Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 729 Leaving

They all entered the territory of Huarong, but the navy in Lexiang still did not move.

Huarong is surrounded by swamps and lakes, making it difficult for the army to continue eastward. Cao Cao was defeated in Chibi and fled north in a hurry. Passing here, he filled the swamp with soldiers and reeds, allowing him to avoid the pursuit of Sun and Liu's coalition forces and escape.

Lu Qing, who was accompanying the army, wondered: "Could it be that Xie Xuan doesn't care about Wuchang's life or death?"

"Wuchang is an important town on the Yangtze River. It is impossible not to take this place into consideration. Don't worry, he will definitely support you!" Li Yue said calmly.

When the situation between the enemy and ourselves is in a stalemate, it depends on who can lose his composure first.

Xie Xuan had too many places to defend. It was impossible for 50,000 men to take care of the three or four miles of river defense. If he broke through any place at will, the so-called Yangtze River defense line would no longer exist. This was his fatal weakness.

"How is the battle situation in the east?" Li Yue looked towards the east, where the mountains and rivers were vast, and the sky was vast. A row of egrets flew diagonally from the green mountains into the blue sky.

"Huan Wen, like Xie Xuan, stayed put in Jiankang. The prince stayed in Shouchun. Generals Deng Xia and Liang Xiao besieged Ruxu, making it difficult to conquer. The naval warships gathered in Qingzhou and have not yet set off." Lu Qing reported the current situation. .

"So there is no need to worry about this war. How can the victory of the war to destroy the country be decided in ten days?"

The older you get, the more stable your mentality becomes.

In the current situation, it is Huan Wen and Xie An who should be panicking.

There are so many important towns in the Yangtze River, and conquering any one of them will affect the entire war.

"Our troops are all concentrated in Wuchang, but Jiangling is empty of troops. If Xie Xuan..." Lu Qing swallowed his words halfway.

"How could I make such a mistake?" Li Yue laughed.

Jiangling is located to the north of the Yangtze River. It has a strong city. Xu Cheng leads a thousand men to guard it. There are also five to six thousand young men in the city. It is not difficult to defend it for ten days and a half.

Once Xie Xuan crosses the river, he will be attacked by the Black Cloud Knights.

Taking ten thousand steps back, it doesn't matter even if Jiangling is lost. Without the Yangtze River, Xie Xuan cannot stand in Jiangbei, and Jiangling City becomes his prison.

Crossing the Han River from Huarong Road and entering the boundary of Jingling, Xie Xuan still did not move.

Li Yue continued forward and entered Xiarui, which became Hankou in later generations and was also a famous ancient battlefield.

On the other side are important towns such as Xiakou, and further down is Wuchang.

"Your Majesty, the enemy has moved. Xie Xuan personally led the navy down the river!" The scout hurriedly came to report.

"Da Shan, the whole army will rest here and wait for Xie Xuan's arrival!"

"Your Majesty wants to fight the enemy here?" Lu Qing was confused by Li Yuelao along the way.

"Do you think Xie Xuan will go ashore?"

"of course not."

Xie Xuan had been stationary for so long. Before Liang Jun exposed his fatal weakness, he would never set foot in Jiangbei easily.

He didn't even attack the empty Jiangling, let alone Xia Rui where the elite gathered to wait for work.

Within four days, navy warships could be seen in the distance on the river, lined up like clouds covering the river, with all sails furled.

Li Yue stretched out his hand to test the wind direction. In summer, there were more southeasterly winds. "He ordered Zhang Hao and Cao Kan to retreat to the north of the Yangtze River, and all the troops in Heiyun rode their horses to Xia Rui to assemble."

"Wei!" The messenger received the tiger talisman and festival battle, and the horse galloped away.

Enemy troops also gathered in Xiakou.

Two days later, Zhang Hao came with the Heiyun Army on horseback. As soon as they met, he knelt down in front of Li Yue and said, "The general is incompetent and failed to conquer Wuchang."

"Not guilty." Li Yue did not explain much and led his guards to inspect the entire army.

