Just a few days passed in the blink of an eye, and the Shu army was advancing with great success. Except for Jiangling County and Wulin Port in the east, almost the entire county's land had fallen into the control of the Shu army.
At this time, the morale of the Shu army had reached its peak.
On the first day after arriving in Jiangling City, the Shu army launched a wave of tentative attacks without hesitation. The battle lasted from noon until the sun went down before slowly withdrawing its troops.
"General, today's battle has been confirmed. There are about 10,000 Chu troops in Jiangling City. It can be seen that Taishi Ci has concentrated all his troops here."
As night fell, the generals who had deployed their respective defenses gathered in Zhang Ren's tent and began to discuss the war. Just listen to one of the great commanders laugh wantonly.
"I thought that Tai Shi Ci was capable of something? It turns out that he can only do nothing."
"Haha~~"
Everyone burst into hearty laughter, and the tent was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Yi stood up and said with a frown.
"General, I think it's too early to be happy now."
"Taishici did not use one place and one city to attack with our army, and directly retreated to Jiangling City. At first glance, it seemed very cowardly. But except for the Chu army's loss of a thousand troops in the previous battle at Jiangjin Port, Taishi Ci's main force can be said to be completely intact. , and sit in Jiangling to wait for work. Since ancient times, the attackers have often consumed twice as many troops as the defenders. Although our army is strong, the losses in taking Jiangling cannot be underestimated. Taishi Ci's use of troops may seem cowardly, but in fact he is prudent. If our army is arrogant, I'm afraid it will be a hard fight from today on."
Zhang Yizhi's words made everyone's laughter stop. Many generals showed dissatisfaction in their eyes, but they all looked around, and no one planned to jump out to refute.
In fact, there was one more thing that Zhang Yi didn't say. At present, the victory seems to be fruitful, but Jiangling City has not been captured in one day. Judging from the distance between Yongan City and Jiangling City to these sites, they are just flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water. Today, it has been more than half a month since the army set off for the expedition. The news of the general's private dispatch of troops is probably on his way to Chengdu. There is not much time left for them, but Taishi Ci has concentrated all his troops on the most difficult part of Jiangling City. on the bones.
Can such a situation be called optimistic?
Zhang Ren sat at the top and had a panoramic view of everyone's performance. The vague disappointment in his eyes finally disappeared when Zhang Yi spoke. Seeing that everyone was silent, he opened his mouth to praise.
"Bo Gong's words are very reasonable and reminded me."
"You all should stop being arrogant and lazy, and when you go back, think carefully about how to fight next. Don't be afraid of spending. As long as Jiangling can be captured, the king will definitely increase his troops and march eastward. No one in Jingzhou can resist me anymore." The Lion of Shu. In this way, even if all of Zhang Ren’s Yong’an Army is defeated, it’s still worth it! At that time, I will write to the king to express my merits to you, and I will be promoted to a higher position.”
Promotion of official rank?
Isn't this what people like them join the military for?
After everyone listens, who can not be inspired?
"General Gao Yi, we are willing to die for the General!"
After hearing everyone's unanimous reply, Zhang Ren nodded with satisfaction and said.
"Go back and order the soldiers to rest for a day tomorrow and start the battle the day after tomorrow. We will never withdraw our troops until Jiangling is broken!"
"promise!"
????????????
The strong attack on Jiangling began. After a day's rest, the Shu army's offensive was even more fierce than the day before.
It's no wonder that these generals usually have to spend money to find ways to be promoted after they have made military exploits, but this time Zhang Ren promised to submit a letter directly to the king, which was naturally very different. Not to mention that Zhang Ren risks being beheaded by sending troops this time. This petition is likely to determine the future successor of the general, at least the person in charge of the army in the east of Shu.
The generals who were originally a little cautious and wanted to save their strength and wait for others to consume the Chu army first, now wanted to drag all their troops up to fight so that the general would remember his name.
It is a pity that even though the soldiers of the Shu army showed unprecedented enthusiasm, the progress of the war was still not smooth. As early as the day before yesterday, some strange-looking giant ballistas were placed on some of the city walls in Jiangling. They were not used at that time, and their true power was not shown until today.
