Chapter 1025 The Battle of Wu County (1)
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Wujun is the top priority of Jiangdong's defense strategy. In order to defend Wujun, Sun Quan spared no effort to distribute half of his army, that is, tens of thousands of troops were defending Wujun. In addition, Wujun also had 80,000 shi of military rations and several more large and small warships, including more than ten thousand stone warships transformed from cargo ships.
Among the ten thousand troops in Wujun, 20,000 were the newly recruits who were forced to recruit this year, and only 10,000 elite old troops were a big test for the commander Huang Gai. Huang Gai had considered concentrating his troops first to defeat the Han army in Kuaiji County so that his army could retreat to Kuaiji County and use the mountainous terrain of Kuaiji County to confront the Han army.
For this reason, he sent a thousand people to attack Kuaiji in an attempt to lead the Han army in Kuaiji to the north, but Kuaiji Princess Lu Xun was not deceived and remained unmoved. Lu Xun obviously saw through his attempts.
Huang Gai had no choice but to deploy tens of thousands of troops near Wu County. He knew that the Han army would definitely bring superior cavalry this eastern expedition, and Wu County was flat, which was conducive to cavalry fighting. The Han army's navy was sharp, so he could not get too close to the lake.
Huang Gai had no choice but to defend the city, but Huang Gai refused to defend one territory. He wanted to leave one for himself to retreat. Therefore, the Wanjiang East Army of Wu County chose two cities to guard, one was Wu County and the other was Wucheng County.
That afternoon, Huang Gai finally got the exact news that the Han army's vanguard general Wei Yan had already captured Piling County, and the 70,000 main forces of the Han army were pressing down from the direction of Jingkou.
Several Han army warships also appeared in the lake, approaching the mouth of Xujiang River, preparing to fight along the Xujiang River to Wuxian County.
These were all within Huang Gai's expectations, but Huang Gai did not expect that, that is, the Han army in Kuaiji County always held its troops, which really annoyed Huang Gai. If the Han army in Kuaiji County refused to go north, his plan to lead the army to retreat to Kuaiji County would be dashed.
At night, there were crying and scolding everywhere in Wuxian. Just yesterday, the news that the main force of the Han army captured Jingkou and arrived in Piling County came, which caused panic. The soldiers retreated to the city one after another, and there was no guard. All 80,000 civilians who dug the river channel fled overnight, and more than 20,000 of them fled into Wuxian County.
The influx of 20,000 people made the county town suddenly chaotic, and food distribution was chaotic, and violent incidents such as smashing began to occur. Huang Gai had to order martial law throughout the city to crack down on all kinds of violent incidents. Despite this, homeless men were still seen everywhere in every corner of the street.
Deputy General Zhu Heng led a team of soldiers to patrol the streets. Huang Gai was temporarily responsible for the security of the city. Zhu Heng was a native of Wujun. In the Sun Fenwu incident in the previous two years, he was a supporter of Sun Shao. Later, he was defeated and surrendered in the battle of Cao and Wujun attacking Wujun.
Since there was no general of Wu County in Sun Quan's army, Sun Quan had to appoint Zhu Heng as Huang Gai's deputy general and cooperated with Huang Gai to guard Wu County. Zhu Heng was very skilled in martial arts and was also good at strategy. He was less than ten years old and was the best among the younger generation in Jiangdong.
Zhu Heng also knew that Jiangdong was in a desperate situation, and he did not support Sun Quan. It was absolutely impossible to let him martyrify Sun Quan, but he remained silent and everyone knew his true thoughts.
Zhu Heng led his army through an alley. At this time, a young woman suddenly ran up and waved her hand and shouted loudly: "Ah Huilang, are you really you?"
Seeing the woman rushing in front of her, the soldiers drew their swords, but Zhu Heng stopped the soldiers. Ah Huilang is his nickname, and few people know it. How can this woman know?
He turned over and dismounted and asked, "You are..."
"Don't you know me anymore? I'm sister A Xiang!"
Zhu Heng felt even more suspicious. He didn't have a sister called "A Xiang". When he saw that the woman's eyes had a strange expression, he knew that there must be a reason. He pretended to be suddenly said, "So it's sister, why are you here?"
"I fled here, and my family was separated. I thought I had no relatives anymore, but I didn't expect to meet Brother Heng. Now I'm saved." When I said the sadness, the woman wiped her tears with her sleeves.
"Let's go and talk to each other!"
Zhu Heng pointed to a big tree next to him, "You go first, I'll come right away."
The woman walked over and Zhu Heng ordered the soldiers, "You continue patrol, I will arrange my family and come soon."
The soldiers continued to move forward, Zhu Heng urged him to step forward and find the young woman standing behind the tree. He turned over and dismounted and asked, "Who are you, why are you pretending to be my family?"
The woman laughed, "If I admit that I am a scout in the Han army, will General Zhu believe it?"
Zhu Heng was stunned. This woman turned out to be a scout from the Han army. The woman handed him two letters, "This is a handwritten letter from Sun Shaogong and Governor Lu to the general. The general will know after reading it."
Zhu Heng took the letter silently, and the woman smiled again, "General, we will have a date later!"
The woman turned around and left. Zhu Heng looked at her back and walked away, and his heart was in a mess. Logically, he should have caught the female detective of the Han army, but... he didn't have the courage.
