Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 651: The battlefield is like an examination room
Hangzhou in the Tang Dynasty was very large. Volume 2 of the Records of Lin'an in the Qiandao period quoted the Records of the Nine Regions, which states that Hangzhou in the Sui Dynasty had a circumference of 36 li and 90 steps.

The circumference is about one-third of the Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty.

However, Hangzhou City was built by Yang Su. Since he was not a professional like Yuwen Kai, and the original design was for military purposes, Hangzhou City had many inherent deficiencies.

The first shortcoming is that the shape of the Hangzhou city pond is long from north to south and short from east to west, and the length is at least three times the width. This makes the perimeter of the city large, but the area is relatively small, and increases the difficulty of garrisoning.

The second shortcoming is the lack of water.

It sounds ridiculous, but it is an indisputable fact.

That’s right, Hangzhou City is surrounded by water, with no shortage of both fresh water and sea water. It can even be said to be a “city soaked in water”.

But there is a shortage of fresh water in the city.

Ordinary people had to go outside the city to get water. Although there was well water in the city, it was not enough for everyone in the city.

As for the related issues of "salinization of fresh water", they are the suffering of the people and it is better not to mention them.

The third shortcoming is also the most critical one.

Although Hangzhou is an important node of the canal, like Kaifeng, the canal is outside the city, not inside the city, so it is impossible to safely receive supplies from the upper reaches of the canal.

In Fang Chongyong's previous life, Hangzhou was transferred from the central government to the local government after the An-Shi Rebellion. From the reign of Emperor Dezong to the end of the Tang Dynasty, many officials participated in the construction and made drastic changes and improvements to the city, adding a lot of infrastructure.

This is how the wealthy Hangzhou came to be.

People like Li Mi and Bai Juyi have made great contributions to the development of Hangzhou.

So from a hindsight perspective, the city of Hangzhou at that time could be said to be rotten to the extreme.

He has great potential, but he hasn't utilized even one point.

When Che Guangqian successfully landed on the mudflats north of Hangzhou and took over the defense of Hangzhou.

Only then did he suddenly realize why the defenders in the city were so obedient and surrendered their military power.

It’s because the pits here in Hangzhou are so big and so deep!
At this moment, Che Guangqian was standing on the north city wall of Hangzhou, watching the bandit troops outside the city, who were lazily carrying soil in twos and threes, trying to fill up the only river entering the city. He could not help but let out a long sigh.

"Marshal Fang actually cheats people. This is the first time I have encountered this."

Che Guangqian couldn't help but complain to Deputy General Liu Wenxi. Fang Zhongyong's previous military orders were very reliable, but this time was different.

Very deceptive.

"Then... Marshal Che Jie, should we retreat to Dengzhou next?"

Liu Wenxi asked in surprise.

"If I go back, where will Che put his face?"

Che Guangqian looked at Liu Wenxi as if he was a fool and asked back.

He was too lazy to pay attention to his deputy general and kept his eyes on the outside of the city.

"The enemy army wants to kill us with thirst. They have blocked the Qinghu River, so there is not enough water in the city. We must lift the siege."

Che Guangqian frowned and muttered to herself.

"Don't panic, General Che. I have a plan that can defeat Yuan Chao."

Liu Wenxi came over with a playful smile on his face and whispered.

"What's the plan?"

Che Guangqian immediately became interested.

"It can be like this."

Liu Wenxi talked about his ideas. It must be said that he has a lot of clever ideas.

"That makes sense, so we can take action tonight."

Che Guangqian nodded slightly and said.

Yuan Chao's weakness is actually obvious.

It was not easy for the leader of the "rebel army" to hang the defenders in Hangzhou in a short period of time.

"Then prepare this!"

Liu Wenxi saluted to Che Guangqian. He had to be proactive because this was a battle to defend the city. If he was careless, he might be defeated and killed.

You have to put in your utmost effort to have a chance of survival.

……

When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares into you.

On the lake west of Hangzhou (the West Lake, which had just been formed and had not yet been named), the boats of Yuan Chao's bandit army were patrolling back and forth. The city wall of Hangzhou to the east made Yuan Chao shake his head and sigh.

It’s so fucking difficult!

