Fenghou

Chapter 331 Trial Attack

The Han River was once again controlled by the Song Army, and Wan Yanchang suffered a disastrous defeat in his second battle to capture Jingxiang. Not only did the offense and defense of both sides return to the original point, but more importantly, the [-] troops of the Puppet Qi Army were wiped out.

There are currently about [-] defenders in Xiangyang, and the command truly belongs to Dong Xian. Shortly after the news of the failure of the attack on the Three Gorges Road, Wan Yanchang led [-] Jurchen cavalry to cross the Han River in Fangzhou and left Xiangyang. .

There are still [-] troops in Xiangyang, while the Song army has increased to [-], and Li Gang's main force has increased to [-]. The main reason is that Chen Qing sent people to escort Li Gang's nearly [-] soldiers. All the soldiers who surrendered on the Three Gorges Road were recruited by Li Gang.

Chen Qing's army strength also reached [-], including the [-] troops under his own command and the [-] navy commanded by Zheng Ping. The total strength of the army reached about [-] people.

It would be impossible to have so many troops, and he couldn't afford to support them himself. He had to hand over the [-] recruits from Jiangling to Li Gang.

Outside the city of Xiangyang, the Song army set up three camps, the main camp of Li Gang was to the south, the camp of [-] troops led by Lieutenant General Zhe Yanzhi was to the east, and the camp of the capital commander Chen Qing was located outside the west city.

In Chen Qing's camp, [-] large tents were set up, surrounded by thick camp fences, trenches were dug in front, and dozens of sentry posts were built outside the trenches.

However, it is not easy for a [-] army to capture Xiangyang City. The main reason is that Xiangyang City is too difficult to attack. The army may not be able to capture Xiangyang.

It's a pity that Wan Yanchang took a fancy to this damned guy and took him away with him.

In the coach's tent, Li Gang summoned five senior officials to discuss the strategy of attacking Xiangyang, including Zhe Yanzhi, deputy envoy of Huguang Xuanfu, Cheng Changyu, envoy of Suizhou Township, Chen Qing, envoy of Yue and Ezheng, Dutong Jieqian, and Dutong Liu Hongdao.

Cheng Changyu said: "The biggest difficulty in Xiangyang City is that the moat is too wide. I suggest using small boats to build eight pontoon bridges overnight, two in the east, west, north, south, and north, and then attack from four directions at the same time. Overwhelm the opponent with superior forces. Within a few days Take Xiangyang City."

Chen Qing didn't speak. Cheng Changyu had the right idea. He took advantage of his large number of troops to win, but the casualties were too high. At least [-] to [-] people would have to be killed in battle. Li Gang would definitely not agree.

Sure enough, Li Gang didn't say a word, and Orihiko, who has always been famous for his bad mouth, said coldly: "In this way of fighting, we will have at least [-] to [-] casualties every day. Governor Cheng thinks that our soldiers are ants, and no matter how many deaths there are, we don't feel bad. ?”

Cheng Changyu said angrily: "How can it be possible to fight without killing people? If you don't want to fight, I will lead my [-] troops to attack Beicheng. When I capture Xiangyang, you will never want to claim credit!"

Li Gang immediately agreed, "Yes, Cheng Zhenfu will lead an army of [-] to attack Beicheng tomorrow!"

Cheng Changyu immediately understood that this was Li Gang using himself as a tester to attack!What he said just now was too full, and it was too late for him to regret it.

Cheng Changyu had no choice but to say sullenly, "I don't have a boat to build a floating bridge."

Li Gang didn't give him a chance at all, and said decisively: "I will pay you for the pontoon bridge for the ship in the afternoon. You build the pontoon bridge tonight and start attacking tomorrow."

Cheng Changyu and everyone left, Li Gang sighed and said to Chen Qing; "You have also seen that before the war started, the internal fighting began."

Chen Qingxiao asked: "It seems that there is a conflict between Cheng Changyu and Orihiko?"

Li Gang smiled wryly and said: "The two of them have deep conflicts, which happened during the process of exterminating Yang Yao. You also know that Orihiko is a relatively noble person, and he looks down on Cheng Changyu very much, and he is the kind of straightforward person. In fact, today He has restrained a lot, if they used to fight."

