Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 424 4019 [Battle]

When the Southern Song Dynasty resisted Mongolia, Jiangling and Xiangyang were collectively called the "Jingxiang Defense Line".

It is said that defending Jing must defend Xiang, but in fact, if Xiangyang is lost, Jiangling can continue to defend.Because in the Southern Song Dynasty, the area where Ju Ming's army is currently located was artificially turned into an endless lake.

Even the "Great Lake Community", known as the "Three Seas of Jingzhou" in history.

At first, the Sun Wu regime introduced Jushui and Zhangshui into the low-lying land in northern Jing in order to resist Cao Wei.Later, Lu Kang, the general of Sun Wu, ordered the guards to build dams to store water to resist the army of the Western Jin Dynasty going south, thus forming the "Beihai" in the north of Jiangling.

In the following hundreds of years, any unified dynasty would reclaim land from the lake and occupy the "Three Seas of Jingzhou", because it was created by artificial water diversion.

During the Five Dynasties, Gao Baorong once again built a dam to divert water to Beihai in order to resist the Later Zhou Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin forced Gao Baoxu to kill Beihai.

How did Jingxiang come to be so vast and sparsely populated?

The three seas of Jingzhou in Jiangling accounted for one, the swamp area around Honghu Lake accounted for one, and the swamp area in the north of Zhijiang River accounted for one.Without the imperial court's systematic regulation of water conservancy, and without the imperial court's large-scale relocation of people for reclamation, it is difficult to achieve significant results only by private reclamation.

After 20 years of land reclamation by the common people, a big flood is all over!

Throughout the Northern Song Dynasty, after many years and months, most of the "Three Seas" were barely restored to fertile soil.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, in order to resist Mongolia, water was diverted again to build weirs, and the north of Jiangling was turned into a lake.

This piece of land can be described as vicissitudes of life.

If Zhong Xiang has read the history books carefully, the best plan is to defend the Zhijiang River and station heavy troops to dredge the upper reaches of the Zhanghe River.Then use the navy to control the river channel, dig canals and build weirs, rebuild the three seas, and directly flood the northern part of Jiangling. No matter how powerful Zhu Ming's army is, they will not be able to survive!
At this moment, Zhu Ming's army gradually returned to the camp.

Relying on the camp, set up a large formation of the Chinese army.This is the customary formation of the Song and Ming dynasties, and the civilian commanders especially like it because it is safe and effective enough.

As long as you don't mess around, the formation is fine.

Zhu Ming has an army of [-] in the newly occupied territory, and has trained another [-] militiamen to be led by the surrendered generals.Today, Han Shizhong's militia is in the direction of Zhijiang, Zhang Guangdao leads troops to guard Hanyang, and Sun Lan leads troops to guard Mianyang (also under Zhang Guangdao's command).

There were only more than 2 people on the Jiangling battlefield, led by Zhu Ming himself.

The civilian husband was returning from transporting food little by little, passing through the rear army passage of the formation.More civilians continue to retreat with food, and stay away from the area near the battlefield as soon as possible.

Chen Ziyi's cavalry and Huarong's firecrackers have all come under Zhu Ming's command.

But like Deng Chun's cavalry, it was difficult to gallop. The surrounding areas were all low-lying areas, which became muddy due to long-term rain.

The eighteen cannons were still on the north bank of the Zhijiang River. The Chu army failed to sink into the river and did not know how to destroy them.They didn't even bring a hammer, how did they smash the barrel of the gun?However, when dragging, the mud blocked the fire door, and it had to be cleaned up slowly afterwards.

On the Chinese army's position, Hua Rong and his musketeers, more than a dozen people sat in a circle and began to dry a small amount of gunpowder.

This kind of behavior is very dangerous, they don't dare to do too much, and it is enough to temporarily dry and fire two or three shots.

It has been raining for days, and even the firewood is damp. It is not easy to cook in the army.

The Shenji Battalion has already replaced the ammunition with paper shells, and those paper shells are also in a semi-wet state. Maybe it will be better to fight in the north in the future.

They struggled to light more than a dozen bonfires, tore open the paper shells and poured out the gunpowder.Each person only poured out three rounds and put them in a bowl that had already dried, not daring to get too close to the flames.

The sky was cloudy and it wasn't raining, but it could rain anytime.

Zhu Ming has already set up a large formation, and farther away, the Chu army is still in the formation.

Zhong Xiang didn't know how to care about the power of the people, and many of the people in his core area were half-soldiers and half-civilians, ready to fight at any time.