Yuan Chao, who was sitting in the "water fort" in the lake, couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Hangzhou city is bordered by the sea to the east, mountains to the south, flat land to the north, and a lake to the west.

Except for the north, the army could not be deployed at all! There was not much place to stand, let alone attack the city!

Normally, attacking from the north would be best.

But many times, common sense cannot be applied because the government troops have ships at sea.

Attacking from the north would easily be disrupted by the government's ships, resulting in a situation of being attacked from both sides. However, the ships were very flexible and appeared and disappeared without any rules.

It is not safe to station troops there, as the camp may be easily raided.

Yuan Chao was on land and had no idea when the ships would arrive. The rhythm of the attack was controlled by the government troops.

So what is the weak spot of Hangzhou city?

In the west.

If large ships could sail on the lake, they could simply dock the ship against the west wall of Hangzhou and capture the city.

However, the devastating reality is that the lake is so shallow that even a person cannot be drowned, and large ships cannot be sailed at all.

At the beginning, the "righteous army" under Yuan Chao's command was divided into four routes, taking Mingzhou (Ningbo) in the east, going south to Huangyan to take Yongjia, taking Yuezhou (Shaoxing) and Shanxian (Shengxian) in the northwest, and taking Hangzhou in the north.

All other routes were successful, except the one in Hangzhou, which suffered a disastrous defeat. The remaining forces of the government troops almost all retreated to Hangzhou City to hold on and wait for reinforcements.

Invisibly, it increased the difficulty of attacking.

Yuan Chao was not stupid. Since he could not capture Hangzhou, he chose to besiege Hangzhou with heavy troops, and then ordered his brother Yuan Ying to lead the main force of the "rebel army" to the north. Yuan Ying lived up to expectations and after conquering Jiaxing and Huzhou, he was advancing towards Changzhou.

Therefore, removing the thorn of Hangzhou and building a large rear area became an extremely important matter for Yuan Chao.

"Has the Qinghu River not been blocked yet?"

Yuan Chao asked the deputy general impatiently.

Qinghu River flows directly into the city from outside, and is one of the few water sources in the city. Blocking this river means blocking the lifeline of the defenders in Hangzhou.

But for some reason, the progress of filling the river was surprisingly slow! The soldiers of the "rebel army" seemed to be not very interested in carrying soil.

In fact, this is also human nature. Yuan Chao is already a so-called leader, and he regards rebellion as the greatest cause in his life, but the grassroots rebel soldiers may not think so.

From the perspective of peasant uprisings throughout the dynasties, Yuan Chao's troops were already very well-trained. However, as the size of the army grew, more and more people acted on their own, military discipline deteriorated, and many unexpected events occurred every day.

Now, Marshal Yuan was fighting for his great cause, but the lower-level soldiers just wanted to eat meat every meal. They didn't have much enthusiasm.

"Marshal Yuan, I will go and urge them now."

The deputy general nodded and said.

Yuan Chao had previously issued a public manifesto to establish the "Dai Yue Kingdom", with Linhai City, the capital of Taizhou, as its capital. He proclaimed himself emperor and the commander-in-chief of the world's military!
He has more than 100,000 soldiers and horses under his command, and the number is still increasing. He claims to have 500,000 soldiers and actually controls nine states. He claims to control 16 states, which is very impressive!

However, the morale of the army is one thing, and the implementation of specific details is another matter. In any case, Yuan Chao was very dissatisfied with the morale and atmosphere at the grassroots level.

But I can't think of any good solution.

Because the soldiers were of poor quality and had almost no training, they could only fight when the wind was favorable. Moreover, every time they fought, they rushed forward without any rules or strategies!
In order to attack Hangzhou City, Yuan Chao, as a true southerner, came up with a good idea. He tied the boats together and laid wooden boards on them to make a "water camp". Then he drove wooden stakes into the bottom of the lake and connected them with wood or bamboo rafts.

Not only can soldiers be trained in the water fort, but horses can also be raced!

The advantage of doing this is that you can station troops on the lake west of Hangzhou City! And the water fort extends directly to the shore! It is equivalent to paving a piece of land on the lake.

When attacking the city, the soldiers in the "camp" can rush ashore directly and climb the city walls with siege equipment such as rope ladders.

