Chapter 1060: Blockage
Chapter 1060: Blockage
A large amount of supplies have been stockpiled in Zhonglu County.
From Xiangyang to the south, there was an endless stream of carriages and horses, and countless young men transported supplies and equipment to the front line.
Even on the river, there were large and small ships sailing southwards. The ships had deep drafts and were obviously loaded with various supplies.
A little further downstream of the Mian River, the Eastern Army captured Bin County in one day and then headed towards Yicheng, where they captured it in two days. They then built a floating bridge over the Mian River in the southeast of the city to connect the east and the west.
Tens of thousands of troops marched side by side along the east and west banks of the Mian River and arrived at the northwest of Yu County on October 20th.
The Wu soldiers burned all the bridges and confronted the Liang army across the river.
On the 22nd, Huang Biao arrived with thousands of infantry and cavalry.
That afternoon, because the Jin army appeared downstream, Huang Biao stopped rushing forward and looked for a relatively open area. He ordered the construction of a floating bridge on the river and lowered wooden stakes to block the enemy navy.
On the 23rd, freezing rain fell from the sky and the river water was icy cold, but many auxiliary troops and miscellaneous Hu people were still driven into the river and worked tirelessly.
For a while, the sound of "Hey, Hey" continued, and the cold river was filled with young men whose lips were frozen purple.
There seems to be an enemy force in Yu County, but the number of troops is unknown.
They stood by the river and shot arrows, but were soon dispersed by the Xianbei cavalry coming south from the east bank of the Mian River.
The Wu soldiers ran around in panic, but two legs could not outrun four legs, and they were soon killed one by one. More than 200 people were captured and driven into the river to work.
From then on, the defenders of Yu County stopped attacking and just watched blankly.
Huang Biao looked back to the north.
They had already penetrated very far along the Mian River, and the more than 10,000 Wu soldiers in Xiangyang had become isolated.
Tao Kan tried to use them to deplete Daliang's military strength, but he really made a wrong calculation.
For a fortified city like this surrounded by mountains and rivers, who would be foolish enough to sacrifice human lives to fill it, unless a clever plan was used?
"Boom boom..." A tiny black shadow appeared on the southern horizon.
After waiting for a while, more and more dark shadows appeared.
Huang Biao climbed up a high platform and looked into the distance: it turned out to be the Jin army fleet.
Flags were waved repeatedly, and a moment later, a cavalry unit immediately rushed out.
The grass on the river bank was yellow and withered, and teams of trackers were pulling heavy boats forward.
The boat was full of naval and land soldiers, staring intently at a group of cavalry rushing towards them.
The sound of horse hooves is getting closer.
In an instant, hundreds of nimble cavalrymen appeared before their eyes.
They kept a distance from the boat, and just as the people on the boat were looking at each other in confusion, this group of people suddenly accelerated and rushed directly towards the trackers.
Some people didn't react in time and were shot to death on the spot by cavalry bows.
The remaining trackers shouted, jumped into the water and climbed towards the boat.
The Wu soldiers on the boat reacted quickly and fired their bows and crossbows, knocking down several riders in an instant.
The Xianbei cavalry moved away a little, then repeated the same trick, getting closer and shooting again.
Thanks to their efforts, the "big-bellied" grain ships carrying supplies were in a hurry and dropped anchor one after another.
The small boats were rowed by boatmen, and the slightly larger warships were rowed by people. They were still able to hold on at this time, but it was also in chaos, and the entire fleet came to a complete stop.
"Boom boom..." Amid the sound of drums, many warships came ashore one after another, lowered planks and sent teams of soldiers ashore.
They leaned against the ships, formed small formations, and tried to fight a fierce battle with the Xianbei cavalry.
But unfortunately, the Xianbei light cavalry who had just risked their lives to charge forward let out a roar and retreated to a distance, refusing to fight with them.
In the fleet, Song Xia ran out of the cabin and ran to the bow, looking carefully.
"General, do you still want to go north?" someone asked.
"How can we just sit there and watch Xiangyang being surrounded?" Song Xia looked back at everyone and said, "We are the vanguard. If everyone is cowardly and doesn't move forward, how can we rescue Xiangyang?"
It is right to use Xiangyang to consume the enemy's forces, but if we sit back and watch them be trapped for a long time without any reinforcements arriving, how can they hold on?
Besides, you are so far away that even if the enemy's siege of Xiangyang is unsuccessful and their divisions are old and their soldiers are tired and they retreat in a hurry, it would not be convenient for you to pursue them.
No matter what, we have to go north.
"Pass my order, disembark, form a battle line, and fight the enemy." Song Xia gave the order without hesitation.
Everyone looked at each other, and finally could only respond: "Yes, sir."
