Northern Dynasties

Chapter 1345 Qiantang is mocked
Qiantang River is also known as Zhejiang, and Zhejiang Province was later named after it. It is also famous for the Qiantang Tide.

Today, the Qiantang River and its tributaries are an important water system south of Taihu Lake. In ancient times, it was also the dividing line between the Wu and Yue regions, with Wu in the north and Yue in the south. It also has considerable strategic offensive and defensive value.

This value may not be reflected in normal times, but once the Three Wu regions are in turmoil, the Qiantang River's presence in the war will be highlighted. Putting aside the Wu-Yue hegemony in the pre-Qin period, during the Tianshi Dao rebellion in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the rebel army and the imperial court's brigades fought repeatedly in the north and south of the Qiantang River.

Therefore, when Xu Du, the defender of Jingkou, defected to the Tang Kingdom, causing the river defense to be lost, Chen Qian, Hou Andu and others who were hostile to the Tang Kingdom regarded the Qiantang River as the most important line of defense against the Tang army.

Especially when Wuxing had already been lost, the Qiantang River had become the last lifeline they relied on. So after giving up defending the Great Wall, Chen Qian headed straight for Qiantang.

Fortunately, his previous resolute attitude of resistance paralyzed the Tang army, making the Tang army mistakenly believe that they would have to fight hard after entering Wuxing, and they did not immediately gather their main forces to attack Changcheng County. In addition, the pursuing division was not very familiar with the water and land transportation in Wuzhong, which enabled his troops to successfully retreat to Qiantang.

Qiantang is located on the north bank of the river, which is also the origin of the Qiantang River's name. Long before Chen Qian and his party arrived, Hou Andu of Kuaiji had already sent soldiers to cross the river to the north to occupy Qiantang City, repair and strengthen the city defense, and use it as an offensive and defensive stronghold on the north bank.

Such an arrangement is also a very common arrangement in military deployments that use rivers as defense lines. The river defense line certainly creates an effect of blocking the enemy, but it also restricts one's own actions. If a solid stronghold can be built on the opposite bank in advance, the enemy's activities on the opposite bank can be greatly restricted and threatened, preventing the enemy from launching an offensive on the opposite bank at will. At the same time, there is a steady stream of reinforcements from the rear. When the enemy fails to attack for a long time and becomes discouraged, you can wait for an opportunity to launch a counterattack, thus turning defense into offense.

Key cities such as Guangling and Liyang on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and Fancheng, which is separated from Xiangyang by the Han River, can all achieve such an effect in tactical arrangements. Hou Andu sent a division to station in Qiantang City, which was also a relatively active defensive posture.

The Qiantang garrison commander was Xiao Mohe, a brave general under Hou Andu. Upon learning that the King of Linchuan and his entourage had arrived, he led his subordinates to the city to greet them. When he saw Chen Qian, he bowed and said, "I was ordered by Lord Hou to guard Qiantang carefully and I dare not leave easily. In addition, the previous envoys were vague, and we did not know the outcome of the battle. Therefore, I did not dare to lead my troops far out to meet the king. Fortunately, the king was blessed by heaven and retreated safely. I hope the king will understand what happened before and do not take it as a sin for disrespect."

Chen Qian couldn't help but frown when he heard this. He knew that the retreat was hasty and that it was inevitable that the rear support was inadequate, so he didn't care about it. But after Xiao Mohe said it, the meaning seemed to have changed, and it seemed to have a hint of ridicule.

However, he had heard of Xiao Mohe and knew that he was a warrior and not good at speaking, so he didn't necessarily mean to flatter him. Moreover, he and his group had indeed given up Wuxing to help the other party, and the retreat was relatively smooth, so there was no point in nitpicking about the other party's lack of courtesy.

So he nodded slightly to show that he didn't mind, and then looked at Qiantang City and said to Xiao Mohe: "The defense of Qiantang City is very well-organized, far different from the past. It can be seen that the Marquis really knows how to use people well. Xiao Lang has fulfilled his duties here. If a strong enemy invades in the future, we will not be afraid to fight back."

Qiantang is located at the junction of Kuaiji and Wuxing, and is an important port for inland and sea transportation on the Qiantang River. In its heyday, there were even thousands of large and small boats moored at the boat market port, making it one of the most prosperous areas in the Three Wus.

Because of this, the commercial atmosphere in Qiantang County is very strong. Many buildings and facilities are built around the boat market to provide services for commerce, and the military function is very weak. There is a natural conflict between commerce and the military. Commerce requires people to be able to circulate freely and conveniently, while the military emphasizes regular advances and retreats, and a certain degree of movement and stillness. All kinds of personnel and materials are subject to strict regulations and constraints.

For example, the boat market on the side of Qiantang City had many boats moored there on a daily basis, and there were canals connecting to the nearby navigation docks. Once the Tang army attacked and captured the boat market, they could immediately use the boats inside to cross the Qiantang River defense line and invade Kuaiji.

However, there were few ships parked in the boat market now. The most eye-catching ones were several large warships equipped with poles. If the Tang army had the intention to approach the boat market, they would be strongly blocked by the large warships. At the same time, the ditches connecting the left and right piers were filled up, which not only blocked the passage for ships to freely enter and exit the Qiantang River, but also ensured that the water volume in the main channel would not be diverted and reduced.

