Cheng Niandong of Anqing City was uneasy at this time, while Bai Wang, who had fled back to Chizhou after the defeat, was panic-stricken. Two days ago, he was a hundred times more confident and thought of turning his back on the enemy. He would defeat Tongling City first and then send his troops north to surround Wei and rescue Zhao to relieve Anqing's crisis. The little eunuch knocked him back to reality and beat him up in one day, leaving him with a bruised nose and a swollen face and he ran away in embarrassment.
The reality is cruel. He only had more than 10,000 elite soldiers plus cannon fodder on the East Road. Less than half of them escaped, and they abandoned their armor and gave away all the combat supplies to the officers and soldiers.
There were less than 3,000 elite soldiers on hand, the rest were cannon fodder and the morale of the whole army was low. In addition, the food and grass were in short supply, which almost caused Bai Wang to grow old overnight. He fought with Zuo Liangyu for several years without a single defeat. He just met the young eunuch and was killed in less than half a month. Pain Bian, he was deeply dissatisfied.
Just think of yesterday's battle. If it was a serious head-to-head confrontation, even if the officers and soldiers had artillery support, they might not be able to break through his defense line. Even if they succeeded, they would have to pay double the price.
However, the little eunuch didn't play according to common sense, and frequently used various underhanded moves in addition to frontal attacks. He used not one fist, but a series of punches, which made him unable to catch the moves in a hurry. In order to maintain his strength, he could only retreat south.
It must be said that Bai Wang was a ruthless man. After retreating to the south bank of the Qingtong River, he ordered his general Wang Yi'en to take the throne. He and Yuan Sanzhong went to Chizhou.
Passing by Guichi County (the head county of Chizhou Prefecture at the time), Yuan Sanzhong ordered Yuan Sanzhong to rush all the people in the city to Chizhou. Those who did not want to leave were killed directly, and then Guichi County was burned to the ground. He wanted to strengthen the walls and clear the country. Leaving a little supply for the officers and soldiers also shows that he is panicking. We cannot maintain the illusion of hypocrisy and tear off the mask to reveal the ferocity and cruelty of the rebel army.
He rushed back to Chizhou overnight and began to prepare for the city's defense. He established the last line of defense between Pingtian Lake and the Yangtze River. Then he summoned the wealthy gentry in the city and began to force him to donate money and food, because he was told that he would do anything to defend Chizhou.
He thought that Chizhou was too important to him. It was the last barrier. If Chizhou was breached, there would be no decent city to the south that could resist the officers and soldiers going south. Once Chizhou was broken, Anqing on the other side would be in danger, and he would be killed by the officers and soldiers. If we go back to the mountains again, the hard work of the past six months will be in vain, and all our dreams and expectations will come to nothing.
So he had to work hard in Chizhou and have a big fight with the little eunuch. Fortunately, Chizhou's geographical location was a perfect natural defense position.
To the west is the rolling Yangtze River, to the north is the turbulent Pingtian Lake, and to the east are the vast mountains connecting Pingtian Lake. The only narrow path he dug was cut off. The officers and soldiers wanted to attack the city, but they couldn't even touch the city wall. arrive!
Unless you fly here with wings, Bai Wang's confidence that had just been defeated slowly returned to strength. He believed that three days was enough for him to arrange, provided that Wang Yi'en could hold the Qingtong River for three days.
However, reality slapped him again. In the early morning of the day when he escaped back to Chizhou City, an emergency report came from the north. Officers and soldiers broke through the blockade, and Wang Yi'en was defeated and captured!
Bai Wang was shocked beyond measure at that time. He thought he could stay at least two days, but the messenger told him that he actually didn't last two hours!
The three thousand thieves at the rear were almost completely wiped out and lost one of their generals, but they only delayed him for two hours.
But fortunately, after breaking through the Qingtong River defense line, the officers and soldiers did not advance overnight but rested on the spot. This made Bai Wang relieved and a little happy. It seemed that the officers and soldiers were victorious in the battle the day before but they were still injured. The muscles are shaking.
