Chapter 1142 The General Takes This Path

Chapter 1142 The General Takes This Path

Chapter 1142 The General Takes This Path
In fact, the information Li Shou received was wrong.

There were only a thousand Liang troops who arrived outside Zhi County. They crossed the river at night and arrived at the south bank. They just carried a lot of golden drums and flags, so they looked like a lot.

The purpose was to scare the defenders and see if they could be scared away. But the defenders refused to flee, so there was nothing they could do, so they retreated back to the north bank.

At this time, the main force of Chengjun’s navy arrived and stationed in Jiming Gorge under the city of Zhixian.

Luo Heng, the chief secretary of Chengguo's General of the Eastern Expedition and the admiral of the navy, climbed onto the top of the four-story ship and looked into the distance.

Yesterday, the naval vanguard arrived at Jiming Gorge and fought with the Liang army's navy, defeating them and sinking more than ten of their ships.

But this result did not satisfy Luo Heng, because he found that the Liang army navy grew very fast. They attacked upstream from downstream, and without any large ships, they still killed and injured more than a hundred people on their side and retreated after a fierce battle.

Although I won, it seems that it is not as easy to win as before...

On the north bank of the Yangtze River, the Liang army had already set up camp, but did not stop and continued to advance without stopping.

Luo Heng sent the navy to observe closely and found that the flags of the Liang army were as follows from west to east: Left Jinwu Guard, Right Yulin Guard, Silver Spear Middle Camp, Black Gun Right Camp, Right Jinwu Guard, Left Yulin Guard, Hostage Army, Wuqiang Town Army...

There should be more further behind, but it's too far away. It stretches for hundreds of miles from east to west, and the military is very powerful.

It stands to reason that such a long food route should be easy to attack. However, it was precisely because of such a powerful army that the tribes on the north bank did not dare to act rashly and watched the Liang army advance westward step by step.

The next destination of the Liang army should be Yangguan, which is located 20 miles east of Jiangzhou City. It was established by Shu Han and is also an ancient pass. It is one of the three passes of the Ba State to resist Chu and it controls the road to Jiangzhou.

The General who Conquers the East gathered his troops in Jiangzhou, but actually fought at Yangguan.

"Set sail, search eastward for the Liang navy and defeat it." After Luo Heng retracted his gaze, he issued the order to march.

Soon, the first warship sailed out of Jiming Gorge, followed by the second, the third...

Outside Shibao City downstream of Zhi County, the Liang army’s naval ships gathered and were urging large and small transport ships to unload supplies quickly.

Yang Bao went ashore and sat down in a leeward spot, pounding his legs while muttering, "After I turned fifty, I started to have backaches and pains. It's no longer the same as before. And the Prince of Julu is pushing me so hard. No matter how much food and grass we send, it's never enough. I can't rest for a moment."

Huan Wen, the commander of the Xiangyang Duzhi Department, sat with him, his eyes wandering around the Jiangpu Wharf.

The young men who came with the army had steamers on their heads as they went back and forth, unloading all kinds of provisions and sending them to the city for storage.

In fact, if they followed the most labor-saving approach, they should sail upstream and deliver the food to where the land army was. Unfortunately, the navy had just suffered a small setback, and the Prince of Julu ordered the ships from Jingzhou to unload at Nanpu and Shibao, as far away as possible from the enemy navy's activity area, and then organize personnel to transport the food by land.

It is hard work, but it is better than the boat sinking to the bottom of the river and feeding the fish and turtles along with the people and food.

There are more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry stationed near Shibao. The most elite among them are the 2,400 soldiers of the Right Cavalry Guard. The soldiers of Yijing Town and the various Hu soldiers of Bingzhou are also okay. However, many of them will travel west with the baggage troops in the next few days and will not stay in Shibao for too long.

Huan Wen patiently listened to Yang Bao's talk for a while, then interrupted and asked, "Does the commander know how the northern army is doing?"

Yang Bao pondered for a while, then shook his head and said, "I heard the news from Shangyong a few days ago that the army has surrounded Xiatao City. After two days of fierce attack, they have not been able to take it easily. I am afraid they will have to mobilize young and strong Hu soldiers to attack fiercely."

