Chapter 171 Outpost
There are Xishan Mountain to the west of Jingmen and Dongshan Mountain to the east. The city is between the two mountains, and it really looks like there is a gate. This is the northern gate of Jiangling Prefecture, which is considered a strategic location. There have been countless wars throughout the ages.
When Wang Xiao arrived outside Jingmen City, he frowned when he saw that the city was newly fortified, quite rough and extremely crude. He thought it was a fortified city, but he didn't expect it to be so unbearable. Xie Qian stayed here for a year or two.
Sorry, the city was not rebuilt.
Xie Qian and Niu Gao went out of the city early and welcomed Wang Xiaolie into the city.
After arriving at the Yamen and sitting down, Xie Qian ordered tea to be served. He cupped his hands to Wang Xiaolie and said, "There are not many soldiers and horses in the small town of Jingmen. I heard that the Jin army was coming from the north, and I was originally worried. Fortunately, the defense focused on national affairs and brought a large army to help.
The people of Jingmen are very lucky."
Wang Xiaoxing said: "As a minister of the state, it is natural that state affairs are the most important thing. The Jin army invaded the south and devastated the country. They did so many evil things. How can people with ambitions allow them to come and go freely! However, I see that Jingmen City is extremely crude.
, I’m afraid it won’t be able to stop the Jin army from attacking the city.”
Jie Qian said: "Jingmen City was razed in the Five Dynasties and has not been rebuilt in this dynasty. It was not until I learned that Jingmen's army had many bandits from all directions that the city was rebuilt. Jingmen is poor and has few people, so the city is a bit crudely built."
Wang Xiaolie said: "I originally wanted to use the fortified city as the base and deploy the army around it, but now it seems difficult. For the current plan, we should set up camp between the east and west mountains to block the road to the north. Send additional troops and horses to monitor
Go to the road to Yingzhou to prevent the Jin army from escaping eastward."
Xie Qian handed over his hands and said yes.
Wang Xiaolie said: "Zhijun, are the Jin army still attacking Dangyang now?"
Jie Qian said: "After receiving the news that the defense was coming to Jingmen, the Jin army had withdrawn from Dangyang and came to Jingmen. The reason why the Jin army attacked Dangyang was because they had plundered too much property and changed from water to land, which required more porters.
The matter is urgent now and they can’t take care of it.”
Wang Xiaolie nodded and said: "It's still early, let's go out and take a look at the terrain. It takes three days to get here from Dangyang. The Jin army is not moving very fast now. It will take the day after tomorrow to arrive. There are two days,
It’s enough for us to set up camp.”
Xie Qian said yes. He immediately arranged for soldiers to lead Wang Xiao out of the city.
The mountains on both sides of Jingmen City are not high, and the trees on the mountains are lush and green. There is no problem for a few people to walk up the mountain, but not for large troops. As long as they hold the south road of the city, the Jin army must detour through Yingzhou before heading north.
After watching for a long time outside the city, Wang Xiaolie said to Jie Qian: "Zhijun will lead his troops to defend the city, but my army is still deployed outside the city. Three thousand people will cooperate with us to defend the city in the west, and the rest will be arrayed in the east of the city, relying on the east mountain.
Set up camp. If the Jin army attacks the city, they will surround it. If they come to attack me, know that the army will be ready to move."
Jie Qian said: "With such an arrangement, the Jin people will not dare to attack the city. Isn't this battle all about defense?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "The battlefield is constantly changing, and there are no rules. If the Jin army cannot defeat my army, the Zhijun can send troops to cooperate with the army in the west of the city and attack the flanks of the Jin army. If you and I work together, we will definitely defeat the Jin army.
Below the city!"
After seeing Wang Xiaolie's army, Xie Qian knew in his heart that others might not think highly of his three thousand army. Three thousand people were a lot, but the sources were too complex and the training was not rigorous, so they could not be incorporated into Wang Xiaolie's army.
among.