But the loss of a strong man still made him feel heartbroken, knowing that once Wang Yi'en was captured, there would be no chance of survival. He had to turn his grief into strength and seize the opportunity to consolidate the city defense while the officers and soldiers were resting. For example, he dug out the only passage to Chizhou City. Unlike Cheng Niandong who dug the river embankment in the east and only dug three feet wide, he ordered to dig five or six feet wide and one foot wide. It's as deep as a big river.
Then they piled rubble on the south bank and buried sharp wood, creating a 20-meter-wide sinking position. Even if the officers and soldiers crossed the water to attack here, they would still have to go through the 20-meter position with a lot of trouble.
However, you think that's all. Bai Wang goes beyond this and builds a high platform with earth after sinking into the position. The project target is scheduled to be three meters high and 100 meters long from the lake in the east to the river in the west. This is a small platform. The city wall will be covered with archers, trebuchets and other firepower to block the intersection. If the officers and soldiers want to attack forcefully, then they will have to sacrifice their lives.
At the same time, he went around to seize all fishing boats, plundered all the inside and outside of Chizhou City, totaling more than 500 boats, and formed a naval force in Pingtian Lake. This is also an extremely important force that can attack and defend, such as taking advantage of the officers and soldiers. At the moment of attack, we will sneak around you from the waterway and attack...
It can be said that Bai Wang maximized the use of these two days to mobilize the entire Chizhou City military and civilians to work day and night to consolidate the defense line, because this may be his last barrier! The officers and soldiers have reached their bottom line and there is no way to retreat!
But what is Chang Yu doing?
While crossing the Qingtong River, they took the lead in eating, drinking, and having fun. They ate meat, drank soup, and fought for money. This gave tens of thousands of officers and soldiers the illusion that they were not here to fight, but to have an outing.
After all the fun, we still have to do serious things.
That night the whole army crossed the river and camped on the south bank to rest. Although the baggage was still crossing the river one after another, Chang Yu had already summoned the generals to discuss the war. With the in-depth reconnaissance of the scouts ahead, more and more intelligence was sent, and the rebel army The activities and arrangements there are also more detailed.
"The bandits dug up Pingtian Lake and the Yangtze River, cutting off our only access, and piled earth on the other side to make a wall about 100 meters long. We have no boats and no wings. We have no other choice but to attack hard. Originally, our sect Soldiers with water access can swim from the waterways on both sides to outflank the thieves, but the thieves have formed a naval army with four to five hundred ships. Can you tell me how to fight?" Chang Yu smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Generals, you look at me, I look at you. With a bitter look on his face, Bai Wang made full use of the terrain. This pass was more difficult than the one south of Tongling City.
"The Governor also said that there is no other way but to attack hard, and I am afraid that we will suffer heavy losses in the attack, and we may not be able to defeat it, because according to the scout information, the area is extremely narrow! It is impossible to invest too many troops, both sides There is no place for water." Lu Daqi shook his head: "Xiaguan feels it is necessary to open up a second road. Let's see if we can make a detour from the mountains to the east."
Everyone looked at Wang Tizhong, who had previously been based in Chizhou and knew the surrounding terrain best.
Wang Tizhong pondered for a while and said: "Pingtian Lake is about twenty miles long from east to west. The easternmost part of the lake is at the foot of the mountain. The terrain is steep and the mountains are high and the forests are dense. I am afraid there is no way to go, but the specific final general is not clear, but even if you go around, In the past, there was Qishan Lake connected to Pingtian Lake in the east of Chizhou City. In addition, there was Qingxi River in the east of the city, Baiyang River and Qiupu River in the south of the city. They are all big rivers. How can we cross them?"
When everyone heard this, they suddenly felt a headache, and Chang Yu couldn't help but cursed: "What the hell, why are there so many rivers and water!"
Wang Tizhong smiled bitterly: "There are many mountains and rivers here. The water surrounds the mountains and the mountains surround the rivers. It just so happens that Chizhou City is located among these mountains and rivers, but it is also the only way to go south."
"After all, we have to gnaw a hard nut this time." Chang Yu sighed: "It's just that this kind of fighting method is so fucking frustrating." Ma Ke echoed from the side: "It's really not as fun as if we went north."
"Lord Governor, I have a plan at the end, I don't know if it is feasible." Just as he was frowning, Wu Sangui suddenly spoke. Chang Yu hummed, and Wu Sangui whispered in his ear.