"Since I have received the order, I will of course perform my duties faithfully. Fortunately, it is now the end of winter and the beginning of spring, and the shipping market has not yet started, so it is possible to clean up the shipping market and strengthen defense."

Hearing Chen Qian's praise, Xiao Mohe did not take the opportunity to boast complacently, but replied lightly, but in fact, it is obviously not easy to achieve the current quiet and orderly situation.

Although the number of boats in Qiantang Boat Market had greatly decreased due to the season, it was not easy to block the canals and embankments. In order to prevent the Tang army from dredging them easily, the servants had to endure the biting cold and walk into the mudflats to wedge huge wooden iron pillars deeply into the soft riverbed, and then use them as fulcrums to continuously fill them with earth and rocks.

During this process, many of the soldiers were frozen to the point of rotting their hands and feet, and some even froze to death. As there were too many dead, they simply dumped their bodies into the river as materials instead of collecting them. This prevented the Tang army from seizing the north bank of the river and entering the main channel of the Qiantang River by boat, limiting the range of their activities to land.

Long before Chen Qian evacuated, he had already sent his wife and children to Qiantang. Now the family was able to gather in the city for a short while, and since Qiantang would soon become the front line of the war, they had to arrange for the family to stay in Shanyin City south of Qiantang for a while.

At the same time, Chen Qian also had to go to the south to discuss the next strategy with Hou Andu, so he took a short rest in the city and ordered Xiao Mohe to arrange a boat to send him south. After fleeing all night last night, he was extremely nervous. After arriving at the relatively safe Qiantang, Chen Qian had a few goodbyes with his family and fell asleep. He slept until the evening, when he was awakened by the noise outside.

"What happened? Why all the noise?"

Chen Qian stood up, put on his clothes with some displeasure, and shouted to the outside of the door.

Not long after, Han Zigao, wearing military uniform and holding a sword, strode in. With a gloomy face, he said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the commander here is too arrogant and even wants to seize our armor, horses, weapons and staffs!"

"Is this true? This Xiao Mohe is so bold!"

Chen Qian's face darkened when he heard this, and he shouted angrily: "Give me my knife, I want to see who gave this disciple such courage!"

When Chen Qian walked out with his knife in hand, he saw a group of Qiantang defenders standing in the front yard of the mansion. Several of them had drawn their knives and looked a little arrogant. He immediately became angry and shouted, "Where is Xiao Mohe? Get in quickly!"

Not long after, Xiao Mohe, wearing armor, hurried in from outside. He first shouted back the armored soldiers in the front hall, and then bowed his head to Chen Qian and said, "It is rude to disturb the king's rest. The boats at the riverside ferry are ready. The king can take the boat to the south at any time. Hou Gong has been waiting on the south bank for a long time."

"I heard that you wanted to make the apostles rob me of my armor, horses, weapons and staffs?"

Chen Qian raised the knife in his hand and pointed it at Xiao Mohe, then angrily said, "Did you act on your own initiative, or was you ordered to do so by someone else?"

After hearing this, Xiao Mohe quickly bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, this is true. I was not ordered by anyone, but I do have such a need. There are already enemy cavalry spies in the north of Qiantang. The armor and horses in the city are not enough, and the reserves in Kuaiji are also not much. My troops will be attacked here, but there are not enough armor and horses.

Since your army is heading south, your armor, horses, weapons and canes will be left unused. It is better to leave these for the warriors to kill the enemy. If your army is worried that these items may be captured by the enemy, I am willing to guarantee with my life that unless I die in battle here and Qiantang is captured by the enemy, I will never retreat to avoid the enemy and leave the city to the enemy! "

What he said here was decisive and full of vigor, but unexpectedly, Chen Qian's face suddenly became even uglier after hearing it, and he shouted angrily: "We, the people of Wuxing, have fought hard to stop the enemy and prevent disaster for you, the gangsters of Kuaiji, and we have done our best, but you are mocked by these dogs! Capture this lunatic and let Hou Andu come in to see me!"

Han Zigao and others, who were already extremely angry, strode forward immediately after hearing what was said, wanting to capture Xiao Mohe. However, Xiao Mohe was the most powerful general in Jiangdong, and even without a sword or a stick in his hands, his arms swung like hammers, making it difficult for ordinary people to get close to him.

"You bastard dares to resist, are you really going to murder the king?"

The generals and soldiers under Chen Qian became even more angry after seeing this. Soldiers on both sides had already raised their powerful crossbows, ready to shoot them to death on the spot at the order.

"Your Majesty, you have misunderstood. How dare I... I have no such intention!"

After seeing this, Xiao Mohe did not dare to resist anymore. He could only lower his hands and let Chen Qian's trusted men come forward and capture him. He then turned back and ordered his men to quickly cross the river to inform Hou Andu of the situation.

When the soldiers defending Qiantang saw that their commander had surrendered, they quickly left the mansion, ordered their men to guard outside, and then quickly headed south to report the news.

(End of this chapter)