"Has the Cheng bandit stationed a large number of troops in Taocheng?" Huan Wen frowned.

"There is no doubt about it." Yang Bao said, "I heard that there is a mountain in the southeast of Xiatao City, and the terrain is relatively flat, so the Cheng bandits attach great importance to it. If you don't capture this city, your retreat will always be threatened. Even if you break into Hanzhong, if there is nothing to plunder, you can only retreat. Some cities are built for you to attack, otherwise the Cheng bandits would not have spent so much effort to build the city."

Huan Wen nodded silently.

It seems that the Northern Army can no longer take shortcuts and can only fight all the way.

But think about it, how many years have they fought over the Three Kingdoms? What tricks have they not used? They are no longer new. If you want to make a breakthrough, you still have to defeat the enemy steadily, or wait for the southern army to make a breakthrough. They were just feinting, and the Julu County King’s army was the main force.

"Does the commander-in-chief want to seek a decisive battle with Chengjun's navy?" Huan Wen asked again.

After hearing this, Yang Bao was silent. After a long while, he sighed and said, "Is wealth and honor in this world based on facts? Well, I have to find the thief and have a big fight with him, otherwise I am afraid I will not be able to explain myself."

"The navy has been in existence for more than two years, and the emperor has high hopes for it. After spending so much money, if you still shrink back and avoid fighting, even I will look down on you. After the navy goes west, Yuanzi, please be careful when walking on the river. You are transport troops, not navy soldiers after all. If you encounter bandits, you may not be able to resist. Be careful."

"But if the front line is short of food, no matter how difficult or dangerous it is, we must go out and do everything possible to deliver food. If the land army is not short of food, the bandits are not worth mentioning. If the land army is forced to retreat due to lack of food, no one can escape the punishment of the emperor, remember this."

"Thank you for your advice." Huan Wen bowed and said.

Seeing him so serious, Yang Bao laughed and said, "Don't worry. We have fought for more than 20 years in the north, so why are you afraid of becoming a bandit? Relax, you can stay in Xiangyang permanently and reunite with Princess Jingfu by the middle of next year at the latest."

When mentioning his wife, Huan Wen suddenly felt a little nostalgic.

In a few months, their child would be born, and Huan Wen really wanted to achieve some meritorious service so that he could stand up straight in front of his wife and children in the future.

It was a pity that he didn't have the opportunity to go to the front and make merit. Everyone advised him not to worry, as he was only 20 years old and had plenty of opportunities.

But are there really still many opportunities? He doesn't know.

******
On the thirteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Huan Wen led his fleet back to Nanpu.

This was not a planned anchorage, but a fleet of the Cheng State Navy appeared on the river. In order to avoid being caught by the enemy, their grain ships, which were not good at naval warfare, were all pulled into the inland ports to take shelter.

Huan Wen had no choice but to temporarily give up the idea of ​​returning to Jiangling or even Xiangyang.

Nanpu is now also a large military camp.

Nearly 20,000 mixed Hu and Han soldiers from various counties of Bingzhou gathered here, making a lot of noise, each waiting for the next order.

Looking at the skinny mules and horses, the exhausted men, and the soldiers stationed outside the city due to injuries and illnesses, Huan Wen could only sigh. It is not easy to be a soldier anywhere. War itself is a very tiring, dangerous, and cruel thing. Even in a glorious victory, there are shadows in the corners under the brilliant light.

In the evening, the soldiers caught two turtles by the river, and Huan Wen had them cleaned up and cooked into soup.

At this time, the soldiers who had gone out to collect firewood came back. As soon as they reached the river bank, they shouted, "Hu Laosan caught two turtles. We went out to chop firewood and actually caught a few turtles."

The transports squatting on the deck laughed when they saw the dusty captives. They said, "We've eaten them before. They weren't tasty, but we haven't eaten meat for a long time. Let's kill and roast them. Just remove the brains."

When the captives heard this, they felt like they were sieved all over, because these Liang people didn't seem to be joking, they might really have eaten human flesh.

"Has the trial been conducted?" Huan Wen stood up and asked.

The soldiers also stopped talking and laughing and just looked at the people on the shore.

