Emperor Taizong's Growth Plan

Chapter 404 Soldiers are approaching Jiangzhou City!
Xia Guo, Jiangling Mansion.

Under the leadership of Di Qing, the tens of thousands of Yunjun marched mightily, with flags covering the sky all the way, without covering up their tracks, let alone blocking the eyes of prying eyes from the dark.

In the middle of the army, under the commander-in-chief flag and the big banner, Di Qing is clearly armored, with a sword at his waist in his hand, and he is riding his horse forward.

Tanma came at a gallop, got off the horse, and shouted loudly:

"Report!"

"Marshal Qizuo, most of our army has crossed the Juzhang River. The forward is less than [-] miles away from Dangyang County, Jiangling Prefecture! Along the way, Xia's army is getting more and more scouting horses, and they already know that our army is coming!"

Hearing this, Di Qing raised her head slightly and said in a deep voice:
"Investigate again! Order the various ministries to alert the Xia army in Jiangling Prefecture, but if there are signs of mobilization, report back immediately!"

"Yes!"

After Tanma left, the generals around Di Qing couldn't help asking:
"Commander, do the army of Jiangling Mansion really have the guts to fight our army out of the city?"

In the entire Jiangling Mansion, Xia's army is no more than [-] to [-].Although they are all elites, facing the Di Qing tribe, which is superior in terms of combat power, morale, and number of soldiers and horses, the only way left is to stick to the city and dare not go out of the city to fight.

When Di Qing heard this, he said in a deep voice:

"Dangyang County is the gateway of Jiangling Mansion. It strangles the throats of the towns and serves as the fence for Xiangzhou and Jiangcheng Mansions. Once there is danger, Xia's army cannot rescue it! At that time, our army can force Xia's reinforcements to go out to fight in the city. Go down to Jiangling Prefecture!"

As I said before, the location of Jiangling Mansion is extremely important. It is located between Xiangzhou and Yuezhou, and it strangles the main channel of the Yangtze River. It must be guarded against!

But to be honest, Jiangling City is only guarding the waterway to prevent Yunguo from Yixian County going down the river.In fact, it was Dangyang County, located in the northern border of Jiangling Prefecture, who could really assist in defending the flanks of Xiangzhou and Yuezhou.

It can be said that among the two prefectures and five counties under the jurisdiction of Jiangling Mansion, only Jiangling City and Dangyang County are worthy of the Yun Army sending out a large army to attack!

"Then what if Xia Jun can't hold on?" The general next to him asked again.

Di Qing looked calm, and said in a deep voice:

"If the general of the Jiangling Mansion is clear about it, then our army will take Dangyang County directly, and then divide our troops into two groups, all the way north to Xiangzhou, and join forces with General Zhengbei to besiege Xiangzhou. All the way to attack the flanks of Jiangling City , forcing the Dongting Lake Xia Army Navy to divide up their troops to help, as a containment!"

Yuezhou and Xiangzhou are places where the Jiangcheng mansion is built as a barrier. If one of them is lost, the army can drive straight in and capture Jiangzhou city!At that time, the overall situation will be settled!

All the generals understood immediately, and they all agreed.

And at this moment, everyone heard the sound of hurried horseshoes.

Qi Qi followed the prestige and saw another scouting horse galloping towards him.

"Report to Commander-in-Chief, urgently report to Jiangling City!"

"Jiangling City garrisoned the Xia army, divided up to [-] troops, and rushed to Dangyang County for help!"

Hearing the urgent report from Tanma, all the generals were overjoyed.

"Jiangling Prefecture has a total of [-] troops garrisoned. Excluding the troops stationed in important areas, the garrison in the prefecture city is less than [-]. Now that [-] troops have been dispatched to help, with this calculation, there are less than [-] troops left in Jiangling City!"

"Congratulations, Marshal, the plan has been completed!"

"Marshal, the last general asks for orders, and lead the soldiers and horses under his command to attack the incoming reinforcements!"