This kind of city-defending crossbow has a length equal to the thickness of the city wall. It has two carriages placed up and down, two uprights on the left and right, and is also equipped with a sighting device that can be adjusted up and down. It is operated by ten Chu soldiers. Once launched, sixty large arrows and countless small arrows came like a strong wind, destroying shields as easily as the wind blowing down a wheat field, harvesting the lives of the Shu army. Those big arrows are ten feet long, and the tails of the arrows are tied with ropes, just like the arrows used to shoot birds in the sky are tied with thin silk ropes, and they can also be rolled up with a windlass. If it weren't for the small number of these ballistas, the long launch cycle, and the slow movement, this battle would not have been possible. But even with so many shortcomings, it greatly suppressed the Shu army's offensive and allowed Zhang Ren to end the afternoon much earlier. attack.
Late at night, the Shu army suddenly moved out. Archers took advantage of the darkness to sneak nearby and lit rockets to attack the crossbow chariots at the top of the city, and then quickly evacuated. Although the Chu army was prepared, they still lost two serial ballistas.
After that, the Chu State continued to have new continuous crossbow vehicles, transfer machines, borrowed vehicles, and all kinds of strange and weird city defense equipment. Many of them had never even appeared in the previous battles of the Chu army. They were like divine help. , which made the generals of the Shu army itch with hatred.
As for the Shu army, they also used various methods such as encirclement, letters of surrender, night attacks, rumors, and invitations to fight in front of the battle line.
More than twenty days have passed, and the walls of Jiangling City are covered with broken arrowheads, and many places are completely blackened by kerosene. The high-intensity attack caused great losses to the Shu army, and nearly 10,000 soldiers died. Of course, the Chu army also lost half of its troops. Zhang Ren had already discovered that some newly recruited militiamen had begun to join Jiangling's defense.
Zhang Ren didn't know how many recruits Taishi Ci had temporarily recruited, but he didn't take it to heart, because the recruits were the most unstable and could barely be used if the battle went well. If the battle went badly, these recruits could become the trigger for the entire army to flee at any time. .
In Zhang Ren's view, the fifteen thousand elite troops he has left now are three times the regular army in Jiangling City. The war has entered the final stage, and the possibility of these Chu army recruits playing a negative role and causing the city defense to collapse is extremely high.
Can win!
This kind of confidence was maintained until Zhang Ren received intelligence from the spies from Xiangyang.
"Since Taishi Ci left Xiangyang, General Wenpin began to advertise in the city to recruit troops. According to the brothers who went to Xinye to inquire about it, the same is true in Xinye."
Taishi Ci is so courageous!
The transfer of the Xiangyang garrison will naturally attract the attention of Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao. Private conscription can indeed increase the concerns of Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao to a certain extent by making up for the lack of army numbers, and reduce the possibility of them taking action against Chu, but this is a taboo for kings.
Why is it so tempting to be crowned a king? Because it allows princes to have their own army to a certain extent, that is, to have their own state within a state. If the Rebellion of the Seven Kings is not enough to explain its seriousness, then the rise of the princes and the destruction of the Han Dynasty can always explain the problem. In the final analysis, it was not the Yellow Turban Uprising that made Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty panic and directly allowed various places to recruit soldiers privately. As a result, The rebels were suppressed, but the "princes" everywhere could not be suppressed.
It is safe to say that the Jiangling war is urgent, but it is difficult to explain the private recruitment of troops in Xiangyang, Xinye, and perhaps Jiangxia. If the news reaches the ears of Sun Ce, who is fighting fiercely in Xuzhou, how can he feel at ease?
"Not long after the conscription began, news came out that our army had invaded Jiangling. Many wealthy businessmen in Xiangyang began to flee to Jiangxia by boat. On the river, there was an endless stream of large ships every day, transporting countless money and grain to Jiangxia. I felt that the situation was a bit strange. Something was wrong, so he and his brothers secretly investigated the ships and found that the Chu army was secretly withdrawing to Jiangxia. Now the situation in Xiangyang is chaotic, and many spies from unknown forces have appeared????????????"
When he heard that countless money and grain were being transported to Jiangxia, Zhang Ren felt that something was wrong. When he heard that the Chu army was secretly withdrawing to Jiangxia, Zhang Ren seemed to have been struck by a thunderbolt from the clear sky, and he sat up in shock.
