Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 265

Xiangyang is the waist and back of the world, where water and land rush, and it has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.

Luo Xiujin, the new governor of Chuanhu, and Sun Dingliao, the admiral of Huguang, stood by the Han River and remained silent for a long time. Behind them, six hundred cavalry and three thousand three thousand infantry gathered from Henan for reinforcements. I can only look at the river and sigh.

"Xiangyang is such an important town, the bandits actually destroy the city and don't defend it, what a bandit!"

Luo Xiujin was trembling with anger.

He couldn't help but said to Admiral Sun Dingliao, "Huguang's shape is better in Wuchang? In Jingzhou? In Xiangyang? From the perspective of the world, the focus is on Xiangyang; from the southeast, the focus is on Wuchang; from the perspective of Huguang, the focus is on Jingzhou."

The new governor, who came to Manchuria as a scholar more than ten years ago, was heartbroken, "Xiangyang is the waist of the world, the Central Plains, it can be merged with the southeast, and the southeast can also be drawn to the northwest."

In his view, Xiangyang is a strategically important place that no matter who gets it, it is impossible to give up.

This is also the reason why when he heard that Xiangyang had fallen, he immediately dragged Sun Dingliao with [-] soldiers and rushed over without taking care of the handover in Henan.

He originally thought that after Wang Guangen and others surrendered and rebelled and captured Xiangyang, the Ming army who had besieged the cities of Jingzhou and Wuchang might immediately divide their troops to reinforce and station in Xiangyang, so as to isolate the Qing troops from Henan from going south.

Unexpectedly, they went south all the way day and night, and finally arrived at Xiangyang, but what they saw was an empty city, no, it was a ruined broken city.

There are no people in the countryside and villages, no merchant ships and passengers on the Han River, the city walls have collapsed, and the moat is blocked.

What a stupid person he must be to give up such a strategic location like Xiangyang.

Admiral Sun Dingliao was originally the deputy general of Dalinghe. Looting money, food and people, but not knowing how to defend the city, we recaptured the second city of Xiangfan without bloodshed, and we have made great achievements when we first entered Huguang."

Luo Xiujin looked at the devastated scene and wanted to cry without tears.

"The two cities of Xiangfan were damaged so badly. These thieves not only filled the moat, but also blocked the Hanjiang River. Look at those boulders. It is impossible for a big ship to navigate. If you want to restore the city wall, dredge the river, and clean up the moat, How much manpower time will this take?"

"But now, there isn't even a single ghost left here."

Even if they came in a hurry, they didn't bring much food and grass. Now it is impossible to collect them on the spot, and the whole army will be hungry.

As an admiral, Sun Liaoyuan was only in charge of fighting, but as a governor, he had to think more.

As Xiangyang is an important city in the world, the Ming army can give up, but they can't.

But as long as Luo Xiujin thinks of the difficulty of repairing this important town, Luo Xiujin has a splitting headache.

Even now, they can't even transport these 900 people across the Hanshui River. There are no boats, and there is not a piece of wood. Are you going to swim like this?

Xiangyang is a card, and Fancheng is a ship.

Since the Tang Dynasty, the main waterway of the Han River has gradually approached the north bank, so the two cities of Xiangfan on both sides of the river have their own emphasis. Xiangyang City is a military stronghold, and Fancheng has become a famous commercial city and an important water transport terminal.

But now, Xiangyang, an important military town, is dilapidated, and Fancheng, a famous commercial city, doesn't even have a ghost.

Luo Xiujin was heartbroken.

Xiangyang City was built on the south bank of the Han River at the junction of the Qinba Corridor and Dahong Mountain. Xian Mountain towers like a green screen to the southwest, and the Han River surrounds the northeast like a jade belt. This terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Between Xianshan Mountain, the Han River and Xiangyang, there is a water plain of the Han River, which is no more than ten miles long and five miles wide. Xiangyang City guards the northeast corner of this small plain. The moat, which is more than 100 feet wide at its widest point, introduces the flowing water of the Han River.

To the west, there is Tanxi Lake as a natural obstacle several miles long beyond the moat from Wanshan to the west of Xiangyang City. In addition, Fancheng can also be used as wings.

But Xiangyang City was lost, and the process of losing it was unbelievable.

What is even more unacceptable is that after Wang Guangtai and others captured Xiangyang, they evacuated and destroyed the city.

He would rather they stay here to guard. Although such a city is not easy to attack, the surrounding people are still there, and some people will have food, which can supply and support the army.

And Xiangfan will become a cage, luring the Ming army here, trapping them here, and letting them gather and annihilate them.

Now, they ran to Yunyang Mountain, Fang County, Junzhou, Wudang Mountain. In this stretch of mountains and valleys between the Qinling Mountains and Daba Mountain, it is difficult to conquer them.

"wrong."

Luo Xiujin frowned.

"No, these people opened Yunyang to surrender, then captured Xiangyang, then captured Yunyang again, and then destroyed Xiangfan, moved the population, and transported away supplies. The destruction was so thorough and the actions were so fast. This is not like the habit of ordinary thieves. , it's not easy."

Sun Dingliao felt that he was suspicious, "Brothers Wang Guangen were originally from the original bandits, and looting is very normal for them. They know that they have few soldiers and cannot defend Xiangyang, so isn't it normal to loot and escape?"

"Isn't it always been like this for thieves?"

"No, it's not right, it's definitely not right. You have to connect the events and things together. It's weird here. I thought it was just their habit of thieves, but looking at it now, there's a lot to write about here."

"I suspect that there is a very powerful expert who is secretly manipulating the bureau. This time, it is definitely not a case of embezzlement of food and rewards, which led to the mutiny of the soldiers. This may have been a bureau."

"They first used Yunyang as a bait to surrender, and lured away the main force of the green battalion guarding Xiangyang City. Li Daitao sent thousands of Yunyang soldiers to Xiangyang, and then searched for opportunities to kill two birds with one stone, and captured the two cities of Yunxiang. After success, they quickly Demolishing the city walls, moving the population, transporting away supplies, and finally not forgetting to block the river leading to the upper reaches, these actions are so close that they must have been deployed long ago."

"If you look further away, the siege of Jingzhou and the siege of Wuchang seem to be a bigger deployment!"

Sun Dingliao was a little impatient with Luo Xiujin's nagging, he just wanted to know what to do next.

"Scatter out the cavalry to see if you can find anyone left behind, and then send the infantry to the towns and villages to collect wood for houses and use them to make rafts across the river."

"My lord, we only have food for three days, and we can't get any supplements now. Should we go back to Dengzhou first? We can collect ships in Dengzhou, replenish food and grass, and gather more soldiers and horses there. Everything is ready. Go south again."

"Anyway, Xiangfan has been destroyed and abandoned. It is a dead city and an empty city. It doesn't matter if we come later."

Luo Xiujin sighed, "But Jingzhou and Wuchang can't wait. Yunxiang has already been lost, so we can't lose Jingzhou and Wuchang again!"

"But now there is no boat or food, and it is difficult for the brothers to move even after crossing the river. If the bandits attack again, the whole army will be wiped out. Therefore, I still propose to retreat to Dengzhou to rest. Although Wuchang in Jingzhou is in a hurry, we have to To ensure your own safety, you can't put yourself in first, right?"

(End of this chapter)