Otherwise, the west is all lake water, and the troops cannot be deployed at all. There is no need to fight this battle, and they can just withdraw.

In order to capture the city of Hangzhou, Yuan Chao personally took charge and supervised his men to build this water fort without fear of trouble at all.

Standing on a lookout tower in the center of the water fort, Yuan Chao spread out a confiscated government map. He frowned, staring at the place names on the map in a daze, and from time to time he would look at the city of Hangzhou in the distance.

In the current battle situation, the rebel army is like a giant python, preparing to attack northwards, and Hangzhou is like a nail stuck in the body of the giant python.

Being stuck there was a big hindrance, which prevented Yuan Chao from fully deploying his troops, as he was always worried about being attacked from behind. So he did not choose to go to the front line, but instead personally stayed outside Hangzhou and commanded the siege himself.

Otherwise I won't be able to let go.

At present, Yuan Chao's "rebel army" was in good shape and was attacking like a tide. The whole army was filled with optimism, believing that the Tang Dynasty was already falling apart, the government army was already vulnerable, and it might be time to change the dynasty.

Only Yuan Chao knew that since the Tang court began to fall into chaos, there had been no regular army in Jiangnan. They were all temporary united soldiers. The combat effectiveness of these people was actually comparable to that of the rebel army, so they could just compete in numbers.

Most of the time, whoever has more people wins!
However, as the rebels marched northward, the Tang regular army was gathering. For example, the rebels failed when they attacked Changzhou and encountered the Tang regular army. They were also defeated by Lai Zhen when they attacked Suzhou, and lost several thousand people.

As Yuan Chao was thinking, he actually fell asleep on the observation deck.

Yuan Chao slept until most of the night. He was awakened by the cold wind of late autumn and could not help but wrap himself in a cloak. The city of Hangzhou in the distance looked like a sleeping giant, with only some torches on the city wall.

Suddenly, Yuan Chao glanced at the corner of the water fort in the distance and found that there was a fire there.

It looks like someone set a fire!
what happened!

Yuan Chao was shocked and angry. He hurried down the lookout tower and met the deputy general who was on patrol. He was staggering and seemed to be drunk!

Snapped!
Yuan Chao slapped the deputy general in the face.

"Go and have a look. There is a fire on the north side of the water fort. What's going on?"

Yuan Chao yelled at the deputy general.

"There's a fire? Where? What's going on?"

The deputy general shook his head quickly and sobered up from the fright.

Nowadays, the military discipline within the rebel army is lax. Although they are restrained by Yuan Chao and are reluctant to commit crimes on a daily basis, they can be seen drinking and bragging in their spare time.

They were all used to suffering, and now that they had joined the rebel army, they were drinking and eating meat and food as much as they wanted.

What a pleasure!

Isn't this what these wild dogs want? Who expects to be able to split the land and become a king?

Yuan Chao knew about similar things, but he had no good way to control them. The rebel army expanded too quickly, and there were all kinds of people.

"Go and call for help to put out the fire!"

Yuan Chao yelled.

It’s discovered early now, so it should still be in time.

Yuan Chao secretly felt lucky that he was staying on the lookout tower tonight.

However, before he could rejoice for a few seconds, he discovered with horror that even the south side of the water fort was on fire!

No, it should be said that the water fort was on fire everywhere, except the west.

Yuan Chao suddenly understood and finally knew what had happened.

He previously thought that it was the government troops in Hangzhou city who sneaked out and set the fire, but now he understood what was going on.

Hangzhou is on the seaside, and the wind in this season blows from the seaside to inland.

The government troops in Hangzhou city only need to move the small incendiary boat out of the city and load it with incendiary materials!

"The Tang army is attacking with fire! Quick, quick, beat the drum! Beat the drum!"

Yuan Chao kept urging them, but the fire still spread with the wind. The fire started to burn in all directions of the water fort, and it burned more and more vigorously.

No matter how hard he urged, he couldn't change anything.

At this moment, many of the rebel soldiers in the water fort noticed the fire. They had never seen such a scene before, and even though they heard the drums beating in the water fort, they pretended not to hear it.

Almost everyone fled to the west, jumped directly into the water, and waded to the other side.

The lake is very shallow, and in most places the water does not even reach above the neck.

