First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 288 General Wen Shihong

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The person who asked the question was Wen Shihong, the general of Xiao Liang. His name was just like his, and he was dressed as a scholar, but he was quite good at military strategy. , but he is also a general whom Xiao Xian highly values.

On the other hand, Xiao Xian was subject to the kings of Baling, and he was more willing to reuse these defectors. Generally speaking, the Xiaoliang court was divided into three factions.

Among them, the most powerful belonged to the kings of Baling County (Yuezhou) headed by Dong Jingzhen, and Xiao Xian relied on the support of Dong Jingzhen and others before deciding to raise troops;
Secondly, there are the big clans in Jingchu who have their heart towards Xiao Liang, and most of them are Xiao Liang's "old and young". After all, Nanliang's influence is far-reaching;

The third is that people like Wen Shihong and Zhou Faming who came here to vote for their fame belong to neither the Baling faction nor the Jingchu faction.

After Xiao Mian's miraculous operation, the kings of Baling fell into a slump, and their forces were scattered all over the place. Now that the Tang Dynasty is coming to attack, Xiao Mian naturally cannot use the kings of Baling. If you are big, you can only use the literati Hong who has no foundation.

Wen Shihong is a native of Wuchang. He grew up by the water since he was a child. He is erudite and proficient in water warfare.

The Tang army rarely had big ships, mostly small boats, while Xiao Liang's warships were tall and mighty. great force.

As for the jumping soldiers of the water army, they are similar to the jumping soldiers of the infantry. They hold horizontal knives and shields. They are all cooperating with the jumping soldiers, and the lethality of the jumping soldiers is far better than other infantry.

The jumping gang soldiers hold short soldier shields and jump onto the deck of the enemy ship when the ships of the two armies meet. Killing is very powerful.

Especially now the Tang army is mostly small boats, far less tall than Xiao Liang's warships. After Xiao Liang's arrows rained down for a few rounds, the big boats collided, and then jumped to help soldiers condescendingly jump over to hack and kill, absolutely dominant.

Wen Shihong naturally noticed the Jiangwan in front of him, and he was keenly aware that that Jiangwan was likely to become the final battlefield. When even his brows were slightly frowned, the lieutenant beside him said, "General, do you want to speed up? Jiangwan".

Scholar Hong remained silent, and then asked a general beside him: "Lieutenant Ruan, you are from Zhijiang, what is the speed of the boat on the river ahead?"

Captain Ruan was also thin and not like a fierce fighter. He heard the words and said bluntly: "That river bay is formed by the alluvial flow of the river from top to bottom. There are many eddies, and the speed of the boat cannot be increased." .

Scholar Hong's eyes lit up when he heard the words, and immediately pointed to Jiangwan in front of him and ordered: "Accelerate forward and quickly occupy the exit of Jiangwan."

Li Xiaogong speeded up and wanted to cross the river bay, but now Wen Shihong also speeded up, trying to occupy the exit, forcibly blocking Tang Jun at the backwater bay.

Although Wen Shihong didn't know Li Xiaogong's intentions, he knew very well that once the Tang army could not advance or retreat in Huishui Bay, and they couldn't arrange the formation of warships, it would be a mess at Jiangwan, and Xiao Liang's victory was in sight.

In a river bay, the two armies accelerated, and finally, the two armies met.

"My lord, the enemy army blocked the exit of Jiangwan", the former army sent a message.

Li Xiaogong's complexion changed, and Yang Junmao behind him immediately shouted: "My lord, this is a backwater bay, let the rear army slow down, otherwise our army will not be able to advance or retreat."

Hearing this, Li Xiaogong realized that he had neglected the hydrological changes of the river here. Sure enough, when he reached the river bay, the speed of the boat dropped sharply, and Li Xiaogong ordered loudly: "Accelerate, and cross the river bay at full speed."

The auxiliary soldiers at the bottom of the boat used all their strength to row their oars and step on the sculls, but there is a backwater bay here, and the river flows back, so the resistance is very strong.

"My lord, our army is headed against the wind. Before the enemy attacks, we can quickly form a defensive formation." Wan Xuan, who has been on the river for many years and is also familiar with water warfare, immediately suggested.

Li Xiaogong looked up at the big flag, and as expected, the east wind was blowing, and the flag was flying westward, which showed that Tang Jun was actually sailing against the wind at this time.

"No, once our army changes formation, the enemy will attack quickly. Your Majesty can order the front and rear armies to keep a distance and not to crowd. In addition, the archers retreat, and the sword and shield soldiers and spearmen step forward to guard against the enemy's jumping soldiers." Yang Junmao Immediately furious, regardless of etiquette, he walked up to him and said loudly.

After all, Li Xiaogong was leading the army for the first time, he was a little hesitant when he heard different opinions, he had to know that indecision was the most taboo when marching and fighting, after all, the battle opportunity was fleeting and the battlefield situation was changing rapidly.

Wan Xuan was already rebellious, and he was also furious, "You are the only Jingchu people in the world who know water warfare?"

Hearing this, Li Xiaogong's eyes flashed sharply, and he immediately ordered: "quickly form a circle formation".

Yang Junmao's face turned pale when he heard the words, he lost his city and territory, and surrendered to Li Tang, if he was captured by Xiao Liang again, there would be no way out.

The circular formation is the most common and most convenient and effective defensive formation in water warfare. The Tang army was originally divided into three armies, the front, the middle and the rear. To the right, all aspects of defense without dead ends.

If there is enough time, it would be fine to change formations in time before the two armies meet, but at this time Liang Jun is already close at hand.

In fact, water warfare is ever-changing. In the final analysis, any tactic is nothing more than responding to four words randomly, and paying attention to one's flexibility.

When the enemy retreats, he will pursue them; when the enemy advances, he will form an array to meet them. When the enemy advances and retreats, he must respond carefully according to the occupation situation, so that the fleet will be orderly. If the enemy advances, he will obstruct him; chaos.

As early as when King Wu defeated Zhou, King Wu of Zhou used boats to carry soldiers. To further improve it, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, formulated "Use vehicles to ride on flat land, use materials in mountains, and use building boats in water springs". Yellow head".

Since then, the importance of the navy has become more and more prominent. For example, in the Battle of Chibi, the Battle of Jin and Wu, the Battle of Feishui, and the Battle of Sui and Chen that determined the fate of the dynasty, the navy was the main force.

Especially the land of Jingchu has always been a "frequent place" for naval battles. Wen Shihong, as the leader of Xiaoliang's naval generals, naturally cannot ignore this god-given opportunity.

Seeing that the Tang army dared to change formation under his own nose, Wen Shihong's eyes flashed a trace of sarcasm, and he ordered an attack without hesitation, then looked at Jiang An, and immediately ordered: "Lieutenant Ruan, you lead the troops and a thousand bows and crossbows!" Hands, quickly occupy the left and right ferries, and don't let the Tang army connect the boats to the shore."

(End of this chapter)