Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 486
Fireworks go down to Yangzhou in March.

Compared with Yecheng, the climate in the south is indeed much milder. In the north, it is still warm and then cold, while in the south, grass has long grown and orioles are flying.

Li Yue and the cavalry marched south by land, while the infantry took the navy company boat down from Fangtou, crossed the Yellow River, entered the Central Plains water system, passed through the Bian River and Ying River directly to the Huai River, and entered Shouchun.

When Sima Yan was conquering Wu, he ordered Wang Jun to build ships in Sichuan. He built a large ship with a row of boats, one hundred and twenty paces wide, and one ship could carry more than [-] people.

Liang Guo's navy has not yet developed to this extent, and its water warfare capabilities are still open to question, but there is no problem in transporting troops and food. The large boats can carry 200 soldiers, and the small boats can carry more than [-] people.

Going south in a mighty way.

When the Sima clan put down the three rebellions in Huainan, they also relied on the major river systems to quickly transfer troops and food from the Central Plains to Huainan and put down the rebellion.

The Sima family is very good at this.

Sima Yi captured Mengda in a day, raised troops from Wancheng, and quickly marched through the waterway. In 24 days, he defeated Mengda, who was in Shangyong County, and the Shu Kingdom was unable to even support him.

In the next hundred days, Liaodong was destroyed, and troops were also transported through the major canals in Hebei. The Lutuo River was dug into the Lu River to transport grain. Due to the construction of Lukou City, Lukou later became an important town to resist the Yan army's southward march.

Huan Wen chose Hefei as the main battlefield, which was quite satisfactory.

For Liang Guo, the pressure was much less than attacking Liaodong and Guanzhong.

The real purpose behind Huan Wen's siege and reinforcements was a showdown of national strength. Hefei was right at Jiangdong's doorstep, and the Jin army's food and grass pressure was even less.

Li Yue led his cavalry southward, but it was slower than the water route.

War horses cannot keep running at high speed all the time. Just like people, they need to drink, eat and sleep, while infantry can eat, drink and relieve themselves on the boat day and night.

There are many real battle examples in later generations. On long-distance marches under various complex terrain and climate conditions, four-legged horses are not necessarily faster than two-legged infantry...

People can overcome difficulties and face difficulties, but war horses cannot.

Of course, this kind of army is rare in a century, and the Black Cloud Army has not yet reached this level.

"Why doesn't Your Majesty take the boat?" Zhang Hao asked with his eyes wide open.

Li Yue laughed and said, "When their navy builds the Yuzhang building boat, I will take the boat again."

When Wang Jun conquered Wu, in addition to the continuous boats, he also had Yuzhang tower boats, which were more than ten feet high and could carry ten thousand people and build palaces.

However, the reason why Li Yue did not go south by boat was because he was worried about safety issues. Cui Jin was building ships and the navy was starting up, so there were many unsafe factors.

This march on land and water is also a test for the navy.

After marching for more than ten days, we drank Mahuai water.

The north of the Huaihe River is peaceful. Looking around, there are criss-crossing roads and endless fields with blue skies. Dotted with forts and villages, farmers are leisurely busy in the fields, preparing for the upcoming spring plowing.

But after crossing the Huaihe River, the atmosphere began to get tense.

From time to time, Jin army scouts can be seen standing on high hills in the distance, watching his every move.

Shouchun generals came out of the city to greet him, led by Su Quan, "General Gao is rushing south to help Hefei, but he cannot pick him up. I hope your majesty will forgive me!"

"The military situation is urgent and there is no need to be polite. How is the situation in Hefei?" Li Yue held up his hands to let the generals refrain from courtesy.

"Huan Wen mobilized tens of thousands of civilians to dig deep trenches and high forts, and surrounded Hefei from all sides, making it suffocating." Su Yan had a slight beard on his chin, and was stronger and more general-like than in Shangwu Hall.

"Huan Wen is waiting for me. Can the grain and grass in Hefei City be sustained?"

"When the war is about to begin, General Liang has already moved the people in the city to stock up on food and grass for a year!"