But the combat effectiveness is worrying!

Most of the armor is cloth embedded with bamboo pieces. Thick and hard bamboo is selected and dried in the shade to make armor pieces, which are strung together like armor and sewn on the tough cloth.Some elite troops strung iron or bamboo pieces on the leather.

In Jiangling City, Xiang Zhong has [-] soldiers! .

No matter where he develops in the future, he must first defend Jiangling, and it is best to defeat Zhu Ming's army.

Otherwise, on the Jingjiang line, Zhong Xiang would always have to divide his troops along the river to defend the city, and he would not dare to go south or east with all his strength.

As long as Zhu Ming is defeated, these 5 people can be used as a mobile force, which can be taken to attack Guiyangjian to seize the silver mine, or it can be pulled to attack Jiujiang and annex Jiangxi.

Zhu Ming used a telescope to observe the enemy's situation. When Zhong Xiang's army was in formation, not only was the whole army in chaos, but the connection of various departments was also extremely chaotic.

At this time, if the cavalry can be used, Zhu Ming is confident that he can defeat it in one fell swoop.

It's a pity that the distance is too far and the road is muddy. Not only can the cavalry not rush up, but it will take a long time for the infantry to pass.

Zhong Xiang dawdled and finished the formation of the army, then moved forward a certain distance, and started the formation again.Next, there was no immediate attack, but the leveling gun was lifted out for assembly.

When he rebelled, he got some bed crossbows and small return guns from Wang Teng's warship.

The bed crossbow cannot be used in rainy and humid weather like bows and arrows.

It's not that the bow string becomes soft, but that the bow glue becomes unstable, and the glue must be refilled after the rainy season.

The wheels of the leveling gun will get stuck in the mud and cannot be moved as a whole, so it can only be disassembled and lifted out for assembly.

Of course, Zhu Ming also has this thing. At the beginning of the battle between the two armies, a large number of leveling guns were fired at each other.

At the same time, Prime Minister Zhong sent [-] troops on each side of the formation, and slowly circled to the side of Zhu Ming's formation. He wanted to rely on the superiority of his troops to launch a three-sided siege.

"The enemy's Yanzi flag is the most chaotic, the army is disorganized, and the order is sluggish." Wang Ting observed carefully with a telescope.

Wang Yuan speculated: "Chen Ziyi and Han Shizhong defeated Yan Ziqi and Li Ziqi on the Zhijiang side. The Yan Ziqi enemy army in front of them may be reorganized, or even recruits who have not yet enlisted in the army."

Zhang Tong said: "The bell thief only knows that our army's cavalry, firearms, and bows and arrows are not easy to use in rainy and muddy weather, but he doesn't know that the strength of the mandarin duck formation doubles. Whether he is an elite or a recruit, it is the same when he encounters the mandarin duck formation!"

It is naturally impossible for the mandarin duck formation to increase its combat power out of thin air, but the muddy road is slippery, and the movement speed of the Chu army is slow.The mandarin duck formation only needs to stick to the slow-moving enemy, and can calmly form an formation to kill the enemy. On the contrary, it is easier to fight than normal.

After nearly four to ten minutes of bombardment, the artillery battle finally ended.

It wasn't that all the catapults on both sides were smashed, but that Zhong Xiang's stone bullets were exhausted, and Zhu Ming still had a lot of stone bullets left.

The Chu army advanced slowly on three sides, while Zhu Ming's artillery continued to drop bombs.

The two Chu troops in front of them were hit by stone bullets one after another. No matter how the generals boosted their morale, they seemed flustered and sluggish in action, and some soldiers even turned around and ran away.

Zhong Xiang was furious, and personally ordered the execution of the fleeing soldiers, and then regrouped and moved forward.

The enemy army gradually approached, and Zhu Ming's artillery and chariot soldiers all withdrew.

The main general of the Chu army on the front is Zhong Yi. This old man is the younger brother of Zhong Xiang. Not only did he become the prime minister of the Great Chu Kingdom, he was also named King of Shu last month.

It goes without saying that such a king is disgusting.

The Chu troops on the two wings were led by Xia Cheng and Huang Zuo.

In another time and space, Xia Cheng would rather die than surrender, while Huang Zuo took refuge in Yue Fei.

Half of the other generals who took refuge in Yue Fei, such as Yang Qin, Liu Heng, Jin Cong, Liu Shen, Yan Qi, etc., are currently on the Jiangling battlefield.They are an important part of the Yue Family Army, and their improved naval warships and tactics have influenced the entire Southern Song and Yuan Dynasty naval forces.Even the naval forces of Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang survived the fighting style of these people.