With calm eyes, Di Qing immediately shouted:
"Pass the military order, transfer the commander-in-chief to Youzhou to rush forward, and wipe out the Xia army! The rest of the army marches quickly, capture Dangyang within three days, and take back Jiangling City!"

All the generals were shocked, and they all cupped their hands and shouted:
"The last general is waiting, take orders!"
-
"kill!"

"Break the city, break the city!"

The sound of shouting and killing was deafening, and the bloody air of conquest on the battlefield soared into the sky.

Bows and arrows, trebuchets, ladders, chariots, and many other siege weapons were all on display.All the soldiers of the Yun army bravely climbed up to the city wall in front of them, shouting and killing.

Xia Jun gritted his teeth and stood firm, constantly throwing arrows and rolling logs and rocks at Yunjun.From time to time, some of the Yunjun who ascended the city were hit, or were stabbed by the spears of the Xia army on the city wall, and fell down the city screaming.

All of a sudden, the siege soldiers of the cloud army suffered heavy casualties.

The land of Fan County is not as good as Xiangzhou, whether it is the depth of the city, or the garrison of soldiers and horses.I thought it was just acting as a flank to defend the land of Xiangzhou, but at this time it was facing a strong attack from the main force of the Yun army, so it was naturally hard to support.

But it can be seen that the commander of the Fan County defender is very talented.Facing the strong attack of the cloud army, he was still able to hold on.

Standing on the temporary high platform outside the city and looking towards the city, one can see that the people in the entire Fan County have already been organized to carry the ordnance.The rolled logs and stones thrown down can also be seen as beams, bricks and tiles removed from the houses.

All the generals of the Yun Army saw Xia Jun resisting so tenaciously, their eyelids twitched, and their faces were dignified.

In the land of the six counties in the southwest, because of the previous military chaos and plague, the hearts of the people no longer belong to them.Facing the cloud army, the local people even welcomed them wholeheartedly.

Therefore, since the Yun army entered the territory of Xia Kingdom, they have never encountered such a posture of full resistance from the army and the people.

Today's battle made the generals of the Yun army suddenly remember that the scene in front of them is the most common situation encountered in siege battles!
At this time, some generals couldn't help but let out a faint sigh, and murmured:
"This small Fan County is so difficult to capture. How can Xiangzhou City, which is deep and deep, guarded by Xia's elite troops, and has hundreds of thousands of people, be so impregnable?"

Cheng Bushi, who was surrounded by all the generals, heard such emotion, suddenly turned his head, and looked coldly at the general of the Yun Army who made the sound.

The general noticed Cheng Bushi's eyes, and he was a little shocked. Then he realized that he had slipped his words, and quickly knelt down on one knee, leaned over and clasped his fists, apologizing:

"The last general made a slip of the tongue, please punish the commander!"

At the time of the Great War, he made this remark, although it was unintentional, but it was indeed suspected of disturbing the morale of the army.Cheng Bushi has always been strict in running the army, and the generals did not dare to speak out to persuade him at this time.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Buzhi didn't punish him for his crimes at this time, and after pondering for a moment, he said in a deep voice:

"Move the Chinese army camp to the front line!"

When the generals heard this, they were taken aback for a moment.

Before they could dissuade them, a group of personal soldiers had already stepped forward, surrounded by Cheng Bushi, and headed towards the front line.

The generals had no choice but to follow quickly.

And when the banners and flags with the words "Conquering the North General" were erected on the front line and fluttered with the wind, the frontline cloud army, whose offensive had already been weakened, saw the commander in person taking the front line to take charge, and their morale was immediately boosted. , to fight again.

The sound of shouting and killing resounded all around again.

"Kill!"

The soldiers of the Yun army on the front line, braving the Xia army's arrows, all of them had ferocious faces and bravery, they risked their lives to attack the city wall of Fan County.

