Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1030 The determination has been made
Yang Xingmi pulled a few cronies to review the latest battle.

Xia Jun should have quietly touched the vicinity of Xucheng, and then continued to intercept and kill messengers, scouts, and attack the sergeants who collected woodcutters.Chen Hanbin, the defender of Xucheng, didn't know the enemy's situation and went out of the city recklessly. As a result, he was besieged by Xia's superior forces and almost wiped out his entire army.

As soon as Chen Hanbin died, the remnants of Haizhou in Xucheng had no intention of defending and collapsed.

This battle, to put it bluntly, is nothing, concentrate the superior forces, and annihilate the inferior enemy soldiers, but——ah!Damn Chen Hanbin.

After the battle, the morale of the Xia army was greatly boosted, and it began to move around, and an infantry brigade appeared, and its ability to collect food and supplies was enhanced.The cavalry also handed over their trophies and captives, and went into battle lightly, becoming increasingly active.

The four generals Zhang Xun, Zhang Jian, Feng Jingzhang, and Jia Gongduo were unwilling to fail, and jointly organized a large army in an attempt to regain the lost ground. As a result, three groups sent out and were defeated one by one.

At this point, they dare not move anymore.

At the end of the review, Yang Xingmi fell silent, Gao Xu frowned and thought hard, and the rest of the generals were also dumbfounded.

"War like a blind man!" Zhang Hao sighed.

Yang Xingmi glanced at him, and said: "It's on point. From the beginning to the end, I didn't figure out how many Xia bandits there were, and where they were. They ran around and were easily defeated."

For so many years across Jiangnan and Huainan, Yang Xingmi encountered this kind of opponent for the first time.Everyone has to get out of their comfort zone, and they can no longer fight wars in the old way, so they have to find a way.

Yang Xingmi turned his attention to Gao Xu.

Gao Xu took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, after thinking about it, Xia's bandits have many cavalry, and each of them has more than one horse. They march very fast. Regardless of the gains and losses of a city and a pool, they won the battle and gained the land. It’s not good to send people to defend, but to roam around, provoke our defenders, and then look for opportunities to annihilate them. This style of play reminds me of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.”

Yang Xingmi looked at him with encouraging eyes.

"Since the fall of the Liu Song Dynasty, the Northern Dynasties have repeatedly traveled south, relying on high chariots and six towns of sudden cavalry. The Hu people trained with the method of the Central Plains, restrained by the Central Plains military discipline, supplemented by the Central Plains armor, so they continued to eat away at Huaibei in the Southern Dynasties." Gao Gao. Xu said: "Six towns of sudden cavalry, fight if you can fight, and run if you can't fight, come and go like the wind, making the southern army helpless."

"Is there a solution?" Yang Xingmi asked.

There must be a way, otherwise the Southern Dynasty would have been wiped out long ago, but I don't know if he can use this way, this is the key.

Gao Xu sighed, "Huai Ying suddenly rode."

The name Huaiying Tuqi was really unfamiliar to the Southern Army at that time, so Gao Xu explained further.

"After Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty established the country, there were heroes from Hebei and nobles from Nanyang, so with these two as the core, Yingchuan Tuqi was formed and placed in Huaibei. It was not successful at the beginning, because Yingchuan was the hinterland of the Later Han Dynasty, and Yingchuan However, after the fall of China and North Korea (Western Jin Dynasty), Yingchuan became the front line, and Tuqi fought against the enemy, and its combat power became stronger day by day. Liu Yu defeated the cavalry of Nanyan with his infantry, but He still loves the Xianbei tiger-spotted Tuqi, so he collected them and placed them in the north and south of the Huai River, and now there are Huaiying Tuqi."

"The Huaiying Tuqi in the Southern Dynasty and the Six Town Tuqi in the Northern Dynasty have fought for hundreds of years, and they have also achieved brilliant results. For example, Liu Song general Xue Andu broke the Six Town Tuqi in Shancheng, and killed Zhang Shilian, the governor of Luozhou in the Wei Dynasty. carry."

