Chapter 707: Mianshui as the Boundary

Chapter 707: Mianshui as the Boundary

Chapter 707: Mianshui as the Boundary
In the early part of the first lunar month, the first fierce battle between the Sui army in the south of the Yangtze River and Li Xiaogong's army took place around Ziyang County, or more precisely, around Panshi County, the county seat of Ziyang County.

The Mian River flows from north to south and flows into the Yangtze River from Luchuan County. Although the Mian River flows through Shu County, it only flows through the eastern edge of Shu County and is quite far from Chengdu.

The area most affected by the Mianshui River was Ziyang County. The Mianshui River split Ziyang County into two. Panshi County, located on the east bank of the Mianshui River, became the most important county on the Mianshui River. Li Xiaogong sent General Yin Qiao to lead 20,000 troops to garrison Panshi County.

Panshi County was equally important to Li Xiaogong. Once he lost Panshi County, his army would have to retreat to the west of Mianshui, losing all of Shannan Road and half of Jiannan Road, and most of the population and grain-producing areas would be under the control of the Sui army in Jiangnan.

The moat of Panshi County is very wide, which is actually part of the Mianshui River. Ships can sail directly into the county from the water gate, so the Mianshui Wharf of Panshi County is in the city. This is the biggest feature of Panshi County.

As a result, its shipping is very developed. Every large store in the city has its own dock and cargo ship, and the waterways are well connected, leading to most of the important counties in Shu.

Because Panshi County has very developed shipping, it is extremely dependent on waterways. Once the waterways are cut off, its material connections with the outside world will be cut off.

At present, the water transportation of Panshi County has been actually cut off. Hundreds of warships are sailing on the Mianshui River. The water city gates of Panshi County are closed, and 30,000 Sui troops from the south of the Yangtze River have surrounded Panshi County.

The Sui army in Jiangnan took the battle for Panshi County very seriously, and Zhou Faming personally led the army to attack the city.

Zhou Faming stood on a high place, looking at the county town surrounded by the moat. He had considered three ways of attacking the city. One was to use a large ship to build a flying ladder to climb the city. The second way was to crash or blow up the water city gate. The third way was to blow down the city wall and let the soldiers kill their way into the city from the collapsed wall.

All three methods can lead to entering the city, but there are 20,000 enemy troops in the city, which will inevitably lead to a fierce street fighting in the city. Even if Zhou Faming wins, it will be a pyrrhic victory, and Zhou Faming does not want such an outcome.

After careful consideration, Zhou Faming decided to adopt the third plan, first using a powerful weapon to defeat the enemy's will, and then attack the city.

In the afternoon, sixty 5,000-stone warships led by Shen Guang sailed into the wide moat. The defenders on the city walls were stunned. It was the first time they saw the warships sailing into the moat. They were stunned for only a moment. As the war drums sounded, the defenders on the city walls fired arrows indiscriminately, mixed with gunpowder arrows.

But it had almost no effect. The Sui army's warships were driven by oars and had no sails. Sixty warships were sailing in the hail of arrows, and the gunpowder arrows could not ignite the large ships.

At this time, the crossbows of the Sui army began to counterattack. The first round of sixty iron fire bombs were fired at the top of the city. A series of huge explosions sounded on the top of the city. The soldiers defending the city were trapped in desperate situations in the explosions, and groups of soldiers were blown to pieces.

After one round of explosions, screams and wails were heard everywhere on the city walls. Thousands of people were killed or injured. The surviving soldiers squatted in the corner, covering their ears tightly with their hands, in extreme fear.

At this time, the second round of crossbow shooting began. Iron fire bombs were thrown onto the top of the city wall one after another, exploding amid the screams of the enemy. The air was filled with smoke, and countless people were killed and wounded. Huge cracks appeared in the city wall, and it was about to collapse.

This time, Xiao Xia invested a huge amount of money. In order to completely take over the saltpeter mining area of ​​Laojun Mountain, he ordered the fleet to carry 1,500 iron fire mines into Shu. He was determined to turn the Mianshui River into an iron river. Li Yuan's army would never be able to cross the Mianshui River.

Soon the third round of iron fire mines was fired. Amidst the huge explosion, the city wall collapsed. The collapsed city wall was half a mile long. The pontoon bridges had been prepared in advance. The Sui army immediately built two pontoon bridges. The 30,000-strong army rushed into Panshi County like a tide.

Iron fire bombs exploded in the city one after another, and the explosions sounded one after another. Buildings collapsed in the explosions. The Tang King's army was demoralized and their morale was low. They surrendered to the Sui army one after another.

Two hours later, with the surrender of the enemy commander Yin Qiao in the county government office, the battle on the city wall finally ended. More than 4,000 Tang Wang's soldiers were killed and 15,000 were taken prisoner. The Sui army also paid the price of more than 1,000 casualties and completely captured Panshi County.

