The fleet sailed along the river to Xinjin City and entered the Nanhe River. After another half day's sailing, they arrived at a place called Caidu. Here, two rivers, Pujiang River and Xiejiang River, merge into the Nanhe River.
The Pili military fleet was also divided into three parts here. Liao Nilu led his headquarters, a company of the field battalion and a company of the returned battalion, and continued westward along the Pujiang River to Pujiang City.
The width and water volume of the Pujiang River are far less than those of the Binan River and Xiejiang River, so Liao Nilu only brought four light gunboats and transport ships with a shallow draft.
Zhou Jianshen led three companies of the Guizheng Battalion northward along the Xiejiang River to Dayi City, accompanied by the teaching company of the garrison battalion.
The teaching company equipped with artillery is definitely a first-class combat force among the companies of the Perak Army. Their role in this trip is not only to provide fire support for the Reformed Battalion in the case of unsuccessful recruitment, but more importantly, to prevent the Mongolian cavalry from supporting the large-scale attack. Yicheng.
Ouyang Xuan led the main force with Cao Ergou and Le Quan'an along the river to Qiongzhou City in the northwest.
Qiongzhou, as an important financial and taxation center in western Sichuan, not only has large tracts of fertile farmland but also a large number of mountains. Its product richness is even better than that of Chongqing Prefecture. In particular, the two industries of salt and iron are the most valued by the officials of the past dynasties.
The Mongolian army stationed 500 cavalry and 1,000 new auxiliary troops here. The number of troops stationed was even greater than that of Yunding City. It was the Mongolian army's most important military town in western Sichuan after Chengdu.
After the Battle of Hengyuan Fort, the Mongolian army shrank its defense, and the cavalry from various counties retreated to Chengdu. Instead of retreating, the Mongolian army in Qiongzhou transferred the elite of the nearby new auxiliary troops to Qiongzhou. Now the number of new auxiliary troops in the city has reached 1,500.
Since the Mongolian cavalry from the direction of Chengdu could not cross the Jinma River to the west, they tried to support Qiongzhou from the direction of Pengshan City, but they gave up because they were detected by the Perak Navy.
The Pili Army and Navy in Xinjin City have reconnaissance ships monitoring the movements of Pengshan City at any time. As soon as the Mongolian navy shows up, they will be driven back to the water village.
Qiongzhou City is about one mile away from Nanhe. The Perak Army came from the south, and the south gate was naturally within the firepower range of the warship.
Ouyang Xuan first ordered people to dig trenches outside the arrow range and pile soil into breastworks. Later, Cao Ergou led his troops to land at the south gate to build fortifications, and gradually extended the trenches and breastworks to the east gate.
When the Perak Army was digging trenches and building walls, the defenders of Qiongzhou City used siege weapons to bombard the soldiers of the Perak Army, but they were shattered under the fierce bombardment of warship artillery - not only the siege equipment but also the human body.
The defenders also sent cavalry to attack, but they failed under the fire blockade formed by shotgun shells. In this way, it took Cao Ergou five days to build the simple fortifications.
Although this kind of fortification consisting of trenches, earthen walls and resisting horses is simple, equipped with artillery and grenades, it is a nightmare for the cold weapon army, sealing the south gate and east gate of Qiongzhou tightly.
After sealing the two gates, the Perak Army stopped digging. The Mongolian army in the city thought that the Pili army was tired of digging and needed a rest.
In fact, digging in the scorching sun on a hot summer day is indeed very exhausting, but this is not a reason to stop. The real reason is that Ouyang Xuan is waiting for the opportunity - before setting off from Hengyuan Fort, he has sent people to sneak into Jiading Prefecture. He Yazhou and Baizhang County requested to send troops to jointly attack the Mongolian army.
According to Ouyang Xuan's idea, taking Pujiang City and Dayi City would completely cut off the Qiongzhou Mongolian army's escape route to the east and south.
Not to mention that it was impossible for the Mongols to cross the river when the Perak Army controlled the waterway. The artillery on the walls of Pujiang and Dayi alone would make the Mongolian army retreat.
As a result, the Mongolian army in Qiongzhou could only retreat north and west. To the north is the steep Longmen Mountains, and those narrow paths are difficult for even hunters to pass, let alone cavalry and new auxiliary troops who have neglected training.
As for retreating to the west, you need to pass Baizhang Pass in Yazhou. This Baizhang Pass is the seat of Baizhang County. Although the city is not big, it is steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is the choke point from the plains of western Sichuan to the mountains.
