Chapter 613 Attacking Anlu

Chapter 613 Attacking Anlu

Chapter 613 Attacking Anlu
There are three large mountain ranges running from north to south in Jingxiang. The easternmost is the Tongbai Mountains, the middle is the Dahong Mountains, and the west is the Jing Mountains. These three mountains are not separate mountain ranges, but a large mountain range. Just like the wrinkles on an old man's forehead, the mountains rise and fall, stretching for thousands of miles, occupying most of the land in Jingxiang, leaving only two longitudinal flat passages.

The Jingxiang Grand Channel to the west is slightly wider, about a thousand miles long and hundreds of miles wide, with the Han River running through it. The plains of this channel are home to Xiangyang County, Jingling County and Nan County, with a population of one million. It is also the essence of the entire Jingxiang land.

The eastern channel is relatively narrow, sandwiched between the Tongbai Mountains and the Dahong Mountains. It is mainly composed of low hills and not many plains. This is the Sui-Zao Channel, with Zaoyang to the north and Suizhou to the south.

There are not many plains on this channel. Although there are many rivers, their shipping value is not high. There is no big river like the Han River running through it. The transportation of food and grass can basically only be done by land, which is very inconvenient. Therefore, its strategic value is far less important than that of the Jingxiang Channel.

Before, Xiao Xin had deployed few troops in Anlu County, mainly for defense, because Xiao Xin's strategic thinking was to develop to the south. But since Xiao Yan replaced Xiao Xin, the two had completely different strategic thinking. Xiao Yan did not want to hide in the south, but wanted to break into the Central Plains and compete with the heroes in the Central Plains.

Qu Tutong led a heavy troop garrison in Xiangyang. Xiao Yan could not break out from the Jingxiang Road, so he decided to go north from the Sui-Zao Road. He deployed 30,000 troops in Anlu County, preparing to go north to seize Handong County where Sui County was located and Chongling County where Zaoyang County was located.

Just then, the one-month deadline given by Xiao Xia expired, and a thundering strike followed.

That morning, Pei Xingyan led 20,000 cavalrymen to Yunmeng County to rest and wait for supplies.

The Yu River flows south from Sui County and finally flows into the Han River. The shipping conditions from Anlu County to the Han River are relatively good. Yunmeng County is located between Anlu County and the Han River, about 100 miles away from Anlu County.

Pei Xingyan observed mourning for three years due to his mother's death and only returned to work this year. He did not participate in either of the two wars against Goguryeo.

He was entrusted with an important task in the battle to take back Jingxiang, and led 20,000 cavalry to capture Anlu County and Jingyang County by land.

At noon the next day, a fleet came speeding from the south. It was the supply fleet from Jiangxia. The fleet arrived at Yunmeng County and ordered to anchor.

A large amount of grain, salted meat, fodder and black beans were unloaded, and the 20,000 troops were fully supplied. Also on the ship were three large catapults and fifty craftsmen.

The leader of the fleet was Xu Kangda. He stepped forward and saluted Pei Xingyan, saying, "Mianyang County has been captured. The enemy has no reinforcements. General Pei can rest assured."

The Battle of Jingxiang was certainly not an independent battle, but an interconnected one. The first battle was the Battle of Mianyang. Taking Mianyang County cut off the connection between Nanjun and Anlu County, thus cutting off the enemy's channel to support Anlu County.

Therefore, Pei Xingyan rested in Yunmeng County. On the one hand, he rested the cavalry and war horses, and on the other hand, he waited for supplies from Jiangxia. Also, he waited for the end of the Battle of Mianyang and cut off the support channel from Nanjun to Anlu County.

Xu Kangda took out another military order and handed it to Pei Xingyan. It turned out to be written by His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin himself. Pei Xingyan hurriedly opened the order and took a closer look.

The military order told him that there were 30,000 enemy troops in Anlu County, and he was ordered to fight Anlu County with all his strength, with the main aim of forcing them to surrender. All those who could surrender were allowed to surrender, and prisoners of war were not allowed to be killed. There were only 5,000 defenders in Jingling County, so they should be handed over to Luo Shixin's army to capture. He did not need to rush to Jingling County again.

Pei Xingyan nodded. This was different from the original intelligence. Originally, there were only 10,000 enemy troops in Anlu County and 20,000 enemy troops in Jingling County. He did not expect the other side to adjust so quickly and added 20,000 troops to Anlu County at once.

In the afternoon, Pei Xingyan ordered the army to march forward, and 20,000 cavalrymen marched towards Anlu County in the north.