"Captain, they were beaten on the way and refused to tell the truth." The woodcutter replied.

"What did they say? Bring them up." Huan Wen asked.

The transports rushed forward and took the three prisoners into the cabin.

"Captain, they said that there was a man named Gong Qing from the Gong family of the Baxi Bandun barbarians. He had lived in Dangqu for generations and came to surrender to Daliang." said the Qiaocai soldier.

Huan Wen frowned and looked at the people carefully.

When one of them saw Huan Wen in military uniform and a lieutenant, he immediately became excited and shouted, "Lieutenant, I am Gong Qing. My brother Gong Chun has led his army to Hanfeng. I saw on the way here that Hanfeng has almost no defenders and can be easily taken. Once Hanfeng is lost, the Bandun Man will head straight for Nanpu. Lieutenant--"

"What?" Huan Wen frowned even more tightly.

Before the war, he had learned about the three Ba ​​clans. For example, he knew that there was a Ba clan leader named Xu in Qunin County, Badong Prefecture, who had been heavily bribed by Guanqiu Ao and sent troops to help defend Badong.

The Dangqu Bandun barbarians are headed by the Luo family, and the Gong family is also very powerful and should not be underestimated.

If this person is really from the Gong family and sincerely surrenders, that would be truly extraordinary.

"I'm telling the truth." Gong Qing said anxiously.

After saying this, perhaps he thought of something and said loudly, "Captain, would you dare to lend me a dagger?"

"What do you want the dagger for?" Huan Wen asked.

"If I cut off my ears, the captain will believe me," Gong Qing replied.

Huan Wen was so angry that he laughed.

In the past, Zhang Jun sent an envoy to meet Sima Mo, King of Nanyang. Fearing that the envoy would not believe him, he simply cut off his ear and put it on a plate, asking, "Do you believe me?"

Sima Mo believed it...

It seems that this story is widely circulated.

"Tell me, how do we get to this road?" Huan Wen asked instead of answering.

"First, we will go from Xuanhan to Hanfeng. There is a mountain road with supplies from the Baihuyi tribe along the way." Gong Qing said, "After we get Hanfeng, we can take a small road to Nanpu. We don't need to attack the city, just cut off the road and burn the food and grass. The navy on the river will be deployed in large numbers to push the food ships back, and the army will have to retreat in a hurry. This retreat will greatly reduce morale, and if they are chased, I don't know when they can recover."

Huan Wen looked at Gong Qing quietly, thinking secretly.

This person's words sounded very serious, and it didn't seem fake. Although his idea of ​​cutting off the retreat was a bit too optimistic, this plan could definitely pose a huge threat to the Prince of Julu.

In addition, Huan Wen thought of another point: if the Bandunman could take this road directly to Nanpu, then they could also go directly to Xuanhan and Dangqu from Nanpu.

Is what he said true or false?
"Captain..." The military schools also realized the seriousness of the situation and looked at Huan Wen together.

Huan Wen waved his hand and said, "Take the man away first, give him food, and don't humiliate him."

The transports quickly took the three away. Gong Qing kept looking back and said loudly, "Captain, believe me, if we mobilize thousands of elite soldiers and attack Xuanhan directly, we will definitely win a great victory."

"Hurry up!" The transport soldier pushed and led the three people to the rear cabin and detained them.

"Go find Envoy Guanqiu and ask if there are any merchants or barbarian chiefs you are familiar with, and find out something," Huan Wen said.

At this time, Guanqiu Ao was in Nanpu, visiting various barbarian chiefs and asking them to provide manpower and grain.

"Yes, sir." After Huan Wen gave the order, someone immediately got off the boat, found horses, and galloped away.

Huan Wen sat down and stroked the dice on the table.

Everyone looked at him intently, but Huan Wen was like an old monk in meditation, with his eyes closed and no reaction at all.

After a long time, when everyone thought he was asleep, Huan Wen suddenly opened his eyes, grabbed the dice with both hands, and rubbed them for a long time.

There were a few "clattering" sounds, and all the dice fell on the table.

Everyone stared with eyes wide open.

All five black! Lu!

(End of this chapter)