The 30,000-strong army in the black cloud returned without success. The soldiers all had a look of displeasure on their faces, probably because they did not expect that the dying Jiangdong could still block their fierce attack.

After a round of inspection, there were not many casualties.

Li Yue ordered a rest and asked the civilians to feed the war horses and livestock.

Xia Rui also has many swamps and lakes, so the army cannot stay for a long time.

Fortunately, the Han River is under control, and there is no need to worry about the enemy using the Han River to launch water attacks.

After resting for three or four days, Li Yue checked the wind direction again. It was early autumn, and the southeast wind turned into a slow west wind, with a bit of coldness. Li Yue decisively ordered, "The entire army returns to Jiangling and storms Lexiang!"

All the generals were stunned.

"What are you still doing? Let's start immediately. The navy in Hanshui River will attack Xiakou. Don't stop Xie Xuan's navy from returning!" Li Yue's face darkened.

The only trouble on Xie Xuan's hands is the navy.

Now it has been adjusted to the downstream. Going upstream, it is against the wind, and it is not as fast as a person walking on two legs.

The Heiyun Army all had war horses, and they marched under starry night. They could return to Jiangling in less than three days.

It's just a time difference.

When Xie Xuan didn't come, Li Yue mobilized the siege equipment in Xiangyang City to storm Wuchang. These equipment could be flown down the Han River without any manpower.

When Xie Xuan came, Li Yue quickly returned to Jiangling and stormed Lexiang.

Even if Xie Xuan sailed against the current and hurried back upstream, he would still be trapped and exhausted.

The advantage of the cavalry lies in its mobility, its unpredictable gathering and dispersion, and its ability to attack unprepared and unexpected enemies.

"Cao Kan listened to the order and led the town army here with my tooth band to confuse the enemy! The others will return with me."

"Take your orders!" Everyone bowed their hands.

Li Yue led his army back that night.

We had already figured out the terrain clearly when we came here. Now when we go back, every ten miles, there are scout teams in front holding torches to lead the way.

It only took two and a half days to return to Gangneung.

More than five thousand horses died from exhaustion, and the rest were also exhausted, but their mission was accomplished.

On the north bank, densely packed bamboo rafts and more than 200 large and small boats were towed onto the river.

"Where are the enemy navy troops now?" Li Yue picked up a bowl of wine and walked up to the 4,100 soldiers who were wearing light leather armor and had some water skills.

The so-called "slightly water-friendly" means that you don't get dizzy on a boat and can flop twice when you fall into a river.

"One day after His Majesty left, the enemy troops realized something was wrong and rushed back. Our navy troops entangled them. Some of them were in Wulin, and some of them drove back by land." The scout reported back.

It would take at least half a month to return to Lexiang by land from Xiakou on two legs.

It is equivalent to the diameter of Liang's army and the circumference of the outer circle of Chu's army.

Moreover, Liang Jun also had war horses.

"The North and the South have been divided for fifty years and unified the world. Today, everyone, please work hard to move forward!" Li Yue drank a gulp of wine and smashed the pottery bowl on the ground.

"If you don't destroy Lexiang, you will die in Jiangnan!" One person shouted first.

Lu Qing whispered in his ear: "This man Jia Ping is the grandson of General Jia Jian. He joined the army last year. How long is it?"

"How majestic!" Li Yue took a second look and felt that this boy was quite majestic and had the style of Jia Jian.

"If you don't break Lexiang, you will die in Jiangnan!" the soldiers behind him shouted.

Then the pottery bowl hit the ground as crisply as raindrops.

Originally, this kind of bloody battle should be fought by Zhang Hao, but Zhang Hao is a pure northerner and is not good at water. Xu Cheng has been in charge of Nanyang and Jingxiang for many years. He has good water skills and is both wise and brave. It is more suitable to send him.

"Kill!" Li Yue drew his sword and pointed at Dajiang and roared.

"Kill, kill, kill!"

The soldiers roared one after another, their evil spirits rising to the sky.

Then one by one, carrying axes, bones, swords, shields, and crossbows, they jumped onto bamboo rafts and boats and galloped southward.

The sun sets in the west, and the golden light shines in the vast mist.

(End of this chapter)