After the order was given, the Wu soldiers obeyed it. In an instant, three thousand people got off the boats, slowly gathered together, and formed a semi-moon-shaped formation with their backs to the Mian River and the warships.
The naval officers and soldiers also transported various equipment for land warfare.
Baggage wagons used to hinder the enemy cavalry's charge were placed on the periphery, and there were also deer antlers, chevaux de frise, and other objects. A total of 3,000 people were like hedgehogs, with their sharp spines sticking outward.
At this moment, Song Xia and the three thousand Wu soldiers seemed to be possessed by the Northern Army, and their momentum was astonishing.
But I don’t know if there were any stupid Northern Wei cavalrymen who dismounted and charged.
The choice to fight or not to fight is in their hands.
In history, the Northern Wei chose to give away their lives. Are these Xianbei cavalrymen in front of us——
They just cruised far away, seemingly with no intention of moving forward.
Moreover, as the Wu soldiers completed their formation, more and more Xianbei cavalrymen gathered around after receiving the news, and their number soon exceeded a thousand.
Messengers were running back and forth, and in a while, perhaps even more troops would gather.
******
On the small hillock, a large flag with the word "Dou" fluttered in the wind.
Dou Qin sat on his horse, watching the Tuoba knights roaming back and forth in the open space ahead.
To be honest, he couldn't figure out what the Wu people were doing.
Three thousand infantrymen went ashore and lined up, with their backs to the Mian River and the warships, like a hedgehog.
There were many obstacles in front of the formation to hinder the cavalry's charge, and the formation was equipped with bows and crossbows, and long spears like a forest.
With this posture, do you want me to lead the cavalry to charge, or dismount and fight on foot?
No way? No way?
Are there really such stupid Xianbei cavalrymen in the world? Isn't this just asking for death?
Your mother is a servant! Dou Qin thought the enemy general was out of his mind. Even if you wait another hundred years, no cavalry would be so stupid as to approach him.
However, the enemy general seemed a little stupid. Dou Qin watched for a while and gave an order.
Soon, a cruising cavalry received the order, accelerated suddenly, and rushed straight towards the enemy formation.
As they got closer, more than a hundred cavalrymen galloped across the front of the formation, firing their bows continuously.
A volley of arrows shot out from the infantry formation.
The cavalrymen screamed in agony, and more than ten of them fell off their horses one after another. Seeing this, the others fled in panic.
Dou Qin had no expression on his face and quickly issued a second order.
A moment later, another two hundred cavalrymen rushed up and used the same trick again.
As expected, they were also shot to a pulp by the infantry's bows and crossbows, and soon dispersed.
The third wave of people came up again.
Perhaps because of the example of the two previous groups, this group of 300 cavalrymen had just approached and more than ten of them were shot down by the infantry formation. They immediately fled backwards shouting.
The retreat was a complete mess, with no formation at all.
"Raise the flags and retreat! Leave some horses behind for the people of Wu to see." Dou Qin didn't care how chaotic others would be. He just firmly controlled the more than a thousand cavalrymen of the Hedouling tribe and retreated in an orderly manner.
Before leaving, he glanced at the Wu soldiers on the opposite side, and was a little disappointed when he saw that they had not made any movement. However, just as he was about to turn the hill, he saw that the Wu soldiers were already moving the baggage carts and deer horns in front of the battle, and he was immediately overjoyed.
Wu Bing did move.
There were dozens of lonely and ownerless war horses left on the battlefield, and hundreds of steps ahead, there were thousands of horses that the enemy had not had time to take away.
Song Xia had been watching for a long time.
The Liang army had so many horses that he became jealous. He even circled around and stared at them while grazing the horses he had replaced in the distance. However, he was not sure that he could defeat the Liang army at that time, so he focused on defending. But who would have thought that the morale of these Hu knights was so low that they failed to charge the battle formation three times and actually fled in panic, without even having time to collect the horses they had grazed.
In a flash, Song Xia decided to give chase!
Even if we can't catch up with the mixed Hu cavalry, we must take those horses back.
No one knows how precious a qualified war horse is in the South!
So he made a quick decision and sent out the few dozen cavalrymen he had, trying to intimidate the miscellaneous Hu cavalry so that they would not dare to return, while also keeping on guard to prevent them from actually charging back.
Yes, he suspected this was an enemy strategy.
But many times, it’s just a matter of making choices.
This may be a conspiracy of the enemy, or it may not be. Do you want to take a chance?
Song Xia chose to gamble.
The 1,500 infantrymen were divided into two parts. One group of 1,000 men rushed straight to the hill, facing the direction where the Hu chief had just retreated, and the other 500 men went straight to the horse pasture to retrieve the horses as quickly as possible.
Wu Bing moves very quickly.
A thousand infantrymen quickly captured the high ground.