"Great kindness!" Li Yue secretly praised in his heart, he is worthy of being an old man from Heiyun Mountain. One Hefei is enough for Huan Wen to eat, and it is not certain who will die. "The last general is willing to be the vanguard and defeat the Jin people first!" Zhang Hao said impatiently.

Li Yue looked at Su Quan with a smile, "What do you think, General Su?"

Zhang Hao stared at Su Quan with wide eyes, his face full of flesh and blood.

Su Quan, as if he didn't see it, held up his hands and said: "The general thinks that Hefei will be safe in the short term and the Jin people are in great power. We might as well wait for a few days until their morale is low, and then look for opportunities to advance."

This battle was started by Huan Wen, and the slogan of "Recover China" was shouted loudly. If he could not win even a small Hefei, Huan Da Sima would probably have no place to save his face.

However, Liang Jun also had his own problems. The food could not last for a few months.

"You are right. Here is the order. The whole army is divided into three parts. One is for cultivation, one is for preparation for war, and the other is for rest and reorganization."

Huan Wen was not in a hurry, but there was no reason for Li Yue to be in a hurry.

The army rested on the spot, and Li Yue led the cavalry south to spy on the Jin army's strength.

Hefei is located in the east of Feishui River, with Ruxu in the south, Liyang in the east, and Shouchun in the north. During the Three Kingdoms period, Man Chong, a famous minister of Cao Wei, built the old city away from Feishui because the old city of Hefei was on the west bank of Feishui and was vulnerable to attack by the Soochow navy. A new city was built, which offset the advantage of Jiangdong Navy.

This place, together with Shouchun, has always been a place where the forces from the north and the south have been entangled.

The Feishui War more than 20 years later also broke out in this area.

Looking from a distance, the city of Hefei has disappeared. In the distance between the mountains and rivers, there is only a fortress stretching for more than ten miles across the horizon. The earth fortress is like a city, with flags waving. Outside the earth fortress, there are dense antlers and trenches.

From time to time, the sound of horns was heard in the camp, and cavalry and soldiers came in and out. The army was in good order.

Li Yue led five thousand fine cavalry from the north to the east. The Jin army's camp was impeccable, as if a giant python was hovering between heaven and earth, and the city of Hefei seemed to have been swallowed into its belly.

Since ancient times, in order to dispel the determination of the defenders to fight to the death, they would usually besiege the city from three to one. However, as soon as Huan Wen came up, he would surround the city on all sides, leaving no way for the defenders in the city.

Li Yue frowned slightly, Huan Wen did this, this battle was not going to be easy.

I don't know how many lives of soldiers are needed to fill these dense fortifications. If their vitality is severely damaged, the two wolves from Liaodong and Guanzhong will attack Guandong.

While he was thinking, two cavalrymen ran out of the Jin army's camp, one on the left and one on the right.

It was very different from the Xun Xian Jin army I had seen a few years ago. Their morale was quite strong and their equipment was much better.

Huan Wen may not be a heroic leader, but he is very good at governance. In two or three years, Jiangdong has been very different. This is also the reason why he dared to expedition to the north and consume national power.

Li Yue glanced at it and was about to leave, but suddenly he found the leading general, holding a spear in his left hand and a sword in his right hand. He was extremely majestic and his figure was very familiar.

"Your Majesty..." Su Quan reminded softly from beside him.

"Wait a minute." Li Yue didn't pay attention to these three or four thousand Jin troops, and the Jin troops just drove them away.

When he got closer, Li Yue could see clearly that the incoming general was indeed an old acquaintance - Meng Kai. He felt a sense of emotion in his heart. He didn't expect that on the life-and-death battlefield, an old friend would meet again.

"Let's go." Li Yuele turned his horse's head.

The five thousand cavalrymen slowly turned around and ran north.

Meng Kai seemed to have noticed Li Yue, and he froze on the spot and did not chase him. Instead, he turned his horse's head and returned to the camp.

The two armies had a face-to-face encounter and did not continue to entangle.

The Jin army did not have many cavalry and could not catch up or win.

(End of this chapter)