According to the custom of the Song Army, a regular army general consists of 2,000 to 3,000 men and is a combat unit. The 3,000 men who were rescued came from various sources, but they were not trained together and lacked training, so they could not be used as a general.
After checking the terrain at various places suitable for camping and setting up formations, everyone returned to Jingmen City as evening approached. Xie Qian welcomed Wang Xiaolie's arrival. Because before the war, Wang Xiaolie was not allowed to drink, which made Xie Qian a little embarrassed.
On the second day, before dawn, Wang Xiaolie's army rearranged their camps and blocked the road in front of Jingmen City. Wang Xiaolie led the army to the front, and Niu Gao led 5,000 soldiers and horses to the left flank at the foot of the east mountain.
Jingmen City is on the right wing.
Zhang Chi led more than thirty cavalrymen and headed south.
This is a habit in Wang Xiao's hunting army. Every time there is a war, rangers must be sent to explore the battlefield. Depending on the scale of the battle and the geographical situation, the exploration distance ranges from ten to fifty miles. The army has specialized cavalry to do this. Their
The organization and command are different from ordinary cavalry, and they are good at small team combat.
After passing Ping'an City, Zhang Chi saw that there were still merchants selling goods in the market. He couldn't help frowning and said: "The Jin Army is coming, why are the people here so ignorant of death? Why don't they hide in the nearby mountains early, and they are still selling goods here! As soon as the Jin Army arrives
, aren’t they all just powder!”
After saying this, he ordered his soldiers to go to the market and order the people to take shelter. Anyone who did not know how to die would be responsible for the consequences.
One man was carrying two chickens and shouted loudly to the soldiers who came to drive them away: "You are the imperial army, how can we let us people avoid it! If the Jin army comes, just drive it away! We ordinary people just count on being in the market."
We sell some chickens and ducks at the market to earn some food. We are not allowed to sell. How can we survive at home with an eighty-year-old mother and a two-year-old child?"
Zhang Chi looked the man up and down and said coldly: "Don't you hear that all the officials were chased into the sea by the Jin army? When the Jin came to attack, it was up to the people and the army to work together to defeat the Jin. You only care about the reputation of your own family.
Food is falling into the hands of the Jin people!"
Seeing Zhang Chi's fierce look, the man didn't dare to say anything more. He muttered, picked up two chickens, and left angrily.
Looking at the departing figure, Zhang Chi sighed: "Facing the golden man, he is as cowardly as a chicken, but he is vicious to the officers and soldiers. Sometimes, I really feel that some people are not worth saving. People in this world are sometimes really hard to talk about.
."
Driven away by the officers and soldiers, the market quickly became deserted.
Zhang Chi was about to lead the officers and soldiers to leave. A man who was hesitating outside the city finally made up his mind and came over. He cupped his hands and said: "Tiha, when I came to the market, I heard that there was a small town not far from Zhangshui.
In the village at the foot of the mountain, a golden man came last night. The village is not on the main road and has a small population, so no one knows about it."
After hearing this, Zhang Chi hurriedly asked: "How many Jin troops are there? Are they still there now?"
The man said: "Young man, how do you know? But there are only seven or eight households in that village, and there are too many Jin soldiers to live in."
Zhang Chi asked about the location in detail, and based on the sum total, he felt that he might not have found it. He said to the man: "You are a citizen of this dynasty, how about being my guide this time? If you go to the wrong location, the Jin man will run away for nothing."
The man was a little embarrassed: "Tiha, the Jin is like a fierce spirit. Seeing that you don't have many soldiers and horses, wouldn't it be miserable if the Jin were not small enough to fight?"
Zhang Chi said: "I am an elite soldier under the defense of King Dengzhou, a small group of Jin troops. How can I not defeat them? If you are our army's guide, I will give you five guan of money after the event is completed. Don't worry, I will never break my promise!"
The man was afraid and greedy for five thousand dollars. He hesitated for a long time before agreeing.
Chapter completed!