Ouyang Xuan sent people to Jiading Prefecture to meet Yu Xing because Yazhou, a half-Han and half-Tibetan land, fell within Yu Xing's sphere of influence.
The Mongols invaded Sichuan several times, which greatly reduced the prestige of the imperial court and its control over Tibetan border areas. Therefore, Yu Xing was appointed as the deputy envoy to appease Chengdu and the prefect of Jiading, responsible for the border defense of Wei, Mao, Li, Ya and other places.
Chongqing Mansion is also under the jurisdiction of Chengdu Mansion Road. As the magistrate of Yongkang County, Ouyang Xuan is naturally a subordinate of Yu Xing, but Yu Xing has no concern for the people of Chongqing Mansion who have been ravaged by the Mongolian army.
In fact, Ouyang Xuan was extremely disappointed with Yu Xing and other corrupt officials of the Southern Song Dynasty. He did not expect them to send troops to help. He only hoped that they would not hinder the anti-Mongolian cause.
The envoy he sent was, on the one hand, to report to his nominal superior that the Pili Army would attack the Mongolian army in Qiongzhou, and on the other hand, it was to remind the defenders of Yazhou and Baizhang City to prevent the Mongolian army from escaping westward.
The days of waiting are torture. For the Pili Army, the days of siege were not difficult. There was plenty of food and tents to provide shade. They could also swim in the river in batches to cool off.
As for the work, they bombarded the city from time to time, so that the Mongolian troops could not sleep well, eat well, and their nerves were in a state of tension.
For the Mongolian troops in the city, the days of waiting were too difficult. In addition to being killed by shells that were not clear when they fell, the primary problem was lack of food.
Like other prefectures and counties in western Sichuan, Qiongzhou's food in the city was also sent to the secret fire department who attacked Hengyuan Fort in accordance with Liu Heima's order.
The Mongolian army in the city originally planned to send people to the countryside to search part of it, and it would be the autumn harvest season if they persisted for another month.
Unexpectedly, the battle situation changed so quickly. In the blink of an eye, the offensive and defensive positions changed. Five hundred new auxiliary troops poured into the city, and the food supply was even more stretched.
Now that the city is under siege, it is impossible to leave the city to search. Moreover, most of the nearby cities and settlement points have fallen into the hands of the Perak Army. It is estimated that the only way to meet the Mongolian army's food requisition team is to attack them head-on.
What is more troublesome than the lack of food is the problem of horses. Although Mongolian horses are extremely tough and resistant to rough feeding, they are extremely unadapted to the hot and humid climate just like the Mongolians.
Before the Pili Army attacked Qiongzhou, these horses were kept in areas with abundant water and grass by the river. When the sun was shining brightly, they were driven to the dense forests outside the city for shade.
Now that the riverbanks and the woods outside the city are under artillery fire, venturing there for grazing is just to increase the supply of horsemeat for the Perak Army's diet.
The Mongolian army also went out to graze by the rivers and ponds outside the North Gate and West Gate, but was unexpectedly attacked by the Perak Army's small boat.
There are only two or three people in these small boats, and they can be rowed very fast. They used the cover of water plants to lurk secretly, fired a few shots with muskets, threw a few grenades and left, disappearing in the blink of an eye. The horses were startled and unable to eat grass at ease.
The Mongolian army had no choice but to keep the horses in the city and send the newly attached soldiers to cut the grass. It’s just that the newly attached soldiers didn’t know poisonous weeds at all. The fodder mixed with poisonous weeds was eaten by the starving horses. More horses were lost due to poisoning, illness or death than were killed by the Thunderbolt Army.
What's even more terrible is that although Qiongzhou City is large enough, there are more than a thousand horses penned in the city, and a large amount of horse manure ferments in the midsummer weather, making the whole city reek of stench.
If the Mongolian soldiers felt both physical and mental torture, the Mongolian generals guarding the city smelled a signal of extreme danger.
This Mongolian general is called Cheli, and he is a strong general under Niulin. Because Qiongzhou Salt and Iron was really important to stabilizing the Mongolian rule in western Sichuan, Niulin sent him here.
When the Perak Army first started attacking, Cheri was quite confident. The five hundred cavalry under him are not Semu people or Mongolian Han troops, but pure Mongols, and they are also equipped with one person and three horses.
If this kind of elite cavalry were in the grasslands or northern plains, they would dare to fight even if they faced ten times the Song army. Even if they could not win, they could still retreat.
Although the Pili artillery is powerful, it has poor maneuverability. As long as there is a slight flaw, it may be defeated by the Mongolian army, which is invincible in cavalry and shooting.
