. Zhou Xingfeng is really a character!"

The general said: "However, no matter how hard he persists, he is still fighting like a trapped beast!" The general said, "He has gathered [-] land and water troops here, and it has only been [-] days since he lost [-]% of the troops and all the water troops are gone. Now Morale is low, the morale of the army is in turmoil, how can a mere Baling City stop our army!"

Analyzing only from the data, Zhou Xingfeng was indeed a big loser, which is of course a fact.If Zhou Xingfeng wanted to make a comeback with a mere ten thousand soldiers, the possibility was very slim.

"That's right!" Han Tong agreed with what the general said, and his expression gradually turned cold: "Let him Zhou Xingfeng be treacherous and cunning, but he is just dying. If he wants to resist Yingcheng, I will fall into the city and destroy the army. He No matter how tough he is, I don't believe it, the people under his command are all as hard-hearted as stone, they don't know how to live or die, and want to live and die with him!"

"Give me an order to rest the whole army and go south to Baling to set up a stronghold and besiege the city!" Taking a deep breath, his face also showed a ruthless look: "And then order Wei Lin to lead the navy to blockade Baling City from Dongting Lake. Cut off his way out on the water. Then mobilize the ships and bring the soldiers from Junshan over!"

"Yes!"

After giving the order, Han Tong's serious expression changed quickly. He opened his eyes wide and stared towards the south, spit flying from his mouth: "This guy Zhou Xingfeng is really tough. He has reached this point. You still have to resist stubbornly, and it will cost me time and strength. Just watch, when I break the city, I will definitely smash it to ashes to vent the hatred in my heart!"

"Captain." At this time, Pianjiang called out with some hesitation.

"Why are you so unhappy, tell me what you have to say!" Han Tong saw him hesitating, a little impatient, and scolded.

"It is said that General Zhang was furious last night when he saw that Junshan's bandit army had not been completely wiped out, leaving thousands of people away, so he killed thousands of prisoners in anger." Reported.

"What is said! Who said it? Is it true!" Hearing this, Han Tong stared at him seriously.

The general also quickly changed into a positive tone: "There is indeed such a thing!"

"This Zhang Xun is a good fighter, why is he so intent on killing!" Hearing this, Han Tong couldn't help cursing: "This time, in my Eastern Route Army, in terms of military exploits, he must be number one or two. Isn't this incriminating yourself? Wouldn't it be good to use those thousand captives to attack the city? Kill him for nothing! After all, he is a local general, so it's hard to know how strict the imperial army's military law is!"

"Captain, about this matter," the general asked for instructions.

"Let's talk after the war!" Han Tong said with a straight face.

Zhang Xun is also a veteran of the battlefield. He entered the Han Dynasty from the Jin Dynasty and moved to the military. He has excellent commanding ability and rich combat experience.Looking at his resume, there is one obvious feature, that is, he is murderous.Every time a city is broken, every time a village is attacked, through his hands, more blood is always shed.Over the years, I have restrained myself a bit, but when I got to the battlefield, my old problem reappeared
"Give me a general order to find Zhang Xun directly and tell him that I will record this sum for him first, but let him transport all the remaining captives in Junshan to the city of Baling. Don't blame me, but he is old, sir. One person, I'll whip him!" Han Tong said again.

"As ordered!"

It didn't take too long. At the end of the day, Han Tong personally led the Guardian, Fengguo, Jingnan and a prefecture army to Baling, occupied the outer crossings and key passes, and basically completed the encirclement.Then there are civilian husbands and captives, doing hard work, and the solid camp wall rises from the ground.From the north, a large amount of grain, fodder and ordnance were also exported to the south one after another.

In the evening, on the other side of Junshan, Zhang Xun also led his army across the lake.Facing the intensive arrangement of the Han army, the Chu army in Baling City did not stop. Zhou Xingfeng was also actively responding, rectifying the troops and making targeted arrangements.

However, the soldiers on both sides were extremely exhausted, they did not invade each other, and tacitly rearranged their armaments, making preparations for the next big battle.

At night, the Chinese army commander's tent was brightly lit, and Han Tong raised his tent to discuss the army, laughing and laughing. He made a brief summary of last night's scuffle, and then analyzed Zhou Xingfeng's movements and plans.

"Everyone, it has been nearly [-] days since we went south from Xiangyang to Yuezhou to fight against the rebel army. The soldiers fought bravely, and until today, we finally broke through Sanjiangkou!" Han Tong began to mobilize for the war, his expression excited: "Now, Zhou Ni gathered the remnants of the army, still unrepentant, intending to resist the heavenly army. Zhou Ni wanted to fight our army in Baling, this general will fulfill him, let Baling City become his grave!"

After Han Tong finished speaking, Du Hanhui added: "Everyone, after the Battle of Liyang, Commander Murong has gone south, and Langzhou must be unstoppable. Now, it's up to us to eliminate the leader and eliminate the war in Hunan!"

"Captain, give the order!" A group of generals said in unison, eager to try.

"I suggest that the whole army will rest for a day tomorrow, and then launch an attack on Baling the next day!" Han Tong said, saying his plan: "However, we can't do nothing on this day. Let the consolation envoys and clerks in the army Ladies, write a thousand urging letters overnight, shoot them all into the city tomorrow, and select hundreds of soldiers with loud voices to go to the city to persuade you to surrender! Disturb the morale of his army first!"

"Even if Zhou Xingfeng has skills, his morale will not last long in this situation. This strategy should have a good effect!" Zhang Xun, a veteran with gray beard, commented.

Glancing at him, Han Tong asked, "How many prisoners are there in the army?"

"Ten thousand people!" A military secretary replied.

"Okay!" Han Tong said coldly, "A battalion of a thousand people will be organized into ten battalions. Instead of having enough food, they will be given weapons. In the future, these captives will be used to open the way for our army to attack the city!"

"Yes!"

At this time, there was no sign of Han Tong's kindness towards the captives.
On April 21st of the eighth year of Qianyou, the capital prison camped in the south, led the army, civilian husbands and more than [-] prisoners, and stormed Baling.Zhou Ni in Hunan, would rather die than surrender. It was a battle. The two sides fought fiercely for four hours, and the city was destroyed in the afternoon.More than [-] Han soldiers and civilians were killed and injured, and [-] rebels were killed or injured. The corpses filled the city gates, the moats were filled, and the lake was stained red with blood.
Zhou Ni put on armor and carried a sword in his hand, and fought in Guancheng. When the city was broken, he died in the chaos. More than ten generals and schools under his command died in the battle, and the rest of his troops surrendered.

After Zhou Ni died, there was no more war in Hunan.

(End of this chapter)