Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1026
"Woo!" Zhu Jin pulled back the horse and ordered to take a nap.

The sergeants dismounted one after another as if they had received an amnesty, and ate some water.

Riding on horseback is a luxury, and even grassland people with many horses, if it is not necessary, will pay close attention to the evil trend of riding on horseback.But Zhu Jin's troops still rode on the road, which shows how urgent the military situation is.

Fortunately, hurry up and hurry up, finally not far from the destination.

This place is already in Peixian County, east of Surabaya.Next to it is Weishan, and there is the tomb of Weizi.

Xia general Ge Congzhou led more than [-] people from Yanzhou to the south and stationed in the north of Pei County, directly threatening the northern gate of Xuzhou.

Zhu Zhen and Mei Zang Jueming led more than [-] troops out of Songzhou, marched eastward along Paoshui (now along the river), and fell into Feng County.

Bandit commander Li Tangbin led more than [-] people from Haizhou to the west and entered Sizhou.

In Suzhou, the bandit general Dai Siyuan led an army of nearly ten thousand to besiege Donghe City, trying to pull out the nail in Huaibei.

A total of more than [-] infantry and thousands of cavalry, aggressively pressing down on them.

Guan Xia's military strategy should be one strike, one block, and one defense three moves.

After the main force conquered Pei County, they went south along Sishui, arrived at the foot of Xuzhou City, and began to attack the city.

After Li Tangbin led the elite troops to break up, they blocked the retreat route of the Xuzhou defenders and the passage for the reinforcements to go north.

Dai Siyuan's department was purely defensive and restrained, preventing Haozhou soldiers from going north and breaking into the hinterland of Henan.

In fact, this battle must be fought, and there is a complete chance of winning, which is not small.

"Commander, there's news from Xiapi that Li Tangbin failed to attack the city and retreated after running out of food." Hu Gui came over and reported.

Hu Gui and Zhu Jin ran south together, commanding soldiers and geese with two thousand horses.

"Xiapi is not so easy to fight." Zhu Jin laughed loudly when he heard this, and said, "The city has been repaired for many years, and it is as solid as gold. Although Qin Shiqiu is not a good general, he uses his troops steadily. How can Li Tangbin break it?"

"Commander, Li Tangbin's attack has completely exposed his intention. He just wanted to cut off the retreat of the Xuzhou defenders." Hu Gui said, "Now that King Wu is stationed in the Huai River, and the battalions are going north for the second time, can they encircle and wipe out Li Tangbin's troops?"

"By fighting more and fighting less, it is indeed possible to defeat Xia Bing, but what if Li Tangbin doesn't fight?" Zhu Jin shook his head, and said, "Li Tangbin is not familiar with the tactics of the southerners, so he is confused."

Speaking of this, Zhu Jin also sighed, and said: "If I didn't go to Huainan and Jiangnan, I would not know the tactics of the southerners. In fact, even if they conquer Xiapi, it will not be very effective. It will not cut off Xuzhou's grain road and retreat. On the contrary, they will put themselves in a tight siege. Yi and Hai are just a few people, can they afford Li Tangbin's army for a long time? It's a joke."

Yi and Hai are originally the prefectures of the Taining Army. Zhu Jin still doesn't know what the local situation is?In the land of two prefectures and nine counties, it is not bad to have 20 people. It may be able to support a large army in a short period of time, but it will definitely not work for a long time.

In war, the importance of logistics cannot be overemphasized.

To attack Xuzhou from the Central Plains south, the best route is to march along Surabaya.Any route that departs from this river for marching and fighting will have to pay a high logistical cost that far exceeds that of the opponent.

If Xuzhou is captured and Huainan is continued, the best way to go is Surabaya, and then camp at Qingkou, hoard grain, grass, and equipment, and look for opportunities to cross the river and go down the river.

But Li Tangbin missed one point, he could not control Surabaya.

"Don't think about it too much. Continue northward after rest and arrive at Pei County tonight." Zhu Jin ordered.