...........
The next afternoon, a harsh bell rang at the head of Wuxian City. Dang! Dang! Dang! A wake-up bell echoed at the top of the city, and countless Jiangdong soldiers ran towards the top of the city, and thousands of Jiangdong soldiers were already standing on the top of the city.
Huang Gai also stood on the top of the city and looked north. He saw an army of thousands of people appearing several miles away from the city, with a large flag flying. This was the vanguard of the Han army, and they finally arrived.
Huang Gai was very nervous. His original intention was not to defend Wu County. He knew that there had been no war in Wu County for several years. The city walls were dilapidated and the city walls were not high, only two feet and five feet. With the combat effectiveness of the Jiangdong Army, he could only hold on for ten days at most.
Moreover, two days ago, 20,000 civilians who dug the canals flocked into Wuxian. God knew how many Han army scouts had been mixed in, and they had in advance mixed into the city. When siege, they should cooperate with the inside and outside. This is the Han army's usual trick to siege the city, and I believe this time will be no exception.
Huang Gai's real idea was to exchange Wu County for Kuaiji County. He retreated his army to Kuaiji. When the Han army besieged Jianye, he went north to attack Wu County, making it impossible for the Han army to attack Jianye with all its strength. This is a good strategy to siege Wei and save Zhao.
In order to realize this strategy, he did not hesitate to deploy 5,000 troops and all warships in Wucheng County, but the Han army in Kuaiji refused to go north, which made Huang Gai anxious.
The Han army vanguard seemed to be just here to say hello, and after showing up, he retreated and disappeared into the sight of the Jiangdong soldiers on the front of the city, causing countless Jiangdong soldiers to loosen their strings that had just been tensed.
At this time, several scouts of Jiangdong Army rode back on horseback and reported that the main force of the Han army was digging the last five-mile canal fifty miles away, but did not go south. Huang Gai realized that if the canal was blocked, the Han army's grain supply ships could not go south. They spent time digging the canal near the mile, but in the end they made wedding clothes for the Han army.
Now that the canal is about to be completed, there are only the last five miles left, the main force of the Han army will take over and continue to dig the canal. Huang Gai couldn't help but sigh, who made the decision, and finally gave the Han army a free advantage.
At this time, Deputy General Zhu Heng suggested: "General, it takes at least a day for the Han army to dig the canal. They must be relaxed in their defense. It is better for us to kill at night and attack the enemy."
Huang Gai thought for a while and said, "Liu Jing has always been cautious in leading his army. How could he be unprepared? If he finds out, it will be unfavorable to our army."
"But this is our only chance. Will the general give up in vain? If he uses tincture oil to burn the ship, he may be able to burn the warships."
Huang Gai was moved. The main force of the Han army was doing his best to clear the canal. This was indeed their only chance. If they seized this opportunity to defeat the main force of the Han army, not only Wujun would be saved, but even the entire Jiangdong would be saved. If they gave up this opportunity, Wuxian would have to last for up to ten days. Anyway, they would be defeated, so it would be better to seize this opportunity.
Zhu Heng is right. Now the Han army warships must be anchored in the canal, which is very suitable for fire attack. Only if they have the strong fire attack, can they burn all Han army warships and lay the foundation for the final victory. In contrast, defending the city to the death seems passive.
Huang Gai repeatedly weighed the pros and cons, and finally decided to send troops and take a risky blow. He said to his deputy general Zhu Heng: "General Zhu, I will leave five thousand people to defend the city for you, and I will take the remaining 20,000 people to sneak attack the enemy. You must be careful to prevent the Han army from cheating on the city."
"Please rest assured, General, I will never be careless!"
Huang Gai then went down to the city to order troops and left the city. Zhu Heng looked at Huang Gai and walked away, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.
.........
It took months for Jiangdong to prepare to clear the canal that was 150 miles away. Because the main force of the Han army went south to Piling County, Jiangdong gave up the excavation of the canal, and all the civilians retreated to Wu County. However, at this time, there were still nearly five miles of canal that had not been cleared.
At this time, nearly a thousand Han warships were moored on both sides of the canal. Seventy thousand Han troops became engineers, digging the canal day and night, and dredging the river channel in just one day. At the latest to tomorrow night, all the river channels in the five miles will be completed.
Just on a two thousand stone warship in the canal, Liu Jing stood in front of the sand table and studied Huang Gai's troops. The cabin was brightly lit. In addition to King Liu Jing of Han, there were veteran Huang Zhong, generals Wei Yan and Pang De, and the chief Bo Xi Zheng and military advisor Liao Li.
Except for Jia Xu, who was old and no longer with the army, the other military advisors Sima Yi, Fa Zheng and Pang Tong were all converted into ministers. The Han army actually had no master, and only one military advisor who assisted Gan Ning in the navy was engaged in Liao Li.
But Liao Li, like Fa Zheng, is good at tactics and has shortcomings in strategy and cannot take on important responsibilities. Liu Jing can only plan the strategic plan himself.
Liu Jing smiled at everyone and said, "Did you notice that Huang Gai's troops are very strange. In addition to guarding Wu County, there is also Wucheng County. One of these two places is in Hudong and the other is in Hunan. If the navy is sharp, it can support each other. But there are no navy troops in Jiangdong. What's the point of his layout like this?"
Chapter completed!