Knowing oneself and enemy, winning every battle. Zhao Bing has always been paying attention to the mobilization and reorganization of the Yuan army. After analysis, he found that the three provinces in Jiangnan set up by the Yuan court were all located in the northern part of the province rather than the heart of the province. It has the characteristics of a narrow and long jurisdiction, a center of gravity in the north, and a north-stop control of the south.

This characteristic should be said to be inseparable from the ruling policy of the Mongol Yuan region. The vast and rich and populous Jiangnan region is not only the area of ​​its control, but also the key target of its economic plunder and military confinement. Therefore, in addition to its general administrative functions, the three provinces in Jiangnan are also their main financial solicitation locations and military regions.

From the entire Jiangnan region, the garrison of the Mongolian Yuan Town is actually centered along the Yangtze River. From the mouth of the Yangtze River to the north and south coasts of the Three Gorges of Chongqing, at least 300,000 wings were stationed in densely. Most of these 10,000 wings were mainly Han army and were the main military forces of the Yuan court to monitor the Jiangnan region. Once there are police in the hinterland of the Jiangnan region, the provinces will quickly draw troops from the 10,000 wings of Wanhu Prefectures of Wanhu Prefectures of each wings and go south to suppress them.

The components of the new garrison troops in the hinterland of Jiangnan began to increase significantly. In addition to the Han army and the Wanhu Mansion, which participated in the new garrison, there were even some Wanhu Mansions, mainly New garrisons. The new garrison was reorganized from the former Song surrendered troops, and the Yuan court adopted a policy of using and preventing them. Although the number of new garrison troops was large, most of them were broken into pieces and assigned to the Wanhu Mansion in units of thousands of households.

Even some of the more pure new affiliated Wanhu Mansions, most of them were with the Xia Wanhu Mansion, which had limited troops, as the auxiliary military force of the Yuan court to control the south of the Yangtze River. As for the southern part of the province, due to geographical environment, climate and other factors, it was not suitable for the Han army to be stationed for a long time, and it was in a secondary position in the Jiangnan town and garrison system, forming a pattern of focusing on the north and neglecting the south, guarding the inside and the outside.

It was based on the Yuan court's defense situation that Zhao Bing formulated a strategy to counterattack Jiangnan. He used his main force to take the advantage of the navy to take the Yangtze River defense line directly, and while forming separatist forces, restraining the main force of the enemy, making it impossible for him to go south to reinforce. However, the Yuan army in the hinterland of Jiangnan was weak in combat, so that it was handed over to the local rebels with weak combat power to get strategic initiative.

Specifically for the Wanhu Mansion of the town garrison in Jiangxi Province, the Wanhu Mansion, which is centered on the north and south, is actually in a defensive manner. The Wanhu Mansion, which has strong military strength, is especially the tens of thousands of people, mainly the Han army, stationed at the northern end of the province, backed by the Yangtze River. It is roughly similar to Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Huguang provinces. In addition to the status of Ezhou's strategic and important commercial centers, the defense must be tight, and the Han army stationed are all elite troops.

You should know that Kublai Khan personally fought 200,000 to attack Jiangnan, and Ezhou occupied half of the troops, concentrating generals such as Boyan, A Shu and Ali Hague. They were all famous generals who were used to fighting for the time being, and they used elite troops with the Mongolian army as the main force and the northerners as the auxiliary. It can be seen that Ezhou is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Now that the offense and defense are out of place, the Song army has become the attacking party and has to end the battle in a short time, Zhao Bing is still a little nervous.

Ezhou City built the old Xiakou City in Chiwu in the second year of Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu. It was built on the mountain and surrounded by the river. It was spread far and wide. It was built on the walls and blocked by the walls. It was high on the other side and entered Mianjin. The ancient city was named after this. The city was twelve miles around the city, two feet high. Later, the left and right cities were built as heavy cities because the city was built on the back mountain in the province, and two gates were set up. After entering the Tang Dynasty, because the city was on the bank of the river and was affected by the river wind, it was difficult to build walls. It was necessary to add boards to repair each year. In order to reduce the hard work of building the city every year, the Jiedushi Niu Sengru wrapped bricks outside the rammed earth wall, which improved the quality of the city wall, but the scale of the city did not change much.

In this dynasty, Ezhou City was expanded on a large scale. In the third year of Huangyou, Li Yaoyu, the governor, built the city. After that, Ezhou City was twice that of the original Xiakou City. It was 24 miles around and two feet high. It had three gates, namely Qingyuan in the east, Wangze in the south, and Pinghu in the west. Therefore, due to the terrain, the city expanded to the east, surrounded by mountains and rivers, built the city walls, forming an irregular circle. Xiakou City in the Sun Wu period became a Zicheng at the west end of the city.