Zhang Chao, the guard of Peixian County, is the nephew of Zhang Tingfan, the probation army Jiedu envoy, with thousands of troops.Pei County has experienced many wars and the city is complete, so it is not so easy to fight.Xia Jun's troops are under the fortification of the city, and the veterans of the division are tired. Maybe there will be a chance.

This thief Shao Shude has taken my Yanzhou!My son Yongzhen has probably been murdered, how can this hatred be let go lightly?

There is no doubt that Zhu Jin's enthusiasm is quite high.

******
Pei County has indeed played against each other.

General Zhou Ben of the Huai Army stood on top of the building boat, watching the entire battlefield.Among the sparse forests, Xia Jun shouted and rushed out, with a powerful momentum.

Among the boat divisions, powerful crossbows were fired one after another.Sergeants also rushed to the deck one after another, shooting bows and arrows, and raining arrows.

Under the lightning strike of the arrow, Xia Bing fell down in pieces like the withered grass blown by the strong wind, and the whole field was soaked in blood.

Finally, Mingjin on the other side withdrew his troops.They didn't even get within [-] steps of the fleet, so they left corpses all over the ground and retreated hastily.

"Praise the holy army, that's all." Zhou Ben shook his head and laughed.

If they have this ability, they can't win Xuzhou.

"Du Tou, why don't you send troops to pursue?" the general suggested.

"You are stupid!" Zhou Ben scolded with a smile: "Anyway, the food, military supplies, and reinforcements have been delivered, and our mission has been completed, so why fight with the Xia people? Withdraw!"

"Withdraw..." The general was a little puzzled.

"Go back to Xiapi and stay at the berth." Zhou Ben said without any doubt.

Xiapi was Pi State in Spring and Autumn Period.Han Xin was the king of Chu, and his capital went down to Pi, where the Yi and Si rivers meet, and the city is surrounded by water. It has been an important place for military strategists since ancient times, so the city was built in three layers, which is very dangerous and solid.Because of the terrain, there is a relatively large lake near Xiapi, which can be used by boatmen to park.

Xiapi City has high walls and thick walls, and is surrounded by water on all sides, so it is difficult to attack from the front.But because of the special terrain, it is also easy to be diverted to flood the city.Everything has advantages and disadvantages, and it is impossible for you to take advantage of all the advantages.

"Dutou, what about Xuzhou?" the general asked.

"Xuzhou has more than 1 soldiers and horses, and there are so many mountains around it. If you can't defend it, go to hell." Zhou Ben sneered, "Zhang Tingfan has been running Xuzhou for many years, and Li Tao is also a good general with elite soldiers in his hands. Why worry about them."

At this time, even the dullest person could hear the sourness in Zhou Ben's words.

Why should Zhang Tingfan be a military governor?It's all about descending from Bianzhou, what face do you have to be a Jiedushi until now?The king of Wu is also true. In the past, he was decisive in killing and attacking, but when he met Zhang Tingfan, a stabbing head with soldiers in his hands, he was afraid of his hands and feet again. It really shouldn't be.

"Go back." Zhou Ben turned around and got into the cabin, saying: "It's not yet the flood season, the water is not deep enough, the river is not wide enough, and the boat masters can't go ashore to resist the enemy, so it's useless to stay. It's better to go back and join the main force of King Wu. Anyway, we Waiting is only responsible for transporting military supplies and food, and has no obligation to fight for Zhang Tingfan."

The general heard the same, so he immediately ordered the withdrawal of troops.

On the bank of the bubble water, Zhu Zhen also boarded a high platform and watched carefully.

In fact, Surabaya is quite wide. Although it is not a natural danger, the enemy has boats galloping on the river, so it is really difficult to fight.

It is his capital to support the holy army, and it would be a pity to lose it.

But if the enemy's water transportation channels cannot be cut off, it is empty talk to beat Pei County and even Xuzhou.The thieves have nothing to fear, but use the fortified city to drain their own morale, keep transporting the wounded, bringing in reinforcements and materials for repairing the city wall, how long are you going to fight?
"The Huai people's boat master is too annoying!" Zhu Zhen sighed, and then began to think about how to break the enemy's tactic.