When the Chu army was moving, Prime Minister Zhong sent Yang Qin and Jin Cong each with 5000 men to stand between the front army and the two wings.They belong to the mobile reserve force, and rescue when friendly forces are unstable.

Zhong Xiang guessed that he had read "Wu Jing Zong Yao", and he also knew how to adapt the defensive female formation to attack with slight changes.

There is nothing wrong with arranging troops, but it is a pity that they do not pay attention to training, or they do not have time to train.Barely able to arrange formations and understand orders, they were directly dragged to fight. After a few actual battles, the "elite" survived.

Ju Ming's camp only had walls, and no trenches were dug or barriers built.

This is because he never thought of relying on the camp for defense, wishing that Zhong Xiang would take the initiative to attack.If there were ditches and barriers, it would be impossible to fight this field battle. Xiang Zhong was out of his mind before attacking the strong camp!
The barbed wire still had to be sprinkled, and it was difficult to identify it mixed in the muddy water. When the Chu army approached the camp, there were sporadic screams one after another.

"Shoot the gun!"

The javelins of the rattan player and the long player were thrown, and the Chu army raised their shields to block.

A little closer, the team leaders began to shoot arrows.

The bow and arrow can still be used, but it should not be fully drawn, the bow rubber will not be stable when wet, and excessive force will damage the bow arm.

To be honest, the armor made of bamboo slices can still effectively defend against arrows.

After carrying the javelins and bows and arrows, the generals of the Chu army commanding on the front line were overjoyed, because the enemy did not rely on the wall for defense, and they could tear down the wall more easily.

Of course, this was intentional, Yuanyangzhen felt that the wall of the village was too obstructive, and it was inconvenient for wolves and rakes to move around.

"boom!"

The wooden fences and walls of the village were pushed down by the Chu army one after another.

They stepped forward on the fence, as if they saw the hope of victory, but what they met head-on was like a wolf in the forest.

The strength of Zhong Xiang is 2.5 times that of Ju Ming, but they can't all go into battle, and the strength of the troops facing each other is close to 1:1.

Seeing the stalemate in the battle, Xia Cheng and Huang Zuo immediately sent idle troops to Zhu Ming's rear.

Countless mandarin duck squads formed a large formation. They received military orders before the battle, and before the enemy was defeated, they would try to stay still as much as possible.Even if the enemy falls and retreats, they don't pay attention to them, and they fight in formation on the spot.

The muddy road is slippery, save energy.

The entire battlefield seemed to be at a standstill, and Zhu Ming's army stood still.

With the passage of time, instead, the Chu army began to be unstable, and they continued to invest in the reserve team to respond.

Chu general Xia Cheng even brought his own soldiers around to fight against Zhu Ming's rear army.This man was wearing iron armor, so he was useless when he moved, but he was brave when he fought. He passed through the bushes of wolves while dripping mud, and was quickly pushed down by a gun.

Xia Cheng, who fell down, was dragged back by his own soldiers, but the rebel army did not chase and kill the enemy generals, and still maintained a fixed defensive formation.

Encirclement on three sides has become an attack on four sides.

After a long battle to no avail, Zhong Xiang became more and more anxious, and personally beat the drums to cheer.

No matter how many troops he has, it is useless. A large number of troops are idle on the periphery, unable to fight at all.

There are also passages in the large formation of the Chinese army. Some Chu troops went to attack those passages, but they were blocked by refusal horses and grain trucks.After finally removing the obstacle, he was immediately attacked by the cavalry.

The battlefield is Ju Ming's camp, and the roads of several passages have already been rammed with soil.

Especially the eighty heavy cavalry, they couldn't charge outside the camp, but they could move calmly in several passages.Even if the charging distance is very short, it is enough to hit the enemy.

On the high platform built in the center, Wang Zhi held up the binoculars and said, "It's almost there."

Zhu Ming raised his arm, and the orderly immediately waved the order flag.

Gu San and Shi Biao led 1500 personal guards, all wearing iron cans like infantry armor. They each led [-] heavy infantry, and went through a passage to fight out.

Chen Ziyi's eighty heavy cavalry also abandoned their horses and led their retinue, passing through another passage.Hua Rong led more than 500 musketeers and followed behind Chen Ziyi and the others. The dried gunpowder was enough for two or three shots.

(End of this chapter)