"Your Majesty, the only way to deal with Xia Zei's cavalry is to break through the cavalry. The Huaiying Cavalry in the Southern Dynasty was initially formed by attracting exiles who failed in the Northern Dynasty's rebellion and Nantou. Later, it incorporated the troops from the Northern Dynasty and gradually perfected it. Your Majesty may start from this aspect. .”

Yang Xingmi was a little disappointed.

What kind of advice is that?This is not the Northern and Southern Dynasties anymore. The cavalry tradition in the south has been greatly weakened, and it is far worse than it was hundreds of years ago. How to form the "Huaiying Tuqi"?
Tuoba Renfu, Zhu Jin, Zhu Xuan, Hu Gui and others are indeed rare cavalry talents, but the horse farm and the source of troops are not as good as they were back then, making it even more difficult to form.

"Other than that, what else can we do?" Yang Xingmi asked again.

"Other than that, perhaps I can only learn from Liu Jinu. With the cooperation of boat division and infantry, we will move along the river without waves. Wherever we pass, we must either use chariots to cover the flanks of the infantry, or build cities to defend them." The grain road, or simply transport grain and troops directly to the boat division.” Gao Xu said.

In fact, there is an implicit premise that he didn't mention, which requires your infantry to be able to fight.

Liu Yu's infantry didn't panic at all when they saw the overwhelming post-Wei cavalry. They dared to fight and fight hard to break the cavalry with steps. Can the Huai army do it today?
In all fairness, the combat effectiveness of the southern infantry has greatly improved over the years.But after all, Taiping has been in peace for many years, everyone is at ease, and few people dare to fight with their lives.But the north has been in war, and there are endless people who are brave and daring to fight. There is a big gap in the source of troops between the two sides.

This can be seen from the fact that the Cai people went south to the south of the Yangtze River.Sun Ru's soldiers, in fact, are not the real Cai people in the mainstream, but the Huainan and Jiangnan soldiers who were "Caihua" have rapidly improved their combat effectiveness, and the progress is obvious to all.But what about before the promotion?The combat power is very weak.

In fact, Gao Xu is not very optimistic that the Huai army infantry can defeat Xia army head-on.

The infantry and cavalry are inferior, so this battle is not easy to fight.

Yang Xingmi was actually aware of this, and fell silent after hearing this.

The infantry of the Huai Army marched forward in a big way. When they formed their formation, they might not be afraid of the cavalry of the Xia Army, but they also had infantry. Shao Shude, a thief, was more difficult to deal with than the Later Wei. He actually made his fortune by relying on infantry.

"Bring the map." Yang Xingmi sat back on the bed and ordered.

Xu Wen trotted and spread the map on the table.

"Henan Road, there are Ru, Ying, Cai, Wo, Huan, Bian, Si and other rivers flowing into the Huai River from north to south." Yang Xingmi pointed to the map and said: "Let's ignore the Ru, Ying and other rivers, just look at the Bian River. , Sier River."

Everyone gathered together and watched carefully.

"If boat divisions are sent to Bian and Si, might the routes of Xia's bandit cavalry be cut off?" Yang Xingmi asked.

Both of these two rivers lead to Bianzhou and both flow into the Huaihe River. The three prefectures of Xu, Su and Si are sandwiched between these two rivers.With so many horses in the Xia army, looting alone cannot maintain logistical supplies, and they must be transported from Bian, Song, Boying and other states. If the river can be cut off, the Xia army's supplies may be cut off, forcing them to retreat.

"My lord, the Bian River is not wide enough, so it's difficult." Gao Xu thought for a while, and said, "The Sishui River is wide and deep, so maybe you can try it."

Yang Xingmi frowned again.

This means giving up the vast area west of Surabaya, and Li Tangbin's troops are still in the east of Surabaya. Do you want to give up too?How is that different from giving up Xuzhou?
In fact, from a rational point of view, it is not appropriate to fight the Xia people in Huaibei.But if you want to win the Central Plains, you have to pass this test.After finally getting a northern state, did you give up so easily?Then be a regime that is partial to the southeast?
The background of the Huai army is actually not from the south, but from the north.

Among the confidant generals, Li Shenfu is from Mingzhou, Hebei; Yuan Zhen is from Chenzhou, Henan; Li Tao is from Zhaozhou, Hebei; Liu Cun is from Tangzhou, Henan; Xu Wen is from Haizhou, Henan; Li Hou and others are all from Caizhou, Henan...

At first they were mostly soldiers from various towns who followed Gao Pian to the south, later recruited Sun Ru's soldiers, and now recruited the famous Xuzhou soldiers, so they galloped across the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, and Qian Liu and Zhong Chuan and others were beaten hard support.

Yang Xingmi really likes the strong army in the Central Plains.

Xuzhou, he was really reluctant to give up.

"Your Majesty, it's better to abandon Xuzhou and defend Huaisi." Gao Xu couldn't help but suggested, "Shao Shude can't stay in Huaibei for a long time. As long as he leaves, our army can also send troops to go south, or attack Huaisi." Qian Liu was more than capable of destroying Zhongchuan, or attacking Qi, Shou and other places. The Huainan water network was densely covered, and the cavalry of the rebel army could not be driven, and their power was greatly reduced. After a long time, you can always practice. It is better to go south and then north, first easy and then difficult, than to fight with Shao thief at this time."

"No!" Yang Xingmi subconsciously refused.

Xuan felt that his tone was too blunt again, and explained: "I am worried that once Xuzhou is lost, it may be difficult to get it back in this life. It is of course reasonable to go south and then north, first easy and then difficult. But if we attack Qian Liu , After Zhong Chuan, the treasures of Zhejiang and Jiangxi were obtained, do the soldiers still have the mind to continue the Northern Expedition? People are greedy for comfort, and I am already 49 this year..."

Gao Xu shook his head and sighed, feeling a little sad.

King Wu is fifty years old, how many more years can he fight?If he retreats this time, it may be really difficult to set foot on the land of the Central Plains again in his lifetime.

Count on posterity?Ugh.Gao Xu is not optimistic.

Laozi, who was born and died, can't win the Central Plains, but a son who has been pampered since childhood will do, who will believe it?I just lied to myself.

In the end, it may be a small regime that is partial to the south of the Yangtze River.After losing his fighting spirit, he may not even be able to win Qian Liu.Because the soldiers have long been satisfied and don't want to fight anymore.

"I've made up my mind, prepare ships, horses, supplies, and march along Huaixi to Sizhou." Yang Xingmi finally made a decision and said.

Everyone has no opinion.

"Xu Wen, Zhang Hao." Yang Xingmi said again.

"The end is here."

"The two of you led the troops to stay at the Qingkou camp, and Li Chuzhou guarded the rear of the army."

"As ordered."

"Send another order to Xiapi Zhou Ben." Yang Xingmi ordered: "Don't be careless, pay attention to the movements of Li Tangbin's department, and report as soon as you have news."

"Give orders to Zhu Jin and Zhu Xuan. Between Xu and Pei, we all rely on your powerful horse. If we win this battle, I will reward you generously."

"Order Tuoba Renfu to cross the river immediately, go north to Shanghai Prefecture, and contain Li Tangbin's troops."

After the clerk finished writing the order, he immediately handed it over to the courier to send it out.

"I will send the Heiyun, Bashan, Yanei, and Yunqi armies to the west. If Shao Bandit comes, I will fight him." Yang Xingmi fought hard, with a very firm attitude.

The local soldiers will defend the city, the navy will support them, and the main elite troops will march westward. The commander has made up his mind, and everyone has nothing to say.

Gao Xu also handed over his command, and at the same time was wondering whether he should remind Li Shenfu, Zhang Xun, Zhu Yanshou and the others so that they were ready to respond.Once the front line is defeated, Xia Bandit will not be able to rush all the way to Guangling as if entering no one's land, leading to corruption in the overall situation.

In addition, we have to find a way to send someone to go north in disguise to urge Li Ke to use it.

(End of this chapter)