Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 870 Besieged on all sides

After discussing with the generals, Zhao Kuangyin made a major decision. He decided to personally lead 60,000 elite imperial troops, leave the camp, and head west to Hong County. Afterwards, they would follow the waterway of the Bian River, with ships and land forces going together, passing through Lingbi, Suzhou, Yingtian Prefecture, and finally returning to Kaifeng Prefecture, Bianjing City.

The choice of this route took into account both safety factors and marching efficiency.

At present, the Wu army has limited manpower on the western route. Although the troops led by Pan Chongche occupied Zhenzhou, Chuzhou, Hezhou, Haozhou and other places north of the Yangtze River, their forces are scattered. Even with tens of thousands of reinforcements, they still formed a confrontation with the Song Dynasty's western army.

Therefore, Pan Chongche's troops were still mainly fighting in Huainan, and did not cross the Huai River to enter Huaibei. Therefore, the west of Huaibei was relatively safe, and Zhao Kuangyin's choice to return to Kaifeng from the west was undoubtedly a wise move.

Although Cao Bin left behind 80,000 elite troops, his next strategy was to move closer to Hong County and control the shipping of the Bian River. This would not only make food and grass supply more convenient, but also temporarily get rid of the dilemma of being attacked from both the north and the south.

Zhao Kuangyin had high hopes for Cao Bin. He knew that Cao Bin's wisdom and ability to lead troops were enough to cope with the current war situation.

"Cao Qingjia, the battle situation in Huainan is temporarily handed over to you. We need to fight a tug-of-war. As long as we delay the expansion of the Wu army and mobilize the people of the Song Dynasty nearby to defend their country, it will be like a quagmire that traps the Wu army. Once their front line is extended, they will not be able to withstand a long-term battle and will retreat."

Zhao Kuangyin's words were both an order and an expectation. From the perspective of military theory, his judgment was correct. However, the war situation was changing rapidly, and everything depended on human effort. The opponent might not necessarily follow his predictions and stick to the rules.

Su Chen, in particular, had a more flexible tactical mindset than these ancients. Su Chen certainly knew that it would be a long journey to invade the Song Dynasty, with a long supply line and a lone army deep in the enemy's territory, and that he would never be able to fight for a long time. He had to fight quickly, first capture some territory, then transport troops from Jiangnan to occupy Huainan and Huaibei, implement new policies, and turn the people of the Song Dynasty into the people of Wu as soon as possible.

Every move made by Su Chen was full of foresight. His goal was not only military victory, but also political stability and the support of the people.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I am here to take steady steps, change tactics according to the situation, and delay the Wu army from continuing to advance northward." Cao Bin's voice was firm and powerful, and his eyes revealed his trust in Zhao Kuangyin and his control over the battle situation.

"That's good!" Zhao Kuangyin nodded and looked at Cao Bin. For now, he could only choose to trust this famous general of the Song Dynasty. Although other generals also had great military achievements, they were still inferior to Cao Bin, a handsome man. At least Cao Bin was here to block the troops of Pan Mei and Lu Jiang and protect the lanes of the Bian River, thus reducing the impact on Bianjing.

At present, the population of Bianjing City is over one million, and a lot of food, materials, etc. are needed to be transported northward through the Bian River. Therefore, the Bian River transportation route between Hongxian, Lingbi, Suzhou, Yingtianfu, Kaifengfu and Bianjing City is very critical.

After Zhao Kuangyin gave his instructions, he led the imperial guards on the road in a hurry. This was because the war was changing rapidly and if they did not leave quickly, they would be in trouble if they were outflanked by Su Chen from the south.

As the royal army left, the morale of the military camp suddenly seemed a little low, because His Majesty led the army in person, but returned empty-handed, leaving these soldiers here to continue resisting. No matter how they fight against the Wu army in the future, it will be difficult for them to be sure of defeating the enemy. Instead, they are worried that the Wu army will attack them.

Cao Bin saw this situation and ordered the troops to train separately and be ready to deal with surprise attacks from the Wu army from the north and south at any time.