Chen Qing nodded, "Cheng Changyu's plan is relatively standard, but the casualties are too high, and the gains outweigh the losses!"

Li Gang smiled and said: "I know you are good at using tricks, you should have a plan in your chest, I would like to hear your plan."

Li Gang was very satisfied with Chen Qing's rescue of the Three Gorges Road, especially Chen Qing did not kill any prisoners.
Chen Qing smiled slightly: "I have some ideas, but I also hope to see Cheng Zhen's siege tomorrow. I also need to know the defense situation of Xiangyang!"

"That's good! After the trial battle is over tomorrow, I'll hear your opinion again!"

Dong Xian stood on the top of the city with his hands behind his back, looking worriedly at the camp outside the city. He has not received any news from the imperial court until now, as if the imperial court had given up on them. This is why Dong Xian felt a little regretful. After Yan Chang evacuated, he should have evacuated Xiangyang right after him.

Although Xiangyang is an extremely important strategic place, it also depends on whether it can play a role. If the strength cannot beat Jingxiang, then Xiangyang is meaningless no matter how important it is.

Now he can't retreat, so he can only bite the bullet and hold on, to see if the battle in the west can affect Jing Xiang's side.

At this time, a soldier rushed to report, "Report to Marshal, a group of small boats were found on the Cao River."

This was a new situation. Dong Xian hurriedly walked towards the North City. Not long after, he came to the North City Wall and looked out. He saw dozens of small boats moored on the Cao River, but he didn't know what they were going to use them for.
Dong Xian pondered for a while, and suddenly realized that this boat was obviously used to erect the pontoon bridge!

The Song army was about to attack the city, so he immediately ordered to the general on duty: "Give me close surveillance, especially at night, once the enemy builds a pontoon bridge, report to me immediately!"

That night, Chen Qing also got the news that Cheng Changyu started to build a pontoon bridge outside the East City. The reason why he chose to be in the East City instead of the North City was really because of some special structures in Xiangyang City.

The city wall of Xiangyang was still a foot away from the moat, so the craftsmen built a wall close to the bank of the moat. This was not for military purposes, but to prevent the city wall from flooding ashore after flooding, so as to avoid the root of the city wall being soaked in water for a long time.

This waterproof wall was built around the entire bank of the moat, and the waterproof wall outside the north city wall was the tallest, with a height of eight feet, while the height of the other three walls was only about three feet.

And if the pontoon bridge is built on the north city wall, there will be a problem. The attacking soldiers have to jump off the eight-foot-high waterproof embankment, which will definitely hurt them. It's much easier.

Chen Qing rode towards the east city with more than a hundred soldiers. When he passed by the north city, he looked at the high waterproof embankment, which was indeed built very high. The difficulty of the city is even greater, but Xiangyang City has thought of it, and it can be used for reference in the future.

At this time, Chen Qing saw the water gate again, which was next to the main gate. Compared with the city wall, he actually cared more about this water gate.

The strategy that Jiang Yanxian suggested to Chen Qing to capture Xiangyang refers to the Water Gate, which is a weak point in the defense of Xiangyang City. There are two iron fences inside and outside. At the head of the city, the guards usually come down the passage to check the ships in the door opening.

Jiang Yanxian told Chen Qing that the two iron fences had not been replaced for at least [-] years, they had been corroded by water long ago, and looked very rough on the surface, but in fact they were no different from rotten wood, and could be cut with a sharp axe.

At this time, there was a sound of horseshoes, and a soldier chased after him, clasped his fists at Chen Qing and said, "Report to Dutong, the ships from Baling have arrived and will be moored on the river north of Daying."

Chen Qing temporarily gave up his plan to go to the east of the city to check the pontoon bridge, and instead went to the west of the Hanshui River. Soon he came to the Hanshui River to the north of his camp. Special ships coming from Baling County.

At this time, someone stood on the side of a large ship and waved to Chen Qing, "Chen Dutong!"

Chen Qing recognized the person who came, it was Xie Changzhi, the chief craftsman in his army.

Chen Qing stepped onto the big boat and asked with a smile, "Is what I asked to do done?"

Xie Changzhi smiled and nodded, "Report to Dutong, it's already done, Dutong please follow me!"

(End of this chapter)