Holding a saber, Cheng Bushi stood upright under the handsome flag, looking indifferently at the general of the Yun army just now.

This general of the Yunjun had pleaded guilty because he was afraid of the harsh military law.But at this time, seeing the frontline soldiers fighting bravely and fearlessly, his heart was inexplicably touched, his face flushed, and he couldn't help showing shame.

He lowered his head in shame, then gritted his teeth and shouted:
"Mo, Mo General please order, and lead your troops to attack Fan County!"

Cheng Buzhi heard the words, his expression remained unchanged, and he said in a deep voice:
"If you can climb first, this commander will reward you with merit!"

"Thank you, handsome!"

The general of the Yun army stood up suddenly, his expression was full of determination, he swung his cloak, turned around and left quickly, summoned his subordinates, and stormed Fan County.

Under the city wall of Fan County, the general of the Yun Army cast aside his fear, took the lead with a sword in his hand, and charged towards the city wall, sternly shouting:
"Go first!"

The morale of his subordinates was greatly boosted, and they followed closely behind, shouting:
"First board! First board!"

The frontline soldiers of the Yun Army heard the words, and for the sake of vying to be the first to ascend, they all became more courageous and desperately attacked and killed the city wall.

Xia Jun, who had been struggling to support and thought that he could take a breather for a while after defeating the edge of the Yun army, saw that the Yun army not only did not retreat, but continued to attack.

Seeing that several parts of the city walls of Fan County were lost, and the Yun army poured into the city continuously, Cheng Bushi shouted loudly:

"Send an order to transfer the soldiers from the rear to take over the security of Fancheng."

"Leave [-] soldiers and horses to build military strongholds, camps, and water strongholds along the north of Fanxian County. Divide troops to garrison, cut off the river road, and completely seal Xiangzhou! State City!"

All the generals cheered up and shouted together:

"Follow the order of the commander in chief!"
-
Yuezhou, the camp of the Yun Army.

A general in full armor walked quickly into the commander's tent, bowed down to salute Wu Zixu who was above the master, and said respectfully:

"Ge Chuan General Cheng Jun, pay homage to Qu Jinghou!"

Seeing Cheng Jun's arrival, Wu Zixu couldn't help standing up, and said with a loud smile:

"General Cheng is finally here. This Marquis has been looking forward to your navy coming day and night for the past few days!"

The land of Yuezhou is not difficult to capture.Only the Dongting Lake Marine Division is a problem.Therefore, Wu Zixu had to wait until the arrival of the Inland River Navy before he could formally attack.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Jun hurriedly said:

"Report to Lord Hou, the last general in charge of the Inland River Navy warships, a total of 120 three ships. All of them are large ships with more than a thousand materials, and they can be dispatched by Lord Hou!"

After the First Battle of Nanpanjiang, the Neihe Navy, which captured nearly half of the battleships of the West Road Navy of the Li Dynasty, can now be regarded as a shotgun.

Wu Zixu nodded repeatedly when he heard the words, and immediately shouted:

"Pass down the order of the Marquis, all the troops and horses will attack according to the previous plan. Within ten days, the Marquis will seize Yuezhou!"

All the generals in the handsome tent immediately shouted violently, and they all responded:

"The last will obey!"

At this time, it was Cheng Jun who had just arrived, showing a look of being caught off guard. After hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help interrupting loudly:

"Master Hou, I have something to say at the end, I dare not say it!"

Wu Zixu nodded slightly upon hearing this, and said:
"General Cheng doesn't care about scruples, just say it!"

Cheng Jun pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and said:

"The last general knows that Lord Hou knows the soldiers, and he is a famous general in the world... But Dongting Lake in Yuezhou is said to stretch for eight hundred miles. In addition, my inland river navy division is not clear about the waterway of Dongting Lake. Within seven days, I am afraid that all It may not be possible to find the main force of the Xia Guo Navy."