The supply fleet followed the army northward.

The commander of Anjun County was named Zhang Xiu, who had the same name as Zhang Xiu in the Three Kingdoms period. He was named Prince of Anlu County by Xiao Yan. His previous mission was to lead 10,000 troops to garrison in Anlu County to defend against the Sui army's attack from the Sui-Zao Channel. But after Xiao Xin abdicated and went south, Xiao Yan came to power and added 20,000 troops to Zhang Xiu, ordering him to capture Sui County and Zaoyang County in time and open up the Sui-Zao Channel.

The shift from defense to offense and the major adjustment of strategic direction caught Zhang Xiu off guard. He had too many problems to solve, the first of which was the logistics and transportation problem.
Sui County was not without garrison troops. Qu Tutong arranged 5,000 troops to guard Sui County. This meant that attacking Sui County would take time, and that would require food supplies.

The transportation via the Yu River can only reach Anlu County. There is no way to sail for more than 100 miles to the north, so the only way to transport the goods is by land using animal carts. But where are the carts? He only managed to obtain 300 carts, which is just a drop in the bucket for an army of 30,000. Without solving the transportation problem, his army could not go north and could only wait in Anlu County for Jiangling to send carts to solve the problem.

At this moment, Zhang Xiu suddenly received news that the main force of the Sui army had arrived in Jiangxia. This made Zhang Xiu suddenly nervous, and he kept sending spies south to gather information.

That morning, the news he was most reluctant to face finally came. A cavalry of 20,000 people was heading towards Anlu County from Yunmeng County, and the cavalry was already sixty miles away.

Zhang Xiu was horrified and urgently ordered the entire army to retreat into the county, defend Anlu County to the death, and sent people to Jiangling for help.

Zhang Xiu was from Anlu County. He originally served as the governor of Changsha County. When Xiao Xia took over Changsha County, he was unwilling to surrender to Xiao Xia, so he abandoned his post and fled back to the court. Last year, he was appointed as the governor of Anlu County by the court, commanding 5,000 troops.

Only one year after he took office, he encountered Xiao Xin's 50,000-strong army. He had no choice but to surrender to Xiao Xin and was appointed by Xiao Xin as the governor of Anlu County, commanding 10,000 local troops to garrison Anlu County.

Zhang Xiu had no combat experience. He stood on the top of the city wall, looking at the 20,000 cavalrymen who were coming at him in an overwhelming manner. The cavalrymen had flags flying and were full of murderous intent, which made Zhang Xiu extremely nervous. His only hope was that the enemy were just cavalrymen and had no siege weapons, so he could not attack the city.

The 20,000 cavalrymen of the King of Jin's army stopped advancing five miles away. At Pei Xingyan's command, 30,000 cavalrymen dismounted to rest, drink water and eat breakfast. The murderous momentum suddenly disappeared and they became very relaxed.

A general on the top of the city wall suggested: "The enemy has relaxed their combat readiness. Now is a good time to sneak out of the city and launch a surprise attack. Please seize this opportunity!"

Zhang Xiu was full of doubts. He suddenly shouted, "The enemy has no siege weapons. This must be a trick to lure us in. No one is allowed to leave the city without my order!"

At this time, the fleet carrying logistical supplies arrived almost simultaneously. The soldiers helped unload the parts of three large catapults from the ship, and fifty craftsmen began to assemble them by the river.

At dusk, three large catapults were assembled. Each catapult had four pairs of large wooden wheels and was slowly pushed by the soldiers towards the battlefield.

Pei Xingyan shouted, "All troops, mount your horses and prepare for battle!"

"Woo——"

A low horn sounded, and 20,000 cavalrymen drew their spears and mounted their horses. Pei Xingyan ordered his deputy general Yang Zhenqing to lead 10,000 cavalrymen to the north to cut off the enemy's escape route to the north.

To the west of Anlu County is the Yu River, so the only option is to evacuate to the east. To the east is a plain of dozens of miles, which is a cavalry battlefield and was specially reserved by Pei Xingyan for the enemy.

"Trebuchet ready!"

At Pei Xingyan's command, three large catapults slowly moved forward. They could throw 50-jin iron fire mines 250 steps away.

The defenders' bows could shoot arrows less than two hundred and fifty steps away, but the military crossbows could, so a shield was installed in front of each catapult to protect against the enemy's crossbow arrows.

Three large catapults, two meters high, stopped two hundred and fifty steps away, and the long casting poles began to creak.

(End of this chapter)