"Send the order to set up camp on the spot." Zhu Zhen ordered: "Send another person to fly to send the military envoy of Wuzang, Deputy Envoy Ge, and Li Dutou. Weak, ask for instructions on the next step."

"Obey." The messenger immediately got on his horse and ran off into the distance.

After giving this order, Zhu Zhen felt a little regretful.

Gao Shao, the mastermind, was transferred away. There are many interpretations for this.It may be that King Xia is dissatisfied with him, or it may be just a routine transfer of staff.But before Gao Shao left, he held a banquet and practiced it. Gao Shao sighed and urged himself not to think about things, otherwise he might not accomplish anything.

Zhu Zhen stood quietly on the hill for a long time, sighed, and said: "Come here, choose a battalion of elite soldiers, so that you can rest and recuperate, and at midnight today, attack the enemy city at night."

******
Shao Shude had already arrived in Bianzhou, and Chen Cheng, the deputy envoy of the Xuanwu Army, went out of the city to meet him personally.After some pleasantries, the two entered the military mansion.

"Your Majesty, Yang Xingmi is dominating Xuzhou and will not retreat. He is only pinning his hopes on Li Keyong." Chen Cheng pointed to the map on the wall and said, "The one he relies on is that Surabaya and Bian River converge in Xuzhou. There are boat masters to help and foreign aid. It will not be cut off. With the continuous foreign aid, the city is difficult to be breached."

Shao Shude nodded in agreement.

In siege warfare, one must take the initiative.If you have the initiative, you can dig trenches to surround and trap the enemy; or you can surround them to shake the will of the defenders;

However, if there is no initiative and the enemy army is still allowed to get in touch with the outside world and can transport soldiers and supplies into the city, it will basically be impossible to fight, just like the Yuan army attacked Xiangyang.

"Your Majesty has a good saying before. If you hit you, I will hit mine." Chen Cheng said: "Yang Xingmi may not fight me in Xuzhou City. He has also used troops for many years, so he should know how to use his strengths to avoid weaknesses. Certain things are determined, and Xingmi is determined." Set up troops to go down to the Pi, to observe the wind and scenery, and then decide to stop."

"Why did Chen Changshi say that?" Shao Shude asked.

"Your Majesty, Xiapi has been an important town that cannot be bypassed since ancient times when people from the south attacked Xuzhou in the north." Chen Cheng said: "In the fifth year of Jin Yixi (409), Liu Yu set off from Jiankang and led a boat to go north, cross the Huai River, and enter Surabaya. , Arrived at Xiapi and temporarily stationed. At that time, the masts outside the city of Xiapi were like a forest, and there were more than a thousand ships. The supplies from Jiangnan and Huainan were all stationed here. In order to prevent the Nanyan cavalry from raiding, build a city every [-] miles, cover the two wings with chariots, and finally destroy the Guanggu Murong clan. Compared with the boat division, the northerners are not the opponents of the southerners. Compared with the cavalry army, the southerners are not the northerners Human opponents. The essence of this battle is to maximize strengths and avoid weaknesses."

Shao Shude thought for a moment.

The battle of Xuzhou this time is not the battle of Zhu Quanzhong and Yang Xingmi in history, but more like the route taken by Liu Yu's Northern Expedition.

Chen Cheng was right, getting down to the Pi is the key point.Li Tangbin is really old, and he can see the key at a glance.

Xiapi, it's best to take it down.The advantage of occupying it is that it can be used as a basis to prevent Huai people from hoarding food, soldiers, and equipment here.The effect of diverting water to irrigate the city is actually not great. You can't occupy Xiapi into a yellow mud pond. Other boat masters can easily cut off your attack or retreat route, and you will just send your head away.

If you want to win this battle, you still have to uphold the military principle of making use of strengths and avoiding weaknesses.

What is the advantage of our army?What are the disadvantages?What is the enemy's advantage?What are the disadvantages?If you want to understand this problem, just make a fuss around these, and you will not go wrong in the general direction.

"I will go south to Suzhou tomorrow." Shao Shude made a decision.

In addition, he also issued an order to search for ships in Bimapu and send supplies to Haizhou.

(End of this chapter)