We can still run away now while the government troops are not coming to kill us. If we don’t run away, will we just wait to be burned to death?

The answer is obvious.

"Marshal Yuan, run quickly, the fire can't be stopped."

The deputy general, who had sobered up from the drunkenness, yelled at Yuan Chao.

He saw in the north that there seemed to be a group of cavalry holding torches, rushing out from Hangzhou City and rushing directly to the west across the bridge!

It seems like I'm doomed to suffer a loss tonight.

Yuan Chao sighed, took off his leather armor and jumped into the lake without looking for a boat. He was a good swimmer and swam directly from the water fort to the shore.

"The government troops are coming, run!"

I don't know who shouted, but the rebel soldiers who had swam ashore from the lake, still in shock, ran away like frightened birds!

Yuan Chao looked around and found that Phoenix Mountain in the southwest was pitch black. He didn't think about it and quietly ran over there and found a dense bamboo forest to hide.

Hangzhou had few soldiers, so no matter how brave the government troops were, they could not camp outside the city. Although they succeeded in their surprise attack by taking advantage of the fire, it was likely that this was their only chance.

If you flee rashly, you might be killed by the pursuers. It is better to hide for a while and wait for the government troops to return to the city before running away.

Yuan Chao thought clearly that if he could survive tonight, everything would be fine!

In the Tang Dynasty, anyone who could stir up trouble in a region was not to be taken lightly.

Yuan Chao's quick wit saved his life at the critical moment. Liu Wenxi went out of the city this time with all the elite cavalry, attacked unexpectedly, and then killed everyone.

The rebel army, which had lost its organization, was driven from the water fort to the shore like a herded duck, and was chased by cavalry all the way.

If they had honestly put out the fire in the water fort, the government troops would have been unable to do anything to them.

This is the biggest difference between a mob and an elite army. The cobbled-together rebel army may look decent and capable at ordinary times, but at critical moments, the command and dispatch are not flexible, and they often lose their composure and deliberately run towards the traps set by the enemy.

Liu Wenxi fought his way to the foot of Lingyin Mountain, but saw that the remnants of the so-called "righteous army" had already fled into the mountains, making it inconvenient for the cavalry to pursue them, so he turned back.

Along the way, he encountered some stragglers of the rebel army, and he killed them all without letting them go, just rushing forward and slashing them with his sword.

The road from the north gate of Hangzhou City to the foot of Lingyin Mountain is full of corpses lying in pools of blood, like a road to the underworld.

After returning to the city, Che Guangqian ordered Liu Wenxi and his cavalry to change horses, and this time attack from the south gate to attack the bandit army in Xiling (Xiaoshan).

The rebel army in Xiling was lax in its guard.

Because Yuan Chao's trusted troops had already surrounded Hangzhou, how could the Xiling rebels have expected that Liu Wenxi would defeat Yuan Chao's water stronghold and the guard camp on the north bank in just one night?
When Liu Wenxi led the cavalry into the rebel camp in Xiling, these soldiers, who were farmers before, didn't even take up their weapons and ran away without any resistance. Their morale collapsed in an instant!
If Liu Wenxi hadn't been worried about running out of horsepower, he would have wanted to lead his men to chase them to Yuezhou Kuaiji!

The next day, Che Guangqian sent out scouts to investigate and learned that Yuan Chao's remaining troops had retreated to Yuhang in the west, and the rebels in the south had retreated to Kuaiji. Although Hangzhou was still surrounded on three sides, it was not directly besieged.

He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The elite soldiers from the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army were all top-notch teams in terms of skills and tactics. Beating Yuan Chao and those small fry was like an adult beating a child. In fact, what they feared most was being surrounded and being like an ant biting an elephant to death.

The correct use of elite troops is to launch surprise attacks and mobile warfare. This battle finally lifted the siege of Hangzhou, and the rest is just a matter of slowly killing time.

Taking advantage of the respite, Che Guangqian mobilized the entire city's population, men, women, young and old, to join the battle. Not only did they reopen the Qinghu River, which was mostly blocked, within just two days, but they also opened a "water hole" in the west of the city to bring water from the canal in the west of the city into the city.

In this way, the drinking water problem in Hangzhou city was finally temporarily solved.

(End of this chapter)