This battle also completely shattered Li Xiaogong's attempt to use the Fu River as the boundary, that is, Shannan Road belonged to the King of Jin, and Jiannan Road belonged to the King of Tang. The two armies finally divided the boundary based on their strength, with Mianshui as the east-west boundary and Meishan County as the north-south boundary. In the entire Bashu, 70% belonged to the King of Jin and 30% belonged to the King of Tang.

Ten thousand naval forces and one thousand warships sailed on the Mian River, and dozens of intelligence points were spread to the west of the Mian River. Any movement of the Tang Wang army would be immediately discovered by the intelligence points, and the warships would be deployed in a targeted manner. The Sui army also deployed two thousand troops in Mianzhu County. In this way, the saltpeter mines in Laojun Mountain were loaded on ships in Mianzhu County, directly flowed south along the Mian River, and finally transported to the warehouse in Ba County.

In early February, Xiao Xia officially appointed Zhang Yunqiu as the Pacifier and Transport Commissioner of Shannan Road, and Lu Heming as the Inspector of Shannan Road, and began to implement a series of Jin Wang Orders in Shannan Road.

As Bashu entered a truce balance, the war shifted to the east. As spring came and flowers bloomed, the northern rivers began to thaw, and the war entered an active period again.

On February 15th, Xiao Xia once again dispatched 150,000 troops, divided into two routes. Luo Shixin led 50,000 troops from Jiyin County to Dong County, while Xiao Xia led 100,000 troops and thousands of supply ships along the Tongji Canal to the north, and marched towards Liang County in a mighty manner.

On the way, Xiao Xia ordered Zhang Xutuo to lead his 20,000 troops to attack Yingchuan County. At the same time, 300 warships and 10,000 naval forces from Donglai County entered the Yellow River, cutting off the waterway for the Xingyang Wagang Army to retreat northward.

Currently, 100,000 of the 300,000 Wagang troops are deployed south of the Yellow River, led by Xu Shiji, while Li Mi personally leads an army of more than 200,000 to confront Dou Jiande in Hebei.

Wang Shichong was also ready to make a move. He accepted Dou Jiande's suggestion, and the two families joined forces to deal with the Wagang Army. He ordered his nephew Wang Renze to lead 50,000 troops to garrison Luoyang, and he personally led an army of 100,000 to secretly enter Henei County from Heyang Bridge, preparing to attack the Wagang Army from behind.

The Wagang Army was facing an unprecedented severe situation. Its base in the Central Plains was facing the northern expedition of the Prince of Jin's army, and Hebei was facing encirclement and suppression from Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong.

At present, not all of the Wagang Army's forces in Henan Province are concentrated in Xingyang. There are still 10,000 troops in Wagang Village in Dongjun, led by Wang Bo, and there are also 5,000 garrisons in Baima County in Dongjun.

In addition, Yingchuan County also had an army of 10,000, led by Meng Rang and stationed in Yingchuan County. Xu Shiji personally led an army of 80,000 and stationed in Xingyang County, with Guancheng as the center.

That afternoon, the vanguard of the Sui army's eastern army of 10,000 troops arrived at Baima County. The vanguard was none other than the 10,000 cavalry led by General Su Dingfang.

Across the Yellow River from Baima County is Liyang Warehouse, which is also an important strategic channel for the Wagang Army. A large number of warehouses were built here, storing 400,000 shi of grain and 800,000 dan of fodder. The Wagang Army built a floating bridge on the Yellow River, and carts carrying grain and fodder passed through the floating bridge and transported them to Hebei continuously.

Speed ​​is of the essence in war. Su Dingfang's 10,000 cavalrymen attacked Baima County in a blitzkrieg, catching the 5,000 defenders of Baima County off guard.

The cavalry was too fast, and it was too late for the 5,000 defenders to return to the county town. General Cai Jiande had no choice but to lead 5,000 spear infantry to fight against the 10,000 cavalry.

From ancient times to the present, infantry has been no match for cavalry, unless it was the heavily armored infantry that appeared in the Sui and Tang dynasties, which had strong armor, sharp blades, strong personal physique, and superb training level, and was able to fight against cavalry.

In addition, the cavalry overwhelmingly crushed the infantry. Su Dingfang saw that the other side's troops were not in order, their equipment was very ordinary, and their number was only half of his own, yet they still wanted to fight against him.

He sneered, raised his spear and shouted: "Cavalry, attack and kill them!"

"Woo——"

The attack horn sounded, the earth trembled, the sky and the earth changed color, and ten thousand cavalrymen rushed towards the five thousand spear infantry like an iron stream.

(End of this chapter)