"What did you say? The Chu army secretly retreated to Jiangxia? He doesn't want Xiangyang!"
Zhang Ren's red eyes glared at the soldier fiercely, making the soldier speechless with fear. Fortunately, Zhang Ren didn't really want the scout to answer. He quickly sat down again and started talking to himself.
Since abandoning Maicheng, Zhang Ren thought that Taishi Ci was using Xiangyang as a bait to attract him to extend the front line and look for fighting opportunities. When Jiangjin Port was later abandoned, Zhang Ren thought that Taishi Ci was concentrating his forces to hold on to Jiangling and wait for Sun Ce to return. But now Taishi Ci did not block the news from going north, and even actively took advantage of the resulting chaos. Has Xiangyang and Xinye even given up?
is it possible?
Thinking of Maicheng surrendering, Jiangjin Port being abandoned at the drop of a hat, Jiangling farmland being burned at the drop of a hat, cold sweat broke out on Zhang Ren's back.
It's really possible.
Withdrawing to Jiangxia is equivalent to guarding the entrance to Jiangdong and guarding the rear of Sun Ce's army. That is to say, Taishi Ci wants to give up Xiangyang and Xinye, and give them to whom? Cao Cao or Dong Zhuo?
No matter who it is given to, once a third party takes control of Xiangyang, it can contain the invasion of Shu by land. If the Shu army continues to attack Jingnan, it will face Jiangling behind it being attacked by a third party force at any time.
In fact, Taishi Ci never thought of giving up Jiangling to the Shu army. Once Xiangyang's Wenpin completely withdraws to Jiangxia, the Jiangxia navy can enter Jiangling from Wulin Port at any time without passing through Maicheng and silently attack the Shu army. Coupled with the newly recruited troops from several counties, which only maintained the defense lines of Jiangxia and Jiangling, the Chu army was fully capable of fighting the Shu army in Jiangling.
Big beads of sweat fell from his forehead, and Zhang Ren was still unaware of it. He had to know immediately how far Tai Shici's plan had progressed.
"Send the order, the army will stop attacking the city immediately! Retreat twenty miles."
"Send the order to Li Jie and lead three thousand troops to capture Wulin Port."
Military orders were issued quickly one after another, and soldiers came in and out of the military tent in an endless stream. Zhang Yi, who had just come back from outside, glanced at the messenger who hurriedly left with confusion and walked into the account.
"General, that letter has arrived again."
After giving the order, Zhang Ren had already collected his emotions and sat quietly there with his eyes closed and meditating. Hearing Zhang Yi's words, Zhang Ren quickly took the envelope and opened it.
"General, who is this?"
Zhang Yi sat down and saw Zhang Ren looking at the letter attentively, and couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering him for a long time.
"It's better you don't know."
Seeing Zhang Ren answer without raising his head, Zhang Yi curled his lips.
"General, is the information about this person reliable?"
"reliable."
Seeing Zhang Ren trusting this person so much, Zhang Yi suddenly felt uncomfortable and muttered.
"Reliable, reliable. This person only knows how to hide behind and let you, General, take care of everything. What a scoundrel."
Zhang Ren finally raised his head and looked at Zhang Yi, and couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
"You silly boy, now that he has fallen, who will serve the country?"
Zhang Yi stopped talking.
After a long time, Zhang Ren finally let out a long sigh, lit the letter and threw it into the brazier aside.
"The king is furious. The Meng family, Zhang family and other aristocratic families are adding insult to injury. The envoy is already on the way to Jiangling."
After hearing this, Zhang Yi couldn't help but clenched his fists and said angrily.
"We are risking our lives on the front line, not for the sake of Shu! These aristocratic families don't want to help, but they actually take the opportunity to deal with the general. Damn it!"
Zhang Ren shook his head helplessly.
"There are good and bad families in the family. I have already known the virtues of some moths. It is useless to say more. Bo Gong, I have an extremely important task for you."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yi quickly said seriously.
"Zhang Yi listens to the order, please give me your instructions, General."
Zhang Ren said seriously.
"Immediately take a dozen private soldiers, mount fast horses, and rush back to Yong'an City at starry night. After you go back, I don't care what means you use, you must let the aristocratic families in Yong'an gather at least 6,000 private soldiers for me, and then Take them to Jiangling immediately."
Shukeju reading website:
