Reborn in the late Northern Wei Dynasty

Chapter 371
The reason why the Yangtze River is called a natural danger is that it does not freeze all year round, and there is no possibility of bypassing it.

The northern regime is trying to unify China to the south, so there must be a strong navy to ensure food supply for the troops crossing the river.

For example, Gao Cheng, if he really led a million people to sneak across the Yangtze River, the Nanliang Navy would block the river, and the food supply in the north would be difficult, and Jiangnan would take the opportunity to fortify the walls and clear the wilderness. Huo, you can't become angry and slaughter the city, and millions of people live by cannibalism.

Ever since learning about the hip-pull performance of the Northern Qi navy on the Huaihe River, many generals have already speculated about changing the target, but Gao Cheng didn't mention it to everyone until today.

Gao Cheng had always been lucky and hoped that the Northern Qi Navy would be able to stand up. After all, a large army would consume a lot of money. Even if they won such a battle, the national finances would have to rest for two or three years to recover. If it was possible If so, it's best to do it once and for all.

But the reality was in front of us, the Northern Qi navy, which had just entered the battlefield, was not small in scale, but its strength was not enough for Liang people to see.

Although the Huai River water battle during this period has made them great progress, there is still a long way to go before they can compete with Nanliang on the Yangtze River.

Duan Shao suggested Gao Cheng to attack Huainan, and won the support of the generals, but Gao Cheng did not express his opinion in a hurry. He stood at the front of the map for a long time, then suddenly turned around and asked the generals:
"If you have [-] fine cavalry, [-] infantry, [-] sailors, and [-] prefecture soldiers, who can take Jiangling for me?"

The importance of Jiangling does not need to be explained. Gao Cheng's [-] troops seemed to be strong, but the generals hesitated, and even Duan Shao was not sure enough to issue a military order.

The biggest difficulty in attacking Jiangling was not the guarding troops in the city. Although Xiao Yan also mobilized a large army to defend Jiangling City, the real trouble was the Nanliang Jingzhou Navy.

No matter how impregnable the defense in the city is, it would be a big deal to encircle and not attack, trapping the opponent to death, but with the existence of the Jingzhou Navy, it is impossible to completely seal off the south of Jiangling, so we can only attack the fortified city by force, and the Nanliang Navy relies on the Jingxiang Water System to harass , is even more difficult.

After a short silence, maybe because he was worried that Gao Cheng would not come to the stage, Duan Shao was about to bite the bullet and take over the job, but Gao Cheng laughed first:

"It is often heard that people's hearts are not enough to swallow elephants. In the previous dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen conscripted millions of people to conquer the land of Jingxiang. He only got the north of the Han River. Before we crossed the Huai River, we divided an army of [-] to attack Jiangling. I really shouldn't think about it."

Hearing that Gao Cheng blamed himself, all the generals pleaded guilty one after another. Duan Shao, Hu Lujin, Peng Le and others all asked to relieve the king's worries, and were willing to issue a military order to lead the partial division to seize Jiangling.

But they were all rejected by Gao Cheng. He was not disappointed by the hesitation of the generals, and was even satisfied with their reactions. After all, the generals were not overjoyed. It would be disappointing to lose one's head, lose one's troops and lose one's general, and rely on him to pay extra attention to the past.

Gao Cheng decided:
"This battle is only for Huainan, don't think about it."

Once the strategic goal was set, all the generals also made suggestions for Gao Cheng's strategy to attack Huainan.

And the first one was to discuss how to cross the river, whether to cross by force, sneak upriver, or simply take a detour. The generals and the military advisers had their own opinions, but in the end it was Gao Cheng himself who made the decision, and finally decided on the regulations.

In the first year of Zhaode, on May 21, the Southern Qi army arrived at the north bank of the Huai River, set up camp on the spot and ordered the Northern Qi navy to cover the army and build a pontoon bridge regardless of casualties.

At this time, in Huainan, Shouyang, the governor of Yuzhou Prefecture in the Southern Liang Dynasty, was ambushed during Duan Shao's rescue of Xuzhou. Xia Houyu, who was shot blind in one eye, learned that the Qi army was about to choose to cross the Huaihe River by force, so he tried his best to encourage the commander Xiao Yuanming to set up an ambush. When the Qi army crossed the river, they attacked halfway across the river.

However, Xiao Yuanming was afraid and did not dare to go out of the city to set up an ambush. After all, King Xiaogao's million-strong army was bragging, but the 35 land and water troops were not fake at all.

Seeing that Xiao Yuanming could not be persuaded, Xia Houxuan went to lobby Xiao Huili, the king of Nankang who was also in Shouchun City.

Even if Xiao Yuanming was his own nephew, how could Xiao Yan rest assured that he would entrust all of the [-] troops to his command, so he bestowed upon his grandson Xiao Huili the commander-in-chief of the seven prefectures' armies, leading the [-] troops.

However, he was only the commander in name, and the actual command power was handed over to Xiao Yan's nephew Xiao Yuanming, not his grandson who saw it in terms of literature and history.

"Your Majesty, the Qi Kou set up a pontoon bridge, and crossing the river is imminent. If you set up an ambush and attack halfway through, even if you can't win a battle, you can also dampen their spirit. If you let them cross the river, the Qi Kou will abandon Shouyang and go straight to the river. We will sit and guard." How can you have the face to see the emperor in the city?"

Xia Houxuan said excitedly.

Although Xiao Huili was a grandson, he was still in his thirties. After all, Bodhisattva Xiao was too old. When Gao Cheng asked to marry the Southern Liang clan's wife, he chose from among his granddaughters, not as a son-in-law.

Xia Houju inherited his father's [-]-step cavalry and was the most elite army in the city. Xiao Huili didn't think much of him in his heart because of his rough and dangerous behavior, but he still calmed down with a pleasant face on the surface:
"When Gu left the town, His Majesty repeatedly told Tang Shu to decide all matters on the front line. Although Gu was in charge of the three armies, he only occupied a position and was not allowed to interfere in the war. General Xiahou might as well persuade Tang Shu again."

Xia Houju didn't get the result he wanted, and left Xiao Huili's temporary mansion dejectedly. Because the Northern Qi Dynasty tried to cross the river, Shouyang City was already under control. In the past, only Xiahouju and his guards were the only people passing through the streets.

One-eyed Xiahou went to look for Xiao Yuanming again, but the other party was afraid, fearing that the ambush would fail, that he would suffer defeat, and the morale of the defenders would be lowered.

Xia Houju left Yuzhou Governor's Mansion, full of indignation, he looked up to the sky and sighed:
"I have a good plan to retreat from the enemy, but it doesn't work. It's time! It's fate! It's not my fault that the people of Qi drove directly to the river!"

On May 23, the pontoon bridge had already been erected, and Gao Cheng ordered the navy to fiddle with the ships on the north bank.

At noon, Gao Cheng ordered Hu Luxian to lead the [-] prefecture soldiers disguised as soldiers as the vanguard, cross the Huaihe River south from the pontoon bridge, and form an army on the spot.

Judging from the fact that the Nanliang navy tried desperately to destroy the pontoon bridge and fought several fierce battles with the Northern Qi navy in the past two days, Gao Cheng was sure that the Liang people had believed the illusion that he forcibly crossed the Huai River.

They just waited for the ambush soldiers on the south bank to break out when Hu Luxian's foothold was not stable, but Hu Luxian had already formed an army formation, and the expected Nanliang ambush never appeared.

Under the cover of the navy, the rest of the troops crossed the river in batches and gained a firm foothold on the south bank. Gao Cheng also walked across the pontoon bridge, but his face was very ugly.

After a while, there was the roar of horseshoes on the west side of the south bank of the Huai River, and Duan Shao, Gao Aocao, Peng Le and others led [-] cavalry to rush there.

　And at night

　　
　
(End of this chapter)