Su Chen had already thought of this. He left 50,000 troops to guard Pengcheng, and then led 80,000 troops south with Lin Renzhao, dividing the troops into two groups to attack Cao Bin's camp.

In the south, Pan Mei and Lu Jiang also received military orders and divided their troops into two groups and marched northward to encircle Cao Bin's camp from four directions. This time, it was equivalent to the tactic of being surrounded on all sides!

Soon, Cao Bin realized the severity of the war situation. He did not expect that the Wu army would really come, and come so quickly. Fortunately, Zhao Kuangyin left in advance and was not besieged here.

"Come here, come to the tent!" Cao Bin immediately summoned Han Lingkun, Liu Shouzhong, Shi Baoji, Murong Yanqing and other generals to discuss the battle method urgently. At present, there are 100,000 soldiers in the barracks. Cao Bin distributes these troops to each general, each leading 20,000 soldiers, divided into five routes: east, west, south, north and center, to fight against the Wu army that is encircling from all sides. However, this time the Wu army mobilized nearly 200,000 troops and set up ambush points layer by layer, intending to wear down the Song army.

"Fight!"

Cao Bin's eyes were determined, and he was determined to fight this time. The situation had come to this point, and the only way was to persevere. If the battle lasted for a month, the Wu army would naturally retreat because of the long supply line.

Cao Bin ordered trenches to be dug layer by layer, earth walls to be rammed, and defensive fortifications to be built. With 100,000 troops stationed there, there was enough food and grass for a month, so Cao Bin thought that he could hold out for a month, and then see the situation and break out and withdraw when things were hopeless.

"Kill!" The Wu army launched an attack from all directions, with sophisticated weapons and firearms, and launched a fierce attack on the Song army's position. On the battlefield, the sound of weapons colliding, the shouts of soldiers, and the explosions of firearms intertwined, forming a tragic battle scene.

Drunk lying in the battlefield, Lord Grim, a few people have fought back in ancient times.

The fighting scene was cruel. Soldiers from the North and the South were killing each other. They were originally the same human race, but they killed each other for the expansion of territory, for the sake of achievement and for the unification of history. Life on the battlefield became as fragile as grass.

Every drop of blood carries the hopes and dreams of a family; every scar records the ruthlessness and cruelty of war.

Cao Bin knew very well that this battle was not only for the territory of the Song Dynasty, but also to protect the family and future behind every soldier. Even if it was cruel, he could not retreat and had to bite the bullet and fight to the death.

Su Chen stood on the high ground in the back, holding a telescope, his eyes fixed on the direction of the Song camp. Through the telescope, he could clearly see the details of the Song camp's defense: the ground was covered with trenches and earth pits. When firearms hit, many Song soldiers would quickly move into the earth pits to avoid the flying firearm fragments and reduce damage. This greatly reduced the power of the firearms.

"We have found some ways to deal with firearms, but the advantage is still on our side!"

Su Chen thought to himself, with a smile on his face. He knew that the application of advanced technology gave them the upper hand. But he also knew that after a while, the Song army would also mix powerful black gunpowder, and then both sides would use firearms to bombard each other, and the Wu army's advantage would not be obvious at that time.

"Don't underestimate the Chinese people's ability to imitate. Before, the Song people didn't think so deeply that firearms could be used in this way. Now it's different. After learning lessons from the defeat, the Song Dynasty also began to send people to do research on the application of gunpowder." Su Chen thought silently in his heart. He knew that the situation of the war was changing at any time and they had to stay ahead.

After three days of fierce fighting, the Wu army still failed to capture the Song army's camp, and both sides suffered casualties.

Jin Hui came to report the battle situation, frowning, not knowing what to do, and said: "Marshal Su, Cao Bin knows the battle formation, and ordered the digging of trenches and rammed earth walls in advance. He is very clever in deploying troops on all sides, and it is difficult for us to conquer it for the time being."

Su Chen heard this and looked at the Song camp, which was densely packed and arranged in a matching formation. It was several miles in radius, like a copper wall and an iron wall. He recognized Cao Bin's talent in his heart, but since he couldn't attack from the outside, he began to think about how to attack from the inside.