Ezhou City is located at the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Han River. It has a strong landform, connecting Xiangchuan, Han Mian, and connected to Yong and Liang. It is actually a key center in Jin and has always been an important town in all dynasties. With the migration of the Song Dynasty's ruling center southward and eastward, Ezhou's status further rose. During this period, due to the needs of the Song and Jin wars, Ezhou was more important. Zhoucheng was not only the capital of Ezhou and Jiangxia County, but also became the location of the road-level institutions. During the Shaoxing period, the Jinghu North Road Transport Department moved from Jiangling to Ezhou during the Northern Song Dynasty; in the fifth year of Shaoxing, the Commander General Office was established in Ezhou; soon the Huguang General Office was added. All the three major institutions were established in Ezhou City.

Due to the special terrain of Ezhou City, the west is limited by the Yangtze River, and the hills in the city are continuous. From the west side of the Yangtze River, there are Huanghu Mountain, Fenghuang Mountain, Hongshan, Luojia Mountain, Guizi Mountain, Fuhu Mountain, Nanwangshan, Moshan, Yujia Mountain, etc., forming a continuous and undulating mountain range. Huanghu Mountain is located in the southwest of the city, starting from the east of Jiuli to the northwest of the county, and running across the city. There are rocks at the highest point of the mountain. The mountains are looking back at the mountains and rivers, and the waves are rugged below. The famous Yellow Crane Tower was built at the top, but its function was originally used as a military post tower on the lookout river.

Due to the limitations of the terrain and the historical pattern, the west end of Ezhou City is mainly the official offices at all levels; along Huanghu Mountain, the front line spreading from west to east, in addition to the official offices, there are mainly schools, temples and other cultural and religious buildings; houses, street markets, etc. are mainly distributed in some relatively flat areas in the east, north and south of the city; due to the population growth, the old city is difficult to accommodate, and the trend of the expansion of houses and street markets to the east and south of the city is more prominent; the riverside area west of the city has also become a region with traffic, trade, ships, and dense population.

The Huanghu Mountain in the city has the advantage of controlling the entire city. The government offices at all levels are located around the foot of the mountain, concentrated on the western foot of the mountain, the eastern foot and the southern foot of the mountain. The Transportation Office is located in the Qingyuan Gate of the Prefecture, namely the old Jiangxia County and the county magistrate's office." The Chief General of Huguang was established in the Wuchang Gate; the Chief General of the Chief General of the Prefecture was first established in the prefecture, and later moved to the foot of Huanghu Mountain in the east of the city in the eleventh year of Shaoxing. They were basically distributed in the high-rise and dangerous Zicheng.

Zhao Bing turned his sight to the outside of the city. Ezhou City faced a large river and was often threatened by flooding rivers. In the late Northern Song Dynasty, a long embankment was built outside the Pinghu Gate in the west of Ezhou City. The embankment along the river and lake had convenient transportation and a high terrain. With the increase, widening and improving quality, the embankment not only became a major transportation route, but even a residence, and a large number of ordinary people gathered along the route.

In addition, in the west of the city, where the traffic is frequent with the outside world in the south direction, there are museums for welcoming and seeing off. Three miles south of the city is Nanpu, which originates from Jingshou Mountain and enters the river in the west. It dries up in spring and winter, rises in autumn and summer, and travels in the business and traveling. Youcao City is built in front of Parrot Island outside the South Gate. This is an important commercial port with developed rivers and gathers commercial ships. Above is the Nan Building, and the city street extends southwest along the long embankment, extending to several miles long, with a span of at least five miles north to south. Here, the houses are dense and the population density is very large. The residents are mainly engaged in business and traders, and together with Ezhou City, forming a large city.

After the Song Dynasty moved south, Ezhou became an important town for the anti-Jin and Mongolian warriors, with a large number of troops stationed, and the camps occupied a very wide area. Only the area below Huanghe Mountain in the east of the city was ten feet east and west, and the difference between north and south. Seven miles northeast of the city was Youyi Junzhai. The river surface was wide and the port was busy, which was for merchant ships to moor and warships to go out to the river to practice. There was a riverside port with white poplar jacks in the northeast of the city, and naval troops stationed. At that time, it became a market town with a strong military color. After entering the Yuan Dynasty, it inherited all this and was still an important military town on the river.

Zhao Bing used his fingers to dot the map. The west of Ezhou City was bordered by the Yangtze River. There was only one Zhuqi Gate, and there was also a shore protection chief, which could be used as an outer wall to block the enemy. It was difficult for soldiers to line up on the river and use troops. There were Fanhu and Nanhu in the north and south of the city respectively, which was impossible to station troops and attack the city. Only outside the East City Gate had land and the mainland to figure out the city by land and the mainland, which could be used to expand troops. The Mongolian army broke the city from this direction, and it was precisely through this terrain that Wen Tianxiang's troops dug moats outside the East City and arranged heavy troops to block the road for the Yuan army to leave the city and block the enemy's attack.