Eight hundred miles away, Dongting is vast and boundless, and Yunguo is even more unclear about its hydrology.If the Xia Guo Navy intends to avoid the battle, they may not be able to find traces within seven days!

At this time, Wu Zixu was not angry at what Cheng Jun said, he nodded slightly and said:
"What General Cheng said is very reasonable, and there is no need to be afraid of such advice and suggestions from now on..."

Having said that, Wu Zixu paused slightly, and continued:
"General Cheng doesn't need to think so much. Now I am attacking with big clouds and Xia Guo is defending. No matter how big Dongting Lake is, the Yuezhou City, Junshan County, and Longtan County, which are responsible for the supply of the army, are attacked. Xia Guo's navy can't just ignore it." of!"

In the handsome tent, there was also a general who said:

"Master Hou has ordered people to prepare rafts and green grass. Just wait for all the nearby states and counties to be scattered on the lakes of the port, so that the Xia army's navy cannot dock."

Hearing this, Cheng Jun suddenly realized, clapped his hands, and said:
"In this way, Xia Jun's navy will either be forced to fight our Neihe navy, or they will have to retreat to Jiangzhou City!"

Rafts and grass can block the water surface and prevent ships from moving forward.As a result, Xia Jun's navy had neither supplies nor room for maneuver, unable to advance and retreat freely, and could only act according to the route envisioned by the Yun Jun.

And if it is a direct battle, the Inland River Navy who has obtained the essence of Li Chaodong Road Navy and trained for more than half a year is really not afraid of the Jinling Navy with old ships!
Having said this, Cheng Jun immediately bowed down in admiration, and sighed:
"Your Majesty deserves to be my famous general who shakes the world, the last general should worry too much!"

Wu Zixu waved his hands slightly, and said in a deep voice:
"It doesn't matter, there should be no scruples in planning strategies in the army! Otherwise, if the commander doesn't think carefully for a while, wouldn't the frontline soldiers suffer heavy losses?"

Hearing this, Cheng Jun no longer had any worries about the young Qu Jinghou in front of him, and immediately cupped his fists and shouted:

"The last general takes orders!"

A moment later, in the camp of the Yun army, the sound of military drums was loud.

The gate of the big camp was opened, and the troops of various ministries came out in single file, marching according to the target prefectures and counties set before.The Yunnei River Navy, which was moored on the lake, also set sail and headed for Dongting Lake, which is [-] miles ahead.

Zhaosheng two years, autumn, November [-]rd.

Longtan County, Yuezhou was destroyed by Wu Zixu.

Di Qing led the army and captured Dangyang County.Of the [-] reinforcements from Jiangling Mansion, all of them were destroyed by Youzhou Tuqi.

November [-]th.

The city of Yuezhou was broken.Xia Jun's navy was forced to meet the enemy, 21 warships were damaged, and they were defeated and retreated.

Di Qing led his troops back to Jiangling.

Cheng Buzhi led his troops to Suizhou.

November [-]th.

The camp of the Xia Army in Yuezhou was located, and Junshan County was taken by the Yun Army.

Suizhou, Jiangzhou County, was captured by Cheng Bushi.The army was far away from Jiangzhou City, and only Xiaochang Mansion in Jiangzhou County was left as a barrier.

November tenth.

Inland River Navy, against Xia Guo Navy.

Di Qing led his troops to break through Jiangling Mansion. Thirty thousand Xia's troops either died or surrendered, and less than five thousand fled.

November [-]th coincides with Lidong.

Xia Guo's navy fought fiercely for three days, losing most of them, and hurriedly withdrew to Jiangzhou City.All the prefectures and counties near Yuezhou belong to the Yun Army!
Cheng Bushi led his troops to Xiaochang Mansion.

November 21st.

Xiaochang Mansion was destroyed!
December tenth.

Cheng Bushi, Di Qing, and Wu Zixu, the three armies, joined forces under Jiangzhou City, and besieged the city.

The court of Xia Kingdom was in turmoil.

(End of this chapter)