There were golden drums, rice steamers, water bags and even a few flags abandoned by the Liang people everywhere, which showed that they left in a hurry.
When Song Xia passed by with five hundred people, he felt relieved and a look of joy appeared on his face.
The herd of horses is just ahead and can be seen from afar.
The wrangler seemed to have just received the news of the retreat and was busy packing up the horses.
"Beat the drum! Scare them away!" Song Xia shouted.
Every horse less is a loss!
If the horse herders take these horses away, where will you chase them?
"Boom boom boom..." The exciting drum beats rang out, but Song Xia was stunned.
The drum sounds a bit far away, who is beating it? And the sound is not right, like the kind of drums that are played on horseback.
Hmm? Drum?
The sound of horse hooves suddenly rang out.
Song Xia's expression suddenly changed.
At the foot of the hill, hundreds of riders rushed over and directly attacked them from behind.
The knight controlled the horse skillfully and arrows rained down.
And in front of them, hundreds of riders came out from the horse grazing area, with ferocious looks on their faces.
There seemed to be the sound of horse hooves in other directions.
"We've fallen into a trap!" Song Xia groaned inwardly.
"Form a formation! Get closer!" he shouted.
"Boom boom boom..." This time it was really Wu Bing who was beating the drum.
Around this time, Dou Qin personally led 500 elite cavalrymen, armed with long spears and halberds, and brutally inserted himself between the two armies of Wu.
The Wu soldiers who were rushing towards each other were caught off guard and were scattered.
"Buzz!" The rain of arrows came from behind again, and the screams continued.
Song Xia was in the battlefield and really couldn't figure out where the enemy came from. He only felt that there were enemy cavalry on all sides, and all he could hear were the sound of horse hooves and the screams of his own infantry.
It's over, surrounded.
He didn't even dare to guess how many enemy troops were coming. He didn't know! He didn't dare to guess!
A total of 1,500 infantrymen were cut into two parts.
Countless cavalrymen surrounded them, pulling and shooting arrows repeatedly, pulling again, charging again, and covering them with arrows again.
The infantry were in a panic. They were unprotected in the wild. People kept falling down, being picked up by horse lances, and being knocked away while running around.
The formation was gradually worn down and disintegrated.
In the end, there were only a few hundred people left gathered on the hill, taking advantage of the cavalry's disadvantage in climbing uphill and lingering.
"Buzz!" Another team of cavalry passed by diagonally from the front, and under the continuous shooting of horse bows, Song Xia was hit by an arrow in the thigh and shoulder. He could not support himself and fell down.
"Boom, boom, boom..." The sound of drums rang out again by the river.
Almost the entire fleet was mobilized.
People kept getting off the boats, even the navy soldiers who could use bows and crossbows and fight with swords and shields came up.
The deputy general took over the command, flags were waved, and commands were given everywhere.
Looking down from the air, tens of thousands of Wu army's naval and land soldiers formed three square formations and slowly moved forward.
They kept their distance well, trying to prevent enemy cavalry from intercepting from the rear and flanks.
Tens of thousands of people advanced tremblingly in formation, firing bows and crossbows to drive away all enemies on their way.
The Xianbei cavalry avoided the front and attacked from the side and rear.
The Wu soldiers quickly stopped and transferred some archers to the flanks in an attempt to drive out the enemy.
The Xianbei cavalry quickly dispersed but still stared at them like wolves.
Hundreds of people on the hill cried for joy when they saw this.
These people immediately summoned up their remaining courage and moved closer to the main force that almost filled the shore.
As they ran, the Xianbei cavalry gathered again, following behind and biting them fiercely.
Wu's soldiers ran all the way, and some fell down along the way. In the end, only about two hundred people escaped and retreated along the gaps in the main formation.
Dou Qin rode his horse up the hill, holding a bloody head in his hand.
Wu Bing seemed to have stopped moving forward, fearing that he would repeat the same mistake.
The two sides just stared at each other from a distance, as if they were examining each other carefully.
The Wu people seemed to have realized for the first time the tactics of the northern cavalry, which came and went like the wind. As long as the terrain was open and unobstructed enough and slightly away from the river bank, they would be in danger of being surrounded and annihilated by them.
The Xianbei people also witnessed the Wu people's tactics of using ships to maneuver, forming a battle array with their backs to the water, and using bows and crossbows to kill cavalry.
Both sides have the ability to inflict heavy damage to the other side.
"Retreat!" After his cavalry killed the last Wu soldier, Dou Qin gave the order to retreat.
The sun is setting.
The cold wind blew across the battlefield, creating a bleak atmosphere.
The Wu people quickly disbanded their formation and retreated back to the fleet.
This time, they did not continue north, but went back south downstream.
Without their leader, everyone's morale was somewhat low.
(End of this chapter)