According to the war report, the Yuan navy arranged warships at Yangluo Fort on the north bank. It stood on the riverside, with deep and rapid flow, and was a key place for military strategists and guarded the Han River estuary. The Mongolian army finally broke through the Xiangfan defense line after nearly six years. When Xiangfan was lost, the Song court was shocked and the government and the country were very shocked. They hurriedly adjusted their deployment and retreated the strategic defense focus to the front line of the Yangtze River, using Yangluo Fort as a defensive center in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The Yuan army was determined to attack Yangluo Fort, so they launched the Yangluo Fort Crossing the River, and finally defeated the Song army, not only seized a bridgehead for crossing the river, but also annihilated more than 200,000 Song navy.

This battle is of great significance, and the Song navy lost its elite troops in this battle and was unable to defend the Yangtze River defense line. The Yuan army captured Ezhou and continued to advance east along the river. Now the Yuan navy is stationed here, which can block the Song army fleet along the river, or face the river between Ezhou City and attack and defend each other. Zhao Bing knew very well that to break Ezhou, he had to annihilate the enemy navy first and occupy Yangluo Fort to defend against enemy reinforcements from the Han River...

"Your Majesty, you find an enemy fleet twenty miles ahead and are coming downstream to our fleet!" Zhao Bing was having a meal the next morning, and Zheng Yong entered the cabin and reported.

"How many boats are there?" Zhao Bing put down his chopsticks and said.

"Report to Your Majesty, there are about 200 warships of all sizes and sizes, and the flag of Chen's name is hung. It should be the troops of Chen Yi, the ten thousand households of the Jinghu naval army that attacked Qiong that year." Zheng Yonghui reported.

"Where are we at the moment?" Zhao Bing drank the porridge in one sip. He picked up a piece of Hupan and broke it a few pieces of meat from it. He got up and went to the map hanging on the wall to eat and ask.

"Your Majesty, our current location is here, about thirty miles away from Ezhou City!" Zheng Yong followed His descendant to the map, glanced at him and quickly found the current location of the fleet, and pointed at it with his fingers.

"Well, Chen Yi, a defeated general, is not afraid of it. He should be a vanguard!" Zhao Bing nodded and said. Chen Yi was defeated in the battle of Qiongzhou, and his warships were all lost. Although he escaped, he was reduced from ten thousand households to thousand households. Zhao Bing was really not optimistic about him as a vanguard.

"Your Majesty, are we lined up to meet the enemy?" Zheng Yong asked.

"No need to change the formation first. The enemy is going downstream. If it is changed to a horizontal formation, it will be easily broken by it. Continuing to maintain the column will help us exert the power of our side cannons!" Zhao Bing thought for a moment. He knew that in the water battles of this era, who had the upper hand and downstream was equivalent to seizing the commanding heights. They would lose the opportunity to go upstream.

Having said that, Zhao Bing did not dare to be careless. He ate Hu Bing in his hand in a few bites and went to the top of the cabin to observe the enemy. He roughly calculated that the water flow speed of this river section was about five knots, and his warship speed was more than seven knots at this moment, and the actual speed was only about two knots. Both sides walked against each other, and they would encounter it in about half an hour. Even if they wanted to line up, it was too late, so they could only simply adjust the formation.

"The two teams maintain a distance of 400 steps, take the lead with large warships, pass through the enemy formation, and don't entangle with them!" Zhao Bing picked up the telescope and looked at the river ahead. There was a layer of mist on it. The warships seemed to be sailing in clouds, but he had no intention of appreciating them, so he first adjusted the formation. With a large ship in front, he could collide with enemy ships, and the large warships were all equipped with rocket launchers and heavy crossbows, which could strike the enemy ships at a long range and open a breakthrough.

"Your Majesty, we have a lot of baggage ships, so we should also make the infantry on board the ship be prepared to prevent the enemy from boarding, and use the Hundred-Secret guns and thunder cannons to strike the enemy ships to reduce the pressure to escort the warships." Zheng Yong suggested.

"Well, you have considered it very well. The infantry's firearms are powerful enough to break through the gangway board, so there should be no problem in self-protection." Zhao Bing nodded and praised. The Qiongzhou army always operates across the sea, and taking a boat is commonplace. Even the infantry will not experience seasickness or other discomforts. It is a good skill to operate guns and cannons on the boat.

"Such subordinates will arrange their positions immediately and prepare to take the enemy!" Zheng Yong immediately sent an order to ring the alarm bell, raised the battle flag, the entire army entered the combat state, and adjusted the position of the warship. The infantry on the warship also pushed out rapid-fire cannons and various types of artillery, selected gun positions on both sides, arranged gunners to prevent the enemy from boarding the ship.

"The Dragon Ship accelerates along the left bank of the river and turns to the enemy side and seizes a favorable battle position. If the battle ahead is in a stalemate, launch an attack immediately to disrupt the enemy formation and cover the fleet forward." Zhao Bing thought about it and said that there are nearly 20,000 infantry in the current fleet, and once the warship is sunk, it will be killed. Therefore, the current task is not to annihilate the enemy's blockade, but to safely escort the infantry ashore.

"Yes, but what my subordinates are most worried about is that the enemy forces put down the fireboat in exile. We are inseparable from us. Breaking into our fleet will be a disaster!" Zheng Yong also expressed his concerns while delivering the order.
Chapter completed!